Clear as Mud

(Scroll down for adorable baby pictures, if you've already seen the rest)

Sometimes you don't realize how awkward something is, until it's fixed.

This is the only photo I have of our Mud Room bathroom. It sits just off the kitchen. The counter with its shiny brown laminate and yellow sink are on the left. On the right (out of camera range) is a small closet, then the open shelves you do see. On the floor is a green patterned "kitchen" carpet, with inexpensive gray vinyl in the inner room. The inner door opens to reveal open shelves on the right, and the yellow toilet on the left.

The inner door does not open fully because it hits the toilet that is there, and you must go in and close the door to get to the toilet.

Awkward! (And VERY dated.)

What you can't see is the smell in there. And Hoooo-Doggie, it's potent!! In a previous life, this room was home to cat litter boxes and their feline donors. We are pretty sure the aforementioned felines were in this room for extended periods, and were not necessarily accurate in aiming their excretory functions.

Yeah, they peed on the carpet. Airing the room out did not begin to help.

Well, this was the Mud Room, as it stood when we moved in. After 2 years of keeping the door closed, we couldn't take it anymore and tackled it, down to the studs and subfloor. Then it stood again for nearly 4 years. Amazing how a remodel project loses all priority when the family can survive without the room!

Last spring, the Mud Room finally got its new lease on life, and these amazing shots are the "after" photos. Todd majorly moved the plumbing, and added a walk-in shower. (It helps when the room below is an unfinished storage room!)

I don't think I can express what a huge difference there is in this room! Sure, you can see the cosmetic stuff. But the room feels so big now, because the closet is gone and there's no little inner room. Suddenly it's light, bright, airy and spacious. All the opposite of what it was before.

So the first photo is the same view as the original - from the doorway. We [read: Todd + the boys] removed the closet, sound-insulated the room, and moved the sink and toilet to opposite walls, The photo doesn't do justice to Todd's extensive tile work.

The second shot is looking back toward the doorway, with a better view of the counter. I'm going for the sand-and-sea colors, leaning towards a lighthouse theme. It's getting there. We regret that we could not find the sink locally, and we did try. One would think that a simple drop-in, undivided, deep sink would not be that much of a challege! We were specific about it, because this is a mud room, and the sink needed functionality (is that a word?). I wanted to be able to stick a spigot cooler under the faucet and be able to fill it. I wanted it big enough and deep enough to soak items in it. At the same time, we wanted the sink and the whole room not to outgrow its identity. This is a Mud Room, not the Taj Mahal.

Well, I love the sink, and although it's perfect for a mud room's needs, I admit that our current, most-often use of it has very little to do with mud, and a whole lot to do with the baby. Because.....

Bonus! It also makes a perfect baby bathtub that saves hugely on Mom's back!! Emma is a water baby (like her siblings), and loves her baths. It's one of the phrases she recognizes: "Do you want to take a bath??" She laughs and laughs at that.

So here's Em, doing double duty by not only demonstrating the bathtub function, but also her very talented rendition of "Patty Cake." Sucking on the washcloth is a big part of the bath experience for her. Yes, she's teething.

Moral? Patience is a virtue. No. Time heals all wounds. No. Marry a guy with a pronounced talent for all things related to supplies from Home Depot! Absolutely!!