Miles' Big Christmas Gift & His New Years Resolutions

Before we jump in, a few random things. One of my favorite things in life is a new planner. Last year, I bought and wrote in three planners before I decided on one. I was pickier with my initial purchase this year and so far I'm pleased. I use this for personal stuff, not work. I use my Outlook calendar at work and love it too, but for personal things, I like to be able to write them down and cross them off my list. 

Miles had practice tonight. His first game is Saturday. I thought about taking something to do while I sat there for 1.5 hours, but then I thought he might feel slighted if I didn't watch. We as parents sure give kids a lot of power and entitlement these days, but that's just how it is. I was still in my work clothes when we got home at 8:45pm. A long day!

These are the best sports bras ever. The brand is Ryka in case you can't tell from the pictures. I bought one at Marshalls months ago and have loved it. It is so comfortable and the padding doesn't come out in the washer. They stay put and in perfect shape. The best part is I got both of these for $12! Highly recommend.

Carson was most disappointed when we got home and Darrin wasn't here. He's going to be in for a rude awakening when recruiting starts in a couple of weeks. He took off running when he heard the garage door open.

He's been exhausted at night since going back to school yesterday. He just needed some Daddy time.

Now on the Miles' Christmas gift. The only things he asked for were Madden '19 and a PS4 controller and headset. He saved his money over the last several months and bought a PS4 on Black Friday so that big purchase was taken care of. He has always wanted bunk beds, but I haven't been fond of the idea. He has a really nice queen bed set and selfishly I didn't feel like changing the sheets on a bunk bed. 

This is his room before...

He hasn't liked the Batman theme for a while. When people come over he has said a couple times that he doesn't know why I decorated the room in Batman. I think he's embarrassed by it. 

I knew he had outgrown it and was ready for a change.

I started looking at metal loft beds and then ventured to some really nice wooden loft beds one day. They were way over our budget but I thought I might be able to find something used. My one deal breaker is that it had to be a full size. I knew he would outgrow a twin way too fast and I wanted friends and eventually Carson to be able sleep with him. 

I found a used Pottery Barn loft bed on Market Place. It was two hours away so I called in a favor to Darrin's sister and her husband. They went and got the bed and stored it for a couple months. Carson was a big help while we were putting it together. 

Buying this as his big gift was a little bit of a gamble. I knew he had always wanted one, but does a 9 year really want a bed for Christmas? I took the chance b/c I think I know his little mind pretty well and he was still getting a lot of other things anyway.

We wrapped the desk chair in a big box and put a picture of the bed inside. There was no way to install before Christmas. We also thought he would enjoy putting it together with us. We actually moved the stuff from a friend's house to our garage after he went to sleep on Christmas Eve so that we could get started immediately. His face was priceless when he saw the picture. He was genuinely thrilled with it. We still have to add some decorations to the walls, but I think it looks great. 

It's nice because he has so much floor space now to play.

The bedding is Vintage Baseball from Pottery Barn. That was a good fit for him but the decision was easy when I realized it went with the wall color and curtains that were already in there. Sold!

He has his room completely tricked out with smart plugs and his Echo Dot. He controls his desk light, fan, and bed lamp all through Alexa. He loves the desk and Carson thinks it's pretty cool too.

I am so glad that we went with this. In the end, my great deal on the used bed turned out to be rather expensive. By the time you buy a mattress, slats, bedding, lamps, a fan, and on and on...it's becomes costly. But, his room remodel had to be done anyway so it was kind of a win, win.

On the way home from school today, Miles told me that they had to come up with New Years resolutions at school today. He wrote three.

1) Get better at doing his chores, like unloading the dishwasher, without being told.
2) Be nicer to Carson. (I personally don't think he could get any nicer to him, but that's great that he's thinking about it)
3) Go to the beach b/c he hasn't been in two years b/c of Carson :)

They were too cute not to document!