https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sun, 26 Apr 2026 02:24:02 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/guest-room-and-playroom-locations#post-2928234 Sun, 07 May 2023 07:12:21 +0000 HappyBaker 2928234@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We are moving to a much bigger house soon and I’m struggling with figuring out where to put the guest room and playroom. We’ll have a large finished basement with a full bath down there, and a large finished attic. Part of me would prefer the guest room in the attic and playroom in the basement because throwing all the kids downstairs would mean they don’t need to traipse through the upstairs to get there. But then guests would share our kids bathroom on the 2nd floor. Which I think is fine but seems weird we have another full bath we probably won’t really use. Anyone with a similar setup, what do you have in each space? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/getting-through-a-renovation#post-2927850 Fri, 06 Jan 2023 11:01:54 +0000 caitcat 2927850@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm curious if anyone has tips or advice about what worked well (or didn't?) for you to get through a major home renovation with kids. We're starting a big project to expand our kitchen, and move our laundry room and a bathroom later this month and I'm starting to panic about how much this is going to upend my house. I knew it was coming...but now that it's almost here, the reality is setting in. </p> <p>We're going to set up a temporary "kitchen" in our living room with our old fridge, microwave and a toaster oven, crock pot, and maybe an induction burner. I've frozen some easy-to-reheat meals ahead of time, but not much. I'm anticipating eating a lot of takeout or easy to prep/clean up meals. For laundry, I'm hoping we're only out of a functional washer/dryer for a month or so, but I'm planning to go to go to my parents' (about an hour away) a couple times to do laundry in the meantime. I think the whole project will be 8-9 weeks total. </p> <p>I'd love to hear anything that helped you through reno projects. I'm so excited about the project, but dreading getting to the other side of it! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/humidifier-recommendation#post-2927823 Tue, 27 Dec 2022 10:46:11 +0000 caitcat 2927823@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Have you found a humidifier that is easy to fill and easy to keep clean? I would love some recommendations! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/ikea-kura-loft-for-older-kids#post-2927532 Mon, 03 Oct 2022 20:15:56 +0000 HappyBaker 2927532@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Does anyone have the Ikea Kura loft bed and an older (like 2nd grade and up) kid using it? DS who is 7.5 really wants it for his room because of the cool hideout space he’d have underneath, but I’m wondering how well that will grow with him as it’s not a ton of space under there. Wondering if anyone else using it with older kids could weigh in on if its still useful! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/paint-color-help-1#post-2927400 Thu, 18 Aug 2022 21:39:52 +0000 lady baltimore 2927400@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We will soon be settling on a new house, and I am super excited! The current owners will be renting back, so we won't actually be moving until October. This gives me lots of time to plot and plan. I want to take advantage of the house being empty to get a few maintenance tasks taken care of before we move in, and to do some painting (all of the paint is in good shape, but I know from experience that I will never want to move the furniture to update the colors later).</p> <p>What color would you paint this bathroom? The current shade of blue is really not my favorite, but I need a color that will work with it, since it's in the border tile. Is wallpaper in the bathroom a terrible idea? This will be the kids' bathroom, but also the primary guest restroom. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/nursery-colors#post-2927209 Wed, 06 Jul 2022 13:58:20 +0000 karenbme 2927209@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I’m due with #2 at the end of the year and ordered a pullout sectional at lunch today for when our guest room converts to nursery #2 and learned that they’re operating on a 3 1/2 month lead time, which means I need to order basically now to have any wiggle room before my due date, but I’m drawing a blank on nursery colors. </p> <p>Baby is a girl. Big sister’s room is violet and blue so I wouldn’t want to repeat that. The room is already painted a pale grass green that could work for a nursery but I have no ideas for complementary colors, or we could always paint. Help! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/beach-towel-recommendations#post-2927192 Sun, 03 Jul 2022 12:49:56 +0000 catgirl 2927192@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I want to get some new beach towels, I think I want either microfiber or Turkish towels. </p> <p>We have traditional towels that we love but they take up a huge amount of space in my bag, take forever to dry, and are so heavy when wet. We go to the beach/lake a lot and I really want my bag to be less stuffed. </p> <p>So any one have a microfiber or Turkish towel they love? Or any that you wouldn’t recommend? Thanks! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/real-estate-strategy-right-now#post-2926842 Thu, 21 Apr 2022 21:21:13 +0000 karenbme 2926842@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>So the housing market in my area is INSANE right now (as it is in lots of other places) but my family kind of needs a bigger house with baby #2 on the way and I’m wondering how others are navigating these sorts of things right now. </p> <p>Because we bought our current house in a weak market as a fixer we have several hundred thousand dollars of equity, but to upgrade and be as close or closer to DH’s office (I’m permanently remote) we would need to come close to doubling the sale price of our current home, which is in a neighborhood we love but is cheap for our area. We have a decent amount of cash/liquid assets on hand, and could probably swing the cost, but I definitely don’t want to get involved in waiving things like inspections and appraisals, and yet I also don’t want to wait and have rates go up another 2%. 🙁 Really I’m regretting not offering on a house in our ideal neighborhood that sat on the market last summer because of the *choices* the owners had made, but we weren’t ready at that point and who could’ve predicted the way the market continued to go. </p> <p>I would love to add on to our current house, but we would spend the same money as buying someplace new and not get the investment back because of the neighborhood. The other option is to stay where we are, convert the guest room to a second nursery and tell family to get a hotel if they want to visit (probably the most likely outcome 😂) and either wait for the market to cool or save enough money to compete with cash offers on million dollar properties 😭 </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/picnic-table-for-school-aged-kids#post-2927010 Sun, 08 May 2022 14:58:33 +0000 meadow 2927010@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>When my kids were little the classic little tikes picnic table was amazing. Is there a bigger kid version of something like this? I love that its plastic so we can be super messy with dirt or food or paint &amp; wipe clean (or hose clean as needed hahah) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/new-fridge-thinking-counter-depth#post-2926625 Mon, 11 Apr 2022 07:43:21 +0000 Bmaja 2926625@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Would love to hear anyone’s thoughts on brands, good features, etc related to buying a new fridge. #1 feature for me is door alarm - as toddler is learning to open the door to put her milk inside. Thinking freezer on bottom… but torn on which brand… especially with current shortages. Thanks in advance for any advice! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/paint-color-recommendations#post-2926466 Tue, 15 Mar 2022 17:59:11 +0000 greencraftycello 2926466@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Looking for a neutral paint color to paint our kitchen and dining room. I just painted our living room Behr “Peaceful Blue.” Our dining room is “Silver Drop” (Behr), but looking for something a little warmer now. Any suggestions? </p> [attach=8859/22/r8ta0q.481x600.D867A701-B29C-468B-8ABE-06790F14FEBD.jpeg] https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-there-any-safe-counter-stools-for-kids-how-to-protect-dining-table#post-2926036 Sun, 09 Jan 2022 11:27:35 +0000 Umbreon 2926036@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We have the large island in our kitchen that seats four and a dining table. My 2.5 year old has been sitting in the stools at the island (for the record, it was not me who introduced that habit) and it makes me uneasy with how unsafe it is. </p> <p>I think I may need to get rid of the stools and we will all have to eat at the dining room table. Or find some new, safer stools. The dining room is separate from the kitchen which is unfortunate. </p> <p>How can I protect the table from spills, dents, etc? I was thinking of getting one of those foam table pad protectors and putting a wipe able table cloth on top? Do those table protectors protect against dents and scratches?</p> <p>Any other ideas? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/light-fixture-in-play-room#post-2926294 Fri, 04 Feb 2022 11:11:23 +0000 JennyPenny 2926294@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My kids have broken one of the blades on the ceiling fan in the playroom. I never liked having a ceiling fan in there anyway so now I'm glad to have an excuse to replace it with a light-only fixture. However, my husband thinks the one I have in mind will also get damaged/broken. So I'm wondering if the ladies here have any experience with this kind of light fixture, or if you have one in your play areas that you like and think is durable, I'm up for recommendations. Our main requirements are that it is NOT a built-in LED, and that it can take 4-5 bulbs. Thanks!</p> <p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Livex-Lighting-52136-92-Meridian-English/dp/B01DKHLQIO" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.com/Livex-Lighting-52136-92-Meridian-English/dp/B01DKHLQIO</a> </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wwyd-a-flooring-edition#post-2925366 Wed, 03 Nov 2021 10:09:15 +0000 Mommy Finger 2925366@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We are slowing redoing the entire first floor of our house. The previous owners put in a ton of built ins that don't suit our family's life style. Below is a picture of the current tv room from when we bought the house and we're going to rip out the built ins. This means we'll need to replace the carpeting b/c the built ins cover up a big chunk of the floor. It's ok, the carpet is pretty gross. I'm struggling what to replace the floor with. Here's my struggle:</p> <p>The room is right off the kitchen, which is next to the current dining room. The long term plan is to combine the current dining room and kitchen to make one kick ass kitchen and then this tv room will be the dining room. We have a separate living room that we will be using as our big family/tv room. The current dining room and living room plus the rest of the house are original hard wood and we would update the new kitchen and dining to the same hardwood when it gets redone. However, we don't anticipate that will happen for another 5 years since we still need to talk with an architect, designer and save up the money. As you can see in the picture below, our current kitchen is cork. So we're already working with 3 different types of flooring on the first floor. Hope you're following me so far!!!</p> <p>We'd like to start using the room as our dining room but I don't want to spend a lot of money on flooring knowing we're just going to change it. Any suggestions on what to put in? Carpeting seems wrong. We have the luxury vinyl in our basement and in our mud room so that could be a temporary option. I'm a moron when it comes to design so help me out! </p> [attach=2211/21/r204rf.600x399.Family-Room.jpg] [attach=2211/21/r204rg.600x402.Kitchen.jpg] https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/mudroom-help#post-2924942 Fri, 17 Sep 2021 09:10:11 +0000 JennyPenny 2924942@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We moved over the summer and our new house has a large mudroom, but as we approach fall I realize it is seriously lacking in hooks we can use for coats and jackets, especially for the kids. There is a closet we could use with hangers but that doesn’t seem like it’ll be convenient enough. My gut is to put hooks along the empty wall where kids (7, 4, 1) can reach but it makes me sad to clutter that side. Does anyone have any other ideas?</p> <p>[attach=2543/21/qzl0oz.600x450.62BC7727-9B79-4D9C-AE1D-9C34BD10FF6A.jpeg] </p> [attach=2543/21/qzl0sq.450x600.8807485A-D833-4E3E-A1BC-91BF28FDCF15.jpeg] https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/cloth-napkins#post-2924711 Fri, 20 Aug 2021 06:10:34 +0000 meadow 2924711@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Ahhh ... I'm losing my mind shopping for my kids PM montessori experience (half day kinder public school then off to Montessori)....</p> <p>Last on my list are cloth napkins for lunch.</p> <p>Any tips on where to buy not flimsy, not fancy, small for a kid (not 18x18!!!) Cloth napkins?</p> <p>Help! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/hall-tree-suggestions#post-2924704 Thu, 19 Aug 2021 09:32:50 +0000 meadow 2924704@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I am trying to find a hall tree (I think this is what the entry way thing is called with cubbies &amp; then hooks for backpacks/jackets?) to put near our garage door. I don't want to spend a TON of money as we plan to redo the space in a couple years.... but we need a solution for now as the kids stuff has been a mess the last couple years.</p> <p>Do these things exist where kids (mine are 5...) can reach the hooks and hang up their stuff without climbing on it? I'm seeing hooks generally at the 5foot height.......</p> <p>:( </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/any-new-york-bees-still-here#post-2924530 Tue, 03 Aug 2021 15:04:47 +0000 foodiebee 2924530@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Are there any NYC Bees still hanging around? We are loosely considering a move to NYC for work reasons from where we are now (the South), and we have so many questions! I've browsed some previous threads but am curious for current info rather than from a few years ago. Our main concerns are where will have access to affordable, good childcare for our 2yo. We're in a montessori program now and everything I see online is quite a bit more expensive for montessori. Housing: We're curious which areas are family friendly and not astronomically expensive (a 3-bedroom is a must because DH works from home). Thanks, all! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-to-tell-kids-how-to-sell-them-on-the-idea-of-moving#post-2924411 Tue, 20 Jul 2021 13:00:40 +0000 HappyBaker 2924411@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I've posted before about our debate on whether to move to a different state to be close to DH's family and have a less crazy life in general. We put decision making on hold for a year because of Covid, so now we are deciding for sure by the end of this next school year. I'm just not sure if we should include our kids in some of our conversations considering moving. They are going into 3rd and 1st grade (and a preschooler but I'm less worried about him as he doesn't have any real connection to our current town yet!) </p> <p>We'd be choosing to move for quality of life (better schools, closer to family, bigger house, better town resources, etc), instead of for a forced reason like a job relocation or something...so while I know it is ultimately DH and my decision I'm unsure if we should float it with the kids and make them part of the process. My gut says both of them would say they definitely wouldn't want to move, but I think most kids would probably say that! </p> <p>If you've moved, how have you sold it to your kids as an exciting new adventure as opposed to leaving all their friends and things they know and love? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/multi-generational-living#post-2924216 Wed, 30 Jun 2021 12:20:41 +0000 catgirl 2924216@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Would you ever be interested in a multi-generational home? Or do you live in a multi-generational home now? </p> <p>We moved back to our home state about three years ago and our house is two miles from my mom and stepdad. Ever since we moved back we have talked about getting a duplex or two family home. We're discovering how few of them exist in our current town, a town we would ideally like to stay in. So we have recently been talking about one big house - preferably with a good mix of group and private spaces. </p> <p>A large 4,000sf house recently came on the market - it has six bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, living room, family room, and basement rec room. The bedrooms are split into two different "wings" upstairs, and then one guest suite on the first floor. My mom and DH are really pushing for it but my stepdad and I seem to be a bit more hesitant. (And yes, my DH is really pushing for this!) </p> <p>If we were to do one house versus a traditional two family, this house is about as perfect as we could find in our town and budget. I'm just feeling really unsure about it all, and I hate that in this market we don't have a ton of time to think about it. I have an amazing relationship with my mom and a solid relationship with my stepdad. We spend a ton of time with them but this is obviously a huge change. </p> <p>So if you do live with your parents or in-laws how does it work for you? What were or are some of your challenges? Or if you don't currently but were open to it, what would you be most worried about? </p> <p>Or feel free to tell me this is absolutely crazy and you would never, ever consider it :silly: All perspectives are helpful. </p> <p>(sorry for the rambling, like I said above the crazy market isn't giving us a ton of time to process) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/nugget-or-bean-bags#post-2923630 Wed, 05 May 2021 13:59:37 +0000 HappyBaker 2923630@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We’re making some changes to our playroom to make it more of a hangout / game space instead of all about toys. We have a couch in there, and are going to add a coffee table to play games on. I’d like to add a little more comfy seating and am torn between a nugget couch and small bean bag chairs. I like that the nugget can be many things, and know my kids would still enjoy building with it even though they’re older, but is it also comfy to sit on? Like would your kids watch a movie on it? Which would you pick for a playroom for an 8 and 6 year old? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/paint-colorsexterior#post-2923410 Fri, 16 Apr 2021 18:10:17 +0000 Jess1483 2923410@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We are having our house painted soon and I’m really struggling. Our house is Tudor style, and I don’t really love Tudor style... I don’t love the high contrast colors, or the wide trim. And the front has a TON of brick. The back has no brick. Suggestions? Ideas? I am feeling like we need to stick in the brown palate, but just no idea really. (The photo of our back is from when we bought it—the white lattice isn’t in the windows anymore.)</p> <p>[attach=5159/21/qroj16.277x600.117B3200-6D6A-43C6-B78F-0CA15A28D8C9.png]</p> <p>[attach=5159/21/qroj17.600x450.CAF8BF6A-EAC8-42C4-9CA6-5813A3FCDDDD.jpeg] </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/furniture-ideas#post-2922941 Thu, 18 Mar 2021 20:35:28 +0000 Jess1483 2922941@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We are finally having our gigantic basement finished and I'm so excited to create a cozy space downstairs for guests/family movie nights/etc. This is also presenting us with a challenge/opportunity in our main upstairs room.</p> <p>I have always hated the sectional we have in this room (it's on the main floor). It's oversized and partially blocks the doors, but DH LOVES it (and it is comfortable). But I think we've agreed to move the sectional downstairs into the new family space and replace it in the main room with something. The challenge is that the room is strange, with a giant window on one side, two large entrances, and the TV. While we will do large family viewing now in the downstairs space, we still want to be able to watch TV in this room, too. </p> <p>So the question is what should we do in the upstairs room to:<br /> 1. Still make it comfortable for TV watching for 2-3 people (because if all five are watching, we will probably go downstairs)<br /> 2. Make it good for hosting others (you know, if that ever happens again)<br /> 3. Not block doors or windows.<br /> 4. Keep it a good play space for little ones.</p> <p>I'm thinking about a recliner and love seat, but feeling like that might feel empty? Plus, it doesn't do a lot for hosting another couple. Maybe a more "modern" looking sectional and matching recliner?</p> <p>Thoughts? I'm absolutely terrible with things like this. Or a particularly good on-line interior design company?</p> <p>Pictures included. </p> [attach=5159/21/qq70f5.600x450.IMG_5852.JPG] [attach=5159/21/qq70f6.600x450.IMG_5853.JPG] [attach=5159/21/qq70f7.600x450.IMG_5854.JPG] [attach=5159/21/qq70f9.600x450.IMG_5855.JPG] https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/patio-furniture-help#post-2922943 Fri, 19 Mar 2021 10:32:17 +0000 Mommy Finger 2922943@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We are just about to do a major overhaul of our backyard and that includes a new patio where we'll have space for a dining table and a lounge area. We figured that if we can't go anywhere, why not make our backyard some place we want to hang out! I'm looking for advice on what to look for in the lounging furniture. I'm thinking either a couch and two chairs or maybe a sectional with one of the fire tables. We'll use this to have our neighbors over to hang out but it will also serve as our spot to watch movies in the backyard so definitely looking for comfort! However, we're also pretty lazy so the least amount of maintenance would be preferable. Though I do expect that we would have to either take off cushions or cover it as I don't believe anything is completely weather proof. We live in the midwest so we get all sorts of weather. We're also not looking to spend a ridiculous amount of money but would rather buy quality rather than having to replace something every few years. Any advice on what to look for, places to go, places to stay away from? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-have-a-dresser-from-pottery-barn#post-2922806 Fri, 05 Mar 2021 08:05:00 +0000 HappyBaker 2922806@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I’ve had this gorgeous dresser from pottery barn in my sights for over a year, and now that we finally are in a place where we can move ahead with our master bedroom updates I went to see it in a store and am totally second guessing it!</p> <p> We have no “nice” dressers in our house, everything is IKEA or Walmart put it together yourself type stuff, and very inexpensive. The one I loved from PB looked great in person but the drawers are on wooden glides instead of metal and that part threw me as all our current dressers just have metal glides. It seemed a little harder to slide the drawers in and out. </p> <p>Do you have a dresser from PB? Do you feel like it was worth the price? And if it has wooden glides does it drive you nuts? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/tell-me-about-houseplants#post-2922462 Thu, 11 Feb 2021 09:35:39 +0000 LadyDi 2922462@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I aspire to have some live greenery around my house but I am hindered by a lack of knowledge and also a lack of motivation, haha. What's a good starter houseplant that doesn't need a ton of natural light, a ton of maintenance, and won't kill a cat and/or child. You should assume I know literally nothing about plants. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/sanity-check-contractors-at-the-house#post-2920821 Sat, 14 Nov 2020 20:01:51 +0000 Mrs. Carrot 2920821@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>So Covid is spreading like wildfire again... We scheduled electrical work to be done at our house and now I'm wondering whether to go forward. It's not necessary, nothing is broken, but at some point soon we need to replace our electrical panel and so we were going to get that done and run some outside power while at it. The work would take most of the day (5-6 hours probably) and the workers would be around the house. The utility room where they'd mostly be doesn't have windows for ventilation. They will be masked, I'm not worried about that, and my husband would be the only one home, also masked, but it's still a lot of time and they would be in some of our living spaces to run wiring and such. WWYD? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-me-decide-which-color-table#post-2920647 Tue, 10 Nov 2020 11:30:42 +0000 mrskansas 2920647@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm moving into a new house in Dec, and need to pick a finish for the new table I'm ordering. Here is a picture of some of the cabinets and the table stain options. Help!<br /> Also if anyone is bored I would love chair recs! </p> [attach=7778/20/qjl9v6.600x442.1.jpg] [attach=7778/20/qjl9v7.449x600.2.jpg] https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/clothing-storage-bags#post-2920316 Tue, 03 Nov 2020 16:42:39 +0000 bees_knees 2920316@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We currently have a bunch of (cheap, annoying, lids won't stay on) totes for kids' clothing that isn't in season/wrong size. I feel like clear, flexible storage bags would work better? Like the ziploc jumbo storage bags. Anyone have any brand/size recommendations?</p> <p>ETA: I don't want the vacuum sealed kind...I don't think. Haha </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/does-anyone-own-a-cabinvacation-home#post-2919834 Tue, 20 Oct 2020 14:46:59 +0000 winter_wonder 2919834@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Does anyone own a second home/cabin? I'm curious if you rent it out when not using it? Does it generate decent income for you? </p> <p>There is a fixer upper available for cheap in a beautiful woodsy area DH and I visited this summer. </p> <p>DH isn't even on board with buying it, but a girl can dream! Although, managing renovations from hours away seems stressful!</p> <p>Would you ever buy a vacation home? </p>