WiFi Cameras

These little DropCam clones dropped to $30 each over the holidays. For that price, I can buy six for the price of a more mainstream camera. So we bought three.

One for the basement nursery:

One for the Great Room:

And one for the upstairs Nursery:

That wall is getting pretty techy. I should probably come up with a cleaner mounting system for the web cam, Echo Dot, and white noise machine.

The screen is a 24" LCD monitor with built-in speakers, running off a chromecast.

*** UPDATE FEB 4, 2017***

I added a camera for the front porch, and ordered another for the gate on our back yard.

I used this software to modify the firmware on the Yi cameras so I could integrate them with Blue Iris DVR software.

Toddler-proofing the Nursery

We're planning to put Link in a toddler bed soon, and that means making sure he can't get into any permanent trouble if he wakes up during the night. So, we bought a new storage unit (from IKEA (for full price!)), anchored it to a wall stud, and put the heater and humidifier on top, out of Link's reach.

(Link insisted on having his own screwdriver, and on "helping" me to assemble the unit).

I also swapped out half the door knob:

It's a little bit Frankenstein, but I actually kinda like it. The matching doorknob is on the door to the basement stairwell.

Rearranging Rooms

With our renter gone, and Lincoln getting more mobile and sleeping through the night, we decided to play "musical beds" in the house again. By the end of the weekend, we had two useable guest rooms complete with beds!

Our queen-sized bed left the Office and went back to the basement bedroom (currently accompanied by a pack-and-play):

Our full-sized bed left the Nursery and replaced the queen-sized bed in the office:

Which leaves us with a lot more floor space in the nursery!

Lincoln has been attempting to climb out of his crib recently (and has been getting better at climbing in general), so we're probably going to convert the crib to its toddler bed mode (remove one wall of bars) soon, and baby-proof the nursery's interior door knob - which is going to require changing the existing handle-style latch to a knob-style:

Baby-Proofing the Nursery Webcam

After Link woke up from his nap, he supervised while I cut holes in the drywall. I want to make sure the little guy can't yank on the webcam power cord once he becomes mobile.

Before:

After:

Babyproof Outlets in Nursery and Office

While Link was down for a nap in the basement, I turned off the circuit breaker to the nursery and office. I replaced the outlets with tamper-proof outlets, and also replaced a smoke-stained switch in the office with a shiny new one.

More Smart Home Electrical Stuff

Brianna took Link for a drive this afternoon to get him some quality sleep, so I had the house to myself! I took the opportunity to automate the two lights in the nursery:

(old switch on the left, new switches on the right)

I also replaced the old smart-dimmer switch in the upstairs hallway that was causing the LED bulbs to flicker - the new model from GE is doing much better.

And since I had the power off, I finally got around to installing a power monitor:

Two clamps go around the main power lines coming into the house (one clamp on each line). The little white box below the circuit breaker panel monitors the amount of current flowing to the house and transmits it to the central computer. The white box itself is powered by a USB adapter I wired into the panel. Now I just have to figure out the software to read the power data.

There was already a hole knocked out of the bottom of the circuit box, which was convenient for running these wires outside the box. But I really need to plug the hole with a grommet or something - I found a dead wasp inside the panel.

Webcam in Nursery

Brianna's going back to work soon ("NNNNNNOOOOOOOOOO" -Brianna) so I installed a webcam in the nursery this weekend.

The webcam is "pan and tilt" so it can focus anywhere inside the room.

The next step will be to run the power cord inside the wall, so no little boys can yank on it once they start being mobile.

In the meantime, the camera is actually performing better than I expected:

I still have to get the network configured so Brianna and I can access the video stream from outside the local wifi network. I may have to ask for help on that one - seems like an easy way to let intruders onto the network.

Blinds in the Nursery

The curtains in the nursery are not very good at blocking sunlight in the morning, and it seemed to be waking Link up in the morning.

Unfortunately, IKEA doesn't stock blinds in the exact width we needed. We wound up buying two shorter ones (and I had to trim one of those down even further):

One More Picture Shelf in Nursery

I used my new drill to put up one last picture shelf in the nursery today.

Brianna and her mom bought the letters from Hobby Lobby and then colored them with tissue paper and a clear glue. I'm not 100% sold on the colors, but I can live with them.

Geeky Gifts

Tina, a friend from back in Washington State, sent us a package this week, containing a number of geeky gifts. My personal favorite is a burping cloth that says "Star Wars" on one side and "Star Trek" on the other (how does it not explode???)

There was also some bead art, which is fantastic:

Way better than a name plate.

Shelves in Nursery

We installed a picture shelf above the TV. There will be more shelves on that wall, but I ran out of screws.

Why I Wanted a Wall Mounted "TV" in the Nursery

Brianna and I are probably going to be spending a lot of time in the Nursery in the near future, trying to get Link to fall asleep. I can't speak for Brianna, but I'm not expecting Link to be particularly intellectually stimulating between day 3 and day 90 (and maybe beyond). I started thinking about what I could add to the nursery for entertainment.

This was definitely a “Brian” project, and I had a lot of fun with it (which was good – since the house budget was empty, this mostly came out of the “Brian Fun Money” budget). Planning out this project helped keep me sane during the Great Room paint touch-up day.

The whole idea centers around a Chromecast – a little HDMI dongle with a WiFI antenna and a minimum of smarts – which can be controlled by any phone on the WiFi network. This was important: because it is controlled by a smartphone, the user interface can be one-handed (unlike a wireless keyboard, like the one we use for the big TV), while a baby occupies the other arm. (I have had the Chromecast device since it was first released, and I have been looking for a purpose for it for most of that time; such are the hazards of buying things you don’t need.) The Chromecast allows access to Netflix, Hulu Plus, a variety of podcast apps, and (most importantly) our local video and music libraries via the Plex app.

Starting from the Chromecast, I mentally added an old nineteen-inch monitor I had laying around, an HDMI-to-VGA adapter, some cheap speakers, and an articulated wall-mount I found on clearance.

Once I ordered all the parts, and everything arrived, I plugged it all together. It worked!

I disassembled the speakers to remove a kick-stand I didn't want. Turns out the "Dual Driver" speakers I ordered each had one "passive" driver:

I wound up using epoxy to mount the speakers onto the monitor. I used my Dremel (thanks Dad!) to rough up the plastic first, then clamped the speaker onto the monitor, one at a time. It turned out pretty well, I think:

Then it was time to mount the whole assembly on the wall in the nursery.

Brianna discovered she could use her pregnant-lady-grabber-stick to turn the monitor on and off:

Finally, I installed a new outlet at the level of the monitor, to keep all the cords tucked out of the way:

Final product:

Wall-Mounted TV in the Nursery

I have a big write-up planned for this one, but it's not translating from my brain to the keyboard tonight.

Also, this project isn't really finished (look at all those ugly wires!).

So all you get tonight is this photo:

Closet Door Pulls

Finally got around to replacing these in the nursery and guest bedroom.

More Nesting

Well, the primary working hours tonight got hijacked for nesting purposes.

Brianna and I put together several freezer meals in the kitchen before dinner, which was probably a wise thing to do.

After dinner, we did more organizing in the nursery. I have to admit, and I actually laughed when Brianna tried to lay down the law about how to fold a onesie. We'll see how long that lasts.

But man, some of these baby clothes are super cute. And we haven't purchased a single one! Thanks for all the gifts!

Nursery Nesting

We got a couple other things done in the nursery. Brianna was pretty interested in nesting tonight. We picked up a bunch of things (this kid already has a ton of "stuff") from the horizontal surfaces and organized a bit, running a load of laundry. I also installed a hook in the closet to hold the wet diaper bag and got the changing table anchored to the wall so it can't tip over.

Pretty soon we need to get that baby seat installed in a car. Its lining is in the washing machine currently.

I also moved a shelving unit into the nursery closet. (Brianna doesn't know about this one yet)

Nest Protect in Nursery

Amazon had a warehouse deal for an open-box Nest Protect last week for eighty-six dollars, and I snagged it. It was described as an AC-powered version in the listing, and that's what the box said when it arrived, too. However, the actual Nest Protect was a battery-powered version.

This was the first time I had trouble setting up a Nest Protect. I'm not sure why this one was more difficult than others, but moving the new Nest Protect in a clear line-of-sight with a Nest Protect already on my network seemed to solve whatever the problem was.

Now, if there is ever smoke or carbon monoxide in the nursery, all the Nest Protects in the house will announce that there is a problem "in the Kids' room".

I also got a little plaque hung up on the wall for Brianna. It reads: " Motherhood is a woman's great and incomparable work". 

Nesting Instinct

Brianna is hard core nesting you guys.

Odd Jobs

I also took care of a couple of things that were a lot higher on Brianna's to-do list than they were on mine.

First up was repairing the ottoman that goes with the gliding chair in the nursery. The screws on the right leg of the ottoman had completely stripped out. I replaced them with a few bolts, and everything is working normally again.

I also moved the power cord to one of the lights in the master bedroom. I thought it was perfectly logical to have the vertical line run above the outlet when I installed it, but turns out Brianna had a plan for the corner the whole time.