little helper

JJ loves Max.

He loves to hold him, and read to him, bring him trucks and "Super Guys." He always knows where Max's binky is hiding and when he fusses JJ will tell him "It OK, I right here!"

Today he helped with bath time.

splashing in the tub

The floor was wet, JJ was wet, I was wet and Max was clean.

We were all happy :)

My To-Do List

Everyday I make myself a list, it keeps me motivated, yada yada yada.

I really just adore lists.

But I have a question: if your list looks like this, can you automatically cross everything off?

a list for Thursday, modified by Peanut

*yep - I had a load of laundry labeled "poop" - we had multiple diaper-fails this morning, so I am taking myself to the drive-thru for coffee therapy this afternoon

The Old College Try

I've not done very much with my little home lately.

I've been busy ;)

I decided that today was my day to jump back into pursuits of home beatification, at least temporarily - okay, so for like 20 minutes I could do something around here.

I chose the front door.

incredibly boring people live here

Earlier this week my mom was in town and I jumped on the opportunity to visit Hobby Lobby by myself. It was fabulous, and all of the silk plants were half off.

This is where you all recoil in horror - Silk plants! The shame! - they aren't my first choice, either. But after a few years of trying to get something to grow in my worse-than-full-shade planting box, I decided to just go faux. I needed some color!

color! better than a spray tan

I haphazardly threw the "arrangement" together. I don't get many front door visitor - the UPS man does not count because he ignores the little "please don't ring the bell."sign I put out during nap time - so I'm looking for some impact from the street.

I threw the floral foam into the bottom of my planter, and then literally jammed the floral stems into it. I didn't even take the time to cut the stems apart or anything (I might do that later, but probably not).

don't tell Martha

Then I swapped out my spring wreath for my summer one, pulled out a little table I've had in storage for years and plunked a giant pinwheel in the planter box.

a bit more summery

I now realize that my summer wreath is incredibly faded - the bright colors have turned almost autumnal - so I'll be on the lookout for a fresh replacement. The little table obviously needs something, I think it would look cheerful with a potted fern on top (which might not die in such a shaded spot) and a garden statue at the base. And I'm undecided on the pinwheel (I think it might be too big?). I'd also like to add a smaller planter full of more silk flowers and maybe a few real live ivy plants trailing out of the planter box.

Who has some feedback for me?

figuring it out

It's been three weeks since we brought Max home. He's growing like a weed! And he is making about 2 thousand dirty diapers every day ;)

I'm figuring out how to take care of both boys, take care of the house (a little, totally comes second or third on the list), and try to eek out a little time for myself so that I remain sane.

JJ and Max are not on the same page concerning naps. It would be so nice if they napped at same time, but they don't (at least not yet). I can look at this in a negative way ( no nap for mommy!), or I can see it as a positive thing. I'm choosing positive - how great is it that even though I have two boys, I can get uninterrupted alone time with each of them? Looking at it this way makes me feel much more positive :)

House work is sliding, I'm trying to be okay with it. Actually, I have so much more energy than I did towards the end of my pregnancy, that I am definitely accomplishing more than I was - so I at least feel like I am gaining ground. So far I've been able to make sure we all have clean clothes and are fed each night. Sometimes the dishes get done before bed, but not always. Today I vacuumed and swept! Woohoo!

I have one golden rule, I get a shower every day. It might not happen until 10:30 PM, but I get a few minutes of peace and quiet once a day :)

a helicopter story

Watching JJ communicate is very entertaining.

This evening, while playing with his blue helicopter (blue 'copter) he suddenly stopped, raised his index finger (this is his "I have an idea!" pose) and said "Yellow 'copter!!" I asked him where it was and he responded (finger up) "In the car!" It was, he remembered he had left it in the car after running errands this morning.

I told him that Daddy would help him get it from the car in just a few minutes. He responded by clasping his little hands together and saying "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" because we are all about DRAMA.

Then he turns away and says "Yellow copter, in the car?" and in a deep voice responds "Yes. I stuck."

I couldn;t help but laugh :)

A Completed "Project"

Last Wednesday I finished a little project I've been working on for about...40 weeks ;)

Our little Bun arrived on Wed. May 26 at 10:50 AM, he was 8lbs. 2 oz. and 20.5 inches long.

Big brother Peanut already loves him to pieces :)

it's a boy!

Maxwell Mason arrived at 10:50 AM Wednesday, May 26th.

He was 8 lbs. 2 oz. and 20.5 inches long.

We all love our little Max!

almost 39 weeks

I am still pregnant.

I am huge, there will be no more belly shots.

Every time I lay down I have lower back pain and contractions, so I'm not really sleeping.

I have four friends who were all due after me. They have all had their babies.

I am jealous. But at the same time I am happy that Bun is full term and not a premie.

I like to torture myself by watching Baby Story and Birth Day on TLC.

oy.

A nugget from the local docket:

"An inebriated person who crawled into a dumpster near 1207 Chateau Court was cited for disorderly conduct. "I'm just so drunk," he told police."

Just to clarify, Chateau Court is within the most "exclusive" of our many local trailer parks.

So proud.

Mother's Day Cheesecake! aka NOMS!

I hope everyone had a great Mother's Day!

I certainly did :) - my little sister came to visit and we put her to work on Fri. night and headed out for a fan-cee dinner and charity event. I even dressed up - squee! Sat. and Sun. were relaxed and nice, and my parents came down for Mother's Day. Mom brought most of dinner (steaks on the grill!) and I provided corn on the cob and dessert.

At first I was going to buy something, maybe a fruit pie, but while flipping through a very random copy of Ladies' Home Journal (pretty sure it accidentally came home from the Dr.'s office) I spotted a cream cheese ad with super yummy pictures. The recipe was EASY and although not my usual style of baking, I decided to give it a whirl.

Peanut loved it!

You can find the recipe here by searching for "Philadelphia Vanilla Mousse Cheesecake." (Sorry there's no direct link!)

I served it with a bowl of fresh strawberries, and while it was great on Sun, we all agreed it was even better after sitting in the fridge overnight.

I was originally a little hesitant about the recipe because the topping uses Cool Whip, and I'm not a huge fan of fake whipped cream (although there are some recipes it works great in). In the future I think I'll play around with using real whipped cream and stabilizer. The cheesecake itself was super easy and really good, I think it would also taste great made with a little squeeze of fresh lemon juice and served with a simple blob of freshly whipped cream. I also think a sweet pretzel crust would be a great trade for the Nilla Wafer crust.

Happy Belated Mother's Day!

my first marigold

JJ gave me my first Mother's Day marigold this year.

Lovingly potted in a plastic cup he decorated with stickers.

Oh, and he broke the only bloom off and shoved it in the dirt.

That's my boy :) I love him!

belly by jj

35 weeks, 6 days
by JJ

baby pool

Time to place your bets!

Who do you think Bun will be?

Guess here.

almost 36 weeks

Right now we are putting baby clothes away; running stuffed animals, wall hangings, etc through the dryer to get the dust out; and scrubbing down the nursery.

On Tues I will be 36 weeks pregnant, and Bun has dropped considerably.

I'm waddling, and my bosom no longer rests on my baby belly (at least my bra straps aren't constantly sliding down my shoulders). I feel like I could have this baby if I sneeze.

I just packed my hospital bag (I packed contraband granola bars just in case).
The car seat is ready to go (we're going to wait to install the base).
I bought a pack of newborn diapers.

I totally feel prepared for Bun's arrival (big fat lie).

I'm making a list of baby things that I need to do before my water breaks:
* Find Bun a coming home outfit.
* Get a baby book.
* Charge the camcorder.
* Wrap up a present for JJ to bring to the hospital.
* Wrap up JJ's present (he's getting a little Dr. kit - we've been very into Dr's lately)
* Get myself a summer weight robe for at the hospital.
* Update announcement addresses (if you'd like one please let me know!)
* Finalize a date, etc for the "double dip" (Baptism).

The one thing I am not worried about is feeding this baby. Establishing nursing with JJ wasn't the easiest thing I've ever done, but we did it and we did it well (19 months!). My midwife mentioned to me that because we stopped nursing after I became pregnant, my milk will come in sooner this time - hopefully that's true! At any rate, the Boppy is coming to the hospital this time, not having it with JJ made everything more complicated.

I think that's it. At least that's all I can handle thinking about for right now.

It's Getting There!

I worked on my pathetic piano area today!

Before:

pbbttt!!!!

After:

it's getting there

Yes, there is still much to be done. But I am already so pleased with the little changes.

Getting rid of the plastic play kitchen and red rug were a huge improvement. Putting the floor lamp away and bringing in the chair from my bedroom were huge. I remembered I had a few pillow forms from Ikea stashed away, so I wrapped the fabric around one - I like it! And I added a side table that really had no purpose in the den. I'm too chicken to hang art quite yet, so I just tossed a few accesories on top of the piano and called it good enough for now.

Still on the To-Do List:

* Find a sofa table. I actually found this one on CL (I was surprised).

asking $135

Unfortunately I think the finish is too red, and the style is a bit too country. I think I need something a bit cleaner and darker.

* Hang some art. I know I mentioned a print that I have in another room, I'm thinking it just won't work because of the placement of the thermostat (darn!). What do you think about two tall and narrow, modern pieces above the piano? So far this area is very traditional, and directly across from the piano is a modern entertainment center (an Ikea Besta unit, sort of like this). I'm thinking modern art will help to balance the two areas.

* Get a lamp for the side table. I'm going to start at GW, once again I think something with a more modern shape would be nice. While we are talking lamps, what do you think about the finish of the piano lamp? I know my mom bought that lamp in 1987, it's a nice lamp, but I'm not sure I can handle the brass...oil rubbed bronze? black?

* Slipcover the bench with the pillow fabric, and pick up some fun fringe to finish the pillow.

What do you think so far? Your wonderful feedback and ideas got me started on this project, and now I need it as fuel for me to keep going :)

Thanks again, for all of the thoughtful comments!!!

Because I Know You Love Updates

#1 - Huge thanks to everyone for all of the great feedback on my (currently not-so) Great Room!!

You are awesome and I love you!

We did a little furniture moving and it's already looking better :) I'll be doing a few more things tonight and tomorrow and then should be able to give you a little update (but don't expect too much - we are moving at a snail's pace over here).

Onto the updates.

At the beginning of the year I had a pretty solid set of goals to accomplish before the impending birth of "Bun." I'm going to be honest, I had to reread the original post to remember what they were (not a great sign). Here's the rundown:

Blog more - I was aiming for 3 posts per week, so far that has not happened. It's been a little chaotic around here, so the fact that I have continued to post, and not just abandoned my little house blog, makes me feel like I haven't totally given up. I've got a lot to say and show, just not a lot of time - I will try hard to improve on this!

Try a new recipe each week (and eat out/carry out less) - I've tried quite a few new recipes! But haven't been very good about making sure to try a new one each week. We've also been hit-or-miss with cutting down on carry out. The good news is the foundation repairs have been paid off (and with new money!). And just in time for more foundation repairs...oy.

Get to Church - We have not been regulars at Church. I'd like to blame it on Peanut's behavior during Mass (2 is not an easy age for a Fr. Mike homily), but it comes down to me and Hubs - we're slacking and it's no good.

Baptize the Kiddos - the goal is to have everything ready for a double Baptism (the "Double Dip") and party by my birthday - May 20. I am on track with this goal!!!

Lose Weight - on hold until baby Bun's birth.

House Projects -
The Great Room has been getting a little attention, although not as much as I would like.
Currently turning the office into a big boy room for Peanut. - It's been painted, furniture is almost done, decor is on-track and (most importantly) he is sleeping in his new big boy bed!
Move the office into the den - it's a great big mess, but almost 100% of the office stuff is in the den :)
And then I'd like to paint the hallway - not going to happen any time soon.
And the guest bath - ditto.

So that's where I stand after the first quarter of this year. There's room for improvement and a few "go-me!" moments. I guess that's not too bad.

How have your goals for 2010 been progressing?

My Brain is too Busy to Decorate

It's time for my very favorite party :)
Amanda is hosting her world-famous Decorating Dilemmas Party, come and join the fun!

Here's the deal.

This is a chunk of my great room.

I know you want to steal this amazing style

It used to house a dining room table, and buffet - both have been relocated because it felt like my GR had about 37 huge tables in it (really it was 2 large tables and a big island, but it was too much). Two weeks ago a piano arrived (thanks Mom and Dad!), and this week we finally finished a project (I know a WHOLE project - I was amazed! ps - it's the cabinet in the corner). So I've accumulated a few pieces of furniture, but that's where the plan ends.

I think my fetus is eating my brain. I cannot come up with a solid plan for this area.

What I know I need to lose:
* plastic play kitchen - heading to Peanut's room
* mismatched red rug - I love it, but not in this room. Right now it's just protecting the floor from the evil-metal piano-bench feet.
* cheap floor lamp - it's actually left over lighting from a project I was doing, it really belongs in my bedroom.
* 10 lbs, at least (oh wait, we were talking about the room...)

I am thinking about adding:
* a sofa table behind the couch - what finish? pale blue to match the newly-completed cabinet?
* a new area rug. Maybe I can make a large rug like Miss High-Heeled? I need some fabric inspiration.
* this chair from my bedroom (and make a pillow with the fabric (clearance score from Ballard))? I'm afraid the gold in the chair will clash with the yummy-yellow walls.

I have 2 yards of the yummy fabric

* architectural print over piano? I already have one, it's long and skinny (Mackinac Bridge blueprint), and very nicely framed...not quite sold on the idea, though.
* recover, or just slipcover, the piano bench with the Ballard fabric.

What would you do? I'm thinking I can only spend, maybe $250...
Thanks in advance, I'm excited to see your ideas!

a rundown

JJ:
- Last Thursday he slept in his big boy room for the first time. It was totally no big deal. I mean, he has a choo-choo pillow, so of course his bed is the coolest thing ever. I'm not going to lie, the empty crib in the nursery makes me cry - good thing we're getting a replacement baby soon ;)

sleeping soundly

- The language explosion that is going on at our house is AMZING. I remember learning about this stage in my one-and-only linguistics course (so fun, still makes me think about becoming a linguist), seeing it happen is pretty cool.

- JJ prefers to play "ootside" every day. Yeah! Except, when it is rainy and cold, we have an extreme case of cabin fever. Boo!

- Very interested (borderline obsessed), in all vehicles - especially "dumpie" trucks - robots, rockets, monsters, dragons and dinosaurs (which are apparently interchangeable, probably becasue they all say "RAWR!"), and duplos - because who doesn't like to build stuff?

- Also very into dental hygiene. We brush 4-5 times per day.

Me and Bun:
- Today makes week 34. Six weeks to go. Oy, this is happening fast.

- I am carrying Bun completely different from JJ. I feel like I have someone's feet in my esophagus, I swear this fetus is 27 inches long already. And because of placental-placement, I can feel Bun move so much more than JJ, it's weird and wonderful at the same time.

- I went to Cleveland last weekend to visit my best friends :) Sat night was my first time away from JJ over night. He was totally unfazed, perhaps it was because J let him eat junk food all weekend. I played a viola for the first time in a decade (?) maybe more? Allison was amazed that I could remember the first 8 notes for Twinkle, Twinkle... I am amazed that she let me hold her beautiful new violin.

the a-team
in front of the world's grooviest grass-cloth wallpaper

- Guess who is chairing the Bicentennial Gala Ball for my city in 2012? I'm already planning my outfit... Squeee!

The House:
- We recently paid off the very large loan we took out in Nov. to cover the foundation work we had done. J headed down to the crawl space the other week and looked around...the other walls are moving. Awesome. The good news is this fix will be much less expensive and invasive (power-braces instead of piers), and we really like the company that we are working with. The bad news is - who really wants to spend $8K because 200 years ago some crazy farmers decided to build a city on a swamp?

breaking news!

"A palm tree were purloined from a porch at 132½ N. Main St. recently."

From my favorite news source; I included the grammar mistake for your enjoyment.

Real Life

In my dreams, I craft in a space like this:

Heather Bailey's craft room, found here

In real life, it's more like this:

please send help

Yup. That's my kitchen island.
On a good day - I actually wiped the peanut butter up before laying out my fabric. (score!)

Oh well, in my mind I'm crafting with Martha in a beautiful craft room. With all of the supplies I could ever need, and no interruptions :)

Get Ready!

Get ready lovely followers! I feel a marathon blogging session coming on tonight...

I have to wait until Peanut is safely tucked in bed, but after that expect some updates on the happenings around my little house.

:)

On Breakfast Foods and Meal Planning

Tonight was low-key. Hubs had his last bowling night of the season (thank you!), and Peanut and I spent the day hosting a little egg-dyeing party. We were pretty tired.

Around 4:30 I decided that we would just have bowls of cereal and fruit for dinner. And I decided that if I didn't have a cup of coffee I would not make it to bedtime.

And then I remembered Amanda posting this nommy little recipe yesterday. So I told Peanut we would also have a little treat with dinner. He may be his father's twin, but he is momma's boy - he excitedly said "Chocolate?!" Yep, little one, chocolate is generally part of momma's treats :)

So we ate.

And then, while catching up on some of my favorite blogs I noticed that Laura planned her entire month of dinners for April. What a fantastically freeing concept!

Instead of dreading meal planning every Monday, I can just do it once and get it done! I can;t believe it never occurred to me before. So simple, but so wonderful.

So tomorrow I think I will focus on planning meals for April, and I'm also going to start planning meals to cook for the freezer so that I'll feel a bit more prepared about the impending arrival of Bun (nine weeks to go!).

Do you have a goal for April 1st?

future aerospace engineer?

Lately we have been all about rockets.

All day long I hear "3,2,1 Blast off!" And then I usually hear "CRASH!!!"

Crashing is fun, don'tyouknow.

I have been trying to teach JJ that it isn't "blastoff," but rather "ignition." See, I totally remember something from Space Camp - Mom and Dad, consider that money well spent :)

And while I was caught up in the vocabulary, JJ was busy building his own rocket:

ahh...duplos!

See the trailer on the back? That is the rocket boosters. After "blastoff" the rocket flies very briefly and then the boosters detach and fall to the ground. We're not sure where he learned that part, but we think it's pretty fabulous.

Thrifting!

On Saturday morning hubs and I dropped Peanut off at a friend's house.

We had a hot date...at a garage sale ;)

Last week when I dropped off my donations for the church rummage sale I spied a ton of furniture. I figured it would be a great place to check for a dresser for Peanut's new room. I wanted something cheap (less than $40) with no particle board. I'd been stalking the local GW, but kept coming up empty handed.

We showed up early and the doors were already open (and it was a madhouse). We kept going down the row of furniture, but nothing caught my eye; I was begining to get discouraged.

And then we saw this:

yep, that's a terrible picture of a beat up dresser

And then I saw this:

sold!

Now it's sitting in my garage ready to be sanded and painted!

I'm linking this up to the Thrifty Treasures party
at Southern Hospitality - come check it out!

be prepared

you never know when a tsunami may hit

Time to Confess

It seems inevitable.

No matter how hard I work at getting rid of clutter and unloved items, there is a constant influx of STUFF coming into my home.

Last week it was freebies (at least no $ headed out) - books, toys, baby hangers, a shelf (I actually found something with potential on my CL!). I can, and will, use everything - but I can't help feeling that as much as I work to de-clutter, the clutter keeps following me.

I really think it's stalking me.

Should I file a restraining order?

How do you control the clutter bug?

how about....

We all get together at the Detroit Zoo sometime in late April/early May?

We had a really nice dinner at Sangria, and AJ mentioned to me that she wants to set up a Zoo day, and I said I was thinking about that too!

Who's interested in a day at the zoo? Would you prefer April or May?

A Little More Cleaning

Installment 2 of the "Throw out 50 Things Challenge."

Check out Episode 1 :)

It's really easy to let go of things when I know they will support a great cause. An upcoming church rummage sale is a great reason for me to get rid of a bunch of extraneous "stuff" I have lying around.

Tomorrow I'm heading to the rummage sale drop off with:
11. cookie jar
12. bag of potpourri
13. a bunch of unloved cook books (hooray for more shelf space!)
14. random, hand-me-down metal stand
15. old TV (from my dorm days)
16. old VCR (also from the dorm)
17. bag of random kids videos (no VCR = no need for VHS tapes)

I threw out:
18. handful of expired medications/toiletries

Listed on CL:
19. old yarn stash (time to realize I can't possibly knit all of it, and it is taking up some major closet space)

On Sat I donated this to my favorite little Cub Scouts' Food Drive:

yep, that's some random food

20. bag of random pantry food (for some reason I always buy Hamburger Helper when it's on sale, even though we NEVER eat it, the same with the microwave popcorn and Cream of Shrimp soup - I should not be allowed in the grocery store while pregnant)

I'm working hard to get up a second list for this week so that I'll finish before the end of the month. I'm thinking that cleaning out the china buffet and hall closet should more than fill 10 more spots. And I have a really fun guest-blogger writing a post about clutter in other cultures. I'm excited for it! I think it'll make you stop and think about future random purchases.

Keep on De-Cluttering, it feels so good!

a reminder

I don't always look like I've been on a 12 year bender.

singing to the birthday boy

J and JJ aren't too shabby, either ;)

A Plan for my Entryway

A month ago I shared my entryway decorating dilemma, I also said I would share my ideas for how to address the space.

But I lied. I never shared my ideas.

Because I was waiting for Amanda's totally cool Show Me The Progress Party. And it's finally here! ( I wish there was cake involved. sigh.)



I got some awesome feedback! Thanks everyone, your comments got me thinking!

Let's start with the Big, Bad, Blank Wall.



There were quite a few votes for turning this space into a photo/kids art gallery. I'm not opposed to the idea, but I have plans to do that in the hallway connected to the entry. Kendall read my mind with her suggestion of the Samantha Collection from PB. My husband is currently building me the shelf (and for a lot less than $229, thankyouverymuch). I think it'll look great and be the perfect place to stash our cell phones and keys, and I know I can find some super cute hooks to add to the bottom.

Unfortunately the bench won't work as there is a register in an awkward spot on the floor :(
What will work is a smaller, open bottom bench. I'm trying to thrift one, and then maybe recover the seat with burlap and a fun number stencil. And maybe some black ball fringe, because that just sounds fun. And I'm going to try to make a small boot tray to stash under the bench, but not block the register. I'm thinking a cheap baking sheet and some spray paint...

Meg read my mind and suggested the umbrella stand project from Little Green Notebook. I loved the idea when I saw it, but never thought I had a good place for it. Now I'm pretty sure it would look excellent next to the skinny window. And it'll be the perfect spot for a monogram.

Let's move to the front door wall. It was a snore-fest.

Big time.



A few suggested I paint the basket, but I paid a lot of money for it back when I though that Longaberger baskets were more important than groceries (I've since moved on to expensive hand bags). So no paint, but I'm happy to report I ditched the wretched silk greenery. I realized I had a little copper tag with our family name that came with the basket, so I attached that to the front. It still looks like it's floating in a sea of nothingness. I do have a few more baskets I can hang next to the door to fill out the wall there. And above the door, I'm planning on adding a wall decal (potentially on a hunk of MDF as we will be painting the walls soon (hopefully)). I was thinking of these cute birdies in all black.

And then there's the floor. I had been thinking of making a very rustic styled (so that it can get dirty and fade, etc) floor cloth from a drop cloth. Amanda also suggested it, so now I'm sold :) I'm thinking a black/white harlequin pattern would look nice.

That's it. My plan, influenced by all of you :) Thanks!

Also, thanks for all of the nice comments on the buffet in my entryway. It's an antique from my great-grandmother's home in Detroit (which, like most of the city, is no longer there). It has some issues, but one day I'll have it restored, I'm pretty attached to it. I also have the matching dining table with a super cool barrel base - Mimi (my great-gram) used to hide her booze and money in it! Isn't that a hoot?!

sometimes...

Sometimes I wake up beautiful.

And sometimes I look like Ozzy Osbourne.

aiojfopjopjpsharonafpp

It's nothing coffee can't fix :)

Have a great day everyone!

Cleaning it out!

Inspired by my good friend Heather (we went to college together!), I'm going to complete the "Throw Out Fifty Things Challenge" for the month of March. Here's a brief summary of the challenge. Heather originally found the idea at Make Under my Life.

Having rooms in transition makes it really easy (and necessary) to get rid of a lot items. Currently, the very large closet in my former office is full of the remnants of a home business I used to run. Since the business is now closed, and a little boy will need space for toys and clothes, everything needs to go! I started the task last week, and was happy with how successful I have been (although there is still a ton of stuff to get rid of!). I also went through my closet, and pulled a few random items from the den.

Here's my list:

1. box of kitchen knick knacks (I listed them on CL twice, with no interest - now they are going to the church rummage sale (next week))
2. giant stack of magazines (freecycled)
3. old business supplies (listed on Ebay and sold for $25)
4. old business inventory (listed on Ebay, the auction isn't over yet, but there are bids - so everything will be leaving!)
5. business samples and a large sample binder (sold on CL for $10)
6. clothing (took it GW)
7. couch from the den (sold on CL for $50 - it was picked up on Sat.)
8. old pet supplies (the guinea pig died in Sept, the Humane Society was thrilled to have a few bags of food and bedding)
9. frog pod, baby bathtub organizer thing (super cool, but we couldn't get it to work at our house :( someone bought it on CL for $10)
10. wine rack (my sister was happy to have this)

This has opened up a lot of space already, and I have $95 in my pocket!

Who wants to join in on the challenge?

heading to the D

I have pics from the birthday extravaganza, and stories of a pregnant lady who spends her time trying to corral an extremely active 2 year old - but those are for another time.

I've got some business to attend to.

I will be in Detroit this weekend! And the best babysitters EVER (AKA Grammy and Papa) have graciously offered their services for Sat night so that I can go out to dinner with my Detroit girls :)

Hooray for Grammy and Papa!

Leave me a comment or send me an email (firstnamelastname@sbcglobal.net) if you'd like to get together and I'll be sure to get you the info. I'm thinking maybe dinner at Sangria in RO? Any other suggestions?

Alternatively if you want to meet during the day Sat or Sun I'm game for that (just know that JJ will be in tow). We want to see our friends!

bits and pieces

I have two big Thank you's! and one reminder to take care of.

I'll start with the thanking :)

Casey at Thrifty Little Blog featured my humble little closet cleanup in her Closet Week wrap-up post. I sent her my link knowing that she wouldn't have room for it, so I was super surprised to see my messy closet on her post. Thank you Casey! I puffy-heart your blog!

Danielle at The Newlywed's Paradise recently gave me a fun blog award! Thanks Danielle!!! I really enjoying reading about what's going on at your home!

cupcakes!

I'm supposed to share ten things that make me happy, so here goes:
1. Hubs and Peanut (and Bun - whose arrival is getting closer and closer!), it just wouldn't be my little house without my little family :)
2. Getting random emails from my friends (but not forwards - blahh forwards!)
3. Waking up to a clean kitchen
4. Waking up to a clean kitchen and then eating donuts!
5. Spring!
6. Finishing a project, and being happy with the results
7. Getting comments on my blog!
8. Getting rid of clutter
9. Pens that write nicely, even if they were free from a hotel
10. Organized spaces

And here's my reminder:

Amanda's "Show Me The Progress Party!" is on Wed!
So get your post together!

This is going to be so fun :)

migrating

The birds have begun returning to snowy Ohio, and we're doing our own little migration dance in my little house.

My office has moved into the den (previously the "dead furniture room"), and my former office has begun it's transformation into Peanut's big boy room.

former office/guest room
(in the lower right you can see some of the sofa bed)

We never really did anything with my old office, the plan was always to make it a child's bedroom, so when we moved in we just plunked my old desk (3 stock cabinets and 11 feet of counter-top) on a wall and called it good. Not very inspiring, but I had a great work space and plenty of storage.

Once Peanut arrived we moved a sofa bed (Ektorp from IKEA, AKA the world's heaviest couch) in, so that the former guest room could become a nursery. And we always had a loose plan of turning the dead furniture room into a real den/guest room.

brand new command center

We chopped the counter-top and lost a cabinet - both will be donated to our new Re-Store next month! Hubs needs to drill a new hole for the wiring thread though (and then we need to corral it - do you see that knot of wires under the desk?!). And I obviously need to do some organizing. But it's sort of usable right now, I guess the most important part id that it is one item checked off of the list.

Later this weekend the sofa bed will be moving into the den and replacing an old hand-me-down sofa (sold it on CL). After that we will be painting Peanut's room a manly tan (I'll share a mood board later!). And then moving in furniture, accessories and one cute little boy :)

It feels so good to check off the list!

What's going on at your house right now?

How do you...

How do you donate?

I'm not talking about monetary donations, I'm wondering how you decide what/when/where to donate items you are no longer using.

I've got a little system.

I call it "The Bag."

I always have a used shopping bag, with a sheet of paper inside, hanging on a hook in the hall closet. As I find articles of clothing, knick knacks, and general stuff that I no longer love, I put them in the bag and inventory them on the piece of paper. When the bag is full I drop it off at the local GW. It's super easy because I already have a list of items I am donating, and I generally make a weekly stop at my GW. I always ask for a receipt, which I staple to my donated items list and file in the taxes file (then I let Hubs handle it).

putting items in The Bag

Sometimes I will list things on CL before I donate them - anything that requires me to have the GW truck stop by is listed first. Unwanted craft supplies are always listed, and so are items that I think the GW will have a hard time selling (like the sweaters that I felted and decided not to craft with). But I have a CL rule, I will only list the items twice, after that they leave my house. I also never list clothing - I don't know why not? Just a quirk.

How do you Donate? or Do you donate?

Information on donating to Goodwill.
iPhone app to help you track your donations.

guess what?

Chicken butt.

Haha.

I'm at 27 weeks today, which means only 13 weeks left to get everything ready for Bun. I feel like we need to kick it into warp speed. Which is easier said than done with JJ running around. It's almost noon, and I've only managed to get him into a clean onesie and diaper so far.

The child who usually tells me his toes are "cold and sad" as soon as I take off his dirty socks is happily running around in underwear. And I keep the house cool, because I like to wear sweaters but hate to sweat. Go figure.

So anyway, this past weekend we headed up to Muskegon and I threw JJ a little party for his family there. And, although the invites clearly stated "no presents, please," he really raked it in. So add thank you notes to my list of things to do today:

1. get JJ dressed
2. sweep and mop the kitchen (and let JJ help) - I DID THIS!!!!
3. thank you notes, complete with 2 year old scribbles

blowing out the candles

This weekend we're having a party here, and my side of the family and some friends will be coming in for it, and since he's two I decided JJ could have two friends over - I think they were impressed by the dump truck invites!

We've also begun the great migration.

The office desk was chopped in two and moved to the den. I sold the old couch from the den (hello $50) and this weekend (when there will be many hands to help) the sofa bed will move from the office to the den, and then we will be able to paint JJ's big boy room. His new bed has been ordered, we're just waiting to have it delivered until after the room is painted.

And that's where we're at.

for reals

From my super-awesome local paper:

"Jewelry and an autographed photo of Dale Earnhardt Sr. were stolen recently from 424 Scarlet Oak Drive."

And, I promise to do a real post later - like during nap time - one with pictures! And more than 25 words!

I love a well-stocked pantry

Growing up, my mother had an amazing pantry.

When we were very young I remember canning applesauce, peaches, pears, tomatoes - all sorts of delicious things. Her peaches tasted like summer - even in February.

I guess she was sort of radical (for the early 80's) in how she looked at food. She didn't trust preservatives, food dyes, or HFCS. I remember finding carob-chip cookies in my lunchbox, when all I really wanted were Chips Ahoy. I remember eating wonder bread sandwiches made with grape jelly and Jiff with a side of Doritos at the house across the street - I can distinctly recall the shade of green my mother turned when I told her that's what we'd eaten for lunch ;)

Mom belonged to a natural foods co-op, and once a month we'd gather with other families in a church parking lot to unload the truck. It felt like playgroup for us kids. We would run around the church yard, playing tag and red rover among the hugs pine trees; our mothers would be busily dividing the bulk boxes of dried fruit, cheeses and pails of natural peanut butter. And when we got home, she would store it all away in the pantry.

I love my pantry. I'm pretty sure I could easily feed my family from my pantry/freezer for at least 2 weeks. After that we'd be down to some strange meal options, but we still wouldn't starve.

I just found a fascinating blog, The Prudent Homemaker, she has been feeding her family of seven (and she's due with her 6th child very soon - I love big families!) for two years. She does say that she's stocked up on certain items when she can, but for the majority of two years she has not had the luxury of going to the market every week and buying groceries. She also grows quite a bit of fresh food (makes me feel like the ultimate underachiever).

I'm going to follow some of her tips, and try some of her recipes, and see if I can't stretch my grocery money just a little bit further. All while padding my pantry.

blank walls

The other week I spruced up (a little bit) the buffet in my entryway.

Now the rest of the room is really starting to get on my nerves.

I think I have a plan for it, but I'd love some input. And I want that input to be totally unrelated to what I've been thinking, so I'm not going to share any parts of my plan until tomorrow - sounds like fun to me!

Here's the space from left to right - it's (very roughly) 6' x 8' with recessed lighting and a skylight.

left side
I like this for right now

front door
so boring

right side
hello ugly boot tray and preschool art project

What would you do to the right wall and door to add function and life? We don't use the front door very much (we generally enter from the garage), but it's nice to have a place for guests to place wet boots. How about my ugly white door; boring, isn't it? (and did you notice the green hinges? they confuse me) I like the mailbox basket, but the random plastic greenery that was leftover from an old arrangement? Totally not attached to that - I need some fun ideas.

I would love to put a rug in here, but the problem is the door has zero clearance over the floor. I've brought home more rugs than I care to think of, hoping that they will be thin enough to stay put and not curl up when I open the door - nothing has worked. What would you do if a rug wasn't an option?

I'm so excited to see your ideas! I promise to share mine tomorrow!

Want to join in the Decorating Dilemma fun? Head over to Serenity Now and meet our super-cute hostess Amanda. She's so fun!

dokcet, docket

Some mornings, the public docket is my favorite thing to read:

"An inebriated man was arrested for disorderly conduct Sunday morning after he fell into a wall and rolled down a snowbank at Meijer. He believed aliens were after him and that all the people who had been with him earlier had been killed."

Classic.

It's a Full Little House

The last few days have been pretty full around here.

We've got two extra kids. We had a fog day. We had a snow emergency.

And we ran out of milk.

My little visitors will be heading home by Fri, and then I'm looking forward to getting a few things done around my little house :)

inspiration... FOUND!

It's no secret I've been working on the Great Room for quite a while. We painted it a buttery, summery yellow over Labor Day weekend, furniture has been moved in and out, arrangements have changed, there are huge gaping holes, and a few spots that i am actually starting to like.

This whole time, I've had a picture in my mind of what I want this room to be...I just haven't been able to find a visual representation. Not really a problem for me, after all I have a solid idea in my own head, for Hubs it's tough to just trust that I know what I want it to be.

He likes to second guess me. It's annoying.

But on Sunday I stopped by PK's inspiring blog and found it.

My inspiration room actually exists.

And there are pictures. Lovely, scrumptious, pictures.

source

A kitchen with creamy white cabinets. Lovely yellow walls.

source
white beams - although I won't be painting my ceiling blue

I, very excitedly, showed my husband these inspiring images.

He trusts my vision. And agrees that we should paint the island stools red :)

peep show

Tomorrow will be 23 weeks (I think - it's amazing how not obsessed with everything I am this time around).

I feel like I've finally hit the point where I look pregnant, and not just extra fat.


Like how the break in the mirror cuts off my butt?

Yeah, me too ;)

sideboard confessional

A few days ago the sideboard in my entryway looked like this:

it looked even worse in real life

All of the Christmas decor had been packed away (except for the advent candles), and random items had taken over. It made me feel gross to look at it. It also made me very glad that we don't have a lot of front door visitors.

On Thursday I decided something needed to be done. We were having a bit of a thaw here in NW Ohio (ok, it was in the upper 30's, but the snow was melting) and I really, really, really wanted to put out all of the spring decorations.

a hoarder doesn't live here, after all

As you can see, I used restraint and only added one little posy of yellow paper flowers. And then I decided to add a bunch of family photos that had been hiding in the linen closet (does anyone else store random decorating items in the "linen" closet?).

I like to see my family as I walk down the hallway :)

Adding this one to the Before and After party over at Thrifty Decor Chick.
Stop by for some before and after inspiration!