Turning up Our Doing Dial

Has anyone noticed my absence?
I feel blogged out or really my life just has nothing noteworthy to report is probably more like it. :)

I haven't slept in weeks now. Mostly because I have an ever growing project list in my head and if I sleep then the spinning plates will crash.
Write it down you say?! Brilliant. I do that, but the madness doesn't stop. I am sure it is a disease, to bad my husband hasn't caught it. ;)

I told Chad this Spring Break (which now that I have plans will be sure to rain every.bloody.day) and summer we are doing something. I have a list and if you don't get a job you will be put to work here with no pay. ;) Oh, kind of like my full time job. HA!

So my kids had birthdays...darn those things coming around once a year...AND Christmas. The toys.are.out.of.control. Seriously, I want to light a match pack them up and donate them ALL! I mean no one ever wants to play with anything, all they want to do is bother me while I cook dinner and work on our taxes, fight with each other, or better yet watch non-stop tv. {it's mostly educational. give me a break.} ;)

This weekend I took it upon myself to organize the mass chaos. I found shelving in our storage room and went to town. Shh...don't say anything, but momma got rid of some crap...that's what you get when you don't help. :)

Here is the before {round 2--since this is a NEVER ending project!}

I got this toy bin at the consignment sale last year for a steal! {Please note there are 3 THREE!! bins EMPTY!!!--no grandmas this does NOT mean they need more toys. ;) }

Horrible picture, but the closet. More shelving. I wish I could afford cute, fun, stylish shelves, but I can't and this works. I am actually putting this picture IN the closet so my kids {and husband/grandmas} can remember where everything goes. I did not work this hard and sweat to have it all messed up. :) I am so OCD type-A it can be frightening for those living here. I am sorry. :)

I do have a fun rack for the dress up clothes but it isn't hung up yet...ahem Chad. But it is SO MUCH better in there and there is room to play. I am fairly confident I heard a "Hallelujah Chorus" when I was done.

PLAYING!!!!!! They have been instructed for the 1073rd time that when they get out a toy they MUST put it back before getting out a new one...we shall see. I know when they are on their own they will hear my voice "a place for everything and everything in its place," much like I hear my mother's and THEN I will know I have done my job. :)

On another note Stevie The TV died a few weeks ago. It was very sad. We knew it was coming as "he" was sick for a few weeks prior, then one day I had to pull the plug...literally. It was peaceful and I am fairly certain "he" felt no pain.

Yesterday Stevie the III arrived. Now my tv-aholics can once again enjoy their programming.

I have lots of craft projects on my list and this was one of them.
Leighton wanted a bed/cradle for her babies for her birthday. A few months ago I stumbled upon this "diamond in the rough" at Goodwill and she was $4.99. Sold. I knew that a good coat of spray paint would give her new life. Seriously, spray paint is like magic.
{Before}

{After}

No befores, but this is an "ugly" brown jewelry box I had from my childhood. I had been seeing on pinterest these fun new and improved "vintage" jewelry box make-overs. Lo has a ridiculous amount of "jewelry" already, so I breathe new life into this with a few coats of spray paint. 

Hard to tell but it is the same color as the cradle {off/antique white} and then I painted on the Tiffany blue since that doesn't come in spray paint form; distressed it a bit and then finished off the hardware with some metallic spray paint I just so happen to have. Yes, I have my own "spray paint" section in my garage...it's an obsession. 

I have a larger one I am going to do for her too and then may take on my own. My ultimate goal is to have this jewelry box "collage" in her room to store all her junk keepsakes.

Source: blog.stitchawishdesigns.com via Michele on Pinterest

Anyway, that is what has been going on here...exciting right?! I hope to have more home make-over done soon! I am ready to make this place MINE OURS. ;)

How do you eat an elephant?

One bite at a time.

Chad is always saying this to me as he watches me get overwhelmed with my to-do lists (that's right I have multiple lists).
Sadly, this happens far to often. My personality is all or nothing. I have no middle ground or speed.
I don't recommend it. :)

Lately, I am on a purging/organizing/decortaing kick.
I do this at the very least 2x/year. I really wish it didn't always coincide with the holidays, but it does. I suppose when you go digging around for Christmas lights and stub your toe on curtain rods that you are saving for windows you don't have, something triggers inside of you that says "GET THIS CRAP OUT OF HERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRE!" I may or may not have used a different expletive then crap. Just keepin' it real. :)

Now while I believe myself to be Superwoman, I recognize that Superwoman can't get anything down with two little people vying for her attention 90% of the day and when she does Little Wonder boy destroys it and Hyper Girl decoupages it. So I took a deep breathe, with little to no prompting from Chad, thank you very much, got out my awesome mom calendar and wrote out my plan of attack.

Instead of wasting most of my precious naptime/quiet time on pinterest imagining a perfect home, I decided I start working on one. Well, you know as perfect as a home with two little people reigning in their destructive terror can be.

Can we just take a moment to remember what life was like PLP? {pre-little people} Gosh, I thought I was so busy then, oh and tired! Wow, I had no clue what tired even looked like back then. But I wouldn't trade them for anything, even crayon free couches and carpet without the red juice stains. :)

Back to the organizing. So I am eating this HUGE JUMBO elephant one teeny tiny little bite at a time.

First up closets because that makes sense, since it is getting colder out. Oh, wait no it's not...let's go with cooler.

Next up the bathrooms. Seriously does anyone need 6 boxes of Nyquil? Yeah, didn't think so.

Oh man clean and organized. Makes me feel so much better already. Well, until I walk out to the living room and kitchen and see the walls that are screaming to be painted! {it only took me 6 weeks to get that done}.

But in the mean time I finished other projects listed out on my lovely mom calendar such as purge play room of all "baby" toys. Check. {2 boxes full to be exact}
No pictures because it is never clean in there.ever.

Organize office files. Check.
Shred office files. partially check. Look even Hyper Girl can help. :)

Re-finish these great $4 frames from goodwill. Check.

{ugly goodwill frames Before}

 

{Beautiful goodwill frames after, complete with their initials! Who doesn't love a good monogram?!}

This arrangement makes me giddy with gladness every time I see it. LOVE! {don't tell me you hate it because I WILL cry, lie to me. 'kay.}  PS that whole collage cost me $20 pictures included.

Make entry more family friendly. Read: place to dump crap and it look nice. :) Check.

This past week my sister Meg and I finally painted the kitchen! Woot woot! And I am so happy! My kitchen was in need of a serious make over. The countertops were an ugly dark green. {who does that?!} Complete with a hideous border and green walls. FYI I am not against green, just that particular shade of green and in MY KITCHEN!!!

So my beloved hubby called our contractor friend who helped hook us up with new counter tops. PRAISE JESUS! They are actually laminate again, but somehow they just ripped the old laminate off and put new down. Who knew?! And it was really affordable and sure beat me painting them, which was my originally idea.

{Counter tops Before}

{Counter tops After}

Next up wall border down! Don't you peel wall border off in fancy clothes? I find it makes you work harder. HA!

Then just leave your kitchen in complete disarray for 6 weeks. Picking the perfect paint color was so hard. I really wanted a kitchen like this

Source: bowerpowerblog.com via Michele on Pinterest

but it just wouldn't flow with the rest of the house. Sad face. But I was dying for something different. I thought about red, but was against it because red makes you eat more you know?! Yeah, it does google it. :) So after much debate I color matched the living room paint to Behr (best paint on the planet, just sayin') and settled for the neutral. And I love it. Now I can just add pops of color and change things as I see fit with out worrying about paint colors etc.

I am not sure the direction the kitchen will go in the end, but I somewhat sadly packed up all my wine/chef stuff. I had way too much and I was ready for something new! Yay, for new!

So here is a little preview of my new-ish kitchen! A work in progress for sure, but I love it.

Now onto the rest of the house like this room! Scary right? I think the shadowy effect gives it that extra dramatic feel.



However, after writing this all out I do feel much better about the state of organization I am in. I actually have accomplished something. :)

And if you made it to the end, here are our Thanksgiving day picture outtakes. :)We did get a good one, because the magic of thanksgiving wins again! HA!