The Weekend of Unfinished Projects

Right now as I type this, my hubby just took a whole bed full of metal to be recycled at the recycle center. Next up he will be loading all the other crap (sorry mom) that has been sitting patiently in our yard & behind our shed, begging to be laid to rest, to the dump. It's free dump weekend. We are taking full advantage of it. Thankfully my subtle hints of how our yard is starting to look like we are related to the Clampets, have not fallen on deaf ears. I'm not kidding when I say we were turning into "those neighbors". You know the kind I'm talking about. I love that Dean has been working so hard on the outside yard. I feel like it's starting to match the hard work he has done inside.

Zoe has been daddy's little helper. Silly little girl. She kept asking me to take her picture & then would cover her eyes and just giggle. She did this over & over again.

Me, well I've been an organizing fool. I finally got the closets switched over. It took me most of the morning. I put all the girls toy sets into baskets. Somehow I have ended up with a little extra room. Go figure. It feels amazing when you walk into their room. I am so excited about how it's progressing. The girls are excited because they can actually find their toys. We both win. I can't wait to share the before and after of all the stuff I took outside and spray painted yesterday. I'm tickled pink with how it all turned out. I only have a few more things to paint today. I hope to have some pictures up by the middle of next week. I still need to finish painting their walls before I show the big reveal. Even then there are three major projects that I still need to finish before their room is completely done. I still need to paint the bookshelf, dressers, and bunk beds. Those will have to wait a little bit longer. In the mean time I think it looks a whole heck of a lot better than it did.

Well I'm off to put our closet back together now. Hugs to you all. Hope everyone is having an awesome weekend!

Just What I Needed

Where has the week gone? Where has the month gone for that matter? Sometimes I feel like there just aren't enough hours in the day,  weeks in a month, or months in a year. Days like we've had this past week that are full of heat and a hint of the smells of summertime. Days that are warm enough to dress the little ones in bubble rompers and sandals, but still cool enough at night to dress them in warm jammies. I love days like these. They remind me of moments from my childhood. Good memories of longer days and falling asleep when it's still light out. Memories of long days outside, playing in the sprinklers. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Playing in the pool until my brother and I had turned into little raisins and our eyes saw halos around every light. I'm reminded of delicious meals prepared by loving hands of grandmas, great grandmas, aunts and my mother. All bustling around the kitchen laughing and talking. Then dessert. Oh how I miss those family dinners. They were filled with so much happiness. So much laughter. Yes days like these bring back such yummy & happy memories. Days like these make me wish time would slow down, just a little.

I needed those memories this week.

Hope everyone has a weekend filled with sweetness.

Too Much Stuff

When a room starts looking like this on a daily basis........

& a closet looks this messy no matter how hard I try to keep it clean....

& bookshelves are overflowing, & dressers oozing........

& wall colors are too dark........

it means:: Room makeover on a budget!

I don't know about you, but I feel you can never have too many books. 

Most of these are picture books, but the overflowing bookshelves are due to the fact that Sloan is reading chapter books full time now. She still enjoys looking at the picture books & reading them to Zoe & Aris. The funnest thing about her love of chapter books is we read together. Now I have a valid excuse to read all the novels I never did as a kid. I also enjoy reading her some of my childhood favorites. We just finished reading "Caddie Woodlawn". 

I have cleaned out 4 giant garbage bags full of "things" that were cluttering up the girls lives. Yes I really feel that when there is too much "stuff" it's harder for kids to use what they have. They are so bogged down by all the clutter around them, that it's hard for them to enjoy what they have. I got rid of toys they hadn't played with in a very long time, toys that were being left out but not really played with, and toys that were no longer age appropriate. I had Sloan help to purge the stuffed animal box. It was tough for her, but an invaluable experience. I let her choose what she wanted to donate to those who have a lot less than us. She decided to donate some of the nicer toys. I was very pleased it was her decision & also loved the fact she didn't just want to give away the junky toys. I still have a few more bins to go through, but I now see a light at the end of the tunnel. Please, please, please, my kids don't need anymore toys. Grandmas and Grandpas, please take note. However books are totally welcome. One can never have too many books.

I have a few little projects I am working on this weekend. I hope to show some pics of the new room in another week or so. What are you working on now?

Sisters Are Best Friends

Nom, Nom, Nom, Nom