Deep Cleaning

We worked for HOURS on Sunday. The boys room had taken on a life of it's own. The smell alone was keeping everyone but them away and there was no way to walk through their room without stepping on several things. I knew with everything going on we didn't have the time that had to be invested to get it clean and there was no way I could do it on my own. So Sunday we dived in and it was do or die trying. I literally worked for over 8 hours. I think Dave did the same b/c though he started after I did he gave me a break at the end when he saw I was losing it & incredibly sore. The girls helped some too. They weren't happy about it but Dave & I reminded them of all the times we have done the majority of deep cleaning in their rooms. They didn't complain so much after that. We organized, threw things out, washed out icky bins, sorted & arranged. Some toys went onto the new garage shelves Dave built. This way the toys can be switched out when boredom occurs. And it should help cut down on the mess that happens when everything is dumped out at once. All moms of young kids out there know exactly what I'm talking about. By the time we were finished there were 5 black garbage bags full of garbage. We may have to make an extra trip to the dump this weekend! Whew!

On Saturday we worked in the Family Room. There were still boxes that needed unpacking, books that needed to be shelved, toy shelves to be organized, and lots to vacuum including the inside & outside of the couch. Dave also moved things out of the Baby's room that didn't belong & placed and hooked up the television on the chest that's been waiting for it. It looks like I had dreamed it would! I was starting to wonder if I had misjudged the size & potential of the room as all the junk & misc. stuff made it seem smaller all the time. How awesome it is to have a little family room upstairs to relax in and for the kids to play in.

The "new" family & toy room! This shot was taken while standing in the doorway of our master bedroom. The door at the opposite end is the Baby's room.

We have plenty of room for our library of books & even a table to do schoolwork on. I love the toy & bookshelves that Dave built. They are perfect for that specially shaped space. (The door to the left leads downstairs.)

Our couch from the old house fits nicely up here. It's a great place for us to hang out and watch family movies together.

The shelves that Dave built all organized with books & toys.

I love this little nook in the boys room. It's a perfect place for their desk.

Here the boys are playing together on Elvis' V-tech laptop.

It was worth all the hard work for these little faces.

Elvis is very pleased with his clean room.

(And BTW, their room is right off the Family Room.)

It's not perfect but heck it's a boys' room!

The view from the opposite end of the room. Their room is nice & long.

Dave shampooed the main carpet too. It will need to be done at least one more time.

Total time of all our workers for both rooms was well over 35 hours. Thank God for teamwork! And we LOVE the end results!

Baby Preparations

Boo, Sweet Pea & I spent an afternoon lately working in Baby's room. Mainly on her clothes & such. As you can see this was before my new doo. And yes, I know I look quite tired. All part of life lately.

A couple of the outfits we found for $1 each at the consignment sale.

I've missed little sweet dresses!


Organizing the changing table.

I found these baskets at the Dollar Tree. They have little butterflies on them. I used my trusty labeler to make them more organized. So far I have one for diapers, one for cloth wipes, one for hair doo-dads & one little socks. On the bottom shelf I have a bin full of cloth diapers my sweet friend Julie gave me (thank you!). I also have a bin that I am dubbing my "Bathtime Bin". It has bath towels, baby washcloths, shampoo, baby wash & a bathing mitt inside.

This is the adorable crib bedding we bought at one of the consignment sales we went to. It is perfect & just what I wanted! I love the various colors.

Laura Ashley for a steal!

(Not that I really care about brand names.......it just thrills me that I was able to get it for so little $. )

It came with a diaper bin too. And a mobile too! Sweet!

New Doo & Latest Belly Pics

When Sweet Pea & I went for her birthday hair doo I also had mine cut. I have been wanting to for quite some time but always found an excuse not to. The biggest ones were time & not knowing where to go. I finally chose a stylist based on an ad. Oh, and an AWESOME coupon! They were advertising Buy 1 haircut/Get 1 haircut free! WOW! This was for new customers only and we fit the bill. I had saved some Christmas gift $ for my haircut and was pleased to save the $$ on Sweet Pea's cut. Of course I did tip for the price of 2 haircuts. That is only fair. Even so I saved the $35 hair cut fee. How abut that?!?!?


She cut it shorter than I had planned but that's okay as I know it will grow. Plus I think it will be nice when Baby comes b/c it's so easy to wash, blow out & wear.

My latest belly pics.

Yes, my belly is a road map. But I wear my map proudly. I earned every single one of these!

Proud of my big belly & the resident inside!

ONE WEEK TO GO!

Grocery Bargains

I found some terrific deals last week. First at the Discount Bread Store we found these on the day old rack. How can you beat 50 cents & $1? I bought 2 of each - one to enjoy now & one for the freezer. YUM!

Next we stopped at one of the discount grocery stores. I am always careful in these stores b/c not everything is a deal. Many items are priced as high as or sometimes higher than the regular grocery store. BUT there are also many items priced below. So I do my homework & keep my eyes wide open. That day I found some awesome deals on meat. $1.29/lb. for pork chops and very meaty pork ribs! $1.49/lb. for a pork roast and $1.69/lb for hamburger! Cha-ching!

Some more of my finds at the bread store..........$1 a loaf of stone ground wheat bread (normally over $3) and .79 cents/loaf for 100% wheat bread. It was the same days date. No problem as I just throw it in the freezer! Great savings! I bought 2 loaves of one and 4 loaves of the other.

My freezer is well stocked for the moment, (these were taken last Tuesday), & thanks to Boo Bear very nicely organized. =0)

Sweet Pea's New Doo

This was part of her birthday gift. She chose the style & we both love it!

Sweet Pea's Birthday

Sweet Pea turned 13! I can't believe she is a teenager already -- although she has been acting like one for years. Part of her celebration this year was that she could choose a place to go out to eat and who to go with. She decided she wanted the whole family to celebrate with her. She chose a local place that we have seen the signs for for months. It was fun to try out a new place.


The kids all crack up every single time they see this sign or hear the name. LOL!

Goofing around while waiting in the van.

Aren't they silly?

Here's the Birthday Girl!

Isn't she beautiful?

Can you guess what caught my eye?

This was a wild looking fan.

After a delicious lunch we headed to Target to shop. Everyone still had some Christmas $ from Nana on the Target gift card. Sweet Pea ALWAYS loves to go shopping so this was perfect for her day.

I can't be on my feet for very long anymore. I asked if I could ride a scooter and they told me y-e-s. Oh my gosh it was fun!

Bugs playing with his new toy from Nana. Thank you Nana!

Sweet Pea decided to have Death By Chocolate for her dessert this year. It does have cake in it so that counts, right? Lol. Daddy & Boo made a big bowl of it. Oh my goodness it was delicious!

Hee, hee, hee!

Happy Birthday!

Being silly while waiting for his dessert.

Funny boys!

Her banner.

Earrings from her sister.

A cute pink monkey from her brother.

SURPRISE!

A Lifeway gift card & new purse from Mama & Daddy.

A sweet kitty.

For our budding artist

Sweet Pea opened some candy & the kids went wild. It was all in good fun. =0)

His new Matchbox toy.

Earrings from Grannie.

Kissing the Birthday Girl

Daddy & Bailey

Bailey & his new pal.

Sweet Pea had a great birthday. In addition to the presents pictured here she also received a guinea pig, Bella, complete with cage from Mama & Daddy; a new comforter for her bed & the promise of a salon haircut also from Mama & Daddy; a Barnes & Noble gift card from Grannie; a reading light from Grandpa; a Walmart gift card from Grandma & Grandpa M. & a cash gift from Nana. Boy, was she blessed!