Progress!

On Saturday I couldn't take the pantry/laundry room anymore. I HAD to get it tidied up & more organized! I recruited the girls to help. I did get hands on a couple of things but for the most part I was able to direct while they did the heavy work & bending.

Boo sweeping the floor.

I will never understand how so many small odds & ends flock to this little room.

I love the cabinets above the washer & dryer but they are rather difficult to reach. Being pregnant they are nearly impossible! =) I asked Sweet Pea to put a wrapped blanket on the top shelf for me. For some reason she had me in stitches watching her try different antics to get that blanket to stay!


She tried the stool, she tried to use the mop to catch it, and finally she climbed up on the dryer. Success! LOL!

I should have taken a before picture. There was a giant pile of laundry going up the wall and spilling all over the floor. There was also the trash I mentioned & odds and ends mixed in on the floor. The garbage can was overflowing and other things were all out of order. The washer & dryer were piled up with various things as well. Can you see the improvement?

I am thrilled with all the walking space now. The mountain of laundry is no more, (it was sorted into 2 upright baskets & being whittled down), my empty laundry baskets have a place, the water bottles & soda are all together and the plastic bags all have a bin. With the exception of the pillow & blanket awaiting their turn in the washer you can see the tops of the appliances!

Here are my new shelves! They are rapidly filling up. I need to organize them with a little more detail but that's another day. For now it's enough to have the stuff within reach and off of the floor & counter tops.

Remember the closets I mentioned? Or did I? Anyway, here they are in their finished glory! Again I should have taken before pictures. Just try to imagine a full, overflowing closet stuffed with boxes, coats scattered all over the floor and junk on top of that. Now open your eyes! Ta-dah!

I love how deep this closet is! Storage, baby!

Closet #2

This is my linen closet & many of the items I used to keep in my buffet & porch/side closet. We are also using it for every day street shoes until the place in the garage is finished. Again, imagine the same closet with things stuffed on every shelf. You can't even tell what is ON the shelf b/c things are so crammed. Their are no cubbies below and the entire floor to the back of the closet is full of shoes, games and other junk that has spilled everywhere. You can' see the floor. Now, open your eyes!

I have some extra blankets on top; some fragile items next shelf; table cloths, curtains & pillow cases third shelf down and then some bins with candles, fun napkins & special cards. Below the regular shelves Sweet Pea crammed in two sets of cubbies (you should have seen the work that went into that!) which I am using for Christmas napkins & tablecloths, dresser scarves & shoes for now. I like to make the most of my storage space.

Another view

Who does this look like?

Perfect Day

Today was another gorgeous day. I think it may have been a bit warmer but I am not certain. I did check yesterday and it reached 69 degrees!

We took the kids to the Nashville Zoo this afternoon. What a glorious day! We slept in and then took our time getting ready. Once at the zoo, (where we used our membership to get in so no $ out of pocket), we leisurely walked around the zoo grounds. I actually didn't do much walking as it is very difficult for me now. This is the same way I was in my last 2 pregnancies. We rented a wheelchair at the zoo and Dave guided me around. It was nice! And the best part is I won't be super sore and unable to walk tomorrow. =) Although it is still winter we were able to see most of the animals. There were even 2 zoo workers out & about with birds bringing them up close to us. One lady held a cockatoo and the other a red tailed hawk. Both were amazing looking birds. We didn't get to hear the talk about the hawk as it was near closing time but we did learn that the cockatoo lives up to 80 years! I was amazed as I had no idea they could live such a long life. We ended our time at the zoo playground. That place is amazing! The kids had a ball running around from one thing to another. Many had the same idea as us as the zoo was rather busy. On the way home we stopped at McD's for a treat of 75 cent ice cream cones. They hit the spot! We had such a fantastic time. Dave & I kept telling each other that we couldn't' believe this was February! I love this type of weather. Not too hot, not to cold. Just right. The 60's & 70's are my favorite.

I'll post pictures soon! Now it's off to bed as another week starts tomorrow. Boy does the weekend fly!

New Shelves!

My new pantry shelves! These are going to hold twice as much as the stand up pantry did. Hooray! I definitely need the extra storage with our basement pantry & school closet being gone. Thank you, Dave!

The right side pantry wall.


The left side pantry wall.

There was already one shelf there and Dave added a second. Next he is going to add a clothing rod so I can hang laundry up right out of the dryer. How great is that?

Friday Fill-In

1. Please don't tell me naps are outlawed =).


2. Can you eat first thing in the morning?


3. The color yellow makes me want to be outdoors in a field of flowers!


4. I have a craving for cinnamon buns today.


5. If my life had a pause button, I'd pause it often.


6. Eyes are the first thing I notice about a person.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to resting after my busy day, tomorrow my plans include the usual & hopefully some more unpacking and Sunday, I want to go to church & spend some time outdoors in the springlike weather!

3 Chefs

Last Friday I was in one of my rare cooking & baking moods. I recruited Bugs & Sweet Pea to help me. Bugs enjoyed pouring, scooping & mixing. Sweet Pea was a tremendous help as she brought me different ingredients so I could stay put at the table. I wouldn't have been able to be on my feet standing still for so long and we would have been lucky to even complete one project. We made lots of yummies & I was happy to feel like in charge of my kitchen again.

Bugs was eager to begin.


Scooping & Tossing

This was his favorite.....pouring in the tomatoes.

(BTW, we were making homemade spag. sauce)

Nana's blueberry muffins ~ YUM!

Pixie finds a sunny spot on the floor.

Sassy preferred to curl up in the disarray of dishtowels.

Bugs sinking his teeth into a fresh from the oven homemade muffin.

Next was a streusel coffee cake!

I also cooked up some chicken and then de-boned it. I shredded a block and a half of cheese too. That was the prep work for dinner that night ~ quesadillas! Yummy! Boy was Dave happy & surprised when he came home from work!

So Sad, Not Glad

Dave left for CA today. He will be gone a week. We didn't find out until Friday that he was going on this trip. We already miss him very much. I'm eagerly awaiting his call letting me know he has landed safe & sound. He should be calling in about 30 minutes or so. This brings back memories of our long summer. Thankfully he will only be gone a week this time and not months. I'm praying the week will go by quickly!

Thank you, Megan for being such a sweetheart! Your email made my day!

Winner, Winner Chicken Dinner

YEAH, BABY!!!!!!!

Birthday Fun

Dave celebrated his birthday a little over a week ago. It was nice that it was on a Friday as we could relax and enjoy the celebration. The kids decided they wanted to do all the decorating so I let them have at it. They were about to bounce off the walls they were so looking forward to Daddy coming home and seeing what they had done for him. Sweet Pea also wanted to make him a cake. I had planned on doing it the next day but since she wanted to so badly I let her. IN the long run it was nice for me b/c it saved me something extra to do on a very busy Saturday. =)
Another neat thing is that the kids bought Daddy presents with their OWN money. I had told them we would take a trip to the Dollar Tree after we visited WIC (Holy Cow, was THAT a job!), and they immediately raced to their piggy banks to get $ to spend for Daddy. That really touched my heart. They don't get a lot of $ of their own. Sometimes for a birthday gift and if they earn it a little bit of allowance each week which would only be $1-$2.

They used the football toy kit to decorate the table for Daddy. I thought this was a very creative idea.



Here are some of the drawings they made as decorations. Most had to do with the Steelers, Daddy's absolute favorite team. =)

Daddy's Special Hat

When I spotted this hat in the Dollar Tree I simply could not resist. It was a big hit!

Pizza was a special treat for dinner!


Cake by Sweet Pea ~ Daddy loved it!

Daddy makes a birthday wish.

Elvis bought Daddy a new tape measure. His had recently been broken and he was very happy to get a new one to replace it.

Bugsy bought Daddy an 8-pk of his favorite candy - Butterfingers!

(I helped him with the purchase since he is only 3, after all.)

Boo Bear selected & bought this calculator for Daddy all by herself. She was proud she thought of a gift Daddy would use all the time.

Sweet Pea remembered how Daddy is always searching for a pen. So she bought him a new bag of fancy BIC pens - his favorite!

I bought him some movies I found on sale. We are looking forward to carving out time for a movie date night.

I couldn't pass up this monkey puzzle when I spotted it. It was too funny! Dave got a big kick out of it as we had hoped he would.

Bugs helps Daddy out.

Daddy received some new duds too!

And what would a birthday be without some treats! They will keep him going late nights when he is balancing the budget & paying the bills.

Daddy has a soft spot for Sassy.

Everyone loved Daddy's hat and wanted to try it on. Here is Elvis!

Boo Bear wanted a turn too!

Bugs managed to capture Pixie.

Lovey Boy

I couldn't resist the cuteness.

What a patient kitty!

How can that face NOT crack you up?

Boo settles in the watch the newest episode of Clone Wars.

Of course Elvis was right there! Clone Wars is his absolute favorite show!

I think Daddy is hooked now too.

Bugsy's turn wearing the coveted hat.

Sweet Pea cuddles with Pixie.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DADDY!