An Easy (and Illuminating) Change

We toured a lot of houses in buying the three we've had so far - not to mention the apartments and houses for rent that we've also toured. Small, basic things were wrong in many of them. My biggest pet peeve was burned-out light bulbs. Such a small change to allow prospective buyers to see what you are hoping they will buy.

Which brings me to today's tip: look at your lights. With winter getting closer and days getting shorter, we rely more and more on interior lighting. If your light shades are dusty (or have toys lodged in them, as our's did), you are getting so much less light. Ditto for unchanged light bulbs.

You and I both know that a lack of light is depressing...so lighten up! Take 15 minutes and walk through your domicile, just looking for shades that need cleaning (I know, I'm not a fan of cleaning either - but I am a fan of the results) and for burned-out bulbs.

See what a difference it can make - whether you're selling your house or, more importantly, living in it.

Chicken Coop Maneuvers

 There are two cement pads on either side of our chicken coop - while the coop itself is on dirt. "Huh?", you say. Exactly. Just another example of how the previous owners of this domicile didn't care to do things properly.

Looking toward its future location

Where it's going

Doug decided to move that chicken coop. By himself. I am rolling my eyes and shaking my head. He spent a Saturday morning digging out one of the sides and propping it up.

Doesn't look fun, does it? Then it just sat there, waiting for him to decide what to do with it. Until we got a good 6-7 inches of snow. Then he decides that it is time to move that coop.

He got it about one foot from being all the way on the concrete pad. He was exhausted. Imagine that.

So this is where he started on it again last weekend. Luckily, the snow was gone.

He heaved and ho-ed, and finally got it square with that cement pad. This was the same Saturday that he put most of the fence up.

When he was done, I gave him a hand massage. He really deserved something nice after working so hard. And since he was finished moving it, he decided his next project was to make shelving for the inside of the coop. These days it's all I can do to finish a project...much less plan the next one.

Can You Hear the Hallelujah Chorus?

Together, now: "Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hal-le-lu-jah!" I could keep going, but you probably get the idea.

Me, I've been hearing that song ever since my birthday. Doug said, gruffly, "Let's go to the store." I agreed, asking what we were getting, where we were going...and he replied, "Oh, we're getting fence stuff."

Inwardly, I was jumping up and down and doing a dance or maybe twenty. But then I calmly replied, "Okay." Aren't you impressed with my self control? After all, he might have changed his mind if I broke out some pom-poms and started doing cheers. So we went shopping. With me being pretty quiet. And smug.

Shopping for a fence was, frankly, cold. All the fencing materials were outside in a large yard and it was probably three hours after sunset. Brrrr. The salesmen were shivering, but were also kindly answering Doug's questions. They even loaded the fencing for us. Hopefully the work kept them warm.

When we got home, Doug said he was going out to "play". His version of "playing?" Putting up one section of the fence!

He calls it a "rodent" fence. Pretty accurate. Then, Saturday he put up another section.

There were still enough gaps in it that Sophie couldn't be trusted outside. Monday night, though, he finished. And now Sophie can play outside without constant supervision. Meaning, I can actually plant something with her exploring in a different part of the yard.  Tuesday, we went outside for her to take a look.

Contemplating the new fence.

She doesn't look excited, does she? But it was more fun when her friends came over and they were racing from one side of the yard to the other...without me standing over them the entire time.

Here's the finished view:

Doug used silicone to fuse the brick to the wood blocks. It definitely isn't a long-term solution, but neither is the fence.

The kids aren't quite as thrilled as I am. This fence has no gates, so they are now confined to using just the front door. That's okay with me - fewer exits means that I can keep a closer watch on who is coming and going. Perhaps that's why they're not so thrilled, hm?

Anyway, three cheers for Doug: Hooray! Hooray! Hooray!

A fence. Now we can take our time figuring out what we really want as a privacy fence (which might be important, since Jack likes to "spray" our house at least once a week). That could take a looong while. While we're debating, though, we won't have any squished toddlers. And that makes a mama very, very happy. And since it's Thanksgiving tomorrow, we'll add incredibly grateful. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Shelving for the Kitchen

Shelves are awesome. Some time ago, Doug took down the upper cupboard in our kitchen.

And there it stayed, for many a month.

I could get all bugged with myself for not taking the opportunity to paint while there wasn't a cupboard, but really, what fun would that be?

Anyway, I finally decided on brackets and shelving, and got myself over to IKEA to get them. The shelves were deemed to be okay, but the brackets needed some serious help - in the form of drywall anchors. It took a bit of time to order and receive screws with the same finish as the brackets. But, as soon as they came, Doug installed 'dem shelves.

It didn't take too long for me to fill them.

I know, I should really get going on the paint. Having a half-painted wall ruins the effect. And the molding really needs to be reattached to the existing cupboard. But my dishes have somewhere that is accessible. Progress, though slow, is still happening. Celebrate the small stuff, yes?

Jack-Jack: Five Looks Good on You!

Jack(-Jack Attack) is now five (on Thursday), and he has a new swagger in his step. Let's take a look at him growing up...

Six months old

Two years old

Three years old

Four years old

Five years old - with dad and Collin

He is such a funny kid...and I'm so glad he's in our family. Happy birthday, Jack!!!

Da Big Four - Oh

Well, it's here. November 14th, the fortieth of my life.

Malena drew the sun on the calendar. Cute, isn't it? I asked the kids not to get me gifts (thus the "No Gifts" inbetween "Mom's" and "Birthday") and instead to just give me a quiet day with well-behaved children. With the exception of Jack, it's been working pretty well. Mind you, the kids aren't home from school yet.

Doug has been up to his old tricks...

Right in our front yard. Nothing subtle about that there. This was made (by Doug and his brother) for his older sister's fortieth. And reused for Doug's birthday last year, which is why it is in our possession. Thanks for making use of that again, sweetie.

And even with the helium shortage, my friend brought me a balloon. Even better, I've gotten lots of calls from well-wishers. I have the best family and friends anywhere. The only regret I have about the last forty years is that I wish I were better at keeping track of said family and friends. They are such wonderful individuals that have blessed my life in a million different ways.

Well, I am really enjoying my birthday! Here's to a new decade! (Maybe I'll be better at keeping in touch...)

The Bear that is My Laundry Room

And sewing room, and Doug's office...yes, it has many hats. And wears them all badly, I must say.

So last week, I tried to at least organize the shelves in there. There is always a ton of laundry to do, so I have to be in there anyway. Right?

Argh. Some of these boxes I haven't opened since they were packed years ago in South Carolina. Some people unpack immediately. Me, I try to get the stuff I need going, and ignore the rest until life calms down. Unfortunately, there's not a whole lot of "calming down" when there are five kids and a busy husband running around.

Actually, here's the real story: I always want to clean and ready our new houses for us and our stuff before we move in. This has only happened once, because Doug doesn't want to wait for me to clean. Not a day, not an hour. The laundry room (and the pantry, to be honest) got the worst of this - boxes were piled with no respect to the dirty shelves or to whether they actually belonged in the laundry room. So it remains today. Sigh. A year and a half later.

Which leaves me with a whole bunch of stuff. I have filled several trash bags, and even have a "donate" pile. I'm posting a picture of it so that Doug doesn't think I'm hiding anything. (That's what the trash bags were for, right? Just kidding, Doug...)

And here's how it went. Monday morning was the "before". This morning (yet another Monday) is the "after".

The goal was (and still is) to get all the shelves clean and in three sections: home stuff, sewing and craft stuff, and office stuff. The office stuff includes hobbies that are mostly paper like genealogy and scrapbooking. The last could conceivably be crafting, but really, I don't do a whole lot of crafting when I put those photos into books. I just want it done.

I did get the shelves clean and new boxes purchased to corral the many pieces of our projects. It still looks...well, like a work in progress. Which it is. So you'll have to stay tuned to see how it ends up. You know, in another year or so...

One Sick Puppy

Yes, we're talking about my oldest, Bonnie. It started snowing today (!) and, happily, the kids ran out to play.

Here's what Bonnie accomplished.

Yes, that is an ax in his body. With blood squirting out, although I didn't get a good picture of that before this happened:

The ax proved to be too heavy. It's kind of unnerving to start the snow season with an assassination. I think she should also create a Calvin-and-Hobbes-esque crew of snowmen watching the dead man. What do you think? Do you like grotesque snowmen, are you more of a traditional sort?

Look What I Found!

"It's amazing what you find, when you clean."

This was my mother's maxim, created out of a need to have us clean (at least, that's my theory). And it happens to be true, which could be a sad thing if you are trying to get out of cleaning, or a happy thing when you find something amazing.

This week I am cleaning my laundry room. Don't worry, you'll hear all about it. I happened to find a Wallie that I didn't even remember getting. It's educational. It's fun. And here's the best part: it looks great on that lime green wall in the boys' old room!

I did think about putting stars wherever we have lived, but then I realized that the kids might take it as a sign that it's okay to put stickers on the walls. Not the lesson I'm going for, that.

And the moral is: it is amazing what you find when you clean.

Now if I could just get the kids to believe me...

Full Circle

Many moons ago, I owned a lovely wooden daybed with a trundle underneath. I took this bed to college, to my first single apartment, and on and on. Then came marriage, and a small one-bedroom apartment. Sadly, my bed and I parted...but it was going to a good home, and was then the bed of my dear niece for many years.

Now she is married, and in her own small one-bedroom apartment. And she also has a twin bed (though a different one than that old daybed, may it rest in peace) that there is no room for in the small space she shares with her beloved. I know, newlyweds are a little disgusting, but there you are.

Sophia is getting to the age where we're going to need a real bed for her soon. The crib which has slept all my babies is getting older, and I am ready to ditch it. While Sophie is sleeping soundly behind bars, though, I'll let her be. But the sad day is coming, and so I took my niece's bed off her hands.

It's karma. Now my daughter has a bed for that inevitable day when the crib will be history. And I didn't have to buy it! Life is good.

Moving (Stuff) Again

The girls had a rough Friday night last week. Both were convinced that spiders were going to attack them in their rooms as they slept. So Bonnie refused to sleep in her room, period. Malena said she would sleep in her room if Bonnie slept with her.

Then Malena came upstairs to cry that even with Bonnie, she was too freaked out to stay in her room. Exhausted, I told her to sleep on the floor in my room. An hour later, Bonnie comes up and yells at Malena for deserting her in the scariest room in the house (Seriously? The "garden room" is scary?). I end up getting up, shaking all her bedclothes to show that there isn't any spiders there, and tucking her in bed.

Then Sophia woke up twice, though her problems were unrelated.

The girls have been asking for about a month to share a room. Bonnie and Malena, however, have proven time and time again that they are like vinegar and water - they don't mix. Actually, I should use a more explosive example. Baking soda and vinegar? Anyway, they have been sleeping together (Malena on the floor in Bonnie's room) for several months now...so I gave in. Against Doug's wishes, it probably should be said...we'll see if he gets to say "I told you so" in the coming weeks and months.

So we started moving them. Then the boys decided they wanted to be upstairs. Personally, I was sad they wanted to leave their beautiful room, but they were really excited to get outta there. The boys going upstairs also meant that Sophia had to move...

In short, everyone moved. Here are the results:

Top left: the room when it was Bonnie's; the rest of the pics show Sophie's new room

Sophia was the first one to move. All of Bonnie's stuff went downstairs while Sophia's stuff went into the fish room. She loves it, and keeps pointing out fishes and bubbles.

Top two photos are Sophia's old room; Bottom are of the new "Boys' Room"

Next was the boys. They came upstairs and the room went from nursery to mayhem.

Then the playroom came to order. This was a hard one, since the "guest room" had a full closet of...well, stuff. Bedding, framed pictures, and lots and lots of toys.

Here is Bonnie working on the "Girls' Room". For some reason, it seems like there is so much space without all that stuff from the playroom in the closet!

Top two photos are of the play/guest room; bottom is the new "Girls' Room"

And finally came Malena's old room. This still needs some major work, but for right now, it's the "Girls' Office". Lucky them - even Doug and I don't have an office! Okay, I have a sewing room that includes Doug's desk...but it doesn't have a door, much less a locking door!

Anyway...obviously, a lot of work ahead of us! What do you think?