Cleaning House

I'll tell you.... I couldn't wait to get married, become mommy, and move into a nice big home.  I am here!  I want to make it clear up front, though, that I am VERY greatful for my life.  I love my husband, my children, and I am very happy with my home.  But, finding time to care for it all is exhausting!

I am constantly mulling ideas in my head about how to make things better. Things like making the house more organized, making the house more attractive, teaching the boys how do be more respectful, how to get in better shape, and so on, and on, and on... My husband likes to point out that I get a certain look on my face when my mulling starts.  Unfortunately, it is like I have no control when it happens.  He and I might be in the middle of a conversation, and suddenly..... I'm mulling.

Anyway, we have lived in our house for almost seven years now, and we have s-l-o-w-l-y changed and added things to make it a home. It wasn't until this past year, for crying out loud, that I finally hung curtains! 

When we picked our current home to live in, we opted to build.  In my niave young mind, I thought this would make everything all hunky dory.  I envisioned walking across lush green grass, into the front door on moving-in day, placing all of our furniture in just the perfect arrangements, and living happily ever after. Well, just let me tell you!

We moved in with our first born son, who was only about 1 1/2 years old at the time, and our second born son was due to grace us with his presence in about five more months.  So, needless to say, I was tired.... already!

Yeah, we did a few things over the years.  We grew some grass (well, if you want to call it that,) finished the basement, added a deck to the back of the house, and thanks to an awesome friend of mine (Tammy!) we have beautifully painted rooms to dwell in. Oh, and now we have three little boys!

For the longest time, my biggest desire had been my kitchen.  When we built, we upgraded a few things off the bat like appliances and cabinets.  But, deciding on a themed design as far as decor and color, it took me a long time to decide.  As you saw in a previous post, I have finally made!

So, you might be wondering what my current gripe is.  Well, it is our basement.  When we finished it, we did so with the boys in mind.  We knew it would mostly be a playroom.  However, we made a spontaneous decision to add our media room.  My husband was excited to have a room to decorate in his own taste (the Cincinnati Bengals, or course!)  It was suppose to be a place to sit and watch football games, and the occassional movie.  The problem?  Well, okay, besides it being the Bungals we root for... It's the TOYS! There are so many toys down there, that it is like tackling an obstacle course just to get to the media room!

I spent my entire day, yesterday, cleaning and organizing the basement.  Yes, progress was made.  I have tubs of items of specific interest such as, Legos, Playmobil, Star Wars figures, Matchbox cars, building blocks, etc.  Everything was on the floor in the biggest mixed-up jumble I had ever seen!  It was miserable and satisfying, all at the same time, taking care of this business. 

The thing now, is that the floor is clean, but the basement is still not very attractive.  I long for everything to be attractive.  I guess it is because I am female, living with all males,... I should add. Have you figured that out yet?  That I am the only female in my home? Maybe it has become my desperate attempt at holding on to girldom?  I don't know.  I do need some inspiration and advice on the basement issue, though.  I realize that I don't actually have a reader base, but just in case, here are some current photos, after the toys have been picked up, thank goodness!



Here we go! I am thinking I need a prettier railing,

 and maybe some pictures on the wall?



 



Okay, I know, it is an eye-sore.  The air hockey table is going.  Once it is gone, this area will be much better. Now, we will get to the bottom of the steps and turn right.  That leads us to.....





... what was once our school room.  I have since found it depressing to do school in the basement. Maybe once I make it more attractive, we will return.  So, maybe the chalkboard stays???



Standing in the same spot, but looking down, you can see our Little People collection.  Santa had a thing for Little People a few years ago, and now there is quite a bit of it.  Almost to the point of being considered too much.  I don't know where to store it all.  I want it to stay where my two-year-old can reach it, but it looks messy!

  

I think this has always been my favorite part of the basement. Well, besides the media room.  Once we finished the basement, we ended up with this little nook-like spot.  My husband built these shelves for me, and I got the storage containers on sale at The Container Store.  When all the containers are in their places, it actually looks nice.  When the boys get older and we no longer need toy storage, I am thinking the shelves can be for things like board games and such.

  

When we finished this room thinking of it as a school room, I had my husband make a built in bulletin board wall.  You can see what has happened.  After we abandoned the room for school, and it became all play... it got a little destroyed.
I was never really happy with the square cork tiles, anyway.  Now, I need a new idea.

  

Now, on to the rest of the basement.  The air hockey table use to be over here. Now, except for the toys, it has become just an empty space.  We have thought about making it a training area for martial arts (the boys and I currently
practice taekwondo.)  I don't like the idea of walking through a "gym" to get to the media room, though.

 


Turning left, and towards the media room...

    

See... Bengals!  There really isn't anything to change in here.  I just wanted to create a feel for what it was like to be in my basement.  Now, if you turn around to leave the media room, this is the view...

  

I know, not attractive at all!

 

Faux Tile Backsplash! -and some other things...

It has been a very busy summer!  But, fun.  I have gotten myself deep into some home projects, and I would like to share my success that I have had in my kitchen.  I decided to brighten things up by putting in a tile back splash.  Since I couldn't afford real tile, I opted to try my hand at faux tile.  I had tons of fun with this project, and I am very happy with the results.  Here are some pictures...



Faux Tile Back splash- First I painted on the grout color,
 then taped off the grout lines.

Faux Tile Backs plash- Here I pulled the tape off.  Now, you
can see what the tiles will actually look like.



Faux Tile Back splash- The tiles are now painted, and sealed.



I also decided that my kitchen dinette needed some love!  All I did was recover the cushions.  I was amazed at the transformation!  It was so easy to do.  First I went to the fabric store and picked out something I thought would match the decor.  All I had to do next was flip the chairs over and, unscrew the seats from the base.  The original fabric was just stapled on, so I pried out the old, then placed on the new!  It took some strength to pull out the old staples and put the new ones in, but other than that, it was fairly easy!  Here is a before and after....



A before picture.....



Now, the after!

One more improvement I made was adding some hardware to my cabinets.  This was the most expensive part of my kitchen improvement, but I have been wanting to do this for along time.  What do you think?

And of course, a finishing touch!



Giveaway!

I don't know about you, but I love giveaways!  Well-Planned Day is giving away this:

Between June 23, 2011 and June 30, 2011 you can click the link above to participate.  Good Luck!



The Great Outdoors

We have officially started off our season of summer.  I'll tell you... we went from cold and rainy to HOT and HUMID!  I am sorry to say, we did not have much of a spring.  I am not complaining, though.  I don't mind the heat.  Summer is my favorite time of year.

So far, we have spent one night camping (well... it was at mamaw and papaw's farm... that still counts right?...  It was in a tent!)  We have went swimming, picked strawberry's, went pond exploring...

This-Is-Just-The-Beginning. 

Summer has always been my favorite time of year, but now that I have three boys, it is even more important.  Boys need to be outside.  All the time.  Period!

I met with a couple of friends on Monday.  Between the three of us we have NINE boys!  (all under the ages of NINE, I might add!)  We went to a local nature preserve.  The place is awesome!  It is a large woods with many different trails that can be walked/hiked.  There is also a few different ponds, and one in particular that we always visit.  Matt's Pond.  The nature center provided us with a back-pack filled with pond exploring tools- nets, trays, magnifying glasses, identifying brochures.  And, off we went!

I was proud of little Joey (my 2yo.)  He walked that first trail all by himself!  I just can't believe how fast he is growing up!  After about ten minutes of walking, we finally made it.  It was just crazy watching all those boys swarming the pond.  Caleb... (it's always Caleb, my friends second born) was in the pond in no time flat!  There was another mom there with her two little boys who were sitting right by her side.  She looked at me in astonishment and said, "That little boy is in the pond!"  My response?  Well, Caleb is always in the pond.  No big deal!  It wouldn't be the same as entertaining if he was not in the pond.

The above mentioned mom with the two well behaved boys had a fish in their bucket.  They actually caught something.  Joey was mesmerized with that fish!  He insisted on joining this family so he could sit and keep petting that poor little fish.  It was cute watching him, though.  Joey kept giggling because the fish's fins kept tickling his little fingers.  I really wish I had not forgotten my camera!  That would have made for a nice video.

Once we were finished with the pond, it was lunch time.  We ate lunch then headed for some trails.  Other than the fact that the boys would not stay on the path (at the nature center, you are expected not to disturb any of the nature,) the rest of our day was pretty uneventful.  We all had a great time, and can't wait to do it again!

Welcome!

I am so excited to now have my very own place where I can escape to, share my thoughts, and make friends without all the noise and chaos that comes with living with all males!  I thought I would start by sharing a picture of my three little boys.  I love and cherish everything about them, though if you are a parent also, you will understand that at times I need to get away!

From left to right, there is Randy 8, Joey 2, and Carson 6.

As time rolls on, I hope to be able to provide insight, entertainment, and maybe even a little comfort (at knowing you are not alone) to those of you who share my profession.