Ch-ch-ch-changes!

What is it about having people over that makes me want to change things up/build things/clean things? I don't know, but I'm kind of enjoying it. We built a bench (and I stained it yesterday!)

The stain is darker then we expected but I still like it!

And now I've taken all of the pictures off the wall and gathered up a few frames that aren't being used and am going to replace old pictures with newer ones, paint the frames to have a more matchy-matchy look and re-arrange them on the wall

this is the mess that sits on my kitchen table at the moment....

And on top of those things, I'm going to be landscaping a bit in our front yard (finally! almost a year and a half after we moved in!) and planting flowers in the backyard.

It's going to be a very fun (and busy!) two weeks! Hooray for inviting people over and feeling the need to change things up!

In other news, I've lost 11 pounds!!!! HOORAY!!!

Anything exiting in your neck of the woods?

Spring cleaning is my nemesis

Spring is coming up....fast (why is it the older I get the faster the years go?)
That whole thing that people like to call "Spring Cleaning" always annoys me.

I clean. Every.Day. 

Why do I need to have a special season to clean even MORE?

I don't.

So instead of "Spring Cleaning" I made a list of things I want to get done before Elliot turns 3 (when does he turn 3? June! ahhh!!!)

One of my most favorite blogs, Seriously, a Homemaker, posted her "Spring Things" list last week and it's had my brain working ever since. I loved how she took a picture of her list, so I did too (thanks for letting me copy you Angie!) (ps, if you want to be majorly impressed, you should check our her Spring Things list. I am in awe of her....for reals)
Without further ado, my very very short list:

told you it was short

yup, 4 things. 4 whole things.

And I put it on "recycled" paper. Otherwise known as, paper-that-was-in-perfectly-good-condition-until-the-crazy-children-got-a-hold-of-it.

So, my list consists of: Dusting the ceiling fans, (finish) painting the master bedroom, paint the laundry room and plant a garden (our first one! so excited!).

I love looking at "Spring Cleaning" (blegh) as more than just cleaning.....more like a time to get things done. Notice I didn't have the word "clean" on that list anywhere? That's cause it's my nemesis :)

So, wanna tell me what your plans are for the next couple months? Any fun projects or plans or, heaven-forbid, "cleaning"?

A Memorable Neighbor...

It's Wednesday, which means I am getting much needed inspiration from Mama Kat.

When I think of memorable neighbors, two types pop into my head: the crazy-not-so-good kind and the really kind and thoughtful kind that you miss when you move. What kind am I thinking of this morning as I write this?

The 70-year-old man who insisted our front lawn be perfect. He was so insistent in fact, he would mow it for us because we just couldn't seem to get it to his standards. See, we moved into the house in question 2 months before I gave birth to our first son and hubbyman was working weird hours, so when the old man first mowed our lawn for us, it was a very nice treat! I definitely wasn't going to be mowing the lawn in my huge condition (yes, I was huge. HUGE I tell you) and the hubbymonster was so busy, so it was a blessing for sure. But as the months went on and we would come home to our sprinklers on or a certain old man on my front porch watering my plants.....it got a little out of control. Turns out, he wasn't doing it so much out of kindness, he was doing it because he didn't like the way WE did it. Weird right? I remember many a day, dozing on the couch with my newborn, hearing a lawnmower start up in the front yard. You're probably thinking, "Wow, that is extremely kind of that old man! How can you complain about that?!" but wait, it gets better!

One Saturday when hubbyman was mowing our lawn in all his sweaty glory, the old man walked across the street and told him that he was cutting the grass too short and that he was going to ruin the lawn and that he really needed to learn how to mow lawns yadda yadda yadda blah blah blah. Can you tell this STILL bothers me? (It's been almost 3 years since we moved from that house.....)

So, needless to say, he was memorable. We look back and laugh at it now, but at the time, I was hormonal (come on! I just had a baby!) and tired (come on! I just had a baby) and an old man who had issues with the care of our front lawn just wasn't working for me.

Thanks for reading! Have a great day!! (I totally love your comments!)

Monday's Mission: Possible

So I've  been checking in with this totally awesome site: FLYlady.net. Have you been using it all along and just didn't tell me? (Yes, older and wiser sister of mine, I know YOU have!)

A few things I absolutely love about FLYlady:

1. the FLY in FLYlady stands for "Finally Love Yourself"- love that.
2. A no-nonsense approach to getting your house AND your life in order.
3. Baby steps! Need I say more? (if you're answer is "yes! say more!" then you really need to check out her website)
4. A quote from the FLYlady herself: "My prayer is that...each of us finds happiness and pride in ourselves and our accomplishments. That we raise our children to be good, productive, and happy people. And that we light up a room with our smile."

Pretty great right?! I subscribed to her daily digest email (there is SO MUCH information to wrap my brain around at first!) and today I have learned about 7 FLYlady blessings and 7 minute Saturday Rescue. 

I love home organization and I love learning things and I love doing anything that will better the lives of my family....so, I love FLYlady!!!

You should really check it out, if you haven't already (sometimes I'm WAY behind on this kind of stuff and the last one to know....) Alright, off to declutter Zone #4: The Master Bedroom, wish me luck!

Thanks for reading!!!

my least favorite chore...

Washing the dishes and emptying the dishwasher.....my least favorite things to do (just ask my husband, whom I wrangle in to doing the dishes any chance I get!). My reasons for disliking this chore so much:

1. I feel like I am wasting water
2. I always get the front of my shirt wet
3. I don't like touching soggy food, so gross.
4. Why the heck do I own a dishwasher if I am pre-washing everything anyway? (I am well aware of the "no-need-to-pre-wash theory...I just can't seem to get the hubs on board with that one)

So, I looked into some things about dish-washing in hopes I would learn something that would help me "enjoy" (if that's really the right word for it) this dreaded chore even just a little...and guess what!? I wanted to share what I found!!!

• Don't procrastinate. The longer those grimy dishes sit in your sink, the better chance you have of getting sick . Insider tip: The substance that attracts the most bugs? Dried-on milk.
• Add bleach. If you're washing in soapy water and rinsing in clear water, add a couple of drops of bleach to the clear water. Rinsing in bleach water kills 100 times more bacteria than rinsing in just plain water.
• Pay extra attention to metal pans & silverware. These are the surfaces bacteria like the most, especially those hard to clean forks. So spend some extra time cleaning in this area.
• Water temperature. The way you wash your dishes is more important than the temperature of the water, so if you want to wash with cooler water (save some money in the water  heater department!) then go for it, just make sure you're thorough with the cleaning.

So none of those things really help me "enjoy" the task more, but they sure do give me a bigger sense of urgency (bleh).
I guess it's time I get to those dishes.....