Makeshift Mudroom

 

This week's weather and subsequent amount of garments needed has me thinking mudrooms.

 

 

I don't need anything grand, just a place to house shoes and coats.

 

 

Maybe with a checkerboard floor reminiscent of my grandparent's kitchen.

 

 

And place with a bench to sit and put on those shoes.

 

 

And something like this

 

 

 or this

 

 

or this would also solve the Outdoor Laundry Room Conundrum.

 

 

And lots of natural light, too, please (but no cats, thank-you-very-much).

 

 

Alas, I have found no magic genie to grant my wish so we make do as best we can and give thanks that there are so many little hands and feet and bodies around to wear this gear.

De-decorating

It was fun and now it's done.

 

I truly do like Christmas decorations, but I'm glad to reclaim the precious nine square feet of space in my living room that the tree has occupied.  Until next year....

Stretching Holiday Decor

Simple.  Natural.  Use-what you have.

 

 

Christmas decorating was a quick affair.  We dodged children and caught flying ornaments and wrestled a tree into place then collapsed in exhaustion.

Our bookcase-turned-focal-point was left completely bare until I realized we had guests coming in an hour.  Out came creamy whites and hints of green and we called it Christmas.

 

 

There's an advantage to these white poinsettias.  Once the Christmas tree is gone and all that's red and sparkles is packed away, the creamy leaves transition nicely into the cold bleakness of January.

 I'm convinced that if properly cared for, you could throw a red ribbon around the pot for one last Valentine's Day hoorah!  (Note: watering more twice in a two month period is not sufficient).

Alas, I don't think I'll prolong this for another week. 

 

But it was good while it lasted.

December Photo Project: Day 23

This is one of my most-favorite Christmas ornaments.

 

 

Sometime during my childhood, the tree was overturned and the glass top shattered.  My loving dad, however, came to the rescue and in MacGyver-esque fashion, repurposed a small lightbulb to hold all those tiny gumballs.  Thanks, Dad!

December Photo Project: Day 6

Half-hearted Christmas.

 

 

Maybe getting some more lights for the wreath would throw me into the Christmas mood.

December Photo Project: Day 1

For a day, the decorations collide: feathers and snowflakes, pumpkins and paper chains. 

Open

I don't know if there have been any official studies done on the effects of air-conditioning on human health, but I feel like it's another aspect of life to be practiced in moderation.

 

I feel like there is a cleansing effect from fresh air - it soothes the soul and blows away germs (and we sure are needing that!).  The "store-bought" air is stale and unnaturally cold.

There is usually a battle of wills here, the air-conditioning vs. non-air-conditioning camp (which I find interesting seeing as one of us grew up with it in MS and the other without in VA).  Nevertheless, come summer we wait until the very last moment to turn it on.  Heat is dealt with in the same way. 

Therefore, I am very thankful that it is mid-November, the temperatures are in the mid-70s and we can fling the doors open, enlarging the house and cheering our hearts.

Vignettes

There is a point that you reach as a mother of six young kids

 when you realize that you will never have a clean home.

 

But today I am thankful for those quiet places for the eyes to land.  Those scenes which distract from the piles of laundry on the couch or scattered toys on the floor.  (And doesn't the name just sound charming?)

Project Week

Since I wasn't distracted by blogs and websites due to internet/phone issues last week, I had a chance to complete some tasks around the house.  Taking advantage of the stash of diapers in our garage, I created a masterpiece of stacked boards out of Harm's Way (a.k.a., Jonathan) that eventually got painted. 

Andrew thinks bike-riding requires too much effort; Matthew likes his until his pedals fall off; Stephen just acquired a hand-me-down bike but the wobbles worry him.  While I painted, I suggested that they practice so that they could have their own NASCAR races.  That was the trick, and from then on, they were hooked.

The result of this burst of energy?

Two new valances/curtains

An organized closet for The Dormitory

Painted baseboards

American Grafffiti

Meet our resident graffiti artist.

 

 

While I'm, ahem, a little particular about keeping writing instruments out of reach,

a workman at our house isn't.

 

 

Josie found a Sharpie and went to work.

 

 

Quite impressive, huh?

 

 

I'm just glad I haven't made it to my major repainting yet.

 

 

It's a good thing she is so cute.

Welcome, Spring!

flowers courtesy of our sweet friend Finley

DPP: The Stash

Usually these babies are kept in a high cabinet, behind the tea and sundries, away from little hands.

 

But they were too pretty to be kept in a dark cupboard during the Christmas season so now they live atop the fridge, a cheery display still safe from the reach of little hands.

Window Dressing

While it's been a long process, I'm so thankful to have curtains hanging in our living room once again; it feels like slipping into a suit jacket.

Now for the bling.

Thanksgiving 2011

I used to have it all together.

Well, that may be an exaggeration.  Let's just say that I used to think that I had it all together; I never really did.

I'm a maker of lists and a jotter of notes, only more often than not, I lose those scraps of paper.  I've tried notebooks of various sizes, but they get buried in the daily accumulation of stuff (the school papers, the LEGO creations, mail and confiscated toys).

So when my mom called last Tuesday to ask about the Thanksgiving menu, I froze.  Panic set in.

I knew Thanksgiving was coming (who could forget their parents visit, especially when it involved taking three of the kids and 90% of the noise back to their house for a few days?). But, I also knew we had an out-of-town trip the weekend before and I needed to make plans for that (i.e., collecting sewing projects to work on while riding shotgun); it became the sole-project-on-the-brain - no spare cells for menu planning.

"I'll think about Thanksgiving when we return."

Only we didn't come home until dinner time on Monday.  It was raining on Tuesday and there was no way I was going to drag five kids through storms to fill our larder; instead I unpacked and cleaned (and they alternately helped and watched a new LEGO video - shameless advertising that bought me a few minutes of peace!).  Thankfully, our family's menu changes very little, and once it was tattooed on my arm all on paper and stuck to the fridge, I was good to go.

On Wednesday I woke up a determined woman.  Some may say it was insanity (and I happen to agree), but I took my crew to the grocery store on the day before Thanksgiving.  And it wasn't just a handful of items that were needed - I'm talking a total restocking, a taking-advantage-of-the-sales trip, mountains of food.

We were plugging right along until my blood sugar plummeted (oatmeal will do that to you).  Suddenly I got hot, the store seemed extra crowded and I needed to eat.

I grabbed a box of buy-one-get-one-free crackers, and we all dug in.  A curious employee asked me why I was stuffing my face if I needed any help (I love Publix!); I politely declined and explained that I needed a little sustenance so I didn't pass out in the floor leaving the manager to deal with my kids.  His sense of relief was palpable.

Once I felt normal again, we plowed ahead, which is a very accurate description since I was driving one of those massive carts loaded with an assortment of whole and non-so-whole foods to last us the rest of the holiday season.  Spray whipped cream anyone?

Then I remembered the turkey.

A quick whip of the cart and I stood looking at dead birds.  There was no way to fit one, much less two, on our overflowing cart.

Plan B was to dump the kids at the register with the cart and beg for mercy.  The cashier was gracious.  So with Josie strapped to my chest, I grabbed the first two birds I could find and hauled their 26 lb. frozen bulks to the front.  Meanwhile another clerk both amused my kids and unloaded my goods, taking great care not to break eggs or squish bread (did I say I love Publix?).

I left with two carts, full of food and kiddos (and, if there weren't enough reasons already, a kind gentleman took it all out to my van - reason enough to go to Publix!).

And the rest of the day went smoothly.  Doug watched the youngun's and I make pie crust and baked apple pie; I steamed sweet potatoes and assembled sweet potato fluff; I prepared a requisite jello salad and cleared the kitchen counters.  My parents arrived with a pumpkin pie and cornbread dressing.  Ahhh!

And then Thanksgiving Day arrived. We threw the turkey in the oven.  We chatted.

We started a pot of green beans.  We talked.  Stephen and Matthew assisted with stuffed celery.

We used the fancy plates and all the crystal and cut glass that's been gathering dust, but it was relaxed.

No fancy flower arrangements, just nature at its finest.  Several weeks ago we waxed gingko leaves and wrote out things for which we were thankful.  As my dad watched the preparations he asked, "Does this say what I think it does?  An external hard drive?"  Yes, sir; we are thankful for that.

And of course there were pickles, and they tasted so much better out of my grandmother's beautiful cut glass dish.  Numerous Mosolgo grandchildren have cut their teeth on pickles from this dish. 

It was the most perfect day I could have wished for.  No running hither and yon.  No frantic food preparation or culinary crises.  Just a pleasant day spent with people we love.

Something for which we are truly thankful.

Fun With Decorating

I don't consider decorating fun, at least in the general sense.  With so many aspects to consider from style to color to pattern, I'm left paralyzed with indecision (don't get me started on our living room window).  Afraid to make the wrong choice and waste precious time (not to mention money), I choose to do nothing.

Occasionally, however, I am struck with an idea (sometimes they work, sometimes they don't).  This was a winner (quick and cheap, too).

(Can I use anymore parentheses?)

It all started with this guy.

Uncle Wiggly's Storybook is one of our favorite reads

so when I saw this boardgame at a neighbor's yardsale, I grabbed it. 

It's vintage.

The same neighbor had Twister so I bought that, too.  I think I paid $1.50 for both.

Well, it turns out that the Uncle Wiggly game was a bit slow and the Twister mat is hard to manage.

Both games sat unused until I decided to use them to decorate.

At first I planned to nail the boards directly to the wall; then I found these handy-dandy clips.

Instant wall art!

I soon snagged several others from the local thrift store

including this one made the year I was born.

I love the stylish apparel these kids are sporting.

The boxes and pieces remain ready and waiting for Game Night.

 And the finished result?

Maybe this decorating thing isn't all that bad.

Room Update

The walls and trim are painted, and the furniture has been moved back in.



It's absolutely amazing how a light color doubles the size of a room. 

Saying Goodbye

"It's never easy to say goodbye."  Reba McIntire

Farewells are easy; the hard part comes in choosing a new color.

After 7 hours of painting on Saturday, we had primed walls with one coat of Ivoire, but there's just something that doesn't sit right about it.  Well, two things actually.  It has a greenish hue that really bothers me and it totally clashes with connecting walls of Rutabaga. 

I can live with the latter but not the former; Doug doesn't like either.  Doug wants brown; I don't want anything that hints at dark.

I took off to try a different store's samples in the hopes of finding the perfect color and then spent an exciting evening literally watching paint dry.  I'm hoping there'll be a little money left after all these samples to apply towards some counseling.  We're going to need it.

The upside to all of this is that I've had lots of time to tune into the local classic country station, getting my fill of cheating songs and possibly the solution to this decorating dilemna:  

"I'm going to hire a wino to decorate our home."  David Frizzell

Time For a Change

....and why not start out big?

This photo is a little deceptive.  The red looks a little bright and happy at the moment, but certain hours of the day it lends a heavy, depressing feel to the room making it only tolerable to the lady of the house.  Thus, I retreat to the kitchen.

After three trips to Sherwin-Williams with four kids in tow, I think I've decided on new color (a big thanks to Meg for her decision-making abilities which were somehow sucked away the first time I gave birth).  I'm going to commit and hope for the best.  Anything has to be better than this red, right?

From there I hope to knock a few holes in the walls, hide some toys, add some curtains and do some general sprucing.  At least as long as my energy holds up.  Which probably won't be too long.  But I'll do my best.

I'll keep you posted.

Tweet

My friend Meg tells me birds are big so we exchanged our fowl

for a sweet, feathery friend.

Tweet, tweet!

The Kitchen Photo Project

As if I didn't already have enough items on my to-do list, I keep adding more.  This wall in our kitchen, however, has been bothering me for sometime and I felt the urge to act.

About a year ago I hung up an old cork board from my bedroom with the intention of having a centralized area for meal planning, school activities, and chore lists only it didn't work out that way and it wasn't used. I had also planned on painting over the original Midnight Blue paint, but I never could decide on the color. It was definitely time for something new.

I really wanted some pictures of the kids so I had 11 (odd, isn't it?) black & white photos enlarged and then matted them to larger frames because I just love the look of a mat.  See what I mean?



I had originally balked at the price of mats at Wal-Mart and thought I could get them cheaper at Hobby Lobby only to find that they were $1.99 apiece and out-of-stock.  On a whim, I looked at Dollar Tree and found 3 pack 5x7 mats and 2 pack 8x10 mats for a fraction of the price - gotta love that.

I really have trouble arranging things asymmetrically (I could claim it's those strong Protestant roots calling me to do everything "decently and in order" but that may be stretching things) so I cut paper to scale and rearranged it on the wall until I had what I wanted.

And I'm sure some other person thought of this long before me, but I simply nailed through the paper then ripped it off to hang the pictures.

And the final result?

Andrew told me the pictures would make me smile.  He's definitely right.