Before and After

Here are the three things (other than work and the kiddos) that I am going to work on today. It shouldn't take me too long, but you all know how the day can fly by when your to-do list is long!

My blanket chest
This piece of furniture has lived in about every room of our home. It is now in a nook in the kitchen and it houses my placemats, table clothes and I use the top for some indoor plants and other pretties. Unfortunately, it looks like this right now:


My buffet
I picked this up at an antique store that was going out of business. I wanted something to hold my dishes and serving pieces since we don't have a dining room set. It has two drawers, one for silverware and another for placemats. I do keep some placemats and table clothes in here as well as all of our dishes and silverware. The top is supposed to showcase my "funky chicken" that was the inspiration for my kitchen as well as some other decorative pieces. Right now, it looks like this:


Bookcases
We have three in our library and they all need help! This one holds my collection of Anne Rice, Stephen King and Marion Zimmer-Bradley as well as our collection of Star Wars books. The bottom two shelves are kid's books and as you can see, they haven't been good about putting them away nicely.


Wish me luck!

One project at a time

I am posting my to-do list on my sidebar to try and keep me accountable for what I need to get done this week.
I have really let me housework slide since I started working. Jeff has been great about keeping up with the dishes and laundry - he is awesome! BUT - it seems like all of my horizontal surfaces are just crammed with STUFF!
I know this might be crazy, but I am going to post before and after pictures here to show that YES! I did accomplish something today - and to share a little of my house with you!

Getting Overwhelmed!

Things have been crazy around here this summer - and school starts back up in just 3 weeks!
Ashleigh is going to a summer day camp run by our local community college. The class "teachers" are all volunteers from the area and I would say that at least 50% of them are high school students. I think that it is really neat that these older kids would give up part of their summer to teach younger children about topics they are passionate about!
Ryne is counting down to kindergarten. He wasn't too thrilled about the idea until we bought his backpack! He was so excited to get a new "big boy" backpack that I keep having to hide it from him so that it stays in one piece before school starts! It is huge on him and makes this momma a little teary-eyed that her little man is ready for school.
Sean is just being himself - a ball of energy. We had a trip to the ER a few days ago to get him bandaged up. Let's just say that top bunk + ceiling fan + a little monkey jumping on the bed = 4 steri strips and some surgical glue on the noggin. Never a dull moment when Sean is around. I think he is looking forward to having me to himself once the older two go back to school.
I am working! I got a job doing admin work from home for a local business. It is difficult right now, not the work but figuring out a new schedule to accommodate everyone in my house and the work and my other outside commitments. It will take some getting used to, but I'll get it figured out.
Jeff is now working two jobs. He still works for the Mouse, but on his days off he is working for the same company I am. I know it sounds crazy, but we have a plan!
I have a massive to-do list today, so I need to get going! More on that later...