TRANSFORMED

Before we moved in, our house looked like this.

When we moved in, it looked like this.

I've been gagging over the blah, scribbled on white walls and imitation paper-oak cabinetry since we moved in. I painted most of the house beige, and I just got around to painting the horrific faux-oak trims white.

I've been debating over whether or not to paint an accent wall in my living room, but didn't know what color to use. Then...I fell in love with some red paint on the walls of my Smith mom's work-partner's house. Since I was drooling over the red color so much, she got me a can of the dazzling paint for Christmas. I had to get it up on the walls before Valentine's day!

I hated the corner cabinet and the ugly glass in it,

so I painted it and covered the glass with toille fabric.

Before putting up the red, I put up the primer. And though this gorgeous pink would be great in a little girl's room, the living room just didn't seem to be the proper place.

So three coats of red paint later, the living room looks like this:

Personally, I think it's an improvement over the original (here's a refresher of how it looked before we got it).

DIRTY WORK

I officially have laundry helpers!

Alright. I'll admit it. I'm a perfectionist. I haven't had my kids help me with chores before (aside from picking up toys and such) because I know they won't do a good enough job and I'll just have to go behind them and do it over again, so why go through the energy of instructing them if I just have to do it myself later?

I've given in and realized that with the work load the kids put on me everyday, I've got to have them help me, and most kids their age are doing stuff, so I might as well train them.

They've been wanting to help with various tasks for a while, but I just wasn't ready for their help and the extra work it would undoubtedly create.

But, I feel overwhelmed a lot, so...

I have now relinquished control of :
-setting the table (Hyatt gets cups and silverware, while Talea wipes the table and gets napkins and plates. I have to bite my tongue about her wiping skills. She IS improving though.)
-doing the dishes (They're allowed to put away plastic dishes and let me help them put the soap in the dispenser. They have to clear their own plates from the table too.)
-sorting clothes and rotating the laundry from the washer to the dryer (Tilly sorts and Hyatt often helps her, and aside from putting the detergent in the dispenser, Tilly does the laundry. She even helps me fold when I let her.) 

Their favorite part of doing the laundry? Cleaning out the lint trap! I can even use that chore as a prize for them! Crazy!

PARTY..TIMES 3

The weekend before Kiersa and Paisli had their birthdays, Nana, Aunt Rachel, Aunt Teresa, and two of her kids (Starlet and Rocky) came up to visit and celebrate with us.

I absolutely STINK at planning for and actually celebrating events such as holidays and birthdays, so I left that in the capable hands of my creative sister-in-laws while I made cakes (from a box of course).

It was going to be a triple birthday party since Starlet was turning 3 on the 6th, Kiersa was turning 2 on the 14th, and Paisli was turning 1 on the 12th.

During all this prep, Teresa did girly stuff with Talea. She put...drum roll please... fake nails on her! **gasp!**

Hang on. Did I say nails?

Why yes, I did.

Nails!!! (Pause while the shock and amazement of my tomboy wanting to get nails done subsides.)

Talea was actually in heaven! She's finally getting into "girly" stuff now, but I'm not that girly (I'm lucky to wear make-up once, maybe twice, a week!), so having her girly Aunt Teresa come pamper her was a dream come true.

Of course Kiersa and Hyatt were enthralled just watching such fanciness happen in our house. I don't think I've painted my nails in 9 years! I've never painted my kids nails. I just hate how it chips, so why go through all the work? I'm all about long term benefits from my hard work. If the fruits of my labor aren't going to last longer than a week at least, I say forget it. Good thing for aunts who are willing to go through the labor! I'll stick to painting walls that will stay painted.

After such an exciting event (the manicure), Tilly needed a nap on her Nana.

Snapshots of some of the party-goers:

 Hyrum and Teresa

Rachel and Rocky

 

Being the helpful husband Hyrum is, he made tacos for dinner! (Please ignore my ugly cabinets and hideous handles.  They are definitely not Hyrum's handywork! They'll get a face lift with paint this summer!)

Kitchen helpers:

Tiana and Nana

Paisli even got up the nerve to show off her new walking skills for a bit.

Teresa, Nana and Rachel went to town spoiling the girls with presents. They were very sweet! Hy and I didn't even buy a thing for any of the girls. We're holiday duds.

Here are the cakes:
Paisli's (I copied the picture of the cake on the back of the cake mix box)

Kiersa's (the turtle was Teresa's idea, then I got the chocolate idea online)

My camera died, so the rest of the pictures of Star's cake, the party, blowing out the candles...they're all on Nana's camera...and we forgot to download them before she left. I'll have to post more pictures later when I get them.

After a battery charge, I managed to get a few more pictures. We went swimming in the hotel pool and discovered our kids pretty much forgot everything we taught them about swimming last summer. Pictured top to bottom, left to right: Rachel, Hyrum, Paisli, Kiersa, Teresa, Star, Talea and Hyatt. Nana was sweet enough to watch Rocky in the hotel room.

Swimming was fun...until Kiersa pooped in her swimming diaper...and it leaked all over in the pool. What's that all about!? She hasn't pooped in her pants forever! Needless to say, she cleared the pool and the fun was over.

That night, Teresa did us a HUGE favor. She watched our kids so Hy and I could go to a late movie together. We haven't been to a movie together in...I can't remember how long. It felt GREAT to finally get a date night.

The next day, Paisli and Rocky had some bonding time. 

Rocky poked Paisli in the face,

so Paisli gave him the boot.

Good times.

A FEW FAVORITES

When I find an amazing product that makes my life easier, I like to share it with the world so everyone else can benefit. Here are three of my favorite cleaning products I used like crazy when I moved into this house.  

Mr. Clean Magic Erasers:  For cleaning pencil, pen, permanent marker, crayon, etc off of books, walls, cabinets, etc. Pretty much gets anything off of everything. Some elbow grease required.

 





 

Easy Off Fume Free Oven Cleaner (blue can only) and dryer sheets: For cleaning my shower!

I know, sounds weird, but I had a horrible soap scum problem to tackle when I moved in to this place, and my regular cleaners weren't even scratching the surface, so I looked online for some ideas and I came across these. (Make sure it's the fume free (blue) can.)
-You just spray it on, starting in the tub and working your way up. I even spray it on the faucet/handle, but I don't know if it's okay on all metals. Works fabulously on chrome! (Test it first if you're worried.)
-Let it sit (I usually wait about a half hour or so...whenever I remember to go back to it).
-Then scrub it with a damp DRYER SHEET or three (you know, like Bounce or Gain or any ol' generic that you throw in the dryer to reduce static). Everything comes right off!! For some strange reason, the dryer sheet works better than a regular scrubber (I tested the two). It usually takes a few sheets to finish the job.  Hardly any elbow grease required.
-Then just spray it off! Voila! Sparkling clean!( I had to do it twice on one shower that was SOOOOOOOO gross and crusted. The people must never have cleaned their shower.)

So give them a try and see what you think. If you know of something for removing hard water marks (off my water dispenser on the fridge or my dishes that I air dry), let me know. I have the worst hard water here!

 Pumice stone: for cleaning the toilet and tub
Before (stubborn stain that never came off):

During:

After (looks new!):

My last house had a tub that was ceramic or cast iron (something that was cold and hard), and it was NASTY when I moved in. Taking a pumice stone to it made it look brand new again. I was shocked!

I've used these stones on several toilets. It seems that when I move into a house, the previous owners must never clean their toilets, because when I get to them, a regular brush cleaning never works. I have to take a pumice stone to it. One toilet I thought I'd have to throw away because it was so stained with mineral deposits, but this useful little rock made it look brand new. You can find them at Walmart (some with a little sponge thing on one side), or you can pick one up from the side of the road by Crater Lake or find them floating in Lost Creek Lake.

I don't know that it's safe on fiberglass tubs. I use the Easy Off for that. It's safe on all toilet bowls though.