One’s freedom
At the cost of another’s.
But they don’t seem too offended. =)
Flipping
This week my Matthew is off to a youth missions trip for six days. And thanks to our precious Aunt Sarah, who just completed her freshman year of college, we’re having a new roommate and helper with the masses this week. So I’ve taken the opportunity of extra hands during the day, when she’s not working, to bite off my huge summer projects.
This week I’m flipping the bedroom furniture in the kids’ rooms and going through all the stored kid clothing (they are already boxed by size, but the boxes need to be weeded through since some of the lids don’t fit and I just throw the clothes into the boxes as a child grows out of the articles with some regard to condition). We’re donating any unwanted furniture/clothing to the women’s center (a place supporting women who would have otherwise opted for an abortion) and other second-hand shops.
I got an email a while back from my sister’s in-laws saying they had the top bunk of the set of bunkbeds they gave us now available for pick-up, along with the generous donation of two dressers. And just a week after a sweet friend of mine offered me her kiddo’s old baby crib. Since Hannah was shaking the bolts free of her crib (resume skill), I thought it a good idea to do some crib switching.
So with that, the wooden furniture is headed into the boys’ room (more gender neutral furniture anyway) and the white furniture (more feminine, but at the time of setting up the room it was an incomplete bunk set and I needed the completed bunks for the girls over the femininity) is headed into the girls’ room. It started with the cribs, then the dressers, then followed by the beds while picking off clothing boxes and general storage amidst the whole project.
The project could take someone without kids just a a day or maybe even a day and a half when you add in the clothing, but since life still needs to go on around these parts, and there are morning and afternoon naps to be had, I’m easing the project in phases over a the entire week. Afterall, if the kids are a wreck because of pushing the project too hard, then I’m the one that needs to pick up the pieces… without Daddy.
I took some “before” pictures since Matt’ll be taking the camera on the mission trip. So I give you these pictures and hope to post my “after” pictures sometime at the end of this week or start of next week (depending on my sleep deprivation level). =)
Entering into the Girls’ Room
Wall 1 by the door.
The other 3 walls in the girls’ room.
And the boys’ room (warning: less tidy)
Doorway entrance (closet is one the left wall similar to the girls’ layout).
The 3 walls.
We. Will. Conquer. This!
P.S. I know the boys’ room is kinda plain. I’m working on that. 😉
Wordless Wednesday: Went There
Oh yeah, we went there. Because we can! =)
Can you guess who picked these out? Oh no, not my husband. HA!
And look at this face…
I love this boy. He is “one of us” for sure. 😉
He cracks me up. =D
Wordless Wednesday: WATER!!!
Fishing.
For hours.
Cold.
Tag-along
Creative.
Necessary Dance Break.
Simple.
Delightful.
Water.
Domestic Tremblings
We got a new vacuum yesterday evening. Our old one died. Yes, the one with the retractable cord. Hold on, let me go get a tissue.
It’s so hard to let go.
So my wonderful husband did some research. Don’t know why he’d think me busy at home. And came upon a great find – of course it came with a coupon and rave reviews. After a second search he found the store with the lowest price and thus sealed our evening plans.
We loaded the masses for the high-profile outing. Yes, it was the first place I had gone all day. Yes, I had to change out of pajamas and shower for the day. Don’t judge me. It was a cleaning day. I promise.
Fine, so it became a cleaning day.
Once I decided I didn’t want to change out of pajamas and my showering window would have to reopen at nap time.
Anyway, so we stepped into the store, corralling the masses. “Don’t touch anything” came out of my mouth a bit quickly before the older three’s impulses even turned heads. “Put that back” was said a few times. I confess! My children are sinners. And Bed Bath and Beyond has WAY too many brightly colored things in kid reach. It’s a crime really. They’re just inviting reshelving needs.
With a few “mom tones” my crew returned to the double stroller like a boomerang – one of those good ones that actually responds to the circular return pattern. So much to see. Impulses firing. Salivation.
“There ya go, honey,” Matt grinned as he handed the plastic to the cashier.
“Yeah, just what you wanted!” Came the cashier’s sarcasm.
She must not have know how much mess those innocent looking smiles before her can make. She must not have seen the absent toddler climbing between the patio furniture.
I promise we don’t always act like this. … most of the time.
She should have guessed as they practiced their frozen dance moves on our way out of the store.
Things get knocked over. Things spill. Things get crushed into the carpet. And I find little “contributions” and science experiments….
Little did she know when she made her comment. Oh, little did she know…
Shhhhh! Quiet everyone. (Bends down) Look at my new baby:
…She’s beautiful…
Crushed cereal and dust bunny communities are shivering.
FEEL THE POWER!!!!
To Top it Off!
Hannah started crawling forward today. (She’s been perfecting the backward side-shuffle for three weeks). Yeah, the day we returned from our 8 day vacation. Yep, the day we are all exhausted and stranded somewhere between West coast and Midwest time. Yep, the day Mommy had the camera out because I was reviewing vacation pictures. Yep, the day Mommy and Daddy exhaustedly planned a short movie to limp three tired kids along until bedtime.
Hannah started crawling forward today.
Her motivation: a pile of remote controls. =)
Once she realized the belly-flop wasn’t going to work,
that left leg started to get antsy. Then the hands started kneading in place. Then came the organization. And the first bold left knee/right arm coordination.
And after three slow-motion forward crawls, this happened:
VICTORY!!!
Bravo, baby girl!