Smells

There is something about a smell that can trigger a very strong memory. This happens to me often and every once in awhile one of my favorite smells comes around.

The other day I was shopping in a cute little boutique store in Colorado Springs when this woman walked past me, she smelled JUST like my Grandmother. The smell was so alike it shot me back in time to my grandmas house, watching her sit at her table in her robe, a drink in one hand and a smoke in the other. My grandma didn't smell of scotch and smoke, but she did have a distinct perfume and laundry combination.

I always want to stop and tell the person, how they sent me back through time but I don't know if they will understand.


I miss my Grandma.


Today while in my closet, on my dusty bookshelf that I haven't really looked at since I got my kindle, I noticed a book sitting there. I forgot I had this book but as I picked it up, there it was the smell of my Grandma. I imagined her sitting there in her little Texan home reading this book and I wish I could ask her what she thought of it.

I am going to have to give this classic a read and form my own opinions, but for now I am so thankful for this little book and holding on to the scent of my grandmother.

40 bags update!

Ive been crossing off zones like a mad woman, and let me tell ya....its addicting! I got rid of a good amount of stuff in January and made 3 trips to goodwill. 

I have recently remembered that Goodwill will come to my house once a month and pick up, even better! 

Here is a look at my progress so far

The playroom book shelf. Before...

After! 

The playroom toybox

After!

 Haileys toy box...this one is my favorite

After!  and no, I did not get rid of all her toys...but I did manage to totally downsize this toy box and put the "keep me" toys in better spots around the room. Got rid of the big floppy toy box!

 There is no before here, but I realized we were keeping the lids to pots and pans we have thrown away.

The spice cabinet before

and after.

I highly recommend cleaning out this area, we had spices that had a use by date of 2008!!! Gross. 

Before

 After, this was another zone with oodles of lids! Get rid of the lids people!

  and a happy trip to goodwill. Feels good! 

How is your list going?

40 bags in 40 days

Last year I was inspired by my friend Melissa. She started a project she had found on another blog called 40 bags in 40 days. Every year for lent, you are supposed to give something up, I usually "give up" going to Target, or drinking soda or Starbucks.

40 bags in 40 days is a great lent project!
The idea is that during the 40 days of lent you rid your house of 40 bags of "stuff." All those extras we hold onto and dont need and fill our cabinets and closets, that watch you as you walk by! okay not really but I feel overtaken by my house sometimes. Especially in the days right after Christmas where all the new stuff comes in to join all the rest of the stuff! Its time to take action and de clutter.

I am so excited to get started, I am a tad OCD (CDO) and love organizing. I have come up with my list of areas I want to attack and I have already started. I know its not lent yet, but Easter is on my oldest sons birthday this year so I wanted to get started early. I also know I will end up with way more than 40 bags!

Here is my list:

The one areas I am most afraid of are the corners of the basement. We seem to save everything! Why?! Is there a child apocalypse we are preparing for? Blankets and toys and clothes, from 3 children I have saved! When we first moved into this house we wanted the basement to be a play area, but instead it has become a storage unit. 

I got started this morning with the upstairs hall closet. Here is the before...

 and here is the after!

So much "stuff" taking over our lives.

I am so excited to be finished and know that I will feel less stressed with less stuff over taking our home.

I plan to blog about my progress, and hope that others will join in too! I know Melissa is doing it again this year.

Join me wont you!?

Haileys Tangled up in fun party!

Haileys 6th birthday celebration began the day before in her class. The class does a celebration once a month for each January kid. Ironically Hailey was the only January birthday! Which baffles me because I know at least 40 people with a January birthday.

We passed out cupcakes and sang to her

she got to take the first bite, and as soon as she did her 3rd tooth fell out! She has lost 3 teeth in about 10 days. I think shes saving up for a car.

  The next day was her party. We invited a lot of kids! The new rule at school is you cant just invite a few you have to invite the entire class...so with fear in my hands I did, but luckily only about 15 kids showed up haha.

 I made her invitation on photoshop and I really love it!

Hailey dressed like Rapunzel and insisted on carrying Pascal around in a frying pan the whole time. No one was hit over the head though! Promise!

 I made her headband with yarn, a bow we already had and glued them to a headband we already owned.

We played "All tangled up"

 We also played Catch Pascal in the frying pan, Pin the crown on Rapunzel, and had a pinata! I spent most my time wrangling children so I didnt get any photos of all the games :)

I managed to get a group picture of all of Haileys friends! I love the happiness bursting from this photo.

Then we set them loose for awhile while we waited for cake.

 Out comes the Birthday Cake!

 Then It was the anticipated Present time! I always crack up how all the kids get as close as they can to the one opening presents. I get really nervous when people watch me open gifts but Hailey LOVES the attention.

 Then we set the kids off to run all the sugar off in the backyard while they waited for their parents. At one point all we could hear was high pitched screaming and they had all crammed themselves in this tiny house! I apologize to my neighbors for that one.

  We had a lot of fun and I think the party went really well. We really did get tangled up in fun!!

  and my mom finally made it on my blog, she will be so happy.

 Stay tuned for the interview with a 6 year old!

Dance Party

When things get cranky and everyone is stressed and going crazy...crank up the music and go crazy with your kids. 

Works every time.

 

Lets play the cleaning Game!

 I am blessed to be apart of an amazing circle of friends, not only in town but on the Internet as well. When my daughter Hailey was born I joined BabyCenter and went into the forums. That quickly led to a huge group of mom friends with a kid the same age as mine. BabyCenter changed a lot so we went off into different online forums (yay noobs!). Now Hailey is 5 and we are all still in touch and I have even met a lot of them in person. 

One amazing thing I got out of this fabulous circle of Genius mothers is the Cleaning game! I sometimes like to clean, but lets face it most the time it just stinks! Lately my business has been booming, I am in school and with the 3 kids cleaning has really been on the back burner of things I want to do.

This is where the game comes in.

Its simple, you need a pen and paper, and your usual cleaning supplies on Standby.  

Step one. Walk around the house with a pen and paper and make a list of all the things you want to clean, I usually find about 12-14 areas I want to tackle.

Step two- Get friends involved! Make a status update on facebook or have a texting party with a friend.

 Not only will they help you but they will hold you accountable! Have your friend pick a random number between 1-14. Whichever number they pick you have to go do.

Step3. Send a BEFORE picture, yes embarrassing I know, I am about to share all my embarrassment with you!

Step 4. Make it shiny!!!!!

Step 5. Send the after picture to receive your new number.

Its a new and different way to clean your house, you are held accountable and its fun! Get friends involved with you and text results back and forth all day. My good friend Rebecca and I are both enjoying our super clean homes today and plan on making this a weekly adventure. We have to earn our moms night out somehow right?! 

Here are my before and after photos. A lot of yesterday for me was organizing, and the cleaning I avoid until absolutely necessary. 

The kids dining table...YUCK Before: I think those pencil marks have been on there for about 2 months?

After!

Before- The loft, aka playroom. just disorganized and no real flow to it.

After! Thanks for the new panorama feature on my iPhone!

Before- Under my daughters bed. Notice the toy box is overflowing?

After! Goodwill got a bag out of this one :) I love donating stuff!!!!!

Before-  Hailey and Owens cubes....scary in those boxes, I went through those as well.

After! Another goodwill bag came out of this corner, can I get a woohoo?

Ah the kitchen- Those darn counter tops are always covered in nonsense. Its the dumping ground in our house.

I wish I hadn't cut off the top of the fridge in the photo because that was BAD. I cleaned that off as well. 

see that frame on the very right sitting on the counter? its been there since June....I finally hung it up!

 and a close up of the kitchen sink. Just how I like it.

Next up the master closet- My jeans were a bit of a mess, but I also lost the after to this! I assure you it looks beautiful now, all organized and lovely.

Here is a before of the master closet floor- crap crap everywhere.

and the after. Its the little things in life :)

The bedroom floor- This included under the bed

 My husbands side! I do not take any claim for this.

And this was all the under the bed stuff.

The after! I really need a longer bedspread to hide the mattress. Ikea!

Next up the bedroom bookshelf. The most appalling of this was the dust that was layered on here- GROSS. That basket was also full of the most random crap imaginable. 

the basket crap- I found 89 cents!

After- Look you can see my mother now! and the dust is finally gone.

Now for the bathroom- If a guest comes over today I wont say "don't look in the bathroom upstairs" ha!

Wet towels on the ground- Mom I swear this wasn't me! Ive learned my lesson.

and the counter- Hurricane Hunter and Hailey were here earlier. See the laundry piling up behind where I am standing? I am 5'9 thats a tall pile.

After- I also scrubbed the tub, shower walls, the shelves, cleaned the toothbrush cup, and organized the cabinets!

Welcome to my clean bathroom!

Ugh- the laundry. This is embarrassing  Our laundry is in the basement where we hardly ever go so this happens a lot. My hubby was supposed to fold that nearest pile of clothes about 2 weeks ago. 

  

I am happy to announce all that laundry is on its way through the cycle! 

The best part of this game is the final list. All crossed off. This was on a MONDAY, I never accomplish anything on Mondays so I felt really good about this yesterday. 

 So there you have it, go and play the cleaning game!!!!! I promise you will have fun and you will love the result. The most productive game you will ever play.

 A clean home is a less stressful home, enjoy it for the whole day before your kids return home from school!

If you play make sure you come back and let me know :)