Cubbies!

I've been trying to come up with a solution for our laundry room for some time. I wanted it to be multi-functional yet still look nice (since guests have to walk through it to use the bathroom). I not only wanted it to be a laundry room but also a mudroom for my kids to put their jackets and shoes when they walked in the door.

We decided to make a trip to IKEA to see if we could get some ideas. Here's what Nathan and I came up with... cubbies! Each child has two cubbies, one for shoes and one for jackets, hats and gloves, whatever the current weather calls for. We also bought some cool hampers to be used as my laundry system. I am totally stoked about how it looks and how functional it is! Is it sad for me to be so excited about storage?

Feelin' Fallish

Here's my front porch (with a newly painted door!). I wrapped foil leaf garland around the railing and made fall leaves out of scrap book paper for the windows. A scarecrow sitting on a mini bale of hay greets guests who drop by.

I love autumn. It is my favorite time of the year and I always go all out to decorate my front porch and the main floor of my home. I take all of the wall decorations off and replace them with something fall-themed. Some of the decorations I have made myself and others I have purchased at my favorite craft stores, Michael's, Jo Ann Etc, and Hobby Lobby.



My hall tree. I made the fall arrangements sitting on it as well as the barn and scarecrow on top. So cute!

My beautiful piano. Everywhere in my living room you'll see glittering autumn leaves scattered about. It looks so pretty and since my kids aren't allowed to play in the living room they stay put!

It takes me a good hour to pull everything off my walls and put new things up but I love it. Fall time makes me happy and so do my fall decorations. My challenge to you is to make or buy something new to decorate your home with this fall. You deserve it!



This is a close up picture of the fall rag wreath that hangs on my front door. I made it a few years back. It is so pretty!

To learn how to make this super easy wreath click here!

Laundry Lowdown

Once upon a time a discontented queen used to do laundry for two princesses, a tiny prince, and the king of the castle all in one long and tiring day. Her back would ache from the countless hours she spent sitting on the floor folding each article of clothing. Then she would wearily lug all the baskets of garments up the two flights of stairs to be lovingly placed in the drawers and hung in the closets of each member of the royal family. Laundry day was the day of the week she dreaded the most.

One night, while resting in her bed chamber, the lovely queen thought to herself, "There must be a better way to get the laundry done in a more manageable way." That night the queen had a dream. A dream in which she lived in a magical land where laundry duty was divided into one load a day, stretching across the entire week. The people in the land were very happy because they now had a queen who wasn't exhausted and grumpy after laundry day. When the queen awoke, she knew what she had to do. Here is her system:

• Buy inexpensive laundry organizers. Mine are made of PVC piping and mesh bags.
• Divide your loads into one for each day, Mon-Fri.
• Make signs to place above each hamper to reduce confusion. I wrote the day of the week in the top right corner and whose laundry it is very big in the center.
• Each sign should be a different color so if you have kids who don't read yet, they'll still know where to put clothes.
• Start one load each morning and while that is washing, fold and put away the previous day's load, thus having the laundry done before morning nap!

Since creating this system, the queen has realized that most loads don't need to be done weekly and she has in turn reduced her laundry stress greatly. She has taken the day that used to be reserved for washing royal clothing and turned it into Mommy Project Day. There is happiness throughout the land.

Look Your Best, Feel Your Best

Here's me, freshly showered, makeup on, and ready for my day!

I promised myself a long time ago that when I became a mother I would not "let myself go" so to speak. I've seen it happen too many times before. Mothers these days seem to think they are wearing some sort of badge of honor if after they have kids, they get to walk around all the time looking like crap! Well I'm here to tell you that this happy homemaker never looks like crap, at least not for very long. :)

Long ago I made a commitment to myself that even if I wasn't able to get anything else done during the day, I would still shower, get dressed, and put on makeup, no matter what! Why? Because it makes me feel happy to know that I took some time for myself. I am not the type of person that can go shopping in pajama pants. I saw a woman like that once. Her child was dressed with combed hair and she was wearing her pajamas, hair uncombed, and her ensemble was completed by a pair of grubby-looking slippers. I'm sorry, but if the image you want to portray to the world is, "I'm a mom and my kids come first, therefore I've stopped caring about myself." then by all means, you keep on shopping in your p.j.s!

However, if you want others to say, "That woman cares enough about her kids to recognize that if she doesn't value herself to allow some 'me time' then she'll be a more stressed out mommy." That's the way I see it and I make time in my day to look my best.

A good friend of mine once asked her husband to prioritize what he wanted to see when he walked in the door after a long work day. She gave him these four things to choose from: A "hot" wife (meaning she had taken the time to shower, fix her hair, and apply makeup), a clean house, happy kids (meaning they were being quiet and occupying themselves), and dinner on the table. She told him to choose which one meant the most to him and then she would try her best to accommodate him. What he said surprised her. He said first and foremost he wanted to have a wife who looked "hot".

I asked my husband the same thing thinking he would choose seeing dinner hot and ready for him on the table. I was just as shocked when he prioritized that last and put me first. So not only does it make me happy to look my best but it makes my man happy too. It's a win/win situation! :)

So how do I accomplish looking my best everyday? I guarantee you my life is just as busy as yours. I have four young children, three who are still at home with me during the day, and one who is a nursing baby. Yes, I am busy! It's really quite simple though. It's important to me and so I make it a priority. I don't start the day off cleaning the house. I've tried that before and while I was able to get the house clean, I found I was never able to get those extra minutes back to take care of myself. Usually I get myself ready during the baby's morning nap or if I have to take my daughter to preschool I shower the night before so I have one less thing to accomplish in the morning.

When I look my best I feel my best which makes me a happier person in general. However, if you don't care how you look then just disregard this whole post and keep on shopping in your pajamas. You just won't see me joining you!

Chores for Kids

One of Princess Aftyn's jobs is to wipe off the little table.

Ainsley and Aftyn are only almost 7 and almost 4 and do they do chores? Absolutely! In my opinion, as soon as a child gets to be around 2 they are capable of picking up after themselves and my kids do! Everyday at 4:00 it is chore time at my house and the girls are responsible for 7 chores:

1. Pick up all toys/belongings on Main Floor
2. Pick up all toys/belongings in Basement
3. Pick up all toys/belongings in Bedroom
4. Put away all shoes
5. Wipe off tables
6. Make bed
7. Put clothes away/in hamper

And guess what? They do these chores all by themselves! The only thing I do is break up the occasional fight.:) I also provide encouragement when needed especially for Aftyn who has a shorter attention span.

So how do I do it, you ask? Simple. I have easy organizational systems for toys so it's very quick and easy for the girls to put away their things. And after all the chores are completed, they get a small piece of candy (like a Starburst), and get to add seven coins to their Reward jars. See: http://littlelockards.blogspot.com/2009/03/tip-of-week-rewards-system.html.

I have explained to my kids that they are part of a family and it's their job to help make the house a happy place to be by picking up their stuff. Small children love to help and it makes them feel important. They also love getting candy!

Helpful Hints:

• 
  
  Whenever I hear Ainsley or Aftyn say, "But Mommy, I don't want to do chores..." I simply say, "That's fine if you don't want to, I'll do your half, but I also get your money and candy when I'm done..." It works every time!
• 
  
  If you've never had your kids do chores before but are wanting to give it a try, I suggest you do the chores with them the first few times to help them get the hang of it. A chore chart is also a great motivator, especially if they get to use stickers on it!
• 
  
  For really young kids I have found it most successful to give them specific tasks to do. If you say, "Pick up the living room," it can seem too overwhelming and chances are you'll meet resistance. However, if you say instead, "Find all the blocks in the living room and put them away..." It makes it seem much more manageable.

Chores are a great way to boost confidence in kids and give them a sense of accomplishment. It also gives Mom a little break to put her feet up and relax while the kids are cleaning up all the messes...

Well, one can always dream!

Queen of the Castle

You've heard the phrase "king of the castle" right? If you're a 1950's housewife then that phrase should definitely ring true. However, in this day and age things have changed dramatically. While the husband is still head of the family I no longer think he has "Lord of the Manor" bragging rights. How often does a working father really spend at home anyway? What gives him the right to have a say in how the household is run, organizationally speaking? None I say. This is why I am declaring myself "Queen of the Castle."

You should declare yourself that too if you're a homemaker like me. True my husband's job made it possible for me to have the house I live in, but without me it would still be a house. I am the one who makes my house a home.

Seriously, I don't barge into my husband's place of work and start telling him what to do, where to file his work, how he should talk to his boss, etc. That would drive him crazy! It's just the same for me. If ever Nathan tries to usurp some of my power, I calmly but sweetly remind him that the household is my job and therefore I ultimately decide how it is run. If he puts up a fuss about something then I just wait until he's off to work (and do it anyway).

Now don't get me wrong, Nathan and I still share responsibilities. He does the dishes every night, for example. He also puts the kids to bed and gives them their baths. We pay the bills together, we raise our children together. We are a team but when it comes to our occupations, he is a computer guy and I am a homemaker and we don't step on each other's toes.

So now that we're clear on who's really in charge, let's have some fun, shall we? After all, who says it has to be all work all the time? A household is more than a full-time job to run with kids and all in the mix but there's still some ways to make it your own. Set up organization methods that make sense to you. The rules for the household are also in your domain. If you don't want the kids to play in certain rooms then make it be so. If you want them to clear their dishes and put away their shoes then declare it for all to hear!

And of course we can't forget decorating! If the household belongs to you then you might as well like how it looks, right? You should, I suppose, be somewhat sensitive to what your husband's dislikes are. If he hates pink and ruffles adamantly then don't go overboard in that department but don't let him do the decorating either! If my husband were in charge of what went on the walls we'd have Nintendo posters and GI Joe paraphernalia galore. No thank you! Instead I let him think he gets a say by letting him put up some posters in our loft and the kids' playroom, places where no one else sees.

Respect your role as Queen of the Castle and your family will as well. Don't let anyone else try to tell you you're not in charge or I guarantee chaos will ensue. Keep control over the home beneath your reign or it will control you. You're a gentle but firm queen... remember that.

Pantry Perfection

With four small children I have a very limited amount of time to prepare meals, every second counts to be able to get things done, especially for my very impatient 2-year-old. :) Clutter and chaos drive me crazy and literally make me panicky. So I have organized my pantry in such a manner that I can easily find what I'm looking for. I've done this using several different sized bins and containers.

Here's how to get started:

1. Pull everything out of your pantry one shelf at a time (taking the opportunity to discard things you don't need)
2. Categorize items in a way that makes sense to you
3. Make a list of all the categories so you'll know how many bins to purchase
4. Once you've purchased the bins, organize your food accordingly
5. Label each bin
6. Place food back on shelf according to genre

Helpful Hints:

• Use different sized containers for different sized foods ie small flat baskets for spices, deep bins for flours and sugars, pourable containers for pastas, etc.
• Don't waste money looking for storage items at a specialty store, the cheapest places I have found are Drug stores and Wal-Mart.
• Keep similar foods together ie all baking items on one shelf, all cooking items on another, breakfast, drinks, etc.

Examples of what could go in each bin:

1. Bread (include peanut butter and extra jellies)
2. Packaged dinners (Mac n' cheese or Hamburger Helper)
3. Rice
4. Flours/sugars
5. Soups/sauces
6. Oils/Vinegars
7. Misc. baking
8. Baking chips/nuts

Organize your pantry in a way that makes sense to you and be sure and let your husband and kids in on the system so it always stays nice and neat!