Rebekah's new dresser

Many moons ago. . . one of the drawers from Rebekah's current dresser (which was really quite small and pathetic) BROKE (and I mean, SERIOUSLY broke, as in there was no turning back, no hammer it back together, nothing - IT WAS DONE).  So she used three drawers and one hole (with one of those plastic baskets from Wal-mart in part of it - yes, we are pretty ghetto around here).  We just do not have the cash in our budget to replace her dresser with something really nice and new, so I was looking on our local want-ads, but I kept just missing good deals.  It was really frustrating.  Finally, I got fed up with waiting (and maybe I was getting a little grumpy with God, too) and snagged the following "beauty" the minute it popped up!!  Now, in my defense, the picture on the want-ads did not look "quite so grungy."  It was a bit less zoomed in and kinda blurry - but I assumed it was fine.  They were in a rush to deliver (coming to town the next morning!!) so even though we had another obligation I went ahead and set up for them to leave it on the porch and collect their money from the mailbox.  It all went fine but I must say I was less than happy with the immediate results.  It smelled (just a bit, but still noticeable) like smoke and was just "yucky looking."

What it looked like upon delivery. (Except that there was a handle on the third drawer - I had already started removing them before I remembered I should take a picture!)

It actually all turned out ok, I think, but I had to wait ANOTHER TWO WEEKS for the dresser to be completed (haha, God, you are so funny).  But Rebekah and I got to have a "girls' afternoon" were we went off to the hardware store and she picked out the lovely color (which Daddy affectionately termed "pepto-bismol-pink" and so that is how I shall forever think of it - thanks, Honey).  Then we stopped at the grotto by church to pray the rosary (her choice) and then topped it off by heading to the grocery store to pick up some things for dinner.  It was actually a lot of fun for just the two of us.

Slowly but surely we got the dresser fixed up.  First I removed the hardware and filled the holes (which turned out to be pointless as the new hardware ended up being the same size - haha) then I primed it with this awesome smelly primer that did not require sanding.  Then I let Rebekah help and we attacked it with color.  Over and over she kept saying, "Momma, this color is just SOOO GREAT!!  I am going to have THE BEST DRESSER EVER!"  (She was beside herself with glee.)  Two coats and we were doing good.  A couple more days and Daddy was ready to put on the new hardware.  And here the new dresser is in all her glory:

The inside of the drawers needed to be painted as they were a little smelly, too.  I thought of painting them pick, as well, but then I found a can of paint from the girls' room (it was painted purple when we moved in - but we had gotten another small can to make some repairs a few years ago) so we made the insides purple and I think that makes it "even more awesome" - seriously.

9 Quick Takes - Homeschool Focus

I really want to post about homeschooling, but I want to journal, but I have other stuff to share, so the "7 Quick Takes" form won this afternoon.  Unfortunately, as I finally got all my "thoughts" out there it turned into 9 takes.  Deal with it - oh and consider yourself warned! :)

1) Homeschooling this year is AMAZING so far!!  For real!  Partially because my children are geniuses!!

*Rebekah is so motivated and can do A LOT on her own.  Seriously, this girl can practically homeschool herself.  And she LIKES me and WANTS to do what I think is important.  Can life get any better?!?!  :)

*Samuel is SO SMART!!  I have to sit and "help him" or he will run off and play with his brother, but he catches on really fast and is doing amazing.  He is reading chapter books to me (very slowly, mind you) and flying through his site words cards.  He is a wiz at Math and now picking up geography like nothing.  He cuts well and his writing is legible!  (What more can you ask from a first grader?!?!)

*But perhaps the most surprising is Jacob.  He has not been interested in anything very academic AT ALL up to this point.  He has his blocks and he is happy.  But suddenly, it is as if a switch has been flicked in his brain.  He is getting "serious" over his "schoolwork."  He is a cutting fool and has got quite a bit figured out in the letters and sounds department.  He REALLY likes rhyming and is getting better at writing.  His Math is not too shabby either.  Who knew?

*Paul is. . . well, he is enthusiastic, but let's be real, he is ONLY THREE.  So he keeps trying to do what his big brother Jacob is doing, but although he has the desire, he does not really get it all that much yet.  He is a wiz on puzzles, though (real, connecting puzzles - not those wimpy one piece in one slot jobbies), and loves to cut and color.  So I think he is on track for pre-school.

2) Homeschooling this year is AMAZING so far!!  And I think a lot of it has to do with better scheduling on my part.  Last year I never really came up with a real workable schedule.  I think it was because I was still of the mindset that I needed to run our "homeschool" like "real school" and that really was not working for us.  So I fought with that all year and we ended ok, but it was really frustrating for a long time.  This year I am more realistic about things.  We are not going to cover EVERY subject EVERY day.  Some subjects are really important to me and we will cover those (such as Catholicism, Scripture, Reading, Writing).  Most other subjects are at least twice a week with some special exceptions.  So far it is working well for us, but I foresee more tweaking in the future as I feel out if we need to add curriculum or take some things out.  Anyhow, if you are curious to step into the "heart of our homeschool" feel free to click here for our "schedule."  (Side note: We have a different schedule for each week day.  That is just how we roll around here.)

3) Homeschooling this year is AMAZING so far!!  And it is partially due to one of my oldie but goodie ideas that I call the "visual track."  I make it up in a spreadsheet document.  I actually do this in lieu of lesson plans.  Each "lesson" (however I want to break it down - a page, a few pages, a chapter, etc) is put in its own box.  The columns are the subjects (or book titles).  As they complete each "lesson" they color in the correct box.  This way we know EXACTLY where we are and where we are going. We all love it very much.

4) Homeschooling this year is AMAZING so far!!  And part of it it is because of these cool desks we picked up off the local want-ads.  They were from an old high school that shut down.  They work great because. . . there is no need to shift the chair, they can be easily hauled all over the living room (as I put pads under the feet and we have hardwood), they really do not take up much room, and THE KIDS ALL LOVE THEM!!

5) Homeschooling this year is AMAZING so far!!  And perhaps a  little of it is due to the fact that I was able to get quite a bit of cleaning/organizing done in "the study" before the year started.  Thanks so much to Nana and Papa (my parents) and Grandpa and Grandma (Gordie's folks) for each taking the kids for a couple days so I could paint more on my house and do organizing/cleaning/school prep.

"The Study" (aka where we store a bunch of stuff and sometimes do schoolwork - we really like to do our school work all over the house and outside some too - we are just cool like that :)

"The Study" from the inside looking out.

6) I am still working on getting the house painted.  It is taking forever and I knew it would.  It does not help that I am NOT a neat painter AT ALL.  So I often have to go back and touch up several times for it to look "presentable" but I am definitely getting closer.  I'm hoping to have it all done before it snows.  We shall see how that goes. . .

I KNOW I have a picture of our house in all it's original green and off-white glory, but I CANNOT find it.  (It does not help that I have changed computers at least six times since taking it.  I know it exists. . . somewhere. . . I'm just not sure where right now.)  Anyhow, this is an OLD picture (that is Rebekah and Samuel on the stairs) but it shows some of the original color and paint scheme.

Again, this is to show you the original colors of the house (not a great picture for it, but you can kinda make it out).  And I should note, the door is the same color green (even though it is open in this picture and you cannot really tell).

Hello Cherry Cobbler Red!!  Yum yum! :)

And new color scheme, complete with new door color.  It practically looks brand new!!

7) Rebekah is REALLY into reading and I LOVE THAT!!  Gordie really likes reading.  Seriously, that man reads books like most people watch TV.  He reads a book every night!  (ok, not a whole book, but he is reading a book - and I mean, for several hours)  Anyhow, I like reading, too and I think it is very important.  I am so glad that Rebekah has lots of time to enjoy reading at her leisure.

8) I mentioned in my last journal post that Miriam likes to wear pants (or shorts).  Well, here are some shots of her in her "pjs of choice" (the onsesie is what I WOULD put her to bed in, the shorts are her addition that she INSISTS upon).

Rebekah is "helping" her smile here.  She often gives me a good smile initially when I pull out the camera, but my camera is ALWAYS too slow to catch it .  (Usually it has to charge the flash - dumb regular battery-powered camera - such a pain!!)

Miriam likes Paul's bed a lot.

9) I tried to take a picture of the kids after Mass this morning. . . Miriam was not really in favor of this endeavor.

Oh brothers :)

New Work-out Zone

I must start by saying this was NOT my idea.  We had toyed with the thought of moving the work-out area to the second floor of the garage (which is to be the kids' zone/skating rink/giant theater/awesome-open-area-to-do-amazing-stuff-indoors).  I was not too excited over this idea as many of my work-outs are high impact.  I used to only work-out in the basement simply because I did not like the way the house shook with my jumping on the main floor.  Imagine how I would feel jumping in a second story on the garage - even higher up!!  In any case, as the hubby tried to join me for some work-outs in our basement laundry/utility room, he realized it was just too crowded there.  This, coupled with him getting a GREAT deal on some giant mirrors (from a school auction - about $600 worth of mirrors for $15).  I think it was the mirrors that really cemented the deal because he realized we could not put those upstairs where the kids would play as they would throw stuff at them or run into them, etc.  And then one day he said, "Hey, let's move the work-out room to the garage."  And we did.  It is not quite done (we need to mount the mirrors and the computer screen and build some shelves for my equipment) but it is usable and I am LOVING IT!!  I'm not sure if it is the mirrors so I can see myself (and push harder - "I bet I can jump higher than that - I bet I can push my legs out further or my arms higher") or just having more space to really get into the movements, but whatever it is, my garage work-outs have DEFINITELY upped intensity from those in the basement.

So, without further ado, the before and after pictures, for your viewing pleasure.



BEFORE (laundry/utility/storage room)

BEFORE (other side of laundry/untility/storage room)

AFTER (in garage - main floor)

Yes, I LOVE my husband!!  Thank you so much for offering up a chunk of your garage for our physical health!!

My Latest Brilliance

I have this set of shelves on my enclosed back porch.  They are nice, but were not quite big enough to hold what I wanted to put on them, so I took these two old baby gates (that either Paul or Jacob had destroyed - I think it was Jacob - he would just tug on them until the hinges broke - I would not let myself get rid of them because theoretically they still worked as tension gates, although they were really too heavy to be used very effectively that way) and put them on the shelves to extend the space - thus I was able to fit all the skates and helmets on one shelf and all the adult shoes on the bottom one!  Go me, right?  :)

 

 

Yet another reason why my husband is AWESOME :)

Gordie is going to be working from home.  Wanting to encourage him in being healthy, I urged him to purchase a stationary bicycle.  His ingenuity and AMAZINGNESS led to the following creation.  This is definitely one of the reasons I love him so much.  Such creativity and the ability to follow through and make an incredible creation.  I hope he enjoys many hours of work at this "desk" :)

The TV room. . . and THE TOYS

I have been thinking a lot about toys since my friend Monica posted this link on facebook. The comments about it were also good for thought. Monica mentioned that she had several toys in "storage" and rotated frequently. The funny thing is that I would have told you I do the same thing, but as I was thinking about it, I realized that is not quite true. We don't really have a lot of room for storage. I have to stick things here or there - no real "storage room" or what-not. So in a sense, I was considering toys to be "in storage" when really they were just crammed in the nooks and crannies of the tv (toy) room in places I really did not expect the kids to get them out (although I was not consciously thinking that when I put them there - if that makes sense). In any case, after much mulling over the subject of toys (and having some free time as I mentioned in my previous post -staying home with an almost fine baby) I attacked the tv room. I thinned out the toys so there would be more space. And created a "toy library" (or really it is more just an "ask permission first" so that I can make you pick up your other toys and/or help you because I don't want these broken or the pieces lost - although there are some things that are just regular toys I am planning to rotate to perk interest).

Unfortunately I have no "before" pictures as it did not dawn on me to take any until I was in the thick of it and toys were EVERYWHERE so you will just have to take my word that it looks better.

Here is the "toy library" - although most of it is games or puzzles that I don't want broken or the pieces destroyed - so in a sense it is more like "restricted play" - although there are some "rotating toys" here, too. Here is the tv room - you can't tell but I've seriously cut down on all the bins and what-not that are scattered about. And the ones left I have put serious thought into - the toys on the black shelves are well-loved by all the kids (doctor toy set, toy tea set, tub of toy phones) and the bottom shelf are blocks for the baby to stack and a tub of little people and animals that I think Paul will enjoy.

I moved the toy kitchen into this room from the front room. All the kids love the toy kitchen and use it frequently - so as much as I dislike picking up toy food every day (and disinfecting on a regular basis), I think the kids might riot if I tried to put it in "restricted play"

Here is the closet - just trust me - it has been thinned out and the toys are MUCH MORE accessible. The box in the middle is dress-up clothes or to be more official, "dramatic play." Many of the moms I am friends with dislike plastic toys that take batteries and trust me, I am right there with you - but at the same time, the baby always seems to enjoy the heck out of these - and most of the ones in this closet have been with us since Rebekah was a baby - so they are tried and true.

Here are our videos (yep, old-school - most of these are from when I was little - hehe) and our "older books" - some are chapter books and some are just a bit more advanced. (This is my first time "organizing" the books - I hope it sticks as it makes my book choice much easier when I'm looking for something to read to the kids.)

Here is our other shelf of books. (Notice the tubs on top - more "toy library/restricted play" toys.)

Here is a close up of the bookshelf. The top shelf is wooden puzzles (ask to get them down - so we don't lose the pieces) and our religious books (and St Francis and Jesus). I keep a few of these down in the living room as our "featured books" and then rotate them every week or so. The next shelf down is comic books (a little old for our kids - again, from my childhood - some day they will love them, though - I still enjoy them :) followed by a "regular reading" shelf - books that all the kids (except Paul) enjoy. The shelf one up from the bottom is board books. And then the bottom shelf is big board books and a few more "regular reading" books.

I know it seems nerdy to have a whole post on this but I am sooooo excited to have the room cleaner and a conscious approach to toys. I'm still letting the concept of homeschooling sink into my soul - maybe some day. In the mean time I'm trying to make the most of my time with the kiddos as I work and play with them throughout the day.

House Rearrangement

I was home with the recovering baby this past weekend - and really he was not very sick to begin with and was feeling much better very quickly, so I took the opportunity to rearrange the house. I am THRILLED with the results. I imagine you will be, too.

Here is the living room as it was - front door shot.

Here is another view of the front room. This is an older picture as we still have the stove here (it has been taken out for a while now - it was not mounted, just sitting there, so when it got warmer we moved it to the back porch) but the picture suits my purposes - as you can tell this wall had a bookshelf and chair and misc other junk.

I should interject here, that we were given a new couch that we like quite a bit. We debated getting rid of the old one but then decided to keep both. In any case, it was in front of the window (where the kids' table and chairs are).

Now, here is a shot of the new set-up. I call it dueling couches. But it really seems to open up the room. I put the rug sideways because I like to have the footstool in front of the easy chair (as the kids like to jump on my legs when I have them up and I'm always afraid they will hurt the recliner foot - so I use a footstool instead) and it does not sit well on the rug. But I think the rug sideways also makes the room look larger as it makes the dining area appear bigger. (And I'm all about illusion - if you can't actually make the room bigger, you might as well make it LOOK bigger :)

Here is shot of the old set-up. Notice all the toys along the wall near the kitchen door? I will address where all those toys went in my next post. I did not realize how cluttered they looked until I moved them.

Here is the new set-up. I like the bookshelf there a lot better, but now I will have to move our 5x7 frames of the kiddos. Oh well, maybe I will invest in a digital photo frame (hint hint for Christmas dear Hubby - if you actually read this :) - then I could just have ONE and put pictures of the all the kiddos on it.

And a final picture - looking at the front room from the front door.

My Husband IS AMAZING!!

This picture probably does not look like much to you. It is not exactly a fancy new sink or anything but if I had taken a picture of the old one before he ripped it out, you would be just as impressed and excited as I am - trust me! :)




New Sink

New Drain

New Faucet



ONE amazing husband



And this was just one of the MANY MANY projects he got done this weekend (without my asking/nagging/reminding in ANY form). Yes, yes, he is TRULY amazing. I love you, Gordie!! :)

New Fence

Hooray for the fence. I got the coat of primer on so it looks white but it actually still needs to be painted. Oh and we need a gate - but Gordie thinks he can whip that up in no time at all (since we have all the pieces he needs).

INTRODUCING. . . THE NEW ROOM!!!

With another little one on the way we decided we needed another bedroom in the basement. Our three children share a room now and that seems to work well but it is (was) a little cramped. In any case this recently finished room is their new room and they are very excited about it. I am excited to have a place to put the new baby, as well (their old room) rather than in our room. The baby will often sleep in our room, no doubt, as babies do when they are very little, but it is still nice for the new babe to have its own room for when it starts sleeping better and such.

I am really bad about forgetting to do "before" pictures when I start a project. Here is the earliest pictures for this "project." These are right after I put the first coat of sealant on the concrete walls.

Here is where we put the closet in. Did I mention my husband is amazing?

Here are the walls again after two coats of sealant, two coats of texture, and one coat of primer. They are "very" ready for paint I think.

Here we just put the door in and started mudding the other walls in preparation for painting them. As you can see to the left here, these walls had some nasty stains on them (we think they might have been from laundry detergent spills - as this was the laundry room) but my amzing husband was able to cover them :)

More mudding on the ceiling and such.

Fresh paint on the walls. The table in the middle shows that no room in this house goes un-used for very long - in some way or another - no matter what the circumstances.

The closet door is up in this picture - I was very excited about the closet (I am a girl, you know :)

Carpet time!! We got this great deal on carpet and once again my amazing husband cut it and did all that jazz. I really love him.

Jacob loved to "help" Daddy. He would often be found downstairs with Daddy when everyone else was upstairs doing other fun stuff.

More carpet.

Finished carpet - notice he managed to cover the platform over the drain, too? And the kids love having that step. I love that it is wide enough for a dresser.

Finished product. (So as I look back on this picture I find it entertaining to see cloth diapers on top of one dresser and box for disposable diapers on the other - as if we can't make up our minds or something. The real story is that we occasionally use paper diapers for trips or what-not. I believe this box was used while I was gone in Chicago and Grandma & Nana watched the kids for me. Of course, it does not actually have diapers in it now - it has pull-ups for Rebekah in it. She is too big for my brilliant cloth-night-diaper-solutions that work so well on the boys. I'm still working on coming up with a cloth solution for her but maybe she will just save me the trouble by being dry at night sometime soon. Of course, my pediatrition says it is totally normal for this not to happen until age seven. . . )

Thanks for "taking the tour" - hope you enjoyed. We are loving it for sure! :)