Office Project - Post One!

     The above picture shows the puchases I made yesterday.  The black buffet in the back is already ours, but will probably be moved out.  The table, wire basket, green box, and purple white board thing are from Goodwill.  I had to get a couple things from Home Depot, like the paint, but I bought a nice neutral color that I can certainly use on other projects and some polycrilic.  The shelf is from Target.  There's also a rug in the very background standing up from Home Depot.  It's a cheapie, but I liked the colors. 




     These are pieces I've already had.  The chairs are from an old dining room set.  It's covered in plastic because they were originally white and I had three very little ones at the time.  I've hung on to them because I've always liked them.  The bench was given to me years ago in exchange for a baby crib.  The wall is one of my favorite things, but I will have to move it down a bit as it will no longer be centered. 


     The plan is to re-arrange some already exisitiing pieces that aren't shown, to paint and tweak that bench, to re-upholster and add cushioning to the back of two of those dining room chairs.  I may not use all the pillows, but the colors are what I'll be working toward.  The table from Goodwill is going to get a paintjob as will the green box and the purple white board.  Not sure what I'm going to do with the wire basket, but I'm sure it can be used. 


     So, it's all coming together.  I did some pretty heavy cleaning around the house today and had hoped to get some sanding done so I could start a bit of painting tomorrow.  However, as usual, some weeds popped up! I had to post about it and put a picture up because you know I love to find the humor in everything. 

     C got his finger smooshed in a door today and I really thought that top joint had gotten broken.  They weren't so sure at the ER either because they did go ahead and get x-rays.  He'll definitely lose the nail, but it should heal just fine.  They did splint it though because it was pretty nasty! 




Sadly, he is well aware of the fact that it is not polite to put that particular finger in the air.  That said, he's seven, he's a boy, and it's going to be a loooooong week!!  Note my plaque on the wall.  "May the Lord bless and protect you and give you peace."  Lord, please give me peace while he's at school and let not thine principal have to call me!!

All photos by TJoy71 on Flickr.

Hi!  I'm Joy, I'm a hoarder!

No, not really!  I could never do that.  I'm a throw-away-er, but right  now, my house kinda looks like I might be!  My dear, sweet, wonderful husband is well aware of that fact.  He is also well aware of the fact that for some reason, around this time of the year, my head gets overfilled with "Project Iwanttodo".  It usually involves every single room in the house in one way or another.  The problem is, I rarely see a room through to the finish.  Ugh!  So exasperating!  Frustrating! So.............

I, Joy (In the Weeds!) do hereby solemnly swear to:

     *Choose one room at a time.
     *Form a plan (time, money, and projects involved).
     *Allow 2 weeks for completion.
     *Post at least twice during process and once at completion. 

During that time, I promise to keep up the housework and not allow myself to stray to any other projects.  If I get "bright ideas" that is what Pinterest is for!  Remember that! 

Alright, if you read this, please feel free to hound me, berate me, check in on me to keep me going.  I need  it.  Because my husband is well aware of my "issues", he is more than happy to spend this time of year hunting!  Which is probably best.  He can't squish my genius plans that way, can he??!!    That also means I will be here with the boys alone much of the time.  WooHoo!!

First room: My office / boys game room.  *Plan coming soon!  Check back late this afternoon or evening for that and hopefully some pictures.  For now, I'm off to straighten the house a bit, and get ready to party down with some second graders! 

By the way, this adorable kid said to me, "The party's going to be great.  Do you know why?"  I didn't?  "Because you're coming!"  Oh my goodness!!!  That is such a wonderful thing to hear in the morning!!  Right?  Sure..............IF he hadn't kept talking!  "Cuz' you're bringing the trail mix and lemonade!!"  Oh!   The lemonade, by the way, is in the form of Capri Sun!  Yuck! Think he'll mind if I stay after I pass it out??

My Favorite Laundry Tip!

*Sorting - Even Freddy Krueger has nightmares!

(A little cheesy Halloween humor - I can't help myself.)

Photo, a photo by TJoy71 on Flickr.

     If you read long enough, you will learn a few things about me. 


*I have four kids.
*My kids are pigs - cute pigs, but pigs indeed!
*I have twins (they wear the same size!)
*I despise laundry.
*Socks are my nemesis!


     A very dear friend once read this tip in a magazine and passed it on to me.  Unfortunately, it was so many years ago I can't remember which one, but I would like to send a blessing out to the author and I have faith that the Good Lord knows who she is and will one day introduce her to me so I can give her a big ol' hug!
     If you will notice in the picture above, there are dots on each sock.  Each dot represents a child.  The oldest has one dot, the twin who is just slightly larger has two, and so on.  I actually have these on ALL items of clothing for the boys.  EVERYTHING!  Even underwear!  Now, when I'm doing laundry, I don't have to sort for sizes or ask around, "Who's shirt is this?"  It's in relatively the same place on each type of item.  Yes, initially it took some time, but now as I buy clothes, I just grab my sharpie and start dotting away. 
     "Wouldn't initials work just as well?" you ask!  Well, yes and no.  All my children do have different initials so that's all well and good, but this way all I have to do is add a dot as they outgrow the items.  So, when the items are passed down, I don't have a marked out R, a marked out  D, then maybe an M, and truly it would take a miracle for an item to make it all the way to the C!  You see  my point though, right?  Just simply add the dots!
     It's easy for me to sort, easy for the kids to sort, and even easy for the dad!!  Who knew??!!


     I would also like to point out another great benefit to this technique.  When I find a sock laying around, let's say in the hall or on the dining room table, maybe even the fridge.  It's possible, trust me!!  Well, I simply have to check the dots and I know who my culprit is!  For some reason, it's usually the same one.  I won't call out any names, NUMBER 2!!!  You know who you are!



Just to give a general idea of where I place my dots on different items.  It should be in an area easy for you to see as you're folding and sorting. 


     Once I've folded the laundry, I create piles on the coffee table.   When the boys get home from school, I have them simply put away their pile.  It's in order of age, so they know right where to look.  It's the little things that make chores easier. 

I hope this helps somebody out there in Bloggerville!  What are your laundry tips?  Do you have your kids help around the house and if so, what's your trick?  Comment back, I'd love to hear from you!

Darn Pinterest!!

     You know what I love to do that my husband hates?  I love to go online and look at all the fresh new home decorating ideas!  The rooms are so clean and uncluttered.  No dirty socks or intermittent lego pieces laying around.  If there is a child or an animal in the background, it's well groomed and at least appears to be well behaved.  I want that!  I want an internet image house!  Yes, that's what I want.  When does Santa get to the mall this year anyway?

     I know the idea is to start with one room at a time, but honestly for an adhd'er like myself, they really all run into one giant room and that just becomes a home interior nightmare.  Besides, just as soon as I get an idea, that one gets lost and then comes another.  By the way, I got these really great boots yesterday at TJMaxx, but well, see what I mean!   ............back to the story! 

     So, what's the one room in your house you would most love to do a makeover?  Living room?  Laundry room?  Hmmm..... wonder if I would like laundry better if I liked the room??  Thought to ponder!  And where would you go for inpsiration?

      I thought I would share some blogs I've found with some beautiful REAL homes!  While I'm sure these women consciously picked up the toys before taking the pictures, they truly look like homes we could all live in and were not just snapped for a magazine photo.

http://theinspiredroom.net/  

http://www.beneathmyheart.net/

http://thenester.com/

By the way, here's my living room.  You did notice the lack of socks and shoes laying around, right?  Go me!!

My House - Once Upon a Clean Day

This Just In !!!

Okay, so turns out if you have a moon rock, you can NOT sell it!! Apparently, there's a very serious law about this and you will be hunted down if you try to do so.


Just heard on Fox TV that a 4 foot 11 inch tall, 74 year old woman was arrested (think drug bust or SWAT team!!) in a Denny's for trying to sell a moon rock she was given by her husband who passed away some 20 something years ago.

To quote Seth Myers and Amy Poehler, "REALLLYYY?"

Oops!  I did it again!!

Yes, I believe a Britney Spears quote is always a good way to start a blog, don't you?  However, I did!  I did it again!!  I barked at one of the boys this morning, had myself a regular little three year old tantrum, and felt like Ogre the Great shuffling everyone into the car.  And the truth is, it's all on me.  I allowed myself a whopping four hours of sleep last night, woke up late this morning, and tried to squeeze an hour of peaceful preparations into thirty minutes of crunch time.  Not fun for anyone.  Great!  Now I'm going to have to make cinnamon buns or something after school to prove to myself I'm a decent mom.  Oh the things we do sometimes.  He'll still love me, right??

It's okay to be angry, it's how you behave when you are that makes the difference.

I tell the boys this constantly.  Maybe I need a plaque so I can see the reminder myself.    I know why I yelled, lack of sleep. I know what I've got to do......put on my big girl panties and accept it, ask forgiveness, and get on with my day.  I won't be a good mommy sleepy or guilt ridden. 

What do you do when you're having a bad day?  Part of me is thankful the boys are at school right now, providing me with plenty of time to chill out and get back on track without them having to deal with me.  The other part of me wants to get him home and smother him with a hug.  Do we have any Zen Mom's out there to offer up advice us?

Monday Mommyism - Take One!

I hope you've already read my profile, but in case you haven't I'll quickly introduce myself.  My name is Joy and I am a married mother of four little boys.  When I was a very young girl, I was a cocktail waitress and we often used the term, "In the weeds" to let another waitress know we were really backed up and needed a hand.  That waitress would then pick up a table or two or grab and deliver some drinks for us to get her co-worker back on track.  That's what us mommy's need!  We need good friends to lend us a hand sometimes.  Something else interesting to note is that if we were in the weeds, that usually generated to a good night of tips due to the high volume of ordering tables we had.  So, you see it doesn't always have to be a bad thing.  It can be a good thing and bring us a bit of joy in the end!  So, please tag along and help me and other women find some joy in the weeds!  Corny?  <enter big, cheesy grin!!> I hope not!

So, now for the Mommyism!  You know what they are, right?  Things only a  mom can say and actually get away with.  Things that may not make much sense otherwise and probably only other moms will truly "get it"!  I have often thought I could write a book about these and have at least twenty entries a day!!  So here's one to share with you today.

I was talking to a girlfriend on the phone and we were going on (and on, and on....) about getting our kids to listen and mind us.  We thought how nice it would be to be June Cleaver or Claire Huxtable.  Always sweet and kind and teaching our children in a way that they really wanted to please us.   Finally, I just blurted out the truth as I often do and said......

"I HAVE to yell at my kids!  If I don't, nobody can hear me!"

There's also my very famous one (and I'm sure I'm not alone with this one)...........

"Why yes, you can eat off my floors!  There's graham crackers and goldfish all over it!"

Sure, they're terrible things to say and not every mom will own up to it.  I understand.  But, it's the truth, it's funny, and it sure made me feel better to say it!

What's something you've found yourself saying that you never thought you would?  Or something you can't believe your child said about you in public?  I'd love to hear from a few of you.  It is, after all Monday and it's always a good idea to start the week off with a good laugh.  Happy Monday!

If I'm so great, why am I being sold for a penny??