Rain magic...

When light spring rains set in and all indoor opportunities are exhausted,

reach for the pint-sized umbrella to share with a friend.

Marching outside barefoot in the fresh puddles

makes a lasting impression

Forget the boots, hats and gear,

just grab an umbrella to share with a friend.

My big girl experienced this with her friend last week.  

Who doesn't have fond childhood memories of walking and playing in the rain with or without an umbrella?

It is always unplanned and spontaneous making for fabulous preschooler fun!

And the babe sleeps....

After 9 long months sleep has finally come!

A multitude of thanks to Dr. A and Dr. Ferber for their expert help!

Monthly Organization: Project 2 "Mom's Center"

I am a stacker and a dumper.  I stack papers and dump things into drawers.  I am a very neat stacker and dumper but just not an organized one.

A few months ago at a mother's meeting I attend, a professional organizer came and spoke with us.  She highly believes in these little "command centers" for moms.  We all have a place where we dump and stack...mine is in the kitchen.  It's the place I first come to when I arrive home with "stuff."  I have a little metal basket that I dump things into daily.  This sad little basket gets so overwhelmed with "stuff" that I often don't know what the contents are.

So, this month I thought I'd make my own little "Mom's Center."  I used the ideas of the professional organizer and tailored it to fit my needs.  I used a desktop file to make files for all the papers I usually "dump."  I went to this lovely store to get the file and folders.  I made files for the following areas:

Shopping List
Menu
Coupons
Preschool
Kid Activites
Home Projects
Babysitter
Pet Sitter

You can make whatever files you need.  These are just some of the files I created.  I am sure I will create more as I use the "center" more often and find out what my specific need are.

I also found a little matching box of sorts that sticks to the file box with magnets.  It is perfect for the keys, pens and notes.

Because the file box is metal, I can also use these hefty magnets to attach little notes or photos.

The trick with the "Mom's Center" is to go through the files weekly.  We'll see if I can commit to that....

At least the overall look is much more organized than the old dump basket!

"I'd rather be a mother..."

"I'd rather be a mother than anyone on earth

Bringing up a child or two of unpretentious birth...

I'd rather tuck a little child all safe and sound in bed

than twine a chain of diamonds about my [carefree] head.

I'd rather wash a smudgy face with round, bright, baby eyes

Than paint the pageantry of fame or walk among the wise."

-- Meredith Gray

Happy Mother's Day!

photo by Sherry Hammonds Photography

It's coming

Summer is just around the corner.  I can feel it in the afternoon air.  It is becoming thick with heat.  Hopefully this summer will spare us the oppressive heat we endured last year.  Nevertheless, with the coming summer, comes so many wonderful things...  

rides on swings

late-afternoon swims

sprinkler fun

the watering hose

sleeping in

fun with friends

exciting harvests from the garden

road trips

creek adventures with the dogs

bare feet

the sound of the ice cream truck

the sun on your skin

freckles

sandals

fireflies caught in a Mason jar 

What are you looking forward to doing this summer?

Crib tales

I often stand here in the middle of the night waiting...

waiting for Momma or Dada to come.

I sometimes talk, scream or cry.

Sometimes, I wonder how I will retrieve the Binky that I dropped down...

usually Momma comes to my rescue and finds it among my toy baskets.  

I can "drop" things pretty far away now.

I am just not the sleeper that the rest of the family expects me to be...

I am not hungry, teething or hurting.  I am just awake.

So, until they find a way to get me to sleep all night long, I will continue to be here...

just waiting with my Lulu and Binky.

What will you be doing at 2am?

Momma's note:  I hate Ferber....I was so proud that I never had to use him with my first child but it seems like  he is our only hope with the sleepless babe.

Monthly Organization: Project 1 -- Paint Storage

I am constantly reading about ways to organize my life, home, children, schedules, papers, etc.  I love organization and find it extremely useful now that I have children to keep up with.  Often, I get overwhelmed with all the organizing propaganda that I get hung up on all the stuff and never accomplish anything.

I am going to try to finish one organization project a month.  This is a realistic goal and an affordable one.  Organizing with all the fun accessories I love can get quite pricey so I am going to focus on one project a month.

This month, I organized and sorted through all our paint.  Our garage is full of old paint cans that are unlabeled, old, rusted and many of which are unusable.

 

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I recently read an article in Martha Stewart Living that suggested storing touch-up paint in glass jars inside.  This can prolong the life of the paint up to 10 years!  Especially in my neck of the woods, the hot summers can destroy paint left in the garage.

I love touch-up paint!  It is extremely useful to keep on hand.  Every couple of months, I get out our touch-up paint and touch up nicks and scuffs on the walls.  It is amazing what clean walls can do for a room.

To accomplish the paint project, I first ordered WECK glass storage jars from here.

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They are actually canning/food storage jars but they worked wonderfully for this project.

I filled each jar with paint and labeled it with the corresponding room and paint information on a tag.

It was so neat to see all the colors together.

I realized that I really am drawn to green, khaki and blue hues.  When we go to paint other rooms of our house, I can choose a color that will blend nicely with the existing colors...this is now incredibly easy to do because of the glass jars!!

I am incredibly pleased with this month's organization project.  Plus, it has freed up a lot of room  in our garage.  Now all I need is one shelf in my utility room cabinet to store paint.  Aahhh, the joys of a successful project!