The Playroom!

We have this little room above our garage that immediately became the kids' playroom when we moved in last Summer.  Because it is not heated, it got a little neglected over the Winter.  Every time someone would go to put something away, it would just get tossed in there instead of put back in its place.  That's how it ended up like this...

Before

For the past two weekends I have asked the kids to give me an hour a day to work on the mess.  At first, it was really hard to know where to begin.  With some loving direction, they sorted, organized, threw out trash, and finally got it all clean.  Now it looks like this...

You can see the floor!

Games, Craft Supplies and Puzzles

Reading and Drawing Corner

I'm so extremely proud of my kiddos for a job well done!  Just in time to enjoy it with company next weekend!  Way to go!

I could still use one more set of shelves in there for storage, but that'll have to wait.  Garage sale season will soon be upon us and I'll keep my eye out for just what I need.

My March Project(s)

One of my favorite bloggers, Rachel Anne, over at Home Sanctuary, is encouraging her readers to "March to the Finish" in March.  At the beginning of this month she asked us to join her in picking one project that has been put off and take steps to getting it done.  My first choice was the garage mess that has been haunting me since we moved in last June.  We unpacked everything we needed, and the rest of the boxes got stacked in the garage to be gone through at a later date.  We also inherited 50 boxes or so of a game that my husband created with his best friend several years ago.  A lot of them sold, but now there is the question of what to do with the ones that didn't.

Anyway, I've made a little progress on emptying out some boxes, getting rid of trash, and general cleaning.  My next step will be to start opening up boxes and take a good chunk of what we don't use to a local charity.  I wish I could say that I pounded it all out in one weekend, but that would be impossible.  I will say that this project inspired me/my husband to work hard last weekend and get some other things off our list.

1.  He primed our bold blue guest room to ready it for a fresh coat of paint, hopefully this weekend.
2.  We planted some starters for tomatoes and peas.
3.  I raked up the massive leaves pile in our front yard, which filled a large waste can and four more bags.
4.  My husband sprayed around the outside of the house to rid of the annoying box elder bugs and defend against other pests.

In general, we got a lot accomplished around the house.  It was nice to work together as a team and get things marked off our list.

Other things I want to work on this Spring (not necessarily March):
1.  Re-paint the boys' dressers and install new hardware.
2.  Put a splash of color in my daughter's bedroom.
3.  Decorate the downstairs.  (There is currently nothing on the walls.)

I suppose I better stop adding things to my list before I get overwhelmed!  This house is bigger than our last, so I sometimes have a hard time just keeping up with the general housework, let alone getting extra projects done start to finish. 

What projects are currently on your list?  Is there something you need to start, or simply put the finishing touches on that you could mark off your list this month?  I'd love to know.

Have a great weekend!


~Melissa

Around the House and Close to My Heart

This week over coffee Rachel Anne asked what projects we have going on around the house. Not too much happening here, accept that we need to replace our utility sink. Last week I realized there was a clog, and when my DH took it apart to fix it, we realized that there was some decay going on both with the pipe, and the drain hole in the sink. Time for a new sink! It looks like we're going to get one for a steal at $20 but we have to buy the faucet. DH will work on that tomorrow, but until then, he's fixed the washer hose to the drain pipe so I can still do laundry! Boy was I relieved to know I wasn't going to get too far behind on that!

Other than that, this last week was Kids' Camp at our Church. It was M-W. My older two got to camp out on church grounds and have lots of fun learning and playing games. It was their first time away from home over night without either mom or dad. They did great.

The theme was "Sticky Faith...Letting Jesus stick to you." When I picked up the kids on Wednesday they had all kinds of fun things to tell me, but one thing really blessed my heart.

My 7 yr old asked Christ into his heart during camp! I knew he was close. He's been talking about Jesus like they're best buds lately. I wish I could have been there for the moment, but I get to stick around for a lifetime to watch him grow in Christ. :) That's him, just a bit tired after we got home from camp.










My youngest kids camped out here at home. We played games and swam in the back yard. We even built a special tent in the boys' bedroom where it was nice and cool for them to sleep. All in all, it was a great time. We were all glad to have JS and RL back home on Wednesday.

Yesterday was my 15th Anniversary. (Scroll down to previous post to read my thoughts.) I made him his favorite dinner and then blessed him with a massage. He's blessing me by working on his "honey-please-do" list. :) This morning he vacuumed the coils on the back of the fridge. That was a HUGE item marked off my list!

The weather is reaching the 100degree mark here now. Too hot for me. I try to stay in doors as much as possible. The kiddos are using the pool lots. It was well worth the purchase. I think probably next year we'll have to upgrade in size though. They are my little fishes! :)

Well, have a great weekend all! I'm going back to work here around the house.

Company Girl Coffee 5.15.09 "Project Back Yard"

Hi girls! I didn't have much time for coffee yesterday because I was busy in the back yard! We have lived here for almost 5 years now and nothing to show for it in our back yard. To my husband's credit, we did try to grow corn and strawberries our first summer here. The problem was, I was very pregnant, (with three toddlers running around already) and he was very busy! The garden got a bit neglected and the heat got the best of it.

Anyway, this new "project" of ours was sort of forced by a collapsed shed this winter. Luckily, we didn't have anything of significance stored in it at the time! After having the insurance company come out and investigate the damage there and in our attic, we began to research our possibilities. Considering that we never used our shed, we made a list of the other things we could do with the space. A new garden spot? A sand box/play area for the kids? A patio? The possibilities are endless.

Two things we knew for sure: We wanted the old shed torn down and hauled away, and we wanted the lilac bushes removed. I have two other lilac bushes in my yard, so no quarrels from me. Thus began the hard work! The shed was torn down thanks to our friend Tim, and the lilac bushes were removed with a little "joint effort." The truck and chain method worked really well! As a bonus, they took out the three bushes in the front by the driveway that have been nothing but a pain since we moved here! My job through all of this was to keep the kids corralled while the men worked. (It's harder than it sounds, since we have five curious helpers!)

I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking!
The last picture here is my DH spreading new grass in the cleared out space. I am amazed at how much bigger our back yard looks now!

Next project: Assemble the new swing set that we purchased for the kids so they have something to do in our big back yard this summer. :)

Have a great weekend all!
-Melissa