My Organizational "Project"

So I saw something on (where else?) Pinterest a while back and thought, "I really wish I had the space for that."  It was basically just hooks on a wall for each kids' backpack with a memo board/calendar hanging above it.  Fast forward many months and the first week of school was suddenly upon us, bringing backpacks, lunchboxes, calendars, and paperwork galore into our already disorganized home.  I truly thought I was gong to lose my mind!  So I decided to get organized (which made a huge mess before everything got better, but that's how it goes I guess).  First, we got rid of our dining room table.  It was a drop leaf and we kept it dropped and pushed against the wall for about 360 days a year.  All it did was collect our junk and we only used it as an actual table for birthday parties and Christmas.  Next, we rearranged some furniture.  I know the bookshelf and china cabinet are crammed into the same space, but for now it will have to do.  Then, I cleaned everything out of the buffet (table cloths, crystal cake plates, etc) and put all of our art/school/sewing supplies in there.  It's great because now the kids can get their own supplies (with permission, of course), and we keep a child lock on it to keep Lucy from getting into the paint when I'm not paying attention!  I hung hooks for backpacks, memo boards, and a cork board in there and the room is no longer a dining room, but everything has a home and I feel so much more organized.

The magnetic memo boards are cookie sheets from Walmart (less than a buck apiece) covered in scrapbook paper.  They are great for reminders or notes.

The cork board houses school calendars (for two different schools), classroom calendars, church newsletter, and any other pertinent info that I need to see at a glance.  I didn't take a picture of the desk in our kitchen, but that has been organized as well.  Each family member has a folder and important paperwork now goes into the folder immediately, instead of cluttering up the desk.  I also have a bucket for all school papers/art projects/etc. that come home during the week.  We will keep it for a week, then sort through and trash/recycle most of it at the end of the week.  Last year I was afraid to throw away any school work, but not this year baby!

Here's the bookshelf that was already in the room, but now the glass doors have been removed.  The coat rack used to be primary colors so I just spray painted it and kept it in the room so that we can have more space to hang things.

So far this little "project" has made a HUGE different in my sanity levels so I'm thankful for that!  And if you want to come over for dinner, bring your own card table!

Love them!

And here's one of us because we're not great at being the ones in front of the camera, but I wish we had more pictures of us.  We're usually on the other side, acting silly, passing out bribes, and trying to get these little people to smile all at the same time!

First Day of Preschool

Sam and Anna started preschool yesterday.  This was the fifth year that I've dropped kids off in the First Presbyterian car loop, but this is the first time Jack wasn't a part of it.  Made me just a teeny bit sad.  However, these two had a great first day.  They both already knew their teachers (remember, we've been there five years, so we're pretty familiar with everyone) and we already love them!

Sam wasn't really in the mood to smile in this first picture.

Anna trying to coax a smile out of him.  She got a tiny smirk.

My big girl ready for 4K.  She loves it because they sing more songs than in 3K and she has a "job."  This week she's the calendar helper and she's so proud of that.

I hope 3K is ready for this guy!  He had a great day and I think he's really going to love it - especially since he had cupcakes as snack on the first day (they celebrated a classmate's birthday).

First Day of First Grade

Jack started first grade last week.  This was a big change for us because he stayed at our local church preschool for kindergarten, so we started public school a year after most kids.  I think I was more nervous than he was, but in the end, it's been a fairly smooth transition.  He seems to really love it and wasn't even bothered by the fact that he knew no one in his class or any of the classes he goes to recess with.  I'm glad for that.  I do not love car line, or the lack of information I've received about classroom procedures, etc, but we have open house tomorrow night, so hopefully I will feel a little more settled after that.  So far so good for Jack, and I can't believe my first baby is in first grade!

 A few pics (in the dark) before leaving for school.

Too cool for school!

And just because she's cute, even when she cries!

Our New Play Kitchen

Otherwise known as "Why Marshall Hates Pinterest!"

So here's the deal - I saw a picture on Pinterest awhile back of a nightstand that had been converted into a kids play kitchen.  It was ADORABLE!!  I would have jumped right on it, except we already had a perfectly good play kitchen for the kids.  It was purchased for Jack the Christmas before he turned two, and it was the manliest kitchen we could find.  It was brown.  And plastic.  Which is fine, but let's face it, not pretty at all!

Fast forward a bit to just a few weeks ago when the kids were playing ball in the house (and by kids, I mean Jack, Anna, Sam, Lucy, and Marshall).  The ball hit a topiary on the mantle which sent it crashing down onto our plastic play kitchen, shattering the sink portion.  Now, I could have just duct taped the sharp edges and moved on, but I saw my golden opportunity to make something really cute and fun for the kids.  So I ran with the idea and this is the end result.

We started out with a nightstand we already had.  It's old, ugly, and falling apart - perfect!

 

I primed it and then realized how much those decorative things on the sides looked like bowling pins, so Marshall cut them off for me.

We cut the holes for the sink and faucet (which you can't really see here) and then painted.  The color is the same green as the dresser in the girls' room.  We had a ton of that paint leftover, so that decision was already made for us.  It's a really pretty color, but doesn't show up very well in the pictures.

Fast forward again, and here's the finished product.  I obviously didn't do a great job documenting the process in pictures.

 Here's a breakdown of most everything...

Mason got the faucet for us for free.  The sink is a dog bowl from Dollar General for $3.  The burners are wooden craft circles from Hobby Lobby for 80 cents a piece.  I painted them with paint I already had on hand and sprayed a coat of clear gloss on top (already had that, too).  The back splash is molding that we already had on hand as well.

The crystal knobs were on sale for $2 a piece at Hobby Lobby.  I could have found some wooden ones for less, but I LOVED them and couldn't resist. The handle for the oven door was less than $5 from Lowe's.  I was hoping to find something cheaper, but couldn't find anything I liked, so we just kept it.

The curtain that covers the bottom opening is my first ever sewing project - and I did it all by myself!  Well, once I had three different people help me figure out how to use the machine I inherited but have never used!  The seams are crooked, but overall I'm pretty proud of myself!  Oh, and the fabric and tension rod equaled less than $5.

All the kids have to do is slide it to the side to access a storage area for food and dishes.

We installed a magnet just inside the opening to keep the oven door closed.  I also sewed the ribbons along the side of the oven door to keep it from opening too far.  Notice the inside of the oven is painted silver for two reasons:  because it's more authentic, and because we already had silver spray paint.

Marshall did a great job cutting the hole for the plexiglass.  We measured wrong (our opening was too wide for the cheapest piece of plexiglass we could find), and there were a  few crooked lines, so we trimmed it out with molding and then glued the plexiglass in with silicone.   We just used the face of the original top drawer and then put hinges on the bottom so that it opens down like a real oven.  

Lucy got to play with it for the first time last night and she loved it.

Although, I think Sam may have loved it even more!

Here she is enjoying it again today after church.

Oh, and our oven is extra special because it cooks up lightsabers with just the right amount of crispness!

Overall, I really love it and the kids have had a great time playing with it all morning.  I think we spent around $35 or so on the whole thing.  Now, to get started on the fridge that's going to go with it....

Playing Around in the Bonusroom