Getting my Buns Organized!

Warning: The "before" pictures of my disorganized house contain graphic images of messiness and chaos. Please resist the urge to un-friend me after seeing the condition I let my closets get in this past year. I promise I have reformed my ways!!

Okay, a couple months ago I posted this plea for intervention after my epic disorganization led to an embarrassing forgetful mommy moment that affected Teya at preschool. Thankfully I got some great ideas in the comments of that post and I have been putting them to use over the last few months.  Here are some results of my rehabilitation.

 You may remember this picture, the table of doom where important papers, bills and mail would get sucked into a black hole and be lost, forgotten or destroyed by the kids.

Goodbye table of doom, hello table of order! 

Several people suggested I buy filing trays to sort my mail right when it comes in. Now I grab the mail, immediately throw away the junk, then sort the mail into magazines, correspondence, invites/announcements/events and bills to be paid. I also bought a little mail holder to put my outgoing mail in so I can just grab it when I'm going out and stick it in the mail. Last of all I bought the little organizer drawers to put coupons, gift cards and important receipts in. 

 Also after forgetting Teya's roll-a-thon pretty much everyone suggested I get a big fat Calendar  to put all our family events on. I opted for the dry erase kind and have color coded the events for each person in the family. The little pockets below the calendar are where I put anything with event info on it, so b-day party invitations, letters from school about upcoming events, dr. appt reminder cards, etc... That way when I see an event on the calendar I can just check down in the pockets for additional details.  Also I've been using the calendar app on my phone when I'm not near this calendar and it has saved me!

And now I'll address my closets. This is embarrassing, but here we go. 

Despite the pictures you are about to see I actually keep a relatively tidy house. (Yeah, sure, Becca, we believe you.) Seriously! But my closets are my weakness. Out of sight out of mind, and since I was pregnant most of last year and then dealing with a new baby for most of this year my closets got seriously neglected. Anyway one day I read this post and I got inspired to just pull out the trash bags and take back my closets! I attacked them with two mantras: 

1) A place for everything and everything in it's place

2) If you don't need and and don't use it, Throw it away!

So here's how it went:

Laundry closet before: There is a radio on my dryer. There is also a box of decorations from Teya's 4th b-day party a year and a half ago on the shelf.  The pampers box had papers in I haven't' touched since we moved here. There is also a basket of socks that don't have mates but I kept holding on thinking one day they'd magically reappear. Also there is no where to put folded clothes in here.

 Laundry closet after:  I threw away the papers, threw away the socks without mates then started making a place for everything else. I stored a few things in the basement and put other things where they should go. Now I can actually fold my laundry in here. So much better!

 This closet is also in my laundry room/bathroom. I'm sure it's for linens but I use a closet upstairs for that so it's become my paper goods, party dishes, tools, batteries, lightbulbs and random junk storage. problem is, could never find things in here.

Did some more throwing away and place designating and now I can actually see the floor and find stuff I need.

It really helped to put this shoe organizer in here for little things like batteries, lighters, matches, light bulbs etc... A place for everything and everything in it's place!

Coat Closet: Sadly I did not stage this picture. 

This is honestly the horrendous state it was in when I came to work on it. This closet has been my nemesis all summer. I never got around to fully de-wintering it so it still had lots of winter gear it it and all our random bags would just get thrown in here on the floor and it was a huge mess. We also keep all our running gear in here but it didn't really fit in those drawers and everything was overflowing.

 Brought in some bigger storage drawers for the running gear and all those bags. Also put some baby gear like the snugli and Cam's beach tent in one of the drawers. Filled up a box for goodwill of old shoes that nobody wears that were taking up tons of space. Also put old jackets and winter gear in the good will box. Made a place to hang my purse and put our church bag so it's ready to grab on Sunday mornings. Threw lots of stuff away.

Me and this closet are finally friends again.

 (Brinley in the Good Will Box. She was not included in our donation ; )

 So embarrassing as it is to post those before pictures, I'm really happy to have my closets back.  My main strategy was to put things in one of three categories: trash, donate, or find a it a proper home. 

Next up: The kid's closets, my closet and the linen closet. Should go pretty quickly now that I'm on a roll : )

Stuck in the Middle

Lately I've noticed Brinley kind of struggling with her new role as the middle child. I think it's tough because Teya is doing so many big girl things and starting kindergarten and just has a personality that demands a lot of attention.  Cam also gets lots of attention by default since he's the baby and can't do anything by himself. So that leaves Brinley stuck in the middle.

While she enjoys doing big girl things with Teya, I think what she really longs for is to be the baby again.

In fact, I think she's launching an "I'm the baby" campaign by casually taking over Camden's baby items. 

It started with the the bumbo seat which is now her go to sitting chair.

 She'll even stack it on her Dora chair for a boost.

I also found her in Cam's high chair the other day.

 And his car seat

And his exersaucer

 She really liked the exersaucer and tries to high jack it whenever he's not around.

 She also loves the baby swing and will sit in there for hours

 I don't have the heart to tell her to get out or that she's too big for those things.  

It's hard being the middle kid, but I hope she knows she'll always be my baby, no matter how big she gets.

From Camping Trails to the Catwalk

On our last day at Camp Joseph the girls were scheduled to attend their little friend's Barbie Fashion Birthday party. The party was at 3:30pm. We were 2 hours away in Vermont. We figured if we left at 1pm we'd be okay... until we got sidetracked by 24 flavors of soft serve and crispy golden onion rings. That deliciousness put us about 45 minutes behind schedule. 

(Mia the birthday girl)

We put the pedal to the metal and made it into Nashua at 3:45. The girls were filthy and still in their camping clothes but we had no time to spare. I quickly rushed them in the house, stripped off their stinky campfire clothes, threw dresses over them, undid Teya's braids, put bows in Brin's hair and hosed them down with perfume.

We arrived at the party at 4pm, only 30 minutes late and just in time for the girls to hit the catwalk.

You never would've known they had just come from a campout.

 A lot of Teya's preschool friends were at the party, including her teacher Mrs. H! She was so excited to see her again!

 Mia's mommy went all out and every detail was perfect. The kids got to do a little fashion show on the runway and it was pretty darn cute.

 Teya striking a pose on the runway

 Teya and Brinley with the birthday girl

 Eating dinner with an explosion of pink. Pink food baskets, pink trays, pink table cloth, pink cups, pink dinnerware, pink napkins, pink girly heaven. : )

Teya modeling the feather boa, necklace and sunglasses from her goody basket. So stylish. 

 After dinner, a pinata and b-day cupcakes it was time to go. The girls had a great time and I was proud of myself for getting them there (looking cute no less) on such a crazy timeline. My mommy powers must be getting stronger ; ) 

Camp Joseph with our FWLLFs!

You know what's awesome? Going to Camp Joseph up in Sharon Vermont with our friends from church.

We went last year and LOVED it so much we've been looking forward to going again all year.

You know what's extra awesome? Going to camp Joseph with our FWLLFs (friends we love like family) The Draschils, who were once our exceptionally awesome house guests but are now officially Boston residents and will be here for 2 years while Joseph's in grad school! We're so pumped that they're on the East coast and are already planning many future rendezvous between our families. : )

We went up there last weekend and the girls were super excited about their camping braids, their tinkerbell headlamps (modeled by Teya) and the GIANT marshmallows (clutched tightly under Brinley's arm) that we brought for roasting.

 When we got there we realized that after 6 hours of packing half our household for this trip, we had somehow forgotten to pack matches! Taber bravely snagged a burning stick from someone else's fire pit to try and get ours going but transferring it proved a little dangerous. Luckily our neighbors had an extra lighter and loaned it to us for the weekend.

With the fire burning the S'more fest could begin. Pretty sure I ate enough of those babies to hit the double digits. Definitely a highlight of the weekend for me.

We opted for a cabin instead of a tent this year since I'm not brave enough to sleep in a tent with a 7 month old.

Even in the cabin with his pack and play Cam struggled the first night.  He was cutting yet another tooth and it kept him up all night. Luckily the 2nd night was TONS better. He only woke up once and slept in till 8.  

He was a very popular attraction amongst all the kids. Who can resist a camping baby?

 The kids ran themselves ragged,  playing, exploring, swimming, catching frogs, lizards, caterpillars and all sorts of fun creatures.

 The grown ups had fun too playing hard at the waterfront (see post below), frisbee, volleyball, and laughing and talking around the fire late into the night. We also had a talent show but I totally FAILED and didn't take any pictures! (So unlike me).  I blame it on the fact that both Taber and I were dancing and I couldn't find my music and got a little flustered before it all started. 

Anyway, forget to take pics but here's one of Taber practicing the day before. He did the hoop, which he hasn't done in years but still totally rocked it, I danced a hula to Palehua, the girls sang original compositions, and we even convinced Joseph to do one of his hilarious pantomime scenes with Melinda. It was tons of fun and they decided to make it a Camp Joseph tradition because everyone liked it so much.

Here's a little 15 second clip Taber took of my hula so you can kind of get an idea of the atmosphere.

After two days I think Taber was seriously ready to move our family out into the wilderness and live off the land. I really think it's his dream to either live in a cabin or an igloo.  While that probably won't happen any time soon (or ever, sorry babe) We'll always be big fans of camping, especially at the beautiful, fun and very awesome, Camp Joseph.

Wet and Wild on the Waterfront

One of our favorite parts of Camp Joseph, if not the favorite part, is being on the waterfront.  

There's a great little pond up at camp named the "Waters of Mormon" where the kids swam, rode the raft and caught lots of frogs and salamanders.

There's also a river just a 5 minute drive from camp with a sandy beach where the kids played for hours without getting bored.

Melinda brought her awesome DSLR camera and took some of these adorable pics by the river. Totally made me want a camera like that but I burn through so many camera's that I'm a little hesitant to make the investment.

Still totally glad she brought hers and captured some of these shots. Love this one of my drool baby.

Also LOVE this one of Taber and Brinley digging together in the sand. They both just make me smile. 

The little kids had so much fun splashing around and making mud pies.

And the big kids had fun getting crazy on the rope swing across the river.

I really wanted to get some pics so I attempted to cross the river with my camera hoping it wouldn't get wet. (um yeah, stunts like that are probably why I burn through so many cameras.) Anyway, It was tricky because the river got a kind of deep and had a decent current. I stumbled around and almost gave up, but after a precarious pass off to Joseph, I managed to get the camera across and now have these awesome pics and even a video to highlight the awesomenss of grown ups gone wild on the rope swing : )

Future Drama Queens?

Back in the day, like WAY back in the high school day, I was a drama geek. 

I tried out for every play and didn't care if I was an extra or the lead, I just liked being on stage and performing. I was in Annie, The Wizard of Oz, My Fair Lady, The Secret Garden, The Music Man, Hamlet, Two Gentlemen of Verona and a handful of other plays we put on at my school.

Call me a nerd but I totally loved the theater and I swear my drama skills made me be a better teacher when I got my first job teaching Spanish. Teenagers want to be entertained ALL the time so keeping their attention required a little dramatic flare, and you better believe I tapped into my "skillz."

I think as a parent you secretly want your kids to love all the things you loved when you were growing up, so when I saw that the theater in Manchester was putting on a summer series of 45 minute condensed musicals for kids, I jumped on the opportunity to expose my girls to a little bit of theater : )

The first play we saw was Beauty and the Beast. It was really good despite Gaston being slightly less masculine than I remember. The girls loved it though and were thrilled when they got to take pictures with the cast after the show.

 The highlight was meeting Belle of course.

And I don't think Teya minded the prince too much either ; )

The next week we went they did The Wizard of Oz. It was awesome because we had just taken the girls to the Wizard of Oz exhibit at the Boston Children's museum so they were way into this one. It also brought back good memories of my munchkin days when I was in that play : )

The favorite hands down though was Ariel the Little Mermaid.

  The girls could not wait to see Ariel on stage and got all dolled up in their best Mermaid attire for the event.

The play was awesome and they did a great job with the scenery and some really fun "special effects" for the Under the Sea number.

Afterwards they actually went through the cast line TWICE to make sure they got all the mermaid pics their little hearts desired.

 I think prince Eric borrowed Gaston's wig. They really should retire that thing.

 Not sure if these plays convinced them to follow in their mama's theatrical footsteps, but I do know they had a great time and loved seeing some of their favorite princesses come to life on stage. : )