The Girls Room Re-Do: Mid-Way Through.

I didn't really take before pictures but here are a few snapshots I found from throughout the past year or so.

Let's take a gander back at what the girl's room used to look like.

Messy. . . 

Okay that wasn't fair but this is probably as clean as the room ever got. There were just too many toys and really the room was working too hard.

This worked until their clothes became too big for the bins. . . then it over flowed.

AFTER

I nailed the shoe organizer to the wall instead of leaving it banging around on the back of the door. Now the girls can each reach their own shoes. 

They each have their own hook as well as one extra for bathrobes. I couldn't quite get it in there but on the floor beneath their coats is an old cookie sheet for boots and backyard shoes. I have a plan for it but right now it's just an old cookie sheet with boots on it.

We found the dresser on craigslist and I was so glad to finally have one that fits most of the girls clothes. I still have the little plastic drawers for Ballerina's socks and panties and such.

The bins in the bookshelf are for the girls sweaters and sweatshirts. Leaving just enough room for a few books. I need to get a basket for the girls seasonal accessories, sunglasses, hats, scarves, that sort of thing. So that they are handy to get and easy to put away without cluttering up the coat hooks. I would also love an umbrella pot thingy.

The closet is finally being used as a regular closet. I had been using it more for long term storage. Now it has the girls dresses and the next size of hand-me-downs for Beloise. There are still some things that don't belong so I won't be showing you that just yet.

Um I have to mention the paper lantern above the girls dresser. I purchased two of these at the dollar store for Beloise first birthday and we just changed the batteries in this one for the first time. If I find them again I will buy 10 as they are a great deal and if you keep them out of reach they hold up very nicely. Not to mention they cast just the right amount of light at night.

I do have a few projects for this room. 

1. Shelves above the dresser, and bins for more storage.

2. Paint the shelf next to Beloise crib, and add bins.

3. Paint closet doors and add a handle of some sort.

4. I think the lampshade could use some sprucing up also.

5. Artwork, larger scale or grouped better, find a place for the crochet bird mobile I made.

6.Repaint entire room. This is a maybe, I think I might like to paint it a nice neutral color, the brown really makes it seem small.

7. More organizing in the closet.

And this list is always changing. I sort of make it a point to never "finish" a room. Mainly because it takes me so long to do it that by the time I would be done I have a new plan and several decorative elements have changed. I just like to get them to an organized state and then play with decor. I usually find at some point that some part of my organization isn't working as well as I thought it would so I have to change it.

Hope you have enjoyed a glimpse into the girl's room.

~And So That's What She Did.

Shoes and Ships and Sealing Wax, of Cabbages and Kings

"The time has come my friend to talk of other things, of shoes and ships and sealing wax, of cabbages and kings. . . "

A few weeks ago our dryer decided to stop drying. . . 

on the first laundry day of the week. . . 

on the first load of laundry. 

Thankfully by fabulous sister-in-law happened to have an extra dryer laying around so we were able to catch up pretty quickly but in order to get the borrowed dryer into the laundry room my Beloved had to take the door off the hinges. So of course the girls assumed he was making a slide for them.

The hole in the laundry room door is a mildly amusing story. It was that way when we moved in. . . see how mild that was.

Really it has come in handy and we have thought about framing it out to look more like the dog door we use it as. We once had a Yorkshire terrier and she used it quit frequently since her food was in the laundry room. More recently Penny has been enlarging it for her own use.

My Beloved's parents and his sister, Aunt Nay, made the trek from Idaho for Suzanne's memorial. It was nice to have them here. Great to be able to focus on other things and know that my kids were in grand hands. Here's Grampy with Ham-Huck.

After the memorial we were all exhausted with aching feet. So we treated ourselves to a foot soak, apparently Beloise missed the memo about it only being for your feet.

Why not eat strawberries while bathing in the mop bucket?

On Monday they headed back to Idaho. Ballerina HAS to watch people leaving our house to see which way they go. I snuck into her dark bedroom to find her peering out of the window. Please disregard the giant pile of clothes by the window I had just gone through the girls drawers and haven't found a place for these hand-me-downs just yet. Also I believe that string is the string from my camera, that's been bothering me for a while. I couldn't figure out what it was . . . funny how I start to analyze pictures once I post them on here. ;)

Later that day it was nice out so we spent as much time out of doors as possible.

Beloise loves when her sister "reads" to her. I love to hear the story change every time.

Apparently we aren't feeding Dora enough.

Here are the baby chicks. . . not so baby anymore. They are nearly all feathers now.

Ballerina has been begging us to roast marshmallows so we finally gave in and blazed up the fire pit for the first time this year.

Yeah she just ate the marshmallow she was supposed to be getting for me!

And in case you missed my mug, here's one for you. . . 

FIRE!! See what happens when I try to pose for you!

Marshmallow face

This is rapidly becoming me new favorite photo of Beloise.

This is a regular occurrence at our house.

Like I said. . .

This crazy dog has her head on my foot. . . she's so sweet. . . we love her. 

Except when she rolls in pungent things and then wants to snuggle. 

Then we love her from afar.

~And So That's What She Did.

"The Memory of the Righteous is a Blessing."

I have been avoiding blogging. Almost like the plague. I want to blog, but the energy just isn't there. I know that if I get started, see I've done that, then I will get back into it, things will start flowing.

I think that part of the reason that I have stopped is because I have a hard time skipping over life events with my blog and at the same time I don't want to blog about Suzanne going home to be with the Lord. The truth is that I am heartbroken by the hole that is left in our assembly. I'm also jealous of the fact that she is with the Lord and I wish he would just take all of us home, not just the best of us. Add to that the fact that I don't feel that I have anything of any worth to say, nothing that will help, nothing more than regurgitated cliches. 

I have noticed that when dealing with things eternal the only thing that is of any comfort is the word of God. So here are a few verses that I have enjoyed during this time.

"The memory of the righteous is a blessing." Proverbs 10:7

"Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you." Isaiah 60:1

"Concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him." 

1 Thess. 4:13-14

"The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry. . .The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit." Psalm 34:15 and 18

(ESV)

Thankful for the knowledge of where she is, with the Lord and in no more pain, sad that we have to continue without her smile, gratefulness, and example of a wonderful mom and help-meet.

(My apologies for the therapeutic rambling. I'll send you a check for the session.)

~And So That's What She Did.

Beloise Turns 2

Minnie Mouse cake pops courtesy of my talented sister Gus-Gus.

While trying to sing my baby Happy Birthday, my dad decided to speed things up and in an attempt to scold him I actually said my sister's name instead of my daughters name in the song. That is what the look of "what are you doing?" is all about.

I'll explain at the bottom.

Time is limited these days. Hope you enjoyed the picture-full post!

Okay, in case you were wondering what happened to my Ballerina's face THIS time. We were at an outdoor restaurant and she was running toward me, tripped on a tree root pushing up the asphalt and hit her face on the concrete bench I was sitting on.
Yes, it was traumatic for both of us.
She may have hollered through her screams, that if we took her to urgent care she would scream.
Yes, I nearly passed out, but held on until my Beloved could arrive.
And she may possibly loose her front tooth.
My poor child. She has expressed several times that she wishes she hadn't fallen like that. She also looks MUCH better now. These pictures were the day after the incident.

Keepin' our local urgent care in business.
~And So That's What She Did.