Random Stuff...But It's All Good

I've finally dug myself out from the chaos of the holidays.  Yes...I know we're well into January already.  Yes, our Christmas tree finally made it back into the attic only last weekend (hey..it's David's job!).  


So...I've been organizing, cooking, sewing, crocheting and reading. 


Reading:  Rebecca got The Chronicles of Narnia for Christmas, and I've reread the entire series again.  Don't you just love reading something you read as a kid, and then reading it again as an adult?  You get an entirely new perspective out of the book.  It's awesome. :-)


On a side note, our Rebecca turns 10 tomorrow, and we had a slumber party for her last weekend.  We made homemade pizza, painted pavers, made brownie sundaes, and watched a movie. It was a busy night, and I made it until midnight, barely.  David graciously stayed up until 2:00 AM.  Rebecca and one of the girls were still awake and playing cards!  The next morning, we made apple spice donuts with maple glaze using the donut maker she got for Christmas.  Here's a few pictures of the fun. 

Okay, back to current events!
Crocheting:  A new hat for Theresa.  And of course, a crochet rose to go on it. :-)

She's long outgrown all the ones I made last summer...and I haven't had time to make her a new one until last week.  I'm making it to match the rose pillowcase dress I'm sewing for her birthday.  I can't believe she'll be one in just a couple of weeks.  Where has the time gone?!


Speaking of Theresa, she is starting to stand and hold onto furniture.  I think it took her a while to build up the courage...she's so tiny, I'm sure the couch looks like a mountain to her.  She is also saying, "Ma-ma", "Da-da," "All done," and a few other, 2-syllable sounds, like "Ba-ba," "Bye-bye," and "Do-do."  It's so cute.  We had to work on "Ma-ma" a little bit.  She started saying, "Da-da" first, and I admit...this Momma was jealous.  So now she can say, "Ma-ma" nearly as often as "Da-da."  LOL!  

Sewing:  I've got the dress for Theresa, a soft cloth book, and a fabric cake all in the works for Theresa.  She just doesn't need toys for her upcoming birthday, so I though I'd make her things she can play with as get gets bigger.  Being in a big family, she won't lack for presents, and at her age, I'm sure she won't care. ;-)


Organizing:  We bought 2 shoe cabinets and 2 big bookcases at IKEA.  We desperately needed some way to contain the millions of books and endless piles of shoes in the house. 

 David only wanted to buy one shoe cabinet, but I said, "Are you kidding?  Are you forgetting how many kids we have and how many pairs of shoes they all have?"  So I won...and we got two. :-) They hold 8 pairs of shoes each, but because the kids' shoes are smaller, we probably have 12 pairs in each cabinet.  Yeah!


Here's the bookcase.  Previously, we had books in 3 different bookcases, AND in the closet, because we just didn't have the room to display them all.  These 2 bookcases hold ALL the kid's literature in the house, except for some favorites they keep in their rooms.  

Rebecca helped me sort and label the shelves with our label-maker and now all the books are neatly organized by category.  She has also declared herself the family librarian, and everyone has to "check out" books through her.  LOL.  So far, it's working out great...and I'm glad I don't have to reshelve any books!


I just assembled and put a new bookcase with fabric cubbies in Gabriel's room yesterday.  It took me over 2 hours to do that, and sort through all his toys, but it looks wonderful in his room.  So much better than all his toy just heaped into a corner of his room.  It's a lot of work organizing, but I feel great a great sense of accomplishment!  

I want to tackle the big girls' room and Joshua's room next.  They have sets of hanging shelves in their rooms, which have worked fine up until now.  But as they've gotten older, the toys are getting smaller, and the baskets are wire mesh.  So everything is falling through, getting stuck, or getting lost through the mesh.  I'd like to take it all down, and get a big bookcase with baskets for the girls.  Something like this...

Or this...

I probably will get bookcases in a natural finish and baskets with neutral-colored liners though...that way, it can grow with the girls as they get older.  Pink and white isn't cute once the girls are 6 or 7 years old in my opinion.  And eventually, we'll be moving Rebecca into her own bedroom and Christina will continue to share a room with Theresa (once she is big enough for a twin bed).  So I need something that is suitable for girls of different ages (they'll be 9 and 2 at that point).  


For Joshua, I wasn't sure what to do at first.  He's 12, so a cute bookcase with cubbies/baskets wouldn't be right for him.  A friend on Facebook suggested old metal lockers and I though, "Hey, that would look really cool!"  And, it would take him all the way through high school, easily.  


See?  Even David thinks these would be cool.  Cool enough for Joshua anyway. ;-)

So when we have the money, I'll be scouring craigslist and maybe even attending the regular auctions our school district holds.  From my initial research, it's the best way to get old lockers at a decent price.  


Well, that's what I've been up to this year so far.  What have you been up to besides taxi-driving, cooking, nursing boo-boos, breaking up fights...you know, the normal stuff?  ;-)