getting organized in 2012 (part 3)

I have over the years struggled with contentment. I am sure being human , that it is something normal. On paper or in words it is VERY easy to be content. I can SAY all day long "I am content with my life" but yet, I WANT WANT WANT... I do not think that there is anything wrong with wanting per say but, when it makes you discontent with what you DO have and makes it hard to count your blessings you DO have... well, then I think it is problematic

At anyrate. Often times in my four years of living in my home, I have been discontent with my home. It is "not big enough" or "too cluttered" or "not nice enough" All the while telling myself (and trying to believe it) that I am happy with my home, I am content, I am thankful. (ha)

Anyway..I always always always have to catch myself (eventually) when I get like this. I think of an old friend of mine. She had 5 kids in a 2 bedroom home. No basement and no garage. Yet, I would sit and complain about the size of my home, or my layout or whatever... how dare I? Her kids are happy good kids and are not at all suffering because of their living situation. In fact, they are close. Would she like a bigger house, I am sure if you asked her, the answer would be yes but, she just always "made it work"
So, last week, I was off work for spring break. I decided that I was going to "make it work" and quit complaining. I am blessed beyond WORDS... I have no right.

I noticed that over crowding makes me a bit on the crazy side. THIS is hard because I also really like stuff... but, I have realized over the years that, stuff doesn't like me. Meaning, it changes my mood to be in my own home when it is cluttered or even someone elses cluttered home for any amount of time.

My living room is very simple. One couch, one love seat and a stand for the T.V. I also have a coffee table that I go back and forth with (I have a love hate relationship with it) No end tables (take up too much space and collect stuff)
some might think my living room kind of empty looking (it was especially empty before we recently brought up our love seat from the basement) but, it keeps my sanity.
My kitchen is a little room to be sure. It doesn't really have an "eat in " are but I purchased a little kitchen table a couple of years ago and it goes in there nicely. I try and keep minimal things on my counters because, the more on my counters the more I feel it is is untidy.

In my kids room, I had an issue with crowding. So I took all the dressers and put them downstairs. This was great. The dressers were gone and it freed up much room. I do not have a lot of toys in their rooms they are basic. They each have a desk for school work or whatever but, they are pretty basic.
The dressers downstairs thing wasn't working so much for the girls. I had no idea ever what Abby had.. Anna was always leary of going down into the basement (she has a sudden phobia of spiders). I was at a loss and then, it hit me.
I first went through my girls clothes and decided to have them share a dresser. My boys always have. They are nearly 2 years apart in age but, I have always had no issues with them sharing a dresser. But my girls with their 6 years, I thought I HAD to have two dressers. This is not so. Not after cleaning things. My girls clothes were able to be condensed into one dresser No problem!
I cleaned out the girls closet. I put all their dresses that hung up in coat closet in the living room .. Is that ideal? no. But my for my sanity.. it will work.
I then made their closet a bit of an extention to their room. I painted it orange (left over paint from my kitchen) to match the green, pink, and orange owl accents around their room. And I placed the dresser inside. put some storage containers from the dollar store on the shelves for special things (hair stuff and they each have a little bin of toys)
This gives me the space I need for a dresser and, it doesn't clutter up their rooms all over.
here is the ALMOST finished product (pay day is Thursday)


since taking this picture I have placed a very pretty basket that I received for Anna at her shower. It holds all of their stuffed animals that I do not like to float around the room and make a mess.They instead are neatly placed on the dresser. Also a box with the girls boots that do not fit into their shoe organizer and will soon make it downstairs into the bin when boots are no longer wearable (these are not snow boots I am talking about)

I still need to hang some sort of sheer as were color meets color on the wall is NOT so cute but, it works and I am pleased with it. I spend a lot of time daydreaming about how to make things more livable. Like right now, I Have a dresser in my room and my husbands is in the closet in my room. But I am wondering if we could even condense into one closet for the both of us. Worth a shot?
I am not going to let my circumstances change my attitude. I will change my circumstances (at least the best of my ability) I could complain and gripe about my home that I am "stuck in" or, I could make it OUR home. Make it work for us ...
Any tips are welcomed... :)
thanks!

Part 1

Part 2

A kitchen update!

As most of you know, we moved into our home a little over two years ago.
Its a cute little house only 900 something square feet but its cozy and sweet.
BUT, it defiantly was not decorated to our liking.
The kitchen and bathroom were the main areas of the home that needed updating.. I would have to say the bathroom, at first made me NOT want the house at all.. Teal tile through out!!!!!!!!!!!!! But, I have since found a shower curtain and have "made it work" (for now, we do plan next tax season to update that room)

Anyways, our cabinets were a light wood color, all shiney. Our counter tops were pink with red swirls and metal trim!!!
the walls they were peach with a brown wallpaper on the bottom half.. totally outdated!

SO, for Christmas one year, my step dad who is a carpenter redid our counter tops they were amazing but, the rest of the kitchen just didnt "match' and so, this year at tax time, we bought the things we needed and slowly chipped away at it when time allowed...
Finally, after a few months of the fridge sitting in my living room..and some "troubles" along the way.. We have a NEW and updated kitchen.. I just LOVE it.

Here are some before and after shots.

The kitchen Before: (most of these were taken before we moved in)

This is the upclose of the cabinets before paint

From the living room looking in.. wow, what a mess :P I just finished with dinner and my daughter shot this with her play camera, I am glad tho, because, its the only one I have of the full kitchen ....





The OLD counter tops


a view of the sink, you can see the old floor *again this was before we moved in*





and here is the new paint, but old fridge and old cabinets.. you will see the fancy stuff my hubby did above my fridge in the next pics! And please do NOT mind the mess on the top of the fridge, construction is hard to live in :)


here are the
AFTER pictures:

This is standing in the door looking in... probably pretty obvious.


a picture of the window above the sink.. take notice of the decorative scalloping *is that what that is called?* anyways.. take notice :)
I do have six more coffee pics to put up above the window, just havent yet.



Again above my fridge.. only this time, its to take notice of the difference.
Notice in the first picture, there are cabinets above the fridge... Well, one of our glitches in the update was, we bought a new fridge. We bought the fridge without ever laying eyes on it. My brother, got us a sweet deal on it and we could NOT pass it up and since we needed one badly, we bought it without being there. It came, we loved it but, it was too tall for our kitchen.
So, my handy and wonderful husband made me this beautiful shelf on top and THEN, matched the "scalloping" from above the sink and made it look like its always been there!
I love it, and I am on the look out for fun coffee stuff to put up there... but for now, this is how it sits~


Looking from the basement door into the kitchen.
please do NOT mind the mess in the living room, my husband has just knocked down a wall in there to open it up *and the kids were playing in there *


in the above picture you can see the pass through that my husband put in from the kitchen side, In this picture, you can see it from the living room side. Once the part where he tore down the wall is all patched up, I will be repainting the living room, for now, I stare at joint compound.. :)


The left side of the kitchen...


THIS was my inspiration for the color scheme and coffee theme!


and lastly... the high chair that Abby got from my mom for her first birthday. I saw it and HAD to have this one, since it matched my kitchen and all :)


There are still some minor things to do like touch up paint, hang pictures.. ect ect.. but I am sooo pleased! My husband did a fantastic job, it doesnt even look like the same kitchen anymore~!

the worst

I have become the WORST blogger EVER... I always mean to come on and check everyones blog and update but, really there is so much going on all the time that I havent been doing so...
We have been busy lately with just life itself. Its been fun. We are having a WONDERFUL summer ... its going by TOO fast.
I have been forcing myself to walk. Our house butts up to the park which has paths.. I have been trying to walk the paths (two times around) once in the morning and once in the evening... its been nice.. its not every day cause we are busy but I am sure trying. Its a baby step in the right direction.
I took a few pictures of my house.. Ill post a few.... It still needs more "us" but for now , its cozy....

This is my bathroom that I was CERTIAN I would HATE because of the teal tiles... but, I actually do love it now that I have my own stuff in there and found that cute shower curtian.
This is one end of my living room.... Dont mind the small c hair, it actually belongs in my boys room and the fact that my linen closet door is open ... (blush) (this can be clicked to view bigger)
My Mommy went to Ikea and bought me this Mirror cause she has one and I always loved it. My aunt bought the sconces to match it and I think it looks great... My couch isnt staying there.. Its going into our basement when we get the carpet down.

another end of my living room.
THis is my daughters room. My mom bought her this night light at Ikea. It has a green cord that we put leaves on to look like a flower stem... we also found this garden set of stickers at the dollar store and did it up.. its adorable in person.. not AS cute in the pic... but you get the point.. we also have a purple light in it now that makes the flower glow purple. her entire room is bordered in butterflies... Its really really cute.

and here is my boys room, its an "army" or "military" theme... they LOVE it... its really cute.. Ill take more pics of that later.