Tackle it Tuesday

I've been missing you bloggy friends! I'm feeling more caught up with each day, so I am trying to start blogging again. We are definitely in that stage of moving-in when about every 20 minutes, a family member can be heard asking, "Mom/Honey, where did you put the _____ ?" Now that we have been in the house about a month, I am feeling more at home, but there are little things here and there that still need to be put away or just organized. Well...I found this nifty little thing that should help me do both (blog more and continue to get organized) and decided to participate in the Tackle it Tuesday hosted by 5 Minutes for Mom.

This is how Tackle it Tuesday works: Choose a project that you've been putting off and tackle it! It doesn't matter how large or small it is, just ACCOMPLISH SOMETHING. Take before and after pictures and post them on your blog. Then head over to 5 Minutes for Mom and sign the list showing that you participated. They will keep a running list of links that will allow you to visit other's blogs and see what their tackles were for the week. I love it when we get to multi-task!

So...without further adue, here is my tackle.

This is the last of my kitchen cabinets that needs to be organized. There is less storage space in this kitchen and so far we have mastered it, but this was definitely the final frontier.

Now we can get to everything we need. I even found some pieces that I'd been missing after deciding they'd been swallowed by the moving truck!

Now head over to 5 Minutes for Mom and see what everyone else is doing.

Hello, my name is jen. It's nice to meet you!

It's been so long since I've posted, I feel like I should introduce myself!

We're moved! Actually, we've been sleeping in this house for two weeks. There are still boxes in the garage and a few inside, but for the most part we are settled. I am ready to hang pictures in most rooms. Hopefully we will have time to tackle that this weekend. I just found my camera, so here are a few pics of some things I am loving about this house. . .

I love having the bar for my three messy kids. I am also loving the look of the black appliances and our new fridge! We chose to have the concrete stained in all of the hard floor areas. I think it is so pretty!

It is soooo nice having our armoire back in the master bedroom where it belongs! It just completes the room! In our old master, there was plenty of space for it, we just couldn't get it through the odd angles of the hallway leading to the master. "It's so nice to have you back where you belong..."

The girls have an ENORMOUS room! It is wonderful to have a bigger room to fit these two as they get bigger. The only downside is that we have their beds right beside each other and they think every night is a slumber party. It is just too easy for them to talk and play before they fall asleep. We're working on it though!

The last things I love are all about spreadin' out and gettin' down to the playtime. We gave up a guest room and gained a playroom with the move. I love that the kids rooms and our living room are less cluttered with all the toys. And that there is another common area for them to play instead of having our living room overrun by toys. We are also greatly enjoying the quiet double cul-de-sac and sidewalks just out the front door. It's been raining here lots, but every chance we get, we head outdoors. The girls' absolutely love having all the space to ride their "bikes", and Bubba finally has a good place to learn to ride a two wheeler. I predict that he will accomplish that soon (if we get a break from the rain). It has also been fun to meet our new neighbors along the way. We miss our old neighbors, but are glad to live near such friendly people.

Still Packing...

With a moving day just a matter of days away, we have been packing and doing laundry all day. I just HATE to move dirty clothes! I am also attempting to clean out drawers because we will have significantly less drawer space in our new house.

Today, I gave away a pair of UMBRO shorts. You remember them don't you? In about 7th grade EVERYBODY who was ANYBODY wore them. I also still had the little spandex shorts that you had to wear under the UMBROs because the leg holes were ENORMOUS! and, well, you just couldn't trust a 7th grader to sit like a lady. (I'm pretty sure that I couldn't fit them around one leg now!)That might be the oldest thing that I've ever given away.

What is the oldest/weirdest thing you've ever gotten rid of?

Psst...pass this to his friend so he can give it to him...

Dear Housebuilder,

Do you still like me? (Check yes or no)



It really hurts to see you spending time with other buyers. I feel like I'm the only one putting anything in to this relationship. I spend all my time packing so we can see each other on our closing date, but you don't seem to care. You are giving all your attention to those houses next door that don't even have buyers. They're just flirts, they're not invested in you like I am.


When we started our relationship, you were so nice and charming. Then, as soon as I start to trust you, I find out that you aren't planning to keep our closing date. I had planned to make it so special with babysitters, movers, and paint. And now, all of those plans are ruined.


I so want this relationship to work. Do you? (Check yes or no)



Your BFF,
Buyer

For those of you that are wondering...

Before

After

I should be folding laundry, but...

I decided that in all fairness to the house we currently live in, I need to write a list of all the things that I will miss about it. (This is the post we should let the buyer family read!)

1. the gas logs in our fireplace
2. the recessed lighting in the living room
3. the decorative lights over the bar
4. the swing-set
5. the vegetable garden
6. the master bathroom
7. the kids' bathroom
8. the guest room
9. the plug in our mantle above the fireplace
10. the shelf near the ceiling above the fireplace
11. the plans brewing in my imagination to add on a second living room and a huge back porch

Moving

Honey and I have been married 8 1/2 years. In our first 4 1/2 years of marriage we lived in 6 different houses. We became pros at moving. We had it down to an art. When we moved into this house 4 years ago, we had very little baggage. We learned that it was way easier to get rid of it than it was to pack it and move it. Since settling into our current house, we have aquired more furniture, more children, more yard equipment, and that is just the major stuff.

Several weeks ago, in an effort to simplify (my theme for the year 2007), I began to organize, de-clutter, dump, trash, donate, and any other verb you can think of that means "to get rid of". Turns out, I'm glad I did, since we are moving in the next 45 days or so. I am excited about our new house . It's truly an answered prayer and a blessing from God. I am not excited about all the work that goes in to moving. With January drawing to a close, and my self-appointed month of rest ending with it, I am dreading the act of moving. So, in an effort to inspire me to begin packing this weekend, I've decided to post a list of things that I love about our new house. (in no particular order, of course)

1. The private pool/park right around the corner.
2. The breakfast bar in the kitchen, just big enough to feed three children.
3. The mud room (really it's a mud "area", but it will be big enough for all 5 of us to use)
4. MUCH smaller yard = less yard work (more like a weekend hobby than a part-time job)
5. Closer to Bubba's school
6. Sidewalks
7. Playroom
8. Stained concrete floors!
9. Bigger pantry
10. Bigger office/sewing room
11. Less bathroom to clean
12. Larger family room/kitchen
13. Finally being able to put our armoire in our master bedroom where it really belongs

We probably shouldn't show this list to the family that bought our house. They might change their minds!