Controlled Chaos

My son apparently woke up some time in the middle of the night and peed in the bathroom trashcan. Of course, I hadn't put a new trash bag in it yet so clean up will also consist of soiled toilet paper rolls and facial cleansing pads. Ahhh, the joys of parenthood! I have a fairly consistent routine when it comes to keeping the house tidy. This means that when some unexpected chore pops up, it throws me off just enough to mess up my whole house! Ok, so pee in a wastebasket won't lead to house chaos but early appointments, a sick child or a missed school bus definitely will. Or anything on Friday, that's my deep cleaning day.

So here's my cleaning schedule. The key for me is the routine of it. I do my basic chores first thing in the morning, otherwise I'll forget. I try to do these everyday and with the addition of deep cleaning on Friday.

Morning
Start a load of laundry
Unload dishwasher
Sweep kitchen
Clean the litter box
Put up folded laundry

Noon
Switch laundry over/hang on the line

Night
Start dishwasher/wash dishes
Pick-up toys, shoes, etc.

Friday
Clean kitchen table and counters
Mop floors
Vacuum
Dust
Deep clean bathrooms
Change sheets
Change litter
Wash windows

We have recently moved to a smaller home and gotten rid of a lot of our stuff. This has made it so much less overwhelming to keep our spaces tidy. I recommend it to anyone thinking of downsizing.

Moving to the Country...

...Gonna eat me a lot of peaches...

Indeed it's true, our clan in pulling up it's suburban roots and headed to the rural south. I am so excited about this transition, I really can't even tell you how much! For me it means big gardens, raising chickens, fishing, porchin' it in the nude (I kid, I kid) and the best part of all, living right down the road from my mom and grandmother. I'm looking forward to starting fresh, leaving our clutter behind and living simpler lives. I'm especially excited about sharing our new adventures here! 

Bye Bye Richmond

Richmond, Virginia will always have cozy little nook in my heart. It's the city where I met my partner in life and started a family. I've had some heartaches and headaches here and grown stronger from them all. 

But for now I'm just so stoked about the next chapter! Wish us luck! 

xoxo,

Sensory Play With Play Dough

What child doesn't love play dough? But we were getting bored of cookie cutter and food shapes so we took it up a notch by adding gems, bendy straws, wooden bugs, etc.  We got a good 45 minutes of play out this! 

Avery pressing lady bugs into her creation. The dough was a little wet so the kids added more flour, hence the white substance all over the floor!

Sawyer pressing gems in his dough. When we were all finished I bagged the dough with all of the trinkets still inside. We'll make a treasure hunt out of it in a few days!

Bendy straw landscape! So fun!

Avery spiked a fever last night so we've been hanging around the house even though it was a gorgeous 80 degrees outside! I can't say that I've been too productive so far today myself. I did want to share this adorable pennant tee.

Most Awesome Gift

"All the time a person is a child he is both a child and learning to be a parent. After he becomes a parent he becomes predominantly a parent reliving childhood." -Benjamin Spock 

We were gifted with another one of those random, incredibly mild days we've been having this winter. We headed to the park in jeans and t-shirts to de-stress and shed some winter blues. And to pimp my new bangs! 

This was one of those days when we remembered to slow down, let kids be kids, and let ourselves enjoy them. Those are the best days of my life. Hands down.

Being a mom, it's so easy to get caught up in the wheel of routine. Sometimes it's good to hop off and truly appreciate what you have.

Because kids are an awesome gift. Period. 

Remember to let them be little. 

Here's hoping Spring comes early this year! I'm ready for ice cream cones every day, flip-flops, tank tops and swimming pools! 

Friday Faves

Digging the funky pattern on this easy dresser restyle! Check it out over at Better After. 

I had a dream last night that I made a quilt. Yes, I am even a nerd in my sleep! This looks like a cute project for a beginner over. See how to make it at Originate and Renovate. 

Gorgeous botanical prints! I have plans to have a bunch of these printed and framed. Find many more at http://www.botanicus.org/.

Fun activity, especially for boys at Come Together Kids. 

I hope everyone has a wondful Christmas!

Monster Cupcakes!!

I must admit that I am pretty smitten with these guys! Given my terrible track record with ornate baked goods, I was shocked that they turned out as well as they did. 

The body is a normal cupcake with a mini cupcake on top to add height. The icing effect was made by cutting the very tip off of a Ziploc baggy and randomly stringing the icing back and forth. 

The eyes are so fun! They are just Dum Dums stuck through peach rings with M&M pupils. 

Most importantly, they were a huge hit with my FIVE year old and his class!

Original tutorial can be found here.