Tile set

So, I thought I should show you my amazing blunder, and perhaps I could render a little sympathy.  You see, I did this amazing first time tile job (if I do say so myself), but then I was foolish and allowed a whole lot of tile set dry onto the tiles... Well, I had a reason at the time.  You see, those itty bitty tiles are 2"x 2" and 2"x4", and when you try to wash them they wiggle around. 

but if you don't wipe them off for days weeks it gets REALLY solid.  I was in denial, I regularly sat and looked at it, thinking "It shouldn't be too bad."

Riiiight.

After about 5 minutes of scrubbing, I remembered that this little pasty stuff is holding great big heavy pieces of tile on the wall in mid air essentially.  It's really strong.  The picture shows the side I've done on the right, the left side... well let's just say I'm righthanded.  *sigh*

My New Entertainment Center

So, I wanted a new entertainment center to fit perfectly under my new TV (which isn't really new anymore, so as to give you an idea of how long I've been wanting one.  But I don't have money for one (did I mention there's a new TV?) and then I found pinterest.com!  There I got the idea of reusing old fiberboard furniture, but it took me awhile to figure out I had just what I needed already.  So, drumroll please...

What do you get when you take one  small bookcase,

plus one shoe shelf thing,

plus another small bookshelf thing?

Well, after you throw on a left over piece of MDF, you have a new entertainment center! 

I'll post more pictures after it's painted... but knowing me I wouldn't hold your breath for the finished product!!

And all it took was a best friend with a nail gun, a two year old, 2 homeschooling children with no focus, a circular saw, and less than 2 hours!

Return With Honor

Love, love, LOVE how this came out! I put it over my front door, so my children (and husband and I) see it when we go out!

Mommy's Little Helper

My kids are cute. That's not an opinion, it's a fact. One that I remind myself of DAILY to ensure their survival!

So, sometimes they do things that are, well, cute... and I take pictures. Other times they do cute things and my friends take pictures. Occasionally, though rarely, they do things that are not very cute at the moment, but I take pictures knowing that I will look at them days or weeks later and find them cute. And there are those rare, fleeting moments, when my friends take my kid's picture when they are doing something that is cute at the moment to them and they think will be cute eventually to me.

THAT my friends, is what you are about to see.

You be the judge.

Zachary (3) had pestered Brian (10) beyond tolerance. I told Brian to leave the room, ignoring Zachary. It worked, and Z was bored, almost instantaneously.

So he found trouble. In an effort to dissuade him, I gave him a "job". He was to clean the extremely large, 80's decor mirror in our bathroom. The darn thing covers the wall above the double vanity. I moved the toothbrushes. I sprayed it down with Windex, lecturing all the while that this was an abundance of blue stuff and he would not get more.

I gave him a wad of clean paper towel. I lectured that it was "more than enough" towel and he would not get more. And he happily wiped away for quite some time.

Then Donovan (4) saw what Z was doing. He immediately ran to me, and with a dreadful stutter finally "tattled" on Z. I told him that was Z's job, his chore. He insisted he wanted to help, and as I began to explain it was Z's chore and he couldn't help, Z hollered from the bathroom, "It's ok, Do'van can help me."

Angels appeared and sang a hallelujah chorus in a moment of toddler kinship.

So I brought Donovan in with his own paper towels, sprayed a little extra windex for kicks, saw how cute they were and sent D's photographer mother in with my itty bitty camera to take pictures, because they were CUTE.

She laughed, she directed (move that way, look at me, cute!) like she does, because she's a photographer, while I sat at my dining room table.

And then I heard it.

Donovan: "I need more soap."

Soap?

More? Soap?

Uh Oh.

Quickly followed by:

Zachary (loudly) "Shhhh, don't tell my mom!!"

I suspect this is the getting of the more soap...

Time to rinse

While this likely depicts the "Don't tell my mom."

Very satisfied with his work.

Another happy boy!

So nice they can work together!

Partners? Uh, only in crime folks, only in crime!

WARNING **GROUCHY**

Life would be easier if kids came with instructions.

I had a very productive day. I mean PRO.DUC.TIVE.

I decided last night I wanted to clean house today. Very unlike me, I know, but it does happen, and with all my illness I've had lots of opportunity to stare at what needs doing, unable to function well enough to do it. I decided to start in the dining room, because unlike the kitchen and living room it is further from the door and therefore harder to dump your crap there stays clean a bit longer.

I cleaned off the top of my china closet. My husband puts things there. I never put things there. When I can't find the phone, 9 times out of 10 it's there. Along with pliers, scissors, screws, tape, papers, nuts, Legos, and a whole lotta dust.

'Cuz I don't dust.

So I put away all that stuff. Well, most of that stuff, and what I can't recognize is set aside for him.

I then dusted the top of it. Then the sides. Then (brace yourselves) I washed the glass. It's beautiful. I mean really pretty. It keeps dust out well, in spite of it's unfortunate need of repair a few years back, so I don't have to dust all the junk things inside. I washed the two things I left on top.
It gleams and sparkles and stuff.

I swapped a load of laundry.

I vacuumed around and under it. My vac doesn't really fit under it, maybe Fiddle Dee Dee's son has one that would, but I used the hand thing to get the dust bunnies cause my dining room is carpeted though with four boys that's just gross.

Anyway, then I proceeded to vacuum to where the desk is in the next corner. I cleared and dusted it. Then I stacked all my friend's scrapbook stuff on it to vacuum the next area. I cleaned the things off the little kiddie table that I don't really have room for but my kids and I still like so we keep it. I put away papers from the windowsill
on the next wall that is about a foot deep and collects things. And some covers. Lids to plastic bins that I buy so I can be organized. Yeah.

I swapped the laundry, again.

Then I vacuumed more. Then I cleaned off the Monitor heater that you should never set things on, (we aren't using it this year, so of course, it collected things) and the pile of clothes that needed to be sorted by size and filed away in closets for summer and for the next kids to grow into. Then I cleaned off the bureau on the wall opposite the china closet. Which translates to I put away my nativity set. Yeah, I know.

More vacuuming, under the table as well, and then I came to the washer and dryer. Oh, my Internet friends, if you only knew. But I wasn't about to take before pictures. Now, it's this:

which is nice. That's laundry hanging above the appliances. Because the appliances were bought when Child One was 3 months old, and the poor dryer can't handle four boys.

Did you know that letting your 2 year old first child sit on top of the dryer when they brush their teeth 'cuz the dryer is in the bathroom back then and they can't run and squirm away might mean he will knock over a can of shaving cream 'cuz there's no counter near that sink to put it on and that then the shaving cream might leak on said dryer and you will be left with rusty peeled paint spots for the next 10+ years? Yeah, me neither.

Then I swapped the laundry.

Ok, so, from the dryer I put away cards. Two cards to one game, 20 or so go fish cards, a handful of War cards... yeah. And everything that comes out of my 11 year-old's pockets. And my husband's receipts. And threw out more nails and screws and stuff. And toys. Little crap ones that teachers give out as rewards 'cuz they can't afford real ones 'cuz no one pays them enough.

And then my kids were home. And cranky. And now, It's 4:44, I sit here, and blog to you, in a very. bad. mood.

Because I have a wonderful, clean room, that took me all day, and no one will appreciate it. Instead they will gripe, groan, and moan, and I will reprimand, and threaten time outs, and try to wrap my brain around why sometimes, they just can't be nice to each other. Or me.

*sigh*

Tomorrow, I tackle the kitchen.

Please. help. me.