Kids artwork (A.K.A precious gold)

So in lieu of a comment, or perhaps more of a cry for help, from Lielanie, I have decided to share my ingenious method to my madness. And by madness, I mean that ever growing and over flowing pile of precious artwork that our kids give us.
I know we know how to deal with certain pieces of art like Christmas paintings, or those first scribbles that they make when they first learn how to hold a crayon. I'm talking about those 5 pictures of our family that your darling daughter just mass produced at the kitchen table in 5 minutes, however she feels each one is special, different, and worth holding onto forever. Or the 100th coloring page this week (and its only Tuesday) that your son has brought home from Kindergarten because he colored it especially for you.

O.k. moms (and dads?) here's just what I do. I would never say one method works for everyone. It all depends on how your child is and how your child understands. And a little bit on how well you can sell it. ;)

I keep a little bin on top of my refrigerator and when the kids give me something "less than special" we talk about for a little bit. Things like how I like their use of color, what's this little smudge over here?. what made them think of drawing it, etc. Questions to get a feel of how special they feel it is.

♥ This one my daughter wrote about why she loves me ♥

 The special at the moment pictures, or seasonal pictures get magneted to the door or fridge until it is time for it to move to the bin. (When the next masterpiece is to be displayed)

♥ My son drew me in a very colorful outfit. And with blue hair I might add ♥

♥ I love these large plastic paperclip magnets from the dollar store because
they are clear so I don't cover up any of the art ♥

Then when I have ascertained that it isn't a Mona Lisa-esque portrait, I tell them "I'm going to put it in the art bin so I can put it in a book later so when you are older we can look at it and see how much better you've gotten over the years." Hook line and sinker. Then I place it in the bin and out of sight, out of mind. 

☺ Out of sight, out of mind ☺

Here's the genius and hard part. Come Sunday night after I put the kids to bed, I go through the bin and figure out which ones to "unload" and which ones I really will keep for a binder for them to look at later. Then, because recycle bin pickup on Monday morning, I gently place the unnecessary works into the recycle bin and cart the bin to the curb. It gets picked up in the morning before they even go to the bus. All is well in the world.

New Year's Resolution

I had been thinking about this for a few days now. It is not something I actually take lightly. I never resolve to lose weight because I am not feeling ready to give up the good yummy foods I enjoy eating. Plus It's not that I eat a lot, it's just that I only eat about once a day and I don't eat the healthiest foods. Plus I'd have to give up my regular MT Dew and there isn't a force on earth that could make me want to do that.

So I think logically about what I need to do or achieve, and I think about if these things are attainable goals. Therefore my resolution for 2012 is to re-organize. It was going to be simple and small scale however I woke up this morning with an overwhelming urge to purge.

I want to have more space for my creating. See how I use the term creating instead of crafting. That is because I want to get back into building. I'm tired of not being able to have certain things because I cannot find them, afford them, or because these cruddy walls cannot hold them. So I will build or make what I need. I love using power tools and hammers and nails. It fills a void in me.

I have downloaded a wonderful organizing tool from My Simpler Life that I plan to also use in my re-structuring process. It is a monthly calender with different projects to do each day. Although I am planning a complete overhaul, I feel it will help me stay on track, and hopefully motivated. I love calendars and planners and having my to do's in front of me.

Link for the de-clutter calendar here: http://www.mysimplerlife.com/decluttercalendar.htm

This picture here shows something I had done when Kameron was a baby because I was definitely in need of organizing back then. This was a simple way for me to get my shopping done in one trip so I didn't have to lug around a baby all the time to and from the store for things I forgot. I simply went to each "station" in my house (i.e. fridge, cupboards, bathroom, etc) and wrote down what we have on a normally daily/weekly basis.



P.S. I see I spelled breakfast as breekfast



Then I categorized them into sections. For example health and beauty, beverages, meats, baby needs, etc. )I also went onto Safeway's online shopping link and used their shopping lists that are broken into sections for reference/suggestions)

It may seem like a long drawn out process, but really it only took about an hour. Then however pretty you want to make it is up to you based on how long you want to take to do that.

I don't know why this one is highlighted, but what I would do before I went grocery shopping is I would open this list and go down looking to see if I needed to get more or if I had enough to last for at least another week or until I planned to go shop again.

I probably got this idea from my work where we used this kind of lists for ordering our inventory. You have to have an idea of how much you use in the first place to know if you will have enough to carry you for a week or 2. But we are pretty good at that right ladies.

But that is how I created my shopping lists and we pretty much always had what we needed. Other things like flour and special seasonings were written down as we ran out of them, or purchased if I knew I was going to be making a particular meal that week and only had the product for the meal and not everyday. Like kale for my Olive Garden soup, or chicken bullion for my friend chicken.

I am super excited to have found this list last night because I had been thinking about making it again since I've fallen off the organized wagon along time ago. Let's face it when your idea of staying organized is to keep everything piled up on your printer until you need to use it, then you need help!

I look forward to sharing my progress with you. What are your New Year's Resolutions you are looking forward to working on?

Pinterseption!

So I'm looking at Pinterest, which is nothing new if you've read anything i've posted this past week or 3. However it got me to thinking about how I used to keep pictures of things I liked just this way.

Then I got all high and mighty and now I'm mad cuz I THOUGHT OF IT FIRST!

Of course me not being technically saavy has left me behind the times when it comes to great ideas.

And now that I am actually trying to think of the other projects that I thought of first and then they became huge hits, I am totally blank on them. But trust me I will remember and I'll be sure to let you know.

So back to the matter at hand. I went through my old binder that I aptly named "My Happy Book" and felt I should share with you. You know so I have proof to back up my whine ;)

Here are a few shots of my little black book.



Just a plain 3 ring binder with page protectors in it. I painted a happy face on it one day when I had gotten new paint pens and HAD to color on everything I could find. It's been scratched up through the years. I had always planned to move to a larger prettier binder, but project after project came along and I figured at least it had a place so it wasn't on the priority list.





Oh my horrible penmanship



So back in the day I was obsessed with photo booths and I would make whomever was with me take a photo with me.
Today's victim is my Best Friend Jewel. The picture was black and white but I colored it in. It is the first thing I see when I open my happy book because she is more important to me than any material possession I could ever have. (Aww sappy moment *sniff sniff*)

 

Here's my xmas ornament idea section





My Want For Home/Dream home ideas section



The good thing about MY method is that I can cut out the faces of the models ;)



God I still love this table









Here's the folder I had with all the pictures I hadn't gotten to add in the book yet. I tuck it in the pocket inside the binder.







Sometimes when I was having a bad day or just felt like I wanted to keep a picture for the off chance that someday I would be able to make or buy it, I would know exactly what I wanted. Suprisingly enough there were times I though if I looked at the book when depresed it would worsen my mood to look at things I didn't have and wanted but, nope. Just like on Pinterest. Except on Pinterest I can see what other people's opinions are on items and then it makes me laugh to see the horrible things some people like.

I know I'm so bad. It's ok, I like coal at Christmas.

Old Year's Resolution

Ok I have been so freaking good this year. I have held back from being a sarcastic mean bitch and just saying whatever is on my mind. I did the whole if you dont have anything nice to say dont say anything at all. And if I have said anything mean or sarcastic it was only as a joke. Trust me, i've been a damn angel this year when it comes to my brain to mouth filter. Especially when it comes to Facebook. I like having "friends" and seeing what people post, even if i'm just an aquaintance of someone, but sometimes they post something and I sooooooo want to say a snarky remark. But I dont, because I am sure that I would be unfriended immediately.

This makes me wonder how people get away with just saying whatever is on thier mind. I'm sure it's not necessarily getting away with it as it is living like that. I'm sure they don't keep a lot of company. Or have friends for that matter. I can't imagine what it must be like to never have friends. I have a few month period where I didn't have anyone because my sarcastic jokey self wasn't being regulated and I lost a friend who I had a lot in common with and had a lot of fun with. I had also recently moved hundreds of miles away from my life so I had to make all new aquaintances and friends.

That time when I didn't have anyone to talk to or confide in (Except for my bestie who was having a lot of her own time consuming issues) really sucked. It was lonely and depressing and I think my kids were probably thinking mom needed a life. So now that I have made this little change in myself and hold back things I think people might not feel are as funny as I do, I have been doing well in the aquaintance area. I'm not sure how they think of me. How do you find out if someone conciders you a friend or aquaintance? Does anyone out there have the cahones to ask if someone feels they are considered friends? What do you do if someone asks you "Hey do you consider us friends?" and you just think of them as an aquaintance. Do you be an ass and say "No i don't think we are there yet" or do you lie and say "Of course!"

I think we should institute a color system like the food chart or the defcon chart. Perhaps Green for neighborly, Yellow for Aquaintances, Orange for Friends and Red for Good Friends. And if you wanna get fancy we can add Purple for Best frineds. I'm sure the men would love that one ;)

Inspiring!

So I got up (I'm not saying what time because it might make me sound lazy) and I come to my computer and the first thing I do of course, lately, is click on Pinterest.
I swear I am so obsessed with this site lately. Not only does it calm me down when I am upset, make me laugh when I need a jolt, and amaze me with all the talent that people have, but it also inspires me to do more with my life and my space. So this morning in particular I found a site I ♥ Organizing and was looking at a family binder idea that I think would come in handy. Then I start seeing all these other pictures of things people have done to organize and it makes me feel all giddy and capable. I start feeling little flutters of energy coursing through me like I'm a cloud ready to let out some lightning and 'BAM' something amazing will happen. Then I stand up and i turn around and look at all my crap...... :( back to Pinterest to look at pretty pictures.

Dream weaver....you was drunk!

Ok so i know I get upset when my hubby tells me to do something instead of asking, but really!

So my dream last night was trippy.
We were in our bedroom pulling down the covers for bed and talking and he says to me "Oh yah at 11 tomorrow the guy is coming by to pick up the thing he bought on craigslist " I look at him with a very pissy face and say "REALLY?!" Here's where I know it wasn't real because if my husband ever acted to non-chalaunt about my reaction he's asking for it. However in the dream he replied "ya, why"
"WHY, since when do you get to just make up my plans for the day? Maybe I have things going on." And I pick up a fork (we just happen to have on the bedside table) and I poked him in the chest with it.
He stands there and just stares at me with a 'Is that all you got' look on his face. This infuriates me inside. My mind starts thinking, no more like neurotically racing through sadistic and paranoid ego maniacal feelings of rejection, disrespect, anger, confusion, and a little bit of the just plain psycho.
So what else to do but start stabbing him wildly about 20 times with the fork all over. He just stands there not defending himself as blood gushes everywhere. All the while I'm screaming at him about how insensitive he is to just tell me what to do and I will do whatever the hell I want to and blah blah crazy blah.

Then I stop and step back panting like a dog that just ran a mile. He looks up at me and says "Are you done?"
"Ya, so you said 11 right?"

Then I wake up to my husband kissing me goodbye for the day as he goes off to work.
I giggled cuz that dream was messed up.

After Christmas crash part 2

So as I posted my last post my daughter started yelling "HE'S THROWING UP!" As I look over I see my son throwing up all over MY chair, himself, my quilt a friend made me, a pillow another friend had made me, his stuffed animals, and on the floor. WTH man, when did you eat that much food EVER!

So I just spent a good part of my morning cleaning. I was planning on cleaning today anyway but not that thoroughly ;)

Let's just hope I can get the cushion cover back on, other wise I guess i'll have to just make a new one.

After Christmas crash

So I've already always hated when my husband asks me what my plans for the day are, since I'm not working and he is. It has always hit me more like "Hey are you going to do anything productive today?" Lol. And sometimes he has admitted that is what he's thinking when he asks, so I'm not totally neurotic.
However today I woke up with a bit of a grudge on my shoulders because he said he would do the Christmas dinner dishes. And of course as always, I'm the one who had to dish up the leftovers into Tupperware and cut all the ham off the bone. But he also didn't do dishes. Earlier in the day he had joked about leaving them for Monday since he had to work so I'd be left to do them, so of course this sticks in my mind when he "forgets" to do the dishes.
So when I walk into the kitchen this a.m. I'm thinking "I'm just going to throw them all away so i don't have to wash them" then AH HA I had an epiphany. More like an evil genius thought but who cares right. When we talked this morning he said he had a slow day so he would be stopping by home to have lunch with us. I should make him do the dishes then!

MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Keri-1 Hubby-0

Paper roses

So i saw this on the web and I had tried before but theynever came out right. But i think i wasnt cutting my paper correctly. The trick is to not worry about making a perfect circle and also to use hot glue. Regular glue takes too long to dry and these need to be glued in place or they just look like a big crumple of paper.
After I made these I decided to go ahead and stick them on a branch like i saw in the picture tutorial and i must saw I love it.
If I make more i think i will paint the branch white first for a more whimsical look (like for my daughters room) or even bright pink or purple.

I made these using an old Snow White kids book. I normally dont condone the destroying of books, but i knew this would be for "art" so i justified it. Plus I dont like Snow White personally so i was not heart broken to cut her face ;)

What do you think? Something you might try in the near future?

Clever minx

So you know how you go to color, because everyone has a 5 yr old in them that has to come out once in a while, and you need to use red, but you are not sure if the red you pick up is fire engine red or more plum red.
We all have that piece of paper we keep at the back of our journal, notebook, sketchpad, or what have you, that is all scribbles and lines of colors. The only problem is when you put the color down, you now dont remember which one was the right one.

In comes my clever little mind with a wonderful time saving trick.

I color a small rectangular shape with the marker or colored pencil, then i cut it out and tape it to the marker or colored pencil end. This way when I pick up a green, i know if it is more fern green or lime green even though the outer color looks exactly the same.
Smart eh!