And the organizing continues....very.........slowly......

But I have finished a few very troublesome spaces, so I am making progress but it may be because I want to avoid all the other spaces that I don't want to deal with.

First was the kitchen, now mind you I still am struggling to keep up with counters & managing dirty dishes but in my defense my dishwasher died! But I organized cabinets, drawers and on top of my fridge and it has been like this for two weeks!










I corralled all of my bread and chips in to two baskets!


I also took a over the door shoe organizer(unused!)and used part of it to hold commonly used utensils.

Next I worked on the kids linen closet and their bathroom. I was able to make a lot of space by purging a lot of my baby stuff I just didn't want to go through. And by folding my towels and sheets differently, seriously all I did was fold them different and went from 2 1/2 shelves of towels to one!

Best part I was able to fit 7 sleeping bags up on the top shelf of the linen closet!



I also used the other half of shoe organizer to organize four kids and their many brushes, now everyone has a place for their toothbrush and hair brush, and I even got everyone their own toothpaste. It actually has been working nicely.

Organizing Kick

So I have started an organizing obsession in my house. Truth be told my house is always a mess, and it doesn't matter what I do I am constantly going in circles in regard to cleaning. I always think to myself if I could just put my kids in school for one week my house would finally be completely clean. But alas, I chose homeschooling and with it the mess or at least till I organize everything!

So I started with a really small space, my laundry room, everything was pulled out. I cleaned and then sorted through EVERYTHING, and everything was given a place, either out of the laundry room if it didn't belong, and into some kind of container or designated space for whatever stayed. And after two weeks she is still clean, most of my hair brained organizing schemes last a few days. The key was purging, and sorting into specific categories rather than general ones.

The best part I didn't buy one thing to organize I have been hanging onto a lot of my little containers and finally put them into use.







I put a little can over the lint trap, one to collect all the lint that is pulled out because before the kids just left it on top of the dryer. And to remind me to clean the lint trap, not something I remember to do!


I found this idea for a pocket find or junk jar on Pinterst!


Alas my chalkboard labels are not working as well as I would like they keep getting wiped off. But I wanted something I could easily change and that has already come in handy.

A Handmade Christmas (My budding superstars loot)

Well I appropriately made my budding superstar (her idea not mine) with a bunch of dress up clothes. I wanted to make a dozen more but well I regained my sanity and she was none the wiser. So without further ado

Bird Wings (pink of course)


And of course what bird doesn't need a bird nest, this was seriously her favorite present. She has a tendency to become attached to plastic and chalk eggs creating nests and what not the she lovingly cares for I decided to make her one complete http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifwith little birdy.


I created a veterinarian kit for my animal loving little Is. She has a little vet coat, stethoscope (a real one), syringes, bandages, face masks, a little cast, a nebulizer mask and hose (we had an extra), animal vitamins, and an awesome dog for a patient!


Of course Rapunzel (she loooooves Tangled)
A soft and cuddly nightgownish costume & some really loooooong hair that she wraps around her self and tries to climb with.


The next 4 are my favorite I created a under dress and then created reversible dresses to wear with it.

The under dress:


The Moon & Sun Princess (she picked out the fabric and I had to create some reversible theme she likes the sun but not the moon, go figure!)





And then of course Cinderella
In rags:


And at the ball:


She also has a She-ra costume which I will post when we find the sword!

A Handmade Christmas (My Big Girl)

So for my growing up way to fast big girl I have had a vision of a Christmas present for her since February 2011! A real (grown-up) sewing machine and a box full of projects! And that is exactly what that girl got!


The sewing machine I bought back in April, I made a hard cover for it and refurbished my grandmother's old sewing table and chair for her. My father-in-law made a new top and I took a can of spray paint to that bad boy! It turned out so AWESOME! Really I know I am tooting my own horn a little but I really even surprise myself sometimes!

Inside the refurbished chair is all the goods she needs

including a sweet little roll of personalized tags for her creations, and a mushroom pincushion

And the best part was the box full of projects all the supplies and pre-cut fabric in individual labeled bags with two books of instructions.

She has already made about 4 projects (as seen in the picture) and is driving me kind of crazy but her confidence is growing and I am really excited to see how creative she gets.

I still have to post my Is-a-belle's presents but seening as how she is throwing up, she doesn't make a good model of all her pretty little costumes. But I did get a picture of her little hand sewing kit. She always likes to be like sissy so I thought that this would keep her out of sissy's stuff.

She has fabric with an embroidery hoop, plastic mesh & embroidery floss to practice sewing. Apple pincushion, scissors, and needlebook and of course a few projects. She is already following in her sisters foot steps and created this little felt garland for her room, and let me tell you she is a natural!

A Handmade Christmas (The Baby's Loot!)

So I didn't make much for the baby, she is number 4 and really we have toys from the 3 kids before her and she is not even 1 so I try not to beat myself up! But what she did get she LOVED!

Aside from a tutu and some lacing beads that I have not documented this was her loot.


My very talented father-in-law made the baby doll high chair which turned out spectacular! We got her a classic baby doll which looks like her! I made the baby a blanket which matches her blanket. A felt banana and fruit & veggie pouch (her personal favorites)and a little diaper which baby is wearing! She has been toting her "mama" (baby) around swaddled in her blanket (which she loving refers to as "mine") and sits her in the high chair to feed her all her favorite foods!

Seriously, I love it!!!!

A Handmade Christmas (The Boy's Loot)

I've been silent because I have been busy but I really have some great handmade goodies to share! And if you ever let handmade gifts scare you thinking your kids would miss out, balance is good and my kids never fail to clean up!

My boy got one of my favorite gifts (I had a lot of favorites but you know)he was also the most difficult he is a boy and getting bigger everyday and because I can't make legos I struggle with what to make him. But I came up with this little number after several lists of not so good ideas.

This is his utility belt - the boy has a passion for carrying a great many things on his person, I wanted to offer a little something to help. (please ignore the spot, it won't come out of the carpet!)

So I got two leather belts, one for around his waist and one for a shoulder strap. Then I made all sorts and types of pouches and pockets and implements for carrying an arsenal of weapons and a fair amount of do hickeys and nick-knacks.
Including but not limited to: long sword, short sword sheaths (those short swords are technically daggers but for little man work great as short swords and they high impact polyurethane), six shooter holster, bandoleer (holds rubber bullets), shield hook, light-saber hook, quiver for his arrows, and a variety of pouches for compasses, pocketknives, flashlights, and the like.
This is a gift were I loved the balance of store bought and handmade. We purchased some really awesome weapons from a great store and ministry called Visionforum.com if you are looking for some great boy toys this is a fantastic place to look I was quite impressed with there products and you can't find their high quality items anywhere else! I also learned a fair amount about leather and picked up some new skills as I wanted to make the belts and pouches leather for durability but making adjustments to create a gift that grows with him. He was one happy boy with his new getup.

He also got a fabric Pokemon game mat.

Needs little explanation but I did add a pocket for a stack of cards and a coin, it also has a little drawstring pouch that he can attach to his utility belt

To go along with his game mat he needed a Pokemon ball of course.

I found this dude on youtube it worked but took a load of coats and after a few days if play is showing its tennis ball under belly. But he loves and these are great and a few friends got them too.

And this was a last minute stocking stuffer but I think well worth it.
A Detective kit it has all a budding detective needs to solve this house full of crime and suspect!

My System

So we have been enjoying My Father's World Exploring Countries and Cultures this year we are in entering Week 9, beginning a study of our 2nd continent and 3rd country. I was starting to get really overwhelmed with the group time. My kids are not fans of it in general though by the end they are digging into the material it is like pulling teeth to get there (complete with crying and tears) It didn't help if I didn't have everything well planned, trying to find pages and referring to the teachers manual I pretty much lost them. So three weeks ago I came up with a new system for the breadth of read aloud group time info.

Now at the beginning of each week I sit down with my teacher manual and go a little post-al!

I put post-its on the pages I need to read and with the day I need to read it.
When I finish a page I pull out the post-it and put in the front cover to reuse the next week.



It works really well and we move through our group time much more smoothly. And also at the end of the week I get the satisfaction of my bookself clear of post-its (accomplishment!) and if I missed anything I can break it out and finish before the end of the week.