How to Clean a Room

This is what Middle and Little Sisters' room has looked like for the past month.  Or more.  I've completely lost track of when it was cleaned up last.  Every time I look in there thinking I will clean it up I get this sinking feeling and head back down the stairs and put it out of my mind.

Can you believe I'm really sharing these photos with you?  I've lost my mind I tell ya.

First you make the bed so you have a clear space to put the piles of 'stuff'.

Photographing the marker marks on the bedspread is optional.  The girls say they had a little help from a certain little friend of theirs!

After about an hour you have some clear spaces, a huge pile of trash, a pile of dirty laundry, and piles of sorted stuff.

The other side of the room still looks like this.

And this.  The stuff was piled so deep over here I needed a backhoe.

This tub used to hold all their American Girl stuff.  Now it is in the trash can.

I decided getting the backhoe up the stairs was more work than it was worth so I pitched and piled my way through.

By lunch time I had it looking like this...

With this pile of American girl stuff...

...and this large box full of American Girl stuff.

And this closet still needing cleaned out.

After lunch, a break, some school work, an orthodontist appointment for The Teenager, and a trip to the library, I cleaned out that closet.  With The Teenager's help we switched out her dresser and the one from this room.  Middle Sister and Little Sister helped with the organizing, and putting away of all the mess in the closet.  The photo above is what their room looked like when they went to bed. 

American Girl stuff found homes in some of these tubs.  The Polly's and some of the Playmobile were shipped to the cellar.

New curtain is a must.  Also a longer cord on the chandi. 

This is inside the closet.  I have plans for this space to make it more user friendly but for now it works.

I have BIG plans for the whole room.  There is marker, crayon, pen, pencil, stars, stickers, you name it all over the walls.  We moved The Teenager into this room from our bedroom when she was 18 months old.  She is now 13.  She shared this room with Middle Sister and then they all 3 shared this room for awhile till we got the 3rd bedroom finished.  Now this room is in dire need of a fresh coat of paint, new curtain, and hardwood.  My but it is hard to move furniture around on carpet!  Reason #3587 why I love my hardwood!!

A big thank you for today goes to my Mom.  She has agreed to come over once a week to oversee the school day while I concentrate on something else.  I never would have even started this room cleaning today if it hadn't been for that.  Thanks Mom, you are the best!!

{The TEENAGER}

13.  Honest-to-goodness TEENAGER!

Where did the time go?  Wasn't it just yesterday that I was holding my little 6 pound 9ounce baby?

That I was changing diapers, folding baby laundry, up at night, rocking, singing to sleep, feeding, cuddling, bouncing, playing...

Happy 13th birthday Emma Kate!  You really truly are our 'Teenager' now!!!

We love you lots!

photos by Tonia Schauer - Studio 9 photography

Getting Crafty

So Little Sister had been asking to do some crafts.  Thinking up crafts for her to do wasn't really very high on my list of 'things-to-do'.  Then I thought of the crafty tutorials Kara had put on her blog!

So I set up my laptop on the dining room table, got out some supplies and we all got crafty!

Little Sister was thrilled.  She thought it was so cool to have the computer sitting right there with the craft showing.  And as it turns out she is a natural crafter.  She has an eye for what looks good.  I was impressed:)

www.mcmasterandstorm.blogspot.com

Little Sister doing a careful job of covering the arrow head with Japanese washi tape.

A skewer, arrow head and arrow end ready for the hot glue gun.

(I handled all the gluing)

Showing off her creation.

Finished product

This was one I made.

This one is Middle Sisters.  She made a removable point for the pointy end of the skewer. 

It just cracked me up how each girls arrows looked just like them.  Middle Sister made hers extra long.  It ended up with way more tape on it than this even!  And looked sort of messy.

The Teenager (who will really be a true teenager in just a few more days!) did a great job on her arrows.  Then she put her name and initial on them.  Sounds just like her.  And I have NO idea where she would have picked up that trait.

The Teenager likes to be silly!

:)

If you need crafting ideas for you kiddos I highly recommend checking out Kara's blog. 

She's given us some really fun stuff lately.

Teenager Cooks

When I was a preteen/young teen I did not appreciate the term 'big' when applied to me.  So I'm assuming that 'Big Sister' may get tired of the term being used for her.  So I've decided to give her a new 'blog name'.  We'll call her 'The Teenager' from now on.  Yes, I know she is a few months shy of actually being a teen.  But she acts like a teen and who cares about a few months anyway?

Anyway.  'The Teenager' likes to cook.  When it is her idea that is. 

Recently she wanted to make these.

So she did.

I will refrain from telling you how long it took to get to this point.

They were so cute:)

She also wanted to make carrots with honey glaze.

So she did.

She made them first.  So they sat while she made the pot pie and then had to be reheated.

She's learning.

It was very pretty and yummy:)  I'm considering turning all the cooking over to her.

Then I remember that she likes to cook when she WANTS to cook. 

And most of the time sometimes with teenagers it's easier to do it yourself.