My Bedroom: Before & After

Today I decided to tackle our bedroom.  Our bedroom has become the catch-all for all of our junk. I'm usually wanting to clean up areas that people see when they come over, so we completely neglect our bedroom.  I can't believe I'm doing this, but here are my before & after photos. 

  

Our dresser has been covered with junk forever. The box on the right has been around collecting more "important stuff" since we moved in.  After cleaning it out I found some photos and sentimental cards and the rest ended up in the trash. So much for the important stuff.  We did make our first purchase off my "what I want" list and bought a 32" TV yesterday.  It is really for downstairs but since we watch more TV in our room we decided to put it there until we buy our second TV.

Now our dresser is clear except for our 2 TV's. Poy will need to find a new home for the old TV, but I am pretty proud because I set up the new TV on my own. 

This area here is right by our bathroom door.  The cards were put there by Sophie a few days ago, but the other stuff has been around for a long time.  We really need to get rid of some old computer equipment but just never do it.  The printer was a freebie with our first laptop and we never even used it. That stuff was just taking up space.

  

I don't have a photo of the same exact spot, cause now it's just carpet :)  I did hang the photos though.  We've had those since our first house and we never hung them here. They aren't perfectly hung, but off the floor is great for me.

Here we have a carry-on luggage bag that needs to be put away, a so-called yarn organizer that isn't organized and a breakfast in bed tray, that needs a new home.

  

The luggage and breakfast tray found their way to the shed and I have a very tidy yarn organizer. The vacuum doesn't belong there, but I forgot to move it before I took the picture.    

Here is our "sitting area" in the bedroom. Behind the chairs I had a bunch of stuff to give away from the kids rooms.  I also have Nolan's closet doors against the wall, but I can't carry those downstairs myself. 

Look!  We can now use the sitting area! 

I still have some areas that need some work in our room, but I am very proud of what I got done today.

 

Lots of stuff to do today

Another busy day for Mommy today.  Sophie and I went to her Parent/Tot tumbling class at Naydenov Gym today.  I actually had chosen a Tuesday class, but the class doesn't have enough kids (actually Sophie was the only one signed up), so until they had 3 kids we were joining any class that has openings.  So, we went today at 11:45 am. In the past we have always gone to late afternoon or evening classes and the early class was great because the gym was so empty it wasn't all loud and you didn't have to weave in and out of kids as you tried to go from one end of the gym to the other.  I loved the instructor today. She had great techniques and talked to the little kids great.  At the end of the class I decided to make this our permanent class.  I wanted to do it on Tuesday because Sophie and I are alone all day, so it would be the perfect time, but I'd also love a good instructor.  Parent/Tot classes can get rather boring for mom (at least this one) if you don't really care for the instructor.  Anyway, today Sophie's class only consisted of 2 other 3 year old girls. Sophie did really good.  Mommy was very proud of her today.  Daddy was up in the balcony and Soph was moving so fast she was a blur in many photos.  These are our non-blurry ones

At 4:30 Nolan is in swim lessons at Firstenburg.  He struggles with all things athletic, so he needs tons of encouragement just to keep him going.  He always wants to be the best in class, so if he isn't, he wants to quit.  As of now, he has only one class left in this session of level one, and I've signed him up again for level one because he isn't making the progress he needs to to move on.  For motivation, I offered him a prize once he finishes level one.  It seemed to help him today, so I will have to work with him before every class, encouraging and motivating him. 

As soon as we got home we had to eat quickly so we could get to Riverview's math games and first grade curriculum night.  The kids played some fun board games in the cafeteria and then while parents went to listen to the teachers, the grade schoolers play more games and the preschoolers went into the music room where they had a childcare area set up.  It was great not having to worry about how I was going to attend this event and who's going to take care of the kids. They both had a lot of fun and I got some great information about first grade.

When we got home I was begging the kids to put on their PJ's while I did the dishes.  Nolan isn't an issue, but Sophie was just ignoring me and then asking for help.  She would not take off her clothes on her own, which she is so capable of.  She was making me crazy.  Then she comes downstairs with her really great hat.  Here are those silly pictures

She didn't want me to take her picture with her eyes showing, so the only way I could get her face was if I asked her if she wanted to see the picture.  She'd lift those princess panties and I'd snap quickly and down they'd go again.  She is so funny.  You'll notice she's wearing her "Little Miss Trouble" shirt :)

One last thing I wanted to share, I framed a couple of Sophie's art pieces the other day and I think they look great. 

Things I Want

Why is it that when we want something, we want a lot of things. I don't think any of the things I want are unreasonable, except one dreamy one, but they are a little costly. Some more than others. Here is a list of what items I want, not necessarily in the order I'll get it:

• A 32" television for my living room.  We have had the same TV downstairs since we got married 9 years ago. I don't have an issue with that part of it, but the colors have been going out. It also isn't HD compatible (obviously) so we'd have to get a converter box if we didn't buy a TV.
• A smaller TV (20"+) for our bedroom.  We've had that TV even longer.  It doesn't really have anything wrong with it, so it will be 2nd priority as far as TV's go.
• A foodsaver (the thing that sucks out all the air and saves food).  I watched the demo on this the other day and I'd really like one.  We toss so much food in the trash, so I think this would be good for us. 
• A freezer to hold all of my saved food!  Actually, I've wanted a separate freezer for awhile cause I never feel like there is enough room in the freezer. 
• These beautiful knitting needles are interchangeable and would be a lovely knitting luxury.  They will probably be on my Christmas list.
• A king sized bed frame.  When we switched from Queen to King we didn't get a frame and it would be nice to have an actual bed.  This is something that is way to easy for me to overlook though.  That would be why after 3 years we haven't bought one.  I can just always think of another way I would rather spend money (like a new TV).
• Here is a big one... I'd love a new car.  That one isn't happening though.  We currently have no car payments & that is a wonderful feeling.  So, although I'd love to drive a new car, I really do not want a new car payment.

As I'm finishing this post I'm thinking "wow, does this make me look like I'm all about material things" Of coarse I hope you know me enough to know that isn't true.  I just thought this'd be kinda fun.

Could have had some great photo ops...

Sunday I decided that I wanted to take the kids to Kids Club, which is basically a huge climbing place with a great jungle theme. Anyway, I wanted to take them, but I wanted them to do something to deserve such a reward. It was supposed to be a reward for their responsibility chart, but ever since we got back from vacation we totally slacked on using the chart. We decided to use it again starting Sunday, so now we are back on track. I needed to grocery shop (Nolan had nothing for his lunches) so I took Sophie with me grocery shopping. Poy was on the couch sleeping, so I woke him and told him I wanted he and Nolan to clean up around the house while I took Sophie shopping.

I was originally going to leave Sophie too, but she wanted to shop so I took her along. She has been eyeballing a coupon in my coupon binder for Yoplait yogurt that happens to have Dora on it, so that is primarily the reason she wanted to join me. We went to Winco and did our shopping and of coarse I was trying to get some great coupon deals. Our first disappointment came when we got to the yogurt section and they did not have any yoplait yogurt for kids, much less the Dora kind. She settled on Gogurt, which I did have a coupon for. I believe it was 1.00 off 2 (or something of that nature) so we grabbed 2. Our second and most annoying disappointment came when I went to give my coupons to the checker. She says in a not very nice way "we don't take those" and hands me back all but 2 of my coupons! So I said, "is it because they are printed off the computer?" Instead of just saying yes, she says "there's a sign right there". Gee thanks. I paid and started to leave when I decided I was going to make a trip to customer service. I didn't go to complain, but I wanted to return the 3 items I purchased only because I had coupons.

We returned home and Nolan is on the computer and Poy is vacuuming but hasn't showered. I am not a quick shopper, so he had almost 2 hours. We were on a time schedule, and I felt he had plenty of time. I had evening plans for the SYTYCD (So you think you can dance) Show and was supposed to meet my girlfriends for dinner beforehand. I can feel the tension between Poy and I, but I'm not really sure why. He is a total introvert, so when he's irritated he doesn't talk and kind of huffs around. It drives me insane. I just want him to tell me what he's so irritated about. So, I finally pry it out of him and he is irritated at the fact that I am going to the show and dinner and he didn't know about it. HUH!! I went to one of the girls houses the previous Monday to decorate our SYTYCD t-shirts (yes, we are dorks, but it's fun). How could he not know... also it was on the calendar on the fridge. He says "I don't look at the calendar". Ugh! Anyway, I sort of snapped him out of his mood, but he still didn't want me to go.

The kids had a blast at the kids club. They had tons of fun just the two of them for quite awhile. Sophie finally came and got me and says "I can't find Nolan". I have now been sucked into the tubes!! We go all over the place and finally find Nolan, who I discover was playing hide & go seek. Sophie did not inform me that Nolan was hiding from her :) Now it was my turn to hide. I was hidden for a few minutes when I realized my spot was probably too good and I was going to be stuck in a tube for a long time unless I made myself a little more obvious :) Once we made it through the giant snake slide I sent Poy in. I was tired! We played for awhile longer when Nolan actually came and said "Alright, I'm done. Let's go" We did one more trip to the slide to satisfy Sophie and made it out with 2 sweaty kids.

I had already decided I was going to be late to dinner since I had committed to the kids that they could go to Kids Club and we got a late start. As we were driving home, Natalie calls and says she needs a printer to print the tickets. She comes over and we realize my printer is out of black ink. One thing after another was making us late. We had to run to Fred Meyer, get ink, print the tickets, calm my upset daughter and finally made it out the door. Natalie and I settled on a gourmet dinner of McDonalds before we met the rest of the group.

We had a good time at the show. Our tickets were a little disappointing since there was a camera guy blocking the very center of the stage from where we were sitting. We moved a bit to some other unoccupied seats, and it got better. The show was fantastic. I love watching all the dances.

Although I meant to bring my camera everywhere I went, I forgot it :( Too bad, cause I could have gotten some great photos to share.

A new obsession

So, thanks to my friend/boss Natalie, I now have a new obsession... coupons! Specifically I have become a Walgreens shopper. Walgreens does all these crazy money back/ coupon/ rebate deals that really add up if you figure things out before you shop. I went to 2 different Walgreens yesterday and stocked up on all sorts of cleaning products, feminine products (yea!), hair care products, and OTC medicine. I spent around $110, but got $45 off my next trips (I actually used the $25 from the first trip on the second trip) and I also got $15+ worth of rebates that will come on a Walgreens gift card. I've spent a large portion of the night looking for online coupons. The trick to really doing the walgreens thing right is to have coupons on top of the already on sale items and barely pay anything at all. New deals started today, so after we take Sophie to preschool tomorrow I may have to drag Poy along and see if he can work out any deals.

On Nolan's last day of kindergarten his teacher asked me to do her a favor. She wanted me to go to the PTO meetings and add a new voice to the PTO. His teacher is no longer teaching because she just gave birth to identical twin boys, but even though she wasn't coming back, she still cares and thought I could bring new ideas. Last Tuesday I attended my first PTO meeting. It was an interesting experience going into a group of people who know each other and are set in their ways. I did bring a fellow parent/friend with me so I didn't have to feel uncomfortable. Although it was a little overwhelming I am going to do my best to be involved. The next day my neighbor came over and told me he really needs me to go to our homeowners association meeting and he wants me to run for the one board position that is available. Yikes, it's like my child starts school and now I have a bazillion things to attend to. I had to go and buy one of those massive "mom" calendars just to try to keep our lives in order.

Day 9... Well, I don't know that I've really gotten back into a specific routine these last 9 days. I'm still trying to get stuff done, but I have to make adjustments to the original plan. I'm just not home all the time. If I'm home during the day (especially earlier) I tend to get quite a bit done, but if I get up and go somewhere and return in the later afternoon, I just don't have the motivation to get stuff done. I'm really an early cleaner. Today I did use a bunch of my new cleaning products and cleaned the bathroom a lot. That felt good. I do like new stuff too, so even if it's cleaning products, I really like to use new stuff :) Hopefully I can get some stuff done tomorrow morning before Sophie goes to school.

Day 2... A little help from my girl

Last night Sophie got her sleep schedule ALL messed up! She had fallen asleep at 7:45 p.m. and Poy thought she'd stay asleep, but she woke up 45 minutes later. So she got to sleep late (I was at book club) and when I came home she came out of her bedroom. First I hid from her and daddy tried to get her back to bed. She ended up in our room, which is fine... if she goes to sleep. She did not fall asleep. So she came back out and I tried to deal with her. She repeatedly was asking for juice. I decided to let her watch a movie in her room thinking she'd fall asleep. She didn't. Anyway, believe it or not, she wasn't asleep until 2 am. It was not a good night.

This morning both kids had dentist appointments at 8:30 am. Ouch! They both had good appointments though and Sophie wasn't winey like I thought she'd be. After taking Nolan to school, Sophie ended up falling asleep. I had to wake her an hour later to go to school. That did NOT make her happy at all.

Poy and I had our first Monday with 3 hours of free time. It was awesome. We went out to lunch at Olive Garden and it was so nice to not worry about the kids behaving. We did some shopping and then we each went and picked up a kid. We decided we need to use this time every week for us to have a little date. I think it will be great for us.



Upon returning home we started doing some tasks around the house. I swept/mopped the kitchen floor, wiped crayon off the walls that has been there for a good 2 years, and cleaned out the car, including cleaning the kids car seats. Sophie helped me with each of these things. She always wants to help me clean. I'm sure this will be good in the long run, but sometimes I just want to get it done. Poy mowed the lawn, washed the car, and used the blower on the back porch. Sophie was doing some shredding for me, which she is great at. She noticed her dad had the blower out and she says "I'm going outside mom" "okay, you want to play outside?" "Yes, I want daddy to blow me away!" She's so cute. She had to go get her brother though so he could play too.

I decided I need to reduce the amount of time the kids are watching TV, so we turned it off at dinner time. After dinner Sophie through a big fit, but I just ignored her screaming, and I mean loud screaming and she FINALLY stopped and decided to play with her blocks. We used to turn off the TV at 7 p.m. every night but eventually just got lax about it. I figured school starting is a good time to get them into a better habit. I'll let you know how that goes. Anyway, it was nice to have a day with my husband and still come home and accomplish something. Now I get to relax :)

Starting Over

Today I have officially started my 21 day routine over again. It was just way to hard before and after the vacation to get into the cleaning mode. Today I scrubbed the bathrooms again. Well, actually I scrubbed the master bath and Poy did the downstairs bath. He also did some good kitchen cleaning and got the island cleared off. It is amazing how quickly an island can be covered, and how long it can take to clear it! I didn't get to the kids bathroom today as I hoped, but it isn't in bad shape so I'm not too disappointed. The kids both have school tomorrow so I'll hopefully get a lot done. Poy is off though, so you never know...

First Day of School & Another Nolan...

So, as you know, Nolan started first grade on Wednesday. It went well.  I drove him to school and saw his classroom for the first time, and met his teacher.  

Nolan and I had a difference of opinion on what he should wear on his first day, but we ended up with a fair compromise.  He wanted to wear a transformers t-shirt and I'm just not that into the character thing, even though he loves them.  I really like the first day of school outfit to give a good impression.  Anyway, so we decided (thanks to grandma's idea) he would wear one of the 5 choices I gave him and character shirts would be worn on Thursdays. I felt like last year he had a lot of nice stuff that he hardly wore since he's just drawn to the character stuff.  Anyway, so he choose a simple GAP t-shirt & I thought he was pretty darn cute.

So, I want to tell a little story about my kids names and my naming philosophy...

When I was pregnant with Nolan I really wanted my child to have a name that was easy to say, easy to spell and wasn't common.  I have said repeatedly "I don't want my child to be Nolan W. or Sophie W." Now, when I had Sophie I knew that her name was a little more popular than I would have liked, but we agreed that we loved it so we accepted that we may hear it somewhat frequently, and we have.  But, let me go back 6+ years... After Nolan was born we took him to his 2 week check and after feeling that I had accomplished my goal of easy to say, easy to spell and not common, the child listed before Nolan on the sign-in sheet was named NOLAN!!  I couldn't believe it. This Nolan was also a baby coming in for his one week appointment.  I got over this fairly quickly knowing that Vancouver isn't a small town, and I doubt I'll ever come in contact with this child again... 

Now we'll fast forward to last year.  I found out part way through the year that there was another Nolan in the Kindergarten class next door.  I don't know why, but I thought that when kids were put into classes  that they would take into account same names and not have them in the same class unless they had no choice. I even considered telling his Kindergarten teacher my thoughts to see that they weren't in the same class.  Well, as I'm sure you've concluded, that other Nolan that I never thought I'd come in contact with is now in my Nolan's classroom and Nolan is now Nolan W. :( I am very bothered by this and there is really nothing I can do. I hate it.

Sophie also started school Wednesday and she had a ton of fun. I must say I am looking forward to 3 hours with just my husband on Mondays and 3 hours to myself on Wednesdays. How awesome! My only conflict is that both of my kids get out of school at the same time... but we've worked it out.  Sophie is going to preschool at Mini School which was established in 1971!  I have met multiple parents that are putting their 2nd or 3rd child through this school, which I thought was pretty telling. Plus, the price is great too :) 

Nolan had a pretty good preschool experience, but he went to a very different style of preschool.  Nolan went to preschool for socialization. He didn't need to learn ABC's & 123's, he had picked up that kind of stuff very early in life.  I have known for quite some time that Sophie would need a more structured learning environment.  And I think I've found a great place for her.

Happy Anniversary!!

Poy and I celebrated our 9 year anniversary on Thursday. We had some last minute school/vacation shopping to do, then we celebrated with a Red Robin Mud Pie with the kids. We took an evening flight to Las Vegas for our first child free vacation.  We rented a car when we got there and although mapquest suggested taking the freeway to our hotel (at the far end of the strip), my dear husband thought driving the strip would be fun.  Well, driving the strip at night is not so fun... lots of stop and go traffic.  So, by the time we were in our hotel we didn't feel like driving anymore.  So, we decided to walk... this would be mistake #2.  Walking from our hotel was not a short walk and we were tired and hungry.  It turned out fine, but we decided we would not be walking again.  Oh, did I mention that at 10pm it was 85+ degrees!?! 

Friday we drove to Hoover Dam and did the tour.  It is quite a remarkable place and aside from the heat (105) we had a good time. In the evening we went to The Venetian for dinner and New York New York for Cirque Du Soleil's Zumanity.  Zumanity was a great show and we enjoyed it very much.  We made it back to our hotel after midnight and crashed.

Poy in front of Lake Mead

Me in front of Hoover Dam

Poy with his friend the Travelocity Roaming Gnome

Saturday we did some shopping for the kids.  We enjoyed the M&M store and bought some things that we would normally scoff at... but we were on vacation.  After our shopping experience we drove to Red Rock Canyon which is beautiful.  If it wasn't hot and we were hikers it would have been even better.  It has a 13 mile one way loop you can drive and stop at a bunch of spots along the way for photos or hikes. When we finished the drive we went to the Red Rock Casino which is a fabulous place.  We ate and then we watched The Dark Knight at The Red Rock Cinemas.  I know... why would we watch a movie on vacation?  Well, we don't get many opportunities to watch movies unless they involve cartoon characters, and we hadn't seen The Dark Knight yet.

My new Green friend

Our first stop at Red Rock Canyon

Poy in Red Rock

Our one and only picture together in Vegas

Poy with The Hulk -- Check out how big Hulk is!!

Sunday morning we checked out of our hotel and drove to the Ethel M chocolate factory.  We wanted to see the tour, but we didn't think about the fact that they may not work on Sundays. That was disappointing but we did buy a lovely box of chocolates.  We then spent some time at The Mirage, but by this time I was missing my kids like crazy and really just wanted to go home.  We flew out of LV at 4:30 and had a good reunion with the kids when we got home. They had a great time with my parents though, so after their hugs, kisses and gifts all was back to normal and they treated us like we were never gone.  It is amazing how you miss them so much when you are gone and once you see them, you'd like to be on vacation again :)

Poy at a Cactus Garden

Me at the Cactus Garden

Making friends at the Airport

Poy with the scorpion 

So, for those of you wondering if we hit it big in Vegas... the answer would be a big NO.  We actually did not insert one dollar (or quarter, dime, nickel or penny) into a machine.  We just aren't gamblers... we like to spend our money elsewhere. 

I had planned on getting my cleaning started again today, but it just ain't gonna happen today. Tomorrow school starts and I will start my program again on day 1.  I figure if I skipped so many days in a row, it doesn't really count as 21 days in a row.  Today we visited a preschool and signed Sophie up, so she'll be in school on Mondays & Wednesdays from 12-3.  So, not only does my first born start his first day of first grade tomorrow, but my baby starts preschool as well.  I hope I don't burst into tears!