What I Do When I Am Child-Free

My three girls went to NY for the weekend to have some quality time with my family. I met my mom in PA on Friday and am picking them up on Sunday afternoon. This has never happened while I was off of work, probably because I am only off of work once a year basically. When my mom asked to have the girls for the weekend my mind raced with the endless possibilities as to what I would do not only child-free but also off of work. Shopping, binge watching Gilmore Girls, lounging with a margarita, gardening… what to do??

Well this is what I did:

1. I came home and promptly realized that Amelia and Moira’s room is a complete disaster area. Seriously, these two girls are dirt collecting, stuffed animal hoarding, clothes piling little fiends wrapped up in cuteness. So not only did I clean their room but I rearranged it so that the beds and the dresser have new homes.
2. Well because I cleaned up the hoarders, I mean my darling daughters’, room I had piles of laundry to do so I started some, cleaned up around the washer and dryer, wiped down the table where the cats eat, threw out some empty containers.. ya know, lol, just went down to do laundry!
3. I cooked myself a yummy dinner of dill tilapia and broccoli, while that was cooking I did the dishes, cleaned the counters, and tidied up the kitchen.
4. I finally realized that it was late and no more cleaning was required. So I binge watched some Gilmore Girls and painted my nails, then went to bed.
5. Saturday morning I woke up bright and early to lots and lots of dog puke. Apparently Spooky had an upset stomach… enough said. Big dogs equal lots and lots of puke.
6. I headed to Target (yay!!!) for some more cleaning supplies and to browse at my leisure while being kid-free. It was glorious. Made even more glorious by the iced coconut milk mocha macchiato.
7. Came home and gave the dogs water… which ended up with more puke… ugh!
8. Klint and I then headed out to run some errands and eat lunch at one of my favorite places- Slymans… how did I not know how awesome corned beef is until recently? I managed to convince Klint to take me to Michaels and Anthropologie too while we were out so major win!
9. We came home, Klint had to go to bed for work, and I decided to cook Spooky some chicken broth and rice. (My tried and true solution to dog puke)
10. My final act of the night was cleaning out my awesome blue Ikea cart and organizing it. It was a mishmash of nail polish, Posh products, craft supplies… topped with cat hair.

Here are some pics of my adventures… not the puke because that would be gross!

Tomorrow is my last morning child-free…. who knows what I will do?!

My January Cure

I am a huge fan of the blog Apartment Therapy. I get great ideas for decorating, cleaning, and just enjoying my home more. But having three kids who are home all.the.time, working an odd schedule. and let’s not forget my own private zoo- let’s just say that clutter and dust bunnies are my constant companions. So when I heard about a month long project that Apartment Therapy was doing called The January Cure, I jumped in whole heartedly. =) Something that is realistic, doable, and tackles some of my project lists… yes please!! January 2nd’s assignment was pretty easy- simply walk around and make a list of everything that you want to get done and places that are trouble areas. So here is my list-Over the weekend the assignment was also really easy and enjoyable- buy flowers and clean the floors. Yay for doable baby steps!! (Plus I ADORE buying flowers!!) I can’t wait to see what this week has in store. There is still time to sign up if you have a “honey do” list like me, check it out here.

10 Things Making Me Happy

Here are 10 things that are making me pretty happy right now:

10. I got the kids art stuff cleaned out today, bye bye broken crayons and moldy play dough!

9. Yummy homemade French Onion soup.

8. Reading Nicholas Spark’s new book The Best of Me… it is soooooo good!

7.Working on some new products for my Etsy store- covered button bookmarks

6. While I was on a roll I also cleaned and organized the girl’s books…

5. I am loving having Klint home an extra night this week thanks to President’s Day

4. Speaking of Klint, I made him this fun poster to join in on the graphic fun flying around the web:

3.  I am excited to see some sorority sisters tomorrow, that makes me very happy

2. Cozy blankets with sleeping baby underneath

1. Selling 2 fairy doors on Etsy and transferring money from Paypal… that definitely makes me happy!!!

I Don’t Wanna!

Once upon a time I was a morning person. I wasn’t just a morning person, but I was THAT cheerfully annoying morning person with animated birds flying about my head while I sing in perfect tune. Let me tell you how much my college roommate hated mornings with me. =) Now I have adopted a totally different schedule it seems. I don’t wake up until 8am most mornings and I am up until 1am almost nightly. Still, it is a struggle to get things done… the baby is up pretty late, cleaning the house is too noisy when everyone is sleeping, I just don’t want to…

Really, all I want to do is sit on my bum and crochet while watching TV or listening to my book. Is that too much to ask? Lol, I have a pop-up shop coming up and zero inventory to contribute, soooo that needs to get done asap. I have fairy door orders, Usborne book shows, dance classes to choreograph for… it is endless people! And then there is cleaning, laundry, cooking, more cleaning, pets to care for.

And yes, I am here… blogging about my to-do lists instead of knocking things off. But, since this is the one consistent thing for myself that I do I feel entitled to do it. (With the quiet I can actually hear my own thoughts and can type uninterrupted!)

Seriously, how do people with 3 kids and pets keep their houses so tidy and perfect?

Thanks to Pinterest (yes, my other addiction!) I have learned some pretty cool cleaning tricks though. For instance, did you know that if you stick a cup of water and vinegar in the microwave for 5 minutes it removes all the baked on guck? A tried and true trick- your house will reek of vinegar though, just a warning. So see, my blogging and pinning does have a purpose!

Lol, so I have no clue where I was going with this post aside from procrastinating with the cleaning and such…. Hmmm, I wonder if there are any cool pins about procrastination?! =)

Happy Friday friends!

Cleaning Solutions: In the Toilet

In trying to simplify our lives, cut down on the toxins we bring in, and save a few bucks we have been trying to find better alternatives to cleaning chemicals. I am starting in the bathroom because a) it is the smallest room, b) we only have one, and c) it is the DIRTIEST place in the whole darn house!!! How is it that a room where you are supposed to get clean is so effing dirty?!

Anyhow, I came up with a method to clean the inside of the toilet that fits all the cleaning criteria and as a bonus it smells really good. Want to hear it? Two simple ingredients: Borax and lemons!!! Yes, that is all… seriously.

 

So here’s what I do to get a nice, fresh smelling, sparkling toilet.

1. Tell everyone that they better use the bathroom now because nothing is worse that cleaning the toilet and then someone wrecks it in a hot minute.

2. Cut the lemon in half and grab about 1/4 cup of Borax (can be found in the laundry section of your store of choice)

3. Squeeze the lemon into the toilet, dump the Borax on top, and let it sit there while you clean the rest of the nastiness bathroom.

4. Stir it around, use the scrub brush on the bowl, then flush. Now you can bask for a minute in your good smelling, clean bathroom!!!

Do you try to eliminate chemicals from your cleaning routine?? What is your favorite non-toxic helper?