Organized

Our house is lacking in storage spaces. We don't have a linen closet so we put our towels underneath the bathroom sinks. We don't have a pantry so we use the kitchen cabinets and we also have some Rubbermaid shelves in the garage for a my little stock pile of extras. I've used our coat closet for the past few years as a craft/catch all so today I tackled that thing and threw out two trash bags full of junk. I couldn't believe how much stuff we had crammed into that closet. Here are just a few of my little organizational ideas from that closet.

Here's an old spice rack that has tacks, beads, paper clips, pins, etc.

I love these things. I use this over the door shoe rack for scissors, ribbon, etc. inside the coat closet. I also use one of these in my bathroom. We keep medication up top so it's out of reach of the kids. It also has belts rolled up in it, slippers down in the bottom pockets. I have one on my boys' bedroom door that has gloves, hats, belts, scarves, sunglasses, etc.

Goals

I have a few goals. Two in particular are taking up a lot of time right now. One is short term, the other is long term. My short term goal is to finish a half marathon in April. That's 13.1 miles, nonstop. I just want to finish.

My long term goal is to finish school. I "took a semester off" after 5 semesters of college and have now returned. This is my second semester back since I was 20 years old. I'm not sure how long it's going to take me but when it's all said and done I'll have a BS in Communications from ECU!  My husband says it's fitting since I've mastered the art of communicating :)

Pretty pretzels

My "cooker helper" and I made these just for fun. I think she had more chocolate on her face than on the pretzels but they turned out cute. I dipped some for the boys with their favorite football team colors too.

All you need:
Chocolate chips (I used white)
Pretzel rods
Sprinkles

My Helper

People have asked me over the past few years if there was a big difference in having boys and then having a girl. I was pretty convinced that after two boys I was going to be a "boy mom" so when we found out that we were expecting for the 3rd time I just knew it was going to be another little monster boy. How excited was I to find out that I was getting a little girl?! Don't get me wrong, I would have been just fine with another boy but I was pretty tickled having a girl. Up until recently there wasn't much difference in having a boy versus having a girl. When they are newborns they all pretty much just sleep, poop and pee. And they all smell soooo good (except the poop part of course). Then when she became a toddler, with the exception of her distinct fashion sense, she was just like the boys too. Getting into stuff, climbing, throwing fits, etc. There has been one distinct difference though. She's the first one to grab a chair from the table and push it up to the counter. She is always ready and willing to be my helper. Now, I'm not sure if this has anything at all to do with being a girl or not but I'm going to say it is. The boys could care less about standing in a chair, watching cookie dough go round and round by the mixer. Kenly would stand there all day! All I have to do is mention I'm going to bake cookies and here she comes, pushing a chair twice her size. The boys just want the final product, the cookies.

So if you ever get homemade cookies from our house be warned that more than likely she licked the spoon and then stirred with it again. But more than likely, the boys will have eaten them all so you don't have to worry.

Christmas Bush

This is one of my all time favorite Christmas memories. It's from 2006 when I was pregnant with our second child. The following story is the one I sent wrote to my friends and family via email that year. I didn't have Facebook or a blog "back then".  I hope it brings you some joy as it does me each year.

Before looking at the attachment please read the story first. It'll make more sense....



As many of you know, Tyron, Taylor and I went to the mountains ofHillsville, VA for Thanksgiving with some friends. While we were there we picked a big, pretty tree to cut down and take home. It's the biggest tree we've ever had and since we have tall ceilings in our house now it worked out great. Our only problem when we set it up was the fact that it leaned slightly which drove Tyron crazy. This past Saturday it was leaning quite a bit so we thought we would just fix it when we got home from Mike's Farm in Jacksonville. When we got home Tyron, Taylor and I went to the front yard before going inside to admire the lights that Tyron had worked on all day on the outside of the house. It was truly a Grisald moment. He plugged them in and I heard an orchestra playing in my head. It was chilly outside so Kayla and Hannah (Tyron's 7 and 8 year old nieces) went inside. Hannah came out and said "Um, Aunt Stephanie, your tree fell over". I chuckled the entire time we stood the tree back up and threw all the decorations back on it.Tyron grumbled. So it was nice and straight and there was our big beautiful tree again. So Sunday morning I get up around 6:30 to let the dog out and then hop back into bed with my sleeping beauties (Tyron and Taylor). Around 7:20 we hear what sounds like a war in our living room and yes, the tree fell again only in the other direction toward the coffee table and couch. We must have over compensated when we stood it back up the night before. Anyway,Tyron jumps out of bed and says "THAT'S IT! IT'S GOING TO THE DUMP!" Taylor opens his eyes and says "what in the world?" We stand it back up and at this point I'm not chuckling but Tyron is and we pull everything off the tree.Tyron takes it to the back yard and calls his friend who has borrowed his chainsaw. His friend comes over to bring it and I'm thinking he'll just take care of it after church. Not exactly! While I'm taking a shower and getting ready for church he fires up the chainsaw and cuts the tree...FROM THE TOP!!! Since all this happened while I was in the shower I had no idea until we got in the car and he told me. I thought he was kidding but he really wasn't. When we got home he brought it in while I was making lunch and called me into the living room to hold it while he tightened the stand. My mouth fell open and then all I could do was laugh like a hyena. I laughed so hard I cried and my face and ribs hurt. So let me give you a visual....here is a tree that the stem was cut from the top and so there are branches going over the stem which should be the point. Tyron gets his pruning shears and starts wacking....again. When he's finished our tree looks like the singing bush on the Three Amigos. So yes, we're keeping the tree/bush and it will go down in history for us. Now, feast your eyes on this....




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