Around the House...and On the Road!

So, as I'd mentioned before, Piper has been in Georgia at Jump Master School. I'll let HIM fill everyone in on the excitement he is experiencing there later. (note:heavy sarcasm) But while he has been away, I have been trying to start and wrap up some projects around the house. Not only is it helpful not having him under foot (I love you, honey. But you get in the way sometimes ;-) BUT it makes the time fly by and before I know it, He's home again!

First off, I cleaned the carpets. I LOVE having clean carpets!! It made me ENDLESSLY happy to erase all those stains and icky footprints from our HORRIBLE winter! And may I recommend Procyon as one of my favorite things! (Great carpet cleaner AND stain remover! Dad sells it, and I'm TOTALLY on board! oh, and it's a GREEN PRODUCT!)

Then, I packed up the girls and we went to Seattle for 3 days. We spent our time with the Birr family, minus Kelly, who was out of town. I got to have some GREAT mommy quality time with Maegan, while Ash and her 5 year old daughter, Zoe, played happily for all 3 days! What a nice mini vaca for all of us!

Well, we got home, and the real work began! We moved into this house in late December, and the office STILL hadn't been completely unpacked! SO, my mission (and I began to regret accepting it) was to put the office together, and make it PERFECT to surprise Piper when he gets home. (I also have a little surprise within the surprise, Ill post pics of that after he gets home as not to blow it) So, I began putting away books, merging CD collections, filing paperwork, dusting, decluttering and altogether delousing the tiny space that had become the catch all for all of the "Where should I put this?" crap! I'm pleased to report that you can now see the floor, close the closet doors, and actually fit a computer onto the desk! I will be getting some closet organizing supplies eventually, but now that (most) everything in that room has a home, I am a happy girl.

Next up: OUR CLOSET! May I just say, I've seen it worse...BUT it's time to part with some of the things we just cant ever seem to let go of. Ill be making piles and letting him sort thru a few items, but there will be a BIG Goodwill run happening the next time we go to my parents house!!

Piper returns Saturday afternoon, and I'm hoping he will not be met by the chaos that comes before the organization is complete. But I'm really not too optimistic about it.

I have, however, been enjoying some scrapping time, both in the evenings when the girls finally go to sleep, and from our trip to Seattle this last week. I will be posting some of that sooner than later. (my nose will need a break from the dust everywhere!)

Looking forward to reporting on Pipers outcome at Jump Master School, and his anxiously awaited arrival home. I was informed tonight that "Daddy is just BETTER at putting me to bed, mom. Sorry." There ya have it.

My Favorite Things...

A friend of mine recently blogged that the sunshine in summer seemed to motivate her in her everyday life. I have been feeling similarly! Organizing, cleaning, gardening, working out, planning activities for the kids and the family, joining the Womens Ministry at the church...etc. I've been kind of all over the place lately. So today, one of the things I decided today I was going to become more vigilant about is blogging the things I think of every day. I know my fellow mommies read, and family, and I know how much I love it you all share your thoughts and ideas with me, SO I will finally begin doing the same!!

I was cleaning my kitchen sink today, and the idea occurred to me to start sharing my favorite things. This may change daily from my kids habits to my favorite cleaning supplies, but all of these things are valuable, right??!!

Anyway, while cleaning rust (and God knows what else) stains off my sink today, I was thinking about how much I love my Magic Erasers. And, as anyone who knows me would realize, I am CHEAP so I always buy the store brand (usually Target) but MAN those things rock!!! Here are some of the family wide calamities I have solved with this MIRACLE (yeah, I said it) product:

-Ashlynn coloring an ENTIRE tile on our all tile floor bright red with her crayons. Took it all of, grout and all!
-Shoe scuff marks on the floor. Enough said.
-the NASTY grime that collects in the texture of the bottom of the bathtub. I HATE that! And no amount of bleach cleanser and scrubbing takes that off. And the ring around the bathtub. And the GROUT in the bathtub. Pretty much the entire bathroom.
-Scuffs on furniture from moving.
-Dirty SHOES!!

the list goes on...but let it be said...the MAGIC ERASER-DEFIANTLY one of my favorite things!