Project Hot Spot #3

Last week the hot spot was B's toys and clothes.  It was quite a task, but I got her room organized...again.  It seems like every time she enters a new stage, I need to go through and organize her room again.  Take out the baby toys and re-think what's best for her at this stage of life.  And of course, the never ending clothes rotation can add up quickly to a huge amount of items to store.  While I didn't get to the clothes storage issue in my basement, I did get to b's toys and closet.  So here are the before and after photos.

Before:

After:

 I took out b's little peoples and put her baby doll stuff in here instead.  She is really in to babies right now.

 I went through the other bin too and kept only the things she really likes and plays with in there.

At Christmas time was received a lot of books from Tom's co-worker whose kids are older now.  So, I went through all the books and only kept the age appropriate ones out for now.  I stored the rest for later.

Before:

After:

 Games on one side and craft bin and coloring book bin on the other side.

 Basket with painting supplies and Sticker/Pasting/Drawing etc. books

 Toys at eye level for B to get out for herself.

New crayon bin

Before:
 

After:

I only worked on the little shelf in her closet this time.  I put a new bin in there to hold her 4t clothes that should probably fit by winter.  Then I left a few blankets and her fan that we use in the summertime.  I was able to go through the 2 upper  cupboards.  I took down all the diapers (since she's potty trained now) and took down all of the other baby things that were up there.

Whew....glad to be done with that.  On to Hot spot #4 this week...Pantry and Refrigerator.

Library Storytime

A Vocal Concert by B

Family Visit

We were so excited to be able to have Tom's sister, Carrie and her husband, Jon along with their 3 month old Kyleigh come to visit us this past weekend.  They traveled all the way from Pennsylvania...a long drive with a 3 month old.  Oh, do we remember those days with B.  We were so thankful that they would drive all that way so that we could finally meet Kyleigh.  She is so cute!  They grow up so fast that you forget how little they are at the beginning.  We were able to treat Jon and Carrie to several of our local restaurants and even get a Settlers of Catan game in too.  We had a great time!

Tyndale Book Club Hub Giveaway and Sign-up

Tyndale House is starting a new book club e-newsletter and is celebrating that by running a 30 day giveaway on their website.  This newsletter is for people who are in or are running book clubs. It will feature suggestions, discussion guides and great ideas. To enter the giveaway you can click here and choose which book you'd like to win and fill out the form.  Remember to check back every day since each day is a new giveaway and every few days the books will change.  Right now the books to win are:

 

New Book Review--Attack at the Arena (Imagination Station/Adventures in Odyssey)

I just reviewed this book from Tyndale House over at my book review blog.  You read that review here.

Project Simplifiy--Hot Spot #2

I tackled my paper clutter with my recipes!  This has been piling up for...well...about a year now.  I usually rip out recipes out of my magazines before throwing the magazines out.  So, I actually hole-punched all those recipes and put in them in the binder that was sitting underneath the pile.

Before:

After:

I also tackled loose papers around the house.  Here's the pile:

Here is another before and after of my piano stuff on top of my filing cabinet.  I just recently started teaching piano again.  Unfortunately, the pile builds up quickly.

Before:

After:

Love to get the small projects done that make the house look less cluttered!!  (oh...and my husband loves it too.)

A Visit from Friends

A while back we were able to have our friends the Swanks come and visit us.  We had such a great time with them.  We miss our late night Settlers of Catan games and movies nights with them!!  So thankful for great friends!

Philly Cooking Creme Houseparty

This past weekend I had another houseparty.  This one was for the new Philly Cooking Creme.   We had a house full...  10 adults and 14 children.  We had a great time.  Here are some pictures and don't miss the video of all those kids in B's room.  It's priceless!!

 

I made a Baked Penne (I used chicken instead of the sausage) and Easy Chicken Enchiladas.  They were really delicious!

Mini cheesecake bites were really easy to make and very good!

Here's the video!

Thanks everyone who came.  It was great fun!!

Project Hot Spot #1 is organized!

Before:

After:

Clothes to donate:

Hoo and Ray (can you tell I watch a lot of word world with B?) for getting organized!  Wardrobe and Closet are now done.  There are some good tips in this post.  I liked the idea of flipping the hangers backwards and then flipping them the right way after you've worn the item.  That way you really know what you're wearing and what is just hanging in your closet.  I also, started writing down the items that I need for my wardrobe.  I always forget what I really need.  On to hot spot #2 on Monday.  You can read about this contest on Simple Mom here.

It's Time to Organize!!

So today starts the beginning of Project Simplify on Simple Mom and the first week's hot spot is....
the wardrobe and closet!  I've been wanting to go through this for a while now....

We already have the closet organizers put up, but I need to go through all these clothes!!  If you want to participate and get some cleaning projects done in the next 5 weeks, head over to simple mom and read about the first hot spot.  Everyone who participates in this week’s hot spot — and then links to the before-and-after photos on her blog or the Flickr pool — is automatically entered to win this week’s giveaway!   You have until Sunday.  You'll be seeing projects from my house for the next 5 weeks.  Check back later this week to see the finished project!

She's Growing!

I just measured this girl the other day and she is 36 1/2 inches tall.  Where does the time go?

2 New Book Reviews

You can read 2 new book reviews on my Book Review Blog.

You can read my review on John Piper's book Desiring God here.

You can read my review on Voyage with the Vikings here.

Weekend Getaway

Last weekend our family was able to go to a nearby major city for a short getaway.  We visited the children's museum and stayed in a hotel downtown.  We had a great time just being together.  We even went to chuckie cheese for the first time on Friday night too.  The only letdown was that the hotel pool was too cold to swim in.  Our poor little B that was all she really wanted to do, but after getting in the pool for a few minutes she was shivering.  She was able to put her feet in the hot tub, but that was the extent of our swimming.  The children's museum was great fun!  B had a great time playing.