Day #2 and #3 40 bags in 40 days challenge

Since I am behind on blogging the days today I will do day #2 and day #3 which I actually did both on March 7th due to the fact that my mom, Ella, and I were headed to a George Strait concert on the 8th :-)

So day #2's area was our entry way. I had tubs of clothes that needed to go upstairs. Christmas tubs that needed to be put away (its March for crying out loud!). Picture #2 is of our show rack and picture #3 is our coat rack. Believe it or not under all that clutter to the left of the coat rack is a BEAUTIFUL built in bench. I don't know how I let it get this bad! How embarrassing!!! This is the first thing people see when they come into my home.....

I worked very hard on this area. I even dusted all that wood you see and took the light fixture apart and cleaned it too. The after pics almost look like a different house! It has been 7 days since I cleaned this space and except for the items that were taken out of the toy room during today's cleaning project this area is still looking spiffy. 

This is the gorgeous entry way of our home looking in from the living room.

AFTER picture of that horribly cluttered area that was hiding this BEAUTIFUL bench. This is one perk of owning a 100+ year old home! 

Look at the new ORGANIZED show station. My kids each parted with some shoes/boots that either they didn't wear or they outgrew :-)

For my 2nd project I tackled the bottom landing of our stairs. This area is otherwise known as the place that things that belong UPstairs go to live until I take them up. Although, I do try and get the owner of said items to take them upstairs with little to no results.....here it is!

I decided to not just clean off the landing but also deep clean the steps so that they were once again gleaming. Here is the amazing transformation ;-)

I encourage everyone to join in and clean out your house. Even if you are a neat freak and have a fairly uncluttered/clean house you can still take this challenge and clean out your kitchen cupboards of unused dishes, unworn clothes from your closet, maybe sit down and put together a few scrapbook pages that you have been putting off, or organize your linen closet :-) Spring is here (I HOPE) and it is always a good idea to do some deep cleaning in the spring. Another idea for those who are ahead of the game would be to clean your mattress. Here is a link from one of my pinterest boards on how to do it:

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/255016397624261832/

I will try and include a link to one of my cleaning pins or DIY pins every day :-)

Have a fabulous Friday and stay tuned for more decluttering pictures and more cleaning/DIY ideas :-)

The 40 bags in 40 days challenge

So on March 6, 2014 my friend linked me to an amazing blog about decrapifying my life by doing the 40 bags in 40 days challenge. The blogger was going to coincide her 40 bags with lent and invited others to join. Here is a link to her blog post: http://www.whitehouseblackshutters.com/40-bags-in-40-days-2014/

She also created a Facebook group page that is an AMAZING place to go for encouragement and ideas (link here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/40bagsin40days/ )

This is something I have desperately needed....a place to be able to be given positive feedback for my little accomplishments in the decrapifying of my life and house.

We moved into this house in September of 2006 when my daughter Ella was 6 months old. We signed papers on a Friday late afternoon and moved all of our stuff in the next day. My boyfriend and I were both back to work full time the Monday after we moved in. Since he worked 70 + hours a week it was basically up to me to unpack the house. I was 26 at the time and let me tell you I had the WORST organizational skills ever! I still have boxes upstairs that were never unpacked. We had our son Hunter in May of 2008 and life with 2 children age 2 and under began. It was VERY hectic and I felt like I never had time to breath. In February of 2012 I quit my job to become a stay at home mom and also run a small in home daycare....so although I am home more I feel like my days are even more hectic than they used to be.

This year, however, I decided that enough was enough and that I NEEDED to get this crazy, messy house under control. I am also 8 years older and have come to the realization that "things" don't make me happy. Memories with my family do and it is VERY hard to make memories in a messy, unorganized house.

SO, on March 6th, 2014 my journey to decrapifying my life began. I have only completed 4 challenges so far. On March 8th my mom took my daughter and I to a George Strait concert for her 8th birthday and low and behold she got his autograph! So, that day was out ;-)

Then I was sick from Sunday until yesterday. I am still not 100% but I am SLOWLY making progress when I have energy. This challenge is not going to end on day 40 for me as I realize at this point that this is a lifestyle change that I need to continue partaking in for the rest of my life. So amid my crazy life as a stay at home mom, daycare provider, and now a learning coach to my 2nd grader who is being schooled at home through K12.com; I will be decrapifying my home. I hope that you will join me in my journey and laugh and cry with me as I go through this process. Some things will be easy to get rid of and others will come with some emotion but in the end I know that once this house is clutter free and clean my family and I will be able to better enjoy our time together.

Day 1 included my Hutch and 2 sets of drawers that hold craft and scrapbooking supplies. Here are the BEFORE pictures

Here are the AMAZING After pictures:

Here is a picture of the garbage that I found in these spaces:

This is a picture of all of the things that do NOT belong in this space and will either find a new home in our house or someone else's:

Finally, a picture of the items I have decided to try and sell in our garage sale this summer. If they do not sell they will be on their way to our local Savers:

I am happy to say that 7 days later this space still looks amazing! 

I will continue to update you on my progress every day. Tomorrow I will share with you my before and after pictures for Day 2 and Day 3. On day 2 I tackled the entry way of my home and on day 3 I tackled the bottom of our stairs....or the catchall for things that need to go upstairs but haven't made it there yet. 

Thank you for your support and I hope to hear from you what you are doing this year to decrapify your life. It can be as simple as cleaning out a drawer or closet. I have decided to do areas in my home but any kind of decrapifying works :-)

My Hunter

Hunter is such a ham. He is always looking for ways to put a smile on my face and anyone around him. He was born on May 7, 2008. Paul and I thought for sure we were having another girl and then our skinny little man was born. He came into this world screaming at the top of his little lungs but quickly settled down and started to take it all in. Hunter had a lot of digestive issues when he was an infant and it took us a while to figure out that he had a milk intolerance. I say intolerance because he could always eat all other dairy products. He now LOVES chocolate milk and would drink it all the time if we allowed him to.

At Hunter's 18 month check up I walked to the doctor about concerns that Paul and I had that Hunter's speech was not developing the way we thought it should. Our amazing doctor listened to all of our concerns and said to make not of things over the next few months and then come back to her. There was always the chance that because Ella was such and early talker that Hunter was just behind where she was at the same age. A couple of months went by and in my opinion the problem was just getting worse. He replaced a lot of the hard sounds (like the c in car) with an h sound. He would also replace other hard sounds with the h sound. When we went back to the doctor she agreed that there was reason to be concerned so our first step was to see if it was a hearing issue. Hunter was not able to get through a whole hearing test because he got scared, but the first test led the tech to think that it was possible that he had a problem hearing high frequencies. We went back to our doctor who referred us to the birth to 3 program. We met with the coordinator for the birth to 3 program and had Hunter tested. Unfortunately he did not pass the test for services :-( but she indicated that she would contact me again in 6 months (this was April of 2010). 

Over the next 6 months Hunter seemed to be going down hill fast. He would get super frustrated and emotional when someone was unable to understand him. This got so bad that he would just lay on the floor and cry...it broke our hearts. When Michelle, the birth to 3 coordinator, contacted me in October of 2010 I explained to her that I thought that Hunter's speech issue was a HUGE concern and that Paul and I were afraid that he would start to shut down completely. She came to meet with us again and because of Hunter's emotional distress they got him into the birth to 3 program starting in October of 2010. It was such a relief to have him seeing someone who had the tools to start and focus on how to help Hunter. He LOVED Kathy who came to our house 2 times a week. When Hunter was getting ready to turn 3 we met with the early childhood coordinator at Spruce Street school. Again they made an exception for our little man and he has been diagnosed with an "A typical" speech problem....meaning his issue is not in any of the books. In May of  2011 Hunter started speech therapy at spruce street schools with Rhonda and he has made VAST improvements in the last year. Paul and I are so thankful for everyone who has helped our little man get back to being the outgoing, humorous little man he once was. 

Like Ella, we think Hunter is destined for greatness ;-) I wake up excited every day to see what these little people that I helped to create will discover. 

My Ella

So I have decided to tell you a little about each of my kids. Ella Grace was born on March 9, 2006. She is the reason that Paul and I entered into a relationship. Where do I even start...she is an extremely active 6 year old girl who can push all my buttons when she wants to. She is independent, extremely honest, beautiful, loving, stubborn, the list goes on and on.

As mothers we all think that our children are the best and I am no exception. From the minute this little girl was born she has had me wrapped around her finger. She came into this world with her eyes WIDE open. She did not cry until they did the heel prick, she mostly just looked around (I thought odd for a newborn) and took it all in. When her daddy went to the bed where they were giving her the shot of vitamin K he said that he spoke to her and her eyes instantly met with his: Love at first sight :-) She came into this world EXTREMELY clean...only one spot of blood on her whole body (sorry if it is a little TMI) and all of the nurses remarked how they had never seen a newborn so clean before. That is not the end of this little girl's incredible entrance into this world. She was also born with 2 teeth....amazing! I had never heard of it before my daughter. I know now there are other cases, but at the time I was shocked ;-)

Ella was the PERFECT infant. She never cried and when I say that I think I can count on 2 hands the number of times she cried before she was 6 months old. As she grew she continued to be fascinated with EVERYTHING in this world that we live in. It has been so much fun to discover and REdiscover amazing things about this planet we live on. At 15 months she was speaking in full sentences and running backwards down hills by 18 months. Since she started to crawl I don't think this little girl has slowed down once. When Ella was 17 months old I got pregnant with my second child. I was so excited that my children were going to be so close in age :-) Ella went with me to every appointment and although she was scared of the doppler at first, my amazing doctor helped her to understand what it was for and after she overcame her fear she was fascinated by it. She soon started to call her little brother "the baby in the belly". To this day I am not sure she completely understood that the "baby in the belly" would some day come out of the belly, but she suddenly had an obsession with babies :-) Since Hunter was born on May 7, 2008 Ella has been the best big sister any little boy could ask for. She is always there to give Hunter a hug and kiss when he gets hurt or is sad. Don't get me wrong they do fight on occasion, but nothing like my brother and I did growing up (my brother and I are just over 6 years apart).

The ages of 3, 4, and 5 were fun and exciting years for Ella. She has learned SO much and is becoming quite the character :-) She absolutely loved her 4K year in school and even to this day (almost the end of Kindergarten) talks about how much she wishes she could go back. I love that she had such a positive experience. Her 4K teachers recognized Ella's love of nature and fostered that along with her love for anything artsy :-) Kindergarten has been hard on Ella. A lot of social issues (who knew little 5/6 year old girls could be SO mean to each other), she has also struggled with a teacher who does not appreciate who she is as a person and when I went to this teacher with concerns that possibly Ella had ADHD (she doesn't) and the teacher instantly told me that medicating is the answer. I can't wait until June 7th when Kindergarten is over. We are hoping that 1st grade is a better year!

Welcome

I have been inspired to start a blog by one of my Facebook friends. I am the mother of two AMAZING children Ella (6) and Hunter (4). In February 2012 I quit my job with the State to start an inhome daycare so I can spend more time with my precious kidlets. They are literally the light of my life, but like all kids they can drive me nutty some days. I realize, however, that someday they will not be here to drive me crazy so I am taking it all in. My boyfriend, Paul, and I have been together for almost 7 years. I plan to discuss many topics, write about my children, and write about what I do all day ;-) I am excited to have something that I can look back on years and years down the road to help jog my memory of how wonderful these days have been.