Two Shades of Grey...Bathroom...In Progress

We inherited our house from my sister in law.  My mother and father in law own the house and my sister in law used to live here with her husband and two kiddos.  My sister in law moved to another state about 3 1/2 years ago, to be closer to my father and mother in law.  At that time Jerm and I were looking for a bigger place; I was pregnant with baby Boogie and we needed more space! Thankfully they all decided that we should move in!  There aren't many places that offered a room for every one of our kids.  The house has 4 bedrooms, 2 full bathrooms, 2 living rooms, a full dining room and kitchen.  There is a room that is connected to the master bedroom that I assume was meant to be an office but we converted that to baby boogies room! We also converted the second living space into our "office"!

My sister in law had the kids/guest bathroom decorated in Sponge Bob complete with yellow walls and a blue ceiling!  It was adorable but since I couldn't find anything Sponge Bob anymore it really wasn't working, plus we noticed that the sub floor in that bathroom was messed up which was causing major problems. So we took the floor out, messing up the flooring as we went, since the bathroom needed new floors I decided to redo the whole room!

 

 Here are the new floors! The big black spot is not a sign that Davy Jones is coming after my bathroom, just where the toilet had yet to be returned to its spot. These tiles are actually vinyl, but they are thicker than normal vinyl tiles and the thickness allows for grouting.  I had no idea what I was doing so my dad showed me the way in one corner; then I finished it up.  I see a future with more of this tile in our house, not the same pattern but the same idea.

Now for those Sponge Bob yellow walls, I swear my sister in law had to have done some color match magic because those walls were bright! I wanted something neutral, I went to the local Habitat Store, hey I am fugal by nature, and found a beautiful grey color for a whole $3.00 for the full gallon! I primed the walls with some leftover white Kills paint, Kills paint prevents mold from growing; great for bathrooms!

I then did a paint test with the grey and realized it was a lot darker that I wanted.  I still had some leftover white from when we converted Boogie's nursery, yeah I still haven't finished that room yet! Mixing the white with the grey made a nice light color that I liked so all the walls were painted.  Jerm decided that he wanted the trim done with the original color of grey ( I was going to paint the trim white) but I do agree with him I like the dark grey with the light grey.

For some reason it has a yellow quality in the pic but I promise the walls are light grey!

The bathtub, sink/vanity, and the toilet are white so for the past week I have been working on some more white accents for the room that would also help with organization.

I had a toothbrush holder for all the kids, but they all like different toothpaste and it was becoming a pain to organize.  We have all seen those too cute Mason jar holders but that meant I would have to buy supplies! So using tin cans, I had already cleaned and painted white for a birthday party game. A drawer from an old broken stand and a little paint I was able to make a shelf and individual toothbrush/paste holders! 

The walls actually look grey in this picture!

There are two hooks on the back of the bathroom door to hold towels but the kids never use them.  So I decided that they may actually use individualized hooks!  Again, I didn't want to buy a whole lot so using items on hand, and buying only the letters the kids will hopefully now hang up their towels! I am going to buy 8 white towels and stitch each child's initial on two towels each...individualized towels still a work in progress.

  Now the walls look dark grey! I need a new camera!

Just for fun and to add a little more white accent I hung up a canvas with bathroom musts! I simply painted a canvas with the same dark grey the trim was done in, then using stenciled letters I painted the entire canvas white.  I got the idea for the words from Pinterest, my favorite has got to be Aim, with two little boys this is a bathroom MUST!

The bathroom is still in progress I still need to:

 *Cut, paint, and place the floor trim*

*Buy a new white shower curtain, maybe two*

*Finish the kids 2 towels each*

I love the grey on grey on white look and not only does it suit the kids, with all the fun individualized elements, but it serves as a great neutral guest bathroom! 

More pictures will come when I finish the whole thing up!

Easy Peasy Kids Chores

The kiddos have their basic chores that they have to do every day such as pick up their rooms at the end of the day and put their clothes in the laundry basket.  I wanted a little more help than that.  With a family of six no matter how small or large your house is, sometimes it seems like you never have enough room or organization.  The kiddos are now 10, 7, 6, and 2 they are all big enough to help out, at different levels it's true but any help works at this time.  I needed something to organize the chores, make it slightly fun and I needed to actually utilize it!  I ran to Pinterest, but really everything that I saw was honestly too much of a time investment (just to make the silly thing) or I didn't have the supplies on hand. Some I couldn't see our family really utilizing the Chore Chart the way it should be.

I wanted simple and workable!

I pulled up Microsoft Word on my computer and started playing with the clip art options, found the pictures I liked and printed them off the computer.  The pictures printed black and white, so I colored them with colored pencils! Then I simply cut them to size and attached them to my adhesive magnetic sheets I had left over from the wedding save the dates! They were leftovers so the magnets aren't perfectly cut to size but ohwell!

 I bought these at Wal-Mart I don't think I paid much more than $1.00 per pack.

Here are all the chores that the kiddos can pick from.  I simply placed the magnets in a small bag and each day the kids (Monkey, Bubby, and Babydoll) pick two.  I don't let them see what they are picking.  If a particular chore really doesn't need to be done that day I simply remove the corresponding magnet from the bag before they pick.

• Laundry- Each child already puts their own clothing away the child who picks the laundry chore simply helps me distribute the clothes to the correct rooms, and are learning to help fold.
• Feed Dogs/Cats- Pretty self explanatory 
• Pick Up Toys- At the end of the day it seems a lot of toys have deserted the kids rooms and have made new homes through the house. The kiddo simply places all the run away toys in a bag and then distributes them to their original room.
• Dust- They don't have to dust everything, just a few things here and there.
• Vacuum- We have very little carpet in this house so there are a few area rugs that need to be attended.
• Sweep- Because there is so little carpet, I only have the kiddo with this chore sweep one or two rooms.
• Bathroom- I make my own bathroom cleaner mixing vinegar and dawn, this allows the kiddos to help scrub the tub (with a dish brush thingy) and wipe the counters off.  They also pick up any clothes someone may have left in the floor and put them in the laundry basket.
• Dishes- Depending on the child who picked this it could mean un-loading the dish washer, or simply picking up any stay cups and bowls that may have made it into different rooms.
• Help Mommy- This chore just allows me to have a kiddo help me with anything special I may be doing. If I am going to mow the yard they can help pick up the toys outside, or if I am cleaning out the fridge they can help me wipe it out ect... you get the point.

 I also made a little marker for each kiddo that is on the fridge with their initials.

 I simply placed the magnets in a small bag and each day the kids (Monkey, Bubby, and Babydoll) pick two.  I don't let them see what they are picking.  If a particular chore really doesn't need to be done that day I simply remove the corresponding magnet from the bag before they pick. 

If no one picks a chore that really needs to be done that day, such as feed dogs/cats I simply ask if anyone would like to help me with it.  If I don't get a volunteer it's not that big of a deal I don't mind doing it myself! Except the run away toys, they drive me insane! So each child has a tote bag that I give them at the end of the day, then each child goes from one side of the house to the other filling their bag with their own toys.  The kiddos then put the bag in their room and are allowed to leave the toys in it until the following day.

I bought the cheap little vinyl bags from Wal-Mart or a craft store and they are holding up just fine! Even baby Boogie helps out with the capture of the run away toys.

I know that this is a very simple and not so adorable chore chart, unlike some that are out there, but hey it works for my family! I was able to put it all together in one night, and we started implementing it the next day.  Besides, I had that super kick butt magnet already on my fridge (Oh you must be confusing me for the maid we don't have) so this idea went right along with our odd sense of humor! We don't give the kids money for their chores I want them to understand that because they live here they should contribute, plus they should pick up behind themselves.  I sure don't get paid for all that I do around the house and one day they will be walking in my shoes so hey it's an early education.  

I don't think that parents who do give money for chores are doing anything wrong, it's just not the choice that Jerm and I made!

HOMEMADE LAUNDRY DETERGENT....NO GRATING NEEDED!!!

Three simple ingredients, no grating, and cheap...perfect laundry detergent!

The Inspiration!

I found this great detergent HERE!

All you need is:

3 Tablespoons of Borax

3 Tablespoons of Washing Powder 

2 Tablespoons of the Blue Dawn

Mix the Borax, Washing Powder and Dawn in a microwave safe container, add four cups of boiling water and stir the mixture.  

Why did I say microwave safe container...well because if you buy a cheap container to use as a dispenser for the laundry detergent and then add the boiling water well...this happens!

Jerm, Monkey and I laughed our butts off watching this happen, luckily the container was in the sink so it didn't even make a big mess!

After the mixture cools, place it in the container you wish to use (gallon size) and fill the container with cold water.  If you add the water at an angle the mixture doesn't bubble as much.

Use 1/2 cup to 1 cup per load. I paid a total of $8.00 for the ingredients and each box contained 3-4 LBS of powder while the detergent only uses 3 Tablespoons per batch of each!  The blue Dawn only used 2 tablespoons and Dawn lasts for a while in my house! See super cheap!  I have washed a few loads of clothes and they have all come out super clean and smelling so fresh. It's a nice clean smell!!

OUR VERSION OF THE SHRIMP PO'BOY SANDWHICH!

 

We live in Kentucky now but for the first three years of Monkey's life he and I lived in Alabama. Monkey knows what a Shrimp Po'Boy Sandwich is and I sort of do, but the rest of the family has never heard of them.  Well, now they have! Jerm thought I was crazy when I was describing them to him, but now he knows, and he loves (our version ) of them!

Ingredients:

4 Cups Cole Slaw

1/2 Cup Ranch Dressing

1 Tablespoon Garlic Powder

Thinly Sliced Tomatoes

Fried Shrimp ( I am lazy and used the boxed kind)

Hogie Rolls

 

 

Mix the cole slaw, ranch dressing, and garlic powder in a bowl.  Thinly spread cole slaw mixture on the hogie rolls, and layer desired amount of tomatoes and shrimp.  That is it!  It's not your classic Shrimp Po'Boy but it's yummy and unless you live in the Southern Southern states no one will know the difference!

 

 

DAD'S ARE GETTING SMARTER!

Happy Father's Day Jerm!

 

Today is Father's Day, a day to celebrate all the wonderful daddy's out there that keep the children under watch, relieve the mommies from too much stress and simply make all our lives that much better.  Reading all the great comments that people have been writing about the dads in their lives I realized that dads are smarter than us moms! That is right I said it! I have never heard one dad put another dad down because of the way they are parenting.  I have never, not once ever heard or seen them dicourage each other.  Mommies on the other hand do it all the time!  Proof that the dads are smarter than the moms, they know that encouragement is the key to surviving parenting!

 

What do we mommies fight about?

 

Working mom..Stay at home mom...work from home mom?

Family dynamics are so different from each other. Many factors influence rather or not mom is going to need an income.  There are options for a mom who needs an income she can look outside the home for work, or she can find a way to work from home.  I have worked outside the home, been a sahm and there was a time that I only worked outside the home for two days a week allowing me to spend the rest of the week with my family. Then there are the families where mom doesn't need to work, so she doesen't or she does.

 

Breastfeed or Bottlefeed?

I breastfed my children, for different amounts of time.  They were also all bottlefed with breastmilk and formula.  There were reasons for this, some medical, and some were financial.  I did what I had to do.  All of my kiddos have pretty great immune systems, I think they are smart, and they are all at the weights they should be.

 

Co-Sleeping or Independent Sleeping?

While I was breastfeeding my kiddos slept with me, because it was easier.  When the kiddos switched to the formula I put them in their cribs. I also only rocked my kiddos to sleep occasionally if they were sick or I just wanted some one on one cuddle time.  Most often I would lay them in their crib and they would go to sleep.  If they were cranky and cried I would pat their little backs and either make hushing sounds or sing.

 

Only Child or Siblings?

I have four children, three that I gave birth to and one who I have been blessed with through my marriage.  I was an only child and couldn't stand it, I always wanted siblings.  My kids argue, they fight and they drive my husband and me insane.  They also love each other, stick up for each other and have adventures together.  I was spoiled with time and materials because I was the only one in the house. My kids don't get as many material items and sometime Jerm and I have to work hard to ensure we get that one on one time with each child.

 

Attachment Parenting or Something Else?

Attachment parenting is all over the media recently and honestly I have no clue what it is.  I know that it was created by a Dr. Sears and it encompasses his 7 Baby B's.  I just stumbled though everything with my oldest son, and use what I learned with the following three kids.  Some things I changed and some I still use.  I also noticed that what works for one kiddo doesn't always work for them all...so we do what we think works.

 

Home School or Public/Private School?

My kids go to Public School, two different School's for now.  Babydoll attends one in her mom's area, and the boys attend our school..both are ran by the same county.  I like the Schools, the Teachers and the way things are ran.  I also believe that it isn't just our Schools that should be teaching our children I believe parents have a role too.  You don't blame your macanic when your car breaks down because you didn't keep up with the maintnance! I work with the kids during the summer on things that they learned the year before, and things they should expect the next year.  I want to pull my hair out sometimes while working on School work and could never do it all year.  My kids would grow up to be idiots because I would quit!

 

 

So you see we do things differently and you have your reasons and I have mine.  Do you think that my kids are being deprived in some way or form?  Am I a perfect parent....heck no!!! I send my kids to school in missmatched socks because no matter what I do we never have enough matching socks. My kiddos get angry with me and I get angry with them.  Our house is sometimes spotless and sometimes....no visitors allowed! Jerm and I love our babies, they are some of our biggest joys and yet sometimes we put ourselves first and do something nice for ourselves (mainly our yearly 3 days vacation just him and me) Then there are the times that Jerm and I go without something to ensure that the kids have what they need, or sometimes just something they wanted.

 

Ladies all I really wanted to say...or beg is please "live and let live" lets take a que from those daddies and encourage each other to make the choices that fit our own families, the choices that will make our families thrive.  I will never agree with everything that you do, but I can agree to be positive, uplifting and supportive of what you do.  As long as your kids and my kiddos are not neglected or abused then there is nothing that we are doing wrong.  Child specialists are specilists who do not live with you, know you, or know your children....but mom does so listen to your gut!

 

Happy Father's Day Daddies....you're smarter than us on this one!

(there that was your gift for the day)