addison's big girl room...finally

I know I've promised this post for months now, but things have just been crazy and it totally slipped my

mind unitl one random morning last week when I was making Addison's bed.  So, here ya go...Addison's room!

Door canvas

Big girl bed!  I suppose nothing is ever actually finished, right?  There are still so many cute ideas I have for this space, but now it's just finding the time to actually do them.  Also, you have to consider function at some point too.  I really really wanted to do a fun light fixture in there, but her room is hot and she needs the fan on hot summer nights (which has been every night lately!). 

Addison's framed birth print.  Halle has one over her bed too.  Aren't they fun? 

Addison's "big sister" books on her nightstand.  I asked her why the Princess book was with her big sister books and she said because she was a big sister AND a princess.  Naturally. 

This dresser and hutch have a fun story behind them.  They are actually from my sorority house when I lived there!  The summer between my sophomore and junior year, they totally redid the bedrooms and got rid of the furniture.  I snatched this set and knew someday I'd use it in my daughter's room (to display her owls)...ha! 

I used these stacking bins in her closet and they just so happened to fit perfectly into the dresser drawers as well.  They're a great way to keep the drawers decluttered. 

Baby clothes and swim suits

bloomers 

and panties. 

Like I said, it's still a work in progress, but I'm please with how it turned out so far!

fitted sheets

Why are these little boogers so darn hard to fold? 

Well, here it goes...my version of how to fold a fitted sheet!

1. place your hand in one corner of the sheet insideout.

2. place the pocket on the opposite side over the inside out corner.  Flip so one corner is inside the other corner and they are both right side out. 

3. repeat with the other corners until they are all folder inside one another. Lay it out and make sure it's in a rectangle with straight edge on all sides.

4. now fold over once longways.

5. fold to desired width. 

I don't know if that makes sense, but that's how I do it.  I like for them all to be folded the same size and shape so the stack nicely, especially in Addi's closet.  Crib sheets are easy to fold, it's the regular bed sizes that get tricky just because of their size.

Do you have any tricks or tips to folding fitted sheets?

snowman kit

Hopefully our snow is over for this year and we won't have to get out our snowman kit again until next year.  These are just a few things that I collected and stuck in a box so we'll know right where they are next time we need them!  Of course a few things are missing from the kit that we can just add at the last minute like a scarf, hat and gloves but those things are fun to change up anyway.

Our box includes:

Buttons (various shapes, colors and sizes are fun)

Eyes (2 large black rocks in the square box)

Carrot (I bought fake ones at Hobby Lobby so we'd always have them. I don't keep large carrots in my fridge at all times.)

Mouth (black stones for mouth...you can use lots of things here, but I just stuck these in as a last resort.  We may find something more entertaining when we build our next snowman, who knows?)

And just because this year all of our sticks were under the snow and it was difficult to find something for the arms, I'm throwing in some k-bob skewers.  They work just fine in a bind. 

Just put everything in a box and store it somewhere handy.  Then you'll always have the necessities when the snow starts falling! 

Other fun things you could include would be

costume jewelry

a crown

fancy hats (thrift stores would be good for this)

]sunglasses

wax lips (probably have to pick these up around Halloween)

wigs

The possibilities are really endless!!

LuLu even had the great idea to mix a dab of red food coloring and water in a small spray bottle and then spray the "cheeks" to make them rosy!

What are some other fun things that you could add?  I'd love to hear your ideas...our box still has plenty of room!!

timeout damage

One morning, Addi was having a hard time making good decisions and found herself in timeout.  The next thing it knew, it got very quiet, which is never a good sign.  I walked in to find this:

That would be one of my dining room chairs and the cording ripped off!  Here's the total damage!  I have never been so furious with her!  In the end, it's just a chair and I was able to glue it back together, but I'm pretty sure she got the point to never touch the dining room chairs again.  I hope.

storage solutions

I am in MAJOR clean out/organizing mode right now! Our guest room that is now going to be Addi's new room was basically full of all of my stuff! That closet was home to office supplies, craft supplies, files, sewing stuff and so much more!  Well I've had to get really creative with my spaces! 

I'm a huge fan of the over the door shoe pockets right now! 

Here are where most of my craft supplies now live...in our hot water heater closet. 

I also put some in our hallway closet for miscellaneous items...

And our office supplies. 

I know I already posted about this in one of my "for the love of labels" but as Addi has accumulated more art supplies, I've had to get more tubs!  She's now almost totally taken over one of my kitchen cabinets, but I like having her stuff there for easy access so I didn't mind giving it up. 

Well since our "office" is now in the linen closet, I've moved our spare sheets into a tub that slides under our bed.  (More under the bed storage coming soon).

I labeled on both sides of the interior of the tub so the correct sheets would get put in the right place.  It also has their size and color and since they're all different sizes, this is helpful! 

Afraid your sheets will smell like plastic?  Just be sure to fold up a few dryer sheets and tape one to the inside of the lid and you'll be fine!

Well that's all for now.  I've got more coming though.  I know this is going to keep you on the edge of your seat, but try not to lose sleep over this! Ha!

new entry

Well like most things around my house, the entry project is definitely a work in progress!  You might remember me posting about it in January HERE.  I was looking for this area to serve a few purposes.

1. A place for our coats and bags to hang

2. A place for our gloves, hats, and miscellaneous items to land instead of being all over the house

3. Something that would be easy for Addison to reach so she can hang up her own belongings (yeah right!)

4. Also incorporate space for Little Sister's (LS) things too!

Here is my before picture:

I moved the cubbies into my laundry room and bought some smaller sections of hooks for the girls. 

Here are hooks LS's...empty and waiting for her!

Like I said, it's a work in progress, but it's a step in the right direction.  I raised the large panel of hooks up for Scott and I to use and then I hung up two smaller panels of hooks for the girls.  I found these great mesh baskets at the Contianer Store HERE and I have them hanging on my favorite 3M Command hooks. They are the perfect catch all for gloves, hats, treasures, school papers, etc.! 

I know it will be a while before LS actually has jackets for her hooks, but they are ready when she is!! In the beginning it will be a great spot for diaper bag, school bag, etc.

I also found this hanging wall pocket at Wal-Mart.  It's great for extra keys, iPods, magazines, etc.

So here's the wall without any of our stuff hanging up, although it will never look this way, I'm sure! 

Addi Bear and Baby Bear's hooks... 

Daddy Bear and Mama Bear's hooks. 

I'm happy with the way it's turned out.  I still have some ideas, but it's functioning really well for now. 

I know we can't all have this:

but it's nice to dream, right?