Peer pressure/Inspiration

So, I think part of my lack of ability to create anything crafty is the constant state of chaos that my house is in. I'm a very Type-A person (ok, anal) so any clutter or mess really bothers me. My friend Virginia started this week long cleaning kick and I think I'm going to jump on the wagon. Maybe if I really concentrate on actually organizing/putting away I'll have enough energy left to sit and be crafty. So, here's my plan

Day 1: Laundry: Not just washed/dried but folded, on hangers and put away. I'd like to actually clean my laundry area too!

Day 2: Master Bedroom/Bathroom: Yikes. Let's just say our room has been the catch all for "quick, company is coming so hide the junk that's out so it looks like the house is clean" Hush, you know you do it too.

Day 3: Boys rooms/bathroom: I think I can do all three in one day, O's room stays pretty clean minus the trashcan full of diapers that always sneaks up on me and the bathroom should be pretty easy. Ari's room is going to be the time consumer.

Day 4: Family room/downstairs bathroom: This is the room we live in, it has Ari's toy area and my scrap area plus the TV, furniture... pretty much everything. This might take more than a day...

Day 5: Living room/Kitchen: They're connected, makes sense to do both in the same day.

I'm really going to hold myself accountable. It's been quite a while since I've actually cleaned my house though so my goals might not be realistic. Before you go thinking I'm gross and that we live in squalor know that I've been hiring cleaning help since about April. Every two weeks the house gets totally clean, just not by me! I will post before and after pictures so you can see my progress, wish me luck!

I found it!

My mojo, that is!! It's been missing for almost a year *gulp* but it finally returned this week in the form of sweet little birds and butterflies. What can I say, pregnancy absolutely sucked every last bit of craftiness right out of me, then Oscar zapped what little energy I had left. Now, at almost 4 months old, he's easing up on me a bit.

So, back to the craftiness... My good friend Karen is preggers with twins, one of each actually and since the babes are going to be sharing a nursery she wanted to do something really special for them. Actually, her nursery is the same shape as Oscar's room (she lives in my neighborhood, right up the street) so that huge wall with the vaulted ceiling has an adorable 12 foot tree painted on it. Since she's having a boy and a girl we settled on bluebirds for the little man and butterflies for the miss. I've made two butterflies and need to hit up my LSS for some blue paper for the birdies. I'll have them all done this weekend and once we get them up I'm sure she'll let me take pictures and share.

That little bit of creativity (and shopping at the Silhouette online store for designs) really sparked my mojo and I have tons of project ideas swarming in my head. I'm actually getting out my handy dandy notebook (did I just say that?? Ari is watching Blue's Clues in the other room... sheesh) to get my ideas down before I lose them. QuicKutz has some super cool word designs that kind of fold in half like a photo corner, I'm thinking some vinyl applied to the wall around a door frame would look pretty neat.

I just wanted to share, I'm so excited to finally have some ideas. It's totally a step in the right direction. I have to clean my house today, I'm hosting game night for several mommy friends here tonight and that means a clean slate to get all crafty tomorrow with no chores standing in the way. Yay!

Other than that, not much going on. Ari got two flu shots yesterday, his second seasonal booster and his first H1N1 so we're hanging close to home today to let him chill. That and the hurricane outside (Ida, she's really dumping on us) makes it a good day to stay in jammies all warm and cozy. I don't really have any pictures to share... next post I'll make sure to have some!

Little Men

I'm still trying to get Halloween costume pictures, we got downpoured on while Trick or Treating and neither boy seems to want to cooperate getting pictures taken. So, here are some autumn pictures that we took this week! Enjoy!