Wednesday, February 16, 2011

catch-all

Does everyone have a catch-all room or space?  Admittedly, we have a LOT of stuff.  We try to sort through and get rid of stuff we don't need anymore, but it's been a while since I've done that, so things are kind of piling up on me.  We have part of the basement still unfinished for storage, but sadly, that is full, and all the excess stuff is spilling out and ending up in the office that is really supposed to be a dining room.  I don't mind that room ending up as a storage are since it's not a room I have to be in much, but I do hate it because of the room's location.  It is right inside the front door.  So, when people come over, or someone comes to the door, the first thing they see is a room that looks like we are hoarders.  For real, it's bad right now.  It's not stacked up to the ceiling, but it's pretty full, and there really is just a path around the table in the room.  The rest of the floor is full of stuff, and there is stuff piled on top of that stuff.  It's so bad, but I don't know what else to do with it all right now.  I want to have a garage sale this spring to get rid of most of it, but in the mean time, it's just sitting in the office taking up space.
If you don't have a catch-all room, how do you keep stuff from piling up?  Do you not have extra stuff?  I do not consider myself a "stuff" person.  When I sort through the excess, if it hasn't been used since the last sort, or 6 months, then it goes in the 'get rid of' pile, but somehow over the years, we've still amassed a ton.  I'm sure part of it is having 5 kids and all the gear, toys, and clothing that they need, but even without them, I bet this would still be an issue, though maybe on a smaller scale.  Please tell me we are not the only house/family with this problem.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

bathroom pictures

Haha, oops!  Just realized I forgot to add pictures of the bathroom to the last post.  Unfortunately, I didn't take a pic of the room with the carpet, but it was the same as the living room carpet, so just use your imagination.  :)


color before


color after

and a picture of the tile. (yes the transition strip is missing between the tile and wood, but it's there now)

I haven't put the mirror back up yet either because I'm going to get it cut down.  It was so big before (as wide as the vanity), and I feel like it would look better if it was a smaller size.

Next up for renovations at the house;  putting a bathroom in the basement.  I think we'll be hiring professionals to do the plumbing and electrical down there, and then Sean and I will do the rest.  I don't need a flood or a fire in the house because we tried to do it ourselves, lol!

Monday, February 14, 2011

New floors

In the past few weeks we put in new flooring in the living room, foyer, and main floor bathroom.  The living room and bathroom had carpet, and the foyer had linoleum, and all of that was the stuff put in when we built the house 5 1/2 years ago.  It was all decent flooring originally, but with all the kids, the carpet was pretty awful, and the linoleum had been marked up some, and I figured if we were replacing the living room floor, we may as well do the foyer since they run together.  What I didn't know was there was an extra piece of underlayment under the linoleum that would be a royal pain to remove, but by the time we realized how hard it was going to be, it was too late to change our minds.  Even though it was a much bigger job than we thought it would be, I'm so glad we got it all done with the exception of the extra trim that I need to paint and install.  We put a wood laminate floor in the living room and foyer, and tile in the bathroom.  Originally I wanted hardwood, but we just couldn't justify spending that kind of money right now, especially if we end up moving in the next year.
I also painted the bathroom a neutral tan.  I loved the color in the powder room, but it was definitely not something everyone would love.  So, since we were tearing everything else out to do the floor, it just made sense to repaint now.
Now, the pictures.

good-bye carpet

hello new floor!

and of course a picture of the cutest helper ever.  She was helping put down the underlayment.  :)



See that mark on Jackson's right cheek?  He found a magic marker...  OOPS!


This was where all the kids gathered to watch the carpet start to come out.  It was such an exciting/interesting process for the kids to watch.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

neglect

How on earth do other moms juggle it all?  I feel like in order to get one thing done, I have to neglect something else.  If I need to clean house, I don't spend as much time playing with the kids.  If I want to do something for me, I neglect spending time with the family.  I really feel overwhelmed lately by all I should be getting done each day.  For a couple weeks my house was really clean, but I realized it was at the expense of my kids, and it hadn't been much fun for them while I was cleaning and not playing with them.  The sad thing is, I wasn't doing any deep cleaning that desperately needs to be done.  I was just trying to keep up with the bare minimum around here. 
As a family of 7, we generate enough dishes, laundry, clutter, and crumbs to keep me plenty busy almost all day every day. By the time Sean gets home I barely have enough energy to get us all fed and the kids into bed.  Once the kids are in bed, I'm so exhausted I just CAN'T motivate myself to do anything other than sit on the couch, mess around online, and watch tv.  I know this is bad, and if I could force myself to do just one hour of work after bedtime, I would get a ton of things done, but knowing and doing are two different things.
I am so embarrassed by the state my house is in right now.  Sean's sister and her family stopped by unexpectedly Monday night, and I was so sorry that had to see our house in it's current state.  Part of the problem is we are putting down a new floor in the main floor living room, but aside from that, the island is so full of stuff you can't even tell what color the countertop is, the floor is scattered with crumbs and dirt tracked in from the snowy mess outside, and of course, the basement is just one big toy box with toys everywhere.  My brother-in-law assured me the house was fine, and no big deal, and the mess was minimal considering we have 5 kids, but I wanted to crawl in a hole.
I know things will get better as the kids all get older and not only are able to help out, but need me less.  I met a mom of 4 at the orthodontist last week, and she was the sweetest, nicest lady ever.  Her kids are older, and she saw me struggling with all the kids in the waiting room and she jumped right in and helped me out.  I asked her to tell me it gets better, and she said, "No, just hard in different ways." I already knew that, but talking to her really did help.  She reminded me I am at the most physically demanding stage of motherhood.  All the kids need me for so many things right now and spending all my energy taking care of them is leaving me with no energy to take care of myself or the house. 
Imagine dividing your energy reserves among 4 people, and see how little you are left with.  It's no wonder I'm wiped out at the end of the day.  I think the mental exhaustion is just as bad as the physical.  The kids wear me down so much some days I just feel like crying.  Then I feel guilty I'm not enjoying the kids while they are young, since I know I'll miss these days when they are all grown. 
So am I alone in feeling like it's a constant neglect juggling act?  Is it like this for all moms?  Is it just worse because I have 5 fairly young kids instead of just one or two?

And mama Sue, sorry I haven't blogged in a while, it's obvious neglect is creeping in here too.  :)