Organized Chaos

Sometimes I feel like that describes my life perfectly - organized chaos. Being a mom of three is never an easy job. It's insanely busy, there are no breaks, not even when you have to go to the bathroom - if they're not in there with you, they're banging on the door wanting something that just can't wait! Some days I find myself just counting down the hours until they're finally in bed for the night and I can relax! Of course, growing Baby #4 doesn't help the situation. I'm over-tired and not nearly as patient as I know I should be. Don't get me wrong - I love my kids - they make my heart smile in ways I didn't know possible! But the longer I parent, the more I realize how much I need organization in my life.

I've always been a bit of a neat freak. My room was never super messy as a kid and I liked having a 'certain' spot for everything. I'm still that way today, especially in my kitchen. Some may think I'm crazy or slightly OCD, but when the power went out a few months ago and it was pitch black in the house, nobody complained that Mommy knew exactly where to go to find candles and a lighter. :)

This past weekend, my compulsive organizational nature struck again. My husband sometimes gets annoyed with me, as I like to rearrange furniture or move this or change that - but I feel better once I've accomplished what I set my mind to. I often find myself sitting and envisioning, "If I move this here, then that will fit better over here", etc. I find it cathartic in ways I never knew possible. Case in point this weekend was our basement. It frequently becomes known as a 'disaster zone', mainly because of our very active 20 month old who would rather empty out every single toy bin and bookshelf than actually sit and play with the toys. But I found myself also feeling like things just weren't quite arranged in the most efficient way possible. So I set to work moving bookshelves and organizing papers. I'm still working on it today, but I'm almost done and it's like a breath of fresh air to feel organized and on top of things! Of course, by this point in the day, the 20 month old has already emptied one of the bookshelves and gotten into the colouring papers, so they are laying strewn about half the basement. *Sigh* Organized chaos indeed!

More Sewing Projects

It's that time again when we are ready to transition our 'baby' into a big boy bed. He's more than ready and I've been very excited about this for over a month already. However, we knew we had to wait until Christmas to have money for a new mattress for Cohen's bed. We ordered it last week and it was finally in today, so it's all set up and ready for him to sleep in tonight. The most excited part of putting a child into a new bed (for me, at least) is picking out new bedding for said bed. As the comforter we bought for Shaela is not holding up well at all, I didn't relish the idea of spending another $60+ on something that wasn't going to last more than a year or two. I decided that for Cohen I would attempt making him a quilt. I had some material left over from making the valance and crib skirt and I envisioned it would look fantastic on a quilt. Having never made one before I just sort of winged-it, and although it is far from perfect, it turned out a lot better than I imagined it might. It looks so great on his bed and I'm so excited for him to sleep with it tonight!

 All spread out on his bed. It's hard to really get the full effect in this shot, since the safety rail blocks it from falling over the edge of the bed, so you can get a better view of it in the next two shots. The four corners are the same material as the valance on the window. 

 

 Side one. This one is made of cotton and will be on the top for now. In the summers he can flip it over to have the 'cool side' down.

 Side two. This side is flannel and the colours are opposite of Side one. Made it this way so that this side can be down in the winter to help keep him warmer. We also invested in some fleece sheets, so hopefully he'll be nice and toasty tonight. :)