Category Archives: home projects

From Cold to Cozy

November 5, 2009fall, home projectsKirsetin

This morning started out cold and blustery. The dark skies and bitter rain led me straight to the fireplace. I sat at the kitchen table working and felt infinitely better looking over at this:

The candles (on the mantle)? One of my favorite purchases eva!

Here’s the deal. We were visiting our very dear friends in Wisconsin last summer, kids in tow. The live in a lovely town, with an unbelievably low crime rate, where kids roam free more often than not. Our boys loved the chance to head out without us! One day, after they returned from their adventures, we sat down to a lovely dinner. (‘We’ meaning the grown-ups. I think we fed the kids pizza in some other room.) Around 11 or so we decided to get the kids into sleeping bags and beds, and as we turned the lights out I noticed that my friend’s candle was still burning. I was worried about it burning through the night & asked her if she’d like me to blow it out.

“Sure,” she smiled, “go ahead.”

And when I bent over the wick, I saw this:

Although that may appear to be a flame, it is, in fact, a tiny little light bulb. With a timer! I’m tellin’ ya. Did I grow up in a corn field? I’d never heard of such innovation. Of course, I wanted one for myself.

Being a bit more frugal than my dear friend, I didn’t purchase right away. And the frugality gods smiled upon me and sent the lovely candles to Costco, who put them on their shelves so I could buy them and all would be right with my fall decor.

And with that little purchase, a dreary, cold, rainy morning became a lovely, warm, cozy day.

(If you simply must have these candles, too, and can’t find them at Costco, check Restoration Hardware (currently on sale) or Amazon.)

Keeping Kids Organized

October 5, 2009home projects, organizingKirsetin

Right off the bat, let’s get this out of the way: we are not, by any stretch of the imagination, the most organized family on the block. We like order. We crave it, even. But with 85 million legos and 14 footballs, plus myriad scooters, tennis balls, lacrosse sticks, and soccer balls, we have a very small chance of winning a “Most Organized Family” prize on any given day of the week.

However…

There are a few areas where we shine. (Don’t look in my vehicle – that’s NOT one of them.) A few months ago, when I posted about our locker project, phd in yogurty left this comment:

“Please tell me it stays neat like that forever.”

At the time, I had my doubts. But we added a few bins, set the expectations, and voila! Our kitchen counter may be overflowing with of random piles of paper, but our lockers are neat and tidy, people. Neat and tidy.

(Boys currently at school = no coats or backpacks on hooks. Even tidier!)

What does this really mean?

We can find school papers!

We can find boots and gloves and all the rest of that bitter-cold winter stuff.

We can usually find a few extra socks down in the shoe bins. Not clean ones, mind you, but still.

We can hide stuff in the baskets when company’s coming over.

We like how it looks when we walk in the door.

If you don’t have lockers, you have a couple of options. Build some, like we did. Or be creative with the space you have to achieve the same outcome. Find a place for shoes, backpacks, and mittens, and you, too, will be able to find dirty socks, whenever you need them.

If You Find A Tiny Piece of Rotten Wood…

May 26, 2009cottage, hard work, home projects, kid's choresKirsetin

I took the day off from blogging yesterday, but Heather said what I would’ve said anyway. With two words, and two images, she said it all. Thanks, Heather.

And because I am a girl who likes to relax on her holidays, a girl who really believes in life balance and taking time off, I spent yesterday lounging by the pool, watching my kids frolic, and enjoying the frosty beverage in my hand. Ahhh, the peace.

Oh wait, no, that’s not right. What I meant was that I spent the day scraping and mixing and painting and sweating.

I did enjoy watching my kids, but they weren’t frolicking so much as moaning about the injustice of having to dig and pull weeds all afternoon.

At one point, my eldest claimed a stomachache. It’s fair to say that his paint-covered, suspicious parents didn’t show much empathy for the shirker. Get back to work, buddy, and here—take this barf bag with you, just in case. Funny how he recovered so quickly.

Since we were planning such a big workday yesterday, you might think we took it easy when my mom and dad came into town last week. Well, you’d think. Also, you might think we’d consider their long drive, that we’d wonder if they were tired, or wanted to do something fun. Or, you might think I’m the kind of daughter that says, “Hey dad, can you help me repair this tiny little rotten wood around our door frame?”

If you thought the latter, you’d be right.

And if you’ve ever had a tiny little rotten piece of wood around your door frame, you know the rest of the story, right? There is NEVER a tiny little rotten piece of wood. It’s ALWAYS hiding a bigger problem. My suggestion? Ignore it. Paint over it. Look the other way. But, dear Lord, don’t ask your dad to take it out, because you will end up with this.

And then this.

The good news is that in the end both the door frame and the paint job look good. But I am definitely ignoring that other tiny little piece of rotting wood. Definitely.