the transition begins...

So, Nathon turns 13 years old today. As his mother, I've been putting off this moment as long as possible, but the clock kept on ticking against my will. I can pretend I didn't see it coming, but I've seen the signs all along. Even though I want to deny it, I have to admit that I could hear the relentless "tick-tock" echoing in my heart with every passing year, and with every milestone he's accomplished.

Even this morning when I gave Nathon his Happy Birthday hug, I warned him that he's not an "official teenager" until 9:31pm tonight. You see, he was born at 8:31pm, but that was when we lived in Arkansas, which is in the Central Time Zone. And now we live in Georgia, which is an hour later. (Silly, I know...now who's acting like a little kid, right?!)

I blinked, and somehow, the boy is already taller than me, and wears bigger shoes. I've noticed that his voice isn't cracking as much as it did even just a few months ago. The boyish features on his face are morphing into a young man's right before my eyes (even if there is an occasional blemish - sorry Nate... just keepin' it real).

I'm constantly amazed at how much Nathon can do on his own now. He helps me so much when Bryan's travelling (not always without complaining, mind you). He walked himself to swim practice nearly every morning in June. He walks the dog and goes off with his friends riding bikes around the neighborhood. He takes out the trash and mows the lawn and grills our burgers. He's becoming more self-sufficient and responsible all the time.

So, it seems that Hot Wheels, Legos, Transformers, action figures, and light sabers are on the way out. (OK, maybe not light sabers...) And while I definitely won't mourn the loss of those toys, I am sad because it means that my baby boy is growing up and leaving those things behind (as much as any boy ever really does leave childhood things behind, anyway). Those things will soon be replaced by wakeboarding, competitive swimming, deodorant, iPods, electric guitars, friends, and Facebook profiles. (...and girls. Don't forget girls. Maybe girls won't happen right away, but soon enough, I'm sure!)

He may still have a lot to learn, but he's got a smart mind, a strong, healthy body, and a loving, caring heart (even when he covers it up with his teenage "bad-itude"). He has so many other great qualities too. Like not being intimidated to talk to people, being willing to ask for things he wants, and not being afraid to express his thoughts and opinions.

I'm so proud to have Nathon as my firstborn son. I can't wait to see where God is going to lead him in life. And I'm so glad that I get to be part of it.

So, today we begin the next chapter of Nathon's life: Adolescence. The teenage years. His journey into manhood.

My heart may not be ready, but I know he is.

coming out of my closet

What's coming out of my closet, you ask? I'm almost too embarrassed to tell you that there were SEVEN (count them, 7!) large, black garbage bags full of clothes! (Not to mention all of the papers and other items that didn't belong in there. EVER.) And our closet's not small. And it's still full. And I haven't done laundry yet.

I forgot to take "before" pictures of the closet, but I'll check and see if Amanda took any.

Anyway, the results are undeniably wonderful!

Look!!! Carpet!!!

Can I just say...I'm SO very glad to have that tedious task behind us now!


Getting rid of so much stuff all at once has been much harder than I thought it would be. I guess that's why my house was in such a horrible state to begin with, but I can see how the bad habits and lack of discipline that Bryan & I have developed over the years have trickled down to our children. Wait 'til you see the photos of the kids' rooms. Then you'll understand. They're coming soon, so stay tuned...

look inside!

Well, I showed you pictures of what the bathroom looks like all organized. I'm happy to report that it STILL looks that way more than a week later!

Today, I thought I'd give you a little peek into the drawers & cabinets to show that the organization is not just a facade.

So, without further ado, I give you "The Dental Drawer!"

We also have a perfume drawer, a lotion drawer, a q-tip and cotton ball drawer, and a drawer for hair stuff.









This tall, skinny cabinet has always baffled me. I could've thought of a million uses for it in my kitchen - storing cooling racks, cutting boards, pizza stones, or cookie sheets. But, in the bathroom it posed a huge dilemma.

At only 5 inches wide, we couldn't fit a trash can or any kind of shelf in there. So, we decided to take the TP that I buy in bulk out of the larger under-the-sink cabinet and stack it in here. Pure genius! It was Amanda's idea. See, sometimes it just takes a fresh set of eyes to be able to see things differently.



















This is the space in my closet that's supposed to serve as a "linen closet." I hate it because it's so dang tiny. We moved the sheets to my husband's nightstand drawer, and consolidated all of the medications in those bins on the top shelf. The smaller bin is for children's meds, and the larger one for adult meds. The next shelf down has little drawers for ointments & band-aids and stuff like that. Then the towels can take up the rest of the shelves.



















LOOK!! An EMPTY DRAWER!!

















Need I say more?!

the bathroom of my dreams

BEFORE: Cluttered (& dusty) countertops, desperately disorganized drawers & cabinets




















AFTER: Cleaned & cleared countertops, storage that makes sense!

1 BIG bag of garbage
1 bag of items to give away (FreeCycle)
1 bag of items to move to other rooms (downstairs)

Maybe I'll even take pictures of the cabinets & drawers so you can see a little more detail of what we accomplished.

Amanda insisted on organizing my bathroom and bedroom before doing the kids' rooms. She says people (especially moms) notoriously put themselves last out of concern for their kids, so one of her "rules" is that the master suite gets organized FIRST.

I think I like her more and more every day. Even though she's making me get rid of stuff.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I do believe I'd like to take a relaxing bath...

P.S. - We have also been working in the Guest room/Home Office, but we aren't quite finished yet, so those pictures will be posted after we get some furniture moved around. Also, we are waiting on some minor construction in the basement (school room & sitting area) before we can finish up down there. Next stop - my bedroom & closet!

it's a start...

Well, I spent the whole day Saturday working with my professional organizer, Amanda. She suggested that we begin in the basement because there was a lot of stuff there that needed to get moved upstairs, and also because there are a lot of things upstairs that need to be moved to the basement, but don't really have a place to go.

Here are some "Before" pictures of the basement kitchen and the newly-built storage closet off of our exercise room. The shelf in the kitchen has all my cake decorating supplies, and the one in the closet had mostly stuff that belonged in the garage, but we decided to use it to house all of Bryan's computer parts, which are currently scattered all over the house.

So, after hauling stuff up to the garage and going through a ton of paper and computer parts, here is the result:

Now I finally have room to get cabinets in the basement kitchen! Maybe I better get it done quickly, before that empty space gets filled up with something else!

We also worked in the school room quite a bit, but the progress isn't as dramatic. Maybe I'll post pictures of the school room progress later this week, after she comes back on Wednesday night. We have big plans for the school room. The idea is straight out of Pottery Barn Kids, so stay tuned.

WFMW: (hypothetical) Sonic drink trick

Let's just say that you like to go to Sonic once in a while, as you're out in the summer heat running errands, for their 1/2 price drinks at Happy Hour (between 2pm-4pm everyday). And when you go, you usually happen to have two or three children with you. Hypothetically.

So, being the generous, loving mother that you are, you offer to purchase a refreshing, ice-cold beverage for your thirsty offspring. Next, the precious children in the back seat catch a glimpse of the enticing menu at the drive-in, and their eyes pop out of their sockets when they see the ice cream treats offered up for sale. The children begin asking, begging and pleading for such things as sundaes and root-beer floats and Blasts with bits of candy infused into it.

But, alas, these items are NOT 1/2-price during Happy Hour, and being the budget-conscious wife that you are, you tell the little darlings that you're there for the 1/2-price drinks, so they need to choose a beverage quickly, because you don't have all day, and dadgum it, you've already pushed the button to place your order! This makes the kids sad, and a little scared to make eye contact.

(ahem...)

Then, a glorious light from heaven shines down onto the drink menu at your local Sonic drive-in, and you notice that they now offer the flavor shots for FREE. (woo-hoo!) FREE is budget-conscious, and extra flavorings are generous, so this is a perfect solution. Inspired, even.

Now, you may have in mind the traditional flavor mix-ins, like cherry or vanilla, but if you keep an open mind, you (and/or your children) may enjoy mixing new and exciting flavorings into your otherwise ordinary drinks. For example, you may like Cherry Coke, OR your taste buds might be tingled by something different, like Blackberry Sprite. Hmmm?? Mmmm...

My personal favorite lately is Cranberry Limeade. My son used to order Chocolate Dr. Pepper, which sounds to me like it would taste like I threw up in my mouth a little bit. (I might consider trying chocolate Coke if I was PMSing really bad.)

But, quite possibly the most ingenious idea I've ever come up with in response to the incessant requests for Ye Olde Root Beer Float is this: Add a FREE shot of Vanilla flavoring to a regular Root Beer beverage! Tastes EXACTLY the same, and it's STILL 1/2 PRICE!!

See? You get to stick to your budget AND go down in history as the Best Mom Ever! What could be better than that?! Hypothetically.

Hypothetical Disclaimer: I'm probably the LAST person on Earth to figure this out, so I apologize if I'm telling y'all something you already know.

Oh, and don't forget to go back to Rocks in my Dryer for 200+ other (non-hypothetical) tips & tricks.

***UPDATED TO ADD: This idea would definitely work at QT too, where drinks are cheap all the time. They also have FREE flavor shots (just vanilla & cherry I believe). But, add the vanilla to the root beer and voila!

AND.... DID YOU ALSO KNOW THAT SONIC SELLS THEIR FABULOUS CRUSHED ICE IN 7-lb. BAGS?!? THEY DO! (The one near us sells them for $1 apiece, plus tax.)

ALSO.... Speaking of drink tricks... Since I don't like Cherry Coke, I don't buy it in the 2-liter bottles. My daughters like it, though, but we just wouldn't go through a whole bottle before it went flat. So I buy a jar of stem-less marachino cherries and use the cherries & juice to "make" our own homemade Cherry Coke whenever they request it. It's a big hit in our house.

That is all. Class dismissed.

WFMW: Crazy Beauty Tips

OK, I see that it's Works for Me Wednesday, but I don't really have anything original to contribute. However, I was reading an interesting article online today and learned a few things, so I thought I'd share.

Some of these tips I've done myself (...like shaving my legs with conditioner, or putting powder in my hair when I didn't shower), other tips I've heard but not tried (...like putting toothpaste on a zit, or curing callouses with Vaseline), and even a few that were new to me and I'm looking forward to trying (...like mixing regular lotion with baby oil, perfume or body bronzer, or freezing eyeliner pencils before using them for a cleaner line).

Hopefully they really work! Now get back to Rocks in my Dryer for more WFMW tips.