This and That

 

 My new BFF.  No lie.  This "5-in-one" tool is the single most handy thing I have every used in my life.  It gets gunk up of the floor and everything else like none other.

Things are finally starting to fall into place around these parts!  All of our outsourcing is finally scheduled, and the countdown to list by the 17th is on.  This week is jam-PACKED with all kinds of stuff {both house and non-house-related}, and I'm pretty sure things will only get crazier as the weeks go on.  As things are winding down that I,  personally, can take care of -- i.e. cleaning, organizing, scheduling -- I am looking forward to seeing things shape up as our outsourced work begins.  

And just what exactly is that work, you wonder?  Well, for starters, there's carpet cleaning.  Boom -- checked off the list yesterday.  Some electrical work.  Double boom -- taken care of by 9 o'clock this morning.  A little painting {the front hall and stairway} and general fix-it stuff -- boom, boom, and boom.  Started this afternoon and will hopefully be finished up by tomorrow.  At this point, all that's left to be done is some landscaping {to boost our curb appeal} and a little power washing/deck-staining action to round out the picture.  Things are definitely beginning to shape up.

With a LITTLE more free time on my hands over the last few days, I've taken on a new project for the house.  After painting and neutralizing the look of the Living Room, I felt it needed a little something to keep it from looking so bland.  A quick trip to Target and Home Goods supplied some color in the form of throw pillows, but I also got it into my head that what the room really needed was a big piece of artwork.  And you know me -- once I get something into my head, I don't rest until it's out.  So, Saturday night a whipped up a copycat painting of THIS print by Laura Gunn:

{original piece by Laura Gunn}

I changed things up by going with a darker magenta for the flower color and a pale yellow background, but decided as soon as I was finished that I wasn't crazy about the colors.  So, last night I attempted to lighten the petals and make the background a creamier, less yellow hue.  Unfortunately, I got a late start thanks to children who wouldn't go to sleep and only finished one of the flowers before it was midnight and I decided I should probably just go to bed myself.  During naptime today, I finished everything up and once again decided the coloring wasn't quite right for the room.  So, in a last ditch effort I lightened and brightened the backdrop to a pale, icy blue and finally liked the end result of my painting.  However, I'm still not sure if it works for the Living Room.  Now I'm trying to decide if I should leave it as it is and just find a different spot for it to hang, or go back to the drawing board once again and tweak some colors here and there.  Thoughts and opinions are welcome.

 First edition.

Half-way through the second edition.

And the final edition.

And just in case you're wondering what the painting is going up against, here are some photos of the new Living Room decor.  

And there you have it.  The latest comings and goings over at our house.  Things are about to get even more exciting around here once my little sister, Amy, flies in tomorrow morning and comes to my rescue once more!  She is a super nanny, ultra cleaner, worker bee and errand-runner extraordinaire and I'm so glad she is coming to help.  :) 

From Here to Eternity

Eleven years ago, right now, Scott was curled up in a ball on the bathroom floor of our Bed and Breakfast room having just puked his guts out.  Hahahaha.  True story.  But one that will have to wait for a Flashback Friday.  Perhaps Scott himself will guest blog to tell the tale.

For tonight's post, I thought I'd regale you with a recap of how we spent our 11th Anniversary!  For starters, I yelled at the kids so soundly last night for trashing the living room I had spent all day cleaning that I think I may have damaged my vocal chords.  Hmmmmm.  There IS a reason why my siblings all called me "Mouth" while growing up.  I woke up this morning with no voice, a raging headache, and bone-tired thanks to a few night's in a row of truncated sleep thanks to a certain itchy 8 year old.   The majority of my day was spent doing pretty much nothing -- at least nothing house-related -- and I have to say it felt pretty good.  

The kids felt so bad for me this morning {because I sounded so terrible} that they were all remarkably helpful, cooperative, and non-problematic as we got ready for school and actually made it on time even though I didn't get out of bed until 8:17 this morning.  After waking up Grace -- who had fallen back asleep on the hard floor next to our bed after her middle of the night antics --  we made remarkable time in eating breakfast, making lunches, and getting out the door.  

Ethan won the super star award by getting Alex up, fed, and dressed all while I was still sleeping.

Once the kids were home from school, Ethan's day was made when he saw that the {30 dollar} video camera he ordered {without my knowledge} from Amazon had come in the mail.  To say he is a bit excited about it is an understatement.  He ended up using all the "Wii U" money he was earning to pay me back for his purchase and has made it ABUNDANTLY clear to the rest of the children that this is his camera and they are not allowed to touch it. 

The children then further blew my mind as they did their chores without any real complaining and I rewarded them by letting them watch some shows on TV while I ran to The Cheesecake Factory to pick up our anniversary dinner order for the evening.  As an extra treat, I decided to get a sampling of different cheesecake flavors for the kids to help us try out. 

By the time I got back, Scott was home and we ate a quick dinner while Jane hovered around asking if it was time for dessert yet.  We finally all finished up and dug into the cheesecake, then started putting kids down for bed.  Pretty much just the same old, same old.  And that was that.  Quite a nice day, if you ask me.  Hahaha.  {I know, I know -- this is kind of a lame post.}

In closing, I'll leave you with 11 reasons why Scott is the best.  {In no particular order.}

1.)   He does the dishes pretty much every night of our life.
2.)   He also does a LOT of laundry.
3.)   He pretty much never gets angry or upset.
4.)   He puts up with me and my many emotions.
5.)   He knows all kinds of trivia.
6.)   He has a fantastic sense of humor.
7.)   He's a mathemagician.
8.)   He makes a mean omelette.
9.)   He humors my ridiculous games.
10.) He loves me.
11.) And he is this close to being able to read my mind.  {And vice versa.} 

Happy Anniversary to us!

11 years down, eternity to go...

The Arts

This weekend we were treated to the delights of an All-District Art Fair.  Ethan, Grace, and Sophie all had pieces on display, so after putting Alex down for his nap yesterday and sneaking out while Jane was skyping with Muffy, the three older kids and I headed off for our little cultural excursion.  And it was quite the sight to see!  I have to say, I was really quite impressed with all the art on display from the elementary, middle, and high schools in the area.  While I took my leisurely time walking around the venue and enjoying myself immensely, the kids ran up and down and all around the stadium seating having a grand old time of their own.  It was a very successful outing.

Ethan -- Weaving With a Color Scheme

Grace -- Ice Cream Cone With Value

Sophie -- Primary Color Mixing

Although we were only there for about 20 or 30 minutes yesterday, it must have been enough to rejuvenate their artistic sensibilities.  After church this afternoon, the three older ones set up camp in the front yard to draw pictures of our house before we move.  I was quite impressed with their fortitude and dedication because it was way too chilly for my comfort to be out there!  Jane tagged along until she incurred the wrath of Ethan and Grace by drawing with sidewalk chalk on their pictures and was banned to the inside of the house.  The end results were still rather impressive and the two of them wasted no time in putting their pictures in poster frames as soon as they got in the house.  I have no idea what happened to Sophie's but since she doesn't seem to care, I don't have to either.  Hahaha.

Hard at work.  Look familiar?  {Check out the very last picture in the post.} Hahaha.

Jane's facial expression here kills me!  Hahahaha.

Ethan's Rendition of Our House

Grace's Rendition

And that concludes the artistic portion of the evening.  Although, I do have to say that my skill and speed at room painting this past week has become a fine art in and of itself.  Hahahaha.  I am finally DONE with all the painting, though  {I think.  At least for now.} -- and I can now move on to getting other important things done.  Like taking care of Alex and Jane on my own and making dinner for my family.  You know things like that.  There is no way I could have gotten everything done that I did this past week without all the help I had from friends who watched my little ones for me almost every single morning.  Painting 4 rooms in 4 days would have been an impossibility without their help, so THANK YOU!  :)

I'll close tonight's post with the last Before and Afters I think I'll have.  At least for now.  Maybe once we actually get the house up for sale I'll have a few more, but as of right now there is nothing left to see!  So, without further adieu, I present the newly painted bedrooms of Ethan-and-Sophie and Grace-and-Jane.

Grace-and-Jane's Room Before

{We had started testing out some different shades of blue before the realtor recommended going neutral.}

After

{I took the pictures before I had hung back up a few pieces of their artwork.}

{Another angle.  Ralph Lauren Antique Bone paint color is kind of our go-to neutral.  I love it.}  

Ethan-and-Sophie's Room Before

{I actually quite liked the green color of this room (and so did the realtor), but there was no paint cans left over in the basement to indicate what color the previous owners had used.  Repainting the room was a definite necessity, however, thanks to all the holes, gouges, and drawings that were strewn around the room.  So, Antique Bone it was.}

After

There you have it!  In non-house related news, our 11th Anniversary is coming up in TWO days.  And in a world where our celebrating has always been along the lines of "Go Big or Go Home," this year we will definitely be going home.  Probably to do some more cleaning and fixing up.  Hahaha.  Aren't we just the best love story that's never been told?  The answer is YES, we definitely are.  Hahahahaha.  Until next time, toodle-loo!

Everybody Still Loves a Before and After -- Right?

There's a corollary to the commandment that the Sabbath should be a day of rest, and it's "six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work."  Now, most of the time in my average daily life, the work that I do six days a week is not terribly physically demanding.  However, when we were getting ready to move here 3 years ago, I remember being so glad whenever Sunday rolled around because it meant I could finally take a break from all the cleaning and organizing and other stuff I was doing to get our house ready to sell.  Perhaps it was because the work I was doing was suddenly much more labor intensive, but having that day of complete rest was a welcome blessing each week.

I've been reminded of that feeling again and again over the last couple of weeks as I've been getting THIS house ready to sell.  It has been hard work!  And very physically demanding.  But the fruits of my labor have been rather rewarding to behold.  At least in the first few minutes before the kids mess it all up again.  Hahahaha.  Luckily, I managed to snap some before and after pictures of all the things I've done over the last week while they still look decent.  

First up is the Family Room.  Saturday's project was to not only clean up the room, but to actually detail and organize it, too.  Those bookshelves back there?  A mess.  The cabinets underneath?  Even messier.  A few hours worth of labor later and voila!  Clean, organized and clutter free.

  

Before...

After.

A Before of the Bookshelves...

And a couple of Afters.

Monday's project was to clean out and de-clutter the glass cabinets in the kitchen.  This took a LOT longer than you would think.  It was pretty much the only thing I accomplished off my list that day.  Not my most productive day's work.

Before...

After.

Yesterday was devoted to painting.  In an effort to neutralize the paint colors in the house, I bought a couple gallons of Sherwin Williams "Khaki Shade" and went to work.  {Sidenote -- I have made 3 trips to The Home Depot in the last 3 days.}  I actually really like painting -- it's such a satisfying before and after -- but even I was burnt out by 11 o'clock last night.  Because, YES.  That is what time I finished.  I started with Alex's room around 10 in the morning {thanks to my BFF, Natalie for taking the little ones until nap time}, finished a little after 4 and then started up on the living room a couple hours later.  I'm sore.  My hand hurts from holding the paintbrush and I'm getting a blister on my palm from using the roller.  Today's schedule was supposed to include painting Ethan's and Grace's rooms, but I couldn't muster up the energy to do it just yet.  Instead I put the living room back together and mopped the floor.  And also, went grocery shopping and made that 3rd trip to The Home Depot.   I'll tackle the rest of the painting tomorrow.

Alex's Room -- Before...

 This color is a lot tamer on camera.  In person, it was a visual assault on the eyes.  And yes, I realize that was redundant.  But that's just how bright it was.  I've been wanting to paint these walls for the entire 3 years we've lived here.  It was clearly not a top priority.  Hahaha.

After.

To end, I'll leave you with the Living Room before and after and a short little anecdote.  The before picture was taken on Sunday afternoon while I was taking advantage of all that resting and looking through some quilting patterns that I had drawn up a little while ago.  What this picture showcases is a Hansen family characteristic.  Every time something like the scene below happens, Scott shakes his head in bemusement and comments that they get THIS from me.  Just what is it that they get?  Well, anytime my family is together -- without fail -- we ultimately ALL end up congregated together in the smallest place possible.  Seriously -- it's like we're in a perpetual game of Sardines.  Hahaha.  In our own little family I am the magnet.  No matter where I go, eventually they will all find me and hover.  Once I sat down on the couch in the living room on Sunday, it was only a matter of time before everyone else would start trickling in as well.  And of course, we are on the smallest couch in the room.  The funniest part was that after Scott took this picture, I had finally had enough and moved to the other couch to have more space.  Jane immediately followed and sat practically on my lap, and one by one the others followed suit.  It was kind of hilarious.  And annoying all at the same time.  Hahahahaha.

Living Room -- Before...

and After.

And that's all folks.  I won't even bother boring you with how many comments I've gotten from Ethan over the last two days about how much he hates this color.  And all neutrals.  And thinks they look like mud.  And how ugly he thinks it all looks.  I seriously had a 20 minute circular conversation with him last night revolving around why I was painting it the color that I was.  He kept asking the same set of questions over and over again.  Why did the realtor say to paint it this color?  Why does it have to be neutral?  Why didn't you paint it the lighter color?  Over and over again and then following it up with some more commentary on how much he hated it.  Fun times!  The end result is that I am now having second thoughts about painting it this color, but oh well.  I'm not going to be painting it again EVER, so it will most likely stay the way it is.

So there you have it.  Wish me luck on tomorrow's paint job!

A Breakdown

break·down n.  

•       a. The act or process of failing to function or continue.

                   b. The condition resulting from this.

•       An analysis, an outline, or a summary consisting of itemized data or essentials.

I just love a multi-dimensional blog title, don't you?  This evening's post will reference not only the breakdown of today's House Beautiful project, but also the mental breakdown I experienced at day's end.  Now doesn't that sound fun?  Hahaha.

Technically, the Family Room was on today's agenda for Operation Get the House Ready to Sell.  But, knowing that our real estate agent was planning on coming over at some point tomorrow to take a look at what she has to work with, I decided it would probably be best to pass on the DEEP cleaning for the day and simply settle on regular cleaning the rest of the main floor.  I knocked that out of the ballpark by midday and decided to really go the extra mile by MOPPING the kitchen floor.  Because it was filthy.  And I don't even know the last time it's been cleaned.  Seriously -- I don't.  

After feeding the kids some lunch and putting Alex down for his nap, I hauled out the mop and bucket and the Murphy's Wood Soap and got to work.  {Sidenote -- I just looked up the Murphy's online and found out that apparently you're NEVER supposed to use it on wood floors.  Hmmmm.  What you CAN use is Windex.  What???}  An hour and a half or so later {and after having to change out the water in the bucket SEVERAL times} I was finally done.  And it looked spectacular.

View A -- Before

View A -- After

View B -- Before

View B -- After

View C -- Before

View C -- After

The Floors -- Before

 The Floors -- After

I finished up with the mopping just as Alex was waking up and let him and Jane head on down to the basement to watch a library DVD while I put everything away and tidied up some odds and ends.  It was only a few minutes later that the aforementioned mental breakdown occurred.   When I went down into the basement to help Jane put on a different movie, I discovered that all of my hard work from over the weekend was completely and totally destroyed.  Even though we had put all the bins and buckets of toys into storage after cleaning on Saturday night, we {foolishly} left the games and puzzles up on the shelves to put away another day.  Big mistake.  Huge.  

As I rounded the corner coming down the stairs, I was greeted with a scene of horrifying proportions.  Almost every puzzle we own was dumped out and scattered in a giant pile all around the TV and surrounding areas.  Also in that mix were a few board games and card games and the remnants of Jane's apple slices and cheese that she had asked me to get her for a snack earlier that afternoon.  And there were pillows and blankets everywhere.  It was a disaster.  And it completely incapacitated me.  Seriously.  Just ask Scott.  Because that's who I called up -- crying -- after yelling at Jane and Alex for making such a mess.  I have been working SO hard to get this house cleaned up and ready to go and this mess of theirs was just a giant metaphor for what this process has felt like to me.  Every time I turn around it seems like there's a new mess waiting for me to clean.  Or re-clean as the case may be.

I would have taken a picture for documentation sake, but I was too entrenched in my down-breaking to bother with getting a camera and snapping a shot.  The older kids got home from the bus while I was still sobbing to Scott on the phone and to their credit pitched right in to start cleaning up the mess.  Well, at least Ethan and Sophie did.  Grace was too busy crying and having her own breakdown after her negotiation for TV time in exchange for cleaning was rejected.

It took some time, but finally, finally everything got cleaned up and everyone calmed down.  Even me.  Ethan was extra awesome and helped me to put all the games and puzzles safely into storage when we were done so that we NEVER have to deal with a mess like that again.  At least not while we're still in this house.  Hahaha.  All's well that end's well and I'll sleep easy tonight knowing that the house is now {mostly} in order.  And on that note I'll end.  Goodnight and have a pleasant tomorrow!