DIY.. ish

Jeremiah has needed more drawer space for a while, now. The two pieces we have were great when he was a baby, but now his clothes are bigger and he has more. We also don't really need the changing pad anymore.

What do you mean, "He's outgrown us"?

I've been on the lookout for inexpensive dressers and was quite close to taking a larger, three drawer dresser, even though it wasn't quite large enough or exactly what I wanted. Then someone found this.

Save me from the sofa eater!

It wasn't perfect. Needs a lot of cleaning, Some of the drawer guides are past the point of redemption and the spots you see are actually destroyed varnish, not part of the finish, but hey, I have time...

I have no idea what he is doing...

 So I sanded, I painted, I sanded some more, Jeremiah helped me paint... This paint job is not earning any awards.... But we finally ended up with this!

*angelic chorus*

I know. Awesome, right? I cannot believe how cool it turned out. And seating it at the foot of his bed means there is better traffic in and out of the room.

What? Nice, but boring, you say? What happened to the thing that looked like it might be fun I posted earlier this week? Why so basic for a little boy's bedroom? Well, first, because I had all these paints on hand and second....

Woah!

Each drawer is painted and lined with fun fabrics I inherited from my grandmother.

Of course, I would line the only drawer that will not fit in the center properly with fabric that is not airplanes... Always check first... Duh 

Fabric didn't fit selvage to selvage over the larger drawers, so there is complimentary fabric along the outsides.

And the best part- I've gotten all the clothes he had into them and still have an empty drawer!

I'm all for keeping things out of the trash if they can be salvaged, and definitely for free things if they can be saved. Fret not, the old drawers are going to a home that needs them. They are still solid pieces that were graciously given us, we will pass them on.

Trash compacter can't have anything from us today!


God Bless and see you soon,

Joelle

P.S. Does anyone else have cats that love new furniture?

Carpet is better

I mentioned in one of my recent posts that it was suggested I get hardwood to replace my filthy carpets because it is better. I said that was debatable. This is the extenuation of that thought.

Now, choice of flooring is entirely opinion. Just about any type of floor can be someone's favorite and they will have reasons. Carpet is my preference. Here is why.

Carpet is less expensive than hardwood. If I were to replace my floors, it would cost about twice as much to get hardwood as to get new carpet. Since we're broke, it doesn't matter. On to the fun things!

Hardwood floor is easier to keep clean... sort of. Yes, you don't get the ground in dirt that a carpet does, so regular shampooing is not required, but floors can still become stained and the dirt that sits on top is very visible and needs multiple cleanings a day. Carpet is more forgiving in this regard. You don't often see tumbleweeds of animal hair on my carpets. Well, at least when it's vacuumed once a day you don't see it.

Carpets are more family friendly. Like I said in the aforementioned previous post, we live on our floors. A lot of activities, snuggle time, and playtimes are accomplished on our floors. Carpets lend themselves to snuggling and bare feet. They like the idea of hot cocoa and blankets. Hardwood floors are tougher to get cozy with. They are hard wood, after all. And the sand that sits on top of them is noticeable and irritating even with the best of sweeping and mopping jobs. The situation can be remedied somewhat by area rugs, but these get just as dirty as carpets and need all the work regular carpets do. And they slide around even with the best products on the market that attempt to break physics and make them hold still.

We have pets. Hard floors are not cool for pets. Scratches on my expensive floor and constant tap tap tapping of toenails is not my idea of fun.

Carpets are a pain in the butt. They stain, they get dirty, they are difficult to deep clean.

Hardwoods are also a pain in the butt. Quite literally in some regards.

Basically, when gravity decides to reverse and dirt falls up, then floors will not be the hardest thing to keep clean in the house, but for now, my choice is carpet, because it's snuggly and warm and invites you to sink your toes into it.

Floors are for living on. They should be comfortable.

God bless and see you soon,

Joelle

Drivel Part II

So, no politics... What else don't I post?

I don't post an awful lot of quotes or verses or pictures of cute animals. I like to share things that actually happen to me and I want to see things that actually happen to other people. "Jesus loves you!," "Confucius say,""LOOK AT THIS CUTE STOCK KITTEN PHOTO!" is not what I'm usually interested in, so I don't share them myself. There is nothing wrong with doing so. It's just not my usual cup of tea.

I rarely share blogs. I read a lot of blog posts and articles, but only when I have a story that resonates with it and that I think other people need to hear do I share it. Then I add my own story at the top. This is as close to opinion pieces as I get on my timeline.

Don't you love it when people post things like, "UGH, could this day get any worse?" and then say they don't want to talk about it when questioned by concerned friends? Yeah, me either. Vaguebooking isn't cool, kids! If I have a problem I don't think should be shared publicly, I don't share it. If I have a problem I can share publicly, but it's boring, I don't share it. If I have a very deep concern that needs shared, I talk with the people it needs shared with (even the biggest problems in my life don't need plastered for 300 people to see when ten will do). If I have a public problem that can be made funny or interesting to people around me, it goes right up there next to my million baby photos. Something else that disinterests me from posting my problems is that they are fleeting. Nearly everything I worry about is temporary. It won't be a problem eventually. If I put it on my timeline, I have just made it permanent.

My lifestyle depicts my relationship with God. I don't shy away from theology or philosophy and anyone who knows me knows I have a deep passion for Christ and the Church (and my local church). I don't need to be posting verse a day to prove it. Now, when something is really pulling at me, I will share it. When something is mentioned around me over and over again, I will discuss it, but I don't think every thing I need to post to mention God in order for them and my life to be all about God. I read verses other people post. That's fine! I enjoy them. But when that's the only thing they're posting and you don't know the person behind the verse very well or why they may have posted that today, it loses a lot of meaning (1 Corinthians 13:1 ring a bell?).

I don't post where we go, when we go, when we will be back, what we will be doing, how long we will be gone.. None of that. It basically allows people to know exactly when my house will be empty. Bad idea. It also tends to get boring. I don't like boring stuff.

I don't post health things because an egg is the best possible thing you can eat this week and next week, it will kill you faster than cigarettes. Ditto for most other sciencey things. Especially things that are almost science, but then turn out not to be...

Food never looks as good as it tastes. I only post food when there is a person behind the post. Whether to tease someone who mentioned being excited for it or to taunt someone who cannot have it. Or to share the 1500 cookies I bake over Christmastime.... I do do that.... 1500 is a lot of cookies. I feel like it's a feat worth sharing... and bragging about. Deal with it.

I already have a million recipes. That's what pinterest is for, anyway.

Videos usually take too long to watch.

Copy/paste. Do I even need to explain this one?

But mostly, I share because I want people to be involved with things that are personal to me. I want people to know a little bit about my life. You can find all the things I mentioned all over the internet. What you can't find anywhere else is the little boy with the red hair and a Pomeranian to match. You cannot find the same redhead, in the car, ready to go to my grandparents, with two stuffed toys by his side. You can't find anywhere else on the internet my stories about raising a kid, a dog, three cats, and a husband. The story is unique to me. When you think of my facebook, I want you to think of me, not of my facebook posts or of a trait I have. The person behind it.

Facebook the way YOU want. That's why facebook is there. It's a tapestry of people and we are all different. I have my reasons for posting only the unimportant, fluffy stuff, at least out in the public arena. You have your reasons for posting whatever you post. Be the social warrior, the foodie, the Bible quoter, the political pundit. It's all good. I will continue to be the domestic parent.

God bless and see you soon,

Joelle

Domestic Parent Drivel Part I

In my carpet blog, I commented that nearly all my posts on social media were, "domestic parent drivel". I also stated this was for multiple reasons. I know there are some of you who were snickering behind your screens and thinking, "Several reasons. Yeah, right." (no names... You know who you are) But I really do have several reasons I don't usually comment or post things other than my own personal surface of lifestyle.

Of course I post mostly domestic parent drivel because I am a domestic parent. I love my child. I take care of the house, and I am without a car half the time. This makes a lot of what I do very close to home and home oriented by necessity. So yes, I post about them because they are what happens to me. Score one for you. You were right... But wait... There's more.

I don't think facebook is a great place for political or social arguments. If you look through facebook, it is continually filled with political arguments. From economics to social issues, it is everywhere. I don't think this is a good platform for opinions. Everyone comes to post with their own ideas and, when they are meeted with the opposite viewpoint, a debate breaks out. We have all seen these. These are fights where both sides present their arguments calmly and rationally, both decide that the other side has good points and they part ways, both better and happier for knowing more about the other side. Sometimes someone even admits they're wrong or thanks the other side for teaching them.

HAHA... HAha... ha... No. A minuscule amount of arguments on facebook end like this. Usually one side will bash on the other (sometimes only to itself, which only increases the mouth foaming at the ignorance of the other side) and the other side will retaliate in kind. It very nearly always turns into a bloodbath where someone is very hurt, no one learns anything, and almost nothing can be made sense by bystanders. I refuse to be a part of this type of discussion because I will not be dragged down to bashing you just because you think differently than I do.

A mild example is when a woman who is against cry-it-out, and sleep training in general, posted a (rather misinformed) article that tried to equate different sleep training methods to abuse. When she was told that the article was wrong on several points and that sleep training is not evil all the time, or even often, she got bristly and told her antagonists, "Do what you like. It's not my kid being abused." When someone insinuated that a parent who would not do any sleep training could be considered lazy, she flew into a rage and said she was no such thing and how dare anyone accuse her of bad parenting when the article clearly showed exactly what sleep training was like all the time for every child ever.

I did poke my nose in then, mentioned that both sides had good points, listed them, and that if the first poster didn't want to be attacked, she should probably refrain from doing so herself. Of course, in taking neither side, both sides thought I took the other and I was chewed to pieces by both women.

I know people who like the bloodbaths. Who think only if their teeth are in a throat do they make a difference in this world. More power to them. I'm not like that. You want to talk politics with me? Great. I'll meet you at a playground or you can come over and we can discuss several topics at length. I have opinions. I have opinionated opinions. No one cares about my opinions on facebook. They only care about their own point of view. On facebook, if my point of view doesn't align with yours, I am wrong, and evil, and like to eat children... Or something like that... In real life, if my point of view differs from yours, we are just two people with differing opinions. I like that better.

Reason enough to stick to drivel? For me, yes. BUT WAIT! There's more! Next time. This was way longer than I expected.

God bless and see you soon,

Joelle

Exciting is a point of view

I was  recently lent a carpet scrubber. I've wanted to clean these carpets since we moved in. They've always felt sticky, especially right after vacuuming. Add to the stickiness two dogs, three cats, and a three year old.... We live on our floors. It showed it.

So I came home with my prize and started in my living room. Some stains remained. I knew they would. Most of them were here when we moved in. But the carpet still looked several times better. Thrilled, I shared this with Facebook-

A lot of people responded to it. I was surprised because, while sparkly clean carpets are a big deal to me, floors are something we see every day and tend to ignore. But still, it got some attention. 

At church the next day, my carpet was commented on, I was complimented on the grandiose language I used to announce my mundane photograph, told that hardwood was easier to maintain (debatable), and asked if my life was so boring that I really felt the need to post carpet. 

That final remark was said in jest and I did take it as such, but it was also made at the end of service and I didn't get a chance to respond to it.

The short answer is yes. My life is that boring.

The longer answer is that I always post boring stuff. For several reasons, most of my timeline is filled with domestic parent drivel. I am brilliant, so it's funny; but it is still commonplace. The carpet is something that has needed done for years and I haven't had the money at my disposal. To be able to borrow a machine and clean my floors for about fifteen dollars is huge. Especially when I turned this-

Chocolate Charlie vomit

Patchwork of mystery stains and not so mystery clean spots

To this-

Vomit be gone!

Uniformly colored with only hints of mystery remaining.

Boring is exciting, sometimes.

God bless and see you soon,

Joelle