Messy Mittwoch: Its the little details...

... that make a difference.  So in an attempt to remind myself to think positive, I've started printing out and putting up quotes and verses.  This one's above the dining table, a good reminder as we start the day with breakfast.

Go here for the printable (and more verses too!).  The roses were chosen by Junior J during our supermarket trip, and he paid the cashier and carried it all the way home.  I love how the flowers come thoughtfully packaged with a little pack of powder for mixing into the water to help the flowers stay fresh longer:

Oh, and these Easter eggs from a friend are sitting on the window sill of our dining room (yes, we are still slowing going through them!).  The colours make me smile:

Do you have little corners in your house that make you smile?

PS: Thank you for your encouragement and prayers after my previous post.  I realize I need to keep looking and hoping in Him!

Messy Mittwoch: Our washi vase

Hello!  I've been desperately trying to catch up on housework after our trip (there is a HUGE pile of clothes waiting to be folded as I type this), but I hope to be back to blogging soon.  Meanwhile, here's one of my favourite corners of our currently messy house, the window sill which has been designated our nature corner.  Junior J places all his findings here, and to house his twigs we used a tin can.  And we washi-taped the can to give it some spring-time colours!

Gotta cook, I hope you've been having a blessed week!

Messy Mittwoch: Today...

:: The toy tornado has left a trail of destruction around the house, and this is probably the neatest part of it:

:: The hubby and kids are sleeping in because everyone's schedule got rather messed up from the trip.  Junior J has been coughing off and on, and he threw up his dinner all over his bed and blanket and pillows and toys on Monday night, so his bedtime was pushed back even further.  We figured we might as well let them wake up later, since we do have to start getting them used to Europe time!

:: There is a whole load of laundry from the Penang trip waiting to be folded...

... and there's still unpacking to be done:

:: I'm rather overwhelmed by the kids clothes, and have no idea how to pack for the move.  I spent yesterday sneezing my head off, and sorting the boys' clothes by age.  Junior J's wardrobe is more straightforward, since he won't grow that much.  But for baby J, there's the 3-6, 6-9, 9-12, 12-18 month clothes to factor in!

Oh well.  Gotta sort more and continue packing now!

Messy Mittwoch: You know you have kids when...

:: You constantly trip over toys and stuff scattered all over the floor.  (Stepping on lego is mighty painful, btw.)

:: You find a scorpion lurking next to your computer, and a wombat staring at you in the shower.

:: You get a literal breakfast in bed, involving a lumpy pillow because toy fruits have been stuffed under it.  And steak on the bed head.

:: You spend half your life washing something: a poopy butt, a potty accident, dishes, spills, clothes, little grubby hands.

:: You spend more time swinging and less time working.

:: Your sofa has green stripes on them.  Permanently.

:: Your bed is constantly being un-made, as the pillows and blankets are needed to form deserts and volcanoes, and the bolster is needed as a roller coaster ride for Daffy duck.

:: Your study shelves have suddenly been overrun with Curious George books and learning materials, which are so numerous they are piling up in boxes on the floor.

:: You and your spouse have a standard list of descriptions with regards to the size of poop, like nugget, pisang and pellet.

:: You hear the pitter patter of feet coming to greet you when you come home.

:: You make-up silly songs about everything and anything, such as apples, wombats and zebras!

Anything else to add?

PS: The toy tornado has been driving me nuts, so yesterday I enforced clean-up time, which resulted in a massive tantrum... but we're going to make the little boy pack up every day (we used to do it, but I think it lapsed after awhile).  Meanwhile, we've just gotten an Expedit bookcase to house his books.  Just looking at those neat little square compartments makes you want to get organized!  (You can take a peek at some examples here...)

Messy Mittwoch: Dustballs, out!

I've been swinging like a pendulum for the past two weeks.  Ping-ponging between the two extremes of feeling extremely tired... and having these crazy bursts of energy where I start these cleaning frenzies in the middle of the night.

So since I've not been able to sleep, I've been able to turn this:

... into this.

This was our bedroom dresser.  Atrocious, wasn't it?  It used to be a dumping ground for stuff that had to go elsewhere, plus receipts and whatever else the hubby would empty from his pockets (those things sorta never got cleared!).  Now the dresser surface is clear, and I can finally use the CD player again!  There's also space for two more baskets, one for Baby J's toys (which have all been soaped and washed, yay!), and another to catch the normal pocket "debris" that comes out of the hubby's pockets (loose change, receipts and whatever else).  I hope the surface stays clear!

Messy Mittwoch: Simple solutions

Hooray!  We're finally a little more ready, room-wise, for Baby J.  The cot in our room has been cleared of stuff (it used to hold piles of clothes, plus odds and ends), and the baby things we need to use for the first few months have all been dug out and washed.  Now I'm just waiting for a sunny day to sun the mattress, and to figure out what to hang up for this little boy's mobile.  Junior J had a flock of paper cranes and a hot air balloon... and I'm wondering if I should hang this and this up for his little brother.  (Am thinking it'll look more balanced it there are three, but I'm not sure if I have time to fold another!)

And on a not so related note, we've had quite a few friends remarking on our little shoe rack for Junior J when they come over, so I thought I'd just share it here.  I've always found it hard to store his shoes, since all those small footwear seem to get all jumbled up in a regular shoe cupboard, so we just lined them up on a sturdy shoebox near the door.  It more or less fits 4 pairs of little shoes/sandals, and the boy can get at them/return them easily.  Nothing fancy, but I love how it works out!

Ok, I need to go and put in a few more things into my "hospital bag" for D-day.  You'd think packing the bag this round would be easier, but I can't seem to remember what were the things I packed/needed last time!  Guess the good thing is the hospital tends to provide many essentials (like baby diapers!), but do share, what were your essentials in the "hospital bag"?  (Ours would probably include the teeniest, tiniest onesie possible, since the last time Junior J was just too small to fit into the stuff his clueless parents brought along!)

Messy Mittwoch: Art supplies, arranged

Junior J's art supplies have finally been packed!  These used to be scattered and stored in various parts of the home, but over the past 2 weeks I've managed to sort them into some semblence of order.  I thought it'd be useful to have them easily at hand, so that we can pull stuff out in a jiffy for a project, especially when we'll be extremely busy when Baby J comes along.  

So now, the supplies we regularly use are in little basket (from Arab Street), which is just the right size to fit 4 of those Ikea plastic cups containing varying materials like markers, crayons etc.  Each time Junior J needs to work on some art piece, we just need to pull out one or two of these cups, and return them back into the basket at the end.  There's also some space to store his art journals, watercolour set, playdough mat, scissors, and a whole bunch of stickers.  

All the remaining supplies have been kept in a shelf in the dining room (which is where most of his art gets done).  Most of the stuff we don't frequently use (other types of markers, puffy paint etc) go into clear plastic boxes (from Daiso).  Playdough and clay-making materials (eg. a mini-rolling pin and cookie cutters) have been stuffed there too.  I've yet to find a suitable box for some things, so I've resorted to just stuffing them on the shelf or putting them in a ziplock.  

So far, this system has been working well for us since I can see everything I have at a glance, and get stuff out quickly when I need them.  The basket also allows Junior J to see his materials, and he has been enjoying being able to choose what kind of materials he would like to use during normal drawing/doodling sessions.

How do you store your art materials?  

Messy Mittwoch: Packing for baby

Hello!  I won't hang around for long today, since I've loads to pack for baby.  I've finally gotten down to getting the baby clothes out of storage, washed, and the newborn stuff packed into some sort of order (I tried to get Junior J to help today, and was showing him how tiny the baby will be... he was interested at first, but then decided the most fun thing to do would be to fling all my neatly folded piles everywhere!).

There's still loads to do though, since there's still bags of clothes to be sorted: Cold clothes for both boys (donated by friends, for the move next year), all the other clothes for baby J (who has quite abit of stuff since we have hand-me-downs from friends, plus his brother's stuff, PLUS gifts), and Junior J's clothes that he's outgrown, or has yet to break into.  Its quite amazing how much clothes they have, and I'm very sure Junior has more clothes than I do!

One of my headaches is storing the tiny stuff for Baby J, like the bootees and mittens.  We had a shallow drawer with compartments for those when it came to Junior J, but that drawer is now overflowing with art materials.  In addition, I'll have to store baby's stuff in our bedroom, since baby will be rooming with us before we move next year.  So I've just stuffed them all into one compartment in the drawer for now.  Any ideas or tips for this?

Messy Mittwoch: Crafty storage

More packing has been going on, as usual.  One of the areas I've been tackling has been the study, since my craft materials have experienced an explosion (for some reason, most scrappers seem to experience this... scrap stuff seems to take on a life of their own and multiply like mushrooms after a rain!).  Guess its time for another scrappy giveaway soon!

Anyway, a problem I've had is trying to store my tools in an appropriate place.  Everything used to go into plastic boxes into a cabinet in the study, but that meant I had to walk over from the table and dig them out every time I wanted to craft. Half the time I didn't use things, since I either forgot I had them (out of sight, out of mind), or was too lazy to dig it out.  Packing up after each project was a pain, since the table was scattered with tools and bits and bobs and I had to gather everything and put them back in boxes in drawers (hubby was always complaining as well, since he'll have no space to work when I was in the midst of a project!).

I've found that having things at hand, in view, would be most ideal...  As punches rank as one of the most frequently used tools on my list (since I use them for Junior J's and my own craft), I dug those punches out of their box (they were bursting out of the box anyway!), and planned on getting one of those little metal racks meant for storing stuff in the kitchen.  I chanced across a rather pretty white one, in one of those shops that sells all the random stuff like buckets and batteries, and was quite delighted when I managed to squeeze in all my punches neatly into two shelves (after some shuffling here and there of course):

The top shelf houses the smaller punches, like the Daiso ones that I frequently use with Junior J,
while the bottom level holds the border punches and the larger punches.

Now cleaning up is much easier, since I can just put back the punches immediately after using them, instead of leaving them scattered all over the table!  Its also a bonus that I can easily get to any punch I want, without having to rummage inside a box...

For more ideas on storing your stuff, take a peek at my pinboard on smart storage, and if you're searching for craft storage solutions, check out the Crafty Storage blog... those pictures of organized craft studios can really send you into a packing frenzy!  

How do you store your craft materials?

PS: Speaking of crafting, have you taken part in the Cup Critter giveaway yet?  You just need to hop over to the Facebook page and leave a comment! ;)

Messy Mittwoch: Some progress

I've been using little pockets of time here and there (of 10 minutes or so) to clean and declutter when the hubby is away.  When the in-laws were here last week, they voluntarily helped with some of the kitchen cleaning, and my FIL also helped me to clear up my really messy garden (he's the one with the green fingers).  And finally, I think we're seeing a little bit of progress here and there.  Here's one area that took a blasting:

This was our really messy piano top, which had all sorts of bits and bobs scattered on it.  I cleared everything off, gave the cloth runner a wash (but decided to do without it finally, to allow for easy dusting), and this is the end result:

Little boy brought back flowers for me from a trip to the market with his grandparents. :)
And I love our calendar, which features different artwork each day based on Bible verses.

The other side of the piano has a lamp and this phototray (one of my fav projects!).  All clear!

Have you been decluttering too?  Which areas have you been working on?

Messy Mittwoch: More recyling ideas

We've had a tiring day thus far (with a trip to the National Museum in the morning, where the boy walked alot, and still had to walk all the way to the MRT station after that) and I gotta go and peel a whole bunch of potatoes, so its gonna be a short post today.  

Anyway, after reading the great ideas shared by all of you in the previous post on using recyclables for play (thank you for sharing!), I realized there have been quite a few more ideas stashed away in the archives, so here they are:

:: Making music instruments like rattles ...

:: Making other instruments like drums ...

:: Treasure bottle activity (also pictured above.  Now they have become part of Junior J's kitchen, and he pretends he's cooking the rice, or uses these as salt and pepper shakers!)

I realize these bottles are gems in the play department.  Do you use these too for your child's playtime?

Messy Mittwoch: Recycling & repurposing

As most of you would know, we're currently trying to declutter the house, and are trying to throw, donate, or giveaway various things that we have.  While that is happening, we still do try to recycle or repurpose various items  too (remember how toilet rolls can be a fashionable find?).  Some of these things end up being useful for doing craft with Junior J:

I find the styrofoam trays that come with some veggies (I usually chuck the meat ones since they can be quite icky)
very handy as paint palettes.  They don't get soggy like paper plates, can be washed after some messy paint fun, and last for quite abit.  When you're done with them as palettes, you can also trim off the bottom and use the grid-like patterns for printing on paper!

Food containers are especially useful.  Glass jars end up holding flowers, and we also save some other sturdier plastic containers (eg. cream cheese and yoghurt containers) for the boy to play in his kitchen:

Feeding his brachiosaurus yoghurt during breakfast.  It started with spoon-feeding,
then the poor dino ended being dunked!

Simple, money-saving fun. :)

"Brachiosaurus fall down into the yoghurt!  He's sticky and needs a shower!"
Now repeat this another 10 times until Mama has fed him all his blueberries and cereal...

Here are some more ideas on kids crafts using recycled materials.  I'm thinking of trying out some of them...  Do you recycle and repurpose materials for your kids to play or craft with?  Do share!  (Pssst, I've been enjoying our conversations over on the Facebook page thus far...)

Messy Mittwoch: Wardrobe woes

We have a small walk-in wardrobe.  Its currently in a huge giganto-mongo mess, since I'm in the process of unearthing my maternity clothes (which I've been forced to dig out, since now I can no longer fit into normal stretchy stuff) and I'm also trying to sort out and declutter all the clothes and other things that have accumulated over the years.  To add to all the chaos, I've been slowly trying to go through all the baby clothes that Junior J has outgrown, to prepare for number 2.  Its going to be a really long process, so I'm not going to bore you guys with talking about it... However, recently, Junior J has had quite abit to remark with regards to wardrobe matters:

(I change into a large baggy T-shirt to bring the boy to the playground, since most of my usual tops ride up now, thanks to the big belly.)

Me: Let's go to the playground now...

Junior J: Silly mama!  You're wearing Papa's shirt!

~~~~~~~

(Junior J walks into our room, and sees the mess around him.  He shakes his head.)

Junior J: Such CONFUSION!  (This is a phrase he's picked up from a book by Leo Lionni, which we have been reading alot of.)

~~~~~~~

Whatever the case, I still think I have better fashion sense than the little boy:

His current obsession is with toilet rolls.  He wears them on his head, stuffs his arms into them,
stuffs eggs into them and declare they are ice-cream cones...

Just snapped this morning.  Got very fed-up trying to get him to change out of his jammies,
and left the room to prepare his breakfast.  He decided to compromise by wearing
BOTH his jammies and his T-shirt together!

Ok.  Gotta go pack up that confusing mess.  While wearing Papa's shirt.  Have a blessed day!

Messy Mittwoch: Simplifying

This was how our fish tank looked back in April 2007, when we were rather newly married and didn't have kids. The hubby enjoyed fiddling with the tank and doing all the aqua-gardening, and all his time and effort didn't go to waste, since the fish and plants seemed to thrive:

The dog came along later, and Junior J followed about a year later.  Then we had to give the dog away, because the little boy seemed to be sensitive to dogs.  And now the tank sits there sadly, its glass walls green with algae.  So we've decided, in view of our impending move to Germany next year, that we would have to find new (and probably better) homes for all our fish, and are also thinking of selling off the tank and the accompanying equipment.

Guess its something that is necessary right now.  Simplifying by "cutting down" on certain hobbies, since we seem to have less and less time for them, especially with baby number 2 arriving in about 3 months time.  In my case, I've also requested for a break from my design team duties, and have been saying "no" to various scrappy projects (many apologies to my friends for that!).  

Have you had to simplify by cutting down on your hobbies recently?

PS: If you have a fish tank, or are thinking of starting one, and would like to adopt some fishy friends, or purchase a second-hand tank (its a 4 feet tank with an accompanying dark brown cabinet, and of course we'll clean it up first!) or related equipment (eg. filter etc), do drop me a comment or email! ;)      

Messy Mittwoch: No time to clean

I wish the little boy was doing more of this.  But I guess growing up means shorter naps...

Mother, oh Mother, come shake out your cloth

empty the dustpan, poison the moth,

hang out the washing and butter the bread,

sew on a button and make up a bed.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?

She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I’ve grown shiftless as Little Boy Blue

( lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).

Dishes are waiting and bills are past due

( pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo).

The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew

and out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo

but I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo.

Look! Aren’t her eyes the most wonderful hue?

( lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).

The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,

for children grow up, as I’ve learned to my sorrow.

So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.

I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.

- Ruth Hulburt Hamilton, Lady’s Home Journal (1958)

~~~~~~~

(Just a little poem I found, that helps me to refocus every time I start to fret about the messy, dirty condition of our home.  Do you find it difficult to balance household chores and parenting duties amidst everything else?  For us, its been tough these days getting the usual housework done with the boy sleeping less, so I'm off to do some tidying now.  Meanwhile, do you have any tips to share on getting your home cleaned and your chores done while still juggling parenthood?  Aside from hiring maids and cleaners that is!)

Messy Mittwoch: A wall of memories

Hello!  We have a busy day ahead since we're headed to another museum this morning, but before I run off, here's one of my favourite little corners of the house (that's gone unscathed from all the unpacking from the hubby's trip and our general messiness):

There's our little Father's Day banner, as well as some cherry blossoms
that I've yet to take down since Chinese New Year. :p

This is actually the wall behind our sofa in the living room... with a ledge for books and some photographs.  These little frames (from Ikea) hold fond memories, since some were taken during a trip to Australia:

... while others were snapped during our honeymooon to New Zealand. :)

The eight photos actually follow a storyline/theme.  Can you guess what the theme is? ;)

Messy Mittwoch: Getting little hands to help

With all that housework to do (and only me to do it, since hubby is away and we don't have a helper), I must admit I'm rather glad that Junior J has been helping out around the home in little ways.  Some have asked me how we've involved those little hands around the house, so here's some of the things the little boy has been doing:

:: Dressing up/down:  He is able to hang up his own clothes on pegs in his room, and also will run with his dirty diaper (I ensure I "wrap" it up neatly first) to throw it away into the diaper bin.  He enjoys this so much that he will automatically throw away any dirty diapers lying around the house (sometimes the hubby changes him, and forgets), and will pick up clothes to hang them up too.  Oh, and he knows that dirty clothes go into a basin in the toilet, so he runs off to put them in the basin if I tell him the article of clothing is dirty and needs to be washed...  Of course, there are difficult days where he doesn't want to co-operate, and changing him is quite a challenge, otherwise he's more or less developed these habits, and having the diaper bin/basin/pegs accessible really helps.  He's also able to go potty on his own, and can pull his pants up and down, so that really helps, since I don't have to drop whatever I'm doing to help him.

:: Mealtimes: We recently bought a new highchair for the boy, which allows him to climb up and down on his own.  Since getting him to sit in his chair during meals has been a challenge, I've found that what works has been setting my phone alarm.  When it goes off, he knows he needs to wash his hands (he is able to climb up on the stool to reach the tap) and climb up in his chair for a meal.  He is now able to self-feed himself some parts of his meal (but of course I have to spoon in the other stuff he doesn't want to eat, like meat!), and will bring his bowl/cup to the kitchen after we are all done, along with his bib, which I'm trying to teach him to leave in the sink for washing.  He also likes to wipe the table after a meal, and can be quite through about it!  Some days, I also get him to help me to bring things to the table, like utensils and the box of cornflakes.  However, I must admit I tend to leave him out of the meal preparation process nowadays, even though he shows interest in helping out.  Guess its something I'm trying to work on!

:: Laundry: He helps me to fold his washcloths (rather messily, but I'm fine with it!), and will put them away in a box in the bookcase in our dining room.  Also, he will help me to carry his clothes to his room to be put away, and will also help to keep the clothes pegs and hangers in the kitchen while I fold the clean clothes in the living room.  He sometimes stays with me while I handwash his clothes, and loves to swirl the clothes in the soapy water!

Small cars and trains go into their "parking lots",
which are actually made of washi tape stuck onto an aircon trunking.  

:: Toys: I'm glad that we've enforced "clean-up time" every night, since I find it extremely tiring to keep picking up toys that are scattered all over the house!  During that time, little boy and I go around picking up toys/books  and putting them back, and I ensure that he helps (some days he is reluctant to, but making it into a game makes him more willing to chip in... and he also cleans up when I remind him that "Papa will step on the toys and fall down, OUCH!".  For some reason, he will only pick up his toys if its Papa falling down.  Doesn't matter if I do! :p).  There are fixed storage areas for his various toys (and other bits and bobs just go into a big basket), so he knows where each item goes, and that really helps since you don't need to keep directing him. :)

These are just some ways that Junior J has been helping out around the house.  While it took awhile to teach him some of these "habits", I'm glad we did!  How do you get your little ones to help around the house?  Do share!

Messy Mittwoch: The little reading corner

I've mentioned that the little boy loves to read, more so now that he's been running a fever for the past few days and isn't really up to much outdoor play.  So here's the little reading corner we have in his room, next to a shelf of books:

The papasan chair was actually shifted from our living room, after one of our guests sat in it and it broke (we got it repaired, but figured it would be safer seating a small boy in his room :p).  I love how kids can crawl into the chair and snuggle in there with a good read, and even babies (and bears, for that matter) can more or less sprawl in there comfortably:

And after having a good read, one can look up at the clouds floating by, and dream happy dreams:

These clouds accompany a hot-air balloon that hangs above the reading nook. :)  (Do try making some of these clouds, they are frightfully easy!  Details here.)

Oh, and if clouds aren't enough, there are little friends flying by in the balloon that will always be willing to listen to a story or two (or ten!)...

... and I especially love how the balloon lends a splash of colour to that little corner! :)

To see other corners of this room, click here, and here. :)  

Messy Mittwoch: Its the little things...

... that help make Junior J's room cheerful:

:: Hand-made banners and little souvenirs from loved ones, sitting atop display boxes housing little treasures...

:: Stars in the window, that shine in at night...

:: Artwork gleaned from overseas night markets, hanging on the walls...

:: And useful little things, like hooks for hanging clothes...

These are hung below the window, where Junior J can easily get to them.
He knows he has to hang up his clothes, and likes choosing between the crocodile and the rabbit!

... and a table for play, and for feeding your animals!

Just snapped this afternoon.  The boy had prepared lunch for his animals!

What are the favourite bits of your child's room?