{ Endless Projects }

I had a plan that, during the summer while on break from homeschooling and taxiing my kids around from place to place, I would:

• organize and file all of Th's schoolwork from last year
• sort through toys and prepare them for consignment/donation
• strip and refinish Th's school desk
• strip and refinish T.G.'s bedroom furniture (which includes a double headboard/footboard, dresser, night table, desk, and chair)
• sand and refinish Teagan's bed
• swap out & pack away the kids' clothes for the next size up
• unpack and sort through the pile of boxes in my dining room and bedroom that are leftover from our move (you know, over a year ago!)

Items on my list that actually were completed: none

Items on my list that are partially completed:

• Th's schoolwork from last year is organized but not yet filed
• Th's school desk is stripped and I'm in the process of painting it

I had high expectations and am a little disappointed that I didn't completely finish anything, nor get started on more of my "to do" list.  The furniture project is a big undertaking and I really don't have much more time before the weather no longer cooperates. I don't want to wait until next spring because, well, I'll probably have other items on my list to accomplish, not to mention a new baby. The toys and clothes projects I simply cannot do while my children are around- as I sort through stuff they want to play, and we all end up getting frustrated. The toy sorting and putting away takes all day, and I just don't have the extra energy at this point in time. We just don't have space in our playroom for their current toys plus whatever else they get for birthdays and Christmas (3 of my 5 kids have birthdays prior to Christmas. I'm not being mean by getting rid of toys, I'm simply being practical). However, the way I combat this "problem" is by having them go through and decide which toys they are willing to part with (if each child parts with 5 items, that's 25 items in all!).

Hopefully, once Th's school desk is complete, I can begin working on Teagan's bed since she'll need it when the baby arrives. Currently she sleeps in a toddler bed and Annie sleeps in the crib, but we'll need to move Annie into the toddler bed so Teagan is moving up to a twin bed. Teagan's and Annie's room is painted a light shade of purple, so my plan is to paint their beds a pale yellow. I already have their bedding (Christmas gift from last year) so I'm excited to see the finished result. Plus, with my new paint gun, painting is a breeze (it's the clean up I dislike!)



Th's desk before



Th's desk after (actually, it's just the 1st coat)

TJ has also had a few projects he's been working on this summer. We had talked about redoing our laundry room because the orientation of the washer and dryer was not making the most use of the space. Since I began couponing at the beginning of the summer, space became more important to us. He ripped up the ugly brown carpet, put linoleum tiles down, painted the walls, moved the washer and dryer, and hung a shelving system. He still needs to rewire all the electrical and move the water pipes so they will be hidden, along with putting another shelf up above the one already hanging over the washer/dryer. But, all in all, I am thrilled with the result and especially love the blue.
 

Laundry room before (picture taken prior to us moving in)



Laundry room after