"Check Your Pockets" Laundry Helper *TUTORIAL*

After a tough afternoon I thought, I had better sit down and write to you all about a cute little project I did the other day, to relive some stress. This whole moving thing is so crazy! Everyday it seems I am unpacking more things and organizing new spaces. For some reason I thought this process would be more fun then it is. I thought that packing up our last home was dull, and a seemingly endless process. I thought "just hang in there. You will be in a new bigger home soon and it will be so much fun to unpack and decorate!" But it turns out that its not that much fun. In fact i haven't even gotten to the decorating part yet. I have done a few things but we are certainly not decorated like I want it to be.

Anyway, I have this super cute tutorial for y'all. One of the great things about this new house is that it has a laundry room. I'm sure lots of you just read that and thought to yourself "Who in the H doesn't have a laundry room?" Well maybe its just me but, every place I have lived in the past 12 years has had the washer and dryer in a closet, or in the hallway walking out to the garage. I hope I'm not the only one who has dealt with this. It stinks! No room for all of the loads of clothes to wait their turn for the washer, no space to store cleaning supplies and things alike. But our new house has a great big laundry room. the problem is that there are so many white walls. I wanted to add color to the room but I didn't want to paint it. So I jumped online and searched out some inspiration.

This is one of the projects I found. Of course I made it my own, and put my own little spin on it so that it suits my personal style and needs. If you are like me then, you are the one who does the laundry most of the time, if not all of the time. While I'm loading the washer I am constantly pulling out change, pens, chuck e cheese tokens, Bobbi pins, hair ties, and gum. where do you put these things? Many times I  end up stuffing my own pockets with all of that stuff and set out on a mission to return all things promptly to their correct places. Other times, when I am not so ambitious, I just throw it all on top of the dryer with the "Ehh, I'll put it away later" mindset. Well this project will help with all of that!


For Christmas I got this little plaque as a gift. It was cute and fit the colors of our home. But since we have moved I haven't found the right place to put it up. I am thinking about changing up our color scheme in the main living area of the house and this just didn't work. So I thought I had better revamp it for another room. I wanted bright colors for the laundry room because, lets face it nobody really wants to spend much time in there anyways and dull or dark colors would make it even less desirable. I applied 3 coats of Bahamas Blue acrylic craft paint to the surface and sides, making sure to cover all of the design beneath. This was after the first coat.

Now, you could stop here if you wanted to. But if you like a distressed look then head on out to the garage and grab your sander. If you don't have and electric one then, you can just use a plain old piece of sand paper. Rough up the edges a little bit. I even brought it up on to the surface of the wood in a couple of places. Just be careful to not take to much off. A little really goes a long way.

Alright, next you want to grab a stencil or if you are really talented you might want to free hand the lettering. Leaving about 3 inches at the top of your plaque you want to spell out the words "Your Pockets"

Again, you could stop at this point if you like the color as is, or you can do like me and rummage through your scrapbook paper. I Chose something bright with a similar blue and lots of other fun colors to play off of in future projects. The best part is that it has a distressed look to the paper so it matches what I have done to the paint.

Fill in your stencil work with some acrylic paint in whichever color you choose. I saw one of these online that used this cute check mark and brackets. She used a cricut and made vinyl letters. I'm not that fancy and unfortunately do not own a cricut. If you are like me, do not fear. You can free hand it, or jump online like I didn't and print out a picture of what you want. Then grab an x-acto knife and cut it out to create your own stencil. once your paint has dried you are going to want to grab you mod podge and give it a good coat all over the front and sides. Make sure, if you used scrapbook paper, that the edges are completely sealed.

Lastly you are going to need a mason jar and a metal pipe clamp. I secured two clamps together and tightened it to fit the mason jar snug, then removed the jar and drilled two screws through the clamp and into the plaque. Now just put the jar back in, and you're done.

I know that it seems like a lot of work but, I got it done during naptime (2 hours). So try it out guys! I think it turned out SO cute!! As you can see by the picture I'm already putting it to good use. Let me know what you think. Have a great day everyone.


Come and like my Facebook page to share the inspiration. "Motherhood What The BLEEP Am I Doing?"

Until next time my lovelys

Corbin says

Yesterday Corbin went with me to the grocery store. We had the windows down, and the kids tunes turned up. Corbin says "mom, why are the planes pooping?" To which I said "ummmm.... What do you mean?" He says "look up there, in the sky! The planes are pooping!" So I look up and there are a couple of planes off in the distance. Behind them are white trails in the sky. I guess because it is coming out of the back end of the plane, naturally it must be poop. "It sure does look like they are pooping, doesn't it?" I said. "Yup, I guess that's what clouds are mom! Plane poop."

DO NOT quote movies

Well, I learned a good lesson recently. Let me tell you a little story. Many years ago, long long before children, and suv's big enough to hold all of the crap that kids need, before a nights sleep was disrupted for diaper changes, before a stroller permanently parked in the living room was considered part of the furniture, and definitely before anything spill-able that was in reach basically meant "please spill me on the carpet". I had a favorite movie that I watched all of the time. It was hilarious, and full of language that I don't dare use these days.

You all know when you have a favorite movie full of witty one liners, it is easy for them to become emblazoned in your memory. You quote the lines over and over throughout the years, so much that they become a part of you.

This particular movie had several funny lines that my husband and I have repeated over the course of about 10 years. In the movie there is a grandpa who reminisces about his younger days and talks about falling in love. The grand kids would say "Awe, that's sweet Grandpa, your remembering Grandma." to which the grandpa would reply "I'm not talkin about Grandma, F*ck Grandma!". Well, that has always stuck with us. Now that we have kids we still quote this line but we say "F" Grandma instead. Some of you might be rolling your eyes at this point and saying to yourself "Um, that's really not that much better!" and you would be right.    

So, a couple of weeks ago we had some family that stayed with us for awhile. One of the nights that they were with us, I was doing dishes and heard the kids screaming with laughter in Corbin's bedroom. I was a little frustrated because I had been in to quiet them down several times by this point. I approached the door, guns ready to blaze and stopped dead in my tracks when I head Corbin. I cracked the door and saw him and his cousin holding hands, jumping up and down on the beds. Both were laughing full force gut laughs. Corbin was saying "Come on Logan, say it! It's fun! Say, F Grandma!" To which his cousin just continued jumping and laughing at Corbin who had no clue what he was really saying, while refusing to repeat it.

I couldn't help myself. I know that I am not supposed to laugh at this stuff. Maybe I should have barged into the room at that moment and told him that it was inappropriate for him to say that. But I didn't. I just started laughing. The next day was his cousins birthday and several family members came down to spend the afternoon at our place for the occasion. Grandma sat down on the couch and the grand kids went over one at a time and got a little cuddle and a few kisses from her. When it was Corbin's turn to go over and greet her we said "Corbin, grandma's waiting for you. Go over and say hi." Corbin ran over to the couch and said "Awe...... F Grandma!!!" and ran away. Face, please meet my palm!!

                                 Before he could ever say such awful things to Grandma! :)

Come over to facebook and like my page: Motherhood- What The BLEEP Am I Doing?

Until next time lovely's

The things they say and do

First off I want to say my kids are adorable! Yes, I am their mother and of course I'm going to think that. Some of you know my kids and would agree. Anyone who doesn't agree should keep that to themselves because if you state differently then it may be the end of our friendship!

I love pretty much everything about them. Their round little bellies, their crinkled with chub little wrists, their soft cheeks that I can't help but kiss, their dimpled knuckles. I love when they give me hugs and I can smell the sweet comforting scent of Johnson's baby shampoo. Their voices are (most of the time) soft and small like kids voices are. I love watching them play together. I love how their imaginations take over any ordinary task, and turns it into an adventure of slaying dragons or battling Captain Hook. I love the sound of them laughing from the other room as I know their brotherly bond is continuing to grow. I love draping old sheets over the kitchen table and creating a fort fit for my little kings. I love bath time during the summers when tan lines and white bums are a plenty. I love when my oldest son sings the song he made up for me, and watching his little mouth as it forms the words that still have a slight mispronunciation. I love taking a photo of my youngest, and how saying "cheese" becomes the trigger word for him to throw his head back, smile the biggest smile he can muster, and close his eyes oh so tight. I love them!

 Yet there are things that I don't love, and things that I wonder "where and the heck did they get that from?" There are moments that my kids embarrass me, and make me cringe. Sometimes they are gross, and dirty. Sometimes the sweet smell of Johnson's baby shampoo is replaced by the smell of diarrhea, or vomit. Sometimes their cute little button noses are are filled with crusty green boogers or snot running down to their top lip. Sometimes playtime turns into an all out brawl. Sometimes putting them to bed would be a challenge even for Super Nanny. Sometimes silence means your child is in the next room with markers and face paint, creating "artwork" on walls and furniture. Sometimes you are in the check out stand at the store when your bundle of joy takes a deuce so big that it seeps out of the diaper and up their back getting dangerously close to their hair, and you have to pretend that the wafting scent of evil did not just eject itself from your sweet baby's bowels. These are not the most picturesque moments of motherhood.

I have been thinking lately about some off those cringe worthy moments, and thought I would share a few of them with you. So that you know that you are not alone. Because, lets face it. There is no such thing as a perfect or un-embarrassing journey through motherhood.

Just this last Christmas my oldest son became infatuated with telling people "Merry Christmas". Sweet, right? Well..... Not really. This would be a very proud mommy moment for me if it were a kind soft voiced greeting or farewell to people. Because most people during that time of the year are all full of holiday cheer and what have you. People smile, people are more generous, people giggle over the cuteness of children bundled up for cold weather with their little noses shining bright red from the nip in the air. People, however, do not like to be SCREAMED at to have a Merry Christmas! It didn't seem to matter whether we were at the store, walking around the neighborhood, or even in the library, my little man was determined to wish tidings of good cheer whether you liked it or not. Now, at first it started out kind, with a simple "merry Christmas" but if you did not acknowledge him with the same luster of well wishes, then he would continue to get louder and louder despite my urges to quiet down, until he is at full volume. I feel like a crazy person when I have to say "Stop wishing people merry Christmas! They don't care! Be quiet! Maybe they hate Christmas!"  <-------- and the worst mother award goes to....... Me!

Now we all know that stage when our little boys discover what's between their legs. I know that a lot of parents aren't comfortable with telling their kids what it is actually called so they make up a name that is less graphic. This means there are generations of men who grew up calling it "winky" "pee pee" "ding ding". You get the point. I made the choice to tell him the clinical term so that he won't be referring to it as "Pena-saurus Rex" when he's 30! So now that he knows the word, and he is old enough to form sentences. Hmmmmmm..... I wonder where this is going? That's right, it becomes public knowledge, and BONUS it's now the ice breaker when meeting new people. There is nothing like having the missionaries from your church over for a little meet and greet, and your tiny tot is poking his diaper saying "Penis, I have a Penis." and then prodding their crotches poking and pointing saying "You have a penis!" I guess whatever word you choose to teach them will most likely lead to some uncomfortable situation somewhere down the road.

Now... I'm kind of busty in the boobs department. Lets just say that my bra has doubled as shelter for my two boys. For whatever reason they think its fun to put their heads (each in one cup) in my bra and run around the house like conjoined twins. They find this hilarious and will play this way until I decide to take it away because they are coming close to tearing it to shreds! Listen.... big booby bras are expensive! So, the other day I had a load of laundry on the couch. Yup, that's right. They grab a bra and the madness ensues. I head back to the laundry room and start to switch the load when I hear a knock on the door. My oldest son disregards my lengthy talks about how we don't answer the door to strangers, and the next thing I know, the maintenance man is standing there in the door way staring at my two giggling boys with most of their faces hidden beneath the cups of my bra! "Oh, hi!" I say, and immediately feel my face turn red. Corbin sensing my discomfort, takes the bra from their heads and says "here's your big booby holder, mom!"

Yes, parenting is fun, embarrassing, crazy, uncomfortable, annoying, lovely and fleeting. We get so wrapped up in our day to day routines that its sometimes hard to find the humor. we focus on, teaching values, self worth, kindness, generosity, that the days just seem to fly by. Before you know it their soft kissable cheeks no longer want to be kissed, they don't want to be cuddled, they would rather hang out with their friends then be caught dead going anywhere with you. Sometimes, I admit, that I kind of long for them to be self sufficient, and independent. But then I think about all of the things I love about them now, and I know that some day I will be willing to give my husbands left nut to have these moments back. Embrace these crazy days that seem like they will last forever, because they will be over sooner then you think!

Until next time my lovelys!

PS. Dont forget to come on over to Facebook and like my page "Motherhood- What The BLEEP Am I Doing?"