Super Cute Crate Buffett

I have been planning and dreaming about making something amazing out of my little, old, junky crates for years! I imagined a darling buffet in my kitchen! I have used them to store things and even prop things up all this time. 

One Sunday after church, the girls and I set off on an expedition to collect all of my random crates!

To create my buffet, I gathered some two inch screws (Similar to these), some stain (Minwax Red Mahogany) that matched my table and some white spray paint (Love this brand) that I had on hand that almost matched my table. The only thing I had to go look for was the wood I planned to use for the top. I purchased two 1x6x6  nice quality boards at Lowes to act as the counter top for my buffet.

All of the crates are slightly different sizes and are all made out of different kinds of wood. I had to rearrange them and set them up several times to make an almost level platform for my 1x 6's.

There were spaces that needed to be filled to make the top level, so I had to break one of the extra crates a part and stick the pieces in the spaces. Once I had all of the crates placed exactly how I wanted them, I started to screw it all together.

I was a little over zealous on the first one... I was excited, what can I say? The wood split and I am pretty sure I might have shed a tear.

After this moment of horror, I simply started screwing the screws in on the second slat in from the front, and last slat, so they cannot be seen as easily from the front, just incase they split again. You live and you learn right?

After I fastened all of the crates together, I painted the entire structure. As I swept the paint over the crates I realized that they were going to absorb the paint like a sponge. In my vision of this project I imagined a thickly painted heirloom white piece of furniture with a satin finish. I used the who full cans of spray paint that I had in no time. I was exceptionally disappointed in the fact that it looked a little beachy and almost shabby chic.

I made a decision to press on and complete this project, so I fastened the top boards to the structure and made sure the whole thing was still level. Then I stained the wood pieces to match my table as planned.

After the paint and stain was dry and placed in my dining room to took my breath away! It was actually perfect!

The subtle colors of the wood coming through the paint and the texture was truly beautiful. It matched my style exactly. My husband actually fell in love with it right away and said it is new favorite piece of furniture!

Getting Organized, Baby and Backyard!!

We are still no more organized than when we moved in, our sixth child, EllieMay, is 5 weeks old today and the backyard is coming along surprisingly well! Homeschooling is starting to pick back up again, after an embarrassingly long break, feel free to judge me... And I couldn't stand to go another day without a blog post!

Moving from a huge house to a home about half the size has really put a cramp in my pack rat style.

Aside from having an overabundance of things I genuinely do not need, I don't have the time nor desire to clean, purge and organize it these days! I kept telling myself, "after the baby comes you will have the energy..." We all know that was a lie.

Now baby is here, she is a bundle of sweetness wrapped in sleepless nights and baby poop. I couldn't be happier with her, except for the fact that she is too cute not to hold, and you cannot get anything done while holding a sleeping newborn! Also, the kids all adore her... Which is hard, because she is mine and I don't want to share... But that is a whole other issue!

Needless to say, we are inching along slowly on all of our goals... My honey and his father put up the fence for my garden area, we will very likely build our garden boxes in the next week, then work on the chicken coop. We have 5 baby chicks already! More on that later.

The kids are seriously in love with our huge yard, and are taking full advantage! I love seeing them get creative and building the clubhouse of their dreams!!

The garage is still an example of complete insanity. No, I will not post a pic! I have the desire to want to organize and clean out there... Neither desire nor want are strong enough to motivate me... I decided today that I will do my best to follow the 15 in 15 Home Organizing Plan (Link To Organizing Plan), and apply it to the garage. In theory, it should be helpful to follow some kind of plan... I make no promises...

The New Chore List!

Moving to a new house means a new Chore List!! Also, since this house is substantially smaller than our last, we have to stay a little more on top of things.

I can't lie, we are all pretty excited about chores. Yes, we are crazy.

I have always had a strange philosophy about chores. I believe that chores are a privilege. You still have to do them, whether you want to or not, but they are a privilege. We call our chores our "home blessings" and the kids get to take ownership of our home by blessing it with well completed chores.

There are the daily expectations that are not considered chores. Making your bed every morning, picking up your room before bed and general picking up after yourself. We try to encourage this as soon as they can walk, make it a habit and constantly praise them for a job well done.

The kids know whats going on, they realize that I am glorifying dog poop duty, but it still works. When kids complete even the simplest of chore we make sure that they know that they have just done a service for our family and home. Part of their membership to our home is completing their assigned task, joyful and timely.

I can admit that there are days that I am not honestly in the mood to be the chore cheer leader, and I joyfully hand this task off to another family member. Giving the kids the opportunity to cheer each other on has turned out to be a valuable training tool. I can see the kids reacting positively to each other and using encouraging words in other parts of their lives. It's a wonderful feeling to see the hard work in training come to life...

The August Chore List:

• Daily
• Kitchen .................. Mason 
• Sweep/mop .......... Chase
• Vacuum ................. Gabby
• Dust ........................ Abby
• Dogs Needs .......... Chase
• Cats Needs ........... Mason
• Bathroom .............. Gabby
• Weekly
• Windows ........................... Gabby
• Sanitize Door Knobs ...... Abby
• Baseboards ....................... Tanner

The chores are split between the kiddos depending on age, in my house you must be at least 8/9 to be allowed to clean the kitchen and you must be little to clean baseboards. Each kiddo receives their assigned chore and must complete that chore every day/week for that entire month.

My kids seem to appreciate that they can truly own that chore for the month. The kitchen person has a much larger job, but the vacuum and sweep/mop person has to keep track of their floor. If there is a muddy mess the person responsible for that space must make sure that their chore is complete before bed time.

When the switch happens and one kiddo has to hand their chore over to the next kiddo, there is always a sense of passing the torch with pride.

We haven't actually moved yet, but the kids already know what their next months chores are and they cannot wait to bless our new home!

How to move like a BOSS!

Moving is never really fun. Moving isn't even fun for someone who likes things done in an orderly fashion. Even if you are making the best move of your life. Moving is HARD.

Over the past 13 years of my married life I have moved 9 times, and we are working on our 10th move! We truly thought the last move was going to be our last, but it looks like the 10th time is the charm! We are finally buying our forever home and to do things right the last time, I have put together a list of what I have learned about moving.

Mommy's Packing Buddy :)

What you will need to get started: a note-book, pen or pencil, a marker (or 5) and a little time to focus. When you start packing you will need boxes of all shapes and sizes, packing tape and maybe more markers :)

Make a list of every room and closet in your house: Seriously get out your handy-dandy note-book and make a list. For example: M's room, C's room boys bathroom, laundry room, hall closet, linen closet... etc. This list gives you a better idea of the number of places you need to focus on individually. Really break it down so you can check rooms off your list and feel triumphant! Yes, before you ask, I am absolutely one of those people who writes things on my to do list that I have already completed, just so I can cross them off. :)

Rewrite or number your list in the order of rooms that can be completely packed first: The idea is, if you can wrap each room one at a time, you can close that door and not reenter that room until you are on your final walk through. This is especially helpful if you are still living in the home. When I start actually packing boxes I will start with my craft room, then the upstairs bathroom, then the media room up stairs, and so on. If I have time I will purge a little, toss trash or donate/sell items that someone else can use. Once packed, clean windows and sills, then vacuum. Shut that door and no one is allowed in that area from this point forward.

Clear out a space for your packed and ready boxes: One of the most helpful things I have ever done when packing is having a spot to stack the sealed boxes. The garage is a good place, if that's not an option, a corner of the house some where, maybe even the first room packed on your list. Moving the boxes out of the way and clearing your space gives you a better idea of whats left. It also helps you to see the progress so far. Nothing helps me stay inspired or encouraged more than having visual confirmation of my hard work.

After you have a plan in place start collecting boxes: You will need all kinds of boxes. Different sizes, thicknesses and levels of sturdiness. Start with the room you can completely pack first and clearly label your boxes with your marker!

Stay motivated and stick to your plan: Your plan is there to help you not only pack up quickly and efficiently, but to make the moving process and unpacking easier as well. If you pack, seal and label boxes as you go, when your friends help you unload the truck, they will know what room to stack your boxes in. If all the "craft room" boxes are in the craft room, unpacking will be a breeze!

No matter the number of times you have moved, packing is HARD. You always start out with good intentions and end up scrambling around trying to make sure you get everything you missed.

I always pack the kitchen last, because I don't want to live like I'm camping in my house. Also, I always pack the glass plates or china last. Since I place all the boxes out in the garage, I don't want my beautiful wedding china on the bottom of the stack out in the garage to be broken. I will pack all of my super fragile stuff the very last day and place them in my car. I don't always have newspaper, but I always have towels! Packing breakables in towels is efficient and free!

Good luck on your adventures in moving!

A few helpful links:
Sharpie Markers!! (Best Markers Ever)

Moving Again... Wait.. What!?

Wow... I cannot believe that we have decided to move again! It seems as if we move about once a year! Never again! Yes, I have said that before, but it is different this time! We have finally found our tiny piece of heaven, one little acre of land. Never in our wildest dreams did we believe that we would be home owners again, much less the owners of a darling little house out in the country. We grew up in a place where houses were close together. You could very literally hear the neighbors using the restroom. Now we will have our own piece of land. One acre to raise our babies, with a new baby on the way, grow a garden and learn to be more sustainable/financially responsible at the same time.

Let me back up... A little over two years ago we were living in a house that was "fine." There was a huge fun basement, and a small upstairs. The yard was unfenced so we spent a majority of our time missing the kids and chasing the dogs through the neighborhood. I didn't hate that house, the neighbors were even wonderful, but it wasn't perfect for us.

So, like cereal movers do, we decided to keep our eyes open for something better. We prayed about it a lot. We happened across a friend of ours from church who was looking for someone to occupy their home while they were trying to buy another. The husbands got together and decided that the Wightman family belongs in their home. The rent was high but the house was AMAZING! The house had plenty of space to play, live and an amazing kitchen. The plan was to live there until we can buy it. It was truly what we thought we had always wanted and we do not have a single complaint.

After several months of living in our dream house we started the process of trying to buy it. Our dreams were dashed when we were told that, because of our past bankruptcy, we could not qualify for the cost of this home. We tried any number of ways to get a loan to buy it. Nothing. We lost many nights of sleep devastated. We came to realize that even though our heart was in this house, we could not settle here.

We wanted to OWN a house. It was hard knowing that our heart break was made of our own choices. The financial irresponsibility of our youth robbed us of our dream. The hard work we have done over the past five years had repaired our credit, but that wasn't enough. God is funny. He knows that the only way we will learn a lesson is if a lesson violently knocks us off our feet.

I get it now. We need to stop reaching, stop living above or means and stop trying to have the best of everything. We need to start appreciating what we have, knowing that God and family are enough and start truly living out our dreams in real time.

It took only one week. We finally understood what God was asking us to do. We made an offer on the perfect little house, they accepted and we found out that we were expecting baby number 6. Wow.

May the escrow begin!!