Project: Simplfy - Weeks 1 and 2

One of the blogs I follow, Simple Mom, is doing something called Project: Simplify, and encouraging their readers to "roll up their sleeves and clear the clutter" from five different "hot spots" in your home. Each hot spot is announced every Monday (over the course of five weeks) and you are encouraged to declutter, clean, and organize that area (and blog about it) by that Friday. The project started two weeks ago and – unfortunately, I only really found out about it last Friday (the day you were supposed to be done with the first hot spot), but I love this idea (and a good challenge), so I'm trying to participate, although not necessarily in the same time frame. Eh, better to declutter in my own time, than not to declutter at all. (I think that was Shakespeare, right?)

The first hot spot (announced last week) was your wardrobe and closet. (See link for more details on how Simple Mom suggests tackling this.) I was excited to take on this project because I had just been thinking about what I would wear that very night (we were going out to dinner with a group of friends from church and I wanted to look casual, but cute), and was feeling like I had "nothing to wear." Plus I've been frustrated with my master closet situation for a while. I felt bad because Ryan really didn't have near the space that I allowed for myself and I knew there were lots of things I could probably get rid of. Also, as the winter season is almost over now, I knew for a fact that there were lots of items hanging in my closet that did not get worn once all winter, so they really ought to go.

Simple Mom encourages you to take lots of before and after pictures and document your thoughts throughout the process, so here goes:

Master Closet – Before

It's hard to tell from the picture, but our master closet is sort-of L-shaped, and you're not seeing the corner or other small ("L") side here (where Ryan's stuff was).

My thoughts as I purged ALL THIS STUFF:

Yes, that's carpet in my master bathroom.
We hate it and intend to change it
one day. For now, please forgive.

• I got rid of almost all of the button-up shirts I owned because I've come to the realization that, with a few exceptions, they are just not my style. They usually don't fit quite right, and I need to stop hoping that they will.
• I don't know why I feel the need to maintain certain key items in my wardrobe, like a plain white button-up blouse, for example. It's as if I feel like every wardrobe should have one, in the event you need it one day, but I never wear it! Gone.
• It was fun to rediscover items that I haven't worn in a while, that do still work. It was almost like getting a couple of "new" items that I'd actually had all along.
• If I couldn't justify wearing the item (or outfit) that night (as I mentioned, we were going out), I will probably never want to wear it. It's outta here.
• If I have to do a little dance to get it on, it doesn't fit. Get rid of it.
• Sentimentality is not a legitimate reason to hold onto an item of clothing. I was surprised by how many things I was keeping because they were what I wore in my engagement photos, or to my bachelorette party, etc. (Lots of these items were linked to around the time I got married, actually, which was five years ago! Time to go!) There is one exception to that rule. The blouse I was wearing the night Ryan and I met (it was white with black stripes and ruffled sleeves – sounds kinda ugly, but was really cute, actually) stays. It does not take up space in my closet, however, but lives in the back of a dresser drawer, where I refuse to part with it. It just makes me happy and I can't part with it.
• Although I got rid of at least four pairs of jeans (maybe more – I forgot to count), I decided to keep one pair of older ones to wear when painting or doing other potentially clothes-ruining projects. But just one!
• I spent nine years of my life in the corporate world and had built up a fairly substantial work wardrobe in that time. I've gotten rid of quite a bit of it since becoming a SAHM almost two years ago, but I was still hanging onto several pieces that I thought I might still wear someday. During this process, however, I figured that by the time I go back to work (God-willing), all that stuff will be outdated anyway, and I should be able to justify getting new stuff at that time. I kept a handful of items that I might wear for other formal occasions, but only a few.

The "work" pants that I got rid of.
I think there are  14 pair here!

The work pants that I kept. Seven.

Unused hangers after the purge.

Sweaters and jeans used to take up three
of these shelves. I got it down to one
and a half!

I even got Ryan to go through some of his things and get rid of a handful of items. Motivated by the offer to share more space for his stuff, we completely reorganized how we managed this closet. Instead of me getting the top AND bottom of the "prime real estate" (the space when you first walk in the closet) and him being stuck back in the "L" in the back corner, we now divide it top/bottom. I get the top (this was my idea, after all!) and he gets the bottom.

We also divided our shoes up in a more logical manner. We actually have two closets, the walk-in in our master bathroom and a standard size one in the bedroom. Previously, I had shoes in both and his, again, were shoved back in the corner. Now, all his shoes are in the other smaller closet (sorry no photos of that one – we didn't do a whole lot in there except for the shoe thing) and all of mine are in the walk-in.

We also bought and installed a new light fixture. The previous one (again, sorry for no photo – hindsight is 20/20) was really dim and nothing special. This new one has four adjustable 50-watt halogen bulbs along a track and is AWESOME! I feel like a hot-shot celebrity with a spotlight shining down on me and my (sadly, less than Hollywood-worthy) wardrobe every time I walk in. Smile.

So, here are the "after" photos. Maybe not so impressive from the pictures, but it sure does feel nice to have things better organized and well-lit. And the giant box that's headed to Goodwill makes me feel great, too!

Main area - me on top, Ryan on bottom

L-corner - me on top, empty hangers and
my shoes on bottom. (Ryan doesn't have
enough stuff to fill it all up anyway.)

Project: Simplify - Week 2, which started this past Monday, featured the next hot spot – paper clutter. Due today, let's just say, this one didn't happen. I have intentions of still trying to work on it – it's something that needs to be done anyway. But it obviously didn't happen in time, so you'll have to stay tuned for more on this one.

I did take some "before" pictures, though.

Computer desk clutter. Eek!

Kitchen counter clutter. Aack!

One (of several) random drawers with an out-of-control
magazine/catalog/book collection. Oy vey!

See, I told you it needs to be done! Looking forward to finding out what next week's hot spot is and sharing more de-cluttering revelations with you.

Cookie baking gone awry

Last night, I decided to enlist Owen's help in baking chocolate chip cookies. I really thought this would be a fun activity that he would enjoy. I prepared the dough, and then spooned some of it into a separate bowl so that he could sink his hands into it and form his own little balls on the baking sheet – or at least, that was my hope.

Instead, he immediately shoved a big chunk of dough directly into his mouth.

No harm – who doesn't love raw cookie dough? But getting him to do anything else with it, besides eat it, proved useless.

He did poke his fingers into the little balls I made, which I accepted as the most "help" I was going to get out of him.

Apparently at age 20 months, one is incapable of understanding that you have to put the dough into the oven for a few minutes in order for them to turn into warm, yummy cookies.

Before

After

Let's just say a MAJOR meltdown ensued when I took the dough away from him.

Fortunately 9 short minutes later, we had a happy boy once again...

Mmmmm!

Welcome to our new entryway

Just to brag for a bit, here are photos of our newly painted entryway.

Unfortunately, I did not have the forethought to take "before" pictures, but allow me to describe. The walls were the same pinkish-beige color of the entire rest of the house and the light fixture was a very simple, very ugly, brass-plated glass dome (standard, run-of-the-mill ceiling fixture found in many a suburban hallway). Also, we replaced the front door almost immediately after we moved in. It was previously a forest green, six-panel, steel door – very ugly.

This is such a small space, so it really didn't take much to turn it around. But because it's the first thing our guests see upon entering our home, I think it has a big impact. The replacement door has been in place now for months, so we just added this super fun drum light (which I looooove!) from Lowe's...

...and a couple coats of paint (Behr – Dusty Olive). And, voila!

I considered doing a stencil treatment or possibly some kind of applique on the wall to the left of the front door (opposite the coat closet), but for now, I am thoroughly enjoying our new contemporary entryway.

After seeing how good this dark shade looks on the walls (we were both pretty skeptical at first), Ryan and I have been having major second thoughts on the mega painting project we completed a couple months ago of our main living areas (living room, kitchen, hallway). We are sad to admit that the color we ended up with there (Behr – Castle Path) is pretty darn blah. But, because repainting that whole area would be extremely time-consuming (and admitting total defeat), we are planning to put a shade similar to this one on a couple of key "accent" walls in the other areas. More on that in the coming weeks...

We've MOVED!

Welcome to my new blog design (and address)! Be sure to change your bookmark from the old (owenryanpeterson.blogspot.com) to the new: lettingourlightshine.blogspot.com.

It just felt like a good time to spice things up a bit, and since this blog no longer focuses solely on Baby O updates (although you can still expect a lot of those – including this one), I thought I'd give it a more general title to make room for all the other things I'd like to blog about. I will probably continue to play around with the look of the site, too, so if you see more changes, just bear with me for now.

Speaking of the title, one of my favorite scripture verses is Matthew 5:16 - "In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." It's plastered on my refrigerator and it reminds me to evaluate the light that I shine – every day. And it inspires me to shine God's love into the darkness of those around me. My hope is that I might breathe a positive breath of air into my readers' day...in some form or another. Stay tuned for more on that...

Now, onto the latest update from the Peterson household...

We're all just coming out of this hazy, late-winter cold/flu fog, which, for me specifically, has lasted WAY too long. You know it's pretty bad when you can't even smell your child's very poopy diaper. I am normally pretty quick to know when Owen has a dirty diaper – thanks to my keen sniffer – but this past week I have been suffering from the (very possibly) WORST cold of my life, so when I went to change his diaper the other day, I was greeted with a warm surprise! Ugh. I am completely ready to get this sick stuff out of my house and family once and for all. Ever since getting back from the cruise (during which we were all remarkably healthy!) we have been passing around one symptom after another between the three of us. Ryan had pinkeye (crazy, right?), Owen had the sniffles, and, until very recently, I had been breathing out of my mouth (on account of both of my nostrils going on strike) for days.

Meanwhile, on the positive side (letting that light shine!)...

I dressed Owen the other day in his Baby Gap "skinny" jeans (which I found so hilarious in the store that I had to purchase them!)

I mean, how cute are these?

and immediately upon snapping them up, he started whining and tugging at the snap. Apparently my son suffers from the same pudgy tummy issue as his mama. He walked around with them unsnapped for most of the morning

Channeling Al Bundy

until I eventually changed him into more comfortable pants, but not before he discovered the fun of sticking his little fingers through all the little rips in them.

Hmmm...my finger fits perfectly!

After a quick cleaning session last week, he picked up the Swiffer duster left lying around and went right to work dusting everything within his reach,

Busy...

Busy...

Busy...

  

including himself...

This kind of reminds me of my hairbrush.

...and the carpet!

And speaking of carpet, here is my little shadow helping me vacuum.

Owen's most recent favorite plaything is this empty cardboard box. LOADS of fun have been had!

Look mama, I fit!

Peek-a-boo!

It's a clubhouse for all my friends!

We've been doing some minor little things around the house the past couple weeks, too, that I want to share with you all, but for now, I'm off to bed. Hopefully I'll have more for you tomorrow (or soon, anyway!)

Disney "Dream" Vacation

Well, we not only survived our first major vacation (including air travel) with Owen, but we had a blast! Can't say enough good things about the Disney Dream cruise ship. It was beautiful and amazing! I've never been on a cruise before, so I can't make any comparisons (I've never even been to a Disney park, for that matter), but everything just seemed so well thought out (and clean!)

We left last Wednesday on a direct flight from Moline to Orlando. I was very worried about how Owen would behave on the plane, but he did great! Thankfully, the flight was just under 3 hours long and actually seemed to fly by (pardon the pun). I relied on a few of the items out of his carry-on bag to entertain him, but by far, the most useful were snacks and the DVD player (with a Yo Gabba Gabba disc, of course.) Having his car seat on the plane (a decision we agonized over for a few weeks) proved to be a smart move. He seemed to understand that he had to stay in there and didn't even really fuss about wanting to get out.

We stayed in Orlando that day/night (hanging out at the hotel with the rest of the Peterson clan) and then caught a shuttle to Port Canaveral Thursday morning. Mickey Mouse was there to greet us at the port terminal and we were fortunate enough to see him show up just as a line started forming to meet him. We jumped right in and Owen was lucky enough to meet the big man nearly right away. Here he is holding hands with "Mimi."

Check out this amazing ship... It is gigantic!

It wasn't long before we started seeing more Disney characters. As you can see from this shot with Goofy, Owen was not afraid to just reach out and say hi!

Day 2 on the ship brought us to Nassau in the Bahamas. We debarked for a little while, but since we didn't have any excursions booked that day, we headed back onboard pretty quickly to take advantage of the ship's pools and water slide.

Owen enjoyed splashing around in the shallow part of the pools even though he was not technically allowed in them. (They have a rule against non-potty trained kids in the pools.) Only his feet touched the water (well, except for maybe once or twice when he decided to sit down and, really, what was I gonna do?) so I figured it was ok.

The ship (it is SO amazing!) has a movie theatre that plays various Disney movies (of course!), several restaurants and other dining options, nightclubs, kid zones designed for kids of different ages, a fireworks display one night, lots of different "shows" going on all over the ship, and a full theatre (which seemed to me about the size of the Adler Theater in Davenport). We certainly did not get to do or see everything there was to do and see (partly because it was only a 3-night cruise, and partly because we have a toddler), but we did see two of the three shows - Villains Tonight and Believe. They were late shows - 9:00, which is late for Owen anyway - but he seemed to enjoy them, particularly the music and dancing!

Day 3 took us to Disney's own private island, Castaway Cay, which was gorgeous and super fun! Right away, we met another old friend, Pluto.

We spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon on the beach. Owen did not care for the sand under his feet at first. When I tried to set him down, he would lift up his feet and say, "owwww!" as if it hurt (which I am certain it did not.) So I just plopped him down on his bottom and gave him a shovel and eventually, he started to play in it, piling sand up on his legs.

There was also a splash area for little kids where water shot up from lots of different spouts in the ground and, OMG...I mean to tell you, my kid was squealing with delight! He went bonkers for it! He was giggling and running around as if it was the greatest thing he'd ever experienced. I took him back a second time to try get video of the pure joy that so melted my heart, but of course the video did not accurately capture his giddiness, so I did not bother to post. But here's a pretty cute photo anyway. I think we will be getting out the sprinklers in the backyard this summer.

So, I'm skipping over a lot of other details aboard the ship - like the exquisite food, very comfortable (and surprisingly not as cramped as anticipated) living quarters, and extremely friendly and helpful staff. But needless to say, this was a vacation that we shall not soon forget (ok, well maybe Owen will. In fact, sadly, I'm sure he already has.) But we greatly appreciate the Petersons for splurging on this family trip and owe them a big fat THANK YOU!!!

We debarked on Sunday morning and, since our flight home wasn't until Monday, we had another day to kill. Completely unlike Ryan and me, we hadn't actually made any definite plans for how to spend that day. We'd tossed around a few ideas, but eventually decided that morning to just spend the day at Disney's Magic Kingdom. I am proud to say that after 30-something years, I have now been to Disney World!

Owen did not appreciate the long lines to get on the rides (does anyone?) and had a tantrum (or ten!) while waiting in them, but he did rather enjoy the rides themselves.

Despite his distant look in the photo above (he refused to smile for pictures that day), he enjoyed the teacups, It's a Small World ride, Aladdin's magic carpet ride, and a Winnie the Pooh ride, as well as pizza, hot dogs, and ice cream. It is "the happiest place on earth," right?

Sleep deprived as could be after several days of disruption to his normal schedule, he hung in there and did take a short nap in his stroller.

The last "ride" we took him on was the train, which he thoroughly enjoyed. Again, you'd never guess it from this photo, but he loved every minute of the ride around the park and stared wide eyed at all the scenery as it passed by, "choo-choo"-ing along the whole time.

Finally, we ended the day by watching Disney's electrical parade (and eating corn dogs and french fries!) - another favorite moment for Owen. He watched with glee as each lighted float passed by and he danced along to the music from his front-row stroller seat. They finished the parade off with an awesome fireworks display (which we watched from outside the park because Ryan was in a hurry to "beat the crowd"). All in all, a very good day.

Indeed, a very good vacation!