the Lord gives me strength, peace, & home improvement plans

Oh what a whirlwind March has been thus far! I'm happy to report that I am doing much better since my last post. Oh I still miss Dave very much and don't get me wrong, I still have my emotional disaster moments but overall I will say I am learning to adjust my way of life accordingly. We still don't have the deployment details but from what is being said thus far, it's looking like it will be within the next few weeks or so. Even before Dave left, I struggled with organization and time management. With 2 kids, the cakes, the photography, ballet, cooking, cleaning, playdates, and the rest that comes with adulthood, I don't have much time in between chores and events to spare. Now that Dave is gone, it seems almost impossible to get everything done. Since having kids I have never really taken time out for me. Because, let's be honest, with that whole list of "to-do's", there isn't much time to make myself "pretty" now is there? I decided alot of my depression was sort of stemming from the fact that I am not really known as Lori anymore but more so known as Dave's wife, or Payton & Taylor's mommy. With Dave being gone, I felt like half of my identity went with him. Thus I decided it was time for a transformation. I decided I needed to take care of myself. Physically, emotionally, mentally, & spiritually. To do this, I was going to need to better utilize my space and time. I started by making a commitment to work out daily. I don't have a gym membership and my schedule varies daily so I have been doing various things on the wii fit, taking my kids for long walks, running when I get the chance, and some yoga. We haven't had insurance for a year and so since the military is now covering our medical bills in exchange for kidnapping my husband, I decided to fully take advantage of these benefits. I made an appointment with my Dr. to discuss a few health concerns I had including my depression issues and it turns out I am a hormonal mess. Although, I am not a fan of anti-depressants, I decided at this time in my life, I needed all the help I can get and oh I feel the difference already! I made appointments to have my nails & toes done, hair cut, and eyebrows waxed. All things I hadn't treated myself to in 2 years! I vowed to read my bible everyday, even if only one tiny little scripture, I get my daily bread in. I also decided that if I could finally get myself and my home organized, I would have more time to enjoy it and my children. So, I have stayed up until the wee hours of the morning for weeks now clearing through the kids closets, my closet, the kitchen, living room, and anywhere else excess junk may be hiding. Bags & bags of clothing and toys are ready to be delivered to goodwill next week and slowly but surely, I am turning this place around. I bought some shelving for the living room because I have a TON of picture frames and nowhere to display them. Now the faces of my friends and family surrounds me. I bought office supplies to organize my desk area and a corner desk to better utilize my computer and office supply space. I also decided that since we live in a 3 bedroom home, have 2 kids, a ton of toys, and buckets of homeschool curriculum that I needed to somehow find a way to organize all of this STUFF. I decided my best bet was to turn our dining room into a playroom/schoolroom. It probably sounded like a crazy idea when I started but I thought, eh, how often do I entertain more than 4 people at once anyway right? So I did some rearranging and moved the dining table into the kitchen which works out well because it was sort of 50's diner themed anyway and goes quite well in there. Next I purchased storage bins, and cubby hole shelving to line the walls and organize all of Payton's school workbooks, her board games, craft supplies, crayons, and other activities. I used a labeler (my new favorite toy) so that each item is clearly identified! :) Taylor loves to look at books and be read to but she often destroys good books if she gets her hands on them so I took all the board books that she CAN'T destroy and moved them from our huge hallway library to a bottom shelf in the playroom so she can look at them whenever she wants and I don't have to worry about taping pages together later! I moved the kitchen & marketplace out of Payton's room and into the new "playroom" because truthfully, it's Taylor's FAVORITE thing to play with anyway. I moved the big desk that Payton was using for school out because she has an adorable little table that she can use as a desk now that she isn't using an ancient computer and has now taken over my pink laptop. When she's not using the laptop, it can easily be stashed to the side for emergency tea party purposes. My biggest concern was finding a way to sort of make it look like it's own room instead of part of the living room. I considered having a wall built but that seemed a bit drastic. So I instead purchased some inexpensive shelves from wal-mart and created a sort of mock half wall. This way, I have extra storage on the living room side for my scrapbooking crap, books, picture frames, and knick-knacks, and the playroom is sort of it's own room! I left a small walkway in between the shelves for easy entrance/exit that can easily be blocked off with a baby gate to keep a certain mischievous 1 year old contained should I need to. So far, it has been a magnificent addition to our home. Without even blocking them in there, they played for hours. I was even able to take a long shower and Taylor never once made a peek-a-boo appearance with my shower curtain! That's a 1st! lol

OR-GA-NIZED

Lotsa FUN!

TaDA!

I still have a few more projects before the "playroom" is complete. I need to finish painting Payton's table black. It's a really hideous pastel blend at the moment and if you know me, I am NOT a pastel person. It's cute but does in no way shape or form mesh with the rest of the house. I'm also commissioning my mother to make some curtains for the back windows. I need a new rug because, although I LOVE the one that is in there, it's really old and getting kinda dingy :( I also thought it would be fun to paint the back of the black shelves with chalkboard paint so the girls can doodle on them whenever they want.

Won't be taking any pictures of the updated living room until I solve the whole furniture dilemma but that's a whole 'nother post!

I'm utilizing my time without my husband to make myself feel better. I'm missing him more than I knew it was possible to miss someone but, I'm laying it down at God's feet, it's his burden now and not mine. He gives me comfort when I'm alone and lots of hair-brained home-improvement ideas to keep me entertained for the next year! lol