Punkins Room

Punkins room was the last one I worked on, and boy am I glad I saved hers until last or I might not have attempted the other two.    Apparently she is very sentimental about MANY things.  She saves everything. Pretty sure she gets that from her Nana :)    She told me to be ruthless and just purge anything I wanted to but not to show it to her.   I was worried I would get rid of things that were really special to her.  I needn't have worried.  I kept a nice big bin under her bed of anything that had special meaning, if I was unsure, I saved it.   I happily got rid of FOUR garbage bags of junk from her room.  FOUR!!!!     Along with discovering that all missing scissors in the house had found their way to her room.  I found EIGHT scissors. And five sticks of deodorant.

So - the  before picture.....


And after....... 



She loved it!!

Before and After

So this morning after I dropped the girls off at school, I went upstairs and walked into their bathroom and found this....


Yes, I took a picture of it. Because really, you can either laugh or cry, right???  I decided to laugh. And take a picture.  And share it on the world wide web.  I guess I'm hoping maybe it might make my girls think twice before using the world as their garbage can - or at least our house anyway.


I mean, this is ridiculous!!   I'm pretty sure I cleaned this bathroom just last week.  I can't even identify everything in this picture.  I think that's my missing candle holder!


I counted twelve hangers on the floor and hanging on towel racks. TWELVE!!!!


But like a good Mommy, I decided to go ahead and clean things right up for my sweet precious little ladies. (who apparently don't care to live as such).


For your viewing pleasure, before and after.  Love the look on the dogs faces - they couldn't believe it either.  Good grief.   When the girls came home from school, I gave a little demonstration on how to replace the toilet paper onto the holder.  It was rather comical as they looked at me as if I had lost my mind.  :)


And behind door number two - behold - a lovely mess.   I'm blaming all this on the recent transition back into the school schedule.  Apparently, all rules are off during the school year regarding any type of cleanliness or order.


And because I just can't deep clean without rearranging furniture, Banana has a fresh new look.  One huge garbage bag of trash and clutter taken from this room.


And behind door number three.  Yet, another mess.  Oh heavenly day.   REALLY?  Have I not taught them ANYTHING?????   This little girl usually loves to keep her room in order.    So.... once again......



A little rearranging, and another huge garbage bag full of trash and clutter and aaaaaaaaaahhhhhh.  It feels so good knowing how much junk is gone from our lives.   I went through every single drawer, cabinet, under the beds, under the dressers, every little nook and cranny!!! 

It was all worth every minute of  back-breaking labor today to see those excited little faces and hear so many "Thank You - Thank You"s!!!  So many hugs and "You're the best mom ever!!"s.   Usually when I deep clean and purge their rooms, the order will remain for at least a few months.  When everything has a place and has been repurposed for their current interests, they enjoy keeping things organized. 

I wasn't sure how the teenager would feel about me doing the same thing to her room, but after seeing her two sisters rooms, she gave me the green light!! YIPPEE!!! That's going to have to wait until tomorrow because today was a lot of work.    I've already taken the before picture, so stay tuned for the after picture.  Now, if only I could find that magic wand.........

The Itsy Bitsy Spider

Foggy Morning

The Woman Behind the Lens

Hello. Madison here. You may or may not know me. I'm Kirstens best friend. Shes awesome. Aunt Steen is my other best friend. We get each other. Both of us have a quirky sense of humor. We have a grand ol' time together. She also taught me everything I know about photography. So you may be alarmed that instead of the elouquent and witty Aunt Steen posting her thoughts, you're reading the ramblings of a teenager. My apologies. But if its any consolation, I got her to let me make a whole post just on her in the kitchen. Enjoy!

spinach...


She was teaching me how to change the focal point.

Helping the children with their homework while cooking dinner. She can do it all.



onions are gross...


When I go back and think of my Aunt Steen I will always remember her with a glass of ice tea.


I wish everyone could have tasted this deliciosness. It was life changing.

This is the first apron she has owned as a domestic housewife. Uncle Steen would never allow an apron in the house. But Aunt Steen insisted on not ruining all of her clothes now that shes cooking every night.


I like this picture because Aunt Steen has a nice laugh, and I love when she is laughing.


Got the sniffles?

trying out interesting angles.



She came down to see what shenanigans the dynaminc duo had gotten into this time. She tries to stifle a yawn at all of our excitement.


Awwh. What a good helper.

Somebody kept hiding from the camera. Mostly under the kitchen table. We couldn't find her for awhile.






The multitasker with her fine china.

Another good helper!




You dont see this because Aunt Steen only posts the rare good pictures she snaps of Kir, but this is how the majority of attempted shots turn out.








Em is clearly not enthused about having to come out of her hiding spot.

The meal was divine. Everyone should get to taste Aunt Steens great cooking.
I love you so much. Thanks for having me come on. I really think you're the prettiest person I know and there should be more pictures of you on here. Okay. I'm done.