A little project: Operation Kid Medications

Just a little evening project, that came about because of another project.  In the process of painting the upstairs hallway, we bought a Craigslist Dresser to replace the storage cabinet we had up there, meaning I had to do a little re-arranging in the hall closet.  And decided that I wanted to/needed to clear the stash of kids medications, nebulizers, etc. out of there.  Usually when the kids are sick we spend time downstairs anyways & all the meds & supplies end up all over the kitchen counter (which really is so not a safe thing to do, I know!)  I spent like $5 buying one new container to store our 3 nebulizers, otherwise I didn't spend anything.  Love free little projects :)  I have a kid proof door lock on that upstairs closet door because the meds were there, but with the hallway re-do project, the towel hamper ended up in that closet, so I didn't really want it to be locked.  Hence my initial motivation to get those meds out.  Infact, now I want a different door knob for that closet door.  The kids can't open the turn ones very well & I want them to be able to clean up after themselves so it needs a lever type handle (like all the other doors in the hallway).

After I looked at these pictures I realized I should have put shelf liner down too, will get to that later.  I cut pieces of adhesive shelf liner that I already had & used those to put labels on all the bins.  Just wrote on it with a Sharpie.

 Green baskets on the right hold extra nebulizer pieces & supplies.  Baskets on the left hold different things, Allergy meds, Inhalers, Tylenol/Motrin, etc.  All the extras.

 This container is the only thing I bought. It holds all our nebulizers.

 And fits in sideways right in front of the baskets with the extra pieces.

 Clipped to the door by the nebulizer container is the Asthma Action Plan we got from the respiratory doctors office for Olivia.  With that said... I don't know if we'll go back there this fall?  We didn't give her any steroids last winter.  And really we don't give her any Albuterol outside of sicknesses.  And we do the boys just as much with sickness as we do her anymore.  So I feel like if we went, all 3 kids should go as their respiratory status is all pretty equal as of late.  She hasn't really had a respiratory sickness lately where she has been her wheezy-asthma looking-self, so maybe we've just been lucky or maybe she is actually trying to grow out of this?  I'm not sure what they would tell us other than, they are post-preemies trying to grow out of this, we just have to wait & see.  We'll see how this winter goes & talk to Dr. Fran at their 4 year well check & see what he thinks.

 On the other door is a paper with doses per each kid for the basic stuff like Motrin, Tylenol & Benadryl.

 Sitting in front of those baskets on the left with all the extra medications is a basket with the open bottles of Motrin, Tylenol, Zyrtec, some measuring cups & syringes & Logan's Miralax (we're gonna get this poop thing yet I swear!!)

All tucked away up above the fridge, out of reach of little hands.  I think I will put a child proof door lock thing on it yet anyways.  

The bandaids & such are still up in the hall closet, as its usually bedtime when they discover an itty bitty scratch that desperately NEEDS a bandaid.  I think I'll put together a little first aid kit with stuff up there eventually too.  {And maybe I ought to throw a box of bandaids in the bin downstairs too now that I think about it}

Any bets on how long it stays neat & organized??!!

Busy little weekend!!!

After a late night Friday at the football game, Saturday we went to the wedding of one of Jeff's friends from college.  Aunt Molly & Analeigh came to babysit during the reception so Jeff & I could get out without kids & catch up with some of his friends we literally had not seen in YEARS (& stay out way way too late!)  The kids behaved well at the wedding, I love walking out & people saying "I'm impressed!!"

 Bubbles!!

 I think I'm raising 3 cowboys.  They all 3 insisted on wearing their boots to the wedding.  Which was fine considering 1/2 of the population there was REAL "cowboys" or ranchers from western Nebraska.  And thank goodness for boots... 'cause where else would you store your bubbles in your dress?

Despite 2 late nights... we got up & headed off to Church Sunday for the kids' 1st day of Sunday School.  

They weren't so much smiles inside.  "Stay with us mom."  Jeff & I ended up staying the whole time & that wasn't much of a good choice.  They would have listened & participated much better had we not been there.  They would get caught up in the moment occasionally & talk & answer, then look back to make sure we were there & slink down into shy mode.  We'll spend this week talking it up a bunch & try to get them to do it on their own next week.

Since Molly & Analeigh were in town from babysitting, they came to meet us in Church & watch the kids get their Bibles in Church!  Two cute girlies!!

 Hayden & his Bible

 Olivia & her Bible

 Logan & his Bible

A nice Sunday afternoon nap was had by all!!  Hope you had a fun filled weekend!!

Football!

We had our first Friday night high school football game at Jeff's new school!  Go Bears!  Jeff had 'teacher duty' to watch the Middle School kids, so the kids & I tagged along.  We chatted with my friend Anne the first quarter & then I chased around & tried to keep 3 kids out of trouble the rest of the game!  Sitting still is not their strong point.

Even popcorn & suckers wasn't enough to keep them sitting.

 The boys though it was the perfect location to work on their tackling skills.  They took turns tackling each other... then licking each other.  Yuck.  Hopefully someone explains to them no to lick the person they tackle before they get to play any real football!

 Liv & I played catch most of the 2nd half.  We really didn't WATCH much of the game.  Almost 4 year olds are not much for sitting & watching.  Not mine anyways.

 Instead of "say cheese" I said "say football".... created some funny pictures mid-word :)

I can't believe its September!!

Where is time going??  Seriously.... September!

This is the time of year that FLIES by.  Halloween, Birthdays, Thanksgiving, Christmas & then its New Years & then we're welcoming 2014. It just is so busy it flies!

Speaking of.... I did the kids' fall clothes shopping this week.  Besides a few more socks, new tennis shoes & a few more sporty pants for the boys, I'm done.  Most of their shirts from last year still "fit" well enough to wear to daycare & around at home, so I didn't need too much.  For the new stuff I did get them, I got Hayden either 5T or big boys size 4-5/XSmall & size 11 shoes!  Olivia is either a 4T or 5T depending on the brand & how long you want it to fit.  And an itty, bitty, size 8 shoe.  Logan is a 4T (with a 24 month waist) & a size 9 shoe.

And I got a jump start on some Christmas shopping.  It just that time of year that when you see something, you better just buy it or it might be gone when you get around to going back.

We rang in September, celebrating Addie & Ava's September birthdays at Jeff's parents house.  I can't believe the girls turn 4 & 2 already!!  

Happy Birthday girls!!

Had to make the kids stand back so we could sing & blow candles out.  It was a bit of chaos with all those kids & fire!

School continues to go fine.  I think there are still a few morning tears here & there.  But everyone is playing fine & independently when picked up.  Here are a few pictures of their "work" they bring home.  Not sure when looking at this will stop amazing me!

Writing your name on the top of your paper seems just so grown up.

I'm guessing he was supposed to write his name on the lines?  Oh well, tracing the lines is just as good as he clearly didn't need them to write his name.

Hayden drew a picture of our family.  Not real sure who is who?

They are becoming little independent beings.  Picked out their own clothes & shoes.

Office/Craft room

This is the place where all the magic happens.  Well, this & my now spray paint covered basement.  My office... craft room!  Its meant to be a formal dining room, but since our office is occupied with toys galore, this is going to be our office for the time being.  It didn't start out too bad, just boring.  And dark.  I'm not totally done-done yet.  The walls need some decorations & the table needs some poly & we need some chairs.  But I wrote up this blog once & then stuff changed more, so I figured I better post it once!!  Plus, since I'm currently mid entryway-living room-upstairs hallway project.  So things in here will stay as is for quite a while.  Plus, once I get those rooms done & sort through boxes & pictures, I can decide what to put up in here.

First it got a much needed light fixture upcycle.

 Here is the room before. 

Just dark & boring.

 I wanted to make a big craft table for me & for the kids to color.  I found on Pinterest something called brown paper bag floors or brown paper bag countertops & decided to take the door that I took down from the laundry room & try this treatment for a table top for a coloring table.  Literally, its brown paper bags.  Kind of like paper mache.  This is in the still wet stage. 

 Dry.

 Then, because I liked this look better, it got a coat of stain.

 Dry.  It needs about 3 coats of polyacrylic & sanded down smooth yet before its done.  But it looks kind of like leather. 

 The top 1/2 of the walls above the chair rail got a bright coat of green.

 And I played with ideas of what to do on the bottom...

 First it got 2 coats of white paint. 

 And then a grey/brown color.  It looks similar to what it was on the before/after pictures, but this is the difference in the new vs. old colors.

And after!!!

Love my drop cloth curtains :)

The bookcase needs some storage baskets.  And the walls need some pictures.  But I'm loving the brightness of it!

 Desk.  Now I need a trip to Ikea for some stools I want.

 Storage on this side for the kids' color books, crayons, & stuff.

Once we get it all organized... the computer armoire will be Jeff's office space.  And the bookshelf & sewing table will hold my stuff.

 This is what's on the lower part of the walls, tough you can't see it much with all the furniture.

Since I originally put this together... I've added a few things!

The book shelf got some baskets.  All their play-doh, paint stuff, leap pads, etc. all tucked away.

 The desk got some baskets & accessories.

 My wedding bouquet!

 Jeff's office is a cluster... but thats his... I just shut the door.

Before:

After:

Before:

After: