The Family Room Is Done...Mostly :)

We did it! Hubby finished the family room remodel! I am so proud...he did it mostly on his own and it looks so good. :)

But first let us revisit the room before...



Completely disgusting and unusable space. Lovely 70's linoleum, with water stained acoustic tiling for the ceiling, and spiderwebs EVERYWHERE.

After two and a half months of hubby working whenever he had a spare moment, blood sweat and tears. Here is the finished result...


Looking from the kitchen..

Looking toward the kitchen...


A photo of the window that I have yet to make a covering for. As of right now, there are dropcloths over it. I love the window :) Now I want to switch out all our other windows.


A beautiful, large (11x10 foot space), light and bright space! We love it. The kids really enjoy the extra space to play in. (Evidenced by the toys already strewn across the floor) And once I get it all set up, we will have school in there as well.

We created the room for about $2,000. This figure includes wood, materials, tool rental, etc.

The color on the walls is Grasscloth by Behr. All furnishings are hand-me downs and I have no idea where they were purchased :) The lighting was from Home Depot and it was on clearance.

Remodeling a portion of your home is time-consuming and expensive! But I am so pleased with the end result. I can't wait to put the finishing touches on it.

My hubby is amazing!

::EDITED::Frugal Dishwasher Detergent Works For Me!::EDITED

I quite happened upon this by accident. Actually, I was procrastinating at making homemade laundry detergent :)

One day as I was loading up my dishwasher, I realized I had run out of detergent! My Cascade had finally been used up. Mildly panicking as payday was about a week away and I didn't want to wash all my dishes by hand until then, I happened upon the ingredients list on the box.

It read:
Main ingredient: Sodium carbonate

My mother took chemistry when my sister and I were little so I put two and two together and came up with ...

Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda! Which contains the same ingredient: sodium carbonate. This stuff is like $2.00 (approximately) per box and you just use it like you would Cascade.

(Okay, I can't take all the credit for my discovery...God lead me to it ! :)

So, not paying for overpriced dishwasher detergent with a bunch of other chemicals in it...definitely Works For Me!

EDITED:: A couple of you asked if that was all I used. Yes and no :) Yes I don't use any other detergent. No, I use a pinch of salt and some vinegar with the detergent as well. Sorry about leaving that out.::

Stranger Lessons in the Grocery Store

Homeschooling our children gives me lots of opportunity to combine practical application with education.

For example, yesterday we went to the grocery store. And while we learned how going to Winco creates a time warp and you will inevitably get sucked in for no less than an hour no matter how succinct your grocery list is, we also learned about Stranger Safety. Because what better place than the grocery store to learn things of this nature?

Actually, Stranger Safety 101 came to being because I saw a situation that warranted it. While in the bulk section, my kiddos were standing near the cart where I told them to stand and I was only a few feet away..completely able to see my children at all times. As I was scooping up the oatmeal, I heard a guy start talking to my sons. I turned around and gave him a half-hearted smile (why I smiled I don't know...overly polite I guess). We moved on to other parts of the store. And where we were he was. I still didn't notice. But when we went up to the cash register and he was there AGAIN, I started to get a little creeped out.

What happened next totally weirded me out and I nearly flipped out. In Winco, you bag your own groceries. So I was bagging and my youngest son, Mr. Independent, was on the far side of the cart. The forty-something, non-grandpa looking guy walked around my cart, started talking to my son again and RUBBED HIS SHOULDERS. I proceeded to call my son over to my side to "help" me load the groceries. And I made sure that I was between my sons and the guy. I quickly finished loading my cart and we left the store.

As I put my children in the van, I started thinking about the situation more intently.

At first I thought I overreacted, but then I started thinking about it. He probably followed us in the store and to our register. There were five other registers he could have used! Realizing this totally creeped me out by then. So I deemed our Most Important Lesson of the Day, Stranger Safety 101. First I explained that God puts angels responsible over their safety, so that the angels can protect them from things Daddy and Mommy can't. But I told them that God put us in charge of keeping them safe from things like bad people. I tried to carefully explain that there are people who are dangerous and can do bad things (I kept it very vague because they don't need to know about pedophiles yet). Then I drilled them on what they should do in certain situations.

Lesson 1: (Well I guess that teaching them about God's protection is lesson 1)
I taught them that they don't talk to strangers unless Daddly and Mommy tell them it is okay. It doesn't matter if the person looks really nice and friendly. DON'T TALK TO STRANGERS!

Lesson 2: If someone you don't know tries to touch you in ANY way, you say (very loudly so everyone can hear you): DON'T TOUCH ME!

Lesson 3: If Daddy or Mommy are a little ways off in the store and you feel uncomfortable around anyone you say: DADDY OR MOMMY I NEED YOU. And we will come running. (For the sake of clarification here: We NEVER leave our children unattended in the store. I meant we can still see our children and hear them but we are not right next to them.)

Lesson 4: Don't let anyone touch your sister either. Speak up for her like in lesson 2.

Lesson 5: If you are at home and some person keeps staring at you as you play in the backyard, GET YOUR SISTER, COME INSIDE AND TELL ME.

Lesson 6: It doesn't matter where you are (home, church, store, etc.) if anyone tries to touch you or talk to you, FOLLOW THE RULES AND COME AND GET US.

Lesson 7: Daddy and Mommy will deal with the strangers. You don't have to.

Lesson 8: Don't be afraid of people. God keeps you safe and we will keep you safe too. Follow the rules and obey and we can protect you better.

Lesson 9: If anything like the above examples happens, ALWAYS TELL US.

As I think back on it, I should have just told that guy "DON'T TOUCH MY SON" and then called my son over to me. Embarrassment would have served the creep right! If I get opportunity again, I know what I will do!

How come there aren't classes on what parents are supposed to do? :) Stranger Safety Response Classes for parents! Maybe there are and I just don't know about them.

So did I leave anything out? When did you have to talk to your little ones about Stranger Safety? How did you do it?

Almost Done!

We are so close to finishing the family/ schoolroom ( I use the term "we" very loosely here...mainly him)! Can't wait to take photos!


Before and after coming up soon this week!

Food Safety?

How much control should the government have over your food supply?

Today I received an email from a friend regarding HR Bill 875 Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009. The youtube video that was enclosed was chilling. However, when I started researching the bill online, shivers went down my spine.

This bill is being submitted under the guise of protecting the public from food-borne illnesses and contaminants. The real truth is that the major agri-giants want to squeeze out the organic food producers. The consequences of the bill reach as far as your backyard. Oh yes, even your own family garden could be deemed a "food production facility" and would therefore fall under the jurisdiction of the government food oversight department.

So I pose my question again: Should the government have absolute control over your food supply?

Do you want your family garden to be non-reproducing because of GM (genetically mutated) seeds you are forced to buy, again and again? Do you prefer to eat agriculture or meat that has been injected with growth hormones and other chemicals to keep us "safe" from contaminants?

How far are we willing to let the government reach?

If this bill passes, our right to choose what food we consume and do not consume will cease to exist. We will choose what the government tells us to. And are we so naive to think that our government cannot be blinded by the dollar signs the companies produce?

"Control oil and you control nations; control food and you control the people." -Henry Kissinger, 1970

Contact your representative and respectfully tell them you would like to retain the right to choose the food your family consumes.

Sniff Sniff

Do you hear that? It's the sound of me crying.

Melissa at 320 Sycamore is having a paint party and I can't go. Why? Because my camera batteries are dead. Sigh.

I would love to show off the Bayside (Behr) in our bathroom. But alas, you will just have to imagine the soothing deep teal color.

And Anonymous (Behr) looks lovely on our master bedroom walls. Blogger isn't uploading photos right now so I will have to try later. Anonymous is like being wrapped in a soft grey cocoon. We love it!

Our boys' room is an Oops! paint from Home Depot ($5 for the gallon...wahoo!). Unfortunately, either the HD staff, or the people who brought the paint back, painted over the color code so I have no idea what the name is. It is a bright sky blue that goes perfectly with their curtains and bedding.

Our little girl's room is going to be chocolate brown with pink. Still a work in progress right now. The walls are currently a dark deep brown ( I have no idea what color because we had a major ordeal with an oops paint) and it is nice and soothing...perfect for naptime!

The family/ schoolroom is Grass Cloth (Behr) and it is so restful and relaxing.

My kitchen will become Grape Leaves (Behr) eventually. Currently it is Summer Heat (Behr) which I completely fell in love with at HD off of the paint card. It coordinated well with my chili pepper theme (hey my husband is from Mexico, so what can I say...chickens just aren't us). But after almost three years, I have tired of it and want to try something new.

And our living room and hallway are Brown Sugar (Behr)...I think. It is a nice neutral brown color that goes with everything.

Oh and most of these rooms have been painted over more than three times...LOL!

We LOVE paint over here at Five in the Potter's Hand! (Well, maybe "we" is more "me" and less "him") My hubby dislikes painting and would be immeasurably happy if I would stop changing up the colors. However, he indulges my whimsy :)

The Thrill Is Gone...

I have lost my blogging mojo.

I think it is because I have been so busy and so tired lately.

Still trying to wean Miss Precious...she is tenaciously holding on (not literally of course).

Our family/schoolroom is almost done! My hubby and a neighbor texturized the walls last night. Now it is my job to paint it! I am so excited!!! It looks so good. I still haven't gotten batteries for my camera so no photos just yet.

My hubby is almost done with school! He is taking his tests this weekend! I am so proud of him!

My boys are thoroughly enjoying the summertime sun and our big backyard :)

And me, I'm just trying to keep up with it all!