I hear there's a wedding tomorrow...

I don't know if you've heard, but there is a certain prince getting married tomorrow. It hasn't been covered much in the news, so I thought I'd mention it. I won't be watching of course. I'll be sleeping. I have a feeling I may catch a replay or two of the nuptials during the day...

It's not that I'm not romantic... I remember sleeping over at my friend's house and watching the wedding of Charles and Diana. I thought, like any 11 year old girl would, that it was the most beautiful, elaborate, fairy-tale wedding ever. Diana, who was gorgeous in her own right, came to the wedding a pre-school teacher and left a princess. We all wanted to be her. Yet, the perfect marriage we all dreamed of and expected from them, would eventually turn out wrinkled and in disarray; not unlike the taffeta gown she wore while climbing out of that amazing carriage...

Even though my own wedding paled in pageantry to any 4 hour royal ceremony, my marriage is what I'm most proud of. I think many young girls dream of the perfect wedding; the perfect dress and the perfect hair, with sixteen bridesmaids, two adorably perfect flower girls and an audience who wished they would have thought of such a ceremony..........without really thinking past cutting the 8-tiered cake.

 Let's face it. Marriage behind the scenes is hard. It has its wonderful moments, yes. But mostly, during the mundane dealings of the day, you're lucky to catch a romantic glance. Maybe a hug if you're not holding laundry or dirty dishes.. Sometimes, there are even moments when you know in the core of your heart, you will never put this much effort into ANYTHING ever, again. At least that's what I've heard the man mumbling before...

So, because I'm sure they care, I'm leaving a few pieces of advice for the new bride and groom. Well, mostly for the bride. I sincerely wish any new couple love, happiness and a very large learning curve.

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1. Tell each other you love them. Every day. And mean it. There is something truly powerful in those words. They stick with you when you trip over his dirty laundry on the floor or he steps on one of your 10 thousand sewing needles....

2. Stay united. This is especially important when dealing with family; mostly children who question your every move.

3. Respect your in-laws. They may be completely different than your own family, but always try to remind yourself that they created the love of your life. You may get lucky and gain a second family to love and who love you. At the very least, you can blame them for all of the love-of-your-life's shortcomings....

4. Always say, "Thank You." It's amazing what you'll be able to do and keep doing after hearing those words.

Finally...

5. Never go to bed angry. First, sit in a chair very close to his side of the bed while he's trying to sleep. This way, he has to ponder what you're thinking and whether or not he should apologize; or you know, fear for his life. That alone will help you sleep like a baby.

Cheers, friends :)

Quote of the day...

"I wouldn't have made such a mess with my friends if I knew I had to pick it all up.." said the youngest, after a fun-filled day spent trashing the playroom.

Could it really have taken six years for that lesson to sink in?

The "aha moments" at this house never end...

Happy Wednesday, friends :)

My Schizophrenic Cupboards..

Remember these?

And this try at organizing?

It didn't last long at all. I'm not kidding. They both filled right back up with junk. During a quick look for food coloring a month ago, I  accidentally knocked over a shelf and dropped/ broke a boxful of various jars of red hots, hard candies and a few thousand sprinkles. I completely lost it. It doesn't take much these days...

Let's say that any attempt to catch 50 things falling simultaneously from high shelves failed miserably.  I  remembered other things that had been bothering me during that day and decided to channel my inner-child, and throw a mini fit screaming, unnecessary tantrum. Yes, nothing is quite as soul-cleansing as picking up millions of cookie decorations while yelling words that could make a sailor call for his mommy. It was not one of my shining moments as a mom. Or a grown-up.

While it seems silly to throw such a fit over a baking cupboard, please know that there are many serious things our family has had to deal with over the last few weeks. I just happen to be the type of person who has to find control and order SOMEWHERE. If it has to be keeping up an unorganized piece of kitchen furniture, then so be it.

The man and I walked off some of my steam that afternoon at Lowe's -or as my older children like to call it, "The most boring store put upon the face of the earth."

I found these cute curtain rod finials-

and got an idea. I didn't share my plan with the man because he was quite finished at the moment with me and home improvement....you know, with our kitchen still looking like the Keebler Elves met Mrs. Fields and Betty Crocker, had a drunken party and left all the evidence on my floor.... Oh, did I not mention the man rescued me mid-tantrum/cleaning? He's very brave when he needs to be...

I picked the finials up with my idea filed away. They had two black and two white ones in stock. I needed all white, but knew I could spray paint the black ones. For heaven's sake. We were at LOWE's- One has a right to think of home improvement. Correct? .

Anywhoo, I've always wanted glass on those cupboard doors. What better way to HAVE to keep the cupboards organized? We had talked about the idea many times before. Truth be told, I talked about them many times. The man would just nod, praying I would think of something else. We I had even considered cutting out the centers of the doors  and replacing them with glass. For five minutes. Neither of us have that much patience nor DIY talent. That's okay, because IKEA had beautiful glass doors that were pretty inexpensive and just the right size. We thought it over and when the man's mom called us last week from IKEA (angels singing,) we decided to go for it and have her pick up the doors.

Those cute finials? They made perfect little feet for the bottom cupboards. We spray painted two of them and had to add about an inch of wood to each one before screwing them into the cabinet base. I absolutely love that they match the feet on my island. I'd show you my island, but it is full of junk right now, so just go with it ....

Those cupboards have a new identity; a little hutch that finally looks like it was meant to be there.  All I have to do now, is figure out what color it wants to be...(quietly though, lest the man consider moving out.)  One thing for sure. It will NOT house anything that has sprinkles. Ever. I think...

Oh, I know. This is a super long story that really could have been told in a picture or two. But just like the doors on that now-organized hutch, transparency is best. Thanks for reading about the crazy things that go on both in this house and in my head :)

Happy Tuesday, friends.