Thank You Notes

As I posted around this time last year (http://organizedhomemaking.blogspot.com/2011/01/teaching-our-children-about-thank-you.html), I am a big fan of thank you notes. I love writing them and I love getting them. I don't think it is ever to early to teach our children thankfulness, not just etiquette. When I was growing up the rule was you were not allowed to enjoy the gift until you wrote a thank you note. I remember writing them in the hotel room after our Bachelor/Bachelorette bowling party and on the plane to our honeymoon. LOL! Here is one of Luke's from this year. This year he wrote the whole thing. I was very happy to have our handwriting lesson for the week all ready to go. :)


Be thankful. - Colossians 3:15

Oven Baked Bacon

At CHRISTmas I found a great way to make bacon. You cook it in the oven. I had no idea you could do this.

You line a baking sheet with foil and put the bacon on it.
You put the baking sheet in the oven and turn it to 400 degrees.
(DO NOT PREHEAT THE OVEN!!!!!!!!)
Set the timer for 15-20 minutes.
Bacon comes out perfect, crispy, and the best part is that after the pan cools, you can just wrap up the foil and toss out the mess.

Luke's New Bedroom

We moved Luke into our old office because he wanted a red room. We went with a Spiderman theme.

Here are some pictures.

Here is the door into his room.


Here is a picture of his bed. I love the giant Spiderman on the wall.

He got a new bookshelf since he has soooo many books. Hoping this keeps all of it better organized.


The giant Spiderman.

Toy shelves.

I am really happy with how this turned out.

Our New Office/School Room

A while back the thought dawned on me to combine our office and school room on the 3rd floor. We hope to have at least one more child so we want to have an open bedroom on the 2nd floor for him/her (them). Here are some pictures of how it turned out. Some of this was already done and some is new (Lee's desk and office stuff and the new school table - our old kitchen table).

A view of my office corner and the school boards.


A view of the new school table - our old kitchen table and school closet.

A view of Lee's office corner.

Another up close view of my office corner.

The new school desk.

The closets. The one on the right houses our school/craft/scrapbook stuff. The other one is Lee's.


Some of our decor.

Inside the closet - that is my scrapbooking stuff and Luke's art stuff.

Inside the closet - all of our homeschool resources.

Inside the closet - our supplies and manipulatives.

I LOVE THIS ROOM!!! LOTS OF SPACE, BOTH DESKS, A BIG SCHOOL TABLE, AND EVERYTHING IS SUPER ORGANIZED (FOR NOW AT LEAST).

Our 3rd Floor Bathroom

Our boys have been sharing our 2nd floor bathroom that had this sage set. We decided to put it on the 3rd floor so that we could personalize their bathroom. We are going to be going with a pirate theme. This will be our 3rd floor bathroom until we have all the kids and decide which one(s) will be using this bathroom).

I love this plague - It says, "Write your sorrows in sand and your blessings in stone."

I love these pieces of art - They say, "Faith, Hope, and Love."


A view of the bathroom.

I really love how this bathroom turned out. I can't wait to do the boys' bathroom.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM ORGANIZED HOMEMAKING!!!

I hope you had a fabulous CHRISTmas and New Year. I am really looking forward to this year. I have been working on projects that I will share with you. I have also been working on a list of plans and goals for the year which I will also share with you as well. I hope you have a very organized and blessed 2012.

Ashley