House Preview

We're finally all settled into our house, Chris has started training (again!), and we're up & rolling here in our new town. I am a little bit crazy (okay, A LOT crazy) when it comes to getting the house set up. Once our furniture has been delivered, I want it done, like yesterday! I learned that it's significantly harder to have those kinds of expectations when you're 1) running after a 19 month old, and 2) pregnant. I'm going to blame the pregnancy for most of it though b/c we had tons of help with Miss E, and she was fabulous during the entire move...so I can't really pin my slowness/lack of energy and motivation on her! Ha! We finally got everything done though (well, all but the office but that's another story!), and we're so excited to be here with such great friends!

Here are some pics of the house...thought y'all might want to see :)

I hate having that gaping hole over the mantle and it took forever to figure out what to do with it! As you can see in few pics down, we have a ginormous entertainment center that we really didn't want to get rid of, and a TV that won't fit in that hideous hole. So...conundrum. Luckily my very patient mother-in-law went to Michael's with me and helped me wander around until I found some things that I liked. I think it turned out pretty well...not exactly what I wanted, but it will do :)
LOVING our new kitchen! However, cooking with a gas oven has proven to be a little bit more difficult than I thought!

The living room...as you can see, we like Clifford at our casa :)

Our guest room...a montage of things that don't fit other places! At least it looks cozy :)

And...the best part of the house, by far!! The play room! I love it, and so does Elli. This is just one side. The other side has my desk, sewing machine, sewing closet and a big comfy chair that just begs to be read in :) We've never had a play room before. At our last house all of E's toys were in the middle of the living room...NOT ideal. I couldn't be happier with this set-up, and I'm pretty sure that Elli feels the same way!

The Cleaning Fairy

I just wanted to thank ALL of you for the tips on how to keep my house just a little bit more clean! I'm loving The Fly Lady...why have I never heard of her before?! I mean, you all know how much I love lists & organization, and she's like the organization QUEEN!! Thanks for that sweet piece of info ladies! And I think I've decided to invest in The Shark for mopping my floors. I love that it only uses water...that's just genius! My whites are now whiter thanks to Tide w/ Bleach Alternative + OxyClean WITH the soap, and my dishes are spot-free thanks to the amazing cleaning powers of Jet Dry!! What would I do without you guys? I'm thinking that I'd be living in a house that was just a little bit more dingy grey with A LOT more spots :) But seriously, all of your tips really helped, and I super appreciate them. I am now officially the cleaning fairy. Now where did I put my wings?!?

House Cleaning Tips

If you were thinking that you were going to get some super house cleaning tips from this post, you might be a little disappointed. Instead, it's me that needs the tips...and pronto!! So, if you have any advice on the following questions, and I mean ANY, please leave me a comment....I'll love you forever :)

DISHWASHER SPOTS

All of a sudden, my dishes & silverware have spots all over them after they've been run through the dishwasher. I put some cookies in a tupperware to take to my husbands squadron the other day, and I was embarrassed! I had to empty said tupperware and wash it by hand before I actually took it up there...and friends, I just don't have time to do that every single time! What happened?! I used Cascade, just like always. I'm not really sure why this problem decided to rear its ugly head now. Got any ideas on how to nip it in the bud??

WHITES

I've tried EVERYTHING to get my whites really white, and I continue to fail miserably! Bleach just doesn't work for me. I've used OxyClean, but I always follow the directions on the box and put it in the washer AFTER it's started running. Should I put it in at the same time that I put the detergent in? I use All...strictly for budget reasons. But, at this point, I'm totally willing to change if my whites will start looking like they're clean! What do y'all use? I need help, can you tell??

FLOORS

Though Elli isn't crawling yet, I have a feeling that it's just right around the corner. And it's got me really worried about my floors. Okay, not REALLY worried, but it IS something that I think about. We have hardwood floors in our entry and dining room, and tile in our kitchen. What do y'all use on those kinds of surfaces that is okay for little hands (since those little hands so quickly go to little mouths)? I usually use the Swiffer Wet Mop, but I'm kinda thinking that I'd like to use something organic. Or if not organic, at least a little bit more natural. Got any ideas?

POTPOURRI

I have tons of candles in our house, but the only ones I've found that really make the entire room smell good are the Tyler Candles. My personal favorite is "Eggnog"...sounds weird, but it smells sooo good. While I LOVE burning the candles, Chris wants to start using something else b/c of the ash. I think he's hinting that my dusting abilities are severely lacking, but I'm not even going to get into that!! So...do any of you use the Renuzit Crystals, or Plug-Ins? Or do you know of any good potpourri that isn't too strong?

Thanks, in advance, for all of your tips and tricks! I've gotten some GREAT advice from a lot of you in the past, and I'm hoping to find the key to my house-cleaning woes from you as well!!

Happy Wednesday!!