Hannah's new school desk

Every year my school room changes. This coming August, we will start doing school with Hannah at her own school desk instead of the "community table". I normally transition the kids away from the group table when they start 3rd grade but I am now out of room on my school bookshelves. I am not able to sell them yet either since I plan on using them for Caleb. So my solution was to store Hannah's school books in her own desk just I do with Ethan and Andrew's books.

Of course I searched high and low for a cute white desk for her and found one on Craigslist. It was a great deal for this antique desk, $75.00 and solid wood. Jason will probably do a complete overhaul paint job on it sometime this summer but it still looks pretty cute right now.

Silly Ethan

I scored another Craigslist deal.  I bought two Pottery Barn Teen skateboard shelves for Caleb and Ethan's room, two for $35.  After Jason hung them, I asked Ethan what he would like to put on them.  Instantly he knew.  Sock monkeys with ties on.  He loved it and has really enjoyed making all the family laugh too.  

My Christmas Craigslist Deals

Here are my latest Craigslist deals: a polka dot chair for the playroom and a new exercise bike. As the kids have grown, all 6 of us can't sit comfortably on the playroom couch to play wii or watch tv anymore. Hannah and Ethan both have bean bags to sit in but when Jason and I join them, it's a little tight. So I've been thinking about buying a new chair. Craigslist delivered! I sold my treadmill which was too big for the playroom and replaced it with this GREAT recumbent bike for a measly $40 and a new polka dot chair for $60 and have $100 left to spend. I had 12 people interested in buying my treadmill that I gladly sold for $200 in one day. I LOVE CRAIGSLIST! Now I'm off to buy new blinds and drapes for the living room with the rest of the money.

Ethan's new quilt

I scored again on finding a GREAT deal on Craigslist. I have been watching this Pottery Barn Kids quilt and sham for months. It was originally offered at $90 but I talked the seller down to $65. Not bad for little ole me who hates to negotiate. Jason keeps encouraging me to low ball offers and see where I get. This was by far my easiest negotiation. I left the message on the seller's answering machine. I thought she wasn't interested because she didn't call back for a few days. Then she called late one night over the weekend and said yes, and she'd meet me at the mall the very next day. The best part was that it was already monogrammed with Ethan's name on it! How cool!

Ethan really needed a new quilt. The one he had was sun bleached and had holes in it where he ripped the buttons off when he was a toddler. He had had it for 6 years but it looked much older than that. So now he get a better quilt that should last for many more years than my Target ones.

1st Day of School

The 2011-2012 school year started today at Hill Academy. Grades being taught are 5th, 3rd, and 1st. 3 students and 1 teacher, not too shabby ratios, huh?

The newest thing around here is Ethan's desk. We finally finished it. Remember this was the free desk from craigslist that was 30+ years old and in desperate need of a makeover. Jason and I even made the hutch from scratch for him. Looks pretty good if I say so. Ethan loves it and it fits him well, makes him think he's big stuff like Andrew with his own desk. Also, everything is in red, Ethan's favorite color.

All students received their 1st day of school presents, new school supplies. The newness had definitely worn off for Andrew. He was NOT excited in the least like in years' past. He'd much rather get a new toy instead.

The most excited student award would be given to Hannah Claire, my new 1st grader. My oh my, where has the time gone?

So my request today for all you reading this blog still, is to ask for prayer. Would you please pray for us and we start our 6th year of Hill Academy. We so covet your prayers. THANKS!

Before and After

Here are my before and after pictures of the kitchen complete with the new white oven/range. We were able to buy this oven from an appliance store in Knoxville that gets Sears' scratch and dents for a measly $219 plus tax. That was cheaper than the used ones on craigslist now and mine even has a warranty on it. Not bad!

This before picture was how the kitchen looked like before we moved in and the after photo is this morning. Much improvement on a craigslist budget, huh?

Before

After

Project Central

Those who know me well, know that I always have a new project or craft in motion or I'm planning one. Here's my latest project. Two new desks that I purchased off of craigslist. Yes, yes, my ole stand by craigslist. I love it at much as I love shopping at Target. It's number 2 in my book.

We are selling our Pottery Barn table on craigslist which we bought off of craigslist. He he. The table was our old computer desk in the office but since we have no more office, it's gotta go. We are replacing it with the desk on the left. It's much smaller and can be used in the downstairs playroom after we deliver the train table back to my older brother Rob. But first it much be sanded and restained. I found this little gem for only $20. I was the first to reply out of 35 people that day and swooped it up that night. Upon arriving at this woman's gated property on 13 acres overlooking a pond with horses, she brought me to her storage unit and gave me a second desk for FREE. 2 desks for $20! Can't beat that! So here's my sweet hubby helping me AGAIN sand and paint. You know he's the best painter around. I'll post pictures of Hannah's new dresser soon and you'll agree. He was working on sanding and repainting Hannah's night stand white too here in the picture. The tops of the two desk were already sanded down which is why they look white in the picture. So, what color should we stain the desks? Hmmm.

Feeling better

We are on the mend, all 6 of us! Whoo hoo! A few more days probably until full recovery. I have been able to get out of bed today, teach school, shower then CRASH! That took a lot of out me. My sweet, sweet friend Emily was so kind to bring us dinner to serve us. What a blessing she was! She fixed my sewing machine, and brought me a homemade meal too today. It was a yummy dinner too, homemade goodness.

My biggest energy expenditure was making chocolate chip cookies in the house today. After I accomplished that, I had to sit and rest for a while. That's when I knew it'd be a few more days until I was fully recovered. After two weeks of sickness and no school, it was a treat to get back to doing what we normally do.

My find of the day was on craigslist (as usual). I LOVE craigslist! I've purchased a basketball goal, sleeper couch, dishwasher, vent hood, new mattress in the plastic bag, trundle bed, foyer light, and more from it. But today, I found a white dresser for Hannah's room. With Andrew's future move downstairs, we were needing another dresser and night stand. I'll post pictures as soon as we get it in her room. Jason's at the seller's house right now picking it up. Yipee! I already foresee a trip to Hobby Lobby, my favorite store, to buy cute little knobs for it. I can't wait!

My Before and After Bookshelf

Before: $30 deal off craigslist that's dated and smoke filled.


After: Painted red bookshelf that fits perfectly in my schoolroom, it's the one on the far left.

My latest Craigslist finds

I've scored so many GREAT deals on craigslist lately that I just had to share. It all started here.

After purchasing next school year's books, I realized that I was out of space. I needed another bookshelf to hold all 5 years of homeschooling books that I've accumulated. I found this gem in South Knoxville for only a whopping $30. The only thing wrong with it was that it came from a smoking home and had to air out in the garage for a few days before 4 coats of Kilz primer was put on it. That's how many it took to get the smell gone and the brown wood covered up. Here it is in white. After bringing it in to the schoolroom, I decided it needed one last coat of deep red just like my other 2 bookshelves. So I'm off to The Home Depot for some paint. While I'm there, I'm going to grab some dark brownish black stain for my next project: Andrew's new bookshelf, hutch and chair.



We picked this one up last Saturday in Sevierville for a measly $45. I didn't even talk the seller down one penny because I felt it was such a good deal. It's not pressed wood, looks great and hopefully will one day look similar to this Pottery Barn Kids one. That's the inspiration piece. I originally wanted Jason to make 4 of these desks, one for each child but I've come to the realization that he just doesn't have enough spare time for that big a project. I'm going to change the shelves a little bit and add a cork board to the back of the hutch and switch out the fabric on the chair.




The kids favorite purchase has hands down been the basketball goal. Jason had a time with it though. It took two trips: one in his work van and the other in our friend's truck to get it all home. We talked them down from $50 to $30.



Lastly, my favorite has been the purchase of a new, in the bag Pottery Barn Kids quilt and sham for Andrew. With Andrew's bed under the window, his comforter had sun bleached terribly. I have been watching this comforter online at the Pottery Barn Kids website for years desiring it for both Andrew and Ethan's beds. I bought this the day it came up on craigslist for a low, low price of $35. Upon inspecting the quilt, I saw the matching pillow sham at her house. She gladly sold it to me for $5.00! I'm so excited! Why? Because it retails for $192 plus shipping and tax.



To me, finding these great deals are direct gifts from God. I'm been praying to be like the woman described in Proverbs 31. I've been desiring to make Jason's paychecks stretch beyond belief. Finding these items at such low prices in excellent conditions have given me faith that God really loves us, he answers our prayers, and helps us in ways that we don't even see. He supplied things as small as finding a new bookshelf, desk, comforter and a basketball goal for my family. All I can say is, isn't HE good?

My work in progress

Before



Our kitchen, an eye sore for me, has slowly been under total transformation these past 3 years. With the addition of a white dishwasher (thanks to craigslist) and the completion of repainting the kitchen cabinets this summer, I thought I'd show off the progress. In the kitchen, we've scraped off popcorn, replaced the broken fan with a light fixture, painted the walls and cabinets inside and out, put down a new floor, switched out almond outlets to white ones, put in a new disposal, and replaced the dishwasher. I still have more planned but it's a slow going project for me. Just seeing the before pictures of when the college guys lived here is encouragement enough for me to keep working onward. Next project: new countertops....

My new favorite

So have you checked out craigslist before? It's slowly becoming my Saturday garage sale shopping, except that I can do it online anytime of the day. We've been fortunate enough to get some great deals using craigslist. I hardly ever want to check ebay anymore and will definately never sell on ebay again. Why use ebay and pay a fee when you can sell it on craigslist for free?

Here are my latest purchases and sales.

Purchases
1. A great Pottery Barn Kids look-a-like wood twin bed with trundle plus 2 mattress for $250.00.
2. A brand new still in the wrapper king size memory foam mattress and box springs for $450.00. A STEAL!
3. A barely used still perfectly clean white range hood for $10.00.

Sales
1. Our playroom leather sectional couch for $400 that was sold in 1 day.
2. Our old queen size mattress and box springs for $200.
2. Two ceiling fans for $30 total that sold in 1 day too.

Here's what I'm searching for now:
Patio table and chairs for 6, king size headboard, and wood bookshelves.

We actually have an appt. to meet a man this week who's selling a white dishwasher and oven. We're remodeling the kitchen and replacing a finicky oven. Hope fully I'll have two new appliances by the weekend to add to my steals list of purchased craigslist items.

Hannah's new twin bed

This week Hannah transitioned from the crib to a twin bed. She's not been the happiest camper about it but has now submitted to authority. :) We've been planning on moving her out of the crib, around her 2nd birthday, May 6, but rushed it up a bit. This past Tuesday, I found a pale pinewood twin bed with header, footer and trundle on craigslist.com. Craigslist is like ebay except you can buy and sell within your hometown. This bed was too good to pass up so I drove out to Maryville to get it. The first night we let her sleep in her crib as well as nap the next day in it. I wanted her to have the twin bed in her room for a few days before taking the crib down. But her room is so tiny that I had to take it down sooner. So Thursday morning I put the boys to work. I assigned Andrew the task of taking it down. It was all part of school. We ALL loved school that day! Andrew had to learn how to unscrew, consider gravity and which side to take down without getting hit by the rest, etc. He was a trooper. I even taught them the "left loosey, righty tighty" phrase. We had a blast. As every piece was taken down, Hannah whined and let us know of her disapproval. She was not at all happy about it. But after two nights in the twin bed, she's learning to love it. She hasn't even tried to get down. She just whines for a few minutes, then lies down for us to surround her with baby dolls and stuffed animals and put her favorite pink monogrammed blanket on top of her. She's sleeping through the night and can get herself down in the morning, open the door and come out to greet us. Now, that will take some getting used to.

Meet Miller

Jason has always loved dogs, labs especially. Me? Well, I'm fearful, but for good reason. I was attacked by a dog when I was younger and have been quite skittish of them ever since. I'm okay with dogs who belong to our friends but you put a barking or stray dog near me and I'll climb a telephone pole. You can say that the attack left a HUGE mark on my life.

So when Jason decided that he would like to get a puppy this spring, I was a little hesitant. I love my clean carpets and furniture. I already have one child that I was cleaning poop up after and didn't want another. And who'd watch it when we visit all of you out-of-towners?

On Saturday, I was perusing craigslist.com. It's an online auction/classifieds like ebay. It list things for sale by market cities. They have a pets section on there too that I like to look at, just in case someone had a lab for sale. I saw a post that an engaged couple from UT living in separate college apts. were looking for a family to take their dog until June. They were graduating, planning a wedding, then moving to Chicago when they'd take him back. The would pay $100 a month for the family to care for him and visit him weekly for playdates and to drop off his food. So after talking it over, Jason and I thought that this would be a good situation for us. We'd have a dog on a trial basis and could determine if it would be a good time for our family to get one. So here's Miller. We met him on Sunday afternoon, then he was dropped off this morning to live with us, just after getting a good bath, nails clipped and one last night sleeping in his owner Danielle's bed.

Monday has been crazy. The kids have never had a dog and are fearful of this puppy who jumps and licks on everyone. By the afternoon, he's calming down a little and has left quite an impression. Hannah already says, "Liller!" I've got my hands full! He's almost completely potty trained but left me a few surprises today. As I was cleaning them up, I've been thinking, "What have I done?" Me with a dog?" Oh, grace, grace.