BotO - Home Maintenance Log

We moved into our house three years ago this spring. It was a new construction so everything was brand-spankin' new and we shouldn't have had any problems, right? ::snort:: Sure. 

For a while we had a few minor issues that could be corrected easily by the big strong, manly men that built the house. Then, as is the case with anyone who has ever bought anything expensive, shit started to go downhill the second the warranty expired.

That included our furnace breaking twice over a holiday weekend this past winter, which just so happened to be the coldest nights of the year. That's my luck, forever. However, we were able to get it fixed relatively cheaply and easy. When I told my mom what had happened, she said, "You need to write this shit down so you know when the last time you had it fixed." I guess some work comes with a warranty? 

Thus the home maintenance log was born.

As part of the Brains of the Operation, aka household binder, the log allows you to track the servicing and repairs to major appliances. So instead of racking your brain to think of the last date you had the dishwasher repaired and only coming up with "there was snow on the ground. so November?" you can know exactly when it was repaired and what was done to it.

You can now get this printable and more in my Etsy Shop! 

The Home Maintenance Log is now part of The Good Wife Home Management Pack. You can also get CUSTOMIZED printables too!

To see other posts in my Brains of the Operations series, click here.

Happy Valentine's Day!

It's Valentine's Day and there is nothing I love more than doing some cheesy holiday shit. 

Last year I made some crappy cards and a candy holder. This year I wanted to up the cheese factor by making the lamest, and by that I mean awesome-est, valentine treats ever. 

Since I didn't want to overload all the kids on candy and red dye #40, I made this treat bag with fish crackers. "You're a great catch!" LOL Get it?

To top off that bitch, I made this treat bag. "I'm bursting with happiness that you are my friend" filled with starbursts candy. Amazing.

I also made some Valentine puppy chow and threw these treats in hand decorated bags with kickass Valentines.

In short, I made Valentine's Day my bitch. I hope you have an amazing day too.

BotO - Pet Log and our new family member

This pretty girl right there is our newest family member. The Good Husband got her for me last Valentine's Day. And really, nothing says "I love you" like something else you have to clean up after. But she is a great dog considering I have never owned a pet before. Ever.

We got her from the local no-kill shelter and right off the bat she loved The Good Daughter and knew some commands but most importantly, she was house broken and crate trained. The shelter told us she was a mix of German Sheppard and Beagle. She has an amazing temperament and is very playful and loving. She really is a great dog. And she helps teach TGD some responsibility since it is her sole job to feed and water Foxy.

 

So now that I have a dog, I have to keep track of all the vet appointments and medicine we have to give her monthly. I created this Pet Log as part of my Brains of the Operation, aka Household Binder.

I included all the important information - pet name, age and breed, daily activity and food intake, vet contact information as well as a tracker for shots and heart worm medication. This helps me see, at a glance that Foxy is up to date on all her shots and if anyone were to ever petsit for us, they will know how much to feed and walk her daily. 

You can download this template for your own household binder here.

We Finally Decorated

Remember this post? My update to my cry for help to the interior design gods? I had finally decided on what I wanted above the fireplace. The Good Husband had wanted a clock. I had wanted a mirror. Then we reached a compromise with photos. But what? I had the layout decided in my head but we never really got around go commissioning the photos from our cousin.

Then a few weeks ago we were out for a night sans The Good Daughter and we happened to see these photos in  - of all places - a sporting goods store. TGH saw the top photo first and feel in love. When we asked if there were any more, we quickly found the two other smaller photos and ordered them. I second guessed the placement for a long time but I am happy with they way it turned out.

Eventually I will move most of the photos off the mantle since I think it looks too crowded. I just need to figure out where I want them and how.

And to date, we now have only 5 things hanging in our house. Yay for commitmentphobes.  

And yes, the plan is still to paint. I don't know if baby #2 will hasten or postpone that.

Family Mail Station

For the longest time there was no place to put bills and keys and my purse when you came into the house from the garage, you know, as we do every single time we come in the house. Everything would pile up on the end of the kitchen table and annoy the shit out of me. While our kitchen is large, it's just one big square with no defined spaces to designate as anything, really. 

The first thing you see when you walk into the house from the garage is the fridge. The "dining room" is to the left, the living room to the right and the kitchen straight ahead. So I thought the best place to make a mail station would be here. At first it looked like this: 

Crap on the fridge, the dog food bowels and not a great use of the space.

So, I found a mail station, moved an old end table up from the basement and ta-da! Family mail station.

Now when I come in from the garage, I can put my keys, my purse and the mail right away and it is no longer living on the end of the kitchen table and pissing me off. Since I moved the dog food bowls to the corner of the dining room where the food container was, that went where the food bowls where. The old switcher-roo.

I also got rid of all the crap magnets we had on the fridge, save the pickles. I want to replace the calendar with something like this, but that will have to wait for now.

The end table provides a great spot to keep our household binder, our home address book, thank you notes and my purse.

It is also great because now The Good Husband can put any mail we get in the "In" slot and if he were really good, would take any outgoing mail with him on the way to work in the morning. 

Eventually I would like to get a nicer table in the corner. Something like a secretary desk that will match our new buffet, but since new babies tend to strain the pocketbook, we will have to wait.