A wrap-up of 2012

Well, as you can see, I just now got to finishing the post about Collin's baptism. So, here's a quick rundown of what's happened since August.

August-October: worked on getting things set up for insurance to cover Collin's therapy services. Someone in Sacramento who thought they were trying to save the state money has basically kicked out from the county programs all the kids who have autism. This is effective I think a couple years. I don't know if we'll go back to the county after. Too much red-tape about what can be worked on/not worked on because of what they deem to be "educational." The only part so far I don't like is the copays. We have to pay about $1500 out of pocket per calendar year before insurance will cover at 100%.

November: computer died a little before Thanksgiving. We were computer-less for about 3 1/2 weeks. Thankfully, we had the iPod and wireless router was still functional so we were able to pay bills, sign up for next year's benefits without too much trouble.

December: one of Tom's co-workers took a couple week vacation and immediately followed with 1 week of jury duty. Tom was asked to help pick up some of that workload, along with his own. It meant a lot of long days.

Ivy had an early birthday party. I think it was the biggest we've had as far as non-extended family kids invited who came.

Christmas-I tried to keep it simple this year. One present from Santa, and something homemade from me & Tom. Plus whatever from the grandparents or anyone else--I just wanted it simple on our end. The boys' superhero capes were a hit, except Brent but I suspect that'll change by next Christmas. As a backup, I also made Brent a VeggieTale soft book about sharing and a stuffed airplane that's nearly as big as he is. I found both at the local fabric outlet. Ivy got a friendship bracelet with a heart design that I found a video tutorial on--thank you Pinterest & YouTube! and a yet to be claimed coupon for sewing lessons(since she is always swiping my stuff, I figure this way she'll at least be supervised).

The kids got their Santa gifts early, December 1st. There was a first ever Coast Guard family Christmas celebration. Provided we got our gifts to someone early enough, Santa would give the kids a present. So, they told Tom ahead of time that Santa would be coming out of a helicopter. The kids were pretty excited about that. Something didn't quite work out, so when it was closer to time on the 1st, the kids were told that Santa's sleigh crashed in the water and the Coast Guard had to go rescue him. It was a cute story. They saw Santa go around the harbor a couple times on a Coast Guard boat. We also got food, face-painting(Collin & Brent's were on their arms, while Drew's was on his face--and yes, I let him wear his to church the next day since it had been less than 24 hours on him), free wooden cars, and a boat tour--one of the big boats!!

Collin is doing significant reading of simple words. This is a huge feat. He is motivated by the computer program at school and by reading 1 scripture verse a night(most nights) from the scriptures my mom got him. He is starting to want to initiate interaction more which is good, but makes his social skill lacking areas rather obvious--like calling people the wrong name, or telling them he "will see (them) tomorrow."

The day after Christmas, we had our house fumigated. The termites that reappeared 2 months after it was tented(before we moved in) had gotten into the walls. We stayed with the inlaws for a couple days, and we got to go visit San Gabriel Arcangel Mission for a report Ivy is doing this upcoming 1-2 months. The teacher said if we did a video, we didn't have to build a model--sign us up for that!!

So, Wednesday, we got a late start to getting out. We were told the wrong time window, and the fumigators got stuck in traffic an extra hour. Just over 24 hours later, we got a call from the fumigation company that our small car(that we purchased earlier this year) had the trunk & the opening for the gas wide open. Luckily, no broken windows, tires or siphoned gas. We had left it parked a little down from the house since we had barely finished paying Tom's license renewal online--we are still waiting for the new one to come. Apparently, it was not locked as thought and although the thief took Tom's bulletproof vest from Coast Guard, they left his other Coast Guard stuff there. Have to say, even though it's being replaced and not docked from Tom's Coast Guard pay, this is the first time after living here for 8 years that we've been broken into--including over 1 week+ trips we've taken out of state. I'm still in a state of disbelief.

Collin's baptism

August 11, 2012: Today has finally come! I can't believe it. Nearly 5 years ago, we didn't even know if this was a day that would be in Collin's future. Funny how the future seems so uncertain sometimes. A couple months back, we met with the bishop who wanted to see our thoughts (no matter that I had put it on the stake calendar 6 months ago to make sure we would have the building to ourselves) about Collin's getting baptized. I guess there is a technicality that he doesn't have to get baptized because of his not being accountable due to his autism mentally puts him at less than or around a 6 year old at this point.

Last year, though, at a friend's baptism(which we didn't stay long at because it was me vs. the 4 kids on my own and it was not a good day for 2 of them), after his friend came out of the water, Collin said "My turn is next." He has been consistent about that for the baptisms he has since attended.

So, we've been focusing a lot the past couple months about 1)What are the promises I make at baptism (got the book at Deseret Book), 2) How does the Holy Ghost make me feel? (another book from Deseret book), 3) practicing going under the water at a pool(just trying to get logistics down for him, not being sacrilegious), and 4)went to a baptism a week before his so he could see, and once we were home then a verbal schedule/breakdown of what would happen. He LOVES his schedules.

One of my sisters, her husband, and their little girl came down from northern CA to see us. We got a little late start waiting for some family that lived closer than my sister. I wasn't sure what to really expect with Collin, so we kept it rather small and only had told a few people at church before. He did surprise me by doing pretty well. It only took 1 time to go under the water. I had feared that because of swimming lessons this summer, that he would treat the baptismal font as a swimming pool.  While he was getting changed and dried off, we had everyone write Collin a message or draw him a picture. I have those all saved, and will at some point be scanning them in and turning it into a book for him.

Collin picked the songs, Choose the Right as the first song, and I Am A Child of God for the closing. The closing made me start bawling when we got to the second verse about "and so my needs are great" and "help me to understand His words before it grows too late."

I have to say, even though it was started a little later than planned, we were done with the closing prayer about 30 minutes later. That was hands down the fastest baptism I have ever been to in my whole life. I had the second talk, on the Holy Ghost, and when I saw Collin get antsy, I just cut it short.

Delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders & jolts

"Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he's been robbed. The fact is that most putts don't drop, most beef is tough, most children grow up to be just people, most successful marriages require a high degree mutual toleration, most jobs are more often dull than otherwise. Life is like an old time rail journey...delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas, and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride. " --Gordon B. Hinkley

My sentiments exactly. I certainly hope I don't give off any pretenses about our family & lives with this blog. We are not perfect or pretend to be. Heck, we(meaning me) are far from being crafty/uber-organized. Those only come up once in a blue moon or as circumstances necessitate. You notice that I don't put up pictures showing how chaotic our typical days are? There's a reason for that. There are a lot of things in our day to day lives that are hard & a lot of it related to the challenges of Autism Awareness day being every day at our home, a lot from having 4 kids, some from personal issues or the impact of others' choices and how they effect us, all the while still trying to make spouse top-priority while juggling it all & having the house somewhat respectable looking with the multiple therapists and dinner made on time. Some days it takes all my energy just to survive and/or hold my tongue. In the meantime, I'm trying to "have joy in the journey"(Thomas S. Monson) and to "feel my feet"(learned about in Time Out For Women this May).

It is done!!!

So, I have made a pretty huge accomplishment that I am feeling pretty darn good about. The last of the baby weight from Brent is all off--I had about 10 extra lbs on my frame when I got pregnant with him coming up on 3 yrs ago. From the day before Brent was born 2 years ago up till today, I have lost a total of 47 lbs. The last 32 of that has come off since this February. I am now at my ideal weight, with my small bone frame, and have maintained within a couple lbs or so for about a month now.

By the way, this doesn't mean I'm giving up on exercise till my clothes are snug. It means I get to do more functional fitness and not have to worry so much about the calorie burn.

A couple days before Brent was born:

Today:

Side by sides:

And yes, that is a different pic I added for the second after shot. I wasn't too thrilled with the above pic making my hair look flat. ;)

Summer fun

One of Brent's very few birthday presents this year was a Lightning McQueen bubble maker. Whoever made it was a genius. There is no way you can go wrong when you combine 2 of boys' favorite things: bubbles and cars.

Some swim & some birthday pics

Wall art finished

I've just about finished up my little project. Decided after trying to cut out the silhouettes that the X-acto knife idea I found wasn't the smartest idea. Didn't give me crisp edges, so I resorted to tracing the images onto cardstock and cutting it with scissors. I still need to run out tomorrow and get some double-sided tape since one of the kids probably used it up. Nice.

I also need to decide if I want the silhouettes in individual frames like this, or put them in a 16"x 20" poster frame. Thoughts?

Swimming and other things

Two weeks ago, the kids started up swimming lessons. To be honest, I wasn't sure how Collin would do being in a non-"parent & me" session and handling the deep side of the pool. The first 20 minutes of class are in the shallow(3-4 ft.) and the second 20 minutes are in the deep side(6 ft). The first few days, Collin had a really hard time. The second and third day I spent all but the last 5 minutes of each 20 minutes getting Collin in the water & staying in the water. I made quick acquaintances with the pool managers. I am happy to say that I am the only parent allowed to be all the way up next to the edge of the pool when I need to assist Collin--keeping him on task & being an extra set of eyes to make sure he does not let go of the pool.

By the end of the first week(each class lasts 2 weeks), Collin had decided he liked staying in the water. Now I just have to deal with keeping Collin on task & having a bored 2 year old--Brent just turned 2 on Friday. Drew was in Collin's class. Drew's done well enough to move up to the next swim level. Collin, no surprise, is in the same class as last week. He can do most things but won't put his head or face in the water without help. Ivy's doing well, as expected. This week, she's in a new class and actually learning new things.

Brent had his 2nd birthday on Friday. Thursday night I took Brent to Target to pick out a couple toys. Between the toy stimulus overload and close to bedtime--I didn't want to take all 4 kids if I could help it--we had some pretty serious tantrums. We finally(after over an hour) came home with a Lighting McQueen toy car that sticks out its tongue, a 5 pack of Hot Wheels cars, and a book about trucks. Tom got whisked away to a Scout campout, so we only saw him for about 30 minutes between Friday morning and about 2 pm on Saturday. He got a Funfetti(?) cake with homemade buttercream frosting--I almost had a cow that the cheapest storebought frosting was like $2 for a tiny thing. I drew Elmo on it. Didn't turn out as nice as I wanted, but it was still recognizable and enjoyed by all. I did some fingerpainting with the food coloring since I forgot to set aside some frosting. Whoops. Lesson learned.

Today, keeping the kids as busy as I can. I'm making some cheap wall art today. Probably will be done in a day or two. The tutorial is here  (click for link) and here is a picture of me doing a layout with a poster size frame. Ivy's silhouette looks funny, since she had a low ponytail and I was being nit-picky about Collin's looked larger than her head size. So I cut off the ponytail and taped it on higher. Then I photocopied it 104% a couple times to get it the right size.

Here's the original picture I had for Ivy.

More pics and video of the swim class & birthday up in a couple days.

Father's Day

I'll be honest, I'm a little annoyed that the Coast Guard drill weekends tend to fall on Mother's Day & Father's Day every year. Today's no different. However, in spite of this--including an extra long drill day yesterday--we did try to get some stuff together for Tom. The best part was, for the most part we didn't have to go anywhere to make it and it was very inexpensive .

I found this printable:  http://alittledelightful.blogspot.com/2011/08/fathers-day-printable-all-about-my-dad.html, and had the kids answer the questions themselves. The answers are completely the kids' answers with no prompting. I love Drew's answers that Tom is 70 & likes to wear clothes. It's also interesting 2 of the 3 know he likes to go to church. Well, all 3 do, I suppose since technically Tom's calling in Boy Scouts is at church.

Drew:

1. My dad's name is ______ :  Daddy

2. He is ____ years old: 70

3. And  _____ tall: Really

4. He has  _______ hair and _____ eyes: Black, black

5. My dad likes to wear ____: Clothes

6. And his favorite color is _____: Pink

7. My dad likes to go to _______ : Church

8. And his car is a(n) ________ : White one

9. My dad's favorite sport is ______ : Tennis

10. And his favorite tv show is ______ : Batman

11. He likes to cook ______ : Tomatoes

12. His favorite food is ______ : Oatmeal

13. His favorite drink is: _______ : Juice

14. And his favorite dessert is _____: Peach crisp

15. My dad is the best at _______ : Testing games on the computer

16. My dad tries really hard to ________ : Tickle me

17. And he is so special to me because __________ : He lets me play the Wii

Collin:

1. My dad's name is ______ :  Daddy

2. He is ____ years old: 6-7

3. And  _____ tall: Really

4. He has  _______ hair and _____ eyes: Black, brown

5. My dad likes to wear ____: Sunglasses

6. And his favorite color is _____: Red

7. My dad likes to go to _______ : Boy Scouts with Andrew (Tom doesn't take them much anymore, but Collin never wanted to go & always volunteered Drew)

8. And his car is a(n) ________ : White

9. My dad's favorite sport is ______ : Running

10. And his favorite tv show is ______ : Biggest Loser

11. He likes to cook ______ : Spaghetti

12. His favorite food is ______ : Cornbread

13. His favorite drink is: _______ : Juice

14. And his favorite dessert is _____: Candy

15. My dad is the best at _______ : Races

16. My dad tries really hard to ________ : Sleeping (a LOT of truth to this, whenever he tries to get a nap he gets interrupted instead)

17. And he is so special to me because __________ : He's 7 years old

Ivy:

1. My dad's name is ______ :  Tom

2. He is ____ years old:  About 45

3. And  _____ tall:  Is

4. He has  _______ hair and _____ eyes: Black, Brown

5. My dad likes to wear ____: His Starry  Night tie

6. And his favorite color is _____: Blue 

7. My dad likes to go to _______ : Church

8. And his car is a(n) ________ : Elantra

9. My dad's favorite sport is ______ : Racketball(as spelled by Ivy)

10. And his favorite tv show is ______ : Biggest Loser

11. He likes to cook ______ : Yaksoba(as spelled by Ivy, she means Yakisoba)

12. His favorite food is ______ : Chicken noodle soup

13. His favorite drink is: _______ : Apple juice

14. And his favorite dessert is _____: Peach crisp

15. My dad is the best at _______ : Swimming

16. My dad tries really hard to ________ :  Teach me to play volleyball

17. And he is so special to me because __________ : He takes me to Knott's Berry Farm

I also found this printable: http://aproffittablelife.blogspot.com/2011/05/fathers-day-free-printable.html, (printed out the yellow version since our printer is black & white only) and framed it with an 8x11 frame we already had.

We made this craft at Drew's last preschool class. All the kids made one--since school was out, Ivy & Collin came along.

I also made this video for Tom, since he will likely be missing the kids singing "I'm so glad when Daddy comes home" today in Sacrament meeting.

Our last Fathers' Day gift was from Brent. He made this in Nursery today at church. I think this is so cute.

Final thoughts of the day:  We are really happy that Tom was able to make it for part of second hour of church. Since yesterday was an especially long day(till 10 pm plus travel time home), they(his unit) were told they'd be off by noon today. Of course, we held our breath on that one and thought he'd maybe only make part of the last hour of church. He really enjoyed the kids being excited to see him after church--they didn't see him much yesterday, and he must have under-estimated how much they enjoy him being around. The kids gave him their gifts at home, and he said he felt like he was being treated as if he just came back from Kuwait all over again.

Conquer Clothing Clutter Part 2--Final pics

For those visiting from IHeartOrganizing.com's link party, here is the 1st post: http://thegeekids.blogspot.com/2012/06/conquer-clothing-clutter-part-1.html

Day 3: Finally finished! It sounds bad, but I used to dread going to the boys' room. The whole, "the kids have too many clothes, and yet we try to get them to clean it up anyway" syndrome. I think it's going to be much more manageable for them, since the quantity of clothes has been significantly been reduced and also with being able to reach what they use the most.

Collin had  two 13 gallon trash bags filled of too small & excess, plus  another bag full of pants with holes.

The final outcome:

*Note: I ended up finding pant/skirt hangers we already had to hang the pants & shorts as it was less bulky*

I also had to do a Target run this afternoon. While going thru Collin's pants it was discovered that he had only 2 pairs of pants that 1)were the correct size and 2)didn't have huge holes in the knees. I got a couple pairs of inexpensive jeans  for him. Our Target had really slim pickings for pants his size, so I may have to either try another Target or try Children's Orchard later next week.

So nice, visually to see. I literally took so many pictures & took in quite a few breaths to admire the change.


Before:

After:

Conquer Clothing Clutter part 1

Over at IHeartOrganizing.com this week, I was challenged to tackle clothing closet(s). I am taking on the boys' shared closet. This'll give me the head start I need before school starts this fall. Luckily, for a small fee, the PTA will take care of school supplies for us, so my main job this summer is to go thru clothes & keep the kids super busy. Here is our before shot of the boys' closet.



Definitely not working out so well for us. Plus Drew's got a bigger dresser than Collin, who could sure use the extra space.

First order of business: take out the hanging shelf I had in Drew's side. I also took out the toy box, as we have tons of space in the living room in a 1x5 Expedit that we got from the "as-is" at Ikea in April. Next, I re-installed the bottom closet bar. I took it out a couple years ago, when I caught the boys trying to swing on it. Hopefully, history won't repeat itself. I'm going to keep the bulk of Drew's clothes(pants, shorts & tee's since it's summer) on the bottom bar, so he can get them himself. I may swap dressers between the boys, I'm not sure yet.



Then, I had to figure out the daunting task of how many of each type of clothing is appropriate for Drew's lifestyle. He starts up kindergarten this fall, but is unfortunately still at a stage where he is having a lot of accidents. I decided to keep 7 pants, including dressier pants for church, 5 shorts, and 10 t-shirts. Still have to go through other things(including excessive amounts of pj's), but will likely keep 5 long sleeve shirts, 3 short sleeve dressy(for church) shirts, 3 long sleeve church shirts, and 3-4 pairs of pj's.

Finished up day 1, and Drew's side of the closet is mostly together. Can you believe this little guy had this full of a bag that were either too small or just in excess?



This is the dresser that once upon a time both boys shared, but the past at least year--maybe longer--has been holding only Drew's things. I have moved all his clothes to one side(3 drawers-one for undies, one for socks, and 1 for pj's) so Collin can have more space too. I'm going to be making some picture and word labels, since both boys can only read a little. The pictures will show what goes in the drawers, and the word will either say Drew or Collin so they know which drawers are theirs.



Day 2: Started with Collin's side by emptying his hanging shelf, and putting back in the bottom bar in his closet.

The pile on the bottom bar of the closet is just Collin's t-shirts. I'd say there were well over 25.

I'm also making sure all the hangers match--it doesn't cost a lot, and our budget on this organizing project is little to none. I only spent about $4-5 on 4 packs of hangers.

This morning, before school, I managed to go thru all the t-shirts. Quite a feat. I had Collin try on a handful and do the arm test(hands over head to see if the bottom of the shirt exposed his tummy), and chose 1 that fit and 1 that didn't to measure the rest against. It is very difficult to get him to stay there and go thru all the shirts like that. I imagine most boys are like that, autistic or not. So the break was a good idea. I had a small pile left that I couldn't figure out and had him try those on and he got reinforced with a couple spots on his token board(he gets x many tokens for good behavior and earns something that highly motivates him). Then it was time for school.

In any case, this is about as far as I got with Collin's side.

This is what's still left to go through.

I'm not even halfway done with Collin's clothes, and he's already filled a 13 gallon size trash bag of too small clothes and ones that were in excess. As often as we do laundry, 10 t-shirts should be more than plenty. There is also a second bag now filled, just of pants with holes in the knees.

Here is our before shot:



And here is the current progress(obviously, not finished yet. The small dresser will likely be moving out of the closet by one of the walls):

D & C 123:17

Seems May is almost over. These first few months of 2012 have really tested our faith. Well, I can't speak for Tom, but it has tested mine a lot. Two experiences have taught me that after we do all in our power, all we can really do is just put it in the Lord's hands and hope & pray things work out for the best. And if it seems it's not going the way we'd like immediately, to have the faith to keep moving forward anyway. Both experiences were about Collin. I have no idea what to think sometimes about him. We've prayed many years for him to improve. He has, albeit not as quickly or as much as we'd like. After I went to TOFW the beginning of this month, one of the speakers helped me to realize that while I'm "waiting" that I'm not enjoying the present like I should be.

In any case, we got 2 small miracles of being able to switch therapy companies, and also having his anesthesia paid for(not by us--a BIG deal since we're talking $400+ not even including the work on his teeth) for dental work this week. The second was quite the challenge. The dental insurance was supposedly going to cover it starting this year, and then they negate that once they get all the proper documents. Medical offered to pay after a sweet pediatrician answering our fax to request authorization, but the dentist office proved to put up a fight until this past Monday. All this because we did what was in our power and trusted the Lord.

Millions of peaches, peaches for me. Millions of peaches, peaches for free

Ok, well not millions, but still a lot! Every year we deal with the same thing. Our tree likes to go peach crazy. This year I thought I'd try to outsmart it, and pluck blossoms(a little tricky since blossoms pop up during the rainy season, and then when it's dry again there are tons of bees around our tree). Didn't make any difference whatsoever. The tree has a mind of its own and its own agenda.

This year, they've decided to start falling earlier than I recall last year. And that peach song (Peaches by the Presidents of the United States) taunts me during the clean-up, picking and more clean-up process that lasts about a month to month and a half. I only can wish that song would get out of my head.



The tree so far. Note: this is actually an improvement over last week, when the front left was super low & drooping over the walkway up to the house.

How many we've picked(and not thrown away) today:

We're likely to be canning peaches & making peach jam for Memorial Day, but in the meantime, I've started "pinning" peach recipes. We've done smoothies, popsicles, and raw before so I was looking for some more variety.  Here's what I've found so far: http://pinterest.com/icab/recipes-for-peaches-from-our-tree/

If anyone has any other ideas before we start doing jam and canning, let me know.

No-sew diy charging station part 2

Fabric is now all attached with the adhesive spray. All that's left is to cut out 3 circles for cords. This is partly why I chose this particular fabric--circles are already there for me. ;) That and it's not to girly for Tom. The colors go well with the green on the walls in the kitchen too.

Total cost was ~$15, since I had to buy the adhesive spray($8) & buy a multi-outlet plug strip($7) for everything to go into.

A no-sew diy charging station

I've been inspired by today's IHeartOrganizing blog post on using what you have but re-purpose it, as well as another post she wrote on covering cardboard boxes in fabric so it looks nicer.

The idea hit me today when I found an empty shoe box.

Starting materials: Shoe box, 4 pieces of foam from a jewelry box,  2 pieces of 12x12 scrapbooking paper cut to size, 1 piece of fabric a little bigger than the bottom of the box(to cover foam), and outside fabric

Using double-sided tape, I taped down the 5 pieces of scrapbooking paper that I had measured

Added one layer of foam(2 pieces). The foam is to help it sit higher in the shoe box.

Added the other foam pieces, this time, upside down. I had contemplated putting the  phones & ipod just on the foam, but needed contrast, hence them upside down.

Ended up covering the foam with the fabric, just tucked the excess in & under the foam

Testing out width. This'll hold what it needs to: ipod & 2 cell phones

All that's left is cover the outside of the box(need to run & get spray adhesive from Home Depot) & cut 3 holes for the chargers to reach through.

Recent happenings

Family updates. Got a new/used car a couple weeks ago. Tom's 16 year old compact(we've had for 13 years) was needing about $1500 worth of repairs and the car was worth a lot less than that. After a couple weeks of looking, bargain shopping online(and awesome timing of federal tax return) we got a 2011 Hyundai Elantra and have already paid for over half the cost.

Tom wanted a farewell shot.

Here's the newer car:

The kids just had Spring Break--one of the longest weeks of my life! Collin also started up with his new therapy company this past week. Starting this next week through mid-June, I'm going to be taking a free class from the local community college once a week that's a Parent & Me style class for Brent. Obviously, Drew will be tagging along too.

What else? It's becoming more & more obvious Brent is quickly approaching the 2 yr mark. One minute he is so sweet, the next minute he's so beyond disagreeable that I'm not sure what to call it. He had/has the Ornery Ones, quickly approaching Terrible Twos. I sure hope we have the Terrific Threes instead of the Trying Threes.

I don't think I've sat in all of Relief Society at church in months(we switched times our ward meets after Christmas, and now naptime is supposed to be during sacrament meeting which usually isn't happening & someone's having MAJOR separation issues). Which means, I have got to put more effort in at home if I expect to have any semblance of spirituality left before the end of summer. Any tips from anyone who's able to squeeze it in with kids who need almost constant attention/redirection while they're awake?

Project update

So, haven't finished this latest project before starting up something new. Typical of me. I got tired of our incoming papers almost taking over the house, so right before the kids' Spring Break started, I made a mail sorter. After a couple weeks, the paper piles are almost gone--old habits die hard.

I give complete credit to this blog post on the 'A Bowl Full of Lemons' for the idea & set-up. Though, in my opinion, her mail sorter station looks better since it's not as stuffed as ours is at the moment: