I CAN Do Everything- almost!

Sometimes I try to accomplish an unrealistic number of tasks into a very small window of time. When I really start to fill my plate up, I might get an occasional, well-intended comment from someone like, "you don't have to be perfect"..."you can't do everything"..."you don't need to be a superwoman"....blah, blah blah!

These past two weeks have taught me something....I can't do everything, but I can come pretty darn close. The one thing I can't do is maintain a blog while I'm tackling a very lengthy to-do list!
This past Saturday, we threw a "shower" for our close friends Dzana and Andy. This was far from a traditional shower because they are adopting two beautiful children: a 7 year old girl and a 2 year old boy. Although a traditional baby shower wasn't appropriate, a big party to celebrate their new family and to give them lots of gifts was definitely necessary.

Because I'm crazy, I decided that the party would give me a great excuse to get some decorating done in the house that I've been putting off. Here was my small list of goals to accomplish in the two weeks leading up to the shower....

1. Paint the livingroom and dining room
2. Iron and hem all of the curtains in the living room and dining room
3. Search for the perfect floor lamp to go in the living room
4. Search for some type of bench/shelf combo for the front hall so guests have a place to sit, take off shoes, and hang jackets.
5. Buy 3 matching frames for the front hall and come up with three pictures to put in them.
6. Paint the family room, eating nook, and kitchen.
7. Make new throw pillows for the couch in the family room
8. Sew new curtains for the couch in the family room
9. Tear out the seams and re-sew the curtains 3 times after continuing to make the same mistake. (This actually wasn't a part of the orginal plan, nevertheless, it happened.)
9. Buy a curtain rod for the above-mentioned curtains
9. Shop for various nic-nacs and decorations to make the family room look more complete
10. Get quotes from various contractors to have the backyard landscaped
11. Bake treats daily for the landscapers to ensure that they like me and do a good job on the yard.
12. Clean the entire house from top to bottom prior to the party
13. Shop for and prepare food for the party to feed the 42 people who have responded and said they are coming.

So did I get all this done? YES! Did I get help from anybody else? Ok, maybe a little. Rick was a rockstar and my mom was very sweet to watch Gwen for an entire day for me. Also, I should say that my mother-in-law did most of the work on the pillows, but I was a good assistant. I also employed my amazing babysitter, who shall remain nameless because I don't want somebody stealing her from me.

I didn't think to do before and after photos, but after fishing around a little, I came up with some photos that can at least give you a basic idea of how the house looked before. Don't expect any major design miracles. I'm no Martha Stewart, plus we did all of this in only two weeks. It looks good, but no necessarily amazing!

Here is the living room/dining room before...

Here is the living room/dining room after...

Before we did the family room/kitchen (only decent photo I had)

The family room after

I forgot to take photos of the kitchen, but we didn't really do anything to it yet, besides paint. The finishing touches will be done another day!

I snapped a quick photo of the backyard from my patio as they were starting to bring in topsoil. Notice all of the lovely straw that they are covering up!

The "after" photo of the lawn. My favorite part of this shot is how Gwen is yelling at me from the door, asking what I'm doing.

Although Rick and I were a bit worn out, all of the effort was well worth it. Not only is our house starting to feel much more like a home, but we threw an awesome party!