Evidently, I would grab the plant. No, my house has never been on fire. But almost as bad, I did one day get a call from my sister stating that she and a friend were on their way over to “see how cute the twins room is!” It was like someone yelled “Fire!” in a crowded building because, let me assure you, their room was in no condition for an open house. It was a wreck. So what did I do? Make the beds? Pick up toys? Vacuum? Of course not. True to my inability to properly prioritize, I quickly decided the single most important thing to do between the phone call and the doorbell was to line the inside of their drawers with scrapbook paper.
The girls have this used-to-be-changing-table-now-a-dresser dresser in their room. When they were babies, these drawers were so cute with the see through window in them. I would fold fuzzy burp cloths and proudly display them in neat rows of yellows and pinks. And then they turned 3 and the dresser became the toy chest and all of a sudden, it wasn’t so cute anymore.
So I cut paper. And scotch taped it to the inside of the drawers. The girls were fighting in the background and I stuffed toys under the bed with my feet. But that dresser, it looked so cute when I was done. I finished with time to spare. Boy, do I know how to prioritize.
It definitely wasn’t perfect. I had actually planned to get some fabric for this project. But seeing as how I kind of hyperventilate when I go into a fabric store (unless The Nester is there to talk me through it), that was not to be. The paper was only 12×12 but my drawers are wider than that. I had to piece them together. Lucky for me, toile just looks all toiley from far away, so it’s hard to see where one paper stops and the other begins.
Can you tell? Bet you can’t. It’s been over a year since I did this little project and now the tape is beginning to fail, as you can see from this inside shot.
My sister recently posted about lining the back of her dish hutch (what do you call that thing, anyway?) which kind of reminded me of this little project. She also used scrapbook paper, but she used a glue gun. Evidently tape is for amateurs. Seeing as how mine is falling apart, I guess I agree with that.
So now, instead of seeing this…
I get to see this…
It fits in nicely with my cleaning habits.
Emily. I think that of the two of you, you and I think more alike. Did you see how I got in big trouble for asking your sister if she used double-stick tape on her hutch? I live fixing my kids’ toys and books with packing tape. I think that all the different colors of duct tape are cool. I think I’m just too nervous and accident-prone to use the hot glue gun very often. I’m pretty sure I clean up in a hurry the way you do, too.
Oh yeah–from the time I got married, and my grandma had made me the most beautiful quilt ever, I had it all planned out to save the quilt before anything else. It’s still the plan. I’ll use it to haul my babies out. Or chuck it out first (priorities) as padding for when I toss them out the window, and if we ever live in a more than one-storey house, I’ll use it as a king-sized parachute.
Oops, I was talking about what I’d grab if there was a fire, before people start thinking I always make it a habit to ramble on about how to mistreat an heirloom just for the fun of it.
I do ramble a lot.
I was totally with you on the grabbing for the fire thing! No need to explain. I love that you have a plan.
Cute idea! I love that dresser…
obviously their room was already clean. because if it looked like my girls’ room you would have been setting toys on fire and scraping the sucker off the nightstand rather than playing with paper.
I am currently reading blogs instead of paying bills or what I really need to be doing…sleeping. So hows that for priorities?
Did your twins ever have ear infections? We can’t kick them out the door, and i am not too excited about tubes. Just wondering.
Melissa
I wish that I had something with clear drawers. It still looks fantasic!
PS It’s today, it’s today!
VERY interesting question. What would I grab? Aside from my multitude of children and my wedding ring and my dollhouse and Doris’ quilt and Angelica’s green crystal…it might behoove me to rearrange so some of these things are positioned right by the front door just in case.
I love love love what you did with the twins changing table. What a cute idea!!
That is exactly the scene at my house every time the doorbell rings (minus the brilliant decorating idea). Glad to see you know how to prioritize things.
The changing table turned out great, too!
~Heather
Melissa – Yes, yes, yes. Our twins had many ear infections. We finally broke down and got the tubes. I was really nervous about it, but they were running around like normal by the afternoon after the surgery and it really helped. I’m so sorry you are having to go through that! I tried to email you but I didn’t see one on your profile page…
Brilliant! I used tape on mine too. Hot glue seems so—permanent!
As for what I would grab–I think about that waaaay too much. Especially since the house next door caught fire a few years back. My list has now grown too long that I’m one of those stupid people who would probably keep running back into the burning house to see what else I could get! Guess my family is the only really important thing!
Hi Emily,
I have been secretly reading your blog since it is on everybody else’s blog roll that I read! I hate to say that I have de-lurked because that sounds so creepy. But I just wanted to let you know that I have really enjoyed reading it. Having said that…I love that other people panic when someone says they are on their way over …I usually throw everything in a closet…then can’t find it later. Love the scrapbook paper..Do I dare say, that the Nester copied you?? And as for what I would grab in a fire, hmmm, my wedding rings, laptop (all the pictures are on it), my purse and of course my kids…Was your Dad ever on “Focus on the Family?” I swear I have heard his name before…Thanks for letting me check in.
Emily, I love reading your blog and I laugh out loud at work. Thanks for being real and for not taking yourself too seriously. John sent me to your blog about 6 months ago, and I am a regular now. You may remember me, from CIU/Grace Mins. connections?
Have a great weekend with your beautiful family.
Katherine