Everyday is laundry day in our house.

I have this canvas on my laundry room wall to remind me of the joy I SHOULD feel whilst sorting through dirty socks.

I do at least 2 loads of laundry per day. This is despite my encouraging the boys to wear their jeans, pajamas and sweatshirts for two days ( unless very grass stained or obviously dirty , not the Jammie’s). Each day I go into their room and the laundry basket is overflowing! Whaaaaat? It must be breeding overnight.

Getting the laundry downstairs is either throwing it over the bannister with a yell of ‘watch out below’ and hoping a passing child doesn’t end up with dirty undies on their head , or lying flat out under a ton of socks and pants, OR lugging the baskets myself and hoping I don’t trip and tumble down the stairs. My next house will have an upstairs laundry.

Sorting through the littles laundry is a real chore. Almost 90% is inside out. The socks are rolled up in a little ball , sleeves are tangled inside each other and the  underwear is always inside the pants as they slip these off in one  slick move.

I choose the nicest smelling laundry soap and I hot wash them despite the warnings that their clothes will wear out quicker. I need those kid stains and smells OUT!

Pockets inevitably have been missed and little lizards, pebbles, pennies , candy wrappers and indescribables fall out into the murky waters.

Once it’s dried , it’s the part I like the least ,folding and putting it away. I gave up ironing years ago which is a good thing for me. I will iron a nice shirt if we are going somewhere special but that’s my limit. That’s what tumble dryers are for! Throw the wrinkly shirt in with a wet washcloth , 10 minutes on high, BAM!

Don’t get me started on the little girl still being in cloth diapers , rinsing off poop before the washing , double washing them and putting them out in the sunshine to whiten them. No kidding, it’s extra work.

Whilst I complain , I AM lucky in this day and age that I have hot water and electricity. No having to beat the clothes against the rocks or run them through a mangle as my Granny did.

Still, laundry is a chore, but one day I may be sad that I’m only washing the hubby’s socks and my nightie with no pebbles rattling in the dryer.

I mixed up a yellow box cake mix as per the box instructions.

I had rolled ready made cookie dough and put them into the freezer in advance. Divided the mix into cupcake liners (24) and dropped a cookie dough ball into each one , pressing down lightly.

Baked for 25 minutes.

Made a brown butter buttercream ( sorry no recipe amounts) but powdered sugar, brown sugar , tablespoon milk, stick of butter and  a dash of vanilla. Mix until thick.

Topped with chocolate sprinkles.

There goes the diet ……..AGAIN !

I have a little girl who I am trying to  raise with a sense of self-worth and respect for herself,  not dependent on the way she looks.  (She is a very pretty blue-eyed blonde but that’s not the point.)

As an avid fan of Pinterest, I came across the idea of repainting the face of some of her dollies.

I ended up going to the thrift store and buying $.99 Bratz dolls. These are over made up sexy looking dollies.  Think of shorter Barbie with too much make up .

I found this lady in Australia who repaints her dolls and sells them.  Her dollies are repainted with a natural look and she even knits little sweaters for them !

I give this a go myself and my  little dolly didn’t come out as natural as I’d hoped , but I’m happy with the effect.

I used acetone and a cotton ball to remove the factory make up then wiped it clean with warm water and  dish soap.  I used acrylic paint from my craft stock and a very fine paintbrush.  I’m not going to lie, the eyes took me about 10 attempts !  And even then I still feel they are too big.

Just a side note, if you choose to buy these type of dollies they often come without feet.  Their shoes are also their feet so if you remove the shoes , the feet are gone  I’m trolling craigslist for feet! Haha

I will keep trying to make them look more natural but  a LITTLE make up never hurts !  I’m also going to give them birthmarks freckles and scars !

Keeping it real, dolly style ❤️

I bought this drinks dispenser for $8 at my favorite local thrift store.

Instead of filling it with alcohol , I decided to use it for flavored syrups. We like to use these for coffee, hot chocolate , and the froo froo cocktails we enjoy.