Here are updated links for the pictures I posted above. http://www.katielynnhall.com/gallery2/gallery/20120714-930415a.jpg http://www.katielynnhall.com/gallery2/gallery/20120714-930415_1-me.jpg http://www.katielynnhall.com/gallery2/gallery/Back.jpg http://www.katielynnhall.com/gallery2/data/i/galleries/Images/20120714-IMG0406-la.jpg http://www.katielynnhall.com/gallery2/gallery/20120714-930415_2-me.jpg http://www.katielynnhall.com/gallery2/data/i/galleries/Images/20120714-IMG0415-la.jpg http://www.katielynnhall.com/gallery2/gallery/20120714-930415_5-me.jpg http://www.katielynnhall.com/gallery2/_data/i/galleries/Images/20120714-listing_photo_1_16958325-la.jpg http://www.katielynnhall.com/gallery2/data/i/galleries/Images/20120714-IMG0404-la.jpg http://www.katielynnhall.com/gallery2/data/i/galleries/Images/20120714-IMG0405-la.jpg http://www.katielynnhall.com/gallery2/gallery/photo1.jpg http://www.katielynnhall.com/gallery2/gallery/20120714-930415_3-me.jpg http://www.katielynnhall.com/gallery2/data/i/galleries/Images/20120714-IMG0418-la.jpg http://www.katielynnhall.com/gallery2/gallery/20120714-IMG_0416-la.jpg http://www.katielynnhall.com/gallery2/gallery/20120714-930415_4-me.jpg http://www.katielynnhall.com/gallery2/data/i/galleries/Images/20120714-IMG0407-la.jpg http://www.katielynnhall.com/gallery2/gallery/20120714-930415_9-me.jpg http://www.katielynnhall.com/gallery2/data/i/galleries/Images/20120714-IMG0409-la.jpg http://www.katielynnhall.com/gallery2/data/i/galleries/Images/20120714-IMG0408-la.jpg http://www.katielynnhall.com/gallery2/gallery/20120714-930415_7-me.jpg http://www.katielynnhall.com/gallery2/data/i/galleries/Images/20120714-IMG0410-la.jpg http://www.katielynnhall.com/gallery2/gallery/20120714-IMG_0411-la.jpg http://www.katielynnhall.com/gallery2/gallery/20120714-930415_8-me.jpg http://www.katielynnhall.com/gallery2/data/i/galleries/Images/20120714-IMG0412-la.jpg http://www.katielynnhall.com/gallery2/data/i/galleries/Images/20120714-IMG0413-la.jpg http://www.katielynnhall.com/gallery2/data/i/galleries/Images/20120714-IMG0400-la.jpg http://www.katielynnhall.com/gallery2/data/i/galleries/Images/20120714-IMG0395-la.jpg http://www.katielynnhall.com/gallery2/data/i/galleries/Images/20120714-IMG0401-la.jpg http://www.katielynnhall.com/gallery2/data/i/galleries/Images/20120714-IMG0398-la.jpg http://www.katielynnhall.com/gallery2/gallery/20120714-930415_10-me.jpg http://www.katielynnhall.com/gallery2/data/i/galleries/Images/20120714-IMG0397-la.jpg http://www.katielynnhall.com/gallery2/data/i/galleries/Images/20120714-IMG0396-la.jpg http://www.katielynnhall.com/gallery2/gallery/20120714-930415_11-me.jpg http://www.katielynnhall.com/gallery2/data/i/galleries/Images/20120714-IMG0402-la.jpg http://www.katielynnhall.com/gallery2/data/i/galleries/Images/20120714-IMG0403-la.jpg http://www.katielynnhall.com/gallery2/gallery/20120714-930415_12-me.jpg http://www.katielynnhall.com/gallery2/data/i/galleries/Images/20120714-IMG0394-la.jpg http://www.katielynnhall.com/gallery2/data/i/galleries/Images/20120714-IMG0393-la.jpg http://www.katielynnhall.com/gallery2/data/i/galleries/Images/20120714-IMG0391-la.jpg http://www.katielynnhall.com/gallery2/data/i/galleries/Images/20120714-IMG0392-la.jpg

I can still post today! And for those of you who may have wondered, all that trash was dumped effortlessly into the garbage truck and whisked away to the landfill. Now, one of my most important stretches of kitchen countertop is clear, that is the nearly six feet between the main sink and the back door/garage area of my house. Formerly, that spot had been loaded, and I mean fully covered and stacked, with papers, hair doodads, ballet shoes, Boy Scout patches, files, coupons, receipts, bits and pieces of small toys, playing cards, etc. Cleaning off that counter space has finally given me a landing pad for groceries or other gear that is carried in from the van. So now, when I grocery shop, I don't unload bags onto the kitchen floor, I have the counter. This is so much easier on my back and we don't trip over the bags until they get unloaded. In order to clean this countertop, I threw away as much as I could, then I asked my teenage daughter to simply stuff everything else into a milk crate or I moved the papers to the kitchen table. I asked her for help because I was burning out (I worked on this counter for the better part of the weekend in-between everything else) and had the goal of finishing the job by Sunday dinner. When I got to the point where I simpy could not stand to look at another tangible sign of my inability to get it together, she willingly stepped in. She couldn't dejunk a whole lot, but she could move it to milk crates and the kitchen table (we eat in the dining room). So, of course my table is unusable. Today I've got to tackle my kitchen table. I have stacks of papers from the three different schools my children attend, in addition to receipts, recipes, books, magaizines, church bulletins, etc. So that's how I'll spend the better part of my morning. To celebrate my "new" counter space, I found a lovely white embossed decorative pot (in my closet), and bought some cheap silk white geraniums and pale yellow roses for the pot. Now that arrangement sits in the corner and it helps me keep that place clean. It has been clean for about a week. My laundry room is now at the point where I have a clutter free place to put my laundry-sorting totes (I have nine of them; one for each member of my family, plus a tenth for linens and towels), that place being the top of the dryer and across my freezer. So.... I hope to fold and sort laundry in the laundry room as it leaves the dryer rather than toss it on a sofa (where it typically sits for days on end). My laundry room is also my office, I'm sitting here right now on my computer at the conter height desk we built as a part of our remodel. Anway, Talley, my son had a friend coming over yesterday and that burst of cleaning has left my house neater than it has been in months, thanks to slow but steady progress with dejunking. And D.A.Y.Y. I agree 100% about consumable gifts. And what a great idea about making the card special, that's the perfect way to demonstrate the feelings behind the gift. And Talley, I got rid of my stackers. They were in the laundry room (the only place I could set them was on the dryer, and I need that real estate for my folding) where they basically stored papers. I need a better way to deal with the vast amount of paper I receive in any given day. Using a calendar faithfully will help immensely. But letting go of all of the precious things my children bring home is what I need to do. Childhood is so fleeting, I want to treasure each thing each of my children does, that is sit down with them, talk about their work, shower them with praise..... but of course that doesn't happen. Anyway, that's all the news that's fit to print. I'm heading for the kitchen table! Thanks again for all of your encouraging replies. ~Cindy

I agree with everyone else that the tv over the fireplace might be too high. Someone said there are issues with ghost pictures and with heat from the fire. I would probably look into doing the entertainment wall where you have the armoire and use a tv stand with bookcases on either side. You could use baskets on the bookcase shelves, along with accents in whichever colors you choose. Because I've been there, done that, I suggest making sure the bookcases are attached to the wall in case a little one decides to climb them. :) As for your couch, if you like the bones of the couch, why not see about getting some foam inserts cut to replace the insides of the cushions? Also, most department stores sell slipcovers for couches. Wally world's quality isn't that great, but theirs run about $100 and they are washable. If you sew, it's fairly simple to make a slipcover yourself. I would probably look for furniture on Craig's List, especially the bookcases and tv stand. Even if the woods weren't exact matches, the price will be much less than buying new and paint covers multitudes of defects. Saving on the furniture would allow you to put a little more into the rugs and accessories, although I see rugs all the time on CL as well. Adding more greenery (I'm jealous of your green thumb!) and some accent pieces will make it feel more homey for now. As you add in the other things, slipcovers, rugs, bookcases, you will see it all come together. However, I don't think it looks bad right now, at all. Your home has a great layout; you have some really nice pieces in there, and everything isn't too matchy-matchy. I'd feel comfortable sitting on your couch or having a cup of coffee at the kitchen table. To me, that's the true test of a home. If I don't feel like I could touch anything in the house, I won't come back. I'd visit you more than once! :)

This sounds so much like my situation 5 years ago and if you were 25 years older I might think you were my ex husband's new wife. Don't blame the kid and don't blame his mom. Blame your 'husband'. My ex did this and in the end, his new wife won... She got him cause I was done with him. He would tell her that he was just trying to make me happy or keep me happy or that I was threatening him or that I was keeping him from seeing his child etc etc etc. Never true. He was getting his cake and eating it too. It all sounds so familiar and honey, it doesn't change nor does it stop. HE is lying to you. HE slept with someone else. HE ignored your calls. HE ignored your texts. No one else did that or made those decisions. Unfortunately, what it sounds like is he is still too young to be settled down(my ex was 35 so age really does not always have to be a factor) The hostility between you and your husband's ex will probably never end because you are fighting for the same man and neither one of you has realized yet that HE is NOT the last man on earth and that HE is not the answer to all of your dreams. There is happiness out there. This is not happiness. You just need to realize that you can be happy and that you need to make the decision to be happy. Being with a man that is still entangled with his ex(mother of his child) will never end well. He has moved on before completely that relationship. You see... I moved on. I found happiness. I found a man that was available mentally, emotionally and physically. Not still 'entangled' with his ex and their child. (he doesn't have an ex or a child) But MY ex is still with that same woman that is in your position and 5 years later they are no happier today than they were the first day they met. It's obvious that all of the lies and cheating and ignoring phone calls and texts, still haunts her or else she wouldnt have a problem allowing my ex to co parent with me about our daughter. He isn't even allowed to speak to me on the phone. She has to keep such a close eye on Him constantly and I can't imagine what kind of life that would be like. That you can't even trust your own man to visit family or to o to work or to go to the store because he might 'fall' and endin up sleeping with someone.... Think long and hard. You can get out of this and I am not a 'go get a divorce now' advocate but because I've been in a situation similiar and I see the misery that has followed these two for 5 long years, i can't think of any other solution for someone in your shoes. I'm SO sorry. This sucks. But on the other hand, I still can't understand why you married him and why you have to keep it quiet?? And take it from the ex wife ... If he isn't telling you what is going on with the parenting plan and just discussing with you what is going on, there probably is more to the story.