Getting ready for company

We moved this spring into a big house, almost double the size actually - kind of crazy.  I am not a person who loves housework...and I need a BIG amount done to get any satisfaction from it, like the WHOLE main floor being clean at exactly the same time!  Which is very tough when you have 5 kids of your own and extras running around making every day into a play day!  Not that they don't help...they totally do, they are all good little workers - when I remember to get them to help!  It is all on me.  I have to actually say to them, "oh, pick up that other game before you take out this one" or, "did you put the towel back on the rack?" or to remind them for the 11 billionth time to make their bed in the morning, put their pjs under the pillow and pick up 10 things on the way out the door of their room.
Stuff like that...
I realize lately how much I don't say, but expect them to know.  Not very fair of me...I am working on this one!  Especially for my younger kids.  I used to hate when my mom would say "Clean your room".  What does that even mean?  I find myself doing that more and more lately.  Totally not fair.  It is much easier for little kids when you say, "Pick up the books.  Now pick up the Barbies, now lets put all the laundry in the hamper...etc, etc."  Like I said, I am working on it.
I am also not the best at knowing WHERE something specific should be put away....I finally (almost 8 months after the fact) decided to put my table linens in the built in china cupboard.  Makes sense.  For born organized people, the solution is always - store it where you use it, but for people like me, who don't think so linear, but more in a circular fashion, it takes some time to stop the spinning long enough to say where will I use this thing??  Where should it go??  Beside the fact that I have never had so many places to put things before.  Even in our last house, it was a big bungalow, but it had virtually NO storage.  This house has lots of closets and cupboards and drawers.  More to work on.
One thing I have noticed about people who have a natural organizational bend, they have a ton of shelves and shelving units and other 3D storage solutions.  I even remember a few years ago that was IKEAs whole catalogue theme - not to think of your home in the sense of square footage, but of cubic footage - using the wall space and vertical storage to its best.  I also am not good at this - but I have hope!
I am thinking of this because I am cleaning in anticipation of an event (the only good reason to clean and organize if you ask me!) We are getting ready for a big bunch of company this weekend!  There is a bible quiz meet here in our city this weekend and so we are looking forward to billeting again.  One girl that stayed with us this summer called us directly to ask if she could stay here - that made me happy, it couldn't have been too bad here I guess! 
I have been making muffins in anticipation of their arrival.  All I get to make for them in the way of food is breakfast both days, so on Saturday I am planning baked oatmeal and Sunday, muffins, cheese and yogurt. 

I have also been sewing, but you'll have to wait to see what I have made!


Here is a picture of a birthday card I made.

I did my first ever one-sheet-wonder.  I loosely used a template someone created to cut one 12x12 piece of patterned paper to make 15 cards.  And I only got 12 out of it, but whatever. Of course you have to use a bunch of other cardstock too - and they are just good starts on cards, I need to add images to all of them, but it was a neat way to get a bunch of backgrounds done.  Hopefully next week I can get the images and sentiments added and they will be done.  A big addition to my sample box! Or more likely a big start on someone's very overdue birthday present - which is not in dire need of replenishing anyway, so I've heard!

So guess that is it, I don't know what else to blog about, just happy that I did remember to blog today...I am trying to keep at a weekly post, so we'll see how long I can keep it up.  Next week when my birthday present arrives, I will post a picture!  yay!