Most think of the parent as the one who teaches, the one who cares, the one who leads, the one who guides and shapes the life of the child.
But what if that were not true. What if the child is the one who teaches, the one who leads, the one who guides and shapes the life of the parent?
Furthermore…
What if both the parent and child are really learning, following, morphing and caring for one another through all stages of their lives … leaning equally on one another for survival.
What if the outcome is prosperous and encouraging and perfect…
What if Everyone Teaches and Everyone Learns… Then, this game called life … changes
OH my little buddy … Christian is his name … he is a purebred, black Pug !
Taken in 2013 – Posing in the green grass with his red walking harness
Christian can be very territorial and likes to bark when anyone visits or comes knocking at the door and he loves to talk to the neighbors dogs by barking through our fence. He doesn’t have any issues ‘acting’ like he is a big dog and he doesn’t mind posing for pictures from time to time.
I remember the day I brought him home, he was so tiny and depended on me for everything. He was so small in fact I could wrap him in a hand towel, folded in half. He loved that, I am guessing it made him feel secure being wrapped up in something soft while I held him. Those really early days were precious to me and times I will never, ever forget.
2016 Birthday Hat – I turned 4, Jan 12th !
This month he turns 4 years old and we celebrated with a new toy, a special dinner and a nice red party hat! He wore the hat just long enough for me to snap a few pictures.
He has gained a few pounds in the last couple of years as he settles nicely into his pug rolls and is happy and healthy in our home… a little spoiled but I guess with a face like that, who wouldn’t be spoiled!
You know that space … where the chef of the home can go to create …and dream and… provide delish meals for the family… That Pantry!
I dream of a large walk in with a place that will hold everyday food items, stockpile supplies, menu plans, cookbooks with recipes, food inventory lists and ample space for large appliance storage! A girl can dream, right?!
The reality is … I do not have a walk in, nor space to hold everything I want in a single space. But, I do have a very modest pantry with several shallow shelves SO I am able to house a little bit of everything. This also means there are other spaces where I house all needed items in order to maintain my kitchen (that will be a different topic for a different day).
When I moved into my current home, I downsized in all areas to include the kitchen… with that downsize went the walk-in pantry… So I chose to say “Hello”, to small spaces!
This is an honest pic of my unorganized pantry when I first moved in …
I quickly found out that the systems I used in my previous pantry (which was a walk in) did not work in my current pantry.
The systems I used before consisted of risers for canned goods and plastic pull out drawers that contained items that I could see easily in my previous space by pulling out the sliding drawer. In my new space the risers did not fit properly (to narrow of a space) and the drawers would not pull out completely. I dealt with it for as long as I could and decided enough is enough – time for a Small Pantry Organization!
I took inventory and decided what the must have items were and what I absolutely HAD to have there… and added on nice to have and this is what I came up with for RULES :
1) Must be functional, above all !
2) I must be able to know at a glance where everything is located.
3) The space must allow other members of the family to put away/get out grocery items without having any difficulty.
4) Visually appealing – This was my nice to have!
I was able to organize with Dollar Tree bins (most of which I already had) and Dollar Tree canisters and containers.
This is what my pantry looks like now – Take A look!
I also filmed 2 YouTube videos – One BEFORE and one AFTER The link to those are below!
