Problem Solver

"Around here, they call us the problem solvers."

Inspired by Tracy and Jenna, I decided to take matters into my own hands and solve some of the problems plaguing the Hatch household. Ok, plaguing might be a strong word, and some may not even call them problems, but they were annoying me so I fixed them.

First, my kitchen window. As it is directly in front of my kitchen sink I spend a disproportionate amount of time staring at it, and the curtains that we inherited from the previous owner had been making me frown for 2 1/2 years. I think they were once a nice ivory color but had turned sallow from several years of hanging in a kitchen, and the material itself was like a cheap nightgown that looked like it would give you a rash in all the wrong areas.


I decided to make new curtains, and immediately a picture appeared in my head of exactly what I wanted them to look like. At some point I had seen a picture of a tea towel in a magazine that was printed with abstract red poppies, and that was what I wanted to look at every day while I did dishes. Unfortunately, no one else had seen the same tea towel and decided to make fabric or even a rubber stamp that remotely resembled my poppies. Nevermind, I'll do it myself. I made my own stamp using craft foam, a box lid and an x-acto knife (I know, MacGyver, right?), sewed some simple curtains out of white muslin, and printed the bottom with beautiful red poppies. Added some red grosgrain ribbon and, voila!


Next problem: the mass of princess dresses, tutus, tiaras and plastic accessories that was slowly taking over my living room. I don't have a before picture, but just imagine what your closet would look like if you were three feet tall and hadn't done laundry for a year. I spent at least six months searching for a solution to this problem and was mighty discouraged, until I found this little gem on Craigslist:


A six foot tall Pottery Barn armoire with one shelf separating the top and bottom. I installed a small closet rod on the bottom half and put some canvas baskets on top and it became the perfect dress-up closet! Plus, the piece is so nice and multifunctional that if at some point I no longer need it for dress-up clothes it will make a great addition to any room in the house.


Last problem: the infamous Dora chair. (I must clarify that this is hardly my last problem, merely the last one that will be addressed in this post.) Before I had kids I vowed that neither my home or my children would ever be adorned with cartoon characters. I followed this principle religiously until Layla's first birthday, when my grandma bought her a fuzzy, purple Dora chair. I was aghast and Layla was in love. She would carry the chair from room to room, wherever people happened to be congregating, and sit happily, sometimes including Dora in the conversation. So, Dora stayed.


Now, however, Weston is just the right size for the chair, but Ryan refused to let him sit in it (for reasons that should be obvious to anyone who knows my husband). Dora needed a makeover. Two yards of blue canvas and hours of trial and error later Weston had his own blue chair to carry from room to room, wherever people happen to be congregating. As soon as he learns to walk.