4 months ago
Monday, March 9, 2009
Spring Time and Cute Frills
I had a project this weekend that I started after church on Sunday. I bought some really cute springy fabric at Goodwill on Friday and it only cost me .99 cents! I didn't have a pattern so I used a couple of examples online to get the general idea. I think it turned out really cute! Kiera was really excited when I finished. She wanted to put it on right then and there. She was really cute! She said, "Wow" (sort of in a loud lion growl) and then whispered, "that is so beautiful." It was so sweet! I let her put it on and right away she started spinning. It is a great skirt for twirling! Ethan just sat and watched her. It was a little difficult to get some still shots of her but I did manage a couple from behind. Ethan was too cute not to take a picture either so I have one of his cute little grin. You can tell I had been working on it all this morning too because Ethan is still in his PJ's.
Thinking back
I have a friend whose blog I read faithfully and her latest post convinced me to write about my past a little bit. Isn't it funny how we give names to things and in a way believe they are alive?
I did name my car once. I thought it was silly to have a name for a car and that only silly, obsessed men named their cars. But in high school it was no question that my car deserved a name. I had an old '76 Dodge Aspen that was painted maroon. You know the kind built like a tank and made of real metal.
It came with an AM radio and a broken drivers seat. So my mom and I fixed it up to make it suitable for a high school seniors pride. We put in an updated AM/FM radio (woohoo!) and fixed the drivers seat by putting an old camping foam pad over the top and buying some seat covers. We even updated the outside by replacing the old rusty hubcaps with some cheap plastic ones from WalMart. Pretty pathetic by today's standards but to me it was a "cool" car. Besides I had a car to call mine and that was worth it all by itself.
It used to be my grandmas car and she sold it to my parents who in turn let me drive it. I dubbed him "Forest" He never stopped running! He had his quirks and hiccups every once in awhile but he kept on going. Notice I gave it a boys name instead of the usual girls name.
I did name my car once. I thought it was silly to have a name for a car and that only silly, obsessed men named their cars. But in high school it was no question that my car deserved a name. I had an old '76 Dodge Aspen that was painted maroon. You know the kind built like a tank and made of real metal.
It came with an AM radio and a broken drivers seat. So my mom and I fixed it up to make it suitable for a high school seniors pride. We put in an updated AM/FM radio (woohoo!) and fixed the drivers seat by putting an old camping foam pad over the top and buying some seat covers. We even updated the outside by replacing the old rusty hubcaps with some cheap plastic ones from WalMart. Pretty pathetic by today's standards but to me it was a "cool" car. Besides I had a car to call mine and that was worth it all by itself.
It used to be my grandmas car and she sold it to my parents who in turn let me drive it. I dubbed him "Forest" He never stopped running! He had his quirks and hiccups every once in awhile but he kept on going. Notice I gave it a boys name instead of the usual girls name.
Productive Weekend
This weekend turned out to be very productive. Dan's parents came up for a short visit and brought with them 40 lbs of chicken so we could add to our food storage. We got a pretty good deal on it. So this weekend his parents helped me to can some of that chicken. I got 20 pints done. I am very happy to have this done. Getting prepared does give you a sense of security. I took a picture of one of the shelves in our pantry because it was just too colorful not too! From left to right we have raspberry syrups and jams (they are sort of hidden but they are ther under the boxes of pasta), canned tomatos, tomato sauce, green beans, peaches, pears, and last but not least chicken. It feels so good to open the pantry up and see all the pretty colors. Thanks Bob and Shellie for your help with the chicken and for sharing some of you green beans with us!
While Dan's parents were here the DVD shelf finally recieved its doors. While Dan and his dad were attaching the doors they had to countersink some extra screws in the side to put the shelf together a little more and fill in the gaps. I will say I was a bit disappointed and was frustrated that I couldn't check this project off my list. I now have to go back and touch up the putty holes on the sides. Grrrrr. I hope it looks ok when I am done. We will have permanent circular spots on the side now. Hopefully Dan will let me put a piece of skinny trim on to cover them up if it doesn't work out. But other than that I am very happy with how it turned out. Oh yes and nobody enjoys the little white ornament hanging on the front more than I do. No more picking up the movies over and over!
While Dan's parents were here the DVD shelf finally recieved its doors. While Dan and his dad were attaching the doors they had to countersink some extra screws in the side to put the shelf together a little more and fill in the gaps. I will say I was a bit disappointed and was frustrated that I couldn't check this project off my list. I now have to go back and touch up the putty holes on the sides. Grrrrr. I hope it looks ok when I am done. We will have permanent circular spots on the side now. Hopefully Dan will let me put a piece of skinny trim on to cover them up if it doesn't work out. But other than that I am very happy with how it turned out. Oh yes and nobody enjoys the little white ornament hanging on the front more than I do. No more picking up the movies over and over!
Thursday, March 5, 2009
stretched to the max
Have you ever had one of those days where you just couldn't take it anymore? It felt like if it would have lasted one more second you were going to burst? Well for me today was one of those days. I don't usually complain and I know I whine too much but today is a day that I am calling the waaambulance. I am definitely learning patience these next few weeks. Taking on three toddlers is a huge thing for me. Some people make it look so easy! One of the mothers of whose child I watch included! Thankfully I ended up being short one since Ethan was feeling under the weather.
I am learning patience and flexibility. These next few weeks are going to make me stretch a little. I am taking on new tasks and will try to see what I am to learn from them. Hopefully I get it right.
Some of you are probably thinking, "why is she writing this?" Well, its as simple as this...I want my children to know that I am human too and I am not perfect. I am here to learn too. I think too often adults try to cover up their flaws and expect the children to live up to the half truths. It is hard to admit you need to work on certain character traits, and I think it is good for the children to see an adult admit those things and try to change them instead of thinking they are perfect all the time. I am not perfect and I do need to work on my flexibility and patience. I am used to order, or at least that is what I strive for and that is just not possible with 3 toddlers. How do some of you do it?!
I am so thankful for my husband, in that he can usually tell when I am getting to the breaking point and will take over. When he got home I was able to escape to the gym to work my exhaustion and stress off from my long day. Thanks love, I really needed that.
whew... Enough whining now.
I am learning patience and flexibility. These next few weeks are going to make me stretch a little. I am taking on new tasks and will try to see what I am to learn from them. Hopefully I get it right.
Some of you are probably thinking, "why is she writing this?" Well, its as simple as this...I want my children to know that I am human too and I am not perfect. I am here to learn too. I think too often adults try to cover up their flaws and expect the children to live up to the half truths. It is hard to admit you need to work on certain character traits, and I think it is good for the children to see an adult admit those things and try to change them instead of thinking they are perfect all the time. I am not perfect and I do need to work on my flexibility and patience. I am used to order, or at least that is what I strive for and that is just not possible with 3 toddlers. How do some of you do it?!
I am so thankful for my husband, in that he can usually tell when I am getting to the breaking point and will take over. When he got home I was able to escape to the gym to work my exhaustion and stress off from my long day. Thanks love, I really needed that.
whew... Enough whining now.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
What is it about sawdust, a brush, and these two hands?
So today I put the last coat of stain on the cabinet doors. They look absolutely amazing! I can't wait to put them on tomorrow!
So I know there are many out there who don't have a clue what to do when it comes to staining furniture. But let me tell you, I was no expert either. I learned by doing. My first project was when I was about 15 or 16 and I wanted to refinish my bright pink dresser! Yes... it was bright pink and it was complete with blue puff paint (the kind you used to decorate t-shirts in the 80's) and that was around some fabric hearts that were glued on. Believe me.. it was hideous! My mom got it from a yard sale somewhere, and it had a matching night stand and toy box to go with it. But one mans trash is another mans treasure. Or at least we'd hoped.
So began my project. I started with the toy box, then the night stand and finally the dresser. It was a lot of work! I took off what seemed like 50 layers of different colored paint. First pink, then lime green, then gray...and on and on. It took some major sweat and blisters to get it down to the bare wood. I also learned that when you are using stripper chemicals that it isn't a good idea to do it in direct sunlight. You need to be in the shade or your chemical dries up and does no good at getting the paint off. By the time I finished stripping the night stand, and toy box I was pretty tired. But I still need to finish the dresser. I got most of it cleared up but something happened in my life that kept me occupied and I didn't have time for it anymore. We moved houses, I started at a new high school, and I got a job. I knew it would be awhile before I could focus my attention on the neglected dresser again.
Weeks, Months, and even years went by and eventually, the still unfinished dresser followed me into marriage. It looked awful but it worked for what we needed it for. Today I don't know where it ended up. When we graduated from college we sold the dresser because we didn't have room for it. Maybe today it is repainted with yet another coat of what I tried so desperately to get rid of, or some loving soul gave it to a new life with a beautiful stain.
After that, I found a new love. Starting from scratch! My husband built me a bookshelf with a cabinet on the bottom for Mother's Day. We built it together in a dark, moldy, basement on an unlevel floor. We could hardly see what we were doing but when we finally brought it out into the sunlight so we could carry it up the steps to the front door we were very pleased. From then on Dan and I have been trying to come up with other projects to work on to add to our collection of furniture. So far we have built a bed, (yes, Dan built a bed! complete with four drawers underneath) a dvd shelf, a rocking horse, and a kids table and chairs.
We are planning on building a coffee table for the living room, and maybe a cedar chest with a rounded top. There is something about creating something all your own and seeing it from start to finish that gives you such a sense of accomplishment and pride. We were meant to be creators.
So I know there are many out there who don't have a clue what to do when it comes to staining furniture. But let me tell you, I was no expert either. I learned by doing. My first project was when I was about 15 or 16 and I wanted to refinish my bright pink dresser! Yes... it was bright pink and it was complete with blue puff paint (the kind you used to decorate t-shirts in the 80's) and that was around some fabric hearts that were glued on. Believe me.. it was hideous! My mom got it from a yard sale somewhere, and it had a matching night stand and toy box to go with it. But one mans trash is another mans treasure. Or at least we'd hoped.
So began my project. I started with the toy box, then the night stand and finally the dresser. It was a lot of work! I took off what seemed like 50 layers of different colored paint. First pink, then lime green, then gray...and on and on. It took some major sweat and blisters to get it down to the bare wood. I also learned that when you are using stripper chemicals that it isn't a good idea to do it in direct sunlight. You need to be in the shade or your chemical dries up and does no good at getting the paint off. By the time I finished stripping the night stand, and toy box I was pretty tired. But I still need to finish the dresser. I got most of it cleared up but something happened in my life that kept me occupied and I didn't have time for it anymore. We moved houses, I started at a new high school, and I got a job. I knew it would be awhile before I could focus my attention on the neglected dresser again.
Weeks, Months, and even years went by and eventually, the still unfinished dresser followed me into marriage. It looked awful but it worked for what we needed it for. Today I don't know where it ended up. When we graduated from college we sold the dresser because we didn't have room for it. Maybe today it is repainted with yet another coat of what I tried so desperately to get rid of, or some loving soul gave it to a new life with a beautiful stain.
After that, I found a new love. Starting from scratch! My husband built me a bookshelf with a cabinet on the bottom for Mother's Day. We built it together in a dark, moldy, basement on an unlevel floor. We could hardly see what we were doing but when we finally brought it out into the sunlight so we could carry it up the steps to the front door we were very pleased. From then on Dan and I have been trying to come up with other projects to work on to add to our collection of furniture. So far we have built a bed, (yes, Dan built a bed! complete with four drawers underneath) a dvd shelf, a rocking horse, and a kids table and chairs.
We are planning on building a coffee table for the living room, and maybe a cedar chest with a rounded top. There is something about creating something all your own and seeing it from start to finish that gives you such a sense of accomplishment and pride. We were meant to be creators.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Soon to be Walking...
Ethan is soon to be walking. I meant to post this video earlier but it wasn't loading right. Hopefully this time it works. Thanks to all of you who leave comments on the blog. I appreciate the feedback and love hearing from everyone!
Click below to see the video
Soon to be Walking Video
Click below to see the video
Soon to be Walking Video
Cabinet Doors
Why is it that as soon as you are sure you have baby proofed everything possible, they figure out how to get into something else?
Ok, so I knew I was asking for trouble when we put the movies on an open faced shelf, and I knew we needed to get the door for it put on as soon as possible. But now I have finally had it. I am tired of picking up the movies 5+ times a day that the kids have strewn all over the house. And now Ethan has figured out how to open the movie cases; it is definitely time to do something about this.
That is why on Saturday Dan and I started (or I should say continued progress) on the cabinet doors. We built a DVD/movie shelf for the living room and we were originally going to just stain two 1X6 boards, add some hinges and hardware, and call it good but it just didn't look finished. It looked more like a tall skinny box. The door faces needed some pizaaz.
So on Saturday I took a white grease pencil and drew the lines of the design I wanted and then Dan followed them with our RotoZip/router. It is going to look fabulous! Dan says it reminds him of some of the woodwork you find in the Portland Temple. I will admit it probably isn't as well done as that, but for a first try it does look very nice. I put the first coat of stain on them today and it is now drying in the garage. One more coat and we should be all set!
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