Impossible phone calls...

Why is it that my house is totally silent and then 30 seconds after I answer my phone it's total chaos?! Just once I would like to have a conversation on the phone without a screaming child in the background. Isn't it bad enough that I can't use the bathroom alone or that I have to hide somewhere if I want to eat a cookie by myself. Now I have to end a conversation early to say things like, stop punching your brother, get that out of your mouth or stop sitting on your baby sister.
I'm trying to hold on for the days when all of my children will be in school and I will have some peace and quiet to do all the things I miss, like being alone in the bathroom, shopping without having to stop for potty breaks every 5 minutes, talking on the phone and the best of all reading a book without being interrupted every 3 sentences.
The future better hold some peace and quiet or someone will find me tied up with my children dancing circles around me while taunting me with books I haven't been able to read and threatening to stay at home until they are in their 30's.

Vomit Chronicles

So far this year we have spent most of 2013 with someone in our household of 5 vomiting. Normally we get sick, it makes a round through the house and done. Not so much this year. This year has been filled with vomit from December up until now. I think there have been maybe a total of 2 weeks that we've been free and clear of illness.
With that being said I am curious as to why my children will sneak into my room at 5:30 am like wild animals stalking their pray to ask Daddy to snuggle up with him. But when they come in at 5:30 am wanting me it's a steady stream of frantic tears and usually ends with me cleaning vomit off of some random surface of my home.
Can't they sneak in and bring us breakfast like the kids on the cereal commercials? Or just sneak in and go to sleep? Does it always have to be vomit? Apparently this is the way of life with small children. What's that saying, when life gives you lemons make lemonade? I guess for me it's more like when life gives you vomit, dig a trough.

It would be so nice to pee in my own house without my son running in so he can laugh and say, "haha, underwear!" and run out screaming.

Snow Day

It's not often we get a snow day where I'm at. I remember being in school and watching the news in the morning just praying we would get a snow day. That so rarely happened. Living in Minnesota snow is a regular part of our lives and it takes a true blizzard to call off school. Never mind that the buses would be late and kids would be in the ditch all the way to school, if you could see 5 feet ahead you could make it to school.
So as I sit here expecting to see my neighborhood full of kids playing in the snow. I look out and see total silence. It's like a completely untouched neighborhood. You would think it was abandoned or that zombies have rolled through and scared everyone indoors.
Where is everyone? Why is no one outside with their kids? Or hell, at least let the kids go out and destroy the beautifully untouched blanket of snow that is covering everything you can see.
Instead it seems that all the adults are sitting around thinking about going out to shovel the driveway while their kids are all sitting in front of a tv or computer.
What has the world come to when kids aren't even out enjoying the snow?! What is the point of living in a state that has snow and cold weather for most of the year if you aren't out enjoying it?
Get out and enjoy the Snow Day people! I know I'm going to!

Finished Project

So this is the dresser that we acquired and I really liked, but didn't love. Until now! I have been looking for some furniture to redo and this was the perfect project! I've been looking for a table for some wasted space in my home and this fit perfect. It just didn't have the look I was wanting. I really wanted something bold and different so I figured I could get that by just updating it a little. So here is what I've done.

First I sanded all the pieces down. Now this took me a while as it's been below 0 for a while here. I did it in my house, section by section.

After each piece was sanded, I wiped them down with cloth and then washed each one to make sure that I got any lasting film or dust off. I also removed all the hardware to update that as well. I'll get to that in a minute.

Next was the part I had been waiting for! The paint! For anyone who knows me, I love to paint! I don't even care what it is, a wall or furniture I don't care I just love to paint! So I picked a color that I thought would be a statement sort of color and something that I don't see often in other homes. I chose Midnight Dream from Behr. It is a primer and paint in one. Now there is a lot of debate on what type of paint to use, what type of primer to use etc. But after a discussion with the super helpful Home Depot guy he told me this would be just fine to use and to my excitement a little cheaper as well! Again, if you know me you know I hate to spend money. Yes, I'm a cheapskate.

I applied the first coat as soon as I got home because I just couldn't wait to see it! I let it sit for a few hours and applied the second coat. Luckily this paint has a two hour re-coat time!

While the first coat was drying I started on the hardware. It was old and sort of starting to rust so I needed to update that as well. I wanted to have a nice bright handle to contrast the  blue. So I chose Rustoleum Hammered spray paint. It works perfect for metal and hides any imperfections in the hardware from the rust etc.

To prep the hardware I soaked it in some rubbing alcohol for a few hours and then lightly sanded it with a medium sandpaper to make sure the paint would stick.  I pushed each piece onto a sheet of cardboard so nothing would tip over and I could get an even coat on each piece.

I sprayed the pieces and let them sit for an hour or so. Normally with a spray paint I wouldn't wait so long but I had to do this outside and it was about 4 degrees I think. Everything takes longer in the cold. But I did one thin coat and then came back and did a thicker one to top it off.

The hardest part was waiting to put it all back together. I was absolutely dying to see the end result. And I have to say when I finally got to put it all back the way it was I was so pleased with the end result!

It turned out exactly how I was hoping! And it cost me under $50 to do the whole thing. And that is because I would up purchasing some extra things that I didn't even need to use. So all in all with paint and brush/roller it was about $30!

So simple and easy to do I can't believe I haven't done this before! I am now on the hunt for more furniture to update and bring new life to!

First project of the year

So this is going to be my first project of the year. I recently acquired this beautiful old dresser. As we are not in need of it as a dresser I thought I could find a new use for it. I have been wanting a side table for this wall for years. And since for me all things should be functional as well as beautiful I thought this would be perfect!
It has had a long life and is pretty beat up in spots and has quite a few scratches. So this will be sanded down and painted to bring it back to life. And hopefully make it a stand out conversation piece in my home. 
And I sure hope it works since it's the first thing you see when coming through the door. 
It will either be gorgeous or send people running for the hills.