Secret videos I found on my memory card...

As I was looking for pics for my previous post, I found these great videos produced by Ainsley and Jenna. With the sole purpose of embarassing her, I thought I would share. (Note to children: If you don't want to be embarassed, don't use your moms camera.)

Yeah, she's got some moves. Her dad taught her how to dance.

And let me introduce you to the fine art of Marker Wrestling. Green v. Black

The Claw (aka Jake's Birthday)

The claw is our Master. The Claw decides who will stay and who will go. What is it about this dang claw that makes kids ga-ga? I can tell them "It's a waste of money." They can watch 150 people waste their money on it, yet still they are determined that they will win. They will be the ones to overcome the claw. And for what? Some nasty matted down 25 cent stuffed animal of Barney?

Me and Alexa
Well, Saturday was Jake's (my nephew) birthday! Happy birthday, Jake! Megan decided to take the 6 boys to Red Robin for lunch. She got them all kids meals, and they let us bring in our own cake! Lots of fun! They had all the balloons you could imagine and she bought them these cool light things you can see in the bottom picture.

Megan and Jake

Three of the boys

The other 3
But was that enough? Of course not. Red Robin is also equipped with "the Claw." So in addition to all that, she and I were digging in our pockets for spare change to feed the addiction. Did any of them win? Of course not! Although they were awfully jealous of the man who won his daughter a good looking hammer from "Handy Manny."

clothing swap

We attended a neighborhood clothing swap yesterday. Everyone brings the clothes that no longer fit, and we swap! Anything left over goes to charity. I got there early to help set up, best choices, you know?

Well, I found these ugly mens dress shirts (I knew they would end up donated at the end of the morning) with the purpose of making play dresses for the girls. http://makeitandloveit.blogspot.com/2009/08/repurposing-simple-dress.html
Well, I got through the first steps, but needed Ainsley (Paige?) to try it on to see how long to make the straps. She LOVED it as a skirt. Wore it to school today. How funny. And see the new boots? She also scored a pair of patent leather Nordstrom brand new mary janes and a few t's. I scored some almost new shoes!

Alexa got these Nike water shoes, which she wont take off. She wore them to bath and to sleep. And I thought I would throw in this photo because she has been wearing my sports bra around all morn.

ps what the heck is B doing with his finger?

Any guesses?

My cute grandma is 86. She hasn't been anywhere this week, unless I drove her.
She called last night to say she bought me a present and it finally arrived. It's for my early birthday and Christmas. Any guesses? (My guess is the Ab Flexer!)

Finished cabinets, finally posted

I really wish I could get these to look in the pictures like they do in real life.

Anyway, remember the oak before? (see previous post?)
Here are the finished products:

The beadboard doesn't look weird like the photo. It's just a pixel thing or something.

Here is the front. They are off white, with antique finishing.

They look way better in the actual bathroom, but I am glad I didn't start right away with my kitchen. I learned a few things. Like I really should have used my electric hand sander instead of my hands and sandpaper.

So here are the details in case anyone is interested. Here is where I bought my paint.
http://fabulousfinishes.wordpress.com/caromal-colours/
It was under $50 for the whole kit. Paint, gloves, sandpaper, brush, toner, etc.

I want to tell you I did this project in less than 2 hours (accumulated), for less than $50. And I have enough paint for my other 2 bathrooms. What a deal.
1) I did NOT take off my cabinets. My hinges are hidden and easily taped over. So why make life harder than necessary? Ryan was ticked about this. He REALLY wanted me to take them off.
2) I did NOT sand my cabinets or prime my cabinets. Caromal Colors paint says you don't need to. The paint sticks to ANYTHING. Yay for me!
3) I painted with their brush. Alexa helped. The paint is SOOOOOO think. Thicker than Mayonaise. I added a little water, stirred and painted. Then, the next day I painted it again. Each time was less than 30 minutes. Perfect for nap time. I still had time for other things while she was asleep. (days 1 & 2)
4) I sanded. Then I wiped off the dust. (day 3)
5) I painted on the toner. Wiped off with wet cloth.
6) I used wipe on Min-Wax polyurethane (about $8 at home depot). Wiped it on with a rag. (after kids were in bed on day 3)
7) lightly sanded the poly, then wiped it on again.
Done!!!

And if you were wondering, I did do this to the beadboard wallpaper, as well. I used a finer sandpaper just in case, but did everything else the same.

This was a really FUN project for me. I can't wait to do the next bathroom. Some day I will feel confident enough to move to the kitchen. ;)

My new project

First of all, sorry about all of the crumby pictures in the next few posts. I was having user error problems with the camera. Hopefully it's all better now.

So, I can't get by with just one project, you know? Of course Ryan is doing most of the work on painting the house, so I am on another kick during the day. :) Refinishing my oak cabinets.

This shot gives you a look at the cheap-o cabinets we have. The sides aren't even wood. They are crappy whatever. It's funny because we have gorgeous doors. Knotty alder, 8 foot high. Why the cabinets, I don't know. So I decided to do the bathroom first. Test run, you know?

Here is my first step. I ordered this beadboard wallpaper from home depot online. Cool! I am loving it. Except one problem. I can't cut with a razor to save my life. See how crappy the bottom looks? I may have to add some lovely trim to that piece of work.

My new paint should be in the mail today. I will post more pics in a couple days. I am loving nap time with 2 at school!

First Day of School

Yay for me! School started today!

Last minute trip

I know it seems like we have been on a hundred vacations this year. Well, why not another? We own a time share and it seemed all of our accumulated weeks expire at the same time.

We tried to rent this week in Escondido, but only a few nights rented out. So what to do? Go enjoy! The short (yah right) car trip was definitely worth it. Alexa was an angel in the car. Seriously! Brandon, however, cried the whole way that he didn't want another trip and wanted to go to his cousin Jakes house. boohoo. Poor baby had to go to San Diego.

All we did during the 2 days was go to the beach. It's all we WANTED to do. I love the beach so much and sure miss it. The first day we went to Moonlight Beach in Encinitas. SO nice and fun.

Brandon wouldn't leave the towel the first day.

Turning Paige (Ainsley) into a mermaid

LOVE what the sand does to Alexa's hair.

Day number 2 we went to my old fave, Oceanside Harbor. After I got back from Brazil (How many years ago???) my family had moved there. I went almost every day. As you can see, Brandon ventured off the towel.

And wouldn't you know it??? We ran into some friends! Hello to the Hoopes! Ashley was a total doll and showed Paige (Ainsley) how to boogie board. OH MY! She now LOVES Ashley to death and thinks the world of her. And she LOVES boogie boarding. She didn't want to leave. And guess what? Brandon cried all the way home that he didn't want to leave his vacation.

Paige

Ainsley has "officially" changed her name to Paige. I am constantly being reminded that I have it wrong. After 8 years of calling her Bran-Sall-Ains, I am supposed to switch?

What We've Been Doing This Summer...

It's been a while since I've blogged about the family stuff. What have we been doing? Basically, just keeping busy.

For example:

Alexa has learned to climb the ladder. She can make it to the tippy top in less than 30 seconds. So proud.

Ainsley and her friends have taken every liquid in the house and mixed them together. I dare ou to drink it...

We play cops and robbers, we all want to be robbers....

Actually, we have done a few fun science experiments, too. Like placing ice cubes in 10 different locations in and out of the house. That was fun. Can you believe that an ice floating in the pool melts 4 hours faster than one in my closet. Love the wet clothes. Thanks, kids. At least they kept charts. I teach them well. :)

We painted the living room. I am tired of a blah beige house. Beige couches, beige walls, beige doors, beige cabinets, beige carpet, ahhhh! I LOVE color. So,

Blah Beige Before (my alliteration is good, eh?)

And if you can see the UGLY chandeleir hanging over my piano, I hated it. There is only a small corner showing, so use your imagination. It is gold with a gold and glass umbrella on it. Cheap and ugly. See my redone version now...

Yay for green and yellow! I wish you could see the color better. Ryan says it makes him hungry for guacamole, but IIIII like it. And the light. I have no money for a new, so I revamped. I took the umbrella thingy off and a few other ugly parts. Then I painted it a lovely antique white, which will match my cabinets when they are done. (Project to come.) I know it's too small now, but I like it WAY better.