Joy of paint

Last night we got our foyer painted!!!

Have I mentioned how much a hate builder's paint?

I mean really hate it.

I hate that when you breath on it, it leaves a mark.

I hate that when you get it wet you will always see a water mark.

I hate the way you brush up against it with a sweater on and you will be able to see that color on the wall forever and ever, amen.

I am not bitter or anything.

So I knew when I walked into our house and saw this.

I knew we would be looking for a good painter.

Because as much as I hate builder's paint, I don't hate it enough to climb a huge ladder to paint the 2 story walls on top of those steps.

So thanks to a little bit of a tax refund... our foyer now looks like this!

I have some more plans for the foyer! So you will have to check back to see them!

Also don't forget about my giveaway that ends tomorrow.

Projects 3 and 4

On Tuesday of last week, mom finally sold their house that was next door to our old house.


This was an answered prayer. One less thing for mom to worry about.


But sad that one chapter in our lives in completely closed.


When I tell some people that I live next door to my parents, they think I just mean that we lived close to them. No we literally lived next door. Our street number was 3450 and theirs 3451.

 

Here is the walkway we made to connect our driveways.

 

Here we are coming out of mom and dad's house to Easter Egg Hunt and you can see a little of my old house. (The one with the red brick)

This was a great help with childcare. When the boys went down for a nap i would just take the monitors over and get out and run some errands.


At the same time once Wild Man understood how close JJ and Pop were, that became a challenge. I would tell Wild Man no and then he would try to get out of the house to go to JJ and Pops where he would get a yes.


One memory that came to mind of dad at the house was right after they moved in dad noticed that there was moisture under the house. When he went down to the crawl space he saw that there was quite a bit of water and NO drainage. So dad being the ever optimist thought "this is going to be fun! I get to play in the mud!" So for a couple of weeks he worked under the house to dig trentches to drain all the water to a subpump that he installed. He was so proud of his accomplishment.

 

 BTW, the reason there is tarp over the back of the house. If from the hail storm we had earlier that month. The back of their house looked like swiss cheese. Literally.

I am sure that it goes without saying. Tuesday I was kind of sad. 

So what do I do?

Well the title says so also... but 2 projects!

First one was the staircase. 

 

 

Here it is with the chalk mark for where the trim will go. 

Also here is Romeo's new trick. 

Yes he has climbed to the top like this.

Quick story.

Here is how I found out his new trick.

I was cooking dinner. 

The I hear this quiet.

"Mom....help....please"

 

He speaks in fragmented sentences.

It was not a desperate cry for help, just a simple one. 

Said in the same way when he asked me to hand him his water.

Since it didn't sound desperate. 

I told him to hold on just a minute while I finish doing what I was doing.

To which his reply was a simple OK.

So I minute later, I went looking for him.

So I called out for him to see what he needed help with.

I then found him hanging from the top of the staircase...feet dangling.

I went... "Oh My Goodness!!!!"

I grabbed him put him on the ground.

He turned around and says simply "Thanks....mom." and then runs on his merry way.

What the heck!!!

Anyways, back to the projects.

Here is the staircase/foyer after.

 

It will look so much better when I paint the top part with the Blonde color that I have in the den/kitchen.

Here is one reason we haven't done that yet.

 

 

Do you want to get up there?

I don't.

For the next project I moved into the kitchen.

 

The island to be exact.

Mr. Genius told me that we aren't going to spend anymore money on projects. So I had to use what I had.

I have always wanted an island in my kitchen and then put beadboard on it. 

Why... I don't know.

Some people dream of awesome vacations or meeting a celebrity... I dream of beadboard.

I live a sad existence.

Since we didn't have any beadboard and decided I needed to break the law again and pull out the beadboard wallpaper.

 

Then I painted it white...like I have done with everything else I have done.

Then there was a problem.

I didn't like it.

The white was too bright for the counter top.

I looked at going to Ikea and getting a new countertop.

But that would cost money.

So that was out.

So I found some glaze.

Thought...what the heck. Why not?

Brushed on the glaze, then whipped it off.

Here is the contrast.

It isn't a great picture. But I guess you get the idea of the difference between the door and the rest of the cabinet.

I am really happy with the results.

 

 

Like the little toys on the floor?

That would be the boys decorating touches.

To show that the boys have not been completely neglected with all these projects going on.

 

See they are still alive.

They are waiting for some more food.

Big surprise there.

When these boys are awake they are either running around or begging for food. It is a vicious cycle.

Do you see that random package on top of the stack of paper plates?

That is our new bribery technique.

I mean what is parenting without some form of bribery?

Wild Man has learned the art of disobeying.

Let me tell you, he is a pro at it.

He has also learned lying. But I think we killed that with a dose of hot sauce.

So we have told Wild Man if he obeys for 5 days in a row, he gets a new toy. 

But not just any toy.

A hot wheels toys.

And not just any hot wheels toy.

A Battle Force 5 hot wheels toy.

He admires and worships it until he gets to open it.

 

 

 After a month of talking about opening the car, hopefully tomorrow after supper he will be able to open it!

Fingers crossed.

But then what will the new bribery tool be?

Project Dos of 20 10 is complete!

I am on a roll!

So here is the mantel and the wall before

Here is the during

And here is the after

Me likey.

Yes I know that those pictures are not of Matt or my boys. I am searching on the internet to find something to put in those.

I will leave you with a little closer look.

Happy Martin Luther King Day, Y'all! 

Project Uno for 20 10 is completed.

Whoo Hoo!


Here is what the cabinets looked like before.

We got our consultation from The Lettered Cottage.

Then after some illegal beadboard wallpaper, some new shelves, white paint, and some new hardware. We now have this...

I am really happy with the results, but am having trouble trying to arrange things on the shelves. I just can't seem to get it right.


I am trying to go the cheap route by using things around the house. Mainly because I having found a place like Old Time Pottery here.



This weekend we are about to start Project Numero Dos.

I got all the apothcary jars through out the house to put on the mantel, now I have to figure out what to put in them.

I got some of them from my bathroom. They were full of Q-tips and cotton balls. Which is sensible for the bathroom, not so much for the den. I could fill one up with hot wheel cars, then my boys will think it was cool.

Click here and look at the first fireplace. Run your curser over the picture and see the square pattern over the mantle, that is my plan over this fireplace.

We don't think it would be too hard.

I know, famous last words.

Our new den...hopefully

The Lettered Cottage is a blog that I have been reading for a while.

She is a genius when it comes to decorating on a budget and make it look like a million bucks. Just be prepared to be addicted to her blog.

Don't believe me check out this link to her kitchen before and after. well really during. She is always working on it. Just when I think it is done, she does something else and it looks like it should have always been there.

Anyways, I got a consultation from her that I am really pleased with... Mr. Genius is not so pleased with it because it means another project is in the works.

So would you like to see what another project will be?

Here is what she proposed for the den above the mantel.

I can say that I am not a fan of the bird pictures. But the idea of the pictures on the side of the mantel is great. She thinks to put beadboard over the mantel with decorative molding around it. Along with crown molding...but to me that is a given. We were already planning on doing that.

Then for the crazy shelves in the room she thinks we should paint it all white except for the counter top and we would keep that the brown that it is. But we should also put beadboard wallpaper on the back of the cabinets. Just to do something a little different I may paint the beadboard the same color of the walls. But we see how ambicious I am that day. Also we will be adding two more shelves above the TV. Why didn't I think of that? She is so good.

Yes I sent her pictures with Wild Man in them. Because, I am weak and he is strong. In Wild Man's defense any time other then this time that a camera has been out it was usually to take a picture of him and I decided not to have a fight with a 3 year old. I was too tired just trying to clean up for the pictures, and simultaneously teaching about the letter F.  So I either sent a picture of a messy house or one with my son in it. You can see which one I chose.

She also suggested I change around my pictures on this wall. What do you guys think?

Another project that we are wanting to do is a board and batton in the entry way, the staircase, and the dining room. I really like this:

Poor Mr. Genius. 

Our Bedroom

Sorry it has taken me so long to post the pictures of our bedroom. I wanted to get all the Christmas stuff down first and then I got sick. I am still a little sick. I don't know what is wrong with me. I am nauseous all the time, no food tastes or even looks good, I have gotten sick a couple of times. I am just completely drained of energy. If I didn't know better, I would think I was pregnant.

Just for clarification I would like to reiterate that last statement.

I AM NOT PREGNANT.

Now Mr. Genius and all the grandparents can let out a big sigh of relief.

I think it is some kind of stomach bug. I have gotten my flu shot but that doesn't always mean anything. So I guess it could be the flu.

But whatever I have, it isn't fun. I haven't had the energy to go or do anything. Other then going to the grocery store on Monday, my poor boys have been stuck in this house all week. I usually get out of the house at least once a day whether it be to run an errand or go somewhere fun. I don't like to just sit around.

Today I am starting to feel a little better. I actually made my bed! So I took a picture of this miraculous event to prove to Mr. Genius that I can once again be productive. Now I will post it on the web for all to see.

Now back to us redoing the bedroom.

So for Christmas I gave Mr. Genius an air compressor and a nail gun and he gave me wood trim, cornices, and paint.

Aren't we romantic?

But together, our gifts and endless hours of hard work, made a room I am pretty proud of. What we thought would be a long weekend project turned into an almost 2 week project.

First off I will show you my favorite part, the ceiling.




Those squares where a booger.

Well easy for me to say, this was Mr. Genius' baby.

I don't know what Mr. Genius and I were thinking, our builder did not make anything in the house straight or centered. So why we thought that the light fixture would actually be in the center of the ceiling, is beyond me.

So all the measurements we did before we put the trim up had to be thrown out. So actually none of the squares are the same size. Matt just made sure that the distant between all the squares were the same.

But it turned out good, didn't it?

Then we also put trim above the bed. I painted the inside of the trim a shade darker then the walls. But when you put the trim between them you can't really tell it is a different color.

One day I will change it, but if I have to look at another paint brush right now I will barf...literally.






I didn't say that the bed making was perfect, but it was done.



The next picture is where Mr. Genius and I had to compromise.

I hate cords. I know that they are imperative to make electronics work. I just don't want to look at them. When you have a flat screen TV hanging on your wall, you have to look at the cords every night.

They drove me crazy!

So I wanted to cut a hole in the wall and stick the cords that go to our TV in the hole so they would be hidden from sight.

Mr. Genius didn't feel like having to redo drywall. So he came up with a cord cover and I just painted it the same color as the walls.



Just in case we forget which sink is ours, we have little mats to remind us.






Yes, I do realize that the plate isn't centered.

For some reason, I only think about it during nap time and with Romeo's room right above our bedroom hammering isn't an option.

There are still some finishing touches I need to do, but that would require me to get out of the house. So maybe next week we can work on that.