I have always wanted to be a DIYer! I have a thousand & eighty things pinned on Pinterest that I just "have to try" and I don't really think I've made a dent! But a new house & currently limited budget for the non-essential household things has driven me to take on a few of the ideas I've had floating around for some time.
First up was some furniture for our living room.
We got rid of our coffee table awhile back in Germany after the 100th time that Greyson battled it with his face & lost. But, now that he's older & not falling around constantly, we decided to recover one! We have an old outdoor patio set that was given to us & part of it was broken in the move. Without having the whole set for the backyard, I decided to put the chairs on our front porch [which will also get their own DIY soon enough] & refinish the "coffee" table for our living room. It is still sturdy, just worn & dirty from being outside.
So I laid out each piece of the table & sanded it down with a sandpaper block. I honestly can't remember the grain of it, but it was about a medium. There wasn't a whole lot left on the wood to get off so it worked out well & came out smooth. Then applied the Ebony wood stain all over, except a few spots that won't get seen anyways since I was being impatient. And then finished with 3 coats of the clear satin sealant to give it a semi-shiny appearance. The table pieces dried for just shy of 72 hours before I put it together & we were up & using it in our living room!
It isn't perfect by any means & we will likely touch up a few spots that didn't take to the stain the same due to the wearing of the wood, but I can't complain much for my first staining project! And I learned the hard way that the stain will soak right through the rag & cover your hands in stain! Luckily, most of it came off with Dawn & lots of scrubbing, but my nails didn't fare too well!
Since I liked the way the coffee table turned out & hate my furniture not matching, I decided to use the leftover stain to do Greyson's table & chairs set as well as his little lounge chair. They both came unfinished from Ikea, which made it easy since there was no sanding or anything that needed done. They were already assembled, so I just took them apart, stained them & got them back up & running in just a few days. I love the contrast the dark stain gives all of it with the white table top & seats.
I have a little stain leftover yet since a little goes a long way & trying to decide what else to use it on. Maybe Greyson's book ledges in his room? Guess we'll find out soon what I cook up!
Hope this inspires you to give something in your home a little rejuvenation!
Since starting work, I don't spend nearly as much time with Greyson. He is at daycare during the day & I'm at work before he's even up for the day. It's been something we knew was going to happen & I was mentally, though not entirely emotionally, prepared for.
I know it is a great thing for him! He gets to play with other kids all day, branch out & interact with new people, and learn new things. And I get to go back to school for my Masters, get a job I can love, and give us each some independence.
It has been going well! I do miss him like crazy everyday & can't wait to pick him up! I melt when he sees me at the end of his school day & screams mommy as he runs & barrels into me with a giant hug. It helps solidify what I know - he does love me & still needs me, even if he isn't with me to rely on solely anymore. I'm sure it's something every mom who got the chance to stay home feels at some point & I feel myself still battling those feelings.
We will have weekends for love fests & on the days I don't work during the week, we get a little mommy & Greyson breakfast sesh! It's still one of my favorite things! He's usually in such a good mood in the mornings so we get to chat & sing songs, read a few books, and we have a small breakfast together. And of course we have photoshoots with blueberries & bagels!
In some ways, he's such a different kid that before he was in daycare! But then he's somehow the same smart little love bug! One thing is for sure - he still loves mommy & daddy!
Those are my hump day thoughts today as I enjoy a coffee I brought from work with the little bit of sunshine hanging around before the inevitable daily shower before I pick up my favorite little Monster!
Happy Hump Day!
We finally have a house with a big driveway that we can use to wash our cars at home! Greg is obsessed with his car & keeping it clean, so this should help not having to constantly go to the car wash! Plus, it's a fun excuse to play in water when it's warm & sunny!
We got his car out & tried to get him to wash it, but he was only interested in pushing it down the driveway (while picking a wedgie ha)! But he loves doing that & always gives killer smiles!
He wanted nothing to do with the hose, but he was all about the spray bottles daddy had lined up to use. He spent so much time trying to spray them, but they were "off" of course.
I definitely want to set up a little car wash for his little vehicles sometime this summer! It would be such a fun, pretend play activity!
Happy Monday everyone!
We are zoo lovers over here! I loved going to the zoo growing up & am so excited that Greyson is finally old enough to really have fun & enjoy the animals! We have a set of plastic jungle animals that have helped him learn some animals & the beautiful weather this weekend was perfect for an adventure to see them in real life!
So we made our first trip to the Chryenne a Mountain Zoo here in Colorado Springs!
I'd say the giraffes were Greyson's favorite animals that we saw! Coincidently, they were the first animals inside of the zoo. They have the largest herd of giraffes & they are in an open space so they can come right up to you! We could've bought some lettuce to feed the giraffes, but there was a pretty long line so we skipped it this time. Greyson had a huge smile & kept saying "hi giraffe!" to each one that came up to us.
We brought a stroller, but Greysom spotted a zoo one & we agreed that the openness of it would make it easier for Grey to get in & out. He spent half the time riding & the other half "helping" by pushing or pulling it with us. It was such a good thing to have!
We got to see lions & zebras. The female lions we think were ready for mating since the male lion was going nuts, roaring a ton trying to get to them (they were in separate areas). There was a cool overlook in the African zone were you can see all the animals from above & a beautiful view of the city.
The elephant exhibit was another favorite. Grey has a thing for them & we got to see a couple playing with giant stone treat toys! We just barely missed the feeding time for them as well! I was bummed since I'd really hoped to feed something, but there's always next time.
And we got an awesome view of the grizzly bear who came almost up to the glass while we were standing there. There were some other kids at the exhibit that Grey was so into! Being in daycare has upped his interest in other kids so much, it's adorable!
Since the zoo sits part way up the mountain, it really does have a beautiful view of so much of the city! We capped off our trip with a first experience with Dippin' Dots for Grey. Naturally, he loves them & swallowed them faster than daddy could get more!
It is such a beautiful zoo! We are considering getting a family membership so we can go whenever we want all year long! I can foresee many trips in our future with our little animal-obsessed boy!
Great way to end the weekend! The week has started off right! Happy Monday everyone!
