On a Bender

I went on a painting bender this weekend.

Painting is hard on a body. I wasn't even painting WALLS! I was painting Abby's furniture for her room so that I can GET to my walls, because I promised...

Anyway, I got to work on her desk, and some boxes that I have had in my playroom for... hmmm.. I don't know, 7 years???? They will no longer fit in the play room, and we had designs to get a trunk for the end of Abby's bed to hold her THOUSANDS of stuffed animals, but, why buy a trunk when you have a perfectly good set of box cubes that you can paint and put in her room?

The answer to that why question is, you just don't buy a trunk, you fix it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without..... Most of the time.

I also have a dresser I need to paint for her, and it is not yet under way... HOWEVER,

I have taken that mirror off the dresser and it is now serving a useful purpose.... Want to see?

I took the corroded mirror off of this little mount that was attached to her dresser. This is a picture of it upside down, but you get the idea.

And I painted it up like this. .




Can you believe those little rosettes? They were fastened on to that antique wood with the oldest rustiest nail... And that is it. They were just simple little pieces of wood. So cute.

I will tell you the paint that I used for BOTH of these projects, was seriously just a sample can of paint for $2.65 at home depot. It has done both jobs, and I am nearly through with it. Can you believe that? As Wade would say, "BOOYA YOU DIE". (Ps- That is Abby's cute desk that is getting primed under that frame. Cute huh? Don't let it fool you, it was a NIGHTMARE!)

Anywho....
I grabbed a few supplies at the store, mainly Michaels, and made Abby a super cute cork board that she can put stuff up on...
Some spray adhesive, cork, and some foam core cut to back your frame. It is nice to use the foam core, because you can punch holes in it, and the cork is thin, so, it will help hold the pins in when the board is up.

Measure you cork. Spray your board generously and voila. . . .


So easy.

Then, you take a look at the handle pulls that you just pulled off Abby's dresser... Unfortunately, you are not going to be able to use them, because there were a few missing.

So you make your kids sand them.



And you take pictures of them, because they are ANCIENT, and look how darn cute they are! You can't even believe how old these puppies are...





Then you prime them, and stick tacks to them with a hot glue gun with your disgusting looking hands that are covered in paint primer, glue and spray adhesive....




And then you paint them that crazy turquoise color and suddenly they look like little candies, and you can't stand how cute they are... or at least I can't anyway.

Can't wait to put it up in her room!

BLOG WORLD: I NEED TO KNOW

Hey Blog World:

I have had something on my mind for a long time.

Can you help me?

You can leave your comments,

or just take my POLL


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Do you care about the chemicals that you clean your house with?

Do you think it matters/makes a difference?

Do you think the way you eat or take care of your body helps control disease and other things we can't control?

I care. I have a son with Autism, and I think this stuff makes a difference.

I have been working on it for some time. I was just wondering if you think about it too.

If so, what are YOU doing to make your house a better/safer/more healthy place?


Thanks.

postaldeliveriaphobia

I tweeted yesterday that I am afraid of the mail. It is true. For some reason, I have developed a healthy fear of the mail. I think it started a couple of years ago when we went out of town for a week or so. We stopped the mail from being delivered and when I went to the post office to pick it up, they gave me one of those jumbo sized buckets with all my mail in it. It took me WEEKS to go through all the mail.

Now, I guess the real problem here is, WHY WOULD IT TAKE ANYONE WEEKS TO GO THROUGH THE MAIL? I ask myself that REPEATEDLY. Honestly, I think it is because of my OCD tendencies. Does anyone else feel the need to look through every magazine? Just in case there is something you need/want/didn't think of?

I have to admit, I am getting better at this. I threw away the Smith and Noble and Land's End Men's Catalog without a second glance. However, I had to keep the Pottery Barn, Lands End Swim, Home Decorators Collection, BYU magazine, Sports Illustrated (for the Hubby) and People Magazine (I got a new subscription for my birthday, YAY!) just in case there was some fabulous idea in there that I needed to copy for my own home. (I admit, I am a decorating copier, I use there great ideas- but get something cheaper) And Lands End Swim? I am probably going to live in a swim suit (it was 98 degrees yesterday) from now until October 1st. . . So, it is a wise investment. However, the problem now is WHEN DO I READ THOSE MAGS? They will sit on my counter for a few more weeks, maybe make it into the bathroom and when I figure I have never looked at them in a 4 week period (1 week mail box, 2 weeks counter, 1 week bathroom) I will finally throw them in the recycle bin. [Don't worry, the People mag gets read]

Then there are the coupons. GEESH I hate those coupon mailers! Here in AZ the coupon adds flood your mail box like reproducing bunnies! Just when you think you have "separated" them, another litter comes along. Why do I feel the need to look through all of those adds! I meticulously peruse them for special deals. I take out the coupons for the Zoo, Animal Park, Hair Cuts, Oil Changes and eating establishments that we go to. . . and then we don't go. Actually, the truth of the matter is, I put them in a basket (my coupon and whatever else junk basket) and they expire. Or I throw them out because I get ANOTHER coupon (the same one) that expires at a later date. I swear I am going to use them SOMETIME! (Am I crazy? I am starting to feel that way)

Then of course there are the bills. . . bills . . . bills. I know they are coming. I know when they are due. Can't I just leave 'em in the box until I need to pay them? Ugh. I hate the bills. I do all of my bill paying on my computer these days (no stamps necessary!) But since my computer is in my bedroom it always take a concerted effort to get the bills to my bedroom and make sure they are paid. ON TIME.

Good stuff in the mail? Like what? Does ANYONE get good mail? Except for Christmas and Birthdays . . . I think NOT. How about you, do you like the mail?

Love it?

Or

Hate it?

Nearing the Finish

The Dr. today, was much more pleasant than PAST EXPERIENCES. [Note to self: if you can see a Dr. INSTEAD of a nurse practitioner, DO IT. No offense to any nurse practitioners.. this one just put me through the ringer..]

Status still the same.. I started to describe it here, but thought better of posting the status of my nether regions on the world wide web. It might not be such a fab idea...

If today is any indication though.. I think I am well on my way... There is not a dirty piece of clothing in the entire house.. I. AM. SERIOUS. I did all the laundry, and then, once the kids were out of baths and in pajamas I washed all the clothes that they were wearing. I told you OCD gets a little outta control .

If I am still here by morning, the kitchen floor is going to GET IT!. I guess after that, I will have to work on the dust ruffle. I have already cut most of the peices. (I won't have anything else to do!) For some reason, my body just can't seem to stop. I move from one chore to another in an endless stream of busy-ness. At this point, I guess I should just embrace it, because I will have the cleanest house EVER to bring a newborn home to. :)

If history repeats itself, I will be too tired to MOVE tomorrow.

When OCD Meets NESTING

Don't you know it! I told you about when OCD meets the Home-handyman but I already knew what would happen when OCD and Nesting collide. Since this is my fourth pregnancy, I knew it would come. I have been PLEASANTLY surprised that it had not yet hit in full force. When I was pregnant with Wade I would stay up until 1:00 or 2:00 a.m. sewing curtains for the living room, kitchen and nursery, sanding and painting chairs and a whole MYRIAD of TO DO things left on my list... Oh, I was spry I tell ya.. But you gotta remember, I didn't have a 21 month old at the time and I was not 35 years old.... (apparently my Dr.s are on to something, cuz I don't have NEARLY what I had!) and I felt invincible. Not so much this time around... You will RARELY find me out of my bed (with DVR remote in hand and lap top on lap) past 7:00 p.m. Yep, times have changed.

Oh, ya, I have washed some burp clothes, bought some newborn diapers, and the crib still has Wade in it, so, it is up.. Not such a hard job. I thought I might escape it all together until this morning hit. Last night I was up most of the night with good 'ol braxton hicks contractions.. Not enough to make me time them, but enough to keep me awake for much of the night. Of course, that put me in a NOT ENOUGH SLEEP LAST NIGHT dither and as soon as my in-laws flew the coop at 8:00 a.m. this morning, I was off like a shot! (Oh, didn't I tell you we had company last week? Sorry for the lack of posting)

Thankfully, my MIL tried to lighten my load by washing her sheets and towels but OH NO. That would be FAR TOO SIMPLE my friends. FAR TOO SIMPLE. What about the AIR VENTS? YES, THE ONES IN THE 12 foot ceiling.. Don't THOSE need to be REPLACED? [Stupid question, of course they do] oh, but, don't you need to wash the COVER to the VENTS??? Because look at that thick layer of DUST on them.. .You can't just CHANGE THE FILTER and not CLEAN THE COVER... can you? What about your dusty blinds? You did the ones in your family room before Christmas.. but what about the ones in your bedroom? OR IN YOUR BATHROOM, or ALL OVER THE HOUSE???????? What about bathrooms, bath mats, towels, showers and tubs?

What about last minute CRAFTING? How 'bout a cute letter for K's room? a new DUST RUFFLE for the crib? How bout sewing an Easter Dress for Abby with some of that CUTE AMY BUTLER FABRIC??? Oh ya. That too.

I guess there is just NO STOPPING ME NOW! (got anything you want to ADD TO MY LIST?)

*Dont' worry, I am so exhausted now that I will be heading to my bed in about 15 minutes to watch... if you don't know the answer to THAT one, you shouldn't be reading my blog. :)

Happy Days are Here Again!

Let's just let out a big collective *sigh* ready? AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH... Didn't that feel good? Well, it did to me because I have my (my husbands which I stole because mine is old and slow) laptop running again! I mean, it WAS running before... if you think that crashing every oh 20 minutes or so is running. The good news is, is that it would re-boot really fast, because it is a fast computer. But now, it is 11:52 p.m.... My husband has told me to go to bed like 5 times now and has uttered words like, "tired" "grumpy" "tomorrow" to me to try to get me to scurry along... but you know what? It won't matter... because my computer will be working like the sleek beautiful machine that it is tomorrow.. and that is JUST enough to keep my happy meter on the upside.. .If you know what I mean.

Wanna do the same? Ok, well, you have to back up all of the documents to a different drive. Yep, get one. (It is worth it) All the pictures too.. .then you have to push some secret combo of buttons to wipe that hard drive clean and VOILA! It is like a PRETTY CLEAN LAKE WITH NO RIPPLES... just waiting for you to dip your toe in. A CLEAN HARD DRIVE! Just like when you brought it home from the Hospital.. er... I mean, store. (I need to learn how to do those strike through words. Somebody help a girl out) I just RECENTLY learned about the compose button on blogger... I am so smart as not I think..... and I mean that!

Oh, did I mention you will spend the next 4-5 hours re-loading programs? Oh, because you will... and with each new and clean program you will feel your computer connected self feeling lighter and lighter until the perfect brightness of.... Ok, I am getting a little carried away here, but it DOES FEEL GOOD!

I just have a few more programs to re-load and !!!!!!!!!!!!!IT IS FINISHED!!!!!!!!!!!.. Now, I just have to wait for Abby to add some crazy program on while she is visiting the build-a-bear workshop... ugh. I think it is time for a kid ONLY computer.

When the Home Handi-woman and OCD Team Up.

On day two of unpacking, some crazy OCD struck and I was convinced that I could NO LONGER unpack until my washer and dryer were hooked up. I asked my husband to hook them up and his response was..."I have never done that, you always do that." Some of you might know that I am the home handi-woman; which means if there is something to be fixed.. I will attempt to fix it. Apparently, I have done this fixing before.. and you would think after 7 moves in 8 years he would have done it ONCE.. but apparently NOT.

I couldn't immediately find the dryer hose although, I DID look in the dryer (which seemed like the most logical place to put it) So, we had to do a Home Depot Run to get one so I could wash clothes because they seemed to be multiplying from children stripping down naked on the spot where-ever they were standing when I said pool time.. which means, they were all over the house. I was convinced that I would not be able to organize the house until these clothes were picked up, cleaned and organized. Hence, the desperate need for a washer and dryer. (OCD strikes once)Exhibit "A"
Exhibit "B"
Exhibit "C"

Husband then went off to do what he does do VERY WELL and that would be take the kids off my hands (thank you honey) so I can unpack without interruptions and in peace... that would be until OCD Strikes again and when OCD strikes, it makes it virtually IMPOSSIBLE to do ANYTHING in a timely manner. (Doesn't it?)

The dryer door now opens facing the garage door. That can't be good, because if the dryer were left open and the garage door swung open, they would collide causing possible damage to both doors... RIGHT? Solution: Change the swing of the door.

Does the home handi-woman wait and ask her husband to do it? NO, because if she should say: "Husband, I would like the door on my dryer to swing the other way." He will give me a crazy look, make up a thousand reasons why he can't, we shouldn't or it won't. Me, on the other hand, will get out the tool box and attempt to do it myself. OCD Strike two.

Open the instructions: Take door off hinge.. (Don't bother to read the rest of the instructions at this point because it seems simple enough and you see the holes on the other side of the door and you will just turn the thing upside down and VOILA. Fixed.. Done. Home Handi-woman is AMAZING.) Not quite so fast.

Swing the door shut and BANG. Door bounces back open. Apparently, that little straight part of the door needs to be right side down.. Capiche? Yeah, look at the instructions further and it turns out, you have to unassemble the ENTIRE DOOR... and turn it all around thus spending the entire time you were supposed to be unpacking to turning the door around.. while sweet un-handy honey was distracting the disturbing minions...


PS- The dryer hose WAS IN THE DRYER.


THE END. Let us all hope that OCD doesn't come back soon.