tell me im not alone...

yesterday i was running around with nate and it was lunch time. usually i throw a few granola bars in the back seat and let him play 'treasure hunt' in the back seat while i drive over to hobby lobby for some shopping.

but yesterday, but yesterday...i felt nice.

me: natey-how about a happy meal?

nate: really?

me: yes-chicken nuggets or cheeseburger?

nate: mom, can we go inside so i can play at the playland?

me: no, not today.

nate: it is because of the swine flu, huh?

me: that's right! darn swine flu! (and i actually made a fist and shook it in mock-anger)

so today when i was tell the story to  chris, he was a little upset that i would blame the swine flu and not the fact that i HATE playlands.

he actually said that that is something my mom would say.

(yes we are still married. but surely headed for counciling)

so i need to have some back up from you out there. what do you think?

***remember last spring, the swine flu hit really hard. how do we know it isnt going to happen again? (chris didnt go for that argument)***

did i tell you that i really, really hate playlands?

yup-this scared chris too...

thankfully when i started this project, chris was in sacramento on a business trip.

things usually go better when he doesnt know what is happening until it is done and over with.

this all started when i realized that i wanted to do in an empty corner wasnt really something i could pull off (money or skills-wise). so i had to come up with a plan b.

and luck for chris me, plan b costs a lot less.

it all started with a trip to d.i., back in the scarey corner where all the men hang out looking at shelves, broken machinery and big heavy things.

that is where i found this beauty!

it was already painted white and only $10!

(saving chris so much money already!)

i started to hand sand the one door, but ran out of time (i dont like crafting after 5pm) and sandpaper.

so after running the kids to school, i made it to walmart as fast as i could (half day kindergarten doesnt give me much 'alone time').

after some more sanding, i realized what most of you already have figured out...

i should be useing a electric sander.

doh.

things went MUCH faster then!

i sanded the doors in the just the right places and i was done in no time.

i didnt clean the door before i sanded (see-i do think once in awhile), so i wiped them down and put them outside to dry.

(by then i had a phone call from school about an injury on the playground, so for once, it was really good timing!)

when i got home, got everything cleaned up (because sanding on the kitchen table just makes a huge mess all over the house! but i hadnt dusted in months since monday, so i had to dust everything), they were dry.

i placed them in my empty corner and i think i like it. i need a taller stool/something there with it.

aaahh-that just means another project for chris's next trip out of town (which is on my birthday! no-im not happy about that at all.)

so tell me what you think. do you need a closer up photo of my distressing or are you just going to believe me when i say it looks really good?

i wasn't going to craft monday...

and actually, i didnt.

i sat at home with a sick 6 year old who only wants to play star wars.

but in between attacking the death star and fighting the battle droids on naboo, i did wash clothes.

i should stop now and tell you that i am a bad mom. i don't make my 6 year old make his own bed. i should. my 9 year old was at his age. but he is really really short.

and my baby.

so i washed and dried his sheets and went to put them back on, i thought 'why do i bother tucking the flat sheet under the mattress because it never stays.'

then, as if struck by something in the force, it came to me! sew the flat and fitted sheets together at the bottom!

such an easy solution to my daily problem. which really wouldn't be a problem for me if i let my baby do his down bed.

but i digress...

so i pulled the sewing machine out from behind the couch and started pinning.

seriously people, this doesn't need instructions or photos, but it makes me feel special.

first i found the middle of both the flat and fitted sheets (short ends of course) and pinned them together. i only pinned the sheets together until the elastic edges started because i didn't want to deal with it.

then i sewed them with just a regular straight stitch on the '15' mark on my sewing machine. is that 5/8"? i dont know.

i had no problem putting it on nate's bed and we will see tonight how it works. i expect it will be awesome and i will do parker's tonight.

and i didn't even craft...

**update: we woke up this morning with our sheets NOT on the floor! i am brilliant!**

so what does your counter look like?

i finally got my counter together. i didn't say done...just together.

i know...the penguin isn't a normal valentine's day decoration. my 9 year old is doing a project on penguins for school and we had to find a safe place for him. (he is a paper mache animal, with a diet coke plastic bottle being the body and a styrofoam ball as the head. we are still working on the report)

i like the look of this coke bottle, and since it was red-i put it out for the holiday! a looonnnngggg time ago i bought a vintage bingo set from the d.i. and i put all the little pieces you use to call the game in here. i think it is kind of fun. and if someone actually ventured into my home for a visit, they would think i was clever. i will have to still with you thinking that.

that photo is of my nana and pop pop on their honeymoon. i love that photo. it is my favorite thing about this!

so there you go! i will add to it (i have a ceramic bird that i am spray painting downstairs as we speak, so that will end up here at some point) before february 14...

so-what does your counter look like?