Monday was bittersweet here, we all had the day to spend together- but it was Jerod's last day of break before going back to the daily grind. We made a trip to Ames for some stuff from the hardware store and stopped by Target to pick out some Grandma's party/Easter/Jadon & Rachel's wedding dresses for me and Cailyn.
We also picked up a walk-along toy for Cailyn to encourage her to practice walking forward. She's a pro at cruising along furniture, she could really give some soccer players a run for their money at the karaoke, but baby girl just hasn't been so comfortable taking steps forward.
The items we picked up at Lowe's are for painting our kitchen cabinets. They are original to the house and custom built, so they are super sturdy but also quite dated for our taste. We need to sand off the varnish on the cabinets first, so that the paint sticks- prime, then paint the bottom cabinets black and the upper cabinets are going to be white. I think the contrast will add some visual interest and keep the kitchen feeling open. Plus, I didn't want white cabinets on the bottom where dirty, gummy little digits would keep me cleaning them daily- I just don't have the time for that. It is clear to us, after finishing two lengths of cabinets, that the sanding is something that will need to be done in a weekend because the dust gets EVERYWHERE. Originally, we thought we could just do it bit by bit, take our time, but the mess is just not worth it. So far, this is what we have:
I love it mostly, we didn't prime before we did these lengths because the paint "has primer in it", but I wanted a smoother finish, so I think we'll have to finely sand and reapply the black paint. The cabinet doors and drawer fronts will also be replaced to update the look of the cabinets. A process for sure...
I completely meant to do a Day Two and Day Three of Spring Break, but we didn't really do much and I totally forgot to take pictures of the couple house things we worked on. So a quick recap is that we sanded and stained the steps going down to the basement. They were the same light color of oak that we have in most of the house, but we did the man room in a darker stain so we wanted to maintain that color throughout the basement. They look really good and are ready for spindles, a banister, and some carpet....whenever that happens.
On this, day four, of our spring break we hung at the house again, repaired some popcorn texture on the ceiling in the kitchen, and took a walk up to the post office (my new Tristan Prettyman CD came in today- woohoo! I love to listen to her music because it puts me in a summery mood- think Colbie Callait-ish. Have a listen to Tristan Prettyman, my fave is Love Love Love on her Twenty Three album).
When Jerod went to pitching practice tonight Cailyn was in a silly mood, her bottom teeth were ready for their picture debut, the natural light was great, and the camera was ready....
Hellooooo baby blues
For those of you who have never been on the inside of our home: it's green. And I don't mean eco-friendly and energy efficient (although I do pride myself in trying SO HARD to be as environmentally sweet as we possibly can be- to Jerod's complete displeasure). I mean the kitchen and living room walls are GREEN. But to be more specific- Bamboo Shoot in the Kitchen and Gentle Moss in the living room- both by Valspar at Lowe's if you ever think you're crazy enough to throw that much color on your walls. What can I say? I was a very enthusiastic new home owner and every wall in our home was white.
Don't get me wrong, I love the green color, but it had just been making me green to look at it on every. single. wall. in the front of the house. So I decided to do an accent wall, but I knew it couldn't just be another color- the other walls would be more accented than any other color I chose to help mute them. I chose to do a faux finish- a faux suede finish, which actually ended up looking more like aged stone or pueblo to me, but I love it and I love that it adds visual texture that takes the focus off the green and calms the whole living room. Since it is a lighter color it has also helped brighten the room and make it seem bigger- a 2-for-1 I didn't think about.
This is actually what it looks like when you see it, you don't notice the overlaps as much, but you can tell it's not just one coat of color
The first day of break found me and Cailyn visiting my good friend, Brenda, and her three little ladies. They are Adalynn-4, Leighton-2, and Willah-6 months (and a couple weeks). Cailyn and Willah are about 6 weeks apart and this was the first time they met:
Willah was fresh off a nap and Cailyn was SO excited to see her that she just kept grabbing her hair, pajamas, and feet- poor Willah! I hope Cailyn doesn't do that too much at daycare....
This is what happens when you don't watch Cailyn near the end table- that would be almost a whole box of kleenexes on the ground- some of them may or may not have also been in her stomach. Whoops.
As if having 7 work days off isn't enough, the weather 'round here has been STELLAR, it feels like June, ahhhhh.....
So anyway, Wednesday night we went on a walk up to Main street to grab some stuff for dinner (somebody likes their stroller now- yay!). We have busted out the grill several times the past week, Wednesday evening it was homemade salsa and Tequila Lime Chicken and queso. Delish. While I got out the grill Cailyn sat in the grass, I don't think she really liked how scratchy it was on her legs, but she kept it off her mind by going for the football.
And my Gladiolus bulbs have started sprouting, as well as the tulips- hopefully they'll bloom just in time for Easter in a few weeks!
I'm not entirely sure why she started doing this, my guess is that the tiles are cold and she doesn't like them to touch her knees. Whatever the reason, it's hilarious, enjoy our little bear!
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I remember when she would just lay there and stare at her floor gym, and then I recall hoow astounded we were when she started reaching for the toys and kicking them....oh how time flies! I nabbed this the other night in the basment, she was pulling the whole thing over to herself so that she could then yank the parts all the way down to the ground! Stinker!!
