Random House Stuff

We've finally planted some flowers in our containers on the patio.  We're adding window boxes under the kitchen and breakfast room windows next weekend.

I painted this little chair and recovered the the seat.  The chair was Chris' when he was little, and it's been red for about 35 years.  I tried to find a picture of it when it was red but had no luck.

I spray painted it, and was really surprised at how good it looks.  I used leftover drop cloth material from my dining room curtains to cover the seat. 

We Chris finished painting the orange in the playroom this week.  We decided to just do one wall, and the rest will be a khaki color.  I just couldn't pull the trigger on a totally orange room.

We did a little framed art gallery of sorts with paintings, pictures, etc. that the boys have done in frames that I got at Goodwill on half-price Saturdays and then spray painted.  I love them, and it's probably my favorite part of this room thus far.

We also hung this chalkboard in the playroom.  It's a large painting that I got (also from Goodwill) and painted over with chalkboard paint.  Such an easy project, and I think cost $7.00. 

We hung a small metal pail underneath ($1 from the Dollar Spot at Target) and filled it with chalk.  I used sidewalk chalk instead of regular chalk, because it's more difficult for Jack to break. . . and hide everywhere. 

What projects have you been working on lately??



700th Post!

Seriously, this is my 700th post.  That's a lot.  I wish I had something profound to post about, but alas I don't.

David had his Accelerated Reader banquet a couple of weeks ago at the Shelbyville First Baptist Church.  It was a lunch for all of the children who achieved a certain number of AR points, and their families.  There were over 450 people there, and it was the largest banquet the school has done.  I believe someone said our school had the most AR points in the county, which is pretty impressive.  With 450 people, it took a bit of time to get everyone served their lunch.  And Jack isn't patient.  We did a lot of this while we waited. . .

And a lot of this.

And a lot of walking around in the hallway so Jack wouldn't irritate the people behind us with his constant questions about why their children all wear glasses.  And why they were drinking sweet tea, because he thought they should have been drinking lemonade.  Good times for them, I'm sure.

David was very excited for his medal and his certificate.  And we left immediately after! 

I'm so proud of how well David is doing with his reading.  He also, because he read so many books, got to have a half day out of school, and got to go on a "Mystery Trip" where they went to an indoor park and played games, ran around in the gym, and swam all day.  All great incentives to read about 5 books per night!

Update on Sweet David

Sometimes being a parent really blows.  Like when one of my children is struggling and I can't "fix" it.  I'm a fixer - if there's a problem, I like to know what it is so it can be resolved.  We have had about six months with David where we knew "something" wasn't right, but I couldn't fix it.  It's truly a miracle (and probably a mistake) that I'm not medicated at this point, because it's been emotionally a very, very difficult six months for me.  We finally have some diagnoses for him.  Although I wish the diagnosis was nothing, it's not.  He has Tourette's Syndrome and, as if that wouldn't be enough, Sensory Processing Disorder.  It's interesting to me, and I think not a coincidence, that both of these disorders are neurological in nature, as was his speech disorder (Apraxia of Speech).  While I absolutely HATE that he has these two disorders, I do like knowing what is going on.  Because now I can fix it.

David has seen a pediatric neurologist, who we absolutely love, love, love.  If you are in this area and need a pedi neuro, email me and I'll give you his name.  He was wonderful, and I'm so thankful that we were referred to him.  We are starting occupational therapy next weekend at an amazing place called Dream Catchers.  Ms. Dana is his OT.  I have known her professionally for two years, but in the capacity of my office, not hers.  David loves her, and I am very hopeful that she will be able to provide us with the skills to really help him.  Unfortunately, the OT is out of network for our insurance, and is only covered at 60%.  It's not inexpensive, so we'll really have to make the most of the sessions he has and do a lot of follow up at home.  I'm really looking forward to seeing the great progress I know he's going to make.

Our New Door!

We had some serious issues with the door in our breakfast room.  It was a lovely door, wooden and a pretty stained color inside.  My favorite part?  The crank doorbell.  The problem?  It had a huge rotten spot on the bottom, was hung out of level, would swell when it was hot out or raining, and didn't close all the way at the top and the bottom.  Helloooo energy efficiency, bugs coming in, and just being a general pain in the back door.

I apparently don't have a photo of the door in my collection of house pictures.  This is a pretty good idea of what it looked like though.  We replaced the brass doorknob with a more attractive brushed nickel.

You know, because we had one key to the old doorknob and had six made but none of them worked.  What's that about?  Now I want oil rubbed bronze hardware on it, but we'll get there.  

We looked all over for a new door, but I'm cheap thrifty and didn't want to spend $600 on one.  We went to salvage yards, the traditional big box stores, and my favorite hoarder's spot.  I would have preferred a wooden door, but didn't want to deal with the issues we had with the existing door.  I was also very specific in that I wanted a window, but not a window that had sectioned panes of glass.  I would have preferred a Dutch door, but that was out of our budget.

We opted for this fiberglass door, from hoarder's paradise, for $165.  It has double paned glass with blinds in between the panes.  It can be painted or stained, and we can put the crank doorbell into it.

We will paint the inside white, and will stain the outside a deep brown.  Our existing door was painted a sort of redish-maroon, but we will paint the exterior eventually and I'm not going to paint this door a color I hate, just to paint it again later.  And we don't have any of the exterior paint or have any idea what the color is, and I don't feel like starting that matching game.

Please disregard the chipped trim, the empty flower pots, and the single plant in the wall planters. . . I need about 40 more hours each week.  I'm addressing the flower situation today. . . We're also going to scrape and repaint that trim section, because it looks atrocious.  However, I love my new back door.  I'm glad we waited to find something we liked, instead of getting something temporary that would be good enough.  I'll update with some pictures once it's been painted and stained!

Surprise gifts

Did you know there is a day called Administrative Professional's Day?  I didn't, but I'm sure glad that one of the attorneys I work with did!

I work with the most generous people.  One of the attorneys surprised us with a gift certificate tree.  There are gift certificates to the following places:  Newk's, Maple Street Grill, Trendy Pieces, Sweet CeCe's, and Nails So Happy.  (Perhaps my favorite thing is the name Nails So Happy.)  I also got a card with a very generous gift (everyone's favorite gift that comes in a card. . . ) from the attorney I work primarily for.  And the other partner took us out for lunch.  It was such a nice surprise and is lovely to work with people who appreciate and recognize our hard work.

More Birthday Extravaganza Photos

My friend Erica sent me the pictures she took at the birthday party.

I'm glad she did, because I took pretty much none.

And her camera is much better than mine.

You know, since I use my phone to take them.

I L.O.V.E. this picture of Henry.

His shirt is adorable, courtesy of the sweetest woman I know.

It has a six on the back since he turned six.

David clearly took his cake business seriously.

And I love the look on Henry's face in this one.

Happy Birthday to my boys!