Product Review Friday - PlaySet

After MONTHS of searching, and looking, and waiting, and looking, and researching and ... we finally bought a playset for the back yard. We knew we wanted wood with three swing spots, a slide, and a few climbing options. That was the easy part. The hard part was finding what we wanted in stock at a reasonable price. First we considered one brand that turned out to be EXPENSIVE - twice the price for a similar system. That brand is probably the best built, but we didn't think it was worth that price (they have some systems that cost more than an average new SUV...).

Then we found something we liked on Sam's Club's website that was out of stock. They said they would be back in at the beginning of June (or end of May - I don't remember). By the time they were back in stock, we realized it was 2x4 construction - something we didn't like. So, we started looking again. Then we found one we liked at Costco.com. But, by the time we decided to buy it, it was out of stock. We waited, contacted both the manufacturer and Costco, and finally gave up because it didn't look like it would be back in stock this year. So, the search continued. We found two that we liked - one at Home Depot and one at Costco - next. Then we spent some time laying them out in our yard, talking, and finally we were close to a final decision. AJU1 looked at them again online, and the one at Costco was no longer on sale (but still available). The one at Home Depot was now on sale, and it was the one we were leaning to anyways. So, we bought it.

It is a Gorilla playset, and we think it is just fine for our yard. The wood isn't perfect, but we knew that was likely (after reading reviews of every playset in the $1500 price range, we knew what to expect). It went together fairly easily, and the kids like it. AJU5 is happy with it, and AJU6 even likes some parts too.

The biggest hits for AJU5 are the swing, wheel, and telescope. She refuses to slide, but she will try everything else. AJU6 likes to play in the fort part and occasionally likes the slide. We got him a swing (LittleTykes), and he isn't sure about it. But, AJU5 likes it (we can swing her really high in it). Hopefully the playset will grow with them and will be something they can explore ON THEIR OWN before too long :)

Just Hanging Around...

Nothing too exciting going on over here. I spent a good portion of last week preparing for a scrapbooking night last night at church. I had fun but only got 4 pages done.

AJU6 is crawling all over the place. He went up four stairs on our main stair case the other day. Luckily he doesn't go near the stairs while we are upstairs or while we are in the family room. I only have to worry about the stairs when we are in the living room right now. And, yesterday and today he has decided to go down the hall instead of up. But, I don't know if that is better or not. The end of the hall is a one step down to the family room. And the stair is 2/3 tile, 1/3 laminate over concrete. So yeah, I don't want him trying them one either!

Oh, and the boy turns 7 months old today. Time is flying! He has finally started to like solids. He is often not satisfied with nursing and DEMANDS something else to eat. Currently we are working on a pea/apple/brown rice combo. I was able to "top" him off with some banana yesterday, and he ate that with out a fuss either. Oh, how much has changed in a month!

Well, off to help AJU1 organize the garage/tend to the kids. We got our outside storage shed operable last weekend, so now we can start using it! Hopefully we won't just get more stuff to fillt he garage....

Busy Day

So, here is how our day went:
4l30 - AJU5 comes ot my side of the bed and hands me her duck, a blanket, and her water cup. I tell her to hold on a second so I can put AJU6 back in his bed (he is out). She goes crying to her room. Moments later AJU1's alarm goes off. After one snooze (10 minutes), he is up and getting ready for work. His plan is to take our "work" truck and pick up a trencher so he can work on the backyard in the afternoon. But, he notices that the back license plate is missing (most likely fell off), so he has to take his car and go to the DMV on the way home.
6:00 - AJU6 is awake and wants to be out of bed, so I am up for the day.
7:00- AJU5 wakes for the day.
10:00 - Head to story time. Today's topic was robots, and we got to make a robot for AJU5 to wear that had "wings" (arms).
11:30 - Leave the library and head to Costco for a few things.
1ish - Get home from Costco and try to get the kids to nap. AJU6 agrees, but AJU5 stays up until 1:45
4:00ish = AJU1 gets home after spending an extended period of time at the DMV because the computer system went down. AJU5 also wakes from her nap and AJU6 is back down for his long nap.
4AJU5 and I help AJU1 in the back yard until 5;30. Then we come inside, clean up, and get ready to go.
6:00 - Leave for an evening of indoor miniature golf with our churches "youth" group. It is more the children's group, but it was a fun evening none the less.
8:30 - Head home and get AJU5 into bed.
AJU6 is still up since he napped at the golf place, although he is about ready to crash. His bottom middle teeth are about to break through, so he is having a hard time falling asleep these days.

Keeping Up

First, a little AJU6 update since I don't talk about him too much on here. The boy is growing like crazy! And he is quite active. He plays with toys on the exersaucer that AJU5 never did because they were harder to reach. He is also slowly creeping a little bit. I can lay him on his belly, and he will inch (truly - only about an inch) forward to grab toys. He is also trying to master sitting on his own and spinning on his belly. He has no desire to roll from his back to his belly yet though (AJU5 didn't do that until she was crawling, so I am not surprised). He still wakes a bunch at night to eat, but that doesn't surprise me either.

Now for the keeping up part. The great-grandparents (AJU1's maternal grandparents) are coming this weekend. We were given about 2 weeks' notice on this, although we had been asking them to come for a while. Great-granddad is a preacher, and will be dedicating AJU6 at our church on Sunday. He dedicated AJU5 at what was his church almost two years ago, so we wanted him to dedicate AJU6 as well. That means I have to get the house cleaned! And get ready for finals! All this week!

My plan is to clean the kitchen and finish the laundry today. Tomorrow I will do the bathrooms. Wednesday I will dust, and Thursday I will do the floors. I picked up AJU5's toys and tried to organize those this weekend. So, now I just have to keep those picked up as well. Hopefully I will get it all done... We will see... Having my in-laws come is always stressful because I want the house to look nice... So, if you don't hear from me this week, you know why!

Keeping Up

So, I am able to keep up with the kids day in and day out. The basics are easy - feeding, changing, sleeping, etc. Even with AJU1 working 20 hours more than he usually does last week and not0so-nice weather that kept us inside most of the time, AJU5 seemed happy. I keep up with my work-work, grading and responding to questions as they come in. But, the house is falling apart! I make dinner every night, and i have even gotten fairly good at mixing up the menu a little bit so we aren't eating grilled chicken every night. But the cleaning - yeah, that is another story.

So, today, while the kids napped, I tackled a little bit of the kitchen. All of the dishes were loaded into the dishwasher and one countertop was cleaned. I also put stuff in the toilets so I could clean them here in a little bit. I still have to tackle the dining area, as one certain toddler drops a lot of food! We did get the downstairs vacuumed on Saturday, and of course I got the laundry done. Hopefully I can get the upstairs vacuumed this week too. Our house (other than dining area and sometimes the kitchen) aren't dirty, but it just isn't totally clean. I am not a huge fan of cleaning, but it needs to be done. It has been months since we dusted. We only mop once a month if it is a good month. The showers and tubs rarely get scrubbed.

What do you have the hardest time keeping up with?

Transformation

We bought bunk beds for the kids on Monday. We got them all set up yesterday. Last night we asked AJU5 where she wanted to sleep for the night. She chose the bunk bed, but when we shut the door after putting her down for the night, she wailed. Within minutes we were able to get her down and quiet in her crib. So, today when it came time for a nap, we let her pick again. She chose the bed again, and I got her all settled. I made one slight change - I didn't shut the door completely - and she took a good nap! We didn't hear anything out of her until she woke up. So, maybe this transition thing won't be so hard...

One downside is that my sister and her family are coming for two days (Friday-Sunday). So, she won't get a choice then. She will be relegated to her crib for those two nights and one nap. But, that shouldn't set us back much if any.

Pictures to come later...

*We were able to assemble the bed almost completely on Monday. We just had to wait on installing two support boards (cordless drill needed to be charged first) and bedding...

Busy, But Not...

I have gotten a good bit of stuff done lately, but then I don't think I have actually done that much. It started last Tuesday when I cleaned out our downstairs closet and shoe drawers. Then, Wednesday I cleaned out 6 kitchen cabinets and sanitized all of the baby bottle stuff I found in the process. Thursday was normal story time at the library and doctor's appointment, so no housework was done. Friday we rearranged AJU5's room to make way for bunk beds (when we purchase them - which might not be for a while), and I cleaned out the inside freezer (attached tot he fridge). I also went and got my hair cut (just 4 inches off the bottom - straight cut) and then went back with AJU5 to get her hair cut (making it almost one layer plus bangs instead of the mess she had). Saturday I emptied out the outside freezer (and stuffed all of that stuff into the inside freezer) and turned it off so it could defrost and did the normal laundry. I also organized AJU5's toys during the week (as I found them) so they are easier to pick up now.

On the to-do list still are cleaning the bathrooms, vacuuming and mopping all appropriate floors, and organizing the pantry and "junk" drawer. Hopefully I can tackle on bathroom a day (minus the shower in ours because I can't get down to clean it well enough these days) and then the organizing pantry and drawer before Saturday. Saturday will be the big floor day, as I need AJU1 to distract AJU5 while I mop (i.e. to avoid toddler in the bucket issues). Then the house will be clean and organized for the in-laws!

But, then I think of how the in-laws house looks most of the time we go there. We end up cleaning and organizing half of the time because there is going to be a big gathering and it needs to be done. So, part of me wonders why I am spending so much time getting everything neat and organized for them. But, that is just how I am. I hate having people over when the house isn't clean!

And T minus 2 weeks until the baby is hear (if not before)! I think I am ready...

Product Review Friday - Bed!

So, we have had our new king sized bed for over a week now. Sleep still isn't perfect for either of us, but we feel that we are sleeping better than we did on the old one. Of course, being very pregnant doesn't help me sleep in the least! And AJU1 is learning to sleep on his side more than his stomach, so that is resulting in him waking more at night we think. But, all in all, it was a good purchase.

Now for the details. We looked at a lot of beds. We had test runs on Sleep Number beds and Denver Mattress beds. We laid on a few other beds at Sears. Then we looked at the numbers. A good Denver Mattress bed was more than half the price of a lower-end Sleep Number bed. The other brands really ranged in price between these two mostly. Online reviews for beds area ll over the place, so you can't get answers there (some people love the beds, others hate them). So, in the end price was the deciding factor.

We went with the Denver Mattress Doctor's Choice bed. We can buy two of these for the price of many other king beds, and the life span is supposed to be about the same. We already have one Denver Mattress bed (guest bed that used to be ours), and it wasn't bad. It was a lower end one, and we slept okay on it for about 3-4 years. And, it is still in good shape (hence why it is the guest bed - we didn't stop sleeping on it until we moved tot he master bedroom in this house and decided not to move it because we knew we wanted a king bed soon). We considered spending a little more for the one with the individually wrapped springs, but we decided against it. We don't wake too much because the other is moving (unless we get hit), so we didn't think it would be worth it.

What brand bed do you sleep on? Is it comfortable? Would you recommend it or not?

Finances

So, a lot of you who comment on my blog have talked about finances lately - okay, maybe it is only two of you, but still... There are only 3-4 of you who comment regularly :)

AJU1 and I were talking on our way home from a meeting with a mortgage broker to refinance our home. We currently are at 6.15%, so when we were able to lock at 4.875% we jumped. Then the question became whether we wanted to pay the closing costs or roll them into the loan. This is where the conversation was interesting. We are not normal people. We freak out when our savings accounts are less than $1000 each (we have two of them). Right now we are building them back up after all of the home remodeling. Our closing costs will be about $5000, and we were willing to pay that up front so we aren't paying for that until we sell this house. It took us a little bit to realize that we aren't normal. Most people don't have that much in savings. Most people don't have that option.

Then, on our way to church yesterday, AJU1 mentioned the number of SUVs on the road. We have been looking at cars a little bit as mine is in need of replacement (1997 economy car). We want something bigger so we aren't trying to find space to stuff everything when we travel to visit family. So, SUVs are on the list (as are crossovers and a few station wagon-type vehicles). The price of some of them is shocking. He was wondering how people afford them. Then I reminded him that most people are up to their ears in debt. They pay the minimum on their cars and houses and credit cards. They are the ones that can't afford to refinance because they don't even have $1000 in savings needed to close most of the time.

This is why I make my students do an amortization schedule in my liberal arts math class. They actually make quite a few of them - 6 for a car and 6 for a house. They look at the effects of interest rates and paying extra. On cars, it isn't a huge deal. But on a house - wow! If you only pay $25 extra a month, you end up saving thousands over the life of the loan!

Okay, so I rambled a lot there... Hopefully it makes some sense... Feel free to share any thoughts on home finances if you would like...

MIsh Mash

• AJU5 is back on schedule and sleeping well. Well, today she refused a morning nap, but one big nap instead shouldn't be an issue. She has been down for almost 3 hours, but she was disturbed at least twice (one was the doorbell ringing). So, I think it will be a wash today!
• I had my 32 week check-up yesterday. All is good. I am gaining weight like crazy, but I can handle that. I have had a huge sweet tooth lately, so I know that is to blame! This little one might be smaller than AJU5, or so my doctor thinks. AJU5 was 8lbs 3.4oz at birth, so a little smaller isn't bad. But, my shirts don't fit well from her pregnancy and other people say I look bigger... Who knows... As my doctor said - we will see before too long :)
• The new bed is working fine. I like the extra room - I don't worry about waking AJU1 when I roll over at night! AJU5 has also determined that all three of us can lay in the bed comfortably. Luckily, she has not demanded to sleep with us yet (just play night-night). As for quality of sleep, it seems a little better. I seem a little more well rested in the morning, but I don't know for sure. There are so many things that make me at night these days...
• Story time has been funny the last two days. Yesterday, AJU5 stayed with the group most of the time, but she wasn't about to join in the walking in a circle. Instead, she sat at the corner and was a constant obstacle for other kids and parents to avoid. I tried moving her to the middle of the circle, but she just moved back to her corner! She did have to periodically get up and get a new book off of the bookshelf, but other than that she stayed and listened. Today I could tell she was tired (but had refused a nap twice in the morning). She laid down for some of it, but after 4-5 attempts at running out of the room, we gave up. Another mom/toddler pair had given up a few minutes earlier and another pair gave up shortly after we did. Something must have been in the air...
• I have been terrible at commenting on other blogs. Then I realize I have 10 or so posts open and start commenting. But, I often don't get back to the first ones I have opened. It is bad... I have things to say, but putting words down isn't always easy (i.e. brain not working)... So, if I am not commenting on your posts - that is why. I have 6 open right now...
  

Weekend Round Up

Our weekend started on Friday because AJU1 actually* got it off! We spent the day being lazy until about 3. Then we headed out for some "window" bed shopping and to grab a pizza. AJU5 of course charmed the sales people...

Saturday we got up SUPER early to attend a big event in town. Our goal was to leave at 5, and we were out of the garage by 5:15. We got to the exit we thought would be best (three entrances to the event) at 5:30. At 7, we still hadn't made it a mile to the light/turn. And, everything was about to get started. AJU5 needless to say was DONE being in the car, especially since she had downed all of her juice already while we waited. So we gave up and went home. Result: Two wasted hours and a toddler totally off her schedule! We spent the rest of the morning just hanging out. Then, after nap time we headed out for more "window" shopping. We went to two bed places and a car dealership before heading home for a relaxing evening. The only issue was that AJU5 refused to go to bed until 9pm (we tried to put her down once at 7)...

Sunday started off a little later than normal because AJU5 slept until after 6. That meant she didn't nap before church. Result: Toddler who melts down repeatedly during Sunday School and service because she needs a nap but won't fall asleep in my arms. So, needless to say she crashed in the car on the way home and had a good nap (2+ hours) when we got home. The afternoon was spent eating, catching up on reading for a class we are taking, and watching the NASCAR race. Then, AJU1 asks how much it costs to rent a UHaul to carry a king bed. Shortly there after we purchased a king bed which is to be delivered tomorrow. Hopefully we will sleep better on it than on our queen "taco" bed... Then it was off to church, etc. AJU5 did go down at her normal hour and is back on schedule LUCKILY!

*AJU1 works a 9-80 schedule, so he should have every other Friday off. But, he has been working half days many Fridays (overtime) because he is so busy there.

Home Improvement Saturday - Exterior Doors

So, a few weeks ago I posted about replacing interior doors. Exterior doors aren't too much different. The big difference is that exterior doors have a threshold. This is usual a piece of metal at the bottom of the door used to keep the weather out of the house. If you look at the exterior doors in your house, you should see it when you open the door! It is what you step over/on to get in. If you purchase a pre-hung exterior door (i.e. with frame), the threshold will be there already.

So, how does this make installation different? It just adds a few steps so you can make the door weather-tight. Once you remove the old door and frame (same process as interior doors - you may need a prybar to get the old threshold up though), then you need to clean the bottom area well. You want it to be smooth as well, so scrape off any old caulk, etc with a metal scraper. Then, if the base is wood, apply some weather sealing tape. It is a rubber material that keeps the water out of the wood. It comes in rolls and is easy to apply. Just follow the directions on the package! Then, you will be ready to caulk the bottom to create a seal between the base and the threshold. Follow the directions on the door as to how much and where to apply it. From there, it is very similar to installing an interior door. Normally you use screws instead of nails (so it is more secure), but that is the big difference. Once the door is installed, make sure to insulate any gaps or cracks. We like the spray foam in a can. It works really well and gets in and around the screws, etc. Just spray the stuff in and let it expand and dry. Once it is dry, you can cut the excess away with any knife.

That is it! So, if you have a tired, worn out front or back door - replace it! You can even change a sliding glass door into a french door fairly simply (hardest part - removing the glass doors without breaking them!).

(I couldn't find a picture of the front and garage doors. The three posted were all sliding doors originally. Only the office still has a sliding door.)

Home Improvement Saturday - Replacing Interior Doors

So, in this house we replaced all of the interior doors minus the furnace closet with solid wood (pine) doors. It really isn't that hard to do - although it isn't cheap to use solid wood doors as we found out (and to stain them)!

Here is how you do it:

1. Remove the trim around the existing door. Try to not damage the drywall when you pry the molding off unless you plan on replacing it (or retexturing like we did). To prevent denting the wall, first score the edge with a knife (to cut the paint). Then slide a putty knife behind your pry-bar to get the molding off. It takes time, but it isn't hard.
2. To save yourself some back-breaking work, remove the door from the hinges. You can either pull the hinge pins or unscrew one side of the hinges - it doesn't matter.
3. Now you need to remove the frame. The easiest thing to do is cut the screws/nails with a reciprocating saw. If you don't have one, you can try to just pull the frame in pieces (we did both actually - neither is too hard).
4. Now you need to clean the area up and get ready for the new door. I would recommend replacing the doors when you are going to replace the floors as well, so you don't have to worry about damaging the floors. The doors should go in first if this is the case. Make sure to vacuum the area and hammer in any nails, etc that are sticking out.
5. Now you can slide the door into place. You want to keep the actual door in the frame - do not remove it until the frame is installed! Get the door centered right to left (or where you want it). Then check for plumb (is the door leaning in any direction?).
6. Once you get one side plumb (both directions), nail or screw it into place. Nails are easier to cover (finish nails), but screws hold better. We used nails via a nail gun. Place nails or screws in two places - between the hinges. You will need to place shims between the opening and frame to keep it in the right place BEFORE you nail/screw!
   
7. Next, you need to make sure the door is square and the other side is plumb (use a level and a tape measure). Once you have this done, you can nail the other side.
8. Now you can open the door and see if it swings well. If it catches anywhere, try to figure out why and fix the problem. The easiest thing to do is cut/break the shims out and then adjust the door. Removing the shims should give you some play in the frame.
9. Once the door opens and closes smoothly, you can finish the door and frame. We removed the door at the hinges so we could stain on a horizontal surface. We have also seen people stain/finish before installing, but you runt he risk of damaging the frame this way.
10. Once the door is ready for use, you can reinstall the trim as well. Agian, if you are replacing the floor, I would wait until the floor is in before replacing the trim so it doesn't get damaged.

That's it. AJU1 actually installed some of the doors without my help, so it is a one person job if you are strong enough! But, two people are handy because it makes the leveling/plumbing easier!

(Picture is of master bath door and entry to master closet. We place on installing bi-fold doors for the closet, but we haven't yet.)

Cleaning and Organizing

Yup, that has been the job around here lately. This past weekend I got AJU5's toys and room all done. Her room is now very orderly and easy to maintain. Her toys are mainly downstairs in the family room, and the goal is to keep them neat as well. We did sort them and put them in bins so she only has access to a few toys at a time. She is such a big fan of pulling out all of the toys and then not even playing with them! So, the bins are helping. We make sure one bin is put back (minus a toy occasionally) before she gets another bin. It seems to be working!

Now, to my desk! We have plans to replace it with a new one, but it isn't in the budget just yet (~$550 for the desk and hutch). So, organizing my desk has not been a priority. But, it is really bad! So, I have to start working on it. The biggest challenge is keeping all non-AJU5 approved items out of her reach. The hutch on my current desk is not the best for this actually. But, with bins, it should. So, that is my goal for this week. *I spent about 30 minutes and organized the small items I had thrown into bins before (to get them away from AJU5). The desk looks almost identical now, but I know it is more organized - I can find pens, pencils, and markers now! The rest will have to wait for later - AJU5 is awake :)

Oh, and I promise to post some pictures of AJU5's room this week. First, I need to take them. Then AJU1 needs to get them off the camera and return my access to our server (it is "busy" right now for some reason). But, you can see how it looks and then give me ideas as to where to put balloon things when we get those done!

Finally, AJU1 is feeling better today. There is a high likelihood it is just allergies. I am used to them, but he definitely is not. That is our thought as he woke up fine and I have been sniffling slightly more the past few days.

Room Ideas

So, earlier this week I asked Christina from Rockin' the Suburbs for advice on decorating the kids' bedroom. The plan is for them to share until AJU5 is at least 5, even if Junior #3 is a boy (Junior #3 may sleep in other rooms of the house for the first few months though). Here is her reply:
With a blank slate you're set for as much or little style as you'd like. I would keep the crib bumper you already have and get a new sheet to work with the big girl bedding you pick. I think stripes, dots and gingham would be perfect for mixing genders and you can keep it soft and neutral but still fun. If you'd like you can certainly pop a little pink or purple pillow or toss blanket on aju5's bed to give a little girl flair- pink will look wonderful with yellow, blue and green. I would add some softness to the window if you haven't already, a black out shade and fabric panels (which you can use to soften the light if you don't care to black it out all the time) I wouldn't worry a bit about miss matched pieces of furniture since the new baby will only use the baby set for so long. Save for the long term stuff and live with what you have. In terms of the walls my favorite place to start is by looking at Calendars- you get 12-16 pictures for $15 or less- a few I think would be great. Dick and Jane (soft colors) Dr. Seuss- or even what I used the little golden books. Most malls I've been in have a calendar store or a kiosk. Or, choose a favorite book and tear the pages out and frame the best ones. My favorite place for affordable frames and matting is Michael's craft store- they have 40% off sales in that dept all the time. These combined (bedding and art) should last a long time- I don't think either kid will be begging for a change even at the age of 5.

So, I started looking online at calendars because I didn't know the direction I wanted to go. I thought about going geometric "art" with a lot of color. But, the only calendar I found that fit was over $30! So, then I just went to Amazon and browsed through the wall calendars (sorted by price). After about 5 pages, I saw something that gave me an idea - hot air balloons! It fits my liking of geometrics and color. Plus, we actually have MANY digital pictures of hot air balloons. Our pictures range from single, simple balloons to some of the special shapes (there is a balloon festival in our town each year). So, I think that is where I will head. I need to pick out some pictures and then set the color theme. Basically, I could go with any color of the rainbow. I think for decor we will stick with muted primary colors (not quite pastel but not totally bright either). I have always been a fan of the primary colors - my college comforter was color block on one side with primary colors and denim on the other side.

What do you think of the idea? Christina has lots of good design ideas, so check out her blog!

Home Improvement Saturday - Refinishing Wood

So, way back when I asked for topic ideas, someone mentioned refinishing cabinets. This is something we haven't done, but we have refinished some other things.

First, it is easier to paint than to stain. Staining is messy and takes lots of prep. It only works well if you can get down to the bare wood (and the wood looks good). On the other hand, painting only takes minimal prep and can be done without removing all the old finish.

So, to paint, you need to first do a light sanding. You want to get the surface matte and clean. Hand sanding works just fine, but if it is a big project, a small random orbital sander speeds everything up (and they aren't that expensive to buy). The one thing you want to avoid is sanding so much that you remove any detail that is in the original item - otherwise you can sand for a while with no issue (i.e. don't sand so much that nothing is left of course).

Once you have it sanded, you need to get it cleaned up. If you got down to old paint or bare wood, you can just wipe or vacuum the dust off. If there is still some finish left, I would recommend TSP to remove any residue that might affect adhesion.

After you have it cleaned, then you need to prime the surface. Some would skip this step, but primer is a lot cheaper than paint! So, take the time and prime. It will make the paint look better in the long run. Between coats, feel the surface. If you are noticing ridges from the brush stokes, you might want to sand a little. This of course is up to you.

Then apply your paint. We normally do two coats of primer and two coats of paint on things, but our coats are fairly thin. I would at least do one of each.

If you wanted to stain, of course you have to get down to the bare wood, which could be a lot more sanding. Then, you have to make sure the wood looks good. Then of course you pre-stain if it is a soft wood like pine, stain, and finish. The number of coats fo stain and finish are dependent on the products you use. We went with gel stain and a poly-crylic for our trim in this course. We ended up with three coats of stain and three coats of finish to get the end product we wanted.

Any questions?

Busy Weekend

Okay, so this week I will get back to the Product Review Friday and Home Improvement Saturday. I have topics in my head, but I didn't have time this weekend to write them. Now for why I didn't have time:

Friday's Time Line:
Morning: Breakfast, playing, then nap. During nap time, I shower and get all of my papers ready for work. I also "chat" with a colleague about one of our classes (issue had come up).
After nap - lunch then leave for work.
Spend about an hour at work coping, turning in papers, etc.
Then, head to the zoo with friends. We spent 4 hours there! Needless to say, we were both exhausted when we got home.
After zoo, ran to Papa Murphy's to get dinner
Eat, bed for AJU5, and then movie for husband and I.

Saturday's Time Line:
Pancake Breakfast (charity) at church. We are there from 7:30 until about 9:30.
Quick run to Lowe's for a few items
Nap for AJU5, laundry and organizing for me
Lunch, play time, laundry, and emptying boxes all afternoon
Another movie at night

Sunday's Time Line:
Church in the am
Then catching up on reading for a class (final later on Sunday)
Final around 5:15 (class at church over Bible)
Evening service and ice cream social at church after test
Bed!

So, as you can see, we were busy. I forgot the camera on Friday. I might try to get some pictures from our friends though. Even if I had grabbed the camera, it wouldn't have done any good- the battery was dead (and my husband hadn't told me).

How was your weekend?

There Is Hope!

For my husband. That the house may be clean eventually. That the clothes may someday be folded and put away.

Why does he have such hope?

AJU5 has some cleanliness genes in her! She has mastered the art of throwing away garbage (and I have only found one non-garbage item in the garbage so far). She has also acquired a love for wiping things with rags - in a dusting/cleaning sort of way. We are still working on her laundry skills, but I don't expect a 16.5 month old to fold clothes JUST yet. She does like to take them out of the basket and play with them though...

So, I guess I get to do the laundry for now. I have folded three baskets so far this afternoon. I have about 3-4 left to do. The guest bed was COVERED in clothes! But, now that the closet has storage (more on that in the days to come), my husband is pushing me to put the clothes away. And, I guess it is about time...

Home Improvement Saturday - Ideas

I don't know what to cover next! So, I need you input. Tell me what you want to know more about. Below you will find a list of some of the things we have done (and I haven't covered yet). But, if there is something not on the list, don't be afraid to mention it. There is a good chance we have done it :)

• Staining
• Interior and Exterior Doors
• Window Replacement
• Closet Stuff
• Drywall
• Bathroom Fixutres
  

Home Improvement Saturday - Countertops

Now, installing countertops may or may not be a do-it-yourself job. A lot depends on the material you are using and the situation. We have only installed small vanity tops ourselves actually. We bought the cultured marble - out of the box ones for our first house. They weren't hard to install because they were fairly small. The main tools we needed were adhesive (silcone-type glue) and caulk (to fill all of the gaps).

We were going to install a laminate top in the old house, but because it took almost a month to get it, they installed it for us for free. This was actually very nice because the walls in that house were not straight! The more curvy the walls, the harder it is to install countertops well. Plus, they had the caulk to fill the gap between the two pieces that matched fairly well. Now, if you have a fairly flat wall and a not-to-huge kitchen, laminate countertops can be a do-it-yourself job. You will need some screws to fasten it to the cabinets and some caulk (again, for the gaps in the back). If there is a bump in the wall, you might want a belt sander to make it fit better.

Now, if you are going with a solid surface like Corinan (we used EOS in this house) or stone, then it is NOT a do-it-yourself job (unless it is VERY small). The price you are quoted for the material will include installation. But, the benefit of this over laminate is that you can have an integrated or undermount sink - which is easier to clean. Also, scratches aren't seen as easily.

Hopefully that gives you a little info about countertops. If you have any questions, let me know!