Maddie's new old bed

Last summer, my sisters and I happened upon an antique fair in Island Park. I saw these bed frames and fell in love with them. And the best part, they were only $50 a piece. Not being an antique expert, I didn't realize all of the work that would go into making them look nice. I had seen my Aunt Nita refinish some furniture, and it looked time consuming, but pretty straightforward. I broke out the sander and the dust mask and got to work in our driveway, and holy cow! I knew I didn't have the patience for that. Then Johnny started playing in the dust that made it's way into the garage and I freaked out thinking that it might be lead paint. Finally, I did something that I should have done in the first place, I researched how to refinish old furniture.

First I got a lead test kit, for my own peace of mind. It said that if the applicator turned red, then you were dealing with lead paint. Well the applicator stayed white, but after about a week the little spot that I swabbed started turning a little orange. Then after about 3 weeks it turned a dark red color. I didn't know if that meant that I was dealing with lead paint or not, but just to be safe I decided to follow the instructions for refinishing lead paint furniture.

First I stripped the entire bed...MUCH easier than sanding, and no dust, bonus! Plus the stripper was much more gentle on the veneer than the vibrating sander.

Then I glued and clamped the parts that were peeling or falling apart. This was about the time that I started thinking "what have I done!?"

I primed the wood and then used an oil based spray paint to "seal the wood" and any yucky stuff that might seep through. It didn't look exactly smooth so I primed it again, on top of the paint, and rolled on some latex paint. It turned out super cute. I have another bed for Lucy that I plan to do next summer. It should be easier the second time.

I'm open to decorating ideas. Any suggestions? The cute little vanity is from my sister Marilyn...one of the best hand-me-downs I have ever recieved. I repainted that too, but it was in pretty good condition to start with.

Madeline "Curious George" Loveless

Our little Madeline sometimes has a hard time staying in bed at night, so either John or I lay down with her to keep her company as she drifts off to dreamland. John plays the Curious George game with her, in place of a story. This is a Loveless Family tradition, and John isn't quite sure of the origins, but in this game you try to think of different titles for Curious George books. Maddie has come up with some pretty funny titles, and sometimes spurts them off at random times during the day. I can't think of anything specific, but here are a few examples: Curious George wears pants on his head; Curious George hurt his belly button; or Curious George dresses up like a princess.

Well, Maddie is our little "Curious George" lately.

Nothing escapes her nimble little hands and feet.

No matter what the cost, she WILL find a way to satisfy her curiosity.

Here are a few pictures to prove my point:

...And it doesn't end there. Hannah has resorted to putting a warning sign on her door, and a child lock.

Johnny also has his own sign for Maddie on his door, with his own child lock (which he sometimes needs me to open for him :)

After Johnny put this sign on his door, I heard Hannah say, almost sadly,

"it's too bad that Maddie can't read."

Just wait, in 25 years they will look forward to the day that Maddie comes knocking at their door to pay them a visit. Her energy and happiness really are contagious. I love that girl!

A series of unfortunate events

Two weeks ago Johnny came home from church with this picture. I had to laugh when he showed it to me. I just can't put it away before writing about it, because it is a pretty good story. He told me that he was supposed to draw a picture of somebody doing something nice for him. So he drew a little numbered diagram (of course) of me and him, on one dreadful day, about two years ago. I wish I could write dreadful in scary letters with dissonant music in the background, because it was that kind of day. In fact I can still remember the feeling of wanting to laugh hysterically and cry at the same time.
This is how I remember it...It all started with three kids playing happily in our back yard, and one pregnant mom (me) sitting on the back porch. Then...the phone rang, DUM...DUM...DUM...dum. I ran inside to answer it, and while I was talking, Johnny ran downstairs to go to the bathroom. Within seconds, I heard Hannah crying, she had fallen on the cement and needed a band aid for her hand. I hung up the phone and went upstairs to get a band aid for her. Just as I was putting it in place on her scraped hand, I heard Johnny screaming downstairs. I ran downstairs to find water gushing out of the toilet. Everything was soaked! I plunged the toilet, but not before the water had overflowed from the bathroom onto the living room carpet. I started throwing towels on the floor and handed one to Johnny to wrap up in because his pants were on the floor when toilet started spewing water. I started frantically emptying out the closet where things were placed on the floor. It was in the middle of emptying out the closet that I heard Hannah crying again on the back porch. She had fallen again and scraped her knee. I went outside to see if she was okay, and then back upstairs to get another band aid, when the thought came to me "where is Maddie?" I ran back downstairs with the band aid, when I found her, my little not-quite-2 year old standing on a chair by the kitchen counter, with butter smeared all over the top of her head. Anyway, that's the climax of the story--it all eventually got better from that point. But, man, what a day! Glad that one is over and will never happen again. I did love Johnny's rendition of it though. I love his big wide circle mouth, and the big smile on my face as I happily run downstairs to help him. If only he could remember the frazzled mom I really was that day.

Making it ours

It looks good, but it could be more interesting right? My project between Christmas and New Years was this....

I am really liking it.

I still have a few touch ups, so don't look too closely.

The entry way picture looks dark, but it doesn't feel that way in person. We are planning on putting an antique looking white console table in the entry way someday, with a cool flower arrangement, and some candles for our candlesticks. I can just imagine it now, it going to be awesome!

Our SWEET holiday!

Our holidays were so sweet this year, in more ways than one. Santa would be proud of how many sugar cookies, hot cocoa and candy we were able to down. I'm just going to kick off this next marathon of posts with this picture of Lucy drinking everybody's left-over hot cocoa one Monday night. This is what happens when you have your F.H.E. treat before the activity and lesson, and you don't clean up right away--Lucy loved me for this!

The next 7 post are an update of our family's fun during the holidays...I actually have more, but will try to space them out over the next few days.

A good laugh is the best gift of all

Let me start this post out with a disclaimer that I have never been a techy person, and I never know what to give John for his birthday--or Christmas for that matter--because I just don't know the make, model or the best price of whatever his latest passion is.

So with that being said; this year, when I asked John what he would like for his birthday, he said that he would take care of his own present. Gladly I handed the responsibility over to him and made plans to make a tasty carrot cake (it tasted better than it looked). Well, December 15th came along and the only present John had was the gift of me saving money.

Then like a gift from Heaven ;) the Fed-ex truck showed up just before John returned home from work. I happily signed for the package, and brought it inside and wrapped it. I didn't know what was inside, but I knew that it was something techy that John had ordered in honor of his birthday . My clue? It had a warning label on the side that said "lithium batteries." The kids and I made a picture treasure hunt for him, and I prepared a delicious dinner while the kids decorated the cake. When the time came for his birthday celebration, John was surprised when we handed him the first picture clue. None of us knew what to expect. When he finally found the present, we were all excited and completely clueless as to what it could be. We all gathered around to see...and...what did John pull out of the box? A cell phone!!! John burst into laughter, and I laughed until I cried. John had ordered a new cell phone for me and I had wrapped it up and given it to him for his birthday! John gave me a big hug and kiss and said "Thanks, that was the best gift EVER!"

The Real Birthday Present

Besides a good laugh, the next best gift for my work loving husband is money saved for a big project and some un-interupted time to accomplish it. Starting around the middle of December, John made a goal to finish our food storage/craft room by January 4th.

Before this time, the only hint of a room were some framed walls, which he put up a few months ago, and some outer wall insulation.

Within a few days it turned into this....

And then this...And finally this... Thanks, John, your persistance and skill never cease to amaze me.And sorry about your wrist...maybe it's your body's way of telling you take a little break before your next big project.

Bowling!!!

What luck! A Boondocks has opened up about a mile from our home and Hannah and Johnny came home from school with free bowling coupons! We just had to use them over our Christmas vacation.

Santa's pen-pals

A few days after Thanksgiving, on the day my mom left for home, Santa left a little note on the pillows of a certain little boy and girl. Coincidence? Of course! They were such beautiful notes, and were written in response to many letters written to him over the past few months. Here are a few of them. They are a little hard to see, but a few of my favorite highlights were:

From Hannah's letter:
..."some new toothpaste" (she could have just told me to put it on the shopping list)
...."If this is too much, write an X in the box.
..."Just give me half of these things if this is too much."

From Johnny's letter:
..."a box of marbles"...
..."and just give me some other stuff."

Click on the pictures to see the letters up close.

Christmas Eve...day.

On Christmas Eve day, we headed out for the first time to test the awesome sledding hill just "down the road" from our house. It was a perfect day for this, and we all had a ton of fun. Lucy enjoyed it just as much as any of the others, but unfortunately I hadn't thought ahead and bought her snow pants. I had no idea that my little 1 year old would enjoy snow so much. When she watched the others sled down the hill, she reached her arms out and made her little "uh...uh...uh..." sound (translation "I want, I want, I want!") When I asked her if she wanted to try, she nodded her head in her serious and determined way. The first time she went down she laughed HARD. After that, if the sled was being used, she slid down on her bum. Needless to say, Her and I had to head home a little early because her pants were soaked.

Christmas Eve

I absolutely love having a fireplace with a mantle, it is like a dream come true for me! Never in my life have I been able to hang stockings over a fireplace. This year, like all others, we opened our christmas socks and were reminded of how practical we are. After all, why have stockings that you can only use once a year and that you can't even wear, right? Besides I love the look of the different sizes and the "clothes-line". Anyway, Hannah made sure that everything was labeled so that there would be no confusion on Santa's part. Gotta love that girl!

Merry Christmas!

It was a day I want to remember forever! Surrounded by the people who mean the most to me, celebrating one of the most meaningful events...ever. It was so sweet, but relatively simple. The kids loved their gifts, the John and I loved watching their smiles.