First Day of School!

Showing off their NEW backpacks! All ready for school w/their friends again!!! (Yes, that's the dresser on its side in the background - we're not currently on speaking terms...)

The Life of an Old Dresser

The first big project around here I decided I wanted to work on was my mom's old dresser (that's her name inside one of the drawers). It was hers when she was little and it's been passed around for different kids and grand kids to use. We've had it since Zach was born...the paint is starting to peel and chip off, so I figured it was a good place to start! After looking at lots of different ideas, I got excited about painting it white and distressing it to look aged and then give it some new hardware. I have dreamed about how amazing it is going to look and how it will continue to be handed down for generations... After working on it for a couple of days I recognize that it probably won't turn out quite like I imagined, but I'm still hoping for something functional and beautiful (just not perfect!).

I debating sanded down through the MULTIPLE layers of paint (I've seen light blue, white, peach, brown, navy, and light green on the drawers) or using a chemical paint stripper or a heat gun. So far I have used all three! The sanding worked great where there weren't TOO many layers and the heat gun was really cool to try. But, as providence would have it, my father-in-law sent me an environmentally safe non-toxic (a.k.a. much more kid friendly) chemical stripper that arrived in the mail this morning (Emma was taking a nap, Alex was at a friend's house and the older kids were at school). It was one of those "all the stars have aligned" moments, so I took advantage and slathered the dresser with the stripper. So, here are some "before" pictures and hopefully I'll have an "after" picture soon!

And....(drum roll please)...she's walking!!!

It's been a little late in coming...she wanted to be really steady before she got moving around on just her two feet (she's been partial to the bear walk lately). But, as of tonight (during FHE), she's officially a walker!

Back at Home!

We've been home for almost two weeks now...we've started soccer and are gearing up to start school next week. As much as I know they love school, we are really going to miss Zach and Camilla at home!!!!!! Speaking of home, I've recently been introduced to the world of "thrift store shopping" and "re-purposing" items around the house (Try and tell me you don't LLOOVVEE that garbage can!!!). I've had fun moving around bookcases and dressers, spray painting, and re-organizing almost every closet in the house. I even cleaned out my pantry/laundry room well enough to hang something on the wall that makes me smile every time I open the door! The result is much more space in the living areas, much more organized and purposeful storage area, all the little holes in my walls are gone (yeah!), and SOME creative juices are starting to flow! I can get a little OCD when starting something new, so I've been trying to reel it in the last couple days (the food in the house was gone and laundry was piled high!). I've been having a lot of fun w/the girl's bedroom - we even pulled out my old toe shoes today to hang on her shelves. I'm in LOVE with these ice cream chairs for the girls (which I WILL refinish eventually) and Emma already loves sitting in them!!! I still want to cover their lamp shade, repaint the dresser, and do SOMETHING to the windows...patience, right? Everything in my bedroom is now in plastic bins because my furniture was "gifted" to other parts of the house! It's definitely a work in progress but I'm excited to get started!