A little project and another in the wings

Between Thanksgiving and Christmas I decided to tackle a "little" project I have been planning for a long time. The project was painting my banisters from white to black and re-staining the wood at the top. I decided to prime all the metal first, which I am not sure was worth it, but, oh well. I painted all the metal with a small foam roller. It would have been easier to take the banisters down and spray them outside but I did not have my husband's support on this project and therefore couldn't ask for his help. That, and I didn't want to try out our new accident insurance (you know... four kids and a ledge missing a barrier do not mix). So, it took a lot of time to primer and then paint but it was really easy.

Before I started painting, I unscrewed the wood from the top of the metal banisters. I sanded and re-stained the wood in the garage and also put several coats of poly on. The wood was easy to sand as it was almost bare wood (and very gross, I might add) from wear. I went with a walnut color that I am in LOVE with. I was the most nervous for the staining part but it actually turned out to be so easy.

I love seeing before and afters, so here is mine:

Upstairs Loft

Before

After

(The light fixture over the stairs is one of the last brass fixtures and this picture reminds me that it has got to go soon.)

Downstairs Living Room

Before

After

Entryway

Before

(You can't see it really well, but I love the framed 3-D pumpkin I made this fall for about $2.)

After

Tim has admitted that it looks better and I think deep down he likes the new look. I LOVE it!

I've got my next project lined up as soon as the kid's go back to school and I stop playing Band Hero and tether ball all afternoon with them.

I am going to convert this cabinet (that Tim rescued from a rental remodel he did a while back):

into this:

(Ballard Designs)

Wish me luck because I don't know what I am doing! Oh, and I will be crawling around in my attic this Saturday pulling wire for our master bathroom. That project has been dormant through the holidays but it's about to go into hyper speed. Can't wait to show you more before and afters when it is finally done.

Hog's December to Remember

December has been quite the month for Hog. (Tim said I can't call it the "December to Remember" unless a Lexus is involved, but I am calling it that anyway.)

The month started with his 8th birthday. He's been asking for nothing but Legos. A few weeks before his birthday, he was showing me a toy ad with several sets he wanted. He was only asking for small sets and I said, "What about this one?" pointing to a huge Power Miners set. His response was, "Oh, I like that one but it's expensive. I can just get one of these." I was shocked. I have always tried to teach my children frugality but that doesn't mean I don't want them to dream! I told Tim that night and he came home the next day with the exact set Hog wanted. His expression when he opened it on the morning of his birthday was worth every penny. And, it was completely put together before he went to bed that night.

He got to go to Red Robin with us on our date night and loved getting to order anything he wanted, which included mac and cheese, cantaloupe and an Oreo shake.

His flag football team went undefeated for the season and won the league tournament, too. He had great coaches and fun kids on his team. That's him, #12, proudly holding the trophy.

Hog became a Cub Scout and came home from his first den meeting with his brand new uniform covered in frosting from making gingerbread houses.

Grandpa T totally surprised Hog with a quick trip to Disneyland where they met up with some cousins. When they got on the plane to fly over, Grandpa gave him one of his business cards to put in his pocket and told Hog if he got lost to hand the card to someone and tell them to call his Grandpa. Somewhere in California Adventure he wandered off and promptly handed the card to the first person he saw, not even a park employee, and was quickly reunited with Grandpa. (What a good obedient boy! I loved hearing Grandpa tell us this story.) He had a great time and one of his favorite things was when Aunt Misty got him a lanyard and some pins for trading . Thanks Grandpa!!

He got baptized and we were so grateful for all of our friends and family as well as many of his friends from school who came to support him. Personally, I was overwhelmed by everyone who came at such a busy time of year when so much is going on. We are truly blessed with wonderful family and friends. Hog had a great day.

All of our kids have been saving their money for months to buy a DS. Albert got hers in October when she got some birthday money. Hog has been saving and saving and working hard on Saturdays making extra money. Three days before Christmas he finally got to go and buy his DS. What a happy kid. It was at this point in the month that Tim and I looked at each other and said, "Does it ever end for this kid?"

No, it didn't end because Christmas was right around the corner. Christmas brought a video camera, three more Lego sets, money and lots of other fun stuff.

He is ending the month with an entire post on our blog devoted to him, which he thinks is pretty cool. His month was more than just all the stuff he got and the fun things he got to do. He is a good friend, a great son and brother and a boy who wants to do what is right. We love our Hog-a-matic 8000.