Day 61

This project is probably going to continue for the last half of summer. I have been working on this for several weekends but end up posting about something else.  I bought this dresser for Baylor on craigs*list.  It was in Lancaster and I had my parents pick it up for me.  They have the truck anyway so it was a good plan.  I really like it as the door opens up to three sliding draw/trays.  It is solid, heavy and very dated.  So I am going to paint it!  I don't have a problem painting wood.  I like paint and I like color and wood is, well, wood colored.  And another reason I am going with paint is we have a short dresser that is not refinishable because it has plastic drawer fronts.  My plan is to remove the hardware on both pieces, paint the dressers, added matching pulls and call it a set. 

I also have this night stand that is in pretty beat up shape and could use a few coats of paint.  It is going to be my test piece for the color scheme I have going.  Lori is generally opposed to painting wood but she is letting me go with this project.  I was sanding the top of the night stand and Baylor kept telling me it was his turn.  I turned it off and what he really meant was using the brush to sweep off the dust.

But then he did want a turn sanding.  Mostly because he liked turning it off! 

Sanding is the key to a good finish. Remind me about that when I want to rush through and not sand. I won't say I found this out the hard way, but I am just saying...

Especially sanding the primer smooth. I am just saying.

As usual I have a more than willing helper.  He cannot really help it, I did raise him to be that way.  He has always been at my side no matter what I was doing. 



This is his table from his room.  Pap bought it for him but the finish was really not a finish.  I bought some chalkboard paint because it was cheaper than buying the ingredients for DIY chalkboard paint.  This will be the same teal as the night stand on the legs and will be black chalkboard on the top.  Maybe white trim, I don't know yet. 

We are also working on this bench we had before Baylor was born. When he began moving around the house on his own, it was put rather unceremoniously on the deck because he would not leave it alone and kept knocking it over. It lived out there for two years or more. It has not weathered well and we are painting that also with the plan of finding it a new home inside. Mom will be so pleased as she bought it for me and takes it personally when she feels a gift is being unloved or unappreciated. Baylor washed it off after we sanded it.

And help to paint it in a Lowe's oops color we picked up for $3.00. 

While I was painting today, I made these sidewalk paints for Baylor.  Cheap $1.00 baby shampoo, cornstarch, water, and food coloring. They kept him busy for about 10 minutes.

And then I went all Jackson Pollocky with the rest of the paints while he drove his four wheeler around the house. 

Day 60

I was off work on Friday because the sitter was off and my usual back up baby sitters, my parents, had an appointment.  We started the day by beginning the process of making some birthday cards.  This week, August 18th to the 26th, we celebrate the birthdays of three very special people.  Mom's is the 18th. 

The blue print flowers will look nice with yellow thumb print centers and green leaves.

I am not sure where the orange hands are going but we will figure it out together. 

After a quick trip to Michael's for some more supplies we headed to Mom's.  While Mom and I went to the Green Dragon and Sharp Shopper, Baylor played with Buddy.  One of the things they do is build tall pyramids and he gets to knock them down.  He will convince anyone to build him something to knock down. 

Baylor had a late nap, about an hour before dinner, and fell asleep watching Charlotte's Web.  We usually watch the Lion King at Mom's but their copy decided to flake out and no work.  Mom found Charlotte's Web and Baylor now wants a piggy to keep and cuddle. Lori will not let me have a chicken so I am sure a piggy is out of the question.  I did not know that the movie was made in 1972 and I did not remember how sensitive Wilbur was. 

We woke Mom up by crawling into her bed singing Happy Birthday.  We started out with her gifts right away.  She loved her flower hand print card and we bought her a new ironing board cover.  Not a very special gift but we have cut back on gifts in general so if we do give something is needs to be useful.  And her ironing board cover is awful.  I would know because I think I use it more than she does.  So it is really a gift for me!  Dad gave her a purse that Mom had bought for herself and told him to give it to her for her birthday.  (We are weird when you put all that in writing.) 

Buddy and Baylor made pancakes for breakfast.  Apparently it was a man's job because Baylor kept running in to the living room tell us women that the boys were on the job and we should stay out of the kitchen.   

After breakfast we were working on another craft for another gift and Baylor had a major meltdown out of no where.  After is was over, and we nearly left because of it, we played outside until it was time to go to birthday lunch.  We tossed a ball and moved dirt from one side of the garden to the other. 

We wrote a birthday message on the driveway. 

And we climbed the dogwood tree.  He is trying to, wanting to, dying to climb trees.  This is low and has good climbing branches and I am sure when he does learn to climb on his own, it will be on this tree. 

We had planned to take Mom the Shady Maple for her birthday but will the ever changing moods of Baylor, we decided on somewhere closer.  Lunch went well other than a slight meltdown over french fries. We went home and planned on making ice cream but the insert was not frozen so we had a change in plans.  Of course Baylor was very helpful in blowing out candles, a few times in a row.  Dad bought Mom a cake.

And we made Mom a cake with 16 ounces of dark chocolate. 

We headed home and Baylor napped the entire way and of course woke up in the driveway.  I was hoping he would sleep a bit because I was tired and wanted to rest too.  But there is no rest for the weary or sick parents with wired children.  Somehow we all just power on.  We played in the yard, worked on my painting project, trimmed the trees a bit and put the sticks in the fire pit for the next fire, and harvested cucumbers, beans, and carrots in the garden. 

Thankfully bed time came like it does everyday!  Tomorrow is another day of summer.



Day 58

Today was Baylor's first dental cleaning.  Lori ended up having to work OT today so I had to take him to the sitters, go to work, leave at 11:30 to pick him, go to the dentist, take him back to the sitters and was back at work at 1:14.  It is a pediatric office and they really cater to little ones.  The toothpaste flavors were chocolate, vanilla birthday cake, bubble gum, and mint.  Baylor choose chocolate because he is my son after all. 

He kept his hands on the sides of the seat and drummed his fingers the whole time.  He had a bit of tartar on the back of his front teeth she had to remove but otherwise he has good teeth and a good bite, and like his mommy. 

His teeth were sparkling when they were done.  He had a fluoride treatment and they told him no coffee (hot liquids) until morning.  They don't know that he likes his cup of coffee milk in the mornings, but it is far from hot!

I was a bit worried about taking him back to the sitters because I have never had to do that before.  He had a bit of a meltdown in the office while we were waiting for the dentist but it was nap time and they were taking forever to get done.  The first dentist checked one of the three kids and disappeared and then they had to find another dentist to check the other two.  Naturally Baylor was number three so we had the longest to wait.  But I had no issues dropping him off and Lori got the report that he had a good day when she picked him up.  I ended up being at work an extra hour but more so to make sure everything was done that I could take care of before being out on Friday. 

We made pistachio ice cream after supper.  Baylor and I shelled the pistachios on Sunday and we had made the base the other night.  I had a pretzel cone and Lori and Baylor had theirs in a dish. 

And for my next sweet escape, the recipe started with 12 ounces of bittersweet chocolate and six ounces of butter.   This is sounding like heaven on a plate but we will not be eating it until Saturday for Mom's birthday.