I have a dream...about a table.

Several months ago I had a dream that I spray painted my dining room table with chalkboard paint.  I totally loved it in the dream and I woke up thinking I should do it in real life.  Months passed and I never did anything.  Then, a while back I pinned a couple of pictures of multi-colored dining room chairs, and I thought that might be fun someday.  I remembered then, about the chalkboard table, so I did a little Pinterest research on that.  I didn't find much, but I did find pictures of a little cafe somewhere that have chalkboard tables.  I've been a little worried about how durable/washable a chalkboard surface would be.  Spills, grease, etc.  But I figured if it can hold up at a restaurant, it'll probably do ok at my house...maybe...hopefully.  Because I finally did it!

First off, let me tell you, I'm not a tutorial blogger.  I'm terrible at step by step pictures, and I'm not great at laying out all the details.  But here's a list of the colors I used, and a couple things you may find helpful if you decide to do the same.

There's no before or after pictures.  Sorry.  And I scanned through a couple months of pictures, and this is the only one I could find of at least a tiny part of what the table used to look like.  And as you can tell, I wasn't careful about protecting it from paint, glue, kids, etc.  My parents bought it for me in Germany 13 years ago at IKEA.

 Here is one of the four chairs that we've also been using for years.  (Two are painted now.)  I got these from my Grandma's house several years ago when she passed away, and who knows how long she had them.

I knew I wanted different/mismatched chairs, so I started watching for them.  I found one at a thrift store in Dana Point for $7.00 a couple of months ago.  Then, two weeks ago I went hunting at garage sales.  I found 3 sales that were selling just one dining room chair!  Who only has one chair to sell??  A lot of people I guess, so get up early on a Saturday and get hunting. And you can get them for cheap, because who only wants one dining chair?! I wasn't willing to pay more than $5.00 a chair.  The chair on the left, was going for $5, I offered $2 and got it.  The other two had a big FREE sign on them on someones curb.  I grabbed them!  I only used one in my set (so far).  I may paint the other a different color, just to have a back up.  So $9.00 for four chairs.

I also had a random IKEA chair that I've had for ages that I threw in the mix.

On to sanding/priming.  I hate sanding.  Hate.  So on all the chairs I just lightly sanded the seats.  That's all.  And while, as you see in the picture below, I used up lots of primers I had on hand, and they all go on just fine.  I will say, all primers are not created equally.  Zinsser COVER STAIN (far right) is the best primer I've used.  Especially if you're painting over another finish.  I got it at Home Depot for $5.96 a can.  I think I used four cans of primer for six chairs, a booster seat, and the table.

The seven colors I used are as follows (six chairs and the booster):

Oh, and I've used several brands of spray paint.  Rust-Oleum is hands-down my favorite.

-Lagoon
-Purple
-Sun Yellow
-Colonial Red
-Eden
-Seaside
-Fire Orange

On probably three of the seven chairs, I just used one can of paint.  Different colors, and different sizes/details on the chairs changed it a bit.  One tip though, I painted all my chairs outside and I know the wind contributed to some of my paint quantity needs.  I did the (final coat of the) table in a garage and it went on so smooth and easy.  So do them in a (well ventilated) garage.  I'm sure I lost a lot of paint to the wind, and would have been able to do each with just one can.

I sealed the chairs and table legs with Rust-Oleum clear glossy sealer.  I've also used lots of sealers.  This one is just as good as any in my opinion, and is one of the least expensive.

I took the legs off the table and primed and painted them plain white.  I really sanded the table top well.  It had a lot of dents and scratches that I hoped to smooth out a bit, and for the chalkboard paint, I really wanted as much of the finish off as possible.  Then I filled in all the holes.  There were just a few (haha).
I just used nail hole fill putty stuff.  Let it dry for a couple hours, then sanded again.  Such helpful kids.

I used black Krylon chalkboard paint.  I have a leaf for this table that I painted too.  It's about a third of the size of the table top, and I used 2.5 cans total.

My chalkboard advise, and it depends on the feel of your table, the thickness of your primer, etc.  But, get your table top sanded, puttied, sanded and ready.  Then: Prime. Lightly sand the primer. One coat of chalk paint.  Second coat of chalk paint.  Let dry a couple hours. Lightly sand.  Then finish with another coat of chalk paint.  I skipped all the sanding and the third coat of chalk paint the first time around.  Then the next day I took the blasted table apart AGAIN, and sanded the rough spots of primer and (hard to control) thicker spots of paint, and put another coat of paint on. I did the primer and first coats of chalk paint outside.  I think it may have got a little dust on it, and the wind made even distribution challenging.  The final coat, that I did in a garage, went on so nice and smooth.  A world of difference I tell you.

Here is my first "finished" picture.  Those white splotches aren't chalk.  They just appeared after I prepped it and wiped it down.  I tried to pretend like I didn't mind, but the next day I knew I needed to re-do it if I was going to be happy.

And here's the re-done picture.

Tons better!  I can't resist the cheap fresh flowers when I go to Trader Joe's.  My plan is to keep the table junk free and if I buy myself flowers once in a while, I'll probably do better at that.

And I also have a jar of chalk to leave on the table for dinner-time doodles, drawing fake dinner place mats etc.

And my kids think I'm pretty cool, for letting them draw on the table.

I hope this helps anyone who is going for a fun, bright change!

cousins and the farmers market

We had dinner last weekend with Paul's cousins and their families.  His oldest cousin, Micah, and his wife and kids have been living in Scotland for the past three years.  And it's been at least that long since we'd seen them all.  They are moving to Texas next week.  We're hoping to see them again before they go because the kids had so much fun together.  IT makes me sad that they don't have much young family around to grow up with.

Addie and this little guy are just two weeks apart.

Garrett and I started a cool whip fight after dinner.

Giving each other piggy-back rides.

Our kids and their three cousins who they'd never met before.

*****************************************

That same weekend, we went to Long Beach for the Farmers Market/Street Fair.  We had breakfast at Schooner or later first.  Long wait, but worth it.

Garrett's reaction when he saw his aunt who he didn't know was meeting up with us.

My SIL and I were talking on our way over to the market, about how it's likely that mermaids and aliens exist.  Mermaids because of the animal planet special, and aliens because of my plane tour in Peru over the Nazca lines.  The first booth we came to was merchandise from Peru, sold by a Peruvian who was wearing a Nazca shirt!  We spent a lot of time talking to him, and I think he made my SIL a believer.  He doesn't look too friendly, but he was really nice.  He even wrote down more sights to see in Peru, as well as his personal info so I can contact him to get set up with people in Peru to tour with if I ever go back.  I'd love to take Paul and the kids someday.

Paul and I bought succulents.  I'm really loving them right now because they're the only plant I can't kill.

My MIL wanted to buy Addie some clothes and hats, but Addie didn't want to try stuff on, so Garrett stepped in as the model.

When he was done with the girly stuff, he got to break open his own geode rock.  Really manly.

I love summer.  Longer days, warmer nights.  It's good for my soul.  And watermelon is one of the best parts!  The kids love it, too.  And a little TMI side note, I've mentioned before that both kids struggle with constipation often.  Let's just say that we can always tell in their diapers when they've had a lot of watermelon the day before!   

Project 365: 147-155

May 27- My SIL and I spent the morning in the fabric district.  I friggin' love LA.  That yellow on the bottom is muslin, like the Aden and Anais swaddle blankets.  It was $2.50 a pound.  I think I got 6 yards for 3 dollars.

May 28- Parking lot safety.  She won't let me help her, but she always lets Garrett.  I'm usually next to Garrett, holding his other hand.  But when I shut the door and looked up to see this, I had to take a quick picture.

May 29- We had a do-nothing day.  And by 'do-nothing', I mean, two weeks worth of laundry and a lot of reading in between.  This is the first stack Garrett brought me.  And I have no idea what Addie's doing.

May 30- We call her Lulu, which has nothing to do with her real name, but we say it's short for Lu-nami.  Also, I haven't given her goldfish crackers in days, maybe weeks.  And I couldn't find a bag or container anywhere in the room.  Mystery fish/snack hoarder.

May 31- Just a typical pool party with Paul's extended family.

June 1- Harvest!  2.5 months ago these were all seeds being planted.  Gardening is so rewarding!

June 2- At the Long Beach Farmers/Street Market.  My MIL was in a spending mood, but Addie wasn't having it.  Since the kids are about the same size, Garrett stood in as a body double.

June 3- Paul worked a 12 hour shift so the kids and I went wandering around IKEA.  Garrett saw the big hot dog sign on our way out and I gave in.  two hot dogs, chips and a drink for $2.50 is easy to give into when it's 6 o'clock and you haven't thought about making dinner yet.

June 4- An evening with Cafe Rio at the beach.  Sand in my salad.  Sandy diapers.  Sand in the car seats.  So much stuff.  Ending with a trail of sand to the bathtub.  I hope I always think it's worth it, because it always is.

DIY "construction sight"

Garrett loves sand, dirt and rocks.  Probably just like any other boy.  But we don't have a place where he can dig and play.  When we bought our little water table for our porch, we debated for a long time whether or not we should get the half sand/half water one.  I knew Garrett would love it, but I also knew I'd be cleaning up a mushy sandy mess every day.  So we opted for just water.  But I came up with something a little less messy, that can be played with outside or inside, and it satisfies Garrett's digging/scooping/dumping desires.  I had an almost empty flat storage bin in my closet, and I had a bag of dollar store rocks.  That's where my inspiration began.  I dumped them in the bin and their weren't nearly enough so I bough two more bags.  I also went to IKEA where they sell decorative rocks, but they're smaller, and I think they were .89 cents a bag and I got two or three bags of those.  So less than six bucks for all the rocks.  Mine ended up being a little more expensive than that, because right after I finished the bin we went on vacation and of course came to a souvenir shop that sold pretty, colorful rocks.  Fortunately, we'd been given vacation money from the in-laws so I didn't feel like I was using real money, and I spent $12.00 on colorful rocks to add to the mix.  The trucks were also purchased on the vacation.  I think $4.00 each at Ace Hardware.  I think they're too big for the bin because you can't really drive them around, but Garrett loves them.  We have a couple others, (not pictured) that are the perfect size.  I found them in the summer seasonal section at Target for $1.99.

Addie is still too young for this to be a good co-playing activity. (Think throwing and sucking on rocks.)  So it's become Garrett's little alone time activity during the half hour or so after she's gone to bed and before he does.  He could play for hours.

The kids and I also painted some of the rocks one afternoon to brighten up the bin. (For some strange reason I thought that would be a good idea.)

And Garrett has also started collecting rocks to throw in with the others.  At the beach, on our walks, etc.

Easy and inexpensive.  And you can snap the lid on it and slide it under a bed when it's not being played with.

Addie's a year and a half! And other general kid updates.

I had Garrett with me at Addie's 18 month appointment, which I swore I'd never do a double kid appointment or take both kids when only one had an appointment by myself again, but of course I always do, and I probably always will.  But I think he was a good distraction for her.  He looked at books with her, he played on the crinkle paper with her, and at one point he even rubbed her back and said, "It's ok, Lu."  It was funny having Garrett there because 18 months is when they generally talk about introducing potty training and going to the dentist.  I just kind of smiled... Yeah ok doc, I'll get right on that...with Garrett.  Here's the thing.  I don't feel like a lazy mom, I just feel like a realistic mom who knows my kids well.  I don't want extra stress of forcing my kids to do things when I know they're not ready.  It's interesting having two so close together and having the girl be the younger one.  'They' say girls develop faster than boys and who knows how true that is, but in our case, it's mostly true.  Addie's catching up with Garrett in a lot of ways.  I love it because they do so much together now.  But it's also made me just kind of blend their ages.  They're both "about two" in my mind.  So this is how my mind works now:  I'll switch them from whole milk when she's two.  I'll schedule them both for dentist appointments when she's two.  I'll potty train them at the same time when she's two.  I'll switch them to toddler beds when she's two.  Etc.

Paul and I have been talking about potty training for a few months now, and the conversation usually ends with one of us saying, "I hate buying diapers, but I don't hate it that bad." or "If we never train them, they'll eventually just figure it out, right??" or "How big do they make diapers?" Having said that, I think we're getting close to starting Garrett. *sigh*  He goes in the potty every night before we put his pajamas on, and so far we're at a 100% success rate.  He's telling us more now that he needs to pee, but he usually already has.  And when it's #2, he says, "I go poop in the potty." But it's usually too late by the time he says that, too.    A month or so ago we put him in underwear and he did great for a day, so I was all hopeful thinking it would be so easy.  The next day? Not so much.  I asked him constantly and he always said he didn't have to go.  Then he moved from the couch and there was a big wet spot and he pointed and said, "Mom, clean up."  After that we had two trips planned so it was back to diapers.  I need to get serious about it, I'm just not super motivated yet.

We switched him to his toddler bed last night!  I swear I had days where I thought I'd be lifting my first grader out of his crib to go to school. Hah!  About a month ago he climbed out while I was in his room, like he'd done it a million times.  He was so proud of himself and he told me he wanted to show me again.  The second time he bumped his chin and he's never done it again.  He gets balanced on the top, but then calls for help because it's "too high."  I definitely have the "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" mentality with my kids.  But he's been getting his legs stuck lately and I think it'll be better converted to a toddler bed.  Last night was perfect.  He climbed in bed and fell asleep. No fights. No frustration.  And he slept 12 hours.  That's how I like milestones/transitions/growing up to go! And he's down for a nap now with no problems. I hope it stays this way.

I tried a couple months ago to get Garrett in Early Intervention for speech, but we got rejected from two places because he talks too much.  I was mostly just curious to see how much he would talk to a stranger who was trying to get him to say new things. (My brother has worked with him, but he's comfortable with him so he plays around most of the time.)  Anyway, he's doing great.  He's talking more everyday.  Like really, new words everyday.

Addie's the same.  New words everyday.  And constant babbling.  I don't remember Garrett babbling this much.  It's like she thinks she's really talking to us and that we understand it.  Every once in a while we hear a clear word.  She loves pointing things out while driving and on walks.  Car, bus, truck, boat, ball, wuff, meow, baby, we-oh-we-oh-we-oh, (that's her siren sound).

If I had to describe each kid in one sentence, Garrett's would be: He's my quiet, cautious, thoughtful sweetie, with a tender heart, and excitement for life...and a pretty funny side once he warms up to you.

Addie's would be: She's my sassy, try-anything, determined, adventurer, who loves to dance and hug and kiss...and most of the time those last couple things make her fierce side pretty enjoyable, too.

Both kids sleep great.  Garrett's still a solid sleeper.  He usually goes to be before 9:00 and sleeps until at least 9:00, usually 9:30. And then he naps for 2-3 hours.  Addie's not quite as solid and never has been.  She goes to bed at about 8:30 and usually sleeps 12 hours, but once in a while we give her a couple ounces of milk around 6:30 and she goes right back to sleep.  Her nap is always a little shorter than Garrett's, but I finally got them napping at the same time.

Whenever Paul and I are alone with just one kid, we often say, "What would it be like if we only had him/her?"  Every once in a while I have a little guilt, thinking I rushed Garrett through baby-hood.  But most of the time I feel like they'd be lost without each other.