My Very 1st Furniture Redo Project

I was surfing around Craigslist one day during naptime when I saw an ad for a dresser for $15.  I sent the link to Brandon and asked if maybe he could look at it after work.  There was no picture which can be rather suspicious but I figured for $15, it might be worth a look.

He made arrangements and sent me a text saying it was sturdy with mistmatched and missing hardware, but he thought it would be good for what I wanted.  "Please buy it,"  I messaged back.

He loaded it up in his van and brought it home and I nervously met him in the driveway.

He was right.  There was mismatched hardware, a drawer track needed some work and there was something sticky on top.

I jumped up and down and snapped a picture.  It sat in the garage for a bit while I looked at different colors.  I finally found a picture of a red dresser that inspired me.

I ran across this post on a blog that is local to me.  And I knew that was THE red I was looking for.  I picked up a color chip the next time I was at Lowe's.  I stared at it periodically over the next few days.  Then I bought a quart. I also bought some gray tinted primer to help with coverage. 

You might recognize the red from my fireplace decoration... I really like it!
 
Finally, I set to work in the garage.  I had Brandon help me move it a bit (our garage is REALLY full these days) and set to work taking off all the hardware and scrubbing it down.

The front of the drawers were uneven.  It looked like whoever put the hardware on did it with wet paint.  There were grooves where they had been.  So I sanded them down.

I also sanded the top of the dresser because there was something sticky on it that I couldn't get off.

Then I wiped down the dust with a wet washcloth.

When the dresser dried, I primed the drawers and the dresser.

And slowly and carefully painted the Posh Red paint on the dresser.  I worked in little bits of time usually during naptime or after the children went to bed.

Then I started hunting for drawer pulls and knobs.  I wasn't sure which direction I wanted to go.  

So every time I went into a store that carried hardware I looked around and I checked out online retailers a few times.  Nothing really screamed, "I'm it!"

 At first I was drawn to the black and white hardware.. I really loved the flowered knobs but I couldn't find any handles to go with them.  I thought the black and white stripes would detract from the other details in the dresser.

And I really loved the one that we nicknamed the "mustache" but I couldn't find any hammered knob pulls to go with it.  I really wanted some hammered swirls, but just couldn't find any.

I needed the space in the garage, so Brandon and I heaved it up the stairs and it fit perfectly in between our closet door and our bathroom door.  But it was hardware-less so it wasn't really functional yet.  

One weekend we were walking through Home Depot and I told Brandon I just had to go check.  He kind of sighed.  I'd checked every hardware section everytime we had been into a store.  But I still went.  And then I didn't return super quickly so he came to find me and I had an armful of knobs and pulls!

 They weren't cheap but we both loved the birdcage design.  As soon we got home I started installing them.  The knobs were perfect.  We twisted the knobs around trying to decide if we liked them horizontally or the vertically.  Horizontal won.

But I ran into a problem with the drawer pulls.  I needed something to hide the holes because the holes had been drilled too big over time. It was hard to take a picture of that, but was really obvious in person.

So I put them back in the bag with the receipt so that I could return them.  A few days later I was in the shower when I realized that I could use knob pulls for the other drawers too.   So I made the return to Home Depot and bought more knobs.

The hardware wasn't cheap for this project.  In fact, I have more invested in the pulls than what I spent for the dresser and the amount of primer/paint it required!  But I really think they complete the piece.

I think this project will always hold a special place in my heart as my first furniture redo.

Is it perfect?  Nope.  But most people don't see the "flaws" I do.

Am I proud of it?  Heck yeah!

As soon we got the project finished up, I started cruising around Craigslist again.  I had been bitten by the furniture makeover bug.  And that is when I found the bedroom set for $50! 

~Stephanie

Monster University! And the cardiologist

Solomon has a heart murmur that we've heard off and on over the years.  Recently, at his 3 year check up our doctor said that he was old enough now that it was reasonable to have a check up by a cardiologist.  Since we have dealt with heart murmurs we weren't too worried, but he thought it would be prudent to go ahead and have a listen. He also said to let the cardiologist know that we had met our maximum out of pocket for our insurance in case he thought we needed further testing.  Then we could schedule it and have it done this calendar year.

We got in really quickly with the pediatric cardiologist and I was SO pleased with our experience.  He spent quite some time talking to me about how hearing it periodically is actually a good sign (as opposed to hearing it all the time) and he explained to me what can cause it to only be heard some of the time.

He spent some time talking to Solomon and said that he wished his practice was full of three year old boys just like Solomon.  I beamed.  He got TWO stickers from the cardiologist. 

Turns out, that Solomon has a Still's Murmur and it is harmless. Julianne had one too.  We don't have any follow up to do with the cardiologist but he said that sometimes it will be heard on sport's physicals and if that happens, make an appt and he'll take a listen and fill out the paperwork.

Easy Peasy.  I breathed a HUGE sigh of relief.  If you've followed my blog for any length of time, you just know that things that are supposed to be easy are usually... not!

After lunch, we all piled in the van and went to see Monster University 3D with our FREE tickets!

It was a really cute movie and everyone did really well!!!  I was so shocked that the little boys did as well as they did.

They were SO funny about the seats though.

They were both bound and determined to kick back like a recliner, but we had to help them hold their seats open. 

And our three day weekend came to a close.  It was so much fun....

~Stephanie

Weekend Ramblings: Saturday, June 22nd

Saturday, I woke up to an email that a set of furniture I saw on Craigslist was available.   

The house was about 3 miles from us so we stopped by to take a look at it.  We were interested in it but were on the way to the gym.  We made arrangements to pick it up that afternoon.

It was pretty beat up, but I have a new obsession with repainting furniture.  I have some pictures of a previous project that created this little obsession that I'll be sharing soon. 

Here are some befores of this bedroom set.  It was a headboard, a footboard, two under bed drawer units, a dresser and a chest of drawers.  I paid $50.


Headboard: 

Footboard:

 Chest of Drawers:

Dresser:

One of the two under bed units:

Apparently, the previous owners of the house left a good bit of furniture behind and the new owners didn't want to take the time to redo it.  Perfecto!

~Stephanie 

Weekend Ramblings: Friday June 21st

June the 21st was marked on our calendar for a few months.  It was National Flip Flop Day and Tropical Smoothie gives you a free smoothie if you come in wearing flip flops.

We also had an Adoption Connection event to attend at Brandon's workplace.  It was on a different campus than the one that he works at so we picked him up from work and stopped by Tropical Smoothie on the way across town.

I was really nervous because Brandon's big boss is in charge of the Adoption Connection and I've never met him.  Also, all of the kids were going with us and when you put 5 children in a new environment you never know what you are going to get.  Before I left the house, so I snapped a picture and said, "Here we go!"

 Brandon sent me a message back saying I looked beautiful and we'd all do fine.  

The girls were all dressed up to go to Daddy's work.  Here they are waiting in line for their smoothie.

Then the boys went in with Daddy.  Isaiah was sleeping so we took turns.  Xander is not wearing flip flops... remember the whole shoe fiasco?  And Solomon is wearing sandals but the gracious owner let them both have smoothies.

When we got to the adoption event, the girls were thrilled to see that there were craft activities set up all around the room.

Here is a picture of Daddy introducing everyone to his boss. 

Jason has a large family too so he was pretty good at keeping up with their names.

Everyone had fun painting.

The girls went to the cupcake decorating station.  The boys did not do this due to food allergies. 

And they did a layered sand art project.  I kept telling them to fill it ALLLLLL the way to the top so that the sand wouldn't shift and the layers would stay neat.  Some listened, some did not.  Such is life with five.

We had some appetizer type foods and the children played some games.  Then we packed up and grabbed their treat bags and headed out.

On the way home, we stopped by Whole Foods to use a giftcard we had.  

It was an excellent start to the weekend. I love the opportunity to chat with other adoptive families.  I loved seeing all the different skin colors.  The girls really enjoyed seeing other families that looked similar to ours. 

There are some rumblings of the company changing their adoption benefits for the better.  Right now they have a $5,000 reimbursement and 12 weeks leave after placement.  (6 paid!) We are eager to see what will happen!

~Stephanie

A Father's Day at Busch Gardens

On Father's Day, Lainey's treat to us was to go downstairs and watch cartoons with the boys and allow us a slow paced morning.  Heart of gold, I tell ya!

I came downstairs and made coffee for the two of us and headed back up to lay in bed and having a Morning Meeting.  We pretty much do this every day that he has off work.  We talk about what we need to do and generally gather our thoughts.

I had the kids come up with their Father's Day gifts and then we asked Brandon what he would like to do.

He thought about .000002 seconds and said, "Let's go back to Busch Gardens."

Alrighty then.

We all set into motion things that needed to be done to go back to Busch Gardens.

And off we went. 

We weren't sure what kind of a crowd to expect on Father's Day, but we figured we would find a way to enjoy ourselves anyway.  And that, we did!

We went though the height check for Julianne, Xander and Solomon and went on our way.  We had some rides on our list that we haven't made it around to.  Brandon wanted to ride some adrenaline junkie type rides.  It was the least I could do to accommodate him.  *sigh*  Tee hee!  We also had some shows on the list for the day. 

This is the paper the boys got with their height bands.  

We walked through some shops and then headed into Celtic Fyre.  None of my pictures turned out in here.  Afterwards, Lainey asked for a picture with the "couple" that was getting married in the show.  They seemed thrilled she asked!  They asked her what her name was and they were excited her name is DeLainey.

After we watched the show, we took the train to the backside of the park.  We hadn't ever gone back there.

The boys were THRILLED.  I interrupted their joy to get a picture.  You can tell just how not into pictures they were at that moment.

Bwahaha.

Then we rode Le Scoot.  I went first with DeLainey and Xander.  Julianne wasn't sure she wanted to ride at all.

Then, we did rider swap and Lainey rode again with Solomon, Brandon and Julianne.

Yes, that is little 3 year old Solomon in front of Brandon... see?

Love it!

We walked through various countries and saw their Food and Wine Festival menus but kept moving.  We were on a mission!  Brandon and I greatly enjoy dark rides and we were bound and determined to go ride the Curse of Darkastle.  It's a dark 3D ride.  I talked the girls into riding with me while Daddy waited in the ride swap area with the boys... And Julianne cried.  She did not like it at all.  It was pretty intense.  Lainey was questioning my sanity about half way through.

But I thought it was lovely!  I didn't want to ruin any of it for Brandon though, so I didn't tell him about it.  We asked the girls if they wanted to ride with Daddy and only Lainey took him up on it.  He had the same scenario that I had.  There are three and they run randomly.  We really want to ride again to see if we can get a different one.

We were all getting pretty hungry and a little hot, so we were excited to see Festhaus in front of us!   Brandon has wanted to eat here for some time so I knew it was a must do for Father's Day.  

This set up is quite interesting.  There are a few different station to choose your food at and then there is a show that takes place on a double sided stage while you eat.

We sat on the back side of the stage and really enjoyed the show.  We split two German sampler platters and a large turkey sandwich.  It was delicious!

 

I couldn't convince anyone to put their head in the barrels.

Next, we wanted to try a rollercoaster!  Brandon chose Verbolten and said for me to go first.  (Awww... so sweet!)  I asked Lainey if she wanted to ride with me since she was tall enough.  She said yes.  We took some pictures in the queue but it went really fast!  Brandon took Julianne, Xander and Solomon on a nearby kiddie ride. 

Lainey had never been on a REAL rollercoaster and she wasn't so sure she liked it.  When the ride took off she said, "I don't like this!"  And being the supportive, kind mother I am, I leaned over and said, "TOO LATE, SWEETIE!"

She survived.  There was a surprise in the ride that we didn't expect and we pinky promised not to say anything to Daddy.  We didn't want to ruin it for him.

When Brandon got ready to go on the ride... guess who went with him?

Yes... that would be Lainey right next to Brandon.  In the FRONT OF THE RIDE!

He was really shocked by the drop in the dark and couldn't believe we both kept it quiet and didn't warn him.

At this point, we headed into Italy.

We walked through some shops and stumbled upon these artisans.  They were thrilled to see a large family.

They were making flowers out of clay.  We stood and watched for quite some time. 

It was amazing to watch.

They talked to us while they were working.

And gave each of the girls a small piece to play with.  Their piece dried before we left the shop.

I took some pictures around the store, while reminding the children NOT to touch a THING! LOL

For Erika:

I didn't even ask the price of this large bunch of flowers.

This one was $19.95.

Another favorite of ours:

They also had pins and earrings.  They were all beautiful.  Julianne forgot at one point that they were made out of clay and she leaned over to sniff some.

The next place we stopped was at this table.  It was a special demonstration for the Food and Wine Festival.  The lady was making Pegasus out of sugar.  It was a sugar sculpture demonstration.  She gave both of the girls a little sample of the claylike sugar that she was using.  (You can see more in the clear bag on the table.)

More amazing landscaping.  I could walk around the gardens all day!

We rode Escape from Pompeii.  It was a water boat ride with some amazing pyrotechnic work inside.  Julianne got scared when the soundtrack said, "PREPARE TO DIE!"   At the end it is a flume type ride and we got a little wet. 

But there are water cannons that people can pay to squirt at you when you are going around the bend at the end of the ride.  And we got SOAKED. 

Julianne and DeLainey rode again with Brandon while I stood with the boys.  Here is my very own Dora the Explorer checking out the map. 

We ate dinner in Ireland but I didn't take any pictures.  We split a few sampler plates again.

Next we went to the Preschool Forest area.  It was deserted.

We met Elmo and the Cookie Monster (who was HUGE!) Isaiah couldn't take his eyes off of him!

And then the kids rode a few kids rides.

Lainey rode with Xander.

Julianne rode with Solomon.

We rode a few more rides (including a kiddie coaster) and then walked back to the front of the park where we each got a treat and ate on the brick steps in front of the Pirate 4D show.  We can't wait to see what they put in it's place.  And then we headed out of the park.

We made great memories and had a ton of fun.  Win, win!

~Stephanie