8.6.12

Paige's new "bookshelves" and painting.s

Pooh's Balloon and The Paper Bag Princess.

Where the Wild Things Are and The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

Guess How Much I Love You.

For a few months now, I've wanted to add some bookshelves to Paige's room.  I kept seeing the "rain gutter bookshelves" on Pinterest and thought I'd give that a try.  After buying everything, I decided I didn't like the idea anymore (shocking).  Another popular idea out there is using IKEA spice racks as bookshelves.  I even had 2 of them in my hands when I went to Calgary with my parents and sister back in May, but put them back.  Arg!  So I figured I'd make my own with the leftover pine I had from the picnic table.  Well....I didn't like how those turned out either - not as smooth as I'd like (MDF would be a better material for that project), so I went back to the rain gutter idea (I can't figure out how to spell eavestrough for some reason, and spell check thinks I mean "breakthrough", hence the rain gutter reference).  Josh helped me put them up - well, Josh mostly put them up because I sucked back a pina colada too quickly and didn't want to use a drill, ha ha. ;)
I still am not terribly keen on them.  The brackets get in the way of the books.  They slope forward, and so the books all tip forward as well.  And you can't really fit that many in there.
I guess when IKEA finally comes to Winnipeg I'll stock up on spice racks. :S

8.4.12

Working on a masterpiece.

Our DIY tent.

Last night Wyatt tagged along with me to Dollarama and was allowed to pick one "treat" - anything he wanted.  He picked glitter paint. ;)
I wasn't able to find another kids play tent around here (we returned our Superstore one that broke twice), so I figured I'd give another DIY a go.  This a-frame tent has been making it's rounds on Pinterest.  One thing is for sure, it was NOT cheaper than buying a tent, mostly because I chose to go with canvas (although I did get it for 50% off).  Total cost was about $35.  And what a pain in the arse to make.  Cutting the wood and drilling the holes for the dowel was no big deal....until I hit a knot in the wood.  Neither of the cordless drills would get through, so I asked Josh for some help with the corded drill.  As he was pushing the spade bit through, the wood broke off (about 6 inches worth) and went flying across the garage - right at the side of my thigh.  I tell ya, that hurt like a SOB.  So I had to go pick up a new piece of lumber, and oddly enough our local lumberyard does not carry 1x2s (I got the others at Rona), but the guy working (who happens to be on the fire dept) offered to rip it down for me.  But, he ripped it to exactly 2 inches, and an actual 1x2 is only 1 1/2" wide.  I had to get Josh to help me again, because I hate using the table saw.  We ripped it down another half inch and were finally good to go.  Until I hemmed the fabric.  The tutorial used elastic loops on the corners to hook around the frame.  With the weight of the canvas, the fabric sagged into itself and would have made a lousy tent.  I had some extra 1x3s in the garage, so we cut those down and screwed them between the posts at the bottom of the tent.  This way I could wrap and staple the fabric nice and taut.
Glad that's done with!  I think it will be a cozy spot to play and read for the kids.

8.1.12

First off, how on earth is it August already???
Tonight the fire department was doing a controlled burn at a farm (an old pig barn), and I got to tag along.  It was really neat to watch.  We're incredibly fortunate to have these guys as our fire department!  Good lookin' bunch, aren't they? ;)

7.29.12

I'd say the xylophone is a hit (ha ha!).  At least with Paige, Wyatt wanted nothing to do with it.  Not surprising.  It's not so loud that it seems to bother him though.
And if you're looking at that computer cord thinking, "Someone's going to trip on that", I can assure you that I have, several times.  Paige just likes to pull the cord out of the laptop.  I'm thinking that storing it in a cupboard 6 ft up might be my best bet, as she has started to climb on EVERYTHING.  Couch, chairs, footstools - if Shrek stayed still long enough, he'd be a victim too.  No fear, this one.

7.28.12

It was a good day today.  We got a lot done - I cleaned the laundry room (even vacuumed out the dryer vent), added a shelving unit for more linen storage (since we have no storage closets anywhere in this house!), and hung a shelf for the detergent, dryer sheets, etc.  Josh shoveled all the dirt and rocks out of the walking path in our backyard - it was more dirt than rocks, and the weeds were out of control.  We'll get more delivered next week. 
Our grass is already growing in where the hot tub once was, the yard looks so much bigger.  Very happy about that decision!

7.26.12

I bought a play tent for the kids on Tuesday.  We set it up in the living room, and all kinds of fun was had until one of the tent poles broke (yeah, you can probably see it happening on the left).  I exchanged it for another one on Wednesday and the new one met the same fate today.  Guess that's what a $12 tent will get you. 

7.26.12

 For a while now, I've been thinking about repainting Wyatt's Cozy Coupe.  It was really faded and grimy.  I figured at the very least I should wash it....but if I'm going to do that, I might as well take the extra few minutes and paint it. ;)
I didn't take a before picture, but everyone knows what a faded Cozy Coupe looks like, right?

Right.  Ours was slightly cleaner.  Very slightly.
So after washing it down, I took the roof off (easy to do, there are two screws at the back behind the seat to unscrew and with a little wrestling it popped right off).  Next time (there will not be a next time, really) I would take it apart and THEN clean it.  The amount of dirt in those crevices was slightly astounding.

I taped off the wheels and steering wheel and sprayed it with Krylon Fusion for Plastic spray paint.  It took 2 cans to cover the roof and only one for the body (most likely because it was the same colour it was originally).  We decided to go with a Fire and Rescue car.  Josh had an extra fire department decal at home, so we used that on the roof, and I used contact paper to cut out "911" and some stripes for the doors.

I added a coat of lacquer to hold the contact paper down a little better, but I already can see the sides coming up after about 2 weeks.  I'll probably get a local sign company to cut some vinyl letters for me that will adhere better.
Since the decals were either faded or gone, I ordered a new set from Little Tikes.  We also ordered the light bar and siren (and a replacement gas cap, since I busted ours when taking it off to paint).  Shipping was free, and it came quickly.  I did have to drill 2 holes in the roof for the light bar, since it is intended for the Ride and Rescue Cozy Coupe, not the classic.  No big deal though, it took about 5 minutes.
Wyatt was thrilled, and I'm sure Paige will love it when Wyatt decides he's too big for it (he already has to coerce his legs in and out of the thing, being that he's almost 40").