Proud Mama

We are in our second week of swim lessons and the boys have done amazing. I loved to swim competitively when I was young and really love to see the boys enjoying the water. Holden jumped in the pool the first day and just started swimming after very little instruction. He just finally "got it" and there is no stopping him now. Today he was rocking the crawl stroke and I couldn't have been more proud.
Asher's lessons were more about getting over some of his fears, but by the end of last week he was jumping off the diving board-my cheeks hurt from smiling so much. He was a little distracted all week because he fell in love with his teacher. I'm pretty sure he pretended to not know how to float because he loved the way she held on to him. All my Cincy playgroup moms reading this know how Asher is with the ladies. He'll make lots of excuses to get touched and loved :)

My Suburban Cottage

I do not have my dream kitchen. In fact my kitchen is in no way shape or form anything close to my dream kitchen, but I have learned to live with what I got. Like the boys like to say(as taught to them by their cousins), "You get what you get and you don't throw a fit"-words for me to live by in my little suburban cookie cutter home. Todd and I have been working hard to give this place some personality. We have a very tight home improvement budget(like not 30 thousand dollars) and so our changes are small, but hopefully have a big impact. We added knobs and pulls to the kitchen cabinets and I think they look great. Now, before I go any further I have to give my husband a BIG shout out because he did not want to do this little project, but put on a happy face and drilled away at nearly a million(ok-more like 40) cabinets and drawers. He did them perfectly, and I am happy. On to new flooring(to replace white vinyl-gross) and maybe even a new counter top. Just between you and me I would also like all my appliance to cough and die(although not all at the same time) so I can replace them with shiny stainless ones :)

darn hormones

Say it isn't so-I got a little teary eyed when I opened the teacher assignment letter from Holden's new school. STOP THAT SARAH! I refuse to cry. I have practiced my dance. The big show is only 21 days away and I am ready-emotions don't fail me now. It is no secret that I have waited for Kindergarten to start since Holden was 18 months old, but it could possibly be that I am actually sad(along with overjoyed) that this is about to happen. I think I am just unsure what life will look like exactly with Holden at school all day. He has been our social director for over 5 years and we have all...well...gotten used to that. Things around here are certainly going to be different.

a hometown visit

Kit and Bob came this past weekend for a visit. We had a fabulous time and the kids were absolutely spoiled by them. I can already hear them next summer-When are Aunt Jen , Aunt Kit and the cousins coming? Aunt Kit and the neighborhood gang out for some fun on Saturday night

My sister is one of the most generous people I know. Not only were the kids spoiled with fun toys and lots of love and attention, she always bring gifts for the tired neglected mom :) My favorites are the hand me downs from her closet. I can't wait to inherit the shirt she has on :) She always makes me feel special, and she always asks me how I am feeling which I appreciate because well...I sometimes feel a little forgotten in my household.

We had some trouble getting Uncle Bob off the motorcycle! I'm pretty sure he is shopping for one back home as I type.

ok-here is the table. I am really bothered at how you can see the cord from the lamp on the floor, so I have to get that hidden some how.

I like how the platter turned out. I think it will be cute for dinner parties-you know how I have those all the time :)

Please...as if I could stop at just the table. I antiqued an old wood mirror I had been ready to give to Goodwill. Glad I didn't because I love it. Just a little left over green paint from my laundry room, glaze and it has a new life in the guest room.

9 weeks, 16lbs 9oz, 24 3/4inches, lots of fun!

A How To

I had never "antiqued" anything before so I was excited to read about it on a few blogs and take action on my B.A. white table. It was super fun and easy-you'll need to find something to antique soon :) First I sanded the edges with 150 grit sandpaper. I got a little crazy in a few places(*note-never day dream while sanding), but you can be as conservative or liberal as you like.

On several blogs I read that people like Behr brand Faux Glaze, but I was at Lowes so I picked up what they had. The glaze is clear and takes on the color that you add to it. On the directions it said to add latex paint, but I had acrylic left over from a previous project. The color is coffee bean from Michaels. I think this color looks good over lighter painted pieces, darker painted furniture would probably need a deeper brown.

Here is what it looks like mixed. It said 4 parts glaze to 1 part paint-no measuring for me- I just winged it

I put the glaze on with a damp paper towel. I just glopped it on randomly. I quickly learned you really can't mess it up. I glopped a small area with glaze, waited maybe a few minutes for it to dry a bit and them wiped some of it off with another damp paper towel. In some areas I did that two or three times. I let the gaze collect in the corners and along the edges as much as possible.

It turned out to be a soft antiqued affect(click on the picture to get a better look). I really like it and guess what-I want to antique every white surface in my house now :) I'll post a picture of it in my bedroom soon, along with some other finished projects.