Our "New" Table

Last night we moved our "new" kitchen table into the house. I painted it almost two weeks ago, and then I left it alone to cure before it became a victim of our family. Now that it's in the kitchen, its days are numbered.

We've been through a few kitchen table renovations during our marriage. You can see our original kitchen table here (as well as the different paint jobs it went through circa the early 2000's). In 2010, we got a new kitchen table - our first table straight from the furniture store! (See it here - with my old blue wall). That table was doomed from the start. We'd hardly owned it a minute before it got damaged from an iron and then warped by a water spill. The table top has been chipping apart for years. Scotty planned to build a new table top, and then we wanted to paint the legs and chairs for a little update, but then we were given a table that's a lot better built. 

Here is what it looked like: 

The table is pressed wood with a laminate over it. Ultimately, I don't know how well the paint job will hold up, but I'm hoping we get at least five years out of it. 

I didn't have a specific color in mind - I just knew I wanted something kind of neutral. I'm pretty flexible with projects like this. I ended up buying a quart of Annie Sloan chalk paint in old white and mixing in some gray chalk paint I had leftover from another project. I sanded the table a little bit to help the paint adhere better, and then I slapped on a few coats of paint. 

Since I'd mixed my own color, I ended up not having quite enough, so I had to get clever to make it work. I mixed a little bit of water in the paint and scraped out every drop of it. 

I decided to glaze the table because glaze gives the piece permission to have flaws - and let's face it - a painted table is going to have flaws. I had some tintable glaze leftover from another project, so I mixed in some gray paint that I bought from the mistint selection at Lowe's last year (I buy cheap paint all the time - I can't help it. It's an addiction). I put on a coat of glaze, which was terrifying because I knew the only way to get rid of the glaze would be to start over from square one since I was out of paint. Then I put on four coats of high performance topcoat (also left over from a previous project). 

I wanted to keep my kitchen chairs because I still love them (the scalloped backs haven't gotten old to me yet), but they are a little banged up and needed some updating. I considered a lot of options for paint, and when it came down to it, I'd rather pull out my own teeth than paint my chairs with a brush. We have a paint sprayer, but I would have had to thin the paint to use the sprayer, and it would have taken several coats, plus I would have had to wait for Scotty to come home to help me move the compressor, so I decided to be independent and use regular, old spray paint. 

A word about spray paint: I've used a lot of spray paint in my life. It has its problems for sure - it doesn't always coat evenly, sometimes it runs, it's wasteful on a windy day, and so on and so forth. But for my kitchen chairs, I decided to overlook all of those things because spray painted chairs will be easy to touch up. If someone's button on their pants scratches the paint on the chair, I can just spray it and be done with it. 

I went to the store to scope out the color selection, and I fell in love with Krylon Pistachio with a satin finish (I love the color, and I love the finish). 

I hauled the six chairs outside, gave them a good scrubbing (seriously the worst part), and sprayed them. Then I let them dry and I sprayed them again. Then I let them dry and I sprayed them again. Then I let them dry and I sprayed them again. After three-ish coats of spray paint and a few touch ups, they dried a final time, and then I brought them back in the house. 

They still need a few touch ups. I keep finding spots where the old color is showing through slightly. I bought a few cans of paint yesterday to keep on hand. 

Here is the final product:

It ended up costing about $100. Not bad for a "new" table. 

I'd Do Anything for Love, but I Won't Do That

When Scotty was young, he bought the Meat Loaf CD with the song, "I'd Do Anything for Love." (He got in trouble when his mom found out it has an explicit lyrics warning on it). Scotty loved and still loves that song, but I'm not a fan of his Meat Loaf (nor his Neil Diamond) impression.

At night time, I insist on sleeping with three pillows, like so:

(Although I did make one doodling error- my bottom leg should be straight and not under the pillow).

It's a big deal, and it makes traveling hard because I can't really take three pillows camping, and I can't always have three pillows at a hotel. At home, though, I have to have my three pillows.

The other night, Scotty and I were nestling into our bed for the night, and part of the ritual includes dividing the pillows between us. Scotty sleeps with one regular pillow and a body pillow, so we have to make sure we each have the pillows we need before we doze off. Sometimes this results in some rearranging and negotiating. Our kids frequently steal our pillows to make birds' nests, so it's a normal thing for one of us to ask the other, "Do you have an extra pillow over there?" Our pillow inventory is always messed with. That night, Scotty asked if I had an extra pillow on my side. I looked on the floor, and there was one there, so I threw it at him (another bed time ritual is that if we need to pass a pillow to the other person, we do so by lovingly hitting them in the face with it). Then Scotty said, "Wow! Did you just sacrifice one of your pillows for me?" (because he didn't see that I'd picked it up of the floor).

I said, "Psht! No!"

And then I began to sing in my best Meat Loaf voice...

"I'd do anything for love... but I won't do that!"

Because I love him dearly, but I will not surrender one of my pillows. I will fold a blanket and stick it in a pillowcase for him. I will steal a pillow from under a kid's head while they sleep, but I will not give Scotty one of my three.

No. I won't do that!

Ta Da Before Ten

With the kids being out of school for the summer, I'm way behind on everything. I start a lot of tasks, but I can't finish any of them because my kids need me. I'll be trying to load the dishwasher, balancing Pyrex on my head and whatnot while my hands are covered in rotten mystery substances, and one kid will be screaming from the bathroom for me to wipe her butt while another is pulling on my legs asking for milk. All of this happens as if the existence of the world depends solely on me accomplishing butt wiping and milk pouring simultaneously. Unfortunately, I'm not able to do both at once - try as I might - and the kid I attend to second usually tries to tear my face off with her teeth.

I've started asking Scotty to occasionally take the kids somewhere after work. I realized it's not super helpful for me to leave to get a break, I need them to leave. I need to be in my living space without them so I can be productive. Earlier this week, Scotty took all the kids to Nickelmania, and I stayed home and worked on laundry. When they came home, I felt like I'd accomplished very little. I had big dreams of getting a lot more stuff done, but there just isn't enough time to get caught up during one Nickelmania trip.

Remember how I want my super power to be having my crap together? Part of that super power would include being caught up on stuff. What does it feel like to be all caught up? To be on top of things? I want that! Gimme some of that!

Anyway, sorry about the whine fest. Here's what I'm getting to: Last night my kids slept over at my in-laws. I was there with them until about 9:30. I got home around 10:00 and went to bed. My goal was to wake up at 6:00 and go to breakfast with Scotty for about an hour, then come home and be super productive until I had to pick my kids up at 10:00.

The breakfast thing didn't work out. I ended up waking up at 1:00, and I didn't go back to sleep until 4:00. Then from 4:00-6:00, I woke up around every 20 minutes. When I saw that it was 6:00-ish, I thought, "To heck with breakfast," and I went back to sleep until 6:30. It was too late to go before Scotty had to leave for work unless we went to somewhere like McDonald's... which, nah! I can go to McDonald's with my kids any time. This was supposed to be a chance to go somewhere I don't get to go.

After Scotty left for work, I set out to accomplish as much as possible before 10:00 a.m. A couple months ago, I wrote about how I sometimes make "Ta Da" lists to help me recognize that I actually do get some stuff done during the day - it just never feels or looks like it.

Here is what I did before 10:00 today:

• Made bed
• Started load of laundry
• 15 minute kitchen blitz*
• 5 minute bathroom blitz
• Flat ironed hair
• Cleaned out van
• Took out garbage
• Watered garden
• 10 more minutes in kitchen
• Changed laundry
• Read scriptures
• Worked on singing time for next three weeks
• Went to Walmart
• Went to Dollar Tree

It feels like nothing, yet it is something. It just wasn't enough to get caught up. One thing remains true: I still don't have super powers. 

When my kids got home, they were acting like a bunch of angry wildebeests so I made them all go to bed. They slept for about three hours. It was wonderful! What did I accomplish during this time?

• Nap

*I really do set a timer.

It's Officially Summer (and ten other random facts)

Fact #1: Even though summer break began before Memorial Day, I kept reminding myself that it wasn't actually summer yet. Now it really, truly is summer - both according to the school calendar and by solstice. My new reminder is, "Don't complain about the heat. It's only June. It's going to get a lot worse."

Fact #2: I don't do well with heat. I'm a big, sweaty woman. Church is particularly hard because it's always really hot in the chapel, so I wrestle my four kids for an hour in the pew, and then I have to go do a circus performance for the primary for two hours. By the end of church, I usually smell like a dumpster, my back is soaked from my sweat, and my hair is starting to curl underneath.

Fact #3: Maybe our wards shouldn't be divided by geographical location. It would be much wiser to divide us by what temperature we want the thermostat. Please put me in the 65 degrees ward.

Fact #4: We celebrated the first day of summer by taking a day trip to Bear Lake with my friend and her kids. It was adventurous and involved drifting kayaks, lost paddles, pop-up shade canopies flying in the wind, and car keys being locked in the trunk but then not actually being locked in the trunk (it was a day of rescue missions).

The good news is that we all made it home safe, and we brought home enough sand in our clothes to fill a sand turtle.

Fact #5: Today Eva decided that she doesn't like our toilet paper. Of all the things for a three-year-old to have an opinion about! This resulted in her crying for over an hour, and if anyone asked her why she was crying, she would say, "I hate that kind of toilet paper! Hmph!"

Fact #6: I am barely keeping afloat this summer (figuratively and literally - as I've never been a good swimmer, and I sink like I have a butt full of lead). I'm tired and overwhelmed all the time, and I can't help but wonder how this time last year I was responsible for all the things I am now, plus I was taking three classes and doing an internship. Surely I was a basket case, but I don't remember. I've apparently blocked it from my memory.

Fact #7: Fortunately, I am feeling a little better emotionally.

Fact #8: Over the weekend I painted my friend's front door.

And umm.... she's out of town.

Aaand she doesn't know.

And... oh my gosh... what have I done?

Fact #9: I've said it before, and I'll say it again - there is something deeply satisfying about spraying my kids with the hose.

Fact #10: Eva has never been comfortable in water, but this year, she has taken some pretty big steps toward water fun. She played in Bear Lake last week, which was pretty surprising. Then over the weekend, she got in my mom's pool with me, and then she let me get out and leave her in. Then last night, she floated in a pool with a life jacket for about two hours. This is huge!

The Good Day

Yesterday was a big day for me. It was the first day in a long time that I haven't felt sluggish and "down." I had one day last week where I didn't feel "down," but I still felt sluggish. Yesterday I hit the jackpot because I felt neither. I slept decent the night before (I've had a hard time sleeping lately), and I woke up early and went for a walk. I came home, and I didn't crawl back in bed. I ran some errands and took my kids to piano. We went to lunch and gott stuck in a bizarre hailstorm that I was pretty sure signaled the end of the world (if it happens this week, you can be all, "Whoa! Britt wasn't kidding!") Then we went to a paint store.

Scotty and I were given an old, sturdy kitchen table a while ago. I hoped to paint it, but the task felt impossible. Yesterday I finally had the energy and motivation to do it. I camped out in my backyard and did two coats of paint, a coat of glaze, and four layers of top coat. Then I painted my front door with a sample of paint that I found on the markdown rack at Lowe's. My front door has been black for about 10 years, and it was due for a new coat of paint. In all honesty, I think black is probably the most "flattering" color for my house, but for less than two bucks, it was worth trying something fresh and new. It's now a light blue-ish gray. I'm still trying to decide if it "works." It's a quick fix if I decide I don't like it - that is, if I have the energy to paint it again.

All of the painting got done after I spent two hours with my kids at Scheel's. We stopped by for ice cream (if you are ever driving that stretch of I-15 and need a treat, soft serve ice cream at Scheel's is priced just right. You can get a "kid cone" that is bigger than a normal sized cone at most fast food places for only $.79. And they have all those icky syrupy flavors to choose from, or they have traditional vanilla, chocolate, and twist. You might also want to try the scotcheroo cookie if you are a peanut butter and chocolate fan) (they were out of scotcheroo cookies yesterday, which I'm pretty sure is just one more piece of evidence supporting my theory that the world is ending). We ate our ice cream, played on the putting green, looked at the fish, made a few trips to the bathroom, and rode the Ferris Wheel of Death (I spend the whole time imaging myself dying on the ride, but it's not as bad as the Sky Ride of Death or the Wild Mouse of Death at Lagoon).

It's been a long time since I've been able to do that much in a day. I hope this means my anti-depressants are starting to kick in. I still have an underlying fear that they aren't going to help, but it will be so nice if they do!

So far today I don’t feel “down,” but I am really tired. It’s probably because I stayed up really late doing important things like distressing my front door, eating chees and crackers, and watching Gilmore Girls. Then I got up at 6:00 and went to Walmart to buy important things like milk, spray paint, and bendy straws. I’m okay with being tired if it’s the result of those things. It’s much better than being tired without explanation, like I have been for the past couple of months.

All the Springs

Over the weekend we went on a little vacation to Lava Hot Springs with Scotty's family.

This I know for sure: I am addicted to mini vacations. I love heading out for a quick 1-2 night stay. This is our fourth mini vacation in six weeks. In that time we've been to Park City & Vernal. We went camping, and now we've been to Lava Hot Springs.

We began our journey early Friday morning. We took a longer route and went through Logan and stopped at Willow Park Zoo. I usually take my kids there every summer, but Scotty has never been, so it was fun to go with him. 

The zoo is tiny and mostly has birds, but it's cute, affordable, and has a petting zoo and some unique animals like this white porcupine:

We bought the kids some duck food, and they had a great time feeding the "teenager" ducks. There were also a few young babies around.

Baby ducks are one of the best things on earth.

Another one of the best things on earth? Goats. Oh my gosh, I love them.

One of the funniest moments at the zoo was when Nicky was trying to get close to a goat so I could take a picture, and the goat was totally annoyed with him and head butted him to the ground. Nicky laid there in the goat poop trying to process what just happened. There was no success with Nicky and the goats. The goats were not impressed by him, and they let him know. He had more than one failed attempt to get a photo. 

Scotty, on the other hand, was buddy-buddy with this sheep that kept untying his shoes.

During our zoo visit, I learned something new about myself. The long necks of swans freak me out.

    

When they are fully extended, it makes me very uncomfortable. But not as uncomfortable as star fish.
After the zoo, we played at the nearby park for a while. Then we went to Gossner's and bought some cheese curds. The kids and I ate lunch at the Crepery. Scotty held out for Big J's/Tacomaker because he wanted to relive his childhood with a plate of Tacomaker's nachos. It's the last Tacomaker in the state, but there used to be one right by one of Scotty's grandpa's produce stands. 

Big J's was featured in Napoleon Dynamite, so they have a big Napoleon Dynamite display on their wall. We just watched Napoleon Dynamite a few weeks ago (after a very long break from it). We passed through Preston, Idaho so we decided to drive by Napoleon Dynamite's house. Sadly, the road was all torn up and inaccessible, so we couldn't get very close, but it was fun to see - ever from afar.

In Preston we stopped at Niter Ice Cave. The cave is really big which means this non-adventurous, claustrophobic mama was willing to go inside. The problem was, it was very muddy, and I didn't wear good shoes, so I was slipping and sliding all over the place. It was really, cool, though (figuratively and literally).

From there we headed to Soda Springs where we stopped at Formation Springs Cave. This cave had a small opening, which made me nervous, but once I looked down inside, I felt a lot better. It opened up at the bottom, so I went in. There were spots where we had to duck down, but overall, it was pretty spacious and had some holes in the top to let in light and air. The best part? No mud!

We also stopped at some springs near the cave. This little stream was pretty neat. The bed is rock.

After our cave visit, we went to Hooper Springs Park to check out the soda pool. 

We sampled the soda water, and it was just as gross as we assumed it would be. Some of our family made the observation that it tastes like blood. Heavy on the iron, I guess.

The playground at Hooper Springs Park was a lot of fun. It's rare to find a good teeter totter these days. Unfortunately, the mosquitos were very thick and apparently seeking some sort of revenge on mankind. Even after we sprayed ourselves, they were biting us like crazy. We have two kids that are allergic, so we had to bail. 

From there we went to see the Soda Springs Geyser and Octagon Springs (which our kids lovingly named "the toilet seat" because it is shaped like a toilet seat).

In the evening, we arrived at our destination: The School House Inn. It's an old school that has been converted into a rental. It has several bedrooms, a large kitchen, and a gym. It's old, but it was pretty cool... and I didn't take a single picture there!

We stayed at the school with Scotty's dad and step-mom and some of his siblings. That night we just hung out and had a campfire. 

On Saturday we went into town and spent most of the day at the Lava Hot Springs Pool. The kids loved it. We also stopped by the hot pools and walked through the Sunken Garden. 

Back at the school, we had a BBQ and then stayed up late playing games. A good chunk of the family left Saturday night, but we stayed until Sunday. 

On Sunday we went back to Hooper Springs Park and then we drove home through Bear Lake. 

It was a fun trip, and our kids are already asking when we can go back. 

Summer So Far

Here we are at the end of the second week of summer break. We've come so far... but as my friend KoriAnn kindly reminded me, we still have 72 days to go.

As of today we've gone swimming 92 times, eaten at McDonald's 24 times, ridden bikes 17 times, and visited the library 8 times.

I've broken up 182 fist fights (and ignored the same number), sent my kids to bed early 21 times, and medicated 32 mosquito bites.

Okay, maybe I exaggerate a little bit. We've only been to the library 7 times.

I have been incredibly tired for the past few weeks. I get up around 5:30, and then I go back to bed from 7:00-9:00 while my kids run wild. There's only been one weekday so far that I haven't done this.

Despite this horrible fatigue, I've managed to get dressed and do my hair every day this week. Can I get a woot woot? Cuz this ain't normal.

Zoe started swimming lessons, so I've been taking her to the pool every day. She insists on wearing goggles, and she calls them binoculars.

Nicky saved his allowance and bought a putting green off Amazon. My living room has been covered in golf balls since Tuesday, and my kids have been beating each other over the heads with putters.

As summer break began, Eva quickly realized that she no longer has moments of being the only child at home. She really struggled for that first week, but she has gotten better. On an unrelated note, she keeps handing me boogers.

Nicky is obsessed with the song, "Feel It Still," and he found a YouTube video that's a five-hour loop of it. I think it was pretty amazing of me to make it through 33 minutes before I made him turn it off.

Last weekend we went camping, and we had a lot of fun. On Friday I got a notification that a package had been delivered to our mailbox. Luckily we weren't very far away. We had to come home and get it because there was stuff in it that would melt (and no one else has a key to our mailbox). Scotty was glad we got to go home because he wanted to get more rope.

While we were camping, he built a zipline, a rope bridge, and a swing. The kids spent hours and hours playing on the ropes. It's pretty funny when you look all over and can't find your husband because he's up in a tree with his rope.

I took my turn on the rope.

We got home on Sunday, gave everyone a deep cleaning, and ended up having an impromptu BBQ at my in-laws'.

Nicky got his "bald haircut" last week, so he has been a happy boy. I don't have the heart to tell him that I'm going to make him grow hair for my brother's wedding at the end of July. He'll be furious. But I'll let him shave it off again after.

For the past week, we've been bird sitting. We have two parakeets, and some friends of our were heading out of town, so they brought their parakeet to stay at our house. The three birds talk to each other all day. Now our friends are going to have to either get their parakeet a girlfriend or bring him over everyday for play dates.

Two weeks down. Ten to go.

My Five

You might have heard the quote from motivational speaker Jim Rohn that states, "You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with."

If this is true, I'm in trouble because I spend a lot of time with tantruming toddlers who poop their pants.

Today I've been thinking about who my five people might be (outside of my family).

Who is influencing me, and in what ways? But more importantly, whose "five people" do I belong in, and how am I influencing them?

If I am one of your five people, I probably owe you an apology. Chances are, I have turned you into an overeating, poorly dressed gossip. The good news is, you now do all your shopping at the DI. The bad news is, your food budget just tripled, and you have philly cheese steak stains on your shoes.

BUT...

Maybe I'm the way I am because of my five people.

So who's really to blame here?

Sounds I Do Not Like

My husband's hiccups

Chittering squirrels

Fingernails scratching dry skin

The glugs my children make when drinking

Anybody talking to me while I'm trying to think

Mucus movement

Alarm clocks

Any kind of repetitive tapping or knocking

Loud cars

Mourning doves cooing