Yesterday my youngest sister, Erin, and I threw a baby shower for our middle sister, Heather. It had a retro them complete with vintage children's books, yarn puffs, old school fabrics and mismatched serving accessories. It was perfect! I can't wait for my brother-in-law, Brandon Chesbro to post the pictures so I can share them with you. I'm high on the success of the party but also, high on the fact that the shower is over. Who knew planning the "perfect baby shower" could be so stressful!
I think things would have gone a lot smoother had the party planning duo not been two ADD, scatterbrained, women. We failed to realize how consuming all the last minute details can be and didn't allow enough time to complete those final tasks. Luckily, our mother recognizes that we inherited those traits from her and came early, along with Heather's sister-in-law, to help wrap things up. My friend, Robin, plans events in the same manner as I and also came early to help out. Our men and my kiddos showed up too. Without them, the guests would be eating out of Tupperware bowls and the only decorations would be a half ironed, white table cloth.
*Side note to all of you people who arrive to the party early: STOP! Stop it right now! If you get to a party 10 minutes early and were not specifically asked to, sit in your car dammit!*
I'd also like to give props to the dear friend with a pink flask full of bourbon. You complete me.
Despite our handicaps, Erin and I, along with the mad crafting skills of our pal, Amy, pulled off a successful shower that Heather could not stop gushing about. Her smile and joy was worth the cussing, crying, nausea, and every single anxiety attack and zit that showed up on my face. Now that's love.
I'd like to end with a tip on how to get two quarts of fruit tea and orange pulp (or child vomit, pee, coffee, etc) out of the floorboard of your car:
Locate a shop vac (beg, borrow or steal if need be)
Vacuum up as much liquid as possible
Mix 1 cup of carpet cleaner (the kind for steam cleaners) with 7 to 8 cups of hot water (can be modified depending on the size of the spill. This was enough for the entire passenger side floor board and the mat)
Pour directly onto the soiled carpet and agitate with your hand (or a scrub brush if your not too lazy, like me, to walk into the house and find one)
Vacuum again until the carpet feels dry or only slightly damp to the touch
Bada Bing Bada Boom, your carpet will be cleaner than it was prior to the spill! I'm thinking about doing this to the rest of my floorboards as it was so ridiculously easily and successful beyond my expectations.
Yee Haw!
Showing posts with label DIY humor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DIY humor. Show all posts
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Thursday, October 27, 2011
OHMYGOSHGUESSWHAT???
Today Nolan is 11 years old. That means that 11 years ago today I was a terrified 17 year old, in ugly maternity clothes, delivering a child with a massive head while my equally terrified, 19 year old, baby daddy looked on wide eyed, attempting to at least feign support but really focusing on whether or not he should burst into tears and run out of the room and down the hall screaming like a kid who just had a bad dream.
Yes, that is the only significance of today. No other reason. I am certainly NOT in awe of how fast the time has flown by or what an amazing little boy my eldest son is. I mean, that would completely take the focus off of me!
Who am I kidding? I'm busting at the seams with pride! Oh Nolan, what a ride it has been!
Now back to me...
This past weekend, I ripped up my living room carpet. All of it. By myself. No one helped me.
Fine. Baby Daddy helped me. But ONLY because he would rather do dirty, nasty, physical labor than attend a party with a bunch of screaming children, running around and hurling themselves from a trampoline....in the dark. I mean, who would want to miss out on that? I LOVE having glow sticks thrown at my head. It's even more fun when one lands in the bonfire you are warming your hands over and explodes....
Alright, maybe that last part didn't really happen. Well, in my head it did, but not in real life. However, I DID dodge a few flaming marshmallows!
Why do kids think if a marshmallow catches on fire the best thing to do is fling the stick around? Baffling....just like Baby Daddy wanting to miss that party.
Anyway, post party, I returned to my carpets gone. Well, not gone. They were on my front porch....because that is the best place to put them. Not in the back....or even the garage, but the front. Right next to the pumpkins.
I gleefully thanked Baby Daddy and gave him a beer for his efforts. I sent him home and the childrens off to the grandparents house to sleep so they would not injure themselves with hammers and exposed splinters. My TV was also unplugged so I had no babysitter. KIDDING!
That night, I stood in the silence of my home and stared at my bare floors happy that the carpet was out, but fearing I had gotten in over my head.
*Side note, the house was not really silent but that sounded better than, "That night, as my dog tap danced across the floor, giddy that his paws now made sounds...."
My fear soon turned to determination. I was tackling a project that several people had tried to talk me out of. I was going to PAINT my plywood sub-floors and they were going to look GOOD!
So, I spent this past weekend inhaling saw dust (thanks to the electric sander Baby Daddy so graciously purchased), covering myself and the floors in wood filler, primer, paint and polyurethane and getting high on the fumes of spray paint...inadvertently of course...because spray painting in the house with all the doors and windows closed is a great idea. Just like the carpet on the front porch.
After several Ibuprofen, some beer, and a side trip to the Haunted Woods, my living room floors are done! And guess what? I LOVE them. ME! Not my mother, not Baby Daddy, not the neighbors. ME. No more decorating the way other people might like. I am doing things the way Brandi likes!!
I have some pictures of the floor that I will show you soon. I'm also excited to share a few other projects I am attempting to tackle. The transformation of my home has only just begun. (And maybe, eventually, the colors of my blog. I'm not loving it.)
OH! And, I bought a reciprocating saw. It was on sale. I cannot promise there will not be holes cut randomly into my walls should anyone visit. I have no control over my creative actions. I don't really know why I even needed the saw...but I wanted it and right now, that is all that matters.
Yes, that is the only significance of today. No other reason. I am certainly NOT in awe of how fast the time has flown by or what an amazing little boy my eldest son is. I mean, that would completely take the focus off of me!
Who am I kidding? I'm busting at the seams with pride! Oh Nolan, what a ride it has been!
Now back to me...
This past weekend, I ripped up my living room carpet. All of it. By myself. No one helped me.
Fine. Baby Daddy helped me. But ONLY because he would rather do dirty, nasty, physical labor than attend a party with a bunch of screaming children, running around and hurling themselves from a trampoline....in the dark. I mean, who would want to miss out on that? I LOVE having glow sticks thrown at my head. It's even more fun when one lands in the bonfire you are warming your hands over and explodes....
Alright, maybe that last part didn't really happen. Well, in my head it did, but not in real life. However, I DID dodge a few flaming marshmallows!
Why do kids think if a marshmallow catches on fire the best thing to do is fling the stick around? Baffling....just like Baby Daddy wanting to miss that party.
Anyway, post party, I returned to my carpets gone. Well, not gone. They were on my front porch....because that is the best place to put them. Not in the back....or even the garage, but the front. Right next to the pumpkins.
I gleefully thanked Baby Daddy and gave him a beer for his efforts. I sent him home and the childrens off to the grandparents house to sleep so they would not injure themselves with hammers and exposed splinters. My TV was also unplugged so I had no babysitter. KIDDING!
That night, I stood in the silence of my home and stared at my bare floors happy that the carpet was out, but fearing I had gotten in over my head.
*Side note, the house was not really silent but that sounded better than, "That night, as my dog tap danced across the floor, giddy that his paws now made sounds...."
My fear soon turned to determination. I was tackling a project that several people had tried to talk me out of. I was going to PAINT my plywood sub-floors and they were going to look GOOD!
So, I spent this past weekend inhaling saw dust (thanks to the electric sander Baby Daddy so graciously purchased), covering myself and the floors in wood filler, primer, paint and polyurethane and getting high on the fumes of spray paint...inadvertently of course...because spray painting in the house with all the doors and windows closed is a great idea. Just like the carpet on the front porch.
After several Ibuprofen, some beer, and a side trip to the Haunted Woods, my living room floors are done! And guess what? I LOVE them. ME! Not my mother, not Baby Daddy, not the neighbors. ME. No more decorating the way other people might like. I am doing things the way Brandi likes!!
I have some pictures of the floor that I will show you soon. I'm also excited to share a few other projects I am attempting to tackle. The transformation of my home has only just begun. (And maybe, eventually, the colors of my blog. I'm not loving it.)
OH! And, I bought a reciprocating saw. It was on sale. I cannot promise there will not be holes cut randomly into my walls should anyone visit. I have no control over my creative actions. I don't really know why I even needed the saw...but I wanted it and right now, that is all that matters.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)