Lasso The Moon

Old Rusty Sign

A couple months ago I was at a flea market with some friends, when I came across a huge rusty sign for $40.

I sent this photo from my phone to Donnie to see what he thought.

He sent me a text back that said "I love you more than life...do what you want." Or something similar that gave me the green light to bring it home.

It's pretty rusty and damaged on that one corner, but I LOVE the orange color.  I think my house needs more orange.

So I brought it home.  Or I should say, my friend Katie brought it home, carefully balancing on top of her SUV's back seats, and praying she didn't have to stop fast...the sign is about 4'x6'.  (Thanks, Katie! I'm so glad you got home safely!)

I hung it up in my dining room, on three huge picture hooks.  The wall is just a little bigger than the sign, so it's framed out nicely.

But when I hung it up, hundreds of rust flakes rained down on me, the carpet, and the dining room table.  So gross. I liked where it was, but in order to do it right, I was going to have to take it down and change some things up.  And paint that brown wall!  (I'm determined to eradicate the last tiny patch of that color from my house.  I'm sick of it!!)

I had about a gallon of paint left over from painting the  hallway, but that wasn't going to be enough.  I also don't like the idea of having a bunch of rooms in exactly the same color, but I do like it when they are close.  And I have a pretty small house, so the wall colors need to work well together.

I added a quart of "Granite Boulder" to my gallon of "Delicate Mist ".

It added just enough grey to the color. 

I'll call it "Delicate Boulder."

Bye bye, brown walls!

So much lighter and cooler.  We need all the cool we can get in TX, and with only a few (8) windows in our house, any extra light reflection is welcome, too.  Plus, isn't there just a great feeling when you change something in your house?  I need more of that feeling.

You can see the TORO sign is laying face down on the dining table.

Don't ever lay a rusty sign face down on your wood table without a thick layer of padding underneath.  I know...

I took the sign outside and set it face down in the grass.  I swept off the rust flakes on the back.  There was a lot of loose rust.  Then I assembled a few supplies.

1. A big cardboard box, cut open so it would lay flat on the back of the sign.  2. Duct tape. 3 Rustoleum matte clear spray sealer.

I sprayed the rusty back side of the side with the sealer, just to stick most of the rust where it was.  There was still some flaking in the end, but nothing like before.  If I wanted a perfect seal, I would have sprayed a couple layers of sealer, but in this case, imperfect was okay since I was about to cover it up.

Then I centered the flattened cardboard box on the back of the sign and duct taped it in place.  Again, this was not perfect.  The tape started to pull away in a couple places, but I pressed it back down.  The purpose of the cardboard was to keep most of the rust from rubbing onto my newly painted wall, so this would do exactly that.

Next, for the front of the sign.  It was a little bit nasty.  I had things on it like this spider nest.

And super-rusty flaking paint.  I didn't mind the look of the rust so much, but any flaking paint would be dangerous to have in the house.  Kids love to eat stuff like that.

So again, I swept the sign with a broom to get off the big flakes.  Then I sprayed sealer on the entire front of the sign.  One note about the sealer--it wasn't perfectly matte.  It darkened the orange paint and left a tiny bit of shine on the surface.  So keep that in mind if you use it for your project.  But it did the job well, and when I picked up the sign to take it inside, the powder coating didn't rub off on my hands like it had before.  I call that success.

Donnie helped me hang it up in the dining room.  He drilled a hole straight through the hole and into the wall.  Then he placed some drywall anchors and screwed the sign securely into them. 

 I like it.

There are lots of other projects calling out to me in this room.  The light fixture above the table has never made sense.  Why is it so high?  I have a couple ideas I'm throwing around for that, but if you think of one, send it my way!  The curtains are leftovers from the old house.  They worked better there.  And we need some new pillows for the couch.  And since this room has no storage (other than the very full trunk/coffee table), I'm going to have to get a little creative with that.  But this is an on-going process.  For now, I'm so happy just to have the sign up!

 linking to: SSS

Galveston 2012 - pt 2

 The ferry to the mainland. 

Esther kept eating the bread we brought for the birds.

 

A real ice cream truck!

I had to get something with bubble gum eyes.

We explored an old fort-turned-park.  Esther was fearless.

Back on the ferry we spotted some dolphins!

Esther was just a tiny thing last time we went to the beach.  These are her first steps in the sand.

I think she liked it.

Building sandcastles

A couple tips for visiting Galveston in August:

::Stay away from the beach until about 3-4pm.  When the sun isn't so high, there is much less chance of sunburn.  And the light is gorgeous in the evening.

::Most people visit the West Beach, where all the restaurants are.  We like the East Beach.  There are fewer people, and the views are beautiful.

::Visit Murdoch's for some refreshment and great views. This was my favorite stop of the week.

::The ferry is free, and the kids love it!  Try not to throw bread so that it lands on the cars below.  Especially if there are people in those cars.  We know.

::Go during Shark Week (Discovery Channel).  Somehow, our beach trip always coincides with Shark Week.  We love it! (Our humor runs a little dark...) We spend the afternoons at the beach, grab some dinner, and then go back to learn about sharks facts, shark attacks, and shark myths.  We can't get enough.  Donnie and I even rented Jaws after the kids went to bed.

::Kites are really easy to fly on the beach.  We bought a real one--an easy flier--and it popped up in seconds.

::Last year we stayed at the Hilton, and this year we stayed at a little dive called the Beachcomber.  Honestly, I liked the dive just fine.  We saved some money. They had continental breakfast, free WiFi, washer/dryer, fridge and microwave in the room, and great air conditioner.  The Hilton nickled and dimed for everything, so this was kind of a relief.  But the Hilton's pool was way better.

Have you gotten away for some family time this summer?  Where did you go?  Do you have tips for traveling with little ones?

Galveston 2012 - pt 1

 

Ethan's first taste of shrimp

Kites

 

Amazing sunsets

Since Donnie is out of town for 4-5 weeks each summer, we try to get away for some family time as soon as he gets back from his last trip of the season.

We went to Galveston again this year, since we had such a great time last year. It's about 5 hours from Dallas, which seems like a long way--if you're not from Texas!  We're used to driving for hours and hours, and still being in the same state. 

Galveston makes a good destination for a couple of days.  The beaches have soft sand, and they're not over crowded this time of year.

 

We are not JUST about Haitian baby dolls around here -- just mostly

Just wanted to reassure you that there have been a few non-baby-doll happenings around here.  We have actually been making some great progress on our big summer list.

Sprinkler Park

The Chihuly Exhibit at the Dallas Arboretum

If you live in or near the Dallas area, please take the time to check out this exhibit.  We loved it, even though it was super hot at 10am and most of my pictures turned out like this:

Some antiquing:

And I have to share this pretty bowl of home-grown eggs from a friend:

That promptly became breakfast-for-dinner-french-toast. Yum!

So, yes.  We have been doing a little more than making and collecting baby dolls this month.  But not much more.  And if you have some dollies to send in, be aware that the deadline is only 5 days away!  I'm starting to get some in from other locations, and I'll share some of them tomorrow.

 

 

Birthday Trip to NYC

My 32nd birthday is this Saturday, but Donnie treated me to an early gift.

He took me (and the littlest E) to the big city--totally on a whim!

My friend Amanda lives there, so we had a great place to stay.  For three days we saw the sights, explored the neighborhoods, and ate the food of New York City.

What a fun time we had!  It's a little tricky navigating the city with a baby, but I felt like I was getting the hang of it by the time we left! I would go back any time.  If you are thinking of taking a baby to New York, it might be worth your time to research restaurants that have highchairs.  Most do not.

This was the first trip Donnie and I have taken together (outside ministry) since our honeymoon, almost 9 years ago.  Now that I have a taste for it, we will not be waiting so long before the next one.

Thank you, Donnie!  I feel so spoiled!

 

 

 

 

Weekenders

Donnie took Esther and me for a little weekend outing to celebrate my birthday.

Can you guess where we went?

More pictures to come~

 

"BEE MINE" A Valentine's Class Party

Here are a few shots of the party my sister Abby and I threw for our kids' pre-school class last week.

The theme was "Bee Mine".  Our colors were yellow, pink, black, and white.  I thought the theme was fun for girls, but also not too lovey-dovey for the boys.

The refreshments were simple. Jarritos are my go-to party drink.  They are gorgeous, but FULL of sugar, so we only poured a small amount into the party cups.

We filled the heartsy bags with a chex-mix recipe that you can find here.

We printed out the labels from Bird's Party.  So perfect for our theme!

Besides the printables, we only needed a few other decorations. The huge pink pom was left over from Emma's birthday.  Yes, it has been hanging in my house since November.

The ruffle streamers were easy, fun, and cheap.   I love those things! You take two colors of crepe paper streamers and sew them together side-by-side. They ruffle automatically. Instant custom decoration! 

There's a great tutorial by Dana at Made.

The balloon decor was added by Abby's husband Greg, who does some clowning as a hobby. It's nice to have some talent in the family.

We had ten kids to entertain for a whole hour, so we had to come up with a couple games. The first was "bee ping pong."

The paddles are paper plates with tongue-depressors hot glued to them.  We drew flowers on the plates and told the kids to help the bee fly from flower to flower collecting pollen.

My sister is going to kill me for this picture.  She's the tall bee with the green scarf.

The kids LOVED this game and played it for more than ten minutes, when we had to shut it down and move on.  It was funny watching a "queen bee" personality emerge from the group and take the lead.

For the next game we sat in a quiet circle while I sang a Valentine Song that was also a guessing game.  They had to guess who my valentine was.  The song is to the tune of "Muffin Man".

Oh, do you know my Valentine, my Valentine, my Valentine

Oh, do you know my valentine? He's wearing a (insert clue here..ie red shirt.)

I made the clues super-easy and they all guessed right away.  I made sure I gave each one a turn to be my Valentine, and then sang the song a few more times, letting each child insert her own clue for the others to guess.  This was another successful game, and we had to cut it off for time reasons.

The Bee Crowns that the kids are wearing was one of our simple crafts.

Start with super-heavy duty construction paper.  I did not know there was such a thing until I bought it on accident, but it is WONDERFUL!  Almost as stiff as cardstock, and less that $2 for a pack of 50 sheets.

We hot glued white pom poms to black pipe cleaners before the party.  Then cut the paper in half long-ways and staple both pieces together in a long strip. Before the party, punch two holes in the front of the crown.  The kids can add the antennae (with help) and decorate with stickers. 

When they are done, measure it to their heads and staple or tape to fit.

For the second craft we made valentines inspired by these on Katie Did.

To prepare, we cut out the hands (the heavy construction paper again!) and glued them to the paper, leaving the pointer finger free.

We gave each child a square of white cardstock and a choice of hearts to decorate with crayons.

Then we went around and taped them up like puppets.

We couldn't do a bee party without a great party favor, so we made up 10 sets of my "cutting board" wings to give each little bee.  They really could not be any easier. I cut them all out, and Donnie drilled the holes through them all at once.  It might have broken my hand to use the hole-punch that many times on that stiff material.  Then we made t-shirt yarn from three youth tees that we found a the dollar store. In all, each set of wings cost about $.60.  You cannot beat that!!

We let the kids decorate their wings, too.  You can't get too many stickers!

If you are planning a class party soon, here are a couple of tips:

1. Enlist a planning partner.  Abby and I tag-teamed everything from the planning to the games.  She made the snacks; I hung the decorations. I finished a craft; she started the next game.  Even planning was a cinch with two of us working together.

2. Search the internet for ideas and pin everything you find to pinterest.  Make sure you and your partner follow each other's boards, and tag every idea you like so you can  communicate.  Abby and I only needed one phone meeting and a couple hours face-to-face to complete everything. We both have little babies at home, so this was huge!

3. Over-plan.  You never know if a craft or a game is going to be a hit with little ones, so be ready to change course fast if something isn't working.

4. Make a list of tasks, cross them off, and pack everything to be transported as soon as it's done.  It's a bummer to work so hard and leave a major piece at home on the kitchen counter!

4. Have fun!  Remember, most of the details are for the enjoyment of the adults, not the kids.  All they want to do is run around and eat treats.  If something wasn't perfect, don't sweat it.  The kids will remember the fun, and that's all that matters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Halloween 2011

Did you have a fun time?

We did.

The kids wouldn't let me choose a family costume theme this year, but I hung in there.

About halfway through I realized that no theme meant more out-of-the-box thinking for momma.

That's a good thing.

So here they are!

The black Angry Bird.  Or as Emma called him, the bomb-dot-com.

Violet, from The Incredibles.

Baby Bee...

...and her beehive! (She doesn't get to say whether she's part of a theme.)

In action at our church's "trunk or treat"

I'll be adding tutorials for all of these in the next couple days.  I remembered to take pictures of the trickiest steps, especially the sphere form for the Angry Bird costume.  I know it's too late for this year, but who knows when you might need a costume, right?

See you soon!

--Anna

 

Maternity Session

 

Last week my sister, only one week away from her due date with her second child, asked me to take some maternity pictures of her "before it was too late".  I am no photographer.  I only have a point-and-shoot camera, and I don't even own any editing software.

But naturally I said, "Of Course!"

And went straight to pintrest for ideas.  Search "pregnant" or "maternity" for some good results.

Here are a few of our favorite shots, many of which are inspired by those on my pintrest pinboards!

Thanks, guys, for letting me be a part of this!  So much fun!

Spending some time...

In a patch of sunshine

 

A welcome break from this week's chilly rain.