Satellite Dad

That's right, I'm going all Shakespere and coining my own phrase/word.  You've hear of the term helicopter mom right?  You know the mom like me that hovers over her child(ren) at the playground making sure they don't chip a nail or nothing in the world "wrong" happens to them.  Well, I think sometimes we could call dad's (and mom's) Satellite Dads.

Yep.  Just came up with the idea today.  Forgive me if you or someone you know has already made up this word grouping - Satellite Dad, but today after getting back from having a girls' day with my daughter it came to mind.  Why?  Well, the boys were left at the house with Daddy.  He's a great daddy.  I couldn't ask for a better man to be the Daddy of our babies.  Let's face it, he's amazing!  But I have to say his parenting style is different than mine in some ways.

For example, we came back to a home with everyone being quiet.  Daddy was outside working on the aquarium.  Wyatt was up in his room playing.  And Waylon was napping.  Then I saw it.  The toilet scrubber on my way to my room.  Then in the back hall almost to my bedroom, I nearly tripped over the plunger.  And finally in the bathroom, the new flooring was laid - toilet paper.

Was anyone hurt?  No.  Was the house peaceful when we walked in?  Yes.  So no complaining here.  But leaning more towards being a helicopter mom, I thought well, Dad's are generally more like a satellite versus a hovering helicopter.  Satellites can see everything going on below; nothing to worry about unless an explosion happens!  Yep, my sweet Satellite Dad!

Photo Board Project... Complete!

Well, after a couple months, I am finished (ok, well, except for touch up paint) with the photo board project.  Remember the Picture Project post a couple days ago about the FREE banged up cabinet I got and had an idea for?  Well, here's the inspiration for the paint used...  This is a picture of some cool mirrors that used to be in a Disney resort.  I got these from a hotel décor salvage warehouse (http://swsurplus.com/) here in Houston.  I painted the mirrors and then had the extra paint leftover and 6 months later used that paint on the photo boards.  (free!  Plus continues my color scheme.)

 

Since the photo boards are at the top of the stairs and a wall of the balcony on the way to the playroom, I wanted the color to flow and connect the spaces...  And...  Here's how the project turned out!

 

 

Tah dah!  Now my kids will be passing by photos of relatives that we don't get to see often and I'll have photos of their baby pictures up all the time.  But if in a couple years I want to rearrange and change some things then no big deal on nail holes being in the wall.  I'll just touch up paint my boards and keep on decorating!  FUN!!!

 

What's some of your favorite ways to display pictures?

Stain Solutions

This will be a weekly post to make stinky stains go away(or at least make them a little less noticable). Check back each week for more helpful tips or add one in the comments below.

 

THE STAIN:

Ink

ON COTTON,LINEN,POLYESTER,ACRYLIC,etc:

Loosen stain with hair spray.  Moisten with 1 tsp dishwashing liquid, 1 qt warm water, 1 Tbs white vinegar (don’t use vinegar on cotton/linen).  Blot.  Repeat.  Let sit 35 minutes.  Rinse; launder. 

WOOL,SILK,ACETATE,SUEDE,LEATHER,FIBERGLASS,RAYON:

Sponge stain with cool water.  Apply hair spray.  Tough stain; Use rubbing alcohol; launder.

WOOD FURNITURE,FURNITURE FABRICS,FLOORS,WALLPAPER,CARPET:

Wallpaper:  Remove with gum eraser.  Tough stain:  Wash with solution of ½ water and ½ rubbing alcohol; blot.

*The above tips are from Family Circus magazine printed 5/12/1998 page 12. TheSmellyArmpit's tip is to BE CAREFUL!

Sewing Machine Table Project

A couple weeks ago I got two car loads of junk for free off craigslist.  Wahooo!  I'm borderline hoarder so this was like striking gold for me. LOL  But in the piles of pure poo where two cool items, a sewing machine table and a coffee table(which I already repainted and sold - yahoo).  Anyway, I like this little table and it's being used(turned around backwards) in my foyer right now.  here's the before being sanded and painted pictures and after being painted... 

Still needs the top drawers(that's why I've got it turned around backwards LOL).  But pretty cute for something temporary in our entrance until the aquarium is ready to go in.

Things Toddlers Say

The  other day we were all playing in the driveway after dinner.  One of our neighbors was out and my 1.5 year old ran up to him.  Oh, I forgot to mention our littlest was only in his diapers.  Living in 100+ heat I just don't see a point in putting him in clothes all the time.  I'll probably look back on this in 30 years and not be surprised if he is living in a nudest community.  Haha(oh, I hope HaHa!). 

Anyway, my neighbor laughed and said, "How did your belly get so big!  Did you have a good dinner?"  And my 1.5 year old just giggled along with him and had a good time soaking up the attention.  Then my 5 year old rode his bike up to us and came to my defense because he thought our neighbor was telling me that my belly was big and he exclaimed, "Mommy has a big belly because we used to live there!  That's why her belly is so big."  haha

Hmmm.  Awkward!  I just laughed so our neighbor laughed and we said see you later.  Um, bye bye!

Dinner Conversation

The other night at dinner my 5 year old asked, "Mommy, what do you want to be when you grow up?"

Me:  "And artist.  What do you want to be?"

5 year old:  "A fish aquariumer"

Me:   "Cool!  3 year old what do you want to be when you grow up?"

3 year old:  "A flower!  And you'll be a flower too!!!"

Me:  "Daddy, what do you want to be when you grow up?"

Daddy:  "I don't know."

3 year old:  "A flower!!!"

Then later I asked what color and she said, "Pink!"

Wordless Wednesdays

(why not to leave fish food can where a 3 year old can reach it...)

Stain Solutions

This will be a weekly post to make stinky stains go away(or at least make them a little less noticable). Check back each week for more helpful tips or add one in the comments below.


THE STAIN:
Ketchup

ON COTTON,LINEN,POLYESTER,ACRYLIC,etc:
Scrape excess.  Use commercial spot remover.  Rinse; launder.  Tough stain:  Presoak with a paste of water and enzyme laundry detergent; rinse; dry, then launder.

WOOL,SILK,ACETATE,SUEDE,LEATHER,FIBERGLASS,RAYON:
Scrape excess.  Use dry-cleaning solvent.

WOOD FURNITURE,FURNITURE FABRICS,FLOORS,WALLPAPER,CARPET:
Wallpaper, painted surfaces:  Wipe excess, then dab with cloth.  Blot with paper towel.

*The above tips are from Family Circus magazine printed 5/12/1998 page 12. TheSmellyArmpit's tip is to BE CAREFUL!

Things Toddlers Say

The other day we were all outside playing in the driveway.  My oldest stopped his bike and looked up in a sparsely cloudy sky.  He was pointed at one of the smallest wispy clouds with lots of blue sky around it. and asked, "Mommy, is that heaven?"

Picture Project!

Ok, I really enjoy getting good deals especially FREE.  That’s right folks!  A couple weeks back, I was cruising Craigslist and found a metal cabinet that was being given away.  So when I went to pick it up, I decided it wasn’t the right size for what the area that it would have been placed, but the lady had a computer printer cabinet she was wanting to get rid of.  I took it off her hands not knowing for sure what to do with it.  Then after busting it into parts thinking that I would just have to put it in the trash, I realized the boards were big enough to use for my picture frame project I had wanted to try.

What’s the picture frame project?  Well, after being married over 15 years, lots and lots of different photos have been accumulated.  I want to display all these different family photos from multiple generations where my kids can see them and be able to recognize family that we don’t see often.  The problem?  I don’t want a million holes in my walls for when I change out photos or rearrange.

That’s where the idea of having a painted board to mount the photos on came from.  I’ve see it done before and wanted to try my hand at this decorating plan.  After pulling out any nails or other stuff, I painted each of the boards with paint I already had from painting accent pieces in the kids playroom – score!  Now I wanted to photo frames to be at least somewhat uniform and changed out about 10 different frames with some inexpensive black ones from a dollar store.  I'm still working on this so I don't have pictures of the completed project but check back soon!

Here’s some before and after photos…

(I had a helper when I took the cabinet apart.)

(Hmmm what is in there?)

 

One board off and a couple more to go!





Here's paint that I used for accent pieces in the playroom where the photo boards will be near.  Score - free paint!

 

 

After taking the cabinet apart and my husband cutting off the edges of one or two and then using wood filler to fill in screw holes, here's the painted boards!

 

Uplifting Song...

I can't remember the name of this song(maybe "How Great is Our God") but have sang along with the worship service of many churches...

"The splendor of the King clothed in majesty, let all the earth rejoice, let all the earth rejoice.

He clothes Himself in light and darkness tries to hide, and trembles at His site, trembles at His site.

How great is our God, sing with me, how great is our God.  Let all the earth rejoice, let all the earth rejoice."

Things Toddlers Say

We recently were watching a Curious George video where a caterpillar was in a cocoon, my little daughter stated, “Oh, ‘ook.  A caterpillar goes into a sleep blanket then becomes a butterfly.”

Study work in Progress

Lately, I’ve been having fun working on furniture and arrangements of our study/hobby room/guest room/art studio/you get the picture.  First, I sold two short glass front bookcases for $100 on craigslist.com.  Oh, how I heart that website. 

Then I found two ridiculously tall bookcases (7 foot) for $40 for the pair – again on craigslist.  SCORE!  And luckily these matched the dresser that was in my oldest’s room that I switched out for an antique that had been his great-great-grandma’s.  So I put my son's dresser between the bookcases along the longest wall and it fit just right with about an extra 3 inches or so.  Woot woot!  Next I took the oak veneer type cheapo bookcase I got on craigslist for about $20 or less and the outside of it and the fronts of the shelves got a quick spray paint of bright red.  I put that in the corner where the dress had been and it is a nice pop of color there.  I also spray painted the wicker bookcase the same way but it’s rounded shape and only available location for it didn’t would out so good.  So I sold this on craigslist too (+$10).

It is so much fun working on this room and coming out ahead about $70 minus the two cans of spray paint.  So I’m thinking of selling the red painted bookcases and getting two matching ones I like that I found on Wally World’s website(you know, the giant retailer’s site).  I like things to balance in rooms like this since this is such a multipurpose room.  Actually, I like things to balance in general.  It may be from all the years of loving to watch Monk. LOL

Things Toddlers Say

After asking my little daughter if she would prefer water or milk in her sippy cup, she replied, “Eew!  Not water.  Water makes me puke.”

Stain Solutions

This will be a weekly post to make stinky stains go away(or at least make them a little less noticable). Check back each week for more helpful tips or add one in the comments below.
THE STAIN:

Grease/Oil/Butter

ON COTTON,LINEN,POLYESTER,ACRYLIC,etc:

Blot, then work petroleum jelly into stain.  Remove jelly.  Place stain between paper towels and press with warm iron.  Flush with dry-cleaning solvent.  Launder

WOOL,SILK,ACETATE,SUEDE,LEATHER,FIBERGLASS,RAYON:
Same
 WOOD FURNITURE,FURNITURE FABRICS,FLOORS,WALLPAPER,CARPET:

Leather, suede, carpet:  Work cornmeal into stain; let sit overnight.  Vacuum.  Furniture:  use shaving cream.  Wipe; dry immediately.  Polish. *The above tips are from Family Circus magazine printed 5/12/1998 page 12. TheSmellyArmpit's tip is to BE CAREFUL!

2 Weeks?!

I know!  Have you missed me???  Oh, don't make me blush, I know ya did. LOL  We've been celebrating birthdays!  Lots of birthdays and one that even involved driving 13 hours to get there.  WHEW!  It was worth it though. 

I'll be posting again soon with Stain Solutions and Things Toddlers Say and all sorts of fun stuff.  Stay tuned!