How I Made My First Million…Almost

At the beginning of summer, just before school let out, I had a moment of genius. These moments are rare so I tend to brag about them. While having the kids home had some perks (like fetching me a drink or the tv remote), I wasn't looking forward to weeks of whining, complaining, and declarations of deadly boredom. Usually, I'd just ignore them until I ran out of chocolate patience. Then the yelling stern reprimands would suck all the fun out of vacation. For all of us.

There had to be a better way.

Then I got an idea. It was so simple that I was surprised someone hadn't already created these and had them mass produced in China.

Behold, the Busted Jar.

An old mason jar with a slot in the lid, an overuse of colored fonts on my computer, some tape, and voila! The kids were totally busted. And I was gonna get rich one nickel at a time.

The week the Busted Jar was implemented, I gave each child a dollar's worth of nickels as part of their allowance. I explained the purpose, went over the "banned phrases," and reiterated that fines would be due immediately. And should we not be at home, I kept a tab for them, due as soon as our car pulled into the garage.  But we had plans for summer, they insisted, and season passes to the water park. Surely they wouldn't owe me a cent, because they would be having too much fun!

Ah, the follies of youth.

Here's a few of the "banned" phrases:
I'm bored.
What can I do?
That's/It's not fair!
Pleeeeeeeeeeeeease?
This is boring!
There's nothing to do.
Awwwwwwww (in a super whiny voice).
Aldo banned? Saying "no" or asking "why?" in response to a request.

Did you get a good look at the pictures? Did you notice that along with the nickels, there are dimes, quarters, and even a dollar? That was after two weeks. TWO. WEEKS. This was gonna be awesome.

Then something strange happened. They stopped whining! By the end of the first month, the two older kids were no longer getting busted. Baby still had issues but hey, she's three. I must say, we all had a much better summer vacation. With a lot less whining and yelling.

Now that school is back in session, I've kept the Busted Jar on the counter.

Just as a reminder.

Homeowner's Policy

Shortly after we moved into our house, the local waste disposable company invested in a new truck. This one has a big ol' claw that grabs the cans and dumps them. The driver doesn't need to leave the vehicle.

However, this was a new process and the worker assigned to our route was still working out some of the bugs.

His first time picking up our trash can, he crushed it.




The can wasn't a total loss. The back was cracked in several places but it still held together. For a while. The sections of plastic started breaking off. It took a couple years, but eventually the entire back of the trash can was missing. When the stray cats started feasting on our garbage, it was time to take things seriously.

This isn't just your typical patch job. Oh no. Nothing but the best for our trash can. Three layers of card board wrapped the back. Then a whole lotta duck tape. Seriously. See that? That can wasn't losing any more trash. Not on my watch. Surely this fix was going to last forever! Or at least until we moved out of the house.


One month later...

Duck tape just isn't what it used to be.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes!

I've been feeling the need to make a few changes around here lately. Some of those changes involve LED lighting in interesting locations.

Others are caused by frogs.

I like them. I wonder how long it will take for the Man to notice. I did these things while he was out of town...kinda like when I let Boo get a hamster. While he doesn't exactly fear change, the Man really resists it. Especially changes in things that he doesn't really care about, like curtains and wall paint. Or the kids' bathroom. But I feel these changes are necessary. After all, this is our house. We're not renting or house-sitting or squatting. So why not make it into a place where we'd like to live?

My very next post will be #600. Of course, that doesn't include the ones I've deleted...but still. Quite the milestone. I probably won't celebrate it. Well, maybe just a little. With chocolate. Keep an eye out for a review/giveaway to come!

What changes do you want to make in your house?

Bug Bites

I was bitten by the crafty bug yesterday. It's been a while since this guy has gotten close enough to sink his teeth in...

There was something I've been wanting to make something for Boo. I've seen similar items at craft shows and such but they always seem pretty pricey for what you're getting. Yesterday's craftiness cost me nothing, except for a little time. I had all the items around the house, leftover from previous craft bug infestations.

I made this:


You might be whispering to your neighbor "What is that? I think Jessica G. has finally plummeted off the deep-end, being so proud of that contraption..."

If you don't have a little girl, then you are probably pretty confused. But even if you do, this version is much plainer than others I've seen. So broke out the glue gun and dug through my supplies once more...


There! Much prettier! Even Boo was getting excited now.

Still don't know what it is? Well, here's the finished product, already put to work:


A hair bow organizer! Boo has soooo many clips and such. They're all just jammed in her dresser drawer. Half the time we can't find the one we want or one that goes with her outfit. Now, we have a solution! I'm hanging it on the side of her dresser.

Someone please take away my glue gun before I coat the whole thing in glitter...

Project After: The Bathroom

FINALLY!

Way back in the spring, we started painting the downstairs bathroom (really a "powder room" but we're not picky). You might want to refresh your memory a little. Here are pictures from the finished bathroom project:

Here is the shelf I made to hold up the big letters. And the little cows were a souvenir from a recent trip. They smell like chocolate milk.

I had this print framed because I liked it so much. Print: $1. Frame: $54. Having a picture up on the wall: priceless.

Latest Project

Sorry for the lack of regular posts lately. I've been busy. Wanna see?




I made this one for someone special (so don't tell her, okay?) and liked it so much that I'm making another one for me!




It's also my first try doing pockets inside. It worked pretty well. Next one, I am going to try a magnetic closure. This pattern I got from a HFPE class I took on making purses. Originally, I made an oriental-themed purse with a beautiful gold silky material, embroidered with butterflies.




I loved that purse so much that I made three more for my sisters. And da Boo asked if I would make her one so I made a little purse for her. And yes, that is the new green color of my kitchen. My parents painted it for us while we were in London as a surprise. I love it! It's so nice to have color on the walls around here!

Purple Is NOT My Favorite Color

Remember how we spent days repainting the downstairs bathroom? Remember how I obsessed over this faux finish and was so in love with my plans for the bathroom that I wanted to adopt them and name them George? Okay...so the faux finish was completed. Looked cool. The red accent was done, needed a little touch-up. The trim was done (took me four days). All that was left was the blue accents, hang the shelf and the art print.

Last week, da Boo begged to play with her art set and being the wonderful mother that I am, I let her. It's a large pad of pictures that has a holder for watercolors, markers, crayons and scissors (can you see where this is going?). So she quietly painted and hummed and all was right in the world. I was upstairs doing laundry and tidying up (or I might have been blogging). Da Boo is usually very quiet but doesn't make a mess so it was no big deal to leave her alone.

Later that night, the kids are in bed. I was done working on the kitchen and decided to use the bathroom before going upstairs. I turned on the light. The sound I made brought the Man running. There was purple. Lots and lots of purple. On the door, on the light switch, on the counter, on the toilet, on the Man's ladder, on the trim, on the WALL. She had taken the purple marker from her art set and drawn X's on everything. I was so upset, I went charging upstairs and woke da Boo up, demanding to know why she had done that to the wall (who cares about the toilet seat?). She was still sleepy so I let her go back to sleep but promised we would discuss this in the morning.

The next morning, the Man got to have the discussion with her and then she helped me try to clean it off. It came off the counter and ladder easily. Part of the toilet was easy to clean but the toilet seat was still really purple. And the wall...well, at one point I think I might have cried, just a little. It wouldn't come off. Da Boo was grounded from TV for the day, we canceled a playdate she had the next day and she wasn't allowed to use any drawing utensils for a week. She scrubbed at her former artwork for a while. She was pretty subdued the whole day but that's because she knew she was in serious trouble. And at one point, I did leave her downstairs by herself so I could do some stuff on the computer (but not blogs, this time).

That was a mistake. Should not have left her alone.

Just as I am getting the house straightened up before making dinner, I find a book laying open on the couch. Is anyone else gasping in anticipation of the approaching horrors? On the very back page of the book, da Boo has carefully written her name (guess she can't blame that one anyone else). It wouldn't have been so bad if it weren't for two crucial details:

1) It was the SAME purple marker that befouled my walls.
2) That was a library book.

She was sent to her room for the rest of the evening, only allowed out when it was time for dinner and for family prayer. No bedtime treat and no story. In fact, I removed all the books from her bed because she had shown that she didn't know how to treat a book. Also, she had to take the library book back and tell the librarian what she did. The librarian was really very nice (I would have liked her to be a little tougher) but she did ask da Boo to pay $1 for the damage to the book. She paid for it out of her piggy bank.

The Man took Q-tips and nail polish remover to the X's. While the marker came off, unfortunately some of the paint did too. Now the bathroom is delayed a little longer. Sorry!

Today is the first day I've allowed her to use crayons and so far, she hasn't asked to color. Can't say I'm surprised but from now on every time I see a purple marker, I might cry...just a little.

Project: The Bathroom

Still working on the bathroom! It's been a busy week. Then the Man had to work all night (literally - he got home at 5 am) on Friday so he wasn't much help yesterday.

We pulled off most of the painter's tape, except for the places I am still painting. I'm not going to tell you more because that would ruin the surprise of the finished project. From my favorite craft store, I acquired a shelf that I've wanted to paint for the bathroom. So inbetween having friends over for a BBQ, naptimes and other activities this weekend, I've been working on it. Finally put the finishing touches on last night. Wanna see?

The shelf was plain wood. The edges were then sanded down (because I don't want splinters). The base coat is the same paint as the top coat in the bathroom.

After getting it thoroughly painted one color, I then coated the whole thing with Titebond Glue, which smells like a dead animal. Why glue, you may ask? Well, it's because I'm cheap. I wanted that crackled, old look but the crackling medium in the craft store was $7. This glue was $3 for a large bottle. And, the craft store lady assured me, it works just as well. She neglected to mention the smell.

The glue dried overnight, then I started the next step: painting the details. The blue was first, to test the crackle effect. I tested it out months ago to be sure it would work and wasn't entirely impressed. However, this time around, with the combination of latex wall paint and acrylic craft paint, it came out much better. After the red was done, I went back with the same base color so the whole piece would be crackled.

Step-by-step pictures would have been more interesting but I was so looking forward to getting it done that I didn't consider taking pictures until last night, after the whole thing was done and drying. Sorry!

Project Middle: The Bathroom

Okay, we got the base coat on yesterday. By "we" I mean, the Man. He's much better at this whole painting thing, seeing as he has two working arms and such. Yeah, well, I set off metal detectors, so there!

Anyway, after we got the kids in bed, we started on the faux finish: Frottage. You have to say it with a snooty accent. It doesn't rhyme with "cottage." So the base color is lighter. The top coat is mixed with faux glaze and then rolled on. Working in blocks at a time, the Man rolled on the top color and I followed behind with squares of plastic and a wide brush. No, seriously, plastic. Don't believe me? Here, look:

Isn't he cute? Hands off, ladies! He's all mine!!

And then there's me. The Man took several pictures of me putting up the plastic. And then he took some of my butt. I'll save you the agony and won't post those.

And voila! Here's the wall behind the commode, painted and plastic sheeting brushed on.

Once the whole bathroom was done, we peeled off the plastic. I am waiting until it dries all the way. We might need to touch up in some places, where it's a little too obvious that we were working on a grid system. Also, I want to get a couple more items for decorating before I take the final pictures.

So what do you think?

Project Before: the Bathroom

We have lived in our house for four years. During those four years, we (read: I) have painted two rooms: the kids' rooms. The Boy's room was done by me while I was 8 months pregnant. I live to procrastinate. I really like my house and I would really like to paint more rooms but there are two obstacles:

1) I have no design sense whatsoever. I don't know what looks good! Seriously, I buy outfits off the mannequins so I can make sure they actually go together.

2) The Man fears change. Seriously. It took me breaking up with him to get him to propose marriage - but that's another long and involved story with lots of overly-dramatic sighs and such. At one point, I wanted to paint the kitchen a cool sage green. I had five different paint samples taped to the wall. Periodically, I'd ask him to tell me which one he liked best. He never could decide, always had a reason for not choosing one. Those samples were up over a year before I finally took them down, in defeat. Similar story with samples in our bedroom. Turns out he really didn't like my design idea. Fine. I just painted the Boy's room that way, instead. Bawahahah!

Early on in our marriage, I went to a Super Saturday and painted giant USA letters in aged colors. I loved them! I set them on the entertainment center in our condo. Once we moved to the new house, the entertainment center was now filled with family pictures so the letters were stuffed in a cabinet. I've always wanted to bring them back out, maybe with other objects along the same theme or color scheme. Alas, all my walls were "New House White" and the letters just didn't seem to go anywhere. Then I hit upon an idea: why not paint the downstairs bathroom to match the letters? Then I could call it my "Americana" bathroom! I would even try a really cool faux finish technique that I admired/obsessed over.

That was two years ago.

This morning, I taped off the moulding and the counter, removed the light fixtures and reviewed the faux finish cd I bought oh-so-long ago. Here are the before shots:

Small bathroom (5x6) next to the kitchen. The Man has Memorial Day off and is taking off tomorrow. He's already edged in the base coat. He is rolling the rest of it tonight. Tomorrow, we frottage! Should be exciting. Oh, and da Boo "helped" with some of the tape. Can you guess where?