Sooooooo…when you are a new parent of a toddler, you are often warned about never leaving the child unattended (for safety, of course), but also because toddlers are curious and mobile. Bad combination.
The thing is, this advice is not only for toddlers. This goes for Thing 2s too.
Thing 1 alerted me that I had a situation in their bathroom. Super confused, I went to go and see what was so alarming. Needless to say, we cannot leave our 9 year old alone…
Someone got into the Halloween makeup…Brows for days!Nails to match!
If you cannot tell, she was not born with those brows entirely. It’s the day before Halloween, so excitement is an understatement in this house. Thing 2 decided it would be a good idea to paint her brows with the black face paint. She had enough brow to begin with, she reallllly didn’t need to add to it. Welp, lesson learned for me. I really should have hidden the makeup until tomorrow. #MyPoorChild
It’s a blessing and a burden sometimes when I get things in my head that I want to do. The blessing is always the finished product, and the joy that will come from it. The burden…the work that leads up to it.
I got it in my head, and this wasn’t the first time, that I wanted to give our pantry a makeover. The white wire racks were not doing the space any justice, and we could use some more shelving and space for larger items. I searched the Googles for all sorts of ideas. I ended up settling on a few…that was…until the hubby found an instructional video on YouTube. #SOLD
This was over a month ago. We started down the process of taking inventory on all the things we would need. We had enough to get started, and so I got to work clearing out the pantry…
#GoodbyeWireRacks#SoManyHoles
It doesn’t look like it, but this was A LOT of work! I took this opportunity, though, to share the workload. See, it is super important to me that my future Things know their way around a tool box. They will grow up to be independent humans, and I’d prefer they be fully equipped to be able to handle things themselves, and not have to depend on anyone else. Sooooooo…
#SheCanDoAllThings#SheCanDoAllThings
Patching holes for the win! Let me tell you, Thing 1 AND Thing 2 were excited to help. Thing 1, being the perfectionist that she is, did a much better job than I patching holes. Thing 2 was just as thorough. It was a beautiful thing to see them take to learning something new, and doing it well.
During this process, I also used this opportunity for Thing 1 to earn some extra money. She is a helper. So, I tasked her with painting. She and I shared the job…it was just too much for one, but she used her meticulousness to get her portion done…and got paid for her services…
#TheColorIsDove #HardToTell#PaintingAintNoJoke
Just think…that was the easy part. After Thing 1 and I finished painting, it was time for the Father of the Things and I to start finding studs, and marking where the shelves would go. Then, DRILLING! Now, I don’t care for drywall or wood dust, but I find so much satisfaction in finding the stud and drilling the pilot holes. #LoveMeSomePowerTools #ButYouCanMissMeWithASaw #IAmScaredOfThose
Once the holes were complete, the shelf bases were installed. Then, Thing 1 and I (mostly me this time) painted them. Now, this was A JOB too! But, it all started to come together after this was done…
#TakingShape#TheFoundationHasBeenLaid
Now, I’ll admit, we hit a wall after this step. It was supposed to be easy enough, and we just had to add the shelving. But, we did not take into account the size of the shelves on the opposite wall, and so trying to get them in the space was a no go. Luckily, the hubby did a trial run with some extra material and not the actual shelves. That would have made for some wasted material. And a note…during all of this work inside, the hubby was sanding, and I was staining and sealing the shelving. Again…that was A JOB!!!
It took some careful thought, but with a few changes, we were able to get shelves installed. And boy do they look AMAZING! #AnIdeaComingToFruition#SheDidThat #HeDidThat #WEDidThat
#YASSSSS#CreatingSpace#NeverMindTheFinger
Next, the fun part…getting my dining room back as it served as a temporary pantry for far too long. I was in awe at how well it turned out. I tell you what, it is such a feeling to see all of your hard work pay off…to take the vision, break it up into pieces, and watch it some together in real time. Even though there were bumps and hiccups along the journey, they made this end result that much more special. Here goes…
