Bath Boys

Jackson Wynn is such a good bath boy for me. It is usually all giggles and helpful pouring and rinsing. Not so much with Daddy. But, then again, Daddy doesn't take the "make it into a song" tips from Mama. If you start singing, you can get a child to be so helpful. And John Campbell took a shower all by himself. I talked him through it and he did great. His hair was very clean and so was the rest of him. The opening the door and letting the cold air hit him was the hard part, but he tried to smile for me.

And here's one of Abbie and someone I'm sure he wouldn't mind taking a bath with.  This little poster was in a box of his high school and college stuff.

Southern Plate Cookbook

I just downloaded my free Southern Plate Slow Cooker E-book.  Yay!!!

Click on the photo to go to the download page, and then check out the rest of her blog!  Thank you for the free Download, Christy!

Bulbs

It got to 70 degrees today and my porch was looking a little winterized.  I needed some green out there!  So, I went out to get some daffodil bulbs.  I ended up getting those and also getting some other bulbs and some pansies to fill in where the snow has gotten some of them.  They were ultra cheap and will perk things up until the spring bulbs come up.

I already have bulbs around my crepe myrtle and they are poking up.  My bed in the front of the house is looking a little beaten down.  I hope my Lenten roses come back. I haven't even looked around out back, but some of the bulbs I got today are for an area back there.

I also saw this post and was instantly drawn to the chicken feeder planted with bulbs.  All afternoon long, my mind kept going back to that image.  Lissa's home is so beautiful and I give Humble Pie a peek daily.

So, I went on with my day and was finishing up my potting this afternoon as the boys played outside.  I looked in the garage for something that was rectangular.  No such luck.  I had a quick inspiration - I would go to the local thrift store and give myself five minutes to streak through and see if I could find something that would work.

While inside, I found some fake terra cotta planters that were made of stiff foam.  Not quite it.  I was praying for God to guide me where I needed to go in the maze of booths.   That is when I found this.

About 16 inches long and 4 inches wide.  Some kind of brass finish, though it wasn't solid brass.  The finish was in good shape, but there were spots that wouldn't buff out, so I decided to paint.  I thought white with some glaze would bring out the details.  Since the boys were playing well together, I decided to give it a go.

Here it is primed.  I liked it so much, I thought about leaving it that way.

Then I decided to have a look at the bottom and maybe give it a few squirts of paint. Glad I did...



Since I had some cream colored spray paint from my music chair project, I used that and immediately liked the warmer tone.  Balancing the planter on another spray paint can was really helpful.

Now to decide what kind of glaze to add.  I want to give it about 24 hours before glazing.  The painting steps are quick and simple.  It is the waiting between steps that takes patience.  I'm thinking a blue/grey tone for the glaze.  It won't take much - just to make the corners and details around the rim pop.

And, after all that playing, Jackson Wynn came in and made a nest.  He was asleep within minutes.  John Campbell snacked around some and then headed into the bedroom.  He's eating a lot lately - definitely going through a growing spurt.

 My sweetie pie!!!

Happy Presidents Day

I love the Jefferson Monument and also think President Jefferson was a very interesting man.

I love the cherry trees around the monument.  I used to say that, after retiring from teaching, I was going to be the head gardener at the Jefferson Monument.  Oh well, that didn't happen, but it is still beautiful!

Daffodils

I don't think I have any in my yard - not any.  My mom always had them in a row beside our driveway.  I need to plant some.  I moved several bulbs away from the pool to the side of the yard last year.  I put them in around my crepe myrtle.  There are a lot of chutes coming up, but I don't think there are any daffodils in there.  I need to get some.  It seems a waste to buy them - I would love to have some from a friend's yard.  I need to ask around.  Anyway, until things start blooming out there, I'll enjoy my blooms in here.  My mom's violet is loaded with beautiful blooms.  I got a few more pics of them today.

Daffodils need to be planted in the fall, but they have some in pots at the nursery, so I'm going to go get some, let them bloom inside, and then plant them outside after the heat of summer is gone.

Next to Last Basketball Game

John Campbell is truly sad that basketball season is almost over.  He has really loved it.  He's learned so much.  We've met some nice people as well.  The entire Upward group here has done a great job.  It is well planned and things have been so easy as a parent.  The fact that it is all Christ-centered is a wonderful bonus.  Here's some shots from his next to last game.  He is hesitant to try for the goal now, for what reason we aren't sure.  He likes to dribble down the court and get it to the goal, then pass it off to one of his teammates.  He is also very good at rebounding and getting the ball away from the other team.

Music Chair

We've almost finished the little music chair I got at the Salvation Army.  All that's left is permanently attaching the seat.  Abbie replaced the seat bottom by tracing a pattern with the old wood.  We sanded and filled in a few spots.  Then, primed and sanded and did about three coats of cream paint, sanding lightly between each coat.  I'm doing pretty good at sanding and Abbie has the wood filler and gluing down.  We need to work on our spray painting.  We had a few drips on each coat, but sandpaper takes it right off.  I thought about glazing it but wanted to keep it simple.  The chairs in the background are next on my list.

My husband likes natural wood - he wants to see the grain.  We have a ton of oak in our house - all the floors and cabinets.  It is just too dark for me.  I enjoy the floors, but would like to paint or at least re-stain my cabinets.  This chair was a pretty shade, and I would have kept it natural if it weren't for the damaged veneer on the lyre.  I've never been much on white painted furniture, but I like how the cream color turned out.  It is cloudy today and the absence of sun isn't helping my photos.  I love the pretty, happy shade of blue.

So this is my official music chair.  I'll give lessons in this chair and practice in it.  To see some really good makeovers, click on the buttons below.  It's a party!

Hanging with my boys

I helped my nephew with his jazz band audition tonight, so he and his dad and brother came for a visit.  My sister had a meeting she had to attend, so she wasn't here.  Nothing like being the only girl in a room full of guys!  We blew through almost $80.00 of pizza in 15 minutes. 

 Cousins!!!  I'm thankful they are close.

 Abbie and Jackson Wynn.  He's a daddy's boy some times.

 Jarrett and Dwayne.  It is wonderful to see a teenager who still loves on his parents.  He's a great guy.

 Being silly

 Jackson Wynn loves hanging out with the older guys.

 "I'm just trying to stay married."

And the movie they are sitting so quietly for???? It is this one.

Yeah, and at one point, we realized that the three younger kids had gone on to play, and the dads and I, along with Jarrett were still sitting there, quietly watching.  It is riveting to see  Adam West  and Burt Ward running around in tights.