This House Is Starting To Look Like Somebody Lives Here

We are learning a lot about painting rooms, and the family room went much more smoothly than some of the other rooms we have done (although the living room went smoothly, we didn't do that one). The walls sucked in so much color that it dried almost instantly. It made it possible to finish in one evening, but it also made it take much longer to get the edging done because we had to keep dipping the brush.

Some of our favorite tips: when you take a break, wrap everything up in foil so you can just pick right up where you left off. Tape the color card behind a switchplate so you will never wonder what color you painted (especially if you are selling the house). Paint the first coat super light, even if there are white spots; the paint will look much more even later. Store your leftover paint in a jelly jar to limit the exposure to air. This makes it much easier to do touchups later, and it saves space as well.

These before-and-after photos don't exactly show the right shade. They show a light, preppy sort of blue, but we actually used Benjamin Moore Stratton Blue (HC-142), which is much darker than it seems. In the daylight, you can really see that it is an historic color. We are trying to keep all of our house colors in the historic palette from now on. These colors would have been perfect for our 1922 Old West Side house in Ann Arbor, but we think they work here, too.

Shutterbug

We think G is a terrific photographer. We let him use the digital camera yesterday while we were painting, and here's what he came up with. He likes details, and as soon as he took the photo of the Wii balance board, he yelled, "Yes!" Sounds like an artist to us.

Spring Fling

G's school had their Spring Fling today, for which they worked hard to raise money earlier in the year at their Move-A-Thon. It was an amazing production, and so much fun. Chip's class started at the carousel inflatable and went through four more inflatables before moving on to the train ride, tattoo parlor, knock down the trolls game, putting green, knock down the cans game, balancing ring, throw the beanbags in the potty game (and then get them out yourself!), volleyball, tic tac toss, soccer, and basketball. It was about four hours of action on a beautiful but hot day. The kids all wore shirts color-coded by class and got their own water bottle and participation medal. They were so proud of themselves when they were awarded their medals. Here are some photos from this very momentous day.

Hail On The Victors

After playing on the back deck on a warm, mostly cloudy, dry day, we came inside for dinner. Just as we began to eat, this happened:

FYI, Chip is kicking the ice, not sliding on it. He collected a bunch in a baggie, which we now have in the refrigerator.

Golden Walls

We painted the family room today. It's Dorset Gold, from Benjamin Moore's Historical Colors collection. We forgot to take "before" photos, but here are a couple from the archives.

Here are the afters.

It's My Birthday!

We are having dinner at South City Kitchen, Vinings location.  Look what M had waiting fore me at our table!  Quelle romantique!

I Knit A Sweater!

Head on over to my Knotty Bird site to see all about it.

Happy Easter, 2009 Version

Happy Easter, everyone! We want to share some photos and video from our day. The Easter Bunny left us a basket and hid Easter eggs in the yard, and we were impressed that G didn't assume it was all for him. He gave us lots of candy, until we couldn't eat any more. We went to church - on time - but we had to stand in the very back of the vestibule and never even entered the sanctuary. Sounded like a good mass, at least... We came home for brunch and then went over to Bun and Papa's house for the world's biggest dinner. Now it's time to get ready for bed and get ready for Matt's dad, Gail, Matt's brother Mike, and our two nephews to visit tomorrow evening. We hope you are full of kielbasa and ham and that you had a wonderful Easter. Khrystos Voskres!

A Z-Bar With A Zebra

We are at the zoo with a bunch of friends, and it is a beautiful day!  Unfortunately, everyone else had the same idea, but it's okay.  We got in quickly and have enough room to see everything.

Refreshed

We went camping last weekend with the Brocious family, and it did wonders for us. We felt very relaxed and happy when we returned, but sooooo tired! It's a lot of work to live like the pioneers. Other photos include our great crop of tulips this year, G's new pajamas, and our visit to the aquarium the week before last.