Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Potty Training and Painting

We Gutshalls are a happy clan right now.  I'm especially feeling good because I think Emerson is officially potty trained.  Before I was a parent of a toddler, I never would've thought potty training was something you would be proud of your child for.  But it's so funny, because anytime he had success or made progress, I felt so proud and excited inside.  I rewarded myself with M&M's every time I had to clean up poop AND every time we had success!  Let's be honest, it's the mom who does the dirty work.  He got a few treats too.  But now that he is in big boy undies and Lyla is in cloth diapers, I'm feeling PRETTY good about out dirty diaper output.

We have been staying put the month of August (a whole week in, lol), and I am loving having the time on the weekends to get things done around the house, plus have quality time as our own little family unit.  We have a few painting projects headed our way.  First we need to paint the beadboard to our bench (white).  We've already done tedious jobs of filling hole with wood putty and sanding.  So I think we are about to the painting!  There are so many annoying parts of preparing to paint, when the fun part is the actual painting itself.  I guess it's better to do it right the first time though, yes?


We also acquired this cute table and chairs from my parents for our front porch.  I am wanting to paint them bright colors to help add color to the front of our house.  I'm thinking red table and teal chairs.

For my birthday present (27 years old! Crazy!), Caleb and my parents got me this table and chairs for our back patio.   I found it on Craigslist.  The wood is fairly weathered, but when I envision it with a bright red table and dandelion yellow chairs, I love it.  I love the curves on the legs of the table and I love the curves on the arms of the chairs.  I think it will be beautiful when we are done!  Do any of you have advice on painting weathered wood?  Caleb is going to have to replace one slat due to rot.  The dark spot on the table is where it is just wet because I had laid Emerson's floatie on it. 




Anyway, I'm excited to get these paint jobs going, but I know it's hard to get things like this done when you have little ones.  It'll probably be months before we are done with them all!  If you have any advice on what type paint to use and how to do it, send it my way!

And I will leave you with a few pictures of life lately:

My baby doll in a pillowcase dress :)

My nephew Caeden's 4th Birthday (we share a birthday) at the fire station!  Emerson and Caeden are on the far right.  I  LOVE this picture and I LOVE how Caeden and Emerson are becoming such good buddies!



And finally, enjoy some baby giggles :)  It's good for your soul.





2 comments:

  1. Amber, I love the baby giggles! They make me smile, and miss my grandbabies! As if just being 4 hours away wasn't enough! Spray paint for your table and chairs should be great! I would definitely prime them first, and I'm sure you can get a primer in spray paint form. What a great buy and how fun will the table and chairs be on your patio! Can't wait to see the paint projects when they are all done. Love you!

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  2. Hey Amber! Love the table and chairs!! They are amazing! Can't wait to see the finished result! Judging from the picture, it all does look very weathered and bare. I've found that spray primer just doesn't block all the tannins in bare wood and even after several coats, tannins might continue to bleed through. Spray paint and primer also don't lay on as thick of a coat, leaving small cracks unfilled. Inside it's not such a big deal, but outside where they get rained on water can start to creep into the cracks, causing the paint the peel more quickly. I'd recommend brushing on a coat of oil primer. A pain, I know, but it gives the best coverage, adhesion, and long-term durability. My favorite exterior oil is by far Zinsser Cover Stain! Before applying primer, sand any peeling areas and give everything a good cleaning with a TSP substitute and an abrasive pad or steel wool. Apply as many coats of primer as needed until no bleeding occurs. I would recommend brushing on the paint, too, to ensure thick coverage. Let me know if you ever want any help or advice! :)

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