Updating my blah mantel

Having a fireplace is supposed to be a great selling point for a house. We NEVER use ours. It makes the living room too hot and throws off the household thermostat which prevents the furnace from kicking on resulting in the rest of the house being too cold. But it looks nice, right? No. It had just a plain builder grade oak mantle (set too high) and is surrounded by the same tiles used in the master bathroom. Blah.

Before:


It has been a very loooong, cold, snowy winter here and I have been itching to start painting my oak woodwork. My sister keeps trying to talk me out of it but I tend to be just a wee bit stubborn once I set my mind to it. I decided to start small and paint just the mantel.

I tried liquid deglosser but the smell was very strong and I wasn't sure if it would be enough so I also lightly sanded before priming.  The paint was Benjamin Moore Cloud White in a pearl (satin) finish.

It was a great start and just the inspiration I needed for a little accessorizing. The only thing new is the picture that I found at Hobby Lobby for 50% off of $59.99. The remaining items were "shopped" from my home. In the end, it was a very affordable change!

After:

Project Simplify -Week 3

I skipped week 2 for spring break and am jumping back into week 3! My kitchen desk is a horrible hot spot for means when this is full, it spills over to the kitchen island. I had failed filing systems, an overflowing coupon/junk drawer that is too shallow to really be useful.



The desk top shredder and a magazine file used for recycling have worked well for addressing mail so those stay. The black binder is for all active information. There is a space for bills (with due date written in the front of the envelope and placed in order of due date), folder for school, activities, church, meal planning, budget, and one for general to dos. The drawer was cleared, coupons place in sorted binder, and I now have a place to keep my netbook, iPad keyboard, and charger. When not in use it is quick and easy to put away everything.

After:

Project Simplify

Time to dust off the blog to participate in the SimpleMom.net Project Simplify! I love having something to help me stay accountable. The first week was for Kids' stuff. I got a great start on 2/3 kids but a friend had a family emergency that was more important.



Audrey's room before (right):

Audrey's room after (below):
I am not normally a fan of throwing money at a problem, but in this case she really needed to know where her stuff should go as well as have a way to carry a group of items (like ponies) to a play area and bring them back. This is the Ikea Trofast system. I still need to add labels with her, go through the clothing in her closet, and make the book sling for next to her bed. The dollhouse was moved to the foot of her bed where she has space to open it.




Samuel's closet
This closet is deep but not very wide. Plus, there were items that had been stashed in there 8 years ago, long before he was born! So the deeper shelf from Audrey's room was moved in here, perfect for things like big trucks that used to line his walls. Outgrown clothing was purged and only his items are in here now. This plastic bag holder from Ikea is perfect for little kid socks. Clothing that doesn't fit yet and out of season items were moved to the dresser in his room that was emptied of things like his 10 year old brother's baptism certificate. I know, I know, poor third child!

Lego Castle at MN Children's Museum

We kind of let our membership to the Children's Museum lapse... oops. So we renewed on Tuesday and visited the latest exhibit, the Lego Castle. I wasn't sure Audrey would like it since she isn't all that much into Legos BUT she LOVED the castle and dressing like a princess! She even brought a knight costume out so Samuel could get into the action. His favorite part was the slide. They have different Lego building areas for different ages/Lego sizes. My only complaint is that with the big castle in the middle, I couldn't see both kids at the same time if they weren't together. Audrey (4) is good about staying in the room so I made sure I could see Samuel at all times and kept checking on Audrey. I love that the Children's Museum only has one way in/out of each exhibit. However, I'd love if each doorway had a gate like the habitot room (for kids 4 and under) to stop or at least slow little ones from bolting. I guess they fear that parents would have a false sense of security and not watch their kids as closely but my 23 month old is faster than he looks!

The Bikery

I don't think this quite qualifies as an outing but we got out of the house and the kids like this place. The Bikery is wonderful place to meet for coffee, European baked goods, or bikes. In between the bike shop and the bakery is a great area for kids to play while you enjoy your treats!

Teddy Bear Park

Anyone who lives in Stillwater and has little kids probably knows about Teddy Bear Park. Tucked into the descent into downtown Stillwater, it really doesn't get much better than this. Surfaces under the climbers and slides are rubberized so even my 11 month old can safely explore. There is a very large sandy area so feel free to bring some sandbox toys. My 8 year old is at the top end of the ages this park is designed for but he still likes to climb the cliffs. I especially like that there is only one gate in/out of the park and my only wish is that the gate latched. Oh... and it's free! (I'll try to get better pictures next time but if you follow the link on the right, there are some great pics of the park.)

Maple Syruping at Warner Nature Center

We attended the Maple Syruping open house at the Warner Nature Center in Marine on St. Croix a couple weekends ago with a friend and two of her kids. Everyone in our group, ages 10 months to 36 years old, learned something new and had a great experience. If you ever have a chance to attend an event there, I highly recommend it!

The Warner Nature Center is operated by the Science Museum of Minnesota and thus has great resources. Although the interpretive center is open to the public, the trails are only available for special groups and events so this was a great chance to check it out. Our oldest had been there for snowshoing with his school last year. They have summer programs for kids but I think they fill insanely fast.

Activities for this event including demonstrations on tapping a tree, collecting the sap, cooking the syrup (as the Native Americans would have done it as well as today), and ending with yummy maple syrup drizzled over ice cream.

Hands on activity: tapping a tree (not a live tree of course)