Bar Paint.

The following is an example of why I wish I'd been blogging all along. I'm excited to keep people updated again.

This weekend Stu and I were perusing some consignment shops in town for a dresser for Kaden. Our travels lead us to Cherry's Consignment Home Furnishings in Meridian where we found an adorable Mexican Pine Bar. Stu had been talking for months about building a bar for the space nearest the pool table in the new house so there is a seating/socialization area there, but I was wary of the idea because I knew how much time that would take away from other, more necessary, home improvements. So when I saw it, I was smitten with both the look of it, and how much easier it would make my life. :)

We also found an awesome little dresser and I already know I am going to be frequenting this new gem of a store for other things we need around the house. They only accept smoke-free and pet-free furniture, so that made me feel even better. So Stu and Kyle got it unloaded at the house and Stu went to work refinishing the top (which had minor drink rings on it). It was looking good and we were excited.

Then last night Stu decided it would be an awesome idea to drop the gallon paint can for Jackson's room onto the floor of the garage and send it flying onto the front of the bar. Awesome. I quickly got online to figure out how to remove wet (luckily water-based) paint from finished wood surfaces and we carefully followed the directions for paint removal. Stu must have apologized 20 times, the poor guy. All was looking up as the paint was removing from the wood (nevermind the state of the garage floor, lol), when I walked back inside to rinse off the rag I was using and discovered my brilliant man has decided not to remove his shoes when he came in and I was staring at green footprints through the playroom and into the kitchen. FML.

We spent way too long cleaning up paint and laughing about poor Stuie's antics but, I am pleased to say, the bar is not ruined. :) Stu applied a new layer of stain over the leftover paint and it worked perfectly. Today he has continued with the polyurethane coat over the whole surface and he reports that it is looking might fine.

 The picture above is the bar at the store.

The inside. Pretty cool, huh? :)

  

 The inside upper section.

 And the top after Stu sanded and stained it (before poly).

So, aside from needing to acquire another gallon of paint, what could have been a serious crisis, has been successfully averted. 

On less exciting news, the test that I THOUGHT was tomorrow (and therefore had another day to study for) turned out to be today, so I had to adjust my plans and rush to the testing center in the middle of the day. I have a paper due in hours that I have given nary a thought to (7 pages), and I have a Webinar I have to record (which is just a fancy online conference call where you can display your screen to others so they can view documents or PowerPoints, etc.) and then I have class immediately following. Never a dull day in the Fox house! :)

I SHOULD have prefaced all of the above (but, alas, being an inconsistent blogger, I have also apparently lost the art of storytelling) with saying that, as it was Stu's night at school, I was alone with the kids after work and they had gotten together beforehand and decided as a group to be crazy people for me when I got home. Therefore, they were ALL either yelling or whining or trying to talk over the other when I was trying to make dinner, clean up the kitchen, prepare lunch for tomorrow, and finally, get plates for everyone, so I had decided that after dinner would be a great time to "color." I taped paper to the table for Lila and Jackson (so it doesn't slide, because that is irritating) and they set to work on their creations with colored pencils. They were all so proud of themselves and I took some pics of them being adorable...... which lasted for exactly 6 minutes. Then Lila was tossing pencils, Jackson refused to share with Kaden (thus, a pencil war), and Kaden was whining that Jackson, "WOULDN'T SHARE THE GRAY ONE!" I finished cleaning like a mad-woman, popped open a beer, and then gathered them all in the 4-cubic-foot "Cars" tent in the playroom and we* colored on the Magnadoodle until it was mercifully jam-jam time and then we got to snuggle and ultimately they went to bed... THEN Stu got home... :)



*"we" meaning that Jackson sat on my lap drawing circles (super awesome ones, btw) while Kaden complained that there was simply not enough room in here and it was hot, and Lila alternated between pulling my hair while squealing with delight, and sitting on top Jackson and the Magnadoodle so he couldn't draw anymore, then grin at everyone like the angel-princess she is. :)