Naughty Nattie

There is no way I have enough sanity to update this blog with everything I have missed lately, SOOOO I'll just start with what's going on at the circus right now. We have an elf. An Elf On the Shelf. Her name is Natalie, but the girls call her...Nattie the Naughty Elf

(She wanted Mississippi State to win the Egg Bowl. They did : )

Mal asked that if she came home from school with a *sad face* (which we've had our share of this year), could we lock the elf in the car so she couldn't go tell Santa...because a magic elf can't get out of an SUV...but has no problem with escaping a locked house.

We started the day after Thanksgiving, ONLY because Mal was driving me insane about it (and I wanted to...because I knew it would be fun. Whatever.) I have notified the girls that she will start her duties next year Dec. 1st and that she started early this year because the elf was excited that she was assigned to our awesomely fun house. Of course they bought that : )

(She loves the plate wall as much as I do)

To make the elf a *girl* you're supposed to buy one of their $8 skirts...or if you're like me you say, "HAIL no! I already paid an outrageous $30 on this androgynous piece of felt, I'll make her one." So I did. (BTW, the *girl* elf has her hair tucked up under her hat to make her more aerodynamic when she flies to and from the North Pole. I didn't make that up.)

I'm tired of people saying that the elves are creepy. Come on...look at that face. I think she's (he's, it's) freaking adorable : )

It has been fun watching the girls wake up and find her every morning...they actually spring out of bed. Worth the $30 right there.

The hard part about this whole elf deal is remembering to reposition her before going to bed. After sitting straight up in the bed at 2am with visions of disappointed children dancing in my head, her daytime perch (after removing her from the previous night's mischief) is in a cute little red antique chair...right below the television (it's the last thing I turn off in the living room before heading to bed). I have to say though, it's gotten cold here the last few nights and if I were to forget, I'm not sure I would leave my warm bed to move her.

Wait! Someone told me that if they DON'T move, that means that the kids have been naughty. Oh yeah, I could flip that around in a second! While Mal is having a hysterical, disappointed fit because Nattie is still on her perch, I'll just say, "Wait a minute...WHAT did you DO?!?". Take the guilt off of me and toss it right back to her.

Yep that's me, always thinking...

(Inside a candy lantern Hubby's YiaYia made for him : )

So far, Mal has only said, "THAT wasn't very funny." when she woke up to Nattie's shenanigans once (I'm sure I've mentioned that you never have to wonder what that kid is thinking) in the elf's 13 appearances, so I guess I'm not doing too bad...I'll be needing to steal ideas from the many photos I've seen online pretty soon.

Lazy bum.

Wish she'd fold some clothes or clean the toothpaste blob out of the girl's sink or something. Obviously the skirt doesn't keep *her* from really being a guy.

Ahhh...fall

Ahh...fall.

Pumpkin patch visit - wonderful.

Rolling in a bin of corn - silly

Running, running, running in fresh country air - exhilarating 

Sliding and getting super dirty - goes without saying...FUN

Discovering - awesome

Being squirmy during the hay ride - bad idea

Pointing out your pumpkin - good idea

Pretending to point out your pumpkin to amuse your mother - also a good idea

Feeling the effect of rolling around in hay and corn - uncomfortable

Attempting to dig roughage out of your drawers - awkward

Trying to smile with hay and corn in your skivvies - priceless

Tonight, I am losing my mind.

There is a stink in my house...and I can't find it! I have spent a large part of this day trying to locate said stink...and I'm about to lose it. I have taken out the trash, put Pine Sol down the drain and garbage disposal, checked to see if the dog has gotten sick anywhere...nothing. The last time this happened, a red potato had fallen behind the bread box and my GOOD LORD...who knew a small spud could smell SOOO bad! I sniffed around that kitchen for 2 days asking Hubby, "Do you smell it over here? How about here? Do you smell it when you put your head under the table? How about this pot holder? Is it this pot holder? Smell that jar of green olives in the fridge. It's that isn't it? It's not? Go smell that box of crayons."

I was desperate...and SO relieved when we finally found that stupid potato.

This smell is in the living room. The LIVING ROOM. Did the dog get something out of the trash and hide it under the couch? No.

Did one of the kids sneak food and try to cover up the evidence? No. Is there a freaking potato shoved in the dvd player? When I last checked, no. I have looked under/turned over every piece of furniture, looked in every cabinet door, pulled out every drawer and nothing. I talked to my Mom this evening at at the end of the conversation I hear my Dad yell in the background, "There's probably a dead bird in the attic. Most likely just rotting up there right by one of your ac vents."

I think I'm going to check the dvd player again : /

It's that time of year...

Yes!

It's that time of year!

The time of year when I will paint anything that isn't nailed down. Or that doesn't have a pulse. The humidity and the temp are low (for now anyway) and there aren't many trees that are shedding leaves, pods, etc. It's perfect!

Over the weekend, I had a chance to tackle the chair .

The (Hitchcock-ish) chair had belonged to Hubby's PaPou, who incidentally, liked to refinish furniture. I loved it when we inherited it, but the years were starting to show and the old paint from the chair started showing up on our clothes too. It was time.

It received a good sanding followed by a rub down with a dry cloth

and a dry brush to get the dust out of the spindles.

(Sorry about the shot of the dog's bum...she's so cheeky.)

I masked the seat, which after looking it up, is called a rush seat.

Primer time. Some say it's not necessary, some say it is. I've never NOT primed so don't ask me. (I'm nothing if not helpful ; )

Next, spray paint (In satin Lagoon. Great stuff). Now, I'm not a girl who likes spindles much at all. At all. BUT all of the furniture pieces in my house that have spindles, have come from Hubby's grandparents. Why? Well, apparently my in-laws were insanely fantastic furniture restorers. The antique finish on all of them makes me love them so.

ANYWHO...I used spray paint because...well y'all...me using a brush on those spindles was going to end in disaster. Without a doubt. Guaranteed.

Painted!

Painted but something was wrong. I didn't love it. After some thought (and crying...I was terrified of ruining PaPou's chair!) I decided I needed to go back to what made me love the chair to begin with...the antiquing.

Let's just call this part what it is shall we?

I totally B.S.'d my way through this next step.

I didn't have a glaze, wax, antiquing kit or anything like that on hand. So, using what I had, I mixed some paint, brushed it in the grooves...

...and then wiped it off.

Because I was using regular acrylic paint for my *antiquing*, I thought it smart to use some clear satin spray paint over the whole thing just for insurance.

I'm pretty excited with how it turned out!

Oh look...the chair...with a different pillow.

Oh look...the chair...with my lovely *curtains*.



I was going to take another shot of the chair with the dog sitting in it but she wasn't game. She's cheeky so it probably would have been inappropriate.

PaPou isn't with us anymore, but I hope he still likes his chair.

I sure do : )

It has started...

Ahhh...Summer. We've been filling our days with lazy odds and ends...and it's been nice!

It's so relaxing not to have something scheduled every. single. day. 

It keeps us free to do things like blueberry picking : )

Delaney started this beauty the other day. I was so surprised at how LONG she will sit and work on it!

It is taking all of my willpower to keep me from bellying-up that paint-by-number when she's out of the room.

I LOVE those things!!!

I don't remember having to mix colors back in the day...do you???

Lots of these critters hanging around the back door lately. I wasn't fast enough to catch this guy but by the looks of that tail, something else might have already caught him recently. I was just sparing him more trauma ; )

Speaking of critters, Mal and I went bug hunting the other day. As you might know, I don't like wimpy girls and it drives me batty that my girls are scared of bugs, lizards, frogs, etc. This bug hunting expedition was a big step for her!

Roly polys are always a safe way to start out. They can't hurt you, bite you or sting you, and well, it's kind of cute when they curl up in that little ball isn't it?

Mal was ok until he unrolled and started walking on her hand...then PLOP, back in the jar.

We had a little talk and she decided to fish him back out and try again.

Success!!!

We (I) ended up digging up five more and before the day was done, they were all named (Tom and Lillian were her favorite polys). She walked around with one or two on her hand at a time, observing them through a magnifying glass and talking to each one about their exoskeletons and what she was going to serve them for dinner.

Summer is rolling right along ; )

In the meantime...

Sooo, the weather is not cooperating with me. I may not be able to paint another piece of furniture until December. Yes, it kind of stinks. A WHOLE lot.

Grrr...

In the meantime, I realize had forgotten to post this. I bought this desk at a junk shop (I say that with love of course ; ) two years ago and thought it would be a perfect little size for D's room. It was white and a bit dinged up, but for $12 I knew I could do something with it.

Ha! These photos are two years old. I remember discussing the color scheme, drawer pulls, etc. with Delaney and she said pink with glass knobs.

Pink with glass knobs it would be.

Well, it was during the summer that year and I decided I didn't give a hoot about the temperature/humidity suggestions on the labels. HUGE lesson learned. Never again. I had quite a sticky mess on my hands. The paint was getting that crackled effect (nice when that's what you're going for, BUT...) and the paint would

N O T cure.

I ended up having to bring the desk inside thinking I could get it to dry. It dried a little but I decided that adding a coat of polyurethane would help it to harden. After a week inside with fans blasting on it (and my house smelling toxic and horrible), it was dry enough (but still a bit tacky) to move into her room.

I'm NOT crazy about how SUPER SHINY it is from the poly (seriously, you can check to see if that pesto you had with lunch is still wedged in your teeth in the reflection of that desk)  and I'm still entertaining the idea of putting something behind the drawer pulls. I know I would paint the desk quite differently if I were doing it today. It will probably go through a few different color schemes over the years as D gets older, so I'm sure I'll get the chance to give it a makeover : )

Delaney likes it so I'm happy...but I will never attempt to defy the paint gods EVER again!

The good thing about having to wait to paint the bits I have is, I can really take some time to decide on exactly what I want to do with them. I've already patched and sanded the phone stand and I'm still trying to decide the best way to tackle the spindles on the chair.

Still lots to learn : ) 

Up next

Up Next:

A chair that was owned and refinished by Hubby's Papou. I LOVE this chair and the color PaPou picked for it, but as you can see, it has gotten a bit too...well...worn. The seat is still excellent as is the wood, but the paint is starting to rub off on our clothes, so it is time for a face lift...not sure what color it will be yet, but I'm slowly getting it ready. The more I talk to my MIL, the more I wish I could have been around when PaPou was in his refinishing heyday. I'll have to take photos of a piece we have that he worked on...might be my favorite piece of furniture in our house : )

Found this little guy in S. Florida.

I'm assuming that THIS is what it was for. Do you like my cordless phone sitting up there? Ha! Slightly pitiful but I don't own a cutie retro rotary one...yet ; ) I have some gluing, patching, and sanding to do, but I think he'll be a fun little guy to work on.

Current problem is the weather. It is either too hot, too humid, or (most of the time) a suffocating combo of the two. Boo.

This past week it occurred to me that I was spending the last free days I had with Mal. Soon summer would be here and kindergarten would follow...my baby would be gone all day at school, five days a week. Like a big girl.

I don't often take photos of myself (much less in my pj's with NO make up on) but I wanted to capture some of our *us* time while we still had it. I set up the camera, put it on timer, and let it go (Ali Edwards would be proud : ). Mallory and I played Barbies all day, ate our lunch off of fancy pants plates, and drank decaf fruit tea out of fancy pants tea cups. I will never forget it.

This beauty is my almost MIDDLE SCHOOLER.

She takes my breath away. Where does time go?