Table redo

Back to house stuff for a bit. I'm trying to make this place feel complete. Which is not that easy for me. I love the process. And starting projects. And ideas. But finishing out my visions?! Not my strong suit. 

We have been so so pleased with our remodel. The added space (closets!! Playrooms!! Laundry room!!) has felt like the biggest luxury ever. 

I have been extremely slow in getting things set up. I'm talking furniture and hanging things on the wall and bedding and all the extra things that make a house feel so personal. I have analyzed over every detail to the point where I am just about where I left off... Two weeks after we moved in. The boxes are finally all unpacked (well, aaactually, there are a couple in a few closets :/ ). I have hung some curtains, but I still haven't decided on a coffee table, side tables, or a single lamp. How many times do I feel like this,,, First world problems really are redic. 

One problem is I like to find pieces that I fall In love with. Like, they have a special story, or they are one of a kind.... To a fault. 

I have had one success early on that i decided to post about in hopes that I'll inspire myself to make some more decisions.

 I found this big 8 ft table at a resale place in nlr. 8 chairs and the table for $200. I'd been dreaming of a huge table like this for awhile. And looked online a lot and saw how costly this piece of furniture could be. I love a good find, so I bought it before anyone else could scoop it up, hoping it would look just right in our new big eating space. Which is pictured below, premove. 

Here she sat in our rent house carport for a couple months. 

And here the chairs sat in our remodeled house for a few months before I decided what to do with them. 

So pleased when the table and chairs were just the right size for the space. And I love the cane backing on the chairs. AND it was all very sturdy.. Hugely important with my three rough kids. 

My talented friend, sarah, is great at completing projects and she helped me figure out what to do to update the table and chairs. 

We paid someone to sand it all. Cut the top decorative pieces off of the top top of the chairs, and paint the chairs. Now I just need to put some wax on the chairs maybe, and work on the chair seats. Which should take me another year at the rate I'm moving. 

But I'm very happy with where they are now. Isaac says this is his favorite spot to sit in the whole house. And I agree. 

It was a really big deal to me to have a big table in here. A place for neighbors and family to eat with us at any time. 

The rest of my house is very uncomplete. Here's to finding my motivation to complete the rest of the spaces! 

Spring Break @Great Wolf Lodge

We drove to Great Wolf Lodge on Tuesday. Spent two nights there, and wore the kids out. 

Great week for an 84 degrees indoor water park, since the weather outside was chilly and rainy. 

Charlie couldn't part with the tickets he won in the arcade. So we brought them home as souvenirs. 

I should have taken a pic of the mini log cabin area in our room. (Complete with bunk beds:) You can kind of see it on the right in this next pic. 

Annette loved the American Girl store. She can shop as long as her momma. Which is dangerous. I did squeeze in a trip to Zara and ikea, but it about killed me that I didn't have time to shop the rest of the Galleria. 

Such a fun trip with our big kids. Headed home from Dallas now, and ready to hug and kiss ole Settie boy. 

Charlie's TransFOURmer Birthday

Isaac likes to call him Charles. I tend to say Charlie. We will see which one sticks over time, I guess. Maybe both will. Either name, Charles Isaac Smith Junior turned 4 on Sunday.

We have a small group from church come over on Sundays anyways, so we were able to knock out two 'meetings' in one afternoon/evening. It was quite nice. We will celebrate him again with our families this week.

Can you tell which pics are iphone pics and which ones were done by Tracy Van Dover? Kidding. Tracy captured some precious moments for me. I wish I was so talented with my camera.

 These 'bolts' I tried to create below were Pinterest inspired, using....

          ...... air heads, ha! More proof I am NOT a perfectionist. 

We also 'transformed' little creatures into giant creatures. 

This was after about 3 hours.

About 24 hrs after. I'll need to send these 'giants' home with the kiddos next group meeting.

Charlie made this face while we sang to him. He is so so so so sweet.

Happy Birthday, Charles. We love you more than I know how to say.