I LOVE Spray Paint!!

We have grown weary of the old light fixture hanging down from our dining room ceiling (see previous post) so we finished up the makeover on our "previously owned" chandelier. I got the idea from Lowe's free Creative Ideas magazine. It has lots of little and big project ideas for around the house. It is amazing what a can of spray paint can do. The little crystal prisms add a nice touch too, but it really did look pretty nice with just the new paint job.

Before:

After:

We Should Have Done This Years Ago!

(But of course time and money are always constraints - and there was the small matter of children sleeping in there.)

Last night we had the first dinner in our new dining room. It was perfect timing since my mom got home from her mission yesterday and stayed with us last night. This is the latest phase in our game of Musical Rooms/Extreme Home Makeover. Once we got Matthew's room finished downstairs we started the process of converting his old room into a dining room. We are pretty sure it was once a bedroom but the previous owners took out the closet and put in french doors that open into the living room. Most of the homes in our neighborhood have little if any eating space in the kitchens and this was their solution to the problem. It is now ours as well since meals in the kitchen had become essentially intolerable. We were so crammed around the table that we ended up just eating and getting out of there as fast as possible. Having friends or family over for dinner was almost out of the question.

Thursday night Bruce stayed up way too late setting up the table and chairs. We got the table at a "Seize the Day" sale at Ikea last October. It has been sitting in the box until last night. The room is not done - we are doing a small makeover on a good but slightly dated chandelier donated by a friend (although I love what Bruce has done with the current light fixture), I've got some ideas for curtains and decor, and we will probably put in a buffet that has been in my mom's storage shed for a few years. But even though there is still much to be done, dinner with a little elbow room was a whole new world. We actually lingered afterward. I was fairly giddy about it all night.

And the bonus - I don't have to look at the mess in the kitchen while I eat!

It's Officially a Tradition!

We started the "Birthday Questions" last year on Matthew's birthday and since we are now on his second round of questions, I believe I can safely call it a tradition. (The picture is Matthew watching fireworks a couple of weeks ago - he really likes them now but still watches with his hands on his ears.)

How old are you? 5
Who is your best friend? Everybody in my family.
What is your favorite thing to do? Play with Spencer.
What is your favorite color? Green
What is your favorite food? Apples
What do you like to do with your family? Have fun.
What is your favorite toy? The Jungle from my birthday.
What do you want to be when you grow up? A real inventor because I am a pretend inventor right now.
What makes you happy? My mom.
What makes you sad? When I get in trouble.
What is your favorite show to watch? Phineas and Ferb
What is your favorite book? Bob Books
What do you love to learn about? Words
What was the best part of your birthday? Cake
Where do you like to go? To ToysRUs.
Who was your teacher? Miss Fidge
What was your favorite birthday present? The detective game (Clue Jr.) because I am a detective.

Matthew's 4 year old questions and answers.