Back to School Homework Station

The Kiddo started Kindergarten, which has re-introduced homework into our house.  He'd been getting by with an old ikea desk we'd cut down to size, but that just wasn't enough room for his big-kid work.

He had a low bookshelf that didn't really hold his stuff in an easy-to-access way, and a chalkboard that didn't have any storage for chalk or erasers.

So I found this cutie on Craigslist for 30 bucks.  I love that it has a higher shelf he can grow into using, and the paper roll holder.  I didn't love the medium golden oaky finish or the hard stool seat.

 Kiddo asked for RED, so I sanded and painted it glossy cherry red (ready mixed from Lowe's).

Then, I turned my attention to the stool.  I padded it a little with some dense foam, but didn't put anything thicker down because I didn't want to raise the seat height too high for the desk.  I found a remnant of baseball fleece, and stapled it to the seat for maximum Kiddo excitement.

We also moved his homework station across the room, so we could use a bookshelf that's easier for him to access.  I finally found a plastic 3M bin to attach to his chalkboard to hold chalk and the eraser, too.

I think we're all ready for a great school year!

Fridge Fix-up

All summer, we've been using some sad calendar printouts to keep our lives and activities on track.  And, because we are really very classy, we've kept it taped to the front of the fridge. Obviously, we needed a change.

While I love paper, as plans changed, it got messy really quickly.  Fortunately, I had a spare dry erase calendar laying around.  Now, I just had to figure out how to attach it.

Despite its "stainless steel" finish, the front of our fridge is curiously non-magnetic; otherwise, I would have just slapped some magnets on the back and called it a day.  3m strips to the rescue, again.

We never use the water filter on the door because we have a reverse osmosis filter at the sink, and I've always wanted to cover up the ugly dispenser.

Now we have an easy way to keep everyone's schedule up to date and in sight.

Backyard Biology

Turns out, our little pop-up backyard pool is good for more than just splashing around.

Apparently, our local frogs thought it was a pretty nice spot.  To lay their eggs.

I came out this weekend to a few dozen coaster-sized clumps of little round black dots floating on the surface.  After fishing them out as best as possible into some buckets, we've been observing their progress.  So far, we've got a lot of little apostrophe shapes, and a couple of wiggly teeny tiny tadpoles.

The marine-biology focused Kiddo is OVER THE MOON.  I'm just really hoping we were right in our species identification, and trying to make sure they don't die in their buckets.

So, with all the chemicals, any of these little guys that survive will definitely have super powers, right?

Front Door Fancy (Updated...Again)

I've had my eye on a cute plant holder/object de art at my local craft store for a month or two; ultimately, my patience was rewarded and I snagged it at 70% off.  

Despite its initial high price tag, the wire it came with was objectionably wimpy.  It could not stay.

I snipped the existing wire, and replaced it with this sturdy stuff from a previous project. 

My early Summer Coneflowers flanking the door burned out over the hot 4th of July weekend, so I needed to get some more living things out there, and this gave me the perfect opportunity.

I lined the wire basket with Sphagnum Moss instead of trying to find a planter that would fit perfectly.

Nothing special about getting this stuff set up, I just shoved it in and hoped it would stay.  I added my little plants and shoved more moss in around them.

I also need to paint my front door (as soon as ONE of the million paint chips I've taken from Lowe's is even close to its existing color - I would love to change it, but hey, HOA...), and I don't want this cute guy to damage the new paint when it goes up.  So I added some felt pads I had laying around.  They aren't outdoor/waterproof rated, so we'll see how well they hold up.

I used an outdoor/waterproof 3M hook to hold it on the door - we'll see if it's strong enough, or if I'll walk out one day to find a splintery mess...

I even had a couple plants left over to pop into the planters flanking the door, and a little moss to help keep the soil wet in the hot sun.  I think they'll look cute and cohesive as they go into full bloom!

**UPDATE**

Turns out, that moss doesn't stay in very well.  And that our door doesn't get the benefit of any rain, and plants in a door-attached planter need a lot of extra watering.  So, off to the compost pile their remains went.

I grabbed a long cocoa fiber basket liner, and cut it to relative shape.

In retrospect, I wish I had left the sides a little taller.

Then, I added some plants that won't protest too much without a lot of water.

I like the way the moss/flowers looked better, but got really tired of sweeping moss in our foyer, and never remembered to water.  Here's hoping these guys last a while.

Aaaand, the great crash just happened.  Apparently, one big thunderstorm was too much, and weakened the seal of the supposedly waterproof 3M strip - it just fell right off the door... time to find something a little lighter...

Wear Sunscreen

Sorry, your daily SPF isn't enough.  Even your windows need some sunscreen.  

I recently switched out a sad (once cute) comforter in our guest room, and it was faded terribly.  But, only on the side that faced the window.  And I'd noticed serious fading on the dark curtains we'd hung elsewhere.  I really didn't want that to happen to my fancy new bed, or anything else in our house.

Aesthetic concerns aside, without any big trees to shade us, our house roasts in the Summer sunshine.  Especially the dining room.  I LOVE this window bay, but it gets too hot to enjoy, even in the winter.

Wandering around Lowe's, we found these Gila window films.  DIY window tinting?  How hard could it be?

Luckily, it's pretty easy, after a little learning curve.  Even more luckily, you get to benefit from my learning curve.

Some tips:

• You will definitely need a buddy for this project.  I mean, I'm sure you could figure out a way to peel everything smoothly without the film sticking to itself, but I couldn't.

• The full instructions are wrapped up inside the roll of film.  The first window I installed it on did not benefit from my thinking the full instructions were on the side of the package (and yet, it looks just as good as the second one I did, so that should tell you how seriously easy this is).

• Trim to a slightly bigger than glass pane size before you peel off the clear backing.

• If the clear backing is too hard to get off, use a piece of Scotch tape to separate the layers.

Let's get started.

Step 1:  Gather Materials

Window (clean first with Windex or your preferred window cleaner)

Window Film

Installation Kit

Scissors

Paper Towel

Step 2: Find and Read Instructions

Step 3:  Trim Window Film

Make it a little bigger than the window pane.  Too much overhang is wasteful and makes the final trimming more difficult.

Step 4: Grab a Buddy

Have your helper hold the cut panel while you peel the backing off.

Step 5:  Spray

Spray the window and the sticky side of the window film with the application solution.  Don't be stingy.

Step 6:  Stick the Film On

Wet sides together.

Step 7:  Smooth 

Get the big bubbles out with the squeegee.

Step 8:  Final Trim

Use the cutter to trim the film to the exact size of the window pane.

I found it easiest to trim and remove one edge at a time (as opposed to trimming the entire way around before removal).

Step 8:  Final Smooth

Wrap your squeegee in paper towel to do a final smoothing.  The paper towel will soak up excess application solution.

If you get something trapped between the film and the window pane (errant fly, perhaps), just peel up a corner, get it out, and repeat from Step 5.  It takes a few days for full cure, so there's time to play with it.  

Here's the difference - the window on the right is filmed, the middle and left are au naturale.

These guys aren't perfect, of course.  The window film is so thin that, if it does bend, it can leave a little crack that's visible on the window.  Also, the Platinum finish turns a little two-way-mirror reflective at night.  They do have a less reflective model, but I worried that it wouldn't reflect UV rays as well.  Neither of these are huge problems.

I still have a few windows to go, and then we'll be able to compare our electric usage from year to year.     It feels cooler, the instant the film gets installed, though.  And for now, that works for me.  

Complete!

Note: Not a sponsored post - this brand was just what we found at our go-to hardware store.

Hanging out by the Pool

Summers in Virginia are too hot to go pool-less, and since our neighborhood is still working on selling enough houses to support the neighborhood pool we were promised would be up within a year of us moving in (so bitter), it was up to us to squeeze a little pool into our backyard.

After relocating some plants, we laid out our soon-to-be pool.  I was pretty sure the 12' model would be too big, but it looks like we have a little more room.  We'll upgrade from this 10' next year, and gain a whole extra 6" of depth.

Usually, cheap stuff is harder to set up.  Not this guy.  All we had to do was inflate the upper ring...

Attach the filter hoses, and fill... 

Smooth out as many wrinkles as possible, and fill some more...

And fill...

It sets up pretty much all by itself, which was pretty neat to watch.  It took a few hours to fill up completely, and we have a little bit of a "deep end" because our lot slopes gently and I wasn't about to get a truck full of dirt to level it out.

It's one step up from a teeny sit-and-soak pool.  Not big enough for the grownups to swim, but plenty large for the Kiddo to practice in between swim lessons and splash around.  

But, it is totally big enough for my floatie.  The cupholders are a nice perk.

All that was left was a place to hang wet towels.  There are a LOT of cute hook options - whale tails, mermaids, other various body parts of marine creatures.  Ultimately, I decided on something a little less theme-y.  It didn't have anyyything to do with me happening upon 3 perfectly serviceable hooks at Marshall's for $4 each.  

I just screwed directly into the deck post, and hung these guys on the 3 sides closest to the pool.  I made sure to hang them low enough to have some hope of the Kiddo hanging his towel up.

Pro tip: Make sure the head of your screws actually fit inside the hangers BEFORE you screw them into the post.

Anybody else having a backyard Summer?  Any words of wisdom/experience with little above ground pools?