Little Miss Dresser Re-Do

I have a confession to make. We've lived on the farm for over a year, and neither of the girls had actual dressers until a couple weeks ago. Yes, I'm a procrastinator. Yes, I can be cheap. But, in my defense, a rescued dresser gives the kids a chance to flex their creativity. Yup, that's the story I'm gonna go with.

I scored this little gem at the garage sale of a fellow Girl Scout troop family:

As you can see, she was in need of some serious TLC. Not to mention, she's not really Medium Child's style. Medium and The Hubbs popped off the decorative pieces from the drawers and the front. Then lots and lots of sanding happened. Thanks to the joy of homeschool, we called it all shop class. 😉 The Hubbs taught the girls about things like:
*Sandpaper Grit
*Wood filler/wood putty
*How to sand properly
*Paint finishes & Polyurethane

I will admit mom and dad helped with some of the sanding (dad) and painting details (mom). But the girls did a vast majority of the work, and Medium picked out the paint colors herself.

 

Drawers after the girls painted them white.

 

Before the purple detail.

 

The color she chose is called "Sassy Lilac." Fitting.

 

Side detail.

 

Trimmed out drawer.

 

 All Done!

Things I loved about this project: 1.) Super inexpensive dresser. 2.) We had all the sandpaper on hand. 3.) We had all the paint on hand. 4.) Medium could've chosen any pulls she wanted, and chose the cheapest ones. These cost $.97 at Lowe's.

Until next time,

Much Love,

Happy House-iversary!

It's a been a year (plus about a week, because, face it, I'm always late) since we moved to our forever home. A year since we started our farm. I live on a farm, y'all. A FARM. With animals and a ginormous garden and everything!

Our property was a foreclosure when we bought it. That means the place had been vacant for a while. The grass was overgrown. There were volunteer trees gone wild. And the kudzu ... oh lord, the kudzu. So we did what we always do when we move somewhere, and we cleaned and cleared. Then we cleared some more. We put in fences. We took out fences. We cut down trees. We bought animals, and built shelters for said animals.

Phew. What a year! Just thinking about it makes me tired all over again.

 

Welcome to Rocky Pond!

 

The Husband couldn't wait to get rid of those prickly hollies.

 

We took out fences. (Never mind the construction materials!)

 

We cut down trees. (And got some new dogs!)

 

We put in fences.

 

And more fences.

 

And more fences.

 

Oh lord, the fencing!

 

 

Behind the pond.

 

New hog and goat areas.

Turkey and chicken yards.

We put some blood, a lot of sweat, and even a couple tears into the place this first year. I'm so proud of the work we've done so far--including the girls. My current major project is the garden. It's causing me a lot of stress right now. I've never gardened on this scale and never, ever in the South. (I miss that Iowa soil!) Stay tuned for more updates ...

Much Love, 

A Minute on My Parenting Soapbox

Lately, I've been posting on social media a lot about parenting and a return to good, old-fashioned values. While usually, I try not to make too big a splash on social media, this is something I felt I need to speak out on.

As y'all know, we moved to Tennessee almost 2 years ago. Being from Iowa, we get asked ALL THE TIME what led us to this tiny part of East TN. And while at first I would cringe when I answered, I realize now that a lot of people feel the way that I do. (Or close to it. 😉 ) Honestly, a lot of the kids that I was running across were jerks. I was at an event once, and a young girl (about 8 or 9) rolled her eyes at me when I told her it was respectful to call women Ms. X or Mrs. X.  If THAT doesn't just prove my point! Ooh, I wanted to just smack that smirk off her face. It was then that I realized I did not want my kids growing up with friends like these.

When did it become okay for kids to roll their eyes at us? When did we stop holding them accountable for their actions? When did we stop disciplining? When did we stop raising/teaching our kids?

It also happened that at this time it was the coldest winter EVER in my history. Among other things. So the timing was right to hitch up the wagons and head to the South. Where the weather is warmer, and a lot of parenting is still old school.

Now don't get me wrong. While I consider myself pretty old school, I am not what I'd call "hardcore." The kids have chores, they get disciplined (yes, I have spanked), they have a routine and boundaries. But that is not ALL they have.

They also have a mother that is able to stay at home, so sometimes we bake cookies and eat them for breakfast. They have parents that want them to have more than we did as kids, so we buy things for them. They have parents that were latchkey kids, whose parents (their grandparents) were too busy working to do things & go places, so we take field trips together and make sure we get quality time as a family.

So what is my point? BALANCE.

It's all about balance, y'all. It's okay to give our kids things, and let them do things, but have your boundaries. Don't let them walk all over you. Does your daughter want to have a tea party? Rock on, but use it as a time to teach her about etiquette. Is there a party your preteen wants to go to this weekend? Make sure they clean their room (to mom's standards) before they can go. So your teen has a date Saturday? Maybe they should babysit their siblings Friday night. ('Cause parents need a date night, too!)

And please, please, PLEASE, teach them basic manners. Make sure they see you holding doors for others and teach them to do the same (Small Child loves to do this!). Teach them to respect their elders. Please and thank you will still take you pretty far. And for the love of Fonzi teach them to chew with their mouths closed!

They might not always agree with us, but our girls want for nothing. (They actually have a pony!) All we ask for in return is respect and that they do what is asked of them. Which they do (usually). So, I suppose I'll step down from this soap box now ...

Much Love,