First Cabinet Staining Samples

I've been thinking about gel staining our cabinets for a while. I'd seen all the tutorials (I'm very thorough :P) on pinterest about General Finishes gel stain. We had used some on our nightstands project. I used some to refinish a little table we had in the house. I loved how it worked, and I felt pretty confident in using it. But before sacrificing our cabinets (and before I thought I could pick a shade), I wanted to do a sample cabinet. We picked up a sample at the ReStore. Here is the progress so far.

Front (two coats)
Front (three coats)

Conference Fun

Conference this year was great. Ella had lots of fun while she was awake: distracting us! She and Daddy had lots of fun going through her make shift tunnel.

We had Easter Treats to supplement our 72 hour kit rotation. (Our new family conference tradition.)

Ella and her Books

Ella loves to read. She has decided that sometimes she just wants to sit in her rocking chair and read. But, if that isn't available, she will use a laundry basket, or (if times are tough) she'll even sit on Daddy's lap.
Ella even likes to "read" Mom's books. It never fails that if I'm trying to read a book she will drop everything to come and take it so she can read it herself. (It is like a peek into teenage Ella)

New Fence and Other Projects

This spring we've ended up doing several big projects for our house. One of the major projects was putting up a new fence. Our old fence had been on it's way out and wind storm finally did it in.

We decided to have the fence people use these cool posts which only stick out one picket's worth instead of being a big metal post in the back. Here is the finished fence.

We also had our front trees thinned and trimmed, and the pest control people out to help us deal with our ant problem in the yard.

Pigtails

I have been waiting month after month for Ella to have long and thick enough hair for pigtails. Month after month I've been disappointed. She must have gotten her thin, slow growing hair from me.

We have gotten the semblance of pigtails using barrettes. Someday we can use real pigtail holders. :P

I guess until then, we'll have to enjoy Momma's headbands!

Daylight Savings Time Rears its Ugly Head

As most of you know, I think Daylight Savings Time is quite possibly one of the most aggravating and useless vestiges of the 20th century.  I won't argue that it never did any good -- in fact, I won't make any more statements about my opinion of it at all.  I'll share how Ella reacted to it.

Sunday morning she actually slept in -- the calm before the storm.  She hadn't yet realized that Daylight Savings hit, but she figured it out pretty quick.  She was unusually grumpy and much, MUCH more determined that her mother should not leave her sight.  I think it all came to a head when her usual nap time fell right on top of the beginning of church (as opposed to part way through church).  All of the children were grumpy and there was much more pushing and crying than usual at nursery.  If you were to ask Ella how she felt about the change, I'm pretty sure you'd get an incredulous look like this one.

Dates

This month the local library did a "blind date with a book" activity. (Don't worry, Daniel said it was okay)

I picked up my blind date with an open mind, but was soon looking for a reason sneak out of the date early. The book definitely didn't know what it was looking for!

On the bright side, my handsome, "eternal date" took me to the symphony. This date was significantly more successful. The soloist was a very talented pianist. The songs selected were Russian, and the were full of movement and interest. We had a really great time getting out and enjoying the music.

P.S. My book date was:

(in case you wanted to know)