The Wall & The Drill

Well, over the holiday break Rob was a gem and repainted our living room, front entry, upstairs hallways and kitchen. We once again used our favorite colors of Anonymous Gray and Amazing Gray from Sherwin Williams. I swear you never realize how dirty life, children and pets make walls until you put a roller to the wall with the new paint. Yuck! Here is what our finished project looks like, and we have just a bit of touching up to do along the edges. But, that will happen probably when we are stuck at home this weekend as we are expecting a lot of snow.

Thankfully, Rob was in the full on redo mode and decided to do a full wall of wainscoting/paneling or whatever you feel like calling it. I was all for it. It had been on our wish list of things to do for a few years now, and he thought after four kids and being stuck inside with cold temperatures was the perfect time to take over the kitchen area. Here is the wall before from another project we did.

It started out with painting the wall in the darker Anonymous Gray.

 Rob drew up this design on Wynn's sight word practice sheet (whoops) and headed to Lowe's.

 He pulled out the floor trim, and began by placing boards all along the outside edges of the main wall.  Then he cut the wood to make 24 squares on the wall. Well, after square #1 was built he called me upstairs. I was holding the baby, and was not paying attention and did not see the drill with the long drill bit on the floor until the last second. Needless to say I then noticed some pain, because a few inches of the broken off bit was now lodged in my foot. Excuse the mess in the picture below. This is how we left the kitchen prior to leaving the hospital, and then I took a picture a few hours later when we got back and Rob had finished up.

 I yelled for Rob who had just gone in the garage, and then gave him the baby.  I hopped upstairs got a change of clothes & diapers for the boys , and then hopped around finding just one shoe for me.   Our neighbors (the third set of grandparents essentially) came to the rescue and took all four kids to their house. My mother in law came over after we left. We were at the ER for three hours, and they were able to remove it fairly simply. I am still in some discomfort, but oh well I still have my foot.


When we got home my mother in law graciously stayed an extra few hours to help, and Rob then finished the cutting of the wood and framing of the squares. I told him this better be the best project yet, or else the drill bit into my foot wouldn't be worth it.

To make the squares on the wall Rob used 1 x 6 foot pine boards  at the top and bottom of our wall.  Then he placed boards 18 and 3/4 inches a[art going from left to right vertically using 1 x 4 boards pine.  Then he split up the remaining 1 x 4 boards to go across horizontally to create the squares.  

Then he used drywall mud and caulk to fill in any gaps, and then gave it all a good sanding. Finally, he primed the wood boards and painted them in the same Anonymous Gray.  

Epic! A Children's Library & Giveaway!

Happy New Year everyone! I'm so excited to be back sharing a post with you all. I have a few projects we have done around the house that I hope to share with you soon, but first I thought I would start the new year off with a bang and offer a gift to you.  I was recently introduced to a wonderful site called Epic!. Epic! is a an amazing electronic library of childrens books that are available through a monthly subscription.  The age range for this library is from 0-12 years old, and the titles are in so many categories it is hard to name them all.

I have information below on how to obtain a free two month trial for your children or even grandchildren perhaps. Each account allows up to four profiles, which is perfect for my family of four children. Although, at this point I am not sure Rory can utilize an electronic device. So, I made an account for myself and the older three children. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed checking out the variety of books to choose from.

When you login you are asked to share your reading age and  the types of genres you enjoy reading.  Then you are given books in those areas to choose from on the main screen. You can always go through the library it self and find something specific if you would like to explore any additional categories or genres. Even Rory enjoyed checking out titles for the littlest reader...or listener in this case.

You can also save books in your favorites section in order to find them more easily the next time you log onto your profile. Simply by pressing the "heart" button on the title page of each book. After you read a book you are also given the opportunity to rate the book as well.

Epic! also has a large library of audio books and read-to-me books, which are perfect for all ages.  These type of books allow my three oldest to read together, while I put Rory down for a nap. I love that this gives them something to do with one another. You can even use this on multiple devices, and so this may eliminate the need to share a favorite book as everyone can read it at the same time through Epic!.

As you read books in the library you can earn Badges to such as "Beginner Book Worm", "Epic Reader" and so many more.  These badges are located on individual profiles, and there are even monthly challenges issued to members such as read 100 books in the month of January. And a printable certificate available once a challenge is met.

In order to start your free two month subscription follow these simple steps:

1. Go to Get Epic!
2. Create your account.
3. Enter EPICPINTERESTING as the promo code. 

This promo code will be active for three days from today, and so you need to make sure you take advantage of this promo code quickly. I would love for you to have the opportunity to explore this amazing library with your family and friends.

Thank you for checking out this great opportunity today. Please let me know in the comments below when you sign up! I would love to hear how you feel about Epic! Have a great day!