Furniture Rehab: 70's(?) Thrift Store Chair

Before

After!!!

The process:

Applying stripper

Scraping off (after about 24 hoursto let stripper work)

Applying a white wash (basically, thinned chalk paint)

Me pretending to act natural while someone takes my picture

Me not knowing what to do with my hands in a photo (think "Taladega Nights." ...and I know if I have to explain why something is funny, that means it isn't that funny)

Applying a mix of turpentine and black oil paint. This sinks into the grain, so pretty!

Me attempting to sew, literally my first time using the sewing machine in 15 years. Thank goodness for You Tube!!!

The finished product!!!

Very cool wood grain in this chair

So much character! I love it!!!

Thanks for checking this out! Leave a comment so that I feel special about it (-:

Merry Christmas 2009!

Once again this year has been very eventful and exciting for us. Here is a little update on all of us.

Zach- Zach is in his 3rd year of teaching. He teaches choir and guitar at South Cache Middle School in Hyrum, Utah, and is loving it. He is still in the Army Band, and unfortunately for all of us, this month is beard month (when all the members of the band have a beard growing contest). FYI, Zachy always loses. Zach also joined a band called “Local Grown.” Look for Local Grown in a few upcoming appearances on KSL’s Studio 5. Local grown has written the new theme song for Studio 5 and you will hear it on the show starting in February!

Amy- Of course the big news here is that Amy is expecting a baby girl! Little Matilda (we’re about 85% on that name) is due March 26th. Amy is nearing her 3rd trimester and that is always bad news for all of you (I get mean from here on out. Sorry… hormones and all that). Amy is in her 3rd year of nursing (no, not 3 years of nursing babies thank goodness), that’s 3 years of working as a nurse. She is still at McKay Dee Hospital on the surgical floor, and loves it!

Tyger- Tyger is in the 1st grade and is very smart and above average in all of his school subjects. He has lost a total of 6 teeth (4 in the last couple of months). Last week he had a “Toothless Joe” party at his friend’s house. Any more lost teeth and we will have to puree all of his food! Tyger has been taking karate this year and is doing so well. Watch out for his karate chops! Tyger is still as energetic and happy as he has been since the day he was born. He is sensitive and caring and always makes our home a happier one.

Tatum- Tatum is 4 ½ years old and as cute as ever. She is very excited for a new baby sister, especially since she wanted a girl and knew it was a girl all along. Incidentally, our kitty is excited for the new baby as well because she will get a break from Tatum. Tatum is very, VERY attentive to kitty. Tatum is also taking karate but hasn’t taken to it quite as well as Tyger. Most of karate class for Tatum consists of her whipping other students with her belt, break dancing on the floor, and running in circles around the teacher. Ah 4 year olds… Karate aside, Tatum is the sweetest and funniest child and we love her so much!

Matilda- Tilly is getting bigger and bigger by the day, as evidenced by the fact that I can feel her jumping off my bladder and bouncing off of my ribs. I think she will be spunky, especially since Matilda means “mighty in battle.” Can’t wait to hold her in my arms!

Katherine Dander (Kitty)- Kitty is getting fatter and fatter, sleepier and sleepier, and more and more moody. But she is also very soft and purrs for us quite frequently. Love that kitty!

We hope your holidays are filled with happiness and love!

Love,

The Putnams

The Money Shot

It's a Girl!!!!

I could tell before he even told us. Pretty obvious! This is bum cheeks and a hamburger (not a hot dog) for those of you who can't tell.



Cute little toes



She was covering up her face the entire time which is unfortunate because he was trying to get me a 3-D shot of her face. It's ok though, because even though the 3-D pics are cool, they're just a little bit creepy to me.

I'm kind of disappointed because there were some good profiles and he didn't record those. I didn't know until I got home and put the CD-R in. Oh well. We're oober excited! We didn't have a preference on gender, but Tatum wanted a girl so she got her way!

Sweet Tyger

6 year old boys are the sweetest, especially Tyger who has always been especially sensitive. This morning he climbed in bed with me to tell me about his dream. It was a dream about a guy whose dog died and the man was very sad. Then Tyger told me an elaborate process (some kind of battle boys against girls) in which the winners were able to bring the man's dog back to life for him. He told me he was so happy he cried in the dream and when he woke up. Then he cried while he told me. My sweet little boy!

Cleaning Off the Camera... Finally!

2 cute kiddos!



Day at Bear Lake. Not much we could do with no boats or water toys, but we had fun anyway! This was the middle of July but still only between 65-70 degrees. :(



I took this pic because I was sure it was a bobcat or wild cat (are they the same thing?). But it may just be a fat house cat. I'll let you be the judge...



Our new Ikea office. Perfect for tiny spaces!



Tyger still loves the kitty. This reminded me of when he was 4 and Kat was a kitten. He was lying under the table cuddling with her and whispering, "We'll be best friends forever..."



Forget about dipping your fingers in the butter... at our house little Tater's just take full on bites!



Poor Kitty. This is Tatum/Darla



Tatum at karate. She's actually semi doing what she is supposed to in this pic, usually she is break dancing on the floor, running around in circles, or whipping people with her white belt. We made need to find a different outlet for her. We'll get you Tyger karate pics later.



Someone took this pic of me at work without me knowing. But it looks like I'm doing something important so I am posting it!



A day at Cache Valley Fun Park. We took one pic and then forgot to take more. Oh well, we'll have to go again!



Tatum and her bestest buddy Allie.



Tyger and his bestest buddy Ty. Ty and Allie live 2 doors down. Perfect!



Tyger and Tatum like to wake us up by taking a picture of us. I'm only including this one of me because Zach will be mad if I only include one of him!


Ha ha! Good thing he never reads the blog!



At Lava Hot springs this summer.




Unfortunately, we didn't actually see the springs or the water park at Lava Hot Springs, because Tyger was sick the second day. But we had a few good runs tubing down the river.

With 3 You Get Eggroll

I have no idea what that title means but it's an old movie, or maybe it's "With 6 you get Eggroll?" Anyhoo, very good news for y'all! Baby #3 is due March 26th at 3:00 p.m. (That way I can be in the post partum unit by the time Jeopardy is on). Tyger said, "I know it's a boy because look at the hair." Tatum says she KNOWS it's a girl. Chinese gender calendar says it's a boy IF I have my conception day right, however if I'm off even 2 days, Chinese gender chart says it's a girl. So there you have it, we are pretty sure it will be either a boy or girl. Our scanner is broken so this is a picture of a picture, sorry for the poor quality.


I know what you're thinking, spitting image of Zach. WARNING! Only read on if you want to hear me whine about my pregnancy!
This pregnancy has been SOOOOOO much better than my first 2. I've only lost 5 pounds instead of 15, and I've only lost 3 meals instead of... every meal. I attribute this to begging Zofran off of my doctor on the first visit, working which is a great distraction, and of course my magic Shakra hologram bracelet. Unfortunately I already weight 15 more pounds at the start of this pregnancy than my other 2, but I'm hoping to avoid a 70 pound weight gain since I have felt so much better. Surprisingly, that's all the whining I have at this time. I take that back, I am so fatigued my house is even messier than usual (I know, I didn't think it was possible either). So there you have it! Name suggestions are welcome but they must be unique/borderline weird or they will not be considered!

Hello Daisy, Goodbye friend

In March we got ourselves a puppy, she is a lab/pointer mix, and as sweet and lovable as she could possibly be. We have thoroughly enjoyed her. However, we did not have a fenced in yard for her to play in and our house is too small to support a medium sized dog; and the busier we have gotten, the less attention our sweet little Daisy was getting and I was experiencing more guilt about her than enjoyment. So alas, I place an ad on KSL Classified yesterday, and I was surprised to get several calls on her in the first hour. Surprisingly, her new owner lives less than a mile away from us and has been looking for weeks for just the perfect dog. Goodbye Daisy, we will miss you!




After tearing up everything in the yard, Daisy settled in for a nap in the cat bed.




Daisy's favorite place to nap: the laundry hamper



Daisy and our little Darla... I mean Tatum








Daisy yesterday

Tatumisms

1. Somehow Tatum decided Aunt Cassie is an angel, probably because we described both angels and Cassie as "Heavenly Father's Helpers." So the other day, Tatum was asking if Cassie was an angel. We said no. She asked "why?" We said, "Well, because she's not dead for one." Tatum shouted at the top of her lungs, "SHE'S NOT DEAD?!?!" Then she threw her hands up and clapped, "SHE'S ALIIIIIIIVE!!!!!!!!"

2. Tatum was lying in bed with me until Zach came in. She threw her little arms around my neck and said, "Mommy, when daddy comes in here, would you go over to him and..." "Yes Tatum?"
"Give him a wedgie?" After I laughed, I told her that she should give him a wedgie. She said, "We'll both give him a wedgie."

3. Tatum came into my room from bed because she "couldn't see Tyger or dad ANYWHERE." She said, "I'm pretty sure a monster ate them. I'll never have a dad again!" I told her they were probably out putting the dog to bed. She said, "Well then I'm pretty sure the dog ate them. I'll never have a dad again!"

Family Picture

My momma took these pictures for us last Sunday and she is a great photographer. Holly posed us. I have such a talented family!

Step 1: Admitting I have a Problem

After a silly comment by a coworker about my always looking "so frazzled everyday at work," I self medicated by buying a pair of new shoes. Or 2. OK, 4. I have a problem.BUT AREN'T THEY CUTE?!?!