When Super Heroes are Down...And a Project

The boys got a nasty bug this weekend.  Jacoby went down first with a 102 degree fever and had to miss his field trip to the Stock Show.  He was sad about that and so were we.  Morgan went down on Saturday and is still running a fever.  There's nothing but snotty noses, hacking coughs, and crankiness around here.  We've been watching a lot of movies to keep everyone comfortable and happy.

Life is no fun when the boys are sick.  And I find that the things that often drive me crazy on normal days, are the very things I miss on sick days.  One of Jacoby's defining features right now is that he is super loud.  He sings at the top of his lungs when he's in the bathroom and has a full repertoire of sounds he uses when he plays.  Sometimes I long for an "off button" when I need a bit of peace and quiet.  When he's sick, it's way too quiet around here and I really miss his volume! And Morgan, my child who is never still and always in motion--the house just isn't the same without stomping and thumping!  My super heroes donned their capes and masks today, but a lot of their missions were interrupted by hacking coughs, tissue breaks, and lying on the floor for rest...so sad!

In other news, I painted our fridge!  We inherited a hunk of junk when we moved into the house.  It has a lot of cosmetic damage and is a major eye-sore in an otherwise beautiful kitchen.  So, since a new fridge is not in our budget anytime soon, I've been researching some possibilities for several months and finally settled on one I thought would suit us until we're ready to upgrade.  For Christmas, the boys (the small and the tall) gave me a gift certificate to Lowes AND a whole day to myself to do any project I wanted.  Obviously, the germs thwarted the second part of the gift, but I bought myself a gallon of paint and a few supplies and got to work Saturday morning.  It was very easy and turned out so well.  We love it!

Here's the hunk of junk in all of its damaged glory.  The boys were concerned we'd never get to the food inside after I removed the handles.

Lots of rusty scrapes and dents

After one coat of paint.  The color is Classic Teal.

After three coats of paint + a secret ingredient. (:

I added grout to my paint, so once it dried it was a chalk board! This was much cheaper than buying actual chalk board paint, and a lot less toxic.

Morgan making sure his magnets still work

It's really cool and feels just like a chalk board!

Jacoby trying it out

My little artists at work

Justin even tried it out

It looks great and adds some color and whimsy to our kitchen...and the ghastly rust scrapes and scratches are gone!

My littlest sick, super hero

We are happy to have an extra day at home today because of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.  Justin overheard Jacoby telling Morgan that Martin Luther King was killed by a bunch of angry white guys.  Not too far from the truth!  Don't worry, we spent time learning other things about Martin Luther King too and why he's an important part of our history (especially for Inauguration Day today).

Have a great week everyone!