What I did on my summer vacation...

Years ago when my requirements for furniture included cheap and "functional" (meaning able to support the weight of my homework and a bowl of ramen noodles), I purchased this end table for a measly $2.50 at a garage sale. It was ugly and brown with a fantastic formica top that held up to beer bottles (sorry mom) quite well. Awhile ago, I got a great idea to give this table new life with a few coats of fun purple paint.

But then Barney the dinosaur called and wanted his signature color back.

...so I decided to go with a neutral cream color instead.

I jazzed up the top with this great penny round charcoal tile (the picture above was pre-grout).

With this being the end result. I LOVE it.

The pros, a cute table that will never need a coaster and holds up to all the matchbox cars this two year old can throw at it. Not bad for a 2 dollar table.

PS-the fun lamp? a $5 dollar steal from goodwill.

So then I realized I still have plenty of that cream pain leftover so I turned my attention to our bill payers desk. It started out with this very red stain and old, outdated hardware.

But with a few coats of pain and some new hardware it's as good as new. I was going to paint the insert at the top but I kind of like the two tone look (or I am too lazy to fix it, your call).

Jason finished it off by drilling holes in the back to turn those little cubbies on the top into a full charging station for our electronics.

Bribery: not above it.

In the Haak house, mealtimes are almost always a battle.

Since the beginning of solid foods we have tried everything to get this stubborn (inherited from his daddy...obviously) little guy to eat anything. Our various tactics included everything from distraction to hiding pureed fruits and veggies in anything I could. After all of these things failed we've moved on to a new plan...

Bribery.

This is Tyson's new bribe, I mean reward chart (Forgive the poor photography). If he tries something new or eats really really well, he gets a sticker. You may be impressed by the amount of stickers on there...but you fail to remember I haven't told you how many many days/weeks this thing has been around.

Jason and I are the least picky eaters ever so we are completely baffled at our child who would rather have a glass of milk any day versus putting something in his mouth to chew it. Is this the right tactic? We have no idea. If anyone has any suggestions, we are open. Otherwise, just point me back to this post when Tyson is 16 and eating everything he sees...perhaps then I will be grateful for the inexpensive grocery bills.

Labor Day weekend

Labor day weekend started out with the plan to do a whole lotta' nothing with a little puttering around the house thrown in. Then we heard about the Thresheree (yep, I spelled that right) going on at a nearby town. While looking at old tractors and steam engines aren't really my favorite ways to spend free time, I knew my farm grown husband and little boy would be in heaven.

Surprisingly enough, it was pretty fun. Tyson was in his glory and even sat on one of the running tractors.

...but only after the neighbor boys tried it first:)

I think this is what heaven looks like from a two year old boys perspective.

This is what heaven looks like from a mama's perspective.