End Vacation with a Little Home Improvement

We spent Saturday listening to LDS General Conference and removing wallpaper. This lovely striped wallpaper was "in" during the late eighties, so from the previous homeowner's behind the times taste, we're guessing it was installed in the mid-nineties. It was on the inside and outside of our stairwell. I would have left this project until next year (there were uglier walls to tackle first, believe it or not) but Henry had already started stripping the wallpaper for us.

With the research we did, multiple sources directed us to Zinsser wallpaper removal products, most importantly DIF, an enzyme gel solution that dissolves the glue. We would recommend DIF and the Paper Scraper. The Paper Tiger wasn't really useful because we were able to pull the vinyl coated front off the wall in one piece, leaving the backing glue and paper exposed and ready to absorb DIF. It's still lots and lots of time-consuming work, but we were able to get it off without damaging the wall. This experience makes me hate wallpaper even more, though. You should have to buy a bond when you install wallpaper, to ensure that you're the one who eventually takes it down. Otherwise the bond would cover its removal, because I feel like the last homeowner left us holding the bag of this house with all it's outdated and unattractive-in-the-first-place wallpaper. Also, they should be shot for painting the ceilings in the house the color of the walls. It's bad enough that my bathroom is bright yellow, but it's worse that the ceiling is bright yellow. Ceilings should NEVER, NEVER be anything other than flat white paint. So over the next few years, we have four rooms of wallpaper to remove and a household of ceilings to paint. Now, the fun part. I need to pick a paint color. There are some creative constraints here- the formerly wallpapered area is only the lower half of the stairwell. The upper half would require professionals to paint because of the very tall wall, and the fact the ceiling (two stories off the ground) is painted the wall color. We're not ready to hire professionals right now, so we're only painting what was previously covered with wallpaper. The question is do we go with a color very similar to the upper half of the stairwell, paint the walls the same color as we painted the living room/hallway last fall (a warm off-white named "Toasted Cashew"), or pick something bolder?

Leave suggestions in the comments please.

Also, a public shoutout to my brother Sam.  His gift of a gently used computer allowed us to watch general conference on an actual TV, while sitting on couches, in our own home for the first time since we moved out of Utah.  Thanks also for Dallas's technical support.

A Video Treat: Henry Laughing at Caesar's Expense

Milestones

Is getting your first happy meal a milestone? While in St Louis, Henry had his first. I bought it because the toy included was a car, and all the other kids on the playground had one. I gave in to peer pressure.

I was at McDonald's to visit with Tammy and her cute kids. Ronald and some soft-serve ice cream were just delightful bonuses.
Good luck on match day this week!

The Difference a Year Makes

The first picture is Miss M.L., a year ago at the Orchid show, and here she is next holding hands with Henry at this year's Orchid Show. For toddlers, they'd played together really well. The handholding stroll was a really cute to watch.

Our favorite sculptures at the botanical gardens have to be the little flock of sheep. I always made everyone I took to the garden sit on the sheep. On the left, Henry is just over three months old, where he is much smaller than he is now at 23 months.

St Louis Party Time

It was serendipity when we were in St. Louis, that not only were they having the most beautiful spring weather, but that there was a birthday party to attend. There were three Lindell babies born at the beginning of March '09, and their moms had organized a party at the park for a joint celebration. It was great for a few reasons: 1) The aforementioned weather, 2) The park itself is fully gated so kids can't escape and it has great play equipment, 3) Those cupcakes! I don't like frosting, but I NEED the recipe for the blue cupcake icing. I think it was meringue based, and it was wonderful. 4)Most importantly, the people. I got to see a lot of church friends. There's no way I could have individually visited each of these beautiful women in more short visit to STL, so it was perfect that they had gathered themselves together. I got to meet a couple new babies, see some growing baby bellies, and get some updates on the old ward and neighborhood. Loved it!

Happy birthday O, C, and A! None of whom are the child crying in the above picture.

Henry loved this playground. He played hard for nearly two hours, and when we left I had to drag him away kicking and screaming. This Chicago weather has kept him caged too long. He wouldn't even slow down for a cupcake and juice.

Meet Me in St. Louis

I spent just over 48 hours in St. Louis and loved every minute of it. My last minute, whirlwind trip happened to coincide with the Missouri Botanical Garden's Annual Orchid Show. That remains one of my favorite events in STL, but of course nothing is as great as the people there.  I was able to do some great stuff and see some great people, but of course I cannot fit everything and everyone I love in St. Louis into two days.

Natalie and her oh-so-grown daughter came with us to the orchid show. 

Longing for Spring

 

For being such a short month, February felt like an eternity.  It was a hard month, both in regards to weather and health.  The biggest challenge was Nick's work schedule.  I can't really describe how overworked he is.  I will tell you he went three weeks without a day off.  March couldn't come soon enough, and now I'm excited that spring is around the corner.