shannonalbert.me

Random thoughts of mine

Shannon — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 14:01:15 +0000

Funny how I blog in waves isn’t it? Casey once told me that she’s come to accept that my blog post frequency changes with my life and it definitely does. You might think my absence means bad things but it doesn’t. I just get really into living and focusing on something that I don’t feel the need to blog for a while. (I am very consistent on Twitter though. It’s become just a part of my daily life.)

So, here are some random things on my mind.

I don’t blog about my kids very often because they are older, don’t willingly pose for pics and don’t want to be discussed much. I wonder what current mommy bloggers who mostly discuss their kids will do once their kids grow up and no longer want to be discussed? I suspect that many of them will find their voice in other interests and their blogs will cease to be “mommy blogs.” (Side note: I only check dooce.com every few months but WTF is up with her extreme difficulties with her oldest kid? That poor child.)
I have a dream to plan people’s Disney World itineraries as a job. Hotel suggestions, restaurant suggestions, what to do each day of the trip. It’s so much fun to me but so overwhelming for people who aren’t into the details like I am. If you were somebody who didn’t want to delve into the details yourself and just wanted a plan handed to you, how much would you pay for that?
Our house. OUR HOUSE. It’s slowly emerging as a really nice place to be. I have most of our rooms unpacked and it’s actually a functional, comfortable place to be. I always knew it would be awesome and now we finally get to start using it.
I wasn’t looking forward to school starting again but now that it has, I’m finding a lot of pleasure in hanging out in coffee shops to work and completing errands alone. Payton is stressed out by school already (which happens when you take extra classes and enroll in all pre-AP classes). Blake is happy to be at a new school this year where they know what Apple products are. Here are my 2 on the first day:

Summer

Shannon — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 12:44:11 +0000

I’m having trouble with this summer coming to a close. I realllly love being with the kids and can’t believe the school gets them back in a week. I think they might be looking forward to it though.

This summer didn’t turn out quite how I wanted it. I planned on traveling with the kids and taking advantage of all 3 of us having some time to do that. That didn’t happen. In fact, I’m fairly sure every other person in the United States traveled 3 times as much as we did. I don’t get jealous easily but the one area I do get jealous is when people get to travel a lot and I don’t. I don’t think most people have paid off all of their bills and live in a very modest house so they can travel…only to not be able to do it.

But I’m not bitter. (Yes I am.)

Instead, we spent a lot of time and money on our house this summer. We’re physically and emotionally exhausted. Every minute and dollar we have is spent getting our house improved so it’s a place we will want to live.

We’ll probably move in this weekend. Two rooms are still unlivable but we hope to install the wood floors in those rooms within the next couple of weeks.

We’ve got a lot done but a lot is still left. Wood floors, counter tops in the kitchen, unpacking, buying new furniture. We’ve lived in limbo for a year now and we are looking forward to having a permanent place that’s ours again.

Seems ironic that Andy’s former company has showed interest in having him back again. Although we miss Wichita, we can’t go through a move again anytime soon.

We’ve gotten through the worst of the stress and expenses which means we can start to think about traveling again. New Orleans, Walt Disney World and maybe our first out-of-the-country-as-a-family trip are possibilities. I can’t wait.

This and That

Shannon — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 20:34:34 +0000

It just occurred to me that Blake is fascinated with a whole lot of Japanese things like origami, ASIMO, Fushigi and the movie Ponyo. I guess it makes sense since the Japanese seem to combine techie and whimsy in many of their creations. Naturally, I started researching trips to Japan (they have a Disney park!). The verdict? It’s expensive as hell. Someday.
I’ve been job searching again. Summer is coming to a close, we need a consistent flow of money again and I’d like to get out of the house. Fingers crossed, please!
We think we’re moving in NEXT WEEK, people! We’ve been gradually moving in each room, our refrigerator arrives tomorrow and we’ll get TV and Internet switched over this week. We still won’t have floors in the front 2 rooms or new counters but we can add those shortly.
About 4 or 5 times a week, I get told that I’m not old enough to be Payton’s mom. I am a young mom but haven’t had this kind of feedback before. Losing 20 pounds (went from a size 14 to size 8 since Christmas!) and getting a bit of a tan helps, y’all!
Payton has her learners license and she, like, drives now. Also, she has an appointment with a modeling agency this week. Nevermind that. I found out they are a scam.
I planned on a whole post about the Lady Gaga concert but let me just sum it up for you: fan-freaking-tastic. Payton and I love that chick.

The end.

How to paint shiny oak cabinets

Shannon — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 13:34:06 +0000

When we bought our house, I knew I’d be painting all of the shiny oak cabinets before we moved in because there’s very little I hate more than oak covered in polyurethane. I wasn’t sure what the process would be like but since I’ve spent my summer doing it, I’ve put together a tutorial based on what I’ve learned. I started with this tutorial and I’ve added some extra info to that.

Master bath cabinets, before.

Master cabinets, after.

Supplies:

Oil-based primer (I used Kilz stainblocking primer). The oil part is important because that’s what blocks the grain from bleeding through. It also stinks a lot. I bought 1 gallon and didn’t end up using very much. A quart might even work if they sell that size.
Latex paint in semi-gloss finish. I only bought a quart to do all of our bathroom cabinets. It doesn’t take much. If you’re going for a white color, I highly recommend the color Decorators White by Benjamin Moore. It looks a little grey in the store but it’s a perfect white when it’s painted. I learned that from other sites that had voted it the best white color available and they were right.
Several 1.5 inch angled brushes. You’ll need a new brush each time you use the oil-based primer (unless you clean them out using the recommended chemicals but I never did that).
Painter’s tape. You’ll need to tape off the cabinets that are mounted on the wall.
220 grit sandpaper. I like using the sandpaper with a handle for the flat areas and the sandpaper sponge for non-flat areas so you may want to get those as well.
Sponges to wipe down cabinets.

Remove doors from cabinets, remove hinges, remove hardware from doors.
Find a big space where you can work and sand each door with fine sand grit sandpaper.
Once you’ve finished sanding all of the doors, take a damp sponge to the doors to remove the dust. This may take a few wipe-downs per door until the dust is fully gone.
Prop the doors up how you want them to be for painting. I used plastic cups under each of mine. Most people will probably also want to use a tarp or covering of some sort but our carpet was being replaced so I didn’t.

Apply 1 coat of oil-based primer to cabinets and then act like a crazy person the rest of the day. Seriously, this stuff is smelly and makes you think weird thoughts. Let the cabinets dry for at least a few hours.
Apply 1 coat of semi-gloss latex paint. Let this coat dry for at least a few hours.
Apply 2nd coat of semi-gloss latex paint. If this coat seems to have provided enough coverage and will be your last coat, leave cabinets to dry for 5 days before re-mounting. If you’ll need more coats, just keep coating until it’s enough, allowing for a few hours to dry between coats.
Repeat same basic steps for the cabinets that are mounted on the wall but tape off before you start so you don’t paint the wall or floor.
After 5 days of drying, re-attach hinges and hardware and remount.

Some tips:

You’ll notice I never mentioned using a small roller to apply the paint. I originally did use a 4 inch roller and it applied so much paint (even though I tried to reduce the amount on the roller before applying) that I had to redo the cabinets due to the texture it created. I did use a small roller for the large areas on the mounted cabinets since there’s plenty of space to distribute all of the paint. If you do use a roller, buy a 4-inch one that’s not foam.
The best method I found for painting is to use the brush to put some paint on a cabinet and then work briskly to keep “pulling it down” over the cabinet. Thin coats are key. If you work quickly while the paint is still wet, the paint will dry without streak marks. If you keep working while it’s starting to dry, you’ll see streak marks when it dries.
If you’re going to use different hardware on the cabinets after you paint them, make sure the holes line up. If you want to use hardware with different holes, you’ll need to putty the holes and create new holes. Since our hinges were the concealed type, I just painted them with a hammered spray paint and let them dry for 2 days before using.

I’m super happy with the end product and can’t believe what a difference it makes. If you have any questions, let me know and I’ll try to help. Can’t wait to see some more before and after pics!

House update – cabinets are painted!

Shannon — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 22:52:10 +0000

Drinking game: count how many times I say “polish” in this video.

Yep, still alive!

Shannon — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 13:00:57 +0000

Hi blog friends!

Still alive in Texas although barely (HOTTTTTT!). Some random stuff:

Will have a big update on the house this weekend. FINALLY!
Can’t believe the kids go back to school in a little over a month. I’m dreading the school getting them back. BOO!
If I haven’t mentioned it before, http://younghouselove.com is my favorite new site.
Lady Gaga. This Thursday. With Payton. My expectations for this concert are a little too high maybe. I haven’t looked forward to a concert as much as this one in a loooong time.
I usually require 50% payment up front on freelance work. The times I’ve let people not pay because they said they were “good for it” and then they paid me in full later? ZERO.
Payton has her learner’s permit for driving and is in the middle of attending driver’s ed for 3 weeks. I keep trying to decide if I can still call her my baby girl if she’s driving a car and I think so. I don’t think anything can change that.
Some sweetness to start the week. He’s on the team that won the World Cup. His girlfriend is a reporter interviewing him about it.

Random junk for this Tuesday

Shannon — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 16:18:37 +0000

We spent the long weekend in KC with family. Had a great time.
Sunday was our 12th anniversary. Andy and I aren’t much into public proclamations of our love for each other (people who make that a habit often end up divorced any way) but I’m super happy to be celebrating our 12th. He makes me a better human. Not sure he could say the same about me but maybe he’d say I’m….entertaining? I also make a good meatloaf.
Andy’s family rarely comments on my blog or FB but after talking to many of them, I’m happy to hear they do read sometimes and have enjoyed the house videos. I will keep doing those until we’re done w/the work on our house.
Over the weekend, people seemed surprised that Andy and I slept comfortably in a twin bed. Yes, we have a king-sized bed of our own but we don’t take up that much space. What’s the point of sleeping in the same bed if you’re going to be on opposite sides from each other?
People were also surprised that I jumped into a pool with my clothes on while it was raining outside and about 70 degrees. I just wanted to watch fireworks from the pool – is that so crazy?
Netflix streaming is awesome. We may be the last people to realize this but it is 1 of my favorite things right now.
For the last 2 weeks, I’ve eaten every meal at home except for a dinner at a restaurant that Andy wanted to eat. Incidentally, on that restaurant visit, neither of the kids ordered anything so they may not have eaten out at all in the last 2 weeks. One evening Andy said “Let’s grab some fast food” and I asked Blake what he wanted and he said “we should eat at home to save money.” We ate at home that night too.
I’m now posting every Wednesday at flightster.com.
I said bye to Kam on Monday. She’s en route to Washington state right now with 2 cats, a dog, a 6-year-old, a Uhaul trailer w/her stepmom helping her make the trek. Thank God for the Internet.
When brainstorming where we should go without the kids, Andy suggested we go see Kami. Reason #4763 why I love him.
I don’t drink alcohol any more. At all. There’s a risk of seizures if alcohol is combined with one of the meds I take so I don’t. I don’t miss it and I’ve been around a lot of drinking the last few weeks. Andy loves having a DD.
I love this summer.

Paint! Paint! Paint!

Shannon — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 20:11:34 +0000

This is our 3rd house but the first that I’ve picked out paint colors in. We had our first house built and our wall color choices were various shades of tan to go in the whole house. Second house was already painted and we just left it the way it was.

Also? I’ve always been a super neutral girl. It’s what I wear and it’s what I gravitate to. I think God sent Payton to me to add a bit more spice because she has really challenged me to incorporate more color into my life. When we go shopping, I let her pick the colors of the shirts I buy now. As a result, I’m now the proud of owner of some purple! And pink!

And now we are also the proud owners of a house that has been completely repainted. Take a look.

How to paint shiny oak cabinets

What a mess

Shannon — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 04:01:10 +0000

A quick update on our house. It’s a total mess and I couldn’t be more excited.

Mega huge beach trip report for a mega huge family

Shannon — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 14:56:52 +0000

As I posted previously, we spent last week with Andy’s siblings and their families. We used to all get together when a sibling got married but now that 6 of the 7 are married (and the 7th has no plans to marry soon), we have to make plans to get together.

We decided on a beach house in Ocean Isle, North Carolina, because beach houses are pretty easy to do with kids and it would be fairly affordable for a family vacation. We got one big house for us to all stay in and then their cousins from Denver decided to get the one across the street.

Confession: although I look forward to all trips, I was a little apprehensive about this one. I don’t think I’m alone. Over 25 people in ONE house with 12 kids? It’s not that we don’t all know each other already but running a house with all of those personalities and kids and the orneriness that the siblings get when they are together sounded like a possible recipe for disaster. People always say that men tend to marry wives like their moms but that is definitely not the case in this fam. Their mom is super laid back but the wives in this fam? Not so much.

And it wasn’t bad. At all.

Each sibling was assigned a day of the week to be responsible for food and it could be whatever we wanted. Cooking a fancy meal, going to a restaurant, grilling hot dogs, whatever. This was so fantastically awesome because every day except our assigned day was spent eating yummy food and somebody else cooked it and cleaned up. And soooo much good food. On the assigned day, it was fun to make stuff for the group and see people enjoy your food.

Cast of characters

Here’s a pic of all of us with the names of everybody written in. Each family has their own color and the siblings are in ALL CAPS. Oh, and maybe this will help you all find ME since that seemed to be an issue for some people.

The Original 7, as they call themselves (please excuse Andy’s “There’s Something About Mary” hair)

The cousins from Denver

Ok, by birth order, here’s a bit about each.

David (and his wife, Liz) – They live in South Carolina so they drove to the North Carolina beach house. Liz was the one who booked the house and handled the logistics of what we should bring and how it should work because it’s something she’s done before. Wrangling this many people and deciding on the house, the dates, gathering money, etc., isn’t easy but she did it well.

Dinner choice: They made our first dinner which was pasta and she brought lots of other things for everybody that they packed into the two cars they drove.

David turns 40 this summer so we had a surprise birthday party for him

Dan (and his wife, Katrina) – Dan is the one who opened the restaurant last summer in Kansas City. They also had a baby last year and already have 2 older boys. I’m going to go ahead and say that they likely had the most stressful year of anybody and this vacation was a welcome chance to relax.

Dinner choice: They opted to order pizza on their assigned day and grocery shop for some basics.

Bob (and his wife, Nicki) – They turned this trip into a 2 week trip that started a week beforehand. They drove their family of 5 from Wichita and headed to Georgia first and then drove to the beach house. Their kids are super high energy and their patience amazes me (though we lived with them for a few months when we first moved to Wichita and kinda already knew that). If awards were given out, Nicki would have received one for something. Best beach house guest? Or something like that. They brought a Wii for the kids to play in the house, daily craft activities for the kids to do each afternoon.

Dinner choice: They had a taco bar followed by homemade fried ice cream. Seriously. We were assigned the day after them and we were nervous because they had done such a good job.

Andy (and his wife, ME) – We flew into Raleigh-Durham airport which is 3 hours away from the beach house so we had a drive after our flight.

Dinner choice: We made Frogmore Stew which is a boiled pot full of shrimp, potatoes, corn and sausage with Old Bay Seasonings mixed in. Sounds simple enough to have everything in 1 pot but making it for that many people makes it harder. We made a few different batches with varying degrees of spiciness. It went over well. Whew.

The kids and I sleeping on the drive from the airport to the beach house.

Maria (and her husband, Tom) – Tom and Maria have the most gentle of all of the kids so even though they are only 3 and 5, they are incredibly easy and fun to be around.

Dinner choice: Tom and Maria made green beans, potatoes and polish sausage on their day which is something their grandma used to make all the time. Yum.

Maria and her fam walking to the beach.

Mark (a.k.a., Dr. Mark or FAVORITE UNCLE EVER) – Mark flew in and out of the same airport that we did so he rode to and from the airport with us. This is especially awesome because the kids totally adore him. He’s definitely the nicest and least ornery of all of the siblings. Also? The smartest.

Dinner choice: Mark partnered up with their dad and made Brats on the grill for his dinner.

The kids love Uncle Mark so much they woke him up early every day like this.

Nick (and his wife, Celeste) – they actually stayed in the house across the street with the cousins since there weren’t any more rooms available in our house when they decided to come.

Dinner choice: I have no idea what they made for dinner but we did see them a lot and they were super adorable on their tandem bike they had rented for the week.

The tandem bike. So. freaking. cute.

The house

We had a 7 bedroom house with 3 bedrooms on the main floor and 4 bedrooms at the top. Most people had their own bathroom. We were on the main floor where the living room and kitchen are and this may not have been the smartest decision. When everybody else’s little kids woke up early, our family of 4 was sleeping. Our kids didn’t hear the noise but Andy and I would often wake up with everybody else and then go back to bed when they headed out for their morning beach visit.

View of the house from the cousin's house

View from top floor down to the main floor with the living room, kitchen and dining room

Deck by day

Deck by night

Ground level

The view from our deck to the cousins' house across the street

The beach

Our beach house was a couple of blocks from the beach so we had a little walk to get to and from there. The people who went at the beginning of the day would usually take our stuff (umbrellas, chairs, etc.) and set them up on the beach. The last people at the beach would bring them back. We usually made multiple trips per day. Unless your name is Blake and you don’t really make that trek at all.

Playing with seagulls. If you attended our wedding, that's Isaac in the middle who was a newborn when we got married.

Catching little fish in the ocean and putting them into the little pond

View of the pier

Ouch, ouch, ouch

Boogie boarding - lots of us loved doing this

I don't know

I’d like to interrupt this trip report with a fashion show by Althea, the 3-year-old, who has a different swimsuit for each day of the week, cute clothes and is always willing to pose for a pic. But don’t tell her she’s cute because she’ll tell you she’s smart and not cute. I think she’s both.

Volleyball

We were so lucky to have a sand volleyball court at the house and we played every single night until it was dark and then we went and jumped in the ocean to cool off.

Tall brothers always at the net. When I'm on one side & one of them is on the other side, I scream when they go up to spike.

When I go up, it's scary and the results are often bad. I'm more of a bumper.

I need to interrupt this trip report again to show you some pics of Blake because if I don’t, you won’t spot him in any of the group shots. At the beginning of the week, Blake was recovering from double ear infections and a sinus infection so resting made sense. As the week progressed, it was pretty clear he had no interest in leaving the house.

Kayaking

Mark is an avid kayaker so he headed to a shop nearby and a kayak was rented for the week.

Had to use Bob's van to haul it

What Andy and I did a lot of

Since Andy and I are the only parents who don’t have kids that need to be monitored constantly, we looked a lot like this most of the time.

Random pics

Over 1000 pics taken (and it feels like 900 of them are in this post so far). Here are some miscellaneous pics from the week.

There was a mini-golf course near the beach house. Kids loved it.

Keep it classy, Baby Dean

The "crow's nest" on the cousin's house. You could see the ocean from there.

The 7 siblings and their dad went out very briefly for a drink on our last night

I'll be happy when icing has a spell checker attached to it

Wrap Up

Some random thoughts in retrospect:

I’m glad we were all in 1 house for a lot of reasons including the fact that there was always somebody to stay with Blake so Andy and I could go out to do things.
I wish we had gone to rent the kayak, buy the boogie board, etc., on the first day.
It took me a while to figure out the pattern of beach, shower, beach, shower. I kept thinking “do I want to take 2 showers every day?!” and the answer is yes. I think I wasted a bit of time the first couple of days due to not wanting to get wet over and over again.
Being on a trip with a couple dozen people is not only possible but can be really, really fun.