P.S. I have to give my hubby a huge shout-out! He wanted to refinish the kitchen, but was not thrilled about my technique or my time-line, but let me do it anyway. He knows that I am messy and that I do things like my dad. (In the words of KB, "Ya ain't painted the Mona Lisa! Just slap it on there and be done with it!") Byron showed incredible patience despite my inability to communicate what I was doing (the blessings of being an only child). And the icing on the cake was when Byron showed up last night with all the pulls and started to install them, so he could get them done before leaving for Reno today. I was just hoping to have them done by next week. Thanks Byron, ya big stud!

After this week, I'm sure there is now. That's because I refinished my kitchen cabinets with spray paint. That's right, spray paint. You know when you get one of those crazy ideas and then you tell your husband and he looks at you like you've lost your ever lovin' mind? That's what happened, but I researched it, (website) and I wasn't the first one to try it and it seemed to work for everybody else, so why not me? I've been getting lots of "How did you do it" kind of questions, so here are the steps.

1. I took down all the cabinet doors, took out the drawers. Because I was too lazy to take out the dishes, food, blah blah blah off the shelves, I just taped cut pieces of drop cloth inside. I should have just taken everything out. Taping is a big pain.


2. After taking the hinges off the doors, I washed everything down with a TSP cleaning formula. It comes as a powder or a liquid. I got the smaller powder box. You add an amount to some warm water and wash everything down with a sponge. Then I sprayed the doors with a water bottle and wiped the doors down with a rag.



3. The next step is to use a spray primer on EVERYTHING! This is where your husband will drive you nuts, because no matter how hard you try, your taping job will not be good enough and there will be primer dust everywhere! I took plastic drop cloths and covered every surface I could find, and even made a wall separating the kitchen from the family room. But I neglected to remember that husbands have atomic supervision that allows them to find molecules of primer spray on the hardwood floor he installed, that you normally cannot see. The primer is important though, because it allows you to not have to sand or degloss, so don't skip it.



4. Primer spray paint only takes an hour to dry, so after you can spray paint the color. I chose Rustoleum Cream. I just did a nice even coat. People asked me how I kept it even, it just did. Keep the spray can moving! I think that was another benefit of the the primer, too. It covered so well, I didn't really need to do a second coat. In order to get all the nooks and crannies of the doors, you have to go back and do the sides, so it gives you a chance to touch up places you miss.



5. I let the paint dry overnight. It stays tacky for a while and I didn't want to get any fingerprint marks into. for the doors, I let one side dry about 1/2 a day before I painted the other side. Then the fun part began, GLAZING! I used Valspar Tintable Glaze and had it tinted in a chocolate brown color called Frontier Road. They make a premixed glaze, but it was a little too red for me.
   


6. I got my glaze technique from this video. It fit my style...just slap it on and wipe it off. I painted it on with a brush, leaving extra in the nooks and crannies, and working it into the wood grain. Then wiped it off with a rag. Easy Peasy!
   
   
   
   


7. The next morning I sprayed the doors with a clear coat spray in a satin finish. This is when I had a nervous breakdown. I used Valspar Clear Coat on Rustoleum Cream Spray Paint, and in ares where the spray was a little heavy THE PAINT BUBBLED UP! AHHHHHHHH! I just spent 3 days on these doors and one simple little step tries to destroy all of my work! But in the words of Tim Holtz, one of my favorite designers, I "embraced the imperfections" and made the bubbles just more of my distressed look. That's the lesson in all of this. If you want to repaint your cabinets, you cannot make them look like the prefect ones you see in the model homes. You are not a cabinet maker. So you (and your husband) need to be prepared to accept the imperfections. That's why this look of so good for a rustic, country kind of look.



8. I was prepared to repaint the existing hinges, but Byron found the exact same ones, only in a rod iron black. So he hung the doors back up and viola, the kitchen was done. We have picked some pulls, that'll be another post.

Overall, I'm really happy with the results. There are some touch ups I need to do, but it looks like a new kitchen! So, the big questions you're all asking...

• Would I do it again? Hmmm...yes and no. It depends on the situation. If we got some free cabinets that I could paint the whole thing in the garage, and THEN hang them, then yes, I would do it again, with no Valspar Clear Coat! But to paint those cabinets in the kitchen, I was just too much of a nervous wreck thinking about the paint getting sprayed on Byron's beloved wood floor (which scrubs off the Goof-Off Spray Cleaner) or primer spray dust getting on the leather couch.



• How many cans of paint did I use: 7 cans of primer, 12 cans of paint, 4 cans of clear coat.



• The cost: With ALL the supplies, about $200. Not bad for new cabinets.

Does anyone think my posts have been quite "Wyatt" heavy lately? Oh well! Get ready for another one! Wyatt was asked to say a scripture and give a prayer in Primary today. We practiced all week long. Some days he'd say it, other days he'd roll his eyes at me and say, "Oh honey!" (BTW, that is my new name now, Honey. I do not remember when the last time was that Wyatt called me Mom. I am Honey or Hon. "You wanna play with me, Hon?" "HONEY! Where you are? Upstairs or down?")

But, today he said it perfectly, with very little help. Once I got him started, Wyatt said the rest. Below is what he said, and then for my non-member friends, I'll translate.

"Beweeve God, 'ternal sauder, in his son, Jesus Christ, in the Holy Gwost...da sirst ardicle of sase."

Translation: "We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in his Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost...The First Article of Faith."

Wyatt then went on to say the prayer, which was a normal little prayer, asking God for the kids to be good, thankful for Primary, yadda yadda yadda. But my favorite part was when Wyatt must have realized what the microphone did to his voice which he then said, "I'm thankful my voice is very loud and you can all hear me." Wyatt, I'm thankful everyone could hear you too! You did a great job!

I went walking with Patricia this morning and she is always great with ideas for keeping Wyatt entertained, and opportunities to use his noggin. She suggested he take pictures with the camera phone as we walked. These are some of his shots. Not too shabby!

OK, if you're not Mormon, I know exactly what you are thinking..."What in the world is a Sunbeam and why does Sommer think Jesus wants Wyatt to be one?" I know all my nonmember friends a little too well. Admit it. You were thinking it, and I wouldn't be surprised if you were also thinking, "Those dang Mormons are a little kooky, calling their kids Sunbeams." In the LDS church, starting at 18 months old to 3 years old, our kids attend what we call "Nursery," while we, the parents, attend our Sunday School classes. Wyatt loved nursery, and who wouldn't! There were toys, snacks, a little lesson, singing time. It was a great place to be. But Wyatt turns four this year, and so now it was time to move up with the big kids. Kids ages 4 to 12 attend "Primary" and within Primary are classes divided up by age level. Sunbeams are the smallest. They are the cute little guys that sit in their own little chairs, trying so hard to be grown up. We got Wyatt a new shirt and tie, and even had a meet and greet with his teachers the day before. He was so excited! While the other kids gave shy, sheepish answers to the teacher's questions at the meet and greet, Wyatt spoke with clarity and conviction! He knew how important it was to share with the group that blue, yellow, green are his favorite colors, and pizza and macaroni and cheese were his favorite foods! He couldn't wait to sit with his "Sunbeam Buddy," Kenyon in the big Primary room!



I, on the other hand, was a little sad. I will never see my boy going to Sunbeams for the first time ever again, and lets be honest, I'll probably never see it with any other child again. I was so scared I'd forget that moment. I was frightened to think that 10 or 20 years from now, I'd forget how brave Wyatt was, walking in that room and finding his seat. I was afraid that I'd forget what a good little boy he was, sitting so reverently, and holding little Kenyon's hand, so Kenyon wouldn't cry. I was so nervous, that yes, I was the only new mother video taping my Sunbeam in the Primary room. I don't care. I think every mother should have the right to video tape her child anytime she wants. That way, every moment is remembered, especially those moments that only happen once in a lifetime.

Have you ever had a really good day? Or even a really good week? Where everything is calm and peaceful, with lots of laughing and good memories? This final week of 2009 was just such a week for our family. Christmas was great, we were able to spend it in our home, and we are so grateful for Byron's family who were willing to come to our neck of the words so we could be in our home for Christmas. But the day after was when we really started having a great, relaxing time for the holidays. The first few days were spent just relaxing around the house, working on projects, Wyatt inspecting all his new toys. We ate out, went to a move, and laughed a lot. We were invited to go up to Parawon that week, and I have to admit, we were having such a good time at home, we didn't want to go. But we decided to head up to the snow anyway, and I'm so glad we did. Here's just some of the great things we did:

• Mom stuffed us with great food
• Frolicked in the snow
• Went tubing behind the four wheeler at 12 miles an hour
• Took Wyatt skiing for the first time, which he was able to get about 1 1/2 runs in with lots of falls, some laughs, some tears, and a handful of sour patch kids as bribery. Byron just got a pulled back muscle.
• The Candle Light Procession and Fireworks at Brianhead
• Playing "Nines" card game that I WON THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!!!!!!

We celebrated the end of a crazy, interesting 2009, and we look forward to a crazy and interesting 2010!

I've discovered that I enjoy the simple kind of Christmas. I don't want to go anywhere on that day. I want to stay in my jammies all morning. I want to watch my son open presents and not worry about if there is anything for me under the tree (which there wasn't, a couch and new kitchen appliances won't fit). I want to eat Dutch Babies for breakfast and snack on cheeseball and summer sausage as an all day lunch. I want to take a nap. I want Wyatt to take a nap! I want to see Byron and Wyatt shoot each other with Nerf guns. I want a morning visit from Grammy and Pappa and hear the sounds of Wyatt explaining to them that we made too many cookies for Santa, and he couldn't eat them all. I want to watch Byron take full ownership over cooking a huge prime rib for Christmas dinner. I want to hear Wyatt playing with his cousins, while we visit with family. I want all these things, and this year...I got them! Hope you had a great Christmas!