Every Man Needs A Work Bench

Since we have been spending so much time in the garage lately, and the boys love to "help", I figured it was time they had their own work space.

I told Owen he there wasn't much he could do to help me put the work benches together, but I did agree to let them paint them.

Of course, Willett got more on himself...and me, than he did his work bench, but they loved it.

We were probably listening to Mumford & Sons, which explains the Owen Boogie.

Simple project. Total cost: $3.50. I had all the scrap pieces and blue paint. Spent $.50 on the green paint and $3 on stencils. I hope the boys get some use out of them.

Intervention?

So, Owen's classroom has the Surfer of the Week, where one child a week gets to bring in pictures of their family and friends and tell the class about them. Then the teacher asks them questions and posts all of it on the bulletin board at the front of the classroom.

This week is Owen's week. Judi and I are still laughing about this one in particular:
Owen is referring to his Buzz Lightyear action figure, but we can't help thinking that the St. Patrick's day festivities have gotten the better of him. Either that, or we have established some very shady parenting examples.

Bunk Beds

Willett decided recently that he no longer wanted to sleep in his crib. We talked about getting another twin bed to put in their room, then went to American Furniture to explore options. We stumbled on to some bunk beds and thought that was the easy answer. For $700 and an afternoon assembling the bunk bed kit, we'd be in business. Then I got to thinking....

...maybe I can build a set of bunk beds.

Thanks to an incredibly resourceful mom in Alaska, and her website www.ana-white.com, I found easy plans that turned this into a reality. I altered her design a little bit, putting the ladder on the end. I also used Select Pine (no knots, better grain) and stained the wood rather than painting it. Golden Pecan stain with two coats of poly, and A LOT of sanding.

I've got a great helper.

Every good shop needs a good set of tools.

Applying the stain.

I love how this detail turned out. Almost like a mortise and tenon.

Owen decided he needed to make a set of bunk beds himself, complete with its own ladder.

I guess Willett has to sleep on the bottom, inside the green wood cave.

And here it is!!!!!!!

No better way to test a new bunk bed than with a good book.

We are all a little tired after this one.

Good thing he has all that room.

So, what turned started out as a half day bed assembly idea, turned into a weeklong project. 22 hours, buckets of sawdust, lots of bad 80s metal on the iPod, and about $375 in materials (I screwed up the first ladder attempt adding $60 in materials).

But the boys love it.

Cookie Monsters

Since our play date was cancelled, Owen decided that he would feel better if we made cookies. The kid has a point...

He actually did great getting most of the ingredients in the bowl. Willett is starting to get more interested, but not enough to give up the train entirely.

Now, we have Willett's attention.

Hey boys, this is serious. We got work to do.

I tried to make it look like Willett was being crazy in the kitchen. In reality, I got flour in his eyes and had to stop progress so I could wash his face and flush out his eyes. He looks happy now.

Finishing touches.

Now comes the best part...

Seriously, the boys make these cookies look better than they taste.

Now don't bother me, I'm busy.