Yep, He's a Second Child

Isn't it amazing how being a Mommy is so different the second time around?  I am sure it is also true for third (and fourth and fifth...) children, but I'll have to take your word for it!  My second is *such* a stereotypical second child--way more relaxed, way cooler about trying new things, way more clueless fearless about his personal safety.  As I type this my toddler is standing on the couch and my 3-year-old is telling him to "sit on your bum!  Danger!"  I think birth order is a part of it, and then I think part of it has GOT to be how different we are as parents.

Anyhow, here are some clues that he might be a second child:

• His file at the pediatrician's office is about a third of the size of his brother's, yet he has been sick twice as much.
• He learned how to count to 10 from a battery-operated toy.
• He is 1-and-a-half, yet his photo collage showing his monthly growth stops at 7 months.  Similarly, the cute growth chart on his wall has not a single entry.  
• His baby book is...well, I am not sure.  Where is that baby book?  I'll get back to you on that one...
• Mommy didn't consult the American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines when deciding whether he can watch a 20-minute cartoon.  Especially when she needs a shower so bad that bystanders may start passing out from the body odor.
• Eating his brother's discarded pizza crusts is not only an acceptable meal choice, it actually makes Mommy proud that we're wasting less food.
• "Cry it out" sounds less like "I am a terrible mother and I am torturing my child" and more like "pass the wine, please, I will enjoy this opportunity to have a second glass."
• He knew what candy was before his second birthday.
• The rules have morphed from things like "don't jump on the furniture" to things like "if you must swing from the ceiling fan, at least stack pillows below you first."

God bless the second-born!

Knock it Off, Pottery Barn

So, who here can still afford to shop at Pottery Barn?  These days, not me, not most of my friends.  But I still want to live like I can, and what better way than faking it?  I came across these pics in the Fall PB catalog and remembered how fond I am of burlap:

Source: Pottery Barn
The larger size will run you about $40...

Pretty, n'est-ce pas?  So here's what I started with:

Yeah, seen better days...

I got these guys a few years back for $30 at an antiques mall near Asheville NC--cute enough, but I was already tired of them when the oak tree started getting wonky.  So I dismantled them, tore apart the double-mats, and went to work.  First, I cut my burlap to size and ironed it, than just laid the mat on top and used a straight-edge to mark an X where I wanted to cut, like so:

Then I just used hot glue to secure each triangular section of the X to the back of the mat.  I didn't cut off the excess until I was done gluing:

Here's a shot of the front and back once I was done with the two mats:

By the way, if ever there was a stray piece of burlap, and especially at the inner corners, I just glued my heart out to make it work.

So when I was all done I popped the burlap mat back into the frame, and...I hated it.  That creamy-gray paint on the original frame just wasn't enough contrast with the burlap.  I needed it to be darker, a la PB.

Bland.  Boring. Yuck.

So I got my hands on some Minwax wood stain in Walnut, and slathered on two layers.  I had no idea how the stain would work over paint, and as it turns out, I have had better ideas.  Please don't use a wood stain over paint.  For the three days it took to dry, I was sure I was going to have to strip it off and start over.  However, this project taught me that if you ignore a problem long enough it fixes itself!  (Note: maybe not the best approach to, say, life in general). It did finally dry, and once I sanded off the shine, I was left with a really cool driftwood-looking finish:

Earthy.  Weathered.  Yum.

And for the final result:

I LOVE how they turned out, and especially with these architectural black and white photos in them.  I think its such a nice contrast to the natural, rough textures of the frame and the mat.  If you're interested, they are pics I snapped in Australia--one of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the other of the inside of a mall in Melbourne.  I edited both of them using Picnik, love that site.  Anyway, thanks for sticking through this incredibly looooooong and boring post about my burlap mats!

Now you go tell PB to knock it off, too!



P.S. Lovin' the Linky's at: