How to Cover a Kitchen Chair for Less than $1 each!

My boys are gross.There is no way around it. They are adorable. They are sweet. They are silly. But they are filthy! Especially Micah, he's constantly dirty.

And they are MESSY eaters. They use the seat cushions of my kitchen chairs instead of napkins.

Exhibit A

When we bought our chairs a few years ago I was more interested in the color of the wood then the seats themselves. When I found the perfect color I bought it without thinking about the seats. They are microfiber which is good for stain management...but they are still fabric. This is NOT good with toddlers!

Ew!

So I was fumbling online to find some sort of vinyl covers for my seats. They were expensive, and quite frankly...tacky looking. So I took a trip to Wal-Mart. Found a table cloth for $3.50 (I first made sure it was an easy clean material, like vinyl), and decided to try it on my own!

So here's what I did to cover my boys chairs. Easy. Easy. Easy.

Step 1: Remove Seat From Chair

Each Chair is different and remember don't force anything.

You don't want to break your chair!

{Now I sound like my mother} "Don't force it...you'll break it!!"

Step 2: Measure and Cut Tablecloth

I laid my seat onto the tablecloth and used a marker

to outline exactly where I needed to cut the cloth.

Step 3: Use staple gun to staple tablecloth to seat (borrow one if needed. So worth it!)

Make sure you pull on the cloth as you go. You want it to be tight.

Loose fabric will not look as nice and it will be easier for kids to rip.

Step 4: Screw seat back onto chair frame.

And you're done! While these may not be the nicest looking chairs. I'm certainly happy with how it came out for under $1 a chair! This project didn't take me more than an hour and it was worth every second! Now the boys have their own "special chairs". And I have a much easier surface to clean up after they are done.

Now if I could just figure out how to protect the rest of my house....

Micah's 3rd

Happy 3rd Birthday Micah!

We are so proud of you!

Here's to another amazing year with you!

I ruptured WHAT ?

The past 2 weeks have been pretty rough.

There has been a huge stomach bug going around. And it hit my house last week. Thankfully, we've all made it through and we're ok, but Ella was sick for about 2 weeks with diarrhea. And that is not good for my tiny (13lbs) 8 month old who's having trouble gaining weight as it is.

Then on Sun night I had THE WORST PAIN OF MY LIFE. That is not even an exaggeration. It came out of nowhere, crippling me to the floor.. I could barely speak to James. I can't even imagine what I looked like to him. I'm sure he was terrified about what was happening to me.

Turns out I had a ruptured ovarian cyst. I must admit that it was more painful than labor. I wasn't prepared for it, and there was no end in sight. I had no idea what was happening and I had no idea how long it would last. I fell asleep after a couple hours of intense pain and woke up the next morning a 4 on the pain scale instead of a 10. Which was a really good sign. Today I'd say it's a 2 and I'm able to get back to normal on a 75% scale...which I think is pretty good!

I didn't go to the ER. I'm the kind of girl who will wait until I think I'm dying to go there. And I figured since I wasn't throwing up or didn't have a fever, I most likely did not have appendicitis. We went to the Dr yesterday and I was already feeling better.

But while there we had a weight for Ella. Not. Good. She has only gained a couple of ounces in the past few months. I know that she's a happy and healthy little lady so I'm not terribly worried. But to be safe the DR sent us to Children's Hospital to have her blood drawn. *Note: I am crazy impressed by the phlebotomist who can find a vein in an arm that tiny*. We're still waiting to hear back from the Dr on the results of the tests. But we are pretty optimistic that she's just skinny! Praying for peace though.

Even in these trying times I know that I serve a God who is supreme in my life. And a God that can heal me, and protect me. But...I'm pretty sure my husband would not hate it I wanted to visit the Dr a bit more often.

Abby's 1st

I love babies.

I love {mostly} everything about them. Pretty much everything minus the sleep deprivation.

And one of the saddest days for me is a 1st birthday party. It just signifies the end of their

"babyhood".My niece Abby just turned 1 and had a snow princess party. It was a blast and Abby looked so cute. But to me it means that she's not a baby anymore. And it breaks my heart.

But I am grateful that she is strong, healthy, happy, and surrounded with love.

But prepare yourself...picture overload is ahead.

The tutu I made for Abby. You can find one here!

Josiah's new fav pose.

Embracing the Camera with my sister and a Peach Martini

My Aunt and My Mom

I think I do like this cake!

My sister's beautiful family

Micah: "Pa listen to me".

Abby needed help. Good job JoJo

I am so grateful for a family that comes together to celebrate these milestones with each other. I am blessed to have a sister who loves my kids as much as I love her kids. So thankful to have her in my life!

Boobie Woes

I'll give you try to guess what I'm struggling with right now.

Any guesses?

Yep, I am struggling to produce enough milk for Ella.

A couple of weeks ago I came down with a little cold. I took Sudafed knowing that it's "safe" to take when pregnant and nursing.

What I didn't think about is how it can slow your milk production down. And it slowed mine WAY down.

She is already a skinny baby and doesn't even register on the weight charts (below the 5%). She's a tiny little lady with a crazy high metabolism. And she hasn't been having as many wet diapers as usual either. She's still having them...just not as great as they were.

Because she's 8 months I'd just as soon throw in the towel and give her formula. I had to supplement both of my boys and I had no issues with it at all. But my girl is PICKY. She refuses to take a bottle, sippy, cup, or even bowl full of formula. We've tried all the different ways to give it to her. She refuses to drink it (and frankly I can't blame her!).

So I've been really worried about her. It's keeping me up at night

But thankfully I have a friend who's a lactation specialist (as well as an awesome Scentsy rep); who lets me call her whenever I have a question.

So here's what I've been doing to boost my milk production.

1. Power Pumping

After Ella nurses I pump for 5 min. Rest 1 min. Pump 5 min. Rest 1 min. Pump 5 min.

This is exhausting! I barely have time enough to nurse her let alone do this. But I'm determined to not to quit. And the worst part about it is that I get like 3-4 drops total. So exhausting!

Pardon the graphic milk pic. I needed this for memory's sake.

2. Drinking Organic Mother's Milk Tea.

2-3 times a day.

I hate tea. I hate everything about it. And this tastes like black licorice. Which I hate even more than tea!

3. Drinking More Water.

This is a problem for me. I hate to drink water. I know...I'm weird. I've never liked it. And if I could live my entire life without it...I would.

4. Taking Fenugreek Pills.

Not too bad...it actually smells like maple syrup!

5. Drinking Wheat Beer.

This is my favorite thing to do to boost milk production. No complaints out of me for this one : )

So listen to me Baby Ella...this is how much I love you!

Please boobies...catch up so I can get some rest and my little lady can get chunky!

And The Winners Are...

And The Winners From The Show and Tell Designs Giveaway Are...

Comment #12

rreynol3 said...

I want to win!!! "Love Letters" would look perfect in Abby's room.

January 19, 2012 3:03 PM

Congrats Rachel! Contact me about your FREE PRINT from Show and Tell Designs

And Winner #2 Is {{Drumroll Please}}

Comment #15

JenniferZ said...

These are the cutest! Love them. I'm a follower of your blog. :)

January 20, 2012 2:10 PM

Congrats Jennifer! Contact me about your FREE PRINT from Show and Tell Designs

Congrats Ladies! Thanks for being part of my first giveaway!!

~All results were taken from random.org~

Enjoying the Small Things!

These are a few of my favorite pics from the past week.

Even though I was crazy stressed getting ready for my show, this man was calm. He was my rock. He kept me sane. I'm so lucky to have him! Ella agrees.

And even though I look a little too excited in this pic (trying to remember to embrace the camera and enjoy the little things in life), it's one of the last pics of Ella's toothless grins, now that she has her two bottom teeth.

And it's a gorgeous day outside. Nothing better than nice weather in CO on a Jan afternoon! Perfect for picnic on the porch!

~So Blessed~