The Big Surprise...

There is a reason I haven't been writing for a week.  I have had the craziest, most eventful, non-stop weekend ever and I couldn't blog about it because it was a surprise.  A surprise for someone who follows this wild ride.  But the cat is out of the bag...

Recently my father started living on his own again.  And the house wreaked of maleness.  Stark, left over clutter and dingy.  So, I threw it out there to my family that we should have a secret paintng party for my dad while he was away on a business trip.  I thought it would spruce things up a bit to just paint the living room and hallway.  We secretly planned for a couple of weeks, gathering supplies, organizing snacks and drinks.  I was excited to get to spend some quality time with my family and do something nice for my father who could definitely use the pick-me-up.

Everyone gathered on Friday night to assess the project and prepare for the painting the next day.  We had planned on having a low key evening of snacking, enjoying eachother's company and doing painting pre-work.  However, that quickly changed when my dad's sisters showed up.  They took one look at the place and our two day painting plan quickly became a five day minor renovation.  I felt like I was on an episode of House Crashers.  My aunts insisted their were enough of us Italians sitting around to do some real damage.  So, we stripped and sanded the kitchen cabinets getting them ready to repaint, took every nic-nak and wall hanging elseware, mudded and patched some cracks in the ceiling, decided we were going to paint all the dingy white wooded furniture black and paint the trim and doors a nice crisp white.  Wow, the list was a little intimidating, and I would be lying if I didn't inform you I was thinking, "Oh, God.  What have we done?  I pray we can pull this off before he comes home on Wednesday."

So, Saturday morning my girls ate breakfast on the floor... and they loved it.

I then ran out a bought a ridiculous amount of paint and by 8 a.m. we were in full painting mode.  We were blessed with a gorgeous weekend so we could work outdoors.  And I secretly adore finding any reason to be outside.  My cousin and kids took Adelyn to the St. Louis Zoo and a friend took Marcella so that I could be kid free.  It is amazing what a mom can accomplish with a few hours of sans kids work time.  We painted.  I mean everything.  Woodwork, furniture, ceilings, walls and cabinets.

  And by mid-afternoon we were starting to see the fruits of our labor.  It was amazing the instant brightness that filled this house that has been missing for some time and I got excited.  My dad's going to love this.  He's going to be really mad that we did it but he's going to love it.  At ten that night we called it an evening and everyone said they would be returning after church the next morning to finish up.  I think I fell asleep standing up.  A good, productive exhaustion.

Sunday, we applied second coats, started putting doors back on and I worked on my "project".  I wanted to give my dad's windows a make-over.  I found some upholstery fabric from a long forgotten project lying around and some old window boxes collecting cobwebs in the attic.  I had my handyman uncle cut them to size for me, we painted the trim, a little tuck here and staple gun there and I created custom window valences.  Not to shabby if I say so myself.  And for free.  Can't beat it.

Monday, my uncle came over and helped me with the little details of putting outlet covers back on, painting the front door, and hanging the custom window treatments.  Another friend of the family came over and cleaned the carpets.  Adelyn thoroughly enjoyed having the couches in the kitchen and threw quite the fit when they had to return to their appropriate spot the next day.  We sat around, talked and enjoyed the centralized objective that we were all so anxious to see the end result of.

Tuesday, I invited everyone over for a celebratory glass of champagne to seal the deal.  We toasted the project and admired with a sense of pride all that we had accomplished.  It looked like a new and different house.  I had been taking pictures the entire experience and compiled them into a scrapbook for my dad when he returned.  I entitled it, "The party we threw you that we didn't invite you to."  That night everyone wrote a little note for him that I included in the book.

Wednesday, I walked through the house in amazement at how much better some paint and elbow grease had drastically improved the whole aura of the house.  I felt good.  I don't know if it was pride, a high from the non-stop action or the over-all happiness and contentment I had from spending a ton of time with family that I love.  My dad's flight got in late, so, it was not easy to stay awake for his reaction but it was worth it.  He loved it.

Being the humble person he is he was upset that people would go to such extremes for him and I could see the wheels turning trying to figure out how much it all had cost.  But, overall it was a good thing.  A boost for another day and a warm inviting environment to look forward to come home to.