Artwork on my Countertops!

Even though I'm not even close to being finished, I have to post some pictures of my latest project b/c I'm so excited! I'm following the instructions from Pretty Lil' Posies on how to do faux granite countertops using PAINT, found here.
My inspiration:

Sorry for the blurriness. I tried.

My other inspiration came from a piece of Silestone (I think) at Lowes or Home Depot that looked like white granite w/ flecks of glass-like light green. And I love green and white. (Sadly, they don't let you take home samples of silestone, like they do w/ Corian.)

1st Step: sanding

It was really hard to get a good picture of the sanding,
but can you see the streak?

2nd Step: primer

Please forgive the black marks on my stove. I did clean it,
but my pots and pans leave black marks that take
some major elbow grease to get off.

Pulled the stove out to do a test-run on a small space of countertop.

The primer dried pretty fast :). And it only took me about 10 coats to cover up all the ugly forest green! (I don't really know how many times I went over it - it was more than 3 though - but it really did dry fast, nonetheless.)

3rd Step: SEA SPONGE & CRAFT PAINT!

I put the gray down first, 2 different shades.

The craft paints also dried fast, which made me really happy because I was/am so anxious to keep going and finish!
Can you see where the counter and the backsplash come together? The sea sponge doesn't get in that space very well. I suggest using your fingers to fill it in.

Before I added the green, I sponged over the gray with 2 different shades of white. The gray is supposed to be minimal and kind of muted, so I wanted the white to cover up a lot of it. Plus, with just the gray down, it really looked like I just sponged on some gray blobs, instead of looking like the flecks in granite.

Again, sorry for the blurriness.

I snipped off a tiny bit of the sea sponge to do the green with. Then I used my fingers to make streaks here and there. In Kelli's tutorial, she and her mom used an old, kid's paint brush from those watercolor sets. I didn't have one, so I had to improvise. Although, I think her idea would probably look better.

Next Step: go over again with more white. Lots more white, so the green looks more random.

Thank You!!

To everyone who has left ideas, advice, and sympathy on my post about Jason,
THANK YOU!
It has made me realize how many wise, amazing mothers I am privileged to know.  And I think things are already getting better. Thank you all so much.

HELP!!

Today I told my friend Stephanie that I'm worried Jason's going to be a criminal when he's older.

Why would I say such a thing about my son? you ask. Because he is only 18 months old and is already really violent. And not just accidentally. He's doing it 100% on purpose. It's out of aggression and frustration for not getting his way, not just as a means of discovering what his body can do. Today he hit my nose with his HEAD. Oh man that hurt. He also rammed me in the back with his head. Yay. He's found a new weapon. Usually it's just hitting, though. Lots and lots of hitting. I give him time-outs by setting him on my lap, holding his hands, and counting. Every time he does something else, I add 10 seconds.
It's not doing anything. He either sits there and takes it like it aint no thang or he does this angry grunting thing as he thrashes his head around. And the SECOND time-out is over, he whips around and hits me again. So it goes a little somethin' like this: hit, time-out, hit, time-out, hit, time-out, get away before he can hit me again.
And I don't know why! He's never seen hitting. I don't hit him, Dave doesn't hit him, neither of us hit each other.

WHAT DO I DO!?! Bed time is especially trying because I have to keep him close in order to get him ready. Last night, after being hit about a dozen times during his diaper change and a few dozen more while trying to put on his pj's, I felt like putting him in his crib, throwing in his pj's, and saying, "You can put your own pj's on then." Ugh. It is so frustrating and tiring, and it just makes me sad. I have a cute, cuddly, violent, aggressive little boy. :/

Please, if you have any ideas, tips, advice, ANYthing, I am in desperate need.

Old & Improved Coffee Table

It's funny how having a party or even a little company makes you want to finish a project. Or in my case, start one several and hope to finish before people come over. I semi-recently realized that since our house has lots of browns (brown couches, brown tv stand, brown ottoman, tan carpet, tan walls) white furniture would make some great POPs big enough to even-out all the dark. (Side note: one reason we bought this house was b/c there was so much light - lots of windows, white walls, white appliances. But then we bought dark furniture, and painted the walls tan...)
Anyway, we've added white shelves (IKEA) and white was already one of the accent colors, but it took me forever to realize that a white coffee table is what I wanted. So, my options: buy one from IKEA (a 40 min drive from our house... with a grabby-grabby, hates-being-confined toddler) or paint the one we already have. Spray paint? Yes, please!
I used Rust-Oleum's Universal spray paint in white. Took me 3 cans, lots of coats, and a few days. Although, I'm sure that for those expert crafty spray painters out there, like Brooke from All Things Thrifty or Sheri & John from Young House Love, it'd be 1 can, 1 coat, and 1 day = perfection. This table = not perfection, but I still love the results. Makes me happy every time I walk by and think about how it used to look.

Can you see the glass-covered wicker? Or the gold trim
that the glass is resting on? Classy.

I sanded and then cleaned every nook and cranny before starting. I also tipped it on its side so the glass would come out. I lugged it out to the garage, laid out a few pieces of broken-down boxes and newspaper, and began spraying. Weather conditions were not ideal, though. The can says to spray when temperatures are above 50, and humidity is ... I can't remember. But the temp's were just below 50 and the humidity was unusually high for Utah (it had been raining, and continued to rain during this whole project. Thus, the garage instead of out on the driveway). I was sooo unsure if all the coats would dry in time. But I think they did. Yay!
The wicker and the gold are now white. And I discovered that the glass was actually tinted glass. I haven't decided how I feel about it, but I kinda think it makes it more unique and gives it a cool little somethin' somethin'.

Ahhh, no more gold :)

Yummy Syrup

This recipe is from my cousin Patti. Don't know where she got it from though. It is the BEST syrup I've ever ever ever had. Ironically, this does have buttermilk...

YUMMY SYRUP

1 1/2 c. sugar
3/4 c. buttermilk
1/2 c. butter
2 Tbsp Karo syrup

1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp vanilla

Bring the first set of ingredients to a boil in sm. sauce pan. Remove from heat and add second set of ingredients. Stir and serve!

Blueberry Feta Pancakes

I am not a fan of pancakes. But I heard about these on Food Network's show "The Best Thing I Ever Ate" (Aida Mollenkamp's favorite breakfast from some restaurant), and it piqued my interest. Something from a restaurant that I could make at home!
I don't really like pancakes for this reason: they have a bitter-ish taste to them. And all the recipes I looked up for homemade pancakes called for buttermilk (the bitter tasting culprit, I believe). So I looked up "no buttermilk pancakes" and found a couple recipes that I combined, adding blueberries and feta cheese. And even if you don't like feta, I think you'll like these pancakes. The feta for some reason tastes like chunks of cream cheese in the pancakes, but w/ a feta consistency. Here's what I came up with, with the help of FN, Aida Mollenkamp, some restaurant, and two online recipes:

BLUEBERRY FETA PANCAKES
(makes about 8 lg pancakes)

1 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 tsp salt

3/4 tsp vanilla
1/2 c. each cream & milk (1 c. total) (or 1 c. of either one, depending on how rich or lean you want it)
2 Tbsp butter, melted
1 egg (optional: divide egg and beat whites in separate bowl, then fold in later*)

1 (4-oz) pkg feta, lg chunks crumbled more
1 (12-oz) pkg frozen blueberries (or about 2 c. fresh)

In mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients. In small bowl, combine vanilla, cream and milk, butter, and either the egg unseparated or just the egg yolk for now. Whisk wet ingredients. [Optional: In lg (clean!) mixing bowl, beat egg whites until thick. *Now fold whites into wet ingredients. Doing it this way will make your pancakes really fluffy.] Pour wet into dry and whisk. Fold in blueberries and feta. Turn griddle to MED-LOW (low & slow!). Use either a little butter or canola oil on griddle. Pour lg scoops (I use my 3/4 c. measure) of batter onto griddle to form pancakes. They will be almost ready to flip once the edges harden some and the center begins to bubble. Wait another 1-3 minutes, then check for desired golden-ness. Flip. Wait 2-5 minutes until bottom is golden. Serve w/ Yummy Syrup.

**Strawberries: can be used instead of blueberries. Use the same amount, but chop into more bite-size pieces. Batter (if using frozen strawberries) will be runnier and will take a little longer to cook. But the effect is a strawberries and cream cheese pancake. :)