I had been eyeing an unused dresser at my Dad’s for the last few months.  He’s been updating his house recently and the dresser got shoved into the empty, seldom used living room.  I finally asked him what his plans were for it and he replied, “Do you want it?”  Of course, I wanted it!  I warned him that I would paint it if he gave it to me.  (He’s a little against painting wood.)  He said he didn’t mind.  Somehow, Handy Hubby squeezed it into the back of our SUV with a stroller and Pack-N-Play in tow.  Yippee for free furniture!

Since Handy Hubby has been out of town all week, Layne has been standing in as man of the house.  He voiced his interest in helping me with a project.  I obliged.  I told him he could help me sand the dresser.  I handed him a face mask to put on and he was concerned that he couldn’t see.

Through my giggles I informed him that it was supposed to cover his nose and mouth.

Ahhh, much better but his right ear looked a little painful.  I didn’t mention it.  He helped me remove the hardware.

Then we were set to start sanding.  Layne really liked it.  He said it tickled his fingers.

Now, if you are wanting to sand a piece of furniture in a timely manner, I would not recommend having your 5-year-old do it.  It took us much longer than it should have.  Also, if you are wanting a good even sanding job, I would not recommend having your 5-year-old do it.  It’s not as smooth as it should be.  However, we had a lot of fun doing it together.  The dresser had been in my family for years, so it was far from perfect to begin with.  What’s a few more dings and scratches?  I like a piece of furniture with a story.  And who’da thought I would be the one to introduce Layne to his first power tool?!  A few hours (and probably a few angry neighbors) later, we had it lookin’ good. 

Layne really wanted to help me prime and paint it.  At first, I let him start priming it but after I saw him pushing the paint brush across one door (leaving a pretty ugly brush mark not to mention ruining the paint brush), I asked him if he wanted to watch a cartoon.  Cartoons trump painting.  Stay tuned later this week to find out how the dresser turns out and where its new home will be…