To be clear, S. will be turning 3 in June, just a few short months away. That being said, Nick and I can probably win an award for being the latest at accomplishing some things. Let me explain.

When S. was about to be two, Nick and I thought about what we wanted to do for S.'s birthday, and what we wanted to get him. Seeing how delighted he was with outdoor elements such as dirt and water (typical toddler), we decided the perfect gift would be a water/sand table. They look something like this: 

However, being the handy people that we are, we scoffed at the idea of buying one. Nick enjoys working with wood, and I enjoy the challenge of doing something homemade for gift giving. Yeah, you are probably starting to understand where this is going. 

So we decided to make one ourselves! How hard could it be? It didn't need to be like the store bought ones, all colorful and plasticy. It just needed to hold sand and/or water. We could do this! We had only a few days before S.'s birthday to get it done.

Nick did his part of building it, in no time at all. He is very good at building things and executing his ideas in a timely fashion. So I can't blame it on him. 

My part, the easy part, was to buy the tubs to hold the sand and water, as well as paint our creation. Simple, right? 

I did buy the tubs, and I managed to get a few coats of primer on. We had a few colors of outdoor paint, so we decided not to get any new paint, since our pocketbook was a little slim that month. We were already planning an intimate birthday party with Nick's family, and we didn't want to overspend, so we didn't invest in colorful paints that would catch a child's eye. The colors we had were light grey, a slightly darker shade of light grey, and black. Lame, I know.

It was a little difficult for me to find the time to paint the table, because I couldn't do it while the boys were awake, because they needed constant monitoring. I kept waiting for an opportunity to do it while they were sleeping, but they weren't napping at the same time, so that wasn't exactly a good idea either. Plus I was pregnant with our third baby and wasn't supposed to be painting anyways, but I wanted to have a part in building the table so it was left up to me.

Well, S.'s birthday came, and the water/sand table wasn't done. I bet you already guessed that.

We had a fun party for him with his grandparents, aunt, uncles, and cousins, and I resolved to get the water/sand table done within a few days, so he could still have a birthday present from us, his parents. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. I kept resolving, and resolving and resolving to get the project done. By the end of the following week, by the end of the month, by the end of summer, by                     , you fill in the blanks. 

Time went on, as it always does, and guess what? Another year rolled around. I can't convey to you how horrible I feel that S. never got a 2nd birthday present from us, all because of me and my hang ups! It's going to go down in history as the story comes out, and he will never let me live it down, that he never got a 2nd birthday present. I'll be trying to make it up to him the rest of his life.

So, to end this sorry but comedic tale, the question is asked, "What ever happened to the homemade water/sand table? Was it ever finished? Did S. get to use it before he became a grown man?" 

I'll show you:

And he even shared with his brother!

Despite being nearly a year late, S. LOVED his birthday gift. It was a huge success. 

And we became cool parents again.

The End

 

How about you? Did you have a gift gone awry? Tell us about it!