Most of you already know this but…

I’m pregnant!! I’m 16 weeks along, and my due date is Nov. 17. I have an ultrasound scheduled for July 1st to find out the gender.

In all honesty I meant to blog about this a few weeks ago but, well, you might have noticed… I’ve been completely horrible at blogging lately. Wonder why?

The first trimester actually wasn’t that bad. Some nausea, but nothing unbearable. I think the most annoying thing was feeling icky, but being starving at the same time. But since nothing sounded appetizing at all, it would take me two hours sometimes just to figure out what to eat. Of course, I’d much rather have that problem than the morning sickness/all day sickness that a lot of people get, so I’m counting myself lucky. Now I’m just tired and have a headache most days… ahh, the joys of pregnancy!

At least with this pregnancy my cravings have been so much tamer. With my first two, I basically craved sweets All. The. Time. Kit Kats and Milky Ways were a serious craving. Jamba Juice too, which at least can be healthy(ish). But this time, it’s been very very different. As in, a lot of days I don’t even want anything sweet at all. Which is soooo unlike me, pregnant or not. About two weeks ago, I made a 10” cheesecake for no particular reason other than Ben was wanting cheesecake, and other than a normal size piece that first night, I pretty much didn’t touch it. And I generally LOVE cheesecake. So weird!! For the first 8-10 weeks, I actually craved lettuce and tomatoes! For one week it was a ham sandwich with cheese and mayonnaise and nothing else. As Lily would say, “That’s odd.”

Anyway, I finally finally got myself to blog about being pregant. Go me!

Me at 12 weeks. I’ve started showing way earlier than with my other pregnancies. I’m ok with this, except for trying to fit into my clothes! Ugh, I really don’t like maternity clothes… only 5 1/2 more months, right?!

Kitchen Remodel Reveal

We are 97% complete with our kitchen remodel (we need to put a few pieces of trim work in) and since I’ve had just about everybody I know asking me to put pictures up, I decided not to make you all wait for that point. Without further ado, the finished kitchen!

What do you think? By the way, the big space by the floor length cupboard is where the fridge goes, but for now it’s sitting in our living room so we can paint the trim there first.

Here are a few before pictures for some reference.

View from where the window above the sink is now – this is a picture from the realtor when we first bought it, very much photo-shopped. The wall color was much more yellow and the cupboards not nearly that white. And the picture makes it look more spacious than it really was.

After:

Same view, or as close as I could get to it (taken through the window). As you can see, the wall where the stove was is gone and an island is in it’s place. And the fridge (that you see in the living room) will soon be across from the island.

Before:

Stove, tiny counters next to it, and fridge.

After:

No more tiny counters! Front view of the island. Check out my new oven! And all my drawer space! I’m still trying to figure out what to put in that left drawer.

Another before picture:

What you see was pretty much the extent of my usable counter space. It was meager.

Another angle of the same counter and sink. Yeah, I worked real hard to clean up for these before pictures.

After:

Now look at all that counter space! Not to mention the island too!

Before:

Just to show you the doorway that used to lead into the kitchen. The pocket door was one of the first things that we demolished, so it’s not in most of the other before pictures.

After:

Now there’s no pocket door and no walls closing me off from the rest of the house. I love how open and bright it is now. I feel so much more connected to everything/everybody else when I’m cooking now, rather than banished to the dark kitchen to slave away.

Closer view of the sink. I love that it sits right under the window. I didn’t want it there at first, but Ben convinced me and I’m so glad he did. So much more cheery washing dishes looking out at my backyard and garden! Also, we already loved our faucet, but we got a new, deeper sink, and let me tell you, a deep sink is a serious luxury. It’s awesome!

Before of the dining room:

I would like to point out again that the walls were NOT that color. That color would have been ok, but in reality, they were a drab yellow. (Another realtor picture, in case you didn’t notice. Just like to point out the obvious here.) Also notice the popcorn ceiling and minimal lighting.

After:

Now completely open to the kitchen, no more popcorn ceilings, and an abundance of light from the recessed lighting! And White! No more drab yellow! We painted not only the kitchen and dining room, but the living room, entry way and hallway as well. It makes a huge difference in the feel of the whole house, we both love it. One more thing I love about the whole thing is all the extra outlets. There were very few outlets before and it really limited where I could work in the kitchen with my KitchenAid and other kitchen gadgets, blender, etc. Now there’s one on either end of the island plus tons along the walls in the kitchen. Freedom to work and cook where I want to! Love it!

And check out all of the pretty cupboards! My dad did them for us, and I’m so so happy with how they all look and feel. So much more space and better organized and they’re not dingy and don’t smell old! Check out my Dad’s website if you want awesome closets, he’s the owner of the company, has years of experience, and they are the absolute best around: www.thecustomclosetcompany.com. I love you Dad!

So, a quick list of all the changes we made (“we” being used loosely here!):

• Remove pocket door and wall separating kitchen and dining room
• Remove all the popcorn on the ceilings in dining room, living room, hallway, stairs and entryway, and one bedroom
• Move the sliding glass door to the dining room and put a window in the kitchen
• Take out linoleum in kitchen and carpet in dining room
• Take out all the existing cabinets
• Move plumbing to the back of the kitchen so we could put the sink and dishwasher under the window
• Re-wire almost everything and add extra electrical circuits
• Added an extra 240v outlet for the stove (used the one we already had for my new oven)
• Take out all existing lighting and put in recessed lights (16 of them, to be exact)
• Re-drywall the entire kitchen
• Put in new hardwood floors
• Put in new cabinetry (thank-you so much Dad!!)
• Put in new granite countertops
• Paint kitchen, dining room, living room, stairs and entryway, including all the ceilings
• Finish with bead board under the island and additional trim work elsewhere

I *think* that about covers it. It took us about 5 weeks to do the majority of the work. And I feel like I need to clarify. When I said “we” and “us” before, what I really meant was I was in charge of keeping the kids out of trouble, and my Grandpa Harry and Ben did all the work. Without my Grandpa, this would have been a much more difficult and long undertaking. Thank-you thank-you thank-you Grandpa!! And Ben, a public thank-you to you also for taking vacation time from work to work in our kitchen and for being so patient with all the little decisions and making sure everything looks perfect. I love you!

(Oh wait, I did help with the painting. Go me!)

One more time, just cuz I really can’t get enough of it:

I love love love (love love love love!) LOVE my new kitchen!

Construction Pics!

Mid-demolition. For those not super familiar with our kitchen (lol, probably everyone) the wall originally extended a few feet to the right of that stud with the light switch on it. The fridge was nestled in the corner the two walls made, we had about a foot of counter space, then the stove, then another foot of counter space. On the far side, with all the open cabinets in this picture, the dishwasher was right up against the wall, then the sink, then another two feet of counter, then a funky triangular shaped floor to ceiling cabinet. And that was it. It was pretty small, limiting, and difficult to work in. And the area right in front of the sliding glass door you see in this pic was pretty much wasted space. Not big enough for a kitchen table, so it was just empty. Lame.

Nearing end of demolition. All the cabinets have been removed. So have the four(!!!) layers of some very outdated linoleum. This is the view towards the sliding glass door.

Tearing the carpet out of the dining room. Who wants carpet in a dining room?!?

Pretty much the end of demo. The carpet’s gone now and so are the studs.

Old light fixtures are gone, and now the door and window have switched places! Isn’t it lovely? The door in the dining room makes so much more sense for the way our space is set up. Everyone who’s ever came in has commented on how weird it was that it was in the kitchen. So I’m super glad it’s not anymore.

Lights! Whoo-hoo! Grandpa’s working in the plumbing in this pic. The sink is going to go under the window with the dishwasher to the left of the sink.

And this is what it looks like tonight! All the plumbing and electrical completed and signed off by inspectors, so the sub-flooring is back down, the drywall is up and in the process of being mudded. We (we being applied very loosely here) are still working on the casing for the door and window, but that’s not urgent. We need to finish mudding it all, then texture and paint by the end of the weekend. We have hardwoods going in on Monday, then cabinets and counters shortly after that.

It all feels like such a long process, but it’s actually coming together pretty nicely. I’m trying to reconcile myself to all the dust and dirt that inevitably makes it way everywhere, and even though there’s lots for me still to do at home (I still have to feed people, do laundry, etc), we’re trying to spend a fair amount of time outside the home too, so the kids don’t get into everything and I don’t go crazy trying to keep everything clean. Not that I’m even a neat freak or anything even close to that. Something about construction debris really gets me going though.   But it’ll all be worth it when our kitchen is complete. Ben and I are really really excited about it. The kids are totally catching on to it too. I think Lily still thinks it’s going to be delivered one day. She keeps asking “Is our new kitchen here yet?” And Michael understands that Grandpa is working on the kitchen all day.

Speaking of Grandpa, both the kids love having him here. It’s so cute. They always want to go upstairs to say hi to him and watch him work. During meals both of them talk and laugh with him the whole time, and they are always trying to include him in all their conversations. Which is really cute to watch, because Grandpa is extremely hard of hearing, so he tries his best to respond appropriately to what they are excitedly telling him. But half the time I have to repeat very loudly for him what they just said. The best is when Lily remembers on her own to be extra loud and we all hear her loud and clear as she bellows up at him something totally silly like, “GRANDPA, I’M BEING A GOOSE!”

Lots of writing for just a few pics, all really to say that it’s going well, and I can’t wait till it’s finished. The end.

Playing with friends

Like I mentioned in my last post, a few weeks ago we had an awesome playgroup where we were able to go outside and play for some of the time. I know the kids really enjoyed it, but I think I might have enjoyed it most of all. When we were living in our condo, I constantly wished we had a backyard to play in, and so just about every time we’re able to go out to our very own backyard now, it feels like heaven!

L-R, Oliver, Lily, Lucy. Before we got the garden boxes filled, the kids had such a fun time pretending they were trapped. Lily would insist on someone helping her out of them.

This cute kid is August. I love that he totally wanted to pose for me.

Engrossed with the tiny white flowers. I love that weeds are so awesome to little kids.


Lucy, Lily, Oliver. These kids have such a good time together.

Even though this is practically the same picture I had to include it because of Lily’s cute “Bubbly Face” – this is the exact same bubbly smile she used to flash at us all the time when she was an infant!

Almost the whole gang! We tried to get Michael in there too, but he fell over backward into the box and was too grumpy to try again. Poor little dude. But these kids sure are cute, right? I can’t wait for more and more playgroups to be spent outside!

Weeks 12 & 13 And a List

1. You get double the fun this week because last week I was at my parents house with a camera but no way to get my pictures on the blog.

2. The reason I was at my parents house last week is that our kitchen remodel has officially started!! Yay!!!! We’d been doing what demolition we could bit by bit, but two Saturdays ago it finally all came out, cupboards, flooring, drywall and all. Then last Monday my Grandpa and Ben started working on all the lighting/plumbing/electrical/switching of doors and windows, etc. They’ve gotten a lot done in the last week, and this week will be putting drywall back up, texturing, painting… so much to do. So fun! I’ll get pictures from Ben’s phone soon and post some of the progress.

3. I’ve finally gotten organized! That is, I’ve figured out a little schedule for myself for taking all the pictures people have suggested. Next week will be alphabet week, with Lily picking the letter and helping me find things that start with the letter to photograph. I’ll do a self-portrait week after that, and as soon as the kitchen is done, a food week. (Even though you’re not pregnant anymore, Stephanie. Congrats!!)

4. No real number four. I guess it’s not a very long list. I hope you like this weeks pictures! Again, I missed a few days, but I’m not letting that stop me from continuing to post. I’m starting to enjoy it all again!

Mar 19 – I really really love this photo. To me, it encapsulates everything I was hoping for when we bought our house. The kids playing outside together, not needing me to be entertained, just enjoying the earth and dirt and the sun on their faces. I love our backyard, and I love that we’re beginning to have more outside play days!

Mar 22 – Skipped a few days, and only remembered to take this picture as I was running out the door for book club that evening. I love spring, there’s opportunities for pretty pictures everywhere.

Mar 23 – This sweet little girl is Lucy. She came over along with a few other kids for playgroup, and it was another outside play day. Not super warm, but just warm enough and sunny enough to not be able to resist going outside. I’ll post some more pictures of this day soon. We all had a lot of fun.

Mar 24 – I didn’t take this picture, obviously, but since I took other pictures that day I don’t feel bad using this one. I hardly ever have pictures of me lately, and it made me happy that Ben took this one.

Mar 25 – Filling the garden boxes with dirt. Did I tell you? Ben made me garden boxes!! I love them, and I can’t wait to plant seeds and start seeing growth. Lily is very excited too. She made me buy watermelon seeds.

Mar 26 – My awesome brother Jonathan playing the piano. He was totally laughing at me taking pictures of him, but I love that it’s a natural smile, so I didn’t mind being laughed at. He’s a natural at playing the piano, and I love capturing him at it. And no, he wasn’t dressed up for anything in particular, he’s just that snazzy.

Mar 27 – My momma’s birthday flowers. She loves carnations, and I love how bright and happy the colors are. And I love my momma. More than flowers, even. She’s pretty great.

Mar 28 – Pretty Mary dog. I was practicing all afternoon trying to get her in focus running with the ball. She’s quick, so it’s a matter of taking tons hoping at least one will turn out. And this one did!

Mar 29 – The only picture I took this day. I was planning on taking more, but was distracted after I realized Lily was coloring right on the counter and I had to stop taking pictures and have her help me clean it off.

Mar 30 – My sister Anna and Michael playing with the volleyball. All week Anna was trying out for the volleyball team at her middle school, so every evening after she came home she would head straight outside and practice into the dark. She had such a great attitude when she came home and told us she’d been put on the “everyone” team, she was still happy with how she’d done and excited to play. I was really proud of her.

Mar 31 – When they come from your kids, dandelions really are the prettiest flower ever.

Apr 1 – Getting outside when it’s raining involves a little more prep-work, but the kids still had so much fun. My mom used to wear this snoopy hat when she was a kid, and I remember seeing it on my brother all the time. It makes me happy to see it on Michael!

Spring is here!

I love love love this time of year!