Remodel update

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.  That is what happens when the sheetrock dust and floor dust settles.  Jason and I spent last weekend sanding and finishing the hardwood floors.  Ugh!  That is one of the worst jobs ever.  We worked for 8 hours straight before we took a break for dinner.  Then 20 minutes later we were back at it.  We finished sanding and applied the first coat of clear varnish around 12:30 am.  When we woke up 6 hours later because we thought the floor would be dry and ready for the next coat (silly us) we found a splotchy, wet mess.  I went back to bed with the hopes that it was all a bad dream and when I really awoke I would find beautiful finished floors.  That was not the case!  I sent Jason to play in hoopfest and hopefully burn off some negative energy and I attempted the next coat, working in small areas to try and remedy the problem.  It wasn't remedied. 

The conclusion I/we have come to is that there is no such thing as perfection, we have three kids and a dog,  the 60 year old wood floor is to blame, and I/we don't have the time or energy to fix this problem.  Instead we will cover it up with rugs and furniture and pray no one says anything.  C'est la vie!

1st pass over new floor and new kitchen wall color

1st pass over old floor

getting ready to put product on
note the how dark it is outside

I don't want to show the floor because it makes me want to cry and our cabinets went in tonight and I want to wait to show all of it together.   So you will have to wait for the reveal, though not the final reveal.

Ruby is 1!!!!

Where did the time go?  I feel like it was just yesterday that I was looking at her sweet face for the first time...

and now she looks like this...all 21lb, 12oz of her. ( I added that part for me, so I can remember when she is older).



(courtesy Jcpenney)



She is so sweet and not afraid to let you know if she doesn't like something you are doing.
I guess that comes with being the third.  I miss the little baby days but we have entered one of my favorite stages, 12-18 mos.  I don't know why but I love this stage.  They are still babyish but trying to be more independent. 
Ruby is close to walking, says a few words, mama, dad and yells Isaac.  And this girl loves to eat.  She takes after her mom:)
I was really hoping that she would smash her cake all over her face but she wanted nothing to do with it.  I think it had something to do with her having an ear infection. (We are marching towards a visit to the ENT specialist.)  This is as much as she wanted to do with her cake.


You want me to do what?

It is her birthday, so she can cry if she wants too!


Happy Birthday Rubyroo!  We love you!

Tiny Dancer

Marien had her first dance recital and was it ever cute.  She did a ballet performance first called Marching Marigolds.  The second number was a tap to We Big Little Girls.  They sang along to the songs while they danced.  One of her parents MAY have been reduced to tears when she came out on stage.  She is so much smaller then all of her classmates.   

It is so fun to see Marien love dance so much and love performing even more.  In the last six months she has started to come out of her shell.  She is still shy but not when she is on stage!  I believe that is has given her more confidence.  The dance studio she is with is
a-ma-zing and it is my continued hope that she will stay with this program.  They play only christian music and wear appropriate customs which creates such a positive environment for these kids to grow up in.

showing off her new medal

I am going to add the video but you don't need to watch the whole thing.  It was during rehearsal and they have the wrong shoes on which really messed them up.  But you get an idea of the song and dance and how small Marien is compared to her class.  She is the cutest thing!  I love how hard she is concentrating.

  

We've been roc'ing!

I'm really unsure about the spelling of the title but anyhoo...we have sheet rock, mud, tape, texture and layers of dust.  And as of today hardwood floors, but I will save that for later.
Here are some pictures of the evolving room.

It is very exciting!

We had a very busy weekend with Marien's first dance recital, my Mom's birthday, Ruby's 1st birthday and father's day.  And in the midst of all this the texture and was going up.  We hated being home because it was and is so gross in our house.  I will wipe down all the furniture and come in an hour later and things are coated again.  It is a losing battle that I am fighting!  But lets be honest I'm not trying that hard. 
I will hopefully get pictures up of the other events in the next couple of days. 

Lessons I'm learning from...

This is what happens when you dump hot pasta water into a colander sitting on the grass!



note the perfect circle shape

What I wish I would have captured was my hubby's face when I told him what this was from.  Thankfully he isn't a anal lawn guy or else I would have been in really "hot water."

Where I cook...

I thought I would share where I am attempting to cook and I use that term loosely.  We have set up not 1 but 2 makeshift kitchens.  The first and used most often is in the living room.  I have a cupboard with supplies, cereal, peanut butter/honey, paper plates, plastic utensils, etc.  The microwave is here, though we don't use it a ton.  Then I have a folding table that is my attempt at counter space.  This space is where we eat most our meals.  It is ALWAYS dusty, I can't imagine how much dirt and dust we have ingested.



I did actually clean this up before the photo

The hamper under the table holds pots and pans and my electric skillet.  That skillet, has been a God-send. I didn't use it much before but have used it most nights.  Jason hates to clean it but tough cookies for him.

The second kitchen is in the garage and consists of the fridge, a table and shelf.  The only reason I am calling in a kitchen is that is where the milk gets added to the cereal and I might cut up fruit or something out there.  I must say this kitchen situation has dramatically cut down on my snacking as I am too lazy to walk out to the garage for something to eat.



2nd kitchen

 As we roll into the second week of this remodel I feel a little more prepared and at ease with the situation.  I have accepted the dust and dirt.  I am more mentally prepared or maybe the shock of the situation has worn off.  Whatever the case, we have adjusted.  Plus, we are seeing lots of progress which helps immensely.
Here are some pics of the new arched doorway and the sheetrock.  The ceiling will be done this week along with the mudding, taping and sanding.  It will be an intensely dirty week.

 Just a little note...we had rain this morning and as I was walking through the kitchen I could hear it very clearly on the roof.  It was very unnerving to look up and see only rafters and roof.  I prayed for no leaks but maybe this would be the best time to deal with them versus when the new floors are down.



the new arches





This pile of wood is our new floor, it is aclimating!



Spring Sing 2011

Isaac had his first and last kindergarten performance.  They have been practicing all year, I feel like I know all the songs though there were a couple I hadn't heard.  Isaac sang loud and proud with lots of moves.  I recorded one small portion which caught him doing a little dance.  He obviously has no problem being in front of a large group of people, in fact I would say he thrived on it.  Afterwards we had dessert in their room.  I love standing back and watching him interact and socialize with other kids in his class.  Its interesting to see what he is like when I am not around, to get a glimpse of Isaac "the student".

Sorry for the shakes in the beginning



sorry for the blurriness

Yes, Isaac has gotten very tall but he is also standing next to some of the smallest girls.

It is hard to believe he is almost done with kindergarten and will be in all-day school this fall.  As we were walking home today, I realized I only had a few more days of picking him up and walking home with him.  As next year, he will walk home with the neighbor boys because he will be a "big kid".  This year has flown by, I'm not sure if I'm ready for him to grow up.  Guess, I don't have a choice (sigh), better buckle up and enjoy the ride.



The Kitchen

You might remember what our old kitchen used to look like...if not here are some pictures to jog your memory.




I was packing...it wasn't always this messy!



 another view

I spent many days and nights packing and towards the end just started throwing things wherever I could find a spot.  Friday night, Jason rented the uhaul, went to the hardware store and picked up supplies (sheetrock, boards and our new interior doors).  We then proceeded to load the uhaul with our furniture to be stored for the next month.  The kids had been dropped off at my mom's, so bright and early the next morning we could get started.
Several of our very good friends (Matt, Mark and Jared) agreed to help with the demo.  I truely thought we (and I mean them) would be working all day.  The actual demo only took 4 1/2 hrs.  It was unloading the packed uhaul, which we used as a garbage truck, and clean up that took a much longer time.



ripping out counters and cabinets



The half wall coming down, we left the post in case this was a loadbearing wall.



Matt removing the tile



Jason & Jared removing that awful fake wood wall in the living room
(My cabinet doors were made from the same material, it must have been on sale)

The fake wood wall and the soffetts were the worst part of the demo, so I was told.  I pretty much stayed out of the way, added my two cents when necessary and supplied the food and drinks.  Here you can see the dust that settled on my family room furniture.  The room had been blocked by plastic but it didn't do any good.  I will admit that I had a bit of a panic attack halfway through the demo.  The realization that there was no going back and we would be roughing it really sunk in.



looking into the kitchen, standing were the half wall had been





looking into the living room

After the demo, the kitchen felt even smaller.  I spent the next couple of days trying to clean up, which is impossible.  The plumbers started and finished their portion and the electrician gets started tomorrow. 
We are using a guy that works for the company that did our basement.  He comes over in the evenings and works.  As of now the new pantry is framed and the sliding door is on.  He took down the post (not a load bearing wall).  Which has made a huge difference.




The new pantry




looking into the kitchen with the post gone

I also thought I would throw in a picture of Jason doing the dishes in the front yard with the hose.  See, we are camping!



What must the neighbors think?

Well that is all for now.  I will share more as we go. 



   

Here we go...

The family...Team Darling

WELL, I finally decided to start a blog (I read enough of them).  I figured I could share what is going on with our family and as most of you know we have taken on a huge (in a small space) kitchen remodel.  So this will allow me to post pics and have a journal of this project.  Who knows, I might find this fun and keep up with it.  So stay tuned and ENJOY!