7 Quick Takes - Moving Back Day

{This post brought to you by some good ole early morning pregnancy insomnia PLUS a fantastic round of heartburn - enjoy}

--- 1 ---

{Here's to Papa}

Ever since Lee and I met the kitchen of the house that he (which was eventually we) lived in never had a vented (to the outside) hood. Pretty much drove him crazy because he cooks alot (and is pretty darn great at it) and hot natured. We were going to get it done at the old (turned rental) house but then we moved right before R arrived. This reno project did not have it in the original plans but then everything was out of the kitchen so he said what the heck and had it done. Now no more INSANELY hot kitchen in the summer while baking bread for church and other kitchen/stove activities : ) 

--- 2 ---

On to the pantry...

Hello space... This gem is courtesy of our designer/decorator. We would have NEVER come up with turning the bity pantry and coat closet into a massive pantry.

See those 8 squares on the left? That was the old pantry space. We have probably quintupled our pantry area. Now you are probably wondering what the story is with the floor? Can we say temporary area rug? One of the unforeseen side effects of moving the pantry and not redoing the laundry room / mudroom floors.

--- 3 ---

Man I have not even really showed you anything....  : )

Oh the knee wall... Inspiration for this number comes from E&R's friends house. The original plan was to take out the entire wall. Lee and I were not crazy about losing all the wall space to put furniture up against  / corral kids so we were okay with leaving half of the entire wall up, but along comes this knee wall concept and we both thought it was practical and still completely room-opening so we ran with it.

--- 4 ---

Opened entry... yes please

When our designer met with us and the contractor 2.5 seconds weeks before this project was about to happen she basically said - YOU MUST DO THIS OR ELSE. It was in the long term plan but not in the plan for this project. Well... fortunately we got it done this time for a number of reasons including it would have been (nearly) impossible to take out part of a wall and rematch the floor color in 5 years.

Are we so glad we did this? Yes... If you stood in our entryway (it's no foyer) before it was very dark and closed in... Not any more. Also, makes me happy that the iron is breaking up the crazy amount of wood that is in our house.

--- 5 ---

On to our bedroom...

No more fantastic pink carpet - tears have been shed - or pink walls. 

Need I say more? No... but I will anyway. Floors... Excellent. Walls. Like them. The pictures don't really tell the true wall color. In fact I actually thought they were going to be more on the greener side than the bluer side BUT I prefer blue to green. It is definitely not as blue as the kitchen accent wall so... seg-way to that

--- 6 ---

Let's talk walls shall we? Again an unforeseen thing that had to be dealt with during this renovation process... the walls and their color. Originally we just wanted the contractor to tie in the new walls with old paint color but that is crazy for two reasons:

A. We had amazing wallpaper covering the bottom half of the walls that was literally unmatchable
B. When else were we going to have everything moved into a perfect-time-to-paint position... NEVER

So this is what we got....

Accent wall in kitchen + new wall color everywhere else

Glad we got it done.... You bet!

--- 7 ---

Hardwood floors... You're up.



Putting in hardwood floors was the backbone/motivating factor of this project. They came out great and they tied in well and matched to the 5 inches of hardwoods that were in the house originally. However, I will admit this was the one thing that I took the most issue with and I'm not afraid to say it.

Prior to the floor installation (note I did not say prior to the project starting) I did not know there was such a thing as 'presealed hardwood floors' (what we have) which is different from 'manufactured hardwood floors' (not what we have) which is different from 'hardwood floors that have to cure in their environment for 5-7 days before installation' (not what we have). This is the ONLY part of the renovation where I felt not in control and completely not informed. I (we) am not opposed to the presealed hardwood floors but we were expecting the wood to have to cure in the house (but glad that it did not have to as it would have added a week to the timeline) BUT I just wish we had discussed it with the contractor BEFORE. We ASSUMED that the only hardwood floor option was the curing one so when that was not what was happening I calmly talked to Lee who talked to the contractor who assured us this was the best product for our circumstances and we will not have be disappointed and being 35 weeks pregnant I kind of had a conniption fit and frantically ran to the internet and then talked to Lee : )

The floors look reddish in some of these but the above picture is probably the most accurate in terms of stain.

Well that's all for now people. Overall extremely happy with the work that was done and the timeliness and quality. I cannot wait to get back to living in our house. It's been a wild ride 2.5 weeks before baby #3 comes. Why we do big projects right before babies... I have no idea. Baby #4 might be short changed down the road if that is in the cards but so was E so.... 

I'm rambling and going back to bed. Happy Friday. 

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

                               

Fill in the Blank....

TOMORROW!!!

Can we discuss how ready I am to get back to my house? While being residents at Camp Jibbe has had its many perks I cannot WAIT to be back home. I may have sneaked a peak through the windows this morning and peaked through the laundry room I am ready, ready, ready to see the house in living color. 

Side note -  There was an insane sale on the pork that Lee and company use to make the Kielbasa for our parish fundraiser so 33 Boston butts later - they'll be good to go. I think I have given my fair share of Kielbasaa time this year, you know - enduring 2 sausage making experiences - while pregnant plus buying and transporting - one by one each pork package into the freezer in our garage PLUS taking the one package that had a slit in it back to the store for the most rancid car ride EVER.

So I just HAD to go in the laundry room and wash my hands of the pork-i-fied-ness so I looked into the kitchen. Pretty darn impressed and satisfied with what I saw. I really wanted to see the pantry but the doors did not look ready for touching so I resisted. 

Lee and I might take an early 5th (say what, gasp - has it really been that long) anniversary dinner tonight since 1. E's soccer game was canceled and 2. baby #3 is likely not going to allow a celebratory dinner out... so we'll probably head over to the casa to check it out before we do anything. So I'll post some pics in the 7 QTs manana. 

I cannot believe it's been 3 weeks since we've been in the house. I cannot wait to get my hands on new baby clothes and get the room ready. I'll get the carseat installed and my hospital bag packed so I can check those two off the list. 

Hopefully we've been semi-decent house guests. I think the girls will go through some serious Jibbe withdrawal next week (and us too)... Maybe I'll hit the high notes of our 3 week adventure away from the house in the 5 Favs next week. Don't you love me brainstorming new posts... Keeps you coming back for more, I know : )

Back from Pre-Construction Hibernation!

Hurricane Kibbe with bags and boxes descending on Hotel Crabapple

Late Friday was spent packing up and all Saturday was spent transitioning the bags and boxes and stuff over to our home away from home. Not without a semi-random let's get out of the house so Papa can deal with the mess and the stress drive/shopping trip to Wilson. The colder weather threw me for a loop last week and E needed some new church shoes so it was not a complete shop just to shop experience. The girls lasted for all of 10.5 seconds. Remind me not to bring kids consignment clothes shopping - which requires much more focus and attention then just regular shopping.

Anyway that crisis was swiftly averted. We made it back to the Mount for naps at Jibbe's and Lee and I time to seriously question why in the world we were going through with this construction... just kidding. Good thing Jibbe was out of town for the day/night because her house needed some time to absorb the ridiculous amount of stuff I/we brought. She graciously let Lee and I camp out in her room so alot of our bags and boxes and laundry baskets are hidden.

Anyhow it has been entertaining for the girls to be here and I'll post on that soon-ish but for the first day of construction pics.

Bear with me here.... The power had been cut to the construction area of the house so the pics are not great but there are a few pre-construction pics for comparison

New pantry... (Old pantry was on the left where those notches are) 

Old Pantry

Old coat closet = new pantry

Pink carpet?

Pink carpet : ( 

Okay this was a last minute decision to tear part of the stair wall down. Line of sight to kitchen

But they found an 'I joint' a board too soon so its not going back as far as we planned 

Hello open space

Wall... 

More wall?

So OPEN!

So not!

First day success

I will say this... Lee and I knew that we wanted to take down the wall when we bought the house. My parents housewarming gift to us was having a designer/planner/brilliant decorator come up with a plan for us - which I was so so so skeptical about (no offense). But FOR REAL, we would have A. never come up with the pantry/coat closet idea and B. would not have had part of the stair wall taken out (and we weren't even going to do it two weeks ago but she INSISTED that we needed to just do it). So a special thanks to Grammy and Grandpa Joe and C for helping this project have a bigger vision than we ever would have imagined. And now the builder and his guys just need to keep to their time table so we can get in before baby #3 comes. Maybe if he finishes early we'll name our first born son after him - haha... no but it would be an excellent motivating factor. 

p,f,h,r - The Overheard, Pictureless Edition

Sorry no pics for this one. Lee just dumped all my phone pics onto my computer and I have no idea where they are actually saved.





Pretty


Me - {Walking in with the pizza box}
R - Pee-ta, Pee-ta, Pee-ta {repeated for the next 3.5 minutes until she got in her highchair and was given dinner


Usually pre-dinner is a far from pretty situation. R is in and out of the kitchen SCREAMING for 'eat' and 'cup' and usually has about negative ounces of patience. Surprisingly the screams for pizza were toned down and really cute!

Happy


{while on the bluetooth in the van with Lee)
Me - Okay love you
Lee - Love you too
R - I looo youuu. Looo youuu

Awwwww... moments like this make my crazy days so much more worth it. 


Funny

E - I need to twist my tongue

Me - Why?

E - Because I really need to

Me - But what are you going to do with a twisted tongue?

E - {blank stare}

I have no idea. NO IDEA. 

Real

E - I don't want to get hardwood floors put it

Me - Well Mr Charles is going to take care of it all

E - But I don't want hardwood floors

Me - But all your toys are going to be safe

E - But I don't want hardwood floors

Me - Well we are going to get them and there is nothing to be worried about

E - {screams, tears, THE WORKS}

Yup... its really happening. Nani thinks that E can tell I'm stressed about having the house worked on a hot minutes before new baby comes. Maybe she can and maybe she is expressing my emotions and opinions as I try and remain calm. 

Five Favs - Realizations over the past week

1. Reno project - 3 week timeline?!?!?!

So this was a shock/bummer. I'm glad the builder is being straight up with us about when we can live back in our house again but 3 weeks out from the start date is a mere 15 days from baby #3's d-day. Why did we not do this a month ago? Oh yeah, we love taking on big projects/life changing events before new babies come - though I think E got totally shorted because I really don't remember anything major about have arrival. As my sister-in-law says is a 1st world problem to have and I really should not be complaining at all so I suppose I'll stop.

2. E waking up to go potty : ) 

This one kind of gives me a laugh because last night around 10:30 the girl wakes up crying. I could not really hear/understand her so I thought it was a bad dream but then she lays there crying and says... I really have to go potty! So we scurry to the potty and I think the massive amount of WATERmelon consumed during dinner must have been processed in overdrive. Welcome to the real world of waking up at night to go potty, kid. (Now watch her have an accident just because I posted that!)


3. Your pregnant wife will NEVER turn down chocolate

I still cannot hammer this into Lee's head and you'd think after three pregnancies he would have a secret stash of mini chocolate candy for me. Negativo. Its probably for the best because if I knew he had a stash I would probably go hunting for it. Still no chocolate to be found around here - though there is some chocolate + nut bars I have been eating for breakfast after I discovered them in the pantry this week. Other than that there is NONE to be found/consumed. 

4. R being a tape recorder

R will repeat just about ANYTHING you say to her - that is two or three words. Or she'll at least try to get that many audible syllables out. Yesterday she was walking back home from our walk and she was saying "No, no, no" (she's way good at that) and then I changed it up with a "No ma'am" and she got out "No, maaam" - it was super super super cute. Guess you kinda had to be there.


5. Bedroom Overhaul

So we'll be getting hardwoods in our bedroom and since all the furniture has to be out, why not paint? I kinda hated to put another project on Lee because well he'll be doing most of the all the work to get the house packed and unpacked and moved and unmoved for this renovation so painting our room would have been just another thing. But low and behold last night he said something about window coverings in our room which somehow does not seem crazy important to me at this point so painting it is.

We're likely going with the one on the left - Beach Glass - which I especially like with the blue and yellow for colors of our {one day} comforter and sheet set.

Five Favs - Things I Won't Miss about the New House

1. Our peace and current routine

So while all the shenanigans (aka construction) are going on here the house will not be livable so the girls and Papa and I will be camping out at Jibbe's. I like our routine. I like how everyone knows what the expectations are and what needs to be done. So that will be temporarily interrupted...

2. Mysterious (or not-so-mysterious) spots ALL OVER the carpet in the dining area

Since when it is a good idea to put carpet in the dining room? Ummm... NEVER. 

The carpet was perfect when we moved in. Now it is... well. Lived in. 

I can stop freaking out every time something is spilled on the floor. 

No idea what those are but there is nothing that has not gotten on this floor

Strawberry shortcake + whipped cream + ice cream + sprinkles 

When I painted E's toenails for 4th of July and then discovered that some has run off her nails... It was hot pink. I didn't even worry about it.



3. Teeny Tiny Pantry

So we'll loose a coat closet in the process BUT we already have one right off the kitchen so my level of concern = 0%

Sorry you don't need Peanut Butter crackers at Swimworld at 4:45. I'll get you a pack to take for your snack tomorrow and if you don't stop crying about it then I'll take them for snack tomorrow.

4. Dividing wall into between in kitchen and living room

We're taking down all the wall half way and putting in a knee wall from the midway point to the laundry room door

Divided

Living Room

Kitchen side

5. Pink carpet in our bedroom?

Who does not love pink carpet in the bedroom!?!?!