Monday, July 28, 2008

Like pieces of a puzzle


Here's a shot of the new tile in the kitchen. Jeff's been laying it on the diagonal, so as he's getting to all the pieces that need to be cut, it will be like putting together a puzzle. It IS a little bit harder to lay it this way, but it looks more interesting. Besides--Val, our esteemed designer, said it should be this way. We haven't regretted listening to her yet! :-) The grout lines between the tiles will be filled with a brown grout when it's all finished.

My role in this job? I'm the designated mortar-mixer-upper and soon to be grouter! Just add that to my normal roles of chef, baker, chauffeur, chaperon, sheriff, maid, nurse, friend, inventory specialist, grocery shopper and general home manager. Whew!

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Happy Birthday Sarah!!


Our Sarah is 9 today! She enjoyed a fun day of lunch out with Mom and Dad, and then she and Mom went shopping at Costco and Smiths! She chose her birthday cake and ice cream, which meant that Mom used the awesome (!) Cuisinart ice cream maker to make some homemade cookies and cream flavor. Yum!

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Before and After



I thought it would be interesting to post these next to each other. I hadn't looked at them together before, and the difference is pretty amazing! I'm really glad that we moved the peninsula out about 2 feet, and also shortened it by 2 feet. It really opens up the space. I'll be sure and do this again when the backsplash and tile are done. It'll be even better.

Back to civilization!




It may be hard to see, but take notice of the running water in the sink. Jeff got the pipes and water lines all put together under the sink last night. After we turned on the water and checked for leaks (so far, so good) I was so happy to have running water in here again that I said, "Oh! I could just kiss you!" and laid one on him. I think that made it worth it: he does NOT like to do plumbing! :-)

Next on the list? The floor. You can see that the cement backer board is all ready and waiting for tile. Jeff dry-laid a couple of boxes of it the other night to get a feel for the pattern and how it would go, and since we bought 16-inch tiles, it's actually going to go down fairly fast. The cuts around the cabinets and walls will take the longest, but the body of it will go fast. After that's done, the spaces for the dishwasher, range, and fridge are ready to go. And that nice white electrical wire over the window will play host to a stainless steel pendant light with a red glass shade. Remember that the chocolate wall was red? Well, I couldn't totally get rid of the red in here because I loved it, so some of the backsplash tiles are red glass, and we've kept the curtains for the sliding door that are beige, brown, and red stripes.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

The kitchen looks great, but...

It really isn't the be-all and end-all of my life. Hence, here are the

Top Ten Things in My Life

10. My new roof, since it POURED rain last night! :-)
9. The daylilies in my yard.
8. The neighborhood I live in.
7. My husband's job. :-)
6. Lots of wonderful friends.
5. All my big extended family.
4. Singing songs with primary children every Sunday.
3. Six really AWESOME kids!
2. The best husband ever!
1. My testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Counter Love

This is definitely the craziest picture I have had someone take of me!

But, it shows how much I LOVE my new counter!! Now, my DH (darling hubby) will hook up the plumbing to the sink, install the faucet, and I will have a very usable kitchen, tile floor or no.

My sanity has just been saved!! :-)

Monday, July 21, 2008

Good news and bad news

I KNEW better days were coming! The counter (and sink) is going to be installed TOMORROW!! I am so excited I can hardly stand it!

So that was the good news, obviously. The bad news is that my uncle Mark passed away today, just a couple of hours ago. Actually, for him, it's the good news. He is now able to see his daughter Malarie (my cousin) and his mother, my grandma. Malarie was killed in a car accident a few years ago at the age of 20. I'm sure there's a very happy reunion taking place right now on the other side. He unfortunately contracted cancer about a year ago, from asbestos exposure at work over 25 years ago, before anybody knew it was as bad as it was. He has hung in there through chemotherapy, but ultimately the cancer got to be too much. So for the rest of us, we'll miss his AWESOME sense of humor like crazy. He was always so much fun to be around and always had something funny to say, even if it was at his own expense. I love you, uncle Mark!


Better days are coming!

Okay, that makes this post sound a lot more interesting than it really is. What I'm trying to say is that I believe I have passed my last Sunday without a sink in my kitchen! I should have my new counter and sink installed by the end of the week.
I am SOOOOO excited about that, I can't even tell you!! I will still not have a completed floor, but it'll all be a.o.k. as long as I have a counter to do things on, and a sink with running water. As soon as I have that, I'm happy. Which isn't to say that I'm not happy now, but life will definitely get a little less complicated. :-)





Friday, July 18, 2008

Awww...


This is just one example of how close Libby is to our black lab, Molly. She has gotten on the floor and laid over, under, or around Molly ever since she was old enough to crawl around! Molly never complains or tries to get away from her. They are buds!

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Okay, it's my sister's birthday, so

I'm going to share the Top Ten Reasons why I LOVE mo!

10. She's my sister, but she's my friend too.
9. She's basically harmless. Unless you cross her. Don't do it. I, of course, never have. :-)
8. She has 3 really really cute kids.
7. She has strawberry blonde hair, which I tried to copy once from a bottle. It didn't work out too well.
6. She can do bug kisses.
5. She can invent stuff. Ask her about her bug zapper she made when she was 8.
4. She likes to write, and she's better at it than I am.
3. We both majored in English.
2. She still can do a certain little trick I taught her when we were growing up. Don't ask.
1. She's the best Mo ever!

Top Ten Reasons why I LOVE dark chocolate

10. It doesn't talk back.
9. It doesn't cry, whine, or fight with someone else.
8. It doesn't expect anything in return.
7. It puts a smile on my face. :-)
6. It doesn't cost $4.17 per gallon.
5. It doesn't talk back.
4. It's the only bean that doesn't have THOSE unpleasant side effects.
3. Can you say, anti-ox-i-dents?
2. I can go away, eat some, and feel like I'm on my own private vacation!
1. Did I say it doesn't talk back?!

Monday, July 14, 2008

Okay, so I just realized...

that I was blog-tagged, like, a month ago?! (Okay mo, that tells you I haven't looked at your blog lately...but you haven't posted lately!!)

What I was doing 10 years ago:
raising half the kids I have now

5 years ago:
raising 5 kids


5 months ago:
Not even DREAMING I would be renovating my kitchen in 5 months! Crazy!

5 things on today's to-do list:
get Jared ready to go to diabetes camp
take Jared to diabetes camp
not cry when I leave Jared at diabetes camp
not worry about Jared who I left at diabetes camp
think about something other than Jared at diabetes camp (hmmm)

Snacks I enjoy:
Dark chocolate
the new premium M&Ms (raspberry almond)
a handful of plain, roasted almonds
a handful of roasted peanuts
Dark chocolate

5 things I would do if I were suddenly a billionaire:
pay off the car and mortgage
take a vacation
give money for juvenile diabetes research
go to a spa
bank the rest

5 things people don't know about me:
I can be a night owl, but I can't sleep past 7 or 7:30am
I actually like lima beans
I've just lost 7 of the pesky last 15 lbs from baby #6 (yeah, she's almost 4 now)
I can pick things up with my toes
My elbows are as sharp as weapons!



Jared's reaching for the stars!


Today Jared left for diabetes camp. It's his favorite thing all year! We have always tried really hard to raise him to feel like he can do anything he wants, even if he has diabetes, but diabetes camp gives him an opportunity to REALLY feel normal. Everyone (or almost everyone) at camp has diabetes so he isn't the only one testing his blood sugar, counting his carbs, and taking insulin. He really enjoys his time there.

For me, it's not so easy. :-) Last year, the first year we sent him on his own, I worried over him for the first 3 or 4 days before I started to relax and enjoy the break from taking care of him all the time. This year it was easier to leave him there, but it was still hard for me to walk away from him and leave the camp! (sniff, sniff) But now that I'm home, it is nice to have that break from counting the carbs, etc. I feel selfish saying this, because Jared NEVER gets a break. He likes the camp, and likes to be around lots of other kids with diabetes, but he still never gets away from it.

On the home front, Jeff is laying Hardibacker tonight. He's getting close to having it all down in the kitchen area. Since it's official now, I can tell everyone that his time just got a lot less....he was put into our ward bishopric yesterday! We had lots of people shake my hand and say, "Condolences." and then shake Jeff's and say, "Congratulations!" LOL
I'm happy for him, because he has done this before (twice) and really enjoys it. The blessings from it are really amazing, so that doesn't hurt either. :-)

Any day now, I should have a counter and a sink....






Saturday, July 12, 2008

Seems like forever since I last posted...

but it's really only been a few days. A lot is going on around here...not just with the kitchen, but it's all good. Today Jeff is laying down the Hardibacker (cement board) for the tile in the kitchen. Even the hardibacker is an improvement over the old subfloor, but the tile will look even better! He installed my wall oven for me the other day so that I have been able to have a working oven again, so that's been nice. Although it's really too hot to turn it on! :-)

I still haven't given in and washed any dishes in the bathtub, but I did have to do a whole bunch of them last night in one of the bathroom sinks...unfortunately, I let them rack up for a few days, and I definitely paid for it later, as the saying goes. :-)

Well I'm anxious to have that long awaited "day of rest" tomorrow! It'll be nice just to relax after church and not have to worry about the kitchen. Then come Monday, back at it! BTW, I didn't mention the other day that the counter top installer came Wednesday and took the template for the counter. It was pretty cool how they do it. He laid out this white tape with black circles and dots patterned on it, all along the walls and at certain points on the cabinets, then took TONS of different digital pictures from all sorts of angles. They will actually make a digital template for the counter, so no matter what imperfections are in the walls, the quartz will be cut to it exactly. COOL! Hopefully this week, I'll have a new counter!

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Picture me, with a light bulb over my head...

...because I have realized something! The hardest part about a kitchen remodel is not having a kitchen sink! Propane stove? check. Crock-pot? check. Grill? check. Microwave? check. A place big enough to actually wash dishes? Nope! Zip, zero, nada. Some might use the bathtub instead, but as I stated in an earlier post, I just can't bring myself to do it. (One BIG reason is that I practically KILL my back everytime I bathe the little girls. Bending over it just doesn't work well for me!) Maybe before this whole lack-of-a-dishwasher thing is over, I'll change my mind. We'll see.

New cabinets!!


Well, here are the new cabinets all finished (minus the toe kicks, which will go in after the tile). They look SOOO awesome! It's fun to visualize things when you plan the new kitchen, but it's really cool to see the plans coming to fruition. It looks even better than I thought! As our designer would say, "It looks like a million bucks!" Thanks, Val!!

Monday, July 7, 2008

My new favorite thing:

The pantry that I've wanted for YEARS! There used to be the fridge and 2 wall cabinets on this wall, and it always looked like somebody didn't finish it off. Now it's the way I've hoped it could be.

We're (on our way) back in business!


Well, after the first day of cabinet installation, this is where we stand. Most of the cabinets are in. Tomorrow they will install the wall oven cabinet, get all the doors on, and the crown molding on the top of all the wall cabinets. So far, it's looking really good! Now my problem is that I want it to be done faster! :-)

Six happy little campers


We came back yesterday from our camping trip, and then discovered that there were problems with some electrical and water line issues while we were gone that we had to fix last night..the ox was in the mire sort of thing. Anyway, here's this CUTE CUTE CUTE picture of the kids on the camping trip! This big boulder was just 20 feet from the center of our campsite, and made for the perfect setting. Notice the view behind the kids--nothing short of spectacular! It was an awesome trip, and we REALLY needed the relaxation! I, for one, did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING during the day. Literally. It was the best!

Ready or not!

The cabinets are going in today! Here's a look at the kitchen ready (or not) for the new cabinets. I can't tell you how excited I am for the rebuilding to start!! (Mo, you know whereof I speak). Right now, the installer (Mike) is dry-fitting some of the cabinets and seeing where the floor is level, and where it isn't...as the case may be. With all the quirks in this house (don't even get me started!) there are certain to be high and low spots on the floor. I'll keep you posted!

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

There once was a house with no kitchen

The title says it all. We now have NO kitchen to speak of. And let me tell you, doing dishes in a little laundry room sink? The bathtub? Just gross. I just can't bring myself to do it, so I'm using paper plates, paper cups, plastic utensils, etc., whenever possible! I'm definitely working hard to keep myself from going crazy!! Because whoever has done their kitchen WHILE STILL LIVING IN THE HOUSE (shout out to Dave and Meredith here!) knows that somehow, the kitchen mess doesn't stay in the kitchen....it seems to spread to every other room in the house. I keep remembering two things: one, I used to talk myself out of redoing the kitchen precisely because I knew I'd have to live in the mess I'm living in now; but two, it's going to be worth it when it gets finished.

Well, enough complaining...I'm trying not to do too much of that. After all, we brought this on ourselves, didn't we? :-)

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Sneak Peek


Here's a little sneak peek of the new cabinets. This is obviously one of the drawer cabinets. They are maple, in a mocha glaze. The glazing makes the darker lines around the edges, and I think really gives them character. The really nice thing about these drawers is that they are dovetail construction, and the sides are all solid wood. They are LOTS nicer than the ones we've been busily pulling out of the kitchen!

Getting the cabinets gave me just the little boost I needed to keep plugging away! :-)

The cabinets are in....

...the garage! :-)

They just about fill half of it, as you can see. It's now only 6 days until the installer comes.