Kitchen Makeover

When we bought this house 6 and a half years ago, the plan was to put laminate (fake wood) floors where the linoleum flooring is.  However, upon learning that the previous owners had a cat, we had to use all of the flooring fund to replace all of the carpet in the house.  While I was bummed about not getting the laminate flooring at the time, I was happy that we had all new carpet and I wouldn't have to worry about my allergies. 

Still, I always pined for new flooring--especially every time I had to mop that linoleum!  About a month ago, Joel and I started having a conversation about updating our kitchen.  Well, when we decide to do something, neither one of us can wait!  We started looking at new flooring, then realized our countertops wouldn't match.  (Though my mom hasn't liked those countertops for years, right, Mom?)  It was a slippery slope, as Joel called it, as we knew we would have to replace other things along the way.  We are not finished decorating yet, but we're almost there!

Here we are about a month later, and we have a few new updates to show:

 Before picture

We shopped around and narrowed our flooring down to these two choices:

I liked this aged barnwood because it looked like it could be in an urban loft.  Okay, so I realize I'm in a suburban house, but I still have the desire to be metro chic!  I also liked the variation in the wood as it matched the white-washed maple variations in our cabinets.

 This was the other choice.  I liked this a lot and felt it was the safer of the two.  However, it didn't look as good when paired with the cabinets.  So, which one did we choose?  The first one--the aged barnwood.

 Then it came down to the countertops.  Both of these looked great, but it's so hard to choose from a tiny 1 inch by 2 inch sample.  My mom had the great idea of taking several pieces of the same sample in order to see a bigger picture.  Great idea!  But it was still hard to choose between the two.  So, which one did we choose?  The one on the left.  :)

 This is when we realized that our table and chairs would not match our new decor.  We thought about buying a new set, but this is Amish made furniture and is amazingly sturdy.  We didn't want to go out and replace it with something that wouldn't be able to withstand the abuse from our children.  God love 'em.  :)

We began sanding it down and painting it a new color.  I don't even want to know how many hours we put into it.  I bet the people who made the table would laugh at us.  The first chair took me about 45 minutes to sand.  I texted Joel at work and told him, "Bad news is, it took me 45 minutes to sand the first chair.  Good news is, the chair is about 1 inch shorter now."  ;)  You have to have a sense of humor when doing a project, or you will go insane.

 Again, before...

 And after!

I love how I was out of paper towels in the before and after pictures.  I promise, I do replace the roll! 

I know Joel is reading this and wondering why I am saying we're not done.  :)  I'm still trying to figure out how to decorate above the cabinets.  I've talked to Kelly and Jessica and have gotten some tips from them as well as good ol' Pinterest.  If you have any cool suggestions for me, I'd love to hear them!

Thanks for checking out our kitchen makeover!

Reid is TWO!

Reid turned two when we were in Disney World.  Two years...Wow.  I honestly feel like we just brought him home from the hospital.  People said this would happen, but it's true--his first two years have flown by because we're so busy with having older kids.  It's funny because part of me wants him to remain my little baby, but the other part of me is ready for him to get bigger so we can do more things as a family. 

Reid is still a busy boy!  He wanders around the house and plays with the most random things.  But I am most proud of the fact that he LOVES books and loves when we read to him.  For the longest time, he wouldn't sit still long enough for us to get through one page.  Now he brings us books and climbs up on our laps.  I love that!

It's so hard to sum up your child's personality in one blog post.  Reid is unique--just like Reese and Ryan are unique in their own ways.  He can be carefree and go-with-the-flow, and then he can be over the top type-A who is worried about getting dirty or seeing something that's messy.  He can be sweet and cuddly, and he can also be stubborn and fight us on everything.  You just never know what you're going to get!

 

At two years, Reid:

 

• has ___ teeth.  (Have to come back to this when he's awake and I can count his teeth!)
• naps once a day (about 1-3 p.m.)
• sleeps from about 7:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. 
• loves bath time so much that he often takes two baths a day: One time in the morning and once at night! 
• loves playing outside.  He could play outside all day if we let him!  Thank goodness he goes outside a lot at Michelle's house.
• loves to clean.  If you give him a wet wipe, he will go to town on any surface!  He loves to pick up trash and is often seen running to the trash can.  ;)  We were even at the grocery store this weekend and saw a newspaper flying across the parking lot.  He freaked out going, "Trash!  Trash!" until I would pick it up.  (Thanks for passing along that gene, Grandpa Stan!)
• gets along well with other kids.  (Other than his siblings, of course!)
• eats fairly well.  He's starting to get a little more picky, so I'm trying to still expose him to different foods.  His favorites are pasta, green beans, yogurt, and waffles.  
• is talking more and more.  I'm not sure how many words he has, but I'm sure he's average.  He is starting to put two words together like "Dadda bye-bye," "Dadda's car," "No, mama!"  Or my favorite: "choc-late milk."  Yes--he is spoiled!!!
• loves to give big hugs and put his head down on your shoulder when you hold him for the first time.  It melts everyone's hearts!
• tends to be more reserved, but is starting to lighten up a bit.  He certainly loves to laugh and make all of us laugh.
• loves to sing.  Other than "Moves Like Jagger," he loves to sing "Happy Birthday" and "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes."  He is also learning songs like "Where is Thumbkin?" and "Itsy Bitsy Spider" at Michelle's.  It's cute to listen to him singing bits of songs and then have me wonder, "Where has he heard that before???" 
• loves, loves, loves Elmo!  We have an Elmo book that we read before we put him to bed.  He also likes to watch "Elmo's World" on TV.  To let us know that he wants to watch the show and not read the book, he'll actually sing, "El-mo WORRRLLL!" He holds he last part, just like they do in the song...it's really cute!  He'll even respond when Elmo says, "Say 'hello,' Dorothy!"  Reid now says, "Hi, Dor-ty."
• Nicknames: Reidy Bug, Reidy Doug, Big Guy, Buddy, Reider

Happy 2nd Birthday, Reid!

Reid--A Look Back

Reid has changed so much during the past year.  He no longer looks like a baby...He's now a toddler!

Easter 2012

We joined my family at Holy Spirit on Easter Sunday for Mass.  The kids had spent the night at my parents' house the night before, and the Easter Bunny found them and left them baskets.  They were happy with their loot!  I didn't have anyone to get ready that day, and still ended up forgetting my camera at home.  Luckily Kelly always has hers!

 Ryan started walking like this and said, "Hey, guys--I'm walking in slowmotion!"  Sometimes he does the strangest funniest things!

 We then met everyone for brunch at Castleton Grill.

 Great family shot!

I hope you and your families had a blessed Easter!

The Luau and the Last Day

Our grand finale for the week was a luau at the Polynesian Resort.  (For those of you keeping score at home, this marks our 3rd time visiting the Polynesian for dinner during the week.  We're kind of obsessed!)

 Waiting for the bus

 The boys are out of focus in this picture, but I still love it!

 It's always nice to have a family photo!

 We were all greeted with leis for the luau.

 Reese looked so pretty!  We decided to stop fighting the Florida humidity and go au naturale with her hair.  I stopped straightening it and started using my hair products on her hair.  I love it!

 The actual luau was really fun.  At one point they had the kids come up to the stage to learn how to do the hula dance. 

 Later they had anyone who had a birthday that month come up to the stage.  I escorted Reid to the stage, thinking he'd enjoy dancing.

 Instead, he clung to my legs--probably making sure I wasn't going to go anywhere.

 After feeding us way too much food (the theme of the week), they brought out some kind of molten lava chocolate mousse dessert.

 Reese discovered her love for hula dancing.

 Cousins!!!

 Silly Ryan!

 Great picture of Doug and Marsha.  :)

 The Grand Floridian at night.

The next morning we packed up our bags and got our last unlimited Diet Coke fountain drink refill from our resort.  (This was one of my favorite perks!)  We boarded the bus and headed to the airport.

 Owen and Reid said good-bye to Mickey!

 We had some unexpected entertainment at the airport.  I noticed a baby duck swimming all alone in one of the ponds outside.  About 10 minutes later, these two airport employees came out to try to rescue it.  The little duck was a quick swimmer, nor would he let them come anywhere near to him.  We all sat there watching this while eating our lunch--it was like dinner and a show.  :)  They eventually called in animal control, but we never did see the conclusion.  I'm hoping they were able to capture the little duckling and put him or her in a safe place! 

 I love how Reid is checking out the Sky Mall magazine.  :)  He fell asleep about 20 minutes into the flight, and slept until we landed.  That was a nice way to end the trip!

Hardly a peep from these two as well!

Doug and Marsha,
Thank you so much for taking us on this amazing trip!  We have so many wonderful memories that we will treasure forever.  We love you!
Kristy, Joel, Reese, Ryan, and Reid