A New Kitchen Part 3

We're almost there. The cabinets are installed, the plywood is down for the counter top base and our dishes are in the proper places. It's so nice to have to walk to the other side of my kitchen to get something out of a cabinet! It's been so long since I had a real kitchen to cook in. Can't wait to have a dinner party and do some entertaining. Here are some pics that I took the other night. We'll be painting all the cabinets the deep brown that you see in the photo below. Then the walls will be a nice light olive green to compliment the cabinets and fixtures that we have. The last touch will be the concrete counter tops and the brushed aluminum hardware for the doors and drawers. It's going to be such an amazing kitchen when it's done. Anyone know any magazine types that need to do a piece on kitchens? ;-)

Oh Christmas Tree...

I think Jeremiah is annoyed that I keep posting all the new pics of the kids to my blog so im posting our christmas tree pics on the family blog. I put my stuff on my mantle a week ago but we put the tree up this afternoon and decorated it.

Last week we also put up Alexa's tree in her room (1st pic). It has my Hallmark Barbie ornaments my grandma gave me and then it has all pink, purple and lime green ornaments. Its very cute and looks so fun with her purple walls.

So of course that meant that we had to completely rearrange the furniture...i like it better the way it is now...anywho...

We finally got a Wii. Its actually my Christmas present to myself and its something everyone will enjoy too. Jeremiah and Alexa are actually playing MarioKart as I am typing this...haha...

Leonard slept through most of the decorating. So no cute pics of him eating ornaments or anything.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. If you havent already, check out my blog to see the pics of the kids on Thanksgiving. They turned out REALLY good so if any of the fam want a copy, let me know.

Hugs to everyone!

A New Kitchen Cont.

Another weekend gone by and we are that much closer to having our kitchen completely finished. This weekend was slammed with activity, though not as crazy as last weekend. Thank God. But, here's the list:

Finished electrical
Finished fabricating and installing drawers
installed range hood
slapped on first and second coat of drywall
knock-down ceiling (still needs to be painted)
installed upper cabinets
installed utility cabinets in laundry room
installed temporary bar top (waiting on granite to come today)

Now that all of that is finished all that is really left is to sand and paint the walls, install the granite bar top, fix some odds and ends, put the face plates back on all the switches and outlets and pour the concrete counter tops. The concrete we'll pour in a couple of weeks once the holiday is over. Then we need to find some new tile for the floor and walls. And then our "small kitchen remodel" will be complete. Since we got the cabinets and the granite for free the whole job has cost us around $500 so far. The counters will end up costing perhaps another $300, and about the same for the tile. So, once complete the entire kitchen will have cost a total of approximately $1100. And it will add somewhere in the neighborhood of $20,000 to the value of our house. But what I'm really excited about is to actually have space to cook in my kitchen! Ugh! It's so wonderful!
Alexa misplaced our camera, so you'll have to wait for pictures later tonight.

Ciao.

A New Kitchen

This past weekend Duane and I began installing the new kitchen in our home. The demo process was very theraputic for me, not to mention just a lot of fun. As many of you know our old kitchen, if you could call it that, was not the prettiest or most functional room in the house. Well, that is getting ready to change, my friends.
First, we tore out the old plaster and lath, then cut a huge hole in one wall to make a pass-thru and bar top. Then we cleaned everything up and ran some electrical and plumbing. Once that was done we were ready to start installing the new base cabinets. This was a tricky process seeing as we have to disassemble and reassemble some of the boxes in order to make them fit.
So, all day Sunday was spent installing the cabinets, cutting the plywood base for the counters and installing the sinks, switches and receptacles. It was a very long weekend. We're not done yet, but it's definitely come a long way from what it was. Here are some pics while under construction. I'll have some more shots once we've got things put away and cleaned up.

Getting Better

Leonard is feeling better now that he's been on the Amoxicilin for a couple of days. He still has a little cough and some flegm but it's getting better. And, now, Leonard is starting to sleep through the night. We're at two nights in a row he didn't wake up once, so let's hope this is the trend from now on. This morning was funny. He woke up and just sat there talking up a storm to no one. It's hilarious to hear him in his crib just chatting away with no one. I'd give anything to see what a baby sees for just one day. How amazing would that be?
So, Leonard is good, Erin is good, I'm good. We're not as tired as last week. Life is grand.

Ciao.

Unfortunate News

So, Leonard has joined the long and unlucky line of Russell's in our family. He has his very first ear infection. Considering he's almost the same age as I was when I got my first ear infection, I hope everyone will join Erin and I in praying for healing in his ears. The last thing he needs is to get on the same track with tubes and pain meds that I had.
They've given him amoxycilin, and we should see some improvement in a couple of days. We'll keep you all posted.

Leonard's Blog

I wanted to make sure that everyone has the link to my blog on Leonard. Ive been blogging since I got preggo with him and I keep it pretty updated with pics and videos.

http://erinspreggers07.blogspot.com/

Alexa and Leonard

Jeremiah put the digital on manual and took these sweet photos of Alexa and Leonard last weekend.

They are sooo cute! Alexa loves being a big sister :)

Spooktacular

So we thought it would be fun to take Alexa and Leonard to the Zoo for Spooktacular this year. We took Alexa a couple years ago and it was a lot of fun. We invited her two friends, Sydney and Alyssa, to come with us. We had a little pre-party for the girls and they all got ready together, that part was alot of fun.

The actual event...not so much...it was SOOOOO crowded and im bummed that we really didnt get to enjoy it like we did last time. Fortunately, Leonard was such a good boy and even the girls were troopers and had pretty good attitudes the whole time. They got to dress up and thats all that counted! Here are some photos from their pre-party and the few we were able to take at the Zoo.

New Stuff

This passed weekend I found an awesome deal on Craig's List. A new 35mm camera. It's a Nikon F-501 35mm with a 52mm close-up lens. Got it for $75 which is an incredible steal. It's going to be a great camera for me to get some nice shots of Erin and Leonard and Alexa. One of the things we like to do, that we don't do often enough, is to go to the park and have a little photo shoot. Erin and I took Leonard the weekend before this passed, and it was a lot of fun...till leonard decided he had had enough that is. I love film cameras. There is something so beautiful about a real photograph that you have to focus and click to expose. Unlike a digital where you just point, click and move on without really thinking about what the shot looks like because you know you can edit later. Film becomes just as much about taking the photo as developing the photo. Maybe I just kick it old school like that. I'm still on the look out for a Pentax 6x9 medium format camera if anyone out there knows somebody. Or a dark room set. My mother still has mine buried in her basement somewhere I think. Oh well. Stay tuned for some genuine film photography via me. I'll post some as soon as I get the shots back.

Ciao.

Dedicated

Sunday was our church's baby dedication. It's nothing more than a small ceremony dedicating the children to the church body, and the church body dedicating themselves to the children. It's actually an interesting feeling to see all of those people sharing that responsibility with you (the parents). Anyway, here are a couple of photos from that.

Generations

Last weekend Erin was going through Leonards' clothes, putting away those that don't fit anymore (there's more than you would think) and she found the outfit that Bopchi had sent down for him. It's one of Leonard Moreau's (my uncle) outfits from when he was little. So, we pulled it out and slapped it on him before he outgrows that too. Here are the pics. Remember, this outfit was made before My mother was even thought of. Crazy.

Photos Photos Photos

Sorry it's been so long since the last post. Life moves pretty fast. Here are some shots from last weekend when we had Alexa for her 10th birthday. Enjoy.

Jolly Green.....Leonard?

So, Leonard had his two month check up yesterday morning. The doctor reported that he is in very good health and is growing nicely. So nicely in fact that he is the size of a normal 4 month old! He weighs 14 lbs and is 25 inches long! He's gonna be a big boy for sure! And here are some photos from this past weekend. Enjoy!

Ciao.

Papa has a new do!

I got me a new hair cut yesterday. Check it out!! Yeah, babie! Sportin' the Hawk!!

Relaxed for once

This passed weekend was actually mildly relaxing for once. We weren't on a constant mad dash to some place or other, very little yard work (though I did start tearing up the backyard preparing for our garden), and no home disasters. So, not a whole lot to talk about, but I do have some pictures.