kitchen reno, take one and two.

If you have been following my blog for any length of time, you know that Erik and I are no strangers to DIY house projects.  We are by no means professionals, but now that we are working on our third house, I would say that we do have a bit of experience!  Our current house really was move-in ready, but I knew when we bought it that there were a few little things I would want to change over time, namely the kitchen backsplash, laundry room, and paint colors in a few rooms.  Eventually we have plans to do more (dreaming of a fully-furnished, roomy screened-in porch but that's for another year decade, ha!)  Before baby 2.0 arrives this summer we decided it would be realistic to tackle a few medium sized projects, and first up is the kitchen.  But, before we go there, let's back up a few years.  Actually, let's back up six years, to when Erik and I bought our first house together.  That house was definitely not move-in ready, and when we bought it we knew it would need a full make-over.  This was before the kiddo phase in our lives (actually before we even got married!) so we had a lot more time on our hands.  Maybe some day I will share the whole house renovation, because we literally gutted the entire place and replaced everything, but for today let's take a peek at the kitchen.  Like I said, we literally took out everything in here - replaced the flooring, cabinets, appliances, countertops, and painted the walls and ceiling.  Erik's parents helped us with this project, and it wouldn't have turned out this awesome without them.  Here are the before and after shots:

looking into the kitchen:

kitchen sink area:

stove:

Hey, remember that time when I started a blog and one of my first posts was how to make a kitchen cabinet organizer?  ha!

Note the green walls - this was the second kitchen I painted green (I also painted the kitchen in my rental house green when I lived in MI) and also not our last kitchen of this color, stay tuned.  Erik installed the tile floor, and we hired someone to help us install the cabinets which were ordered from Lowes.  The counter-tops are granite and all the appliances are stainless steel.  The sink and faucet are also from Lowes.  This was a very small kitchen, but is still one of my favorites to date.  The back window overlooks a steep drop-off that leads down to a creek and if you didn't know any better you would think you were in the mountains when you looked outside.  I sure loved this little house and get a little nostalgic looking back at these photos!  Technically, since we still own it as it's now a rental property, and we could move back in if we missed it that much but I don't think that tiny house would fit our growing family!

We lived in that sweet little house for two years before we decided we were ready for a change.  We were planning on starting a family so we started shopping for a house with a little more space both indoors and out (our first little house had virtually no yard.)  In September of 2012 we bought our next house, another fixer-upper with the intention of keeping our (then current) house as a rental.  We figured it would take a few months to fix up house #2, so we lived in house #1 while the "new" (to us - it was built in the 1960's) house was being worked on.  In reality, it took closer to nine months before it was to the point where we could move in!  But, it was worth it.  House #2 was another complete make-over, including replacing every single door (I think there were over 20 total) which required tearing out the old ones, installing the new, priming, painting and installing new trim.  I swear we would have finished the house months sooner had I not had such an obsession with those five-paneled doors... Anyway, I digress.  The kitchen wasn't a complete gut like the last, we opted to keep the cabinets, flooring, and countertops, but give it something of a face-lift.  We did rip out a built-in bench in the kitchen nook, painted everything (ceiling, walls, trim) and replaced all the appliances, lighting, and sink/faucet.  I refinished the kitchen cabinets myself which involved me taking a week off of work and putting in a solid 8-10 hours a day, on the kitchen project alone.  I removed all the doors and shelves, stripped them, sanded them (orbital and by hand), primed and repainted.  I then reinstalled the doors and added new hardware.  We opted to paint the cabinets white (you will see a white kitchen trend here soon) but used a gel stain to make the island a dark brown.  We were going for a farmhouse kitchen look and I felt we accomplished it quite well!  Here are some before and afters.  Note, the after shots were taken by a professional we hired when we listed the property for sale, which is why they look, well, professional!

It is hard to tell in the after shots, but this kitchen was also painted a light green, but much paler than the last.  I think we went through something like six paint samples before finally having Lowes mix us up a custom green for the walls.  Also note the new lights - I did those myself, along with all the other electrical work in the house.  For the light above the sink, I removed the unsightly external conduit someone had lazily mounted to the ceiling, properly ran the wires through the ceiling, and just patched it up after.  In the breakfast nook, you can see there were formerly two (really weird and ugly) lights.  I combined them into one pendant light, and also repaired the ceiling where the old lights were.  I can't remember how many coats of white it took to cover that ugly red paint in the nook, but it was more than a just a couple!  The cabinet above the stove was removed so we could install a range hood.  The brick backsplash was done by Erik with a thin brick veneer, and we both absolutely loved it.  To the left of the range hood and stove we added in a cabinet that Erik built, with open shelving for our funky little microwave that everyone always thought looked like a TV!  We left the laminate countertops as they were, but in retrospect I wish we would have tried to resurface them with a faux concrete or something like that.  They were the one part of the kitchen I always felt really didn't fit in.  We had intentions of eventually replacing them with either solid concrete, solid surface, or butcher block, but ended up moving again before that could happen!  This brings me to kitchen reno #3, which I will get to in my next post.  We still have a couple small things to finish before I can take the after shots, but so far it's my favorite (and definitely the most budget friendly) of all! 

We are scheduled to close on the sale of our last house in just under a week now.  Which, is actually a huge relief since we moved out nearly a year ago already, but also makes me just a tiny bit sad - we put so much time and hard work into that house, and looking back at this photos has certainly reminded me of everything that went into it.  But, onto the next I suppose.  Stay tuned for kitchen reno, take three!

5 months

Last week we had our big ultrasound - the anatomy scan!  No, we didn't change our minds about finding out the gender, and the ultrasound tech that I had specifically requested did a great job of keeping it a secret.  The tech and OB who met with us after the scan said that baby looks fantastic and there are absolutely no concerns (yay!).  The placenta is nice and high, and also located along the backside of my uterus which they told me is likely why I felt fetal movement so early on.  Baby was moving around so much the tech had a hard time getting some views but eventually saw everything he needed to.  At the end when he turned on the 4D picture so we could see the face, I was having a contraction and poor baby was squished right up against the uterine wall.  When baby did move his/her head the arms and hands were up over the face.  So we didn't get a super clear picture but from what I saw I think this one looks a bit like it's older brother!  Here is the best picture we got, everything below the nose is baby's arm, you can't see the mouth in the photo even though it looks like you can.

I left the ultrasound feeling overwhelmed with gratitude, and that feeling has not faded.  Not that I expected anything would be wrong with the baby, but the fact of the matter is that not everyone gets good news at their ultrasound and really, the chance of a congenital abnormality is a real one.  And then there are couples who try for years to conceive and can't.  Or have miscarriage after miscarriage, even if they have already had a successful pregnancy.  Or try for so long only to have an ectopic pregnancy.  Maybe it's because I work in healthcare where I see these things on a regular basis, but I just feel so fortunate that we were able to conceive quickly when we wanted to and have a healthy, growing child and a seemingly healthy second on the way.  I do not take these things for granted, and my heart is saddened for those who might find themselves in very different, difficult situations. 

So, that felt a little heavy for a pregnancy update.  Onward to a lighter topic.  Last week we also had our second visit at the birthing center.  Since during this appointment I knew I would be seeing the midwife who caught Arlo, I made sure to schedule it on a day off where I could bring the little man along.  It was pretty awesome to be back visiting our favorite midwife, and crazy to think she was the first one to hold our now two-year-old.  Arlo was most interested in asking me "what's that?" and pointing to every single thing in the room during the appointment.  Baby's heart rate sounded great in the 160's.  Belly measured 22 weeks and I am only 20!  Eek!  Weight gain is up 8 lbs which is the total for the pregnancy so far.  Here is a picture of Arlo with Allison, he was not at all interested in holding still so this is the best I could get:

In terms of how I am feeling, I have to say I am now feeling pretty great!  Definitely more like my old self than I have this entire pregnancy so far, and much like I did when I was pregnant with Arlo.  About two weeks ago I decided to start taking an iron supplement that I already had on hand, just to see if it made any difference in my energy level.  And perhaps it is a complete coincidence and I would have started feeling better around that time anyway, but within a few days of starting it I felt like a new person.  I haven't had any lab work done yet and have never had any problems with anemia so I don't know if it's really the iron helping or what, but I plan to stay on it just in case.  It's so nice to have energy again and I am getting back to doing a lot of things I haven't felt like these last few months.

Symptom wise I started getting braxton hicks around 17 weeks.  Actually I had them for many weeks before but I would only notice them when I would lay down and my belly would be all firm feeling and in a strange shape.  Now I notice them as a tightening in my belly and it feels slightly uncomfortable, large, and heavy.  I am getting several (sometimes maybe even up to 10 or so?) throughout the day.  I mentioned it to the midwife and she said it's completely normal and recommended a herb that may quiet down my exercising uterus.  I have been trying to drink more water and rest when I feel several within in a short time.  I remember having braxton hicks with Arlo but feel like it was so much later in the pregnancy.  Other symptoms - very mild and occasional round ligament pain (actually a lot less than I had with Arlo), and craving everything sweet.  Oh my.  My chocolate and ice cream cravings are getting out of control.  Perhaps why I am measuring two weeks ahead?? 

Since the ultrasound went well and I am pretty darn obviously pregnant at this point, we decided to make the baby news facebook (and IG) official this weekend.  Here's the picture we used:

"conversations with baby brother or sister.  baby 2.0 coming in August!"

Maternity clothes are now in full rotation and have been for a few weeks now.  I was still fitting into some non-maternity stuff but realized that I had a full maternity wardrobe already and why not get as much use out of it as I can, and be way more comfortable at the same time!  Here are a few more pictures we took the other day, I am 20 weeks here:

for comparison, here is 20 weeks with Arlo:

And here is what happens when you try and involve your two-year-old in the photos, and all he wants to do is get down and play:

I have been asked a few times if I had any feeling one way or another on the gender.  And really, I don't!  If I absolutely had to guess though, I would probably say girl and that is based on symptoms alone.  This pregnancy has been the complete opposite of Arlo's, and so in my mind it makes sense that something is different this time around.  That being said, I will still be quite surprised if we actually do have a girl.  And also confused if this baby is a boy - how could two boys equal two such drastically different pregnancies??  My medically inclined mind would want that explained, and not just "every pregnancy is different."  I need more than that!  ;)  In either case, we will be super excited and love this baby like crazy no matter what the gender.  I think about having a little brother for Arlo, and my mind conjures up images of them playing trucks and trains together while wearing matching pajamas and that feels just right.  And then I think of a little girl and how neat it would be to experience one of each (and eventually teach her how to crochet and sew) and that sounds amazing too.  So really, it's gonna be pretty rad either way.

Since the gender will be a surprise until birth we need to come up with at least two names (and two middle names) that we both like and agree on.  And that fact alone would probably lead you to believe that we have made some progress in the name department, and honestly we really have not.  We have a boy name that we first heard shortly after Arlo was born, and Erik and I both liked it immediately.  But we haven't settled on anything and have always struggled coming up with girls names that we both really like.  We will not be telling anyone what it is until baby is born and named, but I can tell you that it will likely be another uncommon name.  We both tend to like unusual names and I find myself drawn towards names of the old fashioned kind.  This is one reason I don't want to share the name ahead of time, you will always get someone who thinks (and isn't afraid to share) how weird they think the name is.  And the other reason is that we really want to make sure the name we pick out actually fits the baby when we meet him/her.  Maybe we will just let Arlo pick out the name.  Last time I asked him he said we should name the baby "Peanut Butter."  That's a solid name, don't you think?

I will wrap this up with some life updates.  I was going to make this a separate post but will elaborate on these things more later...  In a few days, my parents are coming to visit!  They will be on Arlo duty for much of this weekend while Erik and I furiously work on two major house renovation projects we are hoping to accomplish before this summer.  We have already started, and mostly finished, the kitchen project, but still have quite a bit to do in there.  And I am set on having a renovated laundry room before this kiddo arrives, so we are hoping to at least get a start on that while we have the grandparents around to help with the little man.  Other house projects on the "to-do before baby" list include painting the nursery, our master bed & bathroom, and some closet organization downstairs.  I am in complete nesting mode and thankfully it's rubbing off on Erik.  Our other big task right now is finding me a new (to me) car.  I refuse to put two kids in the back of my tiny subcompact so this car purchase will need to happen before this summer.  We know the vehicle that we want, it's just a matter of finding it in the right color, year, and in our budget.  We thought we had found it a few weeks back, and Erik even flew up to NJ with intent to purchase and drive it home, but we found out at the last minute that the dealership had not accurately represented the vehicle and we were not comfortable with some things that had been done to it.  Anyway, the search for our unicorn vehicle continues...  In my usual nesting style, I have also picked up a few baby things recently.  Double stroller, check.  A few gender neutral onesies, check.  Newborn sized cloth diapers, check.  This past weekend I even pulled out all the newborn stuff I had in storage and oxicleaned, washed, folded, and organized it by size and gender.  Yes, I am doing all this stuff really early, but I know how time just seems to fly by and the more I can get done now the better.  And I think my very-large-and-round-end-of-pregnancy-self will thank me for it! 

Next up, hopefully some pictures of a renovated kitchen and laundry room (crosses fingers), a post about moving Arlo to his big boy room, and some craft projects I have been working on recently!

a day in the life... two years old

These might be my least favorite posts to write.  And probably the most boring for others to read (so feel free to totally skip this one.)  They are, however, one of my favorites to look back on.  I wrote a couple of these in the early months with Arlo (four months here and nine months here) and recently went back and reread them.  It's crazy how much our day-to-day routine has changed between when he was a newborn, to a few months old, to a year, to two years.  I have started (and trashed) two or three of these posts in the last year or so.  I could never keep track of all the details in an entire day, and grew frustrated with trying to document everything.  I now realize that's not exactly what I care to look back on, it's more of an overall, "this is how life looks right now" that I like to remember.   I have been thinking more and more about how our lives (and normal routine) are going to change this summer when the new baby arrives.  I wish I had written about our daily life when Arlo was a year or 18 months, so I am making myself do this now.  Arlo is currently two years plus a few months, and this is a typical day for us.  (Right now I am still working two days a week and on those days Arlo is with a babysitter, so this is a schedule of our days off together during the week.) 

6:00-6:30am:  wake up.  Arlo is now in his new room and big boy bed (more on that in a another post!) so he will climb out of bed and come into our room once he is awake.  He usually brings his pillow, blankie, and a stuffed friend or two, tosses them up on my side of the bed, climbs up, and settles in for some cuddles.  Sadly this rarely lasts very long, within a few minutes he is usually restless and chatting about the birds chirping outside or mickey mouse or the train/plain/car he hears in the distance or starts asking for milk/breakfast/etc.  So downstairs we go...

one of the few times he has actually fallen back to sleep after coming into our room in the morning

6:30-7:30am:  we are all downstairs and eat breakfast at this time.  Erik feeds the four legged animals and I prepare food for our two legged one.  Erik and I typically have oatmeal and Arlo rotates between oats, waffles, and cereal with milk, always with fruit on the side.  Sometimes we watch the news (Today show) over breakfast.  Arlo often requests the "news" in the morning and now he knows most of the presidential candidates by name, which is both good and bad.  (bad when you are leaving the voting polls and your kid yells out "donald trump" out of nowhere!  sheesh.)

7:45am:  Erik is ready and leaves for work, I tidy up the kitchen, and maybe start laundry.  Arlo destroys things as usual and I do my best to keep the house from getting trashed so early in the day.  Every once in a while the mess is contained to the playroom or he will sit and read books quietly.  I am trying to figure out how to make this a regular occurrence!!  We then head upstairs to get dressed and cleaned up for the day.

turn around for a minute and he is driving his firetruck on the couch

and if he's not putting his vehicles up on the furniture he is raiding the fruit bowl when I'm not looking...

8:30-9:15am:  morning walk with Lucy.  Arlo rides in the stroller and we cruise along the greenway by our house.  We loop back through our neighborhood and the total walk is around 30-40 minutes.  If the weather is crappy we take a shortcut and it's about half the distance.  If we have nowhere to be and Arlo asks to, I let him walk alongside the stroller.  He collects rocks, sticks, and points out every little thing to me.  This can easily turn our usual walk into well over an hour, so this is reserved for days with zero morning plans.

on this day piggy came for our walk with us.  other days we bring books, sticks, or random items from the garage.  power tools and sharp objects are off limits obviously, but everything else is fair game.  earlier this week he held a small broom and golf ball for the entire walk, ha!

9:30am:  back home and in the house.  If we didn't get cleaned up and dressed for the day before the walk, we go upstairs and do so now.  I might fold/put away laundry and then tidy the bedrooms while we are upstairs.  Then we start to get ready for whatever we have planned for the morning.  I pack a bag with a few snacks for both of us and we head out.

10-11:45am:  we typically try and get out of the house every weekday morning during this time.  One morning is usually story time at the library, followed by weekly grocery shopping and lunch at Whole Foods.  Another morning might be a play date with friends at a nearby park or museum, and the third day might be a shopping day where we take a trip to Target to pick up a few necessities (and a few non-necessities, that damn onespot gets me every single time.)  If we don't need to go to the store, we might just stay home and catch up on the mountains of laundry that I have likely been neglecting all week.  If we have no plans at all and the weather is nice, we will go to one of the nearby parks.  In the last few weeks the weather has really warmed up here and I have started feeling less sick and a bit more energetic, so going to the park has become a daily activity, if not in the morning then before or after dinner.  Arlo asks to go everyday and I am happy to take him there to burn off every bit of energy he can. 

playdate at the new park by our house

If the weather is rainy or cold our new favorite activity is the brand new community center that just opened near our neighborhood.  It is so close we can walk if we want to!  Every morning during the week they have open gym time for toddlers for four hours.  And it's free!  They put out all kinds of balls and hoops and the kids can  run around and be crazy in a safe, enclosed area.  I am so excited that this is available so close by and have a feeling we will be spending a lot of time here going forward.

11:45-12:15:  lunch time.  We usually have a light lunch together - a sandwich, veggieburger, or leftover baked tofu, with some veggies or avocado and tortilla chips on the side.  I don't like to make anything that takes more than a few minutes since we are pretty hungry by this time and I am in a hurry to get Arlo down for his nap before it gets too late.

bell peppers, carrots & hummus, berries, peas, and baked tofu with chickpeas.  some of his favorites!

12:15-12:30:  read books and quiet time before nap.  In the past few months it seems like Arlo's nap time has happened later and later into the day.  And the later in the day it gets, the harder it is to put him down and a couple of times he flat out refused to nap and was then a REALLY, REALLY happy kid by the time the evening rolled around (yes, total sarcasm right there.)  So I chatted with our babysitter, who never seems to have trouble getting him to nap, and learned that Arlo goes down for his nap a lot earlier at her house and literally falls asleep within a minute of her laying him in bed.  So we recently started nap time as close to noon as we can and it's made a big difference - both in terms of him being tired and ready for his nap and being tired again at bedtime.

12:30-2:30pm:  Arlo naps and I have "me time."  I try not to do any housework during this time, as this is really the one break I get in the day to do things for myself.  During the months of early pregnancy I spent his entire nap on the couch, either trying to nap myself or watching something on Netflix.  Now I am back to fun activities during naps - craft time!  oh yea  :)

2:30-3:30pm:  Arlo is up and we might read in his room for a bit before coming downstairs.  Then we both have a snack, almost always an apple with peanut butter or a handful of nuts.  We might hang out in his playroom or do a craft or play with toys together for a bit during this time too.

thumbs up to raspberries

3:30-4:30pm:  recently we have been using this time to go to the neighborhood park if the weather is nice. We have made several friends there in the last few weeks and usually one of them is there as a playmate for Arlo.  If we stay extra long, Erik will stop by the park on his way home as he drives right by it on his way to the house.  This is quickly becoming my favorite thing about longer, warmer days.  It's no longer dark and cold by the time 5pm rolls around and meeting up together at the end of the day is a really nice way to decompress and spend time together outside the house.

at the neighborhood park

5:00-6:00pm:  Dinner prep and eat.  If dinner is something I can cook ahead of time, such as rice or quinoa, I will do so during our snack time so things are ready when we get home.  Then I can quickly cook up veggies or beans and dinner is ready in under 15 minutes.  I often let Arlo watch a half hour show at this time, it settles him down from the afternoons activities and allows me time to make dinner (mostly) uninterrupted.  If I am feeling lazy or it's been a rough day with a cranky toddler, I take the easy way out and ask Erik to pick up take-out, usually Thai or Mediterranean.  We try not to do too much take-out because whatever I cook for dinner is almost always lunch the next day.  So our take-out meals are typically reserved for Friday if we don't go out to eat as a family.

6:00pm:  Dinner is done, Erik and I clean up the kitchen together.  Arlo makes messes wherever he can.  Then we all hang out as a family.  If it's been a rough day with the kid, such as a no-nap day, I tell Erik I need a little alone time and go lay upstairs on our bed for a bit.  I am probably zoned out mindlessly scrolling through instagram...  These days don't happen very often but sometimes mama has just got to take a minute to get it together!

7:00pm:  Family hang out/TV time.  We always used to watch Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune (nerd alerts!) but then we discovered Family Feud comes on at the same time and we all love that show.  I am sure there are better things to watch but we don't subscribe to cable and this is on one of our five free channels, ha.  Erik and I laugh and Arlo just really likes Steve Harvey.  If we turn on the TV in the evening Arlo yells out "Steve Harvey!" and "Family Feud!!"  We don't watch it every night, but sometimes a lazy TV evening is just what we need.

7:30-8:00pm:  Arlo's bedtime routine.  Months ago we realized how much easier the evenings were if we just brought Arlo in the shower with one of us instead of doing the whole bath thing.  Arlo didn't love it at first but now if he is given the option he almost always picks shower.  I always take my shower in the evening, so I scrub Arlo up, and then hand him off to Erik when I am done.  Erik will do the whole pajama/teeth brushing routine while I finish my shower and then we all meet up in Arlo's room for story time.  Arlo knows by now he gets three books and picks them out himself.  Erik and I take turns reading and thankfully Arlo is pretty tired by this time and does a really good job of staying in bed and going to sleep quickly.  Please stay like this forever, kid.

8:00-9:30pm:  admittedly, I am exhausted by this time.  I know it is all pregnancy related, and by 8:30 or so I just really want to be laying in bed.  Things didn't used to be this way, Erik and I would almost always watch a show or just hang out together after Arlo went to bed.  Sometimes I can hang on until 9 and I will go back downstairs with Erik but most nights I head to bed right after Arlo does.  I usually watch a little Netflix on the iPad before dozing off.  Asleep by 10pm (unless pregnancy insomnia strikes that night) so I am ready to do it all again the next morning...


How I am going to combine this current routine with that of a newborn is still a mystery.  Our routine with Arlo when he first arrived ended up extremely regimented with all of the issues we had, and most things rotated on my milk pumping schedule.  I know that this will be literally impossible with two kids, especially me being home by myself with them all day, and I have no intentions on putting myself through what I did last time around.  So, I have a feeling most days will be trying to figure out how to bring the littlest one "along for the ride" of a toddlers schedule, all while trying to keep the baby fed/napped/diapered.  And probably not do a single craft project until both kids are in school full time  ;)