Kitchen Progress

I don't know why it's taken so long to get these pictures up. I guess I was hoping that it would all be done before I unveiled the results. But here you go - the progress...

(the messy - or not so messy - cabinets are blurred to protect the innocent)

We used to have a soffet (sp?) between the cabinets over the sink where there was a small recessed light. I tore that down and we rewired (ok, Ric rewired) so that we could hang a pendant light. We still need to put up new trim around the window and the ceiling, but for the most part, the top is done.

Now to finish the bottom cabinets! It's a long process when the kids are around - and should be interesting to see what they take out of the cabinets when I take the doors off! You can really see the difference in the last picture between the upper and lower cabinets. The kitchen is SO much brighter now!

Our plan is to remove the stove top and wall oven to replace them with a range/microwave combo. That will give me actual counter space where the stove top has been! (Maybe we'll splurge for a new counter too! Who knows...we can always dream!)

The First Wall Goes Up!

Today...we got rid of the kids (dropped them off at the baby sitters) and got to work. It's so amazing how much you can get done without them around! :)

We stopped at the Builders Surplus warehouse in West Warwick. WOW - that place is a gold mine! Anyone in RI need directions? They have a BUNCH of things (doors, windows, molding, tile, flooring, and more) at VERY reasonable prices! We'll definitely be back when we're ready for doors and stuff!)

When we got home, I pulled the rest of the sheetrock down - actually, there's more to pull down by the washer and dryer, but that's another day.

Then we laid out the 2x4's - and even framed for the access door to the oil tank. (Pretty darn good if I do say so myself! We just followed directions in a book I picked up from www.paperbackswap.com - published in 1977!)

After the kids got home, we put the wall up and *almost* into place. The floor isn't level it doesn't completely fit under the beam. Luckily, Ric watches This Old House and knows what to do! YAY! So we'll be making a ton of noise wedging the frame in tomorrow!

Let the Demolition Begin!

Since we've moved into our house, we've planned to make half of the garage an office/studio for my business. With the replacement of our oil tank, we thought it was a good a time as any! (Plus, the kids are getting bigger and need a little more space!)

The garage is not the prettiest place (is anyone's pretty?) Most of it had a blue paint over some sheetrock that wasn't put up very well. There's no insulation in the walls, so it's really hot in the summer and cold in the winter.

It's been REALLY easy to pull down the walls - messy too! Ryan LOVED this part and did his best to help.

It's going to be a slow process since we don't have a chunk of cash to put down all at once (anyone care to donate? heh) so slowly, we'll do a little here and there. At least we don't have to live inside of the garage as we're working on it!

More pictures in the next post - and Mom, I PROMISE, I'll have pictures of the kitchen up too! Just a few more cabinets to do and we'll be done with that project! (I need to stop reading This Old House Magazine!)

How little girls sleep

This little girl sleeps in her very own pink bed, upside down, with her hot pink Sunday shoes at her side.

What's better than that? :)



PS - on a completely different note, notice what's under the bed? Yep - food storage! Remind you of a scene in a movie? Take a guess, let's see how many people get it right.

Under the Sea

Blue and Yellow Make Green

Blue Paper

M-n-M's Collage

Swirling Leaves

Circle Collage

Our Son, the Famous Artist

Since starting school, Ryan has brought home some pretty amazing artwork. (OK, maybe it's only amazing to mom and dad, but still...) So rather than try to keep it "forever", I'm going to put it up here for all to see. (Less paper to keep around, right?)

So I give you, the artist and his work. :)

We've Adopted!

If only for a few minutes to get a photo! :) (He was about 1 1/2" long - creepy!)

Isn't he cute? If you look closely, you can see that he's munching on a fly for breakfast. Once we took the pictures, he knew what was up and climbed up to the roof. It took a couple of days before Ric was able to flush him out of hiding to spray him - but finally, he's gone! Whew!

Cheap Entertainment

Who needs expensive toys? Just pull out the Easter baskets!

Overheard at dinner tonight...

Dad: Ryan, it's time to eat, come sit in your chair.

Ryan: What are we having?

Megan: Dinner.

(Yes Meg, you are correct!)

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Oh...and here's another overheard in Primary today, one of Ryan's classmates:

Christian: We believe in being honest, true, chasing elephants...

Before and After

So yesterday, Ric comes into the house and says casually, "Next time you go into the garage will you see if you smell oil?"

Ummm.....OK. So I went, sniffed, and YEP! I smelled oil too. We grabbed a flashlight and took a look to find a nice little oil leak coming from the 275 Gallon Oil Tank we have in the garage. For those of you who aren't in New England, most homes here heat their water with an oil fired furnace. Oil is delivered every few months or so. An oil leak is NOT a good thing.

I immediately called our oil company and they had someone stop by to take a peek. (It was a holiday, and the guy was VERY considerate not to do anything unless absolutely necessary because we'd be paying a fortune for it!)

We got a call this morning with all the details, and the next thing you know, we're moving things around in the garage to make way for a brand new shiny oil tank! Once the guys arrived, they pumped out the old tank, installed the new, and pumped the oil back into it - all in about 3 hours.

This little event has unofficially started our garage remodeling project that we've been talking about since we moved in. One reason is that we asked that they didn't install the little pole thingy's to protect the tank from being hit by a car. We don't use the garage to park, we're actually planning to create an office/studio for me. So that saved some money - whew! BUT, we did have to show somehow that we were putting a wall up so that when the install is inspected, they won't require the little poles. (We're just enclosing it inside of a small room anyway.) So Ric took Ryan over to Lowes, picked up about 16 2x4's and we're making plans to frame in a wall. Yippeeeee!

OK, enough excitement for today... :) Don't you love our shiny new tank?

Taking a Day Off!

Don't get me wrong, we like going to Church. But there are times when it's just NICE to take a break! Every year on Labor Day, Ric's Aunt invites us to visit on Prudence Island. We've been several times - and it's always a nice time.

To get to Prudence, we take a ferry from Bristol. We told Ryan that we would be getting on the ferry and all morning, he kept asking "But how do we get to the Angel?" It took us a while before we figured out that he wanted to know how we would get to the "fairy" (Ferry) - I guess fairies and angels are the same to him. :)

The last time we were in Prudence, Megan was just 2 1/2 months old. She was able to run around and play this time.







Enjoy the pictures - it was a nice (a little windy) day with the family!

PS - Ryan had a BLAST with his older cousins. They've really grown since we were last at Prudence...check out the difference!

Oh....and the best part of the day? Two completely exhausted kids at bedtime! :)

Naked Bellies!

One of Megan's FAVORITE things to say and do...run around without a shirt on, pointing to her belly, saying "Wook at dis naked belly"

Of course when paired with a sombrero and wizard's hat, it's even better!

I love these pictures!