we have a new floor!

YAY! We started the floors Saturday morning around 10 am, finished up that day around 8:30 pm, and still had a few more hours left until they were done. My cousin Dan (who helped demo)also came over and worked for a good 6 hours. We installed prefinished solid Brazilian cherry. It was a naildown floor (not snap together). I'd do it again. I didn't feel like we really messed anything up until the last few rows (which were for sure the hardest.) Next up are the cabinets! (Also - the floors look a little darker in real life.)

a visitor

After all the sanding was done on the walls, something made these tracks in all the dust. I'm guessing it was an ant, but maybe it was something a lot more exciting . . .

introducing . . .

I've been working on this little mix for a while. So here's what I came up with (over on the sidebar.) If you're part of the half who didn't like the music, you can pause it if you want (or turn down your speakers.) I hope the rest of you enjoy!

everybody's doing it

This is Charlie. Yes - he's only 3.

Go Brasil!

My mom and dad brought these back for the kids when they went to pick up Andy from his mission last year. Luke wasn't born yet but they got him a small one. Each one of the grandkids got one, but I don't know where that picture is right now. Here is cute Luke.

ps - each outfit came with a pair of blue socks which were more like thick knee-high nylons. I'm pretty sure I already got rid of them because they kept wearing them like they were normal socks (and they wore holes through them they liked them so much!)

not impressed

(If you like High School Musical - don't read this post.)

We finally watched High School Musical and let me just say that it was as bad as I thought it would be. I have avoided watching it these few years, but since we've seen them doing the sequels over at East High we thought we ought to see what all the fuss is about. It was mostly a lot of bad acting, terrible writing, annoying songs, and who is really that lame that they think a basketball player can't bake or sing or be smart, etc.?

This is much better (but beware: it is made by SNL and you may be offended if you don't like humor of this ilk.)

To those of you who are friends of mine and like High School Musical - I still like you.

ps - the boys think it's awesome and have been walking around singing all the songs. That's what I get for letting them watch something I know is going to suck.

kitchen update

I was going to complain to you all about how hard this is, but then we had a lesson yesterday about opposition and I decided to try to be a little more grateful and a lot less whiny about it. Like grateful that we're saving tons of money by doing it slowly (because everyone helping us has a day job and can only get over here after that.)

So now we're in the middle of mudding. Not actually us, but some guys who only speak Spanish (who are very nice). Hopefully that's done by Tuesday and then we can start on the floors. I'm not exactly sure how long that will take, but then it will be time to hang the cabinets, then get the counter top guys out for measuring and then we'll wait for 2 weeks for those to get installed. After that we'll have tile to do (which I'm planning on doing). Electrical and most of the plumbing is done (including a new gas line for the new gas stove - yay!) I'm also still working on the windows, which are now stripped and puttied and ready to paint.

The worst part about no kitchen is no sink. It's really hard to wash everything in the bathroom sink or tub. So I'm just using paper whenever I can and avoiding getting anything else dirty, which means eating out quite a bit. It's pretty nice to have Indian food for 3 days in a row! Dan also took a lot of the extra clutter downstairs yesterday, which helped a lot.

Here is the door that we closed in (so that we can have a pantry cupboard!)

maybe . . .

I love to do girl hair. Just ask my 3 sisters and all their friends I made sit in the "beauty parlor" seats at the 80s bar in our house growing up. I begged them all the time to do braids mostly.

Our little friend Annie came over last week and I begged her to let me braid her hair.

Kate just posted a link to this blog. (I'm already wondering how many other little girl hairdo blogs there might be!)

And that is why I might need to try for a girl (or adopt one.)

asleep

It was around 11 pm and we couldn't find Charlie in his room. Dan figured he was upstairs and started looking for something else in the big basement room (which is currently FULL of cabinets, appliances, furniture, window projects, door projects, etc, etc, etc.) He was looking in this lovely makeshift storage thingy (for excess kitchen stuff) when he found Charlie.

getting wired

help?

since i don't have a kitchen, i'm in need of some dinner ideas for the next little while. here's what i have to work with: a microwave, a grill, a griddle, that's pretty much it. (we do have the fridge sitting in the dining room). any and all ideas would be lovely! thanks.

a new project and some cool finds

I know what you're thinking - you're thinking, I thought you just started a new project called THE KITCHEN! Are you crazy?

Well, yes I am, thanks for asking.

The hallway has looked like this since we've lived here (almost 4 years). We've always hated it.

I've been worried about fixing it because sanding it would mean getting tons of probable lead particles in the air for my children (or formerly pregnant me) to injest. We were about to hire someone else to do it when I discovered that it just peeled right off because it's right on top of the original wallpaper!

Which is where the find comes in. Here are parts of the original wallpaper.

I kind of feel like someone unearthing a dinosaur bone or early civilization pottery. I always wondered what the wallpaper here looked like. Most rooms have wallpaper in them (including all the ceilings except the kitchen and the bathroom). I thought this was a great find (I even think it's pretty cute.)

gutted

during

thanks to this guy (my cousin Dan) and my own Dan for taking out the kitchen. I did some too.

It took quite a while to get the counter top out because it was 2-3 inches of concrete with a bunch of tile on top plus some boards holding everything up. Same with the tile behind the sink. The floor was a huge mess, but luckily it was held on by water-soluble glue (as opposed to tar - which a lot of our neighbors have had to deal with.)

before

Things I hated about the old kitchen:

no disposal.
the floor, although cute, was very difficult to keep clean.
no cupboard doors. although it seems like it will be great - everything has to be organized, and it just usually looks messy.
the stove with only 2 burners and an always too hot oven.
the microwave being on the floor.
the hulking fridge.
the counters were tile (sorry no pic) and very cute, but very gross grout.