Dash of Sass

On the Day you Were Born...Dean's Birth Story

2012-02-08T06:28:00.000-08:00

Hi All,

Since many of you have been asking - I've decided to share Dean's birth story with you by way of a letter I've written to him. I've actually been writing to Dean since we knew we had a little one on the way. I didn't know him yet - or even that he was a he - but it didn't matter. Someday I'll share all the letters with him so he will know how much he was loved from the very beginning. I'm not sure if he'll be as amused by all of this as I am, but I couldn't very well not document everything for the future. That's just what I do!

I'll apologize in advance because this post is incredibly text heavy. Also, if you don't want to know too much - stop reading now. I didn't include every last detail of the day, but I did mention most.

Pictures will follow but bear with me while we figure things out over here. It's a work in progress!

In the meantime, here's my letter to Dean about the day he was born...

Dear Dean,

I am so excited to be sitting here writing this letter to you. Mostly because I know who YOU are now! Incredible! First off, you are Dean Anthony Benedetti. You are an absolutely adorable, handsome, beautiful, cute, perfect little man! You arrived on February 1, 2012 at 9:51pm. You weighed 7 pounds 3 ounces, and measured in at 20" long. You were born with 10 perfect little fingers, 10 perfect little toes, the skinniest little legs and arms I've ever seen, and a full head of amazingly long dark hair. We were so surprised at how beautiful you were...and that you were a boy! We didn't find out if you were a boy or girl and the surprise was...in a word...PERFECT! You are amazing!

Let's backtrack a little. You little man, were overcooked! That's right. You were born at 40 weeks, 6 days. I guess you were nice and cozy in your warm home and didn't feel the need to experience any other home yet. This on it's own is incredible considering you tried to make your first appearance at 27 weeks. I guess I did a good job of following the doctors orders so you stayed put long enough to become nice and healthy, and ready for the world.

On Tuesday, January 31st I had an ultrasound and a doctors appointment scheduled in order to check on you since you hadn't arrived yet. We discovered that you were doing ok, but that you didn't have much amniotic fluid. Considering this can be an indication that the placenta is deteriorating it was decided that I would be induced earlier than the date we had set of Friday February 3rd. So, Wednesday the 1st was the day. I was warned that inductions can take between 24 and 36 hours so I mentally prepared myself for what was ahead of me (as much as I could.) I left the appointment feeling anxious and excited. I really didn't know what to expect, even though everything had been explained to me. I knew I was finally going to meet you and that's all that mattered, but I was still frightened about how you were going to make it into this world. Mom G-K and I spent the rest of the afternoon keeping busy strolling Newbury Street, informing family and friends of the new plan for your birth, and doing last minute errands. When your dad got home from work we went out to dinner with Mom G-K and Emily to celebrate, enjoy our "last supper," and keep distracted. Then it was home to pack and attempt to get a little rest. Of course, there wasn't much rest to be had, and before I knew it it was time to leave for the hospital.

February 1, 2012 was a beautiful day in many ways. The weather was supposed to be perfect - an unseasonably warm 50 degrees and sunny. It was going to be a long day and I wasn't going to be able to eat once the induction was started so Mom G-K made us breakfast and then we stopped at starbucks so I could get a drink. Then we were off to the hospital. It was such a strange experience. I was so nervous and anxious I wasn't sure what to do with myself. When we got to the labor and delivery floor I was taken straight to my room. As luck would have it we got the best room in the whole place! The biggest corner room with a wall full of windows with a great view of Boston. After I was situated I got several visits from my labor and delivery nurse, the world's most awkward medical student, the resident on call, and several other people. After all the visits my lovely nurse Amanda came back to get the pitocin started. She and my doctor decided that since I was already dilated about 2-3 cm and that I was having contractions on my own every 2-3 minutes, that pitocin was most likely all I needed in order to make the contractions more regular and more effective. I've been having contractions for months so I was just waiting to see how different these contractions would feel. After a few hours they started to get painful. Of course, this didn't happen until after your dad and Mom G-K left to get a late lunch. By the time they got back I was feeling uncomfortable and scared. They helped to settle me back down. We tried walking the halls, moving around the room, sitting in different types of chairs,(not to be overly graphic - but sitting on the toilet for a while,) and ultimately moved on to sitting on the exercise ball.

Around 5:30, Dad K arrived and Mom G-K went downstairs to find him. By this point I was in pain. Just as mom left...my water broke, at 5:40pm. Up until this point that was the scariest thing that had happened. It just startled me! And it didn't stop! What a weird feeling. As to be expected - after my water broke there was no longer any cushioning between your head and my pelvis and things because even more painful. Mom and Dad G-K came back up for a little bit. They kept me entertained as much as possible. During each contraction I really had to concentrate and focus on breathing through the pain until it was over. The pitocin made the contractions so regular. They had been every single minute since they begin and they were strong! They lasted just about the entire minute so there wasn't any break between them. I was becoming exhausted and frustrated. I tried leaning over the bed for support. That worked for about an hour. Your dad was fantastic throughout the whole process. He was coaching me to breath, rubbing my back, and just standing by me. By 7pm I could barely hold myself up since the contractions were so strong. I decided it was time for Mom and Dad to leave and to be checked to see how much progress I'd made. It was also time for a shift change so my new nurse Joanne came in as Amanda stepped out. The next 45 minutes were a complete blur. I was bombared by Joanne, medical students, residents, my doctor, etc... I was in so much pain, and it happened so fast that everyone just came in to see what was going on. They had a 15 second window to check me and they determined that I was already at 8 cm. I couldn't believe it! I was so happy to hear the news...but also frightened that there was still a ways to go. I was having the urge to bear down and my body was doing it on its own. I couldn't control it and it wasn't time yet. Pushing at this point would cause my cervix to swell, and therefore it wouldn't be able to dilate large enough to fit your little head through. I asked my doctor realistically how long were we talking. I needed concrete information in order to make a decision about what to do. I had made it so far and I was shocked and overjoyed by the news, and yet I was beyond frightened that I wouldn't be able to take it for a few more hours. When she said we were realistically talking about 2-3 more hours I decided, with your dad's help, that the epidural was the way to go. Without the pitocin contractions usually happen every few minutes, giving you a break in between to get back in the right frame of mind and prepare for the next one. With the pitocin mine were coming every single minute and not letting up at all in between. They were that much stronger and more unbearable. After I made the decision to get the epidural there was an onslaught of people rushing in and out of my room. They made your dad leave and everyone frantically rushed around preparing me and the room. Since my contractions weren't letting up, I was going to have to sit still on the bed through them while getting the epidural. The procedure took about 20-30 minutes and poor nurse Joanne must have lost a few fingers during the process. She held my hand, coaching me to breathe and relax as much as possible, reminded me to fight the urge to bear down, and stick it out. They finally gave me a test dose of the medicine and told me that I had to lay down and just try to fight it for another 20 minutes. Since we were playing catch up with the medicine they gave me an extra dose to try to get things working. They brought Michael back in and he continued to coach me through the next 20 minutes of contractions. Finally, it started to take affect.

The next hour and half were much more relaxed. I was able to rest a little bit and let my body do what it needed to do. Since the contractions were so strong and consistent they actually turned off the pitocin to see if my body would react on it's own. I was contracting every 2-3 minutes on my own and that was enough to continue the process. (Perhaps if they'd done that when they checked me I would have been able to make it though. Either way - it doesn't matter!) The hormone change and epidural were causing me to shake like crazy, but I didn't care. All that mattered was that I were making progress and that we were about to meet you!

At 9 they decided to check me again. All the doctors and residents were delivering other babies so we had to wait a few minutes. At 9:15 the resident came to check me and was having trouble determining how dilated I was...and that's when he said, "Woah, that's because that's the head right there!" I was fully dilated and your head was at +2...meaning it was time to push! Joanne and your Dad got me situated a few minutes later and I started to push with each contraction. After a few minutes the room was filled with the new doctor on call, new resident, medical student, and other support people. I continued to push and each time I could see your little head coming out. What an incredible experience. Your dad was amazed by everything. It helped me to watch him. We were so amazed and couldn't believe how close we were to meeting you. After only 35 minutes of pushing, you arrived! First came your head, and then a few more small pushes brought out your shoulders, and before we knew it...you were here! They placed you on my belly as your dad cut your umbilical cord. I held you as they rubbed you down and made sure you were breathing well and that everything was ok. Within seconds of your birth, your dad told me you were a boy! I couldn't believe it! I wanted to say your name, but I didn't know it yet! I just held you - watched you - and kept saying how I couldn't believe it. We were so in love with you!

It took about 45 minutes to patch me back up, all the while we got to hold you and talk to you on my chest and get to know you. After everything was fixed up and we'd had about an hour with you, they took you over to the warming table to get weighed, measured, receive your vitamin k shot and your antibiotic eye ointment. I wasn't able to move, but your dad went with you to be with you and to take pictures. Immediately after it was time to start breastfeeding. With Joanne's help we made it happen. It was such a surreal experience. In a way I was entirely "there," and at the same time I was somewhere totally different. I couldn't believe that you were here, and that I had created you. I couldn't believe that you were mine, and that you were the most beautiful baby I'd ever seen, and so perfect in every way. I couldn't believe how fast things had happened and that your birth day would always be the perfect palindrome that it was - 2.1.12. I couldn't believe how wonderful your dad was and how he was the perfect coach and the perfect dad. I was completely consumed by how incredible you were.

We stayed in labor and delivery for another hour or so, and then we were moved down to our new room for the next few days. Your first three days were a whirlwind of eating, pooping, crying, and sleeping. We were checked on every couple hours and both were progressing nicely. We functioned in a hazy world of no sleep, and complete bliss.

I'll tell you more soon, but right now it's time to get cleaned up and get discharged. We're going home!

The perfect new family of three.

What more could we ask for?!
I love you so much baby Dean. You are perfect in every way. We are the luckiest parents and we know it!

Love you,
Your MOM

It's a Boy!!

2012-02-04T06:20:00.001-08:00

DEAN ANTHONY BENEDETTI

February 1, 2012
9:51pm
7 pounds 3 ounces
20 inches

PERFECT IN EVERY WAY!

Update - or Lack of an Update

2012-01-17T06:43:00.000-08:00

Just a quick note to say... "No News Yet"

I know I haven't written in a while and it's got a few of you wondering what's going on. Sadly - nothing yet!

Lesson learned: Never leave your readers hanging when you're due in a week in a half! It occured to me this morning that when someone asks me when I'm due. My response will be "next Friday," not "in 1 month" or "in 2 weeks". Wow!

I'm ready! We're ready! Everything's ready...except the little person. That's ok we'll wait for you... Right now you're having a severe case of the hiccups (a twice a day occurrence.) I must say you are one extremely active little baby. Sometimes your constant kicking leaves me feeling bruised on the inside, but it's all worth it. There is nothing as incredible as knowing you are thriving and growing away inside me. It's also a little creepy, but mostly incredible! I'm already starting to feel sad about this stage being behind us...but I'm more than ready to meet you!

On that note...I'll leave you with a few pictures for the last week or so...

First off - Michael's coworkers threw a surprise baby shower for him at work. They decorated this desk, ordered lunch, ice cream, and gave him a baby gift. Very nice!!!

I finally made Michael an appointment for a haircut on Saturday. He desperately needed one (but will adamantly disagree with me about that!) The way I see it, we're going to have a LOT of pictures taken in the coming weeks and I didn't want him to look like a slob...hehehe. Anyhow he complained about having to get a hair cut, he complained about it being so early (10am-not early) and whined and whined...until I suggested he come home with muffins after. That perked him right up! He showed up after his haircut with muffins, dunkin donuts coffee for him, starbucks for her, and gingerbread cookies for later. Good man.

Next I went on a little mission to get out of the house and get moving a bit. I made a stop at The Gap to look at all the cute baby things...
That's when I saw this!

Anyhow who knows us will tell you just how excited I was when I saw this. But, alas I did not buy it. It was on sale, but it was a final sale item that couldn't be returned. I decided it was a little too boyish for our potential girl baby, so it stayed at the store.

While there, I tried on a few maternity tops that were on sale. Notice - no pants - anything that requires taking off my shoes more than absolutely necessary is out of the question these days. I didn't buy anything - but I did take a little self portrait for you.
38 Weeks:

Getting close!!

Weekend Happenings

2012-01-09T06:48:00.001-08:00

We had an interesting weekend. It was a strange combination of getting a lot done but getting nothing done at the same time. My ban on activity is officially being lifted so I felt the need to take advantage. The real reason I felt the urge to get things done was this:

Can you tell from my terrible cell phone self portrait? The baby has definitely dropped! Of course this happens on Friday when my entire side of the family is in San Francisco for the big 90th and 80th birthday bash! Great timing. But as you can tell from the timing of this post, all is good. No babies were born this weekend while everyone was away. Well I'm sure babies were born - just not mine!

Back to Friday. We noticed on Thursday night that things were-a-changing. Progress-yes, but bad timing. Friday was a tough day for me. It had been a long week at work and Friday ending up being a very full day. I worked from 9-7. Those last two hours really did me in. By the end of the day I was having a lot of trouble walking due to some sciatic nerve pain, not to mention the stabbing pains I was feeling in my pelvis. Awesome. When I finally left the gallery I was just physically exhausted, emotionally drained, and feeling upset that I wasn't able to go to CA to celebrate with my family. All I could think was that they were all having a great time together and I felt left out. Selfish I know, but that's how I was feeling.

Thankfully our Friday dinner plans were rescheduled to Saturday. I needed that break. As much as I love our Friday dinners, I just felt like I couldn't get myself out of my funk enough to be sociable.

Saturday I did some reading and tv watching with some cleaning and organizing mixed in there as well. I also ironed and put the new crib skirt on the baby's crib...thanks to Mom G-K! I love it!!! Here's a picture:

What do you think?
Works great with the paper pom poms - ties everything together nicely. Thanks Mom! Nice work!!

Michael spent the day working on updating our computer, backing everything up, and getting things set up for two users, etc...

Sunday was a bit of a blur. I spent the morning mopping downstairs with my favorite toy - my steam mop! That's right - I love my steam mop. Seriously - it's wonderful. I think it might have been a Christmas present from last year, or the year before from the husband. Not your typical Christmas gift, but I love it. Anyhow after I finished downstairs I needed a bit of a break before heading upstairs. As I got started upstairs it seemed that my steam mop had - well - lost steam. hehehe. No really though, there was no steam, something was wrong. I tried to unplug it, let it cool off and try again. No luck. I unplugged it again, let it cool for a bit, and then attempted to take the head off the mop. This is about when things went terribly wrong. It seemed as though the head was stuck. I gave it a little jiggle and it came loose...so loose that it shot across the bathroom, dirty steamy water spraying straight across the room, onto the walls, toilet, sink, floor, window, EVERYWHERE! Thankfully I only got blasted on my hand and wasn't burnt by the hot water. I stood there, stunned, wondering what to do. After a few minutes of laughing about it, I went to find some rags to clean the now filthy bathroom. Oh well - things happen. (By the way - my birthday is coming up. In case you're wondering what you can get me - how about a new steam mop! just kidding - sort of.)

After that adventure I decided to venture out to the grocery store (our favorite produce place as well as the regular store,) and do a few other errands. About halfway through my adventure I regretted going alone. I've never walked so slow through the grocery store in my life. So slow in fact that Michael called to make sure I was ok since I'd be gone so long! While I was gone he worked on a few projects...

Finally sealing the grout in our new kitchen backsplash. Thank you!

He also worked on plastering around the new thermostat so we can paint the wall again and finish up that project.

While I was out I also picked up a couple baskets for the baby's room. We needed something to store the baby-wearing devices in as well as some other things that won't fit in the baby's dresser. This wasn't what I originally had in mind, but I kind of like them. Maybe Mom G-K will make us some fabric liners for the baskets?!?!

I also spotted this bench as well. I don't love the color of the fabric, but it's the only bench I've seen in months that actually fits in the mudroom. It looks better in person - trust me. We don't have much room in there so this was a major find! It'll look much better when we get rid of the coat rack and put hooks and a shelf above the bench. Dad B? Project? :)

The last of my weekend projects involved finally organizing this stuff:

What's this pile of stuff you ask? My hospital bag and other necessities of course! YIKES! Feels pretty official to have that all ready to go!

I finished off the weekend by trying a couple new recipes for homemade granola bars (chocolate chip of course,) and chickpea hummus burgers. The burgers were just ok. And don't you worry - I bought real burgers for the mister as well. I figured he wouldn't be thrilled with my attempt at yet another vegetarian meal. And the granola bars were a fail. I mean they are tasty, but far more cake-like than granola bar-ish. My cuisinart got in quite the workout with these two recipes. We finished off the night by going to see Girl with the Dragon Tattoo with our Friday night plans. Yes that's right, they are people, but they count as a plan these days! ;)

Baby Bump Progression

2012-01-05T17:00:00.000-08:00

The latest installment...

36.5 weeks - Like the self portrait? I was trying on a few things, and quickly gave up when I realized I'd have to take my shoes off. Forget that...it's just not worth it! (sorry for the bad cell phone picture)

35 Weeks - Might be the end of stripes for me. Warning - bad self portrait cell phone picture!

32 Weeks...and feeling big! (and a little unprepared and out of time!)

29 Weeks...and starting to realize how much effort it takes to put socks and shoes on!

27, almost 28 Weeks (looking a little haggard after an impromptu after work cleaning frenzy - I think they'd call this nesting!)

26 Weeks (I think) post apple picking break with Emily!

23 Weeks

22 Weeks (Post Spin Class Sweaty Picture)

21 Weeks (Hiking in Santa Fe while on our anniversary/baby-moon trip)

21 Weeks (Seated Mom's Eye View)

21 Weeks (Celebrating our 2nd Anniversary)

20 Weeks

18 Weeks

14 Weeks

12-13 Weeks

Around the House....

2012-01-04T06:41:00.000-08:00

First things first... Happy Holidays Everyone! It's been a while and a few things have gone on around the house. Not a whole lot, but some small projects here and there.

I'll start with my most favorite small project! Here's a picture...

Did you figure out what's new?

If not, look again because we grew a headboard (AT LAST!!!!) You may recall from way back when that I intended to make my own. I purchased fabric, batting, etc... Eventually we realized the project would be a little more labor intensive than we thought because we don't have a wall to lean a headboard onto. It would have to be freestanding and pretty supportive on it's own. Since I'm of little use around the house these days, and HauteLook was having a sale on upholstered furniture I decided to bite the bullet and just buy a headboard. Boy am I glad I did!

Side note: I love our local UPS delivery man. He's such a nice older guy! He's been to the house a couple times recently and always looks at me, (realizing I'm home alone) and offers to bring everything inside and even take it to the appropriate room for me. He's the best!

Anyhow when the headboard (and husband) arrived at the house, I forced the husband to get to work on it! I helped a little, but pretty much didn't do anything useful in getting it set up. I did make two trips down to the basement for supplies he hadn't realized he'd need. Anyhow I can't tell you how wonderful it is to not have to fish for my pillows off the floor in the middle of the night. Ahhh headboard...you've made my life so much easier!

Next up...I (with a little help from the husband) put together the baby's swing/bouncy seat. I say...with a little help...because the directions were so terrible (and my brain doesn't work quite as well as it should) I ended up putting two parts together incorrectly and needed a little muscle to undo my mistakes. Oops! Why does all this baby stuff come in a million pieces with virtually no directions? Why can't the directions come with words as well? Pictures just don't cut it!
Anyhow...here it is!

And onto the baby's room...
Mom G-K came for a visit last week. She cooked up a storm, put all the baby's books on the baby's bookshelf, and we picked out some fabric for the crib skirt she's making. It was so great having her here! Come again soon!
Here's a little preview of her hard work in the baby's room... (We brought the chair up from the living room and I think it'll work out great! I also threw in my Brian Hibbard Horse painting and a few stuffed animals for good measure...)

Another view:

Here's the fabric we selected for the crib skirt. It obviously isn't done here, but to give you a sense of what we picked out...

I think it'll be great! The pattern and colors mimic the paper pom poms I hung over the dresser/changing table. There's also enough fabric to make a pillow for the chair. Fantastic!!

Last...but not least, we get to the car seat/stroller fiasco. Why a fiasco you ask? Well...let me explain! Over the weekend we got to work installing the car seat (thank you Papa and Marilyn!) in the car. We had it nice and secure when I looked down at the sticker on the side of the seat. It said, "not to be used with infants over 22lbs." Huh? Not what we had picked out-or so I thought! As I remembered it, we had picked out a seat that was good up to 30lbs. I was very confused so I ran inside and looked up our registry and sure enough, the seat we installed was only good up to 22lbs. We had specifically picked out the travel system by Chicco because it was the highest rated and good up to 30lbs. After a bit of detective work I realized they sell two different travel systems and we'd inadvertently picked out the wrong one. (Mostly because we liked the color and pattern the best - not realizing it was different from the others.) If we kept the one we had installed, it would mean that we'd have to purchase two separate infant car seats before graduating to the next size up in car seats. UGH! So I called around to all the baby's r us stores in the area, only to find out that no one carries the travel system we wanted and that to order meant we might not receive it for two weeks. Not acceptable considering we only have three weeks to go here (give or take a week or two.) I finally found a store in Everett that carried them so we rushed over to see what we could accomplish. Surprisingly they took back the car seat, base, and stroller (which were all put together and therefore wouldn't go back into the big box they came in) without a fuss. Wow...that was easy. Then we went to pick out the correct system only to discover that it was truly hideous in person. The colors were terrible and we both agreed it was not going to be ideal. That's when we discovered the one we now own. It's the same brand, works up to 30lbs, and is going to be just find for the little person. It's a little boy-ish, but what can you do?! Poor Michael had to spend yet another night putting more baby stuff together.

Here it is!

Should the little bugger come out and play (or eat, sleep, poop, and cry as he/she will most likely do for a while) - we're ready! ;)

p.s. I swear, if I lose any more brain cells we are in really big trouble! I'd like to blame the car seat fiasco on someone else but I just can't get away with that.

p.p.s. The husband is a good man! Just wanted to throw that out there! He doesn't get enough credit for all that he is doing lately. I feel the need to publicly thank him! He's been doing housework, cooking, cleaning, gift wrapping, and whatever else I ask him to do. I still do some of it, but he has been an enormous help to me and I appreciate it! He's also been doing things he wouldn't typically dare do. Case in point, yesterday morning as I was getting dressed I sat down on the bed and just stared at my boots. I was pondering how best to put them on, when the husband walked in and saw that I was getting overwhelmed by something as silly as my boots! Rather than laughing at me (as he typically does) he walked over and offered to put my boots on for me. It saved my morning! Thank you! I had to give the man a little credit! :)

Baby's Room Updates

2011-12-22T07:17:00.000-08:00

Getting things in order around the house has been a long, slow process lately. Between feeling large, being tired, and all the contractions, it's become more and more challenging to accomplish simple tasks. The good news is that my fantastic husband has picked up a lot of the slack around here. I have to direct (and sometimes ask for things to be done several times,) but he gets it done! THANK YOU!!

Thankfully we're getting closer and closer to actually needing all the things we're preparing. I originally had a long list of ideas and projects I wanted to accomplish, but as time as passed I've decided that it just isn't necessary to do everything I wanted to do. What can I say...I give up!

So on that note...here's a little project I worked on last week. Since we don't know if the little person is a boy or girl, we needed to infuse his/her room with some color without making it too girly or boyish.

Remember how we last had things:

Well after a little trial and error I had a good base going...

It's hard to tell in the picture but because of the sloping ceiling some of these pom poms hang a bit low. In fact I hit my head on them slightly. But hey - they'll be fun for the little guy or gal to swat around once he or she is big enough and they're made of tissue paper so no one will get hurt if they are playing with them!

Here's the finished product:

Next up we have the bookshelf. We originally wanted to get a low, wide bookshelf for another wall. It's still in our future plans but for the time being we decided on another solution. Now the main reason for this book shelf is that we decided to get a video baby monitor. I'm not so sure it's necessary, but I'm sure there will be times when it's fun to have. I'm not thrilled with the idea of spying on the little person but then again it'll be fun to watch him or her when they wake up and see if they climb up the side of the crib or play nicely with themselves until we come get him or her. The angle of the camera can be adjusted from our monitor so we can spin it around the room to other locations remotely and/or zoom in and out. It also has a neat intercom feature so we can speak to the baby when we aren't in the room. Again - neat futures, not really necessary, but might be fun to have.

Back to the bookshelf...

We realized that there was no where to place the video camera in the baby's room where it could be angled to see into the crib. Oops. So we needed some type of shelf to put the camera on. One option would have been to wall mount the camera - but then we're back to the same issue with the sloping ceiling. In the crib nook there isn't a wall available where we could mount the camera. The next idea was to put up an acrylic shelf or floating shelves on the wall where this bookshelf is now resting. The problem with this idea is with our old plaster walls we've had a lot of trouble hanging things in the past. Neither of us wanted to mess with that. So we found this shelf and decided to give it a try! It provides a perfect angle for the camera and will also house some family pictures and books. It won't be fantastic when the little person is able to walk around and hang on it, but it will work out great for now!

What do you think?

And last but not least - I know you're all dying for a belly update. Sorry for the bad cell phone picture and my lounge clothes... 35 weeks! Getting close!

Preparing for the Baby

2011-12-13T07:09:00.000-08:00

I've been trying to spend a few minutes every day or two preparing for the baby's arrival. I spent some time over the past two weeks washing all the baby's things and slowly starting to get things organized in the baby's room. It feels like a huge, daunting task, so I'm trying to take it one step at a time. As you know I'm also not supposed to do much so it's making it seem like there's so much more to accomplish when I'm can't even carry around the laundry basket. Sigh! Even the simplest tasks bring on the contractions and it's very frustrating for me. I know what's important, but I'm having a hard time staying put and not doing much.

On that note...here's a little glimpse into what's actually gotten accomplished for the little person's arrival.

First up...the crib! It's all put together WITH a mattress, mattress cover (and sheets that aren't on it yet! Might as well keep them clean until they are needed!) It's nice to see it more as it will be...

Mom G-K will be making a perfect crib skirt for the baby, but until then I threw on a hand me down version that was never actually used as far as I can tell!

Next up...the baby got a nice soft rug! It's supposed to be navy blue, but it certainly looks more like black to me! Oh well! I had originally wanted something really colorful and fun, but didn't find anything I was really excited about! The best thing about this rug is if we ultimately do find something better for the baby's room, this will work great in the guest room! Win-Win!

As luck would have it, the Pack and Play we wanted is discontinued. Mom and Dad G-K tried to buy it for us at the store, online, on Amazon...you name it! No luck. I tried too...no luck! So instead...they splurged and got us the Baby Bjorn version for travel. It'll be great because it only weigh 11lbs, unlike the typical Pack and Play. Anyhow, Julie gave us the Pack and Play they used when their girls were little. It isn't exactly like what we picked out, but it will do the trick for having a place for the baby to sleep and be changed downstairs for the first couple of months.

They said it was missing some parts perhaps so we decided to put it together and check out if it was usable. Surprisingly it's missing some major parts, namely the metal dowels that actually hold the whole mattress part up! How do you lose those? Anyhow Michael thinks he can fix it with some wooden dowels. If so, it'll be perfect for us for a while - and then it can go to Mom and Dad G-K's house for our visits in the future.

Here's a picture of it mostly put together:

The next project was putting together the high chair to ensure it was good to go and didn't need to be exchanged for one that wasn't broken (just in case!) We know it won't be used for a while, but at least we know it's good to go when we want to use it!
Here it is...very retro looking! We picked this one out based on advice from all my new mom friends out there. They all said, pick something that can be easily rolled around, and can be most easily cleaned. This one only has two pieces of plastic that are molded to form the seat. That's exactly two things that might potentially need to be wiped down. And the tray is one solid piece as well-and diswasher safe! Easy peasy! (hopefully!)

We also ventured out one night to spend all our Baby's R Us gift cards on some last necessities. Here's just one small stack of our loot!

I've also worked to start pulling the room together. It's coming along...slowly. Here's one view...

See we actually have a changing pad now. The pillow will get relocated eventually but it's living here for now.

Lastly, we now have clean baby things that are actually put away in the dresser and ready to be used.
From the bottom drawers up...
We have blankets and receiving blankets:

Changing pad covers, crib sheets, and Pack and Play sheets:

Clothes that will fit the little person right away (hopefully!)

Bath towels, wash clothes, and bigger clothes that won't fit yet:

And at the very top drawer, we have diapers, wipes, baby first aid and grooming kit, and I'm not sure what else will go here yet. Burp cloths perhaps? What else do I want more handy so I don't have to bend over and search for?

Other Electrical Projects Around the House

2011-12-13T07:08:00.000-08:00

While the electrician was at the house, we loaded him up with other projects. Some of these things we'd typically do ourselves (ahem - or the husband would do himself) but considering everything we have going on, we figured, let's just make arrangements to get everything done!

First up - we now have cable in our bedroom. Mind you we don't own a tv for the bedroom, but cable is there should we decide we want it!

And because I love it so much...here's another picture of the baby's light fixture.

The baby's the proud owner of a dimmer switch as well...

And so are we! The hallway/staircase light now has a dimmer! We're going to love this with all the late night feedings and diaper changes that we have coming up.

And lastly we grew a modern day digital thermostat! It's amazing! We come home to a warm house and wake up to a warm house now. It's incredible! Sadly, our wall didn't make out so well. We need to patch up the plaster and repaint a bit but we'll get to that.

Knocking things off the list! That's what it's all about these days...

Baby's Light Fixture

2011-12-13T06:46:00.000-08:00

Remember this old fixture?

There was one in our bedroom, the guest room, the hallway, and the baby's room! Either someone before us really liked this fixture, or must have gotten a great deal on them!

Either way, I knew they needed to go (and FAST!) We've already replaced the hallway fixture and our bedroom fixture. Next up...the baby's fixture.

As you already know, I love getting all the daily sale emails from sites like Rue La La, Joss & Main, ideeli, and HauteLook. I rarely buy anything, and when I do, I try my best to research the items before purchasing as most things cannot be returned. One day I found this light fixture that I thought would be fantastic in the baby's room. It was on sale for about $300 off the retail price. I made a point of researching the brand that made it, found the fixture on their website, and called their customer service number to ensure the fixture could be altered to suit our needs, etc... I felt comfortable ordering it after having had all my questions answered. Much to my surprise the fixture arrived within days (not weeks as I was told.) It's very exciting when that happens!

Anyhow a couple weekends ago I put the husband to work installing the new fixture. I usually help, but this time I promised to do so from a chair in the baby's room rather than standing on a ladder. After opening the box, we discovered that this was the only instructions given for putting all the parts together. Not really sufficient if you ask us! There were no words at all. Just one page with a picture that wasn't exactly clear.

Here are some of the parts:

Now you should know the husband is pretty much an expert at these things...and he couldn't figure the darn thing out! After analyzing what was sent and calling Dad B for advice, we decided to have an electrician come install the new fixture. We felt like we'd given up too easily, but we knew there was no way we'd be able to figure out the wiring. It was quite wacky and not at all like what we'd seen in the past. We knew we had other electrical projects for the electrician so we figured that we might as well save ourselves the trouble and just have him do everything we wanted done at once.

The next weekend the electrician came out to check out what needed to be done at the house, said no problem, and we scheduled a day for him to come do all the work.

The following Thursday the electrician got to work. After doing his other projects, he attacked the fixture...only to find out that it was indeed like nothing he'd ever dealt with. We weren't crazy! The poor guy spent an entire day installing it! He had to retrofit the darn thing to work! Of course I called to check in and learned all this information, but at this point it would have been silly to just give up. So our little sale priced fixture, plus a full day of electrician's work turned out to be a big ole waste of $$$. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the new fixture and it's perfect for the baby's room, but it cost us an absolute fortune when all was said and done.

Oh and I didn't mention that he didn't even finish installing the darn thing. We spend another hour putting the rest of it together when we got home that night.

I know what you're thinking...enough talk. Let's just see the finished product!

Ok here it is!

By the way...can you see the blue box poking out? We weren't thrilled about that so the electrician went back to the house yesterday to remedy this situation. I figure for a full day's worth of work-it should have looked finished at least! Here's another picture because I love this fixture so much...but imagine it now with a larger plate that covered the electrical box. Looks much better!

Like it?

Baby Bump Progession

2011-12-06T06:34:00.001-08:00

32 Weeks...and feeling big! (and a little unprepared and out of time!)

29 Weeks...and starting to realize how much effort it takes to put socks and shoes on!

27, almost 28 Weeks (looking a little haggard after an impromptu after work cleaning frenzy - I think they'd call this nesting!)

26 Weeks (I think) post apple picking break with Emily!

23 Weeks

22 Weeks (Post Spin Class Sweaty Picture)

21 Weeks (Hiking in Santa Fe while on our anniversary/baby-moon trip)

21 Weeks (Seated Mom's Eye View)

21 Weeks (Celebrating our 2nd Anniversary)

20 Weeks

18 Weeks

14 Weeks

12-13 Weeks

Baby Bump Progression

2011-11-15T06:45:00.000-08:00

Here's a little update---

29 Weeks...and starting to realize how much effort it takes to put socks and shoes on!

27, almost 28 Weeks (looking a little haggard after an impromptu after work cleaning frenzy - I think they'd call this nesting!)

26 Weeks (I think) post apple picking break with Emily!

23 Weeks

22 Weeks (Post Spin Class Sweaty Picture)

21 Weeks (Hiking in Santa Fe while on our anniversary/baby-moon trip)

21 Weeks (Seated Mom's Eye View)

21 Weeks (Celebrating our 2nd Anniversary)

20 Weeks

18 Weeks

14 Weeks

12-13 Weeks

Around the House....

2011-11-15T04:40:00.000-08:00

A few things were accomplished this past weekend...and I can take absolutely zero credit for any of it! Mom G-K came to visit. With all the excitement of the last week or so, she decided to come visit and help out around the house. I felt badly about having her drive all the way here to cook and clean - but boy was it a huge help! While I lounged or napped, Mom was hard at work making us food for the next week or two. She also worked on a couple projects that have been on my to do list for forever.

First up - she made us Veggie Lasagna, Butternut Squash Risotto, Roasted Vegetables, and Teriyaki Tofu with Wild Rice. She also stocked our fridge! Her goal was to help me to not have to think about what to eat after work this week. So far - it's working out great! I'm having more food aversions these days along with some more nausea - so not having to think about food is a huge relief to me!

Mixed in with all the cooking - She helped to finally organize our built-in china cabinet. Rather than looking in and seeing boxes...you now see this!

She also helped to organize and clean all our picture frames that have been stashed away since the kitchen renovation began. Just an fyi to anyone doing construction - just because you put things away doesn't mean that they stay clean and dust free. HUGE thanks to Mom for being the one to clean everything. It wasn't a fun job I'm sure!

In the process she turned our bookshelf into a bookshelf again. She even put out all our DVDs again - with one caveat. She wasn't interested in organizing by genre like I would typically do. I told her it was no problem - I'll get to that during my maternity leave! You all know that this will eat away at me until I get it done. Just kidding-well, sort of.

While mom was hard at work on this project, I sat and kept her company. After a while we wondered what Michael was up to.
I took a little trip upstairs and discovered him hard at work on this!

We grew a crib this weekend! Yet another big step! I can't believe we have a crib in the baby's room. Feels pretty real to me!
I also took a picture of the baby's dresser...I may have made a bit of an online impulse purchase. See that pillow - it was cute, I couldn't resist. The "S" is covered up - but it says "Snuggle Up." We also received the most adorable soothing sounds Lamb over the weekend as well from none other than Mama Pelio! And see that tea container on the right...inside is the cutest little hand knitted hat for the baby from one of our artists at the gallery! So sweet! Mom G-K also brought the baby its first wooden dog puzzle. So cute!

Baby Bump Progression

2011-11-09T10:00:00.000-08:00

You probably already saw this post - but I added a 26 week picture. Enjoy!

My baby brain is on a bit of a delay these days. It's true - the whole baby brain thing that is. I'm not as smart as I used to be!

It occurred to me that it'd be easier to see the updates and the progression if I showed you the newest picture first. That way you don't have to scroll down the whole post each time.

Brilliant! Duh!

27, almost 28 Weeks (looking a little haggard after an impromptu after work cleaning frenzy - I think they'd call this nesting!)

26 Weeks (I think) post apple picking break with Emily!

23 Weeks

22 Weeks (Post Spin Class Sweaty Picture)

21 Weeks (Hiking in Santa Fe while on our anniversary/baby-moon trip)

21 Weeks (Seated Mom's Eye View)

21 Weeks (Celebrating our 2nd Anniversary)

20 Weeks

18 Weeks

14 Weeks

12-13 Weeks

Guest Room Update

2011-11-07T06:54:00.000-08:00

As many of you already know - we had quite the exciting weekend over here. I won't bore you all with the details. All I'll say is that the little person threatened to make an extra-early appearance. After listening to what I had to say, he/she decided that perhaps it wasn't time to come out and play yet. Thank goodness (for now.)

So I don't have much to share with you this week, except this little update on the Guest Room. You may remember that I posted about the ice dam damage last year. If not - there was damage from ice dams last winter. (good- now that you're caught up we can move on.) The damage was primarily seen in the guest room. We're working on remedying the situation before winter is fully upon us. Anyhow in the meantime we had the inside issues addressed.

Here's a glimpse at how things have been looking since last winter:

While we had the painters at the house we decided to fix up the ceiling in the guest room as well. First everything had to scraped down. Then it had to be re-plastered. Here's how that looked...

After a day of drying everything was sanded down and re-painted. I didn't take a picture. Sorry about that! You'll just have to use your imagination.
At least it's done!

On to more important things - like getting some work done so I can go home and sleep. :)

Our Bedroom

2011-11-02T00:08:00.000-07:00

The painters also did a nice job on our room.

As you probably can quite easily picture - I had a tough time picking out the color for our room as well. Typical. At first I was planning to stick with the earth tone idea as our bedding is all chocolate brown and ivory. I got a sample for what I thought was going to be a great color. The consensus from both of us - looks like baby poop! Since we figure we'll be seeing plenty of that soon, we don't need to see it on our walls as well! (The real deal might end up on the walls at some point anyway--who knows!!)

So the next idea was either a slate blue or plum color. I narrowed down the options and let Michael pick two samples to try out. (Collaboration at it's finest I tell you!) Here's a glimpse of the process and a few before pictures...

And after day one - think lots-o-dust!

Ultimately we decided the plum was too purple, and the blue was too gray. Rather than trying out another 15 samples (which we were tempted to do) we decided to pick a similar blue tone that was less gray and go for it! I was pretty worried at first, but it's really growing on me! I'm not one to make rash decisions. I know what you're thinking...It's only paint! But still. I wanted this project to be done and I wanted to be happy with the results. I've never picked a bold color before but it works! Not sure it's great with our bedding, but too bad! We're stuck with it! I think it looks really great with our silver light fixture and the silver radiator. Next up - maybe some matching furniture?? Just an idea! And perhaps some new lamps. Maybe something in Stainless or perhaps glass. ahhhh - someday!

It's so nice to have consistent woodwork throughout the house also. It really makes things work a little better together. So...what do you think? Was this a project a success? Either way - it's another thing checked off my pre-baby to do list and that makes me one happy camper! Only about 1,999,000 things left to do! And we only have 12 weeks left! (or maybe less) EEK!

Progress in the Baby's Room

2011-10-25T08:26:00.000-07:00

As many of you already know, we gave in and hired painters, not only to do the exterior trim, but also to paint the baby's room, our bedroom, and the ceiling in the guest room. We could have done it, but after thinking about all the work that was required to prep the rooms we decided it would be a lot easier and faster to just have it done. You may recall the doors and trim in both bedrooms were stained wood. Everywhere else in the house the trim had been painted, but for some reason they didn't do two of the bedrooms. It required a lot of sanding and priming. Oh and don't forget to take a look at all the details in the windows that needed to be painted.

Without further ado - Get ready for picture overload!!

Here's how we last left things:

(I had such a hard time picking the "right" gray. To be honest, I'm not thrilled with the end result-but it will be just fine!)

And a little progress after day one:

After testing out four gray options, I made my decision. I figured better to go light than dark and we can always punch things up with some colorful accents or a colorful rug. The other decision we made was to go with a sort of two tone gray paint job. With the strange roofline in this room it's hard to distinguish between wall and ceiling. So the tapered walls and ceiling received a couple coats of gray paint as well, the regular version of the color we picked. The walls are actually 15% darker, but it's hard to tell. This was a great decision because I think it would have looked awkward with a ton of white paint going on...

And the finished product! I was hoping for a darker gray, but hey - it works and everything looks so much better painted! I love the trim painted in a crisp white! So much cleaner and more modern looking. The gray looks a little soft, but quite nice with the white dresser/changing table. Can't wait to get the rest of the room put together!

Weekend Things

2011-10-25T08:23:00.000-07:00

I had a very long list of weekend to do's last weekend. Most of the items weren't accomplished - but some of them were! That's progress at least!

First up - Sell our old sofa and desk! The sofa was a great size when we lived in Brookline, but never really fit well into our house. That and it happened to be quite uncomfortable on your neck. You know those chairs that push your head forward ever so slightly? This had the same characteristic. It was clean and in great shape, but we'd already purchased a replacement a while back so it was time for it to officially go! After all, the area it occupied is threatening to become the pack and play/toy/reading/play area for someone. The desk was my old college desk that I got Junior year. It's a great desk, but it's really just a to-be-filed paper collector at this point. It was living in the baby's room in a perfectly sized little nook but with someone new taking over that room - it was time to say farewell to the desk as well!

I posted both on Craigs List. Fortunately the sofa sold quickly! We just had to help them transport it...and the buyers weren't exactly accommodating! We ended up doing it at 9:30pm on Monday night. Seriously?? Oh well, it's off our hands now; hands which have been filled with a (small) wad-o-cash in exchange! Not too shabby!
Here's the Craig's List picture:

(Because we're nice, and the buyers looked like they could perhaps use it, we threw in the old scuffed up coffee table as well. Those of you who know me well are probably wondering why I didn't just paint it. The truth is, it was pretty boring looking and we have no where to put it. Considering it was a super cheap table to begin with and about hundred years old (ok maybe 20,) I decided to just be generous and throw it in! The buyers were appreciative so it was worth it!)

This guy on the other hand got no takers. :(

Know anyone who wants it? It needs to go soon!

In other weekend happenings I decided to go through some of the stuff that had collected around the desk and on the desk. We have a ton of office/school supplies - such as binders and notebooks. Anyone want them? I also went through all the pens to determine what worked and what didn't. All the "keep" office supplies were relocated to the newly organized junk drawers in the kitchen. One drawer is done - but the other stills needs some attention.

Here's a little peak -

This drawer still needs help:

I'm desperately trying to train my husband to be more organized and to put things back where they belong. I realize my efforts are fruitless, but I am determined to carry on regardless. Wish me luck!

In an effort to butter him up and hopefully bring him over to my way of thinking...I did all this while making him breakfast. One of his favorites I might add. Homemade chocolate chip pancakes. (Of course I made them with whole wheat flour as I always do. Trust me, he knows and he doesn't care because they're delicious!) I also used some of the skills I learned from Mom G-K, that I hope to keep in mind in the next fews months to make life easier after the little one joins us. She taught me a long time ago to make waffles and pancakes (and cookies for that matter - or anything else!) in large batches and then to freeze in individual portions that can just be tossed into the toaster oven. So here's a glimpse at some of my pancakes that we intend to enjoy at a later date!

Throw them in a ziplock freezer bag and you're good to go! Pretty soon we'll start to think about frozen home cooked meals to stockpile! Have any suggestions?

Exterior Trim

2011-10-21T08:42:00.001-07:00

As you might remember, a little storm came through town a while ago. Her name was Irene. For some reason, Irene decided to help us along with our long list of must-get-done items. One item in particular which was on our list, but wasn't at the top of our list (until after Irene made her appearance) was painting all of our exterior trim. Irene decided to take off most of what was left leaving us with chipped paint everywhere and exposed wood trim.

It's starting to get too cold here to be doing any exterior painting, so we knew we had to get moving if we wanted to get this done before the winter. After getting several quotes, we bit the bullet and lined someone up to get this project done.

I'll have some after pictures for you in a few days - but until then, here's a little preview of how things had been looking lately. Pretty shabby!!

Baby Bump Progression

2011-10-21T08:12:00.000-07:00

For those who have been asking...

I've put together a little photo grouping for you. I'm missing several weeks, but that's how it goes!
I'm also several weeks behind-seeing as the little person is already almost 27 weeks baked!

Until I take some updated pictures...
Enjoy!

12-13 Weeks - Feeling sick and tired but must more comfortable in my new dress.

14 Weeks - Finally feeling a little better and helping in the yard.

18 Weeks - YIKES! Scary picture with my after work, post nap hair.

20 Weeks - Standing in our newly painted (but not quite done yet) dining room.

21 Weeks (Celebrating our 2nd Anniversary in Santa Fe)

21 Weeks (Seated Mom's Eye View - Still getting used to the new view)

21 Weeks (Hiking in Santa Fe while on our anniversary/baby-moon trip)

22 Weeks - Post Spin Class Sweaty Cell Phone Picture

23 Weeks - Feeling like I'm getting big. I know I have a long way to go but this is the point where I started to be surprised when I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror.

I'll try to post new pictures every couple weeks or so. It's difficult to get someone to take my picture - he makes fun of me when I ask. Nice isn't he?

The Baby's Dresser

2011-10-07T07:05:00.000-07:00

Remember the baby's dresser from way back when? I finally got it finished. It's far from what I originally envisioned, but I'm quite happy with the end result.

You may remember that I was planning on painting the dresser yellow, in fact I did paint it yellow...and I hated it. When we left off last I'd re-primed the whole thing. Here's how it looked for a week or so-primed and ready for layer 297 of paint! :)

Ultimately I decided to keep things all white (in terms of the furniture that is.) I found some great ceramic knobs from Anthropologie that I thought would be great. They were yellow with a light green crackle glaze in the center. Perfect! I placed my order and waited for them to arrive. Of course as luck would have it, everything was backordered for months. So in the meantime, since I knew I was going to paint the dresser white to match the crib I went ahead and bought more paint and got to work (again.) I finished the painting part in the morning before work on the day before we left for Santa Fe. Phew!

While we were in Santa Fe we drove past a Hobby Lobby. We don't have that store here but I've heard they carry a large selection of handles and knobs so I forced Michael to make a stop! Good thing we did because HE picked out the new knobs for the dresser while we were there! The knobs he selected are simple white ceramic knobs, with letters on them. The letters are written in a thin black line and are surrounded by a thin black circle. I was trying very hard to get out of my comfort zone with the baby's room but subtlety won again!

The dresser is a far cry from where I started, but we both love how the dresser turned out!

Neither of these are the grey paint we're going to go with, but here's a preview of how the white furniture will look on a grey wall.

Back Splash

2011-09-29T07:14:00.000-07:00

The last kitchen related project to be completed was the back splash. We'd been putting off the extra expense of having it installed. I suppose we could have attempted it ourselves, but of course I wanted it to have an unexpected pattern so that made things challenging. With my mile long to do (before baby's arrival) list growing every day I decided it was time to knock this one off the list. The other incentive was to have it done before Papa and Marilyn came to see our house for the very first time (which happened this past weekend.)

We'd already received several quotes for the project so it was a matter of selecting the person we wanted to go with and getting it scheduled.

Here's a remind of how things have been looking until now...

Then one day we came home to this!

I have to admit, my immediate reaction was not to jump for joy. It was more like "what have I done!" But those of you you know me well know that I can visualize most things pretty well. After all, we (I) selected everything for the kitchen fairly confidently from tiny little examples of each material used. That said, I knew that once the grout was in place all would be right in the world again. (just an fyi--the colors look pretty off here. In reality the tile is a nice bone color that really complements the grey/green/taupe cabinets. They don't look right in these pictures.) Here are a few more progress pictures:

The only thing we were not thrilled about was the edge of the room. It looked like the beveled edge tile was much too large. We were both expected it to be a tiny 3/4" tile or so and this is what it ended up being. So after sleeping on it, we let the tile guy know that we wanted to have the edge changed. He wasn't happy about it. But that's life!

And the long awaited finished product!

The edge is much better now isn't it?

What do you think?
There's no substitute for seeing it come together in person...

Well...it's one check mark off our Pre-Baby To Do List. More to come!

Paint for the Baby's Room

2011-09-07T07:23:00.000-07:00

We've officially decided (well months ago really) that we're not going to find out if we're having a boy or a girl. Neither of us feel that strongly about knowing so why not get to have one last BIG surprise!

I've heard from several people just how exciting it is to NOT know the sex of your baby. Comments range from enjoying the surprise to the idea that labor is much easier since you just can't wait to meet your little boy or girl. So that's the plan!

Of course, this does make it more difficult to prepare the baby's room and buy things. But those of you who know me, know that I'm the farthest thing from a girly girl so I wouldn't be doing an all pink room even if I was having girl. Same for a boy. Just because it's a boy doesn't mean everything has to be blue. That said, it was time to make a decision on a more general neutral room design. I wanted something that was a tad more sophisticated and wasn't filled with the typical pastel colors and nursery animals. So the big plan: darker grey walls, white trim, white furniture, and pops of color---all colors. Might sound a little crazy--but you'll see as it comes along.

First step: Paint.

The first grey I picked was too dark.

So we had the sample lightened a tad:

I went a little crazy with my sampling, but hey we can always paint over it! Anyhow, the lighter (but still dark) grey wins! I can't wait to get the room painted. It's been in this state for quite some time---but we'll get there eventually.

To tide you over--here's a 23 week photo. I have to admit, I am a little shocked every time I catch a glimpse of myself in a mirror. Wow!

Dining Room Progress

2011-09-07T07:19:00.000-07:00

After a lovely vacation to Santa Fe...I'm back!!

Michael and I were supposed to go to Hawaii as our 2nd anniversary trip...but with the little addition on the way we decided it was just too far to fly. So at the very last minute (as in Thursday at 10pm for a Saturday at 7am flight) we decided to go to Santa Fe instead. It was a great choice. The flights were more manageable for me, and the area was spectacular. The scenery was even more fantastic than the art and food in Santa Fe. We did lots of day trips to local must-see spots, a few hikes, and lots of eating (mostly Michael believe it or not. Food still isn't my best friend so it was challenging to figure out what to eat but worth the thought process.)

Anyhow, before we skipped out of town, we completed one project that had been on my To Do List since we completed the kitchen project. (Which, for the record has one more small project to be completed--more on that next week.)

Here's a little glimpse!
First-I painted several squares on different walls to make sure I was happy with my color selection. Perhaps it was a little overkill but my brain isn't working quite how it used to these days so at the time it seemed VERY necessary to do this step...

Of course I also had to see how it looked with the only permanent fixture in the room...our Amy Maas painting!

Then it was time for tape and paint! Believe it or not we were equal contributors to this project! (I have to pat myself on my back for this one!) I'll admit was was pretty sore and exhausted after deciding to work on this project two evenings in a row after work, but hey that's the price you pay sometimes.

And a few of the finished product:

And for all those who have been asking me for a very specific picture. Here you go!

This was taken at about 19/20 weeks or so I think...it's pretty out of date! Oh well it's all you get for now! :P You can use your imagination but I'm just a tad bit bigger at this point! ;)

First Project for Baby Benedetti

2011-09-07T06:48:00.001-07:00

I think that anyone who's been reading this knows our big news by now...if not...you should get with it as Baby Benedetti is already halfway cooked! :P

Check out our first clothing gift! Is that not the cutest, tiniest little onesie ever? Thanks Aunt Rebecca? or will it be Aunt Becs? or????

And our second clothing gift... Aunt Rebecca's response to this gift: "That's nice and all but too bad you'll have to toss it after the baby receives some awesome Cubs apparel."

HA!

Anyhow...back to the project I mentioned...I had an unexpected day off last Friday. First day off all summer. I desperately needed a mental health day and thankfully it was given to me without my asking!

Rather than sit on my bum and do nothing I decided to make it a super productive day! I got up early, went to two classes at the gym, got myself some paint for a little project, a Starbucks treat, and went home to get things done!

We've had this extra dresser sitting around thanks to Mom and Dad B! It has been waiting for some attention for about a year now. We always knew it would be the baby's dresser, but we weren't quite sure what we would do with it (paint wise that is.)

I've known for several months now that I wanted to do the baby's room in grey, white, and yellow. We've decided that we aren't going to find out if we're having a boy or girl, and I've seen lots of pictures of grey and white nurseries recently that I loved. Side Note: I don't really understand the whole "nursery" thing. It's a baby's room! or kids's room! But, I'll conform for now and call it the nursery! So my big plan was to paint the wall grey with white trim, and yellow accents in the room. Since we were gifted a white crib (which we may not use--more on that later) I decided to go BOLD or go home-with the dresser that is. Why not paint it a nice bright sunny yellow! As many of you may already know, I have a slight fear of color! Call it a Kogan trait--what can I say, I love earth tones!

Anyhow I decided to just go for it!

I removed the hardware, cleaned the dresser, and filled all the holes.

I had to fill and sand everything a couple times. Not sure why, but it needed it. Then I primed the sucker. Too bad I forgot to take pictures of that step!

Then...it was time for the sunny yellow.
Here it is!

And here it is with a grey sample I picked up for the walls:

And here's what I did next:

:(

Pout. Yes, that's what I did. I hated it! Couldn't stand it. It's too bright! I took a huge leap out of my comfort zone and I fell hard. Alright, perhaps I'm exaggerating a tad... Perhaps! First I thought I'd just pick a more pale yellow and redo it. Then I read a couple articles saying how bright colors can negatively effect a baby's sleep and general comfort level. GREAT-THAT'S JUST WHAT WE NEED! Scrap that plan! The first of many mom-failures. hahaha

Before I could get too upset about it, I just went ahead and re-primed the whole thing! Sigh.

Let's just say...we're back to square one! But I have a new plan...
More on that to come!

A New Venture...

2011-08-26T09:24:00.000-07:00

I know I said this blog was intended for reporting on all things house and home. So whether or not you think this falls into that category...I'm going to go ahead and report it!

I like to share what we've been doing around the house. Well, there isn't really anything new at the moment. We have "things in the to-do in the near future list" but we haven't exactly completed anything yet.

The biggest thing that's happened around here lately is that I've gotten back into cooking. Nothing too fancy, but it's a start! I've been on a strictly vegetarian, Italian diet lately. That means carbs, carbs, and more carbs! I'm trying really hard to branch out. I miss my vegetables, but just can't stomach most of them right now. This meal was a giant leap towards broadening our meal horizons.

This week I attempted a baked/healthy version of Eggplant Parmesan. In our casa we always make our own sauce so that wasn't anything new. We'd run out of cans of sauce so I improvised with diced tomatoes instead. (Side Note-I can't stand Cherry or Grape tomatoes at the moment, but Vine-Ripe fresh, and canned diced seems to be ok.)

While the sauce was simmering away...I got to work on my eggplant. I peeled and sliced, then lightly salted and let it sit for a few. After I soaked up the excess water, it was time to get to work.

As I mentioned, this was the "healthy" version. I still "breaded" my eggplant, but it was baked instead of fried.

First the eggplant was coating in an egg and milk mixture.

Then it was coated in the "breading." Now if you're a purist--don't read this part. My version of breading was a mixture of Wheat Germ, Parmesan Cheese, and Basil. Much healthier than breadcrumbs--well sort of!

Then the eggplant baked away for a bit.

While that was happening I cooked some whole wheat spaghetti. When it was all done I plated it all up with some mozzarella on top.

Looks tasty doesn't it?

A few recommendations:
1. Never advertise to your Italian husband that you've made a "healthy" version of an Italian favorite.
2. Never divulge to your Italian husband that you are feeding him whole wheat pasta and wheat germ. He'll never understand.
3. Never share the above information with your Italian husband, even after he eats the meal and exclaims how tasty it was. Trust me on this, he'll then claim he didn't like it.
4. Allow said husband to enjoy the meal without complaining about how you had to make it all by yourself. After all, he's been "cooking" for us both for the last four months. It's about time you do it all by yourself again! :)

Baby steps...

Lights, Outlets, and Closet Clean out!

2011-08-10T06:21:00.001-07:00

This weekend we enjoyed a visit from Mom and Dad B. Thanks for coming!! It was great having you!

Of course, no trip would be complete without a bit of shopping and attacking a few projects. Sadly...hanging my curtain rod in the guest room could not be done. More on that another time.

Here's what was accomplished!
Lights were added to the basement. It's like daylight down there now! I'm not sure that we needed that many, but someone is VERY happy with the new additions and that's enough to make me happy about it!

Some outlets were added:

The lights even have outlets! Smart thinking!!

Our electrical panel is now labeled. What a relief to have that out of the way. We've only been talking about doing that for about a year. I'm not sure why it wasn't done when it was installed, but it is now!

As many of you have heard Verizon went on strike this weekend. Unfortunately for us...this affects Michael. So for the foreseeable future we will be cutting back on some things. (Perhaps I'll have to return some of the new items we bought on our little shopping spree the day before....perhaps.) The first thing to get cut was going with Mom and Dad B to Sturbridge to visit some friends. It would have been fun, but this way we got to spend the maximum amount of time with Mom and Dad B before they headed home.

It also meant that I had the afternoon free to get to a project I've been meaning to cross off my list for a few weeks. It was a really stormy afternoon so it was the perfect day to listen to some music and attack this "little" project!

Closet Clean Out!

I've been getting really frustrated every morning trying to figure what clothes I can wear and how to make an outfit out of the options I have available.

Let's just say I have more flexibility with my tops than I do my bottoms. I think I can only wear about 1/8 of my usual bottom options.

The solution is to remove things that don't fit and only leave behind solid options! Makes perfect sense...it's the getting it done part that's really annoying and time consuming! I mustered up my motivation, turned on some music, and got to work trying on everything I owned (except dresses-I didn't get to that yet!) My level of motivation definitely dropped with each item I decided had to be relegated to the "pack away for next year" or "donate" pile. I suppose that's to expected and hopefully only temporary.

Here are those piles...

Pack Away for Next Year:

Give Away:

And then I reorganized all the things that I can wear...or think I'll be able to wear for a little while longer.

Only the viable options remain...Gym clothes, sweat pants, sweat shirts, purses, and winter gloves and scarves. (As my pile-o-sweat pants becomes more and more alluring...I've made a little pact with myself. I have no problem wearing gym clothes out and about to do errands but I draw the line at the sweat pants. These are for home wear only! Make me stick to that! Ahem-I'll be the first to admit that the sweat pant pile is my first stop when I get home after work these days. Sad, but true.)

I can find my shoes now...

I have space for new (necessary) clothes...for the future. And on the right are the remaining sweaters I should be able to wear in the coming months. I held onto the longer sweaters, and those that had zippers or are meant to be left open in the front.

And here's what remains! Not a whole lot...

I commandeered the guest room closet a while back for my boot storage. It's now become my boot storage along with clothing that I hope to wear next year. Truth be told...I never wore much of this to begin with so I really paired it down during my clean out. Since I began working at the gallery years ago I've gotten away with less formal work attire in exchange for me fun/fashionable outfits. You'll also notice that I've kindly allowed Michael to store his motorcycle gear in this closet as well! How thoughtful of me! It's the least I could do after I stole half of his big closet to store my dresses! Hey-it was necessary since we keep the laundry baskets in my closet, there's no way my dresses will fit over them! Not to mention that anyone who knows Michael knows that he owns about 5 articles of clothing that require a hanger! ;)

After I completed most of this project I took a little gym break, with a stop at Home Depot to buy a couple storage bins to put my "put away for next year" clothes in. Too bad the piles are still sitting on the floor of our bedroom. Well at least phase one of this project is complete!

Getting Back Into the Swing of Things...

2011-08-04T07:39:00.001-07:00

This weekend was BIG. No, we didn't do anything special, but we did "stuff." And by we, what I really mean is ME! That's not to say I was the only one doing "stuff," but it was a big change that I was in fact doing, "stuff" finally.

Our weekend was jam packed (compared to how we've been doing things.) On Saturday I woke up feeling very motivated. I had some breakfast and then decided to vacuum the downstairs. Then I decided to mop. Then I decided to do one of my weight videos. Then I decided to go to the gym and use the Elliptical for a while. Then I decided to go grocery shopping...all before going over to Kristen and Mike's for an afternoon BBQ. We had a great time at the BBQ. By the time we got home it was about 8 and let's just say...I was beat! It was a wonderful day!

Sunday was a beautiful day as well...

First off, I decided that I was finally sick and tired of seeing our blank walls. Although still un-painted I decided it was time to get sort artwork back up on the walls.

Boy have I missed my Amy Maas painting. Here's a little preview:

This is a new piece actually. It was a gift from one of our artists at the gallery. A thank you for all our hard work. Framing courtesy of the boss lady. (If you wait until she's framing hers--she'll usually do yours too!) It's a little hard to see with the glare from the window, but you get the idea.

The hallway art returns...

After some rearranging we decided to go for a long walk around the lake. Of course we enjoyed taking a break halfway through at our favorite muffin shop for a little snack. It was much needed!

Next up was some yard work. Our bushes had been rather neglected lately. Since I felt like helping (yes you read that correctly) we decided to attack them!!

And the porch and steps needed some serious attention so I got right on that! No really, I did!!!

A few action shots:

and FINALLY...I give you PROOF that I was actually out there helping!!!

After a quick visit from Malfroy (who also came bearing a special delivery of gifts!!! THANK YOU JESS AND CRAIG!! It was back to work.

Next project was finally moving everything away from the front door and back into the mudroom. Eventually we'll have a bench, a rug, and some type of hooks/storage contraption on the wall. For now, at least it's being used for its intended purpose again.

At this point it was already 5pm. Definitely time for a shower and some dinner.

Lately...

2011-07-28T08:27:00.000-07:00

Apparently I took a blogging hiatus. I'm back now...at least for today! :)
You may know...I haven't been feeling fantastic lately. Aside from work, I've spent a lot of time napping, lounging, and doing small tasks around the house.

Here's a little glimpse of new things that have been happening around our casa.

There's been a lot of laundry going on. Perhaps a bit more than usual. I blame the warm weather on multiple outfits worn each day by both of us and "two shower" days (also known as super hot days!)

Then something exciting happened in the gym room. It magically grew and window A/C...

and a TV... Ok the truth is we had this TV sitting upstairs since Christmas of last year. It was a gift to me/Michael won it at work. Unfortunately, we didn't have cable anywhere else in the house except the living room, so it sat unused for quite some time. (The empty TV box-which also sat upstairs for months-became a home for a monstrous beetle that scared the you-know-what out of me last week...more on that another time!) When we renovated the kitchen we put cable into the bookcase in front of the treadmill. Major improvement!

Next up, Michael decided it was time to get back into his long list of house projects. First up was sanding the trim around the back door (new) window. Hopefully before winter we can repaint the trim so things look a little nicer.

another action shot:

Another project I attacked this weekend was finally sorting through our pile-o-papers that needed to be filed. We let this get way out of control throughout the kitchen renovation because it was just too complicated to get it done--or perhaps we were just too lazy?!?! At any rate, I spent an hour or two this weekend sorting through the pile and organizing everything for filing. I filed a portion of it before deciding it was just too darn hot upstairs to do any more. At least it'll be easy to get it done now.
No post is complete without random pictures of the activities that have gone on. Sorry this isn't very exciting!

This "junk" room still houses some miscellaneous kitchen stuff, artwork that needs to be hung, my good old college desk we never use, our printer, and a whole bunch of someone's boxes of stuff from his parent's house. Perhaps someone can encourage said person to go through them and put things away??? A little help here!

Taking Our House Back!

2011-07-06T13:45:00.000-07:00

Even though the kitchen isn't complete, we decided to take our house back! We spent most of Saturday moving back into the kitchen-entirely. This meant also getting the dining room back to it's original (bare) state! Even though it isn't a finished room, it's a major improvement over how it's looked for the past few months. We moved stuff, wiped everything down before putting it way, cleaned the room, etc...

Here's how it looks now:

Stocked Pantry:

Cabinets with stuff in them:

Proof that I used our kitchen this weekend. I made Mom G-K's famous chocolate chip coffee cake, lemon cookies, whole wheat pancakes, and chocolate chip whole wheat pancakes. Here's the proof (of some of it at least!)

A few views of the kitchen in it's current state:

(woops forgot to take a picture of the fridge, in it's final resting place. It looks like a built in...love it!)

One of my latest creations. It matches the kitchen better in person. The flash really alters the colors too much. It's the new island centerpiece. Nice isn't it?

Feels good to have our house back. In fact, it feels like a whole new house! Can't wait to get the place finished!

Long Overdue...but still not done!

2011-07-01T08:51:00.000-07:00

First we got some lights installed, and some appliances, and some crown molding...

And then we experimented with placement of the small island. They'll be cutting off the bottom toe kick and replacing it with more furniture like feet. The Island will be removed to re-do the floors (again) but this way we could experiment with placement.

And then the trim was painted! Looking good...

And then the floors were sanded down...again. Was this the 3rd time or the 4th. Side note: they've been done 5 times and still aren't great. But we give up!

At this point, we were tired of waiting...so we moved back in!

Love my spice cabinet!!

But love my trash/recycling drawer the most!

And then we got hardware. Love it!

And this last batch of pictures are for Mom G-K...to prove that we did indeed remove all the protective plastic from the beautiful new appliances. Good looking stuff if I do say so....pays to spend a little more and get all the stainless appliances with no black. Love the look!

p.s. It's really tough to capture the true color of the cabinets. It's a very subtle neutral with a hint of green. It's fantastic in person...but odd in pictures!

p.p.s. You may be wondering why we didn't put a fridge in our kitchen! HA! It's still in the dining room for the foreseeable future. Since they had to do the floors 5 times there was no sense in having it moved yet. Soon...hopefully!

Trim Work

2011-06-10T08:19:00.000-07:00

Better late than never....

It's all been painted with at least one coat of paint...

Appliances!

2011-06-10T08:16:00.001-07:00

Ohhhh appliances...it's been so long I forgot what you looked like!!

Oh yeah..that's what you look like:

Faucet, Dishwasher, Disposal, and Light Fixture....

2011-06-08T10:28:00.000-07:00

A bit of progress.... We have our faucet, disposal, dishwasher, and light fixture over the sink installed. Sadly the recessed lights aren't working appropriately so we still have to work on that.

May have to redo the floors for a 4th time, still haven't made much progress other than that, so a couple pictures are all you'll get today...

A Bit of Progress...

2011-06-03T06:32:00.000-07:00

The crown molding is finally finished! Here's a sneak peak...

And here's the floor (to be redone...more on that later)
Notice how far from matching it is! the light color is new new floor. This is what they called--stained to match the existing floors. Uhhh who thought that matched?

Not only does the color not even come close to matching, but the floor also has bubbles in the polyurethane everywhere. No good. So today they are sanding everything down again and restaining...with 2 coats to see if that helps. We've got to be able to come closer in color...don't you think?

Progress Update!

2011-05-27T11:25:00.001-07:00

I'm not feeling overly witty today...perhaps I'm just totally overloaded at work today? Perhaps I'm just tired...it is Friday afterall!

I'll let the pictures do the talking...

Can anyone else tell that these holes aren't even. At first glance I noted...the left one if off by a 1/4". Guess we'll try to ignore that seeing as this is the 3rd slab of granite!

Big ole stainless steel sink...

And cabinet progress...

This weekend the floors will be installed completely and refinished! I can't wait to see them on Monday night!

Countertops

2011-05-25T10:18:00.000-07:00

First...there were countertops...and then...there weren't.

That's right. They were cut, installed, and then removed.
And then recut...incorrectly.
And then recut for a 3rd time. Maybe someday they'll be installed and left there!

Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures of what it looked like installed. Aside from the fast that the whole thing was quite uneven, it looked incredible! Great choice with the cabinets.

Here's a little peak at what it will look like...someday!

It could be mistaken for black at a distance, but when you get up close here is what it looks like:

Love it, can't wait to use it!

More on the floors later...

Floors!

2011-05-20T13:07:00.000-07:00

Look what arrived the other day!!!

If you're not sure what you're looking at, it's wood. Clear Maple to be precise.

Lovely eh?

And another change. Andre removed the trim from the bottom of two windows in the kitchen and replaced the trim with a cill. The window over the sink won't have additional trim below the cill so as to have room for our tile backsplash, but under the other window there will be additional trim. Here's a peak:

And here is a peak at the progress leveling the floor in the mudroom:

I was a little disappointed to see how crooked the wall was next to the last cabinet leading into the hallway. But, Andre had already addressed the issue! Just a bit more sanding and paint and it should be straight!

Remember the weird threshold area. Andre cut out the raised piece of wood and replaced it with a more recessed piece of wood.

Here is the flooring getting installed. Looking good, but very light. The hubby likes the color. I do not. It's pretty obviously that it won't match the rest of the house without staining, but we shall see... It's a work in progress and I for one feel good about the progress.

Only a bit of damage done...

A Couple Things Were Done...

2011-05-18T13:57:00.000-07:00

Not much has been done. So here's a quick post about what's been happening.

They began to cut the old wood floor in a staggered pattern so as to add in the new flooring. Apparently this is as far as they got because "the blades were dull so we have to buy new blades." Seriously? Who brings a dull blake to a job site? It looks like only about 5 pieces of wood were cut? Must have been a very dull blade to begin with! :P

Then this piece of plywood was cut to allow room for the new threshold. Yes it's at an angle. Why you ask? Because it will match the same angle as the headed above it. Not ideal, but work with what you've got!

And the beginnings of trim work. Not ideal as it doesn't match the rest of the house...but boy will it look nicer than what was there! YAY!

Here's a detail shot:

We'll be reusing as many of the rosette as we can from the two doorways that were taken down. Unfortunately most of the pieces weren't in great shape, so new pieces will have to be used. Unfortunately they don't make anything similar anymore and we're not about to have them custom made. So we'll have to use pieces that are similar. It will be fine...

A coat of paint and the trim will look nice. One thing we inquired about is if there is a type of trim for the bottoms of the windows that match the rest of the house as the rest of the house has trim with a ledge and more detail work. I'm sure the exact thing can't be found, but I'd prefer to see something that has the same "look"... We shall see!

Kitchen Progress Update

2011-05-16T08:48:00.000-07:00

Not much has changed...
Here is where we stand:

I'd like to introduce you to one new thing. Our island! It's a little island, but it will be great! The bottom will be cut off and replaced with nice feet. That way it will appear more furniture like. It won't be bolted to the ground either, thus allowing us to move it in case the fridge needs to be pulled out or something like that. The top will be the same matching granite used in the rest of the kitchen. There isn't enough room for an overhang on the island, but I think it will be a welcomed additional work space! Can't wait to use it! Also, the doors will be able to be opened from both sides for easy access. I think it will house our less often used small kitchen appliances.

It has two top drawers that can be accessed from the side opposite the sink.

And one big shelf, that will sit level when all is said and done.

Hopefully some progress will be made today. Maybe I'll have something to share with you other than pictures you've already seen! Here's hoping!

p.s. I should mention, sorry my colors are off in all the pictures. I could edit the images, but since I tend to upload them at work, I don't exactly have a whole lot of time to mess around. So...pretty soon when more progress is made, I will take nice pictures, and color correct them! For now...you just have to deal!

Blogger Issue

2011-05-13T10:45:00.000-07:00

Oh My...I wrote this whole long post with new pictures and lots of text...and it's gone! I posted it yesterday. Every time I logged onto Blogger to see if there were comments, it said blogger was temporarily unavailable. I finally got back in, but my whole post is GONE!

Did anyone else experience this problem.

You're all going to have to wait now because my camera is at home.

Sad.

Cabinet Installation Continued...

2011-05-12T05:28:00.000-07:00

For the past week we've eagerly come home each night to find that not much has changed. One day we came home to this:

And then we came home and everything had been removed from the walls. Sorry I didn't take any pictures, I was too disappointed. Andre claims they hang them, take them down, attach them together, and rehang. But I'm no fool! I see the thousand holes in the wall all about 1/2" above or below eachother. Someone can't measure! That's the real issue here!!

Now that I've calmed down...here's a bunch of new pictures of the progress. I was expected more to be done at this point, but take what you can get!

And then there was the "miscommunication" about the cabinets floating on the wall vs. going straight to the ceiling. I always wanted them to go straight up to the ceiling. Somehow along the way we ended up with floating cabinets. Let's just say that in my opinion, there is nothing worse than trapped space above cabinets. No, I don't want lighting up there! No, I don't want to spend my time cleaning up the cobwebs that collect up there! What a waste! So my solution was...hang the cabinets a few inches higher so that the crown molding will cover the gap. Well, can't do that either because it would be 6" taller and let's be real, I'm short! So the bottom line, we potentially could have gotten 36" tall upper cabinets instead of 30". But we would have been risking it. So better safe than sorry I suppose. At the end of the day, here's the solution we came up with:

The crown molding is a bit skimpy, but Andre assures me that there isn't a more substantial option. It's a bit elongated but what can you do. I think it will give me the look I wanted, even if it's a little tall.

If you can believe it, the granite guys were supposed to come today to do the template for the granite. We'll see if that actually happens!

Cabinets

2011-05-06T17:31:00.000-07:00

It's a work in progress...but I know you're all anxious to see the progress.
Here's a little visual for you!

Hmmm...it's a little lighter in person! Thoughts on the wall color? Think it ought to be more white so the cabinet color stands out? I can't decide!

They have arrived!

2011-05-02T13:26:00.000-07:00

Well...Andre wasn't joking, the cabinets arrived Friday as scheduled. We got home and didn't see any cabinets so we assumed they hadn't arrived. That was until we went downstairs to check! Into the basement we went...and let's just say you can't see much of the floor anymore!

Hopefully the cabinets will be installed by the end of the week so we can have our basement back!

Thought you might enjoy a little video tour as well!

Walls!

2011-05-02T13:21:00.000-07:00

And we have walls...and a ceiling.
What do you think?

Looking good to me!

Doors? We Don't Need No Stinkin Doors!

2011-04-28T06:35:00.000-07:00

We were always planning to remove the doorway into the hall from the kitchen. I knew it would open things up but I didn't know how much it would open things up. I pride myself on being able to visualize these sorts of things without seeing them in person. Turns out, I was way off! What a different. It's a little difficult to see in these pictures, but you'll just have to trust me. It makes a whole world of difference. Here...see for yourself:

And a random shot of the back of the bookcase in the gym room. At least it's secure now...

After standing in the house exclaiming "Wow" about a thousand times we decided to bite the bullet and do away the doorway into the dining room.

When One Door's good...Two are BETTER!

And there went the 2nd door...

Can you stand how much brighter things are?! WOW! In fact, we originally wanted to open up the doorway from the hall into the living room, but due to cost constraints we had to cut back on that.

Now...in an effort to be honest, I have to say that I'm not 100% sure on the whole "open it up" plan. My reasoning is that I love old houses with divided rooms, beautiful moldings, and lots of character. Call me weird, but it just feels so much more homey to me! I'm growing accustomed to the new, more open, floor plan. Besides, it's not as though I can change it now! It's a step towards the Great Room that the husband always wanted. And with the vent from the microwave now leading directly out of the house, I'll be a much happier camper with the whole open floor plan idea. It's the food smells that really bother me with the open floor plan...well at least one of the things that bother me about it...

Anyhow. I know you're all bored reading this so hope you liked the pictures. Next up...walls!

New Windows

2011-04-28T06:31:00.000-07:00

We're still waiting on one window...but here's a sneak peak at the new windows...

First off, we have new shingles on the house. In need of paint obviously...but it's a start!

Not to shabby. Can't wait to share how we "opened" up the place! How's that for a tease...you'll just have to wait! It's coming!!!

And today we're getting walls and a ceiling! How exciting!

Spring has Sprung!

2011-04-25T07:01:00.002-07:00

One day last week we woke up to this! Seriously, I'm not exaggerating. It was literally overnight that we went from dirt on the side of the house to this!

Last weekend, while I decided to selfishly sit out in the sun and read for a while the husband transformed the above into this:

Ok sure...it's still a mess. Go easy on the guy!! The bed has been cleaned out. The driveway is still sprouting weeds, but what can you do. This year's project is the kitchen, not landscaping. So deal with it!

And apparently we have wildflowers growing??

And this was taken this morning. Can you believe how fast these plants are growing. Gotta love the Hastas. No work needed! Not the prettiest things, but what can you do?

Light Switch

2011-04-25T07:01:00.001-07:00

I've never been so excited about a light switch in all my life! Seriously...it's the little things in life...

That's right...it's a light switch in the hallway. Can you see it? It's sort of small off on the left there...
In fact, it's going to be a 3 way light so it can be turned on from the hall near the living room and from the kitchen. Fancy isn't it?

And even more exciting, the stupid/annoying pull cord light that's currently in that location will be removed and replaced with a recessed light to match the kitchen lighting. We were going to put in a little drum shade type fixture, but in order to open the basement door we needed just enough clearance. The options were slim and the one that we both agreed on is backordered until July. No dice... Recessed light it is! Much better choice (let's hope!)

Floor Progress

2011-04-25T06:59:00.000-07:00

Leveling the floor has been an ongoing process for about two weeks. Here are some pictures of a couple sections where you can really see the change. In fact, some of the boards had to be removed and replaced due to rotting.

Here's hoping a lot of progress is made this week! I'm about ready to move on from this project. Truthfully...it's not really that bad to live through. But I am really tired of not being able to cook the things I want to eat. Oh well...

Also...the key to this project is having a good dishwasher on hand at all times. ;)

The Header

2011-04-25T06:57:00.000-07:00

Some of you have heard about our "Header Dilemma"...basically it's necessary for supporting the 2nd floor. Turns out...there was nothing supporting the whole second floor width wise in the entire house. Oops! Of course, now that we've uncovered the problem we have to remedy the situation in order for the kitchen to pass inspection. At first we were under the impression that we could put in a recessed header in the ceiling which would be totally hidden from view. Sadly, this isn't possible without ripping out the entire bathroom. Now, the thought has crossed our mind to redo the bathroom while we're at it with the kitchen project...but if we do it now, we're required to pull permits and hire an electrician and a plumber. Even though we don't plan to change the layout one bit, we'd still be required to go through all those steps. Basically, the contractor will do the bathroom for us after the fact for a small fraction of the cost because he won't need to hire anyone else to help with the project.

So...to make a long story short...we're stuck with a header in the ceiling that will be visible. It's actually not so bad, but it still isn't great! As you may recall, we're getting rid of the door into the hallway from the kitchen. The idea was to open up the kitchen into the hallway will not transition like a door or wall, or doorframe. But, we'll still have that pesky header in the way. Truth be told, the real reason I'm upset about it is because it doesn't go straight, it's at an angle. Those of you who know me well know that I will harp on this annoying tidbit for the rest of my life! It would be so much better if it were straight...but alas, it isn't possible due to the location of the structural columns for supporting the first floor and second floor. Oh well!

There are some other ways to address this. We could create a soffit. We could install lighting in the soffit to make it look intentional, we could create a drop down ceiling of sorts, or we can do what I think we're going to do. That is, just box in the beams with blueboard and plaster, and paint it to match the ceiling. I'd much rather do my best to make it "disappear". I see no reason to spend more on strange lighting. I think that will just make it stand out more.

On a brighter note, at least the header is on the outer edge of the kitchen and not right through the middle!

Here are some pictures:
Oh and sorry for the weird angles. I was trying to show the angle of the header to you...Didn't really work out as well as I'd planned. Remember, the doorway behind the header into the hallway will be removed.

What do you think? Not so bad right...but just not great either...

Window Work

2011-04-21T06:28:00.000-07:00

As you know, we're altering some of the windows in the kitchen. Actually, all of them! The window over the soon-to-be sink area is being cut in half to accommodate the sink and countertop. The window to the right near the radiator is being replaced with a new window, and lastly, the window in the mudroom is being expanded to about twice its original size.

The last few days the guys have made slow progress by working on re-framing the windows that will be changed. It's not very exciting, but it's a step in the right direction!

Here are some pictures!

p.s. Casa Benedetti (strange mix of Spanish and Italian there) has been even colder than usual for the past week. Surprisingly, the minimal insulation and old drafty windows in the original kitchen did do a little something to keep the house "warm." Now that the insulation and walls have been removed, and that the window has been removed and replaced with a plastic bag, the interior temperature has been less than warm. Thank goodness for my electric blanket! If only we had two so someone else could be warm also! Oh no, I don't mean me...I am sure to snag MY blanket whenever possible! I'm just looking out for the husband here... :)

p.p.s. We learned some VERY interesting facts about our house last week. Turns out, it's older than we thought! Strange right? We thought it was built in 1930, but it must be closer to 1900. Knob and Tube wiring made it's first appearance in 1925. It wasn't exactly considered mainstream at that point. Perhaps several years later it was used everywhere. Before that time, gas lights were used. Turns out our house has experienced it all! When the walls were removed we learned that our house has knob and tube as well as old gas lines for gas lighting! Crazy! and Very cool! Can you imagine..only 1 gas light hanging in the center of every room? Glad to have the fire hazard removed, but very intrigued to learn about the history of our house!

Electrical Update...

2011-04-21T06:23:00.000-07:00

Progress has been made on the kitchen. It seems like minimal progress, but it is progress none the less...

All the wiring is done for the outlets, recessed lighting, the pendent light, switches, cable (for both the kitchen and the gym room,) speakers, and my personal favorite...a switch has been put in for the hallways light! WAHOO! All it needs is a new fixture, but that will have to wait for a while as the fixture we want is backordered till June!

Anyhow here are some progress photos:

Here are a couple shots of something we came across that was unexpected. A recessed header has to be put in place where we're removing the door into the hallway. The door frame itself isn't supporting the 2nd floor, but we discovered that nothing was supporting the 2nd floor. Since we uncovered this issue, we now have to address it because it won't pass inspection as is. So here are some images of what we have going on in the meantime for support...

Progress...

2011-04-14T13:29:00.000-07:00

I'm in a bit of a crummy mood today. Could have something to do with someone hitting the snooze button 18 times and NOT getting up...even though I didn't have to get up for another hour. I'm not naming names or anything...but I think you catch my drift.

Anyhow...I'm always thrilled to see the progress on the home-front. So I'll tell you a bit about what has been happening.

We've successfully been able to raise the floors in the kitchen over an inch! We're hoping to get to 2" but we'll see how it goes. It was all going smoothly until we went into the gym room this morning and discovered the huge crack in the corner of the room from the floor straight through to the ceiling. Oh well! I guess it'll have to be fixed, which in turn will force us to paint the room. Bonus! One room will get painted! HA! At least that is how I'm going to choose to look at it right now.

In other news, the new sewage pipes have been installed in the correct place in the kitchen, and vented up through the ceiling. Or I should say, around the room and up through the ceiling...or something like that!

All the new strapping as been done for the ceiling in order for the new ceiling to be hung level. We came home the other night to discover we no long had a window. Instead we had a plastic bag. They began to reframe the window because it will be a different size.

I'm sure I'm forgetting a lot...so I'll share my thoughts above each picture.

First off...for the most part, these guys are neat! I really appreciated seeing this when I went downstairs. I know, it'll get worse before it gets better...that goes for everything, including the mess all this construction makes. But at least they pretend to care about our space, our things, and our home!

Here is what I discovered when I came home the other night. My house looks like a beat up 1995 buick! How tacky! haha

Here's what the inside of that window looks like. Of course they picked the one day to do this project when it rained ALL DAY LONG!

Remember those two pipes that were visible inside our old "cabinet"...they cut them out and replaced them with new copper pipes that go straight up inside the wall rather than sticking out for no reason.

And here is the current state of our ceiling. Must have been a torturous job trying to get those all nailed up so they were all level. When you look in person the boards are flush with the old boards on one end and hang down over 2 inches on the other end. I'm sure someone's neck hurt after that day's work!

New sewage pipe heading into the kitchen. I've never smelled anything so foul in my life!

and the aftermath of that job...

And the sewage pipe in place inside the kitchen...

and inside the ceiling headed towards the roof...

Here are the new water pipes in place, but only half done. They still need to add the connections for the water to travel upwards from the basement into the kitchen.

These are the lolly columns they are using to jack up the first floor. Makes me cringe a little just thinking about it. The boards you see on top...they weren't here at first. Not sure why, but now that they've been adding, we are making progress. (Just don't think about the cracked wall (s) in the gym room...that is not considered progress. Or is it? Just not positive progress?)

And lastly...here's a picture of how they framed the "fridge" wall yesterday. Someone wasn't listening when the contractor said not to do this so as to be able to push our fridge back into the wall. Good thing the husband (yes, the one that hit snooze 18 times this morning...oops, did I just give away who it was that did that?) paid attention when he went to check on the progress last night. Yes, I would have noticed that too, but I was at ceramics so I wasn't there! Anyhow...a phone call to our buddy Andre and that should be fixed by the time I get home tonight.

So...how was that for progress. Seems like a lot of little things....but hopefully they'll add up to a BRAND NEW KITCHEN soon!
Yesterday's projection from the contractor. "We will have the electrical work done next week and be ready by the end of the week for all rough inspections to be done so we can close the walls."
You'll be the first to hear if we make that timeline happen! Wish us luck!

p.s. I'm very tired of toast, toast with cheese, toast with peanut butter, cereal, frozen waffles, frozen veggies, makeshift salad, sandwiches, "pizza" made from bread and cheese, bananas. Any suggestions of other things to "make" using a toaster oven, microwave, and a tiny bathroom sink?

Kitchen Progress Day 2

2011-04-05T15:50:00.000-07:00

Last Tuesday we came home to find that under our linoleum was more linoleum, and under that linoleum were the original hardwood floors from 1930. Sadly, the previous owners had used tar and staples to hold down the linoleum and it was determined that the hardwood floors couldn't be saved. Sad.

Anyhow...

We also came home to absolutely NO walls! The mudroom was no more... Oddly, it took me several minutes to realize that!

Here are some progress photos.
Enjoy! or cringe a little. I'm doing a bit of that, so it's ok for you to do that too!

And a little video...
A word of warning first...(I'm new to this remember!) apparently because I held the camera sideways the video comes up sideways. I can't seem to figure out how you can change that. So in the future i'll shoot the normal way! I was going to delete it, but I thought you all might be amused by my small failure! :)

Another word of warning...it's a little dark and hard to see most of the video...but it gives you a sense of the floor situation at least!

And one last word of warning...this was shot before we learned that the floors couldn't be saved. Oh well!

Day 1 Progress

2011-04-05T15:47:00.000-07:00

On Monday....

We came home to this:

Looks just a tad different than the photos I posted yesterday!!!! YIKES!

I couldn't be more thrilled about it! Weird, I know! But, we can only move forward from here! No one can crush my dreams and tell me we aren't getting a new kitchen now! :P

Also, can I just take a moment to say that this was the neatest, cleanest demo I've ever seen! More progress pictures to follow...

Saying Goodbye....

2011-04-05T15:36:00.000-07:00

I'll let the photos do the talking...

Kitchen Video

2011-04-03T18:55:00.000-07:00

Thought you all might enjoy a little video tour of the old (empty) kitchen.
Enjoy!

p.s. demo photos coming soon....
p.p.s. ran into our first two issues. 1. The hardwood floors cannot be saved. The original layer of linoleum was glued directly onto the hardwood floors. 2. Leveling the room is going to be more of a challenged than anticipated. The floor joyces run the wrong way (we knew that) and we're going to have to try to jack up the whole downstairs. I see several cracked plaster walls in our future. Good thing we didn't make an effort to paint any of the rooms yet!

Just a Reminder...

2011-03-30T12:31:00.000-07:00

Well...it's official! We no longer have a kitchen! Good thing that's only temporary!

When we got home from work last night we discovered that all was left of our old kitchen was an empty shell. No cabinets, no sink, no stove, no walls, and no ceiling! SWEET! You know what that means...it can only get better from here!

I'll be posting some photos soon.
But in the meantime I wanted to remind myself, and all of you, of how frustrating it was to function in the old kitchen. So while we wait a month or two for our new kitchen to be completed, we can just keep reminding ourselves of these images and how anything will be better than what we had! Even the chaos of construction is leading us towards something better!

Moving on....
Last weekend, with our last weekend with a kitchen upon us, I decided to make one last batch of cookies for the husband. Boy was he thrilled...until he saw the mess I made. But then again, we didn't really have to work hard to clean it up since it was all about to be destroyed!

With only 12" of counter space, and 12" of height to work with....my poor kitchenaid mixer didn't exactly have much of a work space to spread out in. This results in flour being measured over the stove, (imagine...flour in the burners, on the floor, on the rug, in the sink, and all over me!) and at least 1 dropped egg splattered on the floor. All ingredients get spread out on the stove usually. You might be asking out load why I didn't just cover the stove. Well I tried that. Not nothing was stead enough propped on top of the burners. I suppose I could have taken the burners apart...but the center still stuck up on each burner so that wouldn't have really worked either. Oh well!

I thought I'd share some pictures of what it was like!

p.s. Anyone want any hand made ceramic creations made by ME? I have about 2 dozen small to medium sized bowls, small creamers, etc... FYI-I take commissions for larger items (cake plates, chip and dip bowls, platters, teapots, etc...) ;)

Stove for Sale!

2011-03-30T12:27:00.000-07:00

Are you in need of a new/pre-owned stove? We have one for sale! It looks a little old-school, but isn't as old as you might think! It's a fantastic range! 36" 5 burner gas range. Center panel can be swapped out for a griddle (included). Very clean! Well Maintained! Digital Display!

Here are some photos!

Signs of Spring!

2011-03-30T12:25:00.000-07:00

On my way out the door the other morning I spotted something purple and green out of the corner of my eye. Upon closer inspection, I discovered that those little pops of color were indeed plants! That's right...greenery!! Something growing out of the ground! You know what that mean! SPRING!

Too bad it's supposed to snow tomorrow!

p.s. Tan colored stuff=dead plant materials=time for spring clean up. After the snow melts again that is!

It's really happening!!

2011-03-16T07:35:00.001-07:00

It's official, we signed our lives away in order to have our kitchen redone. I couldn't be any happier about it! Seriously, I don't think it's possible!

The cabinets are officially being ordered tomorrow. (Thank you Norcraft, for messing up the sample door you sent us, thus allowing us extra time to place our cabinet order without having to incur the 3% price increase you began last week! SWEET!) Andre is going to work on getting all our permits in order on Friday, and then...he'll begin work around the 30th.

So...the obvious question here is: Who is coming to help me pack up the kitchen? :) I have the weekend of the 25th free! My only commitment is picking up my dress for Kristina's wedding! If you come help I'll feed you...unless of course you're my mama in which case you can feed me. I'll happily accept! Just kidding...sort of. That was a joke. Really it was. Are you laughing?

p.s. I'm already taking applicants for who wants to come help organize our NEW kitchen when it's done! Mom G-K?? This has your name written all over it! You did round one almost a year ago already! This time it will be much more fun because there will actually be places to put things, and a dishwasher to wash things in, and a convection oven, and you'll be able to get ice from the ice-maker, and water from the door on the fridge, you get the idea... Oh and if you're lucky there might be Peet's coffee!

p.p.s. This doesn't really sound like much fun now does it? I'll understand if you all ditch me and make me do it all on my own. I can handle it! :)

p.p.p.s. Visitors are always welcome...but I recommend waiting until the dust clears. You won't want to get sucked into helping clean. Or do you? Mom B??? Mom G-K??? hmm what's that I hear? You're busy?

Migration of the Fridge-Again.

2011-03-11T12:20:00.000-08:00

In case you forgot park one in the migration saga. Here's a refresher:

When the fridge was delivered, we didn't realize how LARGE it was. It was so big we couldn't move it through the door frame into the kitchen. So it had to be placed in the dining room. After removing the door frame between the "mudroom" and kitchen, and taking down some "cabinets," we were finally able to have our friends from Sears come back to move the fridge out of the dining room, through the front door, around the outside of the house, back into the kitchen and into it's semi-permanent home.

Here is what it looked like:

LARGE AND IN CHARGE!

Thankfully I saved my friend Justin's phone number. He's a little sneaky and liked to make a little extra spending money on the side. So he and his delivery partner from Sears like to take on the odd job or two while they are already in town delivering some else's brand new appliances from Sears.

Now would be a good time to mention that the reason we are moving the fridge out of the kitchen again is because we are in fact renovating the kitchen. And no, we aren't just getting new cabinets and appliances, we are gutting the whole room (and hallway) and starting from scratch. We will be changing the entire footprint of the kitchen. Am I scared? YES! Am I indescribably excited? YES! I think it will feel wonderful to walk around and use our new kitchen knowing that we have saved to do this project. And that it is all ours!

Anyhow...back to the story. I'm sure you're wondering why we couldn't just roll the sucker into the dining room. That brings me back to the door frame issue again. Every single door frame in the house is too small to fit the fridge through. Back in 1930 things were built a little smaller! So, my buddy Justin came last Saturday to move the fridge back out through the back door, around the house, in the front door, and into the dining room. It's also important to note that the fridge weighs well over 300 pounds, and all the doors, feet, electrical parts has to be removed in order to get the thing through the doors. Oh...speaking of doors, all the doors in the back had to physically be removed in order to make this happen!

Anyhow!

This was a great opportunity to clean out the fridge.
Here are some of the "treasures" we found.

Look what we unearthed! Yes, that would be our wedding cake. Yes, we still have (had) it. As you may recall we were cruising in the middle of the ocean at the time or our anniversary. I suppose we could have brought our cake with us, but we didn't. It was sort of nice to see it in the freezer every time I went to get something out of there. However, we finally decided that it's time to say goodbye to the cake. We took it out of the freezer, along with everything else, and let it thaw out for a few days on the counter (thanks cousin Jamie for that advice!)

Here's the rest of the "stuff"
I got rid of a lot of old condiments and things. And I tried to arrange them in categories so that after the fridge was moved and we'd cleaned the shelves (ahem--Michael cleaned the shelves--THANK YOU!) we could organize everything a little better.

Like the sheets covering the table? We figured we might as well start getting things covered for the construction process. Hopefully we can keep the dust to as minimum. HA. Wishful thinking right? Well that's the new look of the dining room for the time being.

Here's the empty fridge area.

Phew. One small step behind us...about a hundred HUGE leaps forward until this project is over. I can't wait!

p.s. I forgot to mention the funniest part of this whole thing. You all think I'm the only weird one here who wanted to keep all the protective plastic on the fridge until the kitchen was completed. (The thought of the fridge not feeling all shiny and new like everything else in the kitchen makes me crazy--just kidding--sort of!) Anyhow...you all have no idea. You're sitting there reading this thinking I'm insane...BUT...you have no idea! I finally used the fridge clean out as an excuse to remove all the plastic covered every inch of the INSIDE of the fridge. (Yes! There is still plastic inside!) I didn't consult the 2nd owner of the fridge first. BIG MISTAKE. I started to peel off a piece and he happened to be watching me. Oh my god...if you'd heard the GASP and seen the CRINGE you would have thought I'd taken a key to one of his precious vehicles! That's right...you all blame me for this...but NO...HE is the reason the fridge is still covered in plastic. Have you seen his ipod touch--yes the one I bought him about 4 years ago. It's still covered in the factory protective plastic! Help me...I'm not the looney here, he is! :)