Spice Rack

So excited about my new spice rack! Jesse made me a spice rack that hangs on the wall, right next to the stove. I love convenience and extra counter space. Perfect!

Family Work Day

This weekend we tackled the enormous job of clearing the leaves out of our yard. We have woods on three sides of our house so we have a ridiculous number of leaves fall in our yard. So, several times a year, we have to clear the yard of leaves. (Fortunately, we don't have to bag them, we just give them back to the woods...)

Jesse Blowing Leaves

Some of us worked harder than others:

Snoozing outdoors

Running this way...

And that way...

Warp Speed

One of TJ's new overalls

Wow, a week has already passed since my last post. This pregnancy has been flying by, but now that we're in the final stretch (last trimester - woohoo!), time has ramped up to warp speed.

Women's bible studies have kicked off again and we've been going to life group on Sunday nights. We really love our church and have met so many great friends through it. Trent and I continue to do our daily workouts. I'm so impressed he holds up for as long as he does when we go running. The bigger I get, the slower I run, but the distance has stayed the same. He's been so good about letting me finish my workout each day. I also planted our fall garden on Saturday. I love living in a place that has such a long growing season.

I made a list of all the things I need/want to get to done before baby number 2 gets here and it is lengthy! We need to get Trent transitioned into his "big boy room" pronto. That means that we have to renovate that room, pronto. I need to make Trent's fall/winter pants. I need to make Trent's halloween costume. I need to make his game day outfit. Next week is already the third week of football season! Auburn has been playing well, but it's just not the same when their number one fan is not decked out in his orange and blue! :) I've made a few pairs of overalls and a few pairs of pants so we have enough to get by, but not enough to keep me from doing laundry more often than I'd like. I still have 10 diapers to make before the baby arrives so we'll have plenty of cloth diapers for two boys in diapers. I'd like to get some freezer meals made so that cooking is easy while I'm adjusting to life with two children. Also, since baby number two will most likely be arriving sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I'd like to get started on Christmas shopping because that will not be a priority after the baby gets here. (Screaming newborn, hyper toddler, and crazy holiday malls, no thanks!) I don't remember everything on the list, but I know fall will be busy!

Kitchen Renovation - Part III

And... we're done!!! Jesse finished the island last week and Dave was nice enough to lend the extra muscle so we could get it upstairs. I love it! I can not believe that Jesse made the whole thing from scratch. It's beautiful! Today, I really put it to the test. This morning, I made hummus, marinara, ziti, banana bread, and dinner is currently cooking in the crockpot. It was so nice having the extra work space. It's the perfect addition to our kitchen!

Kitchen Renovation Part 2 - COMPLETE

Jesse has finished the second part of our kitchen remodel. I am so happy with it! It really looks great and makes life so much easier with Trent. The final part (kitchen renovation part 3) is a big, custom island that Jesse is making. I've seen the top and it looks so nice. He does such good work. I am blessed! Here are pictures of the completed part 2. I will post pictures of the island when it is finished.

Looking into Kitchen from Living Room

Looking from Kitchen to Dining Room/Living Room

Kitchen from Dining Room

Kitchen Renovation Part 2

After completing the cabinet and countertop upgrades, Jesse started on the other side of our kitchen. Our upstairs is where we spend the majority of our time. Our living room (which doubles as Trent's play area), dining room and kitchen are all upstairs. It really is a great set up for a family. The problem was that there's a beautiful open area between the living room and dining room but the kitchen was closed off. This blocked the kitchen from having much natural light and also made it difficult to see Trent and make dinner at the same time. It also kind of blocked the flow of things when we entertained. So we have put in big windows between the kitchen and dining room and kitchen and living room. There will be a countertop on each of these windows. I think it'll be great for serving food and the openness has already been wonderful watching Trent. It allows him to have a huge play area. These are work in progress pictures as we have to remove the studs, do the finish work, repaint, and install new countertops. Jesse is also building a new kitchen island. So when we say work in progress, it truly is a work in progress!

As Promised - Before and After Shots

The hard work has paid off. I'm very pleased with how our kitchen turned out! If you look hard enough, you'll notice that we still have to put a few of the knobs on the cabinet doors. The lion's share of the work is done so I figured we were close enough to post pictures. :)

Before Shots:

Sink Side of Kitchen

Stove Side of Kitchen


After Shots:

Sink Side of Kitchen

Stove Side of Kitchen

Another Stove Side Shot

Settling Back In

Well, we're finally getting back into a routine around here. All three of us are back at home. Trent had a lot of fun at Grandma and Grandpa R's. Some highlights for Trent while he was there:

The boy LOVES country fried steak. My mom made it one night and ground it up so he could eat it. He went crazy for it!

My parents live on a lake and their property has a cove with a very gradual entrance into the lake. They took him down to the cove and fully clothed in jeans and a t-shirt, he walked straight into the water, sat down, and started playing. (The water is probably in the high 60s right now, hardly toasty, but he's a huge fan of water)

Jesse and I joined my parents and Trent for a boat ride, in which Trent drove. Thankfully, it's a big lake because he thoroughly enjoys vigorously turning the wheel back and forth. He has Grandpa wrapped around his finger too! He just walks over to Grandpa and looks up at him and smiles and he gets to sit on Grandpa's lap and steer the boat.

It's fun to see how different parents act when they are grandparents. Trent will empty out any drawer he can get his hands on. One of his favorite things to do this past week was to go and completely empty out my dad's dresser full of sweaters. I walked into their closet and there were sweaters thrown all over the floor. Something tells me if I had done that as a kid, it would not have been received the same way. He also loves to throw all of my mother's tupperware on the floor and then use them as ice skates as he skates around the kitchen floor... He is so loved!

Lots of Exploring

He can sit in this squat position for ages, I don't know how he does it!

WATER!!

Sitting on my lap but the steering wheel and Grandpa are directly behind me

(which is precisely where he's looking!)

Loves the Outdoors

As far as how things are going on the kitchen remodel front... We are loving how it has turned out so far. Currently, we are anxiously waiting on the arrival/install of our countertops. The wait thing wouldn't be a big deal except that this includes our sink. Hopefully, everything will be installed this week. I'm trying to be patient because in the long run, a week without a sink and countertop is really not that big of a deal. But when you're in the midst of it, it can get a little annoying. We went food shopping today and we are going to be eating very vegetarian this week. It's much easier to assemble salads and such than to cook without counters and water.

Mom Habits

Today I was trying to clean up the house so that when Trent returns to it, he can go about life as usual and we won't have to worry about cleaning the mess up with him in it. Makes sense, right?
As I was cleaning the bathrooms, I found myself finishing the first bathroom and wondering how much time I had left to finish the second bathroom. Then it dawned on me that I didn't have a time limit today. Trent's still at Grandma's so I could clean the whole house room by room in one day. Normally, I break it down and clean during his naptimes so bathrooms get done on one day, the floors get washed on another day, etc and eventually by then end of the week, everything has been cleaned. Even with him not here though, I find myself efficiently working at the same hasty speed as when he's here (naptime only lasts so long, ya know!) There's no off switch for mom habits.

Making Progress!

I know the blog posts have been more sparse than usual, but we're making progress on the kitchen! The cabinets and microwave have been installed (eventually all the appliances will be white, but that's happening over time). The sink, faucets and countertops have all been ordered and should arrive within a week. So exciting!! The cabinets are a chestnut color. The walls are a sage/olive green. The countertops are granite with brown, gold, and ivory tones. It's going to look so nice when it's all done. I have to dig up our before shots of the kitchen but once it is all in, I'll post a before and after post.

Range Side of the Kitchen

(These pics were all taken with my phone so they're not the greatest quality. The top pic is a truer version of the colors)

Sink Side of the Kitchen

Granite Sample

Much more storage

(the old cabinets did not go all the way up to the ceiling, the new ones do)

My favorite little guy hanging out at Grandma's

They're Here, They're Here, They're Finally Here!

So worth not parking in the garage for a few days!

Our new kitchen cabinets arrived yesterday! We have slowly been remodeling our house room by room and the kitchen is finally getting its turn. Our current kitchen cabinets are older than me so I'm super excited for the improvement. Right now they are sitting in the garage. Jesse is going to tackle ripping out the old ones this weekend. I took Trent up to my parents for a few days so that he would be able to have fun with Grandma and Grandpa and still maintain a fairly normal schedule. All the banging and construction zone at our house over the upcoming week would not be the easiest place to entertain a mobile toddler! I'll post pics as the improvements are made!

Rojo

Checking out Rojo

No, Trent is not headed for the rubber tree in this picture (though dumping the dirt of out of this plant is one of his favorite activities). He is checking out Rojo, a red cardinal that made our home his home back in December. Some of you may remember when I first blogged about the visit from Rojo. He incessantly pecked on our window all day long. I haven't mentioned him in a while, but he is STILL here. We are now going on two months straight of having the same red cardinal peck on the same window all day long. He doesn't bother me anymore. I have effectively tuned him out so I don't even notice the tapping. However, Trent has not had the same luck. The pecking intrigues him. So he goes over and checks on him whenever he notices the tapping. At first we thought it may have been because we had a Christmas tree in the house that Rojo was confused. However, after removing the tree from the house, he's still around. After fighting with his reflection (and also our window) for two solid months, I wonder if he thinks he's winning the battle...

Saturday Happenings

Saturday was a busy day. It continued to be a typical Saturday weather wise where it rained on and off all day. However, the guys still managed to make some progress! We have pavers down!!! It looks so much better than our framed mud pit. :) There's still some cleanup, finishing touches, and landscaping to do, but it's moving along.

Porch Progress

Saturday was also another first for Trent. He used (and was able to hold) his own sippy cup! Once he realized there was drink inside, he was all about it!

Trent with his Sippy Cup

And lastly, Auburn was dealt their first loss of the season this weekend to the University of Arkansas. They seem to have our number every year and this year they really outplayed us. We listened to it on the radio (while the porch was being worked on) and it was not a pretty game. Auburn had penalties, turnovers, and gave up a few big plays. Final Score: Arkansas 44 Auburn 23. Next week is Kentucky at home. So come on AU, stand up, wipe off your jersey and get ready for next week!

What? We Lost? I'm wearing my game day shirt!

Wise Man Built His House Upon A Rock

The man who built our home must have been a savant. Our house is not going anywhere. We have a massive boulder in our crawlspace to prove it. We also live down the street from a quarry. Needless to say, digging in our yard has always been... interesting. We have a garden in giant containers every year for this very reason. So excavating our yard for the patio, while an inexpensive project is rather labor intensive. We've already broken one pick ax. The guys (Jesse, Dale, and Dave) have been making progress though. It's fun to see it coming together!

Jesse digging

Retaining Wall in Progress

Patio in Progess

Our latest project is our patio. Right now it doesn't exist. We have a screened porch, but thought it would be fun to have a patio to enjoy as well. Jesse got a firepit for his birthday so it will be the focal point. The weather is gorgeous most of the year so we will definitely get a lot of use out of it. I thought I would post some before and after pics. As it is still in progress... these are just the before shots.