Kitchen Remodel - Part 1 of ????

When we bought this house I knew the kitchen would eventually need some work. And after almost 2 years of living with a dishwasher that doesn't drain properly, a stove whose oven is tempermental (no pun intended), cabinets whose shelves are sagging and whose drawers don't work, we are finally ready to start the remodel process. We have been gathering ideas for awhile and I think I have a pretty good idea in my head of what I want to do. I am not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing. I hope the vision I have is good enough to point me in the right direction but not so firm that I have to have exactly what I have in my head. Do you know what I mean? I can be a pretty stubborn shoe shopper. I know exactly what I want but can look forever and still not find it. I am hoping that doesn't creep into the remodel process. So far so good though...here is a quick update.

First, here are a few of our inspiration photos:







The first is from the HGTV Green Home of 2006 (I think). I am not sure where I got the last two. I love the Shaker cabinet style. Very clean and simple. I am pretty sure I want the cabinets to be cream/white with simple hardware. For the countertops, we are leaning towards a dark grey - either quartz or concrete. I have always liked the look of subway tile as a backsplash but I am not sure what color to do. Is white tile too much white next to the cabinets? Would a light green work? What would sell the best? We are hoping to be able to use hardwoods that are under 2 layers of linoleum. Keeping our fingers crossed. I love the idea of an undermount sink. And we are going to add a more permanent island with good storage and a extra work surface.

We have had several proposals and are in the process of figuring out which contractor to go with. The first was a full service contractor and although I know the work would be done as quick as possible and well, the price is just out of our range. So we are taking a step back and trying to do some of the work ourselves. Not so much the construction part, but the research, design, material selection, etc.

One of the biggest decisions to make is what cabinets to use. I think we have come down to Ikea or Home Depot. We visited our closest Ikea several weekends ago and found some cabinets that I really think would work well, but I am not sure how well they hold up. Anyone have any opinions to share?

Here are some pictures from our Ikea trip...

The cabinet style we liked:


A cute idea for the side of the island (if there is room):


Just a cute shot of our little man:


We really need to make a contractor decision soon, but the finality of it scares me a bit so I keep stalling!

Where's Momma?

Tracy headed south this weekend to be with her dad who's recovering from heart surgery. We dropped her off at the airport Saturday morning, and thus began our Boys Weekend. So far we have no major injuries, no significant property damage, and minimal tears. I count it a success.
Understandably Carter asked for Momma after she departed, and I explained: "Momma went on the plane to see Granddaddy." Now every time Carter says "Momma," he points up in the air (see picture), as if pointing to an airplane. Sharp kid.

Boys weekend included a trip to the educational farm to see the pigs and goats and chickens and "Baaaahhhh" [sheep]. During one excursion we stumbled across a tractor equipment dealor. It was tractor heaven.





Carter took his first trip to Bass Pro Shops' Outdoor World (of Wonder and Excess). Carter got to "drive" a four wheeler and bass boat, pet a stuffed grizzly, look at catfish bigger than he is, and check out a simulated NASCAR race. If it weren't getting so late, he might have had some fudge and bought a tree stand while he was at it. That's quite a place.




Finally, we made it to Chipotle for dinner. Twice. Admittedly this was more for Daddy than for Carter. But hey, the boy does love cheese quesadilla and black beans.

It's been a good weekend, but we will be excited to see Momma tomorrow.

Granddaddy Update

Thanks for all of your prayers, e-mails, phone calls. I have nothing but good news to report this morning.

Dad was done with surgery around 11:30 on Thursday morning and they had him off of the ventilator by 9:00 pm that night! The doctors had prepared us for Dad to be on the ventilator for up to 5 days after surgery so this was very exciting news.

Dad was moved to his own room yesterday afternoon and I got to talk to him last night. He sounded a little groggy but coherent and cracking jokes. It was just great to talk to him and know that everything has gone so well so far.

He still has a long way to go so thanks for your continued prayers.

Prayers Please

My dad is having a triple bypass surgery Thursday morning. Please keep him and his doctors/care providers in your prayers tomorrow morning.

Dad, if you check the blog late tonight, we all love you very much and know you are going to do great tomorrow.

Double Hug!

Carter is a hugger. Once he gets accustomed to someone (or something) he will bring the love with some serious bear hugs. Mommy’s neck, Daddy’s knees, any stuffed animal within reach—he hugs them all. And his friends? They are floored by Carter’s love, quite literally (sorry Hannah!).

On those Saturday mornings when Mommy and I just can’t drag ourselves out of bed, Carter gets a little playtime in our bed. He’s never been one for sleeping in our bed; it’s more for “wrestling” and building pillow forts. Somewhere along the line, he figured out that if Mommy and Daddy were both close enough, he could get his arms around both of our necks and hug us at the same time. Voila! Double hug!

Now he will actively pull one of us toward the other to get a double hug. On the couch reading books…double hug. In a high chair at a restaurant…you guessed it. Double Hug!

Puzzle Time

We have a new favorite toy. It has surpassed the Goldbug book. It even trumps all of his cars and balls. And the best part about it is that it is an educational toy. I found this neat alphabet puzzle at Ross for $9.95 and it was Carter's first Christmas present. We gave it to him a couple of days early - partly because I couldn't help myself and partly because it was a cold, rainy day outside I thought this would be a good inside activity. Well, boy did I hit the jackpot on this toy. We work this puzzle at least 4 times every day and he asks to play it at least 10 times every day.

There are 26 wooden puzzles that have 3 pieces each. The wooden base has a picture of a zebra, for example. The second piece has a picture of a zebra with the middle missing. The third piece is the letter "z". We put all the letters in a small ziplock bag thinking it would be awhile before he was interested in them. But, he quickly mastered the pictures and was ready for the letters. Now all he wants to do is the letters. I took a very haphazard video this morning of Carter working his puzzle. I am amazed at how many letters he can place all on his own. The video is a bit lengthy, but I thought the grandparents would enjoy every second of it, so I didn't edit it at all. The password to watch the video is "puzzle".

Happy New Year!!

Puzzle Time from Tracy Lovelady on Vimeo.