Reid All About Us: May 2011

Ok, where did I leave off? Oh yeah, a big, messy, expensive kitchen remodel project mixed with a brand new puppy!! And just when we thought we couldn't get any busier, we found out about our next big family project...

9 weeks

12 weeks

19 weeks

I was sick from day one, before I even knew I was pregnant, and the nausea didn't let up until I was into my 5th month of pregnancy. I spent most of the fall & winter months chewing on saltines & sipping on ginger ale. During those brutal days and nights, all I could think about was how excited I would be when it was finally May 2011. And, now that I'm 12 days away from my due date, I can't believe it's almost GO TIME!!

6 weeks

10 weeks

12 weeks

15 weeks

18 weeks

19 weeks

21 weeks

23 weeks

25 weeks

28 weeks

29 weeks

33 weeks

36 weeks

37 weeks

I've been busy preparing the house for baby and frantically making check marks on my never-ending "To Do Before Baby Arrives" list. And, on that note, I need to waddle into the nursery and get stuff organized! Coming soon: photos of the nursery and an updated belly bump photo :)

xoxo

We knew right off the bat that the first major project in our new house was going to be the kitchen. The original kitchen was disgusting. The countertops were cracked, the cabinets were ugly and dirty, the stone tile floor had never been sealed and looked as though it had never been cleaned (seriously) and there was a disgusting smell lurking in the room...

So, we got right to business, gutted the entire room from floor to ceiling, and then put it back together, one piece at a time...

New drywall on the ceiling & walls (we also removed the 12" soffit above the upper cabinets, which gave us more room between the countertops & upper cabinets)
New wood flooring in the kitchen and the foyer (to match the existing wood floors throughout the rest of the house)
Refinished cabinets (we sanded, repaired & painted the original wood cabinets, which ended up being a much bigger project than we anticipated!)
New granite countertops
New beveled-edge subway tile backsplash
New crown molding & baseboards (which still need to be painted to match the cabinets...)
New hardware for cabinets (which still need to be installed...)
New cabinet organization systems (including a pull-out garbage can and pull-out drawer for pots & pans)

New hardwood floors!

New floor-to-ceiling drywall!

Hard at work, painting the cabinets

The project manager "supervising"

Lower cabinets installed

Upper cabinets installed

New sink, faucet & granite countertops!

This project took much longer than we anticipated, and we still have some finishing touches to complete, but overall we couldn't be happier with the end result.

Standing in the kitchen looking at foyer/front door

(Marty's office is to the left, the basement stairs are to the right)

Looking into the kitchen from the dining room...

Standing in the foyer looking into the kitchen (basement stairs on left, office on right, front door behind)

Then, as if this giant, exhausting, never-ending kitchen project wasn't enough to keep us busy, we decided Finn needed a sister...
We brought Miss Murphy home in August, and although Finn wasn't sure what to think of his new sister at first, the two of them became fast friends. Murphy has been more of a challenge than Finn was as a puppy, but we couldn't be happier with our decision to get a second dog. She has such a great personality, and has definitely taken over as the queen of this castle. I could post hundreds of photos of her (and probably will over time) but here are just a few of my favorites from her first few months with us...

Uncle Kev & Aunt Julie came to visit us :)

We worked on a variety of projects during the summer of 2010...

One of the bigger projects completed that summer was a crazy weekend of "While You Were Out - Landscaping Edition." My mom came to visit me while Marty was out of town for a weekend in July. Even though I had a double ear infection & a sinus infection, and it rained almost the entire weekend, we worked from dusk til dawn, rain or shine, and managed to breath new life into the drab, over-grown landscaping in less than 3 days! I am SO lucky to have such an amazing, supportive mom :)

Some "BEFORE" photos that show the unkept yard

It's hard to see in these photos, but the hedges were overgrown, the bushes & plants were over-crowded, the beds were overgrown with weeds, and there was no rock or mulch - just dirt & mud.