Counters

Here is the color of the counters we plan to get. This counter is made by the company CAMBRIA. (just like our little girl) We picked this color because it reminds us of the rocks at our favorite camping beach San Elijo. It is quartz.

Wood Floors

In the pictures: A example of the wood pile.. one of them and Nate getting serious about the wood floor removal.
We have to get the wood floors pulled out before the kitchen cabinets put in. The wood floors were in the entry way and dining room of the house. We decided to take them out because we wanted to put wood floors in the kitchen too, and we wanted to have the distressed wood with a different color. We were going to try to salvage the wood, but soon found it easily split when lifted. However, as the wood came up, it was easier to get other pieces out without as much damage. We were able to get some of it out without completely destroying them. I don't think it will be enough to put in Jim and Dixie's house, but I think we will use it for a playhouse or something small.
Last Saturday, my new brother-in-law Nate (Amy's new husband) came over and helped us pull out some of the wood floors. That was very helpful, as it is a very time consuming and tiring thing to do.
During the week, (this week) Eric and I continued pulling out the wood whenever we had a chance. It is now almost out. My dad and I worked on pulling nails out of the wood (which I was not very good at) and finding a place to stack it nicely if we do re-use it. There is still a huge pile with nails in the backyard of ones I thought we'd get rid of. But, I think we may be able to save some of those to and just cut off the split parts.

Bat and Board

Here is a picture of my dad helping me with the moldings in the master bedroom. Eric and I decided to do a "modified" bat and board style in the bedroom. Last week, my car was broken into in the middle of the night... so my dad had to pick me up to get my car window fixed. I asked him to drop me off at the house, I needed to be there for the electrician. He ended up staying for a little while and helping me with the moldings. I was thankful that he helped me. This weekend, my friend Niki helped me finish the molding while my Eric, Nick and my dad worked on the kitchen ceiling. Now, I just have to finish the caulking and we can start painting the room. This room was floor to ceiling wallpaper, including the closets. With the help of a wallpaper steamer, I was able to get the wallpaper off. Underneath the wallpaper was a pretty light blue paint. There was a lot of spackle needed where the paint was chipping off and/or bubbling up.

Thank you Nick for helping Eric on Saturday!!! Nick and Eric put molding up on the ceiling on top of the shiplap. (where the shiplap meets the beam) Eric had to have assistance because the pieces were 16 feet long.

My dad came over and tried to put an alarm on the pool. After many attemps, the alarm was still not working properly. However, it did entertain the children. The bucket my dad was using to check the alarm became a "fishing" bucket. It was also used to dump water on the cracks so the boys could attempt to "kill" the ants. Cobian and Ryan had ants crawling all over them! They thought it was great fun.. until I reminded Cobian that he literally had ants in his pants. Yuck!

We can do it!

Saturday was a productive day!! Yeah! Girls, Girls, Girls...We can do it too! With the help of my friend Niki, we started the shelves on the pantry. Most of my time goes to watching Cambria... but every once in awhile... she gets busy playing with the older kids and I get a chance to work on a project. I asked Niki if she wanted to help me... and she said YES! So, Eric gave us a little instruction on the proper way to put the "Cleats" up, using the saw, finding studs, and using the nail gun. We cleared out the pantry (the electrician was storing all his stuff there), and got started. We measured, cut, painted, and nailed the cleats up.



We also moved a very large pile of firewood from the driveway. I forgot to take a picture "before"....but it was a ton of firewood and there were many large stumps in the pile. Alysa also came to help! We started out with a big wheelbarrow that developed a flat tire... then just transported by hand.. and finished off with the dollie. A lizard, a black widow, some spiders, an ant farm (which Alysa almost picked up).... and we still accomplished our task. I really didn't think we'd move it all, but we did. Big, huge thanks to Niki and Alysa. It is so much more fun and faster with friends!

The next day, Alysa helped me pull the carpet and wood off of the staircase wall. This wall will have wood planks wrapped around it...

Eric also got help from his friend Nick... I'll post pictures in the next blog....

Appliances

We do have all of our new appliances! Yeah! Of course we loved our Kitchen Aid appliances at our old house...so we wanted to get them again. All of our appliances were from Taylors in Riverside. The microwave we used to have is no longer available... so that was the toughest for me. I had a hard time finding one I really liked. We ended up with a microwave-convection oven. It looks like a real oven, just smaller inside. Our range is amazing. We got a great deal because it was a "close out" model. I have always wanted a professional type range. I love the look of them... especially the big knobs. There are a few scratches because it was a floor model... but the money I saved was worth it!

Our dishwasher was a great deal too! That comes with a bit of a story. We loved our double drawer dishwasher and of course were very spoiled by it at our old house. Eric and I don't want any other kind. However, they have changed the model a bit, and the drawers don't fit the dishes as easily. We were concerned by this. But, they had the dishwasher we wanted that was returned because the owners plates didn't fit. I guess they had 13 inch plates. We measured our plates, and my mom's plates which were 10-11 inches, so we figured we would be fine. They gave us a great deal on the dishwasher!!!! I was soooo excited because I wanted to keep my dishwasher when we sold our house. Then, when they delivered it.... our plates didn't fit! BOO HOO! WHat??? I sent it back... I emailed kitchen aid. They said that the plates should fit at an angle. I didn't try that... but our old dishwasher held our plates just fine! Eric tried it out.. and he said our plates fit fine at an angle. So weeks later.. we decided to keep the dishwasher after all! Above is a picture of the plates fitting at an angle...

We also got a cute little 2 drawer fridge for our "beverage bar". It is fancy! It was also a close out but not exactly cheap! I'm very excited about it because I intend to put drinks and snack for easy access for the kids and guests.

Eric is finally finished putting up the shiplap in the living room and office. He wants to put molding up first before we paint it. It looks nice! At the peak of the ceiling, the process took many hours. Eric had to "walk the plank" in order to get high enough up.

This week we put natural insulation in the ceiling above the kitchen. Eric wants to try a create more of a sound barrier. The stuff is basically made up of recycled newspaper. It was very messy. I just hope it doesn't become a new home for critters. We had that stuff all over our clothes, hair, even in our pockets.
Eric also installed new insulation for the kitchen walls. He also filled in the old vent hole and tried to seal any little "holes" he could find to prevent critters from coming in, as well as to better insulate the house.

We have an electrician "slowly" working on the lights and panels in the kitchen. I'm excited to see what it will look like with all of the new "can" lighting. We are thinking we might also put shiplap on the kitchen ceiling....