Construction, part 2.

Kitchen/ Den/ Mudroom/ Garage

We did a complete overhaul on the kitchen. We took out a wall between the kitchen and butler pantry. The wall was replaced with an island in hopes of making the space feel more open, the island will double as an eating space when we get around to ordering stools. We recessed the lighting and took the cabinets to the ceiling which really changed the feel of the space. The previous den had dark wood with a low beamed ceiling and a three season porch separating it from the patio. We completely took this room off and rebuilt it with a peaked ceiling, exposed beams and french doors. The amount of light in there is incredible. We are having some modular shelving made for the TV and a desk space for me on the opposite wall. We added the mudroom and attached a three stall garage, which is still a construction site. The mudroom is a total life changer.

Before- kitchen, looking west. 

After.

Before- kitchen looking southwest. 

After. partial wall removed. 

Before- kitchen looking east (Sully was so little :)).

After. We also bumped out the window behind the sink. 

Before- looking into den and three season room.

After. French doors and a dormer window. And a grown up Sully. 

Before- looking into the den.

After. Through the door is the mudroom and attached garage.
Modular shelving will go on the TV wall. 

Before- looking back into the kitchen and butler's pantry on the right. 

After. The desk will go along the orange wall. 

Before- den looking into kitchen/butler's pantry. 

After. Island/ eating space. 

New mudroom looking south. 

New mudroom facing north, the open door on
the left is a new powder room. 

Three stalls! 

Construction, struction, what's your function? Part 1.

Here are some before and after photos of our house project. Its hard to believe it has taken 20 months, in that time we have potty trained two kids, and had a third child. We are not done, but the bulk of it is. Ill caption the photos with good descriptions so you get a feel for what has taken place.

Ill divvy them up into separate posts so they are not too photo heavy.

Living Room/ Powder Bath/ Pantry area.

Before- looking south into the butler's pantry. 

After. Wall removed to make the pantry more part of the kitchen flow. 

Before- butler's pantry looking north.

After. The space is open to the kitchen. 

Before- powder bathroom.

After.

Before- looking into the living room from the foyer. 

After- wall was removed and fireplace refaced. The columns are load bearing. 

Before- living room looking east. 

After. Carpet gone, floors refinish. Recessed lighting, ceiling texture removed.
The stairway still needs a little TLC.

Before- living room looking northwest. 

After. There was a sunroom built over the window to the right which was
removed. Our goal in this room was to get more light. 

Check back periodically, Ill add more rooms as they are completed. 

There is a light!

Life is busy, but life is good. 

Dave has been off for the last week and we have had full and fun days, and loads of house progress. We spent a morning at The Butterfly House and a day at The Children's Museum in Brookings. It has been nice to get out of the daily grind when time and weather allows. The kids have so much fun, but mostly fun together. We can't wait to see how Piper mixes things up when she is older. Oh, and Piper officially has two teeth! What a champ! It's going so fast...

Greta has mastered the big girl potty, most of the time. She has the occasional mishap, but overall, she's got it! She requires a stool so she can do it all by herself, which required a trip to Bed, Bath, and Beyond to buy too many stools, but its worth it.

I intend to get some before and after pics up in the coming days, so you will get more of a feel for our progress. 

Thats it for now. Dave goes back to work on Monday and the workers will gradually fade out over the next two weeks. Im so ready, but kind of sad to see them go. The peace and quiet, and lack of 'construction' zones will be amazing, however, the guys are really nice. Ill adjust just fine ;), after all, we have plenty of spring projects just around the corner which will bring them back. We are so happy with the results. 

Loads of photos :).

Spiderman

Greta calling Spiderman for help. 

Butterfly house fun. 

Sweet Pip. 

Children's Museum. The fam in the background.

Native American dances at the museum. 

Anxiously awaiting carpet completion so they can finally
play downstairs. 

Finally! 

Grandma Banana stops over for storytime. 

Sully and Greta build a snowman and name her 'Piper,' followed by
a snowball fight which Greta wasn't interested in. 

One on one time with Piper while the older
kids are at Miss Jaspers'. 

Greta gets new shoes! And dresses herself (notice her
pants are inside out and backwards).

Jammie photo shoot, Piper is 12.5 weeks old. 

Valentine's Day crafts and a successful playdate with Anna. 

Blogging with a fire in the (almost) completed living room. 

Busy beginnings.

We are a couple of weeks into the new year and life is busy as ever. I feel like we are getting back into a (new) routine with life. Dave and I have been out for dinner a couple of times (with and without Piper) and we have each been able to get back to our normal engagements. We try to avoid the three on one scenario at bedtime, although it has happened and everyone has survived. We have had a couple of really warm days which we have tried to spend outside. The cold days are brutal, although with most of the house down, Sully and Greta are able to run around and 'fight the bad guys.' Hearing them play and run around together (when they are not fighting) is the sweetest thing. It is so funny to hear them literally having a conversation with each other.

Piper had her 2 month check up last week, she is growing like a little (adorable) weed. She was 12.5 lbs (65th percentile) and 23.75 inches long (50th percentile). She had three shots and a rotavirus vaccine and did well, considering. She is still up in the night, although the last two nights she has only been up once. Sully is also still coming in, but Greta is over her night screaming. Things are working themselves out around here. Piper has discovered her thumb! It is so adorable and great that she self soothes, but is this an indication of braces in the future?! Speaking of teeth, I spy two! I seriously can't believe this. Greta is a potty trained rock star, although the Dora potty still goes everywhere we go. What's one more trip to the car when Im already making 2-3? Still, it felt good to cancel her diaper subscription, time will tell how long she keeps up the current trend. She had an allergist appointment last week and unfortunately tested positive for tree nuts and shellfish. This is definitely not something I anticipated dealing with, but we are and will. Sully currently has the most active social life among all of us with preschool, Miss Jean's on Wednesday mornings, Miss Amy's for speech on Fridays, and the occasional Miss Jaspers' after speech. Although he is not a morning person, he still does so well and we love to see his art work and hear about his days.

I'm catching up on photos, so enjoy the gallery :).

Sully, aka Spiderman, sleeping in his uniform. 

Greta at the allergist. Poor sweet Gg. 

Piper post vaccines. 

  

A sushi date with Dave and Piper.

Pulling the sled around the block,
fun for him, exhausting for me ;).

Sledding fun. 

Matching McKennan Park T photo shoot.
Piper is 10 weeks old!  

Greta 'helping' me make dinner. 

The aftermath of quite kids... a rain shower in our living room from a
plugged toilet upstairs while we chatted with our contractor. Fortunately,
he was here to help with the recovery.

Enjoying the new cushion in our bathroom.

Friday fun while daddy is on call. 

Help with the dishes.