Kitchen Remodel Halfway Through

Here’s the progress so far on the kitchen. We stripped all the wallpaper, repaired plaster, hung new damask print wallpaper, textured and painted the remaining walls a deep chocolate. Next we installed new stainless steel appliances. Then hung two new light fixtures a chandler in the eat in kitchen and an antique school house light fixture. We purchased the school house light fixture from a local architectural salvage. I talked to the owner and he said it was from 30’s - 40’s sometime and was pulled from an old school house here in Iowa. We brought it home and after about 8 hours of scrubbing with steel wool and mineral spirits we clear coated the base and hung it. We were so happy with the finished look of this light fixture we went back and purchased another one to hang in the kid’s room upstairs. This time we opted for the chrome finish instead of the bronze finish we got for the kitchen. Next we plan on putting in nice walnut butcher block counter tops, tiling the floor, and installing a nice farmhouse sink. ~Mario

My Grandmother's Bible from the late 1800's!!!

Most people that have been to our home know we have a thing for antiques of any kind, but this one holds a special place in my heart! This is my grandmother's Bible she gave to me. She is still alive, 92 this year, and we talk at least twice a week and she can entertain me for hours with stories of her life! She is still very sharp for being her age and I am lucky to have her in my life! This Bible has been in my family for over 130 years! I keep it in this antique walnut bookcase which has doors on it that close to keep out the dust. I no longer use it b/c of its condition, but it has definitely been a conversational piece in our home! I wanted to share it with you b/c of it's rarity and I think it's very beautiful! Have a good day! :-)

589th Thing That You Can Fit In A Bug That You Thought You Couldn't!!!

We have fit a 6ft Japanese tree, 15 bags of mulch, floor length mirror, 3 5 gallon boxwoods, a lawn mower, 7 ft Christmas tree, 5 rolls of sod, children’s sandbox and 50 pounds of sand, 3 32 gallon trash cans, 4ft by 11ft pool, kitchen table and 2 chairs (we got some lookers on this one at Target) 32 inch LCD TV along with our 2 kids in their car seats snug in the backseat safely and 2 adults!!! That’s just to name a few!!! And finally as shown in the pic an 8ft by 11ft area rug!!!

Our new family photographer

Smile! Emma just took your picture! She's dressed in her best and ready to take some pictures! Emma if the photography thing doesn't work out you definitely have a job in fashion! I love your style!

Dr Ethan Octopus!!!!

Ethan has quite the imagination he came up with an idea to be one of his favorite characters, Dr Octopus! He asked me if he could borrow a pair of my sunglasses and he wanted me to help him put his snakes in his shirt so they could be Dr Octopus’s arms! He even had to mess up his hair b/c he said, "that's the way Dr Octopus looks in the movie!" Then he asked me to take a picture! Our little Ethan sure makes a sweet looking Dr Octopus! You always keep me entertained! He couldn't wait for Mario to get home from work to show off his new creation! It 's this time in all of our lives that we can go anywhere or be anyone in our imagination! Being almost 5 years old can be so much fun! I'm sure we all have crazy memories of silly things we did as a child. I'm just so thankful I get to experience it all over again with you Ethan!!!

Cabin Fever!!!

I'm starting to wonder if the kids will be hunting for their Easter eggs in the snow this year! Or maybe we'll just have to hide them inside our house! Either way I'm ready for Spring! Or just a small sign that it's coming!!! But with the way our weather is going it might be getting a late start! I guess I'll have to settle for just decorating for it for now!!!

Blizzard '08 Part 2 ARGHHHHHH! Please Stop Snowing Now!

It's becoming a very LONG winter for us! But I have to admit it is so beautiful, if you just sit back and enjoy it! Unfortunately we have the dilemma of snow shoveling our long drive way just so Mario can get the truck out to leave our house for work! Luckily we have our little helpers to give us a hand with just that! Even with all the snow gear Emma looks soo cold! But I think Ethan looks like he is having a pretty good time! I caught him rolling in the snow laughing so hard saying he was Sandman from the Spiderman movie.

Happy Presidents Day!

Here's a pic of my new trays! I have to keep myself busy somehow, tomorrow the high is going to be 4 degrees! So with that being said I guess the kids and I will clean, clean, clean! Have a great weekend everyone!

Our Valentine's Day Party!

We had a lot of fun making our Valentine's bags to put all our candy in! The kids were pretty excited about the neat Valentine's goodies they got! I must say Ethan that Octo-Spidey is sure neat! Emma's Barbie is just as beautiful as she is! Mario and I will have a lot of fun playing with the new toys!