Renovations

So, lately, I've have had some time and energy to put toward some projects that I left hanging, since I'm not pregnant anymore. First, I was finally able to build a frame for our massive mirror in the living room. It didn't turn out as nice as I wanted it to, but I guess if it doesn't fall on the kids when they climb on the back of my couch it is good enough. I finally got this one done 8-18-09. I'm still looking for shelves to go on each side to finish it off. (The kids will probably pull them off anyway.)

Next, I decided it was time to finish what I started in the kitchen. On 8-25-09 I pulled the cabinets and counter top off this wall...

(Charlie always likes to help mom!)filled in the holes, sanded, painted, put on base boards, repainted the trim on the door jams and...

...installed our new Freeze-Ohara next to his lovely new wife Fridgy-May. (Man was that a run-on sentence or what? I looked and looked for a freezer that matched, but they are not made anymore. :( I guess they are a happy interracial couple! :)

Next day, 8-26-09, it was time for some demolition! (Wee Haw!) See this wall?

This was where the Fridgy used to live... (That's Shae's head. She was my helper this time.)

...before she found her soul mate and went on the honeymoon all the way across the kitchen! (They wanted to go somewhere exotic!)

Good thing she left because her house was condemned and was torn down!

I had to be careful with it because I needed to use it later.

Charlie decided to pitch in and help.

And this is what my kitchen would look like without this wall! good thing we liked it!

Day 3, 8-27-09 this is the before picture...

...and by before, I mean before this became the doorway into the kitchen.

I measured it like 10 times so I could use the some door jam from the old doorway. Then I put my reciprocating saw to work.

Look, 2 doorways! Cool!

Now only one. I put the part I cut out in the other hole to keep the kids from running through it.

Next, I installed the old jam and trim on the new doorway...

...and then framed in the old doorway. (Notice the game of ring around the doorways.)

Here's the living room view after the wall is half way done.

Pre-paint......and painted.

I also had to fill in the part of this post where the old wall connected to it. Here's the pre-painted product from the kitchen side.

And the "mostly painted" side from the kitchen side. I ran out of pain when I was almost done, but you get the idea, right?

Now it's time for new counter tops to match the ones we put in last time. Here's the old ones. 9-1-09

Here's no counter top at all...

Don't forget about this little side!

New counter tops pre-sink era. We let the liquid nails dry overnight.
Ben was off work 9-2-09, so I let him do the ever so manly installing the sink part. (Yeah, cause I don't like crawling under sinks!)

Putting the edge trim on the counter tops.

So, now that the counter is in we thought of an excuse to buy a tile saw... my mom gave us a bunch of tile for free so we decided I would tile the back splash! Here's my new toy! 9-28-09

Here's the "before a tile back splash" picture...

...and the "making of a tile back splash" picture.

"Mommy in the process of putting up the tile back slpash" picture.Almost there!I made Allen cut a couple pieces of tile so he would have that one under his belt.And I cut the very last one! Yeah, again!Before grout on the right......and the left.Ta-da!9-29-09 Shaelynn helped me remove the spacers.And we have grout!!!And a new towel rack, restored cabnet fronts, and a working light above the sink!I think that this is pretty much all that we're going to do with the kitchen until I get sick of it this way. Sorry this was such a long posting, but you didn't have to look at it all.