Finishing touches!

On Saturday I found the perfect picture to put on the wall in the living room. It works perfectly since the white of the large flower co-ordinates with the white cabinets in the kitchen (which are visible from the living room).

The background color works with the wall color too.

I got this smaller picture for Collin's birthday (I think all presents for the next few occasions will be items for the house!). It works well on the wall immediately opposite the front door.

We still have some other finishing touches to take care of (doorknobs, dining area light fixture, etc), but I thought I'd share these photos since decorating is so much fun!

Ronan's Bedroom

So, I've finally gotten around to posting pictures of at least one of the new bedrooms, Ronan's room. This is mostly because just this afternoon I finished painting the two pictures that are hanging on his wall.

I love how they co-ordinate with the comforter!

Another view of the room. The wall with the window and the wall with the closet were painted a dark blue which goes perfectly with the mocha color on the other two walls.


A close-up of Picture #1

Picture #2

I betcha didn't know I was so artsy....ok, to tell the truth I photocopied the comforter (yup, I dragged the whole thing and stuck it in a photocopier at Kinko's), and traced the shapes onto two canvases I bought at Michael's. I'm quite happy with how they turned out!

Caught you red-handed!

Ronan, Latham and I had our weekly parent/child(ren) class this morning, and as usual we went out to lunch with friends afterwards. Even though he ate a good-sized lunch, Ronan was snooping in the pantry the minute we got home. I was at the table feeding Latham (with my back to the kitchen) when the following conversation took place:

Ronan: Mama, don't look at me (red flags go off in my head; he is looking in the pantry)

Me: (Of course I look) Why not Ronan?

Ronan: Mama, don't look at me!

Me: Are you getting a cereal bar?

Ronan: I don't know.

Me: Ronan, do not want me to look so that I don't see you getting a cereal bar?

Ronan: Yes.

Me: I hear you getting a cereal bar.

Ronan: Mama, don't hear a cereal bar!

Caught you red-handed!

I almost hope for his sake that he gets a bit more conniving as he gets older!

The new kitchen

Yay! Our renovations are finally finished! They were officially started with the bathroom over a year ago, and were finished on the weekend. The entire house got overhauled - all new windows, new interior doors, new paint in every room, new trim throughout, new flooring in the bathroom and kitchen, the new bathroom and - the centerpiece - the new kitchen.

The "after" pictures were taken at night, so the paint colors seem darker than they are, especially since we haven't installed a light in the dining room yet. Also, we have yet to decorate and put up drapes, but basically you'll get the idea.

We are extremely happy with how everything turned out!

Before - The kitchen was like a hallway, it was long and narrow.

Before - There were two access points to the kitchen, one from the dining area and one from the hallway (right side of the picture - you can see the crib in Ronan's room). Since we would rather have had a larger bathroom (the far wall of the kitchen is shared with the bathroom), we moved the wall into the kitchen two feet and got rid of the hallway access.

Before - The cabinetry was original to the house - very well built, but ugly and creaky.

After - We installed a U-shaped kitchen which, even though we made the kitchen smaller by moving the wall into the kitchen, we actually have more countertop space and cabinets than we did in the old kitchen. Notice my new stainless steel appliances!

The wall between the living room and kitchen was made into a half wall, totally opening up the area. The design of the plate rack above the sink necessitated the removal of the kitchen window, but there is still the big dining room window on the back wall, as well as six pot lights - there is no shortage of light in that kitchen!

The new living room

I looked back at our achived photos to find some "before" pictures of the living room to contrast with the "after" pictures - that way, viewers could get a better appreciation of all the hard work that was put into our renovations.

Before - a picture of our living room taken at Ronan's 2nd birthday, June 2008. Notice the cramped dining area and entrance to the kitchen (behind where Collin is sitting).

After - we removed the white cabinet that was on the end of the kitchen wall and opened up the wall between the kitchen and the living room with a half wall.

Before - View of the living room taken from the front door. Notice the change in paint color - tan to white - beside the door to the garage (in the center of picture).

After - The big, ugly wood burning stove is gone! We have yet to put up artwork - picture a stunning masterpiece on the wall where the stove used to be! Also, with the stove gone, we are able to arrange our furniture better because we don't have to work around it - the TV cabinet doesn't have to be beside the garage door anymore!

Before - The view of the kitchen/living room wall from the front door - the first thing one used to see upon entering our house.

After - A much better, open view which makes everything so much larger.

The new bathroom

Here it is...the renovated bathroom.

The wall that the vanity is on is shared with the kitchen, and we took two feet from the old kitchen (the space that was used as a doorway into the hallway), and added it to our very small bathroom, making it 44% bigger.

One of my favorite parts is the massive built-in storage closet beside the tub (the tub is opposite the toilet).

Stay tuned for pictures of the bedrooms!

Take me out to the ball game, take me out to the crowds!

This past Sunday Collin, Ronan, our niece Lauryn and I went to see the Seattle Mariners play the Kansas City Royales at Safeco Field (Latham hung out with Nana and Grandpa). We had great seats, and it was really special to take our first-born to his very first baseball game.

It took awhile for him to get the hang of things. He was more interested in the cotton candy that the vendors were selling than watching the game.

Group shot.

Of course hot dogs were a must!

Ronan wanted the pink cotton candy - he was insistent on that. Then he didn't like getting his hands dirty so at first he tried licking it like an ice cream cone. When that didn't work he wanted me to feed it to him!

Play ball! Unfortunately the Mariners lost 0-3, but afterwards the kids were allowed to run around the bases.

Collin and Ronan rounding second base.

Lauryn and Ronan on the field.

What a great day!

War Wounds

We've been going on evening walks with the boys since the weather has been so hot out. Earlier this week Ronan tripped and caught the sidewalk with his face! Ouch!

The arm owie happened a different day, and he has a matching wound on the other arm from yet another fall - it's tough being a little guy!

Sunnyside, Washington

The boys and I were fortunate enough to be invited for the third year in a row to our friend's mom's house in Sunnyside in Eastern Washington. We were there for five wonderful, hot days lounging by the pool and enjoying our time away.

Ronan and Tyler in the pool.

The frog floaties were the best!

Rachelle's two sons plus my two sons equals a van load of boys!

At the dinosaur park near Sunnyside...

...where we had a picnic.

Tyler and Ronan - best buds!

Of course, one of the highlights of the trip was going to Rachelle's family's orchards and picking some fruit. We got pears, peaches, nectarines and apples. I had planned to do a lot of canning - then I remembered I wouldn't have a kitchen when I got home!

The trees were bursting with nectarines!

The boys were pooped after spending the afternoon running around the orchards.

Rachelle and I realized that we had packed identical outfits for Peyton and Latham!

The little munchkins.

Computer Hiccups

We've been super busy this summer, and I have three blog posts that I'd like to do. However, my computer is being less than compliant - it is down right mis-behaving. After many, many attempts at downloading photos in order to create the posts, this one is the only photo that worked. Perhaps when our house renovations are finished, Collin will have some time to figure out the issue.

In the mean time enjoy this picture of Ronan and I, taken in Sunnyside, Washington!