Rumor has it that my sister is moving up here to live in my basement.

I say rumor, because I am not sure.  She changes her mind 52 times, goes back on forth, creates huge obstacles in her mind that keep her in one spot..... but I think this time it might stick.

I am cautiously excited.  Okay, Okay I am totally thrilled to death.  I can't wait to have my partner in crime back.

However....

The whole basement thing has me a bit worried.  I don't think she is aware of what a disaster it is.  I am am not just talking about crap we are storing down there.  It is damp, walls are torn down, cinder block is exposed and the bathroom down there is use at your own risk.

So... I might be needing another visit from dad. 

But for now, Bryan and I have decided to move Eli to the "office/playroom" since his furniture is still small and we are in need of a "guestroom" and a bit larger room for Ellie.  It also finally forces us to finish that darn room.

But I am thinking Ellie really wants her own space.  So I guess the basement remodel will be starting soon.  And most likely will start with another dumpster and a few cans of Drylock.  Ellie better get ready for some work!!!

But yes I am thrilled.  I have missed her a lot.  Her humor is very much like mine, widely inappropriate, very sarcastic and bite-y but perfectly timed. 

And I can't wait to raid her wardrobe. Girl has a sick addition to Goodwill and actually comes out with some really winning pieces (when we were about 20/80% sure that she was coming up here, Bryan suggested I tell her that, crazy enough, Minneapolis has Goodwill locations here too! - He knows her so well).

I am also excited for my Mom & Dad, they miss her like crazy. 

Did I mention she is bring a dog as well?  Are we surprised?  Her name is Mya - she is part beagle, part basset-hound... so she is a bagel.  And she is old, and that is why she made her way into Ellie's heart.  My sister has a bad habit of visiting the local shelter weekly... Mya was there for quite a while, and no one was adopting her.  Her owner I believe passed and her and her brother were surrendered, brother was adopted she was not.  When she was finally adopted she was brought back.  Ellie fell for the dog.  Mya now lives the good life with Ellie and will now be living the good life we Bryan and I.

Bryan has already questioned Ellie and I's judgment in dogs....

    There was Sasha (the oldie in the background) and then there is Burnie who lives with Grandma Barb since she has more land to run on...

And then there is Mae Mae (Ellie stole this dog - for reals - but she was malnourished and slightly abused - so we will give Ellie a pass on this) and she lives with Burnie out at Grandma Barb's as well.  As you can see they are sweet loving dogs that don't tear up the house at all.  

So Bryan may have a point... however I know Emily will love to have a dog around, Todd & Thomas not so much but they will survive...

I can't wait!!!

Better Frame of Reference

So... I forgot to post a before/after..ish picture of the kitchen so just for a frame of reference here are some befores:

 This is what we walked into when we first bought the house... Blood Red Kitchen Cave.  I am pretty sure that it could have been a crime scene at some point... this is why it took me a while to warm up to buying this house...

In my kitchen cave... notice they put the brick everywhere... I was about 9 months prego when we moved in.

And this was the color I immediately painted our kitchen the day after we moved in... it was when all that Martha Stewart Red/Turquoise was going on.  Felt okay then... not so much now that we look back on it. And that buffet is Bryan's Mom's - which is going to become our vanity in the bathroom at some point!   

My narrow kitchen... before we bumped out the wall behind the fridge and before the new dishwasher.

So hopefully when I have my "official" reveal you will remember these horrific images and go WOW.

Till then just be glad that most of this horror is behind us :)

The Promised Positive Post

So yeah.

Facebook has been the punching bag this week, and I thank them for the week off! Whew.  That feels good.

As for the home front we have been slightly busy.  Everything seems a bit rushed now that we are carpooling...However, the sing-a-longs have been great and we kind of have a morning routine going on.

1. I get up first - shower - feed the man eating cats that have started to circle my legs.
2. I start to get ready, and then B gets up and does his shower thing.
3. After I am dressed, I work on the hair/makeup thing while B gets dressed.
4. As I am having a melt-down about either feeling fat, or my outfit not working the way I want it to, B gets Eli up and ready.
5.  By the time I have calmed down, Eli is good to go and B is starting to gather a few things and I start in on Emily.
6.  Once we have battled the outfit war with Em we are getting shoes on and out the door!

I have trained Bryan now not to get Eli in the car seat before I have brushed my teeth... it is usually the last thing on my list ... once I have that toothbrush in my mouth he knows he can ask the question "are you ready yet?"  any earlier than that - the man would be in trouble.  After 15 years - he has learned that is the most deadly question he can ask.

But yeah, it has been busy, we are both trying to keep up with work while trying to be good parents and not just park Emily in front of My Little Ponies... so this past weekend we went to the park:

It was a good day.  I actually felt relaxed.  This park was really fun too!  Many Many play areas, a fishing dock, and many many trails.  I chose to lay on our blanket and get crawled all over by none other than Mr. Eli.

He may look sweet and innocent - but the boy can throw some punches!

As far as the home front we have had some progress in the kitchen!

 This was the lovely "backsplash" the last homeowners left us. We were ever so grateful. 

 So needless to say, after I primed all the cabinets (and sanded them) Bryan had to show me up and put a hole in the wall... and tore out the ugly brick.

And that is the staircase behind my wall.

And this is what your kitchen would look like if your husband decided to take down a wall before his father-in-law shows up to shake his head at them.

And this is where I wanted to do it right and even out my walls... yeah I didn't realize they were this bad till I started to mud and sand!!!

 yeah I went nuts on the mudding and sanding... and there is my half hung chandelier ... before dad got to the house to help...

 Just another shot of the mess... so you really understand the mess we got ourselves in :)

 And another one...

All primed ... with grungy tile :/ 

 The boys taking a break at the yellow table... I was hard at work alone in the kitchen...

Actually this is probably after I had to go into work ... long story ...but the boys held their own 

 Starting to get it's act together

What?!?! No hole in the wall where the A/C unit was?!? Cray Cray I know. Thomas was impressed.

Now the color came.  We went with "Whiskers" which I would love to rename since it doesn't sound too "mature" but does it fit our house full of cats? Yes.

And that is my dad in action.  And that little small patch of baldness is what use to get me in tons of trouble in the back of the car... I use to tease my dad relentlessly about it ... and then he would get mad about it.  Then I would either get sad cause he got real mad or I would pout.  And that was the gist of my childhood.

 Look Mom!!! Trim!!! Trim around the door!

I know the door is terrible.  We are working on it...

More trim!  And I love it cause it makes the room feel finished.  Minus the dirt on the floor .. .but really I am showing it like it is... no staging here.

Filling in the nail holes.

My finished walls. And dirty floors.

Thomas the Man Cat working on his sexy.

His contemplative pose.

His "I am innocent .. but if you get to close I will shred your face" pose.  On my very lovely yellow table.

Wiring in progress.  Don't worry we were just threading it through... no really wiring was attempted this way.

And now I am currently playing the "who is this?" game with Bryan playing DJ... I am winning and am really good at this game... while my cabinet doors dry... and there is alcohol involved... maybe some Tina Turner.. Some impromptu karaoke by none other than me and a remote for a microphone.  Yeah it is a perfect night in the Vargas household. Maybe not traditional but definitely fun.  

So hopefully soon I will have a finished working kitchen to show off ... I might even mop my floors for you!

So now back to the dreaming part...and a bit of singing...

Peace yo.

Breaks are meant for Stopping

To say life has been stressful lately would be an understatement. 

1. There is the lovely stress of work, being every analysts' favorite punching bag for the month has been awesome.  Being the front page news several weeks in a row has also been super fantastic (not me personally so don't worry about that).
2. Bryan's breaks went out on the X-tera (seriously I have hated that car since the day he got it - don't have a good reason just hate it).
3. The day after we got B's breaks fixed (lovely $750 well spent) my breaks go out... luckily I could tell something was up as I was rolling down my driveway and couldn't stop.  But the good news is the emergency break worked!
4. My daughter is 3 1/2 going on 16.  She is a shit right now.  It is awesome.

Sigh...............

The good news?
..........................................................................................................................................................................................

I am waiting for it too........

Okay for reals though, my dad did come down to help!  The kitchen is now one great shade of gray.  The trim is all up and the cabinet boxes are completely painted!!!  Meaning  that hole in my wall where the A/C unit once was... and that lovely patch job Bryan did...GONE!!! My chandelier is now wired correctly with the lovely wires tucked up into the ceiling where they belong.  And my kitchen table looks great.

Dad also did take a look at my break situation... and it looks like I need a new master cylinder.  What is  that you might ask?  I had no clue either but I guess it pumps the break fluid to your breaks.  Mine doesn't.  Thank god for friends at British Pacific and the good friends who work there and their advice.  Guess all those horrible car rallies my dad forced me too paid off.... okay and I did look cute driving this little thing in high school (still trying to convince my dad that the TR needs to live in Minneapolis instead of Wisconsin but we shall see)....

So Bryan and I have been carpooling for the past month trying to make life work and trying to have fun with it.

We have sing-a-longs.  Michael Jackson, Shania Twain, Gotye, Queen, Wilson Phillips have all been butchered by me and my interpretive dance moves in the passenger seat.  Bryan just shakes his head, but I know he is secretly entertained.

I have seriously been trying to make lemonade out of the lemons life has given me lately but seriously I am about done.

So today I took it out on the stumps left over from Bryan's Lumber Jack days ..... I brought out the sledgehammer, the Christmas Tree saw, and the super duper loppers.  I was doing really good.  And then Bryan pulled up from returning movies... and he took my fun away... and took the sledgehammer away from me and started to pound on the stump (I was impressed) and that stupid stump went down!!!

Did I mention that I read somewhere that if you drilled holes into the stump and let the water collect there it would help the rotting process?  Yeah,  Bryan just looked at the holes and asked if I made them and just laughed.  I thought it was a good idea... but it really didn't help.  Oh well.

Now we have two large stumps to burn and two Christmas trees (we missed the Christmas tree trash day and they haven't made their way anywhere - I am ashamed- completely- but the bright news is that I am pretty sure they are dry enough for a good fire!)

Sigh,  I am ready for my luck to change.

Positive post coming tomorrow with pictures of the kitchen and maybe a few of the final touches that I am thinking about for the kitchen...

P.S.  I am so excited to paint the living room navy/royal blue but like my dad, and everyone in my family has said...finish a project before you start another one... so I am trying to stay on track!