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!

To those who can put two and two together

For all those who can put two and two together... and have read the news lately esp. dealing with a certain big box retailer and might be slightly worried about me... I am fine and still have a job.

However, a lot of dear friends of mine are either leaving the company, or currently trying to find a new spot within the company and are dealing with a lot of heartache right now. 

It has been a difficult week for us all, and I truly understand the devastation that come with losing your job.  I went through it when Macy's consolidated all of their headquarters to just New York... and then found out I was pregnant with Emily.

Bryan has gone through it when his company outsourced his job two weeks after Emily was born... and did I mention that we were going through voluntary layoffs at that time as well (I got that call 2 days after Emily was born).

So yeah, I totally understand the uncertainty, the yuckiness, not wanting to talk to anyone and just feeling lost and undervalued.  But none of this makes it better for those affected.  It just doesn't.

It doesn't help to tell anyone - it will all work out - just wait and see.  Even if in the end it is the best thing that has ever happened to them.

Right now the best thing to say is probably nothing or in many cases... you will be missed.

Death to Dad's Office

So as Bryan has had a few days to process his loss of an office (let's just be a little honest with ourselves now - it was a glorified storage room).... I am now on the hunt for playroom inspiration.

But hold on for just a second, if you think that this is going to be a room covered in primary colors and cartoon characters you don't know us.  We are still very very selfish parents who want their house to remain grown-up and pretty (that is the end goal - right now we are living in many half projects).

So these are a few of the ideas I am holding on to:

These are the colors that are the closest to what I am thinking...

 And I am loving the thick stripes but......

Then there are these thin stripes.

So to be totally honest, I lost the battle of stripes in the kitchen.  With the vaulted ceiling and the yellow table it might have looked like a big top.  So the clown kitchen is out and a solid gray is a go.

But, the battle has moved to the playroom which I plan to bring in my stripes!  Grown up but playful and it will flow with the color theme from the kitchen same gray tones used in a different way = less cans of paint = less money to spend!  I think it is a win all around.

As for accessories here is what I am thinking:

For the art work

 

 For the up coming pocket door (on the playroom side)

 

Who wouldn't want a Tee-pee?!?! And a place to hide from small little brothers?

And that is what I have for right now!  I am just so excited to have my ideas in place, and a design flow through the main part of the house.

1. Gray kitchen with super light gray cabinets with a pop of yellow and big thick bright white base boards
2. Living room dark navy with big thick bright white base boards and little pops of yellow and gray
3. Playroom with light gray and super light gray stripes with .... I am going to let you guess on this one...big thick bright white base boards!!!

So yeah, we will let B and my dad handle the kitchen and playroom and I will focus on the living room!

I might be proud of my house by the end of summer!!! Whoot Whoot!

Oh and an update on the little guy, double ear infection.  Will only sleep on mommy's or daddy's chest which make us feel like we have super human healing powers (or the baby Tylenol & pink medi has finally kicked it) ...

Hope all is well with you!

One Fish, Two Fish, Green Fish, Blue Fish

Grandma Mimis arrived Thursday night to save my sanity from a week without day care (Renee can't wait for you to be back!!!!) thank god.

With her she brought a fishing pole for Emily.  It was one of the two little kid fishing poles we brought with us on a trip to visit my parents... One was a Cars themed pole and one was a Barbie fishing pole.  This is how we announced to my dad that I was pregnant .... and so not married at that point - but those are small details :).

So yes Bryan took her fishing on Friday.  All by himself.  From what I hear it was challenging.  emily hooked herself - just her shirt thank goodness, and a nice lady had to help Bryan un-hook her.  And they came home empty handed and in tears cause she didn't catch any fish.

So today Bryan took reinforcements aka. Me while Grandma Mimis stayed home with a super sad baby with what I think is the start of another ear infection (I love my mom for this by the way).

And we caught our first fish!!!

As you can see ... Bryan is super proud and thrilled to catch the smallest of the small Bluegills if it made Emily happy.  And I do believe he loved the thrill of the catch no matter what size... he outsmarted the fish.

Then mom and I tried to come up with a realistic game plan for my dad's visit:

1. Install a pocket door between the kitchen & the playroom
2. Mud and tape the playroom & the kitchen (there are a few areas that need a little love)
3. Paint the kitchen & playroom
4. Paint kitchen cabinets
5. Install door trim and floorboards in the kitchen & playroom
6. New hardware installed on cabinets
7. Paint kitchen door
8. Install kitchen door hardware
9. Fix a bit of wiring in the kitchen

And maybe if we have some spare time we might revisit the bathroom... and having it written down now it seems a bit much - but in my mind so doable and so worth it...

I might even take some time off to join the boys!!!!  I am truly excited for April... Easter ad the Easter Egg Hunt (I used to shove my sister down and out of the way to get more eggs than her which always ended in tears but that is what big sisters are suppose to do right?!?) and then at the end of April my dad's visit ... Whoot Whoot!

And on top of all that my Magnolia bush is about to bloom!!! I love spring I really do - but on the bad bit of news - I am losing the battle with the dandelions yet again.  Boo.

And here is a BIG thanks to my mom for coming down and saving my ass from chaos this weekend and making my little boy comfy no matter what... she went through quite a few outfits filled with baby boogies, baby nose boogie bubbles, baby puke and baby drool.  Gotta love her.

One Project Done And Done and One Just Begun

So finally we have a finished project to brag about!!!

Yeah!!! So that part of Eli's "Industrial Tough Baby" themed room is done. We are also planning to do something like this in the corner for a bookshelf:

with lighting somewhat like this:

So..... Slowly but surely we will get his room done.  It is not a super high priority since the boy hates his crib and really wants nothing to do with it (yay for me).

But the other real project we have started was converting the office into a playroom (sophisticated playroom according to B - he is still in mourning from losing his office space).

I wanted to gain back a little sanity in my house and so instead of battling the clean up of the living room everyday and becoming a rage-aholic we decided banishing all the toys and such to a designated spot might just help.

And so, this is the start of the Playroom:

These two are pure chaos I tell you.  Emily is everywhere.  Eli wants to be everywhere and I can't keep up.

And this is the desk/vanity that I bought off Craigslist - thinking it was much bigger than it was.... You should have seen the face B gave me when we pulled up and saw how small it was.  Not the man desk for his man office that I thought it was going to be.

He didn't go with the idea that it would make him look much more powerful and manly towering over it while he pounded away at work... so it has been hiding in the basement for a while waiting for the perfect opportunity to make its debute.

And so here it is.

As you can see, the lamps even dwarf it.  But it will be perfect for the kids for quite a while... painted a great shade of gray.

My goal for this room is to paint it something like this:

to make it feel a little wider than the space really is (more gray tones vs. brown tones)...

Then have bookshelves on both sides of the window (probably Billy's from Ikea) made to look like built-ins.... and so there you have it - another room under construction!!!  But really this just needs a little paint and a small amount of storage solutions!

Wish us luck!