Playing Catch-Up & Bean Shenanigans

A lot has happened since our cruise.  I've been really busy between watching an extra kiddo again, working on some random house projects, and sickness. So this will be a brief post, mainly of photos of the past month!

(Even though our Kitchen Remodel was back in August, we still had one last thing to do - paint the ceiling.  So one Saturday we covered up the kitchen and got it done!)

(We had changed the light fixture from a big box with fluorescent bulbs to school house lighting.  You could see the outline of the old lights on our ceiling and it drove me nuts.  We thought maybe we could just paint that area, but we had to do a coat over the whole ceiling.  And if the paint is out, why not do some touch-ups in the dining room and kitchen bathroom, too??)

(So happy to have the ceiling done!)

("Jamberrries!" -- I created a monster.  I've been randomly painting her nails with Jamberry lacquer, but it wouldn't last past a few days.  I finally got the courage to put actual wraps on her fingers.  She's in love with them and constantly asks to have her nails done.  The wraps last on her fingers for over a week, so I'm fine with our weekly nail date!)

(I'm back to watching James once a week - on Mondays.  However, there were a few days that he wasn't allowed at day care over some eye issue.  So we had some extra days with James one week.  At the time, we thought the eye issue wasn't a big deal, but it turned out he was actually sick.)

(James's little eye issue was actually a symptom of a sinus infection which he graciously shared with Bean.  The kids have the same doctor and as soon as I noticed Bean had a fever and cough, I got her into the doctor and on antibiotics.  She felt pretty crummy, but she didn't get too sick since we were proactive about it. Her cough lingered around for almost 2 weeks, but she bounced back to her normal crazy after a couple days.)

(Thanks to a friend I met through Jamberry, she informed me that our library does preschool story time

 sessions.  You sign your kid up before the session starts - for free! It's a 4 week deal, where on Friday mornings the kids are entertained with books, music, and special guests like tortoises! What a fun activity!)

(We had an impromptu lunch date at Applebee's after library and running some errands.  Bean must have loved it - even though she didn't eat much of her chicken or fries - because whenever we pass Applebee's she asks to go eat.)

(Our last snow, which was only a few inches, was the heavy kind of snow that is perfect for packing.  We hadn't been able to get out and play in the snow at all this winter, so Bean was overjoyed when daddy pulled out the snow gear after getting home from work.  He was determined to make a snowman!)

(Bean helped roll the snowballs around.  I've never made a snowman like this before. I've just sort of piled up the snow and kind of shaped it into a snow blob, so this was fun for me!)

(She was adamant that the snowman needed arms and eyes.  She found the sticks and put them in herself.)

(We've had some crazy weather - beautiful warm days mixed in with cold and even snowy days.  On one of those warm days, we spent the afternoon outside - Bean playing & I weeding.  We stopped to share a snack while outside.)

(On the last library session, I was courageous and took James along with us.  I typically watch him on Mondays, but had to swap to Friday because I was gone on Monday.  We survived the library adventure and James found a new love for stickers.)

(I have no words for this crazy kid.  I'm not sure what has brought on her obsession with her aviator hat, but the past few days, she's been putting it on a lot.)

(Bean got a special Easter package in the mail from her "Gran Berry".  It included a bunny with a matching book.  Bean has become attached to it and even took both to bed with her last night.)

Kitchen Remodel -- Phase 3

Our last phase in the kitchen remodel was painting and final touches.  It took us longer to pick out a paint color than it did to tile the kitchen.  I thought I wanted something with an orange in it (to match all my orange appliances and utensils), but Steve wanted something more neutral.  We went to Lowe's together and each picked out a sample color.  Turned out that Steve's pick was the exact same color already on the wall.  It was an instant veto.  My choice was a "peach" color, but it ended up looking more pink than orange on the wall.  So it was a veto, too. Back to the drawing board.

We have a ton of extra paint around our house from all the samples and painting I've done.  So I pulled some out and painted swatches all over.  I started to lean towards the same green in the dining room.  But then that's a lot of green in those two rooms.  So then I thought maybe I'd repaint the dining room a different color (Steve thankfully vetoed that crazy thought).  I finally came across the gallon of blue paint I used to paint the kitchen bathroom.  I still had almost a full gallon and really like the color.  Steve isn't the biggest fan of it in the bathroom, but I decided to gamble with it anyway.  Besides, there's no loss of money in it since the can was just laying around!

So while Steve was at work, I pulled the trigger and started painting the kitchen the same blue from the bathroom.  I immediately fell in love with it.  It was brightening up the kitchen right away. Plus, since blue and orange are opposites on the color wheel, it made my orange appliances pop!  Steve wasn't as excited as I wanted him to be when he got home, but he didn't hate it either.  I'll take it! (For the record, the color has grown on him.  He just had to adjust to it at first!).

It took several coats and almost a full week to paint.  I did most of the painting during Bean's naptime.  In the afternoons, the neighbor girls would come over and entertain her so I was able to continue my painting.  Wins all around! Once I got the blue on the wall, I taped off the trim and repainted all of it, too.  The trim was all mismatched and in dire need of painting.  Once the painting was done, the kitchen felt like it was brand new -- almost.

The big changes made everything look so much better, but also pointed out what we didn't change - the cabinets, appliances, and floor.  I spent a couple days using some good old elbow grease and cleaned everything up really well.  Now we truly have a brand new kitchen!

(You know you're kitchen remodel is taking too long when your child prefers to play with paint cans and not her toys.  I was at least smart this time and did NOT let her help paint.)

(It's amazing how a little elbow grease and cleaning something can change it.  I spent several days cleaning cabinets and the floor.  Look at the difference of the kick board under the cabinets - left side is cleaned, right side is not.  Once I cleaned the kick board, I repainted the trim.  There was years of neglect on and under cabinets!)

(I should have taken a better side by side photo of the grout cleaning process, but I didn't.  Here is CLEAN grout! I used a toothbrush and a spray cleaner and just went tile by tile.I also learned in this process that my tiles aren't supposed to have nearly as much "black" detailing in the veins as they appear to.  In other words, there was a lot of crud stuck in the tiles.)

(Here's a better sot of the difference in clean vs. dirty grout.  I started from one side of the room and worked my way out.  In this photo, the grout from the window to the stove is clean, and the bottom 3 rows of tile are still dirty.)

(Kitchen is so much more bright and light with the light blue paint!  I still need to paint the tiny hallway by the entrance.  It will get a coat of the beige from the main hallway.)

(Brand new kitchen!)

(I love how the blue walls makes my orange accents stick out! The clean grout/tile on the floor now blends in to the cabinets, too, making the counters pop all the more.)

(Pictures don't adequately capture how bright and new this space is.  Guess that means you just need to come visit and see for yourself!)

Kitchen Remodel -- Phase 2

I was skeptical about putting in subway tile.  First off, I thought it was going to be waaaay to advanced of a project for us (I had nightmares of all the tiles crashing and shattering as they fell off the walls) plus I thought it'd be too much white.  It was the cheapest tile option, so I trusted Steve and gave him the "OK".

We had plans of knocking the tiling out in a weekend.  I didn't think it was going to be possible to tile with Bean in the house.  We didn't want to ask my parents to come back and help again, so we just made do the best we could.  Steve had to do a lot of prep work with the tiles -- measuring off straight lines, marking tiles to be cut, etc. He worked on the prepping while I kept track of Bean.  Once she went down for nap, I joined in helping.

Really, Steve did all the first round of tiling.  We were given a bunch of tiles from friends that needed cleaned.  So I went through and cleaned them all.  Steve got to work on putting mastic and tiles on the wall.  He started on the smaller area behind the stove and worked his way up to the big area on the other half of the kitchen.  I was pretty much moral support.  Once Bean got up, we called it quits (could've done more time-wise, but we were tired and got a good portion done).  We changed our desire from getting all tiling and grouting done by the end of the weekend, to just getting the tile up.

(Steve started in the middle and worked out to the left and right to ensure everything to look right!)

(He put a good layer of mastic on the wall, would score it, put some on the tile, score it, and then apply to the wall.  He used even used spacers to ensure straight lines!)

(It was a lot of hard work and we were both sore from all the bending over.)

(For Christmas, Steve got this portable work bench. It came in really handy on this job! This is where all the tiles were prepped and staged for application.)

On Sunday, we got a late start in working (church came first!).  Once we got home, we quickly ate lunch, got Bean down for nap, and went back to work! Steve continued on putting tiles up on the west wall while I started grouting the tile behind the stove.  I watched a couple YouTube videos and decided I could handle it.  I couldn't quite get the hang of using the sponge without having too much water in it (in other words, when I wiped off the grout, there was too much liquid and it would streak).  I figured out my own system of using the sponge some and paper towels some.

(All the tiles are up and ready for grout! I worked on this area while Steve continued laying tiles on the other side of the room.)

(He used window as the centering for this section and then worked his way to the left and right.)

(He would work in small sections at a time.  That way, when it was time for grout, I could use his same sectioning to ensure it was dried and ready for grout.)

(We chose to do a fancy edged tile on this section since it had weird placement between the cabinets and counters.  I kind of got a little crazy with the grout on the wall.  Good thing we still had to paint!  You can see on the right side how some tiles were still missing.  Those needed special cuts on the wet saw and were added in later.  Best part of the grout/tiles being done -- the stove got to be put back in place and was usable again!)

There were a few areas that we couldn't finish during our intense work weekend.  We had a few tiles that needed to be specially cut to fit around outlets, cabinets, and corners.  Steve got all the tiles up and I was able to grout the tiles (after they'd been up 24 hours).  I continued to work on the grout over the next few days (during naptime!).  Steve borrowed a wet saw from a coworker, cut and laid the tiles over the next few days as well.  I finished up the tiling by using a grout caulk to seal up all the seams.  We may not have met our weekend goal, but I'd say a week isn't too bad!

(This area was hard to grout with the faucet.  We debated on taking it out, but I really liked being able to use the sink while we worked.)

(All done! I was skeptical about there being so much tile on the walls.  I liked the concept of the backsplash behind the sink - as the wall often got dirty from the sink - but didn't think it would look good on the whole wall.  Boy was I wrong.  I LOVE the tile!)

(I used a caulking gun - with grout caulk - to fill in the space between the counter and bottom tile and edges of the tiled area.  It took me forever because I am a perfectionist.  I used my finger to scrape a straight line along the tile.  My fingers were very sore from all the scraping.)

With the counters done and the tile up, we were able to start clearing up all the paper and use the counters again!  Steve then switched gears to the lighting issues.  He hated the fluorescent box lights and wanted to change them to something more "sophisticated".  I personally didn't care.  I just wanted to be able to see when I'm in there!  He found some school house lights on Amazon and ordered them.  We decided to gamble and take down the old lights and install them.  We weren't sure if the school house lights would provide enough lighting.  In the end, they did, and we loved them!  Only issue we have is that there are 2 light switches.  The switches operated the lights separately.  Steve decided to rewire 1 so that both lights worked together.  Here's the issue though -- the other switch only operates the 1 light.  So it can get confusing which switch to use at which time.

(School house lights!  You can see the area on the ceiling where the box light used to be.  We bought ceiling paint to try to mask that area, but I haven't gotten the courage to paint it.  I'm afraid the paint won't match and I'll have to paint the whole ceiling -- I'm not looking forward to that!)

(School light in action. It actually lights the space really well.  I'm mostly in the kitchen in the morning and in the late afternoon.  Our kitchen faces the west and the sun shines in nicely in the windows.  So the lights on the ceiling just add light from above (and of course at night when the sun is gone!).)

We had plans of getting a matching drop down school house light to hang over the sink.  We ordered it and discovered when it showed up, that it was a big one -- the same size as the lights we installed on the ceiling! So we scrapped the matching light idea and hit up our local hardware stores in search of a small light.  We found we liked and fell in love with the Edison bulb look.  It doesn't match the other lights, but we still love it!

(Over the sink light.  We really don't use this light often - we didn't the old one either.  I just don't think about needing light over the sink.  But I love the look it adds to the kitchen.)

(Who can't resist an Edison bulb?!  Don't know what I'm talking about - google it! It just looks like the old fashioned light that Edison created. Just adds a little touch of a classic look.)

Kitchen Remodel -- Phase 1

Once we decided we were going to do the remodel, we purchased the countertop kit (Giani Granite) via Amazon.  The kit involved painting a primer, painting the colors, and then putting on clear coats to seal the counter.  Each step had to set for about 4hours.  We did the math and figured out we could knock the counters out in 1 weekend but would need help with Bean (and could use help on the counters, too!).  So we enlisted the help of my parents!

My mom had actually been at our house earlier in the week.  Steve, Bean, and I had gone into IN the wekeend before to visit their county fair & go to an air show my dad was working at.  Steve came back to OH on Sunday night and my mom brought Bean/I back on Wednesday.  She stayed the night and headed back to IN on Thursday.  As she was about to leave, she was talking with Bean and Bean acted like she wanted to go with my mom.  So we went with it.  I quickly packed a bag and she got right in the car with my mom.  They waved goodbye and off they went!  I had a 24 hour kid-free window to get all my prep work done!

I was able to clean the counters really well with Brillo pads; tape paper up over the counters; and move everything off the counters and set the kitchen up for all the work.  Steve got home from work a little early and took the sink out -- no turning back! I had made dinner earlier in the day and had it warming in the oven, awaiting my parents and Bean to arrive! Once they arrived, we ate dinner (on paper plates for easy clean up!) and quickly got to work.  Mom did the bedtime routine with Bean while dad, Steve and I busted out the counter kit and did step 1 -- priming!

(Part of the prep work was to fill in all the seams with wood filler and sand for an even finish.)

(There were some dents in the edges of the counters that we fixed with the filler, too!)

(There was some silicone seal around the top of the coutners behind the stove.  Steve took a razor edge and got it off while I finished up cleaning the counters.)

(We opted not to put tape up along the walls.  We knew we were going to tile so we didn't care if paint got on the wall.  The primer was black and the base color for the countertop.  We had to let the primer dry 8 hours before doing the colors; so that's why we chose to put this on Friday night and do the color layers on Saturday.)

(All primed and ready to go! Let me just tell you how difficult it is to use a kitchen without it's counters and the stove and fridge in the middle.  It's ridiculously hard!)

We got to work on painting the "minerals" on the counters on Saturday morning.  There were 3 colors (in addition to the black primer) that was to be painted on the counters.  The kit came with some black paper that you could practice on so that you could figure out your desired look.  We decided that each of us (dad/Steve/I -- mom was still on Bean duty) would take 1 color and paint it on.  Then we'd each go one right after the other and paint (no need to wait in between colors).  After practicing a couple times with the sponges on the paper, we decided to go for it! 

(Steve took on the first color.  We stared him down as he painted.  My dad took on color 2, and then I'd do the final little details with color 3.  Color 1 was darkest - 3 was lightest.  I wanted the counters to be a little darker, so we didn't do much of #3.)

(Color 2 was my favorite so I told my dad to be heavy handed! Steve decided to smoke some pork for us for dinner.  So he had to go do a bunch with the smoker.  I took over the #1 color.  We liked to have a couple of feet inbetween us as we worked.)

(The hardest part was to be consistent.  Since you sort of worked in sections as you passed down along the counter.  You also had to make sure you left room for the next color, but not too much room!  We finally got in a flow and made a lot of progress.)

(The hardest part was to get the cracks where the back of the counter and top of the counter met.  If you weren't careful, you'd end up with a smear/blotch from the sponge.  We had little brushes for the fine details.  The back corner -seen above - was the hardest space because you had to reach and put your head under the cabinet. Ha!)

(The final look! We did just a little bit of the white color to make it shine in certain spots)

Once you got all the mineral colors on, you had to wait 4 hours before you started with the clear coats.  We decided there was no rush to get the clear coat on Saturday, since there wouldn't be enough time to get all the coats done in 1 day.  I didn't want to start on the clear coats, clean up the mess, just to pull it back out and use again the next day.  So we called it an early work day, enjoyed delicious pulled pork, and spent some time with my parents! Steve & dad played some computer games while mom and I watched movies and "Jammed"! 

We went straight back to work on Sunday morning.  My dad did the first clear coat.  They stuck around for a little bit and had to leave after lunch.  Steve got some input on dad over some of the next steps in the kitchen remodel before they left.  I put the second coat on during Bean's nap and the 3rd & last coat on after she went to bed!

(All shiny after the clear coats! Now to let it cure and not use for a few days.  We decided to wait about a week before we'd put anything on it.  You aren't supposed to use any chemical cleaners on the counter.  I have a norwex cloth I use on it or just some mild dish soap.)

("When did the Ackermans get granite??" -- joke of the weekend.)

(We did easy meals for a few days and got some meals out.  But one can only go so long without a homecooked meal - especially when I do a homecooked meal every day normally!  Bean was being especially needy -- probably from her going back with my mom and then me being focused on the kitchen -- and wanted me to hold her.  I had to make dinner and we compromised with the carrier.)

(I get this look a lot!)

(Steve waited a week before installing the NEW sink.  Go big or go home, right?!  We got a new granite composite sink in "espresso".  I was hesitant to get the new sink.  I mean, we didn't NEED a new one.  The old one was sufficient.  But now I'm in love with it!)

(Even with the sink in place after a week, there was some plumbing that needed to be re-worked.  I ended up going almost 2 weeks without a sink in the kitchen.  I had to hand wash all the dishes in either our bath tub or this little sink in the kitchen bathroom.  I don't know which one was worse -- the small space in the bathroom, or bending over the big tub.  Either way, I'm so thankful for my kitchen sink back!)

BEFORE:

AFTER:

(Look at that sink! And those counters! We also changed out the faucet and added a soap pump. Go big or go home, remember!)

(I'm in love!)

(So I don't even know if I should admit this, but we've already had 1 scratch in the counter.  I think Bean did it while "playing with water in the sink".  There was a fork ont he counter near the sink that I think she grabbed off and scraped the counter.  I did a little sanding and painted a couple coats of clear coat over it again.  Hopefully that'll work!  There's another spot on another counter that I'm not sure what happened.  It's got a sticky line of either something on it or the clear coat got messed up.  I'm currently pretending it doesn't exist.  I keep telling myself that there's really not much loss in the counters if the paint doesn't sustain our lifestyle.  It's better now than it was!)