Under Construction

Life has been busy lately. And I was doing so well with the blogging... Our house, well our kitchen, has been under some major renovations. After living in the house for 2 years now, and the recent addition to our family this tax season was nothing to fear... we FINALLY got a tax return! Thank you Brynn Marie :) Mr. H and I have been talking, since the day we moved in, about redoing the kitchen. The counters and back splash were so outdated and have been there since the house was built in 1997. After meeting with our tax accountant and finding out that for the first time since we've been married we would be receiving money instead of owing!!!! We both jumped for joy! We knew exactly what we were going to do with the money....

Hello granite, new back splash and cabinets...

Here is the before. This was taken by the previous owners. (Not our decorations.)

See the oldschool white and hunter green accents on the backsplash? No thank you...

Here in lies my absence... 

The kitchen is in shambles. Between a baby, both working parents on opposite schedules this project may be the death of me. But so worth it. The granite was the first step. An old friend of ours installed the granite. It was quite overwhelming walking through the warehouse with slabs and slabs of granite. But we both knew what we were looking for. 

Hello Gold Venician granite. Mr. H picked out the subway tile and I LOVE it!

In order to save a few $ I may have volunteered my sweet, handyman husband to remove, install and perfect the art of backsplash underneath the instruction of my dad. He may have cursed my name a few times... but he now is a tile cutting master! And it looks amazing. All that is left is the grout. Working off a vampire's schedule is no easy task.

Last but certainly not least. We decided to redo our cabinets. The hideous white washed cabinets disappear in the neutral colors of the kitchen and definitely did not compliment our beautiful counters.We looked at a few options; sanding and staining, sanding and repainting.... then landed on a kit from Lowe's. The Rustoleum Counter Restoration Kit. 

 

For everything the kit comes with the price is AMAZING! And the results are even better. The process though; awful. 

AWFUL!!!!!!

 

1) De glossing: Which includes scrubbing the cabinets until your hands bleed. 

2) Wait for cabinets to dry. (1 hour)

3) 1st coat of bond coat/paint 

4) Wait for bond coat to dry (1+ hour) 

5) 2nd bond coat 

6) Wait for bond coat to dry (1+ hour) 

7) Decorative glaze: This adds detail to the cabinets allowing the grain to show through. 

8) Wait for the glaze to dry (8 hours.... what the what?!?)

9) Seal the cabinets

10) Wait for the sealant to dry (12 hours) GOOD GRIEF!

Where am I in the process? Well it depends which side of the kitchen you're asking about... I am anywhere between step 1 and step 9. But don't get me wrong. It looks AMAZING! I can't wait until it is finished. There is an end in sight. I am working a little bit at a time between snuggling and kissing Miss B's sweet cheeks. Most of my worktime is from 9pm-2am. Crazy I know. Not on school nights of course. Iced coffee has been my constant companion.

I can't wait to show you the end product! Okay, back to the grind.

5 Months

20 Weeks

I have been longing to put our girl in this adorable smock dress since receiving it as a gift at my baby shower. It did not disappoint... I love my girl in polka dots.

 

Doing a little catch up on the blog before the big 5 month post...

Things I should be doing instead:

• Laundry
• Dishes
• Laundry
• Laundry
• Laundry 

 Okay, enough procrastination.

Brynn's Favorite Things: 4 Months

Sophie the Giraffe: Well this is a given! We cannot leave home with Sophie. Again, she is the perfect size for our girl to wrap her little fingers around. Brynn munches on every apendage of this poor giraffe... We do love Sophie!
Fredie the Firefly by Lamaze: This is by far Brynn's favorite toy. We have this Firefly hanging from her activity mat and little girl will twist and turn her way until she can reach this little guy.The wings are very crunchy and the light reflects off his wings. It is so much fun to watch her interact with her "friends."
Oball Rattle and Sophie La Girafe Teether: Brynn has been quite the drool monster this month. I predict a tooth poking through in the next few weeks. She has been chomping down hard on some toys. Sophie the teether was a gift from Brynn's Memaw and it's great. She loves the texture of the teethers when she is going to town. The Oball rattle also finds its way to her mouth. We laugh so hard when she sticks her tongue through the holes when she is trying to shove the ball in her mouth. The holes allow her to shake the ball and even throw it. It mades its way onto the floor as we strolled though Lowes.
Mamas and Papas Snug: We decided against the traditional Bumpo and registered for this seat. We have yet to put on the tray. It's perfect when we are feeding Brynn her oatmeal each night. Somehow, most of the time, she ends up slumped over shoving her toes in her mouth... very ladylike... I know.
Babies R Us Glider: Best purchase yet! Originally we had a hand me down wooden rocking chair in the nursery. But after a few weeks of wood on bone rocking we used the rest of our giftcards to buy a glider. With LOTS of padding. This bad boy is so comfortable that most nights you can find this mama dozing while rocking the baby. Mouth wide open dozing... 
I am so glad we splurged. It makes the late night feedings much easier.
Soothe and Glow Seahorse: This is another lifesaving gift from Memaw. Tom has mastered pacifier reach around. His arms are long enough to pacify a crying baby while driving. But me and my short arms can't go go gadget my way back there. Instead this seahorse can lull Brynn with the musical melodies. We use her in the car when little girl is fighting a driving nap.

Longest Blog Post EVER

Man... I was doing so good with the blog posts. I feel like new mommyhood, being a working mom, and midnight feedings have finally caught up with me. Here in lies the lack of blog posts. I feel like returning to school after Spring Break was almost harder than returning from maternity leave. Brynn is so much fun and I appreciated my time with her so much. 

So what's been going on? Tom and I celebrated our 4 Year Anniversary. Last year I surprised Tom by telling him we were pregnant. Needless to say this year was less eventful and way more laid back.

I cannot believe that one year ago we found out we were pregnant. It feels like it was yesterday.. Our anniversary feel on a school night for me and a work night for Tom. Our sweet family volunteered to babysit and love on Brynn but we decided to include our girl in the celebration. We had a lowkey night with to go Macaroni Grill and a family dinner. We didn't shortchange ourselves though. We ate our to go on our wedding china. It was our first time to eat on it...in four years. Italian food and a Nothing Budnt Cake for dessert. Brynn had rice cereal and sat at the table in her Bumbo. It was so fun to have her at the table with us

Is this picture not to die for? It captures a Daddy's Love so sweetly. He loves us well. And she adores him as well.

Miss B graduated from rice cereal to oatmeal. Mama grabbed oatmeal with banana and she loves it. She is getting much better at actually swallowing the mixture instead of pushing it out with her tongue. It is so fun to watch her become interested in things. She has started reaching for the spoon and the bowl, pulling them towards her. Mama and Daddy are not a fan of the smells that come with oatmeal and rice cereal. Girl has some toxic toots going on. We're all hoping these go away as her tummy grows to know these new tastes.

We sat her in her highchair for the first time and this was the smile I got. She's so big! When did she get big enough to sit in her highchair alone? It's going by so fast...slow down girl.

We celebrated Brynn's first Easter. This holiday means so much more to me know after becoming a parent.  parent's love runs so deep. So deep. And I feel like I would already do anything for Brynn. The ultimate sacrifice was made when God sacrificed His son so we would be saved. What a great sacrifice He made for us. I feel so unworthy. We tried to soak in the holiday and remember the true meaning while creating our own family traditions.

 Daddy woke up early before the Easter family celebrations to dye Easter eggs with us. Brynn could have cared less about the eggs, she just wanted her Easter basket! I had so much fun stuffing it with goodies! Thanks Target :)

Brynn even visited the Easter Bunny. She begged to take Sophie with her but her mama said no. She did so good! I am predicting that next year won't go as smooth, based on the multiple meltdowns taking place around us. I loved her Easter dress. It was from Janie and Jack. A bit to expensive for my liking but we used a store credit, so well worth it.

We are loving the warmer weather. Brynn is already in her spring wardrobe and rocking the jellies! She was all smiles after an 8 o'clock Easter service with her mama. I just can't get enough of this little lady.

Whew... all caught up! :) Thanks for sticking with me.