Louis & Grandma

Happy Birthday Papa!

Today big Lou turns 90! Congratulations and Happy Birthday Papa!

Kitchen

We have 2 things left to do (hang the chalkboard on the basement door & install the glass in the upper cabinet doors), but other than that, we are done! Here is a series of photos that shows where we started, where we went, and how we finished.

What the kitchen looked like before we moved in (this is from the house tour the real estate agent used when showing the house).

Then we tried a few things to see if we could improve upon the design without too much effort. I did love the convenience of a chalkboard wall, which is why we're putting a chalkboard on the basement door. We moved the fridge and took down some upper cabinets to try and create a longer countertop workspace on the side that the kitchen sink was on. A sawhorse with a plywood top was Louis' workshop for quite awhile, and all it really did was attract more of our clutter.

Now we've got a kitchen that looks and feels WAY bigger, brighter and more efficient than ever! The drawers are awesome. The bottom one next to the dishwasher is a snack drawer for Lou. He loves his dried fruit & nuts, but watch out it wreaks havoc on the diapers!

Having the pots hanging on the rack on the wall is so much more convenient than having them underneath the counter and bending down to lift them out. They are heavy! They don't stick out any further than the radiator (hidden behind the cabinets in the photo below) so there's no issue with the basement door opening. Everything you see on the open shelves gets used every day so it's nice to have it easily accessible. 

The cabinets on the stove side used to be 24" wide. Now both of them are 30" wide, so we gained another 12" of countertop on this side, and put the cabinets up flush with the ceiling to make room for a wine rack (which is where all the clutter that used to sit on the countertop gets stowed away), and an open shelf below the upper cabinet that holds frequently used items.

 Louis' new spot in the corner by the back door. This is where he is allowed to drill and hammer and it's also where he runs to hide when he doesn't want to get his shoes on or diaper changed. He can keep himself occupied in this spot for 20 minutes. It is truly fantastic. And you know exactly where he is because he is making his loud machine sound effects, "EEHHHHHHH" the entire time.

Dear Cholula Chorizo McCarley Gale:

There comes a time in every child's life where they must leave the nest and become an independent human being. My dear baby girl, I emplore you to begin your journey of independence by getting the hell out of my uterus. It's a teeny tiny baby step, and there's no reason for you to be scared. I'm not even asking you to leave the nest, as a matter of fact I just want you to JOIN the nest. There's a lot more room in our house than in my belly. Your older brother is as sweet as you could possibly ask for, don't let his screams deter you, they are screams of joy. (Pinky swear). We promise to give you a real name that isn't reflective of Mexican food, and I can personally vouch for the fabulousness of your parents and extended family. I just want to reassure you that we are in fact ready for your arrival, you are technically full term, and if you could just go ahead and find the safest and most efficient way out of my body that would be awesome.
Love,
Mom

Louis & Dad

Setting up drums before Andys band played on Sunday. Lou wouldn't wear his ear protection so we quickly ended up outside.