Weekends are F-U-N

This weekend was a busy one and my body felt it. I woke up this morning feeling so sore and I can tell I just did too much. At 30 weeks pregnant tomorrow (31 if you want to use the doctors measurement that I am 1 week bigger), you would think there would be some slowing down, but slowing down is for the old :) There is just too much to get done before this baby comes.

Saturday was a day of all sorts of fun. It started with the first birthday of this cutie...Mr. Lofton. It was so fun getting together with all our friends and see all the kids interact because they are now getting to that age where they don't just sit and stare...they actually play together!

After having so much fun at the birthday party, I parted ways with my boys and headed down to Dodge Center to attend a fundraiser for an awesome friend! Lauren and her husband Jesse are a couple I adore and will do whatever to support them to achieve their goal of starting a family of their own. I had lots of fun, won 1 of my silent auction items, purchased some headbands from the store just in case we have a girl and ate delicious pizza and fat Linda bars :) 

Upstairs of Coops Event Barn where the fundraiser took place (owned by Lauren's parents)

Downstairs. So beautiful! I loved it!!!!

After hanging out for a bit, I then headed over to my bestie's home to meet the newest addition to her family, Crosby James. He was born on 5/6 and is the first boy for the couple (they have 3 girls). I forget how small newborns are so holding him felt so nerve wrecking because he was so small compared to my 30lb almost 2 year old. 

Rylee is one proud big sister!!!

I finally got home around 10 and hit the sack soon after. Sunday I knew I wanted to get lots of stuff done around the house. The list of things to get done before baby #2 arrives is getting smaller, but will continue to only get smaller if we actually get stuff done. First Turner and I went to church while Tate ran to work for a bit and then I had him stop at Ikea to pick up a piece of furniture for the nursery. After I put Turner down for nap, I started priming the closet doors that were a golden oak for our entry way and priming trim pieces. It was a day of off and on rain so it was perfect to stay inside and get things done. Tate caulked the upstairs window and after Turner woke up, we did more cleaning of the office since that will become Turner's room in a couple weeks. Turner helps us my playing with the closet doors (he's obsessed with doors) and moving items around that we asked of him (he's at the age where he loves helping us). 

After Turner went to bed...I got to painting the first coat on the closet doors and trim and Tate took Mya for a run. I got the first coat all done by 9:15 and I decided instead of hitting up the gym in the morning, I was going to wake up and paint instead because I really want to get it done. So I was up at 5:30 painting the 2nd coat on the doors and some trim. I didn't get the 2nd coat all done so I will be doing the rest tonight after Turner goes to bed. 

And this is why my weekend was F-U-N....time spent with my family and friends and getting house stuff done....total win win!!!

This Weekend I...

...once again had a 1 day weekend and got a whole lot accomplished!!!

...picked 3 of the 6 fabrics that my Grandma will need to make a quilt for Baby Boy W. I spent a ridiculous amount of time @ JoAnn's...but was happy to at least pick out some fabric that will be incorporated into his nursery.

...on Sunday...I braved the snow storm for a bit to get to the gym and grocery store. After I got home, I got right to work on checking things off my list.

...painted the dresser that we will be using in the nursery. It is a dresser that I had growing up. My dad made each one of us a dresser when we were kids. I decided to paint it and do something fun with it! You wont' be able to see it until I am finished...but for now, the whole dresser is painted. I also found inside the date my dad finished making it. It was really neat since I was on the phone with him when I found the date. It is kind of crazy that it's 29 years to (almost) the day. I plan to add to it...the date I transformed it.

...also painted a few other items that will be going on the wall in the nursery! Once again, you will have to wait to see until I am finished :)

...painted the trim in our bathroom...finally! I add blogged about remodeling bathroom#1 awhile back and mentioned that we were 90% finished. Well, I finished one more item. We will need to paint the trim around the doors once we get white doors to replace the golden oak.

The top photo is 'before' photo. Only primed and you can see the nail holes. The bottom photo shows the trim done being painted. As you can see...some of the paint came off the wall when I removed the tape. Not cool...but no big deal. Will need to do a touch up soon!

...made all the dinners for the week. I found a 'system' during this tax season that has been working. I make all the dinners for the week on Sunday. Since I work late every night...I like to have something to bring to work and something in the fridge for Tate to warm up. I usually make a big batch of one thing (lasagna last week, pot roast with carrots & potatoes this week) and then a few other items for the rest of the nights. The big batch item is usually for at least 2 nights of that week.

My big batch of pot roast & veggies...that I will NOT be eating! I don't eat that kind of meat and certainly don't eat cooked veggies! Tate is very excited to have this a few nights this week.

...ended it on the couch with Tate & I watching the Grammy Awards. Relaxing before another long week ahead...but ready to take it on. 3 weeks down, 9 to go of tax season!

This Weekend I...

 

Was so productive...even if it did involve me repeating something 3 times (more on that later)!

 

Tate was out of town coaching wrestling at a tournament so I was solo on the social scene and solo on the 'get shit done' scene!!!!

 

On Friday I went out to eat @ Crave for a friends birthday and then hit up Toby Keith's bar to celebrate. I only stayed until 10 pm...but I loved seeing all my girls and hanging with Molly again who was home for Christmas from CA.

 

Some of the SCSU girls - Elissa & I...she just announced on Christmas that her and her husband are expecting also...very exciting!!!

 

On Saturday I woke up with major plans to get stuff done. I had a bunch of errands to do so I left the house at 9 to hit up the gym, then ran my errands right after and was home by noon! I'm one of those people that doesn't 'take my time' when it comes to shopping, I usually know what I need or have to look @ and am out of there!

 

I made myself lunch (mac & cheese) and then got to work on painting the nursery. I hate how long it takes to prep for painting...but it took about 1.5 hours to remove outlet covers and tape off the trim. Here is what the painted walls looked like before as our guest bedroom...

 

We decided to paint the nursery a light gray color since gray will be incorporated in the color scheme for a boy or girl. We really liked the gray color we painted the upstairs bathroom when we remodeled so we just decided to used that color.

 

When I was 95% finished painting, I realized I used the WRONG gray paint color...I used the one that we used on the downstairs bathroom remodel and the room looked blue...not gray! I was not happy of course...but instead of getting mad, I just decided that I 'primed' the walls. It had taken me 2.5 hours to paint the wrong primer on. I was hoping to get the 2 coats of the right color on that night and be done with it...but clearly my brain had other plans and I painted the correct color for the next 2.5 hours and was done and in bed by 10:15.

 

I woke up at 6:15 ready to paint...well I did decide to eat first and was painting by 7 and then ran out of paint.  I decided to get ready for church and run to the store before to pick up a quart of paint to finish the job.

 

Since I had already spent 7 hours painting, when I got home I decided to clean the fridge because that was on my to-do list also. It's the best feeling have a clean and organized fridge...I just love it!!!

 

After that, I finished painting the nursery during commercials of the VIKINGS WIN!!!

 

Here is are the nice pretty walls of Baby W's nursery...

I love it!!! I can't wait until it's decorated and then occupied with our little one!!!

 

After that, I made these enchilada's for dinner! As they were cooking, I decided to prep the dresser to be primed that is going to go into the nursery. Tate needs to prime it because our primer is oil based and that is a big no-no for pregnant woman so he gets to do that in one.

 

This is the dresser. My dad made a dresser for all of us kids when we were little and this was mine growing up (well I actually think this is my sister's because of the 'flaw' on the top drawer...but since I will painting it anyway, I won't complain).

 

The bottom three draws are pretty deep and are good for storage in the early years as I don't think we will fill everything up with clothes as we have a good size closet too. I am excited to share what I do with this dresser once I finish it!!!

 

That puts me here right now...typing this post, dishing soaking in the sink for me to wash and Tate and I about to double team the bed sheets so we can sleep in nice fresh sheets tonight!

 

It's these weekends I love...where I am home to get stuff done. I hung out with friend and was very productive. I did miss my husband, but he is here now, sitting next to me watching football and relaxing!

 

I hope you all had a GREAT last weekend of 2012!!! Bring on the New Year...I am ready!!!

 

Bathroom #1 = 90% finished

There is still a few minor things to do, but for the most part, the bathroom is finished.

 

Where we started...

 

 

What we've done:

Stained the cabinet and linen closet

Changed the mirror

Replaced the vanity light covers

Shelving above toilet

New shower curtain

Painted the walls

New granite counters

New decor

 

This is how it looks like now...

 

Our beautiful new counters and stained vanity

-I USED THIS TUTORIAL TO STAIN MY CABINETS...I FOLLOWED IT TO A T-

 

Mirror is from Ikea and we got new vanity light covers

 

Shower curtain is from Target

 

Floating shelves are from Target

Framed art is from Home Goods

Everything else is from Ikea

 

What we plan to still do

I still need to paint the trim

New white doors

Decor for on top of counters

 

These items are not crucial so I feel like it's done.

 

I love how it turned out. I feel like it's a breath of fresh air and feels bigger!

 

I feel very relieved to have both bathrooms pretty much complete!

 

 

Bathroom #2 = finished

I am so happy to announce that we have finished remodeling bathroom #2. This was the first project we started way back when...I don't like to think of when!

 

I'm so excited to reveal the finished product to you all!!!

 

Where we started...

 

We peeled off wallpaper and painted the walls. We replaced ALL the gold. We installed new counters and made many trips to our home improvement stores.

 

All our hard labor has paid off...all the money spent was totally ok!!

 

Love all the bronzed fixtures!!!

 

Framed artwork from Home Goods

 

Wine rack turned into towel rack. Idea from pinterest!

 

Beautiful new counters with bronzed fixtures!!!

 

Painted the old mirror

 

New bronzed door handles and towel holder!

 

Before                                                              After

 

 Before                                                                        After

 Before                                                                            After

 

It's done. We can cross it off the list!

 

We are still working on bathroom #1 and the kitchen! Glad it's getting cold out because then I don't feel bad staying in and painting :)

 

Here are some past post on Bathroom #2 remodel project:

 

Started

Update

 

Let's change it up...in the Kitchen!

It's time to share some news with you all...we started remodeling the kitchen!

 

It had been very time consuming and the biggest part of the remodel is almost over...but we need to start from the beginning!

 

Before pictures...

 

We have planned to:

-stain cabinets dark espresso

-new quartz counter tops

-new sink and faucet

-new laminate flooring

-white baseboard

-stainless steel appliances

-paint walls
-tile back splash

 

We started with the cabinets first. Since this was such a big project, I decided to break it up into 'pieces' so it wasn't overwhelming and never-ending. I picked the 'bottom' cabinets first since the counters would be installed shortly and I didn't want to ruin our counter tops by accidentally getting stain on them.

Another thing we had to fix was the cabinets surrounding the fridge we got a year ago. The old fridge was a french door style and our new one is a bottom freezer type. It wouldn't fit in the original space so Tate had to saw off part of the cabinets to make it fit. The new fridge was also skinnier than the older one so there was more space on the sides.

When my dad came to help us rip out the counters, we asked for his assistance on putting in 'fillers' so that the space surrounding the new fridge didn't look funny. He first sawed down the top cabinet more and straight and then put in fillers on the side so that we could actually have a bit bigger counter space on the side of the cabinet and there wouldn't be an odd space between the cabinet and fridge.

What the space looked like after Tate had made room for the new fridge.

 

The bottom filler on the left and you can see a glimpse of the top filler on the right!

 

I love how the fillers turned out. It didn't match if they matched or not because we were staining them anyway...but they turned out great and now there is no odd space!

 

Before the counters were ripped out and I had a good number of coats of stain on the bottom cabinets!

 

And then the counters were removed and this is what we lived like for 5 days. Counters were installed on day 5...then plumbing on day 6.

 

We are making progress and it's already changed so much since the above picture. I'll be back with another update soon!

 

Bathroom #1 2nd update

It's getting so close to being done that I can taste it and that excites the heck out of me :)

 

If you recall...the before pictures

 

 

We have finished staining the vanity and linen closet.

I have painted the bathroom.

We have had the new granite counters installed.

We hired a plumber to come over and hook the sinks back up.

 

Love our 'fiesta' counters with white under mount sinks.

 

The linen closet

 

 

 

Up close of the vanity!

 

The latest progress shot!

 

We have yet to do:

Purchase mirror

Decorate

Get vanity light covers

Paint trim

Purchase and install new doors

 

This bathroom is 85% complete! Hopefully I will get the mirror this weekend. The painting of the trim and new doors are not high on the priority list (can be a winter project), but the first two to-do items will hopefully be done soon!

 

First update post

Start of remodel project