First Floor Remodel Begins

 Our first floor remodel has begun!  We are nearing the end of our first week of construction (or shall I say DEstruction) and it is an amazing difference already.  I took some pictures prior to the knock down and took some today for comparison.  I cannot wait to watch the daily change

Our biggest sight line wall comes down. This was our favorite. We cannot wait until the beam is in and we can see the complete open concept

Our kitchen cabinets and counters were all donated to charity.

This will be our new mudroom

This was our dining room. Those windows are being raised and this will be part of the kitchen. Sink will go under middle window

Taking down the walls allows us to expand the kitchen

Our living room will now open to our kitchen

Newest Karate Green Belt

 Cainan was promoted to Green Belt today!  I love that he has stuck with Karate since the age of 4 - even while we lived in Switzerland.  I am glad he found the sport for him.

Skateboard Queen

 Finley had decided she would like to learn to skateboard.  It is always reassuring to a mother when her vision impaired child picks "trickier" things to learn.  We already had a skateboard and the helmet, so today she headed out into the driveway to give it a try

We don't say no to Finley for most things.  We want to encourage her to try things even though the thought gives me pause because of her vision difference.  I want her to build confidence that there shouldn't be much that stands in her way

Covid Vaccine

 I have officialy been fully vaccinated again Covid.  Because of my work with the Pool testing as a nurse, I was eligible now for the vaccine.  I had my first dose a month ago and today I got my final dose of the Moderna vaccine.  I am so glad to have this behind me knowing that in two weeks I will be covered completely.  My parents have been vaccinated as well, so slowly but surely we are getting there!

Figuring out the kitchen layout

 For months we have been working with our architect on the kitchen project, and our start date is getting near.  We are going to start the last week of March so final plans are being made.

Today I taped up the areas where things will be because I wanted to have a bit of a visual on how the new layout will look.  It was fun, and now I have a better idea of where things will be.

Sink area with island and bar area. The window along the back wall will be staying - just being raised and reframed. The sink will be under the middle window - dishwasher to the left. Bar is there to the right - it will hold 4 chairs. And the square at the bottom of this picture is the other half of the island.

Edge of pantry and fridge and start of island. So on our current island the tape represents the end of our pantry and the beginning of the fridge. And then there is a 3 1/2 foot gap and that starts the island. The wall where the oven (in the picture) is will be GONE. Kitchen will extend into the next room

Edge of the mudroom and start of the pantry. Wall there where the shoes are be gone. To the left is a closet right now that will be turned into open lockers for coats and shoes. There will be a doorway into the mudroom, and then a doorway intothe pantry.

We are building in an area for bookcase in front of the pantry. We are putting that in ourselves (we are taking all the millwork on after the project is over so that I can see the spaces and design after the kitchen and pantry are complete) We have a large fireplace, so our architect wanted to make sure she drew it into the design so that it was positioned correctly. We are getting all new floors to match the upstairs as well.

Island, back wall of cabinets and sink and bar sink. All these walls gone

Gigi's Raviolis

 There is no doubt that my grandmother Appolonia was an amazing cook.  Her Italian food was second to none and I miss watching her work in the kitchen.

Luckily she passed some of those skills down to my mom and now my mom is passing them to me and the kids.  We have learned to make my grandmother's ravioli.  The recipe makes enough to feed a small army, so we are stacking our freezer for when our kitchen gets remodeled.

The kids did a great job and were troopers in making so many

18

 Today - Arlington turns 18.  Hos is it possible for me to have an 18 year old?  Time is going by too quickly.

We celebrated back in January before she left for school, but today we sent her treats to her dorm to help celebrate with her in person the best we could.  She has had an amazing year, and we cannot wait to see what is in store for her moving forward