Have you ever been pregnant almost 2 weeks past your due date and someone asked, “Have you had that baby yet?”

“Um, look at me.  Do I look like I’ve had this baby?”

I know people are just trying to reach out, to make conversation and say “I care about you.” What an overdue mama really needs to hear is,”You are beautiful.” “Can I bring you a meal?  Can I scrub your kitchen floor?  Are your kids available to come over and play? I’m dying to scrub someone’s toilet besides mine….can I come over?” “Have you had that baby yet?” makes her feel like she messed up or something.

I feel like that whenever anyone asks me about my house progress. Only, the kitchen is not 2 weeks past it’s due date, it’s a year past, lol.  That’s how remodeling goes sometimes.  But I do have some progress to show you.  The last update was here.  We were getting ready to paint our countertops gray and still had some hardwood floor to finish on the kitchen side.  The counters now look like this:

Insert the picture here, if you ever get your counters clean enough to photograph

They work really well.  I wish I had just painted them and not tried to stain the wood, that I had sealed the seams ahead of time with paintable caulk and then sealed the whole thing with Annie’s soft wax.  We used marine sealer which added a yellow cast to the color that I’m not a big fan off.   I plan to sand, caulk, paint another layer and reseal, but I’m not in any hurry.

The kitchen floor is done, and we (and by we I mean, Darren) still need to finish the floor on the family room side.

That part of the huge room as been especially difficult since the floor was so unlevel.  Nailing hardwood to unlevel floor can cause splitting and cracking and squeaky floors.  He has been creating an intricate puzzle of shims, wood shingles and plywood to get as perfect a level as a perfectionist can get. Darren promises it will be all done by the end of August and I’m super excited to put a rug and furniture in that room and reclaim the other rooms that have been storing it all.

Insert Current Pantry Photo here if you ever get all your laundry folded

The pantry has been framed in and painted and our carpenter is coming back this week to put in the plywood countertops.  I plan to finish those the way I wish I had done the kitchen ones and see if I like it better–only with gel stain instead of paint. Here’s an inspiration photo:

 

The two BIGGEST updates to my kitchen are our new fridge and dishwashers.

It’s just a fridge, no freezer, so we have more space for food for our big family.  We have a chest freezer in a built in closet right across the room and we love everything about the arrangement, EXCEPT we miss the ice machine. We are saving up money to put an ice machine in our island which will be built right across from the sink. For now we keep a pitcher of water in the fridge, but it’s really not the same.

The other AWESOME addition is a 2nd dishwasher.  After feeding a family of 8 for a year with no kitchen and NO dishwasher I’m really digging having 2.  I think mountains of dishes is the most overwhelming part of a kitchen remodel.    They are both running several times a day. They still need to be framed in and secured but for now they are running great.

My friends at Young House Love do a great job making a list of all the projects they needed to do in their house and then showing where they are in the progress of it all.   (Ok, we’re not friends, I just stalk them via their blog, and pretend.)  So here’s our similar list for the whole house:

Heidi’s Room:

Peel Wallpaper

Paint and Carpet

Sew Duvet 

Sew bed pillows

Create an upholstered corner daybed like this one:

Improve her picture gallery wall (The frames still have the pictures that came in them….it’s been a year….hanging head in shame.)

Remove popcorn ceiling (At first we decided not to do this and just painted it, but I’m planning to remove all the popcorn in the house eventually. This room will be last.)

Heather’s Room

This room is done for now.  You can read all about it here.

Family Room:

Finish floor

Paint French Doors

Paint French Door Trim

$$$ Move bedroom door

Repair drywall, paint

Put in floor trim and TV shelf trim

Hang 4 clipboards on other side of mirror

$$ Throw pillows on sectional (navy and spa blue)

Clean and Organize fireplace and TV stand (put back shelves)

Kitchen

Call Cabinet giant about order mix up

Install remaining cabinets

Install fridge surround

Install crown molding on cabinets

Install kick plates

Install floor trim

Frame in dishwashers

$$$ Install microwave

$,$$$ Build Island

$$$ Build deck stairs

$$$ Cut out 3 windows and install sliding glass door

Pantry

Paint lower shelves

Order 14” board and cut out, sand and paint corbels

Hang upper shelves

Hang wrought iron brackets and shelves over washer and dryer

Install oak countertops

Stain countertops and seal with soft wax

Sew and install curtain (handkerchief?)

Entry

Remove Carpet

Sand, stain and seal steps

Paint stair risers, spindles, and trim white

Move armoire into living room trade with console table

Clean and Grout Renew floor

$$$ Paint walls Silver Drop (hire the high parts or buy scaffolding)

$$ Add art

Girl’s Bathroom

Remove popcorn

Mud and repair ceiling

$$ Install new light and exhaust fan

Paint floor trim and vanity

Remove wallpaper

Sand peeling paint off walls and repair cracks

Paint room

Living Room

Remove Popcorn Ceiling

Drywall repair and paint ceiling

Paint walls Behr Silver Drop

Remove carpet

Level floor

Lay underlayment

Lay Hardwood floor

Add Moldings

Caleb’s Room

Strip wallpaper

Paint

Remove Popcorn Ceiling

Remove Carpet

Sand down reclaimed wood

Level Floor in Closet

Face Nail Reclaimed wood floor

Use Reclaimed wood scraps into an arrow wall art border

Install roller shade

Curtains

Install lego organizer

Replace desk with a big boy version

Remove my stuff from his closet

Attic Bedroom for Dub

Rug for under the bed

Navy Dust ruffle

Insulate and cover hole in the wall behind the bed

Paint wall behind bed green

Make navy headboard from foam board and attach with Velcro

Curtain off room to keep it cooler in summer

Turn mini blind into a Roman Shade (I’m thinking white with gray ribbon trim.)

Install lego and desk organizer  in hallway to the left of the bed

Turn pit beside bed into a reading pit with a gigantic beanbag (will order if goes on sale Labor day.)

Bring up dresser and put it in one side of the closet

Put a hanging bar in other side of Closet

$$$ Couch and rug where hope chest is, use hope chest for coffee table (IKEA)

$$$ 2 chairs for other side of sitting area (IKEA)

Move boxed books downstairs and create a library in basement or living room

Use the sitting area shelves to organize Dub’s Toys

Replace bed side lights

Master Bedroom

Move bedroom door from the family room to the entry

Move closet door

Wall off bathroom

Add toilet room

Add tub

Tile shower

Add double vanity

Add sliding barn door with windows to block off bathroom

Paint walls and trim

Replace flooring

Replace ceiling fan

Add lots of recessed lights

Make tufted headboard

Add curtains

Add foot stools at the end of the bed

Replace rocking chair with a chaise lounge

Darren’s Office

Use pine paneling to complete ceiling and walls–or take it all down and drywall

Paint walls silver drop

Paint trim white

Retile hearth in front of fireplace

$,$$$ Lay laminate wood floor in both halves of the basement

$,$$$ Seating area around fireplace (IKEA)

Desk and filing system

Find a place for a large glass dry erase board

New door with full glass panel

Under Deck/Backyard

Remove wide walls on deck

Build wooden deck floor

Insulate ceiling and cover, paint

Stain wood

Outdoor furniture—sitting area

Outdoor eating furniture

Remove Rose of Sharon volunteers, dig roots

Mulch play area (get free mulch from Independence)

Build 4 more garden boxes (fill with stuff from the farm)

$$$ Build swing set

$,$$$ Build fort on stilts

Upper Garage

Repair garage door opener

Paint walls, white

New curtains

Move food to pantry

Move metal shelves to basement or lower garage

Remove all storage items—either put away or donate

Build locker system for kids

Put down an outdoor rug, cut into a runner ($17.88 home depot)

Angela’s Office

Paint paneling white or hang new beadboard plywood sheets on ceiling

Remove carpet

Lay laminate floor

Trade desk with sofa

Replace ceiling fan light fixture

Sell cutting table and mat

Sell lots of misc supplies/fabric

Lower Garage

Tear out wood storage in the middle and middle work bench.  Open area up.

Improve lighting

Replace door between two garages

Insulate garage doors

Repair garage door opener

Designated storage areas for:

Camping

Garden

Paint

Wood work

Plumbing

Bikes

Sports equipment

Lawn mowing equipment

2 Spaces to park cars

Workout Area

Paint paneling

Lay laminate floor

Hang permanent mirrors

Move light switches in storage room

Replace pegboard walls in storage room

Finish bathroom wall

Redo shelves to look more finished

Organize free weights; balls; videos; and other equipment

Make a floating shelf to hold dvd player with Netflix device

Move pool table to garage area

Add a seating area with a pull-out bed for guests to use with the new bathroom

Basement Bathroom

Move wall out to accommodate larger space with sink and toilet

Redo tile work

Redo lights

Redo storage

Make it all very cleanable

Plan a space for massage table

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I’m still glad we bought this house, but if we ever move, I’ll never take on a project this big again.