a long time

Wow! I had NO clue it had been so very long since I posted anything.  I then realised I hadn't even officially announced we are having our fifth baby at Christmastime! I have been so busy ripping up floors and tiling, and painting and getting through the end of the school year that the time has flown.  We celebrated my 2 yr olds Birthday yesterday. It was lovely to have everyone here in our new home.  Today though chaos surrounds - presents scattered, dishes still to do.. I have a real feeling of home finally. Which is nothing but a good thing.

Now I get it

I've been a DIYer for a long time. As is my Mother.  However there are some projects, knocking down walls, tiling floors, installing worktops - that I'd rather leave the professionals.  I just had a contractor in to give me estimates on the work i want doing around mainly the kitchen.. well my.mind.is.officially.blown. and not in a good way! I can see why people do these crazy big jobs themselves.  The costs are just crazy when you think about what's actually being done.  Looks like I need to scale back on what were already quite modest plans!

gardening times

So all my seedlings are up.. around 300 of them! I just planted another 2 trays so hopefully my garden will be positively overflowing with flowers and veg in the not too distant future. I'm having a contractor come out to give me a quote for the work I need doing in the kitchen - new backsplash, tiled floors, butcherblock counters and taking out a bit of wall to open it all up a bit. I'm hoping everything will be ready by Spring so we can get some chickens, still deciding on breeds but Easter Eggers and Silkies seem to be at the front of my list! Also planning on getting a greenhouse hopefully next weekend so would like to plan out and prep its space this week including the base. Its to be 55f today so I plan on getting out in the garden with the children to dig some more, clear some more, invent some more.. promises be a good day, going to make the most of it before the snow comes back, albeit, I hope, briefly!

kitchen dreaming

So I am deciding what will be best for our small galley style open to family and living room kitchen.. ideally I want to bust out the top of the wall separating it and the dining room, re-tile the whole thing with quarry tiles, and swap out the counters for butcher block, paint the cupboards and off white antiqued of course, and add some lighting.. in theory this is all very good but actually deciding on colors for tiles, and how much of the separating wall to take out proves difficult. I want to add a cupboard and more counter the other side of my cooktop, so won't be losing space, but trying to make it all work and still look good isn't as easy as it seems!