THE POWDER ROOM, BEFORE

This isn't that much worse than what it usually looked like. Yuck.

THE POWDER ROOM, AFTER

First, the Butler's Pantry. It was very similar but with non-adjustable shelving, three of the smallest drawers you've ever seen, and cabinets that were almost useless. It was not built-in, either, just free-standing and stuff always fell behind it.




The powder room was a full bath, with the smallest, grossest shower ever. After the shower was removed the contractor told us it was covered in black mold. That is probably my biggest fear! So glad that's gone.

It also had no dry-wall, gaps everywhere, a leaky ceiling, and was barely big enough to turn around in. Now, it's a beautiful, functional powder room. No more awkward showering for guests right next to the kitchen! And, we finally have a closet on the first floor. This has made a HUGE difference in the amount of clutter we have around. I hate clutter.

THE UPSTAIRS BATH, BEFORE

The above shots are of demolition, at it's worst. The shot below is what it looked like when we bought the house. The orange paint was not one of my best ideas.

The upstairs bath had a great claw-foot tub, an extra long one that is very valuable. It also had:

• almost completely rotten floors
• no cabinet space
• no drawer space
• a very small toilet
• a very small vanity
• yucky vinyl flooring
  

THE KITCHEN, BEFORE

In our kitchen we had:

• a 9.3 cubic ft fridge (an apartment fridge)
• a stove from the Stone Age, set on the angle of the floor so everything I cooked tilted to the right
• one small section of gross laminate counter tops
• mice
• three drawers, the largest of which would not open
• a fussy disposal that did almost nothing
• the oldest laminate flooring I've ever seen, ripping on the edges and tripping my children
• cabinets that could hold maybe 15 pounds each

Then we had it redone...

THE KITCHEN, AFTER

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The first few shots are of the kitchen without any of our stuff in it. We had a cleaning crew come in and detox our whole house and then we moved in that night!

The next shots are of what our kitchen looks like as we live in it. It is so wonderful to use! I can't believe I actually have all of my kitchen stuff IN the kitchen! I no longer have to go down to the basement to get most of my stuff, the drawers and stove actually work, there's enough counter space for our family and we have moved up from a 9.3 cubic ft refrigerator (an apartment fridge) to a full-sized french door fridge! I don't even know how to fill it!

What a dramatic improvement. We are thrilled at the way it has turned out.

THE UPSTAIRS BATH, AFTER

Hannah says we have a royal princess mirror. I agree.

Uncle Bernie

Our dear friend Bernard came to visit two weekends ago. We had such a nice time visiting with him. His pretend reason for coming was to paint with Corey, but we all know the real reason is because he wanted to be loved on by some very sweet Sweeties! Norah took to him and the big girls were so excited to have him visit, too. Hannah asked him to come to Disney World with us. :)

How not to make a bed

Every morning at David and Vicki's house I had to completely remove the bedding in order to make our bed. Corey is a very rough sleeper. I would make a pile of stuff at the foot of our bed and sometimes the girls would play in it. Here they all are, "taking a little rest."

Two little bums

Can you tell which one is which, just by looking at the bums? I can.

Flying Hannah

We got a new couch from the Couch Potato Elf (David and Vicki). We debated over whether or not to purchase a sleep sofa or a sectional. Obviously, we decided on the sectional. It's a wonderful couch and the best part of it all is that we kept the cushions from our old sofa and they make a great "pit" to jump in! Hannah and I built this pit and she can do as many jumps into it as she wants. She's really into jumping and doing all sorts of cool tricks these days. Norah likes to just bounce on the cushions around the edges. Shiloah was doing special time with Shishaw today so she missed the jump fest.