Destruction Part Deux

Time for the last wall to come down.  

This time Dean did all the work himself. Construction is what he does for a living. He was sweet enough to let us all help the other night but it took twice as long & was 10 times as messy. He's such a sweetie to let us have a go at it though ;)

This wall came down in a little less than 30 minutes.

Dean was saying, "See how it's done babe" :) 

He sawzalled the other side of the wall. 

The girls peeking through before the wall came totally down. 

Here it is completely open! Dean hammered the nails so they wouldn't be hanging down. This whole remodel process will happen in a few steps.  

The wall where my art stuff is will have a built in book shelf that will go all the way to the wall. It will close off the other useless entrance to the kitchen & allow more wall space in the kitchen. I'm so excited to have a giant bookshelf in our home. I have most of my books in storage & the girls shelves are overflowing. It will be so lovely to have them easy to access & enjoy.

The first step is to pull up the Pergo flooring & raise the dining room floor up to the rest of the house. This is the same said floor I fell & broke my hand on last year. I can't even count how many people have tripped or fallen when walking into our sunken dining room or up to the kitchen. It's so dangerous & I know it will be nice to have it gone. Then we will be adding a nice archway to add a small amount of separation to the rest of the living space. The entry to the spare bedroom will go on the other side of the piano. Yep, we are adding another room on :) No we are not expecting another baby, lol!

Eventually the whole kitchen ceiling will be raised to match the rest of the house & slate floors will be put in the kitchen & dining room. 

All the ceilings will be scraped & can lights added. Someday down the road we will replace that corner fireplace with a wood burning stove. Eventually we will get new lighting fixtures for the dining room & kitchen but those are later on down the road. The biggest thing is getting that new room built. It already feels so open & lighter in our home. I'm really looking forward to all of these changes. I'll share photos as we go.

& The Walls Came Tumbling, Tumbling

It's time to open up the house.

Sloan's turn 

Worker girl Zoe 

Zoe's turn 

Aris' turn

Brennan's turn 

Dean's turn 

We made it a family affair. 

Even Omri joined in the fun with the hammer Bumma gave him. 

Daddy showing Zoe how to pull down the wall with a hammer like he does at work. 

Taking down the other side. 

 Already looking more open & today it was so much brighter in the dining room.

This wall is coming down next. Pictures coming soon.

14th-16th Finishes

14th

Another batch of burp cloths. Almost 30 to be exact. So I think it's only fair to count as a finish even though it's not my first time making them.

 ::Before::

::After::

15th

I saw this tutorial a while back. Thank goodness because I just adore those cute footed Carter character jammies. These were Zoe's & I knew if I fixed them Aris would be able to wear them eventually (if she ever grows;). It was such an easy fix & I kicked myself for not mending them sooner. Aris wanted to wear them now but I told her she will have to wait a year or two. I had a whole pile of mending to do. It had seriously been haunting me for months. Actually there were a few items that had been in that pile for over 3 years. How sad is that?!? So I sat down one night & fixed all but the things that needed buttons. I'll be heading to the store next week to match up & fix the last few items. It felt so good to accomplish this. I fixed over 20 items of clothing!

::Before:: 

::After::

16th

This rocker recover project was so much fun to do. This is for a dear friend of mine whom is expecting her 4th baby boy. the funnest part was going to the discount designer fabric store. All of their upholstery fabric is $12 or less! We spent a good hour looking around until we found something she loved that would not only work in the baby's room but also her living room afterward. She was super happy with the outcome & I enjoyed the challenge. The bottom cushion had to be taken apart to make sure the new cover fit properly. The pleats were a little tricky too. I had to rip it out once to make sure I matched it up properly. I'm so excited to have two chair recovers under my belt. It has given me the confidence to work on other furniture recover projects.

I should show you my list of things to do over the next few days, it kinda makes me week in the knees but I'm so excited to be making some really cute art for my cousins wedding. I'll also be taking pictures of the big day & her reception. So excited! Promise to share them all early next week.

Skate Night

 

If Zoe had her way we would go to the skate park every day. She often talks about waking up early so daddy can take her before he goes to work. Dean & I giggle at the cuteness of it all. With that being said she really would if she could. She's fearless too. I've never seen a 5 year old fall & get back up so effortlessly. All of our kids have strengths. This is Zoe'. Determined, unafraid, adventurous. 

Aris & her sweet ride. 

Oblio watching all the "Cool, cool, tricks!" as Zoe called them. 

It looks like she's falling but she crawls down on her tummy...... 

all the way to the bottom. My little goofball. 

Dean watching for a few minutes. He's so awesome about helping the girls when needed. I'm more than willing but the girls want Dean to help. Maybe I should just stick to taking the pictures, lol :)

Sloan giving her scooter a spin around the park.

Even my mom got in on the action. Go mom!

Looking forward to more of these skate park evenings. This particular evening we had it to ourselves for most of the time we were there. We couldn't have asked for a nicer evening. The sun was setting. Casting it's golden glow. Everything felt magical & nostalgic all at once. If there had been music playing you would have heard some Crosby Stills & Nash with a little Joni thrown in for good measure. I love evenings like these. The sun seems to set a little later every evening. Making it hard for the girls to go to bed when they actually need to. I'm soaking up these summer days. I know that in just a few short weeks not one but two of my little ones are going back to school. Zoe will start kindergarten & she can hardly wait. Sloan will be in 6th grade. How did that even happen? It will just be me, Aris, & Oblio at home. Times are a changing. Sometimes I get that twinge in my heart, like, is this really it? Is this how it's going to be? Omri is the last? In 4 years I will have all my kids in school? What will I do with myself!?!?!?!? Then a calmness comes over me & I know that it is what it is. Life has been so good. The Lord has blessed us with so much. I am sure when the time comes I will fill my days just as much as I do now, just different. I know there will be new challenges & exciting stages to experience as my children grow. As Dean & I grow. It is an odd feeling when you realize that you are getting older. It puts so many things into perspective. I only hope I fill my days with many more like this one. Because life is so short & I really probably could never get enough.