Wednesday, July 08, 2009

Misc UPDATING.. Part One THE HOME

Ok. so no news on the job front worth mentioning, partly because I don't want to jinx anything. As we mentioned in May we were/are thinking of listing the house, in order to see if we could get out of it baring any difficulty finding a local job by the spring. The remodeling/restyling events have taken a bit longer than I had hope, primarily due to funding, but I have been able to get really lucky at the oops paint counter and 5 gallon buckets for mixing.
So this was the dining room, with the Roosters, which you have all seen in previous post:
And here is a shot of it from the living room now:

The Burgundy Curtains are gone, and although I have them still, we are thinking of replacing them with something more along the line of yet another shade of cream. Currently, I still need to put the last coat of paint of the cupboard, and I cant decided on table linens. I really like the southern french provincial linens that The Petite Prince Patisserie sells, but the colors aren't what I am looking for. I guess that is why there are fabric stores.

Then Connected to the Dining Room is our Living Room. Before it was Grayish purple, although many people didn't see the purple in it. This Christmas Picture shows the color. I used to have pictures of all the rooms, seems I have lost them on the drive somewhere... anyways Color Scheme before:


And Now:
It is actually very similar to the original color, less yellow, more tan. I am not changing the Curtains, but am thinking of changing the blinds. I really like roman Shades, Chris doesn't. I would like to put in three in the large window so we can have the center section down the sides up for air movement, etc. Finding a style I like though is proving difficult. Perhaps is the long run the curtains will have to find a new home...

And Finally The kitchen. I had been doing a mosaic for years, but every time I got around to working on it something came up... work, kid, pregnancy. Finally I just busted it out.

First I started by covering up the wall art... Good bye Thierry's art piece, Good-bye Amandine's Patisserie image (we kept the mosaic for her up, but it is now a chalk board. It adds a bit of color to the kitchen)
Then I tore down the shelf that was still in the process of being built.
And while pulling down the shelf and the tiles ended up with this:

So after moving the electric outlet down (thnx daddy) and replacing the sheet rock, and smoothing the walls down to a light textured finish we came up with the current look.
I really liked the open shelf look we had previously, and although we may replace it cupboards if/when we cut a breakfast bar through to the dining room, for now we put up this:


I am still the process of finishing off the minor details, like the kitchen cupboards still need to painted white, the baseboards, and trim also need a new coat of paint. And the Living room isn't completely painted (Chris needs to help move his TV). I am looking into new flooring to have a smooth look upstairs, and refinishing the hardwoods wont be happening (it really can't handle another strip down). Also with the basement fiasco this winter, I want to get the wood looking vinyl tile strips. So much more to do, but only ONLY if we get good news by this fall. Fingers Crossed.

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MISC UPDATING...Part duex



Thierry has decided that his bed in so not the place for napping. He has, instead, stacked up a couple of couch cushions in the corner of his room. Leaving his bed for his MANY, MANY babies.

He also does not believe that clothing is required...Those Pictures are being kept in lock down, until he is 16 :)


Amandine has unfortunate enough to inherit someones sensitive skin. Here she is trying to help calm her face with an avocado/oatmeal mask. Immediate relief...today her tiny bumps that have been sprouting on her cheeks have all but disappeared...yea!!

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Monday, July 06, 2009

September 2010, 24-28ish...

Needed, a babysitter for one day, while we are at Disney World... no confirmed dates yet as we are still mulling around details, but we can pencil in dates in late October. no pay (because... hello we just shipped you to Florida with us), 1 day park pass...maybe if we can swing it, food allowance from what we purchase to cook ourselves. Any additional day passes, park food, etc will be up to you to provide for yourself. Nothing has been written in stone yet, but we are looking into, after all, they want 200 bucks to hire a babysitter for a day, why hire a stranger when you can take a friend.

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Saturday, June 27, 2009

Summer time nothings


Thierry has been mastering the skill to take off his diaper recently. I can always tell when he is gross, as that is the only time he even bothers to pull it off, or at least go with that ever adorable waterbaby daiper pull look.



We also, on an excursion, came across a used crab sandbox, and Thierry has loved it. Amandine also has gotten into the whole, sand in my toes experience. I LOVE SAND! You could find me in the sandbox anytime of the day.


Chris is eating up his time. BBQing, T-Balling, and playing with the kids.


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Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Ha! I have the power...



Sunday Evening at Natalies' we (Hardie, Hardie Hemingway) were discussing what our family trip was going to consist of. Nothing was penned down, there was no discussion of note taking, and just random ideas were being spouted. Then within the hour, the kids were downstairs, Rachel Ruth was on Skype with Natalie, there was a lull. Mom was sitting on the couch, Dad was next to her, I was sitting across, and Mom said, Rachel's in charge. HA!! She said it, with a witness... I AM IN CHARGE...(giggle) aren't I always.

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Friday, June 12, 2009

It is official, the crib is down



Call me crazy, but with each of my kids' first birthdays, the toddler bed has come out to grace the bedroom. It was much easier fitting into Amande's room, when it was her time. She has definitely lucked out with the larger room. Unfortunately ,Thierrys' is much smaller, and it looked like we were using the space to store anything baby related.

The difference in the two kids have been very obvious, from the loudness of the house, to the sticky fingers. Having my girl first who is NOT a dirt magnet didn't really help me be prepared for the stained shirts, and oatmeal face of the Monster. You would think I would have been used to it, as he is just like his Uncles when they were little. I remember just how messy there were and still are, and how even a fence didn't keep them in a yard. So it was no surprise that when it came down to it, I had to use the crib as a wall barrier to keep Thierrybeer from climbing out of his toddler bed, and lay at the door calling for us when ever he saw our feet in the hall.

Amandine was not sure of how to climb out of her toddler bed till she was 2, it took Thierry 2 minutes. I sure do miss that.

So finally getting to the point of this post, I just said, "I am done with the clutter." I took down the crib, cleared the room. And what is left is his toddler bed, and dresser. Now if I could only stop him from climbing into his dresser drawers to surprise us when we come in to get him up.

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Thursday, June 04, 2009

Amandine's Gift

Amandine received a call from her Uncle today, asking her to open a present sent just for her... isn't it pretty... She was very calm as they talked, he asked her a flower girl at his wedding...(yes, Caleb is getting married!) and she said that she would. Then she politely got off the phone...then ran down the hall yelling "I GET TO BE A FLOWERGIRL!!!" She is very excited.

The Back View

Front View

Even Thierry likes it...

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Saturday, May 30, 2009

TBALL



Christopher has been keeping busy in all his spare time, with the most recent of addition of coaching T-Ball. If you didn't know Harper Woods has an amazing Little League program, and Chris has been patiently waiting till his little girl was old enough to play, but when the time came, she didn't want to. Thierry is ready though, too bad he is only 1. During the Team Picture only 6 showed up on time. By the game time he had a few more...





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Family Portrait