I'm usually the person behind the camera in this family. I'm okay with that but Dan does catch a lot of photos of the kids and sometimes he'll catch a few with me (Mandy does too). I like that they are mostly of the kids laying or hanging off of me. I love my cuddly babes even though it sometimes feels like Ivy is trying to re-attach her umbilical cord. Either way, it's proof of Mom
I treasure every picture I have of me with my mom. I want to make sure Kip and Ivy have some of those too.
Kip had an official snow day on Friday. Even though the accumulation was pretty weak for calling off school, we had no complaints over here. Mandy and I took the kids out in the afternoon while the snow was still falling and it was quite magical. Snow covered trees in the yard and enough to pull a sled. We pretended it was Narnia.
We got these sleds for the kids in 2022 and they didn't get any use last year since we never got any snow. This year Kip and Ivy both really enjoyed being pulled down the little slope in our side yard (not a hill, just a slight incline) and Kip purposely would spill out of his at the bottom. He is such a sensory seeker and playing in the snow is a full-body experience for him.
On Saturday Dan and I suited up and pulled the kids in the sleds through the park next to our house. We found a small hill on the opposite side of our housing development which was just perfect for beginner sledders. It ended with a large space at the bottom to slow down and a fence to block overshot. No road or cars and not too big or steep. Kip figured out how to go down on his own but preferred to be pulled in order to maximize the thrill.
We played out there for quite awhile until the wind chill got to be too much. The kids were not happy about going back inside but my philosophy with snow is to quit while you're ahead. There is a fine line between having fun and freezing your butt off or getting hurt.
They begged to go out again on Sunday even though the snow is getting gross and it was SO COLD. Dan kept them in the front yard with the construction vehicle toys.
The weather will warm-up this week and melt it all away but I am hopeful we will get some more snow this winter and the kids will make more fun memories with it.
Surprise! We are in the middle/end of a kitchen renovation project so I figured now is a good time to actually give you all a tour of the kitchen "before."
Since the day we moved into this house, I've wanted to give the kitchen a refresh but it just wasn't in the budget and we quickly learned to live with what were essentially just cosmetic flaws. It has functioned well for us these past few years but we are all excited to see some fresh changes happening in the space right now.
Here is how she has looked since we moved in (I took these photos about two weeks ago). Coming from apartment living, the amount of cabinets was such a luxury and more space then we knew what to do with.
Back in November we decided to replace our stove since the one we had was wildly inconsistent at holding temperature. Think burned pizza with a frozen center. When we got the stove installed we realized we needed to adjust the gas line in order for the stove to sit flush against the wall. That was an unexpected additional expense but what are you gonna do?
When we bought the stove we also purchased an over-the-stove microwave since our $100 countertop microwave was beyond its last leg of life and we wanted to upgrade and clear some counter space. When the microwave was delivered for installation we were told that New Jersey state law requires over-the-stove microwaves to be on their own breakers. Since we didn't have a plug in that location with a dedicated breaker, they couldn't install the appliance. The cost for this type of electrical work was quoted around $2,000. So the microwave stayed in its box and made it's home on the garage floor.
I reached out to the contractor who did our bathroom renovations to see if he could do that project since we enjoy working with him and his team. Since we had his attention we decided to see what the cost would be to take care of some other upgrades since he'd already be tearing into our wall. Initially we didn't think we could justify the cost but then over Christmas break we reconsidered. We'd been saving to renovate the kids bathroom so we had some money saved that could cover a lot of what we wanted. Dan and I agreed it might be better to wait on the kids bathroom anyways since they are enjoying staining the tub with constant use of bath bombs. The kitchen is the most utilized room in our home and the space where a renovation carries the most value. It made sense to bring that project ahead of the bathroom. So, after we returned from Christmas in Kansas, the contractor came back and started the mild demo.
Here is what the kitchen looked like after they removed our cruddy pressed particle board countertops.
On demo day, they also fixed under the sink which was water damaged and not supported from below. And they added supports to the empty wall for extending the countertop. We are all super excited about this addition.
The contractor is referring to this project as a "swap-out" since we are not
changing the layout or removing anything, just upgrading what we already have. The extent of this project is to replace countertops and sink. Install the
microwave above the stove (electrical work) and a new dishwasher. We
also plan to replace the floor and paint the cabinets. Some other tiny little things around the space but that's pretty much it.
The project is shockingly *almost* finished and I'm excited to show you the finished product soon!
We had a little snowfall yesterday with the first real accumulation we've had in our area since 2022!!! It wasn't enough for a snow day but Kip had a two-hour delayed start so we all got outside in the morning to play in it.
The weather turned to rain by the afternoon which froze into a nice sheet of ice by this morning. Eek! It's all fun and games until it's not. More snow is expected Friday so maybe we'll get a real snow day this year at some point!
