Cabinets

JP finished installing the cabinets on Thursday night and I have enjoyed re-organizing the kitchen. We are very overjoyed to have the microwave off the kitchen counter and this corner is what I'm calling my "baking corner." I will be able to have my Kitchen Aid mixer on the counter (when we have counter tops) and I am working on getting all the supplies in this area. I'm not quite finished but I am very pleased so far . . . so much room in which to play! Above the fridge . . . it's clear!I really love having these fabulous deep drawers . . . look how organized! They also hold pots and pans perfectly!
Here is the view from the kitchen into the den . . . look how open!Next up we will be ordering counter tops and then figuring out some sort of back splash for behind the sink . . . almost finished! At least it is workable and we have all our necessities back in one place!

Garden's Bounty

Look at this huge zucchini and our first carrot - ever! Our garden is turning out wonderful fruits and vegetables for us and we enjoyed some very large zucchini last week. I made zucchini cakes and JP made a stuffed zucchini and we've even given a couple away. I am very excited about the cute carrot we have . . . something about it just says "garden" to me. The little red guy is a pepper - it's a beautiful red color but it's shape is a little odd.

In our garden we also have potatoes, green onions, lettuce, leeks, basil, and of course our melon plants are getting started. We are also having some success with strawberries this year. Here's a picture of our garden and a bit of a closer shot of the beautiful zucchini plant.

Happy Memorial Day!

Here is what my beloved gave me for our 10 year anniversary! I have coveted a Le Creuset pot for many years and he has given me a nice big one perfect for soups and stews . . . I also can not wait to use it for braising pork shoulder and even for roasting whole chicken! I am inaugurating my new French Oven by boiling Pork Country Style Ribs today.
We have celebrated the Memorial Day weekend in the classic tradition of EATING! JP and I spent 24 hours this weekend without the kids! We spent Saturday afternoon by the pool, went out Saturday night for a mediocre Mexican food dinner, and had a fabulous breakfast on Sunday at The Farm. The kids joined us Sunday afternoon for swimming, hanging out and hot dogs for dinner. This morning we started the day with powdered donuts straight out of the bag . . . had a lunch of Fritos and Rotel dip . . . and then had an afternoon snack of ice cream that included "mix-ins" (Butterfinger for JP, Reeses for me, and sprinkles for The Boy). We bought the stuff and had our own ice cream parlor here at the house! With all this junk food it is no surprise that I can barely stay awake. Now that the ribs are cooking . . . it may be time to crack open a beer to watch the end of the D'back game.

I hope you have enjoyed your weekend as much as I did!

10 Years Ago Today

What were you doing 10 years ago today? I was getting married. Check out last year's blog post for more information on my loving husband and how much I love him . . . hasn't changed!

What I remember most about that day and night is not what you would see on my wedding video which by the way is titled Josh and Kristi's Wedding. Who the hell is Kristi?

It was that I woke up in my room with my friends quietly sleeping and went upstairs to find my dad reading the paper. I very much remember how much I enjoyed that little bit of time we had together when I was still just his daughter . . . not a wife or a mother yet. It is and will always be one of my fondest memories.

The day was lazy as we had a late wedding scheduled (7:30 . . . had to be on the 1/2 hour and 6:30 was just too early to catch the sunset). All the girls were invited over to our neighbor's house for brunch and then we cleaned up and headed to the salon to get our hair done. I don't think anyone really liked what Shannon did to their hair as I noticed several Bridesmaids with changed 'dos later that night. I hated my hair but what do you do with short hair? I, of course, started crying because that's what I do on special occasions. KB saw it in my eyes before the tears started . . . what's wrong she asked . . . "It looks like it does EVERY DAY," I wailed!

For some reason I ended up with my Mom and she drove me down to my Grandmother's house. This was odd because since I got my driver's license at 15 I don't think my mother drove me anywhere. I always drive . . . but with a veil attached to my head I couldn't really effectively see from left to right or move my head off the seat for that matter. I remember stopping at Burger King because we were hungry. How funny is that memory?

I remember the cake arriving and I remember putting on my makeup and I remember how pretty my Mom looked. I remember my Mom and Grandmother helping me put my dress on and I remember taking a bazillion pictures. I remember when the valets showed up and I freaked out because I thought it was JP and his friends and he was going to see me before the wedding started.

I remember getting help to go to the bathroom in my dress and I remember that we were watching "My Best Friend's Wedding" on TV while we waited. It was such a blur of activity and all I could do was sit and wait.

I remember the ceremony and how hot it was and after that . . . I don't remember much. It was a whirlwind of saying hello and hugs and kisses and things to do and pictures, pictures, pictures! One of my favorite moments was eating crab claws with my brother and throwing the claws in the garden . . . forgive us Mema! It was a great night and lots of fun and I wish I could do it all over again.

It's funny how much work and effort goes into a wedding but no one ever gives thought to being married. I had thought about my wedding for YEARS and never once gave thought to what being married would look like. Well, after 10 years I think it looks pretty good. It is better than I imagined because you get to hang out with your best friend all the time and it is so great to have someone in whom you completely trust and to wom you can tell anything. I love being married.

I wanna be just like mom.

House Update

Are you tired of seeing construction/ destruction pictures yet? The end is near . . . I hope. Below are pictures from the front door - Dad these are for you! I think it gives a good perspective for those who have been to our house. As you can see there is no longer a wall between the den and dining room nor between the kitchen and den. JP did a great job on the brick wall and we were able to keep the arch which is such a unique feature in our house.

Kraig, the fabulous drywall guy, should finish up today and JP can get to work painting the ceiling - a job he is not anxious to undertake. A little touch up on the walls will also be necessary but we should be ready for cabinet installation this weekend!

Serious Progress

We made some serious progress on the remodel yesterday! We made the most prudent decision to go to the Depot and rent the tool to power scrape the thin set. At $66.71 and taking only one hour it was the best use of time and money on this whole project! I am so pumped to have all the tile gone and now finally the thin set . . . well, we still have piles of thin set but the hard part is done. My whole body is sore from my hands down to my feet but it was totally worth it!

JP also got the rest of the wall out between the kitchen and den and more of the brick wall down:Today we must complete the removal of the bulkhead in the kitchen and the rest of the brick wall in preparation for the drywall guy to come on Monday. Things are moving along quickly but there are still several pieces of demolition/ tear out to do before I want to even consider installing the new cabinets. For some reason I have this idea that we can get the house to pristine condition before reassembling things.

Speaking of building things . . . here's how I've spent my Mother's Day so far:

Work Day

Look at this cute thing in her new bathing suit, cover up, and pig tails. She is heading out for an outing with her brother and Kris. Here's what we'll be doing while their gone -
Check back later for "after" pictures!

Where Have We Been?

I can not believe it is already May 8th and this is my first blog post for the month of May. The good news/ bad news is we haven't had anything major to report as most days have been pretty quiet at our house.

Pickle did "re-injure" her nose last Sunday. Within an hour of the scab falling off she was bloody again! This time she scraped it on the concrete wall outside when she was trying to maneuver from play structure to wall . . . didn't quite work out. As of this morning I am happy to report that the new scab is almost gone and it looks like there will be no scarring!

She is developing her language skills everyday and I have been hearing many more "Ma-mas" than "Da-das." "Mama" comes out it seems when she wants something . . . . Dad must be tough during the day! Pickle loves to talk "on the phone" and the phone can be anything from one of her play phones to a domino. She just walks around and "talks." We have been able to discern a few words like "bus," "doggy," and "bunny;" but I am not sure anyone besides her parents would understand her at this point.

Her cutest new habit is to "shave her legs" in the shower. She will put her leg up on the ledge in the corner and rub her legs up and down . . . clearly mimicking Mama! She is still very adventurous and will copy anything her brother does!

Her worst new habit is waking up at 4:00 am wanting her pacifier and then waking up at 5:30 ready to get up for the day . . . we are exhausted!

The Little Guy is busy at school and pretending he is a baseball player. He loves to put his baseball cap on backward and then his LSU football helmet and pretend he is a catcher. He dresses like that but then goes through the motions of a pitcher . . . he is basically a one-man baseball team!

He is so smart and is already reading chapter books. The boy will read everything in site including newspaper headlines, street signs, and what's on the TV . . . we have to be more careful these days!

My favorite thing about him? That he has no clue about McDonald's. He saw a street sign the other day that said McDonald and what was his response? "Mama, there is a street with the same name as the farmer in that song!" No mention of the restaurant . . . what does he call McDonald's the restaurant . . . "the M Store." It's just funny to me . . . don't know why!

What's not funny about the Little Guy? Him yelling at the top of his lungs at 8:30pm last night - "I can't go to sleep" over and over. This was not funny.

And finally . . . the house! We have waited patiently for the electrician and now that everything is re-wired (and we have fans again!) we are knocking down the final wall - the bricks! JP and I are going to get a few solid hours without the kids on Saturday to make some headway on the walls and thin set! The drywall guy comes on Monday and then we should be ready to install the new cabinets! Yahoo! I will post pictures this weekend of our progress.