Even More Kitchen

Parent's Christmas

It's 80 degrees out, but we had to try on our new pjs and robes! Harrison, Avery, Anna, and Jake..love these babies!

Christmas, Cousins, and New Jammies for All

More Kitchen Ceiling

Funny Story

Okay, so I decided to take a few pics of our newly installed, hundred year old kitchen ceiling. It's midnight as I am a night owl lately. I'm a little freaked out because it's already pitch black, and then these white spots appear in every picture that I take. I clean the lens. Still, white spots. Then I hear a loud thump. I run my ass out of my lovely house as I am scared out of my mind by this point. White spots and loud noises in the dark can freak a person out. I slip and fall on the stupid temporary ramp at the back door, hurting a knee and ankle on the way down. I run into the abode with electricity and take a picture of my dog....no white spots. I'm convinced at this point that my house is haunted. My husband laughs. We look through the camera; there are other pictures, other than the house, that have white spots. So, my camera is shot and these are not spirits trying to run me out of my house before I ever live in it! But still, the loud thump???

I'll try to get better pics during the day..with another camera.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

On December 11th 2008, snow fell in Louisiana. Mother Nature left us with 3 inches of the lovely white blanket. The kids had a blast. "This is the best day ever." Today, the ground is a mixture of brown and green (yes some green) once again.

Master Bedroom

The floors have been laid. Now, we just have to sand and stain! I say "just" very lightly; I know that task will be one of the hardest we'll encounter.

Kids Bathroom Floor

Cory and I installed these floors this past weekend. They are perfect! This will be the kids bathroom with the wonderful clawfoot tub that I have yet to refinish.

Anna and Madelyn

I think they enjoyed themselves, dancing to some tune at the Balloon Festival this past August!

Real Wood!!

Cory has begun the daunting task of installing the wood floors downstairs. They are absolutely beautiful, much prettier than the stuff upstairs. Of course, the picture above shows the floors in their unfinished state. We still have to stain and seal them. There is nothing like the "sound" of REAL wood.

I'm a little aggravated with my blog these past few days. For some reason, I'm having great difficulty uploading pictures. I have no idea how this one snuck past the glitch in my system. Sorry, I know it does not do the floors justice.

Guest Bedroom Upstairs

Some pics of the guest bedroom...WHO WILL BE OUR FIRST VISITORS? There are a few finishing touches still missing, ie, shoe molding, paint on molding, clean up, light fixtures, a bed, ha.

ANGELS

Until I get a new camera or I find a way to make the old one work, I cannot post new pics. Yes, my life is still consumed by this house on a daily basis, but the house is not what makes my life MY life. At the end of the day, my kids are my saving grace. They really are so funny and fresh and innocent and hopeful of the world that surrounds them. Here are the things that really make me smile and enjoy the moments in life rather than a picture of our future... Jake (5-year-old blonde headed tornado)...getting out of the car from the bus stop to start our daily homework routine..."Mommy, you know that when you die you don't turn into a bug or anything like that. You turn into an angel and you get to fly around God all day long." He smiles, then skips and jumps into the house. Just like that. My baby boy has it all figured out. The world is good.

Sweet Conversations

So tonight Anna, Cory, and I were having a conversation about boys. Not sure how it came up, but the conversation went like this: Kristy: "Who are the cute boys in your class this year?" Anna: "Ummm, none! They're all stinky and disgusting." Cory: "Good, you can't have a boyfriend until high school anyway." Anna: "No, I can't have a boyfriend until I say I want a boyfriend." Cory: "Good enough." Kristy: "Just make sure that when you do pick a boyfriend, he is as good of a guy as your dad." Anna: "That'll be hard to do."

I think both of our eyes (Cory and myself) were instantly filled with tears. She knows how to tug on her daddy's heartstrings.

Randomness: Living, Dining, Kitchen

Flooring in session: The upstairs guest room.

Jake's Future Room

Poof!! Floors!

Another Job has Begun!

My man and his dad hard at work, again! WE, or I should say Cory and his dad, are installing all 3700sq ft worth of floors. Although Cory has never laid wood floors, he's handling it like a pro..especially in our lovely, unleveled house. The floors are a bit dusty at the moment due to left over sheetrock residue, but man they are pretty. My time is coming with the bathrooms; you tube is an excellent resource on laying tile.

Camping

The kids had a blast on our mini camping trip. Here are Adam, Anna, and Jake cheesing it up for the camera during the marshmellow roast.

A Break After Gustav

We took a short but much needed camping trip to Mississippi after Hurricane Gustav! On the way home, we stopped by the Gulf Coast for 30 minutes or so. HOT.

Crown Molding and Such

I'm not quite sure how we ended up with crown molding before new floors, but it looks lovely. Three sets of original french doors are also being put back in their respective places. There is no baseboard molding yet.....floors first!

Cabinets

The kitchen cabinets have been installed. Of course, it's not as easy as 1,2,3. They now have to be painted white, and the framed doors need to be brought to the glass shop to have the glass installed. I'm happy with the outcome!

The Keller Kids

Our summer visit with Madelyn has ended; Anna cried herself to sleep. She'll miss her nanny and Maddie as they make their way back to Italy. Until next year!!!! Zachary, Madelyn, Anna, Caroline, and Jake

The Bus Crew

All smiles! Jacqueline, Georgia, Anna, Sydney, Jake, and Ross Allen

Stepping onto the Bus!!!!

Day #1 at the Big School for Jake

We started Kindegarten today. Anna, fourth grade this past Friday. Jake was a bit nervous at the breakfast table this morning. He cried and complained of a tummy ache. He was a bit less anxious at the bus stop; he refused my help, saying he could get on the bus himself!

More paint

Okay, so I'm afraid the color is a little dark, but it's already on the walls and I happen to like it! High Tea...that's the name!
Another pic of the living room. I love it love it love it. I'm thinking about some red couches.

Blogging

I've come to the conclusion that I enjoy this blogging stuff. It's just simple. I may say goodbye to facebook and myspace forever (or maybe not). Anyway, an update on life.....finally started working as a PA in the Pediatric ER, Jake is starting kindegarten in a month, Anna is turning into a lovely young lady, Cory is enjoying helping coach the softball team, the house is STILL not done, our last vacation was to Disney in May, our next vacation will be God knows when, blah blah blah.

Summertime Softball

We're taking a short break from our painting project. Anna's Allstar team is playing in Slidell...the final tournament of the summer. They've done well, and of course, I'm proud. At this particular tournament, there was a parade of all of the teams competing. Below are pics of Jake without the lute (tears) and with the lute (smiles).

Jake has tagged along for most of his sister's games. The tears come often, but so do the smiles:) He's even managed one or two fist fights (literally) with boys that are mostly bigger than him. He is ONE OF A KIND! Sweet Jake.

A Masterpiece in Progress...Anna's Room

My 9-year-old daughter, Anna Catherine, chose to have a brown and aqua themed room. She debated on blue and green, hot pink and orange, mint green and pink and at the last moment, she decided she didn't want her room to look like every other 9-year-old's room. So, these are the colors that SHE wanted. I think her room will be more elegant than funky. We're planning to use one of the old fireplace mantels (since a fireplace no longer exists) along with some old window frames to liven the place up. Oh yeah, she get's a chandelier too and the best windows in the house!

In the Works

I'm in pain. Painting is HARD work. My feet..my back...my head...my arms....my poor body!!! The colors are turning out nicely though. As you can see, many of the shades are pretty bold. We have super high ceilings and big rooms so I can get away with color. Plus, it's an old house; it should have character. No bland tan here. These pics are of the dining (blue-gray) and living room (gold).

PAINTING=WORK

Cory and I are attacking the job of painting a 3600 sq ft house. Unfortunately, hiring someone to do this task costs a bundle, and it's just not in our budget. We're saving approximately 6-7K in labor costs by doing the work ourselves. The paint itself will run between 3-4K. I know that sounds like a little money, but we're coming to the end of our budget and there's lots left to do!!!!

The picture to left is the kitchen, and I happen to love the color. The blue-gray is the master bath...love that too.

Upstairs...bonus room, game room, toy room. I'm not exactly sure what it's called, but it has been completely finished with drywall. They still need to "float" all of the walls.

Drywall...In the Initial Stages

We've had the sweet sound of music (in another language) blarring throughout the house for the past few days as the guys we hired to hang the drywall work, work, and work some more.

This is the formal dining room, and beyond that is the living room.

Our New Front Steps

We recently had our front steps built using old brick we salvaged from the original site. I do love these steps. Drywall can now be delivered since we have a "sturdy" entrance.

Upstairs... The top picture is of the huge (really) bonus room. The bottom pic is of the 4th bedroom. It has a bath attached to it. Progress...we'll soon be putting new drywall.

I've forgotten what the front porch looks like....

The porch is covered with wood, wood, and more wood. The first picture is of the wood we removed from several ceilings (hiding behind sheetrock) of the house. It looked pretty bad until Cory plained it. The finished product is shown in the second picture. Now, we'll have beautiful wood ceilings in our kitchen.

Some of the rooms had tounge and groove wood walls behind the sheetrock. This wall is in the foyer, and it will remain exposed after we're done. Instant wainscoating (only half way up). The other half will be drywall because too many pieces of the wood are missing.

The stairway, still unfinished!