Quick House Update

Just a quick photo collage for where the house is at.

Should be able to be painting by the weekend...and then we can get things back in order to move back in!  The end is in sight...but I'm very frustrated that we aren't in already...which is why the update is quick and to the point.  :)  

Remembering Grandma

Maybe its because Thanksgiving is just around the corner...and I can still remember the smell of her house...

Or maybe the realization that its been over 2 years since I've felt her hands on my face...

But I simply cannot get my Grandma out of my head this weekend. 

The new lotion I bought smelled just like her bathroom...

When I turned the fan on in the kitchen so my kids (asleep in the living room) wouldn't hear me moving around in the morning...it made me feel like I was back in her house...

And all I want to do is be able to call her to tell her that Annika is going to be great at spelling and grammar...just like her...and that Henry would have loved Papa Bob's wood shop...because he always is wanting to build something.  

So to keep myself from going crazy missing her...and stayed in my kitchen and cooked and baked...  

The kids and I made ranch oyster crackers...marshmallow popcorn balls...started on the waffle cone cornucopias for Annika's Thanksgiving party at school..baked Chocolate Chip Brownie Chunk Cookies {I kicked the kids out for some mommy time on that one}...made Whole Wheat, White Chocolate, Cranberry Oat cookies...

And these cute little acorn snacks...

Turned out to be a pretty good weekend overall.

And...I just about have my pie recipes finalized for the weekend.  You can see them pinned on my Sweet and Treats bored on Pinterest.  

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

House update: Week 12

Ryan and I spent the weekend demolishing the old office...lets just say I've reaffirmed that manual labor is not my thing.

One "Renovation Realities" moment - multiple blisters - the sorest body this girl has felt in years - and two days later....

When Ryan initially pulled off the paneling in the room, he uncovered two doors that were hidden in the walls.  Apparently when they initially sheet rocked the room, they just covered over these doors.  

So we salvaged them and I have a few ideas pinned for how to use them.  :)  {Ryan has a love/hate relationship with Pinterest}

Ryan's uncle Karl came over on Saturday to put the stairs into the basement.

He and his crew had finished framing everything in the basement last week.  Below is what will be our family room.

These doors are off of the family room and lead to the bathroom and bedroom.  Right off of where Henry is standing is the door to the storage room. 

Here is the storage room looking into the utility room. {Which is on the other side of the stairs}

And the biggest change came today when they knocked through what was once our office into our living room.  The pictures really do nothing to the feeling you get walking in through the garage.

Its hard to tell from the picture, but the office demo also revealed a bead board ceiling that is in really good shape.  Hopefully we will be able to incorporate it into the room and keep it.

I was already ready to move back in, but now I am truly excited to have this new living space.  Its going to feel like a completely different house.  And like Ryan said, its finally "our house" and not his parents or grandparents.  So exciting!!!!

Next we pray that the weather cooperates and they can finish the roof of the garage.  The trusses are up {which I just realized I didn't get pictures of}, but they still have to sheet it.

On hold

You can see there has been a lack of menu planning on the website...and its been missing in our lives as well.  I've decided to put it on hold while we are out of our house...Its just something I can't keep up with right now.  And by golly...I'm okay with it.  {Honestly its driving me kind of bonkers...but...its temporary}

But that doesn't mean my kitchen hasn't been getting a workout.  Or Kristi's kitchen rather...
So here are a few things that we've enjoyed recently that you might as well.

Baked Apples with Oatmeal Streusal Topping:  My mom makes a killer baked apple, and this was a fun new twist on what she makes.  You could definitely "health-up" this recipe and still have wonderful results.

Feta & Strawberry Salad:  This is one of my favorite all time salads.  I take for lunch at least once a week.  And when the strawberries are out of season, I love it with dried cranberries and/or dried blueberries.  Mmmm...yum!

Baked Chicken Parmesan:  A classic lightened up.  Enough said.

Overnight Oats:  Pumpking style!  So delicious.  I'll be honest...it looks nasty...there is no other way to explain it.  But the flavors are fall in a jar...yum.  Katheats as a lot of other overnight oats that I'm dying to try.  (I left out the clusters and the sunbutter)

Enchilada Lasagna:  This was one the entire family enjoyed.  It came together pretty quickly, and the leftovers were just as good.  

And last but not least.....

Mini Corn Dog Muffins:  This is soooo easy and makes a perfect snack or lunch.  You can make your own corn bread batter or just use your favorite box...and add your hot dog of choice.  We are turkey dog people in this house.  

House Update: Week 11

We are 11 weeks in to this project, and I finally feel like its real.  That probably sounds ridiculous...but there is finally enough progress that I can envision how things will look when they are completed.  So...here's what things look like right now.

Storage Room

In floor heat

Basement floors are in!!  On the far wall you can see the window (this is centered in the bedroom).

Bathroom is all the way to the left.

Annika exploring the scaffolding.

Back side of the garage.  Ryan took this very early in the morning, so the lights not great.  

And today they got the garage wrapped!  The door from the garage to the house is in (just forgot to take pictures).  And tomorrow the are hoping to build the basement stairs.  Yay!!!  

{Here's a look back at what we started with...its come a long way!}

Garage

A garage is in the works!  More pics to come soon

Garage

Gary, Seth and Dan started on the garage last week!!  Yay!!

That's one step closer to being back in my house.

I apologize for the pictures...bad time of evening to be shooting pictures in this direction.  

But you can get the gist of how the garage will look. 

It also gave us a pretty good idea of how much back filling we are going to have to do.  

Everything quite a bit higher than we realized it would be.

Lunch Date

A mid-week lunch date with my favorite little man...

Nothing better than that face to get me through the rest of my Monday.  :)  

He said this was the smile he used for school pictures today too.  

Hmm...not what we practiced this morning. 

Walls

We have basement walls!!  Hooray!!!

 Unfortunately...now we have to wait for two-ish weeks before anything else can happen.  Once the concrete is cured, we can set the house back down and move on.  

I am so looking forward to that.

The kids had a great time climbing in and out of windows.

I expect that they were practicing for a fire, and not for trying to sneak out.  :) 

Let's Catch Up

Shall we??

My baby started Preschool last week!!  {If you listen carefully you can probably still here me sobbing.}

He went in like a trooper...not a tear shed on his part.  And he has loved every day since.  {Yes, its only been two days...but this is a big step in our lives!}

Here's the latest photos from our house.  I'm already late with posting...the walls were poured today.  

Above:  Most of the forms are up for the walls.

Can you see the outline of your new window, Mom and Dad??  :)

Poor yard...its going to need a little work next spring.  

We spent a wonderful weekend with family celebrating Tim & Ari's wedding.  The kids had a great time hanging out with cousins.

Annika hit up the dance floor for awhile.

Henry preferred to sit with us at the table making sad faces.  In his defense...he had run into the buffet table and had a little bruise on his face because of it.  He does a good job of looking quite sad though.  You can see how much it was affecting his dad too.  :)

In other news...I have 3 loads of laundry giving me the evil eye.  I'm still debating whether to fold them or just go read with my glass of wine.  

Coffee Love

 

 

 

 

And my very favorite....