Kitchen's Done

After stripping wallpaper, spilling a quart of paint all over the floor, cutting in for 3 hours, painting 3 different colors, figuring out where to hang "stuff" and what to get rid of and putting the new border up, the kitchen is - DONE! Yea. It turned out well. We had changed the chandelier and all of the cabinet hardware when we moved in, as well as taking cabinet doors off the cabinet to make a bookshelf for my cookbooks and Willow Creek collection.

Here's a before (not from when we moved in just, before)



Here's during -


Above, Ive stripped the wallpaper and taken down the vertical blinds. Below is just the general chaos of redecorating!



And AFTER!

This is looking into the kitchen, standing in the dining room. We painted the sofits a gorgeous red color "Posh Red" from Lowe's- the picture really doesn't do it justice. Under the cabinets we painted a cream color, that runs through our entire living room/hallway/foyer.


In the pictures below, if you were to pivot and face the other way from the view the pics above were taken, this would be the view -in the first picture, you can kind of see how the room is laid out. We continued the cream color "Churchhill Maple" (Lowe's again). We also hung curtains, which really make the room look like a room. It doesn't always look this put together- the closet doors are my laundry "room" so on laundry day it's a mess! Which, for those of you who don't have kids - is every day!




Finally is my "Butterscotch" wall! We painted the entire facing wall this beautiful color, and again, the picture does't do it justice - it really is a pretty color! We were going to continue the wall border on this wall, but it made it look too busy, so I think we'll leave it! This color - "Butterscotch" - was the quart of paint I spilled - all over the dining room floor! What a mess!



Now, all that's left is getting my curtains for my kitchen window. I bought two panels online that match the drapes on the slider, and will use those to make the curtain for the kitchen and a runner for the table. We also need our fridge to die so I can get a black one with the freezer on the bottom. My parents and cousin have that kind - it's really nice!
It's good to be done!!!

Children's Museum

Today we took the kids to the Children's Museum. I decided that since Jeff had the day off, it would be nice to get the kids out of the house and do something as a family. We headed to Yunker Farm, which wound up being a fun couple of hours. Of course, Lucas was obsessed with the train, and Alex found a neat ball room, so he was happy too. They have a couple of cool exhibits with music and art, so it was fun. After going to the Museum, we headed to the mall for lunch, and then went home. Luke and Alex both took nice long naps - which they REALLY needed!

Jeff and I did a little bit more with the kitchen and got my Curio cabinet set up. Because of all the moving, we haven't had it in our house/possession for over a year, so I've had boxes of special items laying all over the place. Jeff's mom has started collections for all of the kids, and Lucas' is Snowbabies, so we got those into the curio, along with some special crystal pieces I have received over the years. Now, with it set up, I finally (!) feel like we're unpacked - and that the items are a little more safe. This evening, we are going to my mom and dad's for dinner, with a couple of stops for errands and an ice cream cake on the way there! Here's some pics of our Museum Excursion - have a great day!

Playing with the Ball Slide


Ringing the bell -

All Done

Being on the road. Being Sick.

We just got back tonight from Iowa. What a LONG weekend. The drive today took 10 hours, giving time for 4 stops to accommodate the boys' need to get out and stretch. I would say that it was a great weekend - for Lucas, Alex and Jeff. Not so much for me. I got terribly ill - terribly!

On Friday night we got to Albert Lea, MN and stayed in a very nice hotel. We checked in, unpacked quick and got into the pool. That was so much fun. We got Lucas water wings and he was floating and swimming up a storm. Alex had his own little pool toy and he floated and swam around...it was a lot of fun. We got back to the room, ordered dinner (which turned out to be a HUGE mistake) and enjoyed a good sleep.

Then Saturday came. We hit the road for Iowa and and really did have a fairly good drive...but then something didn't feel right. Referring back to the HUGE mistake - we ordered Friday's dinner, and I got fish, which I didn't realize was not completely cooked until AFTER I had eaten most of it. As a result, I ended up being a 15 week pregnant women, nauseated from the drive and stricken by a bad case of food poisoning. I managed to squeeze in 1 hour of Nya's grad party, before I hurried back to the hotel room for a miserable day. I have never, ever, ever been that ill before, that I can remember. Oh, my gosh, it was awful. I got so nervous at one point I made a long distance call to my doctor to make sure the pregnancy could withstand how ill I was. One $17 phone call charge later, I felt a little better just knowing #3 was okay, but that didn't last long.

I remember Katie (my cousin) telling me about a bad case of food poisoning she had after Chinese food when she was pregnant - and that she can not even eat Chinese food anymore - I now know what that's like! It was awful, and really depressing. I had really been looking forward to seeing all the Paulson clan again. They are so much fun, and instead, I ended up stuck in bed in a nice hotel bed with crappy cable, a bucket close by, 10 hours from home...icky. But, Jeff really had a great time with his cousins, I did get to see Nya for a few minutes, meet Grace, and talk to Ginny (Nya's mom) so I am happy about that. And fortunately, they were all very, very understanding of how I was feeling!

Speaking of pregnancy, I had my Dr. appointment on Friday morning before we left, and all looked good. Dr. D says that we'll see him again in 4 weeks for the ultrasound. We also learned that paying 3.29/gallon isn't that bad. He, his wife and kids just got back from Europe - 6.00/gallon! Ouch. He said they used public transportation - lol.

Tonight and tomorrow, we have QUIET planned, with no more traveling. I think tomorrow, we'll take the kids to the park, and tackle the laundry that built up this weekend. No need to clean house - it's already done! (Refer to "I've Been Tagged" post for that one :)

Have a great Memorial Day!

Memorial Day Weekend

Hello everyone. We hope you have a fun weekend planned. We are headed to Iowa for Nya's graduation. Nya is Jeff's cousin, who, if you remember, was our flower girl! Yes, our flower girl is graduating high school. It makes me feel just a little old! It should be a fun weekend. We'll see a lot of family, and hopefully have a lot of good conversation and laughs.

The community where I sub on a regular basis got some very sad news this weekend. A 2002 graduate of their high school was killed in Iraq last week. It is hard for any community to lose a soldier, and in Hawley, it is no different. It's a small town, where everyone knows everyone - and this particular young man was a bright spot in the memories of the faculty, staff and students of the school.

As I think about the loss of another soldier, it makes me very angry. Our young men and women are being slaughtered. They are in harm's way constantly, and the reality is that harm is hidden...it explodes in the middle of the road unexpectedly and violently. Harm comes in the form of an "ally" who turns out to be a terrorist. This is an impossilbe situation, and our men and women, our nation's future is being mowed down...its seems like such a waste.

Last night at church, a few people and I were talking about this person, and someone made the comment that these issues didn't start on 9/11. They started in 11 - AD. This part of the world has been in conflict for so long, and our government has blinders on to think that it was all about America - it's so much deeper than that. In the meantime, we are losing young people at every turn, and it seems like such a waste.

As I think about this young man, his family, and especially his mother- I realize how difficult this must be. To lose a son in a battle that is so unpopular - it is tragic. But, I hope that the military families realize that many (if not most) in our country are behind our soldiers. I feel very strongly that our soldiers deserve our respect. They are answering a call that I would not be able to and I guarentee - would not send my boys on. We have to support our guys. But, we can not, must not, support this government who insist on putting our young men and women in such a dangerous and unending situation.

So, as you move towards Memorial Day weekend, keep all of the military families in your prayers. Pray for the safety of their children overseas - or thier spouses, fathers, etc. Pray for the Hawley, MN Schumann family. And please, pray for someone to answer the call of leadership in our country who will put an end to this impossible mess.

Getting there

Hi. We hope everyone had an eventful weekend. We sure did. Yesterday was the Fargo Marathon, and this is the second year Jeff volunteered. I stood with him at his post yesterday, and it sure was fun, despite the cool weather and wind. I was in awe of all of the runners. And, just like last year's marathon, I have decided I want to take part next year, even if I just run the 5K. Though, some day I would like to say I've run (walked!) a marathon. I think after #3 comes in November, I will start running and preparing to do the 5K. I can do it! And, it'll help me get rid of baby weight - including that I still had left to lose when I learned I was pregnant again!

Today was busy, busy. I painted all day long....arghhh. If you recall earlier posts, I really don't like to paint all that much. I just HATE cutting in. It's SO mundane. I get so tired of going slow and taking my time. My back starts to cramp up and my eyes start to cross from staring at the ceiling or trim. But, we are nearly done. We have most of the walls completely painted and even got some of the wall hangings back up, and the curtains too. This week, I'll work on finishing cutting in, and starting the Red that will go above the border. I really do love it, though. It looks like it "fits" with the rest of the house now!

Hope you all have a good week -

Stripping...

...wallpaper! I am in the midst of yet another home project. I have decided that all of this desire to get the house in tip-top shape is part of the "nesting syndrome" that usually doesn't happen until about a week before one has a baby. I just want to get a lot of these projects done before I have one more child to work around and with! Here's where we are at so far:


I actually got a lot of the green off yesterday, and today it's just a matter of wetting the walls down and getting the gluey layer off. As you can see, Alex was 'helping' mommy yesterday! He took great delight in peeling off parts of the wallpaper!

This morning the boys and I went out shopping to determine what the new "theme" of the kitchen will be. Because our living room is tan, red and black, I think we'll kind of do the same color scheme in the kitchen. I found some wallpaper border with a coffee/cafe motif, so I think we'll go with that. This redo is a temporary fix. We are planning to do a major gut/remodel/addition in a few (read: 5+ ) years! We want to add a sun room, change our laundry closet to an actual room/mudroom, add a third stall to the garage and rework the kitchen so it's a little more workable and open. I actually really like the layout now, but in the picture above, the wall with the green paper divides the room in half - I wanna open it up and let the light in!

So today, it'll be ripping down wallpaper! After I get the boys down for a nap, which I think I'll do right about now !

I've Been Tagged...

I was tagged by Laura, so here goes...

Start with eight random facts/habits about yourself. Tag eight more people to do their own list!


1. I have to clean the house from top to bottom before I go anywhere for the day or weekend. Dishes, laundry, dusting, everything! That way, when I come home, I won't have a mess to deal with (thanks, Mom! Sorry, Jeff! :)

2. I HATE basketball. I hate it SO much that if either/any of my kids play basketball, I worry that I may not go cheer them on! How sad is that?

3. I have been to every contiguous state West of the Mississippi and most of them to the East. We traveled a lot when we were young, always by car. I thank God for my parents who a) dealt with three rowdy kids on those trips and b) had the insight to realize it was important for kids to see the country.

4. I love DQ Blizzards, but EVERY TIME I have one, I get completely sick to my stomach - but I always go back and get the same darn thing again!

5. Scents and smells instantly bring me back to moments and memories. I love the smell of dusty air in August (from harvest) and generally the entire aroma of autumn.

6. I start planning for Christmas in June. If I had my way, the tree would be up in August. I listen to Christmas music starting about then! So when you all get my Christmas cards, there's a good possibility it was addressed during the summer :)

7. I love change - a little too much sometimes. I fear that in a year, I'll want to move just to try something different. But, at the same time I can't stand being too far from my family. It's a strange dichotomy.

8. My goal is to get my Doctorate in Education, even if it takes 15 years. Then I have it both ways - I get to raise my kids when they are young and work when they are out of the house.


I don't know eight people, and Laura tagged the only other person I know on the blog world (Erin) so this is just fun. Have a great Tuesday. I've added a few to Recipe Central. If you have one you'd like me to post, send it my way!

Finally - if you are interested in what Ross and Steve are up to, here's the link to thier football team: http://www.billingsoutlaws.com/