So I can't even begin to stress how over this kitchen we were.  Our house was built in the 50's and I swear everything was original.  We had bought new appliances at Lowe's about 6 months before the remodel because we thought that it might help us in deciding to hold off on spending the money but it only made it worse.  If you know Spencer and I, when we get something new EVERYTHING else has to be upgraded.... and it has to be done immediately.  We also knew that this wasn't a project that we wanted to take on ourselves so we set out to find a contractor.  That was probably the hardest part... who knew it would be so hard to convince someone to take your money to remodel your kitchen.  We probably interviewed 6-7 contractors before we found on that called us back with a quote... we had a few call us back with quotes and we laughed at the price they gave us.  We decided to do the demo ourselves and let them come in and put everything back together.  The only regret I have is doing this while pregnant- I didn't really help with anything other than picking stuff out and living off fast food while 6 months pregnant was not a good idea, I couldn't imagine doing it with kids :/  I washed dishes in the bathroom sink maybe twice and was so over that immediately.  My parents [who have done so much for us and the upgrade of our home; we're both so lucky to have them] came in and helped Spence rip out the cabinets, then they came back and helped him paint the kitchen before the contractors finished up.

 

 

Before

White counter tops and that floor... Spence hated that floor and told me about it almost every. single. day. since we moved in.  Some days I didn't mind the knotty pine and then some days [usually once I seen someone else's shiny, new kitchen] I was over looking at it.

 

After cabinets were taken out

Ta-da... absolutely in LOVE with our new kitchen!!  Everything is new except for the appliances and the light fixtures.

 

Bar area before

 

After it was taken out [never knew how much this blended in with the wall]

A little plain [lack of decoration] but we love this feature so much; I'll eventually hang something on either side I just don't know what yet.  We will get new barstools as well but we already had these so we stuck them there for the time being.  Spence is also convinced this will serve as a babysitter once Chandler gets here- he says he will leave her and Sadie in the living room and shut the 2 doors so they are confined and he can watch them while he's cooking in the kitchen [riiiight].

 

Before

 

Both of the above shots were after everything was taken out

 

So they rebuilt us a bar area over here and we hung the TV in the corner.  We decided to mix it up a bit and do the split cabinets for more storage underneath on the counter instead of having them touch the countertop.

Wall separating the living room and kitchen before

The bar from the living room side.

 

 

27 Weeks + Music Room Re-Do

 



How far along: 27  Weeks [hello 3rd trimester!!]

Gender: Girl
Chandler Updates:  She can now open and close her eyelids.  She is as big as a head of cauliflower and around 15 in long!
Weight gain: 14 lbs
Stretch marks: None so far
Belly button in or out: Still flat
Miss anything: Just the usual, not as dominant this week though, except for sushi... and wine (I blame work) :/
Movement: Still pretty active, she hates loud noises and usually goes bonkers around them
Cravings: Still on the fresh wagon: tomato's, broccoli (w/ ranch dip), salads
Food Aversions: nothing out of the ordinary- fast food still doesn't sound appetizing
Symptoms: Just mild backaches and the occasional headache this week; I've also had a lot of abdominal pressure lately
Other Updates: I had a doctors appt this week and had several new developments:
I have actually only gained 14 lbs... obviously my scale at home is messed up ;).  I failed my glucose test :( so now I have to go back for the 3 hour one next Monday.  I have also had quite a bit of pressure so she decided to just check me out right quick.  She used the hand held heartbeat monitor to check the baby's heartbeat... which Chandler hated.  She actually kicked Dr. Strnad and was trying to move away from it so Dr. Strnad pressed on my left side to "hold" Chandler still so she could listen clearly.

Spence was also out of town this week on a business trip (first time he has left me since we've been married, feels so weird to be on this side of the business travel situation) so it gave me the opportunity to have my parents and his uncle come down to help me surprise him by having the music room [now officially the office/ bonus room] re-done; Jordan also came over to help them move the safe and desk out.  He comes home Wednesday night so I can't wait to see his reaction.  FYI-this was the catch all room for the kitchen remodel so excuse some of the misc items like the mixer, microwave/ table/ and rug in the corner in the before pics... they weren't usually there.

Here are the before and afters:

 

 



I had already started taking down the drums when I remembered to take a pic

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now onto the nursery!