the remodel.

i can't believe my last blog was on april 10th. it is now may 3rd. i think my lack of posting shows you my lack of motivation lately. it seems as though my energy and motivation have gone out the window since we started this remodel in our house. i normally can't stand to have a messy/dirty house...but since our living room is torn upside down i have given up. :) it doesn't make sense to dust when more drywall dust comes flurrying throughout the house the next day. so....i have just told myself not to worry and to just relax and enjoy the break from cleaning. easier said than done.

tyler is doing a great job with the living room/stairway remodel. i can't say enough how thankful i am that he knows how to do all this stuff. so far he has torn out the railing and put in a new half-wall in it's place. he extended the wall down to the basement so no babies/toddlers can fall through the foot wide slats (like cruz has done). he has put up the stone on the fireplace, as well as my mantle (that i fought for!) and the frame for the tv. he has made an awesome concrete hearth for the fireplace, too. he also put in new recessed lighting...i love it! we didn't have good lighting at all in the living room before, and the new lighting has made such a difference! the next steps are new trim, paint, and then carpet. have i mentioned that i love my husband? he is so awesome to do this while working two jobs. i don't know how he does it. so, my rant earlier was not meant to be me complaining....because i am SO thankful for all that he is doing and am so excited for the changes!

here are some pics of the construction:

getting supplies at menards...though we have been to lowe's and home depot many times as well.

the awesome fireplace without the old mantle and tile.

cruz helping daddy put the stone up. he loved doing this.

cruz working in the entry way with his hammer. he wants to be just like daddy. he keeps saying that daddy is building a "new wall".

entry.

i LOVE it that my husband knows how to fix stuff. and make new stuff.

he got home from work the other day and started tearing into our entry way. we've been wanting to fix the railing for awhile (totally not safe for wee ones), and he came home with the motivation to do it the other day. cruz thought it was kind of scary first. he started to cry when tyler started knocking the rails down. but then once tyler had him help knock them down he was on the top of the world.

he keeps talking about how daddy is going to make a new wall. and new steps. daddy is his hero.

we had a bit of a scare after cruz went to bed. we were working on pulling up the old tile. tyler was using a crowbar to pull up the old wood floor that was beneath the tile when the boards popped in two....sending a piece flying into his face. i looked up after a shower of grout and dust to see blood dripping from tyler's head. he had a pretty good gash right between his eyes and another one on his forehead. so scary!! i'm afraid i freaked out more than him...he was really calm and kept saying that he was ok. we almost went to get stitches, but decided to do butterfly stitches with band-aids after talking to his mom and his aunt, who is a nurse. i was nervous about it, but it is healing up very nicely now. thank goodness for a nurse in the family. :)

around the corner..

(image from potterybarn.com)

i love summer, i really do. but i really love fall. i am so happy that september is right around the corner. i'm ready for the cooler weather, the fall leaves, the cozy decor, and sweatshirts. i was browsing through the pottery barn catalog today for fall decorating inspiration. i love seeing the way they decorate tabletops, especially. once september hits i will be lugging out my fall sterilite bin to spruce this house up! and maybe i'll have to go to hobby lobby to see what new things they have. :)

new freezer!

we recently received this beautiful new freezer as a gift. we are so thankful! i am thrilled to have one of these. i have been wanting a freezer for quite awhile, as ours fills up so fast. i am super excited to fill it up with meat and homemade freezer meals. i am also excited about being able to take advantage of sales to stock up on food items that can be frozen.

i know it looks a little empty right now, but i have high hopes of adding to it this fall. the first thing i put in it was a pan of chicken enchiladas. it felt so good to just make double of what i was making for supper one night - super easy! and now we have another meal on hand. and we are going to get some meat from a butcher...can't decide...beef or pork? we shall see.

so...if any of you have some good freezer meal recipes, let me know! or just helpful hints, such as what to store stuff in, etc. thanks!

around the house.

hanging out on daddy's lap during breakfast. i always used to sit on my dad's lap while he ate his cereal. this picture took me back to those days. :) love you, dad!

mr. cool hanging out in the laundry basket. getting in and out of the laundry basket is the funnest game ever at our house.

i discovered cruz drinking his milk in daddy's guitar case one day.

tyler has been doing some work in our garage...cruz loves watching him work. here he is trying to offer tyler one of his own tools to work with. how nice of cruz!

constantly exploring and picking things up.

cruz's room...

we finally put pictures up in cruz's room a few months ago, so i took some pictures the other day to share. i am currently on a household project to take a picture of every room, as is. i always tend to think that i need to wait to take pictures until the room is just like i want it, but seriously...that might not happen for a long time. i love our house, and am so incredibly thankful for it...i am always making little improvements here and there, because i do love making our house cute and homey. but i want to capture each room like it is right now, even if it isn't decorated exactly like i'd like it to be.