I'm considering moving my blog to another site.  I wrote the second post about our kitchen remodel.  Check it out here, and let me know what you think.

Kitchen Remodel Part One

Anybody that knows me well knows that I don't handle messes very well.  In fact, just looking at these pictures is making my stomach clench and my blood pressure go up.  I actually get anxiety from living in mess and disorder.  So, going through a kitchen remodel is a highly stressful process for me.

This is kind of the before the staining shot.   My husband took the doors and hardware off, and we stripped and scrubbed all the beige paint off.  I'll tell you, that is one of the most grueling tasks I have ever done.  We had to take everything from the cabinets downstairs, because if I put it in the upstairs, Blake will get into it all.  I have been running up and down the basement stairs to get dishes to make anything.  

 My husband used the power sander and went over all the wood, and unfortunately, we discovered that whoever put the cabinets together originally used a few different kinds of woods to make repairs.  One cabinet is partially made of particleboard.  It doesn't sound like a problem until you start the whole staining process. 

Then to add to the fun, we woke up yesterday morning to discover that one of the sump pumps had quit working on us temporarily, and we got several inches of rain.  The concrete floor portion of our basement was flooded with quite a bit of water.  If you're quick, you'll remember where I told you where over half my dishes were.  Yeah. 

Some insulation and some other cardboard/paper things downstairs were completely ruined, and we had to quit work on the cabinets to get the pump and clean up all the water downstairs.  After that was done, and a whole lot more prep work was done on the doors and cabinets, we FINALLY got to the staining part.  



I started the staining inside the cabinets, while my husband finished sanding cabinet doors outside.  I couldn't believe how dark it was, even though we wanted a really dark wood color.  The stain we used inside was oil-based, and it really soaked in fast.  We weren't leaving it on long at all, but it was totally absorbing into some parts of the woods, and not absorbing into other parts at all.  We figured out too late that that was due partially to the different types of wood they used.  I was really concerned about how dark it was getting, but at this point, we were committed, so we decided to go ahead and finish it.  Sometimes, things look better when they are all the way done and they have some time to dry.  

The kitchen just kept getting messier, and the stain just kept getting darker.  I was really on the point of tears, I was afraid that the fronts of the cabinets would end up black, and I didn't want black-painted looking cabinets. 

 The final stain color ended up being much darker on the outside, so it turned out alright on that front.  In these pictures you can't see the final shade, the color develops over a period of time.  

 I was also getting kind of stressed because my dad was coming to visit in a couple of days, and the house was a total wreck.  Not that he'd mind, but that kind of thing really bothers me, to have company and the house is a mess.  Plus, I was hoping we'd have at least the top cabinets done to show him. 

The day after this was done, my husband and his friend ripped out the existing countertops and my sink. I will tell you more about that fun in my next installment on our remodel.  So far, I am realizing that 1) Remodeling is not a good thing for slightly neurotic people (the end result is, just not the process, and 2)  It is NOT for sissies.  It is all hard work.  I just keep thinking that we are doing this so we can get our farm in the next year or so.  

I also got some other organization projects done because they were necessary.  I totally cleaned out and organized my gardening shed.  So I could find things in there, so I could WALK in there, and so that we could actually put a mower in there.   I was pleased with how much floor space I made available after I finished.

All my tools and plant markers and various garden implements are separated into different boxes and buckets.  

 All my garden stakes are organized into buckets.  Do you think I have enough stakes?  

My honey also put some nails up for me so that I can hang all my harvesting baskets on the back of the shed.  Hopefully they will be all filled with tomatoes soon.

The day before our basement had its mini flood, I took all my empty jars downstairs and organized them on this metal shelf.  I sorted them by size as best as I could.  Bring on canning season! 

Next time I post, you will get to see our new countertops.  I never want the summer days to go fast, but I can't wait until we get this done. 

Life's a Beach

A few days ago, we went to the beach for the first time this summer.  This was Blake's first visit ever.  I was worried that he wouldn't like it, because when we took him to the wading pool, he didn't seem to get it. 

I didn't have anything to worry about though, he seemed excited to see the water, saying "Wow, wow" as we walked down towards the beach.

Some clouds passed over as we got into the water, making it suddenly chilly.  It didn't seem to bother him, he headed straight in, holding my hand. 

The beach has a few distinct advantages over the wading pool.  One of them being:  SAND.

He didn't like how the sand stuck to his feet at first when we came out of the water.  I got him to ignore it by teaching him how to bury toys in the sand and uncover them. 

Blake wants us to name everything, over and over.  He was fascinated by the star and octopus in the sand toys bag.  

His brothers and sisters were involved in a highly-involved sand excavation project, so naturally Blake wanted to help.

They were less than pleased about the help.  I told them he was the canal monster, and they better just get over it. 

They did get into a little cooperative sand piling though, before we left.  Blake didn't like when his siblings went off to swim in deeper water.  He would wade out to his thighs and screech in their direction.  When they didn't come back, he would turn around with a disgusted look on his face and go back to his sand play.  Blake and I didn't go very far into the water today, it was still really cold. 

We took a few minutes before we left to play on the really cool playground.  The big boys enjoyed scaling this spiderweb-style jungle gym. 

Blake was thrilled that they had little guy sized equipment at this playground.  He was able to get on and slide down all by himself, with mom closely supervising of course. 

In all, it was a very successful first beach outing.  I think Blake  and the big kids will be happy to go back again sometime soon. 

Wordless Wednesday- Babies of Summer

(In case you were wondering, this is the 'Trowel Lily')

Baby It's Cold Outside...but there are always seeds...

The birthday boy checks out some of brother's old toys...

 So, this week we had a major milestone at our house, the first birthday of our baby boy.  I guess technically, he is not a baby anymore, but in my mind he still is. 

 It was cold and grey outside today, like many January days, and we had the birthday party preparations behind us.  We headed down to the family room to play some Wii, since we just reorganized and our setup is a lot better for game playing now.  We also set Blake aside some bins of brother's old toys. He really enjoys going through all of them and he stays busy for quite a while.  All I have to do is set them all down and take the lids off, and he helps himself. 

 He doesn't even mind that Daddy and his sissies are playing games.  I was going to come down and blog about his birthday party, but I got distracted when I checked the mail.  Yes, I know it is Sunday, I was busy yesterday...I didn't have time for a lot of things, let alone checking the mail. 

This is what I found in the mailbox!

I was pleasantly surprised to find my Renee's Garden media kit in the mail.  That is great news, considering I haven't got around to doing any seed orders yet.  I didn't do that great in the garden last year, relatively speaking, compared to my pre-Blake gardening years.  My tomatoes did well, but almost nothing else did.  I didn't get any spring veggies out; I barely got the summer veggies out in time.  I didn't start ANY seeds indoors.  All my tomatoes were starts I bought from the Master Gardeners Sale.  I did start some seeds outdoors directly in the garden, but a lot of my seeds are really old.  I only bought a few Renee's Garden packets at a local garden center.

Anyways, long story short...I'm ready to START SOME SEEDS.  I have my seed starting rack all set up and ready to go, I just need to replace some bulbs.  I am ready to order and I'm raring to go.  

So, later, I will post about Blake's birthday party.  Today, I am snuggled up in my comfies in the recliner downstairs.  I have the laptop in my lap, and I'm dreaming of spring, summer, and seeds. 

Wordless Wednesday: What I saw when I woke up in the tent

Happy Campers (Times 7)

As you can see, camping tuckers you out.  That's the way I felt after 3 days of camping, even though we had a lot of fun.  The weather was gorgeous, with highs in the mid to upper 70s.  It wasn't so cool at night that we were cold in our sleeping bags, nor was it so hot that we were sweating while we were hiking.

We went to Backbone State Park in Northeast Iowa.  We've never been to this park, and it was simply beautiful.  It had fantastic views and scenery to look at all around the park.  One trail we went on had all these limestone formations sticking up out of the ground.  We had fun climbing up on them and looking across hills and ravines.  Some people even go rappelling down the cliffs near this trail. 

The kids had a BLAST.  They couldn't stop talking about it for days when we got home.  The hiking was a favorite, even by some who complained about having to go beforehand.  In the picture above, all four kids are standing in front of a massive tree that fell down and uprooted itself some time long before we were there. 

My stepdaughter took some of the pictures.  She is in her 'diagonal artsy' period.  Blake did pretty well with the camping too. To be honest, I was kind of worried about taking a 6-month old baby on a camping trip.  It would be hard for him to nap, it would be difficult to make his bottles, we wouldn't have all his toys and devices from home.  Somehow though, with some planning, it worked out.  I was so glad my Mei Tai wrap came before we left.  I put Blake in it many times during the three days, especially when we were hiking.  He actually fell asleep on our two hikes, after looking around in amazement at all the trees and nature.  I had to pull a towel between him and my shirt, to keep him from spitting up all over me. 

This was the view down through two rocks.  This wasn't the actual trail, more of a side shoot down to a scenic view.  I went part of the way down, and then stopped and came back up.  Leaning forward and climbing down slippery, steep trails is difficult when you have a 20 lb. infant strapped to your chest.  Climbing up was not so bad, but down made me nervous. 

Dale took a picture of our campsite.  You can see we had two tents, a girls' tent and a boys' tent.  Except Blake, he slept in the girls' tent.  We brought his pack and play for him to sleep in, since our tents are so big.  We loved the site.  It was only a short walk to the bathroom and shower house, and we could see the playground from our campfire.  A paved road wound around us, so the kids could ride their scooters and skateboards.  (Dad did a little skateboarding as well.  He is pretty good, I must say). 

The park had many interesting features, such as a cave large enough to walk around inside.

There were also springs that bubbled up in a clear, beautiful pool.  A sign informed us that the springs were a consistent 48 degrees year round.  We confirmed that the water was indeed cold!  We took off our shoes and tried walking across it.  The limestone rock pieces were sharp though and they were hard on our feet. 

Dad is here showing that he can wear the baby AND conquer the stream. 

Some of the best times were just chilling out around the campsite.  We put Blake's blanket inside the screen porch to protect him from bugs while he was stretching out and playing.  The sun was just up over the trees in the picture.  I kept thinking a baby couldn't have a more beautiful place to play than laying in this morning light. 

The kids loved roasting their own foods on a stick over the fire.  We let them eat as many hot dogs as they wanted for dinner the first night.  This was followed by eating as many marshmallows as they wanted a short while later.  We didn't get any complaints when it was time to go to bed while we were camping. We ate well, worked hard and played hard. Like I said, camping tuckers you out. 

A 6-Month Birthday and a Surprise

You know in your logical mind that a baby is going to take over your life for quite a while.  Saying that, and thinking you know that, is NOT the same as living it.  For example, Blake had his 6-month birthday 2 days ago, and this is the first time I have ever did a blog post with him in it.  I was thinking about my blog, and how long it had been since I posted, and I really couldn't believe it had been that long.  I have been too busy to even blog once for 6 months.

So being that he has reached his half-year birthday, I'd like to officially welcome Blake Montgomery Erickson to my blog. 

We have been expecting a tooth for a while now.  He has been showing all the classic symptoms: excessive drooling, ear pulling, slight fever, etc.  Right before we left to go camping this week, I finally felt it, a sharp ridge poking up through his bottom gum.  Now we had a reason to break out this festive "Yay! My first tooth!" onesie. 

I tried to get a picture of his tooth, but this was the best I could do.  He is difficult enough to get a picture of in the first place, he moves so much.  When I was trying to photograph his tooth, I got a surprise.  TWO TEETH.  Side by side on the bottom.  Evidently he is taking after his brother, who lost all his baby teeth in two's. 

He is also nearly ready to crawl.  It is going to happen any day now.  When I look back on his first year, I will remember how many milestones he hit right around his 6-month birthday.