We finished redecorating Greta's room back in late June and everyone who would be remotely interested has already seen it (either live or in photos)... BUT, I'm just so thrilled we finally moved that poor child out of her converted crib that I'm doing a quick post anyway!

{Note: The "new" room is bigger (furniture-wise) and brighter, but not the fluorescent tone the second and third pictures below make it appear. Yellows are hard to pick and almost as hard to photograph; I think the first image captures the true sunny color best - at least on my screen.}

In our first house, Shawn and I covered the upper portion of the front entryway with a random assortment of framed mirrors:

This is one of those posts that no one (Shawn and the kids included) will probably give two hoots about but me, but it's largely my blog, so... I am very, very happy to report that the giant overflowing heap of toys taking over the family room has been neatly contained in one giant new shelf (thank you Ikea, and thank you Matt and Kerrie for delivering the beast!). The old "toy shelf" has been repurposed as a catch-all in the front entry: And the new shelf is SUCH an improvement in the wonderful world of organization: Everything has a spot! Bins hide some of the clutter!! And there's ample space on top for toys in quarantine (for failure-to-pickup violations)!!!

Next up I'm tackling the kids' closets and our (seriously cluttered office). It is a definite sign of nerdiness to get this ridiculously excited about having an organized space :0)

This child has had so much sugar lately that we're not sure he'll EVER be nestled snug in his bed... And sleeping at night is definitely not a priority for this child (although eating baby cereal now is!)...

But the Christmas tree is up.

The halls are decked.

The stockings are hung by the former-chimney-that-is-now-just-a-mantle with care.

And we're all hoping that St. Nicholas - and Shawn's parents, who are scheduled to fly in tomorrow - soon will appear :0)

Though, really, after taking a ride on the RailRunner train with Daddy, "Dog", and Santa, what more could a little boy ask for?

Hope it's merry for all of you,

Amelia

Our remodel work was finished about a week after Greta was born, which means I'm almost five weeks late in posting photos of the completed eating area... Here's a photo tour of the new room, beginning with a look towards the north. And moving clockwise, looking into the existing kitchen.

Continuing clockwise...

Here's the new utility closet door Shawn just finished staining and the entrance to the existing family room.

Moving clockwise still, toward the fireplace in the southwest corner.

And finally around to the patio doors.

Aside from hanging some more artwork on the walls, that's the grand finale!! We're happy with the look of the finished product, and think it was worth the wait to have a functional, and heated!, eating space :0)

-Amelia

This week we got to see some of the finishing touches on the new eating area start to come together; if all continues to go well, it should be a done deal by next week this time! Here's a peak at the tile and the fireplace with its first two layers of plaster (it'll get a final finish layer before it's done). Window/door trim is in place and partially stained and most of the tile is laid out and awaiting grouting.

The biggest change for us is having the plastic down and the new room opened back up to our kitchen. It's really cool to see what it's all going to look like, but a big mess in the current state, too!

And the final, color coat of stucco is in place. We just stuck with a match to the rest of the house, but hope to change it all out to a different shade (a little darker and more brown rather than orange) sometime down the road.

So that's where the remodel is at. As far as baby news... unfortunately, nothing to report other than a number of sleepless nights. My parents arrived Wednesday evening so we're ready anytime (and are hoping for sooner rather than later!). With any luck, my next post will be to introduce our new family member :0)

-Amelia

No baby news yet, which is just as well as we'd prefer she stay put until my parents' arrival on Wednesday evening at this point... Of course, we'll take her whenever she decides to make an appearance!! Unfortunately, not a whole lot of news on the new eating area, either. I'm a little disappointed as I was SO hoping to have things done before the baby's debut and it's not looking likely. The remodeling process hasn't been too bad - the guys doing the work are wonderful and we're thrilled with how it's turning out - but it will sure be nice to have our privacy and space back! Anyway, things are still moving along, just not at the warp speed I'd prefer. Here's what happened this past week: The scratch coat, or first layer of stucco, applied outside. Interior walls textured and floor subsurface leveled in prep for tiling; both of these tasks are almost done and should be finished entirely tomorrow.

First coat of paint done (Shawn is the man behind the roller/brush on this one); yep, we're sticking with the color it was before since we like/d it so much :0)

And that's about it for action around here. With temps in the 95+ range the past week or so, who needs more?

-Amelia

This week's work on the new eating area included prepping the exterior for its stucco finish (they basically wrap it in a wire mesh that will hold the stucco material in place). And putting up and mudding the sheetrock on the interior walls.

-Amelia

Only three more weeks 'til our baby girl's due date!! I had an ultrasound and midwife appointment on Thursday and everything looks and sounds good; previous concerns about a bit of fluid in her kidneys seem to have cleared up and we're set for her to arrive whenever she's ready. Unfortunately, we're also looking at an absolute minimum of three weeks to wrap up construction of the new eating area. Progress has been made over the last couple of weeks, but it's been slower going than previous phases due to lots of subcontractor and inspector involvement. Since the last update, all electrical and gas work has been completed and inspected, the fireplace inset has been installed, doors and windows are in place, and the roof has been constructed, insulated, and covered with the final membrane layer (kind of like a big swimming pool liner). Here's a pic of what things look like now.

Happy 4th, Amelia

In preparation for the baby, we've moved a number of rooms around in the last several months - the former guest room became Liam's room, what was our office will soon be the guest room (still need to stain the new doors), and we (and by "we" I mean "Shawn") dragged all the office furnishings up to the loft above our bedroom. I kept waiting to take photos 'til we had it all organized, but am giving in that this is good as it's going to get so here's a look at our relocated office space...

We've also done a wee bit of girl-ifying in the nursery (though all the main furniture and pieces are leftovers from when the space was Liam's turf).

Now all we need to finish it off is our baby girl (and her name is already on the wall, but we're not sharing!!:0)

-Amelia

Last week, "the guys" (who Liam is endlessly fascinated by) trenched, prepped, poured, and got the permit for the new eating area footings.

This week they completed the framing for the new space, including the ceiling beams. Quite a difference, eh?

Here's an interior shot showing some more of the framing detail. The big garage door-looking opening will be filled by a set of bi-parting French sliders, and you can see spaces for a couple of windows in the far wall. Here's a view looking toward the family room (door covered in plastic); the corner to the right of the door is where the fireplace is going.

And here's another view of the ceiling. Shawn worked overtime staining all of the beams and tongue and groove; didn't he do a great job?

This was a fast week for progress and extra fun to watch. We're getting excited now that it's starting to resemble a room again!

-Amelia