New Blog

My new consolidated blog, Mom's Many Projects, is now available. You can find it at http://momsmanyprojects.blogspot.com! This blog will still be available to view older posts.

Consolidation of Blogs

I am currently in the process of consolidating my blogs into one new blog. As much as I enjoy each of my blogs, I'm afraid I don't have as much time as I would like to keep up with all of them separately. Therefore, soon there will be a brand new blog that will encompass posts on my personal finance, genealogy, home and garden projects, and anything else I feel like posting. I feel that at this time it will allow me more flexibility to post in times when there is more subject matter to discuss in one area over another. I will post the website here as soon as I am ready to go live with it.

This blog has been extremely enjoyable for me to work on and I hope everyone that follows it will enjoy the new one!

Foyer and Kitchen

It's been a while since I've posted anything here. Actually I haven't even been able to do anymore projects until recently!

Here we've started ripping up our kitchen floor.  We've started with half of it and quickly realized we had some problems.  The first were cracks in the cement subfloor, which we expected because we already did the foyer floor and had them there.  What we didn't expect was that water had somehow gotten through the cracks and under the linoleum.  We had some mildew to take care of, but luckily it wasn't that bad.  The other problem was the linoleum backing was completely stuck to the concrete and we've had the very slow process of scraping all of it off.  It has been taking us a long time to get it all done, but we are almost ready to fill in the cracks and seal the floor before laying down the new flooring. 

Here is a picture of our kitchen floor so far.  The fridge has been pulled out for a few days so we can get the linoleum and backing out from behind it.  We've already removed the linoleum from under the oven, but still need to unhook the dishwasher to get under that.  I'm hoping to have the whole kitchen done before Christmas, but we'll see.  The pantry and laundry closet will be done last as far as removing the flooring and putting down the new.  When the kitchen is totally done, then I'll be replacing the quarter round around the baseboards in the kitchen and foyer.

We've also started painting the foyer and replaced the light fixture.  This color, Shingle Tan, will be in the foyer, hallway, living room (except one wall), and the wall in the kitchen that connects with the living room (unless I can figure out a way to separate it somehow).

Here's a picture after we replaced the light fixture.

This was before we changed the light fixture.  The new light looks so much better than this gold one!

This was when I started painting the foyer.  I've started with what I could reach first and then I'll get to whatever I need a ladder for.  Unfortunately, I'm only able to do a little bit more until I can buy more paint.  I only bought a quart in case I didn't like the color so now I have to go out and buy a gallon.  Right now I'm only going to paint the foyer and hallway.  The living room is a much bigger job and I'll be saving that for later,  though I did buy the accent wall color, Dried Chili Pepper!  I figure I'll paint the living room when I get to replace the monstrosity we call an entertainment center since I'm only moving it one more time!

Shirt Pillow

Tonight I decided to get some of my smaller projects out of the way.  I fixed DS1's WebKinz that was coming apart at the seam.  Then I sewed DS2's favorite shirt (he outgrew it) together to make a pillow.  I still haven't figured out the sewing machine--I'm being lazy--so I sewed it by hand, left a hole at the bottom, filled it up with stuffing, and sewed up the hole.  He was asleep when I finished so I placed it in his bed with him so he can see it in the morning.  

Avoiding Plant Pests and Disease

I found a good article at HGTV that gives ways to beat pests and disease on your plants without using insecticides.  I'll need to keep this in mind when I get to planning and planting my raised gardens.

Awesome Dining Room

I found this picture of a really nice zen-like dining room at the Apartment Therapy blog.  I figure this will be great when DS1 is older, moves out, and I have his room to make my dining room.  No rush!  :-)

Backyard and Landscaping Projects

I have quite a few projects going on either actual or in my mind for later for my backyard.

This is part of my backyard.  There is more around the corner and next to the house where the fence ends.  I'll need to get a photo of that area later and show everyone because I'm have problems decided what to do there.  

I plan to put a tree in the back corner next to the fence.  Luckily, the rabbits that get in under the fence have already taken care of the grass in there area for me.  :-)  The area with the small black fencing is actually to protect a small orange tree.  I'm not sure how well it is doing so I may need to replace it with a larger, more established one.  The path will start at the door.

This is the left side (from our patio) of our backyard.  I'm planning on putting a shed in the back behind the trees.  Unfortunately, the trees may have to come up.  There is something wrong with them and they barely get leaves or flower (they're supposed to be crepe myrtles).  The crooked one was permanently bent that way from the roots up with the 2004 hurricanes.  I'd like to find other types of trees to replace them.  In the area right next to the patio I would like to create a raised veggie/fruit/flower garden.  I would love to have some large rectangles (I'm thinking about 4) made with concrete blocks and rock paths between them along with a little fence (like the one around the orange tree) to keep the rabbits out of it.

This was when we were starting the path.  The edging stops where the courtyard will begin.

We used stepping stones made from recycled tires--sort of the same material used on playgrounds, but compressed.

This is where we've stopped our current outdoor project due to excess rainstorms and heat.  We'll need to pick it back up once the rainy season slows down and it gets a little cooler.  As you can see we also have a bridge now!  It's almost 5 feet long and we got it on Ebay.  It will be a really nice transition between the path and courtyard.