Progress.....

After a year of living in our home and dealing with our crappy bathrooms, we finally started the remodeling process!! Actually, the bulk of the work is done!

I would have never shared pics of my bathroom on here if I couldn't show you the after pictures. I HATED my bathrooms. Truthfully, I could deal with ugly bathrooms, but they weren't just ugly---they had issues. As we tore them out, we discovered the issues were more than we realized. We literally took everything out. The half bath wasn't as bad, but the full bath had a large portion of the subfloor removed. Once we pulled the tub out, we realized we were pretty lucky we hadn't fallen through the floor!! There had been a leak, so we knew the floor was in bad shape, but with the tub out, we saw that the beam that was supposed to support the tub had actually been CUT!! So, while the price of the remodel is a bit hard to swallow, I now realize it was even more necessary than we first thought!!

We are painting them ourselves and have not decided on a paint color. We still need to contact an electrician to install outlets and our new lights. In the half bath, we plan on putting a wall cabinet over the toilet for storage and just a mirror over the sink. I'm not sure what we will do in the full bath yet. So, here are some pics of the progress so far.....

Half bath before:



Half bath after:





They are coming on Monday to move the pipe up coming out of the wall, so the white pipe will no longer be there!!

Here are some before shots of the full bath. They started tearing things out sooner than I thought they would, so I didn't get any good shots of the tub. These pics were taken when we first moved in and I was trying to disguise the ugliness. The tub, sink, and toilet were all a light peachy, pink color (which you can't really tell in the pictures)!! And there was CARPET in both bathrooms!!



All torn up--
Before repair:

After repair:


Looking better!!


We chose to use this recessed shelf for storage in there. Looking at pics online, it was hard to see how it would look, but I'm really happy with it!!

Thumb Sucker Tragedy (WW)

Cute---


Not so cute (click picture to enlarge)--

And this was after taking it out of his mouth, so it was moist....and after a couple days of medicine on it. In case you are wondering, I am using Lansinoh and it seems to be doing the trick!!

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Menu Plan Monday..

Last week we tried a new recipe for banana pudding. It was super yummy!! I didn't get a picture of it though.

I also attempted homemade rolls. I'm not a very experienced bread-maker, though. The recipe is from a lady in the town I grew up in. She used the recipe to make rolls and cinnamon rolls, so I did as well. This was my first time ever to make homemade cinnamon rolls. I'm pretty certain I got the water too hot, so the dough did not rise properly. However, the cinnamon rolls were still very tasty!! I'll post the recipe below.



I also took a picture of the Greek lemon chicken soup. We love it!! I added 2 stalks of celery plus some of the celery leaves and it was very good. Also, I've always used chicken breasts for it, but I had some leftover roasted chicken in the freezer that I used for it. It turned out very good!
We had the artichoke tomato pasta below two weeks ago and loved it!! So much so that we are having it again this week! I bought a large jar of artichoke hearts and an 8 pack of stewed tomatoes at Costco, so we'll be having this pasta a few times in the coming weeks! I'll try to take a picture of it this time.

On to this week....

*=new recipe
Monday--beef stew, rolls, salad

Tuesday--fajitas, chips, salsa

Wednesday--buffalo chicken chili mac*, salad

Thursday--pan fried chicken, artichoke tomato pasta, steamed veggies

Friday--burgers with homemade buns, roasted potatoes, salad

Saturday--meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green beans (carried over from last week)

*************************************************************************************
Mrs. B's Cinnamon Rolls

2 cups warm water
2 pkgs. dry yeast
1 T. Wesson oil or melted shortening
1 t. salt
2 T. sugar
flour

Add yeast and oil to warm water. Mix salt, sugar, and 2 c. flour together. Add the flour mixture to the yeast mixture and mix well. Add enough flour to make a workable dough. Knead in all the flour it can take on a floured surface. Set in a warm spot and let double in size. Punch down, roll into rolls, and let rise. Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes.

For cinnamon rolls:
1/2 stick butter
1/2 c. sugar
cinnamon

Make roll recipe, except after first rise, roll dough ou to 1/4" thick on a floured surface. Melt butter and brush over dough. Sprinkle with sugar and dust generously with cinnamon. Roll into tube shape and pinch edges together. Cut about 1" thick and place on greased pan.

Glaze:
1 c. powdered sugar
1 T. cinnamon
1/4 c. water

Spread glaze onto uncooked rolls and let rise 20 minutes. Bake at 450 degrees for 10-15 minutes.

(I think the next time I make these, I'll mix up a cream cheese icing to top them with when they come out of the oven.)

For more menu plan Monday fun, head on over to Laura's at I'm an Organizing Junkie!

I don't see it..... (WW)

For more Wordless Wednesdays, go here or here!

I'm a winner!

During the Ultimate Blog Party I did some party hopping and actually came away a winner at a couple of places!

At i-Mommy, I won a Family Game Pack!! It just so happens that thes games included were my favorite games when I was growing up. I can't wait to play them with the boys!!

I also won at Val's place!! She had a get to know Val quiz and had 5 people get all 25 answers correct. I was the lucky one drawn as the winner!! I won an 8x10 canvas gallery-wrap of any personal photo that I choose. I still haven't decided which picture to use. I tried to get a good picture of the boys yesterday, but Lucas went to bed late on Saturday, woke during the night, woke up earlier than normal, and didn't have a nap. Needless to say, he did NOT want to take pictures. I'm going to try again, this time making sure Lucas is well rested!

I'm super excited about both prizes!! Thanks, Val and Lori!!

Menu Plan Monday..

Last week didn't go as planned. However, we ate at home each night. Some nights we had leftovers instead of cooking a new meal and others we just had whatever we could find. So, we have three meals carried over to this week. As I stated last week, I was planning on going into DC to get tickets to the White House Egg Roll. You can read more on that here. We weren't home much on Easter, so that meal got moved to today. We did our egg hunt at the park and then went to a carnival. On the way home, we stopped and picked up the ever popular Easter meal of McD's!! Here are a few pictures of our day (I'm sure I will post more later)...




On to this week....

*=new recipe

Monday--ham, potato casserole (recipe below), salad, deviled eggs, green jello salad*, and banana pudding*

Tuesday--leftover turkey loaf from last week, green bean casserole, salad

Wednesday--meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green beans

Thursday--Greek lemon chicken soup, homemade rolls* (I'm using a recipe from a lady in the town I grew up in---if they turn out, I'll share the recipe next week)

Friday--leftovers


Potato Casserole (I got this recipe out of a church cookbook)

2 lbs. frozen hash brown potatoes (I use southern style)
1/2 c. melted butter
1 t. salt
1 t. pepper
2 cans cream of chicken soup
16 oz. sour cream
1/2 c. finely chopped onion
10 0z. Cheddar cheese, shredded
Topping:
2 c. crushed corn flakes
1/2 c. melter butter

Thaw potatoes (I never do) and combine all ingredients (except for topping) in a large mixking bowl (and I do mean large!!). Pour mixture into a large casserole dish. Sprinkle with topping and bake 1 to 1.5 hours at 350 degrees or until topping is browned and casserole is bubbling.


For more menu plan Monday fun, head on over to Laura's at I'm an Organizing Junkie!

Happy Easter!!

Well, I had planned on going into DC and trying to get tickets for the Easter Egg Roll. However, after doing some more research, I learned that you truly do have to be there 12 hours in line to actually get tickets. I think you can go on Monday and spend less time in line, but hubby has to work on Monday and I don't think I want to stand in line for hours with two kids. On top of that, they will be here working on our bathroom on Monday. However, there is a lady that organizes a bunch of moms to meet up and wait in line together to get tickets. I'm going to try that next year. I hadn't planned for it this year and then learned that they'd be here working on Monday. What is a bit irritating about the whole thing is that people go wait in line for tickets just so they can sell them for $100+ per ticket (and absolutely everyone must have a ticket). GREEDY!!! While I didn't go stand in line, there are plenty of parents that did and were turned away because lots of these greedy people got there first. I understand these tickets are free to anyone, but if you don't even want to go, let someone who does have chance to get them. I suppose you could say they are giving them a chance----by selling them. It's just sad that to take your kids to such an awesome thing, you have to jump through hoops or be willing to spend big bucks!!

And because I haven't taken any pics today---here is a picture from last year just for kicks!! They've grown soooo much!!

Some more Logan funnies....

Honestly, I don't even remember why this came up, but a couple of days ago Logan was talking about a scubar diver...LOL. He was telling me that a "scubar diver can go diving if they have a scubar tank".

Yesterday Logan asked to watch something on tv. I saw that this movie was on, and he said he wanted to watch it. I remember watching it when I was little and I loved it. Well, Logan does not feel the same way about it. After watching it for a while, he said, "Momma, this movie is for like 12 year olds and I'm only 5" (as he held five fingers up). Oh my---that is one way to tell me you don't like the movie...LOL!!

A few days before that he exclaimed, "What in tarnation??"!!

Hubby replaced the faucet in the kitchen due to the old one leaking. With us only being homeowners for a year, we haven't done many home improvement projects. To top that off, because of the leak, the bolt was super rusted---making it a difficult job. Hubby got it all hooked up and discovered it was still leaking!! Unhooked the water supply line to find the old one didn't have a washer in it---luckily we had some new ones on hand for out bathroom remodel, so hubby put that on. We let Logan stay up to watch (and put Lucas in bed to keep him out of the way!!). Hubby got it all put together and let Logan do the honors of turning on the new faucet...LOL!! Logan stepped back and said, "Yay---we did it!!". To which hubby and I laughed because as you know, a 5 year old hardly helps---unless you count 5,000 questions and hubby being climbed on while laying on his back with head stuck in the cabinet as helping :-)!!

7 facts about me...

I was tagged by Sarah at Mommyology to be a part of this meme. Since I recently did my 100 things about me post for my 100th post, I'm trying to come up with some new things.

Rules are:
1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.


Here are some things about me--

1. Since my dad had custody of me, I spent a lot of time with his parents (my Nanny and Papa) while he worked. Once I was in school, my Nanny was mostly the one to care for me while I was sick. They lived in a small town in the TX panhandle with a population of around 300. They had a farm with alfala and cotton. I loved when they would bale the hay. My cousins and I built houses in the barn with the hay and had a BLAST!! Here is a picture of them on their farm...


2. My sister is 6 years older than I am and is my best friend. We talk several times a week and never seem to be at a loss of what to talk about!! She and I sound so much a like when we talk, that our own family has a hard time telling us apart when we talk to them on the phone. Once my mom was telling me all about a bed she saw for sale and I couldn't figure out why. I think I was in the 6th or 7th grade and wasn't in the market for purchasing a bed...LOL. She thought she was telling my sister, who was looking for a bed!!

3. My mom and dad had 3 kids together. I am the baby there. When I was 9, my mom had re-married and had my little sister. She has since had two more boys, so she has 3 boys and 3 girls.

4. Like Sarah, I lived in a very small town. The population was around 2500. For a long time there was only one stop light and it was a big deal when the second one was added!! There were two grocery stores to choose from and one was litterally called "The Grocery Store". The nearest mall and movie theater were 60 miles away.

5. When in the 3rd grade, we moved into the "country". In actuality, it was a very small town (less than 100 people) 7 miles from the other small town. My very best friend there was Heather. She and I had to find some interesting things to keep ourselves busy. Once we strung rope used in Hands Across America (my dad was a volunteer fireman and helped string the rope through our town) from my house to her house. We then went inside and called each other on the phone to see if the other could feel when we tugged the rope. I'd guess we lived 100 yards from each other...maybe a little more. It was pretty fun until we had to wind all that rope back up!! I lived in that little town until I finished 7th grade.

6. After growing up in such tiny towns, I absolutely love living in the suburbs of a large city!! So much to see and do!!

7. Today is sunny. The birds are chirping, the kids are playing, and the saws are humming!! We have FINALLY got the remodel of our bathroom under way!! There will be plenty of before/after pictures to come.


If they choose to play (no hard feelings if you don't), I am tagging.....

Janice (but I see that she just did her 100th post with lots of fun facts!!)
Beth
Audra (my sister---her blog is private)
Kippy
Jenn
Angie
Julie

Hanging out with the Washingtons...(WW)

Taken at Mt. Vernon.

For more Wordless Wednesdays, go here or here!