Living in Chaos and Looking on the Bright Side

So, as some of you know, we have begun the road towards home remodeling. By this I don't mean any knocking down the walls projects, but major enough when you are attempting to live in the space simultaneously. Luckily, I was able to reconnect with a high school friend who now owns a handyman business (http://www.chrismeis.com/- in case any interested readers need a reliable handyman) and has been doing a great job helping us check off our to-do list. As a run down of the list, the kitchen is the major area. We have moved some things around, added a few cabinets, are getting new countertops and painting the cabinets as well as the stairwell that is attached. We are then also getting a tile backsplash. In addition to this, we have completely replaced the floors in the kitchen, hallway, closets, living room, dining room and (soon) the entry way. They are all laminate hardwood, except for the entryway which will be tile. The living room, dining room, hallway and entry way are also getting a fresh coat of paint. There is still much work to be done, but here are a few snapsnots of before and the in between. I won't call these the after because much better ones will follow soon.

Kitchen before

Another shot of kitchen before- notice the very ugly linoleum :) I should have taken pictures of what was underneath this because THAT was some hideous flooring- orange and yellow hexagonal patterns.

The new kitchen floor!

Modified cabinets- missing counters still and new fronts to the cabinets but so excited that we will gain nearly 4 ft of counter space!

Dining room before- well, actually it was after we ripped out the badly stained carpeting (who puts carpet in a dining room????)

Beautiful new floor!

Living room before- same ugly, stained carpet that was in the dining room.

Gorgeous floor! Nevermind the missing trim- that will go on after the fresh coat of paint. Had to show off the floors though because they are awesome! Alex and Anna have decided they will be perfect for hockey practice and Sarah has found a new game where Chris pulls her around like a little rag doll on the floor- good times!

In other, unrelated non-remodeling news, Alex had his check up with the cardiologist this week. Everything looks great and hopefully we will not need to see him again. No swelling of his heart or valve problems so we were very relieved. As for the penicillin shots, those will likely be needed until he is at least out of college and potentially longer if he goes into a job where he is around kids or young adults most of the time (more likely to be exposed to strep). Oh well, could have been much worse and we are thankful everyday for his health and for the fact that we have been blessed with 3 beautiful, rambunctious, crazy, unique, fun and challenging kids! Life is good :)