Key lime bars

I love pinterest. I found a recipe for lemon bars but switched out the lemon filling for key line because that is Shane's favorite!
These were really yummy!

Mix the two ingredients gently. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

This Week

The remodeling has begun this week. Which just means that my house is a disaster! Huge boxes of cabinets everywhere, no microwave, dust flying.

I am so incredibly grateful for what this kitchen is going to be. But like any mom, the huge disruption and mess  is definitely making me a little cranky. Throw in some pregnancy hormones and I have cried over my kitchen sink every morning this week.

One of those weeks where everything is overwhelming. I have a writing deadline looming, Shane has had to work three weeks straight with only one day off, weather has been yuck so we are stuck inside a lot. Not the best recipe for a happy attitude.

Last night Reece woke us up choking and coughing. I shot out of bed so fast I slammed my hip on the door. That's going to leave a mark! I am so thankful for modern medicine sometimes. And also that he is old enough now to tell us when he needs a breathing treatment. So at 3 am while he breathed on "froggy" (his nebulizer), I cleaned up his room a little bit. Then I curled up with him for an hour or two until I was sure the treatment was working. Thankfully he slept the rest of the night, but then woke up with it all starting again. Back on froggy at 8 am. I love how kids just go with the flow. Right now he's eating cereal as if nothing happened. While I have huge bags under my eyes that no nap or amount of caffeine is going to cure.

So it is definitely a stay in pajamas day. It is also a run through the Panera drive- thru day. I love how those two things go together.

This kitchen is getting a makeover! Finally!

When we moved into our new home we knew the kitchen would be an issue. Not many cabinets and very little counter space. Great for a growing family who likes to make things from scratch? ha! We debated about how to spend our tax refund this year. It wasn't enough to finish the basement, but we could get it started. Save it towards a new car for Shane? Dream vacation to Europe? Ok, no on that one for sure. But once we really got talking about it. We knew it was time for the kitchen to get a facelift.
Over the years this kitchen has become really brown. In an effort to eradicate the hideous vanilla color from the builder we went with a really pretty color called natural brown from BEHR. And I still love the color. But then we added in hardwood floors (and you all know when I say WE I mean Shane right?) and things started getting really brown then. Brown floors, brown walls, maple cabinets, dark counter top.
All this to say. The kitchen is one dreary place to spend the majority of my day. The struggle for me was this discontentment. Couldn't I be more thankful for what I had? But it ultimately came down to hubs being tired of the lack of function and having small appliances every where and even he agreed it was time.
So how do we remodel the kitchen with as little waste as possible (that was important to us to not be wasteful with materials only 5 years old)? Instead of ripping everything out we opted to take the attitude that we are just "adding on". There is only one material going to waste and that is the counter tops. For all the bread making and homeschool science projects it made sense to switch to a stone surface.
Ok, finally we are getting to the fun part!

This picture is the new cabinet design. We have basically added a second row of cabinets to what is already existing. It goes all the way up to our 9' ceilings. I will need an extension on my step stool I think! Two of the cabinets flanking the microwave will be open for display. And we added cabinetry above the window. The biggest change is the island! woohoo! Lots of counter space and storage there.

So what you don't see is all the work that my hubs put into this. I am talking measuring and measuring and measuring. Pouring over catalogs, trips to the design lady (awesome Shelly at Home Depot), and making my ideas a reality. He added so many things I never thought of. See how the cabinets stick out above the fridge? GENIUS! To that he added a side panel so that it looks like the fridge is in a cabinet. So pretty. There are pieces of trim, end panels and corbels, and a valance above the sink. Seriously that man is amazing. So that's the "bones" of the kitchen. Now let's get to all the pretties.

This tile? I almost made out with it as soon as I saw it. I had wanted subway tile, but Shane wasn't liking that look. Thankfully he was right. The second I saw it I knew I had met my dream. She is so pretty and I can't help but stare at her often through the day.
The sample on top is the countertop. I had picked out a different sample a year ago but it was granite. Shane was convinced we were not going to be able to keep up with the maintenance of granite and really wanted me to find something in quartz. Wait, so you want me to pick out something that is more expensive? When does THAT ever happen? So I lamented for two weeks over my beloved granite, but made that decision that I would just have to find something in quartz. Lo and behold, HD had changed out their display on Saturday and this sample was now available! What!!! It is almost exactly the same as the granite one I loved. But now I think this is even better! It's hard to tell in the pic, but it has the white, grey, black, and brown in it too pull all the colors from the "bones" of the kitchen. And doesn't it look like my tile and countertops are soulmates? ***sigh***

Just in case you wanted to see the pretty girl again.

Here is all the materials together.

Now I just have to find a faucet and a paint color for the walls. (anyone want to come help paint an open concept first floor? Yep! All 1000 square has to be painted all because I am changing color schemes. ugh!

The materials don't come in until the end of february and first of march. So now all I can do is drool....

Will update when there is actually progress!

This week

I found this yarn bowl awhile ago and would love to find one to purchase. How delicious is it?

The book Desperate by Sarah Mae and Sally Clarkson arrived this week. Thank goodness for Amazon Prime! Now if I can just get a few minutes to sit and read it where I don't fall asleep.

My latest and greatest purchase is this electric kettle. This thing rocks! Kids want hot chocolate? Sure give me 1 one minute. It is so fast and you can adjust the temperature. It lets you know when it's done. It shuts off on its own so I won't burn the house down. And the cord stores inside the base. Can't say enough good things about it. I have made tea, oatmeal, hot chocolate, etc. This week and it saved me lots of steps and dirty pots. Which anyway to have less dishes to wash is a winner!!!!

Here's the packaging. At Target for $39.99

I am starting the Dig with the kids and while browsing through one of my new favorite blogs: http://www.se7en.org.za ....I found these awesome sticker books.

They are cheap enough $6 or so and free shipping with Amazon Prime, that I got one for Avery and one for Reece. Trying to do some more hands on fun things after plowing through monotony during the fall and my constant morning sickness. I have extreme mommy guilt over all the workbook type school they did and am attempting to make up for it.

And just because what is a post without one of the munchkins? Ellie is obsessed with bandaids. One day last week she had a bandaid on every finger of one hand. And if one fell off she had to have another one replace it or it was full on meltdown. This is a battle I don't fight. Girlfriend, if you want bandaids on your hand all day, go for it! Besides when you have big blue eyes and killer lashes, how can anyone say no?