Bathroom Remodel

After about two months of dust, tools, demolishion and all the other inconveniences of remodeling we have officially finished our bathroom remodel. Here is what it looked like after we tore out the flooring. Originally we were going to leave the vanity (just put on a new counter top sand down and repaint) and the tub but we decided against that and we're both so glad we did. Rob's hair during demolishion, the dust in the bathroom was so thick (ugh!) We removed everything down to the studs. There were two layers of tile, I guess the last time the bathroom was retiled they just put the new tile overtop the old (joy!). Rob took down at least 2 inches of debris, bucket after bucket. The shower head was quite low and the faucet handle was the two separate faucets and I really wanted a joint handle because I could never get the water temperature just right, so we hired a plumber to make all those adjustments for us. Yep the dry wall next to the tub was all rotted and just crumbled when we touched it so we tore out till we felt it no longer had water damage and patched and replaced it. The toilet had a tiny leak that over time had rotted the subfloor, another "surprise" we found as the project progressed. This is the color of the old flooring, black with little specks in it. The old tile underneath was pink with a black tile border and black flooring (pictured here). The tile we could see was a cream colored tile with pink flecks (really unattractive). Oh and the walls were painted this green (with pink tile, black floor and green walls, somebody had a creative flare!). After removing all the debris. I filled in a hole with quick set (tile motar) to make it even once again. After installing the hardibacker board we put this "tape" over all the cracks or anything uneven. Then we put down a sealer (Redguard). We put down a coat let it dry and then put down another coat. The red guard was bright pink in the bucket but once applied and dried it turned red. Here is the "ding" Rob put in the old tub which necessitated its removal and replacement. Here is the new faucets and fixtures, its so nice having the hot and cold water controls joint. Here is the new vanity we bought. Its much smaller than the last one (one sink instead of two) and the bathroom feels so much bigger now - which is nice it was really cramped before. The tile we used was called "Canyon Expresso" and we purchased it at Lowes. We installed a bronze faucet to go with the colors throughout the bathroom. I love it, I love how the whole project turned out! I feel like I'm at a really nice hotel or spa. Its such a nice feeling.

Boy Baby Shower

I was able to host a baby shower for a dear friend who was having a baby boy. It had to be somewhat simple because with 18 month triplets and a 3 year old I don't have a lot of time to devote to food and decorations. But I felt it turned out wonderful! For dessert I made Cake Pops (best tutorial http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DfL6B6Vpus), magic bars, and fruit tarts, watergate salad, veggie tray and easter eggs. I have a punch fountain that does an excellent job of sprucing up any party.

Vintage Relief Society Enrichment

For the ward relief society enrichment birthday party we were asked to go with a "Family History" theme. It was really fun to decorate for. We asked sisters to bring pictures and family heirlooms to use as decorations. One sister allowed us to use matching frames for each table and we put old black and white pictures of relatives in each frame. We bought 10 white plastic tablecloths at the dollar store ($10) and 3 yards of burlap ($11) at Hobby Lobby. The burlap we cut into 8 squares 24"x 24" there was enough for the 7 round tables we put up and even one for the dessert table. Although there was a variety of different decorations the burlap and the black and white photos tied it all together. One sister donated LED candles that were used for a wedding reception and we put three candles at each table, we turned just one set of the gym lights on (there are four sets). So the low lights with the candles worked out beautifully. The highlight of the evening was having Sister Baird (Sister Marjorie Pay Hinckley Sister) come share about her family history. Sister Baird even brought her sister and what a hoot! The two of them had me laughing off my chair. They were wonderful and their story was wonderful. I will never forget the feelings I felt hearing them speak.

Bringing Down the Tree

So I took Liberty in the Kitchen today to feed her lunch, I left Lexy and Lily roaming in the livingroom within the gated area. I heard a loud “thump!” and ran back to the living room to see this:

And Lexy proclaiming "ought Oh!"

Poor Christmas Tree :(.

Survived Five Days without Rob

Thats right Rob went to Chicago for five days and I was all by myself with the four kids, well at least until I went to my parents for Sunday dinner and then just decided to stay for three days (hehe) It was nice. It was like a vacation because I had help while there. I was even able to sew Christmas stockings. The goal is to sew four one for each child. Here is a picture of the Stockings i made.

In Honor of My Grandpa

My grandfather was a great man. He loved his family and he loved his grandchildren. Grandpa was a legend, he could tell the best cowboy stories ever! He was a man of faith and a man of God. He taught me so much he worked very very hard his whole life. He will be missed, but never forgotten.

Halloween

We have had a wonderful Halloween thus far this year. We went to a triplet group Halloween party, a ward Halloween rollar skating party and Rob's work Halloween party. Its been so fun!

Rob and I carved pumpkins - his is the scary looking one.

This is a picture of our faithful witch, keeping watch out in our front yard.

I cooked the pumpkins seeds too! Rob and I love pumpkin seeds.

We have a huge beautiful honeylocust in our front yard and I love the yellow fall color that it is right now.

Surprise Birthday Party

We through my mother a surprise birthday party! It was so fun and she was so excited. I brought cake and ice cream and we met and decked out her house in streamers and balloons while my step dad got her out of the house, then all of us hid in the kitchen with the lights off behind the counter. Stephan almost blew it, it was just wandering around when my mom came in but she only noticed him seconds before we all popped out yelling "Happy Birthday".

Easy Dinner

I was in a crunch and found this recipe for dinner last night. Its so fast to prepare then you bake it for an hour. I baked it for 60 minutes (instead of 50) and at set the oven temp at 450F (instead of 350), I put in 3 cups of veggies (instead of 2). Anyways its a recipe I defineately want to remember. It was delicious! http://www.campbellskitchen.com/recipes/recipedetails?recipeid=27173&pd=yes

Family Pictures

We took family pictures last Saturday and I'm very happy with the way they turned out.

When I say we took family pictures that means we set up a tripod and used the piano bench and a bar stool to sit on :) but regardless I'm happy with how they turned out.

Pictures Anyone?

My best efforts to get a picture of all our kids! Hopeless!

Halloween Cake

Here is a cake I made. I used iced graham crackers for the tombstones.

Termite Troubles

I hate termites. The idea of a little bug eating away at the wood in the walls of your home gives me the creeps! Not to mention how scary it is to learn that your home has had termites. How long have they been there? How much damage have they done? Is my house going to fall over? These are the first questions that ran through my mind when I first found out that our home had termites. Since that day I've learned a lot about termites. I will share what I have learned in the hopes that it will help out someone else out there. Termites live deep under a home, they can come in through a crack in the floor or walls of the basement. They drag mud up with them, the mud must stay wet for them to live. So usually where there are termites there is also a lot of mud. They can eat 5 lbs of wood a day. The Queen termite lives deep down in the soil - really deep anywhere from 50 to 100 ft below your house. Yes below your basement. From her nest deep below she spends the "worker" termites up to get food (wood) which they bring back down to her. The queen is very large. I was told she can be as big as a grown mans foot. (So gross!). Anyways spot killing the worker termites will not stop your termite problem, only move or repel them temporarily. In order for a termite treatment to be successful you must kill the queen. I met with a couple different termite treatment companies to get two bids and two different opinions (two opinions is always better than one). Most companies use a product called termidor. Termidor is mixed in between two to three hundred gallons of water and is applied to the foundation, almost creating a mote. The idea is to saturate the basement wall of your home. The chemical is also applied to the area where the active termites where found. For us it was in our basement bathroom wall. So the pest control company drilled several holes in our bathroom floor and poured the poison down there. The reason the treatment is done this way is so that the worker termites are exposed to the chemical as they go about their merry way. The chemical does not kill the termites instantly but it is rather a slow process. The chemical is meant to work slowly so that the worker termites get it on them and on the food and they take it right down to the queen. The chemical ruins her reproductive system so she can't produce anymore termites. The worker termites eventually die from the chemical (takes about two weeks) and then the queen starves because the worker termites are no longer bringing her food and she is so big she can't hardly move. Another interesting thing is that the queen uses pheromones to control the worker termites and tells them where to go. When my brother originally found the termites it was mid afternoon and by the evening when I was able to get away and go look at the damage I couldn't find a single termite. They are very sensitive to light etc. But the queen is not likely to send the workers back to the same spot at least for a while. I was also fascinated to learn that the same termite "nest" can infect several homes, not just ours. The pest control guys said that a lot of time several home may have termites but its usually the home that discovers them first that will treat them for everybody.

I did this little illustration to show just how deep down the termite queen is. This picture IS to scale so this is how far down they may have gone in relation to our house. This whole experience has been so fascinating to me. But I really hope we never have to deal with termites again! Here is a website that has much more information in termites: http://www.ca.uky.edu/entomology/entfacts/ef604.asp

My New Job - Holding Paper

My son found his passion today - cutting paper with my scrap booking scissors. The only down side to this is that it take both hands for him to run the scissors so he has me hold the paper. I've been holding paper for almost every free minute, all day :(. Haha silly boy it's painful to watch honestly - just because its so hard for him to work the scissors (it requires using both his chubby little hands).

Aqua Blue and Yellow Wedding

My sister got married two weeks ago. I loved the colors she chose light blue and yellow. I did the flowers, the bouquet, the boutonniere, corsages, and throw bouquet.

Blue flame on tiki touches.

Here is a picture of the little flower girls in their yellow dresses. I made the dresses and I think they turned out well (no bias!)