Saturday, May 18, 2013

Toby: 11 Months!

Eeekkk the countdown until a year is on!  Toby turned 11 months earlier this week on Thursday, and like usual, I needed to wait until the weekend to attempt a photoshoot.  He is even more of a squirmy worm now and he’s gotten to the point where he will fuss like crazy until you put him on the floor so he can explore.  Thank goodness it hasn’t happened too often in public yet…

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Biggest news this past month is someone has been practicing steps!  On May 13th, we were hanging out in the living room and I was sitting in our chair finishing my coffee.  Toby was cruising around the coffee table and then suddenly decided to walk right over to the chair, taking about three or four steps without holding onto anything.  I was like “WHAT DID YOU JUST DO?!” and then we immediately called Daddy.  Of course I tried to get him to repeat the walking but he refused and would keep crawling to me.  Now he will walk with you if you are holding one of his hands, and he’s pretty steady but can’t do it longer than thirty seconds.  He will take a couple steps randomly unassisted but definitely isn’t walking across the room on his own at this point.  Not sure if he’ll be actually walking before his birthday?

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I also think his verbal skills have really blossomed in the last few weeks.  He is saying a lot of “g” sounds and recently he says “ate, ate, ate” all the time but I’m not sure what he’s referring to when he does that.  Doing a lot of “da’s” but no “ma ma” yet.  He can also roll his r’s – not even kidding.  Not sure where he picked that up from since me and Hubby cannot do it.  He seems to understand when I call the kitties and instantly looks for Maggie or Ellie when I say their names.  Hubby also thinks he knows what his toy green car is.  Curious to know what the first official word will be!

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Weight: No idea and I keep forgetting to weigh him with me.  I’m assuming at least 20 pounds, maybe close to 21 pounds?  He has gotten leaner, though, as he was wearing a pair of 12 months jeans a couple months ago with no problem but the same pair of pants is now loose in the waist.  Sure feels heavy, though!

Height: Again, no idea!  1 year check-up is 6/17.

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Medical Issues: Still hasn’t been sick (knock on wood!).  Eczema has been kept under control, has had much less flare-ups as the weather has gotten warmer.  Only issue has been the teeth…all four front tops one are in, and the side ones next to the bottom front teeth are also coming in.  He’s handled them really well, though, considering.

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Sleep: Nighttime sleep has been great, still sleeping from 7:45pm until 6:30am, and rarely needs us to go in at night if he wakes up suddenly.  There were a few mornings where he slept in til 7:30am and I woke up at 7am completely shocked.  I was hoping his schedule was shifting until he went back to waking up at 6:30am…grr.  Sometimes I can sneak in a quick shower before I get him as he enjoys playing quietly in his crib.  Naps have been an issue…I thought he was getting ready to combine the two naps but we tried doing that a couple days and it failed miserably.  I try to get him down in the morning by 10am, he sleeps for 90 minutes, and then try to get him down again around 3ish, when he sleeps anywhere from 45-90 minutes. 

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Clothes/Diapers: Moved up to size 4’s and we have switched over to Cruiser’s which have worked really well.  Also in 4’s for overnights.  For clothes, he’s wearing all 12 month or 6-12 month clothes with the exception of a few 9 month size pants that still fit.  And he managed to squeeze into a 9 month white onesie for the photoshoot.

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Diet: Drinking four 6oz bottles a day, usually at 7:30am, 11:30am, 4pm, and 7:30pm.  Eats breakfast at 8:45am, lunch at 1:30pm, and dinner anytime between 5-6pm.  Doing great with finger foods and eats basically anything that we’re eating, as long as I can tear it into little pieces.  Not a fan of eating fruit, though, unless it’s in puree form, so I’ve been making smoothies for him.  He still eats some purees, but definitely not as much as he was last month.  Favorite foods would probably be yogurt, chicken (he loved the one I marinated in sun-dried tomato dressing last week), ground turkey we use for tacos, and sweet potatoes.  But he will really eat anything, though, he’s not picky (thank goodness).

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Baby Gear Love: Nothing new? 

Milestones/Firsts: Started clapping on 5/1.  Took first steps on 5/13. 

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Likes: When I say the ABC’s to him when changing his diaper (NOT singing).  When I sing and clap to B-I-N-G-O.  Chasing the kitties and looking through the cat door in the basement door to find Ellie on the other side.  Climbing up the stairs…he will go all the way up to the loft now.  Climbing over our backs when we lay on the floor.  Being thrown up in the air and also being “Super Toby” when we fly him.  Going into the bathroom and taking the toilet paper off the roll.  Being chased around the living room. 

Dislikes: Being put down for an afternoon nap.  Having the living room gate closed (the gate has now been moved to just block off the stairs).  Being kept out of the bathroom.  Being told “no” after opening the garbage. 

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Things I don’t want to forget: How he will pull books out of his toy bin and quietly go through them very fast by himself.  He will come over to me if he wants me to read one to him, but sometimes he likes reading on his own.  How he can be a little “fresh” and will pull your hand off of something if it’s covering whatever he wants to see or get into.  How he squawks like a bird when he gets excited.  How proud he is when he uses his walker to go a far distance.

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Still hard to believe almost an entire year has gone by.  So true with how the days seem long but the months go by so quickly.  Last year around this time we were in Maine celebrating our second anniversary and took time to do maternity photos.  Some days I miss the bump and feeling all the kicks, but I do have to say the outside kicks and squirms are a lot more fun!

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Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Three

“Today I give myself to you in marriage.
I promise to laugh with you in times of joy and comfort you in times of sorrow.

I promise to love you on your best day and on your worst day.
I promise to trust and respect you, even when it is hardest.

I promise to care for you, no matter what may happen.
I promise to help you when you need it, and step aside when you don't.
I promise to comfort you and encourage you, and to help you reach your goals.

I promise to remain faithful to you for better or worse, in times of sickness and in health.

I promise to be your best friend, your companion, your soul mate.
Today I promise to love you forever with all my heart.”

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Three years ago today, on a beautiful and breezy day in York Harbor, we repeated those vows to each other.  We’ve been through a lot this year with all sorts of major life changes, and I’ve have to keep reminding myself of the promises I made to my partner in life.  Three years isn’t a very long time in the scheme of things, but what I do know is that the good days will always, always, always outweigh the not so good days. 

Love you, hubby! 

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Tuesday, May 7, 2013

New Adventure

Things have been quiet lately because of a lot of changes I have made in regards to work.  I don’t like to talk about my job on here (mostly because I know some past c0-workers read, hi guys!), but we decided about six weeks ago that it was time for me to quit.  Lot of reasons went into this decision, but bottom line is we both thought it was best for our family moving forward.  Not really much else to say (can you tell I’m sick of having to defend myself?).  My last day was a couple weeks ago and instead of taking a break, I decided to jump right into a different opportunity that will be more flexible and be based on what I want it to be.  I was looking for something that can be done around our schedule rather than us trying to always do things according to my work schedule.

I am now an Independent Scentsy Consultant and I’m BEYOND excited to join this company.  I officially signed up last Thursday and the amount of training and resources I have access to already is unbelievable.  I also have an amazing sponsor/director and have been introduced to a team who has welcomed me with open arms.  So one week in and I’m already super impressed with what they have to offer!  CONSULTANT-BRAND2.0-LOGO

If you’ve never heard of Scentsy before, here’s the short story…it started with the idea of a wickless, flameless alternative to candles.  You start with a warmer that works with the heat of a light blub to slowly melt scented wax bars.  Over the past several years, the company has grown tremendously and they have now added a Layers line (home and body products that use the same scents), plus they have come out with other companies that sell fondue products (Velata) and purses, jewelry, and accessories (Grade Adele).  I’ll be focusing on just Scentsy Fragrance for now.

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I went to a party a few years ago and bought two plug-ins for our bathrooms and several wax bars.  I also received another plug-in and more bars last year as a gift.  I love Scentsy because:

  • I switch out scents all the time!  With 80+ scents, there’s plenty to choose from.
  • I choose how strong I’d like the scent to be – I always start off with just one block.
  • I select warmers to match each room’s décor instead of having a ton of barely used candle jars all over my house.
  • Wickless, flameless, sootless!  Great, safe alternative to candles.
  • It’s the perfect gift for the someone who has “everything”.
  • The wax bars are affordable at just $5 each!

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If you’re interested in learning more or browsing my online catalog, here’s the link to my site: http://ourscentedcasita.scentsy.us 

You can also follow me on Facebook!  http://www.facebook.com/OurScentedCasita

I’ve been busy planning for my launch party, which is this weekend, so I’ll be sharing lots of DIY projects in the next few weeks.  I love that I’ve been able to incorporate some crafty skills into this venture! 

Here’s to  new beginnings!

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Saturday, May 4, 2013

Favorite Milestone!

So Toby has achieved my favorite milestone yet…clapping!  He would always love to help me clap (he grabs onto my hands while I do the motions) but this past week he became coordinated enough to try on his own.  Then on May 1st he went nuts while he was eating dinner.  Here’s a video I managed to take:

Between waving and clapping, he’s been more adorable than ever lately.  But then of course on the other end of the spectrum, we’ve had more temper tantrums when we hide “technology” away aka the remote, our laptops, phones, etc.  He’s pretty smart realizing that we try to shove things under a blanket on the couch quickly before he notices.  Yeah, there’s no hiding anything from him anymore.  Let’s just say I am the queen of distraction and have had to be very creative with having him focus on something else.  He’s a fan of when I sing “Bingo” lately :)

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Monday, April 22, 2013

Fun at the “Farm”

Auntie was interested in hanging out with Toby and I last week on one of her days off so I started researching some places to check out so we could spend time outside instead of being stuck in the house.  I have a Groupon for a butterfly place but we decided to save that for a rainy day.  I knew of a huge farm near us with lots of outdoor attractions (including a corn maze that Hubby and I explored a few years ago), but when I saw the admission price, we decided it was a little expensive.  Maybe when Toby’s walking on his own it would be worth it. 

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So I started looking for other farms in the area with petting zoo’s and found one nearby that also has ice cream and a farm store.  They opened in March and don’t charge anything to check out their animals.  It’s definitely not a huge farm or anything but it was perfect for us.  When we went, only the goats were out but according to pictures on their Facebook page, it also looks like they have cows and horses.  We’ll have to go back soon to see the cows, considering Toby was laughing his little butt off at the goats.  As soon as I took him out of the stroller, he reached his hand out to “pet” one and then started giggling with his chicken cackle.  It was adorable! 

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After we enjoyed some ice cream, but Toby’s still not a fan of how cold it is.  He was content with his carrot-mango puree and puffs :)  I can tell this summer is going to be a lot of fun since he interacts with so much of his surroundings now.  I’m already looking to see if we can budget zoo season passes. 

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Saturday, April 20, 2013

Toby: 10 Months!

Toby turned 10 months on the 16th earlier this week!  Double digits…hard to believe.  This post is late because it’s impossible for me to take the monthly pictures on my own so we have to wait until the weekend when I have more assistance.  But I also haven’t had the heart to put the update together after all of the events this past week.  I was debating including anything about the Boston Marathon bombings on my blog as I try to keep things on here positive.  But looking back a year from now, or five years from now, I do think it’s important that I write something, even if it’s brief.  Being 40 minutes away from Boston and then even closer to Watertown made me physically sick yesterday.  I was begging Hubby to not go to work at 5am as I was glued to the TV watching the news and  seeing the manhunt get more intense.  It’s horrible that in Toby’s short 10 months of life the Newtown school shooting occurred and now everything in Boston.  I hate that these events seem to be getting closer and closer to my family and friends.  When you watch something on the news, you think “oh, that’s awful” and you’re sympathetic for the victims…but when these events happen in the same region, the same state that you live in, it just hits too close to home.  The fact that the four victims that died this week are all under the age of 30 also makes it even harder.  Such a waste of young lives.  I sincerely hope that this, like the Newtown shooting, is a turning point for our country and that we learn how to love and help each other more.  As Martin Richard’s poster simply but beautifully stated “No more hurting people.  Peace.” 

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Sigh…moving on to a lighter note.  Today my plan is to start working on Toby’s first birthday invitations!  Party planning is well under way, but I won’t be sharing any of the plans until after the party actually takes place :)  The challenge has been coming up with a theme as he’s not obsessed with anything yet.  While I’m in denial he turns one in just two months, I think focusing on party planning will get me excited instead of being sad it’s gone by so fast.

This past month his personality has blossomed even more.  We’ve had less tantrums which has been nice.  He’s a generally happy boy and always busy, always observant, and always curious.  He definitely has a serious side and can be shy around strangers, but he does warm up eventually and becomes playful.  Random stuff will make him laugh and sometimes when he starts giggling a lot, he sounds like a chicken clucking.  He’s so good when we are out and about…rarely fusses in public and I can usually distract him with a book or toy if I do sense he’s getting restless.  Multiple people have warned me that our second baby will probably be the complete opposite of Toby since he’s so easy. 

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Weight: Assuming he’s 20 pounds now.

Height: Was 28.5” at his 9 month appointment, so probably still close to that, although most of his 6-9 pants are capris now so they have been retired.

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Medical Issues: Eczema is getting better on his body, it’s more his face that gets irritated now.  He’s had a runny nose that started two weeks ago, then went away for a few days and now it’s back.  I think it’s teething related as he doesn’t show any other signs of a cold.  We can definitely see two of the top teeth that have finally come through (not the direct front ones).

Sleep: Back to normal, woo hoo, and even better than before!  He’s usually in the crib by 7:45pm, fusses for 30-60 seconds after we leave the room and then falls right asleep.  Sleeping straight through until 6:30ish still, I usually don’t have to get him until closer to 7am as he will play quietly.  Naps have been okay, but he does fuss longer before settling down (sometimes will move around for a good 10-15 minutes before falling asleep).  Napping once in the morning and once in the afternoon for 90 minutes each.  Sort of still following a 2-3-4 schedule but now it more looks like 2.5-3.5-4, so he stays up a little longer between naps now.  A few days last week he took shorter naps in the mornings and I was thinking he was getting ready to drop a nap, but then he went back to the normal 90 minute nap.

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Clothes/Diapers: Mix of 6-9 month (mostly onesies and some long sleeve shirts that were oversized to begin with), 9-12 month, and 6-12 month outfits.  He’s wearing a lot of three piece sets from Carter’s that include zip-up hoodies which are nice since it’s chilly in the morning but then warms up in the afternoon so he can wear the onesie and pants and be fine.  Wearing 3’s for diapers.  I accidently bought a box of size 3 overnight diapers (he’s been wearing 4’s the past couple months) but he hasn’t leaked through them by morning so I guess he doesn’t pee as much overnight as he used to.

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Diet: Still drinking four 6oz bottles each day (usually every 4-5 hours).  Has breakfast, lunch, and dinner (about 60-90 minutes after he finishes a bottle).  Eating almost all Stage 3 purees at this point and he’s tried a ton of new finger foods this past month.  Basically anything that is soft I can tear into little pieces, I will let him try.  He has tried bagel thin and English muffin pieces with some apricot preserves or grape jelly, ground hamburger and ground turkey, pasta noodles, roast beef pieces, roasted sweet potatoes (not pureed all the way, just soft pieces), zucchini, black bean and corn mixture we had for tacos, cheese, bananas, peas, carrots, meatballs.  I’m sure there are other things I’m forgetting.  He only will eat 5-10 pieces of something before he gets bored and starts rubbing his eyes.  That’s when we move on to giving a puree.  I would say his favorite food is probably sweet potatoes.  He HATES regular mashed potatoes, though (still).  He also finally enjoyed some frozen yogurt for the first time!  Last month it was too cold for him apparently and he refused, but when we went a week ago to the self-serve place he did end up liking a few spoonfuls of vanilla. 

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Baby Gear Love: Bumkins bibs.  Munchkins sippy cups.  Nothing really new I can think of at this point.

Milestones/Firsts: Started using his walker to take steps in early April (now can walk pretty fast with it).  Started waving!!!! Oh my gosh, I love this milestone.  It started off with him flapping his arm and we couldn’t tell if he was waving or if it was coincidence, but then towards mid-April he definitely started an actually waving motion and most times is good about waving back if you wave to him.  First trip to Ikea was in April (pretty exciting haha!). He enjoyed testing out stuff in the kids’ section.  Not really a milestone or first, but his hair is starting to curl!  I love it, Hubby’s not a fan.

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Likes: “Petting” the kitties and chasing them. Opening and closing the kitchen cabinet doors.  Hiding behind the living room curtains. Climbing up the stairs very fast. Reading. Brushing his teeth.  Really likes any toys that have wheels – enjoys spinning them.

Dislikes: Being told no (I mean, who likes being told that?).  If he touches something he shouldn’t be and we say “Nooo”, he pulls his hand away and flaps his arms in disgust, while grunting “ahhh”.  At least he knows what the word means now.  Laying on his back (hence why I need assistance for photo shoots).  He also doesn’t like getting cleaned up after eating or getting his nose wiped.  Getting better with being put in the car seat – only fusses half of the time now.

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Things I don’t want to forget: How fast he will take your finger or hand away from a page if you’re covering a picture he wants to see in a book.  How sometimes he will put his hand over my hand when I’m holding a bottle for him (since he still refuses to hold a bottle on his own, though I know he can).  How he quickly grabbed a piece of cat food off the floor and promptly shoved it in his mouth…sigh, at least we feed our kitties “good” food.  How when I finish reading the last bed-time story and shut off the lights, he will rest his head on my shoulder and we’ll sit for a couple minutes before I lay him in the crib.  I usually sing him “Twinkle, Twinkle”.  How he turns toys over in his hands, examining every side very closely, flipping them back and forth (I like to say he’s going to be an engineer or a scientist because he is so observant and interested in seeing how things work).  How he goes “ahhhhh” after taking a big gulp of water from his sippy (Grammy taught him that).  How he hates the purple phone being on the hook on his walker – has to immediately take it off if he sees someone has put it back on.  How he flings stuff out of his toy bin to get to the bottom where the books usually are. How he reads books differently with me and Hubby – if I try to read him a new story, he cries and arches his back, demanding for me to get another book that I’ve read him before.  However, if Hubby reads him a new book, he will sit there patiently and look at the pages with him.  I have to make sure that Hubby has read the new books to him at least a few times before I can attempt to read them.  So picky. 

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So grateful for this sweet little face that I get to wake up to every single day.

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Sunday, April 7, 2013

Recipe Review–BLT Mac & Cheese

I’ve been on the hunt for a “skinny” version of macaroni and cheese for a long time.  I tried adding butternut squash into the cheese sauce and wasn’t really a fan.  We tried making sauce with just Laughing Cow wedges and for some reason they didn’t melt well, hence a clumpy mess.  So when I found this recipe, I figured it was worth a try, especially since I always love finding new ways to incorporate more veggies into the main dish. 

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The BLT Mac & Cheese did not disappoint!  Original recipe can be found here.  It was SO good – lots of veggies are hidden in with the pasta, and the cheese covers the veggies well so you don’t taste the spinach and the squash doesn’t have a strong flavor, either.  Things I changed:

  • I used a cup of shredded reduced fat (2% milk) sharp cheddar cheese instead of the slices.  I mixed this with the sour cream and Laughing Cow wedges in the pot that I used to cook the pasta in and the mixture came out perfect – creamy and no lumps.  I heated it for about 2-3 minutes over very low heat and kept stirring to prevent it from burning. 
  • I used light sour cream instead of fat-free.  Fat free sour cream always tastes “blah” to me.
  • I only had one summer squash on hand, so that was half of what the recipe called for.  I think this was actually the perfect amount – 2 full squashes may have been too much.
  • I had rotini instead of penne, and the sauce still coated everything fine.
  • I was nervous about all the spinach as hubby is slowly learning that you really can’t taste it when mixing with other items.  I added about 1 1/2 cups of chopped leaves (so half of what the recipe called for).

Things I would change the next time I make this:

  • Per hubby’s request, add more bacon.  I will add one more slice of turkey bacon and crumble them into smaller pieces.
  • Add more tomato – two medium tomatoes should work.
  • There was plenty of sauce to coat the pasta and veggies so for next time I will reduce the amount of shredded cheese to 3/4 cup.
  • Reduce amount of pasta to one cup – with all the squash there’s not much of a need for the pasta.
  • Add more spinach – about 2 cups total should be fine.

This was fairly easy to make (can be a weeknight meal), but it’s not a one pot or one skillet meal.  Overall the outcome was well worth the clean up!  So glad to have finally found a recipe that keeps the awesome cheesiness factor but sneaks in some veggies.  It was great the next day as lunch leftovers, too.  This can be a vegetarian meal with omitting the bacon crumbles, but I liked how the bacon added some saltiness that mixed well with the sweetness of the squash.

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Wednesday, April 3, 2013

New Kitchen

We finally took the plunge and started our kitchen re-do a couple weeks ago.  The lovely 80’s white laminate cabinets and countertops were really bugging me and I knew we needed to get it done before we do list our house on the market in the future for re-sale purposes.  Since this isn’t our “forever home”, we decided to re-face the cabinet doors as there’s nothing wrong with the cabinets themselves.  When the salesman showed up to give an estimate, he said replacing countertops would be fairly inexpensive since our kitchen isn’t large.  We decided to go with new laminate countertops, as well, and they threw in a sink for free to complete the package.  We went through Home Depot and are pleased with the results.  I especially love the countertops – I actually prefer them to real granite!  They’re so easy to clean and I don’t feel like they show every little water drop and smear like shiny granite can.  Enough talk, here’s the pictures:

Before:

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And the after:

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It’s a big difference seeing it in person – the darker countertops have really helped to make it feel not so white!  We stuck with white cabinet doors as there’s no windows in the kitchen so it was important to keep it as light as possible in there.  The door handles and knobs are a dark brown brushed with a light brown accent to match the countertops.

Re-facing the cabinets meant a much shorter construction time in terms of the contractor actually being in our house (took about 2 1/2 days total), but it was still a pain emptying out the entire kitchen, moving the fridge into the dining room, and shutting off the water access in the kitchen for half a week.  Lots of take-out was had that week.  This is probably something we should have done before baby, but you live and learn! 

Now we just need to figure out what to do with the ugly striped wallpaper and nasty white backsplash.  Hoping we can do the tiling on our own…

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