A FRESH new look!!!

I am SOOO excited that I am able to finally do this post - meaning that the project of redoing my kitchen cabinets is FINALLY complete!!! I joke and call this "project de-schwankify" - meaning that our builder (Schwanke), bless his heart, is a little old school in design, and too bad the house was complete before we found it and I had any chance to pick out the finishing touches. The kitchen cabinets, including all the doors and trim, are what some describe as honey oak, but I refer to as "butterscotch pudding oak". I am SOOOO thankful that we were able to purchase a brand new home but I am also thankful that I am able to do some much needed updates :)

I, by miracle, was able to complete this project in one week, well lets make it two. All of the work was done in a week but I had to wait a bit to put the hardware on so it didn't stick too badly, you know, in case I change my mind in a few years - haha!!!!

Steps to lose the oak:

1. Remove doors and all hardware

2. Wipe cabinet frames and both sides of doors with Liquid Sandpaper (found at Lowes)

3. Prime everything - I used "bulldog all purpose primer" found at Benjamin Moore. I don't think I would've picked this but our "paint master" at BM said it was the most highly recommended from his customers. Primer dries fairly quickly (1-2 hours) but I let each side of everything dry for a whole day.

4. Paint everything. I used the color "Primitive White" by Dutch Boy. The color goes well with white appliances if you are unsure of that issue. If I had stainless steel appliances I wouldn't hesitate to go with a darker cream color but this is nice with the white. The paint was an issue. I ALWAYS use Sherwin Williams. I love it. It always rolls nice and covers well. I should've had the paint matched at SW but I was already at Menards and in a hurry to get the project going. You know how that goes. Anyways, Dutch Boy paint wasn't recommended for cabinets, since I didn't want a semi-gloss or glossy cabinets. They say that so you can wipe them off or whatever, but that's gross. I got a satin finish in the Grand Distinction paint & primer combo brand of paint. It's Menard's paint. I hated it, it was bubbly and didn't cover that swell. I don't recommend it! Someone elses blog mentioned they loved Home Depot Behr paint & primer in one. I may give that a try for another project but just take my advice on the Menards brand!

5. After everything is done and dry you can put the hinges on and put the doors back on the cabinet frames. Make sure you buy those small clear little plastic round sticker bumper things - sorry, don't know the official name! They will allow a barrier when you close the doors so they will not stick to the frame. This is manditory! :)

6. Wait a few days - or maybe not - and put on your updated hardware. We chose oil-rubbed bronze knobs and cup pulls. I got them off of Ebay for like 1.50 and 1.80 each. I thought it was a deal. ESPECIALLY compared to the home improvement stores. Please don't pay $4-$7 per piece of hardware!

Violia! You are done and have a beautiful new kitchen. PS did I mention that I did both bathroom vanities as well? The paint brushes, rollers, etc were all out so what's adding another 4 doors and 4 drawers to the mix? Uh, yeah. Your house will be a guaranteed disaster for a week, lets say two! But the end result is worth it! PPS if you have a mother or mother in law in the area, convince them they need to pick up your child and take them to their house for the day. If you can get 2 saturdays in a row like I did - EVEN BETTER! It won't take anything to convice them, they will be joyous for the opportunity!!! :) HAPPY PAINTING!

Before:

After:

Baby Dedication

On Mother's Day each year, our church has a tradition of doing baby dedications. We believe that instead of doing infant baptism that the child be "dedicated" to Christ until they reach an age that they fully understand the gospel of Christ and that he came to earth to die for our sins, raising again to heaven after 3 days in the tomb. Obviously a baby cannot understand this process, which is what getting baptised is all about - an outward committment of the inner decision to follow and commit to Christ and live a life that reflects this. The baby dedication is when the parents stand before the church with their kids and make a committment to all that they will raise their children up in knowledge and truth, teaching thier kids about Jesus, and setting a good example of Christ. I think it's a great committment to make and Adam and I hope that we will be a wonderful example to Kierstyn - and hope one day Kierstyn comes to know Jesus Christ as her personal savior. We want Christ to be the center of our home - not ourselves or the "busy-ness of life" or anything else for that matter. We love you baby girl!!

A little past 11 months!

So hopefully my blogging habits are in no relation to being a good mom by keeping people updated each month! I'll admit I'm a little excited that the first year is coming to a close, only for the fact that I won't have to update the baby book and blog every 30 days, haha :) Kierstyn's 11 month bday came and went, I thought of getting that special picture and posting but what I was busy with will be in another blog post...redoing my kitchen cabinets! I have some adorable pictures from mother's day, and that was just a few days past her 11 month mark.

Kierstyn is advancing every day. At 11 months she was 24 lbs and 29" so she packed on some pounds but not in height this month. She has MASTERED waving. She waves to everyone, I am not kidding. I think she looks forward to going to the store so she can get so much attention. She waves to passersby and they ooh and aah over how cute she is and that she made their day by giving them a wave! She isn't walking yet but we keep saying how close she is. We were hoping she'd be on the move by her first birthday, but that isn't too far away so we'll see. She is getting closer to saying real things too. Bless her heart she tries the hardest to say "kitty" but it still just comes out as "kkk.....ttt" It's still cute just the same :) Well I won't go crazy because I'll be updating this in a few weeks with her one year milestone. Just thought I'd get this on the page before it was too late!