As most know, Beau and I are expecting our first child in August. We are both very excited, and in typical Jenny-fashion, I’m thinking about all the things that need to get done before the little one arrives. Of course normal baby preparation isn’t good enough, and being the over-achievers that we are, we’ve decided to over-haul the kitchen too. This post will be long, so I’ve split it into “Baby Thoughts” and “Kitchen Plans.”
BABY THOUGHTS:
Beau and I found out we were pregnant on Christmas Eve 2010. Appropriate, I guess, since 5 years prior we had decided to start our family by getting engaged. I find it funny that I didn’t even consider I could be pregnant until a girl-friend accused me of messing with her cycle. Oops… I guess her body knew before anyone else.
Frankie has dubbed the baby “Beau-rito” and our friends have been very helpful with name suggestions. We appreciate them all and they’ll go onto the list once I can convince Beau to discuss names. He says we have to wait until we know whether it’s a boy or girl, which will be the end of March.
We’re both very excited, and I’ve had a very easy first trimester. I hope it continues as nicely as it started. I’m constantly worried, because I don’t feel “pregnant” and haven’t had any of the less-desirable side effects (no morning sickness… heck yeah!). Beau explains it best by saying that I “think I’m doing this wrong.”
There have been requests to see the 1st sonogram (10 weeks) and I tried to scan it in at work, but failed. I guess eventually I’ll do the old-school "picture of a picture" to put it up. I’m currently at 15 weeks, and the baby is the size of a navel orange. There are conflicting reports on other sites that it’s the size of an apple, so decide what you will.
Here’s a “your baby is the size of (Insert Fruit here)!” ticker. Maybe this HTML will work...
That's all the baby thoughts I have for now. On to more fun, immediate things... THE KITCHEN!
KITCHEN PLANS:
Ever since we saw our house for the first time, we've had plans to redo the kitchen. Everything functioned pretty well, but it wasn't pretty (By 2000's standards). I'm glad we lived in the kitchen for 3 years before re-doing it. It helps you understand what you like and what you hate. The impetus for starting now is the flooring (and the fact that we have enough money saved). The existing flooring is vinyl/wood laminate combo that's glued down. I'm sure when it was installed it was beautiful, but over the years, things have leaked under the flooring, causing it to peel and come off. It's pretty ugly and grosses me out a little.
Yesterday, we ordered our new, porcelain 18" x 18" tile and it should be arriving sometime next week. Because we didn't want to be out of our kitchen for longer than necessary, we haven't done anything to prep for it, and will have a whirlwind weekend packing and maybe doing some cabinet modification. I'll have to say good-by to my avocado green, 1972 fridge, but the environment (and my electric bill) will thank me. We're replacing it with a Kitchen-Aid french-door stainless model.
High level plan is: All new appliances, move the fridge to where the in-wall oven currently is. Install a slide-in gas range where the cook-top is. Install new cabinets with lower pot drawers where fridge currently is. Replace cabinet doors, paint cabinets. The furdown was removed in Gustav recovery. Install a hood (OMG! I haven't had a hood since we moved in because we felt it would be easier to just throw-away the old hood than to clean it. It was disgusting.). Install some sort of tile back-splash. New solid-surface countertops (we want soapstone, but may end up with a man-made product). 18" x 18" porcelain tile floor, set in diamond pattern. Remove the mini-wall between the sink and the bar.
I think that's it. There are some side projects (a new pantry, bookshelves where the phone jack is) that may or may not happen.
Contrary to the blog title, Beau will not be doing everything. He and I both recognize what our skill sets are and aren't, and will probably be contracting out some of the work. Hopefully we'll keep the blog updated since we'll have an active project happening.
