Kitchen Remodel Part One

This is the original picture from our house’s listing when we bought it.  Since moving in we have replaced the stove and refrigerator.  We then started to process of getting quotes on the kitchen remodel.  Our original plan was cut short by not wanting to invest too much money into this kitchen when this isn’t our forever home.We quickly turned from doing everything thing we wanted to the “budget” plan, which will still be nice but doesn’t involve knocking out walls and forking over loads of cash.  We know that our kitchens transformation thus far is increasing its function and we are also finding it nicer to look at and be in!  We can only keep our fingers crossed that it will also increase the resale and value of our home.

 

The process began by having the the cabinets and drawers emptied.  We had the existing cabinets refinished with new doors, drawers, and 3 custom cabinets to fill the space above the fridge and on the sides of the stove.  These little spaces fit a spice rack and cutting board/cookie sheet cubby which opens up a lot of room and might be my favorite “new” part so far.

We then had a cabinet cut out and the four drawer cabinet moved over to fit a new dishwasher.  What a fun luxury that we have missed and can’t believe all the time and counter space it has freed up in our kitchen.

Thomas loved helping and watching the electrician and plumber who needed to do their thing so that we could have a dishwasher in our old house.  He was also a big helper when the guys were making the templates for the new counter tops.  
The next steps are having the counter tops and sink installed on the 11th.  We are then going to have a disposal added and will work on glass backsplash and paint.  We are hoping to have this all complete by the time our guests arrive for Thanksgiving!   Then in the future we will replace the lighting and the floors, but that will have to wait until next year. 

While Mike was a bachelor he was also able to finish framing out the last wall in the basement.  He had cut the insulation and most of the drywall too.  We had the electrician over to run the pre wire this week and this weekend Mike is hoping to rehang the drywall and maybe start taping!  We are making more progress on our old house! 

October In Minnesota

Thomas and I took a trip to Minnesota to visit family over MEA weekend.  It also worked out nicely that while we were out of the house we were able to begin our kitchen remodel-more on that to come.

We were up early, too early, on Tuesday and we were off to catch our 7:15 a.m. flight.  Once we landed Grandma Kathy picked us up and we were on our way to see Great Grandma Robertson.  Thomas was a hit in his Great Grandma’s building and loved showing of and smiling for everyone.  After a nice visit it was off to do a little shopping.  Thomas ran up a storm in the Baby Gap store with a few buddies he found.  Then Auntie Mo met up with us and played a little chase before we headed over to Auntie Katie and Uncle Don’s new house. 

Once dinner was ended and Thomas started to wear his welcome we headed back to the Laschen’s where Thomas immediately got to mowing the lawn and playing with his two favorite yellow labs.  He also tried on the Packers jersey and hat that Grandpa Jeff got for him.  Thomas and I were both bummed that we missed Jeff as he was on a work trip when we were there.  Once back at the Laschen’s Thomas decided he was ready to rock and roll after his quick nap before dinner.  I on the other hand decided to head to bed, Grandma Kathy and Thomas held down the fort until the “shadows” got the best of him!  The night before Mike and I were showing Thomas shadows on the wall as Tucker was chasing them.  He then was showing Grandma the shadows, but decided that he didn’t like them so much anymore.  This would remain at Grandma and Grandpa McConachie’s, once the shadows came out, particularly in a basement, he would freeze.  Poor guy!  Since then we have talked a lot about shadows and he now like to find shadows in different areas of the house.

Back to Minnesota, Wednesday morning we got up and enjoyed some more playing with Grandma, the puppies, and his toys.  We had breakfast and then went for a walk to play in the leaves and get some fresh air.   Thomas had a great time running in the leaves and chasing his Nana.  After lunch Grandpa McConachie picked us up for the trip “up North.” 

Thomas slept the whole way and we arrive in Cloquet and were ready for play time with Grandma and Grandpa McConachie.  Thursday we were off to Duluth for a haircut, lunch and more shopping.  Then it was time to head home for a nap.  After naptime, our friends Katie, Charlie and Lauren came over to play.   That night Thomas hung out with Grandpa and watched the World Series after waving bye bye to me. 

After a couple errands on Friday morning we stayed pretty close to home.  Thomas had a blast playing outside with Grandma and Grandpa in the leaves and on the four wheeler.   At first he wasn’t too sure of getting in the leaves but after a few minutes he was crashing and running through them like a pro.

Saturday morning we were suppose to leave early for Uncle Troy and Auntie Molly’s house, but Grandpa McConachie finally got his deer with his bow.  So Thomas, my mom and I headed out for a walk and some park play.  Then it was time for lunch and the trip to the cities.  We stopped and saw Troy and Molly’s apartment and then went to the hotel for some swimming.   The water was a little colder than Thomas liked so he had a good time going in the hot tub for a few seconds and then playing a game of chase with Grandpa. 

My friend Tiffany and her husband and two kiddos came to meet us at the pool.  It was a lot of fun to spend time with them and watch Ben and Hallie show off their new skills they were learning in swimming lessons.   After swimming we headed to The Tavern on France for dinner.   Wish I could say my little bundle handled dinner like he typically does, but he was pretty much a disaster.   Thankfully we avoided a full on screaming and crying fit, but it was a lot of work that my parents, Tiff and I put forth to keep the little tyrant under control.  We even resorted to the iPad to occupy him so we could quickly shove down our meals.   After dinner it was time for packing and getting ready for another early morning flight.  I was kicking myself for flying so early, until Thomas slept most of the flight, we had the entire row to ourselves and we got to spend the day at home with Mike.

Another great trip to Minnesota that is too short to fit everyone in but we got to see most of our family and a few friends too.  Thanks both Mike and my parents for everything they do while we are home!

The Boys are Coming to Town

Mike had a few buddies fly in to attend the CU vs. WA football game.  The weekend was filled with dudes occupying our house, dive bars and laughs.

Stella was very excited to see her Uncle Miller.   He was always our first choice for a babysitter when we were living in Denver and Stella couldn’t get enough of him when he got here.After the boys dropped off their stuff Friday they headed out to find some local bars.  According to their stories they found a pretty great tiny little bar that they were able to take over, read they were the only ones, and even sang a little karaoke.  They got back to the house about 3 a.m. and were all up and ready to get the day rolling on Saturday!

Thomas, Mike, and Uncle Miller headed to Larson’s Bakery to get caramel rolls for the group.  Then it was time for them to head out to tailgate and Thomas and I held down the fort getting in naps and making an apple crisp for dinners dessert.   The picture below was after Thomas went to the freezer to pick out his very own “snack” of ice cream.  Mike also likes to do this and eats ice cream right out of the carton, Thomas is so much like his Daddy!

Saturday after the game Thomas and I went to get the boys and then we headed home.  We stopped at the seafood market and picked up stuff for the seafood boil.  Our first crab boil was a huge success.

Sunday came quickly and the boys scattered back on their ways home.  It was a slow day at the Laschen house and we enjoyed lots of football and laying around. 

Las Vegas

Mike was awarded a trip to Las Vegas and off we went.   We stayed at the Hard Rock and had a great time.  Once we got in on Thursday my friend Renee came over to our hotel to hang out for a bit.  It was her brother in law’s wedding weekend so we had really bad timing for “hanging out.”  After chilling for a bit, Mike and I were able to go to the welcome party for 30 minutes before it was bedtime for Thomas and he wanted his Mommy or Daddy!   

Friday we were up and headed off to breakfast at the Hard Rock Casino’s diner.  Then Mike headed off to his work golf trip and Thomas and I headed down to Siegfried and Roy’s Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat at the Mirage.  He loved the dolphins.  We must have sat and watched them and talked to them for 45 minutes to an hour.   Then we were off to see the Tigers, Lions, and Spotted Leopards/Cheetas.  The big cats were sleepy but a few of them were up and moving around.  After a quick stop at Starbucks for a make shift lunch we were off to the hotel where Thomas surprised me and didn’t fall asleep right away.  So I was able to show him my favorite thing about staying in hotels, room service.  Thomas thought it was pretty cool to sit like a big boy and eat his my lunch.  Once lunch was over we both took a nap-the day had already been equally as exhausting as fun!

After our lunch and nap we tried the pool out and quickly realized why we were the only ones in the water…it was COLD!   We finally gave up and headed up to the bathtub for some warm semi-swimming.

Once Mike got home we took off to “the strip” to grab dinner and see the lights.  We walked through the Venetian and watched the boats and let Thomas run before grabbing dinner at Canaletto.  Once dinner was over we went and listened to some music in the square and enjoyed gelato for dessert. 
Then we went and caught the lava explosion at the Mirage and the Bellagio light show before heading back to the hotel as we were all ready for bed!  Mike even made the comment that after all his trips to Vegas, our night where we were in bed by 10 was his favorite thus far.  Guess life with a toddler in your world changes the way we look at things.

Saturday morning we got up early again and headed back to “the strip.”  We wanted to catch some of the other hotels out and walked (ran) around Caesar’s Palace.  Thomas threw coins into the fountain, we hope he was making lots of great wishes!  We then went and watched the fish swim in the Atlantis Aquarium. Barrett and Anette also happened to be in town for Renee’s brother in law’s wedding.   How small is the world when Anette and Renee’s BIL’s wife, Helen are both friends from Norway.  Such a BIG yet small world.  We met Barrett and Anette for lunch at Mesa Grill.   Both lunch and our company were great.  Then it was back to the hotel for the boys to nap and I went down to the spa for a manicure and pedicure.  After nap time we were headed back to “the strip.”

Where we took Thomas to The Lion King matinee show.  Mike and I were a little unsure how it would go, but we thought we would try it anyhow.   Successful is an understatement.  Thomas was wide eyed and staring at all the animals and singing the entire show.  There was one intermission and he got a little squirmy for the last 5 minutes during the slow part without animals.  He kept pointing and asking us where the animals were.  After the show Mike and I continued to ask ourselves what we actually thought Thomas took away from it.  Well over the last few days, he has become more interested in his animal toys, wants to watch the Lion King’s circle of life I found on YouTube and will ask for “mo (more),” and at the grocery store ran over to the Lion King yelling “yes!”  I think it is safe to say that he liked it and took something away from it even if he can’t tell us exactly what. 

Following the show we walked down to see the Sharks and other fish and amphibians at Mandalay Bay’s Shark Reef.   It was a pretty quick in and out trip.  The sharks were big with big teeth too!  Then it was home again to the hotel for Thomas to teach his Daddy about room service.  We were up early for an uneventful flight home.  Our first family trip to Las Vegas was a success!  It was a great time just doing whatever we wanted (more or less) and spending time as a family without having to worry about all regular day things.  I really do love vacation and our family ON vacation. 

*the photo collage above with Thomas picking his nose seems to be his go to “picture pose.”  We hope that this ends sooner than later and until then you may see more of these nose in finger pictures.

Yard/Garden Clean Up and Recap

Summer came and it seems like before we knew it we were into fall.  I say it every year and this year is no exception, Mike and I love fall!  To get our yard ready for fall/winter/rain we did a little clean up!   Away went all the summer toys, we trimmed back the bushes, and all the garden plants found themselves a new home in the compost bin.  I also realized that I forgot to post a few pictures of Thomas and the garden this summer.  He loved the garden and I can’t wait to see what he likes in it next year.  This year I will attribute the garden to increasing his veggies.  He went from tolerating them to going to the garden and asking for more!  His favorite was sugar peas, with carrots, cucumbers, and beans all competing for second, third, and fourth.       We also were able to get several zucchini  and 3 pumpkins!   It really was the little garden box that could!   Our pots did well this year too and we had tomatoes to make pizza sauce and eat.   This fall we planted garlic and onions for next summer, this is the first time planting a fall crop, I can’t wait to see next year holds!

I wish that I could say that these beautiful hydrangeas were in our yard.  Unfortunately, our 2 plants that we tried to bring from Colorado didn’t make it.  I did get a couple new ones at the fall garden sale so I am hoping next summer we have blooms like this in our yard. 

Mountain Wedding

Driving up to Basalt was gorgeous.  It was a great drive, Thomas slept the whole way.   There was a short time that Mike was on a conference call and then the rest of the time we spent reminiscing about all our mountain memories. 

When we arrive in Basalt we found the house we were staying which I regretfully didn’t get any pictures of.  It was an A-Frame house that was a nice little place, maybe not the best for 2 toddlers to be staying in with 2 other non kid couples, but we made it work.

After the rest of the crew arrived we headed down to the Brick Pony Pub to celebrate with Anna and Dale.  After their rehearsal they invited everyone to join them for a few drinks.  After an hour of doing his best to flirt with all the ladies, Thomas crashed and Mike and I had a few adult conversations while he snoozed away.  We then headed back to the house to meet Tim, Allison and Lilli.

Saturday morning was a slow one for some as the beer altitude was a little tricky!   After breakfast the boys were off to fish and Allison, Lilli, Thomas and I headed into Aspen for a little adventure.  We thought we were going to go shopping but quickly realized that was not in our cards.  After letting Thomas and Lilli run around and play we found the farmers market and lunch before we called it a day and went back to get ready for the wedding.

Anna and Dale’s ceremony was gorgeous and was a wonderful reflection of their styles and who they are as a couple.   Anna was a beautiful bride and Dale looked as handsome as ever!  We were so excited that we could be there and help them celebrate their new journey together. Mike kept saying he felt like we were in a Ralph Lauren photo shoot-it could have been close.   There was a saloon, BBQ, and a great atmosphere. Allison, Tim and Lilli watched Thomas while we went to the wedding.   Then we headed back to get him for the dinner and the dance.   He had a blast running in the grass, dancing to the music and being the ham that he is.  He also found a field that had horses in it and was in awe watching them, saying horse and trying the neigh.

Then the dance began and the three of us couldn’t be stopped.  Thomas was chasing the flower girls around with his hand out hoping they would dance with him.   He danced his heart out until he asked to go night night.   Once he was sleeping we watched the dance for a bit before we too decided we would call it a night. 

Sunday everyone was up and after cleaning we headed into Basalt.  Mike needed to get internet access for a bit and Thomas and I walked around the farmers market.  Then we had lunch at my all time favorite Tempranillo before saying by to Anna and Dale and heading back to Denver.

Once in Denver we made a quick stop to see some friends before we were off to the airport.  At the airport we were also able to see a few friends, Nikki who was on her way back to Minnesota and the Lien Family on their way home from Connecticut.   Thomas slept the whole trip home and again amazed us with his travel skills.  Then it was off to pick up Stella who had an great time sleeping over with 2 other Great Danes.  She even developed a pretty serious crush on their beautiful boy Rupert!  What a relief to finally find someone who we trust and Stella enjoys being with here in Seattle while we are away.  We were spoiled in Denver with so many great friends with puppies!!! 

Another really fun side note to this trip is that this was the first time Thomas actually noticed Stars in the sky and was pointing them out to us.  Mountain stars are absolutely amazing on a clear night…so bright and beautiful!

Mile High City

Tuesday we were off to our former home with a little nervous excitement about what we would feel once we got there.

Mike left Denver 9 months ago and the rest of us have been here for 5 months.  We got in about 6:30 and after an uneventful and non napping flight we had a tired kiddo on our hands.  Once to the rental car he grabbed his blanket and waved bye bye (what he does when he is going to bed at home) to Mike as he put him into his car seat.  He was sleeping before we left the car rental lot. 

We quickly decided our favorite stops and ordered up food to be picked up.   Then we were off to our friends house that we would be staying at for the next couple days.

Wednesday Thomas and I were off to see Alexis and Kylie and meet baby Patrick who was born on September 3rd.   We had a great visit, lunch, and some play time in their backyard before we headed back to home base for a nap.  Then it was off to the old neighborhood to see our neighbor Deb and her kiddos, Blakely and Remy.   After our play date with them we were off to a BBQ that Katie and Donny hosted on our behalf so we could see a bunch of friends at the same time and place.   We also met Mike there after his day at work with a lunch break to check in with his buddies.  Thomas had a great time seeing all of our friends from "back home.”  They were very impressed with his beer delivering skills.   Thanks again Donny and Katie for hosting!

Thursday Thomas and I were off to meet Allison and Lilli for a morning at the Botanic Gardens.  We then napped at their house and played some more before I was off to book club and Thomas spent some time with his Daddy and Matt.

Friday morning Thomas and I went to the park and Daddy ran errands before T and I went to dance at the studio we danced at while we lived there and then we were off to the mountains while ne napped. 

Whew-a whirl wind tour of Denver.  We got to see a lot of friends but there wasn't enough time to fit in everyone, everything, and spend as much time as we wanted. 

Grandma and Grandpa Laschen Visit

Grandma and Grandpa Lascheny flew in on Tuesday.  Once home we walked to the park and waited for Mike to get home from work.

Wednesday we were off on an adventure at the zoo.   I think it is safe to say that we all had a great time.  Grandma Laschen even got close, too close, to a bear!   Thomas and Grandpa were happy to watch the bear eat his fruit through the window and you can see Thomas waving “hi.”

After the zoo we headed back to the neighborhood and tried out a local BBQ place for lunch before we all needed a quick nap!  Wednesday night we went to Ray’s and enjoyed a long meal with an excellent toddler diner!  Seriously I have to brag for him here,  he occupied himself at dinner for almost 2 hours, past his bedtime, without any major melt downs.  Way to go Thomas Ganoosh! 

Thursday the boys were up early and off to Skagit River to try their hand at fishing.  Mike’s dad caught this steelhead salmon and Mike was so excited, but also wished it was he who had caught it!  Kathy and I headed downtown to do a little shopping.  Thomas fell asleep on the ride down and slept for the majority of our excursion.  Thursday afternoon Kathy had a longtime friend stop over for coffee and catching up and we had a nice dinner at home.

Friday we were off to the Aquarium, lunch at Elliot’s seafood room, Pike Place Market, and the Filson store.  This was followed by a seafood feast at home from fish/crab that was purchased at the market.

Saturday we worked on the house and made a trip to home depot.  We were going to try to grab dinner out and had a babysitter lined up but then decided to stay in for dinner instead.   Another great adventure with our family in town.  Thomas loved spending time with his grandparents and showing them around Seattle!  Thank you again Jeff and Kathy for all the help and memories!

1st Bike well Tricycle

Labor day weekend was a busy one for us of STUFF.  We are diligently working on getting our house “flipped,” which means constant doing stuff in between playing and taking care of Thomas. 

So our fun Labor day weekend was starting to tackle the basement and working on going through all my old therapy stuff.  What a pain!  I am writing this in October and we are still slowly chunking away at it.  We are hopeful that it will be done by Thanksgiving and we can get it painted and up in working order!

We also had to make a big family trip to Target and we decided that after weeks of Thomas trying to steal all the other bikes at the park we would get him his own tricycle.

He thought the helmet was awful until he realized first helmet then awesome bike ride.  His little feet don’t touch the pedals.  Nonetheless, he is happy to sit on the bike and steer with the occasional bell dink to let everyone know he is coming!  We had to put his helmet outside so that he wouldn’t have a meltdown every time he brought it to us and asked us to go for a ride.

Checking in…

So far Seattle has been treating the Laschen clan well.  We are not going to lie we miss all our family and friends that we have back in Minnesota, Colorado and everywhere in between.  We still feel like we are on a permanent vacation and although we are enjoying ourselves this city has yet to feel like our home. 

We are thankful for visits and Skype which allows us to check in frequently.   We are pretty sure Thomas feels like the laptops only purpose is to call his grandparents.  If I am on it and he is awake he will often walk over and say “hi” before he can see there is no one there to talk to him. 

Other than that we are busy making our house our home and have been tackling project after project with traveling, guests and play time in between.

I am busy editing photos, making collages and trying to get this blog back up to date!  We have a busy few months in September and October so I have to catch up or I will be behind for good! Stay tuned!