For the last week we have been working on updating our fireplace. It wasn’t bad but it just didn’t match the rest of our house. It was actually the exact same fireplace and mantel that Sean grew up with when he was in high school.
The Finished project. I love it and am really excited we got it finished before the holidays.
Before
After
The day we decided to purchase this house I new the front was missing something. So I sat down and drew on the MLS picture till I thought of adding an adorable little porch. Sean fell in love with my idea for the house and we decided it was one of our main things to do to this house. This is Sean’s week of holidays so his goal was to build our porch which he has just completed. I can’t believe how much I love it. It has made this my dream home, I never want to leave. I have always wanted that cute little house with the porch in the front that you can sit at and enjoy your morning coffee or just sit and relax. It also has my little red door :)
This is where we sit back and relax. In a few years when we have a bit more money we plan to make the whole bottom a wooden deck.
Looking out at my front yard with the cute little apple trees.
These are the photo’s of the finished Kitchen floors. I am so happy with them I was a little worried it might be a little dark but it turned out perfect. I also got the cabinets on the other side of the kitchen hung. It’s almost done. Just the molding around the cabinets, paint the island, and finish the box around the fan. I also need to get the last door put on. Otherwise I love it I keep going in my kitchen just to stand and enjoy it.
(the missing door beside the oven)
The stools will have black tops and they are used with the old island. It pops up and turns into an eating area or I use it to sit at and bake. I still need to paint the old island, not sure of the colour yet. And I still need the handles on the cabinets.
We had a wonderful, very busy visit with Papa and Nana this weekend. They arrived Friday afternoon and the boys got straight to work on building a guest room and dog room. Cindy and I played with the kids the whole weekend and kept them away from the construction zone. It was so great to have her help me keep them entertained and happy. I am so impressed with Sean and his dad, they managed to get everything finished before noon on Sunday. They put up two doors, moved two light switches, put in a new light and switch where there wasn’t any before, built three walls, and insulated the dog room. The basement looks great. before it was just a huge open room now the family room is cozy and we have separate dog and guest rooms. Now I just have to finish the walls with the mud and sanding along with priming and painting. The main thing is that the walls are in place and it works. The dogs love the room. Before we had old dressers blocking them in that area, now they can go in and out all they want and can only dirty their tile floor. How great is that? The guest room is perfect, it’s quiet and away from animals and people. Very private. These were our main priorities when we were looking to purchase a new house. It had to have a fourth room for guest because we knew we will be having family staying over because of how far we moved away. And a dog room where the dogs could go in and out of the dog run as much as they wanted with out dirtying up the entire house. I'm just so happy with the way it turned out and can’t wait to have more people over. Sean loves his theater room now and JJ can finally play in the play room with out running over to play in the dog dishes.
Looking down the new hallway in the basement
Living room. Sean still has all his pictures to hang to complete the room.
Back of family room which is the playroom and bar.
Sean’s dream theater room!
The new rooms!
Dog room and the new light
The guest room
Nana enjoying some time with JJ
Helping put on his boots
The princess playing around her daddy's feet
Sean and the kids after a long weekend of renovations. JJ is learning early.
So Sean finished his year 2 exams on Monday. He still has his thesis to write before the end of June and then he has 2weeks worth of exams to write in the end of June. Then it will be over no more school for Sean. For now he has no more homework ever just research for his thesis and studding for the finals. So he is back to the renovations starting with our bathroom. You have no idea how excited I am to do our bathroom. I have been using all the other sinks in our house to brush my teeth, now I will be able to finally use MY bathroom to brush my teeth. I'm just a little weird about brushing my teeth. I don’t like to use other sinks that I'm not comfortable with. When I go to a hotel I use bottled water and can’t wait till I get home. Anyways Im so excited after this bathroom is done I will feel really at home. We have run into one problem already, the sink we bought wont work because of the pipes so I am in a mad rush to find another one I like. Tonight we will be putting the new floor in, it’s the same as the other bathroom and then on Friday Sean will attempt the toilet. Last time Sean and my dad ran into a few problems but they made it through. I just hope it goes a bit better this time. So far the toilet area looks good but you never know. I will leave you with the demolition pictures of my bathroom. Enjoy. The one picture looks a little funny because I used windows stitch to put the picture together so you can kinda see the whole bathroom.
Please don’t mind the bedroom mess in the background, everything from the bathroom got tossed into the bedroom last night during demo.
Last night Sean went out for dinner with his boss and his regional manger so the kiddies and I did the evening routine alone. These are some of the pictures of JJ helping me give Katie her dinner. I can't believe how fascinated he is with Kaitlyn. He always wants to help feed her and is really trying to play with her. Today they were sitting together playing until Katie pulled JJ's hair, then the fun time was over.
Yesterday it really felt like spring so JJ and I played in the backyard while Katie took her nap. He mowed his daddy's lawn, played with his ball, went on his baby slide and played with the flowers in the front yard. 
Our new main bathroom (aka kids bathroom)
Our Master bedroom. We still need to lay the floors and change out the broken door with the new one. The floors are the same as in the living room. I love the light we got for our bedroom it was in the clearance are of home depot. I wanted to do something that felt romantic like a Chandelier but I didn't really want a real Chandelier so I was thrilled when I saw this light.
My fireplace in my bedroom. This is my favorite thing about my bedroom.
Of course more pictures of the kiddies. I can't help it they are just so adorable. The top picture is of JJ watching the snow fall again. 
My little princess. She does the exact same serious face as her older brother as soon as I bring out the camera. But she looks so pretty in her little dress.
More snow in Nanaimo! I think Sean jinxed us. He was rubbing it in that we get less rain in Nanaimo then my parents do in Langley(only tiny bit less) So my parents came back saying that Nanaimo gets more snow. I think they are right :) We have been told the amount we got this year is not normal for Nanaimo but so far I agree with my parents.
We put the cabinet on the left up the other night because the old cabinet had a spot for a microwave and we changed to the microwave above the stove. I am so proud of my "handyman"
The microwave and new cabinet installed. We are still not finished as we have to hook up the fan and think of a way we are going to cover the pipe. I'm not sure if I want to build a box around it like our old place or do something a little different.
This is the new blinds we installed in our kitchen and the bottom picture is the new blinds in the living room. It feels so different now that the vertical blinds are gone. I love it. We also replaced the blinds in the kids bedrooms and our bedroom and the family room downstairs.
And this is the present state of our main bathroom. Last night we did demolition. And tonight we will lay the new floors and then start putting it back together this weekend with the help of my parents. Thank goodness for my parents otherwise we can only work on the house once the kids are in bed. It is so great when they come because then Sean and my dad work on the house while my mom and I take the kids out shopping and try to keep them entertained. Usually once the kids go down my mom and I paint.
This is my hallway. My dad and Sean will be finishing this on the weekend also. They have a very busy weekend ahead of them. I am very lucky that Katie May doesn't crawl yet or it would make these reno's even more difficult then they already are.
