it was so nice to hear that you all agreed the afters were better than the befores
of our kitchen remodel.
ha ha ha.
you had lots of questions and i have lots of answers.
how long did the remodel take?
3 months…november – january.
how did you survive?
we moved the refrigerator into the living room…set up a folding table also with throw away utensils
and the microwave…and that was what we used.
it was kind of crazy but so much changed in the new kitchen everyday that it was exciting.
how did you decide what you wanted?
we remodeled our kitchen LAST in our home in illinois and then we moved.
all that work and money and we didn't even get to enjoy it. so when we bought this house we decided
we would do the kitchen FIRST because it is the most important room to us.
i knew i wanted the exact same cabinets i had in my IL. kitchen.
i had a baby at home so i spent hours and hours sitting and dreaming up what to do.
and i had years of magazines pictures in a file that i used to put it together.
did you design it?
yes. i designed it all. i like to draw so i gave my detailed drawings to the cabinet guy brad and our contractor bernie and said " do it like this".
i wonder where those are now???
can we move in?
that depends…are you good at laundry? cooking? cleaning? i may consider it if you are….
is that a real chalkboard or just chalkboard paint?
it is an old school chalkboard…running the other way…from a garage sale.
(sarah has the paint on the wall and it looks great too…so if you can't find a huge chalkboard at a
garage sale…do what she did!)
the kids' dinnertime chores are written way at the top.
what kind of dog is that?
waffle is a golden doodle…half poodle/half golden retreiver. and he needs a haircut.
they do shed and i don't know if they are hypoallergenic.
but if his hair is short…there is practically no shedding at all.
our friends had one liter of these in 2008.
this entire liter of puppies is the happiest bunch of dogs i have ever seen!
but they aren't having anymore puppies unfortunately…and i don't know anyone else to find one for you.
check your classifieds or google golden doodles in your area.
(those are the most frequent questions i am asked about waffler)
how did you have the patience for a kitchen remodel?
craig and i are a good team.
he likes my designs (at least he says he does)…he is very flexible and encouraging with my vision/ideas.
i really like how hard of a worker he is.
we both like to get good deals.
and we take our time figuring out what we want.
and he is such a good painter! he is so detailed.
so much so that he's asked me to stop painting a few times…because i was so messy he wanted me to go.
working with all men (contractors, electricians, plumbers, carpenters) can be a challenge because i don't like confrontation and i really don't like being treated like a dumb girl.
and that happens every once in awhile…but not too much.
i know what i want when it comes to my home down to the last detail.
so that caused some tension for me sometimes…and of course…tears because i am a girl.
but other than that…it doesn't take too much patience when you are so excited.
bernie, our contractor, showed up EVERYDAY and worked all day till the job was finished.
he rocks.
he never made me cry. :)
and i have a few kids around here to distract me…helping with the patience.
what made you decide to put in the wall of windows?
that side of the room was previously a porch.
in the 70's or 80's the homeowners enclosed it with 12 skinny tall windows and a door.
none of them worked anymore.
we decided to use 6 big windows and closing up the space where the door had been…
gaining 3 more feet of counter space in the process.
the wall with wood slats is gone and a steel support beam is in it's place.
the door on the left is now a wall (with the red EAT letters)
the floor was cement on this half and slanted because it was a porch.
it had to be leveled and then the wood floor laid down across both rooms.
stop looking at my dirty dishes!
&
#0160;
do your wood floors stand up well to high traffic?
yes.
i am in love with wood floors.
we have no carpet i our entire house…and only 2 rugs. one of them came with the house!
they are scratched in a few places but i don't mind.
and i HATE to vaccuum.
how should i paint my cabinets?
these are all new cabinets painted by the cabinet makers….so i can't help you with that.
where did you get your slipcoverd sofas?
the white ones are from world market. the blue is an old couch from our IL. days…
what color is the paint on your walls?
you know…in the mess of the remodel we threw out the can.
after we'd used literally every single drop and we don't know what color it is!
that is BAD.
it is a creamy off white…just different enough from the bright white cabinets to show a difference.
it's not yellow.
where did you get your chandeliers?
chicago jenny gave me one for our IL kitchen.
she had taken it out of her house and it was sitting in her garage!!
she walked into our new kitchen and started laughing and called her husband in to show him
my new light i had bought at the flea market. identical to hers…that she was getting rid of.
so when we moved to kansas she gave it to me as a going away gift. 🙂
best gift ever.
so i had two chandeliers that were nearly the same.
yes…i took my light from my IL. house. we put in a different one though…
some of my friends were here yesterday baking for their friends fundraiser…it was a blast.
but you can see the chandelier.
(and i need some more globes…any one have one they don't want anymore :)
i find chandeliers at antique stores and flea markets.
my friend diana gave me one from her dining room and it's in my bathroom.
they were all brass and i spray paint them white.
should i take my cherry cabinets out and put in white?
that quesiton is too big for me.
it's a personal preference. you want to be happy in your home…so you have to decide that for you.
i like cherry too…they are pretty.
where did you get your roman shades?
a little place called the home depot.
how do you keep the white cabinets so clean?
ha ha ha.
now that is just funny.
right now i can see spaghetti sauce…footprints…hot cocoa splatters…all kinds of gunk on them.
you just have to wipe them off like everything else.
but you can use clorox clean up at least.
and annie loves to use cleaning wipes…often the cabinet cleaning job goes to her on saturday mornings.
what kind of appliances do you have?
the dishwasher is a kitchenaid from best buy. it's great! it get used every single day 365 days a year.
(except i guess you aren't supposed to put pieces of broken glass or bobby pins in them…who knew?)
the cooktop and double oven are Jenn-Air and we bought them off ebay.
one was a floor model with a scratch and one was an older model…but still looked great to us.
the refridgertor is GE and we got it at sears.
the microwave is GE from home depot.
do you help people with decorating dilemmas?
no one has ever done what i suggest.
ever.
so i will say no.
can we see the rest of your house?
no..it's too messy.
just kidding. there is a photo album in the left sidebar…if you haven't seen that.
but i do have a few more before and afters to show sometime.
but the afters are too messy to show you today.
so that is that.
any other questions?
Foy (Garden Cook Write Repeat) - That’s so cute and she did a really good job!
Way to let your kid learn from experience!
tami reed - I love her cake, great job!
Bethany - WOW that is such a sugary cake– hehe! It does look yummy though- Annie did a great job 🙂
Kristine - it’s like a gingerbread house…on a cake! so cute! great job for saying YES! AND for resisting the sugar. you are doing better than me!
Suzanne - Jesus certainly would love it…and Annie is so very adorable!
Kelly - Yea for Annie! Great job! Kelly
linda lou - annie did such a wonderful job on decorating the cake who knowns she just might be a cake decorator when she growns up!! blessings.
linda (amy’s d mom)
dori - I don’t have kids of my own, but you’ve inspiring me to let my students be creative with more than just paper, scissors, and glue.
Lisa K in FL - Oh my gosh – Annie is so totally adorable and you are the very best mommy ever! I wish was I was more willing to allow my kiddos to be free to create. I’m going to get with God on that one.
Heidi Jo the Artist - This is so awesome! We love singing happy birthday to Jesus too!
Trina - Great post! That is awesome. So wonderful that you caught it all on camera!
Amy - What a sweet day. Thanks for sharing. Still giggling about the Charlotte comment. 🙂
Routhie - You need a like button for things like this. Super cool of you and her!
Melanie - She is so cute and you are a great mom. Very good for you about the sugar!
rhondagill@comcast.net - That last photo is perfection. What a beautiful blessing God has given you.
Staci Danford - What a darling cake.. You are just an angel to sit through that and not eat the whole thing.. Loved the sweet smiles on her face.. That was a load of sugar in its self.
Staci
Diana - Whewwwwwww, I can FEEL that sugar all the way across town! LOL! We don’t do a lot of sugar ourselves… but we let the grandkids do that when they are here. I’ve never been one to take much to sugary things, and amazingly, my own boys didn’t want lots of candy or stuff like that when they were growing up.
Why am I stunned that so many said they haven’t let their kids do things like this??? I’m thinking that you posting this is going to start a whole new craze with parents and kids in the kitchen! I’ve always done things like this with my kids and now my grandkids. It’s such fun to watch them create all by themselves! I would not trade those moments for anything!
LOVE that AWESOME cake, Annie! Christmas cake for Jesus is good ANY time of the year!
♥
Jerilyn - i absolutely love your blog, so i nominated it for an award (over on my blog)
Stina - I’ll bet someone has already said this (sorry, didn’t have time to check), but I know of a few people who make birthday cakes for Jesus on Christmas Eve or Day. They use white cake and white frosting (purity)…but the same idea your daughter had. Sing ‘Happy Birthday’, read the story of His birth, remember why we celebrate Christmas.
And that Annie of yours is pure gold! She is such a sweetheart.
Christina - I’m actually crying. How precious is that face?! And what a cake! She didn’t hold anything back, did she? 🙂
Vera - LOVE!! That girl ROCKS! Plus, it looks like she’s helping you out by getting all the sugar out of the house!
Tiffany Morris - LOVE this!
janie - This post cracks me up because I did that one year ago, and only made it until my daughters birthday. I baked her a wicked delicious birthday cake and as she stared at me with adorable 3 year old eyes saying “Mommy want some cake?” I caved, hard. But the exercise in self control really did make a difference to the cravings, both physically and mentally.
I found your blog through the homies, before you won, but put my vote in for you the moment I saw your blog. I’ve continued to enjoy!
Best of luck with your resolutions!
the inadvertent farmer - I understand the whole sugar thing…but for me I’ve gone vegan and must leave the room when the cheese is out! Yes, happy birthday Jesus, He would love it…sugar and all! Kim
linda@LimeintheCoconut - oh. my. Goodness.
I could eat that little girl up with a spoon she is so adorable.
The cake…I’ll save for jesus…and annie.
Beautiful post!
Angela - Love, love. love it. This year we started our own tradition and sang Happy Birthday to Jesus and ate cake for breakfast before we read some children’s books about the true meaning of Christmas and then we enjoyed our stockings and presents. Our eight month old simply played along, but our three year old truly enjoyed celebrating Jesus’ birthday…who can say no to blowing out candles and eating cake when you’re three. I also wanted to thank you for your link to Rachel’s beautiful speech. I immediately linked my friends and family to her speech via our family blog and have scheduled it for viewing at our women’s bible study this week. I am so excited to watch it for the second time and absorb everything she has to share all over again. I like you have her voice in my mind and keep saying “I am here to serve with joy” over and over again. God bless you Meg.
karen - We are on a sugar holiday of sorts at our house too and it is BRUTAL! I wanted to share a little something I found that helps take the edge off. (I even sound like an addict. And don’t get me started on caffeine.) Have you tried “organic Raw Blue Agave”? It is low glyvemic and won’t spike your blood sugar like the good ol’ white stuff. Perfect in things that you need a little sweet…oatmeal, grape-nuts,tea, etc. My kids even eat it on pancakes. (My mom gave it to them and they didn’t know the difference.)
Good luck…I’m cheering you on! 😉
robyn - fantastic. beautiful.
and you can tell her that he “can” eat it- eating fish was how he proved he was human and not a ghost post-ressurrection. she can quiz her friends at preschool as to what jesus ate to prove he wasn’t a ghost, then trick them by the cake lead-in =)
nice cake.
and man alive, i guess this year you’ll have to carve out time for comment-reading alone?! 😉
JerriR - Annie is so cute…cake was lovely…and I wish I had your will power…cutting back on all things bad for me…slowly but surely! Good Luck!
Heather Giustino - What a sweet girl!! Love her fun cake, and singing to Jesus!
Jennifer Dawn - That is truly the cutest thing ever!
Donna - Annie is just about the cutest girl I have ever seen! And what a wonderfully creative cake…..I love it. We love to make cakes at our house, too. I need to learn to be a bit more hands-off, and I think I can do it after reading your post. I just can’t stand the sound of sprinkles crunching under my feet for the rest of the day 🙂 I love your blog!!!
Gina - We sing happy birthday to Jesus every Christmas morning at breakfast. This year we sang 4 times in a row. It’s fun! I love Annie’s cake, and Jesus would love it too! :o)
Lisa Liddell - My girlies made a jesus cake for christmas, it is so much fun. I am amazed that you have all the lovely candy goodness in your cupboards, uneaten and waiting to be used on cakes. It would be gobbled up in my house. I have to do special runs to the supermarket when decorating calls.
BTW I watched rachels story last week, oh my it changed me! I need to write the four truths down. Know God, Know yourself, know the gospel, know your purpose. ALL GOD CENTERED! What a challenge.
Jessie - Loved the Rachel link. There should have been a kleenex alert before viewing. Great message.
Ali Richardson - Great job staying away from the cake (& one finger lick is NOT a big deal)! I am new to commenting but definitely not new to reading. My sister in law is the one that made that cool scrapbook paper wall that you featured on your sidebar. Anyway, LOVE your blog! Oh yeah, and I made your crescent chicken yesterday and it turned out GREAT (and you’re right….no leftovers). I am a “mac n cheese” out of the box kind of gal so it was nice to find something so tasty that was super easy to make. Keep doin’ what you’re doin’!
Kara - Laura’s comment is funny…”Jesus gave up sugar too”! Did she eat this cake after she made it? It looks way too sweet to actually eat!
Jacci - “But there was nothing else to do”????
What does that mean? As in – there was nothing you could do to avoid giving in to her sweet smile or do you mean that you had nothing else to do that morning besides let her bake a cake?
Just wondering.
~Jacci in Ohio
Christy - She is just the cutest thing ever! Love the cake! A friend of mine did a “cake for Jesus” with her kids when they were little, so sweet.
Congrats on the sugar kick! Mine is Dr. Pepper, so far over a week into it & I am doing pretty good.
immyyas - Love this post! She is an absolute doll. Seeing kids be imaginative & creative is the best! Good for you on the only licking your finger once… impressive!!!
Becky @ Farmgirl Paints - WOW!! She did an amazing job. I love your reference to that Sex in the City scene, so funny!!! I feel ya. I’m doing a no sugar thing too. I would have done the same thing. You are one strong chick to even stand that close to the cake, just the smell would do me in:)
Brooke - i absolutely love this…what an awesome memory for her…
Flower Patch Farmgirl - It’s perfect. 🙂
Also, I just listed to Rachel. THANK you for telling us about that. How could it not change us?
christi - hi meg! quick and silly question for you. i think it was on your blog {in the sidebar} that you linked to this colorful canvas someone did that listed out their family goals. i can’t find that link in my bookmarks. do you know what i am talking about and if so, could you pass along the link to me again? thanks SO much!!
Tegan and Tage - Too sweet. 🙂 There is nothing like the precious heart of a child. Thank you for sharing!
Staci - HOW AWESOME IS ANNIE!!!???? Well, we allll know that answer 🙂 Sweet Sweet Annie!!! I’m serious, I’ve said it before….my littlest guy will turn 5 in March….please let Annie marry him!!!! And then, I, too can have a Happy Birthday Jesus Cake made by Annie 🙂 (But we would make her go to OU football games!!! 😮
Ashley - How cute! The way you are with your kids is so inspiring to new momma’s like me!
Val Russell - The Charolette scene (and what followed) was great!! And the cake looks yummy!
Summer - So sweet! You’ve inspired me to go on a sugar detox….I was getting so out of control. I haven’t had any in four days. Really, I can’t believe how much better I already feel. I do have to say, that is some real self control on your part!
Jill - So sweet!
Melissa - That is the most darling cake I’ve ever seen. And your reference to Charlotte in the shower just made me laugh so hard I snorted.
In my family we have a birthday cake for Jesus on Christmas Eve. We light the candles, sing, the whole she-bang, and the kiddos get to blow out the candles when we’re done. 🙂
Jessica - I showed this photo to my 4.5 year old. She said she wants to be Annie’s friend so she can make cakes with her.
christi - seriously? she is such a cute girl!
feather - that is one precious little girl. and one awesome mama. i love that you let her do it all. how special for her. and rewarding. and you didn’t go back for a second lick? impressive
sheila payne - I don’t know hat was more beautiful her or the cake… Yes Jesus would love it it is fit for a KING! Happy Wednesday to you and yours.
Sheila
Rosemarie - Beautiful! And the Charlotte comment had me cracking up – I’m pregnant and did that with raw cookie dough the other day – and I thought about the SAME exact thing!
Laura Phelps - I hear that Jesus is off of sugar too
looks like Annie gets the whole cake!
elizabeth - Her bangs/haircut just kills me. She’s so freaking cute. And your sugar boycott is inspirational, although right now, I’m cutting sugar vicariously…
Courtney Walsh - I feel ya on the sugar thing. Attempting to cut back my ridiculous coffee consumption right now. It’s making me cranky with a capital CRANK!
Love Annie’s cake. 🙂 She’s is quite the little CHEF!!
Sara - That is darling! So cute! I would eat it up though, good self control!
shelly - Oh my goodness!!! You are the front runner for mom of the year! Not only did you agree to bake a cake while doing no sugar, but you let her frost and decorate it too!!! I really need to loosen up and just let the kids create! Love how loaded the cake was! Reminds me of our Christmas cookies with and inch of frosting and twice as high in sprinkles! (Serious kudos for only taking a lick…I thought letting the kids get schwan’s ice cream cones was hard!)
Shirley Wood - I never had the nerve to let my children do something like that in the kitchen. You are such a great mom to do that. Sorry I missed out on such things.
Jen Hinton - OMG…way too yummy!!!
FYI-I’m highlighting your blog on my show today 12pm EST! http://bit.ly/7BxxHw
Rachel - How cute! Better than I could do!!
Ruth H. - Very cute! Reminds me of yesterday…minus the cake. My six year old asked me during lunch if I knew how to find “the place for poor people to live.” I replied that I could find out, why did she need to know? She explained that she was hoping we could spend the afternoon shopping for clothes and shoes and toys….all for the poor people, then we could take them there. I agreed that it was a very thoughtful idea, but wondered what made her think of that. Her reply: “Because Christmas isn’t about getting gifts, it is about giving them. It is about love. It is about what Jesus would do.”
Apparently, it is still Christmas. As it should be!
Renee - Great post, Meg. I love to see Annie in all her glory. I thought of you yesterday while we made sugar cookies and let the kids go to town with cutters and sprinkles. Steve and I were both silently cursing the dough that wouldn’t cooperate. I said, “We’re making happy memories for them, remember?” He just laughed at me. It was good. It was a “Meg moment.” Cheers! xoxo
Tracy - this is the cutest thing I’ve seen and heard all day! So precious.
LOVE how serious you are about kicking the sugar – GREAT job resisting…that cake *does look delish!
Happy Wednesday~
emily - such a beautiful cake!!
i’m so going to let my girls make a cake on their own like that!!! it would make their whole year!!
Kacey - That is the sweetest thing! And wow, is she creative! What a perfect kid cake.
julie - absolutely precious! well done annie!
gina - Gorgeous cake! Of course, once she added all that candy, I wouldn’t have been able to eat it. Well, okay, but just the bottom two layers. 😉
Kate - Annie – the cake is beautiful! Great job!!!
Tracy - HOW PRECIOUS and SO SWEET! She is such a cutie pie! P.S. I, too, am trying to give up the sugar habit – it is like crack to me! HA! Good luck and keep up the good work – you can do it my friend! Big hugs! :o)
sandy toe - Every time I look at your pictures…I think I wish I had the “gusto” to be so patience…not concerned about the “mess” etc….your kids seem to be “kids”….
sandy toe
Kathy - Gorgeous cake Annie! I could never give up sugar I’m just too weak!
Amy - She’s precious! I love how kids come up with this stuff all on their own without any prompting from us. That’s awesome and it did make Jesus happy 🙂
Niki - Don’t you know that, that cake made her Father smile!!!!! How precious she is to you and Him! Thanks for sharing!
No.17CherryTreeLane - these pictures are ridiculously cute. i need to squeeze that kid.
Jenni - I’ve done the “spit out” thing when I’ve been on sugar fasts in the past, too. It’s rather comical! Loved the photos, and the commentary. So sweet.
Tara @ the cinnamon post - I just love this post. Well done Meg with the sugar. You are to be commended! As for me I ate one and one-half cinnamon buns yesterday…before bed…it would have been two whole ones but someone caught me. It was a weak moment for me. Annie is so cute. Love the bangs.
~Tara
Holly - It is a beautiful cake! As for the sugar thing I am the same way with caffiene right now. Funny thing is that I have given up a lot of sugar by giving up the caffiene. I am starting to think I may survive it also,lol!
carissa... brown eyed fox - oh He does!
and HOW you resisted? you need to do a REALLY big “whoooop”… that is awesome!
that is hard!!!
Krista - Go Annie! Good for you, I don’t think I would have been so strong to avoid sugar this long! You are inspiring 🙂
Cori - Jesus would love the cake!
becca - That is so sweet!
Jo - OH MAN! That’s unreal. I really really love it. 🙂 She did such a great job just like her momma would do. Both are so creative!