Demo complete:

New backer board:

Work-in-progress:

Ready to grout:

The finished product:

More photos of the completed bathroom are located here.

What we used:

Behr Paint:

Wall Tile – Marazzi Montagna Lugano 12 In. x 12 In. Glazed Porcelain (The Home Depot)

Mosaic Tile Accent – Premium Mosaics Smoky Mountain 1 In. x 1 In. (The Home Depot)

Shower Curtain – Canopy Waffle Weave, Artic White (Walmart)

In case you didn’t notice, recent posts contain links to previous, relevant posts from this blog. These links give you a better look at the before-and-after, as well as related projects. Check them out!

Before:

After:

We finally had the driveway sealed. It looks almost seamless (we had the end of the driveway repaired because it was a mess. The last time we did this was three years ago, so it was long overdue. This is the best it can look without ripping out the whole thing, which is never going to happen! I’m very happy with it.

There are a few updates inside the house as well.

The little shells from Rockport inspired me to add some new decor to the living room. I found this cute little plant stand for $10.00:

I wasn’t sure what colors I should use in this room. We have black leather furniture, but the walls and curtains are made up of greens and neutrals. The colors also had to tie in with my favorite part of the room, my grandfather’s painting (read his story here). I bought pillows in a mix of Waverly fabrics. I like the fact that I can buy covers later to update them for different seasons, too.

Now that we’re a family of six, we struggle a bit with closet space. I handle this by choosing a closet or cabinet every couple of months to clean. I do the same thing with the attic and our clothing. If there’s too much clutter or things we haven’t touched in years, it’s time to send some things off to charities.

There was one area I couldn’t figure out, though. When you have a big family, you have a lot of shoes. Micah and I leave ours in the master closet, but the kids kept throwing theirs in the coat closet upstairs. We store the Dyson and our little Shark sweeper in there as well. We needed some separate place to store their shoes.

Most of the things I found online were intended for entryways, but bi-level homes don’t leave you with much space when you come through the front door. I finally settled on a leather storage bench (this one). The kids also like to sit on it when they’re watching TV.

I love the clearance center for Raymour and Flanigan. We went there to look around the other day, and came home with a new dining set. Micah said it was an early anniversary present. The poor guy has to work out-of-town for the next two weeks, so all of the overtime pays for it. You have to admire his dedication to his job (and me)!

It has a few small scratches on the table surface that are barely noticeable, and it’s missing the leaf. Other than that, it’s perfect. I’ll live with any minor flaws when it means getting a heavy, solid wood table and six chairs for $850 instead of over $2000!

My parents gave me this CD set while we were visiting them, and we listened to them while having our first quiet dinner (ravioli) at our new table. I’m thinking it’s the closest thing we’ll get to a “date night” for a while.

We will have this for many years, and it’s perfect for our family of six.

Before:

After:

More updated photos of the bathroom are located here.

We were left with bare concrete when the old cabinet came out, and I couldn’t find the name of the flooring to order more. The opening in the wall is two inches wider than the vanity, and some space is also visible in the front. We decided to go with glass mosaic tile (we’ve been in love with mosaic ever since we did the kitchen backsplash). The colors blend nicely.

Here’s a list of everything we used:

Behr Paint:

Mosaic Tile – MS International 3/4 In. x 3/4 In. Ivory Iridescent (The Home Depot)

Medicine Cabinet – American Classics White 15 in. W (The Home Depot)

Faucet – Price Pfister Brushed Nickel Double-Handle (Lowe’s)

Vanity – allen + roth 28″ White Wynn Combo with Granite Top (Lowe’s)

Shower Curtain – Essential Home Bamboo Leaves (Kmart)

I finally got around to bringing a power source outside. My parents gave us the light set they had for their gazebo because they hated setting it up. It had a center lantern and 4 others that hung from the corners. I rewired it so we’d just have one:

I’m out there right now! It is so relaxing.

The sound of a bathroom demolition is not so relaxing.

The pile of junk you need to dispose of is not, either.

The result, however, is going to be amazing. I am so excited!

I decided, on a whim, to tackle the overgrown mess near the front steps. I’m sure it was nicely landscaped at one time, but it turned into a mound of ivy and weeds. The edge trimmer got it down to this:

I bought some endless summer hydrangea, plantain lilies, and royal purple veronica flowers. I still have no idea what I’m doing, but I think it looks pretty good:

I hope they will get enough shade. The big tree out front should help.

This is how Micah and my Dad spent father’s day:

The gazebo is up! I can’t take any credit for this. They worked very hard, and it turned out great. I have visions of quiet dinners without bugs, and hours in the shade with Lily while the kids play. I’ll take a picture soon. We can start grilling as soon as Micah replaces the ignitor.

Up next: The downstairs bathroom loses the built-in cabinet and gets a new vanity.

It’s pretty disgusting, actually. The bags smell too bad to keep in the garage, so we just hide them along the left side of the house (where there are no windows). Have I mentioned how glad I am that Micah handles all things lawn? He’s very good about helping out with things I hate to do (like emptying the dishwasher). Lucky me!

A few months ago, I painted the sink top in the downstairs bathroom. I knew this wasn’t a permanent solution, but I figured it would work until we got around to replacing the sink… Then, the kids discovered it and thought, “Wow! Peeling paint and throwing it everywhere is fun!” We can’t ignore it anymore.

One of our home’s many previous owners added the bathroom sometime in the 1970s or 1980s. It was in total disrepair when we first moved in, and we had to hire someone to replace a lot of the plumbing. The last step is the sink. It sits on top of a built-in cabinet and has unusual dimensions. The “vanity top” is a piece of plywood with a thin fiberglass (I presume) material glued to the top. The sink itself is porcelain, and it has many chips and stains. Hopefully, we can rip it out soon!

We’re still waiting to hear about the driveway. We had it repaired about two months ago, and now we want to have it sealed. The company said they’d get back to us when they started sealing for the season.

We’ve been looking for a screened gazebo for the back patio. The patio is 13 x 13, but I doubt we’ll find one that will cover the entire thing. Most of them seem to be 10 x 12. It would be nice to have a shaded place, away from bugs, to sit with Lily while the kids play.

Lastly, we ordered a new gate. One of the pickets broke off the existing one. We tried just about everything, but it wouldn’t attach again. That should be ready to pick up any day now.

I had been looking at ceiling fans for months, but I had no idea when we would get around to actually replacing the old one. I went to Home Depot and decided today would be the day. I went home, dismantled the old fan, and started assembling the new one. And then it hit me. I’m having a baby in four days. I’m huge. What the hell was I doing? I got as far as I could, then waited for Micah to get home. I thought he’d be shocked at what I was doing, but he knows me too well. He helped me finish up and did all of the awkward lifting/holding. It was hot outside and the air was humid, so it felt like hours of work.

Out with the old…

In with the new…

Will is happy with his new ceiling fan. He says the old one was dirty.

Micah has been working hard on yard work. The lawn looks beautiful right now! Here’s a view of our front yard (half of it, anyway):

I put fertilizer down a few weeks ago, and ended up with 5 or 6 big burn spots. Micah re-seeded, and it’s already filling in perfectly. I’ve kept up with the edging around the fence, pruning the apple tree and getting rid of weeds. I’m also kind of addicted to sweeping the garage. Some people “nest”. I just get a little carried away… but the house has never looked better.

We got a good estimate to have it sealed, so we’ll do that in a few months. In the meantime, we are so happy with the result! The company we used did a great job.

So much mud and water accumulates every time it snows or rains, which is no fun when the kids are trying to get out to the bus or Micah takes the snowblower to the end of the driveway. Now that spring is finally here, we can get it fixed. It was never going to be in our budget to rip out the entire thing and replace it, so I had to find someone who would do a patch job. We got a $500.00 quote from a local business, and that seems reasonable enough. It will be done tomorrow. We’ll seal the driveway again when the hot weather hits.

We have some other small jobs to get done:

- Fix garage door (there is a gap at the top when it is closed)
- Replace support pole in garage
- Repair gutter downspouts
- Replace drain pipe in master shower, caulk shower
- Caulk seam of front steps
- Fix cracks in cement (garage floor, back patio)
- Re-paint back patio

I also want to figure out a way to refinish the surface of our dining room table. It looks dirty no matter how much I clean it. The problem is that it’s a laminate surface, so I need to find the right product. That, along with touching up the baseboard paint in the upstairs hallway (again), are the only other things I am going to do indoors myself.

My c-section is scheduled for May 28th. I will be out of commission Labor Day weekend! That was always our big weekend for yard work, so it’s going to be tough. My parents will be visiting for 4 or 5 days. They may be able to watch the kids while Micah gets the work done. I cleared the overgrowth in the back yard last year and planted grass (part one, part two). That should save us a lot of time in the long run.

We have plenty of things to keep us busy, but it’s still a beautiful time of year.