8 months...

I am sorry that have been away for the last 8 months, it wasn't that I didn't have anything to say but my plate was overwhelmed. I can't say it has settled down any either but it seems a little more manageable for today. The next few posts will be a catch up of what I missed hashing out but for now here is a summary of a few of the things that have consumed my time during my hiatus.

February

This is where it really began, becoming more "social." We had kind of alienated our friends trying to catch up on projects around the house so we helped plan a bowling party for the morning and in the evening had everyone over for pizza and games. It would also be the start to a new chapter in our lives. See the pizza and games was more of a birthday party for a college student, so weird to type that as he is now family to us, that moved in the next day.

Now if you have ever had a roommate you know there is that awkward time of getting to know and figuring out how to co-exist with them. I have had roommates and when my husband and I got married went through this too, while it was a little bit of an adjustment, this new member of our family has been a blessing in our lives. My boys look up to him, my husband has a guy to talk to and hang out with, and I when I get stressed he helps with the kids or helps us all laugh. (Its a good thing I know he won't read this because I don't want him getting a big head.)

With having another adult in the house several changes had to be made, I'm sure you can think of quite a few but one of the things was storage. I was the only ones that could tell you where things were but it still took us quite a while to find what we were looking for...especially spices in our kitchen. We have tried spice racks, drawers, getting rid of spices but we truly go through so many when we cook that we needed a solution.

Our pantry is long and narrow with a lot of wall space so we decided to make a niche.

Several doubted that we needed it to be as big as it ended up but we have filled it up completely with what was already in our stash without having duplicates. It wasn't as simple as we thought it would be either. After we cut the hole we realized that that section was the return air for our bedroom upstairs...oops.





We had to think and consult on this one, but we finally figured out we had to keep the same amount of airflow but we could redirect it around the niche by cutting a hole in the stud above and below it.






Bead-board was used for the backing. And then my husband put together the frame. He also made it with adjustable shelves which has been perfect.

Really the longest part of this project was painting...after the whole have to consult about the return air :/

I love being able to see what we have and finding it quickly. Everything has been alphabetized and for the smaller jars if there is a duplicate they can fit behind the first.

Like all of our projects we still have to finish something, in this case it is trimming it out.

March - future post
Family Birthday parties
Pictures for friends
Planning and starting bathroom remodel
Newest Member ended up having surgery :(

April 
First Lost Tooth
Learning more about football
Making 1/2 Bath into a 3/4 bathroom

May
Graduation Parties
First Official Half Marathon

June
When copper goes bad - yes it really does
- redoing finished bathroom remodel because upstairs copper corroded...
Camp Counselor
Annual Canoe trip/Death of phone
VBS

July
Power Outages
Weddings
Birthdays and Reunions
Planning of Playroom remodel

August
Playroom/office/classroom remodel
Football galore
Start of School

September
Flash Flood/redoing Playroom/office/classroom remodel :/
- see a theme?
Training for a 2nd Half Marathon
Finding the voice to just say no

I am not sure I look forward to remembering everything that has happened this summer but I am sure we will be able to start laughing at quite a few things and how absolutely absurd they happened.

Until next time...take care!