Project: Kitchen

Kreg spent all of last week up in the mountains bow hunting... those of you who know me know I am pretty attached to my hubby!  I can handle a day or two of him camping or fishing or hunting or gone on business or gone on pleasure... but, once I hit that two or three day mark, I start to fall apart.  And this time, Westin started falling apart even before I did.  He is VERY attached to his daddy! 

Well, when I find myself in a "mini-crisis" of any sort, my solution is generally to find a project.  I am very good at losing myself in a project.  I decided to tackle the kitchen last week.  It needed what I have been calling a "grown-up" look.  Here is the progression my kitchen has made since I have known it:

This is what it looked like when we first bought it.  I'm not a white-wall person :)

So, this was the solution :) As much as I love orange, this was not the orange I was hoping for, and it was just a little too much!

Here's what it looks like now: I think I'm finally pleased!

 

Whew! Let me tell you... had I any clue what I was getting myself into re-finishing cabinets, I probably would have chosen a different project :).  But, I am so very pleased with the results!  This is a very good thing because I do not intend to tackle cabinets again any time in the near future.  Kreg got home and was very impressed! 

I also got out my fall decor-- which seemed a little odd because it is still nearly 90 here in Colorado Springs almost every day.  I don't ever remember having such a hot fall here!  Knowing Colorado, we will probably go straight from summer to winter once October hits.  Time will tell.  Anyway, I have been wanting a fall wreath for my door.  I went out looking, hoping to spend about $20.  HA! The cheapest (nice looking) wreaths I was finding were on sale for $50.  Sooo, $16.00 later, I came out of Hobby Lobby with the supplies for this: 

and I had so much fun!  I really am loving having some extra time on my hands to be creative.  Over the past 5 or 6 years I nearly forgot about my creative side!  Thank you again, Kreg, for working hard for our family so I can be a housewife! I love you so very much and am thankful for the past week that we spent apart.  It reminded me of how very blessed Westin & I are to have what we have in you.  We are blessed beyond measure!

Balloons, Snacks, and Rashes-- Oh, My!

I love being a mom!  Have I mentioned that lately? Because I really do. Nothing has ever been more challenging or more rewarding, and I have a pretty good feeling nothing else ever will be.  So, I am enjoying the day-to-day.  Which is never, ever boring! Kreg and my Dad spent labor day weekend in the mountains bow hunting... we're hoping to get some good meat in the freezer this year!  While they were gone, Westin & I spent most of the weekend with my mom.  We took Westin to the Colorado Balloon Classic, which I haven't been to in years.  It's a HUGE hot air balloon festival.  We got up early Monday morning and drove down to Memorial Park to watch all the balloons lift off.  When we got down there, however, we found out that even though it was a beautiful, clear morning, they expected the wind to pick up and hinder the balloons from landing, so they did not even lift off.  They just blew them up so we could look.  I was disappointed at first, but Westin wasn't.  He loved it, so I did too. Unfortunately, the best picture I got of him that day was this one:

On a side note, Westin's appetite has like... quadrupled in the past month.  He is constantly grabbing my hand and taking me to the fridge saying "nack, nack!" I want to feed him healthy snacks, but buying healthy food is so expensive! So, my solution has been to buy healthy fruits and basic ingredients and do lots of cooking!  I have really enjoyed making yummy, healthy snacks... the biggest hits so far have been granola bars and pretzels.  

Also new this month-- a lovely rash that has appeared around Westin's mouth that doesn't seem to want to go away.  I have scrolled through just about every nasty child rash picture on the internet and in my baby books (not recommended for those with weak stomachs) and tried every basic, natural solution I can think of for the poor guy. Some days it looks better than others, but I can't pin-point anything we're doing differently to make it better. It doesn't seem to bother him and he has no other symptoms so I suppose it will be fine until his check up next month.  I'm posting a picture (look out!) in case any of you wonderful mom's/grandma's/great-grandma's recognize this lovely outbreak.  As always, I am open to suggestions! (as you can see, it hasn't affected his infectious smile!) 

And, on that note, I think you're caught up-to-speed with the Kell household!

Wordless: Sunshine