Four Under Five: And So It Begins - Our Kitchen Remodel, Part I

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

And So It Begins - Our Kitchen Remodel, Part I

In early March of this year, Danny and I will have been married for seven wonderful, bliss-filled years. I have spent almost each and every minute of those seven years yearning for a modern kitchen. Danny has spent an equal amount of time wondering how on earth we could ever pay for such a project.

You see, Danny and I are living in the home that his grandmother built over 40 years ago. It is a classic, well-built, custom home, and we are lucky to have it. It has great bones and tons of cool details like the beautiful windows, brick fireplace, and large bedrooms with built-in cabinetry.

But, Danny lived the bachelor lifestyle in this house for eleven years. He happily hosted many a Cattle Call party, shared his space with many friendly roommates, and played guitar and enjoyed outdoor hobbies to his little heart's content. He did not spend a moment on modernizing or keeping up the house. When a burner on the stove top stopped working, he just got used to cooking on one working burner. When the microwave stayed on when he opened it and the timer stopped working, he learned to time things in his head.

When we were dating, I remember talking to him on the phone, and he would all of a sudden say, "Hold on a second," and he would be back in literally a second. I'd say, "What was that?" And he would explain that he had to put the phone down (since the phone wasn't cordless) and rush over to turn the microwave off, so it wouldn't scorch his food. At the time, that was all totally adorable. But, now while trying to make food for the six of us with one stinking burner, a stove with a major attitude problem, and a microwave with a homeade handle and no timer, the kitchen has lost any and all charm it ever had.

Now little did Danny know that the minute we got married, he would look at me, I'd get pregnant, and the ball would start rolling. Now here we are, with four young kids, sitting at a tiny kitchen table, with twins about to bust out of their highchairs, with nary a seat in sight for them to plop.

This kitchen remodel project has been in the works for about four years now. I have had multiple contractors come over to give us ideas, estimates, and proposals. We would get moving, but various events would crop up to cause the project to be put on hold. Of course, money was an issue, then when we were almost there two years ago, I got pregnant with twins, and we were way too overwhelmed to continue at that point.

This year, by the grace of God, we were able to scrape together the funds to make the kitchen project happen. It's pretty unbelievable how things come together. We just happened to get this contractor going at a time when work was slow. We just happened to refinance when interest rates were super low. We just happened to order our cabinetry during a huge sale. We just happened to be awesome! Sorry, got a little carried away there, I am just so excited to get started!!

Yesterday was the first day of actual work. A tree service came by to remove a tree in the way of the new addition. Don't feel bad, I love trees myself, but I was happy to see this one go. It is a tremendously dirty tree, and always dumped tiny flowers and seeds all over our roof, trash area, and our neighbor's yard. This was a good thing, believe me.

Good bye tree! See that guy up there chopping down branches? I love you tree guy!