SURVIVED THE BATHROOM RENO

So, I am proud to say that we are done our bathroom remodel and are still married and speaking to each other! We learned early on in our marriage that we have very different styles of doing things (like putting together furniture, reading instructions and so on). We swore to never put IKEA furniture together TOGETHER ever again. So when we (OK more me) decided that we needed to redo our bathroom we knew that it would be a test of our marriage :)

I know everyone asks why we would do this since we are renting and won't be here for probably much longer, but if you saw our bathroom before, it was starting to grow mold on the walls in the shower and was just nasty. So after talking to our landlord, he agreed to give us $2000 to redo the bathroom. I have watched to many renovation shows or something because I figured we could get this whole thing knocked out in a weekend!! They do on TV, so figured why can't we. So off we went to the store and priced out different things and decided on what we wanted to do. There was a sale so we bought mostly everything early, so we had it sitting in our house for about a week and a half before we even started. If you know me, you know that I go crazy when there is just mess everywhere. Not that I am a super clean and organized person but I just hate clutter so even starting off just living in clutter before the construction even got started was driving me crazy!

Here are some pictures of the bathroom before!!

The old linoleum dirty floor that no matter how hard I cleaned it it never looked cleaned! And the super old vanity and counter top with burns and stains on it!

The toilet and storage that we had!

Our nasty shower... just old and small and I always hated putting Ben in the tub for a bath (not that he even noticed)

Here is some of the mold and nastiness that had started to grow in this bathroom. With it being our only bathroom, I just didn't like the idea of all of us breathing in this stuff.

Here is a few of the in progress days. It made me really nervous when I saw this and realized that there is alot more work to do then you realize. Jeff and his friend Pat did all the demo and then the plumbing and then put it all back together. I tried to help as much as I could, but between trying to keep Ben out of all the "stuff" and being quite pregnant, I really wasn't much help. I sure do love Jeff for working so hard!!

I don't know why I didn't realized, but the amount of dust that happens when you redo something in your house is ridiculous!! It drove me crazy and I had a few breakdowns at night feeling like the whole house was covered in layers of dust, that I was sleeping in dust and eating dust! NOT FUN!!

So here are some pictures of the finished project... there aren't a ton of pics since my camera died in the middle of trying to get some pictures. But I LOVE it, and it makes everything so much nicer!

We put new tile on the floor which I love, a new toilet and put up some shelves for more storage then we had which I love as well!!! We painted the walls a light grey and replaced all the baseboards and everything as well.

The new vanity the Jeff and Pat built themselves ( I was super impressed), a new counter top to match the floor tiles, a new sink which I love!!

We put in a new bathtub, and then decided to tile the walls in the shower... this was a lot of work but we loved how it turned out!

New shower curtains and some new accessories and we are done!!

I didn't get a picture of it, but we did our own artwork for the one wall, and did pictures with our hand prints. It was fun and although Ben hated having paint on his hands, everyday he gets so excited to see his hands on the wall!!!

So there you have it, we are happy with how it all turned out! Even though there were moments where we were not speaking or I was having an emotional breakdown and Jeff was just holding my shaking body telling me everything would turn out and be OK, it all did and we survived this little project!! There are still a few things to finish, but we are so glad to have a bathroom back in working order.

I have told Jeff, that the next time I am pregnant and decide we should "redo" something he can tell me... "NO WAY IN HELL" and just remind me of this one and I will listen :)

So this pregnant women is super grateful for a husband that worked so hard to get it done and that puts up with all my craziness!!! LOVE YA BABE!!

Just so everyone knows too.... it will be a LONG time before we decide to Reno anything else!!!! Oh and we only went over budget by about $40!!!

GRATEFUL

So here I am sitting at work, just starting my 12 hour shift and dreading it. I feel so run down and grumpy and uncomfortable, so needless to say it is not a great way to start off your shift!!! It didn't help, that the security guard stopped me to tell me that my face looks swollen and really puffy!! REALLY?? Well thanks so much, do you not also see this huge protruding belly on me too! I think it should be against the law to tell a pregnant women she looks puffy, swollen or the worst... tired!!!! I'm not about lying but I feel like when you talk to a pregnant women you should tell her she looks great (even if she doesn't)!! Just my opinion.

So... as much as I could write about all my negative feelings I really need to try and be positive so here are five things I am grateful for today!!

1. Jeff - He really is the best person I know and no matter what I do or say or look like he still loves me!! He makes me laugh when I feel like crying, he changes Ben's diaper when I just don't want to do it, he lets me be a crazy spaz and vent to him all the time and doesn't ever judge me! He just is such a strength to me and I am so grateful for him!!

2. Benjamin - This little guy is just the funniest little man EVER!! When I am exhausted and wonder what I am going to do with him, he gives me the funniest little grin or runs over to me and throws his arms around me!! Our favorite thing to do right now is to dance... we crank the music and dance away. He is hilarious and I just love seeing him grow and develop into such a funny little guy!

3. This baby growing inside of me - I am not one of these women that LOVE being pregnant. I mean, it is a miracle and all of that, but it is creepy to me and this one has been alot different that my pregnancy with Ben, so not what I had expected. As I sit here though and have thought about it over the last little bit, I am so grateful to be able to carry a baby and be healthy enough for it not to kill me!!! There are alot of people in the world that struggle with getting pregnant and then carrying the baby to full term, and I am really grateful I am not one of them. I know that this baby is meant for us and as much as it scared me to have two kids, I know it was the right thing to do and the blessing that it will be in our lives! Can't wait to meet him or her!!!

4. My Family - I have a wonderful family and extended family who are always there for me. I miss my parents so much that I sometimes can't think about it because then I start crying ( I'll blame it on the hormones) but they are the best parents anyone could ask for and I know that what they are doing right now is important and is where they need to be. I am grateful for my siblings and am very grateful that we still all talk and get together even with the parents gone. I love getting together with them and all their kids! They are also a strength in my life! I am also very grateful for the other side of the family that I have. I have had some good communications this last little while with a few of these people and I am so grateful for them. We all live so far away from each other and don't get to visit as much as we like, but I have been strengthened by them this last week or so and am really grateful for feeling like I am not as alone as I sometimes feel!!

5. The Gospel - I sometimes feel like I am never spiritual enough or not an elegant enough speaker to really express how I feel. But I am grateful for the gospel in my life. My testimony is a very simple and pure testimony that I hold very dear to me! There is so much that I do not know in this life and all the mysteries of the gospel, but I do know that this is the only true church on the earth!! I sometimes wonder when I gained my testimony because I always here people tell their conversion stories, but for me there is not one specific time I can think of. I was raised by wonderful parents and so I think it was a gradual thing for me. There was never one moment where I just knew... I feel like I have always known, and that knowledge just strengthens every day. I know that it is the gospel that makes it possible for my little family to be together forever and what a beautiful thing. It is my Savior who knows me the best and even when I am in grumpy negative moods, He is still there for me and will wrap me in his arms of love and let me know that I am OK. Even when I am comparing myself to all these amazing people I know, the gospel and my Savior let me know that I am OK as long as I am striving to do my best!!! The church is true and I am grateful for my knowledge of that!!

Well, sorry this is a boring post with no pictures of my cute little boy or anything, but maybe this post was more for me then anyone else, so I could see what I do have to be grateful for!!