All posts by Be Enough

Be Doing A Less Than $5000 Kitchen Reno

Kitchen Renovation anyone? Just say No!

I had no idea why kitchens cost so much to renovate.

My family (including my mom and dad last July) has put so much sweat equity into this kitchen it should be worth $100,000. We spent less than $5000, new-to-us appliances included.

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Here is our work at this humbling progress. From brown wood and lino floors to white walls, avocado cupboards and engineered hardwood.

We found a guy who makes laminate countertops in his garage. Perfect!

Our amazing contractor installed the wood floors, a new door and my parents put their skill into painting the cupboards.

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We bought a secondhand Bosch dishwasher for $200 and splurged on a new faucet, fridge, stove and hardware.

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Here is what we started with:
1960’s kitchen with ‘newer’ appliances.

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First week: Paint June 23, 2013

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Week Two: Laminate Countertop July, 2013

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Week Three: Engineered Hardwood floors and copious amounts of coats of paint. I think it was FIVE coats of paint to be exact. July, 2013

Week Four and throughout the NEXT YEAR!: Final paint and new hardware. Viola c’est fini! June 15, 2014!

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This kitchen is inspired by this photo from houzz.com and our designer friends Robyn and Angela.

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Many, many hours of painting by Steve, my mom and dad made this $5000 transformation possible. It was a labour of love.

Let’s review–
BEFORE:

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TODAY:20140707-201311-72791169.jpg

With God all things are possible.

With Sexy Neck’s ideas and vision a smokey house became a home.

With my parents labour of love, our roots have grown deep.

With our boys love of fort building, creating and playing every corner of our home has been explored and filled.

With old and new friends stopping by laughter and memories have brought us home.

Be a Golf Camper in 2014

 

 

 

 

 

It always amazes me the memories that we hold dear to us. I love hearing peoples stories for this very reason.

My boys memories are especially sweet for me because they often have a profound deepness about them and sometimes they are seriously silly!

Last year I blogged about our oldest experiencing a golf camp here.

 

 

Here are both of our boys at golf camp today.  JC is seven and CC is almost five.  (We snuck him in!) They were very excited to go together and ride in the golf cart, putting the ball down hill very carefully and driving the ball towards a yellow flag.

The boys are waiting for camp to begin.  Papa is in the background chatting to the instructor.  20140702-213819-77899966.jpg

The boys were ready and in the car before any of us this morning… thank goodness the car was in the garage or they would have had to get out because it was hot, hot, hot today! 20140702-213817-77897893.jpg

The boys getting ready to ride the cart down to the driving range.  20140702-213823-77903218.jpgJC brought up a memory from last year.  Nana had walked down to the driving range to watch him hit the ball.  At the end of the session Nana decided to race the golf cart back up the hill.  JC remembered her running fast.  And in true Nana fashion, she won the race!

How can this only be a year ago?  How could she have been in the hospital only a month later? And DEAD five months later?

Memories.

Tumbling forth.

Beautiful, driven Nana.

Boys who cherished her presence.

Loving.

Determined.

Encouraging.

Present.

Nana.

 

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Be Tie Dying

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Happy Canada Day!  We are wearing the tie dye shirts that we made for JC’s seventh birthday party.

All day I have been singing part of our national anthem, “God keep our land, glorious and free!”

We swam, sang O Canada while eating cupcakes, visited Papa in Vtown, ate together and enjoyed movies together.  I don’t think we will make it to the fireworks, but we are very grateful to be together sporting our tie dye Canada day t-shirts!

Be Reading Beth Moore ‘Breaking Free’

I took this book off the shelf this week.

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I put it on the back of the toilet seat to open when I had a quiet moment while I lock myself in the bathroom.

Then I opened the book to this page:

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These last few weeks I have been in a dark tomb of anger, fatigue, sadness and again wondering how to live this new life in the light without my mom. I have many words tumbling in my head, most not rated G. I am thinking thoughts I have never thought and experiencing deep emotions on both ends of the spectrum.

I feel sadness that knocks me over as I watch mothers with their mothers. I cannot move but just stare when I see the grandmas picking up their grandchildren, filled with joy, from preschool. I want my mom by my side on my bike. I desire her steady presence and insight into my life.

I weep.

I don’t know what the next moment will bring, but my heart is full of gratitude for the gift of Beth Moore, books, my ability to read and God weaving everything together.

Holding on.

Tight.

Sitting in my grief.

Damn, it’s hard.

Knowing this will not overcome me.

Trusting.

Being grateful for the life I have.

In Christ alone.

Be in the Perfect Storm

The storm has poured down on me this year, raining on my head, sleet whopping the sides of my face, frozen eyelashes, paralyzing snow. I am in the perfect storm of GRIEF!

Death is disaster.

Devastating.

Debilitating.

Brutal.

I told someone three times in one conversation that I am not going to allow anything bad come from my mom’s life or death. Guess what?

Death is just bad.

Very, very bad.

Sorry, I can’t wrap this one in a pretty pretend ‘good’ package.

Just bad!

Moving sucks.

Lonely.

Agonizing.

Painful.

Trying to find where to get decent produce, gluten free bread and friends that are honest and not too busy flying around like hummingbirds.

Now a teacher’s strike affecting friends, family and dear Sexy Neck.

School ended last Friday for the summer, two weeks early.

The teacher’s strike for class composition, size and wages.

They walk, they wear signs, they do not get paid.

Their journey is honourable.

The negotiations are a schoolyard fight between two people speaking different languages. The teacher’s union and the Government.

The pressure the strike has put on families scrambling for child care and the administration (including Sexy Neck) still left inside the schools is unfathomable.

Most days I don’t ask. Can’t ask.

As I sit deeply in this year of grief layered with mom’s death, moving, watching dad grieve, watching friendships die and now the strike.

20140618-225722.jpg“The Perfect Storm” painted over the last week.
Let a new season come upon our family…

Soon?

Be Celebrating Fathers

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Thank you dad!

This Sunday, the boys and I planned an epic adventure focusing on Sexy Neck and Papa.

Breakfast in bed.

Biking.

Brunch.

Golf.

BBQing.

Let the day begin…

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We went on a 14.6 kilometre bike ride along the lake to Cafe Marmalade.

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We stopped at the car show at the park.

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We rode some more. “Hi Dad!”

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We arrived home with a few presents for the dads.

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Next, it was time to make brunch. The boys were tired but were so excited to make brunch.

Here’s our juice guy:

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Spelt Waffles from scratch:

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Scrambled eggs from our professional egg cracker and scratcher. (CC calls it scratching when you are moving the eggs around in the pan. )

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A little bit of golf then BBQ.

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Everyone is going to sleep well tonight.

Happy Father’s Day!

Fatherhood.

Solid foundation.

Strength.

Humility.

Love.

Dad.

Sexy Neck.

Be Saying Adiós to Diapers

Have you ever made a commitment to do something every day, many times per day for SEVEN years?

I didn’t, but it happened. How, I don’t really know.

I have changed diapers for exactly 7 years, 2 months, and 3 days starting on Friday, April 6th, 2007 and finishing up my diaper changing career yesterday, on Monday, June 9th, 2014.

I have had my fair share of help, Sexy Neck, my mom, random visitors and even my dad have lent a hand.

I think I need a certificate on my wall to mark this day, that’s a lot of bum and crevice wiping as well as money. We probably spent around sixty bucks per month on diapers. Math is not my strong suit, but we spent over NINE THOUSAND dollars on diapers. Woah! (Side note: Sexy Neck, the Math teacher, has informed me that it is more like $5,200, but still a lot of money. Thanks for reading the blog honey and for correcting my Math. We can thank Mr. Crampton for my confused Math skills.)

We are very excited to be starting our diaper-free life.

OC has been ready for many months but after our trip up north and seeing baby G in diapers, the deal was sealed. The diapers disappeared all together. Bye bye diapers. Now the trip training, high fives, floor cleaning, extra laundry and loud cheers ensues for the next few weeks while OC masters the skill of going in the toilet or on the pee tree.

* Just a note about what is ‘trip training’ for all my new mommy friends. The best thing is that you don’t have lengthy discussions or ask multiple times per day, “Do you have to go potty?”. I take OC to the potty at regular times, when I go or the brothers go or before we leave the house. We take a trip to the potty, no questions asked. No screaming or crying for anyone and no special rewards. Just us and our books relaxing on the toilet.

Here are our favourite potty books and OC in ‘action’! We laugh and laugh and laugh about Liam’s poo in the toilet. We relax and read and take deep breathes et viola. Poop in the potty.

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What a cute little tush!

Independence.

Positive potty excitement.

Wiping bums.

Washing hands.

Cheering brothers.

One very happy mama.

Freedom.

For all.