Finally, the Bathroom Renovation in Pictures! 80's Chic No More!

Remember when I told you I was gutting my 80's -like bathroom? I did. Now that it's been almost six months, I've decided that I should make good on my promise of showing you the 'before' and now 'after' pictures. Here goes....

This was the lovely old faucet with the missing cap. The one I refused to replace, because I wasn't going to spend one more dime on that old bathroom!

....and here is the brand new model! I chose it because I liked it, but apparently it is all the rage in Europe. Look in your Pottery Barn catalog, there is one in there. Wow, I actually have one of the new 'cutting edge' faucets. I feel special now! I'm kidding, of course. (It is way better than the old one, don't ya' think?)

Another special item in the 80's bathroom. The ceramic tile......!!!

Okay, now turn your head to the side, and you'll see my new floor in a diamond-shaped pattern. My contractor was not happy with me since there ended up being way more cuts to make, but even he had to agree with me that it looks great. (He also was able to make more money, because he charged me more in labor, but it was worth it!) You can also see the side of my tub.

Oh, and the lighting. Although this lighting was special, it too had to go, along with the mirror.

Here is the new and improved version. You can kind-of see the color we put on the walls. Let me say this: THERE WILL NEVER EVER BE ANY MORE WALLPAPER IN MY HOME AS LONG AS I LIVE HERE, WHICH THE WAY THE ECONOMY IS GOING, WILL BE A VERY LONG TIME! And you can hold me to that.

Here is the back splash in my shower/bathtub. You can see the faucet and the shower head. I love the shower head, and no it doesn't move so it is not for that reason! I wish I had taken a picture of the shelves and soap dish which are travertine. I wanted that stone for the floor, but not only is it a bit over-priced, but it would have been higher that the rest of the flooring in my house, as well as a hazard when the floor is wet. I don't think me lying on the floor naked after a shower would be a good look:) Especially if my husband wasn't home, and I had to tell my son, hopefully the older one who knows his numbers, to get a neighbor or call 911. It makes me remember that scene on Sex and the City when Miranda throws out her back, and Carrie sends her boyfriend Aidan over. She, Miranda, is mortified because Aidan had seen her naked. Yeah, I think I've watched that episode too many times. But that's how I would feel. Needless to say, I chose different tile.

Oh, here is the special vanity. Look at the beautiful handles! They don't make 'em like that anymore. (Thankfully!) Those fake wood doors are pretty special too! Too bad I didn't take a picture of the cultured marble sink that had seen better days. Much better days.

Now look at the new and improved version. I had this one custom made. I love cherry wood! If you could see behind Tot, who had to be in the picture, you would see the three deep drawers. Love it! The sink is solid surface with the sink under mounted. I originally didn't want that. I really like my Corian sink in the kitchen where the sink is part of the entire counter system. That way no dirt or gross stuff can ever get stuck between the seam. Yes, I have had to clean bathrooms all my life. It was always MY job growing up, so I am very particular about these things.

I thought you'd like to see this picture of the lovely wallpaper and reminisce about all that it was, and all that it can never be again, now that it's gone. I am happy that I never have to see it again. I am also happy that I never have to tear it down again! I wish I could say 'never again will I have to take wallpaper down', but Hubby's bathroom has the last scraps of wallpaper in it. At least I don't have to look at this pink wallpaper anymore.

Remember these lovely shelves. Yep, I did the happy dance the day the vanity was taken out and destroyed!

Some Pictures of the Demo:

The floor smashed up. That was exhilarating!


Where the toilet used to be. The tile from the bathtub is behind there.

The old bathtub as the tile is being taken down.

I believe that is all! I will say this. We renovated our kitchen five years ago, it had the same lovely cabinets but that is another story entirely, and I still walk into it and am so happy that we did it. Every time I walk into my bathroom, I think the same. I realized long ago that if I change the things I look at every day, I feel better. I feel better when I am surrounded by the things I have picked out and love. Now on to the boys' bathroom..... Shhh!!!Don't tell Hubby!

Why Do They Do This???

I had to buy a new cupcake pan. When I went to wash it, this is what I saw. Yep, one of those damn sticky labels attached to the inside of one of the molds. Those damn things are so hard to get off! This happens all the time! Why do these companies do this? This is just an example of the petty bullshit that pisses me off! Anyone else have this problem???

Do All Moms Of Boys Do This?

I have talked about my husband's long hours before. Because of this, I feel it is important to spend some time with my oldest doing 'boy things'. Let me preface this by saying I am NOT a sports person. I am not athletic, I don't care about football and the Bears and I certainly was never what you'd consider as being a 'tomboy'. I was/am more girly than anything. I go to the gym and am stronger than I used to be, but that is about all that I do that requires strength.
Anyway, back to my boy. Having said all this, I know S. is all boy, and therefore he wants to do 'boy things'. His dad can only do these things on the weekends, and sometimes S. wants to do these things during the week. What's a mom to do? Let me tell you what I do. I have played catch with the baseball. I have also done this with a football. I have explained to him how to do these two things correctly. Yeah, me. That's a laugh, isn't it? I have showed him how to hit a ball on the tee my dad bought. Me, the 'the anti-sport'. But what can a mother with boys do? I believe you suck it up, and just do it. I actually think the people on my block are surprised to see us. Surprised to see a 'girl' out there teaching her son sports-related things. And THAT I love.

I Think This Means I Need To Go Back To Work

The boys watch t.v. while I shower and get ready for the day; as if I'm ever ready! Anyway, I can hear the shows since I keep my bathroom door open. Today, I heard the regular intro. to 'Clifford', and was singing along with it. REALLY SINGING. And this is not the only children's show that I know the words verbatim. I have thought for a while now that I would really like to go back to work. Now I think I NEED to. Anyone else know the words to their child's favorite t.v. shows???

Bad Mama

I am used to only having one child in school, therefore it has always been easy to remember what important things were going on and when. It was easy to be the 'good mom', because I only had to keep trap of one child's school life. Well, now that I have Tot in preschool along with S. in kindergarten, things have not been going as smoothly.

There is so much more going on with S. now. Homework, informational packets, meetings, etc...and it is so easy to lose sight of what's going on with Tot's preschool. For example, I forgot that last Thursday was 'show and tell day'. Just plain forgot. That night I woke up with a pit in my stomach. I felt horrible! If you think I am not organized and that is why I forgot, nope. I have a whole corner in our utility room dedicated to schedules, calendars, book logs, homework, school hand-outs, teacher hand-outs, and the like. Color coded and in my own type of filing system. See my proof below. So how in the hell did I forget?

I also feel bad about not being able to go to what's called 'Crayon Connection' at Tot's school. It is the last Thursday of the month. At that informal meeting, we learn all about what the kids have been learning, their progress and we get to see some things that they have been working on as a class. The kids are so excited to show their parents these! We also receive the monthly calendar and pay that month's tuition. S. went to this preschool for the last two years, and guess what? I was always there at those meetings for him. ALWAYS. Not for Tot. I can't go because I have to get S. on the bus at that time. Still makes me feel so guilty. I feel like a bad mother, because I can't always be there for my boys, mainly Tot.

Tired!

I am so tired, I can feel it in my bones. I often wonder how older mothers, as in women in their 40's and fifties, who have small children do it! If I am this tired at the end of the day, and I am in my-gats!-mid-thirties, I just can't imagine doing it when I am older. Another reason Hubby got the ol' snip-snip. Now I am off to do laundry... S. has a special gym shirt that he has to wear on gym days, and tomorrow is a gym day. It is nearly 10PM. Did I mention that I'm tired???

Labeled

The other day Tot and I were at the mall. Every time we go to the mall, he wants an 'Auntie Anne's pretzel'. So Tot and I walked down there to get him a pretzel. A month ago, our mall opened an 'Armani Exchange'. It is across from the pretzel store. I asked the woman at the pretzel store if she had been in there yet, and that it probably was very expensive. She said no, and that people who go there probably were only looking and buying there because of the name. She also said that she sees people all the time with those Coach purses, and most of them are ugly. That if they didn't say Coach on them, that people wouldn't buy them. I had to agree. I have two Coach purses, and I believe they are ugly and overpriced. In fact, the last one I bought had a zipper like the ones on coats, so I always had to use two hands to close it. I hated that! I then showed her my Kate Spade plain, black purse, and she liked that. Of course, I turned around the purse so the label didn't show. Luckily, I remembered it had a label on it before I showed it to her. Then suddenly I remembered I was wearing a Ralph Lauren shirt that I am sure she saw. How hypocritical, eh?

Here is the Coach purse.

***By the way, I finally got my period last week. I couldn't believe that my cycle had been 57 days ! As long as everything is okay, I wouldn't mind another long cycle. Pure bliss.

Invisible Mom and Wife

Have you ever felt invisible? I do right now. As I've mentioned before, S.'s kindergarten schedule makes it almost impossible to do anything. Even when I am at a class or MOPS, I have to leave early. I am the MOPS coordinator and I have to leave an hour early so that I can get home in enough time to feed S. and get him on the bus. My days are no longer my own.

I have always looked forward to the weekends, mainly because Hubby is home. Him being home means I can actually go out myself. I can get my hair done, and not worry if I'm going to make it to an appointment on time. My friends amd I can have a girls' night out. Saturdays are great! This Saturday Hubby had to go into the office, and then he brought his laptop home to do even more work. See the boys look forward to Saturdays almost as much as I do. It's their 'Daddy Time', which is important for them all. Since Hubby couldn't be with them, I tried to make it up to them, but I know I'm not their father. I am trying to be both mommy and daddy, and to tell you the truth, I am afraid I'm not doing either one well enough.

I feel like the more Hubby has to work, the more things I take over. For example, Hubby used to take the boys with him to get their hair cuts. After S.'s hair was looking pretty scruffy, he got mad and told Hubby he needed a haircut. It was funny because I was thinking the same thing! Well, I finally took both kids to the barber. It needed to be done, and I know Hubby would appreciate having one less thing on his plate. Sometimes, though, I just feel like the nanny. I just attend to other peoples' needs.

Yesterday the kids were being all bossy and telling me what to do for them. Their attitudes were so bad, that I put them in their rooms. Believe me, it was the best thing for us all. I am a ball of stress lately, so treating me like hired help was not going over well with me.

Another thing that bothers me is since I never really get to go anywhere, I don't have a reason to spend more time to make myself look good. This bothers me because even when I had a baby, most of the time I managed to put a little powder and/or lipstick on. That's just me. I love make up. It's my 'thing.' I still do put some make up on, but I don't worry too much if my clothes, makeup etc doesn't look good. I only go to Tot's preschool drop-off and S.'s bus stop. The barber now too. (Maybe I should see if the barber can cut my hair too. One less thing to worry about!) I feel frumpy and old. I see lines on my face that weren't there just five years ago. The stress has shown up on my face. Yeah, I even pull my face upward to see what it used to look like with no wrinkles! Oh, and a little Botox. I swore, swore I would never touche the stuff. I probably still won't, but there are those days....

Sorry to be such a complainer. This day was better than yesterday, but I am still feeling angry and burned out. Stressed to the max!

Not the Way I Wanted To Start My Week

Hubby has been working a lot. A LOT! As a result, I have been feeling kind of lonely around here. It doesn't help that my oldest has afternoon kindergarten, which makes it almost impossible to get together with friends to do something together. While he was in preschool, we still had our two full days a week where we could see a play or some other fun activity with friends. Not anymore. I spend most of my days by myself waiting to bring S. to the bus, Tot to preschool and/or pick S. up from the bus. Sunday nights are rough for me, because I know what the week will bring me.

This morning I was trying to be all positive. It almost worked too, until it was time to take S. to the bus stop with Tot in tow. We got there at the time we are supposed to: 11:30. We waited...and we waited...and then we waited some more. When the time school actually started came, I started to get really pissed off! I was trying to maintain my cool because I didn't want S. to worry. Two cars went by, rolled down their windows, and told me that they had been waiting for the school bus and now were just driving their kids to school. I decided to do that too. I don't think I have walked that fast in a long time. I was so angry! I drove S. over to his school, parked and brought him inside. The woman said to me that our bus had called them, and said that it was running really late. I replied, We waited 25 minutes." I tried to keep my cool again, because it wasn't this woman's fault. As S. walked to class, I told him his teacher wouldn't be made at him, and to relax, these things happen. I should have taken my own advice!

Monday afternoon happens to be Tot's day for tumbling. Yeah, wouldn't you know? We were a half hour late. No one could believe that the bus never came to pick us up. I mean, how long did they expect us to wait??? And what the hell was causing them to be so late anyway??? All I know is this day has not been the greatest.

Disapppointment

The Cubs always break our hearts. There's always next year, I guess!

Go Cubs Go!

Go Cubs Go-oo! Go Cubs Go-oo. Hey Chicago, what do you say? The Cubs are going to win today!

Okay, they are going to win the rest of the games. (As of this evening, they lost the first game.) I mean, look. My little men think they are #1. The Cubs will always have a special place in my heart, as well as the hearts of many of my relatives. We love you, Cubs, no matter what!

Pink

Our Susan G. Komen 'Race for the Cure' was this past Saturday. I made the boys shirts this year. Being that it is dealing with Breast Cancer, I made the lettering pink and added sparkling pink pain to it. You know, to kind of dress it up a bit:) The shirts are short-sleeved, so I worried that the boys may be cold. Let's just say I shouldn't have wasted any brain cells worrying about that! It was over 80 degrees and beautiful. I even wore shorts! Here's a picture of my darlings. Their shirts say 'Walking in memory of Grandma'.
It did make my heart sad when S. said to my father,"We are walking for someone who's far away. She's up there (fingers pointing upward) in heaven with God." And that I know is true.