Kitchen Redo Contemplated

Ok so we found ourselves 'a guy'. You know 'a guy' who can do for us. For money of course. First we had him do some siding that had come loose and the resulting water damage to the wood underneath. Also a shower and tub recaulk. Then he did some water damaged wood in the carport at our rental house.

Now we are thinking about a kitchen redo. Our 70's style kitchen is screaming for a redo. The cupboards are off while with chips showing the olive green paint beneath. Some of the guides are worn out or not working and they are old but still ok.

The counters are horrible, the old woodgrain formica and it is chipped and nicked and scratched, not to mention we have a huge dip to the side of the sink so water is always pudddling there. When we got the new frig it wouldn't fit in the space so our handy man cut away at the counter and it ain't pretty there or where the dishwasher went in.

The backspash is beyond ugly, it's a red brick veneer and there is no way to clean it.

Can you imagine? Guess I need to post some photos so you can really see and feel the ugliness.

Anyway it started with a low quote for just painting the cupboards ($1350). But I wouldn't be satisifid living with that countertop or with that yucky backspash, so we morphed up. (For a brief moment we flirted with complete redo including new cabinets, but that will take it up over $10k.) And I just don't want to spend that kind of money right now. For one thing we don't have that much so we would have to go deep in debt and we don't want too much debt. (again)

Now we are contemplating an almost total redo, with new Countertops maybe made of some sort of solid surface or Silestone; mosaic tile backsplash, (see above) new paint, new cooktop, new vented microwave over the cooktop, and new hardware for the cabinets etc.

We have recently purchased the oven, microwave and refrigerator so those will stay the same for now, and not quite ready to tear up the floor even if I do hate it.*

*Does anyone put down vinyl flooring anymore? This tile is killing my back and hips!

Ok on that note, I must go rest my aching Home depot trodding body, more to come on this!

Recalcitrance

My child is so bullheaded. And so am I and so is my mother. Sometimes it ain't pretty.

I just want my mom to keep her mouth shut and not give her opinion. Certainly not to say things like "Jamie wins most of the battles no wonder she fights so much"


Geesh just not what I want her to comment on. Specially in front of Jamie.

This from a almost 70 yr old woman who will argue back and forth with Jamie about stupid stuff. "Yes it is" "No it isn't" "Yes it is" and so on.

You get the message.

What is it with Moms and daughters. It's like a constant tug of war.

Sometimes I am sad I am not going to have the experience of raising a boy. A boy who would adore and listen.

Is it true what they say? Are boys easier?

Would love a kitchen Makeover

We got a quote about four mos ago for over $6,000 just to replace the cabinets, and didn't include the countertop, backsplash, plumbing and electrical.

We had a contrator over to do a bit of work today (some of our siding had come loose and the boards underneath had a bit of moisture damage and he caulked our tub and shower). He didnt charge much- $400 so we invited him to give us some other quotes.

Now he trying to talk us into new cabinets in the kitchen. No quote yet but led us to believe maybe only 2k for it all..

I just dont see it.

I also asked him for a quote of just sanding and painting the cupboards instead of replacing them and replacing the countertop, backsplash (with tile of course) etc.

We have to do something, the backsplash is fake red brick (Facade), and the countertop is fake butcherblock formica.

I am so sick of my kitchen, if we sell someday we will need to renovate, so why not enjoy it now while we are living here...We have lived here 10 years and hated the kitchen from the get go.

The first more costly option would involve us tearing everything out. We are just not wanting to do that really...it just sounds like such a hassle. And how do you know to trust a contractor?

Well the price quotes haven't come in, and that will either help us to make a decision or put it off again.

What to do what to do...Any experience out there?

VPK IS a lot of fun!

Well day two of Jamie's new class at VPK = which stands for Voluntary Pre Kindergarten. Here in Florida we have subsidized PreK. What it mainly does is knock about 80 dollars a month off the child care bill. Or if you take just to VPK Mon-Friday 8:30-noon it's free. Not bad. I am a bit surprised the program hasn't been cut yet by the budget slashers here in the state but we lucked out.

Jamie seems to love her new class and that is a good thing. Her new teacher seems a little more relaxed, she allows the kids to actually play! You know move around the room and do what they want pretty much!?

At least first thing in the morning. I saw my girl showing some actual delight in being there.

And she proceeded to tell me that her old teacher's class was 'crappy'.

Oh my, I need to watch what I say. Over the weekend Jamie said 'Damn!' She is picking up on everything.

Anyway when she said that about her other teacher tried not to laugh. I didnt really like how her other teacher always had them sitting at the table!

In other homefront news, Mike is totally overwhelmed with all the demands of his first week back teaching over 100 students World History.

And I am missing my house hubby.

Child arranged Playdate

Every day Mike picked up Jamie last week he was greeted with "Daddy, Madison is coming over for dinner, Daddy we have to call Madison, she is coming over" etc etc.

I picked her up one day and got the same spiel. So I facebooked (is that a word yet?) Madison's mom and said 'we have to get these girls together soon.

Madison and her family came over for a Sunday pool/play date. It was first of many Jamie-arranged play dates I am sure.

It was fun, mozf importantly, they had fun. The girls will be separated after this week. Their teacher has decided that Jamie and her 3 friends need to be separated as much as possible. Since there are 3 VPK classes and four in this 'posse' it isn't entirely possible, so Jamie and Chayse will be in one room, Madison and Brooklyn in the other two rooms.

Poor babies, how much harm can four year olds do in a small group? It's not like they are going out hanging with boys in cars! And this will be their last year together as next year they will be going in separate directions for Kindergarten. These kids have been together for the past 2-3 years and face it in their lifetimes, thats an eternity.

So we are maybe going to do a Water Park trip on a Saturday with at least 3 of the families. We are hoping for Brooklyns family to go as well. (remember the pump it up party- that was Brooklyn's birthday party.)

How would you feel about your child getting separated from her friends? I'm sure this will happen again, but didn't expect it until at least fifth grade or so.

High Maintenance girl

I have created a monster. I put some real nail polish on Jamie's toes and fingers last weekend, it's just a clear coat with sparkles. And she was so excited, both to have it on and anticipating showing her friends at school.

So today she informed me it was wearing off, and I said ok lets finish reading Henry and Ribsy, and she kept interupting the story to show it to me and ask me to reapply.

I told her maybe this weekend and she started whining and kind of cry/nagging me. (know what I mean?) She just kept on...turns into a huge thing. Gosh darn it I don't even do my nails very often!!

Not sure if I can keep this up.

Jamie's Dance Class portrait

Grandma loves her girl

Time for some changes

How do you like the Cute as a Button photo of Jamie at the top? Is from Blizzard Beach, see I let my baby get sunburn!!?

The photos on this blog top and sides were a year old and Jamie is no longer a 3 yr old, but now a wise woman of the world at four!

The trophy we are sitting in front of came from Playing in a Trivia contest for 5 weeks. Our team won first place!

I never get comments but my stats show folks are coming here just about every day.

Do me a favor and say hello and say who you are.

Just wondering. :-)

visit with Aunt Elaine

My Aunt Elaine isn't really a blood aunt, but inherited by my mothers second marriage. Both my mother and Aunt Elaine divorced the brothers they married, but as we were fond of saying 'we kept each other' and our families continued to be close. She has a way of making a person special, specially a small person. I remember going into the hospital for minor surgery at about age 12 ir 13 and she brought me these little colorful dots for me to paste on paper.

She later gave me a blue crystal bluebird when I got married - my bluebird of happiness. She is my bluebird of happiness. She is such fun and I am so glad we were able to visit with her on our vacation.

Jamie loves her too.

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Vacation video

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Blizzard Beach vs Typhoon Lagoon Vs the long lost River Country

The battle of the Disney Water Parks.

I feel I am pretty qualified to answer this debate.

I first went to a Disney Water park in the seventies while I was a teen. I went to Florida with a lady I babysat for and her four year old son in a pop up camper. It was a 2 week camping trip from Michigan down to Florida and back to Michigan again.

I don't recall if we went into any of the 'Big Parks' while we were there, if there were more than one big park back then, it may have just been The Magic Kingdom.

I do know we were there for the grand opening week of their first Water Park ever at Disney which no longer exists - River Country, which is pictured above along with the park map.

See here for more photos about the long lost water park Disney abandoned about ten years ago with no explanation. The slides and pools remain, allowed to become encompassed by vegetation which happens quickly here in the Swampy state.

I fell immediately in love with water parks. I had always LOVED pools, but this was Extreme Pools! I don't think I ever did get back to a water park again until I was an adult.

So I am making up for my lost water park childhood now. I made sure to add the water park option onto our Disney passes, and will continue to do it as Jamie is a water baby as well.

We visited Typhoon Lagoon 3 times, the first time Jamie wasn't even 3 and wouldn't do anything but splash about. Last winter we went again as Blizzard Beach was closed for refurbishment; and this time Jamie experienced the mid level slides, but none of the bigger slides, even those that don't have a height requirement. She just wasn't ready.

This time she was ready, both for the Air Grover Roller Coaster at Busch Gardens and for some bigger slides at the waterparks . We went to Blizzard Beach both Saturday and Sunday. Although Jamie wouldn't go on any of the solitary slides that were designed for adults, she did go for the Teamboat ride which was a Large raft she could ride with us, and thus felt safe enough to attempt.

Now for my comparison between the two remaining Disney Water Parks.

Both parks had family raft rides but Teamboat rapids at Blizzard Beach was really long (Perhaps the longest?) and alot more fun. The raft held between four and six so my social child was in heaven sliding down with other folks. Typhoon Lagoons raft ride was smaller, and the raft was smaller as well so no room for any others, just ourselves. They also made you haul the raft up yourselves and had gushing waterfalls dumping water on your head throughout the ride. Not a fan of the gushing waterfalls on my head.

Blizzard Beach had more Shaded Tiki Huts and shaded areas period with all the trees they have. The back story is that Blizzard Beach was originally a ski resort, but when the temperatures got too hot they turned it into a them park. Thus more trees.

Also Blizzard Beach had a 'Ski Patrol Training area' for the preteens. It was centrally located in the park at the base of several of the larger slide rides and had several mid range slides and tube rides as well as 'Icebergs' with ropes strung over them for kids to climb over. This area of the park was designed only for preteens and their parents. Mike was delighted that the workers didn't allow the larger children on the small slides in this area.

Blizzard beach also had 2 Wedgie Inducing slides which didn't involve tubes. Those I find are not as pleasurable unless you like having your bathing suit shoved up into your bodily orifaces. One of them claims to be the longest freefall waterslide in the world with speeds of over 50 mph.

I prefer the slides/rides with rafts and the Tobbagon Ride was one with rafts and my favorite ride. It looked just like a regular tobaggon run, but with water. 8 people all went down at the same time, Mike and I traded off several times, but couldn't convince Jamie to try it.

Blizzard Beach also allowed us to use the Beverage stations for ice for our drinks. No charge no waiting.

So not only does Blizzard Beach have a huge amount of shade and available ice, their Lazy River was really long, and the park layout was great - you could see the rides easily. I also preferred their wave pool as it was a regular wave pool. The wave pool at Typhoon Lagoon has a Tidal wave that comes now and again, and I just don't like it. It shoves kids and older folks down and around.

Now for Typhoon Lagoon. Hmmm lets see, some may find that wave pool more enjoyable as it is not predictable and a bit more adventurous. The back story for Typhoon Lagoon is that a Huge Tidal wave came along and flooded out an area, so they turned it into a water park.

TL is more tropical looking, lots of palms and lots and lots of sand. Too much sand.

Yes I like sandy beaches, when there is an ocean or Large lake involved. Otherwise I can take it or leave it. It's messy and can be uncomfortable in your suit, clothes and food.

Almost all of the free Shaded huts in Typhoon Lagoon were in the sand. So another vote for Blizzard Beach. And you couldn't get the ice from the stations, like you could at BB. The Drink stations were activated by the bar code on the cup you would buy for $11, but apparently the technology was different as you couldn't get free ice without standing in lines at TL.

I made a bit of an ass of myself. A lady was getting her cup filled at the drink station. She had activated the ice and soda (I could see the green light over the ice spigot) and I ran up and filled a water pail with it. She said "Oh no these work with the special bar codes only, and I said, "Yup I knw, just needed some ice thanks!" Mike who is usually mortified when I pull something untoward as that, was thrilled, he really likes ice in his drinks!

If you are wealthy you can pay $250 for private shaded patios at either park. I'm not sure how I feel about that. Something smacks me wrong about the wealthy having better digs then the rest of us, just like I don't like the FastPasses the rich can purchase to be first in line at the rides in the big theme parks.

As we aren't wealthy we find the best way to experience the parks is to bring your own drinks and sandwiches in and did all three days. The first day we didn't bring food and had a $50 lunch, so that taught us to be more prepared the next few days. The second day we actually brought in our full sized cooler filled with sandwiches and plenty of cold drinks - even ice. BUt the third day we had checked out of the hotel so had the big cooler iced down holding our milk and staples, so no ice for us on that third day. Plus I had to hike back to the car to get the sandwiches at lunch time. Best advice i have is to bring a big cooler and load it up!

I think with the recession they are loosening the rules for coolers and drinks. Busch Gardens even had a sign saying no coolers, but we brought one every time. We found the stroller really came in handy to transport the cooler and the stuff.

But back to the Water Park Comparison:

We discovered the way to ensure a shady centrally located spot for the day was to get there first. So we did that both on Day 2 & 3, and plan on doing that every time we go from now on. It's just a good practice to do in any kind of park.

One good thing happened at Typhoon Lagoon on our third and last day in the Water parks. Jamie got brave and did rides where she was alone on a tube. And she loved them.

Now I can't wait to take her back to Blizzard Beach so she can do the Tobaggon ride with us!

Lots of Memories from Indian Shores

We left our beautiful gulf front condo this morning. And it was hard. We didn't get out on time, and the owner wasn't pleased.

We will see how much he keeps from our security deposit. We were there 35 minutes past the check out time of 10am and he called at 10:05 hurrying us along. But I also did some major straightening and even mopped the kitchen floor.

We also missed the Dolphin encounter boat ride I had planned for us this morning as we had to be there at 10:30am.

And I was up at 6am!!

Oh well. The memories and the photos remain.

Jamie learned to swim in that pool. We spent alot of time going from beach to pool and Jamie bonded with 11 year old Ashlynn who was staying next door.

We loved the balcony and gazing at the beautiful Gulf of Mexico and seeing the sun set every night.

My lovely Aunt Elaine visited and brought gifts and laughter (hilarity) to the place one night - it was so good to see her and Jamie just fell in love with her all over again. (More on this visit later when I download the photos)

And of course Busch Gardens. As hot as it was it is truly a beautiful Park. We loved the Hippo most of all I think, they had an underground cave butted up to the hippos pond and we stayed there quite a long time.

Jamie loved the Air Grover Roller Coaster and this show she called 'Harmony' because they sang a song about Harmony, called Critter Encounters. It had dogs, cats, parrots and other exotic creatures trained into a skit about a desert island.

And I loved Sheikra. I rode it at least four times and could have rode it four more, every day we went. It has two straight down vertical drops and is just a blast, Mike even likes it.

So now we are in a 2 room 'Suite' at an Orlando hotel. The living room with the ac is ice cold and the adjoining bedroom not so cold. It is ok, but nowhere what we had become accustomed to on the coast.

The plan is to do water parks the next two days. With our Magic your way tickets we added the water park option as well as no expiration option. That means we have 7 extra days in the water parks that we need to use up before using the last 'Big Park' Ticket. So this is the summer of the Disney water parks.

Hopefully Jamie will be fearless and we will have a blast. Blizzard beach first as we haven't been there yet. We have done Typhoon Lagoon already three times.

Can't wait.

Can we handle yet another day in Busch Gardens?

Tommorrow will be day 3 at Busch Gardens since Sunday. We WON'T be staying all day, it's just too darn hot to spend the entire day there as you are out in the 90 plus degrees and it just sucks the life out of you.

Yup there are no photos of us. We just melted, but Jamie seems to bloom in the heat. She is a true water baby, just like me, but I can't do the heat anymore.

So tomorrow will be the last hurrah. We will continue to enjoy the condo and the beach the last day and then Saturday we have to pack up and leave.

That will be difficult.

Ok now this is really the life!

Out here at the pool with the laptop! Blogging!

Ok maybe the connection isn't quite as quick. And grabbing a photo doesn't seem to be an option, but still!

Jamie has a new 'best friend' and is enjoying 10 year old Ashlynn and her slightly older brother. They are staying in the unit next to us. Tyler loves to fish and has kept us all entertained with his netting small bait fish and feeding small shrimp to the heron.

The heron is a trip. He stands by the bait bucket and waits for some fish and if Tyler covers the bucket he circles it squacking up a storm.

Busch Gardens yesterday was HOT. And we stayed all day, well pretty much all day, we left at 6:30. I wore my bathing suit and got wet several times but it was still pretty miserable. The photos I am sure are going to show some bedraggled parents and one Sunburned sweaty child.

We do need to download the photos, all of the photos. Mike downloaded just a few the other night but I haven't taken the time to do it. He's tech for a reason.

I think Jamie is having more fun here at the condo at the pool and the beach than at Busch Gardens. I know I am.

Mommy is never off duty & Fun at Busch Gardens

You know when a mom is on vacation she isn't entirely off duty. I let my baby get sunburned today. Yes I applied sunscreen liberally more than once today but apparently it wasn't enough. She has cherry red cheeks and a bit of redness on her upper back and shoulders.

I feel so bad. I am hoping the cheeks are from the wind, a bit of wind burn...we were out there from 10 am until almost 3pm. We shall see.

Busch Gardens was a pleasure yesterday. We got there right at 9am so the park was relatively uncrowded and not too hot for the first several hours. We went straight to the back of the park as all the books tell you to do.

The big coasters were open - Kumba was pretty neat, nice and long with corkscrews and tbey even let me ride twice without getting off since there were only 2 people waiting (for the front car of course). First time I ever rode a major coaster like that twice in a row with not even getting off the ride in between.

Then we tried to get on the raft ride but Jamie wasn't having it. Crazy kid will stand in the kids water park and let water cascade onto her head like a shower but hates the real shower or a raft ride that may have waterfalls splashing on her head.

I rode it alone, we were hoping she would see how fun it was but no...And yes, I did get wet but it was good. I wore my bathing suit that looks like an outfit and was cool and comfortable most of the rest of the time we were there because of getting wet. And I was able to get wet again about an hour later in one of the kiddie water areas they have there.

Jamie's highpoint is standing under Sheikra, a roller coaster that does a straight drop down, much like the hawk it is named for. It's tail end splashes over the pathway and Jamie just loves screeching as she gets soaked. While she enjoyed that I rode Sheikra. Or waited to ride it. We were going to do the baby swap, (this allows both parents to ride with only having one wait in line) How it works is that first I ride, then when I get off Mike gets a fast pass to the top of the line, but while in line the coaster kept going down for maintenance. It was supposed to be a 30 minute wait, but it took me almost an hour to get to the top. Then it went down again! I sat up in that car poised for take off for over 15 minutes, another first in my rollercoaster history.

Anyway after I got off we decided to move on and let Jamie have the last ride. (Poor Mike misses out alot at the theme parks, he just doesnt seem to care about the coasters like I do). Anyway, Jamie loves this Baby Hippo water ride that has one this one lame hill. It's really for three and under, but she still loves it. Plus she actually rode the Air Grover this time, which is a mini coaster made for kids. She wouldn't step foot in it in February, but this time she LOVED it.

We will probably do BG again tomorrow if the poor baby isn't as burned as I am fearing she may be. She is napping now...and I am laying here with my feet up facing a gulf front view thinking about cooking up some Pasta and shrimp for dinner. I can hear the waves lapping on the beach below us.

It's heaven.

More of Emily's Birthday Party

Here are some random shots from Emily's birthday party which happened at our house.
Any of these photos are viewable in full size or 'grabbable' (is that a word?!) just by clicking on them and on the slide show it will take you to slide.com.

We were glad to have it here so we could all enjoy swimming and cooling off a bit in the 95 degree heat. It did rain about 30 minutes into the party, just long enough for all to gather in the porch and eat food and cake and open gifts.
Then it was back into the pool for another dip.

Jamie got a little green-eyed during the gift giving, but actually more so the night before when Mike took her to KMart to pick out the gift. Jamie picked out an Ariel doll who 'swims', had a floating inner tube and her hair turns color when wet. Jamie had a mini meltdown at one point, "But nobody is getting me any presents"