Gingerbread House

Today Xander and I made a gingerbread house (from a kit of course).

Halloween at 3form

My work is WAY into Halloween, so here is a picture of me dressed up at work, at our work photo shoot area.

P.S.  I am Maleficent.  

Today so far we have done, trick-or-treating, had a costume contest, bobbed for apples, had a pie eating contest, free lunch and just all around treat.  

At 3:00 they open the fun up to our families, and the kids get to come join in the fun.  Like I said my work is WAY into Halloween.

The downside, Xander's school called me this morning and told me Xander is throwing up.  So I had to go get him.  So he may not get dressed up to join in the fun.  If he does, I will add pictures later.

Happy Halloween!

Pictures for Class

School Pictures and Voting

We just got Xanders school pictures for 2012 back.  Xander likes these because he is in his favorite color, red, and it was taken on his birthday.  I have to be honest, they aren't as cute as last year, but my little guy is still adorable:

Secondly, Jared and I went and voted yesterday (our area offers early voting).  While I won't get into the politics of who we voted for, I will say it was really nice to go out and officially state our opinion.  Now we will just see how it all turns out.

Trip to DC

Last week (Oct 7 - Oct 15) I was able to go to Washington DC, without my spouse or child.  I love them both, but what a great vacation.  I haven't had even a spare moment to post on my blog the pics, so I will right the highlights of everything I can remember (before I forget)

• Washington DC Temple
• Maddame Tussauds Wax Museum
• International Spy Museum
• Ford's Theatre (where Lincoln was shot)
• Arlington Cemetery (a favorite)
• Lincoln Memorial
• Vietnam War Memorial
• Korean War Memorial
• WWII Memorial
• Washington Monument (though it was closed to go up in)
• National American History Museum
• National Aquarium
• White House
• Renwick Art House
• Ethiopian Dinner (new experience)
• Georgetown
• Visiting Emilys Work
• Going to Lunch with my friend
• Museum of Natural History
• National Air and Space Museum
• National Archives
• Hirschhorn Museum
• US Capital
• Library of Congress
• National Museum of the American Indian
• 1 day at the Lake House
• US Holocaust Museum (another favorite)
• Thomas Jefferson Memorial
• Franklin D Roosevelt Memorial
• Martin Luther King Memorial
• Mt. Vernon
• Another Day at the Lake House
• Cul Pepper town museum
• Leaving at 3:30 am for home

That is the short and sweet summary.  Hopefully one day I will have time to do a photo barf to go with the events.

In short.  I LOVED it!  Arlington Cemetery and Holocaust Museum were my favorites.

Xanders Birthday

I can't believe it but my boy turned 7 today.  He is getting so big and smart.

He got the "Big Batcave".  He LOVES the Imaginext Batman toys.  Serious LOVES!

We made cupcakes (people are always saying I need more pictures of me, so here it is.  Yes I am growing my hair out and yes I dyed it black). 

Here Xander is while we sing to him.

And he is lucky enough to share his birthday with his auntie Alyssa, so we invited her over for cupcakes too.

Alyssa brought Xander an AWESOME remote control helicopter.

Here are a few quick fun facts about Xander:

1 - He is really into super heroes right now

2 - He loves Mario and video games, we just finished Paper Mario the Thousand Year Door for the 5th time and Zelda Wind Waker for the 4th.

3 - He LOVES school, especially when we let him take a lunch from home, because then he gets to sit by his friends at lunch.

4 - He is in a special speech program to help him talk more clearly, and he is getting better everyday.

5 - When he started 1st grade, they gave them the test that all kids are given at the end of the year, just to see how much they know already.  He got a 70% (most kids got around 10%-15%), which really surprised his teacher.  He is just so super smart

6 - He LOVES puzzles and figuring out how to solve problems, and doing his math homework.

7 - He loves playing with friends and especially his cousins.

8 - His favorite color is red

9 - He adores his cats, even though they are driving mom and dad nuts.

10 - I love him soo much and am thankful everyday that I get to be his mom.

Love you Xander!

Kitchen - DONE

Well it took long enough, but I FINALLY finished my kitchen remodel.  Now, don't get me wrong, I have had the majority of it done, and usable for a couple months now, but a few misc trim pieces kept it from being DONE.  Here are the progress pics:

BEFORE

Notice the carpet in the dining area (under the color wall hangings)

Here you can see how unusable the right side of the kitchen is, with the fridge there.

Notice how long and skinny my kitchen looks, again the right side completely unusable. 

DURING

The vinyl flooring and carpet ripped out, and base cabinets removed.

Electrical and plumbing moved.

Flooring installed.

Base cabinets installed.

Upper cabinets installed.

DONE

Notice how much more open the kitchen feels.

The right side AND left side are usable, sooo much more counterspace

No longer long and skinny.

Budget

So here is how my budget breaks out:

New Cabinets (again I reused half): $907

Electrical: $455

Flooring: $478

Countertop:  $954

Sink/Fridge/Garbage Disposal:  $909

Selling old Fridge: $+850

Hardware:  $144

Under cabinet lighting (through my work):  FREE

Plumbing: $225

Home Depot Runs (22 in total):  $350

TOTAL:  $4049.02

Some things I learned:

1 - the single sink is AWESOME!  I recommend everyone get rid of their double sink, what a waste of space!!!

2 - It is worth it to PAY a professional for electrical/plumbing services (just ask about our 4 trips to Home Depot in (1) day when we moved the fridge water line)

3 - I LOVE my brown cupboards with black appliances, typically that is a no go, but they look great together.

4 - Refinishing your cabinets takes A LOT of work, but if you are tight on funds, TOTALLY worth it

In all it was COMPLETELY worth the $4049 (my budget was to do it under $4000, so I went over by $50).  Whoever was the kitchen designer for this house when it was originally built, should have been FIRED, because the previous layout was UNUSABLE!  It feels sooo much more open, with the same amount of cupboard space, more counterspace and overall a better layout (I guess that is was a bachelors degree in interior design gets you).

I LOVE my new kitchen!

Epic Angel is released

Jared and I finally released our next game for iPhone/iPad:

We would offer promo codes in return for a 5-star review, but Apple doesn't allow that anymore.  So instead, on Sunday we will be offering this as a free download through www.faad.com (Free App a Day).  So anyone who wants a free copy get it on Sunday.

I did all the art and Jared did the programming.  Spread the word.

Glasses website

I try to spread the word about this as much as I can, because let's be honest, this is an AWESOME website.  But I purchase my glasses from an online website called Zenni Optical.  I can get prescription glasses for only $6.95 (frame, lens everything).  I just need my prescription (which I get from my doctor).

Well today I got an e-mail that not only do they have the best prices I have ever found, but for (1) week only, they are offering a Buy 1 get 1 FREE!!!  If you are ever debating buying glasses now is the time!

Kitchen Update

Many of you have asked for pictures showing an update to my kitchen project.  Well this is where I am at today:

We have electrical moved, plumbing moved, walls patched (thanks again Wally), flooring installed, base cabinets painted and installed (fresh this weekend, thanks to Leisa and Chelsea).

In case you forgot here is how the exact same view looked before (you will notice that the corner cabinets in the back are still the same):

It already feels so much more open and functional than the last kitchen layout.  I will post more pictures when it is done.

Chalk Art Festival

This weekend there was a chalk art festival at the gateway, and the theme was "super heroes".  So, of course, we took a little jaunt downtown.

Here is Xander with an Ironman chalk art

Here is Xander with Captain America

Then they had characters walking around the place.  Here is Xander with Jango Fett (from Star Wars).  he is Xander's favorite bounty hunter, and he was STOKED that he was there.

There was also Batman

And Transformers

Then they had little booths where he was able to win prizes, like a super hero mask and teeth.

Fun times!

Vinyl Lettering

So, as Enrichment Leader, I get to plan the upcoming Super Saturday Activities.  I am looking for someone who does vinyl lettering, at a very reasonable price.  Any recommendations?

Kitchen Remodel

Those of you who have been to my new home, know that we bought a foreclosure, with a barely functional kitchen.  One of my main goals has been to redesign my kitchen and make it more functional, and more aesthetically appealing, while maintaining a good budget.  

Last weekend I purchased the flooring, and this weekend I purchased the remaining cabinetry, countertops, and got all my building permits in order (minor electrical change).  In order to make sure I was happy with my decisions (like any good designer would).  I mocked it up in Photoshop.

Here is the before floor plan:

 Here is the after:

After Elevation of microwave/range wall

 Current image of our kitchen

Conceptual after images (note, fridge will be moved and the full height pantry gone)

Current Sink images

After images (these will be pretty accurate, as this side is not changing much).

I am re-using most my cupboard, adding new laminate countertop, new laminate flooring and painting all my cabinets.  Total budget (including electrical, new cupboards (to add an island), new flooring, new fridge, etc.) will come to just under $4000.00.  $1000 for cupboards, $1000 for cabinets, $500 for flooring and $650 for a new fridge.  By the time I sell our current fridge, it will be closer to $3500 out of pocket.  Not bad for a snazzy new kitchen.

Now I just have to go through the work of pulling out all the cabinetry and painting it all.  Installing the flooring, etc. etc. etc.  I can't wait.