Labor Day Projects

We interrupt this regularly scheduled blog (of Luke updates, photos, and videos) to bring you a special home improvement edition. 16 1/2 months after having a baby, we finally felt like we could spend a 3-day holiday weekend doing something other than catching up on much needed sleep, traveling, or reveling in our role as new parents. After watching one too many episodes on HGTV, we decided to install a tile back splash behind our stove in the kitchen. How hard could it be, we thought? We asked the "expert" at Lowes if this was a doable weekend project for novices and he assured us that it was... And for all of you waiting for our home improvement horror story, we are going to disappoint you, because actually, the project did go very smoothly. Mark did the entire thing in several hours with no glitches or issues (many thanks to our friends, the Garretts, for loaning us their tile saw and sharing their expertise!). In fact, we were so pleasantly surprised at the relative ease of the project, that we made an impulse decision to paint our downstairs powder room the next day. Additionally, we doubled the size of our vegetable garden in the backyard, and added several new fruit bushes, including blueberries and raspberries. I use the proverbial "we", as Mark did 99% of the actual "labor" during these Labor Day projects, while I played more of a supervisory role of director, producer, and creative consultant. Mark was so proud of the cost-effectiveness of our do-it-yourself projects until I informed him that now I need to buy all new kitchen canisters, decorative knick knacks, dish towels, etc. to "match" our tile, and that new bathroom prints and accessories were also mandatory. I know the girls reading this blog will understand and appreciate this!


The "before" photo of the kitchen prepped and ready for the tile installation.



Laying the first row of tiles- No going back now!


Mark places the last tile!



One of the "After" photos!



We were so tired of the neutral "tan" that the builders painted every room, so we decided on a much softer hue.



Newly painted powder room!


All in all, it was a busy, productive weekend, and when we finally collapsed on the couch last night after putting Luke to bed, we looked forward to a few hours of relaxation before beginning the week. Mark was putting away the last of his tools on his tool bench, we were smug and satisfied with our ability to be "Masters of Our Home" and that's when I heard him call, "Carrie, we have a mouse in our garage." Since then, we have caught not one, but 5 baby mice, with no end in sight. The front page headline of the Greenville Times today read, "Loose, Vicious Animals Frustrate Residents". If we weren't in the midst of The Great Mouse Invasion of 2009, I may find this headline funny. But until all of the mice are caught, the score reads: Mouse Family (1), Winterhoffs (0). Thank goodness for mousetraps!