we've had our hands full

chasing ladybugs

trick or treating

enjoying the weather

playing in the leaves

and potty training...no pictures on that one :) there's nothing like a little halloween candy to jump start the potty training. parental note: when raisins were are longer cutting it, peanut butter m&m's seem to do the trick. 5 days and counting of big girl underwear with only a few accidents. woo-t0-the who! growing up is hard to do. unless there's candy, of course.

no need to pout,

more posts coming soon...

it's starting to look alot like christmas

well, at least that's what is feels like this week at the house of alday. we've had so much progress over the last two weeks, it'd be hard to name it all. it's amazing how a little paint can make a space feel like a home. luckily, for byron, i am having no regrets about the color choices. unluckily, for byron, i am now inspired to paint the rest of the house to match our new living areas.

so, drum roll please......

view into the kitchen from the soon-to-be family room
(new countertops installed, but not the best picture--more to come)

kitchen nook with bench seat installed

laundry room with built-in laundry hamper pass through from master bath

master bath vanity and built-in laundry pass through

our wonderful, incredibly heavy, cast iron pedestal tub

view from the master bath (imagine a backyard oasis--spring project 2011 :)

view of addition and deck from backyard

the reason why i might possibly sell delia on craigslist

any suggestions for how to keep your dog from scratching your most favorite house splurge?

we hope to be close to 90% done by this weekend before our company arrives for a child-free staycation. woo-hoo! mary adelyn went off to mimi and papa's house this morning. i think i've only spoken her name 1098 times so far. not too shabby.

sometimes

balloons

crack

them

up

i'm pretty sure they could have done this for hours.

just a little snippet of our refuge in the ga mountains while the poly on our hardwoods dried, which i am officially declaring as the worst part of this whole construction process. headache inducing fumes + plastic drapes to prevent entry + dogs + toddler + no kitchen = we need to get out of town....fast.

old bones

well, hello folks. i've got no new excuses for you this time. just plain busy around here. we are definitely looking forward to this wonderful fall season and having our house back, new square footage and all. i thought i'd share some pictures of what was our kitchen for a few days.

(looking back towards to the former dining room/make-shift kitchen/soon-to-be family room)

i told byron that i could have gone through this whole construction process without seeing what an almost 100 year old sub-floor looks like. there are just some parts of an old house that are better off not seen. at least not by those who happen to reside there.

luckily, the sub-floor was quickly covered by beautiful new hardwoods and my fears of falling through the floor has subsided...a little.

more pictures soon. i promise this time.

wide open

the house of alday addition is moving right along. one of our kitchen walls is now officially down. woo-to-the-hoo! unfortunately, the flies and mosquitoes are just as excited about this open access.

every weekend i make byron help me move the kitchen table to it's soon to be eternal resting place, just "so i can get a good feel for the room."

can you tell how excited he is about that?

here's a view of our unbelievably messy under construction kitchen. i'm just trying to keep it real on this blog. the far wall doorway is due to be expanded this week, allowing for a much more open feel between the former dining room (which now houses are unusable washer/dryer) , kitchen, and nook.

we initially tried changing shoes and wiping down the dog paws anytime we walked on the addition space to keep the dusty floors to a minimum. obviously, that idea did not last long.

here's a view of the bathroom, towards to pedestal tub.

and another view of what will be the built-in shelves with a hamper pass through to the laundry room...

i think delia might suffer a major heartbreak when she realizes her new favorite sitting/drooling/squirrel stalking area is actually a bathroom. this big slab of lab detest baths. despite her love for swimming. figures.

up next, finish sanding sheetrock, painting (yikes! no decisions made as of yet on colors), siding and trim.

"they're working!"

this is what mary adelyn proclaims every morning when the workers arrive. she's not going to know what to do when handy mandy stops coming to our house every week.

we are well on our way to having a dried-in space. the electrical, plumbing, and hvac were all completed this past week. up next, sheet rock and drywall. i guess i should start thinking about paint colors. i'm sure the mere thought of paint samples sends chills up byron's spine. have i mentioned before that i'm not one for making quick concrete decisions? well, at least when it comes to decorating :) enough talking, here's the current view of our lovely abode.

view of the kitchen nook

view of the master bathroom

(tub/shower under the far right windows. chair & ottoman under the windows on the left)

view of the back and with a larger than planned deck (thanks to a little thing known as the exposed sewer line incident). now, i have one more space to gather inspiration photos for :)

view of master bathroom windows from the side of the house

the pedestal tub with shower enclosure will be directly under those windows. here's a little insight into the master bathroom inspiration...

luckily, i scored a great chair at the habitat restore for only $10. this will be my first ever reupholstering project. any and all advice welcome!

we are looking at maybe one more week of no disruption in our living areas. after that, they'll begin to open up the walls and windows to the new space. this will also lead to the removal of all things (cabinets, appliances, etc...) in the kitchen for the new wood floors to be placed. fun, fun.

where did it go?

this might end badly one day.

yes, i'm the mom that is just not quite ready to let the water explode on my child's face. i completely understand that one day i am not going to make it to her rescue in time and that will most likely be the end of splashville as we know it.

splashville!

mary adelyn's new favorite thing to do in town. every time we leave the house to go to the water fountain she says, "water, i'm coming!"

i'm pretty sure i have just as much fun watching as she does playing.

note: any visitors to the house of alday will be subjected to this local attraction, because it is quite possibly the cutest thing i've ever seen.

the latest and greatest

foundation: check

sub-floor: check

framing: check

(from left to right: two large windows are the master bathroom; next window is the laundry; dutch door entry to the kitchen; and then the kitchen nook)

here's the view from the kitchen door onto the new kitchen nook.

another view of the kitchen nook

here's a view towards the master bathroom. the far wall has yet to be framed since we have yet to decide on the specifics of tub, valves, etc... ahh, the joys of construction. mary adelyn doesn't seem to mind that she is eating breakfast in the soon-t0-be master bath. she just likes to look at all of the tools.

and what used to be our backyard.

looks like sod needs to be added to our project.