Kitchen yet again

Hopefully this is the 'bottom end' of pulling it all apart. Now the 'rebuilding phase' begins.

Newly cut channel in the floor
Newly jackhammered wall to give us access to the hot water pipes

Today the pumbers took out the hot water system. The pipes were running through the middle of the cabinets which, whilst a bit of a pain, was still acceptable when the cabinets were used for storage. However, this wasn't doable for the dishwasher so we needed to set the pipes into the concrete floor (which is as much of a hassle as it sounds.) The jackhammer and the concrete saw went all morning.

The good news:
- The hot water system is in great condition and was removed and is ready to be reinstalled. The plumbers were able to contain the hot water system and associated pipes more compactly than we thought, so we can fit it into a 600mm cabinet. This leaves us with room for a 300mm cabinet (we were thinking that we could get a 150mm cabinet in at best) and will be perfect fit with the dishwasher.
- There were some issues with the safe tray on the hot water system which we didn't know about. It seems that it didn't drain anywhere (and therefore is totally useless). Now that we know about this, we can fix it.
- We were able to get all the under bench cabinets put together this afternoon (except for the doors) and the drawers (with covers).
- We worked out a good configuration for the overhead cabinets and purchased them today.
- We found some great, huge tiles for the splash back. They are very large (300 x 600) and super shiny white. We will add some coloured tiles to the top of the splashback to add some brightness.

The bad news:
- When the plumbers were cutting the concrete floor they cut through a cable that none of us knew was there - and we don't know what the cable is for. We need to wait for the electrician to investigate and fix it. This meant that we couldn't finish the hot water system reinstall, so we couldn't do the cabinet installation and so on. The electrician can't come until tomorrow afternoon and we can't do any more installation until he can fix this problem.

Kitchen with everything removed
The old taps (removed) are the three grey spots in the middle of the photo right at the top.
The new tap will come out of the sink, not the wall.  

More kitchen renos

The kitchen is out! Everything in the kitchen has gone except the stove - the electrician will remove that later in the week.

Pulling the cabinets out

Today we bought the some of cabinets and benchtops, screws, hinges, handles and other associated drill bits etc. We removed the sink, the rest of the cabinets and the splashback tiles. We took the floor coverings out (vinyl) which took a great deal of work to clean up (almost three hours). The stove and the dishwasher were delivered today, and I bought dishwasher tablets at the supermarket (which was incredibly exciting!)

Three cubic meters that used to be our kitchen

We're on easy and disposable tonight since we have nothing but the microwave and a tap coming out of the wall. I'm so excited about it all going in!

New handbag :)

Sorry about the rubbish photo, but I wanted to share one of my Christmas presents from Dear Husband. I needed a new handbag since my old one was literally falling apart and had big chunks falling off the synthetic handle where I had been clipping it onto the stroller.

I wanted a smaller bag (!!!!) because I almost always have either the nappy bag or my work bag with me as well, so there's no need for another massive handbag. I hope I haven't gone too small though!

I was keen to find one with the shoulder strap; it leaves my hands free from chasing Chubs. It fits over the stroller (another key requirement) and I love it.

Yay for wonderful husbands <3 p="p">

Well behaved children

A well behaved child acts like a child. Sometimes this is sitting quietly and drawing. Sometimes this is running about giggling. Sometimes this is having a bit of a cry because you are tired and hungry.

Today I went out to lunch with some lovely girlfriends - two with teenagers and adult children and one childless. Chubs came too, and acted like a normal toddler.

My friends were very welcoming and supportive. They were happy to arrange the times around nap time (which actually backfired anyway, since toddlers can be a little unpredictable...) The friend who booked arranged a high chair and no one minded when I didn't finish a sentence.

The other diners were very understanding. Middle aged and elderly women gave me the "I've been there and I understand" look as I raced after Chubs as she made a dash for the carpark. A young couple who sat near us were encouraging of Chubs when she showed them her trucks and danced around while they were eating their meal. The young man gently grabbed Chubs when she made yet another run for the door when I couldn't get to her fast enough. It's very comforting to know that a random stranger cares for Chubs' safety.

I rang the cafe to thank them for not treating a child as an inconvience and I spoke with one of the owners. He hadn't been there when we were, and he said when he arrived he saw the sultanas on the floor and asked his wife if their almost two year old granddaughter had been in. He assured me that normal child like behaviour wasn't a bad thing at all and 'you can't just tell them to sit quietly'.

Both the owner and my friend commented that having Chubs/ children around made for a more enjoyable, fun and happy atmosphere. It's a real blessing to go somewhere were he vibrant and bubbly personality is valued and celebrated, rather than seen as something that I should apologise for.

Jamie Lynne posted a similar article, and it actually came across my newsfeed just after I got home from lunch which I thought was wonderful timing. Of course I'm not saying that children should be undisciplined, disrespectful, unattended or unaware of their surroundings. It was refreshing to go somewhere where children weren't just tolerated, but celebrated as a vibrant and beautiful part of the mosaic of life.

Linked

What is said and what a mother hears

There are some things which as a mother I get a little, um, sensitive about. I don't know it it's hormonal, if it's some sort of rite of passage, or it's just me being a bit crazy, but sometimes what I hear isn't exactly what is said.

What Dear Husband says: "You know darling, Chubs's hair is getting a bit long, do you think we Should get it cut?"
What I hear: "How about we take Chubs out and get someone to slice her skin with a razor blade and then give her four tattoos."

What Dear Husband says: "You know darling, we could just buy Chubs a birthday cake"
What I hear: "You know darling, we could just buy Chubs a birthday cake, and then after the party we can let her play in a pile of used syringes and chew on some cigarette butts."

What Dear Husband says: "Hey darling, you think we should try some of these baby food pouches?"
What I hear: "If we buy Chubs these pouches then all the GoodMotherPoints you got from mashing up all that pumpkin into ice cube trays will null and void, actually all the GoodMotherPoints that you ever got from doing anything at all will be wiped if we even give her one spoon full of pre made baby food. Oh, and we should then let her chew on some lead paint."

It's crazy, it's irrational, and it's pretty bad. It's like I had a Caesaran and an ear implant at the same time, which translates perfectly reasonable suggestions into crazy-lady-extremo.

By the way, we are huge huge baby food pouch fans, probably too much so. "From six months" still counts at 19 months, right? Still no hair cut though, and it's one homemade bitrhday cake for one, so far. Phew.

Kitchen renos update

Well, one day in and the plan has already changed!

Cupboard doors and some shelves gone
Overhead shelves gone

It turns out that we won't be able to fit in the corner pantry without huge effort and expense. To do so we will need to move plumbing through cavity brick walls which is a bit of a disaster. I will still have a big pantry but it will be a straight one (900mm).

The hot water system placement is giving us a bit of grief, but we're hoping that it can be contained without too much fuss. We will need to get a single sink rather than a double since we won't be able to fit the dishwasher in around the hot water system otherwise. I don't really mind - I've always had a single sink and I would prefer the extra cupboard and bench space with a single.

We pulled out about half of the kitchen today including the 'wall' of cabinets which closed it off from the rest of the living area. The room looks so much bigger already!

I'm standing in the living room looking through what used to be a wall of cabinets and shelving.

Kitchen renovations begin

Our kitchen renovations start today, I'm so excited!

Starting to move the food and gear out of the kitchen before pulling it out

I have kitchen which is part of a home, it has electricity and running water and food in it. This puts us in a better position than many, many more people in the world and I try not to take it for granted.

I am, however, VERY excited about the renos! They are long overdue - we were going to do something about the kitchen when we moved in seven years ago. The changes about which I am most excited:

5. The newness of it all. I've never had a brand new kitchen and I'm really looking forward to being in a kitchen which I've planned for our needs, where all the cupboards close properly and which looks nice and shiny.

4. A working stove and oven. The oven broke years ago and we couldn't really replace it without doing the whole kitchen, and to be honest I was keen for an excuse not to bake! I am looking forward having everything back on track though.

3. New floors. Once the kitchen is in we are getting new floors in the kitchen, loving and dining area and hallway. The carpet is in dire need of replacing, and as much as I prefer carpet sanity dictated that hard floors are the way to go.

2. A big corner pantry. Out kitchen is probably too 'cosy' for a large pantry and I'm sure the design types would be quite horrified that I'm squeezing it in. I'm desperate for all the space and I can't wait until it's in.

1. A DISHWASHER. We're getting a dishwasher! I've never ever had a dishwasher, just a single sink for me and I'm so excited. I can't wait to see how much time it saves us