Friday, November 20, 2009

Our new House!!!!!!

We just bought an 1800 square foot modular home. It's not a mobile home--it's one of those pre-built homes that you can move. Anyways, my parents own a lot of acreage so they're letting us put it on their property for the next few years until we can save up enough money for some land of our own. It's actually really nice. It has a big den, and a huge living room area with a fire place. The kitchen is twice as big as ours is now. It also has a double walk in closet in the master bedroom that's as big as our kids room now and it has 2 bathrooms. The guy we are buying it from is also including the double carport and wrap around deck. We're really excited. Finally, we're investing in something rather than throwing money away in rent. It's also nice because we can slowly start moving our stuff out of this place . My goal is to have our entire house packed up and moved into the new place by May 1st except for some basic essentials. That way when we finally make our big move in June (with our 3rd baby) I'll be able move right in and not have to worry about any unpacking. It's functionally perfect, new windows, new heating and air conditioning and almost new roof. I can't wait to get my hands on it. We will be ripping out the wall paper and putting fresh paint throughout the house. I'll make sure I post pictures once it's moved, and updated. (The above picture shows the sliding glass doors on the left, the kitchen window, the front door, and the den window on the far right)

Walking up the steps onto the deck

More of the deck
The window on the left is the kitchen window, the window on the right is the den window and the door in between is the front door that enters into the den.
More of the deck that I love!
Some of the den looking into the kitchen and living room area.
The big picture windows in the den looking out onto some of the deck.
The kitchen sink and kitchen window
The kitchen. (you know you're getting old when you're excited about a dishwasher , lots of counter space and double oven)
The bar area looking into the kitchen
The living room. The kitchen bar area is on the left, the fireplace is on the right and kids bedroom is behind me.
More of the living room (the kitchen bar area left and sliding glass doors center)
The best part is the fireplace!
More of the fireplace and built in shelving. The door on the right leads into the master bedroom and bathroom.
The kids bedroom.
Bathroom between the kids room and laundry room with brand new sink, toilet and cabinet.
Ugly red wall but new sink and cabinet area.
The master bathroom. Double sinks on the left, toilet on the left, built in tub and shower on the right. (ignore the UGLY wall paper)
Master bathroom sink area and cabinets
Built in tub (the stand up shower is on the right)
Double walk in closet.
Laundry room
Other side of the laundry room. Built in cabinets and desk area.
Back side of the house. Laundry room door farthest away, kids bedroom window center, and master bathroom window closest.
The double carport and storage shed on the right side. Our plan is to move the carport to off of the laundry room and convert it into another bedroom for the kids.
The storage shed.

Monday, November 9, 2009

Halloween

As with tradition, the Kaizen Klan went as a theme this year. Since Sesame Street seems to be what the kids like that's what we went with. Caden went as Elmo, Téa went as Abby Caddabby, Don went as Count von Count, and I went as Big Bird. I think the kids had more fun watching Mommy and Daddy get ready then anything else. Caden wasn't too fond of his Elmo costume at first as you can see from the picture below, but after a few minutes he got into the Halloween spirit. This year was the first year he said "trick or treat". We did let him get off his gluten and casein free diet for a day. We decided one day wasn't going to kill him and he needs to be able to be a kid. He had so much fun on Halloween that he still tells me "trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat." He's such a funny kid.

Caden hating his costume : (
And later passed out after a long night
Little Abby Caddabby

Daddy as Count von Count

Mommy as Big Bird

Pumpkin carving time

I let the kids play with the insides before I helped them scoop it out.

The finished product
Daddy's pumpkin
Mommy's haunted house
Caden's Elmo pumpkin
Téa's Abby Caddabby pumpkin
Baby #3's little bean pumpkin
I also made a bunch of treats for Caden's class. Here are some of the goodies I made:

Frankenstein cupcakes
Witch cupcakes
Mummy cupcakes
Gravestone cupcakes
Spider cupcakes
Pumpkin cookie
Cat cookie
Ghost cookie
Witch hat cookie