Franklin Kitchen and Moving

Way back when I was 30 weeks pregnant we started a major kitchen renovation....or as we called it..... a flooring project (http://tnluttentonfamily.blogspot.com/2010/03/flooring-project.html)  We had promised "after" pictures when we posted the pictures(March 2010).  But what happened was the kitchen was finished as we delivered twins ....literally....so it was  a good thing I didn't deliver until basically 39 weeks.  The kitchen was scheduled to be finished a bit earlier then 39 weeks.  The delay came with the new hardwood floor color not matching the existing hardwood floor color.  The stress of this gave me minor contractions.  This scared the contractors and my husband enough that the flooring project pace picked up even more :)  A special stain was mixed up and the floors were re-sanded and re-stained as I delivered the babies during our stay in the hospital.  Dalby and my parents stayed with my Aunt and then visited often to air out the house and check on the progress.  After our 5 day stay in the hospital we arrived home to a "finished" kitchen, minus a few details.  The process of moving everything back into the kitchen began....the fridge that had been in the living room was moved into the laundry room, the plastic plates and silverware were replaced with dishes that my parents and in-laws unpacked and the new dishwashers were put too work!  Unbelievable!  For awhile if we couldn't find something in the kitchen we would call our unpackers to ask if they remembered where they put the item.  We are so happy with the kitchen and have loved living in it the last two years!  This is definitely our dream kitchen.  So here are the after shots promised two years ago:

Well the reason there are after shots of the kitchen now is that we are moving and the realtor's photographer took the pictures.  Our days in the house are growing shorter.  We move to Chicago when we close on May 31st.  We are so sad to leave TN.  We LOVE it here.  We have been through a lot with all of our friends and family in TN and feel we have really grown roots.  Plus I think you always hold a special place in your heart for the place where your kids were born.  The transfer to Chicago offers an opportunity for Ryan to be home more.  His travel schedule has been crazy and the idea behind the move is that it will slow down in Chicago.  We are looking forward to having him home more but will absolutely miss everything about Tennessee(except the bugs....I think I said this when we moved in.....the winters aren't cold enough to kill the bugs and they get gigantic here!  We even lived thru a gross cicada summer!)

Easter 2012

We had a nice Easter celebrating with family and friends here in Nashville.  We were invited to a get together that had a wonderful pot luck lunch and loads of outdoor play time.  Then after lunch candy filled eggs were hidden so the kids could go on a hunt.  It was a great party with lots of fun people who made it all feel like a joyful Easter!

We also did a bit of celebrating at home.  When we woke up the Easter Bunny had hidden the eggs we colored the day before(the same day as Charlie and Quinn's cupcakes) and filled Easter baskets with goodies - chocolate and toys!  Quinn and Dalby loved finding the eggs.  Charlie thought it was ok.  Quinn would load up and carry about 4 or 5 hard boiled eggs over to the ottoman at a time.  Charlie preferred to then roll/throw them off the ottoman.  A fun morning!

Quinn and Charlie's 2nd Birthday

Charlie and Quinn turned two April 9!  People ask me if I can believe they are two and I say no but yes.  Little ones certainly grow up fast but it has been a busy two years.  We had fun celebrating their birthday with cupcakes and presents.  We started with cupcakes....we learned Quinn does not like fire(see photos)....next presents...we learned Charlie likes to open his...Quinn liked seeing what was inside but wasn't as interested in opening the gifts herself.....and they both had fun with their new toys!  And yes, all the kids are in their PJs....don't think we are celebrating in the morning...it was the afternoon...but the strategy was to let them dig in to the cake and get their PJs dirty, take their PJs off and let them open gifts....the other part of the strategy really was that it was a PJ type Saturday:)

Once we took the candle out and showed her the cupcake she thought it may be ok....

Charlie was good with it all....

We broke the cupcake up and she picked at for a bit and then realized what a sweet treat it was....

Dalby and Hayley....

Charlie and his "facial hair"...

Quinn has just spotted another cool gift...which was opened for her...

Putting all of his new Thomas toys onto one track...

A stunner of an outfit....especially when she slips on some of Dalby's play high heels....

Odds and Ends

We watch PBS in the mornings.  In between shows they sometimes have children's videos.  They recently had a video by the group Alli and Andrew(http://alliandandrew.com/).  We liked their song so much we looked them up on YouTube.  We found a few of their videos and a parody of the Justin Beiber song "Baby".  We like to watch and listen to their videos("Baby", "H-E-L-P" and "Grilled Cheese").

"Baby"

  "H-E-L-P"

Yummy Treats:

About a month or two ago we went to our friend Clinton's birthday party and he served Better-Then-Brownie Cookies(http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2009/07/22/better-than-brownies-chocolate-cookies/).  They are now a favorite here and are YUMMY!  The cookies are really easy to make....although I do better when the kids are in quiet time.....this last batch I made I messed up a few ingredients and they stilled turned out delicious!  We have brought them two times to school and have finished off our Costco size bag of bittersweet chocolate chips.  They are very worth a try for a chocolate indulgence! 

Puddles and Raindrops

Dalby picked out a Tinkerbell umbrella(which has since broken:( ) and wanted to try it out in the next rain storm.  (These pictures were back in December 2011).  We didn't have to wait long for a storm in December.  Now, our little Dalby is quite the director....often being reminded that "she is not the mom".  However her sister and brother miss her so when she is at a friends.  They seem a little lost without her and ask for her about every 5 minutes.  The second picture really shows how things work in the house.  Quinn is stuck to Dalby following and doing most of what she says.  Charlie thinks things look like fun but always keeps a safe distance and kind of does things on his own, going along when it works for him.   

In February there happened to be a puddle at the end of our driveway.....fun!

Saturday Morning Treats

Daddy started a tradition many moons ago with Dalby about going to McDonald's......well there is some new competition.....Dunkin' Donuts....... Now Dunkin' Donuts has always been a favorite but it was across town and a VERY special trip.  Now, there is a Dunkin' Donuts right around the corner from us now and they have coffee Daddy LOVES and more importantly a drive-thru!  So often times the kids pile into the car early Saturday morning with Daddy and head over to get donuts.    The other day we took everyone to Dunkin' Donuts.  This was the only the second time we have done this...the first being when the babies were much younger.  On the previous trip to Dunkin' Donuts it didn't go as smoothly as we had hoped because Dunkin' Donuts is not that big and there was only one high chair.  This most recent trip everyone could sit in a seat and we got there early enough we could get the big table.  However, feeding the kids donuts first is not what we usually do.  Donuts are usually after oatmeal.....and we have discovered now, that there is a good reason for oatmeal to be first.  Either order we do it in...the kids have fun!!!!  Here are a few pictures I took while the car warmed up......