Bathroom Renovation Reveal

Well as many of you know we have been renovating our bathroom over the past few weeks and it is very close to being done. A few minor little things need to be finished and then it will be fully complete however there is enough done that I can finally do the big reveal.

When we first bought our house we knew four things for sure:

1.       The roof needed to be completely redone.

2.       We would need to replace the floor in the downstairs bathroom, which led to a new toilet and new vanity because of the outdated stuff that was there.

3.       The Kitchen would need updating as it was all original.

4.       The bathroom would need to be done because not only was it very out dated (all original) but there was mold behind the tiles. How much mold we wouldn’t know until we started the project but we knew at best there was some.

Within the first two months of moving in we had the roof done. When we were moving in we also did the downstairs bathroom and added a heated tile floor to it.

Last year we redid the kitchen while I was off on maternity leave and this year was the time for the bathroom. We estimated how much it was going to cost us and then started saving. We added $1000 to what we thought we would need because you never know what you will encounter and we didn’t know how much mold would be behind the walls. Once we had saved the money we decided that it was time to start the reno. Sean works shift work so we picked two weeks he was on afternoons, booked Rylee for full time day care so that he could just work, and booked the time with help – because in order to get it done on time Sean was definitely need help on this one.

On October 4 we started to rip everything out. We were going right back to the studs and we thought this was going to take us all weekend. Surprisingly we were able to strip back everything in about 5 hours (including a very full truck load to the dump - $40)

Everything was stripped back to the bare studs and we could finally get a look at the mold damage. Thankfully, the mold damage wasn’t near as bad as we had been expecting. We washed it off (wearing gloves and masks) with heavy duty mold killer, let it fully dry, and then we sealed it with a spray called Kill All to prevent it from growing/spreading. We also found a nice surprise too! There was a small (very small) space where we could add a closet to the bathroom. This was a HUGE bonus to us since we were downsizing the size of the vanity AND we were losing our medicine cabinet mirror. This gives us a lot more room to store the little things!

Once we were done that then the real work started. Since I was at work full time Sean sent me lots of pictures and updates. The first day was very productive. Vaughn and Sean got all of the plumbing done, the electrical outlet moved, a new door put in (our original one was only 24” and we upgraded to a 30” door), all of the new subfloor laid, and a few other things. On day two the kept moving right along and got the tub fully installed and working, the plumbing got soldered, new insulation was applied and new vapor barrier was put up, and a bunch of other things that I don’t remember. The next days included a lot of dry walling, taping, mudding, sanding, and painting (at first I hated the paint colour but now that it is finished and all of the stuff is in I think it works really well with the room).

Week two started us out with the tiling being done in the shower, followed by grouting the shower, tiling the bathroom floor, grouting the floor, installing the vanity, and toilet. Once the grout had set I was finally able to take my first bath in the new tub. It was heavenly. Our old tub was awful and not good for taking a relaxing bath. However, this one is so nice. I am going to be able to enjoy it a lot more.

The last couple days were spent putting in the trim, re framing the door, having our old door cut down and made into a closet door (done fully by Vaughn) and caulking/sealing everything including the tub and the vanity. We also hung the little things, like the mirror, the shower bar, the towel bar, the toilet paper holder ect. I got a great deal on the mirror. At Lowe’s bathroom mirrors started around $80. I decided to take a stab at Wal-Mart and found one that I loved and fit the space perfectly for only $30! When we got our vanity, the taps were already included so we did not need to buy those, but we did however buy an all new shower head kit. Pretty much everything in the bathroom is new. We did try to re-use what we could but to be honest that wasn’t very much. We did everything in a brushed nickel finish – and again I am really pleased with how everything turned out.

By the time it was all said and done the total bill was $3164 which was $164 more than we budgeted/saved. That includes the extra cost of Rylee going to daycare full time for two weeks, the labour for Vaughn, adding a closet that we weren’t expecting, and widening the door which we also weren’t expecting. 

Over all I think that everything turned out perfect and we now have a great bathroom that we won’t need to redo again for many many more years haha.

Now for the next project...

Pumpkin pumpkin and more pumpkin!

This weekend was all about pumpkin. Last week I realized that it is already nearing the end of October and I have eaten a lot of Apple things but not near enough pumpkin! 

So this weekend I changed that. Saturday started out with amazing pumpkin spice pancakes, dessert last night was amazing pumpkin fluff, and today I made a few dozen pumpkin spice muffins! I also roasted the pumpkin seeds from our freshly carved pumpkin. I can happily say that I have enjoyed my share of pumpkin and apple this amazing fall season. 

Yesterday our little family of three went to the states in the morning and had some fun shopping. Then we came home and did some stuff around the house. Rylee spent the night at my parents house and we had a date night. Our date night included a good dinner and then going to bed far to early to admit. We made steak, ceaser salad (brand new recipe of dressing from scratch), potatoes, and pumpkin fluff for dessert. 

This morning we slept in with no alarm clock or baby to wake us up which was amazing. Then we picked up Rylee after a silent breakfast. Sean and I took her to the London Baby expo and she had a BLAST playing on the bouncy castle for at least 30 minutes. 

After that we went to a local pumpkin patch and picked out our pumpkin. After that we had lunch and Rylee went down for her nap while I madly cleaned the house and Sean worked some more on the bathroom. When Rylee woke up we carved the pumpkin, ate dinner, and went for a family walk. Now I am sitting on the couch after a very long hot shower writing this. I hope you enjoyed my weekend play by play. 

I promise that soon I am going to do a post about the bathroom renovations but in the mean time I just wanted to take a minute and say how good life is right now. I have been through some pretty hard things in my 26 years here. Something's that I wasn't sure I was going to survive but I did. I know that over the next 26+ years I am going to face many many more hard things. But right now in this time things are good and because of the hard times I can enjoy it so much more and be so much more thankful for the small things in my life. 

I will leave you with this photo of our dinner. I love meatloaf and tonight I tried a new quoina and kale salad this turned out really yummy.

 

 

Recipe review

A few weeks ago I posted on my blog that I had some healthy new recipes I was trying and people asked me to share. Instead of posting them individually I thought I would compile them here for you to read.

The first new recipe was Roasted Vegetable Tacos. I found the recipe on Pinterest - http://saucypants.com/blog/roastedveggietacos/

They were good (especially the roasted veggie part) but I think next time I would just use guacamole instead of making this sauce. It was well liked by hubby and Rylee.

Next I tried Butter Chicken from Epicure. A while back I tried butter chicken on a trip to BC and is was amazing. Since then I have had it one other time which was from M and M's but in an attempt to make it with less processing I tried the Epicure packet. If you like butter chicken a bit spicey then I feel you would like this. My hubby and daughter gobbled it up, but I however was not the biggest fan. For the cost of $4 just for the spices packet I will probably not make it again, although it looked REALLY REALLY good when I was making it. 

                         

Recently I have also made a few tried and true recipes. My Berry Cobbler, which I also found on Pinterest (Frozen berries sprinkled with vanilla cake mix and pour sprite on top. Bake at 450 for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown).

And tonight I made a house hold favourite. Not only is it a favourite because it tastes AMAZING but it is the easiest meal ever to make. Crockpot Chicken - put the chicken breasts (thawed or frozen, uncooked) into the crock pot. Cover with salsa, add one c. corn, 1/2-1 can of black beans and cook on low for 8 hours. I love this because you don't have to do anything to the chicken and you can even throw it in frozen - super easy. We often choose to top the chicken with shredded cheese and sour cream and service with brown rice but I have also put the mixture into tacos, and quesedillas before. Again, this one goes over really well with both hubby and Rylee. Healthy meal for the win!

                 

I want to leave you with one thought before we head off to the park for an after dinner play time. What is the deal with tortilla shells? We try to eat as much whole grain and whole wheat items as we can however white taco shells taste SO much better than whole wheat. Why is that??? No seriously I want to know why they taste to much better. Usually I prefer whole grain/whole wheat food!

Our bathroom renovation is almost done - I will do a post about it in the near future!

A Time to be Thankful

This time of year is always when people share in abundance everything they are thankful for. I used to be one of those people. I feel like the only time I took time to appreciate what I was grateful for was on the "required" holidays. The only time I said thanks to my parents and give them special notice was on Mothers day and Fathers day, quickly forgetting the other 364 days of the year that they help me. The only time I would acknowledge things I was grateful for was Thanskgiving, and not the other 364 days of the year.

Okay that may be a bit of an exaggeration however I know that I was not thankful enough every day of the year, and maybe I'm still not but I do know that I have come a long way. In two days from now, the day after Thanksgiving will be the 10 month mark of the passing of my father-in-law. Although I did not get the privilege to know him all of my life as my Husband and his brothers did, I was blessed to get to know him for quite a long time. There is not a day that goes by that I don't think of him in some way or that there is something that reminds me of him and the short time we did have together.

One of the main things that has changed about me since this unexpected event is my thankfulness. In every aspect this has changed. So often now I do take notice of tiny little things and stop to pause to really truly be thankful for them. I often get very excited over little small insignificant things that before I wouldn't have even noticed. I wouldn't have stopped to take a second look. I wouldn't have held my baby girl that much longer before putting her down, and the list goes on and on. I owe this to Dave because before I would not have stopped to realize how incredibly grateful I am for all of the amazing things in my life. 

I reflect on this time last year when we took a family trip to Florida. Although not everyone was able to join us we did have a really great time at a family wedding. Memories that I will hold dear to my heart, and yet again be thankful for. This time last year Dave was dancing with Rylee as she was just giggling away. We had an explosive diaper that took 6 people to clean up, and lots of laughs with cousins. We had our last Thanksgiving dinner with Dave, and ate pumpkin fluff. These things may not mean anything to you, but for me, it is one more small thing I am grateful for. Again, find joy in the little things, for you never know what tomorrow may hold. 

His chains are gone, he's been set free. Although we hurt here, we can be SO thankful that he hurts no more.

                

Do you remember me?

Again, another very long time in between posts…I wonder if I will ever get into the habit of writing regularly. I guess it depends how many out there are actually reading? I haven’t posted not because I don’t have anything to write but in fact have just had no time. Being back at work full time, a very busy toddler, and trying to keep up with the house and everything else that life entails is not an easy feat!

August and September are a very busy time at my work. I would get to work, look up and it was lunch, have lunch then look up and it was time to go home. The days went by very fast, which to be honest, I love when that happens. But on the flip side to that it also made it very tiring.

I will give you a few updates about life but first I will start with my weight loss since it is after all the reason for my blog. I did end up reaching my weight loss goal to hit 190lbs. I did not do it in the time frame that I gave myself since I had some unexpected things deter me slightly, but the important part is I did reach it! I was very pleased with myself when I stepped on the scale to see that I had hit that goal. My hard work and day to day efforts have been paying off. 

Sometimes it feels like my weight loss is going very slow but if I stop to look back at how much I have accomplished in the last 19 months it is actually quite amazing. Since having Rylee I have lost 86 pounds (that number DOES include baby + fluid) and that would average a loss of 4.5 pounds a month. If you also take into consideration that I had a very hard time losing weight while breastfeeding and didn’t start to really be able to take it off until I started weaning Rylee then that is actually quite impressive (in my opinion anyways).

I think that so many times people want it to come off very fast, and get quickly discouraged if it doesn’t. They try fad diets and cleanses that don’t work, or work for the very short term before they put the weight back on. If you want to look at the simple solution you need to eat healthy and exercise. I do believe that you can use some products in conjunction with healthy eating and exercise but bottom line it boils down to those two things. I have been there and tried many things. I got tired of the yo-yo dieting and finally just admitted to what I didn’t want to hear. It was going to take work (lots of work), dedication, and commitment, but in the end IT IS worth it. I don’t lose 5 pounds a week as I know that is not realistic, but when I do lose 5 pounds, it stays off. Long term. I make daily changes that are attainable and I feel great about them. I still eat unhealthy food often but I incorporate it into my daily food and I move on. I don’t stress about it or feel guilty over it. I enjoy every bite, and if something is not good I throw it away! I don’t finish it just because I feel I have to!

Now that being said, it took me a long time to get here. It took me a long time to learn my body and how it works. But I have also not binged on food because I haven’t been depriving myself of anything. I eat very healthy most of the time but still make room for pizza, cake, and chocolate because let’s be honest I don’t want to live without those things (and you shouldn’t either). 

I look back at where I was this time last year and I can see how far I have come! Where were you this time last year? Have you made the progress you wanted to make? Okay let me rephrase that, are you making the progress that is realistic for you to make? Not everyone has weight to lose; you may have other goals you are working towards but have you made the progress that is realistic? If not, sit down and really evaluate why. If this is important to you, you will do what it takes to get it done. If they result of reaching your goal is not worth the effort you need to put in the you will forever be spinning your tires on wet ground.

My next goal is a small one (last time was 10 pounds). This time my goal is to get to 185. I am not setting a deadline for myself because I know that this is a daily process and I am going to keep plugging away at it, one small change at a time. I don’t know yet what my reward will be for it but I am going to think of something good (maybe along the lines of some new make up). 5 pounds off is a lot to celebrate – it really is the small things!

A few other updates happening in the McNamara house: 

We are currently fully renovating our upstairs bathroom! I mean a complete gut. I can’t wait to be able to have a nice bath in my brand new soaker tub! 

Before demo

Mostly demo'd

When we bought our house in 2013 we knew that eventually the kitchen and the bathroom would need to be renovated since they were both really outdated. We had the roof replaced right when we moved in and we also did the downstairs bathroom as well by putting in a heated floor, new vanity, and new toilet along with a fresh coat of paint. Last year we did a major kitchen reno by painting the cupboards and adding hardware, putting up a backsplash, tearing down a wall, new countertop, new island, new ceiling fan, and of course a fresh coat of paint. So in terms of indoor renovations the bathroom is the last major renovation we have to complete. Of course there are little things as there always is in a house but all of the big things will be done.

Next year we will try to focus a bit on the backyard. We are hoping to be able to refinish our main deck and the pool deck, as well as put in a new pool liner. I know that the jobs will never be finished but I feel quite pleased that in terms of large jobs we should be done (knock on wood that we don’t have some disaster!).  Well for now anyways, until a few years down the road we decide we want to change things haha. I plan on doing a garden again next year but will do things a bit differently than this year. My first year with a garden was definitely a successful one.

If you read our camping review you may have noted that we enjoy camping, quite a bit actually. I prefer camping in a tent over a trailer although there are definitely perks to a trailer! Sean and I knew that our current tent would not be big enough next year so at the end of the season clearance we bought a new tent that is really big (I mean REALLY big). We set it up to make sure it worked but we did not take a picture, so next year I will take a picture and show you the new beauty!

This weekend we had our first toddler flu experience. Poor Rylee was really sick on Saturday night but I was very thankful that it wasn’t a work night! I am glad to have that experience over and now I know what to expect next time. It is SO heartbreaking as a parent to see your child going through that. You just want to take it from them and be the one going through it. It was really hard to watch because she is just so little – but that being said she fully bounced back the very next day and was fine so I am glad that is over!


Christmas is coming up quickly (yes I am totally one of those people) and my gift idea list is getting really good. I have a lot of people figured out what I am going to get them which makes the holidays a lot less stressful for me being the planner that I am.