DIY Painted Laminate Countertop

This is what the kitchen looked like when we bought the house. It was built in the 60's and we purchased it from the original owner. It was a time warp. The kitchen is a decent size thanks to the adjacent breakfast area, but the row of cabinets above the range blocked the view between the two spaces.

With an unlimited budget, I would gut the whole thing and start over with a new layout. One that included a large center island. But I don't have an unlimited budget, so I am working with the existing cabinets. For now at least. To open up the space, I removed the vent hood and upper cabinets above the range. I plan to replace the old electric stove top with a gas range. When that happens I will also have a downdraft vent installed.

It is so nice not to have to bend over to look under the cabinets when the kids are at the kitchen table and it makes the space so much more functional for when we entertain. Everyone loves to congregate in the kitchen!

As you can see in the picture above, the corner cabinet extended just far enough past the wall to look out of place once the others were removed. Unfortunately, it also extended into the corner leaving an odd nook once it was gone. 

 I decided to install open shelves here with some inexpensive wood brackets I found at Lowe's. I painted them along with the shelves the same as the wall color (BM Elephant Tusk). I have enjoyed having my everyday plates and bowls in easy reach. 

I also painted the upper cabinets the same color as the wall and the base cabinets are painted BM Ashley Gray. I plan to install stone countertops (and new appliances) in the future, but it is not in the budget at the moment. I was so tired of looking at the bad 60's faux granite laminate that I decided to paint it as well. It was so ugly I figured that even if the paint job looked awful it would be better than before!

I rolled on two coats of Zinsser BIN Primer and was amazed at how much better the room looked already!

I then painted two coats of BM Midnight and sealed it with two coats of polyurethane. I have been pleased with how it has held up. No scratches yet!

I even had a little help with the edges...

I also installed all new brass hardware which helped the space feel updated. The knobs and pulls are by Martha Stewart for Home Depot.

Nothing like a good before & after!

It is amazing what a coat of paint (or two) can do! 

Cooper's Baptism

Our sweet baby Cooper was baptized this past Sunday. It was such a special day. I made an effort to really slow down and absorb it all this time. Given the ages of our three, we were concerned with how they would all behave! At Bob's last year, Anne was 2 1/2 and she got scared standing up there in front of all the people. Once she saw her grandmother in the first few pews she wanted to go be with her. Luckily, it all went down without too much of a scene, but it had me nervous for this ceremony. Miraculously, they all did great! We had several talks with Anne about what would happen and she walked right down the aisle holding my hand like a big girl while I held Cooper in my arms and Will held Bob. She then held the hand of our minister and helped her present Cooper to the congregation. So sweet! Bob and Cooper both got a little squirmy, but neither made a peep. Hallelujah!

We attempted to take pictures before the service. The children were not into it. So much for my Christmas card pic :-)

Bob with JJ

Cousins

 Anne covering her face. She was not into pictures. 

My dad James Cooper with his namesake James Cooper

Mommom and Cooper

After the Baptism we had family and friends over to our house for a luncheon to celebrate. It was easy to plan since we had just done this a year ago for Bob! I had Cooper's little brass hand and footprints displayed along with the page from his baby book. I left it sitting out and Bob nicely scribbled all over it the next day. Typical.

Decorated for the party

It helps to have an empty room to put tables and chairs in :-)

Cooper and Aunt Jan

My brother and my dad

 Will and his sister

Sweet friends

The weather was great and so all the kids played outside and ate lunch at the picnic tables. I probably should have changed Bob's outfit before sending him outside...

My mom, me and my sister-in-law

Our guest of honor getting a bottle and heading off to nap!

Cooper will be 6 months old tomorrow and is the best baby ever. He is very laid back and definitely goes with the flow! He weighs 18 1/2 pounds now. Hard to believe he was ever 4 pounds! Thank you for all of the prayers that have gotten us to this point. All the trauma of my hospital stay and Cooper's time in the NICU seems like a distant memory, thank goodness! 

4th of July

I can't believe it has been so long since I have blogged! There is just not enough time in the day... So I am playing catch up. These are all pictures taken on my phone. I have not downloaded the ones on my big camera yet. I am so behind.

By the end of June I was ready for a scenery change. Cooper was eight weeks old and doing great so we loaded up and headed down to Point Clear for our annual trip with the Pringles.

The kids all fell asleep and it was nice and quiet. That lasted for about 30 minutes. And it is a 5 hour car ride...

We headed over to the hotel once we arrived and enjoyed the afternoon outside at Bucky's. Here is Bob checking out his statue.

We enjoyed the beautiful weather at the Lakewood Pool. Cooper napped in his bassinet. Most of the time.

Anne and Martha Glen swam together at the Grand's Pool. They are in the middle of the picture.

Bob discovered his belly button. Funny stuff.

He also had fun hanging around with Uncle John and Aunt Caroline!

Baby Cooper was a trooper and was along for the ride everywhere. 

He was also a good sport when little hands were grabby (and this looks worse than it was!)

Anne enjoyed playing in the castle

with sweet friends

and snuggles with daddy (the glasses are part of a Nerf game and for some reason my kids love to wear them/make others wear them!)

We took Anne to see the fireworks at the Grand Hotel for the first time. She was scared at first, but did not cry. She was not a fan of the loud noises, but was in awe of the pretty colors!

Bob just being silly on the sunroom door. He is at such a fun age and cracks me up daily!

It rained ALL day for the last several days of our trip. We played inside most of the time and I even attempted to take A & B to the indoor jumpy place in Spanish Fort. It was fun for about 20 minutes until Anne had a MAJOR meltdown over losing a game of musical chairs?! Epic. Like had to throw her over my shoulder (while also carrying my bag and Bob) and she was screaming so loud everyone stopped what they were doing and watched me drag her out. It was the end of the week and she was exhausted by that point after staying up late with her big cousins and not napping. Remember I was also waking up in the middle of the night with a newborn so I was tired too. I was not amused. She fell asleep on the car ride back to the house and woke up a much sweeter little girl. Thank goodness.

On our last day in Point Clear we finally saw a glimpse of blue sky! Beautiful. 

It was a crazy, exhausting week but loads of fun too. We made wonderful memories and scenery like that is just icing on the cake!

I read recently that vacations with little ones are not really "vacations", they are really just "trips" as they are not relaxing. We are in that stage of life for sure, but after a car ride back to Birmingham where baby Cooper slept the ENTIRE 5 hours and we did not stop once (a miracle) it made me want to go on another "trip" sooner than later!

Cooper Update: 2 months old

Cooper had his two month check up on Monday (two weeks late thanks to the July 4th holiday). He had a GREAT report. He is now 12 lbs 3oz. He is in the 60% for kids born on May 2nd. He would be in the 90% if born on his due date! I love my chunky babies! He is 22" long and his head is 15". These are both 30% for kids born May 2nd. We are so thankful that he is growing like he is. The doctor said he would never know he was a preemie if it wasn't written in his chart!

He continues to be on a good schedule. He typically eats every 3-4 hours and can stretch it out to 5-7 hours between feedings. The other night he slept from 11pm to 6am and it was wonderful! Unfortunately, he has been back to his 4 hour feeding schedule at night since then. Such a tease...

His hair has thinned out a good bit on top but he did not lose it completely. Anne and Bob both went bald just on the top of their head around 6 weeks old and looked like little old men for a week or two. I'm glad he didn't do that. :-) His hair is still brown and his eyes are starting to turn blue like his sister's! He also has one dimple like her.

Anne asked why "Coopey" (as she calls him) always has his eyebrows up. He always looks a little surprised when Anne and Bob are around! The loud chaos might have something to do with it :-)

After taking this picture of Cooper smiling, I now think that all three kids look more alike than I realized.

I try to do "tummy time" for Cooper every day, but Anne and Bob end up down there with him crawling all over him... He is loved! 

Thank you for the thoughts and prayers for our sweet little guy! They are working!