We are about midway through the remodel and it has not been rainbows and ponies. Every single one of our remodelling projects has come back and bit us in the ....., but like childbirth, we seemingly forget the pain and jump into the home improvement deep end again and again. (Remember, we do have four children. Apparently, we have the collective memory of a gnat.)
Construction began on Friday. I loaded up the kids and left for a friend's house for a three day Wii fest. My father and the husband of the friend arrived at my house for the construction. We were gone from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. When I returned home, they were still working and they had only placed TWO cabinets. (deep cleansing breath -- perhaps most of the time was spend planning. They have a system now....The rest will be a cake walk.... I will not panic) In placing the one cabinet, the stove was removed from the kitchen and joined the new refrigerator and old dishwasher in the living room. Our kitchen's amenities were slowly moving towards the middle ages. No running water, no storage, no heat (to cook).
My disappointment was apparent in my face. Mr. Spie said, "I bet you thought that we would have more done" (No duh!) Then he proceeded to tell me that his parents were coming up for the day to help. I thought that he was joking. I looked on the faces on my father and friend for a twinkle, a smirk, something. There was nothing. It wasn't a joke. His parents had told us that they were coming. Then, they told us that they weren't coming. Apparently, now they were coming for just the day. My thoughts wandered to our food situation (my MIL and FIL are sit down 4 course meal types of people). I had bought only enough take and bake pizza for 3 possibly4 men and there were no sides. Mr. Spie indicated that they were bringing food and I needed to come up with jobs for his mom to do while the men, including Mr. Spie's brother worked on the kitchen. I came up with a list of jobs and we went to bed.
The next morning we awoke and decided on doughnuts for breakfast (no cook, no mess, plates are optional). I left with the kids once again for Wii fest and eagerly anticipated a kitchen to materialize when I returned that evening. During the morning at my friend's, I was watching the little ones while she took the bigger ones to her kid's bowling league. This is when it all started going wrong. My daughter first complained of a stomach ache, then a headache, then she threw up all over my friends living room carpet. I cleaned up the mess and tried to keep all the other littles away from her while I waited for the others to return from bowling. The true friend that she is she did not kick us out upon her return and my daughter said that she "felt better." As lunch was being prepared, my daughter threw up again. This time all over my pants. This sealed my decision to come home. I brought my littles home and left the biggers there for the festival to be brought home at some later time by some undetermined person.
As I walked into my home carrying the ill one (who urped in the car on the way home as well!), I am met by a house abuzz with activity. The refrigerator wall of cabinetry was almost up and my BIL and FIL were working on the plumbing for the new dishwasher. I dropped the ill one into my room and brought in Captain Destruction to complete his nap. (He fell asleep in the car).
I walk into the kitchen to have a bomb dropped by Mr. Spie. The water has been turned off in the entire house. Our descent into the Middle Ages is now complete!!!! The Cheese (my ill daughter) who desperately wants a glass of water cannot have one. No working toilets. I am covered in urp and I cannot shower or wash the offending clothes.
Dinner is a problem. There is still no stove. Drinking is a problem. There is only soda and milk. There is work problems. Too many opinions. (A word of advice to those who are remodelling with friends and/or family. Go to the bank and get a couple of Visa gift cards. Then, when a worker on a project needs an item. HE can go to get the item rather than sending someone who doesn't exactly know what is needed and consequently will have to take three trips to the store to purchase the correct item.) Things are not going well. There is no light at the end of the tunnel.
At 7:30 p.m. the Cheese is feeling better. I look at the opinions, the lack of progress, and the chaos and decide that I am going to be the undetermined person who is going to pick up the biggers at a later time seeking refuge in my van for the hour long round trip. When I arrive at my friend's house to save her from my kids, I am informed that we now have water at our house... just not hot water. GREAT. I pick up the kids and drive home. As I am ordering the kids to bed, I pull my dad aside and state that the priority tomorrow is to put in the cabinets that are needed to be placed so a stove can be in the kitchen. I don't care about water, the dishwasher, the peninsula. I NEED A STOVE. I hated to pull out the "Daddy's Little Girl" card, but desperate times require desperate measures.
On Sunday, I take the stinky family to church and Mr. Spie stays home with my dad to tackle the kitchen. After church, we drive home quickly change and return to my friends for the final day of the festival. During the brief layover, I discover (joy of joys) that the stove is IN!!! We are slowly returning to the world of the modern living. We returned early afternoon to find all but three cabinets installed. My BIL was also returning to the house to retrieve a forgotten camera which we decided to hold hostage for hot water. Things finally were looking up. We had the take and bake pizza for dinner. The hostage negotiations went well as hot water was returned to the household.
Despite three solid (?) days of work, we still need to place three cabinets. Two are imperative as they need to be in place in order to have the kitchen measured for the countertop. We have to redo some electrical work in order for the micro hood to be hung and the drainage for the new dishwasher is a complex problem that needs some serious attention. This weekend, we are imposing on another friend to help. Hopefully we will continue to progress forward and not regress back into the middle ages.
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