Day 2: A Photo Op

This is the old linoleum that we put the hardwoods over. This may have saved our sub floor in the kitchen from being ruined.

I went by to check progress again today. Everything appears to be removed as planned. Blake is calling to find out tomorrow what the next plan of action is. I can't locate my camera cord at this time, so a friend from work let me borrow her classroom's camera, and the memory stick in compatible with my lap top...Yay!

Demolition Day One

A dumpster arrived in our driveway yesterday morning around 8:00. The crew was still in action when Blake and I went to check on the progression of the demolition after work, about 3:30. My oven was in the laundry room. My furniture and other decor were in the bedrooms and garage, and some still sitting on the sub flooring of the house. Most of the hardwood was in the dumpster, except for the hallway. There were tons of staples still in the floor. The shoe molding has also been removed due to damage.

I felt really bad for Blake when we saw the gigantic mess in our home. This is our first home. See, when we moved in the house, it needed alot of cosmetic work. The carpet in the house was goldish, brownish, ugly-ish, and was rolled up, and just a mess. The walls were all white, and so was the linoleum. It is great house, but it the house needed some TLC. So, for the first two years we lived there, it was our project together. We have painted every square inch of the house and replaced every square foot of flooring in the entire house. What was special about the hardwood floors is that Blake (along with a little help from the fam) laid the entire floor himself. He pieced and nailed every plank together. So, seeing it all thrown into a dumpster yesterday made me feel sorry for him, just because he had worked so hard. So, Blake, I am so sorry!

In the scheme of life, this is totally not a big deal. I just think it is pretty crazy that a dishwasher installation has created such havoc. It's is just one of those moments where all you can say is..."Seriously?"

Still can't find my camera cord. Hopefully, today I can rummage around and find it!

Dishwasher Drama: A Summary of Events

What originally started out as a simple, routine, and minor home improvement has turned into a very unexpected renovation of a large section of our home.

For some time, our dishwasher has been making a horrific amount of noise, as well as leaving a disgusting sand like residue on all of our dishes. The dishwasher was a base line model that was installed when our house was built, about 11 years ago. We have been putting off purchasing a new one, but decided about 2 weeks ago we would like to watch television without the rumblings of the dishwasher, and I was probably wasting money by running the it multiple times to get the residue off...because, let's face it, who has time to hand wash all of the dishes? I am too lazy for that, I will admit it!

Perhaps a bulleted list would be the simplest way to describe the timeline of "Dishwasher Drama."

• Day 1: Purchase dishwasher and pay INSTALLATION fee. Installation is scheduled for Day 4.
• Day 4: Installation gentleman arrives. Works for some time to remove old dishwasher. He is unable to remove dishwasher from the cabinets. He felt the hardwood floor was trapping it in. Informs Blake he must do it himself. Blake comes home from work, unscrews four bolts of sorts, within 5 minutes dishwasher is no longer "trapped."
• Day 5: Installation gentlemen arrives. Installs dishwasher. Starts dishwasher to check for leaks. Leaves the premises. Forgot to REALLY check for leaks. The dishwasher is wonderful and quiet. I use it again after cooking for my crew.
• Day 6: My mother was at our home watching Jackson. The dishwasher needs to do its thing again. I called to check on Jackson, and she discovers water is seeping into the laundry room from the dishwasher. Perhaps our installation gentlemen should have more thoroughly checked for leaks.
• Day 7: Hardwood floors are starting to cup. We also notice a dip in the floor. We made a few phone calls
• Day 8-13 Summary: Basically....water had been under the floor since the installation day. Our hardwood floors are ruined. The company in which the dishwasher was purchased is fixing everything that was damaged. Unfortunately, we have to leave our house for 7-8 days, so that this can be accomplished. Yes, a demolition team is coming to our house tomorrow, as well as a dumpster, which will be located in our front yard.

I am expecting to see Ty Pennington tomorrow morning for my vacation to Disney World while our house receives a makeover. Probably not going to happen....we do get to stay at our parents' houses, though. We are packed and ready. I took some pics, but I can't find the camera cord....

Road Trip

This weekend, we went to Alabama for my cousin, Sean and his wife Erika's family baby shower. On Saturday night, we went to visit my grandmother. Jackson tried to grab her beta fish out of its home. We then went to Rigatoni's for dinner. We LOVE that place!!! Jackson was so exicted about his long, lost "friends," he would not go to sleep until after midnight, and was awake again at 7:00 AM. He is seriously the Energizer bunny. On Sunday, we spent alot of time getting ready for the baby shower. Erika got alot of really nice gifts, and his nursery looks super cute. All baby boys on this side of the family!

Chuck E. Cheese's

Friday night, we met Dewayne, Melissa, and Abby at Chuck E. Cheese's. We met about 5:00, so it wasn't very crowded when we got there. Jackson and Abby enjoyed watching the shows, and riding some of the rides, and basically enjoyed the priveledge of running around a restaurant without being restricted in a high chair! If you know my husband at all, you know he is just a big kid at heart. He took playing the games quite seriously, and won lots of tickets. I don't think he actually "cashed" them in, though. I think he is saving them for next time, so that he can get a better prize. Eat your heart out, Nascar.

Jackson didn't care for this Barney Tractor Ride. Daddy to the rescue.

Picnic at the Riverpark

Last Monday, when Blake and I got home from work, we decided to pack a picnic dinner, and head to the Riverpark for dinner. We enjoyed our dinner by the river, and then let Jackson play on the playground. We also took a nice stroll down the river front. I really love our city. Sometimes, I forget how lucky we are to live in such a pretty area, with so many fun things for families to do.

Jackson started out blowing the dandelions, then he ate them. I don't think they tasted quite as good as he would have liked.

A Case of the Monday Crazies

This morning, I was microwaving Jackson's grits. Such a good southern fella. I got his gourmet breakfast out of the microwave, and realized I had failed to adhere to step 2 of the complicated 3 step process, add 1/2 cup of water, to the cooking process. Basically, I nuked the sand like substance. I tried again, and did follow all of the directions. Success!