The First Hiccup

It turned out that demo only lasted one day, and Dale's crew quickly moved on. Two days later, we had some lighting in, and
some plumbing in, and then it was time for Derek to go to Germany for a week.

They made quick progress and it was fun to see. But the Tuesday night after Derek left, we had an issue.

It was almost 9:00 pm; I had gotten the girls to bed. Derek was gone. I was congratulating myself on getting half way through his trip. I put a doorstop in front of the doors for extra security, just to make myself feel better.

I was about to get into the shower when the doorbell rings. It was starting to get dark so I ignore it and continue undressing for the shower.

The doorbell rings again. So I called Dale, and say "Hey, do you have any guys coming over right now? Someone's ringing my doorbell."

"Nope, none of my guys should be there," he says. So I hang up. The doorbell rings again.

I call my parents' house, panicking. "Dad, someone's trying to get in the house! Can you come over?" I know I should have thought to call a neighbor first, or maybe even the police, but I was scared and not thinking. I guess when you're scared, your first instinct is to call your daddy. And of course he agreed and got in his car. I hastily put on a bra and the nearest piece of clothing I could find, a comfortable dress, and went downstairs.

The guy who had been ringing the doorbell had the lockbox code and started trying to get in! Finn, our Irish terrier, was barking like crazy.

"Hello?!" I yelled. "Who are you and what are you doing?!"

"I'm the plumber! I have to do one minute's worth of work. Spray foam. Let me in, there's something in the way!" My doorstop had worked.

"At 9:00 at night?!" I screamed. "No, you have to wait for my dad to get here."

So he went and sat on my porch, while I stood in my living room, shaking. My dad showed up so fast - my parents' house is only a mile away. And he started screaming at this guy, "Get out of here! What are you doing here?!"

Glad my dad was there, I went on the porch. I said "Dad, it's ok. He has a quick job to do, I just want you to stay with me while he does it."

This guy got up and left, "I'm not doing it if you're going to be like that!" he said, walking to his truck parked in the street. "I've got an hour long drive home, and I got left alone at the last job. All I had to do was some spray foam!"

"No!" I said, "Just do it!" I didn't want him coming back.

So he came back. My dad stayed with me in the living room, "You're too nice, Anne, you should have thrown him out."

Meanwhile, Dale texted me: "Is everything ok?" I texted back: "No, it's the plumber!" He immediately called me.

"I'm so sorry, Anne, this shouldn't have happened. I'm calling my plumber now."

The guy was quick, he did only have one minute's worth of spray foam to complete. But it was 9:00 at night! I was so upset.

After he left, I had my dad stay with me for a half hour or so while I calmed down. The plumber (this guy's boss, apparently) called to apologize. Apparently they thought the house was vacant. But my car was in the driveway and Finn was barking up a storm! How could anyone think that?

I was so upset. I don't really blame Dale. He had told me before this incident that it wasn't his normal plumbing company, but obviously he had a communication issue.

I called Derek in Germany and left a tearful message. He called back at midnight but I answered and cried to him on the phone. I think he felt bad.

Dale was so apologetic the rest of the week. I was so relieved when Derek got home. What a nightmare. But I am glad my doorstop trick worked.

Start of Demo

It's been a while.

That's because it takes so long to get cabinets in. But, finally, last week Dale got back to us and said we're starting demolition on the kitchen on Wednesday!

Packing up the china cabinet took a long time. We're about half way through and Derek's off today so he's going to finish it. Meanwhile, we're gearing up to be without a kitchen for several weeks.

Meet the Contractors

I've probably contacted too many contractors and I'm a little overwhelmed. Here we go:

Contractor #1: These guys did the house across the street, and Vivian seemed really pleased. When the owner came in, he was really nice. Definitely seemed to know his stuff.

But his quote came in at $60,000. We were stunned. I thought we wouldn't be able to go through with the project. But, I already had a few more contractors lined up so I figured we'd at least see what they had to say.

Contractor #2:  I think I found these guys by Googling, I'm not sure. Anyway, they're based out in Brighton but said they'd come by and quote the job. Their rep was here last week but I had to go out to their showroom and pick out cabinets and countertops so they could give us a quote. That's fine but the showroom is 45 minutes away, in Brighton and they didn't have Saturday appointments available for several weeks. I'm a little annoyed that I had to go out there to do that. His quote was $18,000 but that only included cabinets and counters (not labor or flooring or appliances).

Once I got to the appointment, they told me we couldn't have the design I wanted because of "code." According to them, the sink had to be 18" from the cooktop. Our design only had 12". Well, this affects the whole configuration and to be honest, I didn't like the one they had come up with. So, being a lawyer, I looked up that code. Turns out, this is not a code requirement. It's a design standard. Now I'm feeling talked down to and I didn't like that.

Contractor #3: This guy was recommended on NextDoor and he came out right away. Actually the same day I called. And on a Saturday! So he's the only one that Derek has met. And he's also the only one who really got in to our kitchen, looking at the plumbing and such. His quote came in the lowest so far, at $21,000 (but that's without flooring and appliances). However, when I emailed him to ask if his quote included permits, he never responded. It's been about three weeks. So I guess he took himself off our list.

Contractor #4: He was the only one sure that our wall was a load bearing one. And he was absolutely sure. He seemed nice. He tried to sell me on quartz countertops though. I really want wood.

His quote came in at about $43,000 but didn't include wood countertops (Surprise! It included quartz). I asked him to revise, which he did, and the quote went up to $46,000.

Contractor #5: This guy didn't show. So that was easy.

Contractor #6: This is actually a female designer who pairs up with a builder. I liked that she listened to me. I think her designs are going to be a little too fancy for me. Her builder was supposed to get back to us with a quote within two weeks, but that deadline came and went. To be honest, I like doing my own design work, so I don't think we'll go in this direction.

Contractor #7: This gentleman is actually a carpenter by trade. I like that, because I think he'll be great with the wood countertops and floors. And, he has no incentive to try to sell me quartz countertops. He was SO quick with responses when I asked questions and he has a great recommendation from one of Derek's colleagues. His quote came in at $38,000.

All in all, I'm a little sad that everything is taking so long! I've been collecting quotes for more than a month now. And some contractors just don't respond - do I remind them? Or just write them off?

Update: We decided to go with Contractor #7!

Off-Topic: MLMs and my friends who sell for them

The blog's going to go off topic today, in favor of a small rant.

Two days ago I got a Facebook message from an old friend from elementary school. Now, we haven't really stayed in touch, but infrequently comment on each other's posts about kids or requests for advice. So we follow each other's families on Facebook and that's about it. Not that I wouldn't like to redevelop a relationship, but that's just where we're at.

Here's what the message said:

Hi Anne! Your kids are so cute! I love reading your posts about the girls and I can't believe your little brother has a son now!

I decided to reach out to some of my fellow momma’s today about the children’s multi-vitamin/probiotic that Plexus has developed.. and I immediately thought of you.  No worries if you aren’t interested, I just want to leave you with some info about the product, X-factor Kids.   I’ve become really passionate about gut health and it turns out our children can also benefit a lot as well!!

The vitamin is fully methylated (which means it is effective even with kiddos who carry the MTHFR gene), delicious, and contains really incredible strains of probiotics! The cost is very comparable to what you would get from Whole Foods or a health food market, (where I used to get my supplements.)

Here is a quick video about the vitamin/probiotic you can watch in your spare time. Ha!! 

Look. I'd LOVE to catch up over coffee. I'd probably even try your product, I really would. But now, I just feel used.

How do I respond? So far I've ignored her but I have half a mind to say "Let's actually be friends first."

And you know what else? I HATE that moms feel they have to sell this stuff to get by. Some of these products I really like (Pampered Chef, LulaRoe, Mary Kay, Norwex). Except for the essential oils, but that's a whole other rant. This business model just bothers me. The stuff is more expensive than it should be, because more than one salesperson is taking a cut of my purchase. It approaches an illegal pyramid scheme. And it's turning friends and acquaintances into nothing more than potential customers.

Introductions

Our wedding

I really like having projects to do. My husband and I have been together for twelve years (married for six), and in that time, together we've planned and completed many fun projects.

We've planned a wedding, purchased a house, finished a basement remodel, built a brick grill, finished a bathroom remodel, and planned and executed vacations to California, Minnesota, Nashville, and Michigan's Upper Peninsula. We've planned baptism parties, birthday parties, and an "in-between" party (a gathering at house taking place between my brother and sister-in-law's wedding ceremony and reception).

Not to mention the biggest project of all - raising our two little girls, Eliza (age 4) and Audrey (age 1 1/2).

Basement Remodel - Derek did this mostly by himself, with
help from a good friend and neighbor on the drywall

None of this is unusual for a middle class family in America.

 But you know what, I love doing it. And Derek doesn't seem to mind helping (or, many times, doing all the labor involved while I chase the girls).

The kiddies

I have several projects on my list for 2018, and I thought it would be fun to blog about them and see how it goes. I can sharpen my writing skills (and add another "project" to my list!).

Here's my current list for this year, in order of planning, but not in order of completion:

1.) Kitchen Remodel;
2.) Plan and host a cider tasting (late-February);
3.) Plan and host Audrey's second birthday party (mid-April);

Derek built this grill by hand

4.) Plan a Disney World Vacation for January 2019;
5.) Trip to our Notre Dame ten-year reunion (June);
6.) Trip to Minnesota (July);
7.) Camping trip (August);

This kitchen remodel will probably be the biggest project we've ever done. And I'm excited about it. So that's where we're starting. I've have three contractors over for estimates so far; I have three more coming next week.

So here we go! I appreciate any comments.

A mini project - centerpieces for my sister-in-law's
tailgate-themed baby shower

The Remodel: Current Situation

Our house was built in 1951. It was designed by a man who spent no time in the kitchen. The kitchen is small and closed off. My sink is so small I can't get some of my pans into it. There is very little cabinet space and zero room for a pantry.

The kitchen was redone in 1980 by the previous owner who spent money and got a top-of-the-line kitchen. So there's been no functional reason to redo it yet; the floor and counters are in tact.

In 1991, the previous owner put on an addition in the back, which is our family room and which accommodates the dining table. So now we'd like to combine the original dining room, which was small, with the kitchen.

Basically, we have to take down a wall and rearrange the appliances.

I'd like to extend the wood flooring throughout, and I'd like white shaker cabinets. And finally, I want a walnut butcher block countertop. I understand the limitations and maintenance of wood countertops. But I love the look and I'm willing to deal with that.