Relax?

We are finally all moved in. Ahh, to be able to relax! Relax? Bwahahahaha! Yeah, relax. Mhmm. The other day we had just gotten home from running errands, we still had things to put away, but more importantly I had four hungry children just waiting for lunch. Abigail started slicing cucumbers, I started pouring milk and setting it on the other side of the island for Ian to pass to his sisters, then out of nowhere I heard “eeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!” Now, for anyone that doesn’t speak the language of power tools, that is the sound of a drill. The sound of a drill can be a very frightening sound. A frightening sound occurring only three feet behind you. A frightening sound occurring only three feet behind you while it attacks the cabinet just over your head. In the interest of preserving memories, as I always try to do, photo documentation was in order. I placed the lid on the milk and ran for the camera. Now, before I emotionally harm any farmers out there, I promise my John Deere did not explode while carrying a load of egg plants. I also promise to any home decorators out there that I did not paint the walls with an exploded egg plant, nor did I raid a John Deere factory for their green paint. Disclaimers over, I also have a confession. I like the autumn gold appliances. I know. I know. But, just look at them for a moment. Look how warm and cozy they feel. If only the broiler worked, more than two stove eyes worked, and the refrigerator actually possessed door shelves and bottom drawers instead of the two rickety shelves placed precariously within. I promise that my counters are normally cleaner than that … remember we had just returned from errands … I’m not making excuses. Honest. No excuses … just as not to emotionally harm any maids out there. While I’m not making excuses, please ignore the 2 liter of soda. It just jumped into my cart, stealthily going unnoticed until it had made its escape from the lonely grocery store shelf with its best friend … a bag of ice. Now, I know what you are saying. How do you get to the half working stove and where is the drawerless refrigerator ? My Tommy was sweet enough to pause his assault on the offending cabinets so I could get a picture. There! See? Oh? You can’t see because of the cabinets? Well, now you know why we were taking them down. Poor Miss Katherine had been tripped over more than enough just in the time we were cleaning and moving in. They had to go. They were a safety concern! Look, Katherine felt it would be safest to seek shelter in a stock pot! Not to mention the mental damage they did to the poor claustrophobic soul that had to cook in there! And completely forgetting the mold spreading through the rotting wood. See the generous three feet of space between the stove and island … well, I guess technically it is a peninsula, huh? What’s that? That is the wonderful sight of dry wall being repaired. Repaired from what? The cabinets! The cabinets that are now suddenly gone. Look at the space! Ahh, sweet space. But, wait. Where is the fridge? With the peninsula removed, we could move the fridge over to the other wall making room for more counter space! Later, while the older three were getting ready for bed and Katherine was already sweetly tucked into dream land, I heard another foreign sound. Scraping. What was that scraping sound? We rushed in to see … What did we find? We found my Tommy ridding us of the odorous tile that could be smelled upon entering the front door on the other side of the house. He’s my hero. We were so thankful to see that tile go, although, just like the appliances they hold a certain appeal to me … if only they weren’t so smelly. Uhoh. Removing the tile unlocked the smell even more. I’m not really sure if the child that took this awful picture should be punished? What about the child that said, “Hey, Mom! These are drywall DUST masks and don’t block smell!” While we are at it, what about the dear, loving husband that had to stop working because he was laughing so hard at his wife for trying to block smell with a drywall mask? Now that the offending cabinets and smelly tiles are gone what are we going to do? You know that people have floor coverings for a reason. And, um, there were things in those cabinets. Things of which are now scattered all over the house, loitering in places they do not belong. The disorganized dishevelment started to close in on me almost more than the cabinets did when I was trying to work in the cramped kitchen. I closed my eyes, counting to 10 while taking deep breaths. Before I needed to beg for a paper bag, my eye lids flew open directing my gaze to our school and toy shelf. Ahh. Peace and harmony in 25 little boxes. Organization, beautiful organization. All thanks to Ikea. Ikea. Aha! To Ikea we must go! Oh, the place to find just what we need to finish off and organize our kitchen. This is where our remodeling journey currently is … I can’t wait to get back to share the adventures from our Ikea trip with you.