Making Lemonade

On November 1st we discovered that our dishwasher was leaking. It had leaked to the extent of causing our laminate flooring to bubble/warp. We called our home-owners insurance and started a claim. We had a restoration service come out to assess the damage and they came to the conclusion that it was a bit damp but not too big of a deal since we had concrete underneath it all. They suggested a dry-out and to replace the flooring, but said it wasn't urgent. Life got busy, Thanksgiving came, we needed to follow up but knew it'd mean making life a bit crazy in order to get floor replaced. We weren't in a hurry.

On November 27th (the day after Thanksgiving) we decided to put up our Christmas tree. We put our Christmas tree up in our playroom as that is where we spend the majority of our time. Usually we have a playhouse in the corner that the kids keep all of their stuffed animals in. When it's time to put the tree up, we empty and disassemble the playhouse to make room for the tree. Well, when we went to take out the stuffed animals so we could disassemble it, we discovered the animals were wet. I initially thought our son had peed in there, but they were really wet. After some investigating, we discovered that our hot-water heater had been leaking and the garage wall, and the playroom floor were soaked as a result.

We called the restoration service back who came out the first time to have them come back out and assess the new damage we had found. They were awful and rude and belittling on the phone so we chose a new company. The lady that came out to assess our damage was amazingly kind and supportive and knowledgeable about insurance and claims and what we needed to do. She was such a breath of fresh air after such a horrible experience with the first company. After an assessment it was determined that we'd need to replace the hot water heater, remove the affected dry wall and insulation in the garage and possible in the playroom and then tear up the carpet.

When the crew came out to prep for drying everything out, they gave us a brief run-down of what they'd be doing and told us they'd be back the next day to get everything started. None of us were going to be home that day so we gave them a key and our blessing to begin. We left the house Friday morning and when I came home with the kids late Friday afternoon I came home to 1/2 of the kitchen cabinets being gone, the sink gone, a counter/bar area in our playroom, drywall removed and studs exposed in 1/2 our kitchen, a chunk of drywall gone in the playroom and 1/2 my house sectioned off by plastic sheeting. Talk about shock!

In order to demo the walls in the garage, they had to remove the hot-water heater. They had to move our washer/dryer in order to tear down the garage dry wall. We ordered the new one a few days later but then had to wait another week to have time to install it. I was very quickly reminded of how much I enjoyed having hot water in my house. Thankfully, our families live close by so we were able to shower at their houses. Hot water is definitely a luxury and I am so thankful!

This was not at all what we had planned or envisioned. We are now 1/2 way through week 4 of no kitchen and it's getting a bit old. Up until last weekend we at least had a little bit of countertop left and a stove...but now we are down to nothing. As we dreamed up our ideal kitchen (since we were going to be starting from scratch), we decided we wanted to knock out a pony-wall and create an open space with lots of countertop. Last weekend my amazing husband tore out the remainder of the cabinets and most of the pony-wall. We finally got an estimate from the insurance company of what they would pay so now we know what our budget is.

Technically, now we can get started moving in a forward direction. . . but it is still going to take forever. Here's our list and order of events:
1. Move gas and electric from pony-wall and onto another wall in the kitchen.
2. Fix sink plumbing so it lays flush in the wall.
3. Have dry-wall guy come out to replace dry-wall and texture wall.
4. Repaint dining room wall and pain kitchen wall matching color.
5. Go to Ikea to make appointment for person to measure and approve our plan/layout.
6. Order kitchen from Ikea and wait for delivery. (no clue how long this takes)
7. Find someone to build/install kitchen.
8. Schedule flooring guy to come out once kitchen is done.
9. Move everything so floor can be installed.
10. Have flooring replaced in 1/2 the house. (Literally, the square footage is just over 1/2 of house)

Initially I thought all this would take a few weeks but here we are 1/2 way through week 4 and I think we have at least another 4 weeks, if not more, to go. It really hasn't been as awful as I thought but there are definitely days where I have had enough.

On the bright side,  I am getting creative with the crockpot in an effort to have "real" food for dinner. Today I cooked ground turkey in it! I've become very grateful for plastic utensils and paper plates/bowls. With my "kitchen" being the top of my dining room table, there is very little to clean. I'm getting really good at rinsing out my coffee cup to reuse it each day. I've mastered doing the few dishes we have in the bathroom sink. We're discovering all sorts of pre-prepared and pre-packaged foods that we never knew about.

In the midst of all the kitchen craziness we've had to have a roofer come out twice to repair leaks to our roof. Both of our cars have needed 2 new front tires and alignments done. I am finally almost caught up on washing the clothes that were piled high for the 2 weeks we were without water . . . now I just have to fold them all!

To say life has been an adventure would be understatement. Despite it all, I have found myself falling more in love with my incredible husband as he has tackled so many projects. I swear he can fix/do anything. I am so thankful for him and how hard he has worked to make sure we were taken care of in the midst of this unplanned remodel! I already knew he was a hard-worker, but have been so inspired by his work-ethic both at home and at his job...he gives 100% and does so without complaining. My heart has been so full of pride and a sense of gratitude for the man that he is. I am so blessed to share my life with him and I am so fortunate to have him by my side. He truly is my better half and all this craziness has reminded me that there is no-one else I would rather do life with!

Someday I will have to post before and after pictures, but for now, I just wanted to get this written down so we can look back and laugh someday!