We always find projects take longer that they should. Or that we estimated. It's our luck. But that's ok. Usually.
Back in April, our hot water heater burst. From the top. In the middle of the night. Did I mention is sits in the attic? The result was significant damage to the ceiling in the guest bathroom. We had already put a "remodel" of this bath on our to-do list. We just weren't ready to pull the trigger yet. But that's ok. We can work with it. After getting the ceiling fixed, we bought paint, crown molding, ceramic tiles, a new mirror, new light fixture and new accessories. Piece of cake. Hah!
We've painted, hung the molding, put the new accessories up, hung the mirror and were ready to change the light fixture. (We'll do the tile in a month or so.) Shouldn't take that long. We're handy people. Friends have seen all the work we've done and know we aren't afraid to tackle much. How bad can this be, right?
Well, pretty bad. When Jeff went to take the fixture off the wall we discovered the previous owners or builders SUPER GLUED one corner of the fixture. Is that normal? Super glue? Didn't use a toggle screw on that side. Oh no, why do it the right way when you can just glue the thing to the wall. I can't even begin to tell you how mad I was and still am. The idiocy of some people continues to astound me. It's not hard to do things the right way. Really.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Mommy, it's not ours.
Sometimes, as a parent, you wonder just how good of a job you are doing raising your child. I mean, sure, they know you love them. And you feed and take care of them. Clothe them. But, I'm talking about manners, ethics. All the toughies.
This morning Grayson and I were brushing our teeth. Since we are in the middle of remodeling the guest bath (another post needed there!), he is in the master bathroom with me. There he finds a partially used tube of Crest Junior. This was left by my brother's family when they visited in June. (Someone is always leaving something at someone's house in my family!) We haven't bought Crest Junior yet - I've been purchasing the toddler Oral B toothpaste (cooler packaging to me). Grayson wants to know where his toothpaste is. I tell him to just use the Crest Junior. It's early still, I have a thousand things on my mind, and, really, does it matter?! His response? "Mommy, it's not ours." I reply it's ok. Uncle Christian won't mind. They don't need it now. We can use it. Grayson says "We have to give it back. We can't keep something that isn't ours." My heart swelled. And my mind was amazed. My child has been listening to all the things we try to teach him! And he gets it!! Mind you it's over a tube of toothpaste, but who cares?!
You want your children to do the right thing. So, Christian and Stephanie, while I'm not mailing the toothpaste back, Grayson and I agreed we would bring you a new tube when we see y'all next. I have too. He's right. It's not ours. :)
This morning Grayson and I were brushing our teeth. Since we are in the middle of remodeling the guest bath (another post needed there!), he is in the master bathroom with me. There he finds a partially used tube of Crest Junior. This was left by my brother's family when they visited in June. (Someone is always leaving something at someone's house in my family!) We haven't bought Crest Junior yet - I've been purchasing the toddler Oral B toothpaste (cooler packaging to me). Grayson wants to know where his toothpaste is. I tell him to just use the Crest Junior. It's early still, I have a thousand things on my mind, and, really, does it matter?! His response? "Mommy, it's not ours." I reply it's ok. Uncle Christian won't mind. They don't need it now. We can use it. Grayson says "We have to give it back. We can't keep something that isn't ours." My heart swelled. And my mind was amazed. My child has been listening to all the things we try to teach him! And he gets it!! Mind you it's over a tube of toothpaste, but who cares?!
You want your children to do the right thing. So, Christian and Stephanie, while I'm not mailing the toothpaste back, Grayson and I agreed we would bring you a new tube when we see y'all next. I have too. He's right. It's not ours. :)
Monday, July 28, 2008
Really? Did you have to bring all of this?
In my family life is never dull. Crazy, yes. Worthy of a daytime soap, absolutely. Here's a great example.
Last week my son had vacation bible school (VBS). I was supposed to relax, enjoy myself, my husband says. I had errands galore to do. Finally, on Wednesday, I found an hour to sit back and relax. At least that was the plan. I went upstairs to the master bath and turned on the lights. A loud pop and a stream of smoke came pouring out of the light fixture. I panicked. The light it came from was burned out. Had been for two weeks. So the pop sound wasn't the bulb breaking. And the smoke? There was enough that I thought "this is so not good". I called 911. I politely told them that it was most likely nothing but would they please send a fireman to check it out. You don't want your house to burn down after all.
In less than five minutes there were two fire trucks, two fire chiefs, an ambulance and a news crew at my house. All of which arrived with sirens blaring and lights flashing. Really? Did we need all this? I mean, an ambulance?! A news crew?! Yikes!! And, wouldn't you know, it's a lovely day, low humidity, so people are out walking. Well not anymore. They are standing across the street watching. Out come the firemen in all their gear. Up the stairs they go. No smoke now. Just a lingering electrical burnt smell. So they take the fixture off and look behind the wall with some special camera. Luckily, no fire, no heat, behind the walls. So, where did the smoke and smell come from?
One of the chiefs tells me that it is likely the fixture itself is faulty. I did the right thing calling them. And, until the lights are replaced, the breaker should stay off. But, why so many people here, I ask. Turns out it is standard operating procedure for our fire department. The news crew? They were passed by the fire trucks and decided to follow. Oh lucky me.
Is the light replaced yet? No, but they are down so the breaker is back on. Did we make the news? No thank goodness. Can you imagine? I shiver thinking about it. But, I did the right thing calling. After calling my husband at work, he wanted to know why I didn't tape it? He thought it would be cool to see - all the fire trucks at our house. He's not southern. He wouldn't understand you just don't do those things.
Last week my son had vacation bible school (VBS). I was supposed to relax, enjoy myself, my husband says. I had errands galore to do. Finally, on Wednesday, I found an hour to sit back and relax. At least that was the plan. I went upstairs to the master bath and turned on the lights. A loud pop and a stream of smoke came pouring out of the light fixture. I panicked. The light it came from was burned out. Had been for two weeks. So the pop sound wasn't the bulb breaking. And the smoke? There was enough that I thought "this is so not good". I called 911. I politely told them that it was most likely nothing but would they please send a fireman to check it out. You don't want your house to burn down after all.
In less than five minutes there were two fire trucks, two fire chiefs, an ambulance and a news crew at my house. All of which arrived with sirens blaring and lights flashing. Really? Did we need all this? I mean, an ambulance?! A news crew?! Yikes!! And, wouldn't you know, it's a lovely day, low humidity, so people are out walking. Well not anymore. They are standing across the street watching. Out come the firemen in all their gear. Up the stairs they go. No smoke now. Just a lingering electrical burnt smell. So they take the fixture off and look behind the wall with some special camera. Luckily, no fire, no heat, behind the walls. So, where did the smoke and smell come from?
One of the chiefs tells me that it is likely the fixture itself is faulty. I did the right thing calling them. And, until the lights are replaced, the breaker should stay off. But, why so many people here, I ask. Turns out it is standard operating procedure for our fire department. The news crew? They were passed by the fire trucks and decided to follow. Oh lucky me.
Is the light replaced yet? No, but they are down so the breaker is back on. Did we make the news? No thank goodness. Can you imagine? I shiver thinking about it. But, I did the right thing calling. After calling my husband at work, he wanted to know why I didn't tape it? He thought it would be cool to see - all the fire trucks at our house. He's not southern. He wouldn't understand you just don't do those things.
Hi, it's me
So, I'm making the leap into blogging. Mind you, my husband has wanted me to do this for the last four years. I didn't want to start a blog. I don't know that I have the commitment others do for this now either. But, I have friends and family scattered around the country. It's hard to keep up with them. A simple question like "what's been going on" is met with a blank thought from me. Why? Because I have a little boy who is almost 5. Do you have any idea what goes on in our house?! Almost every day is a new adventure. Some good, some bad. How can I possibly remember to share everything in a monthly phone call! Hence the blog. I'm sure that at times you might find my blog a ramblin mess. Bear with me. Laugh with me. And enjoy.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
