Losing it...

12 years ago

Week 9 of a major first floor/kitchen renovation. The kitchen cabinets are FINALLY coming on Friday, but after spending the past 8 weeks living in the basement/bedrooms and having to put my dog to sleep unexpectedly, I am losing it. I need my house back. I need my kitchen back. I am tired of pizza and microwaved pasta. I need peace and quiet while the kids are at school, not music blasting and men drinking everything in my garage fridge. I need my life back!

For anyone else feleing this way right now, I commiserate!

Now back to being the upbeat, happy mom that I have to portray to my kids :)

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Comments (12)

texanniew
12 years ago
YES!!! I thankfully get to go to work everyday so not living in the midst but I am SO over all of this! We started 2/9. My GC just fired me cause he didn't like my attitude...will only deal with my husband and won't continue work till he gets to tell dh how horrible I am and says it will be 3 more weeks to get the work done.
Bunny
12 years ago
snaupal, I'm really sorry about your dog. As far as the rest of it, I was there myself. I just wanted my house back. I even wanted my old kitchen back. Everything was filthy, radio blasting, toilet seat left up (fellas, please), microwaved meals. It wasn't fun anymore. It gets better. The workers go home and take their boom boxes with them. Stuff goes back in your cabinets and you cook familiar real food. The good smells come back. The dust finally stops falling onto everything. You're in good company.

texanniew, your GC is a pig. If I weren't a lady, I would moon him.
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carybk
12 years ago
Take out! Take out! Take out!
Gigi_4321
12 years ago
Snaupal, Sorry to hear about your dog. A lot of heartbreaking news going around GW lately. Think of the kitchen remodel like childbirth, once it's over you forget all about the pain. And yes, you will get up in the middle of the night to look at it. Just not every two hours for months.
ayerg73
12 years ago
snaupal - I'm so sorry to hear about your dog.

I know just how you feel about being *over it*. Last week was the first week that my GC was off site while the painters worked. I thought I was going to strangle every last one of them.

Sloppy work, no consideration for the family living in the house and just plain SLOW. It makes me nuts.

Luckily, GC swooped in and fixed the problems and lit a fire under their behinds. I'm still a couple weeks from being totally finished, but we can see the home stretch and it's such a relief.

Hang in there - it will be worth it in the end!
williamsem
12 years ago
I have been there! We just finished a bathroom remodel after our tub chipped/cracked (not taking any chances with the horrific experiences we've had so far). It took so much longer than I thought, it included one of my really long weeks at work followed by an out of town conference, and any time I had off was spent on the couch trying to be conspicuously occupied or out of the house doing whatever I could think of. I sooooo just wanted one lazy day lounging in my pajamas reading in peace! Even the daily progress checks went from exciting little bits of progress to inventories of everything left.

Hang in there! Is there anything you can schedule time for that you really enjoy doing? Lunch with a friend? Massage? Quiet afternoon in a corner of the local library? I hope you get the dream kitchen you want, it will all be worth it!

I am having immense fun obsessively researching stuff for our kitchen remodel, but DH is still psychologically scarred from having all the people here for weeks for the bathroom project. And he spends much more time in the kitchen than I do. Might be a year before we can think about actually starting.
flwrs_n_co
12 years ago
I'm so sorry to hear about the loss of your dog. That has to be difficult to cope with in the middle of your reno.

I haven't been through it yet, but I'm planning on using my crockpot quite a bit for meals. If it happens in spring/summer/fall, we'll BBQ quite a bit. I've been on GW for a few years and quite a few people find an induction hob helpful during their reno.

Sorry the workers are so obnoxious but if your cabs are being installed soon, it sounds like you're coming up on the finishing line. And whenever you need to rant or just want to commiserate, just come to us! :)
cakelly1226
12 years ago
Awww... I am so sorry about your dog:( that is awful. I think it's time to research some fun restaurants that have kids eat free or fun happy hour specials. Have fun night out on the cheap and it will brighten you up a bit! It will be over soon. I say this as my BIL is living with us for a week while he paints the first floor after our redo- very ready to have my house all together too! But I did get two weeks of peace in between.
a2gemini
12 years ago
If you can keep your head when all about are losing theirs... Rudyard Kipling.

We are 10 week into our remodel and things are just starting to fall into place.

We still have a disaster in the great room- but should improve this weekend after the floor is done and the fridge back in its cave.

Holding up despite DM health problems (DD passed away last summer while doing the outside of the house) and a new job after 32 years....

At least no puppy losses - we don't have one but hope to in retirement...
dilly_ny
12 years ago
Me! ME! I am loosing it. We started interior work in February too. My counters are supposed to be installed on Friday and I begged my plumber to install faucet and get me running water by the end of the day. If I can get GC and electrician here this week as well, I just might.... I better not say it. I might jinx myself.

It is so hard to live through renovation. Everything is an ordeal when your house in in disarray. Today, I tripped over Easter baskets that never got put up in the attic and I broke my favorite tray. But I am so glad I did not break my ankle. And I'm so grateful that my new kitchen is starting to look good.

So sorry about your dog.

A2gemini... DD died? Oh my. How awful. May she rest in peace.
colorfast
12 years ago
Snaupal...oh, I am so sorry about your dog. It is stressful under any circumstances. It's so hard to visualize that things will get better when you are washing dishes in a laundry sink or bathtub. Trust us, they will.

Flowers, we did our reno during the summer and the barbecue was a godsend. The fact that it had a side burner was huge. (If you don't have a burner, get a Coleman Stove). Pasta (even just mac&cheese), grilling a sandwich, all on that burner.
a2gemini
12 years ago
Dilly - did I use the wrong initials DD (Dear dad)
He passed away last summer - I had met with KD while he was struggling but put kitchen on hold while I finished the outside of the house.
It was his time. He had end stage congestive heart disease. He had a good life, he is no longer struggling to breathe, he is at peace but still so hard when it happens.

Snaup - our GC kept our kitchen operational for most of the reno. I was without a MW for only one day. I had the stove until cabinets arrived. I used a DeLonghi convection countertop oven and induction side burner and made some pretty darn good meals in the DR.
Zingerman's pot pies ala DeLonghi!

The hardest part was being without a faucet for a month.
Thanks

Losing it...

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Bunny

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