A Time to Kill: Remodeling your Bathroom Part 2

Today was day one of the bathroom remodel remodel, and it got off to a GREAT start. We went with recommendations from Angie's List this time around, got some bids, and chose the one we did because they had great reviews, were the only contractor that mentioned fixing the walls, and were the right price. I paid the deposit, signed the contract, and picked this week to begin work because I knew Jamie was going to be out of town and I like to torture myself by dealing with major home renovations alone it would be easier for him in the getting ready for work department.

So the guy shows up when he said he was going to and the first thing he asks is if someone actually came out and looked at the shower before they gave us the bid. Um, yes. Idiot. Of course they did. Is this your first day on the job? And then he asked me if it was this certain guy and I said yes, and he said that he got fired last week. I'm like okay, I'm trying to get three people ready to leave the house in fifteen minutes, lets stop the chitchat and start working on my bathroom. 

So the guy calls his boss and I can hear him bitching and moaning to his boss about how this is a REALLY hard job and it was WAY underbid and he just doesn't think it's going to happen, blah, blah, blah and then he comes out and tells me his boss is going to call me. So I'm already pissed. Like going to murder someone pissed. I actually deserve a medal for not killing someone this morning. The boss calls and tells me that the guy who bid the project was fired last week and one of the reasons he was fired was because he was terrible at giving bids, and that he way underpriced projects. And that my bathroom is going to be a major money loser for them so he thinks it would be best if they just walked away from this project, but he will give me my deposit back plus $25 for the inconvenience. 

I think I could have gone with out cussing if he wouldn't have thrown in the $25 for the inconvenience. $25. Twenty-five whole American dollars- imagine the things I could DO with that sort of cash! What a generous offer by a complete fucking moron who obviously thinks I'm some idiot woman who has no balls and will just roll over and take whatever kind of shitty deal they're trying to give me here. Which is basically what I said to the guy but with more cussing. I told him that breaking the contract was not a remote possibility, that it was not my problem in any way that they had an incompetent boob giving out bids, (and I didn't say this but wish I did- why wouldn't they go out and rebid his projects if they knew he was doing such a terrible job?), and that I wanted the work started today as scheduled. And then this happened:
Me- How much extra do you think this is going to cost you?
Him- About $500.
Me- Well what if we meet in the middle and I'll pay $250 and you pay $250.
Him- That sounds very fair. In fact, why don't we just forget about it all together and we'll just go by the original price on the bid.
Me-  ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????ok

So after all that, it's back to the way it originally was and they aren't going to charge me any extra. (So they say today, we'll see what happens when it's finished.) And when I had to come back to get my shower stuff I forgot for the Y at around 11, they had all the tile and walls ripped out already. And when I got home before picking up the kids at 2:30, they were already putting up the backer boards. I asked the guy if it was the nightmare he thought it was going to be and he said 'It was hard.'
It. was. hard. What does that mean????? Isn't ripping the walls out of a house always hard? Am I missing something here? Is it like peeling a sticker of a piece of paper in most houses or something?

They said originally that it would take three days, and when I asked them today he told me that is still the plan. So look for a bathroom remodel remodel post soon! If we all survive...

Weekday update

There have been some MAJOR developments in my life lately that I feel the need to update you all on. And by major developments, I mean things that most people would find very, very minor, but because I am a butler to two small children and have nothing much going on in my day-to-day world, I find these to be earth-shatteringly important. (We decided this weekend that the best job in the real world that fits what I do every day is butler. Basically a slave who gets room and board included. And Jamie is my under-butler but he sucks at it because his real job keeps getting in the damn way. I keep telling him to quit and that we can live off love, but he doesn't believe me. What a cynic.)

1. Kindergarten. The preschool where the kids go actually has a school attached to it that is not affiliated with the church, they just use the church building. It is VERY small (like one class for K-3 small) but they do half-day kindergarten and is ridiculously affordable (I hate to say cheap, but it is indeed cheap) and everyone I've talked to about it has said great things. I'm going to start scoping it out this week and talk to the director, but I'm very hopeful that I've found the solution to my kindergarten crisis. I'll let you all know at a later date, I promise.

2. Bathroom. So we got Angie's List (which is only like $3 and I thought it was like $30) and got a few bids and are having our shower redone at the end of the month. Huzzah! And Jamie is so busy and overwhelmed at work that he is just agreeing with everything, including white tile which I think is a good idea. And we have someone who is going to come in and fix the drywall issues after the tiling is done, so that will be a huge relief too. So look for the Bathroom Remodel Remodel post sometime in November!

3. Subbing. I was going to start subbing because my mom is retired and so she could watch the kids while I worked. I thought this would be doable. But then, after I went through all the hoops and interviews and fingerprints, I got the notice that orientation would be last Thursday at eight and it just kind of hit me what a giant pain in the ass subbing would be. Last Thursday would have actually worked out, Jamie would have had to go in late to work after he dropped the kids off at preschool, but I started thinking about 'What if he was out of town?,' and the logistics of all that, and then Penny had a little fever on Wednesday (a reaction from the flu mist, but at the time I wasn't positive) and I started thinking 'What if I took a sub job and then one of the kids was sick?,' and then I thought 'If I start subbing, I'll have to miss Zumba on Tuesdays and Pilates on Thursdays,' and all the REAL reasons I wasn't ready to go back to work like laziness, and freedom, and laziness, and never having to set an alarm, but mostly laziness. So I emailed the HR lady and told her it wasn't going to work this year, but I would try again next year. And I really will try again next year, the kids will be somewhere for some part of the day five days a week, and I won't feel like me working will be such a burden to anyone.

4. Dance class. Penny has dance class on Mondays, and today was the first day she didn't cry when I left the room! Success! She still stands next to the teacher during warmup for some reason though, so we'll work on that next week. And I figured out how to not have to get fast food every Monday after class, it's called the Crock Pot! Last week I made chicken and egg noodles, and this week I made soup before we left and then just put it on warm in the crock pot while we were gone. Next week, I will make another chicken dish, as that is all I know how to cook in the crock pot.

5. Jamie. Jamie has been working very hard this year and I really appreciate it. I am spoiled with not having to work and I know it. He is currently working this horrible 9 pm- 7 am shift, but today didn't get home until after 10, got about four hours of sleep, went to Penny's dance class, ate dinner, got another hour and a half of sleep and then went off to work again. Meanwhile, I slept until 9:45 today. And didn't put on actual clothes until 4:30. So I forgive him for being a crappy under butler.

That's it for the update. Now if anyone asks me about any of these things I'll know they don't read my blog and aren't really my friend. =(

Photo dump

We have had a busy 'fall' (some of the events I felt like happened in fall actually happened in the summer, but let's just pretend it was the fall) so of course I've taken a ton of pictures that you are all DYING to see. Enjoy!

First some random pictures of my niece Harmonie. She's finally smiling! 

She was the most joyful when she was bugging the shit out of my kids. They would not do well with a younger sibling.

We had a LOT of birthday parties in September. 54 to be exact. And 52 of them were Frozen themed.

A gymnastics party for Ruby and Scarlett!

That cake was the bomb.com.

Doing girl things...

doing boy things.

My friend actually made this. In real life.

We headed to Forest Park with the rest of the city/county for the Balloon Glow. It was a beautiful night and a LOT of fun for everyone but Penny.

This girl and her dad are having the BEST TIME EVER.

Harrison loves Margery!

Basically the worst night of her life.

We went apple picking, rode a ferry for the first time, and went on a hayride all on the same day! H and P's childhood peaked that day.

Maybe by the time she leaves for college she'll be at that four feet mark.

So brave!

Feeding the goats some carrots.

It was like 95 degrees that day. It should be against the law for it to be that hot in mid- September.

Heeeeey there

Apple picking is SO fun!

But now she's over it.

Harry was also over it.

Waiting for the ferry. We pulled up as it drove away, so we got to spend a half hour exploring the mighty Mississippi.

I call these next series of photos: Harry has no game.

Hey, wanna hold hands?

Success!

Hey, wanna kiss?

Please???

Well, I guess I'll settle for the top of your back.

Success?

Penny gets brave...

for a minute. She saw a dead body.

And now, Harry has no game part 2: Daddy edition

It's like he's never kissed anyone before.

Jamie just now realizes that Harry is on his lap trying to lay the mac down.

Kiss number one

But wait, there's more

kiss number two...va va voom!

Confused father, proud son. 

We saw a barge...

and a pirate ship???

Penny is always prepared for the sun to go out.

Finally moving on the ferry!

Family photo number 2- It was a little windy on the river.

and Family photo number 3 for the day. Now I know how celebrities feel.

On the hayride we saw a rainbow,

a cute boy,

deer,

and the man of my dreams,

the love of my life.

Sorry babe, I couldn't resist.

 The next day we went to a parade and got enough candy to give us diabetes.

H was very entertained by the Shriners.

Some nice man let us use these chairs.

We went to the Botanical Gardens before they closed the Children's Garden (I'll never understand why they do that so early, it's extremely annoying.)

Can you guess which child abandoned me for her friend and which one followed me around?

And finally, we went to the firehouse with our Twins Club and a family reunion.

If there's a TV, Harrison will find it.

He was very determined to accidentally slam someone's fingers in the door.

Guess who I left at the fire station? I hear you can do that until they're 18.

This place was really cool, perfect for preschoolers.

Time to call a taxi...

Galler family reunion kids! Some were more excited than others to have their picture taken.

Grammy's kids!

So that's what we've been up to the last month or so, we have trips to the pumpkin patch and all things Halloween to look forward to next!