The Watched Pot

I feel like I did as a kid when Mom would say, "a watched pot never boils." This house is the biggest pot I've encountered. The bright spot is that even though we aren't at a rolling boil, there are some bubbles that continue to work their way to the top, so I'll share what's happened the past two weeks or so.

The electricians finally got all the light fixtures installed and I realized that we had nearly 40 bulbs to put in to see if they actually worked. The kids and I went on a major bulb shopping spree, and $80 later we had bulbs! Installing them was an exciting evening... it really was. The kids were hilarious because they could do a simple job, hit a switch, and see instant gratification of a completed task. Who would think such a simple thing would make such a difference. I'll share a few special ones...

The first bulb... the second time. The very first bulb went in crooked and it took 15 minutes to get it out and start over, but we finally conquered the bulb! Marshall and his goofy victory grin.
Oh, this one was fun. My lights over the tub. It is impossible to get to this sucker (as is the story with MOST of the bulbs that are mounted so high you can't reach them without a ladder). Sarah and I had to stand on the tub, take the fixture OFF the wall, install the bulbs and then put the fixture back up. They are brighter than I wanted, but I told Ray that they'd have to burn out before I deal with them again. They look pretty lit up though. ;o)

The bulb boss. Nobody was allowed to touch a bulb without first going through Morgan the bulb boss.

Marshall putting in the final bulb, and promising to bring my grandchildren to visit.

Afterward, the kids ran through the house hitting switches, yelling and acting insane. It was fun.
As much fun as the lightbulbs were, there were other things to do this week.

Morgan and I put together the gas logs. Take note, she is reading the instructions BEFORE beginning. That is a woman in training.

Ray's throne room was completed.

The plumbers finished installing all the fixtures and toilets. Marshall's shower still doesn't have a door because there is some debate over which sub is suppose to do that.

We've been cleaning, cleaning, cleaning. I have a cuter picture of Ray in the foyer, but he was giving me a, "Why am I working and you are taking pictures?" look, so I opted for this one instead. ;o)

Ah, building snow forts out of delivery boxes in the back yard. These are the types of things we usually find the kids doing when we are cleaning. Snow days are special and far between most years, so this was a day off for them.

Marshall is saying it all with that look. This was the first time the granite was installed. The installer decided he'd just cut off the last foot of our backsplash so the beautiful bead board behind it would show. UUUUGGGGG.

Our sidewalk was installed. It was very muddy... as usual, so the concrete truck left monsterous holes in the front yard. They are as deep as my knee in places. I'm just thankful and amazed he didn't hit a water line or something.
The carpet was installed. This photo just has the pad, I didn't put green carpet in the blue room. Don't get me started on the carpet. Let's just say, one more place to mark off my "I'd love to do business with you again" list. ;o)

So see, we've had a lot going on the past two weeks. We are set and ready to go except for the outside final dirt moving, grading, hole filling, final grouting, never get the stain off but going to jet wash the back of the house anyway, gravel laying jobs... and waiting for the paint guys to come back and finish up inside. Our last promised date to have everything in the house done was Feb. 5th. As for the outside, only God knows when the weather will break for that. I say that as I sit here on yet another beautiful snow day. This snowfall was really gorgeous to watch. It was one of those heavy, straight down, snowglobe kind of events. I love the snow. I hate the mud that follows.