Christmas is such a jolly time - rude drivers at the mall (including hand gestures), fighting for a parking spot ANYWHERE, crummy weather, long lines, filling out endless Christmas cards, frantic purchases (because I waited too long), pre-a.m. children wake-up time on Christmas (because, you know, it's important to be the first one to see the piles of gifts), desperate anticipation of opening all of the piles of gifts, getting the gifts mixed with the massive piles of wrapping paper debris, accidentally throwing away some of the miniscule pieces of presents that your children have frantically opened, realizing that certain necessary pieces of presents are missing (such as assembly directions and parts) on said gifts making them useless to the owner... sigh.
This is our Christmas. It would not have been so bad, but our home is also under construction, wait, let me re-phrase ... our kitchen is under demolition (or a bomb attack) and our family is sitting in the aftermath of debris, dust, and CLUTTER. We have all new cabinets and appliances nestled happily in our dining room and living room. Our family of 4 humans, 3 cats, and 1 dog live on the couch on the main floor. The basement holds the excess furniture from our dining room, so, like the main floor, it is an unfriendly environment for children. Fortunately, the upstairs is still habitable.
My husband and I would agree that we have probably spent 30% of our time trying to locate things on a regular basis. I'm not talking about the car keys or a wallet (although we misplace those as well). I'm talking about the butter, bread, ANY matching pair of socks, Ginger Snap's pink shoes (missing since deconstruction began), my bra (don't worry I have another one- good thing!), toy cars, stuffed animals, the bagels, the cereal, a knife (any knife), paper, scissors, tape, etc. The list goes on and the above is an example of what we might "lose" in one day. This explains why it takes me 45 minutes to make Lightning's lunch for school.
The construction is only 4 weeks underway, however, we have been without an oven since August 2007 (5 months) and we have never had a dishwasher. I must keep reminding myself to hang tight because (hopefully) this kitchen renovation will be completed by March 2008. The new design is fantastic and it will be oh so user friendly.
Okay, okay, okay. It did not feel as much like Christmas this year due to the alterations in the kitchen, however, I must remember that we have our health, we have each other (fighting, pushing, and time outs included), we have food in our bellies, and warm beds to sleep in. Isn't this enough??? Yes, but I would still like that trip to Europe ... whatever. By this time next year the kitchen renovation will be a distant memory (right?) To you and yours, have a fabulous 2008!
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