Hardwoods

After the cats had thrown-up hairballs and the carpet needed cleaning anyway, Brandon and I decided to pull the carpet right before he left for camping.  I mean like 30 minutes before he left.  It was going to give me something to do while he was gone. Oh it gave me something to do all right!  A whole week's worth.

 

This is how we were living for the week.  Imagine plastic all around the walls too, separating the eating area from the living room.  It felt so cramped!  We were living in a plastic tent, surrounded by dust everywhere.





This is what our floors look like now.  I LOVE them!  So shiny and slick.  We did four rounds of sanding and lots of vaccuming.  We then finished with three coats of oil-based polyurethane.  Luckily it was fast drying because we couldn't stay out of our one bathroom for three days.

This is the hallway into the bedrooms.

And this is our new living room, except for the fact that the couch usually doesn't go there.  It is parallel to the piano to create a walk-way and faces the fireplace and tv.

This was supposed to be my project but the fact that we had to live in a construction zone warranted Brandon's help to get it done fast.  I still did a lot but can't claim it as my own.  I am pleased with the outcome and am excited, yet not, to go find an area rug.  We still need to put down quarter-round and re-paint the baseboards but I can live without those things for a while.

Father of the Year

Last night I came home from work to find Sarah in a whirlwind mode.  She was trying to cook dinner in our over-crowded kitchen due to the fact that all the front room furniture was in there while she was re-finishing the hardwood flooring.  The girls were anxious to have some parent time.  I asked how I could help, and out came the laundry list...including the laundry.

"OK, but which one would you like me to do?" I reeled.
"Just take the girls skateboarding.  They want to do that." Sarah responded.
"Perfect.  No problem." I gladly accepted this responsibility.  Not only would I get to help Sarah, I would get to unwind and relax in the process.

The girls were chatty on the way out to the front yard.  We had to go around the house cause the front door is blocked off with our construction project.  Caitin got to go first.  She was happy to show me the way she sets things up on the board.  She lined it up in the middle of the sidewalk, and then pushed off, holding the front of the board in both hands and kneeling in the middle.  She leaned right and then left as she steered between the grass strip and the lawn.

I said something to Jamie, and then looked up to see Caitin sitting on the sidewalk next to the board holding her mouth and screaming.  Her screams were muffled as she cupped her hands over face.  The board had stopped instantly on a water hose that was strung across the walk, and she had kissed the concrete.

I ran down to get Caitin.  She would not move, could not speak, and rigidly held her hands against her mouth.  I picked her up, and asked Jamie to ride the board back to the house.  I continued to comfort Caitin.  I couldn't see any blood, so I held her and let Jamie take her turn on the board.  I pointed down the walk and warned Jamie to stop before she got to that hose.  She acknowleged the danger and pushed off just as her sister did. 

I tried to encourage Caitin to move her hand so I could see the damage.  She would not budge.  Then I heard a scream.  I looked up and saw Jamie...sitting on the sidewalk next to the board holding her mouth and screaming.  She had seen the danger, but locked up and didn't know what to do.  She also kissed the sidewalk, but managed to get an instant nose-bleed that managed to go everywhere!  Ugh.

Our neighbor was out in the yard and got to Jamie first.  I was not far behind, and seeing the blood, I set Caitin down and asked her to walk to the house.  I walked with Jamie who was freaking out about the blood now, and we went around back.  Caitin had gone to the front door, so I called to her to come around back.  Our neighbor ran up to help guide her back.  Caitin was still screaming.

Sarah had been inside momentarily enjoying the peace.  Then she heard screaming at the front door and ran to see what was going on.  She saw Caitin being escorted by our neighbor, and thought to herself, "WHERE IS BRANDON!?"  She headed to the back door where she found me with poor little Jamie.

We were able to eventually calm the girls down, but there was some lasting damage.  Each of them had swollen lips.  Jamie's nose bleed ended quickly.  When Caitin finally dared to remove her hand, we found her other front tooth, which had previously been slightly loose, was now gone.  I went searching, but did not find it.  I understand the tooth fairy is kind to those who lose teeth in traumatic events.

Seriously, though.  I had ONE task...