The Past 10 Years

There are days when I think that I don't accomplish a thing. The laundry is piled to the sky. The bathrooms are in serious need of a scrub. I have no idea where my iron is. There is a new dent the in the wall that has to be patched.

However, I think that I haven't been seeing the forest for the trees. A lot of times I get so caught up in there here and now that I don't realize how far I have really come. I got home from my mission 10 1/2 years ago (Now seeing that in print, I am about to fall off my chair. It can't belive that it has been that long) and looking back, I think that I have accomplished a lot.

1. Returned from a mission to the Dominican Republic.
2. Perfected speaking Spanish.
3. Received my Spanish Medical Translator license
4. Met and married a great guy.
5. Earned a B.A. in teaching
6. Taught Elementary Ed for 4 years.
7. Earned a M.Ed in education administration
7. Travelled to Bahamas, Mexico, Virgin Islands, New Zealand, and Cali, Florida, Las Vegas and Houston several times each.
8. Bought four cars
9. Had three of the most amazing children in the world.
10. Had a miscarriage
11. Received my Reading Specialist license
12. Sold a house
13. Bought a house.
14. Learned to dance Salsa
15. Learned to sew
16. Lost 3 of my grandparents
17. Learned to love brussel sprouts
18. Started hating chicken
19. Started decorating cakes
20. Had several surgeries
21. Got two speeding tickets in the same exact spot
22. Cut my hair short, dyed it dark brown and went back again
23. Resumed teaching flute and piano lessons
24. Met some amazing friends
25. Found some amazing friends from high school and college
26. Spent the night in the hospital with all of my kids.
27. Learned to love biking, snow shoeing and 5 K's.
28. Stood up for my children
29. Made mistakes
30. Learned from them.
31. Bought an amazing pair of jeans
32. Found the best hairstylist in the world
33. Started a blog
34. Got engaged twice
35. Lost all of the babyfat that I was holding onto from high school and the mission.
36. Called poison control atleast 20 times.
37. Worked in a dance club.
38. Taught primary for 9 years.
39. Learned to cook (very loose sense of the word)
40. Received amazing advice that I followed
41. Been on national television
42. Started up a home business and website
43. Have become very grateful for my parents
44. Realized that I really don't know everything
45. Spent too much money

Toad's Hat

As many of you know, my dad is a cinematographer. He now works for the L.D.S. church and makes their movies and ads. He has also worked on many feature films for Disney and other motion picture studios. In fact, he the High School Musical series.

My dad's travels have taken him all around the world. He was there when the Berlin wall came down. He filmed a movie about the birth of Christ in Jerusalem and was attacked by Christian rebels. He has been to every continent and I can not tell you how many countries he has been to. He travelled quite a bit while I was growing up. After I graduated from high school, he started working for the Huntsman coorporation and the travelling stopped.

He has recently started up with his travels again. Within the past year he has been to Brazil, Tonga, Paraguay, Texas (for the hurricane,) Mexico, Panama and several others that I can not remember. He however, has just returned from another of his ventures. This time it was to Ecuador.

Every time he returns from a trip, he brings us a gift from that country. They are always cute, fun things that will be priceless to my kiddos when they are older. Harvey usually gets a hat, I get a piece of native jewelry, Kyra gets a doll, Kaeson's varies and Toad usually gets a stuffed animal. This time however, Toad was surprised. My dad picked up a hat for Toad. He said that he randomly found it in a marketplace and wasn't sure if it would fit. Man, does it fit. Toad loves his hat and won't take it off. It is a very simple wool hat but it is the jackpot for Kelty. He loves it.
Thanks dad for all that you do. Thanks for thinking of us while you are out of town and for bringing back a piece of your experience for us.

Front Runner and the Treehouse

Blogging has been a bit off due to company in town. My brother in law and his darling kiddos are in town to see us for the Thanksgiving holiday. We love them to death but only see them about once a year. This year, we have had quite the week.

Wednesday we took off to Ogden to visit the Treehouse Children's Museum. We haven't been up there before but thought that it might be quite a bit of fun.

We hopped on the UTA Frontrunner train and took the long 1 hour journey up to Ogden. It was such a fantastic adventure for the kiddos. My kids have been on trax before but, my niece and nephew have never been on any sort of train. This was a thrill for all of them. We sat on the top layer of the train car and were able to see all that we were passing.

The treehouse museum is quite fun. There are several levels all with lots to do. Some of the favorites were the theater stage, the puppet theater and the music room. We have been to the SLC Children's museum but, this one, in my opinion, is much better. Too bad it is far away.

Thank heavens we had help going up to Ogden. My inlaws and cousin Haidy came with us and helped us wrestle the kiddos on the way home. John, my brother in law, had had it. It was a taxing day!

Let Them Be Little

Listen to the words of my new theme song playing while you read this

What possessed me to take the three screaming maniacs to Walmart by myself, I am still not sure. Regardless, I took them. As soon as we walked into the store, all choas broke loose and it was a downhill battle from the get go.

I am desperately in need of new jeans and have yet to find ones that I like. So, I thought that I would give Walmart a try. While in the fitting room with four pairs that would end up my batting zero streak, the kids were having a competition to see who could bang on the walls the hardest. I was trying to calm them and still keep track of the contents of my purse that Kelton was throwing about the fitting room.

We then walked over to the bedding section where I needed to get some pillowcases for our family that is in town for the holidays. Kaeson seemed to think that it was "Bouncing Off The Walls" and commenced jumping into all of the pillows. I was trying to grab him and keep Kelton from now throwing the pillowcases out onto the ground.

If that wasn't enough, we headed over to grocery to get my favorite drink mix in (everywhere else it is sold for twice the price.) I now have Kelton screaming to be picked up out of the cart, Kyra crying because she has run into several clothing racks because she is not paying attention, and Kaeson is throwing a MEGA meltdown because I mentioned that he might be in need of a nap.

At this point, a Walmart associate approached me to ask if I needed help to finish up my shopping trip. They were kicking me out of Walmart! Who gets kicked out of Walmart. Embarrassed, furious and now near tears, I raced to the self checkout line and got out of the store as quickly as I could. I tossed my purchases into the back of my car and threatened the kids that they only had 15 seconds to put on their seatbelts. I told them that if they talked on the way home, they were toast.

Then, the calm came. A song came over the radio that I had never heard before. The song by Lonestar called "Let Them Be Little." As I looked in the rear view mirror, I saw Kyra quietly looking out the window, Kelty playing with a toy and Kaeson nearly asleep. My thoughts then turned to when they were born and how quickly the last few years have gone by. My anger melted away and compassion and love filled my heart.

Yes, we will have days like this. It seems like we have more and more of them all of the time. However, I only have a short while to keep my little ones little. I only hope that I can learn to manage these situations better!

The Silver Lining

We had a great afternoon. After weeks of preparation, our basement was still not finished for the big BYU vs UofU game. However we had a great time anyway.

This year we were a bit outnumbered. We ordinarily have all of my brothers and my dad over but due to circumstances, dad was out of the country, Dusty is in Cali and Dalton was at the game. We were excited to have all of our good friends over and believe it or not, only one other person besides my family was rooting for the Y.

I love having lots of people over from opposing sides and hearing all of the cheering and opinions and seeing the men loose their clam demeanors. I was surprised that everyone was all decked out and ready to celebrate. They showed up all deckout out in red and had crazy apparel. How fun.

Last year, we had a bit of a war with the Banks. They decked out our house is U paraphenelia and we decked out their car. However, after staying up until 2:00 am painting the basement, I think that Lou and Harvey were not about to fight. So, this year we played it safe and calm. Next year however, watch out Banks familiy.

The silver lining in the horrible defeat of BYU is the fact that we now have free labor. Last night while Lou was here and high on paint fumes, he declared that if the U won that he would come over and help us finish painting the entire basement. It seemed odd to me at the time since he was rooting for the U, but I took it. That makes me think that Lou really is a closet BYU fan. I know that by next year he will be out of the closet all dressed in blue!

Time Out

We hit a new milestone today. Kelty got his first time out. I know. What a proud moment to be a mom. What a sad moment for a little Toad.

I was trying to clean the upstairs bedrooms when I turned around to see Toad trying to stick a popsicle stick into an electrical outlet. I quickly said "NO," grabbed Toad away from the wall and took the popsicle stick out of his hand. He in turned started to cry, arched his back and slapped my face. That is a big NO NO.

So, I mustered up my calm mommy self and placed him in his crib. All the while I was trying to tell him that you don't hit mommy. I am certain that he had no clue what I was talking about but, it worked. When I got him out of his crib a few minutes later he put his head down on my shoulder and just cooed.

History According To Kyra

After school today, Kyra hopped in the car and said, "Mom, do you want to hear a story."
"Sure, I would love to." came my response. And thus came the history of our nation.

A long time ago, I think that it was 1987, there were a lot of people that lived in a different state. They had a king that wanted them to go to his church but they didn't want to. I don't think that they had a primary at their church. So, they got on a big boat, like a cruise ship with sails and they came across the oceans. Their boat wasn't very nice mom. They didn't even have showers. They had to throw up over the sides. They didn't have potties so, they used buckets. When they got here, I think they came to a rock in Utah. They got off the boat and had a big dinner party with the indians. They even had dolls made out of corn cobs. Doesn't that sound awful mom. I mean, can you imagine going potty in a bucket.... on a cruise!

So, after the whole history lesson, she is fixated on the fact that the Pilgrims got to go on a cruise and now she doesn't ever want to go on one because she can't shower and she WONT go potty in a bucket.

Beautiful Life

A while ago my cute friend Sherrie wrote a post on her favorite song, Viva la Vida (yes Sherrie, I do read your blog.) She asked people to share their "theme" song. Well, I found it. This is it. "Beautiful Life." I heard this a while ago and it made me so happy. It just picks me up and makes me feel amazing no matter what is going on in my life. It makes me want to hug my kids, hold my hubby's hand and dance with my baby.

I finally figured out how to put a playlist on my blog (yes Sherrie, I know that you showed me a year ago but I am a very slow internet learner) and put this as the first song on my playlist. That way when I am having one of my Armageddon days, I can click the blog and remember how much I love those around me.

What is your theme song?

Over Kill

We had our sheetrock delivered this week. I came home from the morning school drop off to find a semi dropping off our supplies. I couldn't find a way to get anywhere near the front of my house so, I had to park on the side. I had to snap a shot of the truck and the amount of sheetrock that it delivered. It was so big, I couldn't get the whole truck into one shot.

Art Niche or Art Glitch???

Our basement is well on its way to being finished and I could not be happier. Well, yes I could. I would be a lot happier if the basement was completely finished, the contractors were paid and gone, the doors were hung, the wall heaters were complete, the rooms were painted and we were all moved back in and enjoying our basement. But I digress.

As happy as I am with the progress, I am a bit concerned with a certain aspect of the basement. The art niche. As our frames was getting ready to take care of a wierd little space near our secret room, he was struck by creative ingenuity. He suggested an art niche facing the staircase with glass shelving and a light on top. Then underneath there would be an open cubby.

I was thrilled with this idea and thought that it would look great. Well, I am not so sure anymore. The niche is rather narrow and the top is very arched. It is so arched that our sheetrock guy had a hard time trying to get the arch finished. I don't know if we can even get the light in. I think that it looks kind of like an alter or something that you might find on a cathedral. Maybe I should get a gargoyle and put it in there. What do you think?

Friendship isn't a big thing - it's a million little things.

It is amazing how fast the turn over from Halloween to Christmas is. Where Thanksgiving was once a grand holiday, it has been nearly completely looked over by commercialism. I think that a lot of times I get hung up on my own life that I don't take time to appreciate the things that really matter. Over the next couple of weeks, I am making a personal goal to focus on what in my life REALLY matters.

I am so very grateful for my friends. Since taking my blog private, I know who reads this and who I am talking to. I want YOU to know how glad I am tht you are a part of my life. I feel very blessed that I have friends of such high character. It has been such a blessing in my life to know that I have people that I can count on for support no matter what the situation might be. I am also glad that I have friends that will call me to the carpet and tell me how it is whether or not I want to hear it. I love that I have friends of varying viewpoints and outlooks on life. Most of all, I am grateful for that you have chosen me to be your friend, as it means the absolute world to me. Thank you for enhancing my life and making me want to be a better person.

A loyal friend laughs at your jokes when they're not so good, and sympathizes with your problems when they're not so bad. ~Arnold H. Glasgow

The friend is the man who knows all about you, and still likes you. ~Elbert Hubbard, The Notebook, 1927

If a friend is in trouble, don't annoy him by asking if there is anything you can do. Think up something appropriate and do it. ~Edgar Watson Howe

The most I can do for my friend is simply be his friend. ~Henry David Thoreau

A true friend never gets in your way unless you happen to be going down. ~Arnold Glasow

The most beautiful discovery true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart. ~Elisabeth Foley

You can always tell a real friend: when you've made a fool of yourself he doesn't feel you've done a permanent job. ~Laurence J. Peter

Friends are those rare people who ask how you are and then wait for the answer.

A friend is the one who comes in when the whole world has gone out. ~Grace Pulpit

A true friend is one who thinks you are a good egg even if you are half-cracked.

Friends are kisses blown to us by angels.

It is the friends you can call up at 4 a.m. that matter. ~Marlene Dietrich

A friend is one of the nicest things you can have, and one of the best things you can be. ~Douglas Pagels

A friend can tell you things you don't want to tell yourself. ~Frances Ward Weller

Best Friends Listen to what you dont say - **Samantha Norman**

Watch Out Kelty

Kelty is generally pretty good at fending for himself when it comes to sibling attacks. However, there are things that do fall out of our control. Yesterday, another chaotic day in the life that is mine, I was trying to balance the schedules of the kids and oversee the progress of our workmen. After arranging a ride home from school for Kyra and an appointment for my brother in law, I waked into the family room to be with my boys.

Just as I walked in, I saw Kaeson pick up a battery charger and start to swing it around. I ran up to grab it from him and just as I got to him, Kelton stood up. My rush towards Kaeson, caught him off guard and he shifted and hit Kelton square in the face with the battery charger. It knocked him out for just a moment and I panicked. He had a gash under his eye and it started bleeding. I quickly called every one in my family and no one answered.

I was all ready to run up to Primary's but Leigh called our friend Laurie, a nurse, and I took Kelty over there. She took a good long look at it and said that stitches were not needed. We ended up slathering it with Neosporin and a bandaid. Poor kid. Being the youngest of three kiddos means you have to put up with a lot. He is tough and only cried for a minute or two. Love that kid.

Gr8 Tag by Sally

Sally has the best tags and I love doing them. As we all know, I do not journal nor do I keep a diary. I would love it if my mother or grandmother had written down quirky little things about themselves. I would love to know what they liked to do, what they thought or what wierd disgusting thing they had pulled out of their window well (another story for another time)

So, I am trying my best to keep up on the poor little pathetic blog so that I that can print it off into a book. Now, mind you, this is not for vanity sake as I do not consider my life amusing in the least. It is however, for future generations to read and say "What in the world was wrong with that woman. Let's all learn volumes from her misktakes." Also, I do hope that my kiddos look at this someday and say, "Our mom really did love us."

So, in the spirit of journaling and because I feel like blogging, he comes another tag. I tag anyone that would like to participate in preserving your wierdness for future generations!

8 T.V. Shows that I like to watch

1. Frasier: Very well written wit catches my attention. It does bug me how many women Frasier "dates" though.

2. Antiques Roadshow: I love seeing how much other's junk is worth and still knowing that mine isn't worth a cent.

3. Ghost Hunter: You all know that I think that I have a ghost in my house, but I am ok with that.

4. People's Court: I now know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you should not put someone else's cell phone on your credit or do anything in life without a contract. I know, this one is a little white trash

5. Oprah: Dr. Oz and Suzie Orman have me scared out of my wits but what can you do? I keep hoping that I get chosen for the "Oprahs Favorite Things" episode. Knowing me though, I will be chosen for the "Mom's on the Brink of Self Destruction" episode.

6. The Office: I actually got hooked to the British version first thanks to my brothers and I could watch their finale every day and still bawl my eyes out.

7. Fairly Odd Parents: I had to put a cartoon in here. It is the only one that I will watch with my kids. The humor is hilarious for adults and I love that the woman fairy uses her hubby's head as a purse. I think that they really have a good thing going there.

8. Good Things Utah: I love watching all of those stay at home moms market the products that for years I have thought would be a good idea. Why don't I just do it and let ME get the money for it?


Favorite Restaruants: (Hello, anything that I don't cook is the bomb!)

1. Red Lobster: Oldie but goodie. Do you remember that we had commercials for it in Utah for YEARS before we actually had the restaraunt. Coincidentally, this one is Kyra's too. I recommend the Crab Stuffed Flounder.

2. Cafe Rio: I used to frequent this one like it was the grocery store. Then I found out that their pork salad has somewhere around 2000 calories. I cut back the frequency but not the craving.

3. Olive Garden: I seriously can't get enough of the soup, salad and breadsticks meal.

4. Leatherby's: Not a restaruant per say but, it is a great place to go. My peeps and I frequent it just to catch up on each others lives and gossip about our hubbies.

5. McDonald's: Ok, don't cringe. I really like their two cheese burger combo meal. Plus, I can take the kids, let them play and read the latest issue of Altered Couture.

6. Zupas: Emmy turned me onto this one and I am totally hooked. Anwhere that I can get sandwiches, soups and salads like that has my vote.

7. The Pie Pizzaria: I am a complete sucker for pizza. I have been since I was pregnant with Kyra. I can't get enough of it and would eat it every day.

8. Sweet Tomatoes: I LOVE salads. I wish that I could just install a never ending salad bar in my kitchen. I don't know if that adds or detracts from a home value though.

8 Things I did Today

1. Got my kids in the car and off to school. They even got there ON TIME, with no crying and we sang Christmas carols the whole time.

2. Celebrated that my husband got a call telling him that he had the day off and then I didn't see him for the rest of the day.

3. Went to lunch with Harvey's cousin and Harvey's brother's ex-wife. Strange situation but still a lot of fun.

4. Nearly fell over when my little baby Kelty gave me a kiss. He has never done that before.

5. Gave myself a facial, manicure and pedicure. I never pay to have these things done but I really needed some sort of uplift. Now, I need to go get my hair colored and cut!

6. Did a dance of happiness when our contractor came over and install heating vents and told us that our sheetrock was coming today. He actually looked at me a bit funny when I did that.

7. Ate a pint of Ben and Jerry's that my cute husband picked up for me just because.

8. Snuggled with Kaeson until he fell asleep. That was my favorite part of the day.

8 Things that I Look Forward To:

1. The day when my basement construction is over and I can one again sit in my theater room and eat popcorn.

2. My brother-in-law, niece and nephew coming up to visit us in 2 weeks!

3. Putting up the Christmas tree and all of my fun decorations.

4. The day we pay our house and car off and are completely out of debt. Then I can really relax.

5. Going on vacation to some place warm. I can't stand winter and could do without snow for the rest of my life.

6. Revamping my bedroom. That is the only room now that we have not touched since moving into our house. It is the last on the priority list and the one room that really needs it.

7. Getting all of my medical issues taken care of and out of the way. January 6th!

8. Getting my little business off the ground. Even just a little bit.

8 Things on my Wishlist (now you get to see my greedy, worldly side)

1. This beautiful diamond Tiffany eternity band that I have been eyeing for 10 years. However, I will NEVER pay that price for it. So, it will remain on my wishlist forever.

2. The new mega, ultra suave, all in one Bernina embroidery machine. I don't "need" it that is why it is on a wish list.

3. A new super fun swing set for my kiddos and the yard to go with it. We keep saying that we are going to do this. However, life seems to get away from us and we dont' get it purchased. Next year for sure.

4. Wii Fit. Where in the world do you find those things. I am beginning to think that they really do not exist. Just and urban legend.

5. A perfectly cleaned and organzied house. Do they have some sort of service for that? I am looking at our storage room and garage and wondering where in the world we aquired all of this stuff.

6. Take my kiddos on a Disney Cruise. However, with three kiddos, you have to splurge for a suite and that costs an arm and a leg. We priced it out and with airfare and the cruise it is well over 5K.

7. To find a strategy that works for my little Kaeson and for him to be happy and under control and progressing in the way that he should be.

8. To be able to sit back and enjoy my kiddos amidst the choas that is my life. They are only young once and I certainly don't want to miss it or exchange it for something of no worth.

Kindness

As many of you know, we are having some issues with Kaeson. We don't know if it is the age and he is still going through the terrible fours, or if it is his eyes, or if there is something more there in that little person. Anyway, he has become quite hard to control lately. I do my very best but by the end of the day, I am usually completely exhausted.

Today the kiddos and I went to the store to look for an item that I needed that was on sale at that particular store. Well, of course they were out of that item but I did manage to find something else that I "needed."

Just imagine us. It was 3:35 and my hair was still wet from the shower that I had eeked in 35 minutes earlier. Kyra was busily talking about her day at school and reciting all of her spelling words. Kaeson was in the middle of touching everything in sight and screeching wildly. Kelton, who had been chomping on a banana was now trying desperately to climb out of the cart and grab the purse of the lady ahead of us.

The lady grabbed her purse and pulled it ahead of her. Uh Oh was all I could think. I have been in this situation before and heard the comments of those in line and was bracing myself for having to defend my son.

This particular lady was waiting for some problem to be resolved in her transaction. She took a magazine out of her pile of purchases and opened it up and placed it in front of Kaeson. "Let's find something red." she said in a very kind voice. She sat and talked to Kaeson and helped him "find" things inside of the magazine until her transaction was completed. Then, she stayed with him until mine was complete as well.

I got as far as saying "Thank" when she piped right up and said, "No thank you is needed. I have been in your shoes before and it isn't easy. He is a very smart little boy. You are very lucky." She then turned and walked out of the store.

Sometimes I get so overwhelmed with all that is going on in my little life that I don't think that I ever catch a break. However, it was so nice to run into someone today that showed us kindness. I know that children can be annoying and that most people have short patience at the end of the day. It was so nice to have someone reach out and offer kindness instead of contempt.

So dear lady at Hancock today, Thank you for your kindness.

What Were We Thinking????

Every year we choose one major home improvement project that we are going to focus on. This started years ago when we bought the house. The projects have been as follows:

Year 1- Move in and Paint: This year we took it easy. We had to paint our new house since the main colors the previous owners had used were bright fuschia and navy blue.

Year 2- The Fence: We have over 1/3 acre and we live on a corner lot. That was a must

Year 3- The Secret Room: During year 2 of living in this house, we literally found a room when we took down part of a wall. Year 3 we spent the money to get it into real living space...STORAGE! Year 4- The Floors: This was a big one. We replaced almost every floor in the house. The main floor, kids rooms and basement got wood floors. The stairs and master got high cut carpet.
Year 5- The Yard: Ok, so in theory it was the yard but we couldn't seem to get all of our ducks in a row to get that one done. So, we are taking the money to bump up the basement. And thus begins our saga.
When I finally realized that the yard makeover was not going to materialize, instead of wisely saving the money until next year, I thought of another project to throw our money towards. The basement.

The previous owners of the house had finished our basement in a really strange style. The basement had lighting, but only on pull switches. It had electrical outlets, but only in the theater area. The basement was framed but was covered with outdoor pressed wood siding. I know strange. When we first looked at the house we walked down into the basement and it looked like a cabin. I wish that we had taken picture of the first draft of the basement but, in all honesty, I didn't want to remember the shape that it was in originally. Amazingly enough, we had made the basement nice and workable. We have had family over a lot and have hosted events down there. So, we weren't in dire straights with the basement.

So, we decided to take baby steps with our basement and start with just the electrical work. We needed the lights to be put on flip switches and other more electrical outlets around the rest of the basement. I have my sewing room downstairs and need more than an extension cord and several surge protectors to run my machines. We are on a tight budget and wanted to keep it as low cost as possible. So, Harvey and my brother worked on taking down the siding walls to expose the area for the electricians. When the wall were brought down, we discovered that there was no sheetrock. NONE!
This led to us thinking it was dumb to put back up the old siding. We got an estimate and the nice sheetrock guy felt bad for us and didn't want us to put the old stuff back up so he gave us an AMAZING deal. Easily half of our other estimates. He noticed that we have no HVAC downstairs and we can't add it because of the layout of our house (complicated story that I still don't even understand.) So, we installed wall heaters instead.

This lead to insulation. The prior owners had really cut corners and put up 1x2 in the theater room with no insulation. It would be very costly to change them to the standard 2x4 so, we opted for the ultra thin insulation (another unforseen cost) at 4x the cost of normal insulation.

When we were ready to take down the siding from the ceiling (yes the ceiling had siding too) we found that the ceiling was not framed at all. So, this meant the hiring of a framer. As long as the framer was coming, it was worth our time and money to have him frame off a bathroom and utility room down stairs. This actually lowered our sheetrock costs. We are however waiting to put in the bathroom until another mega year. The framer is a nice guy who is throwing all sorts of perks in like fun little nooks and arches at no additional charge.

So all should be fine and dandy right. Oh you are so wrong my friend. This whole thing should have been done 10 days ago and so far the only thing that we have done is the majority of the electrical (no finish work) and a small portion of the framing. We have family coming into town in two weeks and the big BYU vs Utah football game party to host. My entire basement is in my family room and my garage. I have no idea where anything is. I am getting hat orders and have them on back order because I have no clue where my fabric is and even if I did, I couldn't get to it. Plus, we are now almost double our original budget (which however, is still extremely low considering the cost of normal basement remodels.)
So, when you see me wandering the streets in my bathrobe and murmuring incoherantly, please point me back in the direction of my house. I am sure that in the end, we are going to be grateful that we did this whole thing. I just can't wait until it is OVER!