House Renovation, Day 8

Today is Presidents' Day and we do not have school, but that does not mean that we get to rest. 

Mr. D. had to put another coat on the former pocket door wall and finish up a short punch list of things.  Zak Brown has to sand, stain, and top coat our bedroom.  We are all packed up to go back to the hotel for one more night.  Then....

Mr. D. gave me a panic when he said Zak Brown’s van would not start for him this morning and he might come tomorrow instead.  He was hoping to hear from Zak Brown shortly as to the status of his ride.  I graciously held my tongue and waited for the call.  If he can’t come today, then the whole week is off to an interesting start.   I did offer to pick him up, but he lives almost 40 minutes away.  That would not be cool for the kids.  Thankfully the stars are aligned and his van started!  The late start had a potential to push the job into tomorrow and another day at the hotel.  I think he realized the hullabaloo involved in moving two kids out for just one night, and agreed to push through and get it all done today!

We had to make ourselves scarce around 11:00.  That worked perfectly as that was just enough time for lunch then back to the hotel for naptime.  When we checked in the fire alarm was sounding quite obnoxiously loud.  The desk clerk said this was the annual test and check of the fire alarm.  This meant the alarm company and a hotel employee had to physically enter every room in the hotel to make sure the alarm sounded.  That put a potential damper on the nap, but again the stars aligned for us and it stopped just as she handed us our key.  The nap has been saved!

After G woke up, it was time to head over to the park district for his weekly tot music class.  I will say it's not my favorite but he gets to play with tambourines, bells, maracas, etc., and occasionally smack another kid.  What more could you ask for?  When we were there two weeks ago the teacher said that was the last week of class and there would be a one week break between sessions.  That worked perfectly since G would be with Grandma & Grandpa last Monday.  I had M with since she did not have school today.

As it has become habit G loves to push the button for the elevator to get down to music class.  The funny thing is that he calls it a "butt."  He calls it a "butt" really loud whenever he sees them.  Slightly embarrassing, but good thing he is cute.  As I went to open the door to the classroom I noticed that the lights were off and all the fun toys were missing as well.  Now, I immediately figured I had made a mistake.  The finer details in life sometimes pass me by.  Did the teacher say this week would be the break?  Did the class move to another room?  I traipsed the kids back to the car to double check the email on my phone.  I did not want to look like a moron to the desk clerk if I was off a week.

No, my email said 2/21 was the start date.  So I called the desk clerk from the parking lot to see if I was an anonymous moron.  She concurred that the class started today and was confused that no one was there.  I asked her to look up if the class had been canceled.  She asked me, "is your son G?"  I was impressed with her telepathy skills.  She said, "yeah, you were the only ones signed up for that class so it was canceled."  Thanks for that email, park district.  I suppose the stars were not aligned for us on this one.  You can't win them all. 

Now that we were all dressed with no where to go, we went for dinner instead.  On our way I had to stop home to see how Zak Brown was doing.  His van was gone so I kept the kids in the car (I cracked the window for some ventilation!) and zipped inside for a minute.  Our floors look awesome.  While I could have gotten used to the zebra stripes in our bedroom, I think a cohesive color fits much better.    

Furniture goes back in on Wednesday, and we’ll dusting for the next few weeks.  Zak Brown will return to our house in a few weeks to take care of the hallway, kitchen, and living room.

Anyone want to buy an entertainment center?  We are selling ours because it won’t match the new floor finish, and it’s just a bit big for our postage-stamp sized house.  The finish is cherry and it's made by Pennsylvania House.  The shelves are adjustable and there is a hole made by the manufacturer to route electronics cords from the shelves to the TV area.  It's heavy and quite a lovely piece of furniture.  Send me a message if you are!

Yeah, I know the TV is a bit small