My Spring Resolution

This photo is my spring resolution!  I am resolving to no longer use my island as a catch all.  I want to keep at least 75% of it for food prep only.  Gone are the two junk collecting receptacles (down to one that has been cleaned out) along with the two baskets I had been using to hold all of our non-refrigerated CSA veggies. I have relocated all of that to my pantry.  Although if I found a 2 level decorative basket, I would be okay with something like that on the island so long as it didn't have a huge footprint.

I want to be able to make the kids lunches at the island and whenever I'm cooking dinner to have a whole side of the island at my disposal for prep.  I'm tired of being crunched back in that corner and making a bigger mess and not having a place to sit everything.

A lot of the reason this hasn't been possible have been to bad habits on ALL of our parts.  The kids are notorious for laying toys up there as are Jason and I are for letting mail sit there.  I am kind of inspired by my MIL who uses her island the same way.  Her kitchen is smaller than mine and has less counter space so she HAS to use her island for food prep.  (My mom has a huge island and lots more counter space so I can't compete with hers.)  So until I we move or we completely redo the kitchen (not sure what our long term plan is), I am aiming to keep my kitchen surfaces for cooking!  I think the major impetus has been that since I've been getting even more into cooking/baking lately, I've realized how cramped I am when it involves multiple dishes that involve varying degrees of prep...especially with homemade pizza! Onward!!!

Piper's Wallpaper Border

Well, we finally got around to picking out Piper's wallpaper border.  I meant to do it in early summer but then we got wrangled with the mini-flood and the house destroyed.  We've had a contractor out and he's repaired all the holes in the walls and ceilings (thank goodness) but now Jason needs to do the priming/painting and replace all the carpet padding.  So it's finally time to repaint Piper's room.  I don't want to pick out paint until the border is here so we can find a suitable shade of purple to go with it.  She kept telling me she wanted purple with stars so here's what she picked:

There are a bunch of different shades of purple in this one and I think we can find one that complements it nicely.  I can't wait to see it and then go and pick out paint. 

I'm still waiting until Jason gets the playroom repainted and carpet fixed because I want to do a major cleanup and reorganization in that room and once that's done move some of the toys in Piper's room down to the playroom because it's just overrun right now and her room isn't that big to begin with.  I think we'll leave the glider rocker in there for a bit longer and take it out once we get her a big bed in the next year or so.  I'll be sad painting over the green and yellow paint as well as taking down the turtles though.  No more nursery!

Dried Out

Thank you for your kind words of concern.  I think I blogged that at my lowest point.  After blogging though, Jason and I got our acts together, he went to the farm/store and I got the house picked up as best I could.  We also invited my SIL, Kelly, and her husband, Jesse over.  Jesse's daughter, Lydia, is visiting and the kids adore her, so I figured it would be a nice visit since Kelly had already seen my house in its crazy state (and I know she doesn't care).  I think that got me out of my rut and got the kids focused on something happening later, which always helps.

Jason also brought some fun treats home from the grocery store (GIGANTIC marshmallows!) and that got the kids alllll kinds of jazzed up.  It was a nice evening with K, J, and L and the kids were good too.  Completely diverted my attention from the internal chaos.  We also opted to turn the blowers off because everything felt pretty dry, but we did leave the humidifiers on because they are the ones with the "read out" capability.  Turning those blowers off made it a bit quieter and helped my sanity.

Yesterday, after Jason brewed a batch of beer, we headed to my mom's for swimming.  The kids swam their energy out and my mom decided to keep them over night since she would have them on Monday (today).  We got to go home, water outdoor plants, clean up (as much as possible), and watch the season premiere of True Blood.  (Oh joy!)  Jason was leaving work early to meet ServPro this afternoon to collect all the blowers and such and move onto the next step in whatever this insurance fun will be.

Bryce continues to sleep on his mattress on the floor of Caroline's room.  At first they were both insisting on sleeping in Caroline's bed together but I figured he'd wear out his welcome quickly and once we gave him his own little nest in her room, he was happy.  We'll probably have a hard time separating them once his room is back to normal. 

Mess Continued

My house is a white noise machine.  We have blowers blowing in 4 rooms of the house, gigantic dehumidifiers and humming in 3 rooms.  It's loud.  We can't hear each other.  The kids are louder and acting up.  I have holes in my walls and ceilings.  The carpet is ripped up in 2 room with blowers blowing underneath.  And we can't turn any of the blowers off for fear that if we don't do exactly as the clean up company says, we could somehow violate our homeowner's insurance's coverage.  My house is a wreck.  An absolute wreck.  The kids are making bigger messes in the places they are allowed to play.  We need groceries.  The kids are bored.

And to add insult to injury, the plumber was here this morning and he found nothing wrong with pipes.  Nothing. It seems that Caroline's recent shower habit is to blame.  Somehow, she was funneling water out of the tub down the side and it was going right into this little crack that was then funneling the water into Bryce's room, the playroom, and down to the basement.  Now we wait to hear from the adjuster to find out if, because "we" caused it, if anything is covered.  If it's covered, we'll get estimates on fixing all the carpet and walls by a contractor.  If not, we'll be seeing if we can get my brother (a former contractor) to do the work - and yes, we'd pay him.

Right now, I just want some peace and quiet.  I really want to cry because of the noise in my house.

I'm thankful that in the grand scheme the damage is minor but it doesn't make it any less frustrating.  Clearly, Caroline's shower habit is done.  She'll either be bathing or taking a shower in our shower.  I don't care if it makes her feel grown up to take on in her bathroom.  That bath tub as a shower is pretty much off limits forever, as far as I'm concerned.

Mess

It's been a weird day so far.  I'm in my job, but not my new office.  I'll be getting moved around a bit until my new office is renovated.  But in all that chaos of things being moved around (including a small electrical fire down the hall), Jason called with some bad news. 

In recent weeks, Caroline has started taking (long) showers in the hallway (kids) bathroom.  For the past 8 years, that bathroom has mostly only been used for baths with the occasional shower.  A few months ago, we noticed a discoloration on the ceiling of the playroom but it was dry so we figured it was some freak thing since it was small and dry.  Well, it must have been the result of a random shower from above because now that Caroline is showering in there daily, it's a complete mess.  Clearly, this is probably one of those things that was never hooked up right by the builder and we didn't catch it because of not showering in there.

I haven't seen it yet, but Jason is home waiting for the homeowner's insurance adjusters to come and take a look.  He said that almost the entire playroom ceiling is wet, the carpet in Bryce's room is a mess (in the corner where his bed is next to the shower wall), and even Bryce's bed frame that has been sitting in the carpet muck we didn't know about is messed up.  Jason thinks the whole ceiling in the playroom will need to be replaced (it's a tray ceiling meant for a dining room, so not a normal ceiling) and probably Bryce's wall and carpet.  I'm worried about the bed - I love that bed!  It figures it's Bryce's bed too because his is the only one we've bought and spent good money on. 

So when I leave here today, I get the joy of seeing the wreck that is my house.  Although, at least I have a house and it's not any worse than it could be. I'm thinking this will delay Piper's purple room painting I wanted to do as our next house project. 

Van Woes

Our minivan is 6 years old this year.  That just boggles my mind.  Of course if the van is 6 years old, that means Bryce isn't far behind since we got it a few weeks before he was born.  It's got about 70,000 miles on it, which really isn't too bad considering it is driving pretty much every single day.  Jason has kept up on all its scheduled maintenance and oil changes as he always does with cars and we hope to get several more years out of it.  (Although I know there's another minivan in our future once this one is done - a family of 3 kids really needs a minivan - I'm most definitely NOT the large SUV type.) 

Anyhow, back in March on a semi-warm day, I turned on the AC because the car was warm after sitting in the sun for a bit.  However, while the blower came on, the cold air never came.  I mentioned it to Jason and he wanted to test it for himself.  He did and we kept putting off taking it in for service kind of because we didn't need the AC yet and because, well, we were afraid of the repair bill.  (We were right.)  Finally, last week he decided to take it in this past Monday.  (Funny too because the day before it was actually pretty warm and we had to ride in the van with all the windows up because it was pouring - talk about gross. Hot and muggy!  The kids kept asking why it was so hot!) 

We took it yesterday and got the call - oof.  It's going to cost around $2000 to get it fixed.  For air conditioning!  Jason told the guy to just wait on it, give it a charge, and we'll decide when to bring it back in.  So we picked it up and on the way home, all this bright green stuff was squirting out the back and it was smoking.  Niiiiiice.  We weren't sure if they hadn't hooked something back up or what, but that confirmed that the van was going back again this morning.  Thank goodness Jason and I work so close to one another so we can carpool.  (He goes in late, I leave a little early, while not doable in the long term, it's not a problem for things like this.)  And since the van won't be fixed until tomorrow, it looks like we'll be doing it again tomorrow.  Not such a big deal, but I feel a little bad because tomorrow is Caroline's 3rd quarter honor roll breakfast and I'll have to miss it since I need to go into work when Jason does.  My mom is definitely going to go and maybe my MIL and Piper.  I hope she understands. 

I just hate that fixing something as "frivolous" as the air conditioning costs so darn much.  Honestly, we can't NOT have AC - the van has terrible ventilation in the back since Caravan models prior to 2008 don't have the roll down side window and only those crappy "vents."  Plus, after feeling how terrible it was driving during a summer rainstorm, we knew we couldn't just power through.  I think part of my anxiety about it is that this is just the AC and now we wait for the other shoe to drop with the engine or something like that.  Plus, Jason's car is now 10 years old and we're trying to decide how long we want to keep that.  Honestly, I'd be happy just driving it until it requires some hugely expensive repair (we put a few grand into it a few years ago).  It still drives fine and is in good shape.  You see old VW's on the road alllll the time, so it could last a good while longer.

I hate the car game.  It makes me understand why some people buy new cars every 5 years.  Not understand how they can afford it, but understand the motivation.  Here's hoping this AC repair is it for a while beyond regular maintenance like tires and oil changes.

Exactly What I Wanted

Well, we finally found it and ordered it!  Our new kitchen dining set!  I'd been looking for such a long time and a few weeks ago walked into a local, family owned furniture store and found it.  It's an Amish company based in Ohio that makes tables and chairs custom and I just cannot wait for it to get here!  We've been saving our money for it and this is our forever set!  Since it's custom choice, I don't have exact pictures but here's kind of what we're getting - this table (boat style) but with a double pedestal in maple with a similar finish.  It will be 42 inches wide by 66 inches long without the leaves.  We've ordered it with two 12 inch leaves that store in the table - it's so cool.  You should see the amazing handiwork and gears that make it possible for one person to change the table themselves!  Plus, with choosing a pedestal over regular table legs, we can squeeze an extra person or two around the table since no one will be straddling a table leg!

 
As for chairs, here are the chairs we're getting although in the same finish as the table and UNupholstered (does anyone with young kids have upholstered chairs in their kitchen?):

We'll be getting 8 of them but only typically have 6 out.  The coolest thing about these chairs is that they are way more comfortable without padding!  They have this really great design that gives lumbar support and kind of cradles your lower back.  We sat in several different versions at the store and you just can't believe how different they feel than other hard wooden chairs.  This particular style is new to the company and I fell in love with it the second I saw it.

They should be ready in about 8 weeks, which isn't so long considering we've been talking about doing this for years.  It's a lot of money but totally worth it since I don't feel as though we're compromising and it should last us for a very long time.  We met the store manager when we first were considering this line and he was telling how his son has a set with a couple of young kids and how you can't even tell it's had heavy use after a few years.  I'm a believer in furniture being you get what you pay for and since I wanted a timeless set to last us a while, this fits the bill.  Now to keep the kids (ahem, Piper) from stabbing it with her fork.

Clean Up Help

So we've had many many many clean up time disasters in recent months.  Many.  I'm trying to get to the root of it and while I do think a large part of it has to do with attitude (and blaming Piper for everything), I was wondering this morning if a part of it could be due to the fact that our organization in the playroom is somewhat lacking.  We have a toy box, small bins, and one shelf, but if you looked in my playroom you'd see all those things are a bit overflowing with very little organization.  In fact, all their board games are on the bottom of our Ikea Expedit shelf.  So then, a little light went on - maybe they need more places to put things!  I looked around online and kept coming back to the very same Expedit shelf.  It's big, sturdy, and not that expensive!  So, since we were already headed out to Costco, I suggested to Jason that we use part of the kids' MeeMaw Christmas money toward something VERY useful to them instead of just putting it in the bank as we usually do.  He seemed game so we decided to treat the kids to Ikea lunch (they love it and so do I!!) and get the shelf.  Didn't take long to find our shelf and get a few of those nifty shelf sized storage bins.  Only problem is that they are supposed to have them in black and pink but they were totally out of black.  I liked them way better than the wicker variety (cheaper and less likely to leave pieces all over my house), so I figured I wouldn't damage Bryce too much by getting 4 pink ones.  It almost didn't fit in the van and I could see the anxiety and "told you so" look on Jason's face but he figured out he could slide it in width wise under the kids' feet and we were go!  Onto a very crowded Costco and then home.

After dinner, I helped the kids clean up the playroom and then Jason vacuumed and we rearranged the existing storage to be ready for the new shelf.  He assembled it in no time but it's currently laying on the floor waiting to be secured to the wall first thing tomorrow.  He doesn't want to chance a little monkey (ahem, Piper) climbing it and pulling it over.  Egads!  I can't wait to get the room all situated again and help them to put things away neatly.  Hopefully, this new order will make it easier to clean up and less overwhelming which I think has been part of the problem.  And if it doesn't, well, it will look pretty.

The little 3 shelf organizer has now been moved to Bryce's room and it's doing a nice job there already.  I kind of think Caroline needs something now but I'm wondering what because she doesn't have much space left.  Maybe it's time for a reorganization in her room.  Good heavens, that room is a PIT!  Even when she cleans it up and "organizes" it, I cringe at all the little junk she keeps.

Finally, A Match

With Caroline and Bryce spending the night at my sister's last night, Jason and I headed out with Piper to Gardiner's to check out what they had in the way of tables and chairs.  We quickly figured out that ordering anything custom was WAAAAAAY out of our price range, good heavens.  Way out.  Geez.  But unlike some of the other places we've visited, Gardiner's has the resources of big furniture makers and their entire collections.  So if we didn't like that a particular table had upholstered chairs, most likely the collection had a non-upholstered version too.  We had the weirdest sales guy too.  In most furniture stores I've been in, a sales person is more than helpful.  This guy, while not rude, seemed like he wasn't overly interested in helping anyone.  I know the lady at Ashley Furniture was falling all over herself to try and find a match for.  When we told the guy exactly what we were looking for, he said, "Good luck!"  Um, thanks.  (Just like we knew and kept hearing, dark furniture is all the rage right now.)  But it seems we were stuck with him as no other sales person was going to swoop in.  But, after the initial conclusion that we weren't going custom, he mentioned one lighter wood set to take a look at but of course, it had upholstered seats, but he quickly got out the catalog and showed me the hard wood seat variety.  He went onto tell us that this set has just been brought back and he senses that lighter furniture is making its comeback.   He said this set was from like 10 years ago and I laughed and said well, it's very similar in color to our bedroom set which he guessed must have been bought 10 years or so ago - close 8 years!

It meets all my specifications - lighter wood, wooden seats, can easily seat 8 with the leaf, and 6 for everyday.

It's not cheap, but it's also in the range we were guessing for a "lifetime" set.  There's a sale through Monday that would save us a bit, so we'll either be pulling the trigger quickly or waiting until the next sale, because you know in the furniture world there is always a sale it seems.   Right now our kitchen table is 60 inches long and this one would be 72 for 6 people, so I need to visually see how 72 is going to look/feel in our kitchen. 

So we might go and look at one or two other places since we're in no rush and want to make sure it's right.  And we know this set isn't going anywhere.  But at least now we know we've got a possibility!!!

Quest for the Perfect Table & Chairs

The kitchen table we have is a hand me down hand me down.  And while it's actually in decent shape (it could use a coat of pain on the legs and some really good cleaning), the chairs we have with it are in bad shape.  We purchased all 6 chairs separately in 2004 and we are down to 4 that are usable.  They weren't "cheapo" chairs but they weren't expensive either and after 6 years they are starting to fail.  We've got 2 folding chairs at the table currently which isn't exactly the decor I'm going for.  Plus, it only seats 6 people so if one set of grandparents comes over, we automatically don't have enough seating.  Family fail.

Problem is, finding exactly what I want isn't so easy.  I want a table that seats 6 daily and 8 when needed.  I needs to be a lighter wood (no darker than our cherry colored floor), and it needs to be rectangular.  Oh and then there's a real deal breaker, upholstery on chairs!  I'm okay with leather cushions but NOT fabric but I'd mostly prefer just a hard seat.  However the trend now tends to be toward darker finishes, square tables, and freaking fabric upholstery!!!  WTH?????

We've looked online a bit and the other night we went to Ashley Furniture.  The saleswoman who swooped in on us at the door was hard pressed to make a sale and seemed frustrated that they didn't have anything that fit my bill.  If we found a rectangular, lighter wood table, the chairs had upholstery.  She tried to convince me that we could get the protection plan or that the cushions were easy to reupholster yourself.  Um, no.   Yes, a stain guard might make it so you can wipe ketchup off but it's not going to protect against wear and tear of shoes on chairs or a 2 year old who stabs it with a fork.  And I will NOT buy something that I will be altering right away either.  C'mon lady.  She tried to convince me of mixing one table with another set of chairs but truly, it was a bad match.

They actually had a LOT of sets to choose from, which was why it was so disheartening.  And pretty much what they had in store is what we're seeing online at many other furniture manufacturers - what we want isn't hip right now.  Sigh.  The other thing you'll see a LOT of if you are looking for table/chairs right now is this new trend toward counter height tables that are square when expanded and also seat 8 semi-uncomfortably.  The problem with the square table is that it would be a little tight in our kitchen fully expanded, which isn't a big deal for the short term, but not for every day.  But, if it's collapsed, it's too small for the 5 of us, especially as the kids grow.  Jason really likes the counter height table and chairs though because of his height and I like the potential for higher chairs to keep kids in their chairs when they eat instead of with one foot on the floor.  But the problem with the higher chairs, especially when you have 2 people to a side is that even as an adult I can't push my chair back with my feet as they don't reach the floor and because they tend to be tighter on space, I can't get my legs out the side.  So you see the problem.....

So it's back to the drawing board.  There are a few other local furniture stores I want to check but with all the free time I have and the fact that children love visiting furniture stores so much, it's definitely going to be a while before I find my perfect set.  Whatever set I buy though is going to be our set for a long time, so it has to be just right.  Which is one of the main reasons I won't buy something online -I need to see something that is going to be used 3 times a day (and more).  I need to sit at it and feel that it's sturdy and exactly what I want.  I just have a feeling that what I want is going to be hard to find based on what everyone else wants right now.

Front Door - Before/After

Totally worth the money and hopefully this will be the door we have for a looooooong time!  The light it lets in is absolutely lovely and I'm so happy not to have to use sheers on the side lights anymore for privacy.

Before:

After:

Door Day

Jason is off today with the kids since my IL's are on a trip and today is the big day of our front door replacement/installation. We had Pella come out a few months ago for an assessment and estimate and we ordered it on the spot. Our front door unit has never been right since we moved in 7 years ago despite the fact that the builder had it "fixed" twice within the first year and a half.  Crappy subcontractors the first time and then a sub par job the second time.  On the day we settled we had problems locking the deadbolt without having to lift up on the door handle.  We also had issues with water getting in around it since they did a bad job with the flashing initially.  That was fixed but in the meantime the water damage we sustained caused some problems.  And then, because our door is navy (to go with our shutters) and the house gets afternoon sun (HOT!), the door has gotten warped.  Unfortunately we don't have any kind of cover over the door so it gets the full brunt of the heat - sometimes it gets so hot in the summer, you could burn yourself on it!

When we initially started thinking about replacing it the guys we spoke to at Lowe's told us we really need to have a white door to keep the heat down and all the problems associated with it.  So we picked out a lovely fiberglass door from Pella with leaded glass sidelights and a leaded glass half moon at the top of the door. 

The workman arrived just after 8am and started working.  Jason says they are already putting the new one in.  Here's a photo he sent me on his phone of the kids watching the door drama!  I guess it's better entertainment than a movie?

So just waiting to hear now how things progress.  They have to fix the siding all around the door as well so that will take some time.  I'm just glad that the gaping hole is pretty much closed up already.  On a day as hot and humid as it's supposed to be today, that's a good thing and I'm sure Jay will be ready to get the AC back on.

Fridge Drama - Done!

Our new fridge was just delivered! I now believe it. Time to get groceries!!

Another Chapter in our Fridge Drama

Seriously, I am NOT making this stuff up.

Last Thursday made it exactly 3 weeks since our new fridge was ordered and we were told it was on back order for 3 weeks.  So I called my friend, Al, at Lowe's to check in.  He said that it was still on order, but that it was listed as being in DC so it shouldn't be too much longer.  Again, I'm okay with that - it's not going to be much longer and the fridge is still working enough to keep things cold/frozen.

So last night as I'm wrist deep in cookie dough, the phone rings and Jason answers it.  After a couple of "okays" he hangs up and says, "The fridge is coming tomorrow between 9:30 and 11:30."   I asked if it was my buddy Al and he said he didn't think so.  I remember thinking it was quite odd that they didn't give us much of a choice about delivery but at this point, we just want the fridge so whatever.  I am already leaving early today to be home for Piper's first speech therapy session so Jason decided to go into work and then come home to be here for the fridge since my IL's were going to be taking the kids somewhere and with all this drama, we wanted to make sure it was one of us there to be sure everything was okay.  It's a good thing Jason was there.

They called to say they were on their way and when they got there Jason had already taken everything off of the fridge and out of the fridge/freezer.  So when the guys were ready to take it, Jason asked where our new fridge was.  "Sir, we don't have anything to give you."

WHAT???  All these contractors were told was to pick up our old fridge.  I don't think so. 

I immediately called my buddy, Al, and he said he has no idea who sent them because he was off yesterday and the fridge is not here yet and he said he will be the one to call us and SCHEDULE (not mandate) delivery.  (I told you I thought it was weird we were just kind of told to be ready instead of asking us.)  Anyway, Al thinks it was some kind of computer error and it just came up to pick up our fridge.  Maybe since they have it on record that our old one is broken that they didn't think we needed it?  In any event, Al said that it was fine to have sent the pick up guys away and that he'll be in touch as soon as the new fridge is ready. 

Clearly, this isn't a big deal in the grand scheme of things and for all we've dealt with this so far, BUT, it just figures that nothing is going to be easy in this long,drawn out saga.  It's really been a comedy of errors and I'm just chalking it up to the bad karma that this old fridge had with it.  I'll be glad to get it out of my house.  If that day ever comes...

Lowe's = Great

Seriously people, if you need to make an appliance purchase, I encourage you to use Lowe's.  They proved to me again today that they value their customers and are quite reasonable to work with.

Anxious and feeling a little sick, I picked up the phone this morning to call Lowe's and speak with a manager.  I got the manager on duty, Joe, and explained the situation.  He listened and when I was done he said he absolutely understood the issue and wanted to find out all the details and then would call me back.  He did so a few minutes later and told me that they were authorized for a store credit so it didn't have to be a Samsung exchange but he would check with the appliance expert and get back with me later with my options.  At this point, Jason and I were thinking that we'd be willing to cough up a few more bucks to upgrade to a non-Samsung fridge.

So around noon, I got a call from my buddy, Alan, in the appliance department (same guy who told me last night who to call and that he was sure he'd talk to me again).  Turns out, Alan knows darn well what he's talking about.  As soon as he identified himself he said, "I told you that we'd be talking again about getting this fridge delivered!"   Sooooooooo, they are upgrading us to the "better" Samsung model for FREE!

Here's what we currently have: September 2009 fridge

And here's what they are giving us:  July 2010 fridge

(The main differences are that there is now a 2nd ice maker in the bottom drawer and they moved the meat drawer down under the veggie drawers and made it extend the whole width of the fridge.)

I'm fine with staying with the upgraded Samsung because we honestly believe we just got a bad model with the one we purchased because if you scour the internet for Samsung fridge reviews, you really can't find any truly bad ones.  (And they've gotten all these awards recently.)  The only "bad thing" is that the fridge is on back order for 3 weeks.  Alan seemed a little worried to tell me that but I wasn't bothered at all.  We've been waiting this long already so what's a few more weeks when we KNOW it's coming.  I just hope it comes before vacation.  Fingers crossed on that.

I told Alan that I wanted to quickly just check in with Jason about this before giving him the official go ahead and since I happened to be out, I stopped by the store to let him know that we would definitely take the offer AND to buy the 4 year extended warranty!  I felt good doing that for many reasons for my own peace of mind and because that money goes to Lowe's and NOT Samsung.

I still won't believe it until it's in my kitchen.  Fingers crossed the current fridge just keeps doing what it's doing now (keeping food cold) even if it's not making ice or dispensing water.

Oh the Fridge Drama!

Warning: Lots of use of capitalization ahead.....

So yeah, the fridge drama continues.  After the contracted service company came out again and brought the wrong part, AGAIN, I had HAD IT.  I called Samsung and let the customer service people have it.  After talking to the first person they transferred me to the manager.  They told me that we have to let the service company do their job.  To which I asked, "At what point do you deem the service company completely INCOMPETENT?"  That point got me transferred quickly up to Executive Customer Service!

I recounted the story briefly to ECS and within a few minutes she said they could put the paperwork in for our exchange!!  I was thrilled!  All we had to do was send them a copy of the receipt and they would work with Lowe's (where we bought it) to arrange the exchange.  I was on top of the world!  (Although worried because Jason couldn't find the receipt right away - he ended up finding it later that day in of all places, his wallet!  It had been there since September instead of in with all our other appliance receipts.)

So we send it in on a Friday evening and by Monday evening, we get an email stating that the exchange request has been approved!  YAY!  So we wait a few more days and we hear nothing, so I call Samsung again and his time I get sent right to the good old ECS and they say that they had sent the authorizing fax already but they would send it again.  (This was last Friday.)  I called Lowe's on Monday, still NOTHING.  I call Samsung again, they are faxing it again.  I called Lowe's today and nothing and this time I got a really nice guy at Lowe's - Steve.  Steve understood my frustration and asked for all my info and he was going to call Samsung and call me back.  Steve came through and said he got the authorization number and to come by the store tonight and work out our exchange.  Woohooo, right?

Nope.

Jay and I get to the store and the first thing we notice is that our model is no longer on the floor.  (We have a black, French door style, bottom mount model with ice/water in the door.)  We paid about $1500 back in September for it. They still have a $1500 model but it has NO ice/water in the door.  The next model up that does?  $2200  SERIOUSLY, WTH?  We have to exchange Samsung for Samsung, so this is the only option and the sales guy says that it's supposed to be an "even" exchange and if there's a difference, we would have to pay it.  NO FREAKING WAY AM I PAYING $700 MORE FOR SOMETHING I ALREADY HAVE!!!!

So at this point I am visibly fuming and Jason is telling me to calm down - I could feel myself sweating I was so angry.  I don't really want the new model, I want my old model.  Water in the door is an absolute deal breaker for me and had we walked in the store that night to buy our fridge, I wouldn't have considered the $1500 model because it didn't have it and I wouldn't have considered the $2200 model because it was out of our price range.  I'd be happy to take a Whirlpool at this point but it's gotta be a Samsung since Samsung is footing the bill.   I just want a truly EVEN exchange.

The sales guy was very nice and could tell how irritated I was with the situation.  He looked at me and said, "I didn't tell you this but don't do anything tonight.  Tomorrow, call and talk to a manager and tell them the story and how you're getting shafted.  Sometimes they can't help and if they won't, ask to speak with a corporate manager and they'll help you get the right fridge without you having to pay more."  I thanked him and told him that's what I'd be doing.  Then he told me, "Not a problem, I'll see you when you come back to get this fridge (pointing to the more expensive one)."

Clearly he's more confident about this than I am.  Up to this point I've had no issues complaining and making it a point to Samsung to get this straightened out but now that I feels as though I'm haggling with Lowe's who didn't actually make the problem, I'm feeling more sheepish and anxious about it.   Honestly, if the difference in price was less than $150, I'd just suck it up, pay it and be done with it.  But $700 is a bit much to swallow. In addition, I know our model was still on the floor at Lowe's in May when we were there buying our dishwasher so had Samsung not been dragging this out so long, maybe I could have gotten my old model again.  Grrrrr.

So tomorrow morning I'll be haggling with Lowe's and hoping for some kind of capitalism miracle.  I'm going to impress upon them my point that this is absolutely NOT an even exchange.  I also plan to remind them that we are loyal customers and that we've bought several appliances from them over the years in addition to recently spending over $1000 on Pergo with them.  We've always had very good service from them and hope it continues.  I tell everyone to go to Lowe's for their appliances because we've had such good service as have other members of my family.

Wish me luck.  I can't back down now.  I need my water in the door back and a freezer that makes more than 5 cubes of ice a day.

The Fridge Hates Us

About 2 weeks ago, the ice/water dispenser in our fairly new fridge started acting wonky.  It has one dispenser that you press a button to tell it if you want water, crushed ice, or cubed ice.  At first we noticed the little light wouldn't come on at dispensing and then when you switched between your 3 choices, it took a few seconds for it to "take."  Often you'd press for water and end up getting ice because it was like it hadn't had a chance to switch gears.  Then it started beeping at us and not letting you switch away from water.  It stopped making ice too.  It's still under warranty so Jason got the local repair company responsible for Samsung appliances to come out.  They assessed it and figured it was that the motherboard needed to be replaced.  (Yeah, the fridge is so complicated it needs a freaking motherboard.)  Well, they had to order it and it came in early in the week and the guy came by today to install it.  Overall, it hadn't been too terrible of an inconvenience because the water was still working and that is what we use the most, especially me.  If I needed ice, I could open the ice maker and get some - the ice maker randomly started working again in the middle of the week too.

But, unfortunately, the motherboard replacement didn't work.  The repair guy was actually pretty surprised and frustrated that it didn't fix the problem and spent a lot of time on the phone with the company trying to figure it out.  Turns out we might have to have the whole water/ice dispenser replaced.  Lovely.  And now it won't dispense water anymore only crushed ice.  I'm not a fan of crushed ice.  Plus it keeps blinking ERROR and it was making me so crazy I had to put some sticky notes over the blinky lights to block them out.  I'm just worried that at some point the whole damn fridge is going to stop working and we'll be up a creek.

And no, we didn't buy the extra service warranty that Lowes always tries to sell you.  Most product advisors (like Consumer Reports or Smart Money) will actually tell you NOT to buy them for things that stand still.  But you can bet we bought it for our new dishwasher last week.  Of course, that will probably never give us any problems.

So here's hoping that the entire fridge doesn't go belly up and that it can be repaired without too much more intervention.  Otherwise I might have to give Mr. Samsung a piece of my mind.  LEMON!

Dishy

Now that that new kitchen floor is almost done we decided to suck it up and get a new dishwasher.  The dishwasher that was part of the house when we built it is now 7 years old and was loud, breaking off pieces of the drawers, and just not getting things very dry anymore.  Jason did his research and we ended up with a lovely, black KitchenAid that is oh, so quiet and did I mention, it's black?  (We are slowly converting all our appliances over to black from the stupid decision we made 7 years ago to have white ones installed.)  We now have a black fridge and dishwasher.  All that's left is the range and over the stove microwave, although Jason tells me regularly that I slam the microwave door too hard so maybe it won't last much longer.  It has been making a strange noise every so often, so who knows?

I just liked that we loaded it up last night and ran it and I couldn't hear it from upstairs anymore.  Nice.

Floored

Well, the floor is finally pretty much done. Well, at least the main living area is. The powder room and front closet still need to be done, but those are both easy spots to take "offline" as opposed to the kitchen. Jason still needs to do all the edging along the woodwork and cabinets, but that's a simpler task and one that can be done in the evening or in shorter spurts of time. Basically it took 3 full days to get it all down, which isn't bad considering the area is anything but a simple square.

I think it looks wonderful and I am already having a hard time remembering what it used to look like. Jason's brother, Jeremy, deserves a huge thanks for coming here and spending 3 entire weekend days getting this task done with Jason. He's extremely patient and detail oriented - 2 traits well suited for flooring installation. Jason said he doesn't know if he could have done it without him. Jeremy has banked a lot of hours helping Jason over the past 7 years so when Jer eventually buys a house, we certainly owe him in the help department.

I love how it just warms up the entire space and makes it look so much more finished. Now I can't wait to find the perfect kitchen dining set to complete the transformation.

Here are a few photos to give you the gist. I'd take more except the kitchen is still kind of a mess and I don't need to showcase photos of my cluttered looking house.

Pergo = Tired

So tired.  Jason and his brother, Jeremy, went crazy on the Pergo this weekend and installed it through the foyer and through 2/3 of the kitchen.  They worked for like 9 hours, two days in a row.  So while I wasn't a part of the actual installation, my duties were to keep the kids occupied and out of the way.  Managing all 3 kids on my own isn't remarkable in and of itself but managing all 3 on the hottest weekend of the year so far, trying to keep them outside, and without much water for the better part of the day yesterday was definitely an undertaking.  Oh and I managed to get my vegetable garden planted along with all of my front porch and deck planters planted too.  Whew.

Yesterday morning I got the kids out and we went on a mission before 9:30am.  We headed to Home Depot for gardening supplies and I went prepared with my Ergo so that I could get a flat bed and not have to worry about Piper.  With Piper in the Ergo on my back, Caroline and Bryce following along, we steered that flat bed all around and we conquered the gardening department and walked out with two seriously huge bags of potting soil and about $100 worth of plants.  Caroline was my purse holder the whole time since I couldn't really carry it with Piper on my back and a flat bed doesn't have a spot for your purse.  The big kids had a grand time helping me pick out all our plants. Caroline kept telling me that plants made her feel healthy and energetic.  Ha ha ha ha!

Then we ventured to get Piper's haircut since she was looking quite shaggy and then to pick up sunscreen since we needed a new stash to get through the sunny weekend.  When we got home the water that had been scheduled to be off until noon was still pretty much off - there was enough of a trickle to fill up a bucket in about 10 minutes but not much.  Thank goodness we'd filled the bathtubs the night before so we could flush toilets with the reserved water.  Of course it was already hot so the kids started asking about getting into the pool.  I answered that question about 353 times.  The water was supposed to come back on at noon but I think it was after 2 before it came on full force again.  In the meantime I filled the kids' sand table back up with sand so they would be entertained while I got my front porch plantings done.  Then, once that was done I started on my new deck planters that Jason got me recently.  They hug the railings so you don't have to worry about them getting blown off every storm like my old ones that just sat on top did.  At this point the kids were starving so I made lunch and put Piper down for a nap.  Then the kids continued to badger me about the pool and I started on the garden.  Even though we'd done the worst of the work a few weeks ago, new weeds had sprung up and the ground was getting packed down again so the kids helped me start to weed and then gave up.  I turned the entire garden over and got all of my tomato, red lettuce and swiss chard plants planted.  And at that point, thankfully, the water was back on so we filled that pool up as fast as we could and the kids were thrilled even though the water was frigid.

The kids splashed while I finished up my deck plantings - I got some citronella plants to ward off mosquitoes this summer.  Then Piper woke up, splashed until about 4pm at which point we all went in for showers since I was taking the older 2 kids to see a show at Aunt Kelly and Uncle Kevin's school that night.  And then, because the kitchen was in complete disarray, we broke down and picked up McDonald's for dinner.  The kids were thrilled that the Pergo job meant a night of "Old McDonald's!"  We scarfed down our food, headed to the show (where the kids got the VIP back stage tour when the show was over) and enjoyed a night at "the theater." (Aunt Kelly and Uncle Kevin are theatre teachers at a local high school and this was a production by the graduating seniors - a very talented bunch!)  I was fried when we got home and passed out on the couch as soon as the kids were in bed.

Today was more of the same but given how sore and tired I was, I didn't try to accomplish much other than keeping the kids out of the way.  We had the pool filled up by 11am and the kids splashed most of the day away.  I did manage to get back out to the garden to plant my zucchini, snap peas, and cucumber seeds.  And because I was feeling vegetable deprived and didn't want fast food again, I made dinner mostly on the grill to stay as far out of the kitchen as possible. The kids are in bed now and Jason and I have picked as much up as we can.  He still needs to do the part of the kitchen where all the appliances are and the powder room although there is no rush on the powder room since it's kind of it's own entity and not in the way.

But already it looks tremendous! I am thrilled by how much nicer everything looks (and how horrible the table/chairs look in comparison.)  Now I just want to redo the powder room completely and go shopping for our new dining set.

Oh and on Friday the ice/water mechanism on the fridge stopped working.  The fridge was bought back in September so it's still under warranty.  Of course Jason has already cursed me for settling on the Samsung and not going with an older brand - but it has recently won a lot of awards!  I hope this isn't the beginning of problems with this thing.  I love it except for the ice maker.  Let's hope it's not going to be too involved to fix the damn thing.

And with that, I'm ready for bed.  I'm sure another night's sleep isn't going to do much and I'll arrive at work feeling rather tired again.  But at least it's been a productive weekend.  Although our usual household tasks have lagged a bit.  But, that's homeownership for you.......the job is never done (and if it was, you'd be bored - at least that is what I keep telling Jason.)