Does this happen to everybody?

Snow day! Sounds relaxing, huh? Nope! Not in this family. It started out that way. We leisurely woke up about 7:45 (that is sleeping in around here) and I vegetated on the sofa with a cup of coffee while the boys played UNO on the floor. Adri sat next to me, putting together a farm puzzle, over and over again and telling me every time she picked up the cow, “Cow bite. No bite. Moo.”

After about a half hour, I went to the computer to read my note. What note? Well, Matt usually leaves me a note on the computer. Sweet, huh? Sometimes. Occasionally, the note says something like, “I love you. Have a great day!” But more often, the notes list the things I need to get done that day in order to keep us moving forward on the house progress. I’m not complaining about this. I’ll admit that I’ve taken care of a lot of details regarding the new house, but Matt has done SO MUCH MORE! You see, we don't actually have a contractor...he's officallly called our construction manager. We wanted it set up this way so that we would have more control of the whole process. Personally, I don't think the savings was worth the headache...but Matt would probably disagree! I don’t know how he’s done it, considering he has a real job, too!

This morning, the note read, “HH Gregg called this morning and said they’ll meet you at the house sometime between 9 – 12 but will call 30 minutes before so you don’t have to wait around there all morning.” By this time, it’s 8:30 a.m. I guess I need to be ready in case they call, I decided, so I headed for the shower. A short 20 minutes later, the kids and I were all ready to go, short of having our coats and shoes on (don’t be too impressed…I had on black stretchy pants, a t-shirt, my hair was in a pony tail and I was wearing no make up). About 15 minutes later, HH Gregg called, informing me that they were about 10 minutes away with our appliances (good thing we were ready…so much for 30 minutes notice) and would meet me at the house. “We can only deliver if there is a clear path,” he added. A clear path? It’s a new construction, deliveryman, and the entire lot is a mud pit. After the snow last night, it’s a mud pit covered with about 3 inches of snow. We headed over to the house with DS’s in hand for the boys (in case we were there a while) and a tote of blocks and Little People for Adrianna.

I turned the corner and the house and driveway came into view. What a DISASTER! Were they taping a movie about the end of times? There was a red pickup truck, stuck in the mud/snow and a Precision Comfort van stuck about 10 feet away. There were about 8 masons, who were there to put the stone on the porch columns, trying to dig out the van with the little trowels they use to put mortar in between the block. They weren’t making much progress! The guy in the red truck was standing nearby (I still don’t know who he was) just watching the show. The HH Gregg truck was parked just a few feet behind the truck and van and when he saw me pull up, he got out of his truck and said to me, “I’ve got some bad news. I don’t think we’ll be able to deliver today. And because you didn’t clear us a path, we’ll charge you to come back.” “No way,” I said. He obviously didn’t know my husband. There was absolutely NO WAY that Matt would agree to another $79 delivery charge. We talked through a few things and I convinced him to do his best to make it work.

He unloaded the microwave, dishwasher and stove and then told me that the refrigerator wouldn’t fit through the door. It would have to come in the front door, which was completely inaccessible because of the mud pit in front of the house. He committed to leaving it in the garage. After he installed the stove, he told me that it couldn’t be pushed back all the way to the wall because the plug in was in the wrong place. “Your electrician will have to move that outlet over if you want to get this back all the way,” he informed me. Does this happen to everybody?

I called Matt while they were still installing stuff and he told me that he was headed home to handle some other chaos (luckily he was in the Greenfield office today) and that he’d talk to him when he got there.

Unfortunately, Matt didn’t make it there before the deliverymen told me that they had to get on to their way to their other 15 deliveries (they were a bit sarcastic, by the way). While we’re standing in the garage talking this out, some of the masons that were generously helping the Precision Comfort van get un-stuck, broke out in a wrestling session in the snow. I laughed. I needed a giggle pretty bad. Now, my attitude had changed…but not for long.

The HH Gregg guys left (after the electricians had to move their truck and I had to move the van so that they could back out) and I headed inside to wait for Matt. Where was he? It had been about 45 minutes.

All of the following events happened simultaneously. The electrician told me that the outlet on the stove wasn’t the problem, it was the anchor the deliveryman installed that wouldn’t allow the stove to go back to the wall, he told me we were missing a light for a closet and the ceiling fan wasn’t the right size in the family room. Lowes used to be such a fun place to shop, but by now, I'm so sick of going there! The guys there to install the closet rods, shelving and bathroom mirrors informed me that the mirrors were the wrong size and the placement of the light in the pantry would keep them from installing a shelf at that level. Just then, the boys came in, covered in snow, and told me that there was a missing boot in the snow that couldn’t be recovered (this has happened before). I didn’t know what to say. I looked at Adri, who was hanging from my hip and wiping her nose on my coat. Does this happen to everybody? Keep your cool, Amanda.

Just then, as if angels had appeared from heaven…I looked through the front door windows and saw my hero of a husband, hustling down the driveway on a tractor! We all ran into the garage and witnessed this hero, strap a rope to the Precision Comfort van and rescue the driver from spending the day involved in our chaos. Boy, was he happy to get out of there! Matt then came in and started offering suggestions to the chaos that was unfolding. Almost instantly, the stress in the house disappeared and I relaxed. “You go home,” he said. “I’ll handle this.” By the time I got to the car, my cheeks hurt because I was grinning so big. I could hear my second cup of coffee calling me. Yes, my husband saved the day. We recovered the missing boot and after Matt towed someone else out of the muck (us), we were on our way! Now let me ask you, does this happen to everybody?

Now, I'm sitting at the computer, with that coveted cup of coffee. Adri is napping and the boys are playing Trouble at the kitchen table. What a great day!