On the Sixth Day of Christmas ...

We got a sink, dishwasher, garbage disposal, and running water!!! But first, just a few details about yesterday {since I only posted one picture}:

* delivered gifts to teachers.
* sat and waited ... anxiously and impatiently ... for my countertops.
* watched in wonder as my kitchen was transformed before my eyes - I *LOVE* my new countertops!!!
* had dinner with Patti (one of the reps for Steve's office) at a shwanky restaurant - total bill for 9 people was over $800!
* I wanted to take pics of my food and the lounge singer {who performed on a revolving stage in the center of the restaurant ... kinda creepy} but it seemed inappropriate - sorry.

So, onto today .... We had a plumber here by 8:30 AM to hook up our sink and disposal. Things were moving along nicely and I was loving my new deep sink and gorgeous faucet when the plumber told me that when they installed the cabinets they did not cut out for the electrical outlet to plug in the disposal and dishwasher. WHAT?!? The cabinet guy already had to come back earlier this week and spent more than 2 hours fixing other things I wasn't happy with concerning their work!!

Needless to say, we called and they sent someone out to find and cut out for the outlet. We also let the project manager know how displeased we were with the work that had been done {in a very nice way *wink*}. When installing our countertops yesterday they found that the 2 banks of cabinets were not leveled when they were installed which made things more difficult for the granite installers. They ended up having to add shims to make up the almost 1/4 inch difference so when we sat on our couch we could see the gap under the countertop (take a deep breath, Kari!). In discussing it with the project manager today I told him that we wanted a band of trim place under the countertops to cover the gap. It was clear that he was embarrassed about the problems we were having because when the man arrived to find the outlet (it was the same man who had come to do repairs the other day) he was prepared with trim and ended up fixing the gap and making it look so much better ... WHEW!! All of this work took almost 4 hours and was honestly beginning to feel like it was never going to come together. The bigger bummer about all of this was that I had spent HOURS in the morning cleaning the countertops, inside the cabinets, clearing my table and loading things back into the cabinets, etc. One step forward. After he finished the work, my entire kitchen was covered in a blanket of sawdust all over again!!! Two steps back.

Meanwhile, I bribed the children with Peppermint Chocolate Chip Milkshakes ;) I needed them to get the upstairs cleaned and vacuumed and knew that a little reward today would make things move more quickly and smoothly {in other words - less fighting!}. With company coming tomorrow and feeling like my entire downstairs was in a swirl of chaos, I needed to feel like I had some place in my house that was "presentable." Once they were finished we headed to Chick-fil-a, ordered a small milkshake for everyone, proceeded to the drive thru window where we were informed that we were getting an early Christmas gift ... they had made large milkshakes instead of smalls and they were giving them to us anyway!!! One step forward (really should have been more like a 6 mile run, but there was no time for that today *ha*).

Tonight was Steve's office party. We left Brinley to babysit {HOLLA} and enjoyed some yummy mexican food at a place that was new to us (without a creepy lounge singer). No, I did not take a picture of my food ... I ate it too quickly. After dinner we headed to one of the other doctor's homes for desserts and a few activities.

We were divided into small groups and given a bag, some supplies, instructions, and 5 minutes. Our challenge was to create the best reindeer "rack" out of pantyhose (with a face cutout), balloons, ribbons, and bells. It was honestly hilarious!! Steve was chosen to be the reindeer for his team. I was on the team that the judges voted as having the best rack ... here's our winner ;)

After that there was a gift exchange. Then they presented the doctors with gifts from the rest of the staff. We really are so lucky that Steve works with great people ... many of which have been there as long as he has now! We will be eating well (gift cards to Fleming's Steak House and BJ's along with movie passes including popcorn!) and enjoying some date nights courtesy of them! Dr. Furey {the boss} also gave us (ME) a gift card to a local spa - can't wait to use it!!

We got home about 8:30, tucked the kids in, and waited for Paul to arrive ... he was coming to set the dishwasher and get our hot water hooked up. He arrived around 9:30 (yes, on a Saturday night) and by 10:30 I was loading up my new {quieter} dishwasher with all of the dishes that had been piled in my bathroom!!! I forgot how much I loved that sound. And the sound of the disposal (which is now more quiet and more powerful). And the sound of water in a deep, stainless kitchen sink.

I am finally starting to feel like there may be a light at the end of the tunnel after all. The countertops look amazing and may just make all of the heartache worth it in the end, too. I can wash dishes NORMALLY again and I will never take a kitchen sink for granted again. The missing dishwasher wouldn't have been as big a deal if I could have had a sink this entire time. The last pieces will be having our tile and grout cleaned on Monday (yes, they are including the grout and I am THRILLED about that) and then we will have to paint. We opted to do the paint on our own to save some money. Lucky for me, my mom likes to paint and will be here for a few days next week!! I'm anxious to get it done so I can feel like life is "normal" again!