TToT – Progress Edition
It’s been a week of progress here in many ways.
In fact, we have several things in progress today – right now – so I’m taking a quick break to link up my TToT and then it’s back to work!
For the first item of thankful this week – and really, it should count as all ten – our nasty carpets have been removed and the hardwood floors are finished! They were finished two days ahead of schedule because – get this – the contractor had a scheduling issue (translation: he goofed-up) which meant he wanted to come two days early. Were we prepared for that? No way. But we wanted it done and we weren’t about to postpone, so we scurried like crazy little mice and somehow managed to be reasonably ready for him 48 hours sooner than the two days we cleared on our calendar. But take a peek at these beautiful floors…
![20140624_132247[1]](http://www.themeaningofme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/20140624_1322471.jpg)
So after a bit of a stress-induced tantrum on my part, we got to work because, well, we had to. Let’s focus on the positive, though, and not the negative and go with the mindset that all inconvenience and stress aside, we are two days ahead of schedule on The Great Clean and Purge as a result. So there is that.
I am thankful for the Fab Hub’s positive attitude – about pretty much everything right now. Somehow he manages to keep his eye on the goals and the positive side of all the things we are juggling right now. He’s often been a pretty staunch naysayer, so I’m glad to see this side of his personality. So in here, I’ll tuck a vague and generic statement to say that during the last week we’ve made some small but definite progress toward some long-term goals and leave it at that.
I am also extremely thankful for what appears to be some serious improvement in my ankle recovery. This has been frustrating, to say the least. In the last day or two, I found myself finally able to walk down the stairs without doing the toddler two-step method. This is major progress. Perhaps I’ll be able to resume full activity at some point after all!
Despite the fact that I couldn’t get in my kitchen for two days and we had to rely on takeout food, I’ve somehow managed to drop about seven pounds since school let out two weeks ago. I’m not arguing – whatever the cause, it’s progress toward a long-term goal of being more fit and more healthy.
I’m thankful for the Fab Hub’s willingness to be the guy in charge of money in our family. I hate that job. He handles it with much more skill and rationality than I could ever muster, so I’m very grateful that he keeps such a close eye on our budget and keeps things running smoothly.
I’m always amazed at Kidzilla’s ability to accept her food restrictions. We made a stop for lunch while running errands on Friday and, as expected, the mac and cheese on the kids’ menu was her first choice. Sadly, though, it was one with yellow dyes in it, so she had to make an alternate selection. She did so without complaint or upset. It’s hard enough for adults to stick to dietary restrictions, never mind a six year old. And when one of the number one offenders is your favorite food? Tough. I am certain that these situations will only help Zilla continue to grow in strength of mind and spirit. I’m also surprised at her ability to handle the disruption in the house with really minimal effect on her overall demeanor. In a home where everyone in the family has a version of ADD/ADHD (including a few of the Rotten Cats, we think), disruption to routine can be a major issue. We’ve all managed pretty well. Progress.
Did I say I was thankful to have hardwood floors? Because I most assuredly am thankful for that. The house feels bigger, cleaner, and healthier. And, as a distinct bonus, when Cat One decided to christen the new floor by puking on them about an hour after the contractors left, cleanup was so much easier than when he did that on the carpets.
Finally, I have to acknowledge both the Fab Hub and Kidzilla for their efforts around here this week. They have both been so cooperative and tireless in their efforts to pack, unpack, re-set and clean up the house through all of this. We’ve made so much progress on the physical environment and I know it can only benefit us in many more ways as we continue.
OK, time to move on to the next job. You know what to do – share your moments of thankfulness, join in the discussion here, link up with one of our lovely co-hosts.
Have a great week!
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Hard wood floors are the best! When we renovated the Queen Anne every time we did a floor, it was all I could do to stay off for the allotted time before laying on my back doing the snow-angel-move repeatedly while snickering uncontrollably! They just feel so clean and warm.
Those are good words – clean and warm. I was a little fearful that it would make the house feel cold and that the floors would be cold on my arthritic feet at night, but quite the contrary! They feel perfect!
Now…snow angels…I may just try that this afternoon!
Oh, how I love hardwood floors! They’re so beautiful! Yay to both members of your family for being so easy and best of luck on The Great Clean and Purge next week.
They really have been great – and none of us really loves cleaning, so it’s a pretty big deal. We have all been working our tails off!
The floors are GAWGEOUS! Our cats always throw up on the area rugs on top of the hardwoods. Always.
Stress tantrum when the floor guys came TWO DAYS EARLY? You deserved to have one!
Fab Hub always lives up to his name. You should clone him!
Poor Zilla. Food restrictions are tough. My son was allergic to peanuts (outgrew it FINALLY). He was so good about asking if there was peanuts or peanut butter in a food and had to miss out on a lot of snacks throughout the years, like at school parties and after soccer games. She’s a tough little cookie and a great example of strength, especially in just a 6 year old.
I’ve got to get back to purging, too. You’re way ahead of me now!
I KNOW, right? The floors look amazing and it kind of feels like we just moved in – mostly because our whole life got thrown in boxes in under 36 hours and now we have to UNpack it all. But seriously, it’s going to be worth it. We’ve tossed so much stuff. Amazing how easy it is to accumulate stuff and not even quite remember how or why or when it happened. So this gives us a chance to pare down and simplify.
Zilla is a tough cookie – I am so proud of her time and time again. And so blessed.
Come back Monday for the Week 2 Update – we have been busy!
We have hardwood floors on the main level and I love love them so much! I’m glad you got yours – and 2 days early (although that must have been way stressful). You’ve lost 7 pounds in 2 weeks? I’m really really jealous. It seems that it used to be so easy to drop 5 pounds – just skip dinner a couple of nights and voila. Now, though, it’s SO much harder. Sigh. Kidzilla is awesome. I love that she was able to move beyond the mac n cheese so easily. What a cool kid. Here’s to progress and purging!!
Two days early was a big of a surprise, but I’m so happy about the floors I could cry. I love them! And yes, quite stressful – check out tomorrow’s post for THAT story.
I’m not sure how the pounds came off – we’ve been relying on takeout a few too many nights because the part I didn’t realize was that I wouldn’t be able to use my kitchen because it was a holding area for other furniture! And I can’t do much exercise right now (OK, not that I do much at all…) because of the stupid lingering sprained ankle thing. Honestly, it’s a mystery, but it’s motivating, so I’ll take it!
Kidzilla is awesome and I can’t believe how well she handles her food restrictions. I’m hoping she handles things that well when she’s a teenager and makes tough choices about other things.
I love your hardwood floors! So easy to keep clean. When we can we just take off shoes and floors keep really nice. High heels are deadly to hardwood floors!
Thanks – we just love them. Cleaning seems so much easier already.
Your hardwood floors look very attractive. Have you had a sock-skating event yet? (always the first thing to do, and is, in fact recommended by the National Hardwood Sports Association*)
Learning to make choices is only one of the most important things that we can learn, the earlier (imo) the better.
*not a real (Sports or Hardwood) Association
Haha – we have not yet had a sock skating event, but that’s the first thing my Sister asked, too.
Couldn’t agree more – making good choices is an important skill. And kids have far too many tough ones today.
Oh myyyy those floors are looking good! We had ours done in the basement recently and the guys came 2 days LATE after many phone calls…then finished at 9:30pm when they promised to be done by 5 so I could go to my MIL’s bday dinner. So I fee your stress tantrum indeed – and I hope you enjoy yours as much as we are as a little bit of making up for it!
We are very happy with the floors – they look fantastic. I think in the end I’m glad the crew came early, not late – now THAT would have made me scream.
so does this mean you have two days that were scheduled for floors that are free and open now?! I have said it before but it bears repeating… that Zilla is a cool kid!!!!!
Well, yes, we did have two days open because we had those days cleared for the floor guys. We spent them putting the house back together…OK, we’re not finished yet because we THOUGHT we had three days prior to those two days, but ended up with one. So the purging we intended to do on the front end we’re doing now. We’re getting there. Come back for Monday’s update!
And yes, Zilla is a one cool kid! 😀
Oh how I love hardwood floors! Yours look beautiful!
I have been out of the loop for so long, I didn’t even know you hurt your ankle. I badly sprained mine last year, and it hurts so horribly bad! I hope you heal up quickly.
Such maturity in your daughter, accepting her food limits with such grace.
I feel so out of the loop – I’m so wrapped up in working around the house, but it feels SO good to get this all done right now.
The ankle got sprained – get this – before first period even started on Monday of the last week of school. So as of today, three weeks ago. It was awful and I (of course) tried to go back to work and do way too much on it right away and it got worse. Then it got better. Then I tried to drive on it. And it got worse. Now it’s finally feeling better again, but I’m trying to remember to take it easy and not overdo it and set myself back again. What a pain. Literally.
I can’t believe how well Zilla handles this stuff – I am frequently amazed by her.
Good heavens! Three weeks is a long time. You really have overdone it. Do you have a boot to wear? Mine was a lifesaver.
I do have a thing to wear – I just don’t always remember to wear it. Feeling much better the last few days!
The floors look amazing and like you, I would have scurried about to get them done faster. I’m like that.
I’m glad to hear that Zilla deals with the food restrictions so well. I know I’d have a hard time at forty six, so I’d say she’s a champ!!
It was either take the earlier dates or reschedule for who knows when and that was NOT happening. We’re thrilled with them. And coupled with the big Clean & Purge project, it’s like moving into a new home and starting all over. It’s a good thing.