Storm is a comin'...or is it?

It was a pretty busy day yesterday. What day isn't? Esteban completed the final cuts on the floor tiles he put down in the master bath, hung our new front door, and completed the kitchen & bathroom plumbing repairs (here's where I really need to start to fill in the blanks -but will try to get one of those drafts completed today).

We also had our refrigerator delivered. It's beautiful and doesn't require a strip of velcro to hold it closed -long story. We got an excellent buy at the HH Gregg tent sale on Sunday. It's a stainless steel, side-by-side model for 30% off the original price. We also nabbed the over-the-range microwave oven. It was also a steal for only $200 -normally it goes for $649.

The whole buying experience was interesting. Mom and Kiki (my baby sis) went with me...along with my 3 kiddos. I'm not sure what was more work. Corraling the kids or making a decision. I've never bought a refrigerator before and the only microwaves I've owned have been the standard, counter-top kind you find at a Target or Walmart for $30. I was hesitant to make a choice. I just wanted to lean on Mom and have her guide me since she had done this a few times.

We figured the bargain price on the refrigerator was too risky to pass up, so I had Mom stand guard while I wandered over to the microwave. Kiki had noticed a nice dishwasher next to it - also stainless - and going for a great price. We mumbled amongst ourselves and giggled as we looked over at Mom who stood with her arms crossed, leaning back onto the steel monster, covering the sale ticket of the device. I don't know if anyone else was interested in checking it out, but they would have had to been pretty bold to ask her to step aside.

Well the dishwasher got snatched up right in front of us. They wheeled it away and that meant we better move quick. People were not browsing...they were actually buying. So I decided to go for it. Kiki and I both nodded over to Mom so she could grab ahold of a salesperson while we blocked the mircrowave. Hmmmm...sounds like a new game: Appliance Wars. We saw a salesman walk over to Mom and before he was in front of her he called out: I'm sorry 'mam, that appliance is already sold.

WHAT??!!! I couldn't believe it, just my luck! All the other friges that had been claimed had sold signs on them so we weren't expecting this. Somewhat dejected but determined to go inside and see what they had to offer on the regular salesfloor, we began to walk away from the table holding the microwave. A gentleman asked if he could assist us. I thanked him and said I didn't think so. I did mention that we were hoping to take the oven to match the frige that apparently wasn't available anymore. I think it was my hopeful way of asking him if he knew any different. He only shrugged his shoulders and moved on.

We made our way back to Mom and found it curious that she was chatting up a storm with the sales associate. I looked at the paper attached to the clipboard and it had my address written on it. Ok, sleep deprivation + three monkeys (two in diapers) + 10 labor intensive projects + major, first time decisions to be made + one salesman with a sense of humor = one confused mommy!!!

Apparently, he had been watching and us and figured we were going to choose that merchandise so he thought he'd be cute about it. I did laugh...took me a minute, but I did.

Anyway, by mid-afternoon, Esteban and I decided to do some more shopping. Had to exchange some of the plumbing materials and we still needed other odds and ends, like new molding for the bathroom, silicon, paint, etc. Just before our final stop, I checked in with Mom who was watching the munchkins. I was soposed to stop for hamburger buns for sloppy joe's. I wanted to make sure everyone was starving already before we stepped into another home improvement store.

"How long would it take Esteban to repair those roof shingles?" she asked. I didn't know, and he wasn't sure. There were about 14 spots on the roof that needed replacement of shingles according to the final inspection before close of escrow. According to the newscast Mom had just watched, a pretty big thunderstorm was expected to arrive early Wednesday morning. It was already 6:40pm, Tuesday evening. Instead of continuing on our errands, I drove us back to the house so Esteban could climb up and take a look. He'd have sunlight for at least another 2 hours.

He finished the job, and there's more I can tell about that. In the end, we wrapped up pretty close to 9pm and headed over to Mom's for dinner. After doing some catch-up work early this morning, I suddenly realized...no storm. In fact, I don't believe it even sprinkled. I'm sure rain is a comin' though. Summer storms are common here in Indy and if the forecast was slightly off...no problem. At least the roof is done.