How many times....

...do you really think in one weekend (yes, just one) do you think that a DIY-ing couple can think that their bathroom remodel projects is ALMOST completed- but just to be slapped in the face with something else that goes terribly wrong?

If you guess 3....ding ding...you win. Needless to say, this weekend was a big discouraging on the bathroom front. A quick summary:

Friday night:

• Jimmy finds these amazing 2 guys to finish mudding our sheet rock in the bathroom and replace the ceiling in the mancave that he fell through (don't remember that? Check here: http://justanotherdayinparadise1.blogspot.com/2009/07/and-we-have-hole.html) for only $300....1/2 the price of the other 3 estimates or so.
• We are SO excited. They will be @ our house at 7AM sharp

INSTANCE ONE: Jimmy and I are so excited at how much progress the weekend will bring!

(then we go to his cousin's wedding reception...and Hillary, there will be a post for you on that!)

Saturday:

• 7AM comes and goes- we are starting to question if this is really going to happen
• 8:30AM they arrive and I am forced out of bed
• They do an awesome job and work really fast on the bathroom--everyone is impressed
• In the meantime, Roger is working on the brick walkway, I am helping out (well I am the project manager and brick carrier), Jimmy goes to rent the original stump cutter---and gets ALL 11 stumps out. WOW that's my muscle man -haha
• They take an hour and a half lunch---but the bathroom is done, just needs to dry before sanding and they have cut out the entire area of the ceiling to replace

INSTANCE TWO: Jimmy and I are so excited. Could it be true? Our bathroom is read to paint, the ceiling is up, and the next thing left is to install the vanity and toilet!!? Wahoo!

• The workers come back, while Jimmy and I are returning the original stump machine to Home Depot
• My dad calls to tell us the bad news: they found a leak in some plumbing and they don't want to finish the sheet rock because it will be ruined because it'll get wet. I am speechless. Jimmy punches the car (and his pinkie knuckle now broken/injured---don't think I didn't notice you icing it last night Jimmy--I'm not oblivious)
• We call Evan immediately to see if he can come over to fix the plumbing...because the guys charge by day, so if they have to come back it will be more $$
• He can't come--but luckily he can on Sunday!
• They sand the bathroom and leave
• The walkway is almost done- just the final section left
• Jimmy and I get ready and go to Molly and Taylor's engagement party (of course with another trip to Home Depot squeezed in)

Sunday:

• Ivan and his buddy come over at 8AM to sand the bathroom again, but the mudding stuff isn't dry enough
• Evan comes over mid-after, looks at the leak, fixes it like the rock-star plumber he is, and we test the shower! Yeah! It doesn't leak :)

INSTANCE 3: We are SO happy! The workers will be back tomorrow after work and now that the leak is fixed, they can finish the ceiling too! We are that much closer to a finished bathroom remodel

• Lauren, Jimmy, and I sit down for our Sunday night movie (now becoming a ritual): BTK. It was weird and scary. Then Jimmy goes upstairs to take a shower...
• I walk downstairs to marvel at the non-leaking pipes. To my absolute dismay....yes you guessed it....there was a leak. But coming from a new spot this time. Are you kidding me? I almost break down in tears- but at this point, I realized I was actually expecting it. Is that a bad attitude?
• Jimmy comes downstairs and says he can't believe it and that he "hates this house". He then storms upstairs and goes to bed. Let me remind you folks, Jimmy RARELY loses his temper or gets that upset
• I get a Glad container and duct tape and make a makeshift bucket to catch the drippage. I'm so creative.
  

So there you have it. Our roller coaster weekend. While I am writing this at 5:30 PM - the workers are in the next room finishing sanding and vacuuming (they are excellent @ cleaning up the messes!) and Evan is on his way. From listening to their discussions- I think they found the problem. When my dad, Jimmy, and Evan repaired the valves in Lauren's shower--they didn't secure the tile on, so it's leaking through that. I think they are planning to take it off and re-tile? Who knows! Our house seems to be like a revolving door of handymen. Will it ever end??

The master bathroom is in it's final stages...but I am thinking it would be the best birthday present ever to have the ceiling done by my birthday and the vanity and toilet installed in the master bath. Ambitious goal? Maybe....but after what we have dealt with the last 3 months of owning and DIY-ing the renovations....anything is possible!!