Remodeling Part 2…From the Eyes of a Child…

Large was sick this week so he was around during all of the remodel stuff that has been going on. I don’t wish him sick, but he wasn’t too uncomfortable, was playing like normal, and only had a fever. It was nice having him around this week, kind of an early Spring Break. If he hadn’t been around, Medium and Small would not have been as preoccupied during this mess.

Here's a glimpse of the remodel from the kids eyes...

Day 1:

Kids: A man is in our house breaking the tile…hmmm…let’s keep playing.

Mom: Kids when you come down the stairs you have to wear your shoes. Don’t track the dirt upstairs so take them off going up.

Kids: Ok, no problem

They were so good about it, this is the picture I would see when they were upstairs!

Day 2:

(Kids wake up…)

Kids: The carpets gone? Hmmm..Let’s play!

(The creative juices begin to flow…)

Medium: Ahhh, it’s the concrete desert! Don’t go in or you might be hurt.

Large: But we have to! We have to get to the island.

Kids: (Concrete floors all around a big sturdy dolly that would fit two kids just great…YES!) Mom said we have to wear shoes if we touched the floor downstairs, so let’s throw our shoes into the concrete desert and use this dolly to creatively get to them without touching the floor. Once we get our shoes then we can pedal back to safety. Wonder how mom is going to like that. Wow! She just said she liked our creativity and as long as we don’t stand up on it or ram it up into the walls we are good. Sweet! I love these new floors!

Mom just broke the news that our concrete forest, was soon to become a wooded forest. This could be good too, we will see.

Day 3:

(10am work crew arrives to put in floors.)

Kids: Lots of people here, huh, well let’s just go upstairs to play.

(play, play, play, play, loud noises, )

Kids: Let’s go to our room so we don’t hear this.

(play, play, play, more loud noises, just less loud now, play, play, play, hungry)

Kids: Mom just brought up a picnic to our room for lunch, could this day get any better!

Mom: Mama is really excited about these new floors.

Kids: Really? Huh! Ok.

(3pm work crew leaves, plywood sheets down awaiting the wood floors in the morning. Medium comes down stairs. Here is a pic of what the kids find as they come down stairs.)

Medium: Wow they finished the wood floors!

Mom: (somewhat surprised he thinks they are done, let’s see where this could go.) So you really like them?

Medium: Oh, yes, Mama I love them!

Mom: What do you think about these places where they kind of bow up, don’t you think you will trip?

Medium: Oh no Mama, you just have to step down on them like this. (as he pushes one down with his foot). Daddy isn’t going to believe they are done. (Medium enters office) They must have brought too much wood and they decided to leave it in here. I don’t see our computer; I guess they thought we need a new one.

Mom: I guess so.

Medium: (enters living room) This is so great! Our T.V. is gone, I guess they thought we needed a new one, but we can go to the store and get one and it will work, right Mama? (As the T.V. is stuffed up on the floor in the breakfast nook behind him)

(Medium exits the room to watch some t.v. in mom’s room.)

(Large enters the scene. Large may think they are done, but surely he will think we are crazy to think this is better.)

Large: Oh they are done.

Mom: How do you like them?

Large: I love them!

Mom: Really?

Large: Well they are lighter then Josh and Jake’s wood, but I’ll get use to it I’m sure.

Mom: (surely he is just trying to be nice)

(Large proceeds around corner…)

Large: I like it so much I wish it even went into there (our hall to our kitchen)

Yes, I eventually told them the truth, but it was adorable to hear they were just as happy, no happier, with plywood (which mama still insisted they have to wear shoes so they wouldn’t get splinters) then they were with our cushy carpet and relatively clean tiled floor. I still think part of that was because they knew how excited I was to get these floors. When the floors were finished the next day they got to have even more fun racing their "Shake n Go" cars with their Uncle from one end of the house to the other. I love my boys and I’m so glad they have had fun during this experience!