Update: Did you see how amazing our kitchen makeover was? Check out the pictures if you haven’t already!

After a long and busy weekend, I lay in bed on Monday morning and mentally worked out the day ahead of me. I knew that if I planned the day well, I’d be able to accomplish a lot. And we had a lot to do – River had drama and science clubs, I had to pop into the store to finish up a bit of work, I was hoping to squeeze in a visit to the chiropractor, and I wanted to visit a couple more stores so I could make a final decision on the kitchen floor. I wasn’t exactly sure when my cousin Brent was coming to start our kitchen renovation, but I knew it was coming up soon.

My thoughts were interrupted by a text on my cell phone. It was Brent. “Be there in 20 minutes. Can we have the driveway?”

Well, now I did know exactly when he was coming: in 20 minutes.

I sprang into action. Like every good mother dealing with an urgent time crunch, I immediately stuck Harbour in front of the computer, found Blue’s Clues on Netflix and handed her a good-sized chunk of cheddar cheese.

With Harbour preoccupied and River still fast asleep, I ran to the kitchen and started to clean. Thankfully my husband did most of the dishes the night before, so I tried my best to finish up the rest. Quickly I realized the futility of even trying and moved on to picking up the random assortment of clothes and toys and plastic bags off the floor. Then, inexplicably, I swept the floor and gave it a quick wash. Because naturally you can’t possibly have people come to demolish your kitchen when the floors are dirty.

As I finished mopping the floor, I glanced outside and saw Brent with his gigantic truck and trailer – and my car still in the driveway. Immediately regretting the time I spent cleaning rather than getting dressed, I ran outside to move the car in my slippers and pajamas. Oh well. It won’t be the last time my neighbours see me running around in sweatpants.

Once Brent was inside, I admitted that I maybe kind of forgot he was coming. And that I had a long and busy weekend. And that I was sorry that we hadn’t moved a single thing from the kitchen to the living room. He laughed at me and said that people who do remember he’s coming don’t even bother to empty their kitchens. Brent is really easy going. Thank goodness.

So Brent and his assistant Dave and I got to work emptying my cupboards. My living room was already on the squishy side with all our furniture shoved against the east side of the room and all of our flat-packed Ikea boxes taking up the west side. Within 3o minutes, every last bit of flat surface was covered in pots, pans, spoons, forks, towels, boxes, cans, bags, mixers, and blenders.

Once the kitchen was empty, Brent and Dave started pulling the room apart. Everything went out the door – the cabinets, the counters, even the proverbial kitchen sink. By the time they left nearly four hours later, Brent and Dave had even pulled up the old floor, removed the horrid back splash, and cut out a massive hole in the drywall for our new pass through window between the living room and the kitchen.

No more cabinets! And a big giant hole!

I, on the other hand, was not nearly so productive that morning. River and I spent most of our time mesmerized by the work going on. Fortunately a large sheet of plastic hanging from the ceiling kept all the dust from settling in our open mouths as we watched piece after piece of our kitchen thrown out the door. Harbour was oblivious to the chaos and kept watching Blue’s Clues. I was content that she was out of harm’s way and congratulated myself on my excellent parenting skills.

When we were finally able to tear ourselves away, we headed out for lunch, and then we finished all the tasks that I had planned out first thing in the morning while still in bed. River went to her homeschool groups, I went to the store and the chiropractor, and then we visited four different stores looking for a nice floor. Which now meant anything that could be installed the next day.

It’s only been three full days now since this whole thing started, yet I can feel the stress getting to the family. Part of it is my fault – I just wasn’t prepared in the least. I had meant to have slow cooker suppers ready to go – or to have a list of people lined up that we would feed us a meal. I had meant to have the kitchen emptied in an organized way so that I could find things when I needed them. I had meant to keep the knives and the brownies out of Harbour’s reach. Turns out, she knows how to cut pieces of dessert and serve herself. How handy.

I think we’re going back to Ikea for the afternoon. We need to pick up one or two things, but mostly I think we all need a good dose of organization and cleanliness. Maybe it will give us the mental boost we need to make it through a weekend. Either way, it won’t be that much longer and in the grand scheme of things, it’s not that bad. The hardest part is really just waiting to see our fantastic new kitchen.