My Dad Was Right

"Life is pain,"  Dad always said whenever we were complaining about something or going through a hard time.  Sometimes he'd say it in all seriousness and other times with a twinkle in his eye but the message was the same:  Life is not always one big happy party.
His words couldn't be truer as we are in the throes of remodeling our master bathroom.  Who would ever remodel their master bathroom before remodeling their kitchen?  Or replacing carpet?  Or about a million other home improvements that need to be done that people might actually see if they come to your house?  Well, we are those people.  We stopped using our shower six months ago {SIX!} when we discovered it was leaking water into the living room below. {Repairing the ceiling is the next thing on our list.}  The most frustrating thing about the bathroom was that the previous owners had just remodeled it themselves.  Unfortunately for us, they hired some 20-something, unlicensed contractor to do the work.  Apparently he doesn't know that sticking tile directly to sheet rock inside a shower is not going to be waterproof.  At all.  The only thing that makes me feel a little, tiny bit happy about the situation is that the bathroom was super modern and didn't go with the rest of the house so now I won't cringe every single time I walk into it.
Currently there is a bathtub and a toilet sitting in my bedroom, a vanity on the landing partially blocking the entrance to Ethan's bedroom, and boxes of tile, hardware, grout, and tools everywhere in between.  Walking through my room in the middle of the night when it's dark {because I'm pregnant and I always have to go to the bathroom} is like walking through a mine field.  And I have to put on shoes because of all the dust, debris, and tile shards.  It's so lovely.
Honestly, I'm hating every second of it but I've learned a few lessons through this whole ordeal.

1.  If it's not broken, don't fix it!  Which means we will never do a kitchen remodel because why would I do that to myself just because the kitchen is ugly and outdated?  It works just fine so it's going nowhere.

2. Order everything well in advance because chances are, even if you're getting grout from Home Depot, it will be out of stock.  I seriously just thought I'd pick out all the things I wanted and go pick them up at the store.  Not so!  It's a miracle everything is actually here in time to be installed.

3.  Never build a house.  Anything you want will cost more than what you think or expect it to.  Especially if you want something slightly nicer than generic builder-grade quality stuff.  You like that stuff you see on Pinterest?  Well guess what, it's way out of your budget!

OK, I'll stop with this depressing list.  It's a good thing most people don't feel the same way I do or my brother-in-law who builds beautiful custom homes for a living would be out of job.
Oh, and the icing on the cake is that Marcus sliced his hand open helping with the bathroom demo so that's an added price tag because his little ER trip was not part of the bathroom budget.
Like my dad always said, "Life is pain."

That 90 degree cut was from the corner of the marble vanity top impaling his hand as he tried to squeeze through a doorway while Randy was pushing from the other end.  It was a gory sight!

I'll post the finished product when it's all done.  Maybe.  I have low expectations on the whole thing coming together the way I envisioned it.  It's really unfortunate my brother-in-law lives in Utah.  He could've handled the whole thing while I sat on the couch eating bonbons.  But now I'm familiar with every aisle in Home Depot and Lowe's, know the best tile dealer and exactly how much tile is safe to load in my minivan, found an outlet where I can order windows and trim for dirt cheap, and I carry a tape measure with me everywhere I go.