Our Floors..

Four years ago we tore up almost all the carpet (we left carpet in the bedrooms) and put down laminate flooring. I loved it. It was light and pretty. It looked really good.

One month after installing that floor, just before putting the trim back on, my oldest wonderful child flooded the toilet and it went all down the hall. He NEVER told anyone. Water sat on the new floor all night long. When we woke up, the entire hallway was warped.

One week after the hallway incident the dishwasher broke and slowly leaked water under the laminate in the kitchen and part way into the dining room. It probably leaked for a week or two before we actually noticed it. We were in the kitchen one night and noticed that a little water was coming up from in between the planks. Just a little. So, we replaced the dishwasher and all has been fine.

We have been waiting for four years (ok, three and a half) for the money to replace the floors. We never put the baseboards back on because what was the point? We would just have to take them off again as soon as we could fix it.

It is finally time. Today we finally pulled up the laminate floors. Woo hoo! I should be very excited and I would be if not for the very over powering mildew smell. The very second we lifted the floor planks, the smell permeated through the house. Gross.

So, instead of being excited, I am extremely overwhelmed. My house smells and I need to figure out how to make sure the concrete dries out completely, it's cold outside (like 30 degrees) so we are stuck in the smelly house, my house is trashed because I have five kids and we are demolishing my house, and I started school today.

I am starting to think that I should drop one of my night classes so I am not away so many nights each week. Sigh. I wish big decisions were easier.