Perks

OK, so right about now there aren't many perks to being a builder's wife. He's working super long hours trying to make these houses perfect that no one is even bothering to look at. I understand that times are tough. And I am one of the lucky ones who happens to have a husband who still has his "bill paying job." So after weeks of seeing him only right before dinner until bed, I finally received some perks.


I call them perks simply because they perk up my mood. I'm not sure if this is a bad thing or not, but Tim has connections. So we are able to get new stuff for our house easier than your average Joe would be able to. For instance, when we wanted our walls repainted, it was easy to get the painter in to do it. When Kendall and Tanner wanted a playhouse built, we had workers here the next day. (No, Tim did not build that himself. But he could have ...) When we need new fluffy pinestraw or a dead shrub replaced, it's done right away by the landscaper. You get my point. So for the perks ...


A few weeks ago we found out a local family-owned lighting company was going out of business. So Tim gets this stuff in the mail alerting us of the sale. So on a Saturday Tim and I set out to find new light fixtures. For one of his new houses, I thought. So why did he need me there? Because the light fixtures were actually going in our house. And our light fixtures were going in the new house. See, perk. Because he is building a house of the same floor plan, the lights match up perfectly! So now I have a gorgeous new chandelier in my master bath, along with new vanity lights. The old ones were OK, but new is always better!


Just this week I experienced another perk. I've been having issues with my dishwasher for months. Apparently one time when Tanner was trying to help me unload, he decided to hang on the top shelf and it popped out of the groove. Tim popped it back in, but every since then it hasn't stayed properly. Most of the time when I'm trying to get all the sippy cup stoppers out and into the right cups, the shelf will fall and everything hits the floor. Then I have to chase the dog down because, inevitably, she gets a stopper in her mouth and runs off with it. Anyway, Tim and I were trying to watch TV the other night while the dishwasher was running. Usually I run it during the day because it is so loud. And most of you know how light a sleeper Kendall is. So the dishwasher was RUNNING and Tim and I were squinting at the TV, trying to hear (Why do we squint when we are straining to hear, anyway???), afraid to turn the sound up because we may wake Kendall, and she'd be up forever, and I wouldn't get to watch TV after all.


I'm on a tangent.


So Tim got online to find a quiet dishwasher. And quiet he did find! The next day he informed me that our dishwasher would be arriving Wednesday. Hooray! (No, we're not putting the broken dishwasher in one of the other houses!) So I now have a new dishwasher from Builder Specialities (because he's a builder, we get wholesale price or something like that). It has a dip in the top shelf so you can put wine glasses in and they won't hit the top when you close the door. It has 4 baskets ... that means I can put stoppers everywhere if I want to! And those crazy 3-piece straws that come in those Dora cups! And it's sooooo quiet. Oh, and I forgot to mention you can put detergent in this little compartment that holds enough detergent for an entire month!!!!!!!!! You don't have to refill every time you wash! I'm so excited!!


I know ... it's the little things ...