Like a New Baby, it Peed All Over the Floor...

Our new dishwasher arrived with quite a story attached. Kevin is my guest blogger today. Since he is currently working from home, he was available to work with all the delivery and repair guys. And I’m really glad. I’m not sure I would have been able to remain calm and reasonable through all the rigamarole.

Our dishwasher was a trooper.  With 4 kids and a master chef for a wife, we were using it nearly daily, and in some cases a couple of times a day.  We had figured out how to load it and get things clean.  If we would only consistently do it…but that is a different story.

One day, the dishwasher door decided it was tired.  The door got really, really heavy.  I think the springs inside the door that helped it open and close smoothly broke.  The handle on the door had already broken and I had fixed it a couple of different times. Shauna and I discussed the issue and decided that it was time to hold a vigil for the dishwasher.  There were flowers and candles and some singing.  Well, while true, it was because one of those days near the end the power went out. So we started shopping for dishwashers.

Because of our experiences with trying to pick up a freezer during this pandemic, I was not hopeful to be able to get a new dishwasher with any speed.  Mentally I had decided it would be about 2 months before the new one would be able to come in.  I felt that this was going to be an aggressive timeline, but I was still hopeful.  We have had decent luck buying appliances through Lowes before, so we thought we would go there and see what they had on the floor.  We were actually able to locate a dishwasher that had what we wanted AND was in the warehouse.  Manufacturers aren’t making very many things in white right now, so we settled for stainless steel.  I could compromise there if it was in stock.  Nevertheless, I couldn’t believe our luck.  It was going to be about 7 business days to get it from the warehouse to the store.  This was great!  So much better than a 6 month wait.

We paid and marked the date that we were to get a call from Lowes to schedule the install.  The date came and went with no word from Lowes.  Uh oh, this didn’t bode well.  I called and they said that due to the heavy weather that happened that week, the delivery trucks were just running a day or 2 behind and not to worry.  So only a couple of days late, we had a date for the installer to come and put the new dishwasher in.

The day came, and the installer arrived.  He brought the new dishwasher in, pulled the old out and got the new one put back into its place of honor.  He ran a quick rinse to check that everything was looking good.  It seemed to be just fine.  He packed up and left.  We promptly filled the dishwasher with dishes and set it to running.  After a while, I noticed some water on the floor, but I assumed that I dropped it there while I was loading the machine.  I wiped it up and didn’t think anything more about it.

Until the dishwasher stopped mid-cycle and beeped.  Uh Oh…

When I opened the door to see what was going on, the top of the door was covered in water, and I noticed that there was more water on the floor.  Please no….

We tried several more things, but it became clear that the machine was leaking.  I was concerned about the computer working in the door because computers don’t really like water.  But it seemed that every time we ran it, the leak got a little worse.

So I called the installer and they came back out and took a look.  It was a different installer tech and he couldn’t see anything wrong.  He said the original installer did a couple of things a bit odd, but he touched them up and ran the dishwasher a couple of times on quick rinse without an issue.  He said that from the install standpoint, there was nothing wrong and that we would need to contact the manufacturer, which I did as soon as he left. Only they didn’t have any available appointments for a couple of days.  

So there we are without a working dishwasher and a load of dishes every day.  It gave me flashbacks to being a kid and cleaning up.  We didn’t have a dishwasher when I was a kid.  Oh well, this is the way we scrub the plates, scrub the plates, scrub the plates….

After several days of water wrinkly hands, the manufacturer’s tech came out.  He worked on it for an hour and looked at all the things.  Ran the rinse cycle.  Oh, the bitter frustration, the thing wouldn’t leak.  He had to leave and mark it up to “cannot reproduce”.  During all this Shauna told me a couple of times to put dishes in it like we have been running it.  I didn’t listen.  The tech left, I loaded the dishwasher again and set it to run.  Yep, there it is: a waterfall out of the door onto the floor.  I should have listened about the dishes.

So I call the manufacturer back and tell them to send the tech back out again.  They get it on the schedule again, but again it is 3-5 days out.  More water-logged hands.  

One night before this second visit, I look under the sink because we can no longer pull the spray head out to use it.  Guess what I find?  The hose from the dishwasher to the in-sink disposal has ripped off the disposal end because of the stress around the way they zip tied things.  Turns out the second installer who stopped by “fixed” a hose trap issue by zip tying the hose to the fixture and making the spray head unusable.  Well, that is all that was needed for the hose to rip off the disposal.

Angry at this point, I call the installer, but it is after hours so they don’t answer.  I call Lowes and talk to somebody there and they help me get a message to the installer.  The next day in the afternoon, I have the manufacturer tech coming out to test the machine again and they won’t be able to with a broken hose.  Get out here and fix it.  GGGGAAAAAAAAA!

I hang up with Lowes hoping the installer will get the message and call me back first thing in the morning so we can get the hose fixed.  I do a bad job of trying to block the hose so it won’t leak and go back to washing dishes.  Without thinking about it, I empty a large bowl full of water into the sink with the disposal.  Whoosh!  A large amount of that food filled water flows out the bad block job, all over under the sink, out on the floor, under the cabinets.  It is everywhere.  Worst of all, the water was full of food debris.  I set about cleaning everything.  I get it dried off, wiped down, soaped up, rinsed again, and do this a couple of times, hoping to stave off the pending smell of rotting food.  Eventually, I get the dishes done.

The next day the installer shows up and fixes the hose.  Says that it couldn’t have been their work that broke the hose, but they fixed it anyway, better than it was before.  They showed up at 10:30 and the manufacturer tech showed up at 2.  Again, the manufacturer tech cannot make the thing leak.  I even had it full of dishes.  Still no dice.

He once again leaves.  Just to make sure I am not crazy, we run it one more time to the same result.  It leaked.  Fed up, I called the manufacturer again and they wanted to send a different company out to look at it.  I was not going to have it.  I called Lowes back and told them I wanted to return the dishwasher because it was a defective unit and nobody could fix it.  Luckily, we were just under our 30-day purchase window for returns- by 1 day.  I tried to tell them that I wanted to exchange it but that got too confusing for the person on the other end of the phone, so I finally just told them to return it.  They scheduled somebody to come and pick up the dishwasher.

I got that ball rolling and then drove over to Lowes and bought another dishwasher, same make and model.  And yes, this one too was in the warehouse and would have to be delivered in 5-7 business days.  Oh well, I have been without a working dishwasher for a month now anyway, what’s another couple of weeks.  With the dishwasher pickup going to happen in a day or 2, we would have a blank spot under the counter for a few days, but I can deal with that.  Meanwhile, we continue to wash dishes -- a lot of dishes.

When the drivers come to pick up the defective dishwasher, they ask me if it is in the garage.  I tell them no, that it is still installed and they are supposed to take it out and take it away.  They tell me that they don’t do install/uninstall work and cannot pick it up today.  I call Lowes back and talk to yet another person and leave a message.  Someone calls me back and we walk through the entire story again.  This time, she says why don’t we leave the defective one in place for now and when the new one I just bought comes in, then they can have the installer take the defective unit out and put the newest unit in at the same time.  FINALLY, someone is making sense.

So a few days later, the new dishwasher comes in and we once again get on the installer’s schedule.  They come and swap dishwashers again, do their testing and leave.  I immediately fill the thing with dishes and set it to running.  After a full cycle, there was no water on the floor.  So I ran it again with the same result.  And one more time for good luck.

Finally, we have a working dishwasher.  I take my receipt for the first machine back to Lowes and get a refund on the first one.  It only took a month and a half of calling Lowes, the manufacturer, the installer, and the manufacturer’s tech, 2 different dishwashers, 5 different tech appointments, and a whole bunch of Palmolive but we made it.

 

And All That Jazz

Due to the C-word, I can count all of Nathan’s senior year concerts on one hand. And honestly, he wasn’t super excited about any of them. There was a plethora of reasons for his lack of enthusiasm, only a few of which were some crazy stressful social situations, not enough time to learn all the music due to school closures, and pressure about his choice to wear a mask when no one else was. This evening’s concert was the exception to that. This evening was Jazz Night, the end of year concert for the two jazz bands and the Vocal Jazz Choir, which was where Nathan fit in. And this concert, the one he has been looking forward to, almost didn’t happen.

Originally Jazz Night was supposed to be a super fancy catered dinner kind of event held at the high school. However, the ever-rising COVID numbers led to another round of cancelled events and Jazz Night was on the chopping block. The music teachers tried to move it outside to the bandstand at our newest city park, but the city gave them a hard no. With numbers on the rise, large gatherings were strictly off limits. Nathan was preparing for yet another disappointment when the news came that the concert at the bandstand had unexpectedly been given a green light. Apparently, the police officer assigned to the high school had seen how hard the kids had worked to prepare for the concert. He was also aware of how many things had been cancelled and how much the kids had lost that year. He had an extremely good rapport with the city and lobbied hard to get them to allow the concert to happen. His efforts were fruitful and although I’ve never met him and don’t even know his name, I’m so grateful for his efforts.

The band boosters did a quick about face and turned the fancy catered dinner into an outdoor event with live music, burgers and hot dogs, snow cones and other treats, and a silent auction. Honestly, it was so much more fun than a fancier event would have been. And due to the cost (the catered dinner would have been $50 per couple and the outdoor event was free with fundraising coming from the auction and all the treats and eats for sale), we were able to take the entire family. All the vocal numbers were accompanied by the advanced jazz band which was super fun for the singers. There were vocal jazz group numbers as well as a variety of solos and small ensembles featuring members of vocal jazz. Nathan participated in several ensembles and had a solo. He selected “Bei Mir Bist Du Shein,” a fantastic number. It was a crowd pleaser and earned him cheers and applause.

It was such a fun night for both audience and performers. Nathan enjoyed himself and came away with the performance high that has been lacking all year. The few other concerts he has had were so filled with stress that he didn’t get much enjoyment from them. But tonight was good for him. Vocal jazz has been his favorite choir by far this year, mostly because the music has been challenging and varied. And being able to actually perform was a boon, one that he does not take for granted. He is so grateful that this particular concert was not lost to COVID. I’m grateful too. It has been hard to watch him become increasingly more discouraged and downhearted as so many hopes for high school have been crushed by circumstances beyond his control. So one night, one magical night where the powers that be agreed to allow these kids to shine was a blessing.

 

Giddy Up!

Last Christmas we didn’t give our kids any experience gifts. It’s not that we didn’t want to, and we told them that, we just had no way of knowing what would or wouldn’t be happening this year. I’m not sure anyone knew. Nearly all the experience gifts we gave them for Christmas in 2019 ended up being cancelled and we didn’t want to make promises that we could not keep this year. However, we told them we were watching and hoping that as the year progressed, we would be able to find some fun experiences for them.

One of Malia’s experience gifts from 2019 was some horseback riding lessons. Because that is not a one-time event like some of the experiences we had planned, it was one that Kev has been trying to make happen for her as things start to open back up. He has searched the internet, made phone calls, asked everyone and anyone who might have a lead for him, and despite all that, he was not having any luck scheduling lessons. A month or so ago, my sister Patti called with a lead for us. One of her friends at work has sister who teaches horseback riding lessons at a stable in Orem. Kevin called and was miraculously able to schedule a series of lessons!

After a year and a half of waiting and searching and calling and frustration and discouragement, Malia’s first lesson was today. She was absolutely giddy! And for Kevin and I, it was a joy to be able to finally be able to fulfill one of the experiences we had promised her.

 

Aladdin at Last

After a full recast, hours of rehearsal, many COVID accommodations and more than a year late, out middle school was finally able to bring “Aladdin” to the stage for a live audience. The necessary canceling of the show last year was one of Matthew’s big disappointments and while he didn’t get cast in the same role he did last year (he will be the first to tell you that his audition was trash this year), he was terribly excited to actually be able to perform and had a lot of fun in his new role as one of the castle guards. He is also a member of the stage crew, so he was heavily involved in designing the lighting for the show as well as helping build sets and having his fingers in the other technical aspects of the show. COVID protocol was still in play for the cast and audience, but that didn’t lessen the joy that being back at a live performance held. I think those live performances are one of the things I have taken for granted in the past, but a year with no concerts, plays, musicals, etc. has made me realize just how big a part they play in my family’s life. All my kids love to participate in live performances focused on their own talents and joys and I love supporting them in these experiences. As more normal activities resume, I look forward to more of these amazing live performances that bring all of us so much joy!

 

Guyliner

One of Matthew’s biggest disappointments last year was the cancellation of the school music, “Aladdin Jr.” After the switch to online school, they kept rehearsing the best they could in the virtual world. As the pandemic progressed, their plans for the play did as well. First, they were going to stream the performance. Then they were postponing until later in the school year. After that they planned to perform in the summer. And finally, with heavy hearts, they had to cancel the entire show. It was a moment of defeat for everyone, students and teachers alike.

With the return to school this year, the play was finally given a green light with a myriad of COVID precautions in place. Once auditions and recasting were done, the kids got to work and poured their hearts into making the musical the very best performance they could. Matthew, while not getting the same part he had last year, was one of the dedicated kids who has spent the past three months rehearsing. Dress rehearsals begin this week which means it was time to teach my youngest son about stage makeup.

Most moms of boys don’t really have the “how to apply makeup” workshops with their children. But all three of my sons have ventured into the world of theater at least once and therefore we have shopped and put on makeup. It has actually provided some moments of great hilarity. This evening added another moment to my memory laugh bank. In order to give you some necessary background info, let me explain that Matthew got the genetic lottery in terms of eyelashes. His lashes are very dark like mine, but where mine are short and straight, his are long, thick and curl up nicely just like Kev’s. Seriously, it is completely wasted on a boy. And I’m a little bit jealous. But I diverge. Let’s get back to the story.

While the boys aren’t required to wear as much makeup as the girls, they do need foundation, highlighter, and eye liner. Of the three, the eye liner is definitely the one that requires the most skill. I taught Matthew how to apply the eyeliner and he did a pretty good job for a first timer. Then we flipped it around and I taught him how to take it off. He used the eye makeup remover and rubbed his eyes. Then he looked in the mirror, rubbed some more and exclaimed, “It won’t come off!” And that’s when I started laughing. I tried to convince him that the eyeliner was in fact completely gone, but he wouldn’t believe me until I grabbed another cotton ball, applied the makeup remover, and gave his eyes a good rubdown. I held up the still pristine cotton ball for his inspection and then laughed some more. Because he is a boy and not a girl, he has never actually taken time to look at his lashes. He didn’t realize that they are so thick and dark that he naturally has that outlined eye look without any product. Let me reiterate, those lashes are completely wasted on a boy. 😂

A Win for the Family

Pre-COVID, my sister Rachael and I were in the habit of having lunch with my parents on Wednesdays. COVID interrupted our routine and while we were able to meet outside during the warmer months, winter has prevented our weekly picnics. But with vaccines administered and weeks for immunity to build passed, we reached a milestone today and were able to have lunch with my parents despite the rain. It just happens to be my mom’s birthday, so we had a tiny birthday celebration as well, complete with cake and presents. It is so good to be able to resume some of these family gatherings. This past year has helped me realize what a blessing it is to be able to spend time with my family and I hope I never forget and never take them for granted. Today’s score: Family-1, COVID-0.

 

Traditions

We have a variety of family traditions centered around Easter. We color eggs, of course, which is always fun. Our dying session was on Friday and things were so mellow that I didn’t even think to take any pictures. We do our egg hunt on Saturday, so yesterday we hid the eggs, let Malia find them and then ate egg salad sandwiches and deviled eggs for lunch. That has also become a tradition since our kids are old enough now that they will all eat egg salad…Matthew excluded of course. While he is eating waffles with eggs every week with no reactions, he’s not quite ready for whole eggs. But he does enjoy helping peel the eggs. I’m not sure why, but that means fewer for me to peel so I can’t complain.

Today’s Easter baskets held a chocolate bunny for each kiddo and our traditional gift that reminds them of the Savior. This year Kev and I created some picture boards with clips that will allow the kids to swap pictures out their wallet size pictures of Christ whenever they desire. We’re thinking forward to the near future when both Daniel and Nathan will be living in places with limited space like dorm rooms and missionary apartments. We wanted something compact enough to travel with them wherever they go. One of our neighbors runs his own carpentry business and was happy to help us create some amazing looking boards. They look about a million times better than they would have if I had painted them.

Dinner this evening held more traditions. No matter what I suggest for Easter dinner, my family always wants ham and cheesy hash brown potatoes. In the name of simplifying, I did get them to forgo the rolls this year, but that was their only concession. Pretty much the only menu item I’m allowed to switch up is the veggies. But that’s ok. It is a delicious dinner that we don’t eat all that often. And if I want to try out other holiday related foods, I just do it in the week preceding the actual holiday. Kev’s parents usually join us for dinner on Easter but with COVID still rearing its head, we packed dinner up for them so they could enjoy it at home.

Our traditional Easter dessert is hot cross buns. This is a once a year treat and last summer’s binge watching of the Great British Baking Show gave me a couple of tips that made this year’s buns both look and taste just a little bit more amazing. I’m actually tempted to make them more than once a year. Or maybe I need to use those handy tips to expand into some other types of sweet rolls. Of course, if I do that too often, I might start to expand literally…

But back to the point. I love my family traditions. And I find I’m even more jealous of them than usual knowing that in the next year another of my children will be leaving home. It’s a strange thing to be contemplating the fact that in the fall only 50% of my children will still be living at home. So I cling to our traditions and I find that my family does as well. In coming years, I know some traditions may need to be modified, some new ones may be established, and some may no longer fit our needs. But for now, we cling to our traditions and treasure our time together. After more than a year spent in closer proximity to each other for longer periods of time than usual, we all still value our time together and in fact, I think we love it all the more.

 

Ears First

Pancakes are an extraordinarily versatile canvas and as such, they have become a staple in my fun food arsenal. Plus, I love pancakes so it’s a win/win situation. This year’s Easter version was just as fun to create as it was to eat. I was never one to eat the ears of my chocolate bunnies first, but with bacon on the menu, the ears were the first to go. Yum!