Pre Push Present

I haven't pushed a baby into the world quite yet (for those of you waiting for news, sorry). But I have managed to acquire the best present that this mama could EVER ask for. What is this present exactly?

A dishwasher. A DISHWASHER!!!!!!

Yes, you read it correctly. After three years, one month and twelve-ish days of living in our home, we now have the world's greatest appliance in our kitchen. It has been a long time coming.

If you know me and we've talked about our dishwasher saga, you know that I have battled with the whole thing constantly. Making light of the fact that we don't have one. Then dying in agony over not having one. Then trying to use it as focused prayer time. And then getting really discouraged. And then accepting it again. And then melting down. Etcetera etcetera etcetera. Yes, it's been quite the three year ordeal. I would like to think I've handled the situation beautifully but I haven't.

Numerous times I looked into the possibility of getting one, but with no great option. We have no space for a wheeling one. An on the counter option, suggested by an appliance store guy, was a joke (not only do we have very limited counter space but the apparatus would wash five things at once). An under the sink option might have worked, but the size of our sink made it an impossibility as well. Oh yes, and a regular dishwasher (24 inches deep) would never work with our pathetic 17 inch deep counters. P.S. When I first called the appliance store with our measurements the sales rep laughed out loud. The jerk! ;)

So we were stuck. Except with the possibility of a major kitchen remodel, which we were a good five years from tackling. Could I last that long? Apparently not. I told Jono that I just couldn't have two kids without a dishwasher so something had to be done.

Enter our amazing contractor, Darren. He gave us the idea of extending our counters/cabinets on just one side of the sink (we couldn't extend the entire thing because of the entrance to our breakfast nook), adding a dishwasher and creating a custom cabinet on the other side. We just replaced our laminate counter with a new one. And wala! Well, more than wala, actually. At the same time, he added a garbage disposal. A GARBAGE DISPOSAL! (I know. Having neither was a double whammy). And then we decided to make use of some wasted space above the refrigerator and add some cabinets. Oh yes, and he's replacing the ridiculous gold knobs with new hardware too.

So basically, my "push present"/Christmas present/birthday present for the next five years is an updated kitchen. Never mind granite countertops or lovely new cabinets. Just give me a dishwasher, a disposal, a little extra counter space and some more storage. I am in heaven!!

I'm not going to lie. I actually shed a few tears the morning I first ran our beautiful new appliance. Jonathan thought I was about to lose my mind. I assured him they were just tears of joy :).

So now we're ready to have this baby. The kitchen isn't 100% done but will be any day. Just the cabinet doors need to be added and Darren should finish by the end of the week. I'll update pics when the whole project is through, but here are just a few to give you an idea...

I figured after the baby has been born nobody will care to see pictures of my new dishwasher, so I had to sneak it in before it goes unappreciated!