I'm sorry, what? I can't hear you over the jack hammer in my living room.

Forgive me if this post is filled with typos and discombobulated sentences, but I can barely think with the chaos going on in my house right now.

Today marks Day Three of the long-awaited renovations. Day One was on President's Day, which turned out to be a really crummy day to start because the kids were home from school. By noon Kendra was crying about all the noise and dust and the fact that the TV and internet connections kept going out.

I am not the most merciful mom in the world, but I totally related to her feelings. And if I were 9, I'd be crying too about the fact that I can't get to my kitchen without climbing through a window in the backyard.

The whole renovation thought-process began a long, long time ago. If there's one thing that's true about my husband, he never rushes into anything. Actually, I'm not sure I've ever actually seen him rush at all. Slow and steady wins the race -- that's his motto.

I spent much of the Spring and Summer of 2008 at local tile stores and paint stores and home decorating stores. I made all the selections and brought home samples and wasted a ton of gasoline when it was four bucks a gallon.

And now, eight months later, we are finally starting. Here's what's not funny: If we had started renovations eight months ago we wouldn't be taking a ginormous hit as we cash out our mutual funds. Slow and steady isn't so smart when the economy's tanking.

But back to the renovations... I got to spend my Valentine's Day moving all our furniture to the garage. Nothing says love like making your wife move couches and tables all day long.

On Monday the workers came and taped off the living room to help contain the dust. Good idea, but by nightfall there was a thick layer of dust on everything in the house. Plastic sheeting is not impervious to dust, apparently.

On Tuesday I escaped to church for Bible study and avoided the house as much as possible. When the day was over the living room was still a disaster and now there were holes in the dining room ceiling, too.

And today I am foolishly attempting to work from home. I've moved my laptop upstairs and every five seconds I feel the ground shake and my eardrums rattle as they BANG! and HAMMER! and SAW! downstairs.

Day Three, friends. I've got another two months of this.

Thank God our next-door neighbors moved and their house is still standing empty. With their permission we are using their garage for storage. And since my power has been cut off several times today, I took my crock pot next door so I could at least have a hot dinner on the table tonight.

Pot roast with a side of dust. Yummy.