The Gibson Family: Hotel Livin'

Friday, April 18, 2014

Hotel Livin'

As of today, we have been living in the hotel for 2 weeks. Our dishwasher had a tiny leak in it that (over a long period of time) leaked through the cabinets and wall in our kitchen and came up through our living room wood floor. At first, we thought it would be an easy fix...after all, the dishwasher was fixed within 10 minutes and the plumber said the part cost less than $10. However, the damage to the wood floor was pretty significant. We tried to find a good match to the floor for over a month, but we found out that our color had been discontinued. Because of that, they are replacing every piece of wood floor in our whole house...which is basically everything except for the kids' bedrooms and our bonus area. The stairs are coming out, baseboards, everything. The workers said yesterday it would be at least 3 more weeks. They haven't even started on the kitchen floor, which is flagstone. They are planning to jackhammer that out and have to lay new stones. Ahh! I'm so glad we are out of there and not having to be home for all of this. Every bit of furniture is moved out of our first floor, and they even emptied out my kitchen cabinets and all of my bathroom drawers (without me knowing...blah) and moved them to storage. I've tried to go home a few times for things I forgot, and those have not been successful trips. :)

Being away from home for an extended time is bittersweet. The kids are having a BLAST, but they have begged for their own beds more than a few times. They miss specific toys and definitely miss the luxury of a DVR. :) We are staying in an extended stay type place that has two bedrooms and a living/kitchen combo. It is definitely not the space that we are used to, but that has actually been a blessing. We are spending lots and lots of family time together. I am not cooking, I am not cleaning, and that gives me a lot more time to focus on the kids.

Here are some of the highlights:

Swimming!

Coin Laundry...and we even get to ride the elevator for that part. :)

Sharing a bed! I had the kids nap separately the other day, and Collier cried and cried for Landry. After 6 weeks of being bed-buddies, this might be a hard habit to break. :)

Smiley baby soaking up all the love and attention.

Indoor sandbox. I packed a bazillion little things that I thought would keep the kids busy. We have played with a few, but we haven't been just hanging out in the room as much as we do at home.

Free cookies...

and bananas...all day in the lobby.

Resting, relaxing, and renewing while the kids nap every afternoon...

The kids are so close I can watch them (not even over the monitor) while they sleep. Love, love, love.

Serious family bonding...we can't get away from each other. :)

Some afternoons, we go down to the lobby just to quit tearing up our own room. They have board games down there, and Collier loves to scatter them all over the floor. Good thing the hotel ladies love our kids!