Zombietude ahead

Oog. Tired. After several nights of sleeping through the night again, last night Rose was up at 3AM and 4:30AM. This time, though, the reason was both obvious and kind of funny. She's recently figured out how to roll from back to front - now that she's got it, she seems to find it a great deal easier than going the other way - and apparently she is now doing it in her sleep: both times I went in, I found her on her tummy, looking groggily bewildered and aggrieved. I am torn between propping her in place with a couple of rolled-up blankets and letting her wake up a few times while she figures out how to sleep like that...although maybe I'd be smarter safety-wise to prop her in place until she's rolling back the other way with as much ease. Hmmm.

Electrician dude comes today to give an estimate - w00t! With that and a plumbing quote I will know whether we can swing this or not. Soooooooooooo hoping!!

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Electrician dude has come and gone. He quoted us ~$2500, which was rather less than I was expecting, but recommends taking down the drywall completely, since he's going to have to mess with vapour barrier on an exterior wall. Well, on the plus side, we wouldn't have to worry about the drywall when tearing up the existing kitchen, and the cost of drywall per hour is no doubt less than the cost of electrical, so maybe it's worth it to make the electrician's life easier. Although we'd have to completely redo the backsplash. Also, moving the switch on the wall we want to remove may well turn out to be a total hairy problematic pain in the ass, but there's no real way of knowing for sure until the wall is open.

From speaking to this guy and to the guy Corey's family always goes to, though, I get the strong impression that such estimates are necessarily kind of vague, there being endless potential for surprises inside the walls. Hmmm. This does not make me happy, since every piece of renovation advice out there says GET IT IN WRITING, but Corey's family has no end of good things to say about their guy, although they note he's expensive. Well, electricians seem to be in general, really. I'll get a quote from him too, but he's on vacation until August 10, and if I manage to put in my order at Ikea before August 9 I get to take advantage of the sale, so I'll have to make up my mind to go ahead or not without that info. Well, if the plumbing and drywall costs (slightly more predictable) are looking reasonable, we'll have some flex room there. I've heard 20% of the budget is a reasonable amount to set aside for unpleasant surprises.

I hate trying to second-guess professionals, and I hate trying to plan for unpleasant surprises. It makes my brain hurt.

So: more phone calls tomorrow - pestering plumbers, a drywall dude, and a flooring place (since we'll need to patch the hardwood floor after the wall is gone). Hopefully we will arrive at clarity soon.