you know your renovation has been going on too long when ...

• words like "crown molding", "built-ins", and "flush mount lighting" are part of your five- and six- year old children's vernacular.
• you hold real silverware in someone else's home and it feels foreign.
• you're grateful for that spanish degree you earned in college.  especially useful is the phrase "estoy buscando mis ..." which means, "i'm looking for my ..." (fill in the blank -- keys, purse, shoes, sanity.  our painters have been quite helpful in locating at least the first three items.)
• your children build all their lego houses to include an attached dumpster.
• the aroma wafting out of the port-a-potty in your front yard isn't remotely pleasant ... but you don't even notice it.
• your children actually whine about having to go out to dinner.  "please, mommy?  can't you please cook tonight?"  (sorry, sweetheart.  cooking is not an option without a functioning oven or range.)
• on top of your bathroom counter is handsoap, toothbrushes, and a carton of strawberries to be rinsed.
• when asked what they've been doing this summer, your children do not respond with "we've been to the beach!" or "we've gone to the mountains!" or "we've been swimming and doing fun camps!"  instead, their immediate reply is, "our house is being renovated."

and that pretty much sums up our lives at the moment.  but the end is in sight.  the end is in sight.  the end IS IN SIGHT.