The first renovation included the kitchen (since the only kitchen is in Benji's unit), the living room, and one of the bathrooms.
Luckily, my sister planned to get married in our house that summer. She would often stop by, talk to the workers, and remind them that she was getting married there. It helped keep the project on track. We didn't have counter tops in time for the wedding, but Dad went down to the local lumber yard (yes, NYC has lumber yards) and had some plywood cut to fit and we placed table cloths over it. All in all, we were shockingly ready for the wedding.
During this renovation, our only kitchen was on the top floor. We had a hot plate, a microwave, and a mini-fridge on the top floor. And we only had one bathroom which we shared with the construction crew. Looking back on it, I don't know how we managed during this phase of construction. I had taken the attitude that it might never end and we could live like this for our entire lives. I was then pleasantly surprised when it was all done.