Friday, July 31, 2009

Ya can't take it with you...

Heard at my house this morning.

The Big Apple : "When you die, you don't get to take anything with you to Heaven. No toys, no shoes, not anything."

The Middle Apple: "Bonus!!!! I won't have to brush my teeth! 'Cause I can't bring my toothbrush! I think I'm gonna love Heaven!"

Monday, July 13, 2009

Independence Day

I am just now getting around to posting about our 4th of July celebration, what with all the water damage and new carpet and such in our house....but what a celebration it was!

We spent our 4th with our good friends....unfortunately Eben had duty that weekend and we saw very very little of him. Which makes me sad. But I am very blessed to have people here that are almost like family to us, and I was soooooo happy to be able to spend the evening with them.

The girls played outside in the pool while the best ribs (EVER!!!!) were cooked on the grill. There was mac and cheese, baked beans, and zucchini swimming in butter. Oh, my....you can't count points for Weight Watcher's on a holiday, because it will never work... My cellulite was singing for sure :)

After we ate, we went outside to enjoy the evening air. The Little Apple discovered that there was water in the pool. And that if you push on the soft side of the pool, the water comes out.
The moon came up, and it was time to light some fireworks.... I still, for the life of me, can't get over the fact that I live here. Everything is just so rich and green and beautiful. And I get to live here. What could be better? (don't mention my moldy bathroom ceiling, right now, okay?)
Some of the fireworks were loud, so they ran for the cover of the porch swing and plugged their ears.
some you have to dance in,
and some, you have to dance with....and try not to light people's hair on fire.
But that's another story. However you spent your 4th, I hope it was a good one. Our's was the best!

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Also of Blog-worthyness....

My husband made me promise to post this photo. So I will.
But only because he asked so nicely.

Among my many perfected talents, you may add left-handed mouse clicking to the list. I am right handed.

You see, when you have been nursing a baby for 15 months, there are certain things that you have plenty of time to work on. Like how to eat a messy sandwich one-handed. Or how to pick up the tv remote with your toes. I have even learned how to wash my face and apply make up while nursing. And now, I have perfected the art of left handed mouse clicking. You see, if you perch the mouse pad on the side of the recliner, the baby's feet can't reach it. And if you drape the cord between your toes, just in case those crazy legs do in fact kick your mouse, you can still have access to it before it hits the floor. For some reason, this amazes my husband.

I'm glad that I can still dazzle him.

We inturrupt this Summer to bring you.....

Water Damage. And all the hassle that goes with it.

And I mean hassle. A lot of it. I don't remember praying for patience, but I am getting my goodly dose of it now.

When I mean water damage, I don't mean like these new friends of ours. I regret to even post about my measly event that is practicing my faith building techniques.

Before our trip to Florida a few weeks ago, the AC unit, which is cleverly (NOT!) located in the attic, began leaking water into the bathroom. It destroyed some of the ceiling tiles. Which wasn't really a big deal...the AC guy came, supposedly fixed the issue, and went along his merry way. That same night, the water began leaking in worse...destroying even more tiles, and causing the ceiling to droop.
And mold. Did I mention mold? Ewwww. My wonderful husband, in the midst of repeatedly phoning the AC repair guy and the landlady took matters into his own hands and climbed up into the attic and made a temporary fix himself. I stress the word temporary here, because the AC guy was supposed to come back and redo the thing while the girls and I were in Florida. Oh yea, and the landlady said the bathroom would get fixed too. They didn't. humph.

Fast forward 2 weeks...The girls and I return from Florida, we get all unpacked, when I notice a strange smell coming from the Little Apples bedroom. Smelled just like a wet diaper had been left somewhere. I tore apart her room looking for the source.

And that is is where our little sage went from bad to worse. The water from the AC unit had now started seeping back into the house under the carpet in The Little Apple's bedroom. And it smelled funky....ruined the padding, the carpet, and damaged the stuff around it. I am very thankful for my good friend Stephenie, who came and helped clear out the room, otherwise more of Elise's things could have been ruined. This is the contents of her bedroom and closet, now conveniently located in the dining room. Nice. We were fortunate that only the legs of the little chest that my late grandmother painted got wet, and the rockers of my mother's rocking chair, that my dad got for her on their honeymoon, took some water.
A lovely view of the wet carpet, minus the wet padding that I tore out, that had to be spread out out on on the floor for several days, waiting for the insurance adjuster to come, then more waiting for the carpet replacing person to come. I really wanted the carpet to hit the curb the first day, just to get the funky wet diaper smell out, but I guess that just wasn't meant to be.
Yesterday, The Little Apple got new carpet in her room. You cannot begin to understand my happiness about this, as The Little Apple, does not care to sleep anywhere but her own crib. This week, we have had all sorts of living arrangements for her, in attempts for her to be comfortable sleeping....none of them a winning situation. She would cry and cry, eventually collapsing and sleeping more out of sheer exhaustion than peaceful sleep.
So last night, after much debate about mold and paint, etc...we decided that it was safe enough to put the Little Apple back in her own room. She lay down in her crib at 6:30, and went to sleep without a peep. She's still sleeping this morning as I type, and I couldn't be more pleased.

Oh yea, I have to add this, because I am just soooooooo proud of myself. See that white thing on the floor of the picture? That's a broken closet door. It's been broken since we moved in. The carpet installer guy tried to fix it, my husband had tried to fix it, the landlady's husband had tried as well. Yesterday, I fixed it myself with some toothpicks and gorilla glue (love that stuff!) and then I hung the door myself. HA!

But now, onto part 2 of the water damage sage....getting the bathroom fixed. Did I mention that this house only has one shower? This should be fun.