finally! well...almost

Our house is almost completely done! With the exception of staining the deck and a few touch-ups...this house project is complete. And we could not be happier. We love the color and even more than that, we are just happy that this roller coaster of a ride is over.

On a much more fun note, the kids are doing great too. The Mayor got an excellent report back from his teacher yesterday. In fact, she told me they had a fantastic day and that once he stopped crying after he was dropped off, he was perfect! Just what I wanted to hear...I am praying that we are starting to get the hang of it and this will become our norm. But you know how it goes, especially since I am bragging about him, tomorrow will probably be a nightmare. But I know he can do it and he will eventually get there. I told myself it would probably be the end of September before he was completely comfortable so getting it this early is just a bonus.

Sweet Love Bug is on the brink of being 6 months old (Friday is her 1/2 birthday) so this weekend will be the start of solid foods. I can't believe we are already here. And something else worthy of blogging, sweet baby girl wore her first hair bow today! Of course she looked absolutely adorable. We went on a Target run with Meega and Bennett today and Meega talked me into buying hair bows (and it didn't take much effort to talk me into it). Meega could hardly wait to get the bows into baby girl's hair. We tried all of the bows on...you know, just to make sure they fit. She rocked them all.

we're back

We are back home and getting settled. And I am pretty sure it is going to take the better part of this week to get back to normal. I am interested to see how tomorrow morning goes; usually after a crazy weekend of travel The Mayor decides to catch up on his sleep as soon as we are home and he is in his bed. And that is going to stink since tomorrow is a school day and I need him to be up and at 'em by 8:00. Oh well, he can take an extra long nap and use Wednesday to catch up.

Tomorrow the painters are back to finish up the house. So happy! I love the house color and can not wait until it is complete. Then they will stain the deck, work on the punch list of spots I know I will find on the house for them to touch up and I am praying by Wednesday afternoon, they will be packing up and leaving this house for good. We are almost at the 3 week mark for getting this house painted, and that is borderline ridiculous! Needless to say, once the outside is complete and we finish touching up The Mayor's room and repainting the dining room, we are putting the home project list to rest...for awhile.

worn out

We have enjoyed our time in South Georgia, but if the last few hours of our Sunday have showed me anything, it is tomorrow we need to go home...and get back on our routine. Wow. There is a good side and a bad side to having kids on a schedule. And we have reached our limit.

The Mayor was so tired that he actually asked to go to bed at 7:15 tonight. That just doesn't happen...especially when we aren't at home and his cousins are in the house. Love Bug was fussing to be fed and go to sleep before 7:00 tonight. Both kids were down and sound asleep before 7:45.

This afternoon was just as fun as yesterday. The Mayor loved wrestling with Trey and Luke and having them chase him. Love Bug loved being cuddled and fussed over by her grandparents, aunt and uncle. That girl is not starving for attention. The Mayor is going to be so disappointed when he wakes up tomorrow and doesn't have his cousins here to play with.

D and I are packing up and then off to bed because as soon as the kiddos are awake and fed breakfast, we are heading back home.

playing together

Luke, Trey and The Mayor

Aunt Nat and a napping Love Bug

helping MeMe make brownies

enjoying the brownies

hello south georgia

We busted out of the Atlanta popsicle stand last night at 7:48 and pulled into MeMe and Big Daddy's house at midnight. Best decision ever. Now, we probably won't choose this time of day to travel ever again with two young ones, but it sure does feel good not being in Atlanta dealing with home repair hell. A few days away will do us good.

Today has been wonderful and we have done nothing, so far. The Mayor, D and Big Daddy took the golf cart into town and played at the local playground. They were gone for hours and The Mayor came back so happy. They stopped by Dairy Queen and got some soft serve and then hit the farmer's market and picked up some boiled peanuts. Trey, Luke and Aunt Nat are now here and the 3 boys had a blast playing with each other. The Mayor took turns jumping on then, trying to wrestle with them and just being their shadow. Wherever Trey and Luke went The Mayor was sure to follow.

The Mayor is taking a much needed nap, and after he wakes up, we are loading up and heading to Valdosta. We are going to enjoy the rest of our wonderful weekend with family before heading back to reality.

sweet girl...getting dressed for the day

MeMe bought The Mayor this "Thomas the Train" backpack...he did not take it off. He wore it...

...and posed with it on...

...and danced with it on...

...and watched football with it on...Go Dawgs!

...and played with his Thomas trains with it on

so happy

Well, God is good. It didn't take me 10 years to be able to laugh about the house situation, it only took 2 days. D and I had a good chuckle about this whole thing on the way home from dinner. What a roller coaster of emotions we have been on the past week and a half, and I am happy to report this roller coaster of a ride is almost over. When we woke up this morning, we had a nice whole in the baseboard of our dining room decorated with termite damage. By 9:30 AM, we had a huge hole in our dining room - the entire wall was gone. By 10:30, the hole was closed up. And by 4PM, the new siding was on the house and the sheetrock was up and mudded in the dining room.

The house is almost completely painted the siding color. Tomorrow they will finish the small section of the house that needs to be sprayed and then they will move on to the trim, shutters and doors. Once that is complete, the deck will be stained. And then it is good-bye to the home painting project and hello to our home being complete and just the 4 of us. Well, almost complete, we still have to repaint the dining room now...

Fingers crossed we can still get to South Georgia to visit MeMe and Big Daddy this weekend. We haven't been since before Love Bug was born...we miss them!

On a much more important note...sweet Love Bug rolled over from her back to her belly!! The past few times I have laid her on her activity mat, I put her on her back, walk away for a second and when I come back she is on her tummy. But tonight she did it in front of me. And what a look of accomplishment that appeared on her sweet face. The grin on her face almost made me tear up. She was so proud of herself. I love that baby girl...

notice the hole in the bottom right of the wall...sunlight seeping in. One window already removed

before the demolition...the white you see on the plywood near the 2nd story window is termite damage

termite damage

hello world...our new open floor plan. Letting more natural light in...

dining room wall completely removed and in process of being reframed

PopPop and Love Bug supervising

new exterior wall! Moisture barrier and new siding being put on

(notice the green siding to the left? that is our new house color....love love love it!!)

new sheetrock done and new windows going in

a new day

Today is a new day. And although it started out shaky (I was in tears before 10AM this morning) it is coming to an end and I feel good.

The issue with the termites is what it is. They are not going to pay because of a loophole in their warranty and we are not going to fight it. It is a losing battle. And the amount of money it is going to cost us to repair the damage is low (a huge thank you to God for a dad in the building business) so it doesn't benefit us to pay for an attorney because those fees and the length of the process to take this to court far exceeds the cost to just repair the damage ourselves. But we learned a lesson, albeit the hard way, but we have learned our lesson when it comes to dealing with pest control!

The house will be completely repaired by the end of day tomorrow. And it will almost be like we live in a brand new house. The sides and back of the home will be painted tomorrow and the front will be painted on Friday. Next week will be great; I plan on there not being one contractor or painter on my property...and that is a beautiful thing. I am taking lots of pictures so you can see the before, the during and the after.

about to snap

I am about to snap. I am on the verge of having a complete meltdown at the ripe age of 34. I have been spending a lot of time on my knees today praying to my God because I need His help. This house project is going to put me over the edge. And I know I will look back on this blog 10 years from now and laugh at how worked up I got about this, but today ain't that day.

We are on the brink of a battle with getting the termite damage repaired, they are trying to tell us one thing and we are saying another. And now we find out there are 4 windows that have damage and need to be replaced...how was this missed last week when they were working on the other damage? But I looked at them and they are rotted. When it rains it pours and I am on the verge.

To top it off, I had to pick up The Mayor early from school today because he was so upset and wouldn't stop crying. Thankfully both kids are napping and I am enjoying a moment of peace. My dad is on his way to evaluate the termite damage and give me his professional and fatherly opinion.

It's 5:00 somewhere, right?