Construction Update

If you didn't already know, construction to repair the damage done by the tree finally started last week...over three months after the tree fell through the house! I was really anxious about having people working in the house with the girls and I home (I've watched too many crime shows on A&E) but so far so good. Not only have the guys shown up promptly at 8:00 every morning, they've been really nice to the girls and I and respectful of the fact that we're home while all this is going on. Right now we have a father-son team working on the house and the son has two boys about the same age as the girls. Yesterday I caught his dad ruffling Matea's hair after she said "hi" to him, just like a grandpa would do. Kind of a sweet moment in the midst of all the chaos.

They started work last Wednesday and have ripped off the old roof, replaced the trusses, and replaced all of the damaged drywall. They're putting the new roof on today and tomorrow and we're just waiting for the inspector to show up and sign off on the drywall so mudding, texture, and paint can start. So far, we've been living at home. Steve and I are sleeping in the playroom, the contents of our closet are piled right inside the front door, and everything in our bedroom is pushed to one side with a huge, zippered plastic barrier. Today's goal is to get a straight answer about when the mudding, etc. can start so I can line up a hotel room for a few days.

One good ear...

out of four isn't bad, right? See if you can keep up. Bella was on antibiotics in February for bronchitis. She had about two cough-free weeks and then has returned to hacking for the last few weeks. Matea just finished antibiotics for a respiratory infection on Saturday but has had a fever off and on since Monday. Took them to the doctor today and Bella has a double ear infection and Matea has an infection in one ear. Dr. Hoffman gave them the big daddy of antibiotics, hoping it'll clear up their ears and the respiratory crap for awhile.

Matea's super fussy and clingy and not napping. Bella's in naughty time in her room right now, otherwise I'd take a picture of her crabby face too.

Easter Weekend: Part Three

We stayed at my grandma's for the weekend so when we woke up on Sunday, the girls hunted eggs at the same house that my mom and grandpa forced Devin and I to hunt eggs at well into highschool:) I always miss my grandpa a lot at holidays (I think we all do. He was really into holidays, especially when they involved food so it's hard not to feel like something's off without him there.) so I think I felt like staying at their house would sort of involve him. Bella slept with great grandma all weekend and left her magic wand for great grandpa at the cemetery so I'm pretty sure she's now at the top of the inheritance list.

This was Matea's first egg hunt that she could really participate in and she figured out how it worked right away. But then halfway through, she changed her game plan. When she'd find an egg, she'd examine it, decide whether or not she wanted, either set it back down or put it in her basket and then replace it with a new one. No matter how much we tried, my mom and I couldn't sway her from this approach.

After the egg hunt, the girls changed into their dresses I made them and we headed over to Steve's parents house for another egg hunt and lunch. Both girls had fun playing with their cousins. Hana and Matea gave each other lots of hugs and kisses and as usual, Bella and Ethen were inseparable. They're only about 10 weeks apart and get along so well. Bella likes to be in charge and Ethen's ok with that so they're really balanced playmates.

We've spent the last week recovering from our whirlwind weekend and are heading out of town again tomorrow for three days. Mama definitely needs a break!

Easter Weekend: Part Two

On Saturday of Easter weekend, we met my dad and Cindy for lunch at Superior Dairy in Hanford. Holy crap! I had totally forgotten how big their portions are. That's a regular banana split Steve ordered! Both girls enjoyed their ice cream and seemed to be able to eat an endless amount. Matea was sitting next to grandpa which probably made him nervous. He's a pretty "tidy" guy and Matea was all snot and slime. At one point her ice cream bowl slid off the table and landed face down and grandpa's shorts. I bet he had to take a blood pressure pill in the car afterward.

Then we headed over to Adventure Park where we rode the race cars and Grandma Cindy got scolded by the 16 year old part time high school employee for not following the rules. Such a bad example for the children. Matea was too small to ride so she spent a half hour swinging on the bars like a monkey.

Easter Weekend

Yes, I know I'm way behind on posting here. If you read my work/crafting blog at all (www.craftymamacreations.blogspot.com), you know I've been super busy. I'm working 20-25 hours a week from home now on my sewing business and trying to spend less time on the internet all together...see, what happens is I come on here to quickly post and then I have to check my celebrity gossip sites and then Babycenter and next thing you know, I've wasted a half hour.

Anyway, our Easter weekend was crazy busy. We drove over to Lemoore on Friday morning and spent the afternoon and Rotary Playland/Storyland in Fresno. To say both girls loved it would be an understatement. Bella wanted to do absolutely everything and as usual, Matea was right behind her.

For those who aren't familiar with the park, it's sort of like a mini amusement park for smaller, preschool aged kids and it's all sponsored by the Rotary Club. Steve and I both remember going there as kids so it was neat to see our girls there. At Storyland, you buy a little plastic key that you stick into a machine that tells you a story. There are different statues, etc. next to the machine that go along with the story and some have little activities like slides and ladders.

I wish we could have gotten video of Matea with Little Red Riding Hood. I'm pretty sure she thought she was real. She kept saying "hiiiiiii-eeeeeee" and hugging and kissing her. It was so adorable.

When we headed over to Playland, my mom kept saying she thought Bella would be too scared for the roller coaster and bigger rides. Total opposite happened. She wanted to ride absolutely everything, event the stuff she wasn't tall enough for.

We all had a great time. Thanks Grandma and Great-Grandma!

Sweetness

I was playing with my new camera yesterday and got these really sweet pictures of Matea. She had just woken up unhappy from a too short nap and made herself comfy watching "Little Bear" with Bella.

All Grown Up

I had a friend over for a play date a few months ago and she was telling me about how different her son became after he turned four. We've totally noticed a change in Bella in the last month or so. She just seems more grown up and is becoming more helpful around the house. We're constantly amazed by her vocabulary and imagination. She's a wonderful artist, independent thinker, and very strong willed.

I let her have her first cup of hot tea last week (decaf, of course). I don't think she liked it but she was so excited, there was no way she was going to admit it. She's been battling a cough for several weeks now and I thought some warm tea might help soothe her throat. I took her into the doctor this morning and found out she has bronchitis. She had a double dose of antibiotics tonight so I'm hoping we'll see improvement right away.

Monkey see, monkey do

The girls have been playing together so well lately. Matea spends lots of time watching Bella and then mimicking whatever she's doing. And it doesn't matter how strange or boring the activity, Matea will jump right in if Bella's doing it.

Steve came home for lunch today and we were sitting at the counter talking. We looked over and Bella was lying on this blanket on the kitchen floor making snow angels or something. Matea had to be part of it but didn't exactly know how to participate.

Cute Tater Pics

from this afternoon...

Well baby visit for a sick baby

Today was Matea's 18 month well baby visit and as usual, she was right on track with everything. She's still a little peanut, weighing it at just over 22 pounds. We've all been battling colds for a few days now and I asked Dr. T if we needed to be more cautious or worried about Bella since she just had pneumonia a few months ago. She said that since Bella's been really healthy otherwise, we don't need to be overly concerned or take any extra precautions.

Dr. T's waiting room was over flowing with patients, apparently many of whom had been in the ER over the weekend. She told us that there's been a big flu outbreak here over the last few days so we're going to just hang out at home as much as possible this week, keep our germs to ourselves, and not pick up any new ones.

Jumping on the Band Wagon

Let me say that I've always hated Crocs. I thought they were hideous and really didn't buy into their practicality. Then Bella saw some $5 Croc knock offs at Walmart last year and begged for them. We liked them so much, we bought a second pair. She wore them all the time and damn if a year later, those things are still in great shape. Anyway, I started to come around and realize that I could look past their ugliness. I love being able to just hose them down after playing outside or camping and I swear, they're indestructible.

Anyway, several people told me that we really needed to try real Crocs, that the fake ones don't even compare. I found this cute Mary Jane style which in my opinion, is way cuter than the original clog style. Then I thought I would get some. Not really sure why, thought they would be good for yard work (which I don't really do), camping, etc. I let Bella pick the colors, dug up a bunch of discount codes and got a pair for each of us.

Steve keeps making jokes about not getting any and I think that he secretly really is sad. I think Crocs on a man is where I draw the line though.

Family Band

The girls are finally starting to play more cooperatively and really interacting more. They still fight over toys but I think that never really goes away and it'll just turn into fighting over clothes when they're older.

The other night they emptied all my pots and pans from the cupboards and started a family band. They had tons of fun playing the drums and I was so happy to see them playing nicely, the noise didn't even bother me.

Zoo....again

It seems like every few months, we spontaneously take a trip to the Santa Barbara Zoo. Totally exhausting driving about an hour and fifteen minutes each way and walking all around the zoo but well worth it because the girls have so much fun.

Matea was really into it this time and had to see all of the animals with Bella. She refused to stay in the stroller which was a total pain in the ass but the girl likes her independence I guess.

Quick Tree Update

Our adjuster in Ohio sent out a guy from a local damage restoration company. I think she's going to be sorry she ever did that because he's talking about doing even more work than the first guy, and thus more expensive. Anyway, he's already been here twice and Steve and I really get a better feeling from him than the first guy we had out. He's working on our estimate now and will have to duke it out with our adjuster which he said could take a while. So, we're looking at another 2-3 weeks until we start construction but at least we're starting to feel like there may be an end to all of this.

On the bright side, he's going to completely repaint our bathroom and master bedroom so we're going to find out whether we can pick our own colors. Painting in there was next on our list of to do items around here so maybe we can check that off. Right after we check off "have tree fall through house".

Little Gymnast

Bella started gymnastics this month and loves it. I think the physical activity is really good for her and she seems to really enjoy herself while she's there. She spends the whole hour laughing and smiling and then gets totally pissed off when class is over and she has to walk out of the gate to mom. Gee, thanks.

And poor Tater is really sad that she has to sit there and watch. She spends much of the class yelling Bella's name and trying to bust through the gate to the gym floor. They do have a class for two year olds at the same time as Bella's class so only a few more months until she can join in on the fun.

Tree Update

Up until yesterday morning, there was exactly nothing to report on the tree front. Literally, nothing new had happened in one full week except for several unreturned phone calls to the contractor. Then, things got messy.

On a good note, neighbor Bob removed the asshole tree that fell on our house and trimmed a few others. Now the not so good stuff. The local adjuster for hire estimated $5000 for repairs and tree removal. Say what?! Tree removal alone was $1200 so that leaves $3800 to repair over a dozen holes in the roof, replace ceiling joists, relevel the house, remove and repair interior dry wall, etc. We, of course, started to freak out and our adjuster in Ohio said not to worry, when she got the estimate from our contractor she could deal with discrepancies. Made our third and final phone call to the contractor and finally got an estimate...for $16,000. Just slightly higher than $5,000, right? So now we're just playing the waiting game and freaking out.

Bella's seemed to develop a lot of anxiety over the whole tree issue. She's been having lots of accidents (only at home) because she won't go to the bathroom alone and talks about the tree all the time. Yesterday morning on the way to gymnastics, she looked at the side of the road and said, "Mommy, look at those trees. I think they're about to fall down on that house." I thought she was just being dramatic until I heard her say that yesterday. I think this whole ordeal has really consumed her thoughts and that makes me really sad. We keep telling her we'll keep her safe and she has nothing to worry about but that Friday night was scary for all of us.

Party Girl

Last Saturday was Bella's birthday party. We usually have it at home but had to move it to Round Table at the last minute because of the tree damage. In the end, I think it turned out really well. We had our party room and the kids (and grandma) had a great time playing games. I kicked everyone's ass in air hockey and I didn't have to spend two days cleaning my house for a party and then 4 days cleaning it up so I definitely was happy.

We have friends coming to stay with us this weekend and I don't think I'm going to make my usual grand cleaning effort. They have two little girls who are each about a year younger than our girls so I'm hoping they'll feel at home with dishes in the sink, toys strewn about the house, and mysterious sticky spots on the kitchen floor. Yeah, that's my excuse for not cleaning, I want Jenni to feel comfortable. Ooooo, another idea. I could invite my friend Lena over on Friday. She has slight OCD and always cleans while she's here. So, I could get a clean house without having to do it myself. But then I'd owe her a favor. So many things to consider.

Happy Birthday B!

According to Bella, she had a great birthday. Here's a quick rundown of her day:

-wake up and open presents, including a new bike from Mommy and Papa
-eat Cheerios in yogurt with special birthday sprinkles
-test drive the new bike
-spend lots of time hanging out with Mommy
-use the new Color Wonder princess coloring kit from Mommy's awesome friend, Keeley (thank you so much Keel's for thinking of her)

Hi, I'd like to exchange this tree for some holes

Yay! We finally had the tree removed today. Took about three hours and we're left with three nice size holes in the house now. They had to remove three separate branches that were each the size of a medium tree trunk.


I met with the repair guy and he said that although there are several modular homes in the area with tree damage, we're the only one he's seen with interior damage so once we get insurance approval, we'll be bumped to the top of the list for immediate repair. I guess that's one bit of good news. He's anticipating a minimum of 5 days of construction.

During the tree removal, the owner of the tree company told Steve that the tree really needed to come down all together in addition to several trees around it. Steve called the owner of the tree and asked him to come outside. He seemed to agree that something needed to be done about the trees but didn't agree to definitely take action yet. I really hope he'll do the responsible thing or we'll live in fear every time a storm comes through town.