Construction Update

So it's been a couple of weeks since my last house update. They've really come a long way! All three floors are framed and they've built the back porch. Today they were putting the trusses above the back porch and getting that roof on. The plumbers are also hard at work and have assigned me with the task of picking out and buying faucets and shower heads for all the sinks, tubs and showers in the house. I had no idea how many faucets were needed.

Anyway, here are some pictures I took yesterday. I'm starting to really, really love our house!

Left side (garage side)

We were having a problem with utility companies sending bills to the service address, not the billing address so Dave went ahead and put up a temporary mailbox!

A little different view. This is the right side of the house. I usually don't walk around to that side for pictures for some reason...

My hard working husband standing in the door that leads from the master bedroom to the screened porch

Back of the house

View from the kitchen looking into the living room

View from the guest suite on the third floor

As I took all the faucets out of my car I labeled them so the plumbers would know what should go where. I couldn't resist taking a pic of my pile!

The guys rented this thing so they could quickly and easily get lumber, etc up to the third floor..... I, of course, had to ride on it...

... and got this really great pic of the house from about 30 feet up in the air!

And this really great pic of what we lovingly call Dave's Gypsy Camp!

The kidlets found some mud to play in. They look so small next to the house!

So that's it! The guys are working so hard! Our contractor hired a temp while Kent is on paternity leave. He's been a hard worker but the heat got to him today. He got sick and had to go home. I really hope we get some cooler, less humid days soon so the guys can work in relative comfort. Construction is hard enough without 90 degree weather and 90% humidity!

Allie's first day of "school"

It sure does amaze me how different my children are. JD has always, since day #1, needed mommy to cater to his every whim and be readily available at all times. Much as I've tried to break him of this (and let me tell you, I've tried) that's just who he is. Don't get me wrong, he is the sweetest little boy. Just yesterday he said "Mommy, I love you. You're my friend." and I melted into a puddle of goo. But I would like for him to be just a tad more independent.

Allie, on the opposite end of the spectrum, is so independent she rarely lets me do anything for her anymore. Okay, she lets me put on her shoes but that's only because she's always in a hurry to get outside!

Anyway, these personality differences definitely transferred to how they each handled their first days of school (it's day care but I always call it school). Remember how JD reacted? He sat in the "time out" chair by the door crying and waiting for me to return all day long. Allie was just the opposite. She couldn't care less that I was leaving without her this morning. She walked right in her room, started playing and didn't look back! I tried to tell her goodbye but all I ended up with was a kiss on her head as she ignored me and "talked" to another little girl. I was worried that she might look around later and, realizing I was gone, have a complete melt down.  But, according to Miss. Sandy, that never happened. She was a perfect little angel all day... even SLEPT ON A COT during nap time without any issues whatsoever!

I knew she would handle it better for a few different reasons. #1 - her personality. She's much more likely to sit and play by herself. Much less mommy dependent; #2 - she sees JD go to school three days a week. Poor JD didn't know what to expect when I dropped him off those first few weeks. No role model, if you will; and #3 - lately when taking JD to school and picking him up, I've been having a hard time getting Allie out of the building. She was starting to fight me, wanting to stay and play.

So I know you're all wondering what I did with all the time I had to myself today. I did a lot but didn't even make a dent in my to-do list.  I spent a couple of hours and a small fortune on faucets and shower heads at Lowe's. Then I came home, swept and mopped all the floors, cleaned the baseboards in the living room, cleaned the kitchen and cleaned both bathrooms. I then enjoyed a nice, long, hot shower without any kids parading in and out of the bathroom! By the time I got my hair done it was time to get the kids from school! Oh... I also packed my good china in a box and labeled it for the move. One down.... three gazillion to go!

JD's surgery

This has been one exhausting week! Monday morning we had pre-op appointments at both the ENT's office and the surgery center. Then we were sent over to the hospital for blood work. JD was such a big boy. They had to prick two of his fingers to get enough blood and he didn't even flinch!

As I was driving JD home I got a call from my mom saying that they were headed to the hospital to await the arrival of Kent and Sarah's baby. Sarah had been in labor for about 24 hours at this point and had been in the hospital, walking the halls, for several hours. So I dropped JD off and headed back to the hospital. A few hours later and there was still no baby. Sarah was able to rest for a little while so the "welcome wagon" dispersed and decided to reconvene later that evening.

The kids were crabby when I got home. Neither had napped at all that day so I promised I would at least get Allie in bed before I went back to the hospital. Allie went down around 7:30 PM and I got to the hospital at 8:00 PM.... I missed the actual birth but got to see Baby Jasper when he was about 2 hours old.  I got home around 9:30-ish and pretty much went straight to bed.

Tuesday morning we woke. Our neighbor Tiffany came over at 6:30 AM to keep Allie because we had to be at the surgery center at 7:00 AM.  They took us back and JD put on this cute little gown. It was too big for him and kept falling off his shoulders. The doctor, anesthesiologist and nurses all came to talk to us and tell us what to expect. They told JD he was going to go blow up a red balloon and he was very excited... until it came time to go. When they took him from me he screamed and grabbed my shirt. I had to pry him off of me. He was screaming and beet red when they took him to the OR. Yes, I cried too. I felt so badly for him!

From what I'm told, they put him to sleep with gas and then inserted a breathing tube and an IV. They must have had trouble with the IV because he has marks on the top of his hand and top of his wrist as well as a bruise on the underside of his wrist. He also has a bruise on the inside of his elbow where the IV was actually placed when we saw him after surgery.

Dave and I sat in the waiting room about 15 minutes when the doctor came out to see us. He said JD did very well. His adenoids were pretty big and he got rid of those. JD also still had fluid behind his right ear so that was drained prior to inserting the tubes.

About 5 minutes later we were told to go on back to see him. He was in a rocking chair with a nurse in a soundproof room just kicking and screaming. I sat with him and tried to calm him but it took a few minutes to get him to stop kicking. I finally coaxed him to drink something so they could take the IV out. Then we got him dressed and headed home. He cried the whole way home and threw up all over himself about half way there. It was not a fun experience.

When we got home I changed his clothes and we both lay down in his bed. I rubbed his back and he finally stopped crying and went to sleep.

When he woke he cried a little more but was better. Every time he coughed or sneezed he would hold his mouth and cry. After a little while he sat quietly on the couch and watched "Mouse Cooker" - that's what he calls the movie Ratatouille. Allie was very concerned about him and stuck pretty close. I will say that his lunch consisting of Jello and chocolate pudding lifted his spirits quite a bit!

A few hours later and he was pretty much back to normal. My parents brought him some ice cream and then very generously stayed with the kids while I went back to the hospital to hold my new nephew.

I reinstalled JD's car seat and crashed HARD that night. Thankfully, JD slept all night and was in a great mood yesterday. He's pretty much back to his normal self, although I think he might have been a little traumatized. I took him to school this morning and he screamed and clung to me just like he did when they were taking him in for his surgery....  :o(    He also still screams when I do his ear drops and says it hurts but hopefully he'll get used to them. I have to do it twice a day for five days! I did call the doctor's office today to be sure that's not unusual but they haven't called me back yet.

It's not an experience I want to relive any time soon. It was an emotionally draining day for all of us but I think it was the right decision. I just don't think dealing with constant ear infections and antibiotics was good. Hopefully this will help JD feel better and sleep better! 

Construction Update

It has now been two weeks since the foundation was poured and I last updated you. You're not going to believe how much has been accomplished in just two short weeks!

The first floor has been framed. The floor joists and decking for the second floor have been completed and the second floor has also been framed. I can't tell you how much fun it is to finally, FINALLY, walk through this house that we've been dreaming about for so many months!

Here are a few pictures. The first set is after the first week...

 This is what the kiddos do when they visit the construction site...

 Dave working hard...

 Kent (my brother) working hard...

And this was today... after the second week. The second floor is framed and the mason showed up to start building the chimney and the ground floor fireplace!

 Temporary stairs make things a lot easier!

 In about 6 months, this will be my new kitchen!

 Daddy misses his little girl!

 Building the fireplace...

 Installing one of the main support beams...

I have to give these guys LOTS of credit. It has been literally hot as hell the past two weeks. I'm talking mid-90's with heat index of 105-110... not to mention the humidity! And as if that's not bad enough... the mosquitoes have been ridiculous. Seriously. When the kids and I are down there we're pretty much held hostage inside by the thousands of mosquitoes buzzing around just waiting to make us all itchy! I couldn't imagine being outside in the sweltering heat, dripping wet from the humidity and swatting mosquitoes. I don't know how they do it!

Hopefully they'll be able to complete the floor joists and decking this week and start framing the third floor. Right now the house pretty much looks like a box. It'll be a little more interesting once the third floor and the roof get framed!

Gene Ho Pics

Back in June we had family pictures professionally done by our wedding photographer. His name is Gene Ho and he owns Gene Ho Photography... and he's pretty much awesome! We started out at Riverwalk Park in Conway and from there headed to the train station. Our friends own the railroad and generously gave us special permission to do it there. JD had so much fun climbing on the "goose" (caboose)!

 Here are my favorites:

July

What a month. Usually I love the month of July.... my birthday is in July... so is my brother's. That means lots of cake and celebration. What's not to love about that?!

This year July was pure misery in this house. It started with a double ear infection for JD. Two days off of his antibiotics and he was back at the doctors office with yep, you guessed it, another double ear infection! During this time of non-stop antibiotics, Allie gets a case of Roseola, complete with 103.7 fever and horrible rash, Dave gets a horrific stomach virus that leaves him stranded at my parents' house.. which he promptly gave to Allie.

As a special treat for my birthday I had a terrible sinus infection. So bad that the roof of my mouth and top teeth were throbbing for 3 days.

And, as if two double ear infections, two stomach viruses, a sinus infection and a case of Roseola (all within a month, mind you) aren't enough.... yesterday Allie developed an ear infection and I took JD to the ENT (finally, after 8 ear infections in the past 8 months) and learned that he still has fluid in his ears and will need a third round of antibiotics.

Not only that but he has scarring on his left eardrum from all of the infections. That may sound worse than it actually is, I haven't really researched scarred eardrums yet, but to a mom, it sounds really bad! So on the 16th of August JD will have his adenoids removed and tubes placed in his ears.   :o(     Poor baby. I just hope this procedure (I refuse to call it a surgery as the ENT did... that word just freaks me out when it relates to my baby boy) helps him feel better!

Oh! And I almost forgot about my very strange and very brief ailment! This past Saturday I took JD to my friend Liz's little girl's 3rd birthday party. About an hour after I got home I was lying on the couch complaining to Dave that all of my energy just drained out of me. I then got a headache and got chills and started shivering. So bad that I had to put on long pants and a long sleeved shirt and climb under the covers. My temperature had spiked to 101.1 (I never run even small fevers. I can't remember the last time I had a fever). As my fever was spiking my skin hurt and my hands were numb. I fell asleep listening to JD screaming that he wanted mommy and poor Dave trying to deal with him.... a couple of hours later my fever was down to 100.4 and I was HOT! By 11:00 PM that night my fever was gone and all I had was a small headache. The next morning... completely normal. How weird is that?!?

OK! With all that said and all the complaining out of the way, we did have some fun times in July. Here are a few pictures of our month... some taken with my good camera, some taken with my iPhone, etc... enjoy!

JD loves for my dad to read him stories before bed!

 My sweetie with her 103.7 fever. She was pitiful!

 ...and a couple of days later she broke out in this rash all over her arms, legs, torso and neck.. .Roseola!

 My little binky addict. How can you not let a sick baby have as many binkies as she wants?!?!

 Dave trying to keep the kids occupied during one of our many trips to the pediatrician's office. Seriously. I've lost count. I have no idea how many times I went there this month!

 A moment of happiness. We did a Lowcountry Boil on the front porch of the Log Inn while Beth was in town and I snapped this pic of JD. He's in a rattan ottoman, flipped upside down. What's so special about that you ask?? I did the exact same thing with this ottoman when I was a kid and he did this on his own... I didn't even show him! I must dig up the picture of me like this. There's got to be one hiding at my mom's house somewhere!

 The kids' newest favorite activity at Grandma and Papaw's house... sink baths in the laundry room sink!

 Allie during her stomach virus. She was begging for milk all day but I couldn't give it to her because it just came right back up. If I put water in her sippy cup she would throw it at me (yeah, she's feisty). This is the only way I could get her to drink... give her a whole bottle of water with a straw... she seems pretty happy about that!

 Conked out in the back seat with her babies. She's started carrying these two babies with her pretty much everywhere...

 JD in the pool at Kendall's 3rd birthday party... Man did he have fun!

 Dave stayed home with Allie during the party because she was throwing up (I think because of the fluid that I didn't know was in her ears). He gave her a Pop Tart which she crushed in her little fists and threw on the living room floor.... JD just lay on top of them and went to sleep. He was worn out and he had Pop Tart smushed all over the back of his shirt! Oh! And don't you like the bruise on his cheek?  Good one isn't it? He fell at my parents' house and hit his face on the edge of the coffee table. Yeah. It's been a good month.

Finally, some non-sickness related photos. The kids (including Dave) were having fun painting themselves with watercolor paint and I was having fun learning more about my camera. All of these were shot in full manual mode, on the first settings that I chose. In fact, the first one of JD was supposed to just be my "test shot" but it turned out beautifully from his expression to the exposure! I think I'm finally starting to get the hang of this photography thing....    ;-)