A "Normal" Week

It has been a blessedly, uneventful week.  J got the fancy drywall up in the kids tub (and more, but I'll post that picture next week, after I take it).

J also tried out the pool (to "rescue" the pool vacuum)... all the kids were jealous, I was not, my big toe didn't like the water temperature!

I managed to get all the wall paper taken down in the hallway, all the windows washed (there's a face print already), all the door frames wiped down and the floor cleaned (by hand) this week!

Our lonely stove kicked the bucket this morning.  Fortunately, we ordered a new one a few days ago, but it won't be here until the end of the month.  And, I just realized I have some biscuits I need to cook... guess I'll do two at a time in the toaster :)

We have skipped school, for the most part this week, but still attended our science co-op at the zoo!

Group picture (this is the non-silly version)!

 We found some very neutral curtains for the super hot and bright dining room.  Now, we can pick whatever color walls we want, and our curtains will match :)

Yesterday was Daddy's birthday, Smaug really enjoyed his slice of Oreo Cookie pie.

One of our Arkansas friends is in town for work and came for a visit.  Mr. E was super "tickled" that Mr. C has red hair, just like him.  The way these kids acted, you'd think they didn't have their own Daddy to play with.  I do hope that we helped Mr. C not miss his own kiddos back home ;)

 I guess Smaug wasn't finished with dinner tonight, he grabbed the pan and chowed down some more after everyone else had left the table!

 

In Other News:  I have a bucket load of things to do next week, so we'll see how many picture I get in!

Book Review

Well, it's time I told you about another Bethany House book that I got for free to review!  This one is called Firefly Island by Lisa Wingate.  I actually read the book in about 2 days (what can I say, I liked it), but between the move and not having Internet (beyond my phone) for a week, I'm just now getting around to my review!

The book starts off with two people meeting (a career lady and single dad), falling madly in love (very quickly) marrying, quitting jobs and moving from very urban D.C. to very rural Texas.  Of course, you can imagine what takes place as a once single gal learns to be a stay at home wife, Mama, and country, cow-owning lady all in a very short amount of time.  Add in a creepy boss (who owns the land and home they live in) and a mystery and you have me hooked.  I enjoyed every minute of the book and would recommend it to anyone who wants  a little laugh, a little mystery, a little suspense and just a good time snuggled up with a book!

House, Easter, Personal, etc.

House

It has been soooo busy around here that I have hardly taken any pictures, and I really have no idea where I left off (and I'm too lazy to go back and look at my previous post to find out).  I do know that we got the big truck and got the large items moved last Saturday (which means we have been in the new house a whole week now)!  I forgot to take a picture though :(

This was how Smaug woke up on moving day... early morning snuggle with Mama is always a good start!

Fast forward a day or two (or go backwards, not sure), and you can see that J ended up tearing out the rest of the kids shower.  It turns out that you can't find the same tile after all.  And, after speaking to the tile store guy and telling him about the falling tiles, he recommended we replace the backer board, because new tiles, most likely, would not stick anyway.  The tiles, so far, have been the cheapest part of the journey :)  J tore down the rest of the tiles and discovered... mold... behind the layers of cement board and sheet rock, and in the insulation.  So, it has been sprayed, the insulation has been replaced and new cement board installed.  As I type, I can hear J back there putting thin set in the cracks and in the new little niche he made!  I suppose I'll get a picture of it later (if I remember!)

Here's another picture of an early morning Smaug... he likes legs :)

So, the first night in the house, our toilet started backing up into my pink bathtub.  Upon the recommendation of my sister :) we bought a snake and snaked the tub, then the shower (because the snake stopped moving there), then the toilet... no clog found, I went to bed, we used the other toilet.  The next day, the kids plugged their toilet with poo (too many kids pooing in a row).  I plunged it, and plunged it, and then J said, "why don't you check the bathtub".  Oh my goodness, I just about ralphed when I walked in the bathroom.  I slept in Berry's bed with her and we called a plumber in the morning.  He took pity on my call and came out right away.  Four hours later we determined: the dumpster that was sitting right near (possibly on) the septic tank pipe was not cracked, the septic pump was working, the location of our clean out pipe (which was buried), the possible location of our dryer vent, and that flushable wipes in a 90 degree pipe turn need at least 2 clean water flushes in between them.

The next day, we got the stuff we needed for J to replace the handles on the washer connections because when we turned them on the first time, they sprayed water everywhere.  Our plumber told us this was common.  J has done this repair before, so, late that evening he started work, no biggie... right?  The handle fell right off.  He made an emergency run to the hardware store (with 25 minutes before closing and a 15 minute drive) and capped the pipes for the night. The next day, I took the kids to the store and we bought a replacement kit.  Wouldn't you know it, the darn pipe would not solder, at all.  So, we were without water (and toilets), again. We called the plumber.  He replaced everything, and told us he was going on vacation next week and not to break anything.  I told J that the disposal switch out can wait, despite the fact that he's done that change over twice before (once for us, once he helped a friend)!  

On Friday, the glass guys came to put in the glass for our shower.  As of yesterday afternoon, we can use the shower!  I'm so excited, because I'm going to try it out after I post this :)

Now that the washer is fixed, I have been washing loads and loads of laundry.  It turns out that possible dryer vent, is the actual dryer vent.  And, it's full of sand.  J got out as much as he could, but my dryer is still not working well... I wonder if the plumber can fix that too...

Easter

I am sorry to say that I totally forgot to get pictures of the kids in their Easter outfits, my brain was... somewhere.  But, I did get a picture of our family Easter basket...

Berry getting up last to egg hunt (indoors, I wasn't hiding things in the cool air, and J had to work first thing)...

And, some early morning grapes, candy and juice- followed by donuts at the old house.  Because Daddy had to work a few hours that morning, and we had to all shower at the old house, we ended up missing Sunday School, so there's some more excuses for no pictures :)

Smaug put on Daddy's motorcycle gloves to bike Sunday afternoon (so, here he his in his Easter shirt)!

He's also been napping in strange places since we have moved, the very next day he fell asleep inside the boys dirty close basket (I guess it was soft and cozy)!

 

Personal

I feel, with the way my kids can share information now and with J's facebook post about me being in the ER, I should probably clear things up for everyone...

Most of you know that we went through fertility treatments for all of our pregnancies.  After Smaug, we said, no more treatments, they are physically and emotionally draining, and I would be content with my 5 little earthly kiddos!  Well, in late January, we found out that we were pregnant... for the first time on our own, as a complete surprise!  I assumed that since God had blessed us with this little miracle that things would be okay and pushed thoughts of miscarriage as far from the front of my brain as possible.  I scheduled my very first appointment for March 29th (I'd almost be 12 weeks) so that J could make our "announcement" on April 1.  Well, you can probably see where this is going.  But, Smallest 

Bug did not have a heartbeat and had stopped growing 3 weeks-ish earlier.  I was offered meds right away (since my body likes to hang onto what it has), or surgery scheduling later, but said no thank you until after Easter (I'm glad I did).  So, last Thursday I went in for the medicine, in an attempt to avoid another surgery.  Last time, I was given the medicine orally and things didn't work so well.  They gave me a higher dose, inserted them, and they got to work right away.  Unfortunately, a few blood clots got stuck and, my body, which kicked out 2 kids with very short labors, worked and worked to get them out very quickly.  I got very light headed and dizzy, tried drinking water to replace fluids, but ended up waking J around 3 am to take me to the ER.

I was pumped full of 3 bags of fluids and ended up with 2 units of blood, and poked and prodded by the OB doctor on call... all in a very uncomfortable ER bed.  The ER doctor wanted to keep me longer, but fortunately, my original OB doctor showed up and took over my care.  He felt I was on the mend despite my darn low blood pressure, because I was no longer spinning and "out of it".  I got to go home.  The kids spent very little time with me, J was given the day off and took the kids home, but during the time they did spend with me, I let them watch TV :)

I guess everyone was tired :(

So, now when one of the kids tells you "Mama cried at the "post office" (Berry's word for doctors office), or "Mama got blood", or the "baby gone", now those words will, hopefully, make a little bit more sense!

In Other News:  I'm going to go bathe in my new shower!!!