Smelly Basement

Monday was our 7th Anniversary and although we love each other dearly, Monday was not a good day for us. The trouble began when Kianna came running upstairs with wet socks telling me she was so sorry. She had just flushed the toilet on the main level and it went all over the floor. Mornings are pretty chaotic trying to get three kids dressed, fed, and out the door so Kaylee can get to school on time. All that to say, I had no time to clean up the mess until after taking Kaylee to school. When I got home I scrubbed the bathroom floor and then opened the basement door to throw the dirty rags downstairs by the washing machine, which is when I discovered the REAL problem. The basement was covered in about an inch of smelly, disgusting, sewer water.

I'll try and spare you the gruesome details. We had a licensed plumber come out to assess the problem. However, he wasn't able to fix the problem. He said we needed to have someone else come and stick an auger down the drain, as the problem was between the house and the street. The plumber recommended a specific company so I had them come out and he was able to fix the blockage. Apparently, I am no longer allowed to discard feminine products down the toilet. I cried when he told me that. Oops, I said I would spare you the gruesome details. We then had another company come stick a camera down the pipes to assess their quality and the likelihood of this happening again. We were told our pipes are in decent shape, but to ensure this will not happen again we would need to dig up the front yard and have someone replace the pipes. We are not in imminent danger of this happening again, but it is something we will add to our list of things that need to be repaired.

Two days later, we finally have the basement back in working condition and actually cleaner than it was before. Our house no longer smells like sewage, but instead has the pleasant smell of bleach, which to me indicates it is clean once again. To top off our less than pleasant anniversary, Trevor slipped and fell down the stairs. His feet went out from underneath him and he landed right on his back on the wooden stairs. We debated taking him to the ER, as he was initially pale, dizzy, and had a decreased heart rate. However, after lying down for awhile and after I assessed his strength and sensation we decided he was okay. He was pretty sore initially, but seems to be doing okay now.

Through this whole ordeal, I have found a few things to be thankful for:

1. My basement is unfinished.
2. The majority of our stuff is still in Iowa, so we had very few things on the ground. Whereas, if we had all of our stuff, we may have had boxes on the floor and lost some keepsakes.
3. Remember that queen sized box spring I tried to force up the stairs the other day? Well I no longer need to lose sleep over it because it was on the ground in the basement, so will be going to the dump soon.
4. I was actually caught up on my laundry for the first time since moving to Michigan. Otherwise, clothes are normally all over the floor and would have been lying in the sewage water.
5. Our basement was in desperate need of being cleaned and I had been putting it off. I'm so glad I hadn't taken the time to clean it, only to have it damaged right afterwards. Sometimes it pays to procrastinate...
6. I only had to deal with a smelly house for two days, while some people actually live under those circumstances on a daily basis.

Although I have found plenty to be thankful for throughout this ordeal. I must admit that while going through this I was not a pleasant person to be around, just ask my kids...

Weekend Visitors

We had a fun weekend with Grandma Becki and Grandpa Bob. They arrived on Friday afternoon, so Trevor was able to give them a tour of the school and The Center. He was also able to introduce them to some coworkers and show them Kaylee's classroom. That evening we took them swimming at The Center. We even got to try out the climbing wall for the first time. It is definitely harder than it looks. Saturday, we ran some errands and then Bob and Becki watched the kids so Trevor and I could celebrate our anniversary a couple days early. We went to Toledo and had a fun time exploring the downtown area and the mall. We also had a nice meal and watched, "Alice in Wonderland". The movie looked a little creepy to me, but was surprisingly good.

Grandma Becki had fun helping the girls with a few crafts. While we were on our date, they made some little chicks, which are adorable. Then on Sunday, Grandma Becki helped Kaylee and I make a sock pony for her western day at school. We were all pretty proud of the end result. We sure enjoyed our visitors and look forward to many more...

Really???

For the past month Trevor and I have been sleeping on a queen sized mattress on the floor in our bedroom. We have a bed frame and box springs in the basement, however, we can't get them up the stairs. The day we moved in Trevor had about 6 guys helping him unload the truck. They tried for 15 minutes to get the box springs up the stairs and finally declared it impossible. Well for the past month I have been visualizing how to get the box springs up the stairs. Today, I invited my friend Nellie over for a play date. I told her of our box spring dilemma and she offered to help me attempt to get it up the stairs. We carried it upstairs from the basement and even unscrewed both railings in attempt to force it upstairs. Unfortunately, we too came to the conclusion that it just won't fit up the stairs. My husband tells me I am a bit hard headed sometimes. Do you ever just need to see something for yourself before you are convinced it is true? I obviously do! So apparently for the last 40 years no one who has lived in this house has slept in a queen sized bed. Really????

Kianna's Turquoise Room

Before

After (notice her napping on her bed...)

Our painting project began on Saturday afternoon and took FOUR days to complete. Painting her room was a BIG job because the previous owners decided to paint the border, trim, and door the same color as the walls (hunter green and yellowish). We, however, wanted them all antique white. In addition, they left us three black shelves on the wall and 5 black shelves in the closet, which we also had to paint white. Myself, being highly motivated to complete this painting task decided to paint the door and shelves during nap time. I was the first to open the white paint and so made sure I stirred it good prior to using it (at least I thought I did). However, after having already applied two coats of white paint to the door and one side of the shelves decided to flip the shelves over to paint the other side. It was at this point that I began noticing orange streaks of paint on my white shelves. I looked inside the paint bucket and noticed more orange streaks throughout. I got the paint stick and began stirring the paint again. This is when the paint began to turn "antique white" vs "white". It was a HUGE difference in color. So much so that I had to repaint the door and shelves AGAIN. I was SO frustrated with myself for not having stirred the paint good enough the first time. I swear that I am a pro at making a difficult task even more difficult! Her room was very time consuming, but the finished product is worth it. Kianna even did a happy dance once she was finally allowed to reenter her turquoise room. Unfortunately, we only have 1 room done and quite a few to go...

New Friends

I'm excited to report that I made two new friends last week, Nellie and Erin. It may sound childish, but nonetheless I'm thrilled to be moving forward in the social department. Nellie introduced herself to me when I was picking Kaylee up from school. Her son is in Kaylee's pre-K class. She also has another little boy who is 3 years old. She gave me her phone number and said if I ever wanted to get together to give her a call. I waited a few days and then gave her a call inviting her and the boys to come over to play sometime. Our play date is setup for Thursday morning. In the meantime, we ran into eachother at The Center and decided to workout together. I am really enjoying getting to know her better. We seem to have a lot in common.

I met Erin while on a walk in our neighborhood last Wednesday. I introduced myself to her, as I was excited to see that she too had small children. She has a 6-year-old little girl and a 3-year-old little boy. We had a nice time talking and ended up staying to visit and let the kids play for about a half hour. Then on Friday evening just before dinner the doorbell rang and it was Erin. She said she knew it was late notice, but wanted to invite us over to grill out at their house that evening. Despite having just put dinner in the oven, we decided to take them up on their offer. We had a nice time getting to know their family better.

We are excited to invite our new friends over and introduce them to Settlers of Catan or Acquire. Unfortunately, that will have to wait as we are currently eating off of our card table and I'm not sure Settlers would even fit on the table. In time...

Happy Birthday Trevor!!!

Happy Birthday Trevor! We love you very much! You are a wonderful daddy and husband. We are all blessed to have you in our life. You are so fun to be around and are great at making us laugh! We are proud of you for the person you are and for following God's call on your life! We're excited to see all this year has in store for our family...

Trevor celebrated his birthday by going to work. Whoo Hoo!!! His coworkers brought in some goodies to help him celebrate his special day. After work, we had a nice dinner and enjoyed some of the carrot cake the girls helped me make. Kaylee helped me read the recipe and even cracked 3 out of the 4 eggs. It took everything I had in me to let her crack those eggs, but she kept telling me that at school she cracked an egg and was so proud of herself. I decided to let her try again. I began by giving her a lesson in the proper way to crack an egg and then let her try it. She cracked the first egg with no shells in the bowl, so I let her do it again two more times with the same result. I was shocked that she cracked three eggs with no shells. I still get shells in the bowl sometimes, but not Kaylee. She uses a different technique than I do, so I'm thinking maybe I should switch to her technique...

After dinner, we headed to Jackson, MI to watch the LCS Lady Cougers varsity basketball team in their quarter finals game. They ended the game with another victory and play in the semi-finals at Michigan State University on Thursday evening. This is the farthest the women's team has ever made it in the playoffs. It was especially fun to watch the girls play because their head coach asked me to help them prepare for their big game last Saturday morning. I'm not sure that I was of much help, but I had a blast practicing with them and getting to know the girls. Although, my body has been reminding me everyday since that I'm not 18 anymore...

We got home from the game late and as Kaylee was walking up the stairs to get ready for bed she said to me somewhat irritated "Mommy, I'm really tired. Why did you let me stay up so late on a school night?" I was scolded again this morning when I came in her room to wake her up for school. She told me "Mommy I still want to sleep. Why did you let me stay up so late?" This kid cracks me up. Is she really only 5? Trevor says she's 5 going on 35.

Trace's 1st Haircut

I always pictured myself being able to cut Trace's hair myself. I thought "He's a boy, how hard can it be?" Earlier this week I attempted to do so. While Trace was strapped down in his high chair I got out the scissors and took about 1.5" off the back of his hair. I took a closer look and thought it looked pretty good. I proceeded to cut the other side of his hair, which is when I first said "oops". The second attempt was much shorter than the first attempt. I had to fix my work by using Trevor's electric razor. I tried to even things out a bit and got it looking decent, but was too scared to try to cut any hair off the top of his head, which needed it as well. So a couple days later, after much debate on whether I should attempt using the scissors on the rest of his hair, I finally decided to take him for his first haircut.

The girls' first haircuts were "fun" experiences. Granted they were both 2 years old NOT 13 months old when they got their first haircuts. Plus, I was able to take them to a fun, kid-friendly hair salon where they watched a movie while sitting on a stationery park ride and left with a sucker. In contrast, now that we live in a smaller town with a depressed economy those fun, kid-friendly salons are non-existent here. So my experience with Trace was MUCH different. I sat down in the chair and was draped with a cover. Next, Trace was placed on my lap and then draped with his own cover. I then proceeded to "hold him down" while she attempted to cut his hair and he attempted to get off my lap. Doesn't that sound fun? I left the place hoping not to have to go through that again anytime soon. So I wonder, "How often do little boys get their hair cut anyway?"

A Night at the Park

Kianna and Trevor's really large head...

Trace and Mommy
Kaylee with Petey.

Last night we drove over to LCS to play at the park. We had some fun times. Trace enjoyed swinging for about 1 minute and then his laughter turned to "get me out of here". He liked going down the big slide with me, but did not like going down the little slide by himself. There is something about slides that freaks him out currently. Mostly he enjoyed wandering along the path. There isn't much that beats "walking" right now. The girls had fun too. I think we are all ready for Spring!!!

Kaylee got to bring a stuffed dog named Petey home from school to spend a couple of days with our family. Petey came with a few books, a dog bed, an outfit, and a notebook which we were supposed to send back complete with pictures and a description of all the fun things we did with Petey. We showed Petey a good time. She enjoyed reading with us, playing hide-n-go-seek, napping, eating, going on walks, going to the park, and even watching Kaylee play her Wii "Go Diego Go" game.

Our Fashion Diva!!!

Is She Really Only Five Years Old?

Just before dinner Kaylee said, "Mom I had some chocolate for a snack at school today, so I don't want to have a treat after dinner. Remind me because I'm trying to watch my sugar." Kaylee Rebecca Cook

Pictured above is Carpenter Kaylee. Remember the woodworking center she was excited about? These are the two airplanes and remote control she built complete with saw, hammer and nails. Pretty cool!!

Life in Michigan

We have officially been living in Adrian, Michigan for 1 week and two days. So far so good. Trevor is one week into his new job at Lenawee Christian Ministries and is really enjoying it. The pace is much slower than he is used to and much more laid back. Both welcomed changes! He is also enjoying more time to exercise again.

Kaylee started preschool on Monday at Lenawee Christian School (LCS) and LOVED it. Her new teacher said she fits in great and it was as if she had always been there. The kids welcomed her by each making her a card, which was nice. I guess the class has been studying some of Jesus' miracles. A couple weeks ago, they read about Jesus calming the storm. Kaylee's teacher asked a question based on this story and no one in the class seemed to remember the answer, so Kaylee raised her hand and answered the question. Her teacher was pretty impressed since she wasn't even there when they read the story! The preschoolers attend chapel every Monday morning. Trevor had the chance to attend the elementary chapel and sat right behind Kaylee's class. He said the chapel was super impressive. The kindergarten class was in charge and they reenacted the story of "The Three Trees". Trevor said it was top notch and thought it was better than most Christmas programs he has seen. Pretty impressive since this apparently happens every week. The thing that Kaylee likes the best is that she goes to school all day now, three days a week. She was very ready for this change. I think this will be the perfect transition prior to her starting kindergarten this fall. Her least favorite part is quiet time, which she says is "boring". She was also really excited about the woodworking center at school, where she is able to use a handsaw, a hammer, and nails. Sounds a little scary to me, but they are well supervised...

LCS only has a 4 and 5 year old preschool class, so Kianna is staying home with me until she is old enough to start this fall. I thought she would be sad not to go to preschool here, but it gives her and I some one-on-one time while Trace naps in the mornings and she LOVES it. We have had fun together. Earlier in the week Trace and I were able to go on a walk while Kianna rode her bike next to us. She thought that was the best and kept saying how much fun she was having over and over. Kaylee only had a half-day of school on Wednesday and Kianna was upset because that cut into her time with me. She must have really been Mommy depraved. I think our time together will be a blessing to both of us!

As for me, I seem to be the most emotional about the move. Earlier in the week, I was pretty down and lonely. It is tough leaving all that is familiar back in Iowa: friends, family, church, house, deep freezer :-), etc. On Weds, my mood started to improve. I'm anxious to meet people here and so have been taking steps towards that. I started working out at The Center and attended a deep water aquatics class this week, which was fun. We have attended a couple different churches, but are still working on finding the right church for us. It takes time. I had a productive week filled with laundry, cleaning the house, and unpacking. The more progress I make on the house, the homier it feels. Although, most of our furniture is still back in Iowa, as the realtor emphasized that houses sell better if they are staged with furniture. We're anxious for our house to sell for a number of reasons, one of them being so we can move forward on making the house ours by making some modifications and improvements.

Not surprisingly, Trace is completely unphased by the move. I have been so impressed with how the kids have handled the move. I know that as time passes we will all miss not being able to attend all the family events (b-day parties, holidays, etc.,) we are used to being a part of, but as for now they are still excited to have their own rooms and have access to the pool at The Center. I took the girls swimming this morning for the first time and they had a blast!

The first family event we are missing is happening tonight, Bryker's 2nd Birthday party. Happy 2nd Birthday Bryker. Wish we could be there! We are thinking of you on your big day!!! One thing I keep telling myself is that as long as we are together: Trevor, Kaylee, Kianna, Trace and I we will be okay. I'm so thankful for my family!

Trace is 13 1/2 months old

Trace is really becoming a big boy and is transitioning into a toddler instead of a baby. Here are his latest accomplishments:

• Walking: He walks everywhere and then walks some more. No more crawling for this little guy.
• Sign Language: What's that? Trace has apparently gone on strike with signing. We can get an occasional "all done" out of him, but otherwise it isn't his thing...
• Table food: He LOVES it. No more baby food for this little man (except for using up the extra jars in the cupboard). Trace especially likes taking bites of things vs. having them cut into little pieces and then eating them. For example, he would much prefer a PB & J sandwich handed to him, rather than giving him lots of pieces of it. He thinks he is a big boy and we agree!!! He really is a great eater and eats pretty much everything except fruit. He doesn't seem to like the tartness of fruit. He will eat bananas but otherwise forget it! Ironically, he has a bit of a sweet tooth ever since eating his first cupcake at his b-day party. I'm not sure where he gets that?
• Sippy Cup: He has fully transitioned to using sippy cups. We ended up buying a few of the cups that he preferred and he has been using them ever since.
• Feeding himself: mastered by hand. Silverware to come in the not so near future. I still catch Kianna using her fingers so no rush...
• Teeth: Trace got another tooth on the bottom making his grand total 7.
• Personality: Trace has a great personality and loves to laugh. Yesterday, I introduced him to our little bowling pins and ball. He thought it was hilarious when the pins were knocked over. He sat down and tried to roll the ball into the pins, which I was pretty impressed with. Otherwise, he just knocked them over by hand and then cracked up laughing. It was really cute.
• Talking: He makes the sound "bah" a lot. I decided he was trying to say "ball", however, he seems to say it even when there are no balls around?
• Toys: Trace still enjoys playing with the kitchen. He especially likes to stir things. Give him a spoon and a bowl and he will walk around stirring them. It is pretty cute. He really likes balls. He likes it when we throw a ball, he gets it, brings it to us, and we do it all again, essentially he likes to play "fetch". He has also enjoys putting his shapes through the correct hole. This is still a work in progress, but he gets pretty excited when they go through the right hole.
• Attitude: Trace has a bit of a defiant streak which happens at mealtime. As previously mentioned he eats with his fingers, which means that I do not want him touching his hair during meals. However, Trace likes to touch his hair during meals. See the problem? He knows that I do not like it when he touches his hair, but he continues to do it. Yesterday, he ended up in timeout 2x during lunch and had the gaul to touch his hair a 3rd time. Ugh! The funny thing is, that he isn't 100% sure when he CAN touch his hair. So when he is trying to be naughty, he will look right at me and touch his hair even when he isn't in his highchair. Silly boy, Mommy will win this battle...