ATLANTA FLOODING

It started on a Sunday night. Literally, a deluge! I’ve never experienced anything like it before! Give me snow/blizzards/white-outs/ice/wind, etc. any day over never-ceasing rain!

Water started seeping into our basement late Sunday night. I couldn’t tell where it was coming from. I debated about started to wet-vac it out then, but decided it would most likely be worse the next morn,……..? SO, on Monday morn (of course no school for the kiddos) I hesitantly walked downstairs. I was met by a room that was totally saturated in water! Not just any water – brown & red water!!!…. Thankfully the carpet & padding soaked up the majority of it. I was blown away, however and did NOT know what to do first. Thankfully a friend showed up w/ her neighbors and we started ripping out the carpeting and padding. It was a nasty job! After that was done we noticed what was most likely the cause of the flooding in the basement… a year ago we were treated for termites (yet another southern pleasantry). The exterminating company drilled down into the foundation to apply the chemical to kill these pesky critters BUT DIDN’T SEAL THE HOLES BACK UP!!!!!!! There were 1” round holes every foot around the perimeter of the basement. Water was still coming up thru the holes… that was where the brown/red dirt was coming from!

Needless to say, I got that exterminating company out here right away and they (believe it or not) admitted to their negligence, filled the holes and we came to a settlement for them to repay me. Meanwhile, we’re still living in total chaos down there. All of the household stuff is in the garage. Hoping for reconstruction to begin (and finish) this week.

We were blessed to have Samaritan’s Purse help us with some of the demolition & clean up. What an amazing organization! FEMA – another story! What a joke! I think the federal gov’t should just continue to bail out the people who really need it – crooked bankers & car companies instead of people living with black mold infesting their homes…. UGH.

Overall, we’re just blessed that the damage wasn’t worse!

As of today, we're done!!! :) The new carpet is down, the walls are fixed - YEAH! Now, if only I had all brand new furniture to load back into the room.... :)

MAX out the cuteometer!!!!

Pre-school fun...

The older two weren't the only ones to start school recently... our 'baby' started pre-K.
She loves her teacher and is the first one up in the morning, so excited and ready to go to school!

I have a new 6-yr-old

We were so blessed to have T’s parents and sister here with us to help celebrate LB’s 6^th birthday!

Granted, I went a little over-board. It was a bit too much work and the budget was a bust, but fun was had by all and, well, how many times do we get to celebrate one turning 6???

Oh, how I love this child with all my heart and soul. Every year when my girls celebrate b-days, I cannot help but think of their birth mothers who loved them SO much that they a) chose life for them and b) knew their situations and their hearts enough to place them up for adoption! I’m so thankful for these women and hope they know, in their hearts, they made the right decisions and how loved these children are.

Happy Birthday my darling... we LOVE you!!!

While I'm Waiting

Nothing much to say except THIS is where I am now... as well as where I've/we've been for the past 18 months....
(working on the 'peaceful' part)... :)

1st day of school

How come when I was in school, the time dragged and dragged... year after year. It seemed as if I would NEVER make it to my senior year in High School.

Now that my kids are in school, the years are whizzing by. I vividly remember when it was Xian that was starting school. In fact, I was reminiscing last night about it and ended up finding his Kindergarten teacher and sending her pix from yesterday’s first day of school.

Yesterday, LB started Kindergarten and Xian started 7th grade. Mims won’t start pre-K ‘til September. They both had wonderful days. LB’s details were sketchy, but I could tell she enjoyed it. She has a male teacher that came very highly recommended to us. He seems amazing! Xian has an aggressive schedule. He was placed in advanced math, so I’m hoping that I’m smart enough to help him out with it! I met all his teachers and was impressed with all but one… (nearing retirement, I think.)

Although I’m going to miss our lazy summer days, I’m happy the schedule is here and the kids will be learning again.

I'm a l-o-s-e-r

Here is what I’ve determined today – I AM A TOTAL LOSER!!!!!! I spent a little too much time browsing on ye ol’ world wide web today and it really hit me like a ton of bricks…

Have you ever gone to a friend’s blog and then ended up seeing her friends, then those friends, and on & on??? That’s what I did and that’s how I came to realize what a l-o-s-e-r I really am.

This is what other SAHMs are busy doing while I’m neglecting my kids – well, they are on their computers in their rooms (I think we have too many computers) and hanging out online….

Making homemade soaps, jams, bracelets, quilts, pillows, hair bows, backpacks, etc. ALL of which are very crafty & cute! They are baking & cooking all kinds of fabulous pies, breads, sandwiches, iced cookies, etc. AND then taking & posting pictures of their creations. They’re taking amazing photos and digitally making them works of art. Many of these ladies are sewing experts and seem to push out at least a dozen or so different CUTE outfits for their little ones every day! Some of them have multiple blogs – one for each kid, one for photography, one for their online business, one for their pets, etc. etc. They post about their fav. beauty products and rename their hair color! MOSTLY, what so many of them blog about is how freakin’ organized they are. As if I didn’t already feel badly enough about my non-creative, non-baking, non-good-camera-having self!!!

So, let me be REAL for a moment…. Here is what I’ve gotten accomplished today: I did get up early, but then went back to bed. The kids had pre-packaged food for breakfast. We haven’t left the house yet. I’ve baked nothing, cooked nothing, made nothing, created nothing, and cleaned nothing. I bought nothing on sale. I did manage to do a couple of loads of laundry. I stripped my bed, but haven’t remade it yet. I talked on the phone for at least an hour or two. I am dressed.

Man, that is the last time I go for a "quick" browse on the internet… thanks for nothing!