Stressful!

I tell ya, if I had realized how much JUNK was left in this house we bought, I would have made the sellers get all their stuff out before we settled!  We thought we would only have to deal with a few pieces of furniture and a few things left in some closets, but we had no idea!  We ended up renting a dumpster instead of making numerous trips to the dump, and that turned out to be the best idea we had.  We thought that maybe we would fill up half of the dumpster, but we ended up filling it to the brim!!  I think there was literally fifty years worth of stuff in that house.  So glad to have that part done. 

My wonderful mom, gramma, and aunt have done most of the cleaning of the house.  I work for about an hour and I'm spent being that I'm 6+ months pregnant.  Plus I haven't been able to focus all my attention on the house since someone has to focus their attention on the kids.  There is light at the end of the tunnel.  Just a few minor things to do and we're done!

The house looks and smells 100% different.  We had new carpet put in yesterday in part of the house and washed the carpet in the other part.  So we're move-in ready pretty much.  That all happens this weekend.  I'm trying to get all the new bedding and towels washed now so that their ready for when we get in the house. 

I'm ready to be moved in so that we can get all this stress off us.  Me mostly.  It's been frustrating that I haven't been able to help more than I have.  Plus moving should not be allowed to be stressful because it just causes all kinds of problems between husband and wife.  Ready for all of this to be over with!!

Property Virgins No More`

We just bought our very first home!  We signed the paperwork on Friday and changed the locks on Saturday!!  We have A LOT of work to do before we feel ready to move in.  Plus, we've paid for the storage unit through the end of February, so to get our money's worth from that, we're going to make a few minor adjustments in the house before we move our stuff in.  We literally inherited a house almost fully furnished, so we have a lot of sorting of junk to go through and get rid of furniture we don't want or really need.   

I'm off to price carpet today while Nick and dad go over after work to fix a few items in the house that need fixing right away.  There is some surface mold in a few places that has to be taken care of and painted over, as well as a few closet doors that need to be replaced.  Hopefully I'll get a good price on decent carpet and have that all set up to be put in soon. 

So, we'll get in the house sooner rather than later.  Now that we actually have the house, I feel it's a daunting thing to get everything ready for us to move in, but I know it'll be worth it in the end!

Sickness, again...

So, what else is new, but we've just gotten over another round of colds.  This time, however, the boys got it pretty bad, and quick for that matter.  I noticed runny noses from all three of the boys and braced for the worst.  A few days later I was running Spencer to the urgent clinic because he complained of an ear ache.  All three boys by that time had pretty awful sounding coughs and noses that would run without end!  So Spencer went on antibiotics for an ear infection.

The next day I took Bennett to the pediatrician for his cough.  He was tested for RSV, the flu, and pneumonia.  They had to suction his nose with this industrial-strength machine in order for Bennett to be able to breathe properly.  That was pretty intense!  Tests came back negative for everything but RSV.  Thankfully he's old enough where it's not such a worry.  Breathing treatments and nose suction was the only treatment to give him.  After three weeks, however, he's healthy again.

Tanner only developed a nasty cough with a few days of low fevers.  I always dread when he gets fevers because of how high they get.  It's not unusual for his fevers to get up around 104, so I was grateful for a low 101 fever this time around.

I managed to catch a little of what the boys had.  Thankfully my virus only lasted about 5 days and didn't develop into anything more than a minor throaty cough and body aches.  But we're all back to normal health again!!

Spencer was supposed to be tested for a peanut allergy a few weeks ago, but because of his being on antibiotics we had to postpone his appointment a week.  Graciously, he is not allergic to peanut butter!!!  That makes life a bit easier for all involved.  He has to go back for a more in-depth evaluation for an allergy to penicillin, but the doctor is pretty sure he's not allergic to that either.  It's just a precaution.

So, just another month at the Surdukowski household.  I'm looking forward to the time where we don't have some sort of illness every month.  But who knows when that will be.  It just feels like my kids manage to catch every single virus that floats around.  Not sure why!  But, for now we're all healthy, and I'll revel in that while it lasts!!  

Tanner-isms

Nick: Tanner, what do you want to do?
Tanner: I want to watch a movie.
Nick: You want to watch a movie, eh?
Tanner: Yeah, that's a great idea!!

Progress

So, story of my life, the septic inspection for our house failed.  There are four things that have to be fixed, and two things that are recommended to be fixed.  Seeing that I know absolutely nothing about septic systems, I hear that there are problems to be fixed and I automatically think big money.  We don't have the money for a huge septic overhaul.  There is a guy that we go to church with that is licensed to work on septics, so I had Nick call him that day to find out what kind of work this is.  Thankfully the issues are minor and should cost only $300.  That was encouraging. 

So the septic system has been taken care of.  I finally heard back from the mortgage company about all the extra stuff they needed from us.  After about 3 weeks of pretty much stand-still, I feel like we're back on track and progressing.  We are set to close the end of the month.  Still not sure when that date is, but hopefully we'll find out this week when it will be. 

We're not sure what the sellers are going to do with all the personal belongings that are still in the house.  They may leave them, but they may have an auction company come get them.  The seller's grown children are actually taking care of all of the house stuff, but they live in New Jersey and New York, so they don't have the time or resources to come and get their stuff.  Shoot, just leave it in the house and we'll take care of it.  By taking care of it I mean keeping the good stuff and either selling the other stuff at a garage sale or giving it to the salvation army or something. 

But at least I feel like we're moving in the right direction.  After we get the keys to the house, we have some mold issues to tackle.  Thankfully it's just surface mold and just needs to be cleaned and painted with that special mold preventing paint.  Then we'll move in to live.  I'm excited to finally grow some roots.  It's going to be a long road to get the house the way we like it, but it'll be fun, for the most part, getting there!!

My Kids and What They Say!

As with most kids, my kids say some pretty funny stuff.  Not sure where they get it all, but needless to say, it's pretty funny!  Here are a few that I really like:

Me: Spencer, say TV
Spencer: Tee-Wee (said as fast as he can!)

Tanner came in to lay in bed with me the other morning while Nick was getting ready for work and looks at me and says, "Mommy, the sun is up and the moon is down.  It's not dark anymore.  It's time to wake up!"

Tanner saw the UPS truck drive by the other day while he was outside.  He runs down the end of the driveway and tells my dad, "Papa, there goes the guy with my birthday presents!" 

My parents put the Christmas tree away yesterday while the boys were taking their nap.  When the boys finally saw that there was no more tree, Tanner turns around and says, "Oh no!  The tree is missing.  Now how will Santa bring me my birthday presents?"

Spencer has taken control of one of shorter couches in the family room. That's his seat!  He also puts his stash of toys right next to him.  My dad comes home from work and asks if he can sit by Spencer.  To that Spencer says, "Ummmmmmmmmmm...nope!" 

I love my kids and all the things that they say!  It's so funny to hear the things that come out of their mouths because some of those things I never even knew that they knew about them.  Kids are amazing!!

Our House

Well, we had a septic inspection done for the house and it failed.  There are a few things that need to be done for it to pass, but thankfully it's not too expensive to do it.  We're waiting to see if the sellers will pay for it, but given their track record, they probably won't.  But at least it's encouraging that the issues are minor and that we can take care of those things ourselves.  However, these things need to be done before we are able to settle on the house.  But hopefully these things will be done in time for us to close later on this month. 

We were over at the house last week and Nick took some pictures, so I thought I would post a few to show you a little of what the house looks like inside. 




Enclosed Porch



Kitchen




Living Room (yes, that's wallpaper on the ceiling!!!)





Front of the house


So, hopefully, if all goes well with a few more things on the house, this is where we'll be living.  It needs a lot of updating, but we'll get there as time goes!  It'll be fun to make this our home!