I'm Still Here!

In case you've been wondering where I disappeared to, just wanted to let you know that I'm still here! And I've got a lot of posting to do, including Elijah's Birthday, Elijah and Aubrey's Birthday Party, Easter, T-Ball, Father's Day, and a whole lot of cuteness in between all of those occasions.

But before all of the cuteness begins, let me fill you in on the not-so-cuteness that's been keeping me from my blog for the past month... extreme water damage in our house. It all started with a little tiny dixie cup that was accidently (yes, it really was an accident) flushed down the toilet in the boy's upstairs bathroom one evening. The water didn't overflow at that time, so I told the boys to leave it alone and we would figure out what to do about it in the morning (Sam was out of town, of course :). Well, morning comes along and I awoke to the bathroom in our room completely flooded and moving into the bedroom carpeting; then found the boy's bathroom and hallway to be flooded as well! I rushed downstairs to grab every bath towel, washcloth, beach towel - pretty much anything I could get my hands on. And on my way, I heard bloop...bloop...bloop coming from the kitchen. Sure enough, the water was leaking through the ceiling and onto the kitchen floor and livingroom carpet. Further investigating also lead me to dripping water in the downstairs bathroom area. I went into panic mode quick, especially since the toilet had little boy "business" in it. I called for backup and my mom and brother-in-law quickly came to my aide as fast as they could.

Eventually we got some workers to come in and dry it all out and it turned into more of a production than I would have ever imagined. 8 air mover fans, 3 huge dehumidifiers, carpet and linoleum removal, and lots of drywall removal has left us with this...

Carpet removal outside the upstairs bathroom.

Carpet removal in the master bedroom, plus huge dehumidifier and fan.

Linoleum and drywall removal in the master bathroom.

Drywall removal by the downstairs bathroom.

The ceiling in the dining area.

And a HUGE mess and lots of cleaning left for me! I told them as long as they didn't touch my striped wall, we were good!

So for the past month I have been cleaning, getting estimates, and packing up as much stuff as I can because of the work that will have to be done to repair - replacement of the livingroom, stairs, hallway, and master bedroom carpeting; replacement of tile in both upstairs bathrooms; and drywall, drywall, and more drywall! I can't wait for it all to be done so I can have my house back. And for now, I must admit I'm excited to get everything moved out and completely cleaned; and then start fresh with decorating, arranging, and all that fun stuff! There's always a bright side :). I'll keep you posted on the progress.