water leak and mold oh my

Well the two of you that may or may not read my blog are probably wondering where I've been and if I've had the baby yet. Well I can tell you where I've NOT been, and that is in my own home. In early April we had a water leak. We had a plumber finally come out on April 15th and they told us that the leak was under the slab that our house was built on and that they would have to tear up the floor to fix the problem. We called our insurance company and they said to get a 2nd opinion, which we did, and turned out that the leak was in the wall between our bathroom and kitchen so it wasn't going to be too horrible to fix and not cost $3000 like the first company said it would. We also found out that we had Quest pipes also known as polybutylene pipe in our home, which there was a lawsuit years ago because of the failure rate of these pipes, and they should have been replaced. When we had our home inspection 2 1/2 years ago, the inspector only saw PVC pipes and didn't find the Quest pipes, which from what the plumber explained was that they were replaced in parts that were visible and could only been seen if cut into the wall. Well the leak was fixed, and the company (Paul Davis Restoration or PDR for this post) that our insurance had sent out to do the restoration found out that we had mold.  They set up a containment area, and cleaned and took out the drywall and took up the floor and proceeded to dry the walls so that we could have an air quality test done so that we could move back into our home. Well it seemed to take a very long time for the walls to dry, and then there was another leak that was found, which Hubs fixed, (along with trying to fix another leak that was found but we called a plumber for that) so we had to wait even longer for them to even come in and test. The air quality test was finally done on May 3. We were told by the company that they would have the results in 48 hours. On Monday when hubs called the results were still not available, but the PDR said they would start some work so that we could get back in our house as soon as possible. They kept saying this each day that week but nothing was done. Finally on Friday May 10 we learned that the house did not pass the air quality test and the company would have to do some more cleaning and there would be a retest. At this point we had been out of our home for 3 weeks. We had been told by PDR that we could keep our cat in the house, which should not have been allowed, but we had no idea this was our first experience with anything like this.

Well we felt that we were not getting taken care of appropriately by PDR, it didn't seem that they were keeping us informed and that they were telling us things that were false and not happening (like the cleaning and repairs while waiting for the test results), so we contacted the BBB. Hubs command even got involved at this point and emailed the company. On Friday May 17, we received an email from the company saying they were upset that we had filed complaints on them and that once the mold part of their job was done, they would be finished and would not complete the work to restore our house, even though they had been paid by us already to do the work. We had paid them for the mold work and also for the part of our deductible that we owed for our insurance, but PDR said they would have to reevaluate what we owed since the cost would be more, but that they would give us a refund of whatever they didn't charge us.

There are so many things that went wrong with this whole process. I wasn't able to be an active part of it because I gave birth in the midst of all of this. But it seems like if you don't want to have some negative comments about you then you would want to make your customers happy and finish the work, not just say we are going to finish because you "told" on us. There are many things that we have learned from this, and will know for the next time we have any issues. But needless to say, 33 days later we are still not in our home, our floors are still torn up, the walls are open from where the dry wall was removed and we are awaiting the second set of air quality results. We have been trying to get help during the whole ordeal but seemed like we weren't able to get help. We were able to contact the Navy Marine Corps Relief Society and they gave us loans to pay for the work to be done (and we also had to repipe our house since we had the faulty pipes and it would have had to be done anyway), but now we have a large loan payment that is going to wreck our already tight budget. I just want to go home and be in my own house. I want to take my daughter, who will be 4 weeks old tomorrow, to her room and have her in her own bed. But this horrible ordeal is still going on and who knows how much longer it will continue.

AMC and OLTL back again :) Awesome

I've been a fan of soap operas thanks to my mom and my grandmother. I grew up watching General Hospital and Days of Our Lives. Then when Soap Net came on TV awhile ago I started watching All My Children and One Life to Live. I was sad when they went off the air, but luckily they are back and better than ever. AMC and OLTL are going to be premiering on Hulu starting at midnight tonight, Monday April 29th. Both shows will also be available on Hulu+ and iTunes for on-the go viewing. So if you've been missing your favorite stars from these shows you can enjoy them again on Hulu. What a great idea and with the power of the internet more people can catch on to these shows.

  “I am participating in a campaign from One2One Network and The Online Network. I have not received payment for this post. My participation makes me eligible for a prize drawing. All opinions stated are my own.”

Links

The Online Network - www.theonlinenetwork.com

AMC on Hulu - www.hulu.com/all-my-children

OLTL on Hulu - www.hulu.com/one-life-to-live

AMC teaser
http://www.hulu.com/watch/468389

OLTL teaser
http://www.hulu.com/watch/468388

Social media sites for the shows:

AMC

• Facebook - www.facebook.com/AllMyChildren
• Twitter - http://twitter.com/AllMy_Children
• Instagram - instagram.com/allmychildren

OLTL

• Facebook - www.facebook.com/OneLifeToLive
• Twitter - http://twitter.com/onelifetolive
• Instagram - instagram.com/onelifetolive
• Tumblr - www.fyeaholtl.tumblr.com

YouTube season previews (these can be embedded in your blog post and/or shared on social media)

• AMC - http://smarturl.it/previewamc
• OLTL - http://smarturl.it/previewoltl

Feeling Desperate as a mom? Here's some great offers to help with that.

I read a great book recently by authors Sarah Mae and Sally Clarkson called Desperate, Hope for the Mom Who Needs to Breathe. Let me just say it was a great read. I've been feeling desperate with the preschooler and the birth of my daughter and Sarah Mae and Sally's words were such a comfort. I am hoping to use some of what I learned while reading their book in my life and to realize that it's ok to have days and that it's ok to ask for help as well.

This week, until Friday you can purchase 5 paperback copies of the book (maybe you can start a small study in your home or at your church and you can get the Desperate DVD for free that goes along with the book. How exciting is that. I think that this book would be great for a group of mom's with young ones to read and grow through. If you purchase 5 books and use "Buy 5 Paperbacks get the DVD for FREE" promotion - that's the biggest thing. People who buy the 5 books can just email a scan/pic of their receipt to:  desperatebook@thomasnelson.com. How awesome. Check out the Website with trailer and free resources: http://desperatemom.com/. I hope that if you read this book that you get as much out of it as I did. Enjoy

The Happiest Baby Guide to Great Sleep review

I was given the chance to review The Happiest Baby Guide to Great Sleep in a book review campaign with One2One Network. Seeing as we’ve had several issues with our 3 year old and his sleep, I jumped at the chance to review the book by Dr. Harvey Karp, M.D., who is the author of the great book The Happiest Baby on the Block. I loved that this new book covered from birth to 5 years, since a lot of the books that are out there focus on newborns to one year-ish. We’ve been working to get D (the 3 year old) out of our bed and into his own, especially since we are due with our 2^nd child any day now (April 26 is her due date but she’ll be here before.) I have been trying a couple of different things to get him to sleep in his own bed, like we bought him a car bed since he loves cars; his room is decorated in cars and he has a night light and a fan in there to make it seem like our room. I would sleep on an air mattress in his room to try to get him to sleep in his room, but he would end up on the air mattress with me. It’s been very frustrating to say the least. 

In Dr. Karp’s book, I went right to the section that dealt with older kids. I figured that we can deal with Baby A’s sleep issues once she gets here, my main focus is D’s.  Starting in section 3, we learn about the things that can go on in a toddler/preschoolers life. With our son, he has developmental delays and speech issues so that has compounded a few our problems as well. He is in a preschool program and enjoys it. His daddy is Navy so he isn’t home as often as we would like, and now he will have a baby sister at any given day, so I can only imagine all the stress that he is dealing with and can see why sleeping with mommy would be a big comfort. In Chapter 10, Dr. Karp talks about some ways to boost patience and cooperation, like the “Fast-Food” Rule (FFR), which means that we connect and repeat back to the little one what his fears are. This sounds like it would be a great idea, as long as they are able to communicate well, which is something that is improving with our 3 year old. Another method would be to speak in Toddler-ese or to speak like they do. I think this would be a much better option with our son, since he can communicate in short sentences. 

Dr. Karp talks about having a good bedtime and day time routine that it’s important to plan for going to bed during the day. I think this would be a great idea. He gives suggestions about how to use the patience-stretching method during the day that is talked about in detail to use at night. It involves almost giving your child something that they want, but then asking them to wait for a few seconds (and then work up to a minute or more) while you go and do something that you forgot, like talk to daddy, etc. Give them something like a lovey to hold on to while they wait for the few seconds so that it can help them build the patience they are going to need when you work with them to go to sleep. 

There is a great section that I am going to use about weaning your tot from bed-sharing. That is our big issue and Dr. Karp gives some great suggestions that I’ve not thought to try. It also involves starting in the daytime to get them ready for bed, by playing in his bed and showing him how cool and comfortable his bed is. He also suggests to make a Beddy-Bye book to read with them, which is a book that goes through their day and shows what they do and has pictures of them doing it. Dr. Karp suggests when putting them in bed to make up a bed beside them to start with, and to work on moving towards the door and out of the room. I think that if we can get him to just sleep in his bed with a lovey or his stuffed monkey and me in the room and I work my way out, that would help. It is something that we are planning on working on, when I’m not pregnant and can sleep on the floor. 

Overall from the sections that I read on working with my 3 year old, I’m very excited about trying what Dr. Karp recommends. I can’t wait to read about how to work with our newborn and getting her to sleep, but if his advice is just as good for newborns as it is for the older kids, I’m sure we’ll be able to get her to sleep well. I love Dr. Karp and his other books, so I am glad that he has put out a book on sleep. I see this book helping lots of parents to get their little ones to sleep well. 

To check out the information for the book, head here The Happiest Baby Guide to Great Sleep site - http://bit.ly/ZUyHra.

Also some other resources:

• Dr. Harvey Karp author bio - http://bit.ly/YdHHXP
• Happiest Baby website - http://bit.ly/Yy14de

Some information from the publisher about the book:

Finally, kids do come with instructions!

Surprisingly simple steps to boost your little child's sleep fast!

Dr. Harvey Karp made doctors applaud and parents cheer with his brilliant solutions to centuries-old problems such as colic and tantrums. Now, in THE HAPPIEST BABY GUIDE TO GREAT SLEEP: Simple Solutions for Kids from Birth to 5 Years (William Morrow Paperback; On-Sale: March 19, 2013; $15.99; ISBN: 9780062113320), Dr. Karp stuns the world again by solving the #1 problem plaguing new parents: exhaustion. Dr. Karp's surprising insights include:

How to train brand new babies to sleep better: Infants can be taught to sleep at least one extra hour from the first weeks of life! Dr. Karp shows how to safely boost baby sleep in just days.

What’s the best white noise (and which ones worsen sleep): The right white noise (low pitched and rumbling) is the key to good sleep—even through teething—for all babies. Plus, it even gives parents a more restful sleep

Why parents should always wake a sleeping baby: For good sleep, babies must learn how to self-soothe. The best way to teach babies how to fall back to sleep—when they rouse in the middle of the night—is to wake them just as they’re being put into bed.

How to enjoy the benefits - and avoid the risks - of swaddling: Swaddling dramatically improves a new baby’s sleep. Yet, many states are shockingly banning this ancient parenting tool. Smart moms should do it and Dr. Karp will teach them how to do it properly and safely.

The importance of powering down: Staring at bright screens at night (TVs, computers, phones) can wreak a toddler and a parent’s sleep.

Easy "no-cry" tips that end infant and toddler bedtime struggles in just days!

With THE HAPPIEST BABY GUIDE TO GREAT SLEEP, no longer will new parent have to suffer months of sleep deprivation and no longer will babies have to cry themselves to sleep. Backed by compelling science, common sense and decades of experience, Dr. Karp’s landmark guide will revolutionize how millions of children drift off to dreamland.

Disclosure: “I am participating in a book review campaign with One2One Network. I received this book from Harper Collins for the purposes of reviewing it. I have not received compensation. My participation in the campaign enters me into a drawing for a gift card. All opinions stated are my own.”

Christian Mama's Guide to Baby's First Year- Review

 

Book Description

An entertaining, practical guide for first-time mamas and those who need a baby refresher course.
The new mom initiation ritual involves sleepless nights, an inexplicable obsession with baby booties, and more questions than answers. This take on everything baby offers new moms the Christian girlfriend advice she needs to feel confident in her new role, including:

• getting into the motherhood groove
• breastfeeding advice
• suggestions for losing the baby weight—before your baby is no longer a baby
• time management tips that may just help you find time to do laundry—before you run out of clean underwear
• how you can manage to be a godly mother and a good wife on less than three hours of sleep a night

Easy-to-read and relatable, this been-there-done-that guide answers these questions and more with a dose of humor an a lot of grace so that new moms can become the moms that God intended them to be during their baby's first year.

I really enjoyed this book. I'm due in the next few weeks with my 2nd child, but the info in this book is really good despite that. While most of the information that Erin shares is not new to me, it's presented in a format that is easy to read and understand, especially with my brain fatigue that I'm already experiencing. I opened up the book and went right to the chapter on Breastfeeding (I wasn't able to with my first so I thought I'd read up on it hoping that we'll have success this time around) and it was great. She puts in her own personal success and offers suggestions for products that helped her and her friends. Each chapter is well written and has just the right dose of information laced with humor to give you a laugh when you have been running on less than 3 hours of sleep. I love that she also puts in a Bible verse and a prayer in each chapter related to what the topic is, I plan on writing some of those prayers out in my journal to remember if I'm having a rough time with welcoming the new little addition to our family.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

One Perfect Life review

Book Description

Read the best news the world has ever been given about the most significant life in all history—Jesus Christ. In One Perfect Life, Dr. John MacArthur shares with us the complete story of the Eternal Christ from Genesis to Revelation. Using Matthew as the base text, Dr. MacArthur blends the gospels and other biblical material about Jesus into one continuous story that will help you better understand Scripture and grow stronger in your faith. No other harmony of the Gospels includes such extensive study notes to help you unpack the meaning of each verse.
Features include:

• Verse-by-verse explanations from one of the most important pastor-teachers of our time
• Every verse connected to Christ from Genesis to Revelation
• A harmony of the Gospels that demonstrates the inerrancy of Scripture
• New King James translation

I received a copy of One Perfect Life by John MacArthur to review from Booksneeze. I love the Gospels and reading the story of Jesus, and this book that MacArthur has put together is the best of both. He uses all four gospels to tell a complete story of the life of Jesus. The book is broken down into the different parts of Jesus' life and also uses some other parts of the Bible to complete the whole story of Jesus, like Anticipating the Lord Jesus Christ and looking at verses from the Old Testament to show how He would come into the world, and ends with the reflections on the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I love how MacArthur tells each event that happened in Jesus' life by using all the Gospels and putting them all together, so that you can see how when Matthew starts one part of the story, you can get some more information from Mark and finish up with Luke. At the bottom of each page is also commentary to help explain the verses that are being used to explain about Jesus.

This is a great reference to use when you are looking to explain and tell some of the wonders that Jesus did and to show how all of the Gospels are related, even though they are written by 4 different writers. I will be using this to help expand my knowledge of Jesus and hopefully see things that I may have missed while just reading the Gospels by themselves and not comparing them.


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com  book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255  : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Butterfly butterfly

Why, Yes I do love butterflies. But there are many reasons for that. One reason that I adore them is because of a comment that my friend had made to me a long time ago when I was in a rough relationship. She had said that I was like a butterfly that had her wings clipped. There was something about that comment that stuck with me even after all these years, but more so back then. I still had the beauty of the butterfly, but because of the relationship I was in, it was like I was being tied up and unable to do what I was meant to do. Not long after that I was finally able to see that the relationship was trying to change me in ways that weren't good, and left. I'm still grateful for that friend and her ability to open my eyes and see what was going on.

I have always seen butterflies as beautiful and strong animals. I got one of my first tattoos as a butterfly to remember my Grams. She was a strong woman who had a lot of faith in God and she was the one that I wanted to be like. I still miss her (she passed away during a really rough summer in my life) and miss her strength and love and pride that she had.

As a tattoo to symbolize my marriage to my husband, I got another butterfly and had an anchor put in the middle where the body of the butterfly is. It will always remind me that I can work hard to bring strength and love to our marriage.

For the theme for my daughter's room, I have picked butterflies and monkeys. I want her to know that she can be strong and beautiful. And that it's important to remember that being yourself and being strong for what you need and believe is important, and you should never let anyone "clip your wings".

Looking for ways to save money on summer camps this year?

Looking for ways to save money for summer camp this year?

Here are 4 suggestions:

• #1 Register early to take full advantage of all early-bird discounts!
• #2 ASK if they have scholarships, financial aid or a sliding scale.
• #3 Offer to volunteer at camp for a reduced or free camper registration.
• #4 Ask friends of your child(ren) to register together for a group discount.  

Also, if this is your first year sending your child to summer camp, here are 5 tips for preparing them:

1. Day camps are more fun when children know at least one other camper who will be attending. Don't assume that they will be in the same group, let the camp director know your preferences when you initially register your child.
2. If a camp facility is open when you register for camp, take a tour. If not, take a virtual tour of the facility through looking on their website. The more familiar your child is with the environment, the less overwhelming he/she will feel.
3. Watch videos and look at photos of other campers having fun at camp. Look on the camp website and Google the camp name for additional postings.
4. Print out the camp schedule for your child to read about a typical day at camp---from the meals, free time, activities, to the bedtime routines.
5. For residential camps, make sure that this isn't the first time your child will be sleeping away from home. Let them practice overcoming their separation anxiety with a couple of sleep-overs with friends or family before going to a residential camp. Write a letter (or email) to the camp director with any questions.  

For more summer camp tips, visit here.