White Powder

Okay, could the past two weeks get any more bizarre? I'm sure it could be worse, it can always be worse. After we finally got our new water heater installed we very excitedly used it by taking showers and washing clothes only to find more water pooling up in the bedroom the very next morning. I had to call the plumber back who realized that we had a slab leak. Evidently the pipes under our house have sprung leaks and all the plumbing in our house needed to be rerouted. Of course I called our insurance, who wasn't interested in getting a hold of me back very quickly, who called a restoration specialist out to start the drying process. While trying to communicate with our insurance man, trying to get a quote from our first plumber, and getting an estimate from a second plumber, our restoration company is pulling up our flooring, tearing up a wall, and plugging in 4 dryers and two dehumidifiers. For days we had to endure the noise from these machines which literally will drive you slowly insane. It must have drove Jeremy insane because he was even willing to go to the park with me and the kids. I know, crazy right?!

Then the snow came. Yes, I said snow. This one will go down in the record books for sure. Friday night it started snowing, and it snowed enough before Bailey went to bed that we went outside and had a snowball fight, followed by hot chocolate. I didn't think it would last the night but I was wrong. We woke up to a winter wonderland! Three to four inches of powdery white snow covered the whole neighborhood. It really felt like a miracle. Part of what made this all feel so magical was Bailey's Christmas wish. When I asked her what she wanted for Christmas she said "snow." I told her that I didn't think it was going to be possible. Well it looks like Santa came through, he was just a little late, but he came through. Joy!

Then the plumbers came. They dug up our yard, cut at least 10 holes in our drywall, and a foot accidentally fell through our ceiling, but it's finally done. Our house looks like a total wreck and the beautiful guest bathroom walls with the faux paint is ruined. With the amount of instillation, dry wall, and dirt on the floors, poor Foster has been banished to his room most the time. His room being the only room not effected, yet. Now we still need the wall patches to be painted, all of our floors ripped up (except the tile), and new flooring put in. To top off this craziness, Jeremy is having a surgical procedure to reroute his "plumbing" on Friday. So I can forget getting a break or even getting help when it comes to the house and the Menglings this weekend. I'm not bitter.... really. At least I don't have to worry about us repopulating the earth anymore.

As the dry wall dust is settling all over the house, and in my eyes, I ponder the future of our restoration process. "What will our new floors look like? We finally get a chance to re-carpet the bedrooms. I hope the kids and the dog don't ruin it before we move. I don't think I'll clean the house until all this is done with. Will they be able to repaint the bathroom the way it was? I can't even remember the name of the color. It is going to be such a pain when they have to move all the furniture around. Will I have to be here, alone, with the kids, again?" All of these thoughts are leaving a bad taste in my mouth.

Or that could just be the dry wall dust.