About a month ago, we experienced a lot of rain, very strong winds and in turn, we had some damage to the house. Windows needed replaced, walls needed replaced, laminate floor needed to be replaced, and of course, grading and landscaping work to be completed to prevent some of this from ever happening again. Fortunately for us, our insurance company was more than willing to take care of the inside repairs, but we were left to replace the windows and the outside work. What a huge bill, but after seeing what they are paying for the inside, I'll gladly take ours!

The walls were completed quickly, however, the floors are a whole different story. I'm not quite sure who the blame falls on (of course, the contracting company blames someone else, that someone else blames the contracting company - blah blah blah), but they ended up putting completely different floors than they were suppose to. We wanted red oak, which is closest they had and we wanted to match as close as possibe to the rooms not getting new floors (master bedroom and all of the upstairs). Somehow, someone decided it would be okay to put down maple color flooring When we complained, that's when the finger pointing began on whose fault it was. The company was even willing to put new floors in our master bedroom and closets free of charge due to the error. No thank you, we just wanted what we ordered. All in all, it took them close to 2 weeks to get the right floors in. On top of that, they have generously helped themselves to our stuff, pushed stuff against the walls and completely messed up the walls (yes, clean walls is as important to me as clean floors - its the OCD in me I guess), broke some stuff, the list goes on.

To keep from complaining throughout this entire blog post, I will at least admit that the new (correct!) floors look great and we are hoping they are out of our house tomorrow, Friday at the latest. Supposedly our windows will be installed by Monday and who knows about the outside. The ground can't dry up enough due to rain just about daily for several days. Not only did they replace the floors in the kitchen and hallway but they also replaced them in the living room and closet/pantry areas as well so that was indeed a plus for us since the damage was in the kitchen only.

One of the biggest issues I had myself was that I found a cell phone cover (for the battery) in our master bedroom. Hmmm, they had no reason to be in our bedroom except to put down a new threshold so why was someone's cell phone cover in our bedroom in an area they should not have been? When the guys brought the new floors Monday, I remembered we found someone's sunglasses and had put them on the mantel thinking they belonged to one of the workers. Somehow the head guy putting the floors in made it sound like he had never been to our house, blaming everyone else for the stuff that was wrong. We believed him until we looked for the glasses and realized he had the sunglasses on his head. I found this out just minutes before leaving for work and of course, I was not the least be happy but had to be quick. This seemed to be a really good time to mention that the person looking for their cell phone cover should stop looking because I threw it away. The look on his face was priceless. I'm pretty sure I know who's cover it was too!

If I ever get the house cleaned once they are completely finished, I'll try to remember posting some photos of the new floors. I wouldn't hold my breathe though seeing how well I do at updating this blog but I am pretty sure everyone stopped reading it since we have failed completely in adding new stuff. Oops!

After wanting to go to bed at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday we were sure Jacob had the swine flu. He was very tired and just didn't feel good. Not to mention he had been around me the entire time I had the swine flu so it sounded very possible. Fortunately, he doesn't; unfortunately, he has chicken pox and is itchy, running a constant fever and very VERY moody.


Getting a month membership for his very favorite website helps some though!

Jacob actually planned to be a Ninja Turtle but his mask broke so plans changed. Given his new interest in Bakugan, Stacy and I were shocked he didn't chose this costume to begin with.



We would have a picture to post of Brianna, but she decided to spend the night with Mary and Lane tonight. She was going to give out candy at home until she found out Mary and Lane would see his niece, who happens to be one of Brianna's good friends. Of course, there are no pictures of myself or Stacy because I didn't dress up and I am not sure Stacy would appreciate the idea of dressing up or pictures being taken of her right now knowing how bad she feels with the swine flu.

I'm pretty sure using a title such as the one I am using will grant myself to be in trouble, but in all honesty, Stacy did turn 30 Friday so it's not a lie.

Although she continuously asked that I didn't make a huge fuss over her birthday (one day I assume she will stop asking of this because it's never going to happen!), I managed to invite some friends, co-workers and family over yesterday for a bbq, and just a general good time. If you know Stacy, you will know she is a very hard person to surprise and she doesn't care too much about surprises in general. While she knew everyone that I had invited, she did not know who was actually attending. One person in particular had led her to believe she wouldn't be here. Beth (a very dear friend and co-worker of Stacy's) told Stacy that her and her husband would be at their lake house all weekend and since this is typical for them, Stacy believed it. Stacy's face was priceless when she was describing how Beth and others decided to have a little fun at work decorating and noticed a certain someone walking through our house!







All in all, a great time was had by all! I'm pretty sure Stacy didn't mind turning 30. Now, I guess I better be figuring out some plans for this coming weekend (5 year anniversary!)

While I still cannot believe school has already begun for the 2009-2010 year, Brianna and Jacob have their first week out of the way. I have to say, it was a short week for each. North Carolina has this crazy idea that they can start on or after the 25th of August, but not a day before. Yep, you guessed it, every school around starts on the 25th. If you ask me, they should wait until after Labor Day. It's not like they are doing a lot of learning that first week or two anyhow. But to be honest, I'm not saying the people in charge of the education NC are the brightest bunch either! Anyhow, they didn't start until Tuesday, and then Jacob was out yesterday (yes, he missed a full day just after 3 days!) for his first visit to Brenner's Children Hospital (more on that below).

Brianna seems to really like her teachers. We know one of them but the other is new to everyone so only time will tell. This year Brianna is definitely trying a lot harder (not that she didn't before) this year because she was promised her very own laptop if she keeps her grades up. You better believe she will do whatever it takes to ensure she reaches her goals too!

Jacob's teacher is the same one he started out with last year. We love her to pieces. She was requested by us simply because she knows Jacob and followed through with everything that went on last year with his education and all the diagnosis that we learned.

Although this blog entry is for school, I should probably update with Jacob's kidney problems in case a family member is reading and we failed to let you know the latest. Jacob saw the pediatric urologist yesterday at Brenner's Children Hospital. He gathered the history, did a physical and is scheduling Jacob for several tests in the very near future. Some of those include a bladder contrast to find out whether fluids are re-entering into his kidneys, find out whether his kidneys are functioning at 100 percent again, and an MRI. He has ordered the MRI because he noticed Jaocb has a sacral dimple on his lower end of the spine. This could be nothing (crossing fingers!!) but it could also have impact on his bladder and kidneys. Jacob is also back on antibiotics for who knows how long. That part, I have to say, scares me. I am always nervous about medications and he already takes medication for adhd and his aspergers/anxiety but long term antibiotics can have effects on a persons liver or other organs. His prescription is wrote out for 90 pills x1 month, 5 refills which seems like an awful lot to me. You can be assured I am addressing this Monday but I am guessing he wrote it out that way but has no intentions on keeping him on them for that length of time. Perhaps he is just putting him on it until he figures out exactly what is going on?

Our trips to Oregon may be very far and few between, but they are always fun and cherished dearly! This recent trip proved to be no different. We left home with one sick child and one very excited child. I must admit, Jacob definitely carries my traits when it comes to getting sick every single time we are going on a trip. We have learned to just deal with it and make the best of the trip anyhow and we did just that.

Arriving late Thursday night, sleep was the only thing that made sense. Friday was the beginning to a busy weekend. My sister-in-law, Amber, had asked if she could give Brianna and Jacob a belated Birthday celebration since they never have a chance to do so. I wasn't sure if she wanted it kept a secret from the kids or not, but we never said a word to them. Brianna and Jacob were both very surprised, and I must admit, it was the first time in a few days I was able to catch any sort of smile on Jacob's face!

Many, many thanks to Amber for hosting this celebration and making this a birthday they will always remember! From oh-so-delicious cupcakes, pinatas, and gifts to just relaxing and being able to see all 5 kids play - it was the perfect morning!

No, not McDonald's, but I am definitely loving our weather!

While this scrapbook page did not turn out as I had hoped, I think it's definitely worth adding to the blog. If for nothing else than to show off one of my beautiful nieces!

What a difference a few days can make! After having snow and ice last weekend that lasted well into the week, I don't think anyone is complaining about our wonderful weather this weekend. A great day for a bbq!

Today I went to Spa La Di Da. I love going there! Mom bought me a gift card for Christmas, but I waited until today to use it. They did my hair, nails and a little make-up. I love being pampered!

Being our last day on the ship, we wanted to do nothing more than relax. Brianna and Jacob enjoyed Camp Carnival and swimming while Isaac and I enjoyed a day relaxing on deck and a little shopping. The day couldn't have been any better, with the exception of the rough seas again.

Overall, we had a fantastic time. This was Brianna, Jacob and my parents 1st cruise and from the talk, I am sure everyone had a great time. I guess I feel a little guilty though. Mom had never had any alcoholic drink in her life...until I got her to drink one on the cruise! I probably shouldn't feel too bad, because she liked it enough to go buy her own! The weather was wonderful everyday with sunny skies, with the exception at night. I don't recall a night that we didn't feel the ship moving regardless of where we were. I was positive we wouldn't stop at Half Moon Cay because of the rough seas but we did. We are undecided at this point where we want to go next, although I am sure it won't be the Bahamas since this was the second time Isaac and I had been there.

Half Moon Cay is located on 55-acres of the 2,400-acre Little San Salvador Island. What a beauty! There is no possible dock for cruise ships, so it is a tender port. I was very skeptical about this. On our cruise in 2005 and again in Nassau this cruise, we had always docked so I was a bit weary about the tender boats and how the process was. Mom and dad decided not to get off at this port (their loss, it was our favorite port yet!) but around 10am Isaac, myself and the kids grabbed our towels, swim suits and headed for deck 3 to board the tender boats. We went through the process of showing our cards and walked across the gangway before I even realized that we were on one of the tender boat already. We went through the cove and arrived at the heart of Half Moon Cay.

After playing in the water for several hours, we managed to convince Brianna and Jacob to eat lunch. Carnival's crew brought all the stuff they needed to bbq hamburgers, hotdogs, chicken as well as potato salad, cole slaw, fresh fruit, drinks and desserts. We ate, walked around and to explore the island and went back to the ship. We were all exhausted and ready for a nap. Good thing for the occasional loud noises or we would have missed dinner! We managed to wake up at 5:30 pm and dinner was at 6. I tried lobster and sushi this night, definitely not for me but I did give it a try. I'll resort to remaining picky and not trying new foods once again. We had a great time dancing to "Hey Baby" though!

The rest of the night was as usual: camp carnival, exploring the ship, drinks, and rough seas once again.