Basement Before Pictures

Bedroom

 You can see here the gravel that they have laid and the gutter system going into the ground. This will be covered with cement.

Emilia's closet

Emilia's bedroom

 A little closer look at the gutter system and gravel.

Sump pump installed in closet

Laundry room

 This room looks so much bigger with all of the shelving gone.

Water heater

Bathroom

Shower

Family room

I didn't really get any "true" before pictures to see what the basement looked like before they began the waterproofing.  It was so disgusting I'm not sure I ever want to remember what that looked like.

The waterproofing company (John's Waterproofing) did a wonderful job. They got it done in a little under two days. They were some hardworking guys! Even though the expense was great I'm so glad we got it done and now I'm wondering what took us so long!

Next post........

After pictures.

Band-aid

Koen's mama wasn't feeling well today so I offered to pick him up from preschool. Lucky me, I always love the opportunity to hang out with the grandkids. Koen wasn't as excited about hanging out with me, but that was ok.

As soon as I buckled him into his car seat my phone rang. The sister in law of my over due client said it was time to come, a baby was coming. Really. Labor was in full force and they were in the car on their way home from shopping and I needed to come quick.

Oh, boy!

I explained to Koen that I had a client in labor and she was going to have her baby today and it was my job to help her have her baby. I tried to make it sound like a fun activity that we were going to hurry to my house and pack up my car with my supplies before I took him home.

While I was loading my supplies in the car Koen had a few questions.  He was wondering if the mama giving birth was going to bleed.  I'll admit I though twice about how to answer.  The quick and easy would have been to say no and move on. I'm sure it's no surprise that I decided to explain that yes, most moms bleed when having a baby. He didn't seem too upset about this but he did want to make sure I had some band-aids with me.

The grandkids know EXACTLY where all of my band-aids are so he promptly went into my office, opened the band-aids and brought one to me. I had it in my pocket which reminded me to share the story (along with the band-aid in my pocket) with the mom.

The best remedy for a sad mood.....

.......Spending the whole day with this sweet face!

We had pancakes together.

We pulled weeds.

We planted a fall garden.

We got dirty and had ants crawling in our hair.

We harvested cucumbers and tomatoes and peas and blackberries and pears.

So many snuggles and laughs.

And that's how you get rid of some sadness and realize how rich your life is.

I shed some tears today. And yesterday. Maybe even tomorrow.

I've been holding a lot inside lately. This is never a good idea and gets me no where on my path of progression that I crave. But a dear friend helped open the faucet for me and this is when I realized how much I need to put my big girl panties on, figure out what's hurting me at the core and be open and willing to move through this.

Life is good and I am blessed every day. Today it was my friend. She really knows me and loves me in spite of my imperfections.

I've had a lot of loss and struggle this last year. I've felt the weight of these losses for quite some time, and small losses pile on top of the big ones and I feel it all creeping up on me in a sad way. I feel a deep loneliness that I can't figure out.

Tomorrow is a new day. I will make some new commitments to myself. I will take the time for myself that I need in order to move through.

Catching Up

Major posting updates going on tonight. I finally uploaded the pictures from my camera and I still have some more to post.

Before and after shots of the basement coming soon......

Grandma Time!

I was the luckiest grandma ever! I got to babysit Ryker while NO ONE else was home. Our family is so large that usually we all fight over him and only get a limited amount of cuddle time. But this day I got four whole hours to snuggle and play.

Here are some pictures from another day that I like better:

Parker's Birthday

How is it possible that I have a 25 year old? That is a quarter of a century and that makes me feel really old.

We got the family together to celebrate Parker's birthday. It was supposed to be a Pool Party across the street as Lisa's but the weather did not cooperate. We still had some fun pool party themed treats! (Thanks to Pinterest)

Beach scene pudding cups

Beach scene pudding cups

Hummus octopus

Gummy Octopus

"Swim Like a Fish" fishie crackers

Birthday Boy and some kiddos

Happy 25th Birthday, Parker!

Painting

I had a great painting helper last week while working on some projects.

100 degree day but we got it done.

Thanks Koen!

Mario and his boys

How cute is this!

Holy Toledo....well, really it was Perrysburg

Me and Emilia took a trip to visit my friend, Kelly. She lives in Perrysburg, Ohio, which is just outside Toledo, Ohio. Me and Emilia laughed that you can't say or think of Toledo without at least thinking of the phrase "Holy Toledo". 

I dare you to try!

We had quite the adventure getting there. We took the red eye flight to Detroit.

HATE the red eye.

Then rented a car and drove an hour.

Perrysburg is the cutest town.

Very Americana.

I loved it there.

But I'm sure the unseasonably mild temperatures helped my love of Ohio that week.

It was so wonderful to see my friend, Kelly!

JOY!

Emilia was such a treasure to bring along. She took Kelly's kids every day for an adventure. They went to a movie, swimming, kids museum, playing in the park, out for ice cream and clothes shopping! I know Kelly appreciated that the kids had some time out of the house to run and do some fun things. I took the kids to the library one afternoon while Emilia napped and we all went out to breakfast one day and lunch in the park on our last day. 

Kelly and I had some time together while the kids were out. One day we got some iced chai and sat by the river. We did a little shopping here and there....I loved every place we went. Even the small town hardware store that we both found many treasures. 

Kelly and Kevin have a beautiful house with a great piece of property. Kevin got the go-cart out for Emilia to take the kids out riding. He made some paths in the overgrown grass at the back of their property. Emilia and the girls had a blast riding. 

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 On the path in the field.

Emilia's itchy back after lots of go-cart riding. 

I guess the combination of grasses, bugs and go-cart friction caused quite the rash.