Settling in

Our days this first month were full of boxes and cleaning and moving things around and so. much. laundry.
Perrin's favorite part of the new house might be the laundry chute.  

And we have another 5th grader in band... clarinet this time.  She delights in making loud squeaky blats so we were all wishing for ear plugs. 😜

One morning a whole flock of wild turkeys wandered across the back yard.  Perrin really, really wanted me to shoot one for lunch.  Ummm.... sorry, but no? 😂

Perrin gets kind of bored when the girls are gone and he's very willing to 'help'.  

There were cars and a bridge and dinosaurs in the kitchen sink.  

Our old neighbors gave the kids a bucket of sidewalk chalk as a goodbye gift, which was so sweet.

Guess who is supposed to be potty trained and was really struggling the first couple weeks and got a few extra showers?  

Perrin and I stopped at a few garage sales and came home with some construction equipment.  

Bob invited Dang over for an evening.  They were playing Jenga with some wood pieces Conrad had left for Perrin.  It was intense and the crash was epic.

Since our upholstered basement furniture got ruined I started checking marketplace for replacements.  Cadence came with me to pick up this cute little chaise. 

It's going in our reading nook/library upstairs. 

And we borrowed a truck and went to pick up a good basement couch from old high school classmates of mine. Good meaning decent and not gross, but also not nice enough for me to care if it gets spilled on or jumped on. 😏

I went to a wedding and the only picture I took was of the really cool light fixtures.... haha.  Bob's cousin Erica got married on a Sunday afternoon.  The ceremony was held in his backyard which was thankfully fairly shaded because it was quite hot.  The reception was at the Miller Park pavilion, which is such a cool old building. And it has cool old light fixtures. 😏

We had left the younger four at the farm and they were not ready to go home.  Cecily spent the day at a Bible Class invite.  

Dragging soggy stuff out and bringing in industrial dehumidifiers did a number on the paint on the stairs, so once everything was dry I worked on touching up the paint.  I still don't understand why they painted the stairs bright orange. 

Bob has sprinklers set up all around the house to try and grow grass.  One hot afternoon after school the kids were racing around the house from sprinkler to sprinkler.  I'm already glad we put a shower right inside the garage door so they can clean off before they track mud and grass into the house.

He's my best laundry helper. 😂

Mr. Buster inherited the barn that Bob's grandpa made for him. 

The quote we got from the restoration company to shampoo the basement carpet was a bit expensive, so instead I rented a carpet cleaner and did it myself.  It probably didn't do as good of a job, but it worked.  

And we needed a new sewer pipe cover.  *sigh*  

I put carpet treads on the steps rather than trying to paint them again.  They look nice... why didn't we do this before? (Because I don't like carpet and I don't like sweeping stairs, that's why.)

So then we were waiting on the new sump pump to get the old house listed.  Meanwhile, back in the woods, it took four tries to get a mirror for this bathroom that was the right size and didn't arrive broken.  

The older girls' room is actually looking pretty put together and thankfully not cluttered!  (The other girls' room is still very much a work in progress.)

Bob invited the Brakers over one Sunday evening.  They played mariokart. 

And babies.

Labor Day was spent high up on a ladder painting porch beams.  We went with a composite material that looks more like wood, but has to be painted.  I was regretting that decision so much and wishing it was plastic.

So. Stinking. Terrifying.  I hate ladders, and heights, and spiders, and mosquitos. All of these were in abundance.  And of course the ladder doesn't get you close enough, or in a comfortable position to paint.  All day I was tensed up and nervous.  And it was hot, so I kept making the kids bring me ice water and popsicles. 

I painted until it was dark and we had to get out work lights and hated every minute of it. Summoning the motivation to do a second coat is difficult... 

I finally got to the crate of extra pictures and artwork that was in the basement.  This would almost be a cool effect if it wasn't also moldy. mur. 

The mosquitos have been really bad after all the standing water and humidity, and it's been hot so I haven't wanted to be outside.  Our windows are moth magnets after dark though (and tree frogs!), and also our window wells are full of toads so we just enjoy nature from inside.  I'm living all of my Girl of the Limberlost dreams... 😏

Tim and Asa started digging holes in the old basement.

We had some leftover vinyl tiles from the kitchen and Perrin helped me lay them on top of the plywood in the storage under the eaves.

I'm not sure I'm cut out for woods life... the rodents are large and the spiders are larger.

New sump pump installed!  Time to list the house. 

If you want to make all of my kids cry, show them this video.  Actually, if Perrin even hears the beginning of this song he starts to lose it.  😛😆🥲

https://www.instagram.com/p/Dc1bg_BvSBwR6MFElZeaiMmLSyMM6EgFpbsiFE0/


Emmy got braces!  They were really bugging her for about a week, poor girl.

There are dinos all over the house. 

There are a few rooms that are starting to look put together and not a cluttered mess, which I love.

The electricians came and hung the last of my light fixtures!  It was a very exciting day.  This is the one from my Grandparents' house.  

Hehe.  Sam and Jordan were struggling to get this shade on.  I'm dreading having to change the light bulb. 

Eeeeeeekkkkk!  It fits so well.  😁

So good.

Second coat on the porch went faster.  It was cooler, and there were fewer bugs, so I hated it less. haha.  My little helper was stressing me out walking around and under the ladder, "I'll stabilize it for you, Mom."  No thanks, please go away!  😆

I dragged the family to the 50th anniversary celebration of Washington Church.  It was rainy, but the fellowship was sweet, and the history presentation was great.  I also read the history book my brother put together cover to cover that night. Fascinating stuff. ha. 

Oh hey, look, the bus is coming down to our house! Woot woot! It only took a month of back and forth with the bus manager, but now I don't have to take them a half mile to the other bus stop. 😄

Perrin's bed frame was down in the water so it took us a while to dry it out and get it put together. We also lost the box spring to the flood waters so once again he is sleeping on plywood.  On the bright side, it's not as tall this way. 

This last week and a half has been very busy.  The older girls have school activities starting and ACYF and grandma sleepovers and I get to drive.  I have not made as much progress on unfinished house projects and unpacking as I had hoped. Oh well, slow and steady progress. 

Blessings.