Every year we get together on a Saturday in early May with D's family to celebrate three birthdays and Mothers' Day (three Mothers celebrated at once). So, our Mothers' Day celebration started last weekend. Unfortunately S was sick with seasonal allergies, so she didn't make it up to see everyone. However, for those who were able to make it, we had a great time. We had played, visited and ate lunch. When the kids started getting squirrely we played in the back yard. It was a tiny bit chilly outside, but still warm enough to enjoy a solid game of "What time is it Mr. Fox?" After burning off some energy the kids dug in Grandpa's dirt for a little while. He gave them each a penny to bury. Next time we go back we're going to see if any money trees have sprouted. ;)
After visiting at D's parents' house we stopped by my Mom's house. The boys really enjoyed chilling out and watching a little tv while I visited with Mom and D got Dad's lawn mower running. We saw Mom's new counter top for the first time. It looks really nice. Dad actually ordered that counter top several weeks before he passed away, so the counter top project has been in the works for quite some time. The first time it was delivered the counter top wasn't the right size, so it had to be be remade and installed a second time before it was in place just right. The end product looks really nice.
Mom and Dad's neighbor, Randy has been a huge help to Mom since Dad passed away. We have so many questions we'd love to ask Dad and lots of them involve mechanical things that he used around the house. Before Dad passed away he bought a riding lawn mower at an auction. Dad had it running but after sitting all winter Mom couldn't get it turned back on and Randy couldn't get it to work either. So when D gave it a try he wasn't real sure he could fire it up either. After some tinkering and experimenting he got it going! Yay! We clapped for him. He mowed the lawn and gave Mom a lesson on how to start it. We visited a little longer before heading home. It was a such a nice, relaxing day. It was refreshing to have a break from our tornado to do list!!
Yesterday was the last day a local church held it's child care service. They call it Strong Kids. It's been a wonderful ministry to those of us in the community who've been effected by the tornado!!! Each Saturday we dropped the boys off at the church at nine and picked them up at noon. The boys played games, did crafts, did experiments, "ice skated" in the hallways (with wax paper) and played with friends. Almost all of our neighbor kids went to Strong Kids at one point or another in the last five months, so the kids have been able to keep in touch. It's been amazing. They even provided a meal every Saturday after Strong Kids free of charge if you wanted to eat with them. Yesterday we dropped the boys off, did some work at the house and returned for the meal. Afterwards Mom came over and watched the boys for the afternoon so we could get some work done. She stayed and treated us to Chinese food at the big house for dinner. She was there to join us in our first P.I.G. (picnic in the garage) since the tornado. We just love eating meals in the garage in nice weather. It was super sweet to do our first PIG and it was special to have Mom their with us. We shared gluten free dairy free cupcakes in celebration of Mother's Day and we gave Mom the pink Superhero card that L picked out for her.
Today, the actual Mother's Day, we had some fun, but we mostly worked. The boys let me sleep in until 8:45, D made me eggs and ham and N served me. The boys gave me frames they painted with Grammy with their picture inside. They were super sneaky in making and wrapping them! I had no idea they did that!! So cute. They also made some really sweet cards. After breakfast it was time to get to work.
The first to do on our list was to remove the carpet and padding in our basement. Our dumspter is going to be hauled off this week. We wanted to take advantage of that before it's gone, so we put the carpet and padding in it Saturday.
Our painter is supposed to start painting this week. Yay! I needed to finalize our color selections, so that's what I worked on. I still have two more colors to choose, but the major paints are chosen. The foyer colors have been super tricky for me. I think we found two colors we both like. I like to buy sample sizes of each color and paint them on the wall before committing to them. I'm really glad I did that in our foyer because the colors have proven to look completely different in our house versus in the store. We have decided to have the painter put a fresh coat of paint on our laundry room, so I took down the things hanging on those walls and cleaned out some stuff that had been siting in their. I also took random nails and screws and wall hangings down from the walls all over the house so the painters don't have to mess with that.
We tackled our fridge/freezer this weekend. Ugh!! Right after the tornado hit we emptied the fridge and drained the hoses for the water and ice cube maker and we threw out all the food. We thought we were doing the right thing by keeping it unplugged all winter. We were afraid with all the snow and ice we got this winter that the electricity would go out and the fridge would get damaged by freezing temps or power surges. The fridge has been sitting unplugged for nearly six months. About a week ago we opened it and discovered mold. Ewww. We tried to claim the fridge and asked insurance to replace it but they won't because "the mold is not a direct result of the tornado." However, if we plug it back in and it doesn't work, they will cover it. So this weekend we cleaned it and plugged it back in and we are going to keep an eye on it to see if it is working properly....I doused that baby with clorox spray and took it apart as best I could. I still need to flush out the water line and check the ice machine to see what those things look like, but the rest looks pretty good.
As we plugged in the fridge D said he was going to turn on the AC to see if it's working. (He had to pull all the nails and screws out of it first) He cleaned out the AC, turned it on aaaaand nothing. Nada. Nope, the AC doesn't work. We got one thing (the fridge) half way working and have now discovered another thing that doesn't work. One step forward two steps back. Time to submit another claim.
We had intended on going out to eat this evening for Mother's Day but we ended up working kinda late at the house and storms were heading our way, so we ended up ordering pizza (our place offers GFDF!) and eating inside at the big house. The boys and I prefer to be at our big house when storms hit because it has a basement whereas our rental does not have a basement. By the time we ate dinner and picked up the house the storms were gone. So, we headed home and wrapped up our day. I'd say we worked hard and played hard this year for Mother's Day. Maybe next year we'll get a chance to relax a little more than we did this year.
