Mold update.....appears all clear!

The mold situation appears to be taken care of. Julie found the mold when tearing down wall paper. An ice dam on the roof was causing water to back up under the shingles, ultimately running down in the walls and saturating the drywall. Not ideal.

I removed the damaged and moldy wall sections and let it air out. A few hours on the roof with a hammer as well and the ice dam was gone. After a few days of letting the wall air out, it was repaired and the air tested for mold spores (just to be safe). Test was free of mold.

The kids and Julie had a lot of respiratory problems with the mop and when the wall was opened up. With it dried, cleaned and closed up, they are doing much better.

Now, we are just waiting until the rest of the kitchen wallpaper is down so we can repaint the entire room. Then on to the next project.

MOLD 2.0

We welcomed Jeremy home from his relaxing trip with the guys to news and photos of mold.

Amazingly, at 12:30 am when he arrived home everyone was awake. Madeline woke up coughing, potty break and then very excited for daddy to arrive home. You would have thought it was Christmas. Then, Luke woke up, I believe from Madeline talking loudly, and needed some loving. So, when Jeremy walked in Maddie had the energy of a child on a sugar high and Luke zonked out.

Anyway, the wall in the kitchen was successfully torn apart today. The downfall, we literally had water running down the interior of the wall. This means we have a wet sub-floor and buckling wood floor. We got the bulk of the mold (what we could see) bagged and out of the house.

Then Jeremy decided to play on the roof knocking away any bit of ice or snow to try and prevent any further water damage.

So, now we sit after a long day with an exposed wall pondering why we didn't buy a house a month ago when we seriously considered it. Then, this gem of a lemon would have been someone else's treasure.

One word, MOLD

You know the home demo projects must have gone too smoothly when the last, and I mean last, project put major concern in our heads. One word....mold....lots of mold behind wallpaper and soft drywall. Not a good sign. It should come as no surprise allergy symptoms kicked in high gear within 12 hours of this happening.

You know, in my 6 years in CO I never had allergy problems. MN does not like our family.

Someone is feeling better....

We are on the mend.

Luke's night of fun timeline

Luke had another adventure last night as stated in an earlier post. Here was the timeline, status, and a few pictures. He went to daycare, but just wasn't himself all day. You could tell that he was a little under the weather, but he didn't have a fever. The fun really began around bed time for him. He started to develop a barking cough that progressively got worse. It even became hard for him to breath. He started developing a fever around midnight, so we decided to take him to the emergency room. The ER immediately diagnosed croup, as Luke's fever spiked to 103 degrees. Not fun. At least we knew what was wrong. They gave him meds and we waited. The first pic is of unhappy Luke right after meds were taken. After a little while, the meds kicked in and his cough subsided some. He could breath a little better too. He even started laughing some. The second pic is of the happier Luke before being discharged from the hospital. He's sleeping now, but will update his status when he wakes up.

Update: Luke is awake. No coughing but we'll see how the day goes. Definitely not 100%. Third pic is from this morning. Little guy just wants to cuddle. Poor little dude.

School assessment

Ms Madeline had her big assessment today at school. So this meant mom/daughter bonding time What did we do? A lunch date of course.

Croup stinks

Quote of the day from Luke, "croup stinks." Yes, this is the verdict of the night. Poor kid.

Got it...

Famous saying, catch me if you can. Well for Luke, we don't have to try and he catches it. Second time to the ER for the little man with something nasty. But it's 11pm and he can't sleep and is coughing all sorts of gunk up. Good times.

Girl bonding time

Just a typical Saturday morning...Maddie and I watching Mickey Mouse, a cup FULL of coffee, and Sadie helping me remember she wants breakfast. It's a special tradition that starts promptly at 6 AM.

Friday Night Fun

Here are a few quick photos of how Madeline loves spending her Friday evening. She loves gymnastics and does it at home all the time as well. Are the Olympics in her future.......maybe a little to early to tell. Whatever makes her happy!

Chicken????

It's not every day you visit a childrens book store and find animals roaming around.....like chickens, ferrets, cats, birds, etc. this is what life "up north" as they say, is like.

I dare you....

First you bring me to the doctor and now you think I will share my cracker and water? I dare you.

Fish

We grow fish in our family.

Alarm clock

Lets just say since the arrival of this beauty, well the alarm clock, everyone is getting more sleep. It's a beautiful thing really!!!

Test post with mobile app

This is test post with a new mobile app from my phone. Enjoy the pictures.

Kids say the dardest thing...

Last night at dinner Madeline guided us in prayer....always an adventure. Here's a recap. Dear God, Thank you for Luke and I getting better (ear infections that last 2 weeks) Thank you for the Luke ane I growing bigger. Thank you for princesses.....(wait, what?......) Thank you for Tangled.....(wait, the princess?.....) Thank you for the princesses.....(by now, Jeremy and I were trying not to laugh out loud). Jeremy then jumped in and said, "yes, thank you for the princesses. Let's eat" Gotta love that man. Priceless.

Popcorn Tea Party....

Popcorn tea party anyone? A new tradition that only happens on special occasions is the mother-daughter popcorn tea party. What is a popcorn tea party you ask? Well, let me tell you. It's having a tea party before bed and using the air-pop popcorn maker on the floor, so everyone can see the wonderful mystery of kernels turning into a delicious snack of popcorn. Then, we eat our popcorn, clink our tea party glasses together and read bedtime stories. It's almost as fun as camping, but way better. Next time you come to visit, you might be invited to attend a tea party. I should forwarn you....you may have to participate in the dress-up part of this. Yes, select a princess of your choice, or have one designated to you courtesy of Madeline. That's all for now. Julie