Wednesday, March 25, 2009

The Itsy Bitsy Spider

We don't have a digital video camera, so this is off of my cell phone.
Wyatt has been really into singing lately.
Enjoy!


Tuesday, March 24, 2009

The Saga Continues...(the crackpot was right edition)

So, do you remember this post in which I told a tale of a "crackpot", "friend", "home-inspector", "contractor-guy" that came over and told that poor young couple that our house was built very poorly. Something that I forgot to mention in that last post (mainly because it's all technical mumbo-jumbo to me) is that he also said that the span of the floor joists are too long. We all laughed at him (to ourselves, because we've never met him) and said that there was no way that he could tell that just by looking at it.

Well, as it turns out, the crackpot was right!

We started to investigate that fractured floor joist and they sent a rep from the floor joist manufacturer to inspect. His diagnosis. The entire hallway floor is failing. So, we started to do some research. Our builder had left all of their plans and the signed off inspections at the house. (I'm pretty sure they weren't supposed to do that)
Upon looking at the plans, Ryan discovered that they installed the wrong type of floor joists in the house. Most of the house is supposed to have a 210 series floor joist and there isn't a single 210 series in the entire house. Nearly the entire house is over-spanned.
Ryan calls the city inspector that signed off on the framing and says, "how did you not catch this?"
The city inspector, um, shall we say, most likely had an "accident", gets off the phone with Ryan and immediately calls the builder.
The builder calls Ryan and says to give them time to make this right.
In order to make it right at this point is to take out all of the 110 floor joists and put in what we paid for. Well, I guess in most of the house it could be anchored so it's not overspanned. But our living room is over the top of our bedroom. So, they would have to take out the entire floor/ceiling of our living room and bedroom to replace the floor joists. My thought is this, if the most traveled part of our house "the hallway" is failing after only 3 years, what is next. Also, I have been bugging Ryan to let me bring my piano home from my parents house. What would have happened if he would have let me? I should be able to bring my piano into my home without fearing to fall through the hallway floor.
Also, Ryan found a part somewhere in the house that isn't bolted down to the foundation. Lovely, so in case of an earthquake our house would fall off the foundation.
What else is wrong with this house.
Another thought has occurred to me. This same builder built most of our entire neighborhood, of which we are at the bottom of the hill. So, if they performed the same short-cuts to those houses that they did to our house. We could be in a world of hurt in any sort of earthquake situation.

So, here's the bottom line... we are searching for a good lawyer. This is something that is totally foreign to Ryan and I. But we really feel like everyone involved has a bottom to cover. And we need someone to cover ours. The builder built it wrong & the inspector didn't inspect.
They have alot to lose here and we have already lost a sale on our house due to this issue.
And now, we don't even feel right about leaving it on the market while there are such flaws with the house.
Where does this leave us?
Well, we just really don't know. Our money is quickly running out. If this issue wouldn't have come up, we would have already been living in the little house and it would have belonged to that young couple that wanted to raise a family in our home.
So, we already lost this sale due to this issue, and we have a letter from them stating that as the specific reason they backed out.

So... if anyone knows a good lawyer that is from the Portland area... let me know please!
Because we really don't know the first thing to finding a good lawyer. What I do know is that we don't have an abundance of money to give him/her up front.

There you have it, that's the gist of it. Not the ENTIRE drama unfolded, but enough to let you know what's going on!

Thank you for your prayers!

Thursday, March 19, 2009

I'm officially inspired...

My college roomie Kelly is extremely crafty. She recently did a post that included lots of crafty blog links.
I myself have always loved the idea of sewing and craftiness since I was a little girl. I even belonged to a sewing/crocheting/knitting 4H group.
I've been considering this for awhile.
Today was the day.
I dug my childhood sewing machine out of the garage, took pictures, and then cleaned it off with baby wipes.
I sat down to see if I could remember how it works.
Turns out, it's not quite like riding a bike.
I might need a refresher course.
Since Kelly lives in the Boise, ID area and I in the Portland, OR area, I might have to pack this machine over to Grammy's house (Ryan's grandma) for a lesson. (she doesn't know it yet)
I can't for the life of me, figure out how to get the bobbin thread up from the bottom.
I'm also thinking that it probably needs a tune up.
But, I'm stoked to sew again.
Not that I really need anything else to do right now.
But, hey, with practice, maybe I could get good enough to throw some stuff up on Etsy.

My Blood-Caffeine Levels Are Way Too Low!


Photo by www.lifehack.org

I woke up this morning to....ahhhhhh no more coffee. I had a cup of tea but it didn't cut it. I couldn't leave and go buy some because the guy was coming to look at our broken floor joyst. And after he finally left, Wyatt was ready for his nap. These are my symptoms. My eyes are burning, I have no motivation, and I really should have laid down and taken a nap. Instead of taking a nap, I went on a hunt for different forms of caffeine. Right now there are 6 minutes left and my homemade brownies will be done. Chocolate has caffeine right?


Friday, March 13, 2009

And The Rollercoaster Continues....

I have at least one new blog follower, so before you read this post...you should read this one, this one, this one, and then this last one.
That's alot of homework huh? (at least there are lots of pictures)
So, as you know almost 2 weeks ago we accepted an offer on our house for all cash, agreed to all of her terms, and she rescinded her offer the next morning.
And then on Wednesday we had a young couple come look at the house. They had been to one of our first open houses (when it was first on the market and much more expensive) their realtor told me that she had showed them about 15 other houses and this was definitely the one. She called back to make an appointment to show the house to the young man's father the next morning.
So, we were back in our realtor, Keith's, office exactly a week later, going over a new offer from this couple. It was pretty low and they asked for my beloved front loader washer & dryer, so we countered their offer and they accepted. Things were moving pretty fast, they scheduled a "home inspection" for this last Wednesday. We got word from our realtor on Wednesday night that they planned on rescinding their offer. (by the way, I'm beginning to HATE the word rescind, just in case you were wondering) But we also found out that instead of hiring a licensed professional home inspector they brought his dad and a contractor "friend".
We have been waiting to hear what they found and the exact reasons for taking their offer back. And we finally got the "report" and they finally made their plans to rescind official. Most of it was really trivial, like lint in the dryer vent. (puh-lease, so we clean it) They also said that the window wasn't plumb (is that how its spelled?) because it stuck. Well, considering that we have probably only opened that window about 3 times in 3 years, of course it was gonna stick. I went over and tested it, and it opens just fine. One thing that was a little more severe was that they found a "fractured" floor joyst. Ryan has been on the phone with all sorts of people all day, because it will be covered under a structural warranty through our builder.
Anyway, our personal opinion is that they brought someone in to do the inspection that just wasn't qualified . They found something that carrys an easy fix, and instead of remaining level headed they blew the whistle and freaked these poor kids out. What's the moral of this story? You get what you pay for.
You should always pony up the cash for a professional liscensed home inspector even though they are spendy. One that works for you and not against you. One that doesn't have a personal vendetta against production builders (oh did I not mention that?) We get the feeling that this guy is a custom home builder and holds a serious grudge against the builder of our house. And if these people want a custom home, they should plan on spending at least double what we are asking.

What it boils down to, is that ya, we're pretty dissapointed.
But, we've been praying hard about this.
Hard.
So if these people want to rescind their offer.
Fine.
These people aren't what we've been praying for.
Now I just need to adjust my attitude accordingly.
It might take a day.
I'll be ok tomorrow.
For the time being, we are still moving forward towards moving into what we have affectionately nicknamed "the little house".
Unless God decides to totally bless us and let us out of this huge mistake by selling it for us.

But, I'll end on a good note.
Our house got shown again today.
Who knows, we could be sitting in our realtor's office for the 3rd Saturday in a row tomorrow.
I just hope that for the rest of my life, I never hear that wretched word. You know the one.

:)

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Some Fun Giveaways

Photobucket

My friend April is hosting 5 giveaways on her blog.
Just click on the button above to check out all of the cute things she's giving away.
Good luck!

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

A Deep and Burning Question

Ok...Brace yourselves.

I'm about to astound you with my vast deepness.

Why does the Oscar Mayer Wiener song just randomly pop into my head.

I can just be going along, minding my own business. And BAM.
There it is.
And I can't get it out.
I don't know why.
I haven't seen the commercial for ages.
And it will just come in, uninvited and I'll be singing it to myself.

And another thing....I don't even like hot dogs. Sometimes if the mood hits me, I'll grab one from Costco. But, other than Costco, they tend to really gross me out.

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Hurry! Don't Delay! Win a Trip for 4 to SeaWorld!!

**Disclaimer** The cautious pessimist in me just wants to point out that I do not know the person that put this contest together. I have not done any research as to whether this contest is legitimate. But I hope, hope, hope it is!

I'm almost feeling a little bit, ummmm, protective of this contest.
It's a good one.
But, I'm teaching my son that he should share, and it gains me an extra entry so what the heck...
I'll share it.

So, I stumbled upon a great giveaway just now:

Win a Trip for 4 to SeaWorld and Ride Manta!

seaworld_logo-1IZEA and SeaWorld have teamed up to create a wicked contest called Manta Mania. One person will win a trip for four to SeaWorld including airfare, hotel and two full days at the park. Not only that… you will get priority access to ride Manta! I also have an awesome SeaWorld prize pack to giveaway that includes some cool schwag.


Ryan and I just recently saw a commercial for Sea World and I looked at him and said, "Wyatt would like Sea World so much more than Disney right now." I mean he would LOVE it!!
Then I stumbled upon this giveaway...fate? I think...maybe?
Added bonus, they are building a new roller coaster. I love roller coasters. Another added bonus, I think it's for the Florida SeaWorld. Ah...I could go for an umbrella drink right about now...
So click on this link for all the details to enter.

If you must.
No, I'm sharing.
Please enter.
If you must.
Doh.

Awe...shucks!

I "met" Anna from Boogers, Bibs, Books & Bubbles awhile back when I entered a contest for a coupon stash and won!
She has been so sweet to lavish me with not one but two blog awards.
It has been about 2 weeks since I was awarded these. One of them requires homework, so I've been procrastinating.
Thanks Anna.

The first award is a Friend's Award

"These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award."

The next award was called:
Honest Scrap Award


A) First list 10 honest things about yourself - and make it interesting, even if you have to dig deep!

B) Pass the award on to 8 bloggers that you feel embody the spirit of the Honest Scrap.

So here we go...10 things about me

(FYI...I'm not very good at these, which is why I didn't do the "25 things" that has been passed around Face Book recently)

1. I like a stocked fridge, clean sheets & country music

2. My car ('99 Subaru Outback) is a hand-me-down from Ryan. It has over 150,000 miles, squeals upon ignition, and doesn't go into gear right away...but it's PAID OFF!!! I, not so secretly, have daydreams about it being stolen and torched. (not too thankful for what I have huh?)

3. I'm awful at writing people back when they send e-mails (but, you probably already knew that)

4. I have an obsession with small kitchen appliances, I love and want them all. (I have a blender, a mixer, an electric skillet, a George Foreman grill, a breadmaker, a food processor, a malt maker, an immersion blender, and a "set-it-and-forget-it" rotisserie....do I need therapy?)

5. I enjoy reading cookbooks

6. I love my scrapbooks but am a year behind again.

7. I enjoy taking pictures (you didn't know that yet right?)

8. I love to buy lip products, lipstick, gloss, chapstick...you name it

9. My favorite flower is tulips

10. We've moved (into Portland house, Out of Portland house, Into Dyana's House, Out of Dyana's house, into Rio Linda, CA house, out of Rio Linda, CA house, Into Uncle Tom & Aunt Jackie's house, Out of Uncle Tom and Aunt Jackie's House, Into the house we're in now...to be continued) 9 times in 7 and a half years of marriage, and we're not in the military.

Now I pass both of these awards to:

Kelly - Monkey Business

Melissa - Mirrored Images

Dana - Welcome to our world

Jackie - Babies, Belly Laughs & Bare Feet

April - Dot...Dot...Dot...

S - My Oh My

Emily - Making Dough

Lynnann - Team Troxell

Jennifer - Rubies & Pearls

Ok...I know that's nine, but so what? The blog award police aren't gonna come get me are they? Do what you will with these, don't feel obligated to post them on your blogs. But, to those that want to, I will be looking forward to your answers!

All of these blogs are on my bookmarks toolbar and I check them for updates daily.



Thursday, March 5, 2009

For My Entertainment...

Oh my goodness...I started going through old pictures.
I don't know about you, but I'm sure glad that this boy has grown into his eyes!


I left Wyatt with Ryan last night so I could go to my friend Savannah's 30th birthday party. Wyatt must not have had much of an appetite last night, because Ryan couldn't get him to eat dinner. So, he asked Wyatt if he wanted some toast to eat. Wyatt protests. Ryan says, I'll put some butter on it. Wyatt says, "OOOOOOH, I wike butter."

And he ate the toast.

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

A Rambling Mess!

This is jut going to be an update post.
On Friday we got a call from our realtor that an offer was coming in on our house. So Saturday morning we went to the his office to review it. It was a very strong offer, a lady coming in with all cash. In this economy to not have to deal with financing is wonderful. Banks are being extra cautions and alot of deals have reportedly been falling through last minute due to not getting funded. So, we agreed to all of her terms and went home to wrap our minds around moving to "the little house". We were discussing all of the things that we were going to need to do to move from a 1900+ sq ft house to a 720 sq ft house. And our bottom line, DOWNSIZE! We were really thankful for this offer but really sad at the prospect of leaving our home. It was what we thought we have been praying for and by Sunday morning, we were both feeling really good about it. Wyatt is sick with a cold and so that meant that he really shouldn't go to church and be around other kids. So Sunday morning Ryan went to church and I stayed home with Wyatt. He called me shortly after he had left and said, "I'm going to ruin your whole day". (my thought was, oh no, he got into an accident) He proceeded to tell me that our realtor called and said that the lady rescinded her offer. She didn't give a reason that made sense to us. It was just really weird. We had agreed to everything she offered us, so she didn't have any reason to walk from the offer. This really seemed like a done deal to us. And then almost as fast as it happened it was taken away. So now we are praying about what our next move will be. We have both houses up for sale and up for rent. We are trying to decide if we should just move to the little house anyway, because our house is the one that is getting all the interest as of now. I just have to believe that there is work going on behind the scenes that we just really can't see.
So, that's what's going on with the houses.

Wyatt has been sick with a cold since Saturday. He has been crabby and not sleeping well and waking up WAY too early. This morning he woke up at 6am (normal is 8am) and came into my bedroom crying for water. So, I got up and took him up for some water. A little while later he was playing in the dining room, hadn't been crying at all, but came over to me with tears flooding his eyes. He looked at me and said, "mama my ear hurts". I know my son, and that is not normal. He is usually very tolerant to pain. Yeah, he's whiny when he's sick, but doesn't complain about certain things hurting, EVER. So, I knew that it was probably an ear infection. I called the doctor's office as soon as they opened and made an appointment for this morning. Sure enough, Dr. Emily was right he has an ear infection in his right ear. Dr. Mary told me that he didn't necessarily need antibiotics for an ear infection and that I could watch him for a couple days and see if it will clear up on its own. But then in the next breath she told me that the type of ear infection that he has is blistery and can be VERY painful. And then in the NEXT breath she told me that it can also cause his ear drum to burst, but not cause permanant damage. Basically she left it up to me to make the decision, to give antibiotics or not. I called Ryan on the way home and explained everything that she said, and we decided to go ahead and give him the antibiotics. I mean, this child has never been on antibiotics before so it's not like he's going to develop any immunity from it by this one round.
Anyway, we've never been through this, it's new territory for us.
I'm ready for him to be feeling better, he's really whiny and clingy and NOT SLEEPING!
This has really been going around though. Here, here, here & here and more that haven't blogged about it. Nasty stuff.

Anyway, a realtor called and wants to show our messy house at 9:30 tomorrow morning (Jackie, that's who beeped through when I was talking to you). This means that I need to peel Wyatt off of me long enough to get a good start to cleaning the house.

Better get to it!!!