Living Room Decorated Take 2

I switched the chairs yesterday. I think it opens the room up a little bit. But Myron didn't really care for it. We also had to lose the ottoman to the rocker with it this way.

Living Room Pictures

We are trying very hard to figure out how to arrange our furniture in such a small space. This is where we are at right now. I have a feeling it will NOT stay this way.

Look at Me ... Another Update

So, we paid to have the electrical wires buried in the yard instead of being strung across the backyard. Two men came out yesterday, dug the trench and buried the wires. They even filled the trench back in, raked the dirt and threw hay out. I thought that was very nice of them. You can't really tell anything was done.

Today, some more people came out to put the power pole up. There were at least three trucks and 8 to 10 men out by the road. Bethany was very impressed with the "Big Screw" they used to dig the hole ... hee hee.

When I got back home after running a few errands, the pole was up and one of the trucks had moved across the street. They were replacing the power pole that our pole would be connected to. The old one was warped and leaning towards the road. I guess they decided it needed to be replaced.

It's funny ... had we not gone to all the trouble of burying the electrical wires at our house, that old pole would still be standing there.

We are going to try to make it back up to the NC house this weekend to get some more of our furniture: sofa, cocktail table, dishes, etc. The weather is supposed to be very nice on Saturday. After moving these pieces, the house is going to look empty.

Spring is definitely in the air here in SC. We have bulbs coming up ALL over the yard. There is no rhyme or reason to their placement. Most of them are just out in the middle of the yard. We have daffodils, tulips, crocus, irises and I don't know what else. I am very excited to see all the flowers in bloom very soon. Not too many have popped out with blooms yet ... well, except the crocus. They bloomed a few weeks ago.

Bethany turned in her Science Project today ... Whoo Hoo!!! I was SO glad to be finished with all that. The only nice thing I can say about it is this ... the teacher sent home Benchmarks that had to be completed and turned in. The benchmarks allowed us to answer questions and list materials and procedures. Then when it came time to write the report, all Bethany had to to was copy what she had already filled out on the benchmarks. It was simpler than I thought it would be.

I'm Almost Afraid to Ask

Last Friday, as I sat here posting a blog, I noticed a strange sound. At first, I couldn't figure out where it was coming from. I walked all around the house and stuck my head out the door. I knew it wasn't coming from outside. It was a loud "sanding" sound. It reminded me of when we were having the floors refinished. I finally realized it was the furnace and that cold air was being blown out instead of hot. I immediately turned it off and e-mailed the Hubby.

Later that afternoon, it was getting cold in the house so I turned the heat back on. Not really sure what I thought was going to happen. I guess I thought hot air would start blowing out of the vents ... NOT!!! And the noise ... oh my! It was so loud. So I turned it off again.

Hubby came home and the same thing happened. So we slept that night with no heat. Luckily it wasn't a very cold night.

The next day, Myron called a repairman to come out. Guess what? NO noise!!! Not one sound!!!! NOTHING!!!! How frustrating. Anyway, the repairman went under the house and found a wire loose. He fixed it and said if the noise comes back to give him a call.

Later that night ... much later ... like 3 a.m. later ... I was awoken to a burning smell. The next time the furnace kicked on, there was a squeaking noise that would NOT stop. Woke the WHOLE house up. Myron finally had to turn it off. We knew we didn't want to call the repairman back out ... did you know they charge more on the weekends? Yeah, I did too.

Anyway, we kept the unit off most of the day on Sunday. Myron turned it on later in the afternoon when the girls were getting ready for bed. Guess what? NO noise!!! That was kind of weird.

Later that night ... much later ... like 3 a.m. later ... the noise started back again. The unit had been on since about 6 p.m. on Sunday night ... so about 9 hours with no squealing noises. But at 3 a.m. it started again.

Myron asked me to call the repairman back out on Monday morning. I put it off a little bit because it wasn't doing it. Then all of a sudden, I heard it. So I called the repairman. We discussed the sound and when I would notice it. He asked me to turn the unit on while he was on the phone. Guess what? NO noise!!! NOTHING!!! He said he would be out after lunch. He came in, turned the unit on. Guess what? NO noise!!! NOTHING!!! He kept reassuring me that he believed me about the noise, but I'm not so sure he did.

The only thing he could guess was the problem was the blower motor. So he cleaned the blower and replaced the motor. I sure hope that it works. So far; so good. I haven't noticed anything since he left.

I guess we will have to wait until 3 a.m. to know if the fix really worked ... ;).

More House Pictures

We are finally starting to feel like we live in a HOME. All the bedrooms have a fresh coat of paint on them. Bethany chose Lilac Whisper and Sarah chose Pink Whisper. You can't really tell the colors in these pics but you can get a feel of their rooms so far.
Bethany's Purple Room. I spent this past Monday doing a little more organizing in Bethany's room. She was SO happy to see a box out of her room. She has taken a little more care of keeping it clean.

Sarah's Room primed and ready to paint. Remember it was RED before.

Sarah's Pink Room. She is SO proud of this room. I don't have to fuss at her too much about keeping it clean.

MY Girls. I love my new washer and dryer. I am so glad that I don't have to cart clothes to the laundry mat anymore. That was such a pain.

We went to the NC house a few weeks ago with both vehicles and loaded them down. We brought back the living room chair, side table and the pieces to bunk Bethany's beds ... plus a few other odd pieces ... whatever we could get in the truck or van. We were loaded down (that would have been a picture worth taking, but I didn't). We still have to get the sofa and cocktail table. It really doesn't seem worth renting a U-haul for those two items, but I don't think the sofa will fit on the back of Myron's truck or in the back of my van.

We have to figure it out soon. Both sets of parents are coming up April 23rd for Sarah's First Communion. I at least would like to have a comfortable place for people to sit. Sarah took her First Reconciliation yesterday. She was a little nervous but did very well. I was very proud of her.

But then I am a proud Mama. Both girls are doing very well in school right now. They are challenged on a daily basis to do their best. Also in April, they will be performing in a Violin Graduating Recital. Sarah will be graduating from Pre-Twinkle and Bethany will be graduating from Pre-Twinkle and Book 1. It has taken us a while to get to where they are learning new songs, but we are finally there. Sarah is just right along in Book 1. Bethany has a few more songs before she gets caught up. Their teacher, Miss Katherine, like to review ALL the songs they already know. Unfortunately for Bethany, that has taken a while. Plus, we are having to refresh her memory about some of the songs. I have been pleasantly surprised at what she remembers.

Oh My!!!! It is 2:40 p.m. I need to pick-up the girls. This is my reading time ... waiting in carline for the girls to get out of school.

I will try my best to keep the updates up to date.

Long Overdue Update

I absolutely canNOT believe it has been over a month since my last update. Where does the time go?

We are officially in the house. We moved in January 31st. Here is the note I posted on Facebook about Move-in Weekend:
Weekend of January 30-31, 2010
I don't even know where to start. It was such a crazy weekend. Myron had to work on Saturday until around 4 p.m. Our original plan was to go to the NC house when he got off work, pick the U-haul up in Asheville, load some of our furniture, and bring it back; then move the apartment. That idea was squashed when a snow storm decided to move through. Unfortunately, we didn't get the snow in SC just the ice. It was SO thick on the windshield of my car that it took two days to de-ice. Instead, we went over to the house that evening and started to paint. We wanted to at least get Bethany's room painted since the girls would be sleeping there until Nana was able to bring Sarah's bed to her. But it didn't happen. We only got one and a half walls painted.
Sunday, we got up and went to pick up the U-haul around 9 a.m. By the time we got it and back to the apartment, it was around 10 a.m. We started loading with the furniture. Then we packed it full with boxes. By now it was around 12:30 p.m. We closed up the truck and grabbed lunch. Then went to the house to unload. There were still boxes and junk in the apartment.
Now, remember there was still ice EVERYwhere but the sun was out. Luckily, our apartment was on the sunny side and the ice melted on the sidewalk quickly. Unfortunately, the sun does not come up in the front of the Little House. In fact, the sun does NOT even touch the front of the house at all during the day. The sidewalk and steps were covered with a very thick layer of ice. This took up about an hour of our time trying to get it where we could walk. WHAT a MESS!!!
We got the truck unloaded and back to the U-haul store at 5:00 p.m. There was still a ton of stuff at the apartment. So we loaded the van with as much stuff as we could and took over to the house. AND still had to go back to the apartment for more. Where did ALL this stuff come from? It was CRAZ-Y!!! On the second trip, we had both vehicles crammed full of junk but got everything out of the apartment.
Our last trip got us back to the house around 10:30 p.m. Thankfully, there was a two hour delay for the girls the next day. We got them in the bed then finished unloading the vehicles. I finally told Myron to just get everything out of his truck and leave the van. I would finish it later. At 1:00 a.m., we went to bed.
My Mom came up on Monday to help me get things in order. I am SO very grateful to her. She helped me wipe the kitchen down with lots of clorox, line the shelves with shelf paper, and put things away. We also washed ALL the drapes in the dining room and living room. My Dad came up on Thursday and finished out the laundry closet. I now have an area to store my detergents until we can put up shelves.
They had to leave on Saturday. I was so sad to see them leave but hope they know how grateful I am for all their help in getting us settled. Myron and I spent the rest of the weekend getting Sarah's room primed and running the cables for TV, internet and phone.
The girls are LOVING the yard. They come home everyday wanting to play outside. They are having such a wonderful time out there. We have a little area that we would like for them to use as their very own little gardens in the Spring.

Here are some pictures of the house the Tuesday after we moved in.
Sarah graciously gave up her bed in Bethany's room so Nana would not have to sleep on the air mattress.

Bethany's Room

Living Room

Kitchen


There was complete chaos in every room.
Do you see in the kitchen picture where the trash can is located? That is where the dishwasher goes. It sat in that spot for a little while because we had to have an electrician come in to wire it up. There is NO ground wires, or whatever you call it, in this house. We finally hired an electrician who started this week changing out all the wiring in the house. As of today, he has finished the kitchen, dining room and living room, except the switches.

My dishwasher is officially in and working. And believe me, it has worked too. About the time I had Myron trained to dry the dishes while I washed, the dishwasher was installed. It was SO nice having him dry while I washed. It made for quick clean-up after meals.

I will post again with more pictures. I believe this post is getting a BIT lengthy.