It's been a hard week

I have to say- we are down in the dumps a bit. As we were talking about things getting ready this morning, the last two weeks have been a blur. We've both been on edge for the following reasons:

1. The house is still in significant disorder. We finally have the insurance piece ready to go, and Jon signed our contract on Friday to get the ball moving. It will still be another week and half before they can start putting things back in order, and it'll be a few days after that. We are just getting sick of the towels on the floor, the pieces of wall that are randomly everywhere, and the feeling of the concrete everywhere. Our bedrooms are a mess, and I still don't know where anything is.

2. Sam was sick, and so was I. That really stunk, and made this week just about unbearable at some points. Lucky us, we just aren't use to him being grumpy. He had a 104 degree fever through Wednesday, which of course led to both of us missing work at some point this week. No one was sleeping. Thank goodness he started feeling better yesterday.

3. Payton has been testing our patience in the evening. She hates going to bed now. (See Monica, we are paying our dues!). It has turned into such a nasty battle at night, which has caused much anxiety and frustration. She has also been a stinker getting to school on Tuesday's for Jon. crying, tantrums, the whole nine yards.... Our relatively calm evenings have turned into stressful cryfests.

4. We have no groceries in the house. With the craziness of the week, we haven't even had the energy to plan our menu and get to the store. I'm sick of grilled cheese.

It has been a long week, and I haven't had the energy or the time to post much. Please send some positive energy our way- we are needing it now!

Just a few more pictures

We had a real horrible night here, so posting these pictures reminds me of how sweet it is to have kids... right?? Right?

To make me forget about the pictures below

Before disaster struck, we had a great day with the kids at the zoo!

Update

Thanks to all that shared your concern, offered help and support when we needed it the most! We are back in the house, thank goodness. Here are a few pictures of the mini-disaster. It truly made us think about those people that are displaced from their homes for whatever reason, and helped us to remember to be grateful to have a roof over our heads. I know that may sound a bit dramatic, but the flooding turned our lives upside down for a while (mostly because of the kids)... and we are just so happy to be back at home. We are now dealing with the insurance piece of the whole ordeal, and waiting to see what will happen in terms of replacing the flooring. We lost the carpet pads in all three bedrooms and closets, the flooring in the guest bathroom and laundry room, as well as the hallway leading up to the living room. I cannot wait to have everything back in place! Again, we thank you all for your support and kindness.

We're homeless

Our washing machine flooded our room, Payton and Sam's, the laundry room, two bathrooms and the hallway. A company came out yesterday to assess what needed to be done, but the house is pretty much unlivable right now. They hope to have us back in by the end of the week (tomorrow being the earliest), and then we will wait for the process with our insurance to begin. We stayed at the neighbors last night, and have a hotel booked for tonight. This really, really, stinks. We are trying very hard to be positive, but it's been a long two days... and it's Sam's first birthday today, and no one is feeling very celebratory. Please keep us in your thoughts.

I'm so proud!

Payton has just been surprising me this week. She did great on both days of preschool, and has had very few potty training accidents. Every day she seems to grow more witty and sweet, which makes it hard to be frusturated with her during the whiny and needy moments. It's weeks like this, when I look at her, that my heart just about explodes knowing that I helped make her into the little girl she is. And I love that.

S for Stires

You can't see it in this picture, but there is a S on the back of this car. Thanks to Monica, this super (in her words) pimped out car gets to join our family since Sidney and Sophia have outgrown it. How cool is that? Payton is going to be thrilled. Monica, you are the best!