I don't even know what to say about the week we've had. Its one of those that will never be forgotten and have left me emotionally, mentally and physically exhausted and drained. I joke that I'll have an ulcer after all this stress. My blood pressure has felt high since Wednesday morning and I'm crashing into bed around 9 every night to sleep easily until 7 the next morning.
Monday was a pretty typical day. We had planned on going to the park with friends, but it rained and stormed all morning. By 11 the rain had slowed down, so the kids and I ran to Michaels to get some craft supplies for our long week of rain. We got our goodies and spent the rest of the day at home. By 5 o' clock I had a headache and the kids were so loud and bouncing on the furniture. Thankfully the rain had stopped! YAY! We headed out for a walk before baths and bedtime. I was able to get the kids in bed by 7 and I had a quiet evening at home.
On Tuesday I had planned to take the kids to a MOPS playdate but I had absentmindedly s
cheduled my interview with the local radio station (OOPS!) at the playdate start time and was bummed to miss! We ended up doing school and some cleaning around the house before the interview. Once the interview was over, the sun was out and I decided to get us out and run some errands. We headed to Moe's for lunch first! What a treat! I hardly EVER have the courage to take all the kids out to eat by myself. I threatened the kid's lives! HAHA! J/K and told them they HAD to obey and cooperate. The kids did BEAUTIFULLY and I was amazed at their behavior. Plus it was kids eat free, so we couldn't miss THAT opportunity! Once we were finished, we ran the errands. It was only noon when we had finished, so I decided to take the kids to the park before naps. The park was a bit wet and soggy, but nothing we couldn't tolerate! The kids had so much fun- running, checking out the turtles sun bathing- and I had worn them out! We got home and while the kids rested/took naps, I started on
Baby Girl's dress. I hadn't spent long on it before realizing that I had to make another trip out! BOO! We ran out to Hobby Lobby after naps. The kids were bad at the store. I was stressed about trying to find what I needed, the kids being bad and trying to get home for dinner. Of course, dinner and bed time was CRAZY. I know it was my fault. I should have left the house sooner so that our schedule wasn't as disrupted. Boo on Mama! That was the first time since Friday night that I had lost it with the kiddos! I jokingly told Hubbie that the kids had used up all their "good behavior" that morning!
Wednesday! Oh dear Wednesday! :o) What a day you were! I woke up about 6 am in order to finish my BSF lesson and to get a shower before waking the kids up. We had to run two errands before BSF, so I knew we needed to hustle, to be out the door on time. I walked through the kitchen door and felt wet carpet and to see half of our kitchen FULL of water. My first thought was, "It didn't rain?! Where did the water come from?"
Ya see, on Saturday afternoon, during the monsoon, we had found a small puddle in the laundry room. Our first assumption was that it was from the water heater, but Hubs and I searched and we couldn't find a leak. We finally made the conclusion that it had to be a leak inside the walls from the roof. We knew that the rental co. wouldn't think this was an emergency, so we were gonna call on Monday (which we did).
So, anyway, I went back to our bedroom and told Hubs. We looked and still couldn't figure out where this had all come from...again, because it hadn't rained. We called the rental agency's emergency line at 6:15 and they made a few calls to get a cleaning co. out to soak up all the water and a plumber, as a guess, to see if he could figure out what was going on. Within 2 hours we had a plumber out here. I went ahead and called my BSF leader to say that we couldn't come and braced myself for a doozy of a day. My parents called and found out what was going on. They came over and goodness! with Hubbie's work this week, I couldn't have done the last few days without them. Their help was incredible! They took the kiddos for me so that I could sit with the house while workers were here. Mom brought the kids back after naps and Peanut was so scared of what was going on, she ended up having the big boys back at their house to sleep over.
Here is the low-down on the house.... the water heater was on its last leg two years ago when we had our slab leak in this rental home( can't find the blog post, but its here SOMEWHERE!). Our floors had been torn up...... yada yada yada.... it was A HUGE mess that went on for several weeks. INSANE! So, the same plumbers that came out during this week's mess had suggested to the owner that it could be a potential mess if the water heater went out. Well, she didn't think it was a necessity or something, because she declined and we went about our life. The water heater did in fact have a leak....a HOLE.....and a leak that had happened over time and for quite some time. Somehow the leak was under the flooring and finally built up enough over time and came to the surface. Again, no clue how all this happened for such a while without us knowing and being able to feel the water on Saturday.
A cleaning co. came in, dried the carpet in the living room that had gotten soaked, through the walls, and they soaked up all the water in the kitchen. Within a few hours, the plumbers had a new water heater in and the cleaning crew was telling me what to expect from them for clean up. It was about 1 pm on Wednesday at this point and the cleaning crew left. They did leave 7 large fans to dry out the floors and then a large dehumidifier to help soak up the moisture. The walls had been saturated at some places 100%. Other spots up about 10 inches. It was not sounding good.
Around 3 or 4, I hadn't heard anything from anyone telling me what to expect as far as ripping up flooring...which had also been said was the next step. I called the rental agency. A lady said the owner was filing a home owner's insurance claim and this could take up to 2 or 3 weeks. Once the fans were pulled out, in 3 days, we would be waiting on the insurance co. to have their ppl/vendors/ to do the remainder of the work that was needed. I told the lady that this had to be unacceptable for a family of 5, with small children. She said since it was a claim now, there wasn't much they could do and that we could write a letter if we were unsatisfied.
During this time, Hubbie was mostly unavailable and with clients for the conference. I was super duper stressed. I debated with the letter writing. Since Mom and Dad had taken the big kiddos, I came home, put Bugs to bed and waited to see what Thursday would bring.
On Thursday, I went over to get the big boys early. It was another rainy and cold day. I wasn't quite sure what to do with the house being torn apart. I knew Peanut was scared of the fans blowing and the chaos going on at home, so I decided to take the kids to Chick-fil-A and play! This is quite a treat! I hardly EVER let the kids play in an indoor playground (yes, I'm THAT kind of a Mom! Germ-a-phobe! 100%). I figured we all needed a little fun and outing from the house. We had had a playdate at the park scheduled for that morning as well, but again, the rains had canceled it. After breakfast, it was about the middle of the morning and we had a milk pick up at noon, so I hated to go home and turn right back around to get the milk, in the cold and rainy weather, so we headed around town, looking to see if we could find any rental houses in our area. The kids were enjoying a movie in the van and their tummies were full, so they were content to ride. We headed back across town to get milk and headed home shortly after. I finally decided to send the rental co. an email. I tried to be as non-emotional as I could be. Just stating the facts about the situation, how it could have been avoided and that we had always been good tenants, paid on time, hardly ever asked for any maintenance, etc. I received a response around 3 that afternoon and was told that my requests were unwarranted and that the fans, that were suppose to stay until Monday, were going to be taken out on Friday. Oh and that the owner was no longer filing a claim with home owner's insurance and if anything were going to be done to the house (as far as new flooring, precautions to avoid mold and mildew), we would be told at a later date, once the owner had decided. I was livid! How could she do such a thing? Of course, Thursday was another big day for Hubbie and I couldn't get in touch with him. I called my parents and they were shocked at the news as well. We ventured back out, picking up Mom, and then going around town, looking for rental homes. After looking for a while, we came home, made a quick dinner and put the kids to bed. I crashed shortly after, leaving dishes in the sink. I was exhausted.
Friday (today) the cleaning company came promptly this morning, picked up their equipment. I asked if they knew any information on why they were being pulled and why the moisture levels/ walls/floors were not being checked for any water being left. The pick up man said that he didn't know details, but that someone had called to have these picked up.
After that, I knew what we had to do. I called Hubbie, he was able to meet us during his lunch and we were able to drive around AGAIN to see what we could see. After we dropped Hubbie off back at the office, the kids and I drove to our rental company and dropped off our "intent to vacate" form. So, in 60 days, I have to pack us up and find a home. Ugh! Oh my gosh! I cannot believe we are doing this AGAIN.
Now, before you start commenting, let me stop you there. The answer is no. We are not buying. There is no reason for us to buy with some of the things that are going on. Plus we need a full funded 3-6 mos emergency fund AND 20% down for a house payment. No ifs ands or buts. Now, I know the market is "GREAT" and I know there are LOTS of good "DEALS" but this is our decision. :o)
So, anyway, thats where we are at. We did NOT want to do this, but with a 3 yr history of a neglectful owner, we just feel like this current situation is ridiculous. Especially if she is doing nothing additional about the moisture. This home will have mold and mildew problems before we can move out. No thank you.
We would covet prayers. This moving is an additional cost that we did not plan on. Our home now is affordable, a decent size and has a nice fenced in yard for the kiddos. Its not perfect, but its been what we needed and a God send. When all the houses in this neighborhood are renting for $300 more a month, we realize that what we have had is a Godsend and a steal!
I know God has this whole situation in the palms of His hands. Its just very scary to say that we're moving and not have a "forwarding" address. We feel confident that this is the right decision. We just are scared of what kind of pressure we could be under....moving, pregnant, extra costs, 3 kids to take care of, packing....yada yada yada...... But again, I know God has a plan. I just want us to have wisdom, guidance and open ears to hear His leading. This is a scary place to be....being in need of a home for 6 ppl and having such a tight budget. I really don't want to put us much over what we're paying now, because we're already tight and with the costs of a c-section, hospital bills, timing belt, etc. etc. etc. we just don't have the funds to spend what most houses are renting for! :o)
Just pray for our family, PLEASE! And...... I guess I'll start collecting boxes, packing up our belongings, dejunking, getting ready for another yard sale and trying to figure out how in the WORLD we are suppose to start school in June with this new thing added to our list! GEESH!
