Operation Dream House Loading: All New Bones

So when you walked into the main living area of the house, you could tell that the floor kind of waved. Like most older houses, it settled and made things uneven. We called in CRL Masonry & Construction LLC (which is actually J’s sister and brother in law’s company) to have a look. They quickly determined that the house was about 3+” from one side to the other and we would have to start looking into fixing the foundation. So began the tearing up of the floor:

 

We got the floor torn up and came upon all sorts of new problems. The foundation was literally just a poorly poured footer (and none at all in some places) then blocks with no mud holding the house up. All the floor joists were rotted and patched together with 2x4s. I have no clue how they didn’t give way and send someone through the subfloor. Chris and Renee guided through what they would need to do to fix it which started with us digging trenches all the way around the inside of they house so that we could reach the old block and they could put in the new. 

Got new block put in and all new beams:

Buuuuuuut we ran into a new problem around the same time. 😕

Stay tuned for the next post😉

Also, check out CRL Masonry & Construction LLC here: https://www.facebook.com/CRL-Masonry-Construction-LLC-1630433527003994

Operation Dream House Loading: The Beginning

So I started casually house hunting earlier this year. I kept track of ones I liked on Zillow and even went and looked at a couple but I knew I wasn’t really in the prime financial state that I wanted to be in before buying a house. My wishlist was also a bit needy for someone wanting to stay under $100k. 

I had to be out in the country and wouldn’t settle for less than an acre of land. Obviously, due to having 3 children and a multitude of out of state family, I needed at least 3 bedroom but preferably 4. Barn was a huge plus. It definitely had to be within 15 minutes of work because I’m over the whole commuting life😅

There was one other property I heavily considered but the house itself would’ve had to have been leveled and rebuilt. Then I stumbled upon this one just by pure chance. 

Warren Straley (who I highly recommend working with because he was just fantastic) took J and I through it and I was sold. This was going to be my dream house. 1.25 acres with a barn and shed. Two story house with 3 huge bedrooms and 2 full bathrooms. Plus that PORCH😍

This is exactly what we started with:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Everything was basically stripped down to the subfloors and drywall. The downstairs bathroom had been gutted except for the tub. The only room that was still usable was the upstairs bathroom (until we found out there was no water😅). It was basically a clean slate. 

Some of the windows can be saved. The roof is newer and metal and basically everything outside was in good shape so with the help of my father, we bought a house😊

My Nightmare Thursday

Happy Thursday everyone! Sorry for the small hiatus while I battled the stomach flu and finals. So so so much stuff coming in the next couple days so stick with me. But first, let me tell you about my nightmare Thursday so far...

Babies got up around 8am which is pretty normal for us. Immediately, Kota is in a bad mood. She throws a holy fit over putting socks on and then insists over and over that it's time to "go bye-bye" (an hour before Chey's appointment...)

So we load up and head to the doctors office for Chey's 15 month check up (all the details in next post). We're in the waiting room and Kota decides that she doesn't want to wear her boots anymore so she takes them off and throws herself on the floor just as the nurse is calling us to come back. So I'm trying to force her boots on and make sure Chey doesn't decide to take off. It was awful.

We get through the appointment with Dakota screaming about "snacks" that she seemed to think I was hiding in my pockets (which I wasn't). So I run to the gas station and get her some cookies (because apparently gas stations around here can't just carry fruit snacks anymore...) and suddenly both my children and their carseats and jackets are covered in chocolate and cookies before we get back home. So more laundry for me😅

Finally back home and I'm trying to get them lunch and down for a nap since they are well past naptime. Kota is throwing a fit and just wants to go to bed so I give up on forcing her to eat, let Chey finish, and put them both to bed. I had a phone advising appointment set up for 1pm and I thought "this is perfect! They'll be napping while I'm on the phone".

Too bad I forgot that my college is on Central Time and therefore an hour behind me so I'm just sitting around for an hour waiting for her to call.

Oh what a day and I still have to go into work tonight. Wish me luck and Happy Thursday guys!😘

Sam the Foster Pup

I had a friend post on Facebook that she was looking to rehome her beloved dog because she was stretched thin and just didn't have the time for him. Of course, I'm always looking for an excuse to bring in more dogs and I reached out with the understanding that he could stay with us for as long as she needed.

Sam was the greatest. He was super sweet and friendly and loved playing with Hazel (though he was slightly terrified of Diesel). Kota kind of scared him but I can’t say I blame him.

Never jumped on people, never had to be kenneled, bit of a barker but nothing serious and he adored me. He would follow me around the house and lay under my desk while I did homework. Unfortunately, he just wanted attention and cuddles and I couldn’t help him.

Ever since he came to us, he paced the house and just went back and forth between the windows like he was waiting for someone. When his mom came to pick him up, I thought he was going to explode from excitement. He just lit up and it was the most precious thing.

The time we had with him was a blessing but unfortunately, he was never going to settle in with us and I am happy to report that he's doing great back with his mom and family😊

Relaunch and What’s Up

Hello? Hello? HELLO? Y’all still out there?? We’re back!

To celebrate our big relaunch, I’ll be putting together a small giveaway for a $25 gift card to the place of the winner’s choice! But that means you have to keep reading to find out the details😉

First thing’s first, lets go over what’s happened since I last posted:

• Baby Chey Chey is now over a year old and becoming quite the little person🥺
• Kota is a little twonager/sasshole and always up to something so there will be tons of Kota antics in the following posts. 
• We had the sweetest foster dog named Sam that stayed with us for awhile and has since returned to his mom and family (I’ll be doing a post about him later today)
• Diesel the baby hippo went through some things so we’ll be getting a Diesel update up soon
•  Hazel has done a huge glow up since we rescued her
• I’m still working in a factory plotting my next career move
• I’m still going to college and I’ll do a full run down of all that separately as well
• I’m still running B and B Beauty Products and it’s become more than I ever thought it would.
• We have been doing some major renovations at the house so I’ll be going over all of that too! 

So that’s about all I have for general updates. I’ll be getting more in depth in the next couple days so stay tuned!☺️

Mass Update

Alrighty so the past couple months have been absolutely nuts... so here is what's up:

• Lost my job at FedMo on some crazy BS that I won't go into because I'm a professional. Honestly, I never thought I could feel such RELIEF being walked out of a place. 
• When one door closes, another one opens. I was offered a position at Greif Brothers (which is literally across the street from my house. I walk to work) where I will make more money than I've ever made by the end of September. Only downside has been adjusting to biweekly paychecks. 
• While waiting to start Greif, I picked up a part time job as a housekeeper at a hotel across town and I actually really like it and the people are fantastic. So now I work there every weekend and one day during the week.
• Saturday, I wrapped up my summer semester at Ivy Tech with all As and Bs
• Yesterday, I scheduled my final classes with Ivy and will be graduating October 19th with an Associates Degree in Business Administration and Certificate in Human Resource Management!
• A couple weeks ago, I finally admitted defeat and confessed that Purdue University was not the right fit for me. I hate the full semester classes, Blackboard is impossible to navigate and keep up with, and I have never received any help or assistance from any of my professors or advisors. To top it off, they informed me that they cannot complete my degree completely online (even though my degree is Business Management via Distance) so that was the last straw for me.
• I applied to Southeastern Oklahoma State University on recommendation from my sister in law and hope to be getting my acceptance information soon and start scheduling my classes to get an end date for my Bachelors!
• I have finally finished painting my laundry room and decided to tear out the old indoor/outdoor carpet so now I just need to get some vinyl or tile to do the floor and some border for the walls and I'll be posting that reno.
• Still waiting to find a good time to refinish the hardwoods in my dining room
• Hoping to start the house buying process after we pay off my car at tax time so super super excited and hope it all goes well. 
• Oh and we have a new addition. Stay tuned😉

I'm a Bad Mom Because...

Thanks to society, it is extremely common to mom shame. This goes for every decision and every move you make in motherhood. Someone out there is always "doing it better" or "doing it the right way". So here are the reasons I am just a horrible mom😉

• I'm a bad mom because I do not co-sleep with my children
• I'm a bad mom because I breastfed rather than formula until they were each 7 months old
• I'm a bad mom because I didn't breastfeed until they were a year old
• I'm a bad mom because I believe in spanking my children
• I'm a bad mom because I don't believe in introducing religion to my children until they can choose for themselves
• I'm a bad mom because my children don't wear coats in their carseats
• I'm a bad mom because I vaccinate my children
• I'm a bad mom because Kota is forward facing before she is 2
• I'm a bad mom because I gave my children gripe water as babies (funny story behind this one)
• I'm a bad mom because I don't hold my children all the time
• I'm a bad mom because I don't get flu shots for my children
• I'm a bad mom because I believe in letting my children cry it out if need be
• I'm a bad mom because we shut Kota's door when she's sleeping
• I'm a bad mom because my children are growing up with Pitbulls
• I'm a bad mom because Kota has a tablet and watches TV
• I'm a bad mom because my children have always slept with blankets
• I'm a bad mom because I have always mixed their formula with tap water
• I'm a bad mom because I used to never water down Kota's juice cups
• I'm a bad mom because my daughter showers with her father

I'm sure there are many more reasons I'm a bad mom and I know I'm not the only one. I stand behind my choices and how I choose to parent my children and that's fine by me.

April Goals and Updates

Hey everyone! Long time, no chat! There is sooooo much going on around here lately so let me just give you a quick run down:

• Kota has hit her terrible twos and two year molars with full blown meltdowns, throwing things, slapping, and taking her clothes and diaper off constantly. So please send good vibes that I can keep my patience and sanity
• Chey is 7 months old TOMORROW. I'm crying. No big deal. I'll do a full rundown of all her new accomplishments and what not tomorrow💓
• Diesel is big, dumb, and lazy. Don't worry, I say all this with affection. He's still my baby hippo.
• Hazel has turned out to be very mouthy and a lot more puppy than we thought but everyone has adjusted well. She got spayed about a month ago and has put on a ton of weight and looks so good. I'll do some before and afters this weekend!
• School is a whole new story because, again, it can't just work out like I plan or am told that it will work out. Post to follow. 
• Work is work. I'm putting in over 50 hours a week and normally 7 days every week so I can keep making huge strides in our financial goals. Again, I'll give ya a whole post about that. But honestly, I'm burnt out and starting to get a bad attitude some nights. I like my job and I like my partner and coworkers but I think I'm growing out of factory life and ready for my next adventure. But we can talk more about that later.
• House renos! Omg. I've been putting in a TON of work in our house but we have a long way to go and had a major set back. That post will be next.

Otherwise, I'm still just doing the balancing act of mom, employee, student, daughter, sister, granddaughter, etc. Always busy. So here are some personal goals for the month:

• Drink more water - I do great at work. I have a 24 ounce tumbler that I keep full of water and ice all day and in an 8 hour shift I prolly drink 4 or 5 but at home and on the weekends when I work short shifts, I hardly drink any so that's something I wanna work on.
• Hit my Younique promotion - I've been running my Younique business for over a year now and I'm still looking to hit that next promotion. This year I have a solid team under me and some great support groups so this is my month!💓
• Finish painting the laundry room - I started this when I started painting my kitchen and it's gotten put on the back burner when the nightmare happened and I started the dining room
• Sand and stain dining room floors - I'll do a post about what's happening in the dining room. If you follow me on facebook or twitter you know the jist of it.
• Start Kota's potty training - We've already half assed started and she's ready. She's just not vocal about it so it's a bit harder than I thought. 
• Get all collections paid off and school - Again, post to follow to get ya all caught up on that madness. 

So those are my basic goals. I wanna continue doing well in school and keep striving to be a better mom and person but those are ongoing. So here is a list of posts coming!:

• Chey - 7 months
• Breastfeeding Round 2 and the Current Struggle (I've started and restarted this post for a week now and it makes me cry every time)
• Dining room Reno - part 1
• Living Nightmare - House edition
• Collections and Financial Headaches
• 5 ways I stay organized with my busy life
• Factory life at 24
• College Update
• Kitchen Reno (waiting on my last bit of backsplash to show up so it'll be completely done)

I need some suggestions on other interesting posts you all wanna see and hear about!😉😊

Spring 2019 Semester

On top of my already full plate of two babies, dogs, housework, wedding planning(very half-assed😅), working 50+ hours a week, and everything else I get thrown, I'm still trying to finish college. Well, I'm not a very patient person and want to get something done. So I took a detour from my bachelors at PFW and started at Ivy Tech last semester to get my associate's degree. I had a rough semester (having Chey made things more difficult than I expected) but I'm still on course.

This semester, I decided to sign my death wish and take all 8 week classes instead of the normal 14/16 week courses. So I'm doing twice the work in half the time to try and graduate with my Associate's in March. We are currently in week 5 and I'm sporting all A's! Definitely proud of myself.

Today, I'm emailing with my advisor to get graduation set in stone and also emailing my professor at PFW to determine how long it will take to then finish my bachelor's degree. Its been a long and hard road getting here but I see the light at the end of the tunnel and I can't wait to see how this will help my family and myself in the coming future. Wish me luck and send good vibes😊

Check Ups and Milestones

So the babies got their 18 month and 4 month shots and check ups about a month ago (I know, I'm slacking. Stay tuned for the next post for explaining) and here's how we look!

Dakota Lynne

• 34 inches tall
• 25 pounds

Cheyenne Renee

• 23.5 inches long
• 12 pounds 14 ounces

Dakota is tall and lanky while Chey is still short and chunky😊

Lately, we've come up on some milestones for the babies:

• Chey can now roll from back to belly (then gets mad because she can't get back yet)
• She can grab her feet and coo at us
• Dakota is still learning new words but sticking to her favorites
• We got her a potty seat and have kinda-sorta started potty training (unfortunately with her not being super vocal, its been hard to guess when she needs to go)
• We took the side off her crib because she can climb in and out and just sleeps on the floor if she doesn't wanna climb back in

Enjoy these pictures!!