Halloween Special: our haunted house

I keep forgetting to post about these... but it might be perfect timing with Halloween today (well, technically tomorrow).

After we moved into our new house we had some bizarre things happen.

MY CRAZY PHONE...

One morning at like 6AM I hear this beating on the door. It was just after Tom left so I figured it was him and he had forgotten something (and I was too sleepy to not wonder why he didn't use his keys), so I got up... still in my little pjs... and opened the door.

It was the police.

Imagine me... bleary eyed... in my pjs... looking at the cop like what the freak?

He's like "Ma'am, did you call 911?" And I'm like no way sir. I just rolled out of bed to answer the door. I've been sleeping. And he's like "are you sure your not in trouble?" As if he's waiting for me to wink and let him know all hell is breaking loose inside... and I'm like "no..." So we talk for a minute and he decides everything is fine and he leaves.

I watch as he walks away and notice there is TWO police cars parked in our little circle. So now all our brand new neighbors think we are trouble for sure.

So a few days later, I get another knock at like 7AM. But I'm prepared this time. I grab a sweatshirt and at least cover my bra-free self. I tell the police this is so weird and they tell me that it happens when there is water in the line. The static it causes sounds like numbers and will actually dial.

This rings a bell. My phone has been ringing lately and when I answer it all I get is static.

So I call the phone company and they come out. Turns out there is a beehive in the phone box causing all sorts of havoc. Wonder who else they managed to call?

MAYBE IT WAS JUST BASIL...

The next story happened around the same time... it was warm enough to start thinking about yard work, so Tom cleaned out our garage. The last owners left a few things in there. So Tom started going through it to see what he wanted to keep. He finds this garbage bag stuffed in a corner and opens it.

Inside is a big plastic bag with a bunch of little plastic bags filled with some green herbs. It was totally POT!

So we are laughing and joking about it. I call my brother and tell him the story... and of course he tells my dad... who calls me. I'm not sure why the conversation was so awkward... but it was. Yes I found POT. How do I know its POT? Um, just a guess?!?

So my mom starts in... and she's like what if someone dumped it there to hide it and they are going to come back? And then they break into the house and hold us hostage for it if its not there? Oh jeez... we've gone from funny... to not so funny.

I'm like 85% sure that's not the case (the previous owners were a little out there... so I'm sure it was theirs)... but the seed has been planted.

So we leave the pot in the garage for like another month. And then dispose of it.

And now I have a POT story. Which is always awesome.

THE SECRET ROOM...

When we found the pot it made us wonder what else was hidden in our little house. The basement had a storage room with a few things left in it. When we moved in we noticed right of the bat there was a locked toolbox in there. Brandon insisted this is how some people keep a gun, so we had to pry it open and see what was in there.

After all that hoopla... it was a child's tool set with a chainsaw, table saw, and goggles. So not what I was expecting.


So... anyway, back to the search for odd crap in the junk they left. It was mostly paint and painting supplies. Tom got creative and started checking things like in the tiled ceilings, etc.

Under the stairs there is another storage area. It's unfinished so its all cement. Its the most scary place in our house. We don't even keep anything in there! Tom was checking it and noticed there is a wood plank nailed to the cement wall. He was curious why and looked in the crack with a flashlight. It opened into a small space under the garage.


A whole space we had no idea existed for months! It only had some tomato cages in there... but how bizarre is that?

So the house has officially been compared to:

1. Mothman Prophecies: the odd phone calls with static
2. Pineapple Express: the pot story that started funny and ended crazy.
3. Stir of Echos: the hidden room (except ours didn't have a dead body!)

Sometimes life is just crazy! But, we still love this house and all the fun it has brought.

Happy Halloween from Spiderman!

My roses...

I wasn't sure I trimmed the rose bush exactly right, but they turned out pretty good:

At least he's got shoes on...

This is Ash's new favorite look:


Shorts with boots.

I don't judge. I like my uggs with some capris sometimes. Keeps my feet warm.

If I let him choose his own shoes... these are what he will pick at the moment.

He even wore them to the store one day.

And the scissors there on the lawn... he uses them to cut all the leaves and flowers off things.

I don't complain because he brings me things like a bowl full of rose leaves, or a water bottle full of the flowered shrubs stems, and says "mommy I got these for you... smell them."

I'll take flower presents over flowers in my garden any day.

Outside toys on the inside...

Tom and I have decided this is a testament to how great our new house is. You know you have moved up in the world when you go from riding your bike outside... to riding it on the inside.


I wasn't sure about the hardwood floors... especially through the entire upstairs... but they are AWESOME for the bike/scooter (plasmaCar... as I just looked up) thing Ash got from Grandma Noralyn for Christmas. We ride it all over. (Yes... I said we).


Ash lets me have "whole package turns." I'm not sure where he got this... but it means I can ride all the way from one side of the house to the other. He'll jump off and say "Mom, it's your whole package turn."

We pull back all the rugs and ride it all around. It's actually pretty fun. When all the kids were here they also had a ball.

A daycare update...

Ash got a new teacher in December and it has made a world of difference at daycare. She is great. She loves him. He's ok with her. Not totally in love yet like he was with Elshia.

They started a superstar of the week program and Ash got to be the first Superstar! Each kid has a little paper cookie taped to the door and every time they do something good their cookie moves up a little. The first one to the top for the week is Superstar. The Superstar gets to always be first in line, make all the choices, get special privileges, and bring the movie for movie day. Ash chose Ice Age 3 and he was so excited to take it (but only with the understanding that it was still his and he got to bring it back home).

He also doesn't use his binky at daycare, which is an awesome first step to getting rid of it.

At old daycare they let the kids get a treat each day when they left. Ash loved picking out a tootsie roll or whatever each night. At new daycare they don't do this... and Ash was VERY disappointed. So I started bringing him a treat each night. Every night he runs up to me and says "What you have in your car?" And if I don't tell him... he gets in the car and starts climbing over the seat into the front to try to see what it is. I also use this treat as a bribe to keep the binky out on our way home. So far car rides and naps are must have binky times. Most days he will take the bribe, but occasionally he has missed the binky so much, he'll opt for the binky over the treat.

He still misses old daycare. We were talking about birthday parties (since Elle turned 2!). Ash wanted to know when his birthday party was. I told him it was in the summer... he looks at me and says, "but it will snow tomorrow!" (with total sadness). So he knows summer is a little ways away. He told me he really wanted Kemper (his best buddy from old daycare) to come to his party. I told him that would be fine. He says, "but what if there is no room?" So I had to assure him we would make room for Kemper.

Ash has also learned just about nursery rhyme and starts randomly singing them. He's got ABC's almost down. He belts out John Jacob Jingle-heimer Schmidt all the time. My favorite is You Are My Sunshine. One day at daycare he got a prize for singing "loud and clear." They told me he loves to sing.

So... daycare is better. We're surviving the change. Ash still doesn't have a best buddy like Kemper, but just in the last two days he started talking about Matthew. Hopefully Matthew is a nice sweet boy who likes to break out into the lollipop song and dance around just like Kemper did...

Introducing...

OUR NEW HOUSE!!!

Some pics:

The living room before...


The new paint was supposed to be silver, but it ended up a little blue... I love it.


Easier to see the paint:


And then there's the bathroom upstairs before:


Can you see the texture on the walls? Yikes... it was sharp and pointy and a horrible shade of pink. The previous owners had done some great things and used good color... a little shocked they had left this like this.

After hours and hours of work by Brandon this is the new look:


Loving it.

The 3rd bedroom upstairs was shown as a dining room:


Which actually would be nice... but we needed a playroom:


The kitchen didn't change...


Except for the munchkin who figured out how to push chairs around to get things on the counter.

Then there's Ash's room... we didn't do much to it either. He really needs a bigger bed, and until I figure that out he gets to have it like this:


The backyard is awesome...


Except the hot tub might need to go...


And then there's the hallway... perfect for sliding in your socks:



The upstairs is in pretty good shape. The downstairs... still needs a little love. Possibly the removal of some wallpaper.

I'm ignoring it for now. We have so much space it's pretty much 2 bedrooms of storage, an office, another bathroom, and the laundry/storage room. We might turn the living room down there into a gym... who knows.

That's our house. We love it! Now Bountiful on the other hand... takes a little getting used to. Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore.

Where to even begin...

This has been the longest week EVER. I don’t even know where to begin… let me just give you a run down of the week.

FRI: We sign our paperwork.

MON: No keys to the house. Supposed to be any day now. I have the week off work, but decide to work anyway because I’m not holding my breath.

TUES: Hope to get keys. Start cleaning apartment. Daycare calls… Ash is puking. Has the flu. No keys.

WEDS: Ash is better. Take him to work for video shoot. He thought it was funny and tried to mimic the little girl we had acting in the video. KEYS!!!

THURS: Prep the house for painting. I get the flu… start puking. Leave my poor mom and brother to keep working while I go home and puke all night. They start sanding the bathroom walls (textured like a ceiling… who does that?), even though I said it would take too long and they shouldn’t.

FRI: Pick paint colors… what a pain. SAND… PRIME… PAINT… forever. Bathroom is a sandy mess.

SAT: More painting. Brandon spends all day in the Bathroom. Friends and family and even new neighbors help us move everything. We are grateful for all the help!!! I pick Ash up at Rachie’s house and he is upset. Take him home. Doesn’t want me to touch or move him. Decide all is not well and take him to Primary Children’s around 7 (probably scaring the crap out of Brandon… who is still working on the freaking bathroom). Primary’s is a mess… 15-20 kids… all coughing and hacking… germs everywhere. (DON'T WORRY NATALIE... I also used my own pen to sign him in... but they didn't even look at me funny cause it was disgusting in there.)

They finally get him in and think it’s his stomach… Tom swears it’s his clavicle because he felt all the bones and that is where he jumps the most.

We call poor Rachie (who is really worried about Ash) and she confirms he slipped on the floor during the day, but got right back up and didn’t even cry. Just kept going, until after his nap… then the pain set in. Not your fault Rach… could have happened anywhere. That’s what happens when you have a little tough guy.

After the practitioner comes in and out 3 times and finally brings a full doc in, the doc looks and Ash and says “yeah… broken clavicle, you can see it right here.”

Xrays confirm it.


12:30AM SUN: Ash is sent home with some Tylenol and a wrap to hold his arm into place. We are exhausted... you can tell by Ash's face:


Brandon is just barely leaving the house… has spent all night finishing bathroom. Elissa also helped and moved everything into place. These two SAVED us. We walk into an actual living room and bed that is made. Hallelujah.

SUN: Sleep through call from guys delivering fridge… PANIC… finally get a hold of them. They will still deliver. Crisis diverted.

That’s so far… we’ll see how this plays out.

I think I might never move again.

UPDATE: As of Tuesday the house is coming together... lots to put away still, but it actually looks like a house now! The plumber has been here for three days and hopefully today will be the last...

Buying a house.

I'm going to throw this out there... never EVER buy a house from someone who does not live in the same state as you. If they are not physically available for you to shake, or scream at (if the need should arise), then its just not worth it.

Nope... still don't have the keys to my new house yet.

Also... avoid using America First as your lender if you should get stuck with super dweep Matt. He will extend your closing daily for several days until you have no idea if or when you will ever own your first home. What? it's a day past our closing deadline and the purchase contract wasn't fully signed? How did we get this far in the first place then, Matt? Shouldn't that be checked first? He will also extend the closing past the end of the month and then the current owners will decide to hold their end of the paperwork until you agree to pay the new month's interest on their loan...

for our sanity we only agreed to pay half... since technically it's super dweeb Matt's fault (and hello... theirs for not signing things properly). And we only agreed to half because we would love to own a home sometime this century.

*if you have an FHA loan by the way... you have to pay interest one month at a time, no matter when you pay it off. The things you learn...*

Holy Rollercoaster...

I'm hesitant to even throw this out there...

This whole house thing has been such a rollercoaster.

The ups...


and downs.

BUT...

It is sounding like we might buy that house after all.

What a mess the whole thing has been, but the current owners agreed to pay to fix the majority of things, so we are back on track.

They were so freaking picky over the price we didn't think there was a chance in the world they'd even consider the fixes. In the end though they agreed to fix some things, and we agreed to fix/live with some things. We started looking at houses again, and I think we ended up getting a good deal on this one. There's a whole lot of crap out there.

We'll see what the appraiser thinks.

I should just keep my fat mouth shut and not jinx anything...

but I'm just too EXCITED!!!

Up in FLAMES... (at least the leaking water might put them out)

So...

The inspection on the new house did not go great.

It appears the plumbing was a little out of WHACK.

We can buy the house and risk being washed away by the mass torrents of water that will probably break out sometime in the next six months...

or...

move on.

We are pretty much going to move on.

SUCK...

Offer accepted!!!

If all goes well this might be our new house:


AND...

We'll be official residents of Bountiful.

Can you hardly believe it?

An offer has been made...

Again.

And Again.

And holy crap Again.

How many times can you counter offers on a house before they just freaking accept it.

Our feet are planted and we done with offers. Take it or leave it.

We'll see what happens!