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What are you going to be Maria?

tomdos — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 06:03:51 +0000

Due Date: March 3, 2012

Our “Remodel”

tomdos — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 22:41:30 +0000

A couple weeks ago I was giving Maria a bath, and Sarah was doing laundry. I got Maria out of the tub, got her into her pajamas and read a few stories to her before handing her over to Sarah before she went to sleep. Just a typical Monday, nothing unusual…until I went downstairs to find water on our hardwood floors…and more water flowing out of our toilet. It took a second to even understand what was happening, but then we jumped into action. In response to my yell of terror, Sarah started unloading our entire linen closet of anything that resembled a towel. We did our best to dry the floor and the toilet seemed to stop pumping out water. After the floors were dried, and we had a moment to think, I called a plumber to see if they could come out and help us with our issue. They knew what the issue was right away; the line from the house to the main sewer line had become clogged so when we ran water down the drain (like Maria’s bath water and the laundry water) it had no where to go, so it came back out of the lowest point in our house; the downstairs toilet.

The next day, the plumber was able to find the issue and were able to repair it for us. Problem solved. Now to deal with the flooring. It didn’t seem too bad, some of it was buckled, nothing a little sanding and refinishing couldn’t fix I thought. Just to be sure, I called in a claim to Safeco, just so we’d be on record with the damage. Safeco’s adjuster insisted on having ServePro come out right away to check on the floor to make sure everything had dried out properly and to check on the damage to the floor. We were glad they came as the damage was far greater then we expected. Some of our carpet was wet, there was moisture in the drywall and water still under the hardwoods. This was going to be a big project to fix. ServePro came back out the next day, the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, and started the demo work on the floor and drywall so they could get everything as dry as possible.

After everything was done, this is what we were left with;

Foyer…with stylish “dehumidifier” –

Kitchen…facing family room –

Kitchen Dining Area facing bathroom and hall –

Family room…with another dehumidifier –

Pantry –

Downstairs Bathroom –

The fans and dehumidifiers left on Saturday…so now, at least, we can hear ourselves think.

While this is causing a bit of chaos, we look at the silver lining; Our hardwood floors needed to be refinished and we’re going to end up with all new hardwoods…and much of the downstairs is going to be repainted as well! And so far, everyone from ServePro, Safeco and our contractor have been great. Things are moving pretty quickly…but even with that, the best case scenario is that our house is back to as good as new right before Christmas. Another challenge that we’re facing is if we want to stay in the house while the construction is going on. Safeco has offered to put us up in an extended stay hotel while the construction is going on. Not too thrilled with the idea of living in a hotel for 3 – 4 weeks…but everyone from the adjuster to the contractor suggested that we wouldn’t want to be living in an active construction site with all the sub-contractors coming and going in our house. We’ll have to figure that one out.

So…with all of this, we’re hoping to be back in our house by Christmas. Will keep the blog updated as we see progress. Tomorrow we pick out hardwoods and carpet…exciting!

Coming back to the blog…

tomdos — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 04:48:48 +0000

It’s been awhile since we’ve posted anything. It was a pretty rough summer…I like to think that our blog was in mourning. But it’s now the holiday season…and life must go on at some point…and so should our blog!

So a quick run down of what’s been happening with us since August;

Aunty Julie and Uncle Robert came to visit. It was great seeing them again!

Maria started soccer in preparation for Balla 2026! She wasn’t all that into kicking the ball around…as always she was more into watching the other kids…but she seemed to have fun.

In October, we got together with Sarah’s family to remember Ruth, our step Grandma (in-law). While the gathering was a somber occasion, it was a really nice weekend of family.

The Husky Football season has more or less come and gone. My dad and I split two season tickets again…we’ll call this season another “investment” towards getting better seats for future years. It was another rough year…but at least we got to see a couple nice wins. If the Dawgs can pull off two more wins…they will be bowl eligible!

The Sounders season also came and went.

In October, Grandma Linda and Grandpa Jim, came for a visit. We had great weekend with them…when Grandpa Jim saw our unfinished flower beds, he quickly turned it into a work party. Our backyard has never looked better! Maria had fun spending time with them.

Of course we did our traditional trip to the Pumpkin Patch…and Pumpkin Carving.

In late August, we were at Target and we saw Halloween costumes. I found a cute Elephant costume, showed it to Sarah and Maria and asked what Maria thought. She liked it…but we decided not to get it because the trunk came off the chin, and we didn’t think Maria would like that. A couple weeks later, when Sarah was picking Maria up from daycare, one of the ladies shared how excited Maria was about her elephant costume and how it’s all she had been talking about. So it became my mission to get her an Elephant costume…but one that didn’t have the trunk coming off the chin. I found one online, and when I was set to order, I noticed they had an adult one. I though Maria would love it…so I bought it! And when the costumes arrived…I decided to surprise Maria and Sarah at the door in my costume. Let’s just say that “the Big Elephant” didn’t go over very well. Maria was terrified. But finally, she let me wear it for Halloween. My dad took advantage of my backup; a mullet wig and moustache.

I’ve been traveling a lot for work. Went to Montana for the first time in my life. Spent some time in Spokane and Northern Idaho a few weeks ago. Two weeks ago was Boise. Next week, back to Northern Idaho…and then I’m done!…until next year.

So now you’re all caught up in the highlights of the past few months. The four of us are all hanging in there. We have our ups and downs…but we’re doing OK. January 4th will be a rough day. We didn’t know her…but we think about, and miss our little one a great deal.

Hi Giraffe!

tomdos — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 19:56:11 +0000

Sarah, Maria and Grandma went to the Woodland Park Zoo for a morning visit with the animals. When they got there, they somehow figured out a way to join a group that was feeding the giraffes (one of Maria’s favorite animals).

Ballapalooza 2010

tomdos — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 07:06:53 +0000

For the past 9 summers, our family has made the journey to Bellingham for the Ballapalooza soccer tournament. This past weekend we made our 10th appearance in the tournament. The team’s core is family (this year we had 9 cousins), and then we fill in the roster with some of our soccer friends from our other teams. It’s been a great family tradition for us. We’ve come very close to winning the tournament a couple times…but we’ve never been able to seal the deal. Unfortunately, this year didn’t go so well…actually it was probably one of our worst showings. We’ll just chalk it up to a fun weekend with the family. Maria had a great time visiting with her cousins…and she even told me it was exciting to watch our games. That’s my girl!!!

A little catch-up…

tomdos — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 17:13:34 +0000

I feel like all posts these days begin with some comment about how long it’s been. My recent hiatus has been exceptionally long. I don’t know why but I haven’t been using my camera much recently…and it’s usually new photos that help inspire posts. Something that we’re sure to rectify in the coming weeks.

So what have we been up to…

First…the BIG news in our lives; Sarah is pregnant! Our due date is January 4, 2011. Sarah has been feeling terrible…the nausea has been worse with this pregnancy. Sarah has been a trooper and is mustering through. She had a rough time finishing up the school year but she’s able to manage better now that she doesn’t have to worry about vomiting in front of 25 second graders all the time. Being able to take naps in the middle of the day, with Maria, has helped too. We’ve yet to share the news with Maria…but Lucy was pretty bummed to hear about another demotion. Poor Lucy.

At the beginning of June, we all got together to celebrate Jon’s 40th birthday. It was also our first time to their house…what an amazing place. They just finished having a monster patio installed, very impressive! The party was a 70’s theme; hilarious…perfect weather (which was amazing as it rained the week before…and the week after)…great food (one of their friends did some grilling/smoking for them)…and wonderful people.

This summer has been pretty mellow for Sarah and Maria…play dates with friends and neighbors keep them busy. As for me, other then work, World Cup has taken over any free time I get. Maria has also enjoyed watching the games. She frequently insists that we both go put our Sounders Jerseys on to watch together…and she refuses to put her jersey on until I have mine on. Hilarious. Been bummed to see the US, Portugal and Brazil eliminated already…but it’s been a joy to watch so much high quality soccer…makes the Sounders/MLS games seem terrible by comparison.

Maria and I have started a swim class at the YMCA…”swim class” sounds awfully advanced for what we do. It’s a lot of songs and games to get the kids more comfortable in the water. It’s been fun doing those together.

Maria and I have also been enjoying after work bike rides! Now that it’s summer (well…sorta) we are trying to get out for short rides after dinner a couple times a week. She loves riding along in the Burley trailer and will prod me with, “I want to go FAST Daddy!” She’s so funny.

Another update we’re excited to share is that we finally finished our back yard beds! We had 5 cubic yards of mulch delivered and mixed it in with the soil we installed earlier this year. They look great! After they were finished, we were so excited we went to Sky Nursery and picked up a bunch of herbs and veggies to get the garden going. We figure we aren’t too far behind because it really hasn’t been sunny around here yet. Hopefully September will be nice and extend our growing season. I’m now working on building a bench to further enhance our back yard. Day 1 of bench building was completed with all 10 fingers still attached…so I call it a success. I hope to get a chance to work on the project more today. I’m to have a bench by the end of the day…or we’ll have plenty of cedar 2x4s for firewood.

Next weekend we take off for a much needed vacation in Mazatlan! We cannot wait to get away for a little fun in the sun. Up until yesterday; Grandma, Pappo, Mitch & Sam were going to join us as well…but unfortunately Ken’s mom needs to be move into Hospice…so the four of them won’t be able to join us. Such a bummer as Maria has been looking forward to spending time with all of them.

Well…I think that covers most of the big happenings for our family. Until later…

A month has passed…

tomdos — Mon, 24 May 2010 05:30:18 +0000

So it’s been a busy month. Not with our family…but with my work…so I haven’t had much time to post or even take pictures. Thankfully, things should start to calm down in the near future.

The highlight of the past month, Maria’s first Sounders game. We were able to get 3 tickets to the Safeco suite…the perfect place for a 2 year old to be able to enjoy their first game. Maria had a great time clapping and dancing along with the ECS cheers. It was a 7:00 game…so we left at half time. Maria definitely wants to go back…and I can’t wait to take her!

Another highlight…my sister’s 30th birthday. What a wonderful milestone…but man did it make ME feel old. My little sister isn’t supposed to be THIRTY YEARS OLD! Anyways…happy birthday sis!

Well…short and sweet…just had to post something.

Maria’s 2nd Birthday v3.0

tomdos — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 17:48:16 +0000

Birthday week is complete; family party last weekend, all day celebrations on her actual birthday (Wednesday) and yesterday we held a small party for some of Maria’s friends. The rain was very kind to us and held off until we began serving dinner. Everyone seemed to have a good time…it was great to meet some of Maria’s friends and their parents.

A few pictures of the party as some pics of her playhouse.

Maria’s Big Day

tomdos — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 13:55:47 +0000

Sarah and I decided to again take Maria’s birthday off from work to have a family day together. We began our day at Pump It Up in Lynnwood. It’s one of those inflatable toy play arenas. Since it was the middle of the week…it was pretty empty, maybe 5 kids other then Maria…which was great because it allowed Maria to be able to play on toys without being trampled. I can’t imagine how that place is on weekends…probably not very fun for kids Maria’s size. Maria was so brave…by the end of our session, she was doing the big slides all by herself…and LOVING it.

Next, we were on to Dim Sum for a little lunch before nap time. We had recently read about a place in Mill Creek that was called the best Dim Sum in the Seattle area. Hmmm. Zen Garden is about 2 blocks from Sarah’s old apartment complex. We’ve driven past it thousands of times…it’s a non-descript, boring building. It never seemed to have crowds…so we never bothered checking it out. Once we were inside, we were amazed. First, the “backyard” of the restaurant was amazing…a well manicured garden with a sizable fish pond. Second, and more importantly…some amazing Dim Sum. Like places in Vancouver, they give you a menu (with pictures) and make the items up fresh for you. This was great because when we arrived, we were the only ones there. We went a little overboard in our ordering…but we wanted to give them a good test run. Everything was great!

After returning home and napping…it was present time! Maria has definitely figured out presents…and she LOVES them. In addition to her slide and basketball hoop, we also got her a customized chair, a play house for the back yard and a tricycle. We had already given her the slide and hoop…so when she woke up, she got to see her new chair for the first time…she loved it! We haven’t given shown her the house or tricycle yet…mainly because it’s been so rainy outside. I’m sure we’ll have both set up and ready to go before our next sunny day. Maria also enjoyed opening the many nice cards and gifts that were sent from family…and even our neighbor.

Finally, after cleaning the house up a bit…it was time to head out to meet Grandma and Grandpa for an early birthday dinner at Anthony’s Beach Cafe in Edmonds. Maria loves it there because they have a large sandbox with lots of sand toys to play with. Thankfully there was a brief sun break that kept Maria and Mom warm while playing before our food arrived. Once the food was on the table, Maria enjoyed doing her usual rotation between everyone to check out the food they had. To end the meal, a birthday sundae.

Sadly…that was the end of our family birthday celebration together as I had to run down to SeaTac to catch a flight out to Boise for a couple days of work meetings.

Today is the final day of “Birthday Week” and we’re ending with a small gathering of some of Maria’s friends…should be fun. I’m sure I’ll have more to post later.

Happy Birthday Maria!!!

tomdos — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 23:41:02 +0000

More updates on her special day to come. We’re off to a birthday dinner for Maria…and then, unfortunately I have to fly out to Boise for work…I hope to get a more detailed update, and pictures posted once I get to my hotel this evening.