Challenges and Blessings (Again)

Aric has taken to asking Jeremy on a nightly basis, "So, Dad, what was your problem today?" We have had some "problems" with the house recently, but we've also made some progress. At the moment (and probably during most moments for the next 2 months), the quick passing of time is at the forefront of our minds.

It's hard to believe it's almost May! We were hoping to give notice at the beginning of the month and be out of our apartment by the end of May. That may still happen, but we're not sure. This week, the initial plumbing inspection passed (positive). However, the inspector didn't want to do a rough plumbing inspection on all the drain/waste plumbing - he just approved the plumbing that'll be covered by concrete so Jeremy can start covering it up and finish the framing (slightly negative). The plumber we had been working with thought it would be a drain/waste inspection (as did we), so he had filled the pipes up with water up to the rafters. Since that inspection won't be happening until Jeremy is completely done running the Pex lines for the supply plumbing, Jeremy drained that water. He discovered that instead of running into the sewer system as it should, it was just draining into the ground in our backyard (huge negative). Thankfully, even though the work was done prior to our having purchased the house, he was able to get the original contractor to come back out and fix their error within the week (positive, I think!). However, it was a setback in terms of Jeremy's use of time (negative). We also had lots of meetings with potential contractors bidding on upcoming projects (HVAC, insulation, and drywall), so it was a slower week than Jeremy had hoped. We have another setback yet to be resolved in the form of a damp basement wall. We had a french drain installed and all of our exterior basement walls waterproofed, so we're not sure what's going on there. Jeremy's talked to both the excavating/french drain people and the waterproofing people (more time spent not doing what he'd planned). Hopefully they'll be able to come figure out what's gone wrong sometime soon. Jeremy was hoping to have all the Pex run this week, but he was only able to get it about half done. I checked it out today (sans camera, unfortunately) and I'm amazed at the amount he has already done. It looks like an impressive amount of work to me! I'm so thankful he's got such a mechanical mind and can "bang out" projects like this so quickly. I think we're at a point where the glass can be viewed as half-empty or half-full. Even though there have been some set-backs, significant progress is being made. (Way to go, Jeremy!)

In terms of our timeline, Jeremy's upriver until Tuesday night. Then he'll work on finishing out the Pex and the little bit of framing he has left. Then, assuming we resolve the problem with our damp basement wall, we should be ready for the plumbing inspection and structural inspection. We have purchased a heat pump and will need to figure out whether Jeremy's gonna install the ducting or whether we'll contract that out. Once the ductwork is in, it'll just be a matter of insulation and sheetrock and getting the final inspections. Then we'll be to what we keep thinking of as "the easy part" -- the kitchen, the flooring, the painting, the lighting -- the "fun stuff"! We hope these last few steps can go quickly so we can get to the fun part quickly. If we didn't keep having these little hiccups, I'd think it was entirely possible for us to be in by the end of May. As things have been going lately, I'm not so sure. We'll see how far we get during the coming week. If we can wrap up plumbing/framing and get inspections, we'll be doing well. Then if we can figure out HVAC ducting, insulation, and sheetrock before the month is over, we'll be so close. Time will tell and we'll try to keep you all posted.

In other news, Ascha's due date is only 58 days away. She still seems to be doing great. She's very active and at the moment she's fond of stretching her entire 16-inch body out sideways - quite a strange feeling (and strange shaped abdomen!). I don't recall the boys doing a lot of sidways stretching like this - they were more fond of angling their foot into the corner of my ribcage. I'm sure Ascha will do more of that as she grows and has less room to maneuver, but for right now, it's kinda fun and interesting to watch this belly changing shape and moving around so much as she flips and stretches. The boys find it mildly amusing when they're in the right mood. Taylor is actually so excited to meet her and take care of her. He sweetly lays his head on my belly sometimes and talks to her until he feels her moving by his cheek - he said the other day that he heard her swishing around. Aric won't wait for her to move, but every once in a while, he'll catch a movement anyway and that usually makes him smile. He told me yesterday, "Mom, even though I don't like baby girls, I'll be very gentle with Baby Ascha." Nothing like that kind of statement to inspire confidence, huh? This morning at the TBall game, he was sure I ought to unbutton the bottom of my shirt and show off my belly. He didn't understand why that ought to be private and why other people might not want to see a big baby belly hanging out in public at a Tball game, of all places. :-)