The Roof, The Roof, The Roof is.... nevermind

This post is about the roof! Our stupid, leaking, good for nothing roof.

That DH and his brother so kindly replaced.  Good thing little brother Hartman didn't have anything going on for this past weekend.... 

They look excited up there, right?  This was Saturday, around 8:30 a.m.  They had barely gotten started, so I have no idea why they look so excited.  If they knew what was really in store for them, they would not look so happy. This picture was taken after Breakfast 1 and just before Breakfast 2.  A lot of food is in order to keep Hartman men working hard.

If I ever wanted to convince someone that I lived in poverty, in a dilapidated shack, I would use this picture as "evidence."  There are stray cats and everything.

Demolition continues following Day 1 Breakfast 2. The gutters were an unintentional casualty of this project.  Apparently it's hard to tear off a roof and preserve the gutters.  You can imagine my excitement over discovering yet another unplanned expense.  But boys love themselves some demolition, so I'm pretty sure this was their favorite part of the entire weekend.

Day 1 After Lunch, the roof is off and about 15 pieces of plywood are replaced.  We probably should have replaced all of them, that's how crappy those boards were.  But we are poor with a capital PO.  So 15 pieces of plywood it is.

Here I am checking out the yard across the street from us through the whole in my house.  It's a good thing the sky was clear blue without a cloud in sight or I would have been seriously worried.

Day 1 After Snack, just before Dinner.  Plywood is all in place, and shingles start going down in the front.  We live in the middle of a mountain, so it can't get a picture of the front roof because I'm too far downhill at that point.  Believe it or not, this picture is taken only 3/4 of the way up our back yard.  Seriously - I wasn't kidding when I said we live in the middle of a mountain.

 

Who wouldn't love this mess!?!?

Day 2 after Breakfast 1 and Breakfast 2, the shingles start going on the back of the roof and I can finally photograph some progress.   I think the boys consumed about 96 cups of coffee by this point, between the two days.  I thought shingling would be the easy part.  I've shingled a roof in my day, if you can believe that (my mom didn't.)  But no one likes a pregnant woman doing roofing work, so I was relegated to kitchen and coffee duty.  Oh, and I painted in little New Hartman's room.  When I would get bored, I'd go outside and photograph.  Everyone loved it when I decided to climb the 40 foot ladder from the front of the house to check out the progress.  Yep, everyone loves a pregnant woman on a ladder.

Anyway, shingling took forever, and I won't bored you with pictures of that.  But here is the final product.

For all of the time, energy, and money that went into that thing I think I expected it to sparkle with flecks of gold or perhaps, I don't know, maybe shoot off some fireworks from it's peak.  No such luck though.  It's just a gray roof that hopefully (hopefully!) doesn't leak.  It shouldn't, right?

Of course, now that the roof is done, we need to look into replacing those gutters.  Our first estimate?  SEVENTEEN HUNDRED DOLLARS!!!! And that doesn't even include leaf guards which are essential in the suburban wilderness and an additional $2 to $5 PER FOOT!!! Seriously!?!?! This is highway robbery, people!  And now my poor husband feels compelled try to do the gutters himself, because to spend $2000+ dollars on gutters just seems outrageous.

Remember dear readers  - RENT, DON'T OWN!  Make your landlord fix that leaky roof!

lllll

The Woes of Homeownership

You may have noticed that I took a brief hiatus from blogging the past few days.  Believe it or not, even though I have tons of back posts ready to go, I was too busy to even get online and set them up to post.  Why so busy?

Well first, we're still doing renovations indoors following the dining room and office/spare bedroom work.  This time it's for the "old office" aka "new baby room."  Progress has been slow, to say the least, even though we're not doing much - painting walls and woodwork and installing new closet structures.  We also added a new attic access to this room, which involves a pull down ladder instead of the whole in my closet that was the previous access that required a ladder.

"But why do you need a new attic access?" you might ask.  Great question.  Well, we still continue to be plagued by the mice from hell that simply WILL. NOT. DIE.  After about 8 weeks of having a ladder in my closet, we decided we needed a better way to wage this war with the rodents.  We're still losing. Miserably.  Every night we wake up, listening to them dancing around above our heads.  This new batch of mice are fearless little buggers, and no amount of racket that we make below stops them from their disco above.  Our sleep is disturbed in major ways and we're constantly tired these days.  All we want to do in the evening is relax and go to bed.  Stupid mice.

Unrelatedly, during a particularly torrential downpour a week or two ago, water started coming into our bathroom.  DH went to the roof to do a patch and then visited the attic.  There was definite evidence that our roof was leaking.  Fast forward to Wednesday of last week (hmm... or is that rewinding, since it's now Wednesday of this week?) and water started coming into our kitchen.  While it was raining DH went back to the attic and found no fewer than 5 places where water was coming, and he only checked 5 places so who knows how many other leaks there were.  A few quick phone calls and we had a dumpster ordered, DH brother ready to drive in from Baltimore, and a need to dip into our savings account for an emergency re-roofing project.  Fun.

That was this past weekend.  Do you remember this past weekend at all?  It was cold. Bitter cold.  18 degrees in the morning cold.  Thermos' can't keep your coffee warm kind of cold.  And DH and his brother were out there from 6:30 a.m. to about 7 p.m. both days this weekend putting a new roof on our house.  If that isn't commitment, I'm not sure what is.

Our roof went from looking like this:

To this:

I had no idea our original roof was tan.  I kind of like it better in that color now that I'm comparing, but honestly, I could care less what color our roof is, as long as it doesn't leak.  Or maybe I just like that picture better because it was taken in the spring, at a much more artistic angle, and there are flowers blooming in it. 

Also, why does our house look like a shack from the back?  It's really an ugly house from this perspective.  I'm glad that we don't really have back-yard neighbors.

Anyway, a future post will be written with more details about the roofing weekend.  It was long, hard and cold, and I wasn't even up on the roof. 

It's times like these when we wonder why in the world we bother with home ownership.  If we were renting, our landlord would have to replace the roof.  If we were renting, our landlord would be responsible for bringing in an exterminator to deal with the mice.  And if we were renting and needing more space for an addition to our family, we would find a bigger apartment to rent.  Done and done. 

So for those of you who lament renting, read this post again and be thankful.

Artificial Sweeteners and Pregnancy

Before Pregnant Me (BPM), I essentially refused to consume liquid calories.  The only exceptions were alcoholic drinks and even then I would only drink light beer or liquor with diet sodas.  I primarily consumed diet sodas, sugar free kool-aid (a childhood vice I simply can not seem to give up), Powerade Zeros (LOVE them), and water during the day when I'm at work.

When I found out I was pregnant I was immediately concerned about what I could drink.  Since we were about to head off on our mini ski vacation and that usually involves at least a bit of drinking.  It's not like I was a huge drinker, but I am definitely a social drinker, and going to a bar or being around others who are drinking and partaking as well is fun for me.  One minute I was allowed to drink, and suddenly the next I could not.  I think it was probably like quitting smoking cold-turkey - I was angry, sad, confused, resentful, depressed, jealous, and a whole range of other emotions.  I guess I can blame my moodiness on the pregnancy - god knows I have been extremely emotionally sensitive the past few weeks - but let me tell you, I was not pleasant to be around.

Anyway, where was I going with this? Oh yeah, artificial sweeteners.

So before embarking on our trip I decided that I needed to stock up on tasty, flavorful beverages that would hopefully help me to feel less sad about the fact that I couldn't drink.  I bought a bunch of my favorite flavored, carbonated waters, the Sierra Mist Free Cranberry flavor, Powerade Zeros, and a couple of other things.  It wasn't until after purchasing all of these things that DH and I realized we had absolutely no idea whether or not I was allowed to drink artificial sweeteners, which all of these beverages contained.

I had checked out a book from the library called Pregnancy Do's and Don'ts and it's basic recommendation was that artificial sweeteners were fine during pregnancy as long as they were consumed in moderation and as long as they did NOT contain saccharine, which has apparently been proven to cause cancer in rats.  Saccharine is the main ingredient in Sweet and Low, so if you current use Sweet and Low I would highly recommend that you switch to something else.

I did a lot of online research as well, and found an article written by the American Pregnancy Association to be the most helpful.

Stevia and Splenda - Both have been deemed as "safe" for all people, including pregnant women.  Stevia can be found in products such as Truvia, Stevia in the Raw, and Sun Crystals.

Aspartame (Equal, NutraSweet) and Acesulfame Potassium (in a product called Sunett, I've never heard of it) - Both have been deemed to be safe for pregnant women in moderation.  The in moderation piece is apparently key.

Right now, I use Sun Crystals or Splenda in my morning coffee, so I'm good there.  I currently drink a soda at lunch time and will consider purchasing Diet Coke with Splenda if they still sell that, since it would be better than consuming aspartame.  I'll still get a little aspartame in the evenings when I have my glass of Kool-Aid with dinner, but only one instance of aspartame per day is moderate, right?

So, although I am by no means an expert on pregnancy or sweeteners or anything really, that's what I found in my research and that is the information that I am using to make informed decisions about what I should and should not consume during this pregnancy.

2-24-11 - The Cough

Written on 2/24/11

I still have this nagging cough, which has been killing me at night.  As soon as I start drifting off I cough, and then I am wide awake again.  I try focusing on keeping my throat moist by swallowing a lot to prevent the coughs, but then I realize that doing so just makes me be wide awake again anyway, so why not just cough?

Last night really set me over the edge.  It is day 9 of this incessant cough.  I like to sleep.  A lot.  And I hate that my sleep is being interrupted so constantly.  I basically cough until I am so exhausted that I pass out for a few hours, and then I wake up again and start coughing some more.  I am tired all day, and not motivated at all in the evenings.  On the weekends, because I can, I want to take a nap but sometimes it does feel like I'm wasting away my precious weekends.

In any case, I will be calling my doctor's office tomorrow.  Now that I'm in the 2nd trimester, I hear that there are medication options that I can try to attempt to help with these symptoms.

2/23/11 - 14 Weeks - End of the First Trimester!

Written on 2/23/11

Today marks the official 14 week point.  Depending on who you ask, the first trimester ends after either 13 or 14 weeks, but the practice I go to says 14 weeks so I'm sticking with that as well.  Regardless of how I define it, I am finally out of the first trimester and into the second!

Here's what I look like at 14 weeks:

Gotta love that look Murph is giving me....

I have a really rough week last week with a cold and a nagging cough that has been keeping me up most nights.  The tiredness has left me feeling lazy and unmotivated, which meant no workouts for almost an entire week, and a lot of giving in to cravings of not-so-healthy foods.  I gained two hold pounds in one week, for a total of 4 pounds gained total in this pregnancy so far, so I'm planning on losing those two - or at least most of them - this week as I get back on the diet train.

My stomach still isn't noticeably larger to anyone who isn't the wiser, but I definitely notice it.  Also, after I eat, especially if I eat even just a little too much, it puffs out like I'm at least 6 months pregnant and it hurts soooo bad.  I'm still wearing all of my pre-pregnancy work clothes, but there are a few pairs of pants that definitely leave button marks on my stomach when I'm sitting at my desk all day - those will soon be retired.  I have at least 3 pairs of pants that were always a little too big on me so I'm hoping those will get me through the next two months or so to when it's slightly warmer and I can start wearing skirts and dresses.

2-17-11 - First Trimester Screening

Today we had an appointment to meet with a genetics counselor and have a first-trimester screening done.  Our meeting with the genetics counselor was pretty useless, if you ask me, and I don't think we'll go back unless something is found to be really wrong from the screening.  She seemed really scatterbrained and spent the entire time asking us questions about our family history and drawing a big family tree on a piece of paper for her records.  And that was it, really.  She didn't really "counsel" us in any way, or offer any advice or guidance as to how we should proceed with what ended up being a really convoluted and messy family medical history.  So we left without asking any questions, because we didn't really have any confidence that it would be helpful anyway.

I think we're ready to move forward with a positive attitude.  No worrying about the "what ifs."

I then had blood work and an ultrasound done as part of the first trimester screening, which is mostly a screening for Down's Syndrome.  I did not initially realize - until speaking with my insurance company to make sure that this screening would be covered - that we would have an ultrasound done as part of this appointment.  I was excited for that part of it, and it did not disappoint.

Even at only 13 weeks, the thing in my stomach definitely looks like a baby.

In fact, it even looks like a baby that might belong to us!  Big forehead (us), long legs (us), and an enormous nose (DH).

The ultrasound was definitely a more exciting moment for me than the heartbeat appointment was.  There were no "manual internal adjustments" needed for them to get a clear picture of my uterus so it wasn't uncomfortable at all.  I'm not really sure what I was expecting, but I was definitely shocked when we could clearly see the form of a baby the moment she touch the wand to my stomach.  No trouble finding it at all!

In about 7 weeks, we will have the ultrasound that will tell us the gender.  We had already talked about it and we both want to know.  I am tired of calling this child "it" and DH always resorts to saying "he" so we're ready to start using the proper pronoun!  I'm excited!

2-16-11 - Hit me like a peach in the face

I am officially 13 weeks today.  According to the app on my phone, the baby is now the size of the peach, thus the peach reference in the title above.

However, this post is not about fruit or even the baby.  It's about me getting sick, completely out of nowhere.  I was totally caught off guard, just like if someone had thrown a peach in my face (because who in the world would be expecting that??)

Yesterday was a busy day for me at work, and at the end of the day I had to give an hour and a half long presentation that involved me talking for most of the time.  As I was walking towards my car I noticed that my throat was sore, but I figured it was from projecting my voice so much for the presentation.

But then I swallowed. And there was a slime in the back of my throat.  And I sniffed, and my nose was stuffed up.  I couldn't believe it, but at some point between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. I had come down with a cold.

I was miserable all night last night.  I was swallowing nasty thick slime that made me feel more nauseous that anything else associated with this pregnancy has so far.  I wanted to use nasal spray so bad - it's my go-to drug for when I'm stuffed up because it's so damn effective.  But obviously nasal spray is a no no.  Sad....

I knew that the immune systems of pregnant women were always weaker than normal.  In fact I read - and I'm pretty sure that I mentioned this here already in a previous post - that the reason for this weakened immune system is so that your body doesn't try to reject the baby as something harmful.  I think that's so crazy.  Anyway, I've always had a pretty good immune system and don't regularly get sick at all.  I have allergies that are sometimes really bad, but I can tell the different between bad allergies and actually being sick, and I am almost never sick.

The worse part of the whole thing is that I can't sleep at night, because I can't breathe.  And when I can finally breathe, I start coughing.  It sucks.  Even worse than that is my bladder. It's pretty normal for me now to have to go to the bathroom every time I wake up during the night, even if I just went an hour ago.  So when I sleep for 20 minutes and then wake up again, my body makes me think that I had to go to the bathroom again, so I get up - thus fully waking myself at that point - to the go to the bathroom.  Then I drink some water to help with my dry throat, which only results in adding more fluids for my already over-active processing system to work with.  It's an endless, horrible cycle.  I think I went to the bathroom at least 6 times last night.  That is definitely a new record.

I really hope that this doesn't last too long.  Come on immune system, you can do it!