tis.the.season.

best friends

first, of many presents

ugly sweater party

after bathtime at gma & gpa brees'

all bundled up

welcome.home

I know I haven't updated this for a LONG time, but I wanted to start with pictures of our house.

If you haven't heard, we arrived home after spending four days away (John at the Orange Bowl, Annie in Ames) to a cold, COLD house. The thermostat read 40 degrees to be exact!

We called Holt heating and cooling and a man came out right away to look at our furnace. He was able to fix it. By the time we went to bed the house was up to 65 degrees. John and I were getting ready for bed when John tried to turn the water on in our master bathroom. Nothing. Flushed the toilet, nothing. Open the shower door, the knob was bulging from the shower wall! John checked the other bathrooms and all of a sudden ran up stairs and said, "Annie, what the (fill in the blank with your own exploitative) is that?" in reference to the gushing water noise. It sounded like every shower, washer and sink was on in the house all at once. The sound was horrible. We knew there was water somewhere it shouldn't be, we just couldn't find it! I ripped Sloane out of bed, ran downstairs. It was still dark but I could see water cascading down the walls of our entry way, living room and kitchen. John grabbed a few things, I grabbed the diaper bag and formula, threw on boots and bolted to the neighbors.

Ryan, our wonderful neighbor, followed John back to the house where they we able to turn off the water and contain as much of the mess as possible. They were kind enough to stay up until after midnight helping set up a bed for us and Sloane in their home.

We went back to the house this morning to assess the damage. Wet.

Our insurance claims rep. set up an appointment with First Call Construction and they were able to make it to our house by noon! Side note-- wonderful guys. They drove from Des Moines, were professional, clean, quick, I could go on and on! So far, they have ripped carpet from the basement, which will need to be replaced and peeled back the carpet in the living room to dry out. They are coming back tomorrow to replace/repair leaks in the plumbing which will mean we won't have much of a ceiling in our living room. They will also need to cut a few holes in our master bathroom to repair damage to the shower. The damage to the carpet in our living room and hard wood floors is to be determined.

















The good news...
1. We have insurance.
2. They were able to leave us with a working bathroom.
3. John didn't have to travel to work today in the bad weather.
4. I didn't really like the carpet in the basement anyways.

While I'm thankful they were able to give us running water, I think we're going to find another place to stay for the next couple of days. Our living room is still soggy and it has three fans running which make it very loud and drafty. The only places in the house they aren't being occupied by fans or dehumidifiers is the office and upstairs, which makes it kinda a boring place to be trapped in!

I'll do my best to keep everyone updated on any new findings.

Oh, and for are you who are concerned about Midas. We extended his stay at the doggie B&B when we came home to a cold house and then extended it once again this afternoon once we realized the there would be many men coming and going. The women at the kennel said to take as long as we need because she just loved Midas and thought he was such a fun dog! It's nice to know that he's getting love while we take care of our house.

(in case it isn't clear in the pictures, the dark flooring is whats wet)