The Condo

Whew!  I haven't blogged in a long time because we have had a major project underway.  But we are finally done!

Christopher has been thinking about being a landlord for a long time.  It is a pretty good way to make some money on the side: you invest in real estate, other people foot the bill and pay you to live there, and he is very good at all the home repairs and updates that would come along with that.  We bought our first condo a year or two ago, and while the tenant that came with the place has been pretty bad, it still convinced us that it is a good idea for us.  So we saved up and put in an offer on another one.

Since that was a short sale, however, the bank didn't get back to us for 10 months.  At which point they said that they accepted our offer- as long as we closed in two business days.  Amazingly, that part didn't turn out to be the difficult part.  The funny part came when the Realtor went over there to check on things, and her key didn't work.  Imagine her surprise when a college-age girl answers the door.

"What are you doing here?"
"I'm renting this apartment."
"From who?!?"
"The owner."
"No, you aren't!"

It turns out that when the previous owner was in the foreclosure process, a friend of his tried to buy the place.  The financing fell through, so he didn't get it.  But at some point in that process he got keys.  He then later switched out the locks, and while the bank was lazily getting around to accepting our offer, he rented it out.  He gave the girls a low rate so they wouldn't ask any questions, told them their huge dog wasn't a problem (against HOA policy in the complex), and pocketed everything they gave him without giving the HOA a dime.

Who does that?

Anyway, when we told the girls that we, the actual owners, were raising the rates to normal and they couldn't keep the dog, they moved out.

Which left us with bigger problems.  See, these are the pictures with the listing.

Yup.  These are the pictures that make my husband say, "let's buy it!"

Once the clutter and tenants were gone, we were left with this.

This picture is pretty typical for the unit.  Basically, the previous owner worked at a tile store, so I guess he brought home random extra tiles and tried to find uses for them.  I don't know what made him think that would make a good backsplash, but he was too lazy to finish the project or cut the tiles to fit around the outlets.  The outlets, of course, were all different colors and ages.  The wallpaper border was partially torn down.  And, the pièce de résistance was the cabinets.  There were about four holes in them for knobs that never got installed.  Our best guess was that one day, they decided to paint the cabinets.  So without removing the doors or even opening the doors, they sprayed them white.  And when the can ran out, they left it as is.  They missed and sprayed the countertop and tile floor as they went, just to make it extra snazzy.

I saw a HGTV show once where the host saw a paint job like this and said that "this isn't home improvement, this is vandalism!"  He had a point.

So my big job was to paint the cabinets properly.  I removed all the doors, sanded them down, cleaned them with deglosser, painted them (2 coats on each side), and then we put it all back with new hinges and knobs.

 Instead of replacing the countertop, we are testing a new type of paint meant for laminate countertops.  I don't know how well it will last, but at $20, it was worth a shot.  It was certainly an improvement over "pee" yellow.

Ta-da!

There was a section next to the fridge with other random tile on the floor, so I figured we would cover it up with some new cabinets to add extra storage and hide the hack job.

Not bad now, eh?

The rest of the rooms don't have "before and after"s that look as fun, but they were also a lot of work.  We replaced every door hinge and knob along with almost every outlet and light switch, repaired all the holes in the drywall, painted every single surface, replaced both faucets, replaced every single window, and fixed or installed missing closet doors.

 We also replaced the floor in the laundry room and the front entry (which had not one, but two layers of ugly tile).

More random tiles on the wall in the bathroom.  These were so well glued on that all of the drywall behind them came off with them and had to be replaced.

And these tiles were put in the the bathroom window, which unfortunately is in the shower itself.  I don't know what caulk they used to put them down with, but they just lifted up to reveal the nastiest smell I have ever witnessed.  We lifted one up and put it back down immediately on our first walk through, and the smell reached the kitchen by the time we left.

I really don't understand how people attempt things like drywall repairs, do a job like this, and walk away.

Much better.

I am just glad it is done.  It was actually fun, in some ways.  Neither of us was as emotionally attached to the choices we made here, so instead of debating endlessly over things like we do at the house, we could just shrug and pick one.  And since I was there so much to help, I ended up learning a lot of the jobs that Christopher usually takes over.  He taught me how to switch out outlets and light switches, and I actually did most of them in the place.  Every day I would pick Kaitlyn up from Kindergarten and drive over there, put Jasmine down for her nap in one of the rooms, and Kaitlyn would wander around and help me or read a book to me until we had to go get Tyler off the bus.  In fact, Kaitlyn really loved helping!  I think her favorite was using a hammer on a screwdriver to bang the tiles out of the front entry, kitchen backsplash, and bathroom wall.  She did a great job.

The evenings were a bit tougher, since we had all of the kids.  We would usually put up the baby gate to keep them in one room, set up the Kindle to play Sesame street, and try to get something done.  But Jasmine is at the stage where she wants to be a part of everything that goes on, and she didn't like being trapped in there one little bit.  There was some bribing with candy involved, I have to admit.

But we are DONE!

Anyone want to rent an apartment?
(We've have a few showings today, and will have more tomorrow, so here's hoping!)

Teeth

The other night I was following Tyler on the bike trail when he stopped short.  I wasn't sure why he would do that, but he was quick to explain.  "My tongue did push out my tooth!  It is broken!"  And sure enough, he was holding the tooth that had been wiggly a few days.  He never stops playing with them until they come out, it seems.

So he told us he wanted to put it under his pillow, and we got him a little baggie once we were back at the house.  But Kaitlyn started writing something furiously right before bed, and told us it was a secret so we couldn't see it.

Apparently, she stashed this note next to Tyler's tooth.

For those who can't read Kindergartener:
"Dear Tooth Fairy
Is it all right to give
money to my sister right next
to me even though she did not lose a tooth
write back if you do or not"

Seriously, how could a Tooth Fairy ignore something that cute?

So there was some toothpaste and flossers under her pillow in the morning with that note below.  We couldn't stop laughing about it!  Kaitlyn always loves to find solutions to things in her life and do it herself.

In unrelated news, I finally made a project I saw on Pinterest a while ago.  It was actually a pretty quick little project, and the kids have really liked wearing it.  Lots of dinosaur/dragon teeth!

It's just a cape instead of a whole costume, but that makes it pretty easy to wear.  And make.

Tyler likes to run around in it, so that's a win as far as I can see.

But of course, Jasmine is pretty sure anything she sees the big kids enjoying should be hers too.  It's just a bit big for her!

Update:
Despite the fact that I took it off him at bedtime , Tyler apparently loved the cape enough that he put it back on to go to sleep.  On a hot summer night.

Now THAT's a compliment.

A new school year

This year Tyler started Second Grade.

I had him hold up two fingers for his grade, and then the rest of the morning he would whip up a peace sign every time I aimed the camera at him.  Daddy thought that was funny.

Tyler is at the same school as last year, and I have to admit I have my concerns.  (Don't I always?  Isn't that my job as a mom?)  He has an aide that had him last year, and she was near tears she was so excited to have Tyler back.  And she said that the new teacher is just wonderful, so I don't think I have many concerns there.  But the school district cut all of the hours for the aides to avoid paying them health benefits.  So instead of 4 aides there the entire day helping out, his classroom has three aides that are there 4-5 hours a day overlapping.  When Ricky was cheerfully telling us about the classroom, she said "oh, we are going to have a - " and stopped short before she said "wonderful class".  "Well, I'm not going to lie," she finished, reading the names on the board.  "It's about half and half.  Some of those kiddos are strugglers."  When the average kid in your class has trouble verbalizing and writing their own name, struggling kids most likely means prone to fleeing when they can, and acting upset to an almost violent amount when their sensory and frustrations levels rise.  So they have a rough class to tame and no help to do it with?  Awesome.  I just hope that Tyler, my wheel that never squeaks, gets the help he needs.  We're looking into what options we have in the meantime as well.  I love these public educators, and I just wish they could get paid so they could do their job.

A week later, Kaitlyn headed into her brave new world.  Kindergarten!

She was so excited.  And her teacher is fantastic!  She unfortunately doesn't have any friends in this class, since all her neighborhood friends are either at homeschool or a charter school, but I'm not too concerned.  Kaitlyn will make friends wherever she goes.

So far she has been loving it.  She is already reading books and I taught her to add and subtract, so I think she'll be just fine picking up other skills this year.  I know a lot of moms who struggle with losing their kids for so long every day, but I gotta say we were ready.  She needed some more time with friends her age, and already I have noticed that our talks when she gets home are better because she has gotten the "silly play time with little kids" need out of her system and is ready to read books and chat about her day better with me.  She's a pretty awesome little girl, I have to say!

Summer part 3

I noticed the other day that I have a lot less posts this year than previous years.  However, I think that instead of having less on the blog, that just means I am letting it pile up longer before I do long, major posts, instead of blogging one thing at a time.

This post, as with the other summer posts, probably proves that.

First off, one of our close friends hosted a Birthday party.  But not just any party: she always goes all out for First Birthday parties!  I offered to help out with taking pictures that night, so I have billions, but I have to share a few because it was just awesome.

She went with a circus theme for the evening.  Isn't that cake awesome?

There were almost a dozen carnival games around the backyard for the kids to play (once they got tired of the bounce house).  My kids loved those!

Of course, the prize tent to redeem the tickets was even better.

And Kaitlyn loved getting her hair colored.

Jasmine mostly loved splashing in the water for the yellow duck pond game, and stealing food.  In fact, that was the first time we heard her say "no"!  She tried to take a little girl's Cheetos, and when the girl took them back Jasmine looked at her very seriously and said "Nnnnn- o!"  Daddy and I would have been better at reprimanding her if it wasn't the funniest thing I have ever seen.

As a side note, I gave her that haircut just hours before the party.  The baby mullet was ready to go.

Anyway, there was so much fun to do that by the end of the night, even the birthday boy was tuckered out.  "Hmm?  Oh, cake?  Um, sure, if you say so."

Kaitlyn and the other little girls loved the photo booth with all of the props.

And even Jasmine struck a pose for me.  I don't know if she was saying "shoooes" or trying to kiss me, but she was in silly mode for sure.

A few days later, however, she caught a fever and was down for the count.

Poor thing.  She barely left my bed for about two days, and the rest of the week was still a bit slow.  Thankfully she perked up by the weekend so we could make it to the swim parties and cabin trip with friends we had planned.  Not only did our ward have a swim party, but a local Autism school had a party at a nearby water park we hadn't tried before, and that was really fun.  And then Christopher's work had their swim party as well.

Luau!

A group came with this cute set up, some dress ups for pictures, and a dance routine to show us.

Of course, Kaitlyn's favorite part was going up and learning a dance with them.

And Daddy's favorite part was the FlowRider.

And Jasmine and Tyler loved the shaved ice.

One of my favorite "not pictured" events from this month was that I spent the rest of that weekend up in Salt Lake.  My sister-in-law is a psychologist, and she let me know about an Autism conference up there so we could attend together.  It was really great to spend time with her and learn more about the way other people see life!  Oddly, the more I learn about Autism, the more I see that is truly isn't the perfect diagnosis for Tyler.  One of the big things that was said over and over again that weekend was that "with any disability, there will  always be uneven skills".  And everyone seemed to agree with that - most Autistic children have an ability or at least a strong interest somewhere, along with areas they just can't comprehend.  But Tyler doesn't.  Tyler has a lot of similarities with these kiddos, and he truly thrives on the type of instruction developed for them.  But we've recognized that Tyler is gaining ground evenly . . . at a much slower pace than most kiddos.  It is as though other kids like Kaitlyn are running a race at a nice jog and Tyler is wandering behind at a slow saunter.  He's moving forward, but it takes a few extra hundred repetitions for everything to sink in, and the gap between where he is and where he "should" be just widens every year.  And while it is frustrating to see more and more Autistic children from his class catching up and "mainstreaming" every year with him getting further and further behind, the main problem I have with this analogy is that the system isn't designed to handle it.  Our school system places people by age, whereas he would probably be at a Kindergarten level next year, and take 3 years to grasp that content, etc.  I have a feeling we'll be shifting to a private school soon because of that.  We'll see.

Anyway, the Autism conference was great.  And just as I got home, my parents pulled into town!

We always have lots of fun when they drive out.  We got to go to a car show, which is something my parents love to do.  In fact, I was a bit amazed at how much my parents knew about all the cars.  My dad would tell me something about every car without even looking at the sheets first - this one is really rare, or they made this for only a couple of years, this one was originally a different color, down to knowing what engine they swapped out into the vehicle.  I was really impressed, and it made it a lot more interesting than what I would have done on my own (which would have been looking at cool paint jobs).

We have our list of usual places to visit while they are in town by now, like the bulk isle at Winco, a meal at Chubby's, and a trip or two to the cabin.  This time I decided to show them what Ikea is like, and we randomly picked a Tuesday.  That is a mistake I will never make again.  The line was about an hour or two long so every mom in two valleys could come for free kid's meal Tuesday.  Don't get me wrong, I like saving money too, but seriously?  That was a room piled full of distressed and hungry kiddos who don't like standing in lines.  I'd rather pay $3 and have a nice, quiet and calm meal another day.  Or better yet, feed them at home for less and not drag kids through all of that just for a meal (we saw them all parading in straight to the restaurant without shopping).

But I digress.  Again.  Sheesh.  I guess I just have PTSD from dragging my own angry baby through that store.  Teething stinks sometimes, as does trying to make a baby skip her nap.

She liked craft day though.

Well, Kaitlyn liked painting her salt dough creations.  Jasmine liked eating the paint brush (don't worry, I only gave her water) and trying to drink from the bowl (really glad I only gave her water).

The highlight of the week was our weekend at the cabin where my mom's sisters came to spend the day with us.  Everyone had a busy Saturday, but we were really glad that they made time to come.

We love going for walks up there.

I just can't believe the colors were out already!

And my mom enjoyed opening up boxes of old pictures to sort through from their parent's home.

Jasmine, as usual, loved to climb in the Argo.

As a funny side story, earlier that week we got my mom and dad took the Argo for a spin.

And they came right back.  My mom did not care for that thing at all!  She said it was too bumpy and jerky, and she was done.

Just like when my Aunt Betty tried to hold Jasmine.  Miss Baby was done with that pretty quickly.  In Betty's defense, Jasmine does the same thing to us.

"I like you, but not hugs."

Their trip was a great end to our summer!