Foundation Repaired

Monday morning, the foundation repair crew arrived.  They got to digging ten holes that basically hugged the back side of the house.  Because they had taken over the backyard, Benson had to be walked in the front yard to do his business.  He was on alert the whole day because of the different noises and people walking around.  Then in the afternoon, there were quite loud noises as they were dropping the piers.  Drop, boom! Lift the house, lots of creaking noises.  Benson was beside himself.  He was shaking more than we had ever seen him shake before.  He was so scared.  He went to his crate, but unfortunately that was against the wall closest to the workers.  He didn't know what to do with himself and he wouldn't let us do anything to help him.  When they left that evening, Benson finally calmed down, ate all his food, and drank tons of water.  He got to explore the backyard a bit, and then he slept hard on the living room floor.  

On the evening of day one, the kids wanted to explore the backyard and get a glimpse of the holes.  They were particularly fond of the giant piles of dirt.  They heard me say, Watch it.  Be careful.  I really don't want to call the fire department because you fell down a hole.  Caroline had hoped they could keep a few piles so they could play with them long term.  Alas, the dirt had to go back.  (They actually distributed the extra bits they had and filled in a few spots in the yard that had dips in it.  The yard looks much better!)  

The second day the foundation guys were here, we got smarter and put Benson in Caroline's room.  His bed was brought in there and it was the furthest from all the noise.  He napped throughout the day. Caroline did her school with him.  Over all, it was a much better day.  For him.  In the end, the house got lifted.  The very last thing the foundation guys do is check the plumbing.  Ours did not pass.  Now we need to get them back out with a camera to figure out where the leak is - always a potential when lifting the house back in position.  The back of the house was 2 inches lower than the middle, so it was a big difference.  We saw a number of cracks close up, which was nice.  Most of the doors went back to better positions.  

Henry had his Latin tutoring early in the week.  This time, Caroline got to come along.  Henry's tutor has a younger sister around Caroline's age.  They got to play while Henry learned to conjugate Latin verbs.  Caroline had a lot of fun.  They played the Floor is Lava, which is always a fun time.  They may make this a semi-regular thing, so win-win.  

For Valentine's Day, the kids made out double time.  Todd mailed them Valentine's and they also got some from me.  Josiah made cards for everyone as well.  Each one contained a handmade bookmark.  He gave me Star Bucks.  Clever kid.  

Josiah also got to have a lunch out on Valentine's Day.  I dropped him off at Chili's and he got his usual chicken tenders with the junior high pastor - his favorite pastor and his favorite food.  Knowing we're moving, they chatted about that.  

At CC this week, Caroline learned about the painter Andrew Wyeth and used watercolors to paint a landscape.  

She gave her presentation on the philtrum - the little indentation under our noses.  She had randomly asked what it was and I said that researching it would make a perfect CC presentation.  There actually wasn't a ton of information about it, which made the presentation all the more easier.  She learned most mammals have them, so then she tasked herself with taking a picture of Benson's.  He was not up to the challenge of sitting still, so she wisely screenshotted from a video.  It made her happy, because capturing Benson's nose is basically her favorite thing.  

All the kids' classes had Valentine's exchanges.  I didn't see too much candy make it home, but I know they got some.  

For Josiah's Cost of Living Project, he had to figure out renter's insurance as well as the utilities he would be responsible for in his apartment.  He called State Farm to get estimates on renter's insurance.  It was pretty funny to listen from my end.  He sounded very grown-up and he got the information needed.  I paid $5 a month in renter's insurance back in the day.  With inflation, it is now $15-20 a month.  Still the most affordable insurance out there. 

Caroline is looking forward to tomorrow morning.  She will be at our church's Winter Retreat all day.  It is for the 4th and 5th graders and it's always a good time.