If mama ain't happy. . .

ain't nobody happy! I remember reading this saying in my best friend's house growing up. I think about it quite often. I have been in somewhat of a 'funk' lately. I don't know exactly what has been going on, but I have been having a hard time being happy, or nice, or friendly, or any of the above. I apologize to friends and family who may have had to interact with me during my period of unpleasantness. I wish I could promise it were completely over, but I seem to be having a hard time with life lately. It's not just all that's going on with Kenneth, although that certainly must contribute. The children seem to be yelling and fighting a lot lately. Probably because of my bad example. I have not been a calm and happy mother lately. AND, they've all been sick with coughs and colds, so Kenneth hasn't been touching them or interacting with them a whole lot for about a week and a half now. That certainly is contributing to my crankiness. What's worse than your husband being gone all the time working and studying? Him being home all the time, but unable to help with the children!!!!!!
On top of all we are dealing with health-wise, we have been dealing with a mold problem in our home we are renting for about 2 months now. I haven't mentioned it up until this point on the blog because A) for a long time I was trying to pretend it wasn't happening and B) the pile of laundry it created was too big for me to think about and C) It's just not fun to talk about!! We noticed mold growing on the back wall of our master-bedroom closet a while ago. I tried to wipe it down with some bleach. It was still there. I tried to spray it with straight vinegar. It was still there. I tried to ignore it some more. It was still there. Then one Sunday, Kenneth was getting ready for church and noticed there was mold on his suit. Then I knew I could no longer ignore the problem; we had to tell the landlord and get it taken care of. So, they had a mold remediation company come in and they sealed off our bedroom for about a week and a half and removed all our stuff from the closet into the garage, tore out drywall and insulation, ran air purifiers and dehumidifiers for a good 4 days and then put it all back together. Fortunately, we have an extra queen sized bed, so that wasn't too inconvenient, but unfortunately, all of our clothing which was now in the garage had to be washed by US. I don't know about y'all, but I have a hard time keeping up with the regular flow of laundry around here, much less having to wash every article of clothing in my closet!!!! So, once again, I pretended it wasn't there for over a month now. Yesterday, however, it was such a gorgeous Spring day and we were feeling particularly productive, so Kenneth set me up a clothes line in the backyard and we got to work!!! (My ultra-money-wise husband couldn't bear the thought of all those loads of laundry going through the dryer- and rightly so. The sound of all those loads would have driven him mad- he wouldn't have been able to concentrate on anything- all he would have seen in his mind were money signs all day- all that money down the drain!) All that work inspired other things. All of a sudden, Kenneth's inner farmer came out and he started planning out an extensive garden in our backyard. We even went and got seeds and planted some last night!! All the digging in the dirt inspired the girls and I between loads of laundry to start actually pulling all the weeds in our backyard. (When we moved in we were told there was a 'gardener'; so I never actually thought this is something I would have to do and haven't MADE the time for it. But, in actuality, he just mows the lawn.) Well, I should have started pulling weeds earlier. The kids loved it! They actually were in the same space for quite a long time and didn't fight or argue. We had not been this happy in a LONG TIME!! It felt so good to be out in the sunshine with the daffodils blooming, the trees flowering, working in the dirt, hanging laundry, eating oranges off the tree. It was wonderful!!! So, just for remembrance sake and to share our crazy life with all of you, I documented the day:

This picture was actually taken a couple of days before. In addition to the work in the bedroom, extensive work was done on the outside of the home to prevent the mold from returning to the closet. Here are the kids watching the workers prepare and pour cement around the house. How would you like to be one of the workers on the other side of the window mere inches away from 3 little spectators. Poor guys!

Here is Kenneth, preparing the soil for seeds.

Oh the laundry!

Emma picking weeds and Grant enjoying life!