New Dishwasher

We've been frustrated with the old dishwasher not getting dishes clean.  Then I found the foundation was leaking water in.  I had reached the 10 years of living in my house and the grant should be forgiven.  I applied for HELOC to finance the work on the house.  What I thought was one grant turned out to be 2 grants.  Then I had to figure out who to talk to about getting them forgiven right away so I could apply for the HELOC.  Then I found out that the $3,750 loan with no interest needed to also be paid off before they would approve me for a HELOC.  I submitted my application before everything was completed.  The banker told me if all the documents weren't turned in by August 12th, that I'd have to reapply.  I was able to get all 3 deeds of reconveyance turned into the bank 2 hours before they closed on the 12th!  Whew!  I now have the money and was able to replace the dishwasher which all 3 of us are appreciating!  I also appreciated that my mom was able to meet the installer so I didn't have to take off work!

I have paid my downpayment on the foundation work to fill the 3 cracks.  Each is below a window.  None of the walls are tilting in so all that is needed is to fill each crack.  I'm also having them bury the sump pump discharge because it has spilled out right by the foundation for the last 10 years.  I got another quote for the basement but they were trying to tell me that I needed a lot more work done than this company is doing.  They seemed overkill with everything they were going to do and were way more expensive.  

Once the work on the basement is done, then I want to work on the landscaping.  The dirt has settled over the last 10 years and tilts toward the foundation rather than away.  Besides having dirt added, I'm looking at river rock with a border around the 3 sides of the house (not the back).  I've got 2 quotes, but want to get one or two more now that I know better what I'm looking for.  The first company was cheaper but not thorough.  The second company was thorough but very expensive.  I'm hoping to find someone in the middle.

 

Another Plant Shelf

I used my Amazon points to buy another plant shelf.  Philomena was bored and volunteered to put it together for me.  She did it, but got a little annoyed with it half way through!  I appreciated the help and the end result!

 

School Starts

Philomena and Maggie left for school on their first day with Philomena driving them.

 

Senior Year Decorations

Philomena and Rebecca decorated their cars for their senior year.  When I talked to the girls  about being able to see while driving, Philomena reassuringly says “Don’t worry, mom. We aren’t doing anything illegal to our cars!” 🤣. The girls had me FaceTime Rebecca‘s mom so both moms could have the reveal at the same time. I will also say both moms said no when we found the girls had written their phone numbers on the back of the vehicles! We also both agreed that they needed to take some of it off of their front windshield because they had covered too much and we didn’t want a police officer to be pulling them over. They both grumbled, but they both fixed it also. 🤦🏻‍♀️ Rebecca is leaving and she tells Philomena: act like we’re not best friends so the teachers will let us sit by each other!  Philomena: we can chat but not too much!  They really crack me up 🤣 

Jennifer's Open House

The first photo is with Zeneya and Christina.  This is our 4th year together.  The second photo is with Nevaeh, my student teacher.

 

Maggie's Pictures

Maggie's school picture was ok but she had her hair in a ponytail and a shirt that she hadn't thought about if she wanted her picture in.  She was just thinking that it was for her school ID and didn't care.  So I took her picture in front of my photo backdrop and these turned out nicer.  Now I just need to do a photo session with all 3 of us!

 

Senior Photos

We started taking Philomena's photos at home in front of my photo backdrop.  Then we moved onto the Sunken Gardens, the Retired Teachers Fountain in front of the zoo, and LHS.  Then we drove to her dad's house where she changed into her dress.  We took more photos at the garden and the fountain, as well as in front of every school she went to in LPS.  We decided we didn't need to take any more at home.  I took 200 photos this day.  Then she narrowed it down to these 50-some photos.  Each family member was able to pick what they wanted and I ordered it from Walgreens.  I enjoyed the day with Philomena as one-on-one time, and we were both exhausted by the time we got home!