House Update

Now that all the walls are down of the old house, progress is moving rapidly. Chris and his dad are working hard at getting the underground right and then roughing in for a half bathroom in the basement. It seems just like yesterday when we moved into this place and what a thrill it was to have my own washer and dryer. Okay I know that is the thrill of a brand new homeowner and that thrill wore off fast, but not before the glitches of home ownership set in.


It was just a few months if not weeks after we moved in when the water started backing up in the basement. Chris was just brand new in the plumbing apprentice program so we were green at what to do. Shhh don't tell anyone but we called in a drainage company to auger out the main, but no fear 6 1/2 years later Chris is getting his revenge. He has completely taken up the basement floor to replace the section of pipe that was bad and this is what he found.





We knew roots were the problem, which is a problem with many old houses, but the reality of what the fix was/is laughable. You can see in the photo the hole in the pipe and their fix at the time was to pour cement around the pipe and the hole. Not the expert fix of today's standards so that pipe had to go as well as all the decrepit pipe going out to the main/street.


Once the plumbing is squared away, the rest of the block can be laid to get the old part level with the new and floor trusses are coming in roughly a week to Menards. The delivery of trusses from the store to house is on Chris's shoulders (another blog update ahead) and walls get to be constructed. The delivery date for rough trusses are scheduled for May 1st and I know Chris wants to do his best to be ready for them so they don't sit outside long.






I know the clean up of the tear down has been very tedious for Chris and his dad and they are anxious to get that part behind them. Phase 2 is speeding fast ahead.

Flip Share

Hi everyone,

Just passing on this website www.flipshare.com/login

email address: jessicacarvelli@yahoo.com
password: polaris

This is the easiest way to view the videos since it seems to take forever to upload on this site. Hope everyone gets a chance to see the action, there are a lot of video of the house coming down.

Easter Chaos

Spoken like a seasoned pro, Julie said it best, "CHAOS". There really isn't any other way to explain what Easter is like when the Carvelli kids are involved. There is just a little bit of a competitive streak in my kids and when the egg hunts start...beware and watch where you are walking.

Easter started a little early this year when Joel and Cara stopped down at the house and the "Easter Bunny" left eggs in our backyard. That was interesting since they were the little chocolate eggs. We made sure all the eggs were picked up otherwise Emma would surely get a treat. It was another nice day and we got the chance to see Elizabeth who is about 4 1/2 months old now. She is quite a cutie and guess who was the first to grab her out of her car seat? That is right "uncle" Chris. I think he is going to be our baby guy.

That got our kids in the mood for Easter and just in time since they were coming off of their Spring Break from school and getting a bit antsy. Like years past, Easter Sunday is a day of gather by both families. We started off at Lee & Justin's place where we had brunch and #1 of the egg hunts. The day was gorgeous again and it was difficult to keep the boys out of the yard. This year we got two more little guys at the house with Lee's friend Tracy and her boys too. You can only imagine the energy Zac and Nick had so we had to let them outside early but with specific instructions not to look for eggs.

We rounded them back into the house to get the baskets distributed for the egg hunt and they were overjoyed at the treats they got in them thanks to Lee. My kids especially since the Easter Bunny was a bit stingy this year at our house. As you can tell from the picture of Tony, he got his two favorite things...Cars and Food.

I think our families have the egg hunt rules down pretty good for these kids or if they didn't they learned fast enough. I am not sure if I have shared my own Easter memory that has scared me for life, but to keep it short it involved Justin stealing all the eggs during the hunt and left little me with none. So Lee did a splendid job dividing up the eggs according to color for the kids to find. Previous years the "Easter Bunny" has done a REALLY good job at hiding the eggs and Jasmine hadn't been able to find all of her eggs. They were usually found later in the summer so this year the bunny didn't go out in the dark or with a beer in hand so he could help the kids find them easier this year. Success, we found them all this year.

Once the festivities were done and the kids were wearing down, we headed off to the Carvelli side to continue the fun. It is wonderful to have all the kids together even if that adds to the chaos, and with both sides of the family there kids galore for my kids to play with in exchange they get to be the bad influences:-) After the initial shyness wore off, the kids were off playing with the many toys in the family room. If that wasn't enough, my kids were already on a sugar over load and hyping up the rest of the kids.

Soon enough dinner was ready and we were trying to get the kids to eat first. It felt a bit like a conveyor belt of plates coming through and kids sitting ready for their food. But we should all know that once the kids got to eat, the parents would have to shovel the food in their faces as fast as we could because the chaos didn't stop. We had plates flying through the air, wine tipping over on the food, and Nick taking the prize as he rushed through the kitchen only to be stopped by an upset stomach (too graphic for this blog). Wonderful entertainment for those who got to see it all unfold and like the memorable moment at the end of A Christmas Carol when tiny Tim says, "God bless us, every one!" We have Nick declaring, "this is the best Easter ever!!"

Not a dull moment when the Carvelli kids are involved, but don't let the cutie Mia or stylish Collin fool you. This great family photo below was one of about 50 we had to take to get everyone in the picture. From the looks of it Tessa is the only one cooperating for the camera. There might be a picture out there where all the kids are looking at the camera, but I will just have to wait and see if it ever surfaces.

At Grandma and Grandpa Carvellis egg hunt there is a silver egg to be found. Not to be confused with the golden egg in Willy Wonkas Chocolate factory but just at precious. For the last couple years, Nick has been the proud finder of that but this year the competition is growing ferocious now that Tony and Collin are getting into the act. Not to worry Nick, Tony is still distracted by all the fun stuff Grandpa Old Guy has in his back yard.

Caden's Cause

This was a wonderful way to kick off the month, celebrating the birth of our beloved Caden for what would have been his 2nd birthday. Julie & Timi put their heart and soul into this project and seeing all the people turn out for this event is evidence of how much we love Caden.

The sun was shining like it was the middle of June instead of the first of April and the Lookout Bar was the perfect setting. The drive through the residential houses was a bit confusing but we eventually got there As one that has never attended a benefit in any way, shape or form, I wasn't sure what to expect, but a huge play set in the backyard of a bar and grill wasn't on list either. With the gorgeous weather, which was certainly sent from Heaven above, the kids were able to be kids and the outdoor patio was able to accommodate the hundreds of people that turned out. Yes, I said HUNDREDS. From what I have heard lately the turn out was around 430 people in attendance and ticket sales.

I am not sure if the turn out was expected for a first time event but the Lookout Bar did a wonderful job at accompanying all of the people that walked through. The food was delicious even if the line extended through the place (which just emphasized the success of the event) and the everyday patrons of the place were in for a shock when they came for their happy hour specials and saw the line of cars that extended down the street for as far as your eyes could see. I even got to talk to a few people in the parking lot looking for a spot to park.

Tony wasn't in the mood to leave the event either, but as the night wore on his pleasant disposition went down hill so my parents took them away in their horse drawn Toyota.

The silent auction ended with a frenzy of last minute bids and then the chaos ensued with the closing out of the event. It was amazing to see everyone come together to make this event great and to see all the items on display that were donated. The display of items to be looked at was very impressive.

Don't let their expressions dissuade you, there were mostly smiles and laughter on this day.

The end of the night wasn't to finish lightly. The musical talent of Tim Mahoney was fabulous and there wasn't a bad seat in the house. He played as the last of the auction items were being taken away and the evidence of a wonderful evening was cleaned up. It was a bitter sweet ending to a wonderful evening but already talks of next years event are in the air.

The first annual Caden's Cause will go down as a success and set a very high standards for the ones to follow. We get to think of the wonderful little guy that set this whole thing into motion and be grateful for the five short months we got to share with him. We love you Caden.

Sorry Chris

Wasn't it our mothers who said it wasn't nice to laugh at someone else, or that we shouldn't laugh at someone else's misery? Sorry Chris but I have to put this one up. We knew for weeks now that the couch wasn't going to last with the kids jumping on it, but it had to be you and after a hard day of work and a beer!!!!

Here is whats left of our couch....

Not Without A Few Glitches

Construction wouldn't be construction without a few glitches. The house is progressing nicely, but I think sometimes Chris gets a bit carried away with the power of the bobcat. Or the sun was in his eyes? The picture doesn't do it justice, but Jasmine's reaction was priceless. While Chris ran the bobcat, I had the kids in the garage helping me clean and to keep them safe. I don't think the kids are the ones we have to worry about though. During the latest tear down, Jasmine was in the house and ran out to the garage yelling, "the wall is coming in!!!". Unbelievable...the wall in the kitchen was buckling in. I busted a move and ran outside, waved Chris down, and told him what was happening. I guess the North wall of the old house wasn't moving in the right direction.

The only thing left to say would be, "I am lucky it is only a temporary wall".

Tougher Tony

If Tony's recent antics doesn't shed some light on the tough kid he is, his latest will surely show you. A little recap of his latest stunt would be the wild ride he and Emma had in his stroller, which landed him with a cast on his left arm. We should have known that wasn't going to keep Tony down.

To prove his toughness, after his nap, Tony had a little gift for me...his cast. Yup, the little guy handed me his cast as I went to pick him up out of his pack n play. For some reason he felt like taking it off his arm and I am sure it wasn't without a little pain. The picture below will show you what he thinks of it too.

His cast made for a good toy, but his freedom didn't last long. We went right back to the doctors to have another one put back on. The nurses had a chuckle for Tony. Poor Tony didn't like it too much though, because it took four people to hold him down for the new cast. I think this one will stay on for a few days at least.