Dana Daily

McDonnell Construction our of Trafford started our new roof on Tuesday, and finished with a half day today. They replaced a 9 x 4 foot section of the upper roof on the back of the house because the fan from the shower was blowing hot air into a cold attic creating condensation.  The condensation degraded the wood, and softened that area of the roof. Now it is properly vented, and we'll never have to worry about it again. We chose black architectural shingles, and while my parents told us the black would draw heat, it looks awesome so I'm convinced we made the right choice. And, just look at that gorgeous blue sky. More typical in this part of the world is the gray sky shown in the first picture.

Happy 12th birthday to this little lady. When I think about Sarah's newborn days, I just have to laugh or roll my eyes, depending on the specific memory. Was she truly my hardest infant, or was it that I was an inexperienced mom? I remember thinking that if I could just make it to her 5th birthday, we'd be okay. Here we are, seven years beyond that. When people groan and tell me the teen years are right around the corner, and now they truly are, I just smile and say that there's no way Sarah can be a more difficult teenager than she was as a baby. The adventure continues.

We had plans to celebrate Sarah's birthday today, but Seth was running a fever last night so I decided to err on the side of caution, and push the celebration out a couple weeks. However, Aunt Kathy and Uncle Ron dropped off Sarah's gift anyway, and made her day. She was disappointed her party was postponed, but I'd say she took it pretty well. She really wanted to see everybody, but how can you stay mad at your cute little 4yo brother, who clearly wasn't feeling well.

Well, today was the day - Sarah got her braces! I think she looks cute. I think she feels a little self-conscious. She's usually laid back and takes things in stride so I'm sure she'll forget she even has them within a day or two. Her appointment took approximately two hours, and I'm sure she was bored out of her mind. I, however, used that time to read a good book ( Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive .) She has to brush her teeth carefully, and the ortho recommended using an electric toothbrush, which I ordered on Amazon. Flossing is now a requirement, and she needs to rinse with a "total" mouthwash. He had coupons for ACT in his office to I took one. If she takes care of her braces and her teeth, she could be done with these anywhere from 12-18 months. Her dad and I decided to pay for the braces upfront, which got us a 10% discount, making my half of the cost "only" $872. It's expensive, but not the thousands o...

Happy fourth birthday to our little guy! Seth is so smart, so funny, and just so loved. We received a mid-year report from school, and he's exactly where he needs to be academically. He knows all the letters of the alphabet, capital and lowercase, and their sounds. He knows which are consonants and which are vowels. He can do basic addition, 1+1=2, 1+2=3. We're working on hopping on one foot, and standing on tiptoes. He also needs to be dressing himself. He's can put pants on no problem, but long sleeve shirts can be challenging. Seth's birthday fell on a Saturday this year, so of course that's when we scheduled his party. He wanted a "Marshall" (from Paw Patrol) party so I had in mind a black and white dalmatian theme, but then he saw blue dog bowls at Dollar Tree. I made it a bright and colorful dog party. I ordered his cake from a friend of mine in Dormont, and kept the menu simple - salad from Olive Garden, pulled pork (which my mom made and br...

My cousin, his girlfriend, and their son are visiting from Germany so we met up with them today. We had a delicious lunch, and didn't leave until 6pm. We had a good time. Sidenote: The groundhog didn't see his shadow so Spring is right around the corner.

We started thinking about  replacing our roof back in 2016. We aren't sure of the exact age, and we knew we were running short on time with it. We had several contractors come out, and today I called our favorite of the bunch back for an updated quote. I'm hoping by scheduling this during the off season, we'll save a little bit of money. Our neighbor also suggested a roofer that they had used, and that they know personally. I'd like to see a quote from him as well. A roof is not where I want to see our money go, but it's kind of important. I'm hoping to be able to use our Venture card to earn travel points since this is an expensive project. Between the HVAC which we replaced last year, and a new roof this year, our big home maintenance must-dos should be complete. I say that with my fingers crossed. Here's my original post with the contractors we had spoken to included.