Post Explosion Aftermath

Ah, the house explodes but the show must go on! After we were told that our home would not be liveable for ... a bit (estimates remain vague), we were beyond thrilled and gratified when our dear friends Bob and Audra Pritchett texted us from the airport to tell us that their home was empty for a week and, that they would love for us to live there while they were gone. What a generous offer -- and what a stroke of good fortune. 

Of course, the kids were extra delighted because where better to land than a non-childproofed home?! Notice that Jamisen is playing with a truck full of handmade soap. =) We were so immensely relieved to have a warm and comfortable place to stay, regroup and hug our kiddos tight. And, hug we did since we all slept in the same guest room for a week. I don't think either Chris nor I had more than five hours of interupted sleep that first week after the explosion. 

Beer soap taught at the CSW conference.

Of course,  the timing was horrible but I was scheduled to speak at the Central Soapers Workshop 6 days after the explosion. It was just a wee bit short notice to pull out of the conference and Chris was supportive of me fulfilling my professional obligations.

 

I spoke on the importance of authenticity and routine in social media - as well as taught soapmaking classes. I did cut the trip short, leaving with one day left in the conference, to be home to my little family. 
 

The day after I got home, Chris packed up all of the possessions we were able to get from the house (before we found out it was covered in asbestos) and we headed south to Grandma and Grandpa Faiola's house for a little visit.

Jamisen  was so excited about the kayak in Grandma and Grandpa's hallway! =) He insisted that they get it down for him to ride in. Grandpa obliged and Jamisen had a fantastic time "riding" in the kayak. Lily joined him though wasn't quite as enamored.

She was fascinated by the Legos that were saved from when Erik and I were little kiddos. It was gratifying to see her grasp the concept so quickly. Her language skills also continue to improve. She is a perfect little mimic and knows at least 100 words now (her proud Grandma Faiola insists it's 500!).

We aren't sure when we'll be back in our home but we're thankful for the kindness of friends as we work our way through the toxic dust, displacement and insurance maze.

And then the house exploded

Bramble Berry's COO and CMO recently went to Disneyworld in Florida for a computer conference. It was a sacrifice but someone needed to go =) Norman is always thoughtful with the kiddos and he brought back presents for them from this trip.

Behold the power of Mickey! Both the kids love their introduction to the magical word of Disney.

Chris recently had a birthday. The kids and I made a deck of cards with 52 things that we loved about him. They enjoyed eating mini cheesecakes and the entire process. 

Chris and our good friend Erin both share the same birthday so we also had a mini girls' celebration for our Pisces friend.

The kids both are having a fantastic time competing for time and love with both parents. This generally means that we try to figure out how to distract one and love on the other one. Sometimes, this doesn't work, and we end up carrying them both at one time. What's really great is when the  kids both start sparring in our arms, hitting each other, while both of our arms are occupied holding them.

Jamisen has taken to building forts all over. He actually slept in this fort for two nights. That is, before the house exploded and we were driven from our house and his forts.

At roughly 3:05 p.m. on Friday the 13th, the boiler in our downstairs blew up in a spectacular fashion.

It launched itself into the next room over, our wine storage area, cooking the wine at 200 degrees for about 5 minutes. We had our boiler checked and serviced in January of this year. It should not have blown up. The investigation remains ongoing as to why there was an explosion.

Chris got the call from our nanny and immediately came home, calling 911 as he did to alert them to the fact that we had a natural gas repairman in the house earlier that day. He suggested that the first thing they do when they arrived at the house be to turn the natural gas to the house off.

It's a good thing he did because the entire house was rapidly filling with natural gas, slowly flooding the house with natural gas, working its way inexorably closer and closer to the pilot lights on the stove. He phoned me on the way home. I logged into the nanny cams, saw the entire basement filled with smoke (which we now know was dust and steam) and was close behind him to get home.

The second Nanny McKenna (Mommykenna) heard the explosion, she rushed out of the house, saw smoke coming from Lily's room and immediately rushed to save Lily, exit the house and call 911. Luckily, Jamisen was with Chris for the afternoon. Typically, he would have been playing in the playroom during Lily's naptime. Lily's bedroom was/is directly above the blast zone.

The entire house lifted off the foundation during the explosion. The wall that blew out was a load bearing wall and the supporting beams under the home were also taken out. While we were in shock, and still are, we recognize that the situation should have resulted in the serious injury of one or both of our children and our nanny. We feel lucky and extremely blessed that the entire situation turned out the way it did with only a house to fix and no one hurt.

Here are just a few of the news media outlets that covered this story:

• Kiro TV
• New York Daily News
• Komo News
• UPI
• ABC7 News
• Fox29
• ABC17 News
• KHQ News
• ABC News

PE

The rest of our lives will probably be marked by a few major occasions: wedding, babies, and explosions. More on that later. But, this is the last post that is PE - pre-explosion.

We were so happy to host baby Alise and Grandpa and Grandma Faiola at the same time. Baby Alise even got to have a sleepover! She slept downstairs with Grandma and Grandpa in a pack'n'play crib and was really delighted when Grandma was extra attentive to her every need. Of course, she got no sleep since EVERYONE wanted to play with her. Well, except maybe Lily who both wanted to play AND protect her territory. 

I have been saving craft boxes for Jamisen and I do to for years (literally, I subscribed to some of them when he was a baby and have been storing them). On the mornings I take him to school, we get an extra 45 minutes in the house by ourselves so it's crafty time. I call it our little 'craftcations!' Of course, all 90+ boxes of craft supplies have been ruined in the explosion (that's $2700 for those of you multiplying the years of investment for quality time and activities with my kids). He really is getting quite good with the crafts and is extremely creative, generally not following the "rules" and making up his own.

Remember the Double Bob stroller I was so thrilled to pick up at the REI Garage Sale? Well, it's never been used for Jamisen and Lily but we're using it for Alise and Lily! =) YAY! One time use almost justifies storing it for 2 years. We love walking around our neighborhood. It's so beautiful and just perfect for our little family to stroll and explore.

 

Baby Alise was EXHAUSTED when she finally got out of our home. We basically didn't let her sleep because we were all so enamored with our perfect little cousin. We are excited to spend Easter with her in some way, shape or form.

Jamisen and his piggbank are growing to be close friends. He loves to empty out all his pennies and put them back in. He knows they're worth ... something ... but isn't quite sure what everything is. I have of course capitalized on this, buying so many toddler books about money that my assistant remarked, "Your kid is going to grow up to be an accountant!" I even got him the Dave Ramsey toddler series on saving money from the library! =)

Another craft project that Jamisen is going rogue with. He is supposed to be using the straw to make beads - roll the clay into round balls, flatten it, use the straw to punch a hole in the bead - and instead, he is making an architectural marvel, a sculpture sure to stand the test of time for its elegant, understated beauty and refinement.

Baby Lily continues to amaze us with her fiery temper, her easy-going nature, and her grasp of subtlety. She is like the storms in tropical places: super fast to anger and even faster to smile and giggle. She continues to switch between who her favorite parent is and loves to be held. Both Chris and I are having hip problems because of the little chunk of sweetness always being on one of our hips. It's worth it for the parental bonding (right? The permanent hip displacement will completely be worth it when she is the world's easiest teenager).

Chris is the President of the Boys and Girls Club Board for Bellingham. They put on a super fun event - a bingo night - as a friendraiser. Bramble Berry bought a table and the team enjoyed goofing off and learning bingo. For the record, it is a super fun game and we can't wait to do it again! Great job Chris + team on an awesome event for an even better cause.

Will Work for Chocolate

This is the best gift that keeps on going. Anyone that reads this blog (all five of you) knows that the one fourth of the Faiola Renoud household has a funny philosophy on sugar: it's poison. Seriously bad for you. If you want sugar, enjoy an apple. Juice is arsenic in a glass ... according to me. Chris will forever be the 'favorite parent' because he doles out M&M's like I dole out kale chips. The kids could not have been more thrilled when Grandma Kelly and Grandpa Winston brought them the most exquisite chocolate advent calenders that you have ever seen. Made with luxurious handmade chocolates, with stunning packaging (gold foil! gold embossed foil!), the kids are slowly eating their way through the delicious treat.  Three months after Christmas, Jamisen is up to Day 10 and Lily is on Day 5. I'm glad that Grandma and Grandpa Renoud are teaching the kids about the finer things in life. Good chocolate is an acquired taste worth having. And, it's fine to go slow.

Jamisen has been doing this odd thing with his eyes - he opens them SUPER WIDE when he's reading or concentrating - so we were worried that he had dry eyes and needed eye drops. He was a real trooper for the visit to the pediatric ophthalmologist and I was proud of him. For the record, he has an astigmatism but otherwise, his eyes appear to be in perfect shape.

Tractors are for girls too! Go Lily!

Jamisen did his first Home Depot class and it was a hit! He got to work with a hammer, nails, glue, wood and paint. I'd say it's a winning strategy from Home Depot. We ended up spending money because we were all in the store - and it was super fun too. What a great field trip!

Remember that passport visit? This is what the kids did for 45 minutes - quietly waited with goldfish crackers (Lily) and suckers (Jamisen). They got compliments from everyone in the office. It was a proud moment - and one we need to remember since often their behavior is not so angelic and cooperative at home. We love our little ones no matter what, good and bad, easy and hard, angelic and not.

Lily is (almost) Internaional!

We've had some excitement in our lives lately but before we blog about all of that fun and explosive excitement, we have a bunch of things to share from the last month of fun. The second biggest news of the month is that we got a wagon for pulling the little ones around in. It's made neighborhood walking awesome.

We've been exploring new parks and this one is closest to Aunt Cheriss and Uncle Erik's house. It is pretty awesome because of its fantastic lemonade stand. Jamisen loves to sell product and is quite serious about his entrepreneurial endeavors.

Lily is happily learning puzzles now - though with the socks on her hands, she isn't exactly a puzzle master currently. She's been wearing socks on her hands a bunch; it's gotta be a fun toddler stage.

We went to fake Uncle Luke's house for the famous Taco Night. It was great because they had full childcare gear. It was hilarious because Jamisen slept through all of it and refused to wake up for the dogs, the chaos, and the REAL pop (aka: sugar!). We'll try again next time.

Lily is obsessed with all shoes and puts them on, all the time, no matter who owns them. This time, the lucky shoes are size a size 10 mens. Hm, wonder who might be looking for his shoes right now? She knows at least 100 words now and has some two word sentences.

We applied for a passport for Lily. It was fun because the entire family got to visit the courthouse. The kids were perfection when waiting; polite, quiet, and so patient. Assuming I got all the paperwork done correctly, we'll have a passport for Miss Lily in just a few more weeks. And from there? A Nexus pass for Miss Lily so the entire family can use the fast lane to visit Vancouver, BC.