Sidetracked by Mold

For the past month, every time Jason and I go to bed, he sneezes uncontrollably.

 I was convinced he was allergic to Maggie, since she sleeps in bed with us.

Maybe I thought it would just  help my argument to get her out of the bed before the baby arrives,
but no luck.

A couple of weekends ago, my sister and her friend Lauren visited because my sister was throwing a baby shower for me.  Lauren was sleeping in our sitting room downstairs, just below our bedroom.  She commented that she had to move into our family room because the sneezing was keeping her awake.

It was THAT bad.

I started thinking maybe we had down throw pillows on our bed, since Jason is allergic to feathers, but that wasn't it either.

Jason insisted he smelled a mold every time he went to bed.

But I didn't smell it and I insisted again that Maggie be moved out of the bed.

But she remained . . . and the sneezing continued.

Friday was a beautiful day. It was unseasonably warm and sunny -- a welcome break from all of the cold and snow we've had this winter.

I was exhausted so I turned into bed especially early Friday night.  And the warmth of the day made the stench that much more noticeable.  When I climbed into bed, I smelled it.

Jason wasn't crazy after all.

The moldy smell was seeping out from our bedroom wall above our bed.

I called Jason upstairs immediately.  I couldn't sleep in that room, so I move into Imani's room for a little sleepover (and of course, she was thrilled!)

There was only one way to fix the problem . . . and even though Saturday, we had big plans to address the nursery closet, Jason spent Saturday night tearing down the sheetrock behind our bed.

All of the insulation was damp so it all got bagged up and removed from the house.  

Apparently, when we had our windows replaced last year, the company that installed the window didn't seal it properly, so Jason went back through and re-caulked the whole window and then sprayed it with spray foam to prevent future leaks.  

The foam was huge and bulging out of the cracks when it dried so Jason had to cut it.

Imani and I had another sleepover in her room and I think she secretly hoped the wall would never get fixed.

Of course I figured that while the wall is ripped apart, we might as well make a few changes to it. You'll have to wait and see what we come up with.

We spent a good chunk of our Sunday afternoon wandering around Lowes buying everything we'd need to replace the wall, along with materials to address the baby's closet . . . if we ever get to it. 

I almost fell over when I saw the grand total at checkout.

This wasn't in the budget, but it's a good thing the Coupon Cowboy has been saving us so much money week after week.

I'm happy to report that although the wall isn't finished, I am back to sleeping in my own bed, much to Imani's disappointment.

AND  I'm getting a full night's sleep, since my husband isn't up sneezing all night!! :-)

And Maggie remains comfortable in bed with us, despite my desire to kick her out before the baby arrives.