Well it's been a while since I've posted anything. There is a good reason behind that. Our lives went upside down shortly after my last post. This one is going to be a long one so grab a drink, maybe a bag of chips and have a seat. It began on January 14th 2009. I lost my job that day. Come home to your spouse and tell him/her that you lost your job in the middle of the worst economic crisis and see how that goes over. Not well as one could imagine. Thankfully with God's all knowing power and His timing I am yet again employed and start tomorrow morning.
Fast forward a couple of weeks to the Ice Storm of 2009. Thank you Mother Nature. As if the Windstorm of 2008 was not enough you had to unleash all your glory on us yet again. Our power went out Wednesday morning at 2am. It was restored around 8pm Saturday evening. We took up residence with Judy (aka John's mom) at her condo. Her sister and brother-in-law were also there due to their power being out. So let's count shall we? Judy, John, Rhonda, Mary, Brad, and Madison. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. In a 2 bedroom condo... thankfully we did have 2 bathrooms and even though the space was limited we did not kill each other nor did we get in each others way. It was nice to have a sit down meal each night around the table. I did gain 5 pounds... but it went away when I went back to my normal eating habits.
Monday following the Ice Storm still several places without power we took Madison to her daycare which she hadn't been at for a week. It was her first day in her new toddler room. How exciting! No more high chairs to sit in. No more crib to take a nap in. No more little babies. Nope, now we are on to toddlers with teeth! Teeth that bite. On her first day I guess she was initiated into the room by the older kids (ages 1-2) and was severely bitten on her face and scratched. The worst feeling in the world is to pick up your child from a place they are supposed to be safe and to see this. Granted, biting will happen- but this was
really bad.
Let's trek along to Thursday of this same week. Our movers were scheduled to complete our move from Mt.Washington to Crestwood. This move had actually been scheduled the week prior but kind of hard to do when you have 3-6 inches of ice compacted with snow and no power. So they arrive at our house in Mt.Washington and within an hour John called to let me know that they were heading my way to unload. Perfect! We are doing good on time and this shouldn't take long at all. We are paying by the hour so time is everything. I hear John pull in the drive way and before either one of us could do anything the driver of the moving truck tried to follow John up our drive way. This normally would not pose a problem. Today was not a normal circumstance though. The driveway was passable, you just couldn't see the edges due to the snow. Mr. Driver drove the rear-wheels off the side of the drive and got the truck stuck. This would not have been a terrible deal if for the fact the truck was a Rear-Wheel Drive vehicle! So 2 hours, a tow truck, and some arguing later the truck is out of our yard and on our street. No chance it is making it to the house. The movers then carry everything from the bottom of our drive to our garage. The young truck driver/mover made a poor decision when he drove off the drive, however, it wasn't his fault his boss was a jerk. I made the movers sandwiches with some chips and a drink on the side since this all took place during lunch time and they didn't get to eat before unloading us.
So on to Friday. Should have known this day was not going to be much better. I awoke to the sound of my cell phone alarm going off. This would not have been strange except for the fact that I had not set it the night previous. I had actually taken the time to reset our regular clock that had been blinking since the power outage. I turn off the alarm and go over to our alarm clock to inspect it and see why it did not go off. Here's a good reason- because it was DEAD. There was no electricity being provided to it. Hmmm. Are we without power again? I tried the lamp on the dresser that shares the same plug. Nothing. I look over to our electric blanket that is on a different wall and a different plug. It is off too. Okay so this is strange because the wall that has the computer on it is working. The power light on the monitor is orange which lets me know it is in "sleep" mode. I get up and get the kids ready for school. Thank goodness the alarm on my phone went off. We are a little late, but no big deal. I drop the kids off at school and proceed to Madison's day care. I go in and punch Madi in at 8:15. They use a time clock system so that the center knows when the kids arrive and when they leave. I am in Madison's room hanging up her jacket and backpack when the director comes to me and ask if I drive a blue Chrysler. I told her I did. Her next question was, "Was your back window already broken when you got here today?" Ummm, let me think about that for a minute... NO! What a question. Anyway, I race down the hallway and out the emergency door (because this is after all an emergency) to find that my car has been broken into. The passenger side window in the rear was smashed in. Glass is everywhere and my purse is gone. Another parent who logged in at 8:21 notified them that there was a car in the parking lot with glass broken out. 6 minutes. That's all it took. What's worse is that someone was watching us and knew how long I'd be and where in the building I was going. The car has privacy tinted glass. This person had to walk up to the window and press their nose against it to see anything inside. What a terrible feeling. I was hysterical.
Tuesday of the following week, took Madison to the doctor because she had been having some goopy eyes and a runny nose. Looked just the same as any other cold she's had before. Dr. Al walks in the exam room and within seconds diagnosis her with Pink Eye. She has no pink eye, she has no red eye. She has blue eyes with green goop coming from them. Apparently pink eye can take on many forms... Yippee. Along with the pink eye in BOTH eyes, she has a double ear infection. Mother of the year goes to.... she had been playful, no fever, great appetite, not tugging at ears- how are we supposed to know! Thanks to antibiotic she is much better now and doing lovely. Though the medicine causes other potty problems (YUCK) she is fine.
So with that, we have had an eventful 4 weeks that I will not soon forget. It is with God's wisdom that these obstacles were put in our path to test us. There is no easy road when your path is with the Lord. Satan will try everything to try and pull us away. We are blessed and continue to be blessed. My faith has grown from this trial and I know more than before where my heart lies.
