My month of no posts has been purely pragmatic. So much has happened I have not had time to breathe, let alone process and blog it. I do want to record for posterity that, during this past month,
- An uninsured driver ploughed into our minivan and totaled it, then fled the scene leaving the keys in the car. The driver was apprehended relatively quickly, and we have decided to press charges. This is the third or fourth time our vehicles have been damaged by hit-and-run drivers right in front of our house. It has to stop!
- Our December/January Birthday bash for Jacob, Kika and Laurent fell on the second weekend of the month.
- A bit of fun was had in the front yard later that same day…
- Another big event this month was our wee Ruben getting his doc band put on to treat his plagiocephaly (cranial asymmetry).
- The second weekend of the month we moved everything out of the little girl’s room and painted the dark, Riddler-green walls pink and pale yellow, to help brighten up their world and especially combat some of the night difficulties we’ve been having with the 2yo. These pics include a typical view of my cluttered house, baby sleeping in his bouncy chair, the painting in progress, and a snap I caught of Meg and Geneva watching the first episode of A Series of Unfortunate Events.
- That next week, on January 19th, things went completely sideways for my mother. Starting the day with shortness of breath, she ended the day admitted to the hospital and was soon enough diagnosed with congestive heart failure. I was with children at therapy appointments and driving to and from schools all afternoon while Paul was at the hospital with mom, and received updates via text. I got there as soon as I could after he got home.
- Then, when I called to let him know when I was on my way home from the hospital, I discovered that he was on his way BACK to the hospital, this time with Megan, who had slipped on the bathroom floor, hit her temple on the corner of a drawer, and was showing signs of a concussion. The two of them ended up getting home a little after midnight, and it was just a very, very long and stressful day for everyone.
- Mom’s condition continued to be monitored at the hospital. A week of tests and procedures later, (and one very scary night when they had to call a rapid response) and she was put on dialysis to relieve her kidneys and to remove some of the excess fluid. She is now going to be having a bypass surgery sometime this week.
- Meanwhile, at home we’ve been having just a dandy time of it with plumbing problems galore. On one weekend, the main shower decided not to turn off, so we had to shut off water to the whole house until a plumber could arrive the next day. Yesterday, the shower head in the other bathroom fell right off during someone’s shower. Thankfully Paul was able to install a new one with ease, but it was just another tedious thing to add to his already busy life. Today there is a toilet backed up that we just have not been able to unplug, and that will likely require another plumber. In the meantime we are down to one potty for 15 people (well 13, baby doesn’t count yet, and Mom’s not at home, so hey, that’s not so bad!).
- I don’t even remember when, but sometime this month our freezer stopped working and we lost all that food plus (big bonus) it really smelled up the house, and in particular, our room, which houses not only Paul and myself, but the baby, as well as the server shelf with computer gear, the freezer, an extra refrigerator, and the treadmill.
- One fabulous, long overdue accomplishment happened last weekend, when, with a little help from all the big kids and Grandma and Grandpa as well, we cleared 2+ trailer loads of stuff out of our house and into storage. I am beyond ecstatic to have that taken care of, and mean to fill up a second unit as soon as possible. I’m to the point where I’m even culling my library just to whittle down every bit of clutter I can – My mental health requires less stuff, and with 15 people living here, there’s only so much you can’t live without. Everything extra is ripe for heading to the storage unit!
- On top of that, throw in a whole host of highly emotional kids with all sorts of meltdowns and fights, tantrums and night terrors, so much more than usual, likely exacerbated by the upended schedule, by my needing to be at the hospital a lot and throwing everybody off balance, and maybe you can start to see why I have been a little bit overwhelmed and de-prioritizing the whole blog thing. I never mean to let it slide, but then life… Word to the wise, when I don’t have time for a blog, Facebook and Instagram are where I can do the quick updates.
Whew. I’m up to date, as best I can manage. Lord only knows what February will hold. I’m not going to make any promises, but I do hold out a faint hope that I can keep abreast of things a little better.
