Unexpected Visitor

So a crazy thing happened last night. The kids were all in bed, I was laying in bed reading a book waiting for R to finish up his work in his study when all the sudden someone started to pound (not knock politely, but pound frantically) on our door. At first, I thought it was just some neighborhood kids pulling a prank. But the pounding soon became very frantic accompanied by a woman screaming as if someone was chasing her. I tried to find some clothes to put on, while I heard R cautiously open the door. A woman was on our door step sobbing that she needed help, needed a fire extinguisher, because the car she was towing was on fire--in the middle of the street right in front of our house!

R quickly handed her our fire extinguisher, told her to keep away from the car (who knows if and when the fire would hit the gas tank) and that he was calling 911 right then. By then, I was dressed and grabbed my coat and shoes. I did my best to keep the driver from getting too close to the car and out of the snow. She was in shock and couldn't stop crying. The police came and blocked off the street and we waited for the fire department. It seemed like forever until the firefighters showed up, but in retrospect it was pretty darn quick--especially for a volunteer fire department. We stood on our driveway and watched the firefighters put out this car fire. R got some great pictures.

While we were outside, we noticed we were the first "on the scene" with the driver. A lot of neighbors came out of their homes to watch. But I realized that this woman chose our house because it was around 11:30 pm, and we were the only home with lights still on. I was glad that we could help her.

The kids slept through everything even though MK woke up during the pounding.

So, here's what we found outside our door.

Here are the firefighters.

This a really cool one R got.

And when it was all said and done.

David Lanz Concert

Last night R and I went to see David Lanz at a local Performing Arts Center. R bought tickets back in August as a birthday present for me. It was an amazing concert! It was held at a pretty small venue, so there wasn't a bad seat in the house. It was such a contrast between your typical rock-n-roll concert and this concert. His music is so mellow and relaxing....so there wasn't any dancing in the aisles. He played some of my favorite pieces of his, several Christmas pieces, and a medley of several songs. He told a few stories about how his favorites came to be.

The crazy thing was before the performance, the General Manager of the Center came out on stage to say they had some "important announcements." He proceeded a small bit thanking all those who donated. He announced that they were celebrating because the center is finally all paid for....then they threw confetti from the rafters and lit fireworks on stage.....of a small auditorium. It was so smokey! Just about everyone in the audience was coughing. They had to take a small break before David Lanz came on stage for people to leave the auditorium and get fresh air and for the HVAC to clear out the smoke, which it didn't really do but blow it all over the place. Poor R is getting over a cold and this wasn't the best thing for his lungs. Poor planning on the managements part--several people complaining during the intermission.

Besides the poor air conditions, we really enjoyed the concert. The kids got to spend the evening with one of their favorite babysitters, and we got to go out on a date.

House Update

People keep asking me for an update on the house since S poured water out of the tub and it started to rain downstairs.

The damage wasn't as exctensive has we had feared. R was quick thinking and got things drying pretty fast, which saved us in the end. So far, it's cost only a 1/5 of what we feared. BUT, we still have to put it back together. That's been the problem. We still have to large-ish holes in the ceiling that will need to patched and painted, etc.

One of these days we will have a working 2nd bathroom once again.

No Peanuts Please

A couple of weeks ago, I sent MK & S to daycare while I had to work. When I picked them up, my friend who watches them was a bit nervous about MK--MK's eyes were getting puffy. She said that it started shortly after lunch and thought it was just "tired eyes." She put MK down for a nap, but noticed that her eyes got worse and worse during the nap. When I picked her up, they were pretty bad. It kinda reminded me of when my little brother would get stung by a bee....okay, maybe not that bad. Apparently, the kids had PB&J for lunch. MK didn't eat the sandwich, but just picked at the bread. (She gets that bread obsession from me.) She'd eaten PB before, eating big bites from R's sandwiches. I took her home and gave her benadryl, which helped. It wasn't until about 36 hours later that all the swelling was gone.

I took her into the doctor for her 15 month check up (I still can't believe she's that old!) and had her tested for peanut allergy. I was so impressed with the ladies who took MK's blood--MK never bruised and they were SO fast. Anyways--we got back the results this past week: MK is highly allergic to peanuts.

Now, we are reading up on peanut allergies. This should be interesting

More Rain

So, tonight was bath night. S decided that the side of the tub needed to be cleaned because there were bubbles on it. He did this by pouring cup after cup after cup of water on it. (You see where this is going? sigh.)

By the time I discovered this helpful cleaner, the bathroom floor was already drenched. I made him get out and dry it all up. However, S poured so much water out of the tub that it once again started to rain in our downstairs bathroom. You remember this bathroom don't you? The one in January we had to tear out (after just finishing it) for water damage. Yeah, that one.

Fortunately, it doesn't seem to be as bad as the January fiasco. This isn't black water.

Unfortunately, we still need to drill holes into our ceiling to facilitate the drainage.

Fortunately, we have some big fans to help dry things out.

Unfortunately, it's going to be a long night.

Fortunately, There isn't as much water as last time.

Unfortunately, this is still going to cost a pretty penny. One of which we don't have considering R is still out of work.

Fortunately, S has a Savings CD for about the same cost of the damage.

Unfortunately, S will have to pay for this. He is pretty sad about "breaking the house."

Fortunately, S will believe us when we tell him that he will break the house if he does something now that he has broken the house doing something we told him not to do.

Halloween Pre-Show

We finally pulled out the Halloween Costumes. Both C and S had Halloween parties at school today. While we were making sure we had everything for C's Batman costume, MK tried on the mask. She sure makes a pretty cute Batgirl, don't you think?

Bat-MK

MK and I went to S's preschool Trunk-or-Treat. S was so excited to be Buzz Lightyear (thanks Mimi!) I just love this picture--his smile just shows how much he is loving this.

S as Buzz Lightyear

It was VERY cold out today, so I bundled MK up in her costume. She makes a pretty ferocious lion with her pink binkie.

MK as a Lion

R and S went to C's Halloween Parade at his school. I'll have to get pictures from R later.

Little Pioneer MK

Here are a few funny pictures of MK. Grandma made this little bonnet for her a little while ago and she loves to put it on and walk around. Every time she finds it, she brings it to one of us and makes us put it on. Such a little cutey!

Pioneer MK

Pioneer MK

Pioneer MK

Pioneer MK

Pioneer MK

MIA

I know I've been Missing in Action. (Motherhood is a state of Action--constantly doing something.) I was pretty busy for a while, picking up hours at work to bring in some kind of cash flow, helping R with his job search, wrangling kids, organizing scouting (my new calling--Bear Den Leader), driving kids around, helping with homework, and my normal keeping the house livable. Then, we all got sick. I'm just starting to feel human again. Give me a little bit and I'll start to update the blog with past activities and what we are up to right now.