Worst Day

I have a new Worst Day of My Life, I'm sorry to say.  It was my birthday weekend.  Hubby and I were gone all day Saturday since my mom offered to watch the kids.  We hoped to bike but there were threats of strong storms all day.  We started off touring some nearby model homes.  Of course, that sent me into a low grade depression in which I broke the Thou Shalt Not Covet commandment.  Man, if I could just duplicate that New Home Smell in my house....it's way more appealing than New Car Smell!

Anyway, we don't have any fantastic shopping locally so we drove an hour away.  We even visited the discount paper store, where I loaded up on a bag full of envelopes for six bucks.

When we got home (it never did rain, by the way), there was a visitor at my mom's.  It was a high school senior that my mom and I have kind of mentored through the years.  Her mom passed away suddenly when she was a young girl and her dad has two girls alone.  She stopped by to give my mom a ticket for her graduation.  She's a little on the slow side and didn't realize that she had overstayed her welcome.

In the midst of the visiting girl, our return from The Day, and my brother's family stopping by, it got a little hectic.  I overheard a bit of a conversation between my mom and Son #1.  I heard her reply to his question, "That's something you'd have to ask your mother."  I didn't know what he had asked.

My brother and his family left.  The girl continued to stay.  I figured that if I left too, she might get the hint.  I took my shopping treasures from the day and got ready for bed.  It turned out, the girl stayed another hour or so.  Finally, when she left, my mom called over to make sure I had Son #1.  The boys had asked to stay the night but only Son #2 was there.  "No," I replied, "I thought he was at your house."  She thought he had maybe gone into her basement so she hung up to check.  I checked his room, but he wasn't there.  We started questioning down the kids, wondering where he was.  I woke up Big Sis to make sure she didn't know anything.  He was nowhere.

My mom said he mentioned something about going to a friend's bonfire, but she told him he'd have to ask me.  He never did.

We called his phone dozens of times.  It was off.  His phone is never off.  He is better about answering his phone than anyone else in the entire family.  My mom started to panic, but I was still calm.  "I'll go look for him," I said.  I changed out of my pajamas and set off in the car, ready to tan his hide for causing this chaos.

I drove by Jeremy's, Jake's, and Evan's.  It was dark out and I couldn't remember exactly where Tyler lived.  Those are the only friends he visits at home.  I was fairly certain it wasn't a church friend, because #1 would have told my mom the name of the friend who was having the bonfire.

I started calling friends and family.  No one knew of his whereabouts.  By this time, it was after 10:00.  It just wasn't like him.  He wasn't angry and didn't run away.  He didn't actually ask for permission to go somewhere and didn't tell me he was leaving.  He wasn't answering his phone.  I was getting quite nervous at this point.  Various family members had arrived at our house to offer help and support.  My uncle was driving the streets of our town looking for and smelling for a bonfire.

We tried to send out a Find My iPod signal, but he didn't have it with him.  He also left his iPad mini at home.  I couldn't think of another thing to do.

Around 10:30, I realized I had to call the police.  How long do you stand there in your front yard, unaware of where your 14-year-old son is and not knowing where to look next?  I dialed the non-emergency number and kept very calm.  I explained that my son mentioned something about a bonfire at a friend's, but none of us knew he left.  I asked if they knew of any bonfires in town.  (Whenever we have one, someone typically calls the cops and complains, so I thought maybe they had heard about it.)  They knew nothing.  I said I didn't know what to do next.  They said they could send someone out.  Son #2's best friend's dad is a cop, so I asked if they could send him.

Hubby paced and continued to call his phone.  My mom went in and out of panic mode.  My cousin asked various questions.  Son #2 and my dad were both very quiet.  I was surprisingly calm.  Then, that story of the girls kidnapped for over 10 years in Cleveland kept playing though my mind.  They were about his age.  I imagined every possible scenario...

Finally, after an eternity, the police arrived.  My old high school buddy stepped out of the car and I started explaining the situation.  Suddenly, I heard Hubby's very loud voice saying, "WHERE ARE YOU?!?!"  I ran to where he was.  He was on the phone, fuming.  There was almost steam coming out of his ears.  Again, he said, "WHERE ARE YOU?!?!?"  My mom busted into tears, I didn't know if I should be angry or relieved.  Then Hubby got the answer he was looking for.  Son #1 was in a town 15 minutes away, at someone's house we had never met.

Oh dear...the rage.

I'll try to wrap up quickly now because this story is getting quite long.  In the confusion of the evening, #1 thought he made it clear to my mom that he was going to a friend's.  He never asked me.  This friend called and said he was a block away and would pick up my son and take him there.  He quickly grabbed his sweatshirt and hat and headed out the door to catch them.  This person attends his school but lives a couple towns away.  I do not know why.  They have a good 20 minute drive to school every day.

When he arrived at the house, he realized his phone was almost dead.  He turned it off and put it in the house.  They had been playing games outside and he said he lost track of time.  By the time we arrived at the house to pick him up, it was just before 11:00.  I realize you don't know us personally, but that's not OK.  Our kids are NOT allowed to stay out until 11, especially with people we've never met!  I was fired up the entire drive there.

#1 was standing by the road when we got there, as was the father of the friend.  #1 was sobbing and the dad looked like he was close to tears.  He apologized profusely, saying he had no clue our son hadn't received permission to come.  He assured my he was a good person.  He actually went to school a few years ahead of us and he lived in a very beautiful neighborhood.  I was still irate but did my best to assure the man that the fault was not his.

I decided not to kill my son because sobbing in front of all your teenage friends is punishment enough.  We did, however, lecture him the entire way home.  I explained to him why I ask him to text or call me sporadically when he's not at home.  It's not to interrupt his fun.  It's not so that I can check up on him or that I don't trust him.  It's for my peace of mind.  He said he understood that now.  I told him the many thoughts and emotions that went through my mind that evening.  We made him feel pretty bad.

Fortunately, we got a happy ending.  But can you imagine all the parents who went through something like this, only to never see their child again?  The thought of it makes me literally sick to my stomach.

The Weekend

We had a great weekend!  We met up with  some out-of-state friends and stayed in a hotel.  We swam in a pool with at least 547 other people, who were also taking advantage of a Groupon deal.  The husband half of the couple decided to pull me into the pool, even though I really did not want to get my hair wet.  It resulted in a partially thrown out back, a huge and very painful bruise on my shin, and quite a few scratches from my foot to my lower shin.  And yes, my hair got wet.  I tried all weekend to get him back, but never succeeded.

We ate at Mellow Mushroom, which I highly recommend!  Everything I tasted was incredible!  I really wish we had one around here.

We shopped at a fabulous mall and thoroughly enjoyed H&M (something else we don't have here). 

I enjoyed a piece of Godiva cheesecake, since our nearest Cheesecake Factory is an hour away.  It was worth the 20 minutes we stood in line at the takeout counter.

We laughed and laughed so hard, I had a hard time catching my breath at some points. 

I love little getaway trips like that!

The Almost Worst Day of My Life

Saturday evening, we had an event occur at our home that I'm sure will not soon be forgotten.  It started out as a completely normal Saturday night.  We debated between pizza and a movie, going out for dinner, or skipping the showers and sitting around a backyard campfire.  With pizza being the winning decision, Hubby decided to pull my van into the garage for the night.  I was on the porch, watering flowers, and the kids were here & there.

All of a sudden, I heard a tremendous crash and Hubby began yelling things like, "God, no!"  He's not a yeller so I flipped out.  I remember dropping the watering can and screaming, "What happened?"  Yet, I was frozen with fear.  I remember being unable to approach the dreadful sound, for fear that my 3-year old baby would be lying in the midst of it.

I'll save you from vomiting right now- she's fine.  But, in that moment, I honestly thought he ran her over with the van.  I finally ran off the porch and turned the corner to see a disarray of everything in our garage.  The shelf had fallen over, there was stuff everywhere, and the shiny, black door of our van was opened completely the wrong way.  Meaning, the painted side of the door was touching the front tire/bumper area of the car.

Hubby was in a state of shock and couldn't communicate to me what just occurred.  I was still screaming, "What happened?"  Baby Girl was standing off to the side, in the grass, bawling hysterically.  She had never seen her parents screaming wildly before (unless it was aimed at her for  her misbehavior).  I picked her up to console her, still trying to calm myself down and figure out what happened.

The real story, which I didn't even get out of Hubby until a couple hours later, is as follows.  Before he started the car, he told Baby Girl to back up and get out of the way so he could pull the car in.  He saw her walk away and deemed the situation safe.  Halfway into the garage, he felt a thump thump, which he immediately thought was her tiny, little body.  He threw open the driver's door and shoved the gearshift into park.  He jumped out of the van to see what he hit when the van started going in reverse.  In his panic, he didn't get the gearshift all the way up to park.  It only made it to reverse.  When that happened, he was thrown up against the side of the garage while the door knocked over the shelf.  Pinned between the car and the garage, he was helpless.  The van kept rolling backward and the momentum was enough to force the door all the way forward.  At this point, he still didn't know if she was safe.  That's when he started yelling. 

He somehow managed to stop the vehicle and find his daughter.  It turns out, the object he hit was Son #2's golf bag, which happens to be about the same size as Baby Girl.  His fear turned into rage and he lost his temper quite a bit.  This contributed to Baby's Girl's hysteria.  I worked quickly to calm them both down and tried to figure this puzzle out.  Hubby wasn't even sure if he was injured yet but explained that he was pinned between the car and the garage.

The van door was crumpled like a piece of paper.  It amazes me that a big, strong machine like a vehicle can just crumple the way it did.  I couldn't even bring myself to take a photo of it, I was so sick about the entire situation.

Typically, I am the cause of fender benders in this family.  He doesn't know what it feels like to drive home, sobbing, to tell the story of how you wrecked the car.  He was so angry at himself and angry at Son #2 for leaving his golf clubs in the way.  He kept apologizing to me over and over with the sound of tears in his voice.

The optimist in me kept explaining that there was no need to apologize; that's why it's called an accident.  This accident could have had a much worse ending.  With everyone involved coming out unharmed, I considered it a happy ending.  Sure, it's going to cost a fortune at the body shop.  We couldn't even get the door closed and had to rig the car so the interior lights would go off.  The cost doesn't bother me.  Being without a vehicle for a week or so doesn't bother me.  Cleaning up the mess in the garage didn't bother me.  God had his hand of protection over my family that day, so there's not a single thing I could even ask for.

Feeling very blessed today...

Good Morning, Saturday

It's Saturday morning.  I stepped outside in pajamas and bare feet to capture how beautiful the morning is.  If I could choose any day's weather to be our regular climate, this would be it. 

I'm partly happy this busy week is over but saddened at the same time.  I have really enjoyed the time I've spent with Hubby and I feel very accomplished for all the things we got done.  I will post about them on Monday.


For now, I'll show you how my kitchen has looked for the past day:

This is how my dining room has looked:

Thankfully, it's because my living room looks like this:

Hubby has a carpet/tile cleaning business and this is the first time my carpet has ever been cleaned.  I know, it's like the shoemaker's children who are never shod.  This is the only room of carpet I have in the entire house.  Everything else is wood floors.

So, things are a little hectic around here right now and I feel guilty for blogging instead of cleaning up.  Seeing all this STUFF has made me realize how much stuff I actually have.  I'm taking a minimalist approach starting now.  Most of this junk will go down into the basement (which will irritate Hubby because he won't want it more cluttered), which will make my main living areas look so much nicer.  The thoughts of living rooms with only furniture in them makes me smile.

Enjoy your Saturday.  I hope it's as beautiful wherever you are as it is here!

Perfect Saturday

This was the exact kind of weekend I wanted.  It was cold, rainy, and yucky out so I wanted to be a little lazy.  I slept in until 8:30, which was so grand!  I lounged around in my pajamas and drank hot tea.  We finally got dressed around 10:00 and went out for a bit of shopping.  I bought these:

and this:

(Don't worry, I won't wear them together.)

We had lunch here

So you know I was happy about that.

I came home and made a huge pot of chili for the chilly day.  Then I did this:

while the kids did this:

In the evening, I shared my huge pot of chili with my parents, grandparents, brother and SIL, and aunt. 

So my October started off well.  How is yours so far?



Just a Trashy Girl

I spent my Saturday morning picking up trash in my community.  Our church adopted a mile of roadway and we're responsible for keeping it clean.  I didn't mind the hard work...I can roll up my sleeves and work right along with the rest of them.  I just felt sad giving up my Saturday.  With Hubby's crazy long hours, time with him is so precious.  Plus, my brother had a brand new baby boy Friday afternoon (Yippie!!!) and I wanted to spend some time with him.  But we had committed to doing the work so we had to follow through.

When I showed up, the only people present were the man in charge, his two daughters, and our pastor's wife.  That made me feel really bad.  (You see, I have backed out twice already.)  I could see that they really needed us.  In addition to our mile, we are handing out literature in another neighborhood while picking up litter there too.  So 6 of us for all that work isn't much.  Luckily, another man showed up after us.

We set out, all clean and nice smelling.  With the beating sun and clear skies, that didn't last long.  We found some interesting things along the roadway...I wish I had brought my camera!  But then again, I didn't want to touch anything that belonged to me with those filthy, germ-ridden gloves!  Of course, there was lots of firework trash leftover from the holiday.  We picked up tons of food wrappers and drink containers.  Hubby found a jacket sticking halfway out of the storm grate.  Yeah, weird.  Cigarette packages, broken toys, used Q-Tips, a bucket, and tons of popsicle wrappers were other things we found. 

My trash bag smelled like a hooker's car for most of the walk.  Along with the cigarettes and beer containers, I picked up a new car freshener that smelled just like patchouli oil.   That mixed with the scented trash bags (which you may know I hate!), and the dryer sheet I found, and you get a hooker's car.

But at the end of the day, all sweaty and filthy, I jumped in the shower with a smile on my face.  It feels good to give back.  Now hopefully those filthy animals from 14th to 17th Streets can learn to keep their doggone neighborhood clean!!!  Just kidding.

A Glimmer of Hope?

Dare I say it?  Could this be the first sign of Spring in my garden?  Reaching barely an inch off the ground, recently covered by snow and ice, stands this lone green life source - a glimpse into the warm Spring days that lie ahead. 

We were teased by Mother Nature these past couple of days.  The thick sheets of ice and crunchy snow yielded to the warm rays of the sun as the wet, brownish grass awoke from a long winter slumber.  But one must not get their hopes set too high; Winter will be back in full force to finish out February, March, and perhaps April.

Seeing a landscape made up of colors other than white has given me the itch to move on to things like seed packets and potting soil, Spring cleaning with fresh-smelling products, and outdoor running with iPod in tote.  I was able to spend time outdoors yesterday watching Baby Girl throw balls, ride scooters, and play with leaves and twigs.  She didn't want to ever go back inside.  But a mishap in a mud puddle made her declare, "I all wet."  She's going to be disappointed tomorrow when her desire to go back outside is met with disapproval from her again depressed mother who has a severe case of Spring Fever.

I located these seed packets on a shelf in the garage.  They are the seeds I lost last year.  And I started wondering if it's time to begin planting yet?  Last year was my first attempt at starting plants from seeds.  I was late in my efforts but got descent results anyway.  So I flipped over the packets and began reading.  6 to 8 weeks and 8 to 10 weeks before planting outdoors is when I should start my indoor greenhouse.  I live in the fickle Midwest but I figure that time is right about now!  I may do a bit more research online about my geographic area but I think I have my Saturday plans all set!  Where are all my gardener friends?  Have you begun yet?

Perfect Saturday

I started off the day by running 2.8 miles through a beautifully wooded path. (I must admit, there was about 1/2 mile of walking.) I was able to see the flowery meadows of summer and the beginning leaf changes of fall. Next, I relaxed on a hammock while the sun warmed my face. I then had lunch with my father and brother, an extremely rare occasion. After that I visited with Grandma, a bittersweet few moments. Her mind gets worse each day. Finally, I proudly got a good portion of my house clean. It was past due. Tonight, I will enjoy Pastitsio and Loukoumades at a Greek Festival with my handsomely Greek hubby. My wish today is that you were able to enjoy a Saturday as perfect as mine.