November 13, 2004

Can I Get a Do-Over on the Weekend?

We still have Sunday to go, but Friday was a bust and Saturday has been exhausting. Friday was grey and cool. In the morning I took the older two kids out to run a few errands, while Justin, who has a cold stayed home to nap with the baby -- only she didn't sleep. So he decided to go into work for a bit after I got back, but first he tried to turn on the heat. Didn't work at the thermostat, so he tried going through the whole procedure of restarting it. He did that about 5 times, before it really sunk in that the thing was not going to start.

We called in the guys we buy a yearly service contract on the furnace from and they came out within a few hours. The ignition switch was broken, so the guy went to get the part and then started doing the regular service, inspection and cleaning before installing it -- which is when he found holes in the exchange. Now, it is a 12 year old, bottom-of-the-line furnace, so we knew it was going out soon, but it would have been nice to get another year or two from it. NOT!

The bad news is that a furnace is downright pricey. The good news is that they were offering no interest financing and they could install it today. So we have heat.

Right after the salesman left taking our meagre fortune and plenty of money we don't yet posess with him, the Baby threw up. Now she spits up on occassion, but recently she's been making a hacking noise followed by yellow puke. This time the puke wasn't just yellow, it was clear -- like broth. That scared me enough to call the pediatrician, who must have worried too, because she sent us to the ER. We quickly found accomodations for the big kids and a neighbor to watch the dog and headed off. Lots of hours, an x-ray and a consultation with the gastro-guys and we got to go home with everyone's best guess being that she either has bad reflux, an irritation somewhere or a stomach virus. Anyway, nothing as serious as they'd feared.

Bedtime at 1 a.m. doesn't make for lively parents the next morning, but we were up bright and early to let the furnace guys in. When they finished in a super speed 2 hours, we headed off to get the kids and directly on to a festival at The Boy's school. We were there from noon to four or so and the kids had fun doing crafts and games and all the neat things there were, but that meant no nap for anyone.

When we got home a kind neighbor brought us food. I always try to make a meal for people when they have a baby and people have done so for us in the past, but it has been even more wonderful this time than ever before and I must remember to cook more for others when they are sick or out-of-the-loop. It sure does mean a lot and help a lot.

I'm praying for a calm and peaceful day tomorrow, with a nice long nap in the middle.

Comments

That sounds brutally exhausting: physically, emotionally, financially.

Thank God for the civilizing rituals of taking meals to people. It keeps us all -- givers and receivers, alike -- sane.

I pray for a less epic week for you.

Posted by: Patricia at November 15, 2004 01:02 AM

Bless your heart, Jordana--sounds like a real challenge of a weekend. I sure hope Sunday was better.

Posted by: Terry Oglesby at November 15, 2004 10:19 AM

You have always been so thoughtful!
I can say that the gift of a meal is always a special gift from people. How nice of your neighbor!

Posted by: Blair at November 16, 2004 09:58 PM