You know how sometimes you go through periods where you think, "What else could possibly go wrong?" and then you immediately regret asking that because the world tends to respond? Yea, we've had one of those weeks. It all started last weekend when Ahren and I decided that we needed a weekend away. Both of us have been very busy at work, and I've had additional stresses that have really been getting me down, so a weekend in Vermont with my parents and some friends seemed like the perfect cure.
The weekend started on Friday night when we took the three hour ride up. It's a nice ride, and we usually stop halfway for dinner. When we got to the restaurant we very quickly discovered that Lexi was coming down with a cold. This did not bode well for the rest of the weekend...she's a trooper during the day when she's sick, but nighttime is a different story. Luckily there is a natural food store in Waitsfield where I was able to stock up on our usual cold supplies - which I had obviously left at home! The weekend turned out to be okay...it was full of little annoyances (a strange daycare situation, an odd experience at our previously favorite teddy bear store, bad service at a restaurant, and our poor friends having one problem after another in their condo...) but for the most part it was nice, and Lexi did really enjoy getting to spend the whole weekend with Gigi and Poppy.
We hadn't even gotten on the road for home before some work issues immediately handed back any stress that I had managed to shake over the weekend...I really need to turn e-mail off while on vacation.
But it was our return home that things really spun out of control. We walked in our door (with Lexi screaming in tow - she didn't want to come home with us, she wanted to go to Gigi and Poppy's house) and noticed right away that it was FREEZING in the house! We (Ahren) had forgotten to fill the boiler with water and therefore we had no heat for who knows how long! It was 54 degrees and it was very uncomfortable. After a small issue with getting the boiler to come back on, we were finally able to get the house warmed up...5 hours later. Brr.
The next problem was the biggest problem...Peter and Charlie had broken into the trash bag that Ahren was using for the trash from our new blinds. They ate...oh...about 35 elastic bands....and then puked most of them up all around the house. I'd guess we found about 30 of them in little wet piles just about anywhere you could imagine. Elastic bands are like arsenic to cats...if they don't make it through all the way they can cause big trouble, which was immediately our concern with Peter. We spent the next four days cleaning up little piles of puke from all over the house. On Thursday, concerned about a possible blockage, I finally broke down and brought him to the vet. She recommended withholding food and water for 24 hours as she suspected that he simply had an irritation that needed to heal. Now, we have two very different cats. If we tried to take food away from Charlie he would probably just shrug his little kitty shoulders and think, "well, I guess I'm not eating today." This is not the case with Peter. Peter lives to eat. We were back in the house for about 30 seconds before he started searching around for food. After not finding any, he took to following me around crying...begging. When I wouldn't give in, he finally went upstairs and sulked under our bed. Five hours into our torture therapy I gave in and asked Ahren to feed him. Of course I regretted this when he was still puking the next day, and I felt like too much of a tool to call the vet and ask what to do now... So, we waited it out, and on Saturday he was like a new cat! He was purring, meowing, running around the house...he was back. Confident that he was done making icky piles around the house, I spent the morning washing all the floors, and area rugs. It was about a three hour project, but I really wanted to make sure that every last spot was gone. All day Peter was great - eating, drinking, playing...fine. This morning we came down stairs and into the kitchen and what do we find? Peter puke all over the kitchen floor AND the carpet that I had just washed the day before. SLAP! Ugh. I think I'm going to move to Aruba.
Yup, it's just been one of those weeks...one thing after another where it actually makes me feel like I'm being punished for something. But, I'm lucky to have the comic relief of Lexi to lighten the mood. She's actually started to make jokes now...she tries to do knock knock jokes, but only does, "Knock knock...now you say 'who's there'" and then laughs hysterically. I never get to find out who's there... She likes putting funny things on her head (my hat, my credit card, etc.) and then getting my attention with a big goofy grin. The other night in Target she put my credit card on her head and said, "Look mama! Card head!" Yes, she's funny. Funny and observant...sometimes much to my dismay. At that same Target trip we were walking around the store and she says, "Look mama, p.j.s!" "P.J.s?" I replied, not knowing what she was talking about since we were in the grocery section. "Where?" "Right there" she says pointing to a man who was walking towards us wearing...well...p.j.s. Ugh!! I was quite embarrassed and immediately pointed out the exciting display of ice cream down another aisle. A few minutes later we were walking towards that same man. He saw us coming and turned on his heel and went down another aisle. Yes, the days of being completely embarrassed by my extremely observant child are here.
In other good news...Ahren was recently named a "key talent" at State Street. We are not 100% sure what this means other than the fact that he will now be required to attend all sorts of HR workshops. We are hoping that it means that his importance to the company will be accurately reflected at raise and bonus time...our fingers are crossed. Either way, it's certainly an honor, and we are very proud of him. He often tells me about his meetings with the CFO and Treasurer...face to face meetings where they are asking him for information and he is providing it. The other day I asked, "So, when you talk about the CFO and Treasurer, do you mean the CFO and Treasurer of all of State Street?" He gave me that look that husbands give their wives and said, "yes." "Oh..." I said. "That's cool."
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