I called Kari from Denver the other day. The conversation went something like this:
Kari: "Hello?" Sounded like she could really use a cup of coffee. Kids crying in the background.
Mark: "Hi. How's things?"
Kari: (Sigh) the sound of kids screaming creeps into the microphone a little more.
Mark: "What's going on?"
Kari: "Madison took her diaper off..." We have gotten in the habit of putting pants on the twins when we put them to bed ever since they got in the habit of taking off their diapers during nap time. It can be quite messy.
Mark: "Did you have pants on her?" I was assuming that she had gotten lazy and put them to bed without anything but a diaper on. In which case I had a little more room to giggle.
Kari: "Yes! She had her pants down to her ankles and took her diaper off! She smeared poop everywhere."
Mark: "Is it on the walls?" Maybe Madison has some artistic talent. Finger painting can be fun.
Kari: "No, just on the crib, the sheets, the stuffed animals, the mobile, and all over herself. On her legs, on her face, on her hands, its everywhere. Eeewww!" Kari isn't usually squeamish about poop, it must be bad.
Mark: "Thats nice."
Kari: "I broke a veneer." I was thinking cabinets, glue, Home depot...
Mark: "What?" I had not been awake that long since we got in late. Still a little foggy.
Kari: "I was making pasta for the kids and I ate a piece of raw pasta and broke of one of my veneers. I have been really good. I never do that, I don't even chew ice anymore, I just couldn't help myself."
Mark: "I know you have. Which one, its not one of the front ones is it?" Wondering if my wife looked like a pro hockey player.
Kari: "One behind my eye teeth."
Mark: Still in a bit of a fog. Eye tooth? What is an eye tooth? Is that the vampire teeth? "So not one of the front ones?"
Kari: "No." Kids still screaming in the background.
Mark: "Well... better call on Monday and make an appointment to have that put back on. You still have it, don't you?"
Kari: "Yes I have it and I will." Great one more thing. How much is that going to cost?
Mark: "I would put it in a plastic bag so it doesn't get lost."
Kari: "I already did."
Mark: "Well, it shouldn't be to hard to have that put back on. We'll just... (interrupted)" Kids screaming louder.
Kari: "I gotta go. I have screaming kids and poop all over."
Mark: "I love you, I will talk to you later."
Kari: Sigh "I love you too, bye."
When I called later I have to admit that I was expecting the worst, but she was sounding pretty upbeat. I think I might have still been a little grumpy. She is a strong woman.
I can't say that this has been the best couple of weeks that we have had in the last year, but we have had worse. I sent my Dad an email telling him what was going on and he called to tell me that I need to play the lottery, because that much of a bad luck streak can't last. At the risk of sounding like a whiner I will list our latest woes:
It has been confirmed that Kari has an abdominal hernia, as we suspected, for the last several weeks. It seemed to be getting worse and so she went to the doctor and he has her set to do a CT scan tomorrow. That will let us know how serious it is and what type of surgery will be needed to correct the problem. Kari is less than excited about the prospect of surgery and we are not sure what to do with work and kids during the recovery.
Car trouble. Very disturbing after the amount of money spent on the Suburban on the refuge trip to Florida. Both trucks are having issues, but at least Kari's is still running. So Kari has been dealing with the logistical nightmare of dropping me off and picking me up from work. Getting all the kids in the car by yourself is a challenge.
The Suburban wouldn't start, which has happened before and only cost $127. It turns out that this time it needs a new starter for the low, low, low price of $875 plus tax. Outrageous, right? I did call around and get some other quotes and the price of a starter for a 1996, diesel, Suburban is $600. It also turns out that the "professionals" at NTB sold me batteries that are too small for my truck. Not very happy about that. I plan on giving them an ear full.
The Yukon has been hard too start and has the check engine light on. It is, however, still running which makes me scared to find out what is actually wrong with it.
Renters... "Sigh..." We are still having trouble getting them to pay anywhere near on time. They did pay half the rent last month. So... there. Renters... It has added to our stress a bit. Last I heard she was going to come over tonight to give us money. It is now 11:43 p.m. and she has not shown up. That is about par for the course. Sigh.
Not sure how we are going to afford Christmas, but we always have before and I am sure that it will all work out.
We are keeping pretty upbeat, I think. We have both been a little stressed lately, but over all things are pretty good.
Priscilla in Austin