It hasn’t gotten better. In fact, the hits just keep on coming. If it were possible for my head to spontaneously combust from frustration, there would be flames shooting out of my eyes, ears, mouth and nose right now. It started out well enough. The basement was finally finished. Two years later, even though we did none of the work ourselves, it is done (photo tour soon to come). It was a lot of work, but so fun to move into our new space. I spent the first couple of days of the new year moving stuff in and rearranging the storage rooms as I put Christmas stuff away. As much as I love Christmas decorations, I love to put them away. We don’t have a fantastic place to put the tree, so it feels so in the way. We still need furniture down there, but that can wait. My brain needs a break.
And that’s when it started. January 3.I had an extraordinarily hard week. Our fridge died that day, and right after I had made a huge run to Costco. The one saving grace is that it was so cold out that I could use the garage and some laundry baskets as a freezer/fridge. It is only three years old. We bought it when we bought the house. It took a week to get it all repaired. On Monday when the repairman was here for the first time (of 3 visits), my dishwasher flooded my kitchen. Again. I was racing around trying to turn off the water main (bc the one under the sink was stuck), etc., while he just stood there and told me I needed “more towels over here”. He could have turned it off for me under the sink because he is four times my size, but wouldn’t. Then I let the water out of my sink from where I had been washing dishes, and all of that water came flooding from under my dishwasher all over my kitchen.
Then Adam came home after dinner and tried to heat up his dinner (that I had to grill in single digit weather because I couldn’t use my sink to wash dishes or pans), and the microwave wouldn’t respond. It is dead. Forever. Then I went downstairs to wash the kids’ lunch containers in my new basement sink, and when I pulled the plug, water went gushing everywhere under my sink. This was all in one day. ONE DAY.
Adam had his huge presentation, so he had been going to work early and coming home late. I had my doctor appointment where she changed my diet AGAIN, by making it harder. The refrigerator repairman came back AGAIN. The plumber was supposed to be here Tuesday morning, and he showed up Wednesday afternoon before dinner. He “fixed” everything, and after rinsing and loading as many dishes as I could, I turned on the dishwasher, and it flooded my kitchen AGAIN. After mopping it up AGAIN and washing all those towels AGAIN, I took the kids up to City Creek to meet Adam for dinner with the kids before his flight. We got there before he did so I walked 6 hungry kids around the mall. Our food took forever, mine had cheese all over it, which I’m allergic to, so by the time mine came out the second time, Adam was leaving for the airport and I was inhaling my dinner while 6 tired kids ran circles around me. This was after Kimball spilled ice water all over my lap, my phone and into my boots and Daisy fell out of her chair and had a meltdown. I got the kids home and in bed around 9 (only two hours past their bedtime) and started looking for a new dishwasher.
Thursday morning I got the kids to school, came home to meet the fridge repairman, yet again, ordered a new dishwasher, then had 2 dishwasher loads of dishes to wash, plus all the pans. It took 3 hours to clean all the dishes. That afternoon a dog came into my yard and killed all of my chickens. I picked up the kids from school and took them to get their hair cut because I had to cancel yesterday’s appointment when the plumber decided to show up two days late. Haircuts were kind of important bc some little girl at school cut Daisy’s hair.
Thursday night I gave a friend a ride to Provo, picked up dinner, and then went home to help kids with homework and showers and give them yet more food because they eat like linebackers and dinner I had picked up didn’t satisfy them. I still had to wash their lunch containers and magically make lunches that contain no gluten or dairy, clean up the new mess they are making, do bedtime and tuck them in. Then I washed a load of my clothes bc I was literally out of socks. It had been so long since I washed my own clothes that I had no socks to wear the next day. And I have a lot of socks. And then I took a shower and collapsed in my bed and tried to come up with something for breakfast that contained no gluten or dairy. I miss my husband. He has had to focus everything on this presentation for the last week, so I’ve been on my own morning, noon and night. He is going to be gone a lot this month. My dishwasher didn’t come until Monday. No fridge for a week, no dishwasher for a week, no microwave until I figure out what to do about that. I was only without sinks for 3 days.
There was a family party, but we missed it because Adam was out of town. I couldn’t drag them anywhere else. I couldn’t pack up dinner and take it with me again. I couldn’t fight Daisy over why she can’t have pizza. I need to not have any extra obligations right now. I need a day off from chaos. Well, extra chaos besides the chaos that follows me like a shadow. I felt guilty for saying no, but I’m exhausted. I’m crushingly bone-weary tired, and I would cry except it would take too much energy.
After Daisy’s surgery, her sinus infections didn’t get any better. I’ve been rinsing her nose with saline twice a day for months, and it is a constant stream of green goo. So I finally realized she could be allergic to dairy, not that the ENT ever once considered that as an option during the many, many appointments we had with him. I realize he isn’t an allergist, but surely he has heard of this very common problem of sinus and ear problems from dairy. Sawyer also struggles with congestion and sleeps sitting up at night because he can’t breathe. So I took the whole family off dairy and gluten to see what happened. Elimination diets are the most accurate allergy test. Dairy is notorious for causing mucus/sinus/ear problems. I’m fairly certain I know the outcome for at least two of them. You would not believe how hard it is to take dairy out of every meal. We love cheese, yogurt, sour cream, milk, cream (whipped and otherwise), and any other incarnation of what comes out of a cow’s udder. Gluten is easier to give up than dairy, and I LOVE BREAD. there are just a lot of reasonable substitutes for gluten-containing products. I have tried every substitute for cheese, even making a few myself, and there is no
Fortunately, I can count on Adam for comic relief to lighten my mood. The other day we were shopping for roman shades for our bedroom, and he asked me about putting a shade in our bathroom window. I said, “Why, do you feel exposed?” He said, “Only when Tia gives me the thumbs up.” Tia is our neighbor. I may have spit food out of my mouth when he said it. Where is the I’m-laughing-so-hard-I’m-crying emoticon?
Sawyer playing with Georgia while we wait for haircuts. I am fully aware she has a mullet, but my heart can’t take one more last first with my last baby. Someone make it stop! My baby is getting so grown up, and it is breaking my heart! Today she was feeding herself with a fork! I still wish I could rewind a year ago to December when she was 6 months old and just hang out there for a while. She is my last, and I want to enjoy it a little longer, but time is flying by.
While I have mourned so many of Georgia’s “lasts” since she is my last baby, this month we had the last baby shots ever! Not sad about that! Even after 6 kids, I’m not used to it, and I still feel so sad when my babies have to get shots. After Daisy has her kindergarten shots this spring, no more shots until Georgia starts kindergarten! So there is one good thing about having my last baby.
Caisen square dancing at a CET at school.
He also made paper flowers.
This is just evidence of what Daisy’s hair looks like in the morning after I brush it.
When I put it up, she takes it down. This look only lasts about five seconds. As you can see in all the other pictures on the blog, she has crazy hair 99% of the time.
Daisy must be lonely. She drew an entire life size stick figure family on her sheets. With permanent marker.
Adam went to tuck in the boys and found them like this.
Brittany and I went on our second annual girls getaway. It was the same weekend as Sundance this year, so we didn’t stay in Park City. We stayed downtown and went shopping (of course) at City Creek and Fashion Place. We had a great time and scored some major deals. MAJOR.
While I was gone, Awesome Adam took the kids to an indoor climbing gym.
They had so much fun!
During one of his trips to San Francisco Adam got to go down on the field after a Giants game.
My niece Ashlee is going to school near here and received her mission call.
I nearly died when she read it. She is going to my exact same mission in Brazil! I might be more excited than she is!
Sister E 2.0, the new and improved version is about to hit the streets!
Brinlee and Georgia hanging out in the reading nook under the stairs.
I’ve gotta get this camera looked at. Somethin ain’t right.
A happy thing I got to do this month was go to the temple with a friend who was receiving her endowment for the first time. I’ve never attended a session at the Salt Lake Temple – even though I was married there – and it was cool because they do live sessions. That was a first for me. It was so nice to be there, to feel the spirit, to be reminded of my covenants, and remember that the good news of the gospel is eternal families, which is why we are here. Nothing is more important.