A Change in Scenery

Well, it appears that Eduard didn't want to visit Galveston, and made a last-minute turn for the North. So, we aren't going to get the winds & rain they had forecast for us today. But, it's still raining and, I expect, we'll still end up flooded into our subdivision before the day is over. All of the entrances are low, so anytime we get constant rain for long periods of time, we end up with lots & lots of water all around - never any danger to us or our house - well, unless you are Michael and decide to drive your Nissan Altima into water above tires!!! But, that's a story for another time :)

Suffice it to say that I will decline any offers for the life boat I had inquired about last night. I think we can ride this one out!

Batten Down the Hatches!!!

So this would be where we live...right smack dab in the middle of the white, highlighted area on the map! And, yes we are as prepared as we can be for 40-60 mph winds and rain fall set to pour for the next 24 hours! I've purchased a few extra candles and a couple of new flashlights. Anyone have a life boat we can borrow???

***Due to technical difficulties, I'll be uploading the radar picture as soon as Blogger gets its act together!!!

You'll Never Escape the Dark Side!!!

This has been the mantra at my house this weekend. And, unfortunately for Michael, the thorn in his side.

THE OLD JOB - THE ONE HE HATED AND LEFT 33 DAYS AGO - THE ONE THAT WE PRAYED HIM OUT OF - THE ONE WE PLEADED WITH GOD OVER...THAT ONE! THEY CALLED ON FRIDAY AND HAVE CONTINUED TO CALL (CONSTANTLY) ALL WEEKEND!!!!

The calls started Friday morning, when "Old Boss" called to thank Michael for some work he'd done on Thursday evening for them, then stated he'd like to "catch up". That was code for, "really, I'm lying to you and just want you to call me so that I can ask - no, scratch that - tell you to fix our network because it's broken and we are completely clueless on how to fix it and make it work!" And, the calls didn't stop. They called at least a dozen times yesterday, stopping around 9PM, then picked up again around 9AM this morning!

Can I tell you how badly I just wanted Michael to give me phone?!?! All I wanted to do was to give "Old Boss" a piece of my mind; to tell him where he could go; to tell him what he could with his network that is no longer Michael's responsibility; to tell him to get his new employee to fix it and to leave my husband alone! To freaking take his his network and to stick it where....well, you get the point! And, do you know that at 9PM last night, I finally permission to do it? Yes, Michael finally agreed, at his witt's end, to let me answer the phone if it dared to ring again.

IT DIDN'T!!! I was so totally ready to finally say what I've been wanting to say to "Old Boss" for 2 1/2 years. And he didn't call back!!! Talk about frustrating - the phone had been ringing all day, and the one time I wanted it to ring, it didn't! AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!

So, after a full day of company yesterday, then family over today after church, an appointment for a potential new client (or side-job) that lasted a few hours, and ruined plans for family time this weekend, Michael finally spent about 4 hours looking at the network and fixed the problem(s). But, not before having to tell the bozos at the old job to "stop messing with things, stop changing settings, stop touching anything, and for heaven's sake STOP CALLING!!!" Granted, they didn't stop touching things and he had tell them again (and again) to leave it all alone - and to stop calling him - but, can I just announce to the world that my husband is "The Man"!!!

I will shout it from the roof-tops and announce it for all of blogdom...my hubby is "The Man". He not only fixed the original problem they were having on Friday, but also fixed all of the other errors that too many hands in the pot can cause (changed settings, errors all over the place, etc.). Yes, my dear, sweet, stressed-out and exhausted hubby was able to correct the problems and to get the network running as it should.

And yes, he will be compensated monetarily for all of the time he spent (we're talking a total of about 12+ hours), but the point was that he shouldn't have been hounded & bothered in the first place! And no amount of money can bring back the missed opportunity to spend time with the kiddos in the pool, and to kick back with a friend that will be moving across the country in a short amount of time. And, although one of the guys he used to work with has apologized all over himself for not being able to fix the problem himself, "Old Boss" has never once apologized for bothering us; never once said "if it's not too much trouble, would you mind?". Nada! Its just been expected that Michael would do this because its somehow his responsibility. Yeah right! I told Michael that should "Old Boss" dare to call again, he'd better hold onto his hat because I'm so done letting him ruin & run our lives... This is why Michael doesn't work for this man any longer - Praise the Lord!!!!

And just think, it only took 31 days for them to take Michael & I back to square one of non-relaxing, stressed-out, stupid company bothering us and ruining our weekend stress!!!

Summer, Summer - Go Away!

Can someone tell me when the summer is going to end? I cannot see the forest through the trees right now. I'm way too busy for my own good, and my poor kiddos are starting to get the "I'm bored" syndrome. School needs to start soon because I am running way behind on EVERYTHING and have no idea where to start to catch-up! I do know that its not going to happen until I am child-free - well, almost child-free since Alex will be homeschooling. But at least he can work solo off & on throughout the day. Morgann & Ian are just bored and are constantly looking for me to entertain them - and I don't have time to do that right now! I've done really well, up to this point, but now I'm starting to fall behind - waaay behind - and need a reprieve.

Anyone else feel that way?

A New Chapter

I am a mommy to 3 wonderful kiddos. I wouldn't trade my job for anything in the world...at least most of the time. But, if I were to be completely honest, I think that there are times that, if given the chance, I'd go back & re-think the motherhood option. And, don't get me wrong, it's not because I don't like my kids. Its just that there have been occasions when something has happened that I haven't been completely prepared for. And really, no matter how many parenting books you might read, nothing can prepare you for the day when your youngest son sets fire to the living room coffee table. I mean, come on, did I miss a chapter somewhere?

A few weeks ago (and yes, I'm WAY late in blogging about this little event, but its been a busy few weeks around here!) I had decided to dedicate my entire day to working - not working at my mommy job, but working at my other job, the one I am paid to do. Anyway, I was intently doing something at my desk in the downstairs study/office and, quite honestly, not paying a whole lot of attention to Morgann & Ian who were home. They had been playing 'normally' together (playing, then fighting a little, then playing, then fighting some more) and were, for at least a few moments, downstairs in the adjacent family room. Ian had been running back & forth from room to room, making the obligatory dinosaur/dragon noises he's so famously known for, while Morgann was watching a princess movie on the couch. Both had been playing alone for a bit and not fighting, so I sort of became engrossed in my work, meaning I had also become oblivious to what my son was playing with - mistake #1. It wasn't until I heard a loud scream from Morgann that I snapped back to my REAL reality.

And really, screams in the house don't usually trigger much of a reaction out of me since all 3 kids have this high-pitched scream that emits from their inner-most beings at all hours of the day, but this particular scream was different. It was the type of scream that didn't say "that hurts" or "that makes me mad" or even "touch me again and I'll hurt you". It was the type of scream that caused me to jump out of my seat and dash for the next room.

As I ran toward the family room, I made a quick note that my carpet runner was rolled into a nice ball and laying in the corner of my entry way. Very unusual, but I didn't take much stock of it until I realized what else was missing. It was when I entered the family room and noted the large ball of flame billowing from the center of my coffee table that I realized that my candle had been covered by a rubber no-slip mat, usually found underneath my carpet runner in the entry way!

AAAAHHHH!!!!

Ok, first thing that came to mind was to scream....so I did that! The next thing was to smother the ever-growing flame with a blanket, towel, small child - no scratch that - anything I could get my hands on to snuff it out. Um, yeah, nothing around to throw over it. Dang it! Ok, dance around and panic. Now, um, maybe I should just blow it out....yeah, you read that right! With absolutely nothing to throw over the flame except my son or daughter, I had to think fast. So, the first thing my pee-brain thought of was to blow, really hard. So I did!

Do you know that the flame actually went out?!? My blowing on the rubber mat engulfed in flames didn't fan the fire at all - it actually extinguished it! I couldn't believe it either!!!

So, in case you happen to have a small child with tendencies toward mischevious and unexpected conduct, let me suggest that you (1) print this blog and add it as an additional chapter to your favorite "How To Parent" book, (2) always be sure to have a towel or small blanket laying around in any room where you might decide to light a candle, and (3) keep a small fire extinguisher handy in case you feel the need to simply blow on an open flame - I'm betting that lightning (or blind luck) like this wouldn't strike twice. What do you think?