Saturday Night

My husband arrived on the scene with no backup to a call on Saturday night. Seems as though 911 was called by one of the three children that lives there. As he arrived there. He went to the front door and 2 of the kids answered and old him to please help their mother because she was dying, their father had stabbed her. The house was pitch black and the kids had no idea where their father was. As he approached the bedroom door he grabbed the doorknob which began to turn in his hands. He pointed his gun forward and prepared for the worst. The mother opened the door with half of her face cut away. She said, "Help me," and then fell backwards. She was stabbed in the chest, shoulder and in the stomach area several times. The bleeding was so heavy that he grabbed a large beach towel and placed it on her abdomen and told her to apply pressure. He went on to check out the house for the husband. The smell of natural gas was so intense that it burned his eyes. He made his way to the kitchen still in complete darkness to see if he could find the source of the gas as well as the husband. The stove was ripped from the wall. Finally backup arrived. My husband and his fellow officer decided to grab the moms hands and feet and move her outside in case the husband was still in the house and was going to light a match and try to blow up the place. After they got the mom outside, they also learned that the oldest child who was 18, was also stabbed by the husband. The parents were separated and there was an order of protection against the husband for previous episodes but nothing like this. The father was found in a neighboring city.

The mother is in critical but stable condition.

This was a typical, middle-class, white family that lives in the suburbs.

There is a somber feel in our house tonight . . . . . . . .

The Day The Camera Died

I took this photo the day that "The Camera Died," or actually the day that Mommy dropped the camera on the ceramic tile. Oops! Finally got the camera back in the mail today from Canon Repair Center and was able to get the picture(s) off the card. Think this is from 2 months ago in the heat of summer. We actually have 2 digital cameras so I have been able to use the other one. Daddy dropped the other camera in the hospital when I was having Little Buddy. He thought he broke it and raced out to buy another one so we wouldn't miss a single photo opportunity with our newborn. A few months later I found the "broken" camera and wiggled the zoom lever around a bit and it was fine. Hence, we have 2 cameras.

Our New Routine

Our new routine works MOST of the time. Now that my husband is on midnights everything has changed in our house. In the morning I wake up to Little Buddy squawking for me about 7 or 7:30 am. My husband has been working all night and doesn't get home til 8am. Then I go in and nurse and re-diaper Little Buddy. Recently the breathing treatment has been following the morning diaper change. Then we head downstairs to make some breakfast. I make breakfast while (hopefully) Little Buddy plays with his ride-on truck or other toys. Usually while we are eating breakfast Daddy comes home, kisses us hello and then we all head upstairs (most days, unless he has court or a late arrest, etc.). I hop in the shower and Daddy plays with Little Buddy for awhile. Then when I hop out of the shower, Daddy gets Little Buddy ready for the day with a teeth brushing, and face wash, etc. Then when I get done and sometimes before if Daddy can't keep his eyes open I get Little Buddy for the day and Daddy goes to sleep. Usually, I then take Little Buddy on some errands or odd little Momma Val excursions or field trips. We try to get and stay out of the house for awhile. Not only does this break up the monotony but I can't stand staying in the house all day. Funny, I'm a stay-at-home-mom but I hate to stay in the house. Then we usually return around lunch time if we don't have lunch elsewhere. After lunch I typically let Little Buddy play for a bit while I clean up then play with him after that. I take him up for his nap around 1pm and nurse him to sleep. I usually wait about 10 minutes or so to make sure he's asleep. Just enough time to change into my workout clothes and turn the monitor on in our room where my husband is sleeping. I then head to the gym and workout for an hour. When I get back I take a quick rinse off and get 1 or 2 small things done while Little Buddy finishes his nap. That's how it's supposed to work anyway. Unfortunately, while Little Buddy is on steroids and the breathing treatments he does not nap as soundly. Luckily, my husband is there in case Little Buddy wakes up while I'm not home. That is something that we hope does not happen. Today it did. It is the middle of the night for my husband, so naturally he wants Little Buddy to go back to sleep. He got him to go back to sleep today. I got home and noticed Little Buddy's door was open and he was not in his crib. Then I quietly and carefully checked our room and this is what I found. Too cute, I had to get a picture of it. My guys.

Fabulous Moment

OK, now Little Buddy is sick with some type of respiratory virus. So he has to have breathing treatments every 6 hours. He's still nursing and to this point has only had colds. No diaper rash, no ear infections, no diarrhea or vomiting. The colds are quick and common. I have mastered the care of an infant and toddler with a cold. Even though it sucks because nobody wants you around when you have a sick kid in tow. This was different. It started with a cough. The cough sounded different and for days before he actually got sick he was so clingy I couldn't hardly move. Not easy to make breakfast or clean while holding a 26 pound weight. He also has to be on steroids. I went to Walgreen's to pick up the breathing machine and thought I was renting one. They handed me a brand new one and said it was mine and there was a DVD inside to help me use it. Nobody ever told me that I would have to be giving my toddler all this crap. Yuck! I am so anti-medicine! The doctor said that if he did not get the breathing treatments and the steroids then the phlegm would not be able to get out of his lungs and he would most likely NOT recover. I am a naturalist by heart but did not feel like seeing if he could tough it out. Who would gamble and let their kid get sicker? Not me.

So getting your 19 month old to sit and inhale from a scary mask with smoky looking stuff coming out of it is just horrible. Daddy has been working a lot and had traffic court and a grand jury trial today. I was on my own again with than darn machine and Little Buddy. It works a little better when daddy is there to help. Oddly, Little Buddy did really well. Better than ever. I had to crank up our PBS station on the TV in his closet. Then I sat him on my lap and sat in the rocker. It was fine. I can't wait til he's done with all this. Think he is starting to sound and feel a little better.

We are still having a war with the ants. Seems as though they found their way in our house during all the heavy rains. Then they discovered that it was warm and dry and smelled like food inside and decided to stay. It is near close to impossible for me to keep all surfaces crumb and food smear free with a toddler, dog and husband. It's been really gross. I HATE ANTS! I have mopped everything with hot water and Orange Guard. It is kid/pet/food safe. That kinda worked. Then I had my husband spray the perimeter outside with the poison yucky stuff. Do not want to spray even the safe stuff inside with a child with a respiratory virus. Every day they come back worse. Today I decided to wipe everything down with hot water and Murphy's Oil Soap. I wiped the cabinet bases, dishwasher, back door, room perimeter, and every square inch below the sink where the garbage is including the cabinet fronts where the garbage goes. That has seemed to do the trick so far. Hope that I am not jinxing us by posting this. I think that tomorrow I will spray the kitchen and living room with the bad stuff and then open all the windows and leave til nap time at around 1 or 2. I wish I could just not use it at all but this is a reoccurring problem and I can't have that going on all fall and winter every time there is a heavy rain. They want in and all the safe products in the world will not keep them out. When I had them crawling onto our plates, on the dog, on our pans and cookie sheets while cooking, out of my hair in bed, I knew that I had to bring in the heavy artillery. The Murphy Oil Soap really did work wonders though. Who knew?

My husband is no longer on probation. He is completely official now. They have a 2 year probation period for new police officers. The probation ended last night at midnight. Woo Hoo! I told him that we will have to celebrate.

Ooh, also found that there is a new Mediterranean restaurant by us. Yum! I love just about all Mediterranean food. We tried it on Sunday and we were both blown away. Even Little Buddy had some chicken shawarma and freshly baked pita with freshly made hummus with us. Wish I could serve this for Thanksgiving, but think that is out of our price range for 19 people and I don't think I could learn how to make a Mediterranean Thanksgiving by then. Maybe I can make some Mediterranean salad at least. I will post the recipe if I do. It is so good.

Gotta go. I gave Little Buddy his breathing treatment during his nap and he did not sleep long. Working out is going well but with all the sickness, flooding and ants I have not been able to go as much lately. Will get back into the swing of things as soon as life gets back to normal around here. Ha! Like that will ever happen. Hope that you are all having a wonderful Thursday. Maybe I'll get a shower tomorrow? Ick!

Oops, almost forgot. My fabulous moment. Last night in the midst of all the ants and virus. I did a quick little vacuum touch up upstairs with our little rechargeable vacuum. My son just watched me wherever I went (he has always been terrified of vacuums and screams and cries when we run the big vacuum). Then when I was done. He got a big smile on his face and came real close to me and clapped really loud and stared at me with a big smile on his face. Ahh! The payoff off for all the yuck going on. I was applauded by my son for vacuuming. These are the things that keep me going. What a wonderful boy! I can do this.

Water Status

Well, we aren't flooded. Not even close. My sister in a nearby suburb (blocks from the Fox River) has been trying to keep the water away, and has to this point succeeded. My mother's apartment building is OK but several areas in her town (on the DuPage River) are totally flooded. My hearts go out to those that are having flooding and water related issues. I can't imagine what that must be like. My sister flooded two to three times in the last 2 years and had a horrible house fire back several years losing almost everything. We keep close tabs on her and her family during big storms. Her neighbor is currently having raw sewage pumped out of his house into the storm drain.

Our back yard floods when we get lots of water in the fall and spring. Whatever I was pathetically trying to keep alive in the drought we were having with my little sprinkler has definitely gotten plenty of water now. The water never comes in this house but being that it is on a slab the ants that live under the slab come up into the house. This has happened many times but it is really yucky when it happens with a baby in the house. They were crawling all over the toys last night. We had to stay out of the living room. They weren't even interested in the kitchen where I had just baked fresh banana bread. My dog (by the way) jumped up to the kitchen counter when I went change a poopie diaper and gnawed half of the loaf of banana bread. AGH! Dog for sale!

Keeping up with the news. It's hard to watch even thought I want to know who got what and what's happening where. Can't believe how many people are wading around in the flood waters without a thought. Even without shoes. That isn't just innocent rain water they are standing in. Last flood, the news kept reporting to not stand or wade in the water if you don't have to and make sure to keep shoes on in case there is something sharp in the water. Yet, I keep seeing lots of people wading in short shorts almost up to their . . . . .

Hoping all my blog pals are doing OK and that this rain is almost over. It has stopped here and they reported last that it would be stopping today. Now hopefully we can all start to enjoy our lovely fall. I'm looking forward to Halloween and Thanksgiving. Oh, I just invited 19 people over for Thanksgiving. What, am I crazy? I figured that some people would decline as they usually do but nobody did. Not sure how that's going to work out but I'm sure it will be OK, somehow.

Agh, another ant!

Anyone out there have any water issues?

Treat the earth well. It was not given to you by your parents; it was loaned to you by your children. ~Ancient Proverb

Easy Morning

Well Little Buddy, Tango, and I all went out back to hang out for awhile. Seems as though Little Buddy just loves to eat the apples from our tree in back. I have to scurry out to make sure he doesn't start to eat a rotten one (EWWWWW, he has and he does with ants, flies and all, yuck!). He does this every time we go in back. At first I was afraid he'd choke but he has NO problem. He absolutely loves to gnaw on the fresh apples so I decided to roll with it. What mom wouldn't want their kid eating loads of fresh, organic, apples every chance they got? I got several not so great shots as I usually do but then suddenly I got the perfect shot which looks a little to me like an advertisement for apples. He does not pose or usually cooperate with being photographed. Tango had fun chasing the ball while I swung Little Buddy in the swing.

Tonight is my husbands first night back on mids. He hasn't been on mids for almost 9 months. The shift bids go by seniority and he is only a few from the bottom. Seniority is based on time at the PD as well as academy testing scores. He was the highest. Today is a little goofed up as far as routine goes. The transition from one shift to another is the hardest part for the employee and especially the family too. He tried to stay up late and made it til 4 am but now is up to watch Little Buddy so I can go work out. Little Buddy is shifting to one nap and so the whole house is upside down. We were in the last routine so long I am having a brain fart trying to readjust to a new schedule.

No plans for today except hopefully working in the yard later when Little Buddy takes his nap. Maybe we will try to go to the forest preserve and look at rocks and sticks and bugs. Chances are it will be too crowded to really relax and enjoy that being that it's Labor Day so maybe we will just hang around the back yard with Tango. See now I'm already forgetting that Daddy will be around tonight where normally he isn't (while he's on afternoons). Aghh!

Hope that you all get to do something that you enjoy today. Even if that means just organizing your world better to make new starts in routines, jobs, school. Sometimes that can be the best vacation day. Just getting it all together. Maybe a special meal or just leftovers in your peaceful backyard. Have a good one!