In other news, our hair brush vanished today. I gave it to #3 and #4 to brush their hair while they waited for the bus this morning. Then #2 and I went back up to the room, and I handed it to him so I could grab the room key out of my pocket. From that moment, I have no memory of it again. He swears he handed it back to me once the door was opened. Now we're all baffled. We've all torn the room apart trying to find it. It's just gone. How does one lose a hair brush in a hotel room? My only other thought is that somehow it made it to the other room (where the girls sleep). I'll have to look tomorrow morning when I get them up for school. They're all asleep now. I hope I can find it or else their Track & Field Day is going to double as Messy Hair Day too.
Slow day at the hotel today. Not much to blog about. Tony worked another 13 hour shift today. Girls made it to the front doors several minutes in advance of the bus, so as not to keep the bus waiting. #4 and #5 were wild as can be and bouncing off the walls all evening. It's been raining lightly since about dinner time, but the weather radar shows it's supposed to clear up here soon. I called in my prescription to the pharmacy, only to realize it was my last refill (I didn't see it in the fine print on the label), and tomorrow is my last dose, so I don't know if I'll be able to get it in time to not miss a dose. I'm hoping they can call the doctor and get another month extension. If not, I guess I'm making the drive out to get blood drawn so they'll write me a new prescription again in a few days. Hypothyroidism isn't fun. At least the pills help most of the time! Last night when we went to pick up the cats from my parents' house, I brought Moose along to give him a few minutes of play time with Mitzu (my brother's dog). In the time it took to load up cats and clean up the bathroom, he managed to hurt his face. They play too rough sometimes. I suspect he did this himself, running into the fence.
In other news, our hair brush vanished today. I gave it to #3 and #4 to brush their hair while they waited for the bus this morning. Then #2 and I went back up to the room, and I handed it to him so I could grab the room key out of my pocket. From that moment, I have no memory of it again. He swears he handed it back to me once the door was opened. Now we're all baffled. We've all torn the room apart trying to find it. It's just gone. How does one lose a hair brush in a hotel room? My only other thought is that somehow it made it to the other room (where the girls sleep). I'll have to look tomorrow morning when I get them up for school. They're all asleep now. I hope I can find it or else their Track & Field Day is going to double as Messy Hair Day too. Today has been a trying day. This morning we heard from a new contact with the mortgage company. She said something about the sellers not settling on a date and being worried about taxes, and delaying closing another week or two. This makes no sense as the sellers are signing electronically and we are paying the property tax. So I called our real estate lady.
The problem is the contract with the railroad. We need to file an application that can take 30 days to approve. The contact at the railroad company assured our real estate agent they'd push it through as fast as possible but we should still anticipate at least a weeks delay from when we file. Then we had more drama with the cleaning company. Yesterday when they left they told Tony they would be back at 8:30am. They later called him to say it would probably be closer to 10am but they'd call him when they were on their way. We moved the cats back out to my parents' house and hung out for a while. Around 12:30 Tony decided he was going back to the hotel to get another shirt and then he would go to the house and wait. He was mowing the lawn when they finally arrived around 2:30pm. He called me again just after 4:00 to tell me the two cleaning people were calling it a day (seriously, after an hour and a half of work). We decided he should go to work for the rest of the day to try to make up for the lost hours spent waiting for the cleaning crew and being at the house. They told him they'd be back at the house again tomorrow at 8:30am. But if they're going to show up several hours after they say they'll be there and only send two people who work less than two hours before leaving again... This project could take weeks and cost Tony his bonus, and possibly our new house if he can't keep his hours up. I told him to call Service Master and complain, but he wants to see if they do better tomorrow. This is just plain bad business. Sending two people to work 90 minutes, showing up 4+ hours after they were supposed to be there makes it difficult for us to clear our schedules to wait for them. Would I use Service Master again? Absolutely not. Would I recommend Service Master to a friend? No, but I would definitely warn them to find someone else! No babies for Caduci this go round. I will have to breed her again. Penelope's J litter is quickly outgrowing their cage, so the next time I get out to the house I'm going to have to move them to one of the big cages. If we were staying there, I'd put chicken wire on the big kennel and let them be in the yard every day. They seem to love getting out and playing in the grass, and the kids love to sit with them. Day two of cats leaving the house, Henry is looking a little better. His eye isn't yucky anymore after I cleaned him up yesterday. He's still thin, and he needs a bath (sphynx cats need regular baths to wash off excessive oil since they have no fur), but otherwise he's looking alert. He's always been a slim cat, so I'm not terribly worried. Today while at my parents' house, the big truck came with all the lumber for their new deck. It was fun for #5 and I to watch out the window as the truck driver used the crane lift to pick up stacks of lumber from the truck and then set them down in the yard. We had been invited to help build the deck this weekend, but it looks like our invitation has been recinded. All three of my uncles will be coming to help, and one of them adamantly despises children. I suspect he also has Aspergers and as soon as children start to get loud, he goes into meltdown mode. With five kids, likely all on the spectrum, there really is no way to keep them quiet or prevent them from arguing or fighting sometimes. It's best if we stay well away. Tony isn't scheduled to work this weekend, but he's probably going to end up working anyway to make up for lost hours with the basement clean up. So maybe we could leave Moose at my parents' to keep Mitzu company for the weekend and the kids and I can have another marathon swimming session. I'm just getting over the itchy skin from last weekend. Sensitive skin and chlorine aren't friends. Tony did buy oatmeal bath and bath bombs though, so maybe we can take an epic long swim day and when the kids are exhausted and falling asleep early, I can take a relaxing bath! Today we put the Do Not Disturb sign on the door and slept in. Or at least I tried to. But between kids running back and forth between rooms and banging on the door, and then my phone alarm going off a couple times, and then a text message or two... Well, at least I slept longer than I would have if we would've had a housekeeper come in.
The kids wanted to go swimming. It took forever to get everything ready. Kids will get their swimsuits on in seconds flat when swimming is brought up, but they're not so interested in coming with to take the dog out to go potty, or picking up after lunch. We ended up spending three and a half hours at the pool. That is a lot of time. The kids were worn out and a couple of them actually begged to go back to the room. I kept them down at the pool longer than originally intended while we waited for Tony to get off work. He was scheduled until 5pm, but he's been working late almost every day. He finally got to the hotel around 6:45 and didn't get to the pool until 7pm. Keep in mind that his work is literally less than a half a mile from the hotel. We left the pool about 7:20 to get showered and ready for dinner. A local cleaning company is supposed to go to the house tomorrow to clean everything out of the basement. Tony was able to get his schedule re-worked so he could leave at noon so he can be there to supervise and take a bunch of photos for insurance. I have anxiety about throwing away all of our family heirlooms and belongings, so I will be staying at the hotel for the day, trying not to think about it. From there, the landlord (Tony's dad) will still need to get the water heater and the furnace repaired or replaced before the house can be considered "liveable" again. I'm still hoping that we can sign on the new house before the old house is repaired so we can just go from the hotel to the new house without having to move back to the old house and then to the new house. Moose ate an entire 5# bag of peanut M&Ms today while we were at the water park. I know he really shouldn't be left unattended in the hotel room, but he's usually well behaved. Tomorrow we have to move the cats from the house to my parents' house for the day so we can turn the space heater off at the house since the cleaners will be going in and out of the house all day and they can't be exposed to the cold. While we're dropping cats off and making them at home there for the day, I will ask if they can just keep Moose until we can finish with one house or the other. Between his barking issue that's come up, and now this issue with getting into things he shouldn't be, I think it would be in everyone's best interest to get him out of the hotel. I love him, he's my service dog, but in all honesty I'm spending more time trying to rein him in than I should be, which is stressing me out, which is the opposite of what he's supposed to be doing. He's so busy pulling the leash and barking at strangers that he's no longer focused on me to know when I need him. He is supposed to sense my anxiety and interrupt the anxiety cycle before it becomes a full panic attack. Now he's causing me to be anxious, and I actually had a meltdown moment today (part of why it took so long to get down to the pool), and he was completely useless. I don't know what's gone wrong. He was always spot on at home, and since we've gotten to the hotel, everything with his training has fallen completely apart. The head collar has helped immensely with the leash pulling, but now we have to contend with him randomly rubbing his face against everything as we walk by, putting his feet up and trying to get it off, and randomly stopping to roll in every grass patch we pass by (something he doesn't do if he's not wearing the head collar). Moose, you're just too much trouble right now. Still no babies from Caduci. She was supposed to be due 5/16, and here it is 5/21 and no babies. I'm probably going to pull the nest box on Tuesday and breed her again. That will put us in line for June/July babies that will be weaning in August. The extra heat should help with making their ears lop down. We got up a little earlier than normal for a Saturday and spent the day at my parents' house. My parents are out at a resort this weekend, their pugs are with the dog sitter. My brother works nights on weekends, so he sleeps most of the day and gets up and leaves just before dinner time and is gone until the next morning. He was worried his dog would be lonely. So we stayed there all day. His dog and ours are best friends and they love to roughhouse and play. It gave us the opportunity to be loud and play without worrying about offending people at the hotel. I was able to get all of our laundry washed too. I washed a load of blankets for my parents, and did their dishes. #2 washed their windows, and #3 and #4 worked together to vacuum the dog fur off the stairs so the house would look nice for when they return tomorrow. #3 worked on stacking cards. She's getting pretty good at it! It rained all day long. The lady who wants Jenna rescheduled for tomorrow, so she sat in the bathroom in a kennel all day. I think she got the better deal - her siblings spent the day outside in 40-degree weather. This evening we put Jenna back with her bunny family until the meeting tomorrow. I'm sure she's got stories to tell her siblings about the big dogs she met and the new smells, and exploring a room in a house and being petted and given treats and love.
No news on either house. Looks like the clean up crew is going to come in on Monday, but Tony isn't sure if he can get the day off or not yet. Nothing like last minute. We seem to be doing a lot of last minute things lately. Tonight I was actually able to cook a simple meal (stir-fried teriyaki chicken and white rice). It was delicious, and the kids ate all of the chicken, leaving just two ziplock bags of rice for leftovers. It felt so good to cook a meal, and it felt good to fill our bellies without emptying our wallets. Eating out every day with seven mouths to feed is expensive. The other day #3 asked me about growing lemongrass. Someone told her it was an excellent mosquito repellent plant. I told her so is basil, and I know how to cook with basil. Wouldn't you know, today while browsing a magazine at my parents' house I came upon a little blurb about lemongrass with six simple recipes, complete with details on how to prepare lemongrass for eating. I snapped a photo of the page with my phone. Since I have lemongrass seeds in my collection already, perhaps next year we can grow some. Today was #3 and #4's science fair. I wasn't able to go as I had no way to get there (I don't drive). They seemed to have enjoyed it anyway. This year the school required all projects to be on national parks. So the girls were assigned the Badlands (SD) and the Petrified Forest (AZ). I don't think it's much of a "science" fair when it's all to do with state parks, and I hate that they assign projects. If you're going to have a project fair (since it's not science based), then why not let the kids explore something they're actually interested in learning more about or sharing with others? Their school continues to baffle me. It's not the same as it used to be and I'm glad we're pulling the girls out of it after this year. They've lost the open Montessori basics they started with. Assigned seats, scheduled work projects, limiting time and forcing compliance for things (like this science fair). They told my 7 year old she needed to dress like a park ranger... but we couldn't find a single store in our area that sells a short-sleeve khaki button-up shirt - she had a full blown melt down sobbing that she couldn't go to school if she didn't have the right outfit. The only thing "Montessori" about the school is that the classrooms still have three grades in each room. But the staff turnover is crazy and doesn't help with stability for children who need it (autism - change is hard). Nope... Glad we're getting out of that school, and the kids even agree! They don't like it anymore either! Moose has been having issues since we've been in the hotel. Yesterday I had Tony pick up a new training collar to help with his pulling on the leash everywhere we go. He is not happy about it, but today our walks to the potty spot have been pleasant. In fact, on the way out and back in this evening, #5 held the leash and Moose walked nicely down four flights of stairs (and back up them) and across the parking lot too. Progress! Tony bought me a swimsuit yesterday. I've been hesitant to buy one because I'm not in shape. I have body fat, I have cellulite, a big belly, stretchmarks... and honestly with the fibroids continuing to get worse, I look like I'm about 7 months pregnant. I've never been self-conscious of my body image before, and this is an all new thing for me. My last swim suit was a nice pair of swim trunks with a matching top that covered my torso pretty well. I bought it at a specialty store for big women... where I was pleased to find that in their store, I am a size 0. So when my wonderful worn old swimsuit was lost in the house flood - I figured I just wouldn't swim anymore. But Tony insisted. He bought me a swimsuit before but it didn't fit right, so he had to return it. This time he thought outside the box. He bought me men's swim trunks, the top to a bikini, and a big black t-shirt to wear over it. :D
The kids were delighted when I put it on when they got home from school and took them down to the pool and played with them for over an hour. We played ball, we went on the inner tubes, we went down the slide, we sprayed each other with hoses, and we even went in the hot tub for a while (or the "hot pool" as #5 calls it - he wasn't allowed to play in it, just sit on the steps with his feet in). He was the only one who needed some coaxing to leave the pool. All four of the older kids were worn out and ready for showers and dinner. And now they're all tired before 10pm! Win! I did end up tearing holes in the back of the shirt. The pool bottom isn't smooth at the bottom of the slide, and when holding #5 in my arms, I tip backwards, rubbing the shirt against the rough bottom. Fortunately it was a fairly cheap shirt and will be easily replaced if it tears much more than it already is (half a dozen dime-sized holes). Tomorrow I plan on getting all the laundry done at my parents' house while we entertain my brother's dog. Moose absolutely loves playing with Mitzu. He gets so excited when we pull up to my parents' house that he will whine and wiggle and freak out until I give him the release command. Then he yelps like he's been stung by a bee, and launches himself out of the car so hard that he leaves giant claw marks in the driveway as he races for the door to meet his buddy. Bonus points tomorrow because my parents' pugs are at the dog sitters for the weekend so the queen bee won't be there to attack Moose. It's supposed to rain all day tomorrow (forecast says 100% chance of rain). The kids can play inside. It at least gets them (and me) out of the hotel for a day! We're still not completely sure what's going on with the new house. We did finally hear back from a company that's supposed to clean out the basement. Tony was on the phone with them when he left for work this afternoon. I guess they want to come and clean it out on Monday. Tony will see about getting the day off when he works with his manager tomorrow. I found someone on Facebook interested in one of the bunnies. She wants to meet Jenna tomorrow, so I will have to go and pick Jenna up tomorrow morning on our way out since I'll have no way to get back into town once we're out there (Tony is scheduled for a 12 hour shift tomorrow). Hopefully Jenna will find a new home. Today threw us a few curveballs. One was kind of fun though. Today when we went to feed and water bunnies, the kids took the J litter out again to the kennel and played with them. I noticed Jared looks a little different. Jared got his momma's lop gene! It looks like both of his ears may flop. Awesome! I love lop ears. Now I wish even more than he was a girl. Why are so many of the special ones bucks? Oh well. He's adorable. The other curve ball is once again having to do with the new house. Originally we were supposed to close tomorrow morning, but due to some delays and a required repair, things got pushed back. From what we understood, the sellers were repairing the plaster upstairs on Wednesday, and then the appraiser was coming back today, and we could close on Tuesday. Then our realtor called tonight to ask if we knew what was going on. I guess she got a call from an appraiser (not the one who did it before) who was driving several hours from out of town to come and take a photo of the spot to assure it was repaired properly... I think she called it a rush appraisal. She said it was going to cost us extra, and the appraiser said she had been told it had to be done today so we could close tomorrow... But the mortgage company requires three days after the final go ahead before papers can be signed (hence why we had to wait until Tuesday if it was appraised Thursday). We did not get the final go ahead letter today, which means we won't be able to close on Tuesday either. The realtor also mentioned the original appraiser had been booked to come and do the same appraisal tomorrow (which would still put us at Wednesday for closing). So now we have an appointment for 10am tomorrow with the title company to sign the papers on a house we can't sign papers on until next week, and the mortgage company is telling the appraisers something different than they're telling the realtor, and we have no idea what's going on... Or how much it's going to cost us. Anyway, it's still progressing, and as long as we have enough money for closing we should be fine... but with having to eat out all the time being stuck in the hotel, we're quickly draining through our house reserves. The longer we put off closing, the more I worry. This morning I colored a picture of snapdragons. Makes me want to grow some. They're pretty colorful. The moss roses that #3 and #4 brought home from school for me for Mother's Day are blooming! They're pretty too. I've always loved moss roses. They're one of my favorites. We are under a frost advisory tonight. Ick! My parents left today to go on their annual trip to their friend's resort. My brother has asked me to dog sit for him on Saturday. Tony is scheduled for a 12 hour shift, but if we get up early and go over there before he has to be at work, we can spend all day out at my parents' house letting kids play and letting Moose play with my brother's dog (Mitzu). Maybe I can throw together an actual home-cooked meal! Oh, and just to show it off... here's a photo of my poor aloe vera plant. It desperately needs to be repotted soon. Today #1 asked if she could get back into guinea pig breeding when we move. I asked her where she figured we could fit guinea pigs... She said in her room. I don't think she remembers how big of a cage they need, or how messy they are when they kick their bedding out of the cage. I also don't think she's considered that her room (which she will be sharing with #3) does not have a door. That means it's going to be awfully difficult to keep the cats out of their room... and Miss Mabel is a proven mouser. She never took out any of our guinea pigs, but that's not to say she wouldn't try. Or that baby guinea pigs wouldn't be fair game to her. Our guinea pig cage is a C&C cage, so it's open on top. Perhaps if I buy some more squares we can make a roof for the cage... I think it's going to depend a lot on how much stuff they are going to try to cram into their room. It's an interesting idea... I did love the guinea pigs.
Happy first Saturday in May. Today was a pleasant, mostly quiet day. Beautiful warm sunshine outside, kids behaved most of the time. The two oldest went swimming and the three youngest had ice cream. Today is Saturday, so the newest episode of Doctor Who was on (Knock Knock - Season 10 episode 4). It's been great fun to get to watch the new episodes when they come out instead of waiting for them on Netflix or wherever. I wonder how #1 will adjust to no TV again when we inevitably have to go home. Tony called on his lunch break. He's working another 12-13 hour day. He said my parents had stopped in and bought all the supplies for their new deck. It's a really big deal. My mom has wanted a deck since they moved in (over 20 years ago), but something always comes up. There's always some financial set back ... needing to install air conditioning, fixing a heater, replacing the washer, the basement flooding, replacing the water heater, re-doing the basement flooring (last year) and so on. The fact that they made the purchase is awesome. Tony says we're expected to help with building it Memorial weekend. Sounds like fun! The kids have rediscovered Pokemon Go today and have gone off on an adventure to catch Pokemon and stock up on balls (I guess the coffee place just beside the hotel is a PokeStop?). If it gets them walking and active, and out of the hotel room for a little bit, as long as they stay together and out of trouble, it's a good thing. I'm feeling a lot better today, and #2 is too. His facial swelling is down, and he's active again. He swelled a little when he was in the hot tub earlier, but it went down once he was done swimming. I'm sure he will be happy to get that tooth out of there on Tuesday. The first of Penelope's J litter is set to head to her new home on Tuesday as well. The family have selected Jenna. I'll have to find a way to print off the rabbit paper, but otherwise Jenna is ready to go. I always love new beginnings! It's an honor to be the facilitator in an adoption of any kind. To introduce a critter to their new family (and a family to their new furry friend). Matchmaking really. It's all about having a good match. I did some research on options for raspberry support. We currently have a patch of black raspberries just outside our front door (at the house, not the hotel), which has been lovely. We plan to take at least a few of them with us when we move, but there's really no sunny but wind protected north-facing area near the new house for me to plant them. They're really a jumble where they are now if we don't cut out the old canes every spring (which we didn't do this year). It looks like there are a lot of options out there for slightly raised beds, or at least brick lined berry beds, with either wire or fencing for support. I will have to see what kinds of supplies I have on hand, or what's on sale, and get a better idea of the amount of sun a couple places get. There's a nice screened porch off the East side of the house (needs to be re-screened), but if it's in a nice sunny spot, perhaps that would be a good place to plant the black raspberries, along the side of it. Then again, that could be too close to a black walnut tree. I will have to go back out there to get a better idea of where I'm going to put all these perennial plants!
Black raspberries, rhubarb, horseradish, tulips, irises, strawberries... and that's just the plants you can largely leave to themselves! The house already has tulips coming up throughout the yard, and daylilies growing on the other side of the house. Last time we visited I found a patch of scilla siberica, and a patch of chives! This property is going to be amazing. 13 days until closing. We have slept at the hotel 16 nights so far. Closing for the new house is in 14 days. After some discussion we have decided that if the old house isn't livable by the time we close on the new house, we are going to split up for a while. The kids will stay with my parents so they can finish off the school year with their friends, while #5 and I (and the animals) will move in to the new house. Tony will float in between, likely staying with the kids when he's got work, and using his days off to move more stuff out of the old house. We suspect the insurance will not pay for hotel stay if we have another property available to us. This way in June when the kids finish out their school, we can all be reunited in the new house and start over and get used to the new surroundings. Tonight I finally braved taking Moose to the pool. The kids were running through the hotel room, bouncing off the walls. They needed an outlet for all that energy. One hour at the pool, showers for everyone, and at least one is already in bed with two to follow soon. I'll take that for a win. Poor #2 has an infected tooth again. He's back on antibiotics and is scheduled to have the offending tooth pulled on Tuesday. In the meantime half of his face is swelled up like a manatee. Fortunately the dentist is prompt and we will have a permanent solution as soon as the antibiotics knock out the infection. Just seems like one more shin kick in a several-week-run of bad luck for our entire family.
Now I also have to figure out how to get a photo ID in less than two weeks, since Tony decided at the last minute to put my name on the Title and photo ID is required for that. Yikes! Happy first day on May! I'm officially sick today. This morning I felt sluggish and my lower legs hurt, by 10am I was running a fever. Sound and light hurt my head, I've got sinus pressure causing a nasty headache, and I'm either too hot or too cold. Sure makes parenting in a hotel that much more challenging. If this is the same bug that hit Tony a while ago and #5 last week, it'll last about a week to a week and a half. Yuck. Ibuprofen and sudafed have taken the dizzy feeling away, but my sinuses are still thoroughly congested.
I somehow managed to drag myself outside a few times to let Moose out to go potty, and I forced myself to go out to the house to do rabbit chores. Unfortunately, as I suspected, Alice's litter is a complete loss. She had eight solid black babies and all were scattered throughout the cage. They were already gone when we got there this evening. This is her second litter and her second loss, largely due to cold weather. I will try her again one more time with warmer weather (as this litter was supposed to be), to give her another try. Still no signs of fur pulling from Snowflake. All of the snow is already melted. There are a few stubborn clumps of slush hiding in shady places, but I suspect they'll all be melted by tomorrow (high of 59). It's been lightly raining since the snow stopped around noon today. It's supposed to be cloudy and dry tomorrow with a chance of thunderstorms Wednesday. The insurance company has extended our stay in the hotel again. Still no word on when they'll come out to clean out the house. The kids are going stir crazy stuck in this hotel. It's a nice hotel, don't get me wrong, but there's no indoor play place, no outdoor play area, and the pool is only open on weekends (and I have no swim suit). Closing date on the new house is in 18 days. Sorry, no new photos today. Alice is pulling fur today. I stuffed her nest box with straw yesterday, but the little pig that she is, she ate it all within 24 hours. Now she just had fur. With a big winter storm supposedly coming tonight into tomorrow, I worry that her new litter will meet the same cold end her last litter did. Especially with us far from home and unable to go check in frequently. I made sure her cage was well tarped up so the wind couldn't get in there. I still worry. I won't be able to check back in on her until tomorrow evening after Tony gets off work. The Weather Channel app says to anticipate 3-6 inches of snow between tonight and tomorrow afternoon (Winter Weather Advisory). We were supposed to get several inches last week too but it really just left a dusting for the most part. With warm weather coming in by mid-week, the snow should melt pretty quickly. It's just the cold expected tomorrow (high of 37) that worries me with two litters due any day now (Alice is pulling fur, Snowflake hasn't started pulling fur yet). I don't like being so far from the rabbits when I really need to be handling kits and checking nest boxes. The apple tree seedling is doing well, while the rosemary plant is dying. I just have the worst luck keeping rosemary alive! I've got one garlic clove sprouting in a small planter, and two more planted with lettuce seeds. Having them in the hotel window does help make it feel a little more like home.
Moose continues to have issues while in the elevator. After he barked at a woman this morning, I've decided we will now use the stairs and go out the back way for potty breaks. He needs some work on slowing down going up the stairs, but so far we haven't run into anyone on the stairwell. If he continues to bark at people who approach him while in his Service Dog vest, I'm afraid I'll have to resort to a shock collar, and I really don't want to do that. He absolutely cannot bark or growl while he's working though, and I need to correct the behavior quickly. As of writing this (just before 8pm), the skies are grey, but there is no rain or snow yet. The ground is still dry. If we do get upwards of six inches (which I suspect we won't - that's probably more what Duluth/Superior will get due to the lake effect), I'll be glad that our hotel is closer to Tony's work than our house. It'll make traveling in poor weather a little easier and make for a much shorter trip! We have now been out of our home for 12 days. We have 20 days left until we close on the new house (including today). I had trouble sleeping last night. At some point in the night my right ear started hurting bad enough to wake me up a few times. By morning it was a constant pain. Tony suggested putting some tea tree oil in there to see if it helped. Instead of helping to dull the pain, it started to feel like it was burning. When I poured it out of my ear it seemed to hurt even worse. I ended up falling back asleep with shivers, feeling very cold, but not running a fever. I awoke a few hours later, ear still burning inside, and decided perhaps a shower would help. It really didn't help a lot, but maybe took the pain from burning to uncomfortable. By dinner time that ear hurt constantly and started to sound muffled. By 9:30pm I finally gave up and took some pain meds (ibuprofen). This is the first time I've taken any kind of pain meds since January 1st when I finished my last bout with the pain crisis from last year. It's still muffled in that ear and it definitely hurts to touch it, but if I just sit still and keep all pressure off of it, it's just a dull ache and muffled sound now. I suspect a trip to Urgent Care is in my future tomorrow. Today I had a friend and her daughter stop by. They were kind enough to pick up #1 after her club meeting after school today. It was nice to talk to her. Adult conversation can mean so much more when you're with kids all day every day. Then we invited my parents over this evening. We played some SkipBo and chatted a bit. It's nice to get to invite them over to "our place" once in awhile, even if it's a hotel room for now. Moose had been doing well in his duty as Service Dog. Unfortunately, I think that perhaps he, like Nadia before him, has picked up on something else about people that even I can't explain. Moose is the most friendly dog. He loves kids and people, other dogs, he's curious about everything. He was very well socialized as a pup, even visiting the Renaissance Fair in his "in training" vest (goodness it's so tiny, he was so little). But so far in our stay at the hotel, he has run into a couple of people he didn't like. The first housekeeper to come in on the very first morning, he wouldn't stop barking at her. I thought that it might be because he wasn't used to random strangers coming into our home, and despite putting his vest on him (wearing the vest means he has different rules to abide by - no barking, no eating, no getting up on furniture, etc.), and keeping him on the leash at the far end of the room, he distinctly did not like her - and I don't know why. All subsequent housekeeping staff have been met with a single woof of acknowledgement, a sniff, tail wags, and kisses. Likewise, fellow hotel patrons are met with the same greeting woof, and if they're close enough, he sniffs them and then is fine. But this morning when we got into the elevator, two men got on with us. The first man was greeted with his customary woof, but when the second man boarded the elevator, Moose changed completely. His stance changed to slightly hunched down, leaning against my leg, the fur above his shoulders stood up, he barked once and then growled at the man the entire elevator ride, despite me trying to get him to stop. I've never seen him growl at anyone before this except that first housekeeper and that was more of a whine. I wonder what he's sensing that I'm not. Nadia used to have strange responses to people sometimes. She was always the friendliest dog, she loved everyone. But sometimes around certain people, she would avoid them, refuse to go near them, cower, or cringe away from their touch. It wasn't until she had responded this way to several people while I had her at work with me over several weeks time that a coworker pointed out that she only did this with people who looked or smelled stoned, or had pot in their purse or pockets. She was responding to marijuana! I had no idea, since I don't use drugs and don't associate with people who do (I'm clueless). It made me wonder what her previous home was like that after years of love and training, she was still terrified of that smell. I wonder now if Moose is picking up on something similar. There must be some reason for his sudden change in behavior toward certain people. It's certainly not very good for a dog trained to be a service animal to be growling at people, and I can't have him growling at people, regardless of why he's doing it. I'm not sure how to avoid the behavior. With Nadia we would just walk a different way or stay away from those people that she found to be scary. But what do you do with a dog who growls at people? This guy in the elevator, he wouldn't go over and sniff him like he usually does - he was adamantly distrusting and showing body language I've not seen him do before. A fear response perhaps, trying to be bold to intimidate someone he's scared of? I'm not sure, but it's got to stop. Anyway, this ear issue I think has been going on for a while. I've been feeling a little off balance lately. Kind of like the feeling when the elevator stops and you feel for an instant like you're still moving. Or that hesitation when you have to recalibrate your movement and balance when you step off of an escalator. I've been having these moments sporadically for several days now. A sure sign of inner ear troubles. This photo of Moose makes him look so tiny, but he's a big boy. I'd like to get him weighed to get an exact number, but I'm guessing he's over 75 pounds, my mom suggested closer to 90 pounds. His vest is a size Large and is at the biggest settings. Nadia wore the same vest but it was on slightly smaller settings for her.
I'm really proud of Moose. He came to me a (literally) broken little puppy, and he's become such a handsome and very helpful dog. He's so intuitive. I feel like he was really just meant to be with our family. We're so lucky to have him. He has proven to be immensely and incalculably valuable during some stressful events with six Aspergians. His closest bonds seem to be with me, #3 and #5. He can read us like a book and knows just when we need him. It barely got above freezing today. I was at the house about 10am to feed and water bunnies. The tarps were frozen stiff, what water was left in their bowls was frozen, and there were icicles hanging off the bunny barn. Brrrr! I did see movement in Charlotte's nest box, but didn't dare dig through the box to check further. I did not check in Gretchen's box. I did add straw to Alice's nest box space, and a nest box with pine shavings and straw into Snowflake's cage. They're both due around the 29th. Of course, this cold snap and my inability to check their cages multiple times throughout the day to warm kits may mean two more lost litters in this cold snap. Both have lost a litter due to the cold previously. This should have been good planning with litters due the end of April into May, but this is just poor weather at just the wrong time. I'm hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst. Both of these litters should be George's. No word on either house... No idea when our current house will be repaired so we can go home, and no word on the new house or how the mortgage company is doing with their inspections and such. I guess we're really just waiting now on both ends. If push comes to shove, the close date on the new house is 22 days away, which is only two weeks before the last day of school for the girls (and three weeks before the last day of school for #2 who is schooled online). That's not too much of an overlap before we can get moved into the new place and put this flooding mess behind us one way or another. Charlotte's litter is doing well. My favorite little one is the one with the face stripe. He's a fat little bunny. This bunny is even cute from the bottom! Today Tony got into the basement long enough to grab Minnow (our turtle) so we could bring her to my parents' house, and open the windows down there to try to air it out a bit. I guess the insurance company wants us to take a bunch of photos of the stuff that was damaged... Considering how horrible Tony smelled after spending just a few minutes in the basement, the fact that Tony doesn't have a day off again until Saturday, and that the insurance company just told us that to get it all cleaned up, it's the landlord's insurance - not ours... I'm not sure how we're going to be able to take photos before the landlord calls in his claim and has the entire thing cleaned out. I can't even set foot in the house anymore due to the smell. Anyway, Minnow isn't very happy about her new much smaller accomodations, but at least she's breathing clean air! I also had Tony grab the plants we had under the grow light. I figure with nobody there to turn the light on, they'd probably be better off in the window at the hotel. So here we are... an odd assortment of seedlings in a hotel window. The internet is being really slow at the hotel tonight, so I'm afraid I can't update the bunny photos like I wanted to. Maybe tomorrow. In the meantime, Moose has been working really hard. He got a new leash today after breaking the old one twice in 24 hours (it came untied from a previous time when he broke it originally a few months ago). No word from the real estate agent on what the sellers think about repairing the roof. Haven't heard back from the mortgage company about what their inspection turned up (or if they've even done one yet). And the insurance for the sewer flood in the basement wants photos of everything.
Today was the last nice day. We're heading into a cold stretch for at least the next full week; low temperatures at night will be at or below freezing. It rained today, it's supposed to rain tomorrow, and possibly snow on Wednesday! But on a good note, the girls got to eat breakfast this morning, were ready when the bus came, and had no trouble finding their way through several bus transitions getting to and from school. Yay! We lost one of Gretchen's black babies. Tomorrow is the last warm day (high of 63). Then we're expecting below freezing temps over nights, a couple days in the forecast are set to be just above freezing for high temps, and we're anticipating snow on Wednesday! I hope the bunnies are big enough and the nests stay warm enough to keep the babies safe in the coming two weeks.
We spent a few hours at my parents' house today, which allowed me to get our laundry washed. We've only got a few pairs of clothing per person, since we thought this would be corrected right away. Now everything in the house smells like sewage, even upstairs in the bedrooms... So we can't just run home for more clothes. The girls will have to go to school wearing the same outfits until the insurance company can clean up the house and we can get in there to go through everything and wash it all. What a mess. I'm increasingly worried about the effects of the odors in the house. We had to leave the cats, gerbil, and turtle behind. Tomorrow we're going to get the turtle and move her to my parents' house until we can get everything cleaned up. Her cage is in the basement, so it's important that she get out right away. I have nowhere for the cats to go, and I suspect the gerbil will be OK for now. I'm really hoping the insurance people can get the house cleaned out this week. The kids (and Moose) are going stir crazy locked up in a hotel room all day. I'm missing out on the last opportunities to winter sow. I miss playing in dirt already. We have SkipBo and cribbage, but even that gets boring after a while. I'm finding it increasingly difficult to get the kids to play card games. Though having a couple TVs seems to be helpful. We don't get a lot of TV time at home (we don't have cable, and internet or netflix needs to be earned by doing chores). I appreciate the free breakfast (that we can stretch into lunch and snacks), and it's nice that someone is there to take out the trash and clean the bathroom. But some days I just want to relax all day and not have to socialize. Perhaps tomorrow I will put the Do Not Disturb sign on the door and take a day off. Saturday with five kids penned up in a hotel room while Tony worked a 13 hour shift. You can imagine, I'm sure. We did walk over to Arby's to get dinner. I guess the insurance company will reimburse the cost difference from our average. Since we eat a lot of sandwiches, fruit, and crockpot meals, our cost per person at home is pretty low. Now we're working with a mini fridge and a microwave. No stove or crockpot or food prep area. The hotel offers free continental breakfast if you're up early enough (#5 typically sleeps too late so we bring extras to the room for him when he wakes up). We've been pretty good about eating what we have on hand for lunch (peanut butter sandwiches, or leftovers from breakfast or a previous dinner). Tonight we got dinner from Arby's. We spent about $40 for six of us to eat (Tony was at work), and there were no leftovers. Tomorrow we will likely use up the last of the leftover pizza from our first flood night.
I'm thankful for the free meal that we can turn into two meals and a snack (apples, bananas, oranges, and muffins can become an after school snack or afternoon snack, leftover waffles or oatmeal packets or re-heated sausage can make a small lunch). It really helps to cut down on expenses. It's getting harder to get home to do cat and rabbit chores with Tony set to work an 8 day stretch, and I don't drive. Tonight Tony didn't get out of work until 11pm, then he had to come to the hotel to switch clothes, run back to the house to do the animal chores, and then come back to the hotel to eat something really quick before going to bed so he can go back to work by 7am. Still no word from the insurance agent about getting someone in the house to clean it up, and the longer we wait, the more I worry about the toxic odors ruining the rest of the house (and the danger it poses to my cats). The real estate agent called today. The sellers do not want to pay to replace the roof in case our offer doesn't go through. Tony asked to re-submit a request to see if they would just spot repair it, or if they'd like to negotiate on the price. He said it would cost us about $2000 to put a steel roof on it, which doesn't require taking off the existing shingles. It's not in the budget right now, but it's not something we would have to rule out if a patch job can get us through until next year's taxes and work bonuses come in. And a steel roof would give us a price break on something (was it insurance or taxes?). Biggest accomplishment of the day - I gave the dog his monthly bath. The septic backup got up to a foot and a half, maybe deeper. We called our insurance to see what they could do. Nothing much until the water goes down. Called the city and had them come out and pump the septic for our street. They said it was clogged with rags. I'm not sure which of my neighbors was flushing rags or if they were in the street and got washed into the septic with the rain, but what a mess they've caused!
The sewage water killed the water heater, the heater for the house, the washer and the dryer, the big ceramic heater, Tony's expensive gaming computer, the game system, DVD player, my newer record player as well as the old one I inherited from my grandma, all of my vinyl records, half of our DVD and blue ray collection, my solid oak table, the stand for the turtle tank, the natural fish tank (RIP goldfish), all of my craft supplies (jewelry supplies, clay and tools, yarn, fabric, paint, sewing patterns, old crafting magazines, etc), the kids' big doll house with the elevator, our Christmas decorations, three desks, both of our livingroom chairs, the automan, all of the small animal supplies we had for hamsters and reptiles, the solid wooden toy chest Tony has had since he was a little boy, half of my ceramic mold collection, my sewing table, the futon, the handcrafted wooden bench my mom bought the kids... It's all gone. My heart breaks for this loss. It was also laundry time so we had a lot of clothes downstairs, plus all the clothes we had stored in laundry baskets... Tons of clothes, all of our winter gear - all of the kids' winter coats, snow pants, hats, gloves, scarves... All down to be washed so it could be packed away. On the positive side, we do have insurance, so at least some of it can be replaced. The heirlooms and memories can never be replaced, but the clothing and furniture and electronics can be. In the meantime, the insurance has paid to put us up in a local hotel until the basement can be sanitized professionally (which is also covered by insurance). I'm so glad we have insurance. Thirteen years living there and we have never filed an insurance claim. What are the odds we would have (what I would call) a catastrophic event just 30 days before we are set to close on the new house? What a mess! Remaining positive, the turtle was OK when we stopped by the house today to get clothes for the kids. Despite the house heat failing, it was 65 when we arrived and we were able to hook up an electric heater to assure the cats remain comfortable. Following the city pumping the septic the water level has gone down considerably. And now we get two very nice rooms in a hotel... Which is nice, but it's not home. I worry that Moose will misbehave. This is his first time being a full time service dog and I wasn't ready for it. He still needs more leash work but it looks like I don't have a choice now. So far he has behaved. While at home doing bunny chores, I discovered the little harlequin from Fern had passed away. He was desperate from the rest of Charlotte's litter so I suspect he just wiggled off and got too cold. All of Chrlotte's babies and all of Gretchen's babies are doing fine. The one in Charlotte's litter with the white face stripe has turned from black to brown. Adorable! |
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