When it rains, it pours...

Last week was pretty stressful. I started my new job. Big D started orientation for his residency (today is actually his official start date - GOOD LUCK, DR. BIG D!!!). The Monster was running a low-grade fever all week. Wednesday night, we were in the kitchen, when Big D looked out the window and saw water pouring into the street from our yard. He ran outside to turn off the main water valve to our house, but with no luck. The joint where the sprinkler system joins the line was broken. Fabulous. Water just kept pouring and pouring out. Probably all day long, too, since I had noticed - and ignored - low water pressure that morning. A couple of neighbors came over and helped Big D turn off the water from the street. So we were essentially without water on Wednesday night. Big D turned it on briefly so that I could bathe The Monster, clean her bottles, and shower. Then he left a nasty message for our sprinkler guy, after weeks and weeks of trying to get him to fix our water hammer. It was crazy.

Thursday at lunch, I got a phone call from The Monster's school saying that she had a 102 fever. We thought she was just teething, because her fever had been low. I flipped out - how was I going to tell my new boss that I had to leave early on my fourth day of work? Luckily, Big D had a break, so he was able to go home and get her. His mom came over and then took her to the doctor. She was diagnosed with her first ear infection. Drats. Big D's mom stayed with her the rest of the day and came over on Friday too. Thank God she was available to help out. Big D told her that we didn't have water, so she brought some with her. But miraculously, Thursday afternoon, the water line was fixed. Sprinkler Guy must have come over and fixed the joint, as well as installing a water hammer arrester. I'm curious as to whether or not the water hammer is fixed, but Big D hasn't had the chance to test the system since then. Luckily it's been raining on and off over the past few weeks, because the system has essentially been broken due to the water hammer banging pipes above our dining room for about three weeks. Gosh.

Saturday, The Monster's fever broke. We installed the shelves we built over our vacations. Big D did a great job designing them, and then assembling them. They look great and are very secure. I now need to fill in the screw holes with some wood filler and do some touch up paint. I also want to buy trim that matches our baseboards to install on the front, so they look built-in. I'm very pleased with how they've turned out. Pictures pending touch up paint and putting The Monster's stuff on them...

Sunday we went to a picnic for his residency program. It was easily one thousand degrees outside. We set The Monster up on a blanket off to the side with some toys. She had a blast just sitting and playing. People brought their kids over to play as well. One little girl had filthy socks on and kept touching The Monster with her feet. I wanted to slap that child! The Monster likes to take the rings off of her rock-a-stack, but that kid (who is about three), kept saying, "No! They're supposed to be like this!" and she'd stack them back up. Again, I wanted to slap her. Instead, I tried to keep on the happy face, as Big D will be working with bratty kid's mom. We got home and I promptly disinfected all of the toys.

Monday morning, I arrived at work at about 7:45, and immediately got a phone call that my dad had had another heart attack. His first one was in December. She told me that he had woken up with pain four times that night but didn't tell her (despite the fact that Big D had told him on Saturday that pain at night like that is not a good sign). Even in the morning, he was reluctant to go to the hospital. What's up with the stubbornness? He was in ICU all day, and after lunch they performed a catheterization, where they found another 95% blockage and lots of 30-40% blockages. He's stable, in good spirits, and will be released today. Big D is irritated that my dad hasn't made any lifestyle changes over the last 7 months. I'm not sure what it will take to get him to start exercising and eating better. He's got a gut, but he's certainly not fat. He's human, though, and there's always room for improvement. It's funny; I can bitch and moan all day about how he and Mom need to take better care of themselves. They're smart people; they know what to do. My nagging them hasn't - and isn't - going to change anything. Shoot, I know what I need to do, but do I get on the elliptical machine regularly? No. Do I still eat fast food? Yes. I just hope that this second heart attack opens his eyes up. My mom always says that bad things happen in threes. So I'm hoping that the water line break, the ear infection, and the heart attack are the three bad things for now. I don't know that I can handle much more. But I also know that I can handle anything that's dished out to me, given support from friends and family.

Oh - here's some comic relief for ya! On Thursday, the firm's photographer came by to take pictures of me for the website. I had just found out that The Monster was sick, and we were still trying to figure out who would pick her up and how to get her to the doctor. I was frazzled, to say the least. Now I will brag a bit and say that overall, I'm pretty photogenic. We all have our bad days, but generally, I take a good picture. Well, the photographer started taking some shots, and looked at his LCD screen and said, "Hmm... you know, I can come back another day." Thanks, Buddy.