Has it only been a week?

I wonder if life will ever get back to normal. This week has messed with all of us--we've made two trips to Phoenix (with at least one, maybe two in the next week); Quinn tries to be happy, but is still a cranky boy; he won't sleep unless he falls asleep nursing; his non-existent appetite at the first of the week has left me with little milk to give him (something I'm sure you wanted to know); Troy and I stress about the bloody spots in his diaper and a seemingly lengthening catheter tube; and on and on and on. I know this is a very small problem compared with what other babies I know are dealing with, but it's a change for our family. The catheter comes out Tuesday, but I have a feeling we'll all be recovering long after that. I'm so tired. Why am I up at 11:30 when I have to be up at 6:00 to get ready for church? Ug. That may turn out to be a bad idea.

Welcome Home!!

There are some things in life you should just expect: taxes in April, fireworks in July and, apparently for the Petersons, floods in December.
Last December our neighbor had a leak in his bathroom and all the water came to my living room. All turned out well just in time for us to leave for vacation.

Jump ahead to 2008. Yesterday we returned home to find this

There is water under the tile and the base cabinets stink of wetness. But there was no water dripping anywhere. I talked to my neighbor (sharing the other wall this time) and she had noticed a wet spot on the exterior stucco but nothing more. I decided to trace the water line on the tile to see if water was still leaking. When I got up this morning the water marks had expanded, so that meant I had to spend my day sleuthing. As I was standing in the kitchen contemplating my dilemma while eating leftover pizza for breakfast, I heard the sound of rushing water in the wall. I touched the wall to see if it was wet and found a little drip of water coming from under the faceplate of an outlet. I immediately unplugged the microwave (thank goodness the water didn't gush as I was warming my pizza), threw on my slippers and ran to the neighbor's to see if she had just ran water in her bathroom (which is on the second story of that wall). She had!

Great, I thought. I have poo water under my tile. However, after more testing, we concluded that the tubs and toilets in our bathrooms were safe, but that we share a drainline from our vanity sinks which must have a hole in it. Workers were called and after doing this

to my kitchen wall, we found the problem--a gaping hole in the pipe.

Of course the master plumber is out of town until tomorrow so until then I had to put the sink out of commission because I'm such a creature of habit that I accidentally turned it on for .5 seconds before realizing I was filling my kitchen with more water.

Oh well, if I look on the bright side, I'll start the new year with a new pipe. (fingers are crossed for good luck!)

So Beachy!

Last weekend Troy and I went camping on the beach in San Clemente with his sisters and their families. Let me start by saying I love the beach, so I was very exciting to go. Troy was a little less enthused, but is always up for getting out of the house. I won't go into zillions of details, but on the way we saw a giant dinosaur and Troy was kind of nervous.

After setting up camp, we went to the beach to catch some late afternoon fun. I wish I had taken pictures of the path we had to follow to get there. It was so steep. Your knees hurt going down and your calves and thighs burned coming up. I found this pic on the web. Basically we park on top of the bluff and walk down to the beach. It was no picnic, but I think I'm spoiled because at my usual beach I park, walk 100 yards and there I am.

Anyway, we had a lot of fun. There were many highlights to the trip, but I thought it was funny that our nephew Kyler, who’s 7, would gather up the seaweed that washed on shore and collect it in a big pile. When a big wave would come up and take some back down the beach, he would rush to save it. Then he took over a big hole some other kids had dug and kept his treasure safe there. Not that I didn’t mind having less of the crap floating around to wrap around my legs.

Troy tried boogie boarding and body surfing, but didn’t get so attached that he wanted to spend all day in the water. I pretty much played with the kids in the shallow stuff because the salt water stung my eyes (I know, for a beach lover I don’t participate in many beach activities).

While we were hanging out at the campground some activists (I mean that in the nicest way, but I don’t know anything else to call them) offered us free t-shirts if they could take our picture and have us write a letter protesting a toll road that would go right through the campground and a nearby beach (both of which are currently state parks), so of course we did it. Then we went out to dinner and we were celebrities. Fourteen people in matching shirts are hard to miss. Apparently this is a hot topic in San Clemente and most agree the parks should be left alone. I guess if you wear the right t-shirt in the right crowd, you can become instantly famous. All in all, it was a great weekend.

There was one major downside, however. (Warning for the squeamish and those with feet issues--pictures are coming) We were careful to cover ourselves in clothing and sunscreen because we didn’t want to be miserable, but we forgot to lather one important part of Troy. Now don’t get nasty. Troy is a golfer and his calves are dark, but he always wears shoes, so even when he’s barefoot, it looks like he’s wearing socks. Yeah, totally forgot to put sunscreen on his feet. Halfway through the first day, my brother-in-law (who was in bed for three days after his beach trip last year because of his sunburns and all the seawater he swallowed) noticed Troy’s feet were getting burned. We lathered them then, but it was too late. By that night his feet were crimson and swelling. He literally hobbled around camp. But he was a trooper. Other than lots of aloe and no more sun, there wasn’t much we could do. When we stopped for gas on the way home, a lady in the gas station was doing massages and told him he should get one because it was clear his feet were hurting (she couldn’t see the cause). He told her she was not going to touch his feet. Anyway, at the peak of the swelling, I couldn’t see his ankles. Sunday night the blisters started and have gotten bigger. It’s really sad. At least now he can walk without wincing (barefoot of course). He says they’re getting better, but I don’t know if I should take him to a doctor. Is there anything they can do? Any tips are appreciated!!

So that’s our trip to the beach: cool, wet, and painful. What more could you ask for?

Here's a Good Rant for You

Oh my goodness, where to begin. Good things first. Troy's team won yesterday. They're now 3-5, but I believe that's the best record in the boy's basketball program right now, so we're happy.

Now on to the real reason I'm posting. I'll begin by saying I'm not in a good mood. Between stupid kids asking me stupid questions, students and teachers expecting and demanding the world and the internet deciding to take it slow just as I'm trying to notify parents their little dears have books to return, I've had a long day. Add to that this little adventure,

and I'm more than a little frustrated. That's right, that is the carpet and pad in my living room pulled up because it is soaked. When I push my finger into the pad water squirts out. The neighbors (with whom we share a wall) are remodeling and apparently have a leaking something in the bathroom. So what do I get as a thank you for letting them know they have a problem? Yes, you are correct, all their water. Okay, I only knew they had a problem after I discovered my carpet was wet, but who cares about a timeline?

Anyway, I wasn't too upset about it last night because, after all, these things do happen and I'm not the one paying for repairs (the joy of renting), but after listening to fans night and day, rearranging the filthy pad and carpet backing to get optimal air flow and enduring the smell that has taken over our house, I am quickly losing my patience. In one way I'm counting the seconds until I get to leave this mess behind but in another I realize this needs to get taken care of in less than 48 hours because if it's not, nothing will happen for two weeks--other than, of course, a dirty, musty stink penetrating every single thing I own.

One final little rant: who pays for the electricity to run those stupid fans 24/7 as we try to salvage worn, stinky carpet? Oh yeah, that would be me. Have a nice day!

Fall Cleaning

Well, today I used comp time and stayed home from work. I decided I needed to clean behind the washer and dryer because they really needed it. Once I got started I was really in the groove. I pulled out the fridge and cleaned behind it, too. The more I did the more I was loving it (weird, I know). Then I started putting away some groceries that never made it to the pantry shelf when it happened.

I picked up a bag containing three bottles of Prego and I guess there was a hole in it. One bottle fell out right after another and shattered on the kitchen floor. Ick. I was wearing flip-flops, so at least I wasn't standing bare-foot in the mess, but I could tell there were bits of glass in the red goop covering my feet. So I carefully walked to the sink and washed my shoes and feet. Then tackled the mess. Not so fun. That was a major mood-killer.

I spent the next 1.5 hours cleaning up glass and pasta sauce from the floor, cabinets, fridge, etc, etc. My once semi-white dishtowel is now a festive Halloween orange. I was just going to do a quick sweep and swiffer of the kitchen and dining room, but instead did a hands and knees wipe, a thorough sweep, a vacuuming for good measure and then a swiffer. I even found some glass in the living room (which is around the corner from the disaster zone), so I vacuumed the living room again. Needless to say I didn't accomplish much after that. I did go buy some flowers, so I hope to get those planted this week (pictures to follow).


I know, it looks like a massacre.

I don't think the picture really represents the extent of the mess. Don't try this at home.

Kids Make Life Hard

Well, I was just reading up on my regular blogging friends and when I read Michelle's I just about lost my dinner. Her blog is very funny, but WARNING: do not read the posts for September 22 and 24 if you have a weak stomach (much like I do). Okay, it really wasn't that bad, just stories about kids pooping and puking and I've definitely heard worse, but icky just the same (and funny because it didn't happen to me). Feel free to visit at http://shelle.wordpress.com/ Love ya, shelle!