Warning: few pictures, LONG post
This week has been filled
with lessons learned. So much so that I want to record it and commit in writing
to acting on what I’ve learned.
Dan left for Tennessee after
church on Sunday to be gone for a week for work. I had plans of sorting baby
girl cloths and shipping them off to Liz, a ladies luncheon here, play-dates
and organizing. And best of all, sleep
train the dog. (Get Buddy to go from 10-6 without needing to go out to the
bathroom.)
Sunday night I was up with an
upset stomach. Monday, from 6am-12noon, I vomited and was to sick to leave my
bed without hunching over with a bowl in hand.
Lucky for me it snowed that night so Jake and Tess had yet another snow
day. I was able to pull out all of breakfast and lunch and Jake took care of
the rest. I put Tess in charge of Clara. I let the kids watch shows with
coloring and Legos in between.
***Lesson learned—I knew it
is hard to be sick with 4 young kids but had no idea just how miserable it
could be. I learned that my kids really could get a long and help each other
when there is a crisis. I learned that Tess is a sweet little mama. Jacob
really enjoyed being “in-charge” of feeding everyone and taking care of the
dog.
At 930A.M. Tess came to me
with a stinky Clara. I changed her with my last diaper. There was no way I
could go to the store to buy diapers. I
texted a friend who lives close by, Val, and she came to my rescue with some of
her baby diapers. She then passed the word along to the Relief Society
president who then told my visiting teacher that I was sick and without a
husband for a week. Jennifer called at 4P.M. to say she was coming with a box
of diapers and dinner for the kids.
*** I am so grateful for a friend I could call
on in a bind, and a visiting teacher who now really feels more like a “friend I
can call on”.
Tuesday Jake and Tess had
school. I wasn’t vomiting any more, just felt a piercing pain in my stomach
that has been a reoccurring thing after stomach issues. I still managed to get
all the laundry done and kitchen cleaned. I knew that the weather was calling
for rain and ice but didn’t think it would be that big of a deal. Boy was I
wrong.
***Lesson learned—always fill
the tub downstairs (with door locked) even if there is a slight chance of a big
storm.
Wednesday at 430A.M. I woke
up to a steady beeping sound. I found an irritating fire alarm beeping and
realized our power was out. After getting a flashlight I twisted off the cover only
to see a bunch of wires. I wasn’t sure what to do so I went back to bed. I
began to think through how I’d manage with no power and no Dan. I had two
pitchers of water to use, that’s it. I
went out to the garage to try to open our huge water barrel that we got for
emergencies and couldn’t get it open! Great. I thought about the possibility of
the kids getting my stomach bug. How would I clean cloths with 2 pitchers of
water we need for drinking and flushing toilets? ( I did have a couple juice
bottles filled under bathroom sinks.) And
on and on my thoughts went. I began to panic and didn’t sleep.
At 6 I got up with Buddy and saw this...
The
kids were up by 630 excited for no school! I called Dan to fill him in on the
situation. I needed to learn how to stop the beeping fire alarm and how to open
our water barrel. We had the water but didn’t have the right tool to get it
out. It was then that I realized I only had 10% on my phone with no way to
charge it. My only source of communication! More panic. I realized the kids
were picking up on my anxiety and prayed that I’d remain calm with the kids.
***Lesson learned—Know how to
dismantle a fire alarm (it only took 3 days for me to figure it out!).
***Always charge my phone at
night!
***It’s great to have water
in a barrel for emergencies but so not helpful if you can’t get it out. Buy a cipherner.
We did our normal morning
routine and then I went about trying to entertain them without the use of any
electronics. We read books, played
Telestrations, Spot It, Charades, colored, worked on puzzles, Legos, and played
with their American Girl dolls all by 11 A.M. The house was 63 degrees and the
kids were bored.
**Lesson Learned—Buy more puzzles.
They are frustrating but surprisingly fun. Put puzzles in 72hour kits.
***I get cold a lot faster
than my kids. I wish I had their ability
to not be cold in a drafty home.
***Abby is such great
entertainment. She had me laughing during charades. I had quite the time
guessing her “made-up” animals. I’d have to ask for hints like “what sound does
it make” and she would make all kinds of noises or “what does it look like?”
and she’d describe every color and image imaginable. And then to top it off she’d
have a clever little name come out of that brain of hers.
The fire alarm beeped for a consistent
4 hours but then beeped every once and awhile. I put Clara down for a nap; she
wouldn’t sleep without complete silence in the house since I didn’t have
batteries for her noise machine. Surprisingly the kids were happy playing in
the cold dark basement. I then went to the neighbors to see how everyone was
doing. My neighbor Jane was out getting her mail and talked to the mail-lady.
Jane told me the ice storm had done a lot of damage; homes were out of power
all throughout Green Valley. It it could be days before the power was back on. I
told her about my phone situation and she lent me a car phone charger! I went
to plug the phone into the car and realized I needed to open the garage door.
But how? I had no idea how to manually do that. So I opened the only window I
could reach in the garage and turned the car on hoping I wouldn’t inhale to
many fumes. I checked in with Dan. He told me he’d contacted Bonnie and that I
could go over to her house. But how was I going to get the car out of the
garage. All the neighborhood men were gone. I called Jennifer, my visiting
teacher, who sent her husband over to open my garage. Earl was so kind. He
quickly showed me just how easy it was to open and close the garage door.
***Lesson leaned—Continuous
beeping noises are a form of torture.
***You can charge your cell
phone in your car in emergencies (totally didn’t think of that in my panic
state). Always have a phone charger in your car.
***My visiting teacher and
her husband are so kind and willing to help multiple times a week when I’m in a
bind.
***Garage doors do open
without electricity and it is actually really simple. Open the garage door
before you get a head ache from the fumes while charging your cell phone with
the charger you borrowed from the neighbor.
***We need two cell phone car
chargers.
After Clara’s nap I packed up
the kids and we were ready to go to Bonnie’s by 5. But what to do with Buddy…he
would have to come, crate and all. As I was getting the kids in the car Jacob
told me he’d stay here. I asked him what he meant and he then told me that he
knew I’d need help with Buddy so he’d stay so he could help when I got back. It
really surprised me. He is a thoughtful sweet kid, ready to be my number one
man when I need him. I took all the kids
over to Bonnie’s. Cooked spaghetti and helped Bonnie a bit. James got home and
wasn’t exactly thrilled to have 8 kids greeting him with lots of noise. I took
Jacob and Clara with me to go back and get Buddy. It was really dark. Really
dark. Jake helped me get the huge crate in the back, all of Buddy’s things, and
then helped me get Buddy in the crate. As we were leaving I thought about the
fact that Buddy had chewed through the 2 leashes we had bought for him.
Bonnie’s home isn’t completely fenced and so how was I supposed to take him out
to go potty without a leash. So we stopped at 2 stores to find a leash on our
way back to Bon’s. When we got back it was 740 and the Warner house was
completely dark. . Two seconds after Jake put it on Buddy to get him out of the
car the leash snapped! Broke. Really, a $36 leash! Jacob helped keep a hold of
Buddy while I arranged an area for him in their garage. Jake and I tried to get
Buddy to use the bathroom before putting him in the crate but he was too
spooked by the new surroundings, he wanted his crate.
Bonnie and James were
upstairs and had sent Tess and Abby downstairs to get ready for bed. I sent Jake
to bed, he was sleeping with Benny, and got the girls to sleep in the back
bedroom in the basement. Clara didn’t take to the pack’n play very easily. Everyone was in bed, the house was dark, and
it was 8pm. I talked to Dan on the phone for a bit and then decided to go find
Bonnie despite a completely dark house. It’s
not easy navigating someone else’s home in the dark. Bonnie and I chatted for a
a few minutes and James joined us after awhile. I took a nice long hot shower
and laid down for awhile. I was paranoid that Buddy would wake James and Bonnie
throughout the night and I wouldn’t hear him since I was in the basement. My
super power ears kept me up all through the night thinking every little creek
in their house was Buddy about to wake up James. When I took him out at 10pm he
still wouldn’t go potty. So I set my alarm and tried to take him out again at
2A.M. and then 6A.M. That frustrating scared big puppy didn’t go potty for 13
hours straight! Not until the sun came up.
***Lesson leaned—dogs
complicate EVERYTHING. (As a side note:
Dan and I had planned to drive down to South Carolina when his Tennessee trip
came. He was then going to drive 4 hours to TN and leave me with the kids
visiting family for the week! We couldn’t figure out what to do with Buddy so I
stayed home! GrrrrrrrR)
***Buddy is really strong.
Not having a good leash just doesn’t work. I ended up using a linked chain and
put the carabineer that was on my key chain on it to make a leash for him.
***I really appreciate having
Bonnie and James’s warm home to crash in emergencies. But there is nothing like
the comfort of your own home.
Thursday morning I tried to
be as helpful to Bonnie as I could, really appreciating them allowing us to
crash at their place. Jake and Tess had school,
a 2-hour delay , which I think should have been cancelled. When we went home at
9a.m. it was 50 degrees in our home upstairs. Brrrr. I got the kids off to
school and then Abby, Clara and I hung out with our coat and shoes on. I brought Buddy back to hang out in our
fenced back yard. I did some cleaning. I felt sick cleaning out the spoiled
food from our fridge. I didn’t think to be selective in opening it on Wednesday
when we were home all day and so it wasn’t cold at all. Most of the frozen food
was pretty thawed. I took some food over to the Rohn’s and learned from
Charlie, who managed a grocery store for over 10 years, that some of the food I’d
thrown away was still good. Val gave me hope when she told me a shared friend
had talked to the power company who thought they’d get to our area that day!!
Yea! I went home and went through the garbage I’d already taken out. I also
didn’t think to put food in a cooler outside on the porch. Hello. Now I know. Around
lunchtime we were ready for some warmth. I took the girls to the Damascus
Library to kill some time. We ate at Subway before heading over to Bonnie’s to
give Clara a nap. Despite my efforts Clara wouldn’t nap. We came back to the
house by 3.
***Lesson learned—Be
selective when opening the fridge when the power is out. Put food in a cooler
and outside if it’s Winter when the power goes out.
***I’ve never dug through
trash before. The fact that I was saving us money lessoned the disgust I felt
putting my hands in spoiled leftovers of dinners cooked.
***Don’t take Clara to the
public library without a stroller. The “country-folk” of Damascus didn’t seem
to mind our noise too much.
I came home to a very loud
noise. When I went inside the mudroom I saw cables going from a huge generator
on the porch, in through the sliding door, and up around to the fridge. Buddy
had pushed the sliding door completely open and was enjoying those live cables!
I received a text from Val saying they had brought a generator over for me. I
called her with lots of questions. I had no idea how to use one. I needed to
move the cable from the sliding door to the kitchen window. While I was talking
to her she shared the sad news that a friend of ours had talked to the power
company and they wouldn’t be able to be to our area until the next day and then
it could take up to 24 hours before we’d have power.
I really thought the power
would be back on at this point. I called Dan to give him and update. Learning
he wouldn’t be home until late Friday night just pushed me over the edge and
tears flowed. I didn’t know how to stay in our dark cold home without him but
felt like I was too much of a burden at the Warner’s. What to do? And no more
water. Just then Val showed up at my door. All splotchy faced from crying I had
Val’s help moving the cables to the kitchen window and then she talked me through
how to heat just one room and what I’d need to do. So grateful for Val!
I loaded the kids in the car
to go get dinner and then get settled for the night. I decided to go check in
with our neighbor’s, the Conover’s, who now had a generator running. (two other
neighbors already had generators) While I was talking to them the unthinkable
happened…the power came on! I don’t think I’ve been so truly happy in a long
time! I asked Mike if he’d help me turn
off the generator and make sure the house was all good. As he was bringing the
screen to the kitchen window in from the mudroom he accidentally broke our
doggie gate. He used zip ties to fix it and I thought we were good to go. On
our way out the door to get dinner the Relief Society president showed up with
yummy treat/brownies to check on us. After a quick visit I put the brownies on the
counter, put Buddy in the mudroom and we left for Chic-fi-la.
Clara was beyond tired so
within a few minutes of eating we had to pack it up and go home. I was feeling
very happy! Then BUDDY greeted us at the front door! He had broken through the
broken gate. Then the kids and I looked at the empty plate on the floor. Buddy
had eaten the entire plate of chocolate brownies that I’d put on the counter.
The kids immediately started wailing “BUDDY’s GOING TO DIE!” “Chocolate is toxic to dogs!!!” Dan and I had taught them well, what not to
feed Buddy. They were beyond consoling. Totally freaking out. Abby was crying
because she really wanted one. Clara just joined in the hysteria. My thoughts
at that time: really, REALLY. Another
thing gone wrong! Really. I called Dan. Poor Dan. He thought someone had
died given the noise and my delivering of more things wrong. I called two
friends in the ward who work/worked for a vet. No answer. So I called a vet
emergency service. I was given two options. 1. Bring Buddy in and they would
pump his stomach (at the cost of hundreds of dollars) or 2. Just watch him.
Since he didn’t eat a large amount of pure chocolate the vet thought he’d be
okay. He told me what to watch for and we called it a night.
***Lesson Learned—Don’t call
Dan when the kids are screaming bloody murder.
***Brownies won’t kill a dog.
Thanks to the other ingredients in brownies they will only make a dog very
gassy!
***Dog gates that are broken
and then fixed with zip ties are still broken. Close the sliding door or put
Buddy in the crate.
***Buddy will always go in
his crate when I leave the house from now on-- even if it’s just to go around
the corner to pick up the kids from school.
Friday I spent the day
cleaning and shopping so when Dan walked in at 1030 that night it was if
nothing had happened.
So, to say I missed Dan would
be a huge understatement. I rely so much on him. I rely on his calming
assurance when things go wrong. I rely on his know how and muscle! I rely on
his complete care of the dog. I rely on him too much.
***Lesson learned—Dan is not
allowed to travel anymore!!!! Just kidding.
***Lesson Learned—We are not
as prepared as we thought we were.
Dan surprised the kids with
gifts and me with an hour massage, appointment already made for the next day. It was heaven!
To do List:
1.
I need to
organize the Emergency/Camping equipment really well and so I know where
everything is.
2.
I need to use
every Emergency equipment several times so I know exactly how to use them.
3.
Save our pennies
quickly!! We need a fireplace and then a generator to power the fridge and
well.
4.
I need to add to
our Emergency Phone Number list on the fridge: the vet, our power company, and
all neighbor phone numbers.
5.
Fill the
downstairs tub (locked) if it looks like there is any chance of a storm.
6.
Buy a wire leash
for Buddy. Or give him away.
