That seems like a dangerous question to ask these days. We've been having the worst luck lately. And last month when I found myself stranded with a flat tire the day after we were kicked out of our apartment for flooding, a man told me "At least things can only get better." Well, I wanted to believe him at the time, but looking back I can see that he was dead wrong. Because we got two more flat tires this month, Katelyn ran away twice, and as you may have read in the previous post, we are still homeless. In fact, I am becoming a little paranoid with fear of what might go wrong next. But I'll try not to let my mind wander...
We were coming home from Orland on Monday. We had made it just as far as the Grapevine and the sun had just gone down and we got a flat tire going more than 80 MPH on I-5 on an uphill. Luckily it was a rear tire and Adam kept control and pulled into a rest stop. It was pitch dark, but he was able to put on the spare and we continued very slowly on our way, still over 100 miles from home. We hadn't gotten very far when we hit a huge pothole that ripped apart our spare. This time there were no exits for miles and not much shoulder to speak of. So here we are in the middle of the night stranded on the downhill half of the Grapevine with cars and semi's zooming right past us. I thought we were going to die. We ended up paying $200 for a tow down to Castaic and $75 for a new tire at Benny's tires (I highly recommend Benny if you ever need a tire at midnight in Castaic), but it was worth it to get home safely.
Wednesday was Adam's birthday. I had high hopes of getting Katelyn to take a nap, so I locked the deadbolt and laid down with her. Well, I accidentally drifted off and when I woke up, Katelyn was gone...completely. I searched everywhere I thought she might be: the elevators, the laundry room, every floor--I was pretty frantic. Finally I went to great grandpa's apartment to see if she had stopped by there. He was out on his balcony and I thought I heard her voice from down below, but I couldn't see her anywhere. Finally I spotted her off in the distance (good thing I was wearing my glasses). She was lounging in a lounge chair in the BBQ area by the parking lot. I ran down to get her and carried her all the way back up. Maybe I would have spanked her in my confusion except that she had pooped in her pants and I didn't want to get any of that on my hands. Well, it turns out that the deadbolt automatically opens when you turn the door handle...go figure. Now I can't let Kate out of my eyesight for fear of what might happen. That was her 4th time running off. The last time was on Zach's blessing day. We were all outside taking pictures. One minute she was playing near the bushes, the next minute she was gone. Half our ward was looking everywhere for her. She had gone inside the building to the mother's lounge before finally coming out to wander the halls and someone found her. I don't understand why she does this and I don't know how to get her to stop. This time I finally told her flat out "If you keep running away you could die and never see me again." As punishment she gets no TV for the rest of the week and she got no treats yesterday (including Adam's B-Day chocolate peanut butter pie). She also got the longest time out ever! During which she got into some silica gel (you know, the stuff that comes in new shoe boxes and says "Do Not Eat!") and she ate it. Well, luckily it didn't take her long to realize that it wasn't candy and she brought it to me to tell me that it wasn't good for her. The internet said it makes your tounge feel funny, so she must've known that something wasn't right. She had to drink a bunch of water to dilute any of it that she might have swallowed. Anyway, after yesterday I feel like the worst mom ever.
Adam and I ate at Orange County Mining Company for his Bday dinner. The view was gorgeous as usual. We rented a movie and ate his Bday pie and ice cream. I won't say what I got him because it hasn't come in the mail yet and I don't want to spoil the surprise, but I think he's gonna like it!
Well, that's the end of my marathon post, and Katelyn is driving me nuts trying to take control of the computer. I can't wait until I have some better news to report!! Say a little prayer for me, please.
We were coming home from Orland on Monday. We had made it just as far as the Grapevine and the sun had just gone down and we got a flat tire going more than 80 MPH on I-5 on an uphill. Luckily it was a rear tire and Adam kept control and pulled into a rest stop. It was pitch dark, but he was able to put on the spare and we continued very slowly on our way, still over 100 miles from home. We hadn't gotten very far when we hit a huge pothole that ripped apart our spare. This time there were no exits for miles and not much shoulder to speak of. So here we are in the middle of the night stranded on the downhill half of the Grapevine with cars and semi's zooming right past us. I thought we were going to die. We ended up paying $200 for a tow down to Castaic and $75 for a new tire at Benny's tires (I highly recommend Benny if you ever need a tire at midnight in Castaic), but it was worth it to get home safely.Wednesday was Adam's birthday. I had high hopes of getting Katelyn to take a nap, so I locked the deadbolt and laid down with her. Well, I accidentally drifted off and when I woke up, Katelyn was gone...completely. I searched everywhere I thought she might be: the elevators, the laundry room, every floor--I was pretty frantic. Finally I went to great grandpa's apartment to see if she had stopped by there. He was out on his balcony and I thought I heard her voice from down below, but I couldn't see her anywhere. Finally I spotted her off in the distance (good thing I was wearing my glasses). She was lounging in a lounge chair in the BBQ area by the parking lot. I ran down to get her and carried her all the way back up. Maybe I would have spanked her in my confusion except that she had pooped in her pants and I didn't want to get any of that on my hands. Well, it turns out that the deadbolt automatically opens when you turn the door handle...go figure. Now I can't let Kate out of my eyesight for fear of what might happen. That was her 4th time running off. The last time was on Zach's blessing day. We were all outside taking pictures. One minute she was playing near the bushes, the next minute she was gone. Half our ward was looking everywhere for her. She had gone inside the building to the mother's lounge before finally coming out to wander the halls and someone found her. I don't understand why she does this and I don't know how to get her to stop. This time I finally told her flat out "If you keep running away you could die and never see me again." As punishment she gets no TV for the rest of the week and she got no treats yesterday (including Adam's B-Day chocolate peanut butter pie). She also got the longest time out ever! During which she got into some silica gel (you know, the stuff that comes in new shoe boxes and says "Do Not Eat!") and she ate it. Well, luckily it didn't take her long to realize that it wasn't candy and she brought it to me to tell me that it wasn't good for her. The internet said it makes your tounge feel funny, so she must've known that something wasn't right. She had to drink a bunch of water to dilute any of it that she might have swallowed. Anyway, after yesterday I feel like the worst mom ever.
Adam and I ate at Orange County Mining Company for his Bday dinner. The view was gorgeous as usual. We rented a movie and ate his Bday pie and ice cream. I won't say what I got him because it hasn't come in the mail yet and I don't want to spoil the surprise, but I think he's gonna like it!Well, that's the end of my marathon post, and Katelyn is driving me nuts trying to take control of the computer. I can't wait until I have some better news to report!! Say a little prayer for me, please.
2 comments:
Dana. Holy cow, you poor poor woman. Quite the time you've had! Just remember...everyone has their moments. You are not even close to a terrible mother! I don't know you extremely well, but well enough to know that you do your best as a mama. Sounds like Kate has quite the personality! I hope things start looking up for you. Good for you, for not falling to pieces. I would have. I'll say a little prayer for you!!
Wow! I hope that things are getting better for you! I'm sure that I have a lot ahead of me with motherhood! At least you & Adam got to have a night together and go to the O.C. Mining Company!-so fun! Hang in there! we love you guys!
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