I thought that this topic deserved a post all its own.
I FINALLY got my social security number. It arrived the day before we moved into our new house.
I now also have a cell phone. I feel connected to the world again!
Oh happy day! :-)
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
My Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
It has been just about a week now since I had what I have coined my "horrible, no good, very bad day". It started out OK. The kids actually slept in a few minutes longer than usual (hey, you take what you can get)! We had breakfast and then got ready to go outside to play. I figured that I would try to tame the front garden from the weeds that had taken up residence there, and the plan was to watch the kids with one eye while doing so.
We hadn't been outside very long when I grabbed a handful of dried up leaves and something bit/stung me. Now, let me tell you, I have been stung before and this was excruciating in comparison! I wondered at first if a snake had bitten my finger off, it hurt so badly!
I herded the kiddies inside, took an antihistamine, took some Tylenol, and then shoved my hand in a bowl of ice. An hour later it looked like I had no knuckles because my hand was swollen so badly. I talked to Kevin and of course, he said I should go to a clinic. Now, if you have been keeping track here, you will realize that we had only been in our house for about 4 days at this point. I had NO IDEA where to go for medical treatment.
I ended up wandering into a random medical center in the middle of our little downtown. By now it was lunchtime, the kids were hungry and tired and eating goldfish crackers in the car. I couldn't even use my hand and I actually had to have Noah buckle himself and Rebekah into their car seats. The rest of the day was looking grim.
The woman at the clinic sent me to a walk-in clinic in a neighbouring town. Our town is too small to have a walk-in clinic of its own. This really is small town New England. She sent me on my way, back out to the car, struggle to get the kids into their seats, fold up the stroller, blah, blah, blah.....
So, when the nice lady sent me on my way, she sent me on my way with directions in hand.....WRONG directions. I got lost on my way to the walk-in clinic. It was now about 1:00 pm and the kids still hadn't had lunch. After stopping to ask directions at a gas station, I got myself onto the right road. By the way, that was all I had.... a street name, but no address. Go figure. After more driving around, I saw the clinic on my left, just as I zoomed past it. I made a right turn into a vacant parking lot to turn around and as I did this we were hit by another driver....in our brand new minivan. It was only a week old.
Never ask yourself if your day can get any worse. It can.
So, after finally making it to the clinic in my dinged up van. I was told that I had been stung by some sort of insect that happened to hit a nerve. Some more antihistamines, some pain killers and 48 hours did me wonders.
We are still waiting to have the van fixed. The insurance adjuster came by today to survey the damage. We need a new bumper. It looks like the other driver's insurance company is going to pay.... at least we hope.
Time will tell....
We hadn't been outside very long when I grabbed a handful of dried up leaves and something bit/stung me. Now, let me tell you, I have been stung before and this was excruciating in comparison! I wondered at first if a snake had bitten my finger off, it hurt so badly!
I herded the kiddies inside, took an antihistamine, took some Tylenol, and then shoved my hand in a bowl of ice. An hour later it looked like I had no knuckles because my hand was swollen so badly. I talked to Kevin and of course, he said I should go to a clinic. Now, if you have been keeping track here, you will realize that we had only been in our house for about 4 days at this point. I had NO IDEA where to go for medical treatment.
I ended up wandering into a random medical center in the middle of our little downtown. By now it was lunchtime, the kids were hungry and tired and eating goldfish crackers in the car. I couldn't even use my hand and I actually had to have Noah buckle himself and Rebekah into their car seats. The rest of the day was looking grim.
The woman at the clinic sent me to a walk-in clinic in a neighbouring town. Our town is too small to have a walk-in clinic of its own. This really is small town New England. She sent me on my way, back out to the car, struggle to get the kids into their seats, fold up the stroller, blah, blah, blah.....
So, when the nice lady sent me on my way, she sent me on my way with directions in hand.....WRONG directions. I got lost on my way to the walk-in clinic. It was now about 1:00 pm and the kids still hadn't had lunch. After stopping to ask directions at a gas station, I got myself onto the right road. By the way, that was all I had.... a street name, but no address. Go figure. After more driving around, I saw the clinic on my left, just as I zoomed past it. I made a right turn into a vacant parking lot to turn around and as I did this we were hit by another driver....in our brand new minivan. It was only a week old.
Never ask yourself if your day can get any worse. It can.
So, after finally making it to the clinic in my dinged up van. I was told that I had been stung by some sort of insect that happened to hit a nerve. Some more antihistamines, some pain killers and 48 hours did me wonders.
We are still waiting to have the van fixed. The insurance adjuster came by today to survey the damage. We need a new bumper. It looks like the other driver's insurance company is going to pay.... at least we hope.
Time will tell....
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
A Couple More Bumps in the Road
So, I am still waiting for my social security number (see previous blog on this topic)!
Along with that fiasco, we have encountered a couple of other bumps in the road too.
First of all, our new fridge was delivered on Saturday. The delivery men uncrated it at the foot of the driveway and then very solemnly motioned for me to come over there. It seemed that our new brushed stainless side-by-side had several dents in it and a big scuff across the top. Not good. Thankfully, we didn't need the fridge to be up and running immediately, as it was still several days until we move in. We are supposed to be sent a replacement on Thursday...I am hoping we don't have a repeat of the same problem!
Today I had some issues with the cleaners who came to clean the house in preparation for our move. The house had been empty for about 6 months, with people tracking in and out of it for showings. The floors needed cleaning, among other things. We hired a cleaner who was recommended by our real estate agent. What a disaster!
Firstly, they couldn't work around my schedule at all. The only time that they could come to the house was at 11:30 today. Right in the middle of nap time and lunch time. It is an hour drive out to the house, and then I was going to have to find something to do with two tired and hungry kids while they cleaned the place. The scheduling was back and forth for three days before we even settled on this less than ideal time.
As I pulled onto our street, I saw a car pulling out with two women in it. They looked suspiciously like the cleaners. I continued on to our house, and sure enough, the same car I had just seen pulled into the driveway behind me. The woman who was driving rudely told me that I was lucky to catch them because they were just leaving. I looked at my watch and pointedly told her that my appointment was for 11:30 and it was only 11:34. She snidely replied that they had been waiting since 11:00. So?!!! She accusingly said that someone had tried to get hold of me to tell me that they were there early, and I couldn't be reached. Well, that was because I was already on my way there!! It took me an hour to get there! It is beyond me how someone can be angry at a customer for not being someplace a half hour early to meet them!! I was so irritated.
It didn't get any better after that either. I requested that they vacuum the basement floor and she told me that their vacuum might not do a good job because it was "kind of broken". Huh?! You mean to tell me that someone was cleaning my house with a broken vacuum?! Anyways, we have been in the midst of moving ever since so I haven't had the opportunity to give my feedback to the owner of the company yet. No worries, I will. She was just as clueless. She actually left me a message a day later to see if I would like to have them come to clean every two weeks! I think not!
Along with that fiasco, we have encountered a couple of other bumps in the road too.
First of all, our new fridge was delivered on Saturday. The delivery men uncrated it at the foot of the driveway and then very solemnly motioned for me to come over there. It seemed that our new brushed stainless side-by-side had several dents in it and a big scuff across the top. Not good. Thankfully, we didn't need the fridge to be up and running immediately, as it was still several days until we move in. We are supposed to be sent a replacement on Thursday...I am hoping we don't have a repeat of the same problem!
Today I had some issues with the cleaners who came to clean the house in preparation for our move. The house had been empty for about 6 months, with people tracking in and out of it for showings. The floors needed cleaning, among other things. We hired a cleaner who was recommended by our real estate agent. What a disaster!
Firstly, they couldn't work around my schedule at all. The only time that they could come to the house was at 11:30 today. Right in the middle of nap time and lunch time. It is an hour drive out to the house, and then I was going to have to find something to do with two tired and hungry kids while they cleaned the place. The scheduling was back and forth for three days before we even settled on this less than ideal time.
As I pulled onto our street, I saw a car pulling out with two women in it. They looked suspiciously like the cleaners. I continued on to our house, and sure enough, the same car I had just seen pulled into the driveway behind me. The woman who was driving rudely told me that I was lucky to catch them because they were just leaving. I looked at my watch and pointedly told her that my appointment was for 11:30 and it was only 11:34. She snidely replied that they had been waiting since 11:00. So?!!! She accusingly said that someone had tried to get hold of me to tell me that they were there early, and I couldn't be reached. Well, that was because I was already on my way there!! It took me an hour to get there! It is beyond me how someone can be angry at a customer for not being someplace a half hour early to meet them!! I was so irritated.
It didn't get any better after that either. I requested that they vacuum the basement floor and she told me that their vacuum might not do a good job because it was "kind of broken". Huh?! You mean to tell me that someone was cleaning my house with a broken vacuum?! Anyways, we have been in the midst of moving ever since so I haven't had the opportunity to give my feedback to the owner of the company yet. No worries, I will. She was just as clueless. She actually left me a message a day later to see if I would like to have them come to clean every two weeks! I think not!
The Verdict is In
So, we had a painter come and paint several rooms in our new house. Almost the whole house was various shades of purple. Yup...purple.
You don't understand how much this process has been stressing me out.
First of all, there are tons of colours that I love....on the palette. I know however, that that doesn't necessarily mean that I am going to love them on my walls. I want the colours to flow from one room to the next, but I don't want the whole house to be the same colour. I want the colours to match with our existing furnishings, but I want to feel like I have tried something new and fresh. I knew that since we were paying a professional painter (lack of time to do it ourselves), I couldn't just decide that I didn't like it after it was done.
I am relieved to tell you...I am really happy with the choices. The painter even commented on the great colour choices...maybe he was just being polite, but it made me feel better anyhow!
A little bit of irony...Rebekah's room was one of the few in the house that wasn't purple to begin with. Guess what colour we painted it? Yup....a pretty shade of lavender.
You don't understand how much this process has been stressing me out.
First of all, there are tons of colours that I love....on the palette. I know however, that that doesn't necessarily mean that I am going to love them on my walls. I want the colours to flow from one room to the next, but I don't want the whole house to be the same colour. I want the colours to match with our existing furnishings, but I want to feel like I have tried something new and fresh. I knew that since we were paying a professional painter (lack of time to do it ourselves), I couldn't just decide that I didn't like it after it was done.
I am relieved to tell you...I am really happy with the choices. The painter even commented on the great colour choices...maybe he was just being polite, but it made me feel better anyhow!
A little bit of irony...Rebekah's room was one of the few in the house that wasn't purple to begin with. Guess what colour we painted it? Yup....a pretty shade of lavender.
Sunday, June 3, 2007
The Freedom Trail
Since we have arrived in Boston, the children and I have completed almost all of The Freedom Trail. From the official website:
"The Freedom Trail is a 2.5 mile red-brick walking trail that leads you to 16 nationally significant historic sites, every one an authentic American treasure. Preserved and dedicated by the citizens of Boston in 1958, when the wrecking ball threatened, the Freedom Trail today is a unique collection of museums, churches, meeting houses, burying grounds, parks, a ship, and historic markers that tell the story of the American Revolution and beyond."
It has been quite informative, and it probably isn't an exaggeration to say that walking the trail is pretty well the only exercise we have gotten while here (see previous blog on weight gain).
One can walk the trail with an 18th century costumed guide. I would love to do that, but so far I haven't because I don't think it would be fair to inflict my children on other paying tourists who are actually trying to learn something during the 90 minute tour. I KNOW that my kids wouldn't tolerate this kind of tour very well!
Our most recent visit (done independently, of course) was to the Bunker Hill Monument....now that was exercise! It is much further from our apartment than I realized, I picked a very hot day to do the walk, and getting there involves walking up and down several hills....pushing both kids in/on the stroller, I might add. Noah is going through a phase where he doesn't want to walk, at all. He wants to "hitch" by standing on the back of Bekah's stroller. The main reason I allow it is a) so I don't have to listen to the whining and b) because it gives me a better work out.
As we made our way through Charlestown, where the monument is located, we came upon an old, but still manned fire station. The doors were wide open and the truck was shining in the sunlight.... inviting us to come in. Now, I had heard that if you drop in at a fire station with your children, you can get a little tour. I had never done it before. We decided to put the rumour to the test on this day! We stuck our heads in the door and waved hello to the firefighters in the back room. One of them came out and we introduced ourselves and asked if we could check out the firetruck. He was really great about it. He invited the kids to ask questions, sit in the driver's seat of the truck (Noah wouldn't, but Bekah did), he turned on the lights, and the kids each got to ring the bell too! (Noah did that with some coaxing). It was a very exciting experience!
I won't have any photos to share of this event, due to the fact that our memory card was full and we had no way to clean it off. That topic is for another blog.
Now, every time we see a firetruck, Rebekah wants to go and sit in it!
"The Freedom Trail is a 2.5 mile red-brick walking trail that leads you to 16 nationally significant historic sites, every one an authentic American treasure. Preserved and dedicated by the citizens of Boston in 1958, when the wrecking ball threatened, the Freedom Trail today is a unique collection of museums, churches, meeting houses, burying grounds, parks, a ship, and historic markers that tell the story of the American Revolution and beyond."
It has been quite informative, and it probably isn't an exaggeration to say that walking the trail is pretty well the only exercise we have gotten while here (see previous blog on weight gain).
One can walk the trail with an 18th century costumed guide. I would love to do that, but so far I haven't because I don't think it would be fair to inflict my children on other paying tourists who are actually trying to learn something during the 90 minute tour. I KNOW that my kids wouldn't tolerate this kind of tour very well!
Our most recent visit (done independently, of course) was to the Bunker Hill Monument....now that was exercise! It is much further from our apartment than I realized, I picked a very hot day to do the walk, and getting there involves walking up and down several hills....pushing both kids in/on the stroller, I might add. Noah is going through a phase where he doesn't want to walk, at all. He wants to "hitch" by standing on the back of Bekah's stroller. The main reason I allow it is a) so I don't have to listen to the whining and b) because it gives me a better work out.
As we made our way through Charlestown, where the monument is located, we came upon an old, but still manned fire station. The doors were wide open and the truck was shining in the sunlight.... inviting us to come in. Now, I had heard that if you drop in at a fire station with your children, you can get a little tour. I had never done it before. We decided to put the rumour to the test on this day! We stuck our heads in the door and waved hello to the firefighters in the back room. One of them came out and we introduced ourselves and asked if we could check out the firetruck. He was really great about it. He invited the kids to ask questions, sit in the driver's seat of the truck (Noah wouldn't, but Bekah did), he turned on the lights, and the kids each got to ring the bell too! (Noah did that with some coaxing). It was a very exciting experience!
I won't have any photos to share of this event, due to the fact that our memory card was full and we had no way to clean it off. That topic is for another blog.
Now, every time we see a firetruck, Rebekah wants to go and sit in it!
Friday, June 1, 2007
My Little Houdini
When we received our air shipment at our temporary apartment in Boston, we kept all of the moving boxes and flattened them out in order to store them under the bed. We figured that we would need the boxes to move all of our belongings out to the house, when the time came. Recently, Noah began playing with a couple of the boxes. He asked me to put them together and he has been hiding under them and in them...just playing in general.
The latest development in his "box play" really made me laugh.
Noah climbed into one of the boxes and asked me to close the flaps. He barely fit in there....he was all curled up in a ball. I hesitated because I didn't know if he would be able to get himself out once the flaps were closed...I thought he might panic. I did what he asked and closed up the box, he pushed the flaps open from the inside and popped out looking very proud of himself.
Of course, we had to do this repeatedly throughout the afternoon. He thought it was a great trick. Then he must have decided to make the trick more difficult.
I tucked him into the box one more time...and the next time he popped out he was totally naked!! He had managed to take off all of his clothes while curled up in this tiny box! I couldn't believe it. He stood there buck naked grinning from ear to ear.
I just wish I had thought to grab the camera....
The latest development in his "box play" really made me laugh.
Noah climbed into one of the boxes and asked me to close the flaps. He barely fit in there....he was all curled up in a ball. I hesitated because I didn't know if he would be able to get himself out once the flaps were closed...I thought he might panic. I did what he asked and closed up the box, he pushed the flaps open from the inside and popped out looking very proud of himself.
Of course, we had to do this repeatedly throughout the afternoon. He thought it was a great trick. Then he must have decided to make the trick more difficult.
I tucked him into the box one more time...and the next time he popped out he was totally naked!! He had managed to take off all of his clothes while curled up in this tiny box! I couldn't believe it. He stood there buck naked grinning from ear to ear.
I just wish I had thought to grab the camera....
A Big Day for the "H" Family!
So, today was a BIG day!
We took possession of our new house today! Yipee! Tomorrow, the painting begins....at least we hope. The painter had agreed to begin tomorrow, but we were unable to contact him today to confirm. We will see what happens.
Quite a bit of our time today was spent in a lawyer's office with outdated decor...while Kevin reviewed legal documents and I tried to keep the kids from destroying the place. All in all, it was worth it. We went back to the house afterwards, and I love it even more now that it is officially ours.
I have to admit, that I am the most excited about the huge, modern kitchen and the big main floor laundry room. There was a time in my life when I couldn't have comprehended excitement about a large main floor laundry room. Now that I have two kids though, the tune I am singing has changed! And, I am already beginning to plan how I want to finish the basement.....
Another big event today...we picked up our new minivan...aka the "mom-mobile". This is the first new car we have ever owned. All of our previous cars were "new to us" cars. It is a Kia Sedona, best in its class for safety, and best value for your money in the world of minivans. I can't believe I am now a minivan owner....no matter how practical it is....it makes me feel old!
Miscellaneous other tidbits...we got our Costco memberships today and bought a steam cleaner. We figured we will save ourselves a bundle on the fees we have been paying to have it done professionally 1-2 times per year. We also checked out a furniture warehouse for dining room furniture....that wasn't a fruitful venture. :-(
On a side note, we still don't have the proper cables to hook up our printer so that I can upload photos. We will have to wait until we are settled into the house before we are able to check that off of the "to do" list! Keep checking back for photos...they will appear one day!
All in all, a very productive and exciting day! :-)
We took possession of our new house today! Yipee! Tomorrow, the painting begins....at least we hope. The painter had agreed to begin tomorrow, but we were unable to contact him today to confirm. We will see what happens.
Quite a bit of our time today was spent in a lawyer's office with outdated decor...while Kevin reviewed legal documents and I tried to keep the kids from destroying the place. All in all, it was worth it. We went back to the house afterwards, and I love it even more now that it is officially ours.
I have to admit, that I am the most excited about the huge, modern kitchen and the big main floor laundry room. There was a time in my life when I couldn't have comprehended excitement about a large main floor laundry room. Now that I have two kids though, the tune I am singing has changed! And, I am already beginning to plan how I want to finish the basement.....
Another big event today...we picked up our new minivan...aka the "mom-mobile". This is the first new car we have ever owned. All of our previous cars were "new to us" cars. It is a Kia Sedona, best in its class for safety, and best value for your money in the world of minivans. I can't believe I am now a minivan owner....no matter how practical it is....it makes me feel old!
Miscellaneous other tidbits...we got our Costco memberships today and bought a steam cleaner. We figured we will save ourselves a bundle on the fees we have been paying to have it done professionally 1-2 times per year. We also checked out a furniture warehouse for dining room furniture....that wasn't a fruitful venture. :-(
On a side note, we still don't have the proper cables to hook up our printer so that I can upload photos. We will have to wait until we are settled into the house before we are able to check that off of the "to do" list! Keep checking back for photos...they will appear one day!
All in all, a very productive and exciting day! :-)
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