Morning from Hell

Have you ever had one of those days that you just wanted to go back to bed and start over? Today was one of those.

A little background first: We are keeping my cousin’s dog, Jake, while they are on a cruise this week.. Jake, I think, is a poodle. He looks like one anyway.. A white poodle. Jake sleeps in his kennel at night. The first night we had him was pretty bad. He was up all night howling, barking and screaming to get out. I figured it was just because it the first night way from his real family. And, it turns out, the next night was much better.

Heather had to be in Atlanta today by 7:30 am. Meaning she needed to get up by 4:15 and leave the house by 5:30. Since she was going to have to leave early and I was going to take Tiny Baby to Daycare, I decided to take the day off so I could get some stuff done around the house. At 3:50 am, Tiny Baby wakes up screaming. I wasn’t going to work, so I got up to check on her so Heather could get her last 15 minutes.. When Ansley saw me come into the room, she laid on the bed and rolled to far side clinging onto the railing so I couldn’t pick her up. I have no idea why she did it, but she’s done it twice in the last two weeks. Heather hears her still crying over the monitor and comes up. Ansley lets her pick her up. Ok, Mom is the soother, I can deal with that. Heather sits down in the rocker with Ansley and tries to sooth her back to sleep. Our dog, Ripley, follows me wherever I go, so I have to leave the room when Heather is putting Ansley to sleep so the dog will leave also. We both go downstairs and, in the distance, I hear Jake howling and screaming. I figured he heard the commotion with us and Ansley and wanted us to get him. Since it was only 4:00, I didn’t go in there. Around 4:15, Ansley still wasn’t down, but Heather needed to start getting ready for work, so I went up and relieved her. Ansley was tired enough where she didn’t realize (or didn’t care) when I took over her rocking. At 5:15, Heather came up ready to go and I still couldn’t put Ansley down without her crying out. Heather took her form me and said I needed to go downstairs with her. She also said there was very bad smell around the kitchen area. She went down stairs with Ansley and I went to check on the smell. It was right by the back door that went into the garage. But, that was also the bottom of the stairs that led to my office where Jake was kenneled. I went up the stairs and noticed the smell getting stronger. Ok, Jake pooped in his cage and I’ll to clean it up. I just hope he didn’t get any on him. White Poodle + Dog Poop = Not Nice. Well, I opened the door and saw it… Jake had evidently gotten into Ripley’s food and it didn’t agree with him. He had diarrhea and it was all over the cage sides, the bottom and him. It was EVERYWHERE!!! I couldn’t leave him in there, so I opened the cage and let him out. He was so grateful t be out, he had to show his appreciation by jumping on me. So, now, I have an office that smells like an outhouse, a baby that won’t go back to bed; a wife that needs to leave to go to work, a dog covered in crap running around my house and puppy poop prints on my leg. All at 5:20 in the morning. Boy, if I hadn’t decided to take today off, all this would have changed my mind.

I need to get some order in this chaos. After I had both dogs go outside to do whatever they needed to do, I put the poopy puppy back up in my office. I don’t put him in the cage, but I close the office door so he can’t run all over the house and I open a window so he can breathe. He starts to bark, but I can live with that right now. Heather has given me the baby starts to leave. As she’s getting her stuff ready by the back door, the smell overcomes her and she starts to dry heave. She makes it into the garage and opens the door before she hurls all over the garage. Of course, with all this commotion, neither of us are in a good mood now. She leaves and I take Tiny Baby back to our bedroom. Ripley comes in with us and I close the door behind us to muffle Jake’s barking. All three of us lay on the bed and Tiny baby goes right to sleep. It’s now 5:45 am.

I get up about 7:30 and put pillows all around Ansley so she won’t roll off the bed. I get cleaned up and get dressed. At 7:45, I wake her up and start getting her ready for Daycare. I get her changed, dressed and fed and we head out to Daycare around 8:10. I drop her off and the ladies say, “Did Daddy do your hair this morning?” Ok, so doing girls’ hair isn’t a strong point of mine. I told them to feel free to fix it they way they like and they said they would.
Now it was time to come home and tackle the Poop-Meister. I got home and let Jake out of the office and took the cage out side. Fist things first, I washed both dogs. After they were both clean, I went out and washed the caged. Once that was clean, I came in and washed the food and water bowls that were in Jake’s cage and then I threw all the towels I had just used into the washing machine. It washed once and as soon as it was done, I reloaded the soap and washed it all second time. I also lit some smell-good candles and put some kind of smell-good thing that plugs into the wall in the kitchen. Then I went up stairs and cleaned up where he had spilled poop from the cage and where he laid another puddle of it since he had been out with carpet cleaner and then I steam cleaned the entire area. After all of that and a half a can of “Oust” you can actually stay in the room again. In fact, that’s where I’m typing this up right now.

So, the morning to beat all mornings was coming to a close and I was about to sit down and watch a TV show before I balanced my check book when the phone rang. It was my sister and she preceded to tell me that we had a family member die during the night. My Great Aunt’s husband. We are a tight family and everyone is local, so it’s not like it was a “distant” relative that died. To make matters worse, my Mom and her sister (who are my Great Aunt’s nieces) and their families are on a Caribbean Cruise this week and can’t be notified.. Great. My sister will take care of the flowers and such, but with the 2 sisters gone and their families, my sister and I are the bulk of the family this week. My mom will be crushed when she realizes she missed Papa Doyle’s funeral.

Ok, so what else can happen?? I let both dogs go out back to do their business. Jake backs up to a branch that it right against his tail and precedes to poop all over himself again!!! He’s got crap everywhere again. I get a cloth, wet it down and wash out what I can so he’s not trailing crap everywhere. He’s not as clean as he was, but he’s pretty good now.

So, here I am. 2:30 in the afternoon, the poop is clean, the house smells good, the laundry is done, Heather is back in town from Atlanta and talking to me again, the checkbook is balanced and most of the bills are paid. We still have a visitation and a funeral to attend, but it looks like the morning from hell is over for me.

Although, considering what my Aunt Gunny is going through today, my morning doesn't seem that bad.

How to have your day started off on the wrong foot...

Heather had a golf tournament today and needed to be at work early. I had jobs that had to be done this morning, so I couldn’t go in late. We were wondering how to get Ansley to the daycare when Leslie, my younger sister, volunteered to take her for us. Awesome.. Thank you!!! Leslie came over this morning, picked up Ansley and took her to the Daycare after they opened. Ansley is in a new room since the last time my sister had taken her or picked her up, so when she walked in, the Daycare crew didn’t know her and she didn’t know the routine for this room. She asked what they needed her to do. They showed her where to sign Ansley in and where to place her diaper bag for safe keeping. After she was all signed in, the daycare worker asked my sister, “So, are you the Grandmother?”

Don't use the water...

(Douglas County, GA) -- Service will be disconnected without warning for Douglas County residents who violate the state-mandated outdoor watering ban. Water Authority employees are patrolling late in the evening and throughout the night in search of violators. Anyone caught using water outside will have their service automatically disconnected and will be charged a one-thousand-dollar restoration fee. So far over a dozen customers have had their water shut off.

Wow....

Update on Car Preparedness

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In my last update, I talked about the problems Heather had on her trip to Atlanta. I thought I’d update with what we have done to combat the situation if it happens again.

We did do the tire changing seminar that following weekend. We went over how to put together the jack handle, how to lower the spare tire from the bottom of her car, where to place the jack under the car, how to use the jack and how to remove and replace the tire.

The bottle jack that came with car is a real pain for her to use, so we bought a floor jack that she can carry with her. It’s a bit heavier than the bottle jack, and it takes up more space, but it’s much easier to use, so she’s happy with it. We bought one that came in a carry case, so she doesn’t have a jack just hanging out in the back of her 4Runner. Just a black case.

We also bought an Emergency Road Kit to go in her car. We were making a list of things to put in the kit and were going to buy everything separate until I went to the car section of our local Wal-Mart. They had a 91 piece set for less than 30 bucks. It came with a small assortment of tools, the roadside triangle, flashlight, blanket, tow rope, zip-ties, and even a first aid kit. I don’t remember exactly what all is in there, but it had stuff we hadn’t even thought about adding. Great value for the money.

We are also now card carrying members of AAA. When she had no number to call that night, I knew that needed to changed. AAA was the best way out.. $64 for a single membership and another $30 for a second family member. 94 bucks a year for peace of mind when she or I are traveling back and forth is worth it..

And, last but not least, I have ordered her a container of pepper spray and a stun gun to carry on her person. I tried to talk her into carrying a gun, but she isn’t comfortable with carrying one, so we opted for the stun gun. I was going to go for the Taser, but they are very expensive and bulky. She wanted something she could carry in her purse or pocket. Although some are small, Tasers aren’t known for easy of concealed carrying. So, she has a 1,000,000 volt mini sized stun gun that will actually fit inside a cigarette pack. Although small, it packs a punch. I know I don’t want to get ht by it. As for me, I have my .40 cal Springfield Armory XD by my side. I’m covered.

So, I think we have covered all the bases to help Heather on her business travels. Hopefully we won’t have to worry about it again, but if we do, I believe she’ll be able to handle the situation with confidence next time.

Are you prepared?

OK.. Something happened the other night that I need to pass along before it catches anyone else off guard..

The scenario: Heather had a business meeting last night in Atlanta. Her and 2 other ladies from work all rode together to the event (or whatever it was) One of the guys that works with them actually followed up in his car since he didn't have to go all the way back down to Macon after the event. Getting there and the event all went without a hitch. The event ended around 10:00 pm and the ladies headed back here with the guy going his way, but still in close proximity of the women. All of a sudden, going down the highway, Heather ran over something and blew out her left rear tire. She was in the fast lane and with typical big-city mentality, no one would allow her to move over to the slow lane to get on the break down lane, so she had to park in the breakdown lane on the edge of the median. You can't get as far off the road on that one and people are haulin' ass one lane over, so it's not a fun place to be.

The Problems: 3 women in the car and no one knew how to change a tire. All three are married and have guys that change tires for them, so, in the past, there was no reason to learn. They knew they needed to get the jack out and they did that, but it was in three pieces and had problems getting it together. Most cars that Heather has owned has had the spare in the trunk or under the storage area in the back. Imagine her surprise when the floor of her cargo area in her '07 4Runner didn't lift up. For a few minutes, they had no idea where the spare was. They found it under the rear of the car and then had to figure out how to lower it. So, here they are, three women in skirts, on the side of I-75 in Atlanta trying to read tire changing instructions off the jack set in the back of the vehicle. And, of course, not one person stopped to offer any assistance. They called the guy that was close to them and he was able to come back. As they were waiting on him to come back, Heather finally called me. She wasn't frantic, but she wasn't in the greatest of moods either.. She asked me what she was supposed to do. She asked if we had AAA or something like that. Unfortunately, we did not have membership into anything like that. Our insurance covers Emergency Road Service, but it's a reimbursement thing. You call whoever, pay them and State Farm pays us back. So, since she was on the fast side of the highway and didn't know how to change the tire, I told her to call 911 and get a cop out there to help them. I would rather her get a cop there and have him around to keep cars from getting too close along with being there in case someone who we didn't want to stop and help decided to do just that. Since I was at home with the baby over 45 minutes away, I was no help. But, she was able to get a cop to show up, their male co-worker also showed up and he and the cop changed the tire for the ladies. While this was happening, the Policeman also spoke to ladies about not knowing how to change a tire, and not having any protection in the car with them. After it was all changed, they all made it home safe. It was a tense hour around here until I heard they were on the way again.

The fixes: First, we are becoming members of AAA. That will give her a number to call 24/7 no matter what happens to the car. Second, this weekend, we are having a tire changing class. Heather will know how to change a tire on her car come Saturday night. Also, since the bottle jack in the car was such a pain in the butt, we're also going to get her a small floor jack that she can carry with her instead. They were in desperate need of a screwdriver for something during the night. I'm not sure for what, but she will have a screwdriver in the car from this point on also. We're going to put in a "break-down" kit in the car. The safety triangle, flares, a blanket a bottle of water, some rope, etc. And, we will get her some protection to keep with her. I'm licenced to carry a gun and will when I feel its necessary, but Heather isn't very interested in carrying a loaded firearm in her vehicle anymore. She's more of a "shoot first, ask questions later" type person when it comes to her well-being and she thinks she'll shoot someone that doesn't really deserve it. So, we're going to look at mace as the first line of defence and a taser for the next step. I think tasers are cool, so having one could be fun. :)

The thing is, this whole episode caught us completely by surprise and we weren't equipped to handle it. Calling 911 and the lucky guy that happened to be up there with them was their only hope. I want her to be able to handle a flat tire on her own and call others if she wants to not because she has too. We're just really glad it wasn't just her and baby that night. And, the piece of mind of being a AAA member in case anything worse than a flat happens in the future is well worth the 64 dollars a year.

Please learn from our mistake. If you don't have a number to call, find one or become a member of some auto club. If you don't know what to do if you have a flat, please get someone to teach you. And, because of the world today, please carry something to protect yourself in your vehicle. You never know...