Did We Survive Hurricane Katrina or Not?

Did I say 'goodnight'? I didn't mean it. Especially since I wrote my last post at three in the afternoon.

It's all starting to get to me, you see. It's the sawdust, the screaming baby, the skilled and unskilled labor, the endless quests for carpet, tile, paint, faucets, and door handles... There's the constant disruption and the noise - ah yes, the noise. *twitch*

I wake up at dawn and no one shows up til 10:30 am -- I decide to sleep late and I'm frantically scurrying around the house in a t-shirt and socks when the doorbell rings at 7:00 am.

From about that time this morning until approximately 4:00 pm today the downstairs bathroom was not available for use. During the rare moments when it was free of complete strangers wielding powertools... the total lack of trim around the door would have made for a 'use at your own peril' situation. In the meantime, the upstairs bathroom was not an option for it would require leaving the screaming baby and the rest of the tribe downstairs unattended and alone with complete strangers wielding powertools.

Did I mention the screaming baby?

I love Emily. She's very sweet.. social.. loving... adorable... that is, when she's not screaming.
First, it was teething.. then there was the inner ear infection... then the antibiotic-driven intestinal upset and resulting diaper rash... then the fussiness from her most recent vaccinations... and now - a break-through varicella infection from one of said vaccinations.

We're all quite sleep-deprived now.

It's 5:36 pm. Dave should be coming home from work soon, but I think that he had planned on stopping by Lowe's and trying to buy a bathtub on his way home. If yesterday's Lowe's trip is any indication of how long it should take him - he should be home around 7:30.

Our car is in the shop with a faulty seat-warmer switch. If I ruled the world - there would be no seat-warmer switch to become faulty in our car... but I don't. And it does. You just can't imagine how truly dire a faulty seat-warmer switch can be until you experience one yourself.

It's 5:42 pm. I have a dozen little stars to glue, iron, or otherwise affix to the boys' basketball shirts before Thursday. I need to come up with a homeschool lesson plan before tomorrow morning. I have five hungry kids (if you include Dave), three hungry cats, and two hungry dogs to feed within the next half hour or there will be a mutiny. At least three rooms have recently (as in within the last six hours) had all of their furnishings moved away from the walls and into their centers... all of which must be moved back before several people can sleep tonight... and then moved back to the center again before Thursday morning. It's like square dancing! Only without the music.. and with furniture... and .. well.. okay it's nothing at all like square dancing.

It's 8:09 pm. Just moments after fantasizing about square dancing what little order we had around here disappeared into a whirlwind of little people asking for food, dogs body-slamming the back door to escape the dropping temperatures, and telemarketers 'accidentally' calling the cell phone.

Now it's quiet. We could paint the pantry. We could touch up some grout. We could re-rearrange furniture. We could.

Or we could just go to sleep. Goodnight! And now I mean it!