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Tuesday, January 08, 2008

A Series Of Unfortunate Events


Last night at our Momtourage meeting, we were asked to answer several questions according to what color M&M we pulled out of a bowl. I chose to answer the question, "If a movie were made of your life, what would the title be? I answered "A Series of Unfortunate Events," because that is totally what my life has been the past week or so. Remember this post? Well, just because I didn't write any more after that, doesn't mean that I wasn't still having issues. I just ran out of energy to blog about it, and also just didn't have anything encouraging to say. And you know what they say about if you can't say anything nice, don't say it at all.

So I said nothing at all.

So, just to update you. The puppy is still not housetrained. Curt keeps asking me what I expected. I guess I will be revealing my puppy ignorance to say that I thought it would take about two weeks. Curt says try two months. At least. Now he tells me!

The bathroom is nowhere near done. Tomorrow it will be one whole week we have had just one bathroom for all eight of us. I realize people do this and live to tell about it all over the world. But when you had a bathroom and then you are suddenly without it, it is shocking, folks. It is now a regular thing in our house for someone to be standing outside the bathroom, banging on the door and begging the person inside to let them in. I have heard myself say the most ridiculous things in the past week. Things to do with timing bodily functions that do not bear repeating here. I feel like we are camping out in our own house, especially when I am the one doing the long hike upstairs to the children's bathroom, hauling all my stuff and my clothing with me. The children's bathroom, I have decided, is scary. No adult should have to go in there. Children are messy, messy creatures.

Then there was the little matter of my car. It broke down last week. The good news is, the timing was great since I had just left lunch with Curt and could call him and ask him to follow me to the dealership to leave my car. I said, "Ha, ha, you only thought you were going back to work! Not so fast, kemosabe!" So, that was Thursday and I didn't get my vehicle back until Saturday evening. I still don't know what was wrong with it. Something about fuel pumps and other various car parts not working like they should. But, then again, my Suburban is ten years old. It has the right to break down occasionally.

Moving on. My computer finally died on Sunday am. For about three weeks or more it had been acting funny. I kept telling Curt that it was not long for the world. It kept locking up numerous times during the day. I would shut it down improperly and then start it all back up again. Finally, on Sunday morning when I tried to turn it on we discovered it had reverted back to Millenium edition, as in 2000. As in when it was bought. (It was given to us for free about two years ago.) We had installed updates all along to keep it current. But those updates were nowhere to be found. Curt said it was like when elderly people get Alzheimers and revert back to their childhoods. My computer just reverted back and decided not to ever come back to the present, no matter how many nifty computer tricks my engineer husband tried. No amount of coaxing or sweet talking helped. SoI did the only thing possible and began researching laptops-- something I have been wanting for the longest time, but could never justify.

So, to catch you up, at this point, I had no car, no master bathroom, and no computer. And then, just to make things interesting, Curt went out of town for a few days. (Though we did get the car back before he left.) And I was alone with six kids, no computer, and one bathroom.

But the good news is, things are looking up. He came home tonight from his trip on a mission. Right after dinner, he announced that we were going to go buy me a laptop. And that is just what we did. And I am sitting here, in my cozy warm bed, typing this blog post. I feel like I have been ushered into the 21st century. No more big desktop for me, no sirree! I am liberated! I can take this show on the road! Woo hoo!

And soon I will be typing from my bed with a working bathroom just a few feet away.

And maybe even a puppy who decides he likes to go outside to use the bathroom.

But for now, this new laptop is quite enough. I am thanking God for this gift tonight, and my husband. Because even though he had to leave me with a broken down computer, he more than made up for it by not only taking me to buy this laptop, but also spending his time getting it all set up. Thanks honey! And welcome home.

ETA: In response to the comments about crate training, yes, we are crate training the puppy. I think I would have gone seriously crazy without that crate. He doesn't go in the crate, it's just when he's out and about that he does. I find he is spending lots of time in his crate for that reason-- then I start to feel bad and let him out, then he goes, then I put him back in, then... It's a vicious cycle. In fact, he's in there as I type. And he's definitely in there when I am gone or when we are all in bed. It is peace of mind to know that he is not making messes and wreaking havoc when we aren't around!
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9 comments:

Anonymous said...

woohoo! i am no longer concerned for you OR praying for you. ha.
your husband is awesome. i am extremely excited about this laptop news and hope it will result in MORE blogging :)
love you
jess

Laura said...

You are my hero. Seriously, I want your nerve. And, yes, the children's bathroom is a really scary place. You deserve a purple heart for venturing there. Forget Hilary Clinton, I'm writing you in on my ballot!
Laura B.

Lisa B @ simply His said...

It seems when stuff hits, it all hits together :) Glad you made it through with some sanity!

By the way, have ya'll thought of crate training your puppy? My hubby who is an avid animal lover, thought it was really mean to leave a puppy in a crate. However, it worked in no time. The puppy will not go to the bathroom in the same area he sleeps, so if you manage to keep him in the crate at night, there's a fighting chance you can train him in no time.

We got a puppy from the pound about a year ago and he was trained in a couple of weeks -- only had a few accidents right in front of the door when we weren't quick enough to let him out. I did have him on a schedule to go out at 2 am and 5 am to just see if he needed to use the bathroom -- unfortunately, he's stuck to that schedule. Good thing is that he loves to sleep outside :)

Good luck with all your trials!

cceeyore said...

Congrats on the new laptop ... just wondering ... is it a MacBook? Up until a few years ago, I was totally anti-Mac ... then my hubby got one, and I got used to it ... and now when I have to use a PC, I get very frustrated!

Puppy training went pretty fast for us mainly because we used a crate. She learned pretty quickly not to potty where she sleeps, and learned pretty quickly which door to go to when she needed to go out. Again, a few accidents at the door, but nothing some newspaper couldn't catch.

When she starts the nipping and biting stage, take an old washcloth (or 2), soak it, wring it until it is almost damp, and freeze it "wrung". When puppy starts nipping, take away whatever she is nipping on, and give her the washcloth. That was the key to a lot of her chewing problems. Take away what she was not supposed to be chewing on, and give her a proper chew toy. (Same thing works with babies, but we won't go there!)

Good luck and have fun with your new laptop!
carlyn
http://web.mac.com/cceeyore

Unknown said...

I pray that "A Series of Unfortunate Events" will soon turn into "A Series of God's Deepest Blessings!" :) :) Which, by the looks of it, you are beginning to encounter! I proud about the new laptop. My husband bought me one last April, and I LOVE it! It is so wonderful to "take the show on the road" and live in complete freedom from the usual desk. Enjoy my friend! It sounds like you deserved that blessing!

Wrinkled Shirts said...

I don't know if different breeds train easier but we have a shih tzu and did the crate training thing with her. She was trained in about a month although the crate was tortureous for her and me. I felt like I had a newborn. I had a soft sided crate, with a top zipper, and would put it by my bed at night. I slept with my arm hanging off the bed and hand in the crate every night to comfort her.

I'm so excited about your new laptop. I love curling up in my big chair with mine and my coffee although I have no eggnog creamer :(

Van said...

Oh Marybeth - While reading your blog I found myself having anxiety attacks remembering my computer crashes- I have actually had two! It is a horrible feeling. It is like execution -(my computer is so much a part of who I am and what I do...)knowing it's coming and there is nothing I can do about it - 'cuz the damage is DONE. I am so happy for you that you have a laptop now. I am celebrating your FREEDOM with you. I don't mind long waits anymore. I just take out my little lap top and work away! I really stopped into blog to ask about the speakers' teleconference you mentioned in an earlier blog. Got any good scoop on how to sign up for that one? I'll 'see' you on tongiht's teleconference. Thanks for the heads up. You are a treasure!

MaryLu said...

What is it about 10 year old Suburbans? Mine just quit in October, was out of commission for 2 months, and after $1500 in repairs is working good again. My computer got the BSOD yesterday, (blue screen of death) and I'm hoping mine does not follow your computers path of unrighteousness. Although I would love a new laptop if that comes with the deal.
sigh...
Be encouraged!! And thanks for keeping us encouraged too.

Melissa Milbourn said...

Yo Girl Friend, we too are having puppy potty training issues. If you have time check out my blog titled "Dear Abbey"