This month has been a long one.
If it is hard for you to read this whole post because of the length...
just think how long it seemed living it :)
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You know how they say "When it rains, it pours?"
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Well... this month has been a whole lot like that.
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Lets start off with the beginning of the month of July.....
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Judd was at work, his brothers and their friends all went boating. One of them parked behind Judd's big dually truck on the down sloap of his parents driveway. So when Judd went to back out, he didn't see it and did some nice $2,600 worth of damage to the trunk.
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When unexpected expenses come up, I can't help but think of where that money could have gone. That right there folks could have been a nice Mexican Riviera Cruise.
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Next.
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Driving home from work shortly after I put on my brakes and it sounded like a huge plane was about to crash on me. So I took it strait to the auto repair place and needed to fully replace everything in my brakes for a nice $450.
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Or in other words: the cost of a new couch.
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Next
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I forgot to mention that I had been without a dishwasher for about 4 months already... and so being at work full time, then spending lots of time doing dishes instead of being with my family = not a happy Heidi. So we decided... Heck... while we're throwing money at stupid stuff might as well put that on the list too... another $800 later I have an awesome dishwasher.
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Had I not needed to buy a dishwasher, that money would have been a nice trip to Cali.
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NEXT
After picking the kids up from daycare I carried them both inside. I went back out to my car to get the diaper bag and when I went to go back in the house... the door was locked. I started to panic for a second, wondering how in the heck the door could be locked with the keys and kids inside. So I went to my car and got a credit card and tried the bottom lock. It wasn't the bottom. How the heck did the dead bolt get locked? I tried to stay calm, until Kaden knocked on the door and said "mom help". I tried to talk to him but then he started crying... loud. Which made his mom cry because...um... hello my little baby is inside being babysat by her 2 year old brother. The only thing that kept going through my mind is the thing people always say about "never leave your baby and toddler alone for any period of time." Ah...
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So then I called my parents crying, they were on their way over.
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I saw my neighbor across the street (who happens to be a police guy) and made myself stop crying and act normal while I talked to this neighbor that we didn't know very well. (because I really didn't want to be known as the "crazy" neighbor) I told him the situation, but somehow he thought I was just crying because I locked myself out of the house and it was hot outside. He said "why don't you just sit in your car with the air conditioning?" Then when he realized I had been crying because my LITTLE BABIES were inside, he said "Oh I thought you were just crying because you didn't want to be outside in the heat, now I get why you are upset!".
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Seriously?
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Then the police guy climbed in all my window wells to see if any of my windows were unlocked, which they weren't. Then we went to the back sliding glass door to see if Kaden would unlock it for us... but he just knocked on the glass and showed us his Buzz toy.
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Judd wasn't answering any of the 900 calls I made to him.
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After trying to get inside for about an hour, my mom convinced Kaden to pull the wooden stick from the sliding glass door and unlock it. I still don't know how he understood what to do.
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Anyway.
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I felt like a crappy mom for having my kids locked in the house by themselves. And had Taylie not been in her car seat (where I could see her through the sliding glass window), and had she been crying I would have broken a window to get in.
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When Judd got home he couldn't really understand why I was so upset the kids were alone in the house if they were ok. Which made me even more upset that he couldn't relate/understand why it WAS such a big deal. (and just for my own sanity I did a pull of all my female mother friends and they too agree it WAS a big deal, therefore making me feel like a normal human mother, instead of a crazy one)
Next
While on our way to the Zoo Judd said "my truck isn't acting right". While we were driving up the hill to the Zoo entrance his Radiator started to smoke (or whatever it is that it was doing). Good thing we were right there anyway.
We went to the Zoo (pictures to come) and it was so HOT that all the animals decided not to come out, because um.. it was HOT. Also there was this weird guy that kept following us everywhere we went. One time we thought we lost him and when we went in to see the Monkey's there he was sitting on a bench with his shirt totally unbuttoned with his gut hanging out. Creepy. Kaden hadn't had his nap so being tired+ hot = no interest in the animals. All that work and no real payoff. Oh... did I mention that his mom made a nice lunch for the zoo.. but left it on the kitchen counter? Nice!
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Since the truck didn't overheat at the Zoo we thought it might be fine to drive home.
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But no... of course not.
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So thankfully after we got out of the 2 lane (no emergency pullout) area, the truck decides to overheat. Right when it hit the high red area we had pulled over in shade. We waited while Judd poured water into the radiator thing.
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Please picture this if you will...
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it was so hot Judd was thirsty, after pouring some of the gallon of water in to the radiator, he decided to drink some, but some of the steam had gone into the jug so when he drank it, he drank some of the nasty radiator stuff. So there I was on the side of the road in 100 degree weather with two hungry kids and a husband that is puking by the hood of the truck. I scrounged around for some food for Kaden and came up with a couple packets of those small saltine crackers we got at some restaurant.
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Nice... nothing says Bad mom like saltine crackers for lunch.
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So we called triple A to come tow his truck to a repair place. Later that night they called and said that it cracked the radiator hose when it overheated so that would be $2,400.
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Gosh... ok, that's just enough money to have had a nice weekend getaway.
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We needed Judd's truck for our annual Cabin trip to Island Park over the 24th so we were in a bit of a hurry to get it done (this was Saturday the 17th). By Monday they said it won't be done till Wednesday (the day we wanted to leave). Wednesday came, I packed everything (which took me hours) Have you ever packed for two babies? Lots of stuff. Two pack N' Plays... two strollers, diapers, food, toys, blankets, outfits etc..... and no truck. Then they called us Wednesday night and said that not only did the radiator hose crack... but also the engine block. So grand total on that is $6,650.
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Or in other words... A trip to Paris... the purchase of a small car, or heck... 3 Mexican Riviera Cruises.
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And the truck wouldn't be done for quite some time. With no truck (and not wanting my car to brake down on the way to the cabin) we decided we couldn't go.
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The next morning I started crying when Judd was getting ready to go to work. I was so exhausted from work and everything else that had been going on that I was bummed we wouldn't be able to have our family trip after I had taken 1/2 a day off work to get everything packed. So I un-packed everything and put it away.
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Then we decided that we really did need to get away as a family. Judd went on a treasure hunt of all his money spots and got cash together to rent a car. (as I sat there awe struck at just how many hiding places he has, and told him to make me a treasure map in case he dies so I can find all his money).
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Then Judd's mom called and said we can take her Expedition, yay... and thus the packing started again.
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We got up to the cabin late Thursday night. It was fun. It was somewhat relaxing (as much as could be expected with 2 kids). This is our 6th year going up over the 24th of July. The cabin is where Judd and I started dating in 2005.
NEXT
We got home from the cabin trip on Sunday. Then Monday while driving to work I get pulled over for the first time in like 8 years. I wasn't speeding. I guess I forgot to register my car last month, I had every insurance paper since the dawn of time (except for the current one) which I was told is required by law to have the most recent paper in your vehicle.
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Also, I guess it is against the law if you don't update your drivers license address 10 days after you move. I'm only 2 1/2 years late on that one. I didn't even try to talk my way out of a ticket... just add that to the list of crap this month please. But the Highway Patrol officer (who looked like he just got out of high school) just wrote me up a warning to get everything fixed within 14 days.
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(note: not getting a ticket felt like a silver lining in the clouds, and I thought all this bad luck was turning around).. until
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NEXT:
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I had a million things to do at work yesterday, but I had to leave early to get my car registered..... it failed safety. Registration, plus the stuff to get it fixed to pass was $250
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Or in other words, the cost of eating out for lunch every day for a whole month.
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NEXT:
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This morning after dropping Judd off at work (we're carpool buddies now, ain't that great!) I got into work 30 minutes late only to hear this nice sound coming from my front tire.
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Yup it's flat.
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But of course it is flat... why wouldn't it be? So I call Triple A (should get them on speed dial) to have someone come put on my spare. Who is it that shows up? A lady that's about 4 1/2 feet tall. Not only did I feel dumb for not knowing how to do this myself, but my tire can't be patched. I guess a screw jumped out and attacked my tire so I need to buy a new one on the way home.
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The cost of that will surely be enough to have paid for the Flip video camera thing I wanted.
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that is.. if I can make it home, in one piece, without anything else happening.
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Judd and I have had pretty good attitudes lately about everything that is going on. Mostly because it is pretty funny that it seems something big happens every couple of days.
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Looking on the bright side... I would much rather bleed out money for things then have my kids/family sick or hurt. We are all safe and healthy and still enjoying life.
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It has made us more humble, or depressed... one of the two :)
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But that has been the Gold Family month of July...hope yours has gone a bit better :)
11 comments:
Holy cow... I'm sorry! I hope things get better!
I agree about having kids locked in the house. Been there, done that! Lets do lunch soon, that will make things better!
It sure seems like everything goes wrong at the same time, but hopefully you got them all out of the way.
Your mom was telling me about this when I called her to complain about having to replace: our toilet (toys don't flush well), microwave, oven, dishwasher, garbage disposal, and a broken van door. Thank goodness money grows on trees!
Oh. My. Gosh!!!! This probably isn't what you were going for, but this post cracked me up! It's like you said, there's nothing much to do but laugh! (Okay, I admit, I almost ended up on the floor when I came to the part where Judd drank the radiator steam!)
Bummer...I'm glad my July wasn't like THAT at all. I love my expenses being paid for me :)
Oh my gosh, that is a busy month! Maybe that means you've filled your unexpected expense quota for the year and can enjoy the next few months without any not-so-fun surprises.
oh boy.
our car just started doing that thing where it sounds like a jet taking off.
crap. $450!
Hello Heidi! i am a dork and have tried to send you a few messages on this blog but I don't think i know how to do it. So if I have done it right I will see. LOL. Just wanted you to know I love your posts!
Holy cow!! I can finally post a comment after posting twenty billion! I need a computer class. So for now I will just say I am glad you survived July! YEAH. Even though it is know Sept.
Oh now I get it you have to approve the dam email ! LOL
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