Save Me | NaBloPoMo day 29

This morning Port was sleeping soundly way past his normal wake up time when the cat snuck in the room and tried to claim the pillow he was sleeping on. I heard Port fussing and walked in to find him up on all fours in the bed, grunting and growling at the cat while he was still in a half asleep state. He was not a happy guy. I can say I wasn't too happy either - darn cat. You just don't wake a sleeping monster; doesn't she know that??

Later on this morning I heard him happily laughing and squawking (yes, he squawks, and grunts and growls - so what of it?) and I came in to find he had set up this dinosaur invasion on the cat. She was not amused and she told me so by swishing her tail rapidly when I looked at her. 

Haha! Take that, kitty cat! ;)

I am feeling better today - who ever it was that said a prayer for me, thank you. I felt it, and it worked. Some good things happened today and I really, really needed it. I am so thankful for His grace.

Until,

D :)

The Heart of Life | NaBloPoMo day 28

I am feeling discouraged today, and hormonal, and a little too....real for my liking. I feel like I am running 90 miles an hour, working waaaay too hard and spinning my wheels, and at the same time sitting here doing nothing, waiting on something to happen. I am trying to trust, trust, trust when all my being is telling me to just take over and get something done. Make things happen. It feels like the more I try, the less I accomplish. The more I put into my house, the messier it gets. The more I put into my business, the less business I get. I feel a tremendous amount of weight on my shoulders.

But I have to have faith. I have to trust. I have to let go and not worry. This is what I am commanded to do, and this is what I strive for. But the day to day, today, is just wearing me down.

Yesterday I was having a hard time with the kiddos and I had been reduced to yelling. I hate getting like that; sometimes it seems like the only thing that gets the boys to do anything around here. At one point, after particularly upsetting Port, he came to me and asked to be picked up. He is still my little cuddly guy. I picked him up and he got on his knees in my lap so he could look me straight in the eye and he said, "Mummai, I want you to be nice to me."

ugh

The guilt just crushed me.

He threw his arms around my neck and gave me the biggest hugs. He hugged and hugged and hugged, and even threw in a sweet kiss or two before he snuggled down in my lap and cradled my arm.  Of course, I just melted into a big ol' blob of adoration for my sweet boy and within less than a minute he had fallen asleep.

I wish I had a big lap to snuggle into when I was having a hard day. I wish that I could just ask the world to "be nice to me" and give it a hug or two and all would be better.

Until,
D

The Little Things | NaBloPoMo day 20

I took my monkeys on a date tonight.  It's been a lazy day; I had a headache for most of it and I just didn't feel like cooking tonight. Daddy was out on a photo shoot and so since it was just me and the boys, I thought we'd do something fun. They were so good and totally enjoyed the restaurant and all the fun decor; I was really surprised. And now I know I can go back there, get them a big bowl of chips, a stack of tortillas and some re-fried beans and they will be happy little campers.  Best of all, we can all eat on the cheap! Woot!

I am looking forward to this week and having Kiddo home from school. We'll have one of his friends hanging with us most of the week, so the boys will have a playmate to keep them occupied. Now I just have to think of a couple of well placed activities to keep them all from getting bored. I think it will be fun!

Until,
D :)

I Feel Fine | NaBloPoMo day 7

This photo brought to you by my crappy iPhone camera, the letter P and the number 3. ;-)

My poor little dude is not feeling well. He started out the day strong, but didn't/couldn't eat lunch and by 1:30 he crashed hard. I had to go up to Kiddo's school for a parent/teacher conference, and Port was playing Legos in his room with Hubby. Hubby said he just suddenly got up, walked over to the cat, laid down on the floor and went right to sleep. He slept there for a few hours. Dinner was a little touch and go, but he made it through and managed to hold down a small portion of mac-n-cheese. He cuddled and was puny through the evening but got a sudden burst of energy just before bed (of course!). Hopefully he will be close to 100% tomorrow. I can't stand my pumpkin being sick. :(

And why is it that some little ones, when plagued with a tummy bug, decide that is the perfect time to kiss mommy right on the mouth, repeatedly??

I feel fine, I feel fine, I feel fine, I feel fine........

Until,

D :)

All There Is | NaBloPoMo day 6

It's been a long day. We went to church this morning and then when we got home I had to do a couple of loads of laundry, clean the kitchen, wash the dog and pick up a little around the house. Then I had a senior session in the next town over and after had to rush home and make dinner before heading out again to my weekly podcast/book meeting.

When we got home from church and had lunch, I noticed that Port didn't eat anything. And he picked at what I had served him in a way that was not his usual picky eater self, it was more of a "that sounds disgusting for some weird reason" sort of way. After my senior session, I asked Hubby if Port had eaten anything all afternoon and he thought he had eaten some goldfish crackers, but it turns out I don't think he did. So when I was making dinner Port was complaining of being hungry. I gave him a little bowl of goldfish and he tried to eat one but hollered almost immediately saying his tummy hurt. So a few minutes later he was "hungry" again and I gave him half a banana. That seemed to sit well so he tried to eat the other half and just a minute later he was spewing it all over the bathroom.

Thankfully he gives us some warning before he gets sick - he yells really loud.

So because I was in the middle of cooking dinner, Hubby had to deal with the sickness. That was not a good idea - I should have had him take over the dinner. Hubby doesn't handle sickness well. When I found him pale as a sheet in the hallway while Port was standing in the tub in the bathroom, I knew I needed to task Hubby with finishing up dinner.

Thankfully Port was much better after that episode, and he even ate a whole piece of toast during dinner. He did this a few weeks ago - he got up one morning and threw up twice and then was fine.

I hope that was all there was.

Until,
D

Feels Like Home | NaBloPoMo day 3

So, this is what I do. This is what I love. I have been a lot of things in my life; I have worn a lot of hats.  And while I have many very strong interests, this, photography, is something that no matter how busy I am, no matter what is going on in life, when I am shooting I am loving it. It feels like, home. I get excited about it, nervous about it, scared...and I love going through it and being exhausted when it's over but still being so revved up that I can't settle down right away when I get home. I love pulling the images up on my computer and seeing all that I have captured. It's like Christmas - I get to open hundreds of little presents with each session. Even if the session doesn't go how I had hoped or something is off, I know that there will always be something stored on that little square card that will make me smile.

For the first time in my life I really feel like I have the potential of being successful in my "job".  I really feel like I can be creative, or even not be creative, and still turn out quality work. It thrills me to the core to know that what I did with the camera made someone happy. For the first time in my life, I really want this thing that I am doing. I really want to make this business something I can be proud of. Now that Hubby is unemployed, my business has taken on a whole new meaning to me. I am more determined than ever to make it work; to make it into more than just a really fun hobby that helps me pay for more camera equipment.

The only other thing that has ever come close to photography is music. For as long as I could remember, I wanted to be a singer, and I tried for many years to get to a place where I felt confident enough to pursue it professionally. Unfortunately, that confidence was never really there, I never felt talented enough, and my fear of failure defeated me.  Now, I still dream of a life that involves being able to sit on a small stage with a guitar or piano player and sing to an intimate audience. And I suppose there is still time for that; maybe it will happen some day.  But I know that singing will never be a full time profession for me. I do hope I get to make it a regular hobby some day.

So, with this passion, and this tangible need for my photography business, I am constantly thinking about it. I think about the business, how I can improve it, how I can provide my clients with the best possible experience, how I can provide amazing products, how I can take on more clients, how I can improve my style, and how I can do it all and maintain some sort of sanity. I think about how I can educate myself, how I can get more organized, how I can update and maintain my website...the list goes on and on and on.

But with 2 little ones around (ok, just the littlest little one mostly) it is darn near impossible to get anything major accomplished that will help my business. I have so much I need to do that I can't do in 5 minute intervals - which is what I am awarded with when the precocious Port is around. So, I am investing in myself and my business and I am booking myself a hotel room for a weekend this month and locking myself inside so I can get some work done.

I started my to-do list today for what I want to accomplish on this all important weekend, and I think I may need to extend my stay for about a week. Or two. heh.

There is never enough time, is there? What extremes have you gone to in order to make your life/job/world better?

Until,
D :)

November Rain | NaBloPoMo day 1

Since it's been almost 2 months since my last post, I thought it might be a good idea to once again participate in NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month) again this year.  And luckily, since yesterday was Halloween, I am fresh and ready to go with some fun pictures to share with you. 

First, in case you are coming over from NaBloPoMo or are new to my little blog, that chick on the left is me. That is probably the newest images of me - I sort of have a thing for self portraits. However, this lovely capture was created by my wonderful friend, Kim, over at KimberlyTM Photography. Kim has, until now, mostly been a "thing" shooter (and mostly flowers), but she was interested in me giving her a little portrait photography lesson of sorts so we went out a couple of weeks ago and played. She also does hair, so I have to give her props for my fabulous cut and color. And yes, that is a blue streak on top and blue underneath. I LUV it!!

So, yesterday, the boys had a blast trick-or-treating in our friend's neighborhood (our hood pretty much sucks for ToTing) again this year.  We started the door to door trek just before dusk. 

I had some fun with my wide angle lens - his cute little cookie face looks even cuter all distorted. ;)

And of course, Kiddo had to get in on the wide angle lens action too. I can't believe he actually looked at the camera! That, my friends, is a rare thing. 

And on Friday last week we made our annual visit to the pumpkin patch for some pictures and a ridiculously expensive pumpkin. Here is Port with his shaggy hair, Molly the Cat who goes EVERYWHERE with him, and his little pumpkin.

And Kiddo with his pumpkin (notice he is NOT looking at the camera. *sigh*)

  And my sweet guys together. This was the reward for the yearly excursion. ;)

It feels good to be back to blogging again. Hopefully I can once again make it through the November challenge.

Until,
D

That's Life

So let's see....where to start?

We are still alive and kicking - relatively speaking. I had thought our health problems were taking a turn for the better and then on last Wednesday, after t-ball practice, Kiddo started complaining of another ear ache. Things went from bad to worse very quickly and he was up all night with excruciating pain in his right ear. Sometime in the wee hours he said he felt a pop and a whoosh of fluid; the ear drum had blown and he found a bit of relief. I made an appointment for him for Thursday afternoon, and while he wasn't experiencing any pain in the left ear, the doctor said it looked really bad too. He actually physically cringed when he took a look in Kiddo's ear!

So, the doc referred us to an ENT.  3 massive double ear infections and 2 double ear drum perforations (the left ear blew later that day) in the past 3 months - something needs to be done. He said it could just be a resistant bacterial infection (the first infection was bacterial), or it could be allergy related, so we are trying yet another kind of antibiotic (which I am really having a hard time with) and I am pretty sure the ENT will recommend tubes. I truly hope it is something we can avoid.  The pediatrician wanted to try using some Flonase along with the antibiotic, but I informed him that Kiddo has a big problem with nosebleeds and so he decided to skip that step and go straight to the specialist. I am hoping I can see about getting the angry blood vessel in his nose cauterized and we can be rid of the nosebleeds for a while.

Kiddo's first t-ball game was last Saturday.  I was in Houston for a baby shower, so Hubby did the game with the boys.  Kiddo had a great time, and even hit 2 home runs!! He was so excited! Hubby said it was quite comical; if a kid made contact with the ball and hit it off the T, everyone would start running the bases and scrambling for the ball. I guess you can't expect much else from the first game with a bunch of 4-6 year olds!

Port had an awesome birthday - so awesome that he is still asking me every day for more presents and grandparents and birthday cake. He looks all over the house for boxes and bags, and whenever the Fed-Ex guy comes by with a print order, it takes me 10 minutes to get Port to understand that the box isn't for him. He cracks me up. He loved his "happy birthday", as he calls it. I can't believe he's really three.

Kiddo's ENT appointment will be some time next week. This week, however, I get to take Port for an EKG.  When he was a newborn, he failed his heart test in the hospital (it showed an abnormality).  I was supposed to schedule a follow up EKG for him at 6 months old, but I totally forgot. And now, I have been reminded by the pediatrician a couple of times and we are also about to lose our health insurance (Hubby and the kids; I haven't had it in years) so I decided I had better get it done while I can.

We are losing our insurance soon because Hubby is now officially a temporary employee with his company.  The buy-out is complete, and the remaining employees of the old company will be laid off as soon as the transition is final. yay. I am trying to stay positive and look at this as a good thing; I think the not knowing the exact end date is what keeps me up at night. I just don't know what to expect.

Pictures from recent events to come; right now I am swamped in client edits and so personal images are in the back of the line.

Some good lines from Kiddo the other day - I shared these elsewhere, but I wanted to put them here to keep:

Walking out of the school: "I wish I could lay in bed and poot all day."
Driving Home from Sonic: "Mumma, when I grow up I am only going to vote for you." Me: "You are?" Him: "Yeah. Don't you want to be president?"
Sitting at the Table: "I only like giving myself wedgies. I don't like giving them to anyone else, just to myself."

Until,
D :)

Under the Sea

I drove into Houston last night for some biz-nuss today and so I am writing this from my inlaw's kitchen. The week has been pretty busy. Hubby stayed home on Monday because he still felt bad, and he went back to work on Tuesday still feeling bad. The kids seem to be ok (finally) though both have felt warm at various times throughout the week. Port is dealing with some sort of wicked rash type thing - it's too complicated to explain.

I am so done. And I am still denying germs entry to my body. Nope. No way.

On Wednesday, Kiddo had his first baseball (t-ball) practice. Thanks to the generosity of G&H he will play baseball every week for the next couple of months. He is so ecstatic!  He did pretty well - he is one of the biggest players, and one of the oldest too, but definitely not one of the most skilled. Poor guy, he is just not a runner. But he tries and he has fun so I am happy with that.

Hubby is supposed to take Kiddo to practices but he had a photo session this week so Port and I took Kiddo instead. It was quite the chore trying to keep Port out of the way and off the field. He wanted to play too! And it's not set up like I had hoped with the kids on a field and the parents sitting on bleachers behind a fence. It is all open and there is no where to sit but on the ground.  The parents that had obviously been there before showed up with camp chairs - smart thinking.

Port did get a big kick out of watching Kiddo do the drills. And he shouted and cheered him on from the sidelines. It was the cutest thing ever! The mom sitting next to me thought it was sweet too. When Kiddo was moved way down the field where we couldn't see him, Port took to cheering for the other kids too. "Good Job! Yay! Keep it up! Good job, Guys!"

Like I said...I want to keep him in my pocket. ;-)

So, I am in Houston today and after doing the thing I needed to do I stopped off at Old Navy to see if I could pick up an item of clothing I forgot to bring with me.  They didn't have what I needed so I was leaving the shopping center parking lot when out of nowhere this lady ran a stop sign and plowed into me. Joy.

Thankfully no visible damage was done to me or my car. It was actually a very strange accident. I was in the CRV and she was driving this big honkin GMC suburban type thing.  And when she hit me, 1) I barely felt it 2) it barely made a noise - no typical car to car SMACK that usually happens and 3) her car basically did little more than pick my car up and set it back down a foot to the left. On the other hand, her bumper was crushed on one end, dented in about 3 inches and smeared with grey plastic from my bumper. The most bizarre thing ever.

We exchanged information, but I don't think anything was done to my car so I guess there really is nothing for me to do.  She said she had a friend with a body shop so she was going to be fine. Well, good for her. I wanted to ask her if she planned on actually stopping at stop signs from now on, but I was nice. This is the second time I have been in an accident (where I was driving) since we moved back to TX, and both times the accident has happened in Houston.  And, both times it was when someone was approaching a place where they should be stopping and they were looking in the other direction instead.

So that was the excitement for the day. I am looking forward to getting home tomorrow and diving back into work. So much is going on right now that I don't like being away from my office for too long.

Tonight G&H are at a church function and Port and I are at their house. Port fell asleep on the way to church so I just brought him back to their place. I am bored and now torturing my friends on Facebook with obscure quotes from old movies.

It's a party up in here. ;-)

Until,
D :)

Sick Love

{the best I could get of the Super Moon on Saturday. 

It was already high in the sky and I was hand-holding the camera with a 200mm lens.

I'm so sad I missed such a great photography opportunity. }

...aaaaand on Saturday Hubby came down with some sort of flu like crap. Seriously, can we be done with this for a while? I don't even want to blog anymore because I don't have anything good to report. It sucks. I came home from the wedding I shot that night and he was shivering on the couch, running 103* fever.

He was down for the count on Sunday and stayed home from work today. I have been fussing at him constantly to not touch things - I really don't need to be caring for sick people and get sick myself. I just can't. There is no one to take care of me.


I am ignoring the fact that I feel nauseous. Nope. Not happening.

Meanwhile, I sent Kiddo to school today - he was feeling fine, but he still can't hear anything.  I don't know what his teacher is going to do. I feel for her. I can't imagine wrangling 15 other kids and dealing with one that is temporarily deaf.  At least he feels fine though.  Port, on the other hand, fell asleep on the couch at 6:30pm last night and when I poured him into bed at 7 he was burning up.  He woke up this morning slightly warm, but otherwise seems fine. I hope he stays well.

So let's see - what can I talk about that is good today? We have the basics - good. The weather - good. Coffee - good. My garden - good. Business - good.

So many "buts" in my head. "But, the tire on the van is about to fall apart. But, every time we turn on the a/c the condenser ices over and freezes. But, the sink is leaking and the floor is still messed up and this is falling apart and that needs repair and there is no money...." *sigh*

The "buts" keep getting in the way...

Oh! Oh! I thought of some cuteness!

Port - he is speaking a lot more now and coming up with some zingers.  He's very empathetic to people's emotions and he tries to comfort us when we get upset.  He is always telling his toys and the animals, "ees ok, don't worry, ees ok".  So a few weeks ago we were on our way to pick up Kiddo from school, and I was about to pull out on a road just outside my neighborhood. There is sort of a blind corner there, and sometimes people come flying around the corner just as you are pulling out. So I attempted to pull out and a car comes flying around the corner so I stomped on the breaks. I said to Port, "hold on, Baby!" as we lurched to a stop.  He then said in his cute little voice "ees ok, Mummai. Don't worry. You are Sooooo pretty!" :-D

A few days later I was changing his diaper and we were having fun; I was tickling him and blowing raspberries on his tummy and he was just eating it up.  When I got him all dressed again I stood him up on the bed where I was sitting and he threw his little arms around my neck.  He stroked my hair and put a big kiss on my cheek and said, "oh Mummai, you are such a good girl."

I just want to keep him in my pocket forever.

Until,
D :)

Dance In My Dreams

This week started out completely sucktastic when, after a sleepless night, the boys woke us up at 5am by kicking the wall that adjoins our rooms. I finally gave in and got up at 6 and ended staying up because they were ready for breakfast. After dropping Kiddo off at school, I took my chances and took Port to Walmart to pick up some much needed items. After spying a Cars nightlight, Port screamed all throughout the store because I refused to buy it for him. Then he screamed all the way to the grocery store because I didn't get him one of the birds that was in the parking lot!! He fussed all through the grocery store and ended peeing all over me in the checkout lane. Then he cried all the way home because he was wet.

There just isn't enough coffee and chocolate to make up for that.

Kiddo came home that afternoon complaining of a headache and he was running a fever. Other than the headache he felt fine, but I kept him home from school on Tuesday just in case. Apparently there is some weird virus going around that only gives you a headache and a fever.  Tuesday he acted fine even though his temp went up and down a couple of times. Really the only indication that something was wrong was his red face and glassy eyes when the temperature rose.

He was a bit weepy though - a little more dramatic and cuddly than usual.  But at dinner last night he kind of freaked me out when out of nowhere he started crying. I asked him what was wrong and he cried out, "What am I gonna do if you die?!?"

{commence to melting into a puddle}

It took me quite a while to get him to calm down from that one. I don't know what possessed him to think of something like that. But I have to say it left me feeling uneasy.  When I picked him up from school today he was pouty and mopey and said he missed me and that he was homesick all day.  This boy LOVES school - I don't know what the heck is going on with him right now.

And of course, Port has been really snotty the past couple of days. Last night he woke up repeatedly screaming for a tissue. Poor guy.

The weekend was fabulous - I was able to get out and plant one of my gardens. I seeded for carrots, broccoli, brussel sprouts, onions, peas, lettuce, spinach and some early cukes and zucchini.  I put some seed in a sprouter last Friday for several kinds of peppers and tomatoes, and within 4 days the tomatoes sprouted! In a few weeks I will plant the other bed with the tomatoes and peppers, green beans, dill, basil and okra. I already have garlic growing there that I planted last fall. I can't WAIT until it's ready! I would really love to try some potatoes this year, but I am afraid I am out of room. Maybe in the fall I can try for a small crop.

I am convinced that Port thinks the only reason I have the garden beds is so that he can dig for worms. The boy LOVES finding worms and holding them in his hand. He asks me repeatedly every day to go out and find worms.  It was fine when I was going out there to turn the soil in the empty beds, but now I have one planted and am about to plant the other. I don't know what he's going to do when he can't go out there and dig anymore. He's gonna be MAD. 

Anyway, today I placed an order with Gardener's Supply Company for some fertilizer and some plant supports (thanks, Mom, for the gift card!) and then I received a catalog in the mail this afternoon and already have another 10+ things I want to add to my list. *sigh* If only I had some extra cash. Ah well.

I had the weirdest dream last night. I was back in college in the music building and a bunch of us were getting ready for a school prom-like dance.  Dr. Barrett and one of my high school guy friends was there helping out and a bunch of us girls were putting the finishing touches on hair and makeup.  I was trying to help out a few of my friends but then suddenly my left hand started tingling and itching. I looked down at it and little thin brown worms started coming out of my hand. They would come out really tiny, and then grow pretty big and long and I would drop them.  It didn't really bother me in the dream - I kept scratching my hand and shaking off the worms, but I couldn't help my friends like I wanted to. So we finally finished getting hair and makeup done and we jumped in a bus and headed over to the high school. When we got there, I realized I hadn't changed into my dress so I asked my high school friend to drive me back over to the college to get my dress. But the darn worms wouldn't stop coming out of my hand, so I couldn't communicate properly and he didn't understand what I needed.

For an hour after I got up this morning my left hand felt funny.

I don't know what it means, but I think I will lay off digging up worms for Port for a few days. ;-)

Until,
D :)

Rat

I am writing this and praying that my internet connection stays on long enough for me to complete the post today. We have been dealing with internet connection issues for a couple of weeks now - trying everything we can and asking everyone we know and nothing is working. It gets better, it gets worse. Some computers will connect others won't. Some will connect some of the time and then at other times they won't even "see" the modem as an option.

*sigh*

For someone like me who spends 12+ hours a day on line, it is frustrating to say the least.

So, we have a deck on the back of our house. It is built up to meet with our back door (obviously) and so there is about a foot (give or take) of space between the ground and the boards.  It's the perfect spot to house any number of wayward critters. I have personally seen a 4+ foot snake slither up in there.  I am certain that the dog, when let out into the yard almost every day, is not chasing phantom animals as she bolts out and immediately starts trying to cram her nose between the slats.  So, I wouldn't be surprised if we had a family of possum or raccoons living up under there. Shoot I would even expect it. We keep two big bins of pet food in Rubbermaid bins by the back door, so I know that some of the critters stop by on occasion to see if we've dropped any kibbles for their midnight snack. 

Our house is also surrounded by many, many trees.  And because of all the woodedness (my own word, I know) - we host more than our fair share of squirrels and birds.  At times it is a nuisance. And there have been several times that I have gone into the garage late at night and heard the scurry of what could only be a mouse or other rodent. Our house is old; it kind of comes with the territory.

Anyway, I am used to it and as long as I don't see anything in the house I am ok.  Well last week when we had been experiencing all those days of hard freeze, I was just waiting for something to try to come into the house. And sure enough, I was sitting here at the computer one morning and just happened to look up at the ceiling. The air vent is right above my head. And there, in the air vent, was a rodent. It was walking around on the grate, just hanging out.

Yeah, I kind of freaked out a little.

In as fast as I could type my distress to my husband, the mouse/rat was gone.  Then I got to worry all day about how exactly it got in there, and how on earth we were ever going to find the hole.  Then, I sort of forgot about it.

The next morning, I happened to look out the back door and sitting there in all his/her fuzzy cuteness, munching on a piece of dog food, was my furry friend.  I tried to get the boys to come to the door to see, but the commotion scared it over to my potted plants in the corner. It perched up on the side of a pot and finished breakfast and before I could grab the camera it was gone.

I know a lot of you reading are grossed out, but I kind of felt sorry for the little guy.  It was very cold out.

I didn't think much more of it after that. 

We were enjoying the absolutely beautiful weather today and Port was running in and out of the house. He was playing with the dog outside, chattering away to her in the only way little boys can talk to their dogs. It was pretty cute to listen to.  At one point things got quiet, and then I heard his chatter grow increasingly excited.  I was working on something with my back to the door when he ran in.

"Look, Mummai, a MOUSE!"

I turned around just in time for him to shove this in my face.

It was IN HIS HAND.

I screamed and jumped and then immediately tried to calm myself down so I didn't scare him. He is at that age where a bad reaction scares him pretty bad so I tried to make light of it. I grabbed him by the wrist and led him back out the door to make him drop it. After scrubbing hands and arms and changing his shirt, I went back out to dispose of it.  I couldn't tell how it died - there was no slobber or anything to indicate the dog did it, and it hadn't been dead for long as it was still warm.

Port was very upset that he couldn't play with the "cute little mouse".  He didn't understand that he couldn't touch him and pet him. I felt so bad!

I know it's silly for me to think that was the only one, but I have to say I do feel relieved that I know it's not camping out in my attic or air vents anymore.

Later this afternoon I returned the favor by putting a rolled up pill bug in Port's hand.  He was fascinated until it started to open up, and it scared him to the point of hysteria.

oops.

We spent some time turning over the dirt in the garden.  He loves looking for worms and holding them in his hand. But they don't wiggle too much. ;)

Until,
D :)

Upside Down

I couldn't be a nurse.

Sure, I can take care of my kids for a few days while they are sick. It's the mommy in me that allows me to do so, but even my "mommy-ness" has it's limits. After so long, all my empathy and understanding and gentleness and kindness just gets sucked dry.  I start feeling like a caged animal. I want to claw at my skin and run screaming out the door... My hat is tipped to the nurses and professional caretakers to the sick and elderly. I just couldn't do it.

I just wrote a big long post, and then realized it was almost the exact same thing I wrote last week. whoops.

So where I left off was on Friday.  Hubby was feeling better, but on Saturday he relapsed and was back in bed for 2 more days. He finally went back to work on Tuesday. Port thankfully started feeling better on Sunday, but it was at the peak of Kiddo feeling bad so it was pretty frustrating for him. He wanted to run around the house after being cooped up and immobile for most of about 4 days, and Kiddo could barely move. Port would cry and cry that he wanted Kiddo to run - it was truly pitiful.

Kiddo was still spiking a fever off and on all day Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday he finally seemed to be heading back to his normal little self, but for some reason he had almost completely lost his hearing. He said his ears didn't hurt or feel full, but we had to yell right in his face for him to know what we were saying. I thought I was going to be able to send him back to school on Thursday, but then right before bed on Wednesday night he spiked a fever again. It shot up to 104.5.

I was at the end of my patience and sanity by that point. I had been dealing with 3 sick people for a week. I got very irritated with Kiddo - not one of my finer moments for sure. Thursday morning I was done and defeated, so I called the doctor. Turns out he has a massive double ear infection caused by a mycoplasma infection. The boy had walking pneumonia. The doctor said that is probably what all the boys had - most people get over it on their own and it presents itself in very much the same way the flu does.  And they are normally misdiagnosed or not diagnosed at all because it goes away in a week or so. But in Kiddo's case, the ears presented the infection and it was clear that was what he had. So, he got a big ol' dose of antibiotic and is starting to feel better. His hearing was a lot better yesterday, but today it seemed to be gone again. He went back to school on Friday (after missing 5 school days and being sick for a whole week!) but he was totally exhausted by the time I picked him up.

And Port was doing fine all week until I brought him over to my friend's house for a bit while I took in a meeting with a bride.  When I picked him up he was warm. Today his nose was running all day and this evening he had a lot of goop in his eyes. I cannot do this again!

Tonight Kiddo started talking about wanting to go to bed at about 6PM. That is not a good sign either.

Me? Well, so far I seem to have escaped it. I started running a fever last Friday. That day I went to the grocery store and bought a 2# bag of clementine oranges.  I finished off the bag on Saturday and bought another. I just kept eating oranges - every time I could think about it; every time I walked into the kitchen I peeled one. And I hate oranges. I am a huge fan of citrus, but I have never been able to eat oranges very often.  But I did; I ate them all day for days. Each one was like a shot of afrin - they would clear up my sinuses and they made me feel so much better.

And I never got sick. The fever stopped Friday night and I was spared this nasty thing that took down my whole family. So far, so good. I am still eating them, just not as often. I am kind of getting sick of them. In the last week I've consumed probably 7 pounds of the clementines. Ick.

I may be glowing orange by Monday.

Until,
D :)

Fever

Sick, sick, sick, sick, sick.

That's what we are over here at the Fry household.  Ugh.

I had a FANTASTIC time in San Antonio at the Imaging USA convention.  I will have to give you a recap soon when I can put two thoughts together. Right now I am fighting a fever and severe sinus pressure, so forgive me if this doesn't make a lick of sense.

So when I got back Tuesday night, the boys were in bed. When we got up the next morning, Port had a little barky cough for about an hour. I was a bit concerned, but Hubby said he hadn't noticed that either boy was feeling bad, but he did say that Port had fallen asleep several times on Tuesday in random places.

A couple of hours into Wednesday morning, Port started running a fever. This kid does not do fevers half way.  When he gets one, it comes on fast and strong and HOT. Before I knew it he went from fine to glassy eyed, teary and red.  I started the Tylenol, Ibuprofen rotation. And let me tell you, if I wasn't on time with it almost to the minute his temperature would shoot right back up immediately.  Without meds, he was running right at 105 degrees, with meds he cooled down to a balmy 102.  Poor guy, he was miserable.  It's funny though, even when feverish he still wanted to play; he just couldn't do much for very long.  He did alright that night but Thursday morning was running a very high fever once again.

Hubby started feeling bad Wednesday night. It started with him as more of an allergy type thing.  He had a hard time at work on Thursday. By the time he got home Thursday evening he was a walking zombie. He went straight to bed and spent most of the evening there.  Port was still running a super high fever - just before bed time it spiked again despite the meds and I ended up putting him in the tub for almost an hour to cool him down. After that he felt much better and even started running laps around the house.  Kiddo started complaining that night of an earache, so I loaded him up with some ibuprofen right before bed.

Hubby couldn't sleep at all and laid in bed moaning for a few hours before moving out to the couch. At about 3:30 AM, Kiddo got up to go to the bathroom and didn't make it.  Hubby was so out of it (I think he was running a super high fever) all he could do was wake me up and then go back to moaning on the couch.  I got Kiddo cleaned up, gave him a dose of Tylenol (because he was running a fever at that point) and put him to bed in the spare room and went back to bed. I decided right then that Kiddo wasn't going to school today, so when we got up finally it was well after 8.  Thank goodness for the extra sleep; I think we all needed it.

Port's fever was back down to low grade today without meds and he felt so much better. He got upset a few times because he wanted to run but Kiddo couldn't run with him. He just didn't understand it. Hubby spent most of the day in bed and is feeling much better now.

I started running a fever this afternoon, but I am doing my best to fight it. I really don't want to go through what Hubby went through.

Kiddo's fever began spiking this evening - poor guy, he could barely walk when I put him to bed. I didn't want him trying to navigate the ladder to the top bunk, so I laid out sleeping bags on the floor for both of the boys to sleep in.  Kiddo was so miserable; I could barely get him off the couch.  Hopefully tonight was the worst of it and he feels better in the morning. Hopefully everyone feels better before it hits me fully.

Because it will hit - and I don't know if I'll be able to power through this one.  Mommas should never get sick.

Until,
D

Old Things New

Gosh I can't believe it's been over a week since I blogged here.  I apologize for the absence.  Things have been pretty crazy around here, as usual, and I am finding I am so tired in the evenings that I can't really complete a thought on a blog.  I haven't been really feeling up to par either, so I am particularly tired most days.

Anyway, the excitement this week - Kiddo lost tooth number 3. It was pretty funny because his 2 adult teeth that are growing in take up more space than the 3 he lost, so when the tooth fell out I couldn't really tell where it came from!  Poor kid; I hope he is ok with having crooked teeth for the rest of his life.

It has been bitterly cold here (and by bitterly cold, I mean below 70). I am about done with it.  I don't mind staying in the house all day, but for some reason, when it's cold outside I get cabin fever much quicker than usual.  I guess when I do actually go outside, I need it to be sunny and warm.

This weekend I am headed to San Antonio for my first ever photography convention. I am all scheduled up with classes and workshops and I just can't even begin to express how excited I am. I will be away from the family for 3 1/2 days, which will be...well weird.  I mean, it will be great, and I know I will enjoy it immensely, but I will also miss my guys something awful. I don't know how parents deal with being away from their children for long periods of time - I don't think I could do it. 3 days seems like a lot to me, though I know it's really nothing.

So my goal is to take lots of pictures and some videos and make this thing super fun - so don't be surprised if you see a bunch of stuff from me on line for the next few days. Speaking of, here is a quick shot I took of a 4-wheeled "senior" that I found while I was out on a high school senior photo session last week.

The boys have been such a mess today.  Port has been acting out all day - to the point that I am ready to put him on the curb.  We hosted my father in law for two nights this week while he worked on some stuff on his property and I think all that excitement was just too much for both my little guys.  I am not sure Port has slept at all for two days.  Today came to a head with Kiddo when I had to completely separate him from his brother by making him stay in my room with the door closed. Every time they were within 5 feet of each other they were fighting over something. I kept pulling them apart and they kept seeking each other out; little magnets! As soon as Kiddo was hidden away, Port went looking for him - and they had just been at each other's throats minutes before! Some down time apart did Kiddo a bit of good, but Port was still a mess.  He ended up tantruming (I know, not really a word) to the point of needing a time out, twice.  During the second one he worked himself through it to the point of calming down, and when I brought him out of his room to apologize and get some cuddles, I picked him up, he laid his head on my shoulder and promptly fell asleep. Poor little dude.

He woke up just before dinner time and was still a mess. A fun bath and some butter cake with fluffy chocolate icing made it a little better though. ;-)

I took the above image of him when I had the great, great pleasure of grabbing a quick lunch with my high school prom date!  Mark happened to be in town on business and he invited me to lunch. It was so great to see him again - I think it's been about 10 years (was the last time at Mike's wedding??).  I think I only said a couple of stupid and/or embarrassing things, so overall I think it went well.  I wish we'd had more time to chat. Unfortunately I had to rush off after only an hour so I could be on time to pick Kiddo up from school.  Next time, I think we should get both our families together - with our 2 boys and Mark and Tanya's 3 girls together it should make for quite the interesting evening!

I would post a picture I took of Mark during lunch, but I was only able to snag one and his eyes were closed.  You lucked out this time, Mark, but I will get you next time. ;-) Thanks again for a great afternoon!

There is a ton more I could say but I really don't want this to be a brain dump post. I hope you all have a great weekend!

Until,
D :)

Release Me

Well I didn't want to end the year on my blog with that depressing post from last week. Things actually got worse from there. The tummy bug hit Port pretty hard. First there was a day of high fever (105 at the highest) and then there was a day of vomiting.  I was thrown-up on more times than I care to recall and ended up doing multiple loads of laundry throughout the day.  Port handled it really well, I have to say.  He didn't really cry much; you could tell it freaked him out a bit, but he always recovered quickly.

Thursday night we took a risk and took the boys to look at Christmas lights at a couple of local hot spots.   Thankfully we didn't have to get out of the car. Port was so distracted about the pretty lights that he did great. Of course, when we got home he threw up again a couple of times.

The next day was a day of horrible diapers and almost more messes than the vomiting caused.  By Friday night I was pleading to God for some relief!

Saturday, Christmas morning, was such a blessing. Port woke up excited and energetic and everyone else felt good too.  There was no more vomiting, no more bad diapers and everyone could eat!

 {mmm, homemade caramel apple cinnamon rolls!}

Yippee!! The boys were super excited about their gifts and I think Hubby got more play time out of the boys' toys than they did!

I am so thankful for a beautiful Christmas day! God is certainly good.  We were able to enjoy the morning; some enjoyed it a little too much!

We even made it to the inlaw's place for dinner.  I made my first ever brisket in the oven.  It turned out pretty good but it looked horrible! I am not sure how to make a brisket look pretty, but next time I attempt to cook one I will have to do a lot more research. 

So yes, Christmas was great! I would like to wipe the couple of weeks leading up to it from my memory (except for the time spent with family of course), but thankfully the big day was great.  The rest of this week was awesome too - we got to spend more time with our family and Hubby and I even got 2 1/2 days of kid free time while the boys stayed with the inlaws just a few miles up the road.  It was so nice to be able to have a couple of date nights! I got a ton of work done and slept in for 3 mornings.  Pure delight! By Thursday though, the silence was getting to be too much and I missed my boys terribly.  I had a family photo session that afternoon and left straight from the location to go pick up my boys. 

Port acted so strangely.  When I showed up, I walked up to the house and he was playing in the living room. He could see me through the door and he was all smiles.  The problem was, the door was locked and I couldn't get in (Grammy was in the back of the house and didn't know I had arrived).  My poor baby was twisting the door knob and trying with all his might to open the door and he couldn't do it. I walked around to the back of the house to try the back door and it was locked too. By the time I got back to the front, my baby was in tears. Grammy finally heard the commotion and unlocked the door. Port cried and cried and clung to me for dear life. It was as if he had repressed all the sadness of me leaving a few days before and finally it all came to the surface when I returned. He wouldn't let me out of his sight for the rest of the evening. When we got home, he didn't want to go to bed and ended up screaming and crying for about 45 minutes before passing out. He was so exhausted, but didn't want to sleep in his bed.

We had a pretty good day today, and we decided to stay home tonight and have our usual low key New Year Eve.  With so much that has happened in the last few weeks, I just really didn't feel up to another night out.  I cooked a bunch of snacky, finger foods for "dinner" and we all enjoyed a "feast" (as Kiddo called it) and the kids went to bed on time. Woot!

(for the record, jalapenos stuffed with cream cheese and blue cheese, wrapped with bacon and baked are DIVINE! YUM yum, yummy, yum, yum!)

ahem

So tomorrow begins the new year and I am so excited at all that is on the horizon. I am ready to let go of the bad things that happened this year and start out fresh and positive.  I have some great personal stuff coming up this year and also some really great business stuff too. I can't wait to see what happens with everything and of course, share it all with you.

I'll close this with a partial quote from a post on my facebook page (that I stole from my cousin - she got it from dailyword.com) ...

I release and let go, ready to make the most of this present moment.

As I reflect on the events of the past year, I recognize successes and failures, gains and losses. Each event has taught me something and made me wiser. Knowing this, I acknowledge and release the past year in gratitude.

In contemplation of the coming year, whether I am excited or apprehensive, I know the spirit of God will empower me to meet every situation with confidence and strength. With this in mind, I release any concerns I may have about the future.

Today I am ready to stand tall in this present moment. I appreciate the now, perfectly balanced between the blessings of the past and the promise of the future. This is the moment of power and action. I am ready!

He has made everything suitable for its time.--Ecclesiastes 3:11

Wishing you an amazing New Year full of great fun, happy family, yummy food, fond memories and overflowing prosperity! See you in 2011!

Until,
D :)

The Show

Only 3 more days left of NaBloPoMo and maybe then I can get back to posting something a bit more interesting.  The good thing about this, I guess, is that is has me "writing" every day, even if it is only for 5 minutes just before midnight.

I had an amazing newborn session this morning! The baby boy was 15 days old and super sweet. He let us maneuver him every which way for a good hour and a half before he got hungry or even showed the slightest signs of annoyance. He didn't want to do every pose we tried, but he did most of them pretty well.

I was absolutely amazed at how well the boys played together for the rest of the afternoon today.  They got along so well! They spent a good part of the afternoon running in and out of the house, making up all these silly games.  Then Kiddo decided that they were going to put on a "show" for Hubby and I. So after dinner (in the pitch blackness of the back yard) Kiddo drug us out on the back porch and they did their performance. It was so cute - it mostly consisted of Kiddo running around and making things up while Port copied everything he did. It was pretty cute! Kiddo had set up a bunch of "obstacles" that he ran around and jumped on a few times, and then he played some sort of frisbee game then he ended the whole show with a song and dance number.  We were cracking up the whole time. When he finished the song, Port took over and started singing the theme song from the Cat in the Hat show on PBS. That was hilarious!

It's probably going to be a rough morning after we drop Kiddo off at school. Hopefully the readjustment to our normal schedule won't be too hard on the little guy.

Until,
D :)

Wake Me Up Inside

I thought yesterday's 4:30 wake up call was bad enough, but when the screaming started this morning at 2:30, I would have given anything for a couple more hours of sleep.  I tried to ignore him; I paced the floor for several minutes thinking he would just settle down and go back to sleep. But when I went back into the hallway for the 3rd or 4th time to listen, I noticed that not only was he crying hysterically, he was actually out of bed and at the door.

He never gets out of the bed unless it's really bad. 

So I opened the door and found my little sweet boy absolutely soaking wet from his neck to his feet.

Major wardrobe malfunction.

I don't know what happened with his diaper.  And I really don't know where all that pee came from, but he was a mess. And he was freezing. Poor guy.

I got him cleaned up and dry and warm and there was no where to put him because his bed was soaked too so we went to the couch.  He fell back to sleep relatively quickly, and I laid there most of the night under him, listening to the annoying whirring sound the dvd player was making. I had forgotten to turn it off when we went to bed.


Getting Kiddo to school this morning was trying; he was moving slow and I had no patience from the lack of sleep.  But we made it, and once back home I was thankful when Port wanted to play outside for most of the morning. I've been falling asleep at my desk all day. Everything was going as well as could be expected until I heard Port crying out on the back deck.  I walked out to find him standing on the step, with his pants and diaper halfway down his legs.  The fantastic part was that he had pooped first! Woo hoo!

Soooooo, since he was covered, I had to carefully carry him into the bathroom and just hose him down. He had made such a mess!

Seriously, this is not the week for my washer to go out on me. OMG the laundry!!!

This afternoon the boys were playing in the back yard and had a fight and Kiddo threw a big wooden steak at Port and hit him in the head. It left a nice goose egg and a little busted spot. Seriously, what is with that? Do you remember when he threw a rock at Port's head??

ugh

On a good note, I am leaving tomorrow for a weekend in Dallas to shoot a family session for one of my clients and a wedding with Allen.  Thankfully I am riding with him so I don't have to worry about driving. I am so excited to see my friend and her family and do the session for her. It should be a wonderful and fun weekend...if I can stay awake!

At least I won't be dealing with anymore potty accidents.  I hope.

Until,
D :)

Picky Picky Head

For months I fought the dinner time battle with Port.  He is an extremely picky eater, and so every night I would serve him up a plate of what we were having and every night I would toss the same plate of food in the trash because he wouldn't eat it.  Every night we fought with him about sitting at the table, and 9 times out of 10 he would end up crawling all over me while I was trying to eat my meal.

It was frustrating and infuriating and I became so tired of the battle.

And you know, parenting is all about picking your battles.  I got to the point that I didn't want this one anymore. I also realized that part of the problem is that Port still isn't really on our schedule when it comes to eating. I can regulate breakfast and lunch, but he was still hungry every night around 5PM.  Unfortunately, that is right when I am either cleaning the kitchen or just starting dinner; there is no way that I could have dinner ready that early.  And it doesn't make sense to do that as a family - Hubby is never home from work that early.

I even give the boys a big snack when Kiddo gets home from school.  It still didn't change the fact that Port is ready to eat at 5 every day.  And if I don't let him eat anything at 5 in the hopes that it will make him really hungry when supper is ready, it always backfires on me. Either he bugs me and cries and stays underfoot the whole time I am making dinner, or he works himself into a tizzy by the time dinner is ready.

So, a couple of months ago I stopped trying to conform him to our schedule. I feed him what he wants at 5 (usually a hot dog, cheese, sandwhich or nuggets) and then at dinner time I give him vegetables and fruit that I know he will eat. Many times it is nothing more than a banana and some carrots or grapes, and some times it is a banana, some carrots and grapes. haha.

*cough* I said he was a picky eater.  No seriously though, he will also eat apples and pears, raisins, cranberries, cherries, strawberries, and blueberries. Occasionally I will give him some beans if we are having them, or chicken and okra when that is what's for dinner.

And let me tell you, it's not perfect or ideal, but it is sooooo much better! He doesn't always stay at the table, but he does sit long enough to eat something.  And I don't have to worry so much about wasting the food anymore.  I wish he would try more foods and be more open to tasting stuff, but right now I don't have enough energy to fight him on it.  Later on, when he is older and better at communicating, I will try to get him to taste new things.

Until then, I am stocking up on bananas every week.

Until,
D :)

Let Beauty Awake

Port woke me up this morning with his diaper in his hand. 

The boys have been getting up earlier since the time change - it's not as bad as some of my poor friends, but I certainly don't like being woken up before my alarm goes off.  I suppose it is pretty nice when I am greeted with a sweet smiling by and a gentle "good mownin mumma". But when the wake up is an open wet diaper tangled in a pair of pajama bottoms sitting on my chest, it doesn't exactly start my day off right.

I don't care to get up before my alarm either, because it leaves us too much time to get ready in the morning. And if there is downtime I get sleepy. I like to get up and keep moving until we are out the door. But anyway, I suppose it could be worse.

The other night when I was out with my girlies, I recalled a story I never blogged that you might be interested in reading.  It was from our vacation to Arizona a couple of years ago.  If you are new around here or don't remember, Hubby and I took the boys on a 2 week long trip to Flagstaff for our annual family vacation with the inlaws.  Kiddo was almost 4 and Port was only 4 months old.  I blogged the first few days of the trip but I am pretty sure I never finished it out. {on a side note, I titled almost all of them with the songs from Ralph Vaughan Williams' Songs of Travel. I thought it was pretty brilliant... ;-) }

To refresh your memory (or get you up to speed), we drove to Arizona, stayed in Flagstaff for about a week and then drove back.  We were packed into our little CRV and towed a trailer with the stuff that didn't fit in the car.  Port was still very new, and thankfully sleepy, and I was pumping 8xs a day to feed him. On the drive there and back, we traveled pretty unplanned; that is, we didn't really reserve hotel rooms or anything along the way. We basically landed where we did, found a hotel and would stay the night. We stayed in a few dumps and a few pretty cool places along the way. 

On the way back home we were in New Mexico (I think) and had come to the point that we were ready to stop for the night. We started looking for a hotel and it just happened to be time for me to pump again. I had no problem pumping in the car, but since we were so close to stopping I decided to hold off until we found a place to stay.  We found a seemingly ok Motel 6 (they are always a crap shoot - sometimes decent, sometimes awful) and decided it had the best rate that we were going to find in that area. Being the end of the trip, we were a little tapped out financially and really wanted to save some money. So we stopped, paid for the room and then towed the kids up to our room. As we walked through the hotel grounds, I was disturbed by one, the sheer volume of people staying there, and two, the overwhelming smell of pot coming from several of the rooms.

uh huh

We went in our room and it became very clear that we would never be comfortable there; with all of the loud ruckus in the pool and the doorways of other rooms, there was no way we could rest. So, Hubby went back down to get us out of the room (and get our money back) and we decided to try the Motel 8 across the street. It looked pretty nice; it had much newer construction and a very tall fence around the perimeter of the property.  The lobby looked like something out of a 5 star luxury hotel and when we walked into the room - AMAZING! It was so beautiful! I was so relieved to be somewhere comfortable, quiet and nice!

The room itself was set up in a pretty unusual way. When you walked in the door, the bathroom with toilet and shower was to the right. Walking in lead you straight through the vanity area; when walking in and opening the door to the right, there was a huge 6+ foot wide mirror on the left.  Looking in the mirror from the door you could see the bed room portion of the room in the reflection.  So you walk in, are immediately in the vanity area and then walk through to the bedroom. The beds were on the right, tv on the left and sitting area at the far end of the room next to a big window.

So if you followed that - that was the general layout of the room. Basically one big rectangle with the bathroom tucked off behind the front door.

We got the boys settled inside watching cartoons and since I was about to explode, I set myself up to pump while Hubby went back out to the car to get the rest of our things. I set up on the bed and did my thing.  And being that it was just my family, I didn't really care and I was so tired, I didn't bother with covering anything up (you know modesty flies all out the window when you become a mom; especially the second time around).  So the boys were watching TV and I was pumping and all was right with the world. After a few minutes I hear a key card in the door and it begins to open. I say to Hubby (who is coming in the door), "so did you get everything ok?"

I looked into the vanity area to the mirror which showed me a view of the door.  It cracked open and a head popped in and a man with a big smile on his face saw me...

and his expression immediately changed to horror.

As did mine, because the man was not my husband.

As I scrambled for something to cover myself, he mumbled a hasty, "oh my God I am so sorry!" and scurried out the door. I can only imagine what he thought I was doing, hooked up to some sort of medieval torture device.

I was too tired to be terribly alarmed. I figured it was the cleaning crew or something with the wrong room, and I was pretty sure they'd walked in on much worse.  But then, the phone rang. I answered it and the  concierge was on the other end. 

"WHO ARE YOU and WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN THIS ROOM!?!?" the voice yelled at me. I calmly gave her my name and told her we just checked in a minute ago. I asked her what the problem was. She replied that someone else was assigned to that room and she gave it to us by mistake and that her horrified guest had just walked in on me. She realized she had messed up and quickly got off the phone with me without so much as an apology.

I wonder how long that poor man had nightmares...

Until,
D :)