A long day...A long post.

I am sitting here in a dark, cluttered house wondering what happened to my day? Well, make that my week. Where did it all go wrong? And where are those Candid Camera people hiding? I am thankful to still have a working computer which may be the only reason I am still sane :) But, also the reason this post is so long, I can't really do anything else, so now you'll have to read my ramblings, or just skip this one. Okay, it isn't THAT bad. A lot of good things have come of this mess...Let me start from the beginning.

I've been preparing for the painters to come paint our whole house all week. Grandma and Grandpa came down over the weekend to help out with the kids while I dusted EVERY base board and molding in the house. We also took all the pictures off the walls and all the decorations off of the cabinets, shelves, etc, moved all the furniture to the middle of the rooms, prepared to take down curtains and blinds...You get the picture. It was a lot of work. Almost as much as actually getting the painters scheduled to come out and fix their patchwork style painting fiasco. (It's been almost SIX months) So, anyway, Glenn said they probably wouldn't even show up after going to this much work. I said no, no, they'll be here. So I wake up early on the morning they are to arrive (also my birthday) thinking they are sure to be here early for such a big job. So about 10 AM I call the company to find out an ETA, since they haven't arrived yet, and I hate being wrong. Two hours later they call back and say they will be here in 45 min. Fine. They forgot, but at least they're still getting someone out here today. I still have to shower and get myself and the kids ready for picture re-takes that we are doing later in the afternoon, also not a small task, nor is it fun when you're doing it for the second time in a week. I also woke up with a GIANT red zit on my chin that will take some creative makeup to hide. They finally arrived and started working on the house. (See. I knew they would be there that day.) Then my sister called to wish me happy birthday! How nice, except that I didn't call her on her birthday three days ago, so I felt guilty. We then went and had our pictures done at the mall, and they turned out great this time. Glenn also came and met us for diner and the day ended up being great.
Then this morning I woke early (not including the two times Drew woke to eat during the night) to let the painters in, clean under the fridge that we had to move for the painters and prepare our "picnic" breakfast to eat upstairs where we are camped out while the painters do the downstairs. I open the microwave to heat up the oatmeal and the power goes out. Actually the power is out to about two thirds of the house. We can't figure out why, nor can we test all our theories since most of the downstairs is now encased in plastic and tarps. I call the neighbors and run next door to use their microwave (thanks, guys!) Losing power is not good. Especially when you have a husband who works from home on the computer. Especially when it's overcast and you have painters who need to see what they are doing. Especially when you have to entertain confined children for an extended length of time. etc....
Glenn pulled out a bunch of extension cords from the few outlets that are working so that he could plug in his computer and work, and also plug in a TV for Ian to watch a movie. I started getting things cleaned up, like the garbage...that dumped all over because the draw string handles broke when I lifted it up. Ha Ha. Drew had slept in this morning (this is part of Newton's Law, since I had to get up early he slept in TWO hours longer than normal) so when I took Ian to preschool I figured Drew wouldn't be tired enough for his nap yet and I could run errands. I went to see a model home to look at some paint colors the painters told me to look at for our upstairs. When I went in to the model which said it was open and the door was unlocked, I set off their burglar alarm. Cool...Where are those Candid Cameras? I tried to leave but Drew was screaming, so I fed him in the car. Then we headed to the grocery store..only about 6-7 minutes away, but by the time I got there Drew was asleep, so I guess he did still need his nap at the normal time. May as well take him home and let him sleep while Ian's at school. When I get home I try to take him up to his room but the stairs are blocked by big plastic sheets and the painters came to take them down, but this woke up Drew who now had been asleep for 15 minutes and wouldn't go back to sleep. Too late to go back to the store now, I wouldn't be back in time to pick up Ian from school. So I play with Drew. When I go pick up Ian he walks into a coat hook and cuts and bruises his eye. Poor kid, but he's fine. More embarrassed than anything. So I decide to go back to the model home I need to look at. I'm sure they have their alarms worked out by this time in the day. I get there and unload both kids only to find the doors locked and no one there. Load them back up. Drew screams. Then we do the grocery shopping and head home. Drew falls asleep in the car again, so I let him sleep in the garage while I watch Ian ride his bike outside. When Drew wakes up I take the groceries in and realize the laundry detergent I bought leaked all over the car. Tonight it's too dark to put things back where they belong and we still have to figure out our electrical issues in the morning, but if I look at the bright side. I am finally getting my house painted, I got LOTS of cleaning done because of it. I had a great birthday...Ian even gave me some Star Wars action figures so I can have my own when I play with him. We got our pictures done. AND I got a post done that should take most of the month to read, so I shouldn't have to do too many more for a while.