My Five Little Monkeys

Yesterday...

Somehow in the blink of an eye, we went from this..

To This...
Happy Birthday Boys, you're the most amazing thing that ever happened to your Daddy and Me. We love you so much...

 

 

Help Us to Help Jack...

**This is copied from our Chipin.com page.**

Please Visit Jack's Page HERE!

Hello All!
Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by our donation page for Jack. I figure the more people that see his page, and perhaps his actual need, then perhaps the more people who might be inclined to give to him...
Let me back up a little bit, and give those of you who are new here a little bit of background on our story. Jack is our son... He is the youngest of three boys, Triplets born on June 1st 2005. Our boys will be turning 6 years old in just about 10 days... How time flies. I carried the boys to almost 35 weeks gestation, when they were delivered by c-section. Jack was the last one out, and dare I say the cutest one... He was the smallest baby, at a mere 4lbs 4oz. His brother William outweighed him 11 oz, he was itty bitty...
He was our baby boy. From the minute I laid eyes on him in the NICU, I knew that Jack was different. He seemed a bit more distant than his brothers, and I never really seemed to bond with him as well as the other two. As time passed, I noticed however that I was also having some issues with his identical brother Evan... The two of them seemed to have their own agendas, doing things at their own speed and pace. While they developed very typically, it seemed that they were developing just a little slower than I was anticipating. Their brother William seemed to set the goal standard, and then the other two boys would reach that goal nicely. Evan always second, and then our baby Jack pulling up the rear... At about 10 months, I started noticing other things that were holding my attention. William would turn his head when I would say his name, the other two wouldn't... In fact, it seemed at times that the other two had no idea that there were people in the room with them. It was really only on their terms that they would take the time to notice others.
As the boys continued to develop, Jon and I added two more children to our family. A set of twin girls were born when the boys were 13 months old. As we struggled with the daily chaos of two newborns, as well as three toddlers, things became very, well, chaotic. I tried to keep an eye on the boys development as best as possible, but truly it seemed to fall to the wayside. It wasn't until Jack was nearly 18 months old that I realized something was truly wrong. I had been in the hospital with one of the girls for an extended stay. Prior to our hospitalization, both boys were babbling a little bit, upon returning home they had become silent. I asked if anyone else saw what I was seeing, and tried to reassure myself that nothing was wrong...
Honestly though, it was very obvious. Something was VERY wrong. I contacted our pediatrician who did nothing more than reassure me that he was probably fine. I was able to contact people involved with Early Intervention Services. They assessed all three of the boys quickly and agreed with me that there was something not adding up, but nobody was telling me what was wrong. Internally, I knew. I knew the boys were autistic and I was terrified. I felt like I had too much on my plate already... There was no way that I could possibly handle this too. How would I deal with triplets, twins, AND Autism? It seemed unfair, it seemed hard, it seemed unrealistic... Not too long after the boys started receiving services Jenny McCarthy started speaking to people about her son Evan. She told people how Autism could be "cured" and how she had gone about doing it... Her son Evan, was now a very "normal" child. I was completely confused...I didn't know what I wanted for my boys. I wanted them to be able to tell ME what was best for THEM. Of course as parents, we all know that's just not the way things work.
So, over the next few months, I started really looking at my children. Not just Evan & Jack, but all of them... I wanted to see if life was really so difficult for Jack compared to William, or the Girls. When I really looked at it, I found that my boys, the ones who were afflicted by Autism... Seemed happier. They laughed more, they smiled so much... It was like someone was whispering a joke that only they could hear, in their ear, all the time. So why would I, in an effort to change them, take it all away... I mean don't get me wrong, I wanted to know the joke! I wanted them to share it with me! But part of me figured that in their own time they would... And they have...
I've loved having Evan & Jack in my life, their Autism has brought a whole new level of appreciation to our family. With having two sets of multiples, I felt that in some sense I was robbed of enjoying all the milestones that the kids experienced... Rolling over, Sitting up, first foods... But with our boys, we have been able to sit back, and relax, knowing that in due time it will come. There's no hurry, there's no timeline... And I love it. I can't tell you how incredible it was to hear Evan tell me "I love you Mommy" at nearly 3 1/2 years old. With Jack however, I'm still patiently waiting to be able to hear his words... I know they're in there. He can say it when I prompt him, but he struggles incredibly with the day to day emotions and communications.
We know he has the ability to speak, there is nothing wrong with his mouth, tongue, teeth... They're all quite perfect! He just isn't really able to link it all together yet. It's such a process for him. Honestly, I can't imagine how he must feel when he wants or needs something and his Dad and I end up playing an impromptu game of charades to figure out what it is... There are days when I'm able to figure it out almost immediately, and other days where the frustration and sadness is so apparent on his little face. We often bring the other children in on our "game" to see if they can understand him better... Sometimes however, he will simply shrug his shoulders and walk away, clearly dejected. I do NOT want that for my child. I want his needs to be met, I want his words to be heard.
You're probably now wondering what has brought us to this, to asking for help from all of you. I'm asking for help because the cost of an iPad is ridiculous and we have five children! Kidding...The main reason why we're finally realizing that this is a need as opposed to simply a "want" is because of the steady decline in Jack's behavior and performance at school. Jack has begun having outbursts that are so bad that he is hitting not only his teachers, aides, and therapists, but also himself. He has spent many days recently sitting and screaming... We as his parents have explained that we can't let him do this in the school setting and now when he acts this way, the school calls me, and often times I have to spend the rest of the day working with him at the school. Allowing him to be a disruption to the rest of his class is not acceptable, and while he knows this, his inability to explain to others what he needs has become a complete roadblock.
Recently, I found out from a friend that Apple offers refurbished iPads at a reduced price. I was thrilled about this news. Finding out however that the ONE program that he would use to communicate with us is $190, left me feeling a little sad. We've applied for assistance on various levels and have been met at dead ends everywhere. That brings me to you... We felt that this was a viable option. Jack will be able to use this not only as a communication device, but also as a learning tool in the upcoming years.
In case you're interested in looking at the primary program that Jack would use for communication it's located here. http://www.proloquo2go.com/. The awesome news is that many of the other apps that he would benefit from are not nearly as expensive, maybe $30 at most. It all adds up...

I know that with the boys birthday coming up, most of their birthday money will be going towards this one item for Jack, I know however, that the gift of their brother not screaming, and him being able to tell jokes right alongside of them, will probably be gift enough...

Mrs. Clean

Can I get a quick show of hands here? Alright...

How many of you LOVE to clean?

Ok get those hands up there so I can see them, nice and high. It looks like not many of you.

I'm not shocked. How about this, how many of you would enjoy cleaning 'more' if it was easier and maybe a little less time consuming? I know that I really love to clean. I love the feeling of when my house looks awesome, and when my countertops and floors gleam like the top of the Chrysler Building. Getting it there on the other hand, is a whole other story. For me, I feel like if I had just a little bit more time, or maybe it was just a little easier, I would be compelled to do it daily.

This brings me to my floors. With five kids, two cats, and one husband, my house sees it's fair share of nastiness. During the holidays, I was finding needles from the Christmas tree, random pieces of sparkly garland, and glitter from school...Oh the glitter. With that being said, my floors needed to be swept or vacuumed every.single.day. That gets really old... And I found that getting behind on it by just one day, made my gorgeously decorated Christmas house look like a really nasty eyesore.

While shopping at my local Aldi, I saw a sweeper vacuum in their household aisle that was  only $15. It had originally been priced at $18 which was still a really great deal, but at $15 I felt that it was my civic duty to give it a try. I had been tossing around the idea of purchasing something like this for quite awhile but couldn't quite settle my mind on one that had the right price/good review ratio. For $15 though, I figured how bad could it be...

Getting it home, I broke it out of the box and quickly assembled it. Then set to work... I had one word.

REVOLUTIONARY.

I swept the entire kitchen, the playroom, then the foyer, then while I was at it I figured I'd do the bathroom too. All in less than 10 minutes. TEN MINUTES PEOPLE. While I was standing there admiring my handiwork, I figured I'd give it a try on the few throw rugs I have in the house. Pure Perfection... The Sisal rug under our kitchen table? The one that I have to drag our regular vacuum out for? And inevitably bang into the legs of the table and chairs... I was amazed...

Are you wanting me to get to the point now?

Long story short, the $15 vacuum? It broke. I overworked it. It was bound to happen right? The money I spent though totally showed me that we totally needed one of these vacuums. Couldn't live without it.

Enter my Parents (aka: Santa) on Christmas. They got me the the Electrolux Ergorapido, my world was changed forever. What I thought was awesome before, was incredible now. This little baby is a 2 in 1 cordless vacuum. The lightweight construction and lack of cord make it so easy to move from room to room. It's also incredible for getting to those hard to reach places because of two reasons. It has a really fabulous and versatile swiveling head, as well as very cool pop out dustbuster built into the handle. This feature makes it nearly impossible to ignore those crumbs under the kids table, or the dustbunnies in the corner. Those two features make it easy to clean... On top of that, there are two attachment features for cleaning small areas like the top of the windows, in between the couch cushions, etc. Priced at $99 this competes with other sweepers in it's class. I think, because of the pop out hand vacuum it's more valuable.

For this Mom, this has truly made cleaning so much easier. I'm not sure if it's too much more fun, but it's much easier. So much easier in fact that the kids often will ask to do it for me... Now if only Electrolux could come up with a dusting contraption that would peak the kids interest just as much.

 

Four Years.

Sometimes in the midst of a conversation, I find myself at a loss for words. Any of you who know me know that this is completely unheard of. My brain is always flowing, a constant stream of what to talk about next, and then someone throws the curveball question... "so do you have any brothers or sisters?"

This is where my brain usually comes to a screeching halt.

Do I have any brothers or sisters.

Yes... Well... Sort of... I mean... How can you sort of have a sister? Yes. I have a sister. Well I mean, I had a sister. But she died.

And, at that point, don't you just kind of wish I had just kept my mouth shut? Or better yet lied? Lied and said, nope! No brothers or sisters here! I gotta tell you, at times it would be so much easier, and so much less painful... I know it's painful for me, but I really can't imagine it was that awesome for the person on the receiving end either. Talk about a can of worms... They probably didn't see that one coming.

I know sometimes I'll see things from my childhood, like a toy or book, and I'll think "Aww! I used to have one of those!" Now, I see people with siblings... and think the same thing... Man. I used to have one of those. It's like the universe played some sort of cruel joke on me 4 years ago. Yanked the rug out from under me... It's even better seeing things in stores, like cards, or little decorative plaques, or magnets decorated with Sisters are Forever & Having a Sister is Having A Best Friend You Can't Get Rid Of... I want to hurl that stuff onto the floor and stomp on it. Bitter? Maybe. Turns out, Sisters? They're not forever. You CAN get rid of them... I may not have had a choice in how long my forever was... I never had a say in whether I wanted to get rid of her or not. Nobody asked me...

Suffice to say, four years later the pain is as fresh today as it was then. I'm still waiting for it to get easier... But, much like raising my children, I've succumbed to the idea that mourning the loss of Jennifer will NEVER get easier, it will only get different... From day to day, from here on out, it will only be different.

:: Insert Witty Title Here ::

Ok Guys! You told me you'd read if I came back, so here I am!

I'm baaaack!!

So tell me, what do I do now?

Blogging hasn't gone on the back burner because of lack of interest on my end. I've known that I wanted to keep up the blog. I've had the problem that every time I sit down to write, I can't think. Any thoughts that I had when sitting down, are immediately out the window...

So help me out... What do ya'll want to read about? For those of you who do write, how do you keep it fresh? How do you keep the thoughts IN your brain!?

I'll keep up my end of the blog if you guys can just lend a hand... So help a blogger out!

And as a reward, I'll leave you with this picture of the kiddos :) This was an outtake from the photos that I absolutely LOVED... Each kiddos personality is so perfectly captured. Jack all the way on the left is *just* about to start crying. Whether it was over the candy cane not being open or just because he was done sitting there... We'll never know. Noelle was mid-sentence... All girl. Always talking. Always asking me WHY she has to do whatever it is that I'm asking her to do... Evan. Man, his expression KILLS me. He is PISSED that his candy cane is wrapped up. As if you couldn't tell? Lilley... She sees the camera and immediately smiles. She too is ALL GIRL, but in a totally different way... William, William, William... William is absolutely looking at that candy cane and trying to figure out if there's red dye in it. In .005 seconds, he's going to open his mouth and he will pose the question "Mommy, does this have red dye in it?".

Hands down BEST photo of all the kids this season...To me at least.

Autistic Is The New Typical

Is everything in your life black and white? I mean, do you have clearly defined lines for your life? This fits neatly into this category over here, and this fits neatly into this category over here...

I don't really think as parents, we actually have that luxury. The luxury of knowing exactly where everything goes, all the time. It's part of the parenting limbo... I have five very awesome children and as we all know, Evan & Jack are autistic. Its quite possible that I have forgotten that the boys have this disability... I believe that in accepting my children and their differences, I may have started to  wonder if quite possibly, Evan & Jack were the 'normal' ones, and we were actually the ones missing out on something... After all, they seemed so happy, they seemed so content, THEY seemed like nothing could bother them... So perhaps, just perhaps, WE the "typical" ones, are missing out on something? I have felt confused over the past few years, quite a few times. I have questioned why it was that they needed to be singled out, why it was that they needed to be handled with kid gloves, and why it was that they needed this label. Afterall they are my children, being fiercely protective, doesn't even begin to describe it. When my own Mother would ask about their progress, I would feel a shield of protection being lifted. There was nothing malicious in the words that she was delivering, but in the mere fact that she was regarding them differently from the other 3... The fact that words even needed to be exchanged... It hurt. They are no different...

However... Then we come to a moment where perhaps Evan or Jack is treated poorly. And immediately, again my defenses are lifted. I think to myself, these people know the boys are autistic. Where is their patience, why are they treating them like that? I want to leave, NOW. Give me my children. So where is the balance? Why all of this Gray area? I feel like I live this period of my life in constant gray. Not gray unhappiness mind you, just gray uncertainty.

All of this comes up because of a simple email. A simple courteous email. Our children go to Sunday School, and two weeks ago the classes graduated. Our boys were moved to the Kindergarten classroom. Until now, they had been in the Preschool level. Since they had gone to Kindergarten this past month, there was no reason to hold them back and not keep them with the peers that they had been with over the past 18 months. They moved to the new classroom, with new teachers, and a new curriculum and of course as you can imagine... There was chaos. Change isn't the boys favorite word, they get it honest though, I'm not a fan either. So for 2 weeks, they've been adjusting to the newness of it all. I'm not in there with them, so I'm not positive of the progress... Today however, I received an email from Charlie, the Pastor of Children's Ministry. Charlie knows us, he was one of the first people I ever spoke with on staff at our church... I feel very close to him and know that he has the best interest of our family at hand. Charlie simply wanted me to write up one paragraph for each of the boys, of how they could best minister to each of the boys... Of course he then wanted to share this with any individuals that would be in contact with the boys...He also said that if I felt it would be better, I was more than welcome to come in and talk with him directly about the boys.

Harmless email right? Totally. Let's just say it was great timing that I was with my best friend Holly when I received the email.

Living in this gray area that I've developed... I think I've convinced myself that Evan & Jack are perfect, and wait... Don't you see it too?? Forgetting all the while that 99% of the rest of the people out there, don't spend EVERY WAKING MOMENT with these children. The little quirks and nuances that they have that are totally commonplace to me, could be incredibly pesky to an outsider looking in.While I am appreciative of Charlie's email, I knew immediately that I wouldn't be able to encompass either of my kids in one paragraph. I'm planning on sitting down and discussing my boys in a meeting with the Children's Ministry Staff. I'm hoping that I'm able to appropriately convey my feelings and at the same time... Did I mention I tend to ramble when I'm stressed?

Incidentally, I'm stressed, did this make any sense to anyone?

 

 

Fistfuls of Free Time!

The free time! It's just coming! Out! My! Ears!

I'm totally lying. I just feel like I've been answering the same question now for a couple weeks, or at least since the kids went back to school.

"So Jess! What on earth are you doing now that you have all this free time to yourself?!"

Well! Funny you should ask...Turns out, I'm not really doing anything. I'm not like pampering myself with a morning pedicure, or going out with friends everyday for coffee. I'm really just finding the time to get my laundry and breakfast dishes put away in time to go back and pick the kids back up from school again. Turns out, this half day kindergarten stuff, is pretty lame. I drop the boys off, Monday thru Friday between 830 & 9 am at their Elementary school. I then drive about 10 minutes across town to another school three days a week and drop the girls off at their school. They need to be there at 9a. If I don't have the girls, and I am in fact 'alone', you will perhaps notice that I am the car screeching out of the school zone trying to squeeze all my errands into a 3 hour window. It can be done people, IT CAN BE DONE! If I do have the girls, we're off to do activities, playdates, etc... I have to be back to the aforementioned schools between 1230 & 1p to pick all five of the kids up.

So, while I love to have those free moments to myself, and I love having the time to devote to just the girls... It's really just not that much time.

On the flipside, I'm really really glad it's not much more time than what it is. I'm totally at a loss without my kids! I want to know what they're up to! What they're learning! Who they're talking to! Daggone it, why can't I go to school with them... It's just not fair. They all seem to totally love it though. The boys have adjusted really nicely to going to school five days a week, and also being in separate classes from one another. I think it's harder on me than anything. Remembering that Tuesday is Library day and that you need to bring your book back is one thing, but remembering that Tuesday, Wednesday, AND Friday are Library days and that you need to return your books AND who's books belong to whom? Eeek. Gym day? You need to wear sneakers when? It's a lot to remember... It's a good darn thing I like to be organized, otherwise, I'd be pulling my hair out, I assure you.

Ok, I have to go make dinner for the kids...I think they learn to cook for themselves in the 3rd grade. (Kidding) (Sort of) heh.

School Boys

I woke up yesterday morning with a knot in my stomach the size of a baseball. I remember, as a child, waking up every single morning for about a week before school started and feeling like I was going to puke. I always wished I had those nerves of steel that I had heard about... I totally didn't. I feared change, I feared the unknown, I feared eating lunch alone. These nerves and fear continued well into College, and even into days before starting a new job. I prayed that I didn't pass this trait onto my children...

Waking up this morning for the boys first day of school, I was a mixed bag of emotion. I felt so much excitement for them, and so much fear, and anxiousness that I couldn't make heads or tails of what I was feeling... I wanted to just hug them, and kiss them and tell them all about what it was that they were going to be feeling and seeing and experiencing... Except, for once, I didn't know. I realized, I had absolutely NO clue what they were going to be doing! I only could assume, and tell them what I did (nearly a MILLION years ago). I have a distinct feeling that things have changed since 1982 when I went off to Kindergarten. 

Lucky for me, all three of the boys seemed completely unaffected by the fact that they were going to be leaving me today for the morning, and embarking on one of the biggest and most important journey's of their lives. Their excitement was palpable, especially when William awoke and leaped into my bed exclaiming "wake UP Momma! Today is the first day of school! We need to EAT!"... Clearly not nervous.

As I sit her typing this, I have about 15 minutes before I'm allowed into the school to pick them up. I wonder what they learned, I wonder who they ate with, I wonder if they made any friends, I wonder if they remember their teachers name... But most importantly, I wonder if they missed me. I wonder if they were wondering what I was doing while they were busy learning where the bathrooms were, and where to put their backpacks... Because, I have missed them incredibly since they walked out of my arms and into the line for the school...

We do it all again tomorrow, and I'll send Noelle & Lilley off as well. I'll be alone for the entire morning... You might want to pray for my sanity and hope that I don't go off the deep end and paint a bathroom or something.

Now How Much Would You Pay?

I gave in. William got his own room. It really wasn't quite as bittersweet as I had thought it would be. To be honest with you, the child hadn't had a "room" in ages. He had either been sleeping with us, or had been reluctantly sleeping in his old bedroom for so long, that it seemed more natural to just not have him in with his brothers anymore.

I did really feel as though he needed his own "space", whatever that may be. I really was having a difficult time defining that though. Not only with myself, but also with him. His space seemed to be a place with red walls, and a pillow. My space seemed to be something with a bed, and one that wasn't MY bed. It also was an issue that nearly everything I suggested to him, I was met with a sort of indifference. It didn't seem like William really cared too much either way. I have to admit, that was kind of frustrating. I really wanted him to be passionate about something... Even if it was Bakugan, or iCarly... Just give me an opinion, something to go on.

However, since he gave me NOTHING. I went with what I had... A twin size quilt that my Great-Aunt Judy gave me when the boys were born. Aunt Judy gave me three quilts, all different, yet very similar, her friend had spent quite a bit of time making them for us. They are really unique and super fun. They're really brightly colored, and all three of them have the boys names embroidered into the blanket. I think that makes it so special. I've loved them since the day she gave them to me... I never was able to use them while the boys were in cribs, but proudly pulled them out when I moved the boys one by one to toddler beds. I hope that someday they love them as much as I do.

So since the quilt has so many awesome primary colors in it, I decided that would be a fine focus to have. Small problem, I just needed a bed... And a mattress... And a dresser... Clearly the quilt was the smallest part of my project. But hey! It was good to have a jumping off point right?

Fast forward to one week later, I had proudly acquired all of the things I needed in order to make Williams room complete. Two weeks later, the room was done... I spent a whopping $193.60 to complete the look. I was SO pleased with the way that it all turned out! Especially on a budget! I must admit, I had a little help from my Mom on some of it... But not too much!

Here's the rundown!

$160 - Mattress/Boxspring, Bedframe, & Dresser (Craigs List!!)

$33.60 - Picture Frames - Michael's (I used 40% off coupons on all 4 sets of frames!)

That's all the money that I personally put into the room. My Mom bought William a new set of sheets and nice red curtains. The curtains already had the rods up, so we were all set there.... I also had the desk and chair, so it was just an added bonus! The artwork is all William's own creations! We've saved it over the years and he helped me choose some art that he thought would look nice on his walls... 

So even though William didn't give me any idea of what it was that he wanted, I think he really loves his room now... He plays very contentedly in there and sleeps nicely by himself (most nights), It's a learning process right!? 

Now we'd like to move onto the boy's room... My biggest hurdle will be mattresses, but I'm not in a hurry! And Craigs List is my friend! :)

It Was All Fun & Games Till The Cop Showed Up...

So last week while Jonny was mowing the lawn, the mower accidentally kicked up a stone and knocked out the glass in our sliding glass door. Thankfully nobody was out in the yard, or in the basement while he was out there mowing, but regardless...What a total pain in the butt. We immediately got to researching the cost of replacing the door, only to find out that replacing merely the door itself is kind of unheard of. Typically people replace the entire thing... The casing, the fixed door, AND the slider. The price for this accident was going to run us upwards of a thousand bucks. Irritated didn't even begin to cover the feelings that we felt...

Jon and I being the savvy shoppers that we are, happened across a Craigs List ad in a neighboring town for a door similar to ours. Jon and his Dad rode out to take a look at it and found it to be in great condition! *Score* $100 bucks later we were the proud owners of a 'new to us' sliding glass door.

Now the project consisted of getting the old, busted door out of the frame, and get the new one in. Fun times I tell you. I sort of stood back and just watched this one unfold, since door installation really isn't my area of expertise. It was kind of like watching, um, the most ridiculous scenario... Two cats competing in a turd burying contest? Like that. There was simply NO getting this door out of the frame.

I had brought the shop vac down from the garage to clean up some of the stray pieces of glass that were being flung everywhere. I figured while I had the vacuum out it would be a good idea to clean the stairway too. Ever used a shop vac? Hella loud. While I was cleaning the stairs, I hear the guys finally putting together enough swear words to give me the impression that either the door was out, or they had finally given up. Lo & behold, the door was in the yard, in one piece too!

As I was about to commend them on their job well done, I thought I heard my cell phone tinkling away in the distance. Trying with all my might to run up my (very clean) stairs to catch it, since I did have 3 kids in school mind you, I heard another sound... This sound was far less familiar, and far less tinkly. It was more ear piercing, and wasn't something I could quite place. Just as I realized the ear piercing noise was in fact our home alarm, signaling a break in, I heard our doorbell ring... I literally had no idea where to go. My cell phone had stopped ringing thankfully, the house alarm was still blaring in the distance, and now the doorbell... All while Evan & William circled around me asking what that noise was, and WHO was at the door.

William ran off to answer the door, I went ahead and fumbled with the alarm realizing that the little screen was showing a error code that I was unfamiliar with. Before I had time to really decipher it, I hear an unfamiliar voice asking William if Mommy or Daddy was home. Being jolted back into the moment I went dashing over the baby gate, smashing my ankle on the top rail. Trying to contain the string of profanities that were on the tip of my tongue, I see out of the corner of my eye, a blue flashing light. Stumbling towards the door, I see standing there, staring at my children, and now at me... A police officer. William is literally plastered to the opposite wall, and Evan was sitting on the floor just staring.

It then all made sense to me... When we took the door out of the track, we tripped the sensor for the alarm company, they attempted to call our home phone, and both of our cell phones, but because of the noise from the vacuum we couldn't hear any of that. The next step for these companies? Dispatch the police. Excellent.

I made a total fool out of myself, and probably looked more suspicious than anything. All while explaining all of this to the cop patiently standing outside of my home. She asked me for some identification, I ran off to get it, the kids trailing close behind. Just before getting back to the door, Jon comes busting up from the basement, yelling about the new door not fitting and how annoyed he is. Seeing the police officer standing in our doorway, everything suddenly became roses, and he disappeared very quickly. Comical.

After calling my information into the station, she gave me some information about procedure to call the alarm company so that this didn't happen again today. Thanks, I'll do that. She left, not once smiling or dismissing this as if it happens all the time. Way to make me feel like a moron.

I hurried the kids into the family room and slumped into my chair, William plopped next to me. He glanced over at me, and did a quick double take... "Mommy, what happened to your face?"

Turns out, while carrying the enormous shop vac up and down the stairs, I busted the knuckle on my hand. During all the chaos, my nose was running and I apparently kept swiping at it with the back of my bloody hand... Wow... Way to make a really harmless scene look really really bad. When I went to clean it off in the bathroom, my face, under my nose was covered in blood. Awesome.

True story people, I can't make this stuff up.