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The Muncher Family

The Muncher Family
Thanks to Karla Burton from Karla Burton Photography

Sunday, July 17, 2011

September 2010

September found us at the ENT office, our new pediatrician had decided it was time for Zoey to get tubes.  I was not thrilled with the idea, but she had an ear infection for four weeks.  She ran a 105 temperature that lead me to the Children's Hospital Emergency Room.

I was at my wits end when they finally put the tubes in.  Not to mention the five days of work I had missed since the first day of school.  The only upside was I was only having to stay after school two days a week at this point.

Football season was going great for Mike. The girls and I were falling into routine and we were making it.  Things were on an upward trend.

August 2010

August started with a bang.  We were off and running.  The girls were on their way to preschool for the very first time and Mike and I were off to our new jobs.  Just a few problems.

The preschool that Zoey and Abby were enrolled in had a ten hour limit.  Don't look at it like that. I don't want my kids in daycare for ten hours, I don't want them there for ten minuets, but I like to buy them things.  I had a thirty minute commute and Mike didn't finish with marching band until 5:30.  I didn't finish school until 4:30 three days a week.  I was in tears.   I was frustrated and I was trying to keep the girls in some type of a routine.  Thankfully Mom stepped in.  Mom came down two days a week and kept the girls, took Zoey to dance and entertained Abby.  It started making everything fall into place. 

So two of the days I had to stay after school, Mom was stepping in, the other day I was on my own and it was tough. 

Three weeks into school football season rolled around.  I arrived at home on the first Friday of football season, I rushed in, bathed the kids, dressed them packed the diaper bag and started for the car.  I  found Zoey in her room playing with her toys quietly, I found Abby trying to pull herself up.  I found myself putting the diaper bag down and making the first adult decision that was useful.  I decided to stay home.  The kids were not sick, I was not sick, it wasn't raining.  It was the right thing to do.

I have attended every football game that Mike has been a director at, well, at least since Zoey was born.  When Zoey was born I missed a few because of the rain.  I stared at the walls while the kids played, I put dinner in front of them around 6:00 and by 6:30 Abby was out like a light and Zoey was only a few minutes behind her. I crashed on the couch.  The rate at which  I was going  I couldn't keep up.  I felt like I had committed a crime by not attending that football game.  I felt like I was loosing part of myself for not attending that football game. That's what I did, I supported my husband. I went when it was so hot I could have heat stoke, so cold that my toes fell off, so depressing that my heart broke because the team could not catch a break.  That was me, the band director's wife, Mike's Wife, that lady over there.  The thing is, I wasn't that person anymore.  I was Zoey and Abby's Mommy, and I hadn't realized it yet.  Granted I felt like I was loosing myself and I was going to loose a part of my relationship with my husband, but no, no it wasn't like that.  It was like taking off a band aide that was on a wound that had healed.  It was a life I thought I was supposed to have, because that was what I had always done.  I was free and we were moving on.

July 2010

July 2010 was filled with a lot of excitement.  Mike and I started another adventure, I returned to the work force and he took another job as an assistant band director.  We found out we both had jobs on July 8, I had to be at work on July 17 and he had to be there as well.  Did I mention our new jobs were three hours away from our house?

Stressed to the max, that doesn't even begin to describe the situation.  The first step was to find a place to live.  Sounds easy enough, not really.  There was nothing available.  We were able to find two places to look out.  Out of the two we settled for a three bedroom apartment.  Okay, one problem solved.  The next problem, we had to pack all of our things.  That we were able to figure out, we just had to be creative.  After you pack, you load a truck.  That could be a problem. 

Mike and I had decide that we would move over the three day weekend between the last day of band camp and new teacher orientation.  There were no trucks available.  There were no trucks for a hundred miles.  We searched and contemplated our options.  We were left with one.  We had planned on loading the truck on Friday, move in on Saturday, unpack the essentials on Sunday and Monday and start school on Tuesday.  It didn't work like that.  We ended up having to move on a Sunday.  We had to load it, drive it three hours and then unpack it. Ten hours later we had to be at work.

We were able to move.  We were able to get everything in the apartment.  Unpacking was difficult and a long process. It wouldn't have been so bad, but we had a mishap.  I mean this is my house and my kids, it doesn't just happen like this. 

So what happened, I pulled over at an Exxon, opened the door, closed the door, and started pumping gas.  I finished pumping gas went to the door and pulled, nothing happened.  I looked down at the seat where my car keys laid in my front seat.  I looked in the backseat where Abby and Zoey were, sound asleep.  I looked at the thermometer, it was 99.  I looked around for anything to throw at the window and realized I was screwed.  It took about sixty seconds for me to realize I had a HUGE problem.  I had just a few precious minutes because it was 99 standing in the parking lot, the car was off, the windows were rolled up, the doors were locked.  So what did I do?  What any reasonable person would do, I called 911.  the nice little woman on the line said, "I don't know what we can do, he can't open the door".  I said, "he has a gun right?"  The police officer was there in less than two minutes.  He looked in the car and saw the girls were sleeping and he picked up his phone and dialed a lock smith.  He rambled on about something about not being able to do anything because of causing damage.  I looked at him as calmly as possible and told him" I don't care what you do, I don't care if you take the car home with you,  you have to get my kids out of the car!"  The locksmith was there two minutes later.  He had to get very creative on opening the door, but four minutes later, the door was open.  Abby was in my arms and Zoey continued to sleep.  I had never been so thankful in my entire life.  What seemed like an eternity, had been twelve minutes.  Twelve minutes, the car was 111 when the door opened.  I was so relieved I didn't know what to do with myself.  All I knew was the kids were safe and there was a moving truck about forty minutes in front of us that I had to catch up to. 


What can  I say?  Just another day in the neighborhood.

Where I've Been and Where I'm Going

So, it has been a while.  I never realized that I would start something, do it everyday, then stop.  Oh wait.  I do that a lot.  However, I don't want to do it anymore.

Where have I been?  A lot of places.  I'm going to try over the next few weeks to fill in a few gaps, and see if I can se this is an outlet like I had planned.

Where am I going?  To as many as places as possible:)