Friday, August 7, 2015

This week...............

This week has gone by so fast, yet so slow at the same time.  Do you have weeks like that where time seems to speed up and then slow down to a snails pace?

There has been flooding from all the rain.................


These photos are of my backyard where the swamp waters were at an almost all time high.  I hear our area was all over the national news this past week.  I almost flooded my car twice on Monday going through large puddles of water.  A few guys were paddling kayaks down the streets near me.  Why they would think that was fun to do in water moccasin/alligator/and who knows what else infested waters is beyond me.


We got 15 inches of rain in 10 days, and we are now 18 inches over normal for this time of year, the ground is saturated.  The water has now receded back a few feet and we were lucky that it was not close to our home.  People in surrounding areas had to be evacuated, and their homes were flooded.  In Florida the mold and mildew will take over those homes in a minute and they will lose everything.  Mother Nature always has the last say doesn't she?


There has been work, paperwork for work, and frustrations from work.  Not fun when Medicaid drops children for no reason and there is a fight to get their needs met.  The Medical Foster Parents I have are amazing, they fight so hard to make sure those special children of theirs get the therapy they need, but it is so frustrating when things happen to prevent that. 


There has been a tiny bit of weaving on my smaller loom.  I am trying woven dishcloths out of the Sugar n' Cream cotton yarn I already had.  We will see if it works as well as knit or crochet dishcloths.


There has been playing with Little Buddy.  He is just so much fun.  He absolutely does not want these letters in these word puzzles.  I put them in and he takes them out, over and over again.


He is in love with babies right now.  He loves to see real babies and actually got to hold two babies I work with this past week when his Medical Foster Parents came for a visit with the two little ones now staying with them.  He did a great job holding them with a little help from Mom.  I found this old baby doll that was my oldest son's when he was a little one.  We have been feeding it, burping it and rocking it to sleep, well also just throwing it on the floor, he is not ready to babysit yet that is for sure.  Do you remember the disappearing liquid baby bottles?  Those bottles were fascinating when I was little and they still are, Little Buddy loves them.  


There have been sunny skies with high heat and humidity, but also more rain.  You know I don't mind the rain, I actually love it, I just don't like the sun to come out right after a rain shower so the whole world feels steamy.


There have been a few surprises in my over wet garden.  Some gardenia's are blooming at the hottest time of the year due to all the rain and cloudy days we have had.


My roses are thrilled with all the moisture.  My pool screens, driveway and pavers are not.  I feel like I will be pressure washing all that mold and mildew away very soon.

There has been great babysitting by my Mr.18 this week.  My regular babysitter had to have her kidney out this past Monday due to stage 0 cancer.  I did not even know there was a stage 0.  She actually had to walk through a mile of flood waters up to her knees to get to the main road, so a friend could pick her up to take her to the hospital for her surgery.  Now that is some story!  She is fine and at home recuperating now.  Mr.18 has taken over all the babysitting while I am at work and has done a great job.  When I came home from work there were toys EVERYWHERE!  I'd say that was a good indication that Little Buddy was busy.  Mr. 18 had a bit of a problem with the poopy diaper situation, but he managed.

There was a haircut for me, it was spontaneous and I just had to have three inches taken off NOW!!!!!  Do you ever feel that way?

There has been some success on the potty for Little Buddy.  And I feel there has been great success just making it to the weekend.

How was your week?


33 comments:

kathyinozarks said...

Hi Meredith, wow that does sound like a long week-especially with all the events happening; too much rain, finding funds etc. Hope everything works out and life is smoother soon

CJ said...

Oh yes, I feel it's been a success just making it to the weekend this week as well. Good job Mr 18, he sounds like a star. I bet Little Buddy had a great day with him. Nature is quite wild where you are isn't it. Although there have been bad floods in this country as well from time to time. Not too many alligators though! Wishing you guys a good weekend. CJ xx

20 North Ora said...

Sounds like a busy time. Didn't realize you all were having all of that rain. We had that all Spring. Now, I would like a little of it. LOL Never satisfied.

How great that Mr. 18 did the babysitting and sounds like a good time was had by all.

Judy

Teresa Kasner said...

You're getting all our rain! We don't know what to do with all this heat and sunshine! Our poor Earth seems to have gotten tilted on it's axis somehow. I'm impressed with your son to take over childcare for you. What a dear! Maybe he can work on the potty training with LB? Sometimes it takes someone other than "mom" to get the little ones to see what needs to be done. My mom always could help with that. OK.. stay dry. I hope you can retire or cut back at work soon.. I know you'd love staying home more. ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

Grammy Braxton said...

Wow, you guys are really getting a lot of rain. I can't imagine that much water. We've had rain the last few days but thankfully, the humidity has stayed low. The ac is still on vacation so I'm very happy for the low humidity. Good for Mr 18 helping out.
Hugs,
Sharon

kathy b said...

Mere...Your rose shot is so so beautiful. I love that you got a fresh cut off your hair! How fun. I love how this always leads me to use too much shampoo for a bit.
I bet it feels wonderful.

So glad Mr 18 and his brother are together in a special way this summer.

Sorry you had a red tape week. May the next be much better! on the potty too

Caffeine Girl said...

It is so ironic that the West is drying up and Florida is drowning.
I often feel overwhelmed with IEPs, but at least I don't have to deal with Medicaid. That has to be a whole other level.
So nice of Mr. 18 to step. Tell him that the first poopy diaper is the hardest (or sing it, a la Sheryl Crow).
I love that LB doesn't want letters in the puzzle and throws his baby on the ground. Any mother can identify with that feeling!

Pammy Sue said...

I loved seeing and hearing about the rain in your last two posts! I love the rain too. It's very calming for me and makes me happy. It could rain for weeks and I wouldn't mind a bit! Glad you aren't getting any of the flooding and it's not affecting your house. I bet those gardenias smell heavenly! I love their scent! Good luck and best wishes for you and L.B. on the potty training.

Linda @ A La Carte said...

I knew there was some flooding in Florida, didn't realize it was in your area. Glad you are all OK. My Tiger has a baby doll that I got him when he was younger and he loves it. Calls it 'baby' and it is one of his favorite things. I think he will be a great Daddy one day. He loves his little sister and kisses her all the time. So sweet. I am very tired from my babysitting both kids this week but it will get easier I think. I'm going to rest up this weekend for a full week of Miss Rosemary.

Linda

Summer said...

SO much rain you've had! its been very dry here in the UK, we very much need rain! love that cute baby doll and I remember those bottles! where does it go! lol they're facinating.

Maureen said...

Wow, that's a lot of rain you've had! Too bad some of it couldn't be moved over to areas that are experiencing drought.

Hope things go better this coming week.

Maureen

Betsy said...

Wow Meredith! What a post! I am so out of the loop with news right now that I didn't realize that it was still raining in Florida. Kayaks and alligators. Not a good combination is what I'm thinking. Such a great big brother to step up and babysit. I'm guessing it is a great bonding experience. I loved those disappearing liquid bottles too and bought some for Piper. She feeds her babies all of the time. Loom fun too. You have had a busy and full week. I'll be praying for your babysitter, for a quick recuperation. What a story she will have!
Blessings my friend,
Betsy

mamasmercantile said...

Florida actually made international news, we have been warned that if the weather system got into the jet stream that we would get the same over here in the UK.
So good that Mr 18 stepped into the breach for the childcare, not so good that with poopy diapers. Fingers crossed the potty training will improve, bless him. Sounds like one hell of a week.

Grandmabeckyl.blogspot said...

I had to look at the rain as I've not seen it for awhile. We are still quite warm and dry but this week was cooler which has been nice. Maybe some rain this weekend.....in the forecast anyway. Off work (vacation) a couple days and it was good. Did some decluttering and goofing off as well. Always something to do. Your flowers are lovely. Have a good weekend in spite of all the rain and upcoming mold. Take care!

Janet said...

You've had a busy week but you sound as though you are on top of it. Your weather sounds scary, I'm sure it must be very unsettling. I feel quite lethargic in comparison to all you are having to cope with. I can't seem to get anything done.

Ali said...

Wow what a week! well done making it to the weekend. I can remember those feeding bottles and my girls had them too. You've a got a good boy there prepared to step in and help you out I can bet there are not many 18 year old boys prepared to do that. It made me smile to read about little Buddy taking the puzzle pieces out, I've kept my kids wooden puzzles and love watching my nieces play with them when they come to visit. I hope the rain eases up soon for you really don't like the sound of all that mould and mildew yuk! X

Ladybird Diaries said...

It sounds as if you've had quite a trying week but I'm glad there were some happy moments too.
Marianne x

linda said...

I'm glad that the flooding didn't affect your home too much Meredith I can imagine how devastating it must be to have your home flooded it happened to a friend of mine in the past and she lost everything. Yes I get the must have this hair cut feeling too and it always feels so much better when it's done. I hope that you manage to have a lovely stress free weekend. xx

Jo@awholeplotoflove said...

I'm certainly glad the weekend is here two corrupt databases has meant work has been a struggle this week. Ah well onwards & upwards so they say. Ooh my, your post reminded me my eldest son had a baby doll when he was little too. Many happy memories for me now!

Anonymous said...

Glad the flood waters stayed away from your house, but I know what you mean about mold and mildew. It's a constant battle to keep our pool pavers looking clean and tidy.

Little Buddy must have had a GREAT time with Mr. 18! :-)

Sounds like you and I were on the same page with our hair. My hairdresser was gone for a month and I booked his first appointment available because I just had to get my MOP trimmed back nicely.

Lynne said...

All that rain! You had my attention at water moccasin/alligator!!!! I can't imagine keeping up with all that mold and mildew. It must be an endless battle.
Send that rain out west will you? We had a thunderstorm with dry lightning 2 nights ago. The fires around here are crazy!

andamento said...

That does sound a busy week. I know what you mean about the immediate haircut requirement - that's often how I feel too. I don't like the sound of the mould and mildew with all the damp weather you've been having and I'm glad you've not been affected by flood water, it sounds a terrible situation to have to deal with.

Susanne Tyree said...

Oh my, about all that rain. My friend in Ft. Myers says they have had lots of rain too, but I don't think they got this much. I know she says trying to keep the yard mowed has been a challenge, it is wet and soggy and just about impossible. Sounds like people need hip boots to even walk outside. Your poor babysitter. What an ordeal to have to manage just to get to a ride for her surgery. I never heard of stage 0 cancer, what the heck! So then what is the stage for no cancer at all? My oldest daughter works with the mentally challenged too. She does home visits, makes sure they are getting all their needs met, and does lots of paperwork as well. She use to be the Adoption and Foster Parent Specialist for Wood County. Before that she was in Child Protective Services. She has been in that sort of work for over 16 years. For the most part she loves it, but I do believe she would just rather be a stay at home mom. The rate of burn out is high for any kind of social work. I imagine you suffer from it at times too. Buddy, I love hearing about him. He is your joy, no matter what. I think God knew what he was doing when your paths crossed. Give that 18 year old a big hug. I felt the same when my youngest came and did over 2 hours of trimming with the push mower in my yard. I have to do something special for her. One more thing, I meant to comment on the looms and I bet the time you get to weave is a relaxing time. I will always cherish the shawl I got from you. Thank you for replying to my email.
Love you friend,
(((HUGS))) Susanne :)

Amy at love made my home said...

Hope that you are and will stay safe after all that rain and flooding. xx

Jo said...

Jeez that is wet. It has perked up here for a few days so crafting has slowed down as we all head outside. Jo x

Babajeza said...

Well, well, Meredith, a lot is going on at your place. Hopefully, the rain will stop. It makes things easier. Have a nice and relaxing weekend. hugs, Regula

Chris said...

Yikes! Should we be building you an ark?!? I can't believe how much rain you have had. Mildew and mold are awful and hard to get rid of. Glad to hear things are looking good on the potty department. Great for your soon to be the babysitter , hope your babysitter is doing ok. Let's hope for blue skies for you and you don't start growing webs between your toes!!

Judy S. said...

Just a little of that rain would be really nice; we've only had 1/10th" since June 1. It was supposed to rain today but so far nothing. It's so incredibly dry, and the fire danger is extreme. Crazy, huh? Our week was busy but not as crazy as last when our car died 400 miles from home!

Unknown said...

I was worried that you were near to all that rain! I am so glad that it didn't flood your home! That is a lot of rain in such a short time! We had a nice rain yesterday, which we needed. A nice gentle all day one.
I bet LB and Mr 18 year old had fun. Boys never grow up! Especiaslly when no one is around to see them. I wondr who actually had the most fun with the toys???
I am also happy that your babysitter is alright. What an adventure though!!!
I haven't been on here much lately so I am just catching up now.

ellen said...

I do hope that your weekend has been filled with goodness, rest and calm. Some weeks are just so overwhelming. May the coming week be free from rain and so much stress. Your son is a star to step in and take right over. I can well imagine that Little Buddy had a wonderful time with his big brother.
We have had no rain in forever! The fire danger is very high and the weather report for the beginning of the week is "red flagged" in terms of possible lightning. Fingers crossed that we will get rain without the danger of lightning.
xoxo, Ellen.

moonstruckcreations said...

such a lot of rain! I would probably feel quite at home coming from the UK :-)

Helenxx

Gracie Saylor said...

I'm having fun galavanting around visiting with family and friends and am sorry to hear of those suffering the effects of flooding and medical difficulties. Yay for Mr. 18 :) Thanks for the gardenia photo ~~~~~~~. XX

Toni said...

Oh my! That is a lot of rain.

I'm hoping stage 0 cancer means really, really, REALLY early and that it hasn't even really had a chance to get going. Fingers crossed!