I hope you know not to ever say, "Surely, this can't get any worse!"
It all started with my toilets making that constant filling sound. I didn't even notice. But, my kids were trying to rest and asked "What is that noise? It won't stop." Over the course of the next week, I not only noticed the noise, it became increasingly annoying. It soon became the only thing I could hear. The constant filling and stopping, filling and stopping - every few seconds, non-stop, 24 hours a day. After asking my husband to contact a plumber, he notified me that they would get out as soon as they could. I hoped for sooner rather than later.
In the mean time, life went on. One evening we came and our lawn person was still outside finishing up some edging. We stood outside just chatting away, when he informed us that on the side of the house he noticed several ants. As my dear husband strolled to see what all the fuss was about, his demeaner changed quickly. Suddenly a panic had overtaken him. He came charging back speaking a million words a minute, saying something about him going to a home improvement store to get pesticide. On his way, he also called our "Bug Man" to let him know the urgency of the situation. My husband was shocked to hear an annoyance in his voice as he passed off some advice, "Just spray some vinegar where the ants are."
The problem wasn't only outside. After he treated the side, we came inside to find our master bathroom was infested with ants. It's a horrific feeling. Seeing these little creatures hurrying to and fro all over your stuff. They had climbed up my daughter's hoodie towel and were all over it. They made their perfct little geometric lines all over the tile. They had climbed onto any clothing that touched the ground. They were all over the floor. All I could say was, "Ewwww!" So, we proceeded to spray vinegar all over our bathroom. It smelled like a salad where it shouldn't smell like salad. And, it wasn't working. So, after I cleaned up that grotesque smell, we started spraying the insecticide everywhere and dropping ant baits.
Our master bathroom also has the door for our walk-in closet. Mind you our closet is not just for clothes. It also houses my baby boy's crib. I know it must sound archaic or harsh to put your baby to bed in a closet. But, our closet is quite big. In addition to all our clothes, shoes and my handbags, his pack-n-play fits nicely in the middle. There's even room to push it to the side when it's not being used. It's also quite dark, which is an ideal environment for a sleepy baby. Not to mention the fact that it's quiet.
So, since the ants wanted to overtake my bathroom, they were much to close to my baby's bed. We relocated his pack-n-play to the front room. This room is at the front of the house, where all the sun comes in and is open to the rest of the house's noise. We had no choice at this point. It was either that or take the risk of all over ant bites.
The next day, I woke up to find that my computer had crashed due to a virus. Are you kidding me? I use my computer quite frequently. I use it to balance my checkbook daily, to stay informed on homeschool items, to inform others of community issues, to email my friends & husband, and to check my calendar. This very inconvenient problem would not be resolved immediately as we did not have funds to hire a computer person to come out to diagnose and fix the problem.
A day later, our family was at Costco just milling about when we noticed a flat tire on my SUV. We drove it about 25 feet over to the automotive department to get it fixed. The gentleman, and I use that term loosely, said it would take overnight to fix. He called us on the way home to inform us that it would need replacing and cost several hundred dollars. That's my fault for having the kind of vehicle with expensive tires. So, whatever--- it gets fixed and we bring it home. As I popped out of the passenger seat, I noticed a LARGE red scratch on the door. The color happens to match the canister that the tire gentleman used to inflate my flat tire. We read through our receipt and find some interesting comments on "the vehicle has some minor dings." Minor dings? Who puts that on the receipt for a tire replacement? I'll tell you WHO. Someone trying to cover their tracks. Well, after speaking to the manager in the tire department, we come to find out that the tire "gentleman" confesses to the "minor dings" and offers to buff them out. Ugh. Seriously??? Come on.
Wanting to move on in the crazy week, I awake the NEXT day to find that two of my other tires are actually flat. Not a little low. FLAT! As in, on the ground, no air in them, flat. My hubby calls "Acura Roadside Assistance" (surely, we paid for it for a reason) and they come out to pump air back in my tires. Just enough air was pumped to get my sweet husband to a local tire outlet. But, my question is "Where is the money going to come to pay for two more tires???" Well, hubby calls me from the tire store to inform me that the flat tires are fixable and it will cost us nothing. Nothing? Are you kidding me? With the kind of week we've had these two tires are going to cost nothing???? YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Glory be, hallelujah!!!
Though the week actually ended, it's memory would live on---
A couple weeks later, the plumber came out and took about 2 and a half minutes to replace some seal inside that looked like it cost $.50. With that, my toilets were no longer broken. Hallelujah!
A couple weeks after that, thinking this mess was behind us, I opened our mail. The bill from the city for our water was on top. You can imagine my astonishment when I opened it to find the "Amount Due" over $500. WHAT??? For a water bill? Are you kidding me? Okay, it has to be from those leaking toilets. And, that crazy week's memory lives on...
