Don't bad things happen in threes?

First, about two weeks ago, the alternator and battery went out on the car. So we got that fixed and replaced some spark plugs while we were at it. All to the tune of $830.

Then, we've been gone for the past five days. Mom's been checking the house, getting the mail, feeding the cat, etc. The day we leave (Wednesday), this part of the state is deluged with five inches of rain. We get home today and right away I step into a house that absolutely REEKS of cat urine. However, there is no cat poop anywhere, and the cat has actually been locked in the laundry room while we've been gone. I chalk it up to dirty guinea pig cage smell. Then, I notice the carpet in Spencer's room is wet, as are various items in and around his bed (bedroom is in basement). A further inspection reveals wet walls, dresser, and bed frame, not to mention a very mildewy headboard. Brent locates the crack where the pile of water must have seeped in. Ewwwwwwwwwww...I'm sure this is what accounts for the cat pee-mildew smell.

I am living in a dirty house. Brent is going to call the insurance people tomorrow, but I'm positive Child Services will be beating down the door soon to take away my children because we are dwelling in such squalor.

What's next?

We've been camping here in Minnesota since Wednesday, and so far it's been a mixed bag.

The last two nights there have been serious thunder/rain storms, and I'm so glad we're in a camper. It would totally suck to be in a tent or even a pop-up camper. Right now, the grounds are pretty soupy, so we'll see how much fun we'll have today. We actually haven't been around much this weekend, what with shopping and visiting friends, and we've also wanted to eat at some of our favorite places around here, so a lot of the food we brought with us still remains in the cupboard. Not necessarily a bad thing...we do have a five-hour drive home tomorrow.

One thing that's baffled me is the rules of the pool here. No diapers of ANY kind. I take that to mean swim diapers, as well. Now, I have a three-year-old in the middle of potty training...so the campground would prefer my son to possibly have an accident in the pool instead of wearing a swim diaper? Not sure I understand, but OK. At this time, Elliot is wearing no diapers, but I'm checking about every five minutes to see if he has to go to the bathroom. No accidents so far.

Anyway, things are well here. I'm checking in on my husband's laptop because of the excellent WiFi here. Isn't that something? It's like we've never left our house. We've got comfortable beds, nice modern cooking equipment (even though we opt for the campfire more often), a working shower and toilet, and plenty of space to not have to crawl on top of each other.

Ahhhhhhhh...the great outdoors.

Just for a couple days. We're leaving for Minnesota today, going to be staying at a KOA campground near our old stomping grounds in Rochester.

While I do not relish the thought of hauling a 30 foot trailer for four-and-a-half to five hours and toting three small children that same distance, I am looking very forward to "living" in our camper for an extended period of time. And, Rochester is a great city. Plenty of shopping, places to eat, parks to play...all those things we don't get so much of around here.

Brent will be going into work while we're here, so he'll be bringing his laptop. The Wifi is supposedly great at this campground, so I still may be able to check in. Whoohoo!

Ahahahaaaa....one of the challenging joys of being married - what happens when one of you is a packrat and one of you is an indiscriminate discarder?

Here's what I've discovered. When the area being reorganized is under Packrat's domain, the CP should simply make him/herself scarce. If the area in question is non-Packrat territory, CP operates under No Holds Barred mode.

Now for real-life example, we have a little counter space in our kitchen, which has become the place which holds the phone, phone book, writing utensils, and bills/other important papers. It's basically a desk, without a chair or space to sit. Over the last few months, it's become a catchall for odds and ends, usually books or pamphlets or magazines in the process of being read or kept to be read later.

Today, Brent and I decided it's time for some reorganization. Clean it up and straighten it out so it's not such an eyesore for the rest of the kitchen (which is pretty much immaculate after today's cleaning).

Now - this is Brent's space. He writes out the bills and categorizes the important papers, so it's really his mess here. But, it's a bad mess, and I'm the one who'd like it neater. I step in to try to help him throw some things out, and I get the snappish "I need to keep those!" remark. I then learn he's got everything here piled into two messy heaps of whatever. And there IS a method to his madness, although I don't get it.

I'm trying to help, but my solution is to throw things away. I'm the CP. On the other hand, Brent wants to keep it all, but just reorganize it instead - he's Mr. Packrat.

So...I simply walked away and came here to blog about it. I didn't get angry or offended, I'm just letting him exert control over his little part of the kitchen.

As soon as I spellcheck what I've done so far, I'm going to walk back in there and see the progress, but I will say and do nothing. I will then come back here and report.

UPDATE: NOTHING has been touched. He's watching Scooby-Doo on Cartoon Network. Huh. So much for that experiment.

I've just spent an exhausting Saturday taking advantage of tax-free clothes shopping in Iowa.

My children's wardrobes are stacked. They may begin learning in a fashionable manner.