I'm done with this week

I know I promised a heater install update yesterday, but it didn't happen. So here it is, now.

Tuesday was install day, and at 3pm the workers come out of the attic after 7 hours of sounding like they were trying to jump through the ceiling. No one napped, Emma is sick and whiny and snotting everywhere, and everyone is cold. It's 59 degrees in the house and I've made it through simply by dreaming of luxurious heat and a whisper quiet heater as promised to me by the Carrier sell brochure. I'm instead informed that they aren't even half way through because they had to build a platform for the new heater that involved hanging it from our roof joists. He continues on by saying he's surprised that the old heater hadn't fallen through the roof it was so insecure. And then, the infamous repair man line comes next. You know what it is already - I've never seen anything like that before. He also shared that whoever ran the cable into Emma's room (we don't have cable, we have satellite TV so I'm guessing it was the handy dandy general contractor) had yanked too hard on the cable when threading it down from her closet and had cinched off the vent that leads to the kid's rooms. That's right, no heat or ac to the kid's rooms for the last 6 years. Long and short of it was, no heat today. It was a chilly afternoon and night, and by Wednesday morning the space heaters weren't even touching the chill.

When the workers arrive Wed. am they assure me I'll have heat by noon. Emma is getting sicker, Grant is going stir crazy from 3 days cooped up in the house, and I'm about to lose my mind from the cold, the noise, and the whiny whiny snotting 4 year old. Again, no one naps because of the noise/ commotion. That's right, noon comes and goes with no heat. At 3:30 pm it becomes evident that Emma needs to see a doctor, and they tell me if I can get over there in 30 minutes (it's a 20 minute drive) then they'll see me before they leave.

Except the heater guy still needs me to sign paperwork, understand the new thermostat, and oh yea, I have to get 2 kids into regular clothes, one of whom is now so sick she can't even manage to get herself dressed. The guys get the heat going, then flip the breaker so they can label the circuit in the fuse box. When they flip it back on, no heat. They stand around, puzzled as I'm running out the door yelling over my shoulder to the heater guy "I don't care whose kid you have to sell, just get my heat on!" He's laughing, but I'm serious.

Dr. appointment shows that Emma has pink eye and RSV. The doctor, who isn't our regular, but remembers Grant's almost weekly visits last year due to his breathing issues, tells me that if Grant gets RSV he'll land in the hospital. I'm too freaked out by the grossness of the pink eye to wrap my brain around the severity of the situation until that evening, and whisk everyone out the door to the pharmacy. We arrive home, 2 1/2 hours later to a sweltering home. Ahhhh blessed heat. Heater guy had left it at 72 degrees, just for me.

I wrestle Emma to the couch to put the drops in, throw something together for dinner, get the kids tucked into bed, and collapse on the couch, ready to enjoy Top Chef. Hubs is gone for the evening, hanging out with the boys. No TV. Just snow. Fantastic.

Thursday morning I realize I no longer need to bundle Grant up for the night when I open the door to his room and get slammed by a wall of hot air. Air actually flowing through the ducts makes quite a difference. I call Dish Network to schedule a repair appointment because I'm fairly certain we have no TV because of the heater guys. I'm told only Hubs can make an appointment because he is the account holder and I'm not authorized to make such changes. I say I don't want to make any changes, I just want to schedule service. Again I'm told only Hubs can do that, for the security of the account. I question how that is keeping my account secure. She simply apologizes for my frustration. I tell her Hubs has a job where he can't be reached, what does she suggest I do (he was in court). She again apologizes for my frustration and tells me he is the only one who can authorize such things. I ask for a manager, who goes on to tell me it's for the safety of my account and that only Hubs can authorize it. When I tell her that my family doesn't operate like a third world country and that my husband is not the sole decision maker in the family, and oh yea, I've already mentioned he can't be reached, she transfers me to a "Conflict Resolution Specialist" who schedules my appointment for Friday am and gives me a number for Hubs to call to give me authorization to make such decisions.

It's another long day with Snotty and Over Energized, with Hubs not coming home again until after the kids are in bed. Thank goodness for my sweet mother who braved my pink eyed home to give me 25 minutes respite so I could go for a sanity saving run.

Bright and early this morning Cable guy showed up, did some stomping around the attic, and discovered that the cable that connects the dish to the TV was gone. Vanished. So he replaced it and we have TV. Just in time for Sesame Street. Then the arrival of my in laws reminded me I had a hair appointment today too. Grant woke up with red eyes so I started him on the pink eye medicine, and Emma just walked out of her room to inform me her left ear is really hurting. Good news is Hubs should be home by dinner time. And I'm taking off when we're done eating. I don't know where I'm going or what I'm doing, but I'm not staying home.