Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Christmas fiasco

Okay, stay with me on this post. Trust me.

A few days after I got back from California, daughter, Jenni, arrived for Christmas with Emma and Mason. (Son-in-law, Joe wasn’t due to arrive until the 24th)

The day after arriving, Emma woke up with a deep croupy cough. But, it didn’t seem to keep her down. We had about 6 – 8 inches of snow overnight and she got to help Papa (Mr. CnW) shovel the deck. He had even gotten her a little shovel of her own.

christmas 2010 133

Of course, they had to take a break from all the work to build Papa’s version of a “snowman”.

christmas 2010 201

Ahhh, exhausting work!

christmas 2010 208

THEN….the following day, Mason woke up with the same croupy cough. It didn’t seem to bother him either during the day.

christmas 2010 123

But, by that night, he couldn’t sleep and was really laboring to breathe. Poor little guy was just miserable. Neither one of the kiddos had ever needed a doctor in Bend, so after a sleepless night for us all, we just opened the phone book and called one. They were able to see him early that morning. He got a “breathing” treatment at the Dr’s office that was supposed to work for 2 – 4 hours, and a steroid shot that was supposed to kick in not long after. He sounded so much better and we headed to the pharmacy for a prescription.

THEN….no more than 10 minutes after we left the office, he started wheezing and laboring to breathe again. Back to the Dr’s office. She took one look at him and decided he needed to be admitted to the hospital where he could be monitored. So, off we went to admitting.

He got all settled into his room with his Mommy. (I have to say that the little gown he had on was adorable).

iphone 015

He was one sick little boy but I finally got him to smile a little in between wheezes.

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He ended up staying 2 nights (with Mommy right by his side) until his breathing was under control. We found out that the little ones can’t handle Croup very well because of their tiny trachea. (I think that’s right). The virus causes inflammation which leaves very little room for air to be inhaled and exhaled.

He was back to his old self after a couple days back at home. Whew! His Daddy ended up coming a day earlier than planned as he had been really worried about his little guy.

THEN………. while all this was happening, our refrigerator decided to quit working.

(all the following pictures are from Google images because no actual pictures were taken!)

A_broken_fridge

We called a repairman who came out the next day and decided it was the “evaporator fan motor” and he would have a new one the next day. In the meantime, we had to move our food to the refrigerator in the garage. Mind you…it’s now the 22nd of Dec.

So, he comes back the next day, replaces the motor and goes on his merry way. But….guess what? By late afternoon it wasn’t any cooler than it was the day before. Another call to the repairman and he said he’d be back in the morning (the 24th!)

THEN……. In the meantime, I had baked a couple of pies that had spilled over onto the bottom of the oven, so Mr. CnW said we needed to use the self cleaner on the oven before baking the turkey. 3-1/2 hours later, the oven was sparkling clean.

Are you still with me? Trust me…it gets better.

I had fixed a lasagna for dinner and went to put it in the oven and……guess what? Yep, you’re right, it wouldn’t heat up.

broken oven

All the great minds in the house said it just needed to cool down from the self cleaning mode. “Sure” I said. “Yeah, right”. After 1/2 hour of everyone staring at the oven, I called Anne, who has a vacation home in Bend that wasn’t being used. I asked her if I could cook the lasagna at her house. She said “of course”, so off I went, taking my brother with me to help.

It smelled just wonderful cooking and even better when it was done.

lasagna_baking

THEN…….as my brother was taking it out of the oven to put on the counter, guess what? Yep, you’re right…..IT FELL ON THE FLOOR!

lasagna on floor

This Google image picture isn’t even remotely like what it actually looked like on the floor. The WHOLE casserole dish UPSIDE DOWN on the floor.

Now, you have to understand that my brother is a bachelor and has been his whole 67 years! To this day he doesn’t understand “how” it happened. All I know is that I never touched the dish. My theory is that the dish grew legs while it was cooking and decided to jump off the counter onto the floor doing a triple somersault on the way down! Just a theory!

After cleaning it all up, we headed to the local pizza parlor for take-out.

THEN…the morning of the 24th, the day before Christmas, Chrismas eve, (are you getting the picture?) we had 2, that’s TWO repairmen here at the same time in the kitchen. Of course they knew each other, and I'm sure we paid for their “chat” in our hourly labor charge. (Yikes, I’m feeling my blood pressure rise as I re-tell the story)

Long story short (HA)….the oven was fixed by replacing the thermostat and I was able to get the turkey in to cook at a reasonable hour.

turkey in oven

But….the refrigerator…now that’s another story. Repairman had to call Kitchen Aid/Whirlpool for advice and was told which part was needed. We were told it would take SEVEN days for the part to arrive.

Are you still with me?

Monday, January 3rd, Mr Repairman called to tell us that the part has been discontinued and is no longer being manufactured, BUT there’s a place in the midwest, or east coast or timbuktu, that will TRY to repair the part. Another 7 – 10 days. Now, friends, this refrigerator is only NINE years old! And…….since we sold the house and are now renting back, we are feeling very guilty, but don’t want to buy the new owners a brand new fridge. Ummm, dilemma!

lifting-refrigerator

This is how I feel about appliances!

So, that’s a part of why I wasn’t blogging over the holidays. Whew!

Will keep you posted.

Hugs, Anne

18 comments:

Lori said...

OMG you must have been so scared with the little ones so sick!!

Kitchen nightmare! That's all I can say about that!!!

Anna said...

I heard bits and pieces of this saga but I have to say...you tell it so much better! I love the photos of the grandkids, they are adorable..especially the little hip jut of you grandaughter. But I have to say that I laughed with tears in my eyes and I say this with the deepest sympathy...you should write a book and make a movie about this Christmas!

Anna
www.wooliemammoth.blogspot.com

Kimberly said...

Congratulations on winning the grand prize for most crazy Christmas... but I'm sorry about the circumstances!

Darlene said...

I can imagine how you felt with two sick little people (one very sick) and hope they're both much better now.

What a fiasco in the kitchen - sigh!!!!

BTW, I love Mr CnW's snowman version - very cute. :-)

Kelli said...

WOW! You have had one hectic, scary week! I do hope that all is well now with the wee tot - and you! Thanks for sharing!

Pat said...

Good grief! your whole family should take a warm sunny vacation and get away for a while. Reminds me of Christmas 2008 when we were hit with an ice storm, lost power and were trying to reheat all the party food on the outside grill & using the oven in the RV which was located across the icy expanse of our driveway.
We also have a newer KitchenAid frig - & why do manufacturers discontinue parts so quickly? Planned obsolescence? We have a 2nd frig downstairs that has been running since 1974. Those were the good old days!
Hoping the New Year settles down for you - have a good week!

Anonymous said...

Oh my gosh I just kept reading and it kept getting worse! You poor thing! I swear, it's true when they say when it rains it pours. Glad it all worked out in the end though. Poor kiddos, I hope they are feeling better. If you went to the hospital, maybe you finally met my SIL Linda, I think she's in admissions, well she used to be anyway. LOL I'm coming up to Bend in March for a long weekend, knock wood and if the weather is nice. I need my Sew Many Quilts fix.

Jacqueline said...

omg - when it rains at your house, it pours.

sounds like everything but the fridge tho has been mended.

Good luck

Loris said...

Too much to go through, especially at the holidays! Glad the kiddos got the best treatment and felt better.
Appliances seem to have special 'timers' when to break. We are currently storing frozen items for our neighbors who 'lost' their frig Christmas Day. Even buying a new one took awhile. Hope you figured out a plan that worked for you.

Carol said...

OMG Bless your heart...that is certainly a Christmas you all will never forget. I'm glad the little people are better.

Linda said...

OMG!! I'm crying I'm laughing so hard. Your kitchen appliances, and your dilemma. This reminds me of the Christmas Story when they have to go out and eat at the Chinese rest.

I'm sorry to hear about the little man. I hate it when they get sick.

Linda said...

Fiasco is right! I'm like is this horrendous (funny cuz it wasn't me) nightmare ever going to end??? I feel the same way about appliances. You are lucky if they last over 5 years anymore! I'm so glad the little guy is better! How scary. It's a good thing the dr. admitted him!!

Anna said...

I enjoyed today...you left too early and we have several plans that were decided on after you left! Can't figure out why you would not be able to reply...I check every thing...help! Your photo is on the blog.

Anna
www.wooliemammoth.blogspot.com

Crispy said...

I'm so happy the little ones are all better. It will be a trip to Gramma's that they will remember for a long time!!

Why is it that appliances all go at once? We had to repair the stove and replace first the washer than the dryer....sheesh!!

Crispy

Hogan's Adventure said...

I know it wasn't funny at the time, but you did an amazing job of depicting your holidays, made me laugh once again. Poor little Mason, not a fun way to spend time at Grandma and Papa's!!!! Emma...always a bright spot! xoxoxo

Candace said...

Yikes...when it rains it pours - but wait...it snowed! Good grief - I think you all need a "do-over" for Christmas, Anne! But I'm so glad everyone survived (except maybe the frig....to be continued?)
Cheers!

Shelina (formerly known as Shasta) said...

Wow that is crazy - one thing after another. If your refrigerator is still giving you trouble, I would recommend buying a used replacement.

Shirley--Knot-y Embroidery Lady said...

Hang in there!