Blessings in Disguise

This blog was created to keep my family updated on the happenings with us since we have moved so far from them.  It was to chronicle the adventures which can be construed as mishaps while our family that has lived in the Big City our whole lives, learns to live in the country.  And when I say mishaps...I mean things that don't go quite according to plan.  Sound familiar?

My point is that if you're a passer-by and happen to be reading this, it may appear to be random nonsense.  I apologize for that and you have the blessed option to hit that arrow or close key.  And if you're a friend or family member, I also apologize for this random nonsense and for the fact that you are obligated to read my nonsense and even like it!!! Muhahahaw!!! 

On to my next point.  It seems to me lately, that there are so many crazy things going on in the world right now.  The future is uncertain and scary.  People around the world are suffering.  War is growing around the world and doesn't look like it will be ending any time soon.  Many families deal with war everyday while their loved ones fight.  I am ashamed to say that in my world, I do not have a personal, direct connection to the war or the sufferings going on around the world. My biggest concern is if we have clean clothes to wear to work/school tomorrow or creamer for my coffee in the morning.  It put some things in perspective for me when I was listening to a church sermon and the preacher was talking about people in another country asking him if it was true that people in America had houses to put their cars in at night.  And rooms to put their clothes in while some families shared one room houses.  I have so much.  I am so blessed. 

So one day after cleaning his room, my son asked me to come see something on his wall.  And this is what we saw:

Some of you may know what this is right away.  It took me a minute.  Black mold (cue music).  It is here I will avoid the embarrassment of telling how long this was covered due to my son's mess...could have been a week (does it look like it's only been there for a week?) or could have been months...and we'll just stop there.

Before I knew it, this is what we were dealing with.  Now, it could have been so much worse.  You hear horror stories of homes that are unlivable due to mold.  I figured the whole wall would have to be replaced and we would be out on the streets or living in the suburban for weeks until they raised the all clear sign.  We had to take a couple days off work while the nice men cleaned it, killed it, cut it, sealed it, built it, textured it, and painted it.  It was a mess...I was a mess.  Dust was EVERYWHERE!!!  And I was stressing out about my boy who has asthma.  Luckily he was not the one staying in the room when the mold was growing for...uh...however long it was growing and no one showed any signs of being sick.

 So it could have been worse but at the time, I was NOT OKAY!!!   "Why me? Why now?" I whined.  "Can't we ever catch a break???"  I moaned.  "Seems like something ALWAYS has to be going on around here" I cried.  Poor me.

What I didn't know, was that while the nice men were fixing the root cause of the problem (inadequate plumbing causing  the washing machine water to splash inside the wall) they noticed one tiny, little insignificant detail about my dryer:

 Can you see that prong?  Can you see how it is burned and melted around the prong?

 What they saw before plugging in my dryer after working on the mold...was a plug gone bad man!  Our dryer plug was secretly plotting on burning my house down!!!  Ackkkk!!!!  I don't know much about cords and mold and fire but I do know that a burned plug is bad.  Very, very bad.  So we cut him loose.  There is no tolerance in this house for dryer plugs-or ANY plug for that matter- gone bad!  My husband replaced him.  Just like that!  Let that be a warning! Us Tarvers are cold hearted!  Ice...

So in the midst of the nightmare mold, and as painful as it was for me to take a day or two off work, relaxing and watching movies while the nice men repaired the wall, I found it to be a blessing in disguise.  My family is safe, my belongings are safe and it's all thanks to some Toxic Black Mold.  See how things work out?

Seriously, in the big scheme of things, I know I am blessed and that I have it good.  And I can't tell you how thankful I am. I haven't always been here, and know it won't always be like this. I have suffered too.  But like I said before, lately I hear strangers, friends, and family suffering and asking themselves (and I'm asking too) why things are happening the way they are.  Why do things go wrong?  Why does it seem sometimes that things just fall apart and never look like they will get better?  Well, sometimes --not always--but sometimes there is a silver lining.  Something that in a moment, gives you chills and clarity at the same time.  A moment when you realize that something happened for a reason.  And that Someone was looking out for you and working for the greater good. 

Amen.

My Pretzel Boy

First of all, let me just say I post this with permission of my Pretzel Boy.  As a matter of fact, I specifically asked him if I could put this in my blog and his response was, "Sure mom, I don't care what people think of me."  Please note no children were harmed in the photographing of this blog post.

Since he was a baby, his flexibility was amazing.  I could twist this child any which way.  I could put his feet behind his head and practically fold him in half.  This would be considered odd because his father, on a scale from 1 to 10 (10 being highly flexible), would range somewhere between a 2 and 3 while I used to be around an 8...emphasis on used to be!

It seems he has not lost that flexing ability at all in the last 13 years...

 He is scooting himself with his feet behind his head.  Now this may make some squeamish,  let me inform you that while he may not sit exactly like this all the time, he does sit with a foot routinely wrapped around his body.  When just sitting and relaxing in the chair watching TV, he does have a habit of contorting his body in unnatural poses but it was not until recently that we discovered this talent...

 It's just not right...

If You Give Teenage Boys Snow...

If you give teenage boys some snow, they'll want to go play in it.  And by play, I mean torture each other by doing everything in their power to ram, throw and smush snow onto their brother's skin.  When The Great Storm of 2010 came 2 weeks ago, it was way too cold to go play in it.  The wind chill was down to negative 17 on some days.  But we had a pretty mild day where we could go outside for more than 30 seconds without feeling like our noses and fingers were going to burn and fall off.

 So we thought we'd get a little play time in before the snow melted.  As you can see, the torture begins.

 Can I just say there is actually very little time in our household currently where a teenage boy is not torturing another teenage boy?  I have 3.  There is very little peace here right now.

 The snow was very powdery and had melted a bit the day before.  That night we had a hard freeze so there were layers of compacted, dry, powdery snow.  It sort of exploded into a powder when thrown.  I have to admit, it was kinda cool...

 Note the two on the right.  Okay...now note the one on the left...umhmmm. I give him props for trying.  A quick, "NO" did the trick and he found another target quickly...

 Unfortunately they were too engrossed with each other to notice him coming...

 Uh Oh!!!  Man down!!!  Man down!!!  Please understand this is a daily endeavor in my home.  I have learned not to panic and to remain calm unless there is blood or a body part bending in a manner in which it shouldn't.

 This is my baby.  Can you see that there is snow inside his hood?  Can I just say he is not happy!!! That is not a smile folks. After I got him up and dusted off, he decided he had enough and went to go thaw in the shower.  Now don't you worry...he's just fine.

 Here's Ryan making a snow angel.  Um...Ryan?  I think you're supposed to be on your other side.  Might work better...

 Okay...try that.  We are from South Texas.  We get no snow.  We are learning...

 TaDahhhhh!!!  A snow angel.

 Now it is big brother's turn.  By this time, we'd been out for about 15 minutes.  We were having a good time but my feet were starting to burn and it was cold!!!  So I made us all go inside. I know...I'm such a buzz kill man!

 I guess they were feeling a little guilty about torturing the little brother so Ryan helps his brother up in a rare moment.

 So this is it for the snow!  It melted in the next two days and we soon discovered that the beauty of snow is but a moment compared to the gray, dirty, slushy, icky, mess of melting snow.  I'm still cleaning my floors...and car...and laundry...

But for a moment, it was beautiful!

Winter Confession

I know you've been losing sleep over the whole frozen water tank issue.  So lest you toss and turn another night thinking about my poor boys having to go break ice and very nearly freeze to their deaths, well, worry no more!

You rememer this?



 Do you see that device in there on the bottom right part of the tank? That's a neat little tool. It's supposed to keep the water from freezing.  The trick is to plug it in without electrocuting yourself or the horse.  You have to sort of hide the cords so she doesn't try to bite through the cord or pull the cord with her hoof.  You know...tricky things like that.

 The other tricky part is making sure you have enough juice to run the hot wired fence so the horse doesn't try to run free and still have enough to keep the water from freezing.  Also, now- I'm not an expert or anything-but not setting it up until the day after the coldest night in history may not be the best strategy.  Maybe you want to have it installed and working on the day of the coldest night in history...just sayin'.

 But no worries!  We...er...I mean, he as in Brandon, had it all set up in no time. Girlfriend got plenty to eat and plenty to drink...


Dang!  Girlfriend's looking a little shaggy.  Girlfriend needs a shave.  I know how she feels...I tend to shave less in the winter too when I know my legs are going to be covered most of the time.  What???  TMI??  Puhleeeez!!!  Don't tell me you keep up with your summer shaving routine throughout the winter!!  Just keepin' it real!

Got What I Asked For!

If you haven't noticed by now, all winter I've been griping and complaining about how we haven't had any snow or real winter-like conditions.  I moved 8 hours north and have pretty much experienced the same weather we had in The Big City...blah, blah, blah.

Well..I finally got what I asked for. On the first day of February, a Winter Storm rolled in and put the whole state in a State of Emergency!  We, being in the southwest part of the state, didn't get nearly as slammed as the central and northwest part of the state...but it was arctic, windy and the windchill was negative 17 degrees F for a time.  In case you're from the southern part of the U.S....that's really frickin' cold!!!

So, the media of course was going crazy!!!  People went out shopping a couple of days before it was coming and emptied the shelves of the local stores for supplies. After all, last year, some people were without power for three weeks!!!  We were also pretty sure we would have a Snow Day so I prepared to make some meals and take advantage of having the day at home with my family.  But just in case, I got up early, jumped in the shower and checked the news for school closings.  Everyone was warned to stay off the roads and to not travel unless absolutely necessary!  Yay!  Snow Day! 

So I checked outside to see what the whole fuss was about anyway...

This was my front door at 6:30 am.  The wind had blown the snow so hard it was piled behind the screen door in between my front door!  I could feel and hear the wind blowing through my door!  Brrr!!

Now this is my back door.  I have to admit that the weekend before we got this freezing blast, the weather was a beautiful, spring-like 65 degrees!  I pulled the glass down on the screen door and opened up the house.  I also forgot to close the glass on the screen door and the snow just came right in!

It's not like we got feet and feet of snow.  I think we actually only ended up with maybe 2 inches.  The problem was the wind was blowing so hard, it caused drifts that were at least 12 inches deep.  Anyone trying to drive would be fine (if you could even tell where the roads were) and all the sudden, you'd be front deep in a snow drift, not going anywhere for a while unless you happen to be carrying a shovel in your car.

We have a garage that is actually a carport but it's more like a garage without doors.  This picture shows how hard the wind blew the snow.  This is the back of our garage with two large vehicles in front and everything in my garage was covered in snow!

It just looks cold and dreary doesn't it?  We were a little disappointed that the first time we get snow, it was really too dang cold to go play in it.  Seriously, you couldn't be outside for more than a few minutes before your fingers and face started to burn.

But we had to at least go feel it for a bit.  Here are my two youngest trying to make snowballs.  The snow was very dry and powdery but they finally made one!

Yay! Even though it was 9 degrees with a windchill of negative 17 there were still outside chores to do.  The poor horse needs to eat and stay warm!

Doesn't she look cold?  Being the wonderful mother I am, I sent my children out with the camera to take pictures for me so I wouldn't freeze.  Well...they had to be out there anyway breaking up the ice in the water tank (which takes more than one person) and make sure she has plenty to eat and plenty of hay.  I'm old and it was really cold! Don't judge me!

Buttercup was really cold.  She had snow all over her.  Good thing she has a winter coat.  It's really warm and shaggy.  We also give her more food than usual so she can eat plenty and burn more calories to stay warm.

The water presents another problem...

Shovels and crowbars usually do the trick with a little elbow grease.  At one point, my Ryan comes traipsing in covered in slushy, cold clothes and half frozen.  I think he was using the shovel to pull some of the ice chunks out of the water and well...sorta half fell in.  I think!!!  Remember I wasn't out there.  So he comes in half froze and after I asked him "Oh My Gosh!!!  What happened to you?"   And he told me between chattering teeth that he fell into the water tank trying to grab a huge piece of ice, I looked for my camera.  I know!  So I didn't take a picture of my half froze boy because I had to get him out of those clothes and into the bath...also, another child had my camera outside...heh.

Cutting up the ice without cutting through the tank is tricky.  Plus you have to get as much ice as you can out so it doesn't freeze deeper and harder the next time...which is does.  This is probably the hardest and worst job in the winter when you have animals. 

Here's my snow dog Buzz.  He's mostly Husky so he LOVES the snow.  And he likes to help the boys with the horse.  I think it makes him feel important.  He also hasn't totally figured out that he's a dog...

That afternoon the wind finally died down a little.  After that it didn't feel as cold, even though the temperature was like 5 degrees. 

It ended up being a pretty fun day.  We got to try alot of things we never have like ice cream snow.  The kids would go out in spurts to play in the snow as much as they could handle and we had a yummy beef stew for dinner and lots of hot chocolate. 

And oh yeah.  I ended up with about 20 loads of laundry! When it's this cold, you have to dress in layers.  And times that by 3...and when you come in, the clothes are wet so the next time you go out, you need clean, dry layers...and times that by 3...

So for a total of 30 minutes throughout the day playing plus another 30 minutes of chores, I spent the next 5 days trying to catch up with laundry.  Not kidding!  And that does not include cleaning the dirty wet floors, and kitchen clean up of having every member of the family home eating all day long!!!  If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go switch the clothes out and dry my tears...

Do Animals Like Snow?

Well we have finally had a cold spell. Actually, I would say it was more than a cold spell...it was crazy Arctic! Lows are 5 degrees and highs in the teens? Where the heck am I anyway?

So I guess I got my wish and have to quit my gripping. We got snow!!!! In the city, we got snow back in 1985 or something...I was a kid so I don't really remember when. Nothing really since then. So this was so fun! The best part was we had to stay home...yep! An actual...SNOW DAY!!! The bad part was the wind was blowing so hard we couldn't get out and enjoy it without our noses and fingers feeling like they were going to drop off our bodies the moment we stepped outside. That wind...she was angry!

So we have this dog. His name is Buzz. He's part Husky and he LOVES the snow. We almost can't get him inside without luring him with treats and food. His old self gets to feeling like a kid again. He jumps, runs, skips, hops, plays and is just down right frisky!

Sorry about that blob on the right of the picture. I sent my kids out to take pictures and Trey fell and got my camera all messed up. So that would be snow...

So anyway, this is a picture of a dog who thinks he's in Heaven! I would say he likes snow.

Here's our gimpy cat Rex. This would be the first time he ever experienced snow. He was a little slow going out and when he ran back in...(snicker) his paws were wet, (heeheeehaha) and he slipped on the floor (bahahahawww) and went a little panicky! So humiliating. Now he sits at the door and whines to go out. I think he likes snow.

Can you see that? Doesn't it look cold? Remember when I said I sent my kids out with the camera? I ain't no fool man!!! It was stinkin' COLD outside. It was like 9 degrees with a wind chill of negative 17!!!! Don't judge me!!! They had to go feed her and break up the ice for her water anyway...and kids are more resilient than grown ups too. They're fine! It builds character.

Here's poor Buttercup with snow stuck to her back. Poor horsey! Doesn't she look cold? Well she's grown this really thick fur underneath her topcoat and she looks quite shaggy actually! I've been noticing that her hair is very thick! And we've been feeding her alot more. We've actually caught her jumping, bucking and kicking while running around and playing. I think she likes the snow!

What about these animals?? Don't try to argue with me. Teenage boys are animals. They make funny noises when they sleep, they smell terrible and they eat like nothing I've ever seen in my life!! As cold as it was, they put in a good effort in trying to play. Ryan is trying to show Trey how to make a snowball. The snow was very powdery so it was hard. They spent a good 20 minutes or more out there having a good time before my little snowmen came inside to thaw.

These animals like the snow!

Looking Back

For the last couple of days I've been thinking about ideas to blog about. Honestly there hasn't been too much going on to blog about. So I'm thinking to myself, "Christina-think of anything! Anything that may or may not be interesting. Just get something down. Millions of people are counting on you! Waiting on you!!!" Well, okay-maybe not millions....heh.

I guess we're in the middle of winter which may be causing what I'll refer to as the Winter Blues. Not that we have that much to be blue about. This winter has been mild compared to last winter. Last winter, I was still living in the Big City while my husband and oldest son lived up here in The Country under ice storms, power outages with no heat that lasted weeks in some areas and a week or more of no school due to bad weather. Well...not this winter!! We seem to be the only area that has not had any snow or even ice too bad. I am a little disappointed only because we have weather like this where I moved from and was looking forward to the opportunity to hate winter.

Thinking about last winter made me start thinking about how my family was split for 6 months. I remember driving the hours to stay for a long weekend and how my heart would break when we had to travel back without half my family. I had forgotten how it tore at my heartstrings to not be here for my son's band concerts or school meetings. I had forgotten the desperation to see my husband even if it were for just one night and a day. There are many things I have started to take for granted just being up here for the last 6 months.

It was my friends and family who helped us get through being apart for 6 months. You know who you are (assuming you even glance at my blog) and I'll be forever grateful for putting us up and putting up with us! Hahaa!

I do not regret that time of separation as difficult as it was. We learned so many things about one another. Some relationships became closer. Some people were not taken for granted as often. Some hurts were healed. And deeper friendships were developed.

I am so glad that we have built a family together here. Sure I miss my family and friends that we left behind. But The Country has been a positive influence in my family. My boys are doing well in school and are enjoying new friends. We are experiencing things in The Country we would never have the opportunity to explore in The Big City. Things are slower here. Smaller...more accountable. And closer. You tend to treat people differently when you know you will bump into them anywhere.

Nothing is a guarantee. No one knows what tomorrow will bring. Living one day at a time with what you are given today is the secret to happiness and satisfaction.