Is It Just Bad Luck?

I don't know quite how we manage it but again we have plunked our kids into a...dare I say SHITTY!! dayhome. It has been months of searching, tirals and again heartache and added stress that I really don't need right now.

We thought that when we hired our nanny in January that we had succeeded in finding someone long term that had the same ideals Neil and I have. Nope, she quit by text message 2 weeks after staring and timed it so we had to fork over the full amount. Then we scrambled (I say we but it was Neil) and found the one we are in now and she is terrible. She has 8 kids in her care including mine and is swamped. She has thus far put all 8 kids into a mini van and drove them over town without car seats, and most of them are under the age of 4. And this has happened at least 5 times in a month and a bit. Then the other day Natahneil bit one of the smaller boys through his pants in his genitals. Now if it had been Ryan we owuldn't have been too surprised at the reaction (biting that is), Nathaniel not so much. It raised red flags for me ( I was there when he did it). It took me 4 hours to get the full reason out of him and it was really me having Neil do it.

Turns out he hates the day home, has no one to play with and the kids are "mean" to him. I'm not sure about the mean part, from a 5 year old "mean" can mean anything.  So the story went that he was playing in one of those pop tents and was told to get out. My sissy boy didn't take that well and frumped a bit. that's fine. Then he asked one of the little boys to play with him and they said no, he bit him. Not normal.

So now I have this huge issue of finding someone that we can trust with our kids. This gal is already non compliant with Leigha, doesn't feed her meals at all. Isn't giving Leigha and Ryan breakfast which is part of the agreement, is going through diapers let and right, and way over using the Pediasure and thickener, I really don't think she gets how freeking expensive it is. We aren't covered for it. 

So what do I do? continue to interview people and have the same thing happen? We were offered a spot (three really) back at the place we had the boys in a few years ago, I really like her but don't know if she's changed in the past few years. and the other one we have is very inflexible.

I now get why mom's stay home for the first 5 years.

A Big Kafuffle

Today is November 1st, a beautiful day, we turned the clocks back and got to be confused for an entire day as we slowly clue in to what clocks in our homes aren't turned to the correct times..."oh wait is that one right or not?".

An extra hour of sleep for those of us that are able to shut out the noise of the house around us and pull the covers back over our heads. Futsing and mucking around putting things away and preparing for the winter's inevitable arrival and with that arrival the "official" arrival of cold and flu season. You only have to live in a box to miss the going on about the H1N1 flu crisis and the "World Wide Pandemic" and trust me I know that there is going to be a Pandemic I am not insane enough to stick my head in the sand and think "nah, not here it's only in those other over populated areas that it happens in, like China or Mexico...dirty places". HA!! HAHAHA!! It happens next door, in your churches, schools, grocery stores. People that you see everyday are being stricken down with this flu and may in some instances kill them if they are ill or frail enough when it hits them

We are 16 days until Leigha's surgery day as of today. 16 days, that's not very long when it seems like a month ago I was heralding it across cyber space.  A mere 16 days until I hand over my 18 month old daughter and have someone I barely know open her up and hopefully make her a bit better. But now I am faced with this new reality of, what if taking her into the hospital where she is supposed to be getting healthy and better may end up having her get more ill and possibly dying?

I know the actual dying part is farfetched in reality but there have been 3 children in the past few weeks that I have heard of that have died because of the H1N1 virus. I need to be practical and know that yes it can happen.

Tonight I heard from my sister that the Flu clinics in Alberta have been shut down until further notice because of a shortage of H1N1 serum and no additional information will be available until Tuesday November 3rd. I am now faced with the reality that Leigha will not have the immunity even if she should receive the vaccine. I also know that the regular flu shot available is not going to do anything when it comes to fighting the H1N1 flu virus so there is really no point in getting that one at this point in time.

So how am I to keep my family healthy and safe? Well short of isolation precautions and sterilizing my entire house, which despite being majorly insane of me would be awfully tiring, I am going to try and encourage or, well lets say...persuade, it's a nice word. No one who is sick is allowed to step one toe into my home while Leigha is here until at least December. I also want to buy face masks and hand sanitizers but realize that face masks are a little much.

I'm going to try and not worry about something I truly cannot control. If the government, who we know are complete morons when it comes to organising anything cannot get this right then I am going to have to do what I can to ensure that my family stays safe and healthy. Here's what CBC Canada has to say on the whole situation. I'm hoping that by calling whomever I can that something will happen and everything will turn out well in the end.

But a little bit of help would be great about now.

Praying for Rain

It's been going on for days now, huge, massive forest fires in our surrounding county. Up to 80+ hectares of farm land and 3 houses have been consumed in the county bordering our town.

Redwater is a town about 20 mins from us by car, not far really in the grand scheme of things. I regularly see people from there at the clinic where I work. Today it brings it all closer to home. I can smell the fires burning every time the winds change direction, see the smoke billowing into the air over the refineries in the heartland.

It has jumped the Sturgeon River as of this afternoon and now is being battled both North and South of the river dividing the firefighters in their struggle to contain the fires being blown out of control by the ever changing winds.

Being as how we are in a very small community and I do work in the health care field it becomes hard not to develop close knit relationships with people in the surrounding communities. You begin to know others from the surrounding towns of Gibbons, Bruderheim, Redwater, Lamont...on and on. As you watch the news you can't even fathom the pain and suffering the people living there are going through and can only pray that the heavens open and the rains fall.

My best friend and her family live 9 km from Bruderheim which is about 10 mins by car from Lamont and only a spit away from where the fires have spread throughout the day.

We have family friends living in Redwater that we haven't been able to get a hold of all day and his mom is beginning to worry about him. The evacuation alerts have been elevated and everyone is on edge, the highways are being blocked by RCMP and everyone is being cautioned to avoid the areas, but all you want to do is help in some way. It's a feeling no one ever wants to feel the feeling of helplessness, that even tho you can help a bit you can't help enough. I have opened my door to those in need and offered my assistance medically if needed, that way I can help at least but I feel the need to do more.

The people of Sturgeon County could really use your prayers tonight. Keep them in your thoughts and pray for rain... we really need the rain tonight and all the rest of the week, heavy downpouring rain, no lightning or other acts of God would really be appreciated. Is that really too much to ask??