Yeah... fun times.
I'm sitting here, freshly out of a cool shower, already starting to sweat, and J quips "Hey, remember how our old house didn't even have AC? And how we lived like this all the time?" I think to myself, yes dear, that was back in Massachusetts where it was a huge panic if we hit 3 days straight of 90 degree weather in August. We're only in the beginning of April. And that lack of AC in the summer (and the 8 foot snow drifts in the winter) was a very good reason of why we moved in the first place. I remember all too well.
Our AC is a wonky thing. It decides to break at the peak of the day, yet will suddenly kick back in when the night time temps are 60 degrees. We all go to bed sweating, irritable, with as little clothing on as possible, only to wake up at 4 am freezing cold, battling it out for quilts. The kids are whiny. "We can't sleep, it's too hot. We can't sleep it's too cold. We can't slee.... "I get it!!!!! You can't sleep. None of us can sleep. I assure you, my precious children, we are all in this together, this lack of unconsciousness our bodies desperately need to stay in the game that is life, along with keeping our tempers down.
The only one who is blissfully unaware of any issues is Soren, who passes out in his crib and is comatose for hours on end. I really envy him.
On top of this, last night our power went out at 4 am. I knew immediately that was the case when I rose (notice I didn't say woke up... cause you know, we're not sleeping) hearing the sound of J's server back up batteries beeping to let us know they kicked in and we had 10 minutes before they went down. And then I hurried out of bed when the wailing started.
Xavier has been suffering from fears lately: fear of tornados, wind, and anything at night that doesn't fit the normal pattern. A power outage definitely does not fit the normal pattern, and he was already in the upstairs hallway, calling out in terror. Of course his wailing was right in front of Sorens bedroom door, and as I stumbled up the stairs, tripping over Lego pieces, a forgotten shoe, and a pile of clean laundry yet to make the journey to the kids dresser, I heard Soren start to mutter. Great, 2 kids up, 1 to go. Commence Ashe in 3...2...1...
"MOMMY!"
Right on target.
Dealing with 3 kids during the day can be a juggling act. Dealing with 3 kids during the day when they are upset is a skill one never truly masters, and makes one long for a locked bathroom door, a bubble bath, and a bottle of wine opened and aired. Dealing with 3 kids, upset and scared, at night, with no AC, and no sleep.... I've yet to think of something that can really describe this. And for those of you with more than 3 kids, if you have any words of wisdom on how to handle multiple children of multiple ages in the middle of the night, I shall be your biggest fan and hang on every word you utter!
I won't bore you with the reassurances spoken, the bottles warmed and offered, the amount of bruises now blossoming on my legs from tripping over toys as I searched for blankies and stuffed animals to cuddle the fear away, or the irritation I felt when the two older boys decided it was time to get up for the morning and I had to make them understand they would be in serious trouble if they didn't keep their little behinds in bed until 6 am at the earliest. Suffice to say I got them all taken care of and stumbled off to bed, desperate for just a little bit of sleep. And as I put my head on the pillow and closed my eyes, the AC kicked in.
Stupid outages.
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