Sid- so goog to see you- I woke up at 4 am and thought about doing a sid-like post full of stealth and happy thoughts and maybe a BAH! or two.... so sorry about the car... it is what happens for living in Cali...I really wanted to go to UCLA and my mother wouldn't let as California is falling into the ocean. My sister escaped to the west coast and has car trouble (thefts, accidents etc) on a regular basis. So obviously that is the problem. Move to Kansas. Or better yet, South Dakota.
As for news- see my signature.
Twinkie - What happened to the info about the house and pictures? I guess you couldn't get the kids to bed?
Alas and alack. I was foiled in my attempt to have an hour or two to DIS-n-chat. Quite a story actually.
So my friend whose house flooded is living with her sister (also my friend). The sister was in charge of all the children while her DH worked and the flood victims were working on their house. So she had 6 kids under her care (13, 7,6,5,5, 9 mo) and put them all (except the baby) in the backyard to play while she cooked corndogs and being a social creature invited me and my 4 kids over for dinner (my DH was also going to be home quite late). I said sure and headed over after gymnastics.
So after dinner the kids (13,13, 8, 6, 5,5,5,5,2) are out in the back yard (fenced) and we are inside with the little guy. When the 8 year old runs in screaming at the top of her lungs (she is a bit of a drama queen but her words got our attention)
Joy stepped on a nail!
Joy is 6 and the daughter of my friend A, who had invited me over. So I take the baby while she runs outside. Soon all the kids come in. I ask if A is ok and they say yes. But she doesn't come in and doesn't come in and meanwhile goldenchild is still outside barefoot. So I go out and Joy is hysterical, with goog reason because
there is a nail sticking out of her foot!
It has a huge head. So I take the two little boys inside, put the 13 yos in charge and instruct everyone to STAY IN. Then I grab a bag of ice, a chocolate chip cookie and a couple of towels. (Remember that I am the one who faints easily.)
I go out and we move Joy onto a towel. Use the other to wrap around her shoulders (she was wearing a bathing suit) and start distracting her with a chocolate chip cookie and tales of Disney (they are going for the first time next week). Meanwhile A is on the phone trying to get help with no avail. They don't have any health insurance so she didn't want to take her to the ER. Our medical tech friend wasn't answering the phone. My mom wasn't home. 911 will not give medical advice over the phone.
So we decide to pull the nail out (which is NOT what you should do for future reference- the correct answer is go to the ER which we found out too late) and Joy really goes ballistic. We calm her down and distract her and finally I am starting to get sick and A is starting to shake so I say "It is time!" and I hug her tight while she screams her head off and A pull the nail out. We ice it and apply pressure and give her another cookie. Then A carries her in and has her soak it in soapy water.
Meanwhile another child (not mine)is howling and crying because someone hurt her feelings. I think I actually told her to "dial down the drama" while we dealt with the actual emergency.
Then the other adults started to arrive. I left much later than planned and thus got my kids to bed late and as soon as I logged on A came by- she really just needed to get away. You know the more we thought about it the sicker we felt about what could have happened (which is why you go to the ER- if it had punctured a big vein we could have had dangerous bleeding). So she came over and offered to pack books to take her mind off it till bedtime. We worked for an hour and did 16 boxes! ( I have LOTs of books)
I am exhausted today. And making my kids wear shoes ALL summer.
Do you get a swell rental car now? 
(Ha-ha!)
