Recent Homicide

I didn't sleep very well last night.  In the almost five years we've lived in this neighborhood, I have never felt unsafe.  In fact, I have always felt so comfortable coming and going from our house that it never occurred to me that anything bad would ever happen so close to home.  Even after my mother-in-law experienced the worst kind of terror from a break-in of her own, I still felt relatively safe in my own home.  However, I think that has all changed for me.  The other night, an 83-year old woman was killed in her home just near the entrance to our subdivision.  The person who committed this awful crime is still out there...

After discussing the incident with Jimmy, he mentioned learning about some other small car thefts in the back part of the neighborhood during the last homeowner's meeting.  I guess when you don't know your neighbors and, in turn, don't talk to your neighbors, how would you ever learn of such things?  I'm glad we are slowly getting to know our neighbors now and that we can all keep a look out for unusual behavior.

I'm just feeling sick about it all.  Jimmy assures me that no one is immune to this sort of thing, no matter where you live.  Even the "nice" parts have their fair share of break-ins.  He also says that most homicides are done by people who know the victim.  However, in this case, I'm thinking this woman was being watched by no one she knew because of her age and very poor health condition - an easy robbery.  But, based on her poor health condition, why did he have to kill her?  What kind of threat did this poor woman pose?  

I have two beautiful daughters and one pending fetus due to arrive in January.  I already do everything in my power to keep them safe.  Do we really need a new fear hanging over our heads like this?  I sure hope this case is resolved immediately.  I doubt whatever the outcome is will make me feel all that much better, but perhaps it will provide me a little closure and maybe some peace.  Truth be told, I'm really just hoping it's not gang related!  I'm also hoping Jimmy will forget that he said he wants me to learn how to shoot a gun!  

WRAL Article

Our First Slumber Party.

Two nights ago Katie woke up around midnight coughing and crying with a fever of 102.  She was inconsolable.  Her voice was hoarse and her breathing was quite labored.  I was so nervous that we almost headed straight to the emergency room.  After some Motrin and a long hour later, her fever came down significantly, but the cough seemed to get worse.

I took her to the doctor on Monday and was told she has croup.  "The first three nights are the worst," says Dr. Durand-Smith.  So far, she's absolutely right!  Katie, Maggie and I camped out in the family room the last two nights so that none of us would have to root around in the dark to find one another.  I guess you could say this was our first all girl slumber party, only not necessarily the fun kind of slumber party.  (The second all girl slumber party was crashed by daddy around midnight out of desperate necessity!)

We played musical beds, watched cartoons, and snuggled.  

It hasn't been easy keeping Katie away from Maggie.  It's wonderful that she loves her new sister, but in times like these it's hard to convince an almost three year old that germs spread easily and newborns are quite susceptible.  I guess I'm protecting Maggie as best I can with the damn breast milk, but did I mention that I hate breastfeeding?

I'm tired.  I hope my house is germ free by next week or else...!

Ants!

We woke up to an ant problem in the pantry this morning. SO GROSS! Jimmy killed the bulk of them before I even got out of bed, but there were still lots when I cleaned the entire pantry out this afternoon. Obviously, I never enjoy ants in my house, but it's a pretty good kick in the butt to do some spring cleaning!

It's pretty hard to clean from top to bottom while two kids demand your attention, in addition to one in your belly who requires food and her mother to rest. I was struggling to catch my breath, since that has become a new issue for me during this pregnancy.

Katie kept wanting to play with the ant baits that I bought at the grocery store this morning, so of course I was stopping to wash her hands every five seconds and scream at her. Plus, with everything I took out of the pantry, Katie would demand to have it immediately! (Side note: Katie is not doing very well these days with sharing. It's as if Caroline is her sister and they're fighting over who gets what already! It's driving me nuts. If Caroline wears a bib while eating, Katie tries to yank it off of her and screams "mine! share!" She just hasn't mastered the concept of sharing yet. To her, sharing means everything belongs to her.)

Caroline was doing pretty well until she got hungry tired. She had just eaten only 2.5 hours prior, but was screaming for more, all while being completely exhausted. Sigh.

I finally got them both to nap at 1:30pm, so I was able to finish up the pantry, but I've still left quite a bit of junk in the sink. I'll just have to get to that later because I feel like I'm dying right now. I mean, I need to eat something, but after cleaning ants, nothing really appeals to me. I need to rest, but it's still really hot in the house. (I can't believe how poorly we planned the due date of this pregnancy!!! I can't believe I'm still going to have two and a half more months left of harvesting this child come August... in North Carolina.) Sigh.

I need a nap.

Addendum

It was brought to my attention that my last post gave the impression that I thought my husband was "worthless" when it comes to helping around the house... It was not my intention to imply this in any way. Working in the front flower beds has become something that I normally tackle, so I guess I just took ownership over it in my post. Additionally, I stated that it was so hot that I wouldn't even hire someone to work on them right now, which would include asking my husband to get out there to work on them. I'm not interested in rushing him to the hospital for heat exhaustion. In summation, I apologize for any unnecessary anxiety my previous post may have caused. I know you're a busy man, Jimmy. I wasn't trying to call you out in public.

Heat Wave!

My goodness, it's hot hot hot outside! It makes looking after two kids kind of hard when you can't go outside to play or you dread getting in the car to drive anywhere. Not to mention, I've been spending lots of time worrying about our new trees that aren't getting enough water and our AC unit is working some mega overtime. There is a lot of work that needs to be done to our front beds, but it's too darn hot for pregnant ladies to get out there to trim bushes and weed eat. I'd actually pay someone to do it, but I don't think anyone should be working in these conditions. We're going to be at 100 degrees for about the entire next week... check weather here. It makes me want to vomit!

I think we're going to break down and get a new AC unit soon. I just learned that they offer payment plans, so I think we can handle it. The price seems reasonable, especially after getting 4 quotes. Also, I really liked the last guy because he listened to me and didn't try to sell me the top of the line. Thankfully, I got the quote before this tremendous heat wave, so I don't think the rate was inflated at all.

We have so many projects on the horizon, but I believe this AC unit will make a world of difference. Our power bills are through the roof. I just logged on to the News and Observer website and saw that Progress Energy just asked state officials to allow them to increase rates by 16% because their power plants are struggling to keep up with this awful heat! Holy shmoly!!! We're screwed! I guess the minivan will just have to wait for now. Sorry girls!

Landscaping

We recently hired a company to help revitalize our enormous backyard (http://www.justrees.biz/). Even though we have two more large beds to plant near the screened porch and deck, we are so happy with the layout of the new trees. We think they'll provide some decent privacy from our three neighbors' play sets, houses, fences, etc. once they mature. It's just so nice that we can see them from inside the house and from the road when driving up to the house. Additionally, we're hoping the Birch and the Trident Maple will provide shade to the back of the house, which gets direct sunlight in the afternoon. It might help on our cooling bills, but we'll see. Make sure you click on the flickr.com link to the left of this post to view all 6 pictures of the backyard.