Happy Hour

I'm not sure mere words can do yesterday afternoon justice. Things had been going along just fine. My mom was here hanging out with the kids and giving me the chance to work on the Peanut's room a bit. I knew that the owner from the air conditioner place was coming out between four and five to inspect his men's work and leave the bill. I was planning on making Mac and Cheese for dinner. Everything was under control...

So, sometime around 4:45 Mr. Matthews calls to say he's running late but will be here shortly. I think to myself, hmm better go ahead and get dinner going in case I get stuck talking to him a bit. I started a big pot of water for the noodles and preheated the oven. I also ran the Peanut's bath so it would be ready for us. Then I started on a quick white sauce. No problem. I see Mr. Matthews has driven up and I hear him talking to Weebles through the screened in porch. He yelled to me that he was going under the house to check things out and he'd be in soon. Great. Weebles was happily playing on the porch. Mom was holding Peanut. I run into the living room to grab the checkbook to the equity line off the mantle where I last remember seeing it. I had gotten it out Friday thinking that the A/C would be finished then and I'd need it but of course no such luck there. I can't find it. Uh.Oh. Hmm ok. Mr. Matthews lets himself in and starts trying to talk to me. I remember nothing about what he said because I was busy thinking oh shit oh shit where did I put the damn checkbook. I ran into the kitchen and saw the white sauce was bubbling so I switched it off. I started to sift through the massive pile of replaced register covers, catalogs, baby clothes, painting supplies and anything else you can imagine that has decided to magically cover my kitchen island and desk. Seriously where did all this crap come from? Is it always so crazy messy in here? The Weebles runs up to me MOMMY MOMMY UP UP she said anxiously. She's nervous around strangers these days. I tried explaining to her that mommy was busy right that minute and couldn't she go play elsewhere? Meanwhile Matthews is still prattling on about something but I can't hear him all of a sudden because my baby decides to start screaming his tiny little head off. Really it was reminiscent of the colic days. I don't know what in the bejesus got into him. I frantically called Andrew to see if he knew where the checkbook was but couldn't hear a word he said over the screaming. To make a long story short, this went on for a solid twenty minutes while Matthews suggested that he could take a credit card... yeah buddy, I have a credit card with over $4k on it. Weebles screaming UP UP MOMMY and hugging on my legs, Peanut wailing, me calling Andrew over and over asking if there was any other way I could pay the man all the while throwing all manner of clutter around looking for the elusive checkbook. I run back in the kitchen to ask Matthews if he'd be okay with Andrew dropping off a check at his business to find the man at my stove stirring my white sauce. He said "uh I turned it off, it was boiling over" HUH? I thought I turned it off. He said he thought it had burned "whatever it was.." Sigh. I had turned off the damn water for the noodles instead. OKDOKIE, square one on dinner then. I grabbed my wailing son and ran into my closet to look one more time on my desk. Sure enough under an envelope of ultrasound pictures I found the stupid checkbook. How did it get UNDER ultrasound pictures? I know I haven't looked at those lately. Ugh. I literally cried when I saw it. Meanwhile Matthews was helpfully looking through things too. "Hey lady I found a checkbook" he said. Thanks buddy, that's for my checking account. Again... no four thousand dollars there. I scribbled out a check as he was saying "I commend you lady" After he left I noticed there were three bottles of liquor right near the stove that were out when my inlaws were in town this past weekend. Sigh.