The invalid in my house of sticks...

Bookworm woke me up at 5am this morning, complaining of being hot. I tried to turn on the fan, and climb back in bed (aka, blow her off) but then she got up and went to the bathroom where I heard her crying, very pitifully. I found her lying on the cold tile floor. She had a fever. I gave her some ibuprofen and tucked her onto the couch to watch tv. Then, I attempted to return to bed. (Aren't you glad you don't have a mommy that's a nurse? Sympathy is limited around this place.)

I started to hear a knocking sound. I tried to ignore it. I decided it was probably the wind. After all, we've been having so much wind, it's become my bedtime lullaby to hear it howling outside. The knocking continued. What the heck? I was afraid an animal was in the wall or our attic. I couldn't hear it in any other room of the house. I finally narrowed it down to our exterior wall. When it was light enough to finally go outside and look around, I found the culprit.

On the gable of the house, a piece of wood is coming down. It is the piece that's underneath the eave. I'm pretty sure it leaves an open space for birds to get in the attic. This is the same wall that has developed a crack in the corner where the exterior wall meets the wall between our room and the guest room. There is no crack on the other side. We had 70 mph winds in October and when the roofers came through our neighborhood to drum up business I asked them about it. They said it's possible that the wind blew hard enough to make that wall flex in and out during the storm and create the crack.

When my children slam the door going into the garage, the wall facing it shakes. Our house is on a slab. This seems impossible on a concrete foundation. I'm starting to think I live in a house of sticks....

Did you know we've had 3 gas leaks repaired? And we've only lived here 9 months. How do I know I don't have leaks in my wall? It's seriously making me doubt the joys of natural gas...Even though I love cooking on a gas stove. I have a carbon monoxide detector, but it didn't register any of the other leaks. They were all in the garage at our heater and hot water tank.

Yuck...Enough heavy stuff. I'm done complaining. I'm blessed today. I get to stay home with a sick kid. This means I'm unable to go to the grocery store. I can't do any work, because I must be readily available to tend to the invalid. She is suffering a headache, so out of pure compassion for my wee one I will refrain from running the vacuum. I think I can pretend the globs of grass and mud that has been tracked in on shoes is not there. I'm not even sure I should risk running the washing machine with her delicate constitution. And any other form of cleaning? Well, I just don't know if I can risk leaving her to her own devices for such an extended period of time. I must keep a vigilant eye on that fever. I think we will just rest and watch Disney. I will provide her with plenty of liquids and myself with plenty of coffee, and she will be on the mend in no time.

Dang it.

I do think Popcorn is due for a mental health day....