Madness continues.

Today a couple of men came to install a new furnace / water heater. They drove in with two huge trucks, went down into the basement, turned off our heat, and you wouldn't know they were there except for the constant banging and - oh yeah - the fact that we have no heat.

Gunther, our dog, went nuts when they first arrived. Then he forgot they were there. But every once and awhile he remembers and starts barking hysterically, convinced we must be insane not to notice the banging in our very own basement! Of course he also barks this way when a car pulls into the driveway across the street.

Nicholas is still clinging to me like a poisonous vine. He screams and cries each time I use the bathroom - at this point that's every 20 minutes. In between fits he is jumping and pulling items off shelves faster than I - or anyone - can pick them up.

My mother is also here, working her magic. She is being very helpful, waking up with Nicholas while I sleep in, watching him while I nap, and she has been cooking dinner for us, too! No simple meals for us. She is not capable of making a meal with fewer than five dishes. I think her nesting instinct is stronger than mine. Not only did she vacuum our entire first floor with a dust buster this morning, but she keeps threatening to clean out our garage - something I really couldn't care less about, but that would send Steve over the edge. She is currently washing our dinner dishes, despite having no hot running water. She is heating water on the stove and using that. I told her to wait until tomorrow, but for some reason she won't do it.

And then there's me. Waiting, waiting, waiting...