During the last 18 hours I spent in Cleveland visiting my family, the following happened:
- I received a speeding ticket on I-480. Unbeknown to me, I was going 74 mph in a 60 mph zone. Cost: $155.00
- 4-Year Old Daughter landed on the side of her foot while on a trampoline. The initial diagnosis was a hairline fracture in her ankle. Later at the pediatric orthopedist, it was discovered she just has a bad sprain. She has to wear a boot and revisit the doctor in a few days. Cost: Still calculating
- I received a phone call from an exterminator back in New Jersey. As we suspected, there is a carpenter bee hive behind our shutters. What is a carpenter bee? I don’t know. Cost: $267.50
- I stepped in a pile of fresh, moist, squishy dog crap with my new (12-day old) deck shoes. They have a detailed and intricate tread pattern and because they’re so new, the treads are quite deep. I had to clean them out with a series of toothpicks. The worst part? 8-Year Old Daughter warned me it was there just :05 minutes prior. I hate dogs and this hasn’t helped matters. Cost: Approximately :50 minutes of my precious vacation time
The happy news is that we were undercharged for the hotel to the tune of about $87.00. So there’s that to be thankful for.
Exile on Pain Street 
i hate when that happens, sugar. xoxoxoxo
Visiting with family PRICELESS!MTps-posted sauce info
You still haven’t matched my $900 crown from last month. Hope daughter isn’t in pain.
I bet she LOVES that boot!There are always unexpected expenses. Daughter #1 is going to her Debs (sorta like Prom?)later today. Had to have new ‘clutch bag’ (??), it’s fuckin’ TINY and costs *%$x*! We’ve all calmed down now! Back to my decorating! :¬)
Savannah: None of it is REALLY bad, thank God. Not even Daughter’s injury.MT: Amen to that! See you in November!Mr. Elder: If it had been the 8-Year Old there would have been a lot of drama but 4-Year Old couldn’t care less. That’s the difference between them.Map: I like reading your stories about your daughtrs. They prepare me for what’s coming.
I have so enjoyed your trip to the Midwest, with all the food, family and fun. Now, to see you are reporting back to us on life, unexpected expenses, which is even more, shall we say, relatable.
You hate dogs? What type of person hates dogs???Shit! The boot/pictures makes it seem more severe than a sprain. I was thinking broken leg for sure.
ouch. all the way around. as for the trampoline? that was the one serious “Not ‘No’ but ‘Hell, No!'” i put down for my young spawn. there was one in the neighborhood, and my kids were forbidden from using it – and best i can tell, they didn’t.
Mama: It was a great trip and I still have a thing or two to report, but it is nice to sleep in my own bed again.Sid: After I posted that, I thought I should go back and edit out or soften the part about hating dogs. But the truth is that I just don’t them. They foul my city. I like cats a lot. I’ve never been woken up at 6:30 on a Saturday by a meowing cat. But you can have dogs.Daisy: I’m trying not to be an overbearing parent. I want my kids to be kids. But maybe I should have stepped in in this case. Too late, as usual.
I would have loved that boot when I was little. All I wanted when I was really small was to get a go on a pair of crutches and have a cast. Without the pain of anything broken, naturally, but just so I could wear it to school and get everyone to write on it.
Remind me to bring my own toothpicks the next time I visit you.
Carpenter bees, I believe, use the wood from your house to build their nests… not good.I know all about unexpected expenses… and I am never prepared for them. :-(I *have* been wakened by a meowing cat… and my dog never makes a peep. Literally… she does not bark. Ever. Don’t hate the dog. Hate the owners for not cleaning up after their pets.Hope youngest daughter heals up fast!
PS – An old used toothbrush works wonders for getting whatever out of the treads of shoes. 🙂
Jo: Actually, I thought it might have been kind of cool for her to have a cast applied while in Cleveland. That way, her aunts, uncles and cousins could all have signed it.kykn: Just leave your dog at home and you won’t need to.Ponita: I didn’t know what carpenter bees were but it sounded like something I didn’t want in the house. Thx for the toothbrush tip. Hopefully, I’ll never need to use it.
Or the *current* toothbrush of the dog owner!Too bad we could’nt have sent autographs for a proper cast.Maybe we still could and you could print them for her scrapbook.I’d draw a funny cartoon.
Poor love! Into every life a little rain must fall and you have been having a swell time with all that lovely nosh!
Dinah: The boot is almost off already. The cast would have been fun for a day or two but that would have meant no more swimming this summer!Pat: We’re just glad it happened on the LAST day of our trip and not the FIRST.
Oh dear, poor thing. Glad to hear the boot is off and she’s (no doubt) running around again like a mad thing.
Nutty: Poor thing? Do you mean my budget for August?
Don’t hate the dog! Hate the owner.I know we can’t help our tastes! It’s what makes the world so seasoned.
It’s dawned on me that children in general are chronic unexpected expenses.
You know what they say — you can’t have happy without a little sad. LOL! But that turns around just as fast, as what the undercharged hotel rates have demonstrated. Well, I guess the lesson here is that you should bring your emergency fund even in family trips. Kono has a point — children are harbingers of unforeseen spending.