Does it ever end?

Before I jump into some of the heavier details of our life, I must note that we read Harry Potter 7. Wow! What a great book! But it's so strange to think of it as being over... no more books to look forward to and speculate about in a few summers.

Ok, now for the rest. This is all rather difficult to talk about, and I hope I don't sound too depressing.

Thursday was the worst day ever. Late in the afternoon, the Department of Health and Welfare dropped by unannounced at our house. They invited themselves in and asked me if I knew why they were there. I told them no. They said that they had received a report that we are neglecting our kids by not feeding them or taking them to doctor appointments. This is absolutely ludicrous. Of course we feed our kids! They're just small. And if the doctor isn't worried, they shouldn't be either. As for not taking them to doctor appointments, that's just stupid. We've been taking Emily to the doctor more often than regular because of her health issues, so who knows where that came from. Health and Welfare is notorious for twisting things though. I'm sure someone called them and told them that we needed help financially because we can't afford baby food and have no medical insurance. But naturally, that MUST mean that we're neglecting and abusing our kids. I was so furious. They sat in my living room with a tape recorder for about an hour interviewing me. They took pictures of my house, my kids, even my cat. They checked our cat to see if she was diseased or abused. They wanted a closer look at Hyrum, but I insisted they leave him alone since he was napping. They told me they had to at least "Lay eyes on him" to confirm that he was ok. I was so infuriated. Of course, I kept my cool while they were there, but the second they left, I went to pieces. Why anyone would think that I wouldn't take care of my kids, I don't know. They're very happy and healthy. They're just small. These people at Health and Welfare have a chart that tells them how big a kid should be at a specific age but have no medical training. My kids are too small by the charts. Well, big deal! Their pediatrician says they're ok, and I'm gonna take his word for it. After all, he has a PHD and an MD. That's a heck of a lot better than a chart. They came back again the next morning when Hyrum was awake, and they could see him and Emily playing and smiling and giving us hugs and kisses. I think they were a little disappointed that they couldn't find any reason to take our kids away. Guess they'll have to fill their torn family quota on someone else.

As if this wasn't already stressful enough, Mike got a call while on his way to an Elder's Quarm meeting (he's the Elder's Quarm secretary now). It was our landlord who has a habit of bugging us constantly. She's at the house about 2-3 times a week and gives us absolutely no privacy. So it wasn't a big shock when she told Mike that she wanted to sell the house and we had until Saturday afternoon (not quite 2 days) to have the house ready for a walk through with her. Mike told her that that wasn't enough time to have it ready since he's working two jobs and I'm dealing with two kids. Cleaning up, sure, we could handle that. But things like cleaning the carpet, washing walls, washing windows, fixing dings in the walls.. there was no way. But no, she wouldn't give us an extension. She doesn't seem at all bothered by the fact that we're in a lease until November. She expects us out of the house whenever it sells. On top of that, she also wants us to vacate the house whenever a potential buyer wants to come look at it. This is so ridiculous. What am I supposed to do? Pick up my two kids and wander around on the street until they're done? I don't have a car or a place to go. Mike and I decided that we'd try to find another place ASAP. Although this is really maddening and inconvenient, it'll be good to be out from under her thumb. She's expecting us to stay in the house until it sells. But if she feels that she can break lease, then why can't we? She can't really complain if we move out early, although I'm sure she will. She needs us to keep paying rent so that she can make the payments on the house herself. Maybe she'll realize that she's asking too much when we move out and she can't find a buyer for 6 months! Sorry, that's my mean side talking a bit there. She won't even buy us out of our lease though. So I have no idea how we're going to find first month's rent and a deposit for a new place. But for now, we've started packing and looking for somewhere else. It's a little hard to do since Mike took on another job and is never home. I'm having to do all the packing myself, and who knows when we'll find time to look at a new place. It'll be hard to move again, but maybe we can find a cheaper place. That would certainly help a lot.