Well, I had a tough week.  I had a bad week.  Hell, I had a SHITTY week. 

First, the flu hit the Fierro household.  We were feverish, sickly, whiney, downtrodden folks.  I mean, SICK.  We started pulling out of it. 

Then the van broke down.  Not just broke down, because that is an understatement.  The alternator broke O.F.F.  BROKE OFF!  Apparently (Dad looked at it) the back bolt (there are two in front, one in back) vibrated loose and out, and the torque of the belt broke the bracket.  The bracket is $130, since we can only find it at the dealer, and the belt is about $50.  OK, plan B.

The LeBaron could be fixed for $50.  $45 for a passenger side window, and less than $5 for a thermostat and gasket.  Done deal, I bought the parts.  Friday night, I was home with Dad's car (thanks Dad) and the parts for the LeBaron ('89 LeBaron folks, and wrecked once....not a pretty sight.)

Kevin woke up Saturday before anyone should be awake (Russ was still at Pogo, I'm sure) and got ready to go to his mom's.  His sister had insisted on paying for fuel, and I'm glad she did.  Linda really needed him there for the service.  Anyway, he wakes me up at 4:30ish and says....are you ready folks?....he says "Honey, we're out of propane."

I guess, if it's under 10% in the tank, the gauge isn't entirely accurate.  Sure, we were pushing it to the limit, but we keep the house at 59 degrees at night and when nobody is at home, and never over 65.  I really...WE really thought we could get by until Friday....WRONG.

Coldest morning of the year (it got down to 2 degrees) and we have no heat.  Awesome.  I told Kevin to get his ass out of here fast (it seems I'm bad luck) and go be with his mom.  At 8:15, I called for propane.  There is a $50 fee for Saturday delivery....is this an emergency?  HELL YES!  Maybe not an emergency for the propane company, but it was sure as HELL an emergency for us.  We were COLD!

The kids got quilts and blankets, and we waited.  She said she'd call back when she knew when they could be here.  We waited.  And waited, and waited.  I decided that, if I hadn't heard anything by 1:00, I'd call back.  The guy showed up at 12:15.  He put 250 gallons in the tank and lit the pilot lights.  Now, time to fix the car.

I had warned Brett that he was going to drive the LeBaron, with no passenger side window, to Dad's.  After all, he can't drive Dad's car, and that's all we had.  We both bundled up, and we cut the tarp off the poor little beast.  It wouldn't start.  Well, it probably would have, but I didn't want to run the battery down.  Brett was off the hook.

We went to Mom and Dad's, and the kids settled in to annoy Mom on her day off (Mom babysits the girls all week, I hate for them to be there too much on the weekend.) and Dad and I headed out with the battery charger and some starter fluid.  It started, and we got it out there.  The thermostat was a non-issue...then there was the window.

It just won't line up.  A neighbor offered to put it on the machine to realign the frame, which will probably help, but for now, NOBODY opens the passenger side door.  We climb over.  I don't care, just so I have a car to drive to work.

We got the van on Sunday.  Not only did the bracket (the part that can only be found at the dealer for almost $150) break, but there was a puddle of antifreeze under it.  Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?  Well, we'll look into that after the alternator bracket is purchased.  *sigh*  I still have to try to find that one.  Anyway, Dad helped me get the van to his house on the trailor (thanks again, Dad) and we got it taken apart.  I watched the end of the Daytona 500 and we came home.

Today wasn't a ton better, but nothing new broke, so I'm counting it as a plus.  Kevin's work put him in a foul mood, my evening errands put me in a foul mood, and Brett didn't do ANYTHING that he was supposed to while he was home ALL DAY.  It's OK.  Nobody got killed over it, the girls are having quiet time before bed, and Brett is upset, but getting ready to do the dinner dishes.

Now, for a few GOOD things from the weekend:  Kevin got to attend his brother's memorial service.  Another firefighter found one of Steve's "bunker gear" coats, and has it set back for Kevin.  My daddy bought me beer!  McMurray did great at Daytona until he hit the wall in the second-to-the-last lap.  I saw a couple of good movies.  I have a house!  My parents rock.  No, really.  You have NO idea how much my parents rock.