A Whirlwind

The last 48 hours or so have been a whirlwind. As Nicholas put it, "Captain Chaos to the rescue!". On Thursday I found out that my job has been reclassified. According to the Fair Labor Standards Act, I should be paid for every hour I work based on the type of work I do. I am switching to a non-exempt status but maintaining all of my existing vacation, sick time, and benefits eligibility. This also means going from a monthly paycheck to a weekly paycheck. That'll be an adjustment to get used to in regards to paying bills and balancing budgets. And to top it off, any overtime I do work has to be approved by management and currently there is no budget for overtime. So no more evenings and weekends logged on at home. Hooray! Of course this means deliverables will not be met and they'll be forced to pay me time and a half or hire someone to help.
When I came home to share this news with Adrian, we found the furnace had decided to stop working. It was only 67 in the house and we could deal with it for the night. Nicholas and I finalized a theme for his birthday next weekend and went to buy invitations. I worked until midnight - the no more OT starts next week.
By morning our house was down to 57 and it was a chilly start. Adrian came home to meet the HVAC guy. He said the part we need is in Fayetteville and he can fix our furnace on Saturday. The house was only getting colder and Adrian could hardly stand watching TV covered in blankets. We decided to take a mini-vacation less than a mile away. He said it would be an adventure for the boys. Hah. Adventure, not vacation is more like it. He made the dinner and hotel reservations and packed a bag for us.
We went to a nice Italian place for dinner. And then checked into the new hotel that just opened down the road. It's a classy place with fancy soaps and down comforters. We had a lovely view of the beltline. The boys ran wild around in the soundproof-but-not-really room. Eventually we got Travis settled down to sleep, he was so uneasy with his surroundings. Shortly after we turned off the TV and all went to sleep. Travis awoke a couple of times during the night seeking comfort and quickly returned to sleep. Finally at 8 am Nicholas announced he was all done sleeping and that translates to - everyone is all done sleeping.
Breakfast buffet in the hotel restaurant. We all ate very well. Fresh fruit, yogurt, eggs, and pancakes. Adrian and Nicholas watched cartoons. Travis and I went to Target to pass the time. He was not coping with the confined space of the hotel room.
We checked out just in time to go back to the house to wrap a present and get directions to a birthday party. Adrian stayed to wait for the HVAC guy. I took the boys. The little boy's mom was crazy or kind enough to let parents drop off their kids for the party. So Travis and I ran some errands. Bagels, fabric store, auto parts store - for that long needed headlight. In the meantime, the furnace was fixed and the house was warming up. Perfect timing. Travis was in dire need of a nap. I dropped him off with Adrian at the house just in time to go get Nicholas from the party. Now we're home and it's 72. The boys are happy to be home and so are we. We're a little poorer for the experience - hotel, meals out, HVAC repair; but richer for appreciating the comfort and spaciousness of home.