Yesterday was a typical busy weekend day. It started with me leaving at 7:45 AM to run with my friend, Brenda. I look forward to my long runs on Saturday morning so I was happy to go. Kurt stayed at the hospital the night before (on call) so he wasn't here. But since we have Sasha here and the kids are old enough to sorta take care of themselves, I can leave without getting a babysitter.

Had a nice but very cold long run. Kevin Magee showed up as well. It was snowing by the time we got back. Ran 9 miles.

Came home, showered, ate lunch, talked with kids. Sasha still asleep. Needed to prime Katerina's cabinet so went downstairs to do that. Katerina had been watching tv the entire time I was gone so I wanted her to stop watching tv, but since I was down there priming (and the tv was on), she stayed down there too. Both kids had a bad case of cabin fever!Sasha got up and joined us in the basement. Katerina wanted to walk/run on the treadmill so I let her turn it on. Mistake! She was doing fine with it, although starting to get a little too daring by standing sideways and "flying" off the end of it and then, of course, Evan comes downstairs and wants to do taht too. Before I knew it, both kids were "flying" off the end of it so we had a "discussion" and the treadmill was turned off.

We were watching What Not to Wear while I was priming the cabinet. I like that show (find it interesting and obnoxious at the same time) but wasn't sure I wanted Katerina to see it. She's at a very impressionable age and of course, all they talk about is appearance....what looks good, what doesn't....and I don't want her to think that what she wears is that important. More on that later.

After lunch and several squabbles and meltdowns between the kids, I decide we need to get them out of the house. But it's REALLY cold outside, probably around 18 degrees with wind chill colder than that. Kurt comes home and starts ranting on the house so I figure we need to get him out as well, so off we go: kids, dogs, Kurt, and me.

We walk to UNC, like we always do, and the dogs have a blast. Evan likes to run all the way around the playing fields with Daisy (and I followed him). Katerina and Kurt played catch with the football. We had a great time. I thought to myself, "only this family would be out on such a cold day just playing around"!

Evan and I came back from our short little walk and joined Kurt and Katerina for a little touch footbball. We were having a great time but the dogs got overly excited and Daisy bit Evan. It was a playful bite but there were teethmarks behind his ear (ouch!). And before that, Evan was running full-steam with the ball and he collided with Daisy who was also running full-steam in the other direction. They collided with full-force, knocking Evan to the ground. Kurt and Katerina busted out laughing and since I saw Evan laughing too, I laughed a little...but I scolded both Kurt and Katerina for not checking to see if he was ok before laughing. They didn't listen, of course. Then on the next play, Daisy dove on Evan and "accidentally" bit his head, behind the ear. We stopped playing and went home.

Kurt took Katerina over to my mom's house for her first sewing lesson! Kat got a sewing machine for Christmas. She seems to like it so far. I hope she sticks with it!Evan and I sat on the couch and read a book. He has to read 16 books over the Christmas break! He's getting better at reading but still a little behind where he should be.

I also read for awhile, something I never get to do! I'm reading a book called Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time. Wow....amazing, eye-opening book....more on that later too. It's totally changing my view of Christianity.

Ok, now for the evening, which was quite eventful. First, we had spaghetti with meat sauce for dinner. I dished up a big dish from the stove and handed it to Katerina to take to the table, something I never do (give her a big dish to carry). Like any 7 yr old, she proceeds to carry it with one hand and of course, the entire pile of spaghetti with sauce slides out of the plate onto our $2000 rug. Normally, when the kids spill things, I don't get mad. There are other things they do that "get me" but not spilling things. But this time it got me. Not only did I lose my dinner (it was my plate she was carrying and I was really hungry) but spaghetti sauce can permanently stain a carpet and there was a huge pile on the carpet. I got angry and Kurt got REALLY angry. Katerina was paralyzed....she couldn't move. Kurt was yellling at her to do something, but she couldn't (and this has happened before). Long story short, we had a quiet dinner with a very sad little girl.

Next, we all went downstairs to watch Narnia. We rarely watch movies together so this was a "treat". We watched the entire movie and everyone was really into it. All of us on the couch, lights out, dogs at our feet - I love it when we're together like this!I was a little unhappy with the yet another children's tale where there's an evil woman and a loving, all-knowing, noble male figure. More on that later.

After the movie, we go upstairs to go to bed. It's after 10:00 PM and as we walk through the kitchen, Kurt suddenly says "I smell gas!" and runs to the stove, where he sees that one of the gas burners is still on. I immediately smell it too. We run to the windows and through them open. The kids are alarmed and we calmly explain to them why this is bad. But the movie had them a little spooked already and they were suddenly hyped up. The smell was really bad so i took them outside. I decided to call the fire department but Kurt argued with me, saying that it will dissipate. But there was no way I was going to shut the windows with gas in the house. So I called 911!

I've never called 911 before. I told the dispatcher that this was not an emergency but that I would like someone to come over and check the gas level in the house. He asked if we needed an ambulance, if anyone was feeling sick and I said NO! But they sent one anyway!

Before I knew it, here comes a big firetruck. I should back up and say that Katerina was absolutley horrified at the prospect of firefighters coming to our house and was shaking and crying. She is petrified of anyone with a mask on their faces. She was truly petrified, not faking it at all or dramatizing....she was seriously scared. I had to make a decision - either not call 911 and hope that the gas was gone (to save her the emotional trauma) or call them and hope she'll get through it ok. I chose the latter....just knew I couldn't sleep with windows shut and gas in the house.

She ran outside and Kurt grabbed her and took her to her room. The firefighters came and treated the situation very seriously (which made me feel better that I had called them!). They came in and walked around the house checking the co2 levels. Kurt brought Katerina out and when she saw that they did not have masks on, she calmed down a bit. One of the firefighters talked to her in a very soothing way (loved him!!!). All was well and they left.

As I always say, never a dull moment in the Dallow household!