Status Update

Ten days ago, I posted about a leak in the roof which had recently developed.  Such drama has occurred in the following ten days that I need to catch my breathe.  Here goes.

Tuesday:  The leak appeared from the roof.  It rained all day.
Wednesday:  The leak remained in the roof.  It rained all day.  It was a holiday, so we had no housekeeper.  We had planned to go hiking, but little Annika went to bed the night before with a steep fever, and so we all stayed home.  Plus, it was raining.  On the bright side, we did obtain a secondhand patio table and got permission to keep it down in the garden.  I see many more barbeques in our future!
Thursday:  The rain let up a bit, but little Annika was still sick.  I dragged her into the embassy for the day, anyway, to accompany me to a bunch of meetings.  This did not make her feel any better.
Dave had a group of co-workers over for dinner to discuss bidding rules and strategies.  Its hard to believe, but 5 months into this post and we're already planning for the next one.
Friday:  The sun came out and it was a lovely day.  All three girls went to the doctor, just to meet her.  Little Annika no longer had a fever.  Since the girls got to leave school early, and since no rain meant no ringing out wet cloths every few hours for me, and since Annika had her regular energy level, everyone was happy.  We bought cookies from a pasteleria near the doctor's office, and enjoyed our lives.
Also, our housekeeper showed up for the first time all week.  Upon arrival, she quit.  The poor woman already had back troubles, and then she fell in the rain on Thursday.  She needs to take care of herself, and so we can not hold it against her.  Plus, she stayed on to clean up the crazy mess from the dinner party the night before.
Saturday:  We celebrated our birthday girl with a trip to a petting zoo and lunch at one of our favorites restaurants.  The petting zoo was a real hoot.  The weather was dry and sunny, everyone felt healthy and happy.  Our older girls established a bad habit of throwing temper tantrums in restaurants, but we had an otherwise lovely day.
Sunday:  We could not make it to church on time, even though Lilly was supposed to acolyte.  I went to bed feeling a bit under the weather.
Monday and Tuesday: Here's the perfect storm.
No housekeeper.
I was sick enough that I couldn't manage anything for more than an hour or so without collapsing on the couch.
It rained like you wouldn't believe.
The housekeeper bathroom flooded.
Wednesday:  I took the day off.  I did nothing.  No cooking or cleaning.  Movies for the little one.
Today:  The rest yesterday did me good, and today I was able to get quite a few things done while only falling on the couch exhausted twice.  A contractor came to repair the flood in the housekeeper's bathroom, although no one is willing to address the leak in the roof.  Little Annika has begun again to take naps at random times and places, signifying that we may be in for round two of her little illness.
Tomorrow:  Friends are coming over for dinner, meaning that I need to clean all of the floors and bathrooms in this house, as well as cook dinner for 13.

If reading this felt like a slog, you have some idea how this week has felt.
Happily, I am feeling much better.  Luckily, neither of the friends coming over has a housekeeper and so will not has unreasonable expectations of the cleanliness of our home.  They are coming over to begin a church small group with us, which has me very excited.  We're looking at a very fun weekend, so things are certainly not all bad.  But they have been a bit overwhelming.