Shake-a Shake-a Boom

We have developed a little problem around here that I can't quite shake (please note there is a pun there, and you will get it in a moment).  It has started to hinder our lives a bit, and really hinder my ability to sleep.  Neither of which is good.  The Big One has developed a serious fear of earth quakes.
Having never been in a real one, I'm scared of them too, but the vast majority of time,it never enters my mind.  Her problem is that it is always on her mind.
I think the recent quake in VA set it off.  I had started using the news as a tactic to keep the kids from watching TV with me.  IT stopped working at some point in time, and The Big One came in and watched a lot of the quake coverage on TV.  IT wasn't a bad one, but because it was so uncommon in that part of the US, it got a ton of coverage.  Hence it seems much bigger than what it was.
Now, she is absolutely, completely, terrified of them, and sure that one will strike at any moment.
Saturday night, she was supposed to spend the night with a friend.  This is a friend she has had since Kindergarten, and it was the first time they had spent the night together, just the two of them with out their Girl Scout troop, or any other friends.  They were ridiculously excited.
Then, about 11pm that night, I got a phone call.  The Big One was in tears and wouldn't calm down.  She wanted to come home.  After I went to get her, we started talking about what scared her.  Her Friend had fallen asleep, and The Big One was left laying in the little girl's room, thinking about things.  The girl has bunk beds, and The Big One was terrified that there would be an earthquake, and the top portion of the bed would fall down on her and crush her.  I suppose a valid concern in some regard, but I would venture that the beds were well constructed enough to handle all the torture and extreme stress brought on by younger children, and they would probably survive the kind of small quakes we get frequently around here.  Regardless, she wasn't about to be there any longer, and I had to get her.
I'm really surprised by this sudden onset of earthquake fear.  While she wasn't born here, The Big One has been raised in CA pretty much most of her life.  We moved here when she was 15 months old.  I had always thought that kids who were raised here would develop some sort of environmental immunity to the fear of earthquakes.  They happen so much, that they should be routine.  I may have miscalculated that.  The Big Little One hasn't gotten scared.  Perhaps you need an actual CA birth certificate to get that immunity.  I'm not sure.  Maybe there is an earthquake immunity booster shot of some sort that I can give her.
I realize that a little bit of fear is actually healthy.  We need to be aware that quakes are real, and serious, and respect that their potential power enough to always be cautious, but there is a line you have to draw in being scared.  Too much fear is a bad thing.  I'm really just hoping this will pass and she will get back to her normal self soon.  I don't want any of us to miss out on life because of fear.

Desperatly Seeking Tortillas

Some days, you wake up, and you just know that it isn't going to be the best day of your life.

Today is one of those days.

We all started the day off a little grouchy and very tired thanks to the little one's giant leap into being a big girl; the giving up of the pa. No one slept. No one. Even when I did finally get her to sleep without the flipping and flopping, where we were finally resting, my husband decided to call at 4:49am. Granted, he didn't know it was 4:49am. In fact, the moment he heard my voice, he ask what time it was. Bless his sweet and loving heart, he walked by the phones on ship, saw that no one was using them, and decided to call us. It never occurred to him that there may be a reason no one else was calling, but that is ok. He saw a chance to call, and he seized it. I can't fault him for it.
On top of all that, the wind was making some crazy humming noise through our housing complex last night. It scared the crap out of the big one, and she wouldn't sleep any where, or at least try to sleep anywhere, other than my room.
So, really, there was no sleeping in our house.

Lack of sleep takes a quick toll on me. I don't function well this way. As evidenced by the fact that I have now spent the last hour searching for my tortillas.

The little one and I had to venture out for some things this morning. We had to. I was out of coffee creamer. We needed to go. So, we hit Wal-Mart, where we still didn't buy any pacifiers. She did ask, but I told her no, and she accepted it pretty well. So, anyway, of course Wal-Mart doesn't have any coffee creamer I will use. Next door to it is a Vons. I don't normally shop at Vons. I think they are too expensive for most things. However, Vons also happens to have a Starbucks located inside. Lack of sleep and lack of creamer means that any Starbucks in close proximity is a must do.

So, we head over, and I am able to get a couple of things that I need, and things that are hard to get at my normal grocery shopping locations. One of those items was a pack a carb balance tortillas. I love tortillas, and the kind that I buy, though hard to find, taste really good especially considering how much fiber they are loaded with! They were pretty expensive compared to what I would normally pay, but since they were actually available, I snagged them. I was totally stoked about them. I have been dying for a breakfast burrito, and have had no tortillas for a while.

I know I got them in the bag. I know I carried them to the car. However, once I went to get them to put out with supper, they were no where to be found. No where, I tell you. I have checked everywhere. I looked in the oven, microwave, fridge, and even the freezer just to be sure. No where.

So, we have at this point just a few options.
1. They are laying in my car and I didn't carry them in. I will find them when I go out next.
I have to say this option isn't likely since I laid the bags next to Ava. If I left food in the car, she would tell me, trust me.
2. Ava grabbed them and carried them off while I was doing other things. Possible, definitely possible. If this is the case, they will likely be no good by the time I find them. She is that good.
3. I put them someplace ridiculous and will eventually stumble on them when I have had more sleep, and absolutely no need for them what so ever. I am going to guess that this is the most likely. Since I already checked all the nutty spots I might put things if I weren't paying attention, I have a feeling that when I find them, where ever they are is going to amaze me.

I really do need sleep. I can only hope the little one does better tonight. WE all need her to. I hope that she is a quick learner, and can figure out how to sooth herself to sleep very soon. If not, I may let them have my bed, while I go sleep in one of theirs. I can't afford to keep losing expensive tortillas.