all in the span of two hours

It started with a lack of water.  We had no water.  Toilets weren't flushing, faucets were dribbling.  I called the water company only to learn that the water was shut off for lack of payment.  What?  So I hopped online to see that my scheduled payment was supposed to go through today.  But I paid bills over a week ago, so why so late?  Clearly there was an issue with the online banking.  I mean, I wouldn't schedule the payment to be an extra week late since I just don't make mistakes, really.  The water company let me know that they are now accepting electronic payments from the banks, so my future payments should go through in a day or two.  Yippieee!  Welcome to 2005!  They assured me that they would turn my water back on, but suggested I call before Friday to ensure that they payment was received. 
Then the power went out.  The rain had finally stopped, but the wind was pretty crazy.  I wasn't sure if my neighbors lost power, because it wasn't dark yet.  Plus, given the recent online banking snafu, I decided to call the power company to ensure that there weren't any payment issues there.  The automated system logged my call, so I still wasn't sure of the source of trouble until a neighbor called.  They had lost power as well, so I felt a little better knowing that I wasn't a complete deadbeat.
Buddy (the dog) used my distraction about the power (finding candles and flashlights while I could still see) to live up to the puppy rep by stealing things off the kitchen counter and chewing the kids toys.  Over and over again.  Finally I convinced the boys and their friends to play in the kitchen where they could keep an eye on Buddy while I played with Isabel.
The power came on, I started dinner and asked Alex to take Buddy outside to play.  For some reason the dog was very agitated and I figured some running around the yard would help.  I was in the middle of cleaning chicken breasts for dinner and assuring Devin that he did not need to throw away his chewed on toys while talking to Andy on the phone when Alex came to the door to tell me that Buddy was exceptionally muddy.  He was telling me that Buddy stepped on his shoes and got him all dirty when Buddy burst through the door and went skidding and slipping all over the hardwoods.  I started yelling and chasing him (knife in one hand, juice from a raw chicken dripping from the other).  The more I yelled and chased the more he ran.  Finally I trapped him in the bathroom and dragged him outside.  Alex was in tears.  The other kids were in shock.  I was losing my mind.
Everyone went to their rooms while I finished dinner.  Then the boys went outside to hose down Buddy, take him for a walk and dry him while I mopped the entire first floor.  Then Izzy and I started in on the carpets.  Devin fed the dog, Alex set the table and I poured a very large glass of wine as we sat down to dinner.  Maybe it was two glasses.  I earned it.


PS - for the record, the knife in my hand was intended for the raw chicken, not the dog.