How could I forget about something that was a daily experience once upon a time. Things do have a way of changing and rearranging what we do on a daily basis don't they.
Never have I been more aware of how quickly things can change than I have been lately. I find myself thinking about this alot actually. Like, how can I commit to doing something or being somewhere 6 months or 3 months or even 3 weeks from now because really, I have no way of knowing what change could be just around the corner.
I keep meaning to update all the little and not so little changes that have happened but who am I kidding - I'll never get around to telling the whole story. I barely remember it.
I think last August was the last BIG change-maker or at least what happened in August started the ball rolling. It could stop rolling anytime. I'm tired of chasing it.
About mid august I got sick. I'd had a cold/fever/flu and a few days later I noticed my face was swelling. There was an infection inside my right cheek and it just wouldn't go away. After a few days of trips to the ER for IV antibiotics it was actually getting worse and I ended up with the most disgusting and painful abcess on my face and after a CT scan I ended up in surgery to have it removed (and after years of recurring sinus infections, I have not had one since....even though the docs swear it was not from my sinuses) Anyway, after surgery, I was off work for about a month while the hole in my face healed and boy did I enjoy that time off. It really made me wish I didn't have to go back to work and I started thinking about what I wanted to 'do'.....you know, like what do I want to be when I grow up kind of stuff.
I'd had an idea in my mind about just this sort of question for about a year but it meant going back to school and at the time, with taking care of mom and with just trying to get my world put all back together after loosing the business it was something that I didn't think was possible.
BUT....with that time off post-surgery, I started again to explore this idea and then I was reading the newspaper one afternoon and came across an ad for a community college program offering training in exactly what I wanted to be when I grew up.
I said to myself "self. you need to go there" and even though there were roadblocks along the way, I didn't get scared and bail. I jumped in with both feet and in mid October I started school.
Now THAT was a huge change and did it ever add to the chaos and confusion of our lives but it has been worth it, at least for the most part - there are some issues with school itself that make me question my decision of taking the course where I did but if I'd waited for an opportunity at another location I don't know that I would have actually done it.
So I am in the final stages of becoming a Medical Laboratory Assistant and I'm hoping in the very near future to be working in a lab as a phlebotomist.
And back in January, I jumped in with both feet again and said 'why not' when the opportunity to go north to Thompson for 4 weeks of clinical practicum was offered to me. There is also a good chance that once I am done school in the next 6 weeks that I will be heading back to Thompson for a 6 month term position - I would only commit to 6 months because if I've learned anything the last couple years it's that you never know what's around the corner.
In the mean time, I'm still working part time (very part time) and preparing to write the certification exam in mid June and after a month away from home I've adjusted to living with all these people again....boy was it nice living alone for 4 weeks.
There have also been a few very recent changes to our world but that's another chapter in the ever changing life of chaos and confusion and it's best covered in it's own post, for now I think I'll end this post and go finish up my homework.
Hugs to you all!
~K
Showing posts with label health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label health. Show all posts
Friday, April 22, 2011
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Might Just Be on a Roll Here
with a second blog post in one month.
I know it's not some great big accomplishment to most but for me.....it's huge.
This blog post is even being brought to life on my ever-so-slow desktop while I sit in my very own kitchen. It's been a long wait but finally we are back online at home. I'd forgotten how annoying it is to hear kids bicker over who's turn it is on the computer - but it's worth it (most of the time) and I'm giving them a bit of leeway with 'free' time online but they'd better appreciate it now because they are going to have to start earning time soon enough. My plan is to feed their addiction into a frenzie and then, when I have them where I want them, I'll make 'em work for their fix. It may be the only way to get my house to not be the perfect candidate for one of those hoarding shows.
My plan does have a flaw or two though. The girls should be easy targets - they are both facebook junkies, so trading net time with them will be a piece of cake. The boys might take a little more work and I think I'll need to set up the 'new' computer and get it going so I can get the much coveted itunes up and running (our old computer just can't handle that kind of abuse). I'm avoiding this though. While I pride myself in being technically capable on most fronts, itunes and the kids ipods have proven to be my nemisis.
Getting the new computer going might be a good idea for more than just the itunes factor. I'm hoping that since it's faster and less overloaded (for lack of a better description) than our old one, it might just provide a less frusterating dial-up experience for everyone. Of course, I'm one of those hoping for improved internet use and if not, my laptop and I might just have to do a little more traveling into town for stuff like this because this dial-up stuff is brutal.
I really am out of practice with this and these first few posts will probably be quite dull. (are you bored yet?) I used to actually make little notes during the day when I thought of interesting things to write about or the kids did something totally bizzare that were worth sharing (or venting about). I'll have to start doing that again. Acutally, now that I think about it, for a short time after we lost our phone line I still wrote stuff and just filed in a folder on my computer because it helped me to just write about things but that didn't last long.
Have I mentioned how much I've missed this? How much I've miss you. You - ya, the 2 or 3 of you that actually used to stop by and read my rambling posts about the chaos and confusion that is my world. I just had a good idea for my next post - How my life wasn't full of enough chaos and confusion that I thought it would be a dandy idea to add to it and do something totally crazy like, oh i don't know, Go Back To School! Speaking of school. I have to get up early tomorrow for school so I think I should get to bed. I've missed the last 2 days because I wasn't feeling well - snort - well? that doesn't even begin to describe what I was and wasn't feeling - but that's another post all on it's own. The ongoing medical mischief I've been upto has it's own plot and characters. A story for yet another day.
G'night!
Hugs to you all
~K
I know it's not some great big accomplishment to most but for me.....it's huge.
This blog post is even being brought to life on my ever-so-slow desktop while I sit in my very own kitchen. It's been a long wait but finally we are back online at home. I'd forgotten how annoying it is to hear kids bicker over who's turn it is on the computer - but it's worth it (most of the time) and I'm giving them a bit of leeway with 'free' time online but they'd better appreciate it now because they are going to have to start earning time soon enough. My plan is to feed their addiction into a frenzie and then, when I have them where I want them, I'll make 'em work for their fix. It may be the only way to get my house to not be the perfect candidate for one of those hoarding shows.
My plan does have a flaw or two though. The girls should be easy targets - they are both facebook junkies, so trading net time with them will be a piece of cake. The boys might take a little more work and I think I'll need to set up the 'new' computer and get it going so I can get the much coveted itunes up and running (our old computer just can't handle that kind of abuse). I'm avoiding this though. While I pride myself in being technically capable on most fronts, itunes and the kids ipods have proven to be my nemisis.
Getting the new computer going might be a good idea for more than just the itunes factor. I'm hoping that since it's faster and less overloaded (for lack of a better description) than our old one, it might just provide a less frusterating dial-up experience for everyone. Of course, I'm one of those hoping for improved internet use and if not, my laptop and I might just have to do a little more traveling into town for stuff like this because this dial-up stuff is brutal.
I really am out of practice with this and these first few posts will probably be quite dull. (are you bored yet?) I used to actually make little notes during the day when I thought of interesting things to write about or the kids did something totally bizzare that were worth sharing (or venting about). I'll have to start doing that again. Acutally, now that I think about it, for a short time after we lost our phone line I still wrote stuff and just filed in a folder on my computer because it helped me to just write about things but that didn't last long.
Have I mentioned how much I've missed this? How much I've miss you. You - ya, the 2 or 3 of you that actually used to stop by and read my rambling posts about the chaos and confusion that is my world. I just had a good idea for my next post - How my life wasn't full of enough chaos and confusion that I thought it would be a dandy idea to add to it and do something totally crazy like, oh i don't know, Go Back To School! Speaking of school. I have to get up early tomorrow for school so I think I should get to bed. I've missed the last 2 days because I wasn't feeling well - snort - well? that doesn't even begin to describe what I was and wasn't feeling - but that's another post all on it's own. The ongoing medical mischief I've been upto has it's own plot and characters. A story for yet another day.
G'night!
Hugs to you all
~K
Friday, July 31, 2009
Seriously?!? Here's a stock tip for ya!
Buy Stock In Benadryl!!!!
My family is single handedly raising the price of that stock I'm sure.
We are at 3 people and counting now who have had some mysterious rash and or hives in just over a month. 3 out of 6! Those odds aren't good....unless you are holding stock in Benadryl and then well, good for you and you can send me a bit of your profits.
June 25..... I wake up with a few hives, itch my way through the day as my hives spread to include a red 'heat rash' on the bottoms of my feet and by the morning of the 26th I'm swollen like a balloon with even more hives and swelling eyes, lips, ears and quite possibly my throat. An ER visit later I'm taking Benadryl, Prednisone and I'm a drooling lump on the couch till the next day.
July 25 (notice that....exactly one month later) Tyler's out with his aunt watching a parade, having a bbq in her yard and he starts itching. 3 hours later he's covered head to toe in a red rash. visit to the walk in clinic (just happened to see the same Dr I saw in the ER) later and he's taking Benadryl, Prednisone and he's a lump on the couch for a few hours and itchy for a few days but at least he wasn't glowing red.
July 28 Owen comes in from playing outside for supper and he's got the beginnings of hives on his face, neck and back. Liquid Benadryl into him and he's asleep for the evening an hour later (man that stuff rocks!) and he seems better the next day - a few stray hive spots but nothing he's itching and scratching over BUT...... July 30 Owen's covered in spots again.
WHAT THE HECK!!!!!
I'm finding it hard to think it's just coincidences that I have a sudden mystery allergy and a month later Ty gets a wicked rash and a few days later Owen's got a weird rash/hive thing going on. I just don't know what to think now....except to wonder who will be next.....and hope this isn't something viral and/or contagious.
For now it's just plain bizzare!
~K
My family is single handedly raising the price of that stock I'm sure.
We are at 3 people and counting now who have had some mysterious rash and or hives in just over a month. 3 out of 6! Those odds aren't good....unless you are holding stock in Benadryl and then well, good for you and you can send me a bit of your profits.
June 25..... I wake up with a few hives, itch my way through the day as my hives spread to include a red 'heat rash' on the bottoms of my feet and by the morning of the 26th I'm swollen like a balloon with even more hives and swelling eyes, lips, ears and quite possibly my throat. An ER visit later I'm taking Benadryl, Prednisone and I'm a drooling lump on the couch till the next day.
July 25 (notice that....exactly one month later) Tyler's out with his aunt watching a parade, having a bbq in her yard and he starts itching. 3 hours later he's covered head to toe in a red rash. visit to the walk in clinic (just happened to see the same Dr I saw in the ER) later and he's taking Benadryl, Prednisone and he's a lump on the couch for a few hours and itchy for a few days but at least he wasn't glowing red.
July 28 Owen comes in from playing outside for supper and he's got the beginnings of hives on his face, neck and back. Liquid Benadryl into him and he's asleep for the evening an hour later (man that stuff rocks!) and he seems better the next day - a few stray hive spots but nothing he's itching and scratching over BUT...... July 30 Owen's covered in spots again.
WHAT THE HECK!!!!!
I'm finding it hard to think it's just coincidences that I have a sudden mystery allergy and a month later Ty gets a wicked rash and a few days later Owen's got a weird rash/hive thing going on. I just don't know what to think now....except to wonder who will be next.....and hope this isn't something viral and/or contagious.
For now it's just plain bizzare!
~K
Friday, June 05, 2009
More Surprises
My life is just full of them.
Usually I don't like them.....but sometimes they can be unexpectedly sweet.
I've had my fair share of un-sweet ones today and more than one made me cry slightly but the last one made me tear up with tears of joy it was so sweet.
I've covered in my previous post most of the unexpected not-so-nice surprises but there's one more that really frosted my cookies today.
Other than taking mom for a very short and sweet flower shopping trip the only other errand that we managed to squeeze into my day off was going to the pharmacy to pick up her box of prescriptions.
Your read that right. Box. Cardboard. Size - Large. I really wonder some days if I don't need some sort of license to carry that much pharmasuticals but hopefully I don't......I'd forget to renew it for sure.
Now prior to heading to her place I did stop by the post office and pick up her mail which she opened before we headed out on our errands. One of the letters in the mail informed her of how much her annual PharmaCare deductible was ($500 give or take) so she had a pretty good idea how much money she'd have to pay out when we went to the pharmacy to pick up her meds.....and for the record, she's hit her deductible limit already in one day so the rest of the year is covered by provincial health......right? Wrong!
Seems that she's also as of today reached her maximum allowable number for one of her inhailers --- as in the medication that makes it so she can breath. Apparently, according to the pharmasist the provincial medical plan covers 14 of these inhailers annually. There are 25 doses per inhailer so she's covered for one puff per day. Wonderful - except that last fall when she was having so much trouble breathing her dose was increased to 2 puffs, up to twice a day. Now my numbers aren't always the best but that means she's taking up to 4 puffs of this inhailer per day so an inhailer last her between 5 and10 days depending on how she's feeling. That's roughly 3-5 inhailers per month.....and 5 months into the year she's used up her annual amount. I guess breathing is optional the other 7 months of the year! If she 'wants to continue using this medication' she'll need to dish out $115.66 per inhailer. Multiply that by 3-5 per month and that equals way too much math and some serious cash.
So who do I talk to about this because this sucks. My goal here is to keep this lady as healthy as possible to give her some decent quality of life and now she's been denied coverage for one of her meds that allows her to breath. Last I checked that whole breathing thing.....kind of important.
Of course this is also the same health care system that has a friend of mine paying out $800 every two weeks for supplies for her son's insulin pump....a pump she had to pay for with the help of many family, friends, fundraisers and local charities, out of her own pocket since the government refuses to pay for pumps for insulin dependant diabetic children even though a number of other provinces do. ooooop...climbed up on that soap box there for a minute didn't I. Well.....that's because it sucks!
That pretty much coveres the unpleasant surprises for the day although I will say that while I was not happily surprised with not having a nice quiet evening at home, I did enjoy the band concert -which I knew I would - I just didn't feel like going especially because I knew we wouldn't get home till late and that makes getting the kids to bed extra hard.
Once I did get them to bed though, I ignored the dinner dishes and sat down to catch up on some blogs and while doing that I read a comment on my post from earlier in the week. That's when I came across one surprise of the day that made me cry because it was so sweet and kind.
I'd been so worried about making the deposit for a trip my son really wants to take to Normandy next spring and my sis leaves a comment that the cheque is in the mail. Just like that. No questions asked. Talk about a sweet, unexpected surprise......and an unnecessary one since Ty does get a paycheque this week that should be enough to cover his deposit. Now I just have to read the really really fine print of this trip and have the courage to fill it in. Paris, Normandy, Amsterdam....very very far away and in the grand scheme of things the total price tag of this trip is going to be more in the neighbourhood of $4000 by the time we add in passport costs, insurance and spending money and at least one additonal tour that is not included....because there is no way they can go all the way there and not go to Vimy.
Now I have 4 days to decided if it's financially possible to committ to being able to pull together that amount of money.....which is extremely scarey considering I was concerned with just coming up with the dang deposit....but we do have 9months yet so is it do-able?
4 days to sign on the dotted line and committ to letting my son go half way around the world for 10days.
4 days to come to terms with the fact that my son is old enough to take a trip like this.
I guess that's easier to come to terms with than the question I had to answer for my van's insurance regarding if there was anyone other than myself and Al as it's primary users at which point I realized that at this time next year the answer to that question will quite probably be yes....that my son is also a regular user of the vehicle.
I guess that's one more surprise for the day. My kids are growing up.....way too fast. I think that's considered a sweet surprise.....although after listening to my sister-in-laws talk today about potty training Luke and cuddling baby Sarah for a few minutes it's a little bitter-sweet. I miss those days.
Besides - Pre-school field trip permission forms were so much easier to deal with.
~K
PS.... Sis, you didn't need to but thank you. Love you!
Usually I don't like them.....but sometimes they can be unexpectedly sweet.
I've had my fair share of un-sweet ones today and more than one made me cry slightly but the last one made me tear up with tears of joy it was so sweet.
I've covered in my previous post most of the unexpected not-so-nice surprises but there's one more that really frosted my cookies today.
Other than taking mom for a very short and sweet flower shopping trip the only other errand that we managed to squeeze into my day off was going to the pharmacy to pick up her box of prescriptions.
Your read that right. Box. Cardboard. Size - Large. I really wonder some days if I don't need some sort of license to carry that much pharmasuticals but hopefully I don't......I'd forget to renew it for sure.
Now prior to heading to her place I did stop by the post office and pick up her mail which she opened before we headed out on our errands. One of the letters in the mail informed her of how much her annual PharmaCare deductible was ($500 give or take) so she had a pretty good idea how much money she'd have to pay out when we went to the pharmacy to pick up her meds.....and for the record, she's hit her deductible limit already in one day so the rest of the year is covered by provincial health......right? Wrong!
Seems that she's also as of today reached her maximum allowable number for one of her inhailers --- as in the medication that makes it so she can breath. Apparently, according to the pharmasist the provincial medical plan covers 14 of these inhailers annually. There are 25 doses per inhailer so she's covered for one puff per day. Wonderful - except that last fall when she was having so much trouble breathing her dose was increased to 2 puffs, up to twice a day. Now my numbers aren't always the best but that means she's taking up to 4 puffs of this inhailer per day so an inhailer last her between 5 and10 days depending on how she's feeling. That's roughly 3-5 inhailers per month.....and 5 months into the year she's used up her annual amount. I guess breathing is optional the other 7 months of the year! If she 'wants to continue using this medication' she'll need to dish out $115.66 per inhailer. Multiply that by 3-5 per month and that equals way too much math and some serious cash.
So who do I talk to about this because this sucks. My goal here is to keep this lady as healthy as possible to give her some decent quality of life and now she's been denied coverage for one of her meds that allows her to breath. Last I checked that whole breathing thing.....kind of important.
Of course this is also the same health care system that has a friend of mine paying out $800 every two weeks for supplies for her son's insulin pump....a pump she had to pay for with the help of many family, friends, fundraisers and local charities, out of her own pocket since the government refuses to pay for pumps for insulin dependant diabetic children even though a number of other provinces do. ooooop...climbed up on that soap box there for a minute didn't I. Well.....that's because it sucks!
That pretty much coveres the unpleasant surprises for the day although I will say that while I was not happily surprised with not having a nice quiet evening at home, I did enjoy the band concert -which I knew I would - I just didn't feel like going especially because I knew we wouldn't get home till late and that makes getting the kids to bed extra hard.
Once I did get them to bed though, I ignored the dinner dishes and sat down to catch up on some blogs and while doing that I read a comment on my post from earlier in the week. That's when I came across one surprise of the day that made me cry because it was so sweet and kind.
I'd been so worried about making the deposit for a trip my son really wants to take to Normandy next spring and my sis leaves a comment that the cheque is in the mail. Just like that. No questions asked. Talk about a sweet, unexpected surprise......and an unnecessary one since Ty does get a paycheque this week that should be enough to cover his deposit. Now I just have to read the really really fine print of this trip and have the courage to fill it in. Paris, Normandy, Amsterdam....very very far away and in the grand scheme of things the total price tag of this trip is going to be more in the neighbourhood of $4000 by the time we add in passport costs, insurance and spending money and at least one additonal tour that is not included....because there is no way they can go all the way there and not go to Vimy.
Now I have 4 days to decided if it's financially possible to committ to being able to pull together that amount of money.....which is extremely scarey considering I was concerned with just coming up with the dang deposit....but we do have 9months yet so is it do-able?
4 days to sign on the dotted line and committ to letting my son go half way around the world for 10days.
4 days to come to terms with the fact that my son is old enough to take a trip like this.
I guess that's easier to come to terms with than the question I had to answer for my van's insurance regarding if there was anyone other than myself and Al as it's primary users at which point I realized that at this time next year the answer to that question will quite probably be yes....that my son is also a regular user of the vehicle.
I guess that's one more surprise for the day. My kids are growing up.....way too fast. I think that's considered a sweet surprise.....although after listening to my sister-in-laws talk today about potty training Luke and cuddling baby Sarah for a few minutes it's a little bitter-sweet. I miss those days.
Besides - Pre-school field trip permission forms were so much easier to deal with.
~K
PS.... Sis, you didn't need to but thank you. Love you!
Thursday, May 07, 2009
The Good, The Bad & The Damp
today is the first day all week that I haven't felt the need to take a nap by 10am. I think that has to do with the fact that I went to bed before 10pm last night and although I woke up at 1am (call of nature) and 6am (call of technology - darn kid's cell phone alarm is set for 6am! wth?!?!) and finally got up at 7:15. I think I've finally recovered from the weekend. Now if I could just get my house to recover from the weekend all would be golden. My scrapbook stuff is still scattered about.
We've had a good week/bad week around here and it seems, with the rain that began falling overnight....the rest of the week shall be a damp one, not to mention loud and muddy. Proof of this was when I opened the back door this morning. Since I'd gone to bed early, nobody thought to let the fat cat or the fatter dog in for the night. One was quite cranky about this fact and told me so. The other just left a trail of paw prints behind him as he brought his overweight self into my kitchen and shook. Point taken oh non-vocal mutt. This is the kind of weather where you just want to stay indoors.....and I haven't decided yet if I'm more inclined to make the kids stay inside and brave the sounds of cooped up kids or kick em outside and deal with the inevitable mud and laundry. Since Owen left his jacket outside last night, I'm already ahead of the game as far as wet clothes go.
I think this rain also puts a brief stop to the walks we've been taking lately. Okay. I admit. Mostly it's been Al and the kids walking but I did take them one night while he was at work. This may sound silly but this is a new activity for us. Not the walking part, but the walking around here part. Living on a busy highway, it's not exactly high on my list of things to encourage the children to do and up until now we've limited our walks to being an 'in town' activity. Now that the kids are older, we're more comfortable (ish....i found it way stressful personally) with taking the 1/4 mile walk along the side of the highway to the gravel road and then letting the kids run wild as we walk a half mile or so before turning around and heading back. Somehow I'm not keen on taking that trek in the rain or even shortly after any rain as the cars go flying past us is sure to make for loads of laundry.
I must say, I'm a little nervous about the start of this rain. A couple of the blogs I read on a daily basis have mentioned lately an abundance of rainfall of biblical proportions and there has been mention of Ark living....or indoor living a time or two as well. We are only on day one of the rain here and I sure hope it doesn't last too long. I don't like boats. Of course, I don't like snow shovels either and I heard rumor of dropping temperatures and the possibilities of this rain going all flakey on me.
Hearing the rain on the roof when I first woke up this morning did bring a slight smile to my face though.....because I am not outside working in it. Hahaha It's funny how perspective changes things. Closing our business was hard (and still is hard at times) but we realize more each day how much of a blessing it has been. Regular readers may remember Al's doctors visit when he was getting that physical for his class 1 license and the concern his doctor had with his blood pressure and weight. Well, he went for a follow-up earlier this week and his blood pressure is almost perfect. That new low-stress, minumum wage job of his seems to be working wonders. The lack of money....and lack of ice cream seems to be helping too. He's dropped 5lbs.
Of course my blood pressure is probably making up for his as I struggle to make ends meet and deal with the mountain of paperwork still left to do for the business. Selling those trucks parked infront of my house - constant reminders of money owed to people that we won't have until they sell - would help too. Seems the guy we thought would for sure buy them is just yanking us around and now he says he doesn't need them.....right now. Ugh! General consensus is he figures since the trucks are so specialized there won't be a huge demand for them so he's got time and by waiting as long as possible till we will be so desperate we have no choice but to let them go for cheap. He doesn't realize that the longer he waits the more money we will need and we've had other people ask about them....although nothing has come of their interest either so far.
On top of this money stuff....... I'm sure I've found those 5lbs Al lost. Maybe I need to go for that walk tonight - rain or not. Naw....think I'll just go make a batch of brownies and stay inside where it's warm and dry and listen to the cat complain. He's asked to go out twice already but then just sits in the doorway looking at me like it's my fault it's still raining.
~K
We've had a good week/bad week around here and it seems, with the rain that began falling overnight....the rest of the week shall be a damp one, not to mention loud and muddy. Proof of this was when I opened the back door this morning. Since I'd gone to bed early, nobody thought to let the fat cat or the fatter dog in for the night. One was quite cranky about this fact and told me so. The other just left a trail of paw prints behind him as he brought his overweight self into my kitchen and shook. Point taken oh non-vocal mutt. This is the kind of weather where you just want to stay indoors.....and I haven't decided yet if I'm more inclined to make the kids stay inside and brave the sounds of cooped up kids or kick em outside and deal with the inevitable mud and laundry. Since Owen left his jacket outside last night, I'm already ahead of the game as far as wet clothes go.
I think this rain also puts a brief stop to the walks we've been taking lately. Okay. I admit. Mostly it's been Al and the kids walking but I did take them one night while he was at work. This may sound silly but this is a new activity for us. Not the walking part, but the walking around here part. Living on a busy highway, it's not exactly high on my list of things to encourage the children to do and up until now we've limited our walks to being an 'in town' activity. Now that the kids are older, we're more comfortable (ish....i found it way stressful personally) with taking the 1/4 mile walk along the side of the highway to the gravel road and then letting the kids run wild as we walk a half mile or so before turning around and heading back. Somehow I'm not keen on taking that trek in the rain or even shortly after any rain as the cars go flying past us is sure to make for loads of laundry.
I must say, I'm a little nervous about the start of this rain. A couple of the blogs I read on a daily basis have mentioned lately an abundance of rainfall of biblical proportions and there has been mention of Ark living....or indoor living a time or two as well. We are only on day one of the rain here and I sure hope it doesn't last too long. I don't like boats. Of course, I don't like snow shovels either and I heard rumor of dropping temperatures and the possibilities of this rain going all flakey on me.
Hearing the rain on the roof when I first woke up this morning did bring a slight smile to my face though.....because I am not outside working in it. Hahaha It's funny how perspective changes things. Closing our business was hard (and still is hard at times) but we realize more each day how much of a blessing it has been. Regular readers may remember Al's doctors visit when he was getting that physical for his class 1 license and the concern his doctor had with his blood pressure and weight. Well, he went for a follow-up earlier this week and his blood pressure is almost perfect. That new low-stress, minumum wage job of his seems to be working wonders. The lack of money....and lack of ice cream seems to be helping too. He's dropped 5lbs.
Of course my blood pressure is probably making up for his as I struggle to make ends meet and deal with the mountain of paperwork still left to do for the business. Selling those trucks parked infront of my house - constant reminders of money owed to people that we won't have until they sell - would help too. Seems the guy we thought would for sure buy them is just yanking us around and now he says he doesn't need them.....right now. Ugh! General consensus is he figures since the trucks are so specialized there won't be a huge demand for them so he's got time and by waiting as long as possible till we will be so desperate we have no choice but to let them go for cheap. He doesn't realize that the longer he waits the more money we will need and we've had other people ask about them....although nothing has come of their interest either so far.
On top of this money stuff....... I'm sure I've found those 5lbs Al lost. Maybe I need to go for that walk tonight - rain or not. Naw....think I'll just go make a batch of brownies and stay inside where it's warm and dry and listen to the cat complain. He's asked to go out twice already but then just sits in the doorway looking at me like it's my fault it's still raining.
~K
Thursday, March 12, 2009
a bit of rambling
Thursday.
Already.
So much on the go today.
Aarica's at home this morning. Obsessing. Asking the same questions over and over.
Her routine has been compromised so she's got a little anxiety going on.
She's stressing (rightfully so) about the blood test she has to take this morning. She hasn't had blood drawn in many many years - and she sure doesn't remember the last time - even though I do. It's vivid in my memory (which isn't that good so it really is a strong memory). The one and only time she's had blood drawn was for a series of genetic tests done way back when she was about 3. I remember holding this screaming, non-verbal child who was terrified and had no clue what all these people were doing to her.
She's even more stressed though by the fact that she can't eat. This blood work is a 12 hour fasting blood sugar test and even though she's normally in bed before 10:30pm (the time her 12 hour fast started) she was repeatedly asking about it last night before bed and then again this morning she's going through the same questions....."no milk?" no. "no toast?" no. "no coffee?" no....and you can't have that anyway so why ask about that one.
The crazy thing is our usual morning conversations are more in the opposite direction with us telling her she needs to eat something, anything. Most times she won't and other than drinking milk she rarely has anything at all except the occasional granola bar (and absolutely refuses to take a lunch....cuz she's in highschool you know and that's just not cool. If she can't buy it at the cafeteria she doesn't want it).
One more hour and then we can get this blood work done and then for sure she will want to eat - just for the sake of eatting - because this is the kid that won't eat breakfast and refuses to take a lunch unless it's in the form of money.
She also has an EKG scheduled. She's not too concerned about that one. I've explained about all the sticky tape they will place on her chest and arms and legs (i've been through enough of them with my mom in the last 8 months to know exactly how this test goes) and the tricky part will be her lying completely still for the entire minute and a half it takes for the machine to do its' thing. Being quiet and still is not what Aarica does best.
Thinking of this takes me back to the time Aarica had her hearing tests done (funny how the traumatic things stick in your mind) and oh was it traumatic. She was about 7 years old and still pretty much non-verbal and incapable of sitting still for 30 seconds and they wanted her to lay perfectly still and quiet for approximately 20minutes (as if!) while the computer recorded how her brain reacted to noises fed into her ears. Add to this the tech doing the test totally stuck his foot in his mouth and she panicked. Really panicked (is that spelled correctly?).
He said " I'm just going to glue these leads to your head."
That's it.
Simple sentence....well aside from the fact that he'd also been trying to explain what he would be doing to her in technical lingo that went over MY head but that's besides the point.
That one sentence, to a child with limited (very limited) verbal skills, and took everything so literally back then (still does to an extent....sarcasm is totally lost on her) thought he was going to permanently stick those wires to her head. OH the tears and trauma that resulted.
So we have this terrified, crying child that now has to lay still for 20 minutes. It didn't happen and 2 hours later we rescheduled for a couple weeks later. 2 - 60minute trips into the city and 3.5hours of testing later we had the results of this test. Moderate/severe hearing loss in one ear - congenital in nature - the nerves between her ear & brain didn't quite connect from the get-go.
Oddly enough, the same guy tested Emily's hearing a couple weeks after she was born and Owen when he was two and the tests were easy peasy and took 20 minutes tops and he didnt' freak any of my other children out. Of course Emily was only 2 weeks old and alseep in her carseat the whole time and didn't even flinch. Technology rocks. If only this hearing screening was routine for all newborns - imagine how few would slip through the cracks like Aarica did almost 17 yrs ago (yes...THAT's how old she's going to be in May!)
oppps......got way off track there didn't I.
Back to today.
Thursday. (and btw - this was supposed to have posted while I was at Aarica's appointment but dial-up was being snarky and it didn't go through.....so now I'm back and finishing up this post.)
How did it go?
Easy Peasy-ish.
The hardest parts of the whole thing was the waiting.
"I don't want to do this" but you have to.
"why do I have to have tests" to make sure the meds you are taking aren't doing funky things to your body.
"but i don't want to" sorry but you have to.
"it's going to hurt & i'm not doing it" it's going to be fine and yes you are.
"when can i eat?" when we are done here
"i don't want to do this" (even as she's sitting in the chair in the lab)
"you aren't going to jab my arm are you?" no but you can't move your arm at all
"i don't want to do this"
And in 20 seconds it was over and the most painful part was answering all the questions before, during and after.
And then we waited for the EKG.....and waited.....and guess what....answered more questions.
"How many tests again?" two - the blood which you've already done and the heart which is next
"And then I can eat?" yes
"but I don't want to do anymore tests." you are almost done and the next one is easy
" how many more?" only one more and it's easy. You just have to lay there and be quiet (if that's remotely possible) and not ask questions.
"but this is stupid. i don't need these tests" yes you do
"what will they do again" put little stickers on you and clip wires to them and the computer does all the work. you just have to lay STILL and NOT TALK.
"when can I eat" ugh...when we are done. where the heck is that tech?
and then.....to mortify her even more she had to put on a gown.
"why do i have to wear this" so they can put the stickers on you.
"do i really have to take my bra off too?" oh for pete's sake yes!
"how long is this going to take" 5 mintues if you cooperate. longer if you don't.
"i don't really want to do this" so i've heard.
and then it was over.
easy peasy....except for the questions.
oh and i did sneak a peek at the printout - *normal sinus rythmn; borderline left axis deviation* and i don't have a clue what that means, but it sure would have been nice to have a baseline EKG done before starting these meds to compare to this one huh.....but what do i know.
I need a drink now and they should probably hook me up to one of those EKG machines cuz I'm sure the print out would be freakin amazing!
"can we go to Subway now?" yes
dont' even get me started on the questions THAT involved.
"what kind of bread would you like that on?" ...............ARGH!!!!
Aarica could SO work at Subway. She LOVES to ask questions!
~K
Already.
So much on the go today.
Aarica's at home this morning. Obsessing. Asking the same questions over and over.
Her routine has been compromised so she's got a little anxiety going on.
She's stressing (rightfully so) about the blood test she has to take this morning. She hasn't had blood drawn in many many years - and she sure doesn't remember the last time - even though I do. It's vivid in my memory (which isn't that good so it really is a strong memory). The one and only time she's had blood drawn was for a series of genetic tests done way back when she was about 3. I remember holding this screaming, non-verbal child who was terrified and had no clue what all these people were doing to her.
She's even more stressed though by the fact that she can't eat. This blood work is a 12 hour fasting blood sugar test and even though she's normally in bed before 10:30pm (the time her 12 hour fast started) she was repeatedly asking about it last night before bed and then again this morning she's going through the same questions....."no milk?" no. "no toast?" no. "no coffee?" no....and you can't have that anyway so why ask about that one.
The crazy thing is our usual morning conversations are more in the opposite direction with us telling her she needs to eat something, anything. Most times she won't and other than drinking milk she rarely has anything at all except the occasional granola bar (and absolutely refuses to take a lunch....cuz she's in highschool you know and that's just not cool. If she can't buy it at the cafeteria she doesn't want it).
One more hour and then we can get this blood work done and then for sure she will want to eat - just for the sake of eatting - because this is the kid that won't eat breakfast and refuses to take a lunch unless it's in the form of money.
She also has an EKG scheduled. She's not too concerned about that one. I've explained about all the sticky tape they will place on her chest and arms and legs (i've been through enough of them with my mom in the last 8 months to know exactly how this test goes) and the tricky part will be her lying completely still for the entire minute and a half it takes for the machine to do its' thing. Being quiet and still is not what Aarica does best.
Thinking of this takes me back to the time Aarica had her hearing tests done (funny how the traumatic things stick in your mind) and oh was it traumatic. She was about 7 years old and still pretty much non-verbal and incapable of sitting still for 30 seconds and they wanted her to lay perfectly still and quiet for approximately 20minutes (as if!) while the computer recorded how her brain reacted to noises fed into her ears. Add to this the tech doing the test totally stuck his foot in his mouth and she panicked. Really panicked (is that spelled correctly?).
He said " I'm just going to glue these leads to your head."
That's it.
Simple sentence....well aside from the fact that he'd also been trying to explain what he would be doing to her in technical lingo that went over MY head but that's besides the point.
That one sentence, to a child with limited (very limited) verbal skills, and took everything so literally back then (still does to an extent....sarcasm is totally lost on her) thought he was going to permanently stick those wires to her head. OH the tears and trauma that resulted.
So we have this terrified, crying child that now has to lay still for 20 minutes. It didn't happen and 2 hours later we rescheduled for a couple weeks later. 2 - 60minute trips into the city and 3.5hours of testing later we had the results of this test. Moderate/severe hearing loss in one ear - congenital in nature - the nerves between her ear & brain didn't quite connect from the get-go.
Oddly enough, the same guy tested Emily's hearing a couple weeks after she was born and Owen when he was two and the tests were easy peasy and took 20 minutes tops and he didnt' freak any of my other children out. Of course Emily was only 2 weeks old and alseep in her carseat the whole time and didn't even flinch. Technology rocks. If only this hearing screening was routine for all newborns - imagine how few would slip through the cracks like Aarica did almost 17 yrs ago (yes...THAT's how old she's going to be in May!)
oppps......got way off track there didn't I.
Back to today.
Thursday. (and btw - this was supposed to have posted while I was at Aarica's appointment but dial-up was being snarky and it didn't go through.....so now I'm back and finishing up this post.)
How did it go?
Easy Peasy-ish.
The hardest parts of the whole thing was the waiting.
"I don't want to do this" but you have to.
"why do I have to have tests" to make sure the meds you are taking aren't doing funky things to your body.
"but i don't want to" sorry but you have to.
"it's going to hurt & i'm not doing it" it's going to be fine and yes you are.
"when can i eat?" when we are done here
"i don't want to do this" (even as she's sitting in the chair in the lab)
"you aren't going to jab my arm are you?" no but you can't move your arm at all
"i don't want to do this"
And in 20 seconds it was over and the most painful part was answering all the questions before, during and after.
And then we waited for the EKG.....and waited.....and guess what....answered more questions.
"How many tests again?" two - the blood which you've already done and the heart which is next
"And then I can eat?" yes
"but I don't want to do anymore tests." you are almost done and the next one is easy
" how many more?" only one more and it's easy. You just have to lay there and be quiet (if that's remotely possible) and not ask questions.
"but this is stupid. i don't need these tests" yes you do
"what will they do again" put little stickers on you and clip wires to them and the computer does all the work. you just have to lay STILL and NOT TALK.
"when can I eat" ugh...when we are done. where the heck is that tech?
and then.....to mortify her even more she had to put on a gown.
"why do i have to wear this" so they can put the stickers on you.
"do i really have to take my bra off too?" oh for pete's sake yes!
"how long is this going to take" 5 mintues if you cooperate. longer if you don't.
"i don't really want to do this" so i've heard.
and then it was over.
easy peasy....except for the questions.
oh and i did sneak a peek at the printout - *normal sinus rythmn; borderline left axis deviation* and i don't have a clue what that means, but it sure would have been nice to have a baseline EKG done before starting these meds to compare to this one huh.....but what do i know.
I need a drink now and they should probably hook me up to one of those EKG machines cuz I'm sure the print out would be freakin amazing!
"can we go to Subway now?" yes
dont' even get me started on the questions THAT involved.
"what kind of bread would you like that on?" ...............ARGH!!!!
Aarica could SO work at Subway. She LOVES to ask questions!
~K
Thursday, March 05, 2009
(At Work) Boredom Buster Blog Post - Part Dos
Another recent text message
*SNORT*
I'm guessing since he asked, our doctor doesn't read my blog. If he did, he would have known the answer.
So Al's got a follow-up in a couple months and he's supposed to go to the pharmacy occasionally and check his bp on their machine in the mean time.
I believe there was also some mention of loosing a wee bit o' weight which I'm pretty involves cutting down on the PAILS of icecream consumed on a regular basis and while the work we do is pretty darn physical, I'm thinking a little cardio could be helpful.
Now the reason Al was at the Dr's office to begin with wasn't that he wasn't feeling well. Honestly, that man never gets sick. It acually makes me sick cuz I just have to hear the word strep and it infects me (Al's nephew just tested positive so it should be any day now for me - ohjoy) and yet I can share a drink with Al and he would be just fine. Grrrrr (doh..sidetracked rant)
Anyway, the reason for the Dr's visit was that as part of getting his Class 1 license, he had to have a "medical check-up". Now they (the licensing people) say this is a "physical" but in retrospect ---- it so isn't! The entire "check-up" involved being weighed and having his bp taken and answering a handful of questions.
Do you have a drinking problem? No.
Do you have an icecream problem? Yes....oh wait...that wasn't one of the questions - but it should have been.
Do you abuse drugs? No.
Have you ever abused drugs? No.
Have you have a history of kidney or heart problems? No and No.
And.....
That's it.
The entire "check-up" in a nut-shell.
The Dr marked off the appropriate boxes, noted his weight and bloodpressure and they were done.
No blood work or nothing.
And for that we got to write a glorious cheque in the amount of $95.
He can't be very concerned about Al's blood pressure if that's what he's charging to fill out paperwork. I know it shot mine up a couple points.
Come on!
For that kind of cash dammit I expected the man to put on a pair of gloves and make Al cough!
A few hours later I was at the same Dr's office too. Aarica had an appointment for her prescription refill. Seriously, there were more questions asked and more tests ordered at Aarica's appointment. He asked how things are going on the meds (GOOD!) and how things were in general (it is what it is). He asked if we had any counciling help - which is a big negative since our phychologist guy took another job. *sigh* and he talked to Aarica about her boyfriend situation and gasp even asked her about sex. It was quite the chitchat.
After he handed us another 3 months prescription PLUS a lab requisition for some tests, I shoo'd her out of the room (and she actually went to the lab on her own and made the appointments for her tests...all on her own...how cool) and I talked to the Dr briefly about Aarica and boys and the possibility that birthcontrol might be an option in the near future - just for safety sake more than anything. She's so unaware of life and could so easily be taken advantage of so it's something that is on our minds these days.
In the mean time, he's ordered fasting blood sugar and a EKG to check her sugars and her heart function - things that need to be kept an eye on with long term use of the meds she's taking and we will talk some more about the results and everything else next time.
And for all that Manitoba Health picks up the tab, but not to fill out a simple form for a class 1 drivers license application.
Go Figure - Not that I'm complaining.
My blood pressure probably wouldn't have been too stellar if I'd been given a bill for Aarica's appointment. Wonder what that would have cost me in the US?
" 140/90 isn't that bad is it?"
"Ummmmm. Well it's not perfect but I don't think your heart is going
to explode.....today. What did the doctor say about it?"
"Well he asked if there as a history of high bloodpressure in the family
which i guess would be a yes."
"He also asked if there was any stress in my life."
*SNORT*
I'm guessing since he asked, our doctor doesn't read my blog. If he did, he would have known the answer.
So Al's got a follow-up in a couple months and he's supposed to go to the pharmacy occasionally and check his bp on their machine in the mean time.
I believe there was also some mention of loosing a wee bit o' weight which I'm pretty involves cutting down on the PAILS of icecream consumed on a regular basis and while the work we do is pretty darn physical, I'm thinking a little cardio could be helpful.
Now the reason Al was at the Dr's office to begin with wasn't that he wasn't feeling well. Honestly, that man never gets sick. It acually makes me sick cuz I just have to hear the word strep and it infects me (Al's nephew just tested positive so it should be any day now for me - ohjoy) and yet I can share a drink with Al and he would be just fine. Grrrrr (doh..sidetracked rant)
Anyway, the reason for the Dr's visit was that as part of getting his Class 1 license, he had to have a "medical check-up". Now they (the licensing people) say this is a "physical" but in retrospect ---- it so isn't! The entire "check-up" involved being weighed and having his bp taken and answering a handful of questions.
Do you have a drinking problem? No.
Do you have an icecream problem? Yes....oh wait...that wasn't one of the questions - but it should have been.
Do you abuse drugs? No.
Have you ever abused drugs? No.
Have you have a history of kidney or heart problems? No and No.
And.....
That's it.
The entire "check-up" in a nut-shell.
The Dr marked off the appropriate boxes, noted his weight and bloodpressure and they were done.
No blood work or nothing.
And for that we got to write a glorious cheque in the amount of $95.
He can't be very concerned about Al's blood pressure if that's what he's charging to fill out paperwork. I know it shot mine up a couple points.
Come on!
For that kind of cash dammit I expected the man to put on a pair of gloves and make Al cough!
A few hours later I was at the same Dr's office too. Aarica had an appointment for her prescription refill. Seriously, there were more questions asked and more tests ordered at Aarica's appointment. He asked how things are going on the meds (GOOD!) and how things were in general (it is what it is). He asked if we had any counciling help - which is a big negative since our phychologist guy took another job. *sigh* and he talked to Aarica about her boyfriend situation and gasp even asked her about sex. It was quite the chitchat.
After he handed us another 3 months prescription PLUS a lab requisition for some tests, I shoo'd her out of the room (and she actually went to the lab on her own and made the appointments for her tests...all on her own...how cool) and I talked to the Dr briefly about Aarica and boys and the possibility that birthcontrol might be an option in the near future - just for safety sake more than anything. She's so unaware of life and could so easily be taken advantage of so it's something that is on our minds these days.
In the mean time, he's ordered fasting blood sugar and a EKG to check her sugars and her heart function - things that need to be kept an eye on with long term use of the meds she's taking and we will talk some more about the results and everything else next time.
And for all that Manitoba Health picks up the tab, but not to fill out a simple form for a class 1 drivers license application.
Go Figure - Not that I'm complaining.
My blood pressure probably wouldn't have been too stellar if I'd been given a bill for Aarica's appointment. Wonder what that would have cost me in the US?
Monday, February 09, 2009
The proof is in the 'ah-ha' moment
For those of you (like the 3 whole people that actually stop by and read this neglected little ramble-factory I call my blog) that have been around awhile, you might remember this little post from July about little red magic beans. Well it's been 6 months since The Girl started on these little darlings and while there's never been any question that they help....oh baby do they help, I've found myself wondering lately just how much they help. You see time has a way of making you forget things. *Stop snickering! I know I can't remember a damn thing at the best of times to begin with but seriously. After a few months, the 'new norm' kind of took over and we'd pretty much put the past behind us (or more likely blocked the horrific memories from all consious thought to save our sanity).
Anyway...I'm rambling...see aren't you glad you stopped by.
Anyway the new norm ain't all sugar and spice. The Girl is still a teenager and oh boy she's doing that with flair but we've been wondering just how different life was back then. Well. I have to tell you. We got a decent dose of just what life used to be recently and I can't believe it took me almost a full day to have that ah-ha moment and realize what was going on. While I was on pox-induced quarentine with Miss Em a couple weeks ago, Al took the rest of the herd...I mean family, out to Malanka (Ukrainain New Year Celebration for those not in the know) and they did not get home until sometime around 1am. Now normally The Girl is absolutely obsessive (it can be a good thing) about taking her meds. She's got this internal alarm clock and she knows when it's 9:00 and each night she responsibly takes her little red magic bean. It's really become such routine that I rarely double check that she's taken it and only need to monitor her pill box a couple times a week, refill it once a week and keep tabs on when to refill the prescription etc. *Note to self....hey self....you better get that prescription refill from the pharmacy this week. Even when we've been out in the evenings, the first thing she does when we get home and she's getting ready for bed is take her meds. So.....you can already figure out where this is going and really, if I was reading it like you are now I'd have seen it too. But that's not the way things work so it took till 9pm the NEXT night - a full 24hours past due for her meds for me to have my light-bulb, ah-ha, how could I be so stupid moment.
That Sunday was by far the most aggrivating day we've had in a long time. Sheer misery was had by all that day. Nobody was immune. Everyone at some point got a taste of it. Short-temper. Impulsive. Crash and burn mood swings and flat out mean-ness. She couldnt' keep her hands to herself or her mouth from getting her into trouble. It was brutal. To the point where Miss Em, who was starting to feel the 'crash and burn' of the pox and had little patience and lots of tears, packed up her personal belongings and moved out of the room she's been sharing with her sister and moved in with her brothers. "It was worth the risk" she told me later (if you could see the boys' room you'd understand the huge risk she was taking -especially not having a HazMat suit).
We'd assumed Em's lack of patience & tears were more from the pox and itching and Em herself not feeling well but in hindsight, I think she'd have bailed anyway because the day was just THAT BAD. And it just didn't click until later than night, while I was out having coffee with Carrie and was able to decompress and actually string a few thoughts together and talk to another adult without the stress of everything going on a home around me that I thought.....I'll bet she didn't take her meds last night. Sure enough - I got home and went straight to her pill box and the Saturday compartment still had that tiny little red bean in it. So while this little impromptu experiment wasn't exactly scientifically well executed, it sure does reinforce just how much those little beans help not only The Girl...but everyone who comes within striking distance of her. Been along while since we had a 'Duck and Cover' day in our house and I truely don't miss them. Now if only there was a magical cure for teenagers. I have two of them and there ain't enough Merlot in the cupboard some days baby!
*** Oh...and we haven't seen Em's glasses since that Sunday she 'moved out'. It's been over 2 weeks and I just don't hold much hope for finding the glasses (in one piece at least) so it looks like I'll need to buy The Princess a new pair. Grrrrr Pretty expensive 'science experiment' if you ask me.
Anyway...I'm rambling...see aren't you glad you stopped by.
Anyway the new norm ain't all sugar and spice. The Girl is still a teenager and oh boy she's doing that with flair but we've been wondering just how different life was back then. Well. I have to tell you. We got a decent dose of just what life used to be recently and I can't believe it took me almost a full day to have that ah-ha moment and realize what was going on. While I was on pox-induced quarentine with Miss Em a couple weeks ago, Al took the rest of the herd...I mean family, out to Malanka (Ukrainain New Year Celebration for those not in the know) and they did not get home until sometime around 1am. Now normally The Girl is absolutely obsessive (it can be a good thing) about taking her meds. She's got this internal alarm clock and she knows when it's 9:00 and each night she responsibly takes her little red magic bean. It's really become such routine that I rarely double check that she's taken it and only need to monitor her pill box a couple times a week, refill it once a week and keep tabs on when to refill the prescription etc. *Note to self....hey self....you better get that prescription refill from the pharmacy this week. Even when we've been out in the evenings, the first thing she does when we get home and she's getting ready for bed is take her meds. So.....you can already figure out where this is going and really, if I was reading it like you are now I'd have seen it too. But that's not the way things work so it took till 9pm the NEXT night - a full 24hours past due for her meds for me to have my light-bulb, ah-ha, how could I be so stupid moment.
That Sunday was by far the most aggrivating day we've had in a long time. Sheer misery was had by all that day. Nobody was immune. Everyone at some point got a taste of it. Short-temper. Impulsive. Crash and burn mood swings and flat out mean-ness. She couldnt' keep her hands to herself or her mouth from getting her into trouble. It was brutal. To the point where Miss Em, who was starting to feel the 'crash and burn' of the pox and had little patience and lots of tears, packed up her personal belongings and moved out of the room she's been sharing with her sister and moved in with her brothers. "It was worth the risk" she told me later (if you could see the boys' room you'd understand the huge risk she was taking -especially not having a HazMat suit).
We'd assumed Em's lack of patience & tears were more from the pox and itching and Em herself not feeling well but in hindsight, I think she'd have bailed anyway because the day was just THAT BAD. And it just didn't click until later than night, while I was out having coffee with Carrie and was able to decompress and actually string a few thoughts together and talk to another adult without the stress of everything going on a home around me that I thought.....I'll bet she didn't take her meds last night. Sure enough - I got home and went straight to her pill box and the Saturday compartment still had that tiny little red bean in it. So while this little impromptu experiment wasn't exactly scientifically well executed, it sure does reinforce just how much those little beans help not only The Girl...but everyone who comes within striking distance of her. Been along while since we had a 'Duck and Cover' day in our house and I truely don't miss them. Now if only there was a magical cure for teenagers. I have two of them and there ain't enough Merlot in the cupboard some days baby!
*** Oh...and we haven't seen Em's glasses since that Sunday she 'moved out'. It's been over 2 weeks and I just don't hold much hope for finding the glasses (in one piece at least) so it looks like I'll need to buy The Princess a new pair. Grrrrr Pretty expensive 'science experiment' if you ask me.
Monday, December 15, 2008
The Good - The Bad - The Fugly
The title pretty much sums up how I'd describe the first 15 days of December. Only 9 more days till Christmas and really I'm not feeling the usual pre-holiday stresses. Too busy with the normal everyday ones that I haven't even hit Christmas-is-coming-and-I'm-so-not-ready on the stress-o-meter....yet. But it's coming. I can feel it.
Still light on the 'good' these days but still managing to keep sane with only the occasional melt down. The 'bad' snuck in and bit me on the backside. My mom's scope tests scheduled for 7am almost two weeks ago but were cancelled at the last minute due to medication conflicts with the procedure. After much eye-rolling it's been rescheduled for the first week of January. They tried to reschedule it for last week but again a medication conflict which is a good thing because we wouldn't have shown up. She got way sick last week. We thought at first she had a stomach bug (which has definately made the rounds through town...and my house) and I thought we'd dealt with that reasonably well but then discovered, after a routine blood test, that her potassium had dropped too low - dangerously low. The symptoms were so similar to the flu though that we totally missed it. When she wasn't feeling better...actually getting worse by this weekend I hauled her into the ER where we were pleased to hear her potassium levels had returned to normal BUT (and it's a really big BUT) at some point while her potassium was too low, she may have had some sort of heart trouble. Blood tests done in the ER showed markers that indicate she many have recently experienced a heart attack. Can't say for sure when but the marker levels have since decreased so I don't think there's any lasting issue. In the mean time she still wasn't feeling well......but why was a mystery. A mystery until the doctor pressed on her face and she went through the roof in pain. We had a huge d'uh moment when we realized the worsening of her symptoms on Saturday had nothing to do with potassium or the flu. She has a sinus infection. 24hours of advil cold and sinus and some anti-biotics and she says she feels like she might live (always a good thing) and is getting stronger by the day. Will the fun ever stop???
But wait. We haven't got to the FUGLY part yet. And this is definately F-n Ugly! We waited 25 days and now it's official. We've definately lost our contract. We will wait till the holidays are over before we seriously start crunching numbers and see just how deep in the shit we are and see if there is any way we can sustain the business on just the one contract. Shutting down completely leaves the business (which is it's own entity thankfully!) with a huge debt and our safety net of hauling scrap metal in to help pay that down dropped out from under us when our buyer informed us the price had bottomed out. Could anything else go wrong? Doubt it. We've pretty much covered all the bases here.
So we face 2009 with the prospect of unemployment and are trying very hard to be optimistic and think of this as a new beginning. It's terrifying though. After almost 14 years of being self-employed we are forced now to find work with someone else. Al has already picked up the books and has been studying to get his class 1 license and he should be able to find a job relatively easily. I'm not feeling as optimistic about my options. No matter what happens though, 2009 is definately going to be quite different than what we are used to around here.
I'm keeping busy this week, trying not to think too much about the future and focus on the here and now. And the here and now involves a little home reno and furniture moving.....9 days before Christmas....cuz I'm crazy that way. It might not be the greatest timing but if it solves some of the family dynamic issues we've got going on around here and improves the amount of living space we have - then it will all be worth it. It's kind of my Christmas present to myself and my sanity. I just hope the project moves along quickly because I really need to get that Christmas tree put up...and finish shopping.
Still light on the 'good' these days but still managing to keep sane with only the occasional melt down. The 'bad' snuck in and bit me on the backside. My mom's scope tests scheduled for 7am almost two weeks ago but were cancelled at the last minute due to medication conflicts with the procedure. After much eye-rolling it's been rescheduled for the first week of January. They tried to reschedule it for last week but again a medication conflict which is a good thing because we wouldn't have shown up. She got way sick last week. We thought at first she had a stomach bug (which has definately made the rounds through town...and my house) and I thought we'd dealt with that reasonably well but then discovered, after a routine blood test, that her potassium had dropped too low - dangerously low. The symptoms were so similar to the flu though that we totally missed it. When she wasn't feeling better...actually getting worse by this weekend I hauled her into the ER where we were pleased to hear her potassium levels had returned to normal BUT (and it's a really big BUT) at some point while her potassium was too low, she may have had some sort of heart trouble. Blood tests done in the ER showed markers that indicate she many have recently experienced a heart attack. Can't say for sure when but the marker levels have since decreased so I don't think there's any lasting issue. In the mean time she still wasn't feeling well......but why was a mystery. A mystery until the doctor pressed on her face and she went through the roof in pain. We had a huge d'uh moment when we realized the worsening of her symptoms on Saturday had nothing to do with potassium or the flu. She has a sinus infection. 24hours of advil cold and sinus and some anti-biotics and she says she feels like she might live (always a good thing) and is getting stronger by the day. Will the fun ever stop???
But wait. We haven't got to the FUGLY part yet. And this is definately F-n Ugly! We waited 25 days and now it's official. We've definately lost our contract. We will wait till the holidays are over before we seriously start crunching numbers and see just how deep in the shit we are and see if there is any way we can sustain the business on just the one contract. Shutting down completely leaves the business (which is it's own entity thankfully!) with a huge debt and our safety net of hauling scrap metal in to help pay that down dropped out from under us when our buyer informed us the price had bottomed out. Could anything else go wrong? Doubt it. We've pretty much covered all the bases here.
So we face 2009 with the prospect of unemployment and are trying very hard to be optimistic and think of this as a new beginning. It's terrifying though. After almost 14 years of being self-employed we are forced now to find work with someone else. Al has already picked up the books and has been studying to get his class 1 license and he should be able to find a job relatively easily. I'm not feeling as optimistic about my options. No matter what happens though, 2009 is definately going to be quite different than what we are used to around here.
I'm keeping busy this week, trying not to think too much about the future and focus on the here and now. And the here and now involves a little home reno and furniture moving.....9 days before Christmas....cuz I'm crazy that way. It might not be the greatest timing but if it solves some of the family dynamic issues we've got going on around here and improves the amount of living space we have - then it will all be worth it. It's kind of my Christmas present to myself and my sanity. I just hope the project moves along quickly because I really need to get that Christmas tree put up...and finish shopping.
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