LUNCH DATE

Every once in awhile I venture on down to the school where the cop works just so we can eat lunch together.  It's been a really busy week so I haven't seen much of him.  Today I had time and so we met...in the school cafeteria, SO romantic. :)  He even bought me lunch.  After we were done eating he needed to go check an abandoned house situated right next to the high school because rumors were flying that kids were breaking in and hanging out there.  We climbed through an open window, I LOVE dates with the cop.  It's a good thing it was daylight because this house was C.R.E.E.P.Y!  

It had both an upstairs and downstairs.

Here's the kitchen.  We found a drawer full of 'coke'.  Actually it was flour, but for a minute one had to wonder.  Seriously, who fills a drawer with just flour?

This was the upstairs bathroom.  

A lunch tray in the shower.  Seems as if the rumors just might be true...

The walls were covered in graffiti.  This wall was probably the only G rated wall.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!"

I'm just glad it didn't say Nerak. :)

 Our date was rudely interrupted by a child needing to be physically escorted out of the school.  But it was fun while it lasted.

THE ULTRASAC

I have a problem.

It's called the Ultra-sack.

I get sucked in daily.

This was Ben's sack.

It's still in his corner, under the window 

where the sun shines in.

Everyday at 2pm it calls my name.
So I obey and sit.

The warm rays hit my face and cozy bag engulfs my body.

And I fall asleep.

Then my children come home and peel me out...(by force)

until the next day, when it will happen all over again.

I have a problem.

It's called the ultra-sack.

And I LOVE it!!!

(thanks Benny!)

10 MONTHS DOWN...

My heart is heavy tonight...

wishing we could somehow be together.

IT'S A GIVEAWAY!!!!

*CONTEST ENDS TONIGHT SO VOTE NOW*

It's a giveaway! My cute neice and sister are finalists in a photo contest, and I want to add my support. The contest ends tonight, and the winner will be selected from random.org. What do you win? You can choose either a:

$51.38 TJMax/Marshalls gift card, 

$47.87 Macy's gift card, 

$66.71 Kohl's gift card,  

$49.50 Target card

The catch? (you have to have a facebook) Click on the link below:

"Time Out for Women," 

and "like" their page. Then go to their photos, and in the first "contest" album, go to this picture (#43) (you can click the red link and it'll take you right there) and "like" this picture. After you do this, leave me a message! She's in fourth place, and I want to push her up to the top!!!! (she needs over a 100 votes)  If she wins, she gets a FREE weekend away.  This mother of SIX boys and her FIRST girl deserves it.  Help me help her out!  Good luck, and thanks for voting! 

(If you've already voted, just leave me a message ;-)

ER VISIT NUMBER 3,347 (but who's counting?)

You seriously didn't think we'd escape UNSCATHED this week, did you?  Neither did I.  Actually I did...but a phone call early Friday morning told me otherwise.  It was an abnormal Friday to begin with as Kayla skipped seminary and was planning on staying home from school due to the fact that she wasn't feeling that well.  (She had a bit of the stomach bug)  Kaleb and Stevie ate their breakfast, packed their school stuff and off to school they went.  I was doing laundry, still in my pajamas, when the phone rang.  

Nurse: Hi Becky, it's Roseanne over at the school.

Me: Hey Roseanne, what's up?

Nurse: I have Stevie here in the my office and she's not doing well.

Me: Really?  She seemed fine when I said goodbye to her this morning.

Nurse: Well she came in to see me around 8:30am complaining of lower R abdominal pain.

Me: Do you want me to come get her?

Nurse: I'm suspecting appendicitis and think she needs to be seen.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?

I hurried to go change out of my pajamas...really wanting to take a shower but didn't want her to wait if she was in that much pain.  In my head I was thinking that I'd retrieve her from school, bring her home and watch her for a bit because I really, really didn't want to be in the ER today.  When I walked in the nurses office, poor Stevie was doubled over in pain.  I helped her to the car as she was sobbing and shaking.  I still wanted to run home and shower and let Kayla know what was going on because I never communicated anything to her before leaving the house.  I started towards home, feeling guilty that I was going to make her wait so that I could feel presentable for the public, but made an abrupt u-turn because I knew that Stevie was really hurting.  Off to the ER we went.  I hate that un-showered feeling while sitting in such a dirty atmosphere.  It makes me twitch.  The ER was busy which meant that Stevie waited for help longer than I was comfortable with.  And then the nurse that put her IV in failed at his first attempt so she had to endure another try.  They gave her morphine for the pain which really seemed to help a lot.  She ended up with about 3 doses through out the day.

Because they were worried about possible appendicitis, they made her drink a special liquid used for CAT scans over the period of two hours.  I'm not sure if her pain made her vomit or the drink did, but she lost it at one point.  Thank goodness for Zofran.  After a long day in the ER they were finally able to get her into CAT scan where it was revealed that her appendicitis was intact...but they informed us that she had ruptured a cyst on her right ovary.  That explained the acute pain that she had at school.  Poor girl has barely started puberty and she's already having problems.  I took her home where she slept the rest of the afternoon/evening away.

HAPPY SPRING!

(this is how my girls went off to school this morning...)

DANCING DUO

These two lit up the dance floor with their 'swing' style of dance.  I love that my kids know how to have fun together.  Kaleb had no shortage of dancing partners either as he tallied about 19 different dances with 19 different girls.  That boy knows how to 'smooze' the ladies. :)

(sorry for the blurry, less than ideal cell phone pictures)

DAY THREE...

This isn't a great picture to show the redness because of the lighting, but as you can see, the infection has spread once again.  The ER marked his arm for the third time to outline the red and sent him up to the infusion unit to receive IV antibiotics for his cellulitis.  He'll continue taking his two oral antibiotics and will go back in tomorrow and the next day for IV treatments.  Hopefully THIS will allow his arm to start the healing process AND allow this family a hiatus from any more hospital trips.

(It's not so bad when you get to spend the afternoon watching March Madness)

ENCORE...(from 2008)

St. Patrick's day

I'm hoping this guy will make another debut in our house tonight!

(he's FUNNY!)
HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!!

DAY TWO...

I said goodbye to Kaleb around 7am and hadn't seen him again until 9pm tonight.  It was a LONG day for him.  A lot going on.  I worried about him and checked in on him through out the day.  He reassured me that he was okay and his arm wasn't bothering him too much.  The first thing I did when he walked in the door was check his arm.  I wasn't happy with the way it looked.  Yesterday you'll remember me tracing his red area with a pen.  The red area has grown significantly as you'll notice in the pictures below.  He still is fever free which is a good sign, but it looks like we'll be heading back to the doctor if it isn't improving by morning.

CELLULITIS

I KNOW you were all eagerly awaiting the next hospital visit in this family.  I feel like a weekly drama on television.  This (early) morning didn't disappoint.  Steve came in to my bedroom at 5:30am to have family prayer before heading off to seminary with Kayla.  All the children gathered on my bed and due to a poor nights rest, I painfully climbed out of the covers to kneel with my family.  After we say our goodbyes each morning, Kaleb always climbs back in bed with me.  (my bed is 'way more comfortable' he tells me)  This particular morning he gets all comfy and then reaches his arm out and tells me to feel his elbow.  He tells me that it's been bothering him all night, especially if he rubs it against anything.  I give it a good feel, didn't think much of it and turned over to get about 30 more minutes of rest before getting the second crew out the door.  When I finally did wake him for the day I told him to let me get a good look at it...because he was still complaining.  That's when I noticed the size and redness of the area.  I sent him to school knowing it was cellulitis, but wanted to see what the nurse thought.  Thirty minutes into school she calls me and agrees he needs to be seen, so off we go to the ER.  

(normal elbow on the left...infected elbow on the right)

Two hours and one impatient 'patient' later we walk out of there with two antibiotics and the orders to rest his arm.  (that means no sports)  We'll see how long THAT lasts.  

Stay tuned for the next edition of (as my sister-n-law so lovingly refers to us) "House of Pain".

Over and out.

IT'S BACK

I just might have jinxed my daughter's JRA remission by posting about it yesterday.  Last night during her AAU basketball practice she told me that her left knee is stiff and swollen, a sure sign that she's having a flare up.  So much for remission...back to her doctor we go.  I love her attitude though...she just rolls with it.

Homework time is my favorite time of night with Kayla.  She's always in such a good mood and likes to talk, so much so that I have to continually focus her back on task.  FOCUS KAYLA!

. 

 As you can see...she is very focused!

CARDIOLOGY/RHEUMATOLOGY

Tuesday was one of those days that I am happy to put behind me.  When you start the day with a BAD night of sleep, it makes anything seem LOOOONG.  The girls and I were up at 5am and on the road by 5:45am for my doctor appointment 70 miles south.  As the nurses were hooking me up to the EKG, they asked me if the two girls that I had with me were my little sisters. (grin)  "Yes...yes they are."  I got the confirmation from this heart specialist that all is well.  His only concern is that he worries about me passing out while driving if I happen to have an episode.  I'm not overly concerned with that only because my episodes seem to happen at night when I'm completely relaxed.  (I had another 'episode' last night which leaves me feeling funny inside...and not the 'ha ha' kind of feeling)  I grabbed my sister's (grin) from the waiting room and drove 90 miles north to DHMC for their physicals and Kayla's appointment with the rheumatologist.  Lucky them.  Seven shots later (between the two) and a diagnosis of Kayla's JRA being in remission (YAY!) we got back in the car and drove 70 miles homes where  I fixed dinner, got the kids off to their church activities, ate a whole sleeve of thin mint girl scout cookies (they seem a whole lot smaller than I remember!) and put myself to bed. 

IT TAKES TWO...

...to start my van.

When I drove down to visit my sister last weekend my van died.  We tried and tried to start it but wouldn't. I left in her (not really) spare car and headed back to New Hampshire.  Steve rented a car dolly and drove his big 'ole truck down to Massachusetts to bring back Ruby.  (that's her name)  When he got down there Ruby started for him.  (so glad we rented a dolly and drove the beastly gas hog down to retrieve her.)  My sister graciously followed Steve back to New Hampshire in Ruby and then turned around in her (not really) spare car and drove home.  That afternoon I drove Stevie to her piano lesson and when we got back in the car it was dead. (sigh)  I called Steve to come rescue us.  In the meantime I tried and tried to start it but she just wouldn't.  He arrives, sticks his hand through my door and turns the ignition and it starts.  I'm thinking Ruby is playing favorites.  Annoyed I drive home.  Today I take my girls to the library and again she plays dead.  I call Steve to come rescue us.    He shows up and Ruby won't start.  He lifts the hood and discovers a wire that has been spliced.  He connects the two and instructs me to turn the ignition and it starts.  So THAT'S the problem.  The cop shows me what to do.  "Just take the screwdriver and hold it against these wires so that they connect.  WHAT?!?  Metal against metal?  I give him a nod and I am off to run errands...by myself.  I finish them in record time and wouldn't you know?  My car is dead.  (don't even get me started on what I have to do to even OPEN the hood...the latch is broken)  I finally get the hood open and now have to figure out how to connect the wires AND turn the ignition.  Go, go gadget arms?  I tried wedging something to hold the wires in place while I ran around to the driver's seat to turn the key.  Nothing.  I try again and again without success.  Darn you Ruby.  I have to call Steve and play the 'damsel in distress' for the 86th time in less than 3 days.  

(I think he's tired of rescuing me)

AND JILL CAME TUMBLING AFTER...

My life is ONE.BIG.HOSPITAL.VISIT!!!

This week was school vacation for my kids.  That means lots of skiing.  This morning I sent the kids up to the mountain for a couple of hours.  Kayla called about 90 minutes into it and told me she was ready to come home.  I told her dad was out running errands and he'd be up in about 20 minutes.  In the meantime she decided to make a couple more runs while waiting.  She followed her snowboarding brother down the terrain park and hit one of the jumps that made her go higher than anticipated.  She landed on her back/tailbone and heard a crack.  The rest is history.  

 After a long visit to the ER with pain medicine on board we found out that nothing is broken...(thank goodness)...and that she'll be sleeping belly down for a few weeks.  OUCH!

EEG/ENT

Yesterday we had a full day of appointments for Kaleb.  I had to sleep deprive him for his EEG which meant that I was sleep deprived too.  He did well for his test and then we went to Audiology and ENT.  His left ear isn't hearing well again.  (no surprise there) And the surgeon that we met with told us that he wants to go back in and fix his titanium piece so that his hearing will be stable.  His surgery is scheduled for March 24th and the good news is that the recovery won't be as long...just a week instead of a month.
Here Here to good Hearing!