Friday, January 27, 2012
Thursday, January 26, 2012
A house of patients....and patience
Last week as Katie was sick, one member of our family was missing. Molly spent the night at the vet's office Wednesday night recovering from surgery. She had gotten spayed on Wednesday morning, and they kept her overnight. We picked her up Thursday around noon. Luckily, Katie was up for a ride to go get her. The vet's office had given me pain medication for her and informed me that they were unable to administer any to her because "Molly hated them." She always immediately tried to scratch and bite them anytime they came near her. It made me feel quite good that she did nothing like that to us when we got her home and she let me give her her medicine every time we needed to.
They also sent her home with a "cone of shame", which the kids thought was funny at first. But when they realized what a struggle it was for her to function with it on they felt quite sorry for her. She is supposed to wear the cone for 2 weeks to prevent her licking and biting at her stitches. At first I thought that 2 weeks was way too long, but it's been a week today....and I guess I'd rather keep it on as long as we have to so that we don't have to deal with re-stitching anything right before we leave for Florida. I can't have Molly here at the house alone unless she's cone-free and back to her old self. I do take it off once a day so that she can groom herself - it drives her nuts that she can't lick her paws and clean her face. When she has it on, she pretty much just stays put in 1 or 2 places all day long and all night. It's a chore just to make sure that she's eating and drinking.
They also sent her home with a "cone of shame", which the kids thought was funny at first. But when they realized what a struggle it was for her to function with it on they felt quite sorry for her. She is supposed to wear the cone for 2 weeks to prevent her licking and biting at her stitches. At first I thought that 2 weeks was way too long, but it's been a week today....and I guess I'd rather keep it on as long as we have to so that we don't have to deal with re-stitching anything right before we leave for Florida. I can't have Molly here at the house alone unless she's cone-free and back to her old self. I do take it off once a day so that she can groom herself - it drives her nuts that she can't lick her paws and clean her face. When she has it on, she pretty much just stays put in 1 or 2 places all day long and all night. It's a chore just to make sure that she's eating and drinking.
The gang watching old Bug Bunny cartoons on You Tube.
Molly hung out in Katie's bed with her for most of the day on Thursday.
Katie is back to her old self, I would say. Will never really did get sick with anything. John had just a touch of it, but was more tired and wiped out than anything else. I'm glad that it seems to have gotten through us before our trip.
Oh our trip - it's coming up and I'm busy getting things straight in my head preparing for it. I think I have the packing some what organized out. Katie and Will should be able to share a carry-on for their clothes and things. My things should fit in the other carry-on and then we will check a bag with John's stuff and the kids' life jackets. Some things are already packed because I doubt we will need flip flops and shorts in Minnesota in January.
I've also got a few surprises for the kids for their bookbags that they'll take on the airplane filled with stuff to keep them busy. Ok, they won't be "filled"....afterall, I'm hoping to have room to bring things back with us. And traveling with a 4 year old and a 7 year old should be much easier than a 2 year old. Just looking out the window should be pretty exciting for the first 30 minutes, and there's always the ipad and ipod to keep them entertained. However - I have some surprise books and snacks that they haven't had before that I think will make the trip extra special. Oh, and I ordered some books for John and I too that I think will be good.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Nine Years Today....
Today marks mine and John's 9th Anniversary. The years keep ticking by, as they do for everyone. We had planned on going out to dinner Saturday night to celebrate. I had a sitter lined up and ready to go, a gift card to use that we had been given at Christmas time, nothing could stand in out way.
Except a stomach virus.
I came down with it Monday night around 8 pm. Just all of a sudden didn't feel good and it kept getting worse. John checked on me before calling it a night on the couch downstairs, and I couldn't think of anything I needed. I'll spare you the details, but I will say that I didn't get any sleep that night and was getting sick in the bathroom every 10-15 minutes like clockwork. About 5 hours into it, I was losing my grip. I was a whiny mess! I just didn't want to be alone anymore - let alone be sick anymore, so I went downstairs and woke up John. He asked what was wrong and I think I just muttered something about being sick.
And you know what he did? He didn't complain about being awoken in the middle of the night, or tell me to stop crying. He just rubbed my back.
And at that moment it was just what I needed. Then he went to go get me water, and came back and sat with me for over half an hour. Not once did he suggest I go back to bed, not once did he mention how tired he was himself. I think if I hadn't left to go back upstairs, he'd have sat there with me til the sun came up.
And THAT was the most meaningful gift I could have ever gotten for our anniversary.
By the way - I was on the 10-15 minute schedule for about 9 hours. It wiped me out. Then, 2 days later, Katie got the same thing. She was sick for 9 hours - every 10-15 minutes. And you know what? She never cried, she never complained (except about wanting to drink more water), and she even kept apologizing to me because I stayed up with her, and she felt bad because I didn't get to sleep. What a trooper. I tell you - she's tougher than me by a landslide.
Except a stomach virus.
I came down with it Monday night around 8 pm. Just all of a sudden didn't feel good and it kept getting worse. John checked on me before calling it a night on the couch downstairs, and I couldn't think of anything I needed. I'll spare you the details, but I will say that I didn't get any sleep that night and was getting sick in the bathroom every 10-15 minutes like clockwork. About 5 hours into it, I was losing my grip. I was a whiny mess! I just didn't want to be alone anymore - let alone be sick anymore, so I went downstairs and woke up John. He asked what was wrong and I think I just muttered something about being sick.
And you know what he did? He didn't complain about being awoken in the middle of the night, or tell me to stop crying. He just rubbed my back.
And at that moment it was just what I needed. Then he went to go get me water, and came back and sat with me for over half an hour. Not once did he suggest I go back to bed, not once did he mention how tired he was himself. I think if I hadn't left to go back upstairs, he'd have sat there with me til the sun came up.
And THAT was the most meaningful gift I could have ever gotten for our anniversary.
By the way - I was on the 10-15 minute schedule for about 9 hours. It wiped me out. Then, 2 days later, Katie got the same thing. She was sick for 9 hours - every 10-15 minutes. And you know what? She never cried, she never complained (except about wanting to drink more water), and she even kept apologizing to me because I stayed up with her, and she felt bad because I didn't get to sleep. What a trooper. I tell you - she's tougher than me by a landslide.
Friday, January 13, 2012
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Resolutions Review
I didn't really make any "resolutions" this year - officially. I do have a "to-do" list for the year and I guess that's good enough. Most of it centers around races I would like to complete this summer. But I do remember that I made some LAST year and I thought it would be a good idea to take a look and see how I did on them.
1. Get paid regularly for something. I wanted to try to make an effort to add a bit of money to the monthly budget so that I could help in our efforts to save. Well, I've been getting paid for "Pebbles" since March and I think we've been able to do some family activities throughout the year that we normally wouldn't have done. Well - maybe we would have done them anyway.... Mark this one DONE!
2. Keep running and exercising. This time last year I wasn't able to run a mile. I had hurt my foot and had to start at the beginning of a running program. I couldn't imagine being able to run 3 miles. I kept at it pretty regularly, and was able to finish a 5 mile race and a duathlon. The last 2 months of the year, I kinda fell off the wagon - but the weather stayed nice and I was able to run outside every 2 weeks or so. Now I'm making a new promise to visit the treadmill over the next 2 months and run at least 2 miles twice a week. And do other workouts in the meantime. Once the weather gets warmer outside, and the sun rises before 7:30, I'll start increasing that again. Mark this one DONE!
3. Get more organized. Should have been more specific. How am I supposed to measure this?
4. Drink more water. Nope, sorry - I've sucked at this one. I'm not drinking as much water as I should....
5. Keep the family that I have. Done.
6. Be more accepting of change. I THINK I am. I realized that I can adapt to anything as long as I have 6-8 months to do so.
1. Get paid regularly for something. I wanted to try to make an effort to add a bit of money to the monthly budget so that I could help in our efforts to save. Well, I've been getting paid for "Pebbles" since March and I think we've been able to do some family activities throughout the year that we normally wouldn't have done. Well - maybe we would have done them anyway.... Mark this one DONE!
2. Keep running and exercising. This time last year I wasn't able to run a mile. I had hurt my foot and had to start at the beginning of a running program. I couldn't imagine being able to run 3 miles. I kept at it pretty regularly, and was able to finish a 5 mile race and a duathlon. The last 2 months of the year, I kinda fell off the wagon - but the weather stayed nice and I was able to run outside every 2 weeks or so. Now I'm making a new promise to visit the treadmill over the next 2 months and run at least 2 miles twice a week. And do other workouts in the meantime. Once the weather gets warmer outside, and the sun rises before 7:30, I'll start increasing that again. Mark this one DONE!
3. Get more organized. Should have been more specific. How am I supposed to measure this?
4. Drink more water. Nope, sorry - I've sucked at this one. I'm not drinking as much water as I should....
5. Keep the family that I have. Done.
6. Be more accepting of change. I THINK I am. I realized that I can adapt to anything as long as I have 6-8 months to do so.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Upcoming vacation
We've made plans to go to Florida this winter and I've been searching for deals and coupons the last few weeks to use while we are there. I've been able to find a coupon for $4 to save us on admission to the science museum for kids, and one for $8 to save us on admission to the aquarium and boat tours. It's better than nothing. I'm hoping to find a few for food as well. It's certainly a nice perk the Internet gives.
When we were planning the trip we initially tried to limit the amount of school that the kids would miss. We thought we were being "good" parents by planning our trip around a week that there was already a day off from school, and only doing something like a Wed-Sun trip. Quickly though, the trip evolved into more days off from school, but I took comfort in knowing that there was already a day off that week so they weren't missing too much.
I just realized that I was looking at the wrong calendar - Will has a day off from school that week, but Katie doesn't. So she will miss a whole week. Oooops. And you know what? I don't really care. :)
When we were planning the trip we initially tried to limit the amount of school that the kids would miss. We thought we were being "good" parents by planning our trip around a week that there was already a day off from school, and only doing something like a Wed-Sun trip. Quickly though, the trip evolved into more days off from school, but I took comfort in knowing that there was already a day off that week so they weren't missing too much.
I just realized that I was looking at the wrong calendar - Will has a day off from school that week, but Katie doesn't. So she will miss a whole week. Oooops. And you know what? I don't really care. :)
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
My dream....before I forget
Geez, last night was a weird dream night. I'll share what I remember, and you tell me what the heck it means.
I was at a party at someone's house. No kids. In fact, I didn't even have kids of my own. There were lots of people there that I knew....from all areas of my life. Laurel was there from college, and we talked about her job at the hospital. John's work buddies were there haning out with John, etc. Oh, and John was there too - but he was dating someone (who appeared to be) 30-40 years his senior . It was like we had ended our relationship and he took up with this other person because there was still romantic tension between us. And it was clear that he was not happy about being involved with the "older" woman.
My friend Anne C. was there and she was fairly plastered. John kept asking me if I had given Anne's husband Mike a hug yet, and urging me to do so. Now, I really like Mike....but....not much of a "hugger". :)
(I had to mention this because I think it will make Anne laugh.)
My friend Vickie was there as well and she kept telling me to eat a piece of cake. When I did finally grab one, I spilled crumbs on the floor, which made the host of the party (the one person I did NOT know) angry that he had to clean it up. Seems everyone else could eat their cake without making a mess.
Finally the party seemed to be wrapping up - John was getting his coat on along with his "date's" (who couldn't get out of her chair) and I was so upset I ran out of the house and slept in a car, that I think was supposed to be mine.
There's always more that I forget, but that was the overall idea. Seems like there were so many little details this time.....and so many people involved. On another note - I'm really tired this morning.
I was at a party at someone's house. No kids. In fact, I didn't even have kids of my own. There were lots of people there that I knew....from all areas of my life. Laurel was there from college, and we talked about her job at the hospital. John's work buddies were there haning out with John, etc. Oh, and John was there too - but he was dating someone (who appeared to be) 30-40 years his senior . It was like we had ended our relationship and he took up with this other person because there was still romantic tension between us. And it was clear that he was not happy about being involved with the "older" woman.
My friend Anne C. was there and she was fairly plastered. John kept asking me if I had given Anne's husband Mike a hug yet, and urging me to do so. Now, I really like Mike....but....not much of a "hugger". :)
(I had to mention this because I think it will make Anne laugh.)
My friend Vickie was there as well and she kept telling me to eat a piece of cake. When I did finally grab one, I spilled crumbs on the floor, which made the host of the party (the one person I did NOT know) angry that he had to clean it up. Seems everyone else could eat their cake without making a mess.
Finally the party seemed to be wrapping up - John was getting his coat on along with his "date's" (who couldn't get out of her chair) and I was so upset I ran out of the house and slept in a car, that I think was supposed to be mine.
There's always more that I forget, but that was the overall idea. Seems like there were so many little details this time.....and so many people involved. On another note - I'm really tired this morning.
Friday, January 6, 2012
Friday Funny
We had to take Molly to the vet today for an exam and some shots. The vet said she is a very healthy, petite cat. She gets "fixed" in 2 weeks, and they wanted to run all these blood tests to make sure that she could handle the anesthesia. I refused all the tests and felt like a schmuck who doesn't love their cat. I actually said "There's always more where Molly came from." So in honor of cats everywhere.....
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Iowa Christmas
Katie got a ping pong set for Christmas, and so the kitchen table was set for
ping pong for most of the time we spent in IA. She really likes it and it works well on our table at home - even if it's a round table.
From about 1989 - 1996 my family ran "The Village Motel." We rocked so much that my parents ordered coats for each of us with our names on them....cool - I know.
We look like a retired gang back for one for one more hit.
Oddly enough, living at the "motel" was where I lived the longest while growing up. Those 6 years were spent learning how to do "motel corners" while making beds, folding towels, sheets, vacuuming and cleaning toilets. Actually, Dad was in charge of bathroom cleaning. He never trusted me to do it - he did trust my sister Janet a handful of times though.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Christmas summary
I realized I never shared any of our Christmas "doings" - so I'll do that now. Once New Year's is over, Christmas seems like a LONG time ago! I'm ready to take the decorations off the tree soon....it'll get picked up on the curb next week.
Will was excited about the peanut butter cups in his stocking....
Katie was more excited about the toothpaste.
Will's gift from Santa - the Toy Story Landfill playset. Yes.....landfill.
Katie and her awesome hypotrochoid art set. It really is a lot of fun.
Even more fun: looking at the graphing animation and formulas of these online. (really!)
Will (as Iron Man) and his entourage of Green Lanterns.
The aftermath....
More to come....Christmas in Iowa.
Monday, January 2, 2012
We're back!
Happy New Year everyone! The whirlwind of holiday activity is starting to settle down and a routine is looming ahead on the horizon again. We spent the New Year weekend at home and it was great. John had Friday through Monday off and we just hung out with the kids. He took them to the library, sledding (sort of....in 2 inches of snow), and today everyone went bowling.
I took a screen shot of my score because otherwise my mother and sister wouldn't have believed me.
5 strikes in a row, baby! 182....so close to breaking 200, which I have never done before!
Oh, and if you're keeping track of the frogs, we are down one. Three left. One of Katie's appears to have died of natural causes. She's taking it very well. It was floating and wouldn't move, despite my pencil poking. So I fished it out and threw it away....hoping to hell it doesn't hop back out of the garbage.
I took a screen shot of my score because otherwise my mother and sister wouldn't have believed me.
Oh, and if you're keeping track of the frogs, we are down one. Three left. One of Katie's appears to have died of natural causes. She's taking it very well. It was floating and wouldn't move, despite my pencil poking. So I fished it out and threw it away....hoping to hell it doesn't hop back out of the garbage.
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