Wisdom from my walk

I am a craigslist addict.  I used to love ebay but hated shipping costs.  Once Dean showed me craigslist I was in love!   The hardest part is being the first to email someone and actually be able to pick things up soon, because it’s hard to do both of those things I rarely have been able to get things I want.  In that respect it’s a lot like ebay, the dissappointment is at least.   So last week when I got an 8 panel superyard XT for a bargain I was excited.  Even more exciting is how much that thing has helped when needing to contain Bo, he’s a climber and very curious, so we’ve had to figure out ways to keep him out of trouble.     it’s great for outside too, esp. on our deck since we there’s two sets of steps and often times when we’re out there as a family the grill is hot so it’s great to set up to keep him safe.

but…the biggest bargain of all was today.   Someone posted about a rectangular outdoor table….for FREE!  I emailed and she said she’d hold it for me today but after that she’d gotten other responses and she’d offer to them.  She also mentioned having other things available if we were interested.   So we arranged for me to pick up Dean from work then head there to get the table since it was near downtown.   We left with the table, 6 matching outdoor chairs, and the umbrella to complete the patio set!   it’s a little worn but not nearly as bad as the crappy plastic table we had on the deck that Dean ruined last week.   and the best part it was all free!!! the table is glass and the chairs seem sturdy enough.  the umbrella was a great catch too!  I’m so excited and cant wait for the next time we bbq and eat out there, which will be soon weather permitting.  We grilled tonight for dinner but the weather was a little too threatening to be eating outside.   I dont think it ever really rained but it sure looked like it was going to!

I’m so excited! Guess I should count the set as my mothers day gift, from complete strangers but who cares, I’m sure it’s all I’ll be getting, as my hubby is never into these silly little holidays.   Tomorrow my brother, his family , and my mom will be spending the day with us to celebrate moms day and my moms birthday which is on Monday.  I’m hoping the weather wont be as bad as they are predicting.  Today ended up being a beautiful day and they had been calling for rain so I’m hoping that’s the case for tomorrow too.

what a good little big brother!

he’s growing and getting to be even more handsome! Continue reading →

oh so much fun, figuring out how to calm a crying newborn, ok how long do you call them a newborn for? maybe infant is a better term, point was how do you tend to fussy infant while cleaning up a throwing up toddler.  I could have lived without learning really!  if Zeke hadnt fallen asleep in the swing I’d have lost my mind!  ok what I have left of it!  all in all, I am pretty confident Bo is sick.   I can now smell a foul diaper on him too.  what i hate most about being a mom is handling diarrhea and vomitting.

I am seriously doubting Bo’s behaviour was from a bug bite/bee sting.  He slept for hours then we got him up, bathed, dosed with tylenol and fed him.   He then went to bed for a little while before waking up screaming again, after which he came and laid in our room for a while.  After that he seemed to sleep well, and slept in this morning.  There’s barely visible any marks that were there last night. But….his ear is draining fluid again.  I’m wondering if his ear drum ruptured again and that is why he was in so much pain last night.  last time that happened he was unconsolable as well.   I’m going too see if any more drainage occurs today but am considering taking him to the pediatrician today. I just dont understand how the ER dr could have looked at his ear and not seen anything and then it be draining fluids today?   Dean said they looked at his ears several times.  I dont want to waste more money on a dr visit but I know if that’s what it is he’ll get upset and unconsolable again because he was miserable last time it was like this, draining stuff.   Maybe now that’s it’s drained some it feels better for him.   Poor kid.   I’m just glad he’s playing today, he gave me a big scare last night!

the ob’s office called, said my u/s was normal except for a small fibroid and that’s all.   I asked so what now she said nothing unless I start to have symptoms.  So I said so the pain I’m having that’s a symptom right?  she said well yeah; I am kind of frustrated.  I guess if the pain gets worse I’ll call them back.  At least it’s nothing that they want to act on right now.  I go back in August for my yearly exam so I guess if it’s bad before then I’ll call and if not I’ll ask more questions then.   So now I wait til my appointments on Monday and Tuesday w/ the specialist to deal w/ all of the other stuff.    Today I focus on keeping an eye on Bo and pray he is fine despite whatever happened last night.

late this afternoon Bo got uncontrollably upset. I thought maybe he was just tired so I put him in his crib. He screamed worse. I got him back out and held him. He kept rubbing his head and crying. I looked where he was touching and there was a big swollen lump and a rash. we had come in from outside before his outburst started. I finally called Dean for back up since I couldnt get Bo to calm down and Zeke was starting to cry too. I called the pediatrician and was waiting for a call back when Dean got home from work. He held Bo for a while and decided to take him to the ER. we couldnt get him to get up and move around or seem interested in anything and his arms were twitching. If we moved him he’d cry more.

they were only gone for little over an hour which suprised me. They said his actions were normal for a toddler being bit by a bug(or stung by a bee) He’s been asleep on the sofa since they’ve been home. He wakes up every now and then, cries and goes back to sleep. I’m not convinced this is normal even for a first time bee sting in a toddler, he is so lethargic and in obvious pain. Please pray he perks up soon or at least doenst get worse through the night. I am so worried about him.  ugh…now he’s got a temperature of 102.2.   This cant be normal can it?? I wish I knew what to do….

I have friends who ask me all of the time how I look so good when I feel like crap or how I can put on such a good show.   I dont know how I do it and lately some days I just stop trying, but on those days I try to stay home!   I dont have a chronic health condition, or at least not one as disabling as most folks.  I have a lot of little things wrong with me and the doctors havent yet diagnosed most of it. Dean and I are very aware that one day that diagnosis may came and it may be MS( i return to the neurologist next week to resume testing to rule that out now that I’m not nursing or pregnant).   I just read this and I love how she explained.  While there are days I feel like what I do is limited and a lot of times I do choose what I will or can do in a day.   Today I chose to go to the store so now I’m out of energy for doing laundry.   sure it might not seem like a big deal to you but it is to me.    I dont want to relate to folks who have chronic illnesses but in some respects a lot of what I’m dealing with is the same.   the meds I started this week I will be on for the rest of my life, that thought scares me.  I’m young, I cant imagine taking this same medicine for so long.   I dont know how people who are diagnosed as children with chronic health problems deal with it.   I feel like a wimp.  Like I should be able to deal with things, but I also know I deal a lot better with things now than I used to.

and it’s about choices.  I can decide to sit at home and wallow in my misery and how sick I feel or I can do my best to get out and face the challenges of the day.  today I overcame a choice and made it to the store with two kids while struggling w/ pain, nauseas, and fatigue.   I dont think I’m any better than I was before I went but I know this, I did it.  I accomplished something today and while a lot else wont get done, I  know I at least made it out of the house and did something that needed done today.  the rest will wait til tomorrow when I recount my spoons in the morning!