At Home Day

Nonny's surgery went well. Her septum is now straight; Her enlarged adenoids are removed; and her nasal turbinates are reduced. She was amazed when the doctor removed the packing and she could actually breathe through her nose! That only lasted for a little while. The reason: due to the surgery, she can't blow her nose and she is having some drainage & bleeding. SO...she has gauze under her nose to catch the mess.

The surgery was Tuesday. I took the day off from work to stay with her and care for her. (Except for an excursion to the School Board Meeting in the evening.) Wednesday was Veteran's Day, so everyone was off from work and school. Today, Thursday, school and work resumed, so Dad, Rose, Joe, Monroe, and Jim are gone. I was supposed to go into work today. Baby comes with me and Beth attends preschool. But...I didn't think Nonny was ready to be left alone yet. So Beth, Baby, and I stayed home with her. 

She slept until about 9:00 a.m. When she woke up and saw us still here, she was happy and relieved. She did not want to be left alone, but also didn't want me to feel like I had to stay. Goofy kid! Some of her friends' parents work. She knows that it is a big deal for parents to stay home with sick kids and that jobs can sometimes be at stake. Lucky for us, my boss's main priorities are the same as mine...Our Kids! :)  

Hubby forwarded the work phone to my cell phone. My work tasks for today are to monitor e-mails and update the business finances. Easy-peasy! I figured I'd work on those once the baby fell asleep. But while he was still awake, I thought: Since I'm home, I might as well start a load of laundry. Which took all of one minute. Then I looked at the dishwasher. It hadn't been unloaded this morning (a certain kid's chore). Usually I'd leave it for the kid to do when they got home, but our dishes are already backed up because our sink wasn't working for a few days. So I went ahead and unloaded the dishwasher, reloaded and started it, then hand-washed a load of dishes, and cleaned the sink. That took about ten minutes with Melanie's help. I also took a few minutes to pick up the kitchen and dining room floors. 

NOW...my house is still a big mess. It is far from complete. But I can feel the difference. AND it is kind of irritating because it took hardly anytime at all AND every job I did was supposed to have been done by a kid. EXCEPT, my kids didn't do those chores because the chores were too hard or too long or I always make them do the work. The funny thing is, while I was pregnant, I was too sick and tired to follow through on the kids getting their chores done. So my house slowly got grungier. And after I had the baby I was too sleep-deprived to even notice if the house was clean. And since going to work, by the time I return home in the evenings I am so focused on getting dinner made, kids' homework complete, scriptures read, fights resolved, etc., that I haven't stood my ground and made the kids actually get their chores done. And I've been too tired to get them done myself. 

Today, staying home to care for Nonny and having my two youngest children with me, I was able to catch up on some housework while spending quality time with the kiddos. Now, my house has a long ways to go before it can be officially deemed "clean", but I can see that it's possible and I am recommitted to the priority of teaching my kids the value of Hard Work and Cleanliness!

Jumping Back In

Well, the best way for me to re-start blogging is probably to just Jump right back in and start writing!

Beth turned 3 in September. About three weeks later, she had surgery. It was a planned surgery. She had her tonsils and adenoids removed. Her tonsils were quite enlarged! She also had tubes put in her ears. The ENT told us that her one of her ears was so full of fluid that he had to get a second something-or-other to suck out the gunk that the first sucker-thingy couldn't remove. That news made me feel great. I had really been debating whether or not to go through with the surgery for a couple of months. I knew that she needed it, but at the same time...She is Just a BABY! Every time I looked at her and thought about her having general anesthesia so the ENT could do his work, I would feel awful. And it didn't help that the hospital has to go over all the bad things that could happen. At the end, I just had to grit my teeth and keep saying: This is what her body needs to function properly!

I am glad to report that she had a quick and full recovery.

Tomorrow, Nonny is having her turn with the ENT. She will have her adenoids removed, a deviated septum straightened out, and something done with the turbinates(?) in her nose. I am not a medical person, so I am not getting terms correct. Sorry about any confusion that creates.

To prepare for tomorrow's surgery, we have smoothie ingredients and popsicles in the freezer. I have ingredients for chicken veggie soup. We have lots of kleenex ready for her drippy nose. AND she has movies picked out for watching tomorrow afternoon. I don't think she'll feel good enough to actually watch the movies tomorrow, but she feels good that they are prepped and ready. :)

In other news, Joe turned twelve in October. He graduated from Primary and received the Aaronic Priesthood. It is a bit weird to think of him as a Priesthood holder, since he's still my squishy little baby boy. Whenever I tell him that he is still my little boy, he is quick to point out that he is almost as tall as me. I'm 5' 8". He is about 5' 5". I told him even if he does manage to outgrow me, I'm also going to call him my short, little boy.

Beth's Arrival

Here is the first installment of my "Catch-Up" blogging. While I am sure you would all like to see detailed posts on the progress of our house renovations, yard improvement, etc., I assume that the first thing you'll want to hear about is the New Baby.

 

 

 

This is a picture of me at 38 weeks. To preserve the memory, I want to note a few things.

 

 

1. I am normally 5' 7 3/4" tall. During pregnancy I tend to shrink an inch or two. It is pretty weird! The height loss returns by the time my baby is 3 months old.

 

2. All of the baby books, pregnancy websites, and doctors' offices recommend that a woman gain between 25 and 35 pounds during pregnancy. With all six of my pregnancies, I have put on between 50 and 65 pounds. My final weight during this pregnancy was 208 lbs.

 

3. My hair was driving me nuts by the seventh month. The front parts kept getting in my eyes. When the back touched my neck, I got so hot and had problems breathing. I kept it in a ponytail most of the time, just so I could breathe properly. One day was particularly hard. I was ready to just get rid of it all! I was planning on a haircut like this...

The only reason that it didn't happen is that during pregnancy I get motion sick easily. And that bad day with my hair was also a bad day for me motion-wise. I was getting nauseous from walking. There was no way that I would survive a car ride. And so my long hair stayed.

 

And yes, I do see that my hair is down in the first picture of this post. And yes, having my hair down in that picture does look contradictory. What you need to know is that I took my hair out of its ponytail so that Hubby could take a picture to document my big, preggo belly and the length my hair had grown. As soon the picture was taken, I threw my hair back up into a ponytail so that I could breathe.

 

 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

Since I have a history of having big babies, my doctor suggested that I be induced a week early to keep this baby's size down a bit. I do not like inductions. I much prefer to go into labor on my own and told my OB as much. Hubby agreed with my assessment with one caveat. He asked that if I didn't have the baby by Week 39 that I be induced. The reason? He was going to be out of town on business for most of Week 39. He didn't want to miss the birth. I didn't want him to miss the birth either. Hubby has the important task of distracting me from the pain of contractions by telling me stories. Lots of stories.

So we set up a tentative induction appointment. 

After Weeks 37 and 38 passed with no baby the tentative appointment became a for-sure appointment.

It worked out fine. The appointment was on a Sunday afternoon. The same Sunday as our Ward's Primary Program. I was happy that to attend the program. I love watching the children sing and bear their sweet testimonies. This year Anne, Joe, and Cakes participated. They all did a great job!

My parents came out to see the Primary Program then watch the Grands while Hubby and I went for the induction. My Mom snapped this picture just before we left for Church.  It's the last picture of our family with five kids. The next family picture will have SIX Children!!!

 

 

Birth stories are quite personal, so I'm not going to share many details here. The details I am willing to share are:

 

1. Miss Beth was born in her amniotic sack. The nurse said it is very rare and considered lucky.

 

2. She was born at exactly 11:00 am.

 

3. She weighed 8 lbs, 12.1 oz. and was 20 1/2 inches long. She has lots of dark brown hair and gray-blue eyes.

 

4. Hubby didn't cut her umbilical cord. He cut every other child's umbilical cord. The reason he didn't get to do it this time was that a nurse delivered our sweet baby girl and kind of freaked out. And the other nurses were kind of freaking out about how fast Miss Beth came and had to hurry to get stuff ready and in all their rushing about, they bypassed Hubby and me completely. They didn't even hold her up so I could see her! They just whisked her away!

 

I didn't even know if the babe was for sure a girl. I had to ask. My doctors and midwives in the past make a big deal about holding the baby up so the Momma can see the babe and announcing "You have a BOY!" or "You have a GIRL!" And nobody did that. They were to busy trying to get the medical trays ready.

 

All I can say to that is, I told you all that I go fast! I told you to get ready. I told you the baby was coming. You chose to ignore me. You implied I was being melodramatic.  You kept telling me that it didn't matter if this was my sixth child because every labor & delivery is different so I really didn't know what was going to happen and that you knew how labor really progresses since you'd been a nurse for so many years. Give me a break!!

 

There were many other problems, but I don't want to get into those. Enough ranting and complaining. Let's move on to happy things. :)

 

 

Hubby took this picture shortly after birth.

This picture was taken later that day. Miss Beth is BEAUTIFUL! She has dimples in both cheeks. We know this because she started smiling on her first day of life. :)

 

 

In the evening, Hubby brought the kids to see their new little Sister. Cakes and Joe got to hold her first. They were quite enamored with her. :)

 

 

Anne held her next.

 

Then Rose's turn.

 

 

Jim came in the room and headed straight for me. He looked at his new Sister, but didn't want to hold her. He just wanted to snuggle up next to me. That dear boy missed his Momma and was so happy to see me. :)

 

 

(I don't like pictures taken of me in the days after I give birth because I look so haggard and drawn. I don't usually let Hubby take any of me. But I had to have one of Jim all snuggled up next to me. I adore that sweet little boy.)

We are thrilled to have this newest addition to our family! Welcome, Welcome Miss Beth! We love you dearly!

 

One last note, Beth and I were discharged from the hospital the day after her birth. Hubby took us home, spent about an hour getting us settled in, then left for his business trip. He was gone for the next three days. Yowsers, that was tough. My parents stayed long enough to get all the kids tucked into bed, but then they had to leave too. Fortunately for me I have two fantastic daughters! Anne and Rose took turns staying home from school to help take care of Jim and Cakes while I recovered from labor & delivery. Those two girls are turning into lovely Young Women.

Fixing It Up

We've spent the last few months in limbo trying to purchase a run-down house in the county. On June 18, everything finally went through! The loan funded, the title recorded, and the keys were officially turned over to us.

We had done many renovations on the house during that time, trying to get it fixed up enough for a lender to agree it was worth the risk. We got the well running, installed a new water heater, put on a new roof, put in new carpet, fixed a faucet, fixed a door, fixed some walls, put on baseboards, removed three abandoned vehicles from the property, removed several truckloads of garbage from property, added a ground wire for the electrical, fixed a few jerry-rigged electrical problems, installed a couple light fixtures to replace the naked & exposed wiring that had been left behind, and crossed our fingers that those things would be enough.

Thank heavens it was!

But now that the place is ours, the renovations have kicked into high gear. 

Here's what we've been working on the past few weeks:

Taking more garbage to the dump.

Ripping out the bathroom. Please note the dirt. 

A gopher had been living under this tub...

Finding honeycomb & a dead beehive in the bathroom walls.

Taking another load to the dump.

Taking time out to nurture the garden at our current house.

Those are giant pumpkin vines around my kids.

Ripping out the kitchen cabinets. Please note my rounding belly.

Getting a 2-Yard bin for trash. That's right people...I have a BIN!!

Turning into a ghost painting the ceilings & walls at the county house.

Painted living room.

Installing new bathroom pipes & fixtures.

Framing in a unnecessary, heat-increasing window in the kitchen.

Cleaning up blood after the windowpane shattered, injuring my dear neighbor.

Still framing in the window.

Installing new cabinets in the kitchen.

Installing counter tops too.

Having a yard sale. Necessary when moving to a house 700 sq. ft. smaller.

Moving a HEAVY tool shed to the new house.

Please note the Dad in the blue shirt. He is instructing his sons to 

hold on tight and not die. They are sitting on the front of the ATV 

to add weight so the thing won't pop up.

I am happy to report that no one died...yet.

Hubby and I have been very blessed with loads of help from family and neighbors. We appreciate the time and efforts they've spent on our behalf.

Unfortunately, the work is only halfway done...

Wish us luck. :)

Say What?

I took Joe and Anne to see the pediatrician for their annual check-up. This is their first Well Child Check with this doctor. Doc wanted to do a TB test on both kids. They were less than thrilled, but bravely held still for the nurse to administer the skin test.


Two days later we returned to the Doc's office to have the tests read. Joe and Anne both tested positive for TB. Hooray! The nurse was quite taken aback. I told her that their dad always tests positive too. The nurse started laughing then. "Lucky them!" she said. "They never have to get that yucky skin test again." I agreed. They are lucky kids! Hahaha!


Anyone who has ever tested positive knows that the next step is a chest x-ray. The x-ray shows if the individual really has TB or if they are a false-positive-reacting-type person.


So we head downstairs to the imaging lab. The gal at the front directs me to sign in on the "Walk-In" side. I ask her how long the wait is. She tells me about thirty minutes. I say alright, we'll go ahead and do this now. And I sign in. Then I have this odd conversation with her...


Gal: "You can sit down." (pause) "I call you right now."


Me: "You'll call me right now? Great!" (and I stand there smiling at her)


Gal: (looking at me weird) "You can go sit down. I call you right now."


Me: (still standing there) "Oh good. Here's my insurance card. Did you want my driver's license too?"


Gal: (slightly exasperated for reasons unknown to me) "No. You go sit down. I call you right now."


Me: "Wait. What? You want me to go sit down?"


Gal: "Yes." (smiling cause she thinks I understand what she is saying now) "You go sit down. I call you right now to get your information."


Me: "What? You'll call me right now. Well, I'm here. Here's my information." (and I try to give her my insurance card again)


Gal: (looking exasperated again) "No. Go sit down. I call you right now."


Me: (really feeling confused because why in the world am I going to sit down when she is calling me right now) "Why would I sit down? You said you are calling me right now."


Gal: "Yes. Right now I call you. Go sit down."


Me: (comprehension slowly dawning on me) "You keep telling me you'll call me 'right now'. 'Right now' means this very instant. Is that what you mean? That you are calling me 'right now'? Or do you mean something else? How long do you mean when you say 'right now'?


Gal: (looks like she is trying to be patient with me cause I obviously don't understand plain English) "Yes. Right now. Like five minutes I call you right now. Go sit down and I call you right now."


Me: (feeling really confused) "Oh. Okay, we'll just go sit down."


Gal: (sighs in relief that I have finally left her counter)




My Dear Friends, Can one of you please explain to me when the meaning of "Right Now" changed from "this very instant" to "In five minutes"?


Hahahaha!!!


Living in the town I live in, I should be used to the idiosyncrasies that exist. But I tell you, this "right now" one is brand new to me. :)

Avoidance

People ask me all the time how I do everything that I do. Usually, I just laugh about that, because it doesn't seem to me that I do anything at all.

But today, I am feeling it.

All the projects I took on...well, they are all being very demanding this month. This week and next are, in particular, going to be rough.

And how will I deal with it?

Avoidance.

Avoidance is my friend. You see, if I ignore a problem long enough, it magically disappears.

True story.

So today, when the world seems to be crashing down on me...I am ignoring it all and instead writing to YOU on this lovely little blog of mine.

Isn't it wonderful? :)

And just for my own sanity, that is the sanity that I hope to regain sometime soon, I need to list a few of the things I've got going so that I will remember better next time and hopefully, not take on so many projects at once.

Things I've got Going on:

1) Mom to five kids

2) Volunteering for Anne's field trip: something about making dinner for the entire third-grade class and their families...

3) Trying to keep Baby Jim from killing himself. He has learned how to walk and climb and open front doors and be super quiet as he moves faster than light. (I think he might be part weeping angel. Seriously people!! I blink and things get scary!!!)

4) Teaching piano to Rose, Anne, and Joe. Trying to get them to practice and doing my best not to cuss them out after hearing chopsticks and heart and soul for the millionth time. Again, seriously people! I almost cussed at my kids! :(

5) Supporting Hubby as he transitions to a new position while still working the old position.

6) Dealing with a professor who does not know how to properly put together an assignment.

7) Finals week!!!  With two finals from the prof. who doesn't know how to give a proper assignment.

By the way, a proper assignment clearly outlines what the teacher wants to see and is perfectly aligned with the way it will be graded. And it should be based on something that was actually covered in YOUR class!

8) Foster appointments out the wazoo. Can I just tell you that NO ONE should get into foster care unless they are ready to commit to it as a full-time job. I am on the phone for hours a day, trying to arrange appointments, contacting this person or that. There are medical appointments, dental appointments, counseling appointments, independent living appointments, CFT meetings, DDD meetings, IEP meetings, and then there are the "fun" activities we are supposed to attend to show our foster kids a good time, except that my foster kids are teenagers and think most of these activities are completely lame, but we still have to go.

9) Dealing with Foster kids, who are lovely girls, but still teenagers. And teenagers, at their best, are still teenagers. And I don't feel that needs any further explanation. ;)

10) Rose has band concerts and competitions, and a class field trip coming up.

11) Driving to Phoenix next week for Foster medical appointment.  Drove to Tucson last week. That was a killer day.

There is more going on, except I think I have avoided my homework long enough.

I had better get back to it...before the Babe wakes up from his mid-day nap.

Wish me luck.

I will try to get back to posting regularly at some point.

Key word there: Try.

February in Review

For such a little month, February was sure jam-packed with adventures, projects, and excitement! From start to finish, all 28 days, our family was busy, busy, busy. So what did we do?? Too much to record here!

But here are some of the highlights:

• Hubby and I became the proud pseudo-parents to three gorgeous sisters. Miss L is 17, Miss J is 15, and Miss A is 13. This is a long-term placement. I couldn't have asked for nicer girls to join my family. I think I'll call them the "Sisters Three".
• Elementary School Pictures for Joe, Anne, and Rose.
• Doctor appointments, counselling appointments, court hearings, etc. for the Sisters Three.
• Awards Banquet for Miss A. Hubby took her. They both got all dressed up and Hubby treated it like a Daddy-Daughter Date. Miss A beamed the whole time. She was so happy.
• 4-H Meetings and Projects. Fair is just around the corner!
• Favorite Foods Contest for Joe, Anne, and Rose.
• Hubby completed the TV Bookcase that I designed.
• Trimming trees, digging water holes, planting a garden.
• 5K Fun Walk! All Blue family members participated.
• New church calling for Hubby.
• My Masters of Education program hits full swing. I've spent countless hours reading about methods, techniques, theories. And countless hours writing up lesson plans according to this instructor's criteria or that instructor's. It will be nice when I only have to use one format.
• Teaching loads of songs to the Primary kids. I'm still loving this calling.
• New Glasses for Rose, Miss A, and Miss J.
• Dentist appointments for all Blue family members. Rose and Joe both earned $10 for having no cavities. Poor Anne and Cakes were tortured as punishment for having cavities. Hopefully, everyone involved has learned their lessons and will respond to the negative/positive reinforcers in the future.
• Rose attends Masters Class for Trombone. Very informative class.
• More court hearings for the Sisters Three.
• Hubby, Rose, Anne, and Joe got to Disneyland and California Adventure! Remember back in September that I won a four-pack of 2-day passes? Well, they have officially been put to good use. Hubby thought we all should go. I absolutely did not want to though! Fortunately, I had common sense and frugality on my side and got to stay home. Just so we're clear on this, I am not a ride kind of person. I am a great person to take to Disneyland with you if you are planning on taking your kids. I will be happy to stay by the strollers or hold babies while you go on crazy, vomit-inducing rides. I will wave and smile. It really made more sense for me to just stay home. And I had a lovely time. :)  Cakes, Jim, and I took the Sisters Three out for dinner and then to see "I am Number Four". FUN!!
• Allergy Shots begun and Caveman Diet concluded. The results of the Diet:
• I am not allergic to Oats. Hooray!
• I am not allergic to Eggs.
• I am allergic to Milk in large quantities. One glass is alright. Or one bowl of creamy soup. But no more.
• I am allergic to Cheese. My allergist thinks it's the mold of the cheese that is the problem. I'm okay with a teeny, weeny, little bit.
• I am not allergic to Corn. But am allergic to Popcorn. How does that even work???
• I am not allergic to Wheat...kind of. I'm alright in low quantities, but my body doesn't like to process to much at a time. Weird!
• I am allergic to Yeast. A lot. So I'm pretty much avoiding that. Except that I love bread.  :(
• I am not allergic to Soy.
• I am allergic to Walnuts and Pecans. But I already knew that. Still, it was nice to test those out again. I haven't eaten either of those in years! My kids were excited to watch me test the nuts...Until my throat started itching and my eyes started watering, then it wasn't so fun to watch me.
• I am allergic to Apples, but only certain kinds. I can pretty much tell just by sniffing them if I'll be alright eating them.
• I am allergic to Carrots. But I already knew that too! Carrots are one of those weird things that I am allergic to in Raw form, but can eat when cooked.

And that's about it. Factor in parental visits for the Sisters Three, chauffeuring kiddos to and from various appointments & school activities, and rocking the Baby Jim to sleep in the afternoons and you can see why I haven't posted in a while. :)

I'm not Lazy, I'm just Messed Up!

For many  years now, I have thought myself a lazy person. I needed a solid nine hours of sleep each night and often still needed an hour long nap in the afternoon. Even with all this sleep, I would get tired easily. I couldn't do too much labor intensive work or I would be wiped out. It was no big deal to me. I figured it was just because of my asthma. I have been precluded from many activities due to asthma. I came to terms (mostly) with that when I was a teenager.

I thought I was just made to be a lazy person. We are all given some ucky things to deal with in this life. I decided that asthma and laziness where mine. I came up with ways to cope with this, to work around the weaknesses.

I've done pretty well.

However, I've come to learn in the last four weeks that I AM NOT LAZY!!

I've been taking some Thyroid meds for a couple years now. They have not done a thing for me. I've learned with my asthma that no change is often a good thing. So I just kept taking them.

Except, over the holidays, I talked to my sister in law Kay. She and my sister have the same Thyroid diagnosis problems, which are opposite of mine. Anyhoo, Kay and I were talking and she was telling me how the Doctors were trying to figure out which dosage of X medicine was the right dosage for her, but in the meantime she was SO TIRED and felt SO LAZY. After talking with her I wondered if maybe my dosage wasn't the right one.

So, after all the ENT appointments dealing with my Sinuses, my Doctor started playing with my thyroid dosage.

HOLY GUACAMOLE!!!

The change in me is AMAZING!

I can sleep for SEVEN hours and feel great!

I don't need naps in the afternoon!

I don't get ginormous headaches in the afternoon!

I have energy to get my work done and to play with my kids!

And after I have worked hard, I don't just want to lie down and die anymore!!!

My doctor adjusted the dosage about three months ago, but it took a while to get all through my system and for the changes in my body to take place. What a difference!

It really hit home about four weeks ago. My new dosage had run out and I was waiting for a refill in the mail. I had about two weeks between the two. I had still had some of the old dosage and thought, well, I better just take the old dosage so that I at least have a little of the drug in my body. It only took a week on the old dosage for all the good changes to go away. I'm actually quite grateful for that backslide!! It proved unequivacally to me that...

I AM NOT LAZY! My body is just a bit Messed Up!

I have my refill now and the changes kicked back in. It is so, so nice to know that I'm not lazy. It is so nice to know that a small adjustment in medicine can make such a huge difference.

Thank Heavens for Modern Medicine! It is truly one of the best blessings in my life. :)

Caveman Say Ugh!

My previously mentioned diet has been thrown out the window by my lovely allergist. It has been replaced with the "Caveman Diet".

I told that to my Mom and she groaned in sympathy for me.

For those who don't know, when you are on the Caveman Diet you may "eat all you want" of

-Fresh fruits (or frozen if home prepared)

-Fresh vegetables (or frozen if home prepared)

-Broiled, boiled, or baked meat & fish

I may drink all I want of pure fruit juice, pure vegetable juice, and water (bottled or filtered is better)

I may NOT have

-any prepared food products (boxed mixes, etc.)

-cake, cookies, candy, or soft drinks

-any grains or nuts (including rice & soy)

-any dairy products--milk, butter, margarine, cheese, yogurt, ice cream, etc.

-any fruit, vegetable, or meat to which you have been found allergic

-fruit drinks. They contain corn syrup and are NOT allowed

I may have one teaspoon of honey per day.

I really appreciate the upbeat spin they tried to put on this diet by stating that I may "eat all I want" of those three precious food groups.

This is DAY 3 of the Two-Weeks required for this diet.

I don't know if I'll make it...

So far my will-power is holding out.

Actually, I am quite impressed with myself. I have cookies and crackers and bread and chocolate and oats and granola and many other yummy but forbidden foods filling my pantry and fridge. But I haven't succumbed to temptation yet.

Hooray for me.

I just have 11 more days to make it through.

ELEVEN!!!

This CaveGirl says UGH!!!

Decisions, Decisions

I am so hungry!

But I can't figure out what to eat. In November, when I visited the ENT's office and was diagnosed with more polyps in my sinuses, I was also sent for allergy testing.

I hate allergy testing.

It usually involves a lot of pricking and a very itchy back.

I was fortunate this time. Instead of the back pricks, they tested my blood. Hooray! I just had to sit still while a nice man drew a couple vials of blood.

The results came back a month ago. I had my consultation with the Allergist a week later.

The results, my friends, are not good.

Turns out I am allergic to:

Wheat

Oats

Corn

Soy

Yeast

The yeast is particularly bad. My Allergist recommended that I stay away from it all together. As for the grains, my Allergist suggested that I avoid them for a few months then add them back to my diet one at a time, keeping a couple weeks in between each addition to be sure that there are no adverse effects.

That's right. I am supposed to cut out Wheat and Oats and Corn and Soy!  Do you understand???

That means I can't eat Bread, Pasta, Cookies, Cake, Donuts, Rolls, White sauce (it uses flour in the roue), Cream of Wheat, Bagels, Oatmeal, Tamales, Tortillas, Chips, or Tofu.

Now, I am allergic to a lot of things. I have known this for years and years. Dust, molds, trees, pollens, these things practically kill me a couple times each year. There are foods I avoid because they set my throat to itching and swelling and make it difficult for me to breathe. But never have I thought that I was allergic to the grains. I don't know if I've ever even been tested for them.

My Hubby, trying to make me feel better, said, "Well, You can always just eat an apple."

But no, No I can't. Because it turns out I'm allergic to apples too.

COME ON!!!

Who is allergic to apples?  Isn't there something unlawful about that? I mean, it's completely un-American to be allergic to apples. Right?  RIGHT??

So, I'm on a restricted diet.

I've put it off and put it off, but it can't be put on any longer. I just have to bite the bullet and do it.

Still, it's only for a few months. Just until my body resets itself. Then I should be able to add the grains back in.

Until then, it looks like I will be eating a lot of Rice.

Wish me luck. I am seriously going to need it.

Oh! And wish me some Will-Power while you're at it.  I'm going to need loads of that.

Meanwhile, I'm going to go eat a pickle for breakfast. I don't think I'm allergic to those. :(

The Lady with the Alligator Purse

Do you remember in elementary school singing about Ms. Suzy and her baby? Remember? His name was Tiny Tim. Ms. Suzy put him in the bathtub, to see if he could swim. Instead of swimming, that goosey baby drank up all the water and he ate up all the soap. Then he tried to eat the bathtub, but it wouldn't fit down his throat.

Do you remember how Ms. Suzy called a Doctor to come help? Except the Doctor didn't know what to do. So the Doctor called a Nurse. That was a pretty smart move. Nurses know lots of stuff and are a great help to patients. However, in this case, the Nurse didn't know what to do either. So the Nurse called in the Lady with the Alligator Purse. Surely she would know what to do!

I don't know what qualified this gal. I don't know why the Nurse would think the Lady could help nor the nature of their relationship. That information is not relevant to the story. The pertinent piece of information is that where the Doctor and Nurse failed, the Lady with the Alligator Purse succeeded. She got all the water and soap out of Tiny Tim. She saved the day. We don't know what methods she used. What we do know is 1) it was painless to the baby, 2) was performed quickly, 3) had little, if any, recovery time, and 4) cost nothing.

At least, that was the version of the song I learned.

And today...I'm wishing for a Lady with an Alligator Purse.

Because I've been to see the Doctor.

And I've been to see the Nurse.

And they agree...I need surgery.

Again.

I have lovely polyps sitting in my sinuses. I'm such a lucky girl!

I wasn't surprised by the diagnosis. I've had polyps before and have undergone surgery twice to have the removed. Such is the plight of the asthmatic, allergy-ridden peoples of the world.

Truthfully, I'm looking forward to the surgery. My face has been hurting for several months now. The pain has spread to my neck, shoulders, and jaw. And my sinuses have been pulsating with their hatred of the polyps. Angry, pulsating sinuses are never fun.

Oh well.

I'm scheduled to go under the knife in just three weeks. So even though I won't get the Lady's magical no pain, quick recovery cure, at least I will be getting it FREE!

Why free? That is all thanks to the Baby Jim and already having met my deductible for the year. Hooray!

Thank You Baby Jim! And thank you good insurance with your reasonable cap. I really appreciate you!

Wish me luck. I'm going to need it. :S

They're Out to Get Me

Rose and Hubby are trying to kill me.

I thought we were all getting along just fine. I thought we loved each other. I thought we even, occasionally, liked each other. But recent events have proven that Rose and Hubby are out to get me.

I have been battling a major sinus infection. The same infection that I battle every year around this time. I have been working hard trying to stay ahead of the uckiness and hopefully avoid further pollup infestations and tiresome surgeries. To aid me in my battle, every day I use a wonderful Sinus Rinse nasal wash. This consists of a cute little bottle filled with 8 oz. of warm water and mixed with their pre-packaged solution of salt and baking soda. Simple, yet so effective!

It can also be a huge mess. Remember the law of gravity? What goes up must come down. The same applies to liquids shot up one's nose. They come right back out, hopefully dislodging much nastiness in the process. 

Anyhoo, the other day Hubby offered to mix the wash for me. I was very grateful. It seemed like such a considerate thing to do! I really ought to have known better.

Hubby hands me the bottle and I promptly start pumping the wash up my nose. It burns!

I think, WHOA! I must have a serious infection. Or maybe the water went the wrong way. I shake it off and try the wash again. That water burned me again. It burned up my sinus, back behind my eyeballs, and down into my throat!!  It was awful!

I start spitting and snorting (yes, I know, very attractive) and calling for Hubby to help me. He comes rushing back in. I shout that my throat is burning...like an acid burn. And beg him to help me. And HE starts looking sheepish!  Turns out, he had added a whole capful of hydrogen peroxide to my nasal rinse. He thought that I wouldn't even notice. He thought it might help fry all the nastiness that has taken root in my sinuses. At least, that's what he claims...

But, I've got news for you Old Man! I don't believe that claim for an instance! There is no way that you could not have realized the dire consequences on the so-called love of your life's sinuses. NO WAY!  I know you were really trying to poison me! You can't fool me. And know this...I'm watching you! You won't have another chance to poison me. You should have gotten it right the first time. >:-(

And then the darling Rose.

A week ago the kids started talking about When We Have Another Baby!!!!

Excuse me? I just had a baby. You all have a little baby. Give your poor Mama some time to recover please. Aargh!

Despite my absolute shock at the topic they were discussing, I stayed quiet and just listened. It all seemed pretty harmless, until Rose confided that she has "been praying for Mom to have twins".

Ummmm.....

What did you just say?

I asked Rose when exactly she had prayed for twins.  Was it during her personal prayers?

Nope.

Turns out that for the past two months, during our family prayers she has been praying for me to have twins. And all of us have said "Amen" to each of her prayers.

That sneaky, conniving little...

The way she did it was by saying that part really softly and kind of covering her mouth with her hand. I just thought she was stifling yawns. It just goes to show that you should NEVER say Amen to a prayer that you haven't heard in full. Holy Cow! 

I told Rose that twins would kill me. She laughed and said, "No, they wouldn't. They'd be fun. I'd even help with them." 

Not only is she trying to kill me, she's laughing about it! Talk about adding insult to injury.

I told her to Get Some Guts! If she was going to pray for me to die during family prayers, she at least needed to have the courtesy to pray loud enough so that all the family members can hear what she is actually saying and then decide if they want to say Amen or not.

And you know what she did tonight? She prayed for twins loud enough that her siblings could all hear. And you know what those rotten twerps did??? They all said "Amen". I guess they all want me dead.

I just glared at them all. Even when they tried to kiss me good night.

And now I'm going to bed. I'm going to have to spend a lot of time praying tonight to try and counteract the prayers of my children. And I don't know that I'll win. My dear Father in Heaven has a soft spot for the prayers of children. 

Wish me luck. I'm going to need it.

3DT (aka DDDT)

Have you noticed that most families have a "saying"? Some small phrase that is repeated often within the family. A saying that helps keep the family grounded and focused on their familial goals.

One saying popular with LDS families is "Return With Honor". This saying reminds family members that the things they do outside the home matter. It encourages them to do good and strive hard in the outside world, so that when they return home, they will return with honor.

A saying popular with Christian families is "What Would Jesus Do?". Family members, when faced with choosing between various options,  should ask themselves this question then proceed as Jesus would. This saying helps family members to mirror Jesus' actions, his charity and compassion.

Another saying used in Christian homes is "Wise Men Still Seek Him". This saying lets family members, and others know, that if they wish to be truly wise, they should seek for Christ.

A fun saying that I often seen adorning the walls of friends' homes is "Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much". This saying encourages family members to truly enjoy their lives and live those lives to the fullest.

In my childhood home, the saying was  "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." My Mom had even cross-stitched this scripture, framed it, and hung it on the wall in plain sight of all. In our family, there was great focus on truly following the Lord and learning to serve his children here on earth.

I appreciate these sayings. I think there is great wisdom in each. However, none can compare to the effectiveness of the saying that Hubby grew up with. This saying was no mamby-pamby, feel-good phrase. There was no positive spin, no uplifting words...Just straight-forward commonsense.

Now, I have to admit, when I first heard this saying, I was shocked. I couldn't believe that Hubby's Dad had actually said what he said. I was appalled by his lack of compassion and his blatant disregard for other's feelings. But over the years, I have come to understand and appreciate the true wisdom of this simple phrase.

Don't Do Dumb Things

Hubby's family usually referred to this phrase by its acronym: 3DT (pronounced Three, Dee, Tee).

As Hubby and his siblings were walking out the door to various activities, their Dad would call out, 3DT! Reminding them to, obviously, Not do dumb things.

This amazingly simple, yet powerful phrase has been employed in the Blue Household for the last few years. You would be astounded by the effectiveness! 

Now, I feel it important to note that in our home we never call a person dumb. There is a palpable distinction made between a person's actions and that person as a whole. My undergraduate degree focused on child development and psychology. I know how detrimental it can be to a child's fragile psyche to be called dumb, especially by their parents. That is part of the reason that I was so appalled when I first heard this saying.

We have emphasized through lecture, modeling, and role play the difference between a person and their actions. Hubby's parents made the distinction too. And it because of this distinction that the saying works.

Our kids know that we know they are super-intelligent. They know we love them and will love them no matter what. They know that they will make mistakes, lots of mistakes. They also know that their mistakes don't define them. We can learn from those dumb mistakes and do better in the future.

On a Side Note: Making the distinction between actions and a person's self-worth was one of the best things we did for our foster daughter, Miss Q. In previous homes she had been called dumb, stupid, retarded, slow, and so on. In our home she was called an intelligent, bright, loving, and wonderful girl who occasionally made mistakes. The change this distinction wrought in her psyche was PHENOMENAL!!

By now you are probably asking yourselves, why the long essay on sayings and 3DT?

Well, that is the background you need to truly appreciate Joe's story.

Papa (Hubby's Dad) came to visit a couple weeks ago during the kids' fall break from school. Papa has been very sad since his wife died. We tried to plan things that would take Papa's mind off Grandma and to do things that he liked.

One day, while Hubby was at work, I made Papa his favorite lunch...Pimento Cheese Sandwiches. He was so tickled! After lunch the kids and I were going to take him to a Mormon Battalion Memorial and show him our favorite park. When the kids finished eating, I instructed them to use the bathroom and get their shoes on because we were leaving in twenty minutes. Simple task, right?  WRONG!

After just a few minutes I hear a crash, followed by a wail. A minute later, a crying Joe enters the kitchen followed closely by Rose who is talking a mile a minute, trying to explain what happened and how it wasn't her fault.  The short story, Cakes and Joe were in the bathroom (yes, at the same time...apparently boys can pee at the same time if they stand on different sides of the toilet. please don't ask me to delve any further into that scenario as it usually involves me cleaning urine off the floor at a later time). The door was Wide Open. The boys had finished and were washing their hands. For some reason, Joe, who is tall enough to reach the sink without a stool, felt the need to stand on the toilet. Maybe it was the fact that Cakes was standing on a stool...I just don't know.

Anyhoo, Rose walked down the hall, past the open bathroom door. Seeing her two younger brothers, she made a split-second decision to scare them. She turned, made a scary face, and growled. I'm not sure what Cakes reaction was since I am still unable to fully decipher his sentences. But Joe's reaction was to attempt an escape by jumping from the toilet lid to the bathtub...The rim of the bathtub. Naturally, the rim was slippery and the boy slipped. He tried to catch himself with his right hand, which didn't work, and crashed into the tub, crushing his right forearm.

I wasn't sure how serious the injury was, but knew a sure fire way to find out. After a severe lecture to Rose on not trying to scare people in the bathroom and and a milder lecture to Joe on not standing on toilets and not trying to jump to bathtub rims (not once citing 3DT), I loaded everyone into the van and proceeded to the park as planned. A kid with a serious injury will nurse the area while a kid whose just bumped or bruised will forget everything as soon as they reach the slides.

Joe was nursing his injury. Gingerly holding it as he went down the slides and avoiding the monkey bars altogether. It was starting to look like he had a serious injury.

When we returned home, Joe and Cakes ran out back to play. Cakes, being the mischievous little punk that he is, turned on the hose and aimed directly for Joe. Joe leaped out of the way, tripped over his feet in the process, and landed on his already injured right arm. And then he turned into a pile of goo! He literally curled into a ball and sobbed!  Oh, my poor little guy!

I quickly put the baby down and rushed over to help Joe. I scooped the boy up, brought him inside, and laid him on the couch. When he had calmed down some, he turned to me and in between sniffs said:

"Mom, don't tell me 3DT about falling down 'cause that was a axe-dent and axe-dents aren't dumb their just axe-dents and if you say it was dumb then you're being mean. So don't be mean to me, 'cause I just don't feel good and my arm hurts and it was a axe-dent. Okay?"

I quickly agreed, gave him a kiss on the head, and high-tailed it out of the living room. As soon as I was out of his ear-shot I laughed and laughed and laughed.

That poor little guy. He was such a pitiful little mess of a kid at the moment, but he still had the wherewithal to recognize his own emotional needs and, in an attempt to avoid adding insult to injury, express those emotional needs to me in a way that showed he understood where he had done wrong earlier and to illustrate that no wrongs had occurred this time round. I was proud of him for voicing his concerns and asking for the things he needed. I was also proud of the depth of understanding he had shown. But, it was so unexpected and framed in such a poor, pitiful way that all I could do was laugh. Oh well, at least I didn't laugh where he could hear me.

It guess this just goes to show that the boy is paying attention as we try to teach him...at least, sometimes. The ironic thing was that this all happened when Papa was there. But he didn't say 3DT either. Come on people! We're not cruel!! ;)

The diagnosis for the darling Joe, a buckle fracture in the distal radius. Translation: He a broken right arm. Poor guy. At least he's left-handed. :)

The darling boy sporting a cast in his favorite color.

A Close-Up of the Cast