my rambles

Jokester

noreply@blogger.com (friedbrain) — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 17:34:00 +0000

When my sister Jenn was little, she used to say she wanted to be a "jokester". She had a wicked sense of humor back then, and this was her young way of finding a name for "comedian".

Ethan is following in her footsteps; although, being a two year old boy, his brand of humor reflects this. "Ma-ohm", he'll call out. When I give him my attention, he gives me a wicked grin. "W-w-whoa, whoa, woooooe", he'll chant as he stands on one leg and wiggles from side to side, ultimately landing as a sprawled out heap of Ethan on the floor. His jaw-splitting grin reveals his satisfaction in his performance. "Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! HaH!!" he calls out. "Ma-ohm, I'hm fuhn-neee".

Ice Skating

noreply@blogger.com (friedbrain) — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 14:42:00 +0000

So I FINALLY got to take Leah ice skating yesterday afternoon. For the very first time! It's been something that I've been wanting to share with her for several years now.

After I had Mono in the eight grade, and had that develop into Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, some physical activity was in order, particularly something that would strengthen my legs again. So my sisters, my cousins, and I all started taking ice skating lessons. I really enjoyed these, and kept taking them until the point where private lessons would have been required. Those were outside our means, so the lessons stopped. I still really enjoy skating, although until yesterday, I hadn't done it in years.

So when Leah was about two, I started to look forward to when I could take her ice skating. There was one hurdle to all of this: Leah's teeny, tiny feet, and the general lack of ice skates to fit teeny, tiny feet. When her feet were finally large enough (all of a whopping size Toddler 7!) she was 5 years old, and I was pregnant with little miss Rei. So no ice skating then! Leah's feet are now about a 9 1/2, and the rink is opened from it's summer recess, so, we laced up and went!

It has helped tremendously that Leah's best buddy Sam is taking lessons. She wants to do what her peers are doing, so, despite falling straight backwards a few times, she kept getting up. She's now decided that she wants to be a world-famous ice skater, and that practice will make perfect. We'll go again next week and see if she musters up the same courage consistently. I was really proud of how she kept trying, and how she did really well with listening to me in regards to getting her little feets to move in a circular fashion. She never really did anything on her own--the rink has these little "walkers" and when she wasn't using that, she was using me, but, she came a very long way in the short 45 minutes we spent on the ice.

I also discovered how rusty I am at skating, and might see if I can convince Shayne into some baby holding for an hour or two during the daytime to see if I can get a free skate or two in, in order to get my wits about me again!

Boredom

noreply@blogger.com (friedbrain) — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 17:56:00 +0000

So, it was, of course, nothing. Just a stomach bug. Not even a sinus infection. Stupid, nagging, childhood traumas.

I keep joking with Alex that we should get a winnie and pull a "Riches". I've been feeling pretty nomadic lately, but maybe that's just cause I have no idea where I'm heading now.

Sean

noreply@blogger.com (friedbrain) — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 12:57:00 +0000

Early in elementary school, it's hard to say when exactly, a classmate passed away. More so, a friend's little brother passed away. We all watched our friend everyday as he came to school, looking like death, as his little brother kept our friend awake all night long. The little brother was sick and spent most of his time screaming because his head hurt him so badly. Horrid, horrid headaches that left the little boy screaming all night long.

Then, one day our friend didn't come to school. A few days later, he returned. He said that his brother had died. He wept and wept on the bus, saying how the night he had died all that he wanted was for his brother to stop screaming. He only wanted some sleep. And finally, his brother did stop screaming. In the morning, he got off his top bunk, only to find that his brother was blue. His brother stopped screaming because his brother had died. It was a brain aneurysm. My friend cried and cried; we all understood what he was saying--he felt guilty, as though if he hadn't wished for his brother to stop screaming that he wouldn't have died. As kids, there was no way to understand that our will didn't cause things like that. We all still believed in Santa and the Tooth Fairie and the Easter Bunny.

That event still haunts the far reaches of my mind. Despite the medical training I've had, despite now understanding the statistical improbability of an event like that happening to a child, it still scares the shit out of me.

Leah's been having headaches and vomiting. These are probably just a reaction to a sinus infection and her being too young to understand how to deal with vertigo (as I have learned to do over the years because every time I have fluid in my head, this is what I experience).

But I'd be lying if I said some part of me isn't still a scared kid every time this happens.

(On a side note, all three persons that I knew that are buried at OTC are practically neighbors. Efficient visiting, but harrowing. Two of them were children.)

Pop and Circumstance

noreply@blogger.com (friedbrain) — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 00:40:00 +0000

I think I've figured out why this surprise pregnancy has sent me reeling so much more than the first surprise pregnancy had. Well, one large part of many reasons, any way.

See, when I was 19 and found myself with a baby on the way, I planned that by my ten year High School reunion I'd be in the same place as everyone else: completed college, married, homeowner, with a family. But I'd just done in in reverse of everyone else.

But with popping and adding Rei to our family, and current circumstances being what they are, I am not going to finish a Bachelor's before the tenner. I won't even have an Associates. Academically speaking, I'll have a whole lotta nothing to show off.

And maybe I just sound like a pretentious brat here, but really, when one looks though MySpace and Facebook and sees all the other kids that she was tracked with, academically, in school since day one having completed educations at the Ivies and other top Universities, really, it's hard not to feel the blow to the ego. And now, not only did I not get on track back in the day with getting into a proper college, but now I don't have ANY degree to show. And I won't, for a long while, if ever.

But this is all failing forward, right?

Kicked to the Curb!

noreply@blogger.com (friedbrain) — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 15:13:00 +0000

That's where my immune system must be. Seems as though I've lost it. Bugger.

So, yeah. That's making my return from childbirth a little--okay, a lot--more complicated. Besides being run down from the general stuffs associated with childbirth and caring for a newborn, I've been run down because I am sick. First an infection, which I took antibiotics for. Then, a cold/flu thing. Viral, at any rate. Now some congestion has settled in my chest, so I'm thinking it's gonna be another few days before that becomes bronchitis or something of that nature. For those of you that have experienced it, my signature honking goose cough is back. Yippee.

So, to prevent new sicknesses from setting in, I'm giving the DanActive yoghurt-ish drinks a try. If I'm really good, I'll make my way over to a crunchy store and get some digestive enzymes and cut all the dairy from my diet period. But that's a little ambitious yet. Maybe that should be goal for the week. Haha.

I've got to get that book by Hale, regarding Meds. and breastfeeding. Hopefully it goes over herbal stuffs too. And, I need to look into physicians that are not just into traditional medicine. And it'd be nice to get back to the chiropractor. Oh, how relaxing THAT will be with Ethan and Rei in tow. It's nice that Alex has his weekends back with having a normal job, but I no longer know how I'm ever going to make it to any professional appointment for myself now that I don't have someone who is guaranteed to be around for childcare during the weekdays. Meh.

smiles

noreply@blogger.com (friedbrain) — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 19:58:00 +0000

Rei smiles all the time in her sleep. And that is why I've trudged through this all. Sweet sleepy smiles.

The Baby Leash

noreply@blogger.com (friedbrain) — Fri, 18 May 2007 14:14:00 +0000

Earlier on in this pregnancy I commented to quite a few people that I was going to need a baby leash. For Ethan. For he is two and adventurous, and I just can't physically handle him. Sure, he'll hold hands, for a bit . . . and then we get into struggles that nearly result in him having nursemaid's elbow, or, a dislocated shoulder, as his solution to my maintaining the hold on his hand is to develop a case of spaghetti legs. I have a muscle that is at the least bruised in my abdomen, it might even be torn, and, Ethan is nearly 30 lbs., so I can't and shouldn't be carrying him. I would like to imagine that on the end of the baby leash he'd be satisfied enough with the distance he can go, without holding onto my hand, that hopefully, he won't develop acute dead weight syndrome at the end of the leash.

I also thought I'd have found the one that we had from Leah (shower gift or something at some point) but I'm beginning to think I passed it along.

I am so horrendously tired today. We're supposed to go to NJ tomorrow for my niece's party. I'm excited about that. I'm not excited about the distance or the car ride. I had high hopes that I was going to go into labor last night . . . I had had contractions on and off all day yesterday, and once it got to be dinner time, I had a few doozys, and this continued until I went to bed at midnightish. But none of these were with any rhythm, so I knew it wasn't the REAL thing. I think it should be explained to women that labor is actually a multi week process in most cases. And that what we all commonly call "labor" should really more accurately be called "eminent labor". Or something like that. My usually wee ankles were also the size of softballs last night. That was actually a painful amount of edema. I might seriously need to get old people edema socks. ICK. Especially in this weather . . .

Rei, Rei, come out and play!

noreply@blogger.com (friedbrain) — Sun, 06 May 2007 02:31:00 +0000

No one will be happier to see this kid than me.

And for those of you who know Leah, that's saying quite a lot. Because she is incredibly eager to meet Rei.

Seeing this little girl means one very wonderful thing to me: I AM NO LONGER PREGNANT!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay, and one more wonderful thing . . . that we have our daughter with us.

And that I'm not pregnant.

Pukies and Edema

noreply@blogger.com (friedbrain) — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 01:01:00 +0000

My baby boy is going to be two years old tomorrow. Looks like he is going to share a birthday with his "step"-cousin. His "step"-cousin's mommy-to-be is being taken off the pit. for the night, and, they'll gear things up again tomorrow. Or possibly do a c-sec then. Meh. Hospital births.

So yesterday was a gorgeous day (as was today), and it would have been so wonderful to have had a birthday party then. O. Wait. We were supposed to. D'oh! No, instead, little Mr. Man puked twice in the morning, with quite some force behind it. So, we cancelled the party. He was whiny and miserable the whole morning, although abouts two hours after his puking he ate two bowls of cheerios and had some Gatorade (he kept saying, "MMMM! Goooood!" to me as I was drinking mine), and managed to keep that all down. He then had a 4 1/2-5 hour nap. That evening, you would have never known that the boy had looked as though he was knocking on death's door that morning. The highest his temp got was 99 degrees, which, everyone now knows, is not 'actually' a fever.

So, I can't say if we're going to try and have a redo of his birthday. We *might* have a Happy Bday Ethan, come meet Rei party at some point later in the summer. But I can't pull something else together right now. And as Alex pointed out, Ethan really won't miss the party anyway at this age. Maybe if we wait 'till August, we can lump it ALL together: Ethan's 2nd, Leah's 6th, and meet Rei. Or maybe that's when we'll get her baptized. Hrrrmmmnnnnn . . . sure would make things simpler.

With the last two, I didn't have any edema until the week before I delivered. I've been having MAJOR edema since Saturday. I went and got a Mocha Frappe today so that I could make good use of caffeine's diuretic properties. It has indeed helped the swelling some, and I've peed more today than I think I peed all weekend. I don't know how much stock to put in the sonogram dating of my pregnancy. I feel right now as I did in the days prior to delivering Leah and Ethan. Maybe it's just wishful thinking. The 30th of May seems so very far away.

On the other hand, I need to get my butt in gear and get my stuff done for my class. Tomorrow should lend itself well to that. Well, sorta. I have a cake to make. And a parent-teacher conference to attend. Maybe I'll do it half-assed and leave the lightning bolt and the number 95 off of Mr. McQueen, and just make him a red car. That saves mixing up 3 extra icing colors as well as having to take the time to fade the yellow into the orange on the lighting bolt. He can be all Radiator Springs repaint style. Then all I need is red, blue, and black. And white, but white doesn't require extra mixing. Though, I can't remember what color they made the hubcaps. But grey isn't too hard to do, I just scoop some icing out as I'm mixing the black icing.

There's two weeks left until the semester ends. I gotta get my butt in gear. Rei is going to be a coffee junkie. I'm horrid.

Slow Down!!

noreply@blogger.com (friedbrain) — Sat, 14 Apr 2007 12:23:00 +0000

We think that little Rei is eager to be here. I spotted--again--on Thursday. So, off to the midwives we went, where I was examined and found to be okay (cervix closed and all that stuff, ya de ya da), and was then sent to the high-risk OB across the hall for a detailed sonogram of the placenta, which was also found to be a-okay. They also did that 3-D sonogram thing. Rei would not move her arms from in front of her face, and, the one pic we got of her, she's smooshed up her face. So it's hard to tell whose nose she has, but she definitely has Ethan's pouty pucker. Maybe I'll get around to scanning that in and posting it.

So, there's no real concrete "reason" for the spotting. It simply must be that my normal level of activity (going to class, caring for Leah & Ethan, and running household errands) is just too physically demanding on my body. So, there's a been a change in plans. Since I can't guarantee that my health won't land me on REAL bedrest (or with a preemie baby), I've had to go ahead and drop my A&P class. There's just no way to get through that class w/o completing the labwork, and in order to complete the labwork, I need to be well enough to go to lab. I'm quite bummed about that (and that's an understatement, I'm actually closer to PO'ed). The not-as-bad news is that I can do my other course from home. So at least the efforts of this semester aren't completely fruitless.

Rei is already an estimated 5 1/2 lbs. At 33 weeks gestation. She's measuring closer to 34 weeks. So perhaps my bet for her due date (05/25/07--based totally upon the fact that Leah was born the on the 23rd and Ethan the 24th, so, next in the pattern is 25th) might actually be right. Unless she really tries to come much sooner. Which, the way things have gone with this entire pregnancy, I wouldn't be surprised!

Ethan is starting his speech therapy next week. So hopefully it'll be easier to care for him soon, as he'll be able to just say what it is that he wants! No more mind games :D He actually spoke conversationally to me last week, while we were at my mom's for Easter. He was in the den that's off of the living room. I was in the living room, taking it easy on the couch. He starts calling out, "Ma! Ma!" So I reply, "Yes, Ethan?". He then said something which was an approximation of "I got cars". He then turned back to playing with the cars that he had pulled from the storage drawers. That verbalization was such a big breakthrough! Granted, he hasn't just talked to me again since then, but, it's good to know the wires are there.

Yes, so if you haven't heard, we decided on a name: Rei Isabelle. I kept wavering between "Isabel" and "Isabelle". Alex, fortunately, was decisive and proclaimed that he didn't care for the "Isabel" spelling. I also managed to come up with wording that I'm happy with for her birth announcement. I wanted to incorporate both the kids into Rei's announcement, as I had incorporated Leah into Ethan's announcement, but, finding wording to include multiple older siblings is a bit trickier.

Leah is, well, Leah. We stopped and visited the day camp that she'll attend while she's staying at my mother's while during my post-pardem recovery. It was a good visit and she's now really pumped about going to camp. She's got chutzpah to spare at this point. It's hard to refrain from laughing, seeing her with her fierce Jersey-girl attitude spoken with a slight southern drawl. It's also hard to keep from wanting to make her sassy mouth land in the next state when she gets going, BUT she at least minds me when I tell her she's being fresh. Alex is not so lucky. Yes, we can't get one kid talking, and we can't get the other to shut-up!

I've been done with being pregnant for quite a few months now and I'm really freaking done now. Just a few more weeks . . . I think I can, I think I can . . . my new baby indulgence/birthday gift to myself is this:

Is that not the coolest damn sling you've ever seen? The calaveras even have some sparkle to them :D

AND IT'S LIME!

This sling, and many other gorgeous ones, are the creation of a Laura Jane from down in the south (MS, I think. It says for sure on her site somewhere). Her product line is called ChicKen ScRatch Slings. The price of this sling was a bit much for me, but I really don't ever treat myself like this, either. She has many other slings on clearance right now, especially those in her Southern Collection. Hooray for crafty, WAHM's!! I can't wait for it to arrive ::squee::

Toppings

noreply@blogger.com (friedbrain) — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 13:35:00 +0000

Toppings. Meaning, on the top. Cheese, onions, sauce . . . pickles, lettuce, tomato . . . bacon. Whatever. All TOPPINGS. Not just condiments, but specifically, toppings.

But toppings are not toppings anymore. At Subway, they're "middle-ings". Seriously. They lay the meat down, then the cheese, and then, the toppings, and then, finally, the dressing. Dunno if it's just OCD or a longing for the Battleground, but, subs are meaty in the middle, then cheese goes on the top, and then the lettuce, onion, tomato, and oil & vinegar. Sure, it's a bit more slippery that way. But it's just so YUMMY. It doesn't taste right when the crunchiness of the lettuce is in the middle of the bite. Or when the oil & vinegar can't be tasted because it runs down the cheese and drips from the back end of the sub instead of being absorbed by the bread.

And at the fast food places, and even some "flare-y" style family restaurants, they're BOTTOMINGS. Who puts the cheese on the bottom face of the hamburger patty? WHO? And there's two variations on this atrocity: where the cheese is on the bottom and the rest of the toppings are on the top, and the more easily fixed version where the cheese and the toppings are all on the bottom, as if, they just didn't realize that the bun has a bottom half and a top half.

Now, I have some cultural theories as to why this is happening. But my bottom line is that if I can't get my food the way I like it, I'm certainly not going to spend the extra money to have someone else make it. Which, is ultimately better for my wallet. Maybe sooner or later the food giants will train their employees better, regardless of where they are from. Or, maybe I'm just obsessive-compulsive, and this really doesn't matter to anybody else. But for me, biting into my juicy, $8.00 burger and getting a mouthful of lettuce first before I even taste beef, just doesn't sit well on the tongue. Nor does having the oil & vinegar pull a Houdini from my sub.

A family needs your prayers

noreply@blogger.com (friedbrain) — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 13:46:00 +0000

A friend of a friend of mine is the mom to four little ones: a daughter, who's around Leah's age, give or take; a son, who I believe is a bit older than Ethan, and two little twin boys, now 5 months old. This family has been on one hell of a ride already; and it continues to get more abysmal. My friend posted an intro, and then reposted blogs and bulletins from the mom herself, all of which are below.

For those of you who have been following the story of my friend Taylor and her twin boys, the ups and downs since August have been crazy. After 141 days in the NICU Tyson was sent home from the hospital. After 15 hours at home he had a fever from his immunizations and was sent back to the hospital. He's been back in the hospital for almost a week now and he is on hospital #3. Taylor got some really bad news today, and here is her blog post. Please pray for the family and for Tyson and please ask everyone you know to pray for them. I am completely shocked, as we all thought Tyson was doing great and he had been released and sent home because he was doing well. If you want to read the background info on Tyson, his twin brother, Cooper, and the other kids too, the link to her blog is http://blog.myspace.com/hunnybunny22

Thank you all for your prayers. I'm praying for a miracle, and peace for the family if that is not God's will....

Tyson needs your prayers...
Current mood: ?numb

I went in to see Ty today. I was in a good mood, excited for Tyson and Cooper to see each other. I get there and put the boys together and his pediatrician walks in. She said, "So can you tell me what the other hospitals have told you about Tyson's lungs?"

So I told her what they have told me, his lungs were damaged by the ventilator. Which caused his heart to work too hard and his blood vessels got stressed. The sildenafil is opening up his blood vessels to help the blood get from his heart to his lungs and vice versa. He's breathing better now and will probably have nothing more than asthma when he gets older.

She kinda nodded at that and blinked. Then took a breath and said, "Well its a little worse than that." She said that Tyson has sustained some chronic damage to his lungs that will never heal. The pulmonologist said that he will never breathe correctly, that he may need a trach tube put in and put on the ventilator for times during the day. She gave me three options and the only one that sticks out in my head is that if we just took him home now and loved on him and gave him comfort, he would pass away with in the year.

I was in utter shock! Going from one hospital saying, "He's cured! He's going home!" To another where they are saying, "He's scarred for life."

I was there by myself with the boys. I didnt know how to answer her. She said they dont need any immediate answers and they can set up a conference with me and Luke and all his docs (pedi, cardio, pulmo, etc).. I called Luke and we set that up for tomorrow morning at 1030am.

I cried. I cried some more. I held him, I cried some more. I prayed. I wished. I cried. Tyson sat there the whole time grinning at me. "Mommy, its ok!" I cried some more. Cooper fussed (my mom had gotten there right after I talked to Luke, and was holding Cooper). Ty heard him so he fussed too. I put them together, and they both smiled. I cried some more. Then I took pictures because they smiled so much and looked so cute, I had to savor the moment. Tyson made me feel better.

After a while, I drove home. Me and Cooper. I got lost. I got stuck in traffic. I cried some more. I prayed, I asked why, I asked what next, what do I do? I ask how do I do this? I asked for strength, I asked for faith. I asked for reason. I cried some more.

I got home and I'm too tired to be a mom right now. Annie talks to me all happy and smiley and I want to bawl and hold her and love on her because she is so healthy and happy and she doesnt know that she could lose her baby brother that she barely got to spend time with. I'm just spent and broken right now. I dont want to do it anymore.

Anyway, the meeting is tomorrow at 1030am. Please pray. Pray that the other tests they do reveal that he is fine, that he is healing, that he will be fine and wont need this long term care. Pray that he's healthy and happy and comfortable. Pray that we all have strength. Just pray.

I dont know when I will be on to let everyone know how it goes. Depends on what happens, how I feel afterwards. But I will eventually get to it.

Please pray.

Here is the bulletin Taylor sent out, which also includes photos of Tyson, and his twin brother Cooper.

Cooper and Tyson Sawyer were born at 3 months too soon. Cooper was 3lbs at birth, and Tyson was half that size at 1lb 6.8oz. Cooper was released from the hospital to his home after 54 days in the NICU. Tyson, however, was in the hospital for 141 before being released to home, then 13.5 hours later, was sent back to the hospital with a fever.

We all thought it was nothing, he was doing fine, and it looked like it was just a case of "we'll watch him just to be safe." The fever went away, all was fine, except he was having some small troubles breathing. So a lung doctor took a look at him.

Turns out he is a very very sick little boy. He has severe damage in his lungs from being on the ventilator for 71 days. We thought the damage wasnt so severe that it wouldnt heal, however, it looks like its worse than they thought.

Today, a doctor told me that he may need invasive procedures for life to keep him breathing and he may not live more than a year.

He's almost 5 months old, weighs a little less than 8lbs. He has a twin brother who is healthy and growing. He has a big brother and sister who ask every day for him to be home. He has a mommy and a daddy who ache every day to have him healthy and strong and happy and to live life. We pray and we pray. And we dont feel like its enough. Please pray for our little man. He wants to live, he wants to be a normal child, he wants to enjoy his brothers and sister and his family. He wants to grow up and learn what a little miracle he is and how many people loved and cared for him. PLEASE PRAY FOR HIM!

Say a prayer, pass it on, feel free to visit my page for updates (in blogs), to send Tyson an email (link on page), or to just let us know where your prayers are coming from (send me a message). Let us know you stopped by. We cannot thank you all enough for the love, concern and of course, the prayers!

And the day began with a BANG!

noreply@blogger.com (friedbrain) — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 14:22:00 +0000

Yesterday morning, as Alex and I were sitting in bed, stealing a moment to actually converse with each other, we heard a THUD.

That THUD is better known to most of you all as Ethan. Somehow, he managed to lower the side rail of the crib (uber-weirdness: when Alex went into Ethan's room not 15 minutes earlier to "plug" him back into his pacifier, the side rail was up), and then decided to climb out. Now, being that I can't carry his lead butt around anymore (due to the pregnancy) when I get him from the crib in the mornings, I lower the siderail, kneel next to the crib, and he monkeys out using me as though I were a fire pole. So, it's my fault he knows this.

But, the good news is that he hasn't tried it with the side rails being all the way up, as most kids eventually do try. (Leah never did try to climb out. She stayed in her crib until she was almost 3 years old, when we moved to our present home and got her a toddler bed for her new room.)

And, he's apparently learned his lesson. Last evening, as Alex was changing his diaper, Ethan decided he was done, flipped to his belly, and swung his legs over the side of the changing pad/dresser, and was prepared to slide down to the ground (he does this to get off beds, the couch, chairs, stairs, etc.). When his toes weren't finding any ground, he managed to swing his legs back up, and laid back down on the changing pad. We guess that he decided falling isn't any fun.

DC Craft Mafia's Crafts-a-cre Giveaway!

noreply@blogger.com (friedbrain) — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 02:59:00 +0000

Clicky here to find out more!

Think Pink

noreply@blogger.com (friedbrain) — Sat, 13 Jan 2007 02:25:00 +0000

We believe Leah has gotten her wish. We're pretty certain we are going to have another little girl. But, it's never guaranteed 'till it's out . . . Alex said that if it's not a girl, he better have one hell of a personality!

And speaking of births, Dad would have been 53 today.

Leah is pretty determined that this kid will be named Sally. After the Porche from CARS.

Value

noreply@blogger.com (friedbrain) — Tue, 09 Jan 2007 20:39:00 +0000

You know, a health insurance policy isn't worth the paper it is printed on if no Doctor accepts it.

United Healthcare, I hope you pigs enjoy your stock prices. Because they will be falling, and falling fast, as fewer and fewer Docs participate in your network, and then, Employers will drop you like a hot potato when their employees can't get any coverage ANYWHERE. Sure, this is going to take a year or two more, but, it's coming.

On Heart-Attacks:

noreply@blogger.com (friedbrain) — Tue, 09 Jan 2007 14:40:00 +0000

So, I apparently gave my husband and my boss a heart attack yesterday afternoon. I though, was having a little heart attack of my own. And grandmom, the one who actually has heart problems, seems to have made it through her procedure okay.

I've been batting a sinus infection. I also hadn't felt the little bugger move at all, to my recollection, as the day was approaching noon. So my head was pounding, I took some Tylenol, and laid down to see if I could feel the little bugger wiggle while I waited for the Tylenol to kick in so that I could leave for work. I promptly became dead to the world. Not too long thereafter, Alex was looking for me, and of course, couldn't reach me anywhere, even at work. So, he and my boss were quite a bit freaked.

Three hours later, after not being able to reach me, Alex comes home to me just sitting up in bed and getting oriented to my surroundings, and realizing, that I had fallen asleep and still hadn't felt the little bugger move. I touched base with everyone that I had missed during my nap, and then laid around to wait for a reassuring kick.

Around 4:50 the baby FINALLY moved, and didn't stop moving until well after 2 am when I fell asleep (naps are nice, but they always screw up my sleep for the night). Apparently, I wasn't the only one that was exhausted.

Morton Salt

noreply@blogger.com (friedbrain) — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 15:16:00 +0000

We had the big family party on Saturday. The one where my mom's entire side of the family gets together to celebrate Christmas. My mom's cousin, his wife, and their two kids came up from Tennessee. That was cool, 'cause the last time they were up was 1999 or 2000 or something like that.

Evidence we are all related: the adult gift game, which usually does end up with a fair share of "adult gifts", ended up with two PIMP "steins", one of which we brought, and one of which Alex couldn't refuse to bring home when it was revealed that there were two in the game. Our other loot included Keg Pong, which I just might be able to play in about two years, and custom made Santa-mooning wrapping paper. I shared some of that with my younger cousin. She's going to display it on her bedroom door. HEH HEH HEH.

The not so coolness of the weekend is that my husband's grandmom ended up in the hospital with cardiac woes. She was transferred from the County Hospital (not a bad hosp) to the #1 local hospital, and they're doing a few things today (surgical) to hopefully correct the issue. Granted, they still have to figure out exactly what is going on anyway. I made my husband go see her last night (rather, I drug him there). He HATES hospitals (granted, this worked to my advantage when I told him I wanted to do a birth center birth with our last kid) and his terrified about losing his grandmom. The issues grandmom has going on are serious, but one wouldn't be inclined to think of them as fatal, until one factors in the notion that she's 85. At that age, treatment, complications from treatment, or secondary infections that one could be exposed to in the hospital are usually almost as bad if not worse than whatever the issue itself is.

I have to laugh, though. Her son, who's a good 30-35 years younger than her, had the same procedure done within the past few years. For him, it was an outpatient thing. He went home the same day--he's totally fine. Grandmom was quite beside herself to learn that she isn't going home today, they they'll be holding onto her while she recovers. To her credit, she does not realize she's EIGHTY-FIVE. And, honestly, that's the best thing for her.

Expunge the Sinuses!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (friedbrain) — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 18:04:00 +0000

On that whole getting healthy thing: before I start working again, after baby # 3 is done with the boobs, I need to get a few things done. The wisdom teeth will need to go, my deviated septum will need to be evened out, and possibly, depending on how the sinuses keep acting, they'll need a good surgical cleaning of sorts. Oh, then there's also the no more baby surgery, and, getting far enough along in allergy shots that I'm onto the maintence part of the series before I have to be employed again. When those things start, you need to dedicate 1.5 hours a visit, x3 visits a week to get them done. Who has that time?? Our health insurance is going to hate on us. Big time.

Next Friday, the 12th, we'll figure out what's going on with this baby. If I have placenta previa, to the extent that it occludes the Os by 100% and it's looking like I'll have to be on bedrest for the last month or two of the pregancy (and, have a c-section, ick), I think I am going to have to opt out of classes for the spring semester, which SUCKS. But, I am just going to have to take things as they're handed to me at this rate. Really, what else is there to do?

I've begun knitting. For something "artsy" it's incredibly mechanical, and technical, and I like it. I'm just working on my first square now, which Leah is loving, so I think I just may keep it going and make it into a little scarf for her. The frugal part of me says to practice my stiches, pull it all out, and do it again . . . the part of me that needs to be validated by a physical representation of my labor says to give it to the kid and not destory all that work (even if it is my first go at it and shoddy on the whole). Don't we all just need a little validation, sometimes?

For all you knitters out there--I'm apparently true to my German heritage and prefer to knit continential style. Though it IS quite easy to drop stiches that way.

laid so low

noreply@blogger.com (friedbrain) — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 15:02:00 +0000

It's not often I get started on a pity party. And I'm not even sure that pity party is the right term, 'cause I don't seek pity . . . it's just all this New Year's crap is making me reflect on the past year . . . and wow, it's been a shit year.

Yes, I usually don't look at things this pessimistically, and I usually function under the modus of being thankful for what I do have.

But I don't feel like that today. I feel crappy. I feel outright shitty. So I am going to wallow for a few measly paragraphs, and then hopefully, move on with my day. So, if you don't want to hear me kvetching like an entitled little suburbanite teen, stop reading.

I've warned you.

--kvetching removed because many of our prayers have been answered.--

So 2006, GOOD FUCKING RIDDANCE!!!!

I pray for healing in the New Year. I need my husband to get his head on straight. I need him to figure out the money woes. I'll not be working soon--I'll have the time to give the necessary attention to healing our home, to making sure we're healthier. And maybe, just maybe, we can go to a museum or take a walk in the park and just enjoy ourselves. No drama. Just peace.

more evidence I need to SLOW down

noreply@blogger.com (friedbrain) — Sat, 30 Dec 2006 18:33:00 +0000

So, it's been an interesting 24 hours. I spotted a little last evening, but there was no cramping or anything. So, weird. So I've been ordered to take it easy and seek out an ER if there's cramping or more spotting.

The dog peed on the couch. It was an insane amount of pee. So now we're wondering if our little puggie is sick, or if he just OD'd at the water bowl. He had been running around like a nut . . . Alex is outside flushing the approprate pieces of the couch, and in several many days, the Lay-Z-Boy fabric protection people will do whatever is they do to make it as new as possible. Or so they say. Ick. Ick. Ick.

Runny Noses

noreply@blogger.com (friedbrain) — Thu, 28 Dec 2006 13:39:00 +0000

Leah: "Mom! Ethan has a pickle Boogie!"
Me: "Why, is it green?"
Leah: "No, it just LOOKS like a pickle."

And sure enough, Ethan had a green, oblong boogie stretching from nostril to lip. And, yes, it DID look like a pickle.

Flashback to the 80's

noreply@blogger.com (friedbrain) — Wed, 27 Dec 2006 20:50:00 +0000

Remember the Reebok Double Tongue sneakers, circa . . . say . . . 1988-ish? Yeah, I had a pair and thought I was the shit. They were white and lime green, I believe. Or black and lime green. But they were definitely lime green.

Well, I was tooling about zappo's to see if I could spend my Christmas money. And these amuse me so much, not only for the nostalgia, but because (sans double tongue) this is always what I did with my cons- fold the tongue down over the laces.

Welcome to my blogspot

noreply@blogger.com (friedbrain) — Tue, 26 Dec 2006 20:48:00 +0000

Well, I'm considering migrating from ElJay over to here. At least, I wanted to save a URL.