I just wanted to let everyone know I have fallen off the blog earth. My camera has had problems scanning my pictures, and now i finally got it fixed last night, but now the font on my computer is all messed up and after two hours and an aching back I gave up. I have pictures of birthday, bunnies, cows, and so much more and blogging without them would not do justice, so I will wait till my computer decides to get his act together, yes it's a he. no way a women would be having all these blogging problems right? so until i get it fixed, i will not be gracing you with all my personal journaling. I know I know, it'll be o.k. hopefully i'll be back soon.

SPIRIT WEEK

I have always been a fan of spirit week. Partly because I was a cheerleader, therefore you are kind of in charge of the spirit, and partly just because I think it is fun to see all the kids express their selves. They have all sorts of fun things each day during the week; sports day, pajama day, school shirt day, backwards/inside out day, and of course my favorite, wacky hair day! I am a super fan of this because I also participated in wacky hair day when I was a youngin' I actually won 50 dollars, first prize for the wackiest hair. wish I had a pic, but I don't.

Basically I had really long hair, I put a braid on each side of my head, attached a hanger to my head and threaded the hair through, so I had a "Pippy long stocking" do. It was awesome. My hair stuck straight out and up off my head.

So today was wacky day, and our clothes we wear are already wacky, so I decided we would go with the hair. Poor Conner always wants to do spikes or something, but his hair is soooo stinking coarse, it won't budge. We call him our little Brillo pad, seriously, it's rough. A buz cut will always be his signature do, poor thing. Anyway, Dad saved the night last night by searching for hair dye, and came home with Hannah Montana blue.

It was a hit, and showed up perfectly. Taylor had to get in on the hairdo too, who could not if Hannah Montana was sporting it?Conner said the kids at school loved his hair, and Taylor loved showing hers off too. All in all wacky hair day was a success, I even put a few streaks in my hair, per request of the blue haired kids. At the end of the day; Wacky hair, Wacky kids, Happy mom.

ICE CREAM

So I was in one of those moods where everyone gets ice cream, everyone. I have never really let Presley have rein over her own cone, but today she experienced that indulgence. Partly because every child should experience their own ice cream cone, and partly because I was indulging in a bowl of my own.

Mint chocolate chip happens to be one of my favorites, if you get a good brand, and Presley also loved it. She liked to pick out all the chips and eat them with her fingers as opposed to licking them, makes sense if you ask me. The chips are kinda different to lick, I usually have my ice cream in a bowl, so I was not opposed to her method.

Lately Presley has been miss sensitive, so I didn't think this cold, wet, sticky ice cream thing would last long, but she ate the entire thing, minus half the cone, and she definatly took her time.



After the first and last photos I took, she would hardly pay attention to me either. I kept trying to talk to her and ask her if she liked it and what not, but she was so busy focusing on eating this strange thing, that she payed no heed to my social butterflyness. Yep, I was ignored. Makes sense though, have you ever eaten a bowl of ice cream in utter silence, just focusing on each bite, truly enjoying what you're tasting? Trust me it's much more satisfying that way. I love ice cream with company too, but it seems like before I know it my spoon is clanking the bottom of the bowl, I don't know where it all went, I'm wondering if ice cream evaporates, and I'm swearing I got short changed on the scoops. And that only leaves me wanting more. Much more theraputic to eat it in silence, so kuddos to presley for figuring this out early on. It will most definatly save her some inches to the waistline.

CURIOSITY OF A CAT

Well, those of you who do not live in hair for a profession might not understand the curiosity to change one's hair, but I do, and I did. Nothing Permanent, I was just desperately curious to see what my little curly cue would look like with straight hair, well, here's the verdict.I first blow dried it, which only made it bigger, so then I took the flatiron to it, that did the trick, at least for a while. Her sides were only about shoulder length, but the back is super long!It is so amazing to look at her with tight curls above her shoulders all the time and then see how long her hair is really. Weird. After a few hours, the curl started to come back, all on it's own.Usually you have to wash your hair out after using a flatiron to get any curl back, but nope, couple of hours and it was retracting on it's own.Presley was so funny, she would get so frustrated with her hair because it was long and would hang over in her eyes. she would swiftly brush it back and roll her eyes as it fell back forward; hence the boppy pin. Then she was o.k. She seemed to be o.k. with the straight thing, but she did look weird at first. When Conner came around the corner of the room and saw her, he screamed and jumped, and asked " what happened to her?" Funny. And when dad came home his reaction was about the same except for he thought I had a wig on her, nice. Taylor and I are the only true witnesses in this crime. It was a fun experience, probably not one I'll bother going into until she's older and hates her curls, but fun.

And even more funny, when Brandon brought her into the kitchen the next morning laughing, when they entered I knew why. Her hair looked as if I had never touched it. Completely curly once more. That's called good hair.

How old is Grandpa?

My Sweet Grandmother sent this to me. I thought it was very interesting, and sad at the same time. The world is such a different place. I'm not saying everything in today's world is bad, because with a lot of the technologies we have today, have saved peoples lives, I just thought the information was interesting.

How old is Grandpa?

Stay with this -- the answer is at the end. It will blow you away.
One evening a grandson was talking to his grandfather about current events. The grandson asked his grandfather what he thought about the shootings at schools, the computer age, and just things in general.
The Grandfather replied, 'Well, let me think a minute, I was born before:
' television
' penicillin
' polio shots
' frozen foods
' Xerox
' contact lenses
' Frisbees and
' the pill
There were no:
' credit cards
' laser beams or
' ball-point pens
Man had not invented:
' pantyhose
' air conditioners
' dishwashers
' clothes dryers
' and the clothes were hung out to dry in the fresh air and
' man hadn't yet walked on the moon
Your Grandmother and I got married first, . . and then lived together.
Every family had a father and a mother.
Until I was 25, I called every man older than me, 'Sir'. And after I turned 25, I still called policemen and every man with a title, 'Sir.'
We were before gay-rights, computer- dating, dual careers, daycare centers, and group therapy.
Our lives were governed by the Ten Commandments, good judgment, and common sense.
We were taught to know the difference between right and wrong and to stand up and take responsibility for our actions.
Serving your country was a privilege; living in this country was a bigger privilege.
We thought fast food was what people ate during Lent.
Having a meaningful relationship meant getting along with your cousins.
Draft dodgers were those who closed front doors as the evening breeze started.
Time-sharing meant time the family spent together in the evenings and weekends-not purchasing condominiums.
We never heard of FM radios, tape decks, CDs, electric typewriters, yogurt, or guys wearing earrings.
We listened to Big Bands, Jack Benny, and the President's speeches on our radios.
And I don't ever remember any kid blowing his brains out listening to Tommy Dorsey.
If you saw anything with 'Made in Japan ' on it, it was junk
The term 'making out' referred to how you did on your school exam.
Pizza Hut, McDonald's, and instant coffee were unheard of.
We had 5 &10-cent stores where you could actually buy things for 5 and 10 cents.
Ice-cream cones, phone calls, rides on a streetcar, and a Pepsi were all a nickel.
And if you didn't want to splurge, you could spend your nickel on enough stamps to mail 1 letter and 2 postcards.
You could buy a new Chevy Coupe for $600, . . but who could afford one? Too bad, because gas was 11 cents a gallon.
In my day:
' 'grass' was mowed,
' 'coke' was a cold drink,
' 'pot' was something your mother cooked in and
' 'rock music' was your grandmother's lullaby.
' 'Aids' were helpers in the Principal's office,
' ' chip' meant a piece of wood,
' 'hardware' was found in a hardware store and
' 'software' wasn't even a word.
And we were the last generation to actually believe that a lady needed a husband to have a baby. No wonder people call us 'old and confused' and say there is a generation gap. and how old do you think I am?
I bet you have this old person in mind...you are in for a shock!
Read on to see -- pretty scary if you think about it and pretty sad at the same time. Are you ready ?????
This person would be only 59 years old.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

O.k people, if you already felt sorry for my family, get this. Brandon has Pneumonia!!! Seriously! Can this be happening? Presley is still recovering and doing well but still has a sinus infection. Conner is rounding out his 20th day on antibiotics for a sinus infection, thank goodness he was on them when all the others got sick. It takes him a full month of antibiotics and steroids to clear just a sinus infection. Pneumonia would have AT LEAST put him in the hospital. And yes Taylor has a sinus infection and the flu. Isn't that why we get flu shots? I swear every year I get a shot, I get the flu, every year. I know the vaccine only covers certain strands, but come on, every year? Next year I'm going without. Yes I have a cold too, but someone has to take care of all these sick helpless people, so that means me. It was a unanimous vote, by far. So, if you were already feeling sorry, feel even more. Gosh I can't wait for warm weather, I'm so sick of germs and having to be in the house stuck with them!

EXHAUSTION

Well, I truly have felt like I have been in a state of exhaustion lately. I am sooo tired, I can't sleep, which doesn't help the tiredness, I am always nauseated, probably from the lack of sleep, and If I eat, I vomit, from the nausea. vicious cycle. I have also been having back problems. I have had four shots of steroids, yes it hurts, they shoot those right into the muscle that is already killing you. And muscle relaxers have not phased me, so now I get to have physical therapy, but of course when I called to set up the appointment they are booked out the for the next five weeks. Is that humane? Five more weeks of horrible back pain with nothing to relieve it? Once again, vicious cycle.

My Little Presley has had a semi cold for a while, you know the usual runny nose, teething thing. Well I did the normal routine; ran the humidifier, Tylenol, cuddles and kisses and waited it out. A couple days ago I herd her hacking up a lung in the middle of the night. I went and got her, and recognized the cough, but dismissed it, until in the morning when she started up the cough again. I was right with the recognition, I was convinced it was croup, she has had it before. I ran the humidifier again and called the doctor. Of course they were booked, and the last thing on my list that day was the walk in clinic. Well after her nap, which was short she felt so warm to me so I took her temp, 103.1 I called the doctor again and they told me to take her to the walk in NOW. So, I cancelled everything and went in. Of course the walk in wait time was over an hour, doesn't surprise me. I waited exactly over an hour and finally we got her in. After Chest x-ray's the doctor confirmed; Pneumonia. What? I asked him, all of this just came on, today, besides the runny nose, which I thought was teething. They gave her a shot, strong antibiotic, and sent us home with more liquid antibiotics.

Well, Presley is my spitter, no matter how much I fought her, she spit. I disguised it in food, juice, milk, pudding, yogurt, everything. No take. I called the pharmacy and asked for some suggestions. They told me to put it in chocolate milk cause the chocolate masks the taste the best, but then of course you have to get her to drink the whole thing or you don't know how much of the antibiotic she got. Well, tried it, she took one sip, and threw it on the floor, looked at me in disgust, and said NO. NO JUICE. She calls every drink juice. Well, it was late of course, all that time at the walk in. So i put her to bed, ran the humidifier and called the doc in the morning. The doc looked at the x-ray over the phone, took into consideration her fever was still over 102 and she was spitting all her meds, even the Tylenol, and told me to bring her in now. So once again, I cancelled two hair appointments, a sinus CT, an IEP meeting at the school, and headed in around ten. Got in got the usual work up, confirmed the pneumonia was junking up her lungs more and she spit all the meds they tried to give her. So next step was hydration. Now, many of you know I have been in the medical industry for 4 weeks shy of 8 years, but this day was horrific. I have been through much more trauma with Conner, but he is chronically ill, so I have done it many many times; you get use to it. Not the terror you feel from watching your child in pain, I will feel that the rest of my life, but you get use to the fact that this is chronic and I have to stay strong. My little Presley has never tested my emotions in this area. Of course she screams as soon as the nurse puts her gloves on. I had to pin her down, why do they make the mom do this?, I will not go into detail, because this post would go forever, but they tried FOUR times! And the whole time she screamed daddy. Of course I cried, it's just horrible to have to pin a child to a bed and watch them look at you with frightened eyes, screaming for you, and to not be able to do a thing. After FIVE tries I told them they needed to let her rest. She instantly fell asleep, so exhausted. Meanwhile I called Brandon, he was in town with work, and I told him the story and he needed to come for her, she wanted him. So covered in cow poop, he came, just like a night in shinning armor. As soon as he walked in, Presley woke up, balled daddy and lunged for him. Well not too long after his arrival they vowed they needed to get the iv in. I stepped outside with Taylor, who was tired of the screaming and waited. Another HALF HOUR of screaming passed! I went to the doctor and asked her just how long they intended to try this it was becoming inhumane. She assured me they needed to get it in, hydrate her and get the antibiotic in to attack the pneumonia. I waited again. Finally!!!! The iv was in. after reentering the room, it was brought to my attention they had tried two more times, SIX times people, SIX. And An hour and a half to do it! Ridiculous. Presley lunged for me this time, which made me feel a little better, and I just held her. Propped over my shoulder, she fell asleep. The nurse informed my the fluids would take two hours to run in, of course.

I then had to have brandon check conner out of school and take him back to work with him because he had no ride, and taylor stayed with me.

Well we got the first bag in and hung the second. The nurse told me she was putting the antibiotic in this bag, now that she was semi hydrated it would work better. Not ten minutes after, Presley awoke screaming. I tried for twenty minutes to calm her down, no luck. I looked at her arm and it looked a little swollen. I grabbed the nurse and told her and she just said, it's o.k. the tape just looks tight cause they have to secure it good, but she didn't physically look at her arm. I continually tried to console her, but could not. And of course everyone who walked by or in, we were in the trauma room, looked at me like I couldn't control my kid. I knew something was wrong with her arm, I looked again and it was HUGE, the tape was cutting into her arm on both ends, and I turned her arm over and there was this HUGE bubble in her arm, it looked like her arm was gonna pop. It was really discolored too. I yelled for the nurse and made her look at the arm and stated the was not just a tight tape issue. She looked a the arm, gasped, ran out of the room and returned with the doctor. The doctor immediately removed the IV, meanwhile the nurse apologized for not looking at the arm to make sure the iv was properly placed. I love this nurse, she is always so good to me, but I was mad at the situation. The doctor stated that the vein was blown, duh, and all that fluid was just being pumped into her arm, causing it to swell. well, it was so swollen cause the tape on both ends of her arm was trapping the fluid in between her wrist and about two inches from her elbow. After they de-taped her which was another scream fest, her arm looked horrible. I was then informed of some super duper news. because they had just put the antibiotic in and they had to stop the iv, they would have to give her a shot, yes a shot. So not only a shot from the night before, six shots covering her arms and hands, we got to add another one to her leg. I was pissed.

So, after five and a half hours in the trauma room, I packed up my poor Presley and Taylor and headed to the pharmacy where I was told my prescription of another antibiotic would be waiting cause they faxed it an hour ago. Yep, you guessed it, no fax, no prescription. So, I parked myself in the waiting room and waited a half hour for the fax, and another half hour for the meds. Yes, that's six and a half hours now in the clinic. which also seemed longer because Taylor chose to lay on a waiting room table kicking and crying because I couldn't get her a drink of milk. I explained they did not sell those in the pop machine, but she didn't by it. 20 month old crying in pain on shoulder, four year old crying and kicking on table in crowded waiting room; exhausted, upset mom.

Oh. I almost forgot. before I left, the doctor pulled me aside and told me I needed to watch her arm like a hawk. If there was any redness at the site, or any red streaks, take her to the ER immediately. I inquired of course. So happens when that much fluid is trapped in a small spot for that long, it is a breeding ground for infection, a serious one.

I headed home with her wrapped up in a blanket cause her arm was so swollen I couldn't get her coat on. I tried to give her her meds last night, she threw them up, and spit. I tried to give her ibuprofen to bring her fever down, spit. held her down, threw it up. I held her a long time, she slept with me for a while during the night and this morning. I tried to give her her meds today, spit. Thought I would mix it up and use a spoon instead of a syringe. she swung at me and knocked it all over the floor. This antibiotic in particular is very concentrated so she only gets three doses, making it easier on both of us. well, one dose just ended up on the floor, I retrieved another dose, inhumanely held her down and forced her to take it, and she threw up. So two doses gone one left and the first day. Now it is a weekend, no more shots, not enough antibiotic, still a fever, still crying, still on my shoulder. I bet i know where I'll end up this weekend, and if for some reason we don't go to the ER, I have to call monday to state the loss of the antibiotic and I'm sure they'll have me bring her in for another shot. Horrific.

So to sum it all up, as if this wasn't a long post anyway. Six times for iv, Seven hours by the time I got home. Huge swollen infant arm, shots, fever, vomit, spitting, no antibiotic left, because of the spitting and vomiting, no sleep, no eating , little drinking, dehydration, poor poor helpless baby, still propped over my shoulder. Two days of horrific experiences to provide no medical care significant enough to attack the pneumonia, threat of hospitalization, call on monday, possible ER visit before monday, and now a serious infection to worry about.

I would post pics, but one you don't want to see my face and two, my baby is still crying over my shoulder. i feel it would be inhumane to photo her now.

EXHAUSTION, for everyone.