Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Because I Need Some Frivolity

What Kind of Reader Are You?
Your Result: Dedicated Reader

You are always trying to find the time to get back to your book. You are convinced that the world would be a much better place if only everyone read more.

Literate Good Citizen
Obsessive-Compulsive Bookworm
Book Snob
Fad Reader
Non-Reader
What Kind of Reader Are You?
Create Your Own Quiz

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Tuesday, February 19, 2008

You MUST Be Kidding!

Thanks for the kind words in your comments to the previous post. I apologize now for the crabbiness about to assail you.

So we get up to get ready for school and work today. I go into the bathroom with Angie for teethbrushing time. I glance at her as I'm grabbing the toothpaste and I do a quick double take.

"Angie, could you look up at me?"

Little face turns up at me, squinting. One eye is normal, the other eyelid is swollen and pink, the eye bloodshot. There is goo under the eye.

Insert me mentally cursing.

I go discreetly to my husband and whisper, "I think Angie has pink eye, you need to look at her."

He gives me this look as if saying, "Foolish woman, you are overreacting."

He loads Angie into the car and they go to school while I head to work, ruminating over the symptoms.

I double check pink eye symptoms at work and call Chas immediately. I tell him he needs to call the Doctor and the school. He is frustrated because it is 8:23 a.m., he hasn't even arrived home yet.

He calls me later to say that he had someone at the school look at her. They took poor Angie into the hallway and agreed that it looked like pink eye. Chas told the he'd be back out to pick her up, then he called the Doctor.

The Doctor confirms the pink eye and waffles on prescribing drops for the eye since she was already on antibiotics. In the end, he gives Chas the prescription, just to be safe.

Chas loses the prescription on the way to the pharmacy. Apparently, he put both kids in the car and closed the doors while he stood outside next to the car swaering profusely.

Back to the Doctor's Office at their lunchtime to get the prescription agian.

By the time I arrive home, both eyes are infected.

Sigh.

I know full well that worse things could happen, but seriously, enough. I just want everyone in my little family to be healthy again.

Angie is Child of the Week next week which means we have to plan a week of show an tell and she has to do a short presentation on an animal.

Don't mind me. I'll just be sitting in a corner running my fingers over my lips going, "bibbilty, bibbilty, bibbilty."

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Monday, February 18, 2008

Slowly Emerging from the House of Yuck

In my last post, I indicated that some illnesses in our home slowed my stitching last month. I believe that I failed entirely to mention that I felt terrible and was definitely coming down with something. And I did not specify that both kids were sick. Angie spiked a high fever one night, but recovered after a day of rest at home. Kian was unlike himself and was unbelievably grumpy--or perhaps because he is normally so chipper, his general crabiness seemed worse than it was. We went to the Doctor and were told that although he had fluid in his ears, he had no infection therefore no medication was necessary. We just needed to keep a close eye on him. That led to working short days while I drove Angie to and from school--two hours of driving each day. It was exhausting and I became worse.

Kian seemed to recover and even began giggling again. After waiting a week, I went to my Doctor and was put on an antibiotic. That night Chas turned to me and said, "I've noticed that Kian is poking at his ears. What do you think we should do?" So we have another trip to the Doctor to learn that Kian has infections in both ears. Antibiotics, twice a day is the plan.

Over the weekend, my course of antibiotics ends, and though I feel less foggy, I'm definitely not cured. I become more ill and have trouble breathing at night. Kian despises his antibiotics and fight diaper changes as his poor bottom turms bright red. Then Chas turns to me again and says, I don't feel well. What were your symptoms?"

On Monday I stay home from work and place several calls to my Doctor to get another antibiotic. After the second call, the receptionist tells me that the order will be ready at the pharmacy between 2:30 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. Chas and Angie, who is the only healthy person in the house, trek out to the pharmacy. No prescription. The pharmacy calls the Doctor and we learn that she has not even seen my message from 10:30 a.m. During my next chat with the receptionist, I am told that it should be soon, but her phones are cut off at 4:30 p.m. so she won't be available to help after that.

I finally hear from the nurse who informs me that "The Doctor will be calling in the prescription and oh by the way are you breastfeeding?" Yes. "Well you can't breastfeed while on this antibiotic so you'll need to pump and dump for the next ten days."

I almost cry.

Then I ask if there is anything else I can take because he is sick too and I'd like him to have the immunological benefits of breastfeeding in addition to his antibiotics. She tells me that he is probably getting my illness through the breastmilk and hints that I should stop for the duration. My husband is reminding me that we have plenty of frozen breastmilk so we wouldn't need to put him on formula.

I stand my ground, because while the young nurse (who has obviously never had to pump and dump around her own sick infant and who probably doesn't have kids yet) clearly thinks it's no big deal to pump and dump, I can imagine the horrors that await me if I have to push Kian, in need of milk and comfort, away for ten long days. Not to mention how uncomfortable pumping all day for ten days would be.

The nurse promises to check with the Doctor after she finishes with her patient. 4:30 p.m. comes and goes--we hear nothing. Dear Chas is annoyed. I'm searching KellyMom (bless them) and the LactMed Database for info on breastfeeding compatible antibiotics (and I'm horrified at the side effects of the proposed antibiotic--Psychosis? Hallucinations? Suicidal thoughts? I don't want to take it even if I'm not breastfeeding).

At 5:00 p.m. Chas has me call and I get the most unhelpful answering service for a Doctor ever. Apparently, I'm out of luck and they are gone for the day.

5:30 p.m. arrives with a call from the nurse, I propose an antibiotic, which is rejected, but a prescription for a breastfeeding friendly antibiotic will be called in immediately. We eat dinner quickly and Chas and Angie venture out once more.

I feel yucky, but vaguely victorious.

Chas decides to go to the Doctor the next day, so I stay home until lunchtime. Chas now has his own antibiotics, or he will when goes to another pharmacy later as I received the last of the antibiotics the previous night. Concerned about the kids (I saw Angie pulling at her ear before school and Kian's bottom is scarlet and painful to the touch) I call their doctor before I leave. We are to watch Angie, but bring Kian in. I go to work and call Chas later. Kian's ears are not much better, and certainly not enough to justify what the antibiotic is doing to his diaper region. So we get a new antibiotic (thankfully a smaller dose once a day) and a prescription for butt paste (nystatin, Aquaphor and minty Maalox).

Yes three of us are now on antibiotics but at least Angie stopped pulling on her ears and seems well.

Did I mention through this last week, I'm the hotline Magistrate who is on call 24hours a day, seven days a week? Or that the house is a disaster and Chas's parents will be arriving on Saturday?

Slowly, the antibiotics start working, the house is presentable and we're feeling human by Saturday. Yay family.

Sunday night, I'm thinking to myself that at least Angie is okay and we'll all be better soon.

At 3:00 a.m. today Angie wakes me tearfully to say that her ear hurts. We go to the Doctor today. Angie has an ear infection. Sigh. We have lunch with Chas's parents before they leave then we go fill yet another antibiotic prescription (if you're counting, we're up to six antibiotics since February commenced).

I have surfed the net to learn that Nicki and Janet both gave me an award. Thanks ladies--that was a sweet surprise. I'll post my favorite blogs later.

I've been slowly stiching Angie's Tooth Fairy pillow and hope to finish it by the end of the month. I put a few stitches in my HAED Challenge piece, but all other stitching has suffered greatly. I am inspired to stitch Paradigm Lost over one after seeing Nicki's The Token framed. I think I have just the fabric....

I hope February has been gentler to you.

Come on March!

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Friday, February 01, 2008

Goals: Finish it February

I had lots of nice starts for my Guilt Free January and no finishes. Not even a little ornament. Sigh. The new computer system at work and some illnesses at home dissolved my stitching time by the end of the month, but here is what I managed to accomplish in January:

Started:

1. Hope Perches
2. Colored Pencils
3. Have a Cup of Cheer
4. Polar Lights
5. Purple Passion in a Bag
6. Happy Holidays

Stitched one HAED QS SAL and also during the HAED Challenge SAL.

I thought there were more starts, but maybe that was just wishful thinking. I'm a little disappointed because I had hoped to be in double digits with new projects. I still feel a few new starts percolating, but they may wait until March Madness.

For Finish it February, my goals are to finish:

1. the DMC and NPI sections of WG
2. the first blipping crane medallion of JG (can you tell it is starting to drive me crazy?)
3. Amethyst mystery (really)
4. the Christmas tree mini mandala
5. the tooth fairy pillow (Angie has a wobbly tooth and I'll be finishing the pillow once I actually start it)
6. All of DMC 300 on the current page of my HAED challenge project
7. Colored Pencils by Scandinavian Stitches
8. A Christmas ornament
9. Charting Angie's classmates' names

Excessively ambitious as always. We all know I'll probably throw in something else entirely, but let's all pretend I'll be sticking to this list.

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