Blissfully Unaware of the Chaos the Surrounds Me

Grandpa Mike, Here's to You . . .

may the trout be big and fast and mighty fighters against your heavenly line and lure.  I hope you're enjoying your peaceful mornings on the best lakes in Heaven.  I pray that you've found some of your old buddies' call numbers on the CB and are enjoying razzing your pals again about the fish and where they might be biting.  We know that you are in a better place and no longer in pain.  I know that you can remember ever detail and event that you had forgotten over the last several years.  And there is no doubt in my mind that you are finally done with the countless finger sticks and insulin shots.  So enjoy the fishing and the early afternoon naps, and I'm sure that you finally got the motorhome level!

My Grandpa Mike passed away early Friday morning.  He went peacefully, which was what we were all hoping and praying for.  I am doing what I always do, and immersing myself in the details of what needs to get done.  It's incredibly soothing to me.  I do it well.  And it's how I grieve.

So to commence the grieving process, I have about 100 pictures that need to be scanned and put into a slide-show.

A Pukingly Good Time!

We made it 1 hour and 28 minutes into our 1.5 hour trip to Lincoln yesterday before Halle let loose.  And projectile vomited in her carseat.  We were literally turning onto Poppi's street.  Poor John was trying to catch it.  Dylan was just rolling his window down and trying to climb out of the backseat.  Poor baby girl.  Nothing like being stripped down and cleaned off with diaper wipes (glad I brought the whole package) on a public street to celebrate Thanksgiving.

Needless to say, it could have been a better celebration! 

But we are home now and staying quiet.  Halle-girl is living on my lap and clinging to multiple binkies.  And that's just the way we're going to roll today, I think.

I did sneak out to Lowe's at 6:00 this morning to score an apparently killer deal on a new ShopVac for John.  He not only wanted the vacuum, but he really wanted it at a deeply discounted price.  Just as long as he understands that me getting up and going out when I am clearly exhausted?  May cost him a lot more in the long run.  Just kidding.  Kinda.

After Lowe's, I went by and spent some time with my Grandpa, who is seemingly close to giving up his longstanding fight to live.  He has had an amazing life, raised three sons, married for 60 years, built a successful business, known his eight grandchildren and met all of his great-grandchildren at one time or another.  He is a lifelong brittle diabetic, so that he has lived to see 80, is amazing in and of itself.  It is heart-wrenching to see him laying in that bed, struggling for every breath.  To leave him alone, with his blanket pulled up to his neck - instead of over his head, which is where he would pull it if he still had the strength - is very hard for me.  I cannot fathom the idea that he may die alone, yet I have a sick baby at home.  And I understand how scary and hard it can be to watch and wait for someone to pass on.  So I am praying that my dad or one of my uncles or my Grandma will be with him as he passes on.  But I am hopeful because I know his pain and long struggle towards Home is drawing near.  I cannot help but be relieved for him, even while grieving and missing the man he once was. 

So Very Thankful . . .

for my family and friends.  For a husband that is learning how to love me, even when I am real.  For kids that still love to spend time with me.  For a break from work.  For a hobby that I love.  For health and well-being.  For a faith that sustains me.  For a family that is near and dear, and for those that are far, but still close to my heart.

I hope and pray that each of you have as many blessings in your life as I!  May your day be filled with love and laughter, good food, and maybe even a little pre-Black Friday internet shopping . . .

Craziness and Sickness Abound . . .

No, this is isn't a title leading into commentary on the general state of the world . . . just our home!

Halle has a nasty cold.  We've been super lucky with her and this is maybe her second cold?  At least that I can remember!  She just cannot breath past all the snot in her head, which means she cannot sleep.  So guess who else isn't sleeping?  Ding, ding, ding!  Now John isn't feeling well and my throat is getting scratchy.  I am ignoring my symptoms.  John?  Not so much.  He's working nights this week and by the amount of snoring he's doing right now (it's 10:00 am), I'd guess that he took a Nyquil this morning.  Yikes.

The good news is that I took this week off of work, so at least I'm not trying to function at work and manage a sick baby and never sleep.  She's also fairly happy during the day, so I sent her to daycare for a couple of hours yesterday and again today.  Hey, her snot is clear!  I do, however, have a boatload of photo edits, Christmas cards and whatnot that I have to get done.  So I need to use my daycare time wisely, i.e., not blogging!

To update where we've been and what we've been doing over the last several days, I present to you a top ten list . . .

10.  Rats.  We have them in our attic.  I cannot begin to tell you my utter terror and ick-factor when I heard them last week.  Of course, John was at work.  (Of course!)  So I told him that he had better be on the phone with our pest company at 8:01 the next morning and not a freakin' minute later.  They came out and set traps - we caught one within an hour or two and another that night.  The traps are re-set and we haven't heard anything so pray with me that those two were it.  Or I'll never sleep again, even when Halle does!

9.  Scott Harrington Fundraiser on Friday night.  Good food, good music, lots of friends and hopefully, lots of money raised to lesson the burden on the Harringotn Family.

8.  The post-fund-raiser outing.  Well, here is my PSA.  Do not, regardless of how old you are, lose those lessons that you should have hopefully learned in college.  NEVER TAKE A DRINK HANDED TO YOU BY ANYONE OTHER THAN THE BARTENDER, SERVER OR A FRIEND.  I was giving a group of boys some shit about wanting to take chairs from our table and how it would cost them a drink.  It ended up costing me (and John), because I stupidly took a shot that one of them handed me.  Not sure what was in it or why they would waste their date-rape concoction on a woman clearly out with her husband, but I'll swear on my life that there was something (bad) in it.  I have been drunk countless times in my life.  But this was different.  This took me from very pleasantly buzzed to knocked out cold within minutes.  Bad ju-ju.

7. The post-bar scenario?  Well, let's just summarize by saying that my husband screwed an IV into the wall above our bed.  And ran many drugs and fluid through it into my body.  Thank God.  Because if he didn't have that ability?  I would have been the middle-aged drugged woman in the ER.  Where my hubby works.  And once again, I have to say that my husband does a damn fine job at taking care of sick people. 

6.  IKEA/puppy-palooza.  I drive a puppy down to Sacramento on Saturday morning to meet his new owner in the IKEA parking lot.  But they never showed.  Lessons learned?  As much as you want to trust people, do not make a 3 hour trip without a hefty deposit, or better yet, full payment.  And, you tend to spend way less money in IKEA if you have a puppy in the car.  Do you want a very sweet cocker spaniel puppy?  He is suddenly available again.  And I'mr eady to make deals!

5.  Christmas Preview.  Crazy crowded.  But always fun to see people that I haven't seen in years.  I see more high school alumni there that I did at our 10-year reunion!

4.  Thanksgiving Break.  Loving the down time with Dylan.  Not loving the "I'm so bored" that leaked from his mouth yesterday prior to noon. 

3.  Hollywood Video.  We lost a movie from them.  But then found it.  Lesson learned?  It's cheaper to lose the movie than to return it after 2 months.  But I did get it down from over $60 in fees to $28.  But I still could have bought the dang movie a couple of times over!

2.  Thanksgiving plans.  We were going to go to Tahoe after we have dinner in Lincoln on Thursday.  But I decided that I wasn't in the mood to pack/travel/unpack/buy expensive groceries/sleep very little/guard Halle from the three flights of open stairs/listen to Dylan complain about there being no snow/re-pack/travel home/unpack/do laundry.  It just didn't sound appealing to me!  So we're (at this point) planning on heading to Lincoln for Thanksgiving dinner at John's dad's house.  Then we'll stay the night in a Roseville hotel with an indoor swimming pool - which is still quite fun for Dylan - and head back mid-morning on Friday.  Unless Halle is still sick.  Or John is worse.  Then I'm not sure.  Maybe we'll stay home and have pie.  It doesn't sound too bad!

1. Online shopping.  Can I say how much I love it?  Even with the cost of shipping.  I love it.  Halle needed a few things and Dylan did too.  So a few clicks, no crowds and wa-la!  Packages are arriving on my doorstep.  And now I'm also ordering things for Christmas.  Very few things, because we are keeping things very light this year.  Since we're going on a cruise two days after Christmas, it just seems like a prudent idea!

OK, there.  Whew.  That was a lot of talking for just ten little updates.  I'm out to Photoshop the hours away.  Tomorrow I'll post some pictures.  Because I do take them, really.  Peace out!

Best Smelling Mission . . .

who knew that building a 4th grade mission project could be so fragrant?  But apparently, when you use cinnamon for dirt and various basil for grass-like material, the whole dang project smells lovely!  Please note the ginormous wine barrels which are a much larger scale than the sheep.  Whoops!  (But really, wouldn't you rather have more wine than big sheep?  We all know I would!)

A Chance for Answers . . .

I went over our pediatrician's head.  And can I just say how good it felt?  To meet with the immunologist who was, within minutes, committed to figuring out what is going on with Halle-boo.  He never poo-poo'd our concerns.  He asked lots of questions, took lots of notes and started finding steps towards resolution.

Right out of the gate, he came up with the very two possible syndromes that John and I had identified, Cyclic Neutropenia and Marshall's syndrome or PFAPA.  Neither of them indicates anything like cancer or those really scary thoughts . . . which is a very good thing!  Both are basically auto-immune deficiences that cause a sort of immunity dumping on a very regular basis - typically every 19-21 days.  Sound familiar?  Ah, yes, it does, because my daughter has a fever every 21 days! 

So we're not jumping to any type of conclusion, rather, we're going to do some blood work.  And even try some treatment - PFAPA is treated with prednisone on the 1st day of fever, with sometimes very positive results.  While steroid treatment doesn't thrill me?  It's a very low does and it might really shorten her course.  And it will help us to known which (if either) or these diagnoses are what we're dealing with.

It just felt good to have someone who was interested, qualified and committed to helping us.  Isn't that what doctors are supposed to do on a regular basis?

Really Annoying . . .

It never ceases to amaze me how hard you sometimes have to advocate for decent health-care.  It makes me so sad to realize that it's almost impossible at times to get a health-care provider to go the extra mile.  Or even the common sense route!

I am struggling with Halle's pediatrician right now.  I've always had the utmost respect for him.  He has, in the past, been a great fit for our family.  And right now I feel like I'm beating my head into a brick wall!  His long-term staff is systematically leaving his office.  And the dynamic is shifting - not for the better.

So I'm asking him to step up to the plate.  To remember that I'm an intelligent woman and that I am not a hysterical parent.  To consider that my husband is a health-care professional.  To look at our daughter as a whole (little) person, not a chart.  To consider her five month history of fevers every 21 days, not just the next fever that she has as a stand-alone issue.  To listen.  Hell, to even give us a chance to be heard by him, instead of just having his new nurse (whom I do not think highly of, given my past experiences with her) return calls in a manner that do not answer my questions or concerns.

That really doesn't seem to much to ask, does it?  Am I being unreasonable?  Wanting a disgnosis or at least an attempt at a diagnosis for my daughter who just happens to be sick every 21 days? I don't think I am being unreasonable in the least.  So why do I feel like I'll be looking for a new doctor very soon? 

Befuddled and Confused . . .

How is it that Christmas is coming so quickly?  How did I get to November - yet again - and be completely and totally unprepared for the holidays?  I'm thinking about Christmas cards.  I'm also thinking about gifts.  And thinking about photobooks.

I just haven't done a dang thing about any of them!

I am considering heading over to Toys 'R Us to grab a couple of wii games for Dylan.  Their ad today was buy one, get $20 off the second, plus I have a couple of the $10 of $75 purchase coupons.  Hopefully, I can use that coupon on top of the sale price and save a bit more$$$. 

As for photobooks and cards, well . . . I'm ridiculously unmotivated.  I keep jumping from vendor to vendor . . . My Publisher, Shutterfly, Snapfish . . . to start photobooks and them I start uploading photos and then I get bored.  So I haven't done squat. 

I really, really wanted a digital scrapbook done and completed for 2008.  Ha.  That's quite unlikely at his point and time!  I still haven't finished Halle's 1st year scrapbook and at least that has a few months done.

I don't know.  I could just sit here and eat more of the delicious Trader Joe's Oatmeal Cranberry cookies that I've been nibbling on since we got home last night.  Have you had these?  They are unbelievable.  And they go well with champagne.  And wine.  And diet Coke. 

Not that I would know.  Really.

*** Update as of 8:30 pm . . . yes, I ate more cookies.  BUT, I also put January-June into a My Publisher photobook.  So, I am actually more than 1/2 way there (since I don;t include December).  The scary thing is that I'm on page 42.  Crap.  Last year's book was the largest so far at 50 pages.  I need to start weeding out, but it's hard!  I take a lot of pictures!  And we've done such cool things this year.  Needless to say, this Photobook may just be for our coffee table.  I don't know that our parents even want to look at that many pages of our family!

Driving ...

Well, I'm not driving, but John is! We are on our way back from our 24 hour break from reality. We stayed at a lovely place called Harmony Ridge Lodge. Beautiful suite, great setting and man, we had some amazing fall weather! We enjoyed spending time alone, but also with the 98 other couples from our church that invaded Nevada City for the weekend.

Every thing is a-ok at home, although my mama is tired (Halle was up a few times last night).

So we're about an hour from home and I miss my kidlets. Sad aren't I? John and I did commit to getting away, at least for an overnighter, every six months.

Peace out - I need to put my eyes back on the road!

I Give Up . . .

on NaBloPoMo.  I have too many other things that simply have to be done daily.  Blogging - unfortunately - does not always rank those other necessary items!

As for today, the hubby and are packing up for our first Halle-free night.  How ridiculous is it that I'm anxious?  I'll report back when we return from our getaway to the lovely Sierra Nevada mountains.

One quickie before I go . . . my nephew, Sean Mike, is just two games away from going to the Pop Warner Championships in Florida.  As you can imagine, they have they're work cut out for them in the fund-raising arena!  They have to raise $5,500 by December 5th!  My SIL has offered up all proceeds from any Arbonne sales done through her website prior to the trip.  If Sean Mike's team doesn't make the cut, she'll turn those proceeds over to Pop Warner as a donation for future needs.  Make sure to register for a Client ID - you'll need to in order for her to get the credit.  I highly recommend the RE-9 system.  I do, however, believe that their night cream must contain crack.  It's that addictive!

Peace out!  (And think good thoughts for Nana, who is staying with the kiddos!)