A Rolling Stone

Where to start?

We went to Tyler, Texas last weekend to enjoy a Day Out with Thomas at the Texas State Railroad. The Day Out was actually quite fun - perfectly geared to younger kiddos. It wasn't overcrowded and there was plenty to keep the kids busy. Unfortunately, Moose did not sleep the night before and was melting down about two hours into it. I also had a crazy headache. Our Day Out was more like a Morning Out. Oh well. We still felt like we got our money's worth.

The hotel we stayed in was disappointing - the pool was outside, the tub didn't drain. But I have no complaints about the mattresses. The dog was also awful in the hotel room - she whined A LOT and barked every time a door closed or a person walked by. Ugh, we cut the trip early and were back in Shreveport by 12 noon on Sunday.

I went to Urgent Care upon arriving home. The headache was just awful and wouldn't go away - it was like a stabbing pain that made me gringe so badly I couldn't drive. I was diagnosed with a suspect-case of shingles. My scalp has a red rash, but no blisters. I'm on an antibiotic and pain killer, and the pain stopped completely yesterday afternoon. So, maybe we got to it early enough? Maybe it's not shingles? I don't know, but it sucked.

Oh, and Saturday morning ... my mom had a FIRE IN HER HOUSE. It started in the basement and traveled through the window and torched a chunk of her deck. Amazingly, the damage was minimal and she made it out safely. Her insurance has been very responsive, and she has new floors to pick out now :) She's living in a hotel till Wednesday, but she sounds amazingly NOT STRESSED despite the circumstances. So, thank goodness for all that. I can't believe it wasn't worse. She, of course, waited till Sunday evening to tell us because she didn't want to ruin our Thomas trip.

I started a j-o-b today. I'm tutoring at under performing schools. I had NO students show up today, so I'm off to an awesome start. Since participation is so low at this school, they're moving me to a different school ... so maybe I'll actually w-o-r-k on Thursday. It's just two days a week for about three hours each day. It pays well and Husband's schedule is pretty flexible right now, so we don't even have to pay for child care.

Bean tested for a stripe on his high white belt today and did well at the testing, but then he was called out four times afterward for fidgeting. The ONLY kid called out, according to Husband.

Oh, also, my husband has tossed my sweet kittens outside. Somehow, on Sunday, between when we arrived home and about six hours later, they tracked pooped all over the bathroom and the bedroom carpet and had smeared it around the lid of the litter box and flung a sticky combination of poop and litter onto the door. I tell you, they defy both reason and gravity with their litter box antics. They seem to be doing OK out there - they stick close to the house and are eating well, and I haven't found out where they're pooping yet ... so that could be a good or bad thing. So, now it's two outdoor kittens, a dog, and three chickens.

Chickens are laying an egg a day lately. The white one is certainly in the throws of molting.

Moose continues his reign of the Terrible Twos. You just never know with that kid. I'm getting a little discouraged with his speech ... he's still hardly saying a thing, and we've been going twice a week for MONTHS now. He likes going, though, so I hate to just stop. It's certainly not hurting anything.

So, that's that.

No Word & More Stuff

Husband called the urologist's office several times Friday and was told they may not have the results until as late as Tuesday. So, that's fun ... waiting a week to find out if you have flipping cancer.

The appliances did not show up. Apparently, they left the warehouse June 10 and will call us this week to schedule delivery. So, it's just me and you for another week GE P7, you 1961 time machine you.

Zulu has completely recovered. She is still getting medicine and has a follow-up appointment and her annual exam tomorrow. At 8:50 a.m. No worries, I will be awake and alert as ::someone:: and ::someone else:: have decided that 6 a.m. is the new waking hour.

::Someone else:: (the smaller of the someones) has also decided that he needs to poop at least five times a day. This has recently in a bleeding diaper rash come today. THERE IS NOTHING I WOULD RATHER DO THAN TEND TO MY CHILD'S BLEEDING AND POOPY BUTT, GIVE THE DOG MEDICINE TWICE A DAY, AND WAIT ON MY MAYBE-HAS-CANCER-BUT-WE-DON'T-KNOW-YET HUSBAND. Oh, it's been a long week and if Sunday is any indication, this week isn't going to be easy either. At some point, I must mow the lawn.

In interesting news, I woke up Saturday with terrible, terrible shoulder pain. It literally felt like the weight on the world was resting on my neck and shoulders. I got in for a massage (wha wha, I have time and money for massage) while the boys were supposed to be sleeping. The massage helped my mobility, but it seemed to spread the pain across the entire span of my shoulders (so, instead of just knots of lactic acid, my whole upper back was flooded with it). She said even the bottoms of my feet were tight and it would take more than one session to work out (please, like I have time and money for another session). Anyway, I was grateful for the improved mobility, since I'm the only person who can pick up anything over 10 pounds. After the boys went to bed for the night (for real, not like nap time), I escaped to Michaels and walked down to the dollar store. They had some muscle cream there (for a $1), and I bought it on a whim ... expecting it to at best do nothing and at worst burn all my skin off. But you know what? I worked WONDERS. Oh, it makes me reek of menthol, and it's not 100 percent better, but the relief is AMAZING. I'd still like another massage, but I have no complaints about the dollar I spent on this stinky cream.

Also at the dollar store: two foam swords for the boys, a book by Rosie O'Donnell, and a book by Mary Pipher (one of my favorite writers). Score!

I went to the newcomers meeting at church today and asked them: What do you say when people say, "Unitarian Universalism? I've never heard of it. It must be a cult." The chaplain said: Well, three of our first six presidents were Unitarian ... The education director said: Oh, just tell them we'll never be organized enough to be a cult.

So, there you have it.

Now, to put ::someone:: and ::someone else:: to bed. I'm sure I'll pass out shortly there after.

Oh, another good thing:

We finally found a piano and are expecting it tomorrow. It's an upright from William Knabe from he late 1800s. It's beautiful and still plays quite nicely. It's more than I expected, that's how beautiful it is. We might have it tuned as our anniversary gift this year. The piano is actually for our anniversary last year, but we never found anything we liked or could work out logistics to move it. Our moving money leaves us with enough cash to pay for it and for professional piano movers. Now, who in the household will learn to play this beast?

When It Rains, It Pours

The last week has been quite a ride. Let me preface this by saying that I know things could be worse, they could be WAY worse, but it's still been a heck of a week.

Last Friday, Husband saw the doctor and was immediately referred to a urologist. The urologist immediately scheduled him for surgery for Tuesday. He has (well, had) a testicular tumor. It was an out-patient surgery and he is gaining more strength each day, but he's still pretty uncomfortable. We are waiting on results from the biopsy today and still haven't heard anything, so I'll tell you about that when it comes in. Even if it is cancerous, it's very treatable. One of the doctors told him that if you could pick your cancer, this would be it. Still, though, the "c" word makes any person nervous.

So, Husband has been holed away in our bedroom and I have had the pleasure of the boys full-time, all the time, with a patient in the back bedroom. It's been trying at moments, but everyone is still alive. I shooed the boys outside this morning and Husband said, "Do you trust them out there by themselves?" I said, "I trust them more out there than I trust them in here with me!" They were just fine and played for hours. I even put their lunch out there and they picked at it.

Speaking of time outside, the dog was out there with the boys (so they weren't totally unsupervised) and I saw her coughing/looking like she was licking peanut butter but all frantic and painful like. I put her water bowl out there and came back inside. Later, I brought the boys in for a nap and put her inside. After I tended to the boys, I noticed that she didn't look right. Her face looked swollen and she was breathing heavy and she wouldn't drink. I checked her mouth and her jowls were swollen rock hard. I called a vet and they said she was probably stung (my suspicion) and to bring her in, so they could give her something to reduce swelling. So, I got to rush off to the vet during THE ONLY PEACE I GET ALL DAY. I am on my way to pick her up now. Since she was there, I'm also getting her shots updated and getting her microchipped and getting flea preventative and all that fun stuff. I take her back next week for an update.

Finally, on a more minor note, our new stove/oven and microwave are supposed to come today. I'm trying to be optimistic and say the day isn't over yet, BUT they're not here yet.

Neat & Tidy

This should be my motto: If it's not one thing, it's another.

The dog. Has fleas. And brought them into the house. So, the house has fleas. I told the exterminator, "I don't care if the stuff causes cancer, I want you to KILL everything!" They will be here at 11 a.m. tomorrow, but they warned me that we'll still see fleas for another week or so. We need to vacuum every day, we need to keep things neat and tidy and laundered and cleaned, we need to give the lawn a good trimming and pick up all stray debris. You know, because between my husband's job, two little kids, and a half-complete bathroom renovation, we have loads of time to keep everything (inside and out) spotless! Are you kidding me?

But we'll do our best, because we have to.

I should mention that I am forever thankful that my husband is helpful with the house and the kids. Really, my in-laws should be very happy with the man he's become. It doesn't mean he's perfect, but he's a good man.

Moose is in good health and spirits. Bean, however, was hit with some sort of bug (no, not fleas) on Tuesday and ran a fever that night and stayed home Wednesday. He complained of body aches and a sore throat, but he's mended and is back at school today. Then he gave it to me. It was all body aches and sore throat - woke up last night every single time I swallowed (so, you can imagine the great night's sleep I got). After jumping through some hoops, I did see a doctor this morning ... to be diagnosed with "nothing." To sum it up, I have snot that isn't draining properly, which is putting pressure on my ears and causing the "irritation" on my throat. Lady, this is not irritation, this a fire. A fire in my throat! The nurse, who's been practicing for 25+ years, took a throat culture, but the doctor (who is my age) decided that was unnecessary and threw it out. I'm not an ageist, but ... whatever.

So, that's where we are at. We have tile floors, grouted and all, in the "new" bathroom. Oh, we also have an operating toilet. The cabinet/sink are in, but they're not attached (do not have the right parts) ... but it sure looks pretty (and is no longer in the bedroom). So, it's getting there.

I have vacuumed once today, but I need more vacuum bags (must change them after each vacuuming).

Goodness. I hate complaining this much. Please forgive me.