I came home one day to find Tootie laying next to this toy snake. She looked pretty smug. (I may have "helped" her pose slightly - OK, OK.)
Friday, March 28, 2008
Tootie's Kill
I came home one day to find Tootie laying next to this toy snake. She looked pretty smug. (I may have "helped" her pose slightly - OK, OK.)
News from the Pond
It's been 99 days since I tripped on those concrete steps and injured my foot. For the first 4 weeks, I saw improvement. Once I went back to teaching at the college in mid-January (and teaching a night class 4 hours one night a week), it got worse. Then I started wearing the air-cast, and then it improved again for about 3-4 weeks. Unfortunately the progress slowed and then stalled. I have not seen things improve for several weeks now. I was referred to a foot specialist last week, who ordered an MRI to help determine what exactly the injury is. The MRI is this Sunday morning at 7:45. It will take 45 minutes for my ankle and 45 minutes for my foot.
Unfortunately, we now know that Avritt is also allergic to cashews. He ate a peanut (which he isn't allergic to) from a Trail mix that had cashews in it. He had a reaction within minutes, which basically was one side of his mouth swelled, and he threw up. I gave him benedryl, which is a first course of action, and waited to see if I would need to administer the Epi-pen. Thankfully, his symptoms did not worsen. I will definitely need to be very careful about screening his food. No nuts other than peanuts from here on out - and then just peanuts that aren't in a mix, like peanut butter or a jar of honey roasted peanuts.
Isaac and I went to Book Bingo at his school tonight. Everybody brought a book, and then we put them all together in a pot. When someone got Bingo, they picked a book from the pot. It was a lot of fun and Isaac came home with five books.
Four more days until Spring Break (at least for one of my jobs).
Unfortunately, we now know that Avritt is also allergic to cashews. He ate a peanut (which he isn't allergic to) from a Trail mix that had cashews in it. He had a reaction within minutes, which basically was one side of his mouth swelled, and he threw up. I gave him benedryl, which is a first course of action, and waited to see if I would need to administer the Epi-pen. Thankfully, his symptoms did not worsen. I will definitely need to be very careful about screening his food. No nuts other than peanuts from here on out - and then just peanuts that aren't in a mix, like peanut butter or a jar of honey roasted peanuts.
Isaac and I went to Book Bingo at his school tonight. Everybody brought a book, and then we put them all together in a pot. When someone got Bingo, they picked a book from the pot. It was a lot of fun and Isaac came home with five books.
Four more days until Spring Break (at least for one of my jobs).
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Spring Break (1/2 time)
I am on spring break from my college job this week. Unfortunately, I still have to teach in the mornings at the high school, but I am enjoying the lighter schedule. I have one more batch of papers that I am going to grade today from my college stats class, and then a little planning ahead for next Monday, but then I will put that job to rest for the week. The half-time spring break will happen again in April when the high school has a break, but the college doesn't. I think Mike is going to take the kids down to Texas that week, so I will be by myself at home, with only an afternoon job. It will be a very strange week, as I don't think that I have ever been home by myself for that length of time. Ever. In my whole life.
I haven't been sleeping very well for several days. I keep waking up in the middle of the night with very intense dreams. Usually the first time is between 3:30 and 4:30 am. Then I wake up every 30 to 45 minutes after that until my alarm goes off at 6:08. Grrrr! I have been trying to go to bed at 10:00 to get more sleep, but then I just have more time to dream. I must have some unresolved issue that I'm trying to work out in my sleep, or I'm stressed. Not much has changed in my life in the last few weeks, so I'm stumped as to why now. Last night I tried earplugs, because I have been wondering whether the cats are making noise and waking me up. I don't hear them after I wake up, but I am a light sleeper and maybe I'm hearing them make a noise, which wakes me up. They have been given free roam again at night because they have stopped scratching on our door at 5:00 am. However, the earplugs didn't prevent me from waking up last night, which I did at 3:38am. The earplugs are hard to get used to - they hurt my ears for a few weeks until I acclimate to them. So they came out. I don't think it's something external, but something internal. Strange dreams last night, too. Very strange.
Isaac had his first concert at school last night. He was not happy about dressing up. He hated all the shirts (oxfords) because he said they felt like they were choking his neck. He hated the pattern of the plaid shirt (he said it was too square-ey). He didn't want to wear the sweater because it was boring. He hated the belt because he can't unbuckle it himself. He was having a moody day (lack of sleep, I think, from the time change). He didn't want me to video-tape the performance because he said that the songs were boring and stupid, and singing them made his palms sweat (which he said he knew because it happened during the dress rehearsal earlier that day at school). Wow. That's Isaac at his grumpiest. It was almost so over-the-top that Emily and I were trying not to chuckle. Emily was helping me convince Isaac that plaid is a very common thing for boys to wear (he thought it looked too girl-ley in addition to being too square-ey).
All that after helping Isaac practice addition and subtraction facts (and teach him some multiplication, which he wants to know because Avritt does), help Avritt split a square into eighths 4 different ways for his homework, making sure the boys read 20 and 30 minutes, respectively (it's March, which is reading month), trying to convince Emily she shouldn't have unrestricted access to the new Guitar Hero III game Avritt bought with his own money last week, going through Avritt's piano lesson material with him for his lessons today, shooing the cat off the counter 4 times, cooking breakfast burritos for dinner, and convincing Emily and Avritt that they need to attend a first and second grade concert to support their brother, who didn't want to go, either.
No wonder I'm having bad dreams.
I haven't been sleeping very well for several days. I keep waking up in the middle of the night with very intense dreams. Usually the first time is between 3:30 and 4:30 am. Then I wake up every 30 to 45 minutes after that until my alarm goes off at 6:08. Grrrr! I have been trying to go to bed at 10:00 to get more sleep, but then I just have more time to dream. I must have some unresolved issue that I'm trying to work out in my sleep, or I'm stressed. Not much has changed in my life in the last few weeks, so I'm stumped as to why now. Last night I tried earplugs, because I have been wondering whether the cats are making noise and waking me up. I don't hear them after I wake up, but I am a light sleeper and maybe I'm hearing them make a noise, which wakes me up. They have been given free roam again at night because they have stopped scratching on our door at 5:00 am. However, the earplugs didn't prevent me from waking up last night, which I did at 3:38am. The earplugs are hard to get used to - they hurt my ears for a few weeks until I acclimate to them. So they came out. I don't think it's something external, but something internal. Strange dreams last night, too. Very strange.
Isaac had his first concert at school last night. He was not happy about dressing up. He hated all the shirts (oxfords) because he said they felt like they were choking his neck. He hated the pattern of the plaid shirt (he said it was too square-ey). He didn't want to wear the sweater because it was boring. He hated the belt because he can't unbuckle it himself. He was having a moody day (lack of sleep, I think, from the time change). He didn't want me to video-tape the performance because he said that the songs were boring and stupid, and singing them made his palms sweat (which he said he knew because it happened during the dress rehearsal earlier that day at school). Wow. That's Isaac at his grumpiest. It was almost so over-the-top that Emily and I were trying not to chuckle. Emily was helping me convince Isaac that plaid is a very common thing for boys to wear (he thought it looked too girl-ley in addition to being too square-ey).
All that after helping Isaac practice addition and subtraction facts (and teach him some multiplication, which he wants to know because Avritt does), help Avritt split a square into eighths 4 different ways for his homework, making sure the boys read 20 and 30 minutes, respectively (it's March, which is reading month), trying to convince Emily she shouldn't have unrestricted access to the new Guitar Hero III game Avritt bought with his own money last week, going through Avritt's piano lesson material with him for his lessons today, shooing the cat off the counter 4 times, cooking breakfast burritos for dinner, and convincing Emily and Avritt that they need to attend a first and second grade concert to support their brother, who didn't want to go, either.
No wonder I'm having bad dreams.
Friday, March 07, 2008
Winter Activities
Since the snow and cold doesn't seem to be going away, Mike and the boys have decided to embrace the weather and go skiing and snowboarding at a local place. Avritt took 3 snowboarding lessons and is now carving up the slopes (or down, I guess). Isaac took a skiing lesson and figured it out pretty quickly. They have both been very excited about going with Mike on weekends, although the picture doesn't capture that (I made them pose in front of the ski place, which they didn't like). We need to get Emily out there, too. She has never been skiing. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to go because of the lingering foot injury. Next winter.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Food Allergies
We discovered through some reactions (throwing up after eating shrimp, or anything that was cooked with shrimp, and a swollen lip after eating walnuts) and then blood tests that Avritt is allergic to pecans (and probably other tree nuts), sesame seeds, crab, lobster, shrimp, and walnuts. He didn't react against peanuts, almonds, coconut, codfish, or tuna (which means that he's probably OK with most fish). He was prescribed the EpiPen to keep at school, home, and the cars. As we are familiar with allergies because of Mike, all the information I received wasn't totally new and overwhelming. We need to brush up how to use the EpiPen, which we will have to use if there are any symptoms that include tightness in his chest or difficutly breathing, or a reaction around his mouth like hives or swelling. I'll be teaching him how to read food labels and to ask before eating. The sesame seed may turn out to be the most troublesome because I think it's more common. I asked a genetics prof. in college about food allergies, and she told me that a child is more likely to have food allergies if one or both parents have them, but the allergy is not necessarily the same as the parent, which is true in our case. Some things overlap for Avritt and Mike, like walnuts.
Avritt doesn't seem phased by it at all. He told me that he was relieved that he wouldn't ever have to eat shrimp again (we had a "have to try everything even if you don't like it" policy that will no longer be in effect for him). He had a "yucky" feeling every time that he had to try a bite of shrimp in the past. The last two times resulted in vomiting (the last time more severely) within 10 to 15 minutes, which caused me to have him tested. His body was sending signals which were hard to intrepret when he was younger. I have seen the reaction increase in strength the last two times he ate shrimp (which were during flu season, so there initially was doubt about the cause of the vomiting), and the reaction will probably worsen each time he is exposed. If he is like Mike, he will develop a sixth sense about food that contains the allergens.
I'm not really worried about him eating shrimp or lobster at school or a friend's house (the parties at school don't rise above cupcakes), but the pecans, sesame seeds, and walnuts will be the bigger challenge for him. We'll definitely be on the watch from now on.
Avritt doesn't seem phased by it at all. He told me that he was relieved that he wouldn't ever have to eat shrimp again (we had a "have to try everything even if you don't like it" policy that will no longer be in effect for him). He had a "yucky" feeling every time that he had to try a bite of shrimp in the past. The last two times resulted in vomiting (the last time more severely) within 10 to 15 minutes, which caused me to have him tested. His body was sending signals which were hard to intrepret when he was younger. I have seen the reaction increase in strength the last two times he ate shrimp (which were during flu season, so there initially was doubt about the cause of the vomiting), and the reaction will probably worsen each time he is exposed. If he is like Mike, he will develop a sixth sense about food that contains the allergens.
I'm not really worried about him eating shrimp or lobster at school or a friend's house (the parties at school don't rise above cupcakes), but the pecans, sesame seeds, and walnuts will be the bigger challenge for him. We'll definitely be on the watch from now on.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Saturday, February 09, 2008
Spring Fling
Emily and a friend attended a dance at school tonight. It's title refers to a season that is sadly still far in the future for us. The theme was "Winter Fantasy." Mmmm.....
I'll post more pics of Emily once I get them developed.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Snow Fort
On Tuesday, all the schools around here were cancelled because of snow and cold temperatures. Mike's office was also closed, so he spent the afternoon in the yard with all three kids (and a couple of neighbor kids) building this snow fort. It is large enough inside for all of them. The roof is a piece of plywood (we've got plenty of that around from the remodel) covered with snow and supported by a pole. The sticks around the pole are the "fireplace" and ski poles and snowboards form a temporary "door" to keep out the "bears" in our neighborhood. I hear they are ferocious this time of the year. ;)
Avritt's Swim Season
The first picture above shows Avritt sitting on the pool deck waiting to take part in a relay race. The bottom picture shows him on the diving board waiting to jump in. His season is going well. He has participated in four meets so far, and swims in about 4 events each. His events are 50 m backstroke (his best event), 50 m freestyle, and two relays (4 by 50 m) in which he swims either breaststroke, backstroke, or freestyle, depending on the relay.
Sunday, January 06, 2008
Visit with Friends
I am enjoying time spent with Jason and Shelly and their new baby, Myla. She is really cute! It has been a relaxing visit so far. I have cooked some good food and had some good conversations. My kids' ages and stage of life are such a contrast to the constant care that is needed by a newborn. A lot of memories have come rushing back to me over the last few days. Things like the squeaking noises and stretching of a baby awaking out of a restful sleep, the desire to sooth a crying baby, nursing, and the rule of all new mothers: sleep when the baby sleeps.
This weekend has reminded me of how far my own children have come and how much they have learned and matured over the years. It has been almost seven and a half years since I had a newborn. Each day since my children's birth has passed to the next and as they have blended together and continued on, they have brought us to this day where I think about my daughter's high school graduation.
Amazing.
This weekend has reminded me of how far my own children have come and how much they have learned and matured over the years. It has been almost seven and a half years since I had a newborn. Each day since my children's birth has passed to the next and as they have blended together and continued on, they have brought us to this day where I think about my daughter's high school graduation.
Amazing.
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Build-A-Fort
Monday, December 17, 2007
Friday, December 14, 2007
An Unfortunate Tumble
I was coming out of a restaurant yesterday, and while walking down about 10 concrete steps, I tripped and fell down, twisting my right foot backwards and sideways. The pain was excruciating for about 5 minutes, and all I could so was sit on the steps and catch my breath. Thankfully, the ankle and foot didn't swell up. I made it home OK (drove with my left foot) and after two phone calls to the doctor's office, decided to wait overnight to see if it would improve. Mike helped out and made dinner last night, cleaned up the kitchen, and shooed the boys to bed.
I went to school this morning and hobbled around without a shoe on. I sat as much as I could. It seemed to be doing OK with ibuprofen, but still uncomfortable in certain positions. Today I went in to the doctor's office and found out that I either just bruised it horribly, or I could have a fracture from a ligament tearing off a small piece of bone when the foot was bent backwards. I'm supposed to see if significant improvement happens by Monday, and if not, go in for an x-ray.
So...as I am only able to walk around by limping and keeping my right foot up on my toes, my Christmas shopping plans for this weekend have been cancelled. My mom thinks that this may have happened because I need to slow down. And she affirms that the ability to hurt oneself due to klutziness runs in the family. Whether or not I think that is true, I certainly appreciate the ability to walk around effortlessly more now than two days ago.
I am currently trying to find a comfortable position to sit and keep my foot elevated. It's tricky, because a pain will shoot up my foot and leg if there's pressure in the wrong spot. Arg!!!! Hopefully this will all improve by Monday, and I'll be back to normal. In the meantime, I'm going to be the couch-warmer of the family...or the window-seat warmer. I guess I'll be the one testing the new heated mattress pad that I got for the window seat!
I went to school this morning and hobbled around without a shoe on. I sat as much as I could. It seemed to be doing OK with ibuprofen, but still uncomfortable in certain positions. Today I went in to the doctor's office and found out that I either just bruised it horribly, or I could have a fracture from a ligament tearing off a small piece of bone when the foot was bent backwards. I'm supposed to see if significant improvement happens by Monday, and if not, go in for an x-ray.
So...as I am only able to walk around by limping and keeping my right foot up on my toes, my Christmas shopping plans for this weekend have been cancelled. My mom thinks that this may have happened because I need to slow down. And she affirms that the ability to hurt oneself due to klutziness runs in the family. Whether or not I think that is true, I certainly appreciate the ability to walk around effortlessly more now than two days ago.
I am currently trying to find a comfortable position to sit and keep my foot elevated. It's tricky, because a pain will shoot up my foot and leg if there's pressure in the wrong spot. Arg!!!! Hopefully this will all improve by Monday, and I'll be back to normal. In the meantime, I'm going to be the couch-warmer of the family...or the window-seat warmer. I guess I'll be the one testing the new heated mattress pad that I got for the window seat!
Monday, December 10, 2007
My Semester is Almost Over
It is finals week and I have already finished grading everything for one of my classes! Final grades are calculated, and now all I need to do for that class is report them to the registrar. I'm anxious for one of my jobs to finish up so I can focus on Christmas. I get to this time of the year, realize all the things that I still need to do in the next two weeks, and start to panic. With my college classes wrapping up by Wednesday, my schedule opens up in the afternoons. On with mailing cards, making truffles, shopping for presents, and mailing presents. I really don't like going to the post office at this time of the year, but hopefully the automated machine will be available. While I don't really like chatting online or using technology to communicate (talking in person or on the phone takes so much less time), I do prefer the automated check-out lanes at grocery stores and especially at the post office where the staff is always less than cheerful. I'm not certain if that is an inconsistent view to hold on technology.
During all this pre-Christmas activity, I run the risk of viewing this season as another part-time job and turning into quite the Scrooge. I admit that last week I had the fleeting desire to just skip it and fast-forward to January. As I reflect on that feeling, I realize that I am just too busy these days. My schedule isn't conducive to partaking in the occasional leisure activity. When I do choose to ignore my nagging "To-Do" list, I fall behind and have to scramble at the last minute to get things done. I detest procrastination.
I just turned on Christmas music to lift my drooping spirits. Who can resist Bing Crosby's wishes for a Merry Christmas?
During all this pre-Christmas activity, I run the risk of viewing this season as another part-time job and turning into quite the Scrooge. I admit that last week I had the fleeting desire to just skip it and fast-forward to January. As I reflect on that feeling, I realize that I am just too busy these days. My schedule isn't conducive to partaking in the occasional leisure activity. When I do choose to ignore my nagging "To-Do" list, I fall behind and have to scramble at the last minute to get things done. I detest procrastination.
I just turned on Christmas music to lift my drooping spirits. Who can resist Bing Crosby's wishes for a Merry Christmas?
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Posing Cats
The cats look like they are being affectionate, but this picture was taken while they were wrestle-fighting. With love comes conflict!Family Picture
We were able to get a family picture taken while we were in Minnesota for the funeral of Mike's Mom. It was a difficult trip to make. We will greatly miss Pat. After about 2 months of travel back and forth to visit his Mom who was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's in the late spring, Mike is getting back into a normal routine.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Friday, September 21, 2007
Friday Night
Don't have to get up tomorrow at 6:15
Don't have to grade papers or prepare a lecture
Don't have to check the calendar to see if the kids need a sack lunch tomorrow
Don't have to shoo the kids to bed at 8:00
Wasting time on Facebook doing the "Where I've Been" map
Helping Isaac build two Mars Mission Lego sets
Oreo cappuccino drink from Baskin Robbins
Google-chatting Jeff
Talking to mom
Deciding not to go to the football game and watch the marching band
Thinking about the homily I need to prepare for Sunday, but not doing it
Watching play.blogger.com
Buying a new pair of khaki pants for work
Returning pants that were too big for Avritt
Brats for dinner
Petting the cats even though they don't want me to
Blogging
Don't have to grade papers or prepare a lecture
Don't have to check the calendar to see if the kids need a sack lunch tomorrow
Don't have to shoo the kids to bed at 8:00
Wasting time on Facebook doing the "Where I've Been" map
Helping Isaac build two Mars Mission Lego sets
Oreo cappuccino drink from Baskin Robbins
Google-chatting Jeff
Talking to mom
Deciding not to go to the football game and watch the marching band
Thinking about the homily I need to prepare for Sunday, but not doing it
Watching play.blogger.com
Buying a new pair of khaki pants for work
Returning pants that were too big for Avritt
Brats for dinner
Petting the cats even though they don't want me to
Blogging
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Google Groups Feature
You can now sign up for email notification when I update the blog. Try it - sign up using the white box in the upper right corner. I have to approve you as a member, so it may take a couple days to go through the process.
Sunday, September 09, 2007
Monday, September 03, 2007
Isaac goes shopping
Sunday, September 02, 2007
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