10 on tuesday

Ten things about being sick...

1. Drinking 7Up, Gatorade, or Sprite as often as they want.
2. Eating whatever they want, just so they'll eat, including Shrek soup, Jell-O, and popsicles for breakfast.
3. Nasty medicine.
4. Chocolate cake after medicine.
5. Veggie Tales, Dr. Seuss, and Sesame Street.
6. Sleeping with Mom & Dad.
7. Staying in jammies all day, every day.
8. Piles of pillows and soft blankets on the couch.
9. Staying up late and sleeping all day.
10. No school.

i don't know how they do it

parents of chronically ill children, that is. supergirl has been sick for a week now. in that short period of time there have been ups and downs. a diagnosis and getting better and then a setback and nothing but questions. we have seen or talked to four different doctors. and while i know sweet supergirl is not chronically ill or even seriously ill, my heart is breaking for her.

the medicine we got tonight "tastes gross" is "horrible" and she "just can't take it" at all. we tried tonight for an hour before she finally got the medicine down. she was in tears. i was in tears. daddy was worn down. she's more splotchy than before. and i have a migraine.

just looking at her sweet little face all covered in red splotches makes me weep. we had to go to a few public places today and it was all i could do to keep her face covered or hidden from others. the lady in walgreens actually asked what she was having an allergic reaction to.

tonight, after getting the medicine in her i gave her an oatmeal bath and then rubbed on soothing aveeno lotion to help relax her and help her sleep. just looking at how much of her body is still affected surprised me. and when i went to brush her hair, she looked in the mirror and gasped at her own reflection. what a dagger to the heart...

tomorrow we have an appointment with her regular doctor. hopefully the medicine we got tonight will have a significant impact on whatever this is that is going on in her little body. pray it goes away. pray she regains her appetite. pray she is her normal, happy, healthy self again real, real soon.

the patient

What a week it has been around here! Early last week, SuperGirl came down with a bout of gastritis. It went on for two days and she was unable to get much food or fluid into her already very small body. On the third day, she just seemed to feel really, really bad so I decided to take her in to see her doctor. After a couple of lab tests, they determined she was dehydrated and decided to give her some IV fluids.

It was at this point that Momma started to get worried. She'd had a flu shot in the not so distant past and it was nothing short of a disaster. The screaming and yelling and carrying on was HORRIBLE and I just didn't know how it was going to go over, putting a needle in her arm and leaving it there... I pulled the nurse aside and told her about the needle fear and she was very sweet and gentle, calling in reinforcements and explaining what she was doing without using the word "needle." SuperGirl was very brave (and very sick, which probably helped) and the nurses got her all settled without any trouble.

Poor thing. She just kept holding my hand. And putting my hand on hers. She watched a bit of cable TV which was quite a treat and we enjoyed a very quiet 90 minutes while her body rehydrated. We finished up at the clinic and headed home where she promptly got sick again and we decided that living on Gatorade and watching Veggie Tales for another few days might be okay.

Later the next day, she decided that eating might be on the agenda for the day. This made me happy, knowing that wanting to eat was half the battle. What did she ask for? SALAMI. Really? That is not something I'd think a person who hadn't eaten in three days would want. I told her to think of something that would be good for her tummy, maybe something with high water content (like applesauce or 7Up?). She said, "Mommy, salami has water in it."

Really? Hmm... Okay, SuperGirl, you're going to have to think of something a little more healthy than that... peaches, popsicle, crackers, toast, banana...

"Mommy. I want cheese wrapped up in salami."

She wasn't going to win this one. So I made her some soup and served it up with crackers and Jell-O. Even with being a bit hungry, she didn't eat much. We decided that playing soccer on Saturday would be out and that maybe a couple of days of recovery would be just what she needed. She was okay with that and Saturday proved to be uneventful.

Until Saturday night. She broke out with some kind of rash that rapidly progressed to cover her entire back and chest. It was almost like a vest. Her eyes swelled a little bit and she itched. We called the nurse line and were told to give her Benadryl and check her again in the morning. Momma barely slept and SuperGirl slept rather fitfully. We woke tired on Sunday morning and the rash was practically gone. But in a matter of an hour, there was the rash again... in a different place.

We made a trip to the urgent care clinic and were told it was not strep but not much else. That visit was probably one of the worst I've had as far as waiting and not being taken care of by the doctor. (BTW, I have lodged a complaint about the care.) We came home, took more Benadryl and have decided to wait this thing out.

SuperGirl is now covered practically from head to toe with the rash. She has taken three naps today (thanks to the Benadryl I'm sure) and is trying her hardest not to scratch. I've listened to a Dr. Seuss video four times now. I think I'd rather return to the Veggie Tales marathon we had earlier this week!!

So, if you've gotten all the way to the end of this post, please say a prayer for SuperGirl. Poor thing looks and feels terrible. I feel awful because I can't make it better for her. And I'm trusting that God is in control because I feel so very out of control here.

saturday fun

Saturday morning means Upward soccer around here. This week we started the day out with a trip to Chick-fil-A for breakfast before hitting the fields. It was very foggy out and we were hoping it would burn off before game time. This morning was also picture day... the muggy weather was wreaking havoc with a certain player's hair. We made a quick stop at Target on the way to the fields so we could re-do her hair. Chick-fil-A and Target all before noon. What a great day!! Pickles played at forward and goalie today. She does a lot of running a little bit of kicking and it all makes me very tired.

Since SuperGirl was so sick this week, she didn't play with her team. She did get her picture made and spent the morning in her uniform, watching her team warmup and play a bit. She was even snack girl for the day. Being near her team was important to her, even though she still isn't quite up to par. As the morning heated up, she found shade under an umbrella, camped out in her SuperGirl chair.

Having only one team to cheer on today proved to be much easier than last week when we were watching two teams play at the same time. We had great seats, on the 50 yard line, which was great until someone got recruited to be a line judge. Upward for us is a family affair whether it's basketball or soccer. Of course, there was a second judge behind me. You can't see him, but his name rhymes with Nubby.

I heard things like, "You're supposed to raise the flag and point it at the goal when it's a kick towards the goal."

Oh. Really? Because the referee only said, "If the whole of the ball crosses the whole of the line raise the flag." He said nothing about pointing.

And then there was the helpful advice of, "I can't hear your flag when you raise it. Use more force so I can hear it whip." Okay, Mister. You're fixing to get a whipping with this flag if you don't cut it out!!

It was a good morning. Both teams won 2-0 and we were ALL sweaty when it was all done. After the game we headed home with Grandmom and Grandad and then to lunch at Uncle Henry's (and Aggie Game Day Trifle for dessert). We got to visit with Uncle Henry, Aunt Ruth, Richard, Stan, Laura, Caitlin, and McKenzie, too. It's always fun getting together with family!

Later on, some of us went on to the game to cheer on the Aggies and some of us went to the mall. Guess where I went? What a fun Saturday!!

aggie game day trifle

My sweet mother-in-law gave me a trifle bowl for my birthday. (She also gave me some cool red Kitchenaid accessories and some very yummy recipes for trifles...) I think she must have sneaked a peek at my wishlist. A wishlist that no one knew existed!! She was very surprised to learn that I'd been wanting one.

Well, this bowl has been sitting on my counter for three weeks, staring at me, begging to be used. And in a moment of creativeness, I had an idea... an ORIGINAL idea for once. I would make an Aggie trifle. Maybe I started a new tradition around here... I mean, with chocolate cake, cheesecake pudding, Cool Whip, and raspberries, I can't go wrong, can I??

Here are the ingredients:

• Red velvet cake (this was my original idea but couldn't get it so I used a chocolate cake mix and a bunch of red food coloring to make it maroon)
• Cheesecake pudding (2 boxes, I used the sugar free kind)
• Cool Whip (8 oz., thawed)
• Raspberries (I used frozen, but fresh would be good, too!)

Layer squares of cake, pudding, Cool Whip, raspberries. Repeat but end with Cool Whip and garnish with raspberries.

Gig 'em Aggies, and BTHO UAB!

ADD with a side of OCD

Does anyone else have this problem?

Yesterday I was making lunch. While getting out the lunch meat I decided to clean out the refrigerator. Yes, at the same time. In the process, I found some molding cheese in the deli drawer and remembered that Summer needs some moldy food for her biology class last week.

I thought I'd better check the class email but the phone rang and it was my neighbor, looking for packing tape. Gee, I know there's some around here somewhere... Pickles joined in the search and found it on her dad's vanity in the bathroom. (Sounds like someone else around here has ADD... who left that there???) Neighbor taped up her package and flagged down the mailman while I corralled the dog and kids back into the house.

A quick check back at the computer confirmed that some mold was indeed necessary so I made a note for the cheese ("Do NOT throw away. This is a biology experiment.") and returned it to the refrigerator shelf.

English muffins for my sandwich were put in the toaster and then I returned to the purging. I found three old containers of cream cheese and threw them in the trash (no mold here, though!). I pulled out a few more items and disposed of them while waiting for the muffins to toast.

I fixed my sandwich and ate, while helping Pickles with her Latin, then proceeded to put up our dirty dishes. At this point, I remembered the dishes in the dishwasher were clean and decided to put them away so I could wash the lunch plates and have a clean, empty sink. (I really, really like a clean, empty sink.)

Half way through the dish-putting-away I came across Summer's water bottle so I dutifully took it to the water bottle basket in the pantry. It was here that I noticed two opened boxes of graham crackers and decided to transfer the packages to two plastic, airtight containers. (There's nothing worse than stale chocolate graham crackers.)

Then I remembered that I wasn't done with the dishwasher!! So off to finish that little chore and put the dirties in I went. Next to the sink were two empty plastic containers that needed to be rinsed for the recycling. I grabbed those and started rinsing...

And then I remembered the three cream cheese containers I threw in the trash. (Here's where the OCD comes in...) I couldn't stand the thought of those three containers sitting in a landfill forever when all I had to do was clean them up and recycle them, especially when I just rinsed out a few other recyclables. The thought became so overwhelming that I DUG THROUGH THE TRASH to get them out for washing.

I know. I have a sickness.

The containers were emptied, washed, and put in the recycling bin. The dishes were put away and the sink cleaned.

That's me... Saving the environment one (or three) cream cheese container(s) at a time.

thursday 13

1. Today is this sweet little guy's first birthday. The big O*N*E!!
2. We celebrated a little early, because he was in Texas visiting his family.
3. He's going to be a big brother in about five months.
4. His eyes twinkle when he laughs.
5. He gives the sweetest hugs.
6. He loves to feed his food to the dogs. Any dog.
7. He walks around, drinking his bottle out of the side of his mouth.
8. He doesn't know how to walk... he RUNS.
9. He barely crawled, and started walking at 9 months.
10. This little guy squeals when he's happy.
11. He was very crabby the day of his birthday party, but he turned on the charm for the guests and no one saw an inkling of grumpiness.
12. He was a little timid about digging into his cake but once his momma gave him a taste of the icing, he went to town!
13. He lives entirely too far away. And I love him like crazy.

Happy Birthday Baby C!! We love you!!

blasted facebook

It's ruined my blogging. My journaling has been reduced to status updates like...

• "is opening the windows."
• "whodunnit? it was the mother... with the missing book... in the closet. i win."
• "tomorrow is the first day of fall!!"

To be fair, I shouldn't blame it all on Facebook. Twitter has a hand in it, too.

• "Said goodbye to Colin, Min, Ryan, and Nannie. Drowning sorrows at Container Store."
• "Waiting to help jump a stranger's car... They (3 guys) can't figure out how to open the hood. Ha!!"
• "Driving through Houston with a plastic bag stuck to the grill of my car."

Really, there is more to me and my life than these piddly little status updates. But life has gotten so busy and I haven't made time to get my thoughts in order for blogging. It's sad, because blogging helps me remember... a moment, a feeling, a funny thing said or done. I have found myself thinking in short phrases instead of stories and complete thoughts.

And I don't like it. I'd like to remember more about funny things like changing that stranger's tire. Or moments of missing my precious family who lives so far away. Or the laughter and frustration over finding a lost book. I'm so busy that I'm not feeling. And I want to feel those emotions...

happy... sad... lonely... silly... sentimental... in the moment... noticing the little things and then exploring what makes me feel the way I do about those things...

Maybe I'll be better about this blogging thing. Maybe not.

One thing I do know... this felt good!!