Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Did Someone Read My Mind?




So things are much better today. I was relieved to find that the pharmacist's claims of 'you'll start to feel a little better in 12 hrs' was an underexaggeration. I still felt under the weather, but not miserable after a few hours and gallons of water.

I asked Shane to stop and get me some probiotics on his way home, along with anything tasty from Whole Foods as I had no dinner plan or delusions that I would be able to by the time he got home. He said yes. Then I asked if we could take a sick day and watch Skyfall. He saw it in the theaters and liked it. I'm getting to be more of a homebody and prefer to watch movies when I have everything I might want at my disposal, including the ability to pause to change a diaper or lay the baby down once he falls asleep. Shane said sure.

The kids had been so helpful and independent while I was taking care of myself I thought they should get a little Lenten reprieve too. So Shane brought home the pills and some dinner and we did just that-Rise of the Guardians for kids upstairs, Skyfall for the parents and baby downstairs. And it was just the way I liked it. Pauses to get more blankets and change the baby. Or get a glass of water and whatever else I needed. It was very restorative and entertaining and just what I  needed. Usually it takes me until about midlent to weaken any Lenten resolve I started with and want to take a break. But illness has a way of speeding up that process. And there were elements of feeding the hungry, caring for the sick and other works of mercy.

We were back to our usual schedule today. I am starting to think Malachi did not have roesola. The rash is still there and could be eczema instead. Which sound weird to think of on a baby's tummy. We'll try some lotions/change of soap etc. And hopefully we won't have to get to changing my diet. He doesn't complain at all but its still sad to see the rough/dry patches on him.

And on the topic of medical ailments, I was very interested to read this article. I have not watched the TED talk it references but a phone app that can detect nitrates in urine sounds pretty amazing and I will watch it when I find it.

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

For Women Everywhere, or UTIs, really, really bite!

So over the weekend I kept up my regimen to ward off UTIs. It was going ok, except when some of the herbs made me vomit violently  and I spent the rest of the day in bed wondering if it was the herbs, or if we were finally catching what everyone else has been going through and we had, so far, been fortunate in avoiding. By the evening it seemed to be the former, but I did get some good naps in so the day was not a loss. Shane, super sweetly, ran to the store to get anything he thought I might want/need plus provisions for the kid  so and he to be able to  fend for themselves. Fortunately I had roasted a pork shoulder on Thursday along with some mashed sweet potatoes so there were some tasty vittles to snack on.

Yesterday we carried on and made it so some lessons, but I was tired so asked Shane to stop and do some grocery shopping on his way home.

Then this morning, before I even got out of bed, I knew I was loosing the battle and it was time to call in the cavalry. I knew the clinic opened at 9am and thought if I hurried I could get there and get seen soon. I had planned on taking Cyril in to get measured for glasses- more on that some other time-but quickly decided I could not do both errands and stopping the fiery urination was first on my list. I was so thankful to have Kateri, who is always up for anything, to take with me. I woke her up, explained the situation and with minimal breakfast on her part, none on my part, and a quick diaper change-done by Kateri-we were soon hurtling toward the clinic. Where two other people were already waiting!!

But in about an hour we were given a prescription and heading to the pharmacy. I knew the antibiotic I prefer, Monural, usually has to be ordered and didn't know a pharmacy that kept it stocked, other than the hospital one. I was not about to go traipsing around to get them and  was willing to take whatever I could get so went with the one she recommended when she said it goes well with lactating. I think that is about the only pairings I'm going to be doing for a very long time. At least until they find a way to Teflon coat a bladder and make it impenetrable to nasty things. (On that note, Shane told me about a TED talk on printing organs. There was a boy, who 10 yrs ago, was given a new bladder printed from his own cells. Not sure that would cure all my problems but maybe they can print and apply myelin to my nerves too. Then I might be set.) The dr was nice enough to call ahead and make sure the pharmacy had it, which they did. Which made it super annoying when 15 min later I showed up to pick it up and was told it would be ready in 20 min!!

Fortunately the store next door has a restroom and I wanted to get some yogurt too. I would have gotten acidophilus as well but could not find any so might send Shane to get some later tonight. I am really hoping it will not cause Malachi's yeast to resurrect. We had been doing very well but I ran out of the tablets I was using on him and had not restocked them so we could both use new bottles.

I was instructed to take the pills four time today, and twice for the rest of the week. The pharmacist told me I could take a double dose for the doses today to get things going more quickly. I was happy for the advice. Hopefully I will still be happy when the side effects kick in as well. Not just the ones where the bacteria dies and goes to hell to suffer fire and misery forever. That is a fine side effect. The less pleasant ones, which because it is a double dose might also be  doubly unpleasant. But this morning I felt miserable and not wanting to wait until I was completely incapacitated, feverish and unable able to  drive myself - that happened once, on Thanksgiving of all days- but my nephew had a round of chewable antibiotics he would not take and the dr on call said I could take those so it worked out. So I had a quick snack when I got home and popped two pills.

Then feeling like things were finally under control, I gave the baby to Audrey and went up to finally take a shower. The hot water felt so relaxing and I was mentally feeling great knowing I was going to make it I was temped to stay for an hour. But just as I was getting out, Cyril burst in shouting something about alarms and we had to get out the house now! I quickly threw my robe and cam running downstairs not really knowing what was going on. The three other kids were standing on the back porch looking mildly concerned and I asked Cyril to explain again what was going on.

He told me the carbon monoxide alarm went off and said to evacuate and he had been feeling sleepy. I was quite pleased the kids had immediately gone outside and knew, if such and emergency arose they would respond appropriately. But this was not an emergency. Kateri had bumped the monitor and set off the test alarm sequence while trying to hide from Pippin.

So we un-evacuated, I got dressed, and finally made myself some coffee, which along with the shower I had also skipped this morning. And then feeling sleepy, decided to take the baby upstairs for a nap, leaving Pippin to boil some noodles for lunch. With Audrey and Cyril doing their Latin at the table and offering help if Pippin needs it.

Then I thought I'd prepare myself for what is next to come and read the label for the antibiotics, which includes dizziness, tiredness, headache, nausea, and the really explosive diarrhea. Which is exactly what carbon monoxide poisoning looks like, with the exception of the last. Not too much fun, but still preferable to death by UTI.

All this to say I asked the dr about home tests I had read about on the internet, because I know drs like that- to help avoid unnecessary visits or to encourage one when things are not heading the right direction. She said the strips test for leukocytes and nitrates. Presence of nitrates is  the gold standard of an infection as they are the bi-product of bacteria and if they are present your trip to the clinic will not be for naught. But she said some drs might still treat for an infection even if the tests were both negative and if it seemed helpful to me get some from Amazon, or wherever. I will talk it over next week when I go see the ladies at the women's clinic and see what their take on it is.

 It is so frustrating to have to deal with something so miserable and urgent but takes a trip to the dr and the pharmacy to get resolved that anything that could give me a heads up or a relax and have a glass- of water-would be very welcome. I mean, women used to have to go to the dr to diagnose and treat a yeast infection, or get  a pregnancy test. How backwards is that? Things have moved in a much better direction and I can't wait until the diagnosing and treating of UTIs is relegated to the same class of 'can you believe women had to put up with ...' before?  Not as welcome as a permacoated bladder, but in the mean time, it would do.

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Time Out

So today has been a rough day. Or at least had a rough start. Which seems strange, or may be in part due to the fact that I slept in until 10:30. So did Malachi. I was shocked too. Strangely, I still felt tired when I got up. We had our typical 12am bed time but even then 10 1/2 hours seems a bit much. I am wondering if Malachi has roseola. I almost hope so as it would explain the fussiness and would mean the end was in sight soon. After I bathed him last night I felt some very sand papery patches on his tummy. I remembered Cyprian when he had it. Weeks of being clingy and fussy and me promising myself I would never go  on another family vacation with a baby again. Then one night after swimming I saw the rash and he got better. And then we came home.
So I am keeping an eye on it to see if it spreads and am glad he is getting lots of good sleep.
 
 
However I was not so glad when the delivery man decided to finally deliver the wine, which I have to sign for, while I was in the shower. Seriously, he has all day to deliver it. But he picks the 15 min window when I finally have a  second to be alone and get prepared for the day. The kids did not come and tell me so he left a new delivery date on the door. I don't really care about the wine, just now I have to stay home on another designated day. But then again, its not like I go anywhere if I have the option not to these days.
 
 
We are not drinking wine during lent, except sometimes on Sundays. But I feel like I might just give it up entirely. I don't really know what is going on. Ever since pregnancy #1 my bladder has never been quite right. And I find any sort of discomfort emanating from it to be completely unnerving. Headache, ok some ibuprofen and I can carry on. Nausea, ok I'll stay in bed for 3 months but I'm ok. A twinge of my bladder hinting 'its not quite happy' and I can't think of anything else, whether its schoolwork, a nice dinner, or even a movie. All of my attention is focused on it and I feel panicky. I guess mostly panicked that it is the start of a bladder infection. Because what if it is and I can't take care of it and then I have to go in to get it checked and what if all the clinics are closed and then the antibiotic I like to take for it has to be ordered by the pharmacy for next day delivery and waiting another day with a bladder infection is a really, really, bad idea and I know I won't be able to think about or do anything else until its resolved. So it exhausts me just entertaining the idea.
 
For me it is the not knowing that I find most debilitating. And makes occasions like long trips away from medical care, or wine tasting in hot places, or trying to sit through a 3hr movie while boxed in from all sides opportunities for hyperventilating.  But it is strange to feel like I can't trust my body or what it is trying to tell me. 'No, you're fine. You just didn't like the lemon drop.'
And when my brain gets  in on the conspiracy its even more fun. Like Christmas Eve.
 
We were not terribly early and ended up sitting in the choir loft. 3 flights of concrete stairs up. And it is packed. And there are only two bathrooms. Downstairs. Apparently one of which is for the other sex. I figured that out my third trip and thought 'Ahh. That is why the seat was up.' But I also didn't care and was glad I didn't know earlier as I might have waited and then.....well there were no big flower pots.
 
Unfortunately I was also distracted by feeling like my milk supply was slowing down and imagining Malachi being hungry or, God forbid, loosing an ounce. As it turned out, I was able to pinpoint the culprit. I had gone to see my naturopath that week and she recommended miralax to just, you know, keep things moving. It turns out miralax is an osmotic. Which in bladder speak means spasmotic and 'you  will sorely regret you ever took it. You will not be able to sit down for more than 5 min and then you will pray you do not fall down the steep steps in your hurry to avoid making a scene and maybe you really do have a bladder infection. I wonder if there are any clinics open on Christmas Eve? Maybe you'd have to go to the ER. That would be lame.'
 
After the third and final trip, Shane asked if I was ok. I said I was not sure and tried to talk myself down from the ledge. But I did have some monaural at home and knew I would feel comfortable if I could just have it in case I found that things were headed that direction. So we left early. It turned out to be ok. I think the miralax was effecting my milk but my reaction of drinking tons of water to see if that  helped only gave my bladder more to deal with, which it did not seem to be too happy about. So now I know not to take that again. Or drink alcohol. Or have citrus. Or sugar. Or fake sugar, caffeine,  or carbonation,  Or do anything to tempt fate, which would mean this is Malachi the last.
 
But it also still leaves me wondering where the problem is. Is it just me? Is it MS related? Is it the fact that 5 pregnancies and Malachis odd delivery- I will get to that eventually-have rearranged things so as to never allow  my bladder a moments peace? Is it all completely in my head and goes back to something in my childhood? Should  see my neurologist, the urologist, or a shrink?
 
While all these thoughts were weighing heavy on my mind, I decided to take a back seat to dealing with the day. I did school with the little kids. Then left them to their own devices with minimal intervention. Gave the big kids instructions and said Papa will check in with them in terms of their progress when he gets home and focused on the baby. At lunch time I decided to make something easy that I had been wanting to try. It was really fun to watch the kernels pop through the glass lid and all but one kernel popped. It was a success and the kids enjoyed it so at least they didn't feel totally neglected and now they are out digging trenches in the rain, for fun, so the day was not a complete loss.
 
And in the midst of it all I decided to start with the ladies at the women's clinic at Evergreen. They were so nice and I was sad when my visits with them ended. Kind of like the midwives. They know so many amazing things. About me. And I want to show off Malachi as well. Unfortunately, they are working in different areas of the hospital now so I had to call a different number and will only be able to see the therapist not the RN. But she works out of the rehab clinic that is right below my neurologist so t least I know where I am going. And where the bathrooms are.  I did have to  get a referral as the one  on file was from 2 yrs ago. So I called up the midwives and they will fax one over ASAP, and  I was able to get an appointment in a couple weeks. Which I  am very much looking forward to it. I am feeling like the time out was just what we all needed. But I will have to come up with something else for dinner.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

The Talk

The other morning over breakfast, Cyprian says to me,

"Mom, I want the talk."

"OK. What talk do you mean?"

"You know. The Talk. Cyril said he had it. I want it too."

"What is it about?"

"I don't know" he said

"What is the question?" I asked

"What question?"

"The question that gets you The Talk."

"What is it?" he begged.

"I can't tell you, but when you ask it then I know you're old enough for The Talk."

He has not brought it up since so its not weighing on him much. I think I'll do a Calvin and Hobbes answer first and tell him about the KMart Blue Light Specials. He'll appreciate that. 

On the other hand, I gave Kateri the talk without being asked the other day. The Talk being 'you don't give your phone number out to boys you don't, or rather we, don't know.

Last week she went to Oregon for a wedding with grandma and grandpa. Apparently there was boy who was quite taken with her, I don't blame him. She is great fun at parties especially if there  is dancing involved. I don't know if there was dancing and if there was not it is probably for the best. Let him off easy and all that. The boy asked for her number. Grandma thought he was very forward. Kateri was flattered and  said she told him. I thought, 'great, its starting already.' Then I thought maybe she takes after me and gave out someone else's number on accident. I asked her what our number is. She repeated it correctly, with the area code.

So far she has not received a call from the young gentleman. Though he did call her at her great aunts house in Oregon because her great aunt is the grandmother of her cousin who is  the friend of the boy who wanted her number. (In the house that Jack built.)

I asked her what the boy said. She said he called, but then his mom got on the phone so he had to hang up. She was, hopefully, going to give the boy 'The Talk.' The one where she tells her son never to call again. Because I am not od enough for that.

Oh, and on another note, Cyprian said it would be really hard to have triplets. Because moms only have two 'nibbles'.

Friday, February 15, 2013

I'm so confused

Which is nothing new. I found this post that apparently I forgot to  publish. It was interesting reading but feels like old history. But seeing as how it might come in hand to have something new up- like for those who are in bed puking like I was for weeks and always got super excited when I found something new to read- thought I'd throw it up anyway.

Rewind  9 months.

Baby is growing quite well. Kateri says my tummy  is bigger every morning. It certainly feels like it. I finally went shopping for some clothes. Shane said some of my things were getting a little squeezy. The next day I took them all back and started looking at maternity clothes instead. I thought I could get away with anything stretchy but it did not go so well. The  last time I really went shopping for maternity clothes, designers assumed you had grown to the size of a small SUV and that it would be great fun to put horizontal stripes and lots of funky gathers everywhere. And bows. Seriously, who needs rouching on an already sizeable piece of tacky floral print fabric? Of course, that was before all the actresses started having kids and making pregnancy another fashion opportunity for labels. I guess I am thankful for that.

I will be 17 weeks this Friday. Shane and I got to go hear the heartbeat again last week when I had some, still unexplained, bleeding. So far, in my pregnancy experiences that has only meant one thing. So I called my sister and she brought me supplies. Then I called Shane and he came home. Then the midwives called back and asked me to come in. Shane, wisely, told them we'd head in after I ate lunch. I can go longer stretches without snacks but it is best not to depend on that.  I felt completely fine and not at all like the other miscarriages. No hormone weirdness. No nausea or cramping or feelings reminiscent of transition. But it was reassuring to get checked out and hear the heart beat steady and strong. If it happens again we'll do an ultrasound, other wise we'll wait until the 20 week mark to get one. Which is fast approaching.


I am mostly caught up from appointments which had been put off due to the morning sickness. I still have Kateri's annual hearing test and check up, but they were booked out until July. And I need to get new orthodontist appointments on the books for the kids.

I did make it to the neurologist, though I am thinking I might look around some more. The new one is fine and I suppose I can't expect to just 'have' a relationship in one appointment, but it does not feel urgent right now anyway so I am fine for now. I just was not super excited or inspired by the visit. Not that is didn't go well. We did discuss some annoying symptoms I've been having off and on the past couple years where when I try to lie down to sleep, my leg- more specifically my calves-will spas out. Almost like a not painful charlie horse. Just a slow tightening of the muscle sometimes accompanied with a little jerk. I tried having Shane massage them and it helps a little, but when he stops, it starts. If I stand up I can't feel it, but I don't sleep standing up. So usually I get up and distract myself on the computer for a couple hours until I am tired enough to fall asleep anyway. I find my legs will sometimes feel sore in the morning- like I did have a bad cramp-so I am thinking I can count those nights as work out nights, no?  The only thing the Dr had to offer was muscle relaxants, which I have heard relax everything. I didn't know if that was code for 'you need to wear a diaper to bed' if you take it or 'your whole body will feel like rubber but  it is not every night so I have not tried anything in the past. And now I am sure I wouldn't be able to. I have found taking magnesium and potassium help  and stretching before lying down. It might be good practice for getting into a routine of not sleeping much at night and finding ways to pass the time but I still find it really, really annoying. Especially when it was coupled with morning sickness- sleep was the only reprieve I got.  Then Shane showed me Wordament, which works for now, but will be hard to play on my phone one handed while rocking a baby.

Maybe I should go back and see if the neurologist would prescribe massages for me. That kind of therapy I could get excited about. For now it is manageable so I'll just deal with it. Though I could still go for a deep tissue massage and a few hours at the spa. Maybe once a week would be good.

We've been having fabulous weather the past few days. I was a litltle caught off guard and actually got some really funky tan lines while watching the kids do slip'n'slide. Thankfully the next days were also very nice and I was able to correct the problem. It is very unusual to have gotten a dark tan in the middle of May. But I am so thankful it has been nice. The kids are living outdoors, I actually started planning and procuring some plants and seeds, and everyone is in a much better mood. Compared to a month ago, it feels like heaven. I will be super sad, but not surprised when it changes back to cold and rainy. Shane even went kiting today for the first time this year. He just got a new kite and board and was super excited to try them out. I told him it was his Father's Day present, which he is fine with.


Thursday, February 14, 2013

Coffee break?

I might not get to coffee. I've been planning on what to post today all morning. Nothing earth shattering or world changing but I was looking forward to Munchkin finally taking a nap so I could get it out of my head before it got lost. Then I remembered Shane asked me to look up Malachi's social security number. I don't know if we got the card or not, but we can't seem to find one. But the website says something about getting an existing number  over the phone if you have the parents numbers. So after my first coffee I got brave and dialed the 1-800 number.

I spent  10 min  choosing options I thought would get me to the person I needed to talk to and then realized  I wasn't going to find one. So  rather than continuing to believe their lies and false hopes of "I can help you with that' and going further  down the rabbit hole , I made my way back to the main menu and got in line to talk someone. Actually, I made my request to the computer and she was so confused she had to admit she could not help me but maybe, just maybe, a real live person could. Probably not, but if I were willing to try she could put me on hold. I think she is related to the hand free phone in my car. A distant cousin or something.

So I put the phone on speaker and waited. I should have made coffee. I did eat my breakfast. The kids complained about the lousy music so I finally had  to take the phone into the library. Every once in awhile the computer would interrupt the song-without-a-melody to tell me that Social Security services over 15 million people. All of whom seemed to have gotten in line before me and I should get a snack and make myself comfortable. Seriously, it was 29 min before someone picked up. And that did not include the first 10 min of meandering through useless menus.

All that to be told- in 30 seconds or less, that the woman who finally picked up was  not authorized to give out numbers over the phone. Or even tell me if I go to the office that there is a number for him already. And if there is not I need something official with his birth date on it. We have not ordered a copy of his birth certificate yet- that will take a couple weeks-and his insurance card does not have his birth date on it, just his name. So unless he is already on file it will be a waste of more time to go as I won't even be able to start the process.

All that to say I feel like I've had my life blood and energy sucked out of me and have to recover before I can write what I was wanting to. No, nothing flowery about Valentine's Day. Personally, I have always been disappointed with the feast day and how it is 'celebrated' these days. And that was after I had the sweetest of valentines to celebrate it with. Fortunately Shane and I are on the same page and both think a it little contrived- by Hallmark, florists, and probably the whatever the group was in the Davinci Code. I did watch it because I wanted to see how ridiculous Tom Hanks could get. And if it could be worse than his performance in The Terminal(ly Ill).  So we don't buy card for each other or do anything out of the ordinary. We both feel everyday is an opportunity to say I love you and nothing communicates undying devotion like rubbing someones back for hours to combat back labor pains or getting up at o'dark thirty every day so the ones you love can have a home and food and comfort. Or all things I do for him. Like laundry. Dinner most nights. Remembering to  decant the wine before he gets home. Ok. His contributions sound a little more contributory that mine on paper. But I did have to do the morning sickness and the pushing. And its not a contest so who are you to judge?

That's not to say you can't have both laundry and valentines together. Hallmark should come out with cards saying thank you for taking care of my dirty socks. it means the world to me. But then, on principle, I  migh feel compelled to stop doing laundry to protest the commercialization of it.  So don't tell them I said that.

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Guy on a Buffalo

So we are still battling the cold and the yeast. Making good progress on the fungus front. But while we've been resting we have been hugely entertained by these short videos. Hope you find them equally enjoyable. Many thanks to Conversion Diary for tipping me off.

Guy o a Buffalo Episode #1 Episode 2 Episode 3 Part I Episode 3 Part II

Friday, February 8, 2013

Tootsie Roll

First Malachi is like this:
 
 
 

                                                              Then he's like this:

And then we all clap and applaud his hard work.  He's not wearing any pants. Some yeast decided to try and take up residence in his fat creases- I don't blame them, they are pretty spectacular and luscious as far a real estate and thighs go-so he's been going commando as much as possible. Now that he has learned his new trick we are all potential targets. Which the kids find pretty funny.


So the cold is still hanging on. Shane went to work yesterday and I woke up with a re energized version of what I thought I had already defeated. I might try and take a nap when he goes down. He does not seem to be coming down with anything but he is highly distractable  (spell checker says that is not a word, but they have not seen Malachi nurse lately). So I can't even use meal times to grab a rest. I might have to take down every picture and light fixture in the house. Or put blinders on him.

I finally made it to a hair appointment last week. It was nice to finally go. The kid cutting it grew up not far from where I did so it was fun to chat about how the neighborhood has changed over the years. He did a good job on the cut and will hopefully be there when I need to go again. Seems lately as soon as I find a stylist I like, they are moving.

I probably talked his ear off, but he probably didn't notice as the hairdryer was on a lot. I went out the morning before to grab a few groceries and came back feeling euphoric and chatty. It had been a few weeks since I'd gone anywhere. I hadn't realized how  stir-crazy I was feeling until I got out. But Shane was nice and listened to all the thoughts I'd collected on my short trip. With the cold now, I am content staying home. And as it is Friday am looking forward to Shane being home too.

Monday, February 4, 2013

Monday, Monday

I woke up this morning around 6:00, for no good reason. I got out of bed about 6:45,because Malachi puked on my stomach. Nothing says rise and shine like vomit. He doesn't spit up often but seems to be doing it more of late. Maybe he's eating too much. Kateri has been coaching him on rolling over. Not as a weight loss program but because Kateri likes projects. He's almost there, which is pretty impressive given the amount of 'chuthers' he has to move. We love our corpulent cookie and all enjoy watching him try to get his heft moving. But so far he just succeeds in getting on his side and kicking and eventually scooching his body  360 degrees. Which is a good trick too.



I finally got a jumpy chair for him, in the hopes it would give my arms a break. At first I was overwhelmed by all the choices and couldn't decide which features I wanted and then what theme and how portable etc. Finally, Shane swooped in and picked the one with the highest reviews. Over one thousand Amazon customers can't be wrong, right? I think Kateri was the most excited about it. I could hardly stop her from shoving rod A into rod B, and only had to go back a redo a few steps after we read the directions. Malachi finds it to be mildly amusing. For about 10 min. I think he'll like it more as he gets bigger. I mean older. Too much bigger and his backside won't fit in the seat. He has actually found a toy he really enjoys- a flannel receiving blanket. He likes to hold and chew on them.
His fussiness seems to be diminishing. But he still likes to be entertained a lot. And his sleeping habits are not horrible conducive to a restful night for everyone. Last night was an early night at about 11:30. Which was preceded by  a poop. Every half hour for and hour and a half. After his second encore he was finally able to settle down and go to sleep. At least we know we are all clear for piano lessons today.

Shane and I spent the weekend fighting off colds. I was concerned when his carpool companion bagged out due to a cold on Thursday. Friday Shane sent me a note saying he was coming down with one. And that he's locked his keys in his truck. Last time he did that I thought I should get him a SlimJim to keep at his office. But I didn't. So he had to call AAA. I ran to the store next morning and got a bank account's worth of Chinese herbs. I'm feeling pretty good today. Shane is still sleeping but as his is a Man Cold I expect it will take longer for him. None of the kids are ill, so I am grateful and hoping it stays that way. All in all its not the worst start to week.