Thursday, May 30, 2013

crazy week..

 
And it's not even over. We had a fun weekend with relatives staying over and a bridal shower for Shane's sister. It was very sad to have  the cousins  go. And their moms. Dads sat this one out.
 
I was very sad, when, that evening I started suspecting another UTI. Then I thought back to the shower, all the treats ( sugar) sangria ( alcohol and sugar and citrus, triple whammy) I was hoping it was just some irritation. But just in case, I started the herbals with lots of water to help treat it. The next day I felt better and was glad it was a false alarm.
 
 The next day when I went to see the neurologist, she offered to run a test and I said sure. She also said I was stable. She didn't offer a detailed list of the areas, so I am going to go with all of the above. I did discuss my frustration, in the event of an actual UTI, of not being able to get the drug I prefer and wouldn't it be better for me to just have some on hand for those situations. She was not keen on that, but gave me a referral to a urologist, so I might still have an in.
 
 
So imagine my surprise when the nurse called the next day evening, at 6:00, after I had called them to get results and was told they should be in on Friday- in three days!- to tell me I did have one. Then she told me the dr would call in a perscription for three days of high dose Bactrim. And I could pick it up the next day.
 
So I got off the phone and stewed for a bit. Then I called around until I found a pharmacy that had Monurol. It was after hours  when I called the answering service for my dr and told her I was nursing was did not want to take that one but wanted the Monurol. And I had already called a pharmacy and located a packet of it and gave her the number. The dr called back and said she would look it up when she got home and call it in. I was feeling ok so was not too panicked about waiting until the morning. But was keeping up the water and bitter herbs. And was feeling giantly irritated about the situation.
 
The next morning I called the pharmacy and was told the dr had not sent it in. So I called the dr. Then I had to take Pippin to the dentist to get a flap of gum removed because he kept chewing on it and it hurt. I was wondering why he had asked the other  day what would happen if you ate a piece of yourself. Or drank your own blood. Then when he said it hurt to chew I looked in and saw  some flesh flopped over his back molar. So this morning we  rushed down to get it taken care of. Actually our rushing was slowed down by a fire engine. Parked across my driveway. With no driver in it. I contemplated trying to squeeze around it, but knew I'd have to straddle the curb and after my last curb incident thought better and waited until they left. Which was not too much longer.
 
And then the nurse called back. While I am sitting in the waiting room trying to nurse a wiggly babe and remember the name of the pharmacy I wanted to use. I think I probably told her the wrong name. At least once. I had written down the number at home and finally called home to ask Cyril to look by the cupboard by the back door for the piece of paper. Like a 12 year old boy he looked. I told him it a  piece of blank paper. So he looked for an empty page. Then I said, no, it has a number written on it, but its just white paper. I don't see anything by the front door. No, not the front door, the back door. Ooh. THe back door. No I don't see anything there either.
 
So I kept trying to locate the number on my phone with one hand while still nursing a wiggly baby and occasionally patting Cyprian's leg while he lay still to get his gum flap clipped. He did very well. Kateri had come and was a huge help offering to take the baby and then deciding it would be better to just take him out to the waiting room to play and I tried to focus on remembering the names and numbers of what felt like the entire world. I wanted to get it called in so I could pick  it up on my way home. But after the final call back from the nurse, she told me the pharmacy had to order it and it would be in tomorrow. I will withhold my thoughts at that point.
 
 
Once I got home I found the paper. In my pocket. I had had the foresight to think I'd want it and should take it. But then, I forgot. I hope at least one person gets the reference to Mr Moon's oft repeated line. I called to make sure it was the pharmacy I thought it was. I was so confused with names and numbers at that point but really wanted some confirmation that I remembered correctly the phone call from the night before. The pharmacist answered and I pitifully explained that I was losing my mind and did he remember me calling before. Ever? When I told him the name of the drug he said it was being delivered and would be ready in an hour.  I said I would have the neuro send over the request. He said he already had it, that's how he knew it was me. Not sure what that meant. But I said ok, ate some lunch and bitter herbs, and ran to pick it up.
 
 Kateri, my trusty side-kick, came with me and the baby. He was  mostly happy, didn't poop. But he had already made up for that at the neurologist visit, where I didn't have Kateri to take him out when he was super stinky or help change him back at the car where I almost drove off and left the not-crusty-anymore-and-very-useful stroller in the parking lot.
 
He had pulled the very same trick when I went to the phone store to exchange my phone. Again. The first time it kept giving me silly sim card messages and shutting off. The new one came and seems to have some issue with the capacitors on the left side of the keyboard. So it shoves extra r's, t's, f's and sometimes an e into words. And makes it look like I have a speech impediment when I send Shane messages. So a new one is ordered and I hope everything will be resolved tomorrow.
 
I picked up some test strips at the pharmacy too. I am contemplating saving the drugs for a more dire time and just water and bitter herbing this one away.

 
 
 


Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Mostly pictures

I have a cold. Again. It seems like the last one, which I shared with Malachi, was just like yesterday. And then when I thought about it I realized, it was! I've been popping the Chinese herbal pills like crazy. When first line of defense pills didn't work and I could not find any of the second  my sister came over with some of hers and we swapped. So hoping things will start improving soon.
 
Malachi finally got  over his cold and I was thinking he might be getting this one due to his extreme fussiness. But I think it might just be more movement on the teething front. Either way he has been generally dissatisfied  with pretty much everything, mostly everyone, and most activities. In the evenings he's  only soothed by dancing with Papa. Which is super cute but not super helpful on nights like tonight when Shane has a dinner to go to.
 
I offered him some Tylenol and some teething tablets. Then I fed him some candied pecans. He was just starting to really enjoy them when I realized what I had done and fished them back out again. I was standing at the counter holding him on my hip and snacking on the nuts I had made the day before. I had just finished feeding him some teething  tablets like a birdie and absent mindedly popped some of the nuts in his open little mouth.  He was not too keen on giving them up but I got them out. And it appears he does not have a nut allergy. So that is good news.
 
He is definitely entering the difficult to do anything with as he throws his weight, which is not an insignificant amount, towards whatever object looks appealing. Like my coffee, the flowers on the counter, anything anyone is trying to put in their mouth. It makes for fun mealtimes.
 
He is also in the "I don't like strangers and if you are not in my immediate family you must be a stranger waaaahhhhh! stage.
 
The big kids finished up their classes last week and for Audrey's poetry class the students were going to take turns reading some of their work. So I got my phone on video and was all ready to video her performance. That was until Malachi noticed the girl standing next to me. She was wearing a hat. Strangers wear hats wahhhhh! I felt Malachi curl into me  and could see from his cheek outline he was freaking out. I bounced faster and whispered in his ear, trying to get him to look at my face. But he kept looking around and seeing lots of unfamiliar faces and oh no. It's hat-girl again waaahhh!
 
So I quickly stepped out  of the room and watched as the other kids took turns reciting. I knew Audrey would be last and was hoping I could get him calmed down enough for me to jump in at the end and at least get her. I sat on the hall floor and nursed him talking to him and soothing his ruffled fat rolls. He was finally his smiley self and we chatted and snuggled. Then it was Audrey's turn so we stepped back into the room. He was immediately agitated so Kateri grabbed him while I tried to hold the phone still. But the first poem ended and there was clapping and it was too much. So I got a few seconds of video and hopefully no emotional scarring. And when you come to visit, please, no hats.
 
 
He did get to enjoy some swing time last week when we had several days of beautiful weather. He liked it but the baby swing required some extra padding to hold him securely. The weather is horrid now. I turned on the heat for Malachi's bath. And I think the rain is supposed to continue for the next week. So not much swing time in the near future.

 
He wanted desperately to be outside with the big kids so I lugged the high chair out for him. He was quite content watching the kids play. This was before his teeth ( if it is his teeth) started bothering him.


 
 When his is not grabbing everything he can get his chubby hands on he likes to sit and write code.
 
And then sit and relax by the fire in his new fat pants.
 
 
 

Friday, May 3, 2013

Quick Up-Dates

Because it is a beautiful day and we have to carpe vitamin D when we can.

It has actually been lovely weather the past week and I feel ready for barbecues and shorts and the kids playing outside until late in the evenings. But I am a little wary too. Just when you pull out the summer clothes and sunscreen, the clouds roll in and it rains for the next month. Welcome to Seattle.
The sun is spurring us on to finish up our school work and reminds me to order our yearly tests, and when I am forced to, to think about thinking about next year and getting anything I need to do now, done. Which has been going well and I'm feeling on top of it. This last year we did not get as much done as I had hoped. But with the new baby and bed rest and everything that goes with welcoming more life into our lives, school took a back seat for a long while. I am thinking this year we can really step up our game and hopefully get all caught up.

So I was really taken aback when, two weeks ago, I clued in to the fact that fertility has, in fact, returned. Muffin is 6 months old! The other kids were at least a year before said fertility returned. I have done nothing differently this time. He nurses like a champ-just look at his thighs-all the time, multiple times a night. He is pretty much attached to me all day. I don't see how a quick trip to Costco sans baby in any way sends a signal saying "Ok, lets get ready to roll folks" to an ovary. Its not like I am working out, or anything, or on any medications or have exorbitant free time that is in need of being filled. Somehow the message got through though and here we are.

At first I thought 'well, Muffin is 7 years younger than Pippin, so maybe he needs a sibling REALLLY close'. Shane and I still share a room, so the possibility is quite real. Then I thought 'he is still my little Muffin. even though he is 20#, and he needs to be my 'little' muffin for awhile longer. Why? The only thing I can some up with is spending lots of time with other women, who funny enough, are all on the same schedule I am. I thought this could at least get my neurologist off my case about medications for awhile longer. But I'd be pregnant two summers in a row! Seriously, I would totally feel like an elephant and there would go all the catch up I was planning for next school year. Then I realized, as I said it out loud, life doesn't fit around school work and schedules. Everything else fits around Life. And then, two weeks later, it was clear God was not asking us to accept Muffin 6.0. But as  a nursing mom I felt it was useful information to share with someone, somewhere. So there it is.

In other much less potential for life changing news, Shane's truck is out of commission for awhile. The other day he said he could leave work around 7. At 7:45 I called to see where he was. He was just coming up the hill and hoping the truck would make it. Thankfully, it did. He got it into the driveway, where the next day the tow truck picked it up and hauled it off the garage  where it will probably need a transmission rebuild and who knows what else and how much but most likely lots of both. So that means he gets to use my car for awhile, which has a really crummy radio and acoustic effects and no matter how high you turn the volume the only thing you can hear clearly is the screaming of the children over who can look out which window. At least that is my experience. And is the reason I ever turn that radio on in the first place. I would probably just think there was an extra kid screaming. For commuting without kids, well, I don't know what that sounds like. I encouraged him strongly to try the hands free speaker thing he got for me. He politely declined. It did remind me of this funny, and sadly fairly accurate video on how to 'Mom Your Ride'

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEFE3B0Rje0



And to finish, here are some pictures to prove we have sun, and so in a week we can remember what it looked like. It is so out of character for this time I was not prepared and had to put  Audrey's old sun hat on Muffin.


Where's my ham bone?

Cyprian waiting for his turn to perform at the piano recital.

Watching the tow truck take Papa's car.

Fat boys can wear floral and plaid too!