So let's play catch up...

or maybe not? The last five weeks or so are a blur, and I am not sure why. I don't think anything monumental occured. I think it was just the activity of three kids and summer.

July:
* I took Oldest out to Melissa's salon for haircuts. We had a good time - even though we could not find a place to eat dinner afterwards. California Kitchen was packed, Chili's had no room in the parking lot either, King of Prussia mall is overwhelming so we wound up at Ruby Tuesday's. Not what I had envisioned, but it was good and it was about Oldest and I spending time together - not about the food.

* I enrolled Youngest at a new preschool for the coming year. They deal with the IU and that is good since the hearing aid will be in place. I am hoping she will find more friends living close by for more playtime. The big plus is it is only 2 minutes from the house - so much less driving and so much less gas.

August:
* I took the kids back to Virginia Beach to visit my parents. We had a blast. I think each day had a great highlight

1. We (Mom, the girls & I)went to Sandbridge for the day; I realized how much I truly miss living 7 minutes from the ocean - I have to find a way to get closer to the water. Living among the cornfields isn't working for me.



2. We (Mom, Dad, the girls & I) went to Doumar's for lunch. Oh, yum!!! I have loved this place since I was a little girl when Grammy took me. It has limeade that is to die for and BBQ with extra slaw that is scrumptious. We found out while we were there that Guy Fieri from Food Network's Diners, Drive-ins & Dives came to do a story on them. I remembered to watch it once I got back to lovely PA.
After Doumar's, Mom & I took the girls to the Virginia Zoo. We went quite a few times when we lived in VB and now try to go when we go back to visit. Love the zoo. Oh, the girls love the $$$ Pop-Pop gave them for webkinz. The best part of that day for them.






3. Dad, Middle, Youngest & I went shopping at Target. Luckily Dad did not give in and purchase anymore toys for them.

4. Mom took the girls back to school shopping. They came home with new outfits and shoes. Trying out the new yogurt place, The Skinny Dip was a great way to end our shopping excursion.

5. We went out to dinner for Mexican - yummy - and went swimming at my godmother's house.

* Oldest and I took a ride out to Hershey to go to the scrapbook store so that I could get supplies for the family history album I am going to do for Dad. We stopped at Red Robin for a quick bite. Again it was nice to have a little one on one time with my oldest since I don't get to do that as often. She is so busy.

* Aunt Melissa came out to visit and gave both Middle and Youngest a great back to school haircut. Thank you, Melissa. XO!

* Oldest had volleyball try-outs for high school. Nope, didn't make it this year. She is OK with that. She will still be there supporting her friends.

* Oldest went to the Paramore concert in Philly with Melissa then got to stay the night at Mel's.

* Ash picked up her schedule for high school! How the hell did that happen? I just dropped her off in kindergarden. I am sooo not ready for a high schooler. We took a tour of the school and scoped out her classes. She felt pretty ready for the first day.

* Abs had Open House at her new school. WOW!!! The $$ that went into building that school really shows. It is beautiful. Everything is so new and clean and colorful. We are very excited about her teacher, Mrs. M. I think she will be a perfect match for Abs.

* Aud got her hearing aid. A very emotional day for her. Abs did such a nice job of trying to sooth her. Not much worked though except for the promise of the new Webkinz goldfish. We found "Bubbles" after the appointment. It seemed to keep Aud calm for a little while.

* We went to the pool a few other times - but the weathter has been so mild which makes the spring fed pool even chillier.



* We hosted the neighborhood picnic. I think everyone had a fantastic time especially my husband. ;-) The food was fantastic, but the company was even better. We have plans to do neighborhood movie night next.

* Finally school started this past week. Structure is back in our lives. So is homework.

Coming up next...the first day of school

The retreat afterglow...

So much fun was had at CPR. Loved meeting new people. Loved taking the scenic tour of Harrisburg and Port Matilda with Patti. Loved all the little chipmunks. Thanks Misty for all of your hard work!!!


ahhhhh.

For Sharon

Here are some photos as promised...








We are getting some pages done. Sausan is working on jewelery, Christine is working on Christmas cards. Misty and Trisha just made a food run. :-) Wishblades and Cricuts are running. Diana is teaching braiding (in memory of Donna.)

We're here and having a blast...

We are having a fantastic time - the Institute is gorgeous. The building were all designed by the owner and are very large log cabins/lodges. There are some wonderful walking trails, and places to relax and reflect. Cute little chipmunks abound.

I am trying to get organized with the digital scrapping and finish watching the tutorials.

Patti is working away on her Disney album,, Trisha is working on her Tech album, and I need to make the rounds to check on the others.

No tvs in the rooms so that was a shocker last night - it was extremely quiet. Very odd from my usual M.O.

More later with pictures.

Momma's getting a break

Middle is on the mend. Hallelujah!!! She is eating and sleeping regularly; the cough is disappearing. The antibiotics are all finished. My girl's sassy tude is back - what a relief. She is looking forward to some major fun time this weekend to make up for the last two weeks.

After two full weeks of non-stop nursing to get Middle well, I am taking a short break. I am leaving in 5 hours for a weekend of fun at CPR. I cannot wait!!! Patti and I are driving up to Port Matilda to stay at the St. Joseph's Institute with a group of other fantastic ladies. (Julia ~ it isn't too late. Pack a bag!) Update with photos coming later! ;-)

a.

We are home, finally...

Made the trip in 5.5 hours with two stops. Not bad. Middle and Youngest are asleep in Middle's room - Middle facing one way, Youngest facing the other. They wanted to sleep together again. All of the clothing, toys, suitcases, etc... are put away. House is clean. Our wonderful neighbors cut our grass and brought over groceries. The dog is home and already put himself to bed. I am physically, mentally, and emotionally drained and am going to bed.

This week has got to be better. :-)

Gotta post some lighter news....

Just cause this has been a not so great week.

Oldest - got to go to the beach with Amanda today. She picked a lot of seashells and just relaxed. Now she is home busy painting her nails black. :-) What a teenager!

Youngest - spent the day in her pjs enjoying all of her grandparents' attention. They even got her a Happy Meal from McDs. Now she is watching a movie on the little portable DVD player that Dad owns. What a great day for a four year old.

Maybe tomorrow there will be even more great highlights. Need a good night's rest first.

Another day, another ER visit...

Yes, that is how my day was spent again - back in the CHKD ER. Middle spiked a fever of 102 last night. I called our peds. back in Lancaster and was told to take her in. Since this was at 9:15 PM last night, and I was told the ER was very busy when I called CHKD, I made the executive decision not to go then. I just knew we would be there for hours in the middle of the night and did not want to chance Middle picking up even more germs.

After an extremely restless night for me, we went back to the ER about 9:45 this morning. Thank goodness I waited just a few hours as the ER was clear and Dr. C was on duty again. Middle had two more xrays which showed more white than gray/black on the lung than the radiologist felt should be there at this point (in other words - there was not enough air in her lung and too much gunk.) The radiologist wanted a CT scan run. I knew what the thought was - a mass or tumor - but that was never spoken aloud until after the test was completed.

Middle got her first IV; she did pretty well. Some tears and apprehension, but after the week she has had, that was totally expected. She got a new infusion of Rocephin since the IV was already in. The CT went fine - she had contrast with it and no reaction to it. Then we just waited for the results. PTL that the results were no to any mass or tumor and yes to just a very bad case of pneumonia. We were given the all clear to leave (and eventually to drive back home to PA.)

Middle and I were starving. She had eaten two bites of french toast this morning; I never ate due to my nerves. Pokemon is the toy of choice @ BK, and it was also Middle's choice of meals. Not mine, but whatever. She deserved to eat whatever she wanted at this point. She ate a little bit of the burger and a few onion rings. Now she is relaxing on the couch and coughing, coughing, coughing.

J was able to change his flight thru Southwest and will return to Norfolk instead of Baltimore tomorrow night. The dog continues to reside at the kennel (poor guy) and hopefully the cats are not tearing the house apart. Thank goodness our neighbor has checked on them everyday.

My plan is for us to go back to PA on Sunday morning. The dog can be picked up Sunday between 4 & 6 which should not be an issue. I guess that is it for now.

The good part of the visit...

Friday:
Our drive down was fast and uneventful. We left our house at 1:45 PM and made it to Mom and Dad's by 7:00ish. That was the fastest we have ever made the trip. I think it really helped that we did not make the usual stop at Chick-Fil-A for an hour. We only stopped by Wawa for a few food items and drinks. The kids were fantastic and watched movies or listened to the iPod. Had a little dinner after arriving and then set up the bedrooms for the kids.

Saturday:
The girls spent the morning in the IT center (otherwise known as the dining room.) We went to MacArthur Center for a little family time. Dad could get his walk in and the rest of us got out of the house. Mom wound up doing a little shopping at Ann Taylor and J. Jill. I found her a great jean skirt and cute shirt and was totally thrilled when she bought them. Middle and Youngest got new Webkinz - a Chihuahua for Middle and a Bulldog for Youngest. They loved them. Oldest and J hit up the Apple store.
Saturday night we cooked out since we didn't get to on July 4th. Dinner was great and easy clean-up.













Sunday:
Since we spent most of the day at the Urgent Care and the ER, dinner was great. Neither J or I had any lunch and nothing at the ER so we were famished. Mom had ordered an entire turkey, dressing and gravy from the club since we couldn't go there to eat. Eric and T came up and brought Ben for us to meet. He is a cutie. Dinner was soooo good. Thanksgiving in July.

Monday:
Ash spent the day hanging out with Amanda and Sam. They went to see Hancock at the movies and then hung out for a while. Ash then spent the night at Amanda's which was fantastic cause it gave her a break out of the sick house. Audrey hung out with J and Pop-Pop since I had to take Abs back to CHKD for a check-up. Abs got a new Webkinz (again) since we promised her with all of the tests and shots she got from her ER visit. The great part was that the Webkinz of the Month was free with the purchase of Abs horse so Aud got a new one too - a Cheeky Monkey.

Tuesday:
Ash spent the day with Amanda hanging out and watching movies. J took Audrey to the Virginia Aquarium (that name sounds so unfamiliar as it was always the Virginia Marine and Science Museum.) They had a blast and even took a boat ride in the inlet. That made me nervous as another storm was rolling thru. J said he also rode by the old house and neighborhood. Our old house is 8 years old now; apparently the landscaping has really grown and looks great. We ate turkey dinner again - always good.

Wednesday:
J. left this morning to go to Nashville. Mom was great and took him to the airport so I didn't have to get up early since I had been up half of the night again with Abs. Aunt T came up with Ben again and spent the day with us. She made the girls spaghetti for lunch and Abs ate some - which was fantastic. Mom was able to come home early since Dad went into work for a while. Aud performed another piano concerto for everyone. Ash went to the mall with Sam and then over to his house to hang out. Eric came over, so we all had dinner together. We cooked out again which was another quick easy meal. YUM!

The past week of our life...

Wednesday:
Middle woke up from a nap (hint #1 that she was ill) and had a fever and a belly ache. Thought she had picked up a bug - same that I had the previous weekend.

Thursday:
Middle woke up with the same belly ache and fever. Decided to take her in to the peds to get the belly checked. Dr. F. wanted an ultrasound to double check for an appendicitis. No appendicitis, but the tech did find mesenteric adenitis (enlarged lymph nodes in the lower right quadrant that mimic an acute appendicitis. We were told that Middle basically had a virus and it would run its course. Given the all clear to go to Virginia Beach. We decided to give Middle an additional day to rest and just leave ASAP in the morning.

Friday:
Woke up at 6:30 AM to a child with fever but no belly pain. We attributed the fever to the virus and thought it would continue to run its course. About mid-morning, Middle was feeling better (the fever seemed to have broken and she was starting to rebound), so we decided to finish packing up, drop off the dog at the kennel and head out of town. Middle had a fever in the car, but we thought that might be the end of it. We arrived at my parents' home and just let her rest for the night.

Saturday:
All seven of us decided to go to MacArthur Center to do a little shopping and get out of the house. Middle seemed to be doing OK. We shopped and enjoyed ourselves, but Middle started to get cold (not that unusual since she has no fat on her) and developed a little cough. I thought maybe she was getting a little cold as the cough was a dry hack not congested. She seemed to run out of energy and just wanted to go home. Jason and Dad took her and Youngest home. Mom, Oldest and I finished up at the mall and hit the pharmacy for some Dimetapp for Middle. Again - the high fever returned.






Sunday:
I was done with this high fever business and called our pediatrician again. She asked if we could find a dr. that could do a strep test and a urine dip to rule out strep throat and a bladder infection. I called the local Urgent Care that was recommended and was told to bring her in.
They were very nice and ran the tests. The nurse was rough as hell doing the strep test though. I was not happy with her heavy hand - you would have thought she was scrubbing mildew off of a wall not swabbing a child's throat.
Both tests were clear so the Dr. suggested a chest xray and blood CBC. I wasn't sure about those and our peds had said to just have the two tests done and not let them talk me into anything else. I was apprehensive but did not say anything as I thought at least it would rule out some of the other possibilities for the high fever for four days.
The xray tech took one picture then gave it to the dr. The dr. thought it was too light and requested another. The tech took another xray and then one from a side angle. The next thing I knew the dr. was calling me over. He did not have any bedside manner to begin with and confirmed it with his next statement. He said, "I cannot treat her. You need to take her somewhere else. You need to take her to the hospital. See her lung. It shouldn't look like that. It is all white."
The xray showed her left lung to be completely opaque compared to the one on the right which was black. Both Jason and I were terrified. All I could think was my child was going to die. The doctor said he was going to write up his notes for us to take. The xray tech had me sign a waiver to take the xrays with us. (I have no idea why since our insurance was paying for them, but whatever....)
I confronted to xray tech and asked if Abs had pneumonia or what. He thought she had pneumonia, but again the dr. still had not said anything. We got the letter and left with Abs to head to CHKD ER. That was the only place I was comfortable taking her. Having lived in VB my whole life and raising the kids here for a while, I have intimate knowledge of CHKD.







We waited an hour and forty-five minutes to get called back despite the small amount of patients waiting. Once we got back there we saw the Dr. fairly quickly. He was the attending and seemed to know his stuff. He said Abs definitely had pneumonia and gave us a choice. She could have two shots of Rocephin and go home with a script for Amoxicillin and a promise to return on Monday for a re-check OR we could admit her. He said if it were his children, he would take them home. Two shots, a script and a promise later, we went home.
Abs was worn out as were J and I. I think our whole world fell apart when we thought she was deathly ill. The first dr. never said the word pneumonia. However, in his notes that we received, he did write pneumonia. J was happy the a-hole found the pneumonia and didn't just send us home after the two test were negative, but he wanted to punch the dr. out for the manner in which he let us know something was definitley wrong with Abs.

Monday:
I took Abs back to CHKD to have Dr. C. check her out. He was fantastic - he met us in the ER just as promised. He looked her over and felt there was a small improvement and could continue to recouperate at home as long as we continue to see an improvement. Dr. C. even looked Abs over without us formally signed into the hospital so we also avoided another ER charge. :-) YEAH.









Tuesday & Wednesday:
Abs continues to cough like a lung is gonna come up. The fevers seem to spike in the afternoon and night, but each time are slightly less - so tonight's is 100.5 under her arm. That is down from 103.5. Abs has no appetite which makes it very difficult to get the Amoxicillin in her as she needs to have some food in her tummy. We have switched from Ibuprofen to Tylenol for the fever. It is very difficult to just watch this child be so ill. Normally she is bouncing off the walls and talking non-stop. There is none of that right now. She is napping each day and when awake, she just coughs, watches tv or plays Webkinz.

I am exhausted.

so we are still home

yep - never made it to VB. Middle woke up with the same pain in her tummy and a fever. Called the peds to get her checked out before leaving. Dr. F. was able to see her at 11. Great! See Dr. F. who orders an ultrasound at LGH to rule out an appendicitis since Middle has localized colicky pain with fever.

Go to LGH - that has got to be the friendliest hospital - and get Middle registered. Waited maybe 5 minutes. The ultrasound took under 10 minutes and the tech even told us that the test ruled out an appendicitis but looked like enlarged lymph nodes which are common when fighting a viral infection. The ultrasound tech still had to run all the info thru the radiologists and the peds. We got the all clear to go home. Thank goodness!! Middle got her McD's with Dr. F's blessing since she has no tummy issues. Middle was starving and soooo thirsty from the fever.

Dr. F. felt the symptoms were definitely viral. Keep Middle hydrated. Motrin only is fever is 102 or higher to keep her comfortable. So the new plan is to try to get up by 6 AM and throw all the stuff in the car. Should not be too hard since it is all packed and in the garage sitting there. Unfortunately, even with Dr. F's approval to go out of town, I don't know if Middle will be better tomorrow. Her fever is still there despite a dose of Motrin @8PM. She didn't eat dinner and is asleep again. Sooooo not like her.

This is not the vacation I had envisioned. Oldest and Middle are very upset as are my parents. What can we do? Just pray that she starts to improve very quickly - as quickly as this came on her.

Road Trip Time...

in less than 12 hours I (we) will be on the road to Virginia Beach to spend the holiday with my parents. The kids are all super excited to go to the beach and hang out with their grandparents. Youngest loves the Bay Bridge Tunnel - loves the tunnels and watching the boats.

*** Keeping fingers crossed. Middle took a nap today (very not like my 7 yo - the Energizer Bunny) and woke up with a severed tummy ache, headache, fever, and her legs hurt. Eventually the tummy ache subsided, but the headache, fever, and leg pain only seemed to lessen with the aid of Ibuporfen. The fever is still kicking. After my bout with food poisoning this weekend, I hope that this is a fluke of nature showing up right now.

Taking the new "Green Machine" as Dad calls it. Actually it is the 17" Dell we bought with some of extra tax money this year that Uncle Sammy alloted a little early to provoke some consumer spending. Love, love, love this laptop.

Ciao. Catch up when I am in VB and have time.

The best weekend was had in CNY

Oh, my gracious. Y'all are gonna be so jealous cause I just had the most wonderful time at CNY. I laughed so much. Oh, and what I learned could fill a book. WOW!! What you find out - it is absolutely jaw dropping and even a little bitter sometimes. Right, Patty and Miriam? So, what did I learn? Here's my list...

Meg cannot navigate. We took two tours of downtown Allentown inadvertently.
Sarah, Patti, and Deb taught us how to talk like a New Englander (can you say "Brender"?)
Patty is gonna rename the drop jaw emoticon on SS to the "Amy" look. I know, shut my mouth.
Mary knows more about psychology and what makes people tick than most of us.
Karen C. is a fantastic teacher for stamping and card making.
Karen M. is still the best storyteller around - her poor aunts. Do that walk again, Karen.
Gaye is an absolute hoot. I won't tell her to "Shut up, Gaye." 'cause I was too busy guarding my cookie.
Julia, Jan, Joy, Jeanne, and Miriam are going to be absolutely famous with their new scrap formula "3 Straight, 2 Askew - it's an easy thing to do." I promise to "live" the formula. I can only hope to make the design team and be worthy of their praise.
Sharon is the absolute best Secret Sister and dang if she isn't a little sneaky.
Patty V. is the best roomie. She didn't care that I came in at 2 AM with our creaky doors.
Christie and Beth know "their" types even at 1 AM.
Shirley and Michelle are the go to gurus for digi scrappin. Thanks for the advice, M. about PhotoShop. Some day I will be joining you.
Shirley has a temper when it comes to her friends.
Shari make pina coladas in a unique way without a blender top, and they were yummy.
Liz looked like a new woman after that massage.
Oh, and who could forget the firefighters? Hum? Yeah, that's what I thought, too. Maybe if we had left the room, there would be a memory. But then again, Patty's laugh said it all.

I guess the best part was just dilligaf.

xoxo and love to all my CNY friends.

I love my kids at the beach

Never had a chance to post these from our March trip to the g-parents. Kids had a blast - I realized how much I miss living seven minutes from the ocean. I miss the smell. I miss the wind and the warmth.

So I survived the wedding

but J was sick. We left @ 2:30 yesterday to drive out to the in-laws and drop off the kids. Not a whole lot of conversation going on. I was not a happy girl. Just could not get in a happy place. I was a real B**** the entire trip. By the time we finished getting everyone where they needed to be, we had about 45 minutes to get over to the wedding site. Thank goodness there wasn't much traffic. Thank goodness for snow plows!

Jennie looked very beautiful - even at 7.5 months pregnant. Gracious. But J and I both say that Jennie and Michael are 25, very much in love, have jobs, and wonderful supportive families. They will be fine. Baby Ella is due in April. Oh, and it doesn't hurt that Michael has $$$$ so that issue that so many young couples face - won't be an issue for them. (Michael just special ordered his first car - a BMW.) First car??? Yep, he never had to drive before - he had a driver if needed. What 16 year old boy doesn't want a car??? Crazy.

OK - back to the story. Poor J - he was so ready to leave right after the sit-down dinner. He was exhausted since he woke up at 5 am for the call that school was closed and his sinuses were giving him a fit. Thank goodness for the fantastic hors d'oeuvres. Scrumptious!! The food at the William Penn Inn was absolutely wonderful too as was the open bar. :-) Didn't get to drink too much because I wasn't sure J would feel up to driving to the hotel. Luckily he was OK but he crashed as soon as he could change out of his suit. The hotel was blissfully quiet, and we both were able to sleep in since we had no kids or dog to deal with. Oh, how I miss those days. That was may be worth all of the aggravation of the wedding and the trip.

Got a guilt trip from Nana for not bringing over this kids today to visit. As J said - it was a short (guilt) trip. Just cannot squeeze it all in.

Visited with Linda and John when we picked up the younger two. Youngest made it thru without a tear shed. Maybe she is growing up a little more? Maybe staying awhile before leaving her helped? Who knows? Or maybe it was all of the X-mas gifts that Linda had for them. It was a toy explosion. She spoils them once a year. They love it! Aud was happy and that is all that mattered. Middle, of course, was in her element. She discovered Betty Spaghetti and played with it most of the night. Billy, as ususal, hated having the girls in his house. He even went so far as to make a No Girls sign for his bedroom door. What a boy - a 9 year old one at that.

Melissa brought Oldest over about 11ish along with her brand new green Converse. Why green ? Oldest's says so that she isn't like everyone else. Whoa!!! Where did she come from? I was so afraid to go out on a limb like that as a teenager. Not her. I am proud of her. OK, I digress....

Went to Lou and Barbara's after. Girls got their X-mas gifts from them. We got a bottle of wine and a new X-mas ornament with all of our names on it. Got to try to play Wii. I think we all fell in love with it. Wish we had the money for one and a new TV. Not in the budget yet. Wait until we are finished with J's doctorate classes. Then, maybe. Or I could just go back to work full time. Then we would have $$$ again. Ha. Not gonna happen yet. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. Digressing, again. Sue me.

Left there about 4 to head home. Made the decision to stop out in Gap at Chilis. Much better than the one in Lancaster - but the waitress SUCKED!!!! She behaved as if she was doing us a favor by taking our order. Didn't help matters that we had to wake up Youngest. She was a bear - refused to sit down, wouldn't eat, kicked me. Finally we got her to curl up in J's lap, but she kept asking to go home. I switched w/ J after I ate a little dinner, so he could eat. Of course, Aud was soooo much better and hungry just as we decide to leave. Oy! McD's for her. Not ordering again from Chili's and waiting.

Home. Unpack car. Open X-mas gifts from Linda and John. Great hot chocolate maker and an electric broom. Don't laugh; I am THRILLED with both. Middle already tried out the broom for me. Works like a charm. Kids showered. Suitcases unpacked. J and Youngest are asleep. Middle and I are heading that way in a few. Just gotta break her away from her new Blendy Pens that Linda gave her.

'night.

The wedding that is gonna cause a divorce

Jenny's wedding is this Friday night. How inconvenient for us. I know, how bitchy of me. But, here is the thing:

1. it is 1.5 hours away on a Friday night during Rush Hour near Philly
2. it starts at 6:30 pm
3. J has to leave work @ 2
4. Oldest and Middle have to be picked up from school
5. Dog (who is now sick) has to go to kennel from Fri to Sun because of limited p/u time on Sat.
6. $$$$ for said dog in kennel
7. $$$$ for the gas and tolls
8. $$$$ for the hotel - and not one that I get to enjoy
9. drop Oldest off w/ Melissa @ salon
10. drop Middle and Youngest w/ Grandmom
11. Youngest is NOT happy about us leaving her - major tears again - I predict crying and screaming
12. Youngest still not fully recovered from ear infections
13. dinner? maybe @ 8 or so?
14. SNOW STORM forecasted - driving on Turnpike in snow storm - NOT my idea of fun

DH needs to be reasonable about this. I am not a happy camper about this. I'd rather go to Patti's and scrap. That I know I would enjoy.

Today's Goal

Today's goal was to get the entire house cleaned - dust, vacuum, bathrooms, and mop. I DID IT!!! Now that means I can work tonight and maybe even scrap a little.

I have:

• paid the bills
• checked the weather in Virginia Beach
• stopped the mail
• stopped the newspaper
• made arrangements for the dog
• made arrangements for the cats and fish
• packed up stuff to read
• started picking out the kids' toys and books to take
• went to the bank
• the suitcases are out and ready to be packed

Woo Hoo!!!!! We will leave on time on Wednesday and without a tear shed!

Updates

Our trip to Virginia Beach was anything but what I imagined. The trip took 6+ hours due to potty stops and lunch, but we finally arrived about 4:30 pm just in time for my dad's heart attack. WTF? He knew something wasn't right that day and looking back now he knows that something wasn't right for about a week. Dad said he did not want to go to the doctor or the ER because the girls and I were on the way. He is damn lucky nothing else happened. I am soooo not ready to be dealing with my parents and illnesses. He is only 65 - still has a LOT of life left. Hear that, Dad????

So I drive into the driveway and cautioned the girls not to go running into the backyard because: 1. the brick sidewalk is askew due to the roots under it and 2. I don't know if Dad is awake or asleep. We walk back and go on the porch. Of course, he is awake, and his neighbor, Doug, is there too. (Doug has been a god send playing nurse to Dad as he has recuperated from three, yes, three surgeries in the past 5 months.) Doug grabs me and says, "Your dad isn't feeling well and won't call the doctor. Something isn't right."

I got Dad into the house and started going thru the papers on the various drugs he has to take. The drug pamphlet for Naproxen says in BIG BOLD letters to watch for heart attack signs. Um, yeah - that would be what he has. I called the dr. and left a message cause, of course, it is after hours. The nurse/dr. returns my call and says, "Go to the ER." OK, Dad. We are taking a little trip (this is now 5:30 pm) so he goes to change his clothes. Meanwhile Mom has arrived from work. Let her know I am taking him in. I think she was in total shock as she did not fight me to take him in. Load Dad into his Explorer and off we go to the new Princess Anne ER. I was a nervous wreck driving to the ER even though it was only 10 minutes from their house. I don't do medical situations well AT ALL.

The ER was great - only one person ahead of us. Great staff and doctor. ER dr. doesn't think he is having cardiac issues, but maybe a P.E. (pulmonary embolism) due to the chest pain. Nope, the blood work says "Cardiac Episode" - what a nice way to say HEART ATTACK. So the indigestion and sweating Dad had at 3 AM that morning was the heart attack itself. Ugh.... now we are gonna be transferred to Sentara Leigh cause they have the heart cath lab. At 11:30 PM he is finally transferred to Leigh. Fun part - the Virginia Beach Amphitheater is right behind the hospital and had a concert that night. Yeah - all the concert goers are leaving at the same time we are. Oh, the joy! I traded places with Mom - she went to Leigh, and I went to their house to stay with the girls. No sleep for me. I laid down about 2 am and Youngest woke up at 5:30 am. Oh, thank God for caffeine.

Oh, my gracious. I think I went into overdrive (as Patti called it) cause I wasn't emotional at all. That is EXTREMELY unlike me. I don't do medical problems very well (did I tell you that?), but damn if I didn't keep it together for my parents.

Wednesday was the cath lab, angiogram, and angioplasty. The Obtuse Marginal (??) is a sub-artery in the back of the heart. It was 90% blocked, so it was ballooned and then a stent was inserted. Dad was an absolute bear after because he was in so much pain from his back/neck where the laminectomy was and the oxycodone withdrawl. This coming from a man who is usually so laid back and gracious. Two hours in the cath recovery then off to another room for more intensive nursing. By Thursday morning he looked and acted so much better. The doctor was helping him eliminate the oxy by giving him Ativan for the anxiety. I was happy it was working really well cause he needed to come off the oxy. What an addicting drug!

Friday morning Dad was released to come home - but the dr. barely gave him an indications as to what kind of damage was done by the heart attack, what to do as far as exercise or eating, or his meds. We were even sure about wearing the bone stimulator for his neck. We took matters into our own hands and started calling and researching. Gracious - you would think that the doctor would be a little more concerned about the next 2.5 weeks until the follow-up appt. I am not too impressed with the discharge. The dr. who did the discharge even forgot to tell Dad to take the baby aspirin every day. OMG - that needs to be taken with the Plavix everyday. A blood clot could develop around the stent otherwise. Moron!!!

My poor girls got the brunt of this. My sister-in-law, Thierry or "T", came up from Carolina and kinda took over the younger two. They had lots of fun making Barbie clothes, going to Aunt T's house and playing, and getting new Barbie furniture. She was a blessing. Ashley was OK on the computer or hanging out. She finally got to spend some time with Sam too - they hung out at his house, and I took them to the skate park at Mt. Trashmore so Sam could teach her to skateboard. Sam's family was great to her while we were in VB. Very accommodating about having her over and spending time with them.

Once Dad was home, Mom became a not so nice person to be around. I think all of her emotions over the way this year has been really came to the surface. I know she is mad, scared, frustrated, disappointed, and any other negative emotion. Taking care of Dad so intensively is not what she bargained for in addition to running the business. The heart attack was kinda the final straw. I really hope that for both of their sakes that Mom will come to terms with Dad's physical issues and be more compassionate. I know she logically knows he did not do anything to cause his injuries, but I believe she is very angry at Dad for how it has affected her life. She is such a Type A personality and likes control over everything - which isn't going to help in this situation. Dad needs someone who is motivating and gentle. Not the steamroller she can be. But with all of this said, she did "brag" to her best friend how Thierry and I took over the meals, laundry, cleaning, etc. so she didn't have to do anything while Dad was in the hospital. I just wish she had told Thierry and I this instead of telling us we were doing stuff wrong.

I did get Dad to take a walk on Sunday; however, I think he pushed it way too much and told him so. He walked too far, so today he walked just around the court and then worked on the rehab exercises for his knee and neck. Much better. Mom was in a better mood when I talked to her tonight. Hopefully it will last.

OK - I think this is most of the heart attack info. I will edit if I remember more. God, what a week. Not fun. I am not ready to deal with this yet - my parents are still too damn young to be pulling this mess. Straighten up!

My dad had a heart attack

I am beyond tired so this will be short. I brought the girls down to my parents' home for a visit. Drove over 6 hours from PA to Virginia Beach. Got here at 4:30. By 6 I was in the ER with my dad. This sucks!!!!!!!!

The weeks plans

running around like a crazy woman today trying to get everything packed cause I taking the girls to Virginia Beach tomorrow to visit Mom and Dad. The plan is to be on the road by 8 or 9 am. Hopefully the kids will cooperate - especially since Daddy has meetings and then class tonight. Mommy is on her own; but no fears since I have done this so many times before. Just H.A.T.E. packing. H.A.T.E. it!

Here's the to do list:

• pay the bills; balance checkbook
• drop boxes off at UPS for Funding Factory
• go to Funk's to pick up pies for Dad; raisin bread for Mom; miscellaneous for kids
• pack up clothes and all of the other essentials for Middle, Youngest, and me (Oldest does her own now :-)
• check on the cat's food; get Oldest to clean out the box; remind J to clean box
• change filter in fish tank
• clean up the cookbook stuff I was working on in the kitchen
• clean up scrap area - add new stuff from trip to Times to Remember in Hershey
• clean up house - vacuum, dust, wipe down bathrooms
• leave Charlie's schedule for the neighbors

I can do this. Oh, and I have to work tonight. UGH....don't let me forget to work.

PS - Patti - I decided to leave the bathrooms for DH. ;-)