Happy Caturday

My faves from today's Caturday.

Yay for new shoes

Although I bought them like a month ago (ahem...thank you US Mail service), my new kitty shoes arrived today. My old ones were starting to come apart, so they needed to be replaced. I squealed with delight when I saw these.






Cute pink nose!



Yes, I'm 32 and I wear cat shoes and I'm proud!

Good news

We just got back from the pediatrician's office and happily Abby is improving.  She is still having a little trouble breathing and will still be on a bunch of meds, but she can go back to school on Monday. 

Oh and for those wondering how could she get pneumonia so fast...the doctor said that people with asthma often harbor different bacteria in their lungs.  So I guess asthma patients get sick quicker.

Earlier in the week I got my latest thyroid panel results which was also good news. My TSH was .03 which is a little low.  My free T4 was 1.8 which is the highest that you can be and still be normal.  So repeat in 3 months. Since I put this off so long, I'm glad it turned out a-okay. I'd feel pretty stupid if it was problematic and I'd put off fixing it. 

Buh-Bye

Don't let the door hit ya in the caboose on the way out. Buh-Bye Blago. You got what you deserved.

Article here

Pic of the day

Oh Blago...you are such a cotton-headed-ninny-muggins.  

Seriously?

Abby has pneumonia. She is a bunch of medications and will be out of school for the rest of the week. We'll see her doctor again on Friday afternoon and find out how she is improving.

In the meantime, we are trying to keep a positive outlook and hope that is truly the last bad thing that will happen for a loooooong time!

An update on the chaos that is our lives...

Abby enjoyed going to school Wednesday, Thursday and Friday last week.  I really enjoyed going to school myself too.  It was also nice to have that time where I was alone at home to do some homework and get some housework done.  

We have unfortunately had a few more bumps in the road though.  Our desktop computer broke.  It probably seems small in comparison to everything else, but to me it really sucks.  I love playing The Sims 2 on that computer...it's my stress reliever.  Also, since that computer is out of service, our printer has stopped communicating with my Macbook which annoys me since I need to print things out for school. Ugh. 

Abby is also sick and was nearly hospitalized again.  She had a very bad asthma attack and her oxygen level was too low.  Luckily her doctor decided I could take her home on some strong steroids and give her nebulizer treatments every 4 fours rather than be admitted.  Unfortunately though she is missing school yet again.  She's off until further notice, but I'm hoping it will only turn out to be today and tomorrow.  As a result of her missing school, I am missing school. We are going back to the pediatrician tomorrow to see if Abby is breathing better.  

I am feeling very frustrated and to steal Amy's name for it...having a mommy meltdown!  I am not sure if I should stay in school or not.  I've missed a lot and am getting behind.  But at this point, I'd have to withdraw rather than drop and it will have some pretty negative consequences for me. I also hate to go to my professors and ask for favors.  I had to do that during cancer treatment and it sucked a lot.  I still feel icky about it.  I don't want to get to that point again.  Hopefully things will turn around for us soon.  I hate to be a Debbie Downer, but I feel like every time we take a step forward it's only to get hit in the face with something new. 

So that this isn't all negative, I'll leave you with a silly picture of myself.  I'm currently dying my hair and drinking some tea while doing my homework.  Oh yes, I multi-task.

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Back to "normal"...

Today was Abby's first day back to school in a month (Christmas break + leg). I have been a nervous nellie all day worrying about her. Whether or not she'll make it to the potty, if she'll be in pain or if she'll step on that leg. Taking her to school and picking her up is such an ordeal with her wheelchair and her walker. Luckily Josh will be doing later hours until her cast is off so he can help me out.  I don't know how I'd do it alone. 

I don't want to complain (but I will) but I'm so tired and overwhelmed with all of this. Josh and I are physically exhausted.  Most days both of our backs are hurting from lifting Abby or her wheelchair. I hurt my knee lifting her out of the car which sucks.  Hopefully it won't hurt for long because I don't really have time for it. Abby also gets us up a few times per night for bathroom breaks. I don't know when my last real conversation was. BUT, I am really glad that I can take care of her.  I don't know what we would do if we were both working outside the home or if Josh's office wasn't flexible. 

But I'm really happy for her that she can be among her friends again. Plus she has always loved being at school. I called to ask a question earlier and kinda check on her (it's a small school, so I wasn't bugging them) and the school secretary said she's like a rock star. The kids are so happy she's back and are all begging to write on her cast.

So Josh is back at the office, both kids are in school and I'm starting to figure out my schedule with school and homework. It's my 1st day alone in a month.  It's very quiet...just me and Gracie and the sound of the washer/dryer running.  It's so weird.  I hope that when things calm down I'll be able to catch up with everyone and get some things squared away around the house.

Progress!

Abby is up and getting around now! She is using her walker and wheelchair although the walker is a lot easier for her. She is able to get herself to the bathroom. We also taught her to go up and down the stairs on her bottom scooting along. The physical therapist she saw in the hospital suggested that idea and it works out really well. We are able to give her showers now after we triple wrap her left leg. Hopefully she'll be back to school on Wednesday!

Stop this crazy ride, I want to get off for awhile!

Have you ever wished that you could put life on pause while you deal with a crisis or illness? Well that's how I've been feeling the past few weeks. I only wish I had a magic remote control to pause our lives. If only it worked that way. It goes back even before Abby's accident happened with feeling stressed about various different things.

Since Abby broke her leg, the things I was stressing over before have faded into the background and were replaced by new worries. In a way, it was good to be reminded of the things that are worth worrying about. The other things were trivial compared to my worry over my daughter. But on the other hand, I'd really just like some time to not worry for awhile.

All of my posts on here as well as my real life conversations have revolved around Abby's leg. How it's doing, how she's doing, how we are taking care of her and what the consequences of her injury are for the family. The reason that everything revolves around the topic of her broken leg is because right now our lives revolve around her injury. She can't go to the bathroom by herself...it takes both Josh and I to get there. She cannot get around by herself yet...we carry her or wheel her around. I cannot count how many times per day I am Abby's step-and-fetch-it-girl.

Added to all that is the fact that Josh and I both started our spring semesters on Monday. I had to drop a class because I will have to pick Abby from school (when she goes back) rather than Josh because my car is bigger so I only have 3 classes. I am at NIU every day of the week attending class. Josh has only 1 class this semester but it meets for 3 hours on the night that he has to go. I love school. I am thankful for the opportunity to attend NIU this semester, but school adds a lot of time commitment and work to the already full load I have right now.

I know it sounds like I'm complaining. I am not. I am just sharing what a typical day is like around our house now. I would do anything for Abby and Evan. I am just looking forward to the time I spend with them being fun playtime instead!

I also want to explain that the reason that I haven't called, emailed, sent out thank you notes and even a few lingering Christmas cards/gifts is because I'm swamped. I'm overtired and overwhelmed with life right now. Since I can't press pause, I can only ask for patience...yours and mine. Eventually life will get back to normal (whatever that is) and I'll get back on the ball with everything.

The Buddhist monk and teacher Thich Nhat Hanh said, “People deal too much with the negative, with what is wrong...Why not try and see positive things, to just touch those things and make them bloom?” This is my goal for today. Not seeing only what is wrong, but trying to see the good in all this craziness right now. No matter how hard that may be. But until I get that, I will just have to settle for the occasional giggle I get from laughing at myself.

At least it's hot pink...

Abby got her cast on this morning and it's hot pink. I guess if you have to have a cast, it's at least nice to have it in a fun color.



Here she is with the kitty that her Uncle Jake made her at Build-A-Bear. It's name is Crash Cannonball or Crash for short.



These are the 2 kitties that Grandma & Papa made Abby at Build-A-Bear. They don't have names yet. There are 2 of the same because Build-A-Bear made a Build-A-Boo-Boo. One kitty has the sound in it and one doesn't. But Abby loves when things match, so she's only too happy to have twin kitties.



And these are all the friends she's been sleeping with. The orange kitty is named Phillip and is apparently a female cat. This is a new and amusing development.

Another Abby update

Abby is doing a little bit better. She is sleeping through the night now and can go 5 or 6 hours in between doses of pain medicine. Earlier in the week, we'd be watching the clock that 3rd waiting until she could have it at 4 hours. She's been doing her homework, watching a lot of cartoon and playing games.

We got her some super rinse free shampoo that apparently NASA uses. So we are able to even wash her hair in bed.

Yesterday Abby got 2 build a bear kitties from Grandma and Papa. The day before that, she got a build a bear kitty and other fun goodies from Uncle Jake. There are a lot of kitties in bed with her now. I will take a picture of Abby & the cat menagerie when I have fresh batteries in the camera.

Here she is doing her homework:



Thank you again to everyone for your well wishes and prayers for Abby. Our family appreciates it.

Things are looking up

We were able to bring Abby home from the hospital late Monday night. Since yesterday was her first day home, it was our day to figure things out. We moved her bed into the master bedroom so that we can be close to her during the night. She is also able to watch tv and movies in our room. Josh moved the Wii upstairs too so she can also play that. We are doing everything that we can to keep her comfortable and happy. She is a good little patient unless her pain medicine is wearing off or we have to get her up to go potty. Then her pain keeps her from being our usual sunny little girl. :-(

She really appreciates the many well wishes she has gotten from everyone. I keep telling her, "Even people you don't really know are thinking of you" and she likes that. Last night she got a visit from our friends/neighbors (Matt, Mike and Tom) who brought her all sorts of goodies to cheer up and keep her busy.

Here is Abby playing her new Wii game that the guys brought her:


And here she is with her balloon (which she loves!):



We are still working on figuring everything out. So far, so good. It's stressful though as we work out it all out. I want to be able to fix everything and have it be easy for everyone, but that's not always possible.

Here are some photos I took of her Saturday before she broke her leg. I have to admit it makes me teary-eyed to see her standing in these and know that they next day she broke her leg. This was a new outfit from Grandma that she got for Christmas.

Update on Abby's leg

Rather than calling or texting everyone, I'm going to post an update on here and link to it on Facebook so you all know what's going on with Abby.  This way I can also post a picture so you can see how she's doing.  

We talked to her orthopedic doc awhile ago.  The plan is to get Abby up and moving around today although not putting weight on her broken leg. As long as she does that, she can go home tonight.  Abby is very adverse to getting up though, so hopefully she'll be willing to try it.  Her pain is being managed and she's watching tv and resting. 

Her leg is still in a splint and she won't be in a cast for another week or so.  They are concerned about swelling so she'll also have to her leg up all the time.  She's supposed to stay out of school for the next 2 weeks. Since it requires 2 people to move her (one to hold her leg and one to hold her body) there are some challenges we'll face as she recovers.  

And here's the little patient:

Boo Boo leg

That's what we are calling it..."boo boo leg".  Yesterday, Abby fell down while running on a patch of ice in our driveway and broke both lower bones in her leg. She was outside playing with her friends for a few minutes when it happened. We took her to the ER and after a very long wait, they told us she'd have to stay the night.

We are so thankful that she didn't have to have surgery to repair the bones. They are managing her pain and she should be getting a cast today. She's being so brave through the whole thing.  I've never broken a bone, so I can't imagine how she's feeling. I only wish that I could make it my leg instead of hers.  It's so hard to see your child in pain. 

We are still in the hospital with her now and I have to say that hospital rooms have really changed since I was last in one. There's computer access, wi-fi, movies to watch and a flat screen tv...all that in a private room. I am thankful for the fact that those things make my baby more comfortable. You could almost think this is some weird kind of sleepover in a hotel room except for the little girl in the splint. :-(

Starting over

I am really psyched about getting my 101 in 1001 started.  Today I started counting my calories and logging them on myfitnesspal.com.  I also got back on the exercise bike and started working out.  I'm beginning with 15 minutes per day and working my way back up to a 1/2 per day.  

I also reset my weight lost ticker to zero.  I'm considering today's weight as my starting weight and my goal is to lose 100 pounds.  

Hello 2009!

Happy New Year to you all!

We celebrated quietly this year. We went out to the Chinese buffet which I think is our new tradition. It's easy and the kids behave while we are there...I'm all about easy and kids behaving. We also watched movies and ate too much.

Here are some photos from our dinner:

Abby holding up her fortune cookie fortune:



My favorite boys:





Sugar buns & rice.






I made a resolution for this year. I am not going to swear anymore. If I do, I have to put a quarter in a jar. Unfortunately I've already deposited a quarter in the jar. Nuts. I also decided to follow a livejournal friend and make a list of 101 things I'd like to accomplish in the next 1001 days. You can follow my progress here. If you decide to make a list of your own, I'd like to follow your progress too.

Abby playing with her new favorite toy:



And I will leave you with this: