Long and busy weekend....

Tom got home with the van about 11am Friday morning. It is BEAUTIFUL! Everyone keeps mentioning what nice shape it's in. They're so use to everything becoming rust buckets here in a few years (unless you have a plastic Saturn lol). I think we'll have to take a trip down to Kentucky whenever we want a new vehicle. Tom unwound and went to bed. I took Drew into the city so he could get his car at my MIL's house. Then went to my parents to show off my new vehicle. It's SO nice to be able to just go without major scheduling and planning!!! I never went shopping with D. Instead we stopped for some things on the way home from my parents.

Saturday afternoon we went over to church. It was the May conference and there was a lot of visitors from all over the country there. It was a beautiful day and I really enjoyed seeing a lot of people. There was a touch of sadness in the back of my mind though. I kept thinking about how Monika and the kids would normally be there and now they weren't. It especially hit me while driving in and seeing Marc there by himself. :o(

About 6pm the sky got black so I decided to round up the kids and head home for dinner before we got stuck in a huge downpour. By the time we were leaving the sky was a dull gray. Oh well, my sugar was low because I hadn't brought anything to eat with me (BAD diabetic!) so we really needed to eat anyways. My sciatica did ok for the most part. I was sore when I got home but could work through it. About 7ish I decided to laydown for a bit before I headed out to Walmart for a few things I couldn't get on Friday. I had told my BIL that if he needed me to run to the store to help stock up for the church snack bar to let me know (our fellowship operates a snack bar and grill when there are lots of people over there). He called about 8 and I was out the door with everyone again. I just jumped into the van that was waiting for me in the driveway! woohooo! LOL All the storage room in the back was nice to hold supplies too. First I went to BJs Warehouse and then Walmart. While walking through WM I realized that all the kids were dirtybags! They all needed showers after playing hard all day and I didn't notice it when I ran out the door. I was slightly embarrassed but they were well behaved so it mattered less. LOL I told them if I realized how grubby they were they would have been left home though. I dropped off the supplies at the church about 10ish, came home and went to bed.

Sunday we had a cookout at my parents. Everyone was there...me and my family, my sister and brother and their families, and my grandma. It was almost my sister's birthday so I bought a couple birthday cakes while at WM on Saturday night for her. It was nice since her husband is out of work with a bad back..having surgery this Friday. Also it seems her girls forgot it was her birthday or didn't realize the date at least.

My dad had hamburgers, hotdog and CLAMS...more then enough for everyone to have their fill. I made a pasta and a fruit salad, my sister brought baked beans, my mom made broccoli slaw and salt potatoes, and my brother brought a jello/cottage cheese salad. I hate to say that I didn't stick to my diet. I'm happy to say that my sugar levels while high were on the barely high side. So not too shabby.

The kids had a ball and played ALL day and night long. They couldn't wait for the darkness to hit so they could play Hide & Seek, Kick the Can and Sardines. We had a fire and finally headed home about 11pm. I was pretty busy all day with helping my dad and taking care of kids. Sitting in those plastic lawn chairs didn't help my sciatica too much. By the time we left I could barely walk.

I felt HORRIBLE on Monday morning. My sciatica was still acting up and I was taking teeny tiny baby steps. It wasn't the pain so much as the weakness that was bothering me. About 11am I got a phone call from one of the men in our church. They'd decided to have a cookout to celebrate someone's 50th birthday that was back in April. WHOA! Shortnotice but we decided to go. I had to lay down twice in the time we were getting ready but we got there about 2...an hour after it started. It was a great time and the kids loved going swimming for the first time this season at the church pools!

Two not so great things happened on Monday too. When I went to leave the church grounds my van wouldn't start!!! It has a loose ignition switch so if someone touches it, it draws power. So the battery was dead. It still wouldn't start after trying our jumper pack on it and getting a jump. Tom came over after I tried a few things. He finally climbed under it and smacked the starter. It started up immediately! I hate temperamental starters! Hopefully we'll get it fixed quickly.

The other thing was I decided to patch the pool liner before leaving for the cookout on Monday. It was one of the things on my looong todo list for that day so wanted to get SOMETHING done and that was the most important and easiest to do. When I got out there with teh patch kit I started crying. The slice has gotten WIDE! I was dying to say...I TOLD YOU SO!!!! to Tom but I didn't. I told him I didn't think we could patch it and we'd have to get a new liner. It's so frustrating! I totally understand the need to save money and fix things. It's just that some things are better to just be replaced. This was one area that Tom and I differed on. Unfortunately it looks like we're exactly where I thought we'd be in April when I suggested we buy a new pool liner and just replace it. UGH!!!!!!

This week I have a dr appt on Wednesday and a chorus concert (Eileen adn Jake are in it) on Thursday night. I was going to try to get a new jumper made for Eileen but not sure if I'll have the time now. Tomorrow while out I was hoping I could find Jake a decent shirt at the thrift store. Right now all he has are tshirts and I'd like him up on stage with something a little more dressier...even a collared polo shirt would be nice. The chorus teacher encourages dress shirts and ties but it's just a suggestion. Hopefully the thrift stores will cooperate with me and have something nice. :o)

I'll update tomorrow after my dr appt. I'm happy to be going in since I feel like my belly has shrunk a bit and the baby has slowed down (but she's still moving a good deal...just smaller movements). I'm not so happy to be going in though because I've done TERRIBLE at keeping track of my sugar these last 2 wks. Oh well it's the first and hopefully only time it'll happen. It'll be interesting to see what my weight has done.

I did it!

I really did it! I can't breath very well but by jingle I did it! LOL I have my bedroom almost completely cleaned! Another couple hours in there to organize and polish and it'll be showroom ready. :o) I'm paying for it a bit, I'm swollen, getting sore and my allergies have hit me big time.

I'm embarrassed to say that my room hasn't been this clean since Eileen was born (she's SIX!) Usually deep cleaning my bedroom was something I did before each baby was born, with Olivia I never really did it. At the best I'd get half of it cleaned LOL

I dragged myself out of my room to make the kids go to bed and practically flipped. While I was cleaning in my room, the kids were undoing the work I did in the livingroom this morning! GRRRRRRRRRR! So much for having the house look nice when Tom walks in the door. At least the bedroom will surprise him. And hey! He can take a bath in a sparkling clean tub (I think..haven't checked that since I scrubbed it at 2pm lol)

Tomorrow I have tenative plans to go to the grocery store with D. I have a feeling I won't be up to it. Either that or I'll want to continue working on things around here. Guess morning will tell.

Just found out....

We have a new van!!! Wooohoooo! Drew called about 11am from Kentucky and said it's BEAUTIFUL! I can't wait for them to get home!! They were going to drop off the rental car, get something to eat and then start heading home. I hope they don't push it on the way back.

They left MIL's house around 7pm last night, stopped for a 1.5hr nap in a rest area and got to Paducah around 10am. So if they drive like last night they should be home in the wee hours of the morning. The good thing about the return trip is they now can have 3 drivers to share the driving. On the way down Drew couldn't drive the rental because he was under 25yo and would have cost an arm and a leg to include in the rental agreement.

It's a good thing I stayed home afterall. Eileen woke up with a fever, sneezing like crazy and feeling lousy, so she's home today. If I hadn't been here, Michelle would have missed a day of school to stay home with her. Or Eileen would have gone to school feeling like garbage. Tomorrow Luke's staying home. It's the middle school's Olympics and he's not interested in participating.

As I said last night...I seem to be more motivated to get things done around here when Tom is away. Today is holding true to form and it feels great! So far this morning I've repaired our broken couch (no need for me to need a crane to get my huge butt out the sunken hole anymore!), cleaned up the livingroom and most of the kitchen and working out in the front garden. I even got Patrick to mow the front yards so it'll be done and look nice for Tom when he gets home. Pat hasn't had to work at the plastic factory for the last 2 days. One of the machines on the line broke down so they scaled back a lot of people. Unfortunately he doesn't find out he's not needed for the day until he gets to work in the morning. Not a fun thing for someone who'd rather sleep all day if he had the chance. LOL Oh well at least I got a quick run to Walmart for milk and water this morning out of it. :o)

I'm itching to get to my sewing!!! If I could get to it I could then justify going to the great Memorial Day sale at JoAnn's this weekend. LOL I'd love to get a new maternity jumper pattern (although I love my old one...I'm just not sure where it is still! lol) Problem is I also want to get work done around here. I almost had Pat drive me to Walmart so I could buy paint for the front door and porch. What to do! What to do! Guess the first and best thing to do would be to get off the computer. LOL

Fingers are crossed here....

Things have been a flurry of activity and arrangements being made. Seems like I've lived with the phone to me ear for the last few days. Tom, one of his brothers and Drew rented a car and drove down to Kentucky to pick up our new-to-us van. (car rental is one way) Olivia and I were originally going to go but plans changed at the last second. Right before we went out the door to start on the trip, it was decided that BIL would go instead. He's mechanically inclined so can judge whether we should finalize the van procedure. Plus if it breaks down on the way home he can hopefully fix it. LOL

I probably wouldn't have fared too well with my sciatica but I was SO looking forward to spending the time with Tom. It wouldn't have been so fun for Olivia to spend almost 48hrs in a boosterseat either. Tom tried to get me to still come along but I think 4 adults and a boosterseat would be pretty cramped for that long. Also while things would have survived (although barely lol) here without me. It's definitely better to have me here for everyone.

Why my fingers are crossed is that we've discovered that some things weren't disclosed about the van in the auction (seller had disclosed them in previous auctions, so Tom tends to believe him it was an oversight). So the fact is...they may do a one way car rental in Kentucky and drive back home empty handed. I would LOVE a working vehicle that's big enough for most of us to drive in. I certainly don't want them to settle for something in poor condition just so I can have it. We'll be paying for this thing for 3yrs. Certainly don't want tons of repair bills ontop of it.

We'll be selling our bus. *sniff sniff* The kids are sad about it too. LOL What a difference from their initial reaction of being downright insulted they had to ride in such a hideous thing. LOL Val and Michelle told me that they know a few kids at school that have mentioned buying it when we decide to sell it. I told them to show up with the cash and it's their's...but they won't be starting it up and driving it away. So they should probably bring their mechanic too. LOL

I can't wait until this week is over! It seems like it's just been hard even though nothing specific has made it that way. Carrie has had a rough week of mornings. She hasn't made it to Sunrise Scholars all week. Where's my Bad Mother Award? I'm sure her teacher has it in her hand and is ready to award it to me when she sees me.
Woohooo it's a long holiday weekend! My dad has invited us to his house for a cookout/clambake. I told him if I could drive us there...we'd be there! I still have to get my flower seeds planted (veggies are Tom's responsibility). Yesterday my dad came out and brought me some more plants. So that's a pressing issue...don't want them dying after he did all the work of digging them up for me.

It looks like I'm headed into a busy summer already. My dad was told his bypass surgery is June 13th, the day before Liz's birthday. I'll be heading into more frequent dr visits and NSTs. Yesterday was major dentist day. (why my dad came out...he picked up 4 of the kids to get them to the dentist and then took them home after dinner) I had an appt to get 2 teeth fixed, 8 kids (Michelle on down) had cleanings. I now have most of July booked solid with dentist appts...along with Carrie's clinic appt. We're scheduled to go in every couple of days for a few weeks.

We're thinking of changing Michelle's graduation party date. It seems that one of her best friends is having his party July 9th when we were planning her's. They have a lot of the same friends so they'd have to decide which to go to. Plus Michelle would miss his party which she's not too happy about.

Poor Michelle, she's hit a bit of a snag concerning the prom. Her boyfriend J hasn't bought his prom ticket. The last day they were on sale was last Friday! So now she has a gown, a ticket and no date! He's hoping he can buy an unused ticket off of someone. I hope he's successful.

I have had some benefits from having my plans changed at the last minute today. I worked extra hard to get a bunch of laundry done...so that's almost completed. Plus I had organized the younger kids clothes for the next few days...so no work in the morning! I'll take ANY little break I can get. LOL I feel like I do have a bit more done around here concerning cleaning. Might be a combination of my dad coming out and me planning on leaving. Although there's TONS more to do around here. I'm finding it hard to do too much without feeling winded, sore and weak. It's kind of discouraging.

For some reason when Tom goes away I tend to want to clean extra so it looks really nice when he comes home. It's always been that way and I have NO idea. I get more done around here when I'm parenting alone then when he's around. Even when Carrie was less then 2wks old and he went to Kentucky for 4 days. This place was spic and span when he got back!

Well my feet and hands are a bit swollen so I should head into bed early. Hopefully I'll be gushing about my "new" van soon!

Sunkissed with a touch of puffiness

I now have to add a bit torqued too. I had a huge post finished and got a phone call. While on the phone Olivia closed the browser so she could play Rollercoaster Tycoon! GRRRR! Well let's see if we can piece this back together again.

It's been a really busy weekend. Friday D and I went grocery shopping. My hips felt good afterwards. My bloodpressure was high after I got done carrying in and putting away the perishables. I was beat so I laid down for a while and it went down like a good bloodpressure should, and stayed there! :o)

I've been really tired the last few nights and barely made it into chat Friday night. I only stayed for about 45mins though and immediately went to bed after I left. I was asleep before my head hit the pillow. The only thing wrong with going to bed "early" is that I tend to wake up in the middle of the night. Saturday morning I was awake at 2:30 and decided to test my glucose. I was quite low with a 59 so had a bowl of Lucky Charms which didn't raise it too much. I then made a bag of micro Kettle Korn. Piggy me at the whole bag! (3 servings worth) My sugar was 189 when I tested. I finally went to bed at 5 or so. Luckily my sugar was under my limit although it was JUST under.

Saturday was spent outside all day watching our fellowship play in the church's weekend long soccer tournament. It was a beautiful day to be out...sunny, not too hot with a nice breeze. I realized I was starting to pink up about 2ish and loaded up on the sunscreen. It wasn't enough....lol I'm a tad tender and quite a few different shades of red and pink. I've had worse though. I dealt with a touch of sciatica on and off all day. Sitting for a while bothered it, standing for a while bothered it, and walking too much bothered it. So I tried to change it up on and off all day and think I did an ok job of it. Unfortunately our soccer team didn't far so well as they lost all their games. They gave every team a run for their money though and played hard! I think it's safe to say that they had fun too. It's always a nice time when they can get together with friends from distant fellowships. Being there I found myself thinking....oh to be a teen again. LOL Although I wouldn't want to deal with all the garbage teens have to. It'd be fun to take a weekend off and just have fun with tons of friends...day and night.

I didn't make it past 9pm Saturday night. I jumped into bed and let Tom make sure the kids went to bed. Again I woke up in the middle of the night....midnight this time. Tom was making BLTs so I had one. My sugar was only 95 when I went back to bed at 2:30. When I woke up about 5 hrs later it was 102. GRRRR! I've been in tad high range all day today. Tomorrow when I'm back on my more regular schedule will decide whether I really need to up my doseage or not. I'm not too surprised since I'm starting into the prime insulin resistance timeframe. I'm thankful to have had as long of a leveling off period as I did!

When I woke up Sunday morning my hands and arms were swollen. What was really weird was that on my right hand I had the thumb, pointer and middle finger swollen but the rest of the fingers were normal. They swollen fingers were also numb. I hope I don't start carpal tunnel syndrome too! I had it with Olivia pretty bad...totally forgot about that until this morning. Luckily my bloodpressure was good and the swelling went down.

Sunday was Tom's mom's birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA!!! A bunch of his siblings and a few grandkids took her to the chinese buffet. We had a great time, it was relaxing. Of course not following my food plan and already chasing highs today meant that I was high tonight too, but again it could've been worse.

After dinner we stopped by my parents. I hadn't seen them in quite a few weeks. They were quite surprised at how much my belly has popped out. Of course my mom had to get in her quota of belly rubs in. LOL We couldn't stay long. Tom and I were watching a 12 passenger van up for auction at ebay and it was due to end soon. At the end of the auction we became the proud owners of 1992 Ford Club Wagon!! Now to get all the logistics taken care of so we can go down to Kentucky to pick it up! I'm so excited!!! Here it is....



I can't wait to take all the kids somewhere! :oD

A good day!

Today looks to be on the good end of the spectrum. :o) I'm a tad achey but nothing I can't ignore. I even managed to get an overloaded hamper of darks down the cellar stairs today. I got in front of it and let it slide from stair to stair. So my hallway full of laundry is getting a dent put in it.

I bought almost 30yds of fabric ($1/yd) when I was at WM yesterday afternoon. It might have something to do with why I'm so ambitious...wanna get sewing! Usually I'd ignore my house and just sew, otherwise I'd never get to it. BUT my patterns and such are still missing in my room somewhere so I have to do some work. Here's the 3 fabrics I bought...





The lavendar one will definitely be a summer sleeveless jumper for me. If it goes well I might make one out of each bolt. LOL The girls are all clamoring for sundresses, skorts and skirts out of it. If I don't make myself jumpers, sleeveless blouses might be nice.

I have all this ambition and very limited time. Tomorrow D and I are off to the grocery store for the day. Saturday is the first day of an all weekend soccer tournament at church. This will require that I be ready Friday night for at least Saturday including meals and snacks all day. I have planned out the dinners until Sunday so I'm feeling a bit organized. After finishing a load or two of laundry I'll have the clothes ready too! Woohooo! Glad it doesn't take much to make me happy. LOL Now to get to work and maybe get me into the delirious spectrum.

Belly pic and a quick update....

23weeks 6 days

Sorry that I'm not the happy camper in the above pic. I was trying to talk a kid through using the new camera. I was just happy to get a decent picture and gave up quickly. I promise to try to smile in my next one.

PHEW! It's been a looong day and I'm really sore. Drew, Olivia and I left the house at 10am and headed to my dr appt. It was uneventful (just like we like them) and pretty short for once. I lost 5lbs and am back to 214 where I started this pregnancy. Talk about a yo-yo act. LOL I was not looking forward to going over my all time high after hitting 219 last appt. My blood pressure was 100/70...another low reading...fine by me. :o) Olivia was given a chance to use the doppler and try to find the baby's heartbeat. She needed a little help from Dr B.

Dr B said he's quite happy with how well I'm doing and to keep it up. I NEVER thought I'd be doing this well this far into my pregnancy. It's making the thought of future babies a little more concrete in my thoughts. Although I'm sure it hasn't done the same to Tom. LOL My numbers are fine, the dr decided to keep things like they are. I on the otherhand may up my morning insulin tomorrow morning anyways...just a tad. My numbers are at the top of ok and I'd like them just a little lower. I don't have to go in for another 2 wks! YIPPEEE! That would be June 1st...the days seem to be flying by lately.

We left the dr and had about an hour to kill before Drew needed to be at work. We decided to take a quick walk through the mall, we didn't purchase anything. We got to the waffleshop a little bit early. Olivia and I had lunch there and then went to the dollar store. Half way through the dollar store Olivia started doing the potty dance so we quickened our pace and headed to Walmart. We then spent the remainder of our afternoon at Walmart. Drew called me to tell me he was about done with mopping up just as I started putting what I was buying on the conveyor belt of the register. I told him I'd be there as soon as possible. He called me again as I got the cart to the car. So he had to wait about 10mins...poor baby! I asked him if he'd run me to the pool store so I could run in and buy a patch kit. Now to just get it put on the liner! I was beat, a bit sore and was happy to be heading home.

I got home, took a bag in and decided to let everyone else do the job....I was sore! Just as the last bag was brought into the house, the second trip bus dropped off the rest of the school kids. Michelle, Val and Liz immediately started asking to go shopping for bathingsuits and such. They'd been bugging for a while and Drew actually agreed to drive them....so we went. I hobbled out to the car. We hit Kohl's, TJ Maxx, The Shoe Department, Target (just ran in and out), Walmart and a quick trip back to Kohl's. I started crying while in Walmart because the girls were walking too fast for me and I was REALLY hurting by then. I was doing those tiny grandpa steps that Tim Conway made so funny. Just getting my feet in and out of the car was hard. We finally got everything we were suppose to and started to head home. Well, we stopped by McD's and had dinner and ate so it wasn't a direct flight home. I was starting to zone out on the way to McD's and was SO glad to get something to eat. Unfortunately a school bus was there before us so it wasn't so fast fast food. I had a fillet and a side salad and still felt hungry. I was strong and waited until I got home and tested my bloodsugar before I had my bedtime snack. LOL I could really go for another fillet though! LOL

I was right next to the grocery store tonight but had NO energy or room in the car to go through the store. I'll have to run back out tomorrow or Friday. My guess is that tomorrow will probably be out....I'll most likely be a tad sore tomorrow. It's suppose to be nice out...maybe I'll try to get some seeds planted. Guess we'll have to see what tomorrow brings energy and sciatica wise.

The Toothless One

PAT had my camera! Here's the picture of Olivia I wanted to post the other day.

A medical tidbit sent to me by my SIL

Drug's Effect on Cancer Stuns Doctors

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050516/ap_on_he_me/cancer_surprise


In a nutshell they are saying that they think they have a drug that can help Myelodysplastic Syndrome* (MDS) patients immensely! Why is this big news to me. It probably won't effect me actually for a few reasons. I just have a personal vendetta against this disease (and all cancer actually). MDS is the disease that Carrie was diagnosed with when she was 2.5 and she had a bone marrow transplant (BMT) for. Why I say it probably won't affect me or my family...

I'm pretty hopeful that while Carrie is considered in remission (for almost 8yrs now!) and will never be labeled cured. She is cured!! (if you go by statistics she's a walking MIRACLE!):oD

Even if this drug were available when Carrie was first diagnosed she wouldn't be a candidate for this drug.

A BMT is the best treatment for MDS. It's just not something most MDS patients can tolerate (meaning people 55yrs+...it's extremely rare in pediatric patients) so they are looking for "gentler" options besides just treating the symptoms.

She has at least TWO "perfect" bone marrow matches (Drew and Jake...Eileen, Olivia and the baby I'm carrying have never been typed to see). Having a related donor is less risky then unrelated, as is having matches that are as close as the boys.

When diagnosed the MDS was in a very aggressive and fast moving stage (staged at what is referred to...RAEB-t...Refractory Anemia with Excess Blasts in Transformation. If they'd used IPSS to classify she'd have been scored at a 3...High risk). Within a week or two she'd have been into full blown chemo resistant AML (Acute Myelogenous Leukemia). She had ALL three bloodlines (red cells, white cells and platelets) affected by the disease. Most elderly people have one line that's affected...mostly the red cells...leading to anemia.

Still it's nice for me to see this disease get a beat down!!! After reading this yesterday I realized something. The anniversary of Carrie's diagnosis (May 7th, 1997) came and passed and it totally slipped my mind! I consider that a good thing! For the most part it's getting harder to look at her now, as a "normal" 10.5yo, and remember how sick she was. Although there are days when it hits me full force and feels like we just left Boston. (like when she's really sick with normal kid stuff).



She'll always be dealing with things related to her disease and treatments (like her cataracts, hormonal issues, skin care, etc) but for the most part she flew through transplant and has had a relatively very easy time post transplant. (things could be a LOT worse and are for a lot of kids/people).

Even though I forget at times...it's almost always there in the back of my mind. I have to admit that I'm a little nervous about how she's doing lately. It mostly has to do with her missing her October Hem/Onc clinic appt. She's suppose to get a checkup with them every 6mos...It'll be over 15mos between the next and the last (doesn't go in until July 1st). It allows a lot of...What if's into my mind. I don't think it'll EVER go away...so I'll take the times that it slips my mind as a gentle reprieve.
---------

* Info and description of Myelodysplasic Syndrome... http://www.lrf.org.uk/en/1/infdispatmye.html

A little fun and lotta whine

The fun things to note....

Olivia lost her first tooth. She tried to use her teeth to open her yogurt container and it helped her loose tooth along. The cute thing is that the day before she lost her tooth, D's daughter the same age (and Olivia's bestfriend) lost her's. They'd both been dying to call each other and brag. LOL This would be where I'd insert the really cute pic I took but it seems my NEW memory card isn't working correctly. Oh yeah and someone moved my camera from my desk in the last day. Guess they don't know what....NO ONE uses this without my permission means. GRRRRR!

Olivia has also learned how to ride a 2 wheeler this weekend! She's been determined to do it but hasn't had too much of a chance. Eileen seems to hog the bike that's a good size for Olivia. She got her hands on it and away she want down the hill.

Tom had his picture in the local paper. It was for an article about new hi-tech equipment his department is using for manhole location. LOL He looked pretty scholarly and business like holding and staring at his laptop while his co-worker placed the equipment. (now would be a good time for me to get the scanner to cooperate!)

A week makes a HUGE difference with this pregnancy. The baby is moving all the time and it's BIG movements. We can now sit and watch my belly roll and bump. There's no mistaking that this baby is here and active. I'm not just fat!!! LOL Val and Tom got a chance to feel it move this weekend. Michelle hasn't been so lucky but she hasn't had too many opportunities to try either. Drew and Pat are the only other ones who haven't felt it...they also haven't attempted to yet (haven't been home much).

Pat's doing well with his new job and Drew has been upped to 25-30+ hrs at the waffle place. I think he's ok with it although he keeps talking about working the warehouse job for more hours and more money per hour. He just hasn't done anything about it yet.

On the not so great note....

My dryer isn't working!!! WAAAAAAAAAAAA! Michelle mentioned it to me Sunday afternoon (she has laundry this week). I was outside fiddling with some bikes trying to get one put together for Eileen to use. I totally forgot about the dryer until I went to switch loads over at 11pm that night!!! UGH! I had at least 2 more loads I was planning to do that night...a white load and a dark so Tom would have a clean uniform for the next day. It was too late for anyone to go to the laundrymat with me and I can't do it myself. My sciatica makes it hard for me to walk while carrying anything of significant weight. I finally rummaged through their baskets and found clothes that were ok although not what I'd qualify as school clothes. So I hung the clothes on the lines outside before going to bed. I'll have to go to the laundrymat tonight. I REFUSE to hang white clothes...at least I'll save some money by washing them at home and just drying them at the laundrymat.

Carrie got bit by the next door neighbor's dog. It ended up only causing a tiny bruise on her eyebrow but it was scary nonetheless!!! The neighbor had come over to thank Tom for mowing her lawn while she was at school. Carrie was sitting in a chair, bent over to hug the dog (which she KNOWS she's not suppose to do to strange dogs). The chair started coming out from under her at the same time so she was actually falling onto the dog instead of hugging him. He got scared and nipped her, unfortunately it was on her eye. Fortunately he didn't break any skin. The neighbor felt horrible. I was angry at first and then broke down crying after I realized everything was ok but what could have happened. That started me into a huge hormonal/emotional mess for the rest of the day!!!

It doesn't look like I'll have a vehicle available to me soon. That was the news I got about an hour after Carrie's ordeal. Tom started talking about just getting rid of the bus and buying something new. I can't bare the thought of sinking into debt and living on such a tight budget again. We've finally gotten some breathing room! This sent me over the emotional edge I mentioned above.

The emotional edge then was complicated by me walking into the kitchen in tears, seeing the mess I had to navigate to get to my room and breaking down even more. Everything that could have been a bummer any other day just sent me deeper and deeper into my little pity party for myself. I cried on and off all day. The poor kids didn't know what to make of it and were walking on pins and needles.

At bedtime Tom and I got talking and things got chilly. I ended up crying my eyes out on the couch until 4am when I fell asleep. I woke up a few hours later looking and feeling horrible! Sunday was spent in a fog which threatened to continue on like the previous night. Fortunately the raw emotions didn't last long and I enjoyed most of it outside...even if I didn't really accomplish anything. It also helped that I paid Michelle (mostly) and Val to clean up the kitchen and livingroom above and beyond what anyone else would do. So I'm feeling a lot better toward the house too.

At least today is looking to be a better day emotionally!!! I'm not feeling fragile although that could change at any second! LOL Guess I should wash some clothes so I'll be ready the laundrymat when I get a car to use. I should probably just plan on spending some time there and getting it ALL done instead of just what's essential for the week.

I survived!

The heat lasted 2 days and is now 30 degrees cooler, in the 50s for today. The heat itself didn't really bother me, I think it was the lack of humidity that helped. The house (west facing) tends to start heating up around 2 or 3ish and gets uncomfy at 5 or 6. I then went out back and sat in the shade of the house where it was cool. I did 8-10 loads of bedding and hung it on the line on Tuesday but didn't do too much more work. Dinner was micro'ed chicken patty sandwiches with nacho chips and celery. That meant the kids could fix it themselves and no dishes to do or clean up (used paper plates). I know we can't live like that all summer but it was nice to take it easy in the evening.

My ankles started swelling around 3pm but didn't really bother me until 10 or so. I was trying to enjoy chat, it was hard with no comfy place to elevate my feet. I tried putting them on a chair but then I was looking at the computer and using the keyboard at an odd angle. What I really wanted to be doing is be lying on my leftside on the couch or in my bed with a LAPTOP! Chances are I won't be getting one this summer but it would make things a LOT easier!!! My only chance of getting one is being put on bedrest. I'm not willing to trade the bedrest for a better chance at getting a laptop though.

Wednesday wasn't as hot but I was feeling a bit off, although I didn't feel sick. (felt weak mostly, a bit achey in the hips and my belly was tender) I had to take Olivia to school for her Kindergarten screening so we were out the door by 10:15. Carrie stayed home due to a bad headache which started afterschool the day before. While sitting in the lobby of the school while Olivia did her test, I ran into Jake's teacher Mrs. G. Mrs G asked if this was my last and I said...yeah for about 5 more years. LOL She then asked how I was feeling and told me that Jake wasn't feeling so hot. He was complaining of a headache and she said he looked wiped out. I said if it's ok with you, I'd like to take him home with me. She said SURE! Let me get this errand done and I'll go get him for you. I LOVE Mrs G! She gets into the kids and thoroughly enjoys them. It helps too that she was one of 9 kids.

We left school and ran to the dollar store and Sav-a-Lots for a few things I didn't get at Price Chopper Sunday night. I had 3 free happy meal coupons that the elementary kids got from school for PARP (Parents as Reading Partners) program. They expired at the end of May and were only for the McD's near Sav-a-Lot so I used them (I'll "pay back" Eileen at a later day...one of them was her's...used it for Olivia). Jake decided to NOT eat his in the car because he gets carsick when he does that. Smart kid. Unfortunately when we got home Jake proceeded to barf as he walked into the bathroom. ICK! I cleaned up his mess and started to put away the cold stuff. As I opened the door I got a whiff of something GROSS! Guess the bottom of the fridge isn't going to wait any longer for me to clean it. So I got out the supplies and took care of the disgusting thing, put away the cold stuff and jumped into bed for a nap! (was fighting falling asleep during the drive home)

My nap lasted until Tom was about home. We decided to do easy grilled hotdogs with potato salad (store bought) for dinner. By the time I was ready to get up and get moving around the house, I had the bigger kids (Drew, Michelle, Val and Liz) begging me to go to Walmart with them. Like a fool I decided to go and get it over with. We left about 6 (left Tom to grill the hotdogs and feed the younger ones) hit the chinese buffet for dinner and finished up at Walmart about 9. When we got halfway home Pat talked to Drew and told him he needed safety glasses/goggles for his new job (yes! He got a new job). I refused to be any later getting the girls home incase they still had homework to do so we went home. We searched for a pair around the house and came up empty handed. It was decided that Pat would need to leave here about 5am so he could head to Walmart before he needed to be at work at 6:30. I KNEW he wouldn't do that...he's a sleeper BIG TIME!! So sucker that I am, I decided to head back out to WM for him. I threw in a load of dark clothes so everyone would have something to wear in the morning and headed back out alone around 11:30.

Oh yeah, when we got home Pat informed me that he saw our mouse again (hadn't been seen since Val's siting March 10th). Michelle also informed me that Val saw it run from the bathroom into the hall before she went to bed. Oh GREAT! I thought it had ventured outside since it was so nice out and we hadn't seen any signs of him. When I pulled in a parking spot at WM my cellphone rang, it was Drew. He was calling to let me know that he saw the mouse too. He was all upset because it was in his pile of dirty clothes and jumping all around his bed. ROFL! I couldn't help it....I was laughing and laughing then apologizing for not being understanding. He couldn't find the traps we bought in March so I added mouse traps to the list of things to pick up. I set a peanut butter one and laid it in Drew's room after I got home...it hasn't been touched.

So what's this about Pat's new job? YEP! He was called yesterday to inform him that he could start today! He's working 6:30 to 2:30 at a local plastics plant. It's tough hours for a kid who likes to sleep but he'll be ok once he gets used to it. It also leaves him with lots of evening hours to spend with his girlfriend. LOL Not to mention a 40hr a week paycheck to go with it. There is a small problem with giving his 2wks notice at the Wafflworks shop. Luckily he wasn't scheduled to work until this weekend. I suggested that he offer to work weekends only for the next 2wks or they hire someone new...whichever comes first. Drew may have a new fulltime job too working at a warehouse. He's going to talk to the owners of the waffleshop first to see if they can offer him fulltime hours for the summer. He's thinking they might have him cooking and such. If they can't offer him more hours and during the weekday/daytime he'll try to get the warehouse or another factory job. (he's afraid of getting stuck working all Pat's hours...which are nights and mean double shifts on weekends)

All the news above means the clock is ticking for us concerning getting the van or bus fixed. It's hard for Tom to think of working on anything besides the garden at this time of the year. Unfortunately I have a dr's appt next Wed and all the non driving kids (8 kids total) and I have dentist appointments the Tues after that! So it's GOTTA get done!

My new digital camera arrived yesterday! I haven't really had time to play with it yet. Hopefully by the end of the week I'll start posting some pictures. From my inital inspection of it though, I think I'm going to like it!

They started dropping like flies

Today I have 3 other kids home. Luke started not feeling well yesterday afternoon. You know it's bad when he's ignoring the gamecube while under his blankets on the cough (on a beautiful/warm day!). Jake complained about his belly this morning (some sick ones are throwing up so didn't want to take my chances) Liz didn't feel well this morning and blamed it on ME! Tom and I had gone out to dinner last night with his mom and one of his brothers. Liz called after dinner while we were visiting at MIL's. They had woken up Olivia so she could eat dinner and she was crying and wouldn't stop....she wanted me. Olivia got on the phone and hysterically cried....I FEEL BAD!!!! I asked Liz to forget trying to get her to eat and go lay on my bed with her so she could go back to sleep. So now Liz is sick because I made her lay down with her. I told her that she got the germs BEFORE she laid down...laying down was too close to feeling symptoms to be the time of exposure. Seems that R...the girl down the street that catches the bus from our house had a fever this weekend too. Olivia is still feverish a bit too, she looks exhausted. I should probably take her in for a throat culture. She's had a fever on and off since Thursday.

The day is BEAUTIFUL here and only going to get better!!!! It's in the low 70's and sunny with tomorrow looking to top out over 80. We haven't seen 80 in a loooong time! (think I heard it's been 8mos). After I'm off here I'll do some bedding that's not needed tonight. Then it won't matter if it's on the line overnight. Tomorrow I'll do stuff that we're using already. I'm hoping to get Tom to rototil my flower beds tonight so I can start planting seeds. I probably should have started some of them inside..but oh well, what grows grows. I keep thinking that I have to get things started so the yard will look nice for the graduation party. Of course I think that about the house too. I just can't justify working inside on the first hot day of the year. Then again, maybe I'll be glad to be inside to get out of the heat and sun. LOL Wonder what my ankles and hands will do tomorrow. I'll have to make sure I DRINK! DRINK! DRINK!

So why didn't I do any outside work or wash bedding this morning??? I was SLEEPING!!! I don't know what's up with that. Just after I start bragging how great I feel I get hit with a day where I want to sleep all day. I was falling asleep where I stood this morning so decided to take a nap after I ate, took my meds and checked my sugar. I was out cold as soon as my head hit the pillow. I woke up to Pat telling me I had a phone call. It was the school..it seems I forgot about Olivia's Kindergarten screening appointment today...OOPS! I swear they are going to think I'm losing my brain (or definitely have too many kids to take care of lol). Luckily it's been rescheduled for Wednesday at 10:20. At least I THINK it's this Wednesday!!! LOL I was half asleep and just said ok. I hope it's not next week because I'll then have to be in 2 places at once (school and the OB). Guess we'll find out when I show up at school in 2 days.

I tortured Tom last night and made him stop at the grocery store on the way home from our dinner. Poor thing! He hates going into stores unless it's running in and out for a few specific things. I told him he'd run through and we did. Granted it took over an hour..but that's par for the course on my quick run through lol. First he was saying..it's getting late. Then it was we didn't have room for what I was buying. I said WHERE? In the car? There's a huge trunk and a full backseat...tons of room! Then it was hurry up we have frozen stuff in the cart (bought popsicles...it was the second to last aisle!) I informed him that we were fine and he should relax. LOL Thing is, I only bought half of what I usually do and complained that I felt weird as I didn't buy any meat other than bacon (couldn't pass it up for 1.33/lb!) Good thing we have a full freezer.

As much as I wanted to CLOBBER him for putting a damper on my shopping trip. I thanked him for stopping. I let him know that it saved me tons of time and work. I didn't have to figure out which day and timeframe I had free to shop, see if I could "schedule" cartime for then, drive for over an hour just to get to and from the store. I also could shop faster because I didn't have Olivia with me (although she's usually good in the store), he helped me get things off the low shelves and put things under the cart. He loaded the groceries on the belt while I bagged and helped me load them into the car. I think he realized it wasn't just a waste of time afterall. After we got hom he mentioned to Pat that he appreciated me letting him know how much of a help it was to stop. I'll have to remember to do that more often. :o)

HUGE on my list of things to do is to get a pool patch kit!!! The longer we wait the greener the pool gets. It was so clear after the ice melted! It kills me to watch it grow greener and greener. I know it means more work and chemicals. OH yeah and we need to build a new ladder out of PCV pipes and the old ladder rungs. The original ladder corroded and fell apart. This year I definitely can't be jumping out and pulling myself onto the deck. I can barely pull my rear out of a chair!!! ;o)

It's back!!!!!

That nasty cold and cough that made Jake and I miss Tom's parent's 50th anniversary party a few weeks ago. This week it hit Eileen and Olivia, they both ran a fever Thursday and Friday. Olivia's the only one with it today. While Eileen was really happy to miss school for 2 days, they were both upset over missing out on girl's crafts at church on Friday night.

One of my nieces is in the hospital. C is 16 and the middle child of 7 girls. She has shingles and went in for some treatment and tests. They admitted her with viral meningitis. :o( I had flashbacks of Carrie last year all over again. I'm not sure exactly what's going on as I've only gotten the news from my MIL 2nd hand. I immediately wanted to run up there but just the shingles alone makes me hold off on that thought. Hopefully she'll be out and feeling better soon!

We've hit a new milestone of my pregnancy!!! A lot of the kids got a chance to feel the baby moving tonight! :oD I thought it might be possible but no one has been able to catch it moving yet. Tonight Eileen was curled up on the loveseat with me. She had her hand on my belly with the hope that it would move..and it did! It moved so much that we saw Eileen's hand "jump". I wish I could have captured the look on her face when she realized what it was. LOL After she announced what happened to the other kid, I had the rest of the kids in the room (Liz on down) lined up to get a chance. Luckily the baby cooperated for quite a few of them. After that with some poking, prodding, and patience the rest of the kids got at least a flick or flutter under their hands. They were all pleased and excited. I think I might be in trouble now. I don't think I'll be able to relax anymore without someone trying to cop a feel. ;o)

I had tons of plans for around the house today. I went out front and talked with Tom about purchasing a few things, including paint. While we were chatting I started pulling weeds in my front garden. After finding my hand claw had been squished into an unusable shape I went back into the house. I remembered I hadn't taken my meds. I took my blood pressure and got a surprise, it was 148/90! YIKES! So my plans for working around here were put on hold and I took it easy for a while. By evening it was 128/84. It better not do that again!!!

My sugar is doing ok. It's starting to get on the low end again but nothing where I'm worried about hitting some scary lows soon after eating. So I'm ok with that! Except for the high blood pressure numbers today, I've been feeling really good lately. Almost to the point where it's a surprise to see a belly sticking out in front of me when I look down.

I ordered a new digital camera online. It's not the most expensive or best quality, but I'm hoping it'll be good enough for now. It has more megapixels then my old one so we'll see. It should be here by next weekend. It'll be nice to share some pics here. This place is looking a little boring. Maybe I'll even get a bellyshot! :o)

I have NO idea whether or not I'll have a car in the morning so we can go to church. This not having a vehicle is driving me crazy!!! Tom has started to work on the bus so that's a good sign. My inlaws stopped over for a visit today. MIL told me Tom's brother is willing to GIVE us his minivan that's been parked in our yard all winter! Wow! I'd thought we'd give him $500 for it. The body is in GREAT shape although it has mechanical problems. I thought it would be to our advantage to sink some money in it and get it working. It's an 8 seater which doesn't allow me to take all the non driving kids somewhere (have 8 non drivers, 9 after the baby is born). But it seats 2 more then the olds does. I'm hoping that we can sell Pat the olds (although he doesn't want to buy a huge "old peoples" car. PICKY! PICKY! PICKY!

One of the reasons it's imperative to get me a working vehicle is that Pat has an interview with the local plastics factory. He's decided he didn't want to work nights and weekends at Waffleworks. So he's shooting for a fulltime, daytime factory job. If he gets the job I won't have a car at all! Drew's already BTDT with the fulltime factory job and doesn't mind working the hours he gets at Waffleworks. I think he'll be happy to just work parttime all summer. He'll also have a job that fits into his schedule when classes restart in the fall.

The kids asked me what I wanted for Mother's Day. I answered with the classic answer of....a clean kitchen! I've been working on and off in there and it just never gets done! Everytime I think I'm getting ahead it's time to cook or eat in there again. If they'd work in there it'd only take 20mins tops to get it done. I guess I'll see if I get what I asked for in the morning. LOL

Now to get back into the swing of things

I've had the gumption to get a bunch of things done around here. Unfortunately my schedule hasn't allowed it. Tues I had to go to WIC. After we were done D and I decided that it was a waste to be out and not do anything else. So I gave Pat my car and drove with D to Real Deals (dollar store) and then went around the outside of the grocery store. This week I bought BOOBERRIES! After trying them though I'm not sure why they used to be my favorite. Frankenberries are much better to me now. (and all you Count Chocula fans :op~~~~ chocolate cereal is a dime a dozen!)

When Tom got home he asked if we were ready for our walk. I was going to not go due to my hips starting to hurt after shopping but went anyways. We went to the opposite "end" of our street (crazy country road that doesn't really end when you think it should) and back. I know that's about .9 of a mile one way. I have to admit that this walk was harder for me then the 3+ one. I'm pretty sure it was because I'd already been out walking that day. I could barely get up the front steps.

Wednesday was my doctor appt. I woke up and all I wanted to do was go back to sleep. I'd thought I'd slept well and even got up later then normal. One check of my blood pressure gave me my answer...it was 102/68! I have NO idea why. When I got to the dr's office the nurse who usually does my vitals was laughing. She's been known to get some crazy low numbers on me before and I told her she was WAY off. She thought for sure she'd done it again because she got 100/74. I let her know that this time I agreed with her. :o)

Previously they were considering lowering my blood pressure meds based on a few lower readings in a row. I disagreed because I wasn't getting the same numbers at home. This week I started noting what pressure readings I was getting in my glucose log book. I'm glad I did, there was no question I was fine where I was. I just wonder WHY it was low yesterday.

I gained 7lbs (219) and am almost to my all time high weight (220) again. :o( I figured with my sugar numbers being high while we catch up with the mess from 2 weekends ago that I'd gain weight. I hadn't planned on THAT much! It bothered me a bit but I guess I can't complain...I'm still only 5lbs over my start weight. Dr was ok with my sugar numbers although I'd like to see them come down a tad during the day. I asked him if I could up it in a few days if it doesn't start coming down a bit. He said I could self regulate it. YEAH! I really don't feel like I need to call him everytime I think I need to go over the limit he's set. Now I don't have to! Makes me feel good that he feels he can trust me to do what's right and know enough to make these decisions. :o)

Drew dropped Pat off at the dr's office after his classes (Drew still had one more class to go to). I was so glad because I didn't want to drive anymore. It was hard enough to drive to the dr's without falling asleep. We decided to go to lunch and then hit the Dollartree. They've relocated and the place was HUGE! I was in heaven and told Pat I could have spent $100 more in there! All the neat baskets, containers, and such to organize things. I've been walking around here thinking of new things I could buy there to organize around the house. I should make a list. I also found pads that'll fit on my clorox mop! I KNEW I'd seen them there but the other stores I'd went to didn't have them anymore. I'm a happy camper now, I thought I'd wasted my money on the mop since I refuse to spend the outrageous amount they charge for the brandname pads. I'm also considering buying the packages of cleaning clothes for the bathrooms and such. Anything to make it more interesting and easier for the kids to do their jobs the way they are suppose to.

I walked in from the dr's last night and immediately went into bed. I slept for about 2hrs! I haven't had a long nap like that in a while. I wish I could say it felt good but I was still exhausted. Not to mention it cut a huge hunk of time into my evening. Needless to say, we didn't go for a walk. Hopefully tonight we'll get back to it.

So now today I'm determined to get back into my cleaning mode. I've made a list of things I want to get done...and here I sit! LOL I have already gotten into one bathroom and when I get up I'll be throwing bedding into the washer. No threat of rain here for quite a few days so now's a good time to get that task done! The need to sew has really been getting strong! In order to be able to do it though I feel I have to get at least my bedroom cleaned up first so I know where all my sewing stuff is. Today though my bedroom isn't high on my list. The main areas are hurting and it's bugging me!!! So now I'm OFF to clean! (gee, you'd think I should be putting on my superhero cape with this attitude!)

We did it!!!

I mentioned in a post below that I declined our walk. Last Wednesday Tom came home from work and asked the kids if they wanted to go for a walk...they did. They then asked me if I wanted to go and said yes. You'd have thought I told them we were going to Disney World with the shouts of glee around the house.

The kids wanted to know how far we were going and Tom kept referring to me and how far I could make it. I told him...don't worry about me, I'll let you know if it gets to be too much! We walked down to the "end" of our street (it's really a fork but there's a stop sign). I'm pretty sure it's at least 1/2 a mile, might even be 3/4 of one. Not too shabby for a first walk. It wasn't a HUGE workout, we strolled, but we had fun and we talked the entire time. I got a little out of breath as we were getting close to home but it was on a slight incline. I wonedered if it was s fluke or we'd continue to do it. We went on Thurs (kids begged to go!) and again on Friday.

On Friday we decided to not turn around at the corner but to continue on. It's pretty hilly where we went and we decided to turn around at the top of a hill where the townline starts and stops. The kids kept asking us if we could continue and go ALL the way around the block. We told them eventually. I made a mistake on that walk though. I forgot to test my blood sugar or to make sure I'd eaten before we left. I had been laying down when everyone got home so got out of bed, straightened up and walked. By the time I got home I had cotton mouth pretty bad and was starting to feel fuzzy headed. I tested as soon as we walked in teh door and I got 74 so grabbed something to eat quick.

Saturday I went grocery shopping and Sunday I declined the walk due to my sciatica being irritated. Today we went on another walk though. This time I tested my sugar (78), ate before we left and remembered to bring a water bottle with me. It gave me the courage to tell the kids we could try to walk around the WHOLE block (3.1 miles) I also bragged that I had my cell phone so could call Drew to come pick me up while they had to finish the walk. LOL I'm happy to announce I didn't have to call Drew and we all made it ALL the way around the block!!!! Woohoooo! The last part of the walk was rough as it was up a decent sized hill and I felt like I could barely walk up the porch stairs. LOL Tom is complaining that he's sore tonight, my sciatica is acting up but no more then when I went grocery shopping on Saturday. I guess we'll see how I feel in the morning.

I didn't get back into my room to clean but I'm hoping to get into it tomorrow after my WIC appt. The rest of the house is slightly messed up. Drew decided to rearrange the livingroom and he switched bedrooms with Jake and Luke. As long as it's all put back together by the end of the week I'll be happy.

I never did hear back from the dr today and my sugars were TERRIBLE! I think I may up my morning dose tomorrow anyways. Let him read me the riot act on Wed if he wants. I tried to do it by the book. I just hope they faxed the info WIC wanted for me.

Well off to bed!

Aaaaaaachoooooooo!

That's what I'm sitting here doing, snuffing, sneezing and trying not to rub my itchy eyes. Yep, the madness has continued. I've started working in my room. And as true to course, within a half an hour in there my allergies were showing themselves big time. Now I have to finish, otherwise I'll have to get all stuffed up again a different time and we don't want that to happen. I'm actually starting to think I might be able to get some sewing started this week! I'm taking a break seeing as I had to call the dr about faxing WIC (no problem for them). I'm waiting to hear back whether or not I can up my insulin. I also need to get some lunch! (as usual it all comes back to food LOL)

I'd have finished the last 2 loads of laundry this morning but I forgot to have one of the big kids carry it down the stairs before they left the house. I may try to do it myself in a bit. If not it'll have to wait until after school. Digging through my room has left me some more laundry to do and I'll have to start bedding. Guess I could just do the bedding since it's not too heavy to carry. I'd rather wait to do bedding until the threat of rain is gone so I can hang it on the clothesline. Bedding always seems a waste of propane when drying in the dryer.

Time for lunch!

The start of something beautiful!

At least I'm hopeful. It seems that I've developed some energy Sunday! I was surprised because when I went to bed Saturday night I could barely walk. I thought for sure my sciatica would be a problem during the day too. It was a dull ache but nothing that made me stop moving. I admit though...my legs aren't as strong as they normally would be. I can't really lift or carry anything. Good thing I have dh and the big kids...now known as the hamper haulers. At least I can climb up and down the cellar stairs to get to the washing machines. I admit though, between already being sore and working around the house, I had to turn down an invitation to go for our walk today. I was too afraid that I wouldn't make it very far. Or that I'd push myself and not be able to get home very well. Tom took the kids off road for their walk today. They went exploring down the hill. They came back with a find! A tiny white skull....ICK! I admired it like a good mom then insisted Tom throw it away! LOL

So what happened today. I started working before I got out bed. I picked up a few things in my room although you can't tell. After I climbed out of bed, Michelle and I cleaned the livingroom, including moving the furniture. I even spot cleaned the floor and made a vow that the kids wouldn't have anymore gum for quite a while. I'm so glad it's hardwood and not carpeting! I worked in both bathrooms and the kitchen. I have 2 out of three counters totally cleaned off and scrubbed down. Unfortunately the one I have left is the biggest and has the most stuff on it. I'm hoping to continue with the work on Monday and get the rest of the counter and work areas scrubbed. I also am in the process of doing my 7th or 8th load of laundry. Granted I still have 4 more loads to go before the hallway is clear. I'm trying to ignore the pile of bedding and the clothes I know I have in my room to wash. LOL If I keep this pace up, I may even get into the basement and go through things that are on the laundry room floor.

As usual the weekend shot my food plan and timing of my sugar testing. It bugs me that it happens and I try to avoid it but it still occurs. Saturday I grabbed breakfast and ran out the door so never tested after breakfast. I was racing against the clock as I had to be home by 2 so Pat could drive the car back to work. He went to work in the morning with Drew, had a few hour break and then went back in for the dinner hours (he washes dishes and buses tables) I dropped Liz off at the B's house until the next day. We (Carrie, Eileen and Olivia were with me) then hit BJ's Wholesale Club and Walmart. By the time I left WM I was FRAZZLED! I almost smashed my cell phone because Pat, Michelle, and Val all decided they needed to call me and check to see when I would be home!!! GRRRRR! I actually hung up on Val because I was totally frazzled while trying to check out of WM. I called her when I got back to the car and apologized but GOSH! I'm barely able to go anywhere with the boys working now and when I do I'm on a time limit. Then to have to be bugged about it while I'm trying to do what I NEED to do. Val and I were talking about it in the kitchen Sunday afternoon and I apologized again. Tom pointed out to Val that I have to "answer" to more people then ANYONE. Gee, maybe he has been listening to me all those years when I've complained about not being able to even go potty without making an appointment! LOL It tickled me that he acknowledged that and pointed it out to her.

Friday I had an appointment at school for Luke's IEP meeting. He's been upgraded in his reading disability. :o) BUT his writing disability is still quite pronounced. He tests out over 40pts lower then his ability should be. They've kept most of his accomidations from this year. Next year they'll added a support person in his English class. I'm also going to work with him on his keyboarding skills this summer. We have an Alpha-Smart processor from school a few years ago. I'm not sure if we're suppose to be in possession of it still but oh well. His resource teacher knows we have it and has asked if I'll get him working on it a bit more. Guess I can have him do it while I'm working with Eileen and her Hooked on Phonics set. I HOPE that this year can be different and I keep up the intended "schooling" during the summer.

This week I'll be running a few days. I may have to run into the dr's on Monday to have some paperwork filled out, although I'm going to see if they can fax it and save me a trip. I then have a WIC appt on Tues and a dr appt on Wed. I'm considering calling Monday morning and asking for permission to up my insulin again. I've gone from our set of 20/20 at the last appt back up to my old dosage of 28/24. I'm still hanging JUST under my upper limits, I'd like to be a bit lower. Maybe I'll give it a few days and see if they come down a bit more first. I hate to not take action though!

OH MY!!! I just almost had a heart attack! While sitting here finishing up the last sentence BOTH smoke alarms went off upstairs. They're wired into the house and wired into each other, so at least they work. I went running upstairs (amazing how fast and well you can move when adrenaline is involved) and didn't see or smell anything. The scary thing is that Liz moaned and groaned about it but didn't ask what was going on. (Carrie and Eileen stayed asleep) No one else woke up...not even TOM! I woke Pat up when I turned on his bedroom light to check the conditions in there. Those things are ear piercing! Even worse then the downstairs one. Oh well so much for going to bed now. My heart is still racing a mile a minute and I feel like I could clean this whole house right now. Guess I'll go play some gamecube to chill out while I wait for the dryer to buzz.