I think every parent expects to use those words at some point in their children's life, I just didn't expect to use them when my two were 5 and 3. That's right Emma and Ian have been grounded since Sunday. Now by grounded I mean no TV, no playing outside, no Popsicles or ice cream, and a bed time of 7:30 instead of 8. It sounds like alot for kids so young but after you hear this you probably wont think so.
Sunday Dave and I were in one of those moods where neither of us wanted to do anything, so we didn't. We watched a movie with the kids in the morning, played some Wii in the afternoon, and just laid around the house. We haven't put the air conditioners in yet and it has been in the 80's since late last week. So we have had the windows open and fans going. While this has kept the house very comfortable it can get a little loud.
Sometime around 5 Sunday evening the kids went upstairs to play in their rooms. They had been up and down all day. Normally we can hear everything they do up there but with the fans going this time we could only really hear some footsteps hear and there.
All of a sudden we hear are neighbor scream Dave and I's name in a way that instantly make us think something was very wrong. Dave got to the window before I did so I couldn't tell what she was saying. The only thing I heard was the word kids. The next thing I knew Dave was flying up the stairs. By the time I got up there Dave was spanking both of the kids who were crying and he was yelling at them but none of it made any sense to me.
Once Dave finally calmed me down he filled me in on what the neighbor had said. Apparently she had caught the kids climbing on the roof of our house. Instant panic set in, I couldn't believe my kids were on our roof! They could have been seriously hurt or killed. I immediately went through their rooms and closed and locked their windows and Dave told them that they were going to be grounded for a week and to start they needed to clean their rooms.
Dave and I went back downstairs to talk about things. Everything seemed so strange, we knew there were only two roofs the kids could have been on because of their window placement. One was the one out front over the porch but our neighbor was in her backyard so how could she have seen them. The other was out a side window of Emma's room that is the roof to Dave and I's bedroom which runs the length of one side of our house but it's the side opposite the neighbor that caught the kids.
A few hours later our neighbor came over to see if the kids were ok. Dave of course asked her where they were so she took him out back and showed Dave what they were doing. Somehow the kids managed to get out Emma's window onto our bedroom roof and then in the back they transferred from it the the main roof that is over Dave's office and then goes up to the top peak of the house. When our neighbor went out to smoke the kids were running up and down the back pitch. She immediately yelled up to them and asked what they were doing and Emma said to her
"ssh we're on a secret adventure!"
At that point the neighbor told them to stay there and she started yelling for us.
I am so thankful that she decided to have a smoke when she did because God only knows what could have happen to my kids. It still makes me sick to my stomach to think about. I've been debating about whether or not to post this all week because, quite frankly, it's embarrassing. I mean what kind of parent would let something like this happen. I decided to share it one because I know one day a long time from know I will be glad I have all of the details written here to share with kids and their friends. By then maybe it will be a little funny (for what ever reason this makes me think about the time my 3 year old cousin stole my aunts car keys and he started the car and backed it out of the driveway hitting my moms car parked on the street while I was in the car with him), and two because I think I am a good parent and if something like this could happen when I was watching my kids something could happen to another good parent. I guess what I'm trying to say here is that you never know what things kids will think of and no matter what precautions you take anything is possible so just keep that in the back of your mind.
Of course Dave and I have had numerous talks with the kids since then explaining to them how dangerous what they did was and how they can never do that again. Their air conditioner has been installed because I will not be opening those windows again this year. We were also able to find out that it was Ian's idea but Emma went along with it which probably means that Ian is going to be one of those boys that is into everything. The only thing we don't know is what gave Ian the idea to do that. Every time we have asked he just says he doesn't know. The only thing I can come up with is that they though it was safe after seeing the men up there replacing our roof a few weeks ago.
The kids only have a few more days of being grounded and I am really hoping that I don't have to use it again for a few more years!
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Friday, May 22, 2009
Boys, Dresses, and Black Eyes
This week the weather has been really nice and the past few days the temperatures have reach the 80's. For Emma the warmer weather means she can wear her summer dresses which she has been dying to do. So far all of her summer dresses are sleeveless kinds.
Yesterday was the first day I let her wear one and she choose to wear this really cute pink strapy one that has orange and white flowers on it. She looked so cute it in but really she always looks cute! :) When I got to the sitters after work yesterday my cute little Emma came running up to me talking a million miles a minute. Once I got her to calm down and speak slower I was filled in on the activities of the day.
It seems that yesterday morning one of the 3 year old little boys at the sitters stuck his head up Emma's dress. Her being the proper girl that she is pushed him away and told the sitter so he got in trouble. It doesn't stop there though, a little later in the day that same boy pulled Emma's dress up and stuck his hand down her underwear. This time Emma screamed and turned around and punched the little boy in the eye giving him a black eye. Of course the sitter snatched the little boy up and he received a long lecture and spent a long time in timeout. She also talked to the little boys parents when they picked him up so hopefully they talked to their son so that he doesn't do that again.
As for me I'm not really sure how to feel about this. I know the kid is only 3 but it still seems like he should know not to do something like that. It also makes me wonder where he would have got the idea to do that. What I do know for sure is that I am very proud of my daughter for standing up for herself. Dave and I truly believe that if someone is doing something harmful to you that you have the right to fight back and Emma seems to understand that concept. Of course the kids and I talked about this on our way home yesterday and I was able to reiterate to them that Emma's reaction to what happen was ok and that no one should ever touch those parts of their bodies unless it's a doctor and mommy and daddy are there. It is nice to know that even at such a young age Emma seems to be able to take care of herself.
Yesterday was the first day I let her wear one and she choose to wear this really cute pink strapy one that has orange and white flowers on it. She looked so cute it in but really she always looks cute! :) When I got to the sitters after work yesterday my cute little Emma came running up to me talking a million miles a minute. Once I got her to calm down and speak slower I was filled in on the activities of the day.
It seems that yesterday morning one of the 3 year old little boys at the sitters stuck his head up Emma's dress. Her being the proper girl that she is pushed him away and told the sitter so he got in trouble. It doesn't stop there though, a little later in the day that same boy pulled Emma's dress up and stuck his hand down her underwear. This time Emma screamed and turned around and punched the little boy in the eye giving him a black eye. Of course the sitter snatched the little boy up and he received a long lecture and spent a long time in timeout. She also talked to the little boys parents when they picked him up so hopefully they talked to their son so that he doesn't do that again.
As for me I'm not really sure how to feel about this. I know the kid is only 3 but it still seems like he should know not to do something like that. It also makes me wonder where he would have got the idea to do that. What I do know for sure is that I am very proud of my daughter for standing up for herself. Dave and I truly believe that if someone is doing something harmful to you that you have the right to fight back and Emma seems to understand that concept. Of course the kids and I talked about this on our way home yesterday and I was able to reiterate to them that Emma's reaction to what happen was ok and that no one should ever touch those parts of their bodies unless it's a doctor and mommy and daddy are there. It is nice to know that even at such a young age Emma seems to be able to take care of herself.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Friday's Foto Finish Fiesta
I am so excited that it's finally Friday. This week has been complete and total chaos for me. I have so much to tell you all I just haven't had the time or energy to get on here and post but I promise over the weekend and next week I will fill you all in.
To start I will share a picture and a story from this week.
Of course this is the Ian man and he was playing Mario Cart on our new Wii. Can you tell he is addicted to this game???? He loves it and wants to play it all the time and for a three year old he is pretty good most of the time. For some reason by the time I got home Monday night I was so worn out and even though it was nice outside I couldn't bring myself to go outside with the kids. Yes I know bad mom but I just couldn't so instead I bribed my kids with the Wii. Emma decided early on that she wanted to go upstairs and watch a movie but Ian wanted to keep playing. About five minutes later a very frustrated Ian decides that since he can't get his kart to turn and go the right way he could throw the wheel at the entertainment center. Well that was the end of video games for the night and Ian spent some time up in his room to cool down. After that I didn't think to much about it.
Tuesday evening after we came in from outside and the kids had their baths they had about 30 minutes left until bedtime. Ian asked me if I would play a the freight train song (No Leaf Clover) on our Metallica Guitar Hero for him. Of course I couldn't say no to him but once the song was over Ian asked if he could try. So I started him on Tuesday's Gone in the beginner mode and showed him what to do but of course he didn't want my help. The first time Ian got booed off stage rather quick but I started the song again and was surprised at how well he was doing. Well I was thirsty so I started towards the kitchen to get something to drink and I heard some of the booing start but I decided to let it go. Just as I was coming back in the room Ian got booed off the stage and next thing I knew he was throwing the guitar across the living room.
In Ian's defense I really think the boy gets this honestly. In the past Dave has been known to throw things at walls when frustrated or even pick up a couch and slam it to the ground the same day he came home from the hospital because the Cleveland Browns weren't playing very well. Back to the point though, I am a little concerned that if Ian is already throwing things at three what is going to happen at thirteen? I guess I will have to wait and see, wish me luck.
Now it's your turn to head over to Candid Carries and share your picture.
To start I will share a picture and a story from this week.
Of course this is the Ian man and he was playing Mario Cart on our new Wii. Can you tell he is addicted to this game???? He loves it and wants to play it all the time and for a three year old he is pretty good most of the time. For some reason by the time I got home Monday night I was so worn out and even though it was nice outside I couldn't bring myself to go outside with the kids. Yes I know bad mom but I just couldn't so instead I bribed my kids with the Wii. Emma decided early on that she wanted to go upstairs and watch a movie but Ian wanted to keep playing. About five minutes later a very frustrated Ian decides that since he can't get his kart to turn and go the right way he could throw the wheel at the entertainment center. Well that was the end of video games for the night and Ian spent some time up in his room to cool down. After that I didn't think to much about it.
Tuesday evening after we came in from outside and the kids had their baths they had about 30 minutes left until bedtime. Ian asked me if I would play a the freight train song (No Leaf Clover) on our Metallica Guitar Hero for him. Of course I couldn't say no to him but once the song was over Ian asked if he could try. So I started him on Tuesday's Gone in the beginner mode and showed him what to do but of course he didn't want my help. The first time Ian got booed off stage rather quick but I started the song again and was surprised at how well he was doing. Well I was thirsty so I started towards the kitchen to get something to drink and I heard some of the booing start but I decided to let it go. Just as I was coming back in the room Ian got booed off the stage and next thing I knew he was throwing the guitar across the living room.
In Ian's defense I really think the boy gets this honestly. In the past Dave has been known to throw things at walls when frustrated or even pick up a couch and slam it to the ground the same day he came home from the hospital because the Cleveland Browns weren't playing very well. Back to the point though, I am a little concerned that if Ian is already throwing things at three what is going to happen at thirteen? I guess I will have to wait and see, wish me luck.
Now it's your turn to head over to Candid Carries and share your picture.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Occupational Hazard
The past few days have been one heck of a roller coaster ride of emotions for my family. I'm sure you all remember that my sister is currently in school to be a Physician’s Assistant (PA, almost done) currently she is on her next to last rotation which happens to be general surgery. On Thursday she was assisting a Gallbladder surgery by helping to do some sutures. During this process Steph came to some tough parts of the skin and when she pushed harder to get the needle through it came flying out the other side and went right through her glove into her finger. Just to get this out of the way now she was doing everything exactly that way it should be done this was just one of those accidents that happen and no one has control over.
Steph immediately stopped what she was doing and notified everyone in the ER that she had just had a needle stick. She backed away from the patient and her finger was treated and wrapped. Protocol requires that the hospital or office take blood from the patient when this happens to test for HIV and Hepatitis. Steph called me that afternoon on her way home from work to talk about this because she was so upset that it happens but at that point she wasn't worried about the test. The doctors and nurses she was working with weren't that concerned about this patient’s health because of how her records looked.
Shortly after I got off the phone with Steph the Doctor she is working with called her and told her that one of the HIV test of the patients came back positive so she needed to come back to the hospital immediately. Steph said at that point she dropped to the floor of her kitchen and immediately began to cry. She describes the feeling as being hit by a truck. Thankfully Steph's roommate and classmate walked in the door and was able to decipher some key words in the conversation Steph was trying to have with her doctor. Once Steph's roommate calmed Steph down some she had her go change and then drove her the 45 minutes back to the hospital. Steph just happened to have done her ER rotation at this same hospital so she knew the nurses and doctors that were working. They took the time to explain to Steph everything her doctor had tried to tell her over the phone. I will do my best to explain this to you all because it's an important part of this story but please remember I am not in the medical field.
There are a few different kinds of HIV test. One is the generic, if you will, test that is done when screening someone for HIV. It's a yes no kind of thing. This test came back negative on Steph's patient. When you have had a needle stick they run a second test on the patient that looks at proteins in the blood. This test is very sensitive and has a high false positive rate. This test came back positive on Steph's patient. So Steph had to go into the hospital and have the test ran on her both of which came back negative. Now according to Steph HIV will not show up until at least three weeks after you had the contact so this was not surprising. They also had to run some blood work to make sure Steph's liver was functioning so they could give her the HIV antibodies to hopefully help protect Steph. They gave Steph the first dose of these and a prescription to fill for the other doses. Now based on the test that came back positive Steph's risk of contracting HIV was 3%. While they were waiting on Steph's blood work the nurses looked up some case history that was very encouraging. Apparently no one has EVER contracted HIV from a needle stick using the type of needle Steph was so that dropped her chance to under 3% chance. Even with those figures they weren't going to take any chances. Lastly the patient had to have more blood taken to run a third HIV test that if it came back positive it would be for sure thing that the patient had it and Steph would have to have HIV test done for the rest of her life. Before Steph left the hospital they told her that the patients third test results would be back the next afternoon so she could wait to here before going to fill her prescription.
Yesterday morning about 10:30 I received a call from Steph at work and she told me everything I just told you. She seemed very calm about it and said that everyone she had talked to had had at least one experience like this and the likelihood of her getting anything even if the patient had it were very very slim so not to worry. Of course this was still all very upsetting because of the what if's. It was very hard to concentrate the rest of the day and I wanted to call and check in with Steph but I didn't.
Finally around 3:30 I broke down and called Steph. She had just got off the phone with her doctor who had called about the test results but was informed that they took 24 hrs to get back so the earliest they would know was midnight. This meant Steph had to go and get the prescriptions filled in the event the test came back positive. If she didn't have another does in her by yesterday she would have been screwed.
Steph and I made plans for her to come over to my house after I dropped the kids off with the MIL so she wouldn't have to sit at home alone. I told her I would call her when I was leaving the meeting place which I did. I could tell as soon as Steph answered the phone something more was wrong. It seems that the three different drugs she needed were not ones very many pharmacies carried. She was able to find one at a Kroger near her house, another at the Wal-mart near her house but the third was a little more difficult. No one in the Columbus area carried it except the hospitals and they can't fill prescriptions unless you are an inpatient. So Steph had to call the hospital this happen at and they ended up selling the drugs to the Kroger across the street from them so Steph could go there to have her script filled. I could tell my little sis was exhausted so I told her I would head to her house and pick her up and drive her to that hospital since it's a bit of a drive then she could come home with me and spend the night in case she reacted badly to the drugs (common side effect).
Once we finally made it to the Kroger we went straight to the Pharmacy. The very nice girl behind the counter had some trouble understanding that they hospital didn't call the prescription in for Steph but sold the drugs to them so they could then fill the prescription Steph had in her hands. It took about 10 minutes to get that straightened out. Once she did Steph explained to her that the prescription she had was for a full does but that per the hospital she was only to have a 24 hour supply filled at first. The girl wasn't sure about this so she took it to the pharmacist who was a very mean cruel woman, but you will see why soon. The pharmacist argued with us that the hospital sold her 18 pills and that was what she had to give to Steph even though the prescription Steph was holding said to only fill a 24 hour dose at first. After what seemed like an eternity of arguing with this woman she finally said she would do it.
Steph and I decided to wander around the store since they said it would only be about 10 minutes. Five minutes into that they pages Steph back to the pharmacy. As we were walking up the pharmacist came out and around the counter, she walked up to Steph and said
“You do need all 18 pills because your blood work came back positive!"
I am pretty sure at that moment I gasped very loudly and yelled WHAT??? Steph on the other hand instantly began sobbing and almost passed out. It was a good thing I happen to be standing behind her to catch her. Through allot of tear Steph started yelling at this lady and telling her that when she was in the ER they told her the test was negative. I was trying to be the calm one and eventually got Steph to call the hospital back and talk to the nurse that set all of this up for her. That awesome nurse checked Steph's files twice and confirmed that Steph's results were negative. At this point the nurse becomes enraged because Pharmacist do not have the authority to give a patient a diagnosis because they are not certified to do that. The nurse was also upset because when she called to have the drugs transferred the only reason she gave as to why was because of a deep needle stick, never did she say anything about anyone’s blood work or test results.
Steph got off the phone with the nurse and told the pharmacists that no her test results were negative and she just needs the 4 pills. The pharmacist didn't argue this time and filled the script right there. I think total this process took about 10 minutes but it was truly the longest 10 minutes of my life and I can't begin to imagine what it felt like for Steph. Steph didn't say much as we checked out and walked to the car but shortly after getting in the car the shock of the situation wore off and Steph became very upset and rightfully so. She had just had a pharmacist tell her that she was HIV positive which was a downright lie! On top of that she told Steph this in front of about 6 to 10 people that were waiting to pick up their prescriptions. Throw in the way in which she told Steph and I think this all equals a law suit.
After all the craziness of the day I stopped and got us some dinner at Chipotle and then we came back to the house and watched Braveheart with Dave. Steph had never seen this movie and its Dave’s favorite so it seemed like a good time. Thankfully it is a bit of a longer movie so by the time it was over Steph was tired and went up to Emma's room to sleep.
I had to work this morning which meant a 6am wake up call. It also happened to be the same time that Steph needed to take more pills so I got her up. She came downstairs took her medicine while I was getting ready for work. When I walked out to the living room she informed me that at 2:39am her doctor texted to her to say that the patients test came back negative so she didn't need to take anymore of the pills. It also means that Steph doesn't have to worry about anything for the time being.
During one of the conversations Steph and I had the past few days she made the comment to me that she knows this is a risk of being in the medical field and she is ok with that risk she just wished that her first needle stick didn't come with the positive HIV test. What I think is that while she is bound to have more in the future maybe she was lucky and got the big scare one out of the way but who knows. What I do know is that I love my little sis and I am so thankfully that this scare is behind us.
Steph immediately stopped what she was doing and notified everyone in the ER that she had just had a needle stick. She backed away from the patient and her finger was treated and wrapped. Protocol requires that the hospital or office take blood from the patient when this happens to test for HIV and Hepatitis. Steph called me that afternoon on her way home from work to talk about this because she was so upset that it happens but at that point she wasn't worried about the test. The doctors and nurses she was working with weren't that concerned about this patient’s health because of how her records looked.
Shortly after I got off the phone with Steph the Doctor she is working with called her and told her that one of the HIV test of the patients came back positive so she needed to come back to the hospital immediately. Steph said at that point she dropped to the floor of her kitchen and immediately began to cry. She describes the feeling as being hit by a truck. Thankfully Steph's roommate and classmate walked in the door and was able to decipher some key words in the conversation Steph was trying to have with her doctor. Once Steph's roommate calmed Steph down some she had her go change and then drove her the 45 minutes back to the hospital. Steph just happened to have done her ER rotation at this same hospital so she knew the nurses and doctors that were working. They took the time to explain to Steph everything her doctor had tried to tell her over the phone. I will do my best to explain this to you all because it's an important part of this story but please remember I am not in the medical field.
There are a few different kinds of HIV test. One is the generic, if you will, test that is done when screening someone for HIV. It's a yes no kind of thing. This test came back negative on Steph's patient. When you have had a needle stick they run a second test on the patient that looks at proteins in the blood. This test is very sensitive and has a high false positive rate. This test came back positive on Steph's patient. So Steph had to go into the hospital and have the test ran on her both of which came back negative. Now according to Steph HIV will not show up until at least three weeks after you had the contact so this was not surprising. They also had to run some blood work to make sure Steph's liver was functioning so they could give her the HIV antibodies to hopefully help protect Steph. They gave Steph the first dose of these and a prescription to fill for the other doses. Now based on the test that came back positive Steph's risk of contracting HIV was 3%. While they were waiting on Steph's blood work the nurses looked up some case history that was very encouraging. Apparently no one has EVER contracted HIV from a needle stick using the type of needle Steph was so that dropped her chance to under 3% chance. Even with those figures they weren't going to take any chances. Lastly the patient had to have more blood taken to run a third HIV test that if it came back positive it would be for sure thing that the patient had it and Steph would have to have HIV test done for the rest of her life. Before Steph left the hospital they told her that the patients third test results would be back the next afternoon so she could wait to here before going to fill her prescription.
Yesterday morning about 10:30 I received a call from Steph at work and she told me everything I just told you. She seemed very calm about it and said that everyone she had talked to had had at least one experience like this and the likelihood of her getting anything even if the patient had it were very very slim so not to worry. Of course this was still all very upsetting because of the what if's. It was very hard to concentrate the rest of the day and I wanted to call and check in with Steph but I didn't.
Finally around 3:30 I broke down and called Steph. She had just got off the phone with her doctor who had called about the test results but was informed that they took 24 hrs to get back so the earliest they would know was midnight. This meant Steph had to go and get the prescriptions filled in the event the test came back positive. If she didn't have another does in her by yesterday she would have been screwed.
Steph and I made plans for her to come over to my house after I dropped the kids off with the MIL so she wouldn't have to sit at home alone. I told her I would call her when I was leaving the meeting place which I did. I could tell as soon as Steph answered the phone something more was wrong. It seems that the three different drugs she needed were not ones very many pharmacies carried. She was able to find one at a Kroger near her house, another at the Wal-mart near her house but the third was a little more difficult. No one in the Columbus area carried it except the hospitals and they can't fill prescriptions unless you are an inpatient. So Steph had to call the hospital this happen at and they ended up selling the drugs to the Kroger across the street from them so Steph could go there to have her script filled. I could tell my little sis was exhausted so I told her I would head to her house and pick her up and drive her to that hospital since it's a bit of a drive then she could come home with me and spend the night in case she reacted badly to the drugs (common side effect).
Once we finally made it to the Kroger we went straight to the Pharmacy. The very nice girl behind the counter had some trouble understanding that they hospital didn't call the prescription in for Steph but sold the drugs to them so they could then fill the prescription Steph had in her hands. It took about 10 minutes to get that straightened out. Once she did Steph explained to her that the prescription she had was for a full does but that per the hospital she was only to have a 24 hour supply filled at first. The girl wasn't sure about this so she took it to the pharmacist who was a very mean cruel woman, but you will see why soon. The pharmacist argued with us that the hospital sold her 18 pills and that was what she had to give to Steph even though the prescription Steph was holding said to only fill a 24 hour dose at first. After what seemed like an eternity of arguing with this woman she finally said she would do it.
Steph and I decided to wander around the store since they said it would only be about 10 minutes. Five minutes into that they pages Steph back to the pharmacy. As we were walking up the pharmacist came out and around the counter, she walked up to Steph and said
“You do need all 18 pills because your blood work came back positive!"
I am pretty sure at that moment I gasped very loudly and yelled WHAT??? Steph on the other hand instantly began sobbing and almost passed out. It was a good thing I happen to be standing behind her to catch her. Through allot of tear Steph started yelling at this lady and telling her that when she was in the ER they told her the test was negative. I was trying to be the calm one and eventually got Steph to call the hospital back and talk to the nurse that set all of this up for her. That awesome nurse checked Steph's files twice and confirmed that Steph's results were negative. At this point the nurse becomes enraged because Pharmacist do not have the authority to give a patient a diagnosis because they are not certified to do that. The nurse was also upset because when she called to have the drugs transferred the only reason she gave as to why was because of a deep needle stick, never did she say anything about anyone’s blood work or test results.
Steph got off the phone with the nurse and told the pharmacists that no her test results were negative and she just needs the 4 pills. The pharmacist didn't argue this time and filled the script right there. I think total this process took about 10 minutes but it was truly the longest 10 minutes of my life and I can't begin to imagine what it felt like for Steph. Steph didn't say much as we checked out and walked to the car but shortly after getting in the car the shock of the situation wore off and Steph became very upset and rightfully so. She had just had a pharmacist tell her that she was HIV positive which was a downright lie! On top of that she told Steph this in front of about 6 to 10 people that were waiting to pick up their prescriptions. Throw in the way in which she told Steph and I think this all equals a law suit.
After all the craziness of the day I stopped and got us some dinner at Chipotle and then we came back to the house and watched Braveheart with Dave. Steph had never seen this movie and its Dave’s favorite so it seemed like a good time. Thankfully it is a bit of a longer movie so by the time it was over Steph was tired and went up to Emma's room to sleep.
I had to work this morning which meant a 6am wake up call. It also happened to be the same time that Steph needed to take more pills so I got her up. She came downstairs took her medicine while I was getting ready for work. When I walked out to the living room she informed me that at 2:39am her doctor texted to her to say that the patients test came back negative so she didn't need to take anymore of the pills. It also means that Steph doesn't have to worry about anything for the time being.
During one of the conversations Steph and I had the past few days she made the comment to me that she knows this is a risk of being in the medical field and she is ok with that risk she just wished that her first needle stick didn't come with the positive HIV test. What I think is that while she is bound to have more in the future maybe she was lucky and got the big scare one out of the way but who knows. What I do know is that I love my little sis and I am so thankfully that this scare is behind us.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Friday's Foto Finish Fiesta
I wish I could be excited that it's Friday but since I have to work a full 8 hours tomorrow this really isn't a Friday for me. The only thing that could put a smile on my face are these two pictures that were taken after my sister's graduation last Sunday.
Aren't they just the cutest little graduates you have ever seen!!!
Now it's your turn so head over to Candid Carries right now!
Aren't they just the cutest little graduates you have ever seen!!!
Now it's your turn so head over to Candid Carries right now!
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
My non mother's Mother's Day
For the second year in a row I have spent my Mother's Day focused on one of my siblings instead spending the day being recognized as a mother. Last year my brother and now sister-in-law were married on Mother's Day, this year my sister had her commencement ceremony for grad school.
So Sunday morning I got up very early to get myself ready, then I got the kids up and ready while Dave got himself ready. Just a quick side note but why is it always us women that get the kids ready? Anyway by 9:30 we were out the door and in the car. We stopped at Tim Horton's and Dave and I got some breakfast, then at the gas station to fill the tank up. Finally we hit the road for the 2 hour drive south to Marietta.
Being the prepared organized person I am I knew we would be arriving at Marietta College just at lunch time and if you know anything about my kids you know that when they are hungry the loose their minds. So I packed a couple of drinks and lunchables for them to eat in the car and I am so glad I did that. I also packed their bookbags with their Leapstar II's, activity books, pens, stickers, and small snacks. Emma played with one of her activity books on the ride down while Ian slept. I actually had to wake Ian up so he would have enough time to eat.
Marietta is a very small town that literally sits on the Ohio River so Marietta College is not a large school therefore they only have one graduation each year and during that they allow all grad students set to graduate before the start of the fall quarter or semester (not sure which they are on) to participate in the ceremony. Steph will officially complete her program in July so this qualified her to be a part of the graduation. The part of this that kind of sucked was it meant that everyone that has completed there programs from last August till now was at this. We did get lucky and found a parking space fairly close to the building the ceremony was in.
By the time we got there my mom, brothers, sister-in-law, grandma, and great aunt were already there and had seat saved for us. As we were walking down the aisle to our seats i realized that the seats we were going to have to sit in were very tiny old wooden folden chairs that did not look comfortable at all. I was very right about that they were unbelievably uncomfortable. I really not sure how much time passed from the time we got to our seats till the ceremony started but it seemed like forever, thankfully the space between rows was large so the kids were able to walk back and forth between the family instead of being confined to their seats.
Finally the ceremony began and we realized we picked the right side to sit on because the brought the graduates in right beside our row which meant we got to see my sister walking in. The ceremony itself had the normal speeches from the Dean, president of the board of trustees, president of the alumni association, and then they had two very long speeches given by the 1st and 2nd place winners of a speech contest the school holds every year. There was also a presentation on the seniors gift to the school as well as the announcement of winners for all the awards being given out. Eventually they got to the commencement speaker who was F. Story Musgrave. Musgrave graduated from Marietta College back in the 60's and after obtaining a few more degrees from a few other schools he went on to join NASA. He is the only astronaut to have flown missions on all 5 of the spaceships. Dave and I both really enjoyed his speech to the students and found that it applied to anyone not just a college graduate. His main point was that sometimes in life you just have to follow your instinct and take a leap. He also said that sometimes those leaps are failures but that doesn't make you a failure. Lastly they handed out diploma's but first they hooded all the grad students.
So Sunday morning I got up very early to get myself ready, then I got the kids up and ready while Dave got himself ready. Just a quick side note but why is it always us women that get the kids ready? Anyway by 9:30 we were out the door and in the car. We stopped at Tim Horton's and Dave and I got some breakfast, then at the gas station to fill the tank up. Finally we hit the road for the 2 hour drive south to Marietta.
Being the prepared organized person I am I knew we would be arriving at Marietta College just at lunch time and if you know anything about my kids you know that when they are hungry the loose their minds. So I packed a couple of drinks and lunchables for them to eat in the car and I am so glad I did that. I also packed their bookbags with their Leapstar II's, activity books, pens, stickers, and small snacks. Emma played with one of her activity books on the ride down while Ian slept. I actually had to wake Ian up so he would have enough time to eat.
Marietta is a very small town that literally sits on the Ohio River so Marietta College is not a large school therefore they only have one graduation each year and during that they allow all grad students set to graduate before the start of the fall quarter or semester (not sure which they are on) to participate in the ceremony. Steph will officially complete her program in July so this qualified her to be a part of the graduation. The part of this that kind of sucked was it meant that everyone that has completed there programs from last August till now was at this. We did get lucky and found a parking space fairly close to the building the ceremony was in.
By the time we got there my mom, brothers, sister-in-law, grandma, and great aunt were already there and had seat saved for us. As we were walking down the aisle to our seats i realized that the seats we were going to have to sit in were very tiny old wooden folden chairs that did not look comfortable at all. I was very right about that they were unbelievably uncomfortable. I really not sure how much time passed from the time we got to our seats till the ceremony started but it seemed like forever, thankfully the space between rows was large so the kids were able to walk back and forth between the family instead of being confined to their seats.
Finally the ceremony began and we realized we picked the right side to sit on because the brought the graduates in right beside our row which meant we got to see my sister walking in. The ceremony itself had the normal speeches from the Dean, president of the board of trustees, president of the alumni association, and then they had two very long speeches given by the 1st and 2nd place winners of a speech contest the school holds every year. There was also a presentation on the seniors gift to the school as well as the announcement of winners for all the awards being given out. Eventually they got to the commencement speaker who was F. Story Musgrave. Musgrave graduated from Marietta College back in the 60's and after obtaining a few more degrees from a few other schools he went on to join NASA. He is the only astronaut to have flown missions on all 5 of the spaceships. Dave and I both really enjoyed his speech to the students and found that it applied to anyone not just a college graduate. His main point was that sometimes in life you just have to follow your instinct and take a leap. He also said that sometimes those leaps are failures but that doesn't make you a failure. Lastly they handed out diploma's but first they hooded all the grad students.
Steph walking across the stageI am a bit of an emotional person, ok maybe I'm alot emotional so of course I cried watching them place my sister hood on her but that didn't stop me from yelling loudly for her! :)
After the ceremony and the very long walk out of the building we made our way to the science building to meet up with Steph and take some pictures.
The Graduate
The Grad showing off her new hood
Steph and Me
KJ, Steph, Me, Nick
Mom, KJ, Steph, Me, Nick
KJ, Steph, Ian, Emma, Me, Dave, Alicia, Nick
Aunt Lois Ann, Grandma, Steph, Mom
Emma, Steph, IanAfter we headed to the parking lot where we were all parked and my grandma gave Steph her present. Both my sister, our great grandpa, and grandpa were born in February. At some point in my grandpa's life our great grandpa gave him a very large emerald cut amethyst. My grandma decided for Steph's present to have the ring reset into a pendent and it is so beautiful. I don't know what I was thinking but I didn't get a picture of it. Of course it made us girls cry. After saying good bye to Grandma and Aunt Lois Ann the rest of us headed back to Columbus. We knew that all the good restaurants in Marietta would be packed so we stopped around the half way point in Zainsville to have dinner at a very nice Italian restaurant that I can not remember the name of. The food was great and the atmosphere was really neat. For Mother's Day they had a man playing a guitar and signing who did a great job.
We were all so stuffed from the appetizers and main courses that we didn't order desert but by the time we got back into Columbus Dave was craving something sweet. Last week they opened a Cold Stone Creamery down the street from us so we stopped in there. It was outr first time and while we can't afford to get that all the time we will be going back for more.
So there it is my mother's day that was all about my little sis and her great big accomplishment. I am so proud of her and all she has done with her life in such a short time. It hasn't always been easy for her and I know there have been many times when she has wanted to just give up but she didn't and it has payed off so far.
P.S. I have told everyone that next year Mother's Day is all mine no matter what they have going on. I will be sleeping in!!! :)
Thursday, May 7, 2009
The Shack
Last night I finally finished The Shack by William Paul Young. It was our April bookclub pick. I know I'm bad for not having it finished before the meeting but it's not that bad since the meeting was just this past Sunday. I didn't read any reviews on this book or the back of the book like I normally do so I had no idea what to expect from it.
I struggled with the beginning of it and cried my eyes out in the break room at work where I did most of my reading. Once I got through the sad part I was very surprised to see the book take a turn and go to a very religious subject matter. Even now after finishing the book I'm not sure how I feel about the ideas discussed in the book. I've also felt confident in my religious beliefs and for me some of the ways they portrayed things just doesn't add to me. I know for those of you that may have read this you will probably say that part of the point of this book was to challenge the beliefs you been taught but I'm just not sure I want to do that.
Regardless of those feelings I still felt that this was an excellent book and worth reading.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
My Knee
Before I even start I am going to warn all of you that there will probably be some major mis-spellings in this post because of the medical terms I will be using.
When I was in 8th grade I decided with a little persuasion from some friends to join the track team. I only raced in sprints because I am not a long distance runner at all. Occasionally I would practice the hurdles but I was never very comfortable with them. One afternoon towards the end of the season myself and a hurdle decided they did not like each other and my knee paid the price. I couldn't tell you exactly what I did all I can remember now is that my knee was in a brace and I was on crutches for about a month.
In high school my knee would bother me every once in a while. Mainly it would just ache when the weather was changing or a storm was coming in. I was able to run, dance, and do all the normal teenager stuff without any problems from my knee.
Over the past 10 years I have noticed that this same knee hurts more and more. I'm sure having two kids and weighing about 30 pounds more than I did back then has not helped me. It also probably hasn't helped that I have fallen on this knee a few times since then as well. The past year has been particularly bad. I struggle most nights to get up the stairs without being in pain and I might as well forget about running or jumping because that is for sure going to hurt. Of course this hasn't stopped me from doing these things from time to time. :)
So for the past few months a few of my friends have been going to this free aerobics class at a local community center and they have been trying to get me to go with them. I had been putting it off because I know that my knee can not handle anything high impact and I really wasn't sure about low impact either. I finally broke down and went last Thursday. I stood in the back of the class with the older women and only did very low impact during the 30 minutes of aerobics. By the end of that 30 minutes my knee was burning and starting to swell yet I had barley even broken a sweat. I stayed and finished the arms and ab workout which I loved because I could do those without any restrictions. By the time I made it home that evening my knee has swelled to the size of a cantaloupe and I could barley walk. I came straight in the house grabbed the adjustable wrap ice packs Dave has for his shin splints and put them on. I also took some Advil to help with the pain and swelling. When you looked at my knee you could tell it was filled with fluid because of the way it had swelled. After many 20 minute on 20 minute off sessions the swelling did start to go down but I knew it was going to hurt the next morning, what I wasn't prepared for was it hurting 3 days later.
Since it was still bothering my Sunday evening and my sister was here I decided to have her look at it and see what she thought. She did a few things and then she had me lay on my back with my good leg straight out and then she lifted my bad leg and had me relax it. She then started moving and bending it. At one point she bent it towards me and turned it in at the same time and I was micro seconds away from kicking her in the head with my good leg. It hurt so much I can't even describe the pain to you. I am not the type of person that will yell when feeling pain but I do tense up and Steph instantly picked up on this and stopped. Before she could even ask if that had hurt I was able to get out a "don't do that again or I will have to hurt you". From what she can tell she believes I have a torn meniscus and based on what she knows I probably did this a long time ago and it has just gotten worse over time. Of course she told me I need to go to the Orthopedic so they can do some x-rays and determine for sure. If she is right, and she probably is, I would need liproscopic surgery to fix this issue.
As much as I would like to get this taken care of it will have to wait. I don't have much time to use at work so I can't really afford to take time off for doctors appointments. There is also the unknown expenses will may have with Ian this summer and without knowing all of that I don't want to add to it by having a surgery myself. So for the time being I am taking Advil when it is really bothering me and there will be NO aerobics.
When I was in 8th grade I decided with a little persuasion from some friends to join the track team. I only raced in sprints because I am not a long distance runner at all. Occasionally I would practice the hurdles but I was never very comfortable with them. One afternoon towards the end of the season myself and a hurdle decided they did not like each other and my knee paid the price. I couldn't tell you exactly what I did all I can remember now is that my knee was in a brace and I was on crutches for about a month.
In high school my knee would bother me every once in a while. Mainly it would just ache when the weather was changing or a storm was coming in. I was able to run, dance, and do all the normal teenager stuff without any problems from my knee.
Over the past 10 years I have noticed that this same knee hurts more and more. I'm sure having two kids and weighing about 30 pounds more than I did back then has not helped me. It also probably hasn't helped that I have fallen on this knee a few times since then as well. The past year has been particularly bad. I struggle most nights to get up the stairs without being in pain and I might as well forget about running or jumping because that is for sure going to hurt. Of course this hasn't stopped me from doing these things from time to time. :)
So for the past few months a few of my friends have been going to this free aerobics class at a local community center and they have been trying to get me to go with them. I had been putting it off because I know that my knee can not handle anything high impact and I really wasn't sure about low impact either. I finally broke down and went last Thursday. I stood in the back of the class with the older women and only did very low impact during the 30 minutes of aerobics. By the end of that 30 minutes my knee was burning and starting to swell yet I had barley even broken a sweat. I stayed and finished the arms and ab workout which I loved because I could do those without any restrictions. By the time I made it home that evening my knee has swelled to the size of a cantaloupe and I could barley walk. I came straight in the house grabbed the adjustable wrap ice packs Dave has for his shin splints and put them on. I also took some Advil to help with the pain and swelling. When you looked at my knee you could tell it was filled with fluid because of the way it had swelled. After many 20 minute on 20 minute off sessions the swelling did start to go down but I knew it was going to hurt the next morning, what I wasn't prepared for was it hurting 3 days later.
Since it was still bothering my Sunday evening and my sister was here I decided to have her look at it and see what she thought. She did a few things and then she had me lay on my back with my good leg straight out and then she lifted my bad leg and had me relax it. She then started moving and bending it. At one point she bent it towards me and turned it in at the same time and I was micro seconds away from kicking her in the head with my good leg. It hurt so much I can't even describe the pain to you. I am not the type of person that will yell when feeling pain but I do tense up and Steph instantly picked up on this and stopped. Before she could even ask if that had hurt I was able to get out a "don't do that again or I will have to hurt you". From what she can tell she believes I have a torn meniscus and based on what she knows I probably did this a long time ago and it has just gotten worse over time. Of course she told me I need to go to the Orthopedic so they can do some x-rays and determine for sure. If she is right, and she probably is, I would need liproscopic surgery to fix this issue.
As much as I would like to get this taken care of it will have to wait. I don't have much time to use at work so I can't really afford to take time off for doctors appointments. There is also the unknown expenses will may have with Ian this summer and without knowing all of that I don't want to add to it by having a surgery myself. So for the time being I am taking Advil when it is really bothering me and there will be NO aerobics.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Anonymous Commenter
I have seen some of the blogs I read make comments about anonymous commenter's that find it necessary to be a little, or allot, nasty. When reading these people's post I've always felt good that I haven't had to deal with anything like that. I've only received a few anonymous comments that were truly unknown and they have always been nice. That was until this morning.
I was leaving the grocery store when my Blackberry rang notifying me that I had a new comment. When I clicked to view I was very surprised to see that it was on my Smart Mop post back at the beginning of March. If you don't remember that post or never read it you it might help to go there first. Here is what Ms. (if your a man to bad I will forever be referring to you as Ms. because you didn't leave your name) Anonymous had to say,
Um, I'm pretty sure it was supposed to be a joke... sadly, I guess some people just don't get it...
While this isn't exactly mean or rude there is something about this comment that gets under my skin. Plus if you can't leave your name with your comment than don't leave a comment. I have spent the past hour debating on whether or not I should post something about this and I decided I would just to vent and get it out of my system so I can move on, here goes.....
Dear Ms. Anonymous,
First let me start by asking you if your mother ever taught you manners? You know do unto others as you would want done to you, always say please and thank you, and if you don't have anything nice to say don't say anything at all! Clearly I don't know you or we are not friends because if we were you would have used your name and not hidden under the anonymous title, and you must have known your comment was a little on the rude side.
Now as for the comment itself. If, and this is a big IF, that part of the sales pitch was a joke it was done in poor taste and not executed well at all. Having worked in sales myself and having my husband work in sales you have to be very comfortable with who your clients are before making any kind of joke in your sales pitch. I'm pretty sure that since this was an infomercial the gentleman trying to sell this product does not know his client well enough to make a joke.
After watching that part of the commercial numerous times I seriously doubt that was meant as a joke. I think they were trying to use the bad economy to help make sales because the economy is probably hurting them like everyone else. I also believe that part was hurting their sales because in the last few weeks I have seen the same commercial minus ringing the spilt pop back into the glass.
So next time you want to leave a comment you might want to share some proof as to why you are right and leave your freaking name because it's just rude not to.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Wilson
Ok I feel better now, thanks for letting me vent!
I was leaving the grocery store when my Blackberry rang notifying me that I had a new comment. When I clicked to view I was very surprised to see that it was on my Smart Mop post back at the beginning of March. If you don't remember that post or never read it you it might help to go there first. Here is what Ms. (if your a man to bad I will forever be referring to you as Ms. because you didn't leave your name) Anonymous had to say,
Um, I'm pretty sure it was supposed to be a joke... sadly, I guess some people just don't get it...
While this isn't exactly mean or rude there is something about this comment that gets under my skin. Plus if you can't leave your name with your comment than don't leave a comment. I have spent the past hour debating on whether or not I should post something about this and I decided I would just to vent and get it out of my system so I can move on, here goes.....
Dear Ms. Anonymous,
First let me start by asking you if your mother ever taught you manners? You know do unto others as you would want done to you, always say please and thank you, and if you don't have anything nice to say don't say anything at all! Clearly I don't know you or we are not friends because if we were you would have used your name and not hidden under the anonymous title, and you must have known your comment was a little on the rude side.
Now as for the comment itself. If, and this is a big IF, that part of the sales pitch was a joke it was done in poor taste and not executed well at all. Having worked in sales myself and having my husband work in sales you have to be very comfortable with who your clients are before making any kind of joke in your sales pitch. I'm pretty sure that since this was an infomercial the gentleman trying to sell this product does not know his client well enough to make a joke.
After watching that part of the commercial numerous times I seriously doubt that was meant as a joke. I think they were trying to use the bad economy to help make sales because the economy is probably hurting them like everyone else. I also believe that part was hurting their sales because in the last few weeks I have seen the same commercial minus ringing the spilt pop back into the glass.
So next time you want to leave a comment you might want to share some proof as to why you are right and leave your freaking name because it's just rude not to.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Wilson
Ok I feel better now, thanks for letting me vent!
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