So I was up way past my bedtime last night. And this morning, when we woke up, we found that there was a vandalism spree in our neighborhood!! One sort of expects this living in a more urban setting, and prepares to protect against it. But sometimes there is nothing worse than drunken spoiled suburban kids with too much time on their hands.
Our mailbox was ripped out of the ground and tossed onto the lawn. Some of the flowers were also destroyed around it. I had a small lighted sign with our house number on it, and that was gone, possibly up the road on a neighbor's lawn. Kevin just took a quick ride around the block to see what else had gone on, and if he could retrieve it. The mailbox next door had some pretty flowers climbing all over it, they've been growing all summer, and they were torn to shreds and tossed aside as well.
Kevin is just back and says that it was a major mailbox vandalism spree. There is one kid who I and another neighbor squealed on for speeding and passing in a no-passing zone on a 40mph road, and sure enough, his mailbox is fine. But you wouldn't think he'd strike so close to his own home, and he really didn't target anyone specifically.
The most infuriating thing is not knowing who did it, and knowing that there's always a good chance that it was kids who we know. It's difficult to say, since we have only been here two years and don't know a lot of the families in the development. Oh, the joys of Burbtopia.
In other news, Megan's fair was indeed rained out, but they went back to a friend's house and watched Michael Phelps steal the gold in the 100 fly. Thank goodness that race was only 2 laps, I don't think I could have stood it for any longer. Today, Megan and I are getting out hair cut (finally) and then she is going to the Jonas Brothers concert This will be my first time back to the guy who butchered my bangs months and months ago. I had them corrected by someone else, but unfortunately, this guy seems to be the only one who can give me a really good haircut, and the same with Megan.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Friday, August 15, 2008
Don't Stop Believing
How did it get to be Friday already? And I woke up with a headache. It was bound to happen. I can't continue this Olympic schedule much longer. Thank goodness the swimming is almost over. And the gymnastics. I keep falling asleep at critical moments (like midnight) and missing the outcomes of the womens gymnastics. I have to wait until I wake up to find out who had their heart broken.
As far as E goes, I discovered there is a Journey concert at the local summer stage on the night she arrives. I know she likes Journey, because she quoted one of their songs at the top of her 'dear famiily' letter and I know I like them, too. So I emailed her the pictures of her room and mentioned that they were going to be here, and she got all excited. So I checked and got five lawn tickets; the concert starts at 7 and her flight is due in at 2:45. Kevin is usually home in the house by 5 when he takes that flight, and only once was it late, but it was very late, like 9pm. Hopefully that will not happen again - SAS only has one plane that runs this route, and if something happens to it, it gets backed up and has to struggle to get back on track.
Today I am just laying low and trying to catch up on laundry. Megan wanted to go to a fair tonight, but it doesn't really look like the weather will cooperate. I have been enjoying myself with the discovery of Facebook and friends from long ago. It's very nostalgic.
In other news, Kevin will escort the Doll to the 'specialist' later on, so that will be fun. I have been trying to think of what to get Megan for her birthday, and she does need a new bike, so that might be a good thing. Tomorrow she and I are getting our hair cut.
As far as E goes, I discovered there is a Journey concert at the local summer stage on the night she arrives. I know she likes Journey, because she quoted one of their songs at the top of her 'dear famiily' letter and I know I like them, too. So I emailed her the pictures of her room and mentioned that they were going to be here, and she got all excited. So I checked and got five lawn tickets; the concert starts at 7 and her flight is due in at 2:45. Kevin is usually home in the house by 5 when he takes that flight, and only once was it late, but it was very late, like 9pm. Hopefully that will not happen again - SAS only has one plane that runs this route, and if something happens to it, it gets backed up and has to struggle to get back on track.
Today I am just laying low and trying to catch up on laundry. Megan wanted to go to a fair tonight, but it doesn't really look like the weather will cooperate. I have been enjoying myself with the discovery of Facebook and friends from long ago. It's very nostalgic.
In other news, Kevin will escort the Doll to the 'specialist' later on, so that will be fun. I have been trying to think of what to get Megan for her birthday, and she does need a new bike, so that might be a good thing. Tomorrow she and I are getting our hair cut.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Let the Rains Begin
Megan is off to her beach practice, being driven by the Favorite Boy's sister. So of course, the skies are opening up and great rolls of thunder are booming. I had volunteered Kevin to drive everyone home (she went straight from the beach club) so that he could get a video of their drill where they all look like the Ants from 'A Bug's Life' when they march around and encounter a leaf. It doesn't look like this will work out for tonight. Or maybe it will. One never knows with the weather these days.
As evidenced below, the guest room is finally ready for E. I bought that giant pillow and fleece throw today at Kohl's with my 20% off coupon, which I later handed to the man behind me, who was sorry that he had thrown his away. I was disappointed not to have been handed the one by the woman in front of me, who had gotten a 30% scratch off coupon! I only got that once, and I lost it.
Kevin is still "on vacation.".He had to build the dresser and desk for E's room, and hang the mirror and corkboard. He also has to hang the same mirror in Megan's room, but we need to rearrange a bit first. The next project is painting the bathroom, and he is still on call for the Doll. I'm not sure what she wants him to do, but it involves her computer and a phone line.
However, she is not well. He is on vacation, so she has a malady; it never fails. First of all, her dog has a UTI. Now to her. She has been talking about something with teeth for so long that I have no idea what she is talking about. I thought it was cosmetic, but now it seems that several teeth are having root canals. Let me just preface my next statement by saying that when she first moved here, I told her who my dentist was and she said her dining-out friends said that he was terrible, and cost one of them a tooth. Now, she has been through several dentists in four years.
So she is having these root canals, and her teeth are always in pain. She has been back to this dentist so many times and it keeps getting worse. They give her drugs, and she is also taking other drugs; of course all of these drugs make her sicker. She called this morning, asking for a ride to the "specialist" (hmm: endodontist? shouldn't one start there in the first place for root canal?) some time today. We made sure we were available, and didn't go far from a phone all day. At 3:30 she called and said she would like to go tomorrow, so I told her that the morning would be fine. It's Megan's last day volunteering at the school, and we'll be around. So 15 minutes later she calls back and says they're not in our town tomorrow, they're 20 minutes away, and her appointment is at 2:15. Typical.
And as for Kevin, remember the blackberry drama? How it was to be turned off for the two weeks? Then it wasn't, but he could only email people at his level or higher. Well, the email has been going on and off all week. Today, someone sent him an email complaining about one of his employees, who does have a poor work ethic. Kevin forwarded the email to his boss. Or so he thought. He actually forwarded it to the unethical employee. Which sort of makes them even from the time this employee accidentally copied Kevin on an email he sent out trying to get himself another job. That'll teach Kevin to work on his vacation.
In other news, I called the school yesterday to try to get an appointment to register E, and the secretary hasn't gotten back to me in two whole days now. Sigh, more of the same. I don't know what it is with this district. There is no huge rush, but she's going to have to get through her summer reading in almost no time at all, and I don't know if she will be able to get on a sports team, either. Also, I don't know if her medical information will be sufficient. I might have to take her to our pediatrician to get the forms approved by a local doctor. Anyway, I did send her the pictures of the room, so maybe I'll hear from her soon. She's been emailing back and forth with Megan now, as it should be. One more week!
As evidenced below, the guest room is finally ready for E. I bought that giant pillow and fleece throw today at Kohl's with my 20% off coupon, which I later handed to the man behind me, who was sorry that he had thrown his away. I was disappointed not to have been handed the one by the woman in front of me, who had gotten a 30% scratch off coupon! I only got that once, and I lost it.
Kevin is still "on vacation.".He had to build the dresser and desk for E's room, and hang the mirror and corkboard. He also has to hang the same mirror in Megan's room, but we need to rearrange a bit first. The next project is painting the bathroom, and he is still on call for the Doll. I'm not sure what she wants him to do, but it involves her computer and a phone line.
However, she is not well. He is on vacation, so she has a malady; it never fails. First of all, her dog has a UTI. Now to her. She has been talking about something with teeth for so long that I have no idea what she is talking about. I thought it was cosmetic, but now it seems that several teeth are having root canals. Let me just preface my next statement by saying that when she first moved here, I told her who my dentist was and she said her dining-out friends said that he was terrible, and cost one of them a tooth. Now, she has been through several dentists in four years.
So she is having these root canals, and her teeth are always in pain. She has been back to this dentist so many times and it keeps getting worse. They give her drugs, and she is also taking other drugs; of course all of these drugs make her sicker. She called this morning, asking for a ride to the "specialist" (hmm: endodontist? shouldn't one start there in the first place for root canal?) some time today. We made sure we were available, and didn't go far from a phone all day. At 3:30 she called and said she would like to go tomorrow, so I told her that the morning would be fine. It's Megan's last day volunteering at the school, and we'll be around. So 15 minutes later she calls back and says they're not in our town tomorrow, they're 20 minutes away, and her appointment is at 2:15. Typical.
And as for Kevin, remember the blackberry drama? How it was to be turned off for the two weeks? Then it wasn't, but he could only email people at his level or higher. Well, the email has been going on and off all week. Today, someone sent him an email complaining about one of his employees, who does have a poor work ethic. Kevin forwarded the email to his boss. Or so he thought. He actually forwarded it to the unethical employee. Which sort of makes them even from the time this employee accidentally copied Kevin on an email he sent out trying to get himself another job. That'll teach Kevin to work on his vacation.
In other news, I called the school yesterday to try to get an appointment to register E, and the secretary hasn't gotten back to me in two whole days now. Sigh, more of the same. I don't know what it is with this district. There is no huge rush, but she's going to have to get through her summer reading in almost no time at all, and I don't know if she will be able to get on a sports team, either. Also, I don't know if her medical information will be sufficient. I might have to take her to our pediatrician to get the forms approved by a local doctor. Anyway, I did send her the pictures of the room, so maybe I'll hear from her soon. She's been emailing back and forth with Megan now, as it should be. One more week!
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
One More Week!
Hard to believe, in just one week from tomorrow, E will arrive. I tried calling the school today, and the secretary never got back to me. She gave me a whole list of things I am supposed to provide, hard to believe I really need to do all of this, but then she never got back to me anyway, so I don't really know what that is all about but more of the nonsense this district puts people through. I have time. Eventually I will get an appointment, and we'll go in, probably the week after next, when Kevin goes back to work.
Brian has been off all summer from his piano lessons, but he had one today. A few minutes after the teacher left, the doorbell rang .. it was him. He had taken out our mailbox, but good, on his way out of the driveway. Sigh. So there is another job for Kevin, once he paints the bathroom, hangs the mirrors for E and Megan, and hangs the corkboard in the spare bedroom. Oh, and connects the phone or something in his mother's apartment. I don't really understand what that is all about. Anyway, that was our excitement for the day.
In other news, Megan had her beach practice and they had to go in the water. she said it was all full of jellyfish, but none stung her. Maybe that will help her get over her fear and do some more ocean swims! We stopped at Applebee's for some dinner on the way home. I always like to go there because they have my favorite wine and a weight watchers menu. Then everyone else orders horrible things, and I feel bad. I should really stipulate that we all MUST order light foods.
Brian has been off all summer from his piano lessons, but he had one today. A few minutes after the teacher left, the doorbell rang .. it was him. He had taken out our mailbox, but good, on his way out of the driveway. Sigh. So there is another job for Kevin, once he paints the bathroom, hangs the mirrors for E and Megan, and hangs the corkboard in the spare bedroom. Oh, and connects the phone or something in his mother's apartment. I don't really understand what that is all about. Anyway, that was our excitement for the day.
In other news, Megan had her beach practice and they had to go in the water. she said it was all full of jellyfish, but none stung her. Maybe that will help her get over her fear and do some more ocean swims! We stopped at Applebee's for some dinner on the way home. I always like to go there because they have my favorite wine and a weight watchers menu. Then everyone else orders horrible things, and I feel bad. I should really stipulate that we all MUST order light foods.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Crush Chiari
Chiari Malformation is truly a conundrum. No two affected patients will suffer the same symptoms, nor can someone with chiari assume that they know what course their 'situation' will take. Chiari can come hand in hand with any number of associated conditions: syringomyelia (as Brian), retroflexed odontoid, pseudotumor cerebri, tethered spinal cord. None of these will make the chiari issues any easier. Often patients who have multiple surgeries will begin to suffer such issues that you don't know what is caused by the chiari and what is caused by the surgeries. Surgeons can't even agree. It's really just a difficult thing.
So Brian has spasticity in his leg again, and why? Is it because he woke up in the morning and was taken straight to the doctor? Is it the syrinx? Is it the chiari? And so an MRI is in order again. But what if it shows something? But what if it shows nothing? Really, with chiari, who even knows. I follow so many pages, between caringbridge and CarePages (who, by the way, have really pissed me off by changing their format right in the midst of my annual crisis), that I have just seen so much. Rejection of dural graft, placement and failure of shunts, cranio-cervical fusions, tethered cord release surgeries. Even MRSA. The list is really infinite. There are controversial doctors and there are people with a cult-like mentality who insist that anyone who goes anywhere other than their beloved Institute must be risking their lives. Is that the case? How would I know?
And these are the issues with which I wrestle daily, and the reason I panic when I hear, "I noticed a slight increase in the tone in his legs, but he's done that before." But I never knew that he had done that before. So what do I think now? That the neurologist thinks (knows?) that I am neurotic (of course he knows, that is his business, he can spot one a mile away) and has been withholding information. Because last year, when he had the increase in tone, the good doctor had the films to look at right away. Which explains why he said, "I will be a while. I have to make comparisons."
Anyway, I guess it is best that he protects me from myself. But still, this is an awful thing, even at its best. There are issues with scar tissue, with bone growing back, and with plain old bad luck. Let me just go on hoping that none of these will apply to us. Meanwhile, I am hoping to hear back from the mom of the girl we spoke to before Brian's surgery. The girl had had had a couple of headaches, and was going in to see the surgeon on the same day we saw the neurologist. She doesn't have a neurologist, so she is followed by the surgeon.
In other news, we are still relaxing for the week. The room is nearly ready for E, the dresser, desk, and bed are all assembled and in place. All that remains to be done is to hang the mirror and a corkboard, to make the bed, and to get all the tools out of the room. I found a bunch of artwork at Marshall's today after Brian's ortho appointment, and hung that on the walls. Then there was one big dirty wall, so I stuck up a poster of a map of the United States. Better than nothing :-). I'll try to post some pictures.
So Brian has spasticity in his leg again, and why? Is it because he woke up in the morning and was taken straight to the doctor? Is it the syrinx? Is it the chiari? And so an MRI is in order again. But what if it shows something? But what if it shows nothing? Really, with chiari, who even knows. I follow so many pages, between caringbridge and CarePages (who, by the way, have really pissed me off by changing their format right in the midst of my annual crisis), that I have just seen so much. Rejection of dural graft, placement and failure of shunts, cranio-cervical fusions, tethered cord release surgeries. Even MRSA. The list is really infinite. There are controversial doctors and there are people with a cult-like mentality who insist that anyone who goes anywhere other than their beloved Institute must be risking their lives. Is that the case? How would I know?
And these are the issues with which I wrestle daily, and the reason I panic when I hear, "I noticed a slight increase in the tone in his legs, but he's done that before." But I never knew that he had done that before. So what do I think now? That the neurologist thinks (knows?) that I am neurotic (of course he knows, that is his business, he can spot one a mile away) and has been withholding information. Because last year, when he had the increase in tone, the good doctor had the films to look at right away. Which explains why he said, "I will be a while. I have to make comparisons."
Anyway, I guess it is best that he protects me from myself. But still, this is an awful thing, even at its best. There are issues with scar tissue, with bone growing back, and with plain old bad luck. Let me just go on hoping that none of these will apply to us. Meanwhile, I am hoping to hear back from the mom of the girl we spoke to before Brian's surgery. The girl had had had a couple of headaches, and was going in to see the surgeon on the same day we saw the neurologist. She doesn't have a neurologist, so she is followed by the surgeon.
In other news, we are still relaxing for the week. The room is nearly ready for E, the dresser, desk, and bed are all assembled and in place. All that remains to be done is to hang the mirror and a corkboard, to make the bed, and to get all the tools out of the room. I found a bunch of artwork at Marshall's today after Brian's ortho appointment, and hung that on the walls. Then there was one big dirty wall, so I stuck up a poster of a map of the United States. Better than nothing :-). I'll try to post some pictures.
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