let the whacking continue

Sigh. The end of another week. This one felt like forever and next week will be hectic too! B had so many tests this week and as I always say, it's like a game of whack a mole with him. He fails one class so I find out about it and buckle him down, then he does well, but at the expense of the others. You never know where the bad grades might pop up or if you can get to them fast enough to beat them away.

This time, it was chemistry which had to be improved. After sitting with him at first and then later just reviewing all of his homeworks before he turned them in, he got the only 100 in the class on the last test. But alas, he got a 50 on the history test he had over a week to study for (missed it when he was sick) and various other not-quite-so alarming but not acceptable grades in other classes. The final results are not yet in, but this weekend will be spent in preparation for the fourth marking period, which concerns me because of our plans to have him in Florida for three school days.

As for the family health, all is well ::knock wood::. The evil stomach virus so far has not claimed any more hosts since it felled Kevin for the better part of the weekend and Monday, and the sniffling of the kids is kept to a minimum; there are no more coughs or frightening body rashes. However, M comes off the antibiotic after this weekend, so that she won't have the side effect of sunburning while in Florida, but that means that her second week off of it will be spent out from under my watchful eye. I'll be sure to scan her every chance I get, and make sure that she remembers to check for anything that looks even remotely infected. I'll bring the pills down anyway, just in case. Sunburn is better than MRSA, but let's hope it doesn't come to that!!!

So she and Kevin leave on Saturday and B and I will follow along a few days later. The dogs will return to the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm, and we all come home the following Saturday night. I'll get the dogs back on Sunday, and I think both M&B have school that week and then spring break a week or two later. As for summer, we are trying to figure out what we will do, what we can afford timewise and moneywise, and what obligations M will have for college, we know there is a summer orientation and we'll probably all go up for that, as they run concurrent programs for the families.

The boring part of signing and applying early to college is that now, when all the excitement of finding out is so widespread amongst her classmates, her choice is old news. But she does have some excitement: she has a roommate! There are two girls from our state who are both going to be on the team, and she found out that they are rooming together! She had thought that you just let the coach know you want to live with a teammate and he puts you with one. But then she got nervous, and there are only a handful of new girls joining this year.

So she messaged one of the other girls she had met, but the girl had applied regular decision, so she was accepted later, just two weeks or so ago. M didn't know how to bring it up, so she was making a lot of small talk, and finally, the girl just asked her. So that is a relief. She thinks that the girl will make a good roommate. Interestingly, she is from Canada, and way out west.

And in other news, my job limped through the week without any major horrors, thankfully. Nothing new and exciting to report on that front, still underpaid but still happy to have an income at all. Hopefully some new business will start pouring in and I can insist on some better benefits as well as a better pay rate. I'm a little anxious though. I still feel a lot of loose ends, and we have a regulatory review next week (internal). One of the other guys told me that he had a dream that I left the company. And it must have been unplanned, because he said that he followed me out to my car asking, "what happened??" Uh oh.

it's the weekend!

Ugh! A giant dog just came over and breathed kitty litter breath on me! Now I know why she was so quiet before.

I guess I should explain the lack of creativity in my heading. It's because I am zapped of it all. This week began with such frustration that I did actually move towards improving my working life. However, it got me nowhere and the next couple of days were better. I don't *want* to have to find a new job but this one just sometimes pushes me to the point of futility. So I put some feelers out but to no avail.

In health news, maybe it is allergies, but M's sniffles have picked up and B's cough is the cough that won't quit. I have to run out and refill her doxy anyway, and I'm also getting her some Nasonex, so maybe I'll pick him up some allergy/cold combination for B as well and see if that will knock it out over the weekend. It's been more than five days since he finished that z-pack so if there were any germs left, there may not be much z left to fight them. Best to dry it out if I can before they put him on more medicine. I hate that!

The big dog news is that the town finally cashed my check! My dogs are legally dogs! And tomorrow Abby is going to have her first real bath, and I'll get that furry leg trimmed down a bit to match the shaved one, which is now fully covered in fuzz. Yesterday I took them to the dog park and she did pretty well, but I worried about her hurting her knee so we didn't stay too long. I see she has a sense of distrust of strangers, which concerns me, so I want to work on that. The Doll took B out for lunch today and when she brought him back, Abby barked and growled at her when she offered her hand to be sniffed.

She did settle down but then she started back up again. I can't really have a dog who acts like this! She needs socialization. I might also take her to puppy school at PetSmart. I think the eight weeks of rehabilitation pretty much made her more protective of the house than I would like, although it is nice to have a dog who will protect us from intruders. We just don't want her to protect us from family and friends!

And in other news, we got new neighbors the other day. Sadly, it seems that they got the house for about $100,000 less than we paid five years ago. That's not good for the market value of our house at all, which is not good news for our refinancing hopes. By the time we manage to get back up to a reasonable loan to value ratio, the rates will probably have soared!

back from the beyond

Finally! B is better, the staph is gone (please please stay that way!) and we are back from the state meet. It wasn't a great meet for M, but after she go a new suit it did improve. I hope she will still do well at Nationals, these were some of the slowest state times she has posted since her freshman year.

B finished his z-pack but he had googled possible side effects, and saw all these people who said that they were exhausted like zombies and totally lost their appetites so now he sleeps all day and eats next to nothing. He is a walking string bean, it is alarming. At least he is improved. He still coughs but overall he is 1000% better. It doesn't hurt that his school is on break all week, either!

In the case of M, we see the dermatologist on Saturday, which will be when we find out how long she stays on this doxycycline. It seems to have taken care of the MRSA, and her face is surely looking better. But will both remain true once she stops? Because surely we cannot sign onto this for the long term!

Kevin is also back from his many travels, next trip is Fort Lauderdale! He just found out that there is a customer who would like to see him while he is down there so he can get some of the expenses paid for! That's certainly a plus. He'll fly down for the whole week, but B and I will only be there a handful of days. We're missing the first even again, unfortunately. Although I feel less bad about it now that the bleachers collapsed and the on-deck seating is being meticulously rationed out. They sold tickets through an internet sale and revoked all the ticket sales for the evening sessions because some teams bought them all and others got none. It's going to be crazy down there this year!

And in other news, the dogs enjoyed their stay at the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm. Of course, he misunderstood me and put the two of them together in a pen for a while and they (she) ate Wilbur's dog bed. I guess I should just be glad she didn't eat Wilbur, too!

the only fever i want to have is spring fever!

Enough of the sickies! First B with the puking and fever, then M with the staph, and now he has a new mystery ailment. Tuesday, low fever, headache, sore throat. Thursday, red eye with white discharge, eye doctor says no infection maybe virus, wait it out. Yesterday wakes up 103 fever! Take straight to MD, fever still 102.7 an hour after advil. Gives tylenol, flu test negative. Fever comes down to 101.7, no sign of infection, probably viral? Take him for blood work so in case of no improvement don't have to wait two MORE days.

Update is improved but not out of the woods. Eyes a mess, coughing, sneezing, no more fever. Sniffling, lounging around. At least I'll get the blood test results tomorrow. Hopefully he will be better. Tomorrow is the first day of tennis tryouts, but he already is at a disadvantage because he can't wear his contacts till this eye thing works itself out. And he won't likely be back to 100% anyway, judging by the progression of this thing. Enough!

As for the staph, still much improved, just a spattering of dark scars from the pimples but they're basically gone. After a couple of hours at the pool they usually pink up a bit, which I don't like, but we have our appointment in two weeks anyway, and she will be on the antibiotic until then, though hopefully not after!

Otherwise, things are well. Kevin is back from Sweden and performed his usual perfunctory inspection of the basement sump pumps. The three of us spend the entire week not giving them a thought and he comes home and finds that coincidentally the pump will not shut off and has to be replaced. So that was his excitement, that and a haircut, which is where he was about to take B when B was found to be with fever.

Dogs are happy, especially Abby, who is finally starting to settle down considerably. She can even be in the room with certain cats at certain times and have no problems. Her fur is growing back and she walks with no limp at all. She and Wilbur are heading to the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm on Friday, so I hope she won't think she is being traded away yet again! But hopefully having Wilbur there will make her feel more comfortable; and his familiarity with the place should put her at ease. They have to go back again in April, so she'd better do well!

Speaking of April, I am terribly concerned about B. I plan on taking him to Florida and actually have no backup plan anyway, as the Doll says she's having some anxiety issues again. But he would have to miss three days of school and he is currently doing extremely poorly in chemistry - so poorly that it may take divine intervention for him to pass! At least this marking period may be a bust...and at times his efforts are pretty lacking, I have to admit. So stay tuned for news on that.

And in other news, we have officially forsaken our beach club membership for the summer. I can't remember if I have already said this, but it means that we will have to be more creative this summer. Although with M working at the other beach and me also working, I'll just have to find things for B to do, like tennis camps and other longer-term activities, including getting him to jump start his volunteer hours for school!

wilbur is 2!

He sure is tired out for a young man! I usually like to take them to PetSmart and let them pick out a toy, but he had a feeling we were going in the car and he wanted no part of it. So instead, he had some good tug of wars with Abby, got extra wet food with his dinner, a stuffed Kong for dessert, and a bunch of grilled chicken as a bonus after-treat. Now they are both passed out and ready for bed. We're just waiting for M to get home from practice.

M seems to be doing well ::knock wood:: but I have outsmarted myself with my constant panic and calls to the doctor, who has now decided that she should stay on this antibiotic for two months instead of two weeks! But not to treat the staph anymore. If I understand him correctly, he is no longer worried about that. This is to treat ACNE! Argh! The only good thing (?) is that at least she will have some extra protection against the staph ... although I thought that was the point of not overusing antibiotics - so they will work when you do need them.

But her face was looking pretty bad and if this helps, well - we'll see. I won't leave her on it for long if I can help it but I'm not inclined to go against his advice either. And that infection seemed pretty stubborn, and I have heard it can take a while to get rid of. The redness was waxing and waning well into the second week of treatment. The spots still have their moments of redness, and occasionally a new one or two will pop up that I don't remember being there in the beginning.

As far as B is concerned, this is not a good semester for him. It's come to the point that I dread logging onto the grade portal but I just can't seem to stop myself. While I suppose it is better this year than last in that he is not failing EVERY single class, I do have serious concerns about his science class this year, and whether it's a reversible trend. And some of the grades are shockingly low, low enough to make you wonder if he falls asleep in class sometimes! What is the alternative? How would he fare at the public school?

And in other news, Kevin is in Sweden for the week. He flew out on Sunday and will return on Thursday. At least we aren't scheduled to get any blizzards this week! And thankfully Abby's recovery is going well and she is now able to go up AND down the stairs to outside. The bad news is, she is also able to go up and down the stairs to upstairs, which she likes to do when nobody is watching her closely. A gate at the bottom of the stairs has proved no match for her galumphy self when she's on a roll! Otherwise, everything is status quo. Next weekend is the state meet and then it won't be long before it's time for Florida. I'm getting anxious about that one already! And after that is summer and after that is ... college! Oh! I can't think about it now. It's too unreal!

mean people suck

A few weeks ago in church, we saw that they were collecting blankets, coats, etc, for a homeless community in a nearby town. The kids decided that they would do their own little drive in the neighborhood, earn a couple of community service hours, and help out at the same time. So they put flyers in all the mailboxes on our street and the connecting block, about 60 houses or so. About six or eight ended up participating, but they gave a lot. The whole truck was packed, and we dropped them off at the church the following week, to the delight of the recipients.

Today, in the mail, in an unmarked envelope mailed from Trenton, about an hour away, was a copy of the flyer! And on the back was written "IT IS AGAINST THE LAW TO PUT THIS IN THE MAILBOX WITHOUT POSTAGE. WOULD YOU WANT A STRANGER IN YOUR MAILBOX?" =:-O !! Mean people suck!!!

As I said, they only put the flyers in our immediate neighborhood. The houses that we walk by, drive by, ride, by anytime we leave the neighborhood. Our names and phone numbers were on the flyer! It was not a solicitation, and nobody was even pressured to participate! It was a simple request.

But, sad to say, the cowardly objector is right. Apparently, it IS against the law to put things in people's mailboxes without stamping them! I guess I didn't realize after the countless geranium sales, pet food drives, and other humanitarian causes that have been promoted through this senseless disregard for the law!! Criminals are everywhere! This person is to be commended for bringing our horrific crime to our attention. I wish they had had the nerve to stand and be recognized.

And people wonder what is wrong with New Jersey.

And in other news, Abby is healing well, she saw the vet the other day and he was pleased with her progress, although it will be another three to five weeks before the bone can be considered healed enough to let her go all out running. She's unaware of this limitation, and frequently has to be stopped mid-gallop as she tears through the house. Wilbur is still unconvinced of her value, and she sometimes paws him a little harder than his fragile self can tolerate, but other times he likes to use her for a punching bag. There has been no more guarding or serious growling in weeks, so that's a good thing.

On the medical front, B passed the neuro test and M continues to battle this nasty staph. It's not infected or contagious, they tell us, but getting back into the pool causes more small spots to break out, which causes me to fly into a panic and send her back to the doctor for another check. She's two weeks into this antibiotic (tomorrow) and he gave her a refill, but I would like her off of it unless (a) she still needs it and (b) it is going to work to keep her on it longer, rather than just allow the bacteria to start growing again once she's off. There are others she can take, but they're apparently harder on the system and he wants to let this one do the trick.

So my parting advice: be nice, because (have I mentioned?) mean people suck.

one of those days

I should have known when I dropped my phone while I was putting it in my pocket. Or really before that, when I went to turn left out of the jughandle and there was a giant flatbed truck hauling concrete taking up the space of four cars, so that we couldn't turn out of the jughandle to get on the road. Or when I thought I had lost the keys to the file cabinets and searched for them four times before I found that they had just fallen into some papers.

But I didn't know. And I guess the day got better. It was a beautiful day outside, not that I spent much time in the outdoors, but it was nice to smell it briefly. I ended up taking M back to the dermatologist to have him recheck her and make sure the rash (now a confirmed staph infection) was responding to the antibiotics. He was happy that it was, he didn't even change her to the other one that had shown up as slightly more effective on the sensitivity testing that they did, and said that he thinks the worst is behind her, (I HOPE SO!!!) and that she is no longer contagious.

But she isn't quite out of the woods yet. She still has a special scrub for the shower, antibiotics for the next week or two, as well as topically and in her nose. It's a whole routine. And tonight, she went back to swimming for the first time so I am not happy! She is due back pretty soon and I'm afraid for the first look. Before she was taking the antibiotics, after swimming they would look angrier and redder, and then in the morning, they'd look pale again. But hopefully they're under control now and that won't happen this time.

As for B, the school is pounding him now. He's passing one class, and it's ENGLISH. Go figure. I don't worry too much about math because I always think he will catch up but he isn't doing well with volume formulas. (A few classes have not posted any grades yet. Maybe this will give me something to talk to the neurologist about when we see him on Thursday. Another thing to dwell on for me! The other classes he's floundering in are history and chemistry, but chemistry is by far the worst, because he took a test he was unprepared to take and the result was disaster. It exhausts me to the point where the public school doesn't seem like a bad option despite my concerns, but he is happy where he is, so we'll see. I worry also because I'm planning to take him to Florida when we go, but I can't do that if all of his grades are 68s and below!

But on other hand, M's report card came yesterday - looking good. She's trying to hold her spot in the rankings for graduation.

And in other news, M and I are supposed to head up to Boston for an overnight this weekend, they're having an Accepted Students Day for the College of Health Sciences and she wants to go. The problem is that she's missed so much swimming already, with the staph, but this has been planned for months So we will play that one by ear. I'm still plodding along at work, antagonized by my boss's new habit of coming back to the office or calling in in the 2:27-2:29 range with a list of items he wants done before I leave for the day, which is supposed to be at 2:30. It's really not funny at all anymore.