Still kicking...

It seems like everyone I know who blogs has taken a break from blogging in the last couple of weeks... me included. I am still alive and kicking, so to speak. It seems that we are pretty much over the illnesses... knock on wood... but in some ways, I am worried about Ma. She has still been sleeping a lot, and missed 3 days of school last week as well because of high fevers (103-104-ish) but wasn't complaining of any pain. When she went to the Dr. They just said that her tonsils were a little swollen, but nothing else seemed wrong. Last night was Parent-Teacher night at school, and she is doing very well, as usual, even with the missed days, but her teachers have noticed that she is more quiet and withdrawn than usual. She is always extremely well-behaved at school, but is also usually very bubbly and enthusiastic to be around her friends, especially at recess. I don't know if it is a matter of her still not feeling 100%, or if there is something going on (bullying, drama, etc.) at school, but her teacher wondered if she has been checked for Mono. I don't think she has, but if she keeps sleeping as much as she is now, I will definitely be contacting her doctor to ask about that.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch.... I'm trying to clean up my desk/office area. A daunting task, but already it is starting to look better. I'm trying to organize my yarn, and crocheted myself a cute little case to keep my hooks and yarn needles in. I'll have to make something bigger for my knitting needles, but This one is small enough for me to carry around with or without my purse, if I choose. I'll post some pics once I get the hooks into it to show it off.

Be Afraid... Be Very Afraid....

On Tuesday my uncle came and watched the kids for me while I worked for a few hours to make up some of the time I lost taking Everardo to the doctor during the day. When I got done, my uncle told me that Mo. had scowled at him and that he had the makings of a first rate scowl! His words... "When I give people a look like that, I can make them shiver. He keeps on, and he'll have grown men looking to find a hidey hole to crawl into!" LOL!!! I'm not sure if I should be proud, or scared!

Here is a mild example of "the LOOK":

What a Relief!

Well... That's a deep subject for shallow minds... :-P As one of my favorite movies, "White Christmas" so eloquently expresses about doctors... "I know of a doctor... sad to say, one day he fell... right into a great big well." "Oh, that's too bad." "No, no, not at all!" "Why speak in such a tone?" "He should've attended to the sick and left the well alone!"

Some of you may know that my husband has been plagued with chest pains off and on for almost the past year, starting with a bout of Pleurisy last April (We spent Gabi's birthday in the ER and he had to stay for 2 days in the hospital for tests... not fun!). Two other bad attacks and more test later, and no answers were forthcoming, yet Everardo says he hasn't felt 100% ever since the last April. Finally, we got him some insurance through work, and he was referred to a thoracic specialist, who we went to see on Tuesday. This Dr. was very professional and thorough, and when we were done talking and he had examined Everardo, he said I think he has Tietze Syndrome, or an inflammation of the cartilage that connects the ribs to the breastbone. He said it is a post viral response, which makes total sense considering that the bout of pleurisy they said was caused by a viral illness that had settled in the lungs. He said that it is generally benign, although it can be VERY painful, but seemed to think that we can break the cycle with a strong course of anti-inflammatories, and maybe some steroids after that, if the NSAIDS don't work after 2 wks. It was just such a relief to find someone who says "I think it is THIS", instead of so many others who only said, "Well, I can tell you what it's NOT..."

Hooray! There are still a few docs out there who aren't total idiots! My dad will never believe it! lol!

Note to self....

... never, ever, skip getting the kids their flu shots again! This past week has been absolutely miserable. When we finally took the kids to the Dr on Wed, the verdict was that all of them have the Flu, but the oldest 2 also have pneumonia,, and G. is croupy too. Only the baby had "just" the flu. Which of course means, that Ev and I both have the flu as well, and man are we miserable! I feel like I've been beaten with a baseball bat, and I can't decide whether it is my lungs that hurt or just the muscles in my back. I would give a lot right now to have a hot tub or one of those cool jetted tubs to relax in, but no such luck. Maybe in my next lifetime... or in other words, after the kids are grown and gone...

Actually, we are planning on eventually adding on to this house, although I'm not sure it wouldn't be easier just to tear it down and start over. But we figure we really don't want to have to move again any time soon. So we think we will just modify what we have to meet our needs. The attic playroom/office is plenty big enough for the 3 girls to use as their bedroom, once we get the heating/cooling issues up there worked out. It runs the full length of the house. The small bedroom on the main floor would work well for Mo. and the larger bedroom is fine for us. Basically, we need to add another bathroom (or two), and office, and preferably a bigger kitchen. Then, if we replace the windows and the siding (and add some insulation while we're at it), we'll be all set! All that shouldn't take more than what? 50 or 60 grand? Actually, I have no idea how much that would cost... I'm still in the dreaming stage of it.

Our first savings project though is our trip to Mexico. My in-laws are in their mid- to upper- seventies, so we know that if we want our kids to get to know them, we need to do it sooner rather than later. So we are saving our pennies to be able to make the trip to visit them this year. We are aiming for Summertime while the kids are out of school, but if needed we will pull them out of school in December and go down for Christmas.

Well, I had better get off the computer and go try and get some housework done. Ev took the baby out to runs some errands, so if I can round up the girls to help, we should be able to make an impact on the rubble. (My living room looks like it has been hit by a tornado, or should I say 3 hurricanes and a tornado!) lol!

Hello, My name is April...

...and I'm addicted to my Laptop. I seriously felt withdrawals when it was on the fritz, and am so thankful to get it back. It's not that we don't have another computer in the house, but I have become accustomed to being able to work from anywhere in my house and get on the internet even when I'm forced to be in another room, like when I'm trying to convince the baby to go to sleep. My kids have also gotten used to watching movies on it in bed... one of the only ways to get them to hold still long enough to go to sleep... bad, huh? Anyway, let's just say that I will probably be buying a couple of extra power cords to have on hand (turns out that the 2nd time it died, it wasn't the computer, it was the power cord... thank goodness for my uncle and his little meter that could diagnose the problem!).

Today is the 3rd day that the kids have been out of school because of illness. They really want to go back, and I REALLY WANT them to go back, but there is some bad flu going around the whole school, and I think that is the reason why... people send their kids to school even when they are sick. L. has a horrid cough, and Ma. sounds like she's talking through a harmonica, her voice is so reedy... The day started out so good yesterday... getting my new camera (which is awesome, by the way!) and the everyone wishing me a happy birthday, but after Everardo went to work, things kinda fell apart. I wasn't feeling well, as it seems my dear children have shared whatever flu they have with me... my bones ache and when I cough it feels like I'm tearing my lungs out. I also had a headache, and wanted nothing more than to go to sleep, but I couldn't very well let the 4 kids have run of the house unsupervised. I got the baby to sleep for about an hour, and so I was making dinner for the rest of the bunch. G. fell asleep on the couch, and after dinner, the older 2 were sent to bed, so I hoped that I would be able to have a productive evening working on the many projects that I have started. No such luck.
The baby woke up crying, G. woke up crying, and both wanted mommy... NOW! and no sharing! then Ma. kept getting up saying she couldn't sleep, she wanted a drink, etc... L. was in bed, but coughing up a storm. I got them kind of settled, and got out the sewing machine to work on some pillowcases that we are making to donate to the children's hospital. Not that hard to do, just zip, zip, on the machine and done, right? Wrong! My sewing machine comes from the devil himself! It started out fine, but then the thread broke, and though I re-threaded it, and tried again, it will not work. The thread magically unthreads from the needle, even when I have a-hold of the end, and all I accomplished was to put some pretty needle hole in the fabric. So, plan B. I got out my little hand-held sewing machine... you know, the kind for fixing hems, and what-not. No go. The needle stayed threaded, but for some reason, the thread was not catching underneath the fabric and so again, a pretty row of needle holes was all I had to show for my efforts. Not to mention that during all of this, the baby is trying to "help" me by trying to take the spool of thread off the sewing machine, etc...

I finally gave that up and thought I'd calm my nerves by working on a little knitting. My dad sent me a book, a bunch of needles, yarn and other stuff, so I decided to teach myself how to do it. The book was very clear, and it was going well, until Mo. decided that I needed to be paying attention to HIM, climbing in my lap and grabbing one of the needles out of my hand.

I spend the next hour and a half trying to get G. and Mo. to go to sleep, but they are fully charged because of the naps that they had, and raring to go. Even turning off the lights doesn't phase them. The other two are still getting up wanting drinks, bathroom, etc... and it's now almost 1:30 in the morning, and Everardo gets home from work. I was in tears, I was so tired and fed up with everything, so he sent me to bed and he slept with the baby, who woke up at least 3 times during the night, crying, but he took care of him and let me sleep. Almost 5 hours of mostly uninterrupted sleep.... Have I mentioned that my husband is the most wonderful man in the world! Now I get to work all day, and some hours tonight, trying to make up for time I lost on Monday, and he gets to take all 4 kids to the doctor, on very little sleep himself, and then go to work this evening as well... I am going to have to plan something very special for his birthday. Thank goodness it is on a Saturday, so neither of us have to work.

Well, this is an extremely disjointed post, but then, that is how I'm feeling today, so I guess it fits. Here is hoping that tonight is better...

Confessions of a Lazy Mom...

Hmmm... What to write about...? It's been one of those days where I know I have so much to do, but I have trouble getting anything done. In my own defense, I am working today on the phone interpreting, so I am restricted to doing those things that I can do in-between calls, and while I'm on hold... like crocheting, writing on my blog or in my journal, writing letters to family, etc.. but I find that I usually while away the time playing on Facebook or getting caught up reading something on the internet. It's amazing how much time I can waste on here!

I really need to get a handle on my to-do list and schedule my days... I have discovered that I'm not the type that will just get around to doing what needs to be done, including such basics as housework. (A shocking discovery for anyone who has ever lived with me, I'm sure... NOT!) It is a good thing that my husband does laundry and dishes, because if it were left solely to me, we would be in deep piles of both! I am such a contradiction... I like things done a certain way, but I can't get the motivation to do them myself. At least I realize that I can't complain about it not being done the way I like if I'm leaving it to my husband to do... that's a good thing, right?

I have been planning for many months now to implement a parenting program called FAMILY Rules: Positive Parenting with a Plan (P3). It is the most complete parenting plan that I have seen, and I seen lots of them, because I have just been at my wits' end with my kids acting out and talking back... (which behavior I know many reading this have never witnessed from my kids because they are indeed the most perfect little angels and best behaved when they are with other people, but trust me, it is a MAJOR issue in our home!) I keep hearing that it's my fault because I raised them that way, and wasn't consistent with the discipline, so they now think that if they whine and cry and carry on for long enough we'll give in, like we always have. But it is really way out of hand, and we feel we need to nip this behaviour sharply now, before it grows more out of control... ANYWAY... to get back to the point... this program is a complete program that will do wonders in restoring parental authority and getting my kids to take responsibilty for their behavior and actions. So why aren't we doing it already? We started a couple of times, but it requires Correct and CONSISTANT implementation by the parents to work. Bottom line... I got lazy and tired of enforcing it. I realize that this is not acceptable behavior for me as a mom, so I'm kicking my own behind into gear, and organizing all of my tools to start the program again fresh. I'll let you know how it goes. Please keep us in your prayers!

Wow! That was pretty painful to write about... (sorry Bibi, not too many laughs in this post ;) ) But I'm taking a page from a good friend's blog who says that too many people want fluff friends, or put out a fluff image of sweetness and niceness about their situation, when in reality life is not all rainbows and sunshine (My words, but you get the idea). So I'm trying to keep this blog real and share both the struggles and the joys, and I hope that those who read it will feel like they have gotten to know me a little better after reading it.

Input Welcome!

I'm going to be playing around with backgrounds and color selections. Please, feel free to leave me a comment and let me know if you love it, hate it, or have any suggestions... Thanks!

A New Adventure

For some time now, I have enjoyed following the adventures of many of my friends by reading thier blogs. I've laughed, cried, and learned a lot about these friends as we've kept in touch through these blogs, and it certainly makes the world seem a lot smaller. I hope that through this means I can keep in touch with friends both old and new, and that I won't bore you to tears in the process. ;)