Sunday, July 18, 2010

Vacation...


I put my babies on an airplane on Saturday.  It was exciting and nerve wracking for Zack and I.  Skyler couldn't get on the plane fast enough and Matt was celebrating.  The airline put all the unaccompanied minors next to each other in the back of the plane and apparently they had a grand old time and made a bunch of new friends.  I'm so happy it was an easy fun trip - now we can do it again, often.

Zack and Sky are already enjoying their vacation and are living it up with all their cousins at the beach.  Because some of our family lives in California, this is the first time that they've had all of their cousins in the same place at the same time.  It's unlikely to happen again soon so although we are jealous, Matt and I are thrilled that they're there for it.

Zack is in the center  holding Matt's brother Ben's daughter Chloe, Chloe's brothers are Noah and Bryce.  Skyler is standing behind Matt's sister Jessica's daughter Madison.

My brother Tim's daughter Nadia is on the left, with Madison, Skyler, Zack and Noah.

Zack LOVES Chloe like no other.  He couldn't wait to see her again and tells her she is his favorite little cousin.

Family ROCKS!

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Family Time...


We played until the kids were crying of boredom and Daddy owned everything.  FUN!


Thursday, July 15, 2010

The Noise in my Head...



I'm all spun up this afternoon and I don't even know how to explain it well enough to give the subject a good rant. I'll start by saying "DAMN DRUG COMPANIES!"

One of the medications I take is via injection. It comes in a 20ml vial. I take one 6ml injection per week.

One brand of the medication adds a preservative to the vial so that I can use the vial after it's been opened. This way I get three doses out of each vial (20/6 = 3.33333), thus each refill is good for three months.

Another brand of the medication does NOT add a preservative to the vial. Once it is opened you have to throw it away. So I get ONE dose out of the same size vial and then have to throw the rest away making each refill good for ONE month.

Thankfully this particular drug is cheap (to me), just my $5.00 copay. But what if I didn't have insurance? It would be a financial hardship to be paying three times as much and having to throw away medication. It's flipping ridiculous. And before anyone tells me to always request the one with the preservative, I'll tell you it's frequently on back-order which I'm sure is some sort of financial conspiracy. Whenever I go to the pharmacy I never know whether I'm going to get one month's worth of prescription or three.

I've been inside my head fuming about this for over an hour now and I have nothing constructive as a solution. Drug companies are douche-tastic. I feel sorry for people who are sick and don't have medical insurance. I hate waste. I worry about all the people who don't understand this stuff and probably jack up their medication and get financially screwed over it. *big sigh*

AND PS - it makes my hair fall out. Stupid medication.

/rant

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Be Colorful...

I came across this ad in a magazine and thought "Holy crap! Have they been following Skyler around and using her as their muse?"!  It's her right down to the socks (except that she'd have two different ones on).  I can't even imagine what sort of trauma her creative energy would go through if she had to wear a uniform.


Tuesday, July 13, 2010

My Mom Would Say This is TMI...

Sometimes you regret saying certain things to your kids, like when you hear that information repeated to their friends in an out-of-context type of way. 

Last night Skyler had her little friend over for dinner where she informed her that I had a doctor check my vagina.  Now I'm not even going to discuss the fact that this other child is nine years old and didn't know what a vagina was, I'll just focus on the fact that my daughter is giving my medical updates to the neighbors.  I'd much rather she discuss my Remicade infusions but, well, at least she knows what she's talking about.  She'll be fully informed when SHE gets to go for her yearly girly bits check-up.

Since she's telling the neighbors I'll tell YOU that I finally, after three tries, found a decent doctor and can stop searching and procrastinating.  It's no fun going in the first place, but when you hate your doctor,  you just find a thousand reasons not to.  While I loved the doctor, I did not love when the nurse asked if I had had my first mammogram yet.  Turning over-35 sucks in a whole new way.  YAY!




Monday, July 12, 2010

Crafty Girl...

Skyler received a bracelet-making kit as a prize for best hula hooper at a birthday party this weekend and spent the better part of that evening begging me to show her how to make bracelets.  I wasn't in the mood, but this child is a craftaholic so I gave in, flipped through the guide, and suddenly remembered how fun making friendship bracelets was as a kid.  I never had much patience for super intricate designs so I chose the easiest one I could remember to teach her.  We used some of the basic thread from her kit while I got my groove back and then I decided to fully commit and we went hunting for the three boxes of cross-stitch floss I had stashed in the garage.
Zack quickly started begging for a bracelet and then Skyler wanted to know how to do it herself (up until then she was happily watching me make a bracelet for her).  The kids had fun pulling out their favorite colors and the better Skyler got at it (she's a natural) the longer her list of bracelet recipients got.  I think she has plans to stick me in a friendship bracelet making sweatshop. 

Skyler's first creation which she sweetly bestowed up on me and my keychain.

One of my own creations that I was allowed to keep because it was too big for anyone Sky had on her list.


I have no intentions of showing her the crazy patterns you can make these things into. She'd never let me see the light of day if she knew...

Wednesday, July 07, 2010

My Brain is Melting...

I know that the last thing you want to listen to right now is me bitching about how hot it is but Oh Em Gee. I can't take it anymore. I call uncle. Out. I'm done.

This is the temperature inside my car today:


The temperature outside my car is only slightly lower:



The treatment we're getting from Mother Nature is inhumane.  She's clearly punishing us for something.  Did I blog a bitchy post about the weather being too cold back in April?  I probably did.  She's all "Cold huh?  Take THAT Bitch!"  I'm sorry Mother Nature.  You win.  Now can we please take it under 90.  I'm going to have to sell a child to pay for my electric bill this month.  Which one do you  think is worth more?  We're only a couple of weeks into summer.

Interesting Tid-Bit...

I was addressing a postcard this morning and as I affixed my stamp I began to wonder about the postage.  I slap a 44¢ stamp on there and my postman takes it to the post office and does some sort of magic and it arrives in, say France.  I pay the USPS 44¢ but what does France get out of the deal to deliver it to it's recipient?  I'm quite sure their postal service doesn't work for free.  And what does ours get when someone sends ME a postcard?  These thoughts tumble around in my head.  I like to know how things work.

So I googled it and came across this very informative, albeit dated, article.  The United Nations is involved in the whole process.  They've got it all worked out.  We only usually hear about them when we illegally declare war on foreign countries and defy the Geneva Convention but apparently they worry about my postcards too.

Interesting!
 


Saturday, July 03, 2010

Distracted...

Today I am full of thoughts of this that happened one year ago.  I think we're all doing okay.  It's just... hard... you know?

Friday, July 02, 2010

I Need a Bubble...

I learned last night that it's best for me and anyone else around me that I permanently refrain from doing anything physical whatsoever.  Walking might even be too much for me.

Yesterday evening we took the kids to the local water park.  We had purchased season tickets as a gift to the kids but we hadn't gotten to go yet.  It was the perfect afternoon.  The weather was warm but not humid.  The first "cool" day we've had in weeks.  The park was closing in two hours which is the perfect amount of time for me.  It was just the right conditions.

It took me exactly one hour to hurt myself bad enough to have me sobbing.  I can't even manage not to get hurt in WATER.  With hundreds of non-hurt, some, very tiny children around me.  I think my body hates me.

The entire family ended up on a group of slides where you sit on a mat.  Skyler went ahead of me on this slide.  I started down and was having a grand old time when I whipped around a corner, whacked my head and my bad shoulder HARD against the side of the slide.  When I tipped over I lost my mat and suddenly Skyler was right in front of me.  I was terrified I was going to crash into her so I was trying to slow myself down.  I dumped into the pool mat-less and holding onto my shoulder which felt like it had been ripped apart and immediately started sobbing.  I scared the crap out of the teeny lifeguard.  I told her that I was fine.  Got out and sat on a bench and just sobbed envisioning surgery and the guts of my shoulder being torn to threads.  It hurt to touch it.  Matt sat with me for a long time.  The kids kept going up and down the slide of death (which is in reality safe for toddlers) while I cried.

That was the end of fun at the water park for me.  I took on the roll of watcher of fun.  When we got home I discovered that my shoulder joint is mostly fine.  I have an enormous bruise on the outside and the skin is tender to the touch.  I think it will eventually be fine.  I'm probably also concussed but a whack to the side of the head is probably good for me at this point.

I got a lot of teasing about just trying to find myself a good nursing home and calling it a life.  I mean if I can't hack the water park for one hour, I probably shouldn't be driving a car :-)  Maybe a permanent dressing of bubble wrap will do the trick?

Thursday, July 01, 2010

July...

July.  I love a new month.  It feels like starting over.  July just SCREAMS summer too.  We've got a lot going on.  Lots of birthdays and trips have been planned.  All we need is for the weather to stay exactly like today.  85 degrees and no humidity.  It isn't likely, but I'll be hoping.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...