When it rains it pours...

"When it rains it pours" is an understatement...it should read "When it rains it's going to rain enough that you should build an ark". Husband has been having blood pressure issues over the past several weeks. The doctor gave him some pretty powerful beta blockers (beta blockers reduce the power of the heart so it doesn't pump so hard and dilates veins and arteries to allow blood to flow easier). The meds have been working for the most part with the occasional rise in blood pressure. He's due to go back to the nephrologist in a couple of weeks. So, we've been dealing with that. For anyone reading this post that does not know, Bear has a pretty severe allergy to nuts...as in so severe that you can't touch him if you've been eating them. Last night was business as usual. Husband was at work, Teenager to soccer, Bear and Princess with me. I put Bear and Princess to bed around 9pm. At 11pm Husband burst through the bedroom door (he got home early from work) and says, "Syl, I need you; Bear's having an allergic reaction!". I immediately enter crisis management mode...Benedryl, check; Epinephrine pen, check; Nebulizer, check...into the oatmeal bath he goes. My son was covered in hives...by that I mean, he had a single hive that started two inches below his collar bone and covered his entire head and shoulders (If my sleep deprived, crisis management mode brain would have been capable of the coherent thought I would have taken a picture to post.). His face was swollen, his neck, ears...it was, by far, the most serious reaction that he's ever had. Hives covered his legs, arms, groin and back. When he was a baby and we first started dealing with this, I was told by the doctor that because his reaction was so severe from the initial episode, they would continue to get worse with each exposure. The doctor could not have been more accurate. So, I always tell people that anaphylactic shock is only one bite away for my son. He's never actually gone into anaphylactic shock but last night we got a pretty good glimpse at what it's going to look like when he does. While Husband changed his clothes and prepared for a possible trip to the ER, I gave Bear two teaspoons of Benedryl and stood watch over him. Husband asked "are we going?". I told him that I wanted to wait 30 minutes to give the Benedryl time to work, if it was going to work it would work in 30 minutes. So, Bear laid with his head on my lap, body covered with bright read hives, while I watched over him looking for signs of respiratory distress. It was the longest 30 minutes of my life. Thankfully the redness began to pass and things returned to "normal" (whatever that is...I've heard of it but have yet to experience it). I think it was somewhere around 2am when I turned things over to Husband. Some of my family and friends ask, "How do you do it?"...my response? "How do I not do it?". I hate to admit it, but I was scared. Possibly more scared for my son than I had ever been. Last night I really thought "This is it. Anaphylaxis." By the Grace of God, my child was spared a full blown episode of anaphylactic shock...but it's on the horizon...

It's going to be one of THOSE days

You know it's going to be a long day when you forget your work shoes and are stuck wearing tennis shoes all day.

Shot on goal...SCORE!!!!!

Teenager has been playing soccer for what seems like forever...I can't really remember what grade he was in the first time he played. I'm sure that I have the team picture buried in the abyss with all the other pictures we've had taken over the years. This year Teenager is a sophomore in high school. He is on the school's JV team and is the 3rd alternate for the varsity team. Not bad in my opinion. This past Tuesday was their first game of the season. They won 3-0! WooHoo! Teenager's jersey number is 3...that's him in the second picture taking a shot on goal. I was so excited when he called me (I was at football practice with Bear) to tell me that the keeper missed the shot and the ball went in. I couldn't be more proud of him! I will be honest with all of you...I have been utterly exhausted since the boys started this season of football and soccer...we cram 9 days worth of practices and games into 6 days and it's really beginning to take it's toll on me. But, when I see the pictures of the kids accomplishing the goals (no pun intended) they set it makes it all worth it. I'm a lucky mom, indeed.

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Do you really have to leave that there?

While I wouldn't necessarily call myself a huge part of the "going green" movement, I do believe we should all do our part. I use reusable shopping bags for just about everything, I use environmentally friendly household cleaners, I've stopped buying bottled water and I don't litter. It's not much...but I'm getting there. Yesterday I saw something that totally irked me. I was walking to the parking garage after work when I saw this man walking toward me. In one hand he had a cigarette and in the other a fast food bag. As we both approached a garbage can that was on the sidewalk from opposite directions, he chucked both the cigarette and the bag in the direction of the can. Notice I didn't say, "in the garbage can". Both items landed on the sidewalk. The man continued to walk as if he'd made a basket...he didn't turn his head to look, he didn't slow down...nothing. He just kept on walking. His actions stopped me dead in my tracks. Seriously? You're going to throw your trash on the sidewalk next to the garbage can??? I picked up the fast food bag and dropped it in the trash, an action that probably took 2 seconds out of my life. (I left the cigarette butt on the ground though, there's just something about picking something up that has a stranger's spit on it that makes my skin crawl.) I'm not a do-gooder, or an environmental activist, but Mr. Litterbug, is it too much to ask that you pick up your trash?

Our first win!

Yes! Our first game = our first win! The boys won 14-0 on Saturday. Bear got a lot of field time (which surprised me) and seemed to really enjoy the game. We have another game this Saturday...I'll post the results then.

What a day!

I've been in my current position for about 18 months now and I love it. I have a really great job, the pay sucks but I have a lot of flexibility with my schedule so I can be available for my kids. Yesterday I was approached by not one but two people about job openings. These positions are both upward moving/good potential types of jobs...I guess I'll be working on the resume this weekend!

You wanna buy a what?

Husband and I have been house hunting for what seems like an eternity. We haven't found something we'd enjoy living in...the majority of homes on the market are cookie cutter and let's face it, why spend that kind of money on a house that looks just the neighbor's house? Last night Husband was looking online at listings...out of nowhere Husband says, "What about a fixer upper?". I said, "A fixer upper what?". He was talking about a house. A house that we'd have to fix up. While I'm sure I'd be up for the challenge (with the help of my best-est most wonderful-est friend Tysmommy)...I'm not sure Husband is. He's not exactly what I'd consider "handyman material". I can hang shelves in five minutes...Husband, not so much. But, he thinks this might be what we need to have the house of not so much our dreams, but the house of "doesn't look like every other house in the neighborhood". I'll make sure to keep the blog up to date on our journey to find the right fixer upper...

YES YES YES!!!

I'm not sure if you're able to tell but, I'm really excited! All three of the offspring are finally in school! Yesterday was their first day back and I'm happy to say it was a huge success. Princess started kindergarten this year (that's us at the bus stop!). She was so excited when she saw the bus that she started squealing and jumping up and down. It was really cute. I thought that with Princess being the youngest of the offspring that I would get emotional or teary sending her to kindergarten. To my surprise it didn't happen. She got on the bus and I threw my hands in the air and did the happy dance. I've finally gotten my last baby into school. Just one more school year and she'll be in an all day class. When she got home she told me and Husband all about her big day, I'm pretty sure that her favorite part of the day was finding out that she actually has a locker!

Bear had an unusual day, one would think that with Bear an unusual day is par for course...it started out just fine...then we realized (after he got on the bus) that we couldn't find his medicine bag. For anyone that doesn't know, Bear is asthmatic and has several medications that we keep in a cosmetic bag for easy access. He is always very responsible and knows where it is. Some how yesterday it managed to get lost. While Husband and I were at the school (yes, to take pictures of Princess getting off the bus and finding her way to her room) we asked Bear, who was eating lunch, where it was. He said that he left in the car. Why in the world would it be in the car??? Well, it wasn't. It was absolutely no where to be found. A slight panic set in because he needed the medication for his before bed doses. But, I figured we had time to work on getting replacements. Husband and I left the school only to be called by the nurse. Bear had a migraine. She gave him something that unfortunately didn't work. Before the bus could leave the school in the afternoon Bear threw up all over his seat, and his new school shoes. He was fine after that...maybe a little embarrassed, but fine nonetheless.

Teenager (not pictured in this post) managed to have a pretty good day. He's not very happy about having to be at the bus stop at 6:30 am...but I'm sure he'll get used to it just in time to start summer vacation. :) This year the new high school opened...I'm not sure how excited the students were about it, but I know as a parent I was really excited. Today is picture day for Teenager...I wish I would have been at home when he left for school today...I bet his shaggy hair is going to be in his face. Ugh. Oh well, if his long hair is all I have to worry about with him then it's okay.

All done...kind of.

Yesterday in my blog I said that I was going to post pictures of the goodies I found on clearance. Well, here they are. I have no taste for decorating, but I like the way this looks...the most expensive piece was the lampshade which I got for $9.99. The lamp was $3.00 at a garage sale, the accent pieces were $2.99 each at Michael's and the wall thingamajig was $3.99, also at Michael's. So, for roughly $25 I put together this little spot in my dining room.

An afternoon of good deals...

Last week I blogged about having my very first creative inspiration...this week, I'm thinking that I may have bitten off more than I can chew. On Saturday I took my bag to Michael's craft store looking for ideas to help me turn my bag into a work of art. What I wasn't expecting to find was very expensive options. I found beautiful frames and artist's canvases, all out of my budget. So, I thought I would take a look at Wal-Mart...maybe they'll have something I can use.
The trip to Michale's wasn't a total loss though. I scanned the clearance aisle (which I never have any luck at) and managed to find a couple of really nice pieces for my dinning room at 80% off. From there was off to Meijer for groceries. While I was there I remembered that I needed a lampshade for the lamp I bought at a garage sale this summer. Woohoo! All things lighting were 30% off! I found a very pretty lamp shade for $9.99. I took my goodies home and put them in their intended spots. Tonight I plan to hang the wall thingamjig I bought at Michael's. Tomorrow, I'll post pictures of my fun new dinning room things. And the bag art project? Well, for now it'll be on hold until I can find something in my budget to help me transform my $3.00 bag into art.

Eureka!

Everyone who knows me knows that I am so not a crafty cool person. I want to be crafty but lack creativity. My oldest and dearest friend (as seen commenting on my blog as Ty'sMommy) is the coolest crafter I know, and I'll admit...there is a bit of jealousy on my part. But! Lo and behold, last night I was struck with an idea...I have a canvas bag that was given to me by one of my sisters (who just happens to be the Queen of thrifty shopping) that I really couldn't use because of the size and shape. I love the bag and would hate to get rid of it so I hung it from the door knob on my closet door. And there it sat for 2 months. As I walked past it last night it struck me...I can make something out of that bag! I'm planning to make it into three wall hangings out of the bag. I have several ideas as to how I'd like to get this accomplished but I'm really not sure where to even begin. So, I'm going to be visiting the local craft stores looking for options this weekend. I'm so excited...my very own crafty idea. :) I'll take pictures and post them as the project progresses.

I'm gonna get fired

Okay, so maybe that's a bit dramatic...but I'm sure nothing good is going to come of me having the necessary credentials to edit my department's portion of the agency web site. I received my credentials today and went in and poked around on the site. It looks nothing like it did during the training. Did I mention the training was 3 months ago and it was only 4 hours long?? Yeah. Nice. The only comfort I have is that if I screw things up, my supervisor has to approve it. So, hopefully anything I edit on the site won't actually make it through the list of approvers it has to go through prior to being published.

Ready, Set, Hike!

Let me preface this post by saying that having to pay to play sports is something I anticipated before we moved here. The last thing I expected when we moved here was how much we were going to have to pay for our kids to be athletes. Since Teenager started playing soccer/t-ball when we lived in North Carolina sports have always been very inexpensive if not free. Then we moved to Indiana...the days of inexpensive sports are now a thing of the past. The athletic club that runs all the sports in this town is expensive...and they require parent participation. You can "volunteer" to work in the vending area, field maintenance, team mom or you can coach. (Can anyone out there really see me being a team mom? Me neither.) To which I replied, "You mean I have to pay a hefty registration fee...and then I'm not even going to be able to sit and watch him play?!" I guess Husband will be doing the participating while I'm doing the watching...
Last night was Bear's first football practice...good times indeed. Thirteen 8 year olds dressed in shoulder pads, helmets, mouth guards and cleats. Truly an amusing sight. The coaches are intense but good. Bear seemed to pick up on things quickly...but he's afraid to square up with someone. Seriously, I'm not crazy about the fact that we paid a hefty registration fee, bought pants, cleats and pads so that my precious baby will let players run right past him for fear of being knocked down. **Sigh** I tried to explain to him that he won't get hurt if he's trying to tackle or is being tackled (and that we'd fix it if he does get hurt) but it did not calm his nerves. Hopefully as the season progresses he'll be more inclined to square up.

It's the simple things...

Yes, the simple things in life are what we cherish most. This morning I was looking at the Plainfield Community School Corporation web site not expecting to find anything new. Much to my surprise there was a new tidbit on the portion of the site dedicated to the school clinic. The tidbit states that due to a recent change in legislation a child with a chronic medical condition can now carry and self administer medication. This is something that I've been struggling with for years. Bear is an asthmatic but was never allowed to carry his rescue inhaler on his person while at school. Really, what kind of sense does that make? Thankfully we don't need to worry about that now. He'll be able to have his inhaler with him at all times. Like I said...it's the simple things...