7-11...never again!!!

I will be the first to admit that I'm a little on the quirky side and I have a tendency to overreact to situations. Not because I'm a drama queen, but because I'm quirky. Let me fill you in on my trip to 7-11 tonight.

I decided to take the kids for slurpees. Innocent enough right? Oh no. All 3 of our lives were changed tonight because of one nasty man. When we were ready to pay for our slurpees, this man came out from a little room behind the cash registers. Apparently we disturbed him during his dinner because he came out munching down on some food. I'm talking open mouth chewing. He even had the nasty wet food in the corners of his mouth. Ick. Anyway, I just tried to avoid looking at his face. As I was going to hand him my money, I noticed that he had really long finger nails - the kind that hung over his finger tips. I also noticed that his fingers AND finger nails were orange - CHEETO ORANGE!!!!! I almost threw up. If that wasn't bad enough, right after he took my money, he thought it would be a good time to LICK HIS FINGERS - HE LICKED 3 OF HIS FINGERS!!!! Had I not been waiting on my change, I would've walked out right there. But no, I had to take my change from this man. I still cringe thinking about it.

I'm pretty sure that's the last time I'll go to that 7-11. A friend of mine had told me that she got a soft drink from there once and some moldy piece of the soft drink machine fell into her drink. Now that's just gross. I haven't gotten a soft drink from there since and I certainly never thought I would have to worry about Cheeto fingers at the cash register. Beware people...it's a nasty world out there.

On another note, this week is flying by. We finished Liam's project and he turned it in today. Of course, I forgot to snap a picture of it beforehand. Hopefully it's still intact when it comes home and I'll be able to get a picture of it then. Tomorrow is the kid's last day of school before Easter. I really should get some shopping done, but I'm not sure if I'll have time. I may be making midnight runs to CVS over the weekend. We'll see.

Liam got his orange belt in karate last night. It was a really small ceremony, which I liked much more than the last time when he graduated in a huge gym with about 150 other people. We're so proud of him and the dedication he's put into his martial arts training.

Recap...(Again)...

So, let's try my weekend recap again and see if it works this time around.

I'm still in Diorama Hell, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. It's due tomorrow and the only thing we (ha ha - we - as if I'm going to get a grade) have left is to label all the plants and animals in the diorama, finish writing the report and color a map. Sounds like a lot, but trust me, the hard part is done. I'm ready to get this monkey of our back and get back to doing fun stuff. School projects are NOT FUN. I'll post pictures of the completed project when it's done.

Liam had his first karate tournament this past weekend and had a blast! He got second place and only lost by a tenth of a point. He took it really well and was super happy to get a trophy. Tonight he's graduating and getting his orange belt - which brings us to a whole new game in karate - he gets to start sparring. YIKES! He's really excited about it though - so I guess I have to get used to it.








Aidan's doing really good with his removable cast. It's so nice to be able to wash his hand or arm when we need to and I'm sure it's easier for him to write with too. He is going to make me crazy - I just know it. I thought he broke a finger on his left hand Sunday afternoon playing basketball. Ugh. It's still really swollen and purple, but he's not complaining about it, so whatever. Here are a few pics of him getting his cast removed and his new cast...







Well, that's about all I've got for now. I've got to get busy and get ready for Liam's graduation tonight. I just want it to be noted that this blog took me about 2 hours to write. Not because of content, but because everyone seemed to bother me during it. Sorry if it seems a little disjointed...

Thanks Blogger...

Well, apparently Blogger doesn't want me to post today. I had a whole nice little blog typed up and it deleted. Awesome. And, I was having problems uploading pictures too. Oh well. I guess it's not meant to be today. I'll try again later today or tomorrow.

Hope everyone had a good weekend. Ours was super busy - and I can't wait to fill you all in - again. Happy Monday!

Diorama???

Ummm...So, Liam came home from school Monday talking 90 to nothing about some Biome Diorama project he has to do for science. Lovely. We all know that when our kids come home with a project that it means us parents are also going to be doing the project. Did I mention I hate projects? I managed to get through 15 years of school without having to do much more than book reports, but somehow my 11 year old son has had at least 1 project a year, sometimes 2, for the last 6 years.

I'm not the smartest cookie. I do have my moments when I shine, but for the most part I'm kind of an airhead. No shock to anyone - especially those that know me really well. So, I was a little confused when Liam was talking about making a Diorama. I have no idea what this is. So, I was reading the packet and it became obvious that a Diorama is nothing other than a type of "shadow box" of sorts...so, why not call it a box? I'm annoyed already.

Not only do I have to oversee the choice of which ecosystem Liam chooses, fund the "details" that will go into the Diorama and help with the research, I had to sign the packet saying I agreed to all of this. Last time I checked, I went to college and was done with school. Why do I have to participate in a 5th grade science project? I don't recall my Mom or Dad helping out with my book reports...wait...nope, they didn't.

That's my gripe for the day folks. Wish me luck with my research...

Back At It...

Well, spring break came and went and I'm not sure I was ready for it to be over, but no one asked me. The kids got up without too much of a fight this morning and that always makes for a happy Mommy.

Elliot's month from hell at work is officially over and we're excited to have him back as part of the family. LOL. I don't know why I get excited about him not working - this just means he'll spend more time running. Oh well.

We had a great weekend, despite the crappy weather. Elliot's parents came in town on Saturday with Ashlyn, my niece, and took all the kids to the movies. My kids had a blast and are always happy to spend time with their MiMi & PaPa. My Mom, aunt Debbie and I went to a baby shower for my brother's girlfriend Brittny. Their baby is due in mid April, but her doctor seems to think it will be any day now. We're patiently awaiting the arrival of baby Brooklyn. I can't wait to meet her.

Liam had stripe testing last week at karate and passed. He'll be getting his orange belt on the 30th and he's super excited about it. He has a tournament this weekend and now he thinks he's Ralph Macchio...Lord help me.

Aidan's doing good. He's finally learning to use his left hand and isn't quite as helpless as he was. We go on Thursday to get his cast taken off and to check how the wrist is healing and if all is well, then he will go into a soft cast.

I've had the best day today and I'm in the best mood. Heather (my boss) thinks it's because she smothered me in highlighting creme this morning while I was at her house working...I think it's because I'm just happy. Hope everyone has a good week...Oh and don't forget about Dancing With The Stars tonight....Can't wait to see my favorite football player Chad Ochocinco and my favorite figure skater Evan Lysacek tear up the dance floor. It's gonna be a great night!

Spring Break!

Well, we successfully got through day 1 of Spring Break and it was fantastic! Liam played outside almost all day and Aidan even ventured out here and there. It was great and the weather was beautiful again. My allergies kicked in later in the afternoon and gave me quite a mean headache, but all is good now.

I've lost my first 5 pounds on Weight Watchers. Considering I didn't journal for 3 days last week and indulged in oatmeal cookies, I was happy that I still lost 2 pounds. Yay me. I'm trying something new. I'm going to start trying to eliminate sugar from my diet - or at least as much of it as I can. Which means my beloved sweet tea will for sure have to be modified. I bought some "Truvia" at the store this past weekend so I'm not artificially flavoring it. I have to say, it isn't too bad and definitely not enough of a taste difference for the calories. We'll see if that helps me in the weight loss arena. Baby steps...

Aidan's collecting lots of signatures on his cast. My aunt Debbie was in town over the weekend and even made a special trip over to my house with my Mom on Sunday to see us and sign his cast. He has finally quit complaining and asking how much longer until he gets it off. Hopefully he's getting used to it. I told him before he knows it he'll have it off and everything will be back to normal.

Liam has stripe testing in karate this week and if all goes well, he'll advance to orange belt at graduation this month. I don't think he'll have any problems and I know he's excited.

Now I'm going to lay on the couch and read a book while Aidan watches Wall-E for about the 15th time in 3 days. It's a really cute movie, but I can only watch it so much. I don't know how he does it!

The Cast...

Despite a visit to the ER and a broken bone, all in all this has been a pretty good week. We had Aidan's ortho appointment on Thursday so he could get his cast. The doctor was able to point out the fracture to me on Aidan's x-rays and of course I felt stupid that I couldn't make it out. Oh well. That's why he gets paid the big bucks. Anyway, I love our ortho. Liam actually played soccer for him last summer and his PA is a good friend of ours, so it definitely makes this mess a whole lot easier. They took off the cumbersome temporary cast that the ER doc had put on and we got to get a good look at the wrist...It's not pretty...





He'll be in his new "Cowboy" blue cast for 2 weeks. At that point we take him back for x-rays to check healing and if it looks good, then he'll get to be in a removable cast for a few weeks. That outlook is much better than I could have hoped for. Now all we have to do is make sure the bone is actually healing. I do feel sorry for the poor guy though. He finally started trying to play his video games, but still hasn't quite mastered it. He can't play outside with Liam and the other kids from the neighborhood quite yet. He's having trouble eating with his left hand, so we've had to make him things that are easy to eat - which means no utensils. Anyway, I'm not trying to sound like a complainer by any means - just shedding some light into our week.

The kids will be out of school for the whole next week for Spring Break and they are excited about getting to sleep in. Elliot's been working so much and I think we're all quite a bit stressed. We got into an argument about a sandwich this afternoon. Stupid. Oh well. If we can just get through the next 10 days or so, then his season at the AAC and Cowboys Stadium will lighten up considerably. I know he's exhausted and I hate to see him so stressed.

Liam has started his nunchuka and bo staff training as part of his Black Belt Club membership. He loves it and I actually don't mind spending the extra time at the karate studio. Aidan doesn't like it, but he finds his own way to manage...




The weather has been absolutely gorgeous these last few days here and I think I saw that it was going to continue through this coming week. Although, my allergies have started up, but that's ok. I'm tired of the cold and ready for spring to spring. Oh - and one more thing. I got all my test results back from the doctor and the good news is there is nothing "wrong with me". The bad news is that this means I'm probably suffering from IBS and will have to learn how to deal with the symptoms. I'm ok with that - trust me. If anyone knows me at all, I was starting to think the worst and it's a blessing that I got some good news about this! Since I started back on WW, I've noticed my symptoms are better. However, I've been slacking on WW for the last couple of days. Nothing bad and I've even managed to stay within my weekly points, but the oatmeal/raisin cookies I've been eating aren't helping...

Better Today...

Aidan is doing much better today. He slept well last night (in my bed) and appears to be pain free. He got to stay home from school today, but will get back at it tomorrow.

The orthopedic called me this morning and scheduled us to have his cast put on this Thursday. He'll be in that for about 3 weeks, then be moved to a removable cast for about 3 weeks. So, all in all, it definitely could be much worse. We're so grateful that he isn't in any pain and this will just be a short bump in the road for him. He's still ticked about the video games though...

Moanday...

Well, I only thought my Monday was going well. I got a jumpstart on the laundry this morning because Heather didn't need me to work today. I felt like I was really getting alot accomplished...UNTIL...

I had a PTA meeting to go to at Aidan's school. I hadn't been to one since the fall, so I felt like I needed to make an appearance. Since Elliot's been working so much, I knew he wanted to get out and have a nice run, so I decided to take the kids with me to the meeting. Lots of other PTA moms bring their kids and all of the kiddos usually end up playing in the gym until the meeting is over. No biggie. After the meeting was over, I chatted it up with some of my buddies, all while the kids were standing next to me. We got home and when I told the kids to get in the shower, Aidan looks up at me and says, "Mom, my hand hurts". He was holding his hand kind of funny, but it didn't look like there was anything wrong with it, so I tried to bend it back. Now, just in case I've never mentioned it, Aidan has a freaky pain tolerance. We're not sure if it's a characteristic of his VCFS or what, but he doesn't tend to tell us when something hurts. For example, one time he slammed his fingers in the car door and didn't even blink. He face planted in the driveway running at full speed and got up like it never happened. Freaky stuff. So, tonight, when I tried to maneuver his wrist and he winced and started crying, I knew we were in trouble.

I patiently waited for Elliot to finish his run. He was due home about 10 minutes after we got home and once he got here, he did his usual "do this, now do this, does this hurt" doctor moves. We decided after Elliot's not so professional evaluation that we needed to head to the ER. We decided to go to Methodist Mansfield for several reasons. 1. I knew the ER wouldn't be nearly as busy as Cook's ER. 2. We know the orthopedic that works out of that hospital. So...it was an easy decision. We were in and out in 2 hours.

This is the story that we got from the kids. All of the kids were playing in the gym at the school while I was in my meeting. Liam kicked the soccer ball and Aidan tried to block it. Simple as that.

So, after x-rays at the ER, they came in and told us Aidan's wrist was in fact broken. They put him in a temporary cast up past the elbow and referred us to the orthopedic for a more permanent cast. Of course, Aidan's ecstatic to have to miss school for at least a day and even more excited that he might get some "treats" out of this whole mess. He is kind of bummed that he won't be able to play video games for a while, but I'm sure he'll figure it out before too long.

So, that was my Monday. Started out good, ended sucky. Oh well. That just means Tuesday will be better - it has to. This should definitely be an interesting week. Stay tuned!

Oh and yes, we document our hospital visits...

Aidan - still not sure how he's feeling about this...



Now he's starting to feel better...



Liam - bored to death and begging us for vending machine money



Elliot - ignoring us



Aidan - after the temporary cast



We had to get a picture by the Emergency sign

Dr. Feelgood...

Ok. I did it. I survived my doctor's appointment without too much panic. My blood pressure was high - but it's always high at the doctor because I get so nervous. She didn't seem concerned at all about it, which made me feel better.

As I suspected, she seems to think all of my stomach issues are IBS related. Unfortunately, there's no way to tell 100% sure until all of my labs come back, but that is what she's leaning towards, which is what I had diagnosed myself with with my internet doctoral degree...She's doing some blood work to be safe and rule out any infection, but I think we know what we're dealing with. That's good news. Kind of. Good news because it's nothing chronic and nothing I can't deal with, but bad news because there's no treatment. I kind of just have to watch what I eat (which I've started trying to do anyway) and deal with the symptoms as they come up. So, fingers crossed that nothing comes back in my blood work.

She seems to think my hip is something called hip bursitis. She says it's fairly common - especially since I'm getting older (ouch) - and can happen most commonly with people that are running. I'm not technically a runner, but it did happen as a result of running, so...I'm going with that. I have to ice it a couple of times a day and take an Aleve every day for 2 to 4 weeks and she said it's a long healing process. I've been dealing with it for almost 7 months, so...yay.

So, all in all it was a good appointment. I feel good and am glad I put on my big girl panties and finally went and had some stuff checked out. Pat on the back for me! Have a great day everyone!

Sucking It Up...

For obvious reasons, only my husband and my Mom know how much my stomach has been bothering me over the last few months. I seem to be having more bad days than good days lately and I'm sick of it. So today I made myself an appointment with the doctor.

I guess since I've spent some time over the last 10 years in doctors' offices, I hate going to them now. I myself only go when I'm sick and need antibiotics. I take my kids when they're sick, but I still hate it. I dread going to the doctor actually. You never really seem to get good news when you go.

My stomach issues could be the result of my constant worrying over the last 10 years but seeing how it all started back in October when all 4 of us came down with a nasty stomach bug, I'm leaning towards it being some kind of bacteria. We'll see. Hopefully I can walk out tomorrow morning with an answer and won't be sent to a million other doctors' appointments to find out what's going on.

I'm trying to think positively and look at the bright side. While I'm there I'm going to bring up my constant hip pain as well...might as well get it all out there while I'm there huh? It's like I'm stashing ailments for this one appointment - LOL...

Aidan went back to school today and seems to be feeling much better. Now the kids are getting pumped for Spring Break. You'd think they were a couple of college kids planning their getaway to a beach in Mexico...but no, they're confined to playing in our yard here in Mansfield. And wow, the weather here has been beautiful these last couple of days and it's only going to get better. I usually am not a fan of spring because it means the hot, nasty summer is on it's way, but with all the cold weather and the snow we've had this winter, I think we're all looking forward to spring this year!

Wish me luck tomorrow and keep me in your prayers that everything goes well.

Hello Old Friend...

Well, I am going to admit defeat on the "new lifestyle" I've been trying out. It's not working. I started out on this new weight loss journey very excited about where it was going to take me and "poof", typical me, I was done about 3 weeks later. So...after some soul searching, I've decided to go back to my old friend Weight Watchers. It's a solid program and it's been around for eons. Not to mention, it's worked for both Elliot and I in the past. So...today is the beginning of a new journey for me. Let's hope it's something that I can succeed at. I'm hoping that by using the online tools (and the nifty iPhone app,which is pretty awesome), I can hold myself more accountable. I'm about 6 hours in and so far, so good.

Aidan's still sick. He was up all night snorting and coughing. Poor guy. I'm doing just about all I can do for him, which seems to keep him comfortable. I'm hoping it's just a cold, and we can avoid another round of antibiotics, which he's only been off of for just about a week. Since he is fever free, I went ahead and made him go to school for a couple of hours this morning so he could get his attendance in (yes, I have to worry about that crap) and get his school work for the day. I went in and worked at Heather's for a little while, then swung by the school to take him out early on my way home. Hopefully by having him home I can keep the OTC meds and breathing treatments in him and keep him from getting worse. Fingers crossed...

Not really much else going on here today. I'm going to spend the day doing laundry and catching up on some tv. I may even try to chill out and start a new book. We'll see where the day takes me...