Alayna in the ER last night

Last night Kristi picked up Alayna from school and instead of playing, Alayna was sitting on the step watching everyone else play. Kristi thought that Alayna was in time out so she asked the substitute teacher and she said "Alayna was just a really quite little girl." Kristi said, "No, this means that she is sick. She would be in the middle of playing if she felt good." Kristi brought her home and Alayna was ok...for about 10 minutes. Then she started screaming and holding her left ear. We gave her some medicine and Papa rocked her until dinner. At dinner she cried the whole time so Kristi told her to get her jammies on and we would spend the night rocking her. But, we could hear her screaming in pain while she was changing her clothes so Kristi said that she couldn't take it and took her to the ER.

After just a few minutes the ER doctor said that she thought she was a very sick little girl and was sure she had strep throat along with other stuff. They did a strep test and it was positive. On top of that she has an ear infection in her left ear. The doctor said that she wasn't worried about her cough since her lungs sounded clear. We were afraid that she might have a touch of pneumonia. They gave us some medicine to help the pain in her ear and some antibiotics for the strep.

They said that she is really contagious so she can't go to school today. I bet you can't guess who is going to get to spend quality time with Alayna today...yep! Me. I charge a lot...10 kisses and 5 hugs. I am not sure that Kristi and Alayna can afford this after paying for the week of daycare. In fact, Tom and I have decided that we might keep her home for the rest of the week just to make sure she gets totally over this and ready for the full week next week. I am off all week and Tom is off from Wednesday until Monday. We wanted to do a lot of stuff like go to the movie during the day, but will have to change our plans to either include a 5 year old or not go at all. What we do for our granddaughter.

Happy Birthday Owen

Today is Owen's birthday...Should I sing? I saw the date on my computer when I turned it on this morning and thought about him. So, Happy Birthday to Owen, Happy Birthday to Owen, Happy Birthday dear Owen, Happy Birthday to Owen. And many more!!!!!

Now, you can take your fingers out of your ears...I am done singing. :) And Tom said that I should go on the show "Don't forget the Lyrics" since I always know the songs...I don't want to embarrass the family with my singing!!

Christmas with Carl & Janice

We had a great time with Carl and Janice for our Christmas celebration on Saturday. We spent the day with everyone getting a chance at the Wii game with a lot of rivalry! We had a great meal and everyone laughed a lot. This was a great day!

What a day!

This has been a nice day - spent the morning cleaning and paying bills this went to lunch with the girls at work. Now, I am watching the 1st season of the Partridge Family and and working on stuff for work. Why can't I have a nice TV at work that I can watch stuff like this while working? Mom is sick and has spent most of the last two days in her apartment. I think Alayna and Kristi were a bit too generous with Christmas presents and gave her this cold. I want to spend the next few days in my scrapbook room - I am so far behind.

Christmas 2008

This has been a nice, quiet Christmas. Alayna came home from school on Tuesday under the weather. She didn't care that Santa was thinking about coming, she just wanted to be left alone. She went from a 98 degree temperature to 102 degree temperature and a really deep cough. So, this made for a quiet night since most of her medicine knocks her out. She didn't like the one medicine Kristi gave her so she turn around and threw up. She has that part down pat - gags and then it is all up! Of course, that is the medicine that was working the best. Today she is feeling better, still have the cough but no fever. Yesterday, Christmas day she didn't even care about opening gifts - she looked like she didn't want to be here. We told her that we would wait until after she took a nap and she said no. But, as soon as we were done she was in bed.

I am not sure if the kids liked their "WOW" present this year. Tom and I paid their personal property tax to help them out. We thought that would be the most practical present since it is something they both needed. Brian got a lot of stuff for work like long underwear, gloves, and mugs for his hot chocolate. Kristi got several different pieces of jewelry and a new faucet for her bathroom. Mom got a lot of sewing stuff, a new faucet, and night gown and robe. Tom got jeans, socks, and lighthouses. I got a dash cover for Amy (my van) and a beautiful pendent with rubys which is Alayna's birthstone. I also got a shark to help clean the floor in the kitchen.

Alayna and I made 2 batches of cookies today and decorated them. I have to give some to a girl at work, we are taking some to Granny & Grandpapa's tomorrow, and mom is taking some to her friends. Tom cut a tree after have to make a run to Home Depot for a new chain saw. Alayna slept about 4 hours today - which is what she needed.

Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday.

The day before the day before Christmas!

Well, my work week is finally over and I now have 12 days off work. I don't have to go back to work until January 5th - and it will be a blessing. I have soooo many things I want to get done before I go back to work and I have a feeling that I will not get to most of them. But, it will be nice to be off work even if I have several big reports that I have to finish before I go back.

Tom is going to work on December 29th and 30th, but otherwise he is off as well. He wants to catch up on his movies, cut wood, and relax. I am all for that!

Kristi is off the rest of this week and then only January 1st next week. We plan on taking Alayna to school all next week so Tom and I can get other stuff done. I am not sure that will work, mainly because if she finds out that we are home she will want to be here as well.

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve. The kids wanted a snack and game day. So, we are having a lot of snack foods and you eat when you want. I am not making breakfast either - it will be a junk food day with a lot of Wii games. I even bought 2 new ones to play tomorrow - some classic games. We are going to let Alayna to open a few of her presents since she has had several come in the mail. It is suppose to be snowy tomorrow, which will make it really nice to stay inside and play. Alayna and I have to make cookies (if she feels like it) since she wants Santa to have "fresh cookies." Mom and I usually go to a beautiful church downtown for the midnight Christmas Eve service but the weather might keep us at home this year. Mom and I both love the huge pipe organ they have and it has become a wonderful tradition that we share. We have been going to this service for about 10 years now. It always amazes me that Santa waits until we come home and go to bed before he arrives - so it is well after midnight before he visits our house.

Alayna is really feeling under the weather tonight. She has a deep chest cough and you can tell she doesn't feel well. She really amazes me because she has such a high tolerance for pain. She will be very sick before you realize it. I hope that a few days at home resting will allow her to enjoy time with Granny & Grandpapa on Saturday. I figure that she will sleep a lot tomorrow.

I got the rest of the presents wrapped tonight. I can't believe that we ended up with this many presents under the tree since we were not going to do much this year. So many of them are practical gift - something that someone really needed.

I hope everyone has a safe and wonderful Christmas. Enjoy your time with your family, laugh, and love a lot. Remember that Jesus is the Reason for the Season. Enjoy his day.

Kristi and the Oncologist

Today, Kristi had her first visit with her oncologist. I went with her for moral support and was glad that I did since I had questions as well. We really liked both this doctor and her nurse. They actually talked to us and explained a lot of the reasons for these bad paps and the "steps" in which the this "cancer" would take. I use the term "cancer" loosely in this explanation since the doctor said that this "may become full-blown cancer in 3 months or 20 years" it all depends on Kristi's immune system and how her body deals with these cells. It is too early to tell what will happen. The doctor explained that everyone is born with cancer cells and it depends on your immune system and environment as to whether it develops and where. In Kristi's case it is on the stairs to the cancer room, but not there yet. It was funny when the doctor said that everyone was born with cancer cells because mom's doctor said the same thing to her when she was diagnosed - so I had heard this about 6 months ago. After her exam and more biopsies the doctor said that she doesn't believe in doing exams and biopsies more then every 6 months. She said that if you do it every 3 months, you don't give your body enough time to recover before you insult it again which isn't helping the cause. Now, if the biopsies come back questionable or needing further action, then Kristi will have to go back sooner. Let's pray for 6 months.

So, in a few quick words - Kristi had another biopsy on her cervix and then a new biopsy on her uterus today. We will not have the results for about 3 weeks due to the upcoming holidays. But, the doctor said that she was pretty sure that she would be seeing Kristi again in 6 months for another round of biopsies. Also, the doctor said that from now on she would be her gynecologist and the only person that she would see for any female related issues. Good news for now.

Alayna in the Nutcracker

Last night we were blessed to attend a showing of the Nutcracker by the Academy of Fine Arts School in which Alayna attends. This was quite a performance with around 200 kids ranging in age from newborn to probably 6 or 7. The performance was with both of the pre-schools and was held at Jessie Hall on the MU Campus. Believe it or not, it was just right for this large of a performance. Of course, this opportunity to see Alayna perform cost us about $125 total - again the school had it's hand out and the $200/weekly fee wasn't enough. Anyway, the performance was great and we had a nice time. Alayna was in the performance twice which was nice. She had a lot of fun and smiled a lot which made for some really great pictures. Kids can be so unpredictable and with 200 of them, that was the case. One kid stood on stage and said very loudly to the dark auditorium "Hi Mommy" and another girl in one of the segment just screamed.

After this tiring performance, the entire school got to enjoy PJ day today. Alayna is still in her PJ's and doesn't want to change. When Kristi pulled up at school today she went to help Alayna out of the car and Alayna told her "Mom, lets just go back home. I am tired!" But, at 3 pm today, she had her holiday party with her class and wanted to stay.

Holiday Lighting Display

Here is a picture of our house after Tom got done with his decoration. Notice that even the swing set is decorated with lights. I still think this is a lot of work for a few weeks - not to mention we live in the middle of nowhere and how many people are really going to see all his hard work. Anyway, he was safer this year and didn't ski off the roof and land with a fractured leg. If you notice, you can see the Christmas tree in the window in the lower left side of the picture. I assume that he will add more lights next year, maybe the basketball goal with be festive.

Quite week - without a phone

This has been a busy week, but a quiet one. It started on Monday when we realized that our home phone was out again. I called the phone company and they sent someone out on Tuesday. He found that a mouse had built a nest and had chewed through our phone line. He fixed it, but it was more than that we found out. The phone guy said that when the line blew he took out our phone. Meaning that our main line phone is now history! It has 4 phones that connect to the base unit that is now gone. Buying a new phone system like this is complicated and we have not decided on a phone yet, so that means that the phone isn't ringing and it is sooooo nice. If you know us well enough, you know mom's phone number and that line works fine, but it isn't ringing so it has been nice all week without a phone. I will have to break down and buy a new phone but we are looking for a 2 line phone with the extensions so that we can get rid of mom's phone on the counter and her phone would still ring over here.

Work has been crazy this week. OTSCON celebrated our 20th anniversary celebration and holiday party on Friday. It lasted 4 hours plus the set-up and tear-down time made it an all day event. It was really nice and well decorated. The committee did a great job and I wasn't part of that committee, but of course got delegated into working the celebration.

Kristi and I ran to Target last night to pick up the few Christmas Presents for Alayna. We are not going to do a lot this year and think that Alayna might be done. I am not sure if I am done yet or not. Got other things I need to buy and of course Christmas is here so I am not sure what is going to come first.

Today has been busy with cleaning house and all the cooking I did. I decided a few days ago that Alayna and I were going to make sugar cookies and decorate them. I made one batch of Chocolate Chip Cookies and then a triple batch of sugar cookies. I got the stuff to decorate them as well. This took a lot longer than I expected, but we had fun. Some of the cookies are really cute and others (towards the end) are just covered in frosting with sprinkles.

Tomorrow I am planning on working on Christmas cards and a project that I need to do. I am not sure how far I will get. Brian is coming to eat and Tom has a plan to try to cut up one of the four trees he "dropped" last Friday. He got the trees to the ground, but they are laying there. We need to cut them up for firewood.

See how boring our lives are...make me wonder why I have trouble sleeping...I am bored!

Decorated Cookies

Here is an overview of the cookies. You really can't tell, but some are really cute.

Yukky Missouri Weather

It started snowing here on Saturday night. Not much snow, just really some flurries. We only had snow on the grassy areas. It didn't even appear to be slick yesterday. But, today was a totally different story. I was listening to the radio this morning while getting supper started in the crock pot and they said that they had reports of very slick roads. I looked out and it didn't look that bad. I was the first to leave since I had to be a work at 7 this morning. Well, as some of you know I work REALLY close to my house, only about 5 miles to work. I got about 4 miles to work with no problem...crossed over I-70 and all hell broke loose. It was a solid sheet of ice for the half-mile or so to the plant. I was a safe distance behind this car and she started to slow down to turn and Amy (my van) didn't think she should do that. She started to slide towards the other car. I begged Amy to stop and she did...just missing the other car. I made it to work, but was shaking really hard. I called home to warn Kristi and Tom. Kristi didn't even make it to Alayna's day care. The road to get there is hills no matter which way you go. Cars in the ditch, across the road, etc. So, Kristi called me very upset and said that she was going home, it wasn't worth risking her life and Alayna's life. So they had a "stay at home day" after they got back here. It was really nice, because when I came home from work at 6 tonight, she had supper almost done. Alayna helped me clear the table and load the dishwasher so that mommy and Bubby could go to the movie. Help came from all different directions.

A question from Alayna

Tonight we are watching the movie "The Santa Clause" and Alayna asked if Santa was real. I wasn't expecting that question so soon.

Ode to the Onion

I know I have been up a long time today (check previous post), and I know that I am old and my memory is failing me...but this afternoon I was cleaning out the fridge and working on meal prep for next week. Well, I had a really nice onion...really a 1/2 of an onion in a ziploc bag in the fridge. I know it was there...I touched it...I saw it...and I moved it I guess. I went to get it to cut it up and can't find it. I looked everywhere - even in the trash and can't find it. I spent about 30 minutes retracing my steps and can't figure out what I did with it. I will find it, probably in a drawer or somewhere. I even ask Alayna if she had it (now that is bad when you have to ask a 5 year old about an onion!) and she said "Grandma you had it, where did you put it?" Now, if I knew the answer to that question, I would not have been asking her!! Someone contact the nursing home...I will be there soon.

Visit with Santa.

Here is the picture that was taken today of Alayna with some strange man!!! She won't tell Santa what she wanted, but with some prompting from me Santa and I got her started talking about some of the stuff she wants...like a puppy!!! Please Oma???

Great Thanksgiving and other stuff...

We had a really nice Thanksgiving. Mom and I went to my brother Larry's house. My sister-in-law went all out with an absolutely gorgeous table. We ate the meal by candlelight on her mother's china which, of course made a wonderful meal taste even better! I really loved the boys (you know who you are) playing the "glasses" after dinner. They were putting liquid in the stemmed glasses and running their fingers around the top of the glasses to make music. It is a shame that Thanksgiving only comes once a year since the food it so great. Gail made some really pretty pies with cutouts on the crust instead of crimping the edges. I had pecan pie with real whipped topping - not that bought stuff!!

On Friday, we went back to Larry & Gail's and had waffles before mom and I went off to points beyond. Mom was flying to Phoenix later in the day, so we went to do a tad of shopping. We went to Joann's Fabrics but the checkout line was terrible. Mom and I didn't feel that we needed anything that bad. We went to Archivers, which is a scrapbook store, and spent some time. After that we ate lunch and then sat at the airport for about 2 hours before mom finally went through security into the gate and I left the airport. She still had about an hour to wait. I hung around the airport for about 3o minutes before I finally left. I felt bad about leaving her alone at the airport. She called later during her layover in Denver and said that it was really snowing hard. She made it to Phoenix right on time and I know if enjoying the warm weather.

I made it home last night about 7. I was so tired, but the traffic was pretty hectic which helped me stay awake for the drive home. This morning I was up at 4:30 and at Wal-Mart by 5:15 for grocery shopping. I left there 2 hours later, REALLY broke, and very tired. Came home and put the groceries away and then off to Sears with Kristi and Alayna to have their picture taken, then off to Bass Pro with Brian to get his coat and stuff for his job change. And finally, I am at home and really tired. I am "resting" for a short time before I start on meal prep for next week.

Tom, Kristi, and Alayna went to Carl & Janice's house for Thanksgiving. They said they had a really nice time. Kristi even brought home some ham with the request for scalloped potatoes and ham for dinner tomorrow. I think I can do that!! I didn't ask Brian what he ended up doing...am I a bad mother or what????

Right now, Tom is out hanging new Christmas lights on the house. I wish that I was more excited about Christmas, but as those of you who know me really well know that I really don't like Christmas. I hate re-arranging my house for a tree that is only up a few weeks, having to buy presents (I hate to shop), and the cold. But, Tom had the tree up before I got home and is going to decorate it tonight or tomorrow. Bah Humbug.

I guess I should go "supervise" the light show outside. Everyone knows that you must have a female present if you want something done right!!! I have a feeling that we will be at Lowe's tonight getting more lights. Men can't have enough lights.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!!

Today is turkey day and this is the first time in years that we have went in our separate directions and the first time in 28 years that Tom and I have not spent it in the same place. Mom and I are going to Independence to have dinner with Larry and family. Tom, Kristi and Alayna are going to Granny & Grandpapa's house in Booneville. Brian is planning on going to his friends house, but I wonder if he will bail out and stay at home!

Mom and I will be staying at a hotel tonight because mom flies to Phoenix tomorrow afternoon to spend 2 weeks with Debbie and family. We are talking about being up early and going shopping a little for a few good deals while we are in Independence, but don't have a lot of money so it won't be a long time out there. It will probably be just me, but I will go to get a few items if I feel like it. Got my sale ad's and going to study them tonight and make my list. We will see how far I will get!!

I thought I would close this post on Thanksgiving Day with a partial listing of what I am thankful for...there is so much that I could never post it all.

• I am thankful for my family.
• I have the wonderful opportunity to see and talk to my mother on a daily basis. I know that I don't have a lot of Thanksgivings left with mom, so I want to enjoy each one I have.
• I also have a terrific husband who is very understanding and loving. He puts up with me on a daily (at work and at home) and still smiles about it - wonder what he is really thinking!
• I have 2 great kids who have grown into wonderful adults. They are both very loving and caring and show that daily to everyone they encounter. They are very close to both Tom and I and are a great support group for us.
• I am very thankful for a beautiful grand-daughter that lives with us and it allows us to see her daily, and see the changes that she goes through each day. She gives the best kisses and hugs and tells us that she loves us each day.
• I am thankful for a wonderful set of in-laws in Carl & Janice. They have been great to our family, helping out whenever we need it. Thankful for all the laughs, smiles, dinners, and just chatting not to mention the love they share.
• Something else that I am thankful for is siblings - all 4 of them. Gene, Larry, Kris, and Bob. Even though Gene is no longer with us, I am thankful for the opportunity to know him and have great memories of him. Larry is going through cancer treatment right now and I am thankful that he is enduring this treatment and so thankful that I can spend part of the day with him today. I am thankful to have a sister to talk to as well. I also have another brother by marriage and am thankful for the time we spend together and all of the great memories I have with him. He has provided a lot of laughs through the years.
• I am thankful for my extended family, Lauri, Jody, Steve, Beth, Rob, Scott, David, Jason, and all their families. There is nothing better then getting together as a family and hearing all the voices, laughter, and smiles that come from having a family gathering. I wish we could get together more often, it always leaves such great memories.
• I am thankful for friends. Great people who make you laugh, smile, and help you understand what is going on in your life. Like a cheap psychologist!!!
• I am thankful for my job - even if it is a pain sometimes. At least I am able to contribute to making sure we eat, have a home to gather, cars to drive, and a few luxuries in life. Also, the friends that I have there. Makes going to work worth while.
• The wonderful military folks - both active and retired. They have giving so much to make sure we stay safe and enjoy the life we have grown to love. If it wasn't for them, no telling where we would be. They have my admiration. Thank you so much for your sacrifices.

There is so much more that I am thankful for but I don't have time to list it all here. I hope that this gives you a glimpse of some of the things that I am thankful for and remember to give thanks today.

Have a great Turkey day!!! Be safe if you are traveling.

Nothing much going on here...

I thought I would update to say that we are pretty boring around here...at least for a short time. We are busy, but it seems to be boring busy to the outside world I am sure.

Kristi had her 3 month biopsy on Monday. The doctor was so concerned that she wanted Kristi in right away for this biopsy. They got the results back today and told Kristi that it is still mild...the last one that showed cancer was wrong. We talked about it and Kristi is going to go to a another doctor to make sure. Cancer is nothing to play with and this has been going on for a over a year now and we are getting concerned.

Mom has been busy getting ready to go to Arizona. Her back is hurting again and I am not sure how she is going to make this trip to and from. She is in a lot of pain by the middle of the afternoon after sewing. She has 3 quilts in a quilt show that is on this week-end. My sister-in-law is coming from Independence to see it. I hope to go on Sunday since I have to work on Saturday. I have to take her on Sunday to pick up her quilts anyway, might as well look at a few while I am there.

Alayna is about the same. She got in trouble tonight for saying something very bad, so she got sent to bed early. The daycare seems to be rubbing off the wrong way, but of course she is 5.

Well...I guess this is enough about us...more when we are exciting!!!

TGIS (Thank God its Saturday)

This has been a heck of a week. It was a payroll week for me, so that meant a very busy week. Top that off with Brian's job woes, Kristi sick, weather, and all of the other stuff going on at work you set yourself up for a week from down below! Of course, this wasn't all that happened this week.

Brian did not get the job that he wanted. He will be transferring to Telephone repair on December 1. He is not happy about this and has started sending out resume' for other jobs. Brian is really quick learner, but I don't really think he is cut out for telephone repair. He is looking forward to the raise in pay, but not anything else. I told him to keep his chin up and do his best until he can find something else.

Kristi is getting over her cold/sinus infection. This really grabbed her and held on. On top of this she is dealing with a terrible teacher in Sociology class. Also, she has to go on Monday for another uterine biopsy. She has to go every 3 months for tests and the test results are not getting any better. Pre-cancerous with more cells at each biopsy. I am going to ask the doctor this time about switching to a oncologist instead of a GYN doctor. I am really afraid that she is going to have to have a hysterectomy in the very near future.

Mom is leaving to go to Arizona to see the grandkids on November 28th for 2 weeks. I happened to check the airline and she could get a ticket for $90 and we couldn't pass up this deal. Mom is really excited about seeing the grandkids out there not to mention the warm weather. We are going to Larry & Gails for Thanksgiving dinner and then mom and I will spend the night and I will take her to the airport on Friday.

Amy is in the hospital. For those of you who don't know - Amy is my van. When we bought my van the salesman kept referring it to Amy's van because it was used by the owners wife, Amy. So we just named her Amy after that. Anyway, Thursday mom and I decided that we wanted to go see Larry while he was in the hospital for his 2nd round of chemo. I noticed just after we left home that I was getting cold air while mom was getting warm air. Stopped at Chrysler and they put in a new module. Well, that only made it worse - now it was all cold. We made it to and from Independence to see Larry with the aid of heated seats. At least something was warm!!! Took the van in on Friday and they have to ordered parts so she won't be home until mid-week next week. They said that she was sick. They told Tom that we could come and get it last night to drive it until the parts come in, but no heat. Tom told them absolutely not...we have both mom and Alayna riding in there and we need heat. So they got us a rental car.

Today, Tom, Kristi, Brian, and one of Kristi's friends are going to see the new James Bond movie. Alayna, Oma, and I will be stuck at home...ahhhh we won't be out in this cold...bummer :)

Another birthday celebration for Kristi

Today is Sunday and we are waiting for Granny, Grandpapa and Uncle Bob to arrive for our birthday dinner for Kristi. Must be nice to have several celebrations for your birthday. On Friday, they had a breakfast celebration and then a lunch celebration with a couple of the deans from the college attending. Then we had our celebration on Friday night and now another one today.

She is feeling a little better today, spent most of the day sleeping yesterday which is probably what she needed. It was jammies day for Alayna and she was so excited about staying in her pj's all day. She helped me scrapbook, so I only got one 2-page layout done. I would have been done with 2006 Christmas if I didn't have such a good helper.

Tom worked on my desktop computer which is the print server here. It will be nice to print at home again instead of taking everything to work to print it. He also watched most of the NASCAR / Nationwide race yesterday while I napped. I just couldn't stay awake yesterday afternoon. I think my blood pressure was up again. I know this week has been miserable without my medicine. But, I finally convinced the Rx that I needed it and they got off there tushies and called the doctor. I didn't know that they had not called or I would have called the doctor myself. My blood pressure this week has been running 176/112, 182/108, 170/115, etc. No wonder I felt bad.

I understand that we are going to Larry & Gails for Thanksgiving dinner this year. (Oops, Gail, forgot to call you didn't I? Well, we are planning on coming...set 3 more settings for dinner). Dinner is a 6 pm, so this gives us time to get up, ready and to KC and we don't have to get up before breakfast if we don't want! Alayna and Kristi are planning on going to Booneville to Granny & Grandpapa's this year. I know Brayden will be upset about not seeing Alayna, but it is hard to split a 5 year old in two! I am not sure what Brian is going to do yet, he hasn't decided. We just sprung this on him Friday night.

I better get back to the kitchen. Alayna just decorated her mom's birthday cake. It is one of a kind!!!

Happy Birthday to Kristi...

Yesterday was Kristi's birthday. Sadly, she is sick with a sinus infection so it didn't make for a nice birthday. We did have her requested meal last night even thought she really didn't feel like eating. I will make it again when she gets to feeling better. She got a lot of nice presents this year. Brian surprised her with an external hard drive full of the series and shows that she has been asking for. Now, she can watch them or copy them to a DVD. She also got a satellite radio for her truck and a picture frame with a recorded message from Alayna. Her last present was a container of "puppy chow" for her to snack on. It was a joke since Tom would not allow her to have a dog for her birthday. I told her that since she couldn't get the dog I would give her the "chow" for her instead. Since she didn't want a cake until Sunday with Granny & Grandpapa I made chocolate fondue. Do you know how hard it is to explain to a 5 year old what fondue is when you are buying stuff for a lettace salad. But, once the chocolate was melted and she got the idea she ate very well. She loves chocolate and this was chocolate covered everything!!!

This has been a wild week. With the election, weather, my blood-pressure, Kristi sickness, Brian's job issues, and his recent break-up with his long time girlfriend. I am glad that it is the week-end and we don't have to go anywhere today if we don't want. Mom is going to town to get her cheese cloth for her fruit cakes (yuk!). She forgot she needed some when I was at the store yesterday.

Mom is working on another quilt. This was is really pretty. It is black and white - mainly black. I can't wait until she gets this one finished. She has a couple of quilts that will be displayed in an upcoming quilt show. There is a record number of quilts on display at this show, so I guess that I will have to go and see them all. I am sure that she will want pictures of some of the designs to try to make on her own.

Last weekend we spent all weekend outside cutting trees for firewood. But, this weekend our chains are getting sharpened so we can't finish what we started. We have another chain saw, but don't think Tom wants to use it. If it wasn't so windy, we would get the mower and vacuum out and rake leaves but we can't burn them due to the wind so I doubt we will do that. I see a quiet week-end in my future. I guess I have rambled on enough. I think I will go start breakfast and then maybe I will scrapbook some today. I am still working on 2006 Christmas pictures!!

Busy Week-end

Last week was a busy week for everyone here. It was my 4-10 hour day week, meaning that I am suppose to get one day off, but it never happens for me. I have a hard time taking off a day because I have to have reports done on a daily basis. Usually, I take half-days off when I take time off and that it what I did to burn my 8 hours this week. Part of the day was on Friday. I always dress up as the same sweet lady, V. D. (Virginia Davis, Certified Bovine Midwife). Everyone loves it when I dress up but I am not fond of it. I get a headache every time I do this which I think is from being an idiot for a long period of time. Of course, I have a wig on, lots of make-up, funky teeth, etc. On Friday, I left at 2 to go to Alayna's pre-school for her program but realized sitting in the parking lot that I was the only one dressed up. So, I came home instead. Kristi and Alayna didn't stay very long either since it was a mad-house there.

Friday night we went to several house and ended up at Booneville trick-or-treating at Granny and Grandpapas house. I think they really liked seeing her and having her come to the house. She got to trick-or-treat here at home with Oma who gave her a DVD that I had bought for her. We also made a stop at Uncle Owen and Aunt Kris' house. Alayna has to stop there to see Uncle Owen because he always has candy - even if it is not Halloween.

Yesterday and today we have been doing the "Reynolds family - we need wood for winter game." On Saturday we spent 4 hours outside and today was about 6. This is a heck of a work-out. I have been hiking for the last 3 week-ends and this was a better work-out than any hike I could have done. We got one area cleaned up, but it is not quite done. The chainsaw kept breaking so we decided that it was telling us to stop, so we did. On Saturday, the entire family got out and worked for most of the time, but today everyone scattered except Tom and I. I guess they figured out that they didn't like to work!! Really, Oma went to church and the lunch at church and Kristi went to spend some time with Bubby.

I may have to go to jury duty this week. I know I don't have to go tomorrow but they said that there are jury trials Tuesday - Friday so we will have to see. Since I have served on a sequester jury that ended in the death penalty I am suppose to be exempt from jury duty, but I got called anyway. I am not sure if they will keep me after they find out. I don't mind serving, just really don't want the experience the emotional toll that the last trial did to me. Sentencing someone to death is a real hard thing to do.

Bubby's job (or lack there of)

Brian called last night and said that he had something that he needed to talk to Tom and I about. Well, when one of your kids calls and says that - you get this knot in your stomach and it won't go away. When he got here he ate most of the leftovers out of the fridge and then started telling us about his day. You see, he works for a telephone company in the internet department - and he is a union employee. He was told that they had to attend a meeting. In this meeting, they were told that the department he works in was being eliminated and 4 of the 7 people were losing their jobs - NOW. Brian is one of the lucky 3 that is still employed - right now. They have 3 jobs open for them to apply for if they want to stay employed. One is for a Network administrator, one is for computer repair, and one will move to installation in the telephone department. Brian is worried that he will end up with the telephone installation - which he really doesn't want. I am not sure what is going to happen. I know that we can't afford to support him and with the ecomony the way it is I am afraid that he won't be able to find another job before he goes under. We will see what happens.

And by the way...

Last night I told Kristi that if it was a nice week-end next week-end I thought about taking Alayna to the Z-O-O. Alayna perked up and said "I know what that it." I said "you do, what is it?" Which she replyed "I am not sure, but I know I like it." So, we will see if she really likes the Z-O-O!!

Week-end fun

Well, this was a busy week-end. Very, very busy. It started off Saturday with getting ready for a couple of ladies to come by and "shop" in my used scrapbook stuff. I have decided to downsize some of the scrapbook stuff that I have - and these ladies wanted to see what I had to get rid of. Sold about $20 worth, but now the word is out and I have a couple other ladies who want to come and look. I have not been scrapbooking lately, and really need to get back into doing it. I just don't have the desire to go up there and start. I go up there, but usually sit and watch a movie looking at the pictures that I need to scrap. It was fun to clean the stuff out because I found stuff that I didn't know I had.

After I got that stuff together, Tom and I left to go hiking. I went by myself last week-end and did about 3 miles. I am so proud of myself and surprised that I didn't hurt more after I got done. This week-end, Tom and I probably hiked about 2 miles total. We went to the southern most tip of Boone County in search of 2 old bridges we had been told about. One was right off the road and really neat. It had once been a bridge for one-way traffic but was redesigned for foot traffic. We crossed the bridge and started to hike the trail but it was way to wet so we turned around and headed back to the van. We were looking for some of the gorgeous colors of the trees turning colors, but didn't see many. We decided to search for the other bridge and headed down this road called "Backbone Road." Now, there is a reason this is called Backbone road. It is very narrow and has a HUGE drop-off on one side and a rock wall on the other side. Scott, the guy who told us about the road, warned us not to drive this road (which he did in his F-150 pickup) so we parked and walked. It was straight downhill to the other bridge. We commented that we can't believe anyone would drive this road. The bridge was really neat. The floor of it was gone and trees were growing where the floor used to be on the banks. Today, Tom looked at the arieal maps of Boone County and found that there is a beautiful house at the bottom of Backbone road - so people drive it everyday. They have my sympathy. Once we made it back up to the van we went down Johnson Cemetery Road - in search of the cemetery and found it. Of course, we had to walk that. Who in their right mind would pass a cemetery and not walk it????

After we got home mom and I headed to Independence to see Larry and Gail. Larry finished his first round of chemo and is doing really good. We had a nice dinner and great visit and then headed home. I can tell you I was really tired.

On Sunday, Tom and mom moved around all the outside plants and then watched the NASCAR race - GO CARL!!!! Kristi and Alayna went to Booneville to see Granny and Grandpapa. They had such a nice visit but Kristi is paying for playing all week-end because tonight she is going to be doing homework all night.

I had to put this picture on here for you to see. I love Alayna's expression...you can almost read her mind!!! Gotta love kids...

What a busy couple of days...

Let me start this blog with the statement to the vast unknown...."How in the heck did I drive an 84 passenger school bus full of screaming kids, everyday....and enjoy it???"

With that said, let me tell you that I am sitting at McDonalds on Clark Lane in Columbia in the play area. I resorted to putting my earphones in and turning my music up to drown out the noise level - didn't work!! I came here because I need to finish a download on my ITunes and since we have a slow internet connection at home, I am always looking for a WIFI joint to finish these that I start at home. I told Alayna that I was going to go to McDonalds to work on my computer, and of course this means playland. I know, I should not have said anything and went to Panera's to do this...but she has been good today and needed to burn some energy. She is having a blast (and I am having Vicodin!).

Yesterday I decided to take a half-day of vacation to go see the Geek Squad at Best Buy about my computer. I have a 3 year service plan and am having issues with my computer. Tom swears it is Vista, but who believes him!! :) They ran a virus scan at first to determine if my issue was a virus. 3o minutes later I returned to my computer doctor to hear that she has a virus and that it would cost $130 - $200 to fix it. I told the guy to get me a report and I would ask Brian or Tom to check it out first. I called Brian who was at work and he told me to bring it out to him and he would look at it. Now, it is 45 minutes to Auxvasse to get to Brian from the west side of Columbia - but my computer begged me to get some help. I dropped my computer off with Bubby and headed back home. About 10 minutes after I left Bubby he called and said that the issue was a program that he had downloaded to my computer to take to Tom and Tom didn't delete it when he was done. I am glad that I didn't pay for that!!! Brian was able to work on my IPOD at the same time as my computer and we are up and running. Bubby is the bomb!!

Last night we went to Booneville to see Tom's parents. We had pictures for them to see that we took last week-end and wanted to see how their home addition was coming along. We had a good visit topped off with a birthday cake for me. What a nice surprise.

Today, I cleaned house while Tom did the "Adopt a Highway cleanup" with work. When he came home he was really tired so we rested while Alayna took a nap. Then it was off to the punkin patch to get 3 punkins for craving. This year Alayna is getting into Halloween and I think it is from school. We have never taken her trick-or-treating, but guess we will have to go this year. Thanks to Uncle Larry and Aunt Gail she is going to a Fairy Princess. They bought a play costume and it fits really well and Alayna think that she wants to wear it. She really looks cute with it on. I can't wait to take a picture of her for them.

My doctors office called on Wednesday and my biopsy was negative. Because of the type of object in my bladder and mom's bladder cancer I have to go back in one year for this again. He said that we need to be really watchful of this spot - that he doesn't like the way it looks.

Well, most of the kids have left and I can finally sit in quiet...I am going to finish my download and then off to Wal-Mart for a few items before going home. Any bets on whether or not Alayna will be asleep when I get home???

Will probably not be the last...

Yesterday, Alayna came home with a disciplinary form that she had to actually sign (boy won't that be great to show at her wedding!!!). Seem that she bit a boy named William. We are not sure what really happened since Alayna was tight-lipped about it. On the form it said that they had contacted Alayna's parents, but none of us heard from them. So today Kristi was going to let the school know that she is not happy that it stated that they called and they didn't. This school cost $200 a week and I really am not sure if Kristi is getting her moneys worth. Don't get me wrong, Alayna is learning so much everyday but the teacher has as much personality as a flat tire. We did find out that Alayna will be performing at Jesse Hall on the MU Campus in the Nutcracker around Christmas time. I will make sure the camera is charged and maybe pull my video camera out of mothballs for the first time.

Next week will be a fun week at work. I know of 13 people who are being either laid off or fired for cause by Monday. With our company making brakes for Japanese cars we have been blessed with more business then we could handle, but now I am not sure. I hate to see anyone lose their job with the economy like it is right now, but I guess this is what other companies are dealing with.

Yesterday the IT and HR department came to our house for lunch for my birthday. I am not sure how I got roped into buying, making and serving my own birthday lunch but everyone wanted my lasagna instead of going out so that is what we did. This is my late week (I work 9:30 - 6:30 this week) and that helped me get everything ready for lunch. We had a nice lunch which was very relaxing. Last Sunday, we went to Shelter Gardens again to take pictures. We got some really good shots and know where we want to go for our family pictures for Christmas cards. Now, I have to get everyone together to actually get the picture taken - that is the tough part.

What a glorious day it has been

My brother and his family came to Columbia for the MU football game yesterday. It was a birthday celebration for both Gail (my s-i-l) and my nephew, Scott. I heard the game was great and they said that they had a wonderful time.

Today, Larry, Gail, Beth, Lucas, and Brayden came over for a big breakfast. We had a really nice visit which revolved around a meal (like always in our family!). They decided to come back and have a late lunch/early supper. We were surprised be joined by Scott and Bri who just recently announced their engagement and of course Brian was here. So, we had 13 people (if I counted right) for dinner. It was so nice to have a house full of laughter and all the chatter that goes along with a family gathering. I do love these times.

Another reason for such a wonderful day was the ability to spend a good amount of the time with my great-nephew Brayden. He is 2 and Alayna is 5 and they have such a wonderful time every time they are together. Beth and Lucas had somethings that they wanted to do, so they left him with us and we really enjoyed being able to spend time with Brayden. We went outside and saw caterpillars, 2 frogs, one of our cats stalking something and then eating it (gross!), and a lot of swinging and sliding on the swingset. They got muddy, but they were both washable and very tired by the time everyone left. Alayna has been up since 5:30 this morning and is still going strong at 8 tonight without a nap!

I can't wait for another day like today, to go to bed after such a happy day. God is Good!!

Greetings from Omaha, Nebraska

Tom, Alayna, and I have been in Omaha for 24 hours now and have mastered our 5th zoo in 2008. This one was by far the best that we have been to. This zoo is run my Mutual of Omaha Wild Kingdom and it shows. Our only disappointment was the kitties. They looked like they suffer from malnutrition. You could see all of their bones and they looked terrible. But, the other parts of the zoo were great. Most of the buildings were 2 story exhibits that you wind around in which makes it really nice to see.

Tonight we wanted a nice steak since we are in Omaha and understand that Omaha steaks are the best, but couldn't find anyone who knew where a good steakhouse was. So, we ended up at Famous Dave's BBQ. It took over an hour to get our food and that is really hard on a 5 year old. Alayna did really well even with the wait. They wouldn't even comp us a meal for our wait. I don't think we will be eating there again.

Kristi started her new job yesterday which meant that she couldn't join us in Omaha. We missed her but are glad that she was only un-employed for one day. She is working at Columbia College now in the accounts payable department. She needed a break from that job.

I got a call from a head hunter this week wanting to know if I was interested in a new job. She couldn't go into detail but did say that it wasn't in Columbia. I told her that I was interested, but have to send her my resume. The starting pay was about $10-15 thousand a year more and that would be nice. I am not sure if this is the best time in my life to move on though. Only time will tell.

Mom is doing really well. Is able to go 5 days between changes most of the time. She has been changing her own bag and plate. I knew she could do it, it just needed a little nudging for her to figure it out. She is starting to drive a little more and getting more strength everyday.

Larry came thought surgery with flying colors. I know that his recovery will be tough due to the pain, but also know that he will make it just fine. I am amazed that this year alone I have known 4 people with cancer and all 4 have come thought it just fine. This shows you that medical advances have really come a long way, but still have a long way to go.

I guess I had better get this posted. I have some things to do before bed. I have to say this motel is not the best...I miss my own bed. But, tomorrow night late we will be back home. We are going to make 2 stops. One at a park that has 2 train engines and then to a airplane museum for Tom.

More later.

Burn, baby burn...

When Brian moved out of his apartment and moved home he brought a couch and loveseat that were in very bad shape. They went on the burn pile. Then he bought a couch and loveseat that ended up being full of bugs after sitting in storage so guess where it went - right, on the burn pile. Along with the rest of our limbs and boxes that were already on the burn pile we were sent to burn in today. Guess what...way too much stuff on the burn pile at one time. We had an inferno that we really should not have had. Really scary. I thought we were going to have to call 911 because it got out of control for a little while. But, Tom didn't want to do that - he just took the garden hose and starting fighting the fire. In the end he got burnt on his face and arm. His face looks bad, really red. He is hurting right now. We were suppose to work on the yard some today, but he said that all he wanted to do was ride on the mower. I think he will be suffering for quite a while.

Yesterday mom developed a leak, so she got to change her own bag with Alayna and I watching. She must have done a good job since it is still attached. Way to go mom!!! She is concerned that she is filling her external urine bag and her attached urine bag at least twice during the night. In fact, she is emptying her bag about after 30 minutes during the day. Her right foot and ankle are still swollen so I think I am going to have to go to the cardiologist office and take up residence until they get her a new doctor. I think we need to see the heart doctor to make sure she is not having issues with the swelling. Today, she walked around in the yard for a short time and then sat on the deck. She made apple crisp this morning as well.

It has been awhile...

I can't believe that it has been so long since I had my last post. I thought that it was earlier this week, but I guess I did it in my sleep!

It has been quiet here, which is a nice change. Mom is getting better each day. This last Wednesday was 3 week since surgery - GO MOM!!! This was a good week since we did not have to go to the stoma nurse or the doctor at all. I called the stoma nurse on Monday to ask a question, but we didn't have to go see them. This is a great milestone for her. On Monday the nurse came out and put on a new bag after mom's shower around 11 am, and at 11 pm I put on the 5th bag for the day. That day stayed for 2 1/2 days - the longest yet. I think we are getting the idea, if only the nurses would. Mom is going to start trying to put her own bag on herself on at the next bag change. This way she can proceed to being independent again. We only have the home health nurse for about 2 weeks more (if mom doesn't fire them first) so she needs to be able to do her bag herself after that in case I can't get back home to change it for her.

Mom parked the walker on Wednesday, decided that she was going to do this on her own. The PT nurse wanted her to use a cane and mom told her "NO WAY." She only uses the walker if she goes outside or we leave the house.

This has been a busy week for us. On Tuesday Brian started moving out again. I was off a half-day on Tuesday so I helped him load the truck before Tom got off work. They decided to unload the truck that night while I came home and fixed supper for mom. The temperatures were hovering near 100 degrees with the heat index near 1000 I think. It was miserable. I felt sorry for the boys. But, Brian and Megan are moved in. I think Megan has stuff at her parents house, but they don't have room for it at their apartment yet so it will have to stay there for the time being.

Today Tom, Kristi, and Alayna are going to see Granny and Grandpapa. Tom needs to do some yard work for him since he is still recovering from his surgery. Alayna is really looking forward to seeing them. This leaves me and mom at home today - all by ourselves. I am not sure what we will do yet. Mom isn't up to traveling yet or we would go somewhere to get her out of the house.

Tomorrow we plan on doing more yard work. Still trying to clean up from the storm that we had a couple of weeks ago.

I know I am going to try to scrapbook today if possible. Maybe I can talk mom into quilting a little.

One way to have a heart attack...

Tonight, while my family was in the house resting while I was out shoveling gravel out of the driveway and back into the side drive where Tom parks. You have to move this gravel while it is wet or it sets up so firm that you can't move it. I have told Tom several times that we need to move the gravel back and it hasn't been available to help. So, tonight it was only 70 degrees and just after a rain - perfect to move this gravel. I spent about 30 minutes out there and now I my chest is not happy and my left arm is numb and hurts...the doctor said that I shouldn't be doing things like this, but Tom on his NASCAR game, Kristi playing on her computer, and Brian on his computer, Alayna in time out in her room (for the rest of her life) and of course Oma gets a free pass. I will pay for this for days........

Oma has had her bag on for 48 hours now YEA!!!!!!!!!!!!! The collar seems to be working, at least for now. I had another run in with Sinclair Home Health today. I came home for lunch and mom's PT lady was here. She came and got me and said that she wanted to show me something about mom's incision. At the very bottom it is leaking bloody pus. I told her that it didn't look good and we should probably call the doctor. She said that I had to call the Stoma nurse. I asked why I should call the stoma nurse when this doesn't have anything to do with her stoma. She said that is what you do. I called the stoma nurse and she told me that I should call the doctor....mmmmmm I was right to start with.

The doctor said that she really needs to be taking a shower everyday, and she has not had on yet. She needs to have the water running over the incision to clean out the bacteria. Tomorrow, her nurse will be here to give her a bath/shower etc, so I put the chair in her shower and she is going to try to take a shower. I think she will feel better if she gets one.

Mom did walk over to her apartment tonight. She wanted to check her plants that are over there. It was good for her to get up and move around out side. I tried to get her to sit in a chair on the driveway, but she was really tired and just wanted to come in and get into her recliner.

Alayna will be in permanent time out it appears. Yesterday, at school she stepped on and killed a frog. This is grounds to be kicked out of school. We can't figure out why she did it and she just makes up stories when you ask her. So, she is in her room until she can tell us why and apology to the school for what she did. I wonder if she will ever come out.

Next week, Brian will be moving out. I will be sad. It has been nice to have Brian here. He has changed so much in the last 2 years that he has been out on his own. Now, I will have Bubby withdrawal...

Tom got good news about his dad. It appears they got all of the cancer with the surgery so no further treatments will be needed at this time. This is great news for both Oma and grandpapa. Now, we just have to have prayers for Larry to make sure has the same outcome. Larry has graduated from his Radiation vacation and now has about 4 weeks of quiet before surgery.

Time for me to get mad...

After being up most of the night with storms (appears a tornado stuck about 1/2 mile from us) I was/am very tired and decided that I have had it with both the home health company that is taking care of mom and with her leaking bags. The first thing I did was called the stoma nurse and talked to her about my concerns. I wasn't upset with her - just the situation. I told her that mom had called me again at work to say that she was leaking again. This is frustrating me to no end so I decided to call the nurse. She said that she wanted to see mom to find out what was wrong and what the best way to fix it. So, I had to take a half day of vacation to take her to the University of Missouri Hospital to see the stoma nurse. She was great with mom. She used a "collar" to add some protection against leakage. We will see if this works.

The 2nd thing I did today was call Sinclair home health to chew them out. I have taken about all from them that I could stand. I called the supervisor and told her all of my concerns. She said that she was going to address them, but again, we will have to see. You shouldn't cross me when I have only have a few hours of sleep.

About the storm last night. We finally went to bed about 10:30 last night and wasn't in bed very long before the hail started. It was about quarter sized and the wind was terrible. We lost power about 11 pm and it was finally restored about noon today. I had decided (before I started chewing out people) that if the power was not restored by 2, I was going to come home and get mom and we were going to a motel. The heat index was suppose to be near 105-110 and with her condition I didn't want her here without air conditioning and no way to prepare food. Of course with darkness you can't see what damage you have gotten, but when the sun came up we were very surprised. I was suppose to be at work at 6:30 - but knew I was going to be late with the garage holding my van hostage due to no electricity. But, when I went outside I was shocked to see all the damage. A HUGE limb had fallen over our driveway, several others were down in the yard and the driveway looked like a green mess with all the leaves.

But, my shock was only just beginning. Once Tom and I moved the limb - was all we could do to move it - I tried to get to work. Trees down all over the road, roads flooded, and no way into work. I returned home and waited for the road crews to clear the roads and the water to recede. One tree in particular was completely uprooted - and the tree base (the root system) was bigger then my van.

Mom had a wonderful visit yesterday with several family members...Larry, Gail, Beth, Brayden, Steve, Candice, Scott, Bre, and Debbie. This made mom's day to have all of the visitors to talk to and visit with. Steve and Candice were here from San Diego and Debbie, of course, was here from Arizona. Mom has talked about the visit several times today and smiled about how wonderful it was to hear all the "joyful noise" of everyone talking.

It was so nice to have Debbie here to visit mom. She pitched in and help with being asked which really helped me a lot. On Sunday, mom developed a leak and Debbie put gloves on and got her hand right in there and help me change mom's bag. That was such a big help. It was also nice to know that Debbie was here with mom so I didn't have to worry about making sure mom had everything she needed before I left or running home to make sure she has a good lunch. By the way Debbie, - the antenna's are now gone out of the stoma, but I said OOPS before I pulled them out!!!! :)

More later - I am going to get mom ready for bed and then I am going to bed. I think she can make it to bed on her own (I hope) if not then she can yell and I will come down and take care of her.

Gone with the Wind...

After a long day today, we are watching mom's favorite movie - Gone with the Wind. We couldn't find anything to watch on TV which led us to watch Gone with the Wind. We are on disc 2 and it is almost 10:30 pm. This must mean that mom is feeling better since she has had a long day.

Her long day started with visiting with Debbie and a short nap she said. I got home around noon and she was getting a sponge bath with the nurse from home health. Mom didn't get to wash her hair because the dreadful bag was leaking again...but more about that later.

After the nurse left we ate lunch and then mom just had to watch Days of our Lives. I am not sure what she sees in that soap opera. I vividly remember when I was a stay at home mom and watched that soap, how mom would always complain about my soap...now she can't miss a day.

She had her doctors appointment to get her staples removed today. We thought it was just a visit with the nurse, but Dr. Remis wanted to see her as well. He had good news. The cancer had not invaded past the muscle layer in the bladder. This means no chemo or radiation. YEA!!!

Mom is really happy with the outcome. She appears to be getting stronger each day. I figure that she will need the walker for a while, she has really lost a lot of her strength. PT starts coming on Monday and that will be a big help.

These bags are going to really drive me crazy. The bags that the home health provides don't appear to be holding more than one day. She is only suppose to change the plate (the part that attaches to her skin) twice a week. At the rate we are going we are lucky for them to hold for more than one day. Medicare will only pay for 10 bags and plates a month. I am not sure what we are going to do if we don't get this straightened out. I think I might call the stoma nurse who was teaching mom and I while she was in the hospital and meet with her. Maybe we can find out what we need to do.

It appears that mom is going to be a great-grandma again - but she doesn't know. Larry and family are coming on Sunday and I thought that Larry would get great joy in telling mom the news. Especially since the baby is due right around the birthdays of both Larry and mom. This will make 10 grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren, and 2 great-great grandchildren if I can count right this late at night!

Speaking of visits, Steve and Candice came to visit Larry and Gail in independence for a week or so. They are coming to Columbia to visit mom since mom can't travel right now and really wants to see them. They are visiting from San Diego. This will make mom's week complete with all of the visits from loved ones.

Update on Carl's Surgery

He had surgery today for prostrate cancer. Surgery went well but it appears there was more of a mass then they expected. So, it took a little longer then expected. Tom just got back from visiting him and said that he was watching the St. Louis Cardinals on TV. He is having trouble with his blood pressure being way too low, so they are going to up his IV to see if they can get his blood pressure to raise. They think that he can go home in a couple of days. We don't know about Chemo or Radiation yet...that will be determined when the pathology results come back.

Day 3 at home

Sorry that I have not updated in a little while. I have been debating on hiring a caregiver for the caregiver!!! I just can't seem to be everywhere I need to be lately.

Let's see where I ended...OK, we had the 1st visit from the nurse after hours. Notice that I said 1st visit at night. Yes, we have had to have them out twice. They are going to hate us by the time this is over. Last night mom was wet again. So, I went looking for the source of the wet (I think I will be a good detective when this is over) and found the source to be her urine bag. It was not attached to her skin so it was not collecting - it was leaking. I have only changed the bag one time and that was with the nurse as a guide. This time I was on my own. Well, I didn't do a very good job. I put the bag on and it started leaking. This was the only bag that we had, so I had to call the nurse to come out and do it again. The nurse that came out was wonderful. She showed me again how to do it and explained what I did wrong. She was a great teacher. I know what I did wrong - I didn't let the stoma glue dry before putting on the bag.

Yesterday Debbie (my sister-in-law) arrived from Arizona. Mom was so happy to see her. I went to work today and let mom and Debbie share the day. This helped give me a break to allow me to get my allergy shot at lunch today. I am glad Debbie is here, it is helping mom. Having someone else here to see instead of me each day.

Of course yesterday Kristi was home sick. I think that she was so worried about her class on Tuesday night that I think she made herself sick. She got up Tuesday morning and said that she had a migraine. I said good, you can stay with Oma so I can go to work. Well, that was a mistake for Oma. Kristi told her that she was not going to sleep all day. She made her get up and take a sponge bath and wash her hair, changed her bed and washed her sheets.

They finally delivered her hospital bed today and mom couldn't wait to get in it. Debbie quickly made it for her and mom crawled in and went to sleep. I am glad because I think it is getting old sleeping in her recliner. I am still sleeping downstairs just until mom has more strength - which means that I am not getting a lot of sleep, but it is worth it to make sure mom is OK.

They also delivered her life alert yesterday as well. This will allow her to push a button if something happens and she feels that she needs help. They will call me first, then Tom, then Kristi. This way it will allow mom some freedom and piece of mind for me.

Waiting on a 2nd visit from the nurse

The nurse finally arrived 2 1/2 hours late...I guess better late than never. She was here for 2 hours and left around 3. Mind you, mom had not had lunch because she was suppose to be here by 11. So, when she left mom was really not in good shape. Very sick because she was hungry and had a fever. I tried to get her to eat and more comfortable but decided that it was a lost cause. Finally, mom moved to her chair in the living room and took a snooze.

I made her favorite meal for supper and she ate a few bites. After supper she said that she was getting wet. Now that she has a bag to collect her urine, I figured that mom "wet the bed" as we have been calling it. I went searching for the source of the liquid and found that it was from the "JP" drain that is draining the fluid from her belly. So, I called the home health nurse and after 2 phone calls she decided to come out since the doctor said this drain might have to be removed since it has a hole in it. We are now waiting on her and hoping that it won't be another 2 hour wait.

We also order a hospital bed for her since this roll away bed is not the answer. Since she is on Medicare they will pay for it and the nurse said that she needed a different sleeping arrangement. Also, they are going to get her scheduled with a PT and a personal care attendant. The PT will help mom with getting her strength back and the personal care attendant will help mom with showers and personal care to get her back on her feet. She has fallen so far behind in the week since surgery, for someone who is totally independent to become dependent in the matter of a few hours has really sat hard with her. She has been so upset about it. I told her that it is OK, this is what I am here for but she still is upset about it.

Home day 1

I thought I would update the blog a little before the home health nurse gets here. She was suppose to be here at 11 and it is now a little after 12, so I think she is late. Mom was really tired after her escape from the local hospital. Before she left we didn't have any blood in her urine bag and now it is really red. I think that is from all the movement from the hospital to the house to the bed and then deciding that she would rather sleep in her chair. I gave her Tylenol about 10 last night and she went to sleep. Not a really deep sleep, but I did catch her snoring a time or two. Around midnight we started having thunderstorms and lost our power about 4 this morning. We all sat around for about 30 minutes and decided to go back to sleep. The power finally came back on around 7:30. We had over 2 inches of rain by 8, and it is still raining so I would assume that we need to start drawing up plans for an Ark.

She said that her pain gets as high as a 2 when she is trying to sit or stand. Otherwise, she is virtually pain-free which is a blessing. I know her bag needs to be changed and as soon as the nurse gets here that will be one of the first things to do. I am hoping that mom will be able to change her own bag in a week or so, once she gets her strength back. We go to the doctor on Friday afternoon to have her JP tube removed and all 60+ staples (yes, I counted them!).

I will let you know later how the rest of her day went.

Going home

I just got to the hospital and it appears that she is getting released tonight. We are waiting on the stoma nurse to arrive and work on her bag and then we will be off. I have to get her set-up at home so this should be fun, I guess I should have started before now, huh??? It would have helped if I was there to do it instead of at the hospital with her. Well, I think a call to Tom is in order to start the ball rolling.

Day 6

I called this morning to check on mom and she was not a very happy camper. The nurse sat her in the chair without her "clicker," water, nurse call button, blanket over her legs. The only reason that the nurse came in is because her phone was ringing. The nurse came in and told her that her phone was ringing and mom said that she knew that but couldn't reach it. I went up at lunch to check on her and she is feeling pretty good. Doesn't have much of an appetite, but who would with hospital food. She said that she walked down the hall towards the "escape route" as we put it (the way out of the hospital) and then towards the other end of the hall. They are suppose to come back tonight to take her on another walk. She said that she didn't sleep very good last night, so tonight she is going to take a Tylenol (which she has not had since Saturday night late). I talked to mom today about getting a life line for a short time after she comes home from the hospital. That is that little contraption where the lady says "Help I have fallen and can't get up" on the commericals. It will give me a little piece of mind in case I am not right there and something happens to her. When I was there at lunch she said that she had not seen the doctor, so I am hoping I get to see him when I get there right after work. I want to discuss some of her home meds with him that she is not getting at the hospital. I would like to know why.

Food...good food

Well, today has been a good day for mom. She ate some scrambled eggs with cheese and a piece of wheat bread for lunch (about 2) and just now ordered supper of turkey and green beans. She walked about 70 feet around 3 but has not been walking since then. It appears that she will need the aid of a walker for a while since she has lost some muscle tone in the 5 days she has been in bed. The physical therapy guy said that she is very weak and needs the walker. Her stoma nurse said that she thought it would be better if mom waited until Tuesday to go home since she is so weak. She was going to leave a message with mom's doctor and mom is going to say something to him tomorrow.

Day 5

I arrived this morning to find that mom was feeling a lot better. Still not up to 100%, but on the way. We were waiting on the doctor to come in after he was in a a bike race this morning. He said that she could go straight to a regular diet and with some luck may be able to go home late tomorrow night. He ordered PT to come and help her walk and gain some strength since she can only make it to the bathroom door and back. He has ordered her to have IV magnesium and potassium because they are still a little low. She still looks really good and says that he pain is at a 2 at the worse, but most of the time she is at a 1/2. More later.

Day 4 update

I came in this morning to find her slightly awake and missing the NG tube that was in her nose. This is a good step toward going home in the near future. The doctor told her that it would not be on Sunday. Maybe early next week, but not that early! He was going to call the business office to confirm that they had lost their minds and he refused to release her and that she was probably would not release herself against medical advice since she can't stay away very long and doesn't know how to take care of her ostomy yet. She is excited about getting lunch today. It will be soft foods, but I do see a light at the end of the tunnel. She is snoozin' really good right now. It will take her a day or two to get the drug out of her system. I have to get the name to make sure we put it on her "Can't take" list."

Last night, I left here around 8 and stopped at McDonald's. On the way home Brian called and said to be careful pulling in the driveway since his car was broken down at the end of the driveway. By the time I got home Tom and Brian had gotten it up to the house. Tom said that he had to go to the shop because something was wrong with the back drivers side wheel. Called a tow truck for our free tow since the car only has 15,000 miles on it. Found out that he had a rock stuck between the brake and the rotor. Ford is going to look and make sure that there is not any damage to the rotor.

I searched for about an hour this morning and Tom about 2 hours yesterday for mom's cat. I think he was very sick and went off somewhere and died. I just wish I would have known because I would have kept him closer so that he wouldn't have been alone - even thought I don't like him - he still didn't deserve to die alone.

Day 3

Well, I think this is day 3...Wednesday was surgery and today is 2 days later then the day she had surgery. So, it is day 3 right???

I came in this morning and she was snoozin' in a chair. Great!! She is out of bed. We are getting somewhere. No, we are stepping back a few steps. She is very sensitive to drugs and I have been telling them that since she came in. Well, I guess I didn't tell the right nurse. They gave her some this morning before they moved her to a chair so we don't expect to see the whites of mom's eyes before sometime tomorrow.

The business office came in today and said that she would be going home in a day or two. Now, understand that she tried to pass out several times just trying to get from the chair back to bed...so how is she going to be able to go home. I might just have to get mean!!!

She has gotten a few really pretty flower arrangements and I really like looking at them. I am going to bring my camera tomorrow and take pictures for her...in case she sleeps like Rumpelstiltskin...or whatever his name was.

Alayna is having a really difficult time right now. Her life is in an uproar with Oma gone and me running in and out. She keeps asking me if I would bring Oma home because as Alayna puts it "I can take really good care of her, grandma I promise." I keep telling her that Oma is sick and at the hospital but is getting really good care and will be home in a few days. But, to a 5 year old that doesn't make sense.

And I have not told mom yet, as if she would remember, but I think her cat is on his way out. Tom went to put him outside last night and said he was VERY VERY hot to the touch and didn't want to go outside. This morning we couldn't find him...

Ahhhh...I figured out how to do it

This is a picture of mom and Larry at the Royals game. Don't they look like a million???

Cancer is gone

Boy, yesterday was a very long day. It started out with only 2 hours of sleep at the best - and of course I was talking about me. Mom didn't get a lot of sleep either, but guess who sleep all day yesterday. Anyway, we had to be at the hospital at 5 yesterday morning. We went to Wal-Mart before surgery, who wouldn't??? After we got here, they took mom back and proceeded to start getting her ready for surgery. They took me back about 30 minutes after they took her back. They had already took her blood and were waiting on the doctor. He came in and said that he didn't' like her potassium levels so he took another blood sample to check it. He didn't like that one and told her that he was going to cancel surgery. She was not very happy with him and told him that she was getting this out one way or the other. So, he agreed. From the first cut to the last staple it took 4 hours and he said that he is sure that he got it all. We won't be sure until the lab work comes back in 4-5 days. He also tested her kidneys and they were both clear of cancer. After one night in ICU she was just moved to a room. They have been really good so far with her, but we have a week to go so we will be able to tell you more later. She is in Columbia Regional Hosptial, room 559B. The phone number to her room is 57.875.9832 but remember that she might not be able to get to the phone if they have her sitting in a chair across the room. I am sure in a day or two she would love to talk to you. One nice thing is that I have wireless Internet here...remember the blog about the Internet cafe, well this is my Internet hospital. Man am I having fun. I have also have been working from here which make it nice. It is like I am sitting at my desk because I log into my desktop and work.

mmm...prep is not fun

Mom had to start her prep for surgery yesterday. It wasn't bad until today. Because they are going to take part of her colon to make a new tube for urine to pass she had to prep like she was having a colonoscopy. Well, this is a lot easier said then done. She started the prep for this at noon today and around 2 I got a call at work, on the other end was a very weak mom and all she said was "Please come home, please come home." So, I left really quick and ran home...ok so I drove home to find her in the bathroom sitting on the potty with the trash can in her hand leaning against the wall too weak to get up.

After about 2 hours of this after I got home I called the doctor and the nurse said to stop the prep for the colon cleaning and let her stomach rest. They said the antibiotics were more important right now, so to keep taking them another 8 pills tonight. Now, she is resting in the recliner in between the trips to the bathroom.

We still do not know what time to be at the hospital since she was on the phone with them when she started throwing up again. We are waiting on them to call back.

I will keep anyone interested updated by updating this when I can. Keep the prayers coming.

Alayna's 5th Birthday

We celebrated Alayna's 5th birthday today since Oma and Grandpapa are both having cancer surgery near her actual birthday. At the age of 5 I don't think Alayna cares when we celebrate her birthday as long as we celebrate.

She got a lot of neat presents mostly princess stuff. She even had a princess ice cream cake as well.

Go Royals!!!

We decided to go to Kansas City to see the Royals play baseball on July 12th. I called Larry and he said that he would love to go as well. So, we went to Kansas City and picked him up after a great dinner with Larry's family.

We had great seats. The only problem was that we couldn't see the scoreboard because we were so far under the awning. However, the game was wonderful with the Royals pulling out a win in the last minute of play.

We also got to see a lot of Santa's since it was Santa Hat day at the stadium. I saw one and yelled "Hi, Santa" and he came over and gave me a hug. Mom turned around and asked me if I knew him and I looked at her and said "Yes, mom...there is a Santa Claus and I know him!!!"

Eisenhower Library in Kansas

Mom wanted to go to the Eisenhower Presidential Library before her surgery. So, over 4th of July week mom and I took a couple of days and went to see the sites. The Library complex is really pretty with 5 different building to tour. We had a lot of fun, and most of all mom really enjoyed it - that was why we went.

One of the buildings was the final resting place of Eisenhower, his wife, and one of their sons. It is a mediation chapel with beautiful stain glass. Then there was the boyhood home of Ike, which was a great tour back in time. I could have stayed in there and looked at the old furniture and fixtures. We also toured the library and museum. Really a nice time.

Before we went to Kansas we stopped at Independence Center so I could return a set of sheets I had bought at Macy's. It would be nice to get a King Size Fitted Sheet with the set of sheets. They gave me my money back which made me happy. After that we met my brother for dessert at Chili's. I had the white chocolate molten cake...too die for! I can't wait to have another one...it is a meal in itself.

On the way home, by the way the part of Kansas is really pretty with the rolling hills that are not cluttered with billboards, stores, and exits. Mom and I really loved the scenery.

Anyway, on our way home we stopped at Nebraska Furniture Mart. We bought mom a new TV and she wanted a new cabinet for it. I wish someone would have told me that I needed a motel room to shop there!! We only had about 20 minutes and we had a hard time finding what we were looking for there, but we did. Mom is really happy with the cabinet she bought. After she picked out her prize I wanted to check and see if they had any under-the-cabinet radio for our kitchen. I have not been able to find one in Columbia - but did find one there. I was so happy.

After we spent all our money there we stopped at Bob Evans to see our Friend Terri who was in Kansas City from Denver and her mom. Then we headed home - finally!!