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Monday, June 1, 2009

June, already.


Let the whining and anti-whining begin!

53 comments:

Madeleine said...

That photo is definitely an anti-whine.

Liz Miller said...

Have to refill out paperwork I filled out a few months ago in an un-saveable format.

Boring.

Madeleine said...

Anti-whine: My latest nickname is Mumsy Pooble. Oh how I love that Snuggly Girl!

Whine: This is the beginning of the end, right? The big snuggly phase because she knows deep inside that she is about to separate herself from me and become a disdainful teen? She has tiny fine hairs in her armpits, pixies.

kathy a. said...

liz - refilling out paperwork is a terrible, terrible thing. i did my daughter's yearly application for student aid this weekend -- it always, always involves some kind of screwup and starting over. this year, i started on the wrong form and only figured that out at the end. bleah.

oh, madeleine! armpit hair!! but the cuteness of mumsy pooble!

the photo is of a garden at the wedding place. sweet, huh?

esperanza said...

Whine: spotting/bleeding. Yeah, yeah, very common in early pregnancy. Yeah, yeah. "That's old blood." Yeah, yeah. Whatever. I did this with the Sweet Baboo, which is making me freak out a little less. Whatever. Go away. Also? I already feel queasy and disgusting. I'd rather feel that than spotting, though.

Whine: moving. Antiwhine: grandma reinforcements have come and taken over and ordered me to sit on my butt on the couch. Can do.

Madeleine said...

esperanza, sending "stay put!" vibes. To both the embryo and your butt-on-the-couch.

Liz Miller said...

I actually have a more serious whine that is complicated by the fact that part of the whine contains within it an anti-whine of sorts. I will lay the facts in front of you, and you can judge whether I am correct about this.

As you know, I was in the hospital two weeks ago.

While in the ER, before being admitted, they took an MRI of the lower abdomimal portion of my torso.

What they said in the hospital, "We see extensive thickening of the entire colon, consistent with colitis."

And that was it. They treated me for C Diff, I was released, told to see my GI w/in a week and my GP w/in two weeks for follow-ups and let go.

Saw the GI. Got a scrip for a colonoscopy in July.

Saw the GP (actually, the Nurse Practitioner), and she mentions casually, for the first time, that Oh! BTW! The MRI shows bilateral ovarian cysts!

Which they knew in the hospital and didn't tell me.

From the report: "Bilateral ovarian cysts, largest on the left, measuring 2.4 cm in greatest diameter with a small to moderate amount of free fluid in the pelvis"

I now have an appointment with a GYN for June 22nd.

My cousin has ovarian cancer.

Am I right to be taking as an anti-whine that no medical personnel are taking this as a red-hot piece of news?

Liz Miller said...

((Esperanza)) Butt on couch. Don't move.

Madeleine said...

liz, I think you are probably right that the lack of excitement is an anti-whine. Also the long delay to get the gyn appointment. But couldn't they fit you in any sooner anyway?!?

And wtf is with not telling you about visible info on your scans? Did they send your GP a note that said "Make sure she's eaten a solid meal before you tell her this"?

kathy a. said...

((( esperanza ))) butt on couch, let the grandmas do everything, eat well and enjoy comedies.

((( liz ))) what the fireplace? of course they should have told you in the hospital. probably is a good sign that nobody is too worked up. good you are seeing the gyn. we can trade colonoscopy support, since i put my screening off to 7/10. my sister had one yesterday because of GI problems, and lived to tell the tale of 2 benign polyps.

Sue said...

(((esperanza))) what they said.


(((liz))) they really should have let you in on that news in the hospital. A few calls might get you into the ob/gyn earlier. That would be good. You've got enough to worry about already.

I'm all Anti-whine today. My church Board gave the thumbs up to changing the terms of my call (contract) to 30 hours per week beginning Sept 1st if possible. The timing will depend on a lot of factors, but they all supported it in principle. Yay!!!

kathy a. said...

yay, sue!

kathy a. said...

state budget rodeo: it's baaack. i'm just ill.

Liz Miller said...

Yay Sue!!!

The 22nd is the earliest the doctor my NP recommended highest had for new patients.

I'm not stressing.

Madeleine said...

Yay Sue!

Liz, glad you aren't stressing.

esperanza said...

Liz, I imagine you're right about the docs not worrying about it. But. It ticks me off to not hear something about my OWN body, thank you very much. I'll be steamed on your behalf. From the couch, of course.

Yay Sue!!

Sarah at ratatat said...

Yay Sue!

Liz - is this a new GYN? I'll support low stressing out about it, even though I agree they should have told you.

Wishing you much rest Esperanza. Grandmothers are a force of good in the universe (usually).

Love the flowers, hate the budget woes, Kathy.

Whine from last Thursday, now mostly dissolved - we're going on a weekend trip with my parents, my brother and his wife. Her son is with his dad for summer. We asked - is he coming? They said no, no, no. We reserved a room we just fit in, no room for extra people. And I learn via FB that they asked his stepmom if they could bring him. Not checking with my mom (who was paying for the weekend) to see if there was room or even telling her they were thinking about it. After a flurry email and phone calls, he is not coming, because we'd have to get another room. (it's a waterpark hotel in July, the rooms are expensive.)

It should be an AW because it is resolved, but it still bugs me.

Rotten me whine: I don't think I would have agreed to go on the trip if the son was coming. He is wild - he incites my kids into doing dangerous things. So the room situation was true - I even double checked with the hotel. But it was more than that and I sort of feel guilty. But not guilty enough to want to risk the children drowning (my mom's worry was that someone would drown.)

Whine: how can my brother still push my buttons so well? And how can I draw boundaries without never seeing him again?

Madeleine said...

Sarah, I know the brothers and the button pushing. Much sympathy. Despite the guilt, it sounds to me like the outcome is an anti-whine, since you wouldn't be comfortable with the boy there. But if your brother and/or SIL are going to be pissy the whole time then you have plenty to whine about!

Madeleine said...

P.S. my only method for the boundaries is 1) See my brother as little as possible and 2) Moan about him with my husband during and afterward. This turns out to work to some extent for my nutty father, too.

kathy a. said...

i've whined plenty about sibling button-pushing, so -- much sympathy, sarah.

Sue said...

Ditto on the sibling button pushing. Done it for years. The avoidance followed by complaining to spouses (or anyone who understands, including pixies) seems to be the best approach.

Uccellina said...

So, day before yesterday? When the whines went up? I was all, La la la, I have nothing to whine about. And yesterday? La la la, everything's fine.

Last night? The right boob starts to ache, then I get chills and generally feel lousy. Oh, hello, Mastitis! I didn't know you'd been invited to this party!

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.

Madeleine said...

Ucellina, hugs and medicinal wishes!

amy said...

I'm mad at Florida Natural (the juice company) because the only juice they offer that is, in fact, 100% juice is orange juice. The seven other varieties of Florida Natural juice in the vending machine at my school are all 10-30% juice, the rest High Fructose Corn Syrup. But, I shouldn't complain and I shouldn't doubt. I'm sure they have lush orchards of HFCS trees on their farms.

purple_kangaroo said...

Liz, yes it is probably a good thing that nobody seems to see it with urgency, but also very frustrating that they didn't, um, TELL you about it!

Esperanza, I'm so glad you have grandma reinforcements. I had spotting with all my pregnancies, too, but it's still unpleasant.

Sarah, it sounds like you did a pretty decent job setting boundaries there. Sounds like a kid you don't ever want alone with your kids--so maybe an insistence on an adult being glued to them at all times if he's around your kids might be an idea for a boundary?

Ucellina, mastitis is nasty! I hope you can get it resolved quickly without getting too ill.

Unknown said...

Liz, Ucellina, Sarah, Esperanza... you seem to all be in decent WW hands, so all I need to add is good health to you all.

Son graduated from high school today and I feel like crying. He won two scholarships that are probably going to go to waste because he can't seem to figure out what he wants to do besides sleeping, eating, drinking beer and smoking pot. I'm just beyond upset with him but I'm backing off in the hope that MAYBE he will find something to do.

Hard to believe but both kids had swine flu last weekend. It hit our town hard, half the middle school was closed down, and 90 cases last week at the high school. They got it from daughter's boyfriend. High fever, coughing, sore throat, muscle aches, and generally hidious disposition. I didn't get sick. Heh.

I have a tumor growing on the top of my ear. The doctor thinks it will reabsorb on it's own, but we're into week 3, it's gotten crusty and then the scab fell off but the tumor is still there. WTH? I think I need to hit the dermotologist and get it checked out.

I'm up 14 pounds of pure bloat. This is NOT good so I am avoiding my doctor. That's always a great idea. Not.

Piles of dirt in my back yard were dumped, sat for weeks, and now have been raked over my perennial garden which was mowed down last summer by stupid landlord's brother, and then a lawn was planted. One more year till I can move out of here. I am soliciting advice on where to move. Cheaper, warmer, Jewish, and did I mention cheaper?

purple_kangaroo said...

My biggest whine at the moment is that I have had Influenza--yes, I'm pretty sure it's the real thing, not just a "flu-like illness"--for over a week now. It started out with a fever of about 102.5 and horrible body aches for a couple of days, among other symptoms. When the body aches lessened, the cough arrived. And the fever didn't go away.

Antiwhine: I have discovered that by taking a high-vitamin cod-liver oil, I can keep the fever down closer to 100 degrees. If I miss a day, the fever shoots right back up over 102.5 again.

Whine: I've now had a fever for 8 days. And the cough is getting worse. I'm starting to wonder if it's turning into bronchitis or something like that. I really dislike feeling like I'm about to either throw up, loose urinary continence or pass out during an intense coughing spell. I can, however, breathe all right when I'm not coughing.

Whine: We still haven't told most of DH's family about AJ's diagnosis (yes, I'm C-T-). I'm not sure how/when/what we'll tell them. Until we figure that out, I can't blog about it. DH isn't sure it's necessary to tell everyone, anyway. But many of them read my blog.

It's a hard one because, yes, most people do have some level of 0CD-type behavior (otherwise we wouldn't find Monk so funny). So trying to explain to people who have never seen AJ do anything that concerned them, and who don't see us often or know us incredibly well anyway, why this is a big deal enough to have a "diagnosis" over, be seeing a psychiatrist and a therapist, and possibly considering medication, may be difficult.

I can't tell you how many people I've started to tell what the psych said, only to have them start off on how these kinds of conditions are over-diagnosed and over-medicated. Then to have them go into an awkward long pause when I tell them that, actually, medication may very well be something we'll need to consider, although we'd like to avoid it if possible. And that my sister needed medication for the same condition, and was helped immensely by it. As in, she got her life back.

Oh, and a whine on behalf of NLASS, the college student who lives with us. She's been waiting for 9 months for her family to ship some things to her that she forgot to bring when she came out here. Things that were very important to her, some of them completely irreplaceable.

They finally got around to shipping them a few weeks ago. Thrown in a used FedEx box, which didn't look to have been in the greatest shape in the first place, with no padding and very little tape (and the wrong kind of tape). And shipped them via the Package Suicide Method (that would be USPS Parcel Post, in case you weren't aware).

The box arrived with all the stuff that was the most important to NLASS missing. It had obviously had the bottom fall out during transport, been taped back together and sent on its way. The irreplaceable, precious items are all gone.

I really hope the post office can find some of them for her.

amy said...

Margalit,
You could try Michigan - lots of good deals abound here. You'd have to look close to the bigger cities if you want Jewish. And warmer? Well, one and a half out of three ain't bad, right? ;)

purple_kangaroo said...

I do know how to spell lose, BTW.

purple_kangaroo said...

Oh, and I still haven't found myself a new doctor. So I had to call my so-called primary care physician--the one I can't understand and who can't understand me, and doesn't believe it's worthwhile to try to treat FMS (and, yes, the one who told me it wasn't good for my kids to spend too much time around me, a sick person).

The one who doesn't consider herself my doctor any more because I told her I was going to be finding a new one.

She told me that I should probably "see a doctor". Heh. I don't think she wants to see me any more than I want to see her, at this point.

So I need to try to figure out who I'm going to see to check my lungs (and maybe tell me if I have the swine flu or not on the side :) ).

kathy a. said...

oh, PK -- hope the flu just settles the heck down already. very sorry about your visitor's precious things being lost, and hope they can be found.

wish i had a magic wand for those people who just don't get it about your son's condition. everybody's an expert, right? well, *they* aren't his parents, and *they* have not been struggling through this all along, trying the cautious things first and moving ahead when those don't work out. you need to do what you decide in good conscience is the right thing -- this is not a matter for the peanut gallery to decide.

some people will support you, and others will not. stick with the ones who support you. it's painful when somebody you hope will understand does not, but they cannot be your priority. your son's health and well-being is what matters. xoxox

purple_kangaroo said...

Thanks, Kathy A. (BTW, I have 3 girls, plus now the honorary teenaged daughter--no sons here. :)

kathy a. said...

oh, sorry! i remember the ordeal of the past few weeks, but not certain details...

can you find an urgent care, or any PC doc who can see you for the bronchial stuff? all you need is pneumonia...

purple_kangaroo said...

LOL, that's OK. I have no idea how I managed to write several paragraphs about AJ and not once use a gender-specific pronoun to refer to her.

I may end up going to a same-day clinic. But first I'm going to call my dentist and ask for the name of the doctor he recommended whom he said was very good with FMS patients, and who is trained not only as an MD, but is also an ND and well-versed in chinese medicine. I think that doctor may be a good fit for me, if my insurance will cover it.

esperanza said...

Wow, the whining pixies have been busy. Uccellina, despite being Queen of the Duct Clogs, I never had mastitis. It sounds purely awful. And p_k, I think a doctor visit is in order. Hope you feel better soon. A week is an awfully long time to have a fever.

The spotting is better today; I am still mostly planted on the couch. The Sweet Baboo is not amused.

I have an additional moving whine that just occurred to me today: we are moving out on Monday, into a "temporary" house for a week? two? I do not believe said "temporary" house has internet. ACK! I may miss out on a pixie party, or even two. I'll save up my whines, don't worry.

Sue said...

Sorry for Uccellina and PK and Margalit for all the health-related pixie troubles. All are equally and unequivocally ick.

esperanza - stick the couch-boundness despite the disapproval of the Sweet Baboo. She will either get over it or tell her therapist about it later. (kidding) Really. Stay put.

Anti-whine: Ran into a good friend at the book store this afternoon and we talked for an hour. I love those accidental things that make you smile on the way home.

kathy a. said...

my daughter called a little while ago. there were anti-abortion protesters at her school with those huge horrible pictures, shouting and comparing abortion to genocide. [and this week!] she was so upset that she joined the counterprotesters. one of the anti-abortion people got all up in my daughter's face, accusing her of supporting mass killings.

she stood her ground, but felt bad because she was shaking afterwards and had to leave. my daughter was particularly upset because young children were there to witness the horrible photos and the shouts about genocide -- most of them apparently brought by the anti-abortion protesters.

i don't usually write about political subjects -- pixies may disagree about a good many things and that's OK. but i'm so proud of my daughter for standing where she believes.

debangel said...

So is there a category for "prodigal son" whining? I'm ever so glad to see everyone! I'm thinking I'd better dust off mah trusty clue stick..sounds like some docs may need a whack or two!

Reader's Digest version: In the last year, I've sold my house in CA, divorced the husband I used to whine about, and all moved to CO together. Ex and I are now friends, and I have a new love..which leads to whine/antiwhine..

...I'm pregnant! Aack! I feel like an irresponsible teenager, except OLD. I'm 8.5 weeks along. Surprised as heck, but happy!

...I have walking pneumonia! Aack! I feel like an old woman, except pregnant.

...I'm officially engaged, as of yesterday (beautiful little 1930's Deco number), which was unfortunately the same day I found out that my dad, who has Alzheimer's, was Baker-acted and sent to an institution while my youngest brother seeks another place for him.

Oh, and said brother has refused to speak to me for months.

Uhh..is there a category for most news in least paragraphs? I can has prize?

::big hugs to all the whiners::

Debbie

amy said...

kathy a. - i'm proud of your daughter, too. my feeling is that you can believe what you want to about anything and you can voice that opinion all you want if you do it respectfully. but, when you violate other people's rights (like the protester who accosted your daughter), you're just an a$$hole. and any person who would subject children to that kind of covert violence (by exposing them to the images, language, and threats against others) is an a$$hole of another flavor.

Liz Miller said...

What amy said.

And debangel!!! MAZEL TOV!!! And sorry about your dad, your brother, and your pneumonia.

Welcome back!

kathy a. said...

hi, debangel! congratulations, and OMG, so much going on! wishing you the best.

thanks, amy and liz.

Madeleine said...

Oh holy cow. Ahem. Wow! Great to hear all your good news, Debbie! And much sympathy for the less good parts.

All pixies, please report to Urgent Care, Stat. If you aren't already sick, chances are you will be soon.

Sue said...

Wow, congrats debangel!! Feel better soon so the morning sickness can start. :)

Lots of sick pixies this week. Urgent care and chicken soup all around.

amy said...

Good idea, Madeleine. I think you're onto something, especially if my baby is any indication. Poor boy seems to be coming down with some kind of Yuck bug. :(

AW: my daughter turns 5 tomorrow! Woot! (Hope she doesn't catch the Yuck...)

debangel said...

Maybe we all just need to go party at the Urgent Care. I was just there yesterday. I don't know if they have cookies, but they *do* have Saltines. I won't tell you how I know that ::turns green::

purple_kangaroo said...

What Amy said, too!

Debangel, wow! And congratulations.

I did go to Urgent Care today. Dr. said my lungs and bronchials sounded clear, and that I'll probably be coughing for another 2-3 weeks at least. Lovely.

Also had a long conversation with my 8-year-old tonight about why threatening to kill oneself is not the most effective or accurate way to express one's angst about having to do math, or worrying about getting sick.

purple_kangaroo said...

Almost forgot to share my huge antiwhine! Two of my sisters-in-law, a brother-in-law and my husband are planning to take several days, starting next week, to completely declutter and organize our house.

Turns out one of my sisters-in-law, whom I've only met a handful of times, does this as a ministry. They've helped with everything from hurricane recovery to squalor survival to simple decluttering or redecorating, to rebuilding burnt houses from the ground up. She is flying out here to help us.

I'm beyond thrilled. At the same time, I'm sure I'll have some old-skool whines in two weeks.

Sarah at ratatat said...

Hope you feel better P_K.

And congrats Debangel!

Liz Miller said...

P_K, your sister-in-law's ministry is one I can truly get behind. Does she accept donations?

amy said...

i know it's thursday, but i'd like to squeak it in.

i have a student i have to kick out of my class because he's scaring my in-class tutor, me, and other students. very, very violent talk and descriptions. now, i was creeped out by him, but after seeing the tutor coordinator's reaction (her words were to the effect of "get him out of class now! after all the school shootings, no one will say you're over-reacting"), i'm actually afraid.

ugh. sometimes being a grown-up is hard.

Sue said...

Oh my amy. Is there anyone higher up that you can consult with on this one? Sounds really scary.

amy said...

thanks, sue, it *is* scary. i've got messages in to the department chair and head of counseling. i'm about to call public safety on the advice of another teacher there. she told me they can add my hall to their patrol during class time, if for no other reason than peace of mind.

Liz Miller said...

Holy guacamole, amy. I hope that the security staff and the higher-ups take it seriously.