Are there even enough cluesticks to go around, anymore?
First, there's the weather -- I think it has rained every day of June so far, and it is not supposed to be like this. Then, the pook-cidents. And I don't even want to get started on politics, except that it does not help the generally rational home team when someone decides it's a good idea to over-share on social media. Do you think welding of the zipper might count as a charitable donation, or merely a public service?
My daughter called all furious this morning, because her roomie's overly-helpful mother used all the hot water to wash dishes, so daughter got a cold shower, which did not put her in a good mood for finals, and "why does a 24 year old need her mother to be here all the time to do things for her?" AW: I told her she won the parent lottery, since we don't do that to her.
So, despite the Universe's desire to make me utterly cranky, there is a little good news. Friends graduating! Big family reunion picnic next weekend, and I'm not hosting this year! Son is a year older, and he likes his birthday presents! Daughter's coming home for a visit, and also applying for internships! My friend's wife is doing OK after surgery! There is a baby quilt lining up for friends, and baby quilts are fun fun fun!
Pixies, please tell all. We may as well wallow together.
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BTW, daughter's most over-the-top complaint of the day was that her dirty dishes got washed without her permission. Mama Cranky did not have a lot of sympathy for that one.
Kathy - you're children definitely won the parent lottery!
W: I had ONE of my $20 per tablet migraine rescue meds left (another prescription not ready til tomorrow). It's the one I keep in my purse for emergencies.
Well, tonight was emergency time. Really. Bad. Pain. Not sure what the trigger was, but it hit like a lightning boly around 7:00 pm.
Grabbed my "Break Glass in Case of Emergency" tab. Went to bathroom sink (first poor judgment in thinking, but I wasn't thinking so clearly), ran the water and proceeded to miss my mouth and watch the tiny expensive tablet circle down the sink. Yes, the meds will be paid for when I claim them eventually - just haven't had time..... But still......
AAACCCKKKKK!!!
The OTC stuff is not working so much, so i'm off to bed.
That would be lighting "bolt"
Oh Sue, dammit on the headache, and if there ever were an "adding insult to injury," that slippery little pill was it. Hope you're resting well and that headache goes away pronto.
what esperanza said. hope you feel better, sue.
Oh Sue, that's just terrible. Hope the sleeping helped.
KathyA - I'm sure it isn't funny, but the roommate and the dishes...it made me laugh.
Headline Whine: Stomach virus hits house. First my son, then my mom, then my husband, then my daughter, then me and then my dad. The baby is the strongest of us all or she was the originator with very mild symptoms. I feel like a truck has run me over and I also am not convinced I'll still be alive in 3 days. Total sick tunnel vision.
Ugh.
oh, sarah -- it IS funny. fortunately, i heard that rant over the phone. i would have had a harder time talking her down if she had seen how hard it was for me not to laugh out loud.
that virus sounds AWFUL. best for a swift recovery. xoxo
big fat AW: if closing goes well and the stars align, my favorite cousin will be moving to his first house, just a couple miles away! wooooot!
(((Sarah)))
((Sue))
W: Field trip tomorrow to tidepool. An hour away by school bus. 90s here. But still sounds awesome! Until one of our students told me today that he always gets bus sick, and he IS going to be sick on the bus. Told him to sit up front and look forward. Unfortunately, I have to sit up front because of vertigo...Maybe I can get on the other bus?
AW: At least it's not a stomach virus. Sarah, I hope you and your family feel better very soon!!!
--Neighbor Lady
oh, NL! dramamine? distractions like sing-a-longs used to help me during the worst years of carsickness. do not under any circumstances let him read in the bus.
i know you'll hate to hear this, but it's good he trusted you enough to tell you. and should the bark happen, it will be good that someone else on the bus knows this just happens, and can bring some calm. xoxo
Sue, the bright side is that I doubt anyone can beat your pill-down-the-sink whine this week.
Kathy A, I want you to come teach me to quilt. :)
Progress on the home front here. I'm giving the kids practice tests for assessment tests this week. Crisis was (sort of) averted when I was finally able to calm AJ down and talk her into skipping the question and continuing on with the test when she freaked out because she was convinced the answer sheet did not have the correct answer to a math problem as one of the choices, and I wouldn't let her write in the "correct" answer next to the little bubbles on the answer sheet, but she was resistant to skip the problem or select a different answer. I'm glad we're doing the practice tests to work through these kinds of issues before the fact. :)
We are signed up for the option where the kids go to school 2 days a week, and are looking into hiring help one or two days a week on the other days.
I bought a heart rate monitor to try to help learn how to pace myself to head off things like the 3-day crash resulting from Friday's school visit. I'm disappointed in it. It has a function where it alarms when you go above your selected heart rate, but it only actually checks heart rate when you stop and put your fingers on the watch face--it doesn't monitor continuously like I expected. And even when I do remember to stop and check, it only works about half the time for some oddball reason. I might have to take the thing back and go for the chest strap version, which sounds annoying too.
I did discover that going up the stairs too fast is sufficient to send me over my upper-limit heart rate. Whoop-de-do. It seems so ridiculous that such small things are enough to have such huge effects. Argh.
Can I request a cluesticking for my body?
The chest strap thing is annoying because it has to be fairly snug. Good luck PK. And great idea with practice tests - don't you just love the feeling of being proactive?
Nl - different bus, different bus! And since giving kids dramamine may be a no-no, perhaps a cheap "sea-band" around the wrist might help a little. Oohh - or from my pregnancy nausea - there is this product called Nauzene which is essentially hard sugar candy. Hard sucking candy might make feel less conspicuous. Crossing my fingers for you.
NL, what a dilemma...is advance-notice barking any less awful than surprise barking? Ugh. I get sick on buses too. Front seat is better. Direct air flow is good, if possible.
And Sarah, the all-family tummy bug is an award worthy whine for sure. Here's hoping it got weaker as it progresses through the family.
Not too whiny this week, just a bit of introvert overload. And the perpetual potty training whines.
NL - sorry about bus duty. How about those ginger chews from the health food store? They taste like candy and they're really good for nausea.
All-family tummy bugs win every time.
Good luck PK! Cluesticking the body. I've thought of it several times personally when I've felt that it is betraying me. Ultimately though - I figure the pain itself is enough - so I go with the Virtual Non-pain-inflicting-Cluestick.
esperanza - I so hear you on the introvert overload. It's Pride Week here and I've got something extra going on every day for that - along with two burial services and - oh, right - Pentecost to get ready for Sunday. Aaaaaack!!!
All that and I'm on day 4 of Pain Monster 1245. I hate sequels.
((Sue))
NL, I've gotten those ginger chews from Target. Also available online at Amazon.com
I hope everyone at the ratatat household is feeling better.
W: I stupidly only got 4 hours of sleep last night. Is very sleepy today.
W: And am dealing with horrible boss. On too-little sleep.
Oh Liz, horrible boss + sleepy = ick day. Can you escape at lunch for a relaxing walk outdoors? Sometimes just getting out of the building can get you through the afternoon.
That is a terrific idea, Sue! I'll try it.
good job with the practice test, PK! hope you find a better monitor, and that it helps you set a better rhythm.
((( sue ))) stoopid pain monster. hope you feel better today.
ack, liz. cluesticks for boss.
daughter's flying home today.
Yay kathy a!!!!
Weather Whine: graveside service in two hours. It's been a little overcast all morning, but dry.
Now? Pouring. Rain.
We're talking Buckets O Water type of rain - those big ploppy drops that show no mercy to grieving families or ministers with service books. Time to find the laminated copy I used to have. It's got to be here somewhere!!!!
I have two hours - I'll find it right??? Right??? Anyone????
Additional Weather Whine: I keep meaning to buy a black umbrella for such occasions. Sadly, the only one I have is bright pink. As in Hello Kitty pink, minus the actual kittys.
Good grief.
We are wrestling with a problem. One of the cats has this terrible, persistent pook problem; he tries for the box, but has accidents all the time. It's obvious he has lost control, and that this is not a behavior problem.
He's had lifelong health problems due to early, massive infections [he also lost one eye, and is blind in the other], and is now 9 -- he's lived much longer than we expected under the circumstances. The vet suggested a bunch of stressful, invasive tests -- but we're not going there. Don't want to put him through the testing, and I won't put him through something like surgery, anyway. Meds did not work.
The vet also points out his respiratory problems -- coughing and wheezing -- and suggests a bunch of tests for that. This is a chronic, lifelong set of problems, though age is not making them any better.
We're getting close to deciding to put him down, and it's breaking my heart.
An alternative might be to essentially lock him in a bathroom most of the time and see if it helps to feed him plain cooked chicken (baby food). We did this a few years ago during a flareup -- the isolation was to contain the poop, keep the other cats out of the special food, and keep him out of the kibble -- and it was pretty horrible. He cried and scratched pieces of the door off; his cat pals stood vigil outside and cried; it took weeks for his system to settle down. We've done shorter trials of this method more recently, and he just cries and refuses to eat.
The impact of the pook problem is hard to overstate. There are sometimes 20 accidents in a day, aside from the washable mats that catch accidents near the litter boxes. We don't dare walk around in bare feet. The carpet shampooer gets a lot of use. We run through gloves and sanitizing cleaner like you wouldn't believe.
I feel selfish for wanting to put him down; ungrateful for all the love he has given my family. But it is also an untenable situation. Our decisions about not pursuing testing and treatment that will stress him out, though, are from love -- he has been through so much. Sorry for writing at such length.
oy, sue. do you have or can you find clear plastic bags (or plastic sheet protectors) for the pages you need?
surely someplace nearby sells plain black umbrellas.
xoxo
I'll second(or third) the ginger chews and add that mints are the motion-sickness hard candy of choice in our household.
Weather Whine (a la my eldest): I'm hot and I'm sweaty and I don't feel well and why can't we turn on the A/C or sit in the car with the A/C running full blast and can I just walk around in my bathing suit all day and can I have a popsicle because it'll cool me off and I'm hot and there's no A/C at school so can I stay home and...
Yes, it's hot but putting up with Canadian winters will eventually make you appreciate the heat, even with the heat advisories. And I am a mean, mean mother who will send you to school regardless of the temperature.
W: Swimsuits for (ahem) busty ladies. Either I can't find 'em or they are hideous but the need is desperate.
Hugs for all the ill or pained pixies and their families. Cluesticks for miserable bosses and gentle cluesticks for bodies that just won't co-operate. Margaritas and mojitos at my place tonight, and I'll have one in honour of every pixie in need of on.
(A Nonnie Mouse) That is heartbreaking. It's always hard to know what to do for a faithful pet.
(A Nonnie Mouse) it sounds like the sweet kitty is in discomfort. I don't think he can be happy about the pook situation either.
So sorry.
Days: LandsEnd.com and BiggerBras.com
(A Nonnie Mouse), I'm reading a book by Temple Grandin right now that talks about how, in her opinion, fear and stress are worse even than pain to an animal. I think it's very reasonable to take that along with the cat's age and chronic health issues into the quality-of-life decision, and it's not wrong to take the stress it's causing the rest of the household into account in your weighting of the options, also.
We also had to make that decision some time ago with one of my daughter's special rabbits--it got to the point where the chance of treatment helping was so small, and we'd already tried so many things unsuccessfully, and the amount of stress it was causing the rabbit and the child was so high, that the vet advised putting him down would be a reasonable decision. It was hard, but good to know we wouldn't have to keep putting him through so much stress and pain with so little chance of a long-term good outcome.
Wow, Pixies are rocking the "what it's all about" whines this week, what with stomach viruses, bus sickness, pook problems and whatnot.
Days, particularly check this one: http://www.landsend.com/pp/allovercontrollittleblacksuit~221855.html?cm_re=Tab-_-SM-_-F-_-060111
(Women's Regular All-over Control Slender Grecian Swimsuit
Item # 27696-8AL7).
Two Anti-whines: the rain held off just long enough for the service. I was happy for the elderly woman and her sister especially, as they are quite feeble and unable to run for cover in a downpour.
Also, I found the laminated service book and didn't need the hello kitty pink umbrella. Note to self: buy a black one.
Oh, A.Nonnie Mosse, I cried when I read your post. We went through all of the same troubles with our dear Ouzo. We had every piece of furniture covered and tried putting him in the laundry room at night to contain the troubles. He cried and cried. I remember sitting one night with my back to the laundry room door crying along with him until I finally took him out to cuddle him.
In the end, the vet said that if he were her cat, she would give him peace and put him down so that's what we did. We still miss him so much (he was 10) but it was the hardest, kindest thing we've ever had to do.
(((((hugs to all of you)))) I'm so sorry.
Days: at the cemetery we were talking about the heatwave down your way. Our high temp today was 13. Ya. Not quite summer yet. Extra mojitos on your part might help!
Thank you so much for the kind and thoughtful words, my friends.
A Nonnie Mouse - that's so sad. What a heartbreaking situation.
Sue - glad the rain held off a little for such a somber occasion.
Days - how can we yearn for the heat all winter and then find it so oppressive so quickly? Good luck. and good luck explaining it to the children... I hate bathing suit shopping, but the overly busty problem is not mine so no advice there. Love Landsend.com in general.
The stomach virus seems to have stopped. No recurrences. I was the last victim and I am feeling OK. The earlier victims are hale and hearty and demanding food FOOD! FOOOD! again. That still sounds yucky to me.
To NL -- I get motion sick all the time, and on every kind of conveyance imaginable. I often joke that I get sick looking at a glass of water. I would suggest, per my many years of managing it on my own AND in my students -- sit the child next to (or as near as possible) to an open bus window. There's something that's greatly relieving about the airflow. Also, hard candy, like peppermints are a good choice, because the peppermint is a nausea fighter, and no parent would say, "You gave my child medication that I didn't authorize?!?!?" Also, give him/her a brown paper lunch sack that has been placed inside a larger zipper-top plastic storage bag. If he DOES end up getting sick, all the yuck goes into the brown bag, which no one else will see and go, "EWWWW!" and get sick over as well, and then you zip the top of the plastic bag, and no smell. Throw away at the first trash can you come to, and Bob's your uncle. Good luck!
A. Nonnie Mouse -- I am so sorry about your dilemma. I wish I had some good advice for you, but know that I am thinking of you, and whatever decision you make. No, it's not selfish to want your loved pet to not hurt anymore. Or to be stressed. It's very humane to want to prevent that for him, even if it means making a hard decision.
Oh, Sue -- there's nothing worse than seeing your pain relief literally go down the drain. I'm so sorry! But, I will say that I got a very big smile out of the mental picture of you officiating at a graveside with a bright pink umbrella. Maybe it might have made one of the mourners smile as well....:)
We are all okay here. JF has had 2 interviews for jobs, both of which would be good -- bennies and salary are very close to what he wants -- but we will not know for "a week or two." We can hold out that long, but not very much longer, before we start depleting our "emergency" fund. He is feeling better about the state of things, though we did have That Fight About Money (also known as "I Knew This Was Gonna Happen!") this past weekend, which was horrible at the time, but also cleared the air by allowing us to just get it over with.
My job (as far as I know, but that might not be saying much) is stable for next school year, but the thing that I am dealing with is guilt. Offspring and I are leaving on July first for our Girl Scout trip to London and Paris. We've been working for it for 2 years, and have been greatly assisted by many of our family members, who contributed $25 here, and $100 there. We would not be able to afford to BOTH go if it had not been for their largesse. I am also trying like mad to squirrel away spending money, but I feel SO GUILTY about spending this money (even though it's paid for, and we couldn't get any money back if we cancelled) that it's tying me up in knots. JF says it will kill him if we don't go, but I still think it's absolutely the wrong time with what we are facing....
sigh.....
Oh, KLee, that is a hard one. I've never heard "and Bob's your uncle," but I love it and will adopt it forthwith.
Our swimsuit whine is the Sweet Baboo's. She is (as we know) tiny, but (more or less) potty trained, so does not wear swim diapers with her size 2T swimsuit. Every other child on the planet who is small enough for 2T swimsuits wears swim diapers so the bottom of the suit is waaay too big, such that you can see daylight when you look through one leghole to the other, along with other cute Baboo parts that not everyone should see. The top and the length fit fine. She needs a 2T top and like a 12 month bottom, I guess. Grandma and I sewed on it today and helped it some.
Going on retreat tomorrow with my preacher buddies (AW). It is extremely unorganized (W). Like we don't have directions to get to the place, nor a time to arrive. Ah well, going with the flow since I won't have the baboos with me (AW, and many thanks to Grandma).
(( klee )) so sorry about the financial stress, but it is great that JF has had these good interviews! i know, the trip now seems so extravagent -- except that you and others have worked toward this for 2 years, and it's not like you'd save the wad of $ by dropping out now. so go and have fun with the girls.
my goodness, so much swimsuit news. excellent work, esperanza, doing a fitting for the petite girl who DOES NOT NEED swim diapers!
and a retreat with buddies sounds perfect, especially with grandma backup on the home front. aunt cranky suggests car cookies and other quality snacks! car music! and water, a well-charged phone, etc., but one must plan a little for celebrations as well as potential emergencies.
Klee- crossing my fingers for good interview results and maybe a call with good news while you are away. You have to take the trip. Sorry for the side of guilt with it, but you've worked so hard and won't get the money back if you don't go. Buy fewer souvenirs - are you getting push back from the family who contributed? Hugs and sympathy.
Esperanza - have a great trip. And woohoo on the potty training going so well. Kid swim suits are fairly ridiculous in general - glad thread and needle could fix it.
Great idea KLee, regarding the potential Bus Bark. So very sorry about your financial troubles.
esperanza - I hope you can find Sweet a properly fitted swimsuit.
Personally, I'm saving my own swimsuit whines for a time when the outdoor temperature is greater than the indoor temp. Just sayin.... :)
Have a great weekend esperanza!
Whine: bridezillas. Why do they haunt me so?
(KLee) Enjoy the trip with the girls. Fingers crossed for some joyful job news soon.
Hooray for the swift disappearance of the stomach virus!
The coolest weather phenomenon in the world, as decided by a 4 year old: Hail. Also selected by mom and dad as the best and cheapest form of scavenger-hunt-esque entertainment.
W: P.D. Day tomorrow.
AW: Bags of hail in freezer promise minutes of entertainment for teh young'ns.
oh, hail is the coolest! we dont' get snow, so the few times it hailed enough, my kids were beyond delighted making hail-balls.
P.D.??? police department? public defender? i'm guessing it's not a personal day for you, since this is a whine. professional development day for teachers at school?
awards will arrive later or tomorrow; keep whining!
sue, i dunno. let's cluestick 'em. of course it's an important day, but someone who turns into a monster to make each detail the most fab evah on this one day is just not going to be someone who deals well in the long haul with bark, floods, kitchen disasters, pregnancy and childrearing, the weather, or the host of other things that happen after the blessed event. get a grip, bridezillas!
((A Nonnie Mouse))
((KLee)) And thanks for the bus advice.
Here's how it turned out: I have *extremely* nice colleagues, a couple of which know about my vertigo and also my bark aversion. They both agreed that we *must* have a car at the tidepools in case of emergency, thereby allowing me to be able to drive myself there guilt (and bark-) free.
Extremely nice colleague took my pre-prepared bag with latex gloves, plastic bags, and paper towels, and offered to sit next to worried student. He is my hero. Student made it both ways just fine.
Tidepools were awesome!!!!! Over 90 kids who ALL behaved perfectly and were totally engaged in discovery. What an awesome group we have!
I should prpbably give myself a small cluesticking for my over-reacting and worry about how it would go, but mostly I just want to send the kudos posse to my colleagues at school. I have the best job evah!
(But, KLee, many many thanks for the bus advice which I will no doubt use at some point!) Also, about the trip--Go !!!! and try to enjoy!!!!!
Love to all the pixies!
--Neighbor Lady
ps. off to soccer practice and then baseball game in 97 degree heat. ugh
Yay NL! Yay awesome volunteer and non- barking boy!
kathy a. To answer the PD day in question....it is Canadian code for teacher's Professional Development days. In other words, children stay at home.
Days - great idea to save the hail! Have fun!
Thanks to all for your many comments regarding going on the trip.
I know we've worked hard -- ALL of us -- but it just seems so extravagant right now, what with the job front. It will get better, I know, but the planner in me wants to take that money, and hide it away Just In Case (TM). But, we will not get any money back, and I cannot see letting $5,500 go to waste. The trip is paid for, and we have $2,000 earmarked for spending money. It just seems so frivolous, though. Now, if we had assurances that JF would be employed before we left, I wouldn't have nearly the hard time with it. I keep thinking, "What if we spend all that money, and then we are scrounging money together to buy groceries when I get back?!"
@Sarah -- no, our family has been great (except JF's mother who calls him 73 times a day. He says, and I quote: "I have to get a d@mn job soon, so she will leave me the h3ll alone!") No one is demanding anything, but we have promised to drop postcards to everyone who contributed. I found out that there is a post office located in Harrods Department Store, and one in the Eiffel Tower, so many postcards will be winging their way to the US from both of those destinations. :) It's the very LEAST I could do to thank people. (We have already long ago written out thank you cards.)
NL, glad to hear that the trip went off without a hitch! I will be praying that you NEVER have to use any of my suggestions re: the Vomit Comet. :) I have learned the hard way after 10 years of teaching!
Here's a laugh for all of you today. One of my students says this morning, "Hey, Mrs. KLee -- I have a Facebook page. Do you have one? Will you friend me?!" He's five, people. FIVE. Why in Sam Hill does he have a Facebook? And, heck no, I'm not friending him! He talks my dang ear off in class as it is! I'm not going to get questions from him about why koala spit is green and do ostriches eat meat all summer long!
I have a sudden need to know why koala spit is green and if ostriches eat meat all summer long, if at all.
yay, NL! good solution for you; a victory for the student formerly known as barky; and sounds like a great field trip.
klee, i think you have a budding biologist on your hands! his request to facebook boggles the mind, though.
postcard tip: you'll be busy, so it might be useful to pre-print address labels. finding postage might be the really challenging part, but perhaps dr. google has hints.
I keep coming here to whine, then reading everyone else's and forgetting what I had to say. I guess it wasn't all that important. Hugs to everybody.
Amy, that should have read that he would ask me all summer long about such topics as: why koala spit is green (from all of the eucalyptus leaves that that they eat), and what do ostriches eat (pretty much anything they can find -- leaves, grass, seeds, berries, insects, and small stones and pebbles, which help break up food in their intestines. speaking of ostrich intestines, they can be up to 46 feet in length.)
See, aren't you glad that you asked? :)
*waving* Hey JenR - glad you stopped by!!!! Go ahead and help yourself to some meat from the Pixie Buffet. Apparently the ostriches aren't interested in it. Who knew?
jenr -- who needs important whines? dive in!
Fireplace fireplace fireplace.
I crashed in bed early and DH was feeding/watering the rabbits for me. He just came and woke me up to tell me that one of them didn't look good.
I got there just in time to hold AJ's special pet in my arms and was debating whether to wake her up and let him say goodbye, as he ook his last breath. I just had him out in the last day or so and he was fine, with no sign of illness, and she took care of him earlier today and didn't notice anything wrong.
The kids have their second day of yearly standardized assessment testing tomorrow. I think we should wait to tell her until afterwards, but I feel awful keeping the secret until then. At least DH is planning to get the kids up and take them to the testing place, and they won't have time to go into the rabbitry until after I pick them up.
Hopefully it won't be something contagious, but so far the signs don't look promising. We were at a show just the right time period ago to fit the incubation period of an aggressive and fast-killing illness that's been sweeping parts of the rabbit world with symptoms that look a lot like what this little guy presented with.
I'm about to do the necropsy now . . . sigh.
@KLee, I feel better now, thank you. I was going to have to g00gle that if no one here could tell me.
@P_K, you just can't catch a break! I'm so sorry! :(
My whine feels petty by comparison to everyone's here, but I'll bring it because it's irritating. Did you hear about that big security breach at Citibank? Yeah, guess whose credit card account was in the possibly disclosed group? The good news is that they contacted my husband, deactivated the card before any fraudulence could happen, and have overnighted new cards.
My husband was worried about needing a card in the meantime. I said, I have my back up card! (It is just my old credit card from my college days. It has a low limit, but no balance.) I'll use that! Guess what I JUST discovered, Pixies? It has been flagged by the credit card company too! I do not have time to deal with this! Gah!
And, naturally, I'm in the middle of the busiest two weeks of 2011, so I won't be home all day. If the new cards need to be signed for today, I'm S.O.L. until tomorrow (when they re-attempt and my husband will be home).
It's not critical, and it could be so much worse, but really, Universe? RIGHT NOW, REALLY?
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