Pages

Monday, May 11, 2015

Albatrossi, you're the one.

You make my typing time less than fun.
Albatrossi, I'll finish you up with glee!

Albatrossi, boy oh boyz,
When you squeeze me, I make noise.
Albatrossi, you are awfully mean to me.

~~~~~~~~
Yes, I'm stealing Esperanza's general theme.  It's that kind of week, no original thoughts percolating.

How 'bout with you?

45 comments:

kathy a. said...

SIL adventure: The geriatric psychiatrist formally evaluated her for medical pot last night and wrote a prescription-ish note. So, for the first time ever, the director of her facility is running out to ye olde dispensary -- and he is worried if he has enough paperwork to be allowed to pick the stuff up. (Which makes me giggle a little, because your average medicinal farmer is probably not that picky about paperwork, so long as there is a doctor's note.)

Fingers crossed that this does help. This facility has worked hard to manage her really challenging illness, but the director says she is the most unpredictable of all their residents. Never know what's coming next.

esperanza said...

You stole an idea, maybe, but with such style! And panache!

W: phone line was not fixed after all last week. Bah. I so enjoy waiting around for repair people.

KLee said...

I went with my Mom today for her first radiation treatment. She is doing oral chemo at the same time. Monday through Friday, every day with weekends off, for six weeks. One down, 29 to go.

If you are the praying sort, please do. I am.

kathy a. said...

((( KLee ))) Sending much love to your mom. And you and the whole family. xoxoxo

Sue said...

((KLee)) So many prayers for you and your mom.

kathy a - I hope the new treatment helps for SIL.

W: I finally went to see our family doc about a Sebaceous Cyst in an Awkward Place. Right smack dab in the middle of my chest. He said he rarely sees them there. Then he prescribed antibiotics to avoid spread of infection and told me to apply warm compresses and wait for it to open and clear on its own - in 3-5 days.

UberW: In 4 days I will be attending my niece's wedding out of town. Dee-lightful...I may have a horrifying wound seeping all over my lovely new dress (which, thanks be, covers said ugly wound). I see many bandages in my future.

Sorry, that's gross.

AW: Niece's wedding!!!

kathy a. said...

Sue is the front-runner for Old Skool, with her (paraphrasing here) better than classic zit complaint!

Oh, pixies. The medical pot purveyors do indeed want a lot of paperwork. And also, the psychiatrist who is prescribing, having seen SIL twice in drive-by visits, is now all "I think she's overmedicated" -- when he has no real history, no understanding of her particular disease, no comparisons with how she behaves other times, etc. Been doing a bunch of trying to inform him, and trying to get everybody on the same page.

But this happens almost every time. Someone new eyeballs her and has a New Opinion about what is going on. WITHOUT KNOWING ABOUT HER DISEASE. gah.

Anonymous said...

Arg, kathy a! SO frustrating!
((Klee))
Sue-- wishing you good luck with the compresses.
--Neighbor Lady

kathy a. said...

Neighbor Lady, hope the settling into the new house is going well.

Esperanza, hope that phone line finally gets fixed.

Sue said...

I know things are so very much worse in other parts of the world, but for mercy's sake - it snowed here this morning. Enough already!

kathy a. said...

And you just changed tires! No fair!

esperanza said...

Snow? Huh?

I spent most all of my alone time today cleaning the kitchen. The stuff like the stove top and the tray that catches the drips from the fridge water dispenser and around the edge of the dishwasher and scrubbing the sink. I feel much better. I can tolerate filth most anywhere except the kitchen. So I guess this is an AW.

kathy a. said...

Esperanza, you are a good person. And I agree on keeping the yuck down in the kitchen, although it would be better if there was a kitchen fairy. And I let the stovetop go a lot, on the theory that all that heat kills the germs. ;)

My son dropped by after work yesterday, and it was great to see him, and things are going well! But he stayed 4.5 hours and ate an entire fresh tub of hummus plus chips in lieu of a meal, and he and his dad had a great long talk once dad got home 2 hours in. So I shouldn't complain, especially since he wasn't doing anything with power tools in the garage. But apparently he is not built for shorter visits. huh.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

So, what's the deal when your kid shows absolutely no signs of sickness, but their poops are super weird? We had a horrific poosplosion while racing home from the playground today. Like, I'm still figuring out how to get the stroller completely clean.

W: I unwisely took E to a barbecue at Mr. Q's school today, even though she hadn't napped and her poops were weird enough that I'd been keeping her on the BRAT diet. I'm not entirely sure why I did that (other than "This is the only way we'll see Mr. Q today," "I planned on going and didn't cook supper, and this way supper is free," and "But she doesn't seem THAT bad!")

AW: at least she's in bed now.

W: we sat with a family who has a kid that's just a few months older than E, and who was really well behaved. And who is completely potty trained. And whose (very nice) mother said "Oh, that's too bad!" when I jokingly complained about E's stubbornness about the potty (thinking there'd be at least a little commiseration).

So, I'm starting to notice a trend lately. E is approaching 2 1/2, and I've just started hearing "Oh, she's not potty trained yet?" comments. Is this when a lot of kids are potty trained? Do I just know a bunch of overachieving toddlers?

Queen of West Procrastination said...

Apparently 100% of my whining today is about E's bodily functions.

kathy a. said...

QWP -- back away from the braggy parents! They aren't friendly! (And they are lying about the perfect perfection of the perfect potty training.)

Sometimes a poopsplosion just happens. It just does. Best with the scrubbing.

Mine achieved pretty good potty control even at night at age 3. It actually was at their birthdays, when the last of the bottles was tossed in a ceremony. [Yep, bad parent here.]

But kindergarteners usually are asked to have spare clothing, including undies. Because accidents happen. In kindergarten. So there, Braggy Mom.

kathy a. said...

I forgot the upside cheer -- they DO get around to using the potty consistently. It helps if they have peers who are doing it [like at daycare or preschool]; they want to do the same cool thing.

Sue said...

esperanza, you are a kitchen goddess!

QWP, step away from the braggy parents. My boys were both difficult with the potty training. They were both well into their 3rd year before we were good to go. (ha!)

kathy a. said...

Come to think if it, there were incidents after age 3. Have high hopes, and be prepared. ;)

My grandmother bragged that she had my mom "trained" at 9 months. Which is clearly a flat-out lie, but the effort might account for some of how messed up my mom turned out....

esperanza said...

I'd say Sweet was 4 before it was very consistent. And she had an accident a few weeks ago, standing at the sink IN THE BATHROOM, brushing her teeth. Apparently the sound of running water was too much. She is 7.

As for the poopsplosion issue. Think through if there have been any changes in intake. For instance, if Sweet starts drinking tap water (even filtered) rather than bottled water, it is just what you describe. This took me forever to figure out, as I would fill her cup with whatever was at hand. Mr. E is afflicted with the same very annoying sensitivity, and finally tipped me off.

And I am so, so sorry about the stroller. That does not sound like any fun at all.

Sue said...

AW: I just discovered that AUGUST HAS FIVE SUNDAYS!!!!!! *sound of crowd cheering*

Did I mention my holidays are in August?

(I do love my job, especially Sundays, but oh my goodness how nice it is to have an extra "freebie" at the end of vacay)

esperanza said...

You made me smile, Sue.

Albatross AW: Albatross #2 meeting just got me out of a newly scheduled, not to mention unpleasant, Albatross #1 meeting. Look at me with the calendar conflicts. Whew.

Liz Miller said...

QWP, I was still writing about MM's issues with the potty as late as April, 2006. He was 4 and a bit.

Pee seems to have been consistent in August of 2005 (3.5 years), but oy with the poop issues.

kathy a. said...

Yay, Sue!

KLee, how's mom doing? xoxo

LOL, Esperanza! Saved by too many albatross meetings!

Regarding accidents, they are still common enough in K. I remember my son getting so involved in stuff during early elementary that there was the occasional whoops. I had an accident in 3d grade when the mean teacher would not let me go to the rest room (humiliating). The goal is consistency, not perfection.

xoxo

esperanza said...

I'm with Liz on the "oy with the poop"

Liz said...

WOOHOO EM1LY's L15T!!!!

kathy a. said...

Go LIZ Go!!!!

esperanza said...

Hooray Liz! You've got my vote!

Sue said...

Yay Liz!!!!!!!!

esperanza said...

W: Tired. So tired. Kindergarten field trip tomorrow. I'm going. So tired. Head spinning all afternoon. That can't be good, huh?

W: Mini is just as tired, only less happy. Which is a trick.

Liz Miller said...

(((Esperanza)))

kathy a. said...

Esperanza, hope the field trip goes well! Where ya going?

SIL is headed back to the hospital this a.m., because her arm is red and swollen near the last fracture, and an x-ray showed some displacement. They wanted to know if they should call an ambulance (very disruptive and expensive) or have her favorite staffer take her today, so we went for the latter.

Emotionally and mentally, SIL is very like a toddler now. She cannot process what's happening, and gets very worked up.

esperanza said...

Oh dear, kathy.

We went to the children's museum in nearby (1 hour if you're a normal person, 1.5 hours if you're riding on a school bus) town. It was fun, but would have been more fun with fewer people!

kathy a. said...

Oh, childrens' museum! Still, long time on a bus with a crowd of excited young people. Kid Hero Award to Esperanza!

SIL has lymph edema, apparently due to surgery on her upper arm a couple months ago. This is really pretty common with breast cancer surgery, and SIL had lymph nodes removed a decade ago -- but on the other side. Anyway, they'll try a compression sleeve. And also get started on the MM, because no time like right now!

Queen of West Procrastination said...

Oh my, Kathy. I hope the MM works well, because that's a lot for SIL to handle, while not understanding what's going on.

Esperanza, did I correctly read that you spent three hours on a school bus full of kindergarteners today? That's it: a wheelbarrow full of awards for Esperanza.

AW: E napped!

W: why the heck didn't I nap too? I'm barely functional now.

kathy a. said...

Here's my theory on why "nap when they nap" doesn't work. [A] This is THE time off! and also [b] I am not a napper. ymmv. Quiet times work OK for the non-napper people, big and small; even better after they are reading. Which is why I love board books with lots of pictures.

esperanza said...

Yes, 3 hours would be the total time on the bus. Though Sweet's teacher Mrs. P is a complete genius. Once we got on the highway on the way home, she stood up and announced "We're having a contest. Anyone who falls asleep before we get back to town will get a prize from the prize box." I would say at least 2/3 of them fell asleep!

The time at the museum and playground was much more stressful. Museum: shrill screaming in enclosed spaces. Both: chasing Fast Girl Who Never Tells Me Where She Is Going and hurrying up Sweet, who always wants to do her own thing. It was an exaggerated version of taking Sweet and Mini somewhere.

kathy a. said...

Brilliant teacher! Yes, a busload of miniature Tiggers is a sight to behold. And chase.

Fireplacing cancer. Someone I've known over 20 years just got diagnosed with lung cancer, mets to bones and pancreas, maybe also brain. Not.Good.

Anonymous said...

(((((Kathy a.)))))))
also, esperanza deserves a huge award for a field trip with a bus load of kindergartners. Even 2/3 asleep, it's still a lot of awake ones!
--Neighbor Lady

kathy a. said...

Pixies. For the first time ever in history, someone described SIL's day as "mellow." Seriously! woot!

esperanza said...

Is this thanks to the wonder drug? Fabulous!

And sorry about the fireplacing cancer. It's looking like a friend's daughter (early 20's) has a recurrence.

kathy a. said...

Oh, Esperanza. xoxo

We're all hoping it is the wonder drug. But honestly, "mellow" is good news any which way.

kathy a. said...

I expected something other than mellow, because SIL spent a lot of yesterday at the hospital getting stuff checked, and that usually throws her off for days. Plus, she has never been mellow ever.

Knock wood!

kathy a. said...

This is not going to be a prize week, despite the many worthy entries. Keep going! xoxo

KLee said...

Not much to report here at Casa KLee. Mom got through her first week of chemo/radiation without any major incidents. I haven't talked to her since Wednesday, but she was napping when I called on Friday. I'm hoping she won't feel too I'll, but we've got 25 treatments to go.

I have planned (without Mom's knowledge) to shave my head when she begins to lose her hair. I want to be supportive, and I don't want her to be bald alone. I'm pretty sure that she is going to lose her hair, since she's doing chemo EVERY DAY, but you never know.

Offspring comes home for the summer this Wednesday. I'm ready to spend some time with her, and with my mom. We need that time.

There are five days of school left, andi am SO READY for this year to be over. I can't wait to be out of that place. I'm not planning on going back, but I need another job. I plan to seriously search this summer.

Kathy a., glad SIL had a mellow day. Take them where you can get them!

Esperanza, in re the field trip -- welcome to my world. We never go that far from school, though. The farthest we go is the beach, which requires about a 45 minute drive with traffic. It's still hard.

Hugs to all who have a friend/loved one with the fireplacing cancer. Mom's doctor wants my brother and I to get checked out since the likelihood of both Mom and her sister having the same sort of brain cancer is pretty rare. I have to contact my doc to authorize the tests. What joy.

Hope everyone is well,and hugs to al.

esperanza said...

((KLee))

Re: field trips. The beach??? I would faint. The beach stresses me out with only my own two kids. We have to travel at least an hour to get to any place the slightest bit interesting.