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Monday, February 1, 2016

Light at the End of the Tunnel Whining

Yes, Pixies, there is light at the end of my tunnel: great progress on the Lice Incident of 2016, a week with not much on the calendar, delightful weather over the weekend, and--miracle of miracles--Baboos who decided to color with their extra (!) time this morning, rather than begging me for 5 minutes of screen time.

However. Next week is going to be a doozy. Just warning you (and me) now.

How are things shaping up for you?

80 comments:

kathy a. said...

Yay for light at the end of the tunnel, and self-entertaining Baboos! Also for a quieter week.

W: Think I caught daughter's cold; feel all whiny and achy. And I might reschedule my doctor's appointment AGAIN, because time is limited and there are other issues I need to discuss sans headache. The main one is that it's time to get my umbilical hernia repaired, so I hope I can get the consult and get that scheduled reasonably quickly. Bonus W: Not thrilled about any kind of surgery, but have put this off almost a year.

esperanza said...

Get some rest for that cold. And ugh on the surgery.

W: Can't. Get. Moving. Today.

kathy a. said...

Might live. Still fuzzy about the head, but @dvil is my wonder-drug on the pain end.

Esperanza, wouldn't be the worst thing in the world if you had a no-stress goof-off day.

esperanza said...

Thank you. It's not the worst thing ever. That damn Protestant work ethic bites me in the butt sometimes.

I am accomplishing a few straightening-up tasks, and I swept the kitchen floor, which should reduce the disgust level by at least half. I've gone for a walk, which I needed to do and the weather is nice, so there's that.

Sue said...

esperanza, it sounds like you had a well-deserved day of Greatly Decreased Stress. Yay!!!!

kathy a, sorry to hear about the cold. Ick. Also, the upcoming surgery. :(

AW: Quiet day yesterday at our house. We fixed the cat tree for the kittens, as the rope part that they scratch on had been well-used by our other cats. It's like new!

W: It's only 10:30 and my frustration level is off the charts. At this point, I would prefer to have no secretarial help to the kind of help that creates more work for me. It's ridiculous, really.

Breathing...breathing... :)

kathy a. said...

Oy, Sue, about the non-help. Should I send over a cat? You won't get any more help, but they're entertaining, anyway. ;)

Saw my doctor. Photos of a skin thing went to another dept. to see if they can help. The surgeon had an opening an hour later, so I saw her, too! And the hernia surgery will be on Feb. 18th. (K@is3r has basically everything on site; it is amazingly efficient.)

The surgery is only an hour; should be able to go home after recovery. It will be a small incision. Full healing in 4 weeks. No driving the first week, so people will need to fetch things for me.

esperanza said...

That is all amazingly efficient!

Sorry about the unhelpful help, Sue. I know whereof you speak.

esperanza said...

AW: The math homework is EASY this week. Telling time, just the hour, which she already knows how to do. The angels are singing.

Sue said...

Yay for efficient health care!

Hooray for easy math homework!!

kathy a. said...

Cool about the easy homework!

Here's a question one doesn't hear every day: "do you want an innie?" I advised the doctor that despite current evidence, I was an innie.

Sue said...

If doc were a pixie, that may have been a contender for Elevated Risk of Mullet.

Anonymous said...

I didn't get the job.

Liz on iphone

Sue said...

Oh Liz, I'm sorry. :(

kathy a. said...

((( Liz ))) What's with them? I'm so sorry. You have such amazing skill and strength -- that was not a good call on their part.

esperanza said...

Oh, POOP, Liz! I'm so sorry. Their loss, for sure.

kathy a. said...

You know how sometimes a conversation goes really weird? Someone told me that I should somehow (bribery?) get the hernia surgeon to "tighten up those muscles" that got pulled apart during pregnancies, since they'll be in there, and I said "that's what they're doing with this repair." Only later did it occur to me that this might have been a suggestion to fold in a tummy tuck, since they're poking around the belly anyway. Umm... ???? (There was also advice about getting my rosacea lasered like a certain celebrity allegedly did. How anybody could mistake me for someone into recreational cosmetic upgrades is really beyond me.)

In celebration of rising above, we are having a nice pasta dish tonight, with pancetta and veggies. Going back and forth on whether to make the sauce creamier or broth based. Tomato based is also an option, but think a different path is better for today.

kathy a. said...

(Lasers can be effective for advanced rosacea cases. But I'm only just starting on a step above the lightest treatment for my rash, so we'll see how that goes.)

esperanza said...

"recreational cosmetic upgrades" is a mullet contender.

W: I will spare you the details, but the combination of a sneeze and the nebulizer mask was...um...disgusting.

kathy a. said...

Old Skool, Esperanza!

Anonymous said...

Cluesticks on behalf of Liz, and on behalf of those who suggest tummy tucks?! Who does that!?!
arg
having my own non-bloggable whines today, which make me want to have the drinkable kind.
sigh
I have boycotted test grading in honor of my whines.
I quit. for the evening, at least. But, it just felt therapeutic to say those words.
--Neighbor Lady

esperanza said...

Sorry for the non bloggables, NL. Quitting for an evening every once in a while can be quite liberating!

AW? W? So I may have a job possibility. One of the places where I've been filling in is looking for an interim minister. I am not technically qualified to be an interim, but I am apparently the only person willing to go there to do such a thing. There is someone else who would go, but can't do so until June or July. Of course the possible monkey wrench in the works is that this is the season in which Mr. E's superiors move people around and make new assignments. But the person in charge of these things on my end says that she thinks I might be able to talk them into me filling in at least until June/July (when we would move if we're moving)...then I could continue if we are staying, or this other person might be able to take over. It's an interesting possibility, if they're willing to do half-time rather than full. I should probably talk with Mr. E about this, huh?

kathy a. said...

((( NL ))) Yes, all to the good, putting down the grading due to unwhineables. But I am sorry they are happening. Need a Posse?

Esperanza! How do you feel about this possible interim, especially if it can be half-time? Yeah, you'll need to talk to Mr. E -- but this is a chance to do something you care about; you know these people, kinda; it would presumably bring in some $. Mr. E's overlords need to take families and other obligations into account, IMO. Also my 2 cents: this is short term enough that you both should be able to juggle it if Mr. E is moved someplace. If you want to.

esperanza said...

I think I could do it, only for half-time. I think we could write a contract in which either party could call it off in the June/July timeframe, whether or not we are moving. If I decided I couldn't handle it at that point, I would have an out. Then we could just do a new contract at that point if we wanted to continue (contracts for such things are usually 1 year). Mr. E's overlords...well. They should do lots of things.

kathy a. said...

Apparently, if one has an ovary issue, one gets the really disgusting and totally invasive kind of ultasound. Even if one was thinking easy peasy gel-on-belly. No news yet on results.

esperanza said...

Just confirming that this is your sister with the ovary issue, not you, right? Yeah the internal ultrasound is not the nicest experience ever. Hugs to you, and to her.

kathy a. said...

Yes, my sister.

Liz Miller said...

I've been there, done that, and it made me all the more resistant to the idea of forcing women who don't want to or can't continue a pregnancy to have a transvaginal ultrasound before having an abortion

Liz Miller said...

And thank you everybody.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

(((Liz))) I'm so sorry about the job, and am rounding up the posse with the cluesticks. You are excellent, and they would have been lucky to have you.

Kathy: I've been there, and was likewise horrified for those who are forced into said ultrasounds when they aren't medically necessary.

(((NL))) (and a mullet nomination for your "drinkable kind" comment)

Shuddering about the sneeze cleanup, esperanza. And I really hope that the half time arrangement could work. (And that Mr. E's superiors don't do anything annoying.)

I'm relieved this morning. A friend went suddenly into ICU yesterday, and they said he had a mass on his brain, and possibly had a stroke. I found out just before prayer meeting (and was there with one of his best friends). At the end of prayer meeting, we all checked Book of Faces, and found out it wasn't a mass, but an infection. And this morning, I just found out that he's stable now. That was a roller coaster twelve hours.

AW: I made it to prayer meeting for the first time since E was born! She went to bed at 6, and Mr. Q didn't have anything going on, and so I was able to get out. I need to make that happen more frequently, because it was really nice being able to go.

kathy a. said...

QWP, such a relief that your friend is stable now! Anything with the brain is super-scary.

Yay for getting out!

esperanza said...

Yikes, QWP, I hope the doctors can figure out what has happened/if it is going to happen again.

And it is good to "escape" for a few minutes!

AW: It is 10:30 am, and I am already excited about supper. Mr. E has a meeting in a town where we used to go out to eat in our pre-kid days (near where we lived, but it was much more uptown than where we lived). Anyway, our all-time favorite pizza place is still open, and he's going to bring pizza home for dinner. No cooking, good memories, good pizza--it sounds like a winner.

W: I am also already anticipating the Thursday afternoon meltdown from Sweet, mostly because she did not sleep well at all. The cough and snotty head that she has had since Christmas has worsened again. It is allergy-related.

Sue said...

I'm late catching up with whines today. So many hugs all around. My brain is full of goo - first head cold I've had in awhile and it seems to be a doozy. I stayed home today and did a lot of napping and sneezing.

AW: Kittens looooove sick people.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

Oh, I hope that the cold gets better, but the kittens stay snuggly, Sue!

W: tiiiiired. I had a poor sleep last night, because we have cheap venetian blinds, and a streetlight outside (and it was brighter outside, after a fresh snowfall). Honestly, we've both been sleeping poorly since we moved here, with all this light. We're buying dark drapes this weekend (I'm getting blackout curtains that also block sound, since we live on a through street).

Also, E has been grouchy today, and the whole day has been an airing of three-year-old grievances. (I ended up giving her ice cream this afternoon, because I needed something to make her cheerful.)

AW: a friend dropped of a rotisserie chicken for supper. (He and his wife got their wires crossed about supper plans, and he picked something up, and then found out she and her mom we're waiting at a restaurant near our house.) I nearly burst into tears, because I was so relieved not to have to deal with supper today. (We had it with toast and leftover veggies, because I was really committed to not cooking.)

Liz Miller said...

Folks I have bounced back. My husband and I brainstormed and came up with a terrific idea for a job for me. It's something simple American liberal women activists need. And I can make it work.

Who needs someone to hire me? I CAN HIRE MYSELF!

Queen of West Procrastination said...

Cheering for you, Liz! You're seriously an inspiration.

kathy a. said...

Go, Liz!

Anonymous said...

Good for you Liz!!!!
You rock!
--Neighbor Lady

esperanza said...

You do rock, Liz.

QWP, hoping for a better night's sleep from here too. So much snot. So much coughing. So much pollen. Get out, pollen. Valentine's Day is usually the end of this particular pollen's season, but I'm not holding my breath.

Sue, hoping your stuffy head clears up soon.

Sue said...

Yay Liz!!!!!

QWP, I do hope you managed to get some sleep. And yay for curtains that block out light *and* sound. I did not know about those. How lovely to have dinner turn up at your door!!

esperanza, the Snot River does keep a girl up at night, yes? Ugh. It's a good reason to look forward to Valentine's Day though!

Speaking of which, I'm clearly out of practice in the head cold department. I went to bed saying, "Well, I think that was the worst of it" - meaning the pressure behind my eyes, foggy head, stuffy nose... all of which was a bit better by lights-out.

Wrong.

All that gunk has to go somewhere. So, there's that.

esperanza said...

Yep, it does have to go somewhere. Sorry for the unpleasantness, Sue.

kathy a. said...

Sending Snot-B-Gone to the afflicted.

esperanza said...

Red Alert. Now there is a Man Cold in the household.

kathy a. said...

Run for cover! Man cold!

Queen of West Procrastination said...

Uh oh. Stay strong in the face of Man Cold, esperanza.

I'm typing from my Actual Computer, in my own home office! A discussion on Book of Faces regarding motivation and goals inspired me to get through this last annoying project (my office had become The Place Where Half-Unpacked Boxes Go To Die). And so, as E dawdled on the potty for a full hour before quiet time, I managed to excavate the entire office.

AND THEN, when I sat down to check Book of Faces again, I found a message from a good friend (who also happens to be a former professor of mine), who wanted to know if I wanted to take on some transcription work, in exchange for "fair compensation." Um, yes please. Especially now that I have a workspace. (And now I'm chatting with my academic/freelancer friends, to figure out what I should charge. Huzzah!)

kathy a. said...

Woot, QWP!

Sue said...

Ugh, the dreaded Man Cold. :(

Yay QWP!!!!!!

esperanza said...

Yay, QWP! I don't know what transcription work entails, but if it makes you use exclamation points, I'm all for it.

kathy a. said...

Transcription = typing from spoken words?

Anonymous said...

Yay QWP!!!
:)Neighbor Lady

Anonymous said...

kathy a-- my daughter decided to make that lemon chicken recipe you posted.... it was a snow day here for just about every single school around including the kids'.....but not mine!
What a day!
so, she decided to make dinner (love that girl!)
now Neighbor Guy is helping to avert chicken germs all over the kitchen
anyway, is smelling delicious!
nice end to a snowy, trying day!
thanks for posting the recipe!!!!
--Neighbor Lady

kathy a. said...

Oh, hope you like the lemon chicken! Go, Neighbor Girl!

esperanza said...

Go Neighbor Girl! May the Baboos grow up to be like you! And major bonus points to Neighbor Guy for the chicken germ abatement.

W: The Baboo coughing. It is incessant. The Man Cold coughing is loud. There is going to be no place in this ginormous house for me to sleep without hearing people coughing. That was really, really whiny.

Liz Miller said...

AW: Chinese New Year Potluck at my church. We brought homemade Moo Shu Pork and homemade pancakes to wrap them in. Almost everyone else brought lo mein from nearby take out.

We were the heroes of the night. Along with the guy who brought along these amazing chocolate covered butterscotch rice crispies treats. OMG.

AW: Great conversations all evening.

AW: MM got the role of Iago in his school's spring musical. They're doing Aladdin. W: There were so many kids trying out that there will actually be two casts doing 4 performances each over two weekends. I've volunteered to help with hair and makeup. What have I done?

kathy a. said...

Sounds like a great potluck! (Except I don't recall choc butterscotch rice krispy treats being traditional...)

You are great with hair and makeup! I used to do costumes, and loved it -- fun chance to get to know the kids.

Anonymous said...

Lemon chicken was delicious!
--Neighbor Lady

Sue said...

Yay for lemon chicken and awesome daughters who cook!!! Isn't it great how Pixie Magic is shared???

Sorry about the coughing in Chez e - I hope you got some sleep.

Liz, given your recent costume at M@rCon, I have no doubt you will do a GREAT job at hair and makeup for the musical. Way to go MM!!!

AW: Last night was a 60th birthday celebration for a dear friend of ours. Hubby wasn't up to going out (he's having lots of trigeminal neuralgia pain and hasn't been sleeping well, poor guy) but I went to the party. It was a blast. We don't see these friends often enough, but when we get together, it's easy and fun every time. Love these folks.

AW: They're coming over to our place next week.

kathy a. said...

So glad you liked the chicken, NL!

Sue, sounds like such a nice time with your friends! Hope your beloved is feeling better; glad they can visit next week.

My son's coming over to use the garage as his auto repair shop. Again.

esperanza said...

W: no sleep. Poor Sweet, could hardly doze for the coughing. And then she started running fever. So I took her to the walk-in hours at our regular clinic this morning. Ear infection. Which is far better than the bronchitis I was thinking. Or the flu that the nurse was thinking. (Flu vaccine seems to be holding here, so far).

W: I'm pretty sure this is the same ear infection she's had since before Christmas that just hasn't gone all the way away.

AW: She should be well enough to go to church tomorrow, thus saving us from a Babysitter Crisis.

kathy a. said...

Oh, poor Sweet! Too much with the ear infections, already. Has the ped ever talked about tubes? They made a *huge* difference for my daughter when she was plagued by ear infections. xoxo

esperanza said...

This is the first one she's had in ages. At one point several years ago, he said he didn't like to do tubes if it wasn't affecting speech/language development. This siege has all been allergy-initiated, which is annoying.

kathy a. said...

Good point. My daughter needed a speech pathologist for a while because her hearing was impaired, and the tubes helped things right along. But poor Mini, being sick so long.

xoxo

esperanza said...

Sweet's been having a tough time at school, and I can't help but wonder if it's because she's felt so crummy for so long. Weekends have mostly been spent lying around the house and resting, which is a bit of a drag, but she's so worn out/down.

kathy a. said...

Oops, I meant Sweet! And yeah, she has been feeling yuck for a good while. xoxo

Apparently the garage mechanic festivities are not happening today. If they happen tomorrow, they will coincide with dad's interest in the superbowl, and that's a good excuse to just hide in my room with the door shut, right?

esperanza said...

Those are two good reasons to hide in a room with the door shut, even if it's the laundry room.

Sue said...

Poor Sweet! I hope she's feeling better soon.

kathy a, that's a totally legit reason to hide out in your room. :)

Queen of West Procrastination said...

Kathy, that is an A+ reason to hide in your room. (Maybe with an audiobook and headphones, too.)

Poor little Sweet. I hope the antibiotics kick in swiftly.

Kathy: the transcription would be of handwritten notes (from archival research), and I suspect there will be and digitization of historical documents. All very easy to do during naps.

AW: yesterday, we went and got massive, foam-backed blackout drapes for our bedroom, to combat the light from the streetlight right outside our window, ava to dampen road noise (we live on a through street). And the drapes were excellent last night.

W: twelve hour pain medication that wears off after hour nine, but you can't take any more for hours, and the only other thing you can take is Tyl3n0l. Aunt Flo is not my friend. (An hour and a half until my next dose of naproxen. At least then it'll be in full effect during church.)

Anonymous said...

(((sweet)))
((QWP)) and cluesticks to aunt flo
--Neighbor Lady

esperanza said...

Ugh, QWP. I get that the Tyl3n0l is ineffective, but could you take it at...say, hour 6, then it would be in effect when the good stuff wears off and you wouldn't be chasing the pain? I don't know, but I'm sorry AF is so ouchy.

W: In a similar vein, the cough medicine the doctor suggested for Sweet works quite well, but it only lasts for four hours. Getting up every four hours during the night? I don't wish to return to those infant hours.

W: Due to the elevated need for rest, the Baboos have been getting lots of screen time this weekend. If I hear "My Little Pony" again, I cannot be held responsible for my actions.

W: Big, huge meeting tomorrow for Albatross #2. Looooong day, which will necessitate Mr. E getting Baboos ready for school, picking them up, doing homework, getting them to bed, and getting them up Tuesday morning. It will be good for all of us, right?

kathy a. said...

QWP, what Esperanza said about the tylenol, if that is ok to take in alternating doses. Would a heating pad or cool gel pad help with the ouchies? (I used to use a heating pad on low back; daughter uses a gel pad kept in the freezer for her lower belly.) (She got her gel thing from a Japanese store, but probably anything frozen and wrapped in a towel would work a similar way.)

Oy, Esperanza. Poor Sweet. Totally get it about extended screen time, and the impulse to blow up if something goes One.More.Round.

Best about the albatross meeting.

The long meeting sounds like an opportunity for Daddy to see the other side. I'm sure all will go well. xoxo

esperanza said...

Re: Daddy and the other side. Exactly. Hoping for not too many (literal or figurative) messes to clean up. But seriously. He's their parent. He should be able to handle this.

Anonymous said...

Esperanza, that last sounds like a huge anti-whine in terms of you catching up on your sleep, if I'm understanding correctly that you'll be in a hotel or some such thing.

Liz on iPhone

esperanza said...

oooohhhh, Liz. No hotel. This meeting is starting at 8:30. We'll have a couple of breaks, but we won't be finished until at least 9:00 pm. Then I'm staying with a friend, but it's a good enough friend that I can say "I'm wasted. I'm going to bed. Good night."

kathy a. said...

Hotels on work travel were my secret vice. So clean! And quiet! But staying with a friend is very good, too. That's a really long work day, Esperanza.

esperanza said...

I know. A hotel room's charms would probably be wasted, as it will be the kind of day that usually keeps me awake all night, mulling and replaying things in my head.

kathy a. said...

You are taking entertaining reading material, right? Because you can keep the light on when you want, too, even at a friend's house.

Anonymous said...

Woot Woot!! Snow day tomorrow for me!!!!!!!
Words cannot express the happiness!
:):):):):):)
And, I know before getting up at 5am
:)
:)
--Neighbor Lady

Liz Miller said...

Yay snow days!

kathy a. said...

Yay, NL! Especially the advance notice.

esperanza said...

Yay NL!

W: Lice. On me. For real.

AW: Looks like I'm getting that hotel room after all. I called my friend and said, "You don't want me to come sleep in your bed."

W: For real. I have cleaned and combed and been so fireplacing careful. I can't figure out how I got them. More importantly, what can I do differently so Sweet doesn't get them? She has curly hair. I can't comb it, I just can't.

Anonymous said...

Oh ugh esperanza!!!
When Neighbor Girl and I both got them, we were advised to wash all bedding (in the house) every day, and vacuum the house and sofas etc. every day. It was its own special he11. But, maybe some version of this will help prevent further spread?
Lice --I totally get why it was one of the ten plagues.
--NL