Greetings from Germies Central (the germies seem to have flown away from Kathy A's house, and landed at mine). I'm about to load up on cold medicine, and haul Li'l E to her piano lesson (she's taking a thousand years in the bathroom, and so I have a moment before the lesson to post this), where everyone will be thrilled that I brought the germies.
Hugs to all the clergical pixies, for whom this is an incredibly hectic week.
A brief housekeeping note: I will be only able to use my phone, and not my computer (and will be away from consistent wifi) on the weekend. I can comment from my phone, but can't make/edit blog posts, or moderate comments. On the weekend, can anyone who is around pitch in to help with that?
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Whatever Works
About Wednesday Whining
Wednesday Whining is a weekly blog with rotating hosts. Whines and Anti-Whines, both big and small, are welcome! Our purposes are mutual support and sharing a few laughs along the way.
The Wednesday Whining Community is diverse, and strives to be safe, welcoming, and supportive. To this end, comments that are personally abusive or otherwise disparaging [regarding race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation] will be deleted by moderators, along with spam and self-promotion.
The Wednesday Whining Community is diverse, and strives to be safe, welcoming, and supportive. To this end, comments that are personally abusive or otherwise disparaging [regarding race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation] will be deleted by moderators, along with spam and self-promotion.
FAQ
Q: When does Wednesday Whining appear?
A: The Whiner's Ball commences no later than Tuesday, and ends when Awards are given (usually Thursday in theory, but definitely before Monday).
Q: Awards? Really?
A: Yes, really. Traditional awards include Style [music, poetry, etc.], Old Skool [piddly little whines], and Elevated Risk of Mullet [funniest line in a whine], but other hand-crafted awards may be granted at the host's discretion, and nominations from commenters are encouraged.
Q: Can I whine about someone who just does not "get it"?
A: The Cluestick Posse is on hand for persons in need.
Q: Is there a mascot?
A: Ralph is the mascot.
Q: Are there other traditions I should know about?
A: The passing of virtual refreshments is appreciated.
Q: How did this all get started anyhow?
A: Phantom Scribbler was our muse and host for two years.
Q: What was the first prize ever awarded?
A: The Playdough Violin
A: The Whiner's Ball commences no later than Tuesday, and ends when Awards are given (usually Thursday in theory, but definitely before Monday).
Q: Awards? Really?
A: Yes, really. Traditional awards include Style [music, poetry, etc.], Old Skool [piddly little whines], and Elevated Risk of Mullet [funniest line in a whine], but other hand-crafted awards may be granted at the host's discretion, and nominations from commenters are encouraged.
Q: Can I whine about someone who just does not "get it"?
A: The Cluestick Posse is on hand for persons in need.
Q: Is there a mascot?
A: Ralph is the mascot.
Q: Are there other traditions I should know about?
A: The passing of virtual refreshments is appreciated.
Q: How did this all get started anyhow?
A: Phantom Scribbler was our muse and host for two years.
Q: What was the first prize ever awarded?
A: The Playdough Violin
50 comments:
Yeah, I'll check in on the weekend.
This is the first time in forever that none of the kids will be here for Easter. We did skip the big fat dinner 5 years ago -- when my son and husband took a truck 2.5 hours away to load as much as would fit from my SIL's house (ahead of her scheduled eviction). Even when one kid or another was away, I sent the equivalent of a loaded basket of candy and whatever -- and this year, not doing that. Son's on the road with our dear DIL, honeymooning. Daughter's not coming home from law school. Since they are 28, 29, 30 -- I think maybe they'll get over the shock of not getting a candy rush from the Bunny. ;)
I think we'll have a belated Easter and/or Passover feast with the in-laws, after the kids on the road return. (Those holidays are right on top of one another, this year!) And before or between all the mountain of upcoming out of town work stuff scheduled for my beloved.
The belated celebration sounds like a good idea, Kathy. We'll likely be doing the same with my in-laws (subject both to our travel schedule, and to the nurse SIL's work schedule).
So, my husband left yesterday morning (our anniversary) to go to the office and then drive 5 hours to the court in the mountans. And he got home a little while ago, and is on the phone with work stuff.
On the up side, I am still the dog whisperer. Go figure! So, the boyz are bonding over this stupid work call, and then they'll go for a walk, yes they will.
Yesterday was also the anniversary of my beloved adopted nephew's death from brain cancer at age 12, after almost 3 years of struggle. (I was his auntie, because he called me that, and his mom identified me as such to hospital staff.) Called his parents just to say I was remembering him, he was such a great kid, I was so lucky to have known him. His mom and I, and another booster mom from the day, will have breakfast soon.
kathy, the 29th is the first anniversary of Waylon's death from neuroblastoma. It's good to remember.
AW: Sweet's weekly "agenda" (a planner where they write down the week's assignments) showed dramatically improved handwriting over last week's entry (well, at least I thought so. Mr. E said, "what am I looking at?"). I remarked on it, and Sweet said, "Well, everything has changed." When queried about that she said, "you know, the medicine." I'm taking this as a hopeful sign. (This follows discouraging reports from her teachers late last week).
W: severe weather is in the forecast this week. I guess we'll see how Daisy the puppy responds to thunder.
Hugs both for the anniversary of the loss of your nephew, and for having to miss your sweetie on your wedding anniversary. Will your husband be goneb this weekend, as well? Maybe, if it's just the two of you, you can take in interesting stuff happening in your area, over the holiday weekend? (Mr. Q and I lived far from all family for seven years, mostly getting home during the summer, and we found we had to get creative with the holidays. We had a tradition of going for a walk on the beach on Christmas Day, had Easter dinners with a hodgepodge group that didn't have nearby family, traveled to meet my Grandma's cousin one Thanksgiving...)
Also hugs for esperanza, with this sad anniversary this week!
And I'm cheering for Sweet, with this news of improvement this week.
((( Waylon ))) I will remember him, too. It's like 16 years since Alexander died, and I don't think they get a whole lot of calls on that day any more.
Oh, cool about Sweet doing well!! Rooting for that great girl.
xoxo
Hugs to all, and cheers for Sweet!
Tomorrow is my colonoscopy, so today is going to suck.
But seems I got lucky this morning: I was going to leave the house super early to eat breakfast ending by 0900, per instructions. Mr. Spock encouraged me to take my regular train and eat breakfast at home, because I will not regret that extra hour of no food as much as I would regret one less hour of sleep. I agreed and had my eggs and bacon and black sweet tea at home.
And it turns out the train I would have taken had mechanical problems and was taken out of service. I would have been on my regular train after all without any breakfast!
Wow, I'm glad that Mr. Spock suggested you eat breakfast at home! Colonoscopy prep (and tomorrow's procedure) are award-worthy whines without adding in the train delay and hunger.
Hugs and love to all. Belated Easter/Passover dinners are good. They are somehow less attached to holiday stress, a day or a week later. Our dinner will be Monday with my FIL. We're all going over to visit MIL in the afternoon.
(((kathy))) ((((esperanza)))
Yay for bacon and eggs, Liz! I hope your prep is as good as such a thing can be. :(
AW: Lovely dinner with family last night.
W: And now it begins...five services between now and Sunday afternoon. I can do this, right?? Thinking of you too, esperanza. We've got this...
Cheering for Sue and Esperanza, as you head into a busy week. Many blessings, friends.
Oh, I can't remember the last time I felt this sick....
Hello bathroom, my old friend
I’ve come to visit you again
All the laxatives I took
Have me evacuating pook
And the worst of it is I still need to drink some more
And more and more
At o dark thirty.
-Liz on iPhone. In the bathroom. Again.
Oh no, Kathy!!!
Feel better soon!
And, oh no to you too Liz!
Hope the procedure goes smoothly-- sorry for the prep!
Thinking good thoughts to all those preparing for services this week!
:) Neighbor Lady
Oh dear, kathy a! I hope things start improving pronto.
Liz, for style. So icky.
W: power outage, over an hour, right at Baboo bedtime. It! was! very! exciting! what with the flashlights! and the wild speculation! and the cellular data didn't work either! nobody could go to sleep! And Sweet is still awake, two hours past bedtime!
AW: power is back on.
W: no work is happening tonight, clearly. And very little happened today, because I decided I could take the puppy to work with me. That worked out about as well as taking an infant.
AW: she learned that walking while on a leash was actually kind of exciting, instead of medieval torture. That is a huge plus, as I can wear her out and get exercise myself, all at the same time.
(((Kathy)))
W: On the very night that Sweet isn't falling asleep, we're expecting thunderstorms, which are sure to wake her up, once she does fall asleep. I should send an apology note to her teacher.
W: Ugh. Stormy night. No sleep. We had 12" of rain with Harvey in late August. Then we've had no more than 1/2" at a time since, and very little of that. Last night: 4", thunder and more thunder, and lots of wind. I didn't sleep much at all.
AW: The non-replaced, shaky parts of our fence are still standing.
Liz, hope it's over. Definitely winner of the style award.
Oh, my, about the storm, Esperanza.
I haven't barfed for 12 hours, although I'm not challenging myself yet, either -- a small tad of water a few hours ago didn't sit that easily... Oy, was yesterday long.
(((kathy)))) ((((Liz))))
Yikes, esperanza! That's a lot of rain and not much sleep during a busy week.
Poor Kathy! I hope this blargh passes quickly, and doesn't spread to anyone else.
Liz, I hope that today goes well.
Esperanza, I hope that there's some space for some rest for you today, during this busy week. What an awful night you all had.
AW: my cold is finally starting to clear up (thank goodness: I wouldn't be able to go on our weekend trip if I was still sick, especially since it involved interacting with people who have compromised immune systems). Also, I'm babysitting E's bestie all day (her daycare provider left for Easter vacation early), and somehow it's easier dealing with the two than the one. I'm getting cleaning and laundry done, in anticipation of our vacation, while they entertain each other.
I got some chicken noodle soup down! Think I'm turning a corner.
Hooray!
Glad for improvement, kathy a.
W: Conversation with Sweet's teachers today leads to revelation that she is crying every day in frustration/irritation/whatever. This happens at the end of the day. There are lots of things we could attribute it to, but it began when she started the new med. So it could be that it is wearing off too early or she needs a higher dosage or she needs a different med. Ugh. I'm going to give it a few more days and then try to talk with the doctor.
AW: well, every day except today. Today, she was fine. Because we all spent an hour trying to figure it out.
That's really interesting that today went better than usual, considering that she got to bed so much later than usual! I know you were anticipating a worse day today.
Some kids get really worn out trying to keep up with everything, and end up over-stimulated or frustrated. I've seen some situations where asking that one kid to do some reading or a project separately helps -- could be earlier in the day, too, just to take down the total load. Just an idea. Not as punishment! Could be framed as a special project. Just an idea; may not be workable.
It doesn't sound like this is carrying over to home.
xoxox
Yay, Kathy!
(((Esperanza))) May you find a solution that works for sweet.
All went well with the procedure, and everything looked lovely, so next up is scheduling an ultrasound to find out if I’ve got a hernia somewhere. Which in hindsight I should’ve scheduled first, but my gi had this appointment available the week after I went to see him...so.
So glad you’re feeling better, QWP
I'm so glad that everything went well today, Liz! Glad that it's over with.
Glad that you're through that ick, Liz.
We could chalk this up to lots of things: it's her weakest subject at her worst time of day; hormones; introvert overload. But all of these things were present prior to starting this med and didn't result in tears (or at least not every day). It's been happening most often in her special ed room, where there are only about 8 kids, and she has space to remove herself to a quiet corner if she needs to. I'm supposing that she's crying there because she feels safest there, and non-typical behavior is more well tolerated there.
We'll just keep watching for the time being.
Maybe the special ed room is her safer place at school? Watching and waiting sounds like a good plan.
I went wild and ordered some pizza, 1/2 my fave and 1/2 plain. Am about 1/2 through a small piece. Go, me.
Esperanza, hearing that the end-of-day weeping is happening in her safe space makes a lot of sense. And I'm reminded of when my friend was figuring out the right dosage for her own meds: the end of day crash definitely happened before she upped her dose. (And even more so before she started her meds! Getting through the day took up all her mental and physical energy.)
Getting through the whole day meant, for my not diagnosed kids, falling apart when they got home. Kids invest a lot of mental and physical energy in school! All kids. Lots of adults, for their big days, too.
Liz,I don't mean to be intrusive, but where do they think a hernia might be? Ultrasound for that kind of thing is not invasive! (I don't think!) My umbilical hernia was fixed a couple years back -- but anybody could see that stuff inside was pressing my (previously an innie) belly button up into something that looked volcanic. Anyway, fingers crossed and hoping for the best. xoxo
So, I'm still working on the upswing! Getting some things done, feeling better, not up to speed.
My beloved had to go rent a 4 wheel drive, go one place today, go another place on the way to tomorrow -- in another state, over mountains, and with too short notice to get approved for airline travel. Because, stupid rules. This particular assignment is brutal, and likely to get worse.
Weather is nice, warm! Clyde and the cats are managing.
Hope Sue and Esperanza are coming along with whatever sermons are needed. Sending virtual provisions and love.
xoxo
I've got one down, two to go. I think Sue may have more. Tonight was really nice, better than I had expected, but wow I'm tired already.
It'd be a jelly on the lower belly, groin area type of ultrasound. I'm just grateful that it doesn't seem to be anything scary. No cancer in the colon, no cancer in the ovaries or uterus. Kidneys and liver probably wouldn't present as the kind of pain I'm having. So everything else is gravy.
Sending sermonic thoughts to Sue and Esperanza .
Sending save driving wishes to Kathy's beloved
I'm glad that it doesn't look like any form of cancer, Liz. I hope that they figure out what's giving you trouble, and soon.
W: we're all packed, we're late getting on the road, and the household five year old is still in the bathroom. And we're waiting. And she really needs to get out those poo before she has a whole weekend of unfamiliar/public bathrooms.
AW: we were able to get on the road, right after I whined!
Whining works! Happy trails!
Happy Passover to those celebrating! We usually go to the in-laws, but my husband's on the road, the happy couple are on their honeymoon. Easter dinner's not really happening this year, but we'll do dinner with them soon, after everybody's here.
...and now we're heading home, having done a u-turn at the midpoint. Nauseated kid, and not taking any chances.
oh, what a bummer, QWP. I hope she's only carsick, but I know y'all are disappointed regardless.
We're weirdly relieved. This morning, I was feeling like I was too sick to travel (with this endless cold), but E had her heart set on going. We're pulling back into town now, and E is so happy to see home approaching.
Better safe than sorry, QWP!
Clyde, thank dog, had a lovely and lively time at day care, and is now a pooped pooch. The Dog Man is due tonight, probably close to 10 p.m. given the considerable drive.
I'm 3 smidges from being done with my tax stuff; have sent the important papers to the accountant; and all the rest is organized. Just need to input some more data on a form I use (that's where I itemize the various expenses and etc.), fax that on over. Pretty sure I did not forget anything important, and am not missing documentation. Feel bad I did not get this done like a month ago.
Greetings from my own recliner, and my jammies! E slept 12 1/2 hours last night, and I slept 9, and we're doing a lot better. I had tentatively made big plans for today (to cheer up E, when she was sad about coming home), but I've cancelled that in favour of rest at home. E set up the living room as an airplane, and we're watching a show as our "in-flight entertainment."
I hope Esperanza and Sue are doing well! (And everyone else!)
We dyed eggs but have canceled our attendance at an Easter party that I thought was a neighborhood event but turns out to be sponsored by a local church (and therefore, more people, which makes it less appealing). Mini wanted Daisy the puppy to go, and when I said no (waaaaayyyy too much excitement for her), then Mini said, "well. Then I'm not going." I said "ok."
W: Sweet fell down all 16 stairs yesterday evening.
AW: she seems fine, only a knot and bruise on her knee. No sign of concussion.
W: We collectively need to figure out something different for this timeframe next year. It's too much for me to handle with anything resembling grace. Last year my parents came, which was logistically helpful, but at the same time annoying because we had to clean house and host guests (my mom cooked, but she still had to ask me about every darn thing). I'm not sure what the solution is, but it's affecting all of us in not-so-good ways.
QWP - an airplane! Oh, that's great. And resting up is great, too.
Esperanza -- Oh, no! Poor Sweet. Good call on the Easter party, like you needed more going on...
For the super-busy times, and also because our kids liked being with friends, we were lucky to have some "kid sharing" arrangements with nice families who had similarly-aged kids. Play days and overnights sometimes. Visiting kids tend to behave well at somebody else's house; and our kids were happy and occupied when we had the crowd to our house. Just something to think about, should you meet possible candidate families.
Or -- might you consider something like a nanny / helper situation, perhaps finding a student who likes kids and has time around holidays? (i.e., your crunch time.) That would cost some money, but a reliable person your kids trust is invaluable -- and, I think, not as likely to pose the burdens of a parent or MIL or other silverware-sorting relative.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch -- my beloved is so stressed! The honeymooning kids asked if we could do dinner on Friday, since I had suggested something later because the usual Easter is not happening. That was too stressful for him to think about, because his giant out of town trial starts the following Monday. We'll do the sit down makeup holiday dinner with the inlaws after that's over. I suggested maybe we could just go out for a little dinner Friday in the town where the kids and inlaws live, and he works -- and he's unsure even about that no-work idea. He's going to work tomorrow. Gonna be a long month, yes it is; 3 weeks out of town, doing this stressy thing.
Today, however, is The Day of Dog and Man. The boyz went for a hike. We'll have a date night tonight.
Happy Easter! And for certain of our tribe, may the sermon force be with you.
xoxo
Post a Comment