Cold Turkey

I have not had a Diet Coke or anything other than water or milk since Thursday! Not really trying to diet or anything crazy like that. Just really need to drink water and if I keep supplementing with Diet Coke then I won't. Thank goodness for that never ending ice machine!

getting better all the time

I found the all you can eat ice machine!

There is a lunch room that on some days, the high school kids next door hold a coffee shop type thingy, but the hidden stash is an automatic ice machine with filtered water attachment as well.

An Hour is TOO Long for Lunch

1. All this time you've just been putting Bounce in the dryer! It will chase ants away when you lay a sheet near them. It also repels mice.
2. Spread sheets around foundation areas, or in trailers, or cars that are sitting and it keeps mice from entering your vehicle.
3. It takes the odor out of books and photo albums that don't get opened too often.
4. It repels mosquitoes. Tie a sheet of Bounce through a belt loop when outdoors during mosquito season.
5. Eliminate static electricity from your television (or computer) screen.
6. Since Bounce is designed to help eliminate static cling, wipe your television screen with a used sheet of Bounce to keep dust fromresettling.
7. Dissolve soap scum from shower doors. Clean with a sheet of Bounce.
8. To freshen the air in your home - Place an individual sheet of Bounce in a drawer or hang in the closet.
9. Put Bounce sheet in vacuum cleaner.
10. Prevent thread from tangling. Run a threaded needle through a sheet of Bounce before beginning to sew.
11. Prevent musty suitcases. Place an individual sheet of Bounce inside empty luggage before storing.
12. To freshen the air in your car - Place a sheet of Bounce under the front seat.
13. Clean baked-on foods from a cooking pan. Put a sheet in a pan, fill with water, let sit overnight, and sponge clean. The anti-static agentapparently weakens the bond between the food and the pan.
14. Eliminate odors in wastebaskets. Place a sheet of Bounce at the bottom of the wastebasket.
15. Collect cat hair. Rubbing the area with a sheet of Bounce will magnetically attract all the loose hairs.
16. Eliminate static electricity from Venetian blinds. Wipe the blinds with a sheet of Bounce to prevent dust from resettling.
17. Wipe up sawdust from drilling or sand papering. A used sheet of Bounce will collect sawdust like a tack cloth.
18. Eliminate odors in dirty laundry. Place an individual sheet of Bounce at the bottom of a laundry bag or hamper. 19. Deodorize shoes or sneakers. Place a sheet of Bounce in your shoes or sneakers overnight.
20. Golfers put a Bounce sheet in their back pocket to keep the bees away.
21. Put a Bounce sheet in your sleeping bag and tent before folding and storing them. It will keep them smelling fresh.


BTW one of my personal "household hints" was publiched today on Startsampling.com. look for the Kid friendly icing tip.

Adam Update

I have been reprimanded by one of my sisters, no, it's not necessary to say which one in Indiana reprimanded me, but here I am to update you on the state of my son's health. It would be best of course if he were to update you himself, but that ain't gonna happen.

Adam was on antibiotics for a week, which ended up being longer than a week since he didn't take them at all the right times, and after the first couple of days I took him off of the flonase. His eyes started becoming completely bloodshot and at school the nurse showed me her "side effects" book. Good Grief! I would rather have a stuffed up nose! He is well and as you noted in Kathy's blog we are having the mold situation looked into. Adam is not allowed in his room if it is raining, which thankfully, I think that is over for the time being.

On the leg front, he begins physical therapy today for 3 times a week for 4 weeks. They are going to work on the leg that was just operated on and the other leg as well to get that built up some more so that the recovery this summer will be easier. The latest appointments we could get were 3:30, so his aunt and father are in charge of getting him there. The worst part of it is that I have to pay the $15.00 office visit co-pay everytime. Had I known all of this was going to happen I would have gotten on the Medical reimbursement plan last year, my next chance is end of June. That will help with the next surgery. Which I think is going to be scheduled for June 29. He should be in the hospital for a few days and then casted for about 6-8 weeks.

Kathy has Megan scheduled to come and visit in July, Gretchen is coming in a couple of weeks. That leaves only a few more people to schedule a time to come out. Come one come all we are open anytime.

On the Move

I have transferred within the School District. I made an Executive decision at the school site without checking with the "executive" and that was not taken well, so my prinicpal requested that I be "Administratively transferred". She also requested that I be suspended for 5 days but that notion was not taken seriously by anyone. So, here I sit at the District Offices working in the Special Education Department, with my own little office - Room 207 if you care to stop by, a brand new computer and a bunch of work to be done. This department is so far behind. Right now I am handling record requests from 2005! My email is the same but my work phone has changed. A direct line is 818-240-3200 listen for a tone then press 7, then my extension is 426. Unfortunately (or not), my phone is not working yet. My new work hours are 8 - 5, with an hour for lunch. What the heck do you do for an hour at lunch? Maybe I can go for a walk.

Charting our course

This is the medicaine chart. On Wednesday Adam complained of a headache. On THursday Kathy brought him to my office at 3:30 so we could go directly to an appointment with the brace people, when he arrived he was shivering and burning up and complaining of a headache. The school nurse took his temperature and it was 101. We went to the appointment, and headed straight home afterwards with a pit stop for gas and Advil. His fever didn't decrease much and the headache persisted, so he stayed home form school Friday. Now this is all complicated by an extremely stuffy nose. Saturday is spent in much of a stupor, between sudafed, advil and nyquil. Sunday comes and he is feeling slightly better, enough to make a quick trip to Dodger stadium to pick up season seats. He doesn't last long and we end up sitting in the top level watching the Braves take batting practive for a while, just relaxing and enjoying the fresh air as opposed to his "sickroom". Back home again and back to the headache and fever. During all this time span Thursday through Sunday Adam ate esxactly 3 pieces of dry toast and a snack size bag of microwave popcorn. He has been good about drinking and has drank more than a gallon of Apple Juice and some Gatorade. About 7pm the headache has gotten so bad Adam is reduced to tears and I decide to call the dr. His advice is to go to the er so that is what we do.
Kat drives and we head off. They determine he is severely dehydrated an hook him up to an iv with saline and antibiotics. Afater 4 hours we leave with a kid feeling better a diagnosis of pharyngitis and a scrp fo amoxicyllin. (Side note, before we laft I remembered to take the spaghetti noodles off the stove and drain them but not the sauce that was simmering on low) We get home around midnight and Ris has turned off the sauce and Mel and I head off to a 24hour pharmacy. Back home stick a pill in his mouth and go to bed.
He doesnt wake me all night but at what my alarm clock says is 6:13, Adam knocks on our common door and announces it is after 7! The only clock not to get changed this weekend is my damn alarm clock! I rush and run and get ready for work (supposed to be there by 7:30), give him the amox and a benedryl for the decongstion and leave for work. At 8:15 I get a call that he has thrown up, his fever is back and his head hurts. DR office opens at 8:30 I maje a same day appt for 10:15. When we gat there, they have no record of his appt and decide to send us back to the er based on his symptoms. Off we go....When they triage him at er his temp is now 102.2 and they ask what meds I gave him, when I tell them they say what about the fever? No tylenol? No, I thought the amox was supposed to work on that, oh no they say he should be taking the amox, motrin AND tylenol to combat all of the symptoms. The triage nurse administers a quick 600mg of Motrin and sends us into the back rooms, we are actually only 2 beds over from where we were less than 12 hours before. The nice dr comes in with her student in tow and explains everything that Adam should have taken and tells him to rest and let the Motrin take effect. While he is resting there is a couple in the bed across the way getting very cozy with each other. It really is quite embarassing. After Adam takes a nice nap his fever goes back down to normal and we are getting ready to go home. We are given another perscription for a nasal spray FLonase, and am advised to give him Motrin every 6 hours, Tylenol every 4 hours, Sudafed in the morning and again at 3 but not later than that because then he won't sleep, he can have the Benedryl at night to help him sleep and the Amox every 8 hours. Hence the medicine chart on the fridge. There is no way I could remember all of that and expect others to be able to help me, if I didn't try to organize it.
As I was handing the receptionist my $100 co-pay I was very thankful that Medical insurance is not like car or homeowner insurance where the more you use it the more it costs, I would be completely broke by now with everything we have been through this past year. Thank goodness for insurance!