Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Good news, no H1N1 here. Whew! Don't know what the fever was all about but it disappeared. Thank goodness.

Today is Al's 35th Birthday. We're going to keep it simple tonight and celebrate with my parents tomorrow, when Dad doesn't have to go to work the next day.

Tomorrow is Al's last day of work. It's here already. Al will be daddy day care soon and I expect he'll be desperate to find a job. Believe me, it's soooo different than working at home with an ill child. I'll be quarantined to my home office for 8 hours a day, which will be off limits to the little ones.

I've enjoyed my mini vacation. Yesterday the girls napped at the same time so I got to read my book for a few hours and then nap on the couch. What a luxury. My back was tired from picking up Alyssa again and again so that she could throw the basketball in the new hoop Santa brought our family. Thank goodness Santa brought us a four foot extendable hoop. I don't think I could lift her to throw into a regulation height hoop. It was, however, so nice to get out there for some exercise in between rain showers. And we avoided the super muddy lawn.

Al had his sleep study on Monday night. No sleep apnea. Yea! I was dreading this study, hoping we wouldn't have to get the sleep apnea machine. Talk about a marriage killer. Al said he actually slept horribly and was so glad to climb in our bed for one hour of decent sleep. At least that is over and right under the last few days of this year's insurance. Double relief.

Monday, December 28, 2009

Happy H1N1 Holiday

So this was to be a very eventful week . . . as most of my plans go. I was hoping to get together with a few of my girlfriends and their kids. It's been long overdue.

Alyssa has had a runny nose for a week now, no big deal except that she woke with a fever this morning. So I kept an eye on her and called the doctor, thinking ear and or sinus infection. So I was aghast when the doctor says I think she's got influenza (aka H1N1). She was vaccinated, too. Okay, I knew it was a possibility, but how, where, when. We haven't taken her even to a grocery store. She's been at home with family, none of whom have had any symptoms. So what now? The doctor says we need to confine ourselves to home. No trips to the grocery store, park, etc. So much for my plans. Tomorrow we have to go in to the doctor's office again for a urine test unless the fever magically disappears by bedtime tonight.

Thank goodness we got a lot of thought-provoking toys from family and Santa. Those should keep us occupied and me sane, hopefully.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

And it isn't even Christmas

I'm busy working away trying to get all of this work off my plate since tomorrow begins my vacation and the phone rings. It's the hospital wanting to schedule a sleep study for Al. Huh? Okay, I love my husband, but why is it men always forget to tell us important things. So I spend 20 minutes calling insurance, Al, and the hospital to make sure the $5k out-patient procedure will be covered. Keep in mind that is before an insurance discount, but geez, that took my breath away. So after getting all that cleared we set it up for tomorrow night.

I just wish that Al could catch a break. No matter how hard he tries, how well he eats, he will always have high blood pressure. And no matter how much he runs and how much fat melts off, he's still considered overweight. A month ago he was disappointed when the scale said that he didn't shed a pound, when we've seen him shrink. But he's building some serious muscle as he runs. And I'm proud of him and, more importantly, he's proud of himself.

I'm keeping all my fingers and toes crossed that this sleep apnea test shows nothing. It all started with a swollen uvula (the dingle ball in the back of the throat) that nearly choked him one night. He ended up in the ER at 3 AM. Diagnosis: he'd developed an allergy to his blood pressure medication. Great.

I've always been a firm believer that God gives you what you can handle. I just wish He didn't think we could handle so much.

At any rate, Al will still run to lose weight and for his health and family, and for a terrific cause. Al joined Team in Training to run a marathon and more importantly raise money for the Leukemia, Lymphoma Society in recognition of my mother, who is suffering with Multiple Myeloma. Please take a minute to read Al's letter.

http://pages.teamintraining.org/sj/napa10/al_gonzalez

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Last day of School in 09

Today is Samantha's last day in preschool until Christmas break. Tonight she has her Christmas Program, which should, as always, be super cute. In lieu of sharing food with the other families, we had decided to come home and have a nice dinner here. BUT, my poor mom called me this morning to let me know she had the stomach flu. Not fun and even worse considering that she's been suffering with some of the worst back pain she's ever had. It's largely muscle related, and difficult to get into massage at the doctor's office.

Samantha was very excited to go to school today and give her friends all little gifts: a Christmas-themed pencil and eraser. Her teacher, Ms. Tina, is ready for the holiday . . . the kids have been so wound up with the holidays near that we spent 45 minutes on the playground yesterday so they could expend their energy. Tins said that the afternoon class has been spending 1.5 hours every afternoon this week on the playground because they are way too wound up. They make our kids look like angels. Hmm, this couldn't have anything to do with the fact that we only have 3 boys in our class could it?

I've got three more days of work and then I'm off until January. I sure as heck can't wait. The kids will be in Tanya's through Wednesday of next week, so I'll get a bit of break. And I have mountains of presents to wrap.

Friday, December 11, 2009

I can't believe it, but Al and I have most of our Christmas shopping done. Woo hoo! The only problem is I'm afraid to wrap anything because Alyssa would unwrap everything. I am really running out of places to hide things.

I have to admit that I was really bummed out when I looked in our backyard yesterday. I expected all the calla lillies to die after the frost because that is normal, but I was sad to see the 12 foot trumpet vine so brittle. We finally landscaped our yard this summer and it looked so beautiful. I'm trying to be positive and remind myself that it just means I get to spend even more time gardening in the spring.

Alyssa started speaking in full sentences last Sunday. She just exploded and then didn't stop talking the whole afternoon. Her first sentence was "Where did daddy go?" And once I explained that he went to the store she said, "Okay" and walked away. She's also doing this funny thing where she fakes a tantrum and flops on the floor. It's funny even when she throws a real tantrum. I know, I'm not supposed to laugh, but it's so difficult sometimes.

Samantha is so happy to be back at school with her friends. They were super excited to see her and about knocked her over with hugs a few times. She keeps asking me when her Christmas program is. She can't wait to perform for everyone. If it's anything like last year, she'll make herself the star somehow. I'll try to shoot video again this year. Last year I laughed so hard the camera shook the whole time.