Category: Working Mama

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One of those weeks….

It’s amazing how many times I think that in say, the course of a month. Why do I continue to attempt to predict the future? You’d think I’d learn.

Today I planned to drop M at Rainbow, do a staff development day (code for: work on the stuff I always mean to do but don’t), go to the chiro, pickup M, etc. etc.

This morning at 9:30 I get the call that she’s pulling on her ears and running a low temp. Guess we’ll go for a recheck with the ENT sooner rather than later. So we did, and she’s fine. Sometimes, apparently, if there’s any inflammation in the eustachian (SP?) tubes, there’s a popping/cracking sensation she’s probably experiencing for the first time. Oh, and well, you know, those low grade fevers come and go. And I think this one here now is in conjunction with the fact that she’s sticking her hand all the way in her mouth…is it time for 2nd year molars all ready?!?!?

As for the rest of the week: I was kind of exaggerating. But it was an unexpected sort of weekend. After we visited with J and Z, hubby went to work (at 9pm after already working 8-5pm). And really, with the exception of coming home for about 7 hours on Saturday morning, he didn’t really come home until SUNDAY NIGHT. The man worked something close to 40 hours of overtime. Turns out, when there are ice storms west of here, the mobile phone company has to move generators through his location from the east, and send them west. And someone has to manage that project. That someone would be him. He slept on a cot, ate lots of take out, and watched around 75 generators get loaded on and off of semi trucks for close to 36 hours straight. Strange, oh so very strange. Which left me and the monkey to do as we please most of the weekend. Sunday we went to visit the monkey’s boyfriend, A. They had a fun play date while I had a fun visit with A’s parents.

Today hubby went to a rhuemo doc and turns out, he’s got some creepy joint virus. A virus in his joints. Seriously. The great news is that it can be cleared up with meds. What’s even better? Our insurance rocks. I’m thankful for that every.single.day. Especially on days like this, where 2 of us go to the doctor and incur probably about oh, say, $500 worth of bills. And we just pay our measly co-pay. Very, very thankful. (seriously, w/o insurance, it would have cost $85 to tell me M’s “fine”. $85!)

Which leads me to this:………….I find lots of cool things on this information superhighway via my SIL’s blog–I Should Be Folding Laundry.

Upon logging on today, I found out about Kelli and what the internet community is doing for her. I was amazed, and thought about it for a little bit….and decided to jump in to help the cause. And ok, I’m getting a little blog-botox from BlueBirdBlogs in the process. It’s for such a good cause, how could I say no?? So check out the links, see what you think. I just checked the totals, and close to $3,000 has been raised so far. And that doesn’t include the proceeds from people like me, getting bloggie-botox. $3,000 is more than 2 months of anti-rejection drugs.
Makes my $85 complaint look like a drop in the bucket.

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sans Sybil or: today is brought to you by the color blue

Life without Sybil lurking around the school has been sooooo much better. Granted it’s only been two days, but it’s been so less stressful and nutty I can’t really even begin. Except to say that things are MUCH better. Which is saying a lot, because I came home covered in blue paint.

Ok, not covered. Not covered in comparision to the 3 year old who went hog-wild at the easel and ended up with paint in her HAIR,but more covered than your average 34 year old on any given non-game day here in the Circle City.

When I rounded the corner and saw my budding O’Keefe, I was really thankful that I didn’t put the red paint out today, or the art area would have looked like a crime scene instead of just a smurf-party gone bad. Seriously. She got the other side of the easel. The floor. The sink. The cabinet. The step stool. The fridge. Her socks and her hair.

It’s days like this that make me say, “to hell with the process, give me CRAYOLA COLOR WONDER!!!” But then I regroup and remember that it is a process, and while my little O’Keefe has a long way to go in the painting department, she did a good job of helping me to clean up.

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Self-pity post

Every so often, things come crashing down around me. I think this is one of those times. M is sick….AGAIN. She had the fever Tuesday and part of Wednesday. Perked up Wednesday afternoon, and went back to daycare yesterday. Yesterday afternoon she started coughing. Coughing so hard that she threw up. Coughing so hard that she’s gagging. It was so sad, and slightly scary. It’s not the croup cough, it’s not very productive, it’s not accompanied by any other severe symptoms. It’s just there. So, of course, we are home again today. And I have to make the dreaded “I’m not coming into work again” calls, which I am too familiar with. And this time, the teacher with whom I am currently working brings up the fact that M is in daycare and that is why she is getting sick. DUH. And maybe I need to make other arrangements for her. In my head I’m thinking, “because there are SO many other great affordable options out there! NOT!” Just the conversation I want to have at 7am after being awake from 3-5am with the coughing child.

I called the Dr. this morning, and at this point, he doesn’t want to see her. He gave me the usual litany of cool mist humidifier, cough syrup DM, lots of fluid, blah blah blah. Great. Thanks. And of course it’s Friday, which means if she gets worse over the weekend, we’ll be back in the ER or a Med Check place, spending 4x the amount of an office visit. Not that that will stop us from taking her, but seriously, why must it be the weekend. At least I won’t have to call in sick the next two days. 🙂

And maybe all of that wouldn’t have gotten me down if in fact, I felt better myself. But that crazy epidural pain shot I had Tuesday? Not working. Now I did like the doc a lot, and he said it would take a few days, and he said to call next week if it isn’t any better….but that doesn’t change the fact that today it isn’t any better. So I continue to limp, tend to my sickie and wallow at the current state of our affairs! It’s my blog, so I can wallow all I want.

On to other things I’ve been thinking about:
1) The poor little boy who was kidnapped by his mom after she and her boyfriend killed the social worker who brought him to visit. Does it get any sadder than that? It makes my current problems seem like a hill of beans. I do realize this.

2) If Barack Obama decides to run for President, I think I may vote for him.

3) The holidays are coming up, and it will be so much fun! Assuming we are all on the mend by then–Halloween, T-day, and Christmas promise to be a blast this year with M and all of her cousins. The special clothes, the traditions, the excitement, the food, the visiting, the decorating….it will be a bit much, but so much fun! Maybe I’ll start some online shopping to get myself in the Holiday spirit.

4)Hop on Pop by Dr. Suess–could there be a book with less of a point?? It’s currently M’s favorite, and OMG,it’s making me batty!! Her favorite page is PAT CAT Pat sat on cat. And she points to the cat and shrieks. It’s funny, but seriously, we are reading this book 10 times a day. I think it may have to go back to the library soon!!