Sick

I knew that 7 hours in the ER was a bad thing. Anna is officially sick. Started last night with a fever of 102 and then she woke up this morning still 101. UGH!! She complained of her head and eyes hurting. Her throat hurt too bad to really swallow and her chest sounded congested. Concerned about strep, I took her off to the doctor's office today where they immediately ran strep and flu cultures. Strep came back negative, but she is positive for influenza type A and B. UGH!! See what I mean. She sent us home with a prescription for some decongestant that has an antihistamine in it, so we can skip the Zyrtec while she is sick. She also gave her Relenza. The side effects of that may be worse than the actual flu, so we may not go through the whole thing. UGH! Anyhow, so there you have it. We are on a Tylenol , juice and TV liquid diet today. She has basically laid down and watched more TV over the course of the day than all month long. LOL!! Praying she is better soon and back to her old self and that the Relenza doesn't give her the side effects that it could. Take care all and I will update you tomorrow after work.

Over 7 Hours!!!

UGH!! Yes, you read that right....over 7 hours. That's how long we spent in the ER waiting to get Anna's chin fixed. They were going to do stitches, but after cutting off the fatty tissue sticking out, they ended up using DermaBond. So glad they chose to use that, as it was less traumatizing. Anyways, now for the rest of the story.

I got a frantic phone call at work at about 5:50pm.
"Where's Anna's medical card, I need to take her to the ER."
"It's at home, what happened?"
"Anna fell and cut her chin and she needs stitches."
"Come and get me right now, and I will get it."

So, he comes for me and I leave work early, because there was no way they were taking my little girl to the ER without her Mommy!!

When I get in the car, I have Anna explain to me what happened.
"I was pretend skating in the kitchen and I fell down."

LOL! Okay, so that was something typical. How many of us have slid across the floor? I used to love doing that as a kid and still occasionally do it as an adult.

Anyways, back to my story. We check in to the ER at 6:40pm. They eventually call her back to triage and check her chin. Yes, she needs at least one to two stitches, so our wait begins. (As a side note, it took them over 25 minutes after check-in to triage her...that by itself should be wrong.)

We were in for a long wait. Jeremy went to the car and got his IPOD so Anna could watch movies. We waited and waited and waited. Good grief. Did we wait.

We had Jeremy's mom bring us supper at about 8pm, because we were hungry and hadn't had supper yet. We ate that and waited some more.

At 11:30pm, after being there almost 5 hours, I went to check her status. Still in a wait and hold pattern. Good grief, its a good thing she wasn't gushing blood. (Oh wait, they had someone there doing that and they made him wait almost an hour for treatment. And yes, he got to go ahead of her. It looked to be gang related, so we tried to stay as far back and away from that as possible.)

Ok, back to my story. At 12:15am, I went and checked again, because after all, over 5 hours and only needing two stitches at most, you would think they would have had us out of there faster, but no, they didn't know when she would go back. So we sat and waited some more.

At 12:40, they called Anna back to triage to re-assess her. Good grief, I am glad she wasn't seriously hurt. Only took 6 hours to re-assess her. Yep, she still needed stitches and we could either wait, or take her to her primary care doctor first thing in the morning. WHAT!!! I didn't know that was an option 6 hours ago, are you kidding me. We opted to wait, since we had already been there over 6 hours and since it probably wouldn't be too much longer until we went back. Besides, that meant having to get up first thing in the morning and hoping her doctor could do stitches or DermaBond in the office, it wasn't a guaranteed thing. Good grief. If the triage nurse had given us that option at 6:40, when we checked in, we would have gone home and continued our saga today, but we were never told that option!

Anyhow, so we waited some more. At about 1:20am, we finally, YES, FINALLY, get called back to a room. Yes, she cut her chin open pretty badly, but they could glue it shut with the DermaBond. Okay, let's do it already, I am VERY tired and my body has physically had enough. He got everything he needed, cleaned up her chin and tried to push the fatty tissue back in to where it belonged. He would push in one piece and the other would pop out, so then he would push that one in and the other one would pop out. It wasn't working. He gave us two options at that point. He could cut off the fatty tissue so her chin could be glued shut, or we could do the stitches. I told him I didn't care, to do whatever he thought was best. So, he came back to the room with a pair of scissors and proceeded to cut off the fatty tissue sticking out of her skin, with no pain meds. OUCH!! Anna did really good. Once those pieces were off, he held the two side together and glued her chin shut. It took two layers to get it good and shut, then we had to wait about 3 for the glue to dry, and she was able to sit and wait some more. That's about the time she decided that it hurt. LOL!! They gave her some Motrin, which Anna said "tasted like bad oranges," covered it with a bandaid, to keep her fingers off it and released us to go home at 2:00am.

It was straight home and straight to bed for all of us. I am still in disbelief that we were there for over 7 hours. It took less than 20 minutes to fix her chin once we were back. The other 20 minutes back there was wait time. That is absolutely crazy. It might not have been so bad, but since so many people use the ER as a doctor, we were in line behind a bunch of people with the flu and coughs and colds. Most of them didn't truly need to be in the ER, but such is life.

Jeremy said we need to thank the Apple Corporation and maker of IPOD for having such a long lasting battery life. Anna watched 4 movies while we waited. Goodness sakes, she didn't say anything about the wait, until AFTER the third movie. It was very verbal though and very well said, as only a seven year old can say. "THIS IS TAKING FOREVER!!!" LOL!

Anyhow, I will try and post pictures later. I don't want to take the bandaid off yet, so we are waiting just a little longer. Thanks for reading about our wonderfully long day and pray that we NEVER have to do that again.

**Disclaimer: View Jeremy's blog for the rest of the story.

Not Doing Visit

We are still going to visit my sister, but after much thought and prayer, we decided, okay I decided, that we are not doing the visit with birth mother right now. It is something that I think Jeremy needs to be there for and it will just have to wait until our next "family" trip to that area. I didn't feel right about doing a visit without my husband. Anyhow, that's the decision. I would have worried about it the whole trip and spent the entire time waiting for it sick with worry. Then, I just couldn't shake that feeling that something "could" happen. I personally don't think that it could, but the thought that if something happened, I would be responsible, well it just wasn't worth it. So, for now, no visit. It needs to wait. Till when, I don't know, but it needs to wait. Anyhow, that was my big decision for the weekend. I think its the right decision. Thanks for all the prayers. Now we are looking forward to a good, stress-free, fun and exciting visit. (Don't tell Anna, but we are going to the zoo while we are there!! SHHHHH!!!) She will be so excited. Alright, time to get ready for the day. Take care.

Tickets Booked!

Our tickets are booked and Anna and I are going to Dallas to visit my sister over Spring Break!! YEAH!! I am quite excited. We are going to the Dallas Zoo one day. We are going to Grapevine Mills mall for shopping another day. That leaves only one more day and I am quite sure that we can fill that up with more fun. Its been a year since we have seen my sister. I am very excited. A little nervous about flying, but a little Dramamine and I should be good. Giving Anna some as a pre-caution as well. Yes, this will be her first airplane ride. I kind of feel guilty about that because Jeremy really wanted to go and be with her on that first ride, but he isn't going on this trip with us. I hope those poor people are ready for a lot of pictures. This is going to be an experience to remember. One other thing that we are thinking about doing is meeting up with Anna's bio-mom. I think it would be good for her and answer some questions for her, but Jeremy is afraid we would be starting up the night terrors again. We are probably both right, but I do think we should do a short visit anyways. That will be decided by the end of the weekend as I will need to send it out in a letter to her by Saturday or Monday at the latest so she can make arrangements to get over to where we will be at that day. No, I will not go WAY out of my way for this. If she wants to see her, she will come, not matter if it is close or not. We also do not wait too terribly long for her to show up. She either shows up or we leave. Have not done a visit since Anna was 4, so this is almost like treading on unknown territory. Its been quite a while. We'll soon know. Well, I better go for now. Take care. And yes, you are blessed with two posts in one day. :-) Enjoy!!

What Time is it?

Ok, so this morning my husband was up early. Usually I hear him briefly when he gets up, but then I go back to sleep and never hear him again, not even the door closing. i usually get up around 7 or 7:30am, so this morning was no different, or so I thought. I heard my husband and went back to sleep. Perfectly normal, right? Well, I had to get up early this morning so we have time for our spelling test and we can be ready for one of the home school groups we attend early, as we are being picked up. Anyways, so I decided to get up.

I put my glasses on. (check)
I turned off the fan. (check and yes, we sleep with a floor fan on all year round.)
I turned off the DVD player. (check. Yes, another bad habit. We sleep with the TV on.)
I changed the TV to channel 5, PBS. (check)

This is where I noticed a BIG snag!! There was some exercise show on and not our normal cartoons. AACK!! What time is it anyways??? 5:15am!! Good grief, that's not right, is it? Check other clock. 5:15am. Why on earth am I up at 5:15am and WHERE is my husband? This didn't take long to figure out. He couldn't sleep either and was taking a bath in the bathroom. Good grief. I straggled back to bed, but there was no more sleep to be had. NONE!! I was up and walking around too much by then, so I finally got up and watched the early morning news. Let's not do this again. That is way too early to be up for me!!

Baking

I forgot to post this about a week or so ago, but we are going to start baking. My goal is at least twice a month, but if we can do it once a week, then all the better. About that long ago, we made banana bread. It was fun and boy did it taste good when we were done. (It was the perfect thing to make with 4 bananas that were not so good to eat.) Here are some pictures of that day:

Anna looking cute:

("I'm going to take your picture.")
("OK Mom. Cheese!!")

Hard at work:


Isn't the apron cute?:

Licking the spatula clean:

(We all did this as kids and we're still here!!)

The finished product! YUM!!

See it was very good!

Anyways, there you have it. If anyone has some good, but simple recipes, please send them my way. We don't even own a cook book and the Internet confuses me with all the bazillion recipes they have. If you know of a simple website, I'll take that link too. LOL!! Thanks all.

Reading and Writing

I discovered a new method of reading and writing improvement Saturday for the younger kiddos. I was not all that impressed at first about what hubby and daughter were doing, but it is what it is and then I tried it and realized that it is really good for reading and writing practice for her. I can't believe I am about to post this, but here is what I am talking about:

Yes, they are on the nice and cute little Nintendo DS game systems. They were chatting on them for ever. I can't believe that, but as long as its used int he right context, I think this is a great way to improve her reading and writing skills. She has talked with Daddy via the DS every day since then. I guess they are good for more than just games. You of course have to have two to even bother with the chat option, but it is fun for her. She loves every minute of typing or writing a message to us. All we can hear is giggles and then her reading what we sent to her in the other room. LOL!! So, I guess I am promoting the option of chat on those silly little systems, but it is a good thing for her. I am glad we got the second one. Very glad.

100 Truths!!

100 Truths
Last beverage: Water
Last phone call: Jeremy
Last song you listened to: How Great is Our god - It's my ring tone
Last time you cried: Yesterday
Last text message: 21 (I'll let you ponder that one.)
HAVE YOU EVER:
Dated someone twice: Nope
Been cheated on: I'm not sure I want to know that
Lost someone special: yes
List Three Favorite Colors: Navy Blue, Burgundy, and Pastel Pink
IN THE PAST MONTH HAVE YOU:
Made a new friend: I don't think so
Laughed until you cried: yes
Found out who your true friends were: yes
Found out someone was talking about you: yes, and it made me sad initially, but I have decided that I can't control their lives and its not worth my time to dwell on it. I pray God will take a hold of their lives!!
RANDOM:
How many kids do you want to have: one
Do you have any pets: fish, but I am NOT responsible for their well-being
Do you want to change your name: Not anymore.
What time did you wake up today: 6:30am to my daughter saying..."Mommy, Daddy left without letting me give him a kiss." I am pretty sure Daddy didn't even know she was up.
What were you doing at midnight last night: sleeping
Name something you CANNOT wait for: UH...right now its for my car to be fixed
Last time you saw your father: Don't remember
What' s one thing you wish you could change: Not sure
Have you ever talked to a person named Tom: yes
Is someone getting on your nerves right now: Yes, a whiny stuffed dog named "Scout"
Most visited web page: wyldcrazy.blogspot.com (me too....that why I'm doing this silly survey)
Nicknames: "Smidget" and "Franticteacher"
Hair color: some type of blonde
Height: 4'11"
Piercings: 1 in each ear
Tattoos: they are not for me...ouch
Righty or lefty: righty
FIRSTS:
First best friend: Supreena - From 1st grade on till I moved in 12th grade
First sport: gymnastics, but it was short-lived, too expensive
First pet: I think we had a cat and a dog, but I don't really remember
First vacation: first one I remember is to Disney Land when I was 6, or at least I think I was 6.
First concert: attended?? UH? Good question!!
WHICH IS BETTER WITH THE OPPOSITE SEX:
Lips or eyes: Eyes - definitely
Hugs or kisses: both
Shorter or taller: taller
Older or Younger: older, but not by much
Romantic or Spontaneous: Romantic, but I definitely got the spontaneous type
Sensitive or Loud: sensitive
Hook-up or Relationship: relationship
Trouble-maker or hesitant: Hesitant is easier to deal with, but I am pretty sure mine's a trouble-maker...LOL
HAVE YOU EVER:
Kissed a stranger: NO! Never kiss a stranger!
Lost glasses or contacts: Probably when I was younger
Ran away from home: Yeah, first time I ran away to the back porch cause I didn't know where to go. Packed a bag even with doll clothes and cookies and took my favorite doll with me.
Been arrested: No
Turned someone down: Yes
Cried when someone died: Yes, almost every time
DO YOU BELIEVE IN:
Yourself: Sometimes
Love at first sight: Yes
Heaven: already booked a room!
Santa Claus: No, but the magic associated with his character is fun
ANSWER TRUTH FULLY:
Is there one person you want to be with right now: yes
Had more than one boyfriend/ girlfriend at one time: no
Do you believe in God? Yes! And I also believe that he sent his son Jesus to save us!!
List the two things you love most in your life and could not live without: Only Two? I have three!! Jesus first, then Anna and Jeremy! Or is it Jeremy and Anna?
I tag:
No one!! This was too long of a survey to inflict that pain on others!! If you choose to do it, let me know. Its kind of fun!!

Car Update

Well, we put my car in the shop last week and sat and waited. Today, the mechanic called. He had some news. Boy did he have news. The good news first...I don't have to replace my whole engine. Ok, now the bad news. This is where my story will be shaky at best. Here is what it looks like happened....The number 4 spark plug was not put in correctly and it jiggled loose and shot through the cylinder head, a bunch of gaskets and ruined the head gasket. I need a new head gasket, several other gasket thingys, new coils, a new cylinder head, my spark plug slot needs to be re-threaded and then of course we need to replace all the fluids. That's all.

Long story short, it won't cost us near what we thought to fix. At least we don't think so anyhow. He is pulling off the head gasket to get a closer look at the engine and then we will know for sure what the total damage is.

This means a lot to me as I need some medical stuff done and the money was the issue preventing me from getting it done, so this helps tremendously!

Thanks for all the prayers about my car and keep them coming. I think that is enough to replace and repair right there. Also keep praying about my health. Thanks and God bless.

Refund In!

We were able to go shopping and stock the freezer (this is a long story in itself).
We bought a second DS game system, because the one Anna has is so much fun.
We ate out twice (at good restaurants).
We had my car towed in to be fixed.
Now, the rest must sit until we know what's wrong with my car and what it will cost to fix it. I am almost scared of what it will cost. I am praying that its not that much, but we do have quite a bit set aside for the repair. If it is worth fixing, then great. If not, then we will unfortunately have to look at the cost of a newer car, so I can drive and not worry about breaking down. Anyhow, so it did arrive and we must sit on the majority of it for now. That's all that's new in my life. hope you all had a good week. Take care and God bless.

Refund Time

I am waiting patiently, or not so patiently for our refund.

Its what we need to put my car in and find out what's wrong with it. I don't know if we can fix it or not until I know what's wrong with it.

Its what we need so I can go to the doctor again and get some different medicine. The one he has me on is NOT working.

Its what we need to stock our freezer once again. I love doing that.

I guess that may be as far as it goes, but there are all kinds of other dreams for it. Please come refund. Let me at least TRY to get my car back.

(Weird post I know, but this is my life right now.)

Know Me Better

(Due to Lack of Creative Thinking Skills right now, you all get to see my responses to one of these dorky surveys!!)
Welcome to the new 2008/2009 edition of getting to know your family and friends. Here is what you are supposed to do, and try not to be lame and spoil the fun. Change all the answers so that they apply to you. Then send this to a bunch of people you know, INCLUDING the person who sent it to you.Some of you may get this several times; that means you have lots of friends.The easiest way to do it is to hit 'forward' so you can change the answers or copy and paste. Have fun and be truthful!

1. What is your occupation right now? Sales, Mom, Teacher
2. What color are your socks right now? White
3. What are you listening to right now? Super Why (Its on PBS)
4. What was the last thing that you ate? Chocolate Chip Cookies
5. Can you drive a stick shift? No, but I know my husband can
6. Last person you spoke to on the phone? My mother-in-law
7. Do you like the person who sent this to you? Sure do...he's my husband
8. How old are you? Do we have to answer this one? No one believes me anyways!!
9. What is your favorite sport to watch on TV? figure skating or gymnastics
10. What is your favorite drink? bottled water
11. Have you ever dyed your hair? yep, but not in a very long time. I have enough hair issues without adding to them
12. Favorite food? Lobster
13. What is the last movie you watched? Barbie Diamond Castle (I need to get out more...LOL)
14. Favorite day of the year? Christmas Day
15. How do you vent anger? yelling and screaming or crying (I don't like to get mad)
16. What was your favorite toy as a child? Cabbage Patch Kid
17. What is your favorite season? Fall, love to see colored leaves
18. Cherries or Blueberries? Neither
19. Do you want your friends to e-mail you back? Not sending it to anyone, but anyone can do it. :-)
20. Who is the most likely to respond? I don't know
21. Who is least likely to respond? I don't know
22. Living Arrangement? Two Bedroom Duplex, One husband, One Daughter and 101 Fish
23. When was the last time you cried? Yesterday, out of frustration
24. What is on the floor of the closet? A lot of junk. Trying to clean it out
25. Who is the friend you have had the longest that you are sending to? Not sending it to anyone, posting it on my blog
26. What did you do last night? Rearranged my room for a "new" look and slept great, finally!!
27. What are you most afraid of? Snakes and Mice
28. Plain, cheese, or spicy hamburgers? A plain burger is fine, although I sometimes like cheese
29. Favorite dog breed? I like the yappie little Yorkies :-)
30. Favorite day of the week? Sunday or Wednesday - I love going to church!!
31. How many states have you lived in? One, just this one!!
32. Diamonds or pearls? diamonds, but not big ones
33. What is your favorite flower? roses, although I have only received them once - hint hint honey!!