Light at the end of the tunnel

OK, on day 8, we *think* he's coming home today! The doctor has not been by yet this morning, so we aren't 100% sure. He is sooo bored. I am working from home this morning and then have the rest of the day to deal with getting him home. I'll keep ya posted!

Update on Charles

Charles is concluding day 6 of his hospital stay for cellulitis and a badly infected left middle finger. We still have no word on when he'll go home, other than "when his finger is better". They've got his left arm/hand in a sling to elevate it, and he's bored out of his mind.

My mother-in-law is here with the kids, and I'm working and spending my late afternoons/evenings at the hospital with Charles. I'm ready for him to come home!

Ho Ho Ho

Not. Where to start? Charles woke up last Thursday complaining of an ingrown fingernail. By late morning his whole finger had swollen, and by early afternoon it was past his wrist. He saw our family doctor, who put him on antibiotics and pain meds. By Friday am the streaks were up to his bicep, so we took him to the emergency room. 10 hours later, he was finally admitted. His white blood count (wbc) was 19.1, his blood pressure was low, he had a fever of 100.6, his pulse oxygen was low... he was a pretty sick guy.

Saturday his wbc came down to 16.3, and his blood sugars were at least dropping. Today his wbc is down to 9.8, but his finger is still gnarly. They did an xray of it in the emergency room, and if it's not better tomorrow, they will do an MRI. His finger getting better is the ticket to coming home.

Soooo.... our Christmas is kinda funky. I have yet to wrap the first present, and I have to do "Santa" without help for the first time in my marriage. I really hate that Charles will miss the kids' opening their gifts. We're going to pack up and take his gifts over to the hospital tomorrow morning. It just makes me teary to think of Christmas with him in the hospital.

On a happier note, Duncan did well in the 4th grade Christmas play, and Connor is missing both front teeth just in time for Christmas. Hope everyone has a Happy Holiday!!

Weekday Ramblings

Ugh. It's so hard to go back to work after being off for four days. It has NOT been a good week either. I applied for a promotion on my team and found out Monday I didn't get it. This is not such a bad thing -- I lost out to a retired air force colonel so I know it was a matter of not being the best candidate, but it still feels weird.

School snet an email asking why we hadn't responded to the notes they had sent the past several days, which meant Charles has not been signing the daily stuff. Apparently he has been "forgetting" to give Duncan his medication, which is really a bad thing. So I've had to be the watchdog the last couple of days trying to get them back on track.

The school nurse, whom I despise, has been trying to track us down, about Connor. He had a potty accident at school. I don't understand what the big friggin' deal is, but she sure is hard to get back with, and Charles just pleads embarassment and won't deal with her. So in between constant meetings I've been trying to track her down.

Charles has been sick as a dog this whole week with a flu like virus, so absolutely nothing has gotten done at home this week. We had scouts on Tuesday (rephrase, Duncan & I had scouts), and tonite are meeting family friends at Chuck E Cheese for dinner. Last night should have been fellowship and choir, but Charles wasn't feeling good, Duncan has been a tween jerk lately, and both Charles and I have been disenchanted with church lately. Lately we just haven't felt welcome. So we'll see where that goes.

OK, I got a new boss to train at work, so I need to get moving.

Blog Nonsense - Blame Liz

Thanks Liz!!

Christmas Elf Name My Christmas Elf Name is Get your Christmas Elf Name at JokesUnlimited.com

Happy Turkey Day

Happy Thanksgiving! Ours has been rather quiet and uneventful. The weather here in NC has been rainy and windy the past few days, so we decided not to go to Charlotte due to weather. Instead we stayed home and ate a nice family meal here. The kids are all excited about the new "Foster's Home" movie coming on Cartoon Network in a few minutes.

Tomorrow brings a day off from work, and my birthday. I am headed out to the local scrapbook store for an all day crop tomorrow, so I'll have some peace and quiet away. I really am simply looking forward to a quiet weekend.

Hope this finds you and yours having a great holiday!

TGIF

One way to truly appreciate having teammates is going three days with most of them out of the office -- what a week! I have just stayed tired this week.

We celebrated Connor's sixth birthday on Monday -- he got his presents on Sunday so he could play with them on the ride back from the beach, but then on Monday we took him out for dinner at Macaroni Grill. Tuesday marked the first time in six weeks we had hit the gym -- I was so very tired that night!! Wednesday was the first time since September we made it to church for fellowship (it conflicted with soccer), and it was packed! The kids acted up after dinner and I was tired of disobedience, so I took them home rather than hanging around for choir. Yesterday I had my hair appointment, and then tonite is scouts and a pack meeting. Tired yet? Tomorrow we have a den activity in the morning, then Sunday Duncan has a birthday party to go to, and I have to hit the gym on Saturday.

When will it end?!

Our Thanksgiving plans are up in the air for next week -- we are trying to settle them down so I can grocery shop if needed. Whew -- hopefully I'll be doing more blogging this weekend. See ya!

We're Back....

Home from vacation that is... the first of the pictures are posted over on my photo blog. I only have 554 to sort thru, so it may take a while to find some good ones to post.

A Beautiful Day at the Beach

Today's weather was the reason why I love the beach in the fall -- high of 76 degrees, sunny.... next to no wind.... simply a lovely day. We did the heated outdoor pool in the morning, ate a quick lunch, and spent three hours at the beach in the afternoon, followed by an hour at the pool. Connor's favorite part so far has been "having the waves hit me".... I have taken loads of pictures of him in the waves, I hope they turn out nice.

We have one more full day at the beach -- Charles' gaming buddies are coming down tonite, and they are all gaming tomorrow, so it will be me and the kids. We'll have the same routine, pool in the morning, beach in the afternoon. Frozen pizza for dinner, sandwiches for lunch. Then Sunday we pack up and head home. It has been nice to get away from everything, but I'm starting to be ready for my own bed, and my computer. But the kids have really enjoyed their time, despite a couple days of bad or mediocre weather. We didn't do much (didn't have the $$), but it has been very enjoyable.

Really Short One

OK, so very very sorry -- I had some troubles with blogger, and went about two weeks where I simply could not get logged in. Then.... we left on vacation. I'm actually writing this from the beach. We'll be home on Sunday.

Overall, we are having a good trip -- very low key, eating in the condo, taking advantage of the pool(s) and the beach. We had lousy weather Tuesday, not so great weather Wednesday, but today was lovely, and our last two days are supposed to be good too. Other than having to unexpectedly, in the pouring down rain, put a new alternator and battery in my car, it's been an uneventful trip.

See y'all sunday!

News

My friend P***** had her sixth baby today, a third little girl. I'm so excited for her, it's been a long pregnancy for her.

It's been a busy weekend for us -- we had scouts Friday night, and Duncan got his first award for the year, his fitness pin. Saturday the scouts did a cleanup project, and our kids got their flu shots. Sunday, we crashed and had a quiet day.

Hope this finds everyone well -- we've got another busy week with scouts on Tuesday, soccer on Wednesday, church directory photos on Thursday, and a scout camping trip this coming weekend. New soccer pictures on the photo page!

P.S. We have two people close to us that had surgery today (besides P****), so please hold them in your thoughts that things go smoothly.

"Getting It"

I have maybe four minutes to write this so bear with me today. We had soccer last night. Connor's coach, "Coach Jim", told me a couple of weeks ago that most of these kids have a moment where it clicks, where they "get it" and they improve rapidly. I think we are close to that moment with Connor and alot of the kids.

Connor improved last week, more hustle, more attentiveness, but still little ball contact. He still hasn't "gotten it", but he sure is close. Last night he had more ball contact than I think he's had the whole season so far. I had to laugh, he get the ball, stop it, and then pause to line up his shot. He'd have had four or five goals if he'd just shoot, but I am so very proud of how he played last night. He was charging after the ball, using his feet to stop it, and really hustling. All of the boys on his team are improving. I yelled myself hoarse last night cheering for them.

When I have a moment I'll post some pictures from last night on the photo blog.

Friday Catchup

Let's see... where did I leave off? My dental appointment went surprisingly well -- I was really scared when they have to numb you to clean, but it was a non-event. One quadrant down, two more to go (I don't have to do the fourth one). Dexter sailed through his neutering with flying colors, and has already seemed to chill out a little from our hyper little furrball. He's got a microchip now, and I think he's done on his shots until April. We'll find out at his follow-up visit on 10/17. Scouts went well Tuesday night -- they worked on their citizen pin. This upcoming Saturday they have a community service event, but I'm sending Charles to that with Duncan. Wednesday brought soccer for Connor -- he had alot more hustle (still not really fast but improving), and was a little more attentive.

I feel like I've bled money on the kids this week -- lunch money, book fair $$, field trip $$, scout dues & camping fee... sheesh. At the end of the month are school pictures so it feels like a never ending thing.

Duncan is about 1/3 of the way to his popcorn goal so far. We still have many houses in the neighborhood to hit so hopefully we'll make alot of progress this weekend. He got to go on a field trip to the local fair this week -- his artwork took a second place ribbon this year. I am very proud of my little artist.

Hopefully this finds all my readers well. Have a great weekend!

PMS Sucks

What a moody *itch I've been today!!! I'm hoping it's PMS. With school stuff and scouts I've got an extra $160 in bills this paycheck, and then Dexter goes in to be neutered tomorrow. On top of that, I'm starting $1200 worth of dental work tomorrow that I am NOT looking forward to. Joy oh joy.

Anyone need any boy scout popcorn? We're selling til 10/25....

TGIF!!!

Thank GOODNESS it's Friday! I don't think I had another work day in me this week! It really has been a crazy week. We had another person retire, so we are in scramble mode. I'm carrying the environment support pager until we get someone new in.

Have I mentioned yet that Connor got sent to the principal's office for blowing kisses to everyone in his class? When I asked him what Mr. Rash had to say, he said "Kisses can cause germs!" How cute is that? He's doing slightly better on behavior, but still lots of straight faces and frown-y faces. Sigh.

Dexter had his first vet visit this week, and got an excellent bill of health. He had several vaccinations, got his ears cleaned out (full of dirt), and will get neutered on Tuesday. I don't think he's going to be happy with us Tuesday.

One kid or the other has a field trip for the next three weeks running. The Cub Scout popcorn sale starts tomorrow (let me know if anyone wants to order!), so we will be canvassing our neighborhood tomorrow. Scouts has a camping trip in October as well. The Dixie Classic Fair is in town, and we are trying to decide if we can take the kids to it. Duncan will have art hanging in the fair so I'd like to at least go and see that.

I'm positive I had more to say than this, but I've run out of words at the moment. I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Day 2 of "Where's the mute button???"

Ugh... I'm going to invent a cone of silence for the mornings! This morning Connor thoughtfully "had to show me something" and shoved his brothers dirty underwear in my face. EWWW!

I had alot of trouble sleeping last night -- my shoulder was all knotted up. The icy-hot patch helped (along with the wine cooler) and I finally was able to sleep. Today has soccer on the agenda. It is also my meeting all-day day so I start with an 8am meeting and end with a 3pm meeting and more in between....

See you tomorrow (I hope!)

Peace in the a.m.

Some days I could just mute all three of my "boys"... they make SOOO much noise in the a.m.!!! I like about 30 minutes of quiet to gather myself before my day starts, and they are shouting and making noises... it makes me NUTZ!!

Today is the first den meeting for scouts for Duncan this year. He's in Beth's den again, which I am sooo excited about! He got four belt loops from summer camp at the pack meeting Friday night.

Tomorrow (hopefully) will be Connor's second soccer game -- we got rained out last week and he was disappointed. Duncan will attend choir tomorrow night, and then Connor's group sings in church on Sunday. Thursday will be an "at home" night for us which I am looking forward to. Survivor has started on tv again so I have my priorities straight on that subject LOL!

Latest Blog Nonsense

If you know me at all, you look at this and go "DOH!"

You Have A Type A Personality

You are hyper, energetic, and always on the mood You tend to succeed at everything you attempt And if you don't succeed at first, you quickly climb your way to the top! You could be called a workaholic, but you also make time for fun As long as it's high energy and competitive, you're interested You have the perfect personality for business and atheltic success

Do You Have a Type A Personality?

Remembering Peter Teague Milano

Born August 10, 1958. Died September 11, 2001. Grew up on Foster Avenue in Carnasie Brooklyn NY. He had two brothers (Frank and Derf) and a sister. Attended Brockport State University.

Peter was a family man from Middleton, NJ, with a wife, Patti, and a son, Peter, and a daughter Jessica. He was a corporate bond broker for Cantor Fitzgerald at the World Trade Center. Throughout everything I read as I prepared this tribute, I saw over and over again how much people remembered his smile, his friendliness, his helpfulness.

Kind and AttentiveThoughtful.

He was always thoughtful. The son of a good friend was starting high school. On the morning of the first day of classes, Peter T. Milano called the young man to wish him luck. At the end of the day, he called again to see how things went.Arriving to take the commuter ferry to New York, Mr. Milano spied a pregnant young woman waiting at the end of a very long line, carrying a package. He whisked the package from her arm and escorted her to the front of the line and onto the ferry.He never missed his son's basketball games, never missed his daughter's dance recitals. "He was an incredibly thoughtful guy," said William McGarr, a close friend.Mr. Milano, 43, was a corporate bond broker at Cantor Fitzgerald and lived in Middletown, N.J., with his wife, Patti, and their two children, Jessica, 13, and Peter, 16.About 20 years ago, he played in a pretty serious touch football league in Brooklyn. The field was asphalt; when the game ended, you felt it. After a championship game, he was introduced to Patti, who had come to watch. He spoke to her only briefly. When he got home, he told his aunt, "I met the girl I'm going to marry." During every workday, even the busiest and most stressful ones, he found the time to call his wife several times, just to hear her voice and see how she was. "It always boosted his
spirits," Mr. McGarr said. Profile published in THE NEW YORK TIMES on December 6, 2001.

Lauren Huber posted this tribute on one site:

Peter Milano was a kind, caring and loving person who loved his family with all of his heart and soul. He would walk on water for his family letting nothing get in his way. Thats the person he was. As well as very giving towards others. I'd known Mr. Milano, as I called him, for a long time. I have been very very close friends with his daughter since we were little and we met at Tradewinds Beach Club. Mr. Milano loved to come down during the summer when ever he could and spend time with his family. Whether it be boogie boarding with his kids, talking with friends, cooking burgers or just simply sitting on the beach with hs wife he loved being there. I remember how he would always look after all of us making sure we stayed out of troule, had enough sun block on, checked in with our parents, and always told him where we were going. One thing I will always remember is how he would make me drink cranberry juice because it's good for you and if I didn't drink all of it I had to come back later to finish it. The funny thing is now I drink cranberry juice all the time. Mr. Milano meant so much to me he was like another dad to me and I will never forget him. Although it is hard not having him here, we are all luck to have had him in our lives. Love always Lauren

Susan Haberman had this to say:

I met Pete while commuting on the ferry. We began by just saying hello to one another and eventually my friends knew his friends and so on. Over time, I learned about his love (and sometimes frustration) for crossword puzzles (and his being a terrible speller), his dedication to his family, and his general love of life. No matter what was going on, Pete always had a smile and nothing but kind words to say, to everyone. He would consistently offer his seat if one of the "boat girls" didn't have a seat, a true gentleman.

My research on Peter came from the following sites:

http://www.legacy.com/GB/GuestbookView.aspx?PersonId=146278&PageNo=1
http://www.911wvfa.org/events20.htm
http://www.legacy.com/Sept11.asp?page=tributestory&personid=146278 http://www.ahherald.com/2002/ahh020912.htm
http://www.unitedinmemory.net/

I imagine many of us participating in the 2996 project have never met the people we honor. It seems so tragic that so many good people are gone. God bless them all.

To see a complete list of tributes, click here.

Soccer!

We had our first soccer practice and game. The concept of "no hands" is going to take a little while (and not just for him) but he did great! He was a good sport when it was his turn to sit on the bench (or in this case lay in the grass), he was respectful to the coach and his team, and I think he's gonna love it.

He's #2. The team name is The Bears, and I like both coaches. There are 11 kids on his team, and 10 teams in his age group -- WOW. Seven more weeks, and hopefully my photography skills will improve. I got a short movie of him playing, but it's 45 meg so I don't think it will upload gracefully!