Round & Round

As I mentioned before, I think, I took Bekah to the doctor on Tuesday with a painful swollen lymph node.  They did labs and said they would call if test results indicated anything abnormal.  They also said to come back if anything further developed.  This morning Bekah had 4 large, swollen, painful lumps on her neck.  No fever, but more swelling, for sure, so off we went.  We saw a different doctor, nice enough, but not overly helpful.  "It is likely a virus."  "It will likely get worse before it gets better."  "The other doctor will call if the test results show anything."  OH you have an immune suppressed child in your home...hmmm... "wash your hands well"   

Joshy also decided to throw me for a loop - Tue evening, he had a VERY runny nose & was congested.  His runny nose came out of nowhere.  No preamble, nothing, just full blown nasty!   Josh has always gone from simple to serious at the drop of a hat, being immune suppressed just adds to the danger element.  We started cold meds.  Applied LOTS of Vick's.  Prayed.  He woke up FULL of vim & vinegar  with a clear nose & no noticeable congestion - thank you LORD!  He has had a few coughs now and again, but no more congestion or runny nose.  Praying hard that he is not / will not pick up whatever Bekah has!

Other than running round and round with medical stuff.  I also found myself walking round in circles during my morning walk.  Wednesday morning I did 2 loops inside my main loop - I was trying to still get my distance in while avoiding rain slick trails.  I really didn't wish to fall and possibly need to take ME to the hospital    It was a really nice walk!

  

This morning, I got brave and did a different loop.  I took a deep breath and ventured the opposite direction along the river.  The path is not as tame.  I am pretty sure it is inhabited by things that slither... I have NO desire to meet any slithery creatures, so I usually avoid this part of the river walk.  However, it WAS beautiful and I am glad I went that way.  I am also very thankful, I didn't see any reptiles.  As I meandered back, I even passed a couple of small rice fields that have already been harvested 

    

The last few mornings I have been going round and round with my thoughts... "You need to go walk." "But I don't want to."  "You'll feel better if you do!"  Yada, yada, ya...  Truth be told, morning walks do make me feel better.  They give me the energy to make it through the merry go round of hospital stuff, too.

How about you?  What helps you cope with going round & round? 

Quiet Coffee

I didn't sleep the best last night, BUT I feel much more refreshed.

It is still hot & humid, But I feel cooler.

See the introvert in me woke up early, before anyone else was stirring    This meant that I was able to have a cup of coffee in peace!  A cup of coffee without chatter in the fore or back ground ~ heavenly!!

I also went for a walk after my coffee, heading out the door at 6am.  The humidity was nasty, but the temps were "cool" enough to help balance things out.  I only did a 2k instead of a 3k this morning.  I also took a couple breaks to capture some of God's wonderful creation.

 

Wonderful Refreshment!!

The introvert in me has been busy pondering some things, but that is a whole other post.  Maybe that post will make it from my head onto "paper" this week while most of the family is away... When I will have more opportunity to sit and ponder over a quiet cuppa, provided the boy doesn't take it upon himself to make up for the quiet void left by those who are at camp & mountain climbing  

Turning 50 Gracefully

HAhahahaha...UGH

I managed to turn the big 5-0 just about an ungracefully as can be done!

Allowed my self to roll back over and sleep in - till almost 7 

Went downstairs and was greeted with a "Happy Birthday" from Jerry   Jerry even willingly went down stairs to get english muffins out of the freezer for me 

That's when the not so graceful dance began...

Someone, didn't shut the freezer door tight last night.  There was a big puddle on the garage floor and only 1 container was still frozen enough to be saved as frozen food.  We mopped shelves & toted 1/2 frozen food upstairs.  Started a huge crockpot make that 2 crockpots full of soup.  (Who wants soup for their birthday dinner in the middle of August when then heat index is over 100 before 10am?)  Then I proceeded to turn dripping containers of persimmon & pumpkin into bread.  Managed to forget the baking soda in one batch - looks more like persimmon pudding   Attempted to make a loaf of zucchini herb bread in the bread machine - that turned out well...

NOT!  Hopefully it will taste good with the soup 

Struggled with a really bad attitude.

Even still am VERY THANKful it was the veggie freezer an not the meat freezer - which we just restocked last weekend! (we have 2 small upright freezers)

Lunch was fend for yourself.  

Hubby disappeared with Isaac, house guest, finally making it back nearly 2 hours later.  They said they were going to 7-11 & I ask them to get frozen berries & whipped cream.  Then did come back with the items requested... after lunch at McD's  (He redeemed himself by bring home a birthday gift.)

Afternoon got somewhat better...

cheese cake & gifts helped!

This birthday ranks right up there with the birthday I spent cooking for a missionary convention (The time I learned that having 2 co-head cooks does not work well.)  And the birthday when I received the call that my mom had passed away.

And now it is time for birthday soup... think I might have a piece of cake instead  

HOT

What should you do the last class before summer break?  Especially when it is HOT?

Play with water, of course   (Especially, when you have extra helpers around!)

~ Water Balloon Counting ~

~ Fishing for Puzzle Pieces ~

~ Snow Cones ~

~Water Dipping ~

We had a lot of fun 

Refresh

Yesterday, I posted on blogger about our upcoming "vacation"  I was lamenting the idea that we will be headed 3 different direction during much of the 1st week, something I am not thrilled about.  Part of it was simply tired talking.  The past few nights have been more interrupted than usual due to storms.  If you add heat & humidity, we do not have a/c in the bedrooms because there is no such thing as central air here, good, restful sleep has been hard to come by.  There are other factors, I am sure, but I think tired was the biggest.

This morning I again woke up tired.  I also woke up an hour & a half later than usual.  I slept right through Josh's early morning med time on the 1 morning, I am responsible for then because Jerry who usually handles 1st meds had class.  OOPS!  Waking late threw my schedule off, but after some coffee & some adjustments, I made myself head out for my morning walk - on the bright side it was late enough that I could mail a letter.  I honestly think that letter was the biggest force dragging me out the door, because my body was in rebellion!  I have been pushing a little harder this week, trying to get past a block.  My body is NOT liking the extra push, especially when it is already tired.  My knee let me know in no uncertain terms that it was not happy, in fact, when I got home I was at a point of throwing in the towel.  A friend advised me that it could be over work, but it could also be my body trying to adjust...hmmm...

This afternoon, Joshy had therapy at the usual time 1:15.  Joshy also had a checkup at 4pm.  Both appointments were at the same hospital, but because of various snags the appointments could not be made to meet in the middle.  Finished therapy just after 2.  Stopped at the dental department to run an idea by the dentist about next appointment.  (We are going to attempt to put Joshy to sleep so that we can work on 4 teeth at once rather than doing them 1 at a time!)  This done & it was still only 2:20.  I could load Joshy in the car drive home & hang out for an hour or we could stroll over to the park.  I opted for the park, it wasn't raining and it simply sounded easier than loading/unloading boy & wheelchair!

We STROLLED.  I still got steps, and reached my daily goal, but I wasn't walking with a mission in mind.  We walked to a covered pavilion where I sat down and gave Josh his afternoon meds.  Then we meandered down a path I haven't taken for years.  Didn't go far before we found mud & then lots of stairs, but it was a fun detour.  Next we followed the path through the cherry trees finding a "quiet" spot to sit and listen the the cicada (with as many cicada as there were quiet isn't quite the appropriate word )

Next we followed the path that sort of connects to the walking path I often take (I just take the narrow path along the edge of the hill rather than the nicer semi-paved path.) where we found another pavilion.  Then we turned back to the paved path and fallowed it.  During all this meandering, I worked out a good walking with Joshy course  an answer to prayer concerning 1 of my vacation quandaries!  I also took the time to stop and take pictures, something I have not been doing much of on my recent walks.

   

What a refreshing time!

We returned to the hospital to find that the doctor was running WAY behind.  We would have had longer at home had we chosen that option, but then again I wouldn't have know until we got there.  The wait was long, but it wasn't terrible because I felt refreshed.

You know, today I also made my step goal & I have a lot more energy.  Taking TIME to be in God's creation makes a huge difference!

Things To Consider

T minus 10 days and counting till we are officially on vacation...well...a vacation, in that, we don't have classes.  The 1st week of vacation (12th-15th), the girls will be at camp & Jerry will be off climbing Mt. Fuji.  This means Joshy & I will get to hang out... I am trying really hard to think positively about this!  As I sit here dreading thinking about it, I have come up with a few things I MUST plan ahead for.

Groceries:  I need to have the fridge/pantry stocked before everyone takes off because Joshy cannot stay alone nor can he go shopping with me.  (Empty stores, maybe, but the stores will likely be PACKED because of the Obon holiday.)

Entertainment:  We will be meeting friends at the national park not too far from us for the summer light up.  This will be FUN, but I cannot feed Joshy any of the festival foods because of risk of germs/bacteria.  I need to think of things I can take from home or come up with a different option.

Morning Walks: UMMMM... I usually leave Joshy either sleeping or watching TV with his sister - that won't be possible.  I will either need to take him out with me or walk indoors.

Code Browns:  Because I do not have a sense of smell, I will need to be diligent about checking.  I also need to start praying now that blowouts are at a minimum because I won't have any extra helping hands to keep the ever present "helpful hands" from helping...er...finger painting...er...UGH!

OK - I am tired of thinking about it.  I am looking forward to vacation - no classes - but I am not looking forward to having the family scattered.

LORD give me extra strength!

And 

Please pass the coffee & chocolate!  

Coffee, Cream, & Oreos

There are just days when you need Coffee, Cream, & Oreo...so to make life interesting we obtained a long term supply.

This is Oreo, Bekah's new baby parakeet.

This is Coffee & Cream, Kei's new finches.

Bekah got Oreo about a week ago.  Kei has been wanting a bird, but still had a hamster.  Sunflower, the hamster, died of old age a couple of days ago.  Kei didn't want a parakeet, so chose finches.  Now we have added 3 birds to the family ~ we will see how that goes.