Happy Birthday Sweetie

While you lay on the floor in the other room snoring honey, I figured I would listen to some Christmas music and catch up on my blog. I should go to bed as we are expecting company and I have to do a little big of cleaning around here. However, I was in the mood to stop by here and add an update to it since I have a few moments. The music is relaxing and I can hear the cat's water fountain going. That and your snoring. It's not too loud though. So it's fairly peaceful on the first floor tonight. So let me catch up and I will then wake you so that we can go to sleep.

It's only been a little over a week since my last stop here. So that isn't really as awful as I have been lately. I am no better at remembering what I have done since I was last here though, so does it matter if it's been seven days or fourteen? I don't think so.

If I remember correctly, I was here on the 14th which was a Monday. Last week is a blur to me as always. I just checked where I left off and even though it says Monday, it looks like I wrote out everything up till Thursday. Maybe that is why I felt like it had not been so long since I last checked in. It truly hasn't been that long. So I will start from Friday and go forward from there.

On Friday morning, Bill took the kids to school. When he got home, I was ready to go as we had to drop his car off to have some work done. We have always had an exhaust issue with the Envoy. It's gotten louder and enough is enough. So we dropped it off and told them to fix it. We then headed alone to Worcester to do a few errands. It was nice. We were in the car alone and listening to the music and actually catching up on some things. I couldn't help but take the opportunity to remind Bill that many years ago, I said to him "What if we never have kids?" To that he replied that he thought we might get bored with each other as we have been together for several years. We did laugh at this. It was a meaningful conversation, but it wasn't a heavy one. It wasn't a conversation where he was saying that if we didn't have children, he was going to be downright bored and would have to move on or anything. He meant it, but was also joking when he said we would be bored with each other. So anyway, I took the opportunity to remind him the other day when it was just the two of us not being interrupted and having a conversation that it is his fault that we don't get to enjoy our quiet time more. Of course we had to jointly laugh. We are constantly blaming each other for the changes in our lives. Bill wanted three kids. We adopt three kids. Three kids are a lot of work. I remind him he was the one that wanted three. They he will go down the path of "yes, he wanted three, but he wanted to hand pick them.
" Clearly he would have picked non interrupting, bathroom using and non whining children. Ha. It so doesn't work like that. The point to the story is that we actually had a little alone time in the car and it was nice. Even if we were not talking, we were also not listening to three humming different tunes. That can get to the best of parents on any given day, trust me! We did a few errands and then headed back to get Manny and Yamira. After a 10 minute break at the house for lunch for them, we headed off to Yamira's therapy. Bill and I sat and read while Manny played and Yamira met with her therapist. Once we left there, we headed to the dreaded social security office. I was so grateful we were not going to be there long. The place was not all that crowded. Needless to say, the wait was agonizing because they always have to move me to another line. So frustrating. We left there with no minutes to spare as we had to race home and gather Shayla. After getting Shayla, we did three more errands. One of them was getting the truck that was never fixed because they didn't supposedly have our phone numbers to get permission to fix the truck. To say we were disappointed is a true understatement. We knew what needed to be done. We booked this appointment weeks ago, so we were really shocked to find out that we had to lose the truck on yet another day to get it fixed. I certainly thought they had our cell numbers as well. Needless to say, we grabbed the truck and we all headed home. It had been a very busy day indeed. I had a party that night, but it had been cancelled. Just as well as it was a busy day. However, Bill was on call for the night. It was dinner and bed for the children once we arrived home.

On Saturday, I got up and headed out to do two errands. As I am backing out of the garage I realize that the hair appointment I am heading to in 15 minutes started 10 minutes ago. I messed up on the time. So I made a quick call and put the pedal to the medal to get to the salon. After a quick cut I headed off to get some gas. I could not figure out the pump for all the tea in China. What made it worse was the cold air that was ripping through my body. It was unbearable. I finally figured it out and got my gas and flew on home. After everyone had lunch, the two young ones took a nap and I took Shayla to the Dumplings at WPI for 1:00 pm. She had a wonderful time as always. There was a decent sized crowd on this day. The kids learned a lot about the Chinese festivals and holidays. It was fascinating. We ever got to watch some cool cartoons. It was just as well that the little ones stayed home. They wouldn't have been able to follow as it was in Chinese and we had to read the English captions very, very quickly. It's a hard time because the kids sleep at the time the Dumplings get together. The last few times they have come, they have not been well behaved. I felt really guilty not bringing them, but they were totally fine with it. Bill worked around the house, the kids slept and we hung out at the Dumplings and did a few errands. Before I knew it, I was blowing down the highway as Bill was on call at 6:00 pm and I completely had forgotten about that. It all worked out. I was home before there were any calls. Phew!!!!! Some dinner and bed for the kids and all was good.

On Sunday, I slept in a little while Bill brought the kids to Sunday School. However, I had a 10:00 am appointment with the videographer doing Shayla's video. So I did have to get up and get ready so that I could meet him at his house. What a flipping disaster. I can't say enough how much I regret ever meeting this man. He doesn't have a clue to what he is doing. He quoted me one price and ended up doubling it. He keeps having to make changes and can't remember to save the changes. A month ago, I literally spent 8 hours with him trying to get through some changes. All I should have to do is hand the man pictures and video clips and music and he should be the creative guy behind putting it together. The stuff he has made me do is incredible. I found all of my own songs. I had to watch the video and literally time each song, each segment for photos and each segments for videos and match everything up. This had taken countless hours of my life. He wanted to meet on Sunday to view the final copy now that he has put the music on it. I get there and he still has yet to put the music where it goes. I was livid. I had a Tastefully Simple party to do that day. The last thing I needed was to sit in his office and do his job. He said I didn't have enough songs to get to the end of the video. He should have told me that a long time ago as I would have added more. He wants to know if I want the music to stop or just fade into the background so we could hear the audio. Seriously, this is HIS job. Why am I figuring this all out. We are 10 minutes of music short. I take the time line he has that I prepared and I cut the music from this video and that video and this one and that. So I got the music to fit the entire CD. Why do I have to figure this stuff out. This is his software and his damn job. Finally he told me that I could go as I had a party to do and that he would take care of listening to the video, making sure it was correct and fixed in the places it needed to be fixed and then he would call me. I couldn't wait to escape. I was fuming.

Once I got home, I immediately had to run to the ladies room. For whatever reason, my stomach had started to punish me from the day before. When I went to the videographer's home, my stomach was a mess. I just tried to keep it together. I was happy to be home. Between that and feeling like I was going to throw up all of a sudden, I was nervous as I had a party that day. Sure enough I threw up maybe four times. No clear understanding as to why, but I did and it was less than pleasant.

Somewhere around 2pm, I headed off to the party. This was at a friend's house. I was concerned due to the time it was scheduled. It's very difficult to get people to come in the middle of the afternoon, but my hostesses wanted it at this hour for their own reasons and so I went with it. At this point in time, I have promised myself that if I know the day or time isn't going to work, I am not doing the party. It's not worth the time or the expense to me. Thank god the hostesses were at least friends of mine. So I get to the party and I immediately have to get to work as not everything is prepared yet. Shortly after the guests arrive. All three of them. Well actually there were 3 others, but they are really friends of mine and were there to be supportive for me in addition to attending the party. I have done some wonderful parties in the past, but this didn't go off well. I was rushed as some people had to leave. That is more than fine. Like I said, this was an awful time to get together, so I more than understood. It was a shame as the kit feeds 25 people and there were only 6 or so there? So I gave my presentation and then proceeded to do a little cleaning up. I received three orders, packed up the car and took off for home as I was blocking the hostesses driveway which I clearly wasn't aware of since it is a 2 car wide driveway and thought there was plenty of room to go around me. Mind you I didn't know someone was waiting on me to move! So I felt badly and took off out of there as soon as this was told to me. I headed to the Mill to grab a piece of chicken and headed home. Needless to say, I had my chicken, but my intestinal issues continued for the rest of the night and into the wee hours of the morning and woke me up in the wee hours on the other end of the morning. Far from fun! I tried to watch a little TV Sunday night, but I couldn't sit still for some reason. Needless to say, I finally sat still when I passed out from exhaustion, but then was right back up with stomach issues within hours.

Monday arrived earlier than it was supposed to in my world. Like I said, I woke up early with a terrible stomach rumbling and assorted issues. I went back to bed. Bill took the kids to school. I don't remember when I woke up. I didn't sleep in all day. That would have been nice, but I did not. Actually, Bill left for school at 9:00 am, so I got up and got ready to get the kids at 11:00 am. We then headed to the store for some soup and then home for lunch and a nap. For the kids that is. We spent the rest of the day at home. I got Ping at 3:00 and came back to the house to do some homework and to make some business calls and to do some Christmas research. We left at 5:45 to head to Daisies. Ping had her Investiture this night. So all of us piled into the car and headed to church. I brought Manny and Yamira some stuff to color and their Leap Frog and Etch A Sketch, so they were kept fairly busy and quiet. They spend some quality time loving on Roger, so they were happy campers. Bill joined us right before the ceremony started. It wasn't worth going home for 20 minutes. That is why we just stayed. The ceremony was cute. The girls are fantastic and seem to be very well behaved. They received a few badges and even I got a pin for being the nut mom. Ping even got a badge that says "Nut Mom." Appropriate, no? After the ceremony we had cake and headed home for bedtime. It was late. We put the kids to bed and I settled in at the computer to do a few things and then tried to watch TV. Very jiggy lately, so it's hard for me to just sit and try to watch TV. Finally passed out on the couch at some point.
I did wake up in the middle of the night and crawl upstairs.

On Tuesday, I jumped out of bed as I was manning the front desk at the elementary school for 9:00 am. So I packed up my catalogs and off I went. Sitting there is a joy. I love seeing the kids and I love having the time to just sit and smile and make small talk with the kids and administration. I even get a little catalog peeking in as well. Once 11:00 am rolled around, I collected Manny and Yamira and we headed to the bank and then to the library to play with Ashly's Sky and T and Rebecca's Noah. They had a blast. Before we knew it, we had to leave. Everyone had to get to appointments, lunch or naps. I fed my two and put them in for a nap. Bill took off for school. Before I knew it, I had to get Ping from school. The kids basically played for the afternoon with all of their stuff. I did some Tastefully Simple work at my desk as well as a few other things. Calling in prescriptions, making files and responding to emails. All that jazz. Then in was dinner and bedtime. I continued to work at my desk for a few hours and then sat down and watched "127 hours" which I found quite boring. Wanted to get it sent back to Netflix though, so I was determined to watch it. Interesting, yet boring. I passed out right after and woke up first thing on the chair as Ping was coming down the stairs. So I got the snacks, drinks, coats, tooth brushes ready and their fluoride and vitamins. When Bill came downstairs, they had already eaten and were ready to go. I sat down and decided to have a bowl of cereal. I have never done that. Do not ask me why I thought I could have a bowl of cereal. The first four bites were heaven. The fifth bite was the worst mistake ever. I put the bowl in the kitchen, walked upstairs to my bedroom and crawled in bed to avoid throwing up. I passed out. When I woke up, I was fine. However, I didn't end up feeling all that good for the rest of the day. I was still experiencing stomach issues. This happened last year during the week of Thanksgiving too. What the hell was going on? I do not want to be sick. Here I was thinking I was eating better, but clearly the last few days has me severely doubting that! Anyway, I jumped up and showered. I came downstairs and put together a list of things to do and headed out the door. I had to get cat food and return soup and go to the bank. As I was backing out of the driveway, I see my videographer on my door step. My first instinct was to ignore him, but I was so shocked to see him. He is an odd guy. He is nice and then he isn't nice at all. He is so poor from the way he talks, it amazes me that he has a house. I suspect that he is a heavy drinker. He can never remember what he has said to me. I hired him nearly a year ago to work on Ping's video. I got his name from a friend. I did not do a lot of research as it was just an adoption video for Ping. How hard could this be. Good flipping question. It's been an absolute nightmare. Anyway, he hands me the "final" copy in his opinion and asks me for another $100. I tell him that I can't give him that money at that moment. So he asks for a couple of dollars to get him to the store. WHAT? You are that hard up? He has two jobs. I just don't get it. Hence, I think there is something in the background that I do not know about, but am suspicious about. Anyway, I gave him a check for $50 as he would not take no for an answer. That angered me to no end. I took the video, asked for my original stuff and he didn't have it. That really was upsetting. He has some stuff that we got in China!!!!! I want that stuff back and I want it back now!!!!! He told me to watch the video, that it should be in perfect condition and he will talk to me in a day or two. I couldn't get out of my driveway fast enough. I headed off to do my errands. Later on I came home and got the children and up and into bed. I came downstairs and started to do a little cleaning for our company tomorrow or should I say today since it is 2:00 am. I then sat down to watch the video. I literally sat there crossing my fingers that I would not have to change one thing. I was prepared to accept it the way it was and not be picky. I bit my bottom lip for the first 20 minutes and then just lost it. Who the hell is this guy? He never turns down the music so you can hear the video clip. How many times did I tell him on Sunday that he NEEDED to do this. He also mentioned that he had to "cut" a song in and it sounded smooth. Smooth like a Japanese knife I tell you. What a flipping joke. So I pop out the CD and just shake my head. I need my originals back and I need to find someone to finish this G D project for me as this guy is a complete moron. You know he is a nice guy at times, but again, suspect he has issues. So one time he will be friendly towards me and then he will bully me for money. It's awful. I want to avoid him like the plague. Now I am stuck. I just need my materials and we are going to have to have a serious chat and I so don't want to do that. What other choice do I have here? Really? I handle everything in this house. It falls on my shoulders. UGH. Stay tuned.

After watching that awful DVD that will never be done, I watched two DVR taped shows and then shut the TV off so I could come turn on some Christmas music, check in on FB, my other two forums to see what was going on there, check emails and to catch up here on my blog. Well it's now 2:00 am. If I do not get some rest, I am not going to get up and clean the house well. That isn't cool. So I need to post some photos and get upstairs.

What a crazy couple of days. I can't stand myself. I have been so angry with people. To be honest, it's been well directed and deserved anger. However, I hate feeling this way towards people because it's not in my true nature to feel this sort of anger. Is it because I have been taking a special medication for a few days? Does it have to do with what the medication does to your system? Is it because my belly has been so poorly behaved? Could it be because of some poorly behaved people who should be doing their jobs? Who knows. All I knew is that I hope this anger is replaced by peaceful thoughts again soon as I hate myself several times a day now. Send me some fairy luck dust. Thanks so much!!!!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving my dear friends.

Mama Out!!!!!!!

Dumpling salute?

Dragon drawing.

Loving these trees this year.

Biggie and little.

Jezzy.

Special loving time with Mr. Roger and Phoebe.

Doing the special hand gestures.

The crew.

Sky and Yamira at the library.

Leaving the library.

Time to catch up here

There is plenty to be done around here, but Ping is doing homework in my office and Yamira is playing with her annoyingly loud Leapfrog. Needless to say, I can't think straight. So I figured I would do my best to get caught up here.

As usual, I can't really remember what we have been up to. Mostly because I have had so many issues to contend with for myself lately. Doctors appointments and surgeries and pills, OH MY! When I left off last it was the second of November. Here we are at the 14th already. Where is this month going?

Thursday plans ended up changing. Just as well as there was plenty to do around her. Missed seeing my friend, but we will plan another time to get together. Ping did have tennis that afternoon.

Friday was a busy day. I had a pre-op appointment at Brigham and Women's. Bill was home for the day because he doesn't go to school on Fridays. So he dropped the kids off and picked the two youngest up after their day was over. Then he took the two to Yamira's therapy which she did great at. She has had a couple of good days at school and I have been immensely pleased.

Well after I posted that last paragraph, I was pulled away for a few days, but now I am back and am determined to get this posting done before the end of the day which is midnight, right? I should have a little bit of time. Mind you I need to go get Ping soon. She is at a play date. Okay, where was I?

To finish up Friday, we had a babysitter for Manny and Yamira. My neighbor came over while Bill and I took Ping to the Chinese Acrobatic show at Mechanics Hall in Worcester. It was a great show. I am not a fan of acrobatic shows, but it was really amazing. I felt really bad that the younger ones didn't come, but they never would have made it as the show started at 8:00 pm. As it is, Shayla kept passing out during the second part. We didn't just take Shayla because it had to do with Chinese Acrobats, it really was because she is older and thought she could stay awake. Next year we will take all if we go again.

For some reason today I am very shaky and can not concentrate. It's too bad because the house is quiet. Yamira is watching a movie. Manny is sleeping and Ping is out! Yet I can't seem to streamline anything I am doing. I am getting things done. I had a bunch of ordering to do, but nothing is really working for me today. So frustrating.

So Saturday the 5th was a decent day. I did a few errands by myself in the morning and then I was going to do a Tastefully Simple party that evening, but it was cancelled. So after doing a few errands out I decided to stop at a craft fair. I picked up a couple of really cute things. I then headed home. I was able to score at the very last minute, three tickets to tea with Clara. So I met Kirsten and her beautiful Molly and my girls and they attended tea at the Hanover theatre. They ate a sprinkled cookie, listened to the Nutcracker which Clara read and then colored a Nutcracker cookie and had a picture taken with Clara. It was an hour long. It was so cute and fun. I took Ping two years ago and it was a nice time. I was so glad I was able to get us tickets even though I had only known about it since last night. I made a call and got a call back, so it worked out perfectly. It was a nice time!

On Sunday, we went to Lowell for a photo session with a photographer. Ayi Meri and Uncle Joe gave us a nice gift certificate to a photographer for the adoption of Yamira and Manny. So two or so months ago, I booked this appointment. I shopped for the perfect clothes for this appointment and it was now here. We went to Lowell and spent nearly two hours taking photos at the photographer's loft. It was a difficult day with the three and trying to get it all done, but it's done. Yay. We headed home after the session so we could give the kids dinner and baths before bed.

On Monday, I woke up to discover my left foot wasn't working. It was very, very upsetting. Another health problem. Just what I need. Over the last two weeks or so, I noticed that I was tripping over my right foot. I also noticed my balance was off on my right foot. I thought at first it was my boots as they are fairly new. I am not used to wearing them. So I thought that because I am in sneakers every day, I just need to get used to my boots. So the next few days I wore sneakers. I was still tripping or stumbling. I thought it was maybe because my sneakers are old and stretched out. So for the next few days I wore my newer sneakers. Well at this point I noticed that my right leg was feeling somewhat numb. Very disturbing. It has taken me awhile to figure it out, but on Monday when I woke up, I stuck my feet out and started to point and flex and circle my feet. I could do that on my left, but my right foot was dead. I could point, but I could not flex. So I got up and got ready and called my neurologist somewhat in tears and begged them to fit me in. What a stressful day. My neurologist is going to India for 2 months and so I had to wait to see if they had a cancellation or to see where they could fit me in. That coupled with the possibility of dragging the three kids was overwhelming to me. Needless to say, it was really a tough day. An appointment was finally made for Wednesday. I had done a lot of research and had spoken to others who have had weight loss surgery to see if they were familiar with this. I and others thought this was "Foot Dropsy." After much research, I discovered that crossing my legs for hours upon hours a day is not helpful. So I stopped crossing my legs immediately and started exercising my foot. Another thing I had noticed over the last two weeks, is every time I struck with my right foot while walking, the right struck much harder than the left. I thought I was walking fine and Bill agreed, but also agreed I was very loud with my right foot. He too thought it was the older sneakers! Well as you know now, it wasn't that. By the time Wednesday came around, I was so much better. I will get to that when I get to Wednesday. Let me finish up with Monday first.

I spent most of the day in a tizzy. I was upset and scared. I was going to cancel my dinner that night with a friend, but decided not to do so. I dropped Ping off at Daisies that night and Bill met me there. He grabbed Yamira and Manny and went home. I headed off to O'Connors for dinner with an an old friend by the name of Cheryl. I am so glad I went. I had spent the day running around picking and dropping off kids, running around doing returns and waiting on calls. I thought I would be awful company by the time I got to the restaurant, but I had such a lovely time. I have known Cheryl for years. Our mother's were in each others weddings. They had coffee weekly. We had played together for years. However, like a lot of things, my family moved and we didn't see each other as much. Flash forward to adults and we ran into each other here and there, but never had a large opportunity to chat. So the last time we ran into each other, we said we would do dinner. Took forever to schedule, but we did it. I had a great time. It's amazing because we both look a lot like our mothers and here we are years later getting together like they did. Wish I could tell my mom. She would be thrilled. Cheryl is every lucky as her parents are still with her. Anyway, the night ended well.

The next day I had to go to the kid's school and cover the desk for two hours. That went great. I then brought home Manny and Yamira and we stayed home for the day till it was time to get Ping. I believe the rest of the day was spent doing homework and hanging out at home doing some stuff around here. I was trying to get as much done as possible before my surgery on Friday!

On Wednesday, I took Shayla to her cranial facial clinic appointment at 8:45 am. Twice a year she gets to attend these appointments where she meets with two doctors and a speech person. The appointments are often long and this was no different. Ping was really upset when I told her she wasn't going to school for the rest of the day. She wasn't going to get credit for it and while that isn't that big a deal, I didn't want to have to go back and get her at the end of the day. I took her and the other two at 4:30 pm over to Rebecca Christoforo's house. She is my savior lately and I am so very grateful to her. She watched the three and gave them dinner while I went to see my neurologist. My appointment went well. He felt the same way as I did. It was due to not having enough meat on my bones! So I can't cross my legs anymore. I had improved about 75% before I saw him. I still had a way to go, but I was doing very well and had more sensation. There is something called "Slimming Poroneal Syndrome" or something like that. It's when you have lost a lot of weight and you start crossing your legs and you can't because you end up damaging your poroneal nerve. There is a lot more to it than that, but I won't bore you with all the details. The doctor said he was going to have me go in for a nerve and muscle test over the weekend. I was so pleased he was willing to fit me in for this test before leaving for his trip. In fact, now that I think about it, he left yesterday. He is a great man! So I left the appointment, picked up the kids and headed home. All I had to do was put them in bed because they had had dinner. Go Rebecca.

On Thursday, Bill had to leave early for school to meet with his adviser. I stayed home to do a few things and then got Ping after tennis on Thursday. That was her last tennis lesson. We came home and after a little playing, had some dinner and went to bed. I wanted them in bed as soon as possible as I had a ton of things to do before the next day because I had surgery. I swore I was going to go to bed early! Of course I didn't. It never fails, I never get to bed on time!

I was lucky that I was able to switch my surgery time because originally they wanted me there for 6:00 am. That was too early for anyone to watch the children. Rebecca was willing to drive me in. Ashly was willing to drive me in. They were willing to do whatever they needed to do to help me. If they took me, Bill could stay home with the kids. I know this may not seem like a huge deal, but it completely immobilized me for days. Who was going to take me? Who was going to watch my kids. I am so incredibly blessed to have a few friends who were more than willing to help. I have other friends that would have helped and tried to help, but they couldn't due to having other things going on. So again, I was so very lucky that I was able to get to the hospital later than originally planned. We got up at 6:00 am and got ready. We then got the kids ready and dropped them off to Rebecca at 7:20 am. We then headed off to Brigham and Women's. We were a little late, but not bad. Once there, they sort of whisked me through all the channels and before I knew it, my surgery was over. I was okay. In a little bit of pain, but not bad. They took out one of my para glands. They asked what kind of pain meds I wanted. I didn't want any really, but decided to take Tylenol 3 with Codeine. I thought that would be perfect because at least it wouldn't make me feel like I was out of it. Needless to say, I ended up not being a fan!!!!

They checked my vitals and told me I could leave. I felt a little off, but was okay. We headed straight to Rebecca's to get the kids. They had a wonderful time at Rebecca's house. They always do. They would have been happy to have me leave them there! Anyway, we piled them in the car and headed home.

Once home I figured I would lay down. No such thing. Not only was I up and moving around, I was up till 3:00 am moving around. Not sure why. I thought I would be asleep for the rest of the day, but nope. So odd. All in all, I felt decently.

The next day was Saturday and there were no plans to be had. I purposely didn't book anything because I wasn't sure I would be up to doing anything at all. Needless to say, I felt worse than the day before. Not sure why. I guess everything was settling? I had the worst headache. I didn't expect to have such an awful headache. I figured it was from the anesthesia. I wasn't sure. Who is really to ever know. I kept taking my pills, but never felt really a lot better. It took me till Saturday night to discover that the Tylenol 3 with Codeine had some serious side effects like nausea. I kept trying to eat, but I couldn't. So as much as I felt like I needed them, I stopped taking them so I could try to eat a little. Talk about a bad cycle. I feel awful, I take a pill to try to dull the pain and the pill makes me feel worse. Needless to say, I spent the day at home just drifting from room to room to pick up a little here and there. I didn't want to do nothing at all and yet at the same time, I couldn't do very much either. What a waste of a day!

I woke up on Sunday expecting to feel wonderful. Nope. I don't get why two days later I am not feeling grand yet. A bit unrealistic I suppose. I really did hope for the best. Figured if I exercised my neck like I was supposed to, took regular Tylenol and kept focused, I would be feeling grand by now. Well the Tylenol 3 seemed to still be plaguing me and the headache was worse. However, I was powerless to do anything. Who would I call? I had booked Bill to work at the station from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm and then home from 6:00 pm-10:00 pm coverage for the station. I know I shouldn't have booked him as I was supposed to be recovering, but we really could use the money and Bill loves covering shifts. Unfortunately, to make matters worse, my awesome neurologist who wanted me to come in for a test over the weekend had called the other night and he wanted me to come in today at 1:00 pm. So there I was feeling awful and having to scramble to find a babysitter because I had booked Bill to work. Why do I do these things to myself? So I asked Ayi Kirsten and Uncle Roger to watch the kids for me at their house while I ran to have a muscle/nerve test done at St. Vincent's hospital. So I dropped the kids off at 12:30 and made my way to St. Vincent's. The test was fairly easy, but it wasn't without pain. It wasn't horrible. There were electrodes that made my feet react. I could deal with that. The harder thing to deal with was the needle the doctor inserted in 5 places to test my muscles. That was pretty bad. However, you have to do what you have to do. He did say that I clearly did have some neuropathy palsy or something like that. Basically my nerves and muscles are not responding as well as they should due to malnutrition. We agreed that my right foot has improved even further. So at this time, we are not going to do anything. I need to not cross my legs at all though anymore. So after 20 years of not being able too as I was too heavy, now I am too thin to do so. The irony!

So I headed back to Ayi Kirsten's house to gather the children who were not fabulously behaved and headed off to Burlington Coat Factory to do a return. The last thing I wanted to do, but it needed to be done. Yamira and Manny had not had a nap, so unfortunately, their behavior was less than stellar earlier for our friends and then for me. Made for a difficult afternoon. Was grateful to get home for the day.

On Monday, I stayed home. The kids went to school and Bill went to school as well. I was lucky as his first class was cancelled, so he was able to get the kids to school and pick the youngest two up at 11:10 am. I actually got up really early as I wanted to call the surgery center to see why I felt so awful. However, I at that point knew I had a sinus infection. After talking with the nurse, she said to call my ENT person or general doctor. I called my ENT and they got me in to see a doctor I had not seen before. Regardless, he gave me a script for an antibiotic. I was grateful. I then headed off for CVS. The day was pretty miserable as I just felt horrible. I had to get to Daisies early as the fall product was in and I had to double check everyone's order, but I was truly lucky to have some great people help. Mrs. Dorman had her son split up all the orders. Renee's son Andrew was a gigantic help as I sat on the floor and read out the orders as he double checked everything. Manny and Yamira played nicely while Ping was doing her Daisy thing. Then Daddy came and we all went home. Daddy went back to get Ping at 7:00 pm and then he went to his Mason's meeting. I was glad to have the day over. I am so grateful for the help at Daisies as that was a huge blessing. We have an awesome Daisy troop!

Tuesday I still felt pretty awful. I had to run to St. Vincents for a blood test. Needed to have my calcium drawn. Every day it is something new with the medical community and me. Sick of it to say the least!!!! After I picked up Yamira and Manny, we went to the library and played with Noah, Skyler and Teresa. It was nice to chat with Ashly and Rebecca. The rest of the day went fairly well. At 4:00 pm, my friend Ding came over with her son Matthew. While Matthew, Manny and Yamira played, Ping and Ding worked on Ping's Chinese. I am so grateful to Ding for spending time with Shayla. Ping loves Ding too. So she really looks forward to her visits with her. They work on writing and talking and stories. Mrs. Ding big popular draw is the iPad that Ping has got to get her hands on each week! She loves it. Sorry Ping, not in our budget for now. After her lesson, it was dinner and bed.

Wednesday was a crazy busy day. There are two half days this week due to school conferences. So Bill dropped the three off at school at 8:15 am. I picked them up at 11:15 am. I get them all released together. Ping would rather stay the extra 20 or so minutes, but it is not worth if for me because I have to literally sit around for another 45 minutes waiting on her just to be dismissed. I hate her missing the time on her card, but it's just not worth it. Anyway, we rushed home and I fed them lunch. We all jumped back into the car and headed back to school. Bill had a doctors appointment, so I had to take all three to Yamira's conference and Manny's. When we pulled in, we saw Miss Ash who was there early, so she was sweet enough to sit with Ping, Manny and Yanira at a table while I talked to Yamira's teacher. Yay Ashly. Yamira is doing quite well at school both academically and behaviorally. I am more than pleased. Then we went to see Manny's teacher. Manny is young, but is doing very well. He is a ball of energy. Hoping he really grows by May. Then we rushed home and met Bill. Manny and Yamira took a nap while Ping and Daddy delivered the fall product to the neighbors. I ran back to the school and met with Ping's teacher. Ping is doing excellent on all fronts. She is getting speech and we feel like it's really helping. So three great reports. I was thrilled. I then headed home and Daddy headed off to school. When I got home, I called the pediatrician's office. Manny has been claiming his arm hurts him. He seems to be complaining less and less, but he is still favoring it a bit. They asked me to bring him right in. So there we are in the pouring rain, pouring back into the car to head into Worcester. The doctor that saw him is someone I don't know, but she was nice. She thought he may have popped out his shoulder by accident and it may have just popped back in. She said to keep an eye on it. Not much else can be done. Even if an x-ray confirmed, there isn't much you can do. Not like he would wear a sling at the fine age of three. So we left the office and I made two stops for my Tastefully Simple business and then we headed home for dinner and bed. What a long day.

Today has been a long day as well. I was really looking forward to today because I didn't have a ton of things to do outside the house. I was excited to be in the house doing stuff all day long. Unfortunately, I am not sure what happened, but I didn't get nearly the stuff done that I planned on getting done. I got some stuff done and I am plugging away now. I am a little disappointed more isn't done, but what can I do. I am getting caught up here and that was important to me. I have some pictures to upload. I need to go through and match up some receipts to a bill and a host of other things. I have tomorrow to do it too and Saturday I supposed. Just wanted to get ahead of the game today. Some days just can't be explained I suppose. I did stay in bed today because I knew I wanted to work late at my desk tonight. I can't believe how late it is already. Bill did most of the running around. I did go out around 4:00 pm to pick up Ping. Yamira had a play date today with her friend Chelsea and Ping had a play date with her friend Peyton. Bill picked up Yamira. I picked up Ping and then we went to Walmart. We were literally out of Pull Ups. That is not good at all. After a quick and wet trip to Walmart, it was home and dinner here. I just put them in bed and now I am going to try and finish up a few other things I need to absolutely get done.

I know this was not the most well written posting. A lot of them are like that. There is just too much content and my brain is all over the place. However, this time around, I had so many interruptions, I am not sure it even makes sense. I hope so.

Mama Out!!!!!!

The acrobat show.

Amazing.

Amazing.

Very cool.

Tea with Clara.

Tea with Clara.

Tea with Clara.

Tea with Clara.

My chicken.

Piggy.

Library fun.

Sit and watch TV or keep on trucking?

I have decided to keep on trucking. I have all of my Tastefully Simple orders in. I have scanned some important papers and sent them off to where they need to be. I have picked up birth certificates and been to the Social Security office today. I keep thinking if I stay up till midnight, I will get it all done. Will I? No, because it does not work like that. I knew this was grossly behind and thought I would feel better if I could cross it off the list, so here I am.

The last time I was here I had just had nose surgery. That feels like it was forever ago. Must be living dog days or cat days here. Anyway, the next day I did a bunch of things around the house, but laid low as I was shaky still from the anesthesia. I was also somewhat sleepy. So I did what I could.

Thursday was a busy day. I was one of the chaperones for Ping's class field trip. It was spitting rain and cold. However, they did not cancel. It was raining two weeks ago when we tried to go. They didn't want to disappoint the kids. So off we went in two buses to Tougas Farms to apple pick. The kids were wild on the way there. They were so excited. We got there and loaded onto wagons. Almost everyone took off their coat to put down on the wet seats so they didn't end up with wet buns. It was so cold and there we are with no jackets on! We got off of the wagon and learned about picking apples. We then walked through the trees and picked six apples each. Despite the cold and misting, the apples and the orchard were so pretty. The apple trees looked like they were out of a Hallmark movie to me. So juicy, red and wet from the rain. Each parent had six children they had to care for. My six were well behaved. They were a joy to pick apples with. Shayla was one of them. We then walked across the road and each child picked a pumpkin. Amazing how some of them thought the biggest was the best and yet could not carry the pumpkin, let alone their pumpkin with apples! We then headed to get donuts and cider, but since it was so muddy and cold, the teachers got it all to go. So we headed to our buses. Unfortunately, our two drivers jumped in one bus and headed off to coffee. Nobody was happy with that. Most of the kids were on the other bus, but our kids plus us had to stand in the freezing cold. They should never have left. What if there was an emergency? That was upsetting to say the least. We finally boarded the bus for the trip back to school. We got there in time for me to get Manny and Yamira. I brought them home and gave them lunch and they had a nap. I actually had to lay down with a blanket for a short time as I was so frigid it felt like it was shaking my core. I warmed up and was good to go for the day. I picked up Ping after her tennis lesson and we came home for the night. It was a long day for Ping and so it was coloring, dinner and bed for everyone. Bill was at school. I wanted to go out to dinner that night, but I couldn't as Bill wouldn't be home. Just as well I suppose.

On Friday, Bill took Sasha to have a hair cut after he dropped the kids off at school. I honestly can't remember what we did that day. I have been trying to cut back on leaving the house so I can get some stuff done around the house. So I probably did some stuff at my desk. Boring, but necessary. Oh I remember. I am the Fall Product Manager for Girl Scouts, so I put in all of the orders. That took like seven hours for me to figure it out, check numbers, make calls and put the stuff in. So glad I got that done. So glad for two very helpful people. Karen Dorman, Shayla's leader and Lisa who is in charge of the entire thing. I was able to email and call her and get it all done that night. Bill covered the football game for the fire department at night.

Saturday brought soccer at 9:00 am. I took the little ones towards the end of the game as it was really cold out and they get bored easily. I then left the kids with Bill to bring home and did a few errands. There were tons of things to do that day, but I cancelled everything and we stayed home and did some things around here. It is nice to have days like that. The kids relax and play and we get caught up on some stuff that we often need two people for. The next day was due to be very busy, so it was just as well.

On Sunday, I took the kiddos to Sunday School and Bill worked at the station all day. He went in for 6:00 am. He worked till 6:00 pm and then came home and worked from 6:00-10:00 pm too. Then at 10:00 pm, he was on night coverage till 6:00 am. Busy day for him. After Sunday School, we came home. The kids played, had lunch and then Yamira and Manny had a nap. Ping played with some of her stuff and then they all got ready for the Halloween party at the church. So we went there till 6:00 pm or so. Had no intention of staying for pot luck, but we did. The kids really wanted to. Then we went home and gave the kids a bath and tucked them in for the night. It was a busy day. They were all so beautifully behaved at both Sunday School and the party. I was very proud of them!

I was supposed to have lunch on Monday, but had to cancel. I forgot that Bill goes to school early on Mondays. Can't have lunch with two little ones and chat if it's just supposed to be a lunch for two mom's. Spent the day at home. Other than running back and forth to get the three munchkins, I stayed home and worked at my desk. I have to write down what I do because frankly, I have no clue what I can do that keeps me so busy all dang day. I am sure it was preparing for Tastefully Simple and a bunch of other stuff. Like I said before, I am trying to stay home a lot more. I know one thing. I baked sugar cookies and cinnamon rolls. Trying to be a little domesticated. I am over it already. Ping did have Daisies that night. So we all headed out for 6:00 pm and then Bill showed up around 6:30 pm or so for the two youngest while I hung out at the meeting. It was really more of a Halloween party and celebrating Juliette Lowe's birthday. She founded Girl Scouts.So the girls were there for 1 1/2 hours. They ate donuts off of strings. It was so much fun to watch them, but stringing donuts is no easy task!!!! They also did a bunch of other things and had fun snacks. I enjoy her troop immensely. Great leaders and great girls.

On Tuesday, the kids all had a 1/2 day of school. Bill picked them all up at 11:10 am. We get Ping out at the same time as Manny and Yamira. She isn't a fan of us doing that, but if not it is truly another 45 minutes for the process of buses, walkers and picking up parents to get done. It's not worth waiting as I have done it before. She also loses a little bit of time. However, it is worth it for us. Yamira and I hopped in the car immediately and headed off for her OT appointment. It was her last one. Her therapist thought that she was less sensory affected than she had been. We will miss her. Wonderful therapist. We then met Daddy in the parking lot. He took Yamira and headed home for lunch and naps. I headed to my 1:00 pm appointment with my nose doctor. They removed a benign cyst. Thank god it wasn't something major. I was relieved. I then headed home as Bill had to get to school. That afternoon the kids played and then we headed out to the flu clinic. That went really fast. Ping freaked and screamed. Manny and Yamira did fine. Then home to bed. Ping never recovered from her Kindergarten shots, so that is why she freaked. However, once the shot was done, she realized it was a piece of cake.

Wednesday was spent at home. I prepared for my two upcoming Tastefully Simple parties and worked on a few business calls and such. For some reason, Bill and I both started to lose our voices that afternoon. Now Manny and Ping have had little colds, but we didn't really have any symptoms with the exception of the voice thing. I was really hoarse.

On Thursday I woke up and could barely speak. Bill could be heard better, but felt run down. There had been a call in the middle of the night, so he was tired. I had a 10:00 am appointment with Yamira's therapist to discuss how we feel she is coming along. Her therapist is wonderful. I then did a few errands and headed home so Bill could get to school. Ping had tennis after school, so we picked her up at 4:00 pm and then we headed to the salon for three hair cuts for them. Then home for homework, dinner and bed.

Friday was a busy day. I overslept. Manny had a party at school. Bill asked me at 10:17 am if today was the party. I was in shock. I was still in bed. I could barely talk. I was probably still sleeping because of the cold I was trying to fight off? Anyway, Bill ran to the school and saved the day. I could not have gotten ready fast enough. I felt really bad about missing it. However, it's usually me that goes. I got up and got ready as I had an appointment with my neurologist at 12:30 pm. He is the sweetest man. I really like him. I had my prescription upped and another prescription for PT. Hoping that helps. I then came home and got ready for the evening. I had a Tastefully Simple party that night. It was a lot of fun. Unfortunately, I could not sit and relax after since Bill was on at 10:00 pm for the fire department. I would have loved to sit and chat since the host is a friend. I had a great time though. Sadly, my voice was horrendous for the party, but I made it through.

On Saturday we headed to soccer for 9:00 am. It was Ping's last day of soccer. It was bitter cold. We were all freezing. I forgot mittens and hats for me, Yamira and Manny. What a dunce I am. Thank god for sweet Tamara who had extras of everything and a blanket. I enjoy going to see Ping at soccer because she loves it and a whole bunch of her friends play. It's nice to see the kids and the parents. It's just usually too cold to chat much. Last year was a much better season. Oh well. The kids don't seem to care. Just us parents watching on the sidelines. Once we left soccer, we headed home for lunch and the kids changed into their costumes. We then went to the haunted house at the library. It was cute. We were there for less than 30 minutes. We headed home and the little ones napped while Ping relaxed. I prepared for my Tastefully Simple party that night. At 2:30 pm, it started snowing like crazy. We knew we were in for snow, but we really didn't know how much till Friday night. I didn't cancel the party because I thought the snow was due to come in around 6:00 pm or so. Neither my friend nor I would want anyone out in a terrible storm. However, it came in at 2:30 pm. I left at 5:00 pm to get to the party. What is usually a 20 minute ride took me an hour. The roads were horrible. I do not mind driving in snow, but the snow was so heavy, that trees were all over the streets. So I was a little scared that I was taking my life and that of my cars into my hands! I got to the party and barely anyone came. However, the few that came were great. I was thrilled to see my good friend Kirsten and her husband and beautiful girls. We had a nice time. My voice was horrendous and got worse as the night wore on. After finishing up, I jumped in the car for the ride home. That was even worse of course. I was going to go the long and safer way, but then decided to go the way I came. What a mistake. There were more trees to dodge and narrow roads. I should have gone the other way, but wanted to get home so that Bill could get to the fire department. Needless to say, there was a tree all the way across Salisbury in Worcester, so I had to literally turn around and go all the way back to where I was and go the long way anyway. Should have listened to my other self. It took me an hour to get home. I walked in and Bill walked out. He brought his uniform, a change of clothes, coffee and food. It was a long night for him. He was out for most of it. We had been out of power until I arrived home. For some reason, when I pulled into the driveway, the power popped on. It was on for most of the night, but flickered badly and I had zero TV and phone and spotty internet. Ping came down around 2:00 am and we both passed out on my favorite chair. When I woke up, I got her up and we went upstairs to bed. We lost power again around 4:00 am or so?

On Sunday, we got up around 7:30 am. I was exhausted because I had not slept all night long. It was too hard to sleep. Felt like I had to keep an eye on the house due to breaking trees. They kept scraping the house. We had no power. Facing the day with three kids and no power was a little scary. I know, I am a wimp. Sunday School was cancelled, so we didn't head there. The snow was deep and heavy as heck. We had a tree across High Street, so we couldn't leave the house. Me and the girls had reservations at the Asa Waters Mansion in Millbury for tea at 3:00 pm. I thought for sure it would be cancelled. It wasn't. So Bill who was supposed to be home for 12:00 pm called around 10:00 am because the guy coming in at 12:00 pm called in that he wasn't showing up. Needless to say, Bill was asked to stay. I don't mind at all, but we had reservations and I hadn't found out if it was cancelled yet. Well I called several times and there wasn't a message. However, Bill found another number on his own. He called it and it said the tea was still on. Do not ask me where he put my original husband. LOL. He wasn't kidding when he said he needed an answer on whether he could stay. Anyway, I told him to come home for 1:00 pm as I wanted to leave early. Well that never worked out. He kept going on calls. He was stuck at the hospital at 1:30 pm and I had to leave in 30 minutes. So I called Ashly and asked her if she would take Manny for me. Not only did she take Manny for me, but she and Bobby and Bobby's dad came over and plowed for me and got rid of the tree that was across my driveway. By then the tree across High Street was gone too. So after about 30 minutes, me and the girls headed out and Ashly headed out with Manny. Bill was so grateful and relieved as he simply could not leave. Sure enough as we were leaving the house, there was another town for yet another call.

The girls and I got to the tea shortly before 3:00 pm. Mrs. Kirsten and her two beauties were already there. All the kids were in costume. We thought since so many people didn't have power, that the tea would be small. I think they had one cancellation. It was packed. We could not have been more wrong. We had a wonderful time. The kids ate tons of sweets, we had tea which was very yummy, we listened to a Halloween story and did a little parade around the mansion. It was cute and well done as always. It was so nice to be out. Poor Kirsten had no power, but she and the girls were troopers for showing despite that. Bill actually had someone offer to cover him, so at 4:00 pm he left the station and went and got Manny. Bill was going to work for 6:00 pm, so it was great he got out. He was exhausted as he didn't sleep all night long. Not only did he get out of staying till 6:00 pm, but he was doing the 6:00-10:00 pm shift too, and the man covering offered to do that for him. So sweet. Bill was thrilled. He was so tired he could barely keep his eyes open. Once home, I actually put dinner together quickly and we put the kids to bed. It was a long day for everyone. We found out at dinner that the kids didn't have school the next day. Bill still did or so we thought.

Monday comes and Bill heads off to school. He calls 20 minutes later to say that school had just been cancelled. What a waste of a drive. Oh well. At least he was coming home. So we all jumped into the car and did a bunch of errands together. Basically Bill drove the car to the curb and I jumped out and did the errand. I had a ton of returns to make. It was nice to have car to curb service. We stopped at the new Wegmens in Northboro. We walked around there for 30 or so minutes and then headed home for lunch and naps. Bill headed outside to work on breaking down some of the tree branches and Ping headed out for some winter fun. I headed out with Ashly for a last minute pedicure. We tried a new place in town. I thought it was great. Nice for some girl time too. When I got home, Ping had made three snow people. One had a pumpkin head. One was supposedly the kitty Jezzy. So cute. The little ones were up and then it was dinner and bath time. I worked on some Tastefully Simple stuff and tried to watch a movie which I passed out during.

Tuesday Bill dropped the kids off at school and then took Sasha to the vet to get a teeth cleaning. I headed out to Clinton to meet a TS hostess so that I could give her the packet of stuff to make. I then picked up Manny and Yamira and we met Miss Ashly and Mrs. Rebecca and the kids at the library for a little play time. Yamira had a great day and was so proud. However, she didn't want to play long. I think she was hungry and tired. Manny had an accident, so I called Bill to bring a pair of pants to me. At that point, Yamira wanted to go home with Daddy and so I sent Manny and Yamira home for lunch and naps. I hung out a bit longer to chat. I then headed home to make some important business calls. Bill had the day off as Quinsig cancelled classes again, so he was home all afternoon. He worked in the attic a little bit as we had a ton of junk up there from when some roofing was done. He went and picked up Sasha at the vets and made chicken, rice and corn for the kiddos. I cleaned and did a bunch of things for Tastefully Simple. It's time consuming to get orders in and double checked and payments straight and banking ready to go to the bank. I forgot how time consuming it was. We gave the kids baths and put them to bed. Later on as Bill was passing me in the dining room he belly bopped me. That is where I bounce off his belly like a trampoline. We were just playing with each other. Well Bill has not been listening to me as I keep telling him that he can't rough house with me like he used to. Needless to say, I flew across the room, hit the radiator and broke an outlet plug in half. I bruised my arm, leg and back. It knocked the wind right out of me. So not fun at all. I know it wasn't intentional. Told him that I have zero strength and my balance is all off. This is not the first time I have lost my balance. I have a few times lately. When I brought my TS box into the party on Friday night, I was all over the place swaying as my core isn't very strong right now. Need to really change that. When will I have the time though?

Now we are at Wednesday. I overslept. So mad at myself. So, so mad at myself. Ping and Yamira were yapping this morning and I kept waking up. When Bill took the kids to school, I passed out due to the silence and slept hard. So when I woke up, I bolted from bed and showered. I then headed to Leominster City Hall to finally get Manny and Yamira's birth certificates. I have been waiting on them since March! So I got them and headed right to the Social Security office to get them new numbers. That was a mess. I was put in the wrong line due to the computer. The woman is processing things quickly until I say "That was quick, when do I get the new number?" She said "You did not want just replacement cards?" Heck no. So I had to sit back down and wait on someone else to call me. I was there for an hour and a half. I felt like I needed a shower by the time I left there. The place is old. There are so many people that are in and out of that office. Always surprises me to hear some of them discuss food stamps while they have Uggs on their feet, are carrying a nice cell and Dsi's for all of their kids. Not trying to be judgmental here, but clearly they are cheating the system or they don't have their priorities straight. I was glad to be out of there. I won't know if we are granted new cards for two weeks. It is up to Social Security if they want to issue us two new cards. I find that bothersome, but can't do anything to change it. Anyway, I drove home like a bat out of hell as Bill had to leave to get to school. I had to turn around and get Ping from school and head to the bank. We spent the rest of the day at home. The kids colored and played with their trucks and princesses. They had dinner and off to bed they went. I finished up some Tastefully Simple orders, did some other paperwork and now I am here trying to get caught up on the blog. It's now 11:00 pm and I have yet to sit down to watch TV. I want to catch the news, so I am off. Well I guess I lied. Never left. Posting pictures and then crawling into bed. I am exhausted all of a sudden.

Hope you are having an excellent week. Hope your power was restored if you have been out. Enjoy your Halloween Trick or Treating West Boylston residents.

Mama Out!!!!!!!!

Scarecrow project for first grade. Guess who did the project? Bill. He had to do it because we needed the hot glue gun. He did a phenomenal job and Ping was so happy.

Apple picking with my six.

Beautiful.

Eating.

Ready to hit the Halloween party at church.

Donut munching.

Donuts at Daisies.

Mummying our friends.

Mrs. Kirsten and Molly.

The girls.

Mrs. Renee showing off her Brownie outfit.

Tastefully Simple shipment.

I carved this bat cat.

One of my creations.

Another creation of mine.

Everyone had to join me in making this maple apple crisp.

Crisp.

Manny and Yamira warming up at soccer.

The team.

Medals.

Scary monsters.

Storm damage.

Our tea girls.

Treats.

Ping and Yamira with their transportation.

Love.

My gorgeous ladies.

Crazy kids.

Ping's snow folks. Little one is the kitty.

Our little one and a biggie.

The outlet.

Twins of a different culture per Ping.