working out for Disney

[HouCuseChickie]

To be fair, that's teenagers for you. Their brains aren't fully developed and they aren't good at predicting consequences. I would hope someday they will "get" why stop signs are kind of important. I hope they don't have to learn it the hard way.

Yeah a good instructor makes a HUGE difference. I learned from my brother mostly, out on my dad's ranch where there was no traffic. And of course I grew up in a town with no stop lights and where it was rush hour if there were three other cars on the road. For me, driving here is like city driving for anyone else. It's really scary. E won't have that. I think she'll be fine. Like K, she is a rule follower.

I remember our school bringing in grief counselors when kids died, but most kids only went in as an excuse to miss class. There may have been a few who actually needed it, but not nearly as many as the ones who took advantage of the situation to skip. But it's better that they have it for those few who need it, even if some abuse it.

Not fully developed, but think they know EVERYTHING! Of course, we were all there at one point as well. At least, like E, she's all about rules.

I took a driver's ed course where the owner was my instructor. He was great for the classroom portion, but the road part was a nightmare. I was a nervous driver, which didn't sit well with this guy. I also had a hard time with larger vehicles. He had several cars equipped for instruction, and I always got stuck with this mid 1970s yellow boat that looked like a rolling banana. While it was an automatic transmission, it was manual everything else...including the steering. I remember having trouble recovering the wheel in turns and winding up on people's front lawns. He always had me drive to a nearby city through a number of bad areas. It always scared the living daylights out of me. My friend always had lessons with his son. She got to drive the new Mustang and went to the nice areas of a quieter neighboring town.

Yeah, I don't know how many really needed it, but I'm glad they had counselors available. We never lost any students in my classes when I was growing up, so it's all a bit foreign to me.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

I'm going for a walk with E later. A is having oral surgery in half an hour, so DH took him to the hospital and I took the rest of the week of of work in case we need the car to take him back in. I haven't been getting exercise at work for the last several months anyway. I'm applying for new jobs. The woman who started the company I work for right now sold off most of it a few years in... She's a millionaire now. Anyway, she remained a shareholder until they sold the company to an existing company a little over a year ago. Way back when she sold off most of it, she started a new business. That one is expanding now and they are out growing their current space, so they are investing in a second location and the new one will be here in the town where I live. They will use the new location for office space, a warehouse, and a store. It was just in the paper last week. So I sent her a message on Facebook to ask if she has any openings and she said she would, and told me how to apply. I can't imagine why she wouldn't hire me. She knows me, I've worked for her before. I also translated her website for her vacation homes in Curaçao into English for her outside of work. So it's a pretty secure prospect. And I'd maybe have the opportunity to work in the store part of the time. I could work more hours than I do now, and I could work during the day so my sleep schedule would be normal again. I wouldn't need the car to get there, so I'd get more exercise by riding my bike there and I'd be in the shopping district, so I wouldn't have to go out of my way if I needed to get something like I do now. It would be soooo much better. I really dislike my job now and I dread going. This would be like going back to the job I liked!

Good luck with A's surgery. It sounds like a great opportunity with this woman. Keep us posted on things!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Good morning!

Last night was another solo night at the gym. I feel like the universe is telling me not to go. I keep hitting all of these obstacles trying to get there. At least I made it. I walked for 30 minutes on a treadmill (plus 2 min cooldown) and then fought the crowds to get on whatever machines were free. I was able to do sets on the lat pull down, the seated row, the lower back extension, the abductor, and one of the crunch machines. I cooled down for 5 minutes on a treadmill and then it was back home for the night. I'm hoping to go again tonight, but have already done some boxing reps. I'm thinking of shifting to more cardio in my workout. I know there are benefits with lifting, but I always see better results with a more cardio heavy approach. Last night's smoothie dinner also involved no choking! It was a blend of the carrot juice (with the ginseng and turmeric), sliced beets, strawberries, a little bit of raw honey and vanilla yogurt. The scale has also started moving in the right direction, so maybe I'm doing something right.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Good morning

Made it to the gym again last night, but had K as my buddy. She needed some new softball pants, which requires her trying things on, so it was a trip to Academy before hitting the gym. At least Academy is along the way. The crowds weren't too bad when we got there. I think we both put in around 35 minutes on the treadmill before hitting the weights...although, K did have to step away for 2 minutes to go to the restroom and I had to fight off the vultures circling for her machine. By the time we got to weights, it was crazy crowded, so another night of just picking whatever was open before giving up. We got in the lat pull down, the chest press, the seated row, the back extension, one of the triceps presses, and one of the ab machines. We wanted to cool down on a treadmill, but there were none. I guess at least I put in 5-10 minutes of boxing at home yesterday which sort of makes up for it.

I'm hoping to go to the gym again today, but we'll see how things work out. We had done a little bit of digging into gyms closer to home, but the two closer to the house just won't work and the Y is just way too crowded. Yeah...PF is crowded, but not to the point that we can't do anything. This one place was looking pretty good and it's only a 5 minute drive, but as soon as the virtual tour mentioned an espresso bar and luxury hair products in the showers, I knew it was going to be out of the budget (nearly 4x more than PF). The other one near the house is still like that 'quit the gym' episode of Friends. I had hoped things had changed with the re-branding, but I saw a review from a week ago...guy signed up for the free 7 day trial they have advertised everywhere, but started getting harassed by the manager saying he really can't allow him to get 7 days for free. He went as far as insisting that the guy had to sign up for a paid membership, but could leave after 30 days with their 30-day satisfaction guarantee (which also has lots of fine print and is nearly impossible to use). So, I guess we'll keep driving to Planet when we can work it in.

 

[Sans Souci]

Thnx! It could be fixed but it was 15 years old and would take at last 125 and 3 hours to do so if nothing else was found as dh would do a deep dive into the electronics, motor..............................
The new one will be here early next week, we got it on sale plus dh gets a discount, free delivery so all things considered I'm not too upset.
The new one is quieter and more efficient according to the specs so yea for that
I'm knocking wood my NY mani is holding up so far

Fifteen years is really good. I am on my third dishwasher since I moved here and the previous owners installed a new one right before we closed on the house.

 

[Sans Souci]

Very cool!! I would love to see that! We tried to go to the Air and Space Museum when we went to DC, but it was too late in the day and they didn't have any more slots or something? We didn't even know that was a thing....we just assumed we could go in as long as the museum was open. I'd love to go back and see more of the things we missed.

I'm sorry about your hotel. Did they do anything to compensate you? I think hotels tend to be kind of shady with their dealings. When we lived in the US, there was a cold snap and I really wanted access to a hottub, so we called a holiday inn about an hour and a half from us and asked if their hottub was working, they said yes, we booked a room and got there only to discover that it was NOT working. They had lied to me on the phone to get us to reserve a room. I was so angry. We had already paid and checked in before finding out that the hottub was not in service and they refused to do anything for us for the inconvenience. We had booked there solely for the hottub. But something like a shower, that's something that they should either move you to a different room that HAS hot water, or if it is hotel-wide, they should find other accommodations for you or give you a refund! It's so unacceptable to make people pay for ammenities/services you aren't providing!

You guys should visit DC the next time you come over this way.

They didn't have anymore slots for the day. They were turning people away at the door. It was an absolute madhouse.

I think sometimes when you book hotel over the phone, you get an agent who is in a cal center to working out of their home, so maybe that's why you were told the hot tub was functional? Otherwise, that's really shady.

They gave my husband 35,000 Bonvoy points. I don't know if that is good or bad, since he's the one with the Bonvoy account. He always stays at this particular Residence Inn for work, since it's a 5 min walk from his office. He had a week booked for March for work at this hotel, but he cancelled it. There is a Hyatt Place kitty corner from the Residence Inn and he's staying there. It wasn't just the cold water, we had things that didn't work in the room (and nobody to repair them) and someone at reception made a really out of pocket comment to my husband when he went to get change for housekeeping tips.

 

[Sans Souci]

Hello!

Yesterday was a strange workout day. I got in that early morning walk with the dog, did a few things with dumbbells in my office when I started feeling sluggish, and spent about 30 minutes dismantling all of the inflatables from the yard. I ended up getting in A LOT of walking before my mammogram. This new scanning center I'm going to is tied to the local hospital. In hindsight, I should have driven to the separate entrances around the side or back, but I went in the front. Nothing is well labeled and there's no directory like pretty much every other medical building has, so I went up to 2 since this is suite 240. On 2, I found the ICU. I went to the center of the building looking for a help desk or some kind of logical directions, but there was nothing. I received bad directions from several people who noticed I looked lost, but eventually had someone lead me to the other end of the earth to get to this place. After my scans were done, I wanted to go to the gym, but the highway to get there was a parking lot. The back roads didn't look much better, so I went home to wait it out for a little bit. When I got back out, it said it would only be a 21 minute drive, but something happened right at the exit. That 21 minute drive took 45 minutes! Once I did finally get there, it took four loops around the parking lot to find a parking space. The inside was even worse. I spent 15 minutes on a bike before going in search of lifting machines. Pretty much everything was occupied or had lines. I eventually got on the lat pull, the chest press, the leg curl, and the leg press...which I also use for calf presses. After 10 minutes of trying to get on other weight machines, I gave up. I saw a couple of free treadmills where I was hoping to finish things off, but they were taken right as I was approaching. So, I gave up and went home.

No gym or really anything today...although I might do stuff in my office tonight. I thought about an early walk with the dog, but David had a colonoscopy today and I didn't want to risk being late. It also kept me out of the home gym for little workday stuff. After work, I need to buy a bin for storing some stuff, so nothing right after work either. We have an early morning for softball tomorrow, so not really up for the gym. We shall see.

Oh, wow, you just reminded me I tried to make an appointment for a mammogram before Christmas and nobody called me back. I am going to call again.

Hopefully, the gym crowds will thin out as the weeks roll by. That's so frustrating.

 

[Sans Souci]

I'm going for a walk with E later. A is having oral surgery in half an hour, so DH took him to the hospital and I took the rest of the week of of work in case we need the car to take him back in. I haven't been getting exercise at work for the last several months anyway. I'm applying for new jobs. The woman who started the company I work for right now sold off most of it a few years in... She's a millionaire now. Anyway, she remained a shareholder until they sold the company to an existing company a little over a year ago. Way back when she sold off most of it, she started a new business. That one is expanding now and they are out growing their current space, so they are investing in a second location and the new one will be here in the town where I live. They will use the new location for office space, a warehouse, and a store. It was just in the paper last week. So I sent her a message on Facebook to ask if she has any openings and she said she would, and told me how to apply. I can't imagine why she wouldn't hire me. She knows me, I've worked for her before. I also translated her website for her vacation homes in Curaçao into English for her outside of work. So it's a pretty secure prospect. And I'd maybe have the opportunity to work in the store part of the time. I could work more hours than I do now, and I could work during the day so my sleep schedule would be normal again. I wouldn't need the car to get there, so I'd get more exercise by riding my bike there and I'd be in the shopping district, so I wouldn't have to go out of my way if I needed to get something like I do now. It would be soooo much better. I really dislike my job now and I dread going. This would be like going back to the job I liked!

This is great! Are there any updates about this?

 

[Sans Souci]

Not fully developed, but think they know EVERYTHING! Of course, we were all there at one point as well. At least, like E, she's all about rules.

I took a driver's ed course where the owner was my instructor. He was great for the classroom portion, but the road part was a nightmare. I was a nervous driver, which didn't sit well with this guy. I also had a hard time with larger vehicles. He had several cars equipped for instruction, and I always got stuck with this mid 1970s yellow boat that looked like a rolling banana. While it was an automatic transmission, it was manual everything else...including the steering. I remember having trouble recovering the wheel in turns and winding up on people's front lawns. He always had me drive to a nearby city through a number of bad areas. It always scared the living daylights out of me. My friend always had lessons with his son. She got to drive the new Mustang and went to the nice areas of a quieter neighboring town.

Yeah, I don't know how many really needed it, but I'm glad they had counselors available. We never lost any students in my classes when I was growing up, so it's all a bit foreign to me.

I am laughing at the imagery of the 70s rolling banana. I can envision the exact type of car you're talking about.

 

[Figgy1]

Oh, wow, you just reminded me I tried to make an appointment for a mammogram before Christmas and nobody called me back. I am going to call again.

Hopefully, the gym crowds will thin out as the weeks roll by. That's so frustrating.

Our regular doctor is retiring next year so we're trying out a new one and they keep trying to make appointments for things that have already been done by them I swear it's feast or famine with doctors

 

[Sans Souci]

Hello-

Checking in with a cardio hiit workout. I started a 6 week challenge this week. You can enter to win prizes, but I am not. It's more about finding things to keep me interested.

Callie had fleas. I always assumed she was carrying them (and ticks), but she was sitting outside on this light blue cushion we keep for her and I could see dozens of these little bugs teeming from her. They were all over this cushion. She had been scratching a lot, biting her belly and I could see little tufts of fur around where she likes to chill out and in her house. So, we ordered this flea medication that we ground into her food and works within 30 min, but is only effective for 24 hours. We also bought generic Frontline, which lasts a month, but needs to be applied topically and rubbed in. That took awhile for me to do, but I finally managed to do it the other day. We also been cleaning her house, taking out the straw everyday and washing her little bed in the warmest water possible. We bought an all natural flea spray that's meant to be sprayed on cats, but I spray her bed with it before I bring it in to wash. Frontline kills ticks, too, so that's a bonus.

She's become more comfortable with us. She likes to sit on her cushion and watch me cook dinner. Sometimes, she will come up to the door and I will sit down next to it, open the door slightly and scratch her chin, head, back, while she purrs and kneads when I do it. She rubs her face against my hand and rolls onto her belly (which I don't dare touch). It's a shame she is feral. She has a very mild disposition. She has never hissed or shown any aggression towards us. She has come such a long way since she first showed up.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Oh, wow, you just reminded me I tried to make an appointment for a mammogram before Christmas and nobody called me back. I am going to call again.

Our regular doctor is retiring next year so we're trying out a new one and they keep trying to make appointments for things that have already been done by them I swear it's feast or famine with doctors

This has been my frustration as well as reason for staying with the same practice. There are 17 physicians in the practice. All of them practice out of the main facility in the Houston med center, but they have a bunch of satellite locations in the suburbs. I have been going to the same doctor since I moved here in 1997, but she doesn't practice out of my satellite location. I got tired of the long drive to the med center (as well as paying for parking) and her satellites are even farther away, so I just wanted to switch to a dr that comes to my suburb satellite. That way, it's nothing with a new dr wanting to do things that have already been done...like what @Figgy1 is experiencing. Unfortunately, the first few people I spoke to didn't know how to change doctors for an existing patient. I was promised call backs and got nothing. All the breast cancer stuff in October pushed me to call and demand better service...which finally paired me with someone who switched me over to a dr serving my area. It shouldn't be this difficult!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Happy Friday!

It's been nearly a week since I've been to the gym. It was still crazy crowded on the last visit. I did get in some decent work Saturday and Sunday finally cleaning up the interior holiday decorations (it's A LOT). Unfortunately, Sunday also brought about a medical issue that has sidelined me for a bit. I was cleaning up the storage area in the garage for the outside decor to make room for the bins for the inside decor. The garage door was in manual operation mode so I had to close it by hand. I normally shut it from the inside using the handle, but I saw David doing it from the outside with a flat hand approach. I figured that would be faster, so I tried. I didn't notice that the tip of the middle finger on my right hand was in one of the joints. Needless to say, I closed the garage door on my finger. I got it out quickly, but not without hurting the nail/nailbed. It hurt like crazy at first, but after several hours of icing, elevation, rest and ibuprofen...I just felt pressure from the blood under the nailbed and the remaining swelling. By Tuesday, it felt like there was some heat coming off of the finger, so I made an appointment with urgent care. Over 50 hours had passed, but they were actually able to drain the nail which relieved a lot of that pressure. They also put me on antibiotics and advised me to follow up with my regular dr. I'll be seeing that dr on Monday. I'm worried that it's not healing properly so I've just been trying to take it easy. The dr that did the draining procedure advised me to keep it covered, so what I'm seeing in the bandaid has me a little concerned. I realize my finger injury is much different than a surgical wound becoming infected, but I have this fear that they're going to say I need IV antibiotics.

Other than that, just trying to juggle life. Work is busy, which adds to the crazy. We've had stress over auto insurance, stress over Sam also having an infected finger, stress over school stuff, and even stress over softball...for K! She didn't make the team this year. She's one of several people who were cut, including others who also played previous years. She went into see the coaches right after she found out and asked if she could be a team manager...they said yes! Obviously, she was emotionally hurt about being cut as a player because nobody enjoys being rejected, but it's kind of a blessing. Her knee hates softball, she was already planning to ask about being a manager next year, and all of these cuts coach had to make shows it's becoming a more elite program...which is good for Sam. I need a vacation! The closest thing I MAY get is softball this summer. We're arriving in CO a little early and then hoping to head to the Rapid City, SD area after we're done playing.

 

[MinnieM123]

Happy Friday!

It's been nearly a week since I've been to the gym. It was still crazy crowded on the last visit. I did get in some decent work Saturday and Sunday finally cleaning up the interior holiday decorations (it's A LOT). Unfortunately, Sunday also brought about a medical issue that has sidelined me for a bit. I was cleaning up the storage area in the garage for the outside decor to make room for the bins for the inside decor. The garage door was in manual operation mode so I had to close it by hand. I normally shut it from the inside using the handle, but I saw David doing it from the outside with a flat hand approach. I figured that would be faster, so I tried. I didn't notice that the tip of the middle finger on my right hand was in one of the joints. Needless to say, I closed the garage door on my finger. I got it out quickly, but not without hurting the nail/nailbed. It hurt like crazy at first, but after several hours of icing, elevation, rest and ibuprofen...I just felt pressure from the blood under the nailbed and the remaining swelling. By Tuesday, it felt like there was some heat coming off of the finger, so I made an appointment with urgent care. Over 50 hours had passed, but they were actually able to drain the nail which relieved a lot of that pressure. They also put me on antibiotics and advised me to follow up with my regular dr. I'll be seeing that dr on Monday. I'm worried that it's not healing properly so I've just been trying to take it easy. The dr that did the draining procedure advised me to keep it covered, so what I'm seeing in the bandaid has me a little concerned. I realize my finger injury is much different than a surgical wound becoming infected, but I have this fear that they're going to say I need IV antibiotics.

Other than that, just trying to juggle life. Work is busy, which adds to the crazy. We've had stress over auto insurance, stress over Sam also having an infected finger, stress over school stuff, and even stress over softball...for K! She didn't make the team this year. She's one of several people who were cut, including others who also played previous years. She went into see the coaches right after she found out and asked if she could be a team manager...they said yes! Obviously, she was emotionally hurt about being cut as a player because nobody enjoys being rejected, but it's kind of a blessing. Her knee hates softball, she was already planning to ask about being a manager next year, and all of these cuts coach had to make shows it's becoming a more elite program...which is good for Sam. I need a vacation! The closest thing I MAY get is softball this summer. We're arriving in CO a little early and then hoping to head to the Rapid City, SD area after we're done playing.

I hope your finger heals very soon, and you don't have any further issues with it.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Callie had fleas. I always assumed she was carrying them (and ticks), but she was sitting outside on this light blue cushion we keep for her and I could see dozens of these little bugs teeming from her. They were all over this cushion. She had been scratching a lot, biting her belly and I could see little tufts of fur around where she likes to chill out and in her house. So, we ordered this flea medication that we ground into her food and works within 30 min, but is only effective for 24 hours. We also bought generic Frontline, which lasts a month, but needs to be applied topically and rubbed in. That took awhile for me to do, but I finally managed to do it the other day. We also been cleaning her house, taking out the straw everyday and washing her little bed in the warmest water possible. We bought an all natural flea spray that's meant to be sprayed on cats, but I spray her bed with it before I bring it in to wash. Frontline kills ticks, too, so that's a bonus.

She's become more comfortable with us. She likes to sit on her cushion and watch me cook dinner. Sometimes, she will come up to the door and I will sit down next to it, open the door slightly and scratch her chin, head, back, while she purrs and kneads when I do it. She rubs her face against my hand and rolls onto her belly (which I don't dare touch). It's a shame she is feral. She has a very mild disposition. She has never hissed or shown any aggression towards us. She has come such a long way since she first showed up.

I was wondering about fleas. That's always my big fear with pets. Hopefully the meds will work quickly as it can create anemia issues if there's a severe infestation. The treatment will certainly improve her quality of life. It definitely sounds like she's really warmed up to you guys.

 

[Songbird76]

This is great! Are there any updates about this?

Well, I made a resume to send in, though I need to get my husband to look over it before I email it. Unfortunately, life has gotten in the way. The aforementioned oral surgery A had has taken a nasty turn. A has not eaten or drank anything since the surgery a week and a half ago. He's been in the hospital during the day since Sunday to get IV fluids and help to try to relearn to swallow. Part of A's autism traits are that he has a very sensitive mouth, and that he gets "stuck" in his head. He also needs consistency. If foods feel weird, or taste different than normal, he won't eat them. That's why he's so picky. Give him a brand of chicken nuggets that feel different in his mouth, and he won't eat them. Well, now it's his MOUTH that feels different. So he just can't seem to figure out how to swallow anything. We've tried sippy cups and straws, a bottle with a different spout, popsicles....he just can't get anything down. He ends up having to spit it out because he can't figure out how to swallow it. There is nothing physically wrong that inhibits him, and we know he's swallowing in his sleep because he's not waking up with a wet pillow from drool. So we know he CAN do it, but he's freaked himself out and now the anxiety is keeping him from being able to do it when he's awake. So for now, he has to check in every morning at 9, they hook him up to an IV, and he gets to go home at 7pm. We tried a scheduled routine of rinsing his mouth every 10 minutes and trying to drink....that didn't help. Every 15 minutes, and adding brushing his tongue once every hour to get the bad taste out of his mouth. That seemed to help a LITTLE that the bad taste was gone but he HATED the routine and dreads it. And in the end, he still can't swallow. They brought in a psychologist and she played chess with him while they chatted and she explained some things to him like that anxiety has a hold on him, but that swallowing is a reflex and his body knows how to do it and that eventually it WILL come back to him. They also consulted with a psychiatrist who recommended (together with the psychologist) that we stop forcing the practice on him. Stop telling him WHEN to try, just provide him with the drinks and let him control it. Putting too much pressure on him is making it worse. He's lost 3 kilos since Sunday or Monday when they first weighed him. My husband brought him in those days, so I'm not sure which day they weighed him, but yesterday he was 3 kilos under what he was the first time. He's terrified. We think maybe he is scared that he's dying, because a few years ago, at school they learned about nutrition and how poor eating habbits can lead to life threatening illnesses. He was convinced he was dying and we had to call a dietician to tell him why he didn't need to worry about that. But the answer was that ALL food has some good stuff in it that we need, and so all food was ok to eat and that as long as we eat, we're getting nourishment....but now he's not eating. So we need to ask a medical professional to maybe explain to him that he's NOT going to die from this, that's why they are giving him the IV, etc. So, that's been my week and I haven't really had a head for anything but my kid. My husband took the morning with him today and I'm headed back to the hospital in a few minutes. Sorry to be a Debby downer....not the most satisfying answer, but thank you for asking anyway.

 

[Songbird76]

Happy Friday!

It's been nearly a week since I've been to the gym. It was still crazy crowded on the last visit. I did get in some decent work Saturday and Sunday finally cleaning up the interior holiday decorations (it's A LOT). Unfortunately, Sunday also brought about a medical issue that has sidelined me for a bit. I was cleaning up the storage area in the garage for the outside decor to make room for the bins for the inside decor. The garage door was in manual operation mode so I had to close it by hand. I normally shut it from the inside using the handle, but I saw David doing it from the outside with a flat hand approach. I figured that would be faster, so I tried. I didn't notice that the tip of the middle finger on my right hand was in one of the joints. Needless to say, I closed the garage door on my finger. I got it out quickly, but not without hurting the nail/nailbed. It hurt like crazy at first, but after several hours of icing, elevation, rest and ibuprofen...I just felt pressure from the blood under the nailbed and the remaining swelling. By Tuesday, it felt like there was some heat coming off of the finger, so I made an appointment with urgent care. Over 50 hours had passed, but they were actually able to drain the nail which relieved a lot of that pressure. They also put me on antibiotics and advised me to follow up with my regular dr. I'll be seeing that dr on Monday. I'm worried that it's not healing properly so I've just been trying to take it easy. The dr that did the draining procedure advised me to keep it covered, so what I'm seeing in the bandaid has me a little concerned. I realize my finger injury is much different than a surgical wound becoming infected, but I have this fear that they're going to say I need IV antibiotics.

Other than that, just trying to juggle life. Work is busy, which adds to the crazy. We've had stress over auto insurance, stress over Sam also having an infected finger, stress over school stuff, and even stress over softball...for K! She didn't make the team this year. She's one of several people who were cut, including others who also played previous years. She went into see the coaches right after she found out and asked if she could be a team manager...they said yes! Obviously, she was emotionally hurt about being cut as a player because nobody enjoys being rejected, but it's kind of a blessing. Her knee hates softball, she was already planning to ask about being a manager next year, and all of these cuts coach had to make shows it's becoming a more elite program...which is good for Sam. I need a vacation! The closest thing I MAY get is softball this summer. We're arriving in CO a little early and then hoping to head to the Rapid City, SD area after we're done playing.

I'm so sorry to hear about your finger!! That must be extremely painful! Why do you fear the IV antibiotics? Because they have to be administered in the hospital, you don't want to lose the time, you are afraid of needles? Hopefully it won't go that far.

And that's too bad K was cut from softball, but maybe a blessing if her knee can't take it. Does she have another sport she can join, would she rather not do another sport? She's got other activities, right?

At least the Colorado/Wyoming/Rapid City area is a beautiful one. Is the softball tournament in Denver or somewhere else in CO? And how would you drive up to SD? I don't know where the tournament is, but I'd go through Wyoming over going through Nebraska. Nebraska is really flat and boring. There's not much there. We had a church camp in Nebraska and I'm pretty sure we also sometimes went through there on our way back from Illinois, but I think that was more to stop at Cabella's for my brother than anything. Or maybe that was on our trip to Orlando that we did that. I think it must have been, because we always went through South Dakota to get to Illinois. But Nebraska was never fun to drive through. We always made stops along the way whenever we drove somewhere. Like, on our way to Orlando, I remember we went to Mammoth Cave, and saw some of the Louis and Clark trail, went to a museum in Hays Kansas, we TRIED to go to the Hermitage in Tennessee, but there were no tours that day or something and mom was NOT going to go to Graceland, so I don't remember if we actually got to do anything there or not on our way through. But Nebraska was just so boring!! There's a TON of stuff to do in Wyoming if you like nature or civil war era history. Let me know if you head that way and want some ideas for things to do!!

 

[Songbird76]

Update:
Success! The psychiatrist came by this morning and talked with him about his fears, etc. The pediatrician was worried that the longer it took, the harder it was going to be. The psychiatrist explained to him that the next step if someone can't eat naturally is to put in a tube through the nose to pump the food in to the stomach. That really scared him and he was really tense and hugging his stuffed sheep sooo hard. But she said we wanted to prevent that and asked what we could try to help. We decided to try something more solid that he could feel better in his mouth, so we gave him a slice of pound cake. The first couple of bites were difficult. It got stuck to the roof of his mouth and in the dent where the incision was. But I had him try chewing on the other side and that seemed to help. It still feels weird to him and it's messy, but he ate it and even asked for more. Liquids are still hard. He rinsed his mouth after the cake and got a couple of sips of water down from the faucet, but a glass is still hard. He also tried Pepsi from a bottle and the first couple of swigs seemed to go well and then all of a sudden he sputtered and couldn't get the rest down. But it's a huge improvement.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

I'm so sorry to hear about your finger!! That must be extremely painful! Why do you fear the IV antibiotics? Because they have to be administered in the hospital, you don't want to lose the time, you are afraid of needles? Hopefully it won't go that far.

And that's too bad K was cut from softball, but maybe a blessing if her knee can't take it. Does she have another sport she can join, would she rather not do another sport? She's got other activities, right?

At least the Colorado/Wyoming/Rapid City area is a beautiful one. Is the softball tournament in Denver or somewhere else in CO? And how would you drive up to SD? I don't know where the tournament is, but I'd go through Wyoming over going through Nebraska. Nebraska is really flat and boring. There's not much there. We had a church camp in Nebraska and I'm pretty sure we also sometimes went through there on our way back from Illinois, but I think that was more to stop at Cabella's for my brother than anything. Or maybe that was on our trip to Orlando that we did that. I think it must have been, because we always went through South Dakota to get to Illinois. But Nebraska was never fun to drive through. We always made stops along the way whenever we drove somewhere. Like, on our way to Orlando, I remember we went to Mammoth Cave, and saw some of the Louis and Clark trail, went to a museum in Hays Kansas, we TRIED to go to the Hermitage in Tennessee, but there were no tours that day or something and mom was NOT going to go to Graceland, so I don't remember if we actually got to do anything there or not on our way through. But Nebraska was just so boring!! There's a TON of stuff to do in Wyoming if you like nature or civil war era history. Let me know if you head that way and want some ideas for things to do!!

The hospitals concerns are a mix of issues. For starters, we have a high deductible insurance plan. It seems to be the way a lot of corporate healthcare is going over here. In any event, a couple of nights in the hospital will equate to $4,000-6,000 in bills because of the way the plan works. I also have uncooperative veins and really get freaked out by IVs. I don't mind injections and have gotten better with blood draws, but IVs really bother me. The IV antibiotics also did a number on my stomach last time and it took a while to recover. It feels like it's getting better, so fingers crossed (literally) that today's dr agrees.

She's in TONS of things, to the point that she barely has any time. Being a team manager for softball also means putting in the time with the team. She was out the door around 5:30am today to coordinate the weekly team weight room session and then out on the field to help manage JV practice. She'll also travel with the team too.

I'm hoping it all works out. We got very little time in the Rapid City area the last time we were up there, so I have unfinished business. The softball tournament is Boulder area, but we may also have her attend a camp pre-tournament in Loveland and we should have one extra day pre-play to visit Rocky Mountain National Park again (maybe even 2 days). As for the route, it really depends on what Google Maps shows is the fastest at the time. Most times I've mapped it, it looks like it's going to take us north on 25 through Cheyenne, cut over to 85 in far eastern WY, and then to 18 to take us into southwestern SD. We've been through a couple of different parts of NE and the eastern side isn't too bad. Honestly, it can't be any more boring than driving through eastern Colorado. Once you lose the mountains, it's flat prairie land...which I'm sure we'll have plenty of on the way home. The route home will take us through Nebraska (closer to Lincoln), Kansas (via Wichita), and Oklahoma (OK City area). Funny...Mammoth Cave was my first national park! I barely have any memory of it, but we lived in Ohio for a couple of years when I was really young. Too bad she wouldn't go to Graceland. I didn't want to pay for the tours, but it was pretty cool to see it and see all of the people that still flock to it to get a glimpse. I'll keep you posted though. Last time we were in the Rapid City area, we visited Badlands NP, Minuteman Missile, Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse. I'd like to go back to Badlands, maybe pop into Wall Drug for a few jackelope jokes, and then Wind Cave, Jewel Cave, and Custer State Park are on the list. No plans to park and tour this time, but might as well drive by Mount Rushmore while we're there. Part of me wants to drive through Deadwood, but not sure it's worth it.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Well, I made a resume to send in, though I need to get my husband to look over it before I email it. Unfortunately, life has gotten in the way. The aforementioned oral surgery A had has taken a nasty turn. A has not eaten or drank anything since the surgery a week and a half ago. He's been in the hospital during the day since Sunday to get IV fluids and help to try to relearn to swallow. Part of A's autism traits are that he has a very sensitive mouth, and that he gets "stuck" in his head. He also needs consistency. If foods feel weird, or taste different than normal, he won't eat them. That's why he's so picky. Give him a brand of chicken nuggets that feel different in his mouth, and he won't eat them. Well, now it's his MOUTH that feels different. So he just can't seem to figure out how to swallow anything. We've tried sippy cups and straws, a bottle with a different spout, popsicles....he just can't get anything down. He ends up having to spit it out because he can't figure out how to swallow it. There is nothing physically wrong that inhibits him, and we know he's swallowing in his sleep because he's not waking up with a wet pillow from drool. So we know he CAN do it, but he's freaked himself out and now the anxiety is keeping him from being able to do it when he's awake. So for now, he has to check in every morning at 9, they hook him up to an IV, and he gets to go home at 7pm. We tried a scheduled routine of rinsing his mouth every 10 minutes and trying to drink....that didn't help. Every 15 minutes, and adding brushing his tongue once every hour to get the bad taste out of his mouth. That seemed to help a LITTLE that the bad taste was gone but he HATED the routine and dreads it. And in the end, he still can't swallow. They brought in a psychologist and she played chess with him while they chatted and she explained some things to him like that anxiety has a hold on him, but that swallowing is a reflex and his body knows how to do it and that eventually it WILL come back to him. They also consulted with a psychiatrist who recommended (together with the psychologist) that we stop forcing the practice on him. Stop telling him WHEN to try, just provide him with the drinks and let him control it. Putting too much pressure on him is making it worse. He's lost 3 kilos since Sunday or Monday when they first weighed him. My husband brought him in those days, so I'm not sure which day they weighed him, but yesterday he was 3 kilos under what he was the first time. He's terrified. We think maybe he is scared that he's dying, because a few years ago, at school they learned about nutrition and how poor eating habbits can lead to life threatening illnesses. He was convinced he was dying and we had to call a dietician to tell him why he didn't need to worry about that. But the answer was that ALL food has some good stuff in it that we need, and so all food was ok to eat and that as long as we eat, we're getting nourishment....but now he's not eating. So we need to ask a medical professional to maybe explain to him that he's NOT going to die from this, that's why they are giving him the IV, etc. So, that's been my week and I haven't really had a head for anything but my kid. My husband took the morning with him today and I'm headed back to the hospital in a few minutes. Sorry to be a Debby downer....not the most satisfying answer, but thank you for asking anyway.

Update:
Success! The psychiatrist came by this morning and talked with him about his fears, etc. The pediatrician was worried that the longer it took, the harder it was going to be. The psychiatrist explained to him that the next step if someone can't eat naturally is to put in a tube through the nose to pump the food in to the stomach. That really scared him and he was really tense and hugging his stuffed sheep sooo hard. But she said we wanted to prevent that and asked what we could try to help. We decided to try something more solid that he could feel better in his mouth, so we gave him a slice of pound cake. The first couple of bites were difficult. It got stuck to the roof of his mouth and in the dent where the incision was. But I had him try chewing on the other side and that seemed to help. It still feels weird to him and it's messy, but he ate it and even asked for more. Liquids are still hard. He rinsed his mouth after the cake and got a couple of sips of water down from the faucet, but a glass is still hard. He also tried Pepsi from a bottle and the first couple of swigs seemed to go well and then all of a sudden he sputtered and couldn't get the rest down. But it's a huge improvement.

Oh no! How scary! I recall your vacation research concerning his food sensitivites. I can't begin to imagine how hard something like this is for him and how rough it's been on you and the rest of the family. I'm so glad the hospital had all kinds of staff that could work with him to help him along and get him to try eating and drinking again. Hopefully he'll continue to make positive strides towards a full recovery.