Today started out well.  Really, it did.  Alicia and I went for a nice walk this morning, before it got warm.  It was around 50 degrees out so it was perfect for walking!  We walked the couple of blocks to the hospital, holding hands and talking the whole way.  Well, she mostly talked and I listened.  Boy, is she a chatty one!  We decided to stop in the hospital and see if I still knew anyone working there.  Hey!  It's possible that I didn't because they've done lay-offs.

 

The auxiliary was having their holiday sale for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  It's a good thing I didn't have my wallet because that girl wanted almost everything she saw.  We browsed through all of the really cool offerings and then headed off to see who we could find.  We checked personnel because I know that Carol still works there, but there was no one home - in the whole department!  She told me later that they were all in a meeting.

 

We headed over to accounting, the last department I worked in.  Finally, people I knew!  My friends Janet and Cheryl were so happy to see us.  They couldn't believe how big Ali is now.  She was very sweet and gave both of them hugs and promised to come visit soon.  Our last stop was in medical records, where we saw three more women I knew.  They also couldn't believe how much Ali has grown.  Then we headed home, collecting beautiful fall leaves all the way.  Once we got home, Ali willingly sat down and did two days' worth of English.  I will have to try this again tomorrow!

 

This evening has been a different story.  The kids have, of course, been fighting off and on and making all kinds of noise.  Then the birds started in.  Those things are incessant!!  They will NOT stop with the chirping!  Some people have rottweilers that bark when someone is at the door, we have cockatiels that screech at the slightest sound.  The sound was driving me insane.  Add to it the TV and you have a recipe for disaster.

 

In my house, disaster is spelled M-I-G-R-A-I-N-E.  Yes, I now have one.  I'm going to bed.

I forgot to mention in my last post that we did end up buying a new thermometer.  The old one had done nearly 8 years of service and needed retiring. 

 

Reece is all better.  He woke up yesterday and was doing great!  It had been a complete week.  He was crying Sunday night saying that his stomach hurt, but he quit that song and dance when we told him we would have to take him to the emergency room.  I don't know if he was faking it or just decided it wasn't bad enough for all that nonsense, but I haven't heard it since.

 

We're back to our usual schedule this week.  I am having Alicia do some extra school work since she is so behind from first her being sick and then Reece being sick and occupying all of my time.  She is, of course, resistant to this but you gotta do what you gotta do, right?  We are still way behind where I want to be and we have an appointment with the coordinator on December 4th so I am desperate to get caught up.  I don't want her to think that I am a total slacker.  Really, I'm not.  It's just that when everyone in the house feels like poop it's hard to get motivated to motivate her.  We were both dragging our feet.  Now it's time to race!

 

My house is back in order after being a disaster due to too many people being miserable.  I even managed to alter the dress I told my friend Vanessa I would do for her.  It took me a full half an hour today!  I really thought it would take longer than that because I had to trim about 8 inches off the hem and rehem it.  I also took in the sides a little.  I'm only charging her about $10.  I'd feel funny taking any more than that and, truth be told, considered charging even less. 

 

I love to sew, but now my back is in knots.  I really need a tall table for cutting, pinning, sewing...a nice, tall table that I wouldn't have to bend over.  I could use it for scrapbooking, too!  Oooh!  And drawing!!  Oh, what I could do with a tall table!  I would love to have a table or countertop waist level or even a little higher.  Instead, the table hits me mid-thigh and the counters are at my hips.  I guess it's just one more drawback to being on the tall side.

Reece has been sick this week.  I mean sick sick.  He woke up about 2 am Wednesday morning with a fever.  He was so hot to the touch!  I pretty much didn't sleep after that.  For some reason, he didn't register quite as hot on the thermometer, about 101.5.  All day Wednesday he was feverish and miserable, but he refused to take any medicine for it.  That night he was still burning up.  After I went to bed and Mike took his child-watch shift, Reece threw up.  The next morning he ate a little bit and then he threw up some more.  Greaaaaat.  I called the doctor's office and they squeezed him in at noon.  I took my poor boy down there and carried him around, no easy feat since he's now 5 1/2, and waited to see the doctor.  The nurse happened to notice how miserable he was and put us in a room so he could rest without being in the waiting room.

 

Finally we got into the exam room.  Reece's temperature measured at 103.8.  Poor baby!!  His stomach was hurting and sensitive to touch.  One thing I had worried about was appendicitis because he kept pointing to that region and saying it hurt.  Dr. Barker tried to give him liquid Motrin, but he threw it all up.  While we attempted to clean him up a little, he threw up some more - all over the doctor's hands!!  Luckily for Dr. Barker, Reece hadn't eaten much for a couple of days so it was pretty much just liquid.  Since he couldn't keep down the medicine, we had to take another route.  Reece was adamant that he didn't want a shot so there was only one other alternative, one that Reece didn't understand but soon would.

 

We had to go the rectal route.

 

A few minutes later Reece wasn't too happy, but he was medicated.  I left with instructions to bring him back if there was no improvement in a couple of hours and we would have to run tests.  Hospitalization was mentioned if there was no improvement.  Thankfully, his fever broke and he went to sleep.  Dr. Barker called before he left his office to make sure that everything was okay.  He is such an excellent doctor!!  Later, of course, the fever came back and little man refused medicine.  I tried to give him Tylenol meltaways, but he threw them back up.  I was up all night with him again last night, monitoring the fever and just holding him.  He peaked, as far as I now, at 104 degrees. 

 

He's feeling a little better today, Friday, but now I am exhausted.  I managed to get in a little nap this morning, but then I was up and trying to get the house clean while answering his plaintive call, "Mommy!  I want you!"  He's still feverish, although it isn't nearly as high, and still has some stomach pains, but I think the worst is over.

 

I bet I don't get to go to church tomorrow.