Mom And Me

Mom's surgery was this past Monday. 6 days after my pneumonia diagnosis. I kept falling asleep at the hospital, and was generally all-around miserable, but then again I had it easy compared to Mom. She did great, the surgeon said the procedure went well, he was pleased. She had some trouble coming out of the anesthesia, but all in all she's doing well now, is in the In-Patient therapy place, and is making good progress. A few weeks there and I think they'll send her home.

In the meantime, I've definitely over-done and have paid the price. Yes, I'm breathing better, the antibiotic worked on the infection, and my breathing is much better. Today was my last dose of the super-drug, and as long as my breathing remains good in the coming days then fine, otherwise it will be back to the Dr to ask for more drugs.

But the fatigue is monstrous. And I understand it takes quite awhile before that part goes away. I wake up in the morning feeling mostly OK, but by the end of my workday (even before the end) I'm just done-in. But instead of coming home to rest it's off to the hospital, and then some other errands if needed. There's simply too much demanding my time and attention and energy right now, and I have nothing to give. The bucket is completely devoid of sand. And I don't know where to get more sand to put in it.

I do so appreciate the dear friends who were willing to be part of my grumpy-bitchy-stir-craziness while confined to the bed last week. The Dr put me out of work for 3 days, and while in some ways that was NOT enough time to recover from pneumonia, in other ways it's just as well I'm not stuck in this house. I even found a way to impose my ickiness on friends "virtually". But to my defense, they didn't HAVE to respond to the IM's of grump I was sending! lol

Anyway, I'm slowly improving, don't look for me at many social activities any time soon though. Mom seems to be doing beautifully, so far. And that's all I can ask.

I Think I'm Seriously F***ked-Up!

Now I ask you, what normal person, browsing a list of items offered up for other Freecyclers would immediately get a mental picture something like the above images?? (No not exactly like the above images, just along those lines?)

Here's the phrase/email which brought such images to mind:

• OFFER box of electric plugs

roflmao
OK - maybe I'm the only person with a sense of humor this far gone (although I think I know at least a few other people who would be wondering about electric butt plugs...)
But I was seriously no more good as I cracked my little self up!

And no, the ad is actually offering actual electric plugs - you know, hardware type stuff, not related to kink - well, no more than anything is related to kink, lol!


Whew - ok, letting it go now, enough said I'm sure. I hope you got to laugh or at least chuckle the way I did.

:)

Very Smart PirateDaddy

This picture kind of describes my Daddy without the need for words, in my opinion. He's the smartest man in the world!

(well duh - He was smart enough to choose me...)

;-)

Free Stuff!

Sometime last year my son learned about a new thing Microsoft was doing to try to help their search engine compete with Google. It's a group of word games and trivia games, some a little more fun than others (although what appeals to me may not be the same as what appeals to you.)

Anyway, I play the games, the answers are then checked using the Microsoft search engine, thereby giving themselves lots and lots of hits (what search engines need in order to be successful.) Each game I complete awards me tickets/points, some games 25 tickets, some 20 some 15 (you get the point.)

Once I build up enough points I can cash them in for prizes. So far, I have earned a free Zune (yes, the ones that sell for $150-200,) a free wireless X-Box controller, and have a few other items I'd like to redeem tickets for. The list of prizes includes things like a Roomba Vacuum Robot, Microsoft Vista, plenty of other hardware and software for computers and the X-Box, as well as frequent flyer miles and other things. Additionally, I can just donate my points to charity, and Microsoft will pay them in cash.

The cool thing, is that I have fun with little games and puzzles like this, and would play anyway when I have some time and want to unwind (or say, when I'm on forced bedrest due to some illness or whatnot.) So these are the kind of things I'd enjoy even if they weren't giving me free stuff!

I just thought I'd share the info with you. Hey, we all know Google is superior, isn't that why we're here at Blogger instead of some other blog engine? But if that makes the competition do things that can benefit us, I'm all for it! So if you want to check it out, feel free to Click Here.

Have fun and happy winning!

Bed Rest Anyone?

This lingering illness that I've been coping with for the past 4-6 weeks turns out to be pneumonia. I KNEW something was wrong - something different than has ever been wrong before. I know my body, I know what being sick is like, how my body reacts and heals, and this time has been unlike any other time in my life. And now I know why. Pneumonia - I've never had it before.

Well, I guess I have to stop saying that - because I have it now. So bed rest it is for the next 5 days. I did spend the past 4 days in bed too. But hey, who's counting? My bedsores have bedsores! ;)

Talk about no energy, and being unable to breathe! Truly, you don't know how much you miss something until you don't have it. I sure do miss being able to breathe - nice, deep, cleansing breaths. But that's ok - I'm going to get better, and then I'll be able to breathe again.

Driving Force

My son is 16, and has had his Learner's Permit for awhile now. He has been reluctant to actually learn to drive though, and even unwilling to enroll in a Driver's Ed class.

I've taken a very hands-off approach with him, not wanting to pressure him, or rush him. I have always believed in a more Montessori approach to child rearing. Montessori can be summed up very simply: Follow the child. And that is how I have tried to raise my son. Following him, his needs, at his pace, as he was ready, willing, or able. So, when he wanted to believe in Santa/tooth fairy/easter bunny/etc, we did. When he decided he didn't believe in them anymore I didn't try to persuade him otherwise, I simply told him the truth and allowed him to lead the way. I did the same thing with his ascent into puberty.

So it was with driving. Until tonight. I decided to force him to drive home from the grocery store this evening - 2.5 miles on 30 mile an hour back roads in a very small little town with 1 stop light, which we didn't even encounter.

And as I suspected, he was awesome! He did GREAT!!! I had him move around the back of the parking lot a bit first to get the feel for the brakes, accelerator, steering, and overall feel of the car, and then he was off. And while I calmly talked him through the experience, I made sure to include appropriate encouragement, praise, correction, teaching, and all-around coaching and mentoring.

And while I'm very proud of him, I'm not at all surprised, because I knew he'd do just fabulously, and he did indeed.

Sometimes we can't just sit back and follow the child - even when that has always worked well in the past. I'm grateful I'm still able to learn and adapt as a parent, and able to find a positive approach that works for my son.

And hey, he really can't complain too much, I surely didn't get to learn how to drive in a luxurious (and fast) Mercedes AMG C32!

:)

Daddy's Gonna Eat Your Fingers

I was packing for my business trip and my 3-year old daughter was having a wonderful time playing on the bed. At one point she said, "Daddy, look at this," and stuck out two of her fingers. Trying to keep her entertained, I reached out and stuck her tiny fingers in my mouth and said, "Daddy's gonna eat your fingers!" pretending to eat them before I rushed out of the room again.

When I returned, my daughter was standing on the bed staring at her finger's with a devastated look on her face.

I said, "What's wrong, honey?"

She replied, "What happened to my booger?"