TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

It started at 6:30am.  I had been up and down all night so I have no clue how much sleep I actually got.  I DO know that I got up around 4am to pee and the next thing I knew, the Beast was waking me up.  I never even heard the stupid alarm clock he has that looks like a throwback to the 50's.  You know the kind I mean....has two bells on top and a striker that hits them back and forth.  Very annoying.  My parents had one like it when I was a kid.

I got dressed, washed my face, brushed my hair and then got a cup of coffee.  The Beast and I sat down and just looked at each other.  It was one of those *what the hell are we doing up this early?* moments.  Then we left for my early morning appointment with the surgeon that did the vascular work on me.  My appointment was for 8am.  Know when I finally got to see him?  9am.  And the only reason I got to see him then was I asked his nurse to call the Wound Center and tell them I wouldn't be there for my HBO appointment.  The girl got this startled look on her face and said I would see the doctor next so I could make my appointment there.

The doctor checked out the wound.  Yes, it had widened a bit in one spot but it WAS healing from the inside out.  He found the area where the weeping was coming from and pushed out more liquid.  There was no more odor (phew) and he gave me a different way to bandage it.  However, tomorrow he is putting in some kind of special pump that will absorb the liquid and help the wound heal faster.  I gather it has a special *black bandage* and there is a little box that is part of it.  He didn't explain it thoroughly but I will get it tomorrow when I see him at the Wound Center.  The *black bandage*...has to be something that is very absorbent.   He says it stays in place for three days at a time.  I will probably have to have it a week or two.  We shall see what all is involved tomorrow.

I was feeling very weak and nauseous so the Beast brought me home.  I took my meds and had a bit to eat then lay down for a while.  I slept until the Beast got back from HIS appointment with the Eye Doctor.  He was very happy with him.  He said it wasn't very long before he knew this doctor knew what the hell he was doing.  He told the Beast he had the right medications but....the doctors in Birmingham should have cut back the use of it from every hour to four times a day once they saw the eye was responding.  The doctor checked the eye out with the same machine the (young) doctors had used on the Beast and said the eye was looking good.  Let me tell you, the Beast came home with a much more positive attitude.  He ate some of his leftover dinner from yesterday and then HE went to bed.  He must have been really relieved because he slept for almost six hours!    Guess he was not sleeping well...maybe with worry. 

I found out that my kids are giving the Princess a tough time over me watching Chewlee.  They are calling her selfish and self-centered.  I have NEVER complained about watching my Chewlee.  Both the Beast and I love her very much and it would hurt us not to see her or not to see her very much.  The Beast will take her with him to his meetings (which she loves) or to the store.  He's never been much for kids but he does enjoy her.  I sure do and, with my feet getting better with each HBO treatment (even my balance is better), it's not a chore to get around.  All I have to do is work on my endurance.  BUT....I want my children to know that, as much as I appreciate their concern, I am fully able to speak on my own behalf.  If I felt like I was being taken advantage of, I would talk to the Princess.  I did ask her a few months back to give me a break and she cut her hours back at work so that I only have Chewlee for four days a week most of the time.  The problem isn't that the Princess is thoughtless, it's that her boss takes advantage of her and calls her in on what should be her days off or asks her to do a double because another worker doesn't or can't show up.  The Princess can't say no it seems and I remember being just like her when I was young.  But kids......lay off the Princess.  I love her, too, and I can speak for myself, thank you very much.  I adore Chewlee and so would you if you were close and got to see her.  My life is fuller and more fun for having her here with me.  I want that to continue.

Love you all.  Have a great week.  Is it Hump Day already?  Sheesh. 

TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

It never fails.  At some point you will have a conflict of doctor's appointments when you hit our age.  That's what I ran up against for tomorrow.  I have to be at HBO therapy at 10am Central time.  The Beast has to be at his Eye doctor at 10:45am.  Not really a problem IF they see him right away and don't make him wait.  I will be inside that machine for two hours.  BUT...I mentioned my problems with part of the incisions in my earlier post.  When the doctor's office called back, I was told I needed to be there at 10am in his office downtown.  See the problem?

I told the girl the conflict and the only other time I could come was at 8am.  The Beast has already set the alarm for 6:30am and made sure I knew it so I wouldn't stay up late.  Hell, I seem to sleep in stages.  Won't hurt me.  Plus, I can sleep during the HBO therapy. 

So, we go to one doctor at 8am, then he drops me off for my oxygen therapy at 10am to get to his eye doctor's by 10:45am.  BUT...he's got to be done by 12 noon or else let me know.  I will have to carry my cell phone with me and hope for the best.  I know this much...we will both be napping once we get back home.  Well, maybe I won't if I actually sleep during my therapy. 

So, I will say good night for anyone that checks me out tonight or have a great day for any others.  Love you all.  Be happy. 

TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

I hate not posting but yesterday this house was so cold that my arthritis in my hands made it tough for me to type.  I closed the door in my computer room and turned the heat up but once the pain starts, it's almost impossible to make it better.  I talked on an IM to Bratfink but even that much was both painful and kept to a minimum.

The reason the house was as cold as it was mainly was because the Beast was gone.  I won't put on the heat from our unit because it really doesn't give much heat.  I DID turn the baseboard heaters on but I don't like leaving them on for long.  The Beast was gone because he had to be at the Eye Center in Birmingham.  He left here at noon, courtesy of our neighbor who volunteered to drive him since he couldn't see well.  She's a very nice woman and her husband has been the Beast's friend for a couple years now.  The one thing neither of them expected was that they would be there all damn day long.  I kid you not.  He didn't get out of there until 6:30pm and it was full dark out.  Although they claimed (the doctors at the Center), that his was an emergency, they treated it like it was a minor problem with keeping him waiting to be seen and checked once he had started the medication.

THEN....they gave him the names of a couple doctors with a regular practice IN BIRMINGHAM to call for an appointment for follow-up.  They knew full well that he lived in A'berville (that's the local pronunciation) yet they would have had him drive that far just to see a local doctor.  I swear, they must pay each other for that shit.  So I hopped online and found a few local opthalmologists and sent the links to the Beast in his email.  It's HIS eye so I figured HE could chose one.  I did express my preference for the Eye Care Center in the town just north of us.  That's the one he ended up choosing and he has an appointment to see them tomorrow.

I'm missing my HBO appointment today because I had to call the vascular surgeon's office because the wound he opened up a bit has gotten bigger and the seepage has developed a strong odor which can't be good.  It worries ME anyway until HE tells me differently.  I couldn't speak to an actual person and had to leave a message but I hope I made myself clear about the wound and it makes the nurse take notice and pass along the information to the doctor.  I hope to see him later today but who knows?

It was weird being here all day knowing the Beast (who has little patience) was sitting at the Eye Center.  Poor Baron was nutty.  He could see the car was in the garage and kept going back to check that out.  I finally shut the door to the garage here in the house.  He wouldn't eat, he wouldn't go outside to do his *thing*, he just laid around, sighing.  He laid at the front door, then went to the open blinds in the bedroom that looks out over the driveway.  He would make these little whining sounds from time-to-time.  Then he would go lay on the Beast's side of the bed with his head on the Beast's pillow or so he could look out the window.  I hated to yell at him because I knew he was just feeling lost and worried.  Worried that he had been deserted, not that something was wrong with the Beast. 

Baron finally DID eat but he didn't go out until the Beast was home and had taken off his jacket (so he knew that his *man* was staying).  Then he attached himself to the Beast and stayed within a foot of him regardless of where he went.  Even the bathroom.    When the Beast went to bed, Baron laid on HIS side of the bed until *I* came to bed.  Then he came over to my side (where HIS bed is located) so he wasn't laying on the cold floor.  I found him with his nose underneath the edge of my heated blanket at one point and it cracked me up.  I ALMOST invited him up on the bed where he could get warmer but that's not a good idea since it took us a while to break him of the habit.  As it is, we still find him there on occasion.  Usually when it's much colder than the 30 degrees it was yesterday.

That's it for now.  Love you all.  Be good, stay warm and let you know what else is going on here later. 

TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

I forgot to mention a few things about sleeping with Chewlee.  First of all, her long hair kept getting all over my face as she tossed her head from one side to another when she was on her stomach.  Then she kept coming back to lay her head on my chest.  More hair in my face.  Next time, her hair either gets braided or put into a pony tail.  It may not stop it but will feel less like a spider web has landed on me. 

She got up early because she saw the sun was out but I found her in my computer room, laying down in my recliner quietly.  She hadn't turned on the TV nor started up my computer (which she knows how to do).  I figured she would put one of her movies into my computer but she hadn't.  She wasn't really awake, obviously.

I have developed a huge pile of clothes in one corner of my room here.  They are the ones that I have either changed (bottoms) due to seepage or ones I have worn for the day.  I've almost gone through the underwear that fits me at my current weight so I am going to have to tackle it sometime.  I think tomorrow, when the Beast leaves for Birmingham would be a good time.  He went to bed early tonight due to his eye bothering him so much.  He couldn't even watch TV even though Chewlee relinquished it to him when I turned on Harry Potter.

Chewlee has decided that WE should play school when she is here.  I give her assignments (drawings) to do and I read to her.  She really likes that.  She has one bad habit and that is to totally deny that she can't read.  I point out the words to her and tell her that she WILL learn to read if she pays attention.  She recognizes a lot of words already.  She is also learning how to add (mostly using her fingers to help) and subtract.  I give credit for that to one of the programs she watches on Nick Jr.  They are very much into adding and subtracting and they make it fun.  I watched Chewlee (in secret because if I am watching, she's not vocal about it).  She gets shy for some reason.  But she's very good at it so I leave her alone to enjoy it.

She has come to terms with my *broken* status although she said earlier today, when she found out Grandpa was going to see the doctor's at emergency (as she says), *Wow...Papa is broken, Grandma is broken.  I think I need a new Papa and Grandma.*  Then she ran up to Papa and told him she was just kidding and she came and gave me a hug and a kiss with the promise that I wouldn't tell her mother she still had some left.  It's a running joke with the Princess and Chewlee that the Princess gets all her kisses and hugs.  I love to hear how Chewlee laughs when her mother starts the kissing and hugging to *get them all before she leaves*.

Later, when I grab her to hug her or kiss her, she will say, *I don't have any more.  Mommy took them all.*  To which I say, *Wanna bet?*    Then I get to hear her laugh as I collect MY kisses and hugs from her.

Time to go.  Love you all.  Have a great Sunday. 

So I'm on oxygen.  Not sure how much good it's doing me, but whatever.  I HAVE found something really good about it though.

I call it 'turtling'.  As in turtle-ing.

Let me explain.

There are times when I get a bit chilly in bed.  Chilly to the point where I want to cover my head with my covers and go back to sleep.  Only I can't do that because I run out of oxygen.

OR NORMAL MORTALS DO ANYWAY..... BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

The Boy is really jealous of my Super Power now.  I just cover my head and don't worry about oxygen because I have a line going right to my noses.  I have no cold air hitting the top of my head or my neck or somewhere else.

It's totally wonderful.  One more silver lining in My New Lifestyle.

Eat your hearts out.
.

TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

The Beast was able to make it home even though they dilated his left eye.  But it was raining for about 2/3 of the way and, every time a car came from the other direction with their headlights on, he saw circles of rainbow colors and had to close that eye.

It seems he has a very deep scratch in his eye AND it has gotten infected.  They are concerned about what KIND of infection it is so they took some samples to culture and see what grows.  In the meantime, he's got oral pills to take plus some drops he has to put in the eye every hour.  Unfortunately, the pharmacy was closed for some reason when he got there.  It's not Sunday so I have no idea why but he says he will get up early and be there at 9am when they open in the morning.  He had three doctors that looked at him.  Their concern is that it might be a virus in the eye.  I think Baron must have scratched it one of the times he jumped up at the Beast.

For the next four days, the Beast must go to see the doctors in Birmingham.  They are affiliated with an excellent Eye Hospital that is right next door.  Say a couple prayers for him.  He could actually lose at best the sight in just his one eye.  At the worst, both. 

Love you all. 

TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

I've mentioned the Beast has been complaining about his left eye for the past couple of days.  I tried to get him to go to an opthalmologist but he kept saying let's wait a couple days.  He tried a lot of different eye drops and I told him if it happened to be an infection, he was probably going to spread it to his other eye.  Well, last night, his other eye started bothering him and THAT scared him.  So today he decided to head for the emergency room at the hospital.  After taking a cursory look, they sent him over to their Eye Emergency Center in Birmingham.  That really bothers me because I am not capable of driving yet and it's a two hour trip. 

I told him to call me if he can't drive back.  He laughed and said, *What good is THAT going to do?*  I just told him that I would figure something out like getting ahold of Tara, who had two boys that can drive (legally) her van BACK while Tara drives OUR car back.  If that wouldn't work, I would figure out something else.  Knowing him, he will settle down in the car and sleep for a while until he feels he can drive home.  I know him.  He won't be defeated.

But....in the meantime, I have butterflies in my stomach due to worry about him.  What the hell did those emergency room doctors see when they checked his eyes?  They don't tell you a damn thing so you worry yourself, sometimes needlessly.  I will let you know later, when I know, what happens.

Love you all.  Enjoy your day. 

TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

We ended up not only having Chewlee after school but she also spent the night.  She kept insisting she wanted to sleep with me and the Beast so I made SURE that she did.  The Princess had forgotten to bring pajamas with her but did, finally, drop off two pair so Chewlee had a choice.  She picked her Mickey Mouse ones, which were warmer.

When the Beast was ready for bed, he made her go with him.  That didn't make her happy and she tried to get us to agree to let her stay up until *I* went to bed.  Nope.  I had to change my bandages and the Beast knew it.  The *leaking* one was crucial.  Very reluctantly, Chewlee went to bed but only after I promised her I would come to bed as soon as I changed my bandages.

It's the reason this post is so late for those that are used to finding it by midnight.  Sorry 'bout that.  It was tough to get her to settle down comfortably and I was tireder than I thought.  I think we probably got warm and comfortable about the same time and sleep was inevitable.

I couldn't figure out why she wouldn't settle down until I thought about her sleeping with her mother.  That's when I whispered to her, *Do you want Grandma to hold you?*  I could feel her little head nod *yes* so I lifted my arm and she settled down with her head in the area where kids nestle and you can put your arm around them.  When I woke up a bit ago to take a pain pill, we had moved into different sleeping positions but she was very soundly asleep.  She was nestled in the Beast's back and I would have loved to be able to take a picture of that but I didn't want to wake either of them.

I've taken my pain pill and now I am heading back to bed.  I am hoping it will kick in soon.  Love you all.  Talk to you tomorrow.  Have a great Saturday.

Greetings, Earthlings!

I have a story to tell you....

A couple years ago my best bud went to Iraq to serve for a year.  While she was there she sent ME a movie, which is the movie I'm going to talk about tonight.  This movie is called 'Taking Chance', which seems an odd title until you find out that a marine is accompanying [19 year old] PFC Chance Phelps' mortal remains back to his family.  ["When one falls, another brings him home."]

Now the reason I have not viewed this movie before is that it came to me stashed inside a DVD case that had nothing to do with the real movie that I was sent.  It was not until the other night that I ran across this strange DVD case and when I opened it it turned out to be 'Taking Chance' and right then and there I knew I would watch it.

The movie stars Kevin Bacon, an actor I like.  [The only other name I 'knew' in this movie was Tom Wopat, who plays Chance's father.]

I am going to admit that I pretty much cried throughout this entire movie.  [Not sobbing cries--just a sort of constant drip of tears from my eyes.  I am very soft-hearted despite the fact that I have all my teeth sharpened to points.]  Not that it was so sad, although I suppose it sort of was--but because I kept thinking of the fact that my buddy, KP, sent this movie to me from Iraq and when she was back here in the states she happened to be someone who 'did' military funerals.  They probably have a name for the soldiers who 'do' the funerals, but if they do, I have no idea what it is at this moment.  Honor Guard, perhaps?  Whatever it is, I know that she considered it an honor to be able to be part of the funerals of all the soldiers she did.

'Taking Chance' is based on a true story, by the way.  A marine, Lt. Col. Michael Strobl, volunteers to be a military escort officer for PFC Phelps because Phelps is from Strobl's home town [though he never knew him] and despite the fact that a lieutenant colonel generally does not act as an escort.  That is reserved for lower ranks, I guess.

Col. Strobl apparently kept a journal of sorts that he shared with family and friends after his trip with PFC Phelps and it is this journal that was turned into this hauntingly beautiful movie.

There are going to be people who consider this movie to be propaganda, but as the friend of a soldier who served in Iraq and the aunt of one serving in Afghanistan [or is she home now?] I don't believe that.  It doesn't matter though.  The 'core story' is about honor and respect and maybe even duty.

Along the way you are treated to some beautiful scenery in Montana.  If you keep your eyes open you may realize why I fell in love with Montana like I did.

I recommend this movie to you for viewing.  There are no horrible scenes to sit through, like battle scenes and horrible deaths, so that should help you figure out if your child should watch this.

And please, support our warriors [if not the wars.]  They are all someone's child.

Go forth and watch a movie!

.

TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

Chewlee's independent nature is really starting to assert itself.  Of course, that means she spends a lot of time in trouble because she has a smart mouth on her and no good sense.  She just hasn't learned yet that some things shouldn't be said by little girls.  She's learning about not saying bad words but she will slip now and then and you will hear *Oh shit!* out of her when she drops something or spills something.  It's hard NOT to laugh at that but we tell her that *ladies* do not use those words.  I've also heard her use *dammit* correctly.

But....what gets her in trouble is when she refuses to believe something that's been told to her or she decides she doesn't want to do something that she was told to do.  Today the Beast got upset with her because he thought she had walked on his freshly waxed bathroom tiles and she kept yelling *I didn't do it!*  When I went to look, it turned out it was the dog that walked on it.  How he could mistake paw prints for little girl bare feet, I have no idea.  She did, however, open the door that allowed Baron access.

The floor polisher the Beast ordered got here today and it really does a nice job.  If he ever finds the kind of floor finish they use in big, busy buildings, he will then be in hog heaven.

Due to the news from the doctor today (see earlier post), he wasn't really in a great mood.  He will have to come to grips with that.  I sent him some links because there are lots of *fixes* for prostate cancer.  It's NOT a death sentence.  I hope it helps his attitude and he becomes less fatalistic.  I also hope it hasn't metatasized onto other organs.

I had hoped the removal of the stitches and staples would help as far as pain went but it hasn't.  It also has stirred up my sciatica which is also very painful.  I have exercises that help that but I can't do them with both sides of my groin in major pain.  I know this will pass eventually but I sure wish it was sooner rather than later.  I have to change the bandage on my right side several times a day because it is still leaking like crazy.  And it sure looks ugly as can be.

Chewlee got mad at me today because I wouldn't let her watch a movie until we found all of the cases for the movies I found sitting in a pile.  They were all ones she watched while I was in the hospital.  After we found all but two, she was drawing something on a piece of paper I keep here for her and I heard this from behind me....*I love Mommy, I love Papa, I only love Grandma SOMETIMES.....and sometimes I don't love her....*   I turned around and said to her, *Chewlee, Grandma ALWAYS loves you but sometimes I don't LIKE you.*  That seemed to be a new thought for her.  When I turned around, she was back at her paper, pretending to write, and I heard...*I love my Grandma but sometimes I really don't LIKE her!  Like when she makes me look for things.*  That cracked me up.

Later, she crawled, carefully, into my lap and gave me a hug.  She looked intently at me and said, *I love you, Grandma.  I was just joking.*

Love you all.  Have a great TGIF.