Well, we've been hoping to move to California. That's it in a nutshell. I got the idea back in January, while visiting SF, that it would be really great for the girls especially if we could move to Visalia, where Marce's brother and his wife and their six kids live. The girls could grow up now near their cousins, the schools would invariably be better than what we have here, and the church would be a little bigger. Right now, the Primary is pretty small, and there aren't a lot of kids at church for our girls to hang out with. I'd really love it if they had a few more options.
So, the hospital out there would love for Marce to come work for them. But we've been waiting for a position to open up. Isn't anyone there quitting??
Truth be told, I haven't been wanting anyone to quit too soon, anyway. We have a lot to do around here to prepare to move, and school has still been in, etc. So we feel pretty determined to move, but all we have right now are plans. And plans are SO subject to change. In the meantime, we're quite busy living life (as noted in my other posts) and going about our business. But we've got in the back of our heads (and often in the FRONTS) that we're going to be moving. We're trying to fix up what needs to be fixed up in the house; I'm trying to box up junk we don't use often or throw it away or give it away. Trying to get an idea of what finances will be like. All that kind of fun stuff.
Of course, if we stay, we still have to deal with the big issue of the schools. The public school system here in the city of Anniston is the pits. It may be slowly back on the rise, but it will be a very long, slow process. In the meantime, it's become untenable for us and for our girls. Brianna has been in a private Catholic school this past year, and it has been great for her. We thought the elementary school closest to us would be fine for Cami and Marissa, which it has been mostly, and mainly academically, but it has just not been good in terms of the other students. Everyone who could has left the system, either moving away to other areas or paying for private school. So everyone who's left has no money or doesn't care. (I'm talking families, now, of course.) So what we feel remains is a lot of kids from families who largely don't seem to care about the kids and their lives and their discipline. It makes for a pretty crazy environment for our girls. The principal over at the school spends quite a bit of her time paddling kids who are acting up. I could go on and on. But as much as I've wanted to help the school and the whole system, and to keep my kids in it to try to help, I'm way beyond my depth at this point. It's sad and frustrating. I want to be part of the solution, but at the same time, I simply can't sacrifice my children on that altar. They seem to have been acting up more and I just feel it has a lot to do with the kids who surround them every day.
SO. Either we move, to California, or to outlying areas of town, or we send them all to the private school. If we don't move this year, that's what I will do. But even that isn't a permanent solution. The private school won't have the resources or the mandate to provide Marissa with the extra help she needs. That's the big issue.
In the meantime, we stay busy, we clean, we throw away, we fix up, we live our lives. And we have faith that it will work out the way it should. And it will. Just not exactly sure what to prepare for. And that's kind of the hardest part of being in Limbo.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Birthdays galore
May is a very busy month at our house. It contains a plethora of birthdays: mine on the 14th, Brianna's on the 16th, and Cami's on the 31st. It also contains Mother's Day, which is very close to my birthday, if not actually the same day some years. Charlotte was due to be born on May 12th but graciously arrived on April 30, so she's not actually a May birthday as well. So while she gets to say she was born in April and have a diamond birthstone (I would prefer that neutral "color" to the green of the emerald that is MY birthstone, but hey, what can I do about that? I was due to be born in April and I chose to stay inside my cocoon for way longer), she still kind of piggybacks on the May train. She is now the start of birthday season for the Lims.
So Charlotte turned 1. Brianna has turned 12. Cami's about to turn 6. I'm astonished at how big they are. Charlotte is a solid 24 pounds, and getting heavy for any of us to carry around. Brianna, to contrast, was just over 15 pounds at a year old. She walked right at a year. Charlotte still hasn't gotten that far. I'm thinking she has a lot more to lug around. But she does crawl with amazing speed and agility. I put her down on the floor of Circuit City the other day so I could pick something else up, and she was GONE in a split second. I had to run around a couple of different aisles till I found her! It's like she just teleported. (Note to self: will find a cart there next time, no matter what.)
Brianna is 12 now, and officially a young woman. She really is, at least in our church lingo. Kids from age 18 months to 3 get to go to Nursery at church on Sundays; kids from 3 to 11 go to Primary for their lessons and singing time, etc.; and the girls go to Young Women at age 12, until they hit 18. This means she gets to go to classes now with teen girls instead of little kids. It means she gets to go to the yearly Girls' Camp, which here is being held in just a couple of weeks. And it means that she gets to go to do some work at the temple, which is really neat. I can't believe that she's 12 now. Brianna is still a very gracious, sensitive and kind, and delightful girl. She rarely makes me frustrated with her and she is very helpful around the house. She has a fun sense of humor and is just sweet and enjoyable to be around. I am so proud of her, if you hadn't guessed it yet!
Cami lost her first tooth, finally, just a couple of weeks ago, and was able to get a visit from the tooth fairy. The other tooth was fully grown in, and luckily it moved right into place pretty quickly. Now her other tooth next to it is doing the same thing: growing in, tooth in front barely loose. That means Marce will harp on her every day to WIGGLE IT, ALREADY! Or I'LL YANK IT OUT MYSELF! A fun bit of entertainment.
For Charlotte's birthday, we had a little party and invited a few people (would have loved to invite more, but I was trying to keep it under some control) to witness the cake-eating, etc. Charlotte turned out to LOVE the cake. She hesitantly took a bite, reaching out with her hand to pluck off a bit of frosting from the top, and then looked very pleased at the result. She took a few more little nibbles, and then her hands started moving much faster. Grab cake, stuff in mouth, other hand follow. It was a great show. I believe it was the most entertaining of any of the girls' cake-eating experiences to date. Pictures are on my Smugmug site.
Brianna will have her party on Friday night. Details to follow if I survive.
My birthday, you ask? I took a day off. I drove to Atlanta and spent the night the night before my big day and then spent Wednesday shopping for clothes. I hung out with a friend and talked like crazy late into the night and watched a movie on her big-screen TV. It was a very nice day for me. I got to eat a nice, healthy lunch at a very pleasant restaurant, and that night I came home to have a TCBY ice cream pie. And then ... I went to a meeting at church. But hey, all in all it was very nice. It was most enjoyable after the previous week of hospital "fun."
So Charlotte turned 1. Brianna has turned 12. Cami's about to turn 6. I'm astonished at how big they are. Charlotte is a solid 24 pounds, and getting heavy for any of us to carry around. Brianna, to contrast, was just over 15 pounds at a year old. She walked right at a year. Charlotte still hasn't gotten that far. I'm thinking she has a lot more to lug around. But she does crawl with amazing speed and agility. I put her down on the floor of Circuit City the other day so I could pick something else up, and she was GONE in a split second. I had to run around a couple of different aisles till I found her! It's like she just teleported. (Note to self: will find a cart there next time, no matter what.)
Brianna is 12 now, and officially a young woman. She really is, at least in our church lingo. Kids from age 18 months to 3 get to go to Nursery at church on Sundays; kids from 3 to 11 go to Primary for their lessons and singing time, etc.; and the girls go to Young Women at age 12, until they hit 18. This means she gets to go to classes now with teen girls instead of little kids. It means she gets to go to the yearly Girls' Camp, which here is being held in just a couple of weeks. And it means that she gets to go to do some work at the temple, which is really neat. I can't believe that she's 12 now. Brianna is still a very gracious, sensitive and kind, and delightful girl. She rarely makes me frustrated with her and she is very helpful around the house. She has a fun sense of humor and is just sweet and enjoyable to be around. I am so proud of her, if you hadn't guessed it yet!
Cami lost her first tooth, finally, just a couple of weeks ago, and was able to get a visit from the tooth fairy. The other tooth was fully grown in, and luckily it moved right into place pretty quickly. Now her other tooth next to it is doing the same thing: growing in, tooth in front barely loose. That means Marce will harp on her every day to WIGGLE IT, ALREADY! Or I'LL YANK IT OUT MYSELF! A fun bit of entertainment.
For Charlotte's birthday, we had a little party and invited a few people (would have loved to invite more, but I was trying to keep it under some control) to witness the cake-eating, etc. Charlotte turned out to LOVE the cake. She hesitantly took a bite, reaching out with her hand to pluck off a bit of frosting from the top, and then looked very pleased at the result. She took a few more little nibbles, and then her hands started moving much faster. Grab cake, stuff in mouth, other hand follow. It was a great show. I believe it was the most entertaining of any of the girls' cake-eating experiences to date. Pictures are on my Smugmug site.
Brianna will have her party on Friday night. Details to follow if I survive.
My birthday, you ask? I took a day off. I drove to Atlanta and spent the night the night before my big day and then spent Wednesday shopping for clothes. I hung out with a friend and talked like crazy late into the night and watched a movie on her big-screen TV. It was a very nice day for me. I got to eat a nice, healthy lunch at a very pleasant restaurant, and that night I came home to have a TCBY ice cream pie. And then ... I went to a meeting at church. But hey, all in all it was very nice. It was most enjoyable after the previous week of hospital "fun."
An onslaught of posts
OK, here's what I'm gonna do. I planned to write numerous posts this month on numerous useful and pertinent, even poignant, topics. Now here it is May 20, and I've had friends/family wondering where the posts are. So rather than write one HUGE post, I'm going to introduce the topics by first explaining why in the world I didn't write earlier. I really, really did want to post earlier. But I got sidetracked.
One main sidetracking: Charlotte. She got some kind of infection and was hospitalized. Yeah, in the hospital. With four children and their illnesses and accidents under our belts, so to say, we have not yet had a child admitted to the hospital. Sure, we've visited the ER a few times (mainly for Marissa and whatever little hijinks she managed to pull, like chewing a whole bottle of Cami's Singulair medication or getting her thumb squished in a door by a very active little boy), but haven't had to STAY in the hospital for more than a few hours. Charlotte's a first in many ways now (possibly see another related entry). She spiked a fever, not a really high one, but a fever. Then she had a dr checkup, and he was afraid that her eye looked like it had cellulitis. He had blood work done. Came back, and her white blood cell count was 28,000. A tad high. So he tossed it around. He sent me to another pediatrician who works with Stringfellow (Marce's hospital... our pediatrician doesn't sent kids there but to the other local hospital) so we could get the visit covered without paying an exorbitant sum out of pocket. That dr decided to admit her. That was Monday the 5th. I spent 5 hours in the doctors' offices that day before we even went to the hospital.
SO, I let Marce take Charlotte into the hospital to get her admitted at 6 p.m., and I ran home to pack up our stuff. I was hoping that he would be present for the insertion of the IV. I had already witnessed her stuck about four times that day, and it was not a pretty sight. She started to scream just when a medical person approached her. So I got to come home, field phone calls, do stuff, feed the children, etc., before I ran back to the hospital for what would surely be a "way fun" time. Needless to say, I was a bit perturbed when I arrived two hours later and found Marce lounging on the hospital bed with Charlotte cuddled next to him, watching ESPN. No IV, nothing. In two hours, NOTHING HAD HAPPENED.
I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised. Medical stuff does not happen quickly unless gallons of blood are spurting out of a detached limb. But I did allow my hopes to rise only to be dashed. It wasn't the first time hopes would be dashed in the following days.
The nurses finally got the IV in Charlotte around 10 p.m., after four tries in different spots. Then we were able to settle in and sleep. She was exhausted from the whole ordeal and I was ready to get some sleep myself. And it was a decent night.
Tuesday was fine; Charlotte was a bit tired and listless but was managing. The listlessness part worked for me. I could rest a bit, read, etc. I got a couple of hours away when Marce relieved me for a bit later in the day. I spent another night there. It wasn't as fun. The IV pump beeped off and on for half the night and I didn't sleep so soundly.
On Wednesday morning I was really thinking we'd get to go. But the dr came by and said that while he was happy that the IV antibiotics had already helped her blood cell count to go down to 13,000 the day before, he was wanting to make sure her fever had been gone for a while before he sent us home. (Pop! Sounds of bursting bubbles.)
So I had to endure another day. Friends came by and helped out a bit, relieved me for a little while, talked, brought chocolate milkshakes... After my near-breakdown of not being able to handle the strain of the experience (by this point, Charlotte was feeling pretty good and was wanting to be mobile but couldn't be because of the IV in her foot. Not fun.) anymore, Marce volunteered to stay the night that night. So I got to sleep at home in my comfy bed. Thursday, I resumed my post in the hospital, expecting the dr to let us go anytime. I was not at all pleased when by 7 p.m. he still hadn't shown up. The nurse made phone calls to his beeper, cell phone, etc. which he didn't answer. Then the other pediatrician on call graciously let us go, before I caused any damage....
I got home and changed into workout clothes and enjoyed a 90-minute workout, during which I did my usual elliptical workout and then ran on the treadmill, increasing the speed up to 7.5 mph before I started feeling a real burn that could allow me to release all my pent-up frustrations. It felt great.
Charlotte is doing just fine. Still has a bit of a cold and some ear infection, but the big infection part is gone. She is her usual funny, get-into-stuff girl.
And I hope that we don't have to enter a hospital again for a very, very long time.
One main sidetracking: Charlotte. She got some kind of infection and was hospitalized. Yeah, in the hospital. With four children and their illnesses and accidents under our belts, so to say, we have not yet had a child admitted to the hospital. Sure, we've visited the ER a few times (mainly for Marissa and whatever little hijinks she managed to pull, like chewing a whole bottle of Cami's Singulair medication or getting her thumb squished in a door by a very active little boy), but haven't had to STAY in the hospital for more than a few hours. Charlotte's a first in many ways now (possibly see another related entry). She spiked a fever, not a really high one, but a fever. Then she had a dr checkup, and he was afraid that her eye looked like it had cellulitis. He had blood work done. Came back, and her white blood cell count was 28,000. A tad high. So he tossed it around. He sent me to another pediatrician who works with Stringfellow (Marce's hospital... our pediatrician doesn't sent kids there but to the other local hospital) so we could get the visit covered without paying an exorbitant sum out of pocket. That dr decided to admit her. That was Monday the 5th. I spent 5 hours in the doctors' offices that day before we even went to the hospital.
SO, I let Marce take Charlotte into the hospital to get her admitted at 6 p.m., and I ran home to pack up our stuff. I was hoping that he would be present for the insertion of the IV. I had already witnessed her stuck about four times that day, and it was not a pretty sight. She started to scream just when a medical person approached her. So I got to come home, field phone calls, do stuff, feed the children, etc., before I ran back to the hospital for what would surely be a "way fun" time. Needless to say, I was a bit perturbed when I arrived two hours later and found Marce lounging on the hospital bed with Charlotte cuddled next to him, watching ESPN. No IV, nothing. In two hours, NOTHING HAD HAPPENED.
I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised. Medical stuff does not happen quickly unless gallons of blood are spurting out of a detached limb. But I did allow my hopes to rise only to be dashed. It wasn't the first time hopes would be dashed in the following days.
The nurses finally got the IV in Charlotte around 10 p.m., after four tries in different spots. Then we were able to settle in and sleep. She was exhausted from the whole ordeal and I was ready to get some sleep myself. And it was a decent night.
Tuesday was fine; Charlotte was a bit tired and listless but was managing. The listlessness part worked for me. I could rest a bit, read, etc. I got a couple of hours away when Marce relieved me for a bit later in the day. I spent another night there. It wasn't as fun. The IV pump beeped off and on for half the night and I didn't sleep so soundly.
On Wednesday morning I was really thinking we'd get to go. But the dr came by and said that while he was happy that the IV antibiotics had already helped her blood cell count to go down to 13,000 the day before, he was wanting to make sure her fever had been gone for a while before he sent us home. (Pop! Sounds of bursting bubbles.)
So I had to endure another day. Friends came by and helped out a bit, relieved me for a little while, talked, brought chocolate milkshakes... After my near-breakdown of not being able to handle the strain of the experience (by this point, Charlotte was feeling pretty good and was wanting to be mobile but couldn't be because of the IV in her foot. Not fun.) anymore, Marce volunteered to stay the night that night. So I got to sleep at home in my comfy bed. Thursday, I resumed my post in the hospital, expecting the dr to let us go anytime. I was not at all pleased when by 7 p.m. he still hadn't shown up. The nurse made phone calls to his beeper, cell phone, etc. which he didn't answer. Then the other pediatrician on call graciously let us go, before I caused any damage....
I got home and changed into workout clothes and enjoyed a 90-minute workout, during which I did my usual elliptical workout and then ran on the treadmill, increasing the speed up to 7.5 mph before I started feeling a real burn that could allow me to release all my pent-up frustrations. It felt great.
Charlotte is doing just fine. Still has a bit of a cold and some ear infection, but the big infection part is gone. She is her usual funny, get-into-stuff girl.
And I hope that we don't have to enter a hospital again for a very, very long time.
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