Kidney stones, vomiting, pain pills, oh my....

Looks like Jordan has a kidney stone. She woke me up at 6am this morning in horrible pain, and some vomiting. Now I have never had a kidney stone, but have given birth 6 times, and had a torn intestine, so I'm guessing I have something to compare it to,and I assume, and have been told it hurts like hell, but she...nor any of my children, are very good sick people. So, off we went to the "doc in a box", since I would rather chew off my own arm that sit for endless hours in an ED waiting to be seen while numerous other people with ailments wade in and out. She peed in the cup...yup, blood there. She had an x-ray...yup, "some type of calcification, but also looks like it might be in the intestine rather than the ureter"(this would be the down side of "doc in a box"). She had 2 injections in the bum, and scripts for Vicoden and Phenergan, a strainer for the urine, and directions to head to the ED if "she can't pee, gets a fever, or the pain meds aren't working"...um, ya think???

One good thing comes out of this. Jordan has now had a itty, bitty taste of what childbirth will be like and stated, "if this is what having a baby feels like, I'm never having one." Just what her mother wanted to hear...at least I hope she keeps that mind-set for oh, about 10 more years.

The Joys of Painting....

Well, we had our first painting mishap yesterday. We were in the midst of painting the "man-cave", and Chad went to pour more paint, and somehow, the can slipped, and I turn around to find a huge splat of Cowboys gray paint on the carpet, coffee table and sofa(luckily a sofa that is soon to be replaced). At that moment sheer panic almost set in when I realized we...meaning the children....killed our carpet cleaner in the move...as well as the one we borrowed from my mother-in-law...in the move. However, the Little Green Machine came to the rescue...thank goodbness! After about 45 miniutes of cleaning the spot, there is only a slight remnant of the Cowboy gray paint on the floor, and the rest is on the wall where it properly belongs. Although I'm not sure Chad will ever be allowed to pour the paint again.

Starting to Freak Out....

about this whole NCLEX thing. For those who don't know what that is, it's the licensing exam I have to take to become a real, grown up nurse. The first round of my classmates to take it are coming back with their responses, and they go a little like this...."I feel stupid", "that was hard", "I had to answer all 265 questions", and "I don't think I did so great." None of those were the responses I was hoping to hear like, "piece of cake", "no problem", or "that was nothing compared to nursing school." Where are those responses?????!!!!????? Those are the ones I want! I don't take mine for another week or so, so it looks like I will be in the throws of full fledged panic mode by then. Maybe I just shouldn't ask anyone else....although I know they'll share their misery with me anyway. Good times. Oh well, back to studying.

Facebook

As if blogging wasn't addicting enough, I now have a Facebook. I mean, it's not like I didn't already have enough stuff to fill my time...blogging, studying for NCLEX, blogging, fixing up the new house, blogging, cooking and cleaning, blogging....now I have to check my Facebook 10 times a day to see who's sent me a message, made a comment, added me as a friend. I have connected with old friends already, which is awesome, and I can seee that it will be a good way to keep in touch with people, but I'm thinking the main thing I will get out of it is more battles over the computer with the girls. Thanks Ernie!

B-day party

We spent yesterday afternoon at my niece Maddie's 3rd birthday party. Here's the birthday girl, who just woke up from her nap.



Here she is with Grandpa and the new backpack we got her.


And here she is playing with the Play-doh....not sure who is having more fun with it, Maddie or the adults. Grandpa was not happy with this choice of gift, but what is childhood without Play-doh, right?


Here's my nephew Brady being cute.....



Uncle Chad, Aunt Kristy, and the birthday girl......


And Jordan and the birthday girl.

I Hate Painting too!

I know that I've already complained about the horrible wallpaper, but for the record, I hate painting too! This is the state of my once clean and organized kitchen/dining area.....lovely isn't it?



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And here is the 1 inch layer of dust that is on everything from sanding down all of the patched spots....and Max, whom I think must be in the need for a little attention
I know I'll love it when we're all done, but as of now, I hate painting!

Wallpaper

I think there must be a special place in hell for people who put up wallpaper! I have spent the last 5 hours de-wallpapering my dining area....and it's only a border!!!!!! One room down, only a hallway, half bath, and 1 kids room to go....sigh. Thank goodness I knew better than to buy that house with wallpaper in almost every room...there might have been bloodshed!

Welcome To The Neighborhood!

This is what we woke up to this morning.



In case you can't decipher it, it says, "welcome to the ridge, we all heart penis here." Isn't this lovely?!!???!!



I was going to post about Jordan's new ride. A Jeep that her dad got her this week(after she totaled her car back in February, 5 days after putting the $2500 he gave her for graduation into a new motor for it...good times, but apparently we have a couple of unruly, wayward lesbian girls who live in the neighborhood, and apparently, they have a strong dislike for Kayla, and Kayla has a strong dislike for them. And now they have decided to mark their territory like male dogs...isn't that mature???? They put an empty bottle in our mailbox shortly after we got here, and one day we were outside, and one of the local boys who wander the neighborhood was acting like he was going to kick over our trash can...but we were outside watching them, so they didn't do anything. I have been waiting for them to make their move. They do nothing all day but roam the neighborhood...there are 3-4 girls, and 2-3 boys at any given time...smoking and thinking they look cool, until all hours of the night, and their parents are not apparently that interested in being parents and knowing what their kids are doing.

Well, let me tell you one thing. While I'm sitting around waiting to take my NCLEX, I've got nothing but time on my hands, so I will sit my happy hiney on the front porch every flippin' night, all night long waiting for them to pull something else. I understand "kids will be kids" and all, but this is a nice neighborhood, and this is ridiculous! And sitting at home all day long, unpacking boxes, painting, and stewing over when I am going to be able to take my test, is making me VERY cranky(you can ask my poor kids and husband), so I am really not in the mood to put up with any juvenile crap right now, and would not be above calling the po-pos on 'em if I catch the little terrorists.

Anyway, here's a nicer view of J's new ride....minus all the penis talk.

One down. Two more to go.

My baby graduated high school today! I cannot belive that I am the mother of a high school graduate. Seems like only yesterday she was keeping me up all night screaming with colic, and now she's all grown up. She graduated with High Honors, and is a North Carolina Scholar(although she said, "I'm a North Carolina Scholar, but I don't know what that means"...LOL), so needless to say, I am very proud of her! She will be going to UNC-Charlotte in the Fall.

Rough Day Yesterday.....

It started of with swimsuit shopping for Jordan. We got suits for the other two on Sunday, but Jordan didn't find anything, so we headed out again yesterday morning. Swimsuit shopping is never fun...unless your a size 2, which neither she, or I am. Luckily though, she was able to find something at the 2nd store.

Then I had to take Kayla to the Pulmonologist. A few weeks ago she had a physical, and her Pediatrician suggested we go see him since Kayla has some difficulty after she exercises, and she was hoping to go into the military after graduation, he thought it would be a good idea. So we go, and she has some lung function tests, and we wait for the DR. He comes in and starts talking to her about boys, and her future plans, the difficulty she's been having, ect. Long story short, he tells her she is most likely going to have to skip the military because most likely they won't take her due to her condition. "Um hello? What condition?" He says that her lung function tests show at least 30% diminished lung function...with a breathing treatment, and 50% diminished with no meds, and she has asthma. Where the heck did this come from???? I mean, she had asthma as a baby/toddler, so I know what asthma looks like, but I have never seen anything remotely looking like asthma with her. He did tell me that from her tests, it seems to be something she's been dealing with for a while, so her body has most likely learned to compensate for it, and it probably isn't overtly obvious....somehow doesn't make me feel much better as a mother. So now she is on an inhaler twice a day(the strongest one they have, and has a rescue inhaler as well. She just so happens to be going to Texas on Saturday to visit her dad, so we won't be able to follow up with the DR until August, but hopefully when we do, the meds will be doing the trick.

So after a 3 hour adventure to the DR office and pharmacy, we get home and the girl have to get changed for Brandon's viewing. They leave about 6:30, and are back by 7:15, and all distraught, and in tears. It is very difficult to try and explain why this happened when there really is no explanation. It beaks your heart to have your child say "why did it have to be Brandon? Why couldn't it be me?" I don't have any answers to give them. I don't know God's plans. All I could say is that one day, we will know and understand why things played out the way they did in this life...although that doesn't make us feel any better now. I can only tell them that everyday it gets a little bit easier to deal with. I know it is something that they have to go through, and deal with the heartbreak, but as a mother, it is difficult to watch.

Today is the funeral, so I know it will be even worse for them.

Home Sweet Home!

Holy cow, moving really does stink, but I think we are finally done. Well, we're done moving stuff from the old place to the new one...aside from Chad's ginormous outside storage building. We would have that moved tomorrow, but it rained like the great flood last night and this morning(which I had the privilege of being completely soaked in as we loaded stuff up to take to the dump...now doesn't that sound like a fun-filled Friday), and I was waiting for Noah to cruise by in the ark at any moment. Hopefully it will get moved over one day this week, if the weather cooperates.

We did make it through the move, but not unscathed. Two of the guys who were supposed to help us move didn't show up, so we only had 1 extra set of hands, my brother-in-law, Sean, so it took freaking forever to get it all moved. Chad almost broke his brothers hand. I almost broke Chad's hand. I almost broke my ankle(after a fall in the attic from missing a step...that was loads of fun). Jordan almost broke her toe. We killed two carpet cleaners, and 1 vacuum. My father-in-law broke my iron, and deep-fryer as he dropped not one,but two boxes down the steps as he was trying to help(maybe he should stick to supervising), and I have so many scrapes and bruises that I look like a battered woman, but we are finally starting to get settled into our new home. We still have tons of unpacking and work to do, but at least I am done with the old house.

Another thing I also discovered during this move. Let's hope and pray that my life never depends on my darling children to move quickly or clean a room well, because they will be motherless for sure.

Life Lessons

My children learned a life lesson today that as a mother you hope they never have to learn. They are experiencing the pain you feel when you lose a dear friend. One of their good friends from JROTC was found dead this morning from what appears to be an overdose. They have never experienced the loss of someone close to them, aside from my mother in 1996, and they, for the most part, were too young to remember her. They do not understand how someone could seem so happy on the outside, and possibly be in great pain on the inside. Brandon was set to go to Wake Forest University on a full scholarship in the Fall. There is uncertainty at this point whether it was an intentional overdose, or an accidental one, but either way, the loss of a dear friend is heartbreaking for them. It is so painful to watch them go through. As a mother, it is our job to take the pain away, and make it all better, but I can't fix it for them this time. They have to go through this experience, grieve like they have never grieved before, and hopefully learn from this sadness that life is fragile, and can be gone in a moment. Please say a prayer for Brandon's family, who is going through something I cannot even imagine, and his friends, who will miss him dearly. Rest in Peace Brandon.