Stop Running in the House!

These are a few of the things I have Seen and Heard around here lately (aside from "Stop running in the house!!"):

"Can I have more inniejoneslemalems?"
(Liam requesting more Indiana Jones M&M's)

"Wah wah-wah wah wah"
(Lach requesting more Webkinz time)

"I'll eat that"
(Lucas requesting whatever is left on my plate after clearing his own)

"Want me to rub your shoulders?"
(Laren after realizing that Mom wasn't feeling so good)

-------------------------------------------------------

It was a busy weekend and I almost had the whole thing written up yesterday before disaster struck in the form of a small child's hands on the keyboard...

I might write it again or you might just get a really long picture post.

My kids: Sometimes exasperating, sometimes amazingly sweet.

My Boys

A slightly different take on poppy pictures...

Liam

"I'm not a fibber, I'm a character". -Liam

This child has been on this earth for 3 years and I can already tell that he's going to be the cause of the rest of my gray hair. He is the most exuberant, energetic, and entertaining little boy.

He will, I'm sure, keep his mommy and daddy on their toes. We will either be old before our time or young at heart. I have to say I'm really hoping for the latter.

He can occasionally more than occasionally try the patience of a saint but he is so much fun to watch and so entertaining to listen to. I can't imagine our lives without Liam "Call me Bubba".

He's an amazing gift. We're so blessed to get to be a part of his bouncy life.

TWWK

The Wonderful World of Kaiser.

I would like to preface this with: We are so very thankful for our insurance. It is a complete blessing.

That said, the advice nurses at Kaiser (generally) are less than stellar. Jon woke up this morning with both of inner and outer ears painin' him. Unsure as to whether it was worth the $25 co-pay he called the advice nurse.

The realm of the advice nurse has changed a wee bit since we were last on Kaiser. There is no waiting on hold to talk to a real live nurse. There is only giving them a number to call you back when they are good and ready. Heaven help you if you don't have a cell phone (we are currently cell phoneless - if you've been trying to get in touch - this is why it's not working out so well. it's not you, it's us. really) and can't be chained to your phone for the morning. Jon gave them my sisters home number, but had to leave to get to work. On his way out the door he asked me to see if they would talk to me. I said sure, but in my head I was totally saying "yeah right! Like they'll talk to me"!

Lo and behold they called about an hour later. A pretty good response time. The following is a pretty accurate recounting of what was said.

Kaiser Nurse Mumbling Mabel*: May I please speak to Jon Blahblahblah? This is the Kaiser nurse.
Me: He had to go to work. I'm his wife. Is it possible for you to speak to me?
KNMM: Uh. Just a minute.
Me:
Me:
Me:
Me:
Me:
KNMM: I can give him an appointment with Dr. NameICannotPronounce on Friday evening.
Me: Um. I think my husband just called for advice?
KNMM: What's wrong with him?
Me: Um... (Repeat the ear stuff)
KNMM: Well, he can apply heat and take over the counter meds. We have 5 openings with Dr. NameICannotPronounce on Friday.
Me: Well... we're kind of hoping he won't still be having this problem by Friday. I'll have him call if he changes his mind...
KNMM: Ok
Me: Thank you very much.

End that insightful call. 5 minutes later the phone rings again.

Me: Hello?
KNMM: This is the Kaiser nurse again.
Me: Okay?
KNMM: I also forgot to tell you that if he develops a fever, is dizzy or loses his hearing to bring him in.
Me: (gee, ya think?)
Me: We sure will. Uh. Thank you?

End that 2nd very insightful call.

So yeah. This is what I learned today: Inner and outer ear pain can wait 'til Friday. Fever!, dizziness!, and loss of hearing!, after a few moments of thought, might be important reasons to hit urgent care.

* Kaiser Nurse Mumbling Mabel is not her real name. (She never even gave me her name.)

What a feeling

My Saturday didn't really start out so well.

For reasons I still can't quite figure out, I had an issue with getting out of bed (other than the usual reasons). I mean just standing up. Yes, I was crawling out of the best bed air bed thingy that you can find, but that wasn't the reason. At least I don't think so. I was so overwhelmingly dizzy I sprawled back into bed before taking a step. I thought maybe I was just tired. I haven't really been sleeping well lately so I thought maybe my body was just telling me to go back to bed.

Not so. Two hours later I was queasy and my head felt funny and my eyeballs were rolling around. I was outta commission for most of the day.

I still didn't feel 100%, but I managed to get the kids into the backyard for a little while that afternoon.

The backyard is my Mom's domain. She is where my love of gardening comes from. (I still remember going out in the front yard of the house I grew up in, digging in the dirt with her and planting beautiful flowers.) Her flowers are blooming and I have been admiring the beautiful colors through the window. She has a number of things growing in her beds but my favorite is the Sweet Peas. Sweet Peas are, in my opinion, the best flower in the whole wide world. They are beautiful and fragrant and I love them.

I'm trying to get back into the swing of taking pictures again. So here ya go...

I'm also still trying to figure out how to take pictures and wear my glasses at the same time...