My New Find

Fungus Girl has had three nights of no sleep...which means that I've had even less sleep than usual.  Since Fungus Girl is currently sleeping, I thought I would share one of my newest Etsy finds. 

Bread and Buttons is a neat shop that specializes in ponytail holders and barrettes.  Not only are they the cutest, but the shop owner is wonderful!  She was very responsive to my questions, provided extremely fast shipping and was absolutely wonderful to work with (and you guys know that is a deal breaker for me).

I ordered a few for someone very special and just couldn't help myself and ordered Fungus Girl a few too.
They came packaged way too cute and the personalized note was an awesome touch.  The ponytail holders are fabulous quality and I will definitely be purchasing more soon.

If anyone is in the market for adorable, very well-made ponytail holders, take a look at Bread and Buttons.  You won't be disappointed!  My little Fungusy Monkey thinks they are the cutest too!

Awww, Guys...

Sometimes I think you guys just like the sound of my voice for me to clarify things, so here's the smaller version of all the jumbled up stuff in my brain tonight.

1.  I know the sweet little girl at the money sucking palace didn't mean any harm.  She's a child. What grates on my nerves is that it never fails - ever and that her Mom didn't say one single word to her.  I so totally get being beyond embarrassed by something your child says or does, my kids make it their mission in life to embarrass me.  As I've mentioned before, I wish you guys knew the story where Julien (at age 2) made me wish that I could just disappear into thin air.  As humiliated as I was, I still addressed the issue because the man heard what Julien said and that was my way to make him aware that I was trying to correct my child....and in an effort for him not to kill me. 
I get it.  I do.  I really, really do.  It still doesn't make it hurt any less.

2.  It's not that I'm not a dog person, it's just that I'm a cat person.  My parents always had dogs when we were growing up.  It's just that something seriously snapped inside of me when my ribcage was used as a scooby snack by a pit bull that probably would have killed me had my Dad not been there.  I want to love dogs again because they are awesome little companions who make amazing family members.  Right now, it's just not that easy.  See...when we go out of town or leave for just the day, my cats are happy to help us pack and load up the car.  They can't wait to see us go so they can have free roam of the house.  On the other hand, dogs are needy.  A sweet little dog would be heartbroken to be left alone and that's just not fair.

I hope that makes sense to everyone.

Mom Update

I lost count of the number of times I was scorned today for not having an update on the blog about Mom....so....

She's home, spent a miserable weekend with a stomach virus and I did what any concerned daughter would do, I stayed 45 minutes away from her house in an effort not to catch whatever funk she was harboring.  Between my sisters, my aunt and Home Health, she was well taken care of.  She has about a gazillion follow up appointments before we know more information about the one huge remaining issue. 
BUT, when I talked to her today, she didn't sound half bad.
In my professional opinion, that's pretty good progress!

Weekend Productivity Equals Negative Zero

I had all these plans of being extremely productive this weekend and it just didn't happen for a couple different reasons that really are not that relevant to this rambling post.

Saturday - I was having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.  My immune system is apparently shot (or so my doctor tells me) because of the amount of stress I'm under and more thankfully, to the flu that it is going to take a while to fully recover from (or so my doctor tells me).  So, when I woke on Saturday, downed a few more antibiotics and finally managed to make it to coherency, it occured to me that I was in a mood to do a whole lot of nothing.

I am searching for a canine companion for someone, so I spent a little while looking at local adoption websites as Julien, Addie and one of Julien's friends played in the other room.  See...for those of you locally, you know that it was a monsoon on Saturday, so everyone was confined to the inside of my house.  When the point arrived where the kids were playing volleyball on the sun porch and broke my vase, I made the decision that we had to get out of the house.  That meant we were taking them to a local comprehensive money sucking palace of germ infestation.  Yes...they could play video games, laser something or another, bowl, golf, ride go karts (when not monsoon weather), play in a tree house, eat pizza and pick out prizes all with the use of a refillable plastic card with a magnetic strip that gave them access to everything as the money fairy kept loading and re-loading the card.  Frankly, it wasn't a bad trade-off considering the other option was volleyball, inside my house. 

By the time we made it inside the money sucking palace of joy, we were all soaked.  I left Chris at the register, debit card in hand for the first financial transaction of the night and I headed off to the restrooms with my little Monkey.  As soon as we walked into the restroom, a little girl spotted Addie and at the top of her sweet, little voice said,

"Mommy, look at that little baby.  Her head is so small.  Mommy, you have to see her.  Her head is so small."

(this is where I really want to insert what I was thinking, but that requires me checking a box on my blogger account that says a warning will pop up advising people of adult content. so, just use your imagination.)

I never stopped walking, just went straight to the stall with Addie and commenced with business (and the little girl was still repeating it - over and over).  I so was not in the mood to find my sweet, educational tone, so I did what I suggest we all do in those times...I kept my mouth shut and ignored the situation. 

The kids had a phenonmenal time and we had a great time watching them spend our money.  It really was a lot of fun and a great way to pass a rainy Saturday night.  When we finally put a lock on Chris's wallet, the kids were exhausted, so we headed home to watch movies....and to watch what happens when you mix two boys, one baby girl and an enormous whoopie cushion:

Today, the rain was replaced by bitter cold.  We went on the hunt for trees.  The first nursery that we went to is brand new to us.  We really, really like this place and will be returning this week to pick up the trees that we decided on.  The people at this nursery are extremely helpful and nice.  I like nice people and I like nice people who have tact and who treat my little Monkey like they don't notice a thing in the world different about her.  When we left the nursery, Monkey was so very happy with the handful of suckers they gave her and the pretty little flower that they gave - just to her.

By the time we left the second nursery, I just didn't have it in me to do anything else.  I needed to go home.

So our weekend was non-productive.  We didn't get squat accomplished and as I type this - I don't feel half bad about that. 

The only thing that I somewhat accomplished was getting slightly hooked on the sweet little face of a dog that needs a home and one more little dog that seriously needs a home and I feel so bad for her that if I was a dog person, I would consider taking her myself.

Maybe one of you will fall in love with her and want to take Dazzle home from the Atlanta Pet Rescue:


Picture from the Atlanta Pet Rescue site

Cookie Monster Was Not Harmed In The Writing Of This Post

Back on February 5, 2011

I had to go into work, so I left Addie in the capable hands of my Mother and my niece.

I also left the remains of the cake that we had the night before at our big celebration at Bonefish Grill.

At one point during my absence, the little Monkey conned my Mother out of a piece of cake and apparently enjoyed every last bite.

Just hours after my Mother left my house, she had the heart attack that sent our worlds into overdrive for the remainder of February and the first few days of March.

When the physician came in to see my Mother today, he told her that they would be moving her to the 3rd floor and out of the Cardiac ICU area.

That is basically the equivalent of flying first class vs. coach, having box tickets vs. sitting on the bleachers or surviving the sinking of the Titanic or resting at the bottom of the ocean.

My Mother told the physician that she preferred to go home.

I don't know if the right choice was made, but I do know that not a single one of us wanted to see my Mother back on the 3rd floor of that hospital.

I am taking a cautious, but optimistic approach.

When she went home tonight, her lungs were doing what they were supposed to - and fluid free.

The other issues are still prominent and must be dealt with.

Another surgery will be in her near future.

Maybe with the loving care of Home Health nursing visits and the comfort of home, Mom will progress to the point where we can proceed with surgery and get that behind us - again.

Thank you all - for everything.

Mom Update

Mom is still residing in the step down cardiac intensive care unit. Since we are at day 22, I think I will call the post office tomorrow and have them go ahead and forward her mail to her.

Each time somebody asks me how she is, I tell them, "she could be so much worse". She really could be and she was. The fluid around her heart and in her lungs appears better although there was a weight change since yesterday which most likely means another increase in fluid.
She is on yet another antibiotic because her incision site is now infected - on top of everything else.

One day I see her, she is talking and has a positive attitude and the next time I see her, she looks and feels just awful. So...we appear to have made some progress, but that is subject to change by the time I finish typing this post.

Thank you all for your continued prayers and support - Mom appreciates it, as well as our entire family.

Men Have It So Much Easier

Men DO have it so much easier.

For starters, they get to pee standing up.
If you are a girl and have ever tried to hover over a potty seat while nine months pregnant or tried to rip off a snowsuit in a bathroom stall the size of Whoville, then you understand that statement.
That alone is enough to prove my point, but lets look at a few other examples:

They never have to worry about the age of mascara;
They can wear the same black pants, white shirt and paisley tie for an entire week and nobody would notice;
They don't have to shave their legs just to wear a pair of pantyhose;
They have way less body hair to shave on a daily basis;
They probably have never sat in a conference room with a band aid around their finger to cover up a chipped nail;
They can wear brown shoes even in the summer;
They can scratch every inch of their body in public and it is somehow acceptable, even expected;
They don't get stretch marks the size of Texas;
When they go to the pool, they don't have to make sure their piggies are painted first;
....seriously, do I need to go further to prove the point?....

and finally, most men wouldn't burst into tears over a simple informative email - that's because they don't have stupid girl hormones.

I received an email this morning (and I hope she doesn't mind that I post this). I read the email, smiled and went about my day. I just reread the email and burst into tears. What the heck?

It's the way it has always been for the last four years. I can go about my business, living life not focused on everything Addie can't do and then one tiny thing will bring my emotions crashing down.

and before I post the simple, little email...let me state that, I love men. They are hard-working laborers who take care of the tasks that we women would never, ever do and so I suppose it's okay if they get to pee standing up. Killing spiders and picking up dead lizards somehow equals that out.

So, here it is:

"Well today she wanted to climb up the ladder on the side. It is the side opposite the slide where there is an opening from the top part to the ground. I hope I am describing this where you know what I am talking about. Anyway, she went to the ladder and started trying to climb it. Stephanie said she has gone to it before, but then changed her mind about climbing up. It was hard for her, but she reached up and tried to pull herself up each step. I of course spotted her and gave her support from behind and Stephanie was at the top cheering her on. It was so great. I was so proud of her. I know it was difficult, but she really worked hard to get to the top. Yay Addie!!"