Oh how they can make me laugh!!!

Okay, I think that being older and having children I am able to enjoy the naughtiness and not panic and throw a fit. This last week or 2 we have had some instances that I think years ago I would have panicked and yelled but this time I realized its just the small stuff and decided to take pictures and laugh, so enjoy!!!



This is what happens I tell Caddis to go get his pajamas on, he says he does not have any and I tell him to go look in the dryer I had just washed some that day. Next thing I hear is giggling and him yelling "Hey, I fit in here!" and more giggling. My first reaction is to yell and then my second thought is grab the camera and go find out what he is talking about and here is the result.... Got to love 'em!!!!

So for Zlee's birthday party I let the kids decorate their own cupcakes and this is the result of letting Miko my 4-year-old decorate her own.

So I say just appreciate them because one day they will be all grown up and out of the house before we know it!

Yeah, back to work is going good!

I have been working for 2 weeks now. First week of training, drove me insane but last week was good to be working on live work. I had to send all my work to QA so that they could check to make sure that I was doing it right and correct any mistakes or blanks that I could not understand. Last week was also a little hectic with the holiday weekend. My new schedule is Tuesday through Saturday and went I started working on Tuesday there was an email from my supervisor asking me why I hd not worked on Monday. I explained my schedule and she said that she needed to update my info, they still had my old schedule of Monday through Friday. Well on Thanksgiving I needed to work but was only able to get in a little less than 4 hours before the work ran out. Then on Saturday I also was only able to put in a half day before the work ran out so that bothered me because, no work, no money! Now I have started my 2nd week of real work and when I checked my email the first thing this morning there was a note that I do not need to send to QA, YEAH!!!! Now I just have to be very careful and make sure that I look things over before hitting send.

I enjoy working as a transcriptionist, it is a constant learning process but at the same time it is very hard work, because you have to sometimes translate what is being said, in fact the company is now calling the position medical language specialists, and boy is it another language; so I guess I can say that I am bilingual now, hehehehe. Also working on production sucks!!!! You have to check in and check out on their time clock, but you do not get paid by the hour, only by your production so it bothers me that I have to remember to check in and out all day long. Oh well, such is life, at least I have a job and I am able to work from home which means I do not have to pay a babysitter, which would just take all the money that I had just made. Now hopefully there will be plenty of work this week and I can keep busy.

Now if only the IRS would call......but rumor has it that it will not be until mid to end of January possibly even February, so the wait continues!

YAHOO!!!!! It's back to work for me!!!

Okay, I am still waiting for the IRS to call back but I finally got a job. I called my old job when I was furloughed in July. They would not let me come back because I had been working on clinic accounts for the past 4 years and they said that they were only hiring for acute care (hospital) accounts and I had to have been working on them within 3 years. RIDICULOUS!!!! I have been transcribing for over 16 years and most of that has been acute care. Well they said that they would keep me in mind if a clinic account position became available. I thought "yeah right, you won't be calling me back." Well I was wrong I received an email last week that they just received a new clinic account and would I still be interested. So as of next Monday I will be working as a medical transcriptionist again. They have already sent the computer equipment, with a note that I needed to set it up immediately to make sure that there was no damage during shipping. Well........

Since I have not been working at home since February, my poor old desk has been piling up with bills and junk. I had to hurry and clean it off so that I could at least set it up and test the equipment. I have my desk in our storage room and I have had the thoughts that I would clean up the storage room and get it all organized while I was furloughed, well.....I found games on facebook and became an addict and therefore the storage room is a HUGE MESS!!!! Now John is saying that we need to give the old desk (it is his dad's) to his sister who wants it and then bring my real computer desk home and set it up. Now not only do I have to clean it off to set up but now I have to clean out my stuff from the drawers and probably everything that has been left there by his dad....UGHHH!!!! But I definitely prefer my desk to his.

I have to say that I am a horrible procrastinator and that I am easily distracted and I now have the proof, I have been out of work for over 4 months and I have not accomplished a whole lot. I had great intentions but me and my procrastinating has left me with a long list of unaccomplished things.

Now for an update on my dad. He is still recovering from his surgery. The last time I talked to him he is still not able to physically move except his arms and wiggle his toes. I also think that there is some memory loss but overall he is doing okay.

Now I just had to patiently wait for Monday to come so that I can get back into the groove of working but I am so dreading the first week of training.......BORING!!!!! I need a little refresher course but I have to go through the week long torture instead. In reality it would only take a couple of days to do the training but people ask STUPID QUESTIONS, over and over and over again. So I have to sit there and bite my tongue and listen to their stupid questions and remember that I am getting paid to sit there and listen, my only salvation. I think that last 2 days I will get to do some live work and that will hopefully make it all worthwhile, we will see.

In case I don't get on before, Happy Thanksgiving to all!!!!.

My life this last month

I can't believe that it has been over a month since I last posted something. I have actually had some events happen during that time. The last time I posted it was about my dad and I am happy to say that he is actually doing better. Last week I took my mother-in-law to the doctor's office and while I was waiting for her I got a call from my stepmom saying that someone wanted to talk to me. My first thought was a doctor or nurse to talk to me about his condition (OH NO!) but instead the most wonderful sound in the world, my dad's voice!!!!! He is now off the ventilator, they have put in a smaller trach tube, and he is moving his fingers and toes. He was now talking but was only awake for about 15-20 minutes and then wearing out and falling asleep. He told me that it was scared when he collapsed and realized that he may never see us again until we die. I think that is what kept him going.

Last night my stepmom called to say that he is now eating solid foods with someone feeding him and staying up and talking all the time. They will put him in a chair so that he can sit up straight for a while but he has to be straped to the chair because he still has no control of his body. I am so greatful that he has pulled through and continue to pray that he can recover fully or almost fully but I am greatful that he is still here and he does not seem to have brain damage like they had feared.

Now also I was able to reconnect with a long time friend who I had ended the relationship years ago. We have been chatting on facebook and last weekend we went out and had a "GIRLS NIGHT OUT!" It was wonderful, went to dinner and a chick flick. I decided to go to SLC to meet her and I had my mom watch my kids. I decided to spend the night at my mom's afterwards so that we could have time to chat and not worry about getting the kids home before too late. Turns out we talked until 3 in the morning. It was great reconnecting. She kept asking me what happened, why did we stop being friends and I had to tell her it was because we were going down 2 completely different paths. We had moved out together and I was enjoying the freedom of being on my own and not worrying about rules and curfews. She was enjoying the freedom also but decided to party with her friends that were into that. She also was spending time with creeps that were taking advantage of her. I was stressing out every time she left to spend time with these "friends" and I even made myself sick worrying about her. I had to end the roommate situation for my health.

After moving out she moved back home and continued to hang out with these "friends." She became pregnant with a much younger guy (boy actually), she did not tell me until after she had given birth. They ended up marrying 2 years later and I am happy to say that they are still married 16 years later. I really felt that it would not last and they have somehow made it through and have 3 teenage girls. She has totally settled down and I see so much growth in her and in her attitude. She truly was a friend and it was so hard to end the relationship. She was someone I could talk to and she would listen and help me figure things out.

Well now I need to go get ready and take Miko to Headstart. That is also something new for me. I have 2-1/2 hours without any kids and it is so strange!!! I have a hard time having a quiet house except for the sounds of TVs, John snoring, and some movement upstairs from grandma Alice. The kids really love school and I am so proud of them, but of course I am their mom and I can say that I enjoyed going to school too!

My life this week!

So I took John to the doc for a follow-up visit. He asked what the plan was and we said that nothing was really planned. We were not able to get insurance so that we could go to the surgeon in SLC before he retired in July. He then informed us that the surgeon decided not to retire after all. Our prayers have been answered. Now I just need to get back to work and work for 2 more months to qualify for insurance.

Then we went the next day and talked to a lawyer about fighting for disability. After telling him John's situation he feels that we can win the case. We will probably be denied again but he said that that was standard practice and to then appeal to be seen by a judge. He said that it can take up to a year and a half before all is said and done but he was very hopeful that we would win. It will be nice to have that extra money but it really sucks for John to have to admit it is time for disability. It has been hard to accept for him. I told him that stay-at-home moms do not get paid by the government and he will at least be getting money to help out the family. Now the wait begins.

And last but not least....my phone rang right at dinner the other night and I saw my dad's name on the phone and thought "now what story does he want to tell me about me?" I answered the phone and it was my step-mom (she never calls me) and said that she had to take my dad to the hospital that morning. The she says and I quote "he died on the table!" I gasped, and then she says "oh they shocked him twice and he came back and then they had to put 2 stents into his heart, he is in the CCU now." I about had a fit!!! You do not tell someone He died, that was horrible. She could have said your dad had a heart attack, that would be a little easier to hear. Then she proceeded to tell me that the doctors thought that he was doing well after surgery but she said that they have not been there and that he is not doing well. She said that they thought he would be transferred to a regular room the next day. I thought about it and having had experience in the art of being the spouse of someone in the hospital, I realized that yes you know them well, but the doctors do know what they are talking about.

I was going to call her yesterday for an update but thought that she would have been at the hospital and I did not have her cell phone number. When I did remember (after John reminding me) it was 10:30 their time and I figured it would not be a good time to call her. I called the hospital and after a few run arounds I finally found out that he was still in the CCU and that the nurse was in his room at that moment and they would have him call me back when he was done. The nurse called me about half an hour later and informed me that my had had gone into respiratory failure and distress and therefore they put him on a ventilator and sedated him. GREAT, now what do I do? The nurse was very gracious and helpful and told me that I could call back during the night if I needed to and that they would take good care of my dad. It is very hard to think that my dad could die but then again he is 67, not a young man, and he has had problems with his heart for a while now. I know that he will be in a wonderful place when he does die but still it is hard to think about. He lives in Texas and it is really hard to not be able to just run to the hospital and check on him myself.

I called my step-mom this morning and talked to her. She told me about the ventilator situation and said that the medicine they used to sedate him is the same kind that killed Michael Jackson. That does not bother me because he is in the hospital under supervision in the CCU unit.

I will definitely pray for my dad and hope that all turns out well. Now I am going to SLC to spend time with my family for my nephew's birthday, YEAH!!!

10 years of being married to my love!!!

We have officially made it 10 years of being married. I had a few scares during those 10 years where I did not think that we would see this day. With John's health being poor I remember quite a few times being in the hospital with him or in the ER room with him and thinking of things like: who should I call first, what will I do now, how do to make funeral arrangements, what would like to have in his funeral service, he wants to be cremated am I ready for that, and so forth.....

Even this last week while he was in the hospital I had those thoughts and it scared me. But I also know that I have a wonderful support system that will be there when I need them, so really no worries.

We have been so blessed these past 10 years, we have 3 wonderful blessings that are healthy, well behaved most of the time, beautiful, smart, loving (okay I could go on because I am their mom) and they are definitely the joys of our lives. We have been able to get through the difficulties we have faced with our marriage still intact, our faith in Christ still strong, our dreams of eternity still intact, and still in love.

I went to a funeral of a dear childhood neighbor this morning and listened to all of the wonderful talks and memories shared about her. I sat there thinking I am sad for the family members left behind to lose their wife, mother, grandmother, etc., but having the understanding that she is in heaven it made it so much easier to handle. They only found out less than a month ago that she had leukemia stage 5 and were told that she would not being going home from the hospital, and so it was. I sat and thought about all the times I played at her house with her daughters, going on a few excursions with them, and how she was a great lady. She is someone that I have been able to look up to in the role of a working mom. She worked graveyard shift so that she could be home with her kids and be able to attend all of their school functions, and she did. But if you tried to call their house in the morning it would be off the hook and you knew that she was sleeping. If I was over there when she was sleeping you had to tip toe across the front room floor, because her bedroom was directly below and she would come upstairs and get mad if you woke her up. Now as a mom who has decided to work a night shift, I totally understand now what she was going through. I deeply respect her decision and am glad that she was an inspiration to me. She also had the opportunity to help care for her mother when she had dementia and was unable to care for herself well enough. I remember going over there many times and she was off to take care of her mom, or there would be grandma spending the day with the family and eating dinner with them. She was able to show me compassion for others and taking care of your family.

I hope and pray that one day when I look back on my life I can say that I am not ashamed of the way I lived my life and hopefully I made a difference in the life of someone else.

Now if I can just be able to get John well enough so that we can spend our 20th anniversary together.....

Why does it take an episode to make you appreciate things?

Hubby had another episode that sent us to the ER. He had been vomiting all night and morning and was not able to keep anything down. We left home at 9:30 am and did not get home until 5:30 pm. It was a very long day in the ER and we were in a room with just a curtain between the room and the next room. It was very hard to sit there and have to listen to everything going on in the next room when I just want to concentrate on my hubby. We told the doc to call our doc and let him know what was going on so that my hubby could be admitted. They called and he was off for the day and talked to one of his associates. The associate did not want to be responsible for him being admitted. We did not even make it home, and he was vomiting again. We came home and I called some neighbors to come and give him a blessing. They gave him a lovely blessing and he calmed down a little bit. He was still very nauseated and still vomiting so I called the ER and they said to come back.

When we got up there they had a 1-1/2 hour wait. UGHHH!!!!! He was admitted this time but did not get into his hospital room until 4 hours later. I did not get to bed until after 1:30 because some dork kept calling the cell phone. I would answer thinking it could be the hospital and it was some dork saying oops, wrong number!!! I was so MAD!!! Then hubby called me at 6:30 in the morning to say that he had a bad night and needed me to bring clean unders.... oh the joy.

I went and spent the morning and left at about 1 p.m. My hubby called at 4 and then again at 5 in a panic needing me to come to the hospital. By the time I got there he was panicking and the CNA told me that they had given him a combination of pain med and nausea med and he was having a bad reaction. He was not breathing well, shaking his legs like crazy, eyes dilated, and definitely out of it. It took 4 hours for the meds to wear off and he was okay (well enough) that I came home to take care of the kids and get them into bed.

I definitely can say that I love my husband and it tears me apart to see him so sick like this. I have to remember what a blessing it is to have a husband and all the blessings that God has blessed us with. I can only take my family to heaven with me and that is what keeps me going down the right road, I want to be with them when I die!