Waiting for answers

Emily (17) was admitted to the hospital last night... a few posts ago, I mentioned a kidney infection she had just before Christmas. On our way to school yesterday, she said she thought she was getting another one; she was having pretty similar symptoms. I told her we'd probably get her seen after school then. Neither of us realized just how bad it was until she called me to get her from school (she went in late and only lasted a couple of hours before she called and told me she was practically passing out). We had already decided we'd take her to the ER (no dr. appointments available), so her dad met us there and I left her in his capable hands.

It took a while to get seen, but once they took her back to the exam rooms, they realized how sick she was. She was dehydrated, had a high fever, low blood pressure, and high heart rate. She spent last night on a regular floor, but today they moved her to the ICU so they could monitor her more closely. Her BP has improved, but her fever comes and goes, her heart rate is still fast and her lab values on her bloodwork are all out of whack. The docs are very puzzled and still trying to figure out the cause. Their preliminary diagnosis was a kidney infection with mild sepsis, but the lab values have them looking for an additional condition.

Brian spent most of the day there (and is there now); he left a little after 9pm because she was falling asleep and really needed to sleep.... didn't get much last night and none today. She called him 30-40 minutes later and asked if he was going to come back up. She was having trouble sleeping. He may be staying the night there.

So now we wait. And pray. Hopefully they will find an answer tomorrow and can get her fixed up and home soon.

Rainy days and Tuesdays

It  took a while for the rainy season to really kick in around here, but it seems to have arrived with a vengeance. If I had some rope to cordon off the backyard, I'm sure I could start a mud-wrasslin' tournament back there. Might be a good way to earn a little extra spending money.  Any entrants? ( I have to make jokes, otherwise I would let the mud and mess really depress the heck out of me.)

I've been busy catching up with laundry and stuff after our Palm Springs visit. The trip home was interesting. For some reason, the GPS sent us home by a different route and we wound up on some 2-lane backroads, going through some mountains and with snow blustering all around us. So weird! But we actually made it home in less time than the trip down, probably because we really only stopped once instead of 2 or 3 times. Don't think we'll do a trip of that length in one day again, though. It is very tiring on the driver!  Our next planned trip is to Malibu in May for the Pepperdine Lectureships. I am really looking forward to it for many reasons.... beautiful scenery and weather, seeing old and new friends, and a chance to dine at Tra di Noi again (you knew there had to be a food reason somewhere in there!).

Rory took a trip to the vet last Friday for "that" operation. I felt a little bad doing it to her for Valentine's Day, but she seems to have forgiven me. I picked her up on Saturday morning and she was quite happy to see me. She has  about a 4- or 5- inch incision on her tummy, all sewn up with stainless steel sutures. Have to take her back in another week or so to have those removed. I am quite relieved to no longer have to worry about supersize doggie diapers every 6 months or so now. She hasn't let sore stomach muscles keep her from climbing up on our bed, though. She still wants to cuddle with me there. 

Guess that's really all the news worth telling for now. Felt bad that I hadn't updated since we got back from our trip. Hopefully I can get back to posting with a little more frequency.

A day in Palm Springs

As planned, we took a ride on the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway yesterday. The temperature at the top (31 degrees) was more than 20 degrees cooler than the bottom.... there were snow flurries and about 3 inches of snow on the ground. The boys went outside and had a snowball fight. The girls had more sense than that!!  

Once we finished up  at the tramway, we headed into Palm Springs proper to hunt up a place for lunch. Tried a little spot called "Grill-A-Burger" with pretty decent food, then browsed the shops on the way back to the car. Before heading back this way, we drove past Elvis Presley's Palm Springs home.... Brian had seen the address on the back of a postcard, so we plugged it into the GPS. It was less than 5 minutes from downtown. Not terribly exciting, but we can say we've seen it.  

Made a grocery run for a few things on the way back to the RV for the evening. Brian's meeting began last night at 7. The kids and I hung out here watching TV and reading books, getting showered up, etc. 

Woke up this morning to the sound of RAIN falling on the roof. Thankfully it slowed to a near stop by the time I needed to take Brian to the hotel for his conference at 6:30. The kids and I will be heading out soon to check out the children's museum. Brian is scheduled to be done with his conference at 1:30 today; we'll pick him up for lunch then.  Hopefully the weather will hold so that we can grill dinner tonight.

Let the sun shine

Greetings from sunny Indio, CA! Not sure how long the sun will last today; the weather forecast calls for rain today (and tomorrow, and the next). The RV resort we are staying at is very posh; I think we have the cheapest motorhome here. Many of the other guests have custom golf-carts (I've seen mini-Hummers, ones that look like convertible roadsters, and just really fawncy ones), and we even saw one site with a full-size Bentley parked at it.  There are sites that have extras at them, like outdoor kitchens, hot tubs, casitas, fountains.... I said on my FaceBook page yesterday that I felt a little like the Clampetts pulling in here!  We are in a bare-bones spot, but it still outdoes many places we've stayed.... the pad is concrete and very wide, we have lots of grassy space to play with the kids, we face a waterway and have our own dock (too bad no little boat to tie up to it!). Right next door, they are working on one of those "fawncy" spots.... one with an outdoor kitchen, eating area, etc.

We had a nice trip down. Pulled out of our driveway a little after 4 am.  After a couple of hours, Brian pulled over for a 30-minute power nap. We stopped a while later to gas up near Los Banos, then didn't stop again for 5 hours, when we pulled into a shopping center parking lot in San Dimas to make lunch (man, I can't say "San Dimas" without wanting to make a "Bill and Ted's" reference). No more stops until we arrived here around 3 pm.

Brian's conference doesn't start until tonight, so hopefully the weather will hold during the day so we can do some sightseeing. We'd like to ride the Palm Springs Tramway before we leave. There is also a children's museum in Rancho Mirage that I will probably take the kids to tomorrow, since Brian will be in meetings all day. 

Time to get busy. My earlybird (Joel) is up and looking for breakfast. I realized before I got out of bed this morning that I forgot to bring the milk with us, so he will have to go without his AlphaBits for now... oatmeal it is.

On the road again....

The family and I hit the road again tomorrow morning for the Palm Springs area.  Brian has a CRNA conference down there this weekend and decided he wanted to bring us along this time. We're taking the RV and staying at what looks like a very nice RV "resort."  Right now, it looks like the weather will be only slightly better than the weather here and will include 2 days of rain. I guess I shouldn't complain, what with so many of my family and friends dealing with snow and ice and power outages back in the midwest. Hopefully we will get to see lots of new and interesting things. 

When we get home, we will have plenty of things to keep us busy, the least of which isn't a long overdue trip to the vet for Rory. She is getting spayed for Valentine's Day. (Well, actually the day before... but I will pick her up from the vet the morning of the 14th.) I'm sure if we women got gifts like that for Valentine's Day, we'd think twice about complaining about getting the traditional flowers or chocolates!

I hope to have time to write while we are there, and that we'll have some interesting and fun stuff to share!

Meme time

I can't resist a meme, and it's an easy way to fulfill my posting responsibilities.... So here goes with this one I've had starred in my feed reader for quite some time now. I found this at Carrie's.

1) How do you like your grilled cheese?
On white bread, 2 slices of Kraft Deluxe American, light golden brown with cheese nice and gooey

2) Where did you go on your last vacation?
Took a 3-week RV trip back to MO and AL to visit family.

3) Who are your godparents?
Don't have any; that isn't a tradition in my church.

4) Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Far away from California, in a house we helped plan with lots of room for everyone.

5) Where are you at noon everyday?
Most days at home.

6) How many speeding tickets have you gotten?
ZERO

15) When was the last time you swam?
Back in June.... at our last RV stop on the way home in Chowchilla, CA.

16) What do you order at Subway?
I rarely go there. I prefer Charley's or Quizno's.

17) Do you keep your closets organized?
I try.

18) How do you make headaches go away?
Ibuprofen.

19) Have you owned a beta before?
Nope.

20) If you moved out of state where would you go?
Alabama or Nebraska.

22) Did you attend pre-school?
Nope.

23) What do your shower curtains look like?
Don't have any. The bathtubs in this house have the sliding door shower enclosures. UGH

24) Did you have an imaginary friend as a child?
I don’t think so.

25) How do you make eggs?
Fried, sunny-side up.

26) Where do you wash your clothes?

Laundry room.

28) Who are the neighbors who live to the right of you?

Ed and Ling and their 3 children

29) What are your thoughts on Tom Cruise?

I try not to think about him.

30) What is the next vehicle you wish to buy?

Either another Honda Odyssey or a Pilot

31) Do you pay bills online or by mail?

Both.

32) What would be the best gift someone could get you right now?

Early retirement at hubby's current rank (right now, he has to stay in until 2011 to retire at his rank).

33) What is something stressful you will deal with next week?

Emily is staying home while the rest of us go to So. Cal with my husband for a conference. Pick your stressor: teenager home alone with dogs (with neighbors close by to monitor), RV trip, Mom and 3 kids trying to keep selves entertained while Dad is in meeting...

34) What is something in your home that you collect?

Americana items, Noah's ark stuff, books

35) What did you do last night?

Rearranged furniture in the living room

36) Who did you last see?

My husband just walked in from the BX.

37) How do you take your coffee?

On the rare occasion that I drink it, black. No sugar, no nuttin'.

38) What is the oldest thing in your fridge?

Don’t know and not going to find out. Although I know there's nothing expired in there; Halle just cleaned out all that stuff a couple of days ago.

39) On your keyboard what key is wearing out from pressing it so much?

None... I have a skin on top of my keyboard to protect it.

40) Where do you put your keys when you come home?

On the key rack usually.

41) Where do you go for Thanksgiving?

Usually stay home; occasionally get invited to someone's home.

42) How old will you you be in 2010?

46

43) What actor or actress would play you in a movie?

Camryn Manheim

44) How much cash is in your wallet?

$1 and some change

45) Would you have a one night stand with your favorite movie star?

Only if it involved board games and nothing else. 

46) What color is your phone?

Cell phone is black; house phone is grey.

47) If you were starving to death would you eat a pet?

Not knowingly... I don't think. Perish the thought!

48) Ever been to Alabama?

Oh yeah!

49) What kind of accent do you have?

Slightly southern, decidedly so if I get around anyone else with one.

50) What kind of alcoholic drinks are in your fridge right now?

Not a one.

Not all my fault this time

Finally, I have a real excuse for not coming around here! Of course, I shouldn't sound so happy about it, but dang... when a perfectly healthy person can't stop and write more than every couple of weeks, it's just sad. But this time I have a valid reason. Heck, I probably shouldn't be here now, but since this isn't my usual "life has just been stinkin' busy" kind of post, I wanted to get it done while I was thinking of it and before something else stopped me.

Anyhow, yours truly suffered her first real illness of any length (since childhood) this week.... I've been stuck upstairs in bed with pneumonia that began late Saturday night (and of course, it picked my husband's moonlighting weekend) and is hopefully on its way out. I finish my last dose of antibiotic for it today.  Manoman, it has been no fun. It hit hard and fast, but I guess in a way it was good that it did, since it made me go to the ER on Sunday night. I didn't leave my bedroom all day Sunday and pretty much drifted in and out of sleep between taking something trying to get my fever down and trying to drink fluids to stay hydrated. But when I texted  Brian that I had coughed up some blood, his suspicions about what was going on were just made a bit stronger, and he strongly encouraged me to head over to the ER. 

It has been kinda hard staying in bed and taking it easy. I was feeling better on Tuesday and was up for a little while in the afternoon, but was feeling it by after dinner. I was back to gasping every time I took a breath. So I stayed in bed all day yesterday, only coming down to help Brian with a grocery list and to eat dinner. I am still planning on taking it easy today. After Tuesday, I am very wary of overdoing it... because I obviously can't tell when I am!

I have to confess, one thing made being stuck in bed a little more bearable: my new iPhone. Brian and I made the switch the weekend after New Year's Day and I have been so happy with being able to carry around all my scheduled activities in my hand, and to be able to effortlessly sync them with my Mac (without any third-party software like Missing Sync). I was able to read all my mail, read, make, and comment on facebook updates, and do a little checking of my Google Reader. I am one satisfied customer.

Happy 2009

Continuing my recent trend of posting every 14-21 days....

It was a whirlwind few weeks, punctuated by doctor and ER visits shortly before Christmas. Emily missed the last 2 days of school with strange symptoms of swollen hands and itching whose cause wasn't diagnosed until a weekend trip to the ER.... a kidney infection. Thankfully, she only needed some IV fluids and some oral antibiotics. Didn't take more than a day or so before she seemed much more like her normal self.

Had a very nice Christmas with the kids. The 3 youngest set alarms for 6am and were rarin' to go. They were all very excited about their new Ipod Nanos. Unfortunately, Halle's has already developed a problem and I will have to call Apple tomorrow so they can send me a mailer to ship it back to them. We could have had it replaced at the Apple Store in Sac yesterday, but that would have meant Halle wouldn't have the engraving that came on the original one (her name and Christmas 2008). If we handle the warranty claim through AppleCare, we can get the engraving again, and she really wanted to keep that.

Brian and I had a pretty low-key Christmas for the two of us, but that was just fine by me. He did give me 2 things I had specifically mentioned. One was a SmartShopper. I ran across it one day at Amazon (while looking for ideas for Brian's Christmas gifts) and thought it looked very cool. Basically it is a gadget that allows you to record your grocery and/or errand lists on the fly, perhaps as you run out of something, and then when you are ready to go shopping, will print everything out, sorted into categories (dairy, produce, frozen foods, etc.). My neighbor says she always has a paper list going, but in my house, my paper lists tend to get misplaced a lot. This stays stuck on the fridge so I can't lose it. I used it earlier this week to go shopping and it was neat.

Emily and Noah both celebrated birthdays on Tuesday; Noah is 13 and Em is 17 now. We extended the celebrating into 2 days.... lunch at Benihana on Tuesday and then we all went to the mall in Sacramento yesterday. Emily brought along 2 friends and we had a late lunch/early dinner at The Cheesecake Factory.

We spent a few hours outside with the neighbors last night to celebrate NYE. We had a couple of firepits in the driveways and had a chili supper. Aside from the fog and chill in the air, it was a really nice time.

Today I'll be paying for the days of inactivity by getting lots of laundry and housework done. I am so lucky my man is a great help in that department!!

Bi-weekly check-in

Just jumping in this morning to let those of you still reading know we are all still alive here. As for most people, December can be an activity-filled month for us. One of those activities has nothing to do with the holidays... That would be the graduation of my husband's students. I don't play a huge role in this, other than to create the invitations in November and then make the graduation programs in December, once all the details (speaker, awards, etc.) have been ironed out. This year had to have been the latest I have ever done the programs. With graduation occurring on Wednesday, I didn't finish the programs until Monday and didn't print them out until Tuesday (when I got the paper for the job).  

In addition to those programs, once again I designed the programs for Emily's choir concert coming up next week. Her director like the job I did last year so well that she asked me to do them again. I got about a 2-week notice on that job. I was able to get these done and emailed the file to her a few days ago. The nice thing about that task is that it gives me credit towards the 20 service hours each family is required to do every year.

Speaking of Emily's concert, this year she is doing a duet with one of the guys from her choir. They are doing Pié Jesu. I am really looking forward to hearing them. I've looked at the music here at home and it is a really pretty arrangement.

Today is Halle's dress rehearsal for the Christmas program at church. We'll be heading out in a few minutes for that. Rehearsal is from 8:30 to 12:30. The performances are tomorrow at 9 and 10:45, so we will be at church from 8-12:30 tomorrow. During at least part of that rehearsal time, I'm hoping to make a couple of quick stops to look for some Christmas gifts. Also today, after I get Halle home from her rehearsal, I'll be taking Emily to a hair appointment at 1:30. Hopefully after we get back from that, I can be done running for the day. I know tomorrow will be extremely full... I'll probably have to go grocery shopping once we get home from church.

One really nice thing about the upcoming week is that Brian is taking a few days off and will be at home with us. I know the kids will enjoy having him around; so will I! He and I will try to get some time alone to take care of some of our Santa duties... should be fun!

On the first day of December....

Since I last posted, it has been much the same here, with various runnings to and fro. The Six Flags trip was fairly uneventful. The weather was perfect and it was blissfully not crowded, so it was actually somewhat enjoyable, except for the overpriced lunch that was so horrible no one really ate it.

On a more recent note, we spent a nice Thanksgiving with friends from church. This was the first Thanksgiving in a long while in which I didn't spend hours in the kitchen. All I made for this meal was a small ham, a coconut pie, and a chocolate pie.

Over the weekend, we got quite a bit of cleaning and rearranging done around here. Brian is a dynamo when it comes to that kind of stuff. We also set up a new computer area for the kids, tucked away upstairs in the walk-in hall closet. We developed a new set of guidelines for use and times and the kids have been really good about them so far.

In other news, I recently received a very nice compliment from Carrie. She nominated me for this blog award:

This blog invests and believes the PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships!
These blogs are exceedingly charming.
These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement.
Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated.
Please give more attention to these writers!
Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.

Thanks, Carrie! Here are my nominees:

Betty at  JettyBetty

Jenny at Enlightened Eyes

Dee at Finding Direction

Katherine at Raising Five

Donna at The Other Blog

Shane at Come Back, Shane!

Franklin at Youth Ministry Hilarity

Jim at Jim's Journey