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| Thursday, 24-Mar-2005 00:00 |
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Incognito
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Yes, I know! I've been a negligent blogger for a long time.
One of the reasons for my absence is I've been consumed the past week by the Terri Schiavo case. Seriously, I think I'm the family expert on it; I'm up on all the ins and outs, myths and rumors. My mom checks in for updates daily! My kids have to endure my rantings and ravings and theorizing. I see them shoot each other little knowing glances when Iâ??m on one of my tirades which say, â??Mom is a freak!â?? But, thanks to me, they are totally up on the issues, too.
You've prob surmised that I'm of the "put the tube back in" persuasion. I think that without conclusive proof (like something in writing), one MUST err (if at all) on the side of caution, particularly if you take into account her Catholic belief system she adhered to prior to her accident. I think that one could make the argument that it's evidence in itself of this woman's will to live due to the fact that she's still alive after 15 years despite 3 separate episodes enduring starvation and thirst. I think that that Michael Monster of hers has something huge to hide. And the fact that this man is living w/ his girlfriend chick and their 2 kids, and he previously won a malpractice suit where a jury awarded him over 1 million $ and never once during those proceedings did he mention her wish to die? Only after the money cleared did he start his Terri's "Right to Die" battle that's still going on today. Hmmm. And he's deemed to be objective, not to mention credible? Don't even get me started!
OOOO, so sorry. This is not supposed to be a political blog.
Other than my obsession w/ Terri Schiavo, I've just been really bone aching tired. After 10 p.m. hits, I don't feel like doing anything: I don't want to wash dishes or laundry or grade homework or work on my book. All I feel like doing is crawling into my bed with the book of the week and read until my eyes involuntarily close. Recently, I've been reading through the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency books. Before you turn up your nose, listen! They are well-written and nice, simple stories. I thought they'd be full of mystery and intrigue. But really, they are just life stories. Perfect for tired minds. Last night, I went to bed around 9:30!
What else. Well, last Friday I couldn't take it anymore, and I started running again. Hey! I went a whole 12 days! I'm just really tired of swimming and walking and doing Pilates in lieu of my 5-9 miles/day. Running really is so much more time efficient. I did go to a chiropractor yesterday, tho. He was recommended by the physical therapist I went to twice (and then he quit, see previous blog); this chiropractor works on the Colorado Rockies and Bronco players, so he must be pretty good. This was the first time I've ever been to a chiropractor; it was really weird to hear my back crack and snap. I hope that it works.
Well, I've demonstrated my impulsive nature recently. About 2 weeks ago, I decided to drive down to the local bike shop, pulled out my plastic, and proceeded to buy all the kids bikes! About 2 years ago, some thugs in our neighborhood broke into our garage and stole the kids' Trek mountain bikes. We never replaced them. Well, that day 2 weeks ago, I suddenly decided: "This is The Day." I bought Alix, Anastasia, and Arianna mountain bikes. I bought Andrew a BMX bike (the only bike to survive the theft was Arianna's Trek mountain bike, which now is the perfect size for Andrew, so when he learns to ride sans training wheels, he'll have a mountain bike, too) and myself a mountain bike. The most impulsive item that I bought, tho, was one of those tag-along bikes you attach it to the back of an adult bike and sort of make it into a tandem with the kid riding behind you. It's really cool. And Kat will be able to use it when Andrew's too big for it.
I momentarily felt like this tag-along was kinda frivolous because only 2 of my 5 kids will get to use it. And then I thought, "Wait a minute! MOST people only have 2 kids and have no qualms at all about buying something that their two kids can use." So, I'm over it. (I hope Andy is, too!)
The bike salesman was literally giddy w/ joy and excitement. "Ma'am," he said, "I've NEVER sold this many bikes at once before!" Too bad he doesn't get a commission on his bike sales (he doesn't; I asked him).
While I was in the bike shop, I started getting that itchy feeling about racing again. I often seem to get this feeling whenever I'm in a bike shop; hence why I don't darken the door of bike shops too often. When I discussed my old racing bike w/ the bike seller guy, he basically told me that it would be most cost effective to just buy a new road bike rather than update my old one if I feel like getting back into racing again. I guess I'd just better be satisfied w/ my new mountain bike and my snowshoes. But it would be pretty funny to see the looks on the bike guys' faces when I roll in my old relic to get it evaluated!
Let's see. . . what else. Oh, well, now I truly live in my car. In addition to my hour plus morning trek dropping kids off at their respective schools, I now have the mission of getting kids to soccer practice. Just to give you an idea, this is what my week looks like until soccer season is over:
Mondays: Anastasia has practice at about 25 min. from our house at 5:30. At the same time, Arianna has practice about 10 min. from that field. Luckily, my friend Laurie Miles also has 2 daughters who happen to be on both Anastasia's and Arianna's teams, so she brings Anastasia to me after her practice is over.
Tuesdays: Alix has practice about 25 min. away from our house at 4. This means I have to pick her up from school around 3, then take her down to practice. Arianna has to be picked up from school at 3:45, so I have to return the 25 min. (fighting traffic) back basically to my house so that I can pick her up (hopefully more or less on time). Then I have to head back down 25 min. (fighting traffic during rush hour) to pick up Alix from practice.
Wednesdays: This is the Day From Hell of the week. Okay. Alix has practice about 35 min. from my house at 4. So, I pick Alix up from school around 3, then head toward her practice field. Luckily her school is on the way to the field. I drop her off early; the place is more or less deserted because most of her teammates haven't shown up yet. I then bust butt back the 35 min. so that I can get Arianna from school â?? this time I know I'll be late. Then I run home to pick up the rest of the horde because this is the day that Alix, Anastasia, Arianna, and Andrew have practice. Anastasia has practice about 25 min. from home at 5. Arianna has her practice about 10 min. from that field at 5:30. Andrew has practice about 20 min. away from both these fields at 5, so somehow these kids get to where they need to be. After Andrew is finished (about 5:45), I head the 10 min. over to pick up Alix, who's been waiting about 30 min. after her practice has been over. Then I head back up north to pick up Anastasia, who by that time has finished practice about 30 min. earlier, and Arianna, 10 min. from Anastasia's field. THEN, if I still have any sanity or nerves or energy remaining, I can attend my mid-week Bible study at Bruce's house and only be about 30 min. late.
Thursdays: Alix has practice once again at 4 about 35 min. from our house, but her school is on the way to the field. I pick her up at school, then take her down there. Then head back home to pick up Arianna from school. Then pick Anastasia up at home and take her to her practice. Somehow, she practices at the same place that Alix is at. By the time I get there, Alix is finished and then I have to wait for 1 1/2 hours while Anastasia practices.
Fridays: Arianna is the only kid who practices today. The field is 35 min. from our house. The only pain in the butt is that I must fight the Friday rush hour traffic because her practice goes from 5:15 to 6:30.
Saturdays are game days. So, I have to work out the schedule of different games at different fields at different times. I only hope that one kid isn't required to be down in Colorado Springs for the game, but some weekends, I'm not that fortunate.
After April 3, the practice times get pushed back, so I'll have to work out the schedule once again! Ugh!
What Mommies do for their kids. I just hope my kids remember this if I'm in a persistent vegetative state one day. Or, more likely, needing my diapers changed.
Today it's snowing outside, so all practices are cancelled! Yay! Now I can actually make dinner! I love spring soccer season!
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| Wednesday, 9-Mar-2005 00:00 |
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A Boring Day -- oops this is supposed to be Tues., 8 Mar.
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So. I'm supposed to go to Physical Therapy today for my back. It's my 3rd visit. I get a call this morning as I'm heading back from taking Alix to school, though, from Jim, the guy who owns Next Level Sports (where I'm getting physical therapy) to tell me that the physical therapist (who I thought was fantastic, btw) and he have "parted ways" and that he no longer has a physical therapist on staff, Ugh! It took seriously a month to get all the authorizations through TriCare West -- the Army's wonderful heath insurance. So, back to the drawing board.
My morning schedule these days.
I live in my car.
At 8 a.m., I take Alix to school (approx. 18 min. west, then 18 min. back). I get 10 min. to make an espresso or brush my teeth or check email or whatever I can do quickly. Then I take Arianna to her school (about 7 min. east and 7 min, back). I've got Kat loaded in the car, so I take her to school (3 min. there and 3 min. back). By 9:15, I've spent basically 1 hour and 15 min. shuttling kids to school. Sound fun? The afternoons, I do it all over again, but now I add driving down to the soccer fields everyday, which are at least 20-30 min. away. And of course, no 2 kids have practice at the same place or time. So the rest of the afternoon/early to mid evening are spent dropping off and picking up. It'll be interesting to see how much $$ goes into the gas tank and Jiffy Lube.
I did significant amt. of school with Andrew today. I refrained from running -- I promised myself that I'm taking a break from running . . . at least for this week. My back needs the rest and truthfully, I'm sorta burned out from running the same courses. I also accomplished many tasks that I can drop kick out of my To Do Stress Bucket:
1) I made eye doctor appts for Alix and Anastasia
2) I made orthodonic appts for Alix and Anastsia
3) I found a dentist that's covered w/ the new (and temporary until Andy gets back) dental insurance compliments of Uncle Sam. Going to schedule appts. tomorrow.
4) Checked out a couple of bike shops for possible bike purchases. Don't worry, Andy.
5) Called my Primary Care Physician to get some referrals. . . primarily a new physical therapist.
I got lots of medically related stuff taken care of! I felt like hanging on hold today, I guess, and searching the net.
Arianna made it through a second day of school. The house is remarkably quieter minus one kid. Soccer practice was cancelled today because it SNOWED this morning, and when that happens, the fields get closed. I guess the wetness causes the delicate grass to die or something. But that freed up my afternoon. So, instead of practice I made the 3 girls run 2 miles (twice around this lake in North Denver). They didn't like me too much.
Made fried egg sandwiches and tomato soup for dinner. Oh, and we each had a carrot, too. Fits the definition of a "lame meal."
Tomorrow I have an appt at National Jewish -- a follow up for asthma.
Tonight I'm going to do some Pilates. This is usually done in front of Seinfeld from 10-11 p.m.
That's all!
A boring day, but a typical one (except I don't usually get as much done!)
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| Monday, 7-Mar-2005 00:00 |
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Backtracking and making tracks
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Friday: Grandpa Efaw wanted to spend some guy time w/ Andrew, so shortly after lunch, he picked Andrew up. When he got here, he said he'd keep Andrew overnight, too. Yay! I was overjoyed because the next day, Sat., was my last snowshoe race of the season, and one ankle biter less the merrier for all involved! Later on Friday, Erin dropped by. She wanted to take Kat off my hands so that I could go up to the race without her, too!
I took Arianna to practice at Dakota Ridge High School (or actually, the soccer fields beside it). That's about 30 min. from my house. Traffic was the horrific, it being Friday and all, so I was about 15 min. late. This was the first "skills session" of the season and not team practice, so it wasn't all that big a deal that she missed about half of it. Arianna went home w/ a friend after practice to sleep over.
Alexandra had walked home from school w/ a friend so that she could accompany that friend to the school play (South Pacific) that her friend's future high school was putting on. So, after Arianna's practice, all I had left was Anastasia. Now, Anastasia is thrilled when she gets alone time w/ her mom or dad, so I decided to make it kinda fun. We had to take Rowdy in to the vet to get her stitches out (appt. for 8:30 p.mm.), but before picking up Rowdy and on the way home, I stopped at this yummy Italian place, called Cafe Jordano. We took food to go because the wait was outside the door.
Rowdy's wound healed very nicely, and she was ecstatic to get her cone off her head so she could run around and stiff!
Alix came home around 11 p.m. from her outing w/ her friend -- to my great annoyance. Learning point for future outings -- you call your mom when you are going to be home later than arranged (in our case for this outing, the arrival time at home was 10 p.m. at the latest.) I guess this is the start of many more incidents to come . . .
SATURDAY
I did the grueling drive on a Sat. morning to ski land (Beaver Creek) to do the last race of the series. Anastasia and Alix were the only kids coming along, so we all decided that they'd try to race, too. Since the race lent out free demo snowshoes (provided you get there early enough), there were no excuses not to.
My friend Lynda spotted us as I was at the registration tent getting the girls registered. I had been planning on doing the 10K since this was the North American Snowshoe Championships (not Nationals which I qualified for -- those took place in Anchorage same weekend, but still a large race w/ a lot of draw) and the 10K race is the more competitive race between the 10K and 5K. Actually, I woke up to my alarm at 7 a.m. and I was sooo tempted just to "sleep through my alarm" and loll around Sat. sans over half my kids, but discipline prevailed and I hauled my weary carcass out of my bed. Anyway, I was really not psyched up to race on Sat. So when my friend Lynda twisted my arm to do the 5K in lieu of the 10K, I went w/ the twisted arm option. Our plan was to kinda stick together. This was the same race the girls were planning on running -- their first race on shoeshoes (and for Alix, the very first time strapping them on her feet).
So, the race started. I felt like utter doo doo. My body was so tired. All I could think about from the first 30 seconds on was how much I hate snowshoeing and why in the world would I put myself through this ridiculous torture when I have a pigsty of a house to clean and life to catch up on! Long story short, my friend Lynda took off and left me in the dust (or, shall we say, powder) and I was by my miserable self slugging out the race. I passed 2 women, and this guy who I know from previous races told me as I passed him that I'm the third woman overall. Well, I hit this nice downhill, sort of my forte, and I stretched it out, starting to feel almost human when one of the women I had passed, passes me back! I just didn't have the mental toughness to stick w/ her, which I know I should've done at the time, strategically. But I had passed her earlier on an uphill, so I thought that surely an uphill would be coming up, and I could gain on her than and hopefully pass her back.
Well, the course was short. In fact, when I had finished the race, a guy racer who came in behind me had a GPS on his wrist, and he said it had measured 2.5 miles instead of the 3.1 it should have measured. And I believe it because when I was out there racing, I remember looking at my watch at one point -- about 21 min. into it -- and thinking I had about close to a mile to go. In reality, I had about 200 yards. All of a sudden, I saw this sign with "3 Miles" emblazoned on it. The finish was just ahead, down a nice hill and around a curve, so I stretch it out, accelerating as best I could with only about 100 yards to go. Suddendly I heard what sounded like a horse galloping behind me (the sound of a snowshoer coming up behind you) and who blows by me 50 yards from the finish but the other woman I had passed earlier in the race! When someone flies by you like that unexpectedly and w/ only yards left, there's not much hope of getting it back. So, I came in 5th woman overall -- exactly 7 measley seconds behind the 3rd place winner and 3 sec. behind 4th. And what makes it even worse is that places 1st thru 3rd got some really nice merchandise prizes. My friend Lynda came in 2nd -- 1 min. and 15 sec ahead of me.
The course itself had NO POWDER or single track, only hard packed, groomed trails, so it was the easiest course by far. And as I said before, significantly shorter.
After my miserable defeat, Lynda and I trotted back along the course to find the girls. I saw Alix moving out, gesturing behind her to a girl about her age that was about 50 yards to her rear. "That's the girl!" she said, eyes gleaming. "And I'm going to beat her!" THE GIRL she was referring to is a girl about her age who has done every snowshoe race that Alix has watched over the past couple of months. According to both Alix and Anastasia, that girl "thinks she's so great" because she always wins her age group (usually one of the only girls her age in the race). Alix saw THE GIRL ahead of her and her competitive leanings kicked in. Alix and Anastasia had ran/walked the race together, but once they caught a glimpse of THE GIRL ahead of them, Anastasia told Alix to leave her.
Alix placed first in her age group, and Anastasia placed 3rd (they were in the same age bracket). And yes, Alix smoked THE GIRL.
By the way, there were over 450 people in the race, the 5k and 10K combined (but only about 100 did the 10K).
Alix was so excited and kept talking about how much she loved snowshoe racing, and couldn't we do another one. Nope -- soccer season starts next week, so most of the next several Saturdays will be devoted to soccer games. She's pretty fired up about racing next year, tho. She also asked me what the big deal is about snowshoe racing: "It was so easy, and I only fell once." I tried to explain to her about the packed groomed trails and how unlike this race was to my previous, but I don't think she believed me. She's just thrilled that she fell only once when her mom -- the Nationals qualifier -- had fallen a gazillion times during her first race!
Spent the rest of Sat. picking up my kids from their respective overnight locations. Also ate dinner at Barb Cleckner's house -- a friend from Beth Eden and who also was Anastasia's 3rd Grade teacher at Beth Eden Baptist School way back when. It was a yummy dinner -- ham and mashed potatoes and gravy and cheesecake for dessert. However, because of all the pick ups, etc., I was about 45 min. late to her house. Oh, and my T-Mobile cell had no service all day long (provider problem), which was very annoying.
SUNDAY:
Church in the morning. Had the monthly catered lunch after church -- ate Mexican. Anastasia had an indoor soccer game at 2:30, then I came home and attempted to clean my pigsty. Got distracted and only really got the first floor done plus some laundry. Had black bean soup that Mom Efaw made and sent home w/ me Sat. for dinner w/ cornbread that I made -- and weird-- brussel sprouts in a tomato puree/garlic/onion sauce. I just have been craving brussel sprouts (maybe my tiredness is due to a deficit of iron??). So, by the end of the night, it was gas attack city in the Efaw abode (or commode!). We watched Glory while eating -- a great movie about the Civil War. Made me feel like numero uno loser for trying to dodge my duty in Iraq.
MONDAY
I got up at 6 a.m. to swim a mile plus run for about 15 min. in the pool. I knew that if I didn't get up early, I wouldn't get a workout in today. Arianna and I were observing the school that Arianna tested into. It's a Core Knowledge curriculum school (if that means anything to any of you); basically an IB program in Denver for elementary school kids. The school building itself is over 100 years old (in desperate need of rehab in some places, but a cool old building nevertheless).
Well, after about an hour of Arianna sitting in the desk (that the teacher got ready for her ahead of time) quietly working on spelling and independent reading, she just starts bawling! Yes, Arianna, who is usually pretty even-keeled! I was pretty shocked. She wanted to go home, to get out of there, that she wanted to be homeschooled. Please don't make me stay! Please, please! Well, by this time it was about 11:30, and I was supposed to leave around 11:45 so that I'd be on time to pick up Kat from school. But I couldn't leave Arianna at that school in the state she was in, so I had to make an emergency call to my in-laws, begging for someone to pick up Kat from school so I could stay w/ Arianna. Well, long story short, I sort of asked one of the girls in the class if she could please show Arianna how to do the journaling they are required to do. The girl smiled at Arianna and whispered that she, too, had cried her first day. In fact, she cried for 3 days straight. After that, it was lunch time, and a bunch of other girls came to talk to Arianna, invited her to sit w/ them, etc. Arianna was all smiles after that. Whew! So, it looks like Arianna will be going to school for the rest of this school year. Fingers crossed that this school works out for us!
I left "observing" the school around 1:15 (Grandpa Efaw had picked up Kat from school and had delivered her to my house), got home and did some phonics w/ Andrew before picking Alix up from school. I headed back east and picked Arianna up. Got home in time for Arianna to change into soccer stuff and then loaded the car and headed south for Anastasia's and Arianna's seperate, but simultaneous, soccer practices about 10 min. apart. That lasted until about 6:45 (a mom, Laurie Miles, whose kid is Anastasia's age and plays w/ Anastasia and who also has a kid Arianna's age who plays w/ Arianna) took Anastasia to her house after practice. Her house is only about 5 min. from Arianna's practice location, so that saved Anastasia from waiting around in the dark for me to show up!
After that, we ate at a Pho restaurant I've been wanting to try, then went to King Soopers (grocery store) to buy fruit and other stuff for lunches this week. Then stopped at Target to pick up a few school supplies for Arianna. We got home around 9 p.m. The kids got ready for bed and crawled under their blankies. I stayed up paying bills and writing on my blog.
I'll try not to let my blogging go so long between posts. But now that my exemption request is in and my bills are paid until mid-month, I'm hoping that I'll be able to work on my book in the evenings. Well, come to think of it, Wed., Alix has a choir concert, so that blows that night . . .
How in the world could it be midnight already???? So much for making up for lost sleep!
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| Wednesday, 2-Mar-2005 00:00 |
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Faxes and Fatigue
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Well, itâ??s been a looonnggg time since Iâ??ve written. Iâ??ve been up to my neck in hand grenade pins, as some say.
So, for the past several days plus, Iâ??ve been trying to gather all my documents for my exemption/delay request from my call to Active Duty that I mentioned in an earlier post. On Feb. 15th, I called Human Resources for the Army, and they gave me 14 days to submit a request. March 1st was when I was to have my stuff in via fax.
I donâ??t want to bore you with all the details, but basically, I got my packet in at the 11th hour. This was not my fault. It was mostly due to my asthma doc at National Jewish who unfortunately had been in the active duty Army for 12 years (tho I didnâ??t know this at all earlier, even tho throughout our conversations during appointment times, heâ??d had ample opportunity to mention that fact! He knew that Iâ??m a West Point grad, that Andyâ??s a West Point grad, that Andy recently got off active duty as a JAG, etc. And I learned that his wife is currently an active duty Air Force critical care nurse and that so far she hasnâ??t been ordered to Iraq, even though sheâ??s been on 24 hour alert w/ her bags packed 3 separate times! Yes, and when he got out, he had reached the rank of Lieutenant Colonel! Go figure!). But anyway, I say â??unfortunately he had been on Active Duty for 12 yearsâ?? because that allowed him his requisite figurative lobotomy that comes with being in the Army that long. He had sat on medical boards while he was stationed at Walter Reed Medical Hospital, and so he knew all there is to know about getting Extreme Personal Hardship exemptions. Or so he thought.
Long story short: the letter he wrote for me said basically nothing more than that I have been his patient since July 2003 and that I take a number of meds to stabilize my breathing. No professional opinion, no conjecture about how the environment in Iraq may affect my asthma and eczema. After a lengthy talk with him Monday (reminder â?? thatâ??s the day before my drop dead date to get this stuff faxed in!), I finally convinced him to revise the letter with a sentence sort of summing up what the officers sitting on the exemption board need to take away from his letter. So, he had my letter ready for me Tuesday morning â?? the day my stuff had to be faxed. Not much wiggle room there.
Now, this letter was very difficult to get in the first place, so I really was tempted to just keep the lame letter and be happy with what I got. I had had to leave a number of messages on the answering machine at National Jewishâ??s adult clinic, which, Iâ??m sorry to say, got progressively more and more hostile and annoyance tinged as time went on with no answer from anybody! Finally, I get a call from a nurse over there who proceeded to lecture me on how the Navy requires annual reserve physicals, and what does my annual physical say about my asthmatic condition? Um, lady, the Army â?? reserve or active â?? does not require formal physicals but every 5 years, and Iâ??m not up for one until August of this year! Then days go by without any word from over there. Finally, I get a different, very nice nurse who I know scribbled down everything I said to include in my â??idealâ?? letter, and who later told me that she had included all that I asked, but that the doctor didnâ??t want to sign that letter. He instead signed the one which I argued about and he eventually changed.
That brings us to Tuesday when Iâ??m faxing my 16 page packet. My fax machine, apparently, can only handle 15 pages at a time, and thatâ??s when the paper is that thin, cheap stuff! My packet got jammed in that stupid fax machine enough times to make me want to hurl both it and the papers across my kitchen floor. I decided to just take my papers to Office Max and fax it from there and be done with it. I certainly didnâ??t want to fax the thing piecemeal and have important documentation lost or placed in someone elseâ??s file. 25 dollars later, my fax was where it was supposed to be.
Other news:
Kat got her stitches taken out last Friday. It was another incident where I wouldâ??ve been grateful for a pair of ear plugs. That poor traumatized kid howled and kicked and screamed. No amount of speaking logically to her and explaining that taking out the stitches wouldnâ??t hurt; however flailing around would cause the nurse to slip and cut you skin would work. But the wounds healed up as nicely as expected.
Rowdyâ??s stitched up wound was pulling apart 2 days after her surgery, so last Monday, I had to take her back in for surgery â?? add another $130 to my tab. Itâ??s been 10 days, and everything looks great with her now. She has had to stay inside all this time, tho, and sheâ??s not been liking it. Friday she gets her sutures removed.
This past weekend, I left Kat and Andrew with a variety of Efawâ??s who handed them off to each other so that I could take Alix, Anastasia, and Arianna to play soccer. Alix and Arianna had to play in Southern Colorado Springs, and Anastasia in Northern Pueblo. So, I spent all Sat. and Sun. rushing between the fields (about 30 min. apart when youâ??re going over 80 mph) to try and catch parts of games so I could watch at least some of the games the kids were playing in. As you can imagine, I was thoroughly exhausted by the end of the weekend. And still am. I just canâ??t seem to get enough sleep. I have this sleep deprivation feeling/constant fatigue which feels like Iâ??m anemic or seriously in need of an iron boost. That familiar old feeling of having a fog in your head that just wonâ??t lift and lactic acid injected into each of my limbs.
Other good news: finally Tricare (our new health care, thanks to the Army) approved my request for a sports physical therapist, so I went to see him yesterday. He thought everything looked really good on my x-rays (no degeneration or disk problems or even arthritis that he could see), and now I have a bunch of new exercises to help make my back more flexible and all the muscles relating to it either more supportive or more flexible. And just as I thought â?? Pilates is great for helping with that. But, he wants me to lay off running for a while â?? not sure how long. So, after my last snowshoe race of the season (Beaver Creek this Sat.), I plan on taking a break and do more swimming and running in the pool rather than ground pounding.
Okay, well, I promised myself an early tuck in, so thatâ??s it for now . . .
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| Sunday, 20-Feb-2005 00:00 |
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| Saturday, 19-Feb-2005 00:00 |
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A Series of Unfortunate Events
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Kat with her new stitches.
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Andrew with Kat, who's showing off her recent wounds.
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Just when you think things couldn't possibly get worse . . .
Yesterday, Friday, Feb. 18:
Mary (Andy's secretary) had a scheme to take my oldest three (Alix, Anastasia, and Arianna) away for the night. She had this great plan -- get manicures, then buy tubs (yes, tubs. the plural form of the word "tub") of popcorn at a theater nearby her house and bring them home to munch on while watching some DVDs. Then she'd take Arianna to her indoor soccer game(s) Sat. morning, then do breakfast w/ the girls afterwards.
Patti (a character in the blog earlier introduced -- paralegal extraordinaire and great lady), not to be outdone, called me up earlier in the week to say that she wanted to take Andrew and Kat out on Friday night, too. She and her husband (he's like 7 feet tall, no kidding!). That meant me with no kids for a few hours! Ideas of freedom danced in my head . . .
So, the plan was that both Mary and Patti would show up at my house at 5 to pick up their respective kids. I had a doc appt. at 3:30, so I thought I'd pretty much be back by then. Mary said she'd stick around until I got home; she thought I'd go into shock if I came home to an empty, quiet house.
On the way home, I noticed that metal on metal sound of thinning brake pads.
When I got home, lots of commotion greeted me. The kids were wound up! Earlier in the day, I'd taken Rowdy to a self-help dog bath place, so she was clean and shiny and in the house. Around 5:30, Mary was leaving w/ her 3 Efaw kids and Patti w/ her 2. Rowdy saw the open door and made a run for it! She hesitated in the front yard, but then Andrew started running after her, yelling for her to "heel!" That got Rowdy, well, rowdy, and she started galloping east down the side walk. Anastasia, Arianna, and Andrew jumped hot on her pursuit. I ran out the door, drawn by all the noise. Then I see Rowdy running, limping back to me w/ her tail between her legs and the three kids crying their eyes out! Rowdy had been hit by a car. The kids claim the driver saw Rowdy in the middle of the road and purposely swerved to hit her! Rowdy apparently did this horrific back flip in the air and landed back on the sidewalk; the car kept going.
I checked Rowdy out, and she had a pretty nasty gouge on the inner thigh of her left rear leg of all places. She was limping, but that's all that appeared wrong w/ her. I consulted w/ Mary and Patti and we all sort of agreed that she looked okay. So, the kids left.
I had called Erin (my sis in law) earlier to see if she wanted to go out to eat with me in my sans kids state, which she did. She also needed a ride up to her mom and dad's to get their car because she needed it over the weekend (she's currently carless). So, I agreed to take her over to Green Mountain after we ate. We ate at Bang!, this hip comfort food restaurant about 10 min. from my house. While we waited for our table, we checked out some of the cool boutiques up and down the street. This place is one of my fav neighborhoods in Denver and where we wanted to live had we found a house big enough for our horde, yet cheap enough to buy when we moved here 3 plus years ago. Didn't happen, hence our current location in "El Barrio."
Before we headed to Mom and Dad Efaw's, I stopped home to pick up Rowdy. Mom is very experienced w/ animal injuries from the plethora of cats and dogs she's had or rescued over the years. I wanted her opinion because I wasn't all that sure I was doing the right thing not taking her to a vet.
Mom's diagnosis was that Rowdy was probably okay. She seemed not in too much pain. But when I got home and Kat and Andrew were returned to me (Patti brought them back), Rowdy nipped at Andrew when he came near her in his unpredictable, wild, 6 year old boy way.
SATURDAY:
I'd let Rowdy sleep on the floor of my room on her "bed" -- a super special treat for her. She didn't seem all that worse that I noticed in the morning. I woke up to a cell call from Mary telling me that she was at Denver Sports for Arianna's game, but none of her teammates were there, and was I sure that they were at the right place/time? Uh, yeah! But NOBODY shows up 20 min. early, Mary!
After that, I was up, so I went downstairs to work on the mid-month bills that I should've worked on yesterday night instead of galavanting around eating fru fru food and driving around in my minivan with, by the time I got home last night, chill inducing metal on metal grinding. Anyway, back to the bills. So, I'm working on the bills at the kitchen table. Rowdy is lying on the floor on her "bed" about 15 ft. from me. I am thinking somewhere in the back of my mind that as soon as the kids are awake, I'm going to take the car to Brakes Plus and get the brake pads replaced. Kat comes down and lies beside Rowdy on the floor. Suddenly, Kat cries out! Rowdy nipped at her because Kat was touching her bad leg. I told Kat that Rowdy was hurt and she should just leave her alone for a while. I turn my attention back to my bills. About 5 min. later, Kat produces this screech that increases in volume with every breath. Rowdy has bit her. On the forehead, she has these 2 nasty puncture wounds -- one right where her right eyebrow starts and one right in the middle of her forehead! Rowdy looks chagrinned and a little guilty. Blood is gushing from the wounds and down Kat's face, only adding to Kat's hysterics.
In the seconds that follow I conclude that 1) Rowdy is in more pain than I thought, and 2) Kat should go to the emergency room because the wounds look really deep and bloody. My mind is working fast, considering how in the world I'm going to do three things at once -- Kat's face, Rowdy's leg and the car's screeching brakes. My vet opens at 10. Brakes Plus is already opened and get busier by the minute. Kat's face keeps bleeding. Andrew wakes because of the noise.
I call the Efaws and ask for help. They tell me they are on their way to my house. Dad will take Rowdy (at this point, she's starting to shake so I'm thinking she might be going into shock or something!), and when her issue is resolved, take my car to Brakes Plus and get that situation under control. I was to take Kat to the Emergency Room w/ mom.
After 5 plus hours at the Emergency Room, a plastic surgeon has stitched 6 stitches into Kat's forehead. She had the traumatic experience of feeling a very long needle jabbed into her wounds before the actual stitching began. She fought and screamed and howled and turned red and sweaty for the entire time the doctor was working on her. It took me and a nurse to hold that tiny girl down, and even so, she managed to buck and squirm. I only hope his workmanship was good and his hands were steady despite his uncooperative patient. Rowdy had been put under for some stitching herself, and my car is getting new front rotors and brake pads. The dog costs $500 and the brakes $460. Mom and I meet Dad at Brakes Plus (the car isn't done) to take Andrew off his hands (Andrew tagged along w/ Grandpa for the day) and Mom and I take Kat and Andrew out for icecream, Kat's reward for being a "brave girl."
Still the car wasn't done, so we waited at the Efaw's house until Dad brought my car back. That didn't happen until after 6 p.m. Rowdy was to be picked up around 8. I drive home and collect my 3 girls whom Mary had brought back to my house about 6 hours earlier and we drag ourselves to our Mexican Restaurant to eat. I am absolutely exhausted. I can hardly keep my eyes open. Then we go to the animal hospital to take Rowdy home. We had to hang around until 9 before she was ready to be discharged. The vet couldn't bandage her up because of the location of her wound, so Rowdy's sent home w/ one of those cone things around her head so she can't bite at her stitches. She has to be kept in the house and "quiet" for about 10-14 days -- um, yeah. At that point, she'll get her stitches taken out and then she'll be able to live outside again and hopefully run with me.
I bathed Andrew and Kat and put them to bed. We straighted up the pigsty somewhat (another Sat. goes by without doing a good housecleaning), and by 11, everyone is asleep . . . except me.
ONE SHARD OF SUNLIGHT ON THE DAY!
Well, actually, it's much more than that. Alix got accepted into the International Baccalaureate program at George Washington High School! The letter was in the mail when I got home tonight! She was very happy because she was really hoping she'd be able to attend there. I hope she's ready for all the work ahead of her . . . I did promise her, however, a new computer (prob a Dell laptop) for 8th Grade Graduation/her 14th b-day/going-back-to-school supplies.
And thus ends a record breaking week of unfortunate events, one after another.
Now I am so so so so so ready to crawl into my bed and enter slumberland.
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| Thursday, 17-Feb-2005 00:00 |
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A Fool and a book are not easily parted
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That about sums me up. I was pretty tired all day yesterday, and I get to bed around 12:30 last night. But did I sleep? No! I finished a book I was reading . . . until 2 a.m. I suffered all day today because of that lapse of judgment.
So, what book did I read? The third installment of the Travelling Pants sisterhood series. It recently came out; I saw it at Sam's and snatched it up. This series is for teens, if you were wondering. They are really very good, even the third in the series, which usually isn't the case with series.
Today I took Alix to school, then Kat. I actually walked w/ Arianna to Kat's school to drop her off since it was halfway warm outside. I had to put Kat in a piggy back and run the last couple blocks (felt like hoofing it uphill in a snowshoe race, come to think of it). It was then that I realized just how tired I was. And the hacking cough I still have.
At 10, I decided to load up the kids and take stinky dog Rowdy to a self-help dog bath place called Shampooch. Clever, huh? But as is the way w/ me, the place was closed! Ugh! Take two tomorrow (I checked -- tomorrow it's open).
I schooled Andrew and left Anastasia and Arianna to work on some school related stuff themselves. Before I knew it, it was time to pick Kat up. Made lunch, washed laundry and performed a plethera of other boring tasks, then picked up Alix. Then I ran 5 1/2 miles w/ the unwashed Rowdy and then dragged Arianna and Anastasia out for about 1 1/2 miles. I took a quick shower, making Arianna and Anastasia come in w/ me so that I could make sure they were bathing. I washed both their hair. Anastasia hasn't been washing her hair very often. It's looking pretty greasy these days. She tells me she hates to wash her hair because it's so long and thick, which is very true. But still. Then again, she's the kid who wore her underwear, then threw it back into her underwear drawer to be worn again! I caught that little trick about 6 months ago. I'm only writing this here because I know she never reads my blog: "Why would I read something I live?" Good point.
Alix had indoor soccer practice at Denver Sports from 7-8, so while she was kicking the ball around, I took the kids to my faithful Pho restaurant. The soup was especially good today for some reason. When we got home, it was around 8:30, so I prodded the kids to do their jobs so I could get to bed early. I decided to sort clothes so it would be ready for the washing machine tomorrow (this is a never ending battle), and I discovered 2 pairs of pajamas in Andrew/Kat's dirty clothes basket that stunk like urine! Both of them Andrews! I questioned him, and he ran and hid. I stripped his bed, and sure enough, his mattress pad had a large yellow stain. Blech! Discoveries like this make me feel like an utter failure as a parent. I mean, how many days was he sleeping in urine infested sheets and I didn't know it!
Well, it is after 10:30. I'm outta here!
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| Wednesday, 16-Feb-2005 00:00 |
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Deployment Developments
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Okay. Wheeler Trigg has been great -- all these people just jumping in offering to help and pull whatever connections they have to get me out of this mess. They have one of Colorado's senators waiting in the wings to send in their ammunition if needed. Also a couple of Andy's JAG buddies from his reserve unit here have been a huge help -- Dan and Jeff. So, I have this Dream Team working my case. I can't lose!
The ball is inching forward.
I called up the Exemption/Delay people at HRC in St. Louis (that's the Human Resources for the Army), and basically I'm to send up a packet requesting an exemption/delay because of extreme hardship. So, there's a process in place already. The woman who I talked to emailed me an info letter, detailing what I need to do. This got the ball rolling; I have 14 days to get my request to them, including supporting documentation. Once they get my paperwork, it'll take around 4-6 weeks to make a decision. This process makes my case pending, meaning I don't have to report anywhere until the issue is resolved. If I don't like the decision they make, I can appeal it. Still I don't have to report. I was very much relieved to hear that I won't have to go to Ft. Jackson. I know the Army too well; once they'd have gotten me there, who knows when they'd have released me?
The second plan of attack (simultaneously) is to try to resign my commission. This makes me sad. Really. But I know that this specific time in my life, it's just not feasible (or even responsible) for me to take off to Iraq when I have 5 kids who need me w/ them, and if I'm unwilling to serve the Army when I'm needed, then I don't have any business remaining in the Army, inactive reserves or not.
If I had no kids (and that's a huge, ridiculous if) I'd be there in a heart beat. I had really wanted to go to Gulf War I way back when, but my unit wasn't called to go there.
If I could clone myself and have one "me" stay here and be the mommy, and the other "me" go off to Iraq, I'd do it. But in the end, the stronger pull is staying here. When I have any doubts, I just think of sending Alix off into the big bad world of high school and Anastasia the prickly world of middle school without me to guide them. I think of Kat in Kindergarten. I think of Arianna without soccer (cuz who else in their right mind would do all that hauling and shuttling?). I think of Andrew without a mama's lap to crawl into and hair to twist around and around his finger. When I think these thoughts, the internal dialog is over.
Well, I have a lot of work to do in the next days. My team of attorneys want me to have my stuff together for both actions by Monday.
By the end of this week, we'll know if Alix got into George Washington High School's IB program (acceptance letters go out in the mail on 18 FEB). At the end of the month, I'm supposed to hear back from all the Gifted and Talented testing.
Maybe by March 1st, I'll be able to start back on my book. I mean, what else could possibly happen to turn me off course? Nevermind -- scratch THAT thought.
Oh, and for the record, I've actually cooked a lot in the past week. We haven't eaten out for dinner since early last week.
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| Sunday, 13-Feb-2005 00:00 |
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"Got a letter in the mail . . ."
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There's an Army cadence that we used to sing all the time while marching around in the Army and at West Point. It goes: "Got a letter in the mail, go to war or go to jail . . . "
I remember the first time I sang that. It was during Beast (cadet basic training) at West Point. Little did I know that I'd be getting one such letter 19 years later.
Saturday I got orders in the mail, ordering me to active duty. I'm to report to Ft. Jackson, SC, on March 27th (that's Easter Sunday) for mobilization en route to Iraq. The time period for the deployment: 545 days (18 months).
I opened the letter and scanned it, thinking it was something from West Point (I got orders recently from there, attaching me to their admissions program). Or maybe, I thought, they were orders ordering me to get a physical which is supposed to happen every 5 years. I'm due in August for that. But my eyes fell on "25 days for mobilization" and "Presidential Executive Order" and then "not to exceed 545 days" and finally "Operation Iraqi Freedom." Arianna and Anastasia were standing beside me, and I just said, "I think I've just got called up to go to Iraq." Arianna was the one who informed me that March 27th is Easter.
I am an inactive reservist and have fulfilled my service obligation a long time ago.
Anyway, I'm trying not to stress too much until I get some kind of definitive info gleaned from the number of phone calls I plan on making tomorrow.
On another note: I participated in a snowshoe race today. A 10 Km. It was the biggest butt kicker I think I've done in a long time, close to being one of the toughest races I've done. About 90 percent of it was in loose snow (called single track) through the woods where you follow behind the person in front of you single file. In places, it was close to virgin untracked snow. No water points because there really wasn't a space large enough to set one up. I got lots of practice today at snowshoeing through snow (as opposed to snow packed trails). Anyway, I qualified for Nationals in this race. Meaning: if I so desire, I can fly out to Alaska to participate in the Nationals competition on March 5th.
After the race, I got so cold that I was shaking (prob didn't help that I'd had no water while exerting myself for 90 min.). When you snowshoe, you sweat . . . a lot. But since it's outside in the snow, you cool off REALLY fast. And it was really windy. In fact, the last 50 yards of the race, we turned into the wind where you get pelted in the face w/ ice needles (at least, that's what it felt like). Sometimes, the cold wind literally robbed my breath. Anyway, I didn't stop shaking until I got home an hour later. The kids laughed because my voice shook like an 80 year old woman's when I tried to sing along w/ the radio!
On another note: This past week, everybody was sick. Alix stayed home from school every day this week. She actually left Friday for a soccer tourney in New Mexico (a teammate and her dad took Alix w/ them driving). She claimed that she was feeling better. Kat missed 4 days of preschool. Only Arianna and I were barely clinging to health. First we had the stomach side of the illness and then the last couple of days, I was getting the congestion/coughing side of it. Not being able to sleep last night until I popped a Tylonell PM (I hadn't taken one of those for over a month!) prob didn't help things, either. The rest of today, I've been coughing pretty badly. Andrew and Kat slept over at G and G Efaw's so that they wouldn't have to endure the miserable experience of milling around while Mommy raced, so last night and today all I had around me was Anastasia and Arianna. After Anastasia played her indoor soccer game around 2, I took them to see Phantom of the Opera -- great movie. But during the movie, I was wheezing pretty badly. When I got back to the car, even 4 puffs of my inhaler didn't curb the wheezing much.
After the movie, I took them out for Pho (Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup) and then I went to pick Andrew and Kat up at Beth Eden Baptist Church where G and G Efaw were at church. Five min. after I got home, Alix arrived. Then about 5 min. after that, my cadet friend, Jenna, dropped by and we hung out until about 12:30.
Now it's after 2 a.m. so I'm going to stop. I've got to get some sleep so I'll be ready for my day of being put on hold and given phone numbers that are inaccurate, trying to figure out my destiny.
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| Tuesday, 8-Feb-2005 00:00 |
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A little bit of nothing, and a little too late
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Alix creeps into my room around 7 this morning. That's how I awake. She's still sick. I mumble for her to take some DayQuil and go back to sleep. A little later, Kat crawls into my bed. She says her tummy hurts. I'm thinking, "Yes! Another 30 min. of sleep! No delivering kids to school again!" But, in retrospect, I think that Kat was really hinting to me that she was hungry.
I had to go to the doc at 9:30 for a blood test. After the blood letting, the doc comes in and goes over the results of my x-ray, as if he didn't play phone tag w/ me on Friday and finally spoke to me at length about the results. But I sit and listen. He prescribes me 800 mg of motrin (harkening back to the "Cadet Candy" of West Point days) and gives me a referral to a physical therapist. For the latter I am thrilled. I'm going to go to the sports physical therapist that my cadet friend (and Women's Army Soccer Team player, but who is home to recover for an injury the rest of this year) goes to. This place does therapy PLUS sports enhancement training. Perfect.
Arianna tagged along w/ me, so we stop at Whole Foods on the way home and stock up on some bulk spices and overpriced fruit and veggies. I spent $73.73 (symetrical, isn't it?) for 2 bags. Highway robbery the organic way.
When I get home, I start making homemade chicken noodle soup, second time since Sat. Alix sounds and looks really bad. Anastasia doesn't look all that amazing, either. And Kat . . . well, who knows. While I'm making the soup, Jenna (my cadet friend) calls me and we chat. Then I hear my cell phone ringing in the living room. I run and Arianna gets it after just a short time, but it's too late. And I recognize the phone number as the DSN line from Buckley AFB. Andy! A min. later, I hear the "you've got a message" tone. Ugh! The msg he leaves is very noisy, meaning it's obviously not a good line. He sounds very sad that he missed me. And I can't believe that I was home and the cell was in my hand, and still I missed him!
I also make granola. When the soup is done, the kids eat "lunch" (at 3 p.m.) and I go running 5 miles. I really didn't feel like getting out there today, but I did anyway. I made decent time, but I felt really sluggish. When I got home, I felt like I was going to heave. It's about 10 p.m. right now, and I still feel pretty heave-like.
I lolled around for a while, taking a shower, etc., then go to Nike Town on the 16th Street Mall to see what the sales are (thinking that there would be sales; I'm looking for a Nike ACG softshell jacket for cold snowshoe races). I got home around 8 and watch a TV show I've never seen before called HOUSE. It's ER-ish and okay. I just felt really bad at the point and couldn't do anything else.
Now that the little kids are in bed, I told the 3 girls they could watch Gladiator tonight. Gladiator is one of my fav movies of all time, so guess what I'll be staying up late doing tonight?
Oh, Andy has a new blog. He can't get access to his Fotopages one anymore for some reason. I wonder if he can even read mine? But I am jealous of how the blog looks. It's really cool, way cooler than this one. But I won't be switching . . .
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yea, I've been known to toss a "funny" every now and then. Hope all is well, kiss the kids for me and don't sweat the small stuff... get out of your orders, keep the kids active and happy...and take time for yourself. Love ya all, Nadia
kudos to you for keepin' it together under pressure.
