WOW! It's been awhile, hasn't it?! Life just kinda-sorta got in the way in the past several months. During our reno's I decided that I was going to pare down on my amount of computer time, and well, I sure did. In fact I've probably only been on the desktop or laptop about 3 whole times since the middle of March. The rest of the time I check stuff on my iPhone (did I ever mention that I got one? Or that I don't ever know how I functioned without one before?!). Posting on it isn't so easy; you know, my fat fingers plus that itty bitty keyboard is not a good mix. Oh and the fricken fracken autocorrect. WOW! It comes up with some REALLY interesting corrections (like yesterday I tried to write 'cliquey' and it kindly changed it to 'clitty'. For real?! Clitty? Because EVERYONE uses the term CLITTY all the time. OYE! Thankfully I caught it before everyone reading it figured I was some sort of deviate because the reality is, the context I used it in - it would have totally been read into as wrong on SO many levels - lol!). SO . . . needless to say, I try not to post too much with it because I'm not always up for the surprise changes that pop up; you know, like I don't want to my friend to think that I know how 'clitty' her co-worker is because well, that's just wrong; on MANY levels.
Anyway, life has been chugging along here. Banshee has undergone a heap of testing - including an MRI; an EEG; colonoscopy and endoscopy (with biopsies of everything between both openings). The tests themselves didn't reveal much of anything to us (surprise!), although there was a bit of "excitement" during the biopsies/scopes. She went into respiratory distress and needed to be tubed and vented. BUT . . . she was in the best possible place for that to happen, and they dealt with it. In the end, she was fine, and that's all that matters. These tests ruled out all sorts of bad stuff which is actually REALLY good, but still leaves us scratching our heads about what is going on with her, but . . . since early spring she has been doing SO well. Like the best she's EVER been. EVER. So that's huge for her. For us! Her respiratory issues are well controlled (although we were reminded during the biopsies that she is FAR from 'better'); and she's finally seemed to have mostly recovered from her issues last summer. She still has memory issues, but we're hopeful that as time passes, that will improve as well. She is THRIVING on so many levels right now, and it soothes my soul to know that we've finally reached this point. Last week I took the kids to the HUGE amusement park near the Big Smoke and I fully admit that my eyes filled with tears numerous times when I saw her running excitedly from ride to ride (she never asked to be carried or to have a break even once in the FULL day that we put in there (we were there before it opened and left after it closed), and in particular it struck me about how far we've come with her when we were sitting on a roller coaster and she lifted her arms and screamed in pure delight as we went down the hill. THIS was exactly the stuff that I wanted her to be able to do and enjoy - and here we are, enjoying it!! She is progressing in her gymnastics with leaps and bounds - her stamina and strength has improved SO much; and in school she is doing SO much better. I'm hesitant to admit it, but I've actually reached a point where I don't worry about her 100% of the time and I can sleep ALL night (I used to wake every 20mins or so listening to her cough and such). Yep . . . things with her are FANTASTIC!!!! She has NO fear - like NONE at all. When at the amusement park last week she was right PISSED that she couldn't go on the "BIG" (the bang your head; make you puke kinda deals) rollercoasters and rides, and was frustrated and annoyed at her brother because HE didn't take advantage of all the rides he COULD go on. She even tried to negotiate with me about how if he didn't go on the bigger rides that she should be allowed to take his spot so as to not WASTE the level of 'ride' that he could do.
On that note, Imp is doing great too. As much of a daredevil as his sister is; he is NOT. For a kid as busy as he is, it's kind of shocking to see just how cautious and nervous he is. While he DID do a few rollercoasters (mostly because he didn't want to be shown up by his baby sister), he definitely didn't love them. While his sister threw her hands up in the air and screamed in delight on the rollercoasters, he wrapped his arms around the safety bar and held on for dear life while SCREAMING for his life. I wish I could have bought all the ride photos because there were HILARIOUS!! BUT . . . I don't want to embarrass him (well, not TOO much!!). He finished up his basketball (he LOVED this program) and started with soccer. I suspect that he mostly likes the fancy shirts he gets from these sports (for real - he's all about the t-shirts), but he actually plays the sports well, so it's all good. He's doing well in school - on all levels.
Teen is doing really well too. She's growing up into a beautiful young woman. We are SO proud of how far she's come this year. We definitely butt heads at times, but in recent times she's really worked on her attitude and is doing great. She is about to jump head-long into exams. I can't believe that she's almost finished up her first year of highschool. THAT truly makes my head spin. She is desperate for a part-time job, but we really want her to enjoy being a kid for a couple of more summers while she can. Unfortunately her 'wants' exceed our 'limit' for giving at times, so we're at a bit of a crossroad with that. BUT . . . we'll see where the summer goes.
My other half plugs along. He's pretty much a creature of habit, so it's the same old, same old. He didn't coach rugby this spring (something that I'm VERY grateful for - it's a long-ass season and has him away from home a lot), so he was home more which allowed the kids to do some afterschool activities. Hard to believe that we're coming up on our anniversary again . . . time sure is a flyin'. I'd be lying if I said he was 'perfect'; because he IS a man, and well, they don't always think in logical or smart ways at times (most times?!), but for the most part, he's a good guy. The reality is, he deals with ME and I think he still likes me (or he's an academy award actor - ha!). We muddle through everything. He's been a great support for me as I've gone through some soul searching this spring and always is the 'rock' when I'm starting to fall apart.
As for me, there have been some exciting changes. First and foremost . . . I gave up daycare. While I loved the kids like my own, I didn't love the bullshit that was connected with it; nor did I love how it was affecting my family and ME. I would give my all to the daycare kids, but at the end of the day, I was exhausted and couldn't give as much to my family as I should. And I got walked all over and used and abused. That left me frustrated and upset, and left my family resentful of the daycare kids and wanting more from Mommy. With Banshee's medical issues, my own growing issues, my families unhappiness and the bullshit, I just decided that I had to pack it in. SO . . . I gave 5 weeks notice and called it quits. Although I gave 5 weeks, I fully expected (and honestly, I had banked on it) that they'd all jump ship by the middle of May. Didn't quite work out that way . . . I had kids right to the bitter end. AND . . . in the end I got screwed. I was warned that it probably would happen, but I didn't think any of my families would do that, but . . . they did. By THREE families. I'm disappointed and sad that they felt that little about me, but . . . I'll have the last laugh when it comes to tax time, right?!
We had a celebratory BBQ on Saturday to mark this milestone in my life, and Monday (as in 2 days ago) was my first official day of 'retirement'. It's been AWESOME! I didn't have to change diapers, wipe butts or noses, clean pee off the floor or my clean laundry (have I ever mentioned how many times someone peed on a basket of clean laundry?! Drove me NUTS!!) and my house was clean and tidy. There has been no screeching and tantrums; no broken stuff; and a whole lotta freedom for me. I sold EVERYTHING daycare related in a garage sale so have totally reclaimed my house. And the best part?! My family is happier. I can see it already. I should have done this ages ago!!! SO . . . we are looking forward to a great summer together - with the ability to come and go as we please. Although that will be somewhat hampered . . . I go for surgery on my gallbladder in July. Doesn't that sound like a fun way to spend 6 weeks of the summer?! Recovering from surgery. Awesome. Not. BUT . . . it's the beginning of my quest to 'fix' me.
SO . . . that is our story. You're all up to date. I hope to get on and write more often . . . I've missed this 'outlet'. I often have something happen and think "oh, I need to blog about that", but then I don't.
Until next time (and if you're lucky, it'll be before September) . . . have a great day!!!
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