Year 6, January 1st-3rd, 2020: Happy New Year!

Friday, January 1st, 2020

Oh my, what a day! Nothing bad happened, but it was exhausting! Everyone was up by 8am and scurrying around trying to eat breakfast, pack bags inside and pack the cars outside. I'm so proud of Benaiah. He took on Jared's role like a champ! I'm not sure how much help he had outside deciding how to pack the van, but it was exactly the way Jared would have done it, with the food on top, heavy tools on the bottom and everything neat and tidy and not shifting around as we drove. And Benaiah drove THE WHOLE WAY HOME like a boss! I can't believe it! I kept asking him if he wanted to switch, and like Jared, he didn't want to. He listened to a podcast in one airpod and listened for traffic with the other ear. At one point near the end, Gary called and asked if Benaiah was getting tired because the van had slowed down in speed. I noticed Benaiah weaving a bit here and there, but I would be weaving worse if I drove. But everybody pitched in to pack up and we were headed out about 9:45am.

We arrived home at 5pm. So not too bad! We stopped once for gas and then went to Wendy's drive thru for lunch. And then I had them stop for the bathroom one other time about 90 minutes from home. I tried to drink a bit more liquid this time. But it was an intersting tale of driving. Not even 20 minutes into our drive, Gary's GPS took him to the rural roads that were hilly and curvy. Jared said, nope, can't do that, so we head back to the main highway without them. It took us nearly 2 hrs to meet up again. They were ahead of us by several miles most of that time, but even when Gary “slowed down” to 60 mph, we couldn't catch up to them at our 72 mph. Somebody's off kilter on how fast they were actually going. When we stopped for gas, Abishai had already been complaining about being hungry for the last hour. The kids only had a chance to eat a tiny cinnamon roll and some smokey links. That's not enough for my kids who are used to second breakfasts. So, I didn't ask if we could eat, I said we were eating and Benaiah and I found the Wendy's . Gary was not very happy about that because he just wanted to get home as quickly as possible. He said, “Well, we have apples and drinks, what else do you need?” Well, first of all, you are used to fasting or eating snack foods on the road. My kids are not. They need more food than us adults. We had to eat in our cars, just like we did on our way down. Gary was in a rush the whole day. Of course we wanted to get home quickly, but there are 7 other people that have needs, too. So, I'm glad I put my foot down.

After the little creature was fed, he fell asleep for over an hour, poor guy. He did great on the road of course. And then he had some tablet time as well. Jared slept off and on the whole ride home. I don't even know if he went to the bathroom. He's dehydrated and malnourished at this point. He's not jaundiced and doesn't have back pain so that's a plus. He did talk to the NP friend of ours and we are going to their clinic tomorrow (Saturday) to see the doctor there and find out what the next steps are. They are most certainly some imaging of all the vital organs, liver, kidney, gallbladder. And by going to the clinic, I can probably go in and insist on imaging. Jared was downplaying his symptoms over the phone, blaming his problem on popping too many NSAID's in the early part of the year and drinking one pour/shot of hard liquor every night. He thinks it's an ulcer. I'm mentally prepared for it not to be. He's being such a jerk, too, because he's in so much pain. We are on day 4. Ulcers don't cause this much pain for this long of a time period, do they? Probably not. No, I'm not a doctor, but I've watched enough medical dramas, real or imagined, and have ready enough “serious complications” sections of medical blogs that it's when you ignore these things that the problem grows worse. “Don't go 149 steps ahead of yourself” he says. I say, “I'm not going to be blindsided by an unknown serious complication. And if I have a chance to rehearse those possibilities, I can follow through better and have a better memory of it. Like having to drop him off at the hospital and not being there when they put him to sleep for a surgery. I have to be ready and ok for that. I also have to deal with his pain and moodiness at home, too. In my experience, you basically have to ask for a test to be done. You can't assume a doctor will order one. So far, no doctor has told me no when I ask them. So, I need to play advocate and push the issue. He didn't even mention that his dad and his grandfather both had their gallbladder out at about this age, 41 years old. So, it's perfectly reasonable to assume that's what he's going through, too. And I remember when my sister Stefanie had a gallbladder attack and the surgery to remove it. Thankfully, recovery isn't too bad she said. So, we'll see what the doctor does tomorrow. I'm going in prepared to fight. I can't live with Mr. Grumpkin through 6 weeks of just diet change and antibiotics. He needs hydration as well. So, let's finish up so we can watch our show and go to bed. Traveling makes me so exhausted because I need to move around.

When we got home, everybody helped a bit when asked to. Almost everything is unpacked. What's left is a few presents to put away and our clean clothes from out suitcase. Easy peasy. Supper was pizza I had on hand from last week. And now that I finally sat down and after I had a long chat with a new ovely excited homeschool mom, I'm wiped. I can't keep my eyes open. I guess I want tackle nay more mail today. Time to get off.

 

 

There's a bit of snow at home! (Again, these loaded opposite chronologically of when they were taken. Oh well).

Benaiah the champion drove the whole way. Jared slept for most of the drive. I know that Jared used to do some long drives with his parents. He told me that he did some of the Rocky Mountain switchbacks with the full size white van so before I met him, probably when he was 18. I can't believe we've arrived at the place that we have a young adult who is incredibly responsible like this. At one point he said he was sleepy, but wouldn't give up. Good for him! It allowed me to look up other things like urgent cares and keep up with email.

Little guy was so tired from his late night partying that he took a little nap, too. I think we need a new carseat this year as well. It's just old and expired. He still fits in it ok. We fed the little creature and then he was out!

Chasing the storm that went through the midwest. Thankful we didn't have to drive through it.

Crossing that Ohio River again from Kentucky into Indiana. It's crazy to me how the Ohio River loops back and forth like this. And it was such an important mode of transportation before the railroad happened. Crazy!

The Mighty Ohio River!

Chasing this storm. Look at that band of snow for Chicago and Michigan!

Yucky radar.

On the road again.

Look, Mom, my helicopter is flying! I got to sit in the backseat with my little guy.

There's our peninsula where the cabin was. Good bye vacation house!

Aw, still the baby of the family. At least he let Aaron hug him!

Hugs for everyone!

Taking a little break after packing up the van all by himself, including fitting the extra baggage carrier into the van. He packed it so well, too!

Aw, a symbol of Canada for the road.

Gorgeous.

Beautiful morning sunshine.

It had rained all night, and the ground was super muddy, so Abishai went as far as I would let him. I told him he would probably slip and dirty up his pants and he didn't like that idea. So he watched the others go down to the beach from afar.

One more look at the beach.

Ta da! I'm so happy they are old enough to just go and do stuff like this on their own.

Jared was upright for a few minutes. Again, no tea, just water, and some toast. We have to get him home.

Last breakfast together. These busy bees took a few minutes to eat cinnamon rolls and pigs in a blanket.

This little guy had to be woken up at 9am. He stayed up so late last night! Poor guy! He didn't even wake up to all the moving about either. Sweet angel.

 

Saturday, January 2nd, 2020

Another rough one. I woke up late and Jared was ready to go so he left without me to see the doctor at the clinic. I was very, very mad, but glad at the same time because I have things to do. I didn't get to put my "plan" into place and speak up for Jared at the doctor's office, but, I had to let it go. He ended up getting orders for some scans, including one for the gallbladder, but the low cost scan places aren't open until Monday. That means, he will be grumpy and in pain at least until then. I wanted him to be sent to the hospital or urgent care and get the scans done today. Two more days can be a lot, in pain and suffering, and making things worse. But he won't listen. I wrote a lot of text messages to my sister over it and then finally moved.

I've been working on and off all day on the blog. I cleaned up the rest of the house and did 3 loads of laundry. The kids read their books, played with their new toys, ate food, etc. Gary and Leah were able to get the horse trailer for Keturah's dolls exchanged so they brought that over. Then Justin went with them to take down Christmas lights. Abishai and Keturah both had 3 hrs of screen time because I ended up resting on the couch for awhile and trying to nap. When Jared went to the grocery store to pick up foods the doctor said to try, like radishes and papaya, he picked up my ADD medication as well. I took one of the pills at 1pm although you are supposed to take it in the morning. Well, it made me sleepy and nauseous, which is kind of normal. I'll keep taking it in the morning and see how my side effects are, but I might switch it to night time. Because now, 8 hrs later, I feel pretty good and awake. Not perfect, but good. Plus I had coffee at 5pm (It's 9:30pm now). So, we'll see. It's a non stimulant so I'm not sure how it will work. It's usually given in conjunction with the stimulant kind. I'm pretty sure the doctor just threw it out there because he didn't really agree with me but wanted to appease me. I don't know. I'm taking it because it's a basic brand (and expensive! $52 per month!) and first course for ADD. We'll see.

Jared was out and about for about 3 hrs going to two grocery stores. Gary and Leah said the stores were very busy. It's Saturday, sure, but I thought they would have been very busy last Saturday with returns and such. Jared has been eating bits and bites here and there. He needs very lean proteins, so no beef, and boil all the fat off the chicken and trim the pork down to nothing. And then eat plain noodles and bread I guess. He did keep some food down, but he's also felt like throwing up, too. The doctor did give him an acid reducing prescription. He still hasn't drank any tea or alcohol. And we haven't talked since he left this morning. We are two very stubborn, hard headed people. And in moments of crisis and quick action needs to be taken, we don't argue well. We just hurl words back and forth. I told him it felt like we were in one of my historical dramas, with the guy taking off during an argument. Sometimes the guy never comes back, so that scares me. I wanted to reconcile and be tender, but that didn't happen. So, it's been a rough day emotionally.

But, the house is clean, the schedule is arranged (for now, could change with Monday's scans, but I have some easy backup plans in place), school assignments are ready, and most of the paperwork is caught up. So, that puts my mind at ease. Finances are good, too, for the moment. Christmas gifts are put away. Christmas decor will come down next weekend, maybe. And that's that. Back to normal. The holiday season is over.

 

Daddy managed to help Abishai put his new sheet on his bed today. Lego Movie 2! He loves them! We just put Benaiah's old square pillow in the pillow case and it worked! We only use the fitted sheet and the comforter.

Benaiah and Justin each got a set of character themed sheets and comforters. Justin had Cars and Benaiah had Transformers. Both of them still use their comforters. I think they've had them for at least 10 years. I've patch up this Cars one a couple of times. I would rather them have something well loved and worn than have matchy matchy modern things.

New sheets, Mom!

So cozy!

Aw, the cutest couple in town!

 

Baby Yoda taking a nap while I'm on my computer. I was "babysitting," lol.We are having way to much fun with this little guy.

Sunday, January 3rd, 2020

 Another Sunday at home. I watched Mt. Gilead's service again, while trying to set up the other kids on devices for Indian Creek. Jared skipped church. He snoozed off and on all day. He said that he wakes up in "pain," takes 1-2 tums, sleeps for another 40 minutes, then wakes up in pain again. He has come out of the bedroom long enough for me to do some laundry, get dressed, get my medication, etc. He has eaten some plain baked potato, chicken, ramon, broccoli, papayas, and adult pedialyte. He has also spent significant time in the bathroom and has said he wants to throw up. He's going to go to the lab place first thing tomorrow to see if he can get the two tests done. The HIDA one is where the inject radioative dye into a vein and/or the gallbladder and see where it travels. The second one is a bone density one because if there's issues with that, then there's likely a gallbladder stone. Jared seems to think either one of these tests isn't for the gallbladder. He still thinks it's an ulcer from taking too much pain medication one year ago after our vacation in New Orleans. He hasn't binged the pain medication at all the rest of the year, but occasionally has had some. I take pain medication more regularly and get my liver checked annually to make sure the medication isn't damaging it. He doesn't seem to be any better. I'm still up to date and planning on him having some kind of procedure or surgery this week. We will know once the test results come back, which could be tomorrow or the next day, who knows.

Meanwhile, the kids and I did our usual things. Reading, screening, making toy messes. Abishai had a ton of fun on his own today and I left out as much as I could without blocking our emergency exits. He's so cute when he plays like that! We had leftovers for lunch and "school food" for dinner. Leftovers from before vacation, but they were still ok to eat, go figure. I finished up all the vacation blogs! Fastest time ever! And now I will finish up this post and my usual backing up of photos and videos procedures and will be up to date ready for anything this week. I do have to make a quick phone call in the morning to see if I am a dermatologist appt in the afternoon and then again one on Thursday or if they were able to combine them. I did tell them to make it for Thursday if they could. It does look like that my last notification from them says Thursday, so I hope that's the case. I do need to make a library run so we can get started on the next semester. And possibly another grocery run for Jared. I just didn't want to go up to Meijer and the Southport/Emerson intersection today. Gary and Leah said it was a zoo on Saturday. I also need to take my Kohl's rejects back and get credit before my credit card bill is due later this week. So I hope to maybe do that tomorrow if I don't have an appointment. But everything else is up in the air.

I did feel like I had more focus and energy today, but we woke up late, too. I plan to take that new medication before bed tonight and sleep away the sleepy part of it, just like I do with Dramamine sometimes. I've got a few more odds and ends to take care of as well, and who knows if I'll get to these books or not that I started on vacation, or my cross stitch. But, we seem to be ready to start school again tomorrow, everything except history read alouds. I'm waiting on a book and the library books. So the kids will finish up the DVD's to start and get their science and writing started. Keturah needs help with math, so I'll try to figure out something for her, probably just copying the problems she had trouble with out of the book for her to totally redo and/or do with me. I'll fit Abishai in somewhere. I feel like I'm repeating myself here. But I do feel ready for anything, well, almost anything. Gallbladder removal surgery. That's what I'm ready for. Not really ready for anything more serious. We shall see!

 

This totally goes with what I've been telling my sister about how I feel. And the circle of trust is very, very tiny right now. Everyone else is on the suspicious list. Trust me, I know I have trust issues. I still have to work through them.

What the?! The interior decorator thought she could put this couch up on her bed! Um, no. So she put her Legos up there instead to create her own Lego table and gave the pinball machine back to Justin. Not sure I'm happy about that silly machine. It's so awkward and always in the way. Perhaps we could take the legs off and put it under the Lego table or something. Sigh.

What in the world?! How did she get those up there? And how am I supposed to get to the craft stuff in them?

A few minutes of playtime on this cold winter's day.

We found a stroller for Grogu! He looks so cute! I'll get into the shed at some point to get out that backpack. Keturah got that stroller for her 1st birthday. It's a walker, so it helps them move along as kids are starting to walk. Fisher Price all the way!

Taking care of his baby!

That's a little better, but the couch has to go back in. There are so many better ways I would organize this room. It was nearly perfect in July. I don't understand her and what she thinks is organizing. This mess drives me crazy!

Awww, dog dog missed us!

That's an interesting place to have screen time in your favorite costume.

And what kind of character is that? Fish stick man! What?! You're playing as a fish or a fish stick or a fish with legs?! No wonder their generation can't think! Ok, it's creative, but come on! It's also plain weird!

Good old pedilye brand. I remember drinking it as a kid when I was sick and I tried giving some to the kids when they were little but they didn't like it. This one smelled ok. Gatorade works, too. And there are recipes on how to make your own. But for now, this is what the doctor ordered for Jared to keep some electrolytes in him. I didn't check the sugar content. He probably isn't pleased with drinking sugar water.

Check out taht ramp on the truck! He had to lean everything "just so" so it would all work!

He used the wrecker truck to be a prop for the guitar.

He stood there waiting for me to pass the doorway and then giggled. He was asking for more screen time. But he had anticipated me coming by. I guess he's learned how I stand still and wait for someone in order to scare them.

Babysitting Grogu again so Daddy can go to work. But it's hard to type up the blog! Just like it was hard when Abishai was little and in my lap!

Speaking of Abishai, 39 1/2 days and he'll be 6 years old! Time flies! Now, what shall we do about his birthday? We haven't talked about it at all. I need to get ON it! Maybe a trip to Party City is in order.

All I heard was clink and clunk and the tossing of toys and then bam, all this happened. What are you doing at 7 pm at night?! Everything was cleaned up! But he had a blast digging his way through and finding exactly what he wanted, which was all his tools. Then we found his tool pouch in the boys' room.  Eventually he did make me a pathway to the door for emergencies.

The newest drummer boy with his two belts for swords and guns and holsters.

Take that, bad guys!

 

The End