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Saturday
Saturday was a lot of fun…a change-up from last week. I slept in till 9:30, played D&D, and had a date with Aaron. We spent some of it shopping for Thanksgiving, but we also spent a couple hours hanging out at our local tavern, gossiping.
Sunday
Sunday after work D13, Aaron, and I watched some X-Files.
Monday
Monday D13 had a morning appointment and an afternoon appointment, so I just decided to keep her home for the day. I managed to clean the kitchen (cleaning is always an amazing feat for me). An electrician came and changed out the outlets from two-prong to three-prong in dad’s room because he was having difficulty plugging in his oxygen compressor. Then I took IL4 to swim lessons. While M11 was at Boy Scouts finishing up his Signs and Signals merit badge, D13, IL4, Dad, and I went out for steak.
Tuesday
Tuesday we had dad’s follow-up with his primary care provider, and we had a lot to talk about. But the main issue was that he is now feeling a lot of discomfort in his legs which his doctor says is nerve pain. He says the only solutions are injection or surgery, and he’d rather not do either at this time due to dad’s other issues. He says luckily dad is already on pain meds for the arm, and that he hopes the leg pain will go away before the pain meds are used up.
Later, we had IL4’s parent teacher conference at the daycare. His teacher there said that he was a joy to have, and that he was very smart – knowing his letters and his numbers. That’s nice to hear, because I’ve told his special education teachers that I don’t think he’s cognitively behind, and they always nod as if they disagree and don’t want to say. But maybe I’m being paranoid about the meaning of their nod, based on the fact that last year’s teacher told me outright that IL4 was cognitively behind.
In the evening, J19 cooked everyone grilled cheese.
Wednesday
Wednesday I was in a reasonably good mood all day, though was feeling mildly unmotivated. I hadn’t slept well the night before because my brain was trying to process the onslaught of information about dad’s medical needs. I guess it’s finally hitting me how much there is to pay attention to at the moment.
M11 had a morning appointment with his eating disorder psychologist. He hasn’t gained any weight since a month ago, but he’s not lost any, nor has he grown taller – so at least we’re not working with a moving target weight. He needs to gain 6 pounds.
I had a lovely lunch with Aaron, then took D13 to her physical therapy for her knee. They increased the number of exercises she was meant to do at home, much to her chagrin. But she was proud of herself for walking around all day without her crutches.
In the evening, I brined the turkey and then relaxed. The older two kids left with biomom to visit their grandpa.
Thursday
Thanksgiving was good. After returning from work, I threw the turkey into the oven and cooked the feast – turkey, corn casserole, garlic mashed potatoes, and stuffing. We also cleaned our bedroom so that the electrician could work on our outlets. IL4 actually joined us at the table for dinner (though he had Froot Loops). J19 and his girlfriend L joined us, as well, so it was a nice-sized feast.
Friday
Friday was a good day. After work, dad and I went to buy the bookcase he’s buying us for Christmas. He ended up getting a dresser for M11, too, since his dresser (which is going to IL4) is too small for the way he stuffs clothes in there.
I relaxed for most of the rest of the day, even while the electrician was finishing up changing outlets in a couple of rooms. Then in the evening, we took dad and IL4 out to a fancy steakhouse for dad’s last steak before his teeth begin to be pulled for dentures.
Aaron and I finished up the day by watching the new Haunted Mansion movie.
Letters Written
- 1 letter Louisiana
- 1 letter Washington
- 1 letter Pennsylvania
Reading to myself
- Leech, by Hiron Ennes
- Run, Hide, Repeat, by Hiron Ennes
- The Eye of the World, by Robert Jordan
- Great Mythologies of the World, by Various Professors
- How to Read the Bible, by James Kugel
- Bible
- Great Courses Saint Augustine’s Confessions, by William R Cook and Ronald B Herzman
- Mahabharata
Reading to IL4
- Gimme Shelter, by Doreen Cronin
- Super Cheat Codes and Secret Modes, by Thomas Flintham
- Princess in Black and the Perfect Princess Party, by Shannon Hale
D13 reading
- The Boy and Girl Who Broke the World, by Amy Reed
Media Completed
The chicken squad decide to dig a shelter with amusing results.
When Princess Magnolia has a perfect birthday party, her ring alarm keeps going off. Will the princess guests discover her secret? Colorful and cute, with some humor.
When Ben is asked to photograph some ghosts in a haunted mansion, he is skeptical. But the ghosts aren’t skeptical of him. So he, a strange priest, and a mother-son duo create a team for the dehaunting of the mansion. This was a bit of juvenile fun for me and Aaron to watch. Funny, cute, but not deep with plot.
Hibernator's Library 