News

Saturday

Saturday I had my D&D game that Aaron and my friend Liz are part of. Then Aaron, D13, and I watched X-files for a while.

Sunday

Sunday started with the realization that I was in over my head with this coaching soccer thing. When I agreed to do it, they said they would provide instruction. I figured at the very least we’d have a rulebook emailed us and a meeting about what was expected of us. Nothing like that. In fact nothing at all. And now it would appear the first day of soccer is a game? How is that even possible? IL4 doesn’t know how to play soccer.

Then I arrived at work late because I was suffering from brain fog, and somehow arriving at 12:30 became leaving at 12:30. It’s a 30 minute drive. My client bit me on my shoulder when I helped her stand up and broke the skin. It was through the shirt, but since human bites are notoriously germy, I needed to make an appointment with a doctor.

After work, we played a game if Pandemic as a family.

Monday

Monday morning started with a run to the doctor to get a tetanus shot. The appointment was pretty uneventful, as the bite isn’t infected. Then I went to the pool with M11 and IL4. They enjoyed splashing around. M11 had his first acting class, which he enjoyed, followed by his presentation on baseball at the Boy Scout meeting.

Tuesday

On the Fourth of July I went with dad to a furniture store so he could buy a new recliner. Then we went to get another massage. This one was much more enjoyable, since my back was still tenderized from the last massage, so there were only a few painful moments. I also thought to listen to an audiobook while getting it, so I had something to occupy my over-active brain.

Aaron took M11 shopping for the last of his necessities for his upcoming Boy Scout camp.

We had been going to grill with my friend Liz, but it was raining on and off, and we chose to postpone. Instead we went out to dinner. Our at-home fireworks were next. IL4 enjoyed them until about half-way through when he either got bored or scared or it got too loud. His reasons were unclear, but he wanted to go inside.

Wednesday

Wednesday I went from work to work, with only a scrubbinging of the kitchen floor in between. I watched Lucifer at home while Aaron went to M11’s playoff game. Unfortunately they lost, but that means we can do the aerial course on Saturday (when the final playoff game would be if they’d won).

Thursday

Thursday M11 and I had a D&D oneshot. We both enjoyed ourselves. Afterwards, M11 went fishing with a guy a met on Facebook. He had offered to help M11 catch a fish, clean it, and cook it for his merit badge. They didn’t catch anything, unfortunately.

Friday

Friday, IL4 had speech therapy. Then we relaxed the day until M11 and I had our first tap dance class. Afterwards, M11 told me my dancing made him feel a lot better about his own. Then M11 had a meeting with his Scout master and reached the rank of Scout!

Week’s Photos

Letters Written

• 1 letter Wisconsin
• 1 letter California
• 1 letter Maine

Reading to myself

• Babel, by R F Kuang
• Mahabharata
• Untangled, by Lisa Damour
• Throne of Glass, by Sarah J Maas
• Loki and Sigyn, by Lea Svendson

Reading to IL4

• Unicorn and Yeti: Friends Rock, by Ayris Burnell
• Super Rabbit Boy vs Super Rabbit Boss, by Thomas Flintham

M10 reading

• Leather-working merit badge pamphlet

D13 reading

• 57 Bus, by Dashka Slater
• Nightfall, by Shannon Messenger

Games Played

Exercise / Weight Loss / Sleep

News

Saturday

Saturday Aaron and M11 went to a tabletop D&D session and D13 and I watched Catching Killers on Netflix.

Sunday

Sunday M11 volunteered at a potluck with the Boy Scouts and then worked on his scout rank. IL4 slept through his swim lesson. I worked. Finally, M11 had a baseball game which got rained out.

Monday

Monday D13 had an appointment, IL4 had special education, and M11 got grounded for a rather ridiculous lie to get out of taking a shower. I was super productive, though I had hoped to take IL4 to the bike park to start learning to ride a bike, but he refused to budge and I figured he’d not enjoy himself out of spite if I took him against his will. At the end of the day, I went to my first overnight shift at my new job.

Tuesday

Tuesday was quite the day. I’d spent all night at work (asleep till 6am). Then I drove the 30 minutes to my other job. I was there an hour and a half early, so I took a nap in my car, slightly disrupting the life of the woman whose house I parked in front of. I worked there until 3:30pm, and then drove M11 directly to swim lessons, where I paced in the lobby to get my 5000 steps in. I finally had a reprieve from 5:45pm – 9:15pm, when I left for my next overnight shift. But it wasn’t much of a reprieve because M11 likes playing with IL4 at eardrum-shattering volumes when he’s grounded.

D13 and M11 went to a movie while I was at work – Elementals. (M11 isn’t allowed to come into thr livingroom when the TV is on, nor play on his tablet when he’s grounded. He can still text on his phone and leave the house.) M11 got heat exhaustion on the way back, and D13 had to text a friend to bring him water.

Wednesday

Wednesday after work, dad had an appointment and then he and I went to get a massage. It was a deep tissue massage, and I had a lot of knots, so it was actually rather painful. Then I took M11 to his baseball game.

Thursday

After work on Thursday, I took my friend Todd to a food shelf. Then I took D13 to a doctor appointment.

Friday

Friday I decided to take the day off so I spent most of the day just relaxing with IL4 and the kids. I tried to get IL4 to go to the library or pool or even out with Aaron for lunch, but he seemed to be in a rotten mood so I let him stay home. Hopefully next week will work out better.

IL4 had speech therapy. He’s working on his L sound and his he and she. I went to Buffalo Wild Wings with Aaron for lunch. At the end of the evening M11 went to his mom’s, Aaron playing this video game, and D13 and IL4 made a chocolate cake. IL4 wanted to know whose birthday it was, so D13 just said they were celebrating Polyphemus’s birthday. (Our kitten.)

Week’s Photos

Letters Written

• 1 letter Mississippi
• 1 letter Oklahoma
• 1 letter Maryland
• 1 letter Texas
• 1 letter Michigan
• 1 letter Pennsylvania

Reading to myself

• A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking, by Ursula Vernon
• Babel, by R F Kuang
• Educated, by Tara Westover
• Loki and Sigyn, by Lea Svendson
• How to Read the Bible, by James Kugel
• Untangled, by Lisa Damour
• Mr Ballen Podcast

Reading to IL4

• Into the Wild, by Doreen Cronin
• Unicorn and Yeti: Friends Rock
• Unicorn and Yeti: Stuck with You
• Super Rabbit Boy Blasts Off, by Thomas Flintham
• Super King Viking Land, by Thomas Flintham
• Robo-Rabbit Boy Go, by Thomas Flintham
• Unicorn and Yeti: Cheer Up, by Ayris Burnell

M10 reading

• Working on leatherworking merit badge
• Working on baseball presentation to BSA

D13 reading

• Nightfall, by Shannon Messenger
• Bus 57, by Dashka Slater

Media Completed

Cross-stitch

Exercise / Weight Loss

Weight: X – 38lbs

News

Saturday

Saturday, M11 went fishing with the Boy Scouts and caught a fish. He wasn’t very clear about how big or what kind. Aaron and I played D&D, which was a heavy role playing day (something I like, but doesn’t excite Aaron). Then M11 and I went to Spiderman: Across the Spiderverse in the theater.

Sunday

Sunday I worked with my new client for the second time. This time she was awake for a little while, and I started listening to a full-cast Jane Austen collection on Audible with her. She seemed to enjoy it, but it was hard to tell. IL4 had swim lessons, and M13 had a baseball game.

Monday

Monday was Juneteenth, so Aaron had the day off. After D13’s appointment, the family went to Buffalo Wild Wings for lunch then to the Reptile and Amphibian Discovery Zoo. The kids all loved the Zoo. Then we played a game of Carcassonne. IL4 did not participate in the game, despite me picking a game he could somewhat play. M11 had a Boy Scout meeting later in the day and Aaron gamed with his friends.

Tuesday

Tuesday morning, I had my first couple hours of training at the house I will be working overnight at. I met the man I’ll work with, a lovely elderly man, my coworker, and supervisor. I have to train in-house for 30 hours before I can be left alone with him.

The new stove and microwave were delivered, and they’re both delightful. Dad is very pleased with the stove – he says it’s much easier to cook his oatmeal (which was very difficult on the other stove).

M11 had his first summer swim lesson, and graduated to Red Cross level 4. M11, D13, my friend Liz, and I had a cross-stitch party. The kids love cross-stitch, and I finished Groot’s mouth.

Wednesday

Wednesday D13 had a doctor appointment early in the morning. Then I ran errands with my dad, went to Perkins with him, and walked with him to the post office and library. Later, M11 had a game, which they did great on.

Thursday

Thursday started with another appointment for D13 and band for M11. I then worked on creamy corn stew for Aaron (which I didn’t finish because I was too tired by the time the crock pot was done).

I had an appointment with my sleep doctor to discuss the at-home sleep test. I had been hoping I would be diagnosed with sleep apnea, because that yielded an easy solution to my excessive daytime drowsiness. But, alas, I don’t have sleep apnea. The doctor said the next step is to do a 24 hour sleep test, where I go in in the evening to sleep. Then I stay into the next evening, being prompted to take a 20 minute nap every 2 hours. Sounds delightful, if it were at home. 藍 I suggested that maybe my excessive daytime drowsiness wouldn’t happen that day, as it only happens about once a week. She said she thinks I’m tired all the time, I just think that’s normal. But isn’t it? I mean, everyone’s tired all the time. It’s a fact of life. She says it’s not normal with 8-9 hours of sleep every night (which is what I get.) So they should call me in a couple if weeks to schedule something, which I’m guessing will be months out, but I’m not sure.

After the doctor appointment, I went to work with my new daytime client. It was low-key. We listened to Jane Austen Audio Collection for a while, the listened to music for the rest of the time. I wrote two letters and got some reading done.

After work and dinner (I cooked chicken) Aaron and I watched a couple episodes of Supernatural while D13 babysat. Then I fell deeply asleep at 8:30, because I was feeling excessive drowsiness and staying awake was becoming torture.

Friday

Friday started out with speech therapy, then a doctor appointment for IL4. He has graduated on from working on his v’s to his L’s. The doctor determined that he has not gained back all of his 3 pounds lost during that 3 day illness a couple weeks ago. He still has one pound to gain back.

After that, D13, M11, IL4, and I went to the pool. They seemed to really enjoy it, though IL4 threw a few mini temper tantrums and one large one. We left after the large one.

Aaron, M11, dad, and I went to Outback steakhouse for dinner.

Week’s Photos

Letters Written

• 1 letter Pennsylvania
• 1 letter California
• 1 letter Washington

Reading to myself

• Untangled, by Lisa Damour
• Babel, by R F Kuang
• Jane Austen Collection on Audible
• Mahabharata
• Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking, by Ursula Vernon

Reading to IL4

• Unicorn and Yeti: Together, by Heather Ayris Burnell
• The Bad Guys in the Furball Strikes Back, by Aaron Blabey
• Unicorn and Yeti: Cheer Up, by Heather Ayris Burnell
• Unicorn and Yeti, Stuck With You, by Heather Ayris Burnell
• Society of Substitutes The Zoo Switcharoo, by Alan Katz
• Unicorn and Yeti: A Good Team, by Heather Ayris Burnell

M10 reading

• The River of Wind, by Kathryn Lasky
• The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, by William Kamkwamba & Bryan Mealer

D13 reading

• Nightfall, by Shannon Messenger

Media Completed

Games Played

News

Saturday

Saturday was my first really good day in a while – coming on the heels of several grumpy days. I worked for my new client, and she slept through most of it, so I got a little reading and cross-stitch completed. By that, I mean 24 complete cross stitches, because that’s all my ADHD brain can handle in one sitting. We had been going to grill, but it was raining, so instead we had Chinese. D13, Aaron, and I then watched Twins, because who doesn’t like watching Arnold Schwarzenegger fail to act? “Yackity-yak don’t talk back!” In Schwarzenegger English.

Sunday

Sunday was a good day for me, and a bad day for M11. I went to church with dad, wrote a letter, and cooked some sausage and potato stew for Aaron’s lunches this week (IL4 helped with the stew). IL4 fell asleep, and missed swim lessons. Our microwave died, and dad kindly bought us a new one. He threw in a new oven while he was at it. He offered a fridge, but that felt excessive. M11 was sick (sore throat, headache, fever of 104F (40C), throwing up). He probably caught whatever IL4 had next week. M11 had to miss his volunteer session at the VFW and his baseball game. Aaron ended the day by grilling and we watched Locke and Key on Netflix.

Monday

Monday I had been planning on taking the kids to the pool, but M11 had been sick the day before and I didn’t want to take him out. But I made some chickpea curry for Aaron’s lunches, and then took M11 to the doctor. As expected, he had a strep test, which was negative.

Tuesday

Tuesday I was feeling headachy and nauseated. I figured I had the same thing M11 and IL4 had, but maybe I just wanted to be sick so I could do nothing. 🤣😂 Seriously, though, I wasn’t feeling well, and sat on the lounger under my blanket all day listening to Mr Ballen with D13.

Wednesday

Wednesday I spent 8 hours training for my new overnight asleep job. Afterwards M11 had a baseball game. They were crushed as usual.

Thursday

Thursday I had another training day for my new job, and then had a date with Aaron – dinner and Netflix.

Friday

Friday was a really good day. I had assigned D13 the task of babysitting (for a reward) while I did my final day of training for my new job. But the training only took 3 hours instead of 8, so I was able to run a bunch of errands with dad (D13 said she’d give me “the day off” since she’d already expected to babysit all day.) Among other errands, we went to Kohl’s and bought 3 pairs of jeans. I bought one size down because they seemed to fit in the store, but after wearing one of them for a while, they stretched and started falling off my butt, too. So I think I’ll take the other two back and try for one size further down. Yay!

After work, Aaron had bowling with his co-workers and he got his first-ever turkey. I sat and finished the book I was reading.

Week’s Photos

Letters Written

• 1 letter Maine
• 1 letter North Dakota
• 1 letter Pennsylvania
• 1 letter Maine
• 1 letter Virginia

Reading / Listening to myself

• Bible
• Babel, by R F Kuang
• Educated, by Tara Westover
• Mr Ballen
• Homeland, by R A Salvatore

Reading to IL4

• Unicorn and Yeti: A Good Team, by Heather Ayris Burnell
• Lunch Walks Among Us, by Jim Benton
• Eva and the New Owl, by Rebecca Elliot
• Eva’s Wildwood Bakery, by Rebecca Elliot
• Unicorn and Yeti: Sparkly New Friends, by Heather Ayris Burnell
• Unicorn and Yeti: Friends Rock, by Heather Ayris Burnell
• Unicorn and Yeti: Fair and Square, by Heather Ayris Burnell
• The Bad Guys, by Aaron Blabey
• Unicorn and Yeti: Cheer Up, by Heather Ayris Burnell
• Billy and the Monsters: Monsters Go to the Hospital, by Zanna Davidson
• The Bad Guys in Mission Unpluckable, by Aaron Blabey

M10 reading

• BSA Fishing Handbook

D13 reading

• Night Fall, by Shannon Messenger

Aaron reading

• Maleficent Seven, by Cameron Johnston

Media Completed

Cross-stitch & Puzzles

Exercise / Weight Loss

I made my steps goal (5000) only on Friday. I didn’t meet my exercise goal (30-60 minutes) any day. But there’s always next week!

News

Saturday

Saturday morning I awoke really tired. I’d taken the home sleep test the night before, and that, combined with IL4’s feverish tossing and turning, made for a really bad night’s sleep. I had to nap a good couple of hours that morning, and then played D&D for most of the session. But then IL4 started screaming about “it” hurting so much, so I took his temp and it was almost 104F. So I hopped out of session, and Aaron and I took him to urgent care. There, he suddenly improved, and we were sent back home after a strep test and general assessment. A couple hours later he had a fever again, but there was no more screaming about pain.

Sunday

Sunday, IL4 still had a high temperature. He also didn’t eat AT ALL and drank 18oz of Sprite (his only fluids for the day), then threw up half of that. That really hit home, because the day before he also ate literally nothing and refused all drinks but soda. This was especially stressfull, as we put his medicine in morning and evening apple juices. I began to realize he had started refusing fluids and decreasing food starting on Thursday night. He hadn’t had his meds for 3 days. His urine output had significantly decreased, and I was worried I’d have to take him to the ER for dehydration, and only got 3 hours of sleep.

On top if that, M11 was feeling a little sick, so we kept him out of his game. It wasn’t whatever IL4 is suffering from.

I also had an interview for a day job. It seemed a nice fit due to its flexibility, so I decided to take it. Between 5-15 hours a week.

Monday

Monday was overwhelming. I had only gotten 3 hours of sleep. I thought I was going to have to take IL4 to the ER for dehydration, but I thought maybe the overnight diaper was a bit wet, so he was peeing. I was told by the nurse line that if he doesn’t pee for 12 hours, take him to ER.

Luckily, he ate a bit. No meds though, except his exlax, which M11 convinced him to eat by bribing him with Starburst. Again, this is because everything but the exlax has to be given in a liquid, and he was refusing to drink. But his fever was gone, at least. Unfortunately, he grabbed his ear and started crying, so maybe he has an ear infection?

D13 had an appointment during the day, and M11 got a first aid kit put together so he could work on the first aid merit badge. D13 and I watched the movie Stepmom, with Julia Roberts and Susan Sarandon.

Tuesday

Tuesday was a better day. Aaron & I got all of IL4’s meds into him. I took him to the doctor, and she gave me an anti-nausea medication to help him drink more. She also x-rayed his gut. Good news! The impaction is history! Now we’re on “mush and push” stage.

Later that day, I took M11 to see a Saint Paul Saints game. We got half-way into the third inning before he got bored. But he did end up with a game ball. Some other kid handed it to him.

Wednesday

I was grumpy and unmotivated on Wednesday. I took M11 to his baseball game. He made good contact with the ball.

Thursday

Thursday was strangely productive given my rotten mood. I filled out onboarding paperwork for a new job, and accepted an offer for an overnight asleep job. That meant I had to quit both of my D&D campaigns, and that’s what’s putting me in my rotten mood. Droping my extracurriculars sucks. But that’ll give me time to write letters again, I guess. That can be tossed in an hour at a time instead of in a dedicated 4-5 hour time slot. I will now be making our budgeted amount, plus a little extra for my “fun” budget. In the evening, my dad took us out to eat. Aaron and I had been planning  on going on a date, but dad asks about once a week ro take us out, and usually one of us has an activity.

Friday

Friday I had second thoughts about quitting D&D. I still don’t think I can manage the weekly Wednesday game, as that’s a huge time commitment, but I can squeeze in the Saturday game.

I had meant to spend the day at the park and then a party after speech therapy, but I was having one of my super-drowsy episodes. I had fallen asleep in the car earlier in the week, and swerved into the next lane, so I decided to cancel my plans for the day. I wanted to be a safe and responsible driver.

Week’s Photos

Letters Written

• 2 letters to Virginia
• 1 letter Pennsylvania
• 1 letter Michigan

Reading to myself

• No 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, by Alexander McCall Smith
• Homeland, by R A Salvatore
• Mahabharata
• Educated, by Tara Westover
• Democracy in Black, by Eddie S Glaude Jr
• Babel, by R F Kuang
• Reading Biblical Literature (lectures), by Craig R Koester

Reading to IL4

• Battle of the Bad-Breath Bats, by David Bowles
• Super Rabbit Boy’s Time Jump, by Thomas Flintham
• Inspector Flytrap by Tom Angleberger
• Sparkly New Friends, by Heather Ayris Burnell
• Friends Rock, by Heather Ayris Burnell
• Llama Rocks the Cradle of Chaos, by Jonathan Stutzman
• Henry Heckelbeck Never Cheats, by Wanda Coven

M10 reading

• BSA Fishing Handbook

D13 reading

• Lodestar, by Shannon Messenger

Aaron reading

• Maleficent Seven, by Cameron Johnston

Media Completed

Cross-stitch

Games

IL4, D13, and I played Carcassonne. It’s a 7+ game, but IL4 really wanted to join. Bizarrely, after a few explanations of where he could and couldn’t place a tile, he actually understood tile placement (though not strategy) and he won the game.

Exercise / Weight Loss

I located my jump rope. Now I need to add in 15 -30 minutes if jumping a couple times a day. It’s harder in days I’m watching IL4, but I just have to make it work so I can continue to lose weight without counting calories. I place a new goal of 30-60 minutes of raised heart rate plus 5000 steps a day. Starting next week (on Saturday).

News

Saturday

Saturday, I finished up my (presumably) last shift at my job. Now I am jobless. IL4 and I cooked some white chili for Aaron’s week of food. We made another attempt at evacuating IL4’s bowels with 4 caps of Miralax, but he didn’t poop all day. Then, overnight, he pooped all over our bed and on two of the three comforters. Unfortunately, our dryer is out of commission due to a SNAFU after the basement construction (we need to call HVAC on Tuesday). So we ran into a problem. Aaron cleared the gutters and grilled, because it was beautiful out. I ran some errands.

Sunday

Sunday was our first family day since baseball started. They didn’t have a Sunday game because of the holiday. IL4 fell asleep (his new ADHD med is doping him up, but that’s hopefully temporary), so we watched Psych for a few episodes.  We should have played a board game, but I was tired after a couple hours at the laundromat washing our poopy comforters. We also had a flat tire (D13 noticed).

There are green tomatoes on two of my tomato plants, and green beans on D13’s plant.

Monday

On Memorial Day, I went to the laundromat again (same reason as yesterday). Then I hung out with my friend Todd for a bit.

Tuesday

Tuesday was M11’s birthday. It started with an appointment for him. After he went to school, I had HVAC over to fix the dryer’s gas plumbing. Then I took the car to get an oil change and get the flat tire looked at. They said the tire was dead, but they may be able to bend the rim back to usable shape. They ordered a new tire to hopefully come in the next day.

At some point, the gastroenterologist called and told me to evacuate IL4’s bowels again, but to do it during the week so I can call if there’s a problem.

I picked up the birthday cake, which was decorated to look like a fire (it was really good, but I forgot to take a picture). When the kids got home, we had a nice dinner and cake. Then D13 taught M11 how to cross-stitch.

That evening, there was a problem with IL4’s bowels. (I hadn’t started the 4th evacuation yet.) He complaining that his tummy and butt hurt, like he did on the day he was really bloated. So I pressed on his belly, and it was soft down to his belly button, and then solidly firm under the belly button. I called immediately the next morning, but their nurse-line apparently consists of talking to voicemail and being called back within one business day. So I don’t know why I can’t just email.

Wednesday

Wednesday was day 1 of attempt 4 at evacuating IL4’s bowels. It started with a quick appointment to the doctor for D13 resulting in (weekly?) PT and a specialist referral. So I I could celebrate fewer summer appointments only for a short time. At the same time as calling for her PT intake, I made myself an appointment for my tailbone, which is still hurting while I sit for long periods (like for a show – that can be very uncomfortable). I wonder when it will stop hurting.

Then I played D&D for a while. It was fun, and IL4 fell asleep, so it was almost like doing it on a normal Wednesday.

IL4’s evacuation was so far unsuccessful with only two stools.

Thursday

Thursday was day two of bowel evacuation number four. I don’t know if we’re making progress or not. 🤦‍♀️ At the end of the day, D13 and I played a D&D oneshot. It was rather funny, because we ran into a swamp monster and made a run for it, and then negotiated our way out of the boss battle – so 4.5 hours with no fighting.

Friday

Friday, IL4 decided he didn’t like apple juice, so I didn’t get his 4 caps of Miralax in to him. After his speech therapy, he didn’t want to go to the library, so we just went home and had a relaxing day. After dinner, Aaron and I took IL4 outside to play tag.

Week’s Photos

Reading to myself

• No 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, by Alexander McCall Smith
• Raising an Anxious Child, by Erika Miller – Gave up on this one
• Mort, by Terry Pratchett – Finished

Reading to IL4

• Ricky Ricotta’s Mighty Robot, by Dav Pilkey
• Super Rabbit Racers, by Thomas Flintham
• Super King Viking Land, by Thomas Flintham
• Society of Substitutes: The Great Escape, by Alan Katz
• Super Rabbit Boy Blasts Off, by Thomas Flintham
• DJ Funkyfoot: Give Cheese a Chance
• Llama Destroys the World, by Jonathan Stutzman
• Llama Unleashes the Alpacalypse, by Jonathan Stutzman

M10 reading

• The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, by William Kamkwamba
• Exile, by Kathryn Lasky

D13 reading

• Lodestar, by Shannon Messenger

Media Completed

Cross-stitch

Weight loss / exercise

Week’s weight: x – 29lbs

News

Saturday

Saturday Aaron took a bunch of stuff to recycling at the citywide cleanup event. Then D13 and I went to An American Tale at aThe Children’s Theater of Minneapolis.

Sunday

Sunday I made some gumbo. It is an attempt to get Aaron to take food to work from home instead of eating at a restaurant every day. We’ll see if it saves us money. IL4 had swim lessons, and M10 had a baseball game. His team has improved quite a bit, but the other team won.

Monday

Monday we had the basement people here jackhammering all day. We’re getting new drain tile in our basement will stop flooding. IL4 didn’t like the noise. D13 had an appointment mid-day, and M10 had baseball practice. At the end of the day, we set up the Slip n’ Slide. IL4 loved it, and the other two kids seemed to moderately enjoy themselves.

Tuesday

Tuesday was a tough day. First, I hadn’t slept all night – finally fell asleep around 6am and was awakened at 7am by the basement team. I wasn’t able to catch up on sleep all day due to the jackhammering. Plus, I had to pick IK4 up from special education to bring him to daycare, because he now refuses to get on the bus. Plus, right around the time they stopped jackhammering, I had a scheduled visit with a friend. Then, by the time I went to work, I could hardly stand. She sent me home 3 hours later.

I was also dealing with the stress of having decided that I shouldn’t take the overnight awake job that had been slated to start in June. On Monday, I had experienced something that seems to happen about once a week: I suddenly and unexpectedly got so drowsy that I struggled to keep my eyes open. This usually happens to me while driving or at doctor appointments. One time, I literally slept through an entire appointment because the doctor was talking to D13 and not me. It’s also happened at the park when I’m presumably active. My psychiatrist thinks I have narcolepsy, but that’s really rare, so I’m skeptical. I originally thought it was a long-COVID symptom, as it really only became a problem after I had COVID, but all my other long COVID symptoms have disappeared. Anyway, the incident on Monday reminded me that when I wasn’t sleeping as many hours when working two jobs, it was happening multiple times a week. It’s highly inconvenient, especially when I have to literally pry one eye open to get to safety while driving. Monday was such an example, and I had IL4 in the car with me, so it was super scary. Anyway, I thought that maybe sleeping irregular hours and not as much due to an overnight awake position might increase these incidents to multiple times a week again. Unfortunately, my sleep doctor appointment has been scheduled out for months, and is slated to happen Thursday this week, but the onboarding appointment was set to happen on Wednesday. So I cancelled the onboarding.

Wednesday

Wednesday I took D13 to an appointment that was scheduled for the following Wednesday. I missed D&D because of that, and was super bummed. M10 had a baseball game. I heard he got on base by hitting the ball twice!

Thursday

Thursday, after getting the oil changed and a tire rotation, I had a sleep doctor appointment. She said that she doubted it was narcolepsy, too. She said they’d start with a sleep apnea home test. Then if that showed an insignificant amount of apnea, they would do an inpatient test in a sleep lab. Yay. Hopefully it’s just sleep apnea, though. That’s an easy fix. In the evening, D13 and I hung out with my friend Liz and learned to cross-stitch. She LOVED it.

Friday

Friday was mostly a good day for me. I ended up stressed out right at the end, but it resolved itself. IL4 had speech therapy (his v’s are going well!) And then an appointment with his pediatrician about his ADHD. We decided to put him on the same med M10 is on. Then we’ll follow up with a psychiatrist when we can get an appointment. On top of that, I talked to the nurse of IL4’s gastroenterologist. She said that the x-ray suggested we needed to try another 2-day bowel evacuation. I’ll do that this weekend.

Week’s Photos

Reading to IL4

• Super Rabbit Boy, All-Stars, by Thomas Flintham
• Super Rabbit Boy World, by Thomas Flintham
• Love Monster, by Rachel Bright
• Super King Viking Land, by Thomas Flintham
• Inspector Flytrap, by Tom Angleberger

M10 reading

• River of Wind, by Kathryn Lasky

D13 reading

• Lodestar, by Shannon Messenger

Crafts

News

Saturday

Saturday I played D&D and then watched movies with D13 and dad. I’m told M10 went white water rafting despite forgetting his goggles at home (he’s very afraid of water in his eyes – I imagine it’s a sensory thing). I’m proud of him for that.

Sunday

Mother’s Day was supposed to be calm, but I spent the whole day worrying about my job. IL4 had swim lessons and M10’s baseball game was postponed due to the rain.

Monday

Monday I felt sick to my stomach, which I interpreted as stress from the job situation (in retrospect, I apparently had a stomach bug). I went to the zoo with IL4 and dad, anyway. IL4 first wanted to walk through the aquarium, but only looked at statues. The sharks were pretty boring to him (well, I should say the statues were that interesting…) Then we went outside, where he discovered the playground. We spent the rest of the time there, and saw no animals.

At the playground, he pooped his diaper. He had been out of diapers for more than half a year, and recently went back in diapers with his GI problems. So I am out of the habit of bringing diapers and wipes everywhere. He didn’t want to go back to the car and change, and dad said he’d watch IL4 while I went back to the car and got supplies. I suggested that perhaps it’s a bad idea to intrust a man who uses a walker with watching a 4 year old who has been bolting and hiding a lot lately. Dad, offended by me “not trusting [him],” tried to prove himself by grabbing IL4. IL4 squirmed out of his reach, and bolted to the play structure. Dad chased him and, in slow mo, climbed up the rope ladder. Nearby moms were looking at me in dismay, but what was I supposed to do? By the time dad got to the top, IL4 had run across the large structure, and hidden in a nook. Dad walked around for about 5 minutes on the structure, looking for IL4, while I sat on the bench and chuckled.

M10 had an appointment and a BSA meeting. I had to pick M10 up on foot for the appointment because I’d accidentally left my purse in the car that Aaron took to work, and I didn’t have my car keys. (This was before the zoo.) Aaron dropped the purse off on his way to the dentist (he needs to replace his Marilyn bridge because of decay underneath, but otherwise had no cavities).

Tuesday

Tuesday was exhausting. I left early for a diabetes lab draw. Then I had an interview, followed by picking up IL4 at school because he wouldn’t get on the bus back to daycare. He was so upset when I brought him back to daycare. He thought I’d take him home like last time. Then I had two more interviews. I have decided to take one of those jobs. It will be an overnight awake position on MWF. At least there will be lots of downtime to rest, I’m told. Maybe I’ll get bunches read.

Wednesday

Wednesday I took IL4 to a feeding clinic for his intake. They suggested OT, and said they were willing to do psychology if I thought it would help. However, they suggested he was unlikely to get much benefit out of therapy until his hyperactivity was addressed. I have already made an appointment with his pediatrician in hopes of getting a referral for the psychiatrist D13 and M10 use.

Thursday

Thursday Aaron and I had a day date for our anniversary. We went to IHOP for breakfast, watched Supernatural, picked up IL4 from school since he’s decided he’ll never ride the bus again and they can’t force him, and grilled for dinner.

Friday

Friday I went through my schedule for the summer and made note of all the appointments that needed to be moved because of my new work schedule (starting June). I have to move all appointments to MWF after 10am, there were about 5 appointments to change, and I made a few of those changes before I ran out of time.

Then I took IL4 to an x-ray to check if his gut was empty of stool, as it should be. Haven’t gotten the news back from the gastroenterologist yet, but the radiologist said he had a “moderate stool load” which is bad because he’s supposed to be running on empty.

After the x-ray, we went to the library. He played with the toys and the computer and then checked out a Leapfrog.

Week’s Photos

Reading to IL4

• Revenge of the Roach, by Todd H Doodler

M10 reading

• River of Wind, by Kathryn Lasky

D13 reading

• Neverseen, by Shannon Messenger

Media Completed

News

Saturday

Saturday, D13 and I went to lunch at Chick-fil-A and then to Gertens to buy flowers, tomatoes, peppers, and green beans. We couldn’t plant them, though, because it was raining. Then we watched A Man Called Otto and Your Place or Mine. M10 had his last show, and Aaron attended.

Sunday

Sunday started out with me squashing IL4’s finger in the door. Because it was all bloody, I decided not to plant our flowers and veggies, despite it being a beautiful day. I didn’t want it getting infected. He then had swim lessons. M10 had a baseball game. They won by 1 point and M10 stole 2nd, 3rd, and home. So I guess that steal actually made a difference.

By the evening, D13 had a splitting headache and was obviously coming down from a fever based on her red face and claminess. (I would have taken her temp earlier, but I was at the game.) I tested her for COVID, and she came up positive.

Monday

Monday started with a rush of snafu squading. I had to make several calls and emails about D13’s covid, including calling the school twice, emailing a teacher, and changing her Little Mermaid audition to video. I had to fill out some forms before sending IL4 to school. Finally, I put him on the bus and rushed over to the grocery store to pick up some vital items. Then I set up D13 for a virtual appointment, and rushed dad to the lawnmower shop and went to the library to pick up a book that she needed to read, but left at school.

After IL4 got home from special education, I took him to urgent care about his smashed finger. It had turned a deep purple as if it had bad circulation. They x-rayed it since apparently they were concerned about a certain type of break that would permanently hurt his nail bed. IL4 didn’t want his hand x-rayed, saying he was scared. We decided I would hold him on my lap, but as we were putting on my protective vest, IL4 bolted and I chased after him, but lost him. I figured out where he was when I heard a dismayed cry of “No! Don’t do that!”

M10 had baseball practice.

Tuesday

Tuesday I voted for a referendum to get more funding to the schools (it passed). Then I had an interview at noon. They no-showed, and at 12:20 I got a call from special education saying IL4 refused to get on the bus to go back to daycare. I went and rescued his teacher. He asked to go home, and I told him I would take him home today if he promised to get on the bus tomorrow. He promised (and kept his promise).

Later, we had an IEP meeting for him. The teachers were talking about how he was more hyperactive and impulsive than before – to the point of bolting dangerously at the street and the staircase. He has also been bolting in parking lots for me. He has also been more anxious and emotional lately. I am concerned that I’ll have to give him ADHD meds if the dangerous behavior continues. I don’t like giving ADHD meds to a 4 year old, but I’m not sure how else to curb the dangerous behaviors.

In the evening M10 and I had a D&D oneshot we participated in. We both really enjoyed it.

Wednesday

Wednesday I was super tired again. I get that way when I’m stressed, and it makes staying awake for D&D difficult. But I mostly managed! M10’s team won a baseball game.

Thursday

Thursday I worked later than usual on the morning, then went immediately to the eye doctor. I hadn’t thought my vision had decreased much, but my right eye did by much more than expected. Then we had a zoom meeting going over D13’s autism assessment. She was found to be normal across the board. She didn’t even have problems that she was determined to have in an earlier assessment. Later, I had a dentist appointment (no cavities), and took IL4 to try on jersey sizes for soccer. He loved the jersey store and repeatedly bolted and hid in the hanging clothes. I literally only found him the second time because I saw the direction he went, and there was nowhere else he could have gone.

Friday

Friday was mostly a good day. I forgot that IL4’s speech therapy was at 10 instead of 10:45 like usual, so missed it. I ran some errands, rescued two bean sprouts that IL4 apparently planted at school, and checked things off my to-do list.

M10 and Aaron left for their whitewater rafting trip, and D13, IL4, dad and I went to Olive Garden. D13 was a trooper and watched IL4 all night while I worked.

Week’s Photos

Reading to IL4

• Game Over, Super Rabbit Boy, by Thomas Flintham
• Super Rabbit Boy Powers Up, By Thomas Flintham

M10 reading

• The River of Wind, by Kathryn Lasky

D13 reading

• Exile, by Shannon Messenger

Media Completed

News

Saturday

So, Saturday was another hard day. First, Aaron got a reminder email for an autism assessment appointment for D13 on Monday. 10am. I definitely didn’t make it because I’m stepmom. They wouldn’t have called me. So either Aaron or his ex-wife made an appointment and didn’t bother telling me. There would be a $300ish fee for cancelling.

M10 also has an appointment at 10am that day. $250 fee for cancelling that. Plus, I have Butt Bazooka Boy (IL4) that day. Aaron has a meeting at 10. Aaron’s ex has an appointment at 9:50. I can’t do D13’s appointment alone because I’m not a biological parent or legal guardian.

After much stress on my part, I decided that Aaron can put M10 on his appointment virtually at 9:45, and then be available by phone at 10 for D13’s appointment (after rescheduling his meeting). I found a babysitter for IL4.

Also, I was wondering why IL4’s been above and beyond crazy all week (his teacher and D13 both commented on it too). I Googled whether laxatives can cause hyperactivity. Apparently Miralax is associated with neurobehavioral issues in kids. So…at least I’m not going insane. It really is him and not me.

Oh. And IL4 has pink eye for the third time in this calendar year.

Sunday

Sunday I wrote a letter to a pen pal in Virginia and had family day. We watched more Firefly (it was Aaron’s choice). M10 had a show. IL4 completed his evacuation regimen (still needs doctor’s approval) and will start the two month “mush and push” regimen. During this period, he will, in theory, learn to poop in a happy, healthy manner. He will be given half a cap of Miralax and some Exlax every day for a couple of months. We found out Monday’s meeting was Zoom that didn’t require D13, but she had another appointment Tuesday. That one was easier to plan. I just moved some stuff around.

Monday

Monday was a good day (finally some relief). The appointment that I’d been so worried about went smoothly because it was zoom, so I was able to put IL4 on the bus, M10 on his virtual appointment, and attend this appointment. After his morning class, IL4 and I did some gardening. I was trying to prune, but he ran around and partially pruned every shrub, then ran to the backyard and tried to plant some firewood in a pot. When he was done with all that hard work, I followed him back inside.

I then made a plan for our vegetable garden. D13 wants cauliflower and sweet peppers. IL4 wants blueberries and strawberries. I want tomatoes. We have some raised beds that I’m going to put some of that in, the rest will go into pots. I decided after all that, we probably won’t have money for flowers this year. I’m not sure I will be successful planting blueberries and strawberries, but I can try.

After all that, I took M10 to baseball practice and then to Boy Scouts.

Tuesday

Tuesday started out with a visit to the vet. $400 later, we know that Polyphemus is healthy, with a healing eye. Then I took D13 to her autism assessment. I don’t think she has autism, but her therapist thought it would be helpful to check. That completed, she and I went fancshy-smancshy [insert name of swanky Twin Cities suburb] bowling. Leather couches and a fireplace and everything. Aaron took M10 to baseball practice while I ran around outside playing “bad guy – officer” with IL4.

Wednesday

Wednesday started out with a podiatry appointment for my occasionally crippling plantar fasciitis (I need to do a better job on my physical therapy). It’s been ok for the past week, but for about 3 weeks before that, there were days that I was strongly avoiding walking because it was so incredibly painful. He gave me a referral for some orthotics, which I’ve been avoiding getting because they cost about $200. But losing money because I can’t work is more than $200.

Then I went on a large shopping trip that I was rather peevish about in the end. I went to the fancy upscale grocery store because I prefer their salmon (I’m squimish about salmon skin, and this store removes the skin). I decided to do my whole shopping trip there because I didn’t want to go to two stores and this store bags the groceries for you (which I love). But the store didn’t have several items that I was specifically looking for, which meant I had to go on another shopping trip the next day. Plus, there was only one lane which was manned, and the line was super long, so I had to go through the self-checkout and bag my own groceries.

D&D followed, which was fun. Then I got a note from my bariatric clinic saying my ozempic would probably not get a preauthorization because they weren’t accepting obesity and prediabetes as sufficient – but that the clinic would try anyway. (I found out on Friday morning that my insurance had approved the preauthorization, though, so I feel better about that.)

Thursday

Thursday was partly a good day, partly not. It was a beautiful day out, which was nice. I went outside to make plans in the garden. I think I mentioned that IL4 wants to plant blueberries? Well we have four raised beds in our yard. Two of them are in the sun, and two in the shade. The ones I want to grow the blueberries in are longer, and they are unfortunately in the shade. On top of that, the soil in all four beds is riddled with landscaping rocks – makes no sense to me. Previous owner was apparently using them as a gate to block off a corner of the yard so her dog wouldn’t get out. So maybe she considered them a garbage heap. 🤷‍♀️

So over the course of the summer, I will empty all four beds and put the rocky soil on a weedy part of the lawn that we plan on mulching with wood chips eventually. I will get rid of the two short beds and move the big ones into the sunny spot. Then I will refill with acidic soil and composted manure. Next year, the beds will be ready for blueberries! (He’d better still want them.) As for this year, we have four pots and a decorative planter. We’ll plant two tomatoes and two peppers, and then flowers in the decorative planter.

Then, I was told that my client is moving into assisted living, and I’ll be out of a job. That was depressing.

Later, M10 had his 5th grade concert. He sang parts of “We Are the Champions” as his solo.

Friday

Friday I had the yearly maintenance done on the furnace. He talked me into getting my ducts cleaned soon (it needs to be done) and tried to talk me into some expensive gadgets to reduce allergies. But it seemed more aimed at dust – M10’s problem is pollen. IL4 went to speech therapy, where he successfully showed off his new v sound. M10 had his D&D session followed by his show.

Week’s Photos

Reading to IL4

• Super Rabbit Boy’s Team up Trouble, by Thomas Flintham
• Super Cheat Codes and Secret Modes, by Thomas Flintham
• Super Rabbit Boy’s Time Jump, by Thomas Flintham
• Robo-Rabbit Boy, Go!, By Thomas Flintham

M10 reading

• School of Fear, by Gitty Daneshvari

D13 reading

• Exile, by Shannon Messenger