The Sickly Timeline - Part Two

I forgot to mention a couple of things. Because I did not get Steven a slurpee he called Shawn who agreed to pick one up and deliver it on his way home from work. What a nice friend. I told Steven that if it made his stomach hurt that I didn't want to hear him complain about it. Another thing I neglected to mention is that Riley is the only one of us that is not sick. Thank God. I don't think I could have managed running to let him outside at the same time.

Saturday
4:45am - I am awakened with sharp chest pains. I am frightened so I lay there in the dark willing them to go away. Then I realize that I have slept thru the night without getting up to go to the bathroom. Am amazed and frightened at the same time. I have intermittent chest pains. Am unable to fall back asleep.
8:00am - John is crying. Wailing. I am very weak as I stagger upstairs. John is mad. He thrashes throughout his diaper change and does not want to turn off his nightlight. This is his task and he usually enjoys it. I think he's hungry. We go downstairs to make some breakfast. He has more pedialite and eats his piece of dry toast on the couch curled up beside me in the living room. It takes him an hour but he eats the toast.
9:45am - Chest pains still there. Am still worried. I finally succeed in getting Steven to get rid of his puke bucket. He tries to get me to do it but am having NO PART of that. Now I can finally shower as Number 1, I smell and am dire need of a shower and Number 2, I have an appointment at my bank at 1100am.
10:45am - leave the house. Am sweating bullets again. Am still having chest pains. Am still worried, may upgrade to scared.
11:00am - 12:00pm - have bank appointment, pick up some groceries so we can survive, get a movie, buy the office lottery ticket. AM EXHAUSTED.

My poor son. When I left the house he was crying at the babygate. Apparently he fell asleep there shortly after and when he woke up, he stood up raised his arms and said "mama", and then I came home.

So by this time I think aside from the chest pains and pure physical exhaustion I am doing okay. I'm thinking that "it's all good and uphill from here." Today we are allowed bland foods and I have rice cooking at home, I've picked up some chicken, bananas and apple sauce and more pedialite for John. After lunch I lay on the sofabed with John and as he bounces on my tummy, I think "oh no". I launch him into his playpen and run for the bathroom. Heaven help me, it's not over yet.

I laid on the sofabed off and on for the remainder of the day. John periodically joined me. My chest pains also periodically joined me. Steven's complaining about his symptons also periodically joined me.

At bedtime, the chest pains got worse before I fell asleep. I was really scared.

Today, thankfully my chest pains have disappeared. I think perhaps my poor heart was strained from the lack of nutrients and extra strain from all the non-voluntary purging. I did shovel this morning and while I didn't have a heart attack, I did sweat alot. John's still not eating well and still has a bit of diarrhea, Steven's been complaining that he's "so hungry" and has wicked cramps. I'm okay. I survived. That's it.

The Sickly Timeline - Part One

Wednesday - John has diarrhea. Very stinky and bad diarrhea. We attribute this change to the oranges we had for a snack on Tuesday night. Other than the stink, he is behaving normally. Steven and I are fine.

Thursday - John has thrown up twice during the night in his crib. He still has diarrhea. Still behaving quite normally although not eating very well. Steven & I are still fine...so far.
10:00pm - I am on the computer, can hear Steven upstairs... "not feeling well...not sure which end...oh my god..."
10:30pm - Can still hear Steven upstairs but now it is "bathroom noises". Think that I will stay downstairs for awhile longer. Hear Steven shouting "GET A BUCKET". I run to get the bucket and race upstairs. Due to brilliant thinking, I also run to get a plastic kitchen garbage bag to use as a liner.
11:00pm - Check to see if Steven is still alive. Smelly but alive. Painful but alive. I go to bed and wait for a break to use the bathroom to brush my teeth.
Friday
12:15am - I decide to sleep on the sofabed due to all the running back and forth to the bathroom and subsequent noises. Check on John. He seems fine.
3:00am - I awaken. Not sure why. Go up to check on Steven. Still the same sad state. He asks for Gatorade. I decide that he is in no condition to care for John the next morning and tell him so. He thanks me. I get ready to go to 7-11 for Gatorade.
3:25am - Am back from store. I call my office to leave a message for my co-worker that I will not be in to work the next day because both John & Steven are sick. I finish my message, hang up the phone, start to go upstairs, turn around and run to the downstairs bathroom to throw up. I am sick now too.
3:45am - crawl upstairs to check on John. He smells like vomit but is sleeping nicely. Consider waking him to change him and change the sheets. Decide to simply cover the offending area with a receiving blanket and let him sleep.
3:30am - 8:00am - alternate running downstairs and curling up into the fetal position on the sofabed. Wondering if this will ever end. Wondering how I can still be throwing up when there's nothing left to throw up?
8:00am - John wakes up. Get my sorry ass moving up to strip the bed, change John and wash him up a bit. Throw the stuff in the laundry. Check on Steven, he seems like he's alive...barely.
8:15am - John drinks his milk and juice. Plays with his toast. I let him watch Sesame Street while he eats. Thank God it's on, it's his favorite show. I try to drink some ginger ale. This goes down quite well.
8:30am - Ginger ale not sitting well. Comes back up quite well also. Feel very guilty as I gave up drinking soda for lent.
9:10am - Call my doctor, they ask how long it takes to get to the office. I say approximately 40 minutes. I have an appointment for 10am. I love my doctor, they can always fit me in.
9:15am - say a short prayer. Throw up once more before getting ready. Am sweating bullets. Am kind of dizzy as well. Hope for the best once I hit the road. I get John dressed and clean him up a bit, bundle him up and away we go.
9:55am - after much concentration, am awash in sweat, we arrive at the doctor's office
10:15am - leave the doctor's office. He gives advice for all three of us to follow. I think he feels sorry for me. I am still sweating bullets.
10:45am - am at Shopper's Drug Mart parking lot. Call Steven. Tell him that I won't get him a slurpee or a smoothie as this is against the advice of the doctor. We are to stay away from dairy, not eat any solids and only drink pedialite (or similar adult version) for 24 hours. He tries to convince me otherwise. I tell him I am too tired to carry John to two different places. I go into Shopper's and buy pedialite, pedialite freezies, the adult version which I can't remember the name but holy crap it's 15.99 for 10 doses and more diet ginger ale. I am still sweating bullets. I wonder if they think I'm shoplifting. John refused to go into a shopping cart so I'm struggling with three heavy bags and a wandering toddler on the way to my truck.
11:00am - Thank the lord I'm back at home. John goes into his playpen with a sippy of pedialite, I am back into my jammies and on the sofa bed, Steven is moaning and groaning upstairs still. Sesame Street is on TV again. It's the same episode but I'm not sure if John can tell the difference. I return a phone call from my office while quietly dying on the sofabed. I feel badly that I'm letting them down but there is no way in the world I am able to work today, I can barely even stand.

I fall asleep.

I wake up and sprint to the bathroom. How fair is this? I have nothing left to vomit. I can't even begin to describe the pain. I consider drinking something just so I can have something to throw up next time and it won't be so painful.

I make John stay in his playpen for most of the day. Unfair but far safer since neither Steven nor I am able to care for him properly today. John is supposed to drink as much pedialite as he wants. He drinks an entire bottle of pedialite during the day. I don't think he's quite as sick as Steven & I.

The remainder of the day consists of much bathroom time, moaning and groaning, randomly falling asleep and trying to drink the adult pedialite.

8:00pm - It's finally time to put John to bed. He falls to sleep immediately.
8:30pm - I fall asleep on the sofabed.

14 pounds

What is the amount of weight Steven & I lost this weekend while sick.

A Visitor from the Far North

Sometimes it takes John awhile to warm up to you...

I mean, not a long while or anything...

Someone is playing with me and someone else is taking my picture...
how bad can that be?

Cousin Wayne and John

Language Debate

The federal minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism says he is worried about Canadian citizens who can't speak either official language.

Jason Kenney says he wants to see new regulations to ensure anyone who is a citizen can speak either English or French.

"Someone who has been here for 15 years and can't speak English or French is basically locking themselves out of the vast majority of jobs and is isolating themselves socially, and that is a tragedy."

Kenney, who is the Conservative MP for Calgary Southeast, says that while there are points awarded for proficiency in either official language, new immigrants should be encouraged to improve their language skills before coming to Canada.

He believes that if someone can't complete a citizenship test in either language, they should be turned down.

The above is an excerpt from the local news tonight. I'm not sure how I feel about this. On the one hand, I truly believe that one needs to know the official language(s) of their adopted country to assimilate. But on the other hand, it's difficult to not be have empathy for the citizens.

Me: I'm not sure I agree.
Steven: Why not?
Me: because if stricter immigration laws like that had been in place, I probably wouldn't be here.
Steven: one can only dream.
Me: Screw you.

Kiss Me I'm Irish

Okay, I lie. I'm not Irish.
At least I don't think so.
Who cares...
KISS ME!

No Personality Whatsoever!

Seriously, my child is such a dud.
Oh, shhh...I think he heard me.

He has no sense of humor, at all.
He has no playful tendencies.
Nothing at all. He's so ho-hum!
Holy smokes... Where's John? Where did he go?

There he is! Phew, thought I lost him for a second.

These Boots are Made for Walking...

So not true.

It's a conundrum, really. With this latest cold blast of winter, I've been wearing my big Barney coat (think dinosaur, not the department store) and winter boots. Lately I've been coming home with wet, cold feet. My usual boots are completely letting me down. These short black winter boots are no longer water proof so last night I pulled out my short blue winter boots. All the while wondering why I never wear them. No they are not so terribly fashionable, but neither am I (see Barney coat reference above). The blue boots are lined, waterproof, easy to slip on/off and have kick ass rubber grips.

And then it came back to me.

On my walk from the train to my office this morning, I developed a blister on my left heel. On the walk from my office to the train tonight, I developed a blister on my other heel.

So here's the problem. Do I endure cold, wet feet OR do I endure warm, hurting feet?

Welcome to my world.

Death is nothing at all

Death is nothing at all,
I have only slipped away
into the next room.

I am I,
and you are you;
whatever we were to each other,
that, we still are.

Call me by my old familiar name,
speak to me in the easy way
which you always used,
put no difference in your tone,
wear no forced air
of solemnity or sorrow.

Laugh as we always laughed
at the little jokes we shared together.
Let my name ever be
the household word that it always was.
Let it be spoken without effect,
without the trace of a shadow on it.

Life means all
that it ever meant.
It is the same as it ever was.
There is unbroken continuity.

Why should I be out of mind
because I am out of sight?

I am waiting for you,
for an interval,
somewhere very near,
just around the corner.

All is well.

---

Henry Scott Holland
1847 -1918

The Entire Package

We were having a discussion about attaching my rings because I'm tired of both rings spinning around my finger and the diamonds being off centre.

Steven: put scotch tape at the bottom.
Me: bottom?
Steven grabbing my hand and indicating the BACK of the rings.
Me: (gesturing) this is the bottom. And this is the back.
Steven: (flipping my hand) And this is the bottom. This is the top.
Me: (silence)
Steven: geez. I thought you were supposed to be the smart one. I have to be the eye candy AND the smart one now?
Me: heaven help all of us.

Calgon Take Me Away....

You'd think that I'd be able to get a little privacy in the bathroom. Well, you could think that but you'd be wrong. It's hard enough with John circling you and trying to touch the toilet and trying to bend down to see where the sound is coming from. Add Riley into the mix and it's damn near impossible to concentrate. Picture John alternately circling me and grabbing Riley. Then picture Riley trying to escape. All this in our tiny, tiny bathroom.

Learning the C, C, C's....

I'm going to a lunchtime class tomorrow. It's called Controlling Clutter and Chaos.

I told Steven that I was going to this class.
Steven: is it about work or home.
Me: I think it's a general life thing. Controlling the clutter and chaos in your life.
Steven: so you'll get rid of me.
Me: I think it would cover everything. Work, home, life, mind.

Notice that I didn't actually answer his question.

I'm kind of excited about going. I like learning new things. I'm such a dork.