Déjà vu

There's a squirrel in my house. More later...

The Inadequacies of Words

My daughter brought home a homework assignment yesterday that was about synonyms. One wing of a butterfly had a word on it and the children were to write a synonym on the other blank wing. I guess it's a good thing that they learn at an early age that sometimes you have to look for a better word. I just wish they could put off for a long time the reality that, at times, there are no words to be found that will ever be able to express how they feel.

weary: fatigued, tired, exhausted, worn, jaded, debilitated, spent, toil-worn, faint

Is There A Better Way To Say This?

"Loading the dishwasher like a yak-herding nomad is better than not loading it at all."

Lenten Reflections

I thought I'd share a few things from my parish bulletin:

From: Fasting From Our Clutter, Catholic Update, St. Anthony Messenger Press, January 2008

SUNDAY, February 17
In a culture where what we do is valued above who we are, listening to God is sadly neglected. Pray about the clutter of excess doing, about busy-ness, about stress, about workaholism. Trust God with your work. See yourself as loved and valued for who you are, not what you do.

I like this one, but it's tough. Being a woman means lots of "doing," "busy-ness" and "stress." It's hard for us to look at ourselves as loved and valued for who we are when so many are so dependent on what we do.

Also for thought, some ideas from my pastor on other ways to "fast"--in addition to the food fasting--during Lent:

1. Fast from judging others. Remember how Jesus overlooks YOUR faults.
2. Fast from discouragement. Have hope in God who abides in you at every moment, giving you strength.
3. Fast from the problems that overwhelm your life and wear you down. Take each difficulty to Jesus and ask for help. He is just waiting to assist.
4. Fast from too much of the world. In Lent, spend 10 to 20 minutes a day in prayerful silence, appreciating the beauty of nature or doing spiritual reading.

Since I didn't specifically give anything up for Lent, I'm going to aim for #4 on the list. Have any of you decided on any Lenten Promises (that you don't mind sharing)?

Date Night Re-Visited

So, the last movie I saw in a theater was "Twisted." I took my husband on opening night as a surprise because it starred (surprise, surprise) Ashley Judd. That was in 2004. Keep in mind, I can count on one hand the number of times my husband and I have gone to see a movie--and that includes the time we were dating, too.

Anyway, today we saw the Hannah Montana movie. It was in 3-D. If you ever get motion sick, I don't recommend it. Otherwise, it was pretty good. Oh, and it wasn't just the two of us seeing it. We took the munchkin and one of her little friends along, too. My only real complaint is that the 3-D glasses were one-size-fits-all. And that one size must be the head of an 80's rock band star that has more hair than the fully grown mane on a male lion. I could barely get the glasses to stay on, let alone have the kids get theirs to stay on. After shelling out $15 per ticket (for the kids, too!) you'd think the theater could invest in some child-sized glasses.

Then we went to Chuck E. Cheese. At 5pm. On a Saturday. Unless you enjoy ear-splitting screams and being ruthlessly assaulted by un-chaperoned children, I don't recommend that, either.

Even so, I actually had a good time. It's about 6:45pm and the munchkin is already sound asleep. Maybe that's the trick to date night. Spend all the money on the kids, let them run around like little maniacs, and then they go to bed early so the grown-ups can get some peace and quiet.

So THAT'S how this whole parenting thing works!

To Save A Little Piece Of My Soul

For the past five years, I have always sent the children to school with homemade Valentines. I would buy the supplies and set them up so the kids could enjoy making something for their classmates and teachers. This year, with all of our medical concerns, I was very worried that I wouldn't be able to pull off something homemade, and I felt like I would be giving up a little bit of myself if I gave in and bought Valentines. Even though that thought is unreasonable--given the recent level of crisis--it was bothering me like a pebble in a shoe.

Sometimes adversity can wring the best out of a person.

I bought some pink and purple A9 (extra-large) envelopes and I let the kids decorate them. Inside the envelope went a pattern for a fancy paper heart cut-out--along the lines of making a paper snowflake--for all of the students to make when they get home.

And I hope they give those hearts to their mothers.

Happy Valentine's Day!

The Feeny Call

This is my Valentine's Day gift to you guys.
Hope it makes you smile :-D

All About MRSA

I have learned so much about Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus this week, I'd thought I'd share my story first, then the information.

My BBE (Best Baby Ever) woke up Monday morning with a large red lump on his thigh. There had been nothing wrong with him the night before except a small red mark that looked like I had fastened his diaper too tight. I had never seen anything like the lump on his leg before so I called the pediatrician's office and brought the baby in right away. The doctor was not overly concerned, said that it was cellulitis, and he drained the nasty looking lump. Dr. Amazing did take a swab to send off to the lab, just in case--he had a patient last year who ended up in the hospital because the infection had gotten worse. The pediatrician has always been great with telling us what was going on, which is usually nothing to worry about, and what to look for in a worst-case-scenario type of way. He prescribed an antibiotic to clear-up any lingering infection, and off we went.

Monday night, the BBE developed a fever and his leg, which had looked so much better after the doctor drained it, was back to looking swollen and red. After paging the doctor and talking to him, we agreed on a plan for the night. The baby's leg did not seem any worse for several hours, so we stayed at home. Tuesday morning, it was worse. I dashed off to the doctor's office right away, and as soon as two of the doctors in the practice consulted with each other, they told me the baby needed to be admitted to hospital. Thankfully they were able to secure a direct admission for us in order to avoid a whole Emergency Room ordeal. By 9:00 AM, I was filling out forms at the hospital.

I stayed with my poor little guy in isolation for three days. Tuesday afternoon, the lab confirmed that the infection was definatly Staph, but they wouldn't know for sure if it was MRSA for another 24 hours. Every precaution was taken as an IV antibiotic was given. The hardest part was when a surgical consult stopped in and told me that surgery was likely necessary to make sure the wound was completely drained. Surgery would require an OR and anesthesia--this was not a bedside procedure like the pediatrician had performed. I was told not to feed the baby after 4:00 AM the next morning in preparation for the operation.

There are not enough words on earth to describe the desperate prayers of a mother, as she is rocking her hungry child and he is gazing at her though his spikey lashes, his face soaked with tears.

The surgical team trooped in at 6:30 AM on Wednesday and seemed undecided. The attending physician was in surgery and was not able to come up until later. So, at 10:15 AM, I was finally given the OK to feed my frantic child even though surgical leader had not come back. By noon, we found out it was MRSA. Thankfully, the lab knew which antibiotic the bacteria was suseptible to, and my pediatrician had made the right call from the start. We had been using the correct medicine for 48 hours. Even though that was the case, the Anastesiologist came in around 7:00 PM to tell me that the surgical team had booked the OR for the morning and he was there to prepare me for what would be happening.

Afer he left, I prayed even harder. I was going to have to repeat the process of not-feeding once 4:00 AM came. And I was going to have the images of the anastesiologist's description to keep me company all night.

The army of people that came in Thursday morning were amazed by the improvement they saw. I cannot do their disbelief justice. I believe the combination of dozens of prayers, the Force, and our pediatrician's Amazing skill made it all possible. The surgical team leader checked-in with us around noon, was thrilled for us, and said she had no objections to us going home. It took a few hours to get cleared by all of the necessary doctors, but the baby was home by Thursday evening.

Throughout this whole ordeal, I had the same question and I asked it repeatedly. How did my 7 month old get MRSA? Here is the short answer: "dumb luck." I was told that same thing by more than one doctor, and even a few nurses (I did ask everyone).

The longer answer is this: over the past few years, there are a few strains of resistant Staph that
have colonized--people are carriers of it. MRSA can live on people's skin or in their bodies (nasal passages) without causing the host any infection or illness. These people may not even know they are MRSA carriers. But, for people with a limited immune response (ahem...babies), MRSA causes big problems. And because the wide use of antibiotics over the past three decades was almost unchecked--there have been countless numbers of inappropriate applications--the surviving Staph bacteria has grown stronger. MRSA is a perfect example of the Evolution of Human Disease. What didn't kill it made it stronger. Now we have to figure out how to live with it. Thankfully there are still a few medicines that can wipe out the infection before it causes permanant damage, or even death (as new germs and diseases are prone to do as they try to exist with their hosts).

The only recommendation the medical community can give is "wash your hands." And even that, as one doctor confided to me, is something used as encouragement to keep all germs at bay, rather than a confirmed preventative measure concerning MRSA. Any opening in the skin, from chapped, cracked skin or a bug bite up to an open cut/wound, presents microscopic MRSA the opportunity to move in. Even if you wash your hands, a carrier can come along and and pass on the bacteria. It's not something that is readily transmitted when it's an active infection since people are so cautious when MRSA is even suspected. We were in isolation before we even knew the Staph was Methicillian-Resistant. The thing is, we'll never know how this happened.

And honestly, I'm just happy to be home.

But I know I'll keep my eyes and ears open as more information about MRSA as it becomes available, and I will always have that desire to just know.

Until then, sweet sisters, wash your hands, moisturize your skin, and keep even your papercuts covered with a little bandage.

I'm going to go burn off the rest of my MacStewart-prone anxiety adrenaline now.

Joining in on The Force

Because Dad mentioned that he was sending it on to Sister #1's little guy, I'm sending some of mine too.

Love you all!

Drive-by Virtual *HUG*

    This post is a drive-by, quick-and-dirty, virtual hug from me to you. So wrap your arms around yourself and hug and squeeze until your arms turn blue.

    I love you.

One of Those Days...

It was a crappy day.

It's been a crappy night.

It's after 9:30pm. I just finished dinner. My dinner consisted of a handful of Wisconsin cheddar cheese curds and a handful of M&Ms. While not healthy, it was quite tasty. Don't worry, my daughter got a good dinner back at 5:30pm. Of course, on nights like tonight, Spaghettios do count as a "good" meal. Mama was not in a mood to cook tonight.

Good night everyone.

Snowscape

I'm watching the big fat snowflakes rush past the windows. Even though there is a foot of snow on the ground already, I don't mind the additional flurries. I only wish there was more of it. Much more. I'm longing for a blizzard despite the inconvience it would be for the rest of the city. February is a wretched month, so dark and gloomy still. I'd like nothing better than to wake up and find everything cloaked in dazzling white. Despite my love of summer and the beach and a star-filled sky, I do believe that a snowscape is one of the most beautiful things to behold. Perhaps one day I'll get a chance to paint a picture of the trees outside my back window with their branches laden with perfect snow...

Dr. Randy Pausch - from Oprah

I'm feeling inspired! This is about a 10-minute video and totally worth watching until the end. The funny thing is that I've always felt like my time is short and lately, it's been more intense. Not trying to be morbid or anything, but watching this made me feel better about where I am in life.