GAT'sfamily

Our family: Mom, Dad, 5yr old, 2yr old, and very large, but friendly dog in N. KY

Friday, June 30, 2006

Oh yeah, here's our tax dollars at work

Forget about drugs, we need sting operations against the real culprits corrupting American society. Let's go after the Amish trying to make a living.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060628/ap_on_re_us/amish_raw_milk_2

Anyone else notice it's hazy as to if the law distinguishes giving or selling?

HELP PLEASE

It's 8:00 in the morning and the boys are already in their rooms till I'm done with my diet coke for fighting with each other. I think I'll loose my mind today.

Thursday, June 29, 2006

I'm free! I'm free! ..... and I feel drunk

I've finally done it. For the first time in almost 6 years I have broken free from the scratches, and the glare, The fogg on humid days. Yes I finally got contacts again. Last time I wore contacts was when I was 6 months pregnant with #1. While I'm not ready to throw my glasses out yet. It does feel strange to actually be able to see, and my face feels so light :-)

Only drawback is I had forgotten how uncomfortable it is for you're eyes to adjust to something like this. In addition to feeling like there's something in my eye (duh there is) I'm having a few depth perception issues at the moment. It should go away in a day or so, I hope. And I'm thinking I may like a nap today, and I'll have to take them out for that. Forgot about that one little drawback to contacts. Oh well.

Oh oh, and I forgot. While everytime I'd buy glasses with my insurance I'd end up paying like at least $150 above and beyond what they cover, with contacts it will only be $119 and that's after my first 6th month suply runs out. Actually insurance would have covered an additional $10 if I'd gone ahead and gotten the years prescription now, but seems to me I remember hearing about a website you can get contacts on cheaper ;-)

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

Fun weekend

Last weekend we went camping 4 hours away, and met up with JK and her girls, who were on vacation 8 hours from us. I'm not sure if I've convinced her to LOVE camping although she seemed to like it and I think her children will bug her to go more often. Actually her hubby needs to watch out as I see some persuading into a camper in their future.

We had a great time it was so nice to see her again, and I can't belief how big and grown up the girls are getting. Unfortunately I only took 3 pictures and was always leaving my camera in the car, but I will post them later. Of course the picture I got of JK is her taking a picture of the kids...Big surprise ;-) She on the other hand took a ton so you'll have to bug her about blogging them.

Friday, June 16, 2006

I'm a horrible horrible wife - The Surgery Saga

Sorry it took me almost a week after the oblation to get around to blogging more about last weekend. Can I use the fact my parents are still here as an excuse?

So to start on Sunday we left the boys with #2 coming down with a fever. We debated me staying, but figured Grandma had 5 kids and could handle it. If not I was only 2 hours away. We did have a wonderful "date" day. I know it's sad when your hubby needs heart surgery for an excuse to have a date, but that's our life. It probably sounds awful, but as I told hubby if the worse case senario happened and he died I'd really regret having wasted the last day we had together, so for the most part I really just enjoyed our time together and didn't think about Monday.

We left the house around noon and had lunch at a not so kid friendly restraunt we wanted to try, drove to Lexington, found our hotel (after teasing hubby about not brining directions and getting lost), checked in, walked around downtown Lexington, had subway and saw "A prairie Home Companion" at the most awesome movie theater. It was one of those old pre-movie theater's that still had a stage, and all the original (or reproduction) decor. It was so pretty, almost didn't notice the movie LOL. Actually the movie was very good and anyone who's father made them listen to the radio show growing up, or who lived in Mpls/St. Paul will like it. Yes I fit both those categories, and yes if you go see it, I have eaten in the diner. After the movie we headed back to the hot-tub room Paul rented and enjoyed the rest of the night. In hindsight the amount of activity in the last part of our evening might not have helped his recovery efforts, but I'll let you're imaginations fill in the details on that :-) Needless to say we didn't get to sleep till after midnight.

The next morning we got up at 5am to head over to the hospital. Hubby did all the fun paperwork junk and when they took him in at 7:30 I had a coffee, donut and tried to doze in the waiting room. Honestly for the majority of the sugary time I was WAY too tired to think about much, much less worry about if he'd be ok. For some stupid reason I choose an mystery to read, I really should have had something mindless. Around 11:30 I was starting to worry since a) it was only suppose to be like a 2-3 hour procedure, and b) all the other "families" that got there when we did, relatives were done. I checked with the person at the desk and they called back. She said he was almost done and was doing fine. Ok great. I go walk around outside and tried to read. 12:30 still no word when my hospital supplied pager goes off, Me thinking he's done rushes back to the desk to find out "he's almost done and doing fine" Ummmmm isn't that what you said an hour ago????. I will say by 1 I was really starting to worry, but then they called me back saying he was in recovery and the Dr was ready to talk to me.

Turns out Hubby did have complications. He had 2 places misfiring instead of one, the freezing technology wasn't working so he had to switch to nuking it with microwaves, and at some point they had to change rooms because the machine in the room they were in didn't appear to be working right. It was new....Nice. In the end one of the things was completely taken care of for sure, and the Dr. Thinks the other one was, but he didn't get as complete a burn on it as he'd like and there is a slight chance the tissue will heal itself again and allow the electrical impulses to pass.

(THIS IS THE HORRIBLE WIFE PART)

After talking to the Dr they let me go back to recovery where they had just pulled the tubes out of his groin (hece the night before not "helping" recovery, and muscle soreness). Hubby who is very well known to tense up at everything was really having a rough time. They'd giving him a TON of medicine and he was fighting it tooth and nail, for some reason, and in alot of pain. After the nurses said he could go upstairs he asked to pee. He had to lay down flat on his back for 6 hours, and hence needed help. The nurse pointed to a urinal and told me I could help him and walked out. Um WHAT???? I don't know what the Hell to do with that thing, I mean when I was a hospital volunteer in high school I spilt water all over a patient and Hubby couldn't move for 6 hours. She looked at me like I lost my mind when I told her I didn't know what to do, while backing up as much as I could in the tiny cubicle, but she did then hold the bottle for hubby, and sure enough he almost over-flowed it, and I know he would have if I'd been holding it at that angle.

After our stay in recovery I accompanied a very uptight hubby up to his room. Let's just say Maternity wards have MUCH nicer accommodations. Especially the CHAIR. Hubby was tired, I was tired, and everything I said grated on his nerves so I put my head down on his bed and fell dozed off. This was actually a good thing because he calmed down enough to sleep. At this point I left, went back to the hotel, laid down for 20 minutes soaked in the hot tub, got supper and went back up.

When I got back he was awake and look a thousand times better, but that's when I met his nurse assistant, again over the pee question. He called her in to help him pee, and in she came, but she looked a me and said you can help him. To which I answered I don't want to help him, I don't know what to do. She said well sometimes men feel uncomfortable.....She obviously never had kids as she didn't understand my complete lack of sympathy in my answer of I've had how many people poking and prodding me in hospitals, he can have his NA hold a bottle under his thing. We almost ended up in a staring contest over who would do it. I "almost" said Hey chick this is "YOUR" job, not mine. I don't have a clue. Hubby did point out the next day it may have been that she's use to old geezer's on the heart floor not people close to her own age and that's why she was uncomfortable...Guess he had a point, but that's not what I was thinking at the moment. Besides it still is her job and hubby was so drugged he didn't care who was holding the thing. Actually I think he might have enjoyed it!

There's no much more to tell after that. They let him sit up and stand at 7:30, I went back to the hotel at 9, had another soak in the hot tub, finished my book (I had 10 pages left), and passed out by 11. Next morning hubby called and woke me at 9:45 saying they were ready to spring him. I tossed on clothes ran down to get my continental breakfast, packed up, picked up hubby, and we stopped for an early lunch at an Atlanta Bread Company. Hubby was moving very slowly so I had to help him walk in, and I did ask him to at least turn his chair inward if he was going to sit there looking like death warmed over, wearing a hospital bracelet, holding his crotch, instead of displaying the grabbing action to a table of middle - aged women across the aisle.

Hubby was sore and slept for a few days, but now seems to be back to fairly normal. My mom even tattled that he forgot and started to lift #1 a little today before remembering to put him down. So to me that means he's almost back to normal! And tomorrow we get another date in before the folks leave on Monday!

Oh and #2 did have a fever that spiked up to 103.6, plus the runs for grandma. I took him to the Dr on Wed to find it was a summer viruse and would go away in 4-5 days. Sure enough Thursday he was good and Friday just fine.

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

We're home

We're back from Hubby's surgery. All went fine for the most part. He had a few minor complications so the whole thing took about 5 hours instead of 3, and he's a little more sore then "normal" but otherwise he's ok, and counting on the fact that everyone says he will feel much better then before after he recovers.

Friday, June 09, 2006

a) MIA for a bit, b)A slight failure c)mother's

A)
Hubby is having his surgery on Monday. My folks are here to stay with the kids so I will probably be MIA for a while. Sunday Hubby and I are heading to the next city over to "pretend" we're having a date night. We'll need to have him at the hospital at 6:00 AM Monday. Hence the reason I didn't want to drive an hour and a half that morning thank you.

Since I don't "think" I posted the details, He is having a heart oblation. Basically he has an irregular heart beat so they are cutting a hole in the artery in his leg, feeding a camera and electrical wires into his heart, attempting to make it go out of wack so they can find the bad circuits, and then either freezing the bad circuits or nuking them with radio waves if the freezing doesn't work. Kind of sounds like one of his weird sci-fi flicks. Anyways it really isn't suppose to be a big deal, and he should be out on Tuesday. There is only a .01 percent of a chance of any major complication, 1 percent chance of a minor one, but all prayer's and good thoughts would be appreciated.

B)
I've had a huge garden failure. I have disgusting "garden greens" I wasn't as smart as TKW, and didn't think to post pictures for those more culinary inspired person's to help me identify and attempt to do something with them. I planted a package of seeds simply labeled as "Garden greens " See I assumed they were all different types of lettuce. I mean I did identify some Romaine and spinach growing. But when I tried to make a salad today it was NASTY like four of the kinds growing tasted like dirt, one was spicy, and one was almost soapy. I did think to take a leaf from each of the gross things and go pull them out the rest to free up more room for the "normal" plants. However this set's back my eating anything from my garden a few more weeks probably. Next year I buy 3 different packs of things I know what they are.

In addition to the lettuce disaster I have also succeeded in killing off my eggplant, artichokes, and I think rhubarb. The tomatoes are holding on to dear life by a thread, and I believe I will have to replace them with ones other people started. Oh yeah, and I forgot to plant the beans I found the package to late to start them. BUT ever the optimist my zucchini, and jack-o-lantern pumpkins, and radishes (yea I don't like them either, hubby does) look awesome and the cucumbers, while slow to start seem to actually be getting some height to them.

C)
Speaking of my mother, why does she always make me so damn emotional? I totally am ok with having had the miscarriage last Dec. It really doesn't bother me anymore. Yes I twinged when I ran into an acquaintance who is due 5 day's after I was suppose to be and she's ready to pop, but otherwise I'm fine...At least until my mother comes around. My neighbor's pregnant - the one I do daycare for, not due till next Jan. Cool I'll get to watch her baby without having another of my own right now. I don't want one right now (see topic A, and the last few posts) All my mother said to me is "are you ok with this, and the idea of doing daycare for her" and I start bawlin....Dang I hate crying ESPECIALLY in front of her, she always makes everything into such a big case, and really I am fine, but she won't believe me I am. It sucks

Well guess that's all from GAT's house for now, I have no idea how much I'll be on line or when I'll be online, but I'll post an update 'bout hubby when I can.

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

The more you do, the more there is

Someone please tell me how my house turned into the complete disaster It is????? I knew it was bad but Geesh. We've been madly cleaning because we were suppose to have a BBQ tomarrow with the most active contact I made from my personal ad, her hubby and kids. Turns out her kid is sick, but we still need to clean because my parents are coming to stay with the kids next week while Hubby has his surgery in another town 70 miles away.

Seriously I knew I dropped the ball on cleaning alot while working, but It didn't look that bad on the surface, but the more I clean the more I find to do. Our room is especially disasterous. Can I never ever in my life have a clean bed room? For whatever reason it always seems to be the dump space. Yes the house is dirty, but the big thing is we've seemed to accumulate junk all over the place. I mean sure the floor needs mopping, and the toilet needed cleaning despite being done constantly (I live with 3 males) but the big thing is the plie spots in every room that take forever to go through. Except our room. There the whole room was/is a pile spot. So far we've gotten through #1 and #2's rooms, and the living room. Still need to do under the vanity in the bathroom, part of the toy room, part of our room, and the kitchen. Also one of these day's I should stop ignorning all the grime on the window's too.

Friday, June 02, 2006

I'M OUTTA HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok, so maybe not to some exotic location, but we're going camping for the first time this year YIPPEE. I'm especially excited because we only got to go out once last year. We use to go almost every month from March - June, and Sept - Nov in TX. We even went in Feb once.

Plus my whole week has seemed as busy as Tuesday was, but on one VERY good point I met someone from my Craigslist ad that seems very promising. I really like her and her kids, and we met once, had a playdate once, and her and her hubby/kids are coming over next week for a BBQ Yay.

Only other thing going on with me is my split personality is making itself known again. Yes I truly have always felt like there are 2 me's and I'm happiest when I can aknowlege both (no I don't have Multiple personality disorder or any other psychotic illness, I'm just weird) but lately I've been ignoring one of them.

See personality A is the one who wants to live on a hobby farm in an old farm house, and be a SAHM as a life career and garden, cook, can, have animals, become crafty, be almost self sufficient with things like solar power etc. But personality B wants to travel the world, get a tattoo, live in a cool old house, maybe even a row house in the middle of the city in a neighborhood that's at a turning point, where I can become an activist and work in grass root organizations to change the neighborhood and the lives of the people living there. I don't know, maybe even get arrested for protesting something!

Since meeting Hubby, getting married, and having kids, personality B has been shoved in the corner because it's not practical. Plus the only attraction hubby might have to personality B is that she'd probably be willing to dye her hair blue (Yeah he's weird too). I have in a sense become the housewife, way to trilled about the fact I could actually serve my family a salad with lettuce I grew the other day. But with a series of events personality B has decided she needs to make her way to the surface again somehow. I'm just trying to figure out how to make them co-habitate in me without fighting. Usually they just fight over things like how to decorate...which is why I never get around to it despite all my wonderful ideas ;-) but now I'm deciding B needs more acknowledgment. I'm just need to figure out how to do so without upsetting the life A has made.

And if you're thinking I've lost it, trust me I've had this analogy of myself since high school, and I live a fairly normal life, at least "A" does ;-) Also yes Hubby has always known this about me. Giving him hope someday I'll have blue hair.