Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Mom is in the hospital again. She was standing next to the tub trying to fix her pants. I asked her to wait a few minutes until I dried my hands. Either she didn't hear me or thought she could fix them herself, but the next thing I know she is inside the tub. She hit her head on the tap and the tub wall. I got her out, I checked for broken bones first and didn't feel any. Her feet were on the tub chair so it was her torso and her arms inside the tub. I got her out, helped her downstairs and off we went to the ER. I cancelled Charlie's lesson when we got there. Good thing, because I left at 6:00 pm and his lesson was supposed to be at 4:30 pm. After numerous X-Rays, blood tests, urine tests, and CT scan, the verdict is she may have had a stroke. No broken bones, no concussion, no urinary tract infection. Thank goodness for all that, but a stroke? Oh my, I am at a loss of words of what to say of that. One area of the CT scan doesn't look good, so the neurologist will look at it tomorrow and determine if a MRI needs to be done or not.

I was able to get a hold of Richard right away which was good. I am to keep him up to date. I called Tillie and left a message for her. Maia isn't home (her daughter told me that. I was talking to her on face book) so I will call her in the morning.

I don't know what else to say. I need to go and clean the bathroom from where Mom fell. Her blood is still on the tub and the toilet because I certainly wasn't going to take time right then to clean it.

I am simply floored. A stroke? WHEN did she have this stroke? I have asked before about strokes because I know vascular dementia can be caused by them. I am at a loss for words. I am going to bed after I clean up.

Monday, August 30, 2010

I called the scooter store parts department and they are sending me out a key. How cool is that? They even still had my scooter info so my run to the car in the heat was for nothing. It is really really hot out right now with high humidity so my head is really sore. It isn't as bad as it was that one day, but it is sore.

I had 1 lesson today. Bob will be here on Wednesday as he was headed to the doctor with a problem of dizziness. Hope he gets that taken care of. Dizziness is not a pleasant thing to have happen to you. Frank started a new piece this afternoon. It is 13 pages long and takes about 15 minutes to play. The look on his face was priceless. It is a variation of Canon in D by David Lantz. He is a new age musician who's music I just love. I just have to find the original book that it is in. I am not sure where I have put it. Katie is coming this Sunday to put the music away! I am very excited about that because then all the music will be where it belongs and I will be able to find out what is missing and what I have. I think I will keep out the Christmas music though because it is almost time for the students to start practicing. I know it is a couple months away before we start practicing, but I will at least have the music all in one place.

Not much going on here today. It is just too hot to venture outside except for our usual. It is supposed to be hotter tomorrow! Ugh! Not fun! I hate the heat. It was so beautiful last week. Well, my season is coming! September is almost here! Wednesday, although it is supposed to be hot then too, but fall is just around the corner!

It has been a pretty good day so far, I had a nap after Mom's bath and so did she. I had a student so that was good. I have a student tomorrow and then 1 on Wednesday too. I also have a lesson on Saturday so that is good. We also have book club on Saturday! Yeah! fun!

I hope you are having a good day too.

Sunday, August 29, 2010

It's official. I have lost the keys (naturally both of them) to the scooter. One used to sit on my key chain and I have absolutely no memory of taking it off. I had them on May 25 when I last used the scooter, but have no idea what happened to them since. I called the scooter store (where I got the scooter) and they will call me back tomorrow. I am really upset over this because without those keys, it won't run and there are times when I need it. I don't remember where they could possibly be. I have checked purses and coat pockets where they might be and there is just no answer to the question. They are simply gone. I really hope they are easy to replace. I mean, they are generic keys, one key works on all of them, type thing. But still, how could I have lost them? I am always so careful with them and now I have lost them. I could just scream. The lady on the phone said it shouldn't be a problem. I hope not. I don't need it anytime soon, but you never know when I might. I go to stores that have scooters because, quite frankly, mine is very hard for me to put together because it is so heavy. I need a rest when i am done lifting it out of the car. Kathy did most of the lifting today and poor girl, had to lift it in and then right back out when we realized I didn't have the key to it. It was probably for the best we didn't go to the mall because Mom was so tired when we got back from Walmart and we only went into the pharmacy area. We didn't go through the whole store like Kathy and I normally do.

Mom and I picked up Kathy about 12 noon and went for Applebee's. We had a great time. We got an appetizer of spinach dip and chips. Boy, was that awesome. Mom didn't have any, but I didn't expect her to either. She said she wanted a burger for lunch, so I ordered a burger, knowing that the chances of her eating it was slim. I was right, we have the 2 mini burgers in the fridge for her dinner. She did drink 2 glass of milk though so I was happy. She had had an Ensure before we left so I wasn't worried she would be hungry. She is in the living room right now. I put her in there when we got home around 2:30 thinking she may take a nap. She is still awake, two hours later. She can sleep if she wants or she doesn't have too. It is all up to the little Mom. Kathy and I both got burgers and boy, they were huge and yummy. Yes, I know, not necessarily on the Richard Simmons plan. I also got us Starbucks on the way back to her parents house. I forgot to take the games to Kathy's house. I knew there was something I forgot. I will have to give them to her another time. Maybe Mom and I will take a day trip out there or something. We shall see. We had a great time though. I love spending time with her. I got a brief "hi" out of her girls when I picked up Kathy. She is going to the Disney Store in the mall. Originally, I was going to go with her, but it is probably for the best we didn't go since Mom is so tired. Of course, now so am I.

Anyways, my knee is still sore and being stupid. It is really annoying me, but there isn't anything I can really do about it except take pain pills and try to exercise and massage it, which I do frequently.

Not much happening besides teaching this week. I am looking forward to fall. Only 1 week left and the students will all be back into school. Richard's birthday is Saturday. I won't see him, but I will hopefully talk to him. He is turning 46 years old. It doesn't quite seem possible that he is that old, but he is. Of course, I sometimes feel older and younger all at the same time.

Mom looks really cute in her new hoodie. Kathy thought so too.

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Don't forget to check out the online magazine at the National Fibromyalgia Association!!!


www.fmaware.org
Today will be a quiet day for us. Not much going on but that is okay. The bit of excitement we had earlier today was when we were at Tim Horton's and Mom nearly passed out. Fortunately, there was a really nice lady there who told me to go and get Mom seated and she would bring us our tray. She even got Mom's milk out and the straw in for us. Wasn't that the sweetest thing? I mean, really, how nice can you be to complete strangers. Definitely an angel in waiting in her. Mom is still a bit dizzy when she stands. I gave her some of her dizzy medicine. If it doesn't improve, I will have to take her in and I really don't want to do that to her. It is so hard on her in the ER, she doesn't know which way is up and what is going on. But, if it is necessary, I most certainly will have her looked at. We don't need her to have any problems right now. She has enough of them.

Overall, I must say, we have been very lucky. There are SO many nice people out there. We often have doors held for us, or our trays brought to the table to us, and just a host of other things done for us. We are very blessed with that. The people in this area are very nice and friendly to others. Only once can I remember a dirty look from someone when I was taking Mom somewhere. I don't remember where we were, but it was like, why is she out? kind of look, you know what I mean? That was several years ago too and Mom was much better then. Kind of makes me wonder what the woman would think of me bringing Mom out now. Mom enjoys getting out of the house. She is in the living room for her rest time. I will probably join her soon as I am a bit tired today. My knee is pretty sore today. Stupid knee, it was supposed to be better by now like it usually is. Usually the knee acts up for a few days and then goes back to normal. It should be fine in a few more days. It is just a fibro flare up.

Kathy is in town this weekend! Today is her brother's wedding reception. It should be lovely. I bet the family is having a good time. Tomorrow, Kathy and I are going out for a short bit of time. Mom loves visiting with Kathy. She is coming too. I am glad Kathy doesn't mind. She totally understands that I can't leave Mom alone in the house at all. Who knows what I would come home too? I don't mean a messy house or something like that. I mean, would she still be in the house when I got home? She may wander off and that would be bad. She hasn't wandered in a few weeks, but that doesn't mean she is done wandering. Kathy and I are going to Applebee's for lunch/dinner. I am excited about that. I have a gift certificate from Christmas to use! How cool!

I think most of today will be a Walker, Texas Ranger season 8 day. Mom enjoys the show and we are almost done watching the entire series. We then will move on to either Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys Mysteries, JAG, TJ Hooker, or Scarecrow and Mrs. King. She loves all of those shows. Today, I am also going to list all of our bills and then pay some. I bought new folders and notebooks to keep better track of our bills. I have done pretty well, but I like to be super organized and I don't feel just keeping the bills on the table is organized enough. They need to be filed and put away when they are paid. I bought a new expandable file (it's pink, of course) for them too. The notebooks are Tinkerbell. She is just wonderful and one of my favorite Disney characters. Of course, we all know that Pooh Bear is my favorite!

I hope this finds you doing well!!!

Friday, August 27, 2010

Mom did awesome with the dentist. She was here for about 30 minutes and Mom did just great. She was scared, but they were really good with her and now the bad teeth are out. Thank goodness we did it time before the infection would get into the bloodstream which is exactly what the dentist was worried about. The teeth were whole too, sometimes they aren't and then that is a problem, but Mom was fine and caught in time! She took 2 children's melt away Tylenol to help with the pain. I hope it doesn't pain her very much today. She seems to be doing just fine right now. She is playing with the Joann's flyer.

My stomach isn't doing too well right now. I took some medicine so I hope it improves shortly. It should, but one never knows.

It is beautiful out again today. This week has been such beautiful weather. Nice and pretty looking and cooler weather!!!! I mean, how can you go wrong with this type weather. It is perfect summer weather for me.

I went grocery shopping alone again!!! Carolyn came to stay with Mom while I went. Fortunately, my tummy got better as I was shopping and now I am back to normal. I joined Sam's Club too. This way we can get our Ensure for Mom in bigger quantities. I also got me an Adkins shakes. I don't know what they taste like but some days I just don't feel like eating much food and these would be good for me. I didn't have too much to buy because really, it wasn't so much we need food as we needed toilet paper and paper towels. That was what we were out of. I plan to do a big shopping of that type of stuff next month at Sam's Club. We have the empty cabinet space in the back room to put them in plus there is room in the upstairs closet, now that we can get to it.

All in all a good day. Mom weighs the same. The nurse just weighed her so she hasn't lost the 2 pounds she gained in the hospital so that is really good. I made her say, "I, Mommy Paxton, am doing really really good today." She repeated after me. I want her to say these things so she realizes how good she is doing.

I hope this finds you doing well too.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

The weather is so beautiful out right now that I hope it stays. Okay, I know I am being a little crazy because the weatherman did say it would be hot again next week. Yuck. I don't like being hot. I think I have said this every hot day we have had. I must be a broken record. I have 2 students today, one at 2 pm and the other at 5 pm. I am not visiting my friend for knitting today as she is not feeling too hot. She has a summer cold and we all know how yucky those can be. So, get well soon Heather B-T! I hope it doesn't go through the rest of the family and her little boy and husband don't get it. Her daughter already had it, so hopefully she won't get it again. That's always the worst. You are over it and then, bam! it is back.

Mom is doing fine today, a few meltdowns before she was full because she was hungry. She is hallucinating a bit more today than usual, although right now it is okay and she is not hallucinating. She was about an hour ago and it was making her cry. Poor thing, nothing like hallucinating to begin with but ones that make you cry have got to be worse. At least she isn't frightened by them. Usually she sees people that aren't there. I think she is looking for me and my brothers from when we were smaller. I tell her they went home, much easier than telling her they aren't there because to her, they are there and she can see them. This is very common in stage 6 of Alzheimer's. Very common. She is entertaining herself with an empty envelope. She does this often and I often think, I should just hand her empty boxes and envelopes and stuff for her to play with. Naturally, when I do, she doesn't want to play with them. Just like a child, I guess.

I am tired now. I wasn't earlier when we got up, but I am now. I think after my 2 pm lesson I am going to take a wee nap. I hope Mom takes one too because she didn't nap yesterday and I don't like her not taking a nap 2 days in a row. Just for fun, I am going to map out a way to Seattle, Washington. It is 2400 miles away and a 36 hour drive. Hm, should I just jump in my car with Mom and go? I wish! My brother lives there and I miss his family a lot so does Mom. Andrew is much closer, just a 2 hour drive away. Problem there is he is never home so going to visit him is not too much of an option. I knew that driving straight through to Seattle was about 2 1/2 day drive, but of course I would not be driving straight through, you got to answer Mother Nature, get some sleep, and stretch. It would be bad to drive straight through because by the time I got there I would sleep for a week to recover. The 5 hour plane ride is much better for us. I am hoping we get to see him before Christmas.

I am still waiting on my back disability. I called again today, the gentleman doesn't know what the hold up is either. I hope they call me back like he has asked. I would like to go and see Richard, but I don't think Mom could do a plane trip. It could be hard on her. I don't know. I know Richard said he was coming here before the end of the year, I am just impatient. I miss him and his family a lot, and I mean a lot. Mom misses him too because right now she asks about the boys quite frequently. It is hard to tell her they are away because she cries and I don't like her to cry.

We went out with Aggie after her lesson. It was so fun. She is such a nice young woman. I can't believe she is 20, but she is. Wasn't she just starting high school? I know, I know, time sure does fly. Of course, Abby and William were just babies the other day to me. Now they are 11 and 9. I haven't seen them in over 2 years now. I feel like we are missing so much. Anyways, back to the Aggie girl. We went and had a sandwich and pop with her. We do this before she moves back into school. She leaves for MSU tomorrow. She is starting her junior year already. I don't know how often I will see her for lessons this fall because she is starting to work at Macy's. She is keeping an eye on Christmas turtlenecks for Mom size medium since she often works in women's clothes.

Frank will be here shortly for his lesson. His mom just called, they are near by but stuck in traffic. I know how that goes.

Mom is possible seeing the dentist tomorrow here at our house. The dentist she saw a the nursing home has a mobile practice so she may see her here tomorrow to get those 2 teeth pulled. We will be making an appointment in September for her cleaning and for filling the three teeth. I want her to have the teeth all taken care of because it can cause some serious problems for the little person. I don't want serious problems for the little person. She certainly doesn't need it.

Anyways, I hope this finds you doing well and having a good day. It has been a good one for us too. Going with Aggie, lessons, relaxing, and resting. Lots of fun and relaxation for the day. Tomorrow is also possible grocery shopping unless for sure the dentist is coming, then I may have to cancel shopping and be home.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Face book is being totally stupid at this point. Everything is freezing on me, so forget that for right now! I hate it when it does that. I am not that computer savvy so anything that is out of the ordinary is bad for me.

We are having a pretty good day so far. We had our usual. I forgot to give Mom (and mine) her medicine before we left like I usually do so we had a few meltdowns at the restaurant. She was hungry and having the hunger meltdowns. She was pretty much fine once she finished her food. Of course, it is easier to have her finish her food with medicine already in her. I get so mad when I forget like this because she does feel better with her anxiety medicine. The other two, well, yes she needs them, but they aren't detrimental to her feeling fine like the anxiety medicine. Naturally, as soon as we came home we got our medicines.

We are using a new service at Walmart for the pharmacy. They now call you to let you know your medicine is ready. It is really cool and very helpful. Like I just ordered Mom some anxiety medicine as it is almost (but not quite) empty and the message said tomorrow after 2 pm it would be ready. Well, within a half hour I got a message from them saying it is ready for pick up. How cool is that? We will be going to pick it up tonight I think. I also want to take Mom over to Old Navy as they have hoodies on sale and I want to see what colors and styles they have. Mom wants a pink one, so that is what we are going to get. A new pink hoodie for mom. She needs a few for fall and winter this year as she only has 1 for winter and 2 for fall. For summer we have about 5 or 6 of them, but not the heavier ones that she will need this winter. I am hoping for a nice light blue one too. She looks so cute in hoodies. I would post a picture, but I can't find the cord to the camera and the computer right now. I have been looking but no luck so far. I know it is in a box because I saw the box a while ago. I thought, oh, I will remember this is where the cord is, but no, I do not remember where I saw the cord.

It is a quiet day for us. Angela is on her way for Mom's bath and hair wash. I don't know if Mom will take a nap after that or not. She might. It all depends on how tired the little lady is. If we don't go to Old Navy today that is fine. We can always go Friday. I plan to get her hair cut Friday anyhow so whenever we go is fine as long as we go while the hoodies are on sale. I am not really tired right now, but I thought I wasn't yesterday and I slept for 2 hours. It was very refreshing although sometimes in the afternoon when I sleep my dreams seem so real to me for some reason. I don't have that problem at night, just the afternoon, I wonder why? Hm, who knows. It's me and I do strange things.

It is pretty nice out. We aren't suppose to get heat again until next week. Ugh, I hate the extreme heat we have had this summer. It gives me such headaches.

I am still waiting for the company to call me back about the hospital bed. I want it out of our living room, it is hogging up a huge amount of space that I need for other things, like the children's table and chairs that are strewn in the middle of the room. They are in the way, not to mention the wheelchair of Tillie's is in the hallway and that is so in the way, I hit it every time I go by it. I have a prescription to get Mom a wheelchair that I haven't filled yet. I am going to this week. I don't like the wheelchair of Tillie's as it is too hard to push so I am hoping for one that is easier to push, if not I won't fill the prescription. Mom's orders are for a lightweight chair so I am thinking it should be easier to push and put in the car. Right now my scooter is in the trunk and Mom's walker is in there too. Mom doesn't like her walker and won't use it. I think she should, but she hates it and you can't make someone use something they hate. I have tried and it doesn't work very well. All that happens is that I get upset and so does she. Not very helpful.

My knee is still being stupid. It isn't as bad as yesterday but I was expecting by now it would be better. This is getting ridicules. I mean, really, get better all ready.

I hope this finds you doing well and enjoying your day.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Mom and I were watching the news but I had to turn it off because she was getting upset. I don't know if this means she is getting another infection. I certainly hope not. She cannot go through this again. I mean it has only been 2 weeks since the last one. I will keep an eye on her for the next few days. However, the stories on the news were sad and about murder and car jacking and similar so I do understand her getting upset. We already saw the weather and that was the important thing that we needed to see. Mom is slowly eating her dinner, a piece of chicken breast and an ensure. I stopped giving her anything else because she wouldn't eat it. She would be full so what was the point?

We are watching "Holmes on Homes" on the HG TV channel. Mom and I like this channel a lot because it is calming and and non violent or upsetting to her. I like the house hunters show, it is interesting to see people by their next homes. Someday I hope to buy my own house, but it certainly doesn't like that will happen any time in the near future. I don't need a big house, just one that has a room for teaching. Our house is the perfect size for what Mom and I need. I just wish we could use the family room. I hope to try it again all next spring to see if we can use the room. Mom redid the room a few years ago. She ripped everything apart, the floor the walls and had it drywall and did some waterproofing. She did a great job. Mom added insulation in the floor and more on the walls to see if she could make the room warmer. Unfortunately, for her it wasn't warm enough but I hope that we have enough blankets plus the gas logs will warm the room for us to use. I love that room. We do need to put new foam in the cushions in the sofa and chairs so that they can be used. We have to get another TV because we don't have one down there. We brought it up to the kitchen because we watch all our TV at the dining room table.

We are having a pretty good day. Mom did alright with her physical therapy. She didn't do great, but okay. Her right leg was really good, but the left, well, that wasn't so good. It was like she lost focus. I think we should start with the left leg next week so that if she runs out of steam again, it would be okay. I had one lesson, Charlie. I got all the new music that I ordered, unfortunately, it was for alto sax not tenor so all but the 2 books I needed are going back because I can't use it. I am rather disappointed. This is the first time this has every happened to me from this company. Usually they send exactly what we need. Good thing it was on approval and I don't have to pay for it because I don't need it. I will be taking care of that tomorrow. I am keeping the 2 books because those I need for sure. As a matter of fact, they certainly came in use today as Charlie started the first volume today. I was excited that he moved up to advanced volume 1 today from the Intermediate.

My knee is still giving me issues. It is hard to straighten at times and when I was rolling over in bed it hurt to put pressure on it. Rather annoying. I hope it gets better soon because it is really getting in the way with helping Mom walk and get up. It has been going on since Saturday night and I am getting very frustrated by it. My head is okay, just the usual headache, since it is cooler out it isn't so bad like it has been. My right arm has bruises on it. They are huge and look like someone beat me up on my arm. I bruise so easily because of the medicine I take for my blood disorder. I have to take blood thinners everyday so I don't get another blood clot. Boy, I don't want to go through that again.

I hope this finds you doing well and having a good day. We have had a pretty good day especially since I was able to take a brief (2 hour!) nap before Charlie's lesson! I woke up when he arrived.

Monday, August 23, 2010

It has been a good day today. Mom is doing really well and I am not bad. My left knee is giving me problems, but that will go away in a day or so (it usually does). I called the bed company and they will pick it up this week. I told him she just didn't like it. When she is farther down she may need one, but not right now. I did talk to Tillie and told her and she is disappointed about it but what can either of us do? Mom really didn't like. She doesn't do well with change and that was a big change. If we need one in the future, then we will call this company back, but not until then.

We also are not getting a dog. With Mom in the condition she is in, her physical therapist and doctor both say she shouldn't get one. I can always get one later in life after Mom is gone, right now is the time for it.

I had 4 lessons today. I was expecting 5, but young Miss Calli has a sore throat so it is best she stay home and rest. I had the Muglia girls and Bob. The girls are doing really well. Hannah and Natalie are working on Mozart's Alla Turca. I love that piece. It is one of my absolute favorites. All three are working on a Sonatina by Clementi. I just love Clementi's Sonatinas. They will play many of them during their time with lessons as there are so many to chose from. Frank will have his lesson later this week as he has Marching Band practice this evening. I remember marching band. I loved it when I was in high school. It was the highlight of the school year. We even were able to go to Florida and march in the Orange Bowl Parade New Year's Eve. After the parade, back at the hotel, the band teacher and chaperones threw us students a New Year's Eve party. It was great. My friends and I had a good time together. I hope to find some pictures of us so I can submit them to the reunion committee for the slide show. I think it would be fun. Karlyn and Kathy had a great time (as far as I know) too although we didn't room together. So I am hoping Frank has a good time with his marching band whatever they do.

It is so nice out today. It is nice and cool. The sun is out now although it rained a bit earlier. I didn't mind. Our grass can use the rain. Mom is better in weather like this than she is in too cold or too hot weather. Mom is in the living room relaxing right now. She didn't want to come into the dining room with me. Hey, whatever the little lady wants (within reason of course) the little lady gets. She wasn't really sleeping and she hasn't had a nap today but she is very alert today so that is great for us.

Angela, the home health care aide, came to give Mom a bath this afternoon. She looks so cute after a bath. I hope to get her hair cut this week. Lori, the physical therapist, was here too. Mom did so well with her exercises, it was truly awesome to see. She lifted her legs up nice and high and did all her reps. It was great. Evelyn, the nurse, is on her way to see Mom. She is coming 2 times a week for about another 3 weeks then she will drop back to 1 time a week for 5 weeks. After that she will be done. Mom doesn't qualify for regular Medicaid, but the social worker is looking to see what programs are out there to help us. I hope to there is one that will help with the bath and the hair. That does truly help me. I can have Carolyn come and stay with Mom when I need respite care, but the bath and hair wash help me the most. Mom is very cooperative with Angela too, so that is good. She has adjusted to that perfectly. She does get nervous to do a few tasks just like she does with me, but nothing more than the usual. I warned Angela what she gets nervous about so she knew ahead of time. I wouldn't want to surprise her.

Well, I hope you are having a good day. We certainly are. The pain level is medium, except for the knee. That is quite painful and it is almost time for another pain pill. It started on Friday night and has improved some. I sat on the couch with my feet up and that is what caused it. When I sit with my feet up it has to be on the chair because the couch is at a bad level for me. Silly me. The furniture was all moved around which is why i didn't really notice where i was sitting. Have a great evening!

Sunday, August 22, 2010

The bed will be going back. We tried it out and Mom hates it. She cried in it and kept saying out, out, out so when I took her out it was so hard for her. The bumpers and the railing are nice, but she is so tiny she can't get over them very easy. When she becomes bedridden, then we will get the bed back but for now, she will sleep upstairs. She just isn't bad enough off for it. Yes, there are days when going up the stairs can be hard for her and take some time, but those are not the majority of the days. She just had too hard a time with the hospital bed, worse than going up and down the stairs.
Mom seems to be back to normal today. She brushed her own teeth like she always used to. She came down the stairs no problem. She even got up from her chair a couple of times by herself, with no help from me. She walked around the kitchen by herself too without any guidance. She is definitely having a better day.

I have decided that the hospital bed that was delivered needs to move upstairs because Mom doesn't like being downstairs from me and I am too nervous to leave her on that level by herself. There is just too much that can go wrong. I will see if Mom likes the bed and if it is easier for her. I do like the bed and I will move over Mom's bed and then put the hospital bed next to it. This way both beds will fit in her room and she will be near me. The man that delivered the bed said he could move it anywhere I would like. I will be getting stuff for it this week after our money comes in as it is a different size than a regular twin bed. It is the size of a dorm bed, or an extra long twin and of course, I have no sheets or blankets that size. I also will make up Mom's bed and find her bedspread to cover her old bed this week so that it looks nice and ready to be slept in if someone needs too. We shall see how this works.

It is a better day for me too. I don't feel stressed out like I did earlier in the week. I also learned from my friend, Deb, that us Fibro people can get chest pains that mimic a heart attack but it is just the fibro. I think that is what happened. Yes, I am still going to the heart doctor to make sure my heart is fine, but I do think it was a stress attack and nothing more serious. I have been under stress this summer with all that has gone on. Mom and I need to go away again and have some fun. Next weekend on Sunday shall be fun because Kathy will be in town and she and I always have a blast. I can't wait to see her. I hear Applebee's calling our name. We are going there because it is the last gift certificate I have from last year's Christmas present from my brother's family. I loved the gift cards we got. It was a great idea and Mom and I and Kathy have thoroughly enjoyed using them. I will be starting to save up for Christmas presents when our money comes in. I will be socking away some so that we have enough for our Christmas presents. I am going to get Mom some new books and probably a couple of new outfits or something like that. It is a long time until Christmas so I have plenty of time to shop. I like to start shopping early so that I don't spend as much money and it is spread over time so that I can get what I want for people. This year, we are putting up a tree for the first time in a couple of years, unless we aren't going to be home again. In that case, we will not have a tree depending on when we won't be home. If it is just Christmas day, then we will have a tree, but if it is for a week or so, we won't. Then again, Mom really loves Christmas decorations so we will see what shape she is in. This past year, she has really gone down. It was like she zipped through the end of stage 4, straight through stage 5 and has settled in stage 6. I am hoping she stays here for a while longer. Stage 7 is the last stage and they are usually bed bound and have zero communication skills at that point. At that point I will be able to have hospice here 24/7 to help me. I do hope that stage stays away for a long, long, long time.

We have a different type week for our schedule this week. Monday will be super busy for us. I have my lovely 3 girls lessons, then I have 2 more while Mom has physical therapy and her bath. I am looking forward to the week though. I think on Friday we will have time to get her hair cut. I think she will look so cute with a bob and bangs. I want her hair just below the chin level because she looks so cute with it at that length. She hasn't had bangs in a long time, but I will ask the hair dresser since she is the expert but I think bangs will look cute on her.

We stopped for a treat at Starbucks and they messed up my drink. I was rather mad since they screwed it up, I can't drink it. Mom is slowly drinking her strawberries and cream drink. I wanted a chocolate one, and they made it with coffee. I hate coffee so I didn't drink mine at all. I will let them know next time we go that they messed up.

I got my Richard Simmon's exercise DVD yesterday and the new foodmover. The foodmover is purple, one of my favorite colors. i have already started to use it, although the starbucks was not on the list so I suppose it was better that I didn't get to drink it.

It is nice and cool out today! So beautiful that when we went out I was sad that we couldn't go for a walk. Although Mom is walking quite well today, I don't want to push it and have her fall or anything so no walking for us! I hope this finds you doing well and enjoying your day!

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Okay, so, well, as most of you know I didn't feel very well on Thursday. About 6 pm I thought, wow, I really don't feel well and I feel strange so I loaded Mom up in the car and we went to the emergency room. Where I got stuck for an overnight visit. Why me? Can't they just fix me and send me home. I called Tillie to come and take care of Mom for me and she arrived with Maia about 10 minutes after we got in the hospital ER room. I had had a EKG so we waited for about 3 hours before I got a room. Apparently, the EKG was normal because we waited and waited and waited. They couldn't have done anything for me without someone with Mom because they will not leave her in a room by herself. It is a good thing but it does put me in a bind at times. My friend, Heather said next time, call her and they will help figure out what to do with Mom so she is safe and I can get the help I need. I really didn't know what to do with Mom because I knew they wouldn't be able to leave her and if it turned out to be serious, then what. Fortunately, Tillie was available and came over with Maia. They were in the room with me until about 12:30 am when I had to stay the night. I did learn a very important lesson, it is impossible to sleep on a stretcher all night long with no sleeping medicine. I imagine it is difficult in the first place, but no sleeping medicine, that is even worse. Needless to say, I am so exhausted today it is unbelievable. I foresee a long nap in the future this afternoon for me. I foresee one for Mom too. She is so tired too because she had her schedule crazily screwed up because of my ER visit. It was difficult for her to deal with this as she doesn't understand what is going on with everything. She is much better today though. She came down those stairs like usual, I got her dressed like usual without any problem. The only problem she is starting to have is some days she doesn't remember how to brush her teeth. This has been ongoing, so today was no problem. I just brush them for her. I am not that good, but I do get the job done. At least she has clean teeth twice daily. It is important to me that her teeth get down because she has some work that needs to be done and I don't want anymore work than necessary for her, so she has always taken good care of them, now it is my turn.

A social worker is coming her today to speak with us about Mom. It shall be interesting. She should be here very shortly.

Tillie will be going home afterwards. Next week will be a different schedule for Mom. She will have her physical therapy on Monday and Tuesday because Lori is having surgery on her eyes. It is a necessary, not a wanting thing she is getting done. Angela is coming to give Mom a bath on Monday too and I have my lovely Muglia girls on Monday so it is going to be one heck of a day. I can't wait! It will be so fun. I am going to work on some sewing this weekend so I can have Natalie's skirt done. It is almost done, but I have a couple of small things to finish. I have a couple of things to finish on Sarah's skirt too. I can't wait until our schedule calms down a bit, by fall we should be back to normal.

The social worker is going to find out some info for me that I need so that is good. Mom came down the stairs today like normal. She is back on her schedule today. I am glad she is back to her schedule, she is sleeping in the living room right now. I will check on her again shortly.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Angela is here giving Mom her bath and hair wash. She is so good with Mom and Mom can be difficult when she is confused and upset. But from the sounds of it, Mom is doing alright. I think it helped that we went early to Tim Horton's so we would be home by 12 noon for Mom to take a small nap before Angela gets here. When she is done, I will put her in the living room for another little nap before we go to Heather B-T's house.

I am not feeling very well today. I took my vitamin (for macular degeneration) and I had food with it but my stomach is still upset. I don't get it. I did have a major pain on my right side earlier but it is almost gone right now. My head is normal so I don't understand the stomach issue. Whatever, who knows with this stupid illness and everything else that goes with it. It drives me crazy at times and this is one of them. I am slightly dizzy too, but not too much today. If it doesn't improve we won't be able to go anywhere and I want to see my friend and her family. Mom and I so enjoy our visits with them.

Mom didn't do too well on her physical therapy yesterday, she couldn't do much because it was so late in the day. The therapist and I agreed she needs to come earlier because after Mom naps and it gets close to dinner she just can't focus as well to do her exercises.

It is a bit hot out today but it looks absolutely gorgeous out through the windows. Maia's boyfriend, Mark, cleaned the dining room windows. They are wonderful now. I didn't even notice how dirty they were until he did them. He did both sides, inside and out. We have the type of windows that you can do both sides really easy in the house. No need to go outside at all.

I have another load of laundry to do but I need Mom's dirty socks (and mine stuff from yesterday) so I can finish up the laundry. Now that it is caught up, it is really easy to do. I do about 2 loads a week, sometimes 3 and that's that. Pretty cool, huh? With just the two of us, we don't have much laundry like we did when 4 of us lived here. I remember having to do about 2 loads per day just to keep up. Now it is a piece of cake thanks to Maia and Calli. Calli brought most of my clothes upstairs for me. That was really nice of her. I just have 2 baskets that need to be emptied. I need to clean out 2 drawers this weekend and then the clothes can go in them and it will be up to date in the Heather room.

Not much going on right now with Mom getting her bath and hair done. We do have a busyish type day though which is very nice. Tomorrow, not so much busy because all we have is the physical therapist coming. I am planning to finish Natalie's skirt so it will be ready for her for Monday when I finally get to see my girls! I can't wait! It has been an entire month since I have seen them. I should know in the next few weeks what our sewing schedule will be. We haven't sewn since June and that is just too long for me. I miss my girls a lot. They are such nice young ladies and they are so eager to learn. I can't believe the twins will be in 9th grade and Lydia is in 8th grade this year. High school already and close to high school. Crazy if you ask me, simply crazy.

Next week I am going to get a memory card for the camera. I am going to take pictures of the violins and violas and then post them. Once I have a memory card I will be able to post pictures of stuff and that will be fun. I think I know how, it is just a matter of getting the memory card. It is a pink camera! I love pink!

I hope this finds you doing well and having a good day. I hope by the time we are ready to leave I will feel better. So far, it isn't looking to good, but, hey, I have some time before we leave.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

I am waiting for the physical therapist to call to come here. She varies her times so I don't know when to expect her. I hope she comes unlike last Wednesday she didn't get to Mom, her schedule was just too full. We had to skip one last week, which I don't like, but we aren't home Thursday afternoons, we just aren't. I already have plans and her day is Wednesday, not Thursday. She did come Friday though which was good.

So far today Mom has been feeling very anxious and nervous for some unknown reason. She had a few meltdowns at Tim Horton's, not the hunger kind, or the thirsty kind, just the unknown kind. I asked her if she was nervous and she said yes. I gave her medicine when we came home for that. She isn't feeling nervous and anxious now and she hasn't melted down since.

She hasn't been drinking as much as she used to and that is bad. Yesterday she only drank 1 ensure and that is the lowest in a while. She was up to 3 to 4 a day, but now she is back to 1 to 2 a day. I have to get her back up because she has a new sore on her tailbone, it is tiny and I would like to keep it that way.

I was able to go to the store without Mom last night because our neighbor came over and stayed with Mom for an hour. I was so thankful for that because I needed to get a few things and Mom just wouldn't be able to do it. I have to ride in a scooter and can't push her in the wheelchair which is what she needs. She did rip a page out of my bookkeeping book for lessons, and it was a page I use. I was not happy but what can I do? I have since moved it even further away from her. She did pretty well though and I was back within an hour. It was nice to scooter around the store without her for a change. I even stopped to get a Starbucks! What a treat!

I am tired today for some reason. I didn't nap yesterday but I did get up early and didn't sleep very well so that is probably why. I plan to move us into the living room for a rest after I am done here. It is a dull day here as we don't have anything except physical therapy. I am hoping for a few more lessons come this fall, but if not, that is alright, we are doing okay now that the car is paid for. Boy does that help a lot. I can catch up bit by bit on medical bills because of that. I have to call the dentist for Mom today because I need to make payment arrangements and an appointment to have her 2 teeth pulled and 3 teeth filled. 2 are new fillings and 1 is an old one that fell out. I have known about that one for a while but we haven't had any money to do anything about that. With payment arrangements I will be able to get her teeth fixed before she has any problems with them. I hope to do this in September or October latest. Yes, August would be best but we haven't finished paying for the visit to the nursing home in June but I will find out about when we can have the appointment today.

It is nice out. It is a bit warmer than it was yesterday but the humidity is low. It is possible rain today, but since we are home all day, I don't mind. I hope this finds you doing really well and having a good day.
Don't forget to check out the National website and their online magazine!!!


www.fmaware.org

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

We went to the doctors for a check up from the hospital for Mom this morning. She is doing alright. They took some blood to check for infection and dehydration and if there is a problem, they will call, otherwise, no news is good news from that end. I don't expect any problems, she is doing quite well. In fact, right now, she is taking a wee nap in the living room. I don't put her upstairs because she is comfortable in the living room and I don't want her to do the stairs too many times a day unnecessarily. I also take my wee naps in the living room as the furniture is rather comfy. I have one student today. Hm, I just realized that I had placed an order with Pepper music and I haven't gotten it yet. I will have to call and find out what happened. This is strange as they always send stuff right away. I don't need the music this week, but I will next week or the week after as Charlie is almost done with the book and we will need the new one. I will find out shortly what happened to my order.

Just checked, somehow they listed it as a "quote" order, whatever that means. I fixed it, they are sending me the music. I need those books! Well, it has been straightened out and they are shipping it out so I will get it soon.

Acer had his first lesson yesterday. He is quite a musically talented young man. At 5, yes, I said, 5 years old, he can plunk out on the piano any melody he hears. The challenge for the young gentleman will be using the proper fingering. He and his sister are so musically talented it is unbelievable. I love all my students and each one of them is gifted in some way, whether it be with sight reading, enthusiasm, or some other way, Acer's is definitely is by ear which will, in the end, serve him quite well. Frank plays rather well by ear now too as he has figured out some songs on the radio and can play them. I just love teaching. Mom sits in on every lesson and seems to like the music they play, even the exercises. She, usually, sits quietly and listens, although there are the times when I have to remind her to be quiet and listen. Fortunately, that isn't too often. She is a quiet person most of the time and usually only talks to me these days. She did talk to Wendy at tea a bit today which was good.

We met with my friend, Wendy, at a different Tim Horton's (it's closer to Wendy's house) for tea after the doctors. It was quite fun. I enjoy visiting with her and hearing about what is going on in her and her children's life. Today, they were with Grandma and Grandpa going to a movie. That will be fun for them. We visited for just over an hour when we both had to go. Mom was getting tired and Wendy had to get some things done before children get home but it was a nice visit.

Today has been a rather nice day. It is beautiful out, not too hot, not too cold, and a nice cool breeze. The sun is shining and Mom is having a good day. I don't know if she would be up for a trip to the store though. I need to go as she is almost out of ensure and I am almost out of Tylenol PM and pop so that it is a necessary trip. I called our neighbor to see if she could stay for a brief period. I left a message so if she can't that is okay, Mom and I will figure something out together. Maybe Mom will want to go with me. I don't know. She is walking better. The pop I can live without but not the ensures and the Tylenol PM. Those things we will definitely need by the end of the week. Somehow it will all work out. It always does! It isn't time for a big shopping so that is good, just a couple of things. I think I need to get a membership to Cosco or Sam's club as they have bigger supplies of the ensure that we need and it would be nice if I could get a month's supply at a time when I do the big shopping. We also are going to need TP. I am getting this shopping every month thing down pat in some ways and other ways, not so good. I clear out the supply of Ensure whenever we go to the store but it never is enough for the month, usually good for a week and a half. Oh well, I will worry about it later. We still have enough for today and tomorrow then I will have to worry.

I hope this finds you doing well and enjoying a beautiful day!

Monday, August 16, 2010

Yesterday was a busy day. We got up at our usual time, fortunately, I didn't have a big headache, just the regular one. Off we went to my Uncle's house. We stopped at Tim Horton's on the way for brunch as we hadn't eaten yet that day. We got to my uncle's around 2 pm at the same time as Tillie and Andrew! It was really funny. So while I helped Mom in Andrew took my stuff in. Mom was tired yesterday so I think that was why she had trouble walking at times. It was really bad when we left. Michelle carried her most of the way to the car and carried her into the car seat. It worked. When we got home, Mom's friend, Jose was waiting for us. He helped Mom in the house so that was good. He stayed for about an hour and then Mom and I went to bed right after he left. We were both pretty tired.

We got up a little earlier than usual because I thought the home health care aide, Angela, would be here at noon so we also did a drive through instead of eating inside. She is running a bit behind today. It doesn't really matter today because nobody else but students will be here. Once Mom is finished with her bath, I am putting her in the living room for a nap. We both are a bit tired now. We had a big week this past week. This week will be less busy. Mom keeps wanting to get out of her chair. I don't know where she wants to go, but hey, if she wants to walk around she certainly can.

Yesterday was a good day mostly. Only a little bit of criticism, not a lot like before. I was glad of that. I really couldn't have handled more. Michelle trimmed Mom's nails for me, which was really nice of her to do. Trying to keep them clean is difficult because Mom won't let me soak her hands, she just can't handle it so they are a bit dirty. Doesn't bother me because I know there isn't too much I can do about it. I am doing the best that I can. Mom did pretty well going up the stairs last night.

I am really not wanting to move Mom down in the living room because she needs the exercise going up the stairs. It is good for her at this point. Yes, at some time it will be not good for her, but right now she can do it even if it is hard for both of us. Her muscles are getting stronger with the exercises that we do so she doesn't always have a hard time, only when she is really tired. On those nights we go up earlier before she gets that tired. The physical therapist also doesn't want Mom downstairs either, she says she needs to exercise of going upstairs so I am keeping her close to me. Besides, if she is downstairs there are plenty of opportunity for her to leave the house without me knowing. She could get lost and lots of things could happen to her, like she could leave in the middle of night in the middle of winter without a coat and die. It happened to 2 families this past winter near by. I don't have gates big enough to block her it, they just don't make them that big. I have to look at the big picture here. I can't have her downstairs because of this issue, safety for her. We are doing alright going up at night time and coming down in the morning has been a breeze most of the time for her.

Mom is still finishing her milk from this morning. The downside to eating at home instead of the restaurant is that Mom never finishes her food here at home. It is really annoying, but true so I don't like to eat at home for brunch because I want her to finish her meal She ate 1/2 of her muffin and is still working on the 8 oz of milk. I hope she finishes it before Angela arrives, if not I am putting it into the fridge because it is time to work on getting 3 or 4 ensures down her today. That is my goal. I want her to finish that many because she is starting a new sore and we know that the protein will heal it fast. She ate pretty good the last couple days so I hope to continue this pattern.

I am finishing up the new book club book. It is a good one and I have picked the new one for next time to read. It was such a good book and it has a guide for book clubs in the back. How cool is that?

Much nicer weather out today. It has cooled off and the humidity is low so that is really good and I hope it stays that way for a while. I don't want another week of headaches. Saturdays was a big one. I hope this finds you doing well.

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Saturday

I have the biggest headache I have had in a long time. It better go away soon because I am not happy about it. Not that anyone would be happy about a big headache.

We had lunch at Laura's! Despite the headache from this stupid hot and humid weather and we had a blast. I haven't seen her in so long that it was really nice to see her and catch up. Mom is still sleeping in the living room from the luncheon. She made us a really yummy pasta salad and homemade blueberry coffee cake that was so good! She gave us 4 pieces to take home and eat. They won't last too long around here! Mom and I will definitely polish them off.

We had such a good week with being busy again! Tomorrow is off to my uncle's. I have some stuff I have to wash to give back to Michelle, but other than that, we don't have anything to bring. One of these trips I am going to make a cake and bring it. I have to get a new cake plate and cover first though, mine went when the kitchen was being downsized. Somethings should have stayed though. Oh well, I will get a new one and that will be fine.

I have to do some grocery shopping this week because we are running out of important things like pop and blue berries! I think Mom can go for those two things. I have ordered her some of the stuff we usually have to run out to get, but now we will get them in the mail so that is better and shipping was $2 which is about what I would spend in gas to get the stuff.

We have a slightly crazy schedule next week. Monday and Thursday will be Mom's bath. Wednesday and Friday will be the nurse and the physical therapy. I have lessons on Monday and Tuesday this week and 1 on Saturday. I truly can't wait until fall for more lessons. I have emailed a couple of students to find out their plans for fall and their schedule. I just called one former student to see if I can get my 2 books I need back. That would be nice and I really need them. That is the hard part of lessons, when students quit and my music goes with them.

I hope the rest of your evening is going well. I have to go and lay down some more, my head is just too bad today.

Friday, August 13, 2010

Mom is getting a shower. We have a home health care aide here to help Mom. It is such a relief to have some help. She is very nervous and I am downstairs out of the way. The nurse is one her way too, so we may have some overlapping in time. Oh well, can't help that. Mom will look awfully spiffy when she is done. I picked out a cute t-shirt for her and she is wearing her new maroon hoodie. I just love her in hoodies. She looks so cute. I can hear her crying because she is nervous but I know she will be fine in a bit.

The nurse has arrived too. Oh my! Our house is getting crowded and the Physical Therapist is on her way.

We had all 3 people at the same time today. Not too much overlapping. The nurse checked Mom before Angela dressed her so that was good for Evelyn and Mom. Lori arrived right when Evelyn and Angela were finishing up. I now have Mom's schedule. Angela is going to come Mondays and Thursdays around noon time. Evelyn is coming the same days as Lori, Wednesdays and Fridays. That leaves Tuesdays open for sewing with the girls so far. Let's hope it works for them too. I am not sure about their schedule, but I will find out. Ugh, as much as I want help, scheduling can be a bit of a problem. Mom is so wiped out from the bath that she is taking a nap. I don't usually like her taking a nap at 5:30 pm but she was falling asleep in her chair and that is not good so I had no choice. With Angela coming at around noon time now, she will have her regular nap time after her shower or bath. Mom smells so nice with the freshness of the bath. We both have fresh heads too. I did my hair after she got her hair and bath done. Mom was afraid of the water coming down on her so Angela did it from the bath tub and used a cup to rinse her head. She should get used to it very soon.

I am tired today too. I took a nap this afternoon. I have been taking naps more often right now, I don't know why, but I am more tired these days than usual. I think the heat and humidity has made me ache more which makes me more tired.

I had to take another pain pill today because of the pain in the head. It is supposed to cool down this weekend and next week so I should get some relief. Thank goodness for that.

We have a busy weekend ahead. I am excited about that. We are going to Laura's for lunch tomorrow and to my Uncle John's for dinner on Sunday. Very busy, rather exciting. Not much time for naps though, but if Mom gets tired, she can sit on Laura's and Uncle John's couches and take a nap so can I if necessary at my Uncle's house. I also have 1 lesson at noon tomorrow. How exciting is that? I haven't seen Laura in a long time so catching up with her will be a lot of fun. We saw my Uncle a few weeks ago. I am not sure if Andrew will be there, but Nicole and her children may be so that will be cool.

I hope this finds you doing well and staying cool. It has been a really hot summer so far. I need some relief.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

We had a good day. I will write about it tomorrow as my wrist is really sore and now so is my head. I hope you had a good day too!

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

We just came back from Mom's Neurologist appointment. She was shocked at how thin Mom was. I explained what has happened since we last saw her and she was surprised. She would like to know when Mom goes into the hospital. I will call her and keep her updated if there is a next time. As for the crying and anxiousness, she has add Lorazapan again, this time with the heriparodol. (however you spell them) She use them as needed so probably every morning she will need it until she calms down and then probably as she needs them. I feel so bad for her, she wakes up to tears and goes to sleep to tears. Well, hopefully this will help the little Mom. We are having a good day so far, she has only cried a bit and once in the doctor's office. I have to have her gain at least 10 pounds so that she is up to close to 100 pounds. It is actually 13 because she weighs 87 pounds right now.

We will have a home care worker for several weeks this time. I was smart and did not turn this help down. Her name is Angela and she is the daughter of the previous nurse, Sherri. We really liked Sherri but she is going on vacation so no new patients for her. I will keep her number though for the future reference. Angela is coming on Friday to give Mom a shower and do her hair. I am excited for this. She knows we have a shower chair and that we have a regular shower head and not a hand held. We have tried to change it, but we need a plumber because of the type ours is. Something doesn't come out when it should type thing. I can't afford a plumber right now, so it isn't going to get done at this point. Maybe in the future. We shall see.

I took a good nap today. I had some really weird dreams though. Not that that is unusual, I have often have weird dreams in the afternoon. Mom slept a bit too, not sure how much since I was asleep. She just stayed in her chair while I rested and then we went to the doctor's. Tomorrow is a big day and I am so excited for it. First up is the blood test, okay, I am not excited about that. But then, we are meeting Mike for lunch! We haven't seen him in 2 years so how cool is that? Then Zachary has a lesson and lastly we head for Heather B-T's for knitting. I love busy days like this. Somewhere in here I have to fill a prescription for Mom's new medicine. I will fit it in somehow. I figure we will drop it off in the morning and pick it up in the evening or drop it off this evening. That will work perfectly. Tomorrow will be the 2nd time in a week that I will be going to Max and Erma's! Tillie and I went there on Sunday. I hadn't been there in 2 years and now I am going 2 times in one week. Go figure!

It is really hot out right now. I hate this kind of weather. It is really bad, super hot and muggy. It looks like it is going to downpour soon. Probably will. I hope this finds you doing well and staying cool! It sure has been a hot summer so far! My head is pounding from all this humidity and mugginess. I am used to it to some degree, but still, it is a drag to have a pounding headache instead of just an ordinary headache during the day.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

We are both rather tired today. The stress of the weekend, I think has added up. I put Mom in the living room at 3 pm and she is still sleeping 2 1/2 hours later. She is so exhausted. I will wake her up when the nurse gets here. It isn't the same nurse. Darn, I am sure I will like this one, but I really liked Sherri. I am sure Mom will like the new one too. No big deal, really. I am just surprised we are getting home care again, but hey! If it will help the little person feel better, then I am all for it. I have to pick up her antibiotics tonight before 8 pm somehow. I am not so sure I should have Mom go with me again, but we will see how she feels. Maybe someone can run here and stay for a bit with her or maybe she will be up to going. We are only picking up medicines and that is it. No shopping at all. I would rather do it tonight than tomorrow because she hasn't had an antibiotic at all today and that is not good. We don't need the infection coming back again. She doesn't need another visit to the hospital. I am glad this one was short. I got her some Cranberry juice to drink because Bob said it helps keeps those infections away. He was told to drink it from his doctor when he had two infections like Mom so I got some today for Mom. I also got more hangers because we didn't have enough to hang all my clothes.

For the first time in 2 years, all of my clothes, except what I am wearing, are clean. Yup, all of them. Calli brought them all down before her camp and Maia and Tillie washed them while I was teaching and getting Mom yesterday. I have one small pile to hang and a few to carry up, but that it is. They are all finished! I am so happy about that. I can see what I have and what I want to keep and get rid of. Very little will go since I purged 2 years ago and the only clothes that are left are the ones I want and fit.

I plan on Mom and I relaxing tonight after I figure out the picking up the medicine problem. We had lunch with Georgette and that was so fun. We haven't seen her in a month! She had a good time up north most of last month. We talked about competition, lessons, Mary Kay, and all sorts of good things. I can't believe it is almost time to think of competition! Wow, summer has gone fast in some places and dragged in other places. I am glad it is almost over because we haven't had a really good summer with the little Mom getting sick a few times and being in the hospital. I hope the rest of the summer is good for her. We have a nice and busy week ahead of us. I am really glad about that. I like it when we are busy!

It is hot and humid out. Just plain yucky! It isn't suppose to improve until the weekend. Ugh, so I anticipate a painful week. i hope yours is better!

Monday, August 9, 2010

Mom is home! She is very exhausted (more than normal) and kind of ornery. It was actually kind of funny but she threatened to kick my butt (use the a word instead - which she never ever uses) and you get the picture because Tillie and I were trying to get her up the stairs. I don't look forward to the stairs tonight. Tillie goes home tomorrow morning at around 8:30. I will still be sleeping and hopefully Mom will be too. I am keeping her up a bit because I want her to sleep really well and long! Tillie put up another railing for the upstairs so we have a railing on each side of the stairs now. I hope it helps us get Mom up the stairs tonight. I dread that but we will get it done.

It has been a decent day despite 2 lessons missing. Frank is back from camp but needs a week to practice and Aggie forgot about it. Calli is back and she had a great time at camp. She really enjoyed it. It rained a lot at camping with the family so they came home a bit early. She is at day camp this week. I love hearing about kids and their camps. I loved camp as a child and I want every child who goes to camp to have a good time too.

Tomorrow I am meeting Georgette for lunch and I am really excited about it. I haven't seen her in a month and it will be fun. I do have one student at 4:30 but we will back long before the lesson. I have to get Mom back on her schedule tomorrow. I figure by Thursday or Wednesday she will be back on schedule.

I am in a bit of pain tonight, partly because of stress and partly because of weather. It looks like it is going to storm tonight. I hope I sleep through it. I hope this finds you doing well.

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Mom is ill again. She has another urinary tract infection and is slightly dehydrated. She also does NOT have a pressure sore on her bottom. It is a scab from the old. So one good thing there. She will be in the hospital for a few days, poor thing. She was doing alright when I saw her earlier in the day. When she started falling asleep, I came home and napped too. I am so tired because I didn't get much sleep last night. I took her to ER after she was not seeming herself at about 9 pm. I got home around 1 am and I was up by 9 am because I thought I was just going to pick her up from the ER. Wrong! No, when they say she is staying overnight, they mean in the hospital, not in the ER. I didn't know that. I asked the nurse how long would she be there and she said at least a couple of days if not a few more to get rid of the infection. I wonder how long Mom has had this as she didn't act like herself on Friday either so I am thinking she had it a few days ago too plus she had on and off tummy aches this week. I thought it was just constipation, but maybe it was the infection. It is so hard to know these details. But anyway, she is being taken care of and that is what counts. I am going to see her again this afternoon. The one thing I won't do is after all this put her in a nursing home to regain strength. Been there, done that, not happening again. Anything she needs will come to the house where she is comfortable and happy. I am so not going that route right now again. If it becomes necessary in the future, well, that is then and I will worry about it then.

I am in a lot of pain because I walked all over the hospital getting to Mom's room because I thought she was in emergency. Next time I will get a scooter and ride to Mom's room. I am not sure how to get there because I went to and from her room rather strangely so I would be near the ER where my car was. My legs and hips are really sore. I had to take another pain pill. I hope it feels better soon because it is pretty bad right now. I am heading out to see her again shortly. I do have to change schedule of one luncheon this week because, I think, that may be the day Mom comes home. We shall see. We are going to lunch with friends 2 times this week! I am excited about that.

It is getting hot out again, but my pain is from stress and the extra walking. I know better now, if she is staying overnight, she is not in the ER! I hope your day is going well!

Saturday, August 7, 2010

I just woke up from a nap. There was the coolest article that Barb found posted on face book. Here is the link. You just got to read it.

You Know You Have Fibro If… | Cranky Fibro Girl
www.jennyryan.com

It is so true and funny at the same time. I laughed pretty hard when I read it. I love the one about the shower. I have a chair in my shower/bathtub because I can't stand long enough to take one. I was exhausted (even though I got up at noon) that at about 2:30 I went and took a nap. Mom was still sleeping when I woke up. I was having wild dreams that seem so real that I woke and saw that I was fine and home. Strange how dreams work.

Not much going on today. Monday is our busiest day and the day that I love the most. Thursdays, and Tuesdays are the next busiest. The rest are just boring unless we have plans for things to do. Fridays will be busy again starting next week and then every other week which will be good. Saturdays should pick up a bit in the fall with at least 1 lesson. I am looking forward to fall so much because this week is going to be hot and humid again and that just makes me ache. Not that it takes much to make me ache, but super hot and humid does.

I read all my blogs that I follow and today is pink Saturday. As soon as I figure out how to post pictures I will start doing a pink Saturday too as I love the color pink. I also will be getting a memory card for my (pink!!!) camera this week so I can take pictures of my violins and violas. I think tonight we are going to Joann's to get some boxes so I can start painting again. I love painting. I also want to paint a couple of signs for our bedrooms. They are fun to do. It is almost time for dinner and I don't know what to make me. I thought cooking for 2 was boring, well, I was wrong, cooking for 1 is worse because Mom only eats a chicken breast for dinner now and it takes her about an hour to eat the whole thing. I don't know, I don't get it either, she just doesn't feel hunger like the rest of us do. It is a weird thing but she will eat it and she needs the protein.

I found a new sore on her tailbone, it is very tiny, yet there. I almost cried. I forgot to cream her one morning this week and it arrived in the evening. Talk about fast! Anyways, I have been pouring the ensure plus down her and making her eat her chicken since we know that will heal it. I am not too worried about it because I am doing everything I can with it. It is a bit swollen near there but no breakouts. I don't know why it is swelling underneath but since there is no breakouts I can only wonder. No, I don't want a breakout to find out why it is swelling either. That would be awful for the little Mom, she would just be in pain from that. I have a new cushion for her to sit on. I don't know if she likes it or not because she doesn't comment much. She hasn't complained about it yet, so I think it passes the muster for her.

I think maybe tomorrow we will go and see a movie. It is a possibility if we don't fall asleep instead which is what has happened the last few times we were going to go. I don't worry or get upset if we don't see it in the movie theaters. Mom has such little time left that I have plenty of time to go after. I can always buy the movie on DVD and watch it here at home with her. The last time we did go, she fell asleep and that kind of bothers me because she is missing the movie then. I do need to order the Disney's Oceans movie. We want to see that one. We just got the Percy Jackson movie as I loved the books. I read them last year. I borrowed them from one of my students brothers. It was very cool and interesting. I need to see that first and then I am going to loan it to the Muglia girls so they can see it. They wanted to see it in the movies but never got the chance to, too busy.

Anyways, it is absolutely beautiful out right now. No heat, no humidity, no rain, just sun and cool breezes! Our air conditioner hasn't even kicked in for the day! Talk about nice!!!! I hope this finds you doing well!

Friday, August 6, 2010

We have had a lazy type day. We got up and went to the usual, then Mom had physical therapy and did alright. It took some doing but she finally finished her exercises. She was having a hard time with the left leg for some reason. Some days are good, some days are not and it all depends on her. I cooked a roast in the crock pot and Mom didn't want any. I plan to separate it up and put it in the freezer now that it is cooked. Mom likes beef but who knows what is going on in her mind. I was disappointed that she didn't like the meat. I think it was a bit chewy for her, but still, I thought she would like it.

I took a long nap today even though I didn't sleep that badly last night. I was reading at the table last night so we ended up going to bed a bit later than usual. Mom slept in too. We tried the baby monitors that I bought last night too. It is so loud! I mean, really, really loud! White noise, so for about 2 hours I couldn't sleep until I was exhausted and turned it off, which is probably why I am so tired today.

It is nice and cool today, not hot at all! I love it. This is my kind of summer weather. Supposedly showers and massive heat wave next week during the week. Yuck, I can't wait until fall. I am such a fall girl so is Mom. Mom is putting a tissue on her head right now. I don't know why. Her head isn't sweating or dirty. I meant to get her hair cut today, but I fell asleep instead so we will go next week. I want her hair cut before we go to my uncle's. No special reason, just want it done by them.

Not much going on this weekend, we don't have any plans except our usual. I, hopefully, will start some of the Christmas ornaments that I have been meaning to start. My hands have been very painful lately so I haven't started anything. I wonder if Tillie would like to do any. Hmm, or Maia? Maybe, crafting with friends are so fun. I can't wait until Monday when I get to hear all about the camps Calli and Frank have been attending!

It is really nice out here today. Hope it is for you too!

Thursday, August 5, 2010

I went grocery shopping by myself today! Yup, all by myself. It was really nice that I didn't have to worry about how Mom would walk through out the entire store from one end to the other. She stayed home with Carolyn. I got Mom some new colored pencils and coloring book. I got me a Star Wars coloring book! I just love Star Wars. Mom is playing with the table cloth again. I don't know why she does this, as long as she doesn't land stuff on the floor I will be fine with it, I guess.

I watched Oprah today, it was an interesting show. I have seen similar ones and the second part will be on tomorrow. It was on hoarding. One of the first symptoms of Alzheimer's is Hoarding. It isn't talked about much, but it is. Mom was a hoarder. Our house looked pretty bad. Cleaning in wasn't the issue, we could clean it up, it was getting rid of what we didn't need. She wouldn't get rid of anything and grew angry when people tried. I gave up because I figured she would eventually get rid of some stuff. Every so often she would just throw stuff away in anger and then she would start over again. I had no idea it was Alzheimer's so that I could have gotten her help and we wouldn't have the amount of stuff we have. Tillie and Maia have cleaned up and donated a lot of stuff. Yes, some stuff should not have been donated (like all of Mom's dress clothes, a couple of tools for the kitchen and a couple of pans) but mostly it has been a good thing. Mom is so far gone now she doesn't know it is her stuff that is gone. I have a lot of stuff too that I am going through. I have a bit of a problem with hoarding as I don't like to get rid of any of my stuff. I don't know if I am ready to have the family room done because a lot of that stuff is mine and some of it is crafts kits. I do crafts when I am feeling better and sometimes I do them with my students so I want all the kits. I plan to have a craft day in November before Christmas and we will do the bead crafts which will get rid of one of the bead kits if not both of them. My office just needs to be organized, my music needs to be put away. Katie was going to help, but she hasn't been able to yet. I am hopeful she can do it this month because I need to know what I have and it is difficult for me to stand to put away the amount that is out. I am not getting rid of any of my music as I still teach and need it. I also want to put up my other computer in the office and the printer and hook up the scanner so I can scan pictures and be able to post them.

Other than shopping we are going to get me a new pair of tennis shoes. I really need a new pair so we are going in a few minutes to go and get me some. We are also going to stop at Toys R Us and pick out a new backpack for Mom. The one I got is too big now that I think of it. I want something a bit smaller. I want to return the one I bought, but I can't find the receipt right now. I am hoping to find it this weekend.

We don't have plans this weekend. I plan to read the book club book and finish another book I bought. Mom and I will probably watch more of Walker, Texas Ranger season 7 and then we have season 8 to watch too. Next weekend is my Uncle's! So this weekend will just be quiet which is fine by me. We have new coloring books that need to be broken in. Maybe we will go out eat one night, or at least do take out as Mom doesn't eat much anymore and going out to eat with her is a bit of a money waster as she doesn't eat enough. We do have a busy week planned for next week though, which I am excited about. We will be meeting with Georgette and with Wendy a couple of days for lunch and tea. How cool is that? I can't wait to hear all about Wendy's camping trip with the family. Calli and Frank will both be back from camps so that is awesome and I can't wait to hear all about it! We may be visiting my friend, Laura, too. So a very busy week with friends is ahead of us! Fun times!

Well, we are off to get me a pair of new shoes before it rains again! I hope you are staying dry and cooling off!

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

A rather boring type day. I am not complaining, just pointing it out because around here, an exciting day is not always a good thing. Last excitement? Mom was in the hospital! Although I would say that going to Kalamazoo was exciting! Mom had physical therapy this afternoon. She did okay, not too good. She just couldn't do much today, she is very wiped for some reason. I had her in the living room for a rest and she took one, but I don't know how long she slept because I was sleeping. I don't know how much she slept last night either. I do know she was awake around 8 am because I had to go to the bathroom at that time and she was awake. I didn't go in though because I wasn't ready to get her up, I thought maybe she would go back to sleep but maybe she didn't. She is playing with the Kleenex box and tablecloth. As long as she doesn't rip it, I don't care. She can, however, shred the tissues as we have another box that we use. This is here play box that surprisingly is still full.

She is crying a bit more this afternoon than usual. It has been like this for a couple days. i don't know if that means her medicine needs to be changed. We have an appointment next week so I will ask. We accidentally missed the appointment in July. Oops! Not good on my part. Fortunately, we were able to get an appointment right away. Tuesday, we will be going to lunch with my friend, Georgette, so that is going to be fun. She was away up north a lot last month. I know she tries to spend as much time at her cottage as she can in the month of July. She takes the entire month off from teaching. I only take off when I am on vacation out of town. I find with the students vacations that is all i need to do although if necessary I would do the same. It just hasn't been necessary for me.

I filled out an application for a website that promotes lessons. I hope they add me to their list, it would help me out a lot. Of course, my own website will help even more so that is what I am in the process of doing. I get to have the first look at it next weekend. I am very excited about that. I hope it brings some new students my way. I am looking for about 7 more regular, weekly students.

In September, Maia, Danielle and family, and Mom and I will go to the zoo. It has to be on a cooler type day because otherwise Mom and I will melt. If it is too hot, we can't go. But I figure by the time Maia wants to go (near the end of the month) it should be perfect zoo weather. I am excited about it because both Mom and I love the zoo.

I was going to get some of the craft kits out but I took a nap instead. I was so tired that I had to go and lay down, while sit down in my chair with my feet up and my blanket and I sleep for about 3 hours. I don't usually take short naps, usually they last anywhere from 3 to 5 hours. Sometimes it is the best sleep I get all day.

I have a bit of a bad headache which I expected since it is so hot and humid out. I think it is about 90% humidity out today which makes it feel like it is over 100 degrees. Ugh, we only went out for our usual, and we drove through because Lori was on her way. I didn't want us to be late. Mom finished her donut in time for Lori to begin. It is supposed to be cooler and less humid tomorrow. I am going grocery shopping tomorrow by myself and I can't wait! it shall be great because I won't have to worry about Mom getting tired out while I am shopping. It is our monthly shopping. I just have to get a other things to like new crayons and coloring books for us. They are on sale right now. I do plan on taking her with me to pick out a new backpack, I don't like how big the new one is. I am going to get her a small cloth one like the one I carry. Or I may get me a new one and let her use the one I use. Either way, it will work out well. I am going to look to see if they have sweat pants out for sale yet too, because I need to get Mom a new pair in case of an accident and she needs to change her pants. I am going to get her a black pair since black goes with almost everything. I am looking forward to shopping on my own. I won't have to worry about Mom getting tired or walking to slow or fast because she does both. Sometimes she walks so fast she almost falls. I found that out when we went to get a few things the other day. Several times I thought she was going to go head over heels but she didn't. It was rather scary. Walmart is just too big for her to walk in. I won't have her do that again.

I hope you are having a good day.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

It has been an interesting day so far. Mom had MAJOR meltdowns in Tim Horton's today. I asked what was wrong because I knew she wasn't hungry as she was eating and she said she felt "ashamed". I asked why and she didn't know. I assured her she did nothing wrong and has no reason to be ashamed at all. She, of course, is over it now and doesn't remember it, but wow, can you imagine? She feels ashamed. Today is a definite I HATE Alzheimer's day. Mom has no reason to be ashamed, she doesn't do anything wrong and what she does wrong is usually a symptom of her Alzheimer's (like her temper tantrum last night by throwing a fork with chicken at me). She doesn't do anything wrong. When we got home I immediately called my friend, Donna, who knows a lot of this disease, and she said it was probably the part of Mom that is still there trying to get out and can't. Donna said I did the right thing, but man oh man, poor Mom, in tears and upset because SHE feels ashamed. Fortunately, she is fine now and doesn't feel ashamed at all. This broke my already battered heart. She is in the living room sleeping now.

My pain level is pretty high in my head because of this upset, but the pain pills are kicking in. I tried to sleep a bit in the living room with Mom but head won't shut up so I can't sleep. We didn't get up too early today, noon, so Mom is probably rather tired as she wakes up early and just lays there waiting for me to wake up. I have no students today because Zachary can't make it this week and Charlie is at band camp so it will be really quiet today. I am reading the book club book and it is good so far. I don't usually like short stories because I always want more but these are good. It is the "Ford County" by John Grisham. I like his books, they are always entertaining. We are having book club at the end of the month. We will possibly have to miss next month because Bob and Maggie will be out of town for 2 weeks, one being the usual week we have book club, so we will just go straight to October. I have the perfect book that I just finished and loved. It is called "Cleopatra's Daughter" and it is wonderful. It is new to paperback and I got it in Kalamazoo when I went there for vacation. I am ready for another vacation, but I think we are done for now. Okay, I KNOW we are done for now, but still, can't blame me for wanting another one. I know both Mom and I would love to take a vacation from our illnesses, especially the Alzheimer's. I would like a vacation from being exhausted all the time too, but hey, I can still do some stuff so that is good. As long as I can teach, I am a happy camper. Without teaching, like would be awful, so I won't think of that now.

It is really really hot and humid out today. It is supposed to possibly rain and thunderstorm today and tomorrow and then it will cool down. I can't wait for the cool down. This weather is just awful and I can only think of my friends who live in hotter places than this! What they must be going through! Stay cool and try to have a good day!!

Monday, August 2, 2010

What a day!!! After spending some time reading some of the posts I am following, I follow some pretty amazing people!! I love reading other people's blog and about their lives, I love reading crafty blogs, and the amazingly cool stuff they create, I just love learning about other people. It makes me rather happy.

Mom is in the living room for her daily rest. I put her right in when we came home from the usual because when I asked her if she wanted to rest she said yes. It was a bit earlier than usual, but that is okay, if Mom is tired, then I will have her rest. No need to wait until "rest time". I only have 2 lessons today. 1 is a make up from Saturday, and the other is a regularly scheduled lesson. Both Frank and Calli are at either camping with family or band camp, so they are both absent. I can't wait until next week to hear all about Calli's time at camp and how Frank did with his first year of band camp. I remember band camps and I loved it even though it was so hot on the football field. It is a rather quiet week because Charlie, also, has band camp so he won't have his lesson this week either. But that is okay because I plan to get so craft stuff from down stairs and start on some Christmas projects. I also am going to go and get a memory card for my digital camera so that I can take pictures of the painted violins and violas for the giveaway this month. I am giving away 2 violins or violas and the rest I am going to sell at a place near here. I really loved painting and I plan to paint a couple of signs for mine and Mom's bedroom doors.

Well, I am now done with teaching for the day. Aggie had her lesson and so did Bob. Both are doing well. Aggie finished 2 pieces and started a new one. As it turns out, I don't have the classical piece she wanted. We thought I did, but I don't. I checked my catalogue and it isn't listed. I have all my music catalogued and boy, does it make it easier to check for music. Bob is working on a 2 part invention from Bach and a Sonata (K545) from Mozart. He has just started both pieces a couple of weeks ago.

Mom was a bit talkative during Bob's lesson. I don't like when she does that, but I also can't really tell her to be quiet because she doesn't understand so I end up sometimes just nodding at her and then going back to the lesson. Fortunately, Bob is VERY understanding about Mom and doesn't mind. She wasn't that talkative, just a bit. I was able to get her to sit down and listen near the end. I was glad of that, but still, it is annoying when she does this. She has been more talkative this last week than before. She even tried to tease Bob, but we were talking so he didn't hear her. She didn't know that though so she didn't get upset when he didn't answer.

It is really hot and humid out today so I am not feeling super well. I can't say anything in particular hurts more, I just don't feel too well all over. I have a feeling we will be going to bed rather early tonight. My breathing is a bit harder today. It is supposed to be hot and humid with thunderstorms for the next couple of days. Thank goodness it is finally August when is should cool down soon. I hope you are doing alright!

Sunday, August 1, 2010

We were at my cousin, Lia's, baby shower. It was in a bar/restaurant type place. At first, it was really loud that frightened Mom. Luana, my cousin, Lia's aunt, asked Lia to turn down the music because it was so loud and frightening for Mom. Lia did right away. Mom was nervous at first, we were in a strange place and there were more people around than usual but once the guitar players started calming down. She was very tired though because she is usually asleep between 2 and 4 or 1 and 3 and we didn't have a rest today. The shower was at 2 pm, so no rest for Mom and she didn't sleep in the car ride there. I had hoped she would, but she didn't. She doesn't sleep in cars much anymore. I don't know if it is because she isn't tired at the time or if she is too nervous to sleep.

Tillie didn't stay at the shower very long because Luana had to go to a BBQ and Tillie rode with Luana. She missed the opening of presents and that is about it. She wanted us to stop by after the shower, but by the time the shower was over and we took Danielle, Elizabeth, and Maia home, Mom was wiped so we went straight home. As it was, we got home about 6:45 pm. If we had gone we would have been home even later and that would be bad for Mom.

I have a bit of a bad headache now. It is really annoying. I took a pain pill so I hope it kicks in soon. Well, time to give Mom her nighttime medicines. She did pretty well with taking it at that time with taking her medicine but she is pretty tired tonight.