So I found out part of the reason Mom is so teary-eyed. Her urinary tract infection is still really bad. They can't seem to get it under control so that is making her emotions go a little wacky. I was glad to discover that because I was about to take her home because she was so miserable. Well, I can't because she needs the medicine and the watchful eye of nurses 24/7 until this thing is cleared up. She cried a bit during lunch because she thought she was getting her shirt dirty with food. I quickly pointed out that she had an apron (okay - a bib) on and she didn't get any food on that either. Then she said, Oh, okay and was fine. The nurse also said she isn't eating much either because she just isn't feeling well. She ate even less today that yesterday. I am now fine with where she is because I know if they don't get it under control they will send her back to Beaumont for further medicines and doctors and such. I hope the tests they do today will be better and she some improvement. Poor thing, she doesn't need this on top of everything else. She is doing fine during physical therapy, yes, they sometimes have to convince her to go. But she will go and then she is fine. She is very tired but I don't think as tired as she was yesterday or the day before. She hasn't also said that her eyes are sore which is a good sign that she is getting some sleep. I still miss her but seeing her everyday is a big help. I am starting to enjoy the peace and quiet around here. I still haven't done everything I said I would do while she is gone, but there is still 12 days left to this. I have been reading a bit more, although I do read with Mom here. She reads her books and I read mine. It is nice quiet time for us.

My friend, Heather, has suggested perhaps I look into getting a dog or a cat. It sounds like a pretty good idea. I will be thinking about that while Mom is temporarily away. It would be good company for both of us, especially when I am by myself. My only real concern right now is that our house isn't exactly where I want it to be, organized-wise. There are still rooms that need to be uncluttered. I will pray about it and think some more.

I am not so stressed now that I know the infection is causing Mom so much emotional ups and downs. I know that some of the tears are because she misses me, but not all of them and she is doing pretty well. Tomorrow I have a doctor's appointment right before lunch so I won't be able to see her for lunch. I have a lesson right before dinner, so it is iffy if I make it to her dinner. We shall see tomorrow, lunch is definitely out, but not possibly dinner. I plan to visit her sometime tomorrow. Friday is sewing and I am so looking forward to that! It has been 3 weeks since we did sewing and the girls are almost done.

Calli had her lesson today. She is doing so well. She finished learning a song and is learning a new one. I love listening to her play. Her brother, Acer, was here too. He hasn't been to a lesson in a few weeks, although I see him for knitting, I miss the little guy when he isn't here for Calli's lesson. He likes to play with the violins. Heather brought up the dulcimer for him to play with today too. I love how both kids love music and all different instruments. It is so fun to watch and listen. Bob had his lesson today too. He is almost done with one of his songs. His music is so much more complicated now that it takes weeks to learn it and polish it up. He made a few mistakes as he played today, but he knows where they are and will have them fixed by next week. We are also doing a bit of jazz exercises for him too. They are so fun.

Pain is not as high as yesterday, although I do still more of a headache than usual. Kind of annoying, but what can you do? It rained mostly today, which is probably what caused the bigger headache, that and the extra stress. I have just come to the conclusion that I am a control freak when it comes to care with my mother. I have to be in charge and it is hard for me not to be in charge. I am working on that fault and am praying about it a lot this week. I am working on letting it go and let others take care of her. She is in a good place so it isn't like I have to worry about that. They are very well cared for. I just like to be in charge and that is it.

I hope this finds you doing well and having some sunshine!!!!!!

I haven't posted this in a few weeks. Sorry, please check it out. the new online magazine of the national fibromyaglia association!

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/fma/fibromyalgiaaware_2009winter_v2/

Happy June everyone!

Mom is having a sad day today. Apparently she cried through her physical therapy session this morning. She worked out on the machines and did exercises this morning. I was glad to hear that. Made me feel much better than yesterday about my decision to place her temporarily. She has occupational therapy this evening. She ate pretty well for her at lunch. I encouraged her to feed herself and she did do it through most of it. I only fed her a bit when I knew she could fit a bit more in. She did pretty well by herself, so yes, she still has that skill! Yeah! She hasn't forgotten how to eat. I got there before she was finished with therapy so I waited in the lounge for her. She gave me a big smile when she saw me. I knew then she was having a crying day. She has them here at home too, it is just part of the disease, a non-pleasant part, but a part of it. When Mom forgets something she thinks she should know she cries. I am used to it by now. Her anxiety medicine has helped with the tears too, she doesn't cry as much as she used to. I messaged my cousin, Cathy, through face book yesterday and she gave me some suggestions on what to do. Since Mom had a full session of physical therapy today, I am happier with the nursing center. They are very nice there and the staff is caring, it just isn't home to Mom. She didn't ask to come home today so that is a step in the right direction. I let her know that in 12 days she was coming home and she smiled. I only stayed about an hour because after her big morning and lunch she was tired. I wanted her to get some sleep before her occupational therapy session this afternoon. I don't know what type of things they do but it helps her and that is what counts.

I went to the used bookstore after I left Mom, I got 6 new (well, used) books by my favorite authors. I donated about 17 boxes of books 2 summers ago and have been sad I did that ever since because now I have the time to read. I am not feeling really well today. My head and tummy aren't happy campers, but I took medicine and will rest in the living room before my wonderful lessons. I have 2 this afternoon. I can't wait. Without Mom here, I live for teaching. 12 days and counting!

It is really nice out, after my lessons I am going to put my scooter together and go for a scoot. Then when I get home I will charge it because it will probably need it. At least now the automatic garage door opener works. We got that situation fixed last fall and by end of summer, my lovely, little car will be in the garage for the winter!!!!! How cool is that?? She has never been in the garage since I got her in December of 2006, but by then she will be. No more uncovering the little girl of snow! yeah! I am a bit excited about this. The garage will be emptied! I can't wait.

I hope this finds you having a good day and enjoying the nice weather outside!

I made it just in time for lunch. I was able to help them by feeding Mom. They have several nurse assistants that help with that, but they have to pass out the trays first so I just sailed right in and started serving Mom. Mom smiled when I got there. She was asking for help. The nurse assistant said she really appreciated my coming and helping her. I plan to be there everyday except Friday for lunch, Fridays, I will be there for dinner. This will help them a bit and Mom and I can do some bonding over feeding her. She never was really fed until she went into the hospital. don't know what I will do when we are here at home. I may continue feeding her or just helping when she needs it. She can feed herself, it has just been a week since she has done it herself. I think she forgot she can do it. They also have her in a wheelchair when she goes into the dining room. She can walk. I know she is weak, but she can walk. I am worried what 2 more weeks of a wheelchair is going to do to her muscles. Did I make the right decision? I just don't know now. She could feed herself and walk before I took her to the hospital, does this mean she can't anymore? I mean, she could go up and down stairs too. What is going to happen about that? I am really nervous about her coming home now. I want her walking more in the home, she can walk. I told the physical therapist that too. I don't need her coming home weaker than she already is, she needs to be strong. That was the only reason I agreed to this. Also, they just left water by her bed. A lot of good that is going to do. She needs to be reminded to take a drink. That is what I do, only now I will do it every hour and I will have her drink with me all the time so even when we are out, I will have a drink for her. Right now, she can barely hold a cup to drink. I had to hold it up to her. What has this past week done to my mom?

I also think I am in more pain than normal because it is more stressing for me to have her away from me than with me. I know it would seem the opposite, but it isn't. It is much more stress to have her placed for 2 weeks than spending the 2 weeks with her. I did talk to the physical therapist and told her what she wanted to know. How our house is laid out, are there stairs, where is her room, does she walk by herself or with a walker, etc. Those type of questions. She tried to ask Mom, but she couldn't answer. I did hear the phone at 7:56 this morning, I just couldn't get to it in time. Fortunately, she called back around 10 am and I answered this time. I am moving the phone to be closer to me at night in case I get a phone call concerning Mom. I will be setting my alarm to get up at 10:30 all this week and next so that I can be at the nursing center for lunch to help out with Mom. It worked really well today. I fed Mom, we went on the patio, Mom started falling asleep, and then we went back in and the assistant put her in bed. I left about 1:30 pm because she was almost asleep. Perfect timing. That way, she may not get as upset as she can. They said she did cry a couple of times this morning, but nothing major. If she starts getting too upset, I will bring her home, simple as that. She has been away from me for over a week and she doesn't like it. She hasn't called for me yet, although at lunch she said her daughter would help and then I arrived. Perfect timing for that one.

My arm is pretty sore today so is my head. I forgot to take my morning meds so I am going to take them in a few minutes. It looks like it is about the thunderstorm. Fun. Just what we need, well, we do need the rain. Our lawn is looking peaked and brown. I am glad I am home for the rest of the day in case it does rain. I am going to read a bit and then work on Emily's dress. I want it all pinned so she can come and try it on one more time to make sure it is okay. In about 1 1/2 weeks I will work on Lily's. They both look so grown up in these dresses, especially Lily. She is only 12. I'd like her to stay that way for a while. I don't want her to grow up too fast, she already has in some ways.

I hope this finds you doing well. Enjoy your Memorial Day.

Mom has been discharged and transferred to the nursing center!!! Finally!!! After 3 days she has been moved! I have started the countdown until she is home. yup, I am counting down the days. She was asleep when I got there but she woke up a bit just when I was about to sit on the chair. Her lunch was delivered and ready for her. She had to go to the bathroom so I help as best as I could after I hit the nurses call button. After that, I fed her lunch and she ate pretty okay. The nursing center knows that she may need help with eating and dressing. I also let them know that she is very frightened over all the changes that have been made for her. She doesn't really have a clue where she is, all she knows is that when she calls my name, I am not there and that frightens her because we are together all the time. Every day, all day, she is with me. Rarely do I have someone watch her for me because usually I can bring her with me so I do. It has been a strange week without her around. I don't really like sleeping in the house all by myself but I am getting used to it. It just is strange for the both of us.

Mom's roommate is very nice. She has a broken knee so she will be there a while for physical therapy too. I forgot to pack Mom's toothbrush and hairbrush. Oops. I will bring them tomorrow. I had so many papers to fill out it was unbelievable, simply unbelievable. I would say there was at least 25 to 30 pieces of paper I had to sign for her. Mom slept through the end of it. When I left she was out like a light so I didn't wake her. She said her eyes even hurt from being so tired. She is just plain exhausted, completely exhausted. I expect her to sleep a lot this week there. At least she won't be woken up every 2 hours to be turned. The nurses have cream to put on her bottom. I didn't sign her up for the phone or the TV because she wouldn't know how to use either anyways, so why bother pay for something she isn't going to use? That would be silly and stupid and a waste of good money when we have bills that need to be paid. I am thankful that medicare pays 100% up to 20 days and since Mom will only be there for 14 days, it is paid for. We don't have the money for the co-pay after that, but we won't need it so it doesn't even matter. Mom will be home and I will be a happy camper. So will Mom. I think she will be happy to go home.

Pain is a bit high today. Not really sure why. I am not as tired as I was earlier today, I got up just in time for Katie's lesson. I set the alarm for the wrong time, but we fit the lesson in and that is what counts. She is doing well and is learning some new music. She has a book that has one of my favorite songs in it!!!! Red as the rose!!! It is an old Irish song that I heard about 10 years ago. I have been looking for that song ever since and Katie has it! I am so excited about that. She is going to make me a copy of it and the CD. How cool is that? Pretty cool, I'd say! I am planning to give that to Lily, I think she will love the song.

It is a bit hot outside, but a nice change from freezing all winter. I did have to turn the A/C up a bit as it was cold in the house. This new thermostat keeps the temp a bit different than the old one which I think wasn't giving us the proper temp anyways.

I hope this finds you doing well and enjoying the holiday weekend!

Mom is delayed again for her discharge. It is now tomorrow, Sunday. They didn't give her the medicine she needed last night to clear up her issue, so they gave it to her today. I know, because I was there when she took it. She ate pretty good for lunch, she finished all her beans and her rice. She ate 1/2 of the pudding (it was a boost pudding) and 1/3 of her chicken and gravy. She drank 7 oz of her apple juice, it had some medicine in it too. Overall, I am disappointed they didn't give it too her yesterday, she usually needs some help with this issue, but hey, it is fixed now. I plan to be there at 11:00 tomorrow so maybe I will see the doctor although, I imagine she has to have a day off sometime. I hope Mom goes to the nursing center tomorrow so I can start my countdown until she is home. I am not going to call Richard or Andrew for an update today because I have nothing really to say except it is moved to tomorrow. I will call them as soon as she is placed. She fell asleep after lunch and the medicine and her walk. Physical Therapy came to see her and they took her up and down the hall. She did really well. She cooperated with them and everything. I was pleased. I think she will cooperate with physical therapy at the nursing center. I remembered to bring her undies today. I put them in the suitcase and the blue bag. There is a blue bag missing with Mom's little red jacket in it. I left the nurses station now because it is a really good little jacket for mom. I don't want to lose it, although if I have to buy another I will. It's just this one is lined with sweatshirt material and has a hood on it in case it rains. Mom really likes it. I hope they find it. I am sure they will. I knew I should have brought it home on Thursday when I saw it. Stupid me. Then I would for sure have it. They moved her room again and the jacket didn't go with her, that is why I am worried about it. I looked in the old room's cupboard and it wasn't there so I am not sure where it went. I wish I knew where we got it from. Her blue one isn't as nice as this one because it isn't as warm. Her gray hoodie fits underneath it too which it doesn't under the blue one. I am hopeful they find it.

Pain is a bit higher in the head today and the hands. The weather is beautiful though, nice and sunny and not too hot or humid. I don't have many plans today except to read a bit and fiddle around online. I am going to do some laundry too, I am running out of t-shirts to wear again, need to buy some more too. I have several I can't wear anymore due to stains. I want to purchase four new t-shirts for the summer.

I don't have any special plans for the holiday weekend. Everything depends on the Mom. We were supposed to go to my Uncle's tomorrow, but of course, I had to cancel that. We will reschedule as soon as Mom is home and feeling better. She likes going to see her little brother and I think he enjoys seeing her even if she falls asleep in the afternoon at his house. He didn't mind. He knows the scoop on her condition, he just wants to spend as much time with her as he can while he can. I know the feeling. I want to make sure her last whatever, (months, weeks, days, years, etc) are happy ones for her. She deserves it, she has had a hard life at times.

I hope this finds you doing well and having a great weekend! Enjoy the nice weather if you have it!

Mom will not be discharged today, but tomorrow. She has a bit of a constipation problem and apparently the nursing home would send her right back into the hospital for that. That would not be good. The doctor ordered some medicine to take care of the issue tonight, so that is good. I am to be at the hospital by noon to sign her papers. I have her suitcase ready except for her undies. Apparently, the disposable undies are causing her a problem and the nurse has asked for regular undies for her. I will wash and bring them to her. I miss her being here. I know we don't talk all day like we used, she isn't capable of being that verbal, but I miss her presence. Fortunately, I know she is in good hands and will be moving to good hands so that keeps me going. I am anxious to have her home, but at the same time I want her stronger and if physical therapy for her is better in the home right now, then that is where she will go. I do plan to visit everyday so that she doesn't get too lonely and feel afraid. After she is discharged from the nursing home I will have a plan in place to make sure I focus on hydrating her so this doesn't happen again. She ate pretty well at lunch. I fed her some macaroni and cheese and pudding and it looked like she ate some fruit and mashed potatoes before I got there. She has a bottle of water by her bed too. The nurses aid said every time she comes in to turn Mom she gets her to drink a bit of the water, plus she is still hooked up to the IV. Everything is going pretty well for her, despite the little hiccup in the plan. I have tomorrow off now so I can devote the entire afternoon to Mom's settling in at the home.

I did speak to Andrew, he didn't get any of my messages. I gave him the update and said I would call if there were any changes to the plan. I spoke to Richard too and he said to call as soon as she is placed tomorrow so I will. I am much more confident about Mom's condition now that she is doing better and almost ready to come home. Once Mom is home I plan to have her eat of drink something every hour during the day so this doesn't happen again. Apparently, every 2 to 3 hours clearly isn't good enough. I gave the update to my Uncle John too. We were supposed to go to his house on Sunday, but obviously, we aren't going. We will go once Mom is home and better. She will enjoy the visit with her brother.

I am enjoying the peace and quiet of the house now. I didn't the last time I had the house to myself, but this time I am. Tillie will be over next week for a bit and then before I know it, Mom will be home. I just read and watched a bit of TV last night before chatting with my friend, Karlyn and my cousin, Hayley. Karlyn has been a great help to me over this whole event. She has chatted with me on face book almost every night, listening to my fears, which are pretty much gone now. She has 2 girls and 1 boy and I have their Christmas picture, they are very very cute. Julianne and Alexis sent me messages via their mom too. I mean, how sweet can you get? They are very compassionate little girls.

Pain level is normal with a bit of a headache. Don't really know why I have more of a headache than usual because it isn't raining, it is beautiful outside. It isn't too humid or muggy out either. Who knows? FMS is a strange disease and does strange things to a body, that's all I know. I think I will take another pain pill and then my student should be here shortly. It has been a quiet day.

Mom will be discharged from the hospital tomorrow! Yeah! She is doing better today! Yesterday was just a bad day for her. I don't know why, but today is better. She will be transferring to a nursing home for 2 weeks, then she will come home to me! I can't wait for that. I miss her when she isn't around. I know she misses me. While I was there, Physical Therapy came by to see her and they got her up out of bed and using a walker, out for a walk. She did have to take a detour to the bathroom, but then she went for a walk. How exciting. Yesterday, I thought I was at the end for her, but now it seems she has rallied a bit and is back to doing how she was before she went into the hospital. I do realistically realize that this may happen again since eating and drinking are very hard for her, but I can deal with it as it comes. I feel much stronger today, but I wasn't yesterday. Today, I can handle anything that is handed to me, yesterday, not so much. I have a good support system so that is good. I do have some laundry to do for her because I don't have enough clean for her so I can pack a suitcase for her to take to the nursing home for her. I, fortunately, have enough clean tee shirts and sweats for her and socks, however, her pair of jeans are dirty as well as her pajamas. I want her to look cute as she is having her physical therapy for the next 2 weeks. Thank goodness we found her clothes. There are some in the spare room too. I will pack later this afternoon and put the suitcase in the front hall so I don't forget to bring it to her tomorrow. I have papers to sign for her tomorrow since Mom can't really sign for herself. I am her patient advocate and her power of attorney person. I will take good care of her. I will be counting down the days until she comes home though, since I miss her so much. I will also enjoy the break from the day to day grind of taking care of her. I plan to put some stargate in this afternoon to watch. I love that show.

I am having such a good day, pain is down and Mom is doing well! What could be better (outside of Mom being home with me having a good day)?

If Richard wants to come and visit now, that would be fine, but I don't feel the need for him to be here. With Mom doing good and going to a new place tomorrow, I think she is on the road to recovery as much as she can. She probably will know him right now if he comes. She seems to know who he is when I talk about him and the family, so that is a good thing.

It is warm outside today. The sun is shining although a possible storm later this afternoon.

Mom isn't doing as well as she did yesterday. I don't know if it is because she was all alone all day (I was in Lansing for the day so I didn't arrive until 5:00 pm) or just a regular bad day for her. She didn't eat or drink very much. Thank goodness she has an IV! That keeps her hydrated. She doesn't appear to be in pain so I am very happy about that. We didn't stay long as I have a bad headache tonight. I will be heading to bed early. Two nights without much sleep are creeping up on me. I have to get up early again tomorrow because of my blood test at 11:00 am. Yuck! I wish I could reschedule but it is too late for that. I will go and get it down and then it will be over for 2 weeks or perhaps a month. We shall see. Mom should be going to a rehab hospital for a couple weeks after she leaves the hospital which could be in a couple of days depending on how she is doing. Basically, the bottom line is this is the beginning of her end. I can't believe it, I am not ready for it, but from what I have read (and I have read a lot about this disease) she is nearing the end. The plan is to bring her home, but I don't know for how long. It is a wait and see. I will be moving a bed into the living room for her because I don't expect her to be too mobile. I will be getting her a couple of nightgowns to wear because they will be easier for her to wear than pants. I am not happy about this, but I have been expecting it since she first stopped eating properly last February. I guess I can forget about bringing her to Chicago for the competition, we won't be attending. My goal is to make sure her last few months or weeks or whatever are comfortable and pleasant for her. She won't really know where she is so I am not worried about her being upset that she isn't at home. Mom was upset when she didn't know where I was this afternoon because she is used to me being with her at all times. After a few minutes, she was fine. She did cry tonight when I left so I kissed her, told her I loved her, and left the room. Tillie changed the subject to get her to stop crying and then left also.

My head is really sore tonight. I am not stressed about what is happening which is actually kind of weird, nor have I cried yet. I mean, I am watching my mom die slowly. I just don't want her in pain. This is the hardest thing I have ever done. Ever. She has been with me day in and day out for 4 years straight and we hung out a lot together for years before that. I don't know exactly what I will do without her, but I know I have a lot to figure out. I just don't know right now, now that it is facing me. I have called my older brother to ask if he can come now, but he didn't answer the phone (as usual - he rarely answers his phone, especially if it is me). I think he should come now and not wait until summer because I don't expect Mom to be here at the end of the summer. I could be wrong and she could rally! I pray she does, I am not ready for this. Not one bit. I hope to sleep well tonight or at least as well as I can. I don't want to ache more on top of all this.

Mom is in the hospital. I took her to the ER yesterday afternoon. Maia was with me. We were at Tim Horton's and she kept having a sore throat that would come and go. It happened at home and I tried to give her some pain medicine. I have it in liquid form, but she said it burned going down. I stopped giving her the medicine then because I don't want her to have a burning throat. It stopped hurting and we left. While we were at Tim Horton's, she grabbed her throat again because it hurt again. Also, every time she drank something, no matter what it was, she coughed. We took her right from there. We had to wait a bit in the waiting room (about 2 hours) because they were so busy and there were so many people waiting for beds upstairs in the hospital. When we got in Maia and I told the doctor everything that was happening, including the headache from Saturday. He looked into her throat and said she was very dehydrated, that was what was causing the pain. He sent for several X-Rays, CT scan, blood tests, and urine test. We left at about 8:30 pm to come home because the nurse had no idea when Mom would be sent upstairs to a bed. She was so tired. She was awake the whole time in the ER. We finally we able to get her some pain killers to help with the pain after the last test (the CT scan). She doesn't seem to be in any pain today. She looks so much better than she did yesterday and she can speak much clearer than she could yesterday. She also can put into words more of what she wants to say. She did eat a good breakfast of cream of wheat and an omelet. She had a good lunch, we were there for that one. I am hoping she has a good dinner, although I won't be there for that because I do have a few lessons to teach today. Overall, I am glad we brought her in because I think she could have died from this. Slowly over time, she is starving and dehydrating herself, not on purpose, but because her body is forgetting how to do things. She does tear up every time they move her because she is scared of falling. She is afraid when they stand her up for any reason, but then she calms down right away. I saw the Physician's Assistant this afternoon. I will miss the doctor because of lessons. I will find out what the doctor has to say when I go back this evening. Maia is planning to come to stay with her tomorrow while I am in Lansing for the day. I took Maia to the bus stop so she could take her groceries home to her family. She is coming back tomorrow. Tillie is on her way now and should be here soon. I am hoping that this visit will put some spring back into her step and bring her back to where she was a few months ago. That is my hope. I do know this could happen again with her because of the disease, but I am hoping to keep ahead of it. I am staying rather calm over this whole thing because she is doing so much better. I hope to have her home in a few days. I don't know how long they are going to keep her. At least until tomorrow, I think. I would imagine a few days at least to give her body time to adjust to the hydration she is receiving. It doesn't appear that she is going to need a feeding tube put into her at this time. That was something the doctor mentioned in the ER, that that may be a possibility. hey, if that was what she needs, we will deal with that, no problem. But I am glad that it doesn't seem to be something she is going to need. She was feeding herself mostly. I fed her a bit and she did the rest.

Pain isn't too bad although I didn't sleep much at all last night because I ran out of my sleep medicine and forgot to go and get more. I will fix that this evening. No way am I having 2 nights of no sleep and having to drive to Lansing tomorrow. That would be a bad combination. Very bad combination. My head is not too bad, i am just a bit more tired than normal. I am getting up early tomorrow so I will be heading to bed early both because of no sleep last night and the early morning tomorrow.

I will update as soon as there is something to update.

What a wonderful, fun-filled day! We had a really good time. First up was an earlier than usual morning for the Mom and me. We went to Calli's baptism and it was a really nice service. I think Mom enjoyed the music a lot. It was a contemporary service with Praise and Worship music. Heather B-T's mom sat with us. She and Mom are good friends, well as good as a friend as Mom can be at this point, but I know Mom really likes her because she has mentioned it before. Then after the service was a nice little BBQ at the church social hall. Burgers and Hot Dogs. They were very yummy. Calli sat with us to eat and so did Pat (Heather B-T's Mom). Mom wasn't walking so good, so the church has a walker with a seat. We put Mom in it and Heather's brother, James, took her into the social hall. It was very helpful for the little person. She is just having a day with the walking. It is just one of those days. We stayed until the end, Mom even stayed awake during the whole thing, so you can imagine how tired the little one is. She is having trouble with steps today, but I did manage to get her up and down the steps as needed during the day. When we got home we both went into the living room and took a wee nap. I slept for about an hour, and she is still sleeping. She is exhausted from our little excursion today but I think she really enjoyed herself. She smiled a few times too. Calli and her brother, Acer, can really get the smiles out of Mom.

Despite the time constraints we had this morning, I was able to get her up and dressed and even a little breakfast down her before we left. She only ate about 1/4 of her small bowl of cereal, but it was something. She was scared to go down the stairs this morning, so I pulled one foot down and then she brought the other down, then I did it again, and again, until we were all the way down. I managed to stay calm even though I was running behind time. I shouldn't have made the phone call I made this morning, I should have waited until the afternoon, but I didn't. Mom was fine coming out of the house and getting in the car on the way to church. We we left, she was nervous to get in the car, but I stayed calm, and got her in. I pretty much sat her down on the seat first and then moved her legs. It worked. She was nervous going up the steps into the house, but we did it. I wonder how much it would be to put in a ramp. I am thinking that might be a good idea. I will have to check into it. She got into the living room (it has a step down into it) no problem, so we shall see about going up the stairs tonight. I think she was just really tired when we left the church which is why she was having a bit of trouble. She is sleeping away right now. I just checked on her.

My head hurts a lot this afternoon, thank goodness it didn't hurt real bad until we got home. That would have been terrible to have it hurt bad at the church during the service. I took a pain pill when I got home and it has gone down a bit. Nothing else planned for the rest of the evening except Extreme makeover home addition. I like that show and so does Mom. Sometimes I think the way they decorate the bedrooms are ugly, but mostly I like what they do. I think it has really helped the families out a lot for the ones who get the house. We don't need a bigger house, we need one on one level with hallways big enough for wheelchairs for Mom. We will manage with what we have. Together, we can do it. That is my motto for me and mom. We just have to stick together.

My nails are making a clicking noise on my keyboard and it drives me nuts. It means I need to trim them because if they are making this much noise on the keyboard for the computer, what noise are they going to make on the piano keys? That would drive me nuts faster. I don't know how some people can play with long nails and sound like they do, but they can. I can't. I have to turn in competition stuff at the end of the week for the kids who are attending. My plan is to go, all depending on how Mom does. If she is doing well in July, we go, if she isn't, we don't. That simple, whatever Mom is up for. We would leave on Wednesday and return on the Monday as the awards show ends very late. Mom and Tillie wouldn't have to stay down in the banquet room for the whole thing, they could go back up to the hotel room and rest. I will have to stay for the whole thing though. All depends on the little person and how she is doing. I do hope to go because it would be a nice break for us and I think she would enjoy it. I know Tillie would, she has never been to Chicago. I have several times. The first couple of times it was for an audition and then once for vacation. Mom and I had a good time then. She also came with me for those few times for auditions. She used to drive me (even though I was an adult) to them so I could relax and concentrate on my audition material. It was very nice how she did that for me. We had it all mapped out and I would sleep and rest and she would drive. I miss the mom from those days, although the one I have had for the last few years is a nice one too. I just love my Mom tons and I am keeping her with me as long as possible. So far, it is working out nicely. She is doing alright.

Oh, yeah, the bank fixed the mistake they made and just in time too! Our house insurance is due Monday and it comes out automatically from the checking account. I am so happy that it is fixed and in time too because that would have been bad, very bad.

We have a busy week ahead for us. I don't get to see my Grace anymore until next fall because she is done until then. I will miss her but I do see her on face book, so I will be able to follow what she is up too. I also won't have my Calli this week as her schedule doesn't permit a piano lesson. Her brother, Acer, can't wait until fall for his piano lessons. That will be a new challenge for me and I can't wait either. I just love all my students. I have had the best students ever. I just friended a former student on face book, Francesca,. I haven't seen her since she was in high school about 10 years ago. She was a good kid. We are going to do lunch in the future. I think that will be fun. We are also going to Lansing for the day for the Fibromyaglia Advocacy Day. That will be a fun event and I hope we do some good for all of us who have FMS.

I hope you have a great week too!