Bloody fits (bloody in the British sense of the word)

Stef has been having major meltdown bloody fits lately. The omnicef didn't fly this morning. My fragrance dujour is Cherry omnicef. I tasted the stuff. It's GOOD! I have one last hope in fooling her. I put red food coloring in it to make it pink like Amoxicillan and I'll give it to her upstairs rather than downstairs. If that doesn't work, I'm asking for a pill form that I can shove down her throat like I do with Ellie's pills twice a day every day.

Last night's bloody fit was horrible. It started after her teeth were brushed. I gave her a little water in a cup to rinse, just like always. She put the pouty face on and put her chin down on the edge of the sink. I waited about 20 seconds and asked if she was going to rinse. She gently backhanded the cup into the sink. Fine, no rinsing, let's go to bed. As soon as her door was shut the crying/screaming began. "I want it! I want it!!" I told her too bad, she had her chance to rinse. After about 20 minutes of solid bloody fit, she started to calm down and quietly said "I want it" so we went back to the bathroom only to repeat the earlier scene. "That's it. You're done. Bed" And so the screaming/crying started again. I was headbutted in the mouth and that little noggin is HARD! I basically just had to hold her until she exhausted herself and finally fell asleep.

I'm re-reading 1-2-3 Magic, but I better start reading MUCH faster.

House of germs

Steve has some kind of flu bug. He came home from a 16 hr shift at Kellogg's feeling punky - body aches, throat on fire, sinus congestion/pain, chills. He spent most of Sunday in bed (except for dragging his butt to the photo session at Sears, poor man) and woke up this morning feeling a lot better. His side of the bed is SOAKED! He must have sweat it out.

Stef is still very snotty, sneezy, coughing. And I can NOT get that antibotic in her. I've hidden it in OJ, choc milk, pink milk, applesauce, etc. I've tried just squirting it in her mouth and making her swallow it, but it always just comes back out, usually all over me. I think she's gotten a total of maybe 2-1/2 doses out of the 6 I tried giving her. So I called the pedi and they're going to call in Omnicef, which is supposed to taste good.

I still have sinus congestion/pain like crazy and my throat's fire comes and goes. I was actually feeling body-achey this morning, but not so much now. I can't have any more sick days this year anyway, or I'll get a verbal warning!

MIL pissed me off pretty good this morning. I was supposed to be meeting her at the doctor's office for the Stef hand-off because she had a lab appt. I swear she said the appt was at 8:30, so I show up at 8:20. She's not there. She's not answering either phone. The front desk says her appt is not until 8:45. Finally at 8:35 she shows up. Dammit woman! I'm supposed to be at the post office at 8:30! She holds me up and makes me later just about every single day. It's funny that I can be on time on the days Stef goes to my mom's. Grrrr. Okay, vent over.

Still infected.

Stef's left ear is still infected, even though it was her right ear she was complaining about. The pedi said kids sometimes have a hard time locating the exact source of pain. So she's on Cefprozil for 14 days. I gave her the first dose this morning. After she sucked about half of it out of the syringe, she threw the rest into the sink and said "Thatsucky" ROFLMTO!!! I think she meant to say that's yucky. I'm gonna have to hide it in her choc milk or applesauce or something for the next dose or else administer it like I would to the dogs.

I need to walk down the farmer's market today. I'm out of cucumbers and celery. They have the best prices and the freshest produce! (usually anyway)

Final answer

My supervisor was here in the office yesterday (all day long!) He double checked with our official time-off keeper and I do indeed have 4 sick occurances this year. There was a day in July that I didn't write down and she'd completed out my timesheet before I could update it. So, what it boils down to is that it would normally be considered sick time for IVF week. But since I have 4 occurences already, that would be a bad mark on my record to take any more sick time. We also reviewed how much time off I have left and I was surprised to learn that I actually have 5 days, not 3. Apparently I can't multiply 5 x 3 = 15, not 14! So there's a vacation day I wasn't counting. Plus we get a floating holiday this year that I totally forgot about. It's because New Year's Day was on a Sunday and the market was open on the Monday.

Anyway, 5 days left will cover me no problem. In any case, if I need it, the RE will sign me out for the whole 5 days as medical leave (like short term disability) then it won't count as an occurence and it won't suck up my 5 days off either! Is that being greedy to want the medical leave?

Stef news - her snotty nose has now morphed into a snotty nose and barky cough. Jeni's kids just got over a barky cough. Great! She passed it to us over the phone! LOL. I guess I will call the pedi to see if there's anything else I should be doing.

I have to smile everytime I look at my hands today. They are covered with Halloween stickers (THANK YOU AUNT ANGELA!!) that Stef insisted were for Mommy. She's so sweet. I miss her so much.

Another cold

Stef was sneezing an awful lot yesterday. I just kept an eye on her all day, but by evening I was sure she had another cold. She's barely over the first one! She was awake at 2am because she couldn't breathe, poor little thing. I had to wait til 3am to give her the next dose of decongestant. Almost as soon as she swallowed it, she was able to get back to sleep. She is very very clingy today and made me about 30 minutes late for work! I really wanted to stay home with her but still don't know the status of my IVF time off, so just left her with Omi.

Stef doesn't seem bothered by the ear infection at all, but loves the Amoxycillan! Apparently the puss in the ear is a normal ear infection.

I finished Sarah's homecoming dress Friday night and she looked absolutely stunning! We took pix Saturday on her way to the dance too. I called my sister Sunday and asked if Sarah had gotten beaten up for being the prettiest girl there with the best dress. She was actually bummed because no boys asked her to dance, but then decided she had a good time anyway.

I found the source of the bug infestation.....the extra corn for more corn bags! I was cleaning up in the sewing room and saw a bunch of little holes in the bottom of the un-opened bag of corn. There was a lot of corn dust under it too. And the little buggers were just all over that area. I still think its weird though. That corn has been sitting there since before Thanksgiving last year! Oh well, I guess they just decided to hatch last month. Yuck yuck yuck! Since I got rid of the corn, we've still seen some of the bugs but not nearly so many.

One of my co-workers just got a new puppy (another Shiztu, I think) and she brought him in to meet the office today. What a doll of a puppy!! I got to puppy sit him while she used the facilities and he just cuddled and nuzzled and I can still smell his sweet oniony puppy breath! I just love puppies!!! I'm gonna have to go puppy sit during my lunch break too.

First time for everything...

Stef has her very first ear infection. She'd been complaining on and off that her ear hurt since about Friday. She's also still got green snot and said her peepee hurt when I wiped her yesterday am. So that bought her a trip to the pediatrician. The left ear has puss in it. I don't know if that's an ordinary ei or a bad one (somebody help me out there please?). She still doesn't seem bothered by it, maybe just a little punky, but mostly normal. Doc doesn't see any signs of a sinus infection and thinks the cold may just be lingering. Didn't see anything wrong with her peepee. I mentioned that she's also been (TMI alert!) digging her finger in her tooshy hole and saying it itches whenever I change her diaper. He said to check her first thing in the morning, before she gets out of bed, for pin worms. They're very common, but YUCK anyway! I didn't get to her before she climbed out of bed this morning, so there was no checking today.

She's with my mom today. I got a phone call that Stef had just streaked the neighborhood! Omi was right outside the back door and somehow Stef figured out how to open the front door. She was trying to come in thru the front gate when she saw that Omi saw her. So she squealed with delight and ran back to the front door, couldn't figure out how to open it from the outside, and started running up the sidewalk. The front door is now latched where Stef can't reach it. TG Omi lives on a very seldom travelled road. I think I have her sufficiently scared of cars that she wouldn't venture into the street alone anyway. Besides the fear thing, I can't help but giggle at the sight of her little bare bottom running up the sidewalk! She sure is a character!!

Sick or Personal??

The debate has begun. I'm waiting for a final decision from my service manager, who said he was calling HR corporate yesterday (and also said he'd get back to me by cob yesterday - HA!). I called the RE today. They said for the IVF week, I should be off work the whole day of the procedure and at least the next day for bed rest - that's for each procedure (retrieval and then transfer back). So it looks like I will be off work at least 2 days that week (best case scenario), but as many as 4 days (worst case scenario as far - as the firm is concerned anyway).

The doctor said they would definately write a note for me to be off, but the boss is still unsure if they'd give me the sick time. It's a medical procedure dammit!! Let's see somebody put a needle thru their cervix and then into their ovaries and want to come back to work!! Boss asked how many days vacation I have left, just as a backup plan so I wouldn't have to stop plans for the IVF. HA! As if! I told him I'll take em unpaid if need be. I'm too deep into the process now to back off because of time off concerns. Bullshit! My family comes first!

I don't know why I'm even ranting about it. Mother Merrill will probably come back and say that as long as I have a doctor's note, it will be sick time. Time will tell.......

NO SUIT!

LMTO. I caught Stef stripping to her birthday suit on Saturday. I asked what she was doing. She yelled (just like Max on Max&Ruby) NO SUIT! Now, she wasn't wearing a suit, just pj's. It was still hilarious. She cracks me up!!

We built up some good Karma over the weekend. I had listed our old recliner/rockers on Freecycle and a lady called about them. Turns out they just moved into a house from an apartment. She and her boyfriend already had her son living with them, but they also suddenly got custody of his 3 boys too, so they needed bedroom stuff. I offered my grandmother's antique set to them and they were so grateful! They also took our RCA console TV, 2 mismatched dressers and a window air conditioner. The basement looks so empty now. Anyway, it all inspired me to go on a cleaning binge. The basement needs some more work, but it'll wait til after Steve gets the trash and the sleeper sofa out of there. I cleaned a lot upstairs and realized we are infested by some kind of tiny little hardshelled bug. No idea where they are coming from. We'd been seeing a few here and there in the bathroom, but now I am finding them in all the bedrooms too. YUCK!! CREEPY!! I hate bugs. They just have way too many legs.

I KNEW she didn't get it!

MIL has been pushing us to put Stef in daycare one day a week so she can work for her new job. She was going over the schedule with me yesterday and these extra days are only in November. Probably no more after then. I made it very clear that if we start Stef in daycare one day a week, she's going to continue going long term. If her thoughts were of daycare for 4 days in November, I will just get my mom to watch her those days. Holy Hutt Slime! First of all, I wouldn't want to screw with Stef's schedule that much. She is a creature of habit and thrives best when she knows what to expect. Second, there is a $50 registration fee and a $25 deposit on the key cards. Totally not worth it for 4 days! GRR!

If nothing else, I know I need to call that one daycare in Landisville that takes drop ins, in case my mom gets sick on a day when we need her. I am just procrastinating on it but we're looking sick-season square in the face, so I'd better get moving on that project.

Well that was uncomfortable

The trial transfer must be performed with a full bladder. I'm SO proud of myself for having held it so long! TG for Kegel exercises!! This test was just to get a measurement on the uterus so they don't go too deep when transferring oocytes. The bad news is....the real transfer also requires a full bladder. And I will have to lay there for an extended period of time after the transfer rather than the "grab the sheet and run for the potty" method used today. The u/s tech said they can give me a pediatric cath so I can get relief as soon as the transfer is finished. I'll take one of those please!

Now that's a list of meds!!

This is a 3 month supply:

Ganarellex (12 syringes)
Doxycycline (40 pills)
Progesterone in Oil (EEK!) (6 vials)
HCG (3 vials)
Medrol (an anti-inflammatory) (15 tablets)
syringes and needles

copay is $45/rx so that comes to (gulp) $225

It costs $45 each no matter if its a one month, two month, or three month supply. I may as well get 3 months worth now in case I have to do this more than once. If we get no genetically normal oocytes, I'll donate the rest of the meds that I don't use.

SHG = Sono Hysterogram with Green gloves

Dr F is SO freaking funny. He told a visiting doctor (from a foreign country) that the G in SHG stands for Green gloves. She wanted to know where she can find green gloves once she leaves his clinic. LMAO. Anyway, my SHG was normal. They were mostly looking for polyps or fibroids that would interfere with embrionic attachment.

I feel a bit better about facing the Trial Transfer on Wed. I talked to the u/s tech (Lisa) and she said I should do a test today or tomorrow - drinking 48 oz of fluid and then holding it for 45 minutes. If it's unbearable, she suggested just drinking less. Worse case scenario, my bladder won't be full and they'll have to wait for me to fill it. I doubt THAT will be a problem. It feels like it's full ALL the time! LOL.

I can't believe it...

I actually touched a live alligator at the library last night. Stef was begging to touch it as soon as the owner was finished with his presentation. LOL It was about 5 ft long, but they can grow up to 13 ft long. The owner's wife laughed at that one and said Allie will lose her happy home before she hits 12 ft. The guy rescued Allie from certain death. Some boys had her as a pet and took her outside to "play" with her. She took the opportunity to escape. The guy's buddy found it in a field 10 yrs ago in the fall. Alligators can't survive winter this far north. She supposedly won't grow any bigger if he doesn't increase the size of her pen. She was actually very nice to touch. The skin near her armpit was soft like butter. The bumps on her back were like rocks. My mother is so proud of me today. I normally scream and run from most reptiles.

no luck

I've spent the last hour or so searching the web for a picture of chicken pot pie. I guess I'll just have to make a batch and take my own picture (thanks Ang) LOL

I'm the current winning bidder on this http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=015&item=250035165791&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEBI%3APIC&rd=1 Hopefully it will keep Stef from jumping on our new couch so much. Today is her 2nd Gymboree Class. I hope she does as well with MIL as she did with Steve and me.

What a world!!!

I cannot fathom any reason behind this story. Linda - you probably shouldn't read this. It's about a school shooting in Lancaster County.

http://www.wgal.com/news/9981693/detail.html

The tv reporter is saying now that the gunman is no longer a threat to the community. She's heard from a witness that he's been shot & killed but that hasn't been confirmed yet. Ugh! Why why why?

updated link http://www.wgal.com/news/9981693/detail.html

They're NOT dumplings either!

LMAO. They are pot pie squares! Thinner and lighter. I'll have to see if I can dig up a picture somewhere.