Saturday, May 30, 2009

Saturday morning ramblings......

I am overdue for a little rambling on my blog. Life is so busy these days I am having a hard time finding time to sit down for even a few minutes to put my thoughts to words.

Three trips to the ER, an emergency trip to the opthamologist, a post op appointment for my sinus surgery, and star student activites just might be why I haven't had a chance to even think lately!

My precious little Lily had a bad stomach virus and was so sick last weekend we had to take her to our local ER. When what they prescribed there didn't seem to be helping and several calls to her peditrician it was decided she had to go to the "big city" ER because they deal specifically with children. We took her to Children's Hospital in Milwaukee and after a long wait the doctor prescribed several things for her and she was feeling better within a few days. I was so worried about her.

A few days later my husband Carl got a piece of metal in his eye at work. He removed it with a medical magnet at the unmanned nurses station at his work and continued working. When he got home his eye was swollen, red and painful. By the next morning it was swollen shut. He woke me at 430am and said "I need to go to the ER to have my eye checked out." Off we went....the ER doctor said he scratched his cornea and gave him some drops. We went home and he went to bed for a few hours. Upon waking, he was miserable and in pain, he told me "I feel like I am dying the pressure behind my eye is so bad!"

I called the opthamologist and they got him in right away. They put dye in his eye and told him that he has a 2mm x 3mm abrasion to his eye and gave him an antibiotic salve which I had to put in his eye every 2 hours for the past week. His vision in that eye is still impaired, he will have to go back for a follow up visit with the opthamologist next week.

I went in for my follow up appointment with my ENT doc regarding my sinus surgery. ***warning the following is not nice*** He took a long metal needle nose instrument and went into my nose while telling me "Go to your happy place". My toes curled up, tears were streaming down my face....I couldn't find a happy place! Pure torture! I go back in a month for a recheck. I think I will take a xanax before I go so I can find a happy place next time.

This coming Tuesday I will be going to my pain clinic for a caudal epidural. Right now I am in a lot of pain with my fibromyalgia and degenerative disc. I cannot sit for longer than 20 minutes and at times am having problems walking. My pain doc will be injecting my tailbone and back with cortisone and a long lasting anesthetic to relieve my lower back and tailbone pain. I get these injections every 3-4 months and although it really, really hurts and every time I go there I tell myself I won't have it done again it does indeed help me.

Onto some nice non-medical news....

Emily was "star student" of the week in her class. I made 24 dirt cups yesterday and went into her classroom to talk about Em to her classmates. The third graders were delightful. They thought it was so cool that Emily is Ojibwe Indian and that her Indian name is "Shining Rainbow Woman". They also ooohhhed and aaahhhed when Emmy told them that on the reservation where she comes from there are Moose, Bear, Wolves and Fox. It was a fun day and I loved every minute of it.

Cody finally has a line on a job and we are hopeful that he will get hired. Like most of America, the job prospects are slim to none. He has filled out so many applications in the past 6 months and has been discouraged with no work. He got a call back yesterday and goes in this week for a follow up interview. Keeping my fingers crossed that he gets the job!

Rummage sale season is in full swing here, it is my favorite time of the year. I get a big rush of going from sale to sale to find treasures to sell on ebay, vintage costume jewelry for my crafts, and gently used and brand new clothing for my family for so little money. My husband says when I am rummaging I am in a euphoric state. I think he is right, I look forward to my Thursday & Friday rummage sale mornings each week.

Some of my recent rummage finds; a solid maple dresser in excellent condition for $10.00, a nice leather jacket for myself for $2.00, a bag of vintage rhinestone jewelry for $4.00, name brand (Gymboree, Old Navy, Gap) clothing for Lily for 50 cents each, a pair of Stride Right Shoes and a pair of brand new (real) Crocs for Lily for $2.00 each and a Gateway computer for Emily for $10.00. The computer is great, hubby updated it a bit, added some more memory and Em is thrilled to have her own pc now. Oh yes, I love to rummage!

Well, that is it from my little corner of the world, until next time.......Sunshine & Peace, Jen





Saturday, May 16, 2009

Focus 28 Bariatric Products

One of the best things I found after having my RNY Gastric Bypass were the products at Focus 28. http://www.focus28wellness.com/ The vitamins and protein products are excellent and made especially for people like me who have had weight loss surgery. I was delighted to become a customer "blogger" for Focus28. My newest blog posting there can be viewed at: http://www.focus28wellness.com/focus28-blog/2009/05/16/getting-back-on-track/#comments

Endoscopic Sinus Surgery OUCH!

I had Endoscopic Sinus Surgery yesterday, the surgery went fine. It was a same day procedure, I was at the hospital for 5 hours. Both my primary doctor and the ear, nose and throat doc said I needed this surgery because of my chronic sinus infections. So much scar tissue was built up in my sinuses that I have had at 1-2 sinus infections a month since December. **be prepared whine to follow ** While the surgery went fine, the post op pain is horrific. I have had my share of surgeries before: 2 c-sections, gallbladder, gastric bypass, deviated septum repair, and foot surgery...to name just a few. I have never experienced this kind of pain and pressure before. It seriously feels like someone kicked me in the nose with a steel toed boot. I have only slept for 3 hours since coming home at 5pm yesterday. The ENT doctors post op care sheet says that the recovery time for this surgery is 5-6 weeks. I sure hope this pain doesn't last that long, I might just go crazy!

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Ode to Rotissiere Chicken....(and Jane & Kidd)

This blog posting is dedicated to Jane & Kidd of WMYX 99.1 FM Milwaukee, (http://991wmyx.com) my favorite morning radio hosts. Last week, on more than one occasion, Jane & Kidd were talking about rotissiere chickens. You know the chicken you can pick up at the grocery store for $6.00 - $7.00? Jane and Kidd inspired me to go out and buy a rotissiere chicken and much to my non chicken loving husbands dismay we have had rotissiere chicken more than once this past week! The best part of this story is that I have learned that these juicy chickens are so versatile and make for an easy and quick meal. Being the mom of 3, I am all over easy & quick these days!

I thought I would start sharing some of my easy, quick and delicious rotissiere chicken recipes. Today we had rotissiere chicken nachos for lunch. Fabulous! Thanks for inspiring me Jane & Kidd!

Pull meat off rotissiere chicken
arrange your favorite tortilla chips on plates
cover chips with shredded cheddar cheese
add desired amount of shredded chicken on top of cheese
put in microwave for approx. 45 secs to 1 minute until cheese is melted
add desired amount of salsa on top of chicken
add shredded lettuce and a tablespoon of sour cream in the center of plate
Enjoy!

Stayed tuned for a new Rotissiere Chicken recipe each week, you won't be disappointed!

Sunshine and peace, Jen

Friday, May 1, 2009

Friday Night Ramblings....

Emily is getting adjusted to living here and seems to be happy with her new home. That makes me incredibly happy too. She is having her first sleep over tonight and is excited to have a friend over for the night. The girls are watching "The Mummy" and soon I will be making popcorn and treats.

I have been keeping busy as usual playing "mom taxi" and getting ready for my upcoming sinus surgery on May 15th. I made the mistake of looking online for information on the sinus surgery. I am scared to death of having this done now, if only I hadn't watched the darn youtube video! UGHHHHHH I should have known better. I wanted to be prepared, I am prepared alright and scared stiff to boot! Most of the people who have had this done have commented on how excrutiating the pain is for about 2 weeks but once you get past the intial 2 week pain you will feel a lot better. For some reason, this is not comforting to me!

I go to see my doctor next week for my pre-operative exam, sinus ct, and all the testing that has to be done prior to surgery. I am going to ask her if I really need this done even though I know the answer is going to be YES.

Mom duty calls...time to nuke the popcorn and make some Rice Krispie Treats for the girls...I am enjoying every minute of it!

Sunshine and Peace, Jen