A rough week

Roni had her Gastric Bypass surgery on the 12th. Because of her Fibromyalgia, the post-op days were horribly painful for her. It was exactly what I feared. I knew from past surgeries how bad it could be, but I had a small ray of hope that this hospital would be different since it was a large hospital, out of the area, and is actually a teaching hospital. I had hoped they would be more progressive, understand Fibro, and be up on the research which is published that shows why Fibro patients suffer from post surgery pain that is out of the ordinary, how to avoid it, and act accordingly.

I was sorely disappointed.

Roni's sister, bless her heart, came to be with Roni during the surgery and her stay in the hospital since I couldn't be there because we thought Kevin would be terrified to be left with anyone overnight.

After all these years, I'm convinced that very few medical professionals understand Fibro. Some don't even believe in it. Hospital personnel certainly don't get it. They make comments like, "You just had surgery, you have to expect some pain." What they don't get is that it isn't the surgery pain that has her writhing in pain and screaming out like nothing you've seen before with the same surgery performed. It is the Fibro pain. They refuse to listen, think you are exaggerating, being a baby, etc. It is beyond frustrating. It is heart wrenching to watch. It is why I never jump to any conclusions about a patient complaining of pain. Unfortunately, many of my fellow nurses, and even doctors, do just that. I try to teach. I become the patient's advocate. I hope there is a special place in Hell for medical personnel who allow a patient to suffer needlessly.

I'll get off my soapbox.

Anyway.

She came home on the 15th. Things are progressing slowly. Her PO intake is not what it should be, so I worry about dehydration. Her protein intake is not even close to being enough. She does get up and move around, for short periods, a couple times a day.

While she was at the hospital, Kevin became depressed and it was so sad to watch. I videotaped him on the 3rd morning he awoke and she wasn't there. The video is dark because it was a gloomy day and his bedroom light wasn't on, but this is what I walked in to that morning...If you turn your volume way up, you can here him ask for her "Noni"....about broke my heart.

Ahhhh...an antennae again.

Remember this post? For the past 2 years, I have looked on with envy at other vehicles that sported their Mickey Antennae Toppers. No more, my friends...

Never mind the icky-ness of the actual topper. It's got some kind of who knows WTF lint/pollution/whatnot on it, but it's back.

On top of this:

I'm back in a Jeep and I feel like I'm home again. The minivan was comfy and huge (too big, actually, for me), but it wasn't me. I missed the 4x4 of the Jeep. I missed the ruggedness of the Jeep. I missed being able to drive over curbs if some dumb fuck was parked, illegally, in my way being able to drive on more rugged terrain, if need be, when the situation arose.

I'm in my comfort zone again. I love Jeeps!

He hates water on his face...supposedly

Just a couple of weeks ago Kevin would carry on like a nut case, in the tub, if water got on his face...

It's moments like this...

...when I feel so bad that he is the only child this young in the house.

Yeah, I know...

I was struck with the urge to write and the one-liners on FB just don't cut it all the time.




Anyone still out there?



Kevin has really taken off with his talking. I was a little worried for a bit, but now he just says every-damn-thing. You know what that means for me, right? Gotta watch my sailor speak. Not so easy for me, but I'm trying while he's within hearing range.

Mondays are turning out to be rough for him because he gets used to me being home all weekend and then, on Mondays, I'm not. He was walking around looking for me and saying, "Mama?" The last 2 Mondays, he's been cranky for Roni....coincidence? He waits for me at the window when I'm due home, and he has the biggest smile on his face while he's looking out the window when I pull up. He melts my heart.

I still love my new position at work. There have been some challenges trying to change some bad habits of the staff on my floor. I think I'm making progress. I am the "catch more flies with honey, than vinegar" type of boss. It works for me more often than not. Once in a while, some poor fool may take that for being a pushover...then they get the smack down they have coming and you can almost see the light bulb go on over their heads. The ones that have had to learn this lesson will say to their coworkers, "She's cool as long as you do your job. Just don't fuck with her." I'm good with this rep. Kinda proud of it, actually. I still watch my back...don't get me wrong. I've got some real trust issues and carry scars from people who stabbed me in the back by telling outright lies about me. I've had a couple of department heads that wanted to try to give me a little push. "Timid" is not a word that one would use for me and I pushed back. They backed down. I can't really blame them for testing the waters on what the new kid during the week is going to take. They'll learn. I don't want to make any enemies, but I won't take their shit, undeserved, laying down, either.

I love my boss. She's actually the first DON I've actually made a connection with. I hope I am not making a fatal error trusting her, but I actually do. I've had a few Administrators that I've loved, but never a DON. I can tell she actually listens to what I have to say and, after all these years of being treated as if I didn't know shit while I was the weekend Supervisor, it's a very welcomed change. I hadn't realized while I was on the weekends, the last few years, how depressed I'd become. I became apathetic in my job. It seemed that, no matter how hard I tried, I wasn't appreciated...so I stopped trying. Subconsciously, I gave up. I wonder if my (previous) weekend nurses feel that way...even if they don't really realize it. I know they don't feel as if they're part of the team.

I don't know how to fix that.

I never realized how horrible that feels until I wasn't there anymore.

Sad to say

I guess I have to face the fact that my blogging days seem to be coming to an end. Between Facebook and the new job hours, I just can't seem to come up with anything to write anymore that isn't totally redundant and boring. For now, anyway, my writing skills have gone to sleep and are showing no signs of waking up. They've been lacking for some time now, if I'm going to be honest with myself.

I didn't want to just disappear on the few people that still follow me without an explanation, so I will bid you all a farewell and a heartfelt "thank-you" for your support over the past couple of years.

I feel sad over my decision, in a way, and know damn well the minute I post this message something uproariously funny is going to happen for me to blog about...That's the way I roll.

A couple pics to leave you with....the first two is Kevin's first interaction with another little boy (adopted from South Korea and a few months younger than Kevin). Typical toddler play and I was happy to see him being able to play with someone close to his age...The last one is out by our little pond while he was standing among the ferns.

I'm lovin' it

Well, now that I've actually been able to work in the position for which I was hired for a few days, I'm really enjoying myself. Years ago, I was loving my job. I'm feeling it again and am very glad I moved into this position. I'm still trying to get a handle on everything I need to be doing and trying to figure out the best routine to do it in, but, so far, I'm having a blast. The day flies by (remember that I was used to working 16 hour shifts that were much, much quieter in comparison, so 8 busy hours goes by in a blink for me). People actually listen to what I have to say and appreciate it. I think that was the most frustrating thing about my previous position...not having the bigwigs get that they should take what I say seriously because I'm good at what I do. Dammit.

I know I'm still in a honeymoon period, but, unless I start getting stabbed in the back again, I think I made the right move.

Coming home and having Kevin smile at me and give me kisses and hugs is awesome. I do have to admit that there have been days I've come home after he hasn't had a nap, but is about ready to fall asleep on the couch and he is cranky. Those are the days that I have to give him a little time to wake back up because YO! MOMMY IS HOME! Once he does, though, the kisses and hugs and "Up?"s are endless.

All in all, I'm a pretty happy person these days...

The switcharoo

Sigh.

Well, the drama at work continues and I am stuck right smack in the middle of it all. Apparently the DON thinks I'm tough enough to handle it since I have a, and I quote, "strong personality". After being told I will have 2 floors, with one of them being the one they demoted the LPN from (who, BTW, quit), this weekend I found out that, hell no, I am now on the floor of another Unit Manager that wasn't even in this mix. She was moved to the 2 floors that I was told I'd be on. So now they've probably pissed her off and, once again, I look like the bad guy. "Coincidentally" *cough* today, on my first day in the new position, the floor nurse called off. I had to take the floor. I'm starting to think that it may have been his way of saying he isn't welcoming me. I'm off tomorrow. Can't wait for Wednesday. *rolling eyes*

I HAD to do it

About 2 weeks ago, like every other time in the past, I went to cut Kevin's hair. For some reason he went absolutely ape shit. Weeping and wailing, arms flying, head whipping. It was brutal. I was like, "WTF?!". I don't know why this is suddenly freaking him out, but DAMN. Anyway, I had already made some cuts and could not stop at that point. I was using scissors and was worried about hurting him, so I snipped fast and got out quick. In hindsight, it turned out so bad because of his flailing about that it really wouldn't have made that much of a difference in the outcome if I had stopped earlier. It turned out that bad. I let some time go by and cringed at how bad it was every time I had to take him out in public...which is often since he goes everywhere with me.

Today I took a clipper to it. At least I didn't have to worry about poking his damn eye out. He threw a fit again, but I really didn't care at this point. I love how short his hair is now....the top has that fuzzy feeling, but I don't like the way the front looks. His hairline grows around his face...KWIM? Because of this, the front looks all rounded and like a bowl cut. Not sure what to do about this....thinking of putting mousse or gel in it and trying it spiked up...

He's saying "cheese"....

Silence is not always golden, my friends.

Moms know this fact quite well. Usually, I'm pretty quick on the uptake when there is that deafening silence while the boy is awake. Today....not so much.

Witness my TV:

Can you see the coloring all over the screen? Yes, the boy still lives, but probably only because it came off with an electronic cleaner because his mama loves him more than any old TV.

Onto other news. I attended a viewing tonight of a co-worker. I have not been in work for 2 weeks so, while I was at the viewing, I was visited by several staff members just busting a gut to fill me in on the events happening there. Holy shit. Much has happened and not a bit of it sounds good. People got fired, somebody got demoted, somebody else is interviewing for a new job so they can leave....Here's the thing...When I applied for Unit Manager in order to go day shift, I applied because an opening for a specific floor opened up. I was told I was getting that floor. In the meantime another RN applied for a Unit Manager position, also. There wasn't another spot open. From what I gather, they decided to make a position open by demoting the Unit Manger of one of the other floors because she is an LPN and they want RNs in that position. Following me? They want RNs because an LPN cannot supervise without an RN in the building and the Unit Managers will have to work every 3rd weekend on 7-3 shift to supervise because I will no longer be on the double shifts on the weekends. The shit of it is that they decided that I wasn't getting the floor I applied for. I'm getting 2 floors and one of them is the floor that the demoted LPN works on!!! Great. Hands up in the air if anyone thinks that she isn't going to resent the hell out of me even though it is the other RN applying for the UM job that has caused this to happen.

Yeah. That's what I thought, too.

Fuck.

Oh, no you don't!

Kevin is hit or miss with naps for the past couple of months. If he's up early, sometimes I can get him to take one. If he's up late (say, after 8AM, which is rare these days), it's usually a no go. If I can't get him to nap by 1 or 1:30, I won't let him nap at all because he takes 3-4 hour naps. It would be so much easier if he just napped for an hour, or so. I don't want him up until 10PM...no way, no how.

So, today was one of those "I'm really tired, but I'm not going to nap Mama" kind of days. When he does this, I make an early dinner and Roni gives him his bath around 5PM. He's in bed by 6ish and sleeps through the night. I decided dinner would be KISS (keep it simple, stupid) and threw meatballs in a crock pot with some sauce (not a stitch of this was homemade, BTW) and we had meatball subs. Kevin finished his and went off into the living room to watch Cars. When I finished, I went looking for him and this is what I saw when I entered the LR....

I resigned myself to the only easy way to handle this crisis is to pick him up and bribe him with taking him outside. It worked and he had a blast at the local park. BTW, this was our first time to this park and I was truly impressed. It was waaaay nicer than the crappy, run down park I was taking him to.

He started off on the tame side of the park...

Then he moved over to the bigger kids side...

The first two pics show his favorite slide. He actually catches air time going over the hump in it.

They also had a rock climbing wall, a zip line, and some other climbing things, but he didn't go on those....yet.

Facebook has made me so lazy

My blogging has gone straight to hell. I blame Facebook. If you FB, I'm sure I need not say more.

Let's see. What's going on here...?

Well, I'm depressed.

1) I should be sitting in a motel in VA right now for an overnight stay on the way to Disney, but I'm not.

2) Some huge snafu with the checking account has happened and I'm about to lose my mind trying to come up with the money to fix it. I had never bounced a check in my life and now I have multiple notices coming from my bank for insufficient funds. It's humiliating and frustrating because I don't know WTF happened. Thankfully, my bank pays the bills so I don't have the recipient hitting me with charges for a bounced check, so it could be worse. My bank isn't so kind to not hit me with fees for each check they've covered for me which, of course, just makes the pit that I need to climb out of deeper. This is a full blown crisis over here. I don't have a lick of cash to even put in the account to stop the bleeding. There are still checks pending and I don't get paid until Friday. Not to mention that my mortgage is due on the 1st. The whole thing has me sick and I don't know when it'll be straightened out.

3) Still waiting to get off the weekend program at work.

4) Kevin is being difficult the past two weeks. Crying, whining, meltdowns, etc. Terrible twos? Molars? I think I can feel one coming in, so I give him Motrin and stand firm on temper tantrums. Trying to cover all the possibilities. Please let this stop soon. Gah!

Could it be time?

* For the past couple of days Kevin has been grabbing at himself 'down there' and when I ask him if he has to 'pee pee' he smiles and runs to the bathroom. He does go when he gets on the toilet, but his diaper is wet, also. I'm thinking of buying pullups when I get groceries next week...

* At this moment Katie is upstairs, in her bed, sobbing her eyes out form a broken heart delivered by Kennie. This was her first serious boyfriend. I cried with her and then sent her mom up. I have no details, yet, but that doesn't mean I don't want to kick his ass.

* It seems like it's been awhile since I posted a pic:

Aaaaand....you're grounded

Sigh.

That child is going to be the death of me. I'm referring to Katie. Sometimes I can't believe that I've actually chosen and prayed to go through the teenage years all over again in about 10 years, or so.

One day last week Katie asked to go to the movies with her girlfriends. She normally is not allowed to go out on a school night, but this was an early movie so we allowed it.

Some background: Katie's boyfriend started driving a few months ago. We have forbidden her to drive with him, just yet, because we believe he needs some experience under his belt before we are going to entrust her very life with him. She has agreed and actually has said, "sometimes I even forget he drives.". Uh-huh.

On the day and time in question, Roni was not home. The plan was that Katie's friend's father was going to pick Katie up and drop the girls off at the movies. Katie says to me, "They can pick me up now or they can come back at 4 o'clock". I told her it was fine for them to pick her up now.

A couple minutes later she calls out to me that they were there and we said good-bye. That's when intuition hit me. I went to the front door to look out and there was a little 2 door beater car parked 3 houses down. My antennae went up. What father of a friend would park 3 houses down? I peeked out the door as Katie jumps in the front seat of the car. The front seat is significant because, logic tells me, her friends should have gotten out of the car to move the seat for Katie to get in the back, no? I peeked closer and I can see the back of the driver's head and his longish, frizzed-out hair. Kennie, Katie's boyfriend, has longish, frizzed-out hair.

Fucking busted.

I texted her and said, "That didn't look like 'so-and-so' and her father picking you up." She actually had the balls to say it was. Sigh. I'm not sure what irritates me most....the sneaking around and disobeying, the flat out lies, or her thinking I'm incredibly stupid.

Roni called a little while later and I told her the news. Some sleuthing then turned up (and I cannot reveal our sources in case this blog is read by the perpetrator) that she has been driving around with Kennie all along...especially on the weekends when she is at her father's house.

I texted her "it wasn't smart to lie". She texts back "what?"...as if she doesn't know she's in the shit. Roni texted her "I hope you're having fun because it's going to be a looong time before you can go out again." She texts back "I'll explain later. Love you". Uh-huh. What does she think she's going to explain? Seriously. There is no explanation for blatantly breaking the rules. None. Zero. Zip. Zilch.

I could barely wait to hear what she comes up with. When she got home (early...the first smart thing she did that day) she started saying that it was the first time....I took pity on her so she didn't bury herself deeper and interrupted her to tell her we have witnesses that that wasn't so. She stopped talking (the second smart thing she did that day).

I have to say that she took her month worth of grounding like a big girl and didn't wail and whine like a fool (which only pisses me off further) so she made 3 smart decisions once she knew she was busted.

Sigh.

Did you know that Roni was born yesterday?

It's dusk and will be full dark in about 15 minutes.

Katie: "Could I run over to Kasey's For a minute?"

Roni: "Now?!"

Katie: "Yeah."

Roni: "No."

Katie: "What if I meet her halfway?"

Roni: "....."

Roni: "Why do you want to go over there?"

Katie: "She has a bunch of my CDs (for like 3 years now) and she's not going to be in school tomorrow."

Roni: "Why is this suddenly an emergency?"

I take Kevin and begin getting him ready for bed.

Katie: "I'm going to brush my teeth." **I have to say here that she doesn't just willy nilly brush her teeth for no reason. We're happy she brushes her teeth before school and before bed. 'Nuff said.

Roni: "....Okaaaay?"

Katie: Brushing hair.

I come back downstairs from putting Kevin to bed and catch the tail end of Roni's final "no".


I don't know how many of you have teenagers, but this was a definite I'm sneaking out to make out with my boyfriend scenario written all over it.

Excuse me while I get Roni her baba.

"Do you know why you were in timeout?"

There are a few things that Kevin is not to touch/do or he gets a timeout. Touch the computer, touch the copier, and play in Cassie's water bowl (I have Pergo floors and they will warp if water stays on them for any length of time). He knows he is not to do these things.

I walked into the dining room and found him jerking away from the water bowl because he heard me coming. A huge puddle was on the floor. I said, as he was leaving little wet footprints across the floor, "That's it. Get in timeout." He walked over to the couch to sit on it while I turned off the video and removed his toys. I make a point of looking at my watch. He watches me. I walk away to leave him alone to ponder the error of his ways. I periodically peek in at him. Still sitting there. Good. Two minutes are up and I go back in to him. I put my arms out and he reaches up to me. I pick him up and, while holding him, say, "Do you know why you were in timeout?" He says, "No." I'm thinking to myself, "Oh, bullshit." I say out loud, "You know you're not supposed to bmrpchokdfjgh." That gibberish was because he chose that moment to lean in and give me a kiss.

The ladies better watch out for my little charmer...He's going to be deadly.

Well. I did it.

I canceled our Disney trip for April. It's a new experience for me to be sure. I'm not quite sure why I suddenly felt no desire to go. Roni said, "You always say that everything happens for a reason, so maybe it's preventing something bad from happening."

Maybe. I don't know, but it's done. I'm kind of sad in a way, but also feeling a sense of relief. It's very strange, actually.

I believe I finally did it...

...had the most embarrassing public moment of my life today.

I was grocery shopping with Kevin, per usual, today. I was trying to reach the diet soda that Roni wanted and, not only was it on the top shelf, it was in the back of the shelf. I was trying to determine how I was going to get at it because it was really far back there. I'll tell you that I'm quite used to stepping on the bottom shelf at the store because, when you're only 5'1" in shoes, you have to adapt. Well, I made the erroneous decision to step not only on the bottom shelf, but also on a case of soda. You probably know what happened. The case slipped. My knee then slammed off the shelf above it.

I've mentioned before what happens to me when I'm in a lot of pain and this was no exception. The world started going black and I started feeling sick to my stomach. Kevin is sitting in the cart and I said, "I have to lay down, baby." He thinks I'm playing and starts giggling. There was no way I could get up or I know I would have lost consciousness. So there I lay feeling like an ass and not being able to do a damn thing about it. When I pass out in these situations, I have seizures. I could not let that happen. I have my damn legs wrapped around the grocery cart and was watching Kevin praying that he would just not try to climb out. After a couple of minutes, I tried to stand. No go. I broke out in a cold sweat and started to go down. I pulled my coat off because I needed to get cool and laid back down on the floor.

The crowd started gathering. GAWD!!! I'm mortified laying there, but had no choice. A very nice lady came by and kept talking to me, asking if I was okay, etc. She said to just lay there and she'll stay with my baby and not to worry. More people came. The question of "should we call an ambulance?" NO!!!!! I'll be okay in a few minutes. I tried to stand. The world went black around the edges and, worse, the hearing started going. If you've ever passed out, you know that that is the last thing that happens before there's nothing but black. I have to lay down again. I laid on the floor and looked up at Kevin. He's starting to look confused and concerned. The nice lady keeps reassuring me that she'll watch him. More people gathered. I can barely hear them. I'm willing this effing episode to pass already. The lady is telling me I'm clammy. I knew that. She grabs a pack of soda and pops one open and tells me to drink it. I don't want to hurt her feelings and tell her that I'm a diabetic and can't have it. It's not my sugar. It's a vasovagal episode. I took a sip to be polite anyway. After about 10 or 15 minutes of causing a scene and giving these people something to chat about to their friends and family, I was finally able to stand without feeling like I was going to faint.

When I was finally alone with Kevin, after thanking everybody (especially the nice lady) profusely, Kevin leaned forward and gave me a kiss.

What a freakin' day.

I wish I could have taken pictures for the blog...LOL.

What a beautiful day it was!

Of course it's over with no foreseeable nice days in our future again...(I'm a glass half full kind of gal, can't you tell?).

Kevin was ecstatic! He has missed being outside as is evidenced by his reaction today. If you're not on FB or, more accurately, my friend on FB (and why aren't you?) you missed this pic of the boy feeling high on the weather...

What I told my boss and what I didn't

I informed my boss last week that, within the year, I need to get off the weekend program and onto 7-3 shift or get gone. She actually seemed happy that I wanted to come 7-3. Hmmm. Of course we all know that, at the rate my facility trades out DONs, she may not even be there by then.

What I didn't tell her, yet, is that I'm going to need to take a leave of absence for 3, or 4, weeks starting at the end of June or early July. The reason being is that Roni is going to have a Gastric Bypass surgery and the estimated time frame is around that time. She certainly will not be able to care for Kevin during her recovery. Since Roni has Fibromyalgia, history has shown that, when she has surgery, her recovery is much worse than other people's. In the past it has sent her into a "flare" and the pain is intense.

I'm not sure how to phrase this upcoming event to my boss. I don't think that they are legally required to allow me off for a leave, but I hope they will not be difficult.

The whole thing is making me a nervous wreck.

Somebody help me with the feed reader...

I have some of the blogs I read coming through the Google feeder onto my phone. I have no idea how they got there, but it sure does spoil you! Now, the question is: Why aren't all of them coming through and how do I make them?

Could somebody explain, please?

You'd never know he's such a happy boy...

The cake:

So, the birthday party had to be canceled because half the family was sick. Totally sucks, but what are you going to do? The cake had already been ordered so Roni and I had our own mini party for Kevin. He, without a nap, was not in the best mood. He was happy when he saw the car on the cake, but, when we started singing "happy birthday", this is the reaction we got:

BwaHaHaHaHa!

The cake made it all better...

Afterward, we crashed and somebody decided to take this very unattractive picture (of me), but cute pic of Kevin:

Dos años!

I can't even believe it. Tomorrow my son will be two years old already! Where has the time gone?

Two years ago...I was still waiting for the call from my Case Worker to say I finally had my referral. Two years ago...my life was full of anxiety wondering if I was ever going to be a mom. Two years ago...I was wondering what my son would look like. Two years ago...I had no idea how much love you have for your child.

Two years ago...a barely 18 year old woman in Guatemala was going through emotions that I cannot conceive of. Two years ago...she loved her baby enough to make such a huge sacrifice for his sake. Two years ago...I had no idea how much love you have for your child.

Tomorrow I will light a candle and say a prayer for this beautiful, selfless woman.

Sleepy Boy!

For once, there is no volume involved unless you want to hear Katie and I giggling like fools.

This weather sucks. No, really.

I know this area is not the only area in the friggin' deep freeze right now, but I just have to say that it truly blows. I cannot fathom those people who actually like cold weather. It's not normal. Humans were not meant to inhabit such a ridiculous climate. Friggin' Polar Bears are meant to inhabit this climate. It's stupid cold. Every winter I say the same thing....I need to move south. Unfortunately, it's not possible because Katie's father would forbid it, I'm sure. She's 15...maybe in 3 more years we can get the hell out of here.

Poor Kevin doesn't either #1) know how to cover himself back up fully, or B)...hmmm...I forgot what I was going to say here. Must be the freakin' COLD interfering with my brain synapsing. Anyway. Because this house is almost 100 years old, the way it was built has a few issues. One is that there is no heating vents in any of the bedrooms. There is one central large floor vent in the hallway outside the bedrooms. It's not really a hallway, per se, It's more of a landing. You, literally, walk up the steps and either walk straight into my bedroom or do a U-turn into Katie's bedroom. The bedroom doors have to be let open during the day to allow heat to enter the rooms. When we sleep the doors get shut so it gets chilly in there during the night. The doors need to be shut or we'd be kept up all night with all the racket the dogs make. Normally it's not a problem. It doesn't get very cold during the night, we dress for the winter weather, and both Kevin and I like to sleep in a colder room, but this week has been a different story altogether. It's getting too cold. I was running an electric ceramic heater in Kevin's room to warm it up before he goes to bed, but Roni does not feel it's safe to run it during the night. She's terrified of a fire. (I'm worried it'll get too warm in the room for him. He hates to be hot when he's sleeping, but I could adjust the temperature of the heater so it keeps it cool without being cold.) Soooo, Kevin has been waking up between 4:30 and 5:30 this week. I've been assuming he's cold so I've been gathering him up and bringing him into bed with me. Every day, except this morning, he's gone back to sleep. Now the weekend is here and my 16 hour shifts. I'm thinking that it's going to be an exhausting weekend.

Do you think it's unsafe to run an electric heater in his room? It's the kind that stays cool to the touch, if that makes a difference.

Just for sh*ts and giggles

I'm looking into the future and know that I will need to get off the weekend program within the next year, or two. I know it sounds far away, but, as fast as time is flying by these days, I'm getting antsy about it. The way things are at work lately, I can't expect that I'll be able to switch shifts and remain there.

So....I decided to apply for a State job (preferably a State Inspector for nursing homes) and get on the waiting list. I didn't really know what to expect, but figured it couldn't hurt. I am an idiot and forgot to fill out the supplemental application that goes with the regular application, which would have raised my score higher. Nonetheless, there was only one score higher than mine in the County in which I reside and 2 higher than me in the next County over. Not too bad considering I, figuratively, did it with a handicap. If I wasn't an idiot, maybe I'd have made the top of the list. I guess an idiot doesn't deserve to be there, so it's justified. I can only wait now for some jobs to open up and try to dazzle them in an interview if I'm contacted. I cannot retake the test for 6 months, so I'm stuck for now.

I'm curious to see what happens with my career...The thought of leaving my place of employment after 13 years is sad, but exciting at the same time.

Check your cell phone bills!

This is a public service announcement, folks, because I am infuriated right now.

We have 3 lines on my cell phone account. The bill can be confusing to read (if I bother to take the time to do so). I noticed a charge on my bill two months ago from "M-Qube" and wondered what is was, but figured I bought something and didn't follow up on it. I noticed it again this month and Googled it. Turns out there's a class action law suit started against them for charging people for things they never bought. I checked my bills closer and saw that I've been getting charged this amount for the past four months. When I checked my cell phone carrier's site, I saw it was for signing up for "horoscopes". I never signed up for any such thing...not to mention that I never received any such thing on my phone. It is supposed to be credited to me and removed from future "subscriptions". We'll see....I just wanted to make y'all aware of this crap going on so it doesn't happen to you.

Future basketball star!