Showing posts with label Ow. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ow. Show all posts

12 September 2010

~Big Bike 2010 – The HomeDepotHeartthrobs!~

Well this was my first year doing the Big Bike for The Heart & Stroke Foundation.  I started late raising money so sadly I only raised $60…but my great company that I work for, The Home Depot, will match my fundraising efforts and turn that into $120!!!  Isn’t that awesome?!?!  As a team we raised over $3200 with our company match! That is only the tally from the people that showed up tonight, there were quite a few that did not make it…they wussed out because of the rain!  So we may be a lot more then that!

Only 12 of us showed up to ride the bike…far less then the 29 that it can hold.  Thankfully it is quite easy to ride.  The only thing is that in Grande Prairie we start a the bottom of a large hill…they gave us the option to push it up the hill but we decided to ride up…I wasn’t in on that decision I can assure you!  I feel like a smoker again is all I can say!  They told us afterwards that no other team has been able to make it up that hill with that little amount of riders.

We did a short circuit because we were pretty wore out as a group from the hill and lack of legs pushing…we were gone around 20 minutes.  It was fun, we had people honking and waving, pointing and taking pictures…the whole nine yards!  Here are the pictures, I’m looking forward to next years ride already!!!

They told me the shortest pedals were in the back…notice where to tallest riders were…wtf??? As you can see, my short butt had a hard time getting on…

Notice the hill?  Not loving that hill…

On a side note, Ethan wanted to just run around and play…and was a total little shit the whole time we were there.  He charmed everyone but I’m sure they sighed a big sigh of relief when we went home…

He spent a lot of time chasing a squirrel around the park…that was the cool thing to do!

Anyhow, we are looking forward to joining in on many more good causes like this one as a family…we will all benefit in the end!

30 August 2010

~Hospital Scary Time~

So we got hospitalized for the first time a couple of weeks ago…I knew that it would happen sooner rather then later but it didn’t make it any less scary for Ethan, Randy or I…

He choked on a piece of a Nutragrain Bar and it got stuck in his esophagus…I’m sure you can piece together the rest of how that went.  So he couldn’t eat anything and everything came up that we tried to give him.  So after 6 hours of nothing being able to go down I took him to the emergency room to get checked out.  They consulted with our specialists at the Stollery Childrens’ Hospital and decided to hospitalize us for observation.  If it worsened then we would be transported to Edmonton…

So we checked into room 329, right outside the nurses station, and settled in for the weekend.  We found the play room and the movies and the little kitchenette and got comfortable with our little environment.  They put Ethan on an IV and took blood to check him for infections and did Xrays to see if they could see anything stuck.  None of which were easy or fun for Ethan or I.  He was traumatized by the whole experience and it broke my heart to watch him have to go through it…

I stayed at the hospital with Ethan;  Randy came back and forth with the coffee and food for me…

It took until Saturday night until Ethan was able to eat anything and that was a Danino yogurt.  We were so happy!  From there we switched his hospital diet to a puree diet which he ate for two meals, then we switched him to a minced diet which he ate without problem the rest of the time we were there. 

We met with the Paediatrician on Saturday followed by the surgeons from Grande Prairie.  They all thought that he had suffered something being stuck and that it was likely now swollen or bruised and thereby difficult to eat.  The surgeons told me that they could do a scope to see what is going on but I told them that I would rather be sent to Edmonton where they deal with paediatrics if that was the course of action…

Long story short, he made a good recovery and we got discharged on Monday morning after meeting with our family doctor.  They made us an appt at the Stollery for Thursday for a check up and meeting with the specialist.

I had to fly to Saskatoon on Tuesday for work and Randy and Ethan headed to his Moms’ house in Vegreville until the appointment.  My boss (in my DREAM JOB) let me change my flight to stop in Edmonton so that I could be with Ethan during his tests.  Unfortunately my flight didn’t get in until 10:20am and his test was at 8:45am and I missed it…but I did get to go to the appt with the specialist in the afternoon.  

I have to say that it was the best meeting we have had so far with a specialist in regards to Ethan's’ care.    He gave us concrete “what to do in this scenario” actions and how to deal with different situations.  I’m very happy with the information that he gave us and feel better about what we can do when he chokes…that being said, we are going to get in touch with someone in GP who can teach us children's’ first aid.  It is time to educate ourselves…

We are all home now and Ethan is doing okay…we are cautious and keeping his diet pretty simple…I’m hoping that we gradually aren’t scared and feel okay with feeding him normal again…but I’m not rushing it!

So that was our excitement/scary time with Ethan…poor little guy!  Thank goodness the hospital had 1 Max & Ruby VHS tape, it kept us sane when Ethan was tied to an IV and couldn’t run around the playroom! 

11 March 2010

~My Little Guy is Sick~

Send some love his way!  He is just feeling rotten like you would not believe.  He is allergic to the amoxycillin they gave him to clear up his ear infection and is covered from head to toe in huge painful hives.  To top that off he has some type of an infection he’s fighting off because he’s had a fever for 24 hours and threw up twice last night.  We went to the Dr today and got all the meds changed and had him checked over.  We are just to give him Bendrayl to help with the hives.  Then we went to the hospital for blood tests to see what kind of infection he has.  We go back in 7 days for follow up… We are only 11 days from our next visit to the Stollery…things are not looking good for that test!  I hope he’s feeling better by then!!!

Anyhow, I’m exhausted and heading to bed.  Tomorrow I was going to go to Slave Lake for audits but I’m sticking close to home instead and working in town.  I will have to do them on Tuesday I guess.  I have until next Friday to do them.  I guess worse case scenerio we could go that way to Edmonton next Friday…

But I will update how little guy is feeling and maybe post some pictures tomorrow.  He looks just horrid the poor bugger…but that’s it for me, take care!

8 January 2010

~Little Things That Make me Happy Today!~

Well I’m blogging today after being knocked out on some strong drugs and having a minor surgery so excuse me if I sound like I don’t make sense.  I’m blogging today because I received a complaint that I never blog anymore.  (Yes I mean you Mother)  So to appease the masses I am writing a little post today with some pictures!

So these are a few pictures of what made me happy this afternoon!

So we have Ethan in his new PJs from Christmas, I love these PJs, so nice a warm and soft and they glow in the dark too!!!  Then in the top left and bottom left picture you see Ethan’s push and ride toy with Elmo hanging on for dear life.  Ethan saw me stick him there one day and ever since then that is where the Elmo goes.  Its a giggling Elmo so every time they round a corner and he gets bumped he giggles or says Yahoooey!  It is freaking hilarious.  Carrying on, in the middle left picture is the Herald Tribune paper, my Friday tradition.  I pick up the paper and read all the relevant local news and upcoming events, read the careers section and go through all the flyers.  That’s what you will find me doing every Friday night!  Then in the top right picture is a picture of MY new PJs, comfy and soft flannel bottoms….so cozy!  Then underneath is my cup of Timmys that I’m enjoying tonight.  That one is self explanatory!  Then bottom right are my new shoes that I picked up from Purolator today!  New Naturalizer loafers for work!  I am so glad they are here because I’m sick of sore feet at work!!!

So that is what it looked like for us today!  I promise to get a post about Mom’s birthday party up real soon as well!  I’m off to get some sleep and hopefully I won’t feel so stoned in the morning!!!

22 November 2009

~Another One of Those Days~

Yup, it was one of "those" days today. You know the kind where you want to rip someones head off and shit down their throat because your day is so bad?

Well, it started with Ethan screaming at me non stop for an hour for no apparent reason other then he hates me I guess. Then as we are leaving the house I set my coffee cup down on the stairs while I threw my coat on. Of course Ethan picked it up and launched it across the entry with coffee spewing everywhere! So I mopped it up while seriously considering selling him on the black market and we headed to Marys house.

We all know how much I love my job so that was the next chapter of my day. Of course on Friday I had taken a spill on my foot that I hurt this summer so today it was throbbing like crazy. So I decided to go to the Emergency Room to get it checked out. You guessed it, I sprained my foot. So hobble foot me then had to go back to work to finish my shift. The Dr put me on sedentary duty for a week, that is laughable when you work retail. There is no office position for me to put up my foot up while doing work...we can't afford for me to go on WCB to heal from it either. So I guess I'm stuck hobbling around selling clothing.

So then I come home and there are peeping tom tracks around all my windows. I'm pretty freaked out that someone was looking in my windows and I would sure like to know what the hell they were doing. They came through my back gate, walked around the back of the house and onto the deck and looked in the patio door. I totally freaked out and called Randy to tell hime and kept him on the phone while I walked around the house to make sure no one was in the house. Then I found a metal rod and put it in the patio door runner. Now I'm jumping at every noise and cursing the creaks of this old house.

I put Ethan to bed, with more of the screaming from the morning. So much pent up frustration in him...what a turkey. He needed to go to sleep.

Speaking of sleep, I need some too! I am off to High Prairie in the morning. Can't wait to hobble my way through an audit!

12 July 2009

~Flu Bug has Landed at our House!!!~

So last week Ethan came down with it, he vomited 7 times in like 3 hours at daycare so I ended up leaving work early and taking him home. He recovered quickly though and was back to his cheerful self right away.

Then it was my turn. It hit me on Wednesday night at bedtime. I managed to go to work Thursday afternoon but I sure felt like crap. Then on Friday I got up and could barely move...of course I had left my audits to the last day and had to go out and do them though...So I went out in the morning for a few hours and got them all done and then went home and died on my couch all afternoon. Then, the good assistant manager that I am, dragged myself to work that night at 5 until 9:30pm. Let's just say that it wasn't fun.

Fastforward to Saturday morning...I'm still not feeling 100%. Randy gets up and proceeds to spend the entire day between the bathroom and the bed. He got the worst of it I think! He was a total write off all day. Today he's still sick but not throwing up and etc and I'm still feeling like crap. This is a hanger oner of a flu! I can't eat anything yet I'm hungry as all get out. Everytime I eat I get so nauseated that I feel like I'll be sick. So I'm still debating on work tomorrow...but knowing me I'll just go in and tough it out.

I doubt Randy will make it to work tomorrow though, he's still so weak and shaky from dehydration that I don't think there is any way he'd be able to do his job.

Thankfully Ethan seems to be over it and totally unaffected by us being sick around him. We've had a fun weekend at home with him just playing and having lots of cuddle time.

It's raining now (again!) so I need to run and close windows up! I'm hoping for some good news later this week to post on here so keep posted!!!

24 January 2009

~Ethans' 1st Owie!!!~

Here he is in shock! See his little fat lip? Awwww poor guy!



Apparently he's over it now, he's cracking a smile....



A closer look...awww poor little guy!!!




THE CULPRIT:





Yes, the giraffe did it. Mean giraffe. His silly head fell forward and bopped Ethan right on the lip!

22 October 2008

~I'm sad...~

Did you see the exchange rate today? 80 cents on the US dollar! Bummer! I know it is good for our economy...it should help our struggling manufacturing sector...but it means the cancellation of my much loved scrapbook kit. I just can't justify losing 20% of my spending power when money is so tight. So I emailed the girls at Sweet Pea Scraps and told them that it was time to cancel it. A sad day for me. I HIGHLY recommend their kit, Julie and Kristin have been so great and create the most interesting kits every month that are sure to inspire. I hope to be able to get it again in the future but for now it's time for me to play with what I have...

23 September 2008

~So...~

I know my son is totally cute...the proof is in these pictures:





But what I didn't know is that he would turn into this:



When he is teething! The poor little guy! He has been cutting this (or these) tooth for awhile now but the last three days have been the worst. Apparently you are not supposed to use baby Oralgel nowadays because it can freeze their throat and cause them to choke in their sleep. He can't hold a teething ring yet well enough to be helpful and I can't find this:



anywhere! This looks like the cats meow! But apparently it is sold out across North America...not really sure about that. (Update! I found one online at this store: http://www.babybegreen.ca/, can't wait for it to arrive!!!) I'm waiting for a week then going to buy one on Ebay. You can find anything on ebay...I also have a natural remedy that I got from the health foods store here that is helping a bit but I can only give it to him 4x a day. So...just hope for my sanity and my poor little guys gums that this tooth comes through soon...

27 August 2008

~Rollercoaster Day~

So yesterday was one of those days. You know, the ones where you would rather peel paint off the wall and eat it, shovel cow dung in the humid heat, or run with the bulls rather then do that day again? Oh yeah it was that eventful.

It started off with Randy getting ready to leave for work for four or five days. We were running around trying to find the last minute things. He took his stuff out to the work truck and came back in the house and asked me if I had dumped everything out of the console in the truck onto the seat. Of course I hadn't. So yes, wait for it, our truck was broken into and Randy's wallet stolen. (Yes he is a smart one who leaves his wallet in the truck all the freaking time!) Well that would be bad enough but it was made worse by the fact that they actually didn't have to break in to the truck, I had left it unlocked the night before. Not one of my finer moments I can assure you. I had come home last night flustered from a nightmarish trip to the grocery store and had my mind so wrapped up in what had happened there that I forgot to lock the doors. Nice.

So wallet gone. Truck a total messy disaster from stuff being rifled through. Not a good start. Plus I had to head to Mary's house to watch Cole for the day in like 15 minutes. So I called the police. They were closed, press 1 for an incident...okay. So then I get the police comedian of the year on the phone. When I told him that a wallet was stolen, his comment was "Well it wasn't that smart to leave a wallet there was it?" I said "Not very, but it wasn't mine" Then he said how did the get into the vehicle, I told him I left the doors unlocked, his comment?

"That wasn't very smart either eh?" Jeez, do you think? No I thought I could have a bum party in my SUV and have all my stuff stolen for fun, you idiot. Whatever. So then I called the bank and told them, Randy called his credit cards and all was fine. Just the pain of waiting to get them all replaced and hoping they hadn't used them yet. They also got all the change in our ashtray, probably about $30 or $40 bucks. I do think that that was pretty much it. They obviously didn't have an eye for quality though because they left Randy's Rayban sunglasses behind. Thank goodness, they were the most expensive thing in there.

So Randy spoke with the credit card bank and they hadn't used his Visa yet. My guess is that they don't look like the type of person that would be carting around a Gold Visa and that any stores that are open at night here probably know them and know that their name is not Randy. Sucks to be them...Randy hardly ever has cash in his wallet, and he didn't this time! Just some receipts and Blockbuster coupons.

So that was the stolen wallet. I head over to Mary's house, cringing the whole way because I want to bleach the entire SUV...get there, Cole is still in bed. No problem. He gets up, I start making him his breakfast. Eggs, bacon and half a bagel. I throw the bagel in the toaster, start the bacon and eggs and am chatting happily on the phone when the smoke detector goes off. Nice. So I start waving a towel in front of what I *think* is the smoke detector. Not working. So I start panicking. Mary's building is full of special needs and handicapped people so there is really only a small window of time to get it to turn off before the entire building alarms and the fire dept is sent out. So finally I realize that I am stupid and that the smoke detector is not the light on the wall but the disc on the roof. Yeah, I know, another of my less then stellar moments. Meanwhile I still don't know where the smoke is coming from. I've thrown the phone by now and am running around like a maniac trying to open windows, keep Cole calm and find the smoke. Finally the smell hits me...burning toast. What the? Why didn't it jump? So I pop the bagel out of the toaster, run it to the balcony and hurl it out into the field behind her house. (DOn't tell anyone K?) Cole didn't see me do it. Meanwhile the detector is going off again. Ethan is awake and scared by this time and Cole is yelling at me to turn it off and is fixing to melt down. So after about 10 minutes of running around like a crazy woman I got it figured out. So note to anyone visiting Mary: Her toaster does not pop...you have to pop it yourself. She says it is the best toaster ever. Wonder how much she would like one that actually WORKS!!!! I think I'll buy her one for Christmas...

Okay, round two for the day over. Then it was Ethan's turn. Cry, cry cry. All.day.long. My little boy will be welcoming a new arrival in the next few days. His cheeks and nose are so rosy red and you can feel a distinct bump in his mouth. So I'll get you some pics soon of that.

So after a long day at Mary's where I laid on the couch like a dishrag because I'm not feeling well, I headed home after supper. I just get in the door and get Ethan out of his carseat and the doorbell rings. I never answer the door if I'm not expecting someone unless I have my phone in my hand. Couldn't find it. I looked out the window and it was someone of lets just say a less fortunate nature. So I knew it was someone with Randy's wallet. I opened the door and asked him how I could help him. He asked if Randy lived there. I said yes, did you find something of his? He said I might have something of value for him. I said, do you have his wallet? He said he did and that he'd found it in the park near the public pool. I asked for it back. He made the comment that he had seen the picture of a baby in the wallet and thought Randy would want it back. I thanked him, said a few other things, took the wallet and closed the door. I called the police and told them, they were shocked. Between us we think that he possibly took the wallet himself and was angling for a reward for returning it. I didn't give him anything. Now I know that sounds bad but I trusted my instinct on it and didn't even offer. I didn't feel that he was honest about finding it and the manner which he was trying to make it about Ethans picture told me that he was angling for something. The last thing I need would be for someone making a business of ripping me, or someone else off, and then returning it for a reward. As for the wallet, everything was still in it with the exception of all the receipts and blockbuster coupons. Credit cards, debit cards, drivers license. health card, you name it, all there. I was so happy! The cards are all cancelled and useless anyhow but it feels good to know that Randy isn't at as much of a risk for identity theft. I will still pull his credit report in a month to check it out to be safe but I think we'll be fine. I'm hoping he learned his lesson about leaving the wallet in the truck. I've certainly been more diligent about locking doors.

So that was yesterday. Today could not possibly be any worse I'm sure.

I know I promised pictures a few days ago but I haven't had a chance to upload them off my camera. I'm at Mary's house all week and when I get home at night I've just been putzing around for a few minutes then going to bed cause I haven't been feeling well. Friday I'm at Mary's house all day and then I work at Reitmans that night from 6 to 10pm. That will be a long freaking day! Randy will be back on probably Saturday, if the weather holds out. But I'm off to make coffee for me and breakfast for my kiddos.

24 August 2008

~Ice Cream is Dangerous...~

Not just for your waistline, butt, thighs (whatever your personal demon is)...no it is also dangerous for your lips. Yes, lips... There is a story behind this of course.

We arrived home today from our trip home to our Moms'. Now I don't want to overshadow the time we had there, it was a good time. Lots and lots of hard work, but fun. Details to follow. Anyhow, we had a long drive home of course because we live in almost nowhere. I decided to sit in the back with Ethan because the trip down was not enjoyable. 6 hours of nonstop crying. I was ready to snap. So I got in the back with Ethan so I could keep him entertained. In the end, he didn't need much entertaining. I think he was just lonely. So I sat beside him and read a newspaper and the new O magazine. It was nice.

Anyhow, I decided that since I ate like crap the entire trip and that I was going to get back on track when I got home that I should go out with a bang. So we stopped in Whitecourt for a pee break and I grabbed a fudgesicle...well okay a double one. I was so excited. I know that's lame but it is true. I like ice cream, it just makes me sick... So I unwrap the fudgesicle and go to lick it and....sliump! My bottom lip got stuck to it. Yup, only me! My freaking lip was stuck. You know how kids stick their tongues to poles in the winter and it hurts like the dickens and won't come off. Yup that was me, on a fudgesicle. I tried pulling, wouldn't come off. I freaked out a bit and started telling Randy to help me. We were driving by then and were on the divided hiway. He started laughing his ass off. I didn't think it was very funny. He told me to just lick it. Ummmm dumass, my bottom lip was stuck...how is my tongue supposed to help? So after like 3 minutes of fruitless pulling and trying to figure it out, combined with tears (YES REAL TEARS) and a bit of laughter from me (and alot from Randy) it came off. It was traumatic. I may have to contact Nestle about that one and tell them that I need counselling. Sad, I know. I have the worst luck. On the high side, maybe this will keep me from eating ice cream for awhile and stay on track with my eating plan...

So we got home tonight. Tomorrow and for the next week and a half I will be watching my nephew Cole. I'm hoping we can have some fun together. Randy leaves on Tuesday for a few days to go to do a reno job. So it will be a busy week for us and we won't be back to our routine for awhile.

I will be home tomorrow night and will post some of the fun pics that I got from the last week. Trust me, there are more good stories to share!

4 August 2008

~Needles, Blood, Bruises.~

No Randy isn't beating me. He wouldn't live to tell about it! No I was abused, and I mean ABUSED by a nurse doing a medical for our life insurance. I had to share the tale...I mean I lived to tell the tale!!!

So she shows up at our house on Thursday morning at 11am to do this medical. We'd been fasting since the night before in preparation for it and since we'd had to run a few errands prior to this we were both STARVING!!! Since it was for life insurance I figured she's be in and out in 20 minutes. HAHAHAHAH!!!! So she sits at the table and starts doing paperwork telling us how she should have done it before she arrived but she just ran out of time. Ummmm, my problem why? During this time her cell phone rings and she takes a call from her son, proceeds to get into an argument with him over running an errand and finally hangs up on him.

So half and hour later she decides to get started with us. She takes my blood pressure, weighs me, measures my height. Good, good. Then she does another 5 minutes of paperwork. Ugghhh! Then she does Randys' height, weight and blood pressure. Five more minutes of paperwork. Then she takes Randy's blood sample. No problem. Fumbles for another five minutes to find enough products to do my tests. Phone rings again. It's her son again. Another argument and a slam of the phone. Nice.

Then it's my turn for the blood sample. She decides to use my left arm and a vein that no one in my 30 years of life has ever tried to take blood from. I personally don't think it is a vein for blood to be taken from, it's blue, anyone know??? Anyhow she sticks me with the needle. I wince.

Then she says, "Hmmm that's weird no blood is coming out" So then she starts wiggling the needle around.

I say, Ow.

Then she says "Weird, I see blood under your skin but it's not coming out, maybe I went right through the vein."

I turn pale. Yuck. So she pulls the needle out after a couple more fruitless wiggles. I start gushing.

She says " Hmm that's weird, your blood is not clotting. Here squeeze this in there and gives me a piece of gauze."

I was like, great! I'm starving, ready to faint and I'm gushing blood. Lovely!

So she says, "We'd better have you lay in the lazy boy, you're looking a little pale."
I was like " Do you think???" So I get into the lazy boy and recline. She attacks my arm again. Same result. I'm still gushing yet she can't get any to go into the needle. So at this point I'm doubting her abilities. I mean come on! There is blood there!!! So she goes to the other arm, changes needles to a butterfly needle. Sticks it in.

I say OW!!!

She says "You must be sensitive to pain"

I say "No, I don't think so...I went over 11 hours in labor without any drugs. " She has same result as before. No blood in the needle, gushing blood when she takes out the needle. She now comments that perhaps I should go to my doctor to get checked out because my blood is not clotting. I give her a pained look.

So she decides that the veins in my hand look good. I give Randy a look of horror. He looks at me sympathetically. So she takes another butterfly needle and jams it into my hand. I scream like a little girl.

She says, " You must be really sensitive" I say "Like F&$* I am, that really hurts!"

She says, "Hmmm, its not working"

I say, "Then lets just give up then!"

"No" she says I think I can just do this "HOLEY MOTHER OF GOD, WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST DO!!!" I yell. Both Randy and Ethan jump. I glare at her, wishing that she would just disappear with all her tools of torture.

She says "Hmmm, its not working" I clench my fist and prepare to hit her.

Her "Let's try another vein"

Me, "Are you freaking for real???" Next thing I know she's jabbed me again! (Are you counting here? That's her 5th try!) This time I scream at her and tell her to get it out. "It hurts worse then labor, stop it right now!!!" I begged but she wouldn't stop. She wiggled it around and all I felt was searing pain down my middle finger. It felt like she was jamming the needle back and forth into my hand and that it was pushing in and out of the middle of my finger. Hot searing pain. I had tears.

Finally she announces "Well I think I got enough for the test, I really hope I don't have to come back" I give her the look of death.

Throughout this lovely experience she ran out of supplies and was totally just substituting whatever she could find. She was here for an hour and a half and took 3 calls while she was here and made one. She was all over the place and so unorganized that I'm almost positive that we will have to redo the whole freaking thing.

It is now like 4 days later and my freaking hand still hurts, I'm bruised all over and am now paranoid that I'm dying because she says my blood won't clot and that my veins are rolly. What the hell does that mean???? Anyhow, I lived to tell the tale. But I'm telling you if they call back and say that it wasn't enough blood to do the test I'm telling them to send someone else. She was a nutter. Enough said.

Are you at all a little sympathetic towards me for that experience?