whaaaat the heck am I still doing up??

I'm off work still because of my back. And will be next week as well. Forms filled out, xrays taken, work informed... I did a little experiment this week because I was feeling better, able to put on my own socks, for example. I stopped taking the tylenol 3s on Tuesday night. That night also I didn't take my muscle relaxer. Wednesday I took only the Rx strength ibuprofin, and then Thursday morning realized that two days without the muscle relaxer or T3s was a mistake. But but but I felt okay, no agonizing pain! I said to myself. Ah yes, but I was also either lying down or reclining and nothing else for prolonged periods of time. Giving myself the time and oportunity to recover. I drove myself to the doctor's office on Thursday. Thank goodness it's a short trip. Sitting up straight for more than a few minutes feels like bad things are happening. It isn't the kind of pain that kills you immediately, but it's the kind that says "I'm tolerable now, but just wait cuz you ain't seen nothing yet! lemme rev my engines!!!!" Imagine locking your elbow for a few hours. (If you've slept with a cuddly child, you will know of which I speak.) It's ok for a few minutes, but when you go to move it a couple hours later, LOOKOUT. Now multiply that by say, 75, and speed up the tolerance time and...

What the hell am I doing up so late??!! That's where this started. I had a nap. I woke up late. The muscle relaxer knocks me out. This other medication I'm taking has insomnia as a side effect. I love City of Heroes. That's what. All those things. Add those things up and you get me awake at 3:26am. And I'm still not even that sleepy!

what a crock.

Story now, pictures later

Happy Belated Easter!

Last weekend the Szabbies came to town for the entire weekend. We were thrilled! We had dinner at our house friday night and I'd slow cooked a couple of chickens. Saturday morning my dad treated us ALL to Science North where they had special Eastery displays including live bunnies, chicks, snails, and a (hideous) walking Easter Bunny costume. After the science center, we parted ways for kid naps, and reconvened for dinner at my dad's. Sunday morning I woke up with a sore back, but wasn't bothered too badly by it. We gave our kids their Easter presents at home, then went to my dad's to give all five kiddies a little bag with a few toys/treats inside and I hid a bunch of easter eggs in his back yard. The weather was beautiful and on the warm side of chilly. Sunny skies and not very much wind meant the kids were fine with lighter coats and rubber boots. I was fine in just my t-shirt if I sat in the sun, which I did. B.J. even got slightly sunburnt! We wanted to stay outside some more, so when my dad brought one little plastic ball out and lamented it was all he had, I remembered that the Xmas present for the boys from the Szabbies was still in the car: two bags full of balls, so we got one and threw them in the yard (and at each other a little bit) and Carol made up games for the kids to play. She is a genious when it comes to inventing games/stories on the spot. She got those kids to run allll over the place and REALLY wear off their candy breakfasts. We had a very simple turkey supper and pie for dessert. After dinner, my dad put on Pinnoccio on his huge TV and we watched the restored and enhanced cartoon. Most of the kids watched for most of the time even! We had popcorn and it was a really awesome family togetherness experience. Monday around lunchtime the Szabbies came over to eat at our house on their way home. We had a few more hours of familiness until they left for true. Jake went to pick up Sabrina and Robbie for a visit, but it was cut short because I was so miserable. Unfortunately for me, Monday morning I'd woken up and my sore lower back had turned into immobilizing pain. It still is aweful. I couldn't get in to see my own doctor, so I went to a clinic on Wednesday morning and that took a lot out of me.. those hard waiting room chairs and complete lack of waiting room beds to take the pressure off my spine. He gave me some good painkillers and a powerful muscle relaxer and ordered I follow up with my family doc as early as possible. I've been off work all week, but I'm hopeful that by Monday when I go in, I'll be able to make it all day.

L'ecole

Last week Hayden came home saying "ketonkatoo aujourdhui". I said "pardon?" and turned my child's phonetical mispronouncing french filters on. "Ketonka too aujourdui!" he said again. Then: "Il fait froid!" and made shivery arms. OHHH! Quel temps fait-il aujourdhui! What is the weather like today! Il fait froid. It is cold. I said "il fait froid et il fait du neige." (It is cold and it is snowing) He said it back. Neige. Very french accentish too. Nayeeggeee. Two syllables. I say it in one. But I'm from Toronto. Every day he asks me ketonka too aujourdhui, and every day I repeat it back properly, then he says it's cold. Today was very sunny. Today I said "il fait du soleil". He liked that one. His face lit up. I think he remembered it from class because he got it right away and knew what it meant. He also knows Il fait du vent. It is windy. Yay! He learned something! He can also count objects in french. Like, pointing to each of the 9 pies in Harold's Purple Crayon and counts them in french. Not just rhyming off a memorized list of sounds.. actual comprehension. I'm so glad. Yesterday afternoon I heard some numbers past 10 come out of his mouth, but he hasn't gone past 10 for me directly yet. When he sings the Alphabet song in french, he gets all the letters right except he adds Y in English after he says it in french. "Koo, ere, ess, tay, oo, vay, doobluh-vay, eeks, egreck, why ay zay... " I just discovered that it's fun to spell out how letters sound.

I'm so amazed at child development. It's astounding what has to take place to become an adult. It's a wonder any of us get here. I said that as if I've completely grown up. Nope.

According To Google..

On your sixth year of marriage the gift should be either sugar, iron, or wood.

Happy Sixth Anniversary Jake... I love you.

(Coincidentally enough, the movie Ironman is on tonight, which we are going to watch.)

Chicken and Ribs

I bought a whole chicken the other day in order to slow cook it. I've been craving another slow cooked whole chicken ever since Tilly stole the other one I made a few weeks ago. I love my slow cooker! While fast cooking supper tonight, I realized the chicken was going to expire tomorrow. Eeek! So after I made dinner #1, I started dinner #2. I made another herb and spice rub with salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, parsley, and thyme. No sage or rosemary. Although I do have rosemary, and of course there's a little Sage around here always :) Hopefully this chicken will be done before I go to bed.

This morning I saw the doctor about my ribs. He said I shouldn't have left them on for so long, and that was why they scortched. Heh. Just kidding. He poked and pushed and asked me to breathe while he listened to my lungs, then pushed some more and kept saying "does it hurt here? how about here?" arg!! Yes! Right there where you're pushing!!! Does your shoulder hurt? Right there where my teeth marks are? Hm. Odd. He sent me down the hall for some xrays and said he would go down and take a look right away. Why do they make people in pain do the most painful thing they can think of and then take a picture of it? I bit the xray tech too. When I got back to the doctor's office, he took me into an exam room, left for two minutes, came back and said the xrays were not the best quality and he was not able to see if there was a break or not. He obviously took a lot of time and care looking at the xrays in those two minutes. He sent them to a radiologist to check out. But treatment is the same either way, he said. Tylenol or advil for pain, and he gave me a cough suppressant to help me sleep. Lying down is the worst position, and the past two nights have been brutal. Hopefully the cough suppressant knocks me out. Mamma said knock you out.