Still not good here

We're still struggling with something here. I don't know what it is, but it's making David do things he normally doesn't.

Monday night he went to bed at 6:30 p.m. His dad came and picked him up at 2:00 p.m.; I was hoping he could get David to eat something, no such luck. I tried when he got home, but all he would take was a little water. He fell asleep on his bed trying to read a book. I pulled the covers over him and let him sleep.

I was up at 6:00 a.m. (I went to bed at 10:30 p.m.) Mackenzie at 7:30 a.m. (She went to bed at 9:30 p.m.) David at 9:00 a.m! 14 1/2 hours! In the summer! I know my son isn't feeling well.

Breakfast was a Carnation Instant Breakfast shake. Half of it anyways. He went back upstairs while I ran Mackenzie to preschool. I came back to sit down and do some work and didn't hear him. He said he was OK, but not feeling well. I asked him to come downstairs with his book and relax on the couch so I could keep an eye on him while he read. OK.

He was asleep again by 11:00 a.m. His physical was previously scheduled for Tuesday, the day before school started, and his doctor said the same thing, a virus, can't give him anything. Oh, and certain viruses can push a person into Type I Diabetes, so we better schedule a three hour glucose tolerance test, since it runs in the family. Later that night, I got the phone call from St. Luke's, the two day strep came back positive, we're calling in an antibiotic for him. Got two doses in him, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to go to school on the first day.

David dragged himself to school on the 23rd. I didn't want him to go, but he figured since it was a half day, he'd make it. I talked to his teachers later (it's middle school, he has seven or eight different teachers now), some remarked about his color and his lethargy, like he had 'tuned out'. He was ready to call me at 10:00 a.m. to come get him. He wound up not going the next two days. He was just someone we didn't know. Then he was at his dad's for late Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

He came home tonight looking like David again, still moving slow, appetite coming back slowly, but the color had come back to his face. Something's up here. My research is telling me that he's got a moderate case of West Nile, but the doctors don't seem to think so. I realize my Mother's Medical certificate won't hold up against theirs, but that's the feeling I've got.

White Spots

David came home last night after being at his dad's since last Tuesday. It's that whole divorced-parents-sharing-vacation-time thing.

Last week, while on vacation with his dad, they had friends in town and did the whole touristy thing, floating the Boise River, rafting the Payette, they were out in Twin Falls for a day. Apparently, he woke up on Saturday with a sore throat. David and his dad stayed home and the friends took off to do something. He had a fever and chills, his dad gave him Tylenol, etc. He slept too, and complained that the sore throat was getting worse. He came home Sunday night, 5:15 p.m., looking yellowish green to me. I took a flashlight to his throat and found white spots in the back of his throat, I had never seen anything like that before. Asked Keith to confirm what I was seeing and by 5:25 p.m., I was running him to St. Luke's (Dad apparently doesn't have a flashlight), where they checked for all sorts of things, West Nile, Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease, Scarlet Fever, and he didn't have all of the things he needed to have one of the big viruses. They ran a rapid strep and it came back negative. So after the standard, "It's a virus, can't do anything but ease the pain" speech, we came home.

David has never been so sick in my life. He's sleeping fourteen hours, then wakes up and won't eat or drink a thing, no matter how hard I try, and two hours later he's asleep again.

What are those damn white spots and what are they doing to my kid?

Hindsight

I actually unpacked boxes today!! I unpacked about ten large and small boxes containing food, we had those here at home, and moved into the new pantry. And there is still plenty of room!

I've been planning this kitchen for six years. Dreaming about it for longer than that. Actually working with a hard copy of plans for two and a half years. Now that it's come to pass, I find myself unsure again. Where will I put this? Will that fit there? Is this the best use of this spot? No big deal, right?

I constantly second guess myself, from pantry locations to being a Mom. Is it no wonder I'm making myself crazy? I watch David like a hawk, and when something doesn't go the way it should (by the way, what is that exactly?), I wonder if it's my fault, did the divorce and the subsequent two parent shuffle somehow contribute? (I do that one a lot.) Mackenzie has no fear, always on the go, and when she gets into trouble, a daily occurrence, I worry even more, and then wonder, am I stifling her? And then there's the whole wife thing, Keith is my life. Do I do my best for him, he works so hard for all of us, is there more I could do for my husband?

And that's just the family -- will they eat this for dinner? Should I do laundry today or tomorrow? Do I pay extra on the mortgage or spend on a pair of shoes that will last longer than Payless? Should I volunteer to help with this class project or the school project? Run in the morning or after dinner? Three layers of clothes for the run or only two? Maybe an evergreen in the back corner to replace the hydrangea bush? Faster going down Fairview Ave. or taking the freeway to downtown? Which picture on the wall? What theme for Halloween? Which flight for Thanksgiving?

(Hear it now: cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo)

After the implosion, it gets better. That's when I evaluate my decisions and give myself a grade: choosing Fairview over the freeway, B+. Lasagna for dinner, A- (had I not forgotten the rolls, A+). Good wife, F. Good Mom, F.

Yep, that's usually the way it goes.

To be fair, I think if I thought I was always right, always doing good, I'd miss something basking in my impressiveness. There's always room for improvement, right?

So the baking items in my pantry got moved four times before I was happy with where they were. Canned fruit was good from the get go. Sauces and marinades got moved once, because I had to adjust the height of the shelf above them. And the alcohol? Right where I could get to it!

Updated kitchen blog

For those keeping track, the kitchen blog has been updated. The quartz countertop went in today, quartz backsplash in on Tuesday. Some electrical finished, a bit more has to be done. Faucets in; prep sink working, main sink in, but not working. A busy day!

Go see! Go see!