Monica's follow up

Today was the day of Monica's appointment with the specialist. She went to Centerpoint for this event.

I won't show all of her pictures here, since they're on FB, but today was the appointment. I sent her with the camera, but she didn't take any of the Xray process. Kevin filled out paperwork and got her there, and they did Xrays of the right knee.

Then, up to the Dr's office for the appointment. When he saw her and the Xray, he wanted to see an Xray of her left (good) knee for reference. (What? Does he not know what a GOOD knee looks like? LOL j/k) They went back down for more Xrays, then back up to Dr's office.

Something in there is NOT right. He doesn't want to operate on someone her age, so he wants to try therapy. She is to do PT in a nearby town (thank goodness it's only 6 miles away) for 3 weeks, 3 days a week. She starts tomorrow.

I really hope it's not a copay each visit. If it is, they said they'd instruct us and let us do most at home. $20 a visit, at 9 visits, would kill us. They sound like they're going to be easy to get along with.

Meanwhile, the knee is still swollen, the knee still hurts, and the Dr says that something is torn in there. They can't know anything for sure without cutting, and we're avoiding that. We'll wait until the follow-up next month.

*sigh* Pass the the Pringles. This is stressful.

21 years ago today

21 years ago today, I had my first baby. He was so pretty. Yeah, I caught a lot of flak from his dad for saying that, but he was SO pretty. If you wanna see how pretty, check out any of the pictures of his daughter and imagine her without the earrings.

Brett was such a good baby. He didn't cry without a darn good reason. He was never one to laugh real hard, either. He would ride round and round on a carnival ride and look so serious. When it was over, he'd say "again?" so we knew he was having fun...you just couldn't tell by looking at him.

Bonnie was one of Brett's grandmas. Oh how she loved that baby. She used the word "little" in every sentence about him. "I got the little shoes for his little feet. Don't you just LOVE his little feet?" The sun rose and set on him in her life. I hate that the world lost her so early in his life, but she sure made the most of her time with him while she was here.

When he was a toddler, his other grandparents found his motor. My Dad would put him on a tractor and he'd grab the steering wheel and start blowing raspberries. Slobber would run down his chin, but he didn't care. The motor just kept running. He'd stop when Dad would take him out of the seat, and then he'd place him on a different tractor and the motor would start again.

He was always "Bubba." Heck, he still is. The grandmothers weren't happy with the nick name, but it stuck. I guess it IS a little weird to be calling a 2-month old "Bubba," but we did. His dad and I even made up songs about him, including the word bubba.

Well, he's all grown up now. He's 21, living on his own, and has a baby. He's still my baby, and he's still my Bubba. I love you, Bubba. Have a great birthday, and be safe!

It's the little things

Things can get so frustrating. It's hard to keep the bills paid on time, Kevin's physical situation is getting more frustrating by the minute (that's another post...about today's Dr. visit,) and the weather isn't even a TINY bit friendly to me right now.

It's times like these that I realize how happy I am about the "little things." People sometimes chuckle about how happy I get over the little things. Here are a few from today:

1. I finally got Constant Contact (an email service) to save my font properly. I cheered when this happened.
2. I got a great card for Brett this morning. Yes, folks, tomorrow I'll be the parent of a 21 year old. *sigh* Still, finding the perfect card made me happy.
3. I got to see Kameron when I dropped off his card. I smooched on her real good, and then demanded that they give me time with her! OK, not really, but I asked, and they agreed. We'll have her from tomorrow evening through Sunday evening. Sweet!
4. I came home to a house full of awesome smells. Kevin had baked marinaded chicken and sides, and it was quite yummy.
5. I ate the above while sitting in my bed, watching T.V.
6. I have two days at home, and don't have to leave the house at ALL if I don't want to.
7. I work with some cool people. They make me laugh and keep me sane. Yeah, you know who you are.
8. I smell the furnace. Yeah, that probably means the ducts need cleaned, but who cares? It smells WARM!
9. My mom got a MAC!
10. My family is funny. Funny and fun.

Yup, it's the little things. I am happy.

I like the way he talk, he likes the way I talk...

I love it when Slingblade shows up on a movie channel. SCORE! This is one of the best acted movies EVER. "I like me some of those french fried potaters."

I was merging onto I-70 today, accelerating and checking mirrors. At the same time, I was talking to Kevin (bluetooth headset, don't worry.) All of a sudden (Have you ever heard someone say "all of the sudden?" It's funny, because it's wrong.) Anywho, all of a sudden, I see this white spider crawling down my dash.

Yup, crawling down the dash, quite quickly. I wanted to smash (smoosh?) it, but wound up only brushing it toward the floorboard. Dang. The rest of the drive home, I imagined that I felt it crawling on my leg. I scratched and smacked my leg so many times, the leg fell off. That's right, I am missing my right leg. DON'T PITY ME!

Maybe not, but there's a happy little white spider in my car, planning my demise. Just so you know, I've enjoyed knowing each and every one of you.

Goodnight, and goodbye.

More Stuff 'N Stuff

Kevin's home! He came home Sunday evening, after stopping by the store. Yeah, well...I don't shop. Sure, I can stop by the store for something we're out of, but he does the grocery shopping, so I don't kill anyone. Plus, he's better at it.

So, he came home, with groceries, and had a truck full of stuff. One thing that he brought home was his Mom's treadmill. She's had it for a long time, and I don't think she used it much. Hell, she doesn't NEED it much. We, however, are quite round. I always wondered if I'd use one if I had it, but so many people turn them into clothes lines, I didn't want to invest the cash. Anyway, he brought it with him.

I have yet to ask how it works. It's been set up for over 24 hours. TIME! I need TIME! LOL

I got behind someone tonight, on a back road, going 30 in a 55. Seriously? SERIOUSLY? You have GOT to be kidding! Am I on candid camera? 15 minutes later, I finally had the chance to pass, and pass I did. I got home to dinner being ready. *sigh* It's good to have Kevin home. It's good for many reasons, but I don't have to COOK every night.

He has his "second opinion" appointment on Friday. The wheels have been turning VERY slowly. He's been off work since the end of May. It's driving us crazy. He hurts all the time, but can't get help. I hope, after Friday's appointment, we won't have to wait long for the impending surgery.

The last time, the surgeon told him, "I can keep putting you back together, but it's going to be harder each time, with less recovery." By "less recovery," he means that the range of motion is NOT coming back. Kevin is 43. Not 60. He walks like an old man. He feels like an old man. He gets depressed that he can't be the dad that he wants to.

He can't wrestle with the kids. He can't be "happy" all the time, due to pain. Sure, he puts on a good face, and is one of the best husbands/fathers that I've ever seen (he rates up there with my Dad, OK?) but it's a struggle for him. We want normalcy. I guess that's too much to ask.

Monica has her orthopedist appointment on Monday. We'll ask why her patella won't stay where it belongs. She's feeling better by the day, and will probably go to school sans brace tomorrow. Still, even if she feels better, our MEGA, AWESOME, WONDERFUL family doctor wants a specialist to tell us why it keeps happening. (Shout out to Dr. Gunn.)

And here we are. Half the household is hurting. The other half is stepping up to fill in where we can. My baby boy will be 21 on Saturday, proving that I'm old. He wanted a bonfire party at my Dad's, but can't afford to do it. That makes me feel bad. If it was a pay week for me, I'd foot the bill, but it's not. I hope he has a good time, anyway.

Some of this entry sounded depressed or grumbly. Don't get me wrong. We've been able to keep our house so far, and we have internet, satellite, food, heat, and water. Notice that I put the luxuries first? LOL I'm just saying that we're getting by, and I'm happy. I'm happy to have my family around me. It keeps me from dwelling on the bad.

Oh, and as an after thought: My dog smells bad. Anyone wanna drive to the boonies and give my dog a bath? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

Monica's knee and a great night

Thursday night, Monica headed down the stairs to go to bed. I heard a loud pop, and she dropped and started screaming. Her knee cap popped out of place. I helped her to bed and gave her some ice. This has happened several times in the past, and by the next morning, she's a bit tender but better.

Not this time. Friday, she woke up saying, "Ouch" and crying. I took Natalie to school, and then Monica and I went to the Dr. We were sitting there when they opened, and they worked us in. He heard the story and looked at her swollen knee and said, "Oh no. I'm not touching this. She needs to see an orthopedist. It is NOT normal for this to happen, and if it's happened several times, you need to find out why." Her appointment is a week from Monday, so for now, she's gimping.

Last night, 4 of my good friends came over for a girl's night in. Melodie rode with me from work, and then we stopped in Oak Grove to pick up Tammy. A quick side trip through Bates City to get Missy, and my Neon full of giggling women came home. A bit later, Rhonda stopped by. She has a margarita recipe with limeade and beer. Weird, but it's a DANG good Marg.

We talked, ate junk food, had some drinks and generally goofed. I hang out with pretty low-key, relaxed people. We just laughed and enjoyed ourselves. I had asked Tammy to bring Apples to Apples with her, so we played that, too. More laughing.

Rhonda went home after a while, and Greg picked up Tammy around midnight. This morning, I woke up around 9:30 and thought that maybe I should get moving. We went out to Mom's (Melodie wanted to see the stuff she reads about in mom's blog.) Then we took Missy home, and headed 4000 miles South to Melodie's place. Maybe not that far, and it's a beautiful drive. The sun even peeked out a few times (for the first time in 7 days.)

I have great friends. Awesome friends. I had an incredible time, and I've been smiling all day, thinking about it. We have to do it again, ladies. But not tonight. LOL I'm in my bed, under a blanket, watching NASCAR Race Day on SPEED, drinking a happy-hour Sonic drink. Ahhh, nothing like 1/2 priced diet cherry Coke.

I'll probably be right here until morning.

Almost time...

Tomorrow, I have friends coming over. Yeah, good friends (is there any other kind?) We'll hang out, eat junk food, drink some adult beverages, and have a real good time.

I'm ready. Let's go!