Thursday updates and Friday Fun

[waverly]

We missed updated yesterday.  I have several updates.

1. Meeting with the builders on our addition today probably more to follow on that.  I have a feeling we won't start construction until spring because of permits.

2. The bike gang club has come to a close.  DS is not following boundaries and the first 2 bike gang meetings did not go well.  He is grounded for a week where we will try to recalibrate on how to operate when your friends ring your doorbell, how to lead a group on bikes, how not to throw dirt and spray water at the dog, how to behave when things get broken etc.  I appreciate the independence building opportunity as well as bike skills, but my impression is that the maturity is not there.  I was so trying to be the cool free range mom, but not when they are riding erratically with cars following them instead of pulling to the side, and leaving their younger sisters 1/2 mile behind them.  

3. Dad has so far successfully fed himself and done his own medication at the hotel.  Dealing with his is extremely annoying because he keeps mentioning Columbia, renting a car, and alternative meds instead of getting vaccinated.  We are trying very hard to bite our tongues because a fight will cause him to clam up and resist help.  Is it theft if we don't give someone their passport (asking for a friend, not me?)  Also, not sure he can even drive.  He texted me he is going to take pine tea to protect against covid, how about you get the vaccine if you are worried FFS.  Pine tea aint going to do crap.  If it did we would just give everyone pine tea and my friend who is an ICU nurse can go home and take a 1 month vacation instead of intubating and proning people.  

Weekend plans: Recalibrating DS to expectations in terms of friends, cub scout projects, leadership discussions.  Soccer games at the same time, so at least we only have to be there an hour.  I am looking forward to a bit of peace and quiet.  My house has become the hub because we have the basketball hoop and we are centrally located, and I appreciate being more checked in with my kids and their friends who I know quit well or am getting to know, but it's a lot to be constantly supervising other people's kids and then giving them bad news on their behavior.  The idea is they play outside or at the park, and we are doing that, but I don't know why they can't invite my kids over and entertain them outside sometimes instead of us always doing it? It's the reciprocity of it which I get stuck on a lot and shouldn't, but their houses can be fun also, right? 

Also we picked up the pandemic game from the library, and I plan to play that this weekend.  I hope it is cool. 

[mommyatty]

Update: DS’s ADHD meds are doing an awesome job of helping him stay on task and not be as sad, weepy, etc. They don’t seem to be making his tics worse. They may actually be helping his tics a bit since his emotional state increases his tics. His tummy is still upset, and he’s still not able to swallow a pill, so still struggling to take the meds. We tried this morning to swallow a Tic Tac and it was a fail.

Weekend plans: DD has decided to join the cheer team at school. I’m not excited about this. But I will put on a happy face and deal with it.

[rere]

Moms cancer is officially stage 3, which is better than I expected. Dr. says it is treatable, so 5 chemos and another scan. My OB, who is practically her BIL says he can get her set up with the best surgeon in the state who specializes in ovarian cancer.

This weekend is our annual picnic. I am annoyed. I love this weekend, the prep Saturday and picnic Sunday. We have a wedding Saturday night (actually a lot of people involved are supposed to be at this wedding). It is a friend's son, so I have to go. It means I will be rushed Saturday, I have to get home in time to be ready. Plus, we will need to skip out early because DH has to be at the picnic grounds at 4 AM to cook and I have to he there at 7:30 AM to start setting up the cake stand. I REALLY DON'T WANT TO GO.

[twinmomma]

1. DD1 is a close contact for a kid in her class. Our schools are not doing contact tracing or quarantining, they just email if there's a case in the classroom. I wouldn't be concerned at all, except that she's been having upset stomach all week. I chalked the upset stomach up to food sensitivity issues because this has happened before and never reported it to school. But now I'm paranoid it's an actual symptom so she's out of school today and got tested first thing this morning. Should have the results back in about 24 hours to set all our minds at ease.

2. Beau and his ex took son to a doctor appointment yesterday to fully discuss his risk factors, recommendations, and retest on his asthma and breathing. Shocker: His asthma is not at the severe level she said it is. Doctor basically shut mom down and explained that it is not the end of the world and benefits of school outweigh risks at this point. Essentially, if he gets covid, he's at higher risk for it to be worse. But he's at no greater risk of catching it than anyone else, which was her argument. The doctor also made sure to keep emphasizing that he is not immunocompromised in any way. She kept harping on that as to why the school needs to provide him accommodations and it's patently untrue. I'm so glad it knocked her down a few pegs and we can move on for a bit.

3. Beau is currently hanging with DD1 while I work. He's teaching her how to make scallion pancakes and play chess in the kitchen. My heart is melting.

4. I emailed exH to fight for more custody again given more recent developments. I called out explicitly that I want to work this out between the two of us instead of spending the time and money to go back to the lawyers. Hopefully that shows him how serious I am.

[polecat8]

Craziness continues at work. I've been super busy leading our software testing effort. My days have been consisting of answering all the questions that come from not understanding test cases. Which means I don't get anything else done. With any luck, testing will be finished today and I can catch up on other things this weekend. I've been very agitated this week because my testing counterpart is asking questions about things that I believe she should already know. She's been in this position for at least a year and should have some things down at this point. I've been trying to teach her how to help herself, but it's not sinking in. I've mentioned this to my boss before. I'm not sure if being 100% remote has hurt more than it helped her. I'll be writing up specific examples to talk to her about.

FIL is sick with something. He isn't vaccinated because he doesn't believe in it and his attitude toward masking isn't great either. So I told DH to keep an eye on FIL. Meanwhile, he was supposed to be our babysitter next Thursday evening and now I don't think I want FIL around if he likely has Covid. The annoying part is that DH and I were going to dinner and ballroom dance lessons with my family next Thursday, so they can't babysit either. I'm hoping to come up with a creative solution, which likely means skipping dinner and heading to the dance lessons with kids in tow and iPads in hand.

My younger brother is on his way to a 2nd divorce. The weird part is that he hasn't said anything to my parents yet. But my niece, 1st ex-wife, and soon-to-be 2nd ex-wife have told my mom. I'm not sad for him. Instead, I'm pissed with him. He never speaks his mind ever and avoids confrontation at all costs. Which is ironic since he is a police officer. I often wonder how he deals with the public when he responds to calls.

[polecat8]

waverly, Pandemic is such a good game (we own it plus a few other add-ons). I like it because it is a cooperative game - everyone has to work together in order to win. My kids also like to play it and were surprisingly good at it too.

[twinmomma]

mommyatty, I'm so glad you're seeing an improvement already! We're still seeing nothing different in DD2, even after changing the dosage. And the meds are definitely making her tics worse. Ugh. For pill swallowing, we got the girls to do it really young because we'd give them a special drink to do it - I figured a sip of soda or special juice was worth it to get the pill down.

[polecat8]

mommyatty, my DD takes Vyvanse for her ADHD and it has done wonders. The dr has adjusted her meds a few times to find the sweet spot between stomach issues and effectiveness. The dr was worried about her losing weight, especially as she started puberty. DD does not take her meds on the weekend so she can get some extra calories in.
There might be a liquid version of your DS's meds - try asking the dr or pharmacist. Also, if the stomach issues are causing weight loss or they continue past 2 or 3 weeks, it might be worth a discussion with the dr to try another med (there are so many out there).

[waverly]

Sept 17, 2021 11:22:21 GMT -5 polecat8 said:

waverly , Pandemic is such a good game (we own it plus a few other add-ons). I like it because it is a cooperative game - everyone has to work together in order to win. My kids also like to play it and were surprisingly good at it too.

Hmm kind of like real life, which is why we aren't winning the real life pandemic thing.  

[xctsclrx]

I am starting Grad School in January.

I have a steroid shot scheduled for next week that should hopefully relieve my back pain.

My best friend is coming to town next Thursday.

DD has successfully transferred to the 3 year old room after a disastrous attempt earlier

My job contact was officially cancelled , but I already have a new job lined up.. staying with the same company slightly different team.

DS starts baseball tonight and swim lessons next week to hopefully join swim team sometime this year.

[k3am]

My new bed comes today! I'm so excited about it. The actually bedding to go on said bed... was supposed to arrive yesterday but FedEx has delayed it and "hopes" it will arrive today or tomorrow. I've got one set of sheets for it, so that's something.

[waverly]

I just got a text from dad that says new car. WTAF. All right have fun with the car accident. I told him yesterday to have my sister take him out to see if he can drive, and now this? I don't even know how to respond. Sister is the one that gave him his license, I am not sure I would have done that, although I understand the need for ID.

ETA- Apparently it is a mini van I am supposed to rent when I go on road trips.  OMG.  He did this to me several years ago, he spent an entire month telling me to rent a mini van for no reason. 

Oh and he is contemplating staying in a city nearby due to the VA care, so that is hopeful and maybe just a 1 week trip to Columbia (eventually) to thank everyone.  Pray he goes that route.  Besides winter, the city he is referring to is perfect.  Tons of restaurants, culture, close to the VA, public transportation etc etc etc.  It would be great for him, and it is medium sized.  I gave him the they (people in Columbia) want what is best for him and therefore he doesn't need to move there just to thank them.  I keep telling him how the medical care there was bad (Covid + Riots) and how the medical care here was much better 2 day stay in Columbia versus 3 week stay at the VA.  Trying to stay upbeat and positive when I talk to him....

[mae0111]

Just wrapped up my first week of work and I really enjoyed it. I’m presenting to the heads of the company on Monday morning, some tactical stuff and some strategic. I’m hoping they’re happy with my start - I really feel like I hit the ground running.

I’m struggling with balance, but it’s only been a week, so I’m not overly worried. I’m hoping I can hit my stride. But man, I’m tired.

I told my parents I was going back to work a few weeks ago. They’ve not mentioned it since and have not asked how it’s going. That’s very strange for them. I don’t know if they’re mad at me or what. They seemed very displeased with my decision (but, like, weren’t offering to fund my retirement or anything)

We put in an offer on a house near where BIL and SIL live. Our plan is to flip it quickly with BIL managing the project (and doing most of the work) I’m excited and nervous. We won’t know if we got it until some time next week.

We don’t have one of the 4 kids activities this weekend - DD2 is only playing in one soccer game because they’re scheduled for the same time. I’m happy that we can hopefully hang out and watch football on Sunday. I watched like 10 minutes last weekend.

[supertrooper1]

I took yesterday and today off. I got my hair cut and colored yesterday and a pedicure today. It’s been low key and nice to have the extra time off.

Tomorrow is beau’s son’s wedding. They moved it to a barn because it’s supposed to rain. Nothing else planned for the weekend. I want to go riding but it will probably be too rainy.

[k3am]

We’ve had intermittent power outages all day. And our bed got delivered, we needed to build the frame/headboard/footboard thing so basically.. it’s been an unproductive Friday. I’m liking the bed so far, but it’s about a foot taller than I anticipated and I’m not sure how I feel about it.