What a weekend

Very stressful weekend - my husband has pneumonia and has been so sick. He couldn't even watch tv this weekend or eat or anything. I should've taken him to Urgent Care on Saturday but my mother had a medical emergency. She was in the hospital for stomach surgery which went very well. I was so relieved because, for some reason, I was dreading her surgery and felt very anxious about it. Then Saturday Dad called - both of her lungs had collapsed, she was bleeding internally and had overdosed on the morphine from the pain pump and for a moment they thought they had lost her. I was just frantic! One of my brothers went to the hospital to be with my Dad - neither were allowed to see her of course. I just worried at home. On Sunday the situation had stabilized and we were allowed to visit with her in the ICU briefly.

Meanwhile, my poor husband was at home with a fever of 103.9. Monday I took him to the Dr and he walked out with FIVE prescriptions. Thank goodness for health insurance - we paid $86 but without the insurance we would've had to pay nearly $400!

Mom is now in the ICU step down unit and is able to take phone calls (I've talked to her every day) and might be able to come home this weekend.

My husband was actually back to work today although several co-workers chastised me for "letting" him come in.

Hopefully both mom and my husband will continue to improve.

YAY!

Today was the big weigh-in. After one week, the results are in. I have lost 6 pounds total! YAY! I was kind of freaking out the other day when it appeared I had only lost 2 (even though my husband assured me 2 pounds was healthy and something to be proud of). But 6? Now 6 is awesome!

My husband has lost 10 pounds which is fantastic! I'm so proud of him - he's really been very conscientious about sticking to the diet. Go us!

One week down...

on the new diet. We decided not to simply track calories but to also track our consumption of sugar, fiber, sodium and protein. With an average of 100 grams of protein a day, we haven't been feeling too hungry. The toughest thing - to my surprise - is to keep the sodium in check. Our target amount is 2000 mg and I have yet to not exceed that goal. The food highest in sodium so far? The A1 steak sauce I used as a condiment yesterday. It's been easier than I anticipated keeping to my calorie goal though. I've only gone over once and was easily able to reduce my calories the next day to balance it out.

Memory is full...

I think my memory is full. I can no longer remember the simplest things - the title of a movie to rent, the names of new co-workers or television shows, and I have to write increasingly long complicated lists just to get through the weekly groceries. Trying to recall the name of a movie can be downright painful - "Live hard or die trying?" "Independence Day 4?" "Freedom Rings 2?" "Live free and Independent or Else?" ("Live Free or Die Hard" was the movie) And last Friday I wanted to google search the name of a girl I knew in high school - except I couldn't remember her married name. Her first name is Amy, she married a Mike... his last name may have started with an A - or a P? Try googing "Mike and Amy A" or "Mike and Amy P" sometime. I'm sure you'll have as much as I did finding her!

But I know why my memory is full - it is stuffed with numbers. Like the phone numbers for my childhood home, my grandma's (who passed away in 1989) home, the boy I liked in 1988...and yet I can't remember my own home number or cell number! And birthdays - so many birthdays! The girl who sat beside me in 6th grade band (Aug. 15th), my former neighbor's children ( May 5th and Feb 28th), my best friend from elementary school (March 20th) and every relative / friend born up until oh, about 2005. Now - no more room. I wonder if there is a way to overwrite the phone number and birthday data??

Church Chat

PJ has been enjoying going to Sunday School. Yesterday he played "evil zombies" with his best friend Logan - the 5 year old class had just added a huge toy police station to the toy collection. He excitedly told us all about the zombies causing my mom to remark "I don't remember any zombies in the Bible" and my dad saying "What about the famous story Moses and the Zombies?" But PJ isn't sure that he wants to go to Vacation Bible School this summer because, per him, 5 days of church might be too much. He also said sometimes he doesn't like Sunday School because they have to draw a lot and he doesn't think he's a good artist - but he's certainly as good of an artist as any other five year old! He just tends to compare his skills with his parents or his older siblings. The teachers sure have their hands full with his class though - 28 5 year olds yesterday. I know when he was 4 they had two classes divided by last name and I wonder if they'll have to do the same with the 5 year olds. One thing I really like about his class is that the teachers are working hard to teach charity. They are sponsoring an orphanage and every month the children are asked to donate something different - one month it was toothbrushes and/or toothpaste, one month it was shampoo and soap. He wants to donate money next week.

Lorene isn't quite as happy with her toddler class. She cries when I drop her off. But when I pick her up an hour later she is always playing happily, usually with a ball popper. The one week, it seemed every one of the fifteen or so one year olds were pushing poppers - so loud! It is cute how at this age the babies just play side by side, more or less ignoring each other (until one baby has a toy the other wants!). Lorene is still one of the smallest babies - she was a very early walker so she joined the class at just 10 months and will stay until her 2nd birthday. She can certainly hold her own with the bigger, older toddlers though. That happens when you are the youngest of four!

Always sick...trying something new

We've been constantly sick since the New Year - I think my husband has been sick nearly every weekend. So starting tomorrow we are trying something new. We are going to the store and stocking up on healthy foods and drinks and we are going to rid our diet of sugars and junk food / fatty food / fast food. We did some online research today and will be buying salmon, flaxseed, green tea (LOTS of green tea), blueberries and yogurt. I am trying to talk the husband into spinach and broccoli too - his only experience with spinach seems to be the slimy canned kind so I think he might be pleasantly surprised by fresh spinach in a salad. Broccoli will be a harder sell though.

We're giving it 3 months and we'll see if we feel better - more energy, less illness. I'd like to add some exercise too - I can't WAIT until it is warm and dry enough to actually go on nice long walks again.

Well it was a nice day at work....

I was having a very nice day at work - talking to my co-workers, drinking cappuccino, I had just the right amount of work to do - enough to stay pleasantly busy but not enough to feel stressed - and my husband and I had just eaten a good lunch. Then I got the call - PJ was throwing up at the sitter's. Noooooooooooooooo!

So I cleared off my desk, sent my boss an email (he was in meetings all week), tried to talk my husband into leaving instead (but he did have a stressful level of work so it was a no go) and left. When I got to the sitters I learned that poor PJ had thrown up once during the 20 minutes it took from her call until my arrival. And then he threw up AGAIN while I was getting his jacket on! She gave us a plastic bag for the ride home - but fortunately we didn't need it.

Once we got home he threw up 3 more times - once all over his room ... once he did make it to the bathroom (yay!). I had to run a load of laundry because unfortunately when I was dealing with the first bout of vomit at home Lorene quietly got into PJ's Easter basket. She had the wonderful idea to unwrap the chocolates, rub them between her hands to get them melty, then wipe her hands on her face and hair. AAAaGGGGHHHSSS!!!

Oh how I wished I was still at work... sipping my cappuccino and talking about American Idol.