Book Lovin' Penpals

Well, it's been a pretty productive day. I worked for awhile this morning and have this week all set...or at least as set as I can get it. Then it was time to focus on house and family stuff. Had to get the kids clean and they both wanted to try taking a shower today. It was kind of funny because they are only 3 and 4 so I had to help them with everything, but if they wanted to try who was I to stop them.

I made a big pot of chili for supper. We actually had some freezing rain today and now we are due for some more snow. Don't think driving is going to be a whole lot of fun tomorrow.

Another thing that I did was create a group on ning called Book Lovin' Penpals. I have seen a bunch of people looking to communicate through people via snail mail. I know that email is so much easier most of the time, but there is something special about getting a letter in the mail. I used to have penpals a long time ago and would love to have some again, especially some who share my love of books. If anyone is interested just let me know.

Hope you all had a great weekend - off to read for a little bit...if the kids actually let me:)

Kids with Heart Christmas Party

We had the Kids with Heart Christmas Party today (my daughters are the two in the front, one in a red corduroy dress and the other in an orange corduroy dress. It is such a great time being able to hang out with other families of kids with heart defects. The woman who runs it has an adult son, but continues to participate and help us with the support group. She funds all of this with proceeds from the Kids With Heart website - the books sold, the bears, etc...

We each bring a dish to pass, Pepsi provides the beverages, and one of the local bakeries provided the buns and cookies. Each child got 3 gifts...that's right - ALL of the children. Granted, there were probably only 25 or so, but that is still a nice chunk of money being spent. They don't get anything too expensive, but it brings such a light to their eyes to get anything.

They also have all sorts of craft project set up - cookies to decorate, pine cones to decorate for ornaments, little mice to make out of felt, etc...the girls had a blast. At the end of the day we met a woman who is actually going to start having support group meeting once a month - this will be fantastic and I for one can't wait. Her little girl (who is 2) has an ASD but it hasn't been operated on - they are hopeful that it will close and no surgery will be necessary. She was telling us that her and her husband tried for 8 years to get pregnant (they had a 10 year old) and after they sold all of the baby stuff they found out they were. When the baby was 4 months old she got pneumonia and that is when they noticed she had a heart murmur and that she may need surgery at some point for her heart. Two weeks later, her husband collapsed at work. He was conscious, but had hit his head and it was mandatory that he be taken to the hospital to be checked. When she got to the hospital, she was waiting for the doctor with here daughter when they heard a Code Blue. 30 minutes later she was met by the clergy - her husbands aorta had burst and he was dead...at 40. So, not only was she worried about her 5 month old daughter with possible heart issues, she then lost her husband due to a ruptured aorta. Just when you think life is rough and you get down, you meet someone like this and it truly makes you realize how good you have it.

Well, off to take care of the rugrats - hope you all had a nice Sunday!

Zithromax...how long does it take?

Well, I have bronchitis. That's ok I guess. The only problem is that I have taken the first two doses and this morning I woke up with a temperature of 103 and more chest pain than I had before. So, one more call in to the doctor. I normally wouldn't do that, but even though we are in a fairly populated area, the nearest walk-in is over 20 minutes away. Just need to know if this will kick in, or if because I am still running a fever something else is going on.

We still don't have all the stuff for the girls for St. Nick either. My hubby took the day off - he is feeling better, but better is a relative term. He has one more dose of Zithromax in his system and is still coughing up stuff. The kids - that's a different story. Ella (who has pneumonia) and Grace (who has bronchitis) are playing and goofing around as much as they always do. I actually beg them to calm down - my fear is that they will end up in the hospital, and we have a Kids With Heart party on Sunday with Santa. We don't want to miss it so we need to start feeling a whole lot better than we are now.

Hope you all have a good Friday!

Happy 74th Birthday Nana!

Today my Nana turns 74. I have put a picture of her and my Papa holding Grace when she was born and a picture of her holding Ella when she was born. I wasn't able to find my more current pictures, but that's ok because this is the way I like to remember her.

Her health has deteriorated quite a bit over the last 4 years. She has had two angioplasties, a hip replacement, and now suffers with end stage COPD and gall bladder problems. She actually should have her gall bladder removed but her lungs would not survive the surgery so she instead needs to try and control her attacks through diet. There is no hope of excercise for her, as both of her knees need to be replaced. They are actually bone on bone at this point, but again there is no chance for surgery. She also has been on steroids for too long, so now they have to try and wean her off. This will cause her more pain, and could make it even more difficult for her to breathe. Add this to the fact that her oxygen is no longer covered by Medicare so she has to worry about how to pay for it. You can just imagine what kind of life she has.

But, that said, this is one of the strongest women I know. She insisted on doing Thanksgiving at her house (like she has every year since I've been born) and she does EVERYTHING. And, this is for over 30 people just for the main meal, with other people coming later in the day (we usually eat at noon). She has had a rough life, but no matter what I can call her and she always makes me feel better. Even though I tell her how much I love her, and how much she means to me, I'm not sure words can express how grateful I am to have had such a wonderful role model for my life. I only hope that I can be half the woman she has been, and I hope that if I face some of the circumstances that she has, I will have the strength she has tried to instill in me to get through them as she has.

Happy Birthday Nana - I love you!

A quick post

Sorry that this one has to be short but I have to get it in before all hell breaks loose here. We all went to the doctor yesterday and all of us have bronchitis except for Ella. She has pneumonia. So, it's going to be a long day. No school again for Grace for at least today, but maybe the rest of the week.

I also am going to be posting about a loss in the book community later on this week. Maybe today if I get some time. Dewey at The Hidden Side of the Leaf passed away last Tuesday. For those of you that don't know her or haven't checked out her blog you really should.

Hopefully I'll be able to write some more later.