Happy Halloween

The costume that J-man is wearing is the same type of costume which frightened him terribly when he was 2 years old. He ran into older kids on the street and they made the costume "bleed" - he took one look at them, one look at me, and started bawling. Once we got home, he did not want me to open the door for any trick-or-treaters.
Now he is out scaring other kids....

Camping favorites

So, each member of Jman's scout den have an assignment for their pack paper to write a paragraph about their favorite thing about camping. He's going to write about roasting marshmallows. I thought I would write a paragraph about my favorite thing.
Waking up, just past sunrise, I zip open the tent,the cool mist still clings to the ground. All that can be heard are the birds and a squirrel or two. There is a scent in the air of dry decomposing leaves, and moist earth, and one more scent - the bitter acrid scent of coffee cooking over the warming morning fire. That first sip, scalding the roof of my mouth..I truly enjoy that part of camping.. and the fact that hubby gets up first to make it!

Doctor's visits

I got to spend all day (8:30 am - 3:30pm) at several doctors' offices today. Lucky me. Well, the first was a dentist (my teeth are good - no cavities or gingivitis) which was relatively quick, although the dental assistant was already saying how she had to work until 7pm and was not going to do any extra work...I feel bad for her clients at the end of the day.
Then off to the gynecologist - men, stop reading here - where I spent the rest of the day getting several parts of my body prodded, scanned and squashed. Unfortunately, chronic pain that I have been experiencing in my lower right quadrant was determined not to be the ovarian cyst I thought it was. In fact, the doctor said she could feel no inflammation...this was during the exam as I was crawling backwards off the table in pain. An ultrasound revealed nothing as well...so that leaves me with pain without a reason. I liked it better when I thought it was a cyst - it had a reason for existing...now it is a mystery.
Once I get all my test results back, we'll determine what the next step will be. I just love waiting for test results...

I finally said "no more"

I finally said "no more" to this fall festival thing. I got together with the PTO presidents and explained that I was unable to physically and mentally make it happen, that I was more than willing to continue helping out, but that I could not manage the whole thing by myself, not if they expected to have anything at the festival.

I tell you, once I spoke up I felt much better. This certainly was not worth my health. I know my limitations, I am not superwoman; but I also am not a quitter. It was very difficult to step up and say "I can't do it". However, they were very understanding about it and immediately stepped up to ask what they could do. I think the fact that my physical appearance gave its own story was a helpful tool .

fall festival

My son's school is having a fall festival, something I was roped into chairing. An event that normally takes months to plan, I get 1 month to plan it. It has so overwhelmed me that it is making me ill. Folks at work have sent me home early, because I look so bad. I've lost weight, my appetite, and have a knot in my stomach that effects me as soon as I think about going home.
I have no problem helping with it, but trying to organize it is beyond me - I am so over my head it is not funny.
The festival is Nov. 10 and I probably won't be blogging much until after that date - I won't have forgotten you, I will just be incredibly busy.

Come and gone

Well, our visitors came this weekend, without too much chaos; although one did miss his flight going out - the time had been changed from when he originally booked the flight. So, when he logged on iSunday morning to print his boarding pass for the afternoon, he was told that his plane was leaving in less than an hour and that he couldn't print his pass. This posed a wee bit of a problem, since with no traffic and breaking several speed limits, we live over a 1/2 hour from the airport. Luckily, we were able to get him on his way on a new flight without too much delay.

My father-in-law was not able to make it at all - his sciatic nerve was causing him trouble. He couldn't possibly sit for 4 hours on a plane. Well, he could but then he would not have been able to get off the plane and airlines frown upon that.

While our guests were here, we took in a ball game. My son has been to one other professional ball game, but that was 2 years ago and he was not interested at all. This year was a different story. once he figured out which team he wanted to root for, he was able to enjoy himself. The only problem he had was that the security guard kept standing in his line of vision of the big screen so Jman could not see the replays. I kept reminding him that if he watched the field, he would not have to see the replays - he is so used to seeing games televised that he had trouble with the concept that the game was right in front of him and that he did not need to watch it on a screen.

Although it was a "rushed" visit, it was good to see the family. I loved watching Jman bound with his great-uncle. Jman sees him maybe once every 2 years, so anytime together is precious time.