Please sign my Guestbook.

Sunday, October 01, 2006

Falling Asleep - Maybe This Will Be Brief

I did get to the hospital yesterday. As many of you already know from our emails, they now suspect migraine and will be running more tests. It makes sense in a way although he certainly hasn't complained of severe headaches. That doesn't mean he hasn't had them; he's not a complainer and with so many other things going on, the headaches may not have seemed like a big deal. I don't know.

He's epileptic (seizure free for years until recently) and there may be a connection.

My cold is in the runny, sniffly, sneezy stage so I didn't go today. Generic day-quil works well for me so I can keep the worst of the symptoms under control. We talked on the phone tonight and they've added more tests to the list for tomorrow or Tuesday. The only thing they can agree on is that something is wrong.

I did get out with Elcie to the 99¢ store this morning and then over to annoy Tim at Barnes & Noble. Elcie had her strawberry frapp, I had decaf with vanilla and caramel, and we shared a cookie. She bought a couple of plastic horses to add to her collection and I picked up a couple of activity books for the other two. They still like to color. Oh, and Elcie is trying cross stitch; one frog and one cat. I think she'll be able to do it. We'd tried embroidery and she had problems. This doesn't require as much coordination. I showed her how to use a needle threader after the 3rd time she called me to thread the needle. I can hardly do it without the threader anymore; even with bifocals.

A lot of my canned goods come from there as well. It's usually my final stop at the beginning of the month.

We saw a little girl (maybe 3 - old enough to talk clearly) with a woman who must have been either grandma or greatgrandma. Older than I. The child was walking just ahead and saying "I don't want you to get lost so you stay close okay?" She (the child) had both hands behind her back wiggling her fingers as if to say c'mon now. It was so cute. Grandma played along of course.

The temperature has dropped several more degrees. Elcie and I just beat the rain home. Part of the city lost power for a short time, including Barnes & Noble. Only for a short time but they're completely computerized so they were dealing with that.

It makes me grateful for my old fashioned education. I love computers but if the power goes out, I can still function.

I think my battery (the big one that kicks in in case of power failure) is dying. Yesterday my monitor went black and I freaked. We unplugged it from the battery and into my circuit breaker and voila. Today, the same thing with my speaker. I think it may be included in my service contract. I'll have to check.

Still no t.v. in this room although Elcie fiddled around and fixed the vcr/dvd player. It's not the t.v.; we can get one fuzzy channel with the t.v.'s builtin antenna so it's something in the cable/dvd player hookup. It will have to wait for Ray to come home. He has a style all his own with hooking up electronics and I hate anything to do with hardware; computer or t.v. Plus with my crowded setup here I'd have to move furniture to get to all the power cords.

It's humiliating when your kids know more than you isn't it.

I'd planned to make chicken soup (or possibly order hot and sour soup from our Chinese restaurant). Didn't do either one. A neighbor barbecued and sent a care package over via the girls. I didn't have to do anything about dinner but maybe I'll tackle the soup tomorrow. Chicken soup is soothing (even if I'm the one who has to make it) but hot and sour will clear sinuses in a hurry and someone else could do the cooking.

Another neighbor sent birthday cake yesterday. Their youngest (of 4 now), just turned a year old. The oldest is a little younger than Elcie. They've lived next door for years; since their first two were little. Nice family. The mother doesn't speak a lot of English and when she and I try to talk, the kids translate. She's trying to learn but it seems to be hard for her probably because she doesn't get out much and she's so tied up with the kids.

The affair of Elcie and her receiver seems to be settled. No details from the school (they can't discuss personnel matters of course) but Elcie or I are to let them know immediately if she has any more problems. She will, I'm sure of that. Elcie is nothing if not vocal. And she now has her computer. Her new teacher didn't realize or had forgotten she had one; her last year's teacher was out on maternity leave and didn't realize it was still locked in her classroom. They're discussing replacing it and reviewing the software to see what more can be done to be sure she's ready for high school next year.

And finally we're all in agreement on the handwriting. Our next project is teaching her touch typing. I've tried but I'm not getting through to her. It may be because it's so easy for me; I can't understand why it isn't for everyone. A professional with a good online program might be better and I can back them up.

As long as she can print legibly, she doesn't need cursive for her day to day work. Eventually it may become less difficult for her but for now it slows her down and detracts from her learning. She focuses only on putting one letter after another. Silly but it took forever to convince some people. They thought hiding her computer away and forcing her to write was the answer. It wasn't.

And you don't want to see what passes for handwriting with me. I print neatly and quickly but my handwriting has always been barely legible if I draw the letters very slowly. I type everything I can.

Update:

I received Merle's comment almost as soon as I posted this. I wasn't clear about the missing computer and her current teacher wasn't at fault.

Here's basically what I replied to Merle:

I should have told the whole computer story. Elcie didn't mention it to me until last week. In the meantime, her new teacher was trying to arrange to purchase one for her; not realizing she's had her own (courtesy of the District) for years. The teacher has had some serious family problems and has been trying to juggle her teaching with the family issues which must be her highest priority.

I know we talked about Elcie's computer before school ended last year and I'm sure the teacher was just at the end of her personal rope and forgot. (I can understand that, believe me).

As soon as I mentioned that Elcie had one, the teacher tracked it down the very next day and is already plotting improvements or even replacement. She's wonderful - no nonsense in her classroom but a lot of common sense and willingness to listen.

At times the school is responsible for some of our problems but this lapse is forgiveable. I don't know why Elcie never mentioned it to anyone. Maybe she forgot too?
This is brief?

I think they're all healthy enough for school tomorrow or were when they went to bed. I hope so.

Thanks to all for the comments and the kind thoughts. I'll see what more I can find out tomorrow. Told Ray I'd try to get over as soon as the girls leave for school. I'll just keep my distance again - he doesn't need my cold.

Glad you enjoyed the joke (see below if you haven't read it). Ray doesn't drive, never has, so I don't have to worry about cooking eggs with a Greek chorus behind me. He's always been the navigator and a very good one. We complement each other nicely. Since he doesn't drive, he's not about to criticize me.

I am a terrible passenger though. I don't carp openly but I grab the sissy bar on the door, try to use the brake on the passenger side, and even gasp from time to time. My older son laughs at me. I'm sure I have control issues. If I'm in my own car, I'm driving unless Jim is along on a longer trip and I'm just too tired to continue.

Take care everyone.

17 comments:

Merle said...

Dear Ann ~ I hope your cold is getting better, what a nuisance just now. Glad the girls are back at school and OK.
At least the hospital are doing tests and trying to help Ray. The school should have given Elcie her computer long before now. Our handwriting these days is not used as much, when we can type, so gets a bit worse all the time.
Take care Ann, my thoughts are with you
and te family. Love, Merle.

Anonymous said...

That was most definitely not brief!

I can't believe Ray could have migraines and not tell you. He must be one tough cookie. I've had my share and there's no way I could hide it even if I wanted to. That would be good if it were the issue, though, because it's treatable.

Anonymous said...

Morning Ann...I'm glad your cold is better. I am getting one and if the boys hadn't had one I would be inclined to blame you -- sending a virus the the email or something.

I hope that they have figured out about Ray. Do you think migraines would explain the symptoms he did tell you about? It seems so odd.

I had one once. My sister who gets them a lot knew what was happenning when my vision went all wonky on one side. She put me in a dark room, gave me pills, and kept everything quiet. I am sure it would have been much worse.

Alice said...

Everyone has control issues regarding something.

Glad Ray is finally being seen to. Must have been agonising and wholly frustrating and maddening for you.

This is my first comment in, must be two weeks now. I tried to comment last Friday (and a few days before hand) but Blogger was playing up.

Hilarious joke.

Just wanted to let you know, everytime I read comments on BB recently I could immediately tell within the first sentence whether or not it was you.

Your writing style and use of words must have become imprinted on my brain.

:-)

TTYL, maybe, anyhow. Google Talk is still up. I've had to get rid of Yahoo & MSN; they buggered my desktop up something rotten.

xxx

Wystful1 said...

I'd love to see the cat and frog cross stitch when she's done. Let me know if you post pictures of it anytime, okay?

Ya, hot chicken soup is good for the cold. But hey....chinese is good too! I love chinese.

Hope they find what's ailing him....if it's migranes maybe that will help stop the seizures too.

Have a great week.

Kendra Lynn said...

You can have migraine "attacks" without having a headache. Its happened to me from time to time, although, I usually get a headache after the attack ceases. Migraines are associated with seizures...people who have seizures are at higher risk to have migraines.
They do have a LARGE variety of medication to treat migraines, but no cure, much to my dismay.
Many of the meds are preventative...some just are pain meds or muscle relaxers.
I hope they can find out what is troubling Ray soon.

Take care.

Kendra

Susie said...

I think I have your cold! The hot and sour soup sounds like a good cure! Hope you get feeling better soon. Don't know where you find the energy when you're not feeling great!

Madcap said...

There's a Mavis Beacon software disk for kids that Poppy's been using with great success to learn typing.

Be well, me deario.

The Mama said...

Well I'm glad it's just migraines and hopefully that's not a symptom of something worse. Health issues are such a bother. If only there were a way to reboot our bodies!! I know I could use that every now and again.

The joke was very good by the way, I told James he really needed to read it because it was us in a nut shell. Poor guy!

Alice

TJ said...

Well it is a relief to know you have a good neighbor that sent a care package...still praying for ya'll!!
(((hugs)))

Nerdine said...

Oh - I'd love to learn how to touch type again.. I actually learned in school (I did a class in typewriting.. totally useless, since a few years later we all used computers. I did learn touch, but I have never been able to keep it). So if you find a good online program or something - let me know!

i hope you get well soon, Ann!

Sandy Hatcher-Wallace said...

Hope you and Ray start feeling better soon.
That lizard joke was priceless.

Kristen said...

I'm cracking up picturing you using the brake on the passenger side. It's a control thing, there are times I do that too - physically anyway - because I ALWAYS do it mentally. LOL.

I hope you get some answers and some progress for Ray soon. This has really been dragging out for you guys.

Meow (aka Connie) said...

Too bad about your cold, and being unable to visit Ray as often. Hope the tests come up with some answers soon ... must be very frustrating.
Hope your week goes well.
Take care, Meow

Carole Burant said...

Poor Ray, he will get tired of being poked and prodded! Hopefully the tests will show what it going on!! You need to take care of yourself too...the flu/colds are starting around here now. Glad to hear that Elcie's problems at school have been taken care of and also great that she got her computer back!! Hugs!

Jo said...

So nice to read a chatty update from you, I hope it means things are looking up. It seems as though you and I traded places for tough times, perhaps we can invite tough times to leave and not return? Ah well, hoping they find some answers for Ray and that all three girls go to school for the rest of the week.

mreddie said...

You spoke of not being a good passenger. I remember years ago teaching both daughters to drive and trying to find the brake pedal on that passenger side. ec