Month: May 2006

Allergies have hit me HARD this year. It started around the 15th of March, I guess…. Started taking Allegra then and things were okay for a while. Then, in the middle of April, I lost my voice and started coughing. I have been coughing off and on since. Mostly on.

Since last Thursday, it has been a very deep, painful cough. And the coughing fits go on for *hours*, not just a string of several coughs.

Finally, I went to the doctor (again) today. This is the third time this season I have been to the doctor. I had a coughing fit in the office, which was perfect timing. I couldn’t get a good deep breath for her to really hear my airways, but she got the picture, I think. Today, I was diagnosed with a respiratory infection. I’m on Zithromax and a prescription cough suppressant that isn’t working yet. I’ll take codeine to sleep again tonight (it only worked for half the night last night, and then I had to move to the sofa in the New Room so as not to wake up the rest of the family), and maybe, just maybe, I’ll start to feel human again tomorrow.

Alice went to the pediatrician, too, since she’s been coughing and slime has been coming out of her nose and ears…. In spite of her ear tubes, which are still in place, she has an ear infection on one side and a sinus infection that is likely the culprit. So she’s now on oral antibiotics, too.

Both girls had a Nap Strike today…. Alice decided to decorate herself, her crib, and prize baby doll with the contents of her diaper for the fourth time this week. She looked like she had been mudwrestling, and I seriously considered taking a picture so I can blackmail her with it when she’s a teenager. Didn’t, though…

She was fussing and fussing so I went down to check on her before I tried to sneak a snooze for a little bit this afternoon. No snooze for me… Janitorial duty instead. Ugh. I was all business with her, though… Carried her at arm’s length to the bathtub, which I emptied completely of all Fun Things, and undressed her in there. Had to wash her twice to get it all off of her. Washed Baby Katie in front of her with carpet cleaner, and now Katie is hanging from a towel rack out of reach in the bathroom.

So incredibly frustrating. I’m not quite sure how to handle this little Picasso.

I’d be in bed now, except that the coughing is keeping me up and my pharmacy friend told me that I can take codeine to help me sleep if I wait for another 45 minutes. So I’m waiting.

This morning, I was very efficient. Sort of. I had my breakfast and the girls’ breakfasts ready to go. I had Helen’s lunch almost assembled, except for the sandwich. I had my clothes figured out.

Dogs to groomer’s at 7:40, girls to their schools by 7:50 (forgot Helen’s lunch, though — Daddy to the rescue! He dropped it off for her on his way in to work), at CVS getting some Mucinex so I’ll start having worthwhile coughing fits, and at school to start tutoring before 8:05am. Zoom zoom.

Third period kid stood me up — again — so I made some progress on a quilt I’m making in memory of a dear friend… Finished tutoring at 12:20, and went to pick up the girls. Got Alice, got Helen, went to the bank, came home, and realized that Alice’s precious Baby Katie was missing. We had left her at Alice’s preschool. Alice didn’t notice until naptime, and then was VERY upset. I decided to let her self-settle for a little bit, and see if she could take a nap anyway. After about 10 minutes of very unhappy tears, silence prevailed.

We’ll go get Katie after naptime, and then we’ll go to the grocery store and get popsicles — I promised the girls because this has been a popsicle-free zone for too long and they’re tired of it. And then we’ll go get the dogs from the groomer’s at 5:30.

Day One on Weight Watchers is going well for me so far… I’ve only used half of my points for the day so far, and there’s an entire meal left. 🙂 Yay! Breakfast was oatmeal with brown sugar, lunch was a cheese stick, a Boca cheesburger with salsa and Triscuits and a LOT of baby carrots, and I just had a pear because I wanted something sweet. I think why Weight Watchers works for people is that you really CAN eat anything you want — the key is just moderation. Common sense, definitely. But having a method to track it is a good thing. And forcing me to write down the Triscuits rather than just binging and not worrying about it (which is why I’m IN this predicament) is a good thing.

My goal is to have our dinners be *normal*, so that Jerry and the girls don’t feel the effects of Mommy’s diet. Which means I have to be very good for breakfast and lunch. I can do that. 🙂

I joined Weight Watchers today. Because my underwear is tight and it’s not the fault of my dryer. My mom joined again, too, because she’s having the same issues. And this way we can guilt each other into behaving.

So. We’ll see how I do. I don’t have very much to lose before my clothes fit again, but I know that I have a please-the-teacher mentality so I need to GO somewhere to actually bother with eating better.

We’ll see how I do. And we’ll see if Jerry loses weight, too, because my dad apparently always does when Mom’s on WW.