Only Me

This morning, as I was driving to work (early - and alone - since FrogBoy has a bad case of the skitters, and there's a RULE that you can't go to school with the scoots) - I realized there was a funny noise coming from the front end of the van. Now I am very adept at noticing these things, although I am horrible at describing them, so I shut off the radio to get a proper feel for the noise before I put SuperHubby on alert.

Fast forward just a few minutes, and I am CONVINCED that there is something alive in my glove box. It sounds like it's scratching and clawing and trying to get out - and near me. It didn't help that FrogBoy had horse therapy yesterday and so OF COURSE a field mouse somehow must have gotten in my car and is too stupid to get out. Now I'm cussing mice while simultaneously figuring out how to escape the car without crashing into a tree.

Now, anyone who knows me knows that I am a total weenie when it comes to anything of the rodent variety. If you didn't, (a) now you know and (b) DUH!!! So I call SuperHubby, who you would think would be in a rather good mood (other than the possible brain infection issue) because who do you think got up at 4 a.m. with scooter boy? Certainly not my main man. Sometimes that whole deaf thing comes in really handy. But I digress.

So I call my knight in shining armor, preface the entire conversation by explaining that I know it's going to sound weird, but he's been married to me for a long time and should be used to it by now, and I'm just SURE something alive is in my glove box. Could he possibly meet me in front of the house and check it for me? (Okay, he may have been a little cranky because it was 6:30 a.m. and he's so NOT a morning person...but I had a mouse in my car - with me!!)

So I go home, and SH checks the glove box. Nothing. Then he checks the other glove box. Still nothing. I must say I was a little disappointed. I mean, honestly, there was something knocking around in there. He tells me to listen for the noise to happen again and take note of when it does it. Of course, it hasn't done it since.

Guess it just needed a little TLC from SH. And now I look like a big dummy that's afraid of the cell charger in my glove box.

Good News / Bad News

Good News: MUSC still hasn't called
Bad News: We're only on day 8 (last time it took until day 14) and the neurologist thinks we're looking at an infection.

Good News: FrogBoy continues to do amazingly well with horse therapy. The teacher thinks he will be riding independently by December.
Bad News: His horse is 28 years old. That sounds really old to me.

Good News: Spanky continues to do exceedingly well in 7th grade.
Bad News: Spanky is almost 13.

Good News: I got 6 inches cut off my hair last week and it looks more fabulous than ever.
Bad News: I am still fat.

A Day in the Life...
a.k.a. WHAZZUP?!

Since I posted earlier in the week about SuperHubby, I thought I should probably post again to update everyone. This is mostly for my sanity, because I can't for the life of me remember who I've told what, although it also gives me another chance to call him SH, which his uncle apparently thinks means something ENTIRELY different from SuperHubby (I'll give everyone a minute to catch up - it took me a little bit, so all the nice people who read my blog - both of you - might have to email me privately). Suffice it to say, today, SH is acting like the 2nd meaning of the word.

Anywho, SH has been feeling lousy all week. Nothing new, so there's really nothing to report. Oh, except today he felt compelled to try to jog. Which didn't go well. DUH. So I am a wee bit ticked. Meanwhile, he cleaned the entire house, because that's what we do when he feels lousy like this, just in case. Which means he's saying he thinks it's his RLS medication, but he's worried it isn't.

To top off the loveliness with SH, Spanky went to the Allnighter at church last night. Suddenly Spanky is Cranky. And he managed to hurt his knee so he's been milking that all day. Lovely.

Meanwhile, FrogBoy has been totally precious, even coming up to me earlier this evening and asking me if I was happy. I wonder if that kid realizes how much he makes me smile.

So...in a nutshell...and I emphasize NUT...it's the same old, same old here. I am just holding on tight and hoping things don't go upside down this week.

Life Verse

A lot of people I know have chosen life verses for themselves...verses that sum up everything that is anything in their lives...and I have discovered mine...

Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out...
Luke 12:33

CowFrog Photos

Yesterday was FrogBoy's 2nd time at horse therapy. I thought I'd share some pix.

So yesterday started out relatively stinky for FrogBoy (he told me when I picked him up at school that it was a terrible day...and apparently, according to his teacher, he was right). Being a cowboy makes everything better though! He even got to trot (2nd to last picture - notice the grin!)

Be A Buddy

This month there is a Buddy Walk here in Charleston for families affected by Downs Syndrome. Since my BFF has a son (Nick) with Downs, and my boy BFF has a daughter (Coleman) with Downs, I wanted to get the word out to as many people as possible about this exciting event.

You can visit Scott and Meghan's site to see about being a buddy for Coleman. My girl BFF lives in the upstate and hasn't sent me any information on a Buddy Walk there...but I will keep everyone updated. Click here to see about donating for Coleman and the Kinney family.
http://buddywalk.kintera.org/lowcountry/colemankinney?faf=1&e=1233106221

I would like to point out that I am NOT walking, I am merely donating. Anyone who knows me knows I don't walk unless someone's chasing me. Frankly, I think it might distract from the Buddy Walk if I had a coronary event right there.

There's an autism walk each spring; somehow I always manage to miss that as well. I MEAN to go, I just don't get around to it. Anyway, this is a great chance to help out some great people -

SuperHubby Update

So SH hasn't been feeling all that great for a couple of weeks. It finally bottomed out this weekend when we realized he had all the symptoms of something funky going down with the shunt. I lovingly suggested that he call the doctor. He lovingly told me to butt out. By yesterday morning, he was offering to go to the ER if that would make me feel better. Anyone who knows SH knows this is not a good sign.

He left for the ER at 1:30. I got 2 text messages from him around 4:00 and then nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Not good for the nerves. I finally called the ER and found out they were running the full series of shunt tests and I really just needed patience, thank you very much.

After 9 hours in the ER, SH was released to come home. He was feeling lousy so I went and picked him up. (Thanks to Kelly and the Smurf, who helped me with logistics!). When I got there, he was terribly nauseous from the spinal tap so they had to give him phenergan in his IV – and we had to stay until that starting working. He also had a terrible headache that nothing was touching. It was a pressure headache but could have been caused by the spinal tap – that makes the fluids decrease quickly, which can cause a pressure headache. He said the doc took a lot of fluid so we’re thinking that was a contributor to the bad headache.

Finally got him squared away and had to run to the 24-hour CVS for Lortab for his headache and Gatorade to try to replenish some of his fluids. Got him home around 10:30. He didn’t sleep well – he was screaming and jerking and the norm when he’s like this – so I haven’t slept a wink (yeah, right, poor me). I left him in bed when I took the boys to school but had to run home because a teacher got makeup on my shirt and he was awake and prepping to come to work.

Right now we just wait. The culture they tested last night was clear but the doc was talking a lot about the last time he had an infection and how the bacteria grew so slowly and how they’ll really have to keep any eye on it again. SH is nervous. We have to monitor him very carefully over the next couple of weeks and return to the ER if there are changes.

So if you think about it today, please pray for SH.

Even More Stuff about Me

For those not in the know, the title of this post (and the other 2 that give all sorts of interesting tidbits about my life) are directly stolen from a group of books called, Parts, More Parts and Even More Parts. They are these great books that I got for FrogBoy to help with idioms. They are very cute.

I think I have finally come up with the last 1/3 of my list. In no particular order...

1. My favorite flowers are carnations.
2. I LOVE boiled peanuts. They are quite possibly God's gift to the human race.
3. I also love pumpkin cheesecake. Or oreo cheesecake. Or even butterfinger cheesecake. Cheesecake is a good thing.
4. My favorite movie of all time is The Sound of Music.
5. I had a stuffed bear named Betty Bear when I was a baby. It was bigger than me when I was born. I had her until last year, when one of our stupid dogs ripped her to shreds. I found her lifeless body in the backyard. I am ashamed to admit I cried.
6. Growing up, I idolized Def Leppard.
7. I really think I could be a vegetarian. I like an occasional steak, and I love seafood, but I'm not big on beef or chicken. And I actually love tofu.
8. I have a tattoo on my right ankle. I want another one - possibly on my left shoulder.
9. I LOVE anything and everything pertaining to Veggie Tales. I try to blame it on the kids, but it's really me. The best? Josh and the Big Wall - the French Peas - of course.
10. I am terribly, deathly afraid of flying.
11. My favorite sandwich consists of cheddar cheese, miracle whip and smushed lays potato chips on white bread. Heart attack on a plate.
12. I absolutely adore Neil Diamond.
13. I can't parallel park. I have never done it, not even for my driving test.
14. I am double jointed in my elbows and thumbs.
15. I can't cook, but I make something called Lori's Awesome Nachos that are really good.
16. The first thing I do when I get home is take off my shoes. It doesn't matter what time of year it is, I can't stand having shoes on my feet.
17. I love salad - hold the lettuce. Yes, I'm that weird.
18. I fill my gas tank when it gets to the halfway mark (credit years of emergency trips to MUSC with SuperHubby for that) but I never, ever check the oil in my car.
19. I was head cheerleader for my brother's little league football team. The only reason I was head cheerleader was because I was the tallest girl out there.
20. I sing at the top of my lungs in the car. It embarrasses the snot out of my children. I don't care.
21. I sleep with my right leg kicked out from under the covers. Even in winter.
22. I am named after my grandmother and my mother.
23. I love hurricanes.
24. I hate bugs (but I'm getting better - I no longer freak out when I see them).
25. There's nothing better than watching a cheesy movie on Lifetime or Sci-Fi Channel.
26. I was very brave this weekend - I got 6 inches cut off my most fabulous hair.

I still can't think of the rest of my list - so I guess I'm just not that interesting. Anyone who knows me and comes up with something I forgot, feel free to post - just be nice.

In the Kitchen with Lori

I found this pretty cool website the other day called www.startcooking.com. For those who really haven't been paying attention, I can't cook - at all - which is one reason I married a chef. (The fact that he was really cute didn't hurt matters.)

So I thought I would check out this website. After all, they claim to be able to take people like me, with absolutely no cooking talent, and teach them how to cook. I figured they were lying - most sites do when they're trying to let people know what their site is about - so I decided to check it out. I can't boil water, so how can I cook a gourmet meal?

I was pleasantly surprised to find that on this site, they actually teach you how to do the basics - for example - they walk you through the steps of boiling an egg, complete with video instruction. Then they teach you how to make things with that boiled egg (delived eggs anyone? how about egg salad??)

While this sounds pathetic to most of you reading this, it makes me very happy. I won't have to bother SuperHubby if I need to make rice. (spaghetti and pop tarts get old after awhile, even if you do rotate them in the menu). I haven't tried anything yet, just experimenting with the website for now...but watch for a future post on The Queen Conquering the Kitchen!

Cowboy Words of Wisdom

So FrogBoy has to write a friendly letter to a classmate each week at school. Each student gets to be "Star of the Week" for one week during the year - they get to do all the fun class chores, they get friendly letters from everyone else in the class, and they get to make a poster all about themselves. This must be big in elementary school, because Froggie has done it every year since first grade. But I digress.

Froggie's letter this week was to Walker. And here is what my precious child wrote:

Dear Walker,
I've been to a barn in Awendaw and I just became a cowboy! I rode on a he-horse named Danny and we played games and made a "victory" hand sign. It also had a store cat mascot named Oreo. It's fun at the barn.
Sincerely,
Michael F.

Who can tell me the people at equine therapy don't have an amazing gift from God?

Happiness

109 days til Christmas!!

Cowboy Mike

Tuesday was another amazing day in our house. FrogBoy started equine therapy. I have never seen anything like it in my entire life.

It took us about 30 minutes to get there...and I got lost 3 times before I actually found the place. We're talking backwoods, people. Anyway, as we're driving in, we notice roosters and hens, cats, dogs, and of course, lots and lots of horses. This is going to be interesting.

See, Froggie doesn't really care for animals that much - although he does like smaller dogs - and he certainly doesn't like being outdoors. He has a hate/hate relationship with dragonflies and butterflies and most other bugs that fly. I figured we had a long day ahead of us.

So we go in and he changes into his jeans, because, as Miss Leslie told him, he's going to be a cowboy today and ride bareback. WHAT?! I really thought the first day would just be, "Hello, this is a horse, see you next week." Anyway, he gets changed and picks a helmet, which takes a few minutes because you want just the right one, and then we're off.

Now I have to say, these people know what they're doing. They should - they do this equine therapy for autistic kids and handicapped kids alike, so you want to make sure no one gets hurt. But they had Miss Leslie, who was in charge, and then Miss Julie, Miss Susan and Mr. Rick - one in front, leading the horse, and one on either side, making sure the kid doesn't slide off. Oh, and Danny.

Danny was the horse. Danny was the coolest horse ever. I have never seen such a gentle creature. He was amazing. Again, I'm sure they screen for this, but he was on his mark Tuesday. He sniffed Froggie to get his "stench" (FrogMan's words, not mine), and then they all went to the ring. I got left behind, outside the gate. Story of my life.

Miss Leslie explained some things to Froggie and told him that Danny wanted to play games with him - Danny loves to play games. Froggie found this to be good information. Miss Leslie asked Froggie to mount Danny. Froggie said, "Um, no thanks." Polite kid.

Miss Leslie then explained that Danny really wanted to play, but they couldn't play the games if Froggie wasn't actually ON Danny. They walked through the games without the horse, and my little FrogMan, who can't stand animals or the outdoors or bugs (and there were plenty!) actually RAN over to the horse and mounted up like he's been riding for years! These people really know what they're doing!

Now at this point, I must point out that I was crying and trying to pretend like the wind was causing my eyes to water. I knew if they didn't get FrogBoy on a horse that day, it wouldn't be happening. He's a little like me. But there he was, riding like a pro.

He rode with both hands. Then he started petting Danny while he was riding (he was told to do this, he didn't just start doing it because he felt like it). Then he would reach back and try to touch his tail while riding. He had great posture and would correct himself when he started to slip. He used his voice commands and even learned a non-verbal command for Danny. Froggie was happy. Danny was happy. I was ecstatic.

Eventually they played the games, which were pretty cool. I think Danny was even smiling, although I could have imagined that. Then they had Froggie do a victory lap, during which he actually rode around the ring with both hands in the air - incredible!

All the while, I had Oreo the cat hanging out on top of my feet. And I don't even like cats!

After they were finished, I talked with Miss Leslie and she was very impressed with how well the first lesson went. She actually used the word "miraculous." I think that may be a little strong, but it was nothing short of REALLY COOL.

In the car, FrogBoy told me how proud of him everyone would be. He is so right.

Then he asked me where babies come from. Ruined a great day. I asked him why he wanted to know and apparently he had seen it on a billboard. Thank you, East Cooper Hospital. Your silly little advertising gimmick has caused me to have acid reflux. Anyway, I asked where he thought they came from, and he said "From mommies tummies." Thank goodness I thought to ask before I went into an explanation - his answer was WAY better than mine!

And then, true to Froggie form, he said, "Yeah, they don't come from New Jersey, or lettuce, or mommies armpits."

What a great kid.

More Stuff about Me

So I took a little hiatus from blogging, but I'm back with some more tidbits about the goddess that is me. (Seriously, I wouldn't have to take time off from blogging if someone would donate a laptop to the cause)

Since I can't remember where I left off...here's some more...starting over at #1...

1. I was in a co-ed service fraternity in college.
2. I handle emergencies extremely well. Until they're over. When I have time to reflect on things, I tend to get a little iffy.
3. My favorite fruits (other than the ones I'm related to) are kiwi and pineapple.
4. I only wear jeans. If I'm in khakis, I'm dressed up.
5. Both my boys were born via c-section. This was not something that made me happy.
6. Saturday was my birthday.
7. I love my birthday.
8. I used to wear a charm bracelet that had so many charms on it, it sounded like a dog was walking around with me all the time. I had to stop wearing it.
9. If I had been a boy, I would have been named William Andrew Salley.
10. When I was little, I wanted to marry Scott Baio. Actually, I wanted to marry Cha-Chi, but that's not the point.
11. I also wanted to grow up to be a cashier at a grocery store. High aspirations.
12. Electronics confuse and amaze me.
13. I'm still not sure how my cell phone works.
14. I don't like change (there's a shocker).
15. I don't like the beach.
16. I don't have a name for my new van yet (although we've had some interesting suggestions).
17. I had a dream last week about a giant cockroach.
18. I LOVE to organize.
19. I love to READ about organizing.
20. I REALLY LOVE lists. I always have a master to-do list running, plus several smaller lists (things I'm waiting on, books I want to read, things like that). I make little boxes next to the items on my lists so I can tell if something is marked off. It brings me great joy to cross things off my list. And then I have to rewrite the list, because you can't have a sloppy to-do list. It's an obsession, really.
21. If someone gets married, has a baby or dies on TV or in a movie, I cry like a little girl. The burning, start-at-your-toes crying.
22. Not so much in real life with the crying though.
23. I don't like crowds.
24. I don't like coffee, soda or chocolate.
25. However, I love chocolate milk.
26. My primary love language is words of encouragement. My secondary love language is acts of service.
27. The first thing I do when I get home, regardless of the weather, is take off my shoes.
28. My favorite season is autumn. All 4 days of it.
29. I can't handle being late for anything. It makes me ill.
30. I rode out Hurricane Hugo with SuperHubby in a house in Goose Creek. We saw a porta-potty tossed end over end down the street.
31. I do not eat chicken in public.
32. I do not like to eat at buffets. If I am paying to dine out, I believe I should be served.
33. Contrary to popular belief, I am probably the most un-cool person on the planet.

That's all for now. I think I may have done 33 the first time too. Which of course means I'll have to do 33 the last time out the gate just to be consistent.

More Good Stuff

We got a van, we got a loan for some of the MUSC balance, and today, FrogBoy was accepted into the fall semester of a local equine therapy program. I have been wanting to get him started in this, since all the autism specialists say that horse therapy is really good for autistic kids, but it's not as easy as it sounds. However, I talked with the owner today and they have accepted him into the program; I am just waiting for the schedule to come out. Medicaid doesn't cover the costs, so we'll be trimming the budget to make it work...but we'll figure it out. Add this to the fact that Spanky is at the middle school we wanted, and August is turning out to be quite a fine month after all...!

God just keeps showing up and showing off!

God is Good, ALL the Time

So last week I was whining a bit. Life was hard.

On Wednesday, one of my best friends asked me to attend staff prayer because he was speaking and he needed a friendly face for support. Yes, he picked me. Keep reading and you'll realize it was totally a God thing.

His topic was "God is faithful and He wants to bless you." He spoke a lot about his little girl; but at the end, he included some car blessings he and his wife have had over the years. I listened to him and thought "How awesome for them!" End of story.

Or so I thought. I couldn't sleep that night. Being ever-so-sharp, around midnight I figured maybe God needed my attention for something. So I started praying. I like to sleep, so I was hoping we could get to the point quickly. Well, I really felt like God was telling me that I hadn't completely turned over my car situation to Him, even though I thought I had, so I decided right then and there to stop fretting and just thank God daily that I was one day closer to my new car. I didn't know how many days I'd have to pray that way, but it was okay. And I slept like a baby.

Cut to the chase: Thursday morning, someone close to me blessed me with - not just a car - but the desire of my heart, a van. I had told my aunt earlier in the week that I wasn't even thinking along those lines, because I KNEW I'd never get what I really wanted...another van. I had made up my mind to be thrilled with a station wagon or small sedan. But God wants to give us the desires of our heart, and he did with me last week!

If you happen to know who gave me the van, please don't post it on the blog, or approach them about it. They aren't about that. I considered not even posting this so as to not draw attention to their gift, but I had to let everyone know what the Lord had done for us.

It's really funny - we wanted to give away the suppository, but she was so nasty, no one would take her. She didn't move 3 feet. We had to sell her for scrap. We felt a little guilty about selling her. But we made enough from her to put insurance and pay taxes on the new-to-us van. It still amazes me how God has all this lined up if we'll just get out of His way. He wants to bless us. We just have to move over and let Him.

Stuff about Me

My sis-in-law recently blogged 50 random facts about herself. My most recent posts have been whiney, so this inspired me to post something fun...at least something I hope will be fun. So without further ado...and in no particular order...

1. My favorite color is brown (right now).
2. I love 80s music. I can sing anything and everything 80s, tell you the artist and probably act out the music video.
3. I have nuturally fabulous hair (no kidding).
4. I have cut my naturally fabulous hair very short 3 times in my entire life. My mother did it once when I was young, major trauma ensued, and I didn't do it again until high school. At that point, SH (who was only a crush at the time) told me I looked like a boy. More trauma. Then I cut it again after FrogBoy was born. It was completely uneven and I looked horrible. No more haircuts for Lori!
5. I love boxing, martial arts and football.
6. I will watch any action film, any time, anywhere.
7. While I am not a fan of the girlie films, I enjoy spending my weekends curled up on my bed with a glass of sweet tea, a magazine or book on organizing, and a cheesy Lifetime TV movie.
8. My first car was a 1989 fire-engine red Plymouth Sundance. It was actually purchased in 1989, from a dealership. My car payment was $127.36 a month.
9. I was a licensed insurance agent for 10 years before I started working at Seacoast. That sounds impossible, but I got my license when I was 18.
10. I also got my drivers license when I was 18. Just didn't care about it until then.
11. I loved being pregnant.
12. I originally wanted to have 4 children, 2 boys and 2 girls, preferrably 1 set of twins. How cute to think I had any say in the matter.
13. I lived next door to my grandparents and my aunt when I was growing up.
14. I love to cross stitch. I have done Rainbow Row 3 times.
15. I was on the track team when I was in middle school. For 1 day. Then I was disqualified because my grades weren't up to snuff.
16. I have Irritable Bowel Syndrome (and you thought I was just cranky).
17. I type a bazillion words a minute.
18. I am working on creating the PERFECT daytimer.
19. My favorite poet is Emily Dickinson.
20. I used to write poetry ( a long time ago).
21. I climbed to the top of a local water tower in high school. I climbed right back down when the property owner threatened to call the police. Who knew THAT was illegal??
22. I can say all 50 states in alphabetical order in under 30 seconds.
23. I have a BB lodged in my butt (near my spine).
24. The same year I got shot with the BB, I got 2nd degree burns on my hand from tossing hot grease into a frying pan. And people wonder why I don't cook.
25. I love to play games. No one else in my house does.
26. I love thunderstorms (if I'm at home).
27. I don't like driving at night or in the rain...or worse, at night IN the rain.
28. I am horrible on road trips that last more than 30 minutes.
29. I love dogs. I would have a dozen if SH would let me.
30. One of my favorite groups is The Statler Brothers. If you don't know who they are, Google them...they are the most awesome country group ever.
31. I will watch any episode of "I Love the 80s," "Law & Order" (any version) or "NYPD Blue" if it comes on. Ditto that for the "Rocky" and "Die Hard" movies.
32. My favorite movie of all time is "The Sound of Music."
33. There are days I still wish I could have had more children.

Okay, so I didn't come up with 50 on my first effort. I will post more later, when Froggie isn't needing help finding a Lego RIGHT NOW. Hope this gave some insight into the fascinating person that is ME :-)

But the Good News Is...

Since I've been whining lately about the suppository and MUSC, I thought I would share some good news.

It occurred to me last night that MUSC has now managed to screw up every single account we have with them. This doesn't include FrogBoy's weekend visit to the ER, which I am relatively certain they will foul up as well, but all of SuperHubby's brain surgery accounts have been handled poorly and caused me great unhappiness.

That means I don't have to worry about anything else "popping up" for now.

At least they mess up the accounting and not the surgery. I guess I can live with that.

Let's Make a Deal

My friend Robin told me this afternoon about a car she saw for sale. It was a black Volvo station wagon, which I have decided is what I would really like to have, for only $5000. That sounds like a good price to me. That also sounds like about $4990 more than we have right now.

I've heard of people doing clever, creative things to raise money for college or to pay off their mortgages early. Some people take out a classified ad and just ask for $1 donation outright. Some people sell recipes. Well, I think it's rather nervy to just ask for $1 donation and not offer anything in return, and I don't cook, therefore I have no recipes to sell. But I've been thinking. Here are a few things I would be willing to allow people to pay me to do:

1. I could be a personal shopper for purses - or daytimers - or both
2. I could cut my hair (okay, I wouldn't really do this, but I wanted to sound sincere)
3. I could sell my extensive collection of phone numbers to restaurants that deliver tasty goodness right to your front door
4. I could be your friend
5. I could sell hugs (although I probably wouldn't make anywhere close to $5000)
6. I could stand next to people in lightning storms, because I have the worst luck of anyone I know, and this would protect whomever was standing next to me
7. I could win "Don't Forget the Lyrics" (which would be possible only if I got on the show)
8. I could write a book

While I perfect my list, I will continue carpooling with SuperHubby. If anyone has any stellar ideas, let me know.

If It Weren't for Bad Luck, I'd Have No Luck at All

Does anyone remember that segment of Hee Haw, where they sang that little ditty? My aunt reminded me of it this afternoon when I told her how my weekend was going.

Earlier this morning, I posted on how life was pretty stinky...the suppository has died and MUSC has chosen this particular moment in our financial distress to screw up our accounts and now they need $1600 RIGHT NOW or they will turn us over to collections. I didn't think it could get any worse.

Wrong.

This morning, while SuperHubby was at work - with the only car we have - FrogBoy informs me that he is peeing blood. Yes, you read that right. Now Froggie had a little hoohoo surgery when he was 10 months old (it was a hypospadius repair - the hole in the uretha was on the side instead of the top of his hoohoo) and the pediatric urologist who did his surgery told us we needed to be vigilant about things in the event he had urological issues in the future. He pees blood about every couple of years, and I guess it was just time, so this morning, we started that again.

So I have him pee for me. And I inspect him. And I call the on-call nurse at his pediatrician's office. Then I have to call SH, because we are advised to have him seen at the ER. At MUSC. Oh joy.

This is why I can't ever tell these MUSC people off - I need them too much. Between SuperHubby and FrogBoy, we should have our own parking pass. But I digress.

So we spent the better part of our day (4+ hours) at the Pediatric ER at MUSC. FrogBoy was amazing - he wasn't the least bit nervous, he smiled the whole time, he was really great. His biggest concern was that the bathroom wasn't cleaned to his specifications. My biggest concern was that they were going to insert a catheter tube you-know-where to check for blockage, but thankfully it didn't come to that. They had a TV in his room so he spent 4 hours watching Cartoon Network - so he was happy.

They ran tests on his urine and it looks like it's a fluke - praise God. We have to keep an eye on things, but this is a way better outcome than it could have been. So once again, bad day, good results.

Then I remembered that our upstairs toilet has stopped working - so we're down to 1 potty. Which would be really bad if we still lived in our house, which only had 1 potty, but we have 2 here, so it's more inconvenient than anything.

Hence the comment from my aunt: If you didn't have bad luck, you wouldn't have any luck at all.

Trouble in River City

Things haven't gone so well since my last post. The stupid suppository didn't get the memo with my plan of action, which was that we would drive her until she died completely, hopefully around tax time, which would allow us to purchase a new-to-us vehicle. Instead, the dumb old girl died right after my last post. Nice.

So now I am carpooling with SuperHubby - and let me just tell you, he's not the most talkative, happy person in the morning. And I'm a morning person. Not a good combination.

So we've been doing the sharing thing, which is a bit of a logistical nightmare but on most days can be figured out, at least until school starts. In 2 weeks.

Meanwhile, I have to be thankful that we moved to Mt. Pleasant before all this happened. On most days, I make a triangle between work, school and home, and TECHNICALLY it could be walked if necessary. We've talked about getting SH a bike. It could be worse.

And then, just the other day, MUSC calls to let me know that, hello, they've screwed up the accounting records for SH's last surgery (wow - who didn't see that coming) and could I please send them $1600 RIGHT NOW or they'll be happy to turn us over to collections? Oddly enough, they aren't interested in the records I've kept where I've paid them - what difference would that make, after all? If memory serves, this will be the 4th time they've done this to us - with 3 accounts going to collections and 1 going to a tax lien - all because they can't get their act together. But that's another blog for another time.

The only good thing this week was that my mother got baptized by my brother, with SH offering up quite the lengthy prayer, and that is a very cool thing.

Frankly, I'm ready for 2008.