Tuesday, November 25, 2008

A Few Gems

"God built me."
-Wonder Boy, while sitting on the potty

"I don't want to scream at the top of my lungs."
-The Boy Who Must Make Noise At All Times, while singing... at the top of his lungs, in the car

"Do you want Ironman?"
-The Firstborn, while flying The Youngest around in circles in the living room a la Ironman style

"Where's my caffeine?"
-Mominator, while stumbling through the kitchen, rummaging through the empty tea cupboard

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Supersize Me

I just got done watching Supersize Me for the second time. Ick. Ick. Ick. I have some thoughts running through my head about the connection between mandatory schooling, the nanny state mentality, the fact that as a nation we don't compete well internationally in the sciences or mathematics, and lack of physical activity/education. It's a little late to take those thoughts too far tonight... but I'll have something to say soon about them.

Let's just say that we'll be avoiding ChickFilA tomorrow after park day.

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

A Little Love Goes A Long Way

The day before yesterday, WB was sitting at breakfast and dropped his spoon suddenly. He reached over to the Noisy One and proclaimed that the Noisy One is his best friend. It floored me. For starters, I didn't know he understood the concept of a best friend. And he claimed his brother as that friend. This evening the Noisy One told me that WB has reiterated that fact.

Friends. What would we do without them? Because of a dear friend of mine, I have been recently very encouraged in my homeschooling efforts. Her support in helping me find a better way to serve my children led me to choose a path I have eschewed in the past - a path I am so excited to travel. She has also been an encouragement to get more involved in issues I am passionate about.

Our nation has been through the wringer. In real life and online I've watched some really ugly things in recent months - things that make me weep. We don't have to claim each other as best friend or dear friend, but we do have to find a way to live with each other. We are siblings, spouses, neighbors, children, parents, crazy yahoos on the internet... we are Americans. And as Americans we must get our priorities straight and learn true charity and humility. We are doomed if we do not learn this.

My prayers tonight are for my children to know, love and serve God in this life to be happy with Him in the next. They are for thanksgiving that our nation has come a little closer to being color blind. They are for my friends who have wounded each other. They are for healing of colds, recovery from surgery, and for our nation to learn valuable lessons. They are for you. May the Lord bless you and keep you.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Just Do It

This is the obligatory "get out and vote" post for the day.

Just. Go. Do. It. Now.

This is important. Our country is a grand experiment, a gift to the people. The funny thing about experiments, in my recent homeschooling experience, is that they need to be monitored or else they have a tendency to blow up in your face. The interesting thing about gifts is they need to be acknowledged to mean anything.

It doesn't matter how inconvenient it is, how sick you are, how many times you were up with the baby last night, or if it means cutting lunch short. It doesn't matter if it means getting take out for dinner or eating an hour later than usual. It doesn't matter that your favorite show will be pre-empted this evening. If you can't be bothered to vote, you lose your voice by your own choosing. Stuff happens, but you can move mountains to get to the polls.

Please. Use your voice today. Make your choice known. Be the vibrant American you were born to be today.

Sunday, November 2, 2008

A Little Post Op Blogging

Only a little. I've now got a fun case of vertigo going and typing is not the wonderful experience it usually is. Plus there seem to be two of every letter and it gets downright confusing.

Let's just say that morphine and vicodin are not my "happy drugs." No, no they are not. Most decidedly. My routine outpatient procedure went well... I think the right half of my thyroid was the size of a golf ball. It's funny but even with the pain from healing, I can tell a big difference in swallowing. It's an odd thing to realize that your healing, post op swollen neck is less swollen than before surgery in the first place. Weird.

Back to the drugs. Did you know that morphine lowers your blood pressure? Yeah. It does. I now have a history of "low pressure with anesthesia and morphine" issues to report in the case of future procedures. It's a darned good thing the savvy folks in recovery decided I wasn't ready to go home Wednesday night. It would have been ugly. The next morning started with a little more morphine because there was no way I could swallow the horse pills the nurse showed up with. Um... morphine is not my bag. I got through the morning with my eyes mostly shut. I can't say the vicodin was much better when I finally got to graduate to that. More loopiness, nausea and double vision. All I could think was, "you mean there are people who do this on purpose??? Yuck!" I was a happy camper when my beloved ibuprofen did a decidedly better job than the vicodin on Friday.

When I finally got up the nerve to look at my incision, it was really odd. I kind of feel like the dude in ... um... oh, crud. I lost more brain cells. What is that movie? I can see the movie in my head and the title just won't show up on screen. Augh. Christopher Lambert... Sean Connery... big mean dude with safety pins holding his head on... immortal beings... there can be only one. Come ON. Work with me, people. AH! The Highlander!!! That's it! Whew. (Have I mentioned that the happy drugs have not made me happy? They do appear to have made me stupid.) So... what was I saying... ah... oh, right. Neck incision. Safety pins. ::shudder:: Actually, the site looks to be about 4 inches long and has stitches and surgical tape all over. I joked with the kids that I should be Nearly Headless Nick for Halloween. I petered out, though, and ended up watching Children of Dune while Our Fearless Leader took the troops trick or treating.

That's it. I'm done. I'm cooked for now and need more rest. I'll save my adventures in post op housecleaning for another day.