You've almost done it - the clean getaway is almost a sure thing. You reach for the door knob, tingling with excitement. And then you hear those dreaded words: "Hey, where ya goin'?" Hopes dashed. Hearts sink. You mutter, "To the store," quickly adding, "to buy toothpicks," (hoping this is a sufficient deterrent). And then the follow-up question that you know is coming: "Can I go?" Sure. Why not? And let's pop in that Justin Bieber CD so we can really bond. Kroger, here we come!
Do other grown-ups sneak in and out of their houses?
Up, Up and Away!
Wednesday, 10/28/09, 09:08 AM
St. Mary's Hospital, Decatur, IL
We've been at the hospital for over 24 hours now. Mom and Dad brought the kids up to visit after school yesterday. Their visit and non-stop Law & Order: SVU on USA got us through the evening. But the real sanity-saver has been the free wireless internet. I grabbed both of our laptops yesterday morning when I went home to shower and change. I believe this feature is way more important than a private room.
I realize that you might be thinking to yourself, "Jim has some really colorful pants in the proceeding photo." You're correct. These are his superhero pants. It seemed fitting to wear them at the hospital. Here's a close-up. These are nice cotton-knit pants with an elastic waist. But his all-time favorite pajama pants are red fleece with cowboys on them. Sadly, the cowboy pants are still in Champaign. I need to go to Champaign today to do more packing and cleaning. We have to be out of Baytowne by Saturday. Maybe Dad can watch Jim and Sophie while I'm gone today.
Jim's feeling better today. His eye is very swollen and he still has the giant knot on his forehead. But his blood pressure is back to normal and his cough has been much less severe. The prescription cough meds are clearly helping. We just took a walk around the 4th floor. No dizziness! We're getting sprung today!!! (Insert Snoopy Dance here)
You can read Jim's first-hand account here: http://justkidneying.blogspot.com/2009/10/my-halloween-horror.html
St. Mary's Hospital, Decatur, IL
Jim's feeling better today. His eye is very swollen and he still has the giant knot on his forehead. But his blood pressure is back to normal and his cough has been much less severe. The prescription cough meds are clearly helping. We just took a walk around the 4th floor. No dizziness! We're getting sprung today!!! (Insert Snoopy Dance here)
You can read Jim's first-hand account here: http://justkidneying.blogspot.com/2009/10/my-halloween-horror.html
Drama on the Prairie
I woke up at 5:00 AM this morning to find my husband disoriented and bleeding profusely from a deep cut above his right eye. There was blood all over the bathroom floor. I was so thankful that we were in Decatur and my parents were there to help me care for him. My Dad went with us to the Emergency Room and my Mom stayed behind to clean the bathroom and get the kids to school. I'm not sure what I would have done if this had happened to us in Champaign.
Other than a swollen, bruised knee, a bad gash over his eye and a giant goose egg filling up the right half of his forehead, Jim is okay. X-rays, CT scans and EKGs were clear. The culprit appears to be his horrific cough (the one he's had for about 8 days). He's experienced at least three coughing fits that were so severe that he blacked out. One happened very early this morning - around 2 AM. He lost consciousness and fell head-first off the bed. Thank goodness he missed the night table and the dresser.
Jim's cough is dry and hacking; his lungs and chest are clear. The ER doctor said these symptoms are consistent with whooping cough. But the test for whooping cough is expensive and very time consuming, so the doctor recommended treating Jim for whooping cough (with an antibiotic). However, he was concerned about the blackouts and decided to keep Jim overnight for observation.
So here we are...in St. Mary's Hospital in Decatur, IL. The same hospital where we came for The Great Gout Attack in May. Every room is private and has a loveseat with a pull-out bed. I'll stay here with Jim tonight and we're confident that he'll be released tomorrow. Ironically, we had to cancel today's visit with the nephrologist. Plenty of time for that next week...
My Mom told me this morning, "This just reinforces that this move was the right thing." I concur. Jim and I certainly didn't anticipate needing help this soon, but we are so thankful that help was there when we needed it. Mom and Dad - you're the best. We love you. (And Sophie - thanks for being such a little trooper this morning - sleeping through the drama and not waking up the kids. Good girl to sleep peacefully in your house!)
Other than a swollen, bruised knee, a bad gash over his eye and a giant goose egg filling up the right half of his forehead, Jim is okay. X-rays, CT scans and EKGs were clear. The culprit appears to be his horrific cough (the one he's had for about 8 days). He's experienced at least three coughing fits that were so severe that he blacked out. One happened very early this morning - around 2 AM. He lost consciousness and fell head-first off the bed. Thank goodness he missed the night table and the dresser.
Jim's cough is dry and hacking; his lungs and chest are clear. The ER doctor said these symptoms are consistent with whooping cough. But the test for whooping cough is expensive and very time consuming, so the doctor recommended treating Jim for whooping cough (with an antibiotic). However, he was concerned about the blackouts and decided to keep Jim overnight for observation.
So here we are...in St. Mary's Hospital in Decatur, IL. The same hospital where we came for The Great Gout Attack in May. Every room is private and has a loveseat with a pull-out bed. I'll stay here with Jim tonight and we're confident that he'll be released tomorrow. Ironically, we had to cancel today's visit with the nephrologist. Plenty of time for that next week...
My Mom told me this morning, "This just reinforces that this move was the right thing." I concur. Jim and I certainly didn't anticipate needing help this soon, but we are so thankful that help was there when we needed it. Mom and Dad - you're the best. We love you. (And Sophie - thanks for being such a little trooper this morning - sleeping through the drama and not waking up the kids. Good girl to sleep peacefully in your house!)
The Littlest 1645
Let's discuss Sophie, the fluffy little ball of fur who burst on the scene one week ago today. Random facts about Sophie:
- She waddles when she walks (although she rarely gets the chance to walk).
- She is discriminating about her doggie treats (unlike Jim, who has tasted them all and convinced the little 1645s to try them, too).
- She is incredibly stubborn (she'll fit in nicely here).
- She crate-trained herself (but really, who wouldn't want to hide in a box when the noise level gets too loud?).
I think I'm in puppy love.
Settling In
Long-lost blogger here.
I am officially moved and officially on vacation now, so this seems like the perfect time to resume blogging. A blog without actual blogging isn't very interesting, is it?
Let's quickly recap the major events of the past seven months:
I think that should do me for a while. Change, you are not welcome back here anytime soon.
The Journey Begins...
The move went great, thanks to the strong backs and loving hands of our friends from Harvest Bible Chapel in Decatur. They were amazing!
The Love Nest is still in total disarray. (I don't like total disarray.) My goal (unbeknownst to my poor spouse) is to have everything unpacked and "done" by next Friday (10/30). This should be doable. We just need to pack up the kitchen and clean the old place and then unpack here. Piece o' cake.
I had promised Jim and the kids that we would get a puppy after we moved. But puppies are hard to come by when your criteria fills two pages. It had to be a girl, low shedding, brand new, blah blah blah. So when one appeared on the horizon, I drove beyond the horizon to retrieve her. Sophie joined our family Monday night and I left for Chicago on Tuesday morning. (How's that for planning?)
I got back home around 7:00 PM on Friday. Jim was sick all week and we had a new puppy at home. It was hard to be away, worrying about him and wondering about her. After I got home, Jim and I had a nice dinner date alone. We got back home around 9:00 PM and went upstairs to see what was going on with the 1645s (our collective name for the inhabitants of the house - 1645 is the house number). Picture if you will...
Kids in their jammies, sprawled out on the living room floor. Dad sitting on the couch, his chin hitting his chest. And Mom, sitting in the easy chair, reading aloud from (wait for it)...Little House on the Prairie.
Jim and I looked at each other from our seats at the kitchen table and tried valiantly to stifle our laughter. He looked at his watch and mouthed "9:00 on Friday night - what's happened to us?"
The answer is pretty clear to me, Jimmy Mack: we've come home to the Love Nest on the Prairie.
I am officially moved and officially on vacation now, so this seems like the perfect time to resume blogging. A blog without actual blogging isn't very interesting, is it?
Let's quickly recap the major events of the past seven months:
- Get married (check)
- Become executor of my grandmother's estate (check)
- Move (check)
- Move in with parents (check)
- Move in with parents and children (check)
- Get puppy (check - and mate)
I think that should do me for a while. Change, you are not welcome back here anytime soon.
The Journey Begins...
The move went great, thanks to the strong backs and loving hands of our friends from Harvest Bible Chapel in Decatur. They were amazing!
The Love Nest is still in total disarray. (I don't like total disarray.) My goal (unbeknownst to my poor spouse) is to have everything unpacked and "done" by next Friday (10/30). This should be doable. We just need to pack up the kitchen and clean the old place and then unpack here. Piece o' cake.
I had promised Jim and the kids that we would get a puppy after we moved. But puppies are hard to come by when your criteria fills two pages. It had to be a girl, low shedding, brand new, blah blah blah. So when one appeared on the horizon, I drove beyond the horizon to retrieve her. Sophie joined our family Monday night and I left for Chicago on Tuesday morning. (How's that for planning?)
I got back home around 7:00 PM on Friday. Jim was sick all week and we had a new puppy at home. It was hard to be away, worrying about him and wondering about her. After I got home, Jim and I had a nice dinner date alone. We got back home around 9:00 PM and went upstairs to see what was going on with the 1645s (our collective name for the inhabitants of the house - 1645 is the house number). Picture if you will...
Kids in their jammies, sprawled out on the living room floor. Dad sitting on the couch, his chin hitting his chest. And Mom, sitting in the easy chair, reading aloud from (wait for it)...Little House on the Prairie.
Jim and I looked at each other from our seats at the kitchen table and tried valiantly to stifle our laughter. He looked at his watch and mouthed "9:00 on Friday night - what's happened to us?"
The answer is pretty clear to me, Jimmy Mack: we've come home to the Love Nest on the Prairie.
Saturday morning antics
Ah, Saturday. A perfect day to sleep in and luxuriate in my own bed. Which of course means I woke up at 4:58 AM (2 minutes before my weekday alarm). I forced myself to stay in bed until 6:18. Go crazy, folks.
Jim and I only really argue about two things:
1. Temperature
I love a cool, crisp room temperature; he wants heat and humidity. It's hard to achieve both of these extremes in a single room. Our solution is a cold room with poor Jimmy bundled up in fleece cowboy pants and a half-zip sweatshirt.
2. Real Estate in the Bed
We have a queen-size bed, but it feels like a twin-size bed. The irony is, when we sleep in any other queen-size bed, it feels great -- sometimes we can go the entire night without even touching each other. But the moment we get in our own bed, we're bumping into each other and getting twisted in the bedding. Jim doesn't like it when I wake him up from a sound sleep to reclaim a blanket or relocate him off of my pillow and back onto his.
This morning I proudly told him that I purposely didn't wake him up at 3:18 AM, even though his elbow was precariously close to my face. He launched a counter-claim against me -- some nonsense about me encroaching on his side of the bed, requiring him to scrunch into a fetal position to even slide into bed (although I contend this wouldn't happen if he went to bed when I do). The conversation resulted in us actually going into the bedroom and reenacting the scenes (just like on America's Most Wanted).
We didn't resolve the bedding issue, but we did laugh hysterically at each other's antics. I'm so glad we make each other laugh. I think he's a keeper.
Jim and I only really argue about two things:
1. Temperature
I love a cool, crisp room temperature; he wants heat and humidity. It's hard to achieve both of these extremes in a single room. Our solution is a cold room with poor Jimmy bundled up in fleece cowboy pants and a half-zip sweatshirt.
2. Real Estate in the Bed
We have a queen-size bed, but it feels like a twin-size bed. The irony is, when we sleep in any other queen-size bed, it feels great -- sometimes we can go the entire night without even touching each other. But the moment we get in our own bed, we're bumping into each other and getting twisted in the bedding. Jim doesn't like it when I wake him up from a sound sleep to reclaim a blanket or relocate him off of my pillow and back onto his.
This morning I proudly told him that I purposely didn't wake him up at 3:18 AM, even though his elbow was precariously close to my face. He launched a counter-claim against me -- some nonsense about me encroaching on his side of the bed, requiring him to scrunch into a fetal position to even slide into bed (although I contend this wouldn't happen if he went to bed when I do). The conversation resulted in us actually going into the bedroom and reenacting the scenes (just like on America's Most Wanted).
We didn't resolve the bedding issue, but we did laugh hysterically at each other's antics. I'm so glad we make each other laugh. I think he's a keeper.
Kick-Off
Welcome to the Love Nest!
My name is Karen. I'm 45 years old. I married Jim on March 27, 2009. Life is never boring for us. We are an interracial couple and we are moving into a multi-generational household. Jim is in Stage IV renal failure. I will be commuting 2 hours a day. We will be co-parenting 9-year-old twins. And we might even get a dog.
Jim has left his beloved Detroit, MI to live with me in Central Illinois, where corn lines every road. He refers to prairie living and "children of the corn" quite frequently. Hence the "Prairie" part of the title. The "Love Nest" describes our little piece of quiet heaven in the new household.
Follow our adventures as we figure this all out.
My name is Karen. I'm 45 years old. I married Jim on March 27, 2009. Life is never boring for us. We are an interracial couple and we are moving into a multi-generational household. Jim is in Stage IV renal failure. I will be commuting 2 hours a day. We will be co-parenting 9-year-old twins. And we might even get a dog.
Jim has left his beloved Detroit, MI to live with me in Central Illinois, where corn lines every road. He refers to prairie living and "children of the corn" quite frequently. Hence the "Prairie" part of the title. The "Love Nest" describes our little piece of quiet heaven in the new household.
Follow our adventures as we figure this all out.
