It is fall!???! Or spring?!

Fall is here today.  At least one would think so.  Went to watch the Kimberly Storm football team play today.  You would think we were watching football in the fall.  Sprinkling and windy lead to very cold body and reddened skin.  Needless to say, half hour into the game I went into the van and watched the game from there with the heat on high.  Fabulous game when you are watching it while being warm and toasty 🙂 .  They were losing horribly the first half and during the second half of the game they made a wonderful   come back and won the Green Bay Gladiators. 

Heard it was to be spring like tomorrow so maybe I will help mom plant some flowers.  Kind of afraid that all the flowers and trees that are suppose to bloom are going to start getting confused and not know they are suppose to come up out of the ground. 

Enjoy your weather, whatever it may be…

~T

The end of one journey and a beginning of a new one

This last few weeks have actually SUCKED!  They have been emotionally and physically draining.  Gram joined our good Lord the morning of April 6th. 

I learned alot through the whole process.  I learned that the stress of watching a loved one die does alot to a family.  Specially to a big one.  It makes siblings grow closer to each other at the same time it bring out the “knit-pickys” of all.   They all have strong personalities and not two of them are the same. Some don’t know what to do with their grief so they do what makes them comfortable.  Just had to keep putting that reminder out there that everyone has their own personalities and deal with things in their own way.  Grief is a horrible thing to have to experience.  I learned that I would rather be on the caregiving side of it than being part of the family of the loved one.  It was hard for me to be the family.  I wanted to much to be the caregiver.  I knew I could make Gram more comfortable and more at peace when she wasn’t.  I could have done it sooner that what it was. As a caregiver in my daily work that is what I do.  I make people comfortable in their last journey here on earth.  It was hard for me to just sit there and believe that others would do what needed to be done.  Maybe it was a good thing I was on the family side and not the caregiver side so that I wouldn’t have been to blame for the outcome.  I don’t know.  I am just glad that Gram died peacefully with family at her side and that she is in a much better place now.  It was awesome though that all 11 of her children were able to be in her room the day before she died and stand around her bed holding hands and letting her know it was okay to join Jesus and that they would be okay and end with a prayer.  What a send off!  Gram was loved!  I have been to many funerals in the last 10 years of my hospice work.  I have only seen less than a hand full of churches filled for the masses.  Those were patients that were policemen, firemen, politicians and other prominent people within the community.  Gram was right up there with them.  St Marys was filled for Gram’s mass.  What an honor!  She truly touched many lives, mainly mine!  There is not a day that goes by that I don’t think of her.  I love you gram!  I miss you so much! 

http://www.oconnellfh.com/index.cfm

Type and run

Typing and running this morning.  Good news for the Rawlings’s household.  Tyler got a new full time job!!!!   He starts at Nestles on March 8th.  I am so happy for him.  Cayla might also have a new job, just playing phone tag with the gal that she has to dot all the i’s with.

Unfortunately Dan is still in a ton of pain and has been off work the last couple weeks.  He did have two weeks that he had gone  back to work.  I think he went to fast and put himself in it way to fast. He worked 12-13 hour days for those two weeks.  We are now seeing a new doctor up in Niagara.   We met with him for the third time last week and we will be heading up there Wednesday so Dan and get yet another injection.  I pray this one will help.  Something has to.  I really like this doctor, and it isn’t only because he is helping these visits be as cheap as he can get around it.  If we can travel to him (since his facility is covered under our insurance and the one that he comes to in Appleton isn’t in network) he will give us a discount.  Oh yah, we will travel!  So when I get done with school on Wed we will head up there.  Please pray that we can end this part of our life with Dan being in pain and our 2011 and start looking up and being all good.  Okay we will take a little bad but nothing to bad.

For me,  school is going (I HATE MATH!) I am also working a ton as most of our co-workers are ill and for the most part I am filling in as much as I can when I am not at school.   Sad thing is since I do the schedule I just can’t bring myself to say no to myself.  But all in all it is good for the patients 🙂

Hugs to you all!  Have a fabulous day!  (after all the sun is trying to come out and we can hear the bird chirping…life is good!)

~T

new driver

Here is a funny from a new driver….. After getting moped batteries charged and such “L” says Well mopeds are up and running. “D” says “You can’t just go drive them without getting permission from the girls”. “L” says, “I know, besides they can’t be driven til April. “D” Why April?” “L” “Cuz that is what is on the license.”
“D” to “L”…That is telling you they are licensed to that month and year.”

Catchin up

Wow, before I started I had to go back and see when the last time I blogged was.  Before Christmas!?! what the heck! You would think life got in the way or something.  But than again, mom always said if you don’t have anything good to say do say anything at all 🙂

Life is the Rawlings’s is a hoppin.  Logan passed his drivers test on Jan 20th!  First time baby!!!!  I was so excited for him at the same time nervous as a mom.  Surprise to many Logan is a good driver.  Forgot how often they ask for the car when they are a new driver.  He comes up with the strangest things to want the car for.  So if he would by chance come by to visit, chances are he wanted to drive.  I am sure he will cover a majority of the city ten times over in a day when the mopeds can be taken out.

Dan’s hip is doing fabulous!  Went back to the doctor last week (A week early) and the doctor was impressed!  He did release him to go back to work.  He  then had to go back to get a new DOT physical due to the new hip.  Our family doctor has usually done it in the past but now apparently Dunham has changed their policy and now all DOT physicals need to go through their doctor which is ThedaCare at Work.  Long story short, the NO wouldn’t give him a DOT card due to Dan not being able to produce a print out from his card on his sleep machine.  Why?  because he doesn’t and hasn’t used it for years.  So he had an appointment yesterday with the sleep doc and all is well.  Got the paper he needs for the NP for his appointment today.  I would think all is well, at least for a short term DOT card.  Anyway we will see what she has to say this afternoon.   Dan also went to his third pain doc yesterday.  Dr Singh from Nigeria WI.  He comes here a couple times a month, published books in his field and TONS of papers were published in medical books.  I was impressed!  He gave us hope that he can get Dan’s pain taken care of.  Need to redo some steps the previous doc did but that is okay.  We have hope now.  As they say, the third time is a charm.  He goes the 14th for his first injection.  We pray that this is our answer so that Dan can go back to leading a normal (whatever that is) life without pain)

School is challenging for me this semester in many ways.  I am actually thinking about dropping one of my classes as I found out I don’t need it for either of my degrees.  So I figure why waste the time in that class when I can put that time towards another in homework.  All I care is that I learn something and keep my grades and gpa above a 3.70.

BTW!  ONLY 6 more weeks til Summer!!!!!  Lets see if Phil is right!

Til next time

~T

Grades are in…..

My accomplishment this semester was a 3.7.  Missed a 4.0 by one friggin grade on a test. UGHHHH  But still on the dean’s list.  Far cry from my grades in high school!  Next semester will be more of a challenge, we will see how those go.  I foresee a ton of homework to come.

 

Dan, Logan and Christmas at Mom’s

Dan and Logan went to the doctors yesterday.  Logan has bronchitis 😦   Poor boy, he will miss snow-blowing today.  Dan’s appointment went good!  He is on track and the doctor is very happy with his progress.  Goes back at the end of January to see if he can be released to go go back to work. If so….he will then get this DOT physical that week also and then back to work as he looks for a different job.  Hoping and praying that 2011 is much better.

Last weekend we have Christmas at my mom’s.  This was the first year we had a no gift holiday.   It was probably one of the most wonderful enjoyable Christmas’ that I have had in a very long time there  (also didn’t hurt that I kicked butt in Phase 10!) .

Another snow has fallen, first day of winter officially here…..Happy snow!

Til next time
~T

Dan’s update

Well Dan got home from the hospital and is doing well moving around and all.  The only draw back is that he started an itch just before he left the hospital.  The doctor seems to think it is from the pain medication.  I will be calling Monday to have them change it and see what they can do about the itch.  He has been on Benadryl for almost 5 days and his left leg is the one that itches the most and it did start to blister a little and it did open.  We will see what the doc have to say.

I got a lot done today J YAH! Cayla and I even went to the Appleton North craft fair also.  We were pretty disappointed.  There wasn’t anything new there.  It was ridiculously priced! So needless to say we pretty much only walked away with some fresh kettle corn J

It is getting chilly these days.  I seriously think that this is the beginning of  the winter weather.  I think am going to go get some gas in the containers so we are ready to start up the snowblower J

Oh!  The Christmas movies have started on the Hallmark channel today!!!!  WOOHOO!  I even had a chance to watch a couple.

Til next-

~T

 

Love weekends off

I just love weekends off!  This weekend went really fast!  But then again they usually do specially since I work every Friday night now.  This weekend we got a little accomplished but not as much as I would have liked, but that is okay.  Friday night Dan’s cousin was down from Michigan so we went for supper with her.  Saturday I did some stuff around the house and finished the leaves (hoping it will be the last!).  Sunday was our monthly scrapbooking afternoon, which I got the book done that I needed to badly for a small baby that is on our hospice service.  Gave Dan and Logan a haircut and picked up a bit and here I am.  It was actually a little relaxing.

Dan has his surgery in the morning.  I sure hope this will all end soon.  Not sure how much longer we can hold on.  We will that I know, but man talk about testing a person.

Oh and guess what?!?!? The Hallmark holiday movies start Nov 13th!!!!   YAH WOO!!!

Finally enjoying this stage of parenting….(for the time being)

I am sure enjoying today!  I woke up to a clean house this morning!   Even though I am sitting here in the dining room doing homework 😦   I am enjoying the kids and the stages that they are all at.  Brooke and her friend are outside, he is fixing her radio in her car.  Tyler, Linzy and Cayla coming home to check in and then heading out to Michaels to watch the football game, Logan and Dan over to Carrie and Jon’s to watch the football game.  I love sitting back and seeing how the kids interact amongst themselves with their friends and all.  With their comings and goings and being the young adults it just gives me the warm fuzzys today. If only it could last more than just one day, but I will take what I can 🙂

Happy Halloween to you all out there in cyber world 🙂

~T