Happy Birthday to my MOM!

Today is my mom's birthday. Had she lived past 49 years of age, she would be 91 today. She passed away when I was just 20 and in college. My older sister had just given birth to her first baby, my mom's first grand child, a beautiful little girl. She never lived to see her as she had been hospitalized the last 6 months of her life. My younger sister was still in high school. I quit college in order to get a job and take care of my younger sister and get her the rest of the way through to graduation. She was a junior at that time. Even though it was so many years ago now, I still miss my mom and probably always will.

The above photo is one of my mom and dad standing near their first car shortly after my dad was released from the Army during WWII. My mom is pregnant with my oldest sister in this photo.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

313

I just discovered that this is my 313TH post here. I guess I let the 300TH post roll right past with out giving it any notice at all. Oh well, on with the current one.

These are my daffodils that bloomed the other day. I love these flowers. They are so bright and cheerful they make me smile just to see them. I wonder if that's what they mean by "Flower Power"! LOL Most all of the flowers have begun to grow. My lilacs have little tiny flower buds and I can't wait for them to open and to smell the lovely fragrance they send out. I wish I could be sure the frosts are all done so I could purchase some flowers and plant them, but I better wait until the end of May as usual. It is a very pleasant day here today, with a high of 77º outside, partly sunny at the present time, but I can see what looks like an overcast sky moving in. Probably bringing rain ;( , but without April showers, we won't have any May flowers so I guess it's a good thing.

Things have been very busy around here lately. My job sometimes feels more like full time than part time as I am covering for the gals I job share with when they can't be there. Yesterday on of sister-in-laws had surgery and wouldn't be home in time to get her kids off the bus, so I drove 60 miles one way in order for someone to be there when they got out of school. It's a good thing too. She never got home until between 5:30 and 6:00 PM. Another sister-in-law had a stent placed in her heart on Thursday and came home from the hospital yesterday. And a brother-in-law was in the hospital for almost a week while they tried to discover what was wrong with him. They did CT scans, MRI's and even a spinal tap. They never did figure it out and sent him home once he was fever free and the pain had lessened.

Today two of the grand children, David and Amber, both had a sporting event they wanted me to attend. I made neither of them. I did receive a phone call from Amber's mom about 1/2 hour after her soccer game had begun to tell me Amber had been injured and was on the way to an ER. She got hit in the face with the ball and the coach seemed to think that her nose was broken, but they couldn't be sure with all the swelling and the bleeding wouldn't stop. I have since received a call that at least it isn't broken, but she is continuing to bleed somewhat. I'm sure she will be fine and they will call if anything happens and she has to return to the hospital.

Well, today is much too nice to be sitting inside on the computer and I have a lot of housework to finish and grocery shopping to do. So, I am off to get things done!

Eighteen Years!

This coming Monday, hubby and I will have been married 18 years. This picture shows what those 18 years has brought us! We are missing two members of our family, but this is the closest we have ever gotten enabling us to gather everyone together in one place for a family picture. Although it isn't formal photography, it is a natural look at us as a group.

This past eighteen years has brought us many other things as well. Many more happy times and memories, some sadness in losing a grandchild to stillbirth, serious illnesses and, thankfully, recovery from all of them. Some financial difficulties for some, engagements, weddings, many birthdays to celebrate and more good times than bad. We are quite a group......I am glad that we met, fell in love, and blended our families to form the unit we have become! I pray that we have many more years together and that we always cherish each other and what we have.

Stress test passed!

Okay, just a short post as I am trying to catch up on some housework and also washing and drying laundry for son and his fiancee and family.........their washer quit and with 6 people in their home, laundry can pile up rather quickly. I'm not folding it though.........too much of it, and folding clothes triggers back spasms!

I had my annual stress test yesterday and it seemed easier than years past. Maybe because I have been more active on my treadmill lately. I passed and the word from the doctor is that I don't have to even see him again, unless something goes wrong of course, until next year this time and I can go back for further torturing!

I am so thankful. I dread this thing every year and since it was easier this year, maybe I won't stress about it so much next year! I'm not saying that it will ever be something I look forward to. The above photo is similar to the machine that they put me into, twice, for scanning my chest area. The table isn't very wide and not very comfortable since the strap your left hand and arm above your head and your right arm is strapped tightly to your right side to help avoid any movements. You must just breathe normally and not move at all. And heaven help you if your nose should begin to itch. Fortunately the scan only takes about 15-20 minutes. The longest part of the entire procedure is waiting 45 min. after the nuclear medicine injection into the IV in order to go through the scanner. And there are two different nuclear injections. One before the treadmill stress test, and one after. So you are actually going through this machine twice. But it is over and done with for this year. Woo-Hoo!!!!

Push Me-Pull You

Anyone remember that fictitious animal from the original Dr. Doolittle movie?

That's how I've been feeling lately. Maybe I am too old to even work part-time! It seems there just aren't enough hours in the day to accomplish what needs to get done. My daughter in Kentucky has been having some bouts of something. She went to the hospital with heart attack symptoms and they told her it wasn't her heart, which is good. And she kept her doctor appointment last Friday and spoke with him about these episodes, for lack of a better word to call them. He put her on an anti-anxiety drug called Paxil. He thinks she is having panic attacks. She thinks otherwise, but since he's the one that went to medical school and has the degree, she is trying it, if for no other reason than to rule it out. She isn't happy with the side effects either. She says that she went to the doctor so he could make her feel better, not worse! But, she is willing to wait it out and see where it goes from here.

My future daughter-in-law has a follow up appointment the end of the week to find out the results of her thyroid test and what the course of action will be for her while she is in her first tri-mester of pregnancy. We are all praying for the baby to be safe and healthy.

I have a brother-in-law in the hospital right now and they don't know what is wrong with him. High fever, constant tremor in his right arm and hand, severe headache and pain in his lower right back. They know he has a bladder infection and that there is an infection in his blood as well. He was born with only one kidney, so they have called in a specialist and they have done a CT scan, and MRI and xrays. He will have a spinal tap done first thing tomorrow morning. He is married and the father of two teenage girls. His wife would like for people to come visit him, but we are all leery of going there in case he has something contagious and no one wants to catch it or take any other germs in to him.

First thing tomorrow morning, I am going to the hospital for my annual nuclear stress test. I can't say that I'm looking forward to it. It is a rather long drawn out process and usually takes 4 hours to complete. I have a doctor appointment with my heart doctor immediately following this test. And tomorrow is also my second born grand child's (first girl) birthday. However, we won't be celebrating her birthday as she is in Washington DC or New York, I can't remember which it is now on a mission trip for her spring break from high school. She will turn 16. It doesn't seem possible that she should be that old already. It doesn't seem that long ago that my daughter, her mother, was that age!

Another daughter-in-law wants me to watch her boys one afternoon this week. I'm not sure I feel up to it, but hate to say 'no' to any of them. I'm the one who is supposed to be the glue that holds us all together and lead them all in times of stress and uncertainty. I think it is all just too much at once. I am having trouble sleeping again and I was doing so well there for a while. I'm only averaging about 3-4 hours a night and that is interrupted sleep.

On a high note, if you didn't notice the new award on my side bar, please check it out. It was bestowed upon me by one of my dearest blogging friends, Smalltown RN aka Mary Anne. She is one of the sweetest and nicest gals I know. I hope to meet her in person one day and enjoy a cup of coffee with her! I have a couple worthy people in mind to also bestow this upon.

YES!!!! Spring is here........finally!

This is a picture of what they commonly call a 'pussy willow' bush here in Michigan. I don't know what name they go by anywhere else or even if they grow in other states....but I'm sure they must. The pussy willow is one of the first trees/bushes to bud out in the spring. As you can see, this one has a good start already. The little gray buds are very soft to the touch........like a little gray kitten. Probably why someone named it the pussy willow.

And this is one of the maple trees in our yard. It is usually the first one to bud. I don't know if you can see in the photo, but the buds are actually a red color and they look so velvety and soft. I don't know how they feel. The tree limbs are much too high for me to be able to touch them and this old lady is NOT getting on a ladder just to feel some buds, no matter how soft they look!

So you see, all we had to do is be a little patient and wait for the warmer weather to arrive. Now by the standards of those of you who live in the southern United Sates, I'm sure our temps of 56º for today don't seem warm to you. But for us, they are a welcome relief to the 20's and 30's that we have been experiencing!

I told you all it would arrive soon! So get outside and enjoy the beautiful weather. I did a little outside work today and it felt so good to feel the sunshine beating on my back.