the ledge

Today I've been dealing with a furnace that's not working, a garbage disposal that's not working, a toilet that's not working, and a section of gutter that got blown off the roof and is now hanging precariously and screeching in the wind.

And I have company coming on Saturday.

I am seriously having to talk myself down right now.

oh, yes I did.

$#@%?!

I was originally planning a post today about progress.

But then this day became sort of the antithesis of progress.

Lucas and Eva are both sick. Again. With extreme congestion and horrible coughs. The usual. (With extreme grouchiness thrown in on the part of Eva.)

I stewed over what to do. I've tried the super-duper nose sprays that you can only use for 3 days or you become dependent on them. I've tried saline sprays. I've tried liquid Sudafed and liquid Mucinex. Multiple cough syrups. Cold-Eeze. Eva has a vaporizer with liquid Vicks running in her room every night.

I finally called the pediatrician's office and spoke with the nurse. She consulted with the doctor and called me back. It seems that as Eva has now been on three consecutive antibiotics to clear up a "sinus infection" and is still sick, they are out of ideas. They suggested saline spray and a vaporizer. Huh. They said it could be allergies. Or we might want to get our house checked for mold. But the bottom line was, it would probably be pointless to bring the kids in (that's what I was afraid of).

Oh, and they said that it is not uncommon for kids to get sick an average of 10 times during the winter! Not uncommon for my kids, true, but I don't know anyone else that gets sick as much as my kids!!

So. It appears that the doctor has thrown up his hands in defeat and I am left to figure this out on my own.

I will take them to Marc's allergist. He thinks they will want to do scratch tests and will want to wait until they are not sick. Well, good luck with that. Got any appointments in, say, April?? We're starting them on Claritin, just in case.

I think I will ask about getting them some steroid nose sprays for daily, preventive use. It can't hurt, right?

I guess I will get the house checked for mold. The question is, who would I contact for such a job? Certainly not the people who clean up mold problems -- surely they would find mold in every house, wouldn't they?

Our family seems to be highly susceptible to respiratory problems. Also, we live in an area with terrible air pollution, and it seems that whenever we are on red alert for our air, we get sick. (not so much me, knock on wood!) Moving is not really an option. Marc's doctor actually told him that it is too bad we can't afford to live in Sundance so we could be up where the air is clear. Yeah, too bad!

So are we to accept that we are just going to be sick off and on -- mostly on -- during the winter? Because I cannot accept that. I think I have been handling this sick season pretty well so far, but today... today I seem to have hit a wall. Especially tonight. I'm not even sick, and I can't take it anymore!!!!!

Five for Friday

1. On Monday, Eva and I met Marc at BYU and we all got flu shots. I revealed our purpose just before we arrived on campus.

E: No! I don't want a shot!
M: Don't worry. It only hurts for a second.
E: But I don't like to get hurt!
M: Well, that's true. No one likes to get hurt. But if we get a flu shot, it will help us not to get the flu, which is a sickness that can make you throw up or have a fever and it can last a long time.
E: Yeah, and it's quick! I'll just say "ouch!" and then it will be over!

What the? I'm always shocked when my reasoning gets through and she is totally on board.

When we walked in, there were two little kids crying and crying. It didn't bode well. But you know what? She really did say "ouch!" and then calmly walked over to get her lollipop! She keeps us guessing. Of course we talked up her bravery and then I let her pick out treats at the candy counter in the bookstore.

{this was the slightly foggy, snowy view of Y Mountain, still resplendent in its fall colors}

2. Speaking of fog. Eva informed me yesterday that she can see better when she's wearing her sunglasses. I asked her if she ever has trouble seeing things, and she said yes, that when she takes her glasses off, it's harder to see because of the invisible fog. Invisible fog? This, combined with her new affectation of pointing and squinting is really making me wonder if she needs her eyes checked. Drat.

3. On the way home from Max's cello practice, we stopped at a house with piles and piles of pumpkins on the lawn. These $3.00 ones were giant! They also had ones for $2.00 and $1.00. I bought three to have on my porch (hopefully spray-painted a la Susan), and I will definitely go back for more to carve. It's funny how delighted the kids were to see the pumpkins on the porch, it's like it's more officially October or something.

4. Does anyone know what this groundcover is? I've seen a lot of it around the area, so I know it grows well here, and I think I might like to plant some. Unless, you know, it's like kudzu or something.

5. I started using Marc's dumbbells this week. It's been a long time since I did strength training, but I have always enjoyed it in the past. I have never used dumbbells, however. Here's the frustrating thing: both times I did it, it made me nauseous! Yesterday, I actually had to lie down for an hour after my workout until the nausea passed. What the? Granted, I get nauseous very easily, and sometimes it happens when I'm using the exercise bike, but it usually passes pretty quickly. This is not good. It definitely doesn't make me look forward to my next workout.