As you might suspect, this isn't a good question to raise :o) But since you're wondering, the two choices that immediately come to mind are
a) Curiosity killed the.....TV
b) "...And I just thought I had a screw loose"
So first, we'll go with option A. Since our nice big screen TV is now out in the side yard awaiting transportation to the dump, you'll see the heat pump and possibly some grass reflected in what's left of the screen. Last Saturday morning, on my watch I was out in the kitchen doing things. Krissy was her usual 'back and forth' but quite interested in a video in the living room. We had gotten this big TV in December (a Salvation Army find for $75, which actually made its' demise a little less painful than if we'd recently purchased it new) I had recently checked on her and in fact, Larry had also just walked by and there was nothing of concern. However my next visual check revealed a hole in the lower left corner and the entire bottom of the screen caved in. Apparently with the characters being so life-like (life-size) Krissy was quite convinced that they were actually inside the TV and she had impulsively decided to have a look. I was pretty mad, I'll admit....and layed the guilt trip on pretty thick. The next morning she got up saying, "Mommy, I'm sorry TV...I forgive you" repeatedly. Guess she wanted to keep replaying both sides of the culmination of our 'discussion' over ever doing it again. We thought we should probably not get another one for awhile, although this sort of punishes everyone (including Ben) who enjoys his videos. We sat tight for a couple days and then 'out of the blue' some friends from CYT who had heard what happened, let me know that they had a large TV they were storing in the garage, as their adult daughter had gotten a smaller one. She just wanted $50 for it and it's very nice...in fact it seems identical to the one we had except just a few inches smaller, which is fine! I didn't want to spend much on a replacement, not knowing if her curiosity was now satisfied or not. She seems to have taken the message to heart...
B) About 15 months ago, I opted to have a BAHA (bone anchored hearing aid) implanted. This is done by the MD installing a small steel post behind the ear (in the operating room). After it 'sets' for about 3 months, you snap an external small processor onto it and it conducts sound, increasing hearing. Well, I found that it wasn't ever comfortable to wear this...it hit my head in a way that felt like I was getting pinched. When I told the MD about it, his solution was changing it to a longer post, a simple thing done in the office. So...at the end of this last December I did that. However a couple weeks later when I attempted to put the processor on, it hurt and it felt like the post wasn't firmly attached. So back I went and the Dr said that he needed to tighten the screw, that it didn't make sense that it was sore (which didn't really relieve my symptoms at all) but he didn't have the right tool at the office he was at, so I scheduled to go to the other one the following week. Unfortunately that was the day of ice, so I didn't go...but finally, two days ago, I finally made it AND he had the right tool to fix me up. We thought so, anyway. He started looking at it and it hurt BAD, like clear thru my skull. He said "I don't like that at all" ("You don't like it?????) He said that the screw wasn't loose at all, but the whole post was loose and he believed I had developed osteomyelitis (explanation...infection in the bone with some of it dying) around it. He wanted a CT scan right away (which I was able to walk downstairs and do immediately) and started me on antibiotics. Now the whole thing has to be removed surgically. Often with osteomyelitis, IV antibiotics are necessary, so we're eager to hear the CT results to know how bad this is. With airline tickets to Disneyland a week from today, I really don't want to have my head cut open before as it's just something else to deal with. I'm thinking the antibiotics should settle it down and unless it becomes alot worse, he seemed agreeable to putting it off for a few extra days.
Which brings me to happy news....we're really excited to head south to hopefully warm weather and fun at Disneyland. David, Krissy and I plan to fly down Saturday evening. Jamie had an event that she really wanted to attend on Sat evening, so she'll fly down Sunday morning, arriving about the time we would need a lunch break anyway. We'll have a car, so we'll pick her up and then return to the park. Krissy is very excited about this and has her schedule made up for the first day. I see that we are going back to our hotel (just across from the entrance) for a little down time around dinner, then returning for Space Mountain (mom is NOT going on this) , the fireworks and the water show. We plan to have 3 pretty full days before our flight home Tuesday evening. My next blog post will probably be from there.
Otherwise all is well. Larry is anticipating his unit likely going to all 12 hr shifts, which will be quite a change for us. David is doing well at Mt. Hood Comm. College and is looking for part-time work as he's wanting to save for 'the future' :o) Jamie is really busy, but seems to be thriving with it. She's a full time college student, doing driver's ed, usually helping me with getting Krissy and Ben out the door in the mornings as well as being the stage manager for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang this winter at CYT Vancouver. Anne and I get a country drive twice a day as she attends Damascus Christian School. Her efforts were rewarded when she worked hard on her audition song for Annie and got exactly the role she wanted....that of the feistiest orphan, Pepper. She gets to be very snotty, fight and do some gymnastics as well as singing, dancing and having some lines....all in all, a good fit for her and she's happy with it. We've had a challenging few months with Krissy, partially attributable to an injection she had at the end of October. It's a hormone medication that was intended to make her life easier, but not quite how it worked out. It lasts for 3 months, so we had to ride it out. This last week has been a noticeable improvement, calmer both at school and home. Benj is doing well and really enjoying his new after-school buddy, Emily. It was so cute yesterday as I was watching them play...he put his little hand up to give her a high-5. His health has been stable. My week was busy with making 12 dozen cinnamon rolls as a special favor for a large family breakfast tomorrow following their daughter's wedding today. The little photo is one of the last 3 pans ready to go in the oven....I am so done making rolls for awhile and am quite certain after this marathon, I will be able to "just say no" to any future similar requests! It was not as easy as it sounds.
Catch us up when you can...we'd love to hear from you too!
Love, Janelle & all
