Happy Halloween!

Every year, many people at my office dress up and this year was no exception.  We lost the title of 1st place that we've held the last two years, but we did get 2nd.  It was fun to see everyone's costumes.

Where's Waldo got first

 Words With Friends got second

 The detectives

 Restaurants (Red Lob.ster, Goo.dcents, Bur.ger King, Here.ford House, Okla.homa Joe's)

Then I got to come home to this little pumpkin and hand out candy to all the trick or treaters with her help.

 Little Pumpkin

 Pure bliss

 JJ swinging Chloe to get some good smiles

She was much more alert this year standing at the door the whole time, compared to last year when she slept on the living room floor through all the trick or treaters.  I can't wait till next year when we'll actually be able to go door to door with her.

Wordless Wednesday

 

Yeah, this isn't going to be so wordless.  The three of us got home from our Dave Ram.sey class last night, and JJ and I sat down on the couch looking at his computer (he was making fun of me on FB for not knowing who Spudz McKenzie is - do you all know who he is?) Anyway, we hear a noise and look up...Chloe is walking around in one of my heels!  It was the cutest thing.  She was so proud, smiling, prancing around the room.  And the surprising thing was, she could walk really well in it!  It was quite hard to get a picture, but this is the best I could do.  She's growing up too fast.  One day it's a one piece sleeper, the next day it's heels. Sigh...

Another Week of Bloggers

Chloe and I had some more fun meeting up with bloggers the last few days.  Our first stop was to meet Sarah and Drew from Our Journey.  Sarah was in town for a few weeks and staying at her in law's house, so Chloe and I went over after work last Thursday for a play date.  It was so cute to watch the two interact, or more accurately, copy what the other one did.  If one had cups, the other wanted cups; if one rode the horse, the other wanted to ride the horse.  Drew was so cute trying to give Chloe some love.  She needs to learn how to show some affection. :)  Sarah and I had a good time talking.  We actually went to the same high school and know many of the same people, although we didn't know each other at the time.  Chloe got really excited when we went to leave and she saw the two big puppies downstairs.  Our attempt at getting a picture of the four of us was pretty difficult because she was too busy pointing and looking down at them.  We had a great time with those two and hope to see them more when they are in town.

Friday night, Courtney, B, and Matthew from All the Sun For You were back in town and we had plans to meet up.  We weren't quite sure what we were going to do, but the cooler weather made us decide on something inside.  We were to meet for dinner and then go back to their hotel to swim.  At 3:30 that afternoon, JJ called me at work saying he was getting called in to work and I needed to come home.  (This is that arrangement I have at work since he works on call, we can't/don't have a sitter for when he has to go in, so I just leave work to watch Chloe).  Luckily I only had 30 minutes left in my day so it wasn't a big deal, other than the fact that JJ wasn't able to join us that night.  I was bummed but Chloe and I went on.  We met at App.lebee's and had a good chat over dinner.

The kids were pretty quiet through dinner, but as soon as we got back to their hotel, B turned on some music and both kids started "dancing" or bouncing up and down.  It was so cute to watch.  They would go from one end of the room to the other, stopping every so often to do a quick bounce.  We all got changed and headed down to the pool.  Even though the water was pretty warm, we were still chilly since we were just standing talking again.  We stayed for about an hour then decided it was time for everyone to head to bed.

Chloe still needs to warm up to hugs and kisses

The next morning we met up with them again at an indoor kid's play area.  Neither of us had been before so we weren't sure what to expect, but I think we all had a good time.  It was fun to just let them go where they wanted, crawl up in tunnels, go down slides, play with balls, go in the bounce house.  JJ met up with us right at the end and Chloe was so excited to see her daddy.  Before they hit the road to to go home, we all went to lunch at Fri.tz's.  If you've never been to Fri.tz's it's a pretty fun place in KC.  It's centered around trains, and your food is even delivered on one.  The kid's loved watching the trains overhead the whole time we were there, and the food was pretty good too for just being diner food.  We said goodbye to them after lunch and went our separate ways.  Poor Chloe was asleep within just a couple minutes of being in the car; all that playing and eating wore her out!

Courtney, this picture is for you!  It cracks me up every time I look at it.

Luckily JJ didn't get called back in to work the rest of the weekend so we got to enjoy it being at home together.  We had a fire in the fireplace Saturday night and watched a movie.  We weren't sure how Chloe would do, if she would leave it alone, but she did great.  When JJ first started it, she walked over to the hearth several times and pointed, but she never attempted to climb up on it which is what we were afraid of.  Sunday was another lounge day and we decorated pumpkins started to decorate pumpkins.  I had a feeling it wasn't going to go well, and as we were getting everything all set up, Chloe went head first into a little pumpkin and gave herself a fat lip.  It was the first time we've seen blood from an incident and JJ and I just felt horrible.  It kind of killed the mood plus we ran out of time after tending to her, so we plan to finish the pumpkins tomorrow.  Then we can check two things off the bucket list! :)

Fall Outing

We finally made it to the local Cider Mill yesterday after work.  We were trying to avoid the weekend and all the crowds, and we did just that - we basically had the place to ourselves.  We set Chloe down among the pumpkins to get a few photos...

She wasn't too sure.  Those eyebrows...

Yep, really not sure now.  I don't know what her deal was. 

Much better now that daddy is holding her, daddy's girl I tell ya

See, all better mom!

Dad sneakin' a pic of his two girls

And had to do comparison pictures of course, last year to this year

 Check that one off the bucket list!

Taking Control

JJ and I went back to school last night.  We started Dave Ram.sey's Fina.ncial Peace Univer.sity.  I really had no idea what to expect going in.  I've read some of his websites before, even did the zero balance budget for quite a while.  But to only get bits and pieces didn't get the results I wanted.  Plus it was just me doing the research, and asking JJ to follow along.  That doesn't work so well. 

We realized in order to pay off our credit card debt and start saving better, something needed to change.  What we were doing wasn't working.  I pulled up his website last week and sure enough there was a group starting near our house this week.  I asked JJ if he would be up to going, and how there were online classes too, but I thought we actually needed to go to class to understand it all, and he agreed.  So I signed us up.  I expected the class to be in the sanctuary of the church it was held at, a huge group, watching DR speak on the big screens.  Instead, we were in a small, I think child care room with a group of about 20 and a TV in front of us.  Besides the small TV, I liked the group size much better.

It is a 9 week class which meets once a week for 90 minutes.  I have to say, the first class went by pretty quickly.  I wasn't expecting all of the religious talk, but he is pretty funny.  He can relate. He's been there.  He stands on stage with an oak table and tells stories about all the stages in his life that centered around that oak table.  The first class we focused on the 7 baby steps, but we only got through two last night.  Most of what he says makes sense, but I want to see the bigger picture.

One thing that he said that does not make sense to me, is how say you start investing $2,000 a year when you are 19.  By the time you are 27 it should be something crazy like $30K (or maybe it was even $70k I can't remember) and then after 40 years it should be $750K.  OK, I did start investing when I was around 20...$100 every month.  And I'll be damned if I only have about the amount I invested in my account.  So what am I doing wrong?  Why don't I have my $30K (or $70K)?  I hope to learn that soon.

Our goal with this class is to first pay off all of our credit card debt, build up our savings some more, and start a college fund for Chloe.  We also are thinking about moving into a bigger house in the spring, so going through this class will hopefully help us with that.  I have heard nothing short of amazing stories from anyone who has followed his program, so I hope we can soon be one of the success stories as well.  Have you gone through his program or know someone who has?  Have you read his book?  Did it help you? 

The Monday Snapshot - Memories Edition

As we celebrated my grandma's 92 years on this earth Saturday, I couldn't help but think back to lots of memories I have of her.  One was staring me in the face yesterday while my daughter sat next to me on the floor watching a Hallmark movie while I rubbed her back.  She obviously wasn't interested in the movie, but she sat there, and sat there, while I rubbed her back.  My grandma gave the best back rubs.  So did my other grandma and my mom.  You are never too old to lay your head down on your mom's lap and ask her for a back rub or to stroke your hair.  Something about those acrylic nails that both grandmas, my mom, and now I have make for the best back rubs.  I look forward to many more memories like this with Chloe.

This is part of a weekly feature over at PAIL called The Monday Snapshot

Not For Us

Oh my gosh, I just have to get this out there.  I was crying I was laughing so hard on the phone with JJ.  We have been trying for several weeks now for him to take Chloe to preview a Kinder.musik class to see if it was something we wanted to sign up for.  I thought it sounded like it'd be right up her alley.

Things kept getting in the way and they weren't able to go, until today.  The class started at 10:30, so when JJ called me at 10:50, I figured they didn't make it again.  Well, they tried but couldn't find the class.  It's held in a local church and he couldn't find them anywhere, so he was calling to tell me.  He had already left, but I had him go back after re-reading the email on how to get to the classroom.

I just called him again to see if he had any luck finding it and his response was "uh, yeah...I don't think we'll be going back."  Of course by the time they finally found it, there was only about 20 minutes left.  The lady welcomed him in, apparently she was very loud when speaking, and JJ and Chloe just hung back and watched.  He said all they did was dance in a circle, the parents dancing around the kids.  There were no musical instruments and the music was very odd.  The lady kept yelling over at him to "come join them" and his response was "oh that's ok, we'll just watch" all while he crouched down as Chloe had a death grip on his leg.

The funny part to me is two fold - 1) picturing JJ walking in there thinking what in the hell did I get him into, and 2) Chloe sitting all dumpy on her daddy's lap thinking I am NOT doing this!  Omg, the mental image is hilarious! 

So needless to say, I guess we are scratching Kinder.musik classes off our list of weekly activities and finding something else.  Sorry honey, I really thought it'd be a hit.  Better luck next time? :)

What I love about being a mom at this stage, Part 2

Things I love in no particular order:

• The way you plop yourself down in my lap
• To watch you as you are falling asleep in your crib, stroke your blanket or a stuffed animal
• The way you reach up for us and squeeze your fingers together as if saying "up"
• How much you LOVE your puppies, especially Izzy, and how she can always dry up your tears if you are upset
• The way you walk over to your highchair now as a sign you are hungry
• How independent you are and that you want to walk everywhere now (at home and out in public)
• That you wave to everyone and everything you see, and continue to wave over and over again
• How sweet you are with your stuffed animals, giving them hugs and kisses
• Your belly laugh, oh the belly laugh!
• How you laugh at us when we're laughing at you
• To watch you look at book after book and be so content
• How you walk up to a blanket or pillow on the floor and immediately bend over and lay your head on it
• That you started walking to us at daycare as soon as you'd spot that we were there to pick you up
• How you lift your chin up while you are eating to be tickled
• Your long, curly blonde hair
• How you jump if a dog starts barking and run to whoever is closer to you because it startles you - it's so cute
• To hear you "talking" in the background when I call daddy during my work day
• The way you test us and the sly smile you get on your face when you look back and know you are doing something you’re not supposed to...and then continue to do it
• The VERY FEW times you let me cuddle you for more than 2 seconds
• To think back to this time last year and how much you have changed
• How you tuck your legs under you when you sleep on your belly
• The way we have "conversations" back and forth with each other 
• To watch you after you fall asleep on the monitor
• Going in to wake you up from a nap, patting your tush, and watching you stretch out so long
• The way you squat down for various reasons so close to the ground but don't let your tush touch
• How shy you are around people you first meet or haven't seen for a while, you stay close to daddy and I which I secretly like

The Monday Snapshot - Halloween Edition

First of all, thank you for all the sweet comments you left on my last post.  It still hasn't sunk in that I won't ever get to see her again, and when I see her phone number in my call log, I want to call and talk to her.  It will take some time for that urge to go away, but I know she's where she wants to be.

This week's photo is from our Halloween themed playgroup yesterday.  Here is our attempt at getting all the kiddos together for a picture.  Not too bad!

(Had to note a mom fail here.  I knew we had a pumpkin costume from last year that Chloe never wore, so I figured it would work for this year.  I just assumed it was up to a size 12 months.  When I tried it on her Saturday night, I realized it was size 3-6 months!  Yep, that's my 14 month old munchkin in a 3-6 month pumpkin costume!)

This is part of a weekly feature over at PAIL called The Monday Snapshot

She's Gone

This time she meant it when she said she was ready to go; my grandma passed away Tuesday evening.  My dad had been blowing up JJ's phone, but he was at work.  My dad called me asking where he was and that he just had some questions for him.  They never connected that day.  (Since he couldn't get to my brother and I both that night, he at least wanted JJ with me when my dad called to tell me the news).

Yesterday morning, before 8:00 I got a call from our receptionist that a student was there to see me.  I thought it was odd that someone would be there that early, but I didn't think much of it.  I walked into the lobby and my dad barely got me in a conference room before he broke down saying we had lost her the night before.

My uncle went to check on her in the morning and she was sitting in her chair.  He went back later in the afternoon and she was unresponsive.  Hospice arrived and said she only had a few hours left.  They moved her to her bed and family took turns sitting and talking with her.  The nurse said hearing goes last and that hearing them talk would be good for her.  She took her last breath around 6:30 pm.  Shortly after that, her dog went in and jumped on the bed and laid down at her feet.

My dad wanted to tell my brother and I in person.  Since he couldn't reach JJ, he drove 2 1/2 hours one way Tuesday night to tell my brother and then an hour early this morning to come tell me.  I honestly handled it better than I thought I would, but I don't think it's sunk in yet really.  I get the most sad when I think about Chloe not remembering her.  But I know she's where she wants to be, with her husband(s) and my mom, and she went how she wanted to - peacefully at home.  She was my last living grandparent but boy did she have a long, full life.  We love and miss you Gramama!  I'm so glad I have all the memories I do of you and can share them with Chloe along with pictures as she gets older. 

14 Months

This month has flown by and I have a feeling the next several will fly by just as fast.  Last month I don't think I would have called you a toddler, but this month...I definitely would.  I look at you and wonder where my baby went?  I pull out jammies that I think will fit, only to realize they are 6 mo and too short, then grab the 12 mo jammies and they fit fine.  It wasn't all that long ago I would hold up those very jammies and think there is no WAY you will ever be big enough to fit into these!

Your sleep is still awesome minus one or two nights.  We thought for sure you were teething, but still haven't seen another one pop through yet.  We bumped you up to going to bed at 9 pm and daddy wakes you up a little earlier in the day, or you get up on your own around 9 am.  Then we try and get you down for a nap around 12 and again around 5.  We still struggle a little with nap time and when to feed you b/c they seem to fall right at the same time of day, but we're making it work.

We don't know what your deal is, but on two occasions you've woken up from a nap VERY upset, to the point where you make yourself sick.  The first one you got sick three times and curled up on daddy for an hour. The second time I woke you up from a nap and went to change you.  That was the wrong thing, and you started crying like you were purposely trying to make yourself sick.  I grabbed you up real quick and walked down the hall, one arm in your jammies while the rest hung off of you, to calm you down.  Then you were fine.  You have got to grow out of that like pronto though.  Mommy hates puke, and when you do it just because your mad, that's no beuno.

Speaking of food, you've gotten a little picky this month.  The foods that were once your favorites -  strawberries, eggs, hotdogs - you'd now think were dirt off the floor (although you'd probably eat that).  We tried a trick of putting the strawberries in a container and it worked, it did not work however with the eggs.  We figured we'll just give you a break from those foods and try again in a few weeks.  And when you're done eating, you start throwing that food as fast as you can if there's any left.  It's all we can do to get that tray away from you before the entire floor is covered. 

It's almost weird to see you crawl now.  You don't do it much at all, just if you lose your balance and are close to something you want.  It's crazy how fast that stage was here and gone.  Daddy realized you seemed to be bored with hanging out in the living room all day, so now your new favorite place to play is upstairs.  We'll close all the doors down the hallway and close the gate at the top of the stairs and let you loose.  You walked up and down the hall for AN HOUR last night when I got home.  Those cheeks of yours are going to be gone in no time for as much as you walk.  Izzy was laying at the end of the hall and I put your stuffed animals in a line.  You'd go "pet" Izzy' (or tap/smack her head) and then head back to me, picking up each animal as you go.  Your arms were so stuffed full you couldn't even see where you were walking.

Your love for animals makes us so happy.  You continue to love Izzy more and more, and Sammy too, but it's no secret Izzy is your favorite.  They come in to wake you up from a nap and you can't stand up and wave at them fast enough.  Any time you see an animal outside or in a book you point and smile real big.  We were at the store the other day and you spotted a dog before daddy or I did.  You started walking fast and pointing, and sure enough, there was a dog. 

Words are still low on your level of interest, but you definitely have "mama" and "dada" down.  You like to repeat sounds a lot, like "na na" and "ya ya"  and "ba ba" but no true words that we can tell. 


Oh yes, the waving and pointing.  You wave at anything and everything.  When we are out somewhere, you can't stop waving.  You also like to point at things and we'll tell you what you are pointing at.  If you are in a shopping cart and one of us is blocking your view from someone you are interested in, you will lean as far as you can to peak around us.  You also are mesmerized by little kids, always checking out what they are doing.

You continue to amaze us, entertain us, love us, and teach us every day.  We couldn't have asked for a more perfect daughter for our family.

The Monday Snapshot - Apple Orchard Edition

Our little family went to a local apple orchard yesterday.

Testing to make sure it was a good one.

Gotta walk like a big girl...but still hold daddy's hand.

And I made some of this homemade goodness with what we picked.

Check that one off the bucket list!

This is part of a weekly feature over at PAIL called The Monday Snapshot

A Great Thing

Have you all heard of Par.ents as Tea.chers?  A friend of mine mentioned it to me several months back when we were at the park, and I couldn’t for the life of me understand what she was saying.  I went home and googled what I thought she might have said and up popped Par.ents and Tea.chers.  In short, it’s basically where someone comes out to your home and observes your child.  The goals of the organization are:

1. Increase parent knowledge of early childhood development and improve parenting practices
2. Provide early detection of developmental delays and health issues
3. Prevent child abuse and neglect
4. Increase children’s school readiness and school success

The first time our lady came out was the week after Chloe’s birthday.  She brought a bag full of toys; she, JJ and I sat on our living room floor, and watched Chloe explore.  She wasn’t quite walking at the time, but she would get to whatever she wanted.  The lady (her name is Ann) would give Chloe certain things to see what she’d do with it, like a small jar filled with Cheerios to see if Chloe could dump them out, see if she would bang two toys together, or she’d cover a toy with a scarf to see if Chloe would know to lift the scarf.  The first appointment she asked us a lot of questions about Chloe’s medical history and her general demeanor, and she was recording all of this in a document.  She wrote up the report and mailed it to us within a few days, and it was basically a chart showing where Chloe should be in various categories and where she actually scored.  I was impressed with how thorough it was.  If by chance Chloe had fallen below the recommended level, there were suggestions on what we could do to work with her. 

The second appointment was this past Monday.  Again, we all just sat on the floor at watched Chloe, but since she can walk now, she was all over the place.  She didn’t bring as many toys this time, but she did bring a book, clothespins (which Chloe loved to chew on)  and a container to put the clothespins in.  She gave us a lot of time to ask questions, and one of my first questions was about Chloe’s eating.  I mentioned that Chloe used to eat everything we’d give her, but now some of her old favorites she seems to hate.  Ann’s response was interesting, and Courtney and I have both tried this method and it seems to work.  She said that as kids get older and gain more independence, we tend to hover over them when they eat.  Even though we might feel like we are giving them choices by putting a variety of food on their tray at meal time, they don’t see it that way.  She said simply putting each food in its own container on the tray and letting the child pick what they want to eat might do the trick.  And sure as shit it worked!  I think Courtney had better luck than us only because we haven’t given Chloe the foods she’s been denying this week so she was open to whatever we gave her.  But we did the container trick with strawberries and she ate them right up (that was one thing she had been leaving on her tray that she used to love). 

We also talked about discipline and how or what we should be doing at this age, she said that there is the roller coaster of equilibrium and disequilibrium that happens every few months so if we are trying to do something big, like potty training or big-bed training, it’s best not to do it when the child is in the disequilibrium stage and wait a few months – most likely we will have much better results by doing it during the equilibrium stage. Definitely good information to have!

It’s so nice to get some reassurance that we are doing things right, or at least not totally wrong.  Being able to ask questions of someone who has been through raising kids and has specific training is a great help, and having her in our home where Chloe is most comfortable is nice because she gets a really good idea where Chloe is at.  I believe it is through the local school districts, and it has been great so far.  Another cool thing is they have playgroups all the time for kids.  You know how I was looking for activities for JJ and Chloe to do during the day?  They have playgroups right down the street at the elementary school two days a week!  And it’s all free!  The resources they give us at each appointment are great too, just flyers and pamphlets on development and what to expect your child to be doing at this age.  Since Chloe hadn’t been in a true daycare pretty much the entire first year of her life and I had nothing to compare her to, I just wanted to make sure she was progressing as she should, wasn’t behind developmentally, and to get some tips about what sort of activities we can do with her.  This has been great so far and I only imagine it will be something we get a lot of benefit from. 

Dying Sucks

Well no shit, captain obvious. 

Let me explain…death sucks.  Dying sucks even more.  I have had my fair share of family members and people who are close to me die.  The three closest people that died while I was old enough to really understand what was going on were my cousin, my grandma on my mom’s side, and my mom.  All three died unexpectedly.  My cousin was a 21 year old Marine killed in Afghanistan.  My grandma was in her 60’s and suffered a heart attack.  And my mom ultimately died of a brain aneurysm at the age of 47.   All three of them really didn’t know what hit them when they died.  And I thank God for that now!  I always said if my mom were still here, I was afraid of her cancer coming back and being torture watching her be sick again.  At least the way she went there was no pain and suffering.  Of course the shock of all of their passings were worse because it was so out of the blue, but we knew it was over quick for them.  I can say that now like it wasn’t any big deal, but man was it hard losing them, especially my mom obviously.  The one downfall in my opinion about someone dying unexpectedly is it doesn’t feel like there is any closure.  You wait by the phone expecting to hear that person call, or come by for a visit, because it’s so foreign that they are actually gone. 

Now the dying part.  My grandma is not doing well.  I looked back through some posts and it was actually March that we had the last scare with her.  I didn’t realize it had been that long.  She quit taking some meds and was told she was in congestive heart failure, which I guess she’s actually had for some time.  I don’t see her that often, she lives about 45 minutes away, but I try and call at least every few weeks and usually see her every few months.  She’s had good days and bad, but overall seemed like she was doing better once she started taking her meds again shortly after going off of them.

It’s no secret she’s ready to go.  She is 92 and has lived a good life.  But it is so damn hard to hear the words “I just want to go to sleep and not wake up” come out of her mouth.  How do you respond to that?  I knew things took a turn for the worse two Wednesdays ago.  My cousin called me to let me know my grandma quit taking her meds again and wasn’t doing well.  My aunt and uncle who live down the street from her took her to the doctor that Friday before and the doctor wanted to admit her to the hospital.  She refused.  She can be a stubborn old lady if she wants to!  She lives at home by herself and will not go to live in any kind of assisted living center.  She wants to die at home. 

She came back home and a hospice nurse stopped by on Monday, again wanting to admit her to the hospital.  She refused.   She wasn’t eating much, nothing sounded good to her.  When we went out for JJ’s birthday dinner, it was close to my grandma’s house, so we decided to stop by on the way.  Surely seeing Chloe would brighten her mood.  I called her the day before to let her know we’d be stopping by and I could barely understand her.  She was short of breath and sounded like her mouth was really dry. 

When we got there on Friday, she wasn’t even dressed, only in a nightgown and robe, no makeup of course, and she sometimes wears a wig, but she didn’t have it on that night.  My grandma always gets dressed so I took that as a bad sign.  She looked so, so tired.  She eeked out a smile or two when she saw Chloe, but didn’t say a whole lot.  She was sitting in her chair in the living room, feet up on the foot stool, head leaning back.  I can’t stand seeing her like that.  JJ tries to stay positive and say that she could live another 10 years, but after seeing her that night, he agreed she’ll be lucky to last another 10 days.  (Not really, but you know what I mean).   I tried to stay upbeat as I was talking to her and JJ was walking around with Chloe (she hadn’t seen Chloe walk yet).  I asked why she felt so bad, I played dumb that I didn’t know she wasn’t taking her meds, and she said “I’m not eating, nothing sounds good.”  She went on to say, “I’m ready to go but it’s just not working.”  That had to make me laugh, and my response to her was if it’s not your time, it’s not your time.

We didn’t have all that long before we needed to leave for dinner, but honestly it was long enough for me.  She didn’t offer to hold Chloe like she normally does, she was so exhausted and it was hard for her to talk.  Again, her mouth sounded so dry, a few times she had to take a drink so she could finish her sentence.  We all gave her a kiss and told her to hang in there.

The next day, after meeting Jenn and her family at the zoo, I got a text from my aunt.  My grandma had called an ambulance to come take her to the hospital.  I don’t know what made her finally decide to ask for help, maybe she realized it wasn’t her time, so if she was going to be around for a while, she’d need some help to feel better, who knows.  Apparently she has a kidney infection that she’s been dealing with and thought was gone but it’s not, but the main reason she went was so she could arrange for at-home care 24/7.  I guess you can’t just request that, it has to be something ordered while you are at the hospital?  Sneaky grandma. J  Since this was a Saturday, she wasn’t able to make any arrangements over the weekend, so she stayed in the hospital.  I was told she was more alert and feeling a little better.

I spoke with her Monday and thank goodness she sounded better.  A nurse came in so we didn’t have long to talk, but my dad went to visit her yesterday and ended up getting to take her home.  She has hospice care coming to the house and my aunt is looking into more of a live-in nurse for my grandma.  I don’t know what the future holds for her, but I sure hope she perks back up again, and gets her wish of going peacefully in her sleep.  In the meantime though, this talk of dying, bouts of bad health and not taking medicine, sure is taking its toll on the family.