What I wanted all along...

I told Shellie that if she wanted to have the kids go to school this year in Indiana, then she had to pay for it. Turns out a stroke of genius on my part because I got this email back from her:

"I figure we will keep the weekends we already have...no sense changing that too. but like I said, I want them fri and sat nights. I will get them back to you on sunday evening.

the days through the week may change at first. I want to work it around lex's schooling as much as possible. Some nights last year she had more to do than others...and if she has spelling tests on friday, then I won't want to distract her that night. I will just get them from the daycare and then bring them to you by about 730 ish so they can get to bed."

She's agreeing to the arrangement I wanted all along. She did stipulate by text message this was just temporary and she wanted a judge to decide final arrangments...

Back again

Well I did it again. I'm back to square one with my protruding disk
problem. I have been getting no rest sitting up in a chair to sleep, so
I decided to try (since my back was feeling so much better) lying down
in bed. I slept for an hour or so, and then got up and it seemed ok, so
I decided to try it. When I got up this morning, it was like I had never
been to the doctor, had any treatments, and like I just hurt my back. I
am so upset. So do I give up sleep and a bed for the rest of my life?

I did not risk my life (literally) having gastric bypass and losing
almost 200 lbs to go back to having limited mobility. My children
deserve better than this. I have never been in perfect health, but
until now, I've felt so much better than I have in the past 25 years.
No matter what it takes, I'm going to get back to where I was a month
ago. I go to the doctor tomorrow at 1pm for a test, and then I will get
a referral to a neurosurgeon. I'm still looking at actual surgery as a
last option. I have had enough of that to last a life time. God help
me if it comes to that. I know I'll do it if nothing else helps.

Back Meat and Dead Kidney Pie

I went for a check-up on my back yesterday.

This was the conclusion:

a. I need to see a neurosurgeon about the possibility of either surgery,
or sticking a needle in my spine.

b. I wait a couple weeks and see if it gets better on its own.

c. Back pain + leg swelling + some other misc. things = lets check you
for kidney failure.

Add to this that I am not taking anything for pain any more and I'm just
in general not in a happy mood. I told the doctor point blank: when I
weighed almost 200 lbs more than I do right now, I was like this--not
able to do much of anything but sit without pain. I am not going back
to that for anything, so you'd better d@mn-well give me something or
somebody to fix it and quick. I'm not going to lay around in pain and
gain all that back. Not for you, and not for anybody.

Late yesterday the doc calls me back. She says "your kidneys are fine."
I kinda figured that, but I've heard of guys walking around with back
pain for a couple weeks and then dropping dead. Later they find out it
was kidneys, not back...

I went to Walgreens after work to get my water-pills (I can't stand
saying the word diuretic, even though old-people refer to it as
water-pills). The pharmacist said she would have to call the doctor
before she would fill the prescription. She said the usual dosage is
one per day. My scrip was for one pill 6 times per day....

Should I start looking for a different doctor???

drowsy vs. grumpy

I've decided to choose grumpy over drowsy. I felt like my pain meds
were not doing a whole hellofa lot of good, and I think I'm right. I
stopped taking them and I feel the same, except not sleepy. So that
means, basically, I've been seeing my doctor for going on the third
week, and it has done me ABSOLUTELY NO GOOD! I'm still not sleeping in
a bed, and I'm still not able to stand or walk for more than 15 minutes
without excruciating pain. I have to get over this soon. I can just
see myself putting on weight due to inactivity. If that happens, my
back will begin hurting all the time anyway, just like it used to before
I had the gastric bypass. Also, because I never get my legs up (they are
always down either standing or sitting because it hurts too bad to have
them up) they are starting to swell. It's really beginning to scare me
how bad they are swelling. I'm not sleeping very well at night because
of the pain. This doctor has to do something soon.

Throwing Money away...

I need shot in the head at this point. Guess who threw away $115 before 8am this morning? Speeding ticket down Green Valley Rd. 49 in a 35. I told the officer "I can't say I like getting a ticket, but I appreciate you doing your job officer. Have a nice day."

Hey, I guess I can look at it like this. This is the first time in fifteen years that I’ve gotten stopped, and did not have to worry if I had insurance or not because I am paying the bills.

I’ll take the positives where I can get them… I guess its like if you know somebody who was stabbed to death at least you can say it they didn’t suffer for months with cancer.

Reviving the 80's in Literature

I have gotten on an odd kick lately. I have been re-reading novels that
I first read back in the early 80's. They were all my brother's
stuff-science-fiction/fantasy. I am reading The Chronicles of Thomas
Covenant by Donaldson right now. I have read in the past The Chronicles
of Amber by Zelany, The Dragonriders of Pern by McCaffrey, The World of
Tiers by Farmer, The Deryni series by Kurtz, and The Books of Swords by
Saberhagen. I also have two sets that I read on my own that I am going
to re-read. The first is the Necroscope series and then the Merlin
series by Mary Stewart. I will also re-read Thieves World. I read the
first book of the Xanth novels "A Spell for Chameleon" but had to stop
after that. I downloaded that and I don't have all of them. It takes
me a long time to read a book. I do it some in the morning before work
(only about 5 or 10 minutes) then sometimes in the evening if the kids
are doing something without me (like playing at a friends house before
supper), but the only time I really get to read much is at lunch time at
work. What wonderful books have you read in the past, and would you
like to re-read them? Half-Price Books and Book and Music Exchange is a
good way to get books to read without paying an arm and a leg. The kids
(like any other kids) get the "I-want" disease sometimes. When they
haven't gotten anything in a while and I want to get something for them,
many times we will end up at the book store. That way I can reward them,
but it is constructive too. Lexie reads to me, and to her brother.
Sometimes I read to them also. We finished a Goosebumps book. We all
like Half-Price Books.

Back Pain

Ok, I'm REALLY knocking on wood here, but I think I might be over the hump with my back problem. It feels better today than I think it ought to feel. The real test is endurance. I need to get to the point where I don't have to sit down and rest because my back is killing me. I have not gotten to that point, but the first goal has been reached-I'm in no pain at all when sitting still. I'm still taking my prescription pain killers, but in another 3-4 days I'm going to start taking ½ the dose (if everything progresses normally from here). I'm still using my grandpa's walking stick, and I'm still sleeping in a chair and shuffling my feet instead of picking them up, but I'm just being very precautionary. I don't want any setbacks at all!

About VAX-D

About VAX-D This is what my doctor is using on me for my protruding disk. They said unless you do it 3-5 times a week it doesn't really help much. They do this in combo with other treatments at the same time: light (infrared) heat, sonic (ultrasound) plus they use this big vibrating device called a thumper, and electric (small shocks). They gave me a small portable unit (called a TENS unit) to take home. I wear it all the time on the highest setting. I am taking Lortabs for pain, and also a muscle relaxer--Flexoril. I hope this feels better soon. I can't stand for long, walk, sit. lay (at all). Actually lying down is the only way to get away from the pain completely, but I am denied that because getting up is so painful that I nearly throw up. I've never had pain like that before. It takes me twenty minutes to work up enough courage to just TRY to get out of bed...

Father's Day

We went over Sunday after church. We also got him a shirt and some of the portraits we got done at Wal-Mart Photo Studio. It was combination Birthday/Father's Day.















They gave out carnations to all the dads at church and they had extras. The kids each got one and they saved one for Pawpaw and one for Granny Dana.

Pawpaw's Birthday

We went to see Joe for his birthday. The kids made him a coffee mug at The Paint Spot on Shelbyville Road. It's a place where you can paint pottery and then they glaze and fire it. It is a really nice keepsake thing.

Lucky guy...

I saw some lucky guy driving this the other day on the way to work. I fully expected a bunch of gals to jump out at the red light and come over to my car with hot wings, but...

Oh well. The kids and I love Hooters. They even holler out "We love Hooters!!!!" when we go there. We are impressed with the food and the service.

Louisville Irish Fest

The kids and I went to Louisville Irish Fest. It was fun. We went with Theresia and Rachael, and Rachael's cousins Libby, and Kendall. The Louisville Pipe (bagpipe) Band played, there was dancing, dog breeds and herding demonstrations as well as all kinds of celtic and irish food and drink. They got a little sunburned, but we had a good time!

Dr. Donovan

I got a call from Dr. Donovan, Lexie and Logan's physician. I told him that they were having the usual respiratory problems. Their mother had taken them off their medication for a week and it got a lot worse. She left them off another week and things did not improve. Logan sounded sick this morning so I gave him some Benadryl chewable tablets.

The doctor said that cigarette smoke, although some people are allergic to it, it mainly affects most people like an irritant. He gave me the example "like gasoline fumes". He said it can cause the symptoms that they have--fluid in the ears, sinus congestion and asthma. He said they are old enough we might want to send them to an allergist to find out if they are allergic to it, or it's just affecting them as an irritant.

As for their weight, he said that they are both tall, but "weigh more than you'd expect for their height." Ten to fifteen pounds gain a year is ok. He said we might want to see an endocrinologist or dietician so we can have the same health routine at both homes.

I'm concerned about the kids, but I also wanted to get some fuel to fight Shellie with at the divorce hearing if I need it. I don't want to do anything bad to her or hurt her, but I worry about losing the kids completely.

Church

The kids and I went to Church Sunday. We went to Fern Creek Baptist
Church. Three of the ladies from the church came over last night and
brought us bean soup mix, information, and invited us back this coming
Sunday. They talked to the kids and I for about twenty minutes then we
had prayer. The kids enjoyed talking to them. They are looking forward
to Sunday school this coming week. Last week I had them for regular
services with me. The ladies from the church said they could stay
together in the same room. They have a day care at this Church too, as
well as lots of community activities...bible study, fellowship,
children's choir, suppers, the whole works. It sounds like it will be
good for us. It's been hard to find a church I feel comfortable in and
the kids like.

Logan's Self Sculpture

The kids and I went to Cici's Pizza with Pawpaw and Dana. They have macaroni and cheese pizza!! Logan made a self sculpture from his salad! He is a very talented kid with and awesome imagination.

Entertainment

I’m going to cut back on my entertainment budget. I think I’m going to get rid of cable. I don’t know if anybody will notice. I think we watch it like 1 hour a week at max. I’m cutting back Netflix. I’m going to get rid of it soon too. I think I like blockbuster’s online program a lot better.

I might get satellite instead of cable. I can do that for like $25, and get a lot more channels. That would save me almost $20 per month. I’m going to quit cold turkey for a while and see if I even notice.

Stuff

Man, I was worn down last night. I got the kids showers, and crawled into bed. They slept with me last night and we read two chapters in the goosebumps book. That damn thing is getting on my nerves. It keeps stringing you along. Logan has the croupy sound this morning. I have a sore throat and sinus drainage. I hate when one of the kids has that “barking” like cough. It makes me feel so sorry for them. When he talks he sounds froggy. *sighs*

We had fun fishing yesterday. I had to pull a tick off of Logan’s back. I checked them both thoroughly and then we got showers. Lexie has one small itchy spot that she says is poison ivy, but hell, with all the hiking we did and tall weeds and mud and water…I think we got off easy! I got sunburned on my face and arms but the kids seemed fine. Logan got a little bit of sun on his cheeks. Today after work is housework day. Dishes, put laundry away, clean, pickup, etc…

Fishin'

I got the kids out to Long Run park. They have a lake about 2-3 times the size of community park in New Albany. We fished and hiked and played, picnicked and had loads of fun!!!! We walked around it’s entirety, me carrying a med sized cooler, three chairs. Lexie and Logan both got hooked in the hand and screamed like they were dying. Logan got a tick. Lexie got scratches on her legs. She complained this morning of poison ivy, but all it all they want to go again because they had SO MUCH FUN!!!!

Water-iron

Have you even water-ironed a shirt before??? I did that this morning to my collar and it works good! I wetted the collar and smoothed it out with my fingers, then it dried flat and neat!!! I guess that’s one good thing about driving all the way over to IN and back…time to dry things.

Camping

We took the Frozen Niagra tour. It was 330 steps down into the caves on the third level. The kids had no problem keeping up the 3 hours we were walking, but I was sore that night and still am.