Tuesday, October 31, 2006

My poor boy....

Last week, I noticed that Jake had a cavity on one of his molars. He's 8, so it is a baby tooth. He went to the dentist last week. Since the tooth was already a little loose, the dentist said that as long as he's not in pain and not infected, we could wait for it to come out on its own.

Fast forward to today. I rearranged my afternoon so that I could attend the boys' Halloween parties at school. Thank goodness I was there! Jake bit into a piece of candy and made an awful face. I suggested that he spit it out, since he apparently didn't like it. When he spit it out, blood started oozing from his mouth. His tooth broke! So, the party was over for Jake. I cleaned him up and took him to the dentist.

Jake knew that the tooth would have to be pulled. He was nervous, to say the least. He handled it all like a man, even the shots to numb his mouth. It took three different shots to do the trick, so he really had it rough. He did cry, but laid perfectly still while the dentist was working on him.

He's doing well tonight and was able to enjoy trick or treating. Plus, he will be enjoying his money from the tooth fairy in the morning :)

Sunday, October 22, 2006

Tummy ache update....

Well, I got the verdict.....small abdominal hernia off of my C-section incision. It has not herniated all the way through, thank goodness. I have to "take it easy", wear some support, and avoid lifting. "Take it easy"?!?!? Yeah, right. I'm a mom...I really can "take it easy".

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

My student hat is fitting well tonight

Got my midterm grade back tonight! 24/25.....96% !!!!!!!!

Tummy aches all around....

This morning, Jake told me that he had a tummy ache. This may bring a sense of alarm to some parents, but not me, when it comes to this son. He's been know to fake a tummy ache to come home from school. More than once, he managed to convince the school that he was sick and needed to go home. Oddly enough, this has only happened when Daddy had the day off. So, we instituted a family rule....to come home sick, you have to be bleeding, puking or have a fever.

Well, no surprise, today was Daddy's day off. About 1:15 this afternoon, DH receives a phone call from the school. Seems Jake has a tummy ache. After discerning that Jake was not bleeding or vomiting and did not have a fever, he told Jake he had to back to class. Way to go, Dad! I think he's almost ready for one of those "World's Greatest Mom" t-shirts!

OK, not to make us sound like horrible parents, he did tell the school secretary that if Jake continued to complain about his tummy to call back and he would come get him.

Now, Jake's tummy ache ended up being nothing. Mine, however, may be a different story. This morning, while at work, I sneezed. While that may sound like it has nothing to do with my stomach....just stick with me. When I sneezed, a searing pain tore through my lower abdomen (right where my C-section scar is). It was so painful that I yelled out. As the day wore on, it has gotten more and more painful. Now it is even difficult to sit up or walk. I think I need to call the doctor in the morning.

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

A new cap to wear....

OK, so jury duty only lasts a week, but it was a difficult cap to wear today. While the trial is over and I can freely discuss the case, I will not do that. However, I do want to address a few thoughts/experiences of the day. First, it was again illustrated to me why it is important to not make assumptions. After hearing the testimony and looking at all of the evidence, I was convinced that it was obvious that the defendant was not guilty. I assumed that everyone else on the jury saw everything the way that I did, and deliberations would be quick and painless. WRONG! In fact, I was in the minority believing that he was not guilty. Deliberations took several hours.

Second, I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to serve with a group of intelligent, conscientious individuals. Even when our opinions on the defendant's guilt were completely at odds, everyone remained respectful and courteous while arguing their point of view. And, when things did not resolve quickly, and many individuals were concerned about their family obligations, not one individual in the room suggested that we come to a decision so that we could all go home. Everyone sincerely treated the decision before us with the gravity it required. I left today with a new respect for my fellow citizen.

Third, and most importantly, I was once again reminded of the awesome power of prayer. At one point, ten of the jurors had agreed that the defendant was guilty. The only ones who disagreed were myself and the gentleman next to me. After several hours of deliberation, it seemed that we were at an impasse, my head was throbbing, and I was beginning to think we'd be there all night. I quietly bowed my head and asked for God's guidance. I prayed that God would help me decide what to do....continue to fight for the not guilty verdict or change my vote. As I was ending my prayer, something one of the jurors said began to make sense. I can't even tell you what that thing was. All I know is that all of a sudden, I felt like I needed to change my vote. Just as I was getting ready to announce that fact, the gentleman next to me spoke up and said that he had also decided to change his vote. Again, as we were passing around the verdict slip to sign, I went to God in prayer that we were doing the right thing. I was so worried about sending an innocent man to prison. I was praying that God was helping us do the right thing. After delivering the verdict, the judge asked us to wait in the jury room for a few minutes. He came to address us and answer any questions we had. During this time, he confirmed that this man was a pretty scary fellow who had done quite a few awful things to the victim in the past, and today's trial was just one of a number of recent charges against this man. In other words, our guilty verdict had put a hateful, awful man behind bars for repeatedly and systematically victimizing a young woman.

I thank God for his guidance.

Monday, October 02, 2006

healthy habits

Have you ever decided to "give up" something in the interest of better health? Recently, I joined a "lose 10 pounds" challenge on SBA. I figured the only way to do this is to drop some of the nasty habits I have. First, I decided to stop drinking soda. I've tried this before...but never succeeded. I love Pepsi. I hate diet sodas, so making the switch to diet was not going to happen. So, I figured I needed to just drop it all together.


And....it's been 3 weeks! I don't even want soda any more. In addition, I am not craving sweets like I used to. I wonder if it's related. Anyway, I have lost 5 pounds, and I am thrilled! Only 5 more to go to meet the challenge.