It snowed yesterday and was still snowing lightly this morning.  The dogs didn't care but I had no desire to go for a walk with them, it was still -10C.  Today is warmer and there will be walks.

Turns out Jack didn't have just a cold, he has fifth disease.  I had forgotten about it until Sabine reminded me because her grandchild also just had it.  Jack woke up with bright red cheeks on Saturday morning, but he was feeling fine, no fever.  The redness on his cheeks is fading but now he's coughing more, poor guy.  

He had a wonderful time at outdoor camp last week.  He got to go cross-country skiing and sledding.  They learned to make a fire and he roasted marshmallows and made s'mores.  A success and he asked when he was going back, August as it turns out.

I took Katie out yesterday and she was fine until I stopped to use the washroom on the way out of the mall.  I was literally sitting on the toilet, underwear and pants around my ankles when she decided to attack me.  It sounds funny now but at the time, I had visions of needing to be rescued by security with my pants down which caused me a lot of stress.  I gave her Ativan, got her into my car so that she was safe, and called my husband.  She didn't complain of any pain but she was very agitated.  He came and rescued us and we got her home.  It was four weeks since last time, to the day.  I'm assuming ovulation, but I am keeping notes for the doctor and gynecologist.  Next month she has another US.

On Saturday night I went to the Pottery Book club and we had a lovely time.  We had read "Cutting For Stone" by Abraham Varghese and I enjoyed the discussion as much as I had enjoyed the book.

Right now I'm reading "Once and Again" by Rebecca Serle.  I didn't think much of it but it's gotten much more interesting as the book progressed.  It's about a daughter, a mother, and a grandmother, all who have issues, all who have been hurt and all who have hurt those they love.  All three women have a do over, a ticket which allows them to turn back time once in their lifetime.  I thought about the chance to have a do over and wondered what I would do.  Would I use it?  When would I have used it?  Obviously I would not be the same person I am today if I had a do over and avoided some horrible things, but how to pick.  Would I want to live my whole life over again?  Some of the same questions that are brought up in the book.

Families aren't easy.  Relationships aren't easy. Life isn't easy.  That's my takeaway:)

I forgot to say, I also got a full refund from the Chinese clothing scam website:)

A very unhappy looking Bagheera giving me stink eye through a filthy window.  Looking at the photo, I need to do some cleaning.  She was convinced that she wanted to be outside, but it was cold and snowing yesterday, and she was not happy with the results.

It's spring break here which means it's lovely and cold and it's also snowing.  Sigh.  Poor Jack stayed home from camp yesterday because he had a fever, very congested sounding lungs, and lethargy.  He had a very quiet day until about 3pm when he started to perk up.  This morning he was excited to go back to camp.  

Last night he lost another tooth.  I convinced him to just pull it out instead of spending hours complaining about his loose tooth.  He did pull it out and then the blood.  He thought he was hemorrhaging, but in reality there was a little bit of blood on the kleenex which I told him to bite down on.  We all survived and the tooth fairy visited last night. 

Bruce from Oddball Observations died which made me cry yesterday.  I'm thankful his granddaughters let everyone know that he had died and that he had died peacefully with his family around.  It's what we all want and he's with his wife again but I will miss his Friday Funnies.

Two young pilots died at LaGuardia airport on Sunday and many people were injured.  My ex-husband was a pilot with Air Canada and I always hate hearing about plane crashes.  It was something I worried about when I was married to him, one of my fears.  He was flying the morning of 9/11 and when he landed, he called to tell me that he was safe.  I told him to rent a car and drive home, which he did.  He always read everything there was to read about crashes.  He told me that usually when pilots die, their arms are broken, trying to avoid the crash.  I thought of those two young pilots, trying desperately to avoid the fire truck in the last few seconds of their lives and I cried.

I talked to my best friend yesterday.  The friend who is expecting her first grandchild.  There has been lots of back and forth between her and her daughter.  The outcome, my friend is probably moving to Vancouver Island to be with her children.  She's going to try it out first for a winter and then decide. 

She's my oldest friend and I encouraged her to go.  I don't want her to go and I will miss her like hell, but she also has cancer and doesn't have twenty years ahead of her.  She should spend as much time as she can with her children and grandchild.  We mostly talk on the phone or text, and only actually see each other in person a few times a year, she lives on the other side of Edmonton which is not that far, although she thinks it is:)  I will miss her hugs though.

Right now the Bohemian waxwings are everywhere. There were hundreds in our trees the other night and I could hear their turds hitting the deck.  They eat the mountain ash berries and then poop out the seeds.  Apparently they poop every four minutes.  With hundreds in the trees, there was a lot of pooping and lot of seeds hitting the deck.  I called Jack out and he was impressed with the sound as well.  I lead such a full life:)

It's cold and snowing today.  I think I will stay put.  This photo is a slough at the dog park.  What you can't see, but what the broken ice may tell you, is that a poor greyhound fell through the ice and ended up traumatized and shivering.  Poor dog, it had good people taking care of it though.  A few years ago Heidi fell off the ice into a mountain lake and scared the crap out of me.  There was no way for her to get out of the water as there was an ice shelf.  She's 75lbs and I just looked at her terrified face, grabbed her by the  collar and hauled her out of the water.  I got her back to the car as quickly as possible, dried her off and cranked the heat.  We all survived.

I've been busy this morning.  I made an online complaint to the cyberfraud department of the Government of Canada with regards to the bait and switch of the clothing company.  I also initiated a dispute between my bank card and the company.  And then I went to Shopify and requested they erase my personal data.  Then I emailed the company again, told them what I had done and requested a paid shipping label to return the clothes.  Fuckers!

My tomatoes are coming up well, as well as all of the other seeds that I planted.  The cat is very irritated with me this morning and keeps meowing at me, convinced I am in control of the weather.  I'm also working on a baby quilt for my friend's grandchild.  I think it will turn out very nice.

Muffins have been made and supper will be made soon.  I keep crying this morning, but am convinced it's the coversyl.  I'm not depressed, which is good.

Jack enjoyed his first day at outdoor camp yesterday.  They did many things, including learning how to build a fire.  They of course roasted marshmallows and he finally ate his first roasted marshmallow.  

I first heard this song a few months ago and want to share it here.  It's a powerful song.

Update.  I just received an email from the company and they are happy to provide me with a full refund, don't bother sending the clothing back (I don't want to keep it though).  

We had some snow on the weekend, just enough to make everything pretty again.  The coversyl has been making me so tired, I've started lying down in the afternoon.  I don't fall asleep, just rest with my eyes closed.  It helps me feel a lot better and I can make it through to bedtime.  Colour me unimpressed.  I suppose on the upside, decreased risk of stroke due to hypertension, so yay.

Six weeks ago, in a fit of wanting to jazz up my wardrobe, I succumbed to online advertising and ordered a colourful linen shirt and a knitted cardigan.  They arrived yesterday.

The shirt is polyester and spandex (not linen), as is the cardigan.  The cardigan is especially hideous and not even close to what is advertised.  It seemed like a reputable site, based in Vancouver.  Ivy & Claire Vancouver is nothing but a lie.  There is no store.  There is no Ivy or Claire.  It's a scam run out of China and I'm kicking myself for buying something on the internet.  I've started the return process which I'm sure is just more bullshit.  In the meantime, my makeover will have to wait:)

I'll survive.  I always tell Jack that we learn through our mistakes, so I've just learned not to trust clothes shopping on the internet.  I will return to the mall to look for a colourful, linen shirt for summer.

It's spring break here this week and I just dropped Jack off for his first camp.  He was nervous, which surprised me, but I realize it's the first time he's gone to a camp, or someplace, where he doesn't know anybody.  By the time I left he was talking some boy's ear off, so I'm sure he'll be fine.  If not, they'll call me and I will go and pick him up.

I asked the other guardians and Jack's parents for some money to pay for camps and lessons.  Grandma says she has no money, aunt and mom never replied, and my son said he would give me some money when he returned Jack's basketball hoop.  Nothing new or surprising here.

I took Katie out for lunch yesterday and she was relatively good.  She did get somewhat agitated so I gave her an ativan, more for my peace of mind.  I couldn't handle the thought of her attacking someone else in the mall, or pushing her wheelchair through the mall with her screaming, crying, and pulling my hair like last time.  Everything turned out ok. 

Katie is having her period though, which means ovulation will be in a week or two.  I hope she doesn't have any pain or cysts, but if she does I am prepared with medications.  

Spring is struggling to get a foothold here.  I'm hoping she'll succeed sooner rather than later.  Mother nature works at her own speed though.

This photo of the lake was taken two days ago.  Yesterday it rained hard and a little bit of water got into the basement, because the ground is still frozen.  Now it's snowing.  Sigh.

I woke up from a strange dream feeling sad.  I dreamed I was in the mountains and got some amazing photos of a waterfall and a drone capture image of the mountain peak in all directions.  It was so beautiful.  And then for some reason I was on a snowmobile but snowmobiles aren't allowed in the mountain parks and I felt awful.  I was doing something wrong and I was going to get in trouble.  I woke up feeling like this.  WTF.  

I also just yelled at the cat who went outside and then wanted back inside, and then went outside, and wanted back inside.  It's snowing out.  She doesn't want to be outside but won't believe it until she goes outside herself.  So I yelled at her (she doesn't care) and then I burst into tears.  WTF.

I looked up coversyl side effects and sure enough, irritability, mood swings, and depression are all side effects which is why I hate medications.  At least I know why now but I hate feeling this way.  I feel like a mess.

I'm also angry that I spent $1000 for summer camps for Jack (only four weeks of camps, nine weeks would have been over $2000) and none of his other guardians, or his parents, have stepped forward to either pay for those camps or spend time with Jack over the summer.  

I'm in a mood obviously.  I have a walk with a friend set up for this afternoon, so that might help, I hope.  Right now I'm just angry

Our old cat, Bagheera.  She was a terror in her younger days, but now is content to sit and sleep on my lap in the evenings.  She's getting skinny and walks with a limp but still gives Charlie what for if he's bothering her.  Because of her arthritis, I let her out in the yard now.  She cannot jump or climb a fence, but she does love lying in the dirt, with the sun beating down on her.  Last summer she still managed to catch a poor mouse but didn't kill it.  I grabbed her, turned her upside down and shook her.  Poor Bagheera.  The mouse survived and Bagheera didn't seem to hold it against me.

I saw the doctor yesterday.  No broken bones in my hand from falling a week and a half ago.  It's still swollen and my thumb doesn't work great but it will take time.  The doc increased my blood pressure medication and gave me more reqs for blood work.  I have joined that group that nobody wants to belong to, seniors on meds.  The alternative would probably be an early stroke so I'm good with the meds.  

Medications don't come without side effects though and now my electrolytes and kidney function must be monitored, alongside my blood sugar.  I have been so lucky though.  I have no dread diseases, mine are simply the result of getting older.  I've already lost four friends to cancer, and have another who struggles with staying healthy due to her cancer.  

Jack's birthday is coming up soon and we've booked a birthday party for him which includes nerf gun fights.  I'm sure somebody will end up crying at some point but it's only two hours and we can do that.  His doctor's appointment went well on Monday.

My closet door (the door in the middle) has been hung and I finally finished painting it.  It took three coats but it looks good now.  The bathroom ceiling still isn't finished because of my thumb, but it will get done.  Eventually.

I try not to think about all fuckery caused by trump but it's hard not to think about it.  He kidnapped one leader, participated in the death of another, and now has put a blockade on another country, leaving them hungry and in the dark, so that he can force a "regime" change.  So if this happened in the US, it would be an act of war, but if trump does it, it's something else.  The hypocrisy is breathtaking.

I found this book online and it looks interesting.

"In Catastrophic Success", Alexander B. Downes compiles all instances of regime change around the world over the past two centuries. Drawing on this impressive data set, Downes shows that regime change increases the likelihood of civil war and violent leader removal in target states and fails to reduce the probability of conflict between intervening states and their targets. As Downes demonstrates, when a state confronts an obstinate or dangerous adversary, the lure of toppling its government and establishing a friendly administration is strong. The historical record, however, shows that foreign-imposed regime change is, in the long term, neither cheap, easy, nor consistently successful. The strategic impulse to forcibly oust antagonistic or non-compliant regimes overlooks two key facts. First, the act of overthrowing a foreign government sometimes causes its military to disintegrate, sending thousands of armed men into the countryside where they often wage an insurgency against the intervener. Second, externally-imposed leaders face a domestic audience in addition to an external one, and the two typically want different things. These divergent preferences place imposed leaders in a quandary: taking actions that please one invariably alienates the other. Regime change thus drives a wedge between external patrons and their domestic protégés or between protégés and their people. Catastrophic Success provides sober counsel for leaders and diplomats. Regime change may appear an expeditious solution, but states are usually better off relying on other tools of influence, such as diplomacy. Regime change, Downes urges, should be reserved for exceptional cases. Interveners must recognize that, absent a rare set of promising preconditions, regime change often instigates a new period of uncertainty and conflict that impedes their interests from being realized."

I obviously am biased but it makes a lot of sense to me.  It's so frustrating that humans (including me) have such a hard time being kind to people who don't think as they do.  It weighs on my soul right now, one more thing to drag around.

I went through my fabric stash to find fabrics I can use for a baby quilt and came across this.  I love bees.  A beehive is filled with sisters, all working together for the common good.  It's possible apparently, in the animal kingdom anyway.  

Really nothing much going on today.  I was going to go to the gym this morning and then remembered that Jack has a doctor's appointment at lunchtime, on the other side of Edmonton.  The docs from the course we took together last fall suggested he would be a good candidate for a trauma attachment group, because of what he's been through and because he has a stable family now.  Today we go to get a referral to that that group.

Jack is in the process of trying to work out who we are.  He knows we are his grandparents but he also calls us his parents.  He asked if we had adopted him.  He sees that we are much older than the parents of other children and worries that we will die:)  I worry about that too, but nothing I can do about it, except to try and stay healthy and active.  

He has lots of questions about his mom and his dad that I try to answer as honestly as I can with a six year old, without revealing horrible details. I don't want him to hate his parents, just to understand that they have their own problems that they have to deal with.  I wonder if he'll grow up and be pissed with me too because I didn't do a better job.  God only knows.

 Another orchid from the greenhouse.

I think after his appointment we'll take Charlie for a long walk in the trees, as the weather will be nicer this afternoon.

I visited Katie yesterday, brought her to our house instead of going to the mall.  She's well.  She's happy and you can tell she's happy because the open wounds on her forehead (that she gets from banging her head on the wall or floor when she's upset), are all healed over and there aren't even any scabs.  I trimmed her hair, fed her, and took her back home.  She didn't want to hang around.

Otherwise not much going on.  Get up, get Jack to school, housework, pick up Jack, make supper, get Jack ready for bed, rinse and repeat.  It's like I've done all this before:)

 Hydrangea blooms at the greenhouse.

Jack pinched somebody on the bus yesterday.  We had a long talk about it.  It sounds like he was telling his "frenemy" H. about his upcoming birthday party.  H. has not been invited because I don't know his last name, where he goes to school, or his parents.  They ride the bus together.  But H. (probably jealous of a birthday party that he has not been invited to) told Jack that he was dumb and unlucky.  So Jack pinched him.

So basically two little boys, still learning how to deal with big emotions.  I'm 63 and I'm still learning how to deal with big emotions, but you can't go around punching people or pinching people just because you got your feelings hurt.  We're trying to teach him how to regulate his emotions, while I'm still trying to learn myself how to regulate my emotions.

Jack cried, "But I have ADHD!" 

That didn't fly.  ADHD is not an excuse for bad behavior.  It may explain bad behavior, but we still need to learn how to regulate those emotions that come out as behavior.  I am definitely the poster child for "How Not To Act" when upset, but I'm a work in progress.  We both are works in progress.

So we talked about how to deal with H., and he lost half of his video game playing time.  He's allowed 30 minutes/day.  After some loud complaining, he accepted it and found other things to do while I made supper.

I also had Jack's parent teacher interview this week.  He's doing well at school and his teacher said that now he needs to figure out a way to regulate himself, something that works for him.  He truly does have the most amazing teacher.  She's patient, kind, and compassionate.  Pretty much the perfect grade one teacher in my mind.  He's lucky.

It's still cold here. -19C this morning which sucks.  I don't know if it will get warm enough to walk the dogs today, we'll see.  

When I talked to my girlfriend the other day, she told me that her daughter is pregnant, which was a surprise for everyone.  Her daughter and her common law are excited to be parents but I'm sure they have no idea how hard it is to raise a baby.  They are both clean now and looking forward to the future with hope.  If only it was that easy.

I'm going to make a baby quilt for them, to welcome this baby into the world.  I've been collecting scraps of fabric from my fabric stash downstairs and deciding on a pattern.  What I need to do, is finish up my grandson's quilt that just needs binding on it, but I hate doing binding.  Maybe today is the day that I'll start that.  Maybe:)

 

I'm recovering from last week and poor Katie's medical problems, as well as Jack being sick and then Jack being off school for a professional development day.  I feel back to normal, although my blood pressure isn't.  Back to see the doctor next week, but I'm not tired anymore:)

I planted my seeds for May.  There are Roma tomatoes, white and blue delphiniums, white Maltese cross (which I had never seen and may have been harvested from the Smeltzer house vintage garden), blue asters and rudbeckia.  We'll see what grows well.  The best thing about this year is that Bagheera is too old and sore to jump up on the counter and destroy my plantings, fingers crossed.

We had a horrible wind storm here 3 or 4 days ago.  We have a dead Swedish aspen in the backyard and some of those branches came down, and also a little bit of our roof.  We have a neighbor, bless him, who does roofing estimates for a living.  He noticed we had a few shingles missing and offered to fix them for us, if we had replacement shingles.  We did and he did.  When I asked him how much, he suggested a chocolate cake which is how I paid him last year when the same thing happened.  Chocolate cakes made.

Tonight is parent teacher interviews so I made a casserole for supper and one for the freezer as well.  It's always satisfying to get things done.  I also washed the floors which haven't been washed in weeks and were covered with dog footprints.

I still have to get blood work done and walk the dogs but those can wait until after lunch.  

Before and after.

We now have a functional sink and vanity that gives us storage and that Jack can easily reach.  I also moved the mirror that I bought in Alma, New Brunswick into the bathroom, because it's so pretty and now I can see it everyday.  The little outhouse up on the shelf, I bought at Wells Grey Park in BC years ago, seemed like a good fit for a bathroom.  There is still more painting to be done but I need my thumb back working before I can do it.  Turns out I use my left hand a lot when I paint.

I went to my last pottery class yesterday, this session is now over.  It was a glaze day and god only knows how my pieces will turn out.  It's always kind of a crap shoot still when it comes to glaze for me.  I tried some underglazes but was not overly impressed with them.  I put antique white glaze over the underglaze and it changed the colour of the underglaze.  Next time I'll use clear glaze.  Live and learn.  These two mugs turned out okay but with this glaze you can't see the pattern on the mugs; my mug building abilities are improving though, and the sun is shining.

My thumb is improving but I can't bend it.  Time, it just needs time to heal.

I was just listening to CBC, The Current, and the host and his guests were talking about the rise of ADHD diagnoses and stimulant prescriptions, especially among women.  It's strange and sad looking back at a lifetime of poor impulse control, an inability to organize my work time, an inability to regulate my emotions, and being so very sensitive to rejection and the emotions of everyone.  I know I'm smart but still I remained a floor nurse, not that there's anything wrong with that, but I couldn't cope with being a charge nurse and I knew that.  I did do it sometimes, but I hated it.  There was always so much going on at the desk that I couldn't concentrate and I was terrified of making a mistake.

Even now I have a hard time when I am interrupted, and it's becoming more difficult as I age to return to what I was doing prior to the interruption.  I get snappy, in part because it's disrespectful to me to interrupt what I'm doing, but also because I know it will take me twice as long to do what I'm trying to do because now I have to stop, reorient myself, and then restart.  I'm trying to teach Jack this, "Stop interrupting nana because it will take me twice as long to do this."  I am having limited success:)

I ended up in diagnostic imaging which was a blessing I think.  My tasks were well defined and I could experience success often during the day by completing a task.  And success led to praise which helped me feel like I belonged, that I was needed, that I mattered.  Parenting and marriage to my first husband certainly never gave me that kind of feedback, the opposite really.  I didn't matter.  Nothing that I did mattered.  I felt like a complete failure as a parent which breaks my heart because I wanted to be a mother so badly.  I wanted to be a good wife as well but that takes two.  I guess parenting does too.  

And so I worry about parenting another generation.  My husband and I try so hard with Jack and he is so hard to care for sometimes.  We have tools now to deal with his outbursts, with his near constant pacing, with his constant talking, but it's still hard.  He's on medication which has helped him but I am still impulsive, poorly organized, and have difficulty regulating my emotions.  I'm better than when I was a young woman, but still it's a struggle for me and for my husband.

Anyway, that's what I'm worrying about today.  Stay tuned for more worries:)

 i met up with some friends yesterday morning at the greenhouse.  tons of orchids, tropicals, succulents, and seeds.  we also met a man wearing a python and talked to him for a bit.  i got to pet the snake but declined having him on my shoulders, the snake, not the man.  my friend however did have the python, his name is pretzel, on her shoulders. it amazes me how muscular they are, the snakes, not the owners. pretzel is a rescue and bless people who rescue snakes.

i bought some seeds for blue asters and black eyed susan's.  i'm about to plant my tomato seeds, as well as other seeds i harvested last fall.  hopefully the cat stays out of them this year and my husband fixed my grow light stand for me.  now i just need some counter space.

yesterday i took jack and heidi for a walk among the trees.  even with my ice cleats on, i managed to slip and fall.  i thought i had broken my thumb but i think it's a sprain.  hurts like hell if i move it.  this morning my arm, leg and knee also hurt.  yay.  seven falls in seven months.  wtf.

otherwise, not much going on.  i want to finish painting the bathroom today.  i'll see if that's possible with a sprained thumb.  i'm thankful it's my left hand.  and the sun is shining.

 Jack and I took Charlie for a walk yesterday and Jack found a fort in the woods.

For some reason I am beyond tired today.  Hope everyone has a good weekend.

I took Katie out for lunch on Sunday.  When I arrived she was agitated but then calmed down as we made our plans.  We go to the dog park and see the dogs, then to the mall to eat lunch and hopefully see babies.  There will be chips with lunch, maybe some shopping, and then home.

We saw the dogs and drove to the mall where I bought us lunch.  She wouldn't eat, not even the chips which is extremely unusual for her.  There was a drug addict there who security was trying to move.  The drug addict got up, started yelling and running, throwing chairs around as she ran off.  This didn't set Katie off, didn't really register.  

She was agitated though, so I gave her some ibuprofen before we left the food court.  On the way out of the food court she grabbed a stranger's hair and glasses, and started screaming and crying.  I got Katie's hands out of the person's hair, apologized profusely and started towards the door.

I started crying because I was rattled and then Katie started scratching me and pulling my hair.  All the while she was screaming and crying.  We made it to a safe place, where she couldn't attack anyone but there was no way I could drive with her like that.

I tried calling my husband but he didn't answer.  Tried another friend, no answer, and then got through to my husband.  Katie is still screaming and crying and I'm still crying.  I asked her if she was having pain and she signed yes and pointed to her right abdomen.  It took him half an hour to get there and Katie stopped screaming but she was still crying.  She let me near her and I stroked her hair.

When my husband arrived I told him we were taking Katie to emerg again and he agreed.  I was told in January that if there were any changes in her pain, to bring her back, so we did.  

With Katie screaming and crying, they let us go to the front of the triage line, told the nurse the story, she apologized because there were no beds, we would need to wait.

Katie continued to scratch, bite, scream, cry, kick, and head butt.  We finally found a spot away from everyone where we could wait without Katie hurting anyone but us.  At one point when Katie was pulling my hair and I needed help (my husband had gone back to the mall to get my car), a nurse and security had to intervene.  The nurse was very stern and pointed her finger at Katie and told her that she can't do that.  I told the nurse that the only reason she was attacking me is because Katie was in pain.  

It goes on and on for 3.5 hours until we get a bed for her.  Doctor sees her, orders another CT scan, something for pain and to calm her down.

More waiting.  At 8pm the doc tells us everything is normal, we can go home.  I asked him about her pain and he said she could take tylenol.  I did not rip his head off or shit down his neck, or tell him to fuck the fuck off, so points for me. I did tell him that Katie had 600 mg of ibuprofen and he had given her morphine for the pain but he just shrugged his shoulders. He dismissed Katie's pain and that was unacceptable to me.   I was too tired and upset.  I did tell the nurse who discharged us though that I was sick and tired of doctors dismissing women's pain, especially a non verbal, disabled woman's pain.

Took Katie home, got her settled and then I went home, crying.  On Monday I made a complaint with the patient relations board.  I talked to the nurse who called me and told her the story.  She asked me if I wanted to submit my complaint for further consideration and I agreed.  I did tell her that I didn't know if the doc was tired, or stressed, or anything else but he needs some training in dealing with disabled people and their caregivers. 

Yesterday I took Katie to see our family doctor.  She let me read the CT report and everything was normal.  The cyst in her right ovary no longer showed up, so I'm guessing it burst.  I now have prescriptions for pain meds and ativan.  If and when this happens again, I can just take care of her at her house instead of dealing with emergency room mayhem and people who don't understand autism or mental disabilities.

While I was talking to our family doctor yesterday, I realized that Katie's meltdown on Christmas day was exactly four weeks before her meltdown in January, and this meltdown was five weeks after her January meltdown.  There is a pattern now.  

We have a consult for a gynecologist as well and I'll take her for another US scan in four weeks to see if there are more cysts to watch out for.

By the time I got home yesterday I was exhausted and so was my husband.  Jack was home sick yesterday and I am so thankful he stayed home to take care of Jack so that I could take Katie to see the doctor by myself.  

Anyway, that's my long story.  I'm still feeling worn out but a few more good nights sleep should do the trick.

Katie is fine now, happy to be home and not in pain.  

I've had this song stuck in my head all week.

Miss Katie ended up in emergency again yesterday.  It's a long story that I don't feel like telling right now.  She's back at home and we see our family doctor again tomorrow.  I'm tired and grumpy and I'm guessing she is too.

In the photo we had accidentally found a dog show.  She was in heaven.  Yesterday was hell, but it's over.