It's Getting Better

I've got alot of updating to do, but where do I start?

Friday, Tanner helped out a buddy by dropping a tree for an elderly couple. The guy's wife was afraid her husband would drop the tree on the house so they asked Tanner's friend Ben to do it since he used to work for a tree service. Ben wasn't available so he asked Tanner if he would mind. Tanner was glad to help out since it meant potentially putting a little extra cash in our pockets. When Tanner arrived, the old man wasn't home, but he wife was and took him to the tree. Tanner dropped the tree and cut it up for them. After he finished, he went to the door to let the old lady know he had finished and she paid him with a loaf of homemade bread. I don't think people have paid in bread since before the Great Depression. Either way, Tanner thanked her for the bread and brought the prize loaf home to share with the family. I have mixed emotions about this . . .my sensible side says that they probably don't have any extra money, but the old lady felt compelled to give something. My bitch side says . . . I'm going to stop right there before I guarantee my spot in hell.

After Tanner did his good deed for the day and Turner and I weren't scheduled to be home for a couple more hours, he decided to go into the woods and cut firewood. He drove to his cutting spot, stepped out of the truck and WHAM! Briar branch into the eye and up the nose. He pulled the branches away from his face and noticed that the branch in his eye was stuck. He pulled it out and knew he had scratched his eye really bad. When I got home, he wanted me to look in his eye to make sure that there wasn't anything still in there because he said he felt like there was something under his eyelid. I saw nothing and told him his eye was probably just scratched really bad. He told me about the briar sticking and that he was lucky because it stuck in between his eyeball and the corner of his eye.

Fast forward to Saturday. On my way home from class, Tanner called and told me that he made an appointment to see the eye doc because he really felt like there was something in his eye. He calls me from the eye doctor's office and tells me that there is a thorn buried behind his pupil. Next, Emergency surgery on Saturday afternoon. The inlaws visited on Saturday evening, but Tanner wasn't exactly up for company so he went up to the bedroom and crashed.

He had a follow-up appointment with the doctor on Sunday and the doc loaded him up on antibiotics since his eye looked really inflammed and it looked like infection was setting in.

Back to the doctor Monday, still not sure of the infection. Here's more antibiotics. Tanner sees a cloud on his eye and freaks out about going blind. I wish I were kidding, it was quite dramatic.

Todays doctor visit provided better news. No infection and his eye is healing good.
The cloud? Just a sign of healing. Tanner is in a much better mood and even smiled today.

I'm glad we finally got some good news today because 1. Tanner is feeling better and will be back in contacts and back to work in a couple more days. 2. I'm going insane as a single parent.

Aren't kids supposed to sense when times are tough and Mom and Dad are acting funny so I'd better be on my best behavior? Obviously, Turner is too young for that rationale because he's been a handful! We went grocery shopping on Sunday and he arched his back and screamed every time I tried putting him in the cart so I was going to let him stand up in the big part where all of the groceries go. No! That didn't work either. So I'm carrying my 30 lb. kid, trying to get everything on the list, steer the card, and keep my shiz together because I'm 3 seconds from saying eff it all, we're eating Mac and Cheese all week. But I sucked it up and managed ok. When we got in the car Turner was doing pretty good because just recently the kid hates his car seat. I decided to swing through Mickey D's and pick us up a small fry and strawberry shake as a reward for surviving the grocery shopping. (Let me also note that as I ordered the food I kept thinking is getting fat really a reward? Good job. What are you going to do when the kid gets an A, buy him a pack of cigs?) I'm sick. This is the stupid crap I think about. Anyway, I buy the kid a small fry and it's the 2nd time he's ever had french fries. He starts eating, the legs start kicking, the Mmmmm noises are coming from the back seat. Life is good and we're on our way back home. After Turner's 3rd fry, I figure the little guy is probably getting thirsty so I pulled over to give him a little bit of the milkshake. I have the milkshake suspended in the straw, ready to drop into his mouth. Turner is sitting in his car seat looking like a little bird; mouth open and ready for the cold deliciousness to roll down his throat. Then, I see his look change. In a blur of chubby fingers he snatched the straw out of my hand and flung strawberry milkshake all over himself, me, the car seats, the window, etc. Then he cried. I didn't even try to clean anything up. I went back to the driver seat and drove home as he cried, I cried.

When we arrived home, I cleaned Turner up and took him upstairs to bed since it was naptime. He didn't want to lay down and started crying again. What should I do? Get the groceries out of the car, try to silence the kid so Tanner can rest, go to another room and cry, suck on a 12-gauge, what? I decided to let Turner cry it out for a minute while I called my Mom for back up. My Mom was on her way, I quieted Turner and he took a little nap which allowed me to get the groceries in and put away. Mom saved the day. I was able to get dinner made, bags packed, and the house tidied up. Thanks Mom, I love you!

What do most of you do when you reach your breaking point? It's not like I could take a walk, read a book, or zone out into TV land. I was REALLY close to yelling at Turner on Sunday, but I realized he's 15 months old and his going to be a menace for awhile. I can't yell at him for being a little boy, it's wrong. I think I did the right thing by asking for help even though I kind of felt like Tanner and my Mom would think that I can't handle my kid.

Yesterday and today I decided to take Turner to daycare because Tanner needs rest to get better and I need rest too. I need a break from work, from being a Mom, a student, a wife, you get the picture.

On Monday, I took Turner to daycare, took Tanner to the doctor, picked up prescriptions, made us breakfast, cleaned the house, worked on laundry, picked up Turner, made dinner, bathtime, playtime, bedtime . . .scheez! What kind of day off is that?

Today is a different day. I took Turner to daycare, took Tanner to his eye appointment, bought donuts and some chocolate milk. When we got back home, Tanner headed upstairs to bed and I laid my ass on the couch for 2 hours eating donuts and drinking chocolate milk while watching Intervention on the A & E Channel. After I got tired of that, I put on my running gear and jogged 3 miles. It was so nice to get some fresh air, plus it's almost 50 degrees here so it felt great! Now, I blog. After this, I'll probably get caught up on reading your blogs, pick up the kid, make dinner, bathtime, playtime, bedtime, etc. But it has been so therapeautic to have a couple of hours all to myself.

Ahhhh!

Maybe I'll have a glass of wine before bedtime tonight and read something that doesn't have anything to do with Ecomonics. That sounds like heaven.