Secular Confessions

[daylilies]

I can't stand Paul either! He's so weird!

[Bridget]

Totally random, but I have to say I don't know which is more painful: imagining Sarah Palin as president or Donald Trump.

That is truly a toss up.

[AbbeysMom]

Quick help guys:

Abbey has a temp of 102. I thought she felt warm last night, so it's probably been at least 24 hours. She has been fighting a cold for almost three weeks, but she's not acting super sick or anything, just a slightly junky cough. I'm taking her to the pediatrician but I know this pediatrician will prescribe antibiotics regardless of "need" (It's their MO). What do you think? I don't want to put her on them unnecessarily, but she started getting sick so long ago, even though it hasn't been consistent. I just have a hard time thinking she keeps getting cold after cold after cold, you know? Maybe she does have an infection and needs antibiotics to fight it off.

Sorry that was a mess of a post I just need a little input. And yes, I've tried to find a pedi here who's opinion I trust more, but they are are all super antibiotic happy around here.

ETA: cross posting in NFL. Just didn't feel like opening this up to all of NM&MIG.

[AmeriBrit]

I'd personally hold off on the antibiotics but that's just me.

[missychrissy]

Since the fever is starting to accompany the cough, I would lean towards using the antibiotics.

I'm like you, I hesitate and will let a cold run its course, but once a fever gets involved I don't believe it's 'just a cold' any more. I could be wrong, though. I just assume the infection stuff will get progressively worse, and that's what it sounds like is happening from what you've described.

[Cosmosmom]

I would ask them exactly WHAT they think she has and why antibiotics. Take the script and decide from there.

[AbbeysMom]

Since the fever is starting to accompany the cough, I would lean towards using the antibiotics.

I'm like you, I hesitate and will let a cold run its course, but once a fever gets involved I don't believe it's 'just a cold' any more. I could be wrong, though. I just assume the infection stuff will get progressively worse, and that's what it sounds like is happening from what you've described.

Yeah, I'm trying to figure out if the fever is a new bug or the old bug manifesting into an infection.

[Cosmosmom]

To me a cold doesn't last for three weeks. But it can and does for me turn into bronchitis sometimes. But that doesn't usually have a fever.

[AbbeysMom]

I'd personally hold off on the antibiotics but that's just me.

My thoughts too.

I would ask them exactly WHAT they think she has and why antibiotics. Take the script and decide from there.

They will say she has an upper respiratory infection, or a sinus infection ("looks pretty red and swollen in there" ). But you are right, I'll take the script and go from there.

I'm especially gun shy because the last time they prescribed antibiotics they had her on such a high dose she was a gastrointestinal mess and I stopped them after two doses. Then she got better anyway.

[AbbeysMom]

Oh yeah, I forgot to say:

1. I'm on antibiotics now, I got them a few days ago because I couldn't kick this cold (had it for 12 days).

2. I started taking care of another little girl this past week who is in daycare the other half of the time, she easily could have brought a new bug in in the past few days.

[AmeriBrit]

Ah, in that case, probably best to do the antibiotics then, I think.

[AbbeysMom]

Ah, in that case, probably best to do the antibiotics then, I think.

Really?

I'm so confused. Honestly none of her illnesses are textbook, and it's frustrating to not have a doctor you trust.

[3andMe]

Colds aren't usually accompanied by a fever.

I would just ask if they have a strong reason to believe it's a bacterial infection rather than a viral infection, and the risks/benefits of antibiotics.

[AbbeysMom]

Colds aren't usually accompanied by a fever.

I would just ask if they have a strong reason to believe it's a bacterial infection rather than a viral infection, and the risks/benefits of antibiotics.

Thanks Lydia. Hoped you weigh in. Off to the pedi now.

[Cosmosmom]

I know you said you are off but hopefully if they give you a script, they give a different one than last time. I know my sister can't take the sulfa ones because they make her so sick but I can just fine. But I can't do penicillin (and actually I wear a medic alert pendant that says no penicillin).

I am not anti-antibiotic at all and think that they are great and have a place....but they are over prescribed. I was once on monocycline for a couple of years and than switched to Cipro for over five years. I have since come to find out that the skin condition I was on them for doesn't respond to antibiotics! There were probably only a few times I needed it and now I just watch to make sure that I don't get that looks infected.
I have been having better luck reducing flares with zinc........

[missychrissy]

You can always accept the script and just try to manage the fever using home remedies for a day or two. If she starts getting better, shred 'em.

I always go back and forth about whether to give my kids that stuff too. It's so hard to know. I remember one time Bobbie was sick with what appeared to be a general, run-of-the-mill cold. She didn't feel a sore throat at all. After 4-5 days, it wasn't getting better and I finally took her to the dr. He gave her a script, but it was such a low dose (or perhaps the wrong one?) that it didn't make her feel any better. After 3 days of that, I returned and got a 2nd script. It took her 2 days of that one to start feeling better.

When all was said and done, she missed 7 days of school. Even though she was generally an excellent student and had great attendance, the teacher remarked about her 'poor attendance' on her report card. I was PISSED! It wasn't her fault the dr gave her the wrong script initially.

I don't know why I went through all that, except to say that I've definitely felt pressure from outside sources to get antibiotics in my kids faster. Given that they rarely need them (like maybe each kid will have a script every 4 years), I think the way I'm doing it is just fine.

[AbbeysMom]

That was three hours of hell! I was so irritated with her pedi (no consultation, instant prescription, and she seemed super annoyed with me when I dared ask her about side effects). She was also super rough with Abbey and didn't acknowledge her at all (like she was inspecting a rag doll). I decided to take Abbey to my primary care doc, whom we love. She was happy to squeeze us in at the end of the day and was patient and sweet with Abbey. She prescribed azithromyicin (sp) based on her being sick for so long, high fever, and the junky cough getting worse, among other things. She said to call any time of day/night this weekend if we had problems/questions. I think it's a permanent switch for Abbey to be seen by her, which is great.

[AbbeysMom]

Oh yeah, and I realized after we left (when I checked the old bottle) that the pedi gave her a script for the antibiotic she got last time... that made her horribly sick.

[missychrissy]

Sometimes general practitioners are the way to go. That's who I always took my girls to and I was happy with him. Unfortunately, he's left the clinic.

I can't believe a pediatrician would act like that. How awful. It sounds like you've made a good choice in leaving her.

[Gwenn]

This morning at breakfast, Travis handed me one of his stuffed animals and said, "he eats boobie milk; you have them, feed him, please." LOL.

So cute!

Rich & I met with Jesi's counselor last night. Not good news. Her results came back that she was using at a high rate, probably every day. At her last appointment, she only admitted to using 1 time since she started going there in mid-February. So she's lying to her counselor.

While I'm upset and disappointed, I have to remind myself that she asked for help. I have to believe on some level she wants to quit. It just seems odd to me that she'd continue using daily when she knew she'd get tested. The only conclusion I can draw is it's more of a problem than something she does socially.

Depending on how she acts at her next session, and what that drug test reveals, she may be looking at inpatient. Her counselor isn't a fool and she's not going to lie to him. She tried with me-insisting she really only used once. She didn't come out and say the test was flawed, but she insinuated it.

Last week I'd told her if she behaved and didn't miss any school, she could go to Liz's house this weekend. Of course that's off the table now and she's acting like I'm the worst mom ever. She's furious with me.

So sorry, Chrissy. Wish I had advice.

...I'm not sure about Mandy though. I will say, the person wasn't my personal favorite but I thought they'd end up in the top 2 or 3 at least.

I watched last night. My DVR is broken and I haven't got it fixed yet so for the time being I watch as it airs AZ time (which is its own thing - we're our own reality here!)

I think Pia was by far the most talented of the girls on the show and it was way too early for her to go. I would have picked Jacob to go home. That said, my favorites to win are James or Casey and I don't think she could have won. It's a matter of personal preference and elimination at this point. A big shame, though, as she was good.

Work was a nightmare today - I was sleep deprived, had very little work to do, and was just marking time until I could go home. Kevin flies home tomorrow morning. There's a huge storm on its way and the weather report for tomorrow is 55 high/38 low after it being in the high 80's this week.

Today was Kevin's last day of active duty. I feel somewhat fortunate that we have been planning on his pay coming to an end soon, as we have been anticipating that and the government shut down won't immediately affect us - although he still has one month of pay coming to him. Ironically, he was paid 1 week's pay today, a week before payday, so he'd be sure to get something in the event of a shut down. Many, many families are single income families and living paycheck to paycheck while the sole provider is in a combat zone with no other options for income. I feel so guilty that I'm not more affected by the situation while others are.

[missychrissy]

I hope the weather doesn't interfere with his flight. Sucks it won't be gorgeous for him though. But perhaps he won't notice the weather for a while anyway

Don't feel guilty because you've stashed away money. It sucks for those that couldn't prepare for it and I do hope the shut down doesn't last long (if it happens at all-they were working on a 3 day extension the last I checked). But it's no reason for you to feel guilty.

Another issue to be irked at the cons for...they voted against funding our troops. http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2011/roll246.xml

[daylilies]

Hugs Mandy. I've learned (for a lot of reasons) that I can't feel guilty about being fortunate. It's something I still struggle with, so I understand.

[3andMe]

That was three hours of hell! I was so irritated with her pedi (no consultation, instant prescription, and she seemed super annoyed with me when I dared ask her about side effects). She was also super rough with Abbey and didn't acknowledge her at all (like she was inspecting a rag doll). I decided to take Abbey to my primary care doc, whom we love. She was happy to squeeze us in at the end of the day and was patient and sweet with Abbey. She prescribed azithromyicin (sp) based on her being sick for so long, high fever, and the junky cough getting worse, among other things. She said to call any time of day/night this weekend if we had problems/questions. I think it's a permanent switch for Abbey to be seen by her, which is great.

It sounds like a terrible appointment, and not a good pedi. Not what you or Abbey need. I'm glad you thought about going to your doctor. I tend to use antibiotics very infrequently, but I do use them when they are indicated, like when Claire had pneumonia or when Ronin had a bad ear infection that wasn't getting better on its own. If you don't have probiotics, I would get some now because it's a common side effect to get diarrhea from any antibiotic, and that way you can be prepared.

Mandy, just yay for dh coming home!

Chrissy, I'm sorry I haven't been commenting much on your troubles with Jesi. I keep seeing these posts when I'm somewhere I can't type much, like a pump break at work or on my phone in the car, and then by the time I get to my computer it's pages and days later. Needless to say, I sympathize with all of the stress that she's putting you through, and wish I could tell you that it will all turn out okay in the end. You've seen enough of us on here who were rule-breakers in high school who became productive adults to know that it can happen, but it's hard to know which ones end up just fine, and you can't tell the future--all you can do is love her and do your best to help her.

[missychrissy]

Thanks Lydia. I do think about all the people I know and have known that went through rough phases. I really do have hope that this is just one of those things some teens go through and won't be a deciding factor in her life.

Rich had some trees to cut down today, so I went shopping and had to come home and clean the house. Rich usually has that piece done for me, but for whatever reason I didn't mind. Maybe because it's actually nice enough outside to have the windows and doors open? Anyway, as I cleaned my kitchen and all the rugrats were away with their friends, I felt all domesticated. It was just nice.

I did let Jesi's friend Robert come over and hang with her this afternoon. He's a good kid. They baked a cake for my brother (Uncle Tim) since it's his birthday. I just like hearing them laugh and goof around and just be kids.

[The10Eels]

Holy shat. Dbf just called me with a really creepy story. His friend's mom passed away last week. Said friend was in florida for the winter so flew back to make arrangements but had to go back to florida so dbf is taking care of some details for him and also fixing some flooding that happened in his friend's house and building something (I admit, I don't always pay attention when dbf talks to me about these things so I don't know the details)
But anyway, he's in the basement of his friend's house and hammering something when suddenly he smells a really strong cherry smell and no sooner does that smell register in his brain when he sees a stream of smoke in front of his face. He said he whirled around so fast with the hammer up ready to strike, expecting to see someone behind him and there was no one there.
He runs upstairs and outside partly from fear and partly with the hopes that there is a gang of teenagers outside smoking cherry cigarellos just so the whole thing would make sense. Nada. He comes back into the house and the smell is totally gone.
He texts his friend to tell him his house is haunted and explains what happened. His friend calls and says his mom burned fruity incense every day of her life.

Im way late, but that totally gave me chills!!!! I have been addicted to Ghost Adventures on Travel Channel lately!

[Gwenn]

Hi, guys. Just thought I'd share my incredibly blurry homecoming pics (I'm ticked this is all I have). I really don't know what is up with my camera - it's the same one that took the photo in my siggy.

DH and I:


And my dress:

[missychrissy]

I'm so happy he's home Mandy! Cute dress too!

Boo for uncooperative camera.

[daylilies]

You guys look great!

[missychrissy]

How is he? How does he seem? He must be so happy to be home. I can only imagine how he must feel...and you too of course.

[Gwenn]

How is he? How does he seem? He must be so happy to be home. I can only imagine how he must feel...and you too of course.

He's fabulous and I'm honestly more in love with him than ever. He's just going out of his way to treat me like a princess, opening doors, etc. He's just amazing emotionally supporting me, joking, etc. We've gone out shopping and out for lunch and I could see the noise in the restaurant was getting to him, and he commented that all the items on the shelves in the store were really overwhelming for him. But he's in a great mood and I think he's really glad to be home. I don't know if I mentioned, but his tooth is chipped (one of the two front ones on top). Tricare will pay to have it fixed.

He brought a lot of gifts home for me/us. Some I've seen already, but most I haven't. A really cool chess set with middle eastern designs, and some beads he bought for me in Spain so far. He has some trunks he mailed to my parents' house and apparently there are middle eastern rugs, some native wool blankets that the locals wear everywhere, etc. I'm excited about the rugs. I really love other cultures, etc so having local handicrafts as a keepsake is really cool.

I didn't post about him yesterday because I was on the edge of tears all day. It's hard to describe, but I've been walking around with this weight on me constantly and now it's gone if that makes any sense.