A Bit of Cyn

I haven’t had this bad of a headache in a looong time. Seriously, I want to throw up from it. I tried caffeine and Ale*ve to make it go away. Not happening. I know have an appt. with my chiropractor in about 20 min. I can’t wait. My headaches always get much better after a visit. The only bad thing: I have both kids with me, and they’re going with.

At least my chiropractor has 2 kids, about my kids’ age. So they have lots of toys and coloring stuff for the kids. In fact, we referred them to our daycare, so their daughter goes to daycare with Sophia. Anyway, they’re great and don’t mind at all when the kids come. (Thank goodness!) Actually, they couple is just a bit younger than us, as they’re people we would really like to become friends with. We’ve all talked about it, but have yet to make it happen. Anyway…

Ahhh…do you feel that? I don’t, and that’s what’s great. For the first time in, um, let me count, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5…yeah, 5 days I don’t have a sore throat! Now THAT’S something to be excited about. And remember my kids who had strep as well? The ones who never ONCE acted as if they were sick? Yeah, they’re still not acting sick. Lucky kids. (Actually, I think they were carriers. Carriers will test positive with a culture, but not have any symptoms. So I suspect they were carriers for a while and I got it from them, or at least one of them.)

The weather is finally warming up as well. And who couldn’t be happy about that? They’re forecasting 60’s. I’m thinking about going for a walk this afternoon, by myself. Tomorrow is supposed to be 63, so I’m hoping we can get out with the kids tomorrow for some fun exercise and play. (The park, maybe? Trike riding, maybe? Maybe Ron and I will get our bike out with our carrier for the kids. Hmmm…options!)

Emotionally life has been a little on the rough side. Nothing major is actually happening. I’ve switched medications, and hopefully that will have a positive effect. I’m tired of being irritable and weeping without much rational reasoning. Ron and I are increasing our therapy appt.s to once a week and I think that will be extremely beneficial to us. I’m looking forward to it. (Not the appt.s themselves, but the end result.)

And now, I must go pick up my dad to take him to work!

I have strep. I haven’t had strep since Junior High. I’d forgotten how miserable it is. (Though it’s better than puking.) Thankfully I’m on my second day of antibiotics and will only be contagious for about5 more hours. (Cuz, it’s so precise, you know.) I do feel better today, but not great.

I was trying to figure out how I got it. The only thing I can come up with is from Sophia’s daycare class, though that seems unlikely, too. A couple kids in her class have had it. I’m thinking perhaps Sophia was a carrier, but didn’t actually get sick. Thus she brought it home and I was fortunate enough to get it. This is all theory, and we’ll never know, but… Now I’m just hoping I’ve been washing my hands and dishes enough to keep the kids (and Ron) from getting it.

Ron keeps laughing at me because strep is most common among school aged kids, 5-16. Well, I’m 32, quickly approaching 33. Yeah, not exactly a school aged kid. *sigh*

Checking it twice. Yes, I know Christmas is well over. But I’m still making a list. Of what, you ask? Of words that Drew can say. I’ve been a little worried (yes, just a little, I swear) about his speech development. His ped. said he was a bit delayed at his 18 month appt. But, he only had his tubes in for a couple months. So she said to give it time.

As his two year appt. approaches, I wanted to know how many words he really can say. This way I’ll have a more accurate picture of where he really is. Everything I’ve read says that a 2 year old should be able to say 50 words, on average. They should be starting to speak in 2 word phrases. So I now have a list of words.

Drew FOR SURE can say 42 words. These are ones that he will say without being prompted. He can say other words if prompted. But I’m not including those. He doesn’t, however, speak in 2 word phrases, except Thank You, which I think he thinks is one word.

Now that I’ve done this, I’m feeling much better about where he is. I think part of my worry stems from the fact that Sophia started speaking at 14 months and was much further along than he is at his age. Boys typically speak later, and second kids usually speak later. Well, Drew is both. So it should be no surprise that it took him a little longer. Anyway, I’m feeling much better about it all.

Just in case you were wondering. My long absence had much to do with a conference I attended in Indianapolis. It was the AHRD conference. Initially I wanted to go because my dad was receiving two honors: Best Text Book in HRD for 2006, and he was being inducted into the Scholar Hall of Fame (which is a HUGE deal if you’re in the industry). I was really proud, and wanted to be there for it.

Once I got there, I was so glad for many reasons. First, I was able to spend some quality time with my older brother, alone. The first night there we went to the Women’s Big 10 Basketball Tournament where the MN Gophers were playing. It was just the two of us. I can’t tell you the last time my brother and I spent time alone where work wasn’t involved. It made me realize how much I miss him, and how sad I am that our families are not close. (He barely knows my kids, and I barely know his. Yet, we only live 2 miles from each other.) I’ve decided that I don’t want to continue this way. I’m going to try getting together with him next week to talk about it, and see if we can’t find a way to bridge the gap between us.

I also had forgotten how wonderful it felt to have my mind challenged. The company my brother, dad, and I own is an HRD consulting company. The concepts, ideas, thoughts are not new to me, but I did have a chance to attend some sessions where I just didn’t agree with the presenters. I was so excited to feel a part of something bigger again. I don’t think I’ve really felt that way since Sophia was born. I’ve already agreed to write at least one paper for next year, and present it. I can’t wait! (And, the conference is in Panama City, FL next year! Yay!)

My mom and I shared a room while my dad and brother shared a room. This gave me yet another great chance to spend some alone/one-on-one time with my mom. No kids, no spouses, no interruptions. We did some shopping, ate together, and just sat in our room talking. It was really nice.

And the initial reason I went: to see my dad receive his awards. It was really touching. I’ll admit, I almost cried when the presenters were talking about him and what he had done to be honored. My dad is one of the biggest names in the HRD field. People think of him almost as if he is a God in the field. (Which, as a daughter, seems hard for me to imagine, but…) It was so awesome to hear all these great things he has done for others, for the field, for his family, and for himself. I was so, so proud to be his daughter. I was able to record the presentation, so I can share it with the rest of the family that couldn’t be there.

So, I am around. I will try to get back into blogging. I need to. There’s so much to say, so much I don’t want to forget.