Friday is always such a long day! I went to bed early last night and woke up at 8, and went to do some errands with RA. I was back home finally at 2, but Kim needed some Mountain Dew and Ramen soup, so I went back to the store one last time.
Rachel brought Maddy over around 4 or 5 so that Rich could keep her overnight while the rest of us go to work. Maddy was having a bad day and Rachel had given her some infant Tylenol, but forgot to bring the bottle with her, so I had to go back to the drugstore later to get some. I accidently bought the wrong kind - I bought Children's ibruprophen instead of Infant ibuprophen, and there was no eye dropper in the bottle for measuring out the dosage and giving it to the baby.
I was looking around in the kitchen for something that we could give Maddy the medicine with, since she is too little to sip it from the tiny cup that comes with the bottle, and Rich suggested that we use the dropper from the cat's antibiotic. Kim had given the cat the last dose today, and she said she threw the bottle in the trash, so I went through the trash bag and found it!
I rinsed the eyedropper out carefully and then I had to figure out how much of the ibuprohen to give Maddy, based on the recommended doseage for a two-year old, and then I had to figure out how many of the tiny cat-size doses in the eyedropper would add up to the right amount for a baby. When I told Rachel about it on the phone at work just now, she figured it out on paper and told me I hadn't given her enough, but hey, that's better than giving her too much!
Friday, August 6, 2010
Monday, August 2, 2010
How to change a printer ribbon.
When I got home from work this morning, I was feeling very bitter about my life and my job, mostly because ever since we had an 'upgrade' (it turned out to be more like a downgrade) to the switchboard at work a couple of years ago, there are things that don't work the way they should and you have to do them in a roundabout way, but since I work in the middle of the night, I hardly ever have to do those things.
Mostly I just transfer calls to the ER or one of the nursing floors, but this morning some guy wanted to make a collect call or two from his room, and this is one of the things that is all bass-akwards now and had to be done a special way instead of quick and straight-forward like it was before the 'upgrade', and Barb wasn't at work yet to remind me of how she does it during the busy day shift.
So the process wasn't working like it should, and I was trying to do it, but the guy misdialed and had to make the call again, and then he had to call someone else collect, so it was going on and on and was very frustrating for both of us! I have no idea why he wasn't just using his cell phone to make the call, like any other person on the face of the earth would have because even small children and my mother-in-law have cell phones now. Although my mother-in-law would probably have been calling me to help her make a collect call, too, because she has a cell phone, but she doesn't really know how to make a call on it. My father-in-law has written the instructions for her and taped them to the back of her phone, but he's hoping she never has to use it - and so is she.
Also, earlier in the night I had to change the ink cartridge on the big printer, a job that I hate because it goes wrong every damn time I have to do it! It's not just like slipping a toner cartridge into a tabletop printer. I have to put a giant ribbon cartridge into a large printer that stands alone and is about chest-high to me (or waist-high to a person of normal height).
Here's the thing - I have to put in the ribbon cartridge and jiggle it into position so it drops down onto two spindles and OMG, the stinking cartridge just will not drop down onto those two spindles! There is a knob on top of the cartridge that can be turned counter-clockwise until it all drops neatly into place, and I turn it and turn it, and jiggle it and jiggle it and jiggle it, and it just will not go and then finally it does!
And then I start the printer again, because I still have more reports to print and the printer runs a little and then it beeps and shows me a red light and I look at the little window and it says "Ribbon Fault", which means something is wrong with the ribbon! So I clear it by pushing the Clear button, and start it again and it prints a line or two and then BEEP, Ribbon Fault. Lather, rinse, repeat.
I can clear it and start it as many times as I want to, but I might as well not bother, because in the end, I just have to take out the ribbon, throw it away, and start over again with another ribbon cartridge. Last night I had to use two cartridges, and the third one worked the way it should, so that was good, and at least I didn't fall into a pit of rage like last time and slam the faulty ribbon against a cabinet, causing the plastic casing to break and release pleated ribbon all over the place. I cleaned it up (covering my hands with paper towels) and put it all into a plastic bag, and gave it to the midnight housekeeping guy to throw away so no one would see it sitting in the wastebasket. It is important to hide thebodies evidence.
So that was my night and by the time Barb came in this morning I was pretty cranky and tired and I was so glad to come home and just go to bed!
Mostly I just transfer calls to the ER or one of the nursing floors, but this morning some guy wanted to make a collect call or two from his room, and this is one of the things that is all bass-akwards now and had to be done a special way instead of quick and straight-forward like it was before the 'upgrade', and Barb wasn't at work yet to remind me of how she does it during the busy day shift.
So the process wasn't working like it should, and I was trying to do it, but the guy misdialed and had to make the call again, and then he had to call someone else collect, so it was going on and on and was very frustrating for both of us! I have no idea why he wasn't just using his cell phone to make the call, like any other person on the face of the earth would have because even small children and my mother-in-law have cell phones now. Although my mother-in-law would probably have been calling me to help her make a collect call, too, because she has a cell phone, but she doesn't really know how to make a call on it. My father-in-law has written the instructions for her and taped them to the back of her phone, but he's hoping she never has to use it - and so is she.
Also, earlier in the night I had to change the ink cartridge on the big printer, a job that I hate because it goes wrong every damn time I have to do it! It's not just like slipping a toner cartridge into a tabletop printer. I have to put a giant ribbon cartridge into a large printer that stands alone and is about chest-high to me (or waist-high to a person of normal height).
Here's the thing - I have to put in the ribbon cartridge and jiggle it into position so it drops down onto two spindles and OMG, the stinking cartridge just will not drop down onto those two spindles! There is a knob on top of the cartridge that can be turned counter-clockwise until it all drops neatly into place, and I turn it and turn it, and jiggle it and jiggle it and jiggle it, and it just will not go and then finally it does!
And then I start the printer again, because I still have more reports to print and the printer runs a little and then it beeps and shows me a red light and I look at the little window and it says "Ribbon Fault", which means something is wrong with the ribbon! So I clear it by pushing the Clear button, and start it again and it prints a line or two and then BEEP, Ribbon Fault. Lather, rinse, repeat.
I can clear it and start it as many times as I want to, but I might as well not bother, because in the end, I just have to take out the ribbon, throw it away, and start over again with another ribbon cartridge. Last night I had to use two cartridges, and the third one worked the way it should, so that was good, and at least I didn't fall into a pit of rage like last time and slam the faulty ribbon against a cabinet, causing the plastic casing to break and release pleated ribbon all over the place. I cleaned it up (covering my hands with paper towels) and put it all into a plastic bag, and gave it to the midnight housekeeping guy to throw away so no one would see it sitting in the wastebasket. It is important to hide the
So that was my night and by the time Barb came in this morning I was pretty cranky and tired and I was so glad to come home and just go to bed!
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Baby's first butter!
Rich mentioned tonight that there were a lot more dishes to wash since we got home! Yes, since he was just eating Triple Baconator sandwiches from Wendy's instead of cooking, he didn't have much to wash at all while we were gone!
Rachel brought over a cookbook for babies today, and she wanted to look through it for ideas on what to cook for Maddy. I had been shopping with RA, and bought a bunch of leeks, so when Rachel saw a recipe for Potato and Leeks with Peas, we thought it would be fun to make that!
When the kids were younger, potato and leek soup was one of my favorite things to make, and Rachel recently confessed that she didn't like it at all when she was a kid, but she remembers it fondly now, so she was excited to make a batch for Maddy. We made a bigger pot of it for ourselves, too.
We didn't use peas, because the recipe I use calls for carrots, and we like it that way. Maddy loves pureed carrots (from a jar - when Rachel made some steamed carrots and pureed them herself, Maddy thought they were disgusting!), so Rachel used carrots in her little batch of soup.
So making this soup requires two pans, one little pan for Maddy's version, which is pretty much the same as ours, but with no salt and no added milk. Just potatoes, leeks, carrots and butter. Baby's first butter!
So where was I, before I got distracted by butter? Oh right, the pans, one little saucepan for Maddy, one big soup pot for us. We need the blender, a big bowl for the pureed adult soup, a little bowl for the pureed baby soup, and then some soup bowls for the adults to eat from. Various utensils - knives for chopping and spoons for stirring and eating, so yes, the dishes added up.
The soup was very good though - well, we thought it was, but Maddy wasn't so excited about it. Rachel put her little portion in a bowl with a lid and took it home to try it on her later, and maybe mix in a little rice cereal. Sometimes babies don't like something on the first try, and sometimes they don't like something until they are adults.
Rachel brought over a cookbook for babies today, and she wanted to look through it for ideas on what to cook for Maddy. I had been shopping with RA, and bought a bunch of leeks, so when Rachel saw a recipe for Potato and Leeks with Peas, we thought it would be fun to make that!
When the kids were younger, potato and leek soup was one of my favorite things to make, and Rachel recently confessed that she didn't like it at all when she was a kid, but she remembers it fondly now, so she was excited to make a batch for Maddy. We made a bigger pot of it for ourselves, too.
We didn't use peas, because the recipe I use calls for carrots, and we like it that way. Maddy loves pureed carrots (from a jar - when Rachel made some steamed carrots and pureed them herself, Maddy thought they were disgusting!), so Rachel used carrots in her little batch of soup.
So making this soup requires two pans, one little pan for Maddy's version, which is pretty much the same as ours, but with no salt and no added milk. Just potatoes, leeks, carrots and butter. Baby's first butter!
So where was I, before I got distracted by butter? Oh right, the pans, one little saucepan for Maddy, one big soup pot for us. We need the blender, a big bowl for the pureed adult soup, a little bowl for the pureed baby soup, and then some soup bowls for the adults to eat from. Various utensils - knives for chopping and spoons for stirring and eating, so yes, the dishes added up.
The soup was very good though - well, we thought it was, but Maddy wasn't so excited about it. Rachel put her little portion in a bowl with a lid and took it home to try it on her later, and maybe mix in a little rice cereal. Sometimes babies don't like something on the first try, and sometimes they don't like something until they are adults.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
How I spent my summer vacation.
A lot has happened since I last updated. That last post was written Friday July 16 at about noon, and a couple of hours later, Rachel showed up with Maddy and some boxes of books and announced that she was going to have a book sale on our front lawn!
We spread a quilt on the lawn and set up a couple of long tables that she got from the church, and while I played with Maddy on the quilt, Rachel spread out the books. She brought out a box or two from our garage, but there were some boxes in the garage that she couldn't get to easily, so she didn't bring them all out.
Judy, our next door neighbor, came over and sat with us for a while. She brought her camera and took pictures of Maddy on the blanket, and I'll post one or two of them tomorrow. Dan from across the street came over to talk for a while, too. That was the most neighbor-interaction we've had in a while.
Kim's friend Phil showed up to hang out with Kim, so they took over the living room to play video games and watch Ghost Hunter shows far into the night. Phil slept in the yarn room, and since their friend Catsy slept up there a couple of weeks ago, I had to change the sheets. Catsy didn't mind sleeping on the bed knowing Phil had used it last, but I told him he didn't have to sleep in Catsy's cooties. I am such a good hostess.
Rachel came back Saturday morning and set up her tables again, and Maddy and I spent another day on the quilt. It was a beautiful day, and Maddy loves to roll around outside, looking at the leaves and feeling the grass with her toes.
Rachel's friend Kat came over in the afternoon and sat on the quilt with us, so that was fun. Kim and Phil stayed in the house to continue the video game they started on Friday.
Rich brought more boxes of books from the garage, so there was more to sell, but altogether Rachel only sold about 50 books. We had fun looking through the books ourselves and decided to keep quite a few of them.
We closed down the sale by dinnertime, and Ash grilled hamburgers for us, Kat went home, and Phil finally left. Kim was pretty tired of his company by then! She was ready to start packing to leave on our drive to Utah, and she told him it was time for him to go so she could get to work.
While Rich was putting the borrowed tables in the back of the van to take them back to the church, he noticed a big crack in the rear axle! I told him I kept hearing a big noise back there, but he doesn't drive that car much, and he wasn't worried about it.
That changed our plans for our vacation! We were going to have to stay home and get the car fixed! I called Scott to tell him, and he was so disappointed, that he offered to buy our tickets to fly to Utah to visit them!
I couldn't let him buy the tickets, but I booked a flight for myself, and when I called him back to tell him about it, Carolyn said they still wanted to help pay for the trip, so I let her buy a ticket for Kim to come with me. Rich had to stay home to take care of the car.
So Kim and I left on Monday and flew to Utah. We stayed in the basement apartment at Scott and Carolyn's house and had a nice time playing with the kids and visiting Temple Square. We didn't do a whole lot of sightseeing because I really just wanted to see the kids, so that's what I did. We spent a lot of time sitting in the backyard drawing things on the patio with sidewalk chalk, and reading out loud to Soren and Carl. It was a nice trip.
We left at 5:30 in the morning on Friday, and traveled all day, arriving home in Freeport almost exactly 12 hours later. Apparently there was a lot of heavy rain while we were out of town, and parts of town are so flooded that no one can drive on the roads in those areas! Some people have flooded basements, but for once it isn't us, and I'm grateful for that, although my basement smells like cat pee, thanks to Patsy, who is mad about getting a dose of medicine every day!
No matter how nice your vacation is, it's good to get home. Ahh, my own bed! Ahh, my own kitchen! Ahhh.
We spread a quilt on the lawn and set up a couple of long tables that she got from the church, and while I played with Maddy on the quilt, Rachel spread out the books. She brought out a box or two from our garage, but there were some boxes in the garage that she couldn't get to easily, so she didn't bring them all out.
Judy, our next door neighbor, came over and sat with us for a while. She brought her camera and took pictures of Maddy on the blanket, and I'll post one or two of them tomorrow. Dan from across the street came over to talk for a while, too. That was the most neighbor-interaction we've had in a while.
Kim's friend Phil showed up to hang out with Kim, so they took over the living room to play video games and watch Ghost Hunter shows far into the night. Phil slept in the yarn room, and since their friend Catsy slept up there a couple of weeks ago, I had to change the sheets. Catsy didn't mind sleeping on the bed knowing Phil had used it last, but I told him he didn't have to sleep in Catsy's cooties. I am such a good hostess.
Rachel came back Saturday morning and set up her tables again, and Maddy and I spent another day on the quilt. It was a beautiful day, and Maddy loves to roll around outside, looking at the leaves and feeling the grass with her toes.
Rachel's friend Kat came over in the afternoon and sat on the quilt with us, so that was fun. Kim and Phil stayed in the house to continue the video game they started on Friday.
Rich brought more boxes of books from the garage, so there was more to sell, but altogether Rachel only sold about 50 books. We had fun looking through the books ourselves and decided to keep quite a few of them.
We closed down the sale by dinnertime, and Ash grilled hamburgers for us, Kat went home, and Phil finally left. Kim was pretty tired of his company by then! She was ready to start packing to leave on our drive to Utah, and she told him it was time for him to go so she could get to work.
While Rich was putting the borrowed tables in the back of the van to take them back to the church, he noticed a big crack in the rear axle! I told him I kept hearing a big noise back there, but he doesn't drive that car much, and he wasn't worried about it.
That changed our plans for our vacation! We were going to have to stay home and get the car fixed! I called Scott to tell him, and he was so disappointed, that he offered to buy our tickets to fly to Utah to visit them!
I couldn't let him buy the tickets, but I booked a flight for myself, and when I called him back to tell him about it, Carolyn said they still wanted to help pay for the trip, so I let her buy a ticket for Kim to come with me. Rich had to stay home to take care of the car.
So Kim and I left on Monday and flew to Utah. We stayed in the basement apartment at Scott and Carolyn's house and had a nice time playing with the kids and visiting Temple Square. We didn't do a whole lot of sightseeing because I really just wanted to see the kids, so that's what I did. We spent a lot of time sitting in the backyard drawing things on the patio with sidewalk chalk, and reading out loud to Soren and Carl. It was a nice trip.
We left at 5:30 in the morning on Friday, and traveled all day, arriving home in Freeport almost exactly 12 hours later. Apparently there was a lot of heavy rain while we were out of town, and parts of town are so flooded that no one can drive on the roads in those areas! Some people have flooded basements, but for once it isn't us, and I'm grateful for that, although my basement smells like cat pee, thanks to Patsy, who is mad about getting a dose of medicine every day!
No matter how nice your vacation is, it's good to get home. Ahh, my own bed! Ahh, my own kitchen! Ahhh.
Friday, July 16, 2010
I've had a day already!
Patsy had to go to the vet before 8 this morning, so I got up at 7:30 (didn't work last night) and dropped him off for a Lion cut!
There he is, in all his pissed-off glory! He had a small cyst on his shoulder drained, also, and now he has to have a dose of oral antibiotic every day, but since we are leaving on our vacation Sunday, I guess Nurse Rachel will be in charge of that!
Once I was up and about this morning, I also stopped to get the oil changed, and went to Walm@rt to get some groceries. As I was leaving the grocery area, I got a call from the vet's office to say that Patsy was ready to be picked up, so I called home and woke up Kim so she could go with me.
I dropped off the groceries and picked up Kim - I just needed company, it wasn't to wrestle the cat! So now we are home and I feel like I've had a full day already!
This afternoon Kim is going to use some carpet shampoo on the basement stairs, because Someone's Friend dropped a large cup of Mountain Dew as they came into the house last night, and if it was diet pop, it would just evaporate, but since it was full of sugar, well, someone has to clean that up.
As a bribe/reward, for cleaning the stairs, I bought Kim a bottle of Vampire cologne when I was shopping (and a pair of poison green flipflops!). She says it is better to smell like a vampire than a werewolf, because werewolves smell like a wet dog!
Okay, I'm going to go do some laundry and then just sit in a chair and read for a while. I've already had a full day and it's not even noon.
There he is, in all his pissed-off glory! He had a small cyst on his shoulder drained, also, and now he has to have a dose of oral antibiotic every day, but since we are leaving on our vacation Sunday, I guess Nurse Rachel will be in charge of that!
Once I was up and about this morning, I also stopped to get the oil changed, and went to Walm@rt to get some groceries. As I was leaving the grocery area, I got a call from the vet's office to say that Patsy was ready to be picked up, so I called home and woke up Kim so she could go with me.
I dropped off the groceries and picked up Kim - I just needed company, it wasn't to wrestle the cat! So now we are home and I feel like I've had a full day already!
This afternoon Kim is going to use some carpet shampoo on the basement stairs, because Someone's Friend dropped a large cup of Mountain Dew as they came into the house last night, and if it was diet pop, it would just evaporate, but since it was full of sugar, well, someone has to clean that up.
As a bribe/reward, for cleaning the stairs, I bought Kim a bottle of Vampire cologne when I was shopping (and a pair of poison green flipflops!). She says it is better to smell like a vampire than a werewolf, because werewolves smell like a wet dog!
Okay, I'm going to go do some laundry and then just sit in a chair and read for a while. I've already had a full day and it's not even noon.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
In which I stayed home like Cinderella.
Kim left for Chicago today to visit a friend for a couple of days, and while she is gone I'm cleaning her room! It's piled up with books, papers, boxes of dishes and computer cords and her printer and who knows what else, and also, enough clothing to clothe a third-world country. Hmm, maybe I should send some of her clothes to Haiti...
Last week I sat on her bed to keep her company one day while she cleaned out her closet, and we filled a bag that I took to the Goodwill, but the rest of the room is still so terrible that I can't walk through it to get to the bed. Maddy slept at our house last night, and she was asleep in my room so I went to Kim's room to take a nap before work on her bed, and ugh! I had to pick my way between piles of stuff to get to the bed!!
So today RA sat on the bed, folding clothes and putting them in piles, and I sorted out some of the boxes, deciding which ones can go to the basement, and filled another box with crap for the Goodwill. The clothes are piled on the bed, because her dresser drawers are so full that she can't put anything else in them, so my plan for tomorrow is to empty the drawers and give away more of her clothes!
I took a couple of boxes to the basement and Ash carried a heavier one down when he came over later, and it already looks much better in there. I've got it to a manageable state now and Kim could probably finish cleaning it up herself, except that she's out of town and I want to get it done now!
Kim texted me tonight and said she is having a great time in Chicago! They waded in Lake Michigan, went to the zoo (briefly), shopped a little (oh no! she bought a new shirt and a pair of shorts! More clothes!) and ate at a sushi place. I wish I was there, but I was home cleaning her room and eating leftovers. What's wrong with this picture?
Last week I sat on her bed to keep her company one day while she cleaned out her closet, and we filled a bag that I took to the Goodwill, but the rest of the room is still so terrible that I can't walk through it to get to the bed. Maddy slept at our house last night, and she was asleep in my room so I went to Kim's room to take a nap before work on her bed, and ugh! I had to pick my way between piles of stuff to get to the bed!!
So today RA sat on the bed, folding clothes and putting them in piles, and I sorted out some of the boxes, deciding which ones can go to the basement, and filled another box with crap for the Goodwill. The clothes are piled on the bed, because her dresser drawers are so full that she can't put anything else in them, so my plan for tomorrow is to empty the drawers and give away more of her clothes!
I took a couple of boxes to the basement and Ash carried a heavier one down when he came over later, and it already looks much better in there. I've got it to a manageable state now and Kim could probably finish cleaning it up herself, except that she's out of town and I want to get it done now!
Kim texted me tonight and said she is having a great time in Chicago! They waded in Lake Michigan, went to the zoo (briefly), shopped a little (oh no! she bought a new shirt and a pair of shorts! More clothes!) and ate at a sushi place. I wish I was there, but I was home cleaning her room and eating leftovers. What's wrong with this picture?
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Two weeks later...
Kim and I finally went back to the gym today! The last time we went was on a Friday, and then she went to Cedar Point with Rich and Sando on Monday, leaving me home alone - and you know I don't want to go and exersize by myself!
They got back on Thursday, so we walked the two-mile walk two or three times over the weekend and finally today, we dragged ourselves back to the gym. We were bitter, we were hatin', but we went and we worked, and really, it was better than another walk in the miserable humidity!!
Maddy has been gone with her parents since Thursday (do you see how that overlapped? and I was alone for almost a whole day? Thank goodness I had RA to keep busy with, so I didn't die of loneliness and boredom!) and I was really missing her, since I see her almost every day under normal circumstances.
Tonight they got home and I went over to play with Maddy while her parents unpacked the car. Oh, the happy fat baby! I think she's grown since she was gone! She's big! She rolled all around, and laughed when I jumped and said boo! She was really tired from her travels, but I forced Rachel to give her bath that she didn't want, and then Rachel gave her a bottle while I read The Dangerous Alphabet and part of a nursing textbook out loud to them, and then she fell asleep. So sweet!
I had to go home and take a nap before work, and Kim sat on the bed and edited a chapter of her novel while I tried to sleep. Kim turned on a recording of a gentle rain with some thunder in the background to soothe me, but after a while, she turned it down and said, "Is it raining outside?" and we could hear it through the open window, a nice, soothing rain. Another case of art imitating life.
They got back on Thursday, so we walked the two-mile walk two or three times over the weekend and finally today, we dragged ourselves back to the gym. We were bitter, we were hatin', but we went and we worked, and really, it was better than another walk in the miserable humidity!!
Maddy has been gone with her parents since Thursday (do you see how that overlapped? and I was alone for almost a whole day? Thank goodness I had RA to keep busy with, so I didn't die of loneliness and boredom!) and I was really missing her, since I see her almost every day under normal circumstances.
Tonight they got home and I went over to play with Maddy while her parents unpacked the car. Oh, the happy fat baby! I think she's grown since she was gone! She's big! She rolled all around, and laughed when I jumped and said boo! She was really tired from her travels, but I forced Rachel to give her bath that she didn't want, and then Rachel gave her a bottle while I read The Dangerous Alphabet and part of a nursing textbook out loud to them, and then she fell asleep. So sweet!
I had to go home and take a nap before work, and Kim sat on the bed and edited a chapter of her novel while I tried to sleep. Kim turned on a recording of a gentle rain with some thunder in the background to soothe me, but after a while, she turned it down and said, "Is it raining outside?" and we could hear it through the open window, a nice, soothing rain. Another case of art imitating life.
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