new and fun

back from dentist…. good times… I had a reaction to the local anesthesia.
I started shaking, my hands, legs, and face went really numb… I was super dizzy.
the local anesthesia had epinephrine in it… I have been googling… found this: "You may also be allergic to additives or a combination medication. For example epinephrine is commonly combined with another drug called lidocaine and there have been some reports of allergic reactions to this combination."


(file under special snowflake)


This happened a while ago (maybe a month ago) ... I did some more research and found that indeed, I'm most likely not allergic to epinephrine, but that 1) either it went into a blood vessel and got to my heart, or 2) I am allergic to the combination / other additives.

Tired and distracted

Hey look another quarter, another blog post. The other day, I came to record a milestone and saw my previous post and started thinking about THB and forgot what I was doing. Sigh.

Okay. Why we are here today: our nanny of eight years, took a new job. For the first time in 17 years, we are without a nanny.  We should be able to handle this, right?  oNe drives now -- did I record that?  She passed her driving test first time, with no help from some cats who were sitting in the middle of the street.  It's super helpful to have her drive.

(Funny story, she turns out on to the street from the DMV and there are cats right in the middle of her lane.  Her choice was to 1) stop, 2) hit them, 3) cross the yellow line and not hit them but technically crossing the line is an instant fail.  She crossed the line and didn't faill  Yay.)

So, no nanny.  Our nanny was very wonderful. She finished school, and we knew she'd get a different job soon.  We're super happy for her, but of course we miss her.  She did much more than just take care of the girls.  She helped us figure out the crazy life and get everyone where they needed to be.  She cooked healthy food for us and kept up with the grocery list. One night, I came home to super organized cabinets in my kitchen.  She'd often go through the refrigerator and get rid of the "science experiments."

She was a super confidant for the girls, a great role model, and a good friend of the family.  She was calm and patient and a wonderful soul to have around.  She started working with us when she was just a little older than oNe is now.  That's kind of crazy. She grew up with the girls.  She's all grown up now and it is time for her to do something different.  We will miss you, C-Nanny! I didn't write about you much here because I don't write too much about "not my life" and you were always wonderful.  The blog used to be a place to vent. I never really needed to vent about you.  You were always honest and kind, a super hard worker, and very good at communicating. She and the girls really had a special bond. We were super lucky.

Below is a picture of a mug we got her... (Of course she got other things for 8 years, too.)

(One thing I just want to record...Because life has been crazy and we didn't think we'd get to work this Sunday, MWH and I both went last together on a Friday night to make up. Almost like a date.)

May

I looked at the last post as I came to write this one and the pain of losing THB came rushing back. A quick update -- right after, his people and his brother cat who was his littermate, was very sad. I think the brother cat is doing better now. The brother is twoK's cat, and I've never given him a nickname here, but from here on he'll be talking-cat because he meows a lot. He tried snuggling with our other kitty, aka B-cat (oNe's cat), but B-cat is not a snuggly one. B-cat and talking-cat play and have fun hanging out, and twoK's cat snuggles with twoK and me a lot.

We miss THB. Three-a, she was THB's girl, is ready for a new kitty. (Side note, talking-cat just came down the stairs to find me and meow at me.) We have started looking. I still have lots of worries about getting a new kitty and upsetting the household balance. A new kitty is lots of fun, and we're ready, but yikes! I'm also wondering, do we do two kitties or one? I would love siblings again. We'll know when we find the right cat(s).

What else... Oh, we'll be having a crazy summer adventure. I don't think I wrote about that. twoK was selected for a tremendous ballet experience this summer. We'll be traveling quite a bit. I'll blog more about it after the fact. (That's the policy around here, write about travel afterwards.)

 oNe is starting the college application roller coaster. She'll be a SENIOR this coming school year. How did that happen? How is it possible that yesterday marked 18 years ago since the day with two lines?  How have I been blogging here for almost 13 years? (Does making a post every quarter count as blogging?)

Other stuff... Work is eh... Not meh, and there are really fun times and then times I wonder why I'm doing it. I could see changing things up in a little while, or not. It kind of depends on what else happens (with my bestest colleague and potential new projects). I'll figure it out. Not worried about it, but wow, no one tells you how much you think about if you're happy or not with your work when you're younger.

 MWH seems like he's always pretty happy with work. He has a colleague who, um, if something can go wrong, it will for this guy. He's doing well, and you don't need to worry about him, but he makes MWH's life at work more *exciting*. MWH isn't a super fan of excitement... and yet, he has me and 3 girls... (who aren't so little any more). MWH, we love you.  (I wrote a little before about how MWH and I both find working out to be super important to keep us in balance, but I don't think I ever recorded that we go to a workout class together on Sunday mornings. I love that. XOXO, MWH.)

Very sad

We lost our THB... Last weekend. We are all super sad. oNe seemed mad about it. She's such a lover of animals. I don't think she was actually mad, but her sad looks mad. twoK was sad, but she felt that Three-a should get to be the saddest, I think. THB was Three-a's kitty. I don't feel like writing much more about it right now. We have THB's brother. He's sad like us, but slowly getting better. On another note, I've been fighting a migraine all week... Death/grief always gives me one. No aura, just massive headache and lots of forgetfulness.

January Kitty Report

I started a post at Christmas and wrote "Totally awesome day, not getting anything done..." I guess so, especially since I didn't finish the post. What's on my mind... THB... Do you remember this? He's been on treatment ever since the diagnosis. We've had two+ pretty good years. We worked hard to treasure every day. I didn't write much about THB because we'd only have a bad day every now and then. If he was a "normal" cat I probably wouldn't have noticed him sleeping more and eating less on one day, but because he has cancer I've been watching his every move and analyzing it for the last 2 years; yup, I noticed. He was 11-11.5 pounds when he first got sick. He was diagnosed at the end of October 2016 and he had to recover from the surgery he had (during which he was diagnosed). He did okay in November and December. A little dip in January and we switched medicine and then he held steady from February or March 2017(when we got all the medicine figured out) until about Sept-Oct 2018... Then he was 10.5-11... then 10-10.5... then 9.5-10....The other night he was 9.2. He continues to run around, fight with the other kitties, jump, ask to go outside, and all normal kitty things. He just doesn't want to eat. This new chemo is hard on him. He had his third dose 1.5 weeks ago. I hope he starts feeling better soon. The first two times we had 2-2.5 horrible weeks and then he looked good. He ate! He played... I'm waiting for him to start to feel better again. We love you THB. You are hilarious. You are big, tall, and you love string. You are IN CHARGE. You are totally spoiled.