No More Curse of the Blue Shift

Blue shift = sick, puking kids that the exorcist would be proud of
Blue shift = H1N1 and a hospitalization for a sick little toddler that had a "virus" I was "overreacting" to.
Blue shift = our 18 year-old golden having dozens of seizures throughout the night.
Blue shift = our house being broken into and my entire sense of security being shaken. 
Blue shift = kids locking my keys in the trunk of my car.


In short, I am not a fan of the Blue shift.


So, as of yesterday, we are officially on the GREEN shift.


Yes, I know.  The curse of the Blue shift will catch up with us and things will always happen when he is on shift no matter where it falls in the rotation.  But for now, I am content to enjoy the honeymoon period.  And I have to adjust my Cozi calendar.


Last night he had 11 calls by the time I talked to him at 9:45pm and the tones went off as we were chatting. (Of course - dang tones!)  I am not sure what his night was like.  I am certain that his morning was crazy, given this zero visibility fog we have this morning.  I left him a barrage of "don't forget" messages that I did not get to last night, because he has to pick up the kids this afternoon since I have a meeting at the Cousins Center.  Hopefully, he listens and or reads them this morning.


I left him a surprise on his dresser, we'll see if he notices it or if he simply passes out from exhaustion.


Happy Hump Day!  Snuggle your kids and listen to your firefighter's chatter.

Tell Me Again...

that it has nothing to do with the BLUE shift!  UGH!!


Monday, Blue Shift.  10 hours after saying good-bye to my Willow, 3 1/2 hours after the boys wake up with  fevers, after a night of NO sleep...I back out of the parking spot next to the garage.  My FF has been taking my car, saves gas, when he goes to work.  I have been taking his disaster of a Durango.  Used to be my truck, now J drives it and it looks like a tornado touched down.  But, what is best, I take the truck.


So...back to the Blue Shift on Monday.  I back out of the parking slab and the truck dies.  Just dies. Blocking the whole freakin' alley.  Its a Blue Shift, my FF is leaving early, for some reason.  I run inside to see if I can grab him.  My sick, mourning kids tell me that he has already left.  I frantically call his phone, ready to beg him to come back.  He's still in front of the house, no begging needed.  Thank goodness.


So...he drives around the back, he gets the bright idea that we have to push it.  With no power steering, I work to get the wheels to turn and they reluctantly turn.  Come back to help push.  Unfortunately, we are going to hit the garage.  Plan B, my superhero FF is going to push while I fight with the steering wheel.  Plan C. Push the truck with my car.  My poor car.  Now needs touch up paint.  But, we got it out of the alley, around to the front and parked on the correct side of the street for parking restrictions.  Next night our amazing neighbor fixes it - distributor cap.  Yesterday, hubby drives it - no issues.  This AM, it reluctantly starts.  I mention it to my FF as he checks with me.  He kind of condescendingly tells me just to give it some gas as I start it. So, we get to school.  I try, unsuccessfully, to work at my desk, time to get the little stooges over to the other campus, running late, get everyone in their car seats.  No go.  Car won't turn over.  Sigh.


Luckily, the guidance counselor lent me her keys so I could take my kids to school.  Rush back for the Career Fair today.  Now, I just have to figure out how to get home.  We are a party of 5.  Most people I work with have mini-vans for a reason.  Others with cars, simply don't have room for 5.  Luckily, again, my good friend Linda came to the rescue and brought us home.


J tells me I will fuss no matter what shift it is. I say the Blue Shift is cursed.  I am so grateful to be moving into a house next to another fire family, who is on the GREEN Shift.  Someone who gets it will be a nice change of  pace.

Not Just a Hallmark Holiday

I was always the one grumbling about Valentine's Day and Sweetest Day.  My poor boyfriends, always trying to impress me - nothing ever quite did.  But now, all these years (and boyfriends later - hehe) I have seen the light.

Today is the Blue Shift, so my Firefighter is off keeping the city safe and healthy.  And, because it is indeed the Blue Shift, his own poor house is a mess of germs.  It seems that we only get to go a few days without someone being sick - and those seem to be the days that Daddy is home.  Our children are gracious enough to spare him the stress of sick children, and I think that is just so sweet!  As we speak - O came out of her bedroom, threw up all over the floor and returned to her bed.  I am gracious that it is on hardwood versus her bed - I hate changing puke soaked linens!  But none-the-less, it is the dreaded Blue Shift.  J is home tomorrow and then gone the next 48 hours.  He traded with one of the guys so he could go on the overnight field trip to the EAA with his former students the following week.  I knew he couldn't truly stay away from the classroom.

Which means tomorrow, Valentine's Day is the only day we will have to spend together for 96 hours.  J has a nice dinner planned for us after the kids go to bed.  He is also planning on being gracious and doing the grocery shopping for me tomorrow.  Notice I say planning.  Liv being sick, will most assuredly place that duty back on my shoulders.

But, sick kids and everything, Valentine's Day does serve a purpose.  Aside from lining the pockets of the candy, flower and card industries' executives, it reminds us to spend time with our loved ones and to enjoy those moments.  For moms and dads to stop being parents and return for a brief moment to being a couple.  For friends to remember how grateful they really are to have each other, even when there is no significant other at that moment.  For families to remember that love really does start at home.  Valentine's Day reminds us to love each other and appreciate and be open to that love.

So, I will leave you with that.  Go back to my sick little gal, hopefully find her sleeping and anxiously await the passing of time until my firefighter is home to cuddle his Littlest Love and enjoy our few moments as a couple at the ends of the day.

Happy Valentine's Day!

It followed me

The curse of the Blue Shift is now the curse of the Green Shift.  So far (knocking on formica before I type this) nothing has gone WRONG, just inconvenient, I guess.


So, yup, this would be me whining.  We have never been at a school that did a Kindergarten completion (I just can't call it a graduation) ceremony before.  D has one today.  O has a little ceremony in the Montessori, as well.  My final is a project, I thought I could sneak over.  You know the perks of having all 4 kids in one PreK-12 academy (that I teach in), right?  Yeah, let's just say, not so much.  We'll leave this discussion for another day.  So, you think I could send my hubs - nope he's working.  Just like he was supposed to work for Prom.  And so it begins.  The Honeymoon is over.  I even tried to move - literally.  Guess I was not fast enough in that regard.  The Curse of Blue Shift, informed the Green Shift and here we are.


Yes, I know.  It is just kindergarten.  But, sadly, D will be the only - no lie - the only one without a mommy or daddy there.  Probably O as well.  I asked our Admissions Director if she would be willing to stand in for me, take pictures.  You know, the usual.  And she is MORE than willing to do so.  I even sent a plea to my hubby last week to see if he could make a trade.  I feel so bad for the girls.  


Sad, I know.  I will be done fussing in a moment.  But for now, I am wishing I could be there with them.  Big picture, really not a big deal.  But for this moment, a little heartbreaking.

One of Those Scary Nights

We all know what can happen to our FFs on the job.  When we think about it, we shove it to the back of our minds.  But, we forget about what can happen at home while our FFs are on shift.  I have talked about the curse of the Blue Shift quite a bit.  It is the holiday shift.  My daughter has had to be taken to the hospital.  You name it, it always seems to happen on a Blue Shift.


But, they are all inconveniences.  Things that annoy us because HE is not here to help deal with the headaches, but they are just that...headaches.


Tonight was different.  I went to bed early, I wasn't feeling good.  I sent a text to my hubby.  When he got back in, I saw that left me a feel better message.


I fell asleep watching last night's  Smash.  I have no idea what time it was.  The next thing I know, there is an all dog alert.  My boys go running and barking like crazy down the stairs.  A key...in the door.  Someone was futzing with the lock and the kitchen door opened.  


My dogs are big, loud and protective and got out the door. My purse from the island is the only loss. AND for some reason my wallet was upstairs.  I think one of the kids may have taken it upstairs to my room when we cleared the table for dinner, it must have fallen out. I let them chase whomever it was out my back door.  They are lucky they got the gate to close, my boys would have followed them forever to protect their flock.  It is the nature of the breed.  I found my phone in the mud, when I went back out just to check to make sure the gate was locked.


So, I am here at 4:23 am.  I called into work, sleeplessness and stress lead to seizures.  I need to get the locks changed and probably talk to the management company about who has keys.  I thought we had them change the locks when we moved in. I need to get the kids off to school with some sense of normalcy. I have every light on downstairs.  Bear is following me everywhere, literally laying across the bathroom door when I have to go potty.  I wish my FF was here.  The kids slept through the chaos.  I have to decide how much to tell them and how much to leave out.  I have to stress not only closing the gate so the boys don't get out, but locking it...all without alarming them.  


And I have to make myself feel safe in my own home again.  How do I do that?  Especially when every 48 hours, I a responsible for keeping my kids safe and secure.

Our Valentine's Day

I officially HATE the Blue Shift.  It is known as the holiday shift - it seems to hit a disproportionate number of holidays, regardless of the year.  Aside from the interruptions of festivities, it seems as though my family waits for things to happen on the Blue Shift.  On my last post from Sunday, I told you O was sick - some stomach bug.  By the time that 4 in the afternoon rolled around she developed a croupy cough, her fever was back - creeping up to nearly 105, her vomiting has worsened and  I felt we needed to get into the ER.  

I got everyone, including myself, dressed.  The boys and D were already good to go, but due to the issues of  the day, O and I were still in our jammies.  I called my dad, asked him to take the three stooges, while I took O in to the ER.  She looked so sad and pitiful with her bucket in her lap.  After my eldest muppets were hanging out with Grandpa, I had to try and get in touch with Jeff.  His phone was turned off and I had not transfered the number for E2 to my new phone - that'll teach me!  So, I called 411 - after convincing Sprint's operator that this was NOT a 911 emergency, I got the main number, since he is house at the main office, telling me to call back Monday during normal business hours.  Through the rationalization of MFD's numbering system, I figured out the number to the office.  When I got in contact with someone, I found out that the engine was out on a run - OF COURSE!  I left a message, letting the Lt. know we were headed to Children's, if he would be so kind as to let my firefighter know.

   

For the first time in my 11 years experience as a parent, we need did not get brushed off by the ER at Children's, but that is a tale for another day.  We were taken straight to triage and into a room.  At first you could see that the tired, overloaded resident was not in to mood to be bothered by a mere virus.  That was all that it was, give her some juice and send her home.  That was our first round.  Then he felt it might have been pneumonia, until we had a clear chest x-ray.  Perhaps there is something with her stomach, so we did an x-ray of her tummy, just to find out the obvious - she had to poop, but was too pooped to poop.  After some Zofran, they were going to send us on our way.  We took a few sips of some juice, headed off to the bathroom to leave a sample for a u/a, so they could check her sugars and see if she was spilling proteins - just to have her puke up the Zofran and apple juice.  This is 7pm.  Liv is now SICK of EVERYONE - even sniping at me, which NEVER happens.

Hanging out in the ER
Playing with the pony from the
x-ray tech.

Finally, they have a pow-wow to discuss my little trooper.  They still believe it is one of the myriad of viruses, probably combined with Influenza-A.  They hang a bag of fluids  and discuss what to do next.  While the nurses are getting her IV in, I point out the obvious - she's cyanotic.  We get a pulse/ox monitor on her and lo and behold, her O2 sats are in 70s and 80s.  I know I am just a mommy, but I am not an easily freaked out mom.  I was not going to have my girl blown off.  They give her a steroid to reduce the swelling in her throat, thereby reducing the cough and increasing her O2 sats.  Her fever was NOT going down, her nausea and vomiting was NOT subsiding and she was dehydrated.  She was obviously really sick, and if they did not treat her now, we would simply be back and I would be a bear to deal with at that point.

Around 9pm they decide Liv needed to be their guest and by 1:45am we were on our way to her room, after meeting with the ER attending and the 1st year intern that would be on her case.  We had a lovely, albeit chatty, night nurse to get us settled.  Liv did not agree that we should be sticking "pipe cleaners" up her nose - flu test or not.  She was done with nurses "hugging her leg", done with things being stuck in her armpits - she was just plain done.  Her pitiful cry was hoarse and she wanted to go home.  Liv did not want Mommy, she did not want to drink, she just wanted to go home.


Daddy stopped in on his way home - around 8am.  He hung out for a bit, then rescued Grandpa from the stooges.  When he came back, Liv was nibbling on her breakfast and looking quasi human.  I requested to be part of the rounds when they came to our room, which was a nice experience.  It was a bit like Grey's Anatomy and I had to squash a giggle when the attending pointed out an obvious oversight on the intern who bugged me a bit the night before.  I was glad that we got to be part and have a say in her medical plan.

As the day, went on, she slept, nibbled on her dinner for 2 hours, still refusing to drink.  Later one of her residents comes in to chat, we find O has H1N1.  Even after the vaccines.  GREAT!

Daddy brought D in for a visit, as she was whoa-fully missing her Babiya.  So, D came in, as the center of the universe with a mask and all. :D Our little patient lit up when she saw her big sister.  I, even though it was for the best, found myself a bit crestfallen when they said they wanted to keep her another night.

Daddy working to change
around shifts

Here is where I fall in love with the fire department.  We have to keep O home for the rest of the week after she is released from the hospital.  My firefighter was able to shift everything around and make it happen that I do not have to miss more than this past Monday to care for our sick little gal.  This is especially good, seeing as D has now developed a 102 fever.  When Daddy took O in to the doc, he had her look at D.  She too, is more than likely infected with H1N1, especially considering how close they are.  So, D will also have to stay home for the rest of the week.  His new Capt. helped him get a city-owed trade and one of the guys on the red shift took his other shift this week - clearing up Daddy's schedule for the remainder of the week.  The cherry on the sundae - his Captain called yesterday, just to check.  To check on O, to see how I was doing with all of the chaos and reminded us that we are indeed family now.  That is the first time I have truly seen it.  In all of our years of education, never once has a principal called to check on us - not once.  Now, just six months in, with a captain that has worked with my husband for only a few shifts, he calls on his off day, just to check on us.  It was such a nice feeling.


So, I have still yet to get my Valentine's Day dinner.  If he thinks me running down to the hospital cafeteria for a burger to bring up counts, he has another thing coming.  But, my girls are home.  And that is the only Valentine I truly need.

The Valentine's delivered to O's room throughout the day.

I am just going to have to say no

Saying no is something that I have SUCKED at lately.


I am finding myself buried under bailing everyone else out and it is wearing on me.  Today I am going to say no.  This weekend, I organized babysitters and RE-organzied them when they all bailed on me for a marriage retreat here at school.  I am all about helping with supporting marriages and keeping them healthy, so I was happy to do it.  Then the person who was in charge, somehow forgot they were going out of town during this event and now I found myself in charge of not only getting the babysitters, but also supervising them.  THEN I found out I was acting as hostess.  Got a welcome speech written (and it was dang good if I do say so myself).  Take B and our 5th grade neighbor to be my go-fers.  Finally get the list of kids and find that there are FIVE babies coming.  We are a high school, there are no cribs, exersaucers, etc for me to put babies in when I need my hands.  Call the parents to help out. And away we go on a Saturday night.  

When playing with my phone was
no longer working and the shrieks returned.

Get there and the first set of kids (also the last to leave) have HORRIBLE separation anxiety.  A 7 month old who won't let me put her down and either screamed or wimpered the ENTIRE three hours and her 2 year-old sister, also crying, "I want mommy, sniffle, I want daddy."  THE WHOLE TIME!!  Mine, never went through this.  5 minutes after I left, they were off playing with their friends.  Mom said (about the baby), "Yeah, I don't really put her down much."  Oh, really, I couldn't tell.  Not going to get on my soapbox about my parenting style, but I am so happy my kids had the self-confidence to be without me.  The other babies slept beautifully, thank God!  I don't know what I would have done, considering there were 40-some other kids and 5 teen-agers to  help supervise.  So, get packed up, get my two minions in the car and it is now 9:30pm, with a 4 minute drive ahead of us.

Sunday, I packed up and went 4 hours northwest for a conference.  Unknowingly leaving Daddy with 2 puking kids ( I dealt with the one who started this the night before. (Now he gets the curse of the Blue Shift - since it was indeed a Blue Shift and I was away!)  While on this trip, I find out a TON of stuff is not getting done that is supposed to be getting done and I take on some of those responsibilities for the following weekend (which also includes two birthday parties, a football practice and the Championship game) just to be sure it is done.  Come home the next night, one more puking Muppet and Daddy takes a City Owed trade so I do not have to miss school.  Get to school (with ONE non puking Muppet) and find out there is an issue with lunch coverage, they were going to ask a sub to take it.  He can barely handle a classroom, how will he  handle a lunch hour.  It is my lunch, I volunteer to take it.

Today, the same people who needed lunch coverage emailed me this AM, "we also have ________________to do today, can you cover lunch again" or something to that effect.  I am kind of tired.  My FF is the next to take on the virus that is going through the house, no surprise given all the clean-up he has done.  AND there is a football game at 8pm tonight, again 45 minutes away.  

I am going to have to say no.  Something's gotta give.

Hug your kids tight and kiss your FFs good-bye as the leave for shift.  Make sure they all know that you love them.

Sometimes you have to take your own advice

And I am not always very good about that.

I use my blog as a venting source.  I can't continually fuss at my FF about how the housework always falls on me, how the parenting seems to fall on my lap, how, how, how...So, I use my blog.  Sometimes it gets read, sometimes people are only searching for pictures of muppets - true fact by the way.  Today, I shake my head at myself and sigh.

I am constantly on my hubby's case about how it is okay to just say NO sometimes.  He can't.  It is just part of his nice guy nature.  Leopards don't change their spots, he will never change.  BUT, now I have to hush up.  I am a sucker for two things - big brown eyes with a waggidy tail and teenagers who actually want to do some good with the world.


So, in addition to claiming stakes to the following titles - fire wife, mom to 4, teacher, department chair, K9 lead staff member, professional shopper, chef, vet tech, laundry maiden - you can now add junior class adviser and Key Club adviser.  My FF fully expected junior class adviser to come - I am one of the only teachers to have ALL the juniors, after prom last year - the kids flocked to me.  He saw this coming.  But, I got a stern lecture regarding Key Club.  Maybe it was a throwback to my college days in Circle K, maybe I just love that kids want to make a difference in the world around them.  I don't know.  See me in May, when I no longer have to worry about getting my hair thinned enough - I will have most certainly pulled it all out.  But for now, I am excited.

First job - wearing Junior Class Adviser - get the homecoming float built.  Somehow I have to get N dropped off in Illinois where they are building the middle school float and then come back up here to get the Junior Class float taken care of.  I am hoping to talk the parent in charge of the MS float into keeping N until I am done with the juniors.  BTW - I will have the other three stooges with me for the junior float building, because it is after all, a BLUE shift.  I just have to giggle and shake my head. So is the bonfire, the football game...Gotta love the blue shift.

Now, which hat am I supposed to have on right now...

Our next 48 hour shift

We got our fireman home yesterday, he napped for an hour and a half, then off to the in-laws for the day.  We were up late last night putting together tomorrow's presentation - the cubs have to provide "entertainment" for the rest of the company throughout the week.  The green shift involved a live chicken.  The blue shift has this interesting PowerPoint presentation that I put together for my husband.  I feel like I am caught in a time warp -  with some silly college boys.  (Teachers don't do this!  LOL)  I hope the guys have fun with the silliness.

J is working today for one of the guys in his class and then has his shift tomorrow.  After that he has his P.O. (Personal off day - allows the guys to NOT have overtime every month, essentially an equalizer for the 24 hour shifts) and asked if he should sign up for OT that day.  Cubs can only work OT on their PO day until they have been in for 9 months.  The new chief put this policy in when he took over and there is some disagreement with it.  Mainly because the class from Feb of 2010 CAN work OT anytime they want and this recent class cannot, even though both groups are still in their cub year.  I see the logic from the chief - allows the guys to get their feet wet and figure out the system, keeps guys who are too green from being taken advantage of, keeping the new guys from burning out, etc...still not popular with all the guys.  Anyway, will have worked 5 of the last 7 days - UH - NO, you should not work.  January 2nd is the Packers/Bears game - and he is not allowed to watch TV with the other guys - at all, yet.  And January 3rd we all go back to school.  The extra hand will be very much appreciated, as sleepyheads don't want to get moving.  He agreed and I will have my hubby home for 5 days!!  YEAH!

Damsel in Distress

And my prince charmings definitely wear bunker gear.  They also don't have a carriage, but ride in a big, red engine.

Here's my Prince Charming...with his own recruit class...

For a while, Murphy, had my number.  If something was going to go wrong - hospital visits, furnace issues, car complaints, blizzards, etc, it was going to be on a Blue Shift.  Then my FF went through med school and went to the Green Shift.  

And I left no forwarding address for Murphy, being the snot that I am.  The stuff that really went wrong continued on the Blue, until earlier than this year. Murphy found the Green and tried her damnedest to make that trend continue.  Sadly, for poor Murphy (whom I clearly believe is a female stuck in a permanent state of PMS) she was hitting his trades, POs, Vacation Days.  

Well, she has apparently hacked into my Cozi Calendar and figured out he was on shift.

Saturday was the last day of swimming lessons for the winter.  Spring lessons start in a bit.  The boys are at UW-Oshkosh for the state Chess Tournament.  My FF was working down at the Climb for Air, so when we stopped at his new firehouse for the girls to see, there was a relief crew there.  (There was a smidge of disappointment, but they got over it amazingly quickly. Guess this is becoming old hat.) Then we headed by Grandpa's, hung out with him, went to the mall (So I could buy a red pair of Chuck's for Fridays at school - don't judge) and had 5 Guys with my dad.  We walked around the mall, they drooled over the Dr. Who stuff I wouldn't buy them.  We hung out at his house for the first half of the Badger Game and during half time since they weren't going to analyze MY game and I didn't really want to talk to Buzz in his VT lapel pin (Yes, I am being a hater.  Who leaves a Basketball school to go to a Football First School...but I digress.), we decided to head home so I could catch the 2nd half of the 2nd half without having to deal with crabby sleepy headed girl type muppets.  

Now, Milwaukee is not THAT big, but if you are going from the FAR NW side of town to the SE side of town, you are covering some real estate.  You are also going from my dad's nice neighborhood to our nice neighborhood, with many not so nice neighborhoods in between, especially at 9pm.  And, I don't have my boys to be my second pair of hands.  That meant it was just me and my sleepy heads. 

You can tell this is not going to end well, can't you. I knew it, too, as I was driving through downtown.  

It started with my speedometer - it suddenly went BONKERS.  From 0-120mph and back again, finally settling on a steady 20 mph, until I adjusted my speed. (I would have much preferred to just enjoy downtown's night time skyline that I adore oh so much.)  Then I had NO speed registering...so I went with traffic.  And prayed.

And then I went through the Marquette Interchange...the hesitations started. I won't tell you what I muttered under my breath, it is not appropriate for mixed audiences.  They were the same hesitations that hit the last time this happened - on 794. I was just begging her to NOT die on the on-ramp to the hi-rise bridge and then again to die on the hi-rise.  

Luckily, while all this was happening, I was on the phone with my FF.

As I was swearing at my car and requesting huge favors from the big guy, while figuring out escape plans so as to NOT find myself stranded on I-43 or in a neighborhood where it would be unsafe for my little blondie girl babies to be stranded where it was not safe to tread solo at night, my FF was also planning an extrication plan for me - how to get me the heck out of wherever I landed.  I was planning on what firehouse was where - we were not far from his...what firewife was where. One of my most favorite FFWs of all time offered to come get us. Other FFWs kept me company on-line (and more importantly kept me up to date with UW's comeback).  My FFW next door was putting her babes to bed and did not hear my FF call her.  UGH!  Really??!!?


Stupid Murphy.  We are NOT Besties.  She clearly wears Diva shoes and does not appreciate my Chucks. 

I made it as far as our off ramp.  As soon as she tried to downshift that was it.  There was a Park n Ride just of the Interstate - buses only, but I figured the Sheriff would rather have me ignore that sign, as opposed to blocking one of his off ramps on Saturday night.

We coasted to a stop.  She was down - AGAIN.  I was getting ready to walk home.  Not ideal, but truly a matter of 11 blocks.  Even with the sleeping beauties in tow, it would not have been that bad.  My FF called back and said, "We're coming for you, hang on."  And that was it.  Who is we?  A med unit?  Aliens?  

Along came the big red engine, you know the sound that rig slowing down anywhere, after a while.  But there were only 3 guys on it and none of them were mine.  The Boss rolled down his window and told me not to worry, he was on his way.  Ummm, 'kay.  Did he exchange his SCBA for a jet pack?  If so, THAT would be cool.  A few minutes later, there was my FF bringing me his car.

That way if something happened, I had a car and could take care of whatever needed my attention.  It was Saturday, I could also go to mass the next morning without having to find a ride or wait for him.  As I kissed him good-bye and thanked the guys, the smell of that fresh fire, never smelled so safe.  I do feel for the family that lost their home, literally moments before they came to save me.  But, for that moment in time, that was the smell of security.

Here's where I find this to be interesting, he has only been at this house for a week-ish. AND it is not his permanent house at this time.  They know him, but they don't know me.  We haven't gone out with any of these guys.  And yet, they were willing to get up, out of their chairs, put off their showers after the fire and bail me out of a jam.  That is just what family does, and they are indeed family.

I don't usually play the role of the damsel in distress.  But this time, it was nice to know that I DIDN'T have to figure it out all by myself.  It was nice to know that I didn't have to do it alone. And it was nice to know that I have to be big and bad and shrug off help when it was offered.  I don't lose my Big Girl Panties Wearing card because someone offered to help me out and I took advantage of it. It just means I have enough on my plate, there's no need to add more.

So, spend some time hugging those firefighters of yours. Appreciate the family that comes with the department.  They are your family, too.  

Back to the Old Routine

Well, sorta.  The kids and I went back to school yesterday.  Yesterday was an amazing start.  First, I have to say I didn't want to go back to work.  As odd as it sounds, I can't remember the last break I wasn't DYING to get back in my classroom.  This year...I would have loved a few more days.  The kids and I had so much fun. I LOVED Christmas for the first time in years, which I talked about here.  I look forward to next year when my FF is able to be home.  We missed him during the day and we missed him while he was studying.  Anyway, my first day back was good, I missed my kids more than I realized.  Today, I had 2 periods off, as my juniors had test prep to attend.  For a teacher who is teaching an overload, that was a very pleasant surprise.  

I CAN'T TELL YOU - Jenny Holzer

I have some very exciting news, but I can't share it for a few months.  And, ahem, NO, I am NOT pregnant.  If there is to be another little one in our pack, it will not be from my womb.  But, none-the-less, I am very excited and looking forward to all that it entails!  


Now, my FF sent me his schedule. (NOT that I can make it work nicely on my phone, not matter HOW I turn it.) There are too many MFD guys in the PM class that are on the red shift.  So, all these months I have been looking forward to being on the red shift with a FireWife friends of mine and that is not to be.  We will be on the Blue Shift while he is doing his training in the box, sometime in February. (I can't seem to get an ACTUAL date out of him.)  After that he'll go back on the truck on the red shift until graduation in April.  From there, it's anybody's guess what Med unit he'll land at.


So, even though I have my schedule back and we are all getting used to getting up at 5am and out the door by 6:15am, I still need my FF to get back on schedule and figure out which schedule that is.  I miss his schedule. I miss my space.  I miss having someone to help me a few afternoons with the kids.  (Like today, when we had noon dismissal and my children were MONSTERS in my classroom.  I should have taken a picture of the MESS they made in my room.  I texted my hubby that I need a Nanny on Thursdays.  Too bad all my girls at work had Bball practice, otherwise I have a ripe crop to pick from.) But, I digress...


Happy New Year!  Welcome back to whatever your normal is, now that the kids are back in school.  Make 2012 the best yet!

Tragedy Strikes

It has been a crazy week in our household.  So crazy that our mystery date did not happen.  That is a story for another day.  Disappointing to be sure, but what are you gonna do?  However, it has been even crazier for our community.

Last week, we lost one of our Sheriff's deputies - Sergio Aleman, in a tragic accident during rush hour.  He was married and a father of five children.  He was also the uncle of my husband's partner.  And, by the grace of God, it was a Blue shift.  Had it been 24 hours earlier, they would have been the ones on scene.  J mentioned he was SO glad to not be on that call one we heard the details and was even more relieved after he talked to his partner.  Please send prayers to his family during this time of grief and heartbreak.  May God be with them and make His healing presence known and bring them acceptance.  The funeral is this morning.  I hope it brings peace and closure.

 

And then on Sunday.  One of those things that happens, but not here.  We see it on the news, but it would NEVER happen here.  We all watched Aurora tried and make sense of the tragedy last month.  Who knew where Oak Creek, Wisconsin was before Sunday?  

I was watching Oddities (I LOVE that show) wrapping D's headphones for school when my phone rang. It was my fellow fire wife neighbor - who was at work.  "Is J at the temple??"  I literally looked at my phone like she was crazy.  I asked her what she was talking about. "Oh, my god, you don't know." And she then quickly told me to turn on the news.   A gunman had opened fire at the Sikh Temple 10 minutes from our homes, at this point there were reports of 2, maybe 3 gunmen.  There was talk of 29 people down.  A Oak Creek police officer was down.  20+ med units from at least 6 departments, including our own.  J was on shift.  Now, I KNOW, they would not send the meds in until the scene is secure.  I KNOW they would not create more casualties.  But, that does not mean my heart did not drop a bit as I watched the coverage and tried to figure out which units were there.  I did not need him on scene with a barrage of crazed lunatics with weapons.  I sent him a text, figuring he would probably respond pretty quickly to let me know all was well.  45 minutes later I left him a Voicemail asking him to just check in with me to let me know he was not there.  I never actually CALL him at work.  He is at the 2nd busiest med house in the state.  15-18 runs a day is more of the norm than the exception.

An hour later he got back to me and I was able to breathe a bit easier.  It was Med 10 and Med 15 that was there, not my hubby.

Two messages here.
Spouses of firefighters and law enforcement.  Make sure you tell your significant other that you love them before they leave for their shift.  You just never know.   It is simply the nature of their profession.  Safety comes first, but you can only train and plan for so much.  Some things are just out of our control.  Also make sure you have some plan in place for communication in times of such intense events.  I have always had a plan for the possibility that I find myself raising my children alone, make sure you talk about it.  It is uncomfortable, it is scary.  But, it is, however, a very real possibility.

And more of a general message, be educated not ignorant.  The Sikh community around the world is grieving.  They have had so many senseless attacks on their temples, their gurdwaras, since the Twin Towers fell.   And no one of their faith was involved with the tragedies of 9/11.  They are a peaceful community, there is no call for this violence.  Now, that being said, what we have learned about the gunman leads me to believe that no amount of education would have stopped him.  He was angry and hate-filled. His music spread these messages of hate.  The military would not re-enlist him.  He was not okay.  I will not mention his name, this is not about him.  This is about those whose lives will never be the same because of his angry hatred.

Please offer prayers for our community.  Prayers for the families of the victims of this senseless hatred and prayers for the Sikh community.  Please also keep Dep. Aleman's family in your prayers as well, as they say their final good-byes today. 


Hug your kids and kiss your firefighters.  Make sure they know you love them.

Perspective, Reminders

I can't sleep.  I have been up since 3am.  I read the newspaper, created a powerpoint for class, checked my Facebook and here I am creating another post.  I don't often write ahead of time.  Usually, just as the spirit moves me, but this one I might just let cook a bit.


Wisconsin lost a firefighter, just a few hours away.  Another card I have to send, but this was little closer to home.  Details are still coming, we know it was a FF from Colby on a Mutual Aid call and three others were injured.  It sounds like he was on an interior crew when the roof, collapsed, but my hubby is still sleeping, so I can't bounce that theory off of him.


But, the questions...was he married, did he have kids, was he a he?  All popping through my head.


Most importantly, the reminder.  Being stuck doing the laundry, I am okay with it, as long as my FF comes home to me.  Appliances dying on me while he is on shift, well, he will eventually be home for me to fuss at.  Kids puking on the Blue shift, eventually the Red will come and he will take over for me.


But, for this firefighter's family, that is no longer the case.  One less firefighter walking through the door, needing to sleep all morning to recover from a long night of constant calls for minor things that could have waited.  One less firefighter walking through the door to joyous cries of happy children.  One less firefighter coming home to a cranky spouse because everything that could have gone wrong, did, while they were on shift.


One Less Firefighter...


Rest in Peace.  Please know that the rest of the fire community mourns your loss, along with your family, even though we don't even yet know your name.


I guess maybe I won't let this stew...

Maytag? It's Me, Trina. Can You Hear Me?

So, if you have read this blog in the last 2 months, you have probably gotten sick of my fussing about Maytag.  I have tried to play nice, I have tried being a snotty customer, I have tried to speak with someone in this hempisphere, I have tried their Facebook page (from which they have taken the discussions links down).  I have tried everything I can think of, shy of an all out media campaign.  

I think part of the problem is disappointment.  This was my first shiny new laundry set.  Our first set came from a teacher when I was student teaching.  It was the avacado green from the 60s, Maytag, ironically.  And we loved it.  No more trips to the laundromat.  Ahhhhh.  So nice.  And from there it was hand-me-downs and rebuilts.  But, finally I had a bright shiny new front loading set.  And it broke...within a few months.



Guess what, it is broken - AGAIN!  We had issues with the washer, then the drain to which it drains wasn't draining.  I finally get back to laundry and it stops working.  On Monday, I threw in enough laundry to get us through the week, until I could play catch up.  The first load, I did on my own.  No issues.  When it came time to toss the 2nd load into the dryer, from the washer, I asked my hubby to do it.  When he came back up, he commented on how it was really wet.  I guessed that he simply forgot to hit the 'Max Extract' button so it seemed wetter than usual.  Today, I decided to tackle laundry, even with the headache and medicine head going on. 



I get the first load out of the washer and once I get INTO the load, the middle, it is SOPPING wet.  Hmmm, that is really odd.  I put in load number 2, girls' comforters and move about my business.  About 20 minutes into the load, I head down to get food from the pantry and I notice that the washing machine is not spinning.  I literally stood there and stared.  What is going on?  I decide to hit the 'Drain and Spin' cycle, water did come out, but yeah, no spinning.


So you'd think this was a Blue shift, given my luck, but it is actually a RED shift.  BUT, seeing as my hubby is not a cubby anymore, he put in for OT and got it.  So maybe it is not the shift, it is just when J is gone...hmmm.  


So, it is a Saturday.  Tomorrow, I will drive 45 minutes to my Dad's and do laundry, just like my college days.  My poor dad.


MAYTAG SUCKS!  BUT, I am not the only one...  


And more...


And more...

Blizzard of 2011 - When My Girls Learned to Share

I teach at a school 54 miles from home.  It is usually not a bad thing.  Nice time to unwind, plan dinner, decompress as much as you can with 2 boys in the back seat.  Unless there is a Blizzard coming.  Then it is messy and nerve wracking at moments.

I have discovered God does not really like the Blue shift.  All of our major snows have come on the Blue.  It is know as the holiday shift - year after year, they get the holidays.  But this time, there was an added perk - puking girls.

At first, again being foolhardy, I thought I had beaten this.  D got sick at school - threw up her morning snack all over.  Poor Miss Bradley. All the patience in the world is needed to work with 4 year-olds, but when they look like they are trying out for Linda Blair, I shiver.   BUT, my Dad had a dentist appt. yesterday.  So, when the school called him, he could easily grab my sick little princess.  I did not have to come home any earlier than planned.  She hung out with grandpa watching TV, napping.  Life was good.  I made dinner at my dad's and before the winds got to be too bad, we were home.  My boys got the girls in bed and fed the dogs, so I could clear the snow.  After a little more than an hour, I came back in to warm up and settle in.  Foolish lady.

At about 10pm, there was a blood curdling scream from the girls' room.  I run upstairs and O is screaming that her tummy hurt.  D said the same thing yesterday morning.  I run in and grab her to take her to the bathroom - just to have her puke down my back.  EWWWWWWWWWWWWWW.

I know NOBODY enjoys vomit, but spending 4 pregnancies puking the whole time, I REALLY can't handle it.  But, like a dutiful fire wife, I cleaned us and the floor up.  And brought her down with me.  She snuggled in for a bit, then began whimpering.  Luckily, she has learned how to use the puke bucket and we had minimal clean up.    We had 4 more rounds of this throughout the night.  J called at 4:15 to tell me he had been snowblowing since 3am.  I told him to send in the National Guard - or at least come home.  It is 9:32 AM - still no relief in sight.  :(

The highways have been deemed in passable, the side streets have yet to be plowed.  I should go out and clear the snow, but I just can't get there yet.  I can open my back door a whopping 6 inches to let the K9s out.   I thought I loved snow.  I think I may have changed my mind along with this career change.  I am not going to push J to come home, just silently hope he can soon and safely.  I am certain it will make its way through the remaining 3 of us.  I don't know if I can handle our oldest puking, along with the other kids, by myself.  Wish us luck.  I will get pictures on in a bit.

Must Be the Blue Shift

But, lo and behold, it is not.  It is indeed the Red Shift.  But, none-the-less, Jeff is working to make up one of the days he took off to help me with the girls.  So, what does that mean?  Snow of course.  

Forecast: 3 to 5 inches of snow before noon

Updated: Feb. 20, 2011 9:56 a.m. | The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning for all of southeastern Wisconsin from 8 a.m. Sunday through 6 p.m. Monday, but the snowfall will be especially heavy this morning, according to WTMJ-TV (Channel 4) meteorologist Lance Hill.

And we are double booked today - David Seebach and the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra at 2pm - with the three stooges, followed by a jaunt up to Sheboygan  to Blue Harbor Resort for the Boys to hang out with J's Uncle and his grandson.  I can't disappoint the boys, but this is going to royally suck.  I was planning on hanging out with Desi in the Splash pad for a bit, but with the roads as bad as they will be, I think I will be simply dropping them off.  I may also swing by my dad's and drop off D - since he will already have Obabia.  I prefer to have as few children in the car as possible.


Happy Sunday.  Wish me luck.  Ughhhh, and I still have one final yet to write tonight!  Gotta love it!

My Curly Q

It is 3am. I just came off of 42 hours without sleep, you would think that I would be out like a light.  Instead, I am laying here in bed, wide awake, with a nasty headache feeling heartbroken.

We are dog people, through and through.  They are such a part of our lives.  Last night we lost an amazing part of our life.  We lost our Curly.  Mind you, this is my self pity, my greediness coming through.  But, it was his 18th birthday. :(  He made it to 18 - how many goldens can say that?

New Year's Eve - 2002
He instantly fit in with our pack!

Curly was our last GRRoW adoption.  Aside from our female golden, all of our k9 units have come through rescues.  I don't need a cute little ball of fluff to fall in love.  A simple wagging tail and pair of big brown eyes should suffice.  Curly was one of special needs adoptions.  I ALWAYS seem to go for poor pup with the most heartbreaking sad story.  Riley was one of those and then came Curly. Curly was a 9 year-old golden - with a beautiful red curly coat.  He was deathly afraid of loud noises - fireworks and t-storms and the like (a fear which I got him to get over!).  He ran off during the 4 of July celebrations of 2002 .  When they found him, he was heartworm positive.  One treatment is hard enough, Curly needed, and amazingly, survived two.
                                                                                He was amazing right from the start.  His foster mom even tried to scare us off with how much work he would be.  (I have to call her and let her know.) He really wasn't much work at all - no hard food, if he got a hold of any, you had to dig it out of his throat.  Ewwww.  So, we made Curly Shakes.  Curly out-lived, I don't know how many blenders!  Curly had a misshapen throat, it was at a 90 degree angle AND he had mega-esophagus - essentially, he couldn't swallow properly.  In December of 2008, he was diagnosed with Stomach cancer that had spread to his liver and lungs.  We prayed that he would make it through the holidays.  He did, and two more sets after that.

Curly just wanted to be loved and to give love.  He worked in both of our classrooms.  With J's classes, it was "Curling up with a Good Book" where reluctant readers would read to him.  In my classes, the goldens just hung out. One of my biggest, bad-a$$ thugs would make sure he was in school - in my class - when Curly was there.  He reached some of those kids in ways I could only imagine.  (I will get some of those pictures on here once I get into my classroom and bring them home.)

J brought up the recliner in the middle when I was pregnant with O
It gave me a change of venue from the couch.
You can see who was making use of it.

I can also say that he and I had a very special connection.  Without any training, he became a seizure dog.  Curly could tell before I knew that my seizures were coming, big or small, he knew.  He would come, nose at me and bug me until I sat down.  When my seizures were 100s per week, this was not a small feat.  It took me a bit to realize what was going on.  Not sure if it was the change in electrical energy he picked up on or perhaps there is a scent - no clue.  But my Curly boy knew.  We were bonded in a way that I have not experienced in all my life of k9s.  He got me through some rough times, just by hanging out with me.  He just knew.

A few months ago, I woke up to a horrible sight at 12am - Curly having a violent seizure.  It was a Blue shift, I was all alone and up for the rest of the night.  Curly lost his sight for a bit that night, was scared out of his mind and paced up and down the halls.  We got him on some meds, but the vet was very clear - seizures this late in life are never good, it is a sign of major neuro issues, not simple k9 epilepsy, which we were already familiar with.  Curly's seizures were violent and draining and all but one came in the middle of the night.

Wednesday night was one of those nights.  He woke me up with a violent thud - as he propelled himself off my bed.  I ran and got the ice packs, got those placed on his lower back (not sure why, but it helps shorten the duration of the sz.).  When he came to, I got him his vanilla ice cream (helps revive the blood sugar) - this time he wasn't interested.  Not a good sign.  We would repeat this at 2am, 3am, 4am and at 5am he started clustering.  As soon as my Curly would come back from a seizure, it would suck him back in.

I was so tired, so scared and so alone.  I got the kids up, my oldest got everyone fed so I could stay with my Curly Q and the boys went off to the day camp program in the neighborhood.  I was so thankful when J came home.  We called the vet and had the talk.  It was time.  Today was Curly's 18th birthday.  I guess he just had to make it to that milestone!  We celebrated with a peanut butter and vanilla ice cream shake during one of his more clear moments of the day.  Not the k9 party I had planned for the day, but we celebrated his life as we prepared for his passing.

Hangin' out with Willow after we lost Riley.  It hit him hard. :(

Dr. Waters is an amazing vet.  We have been with her, essentially since she graduated from vet school.

 She left the clinic where we met and opened up a mobile vet practice.  She comes to the house with her specially equipped RV and is wonderful.  This is especially appreciated when it comes time for everyone's annual check up.  Try holding on to two 70+lbs. k9s and a 120 lbs. ball of fluff while other dogs come and go.  NO FUN!  She was able to make it out last night.  I am especially appreciative, at times like these, to not have to walk out to the waiting room like a blubbering idiot, after saying good-bye.  We discussed if this was the right time - if there was anything else.  Dr. Waters simply said, "If he was mine, it would be time."  She will bring him home to us next week.

We called him the grandpa dog - his age, his personality, his love,
his patience - all made him who he was.

I am ETERNALLY grateful that J made a trade a few months ago.  It sucked having to go through all the seizures by myself, but it would have sucked so much more, having to say good-bye to Curly alone.  It was after all, a Blue shift.  J was supposed to be working.

Curly will be missed like crazy.  I can't sleep because he is not curled up in the crook of my legs and his collar is simply not enough.  There are a lot of tears in our house right now, but the joyous moments definitely outweigh any amount of tears.  Goodbye Curly Q. Your pawprints are tattooed on my heart. I know Riley was waiting for you on the other side of the rainbow bridge.  I will see you guys again someday.  Look for me.

Curly
July 7, 1993 - July 7, 2011