Curling, Taxes and Monster Trucks!!! What a Combo!!

So a couple of weeks ago I filed our federal return and it was a glorious moment. We did get back a nice piece of the "pie". Although we live high on the hog all year and pay off our debts at tax time there usually isnt much left when the money comes in. Well I just figured our state taxes and we OWE!!! What how can this be? I guess beings we claim Alabama as our state of residence (military), we make too much for them and they want more of our money. But when I think of the people in good ol Bama, I realize that we are rollin in the money compared to them so we are the upper class. Wow for the first time in my life that has happened. Its just a shame that I cant be there to enjoy it or if I were there I would just be piss poor.
Well I just watched the last Curling match of the 2006 Olympics for the USA and we did it we brought home the Bronze medal. Woohoo!!!!!! Lets hear it for the boys....it was one hell of a Bonspiel!! The man in the center of the picture is the Skip, or captain of the team, Pete Fenson. I have followed this sport so deeply that I feel as if it has become my life sometimes, it was truly addictive. Now that it will not be on anymore I will have to wait 4 more years and probably see a new team at that point.
Well tomorrow we are off to Monster Truck Jam, what a day it will be, they do it at the stadium where the Jacksonville Jaguars play. It is supposed to rain so the field will be extra muddy, we are all looking foward to it. We have been the last 3 years in Providence RI and it was indoors and very loud so I am looking foward to this year. My youngest son Avery is so pumped up about it, that is all I have heard for the last week. And my eldest who hated it in the past is really looking foward to it this year. I will possibly put some pictures up on Sunday, if I remember the camera!!

Olympic Curling and Other Random Thoughts!!

I must admit, I have become an Olympic Curling junkie. I have watched Curling everyday that it has been on since the Olympics have started. I have even got my 3 year old hooked. I am starting to think he understands it a little more than I do. For those of you that haven't seen it, we are in the semifinals for a medal, the mens team at least. There is something so addictive about 4 men, brooms, a bullseye, and a 42 pound granite curling stone. As I have watched many of the sports, I often question myself, "Who was the first person to think that one up." Some of these things you have to be obviously insane to even think of attempting. Lets see for instance, who wants to lay on a sled and travel, 80 miles an hour down a icy track? Or who, in their right mind thought it was cool to ski off a ramp and "fly" to only land abrubtly at the bottom of a hill. To top it all off is the free style aerials, lets see I want to jump a ramp and see how many flips and turns I can do before landing on 2 thin skis. What are some of these people thinking, they all deserve medals for what they are even attempting!!! GO TEAM USA!!!

He's Home....Yippee!!!!

Well after many delays yesterday he finally came home. My family exisits in it entirety once again. It has been really nice in just the 24 hours that he has been here. The kids are acting really good and they were so happy to see him. We battled wind and sand gnats for 4 hours to wait for that freaking submarine to pull in. I always feel weird when he first comes home because I am not used to having a man in the house and here one is and he is sleeping in my bed!!! Whoa! Its a lot to take in and get readjusted to, but I manage just fine. This weekend we are going to monster truck jam, that is my youngest ones favorite thing, he passion. The older one could care less what we end up doing. It will be nice too because I have another neuro-opthamology appointment on Thurs and he is going to be able to go with me. I have to go back to that crazy place I mentioned a few posts ago. Hopefully my experience will be a little tamer than before. I am just glad that he is going to get to go with me, I needed him so much throughout all of this but now I am truly greatful that he is coming with me. As the weeks go by I am sure I will have more to say because the "honeymoon" period will soon come to an end and life will be back to its old usual self. I wish that it could stay just the way it is though. I really enjoy the newness

My good news!!!

Well my darling husband is coming home tomorrow, yeah!!! I am so happy. Now I can go crawl under a rock and hibernate while he takes care of the kids, yeah right!! We are all excited for his return, it has been a really rough patrol, between my eye problems, my sick father in law, and now my boys both have ENT issues. My oldest has strep for the 5 time in 6 months, not good!! He never got it before we lived here and now it has been nonstop. I am sure they will be taking his tonsils out. My little one had tubes put in his ears 2 years ago and they have come out but now he still has fluid in his ears. After a month of heavy duty antihistamines and antibiotics the problem still existis so now they want to put tubes back in because he is at an important speech developmental stage and we do not want anymore delay than what we have already experienced. Maybe I will get them done at the same time so it will be silent around here for a couple of days. As for my eyes the latest, I have a new doctor a neuro-ophthamologist and he said that he is going to keep a close eye on my eyes for the next couple of months doing visual field tests and other stuff to make sure the vision is not deteroriating and that the medication is working properly. So I guess with all good there is a splash of bad.....that is what makes the spice of life!!!!!

Hello again!?

I feel like I have been neglecting my blog so I have a new addition for my readers, if there are any! The past week has been a little hectic, I have had 3 doctors appointments in the last 5 days all for my eyes. Ophthalmologist says the eye looks the same, the optic nerve is still as swollen as before the spinal tap. Neurologist says I am not responding to the medicine that he put me on and the optic nerves look the same. Next step just may have to be eye surgery...ewww scary! Well the neurologist has referred me out to yet another doctor a neuro-opthamologist, now isnt that a mouthfull. Basically my other 2 doctors combined in one brain. Well today was the appointment, I got there right at 9am, there was a 2.5 hour wait to see the technician and then another hour to see the actual doctor. I spent 3.5 hours in a doctors office I would like to refer to as the pit of the freaking earth. I saw more old people then a field day at a nursing home, I listened to some old man talk about smoking pot. I saw a lady with a hump on her back that looked like a full backpack. Apparently because it is a teaching hospital they have a clinic where people can get their care real cheap. To top it all of I saw a man from the prision being escorted in leg chains and handcuffs. There was also another prisoner in a wheelchair chained up too. Like where is he going to go!!! Well all in all the visit was great, the doctor told me that I have to let the meds work for about 6 months and that he was going to test my visual field for the next 6 months and monitor any changes so I guess I am in the clear for right now!!! Yippeeee

My trip home!!!

Well I am back from my trip to Alabama, the father in law is doing well. That is great, he got out of the hospital the day we left. I don't know what it is about hospitals but I think that they are really cool. I think that is why it must be my calling. To think that one place carries out all of the journies of life, birth, repair, and death. I think that they science of medicine is incredible. Well while at home I got my hair cut and colored by my most favorite hair dresser in the whole world,(love ya Tammy). She is awesome, she can cut hair like there is no tomorrow. While stationed in Connecticut the only time I got my hair cut was when we came home on leave and she was at the top of my list of things to do. My hair dresser is awesome, she came to my mothers house and did everything. I like to think if it as my own private spa experience. I was well over due for a new doo. Its something about self beautification that just makes your life a little easier for a while. Kind of like my friend Mimi and the new shoes, those little things in life make such a big difference. I took my friend Alison and her daughter home to Alabama with me, she is so cool to travel with we have so much fun. I wish she could have been my sister, heck maybe she was in a past life. Well while in Alabama, I showed her my old redneck stomping ground!!! And my little brother taught he to shoot her first gun, a 22. I think that really made her trip. I like to say we redneckafied her, maybe she has always had it buried down deep inside of her. Heck maybe everyone has a little redneck in them. What is a redneck you may ask, well my definition is a person who knows how to have a good time and not worry about what anyone else thinks, does, or says about it. That sounds good now doesnt it. Now there are different degrees of the redneck but we just wont go there, too much drama!!! Like I have said before I am proud of my roots, even know I was a transplant from the north to the south. I grew up having the best time at everything I did, and I have so many memories, good, bad and crazy. Well we got home on Sunday and I got a letter from my hubby on Monday so it has been a decent week so far. The kids are always driving me nuts, whats new!!! But my husband should be home relativly soon so I am excited and trying to get through everyday, that is just one less than I will have to do tomorrow.

Reflections on my husband

Well I will not be posting over the weekend, it seems I have to go out of town. My father in law is in the hospital for some blood clots and I really need to take the kids to see him. He is not on his death bed or anything, I just need to go. For the past 2 years his health has been deteriorating. He was diagnosed with COPD in the summer of 2004. He has always been an asthmatic but it is worse now than ever. Then in the Fall of 2004 he was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. He did radiation and chemo and sometimes it was touch and go with him. So no when he gets sick we make it a poing to get the kids to see him. You never know. My dear hubby is out to sea still, this is not serious enough to bring him home. In 2000 his older sister died in a car accident and he was pulled off the boat for that during patrol. I think in the back of his mind he is waiting for it to happen again. I have really never had to deal with death, knock on wood! My husbands father is the same age as my grandparents and I just couldnt imagine them going. I mean I know one day the inevidable will happen but I dont want to accept that right now.
Also, I got an email from my husband today, it made my day a little brighter. He said he missed us, when he is out to sea he sort of gets all philosophical on us and re evauluates his role in life. That is when we mean so much to him and he expresses it. Not that we have any problems at home but I have a hard time with emotions and when he writes the way he feels about me and the kids it is easier for me rather than him tell me every day for the rest of my life. I guess it means more to hear it every once in a while rather than everyday. Is that crazy. Maybe I need some therapy. My husband is my balance in life. I am high strung and he is laid back and he knows how to handle me whereas most people do not. I think he understands me more than anyone. I guess that is why I love him too. Have a good weekend everyone

GIRL POWER

Ok so I have been racking my brain all day thinking "what can I write about" Nothing was coming to me. Well this afternoon I decided to start raking the back yard, I then found my story. Beings that I am a Navy wife, being a single mother comes along with the job title. I am only a single mom part of the year but it still sucks. I end up being the husband and the wife all rolled into one person. Now I do not want everyone thinking that I depend on my husband for everything. I can do just about all of the things that he does and some of them I do better. I was brought up in a family with a independent mother, I also had my mom-mom and my Aunt Carol as role models and they showed me that women can do anything with out the help of a man. I feel bad sometimes because I do not let my husband have the chance to do things because I get to them first. So far since the freaking submarine has taken over our lives once again this fall I have managed to hang Christmas lights on the house and get on the roof to do it. I have also sat on the roof and tried to coax my stupid cat out of the tree, which ended up being a neighborhood rescue. Thank God they are all friendly here. I have raked my back yard not once but twice and burned all of the leaves. I have taken the vaccuum apart and fixed the switch. The list goes on and on, and I still had time to be a mother and do the chores like laundry, fix lunches, doctors appointments, and so on. It scares me though that I am bringing up my boys to see a woman that can do all of these things, will they come to expect it from future women in their lives. I mean I guess I could include them in the chores and work and teach them but it is usually easier for me to do it then have a lot of help. Also being a Navy wife you are more than likely not living near family. So therefore when the kids act up or I am tired and need a break, I have no one to turn to and they have nowhere to go!! These kids are getting to me and I still have a couple of weeks alone left! So therefore I bury myself in odds and ends around the house where I know that they will leave me alone. But that doesnt seem to work either. I am only human and my nerves are only so short!!! But at the end of the day I love these children and wouldn't trade them for anything in the world.

My Pseudotumor...the continuation!!!

Well I ended up going to the neurologist for what I thought was just a consult to set up the spinal tap....Little did I know what was in store for me. Upon my arrival they escorted me to the exam room which had a table, a sheet, and a "beautiful" hospital gown just for me. I said are you doing the tap today and they were like yeah that is what your opthamologist ordered. I was like oh now, I am so not prepared for this. My other doctor told me that the procedure was simple and that I might get a headache and that I would need someone to drive me home afterwards. Well the Neurologist insisted that I would not get the headache and that I would be able to take care of myself. So I called my friend and told her what was going on and my wishes if I were to die, I know I am a drama princess......Well the doctor started the procedure, I was like are you going to numb me and he said no. I was like you have got to be joking, your joking right? Well he wasnt and I had to endure some of the most excruciating pain of my life. It felt like the he was turning me inside out and pulling it all through that little friggin hole in my back. I screamed and hollered at him and then I said stop. They did not reach the fluid yet, oh god what was I going to do. He stopped and told me that I was going to have to go to a hospital in Jacksonville to have the procedure done under fluroscope. It is sort of like a live, real time x-ray. Well a week later I go in for the procedure, scared still from the pain of the last attempt. The nurse asked me what was wrong and I told her what had happened at the Neurologist's office and she could not believe what he had done and she assured me that they would numb me up real good. I went back for the procedure and I did not feel a thing, I even watched them with the needle on the screen and never felt anything. Thank God for Lidocaine!!! My spinal fluid pressure was high, well borderline high. They drained off some to lower it. All of my test came back normal. But as long as the fluid is high, it will put pressure on my brain, like a tumor, only there is no tumor, hence the name pseudotumor!!!!! I am now on diuretics to pull the fluid off, and the side effects are numb hands, and sensitivity to carbonated drinks. Well I have both!!! It didn't kill me, it only made me stronger in the end. I have to go back to the eye doctor next week so find out if the nerves have gone down. So wish me luck. And there you have it the story of my Pseudotumor!!

My Pseudotumor!!!! Sounds Scary but wait

Well on December 18th, 2005, I woke up and my eye was red, painful and my lid was nice a swollen. My hubby had duty that day and a friend took my kids to a Christmas Party, so I decided that a trip to the ER was on my agenda that day. Now I rarely get sick (knock on wood), but I have had issues with my eyes in the past so I thought what the heck. Well in the ER I was bumped ahead of puking kids and sick adults, I felt a bid wierd but they told me that anything with the eye is serious. Well I saw the doctor and he said I had a corneal ulcer, probably from my contacts and that I needed some drops and to see an opthamologist. Well by the time I got out of there every pharmacy was closed so I figured that I would just get the meds filled the next day. Well I woke up the next morning and of course the eye hurt and it looked worse. So I called the Opthamologist and I needed a referral to see them and I called my doc and they wanted to see me. I flipped and told them, what if I go blind? Within 30 minutes the doctor called me and said that my referral was done and that I needed to be at the opthamologists office by noon. I got to the opthamologist's office and after an extensive exam she comfirmed that it was an ulcer and that I was going to have to be on antibiotic eye drops and oral antibiotics for quite a while. She then told me that my optic nerves were swollen and that she was going to send me for a MRI. I was floored, I had never had anything done like that, what was going on. I was so in shock that I did not ask any questions, well I had to go back the next day for a check up and she told me to get some blood work done and I finally asked what is going on. Well apparently if you have a tumor in your brain it will cause your nerves to swell. Well the next day I had the MRI and it came back clear but my thought were like what if I die, I have two small boys and I want them to know me. Or what if I go blind what will my last pictures be? There were tons of what ifs and tons of tears shed. But I stopped and thought thank God its wasnt a tumor. Well I was diagnosed with a Pseudotumor (False tumor), or also known as Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension. My eye doctor then told me that she wanted to send me to a neurologist for a spinal tap. That another cause of the problem could be high pressure of my spinal fluid. I would need the tap to get the opening pressure and then they would drain off fluid if it was high until it was a little lower. They would also test this fluid for different diseases and other things. Well It was like 2 weeks before the tap and I got to enjoy Christmas but I was still a little down. I hate needles and I just had recurring thoughts of the needle going into my back. My husband was here for the MRI but he was going out to sea for the tap. He was worried and so was I. Thank God for email. I have to go now but I will continue with the tap story in a bit!!!!!!!!!

Getting to Know me through my thoughts.

Well here we go, my first blog ever. I have heard a lot of talk about blogs in the past year or so. I gave it a lot of thought and I believe that it just might be quite therapeutic for me! My life is always hectic with very little "me" time. After a while that really builds up. I have very many sides, I am generally a pleasant person, although I have been hurt by a lot of individuals. I am sure I will tell all about my life experience in due time. I have two little boys ages 3 & 7, I try to live life vicariously through them and they have taught me a lot over the past years. I believe that everything that happens in life happens for a reason, that reason may be far greater than you could ever imagine and you may not understand why it happened for many years. I have had many of them with my children. My husband is currently enlisted in the Navy and stationed on a submarine out of Kings Bay. He is gone right now and will not be back for sometime. We have just returned to a boat after 3 years of shore duty. The last time I did this I only had one child and he wasnt in school so I basically got to do what I wanted to when I wanted to! While on shore duty we were stationed in CT, yup thats right good ol Rotten Groton, as anyone that has lived there likes to refer to it. Groton was alright until my first winter, that is when I realized that I did not really like the cold. I was also stuck in the house with a newborn all winter which sent me spiralling into a nice little depression. It put a heavy strain on everyone, you know it rolls downhill. I was put on antidepressants in May 2003 and life has been better since then. I was ready to leave Groton when my time came, but I was saddened because I made some of the best friends while there. I mean I cared more for theses people than I had any other friends. In Oct 2005 my best friend that had been stationed in Groton and then ended up in Virginia decided to leave her husband and she moved in with me and my family. But I also had some bad experiences with some individuals that will remain unnamed for now. Not once but twice. I know I am the fool that let the problems happen the second time around. But I can be forgiving maybe a little too forgiving! Now I am in Georgia where is is warm and nice and there is no snow, yeah. But since I have moved here I have had new problems arise, not friendship problems but more like medical and partial single mom problems. It is late and I will hopefully be able to keep this up and tell you all more tomorrow.