Monday, Monday

I got up around 11:30. I am exhausted. Dave woke me at 5:30 to tell me they had to take Sarah to the ER. She woke her mother saying she couldn't breath. Over the phone she was coughing and crying it sounded like a horrible croup.

I got up to go with them and even dressed but I didn't make it past the foot of the bed. I was so tired and so stressed I just dropped to the floor and started to pray. I've never been so tired and so worn out. I couldn't have gone another step if I wanted to.

When I got up a few minutes later I called Dave and told him I just couldn't come. They were in the ER already. He was fine and she she was actually feeling better. He told me she that she had just thrown up a ball of mucus. He said, "Mom, that was the awfullest thing I ever saw. It was the biggest wad of mucus I've ever seen."

On the way to get her medicine, she threw up again and they had to come by and wash her up, change car seats and her clothes. Fortunately she had clothes here since we have been doing laundry for the lice issues. Again, it was a large amount of mucus.She was hoarse but in good spirits. She showed me her dinosaur the x-ray techs gave her and we cuddled a few minutes and I told her a story. She is just such a sweet child.

When they left I passed out. Several calls came in and I was ready to scream but finally people quit calling and I got about three hours of uninterrupted sleep. I'm still tired and I think I will have a nice quite evening with NO company. I love being with my family but I've had enough togetherness for one weekend. Thankfully, this will only be a four day work week. I hope I can manage it.

I appreciate all the feed back on the Writing Challenges. Some have already sent me a copy of their stories and I am so pleased. They are really very good! LOL! Grammy and Nancy were a bit overwhelmed by my putting up four this weekend but I am experimenting with cross posting to the Writing Challenge blog. It hasn't worked right so far and I'm frustrated. It works for my other blog but for some reason it that one. So, you may see others go up.

If you want to participate in the Writing Challenges you don't have to do them all, you don't have to do them in any order, and you don't have to even acknowledge you are doing them. Although, I do like knowing the outcome and if you enjoyed it. And it isn't much of a challenge if no one knows!

I mentioned in the comments somewhere this morning that these are the kind of prompts that get me writing. I don't care for one line prompts much. Maybe I just need more help, lol. My belief is that the forcing myself to follow certain parameters actually gets me to write more "story" in an effort to stay in the guidelines. You can be the judge with your own stories.

I'm not up to par this morning. Thankfully, I am not in terrible pain. LOL. When I finally got up I had some places I was hurting really bad but I think it was position mostly. My back was hurting last night and I couldn't go to sleep until I pulled my legs up, knees sticking up! Released the pressure on my lower back. I also kept checking the bedroom door! I don't know what that is about but I'd doze off and then, wake and look at the door. I don't know. I just know I'm tired.

I may have to move my bed back if that keeps up. But there is no position I can place it where I could actually see to door unobstructed. At the moment it is behind me and at my feet. The only other way would place it at my head to my left. It is a small room. The only other way would be to cover my air vent and I don't think that's a good idea.

Thank you all for being on Multiply with me. It is always good to be able to come here and visit.

No Rest for the Wicked

Or is it weary? I don't know. I went to bed around 5 a.m. and am just now up. Why? Good question. Becca called me around 2 and woke me, horrified. She was helping Arica with her hair after she had washed it (the child has very thick hair.) Ever since we met her Becca said Arica had eczema. She even questioned her mother about it. Becca told her she thought Arica wasn't rinsing her hair thoroughly. Her mother agreed! Last night, Becca decided to try and help her and show her how to properly care for her hair. Since they are all night owls I'm not surprised at the time. BUt I'd been asleep little more than an hour when they woke me.

The child's head is eat up with lice. YES! head lice. Becca called nearly beside herself. Becca has the thickest hair on the planet with a braid thick as my wrist. She caught head lice as a child. Her memories are not good. Her had was shaved.

She gathered up the child and took her to my son's, waking them up. She told her mother about it, asking if she knew when they came last week that the girl had head lice. Arica had told Becca her mother did know because she'd treated her several times in the last several months! The child lives with her father and a girlfriend. Her mother lives with a brother. But honestly, hearing Becca's story of lice falling on to the towel, there is no way this child could have had such an infestation and the mother not know if she was paying any attention to that child.

Dave went to the pharmacy and got kits to treat Becca and I and Sarah. I sent Mike to get two for Arica and Jordan since they found Jordan has them too! I called and they used one treatment for BOTH children after I told him you have to use one for each person. You have to wash the hair and then comb it to get rid of the nits. They sent the kids to bed with the combing gel still in the hair! Idiots! I understand if they didn't know but apparently they aren't losing any sleep over it and I'm guessing that is all the treatment they will get. They can shave the boys heads but Arica has already had her hair chopped off and I'm betting that is why.

We are using the shampoo treatment today. Becca and I are both so terrified. I nor my children have ever had head lice and I wouldn't know it if I saw it. I saw some places on Arica's head but I too thought it was eczema. From the moment Becca found this a week ago she has been worrying and questioning it. David has eczema and she knows what it looks like. It wasn't clicking for her. I told her last night that she must have known without realizing it and it wouldn't leave her alone. Not until she washed Arica's hair and sat down to thoroughly examine it did she find it.

Oh, I'm so furious. Aobut the child and how awful she must feel. We just love her and enjoyed her so much. The little girl cried when Becca had to take her back to her mother. She didn't want to go.I can't have any of them back here until I'm sure they are clear of the head lice.

I was up until 5 a.m. washing the bedding in hot water where she lay on the spare room bed after we got back from the zoo. She was so excited about some books I gave her and lay down to read and went to sleep. I still have stuff to wash. I have a spray for it too. I don't think either Becca, Sarah or I have caught them but we have to treat it just the same. My whole house has to be cleaned top to bottom. I felt so good yesterday and now, I'm exhausted.

I want to wring my son's neck. Mostly, I just feel terrible sending a 10 year old child back to people who won't care if her head is filled with bugs. No one is taking care of this little girl and it turns my stomach. Why God gives children to people like this is beyond me. I see it every stinking day in my job and I am just so tired of it.

If you have a surefire remedy, let me know please. I stayed up and vacuumed the floors, sprayed the spare bed and living room furniture with the pesticide that comes in the kit. I still have to tackle the den where they have been playing for two weeks. I have to mop all the floors and sanitize them.

I have to treat MY bed just in case. She didn't sleep there but she was all over the house. We've accepted her as a member of the family and she is such a sweet child! No trouble at all. Poor Becca has gotten so attached and I thought she would kill someone last night. As I said, her experience was horrible when she was this age. She wanted to wring that woman's neck for Arica.

Ok, I have to go. I'm so tired and you all know what lack of sleep will do to me. Before I dozed off this morning I wondered why it is that one lovely day always cost me everything. I've told Mike he can't come back here until they are all clear and his house is cleared.

What a Day!

Since this morning I've been very busy. I went to the zoo with Dave, Becca, Sarah and Arica. We had a wonderful time checking out all the animals and riding the paddle boats. We have photos and will be getting them up soon. The zoo here in town is a small zoo but lots to see and do. It took about 4 hours to do it.

It is situated on a heavily wooded tract of land with lots of up and down pathways. It wasn't really that hot today but we worked up a sweat walking the miles of path. There were lions and tigers and a tapir. OH MY! Sarah had a wonderful time. Becca had never been to our zoo and had been told it was boring and small. She ended the day happy she went and with a family pass. It is a lovely little zoo. We have lots of photos to put up soon.

We ended up after ice cream, around 4 p.m. at my house. Exhausted. Mike, Rachael, and Rachael's oldest son, Jordan came over. They had fireworks. I bought pizzas and sodas and we sat out back and Mike took care of the entertainment. I wish we'd had cameras at the moment the strange propellered rocket decided to chase him across the yard. Or the moment he thought one rocket was done and it wasn't... just in time. We all laughed uproariously and cautioned him to wait longer. However, we all had a great time and enjoyed the show immensely. Mike remained intact but Jordan and David got burned playing with fireworks. Tsk, tsk, tsk. Actually, Jordan's was a mishap with a match. David had a short fuse.

Every one is gone now and I have to go to bed. It is nearly one a.m. Church is tomorrow. I suspect I'll be up early anyway. But what a very lovely day it was. I had no pain to speak of, except my hip bothered me for a short while during our zoo trip but then, the paths are very steep in some places.

Oh, and thanks to the seeming success of the writing challenge, I've actually started a blogger blog, Dixiegirl's Writing Challenge. I'll still post them here but they will all be in one place on Blogger. Drop by and take a look. I have the first three already up. I don't know how frequently I'll post one but future challenges will go up on Multiply and cross post. I put three up on blogger today only because I wanted to get the blog set up and see how it worked. I've pleased with it. I'll post the other two here soon. Grammy Blicktx and Nancy both did excellent jobs on their stories and have them posted. Can't wait to see who else does one and how it comes out.

Now, bed! What a day!

A Night of Dreams

I had to take a Tramadol early last night AND put a pain patch on my back before Becca left. The came over and she fixed dinner for us. I watched Sarah play. I was hurting all day and it just got worse and worse. The pain became horrendous. I have to tell you, I can't hardly bear this pain in my back. It is the worst I've had and if it is fibro, I'm probably in serious trouble. It is debilitating.

When I went to bed, I slept crazy and not sound. I was in this half waking state for hours. And I dreamed a lot. Yes, I'm exhausted this morning but I have to go to work... very soon! I think this is what tramadol does to me. Seems like last week when I took it I had a heavy dreaming state but not a restful sleep.

I dreamed I was living in this desert. Becca was there for some reason and puttering around the car. At least I think it was her. And Jerry was there. I don't remember what we were doing and I have no idea why we were there. I've never been to such a place. Looked like the Arizona desert, cactus and everything. A HUGE rattlesnake was in the flower bed and he had a head almost like an alligator, shape-wise I mean. I was on the porch and looked down and saw him. Jerry was nearby.

I watched as the snake rose up and began to move toward him. I was trying to tell him to get away and to hurry. But I don't think I got it out because he was just looking at me and then I saw it strike behind him and bite him on his right hand, on one of his fingers. He sort of looked at it and I began to scream instructions. "JERRY! RUN! GET OUT OF THERE! Becca we have to get him to the hospital!" I turned to run inside the house.

Either in my head or out loud I said, "He's been bitten before. We have to hurry." And then, I don't remember anything else. I think, it feels as if I dreamed other things too but that is the only one I remember.

I woke up with relatively little pain but I'm tired.

Dixiegirl's Writing Challenge #1

I present this little challenge to my writing friends here on Multiply. You may infer anything you want from my description but stick to the rules that follow it.

Three men are sitting at a bar in a seedy, rundown room. One is wearing a black trench coat. The second is wearing a pair of overalls. The third is wearing a uniform. You must address these three items: Where are they, what is going on and why they are where they are?

Here are the rules:
1. You must use 1st person point of view.

2. You may use one of the three characters as your POV character but no character already in the room other than the three can be used for POV. Other people can be there and interact but not as the POV Character.

3. You can bring in a fourth character from the outside and use that as your POV if you like but if you do it must be a woman and she must be in need of help in some way, trivial or otherwise.

4. At some point the following phrase must be used: "You want ice for that?"

You need at least 500 hundred words to do this justice. I'm betting you get more.