My New Camera Came Today

I am sooooo excited!!! 

I don't know if I mentioned that I had to order it and have it shipped because they were sold out at the store.  That turned out to be a fiasco!  Apparently people had called in sick and they were staffing the customer service with fill ins from the floor who were not familiar with the job.  I admired the fact that they were willing to step in, be a team player, and help out where needed so I couldn't even get upset with the fact that it took me nearly an hour to get that camera ordered!!

I tried it out on the only willing live subject in the household - Ollie.  

I need to work with it more. 

 As  a side note, I don't know what to do to get Ollie to stop licking his paws.  He gets Benadryl two times a day and I have switched his food back to the outrageously expensive grain free so, at this point, I think it is out of boredom (when I am working and he is alone) or habit.  The saliva is what turns his paws and hair around his mouth a rusty color.  

This is how Zack does his school work

Fascination with the "Little People"...an Observation

I don't really "watch" a lot of TV.  The TV is usually on but, for me, it is just background noise.  There is nothing on TV that I watch faithfully week to week besides Downton Abbey.  

But lately I've noticed via commercials, that there are a heck of a lot of reality TV shows centering around families of dwarfs.  Maybe it's me, but I don't understand the fascination.

It began with Little People Big World featuring the Roloff family...Matt and Amy who are dwarfs and their four children, three who are average sized and one who is a dwarf.  The show aired 2006 through 2010.  

Then there is The Little Couple which started airing in 2009.  This show features Bill and Jen and, recently, their two adopted children who are also dwarfs.  The show records their struggles to have a family and through Jen's fight with cancer. 

Next we have Our Little Family. This family of 5, which includes a young boy and twin girls, all have acondroplasia dwarfism.  I gotta admit...those three kids are adorable little tow heads.  

Premiering soon is another show about a family of 7 who also are all achcondroplasia dwarfs.  The Johnston family from Georgia consider themselves the real life seven dwarfs.  They have two biological children and three adopted children.  

Finally there is Little Women LA which has been airing for almost a year.  This show drives me crazy!!! Mostly because while scrolling through channels to see what is on...my eye is drawn to the Little Women part and automatically I get excited thinking the Louisa May Alcott Little Women movie is on.   

 If combining all of those, I've maybe watched 6 full episodes.  Not a big fan and don't understand the fascination but it seems this subject must fascinate some people because little people shows are more popular than ever.  

My Step-Up Camera

It has always been my wish to have a decent camera...a DSLR would be great but I cannot justify spending that kind of money on a camera when I am not passionate about photography - I just want nice quality pictures that are not blurry or fuzzy.

Enter the Nikon Megapixel Coolpix.  It is about 18 steps up from my point and shoot but at a price that was just barely under $200.00 (on sale...really on sale...like almost 50% off on sale).  And I love that it's purple so it's kind of feminine.  

I'm so excited to use it on our trip and see if it makes a difference in my pictures...and I'm passing the point and shoot down to Zack.  

Why Not Colorado

It's unbelievable but we leave on our "spontaneous" spring break trip in just one week.  

I have already booked a motel in Rapid City for Friday night through Monday night and then intended to just head for home on Tuesday.

But then I started thinking (which can sometimes be dangerous)...we have the time...and the money...why not go down to Colorado and see the snow capped mountains.?



I've been there a couple times but not since I was in middle school.  And incidentally, both times I was there I came down with bronchitis - coincidence?  I guess we'll find out.  

I am pretty excited! 

4% is not Enough

 I love, Love, LOVE the school I teach at.  

Around Thanksgiving time we welcomed a new family to the school.  The two young girls had been previously home schooled by their mother.  Tragically, their little sister had just been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer (DIPG) and the parents were forced to put the girls in school to focus on the needs of their little one.  


Link to Their Caringbridge site

Evangeline "Jelly Bean"

I have been overwhelmed seeing the older student's embracing this family, praying for them, and holding countless fundraisers for them.  

Recently, when the mother asked for support for their 4% campaign...our students jumped into action.  

Currently:

"The National Cancer Institute only gives less than 4% to research and to try to cure all 12 types and all 200 subtypes of childhood cancer. It’s not enough."

Ebay Pictures

I'm thinking about listing my new doll on ebay.  Honestly, I think I may have a hard time parting with her.  She is just so beautiful and holding her feels just like holding and cuddling a newborn...but it feels creepy doing that since, you know, it's really just a doll and all. So, I have some mixed feelings but I know I could make a huge profit if I sold her so I'm leaning toward doing that. 

I think Ollie might miss her more than me though:

Some of the pictures I took for ebay

She's Here

As I said before, the doll I recently ordered was a one of a kind and a true collector doll.  I paid very little for it but could probably turn around and sell it for 3x what I paid for it.  

It was sent priority mail so it arrived this afternoon.  It came as a boy and the creator gave him the name Jaxon Cooper but I quickly decided it should be a girl...no name yet.  

A first night photo shoot:

Even has a fake tongue

The lips, eyelashes, eyebrows, nose...all perfect

I love the pointed finger

Look at the fingernails

6 pounds 8 ounces   21 inches
I love, love, love it.  

ER Visit

I was never really comfortable after Jon's doctor visit on Monday.  I thought the doctor wrote off his low oxygen issue too quickly without finding out what underlying condition was causing it to be low.  

Throughout the week his cough continued to be horrible and several times I caught him stopping to catch his breath.  I could hear him breathing heavily and see his chest rise and fall when breathing.  He was also moaning almost constantly in his sleep which, I believe, was an oxygen issue as well.  

Last night while we were out for dinner I was watching him struggle to breathe and decided it was time to visit the ER.

His vitals were all about the same as Monday except his blood pressure was much higher this time and temp was lower...

BP:154/91
Pulse: 118
Oxygen: 90/91%
Temp:98.9*

The doctor was a youngster who, after listening to Jon's lungs, was ready to write this off as a virus.  He started talking about how a virus affects the lining of the lungs and how he was going to prescribe an inhaler for him.

I was NOT satisfied with this. 

 I said, "he already has an inhaler and it has done nothing for his cough. I am concerned about his low oxygen levels."

The doctor looked totally puzzled...

I said, "okay so they're not terrible - but they're not normal either. There has to be some reason they are running low."

At this point the doctor relented and ordered a chest x-ray while at the same time stating, "it would be very highly unusual for someone to have pneumonia and not have a fever."

Well...that's my son...very highly unusual.  He did indeed have pneumonia in his right lower lobe. 

I am pretty sure if the doc ordered an x-ray on Monday it would have showed pneumonia too and would have spared him days and days of coughing.   

He was given a prescription for Levequin and a stronger cough medicine that he can only take at night.  During the day he needs to cough as much as possible to get rid of the pneumonia.  

He wouldn't let me take any pictures of him.

(S)he's Mine

Ever since I got Ariana I knew that I wanted at least one more Reborn Doll.  This time, however, I wanted a newborn with closed eyes.  I also wanted a one of kind this time instead of a prototype because the one of a kinds are worth more.

So, I began my search about a month ago but couldn't find one that I thought was priced right.  "Right" meaning, "wow! That doll is beautiful. I can't believe it is that cheap!"

Yesterday I finally found one.  It is 6 lbs. 8 ozs. so it is weighted like a real newborn.  It is also 21 inches long.  It comes dressed as a boy.

Here s(he) is:

I am expecting the package sometime during the week.

Check in tomorrow for "Jon Visits the ER" 

Guilty

On Friday nights Zack and I go to dinner at BWW followed by our weekly grocery shopping at Target.  Ollie comes along because, of course, he has to go everywhere we do - even if that means waiting in the car!  

I will usually take a napkin and wrap up a little of my leftover food as a treat and give it to him when we get back to the car.  

While we are in Target 9 times out of 10 the napkin will be shredded by the time we are done.  

Tonight when we got out the car, he had the evidence all over his face and a guilty look in his eyes to boot.

More Fish

I still had a frozen tilapia fillet in the freezer so I made this:

Pecan crust on the fish

Asparagus was cooked separately but I sprinkled some of the excess pecans on top

Both were cooked at 425*
Fish for 25 minutes
Asparagus for 15 minutes

Just Stuff

It's 8:45 and I'm sitting here in the dark while Jon is asleep on the pull out couch and is alternating between humming in his sleep and coughing.

I really can't believe how much he hums in his sleep.  He does it almost constantly.

The cough is so much worse than it was yesterday.  The medicine they gave him isn't working at all.  This doesn't surprise me since I've had it before and it did nothing for me either. 
 

Generic for Tessalon-Perles.  I know doctors are afraid to prescribe a codeine based cough medicine and I understand their hesitation but when it's necessary...it's necessary.  Listening to him cough is horrible.

Also he is breathing really heavy and I can see his chest rise and fall as he breathes.  I'm pretty sure that's not a good sign and it's made worse as I remember his oxygen levels from yesterday.  

Jon rarely gets sick but when he does...he does it well.  

Here's hoping for a better day tomorrow.  

Jon Visits (and Other Stuff)

On Saturday the waiting was over.  Zack and I headed down to Milwaukee to pick up Jon for a week long visit.

Jon had been sick for a whole week before he came with a 103* temp and strep throat so we were grateful that he was on the mend and feeling better and would be healthy for his visit...or so we thought.  

While the fever was mostly gone and the throat was better, he had a horrible cough!!!  We tried mucinex, delsym, cough drops, warm apple juice, and multiple combinations of these things but not much was working for very long.  

He insisted on seeing a doctor.  I'll be honest, I thought it was unnecessary.  He was already on antibiotics and they weren't going to do much for the cough - but I took him anyway.  Now that he is working he pays for his own medical costs so it was his money he was spending.  

Unfortunately, when we got there we found out the lady who scheduled the appointment had the wrong date opened when she was talking to me and therefore, he did not have an appointment.  They were kind and put him a room and, like me, thought he didn't look very sick so they were going to check his vitals and send us on our way.

Only...his vitals were awful!  Temp was okay at 99.6* but still puzzling why he still had a temp at all.  Pulse was 118 (way too fast) and oxygenation levels were 90/91% at their best.  Even after switching out the pulse ox machines his levels stayed the same - 90/91%.  

Needless to say...he got to see a doctor.  It's a mystery why his levels were so low because his lungs sounded pretty good.  So we left with a nebulizer and cough medicine and the promise that if he got any worse we would come right back.  

We were able to squeeze in dinner at one of our faves.

Talking graphs and math(?????) Way over my head

Best chips and salsa around

And now he at a movie with his friends.  

I'm hoping he gets some relief soon.  

Seriously???

This gave me a good laugh today - although, in reality, I probably should be more concerned than humored that these were answers given by an 8th grader.

On Wednesdays, I oversee a high school study hall that meets in the room of the 8th grade English and Bible teacher.  The study hall is 2nd period and she only works afternoons so it happens to work out fine.

Usually when I go to sit down at her desk, there are papers that either need to be graded or have already been graded sitting there and I move them off to the side so I don't confuse them with papers I've brought in to grade.  

Sitting on her desk today was a Bible test and when I picked the papers up to move them, I quickly glanced at the questions (I do this on occasion just to see if I am able to answer the questions myself).  Then, because I couldn't help myself, I noticed the student's answers on the top paper.

Question #1:
Explain how the Israelites crossed the Jordan River.  Give details.
   
Answer:
They used a boat and crossed the thing (yes, the answer really said "the thing")

Question #2:
Explain the story of Rahab and the spies.

Answer:
The spies were spying on Rahab

Needless to say this student did not get credit for either of those answers.