Doctors, Sprouts and Ice

So I decided to take the weekend off from blogging....not so much by intentional choice as much as I was just exhausted and decided to sleep instead of my usual 10-midnight writing block. Sooooooooooooooo let me catch you up. Saturday we had a snowstorm in the afternoon so there was a parking ban in our city, which meant we didn't have our normal street ministry. So that was actually nice....we got some much needed rest and ran a couple of errands. Then that night Lori came over and in the expectation of all of us possibly having no church the next morning she spent the night so we could chit chat without worrying about the weather and catch up. Since her mom died and Momchu died, we just haven't been able to connect.
So I had gotten some gourmet fresh raviolis from Whole Foods and expected to have a really nice Italian dinner. Hmmmmm......so much for that. What I failed to notice was that the filling included goat cheese! I HATE goat cheese.....ughhhhh....nasty flavor....it tastes like the smell of a petting zoo!!! No amount of sauce, no amount of Parmesan cheese..or anything else could kill that nasty flavor. Both Lori and myself gulped them down with as few bites as possible and as quickly as possible so we had to taste them as LITTLE as possible. LOL
Meanwhile,both of our churches are die hards that rarely cancel a service soooooo at 5 the next morning Ben and I woke up and went out to shovel the driveway and clean the cars. By the time we were done we had just enough time to run in, get cleaned up and dressed and wake Lori up to get ready. OY!!
Sunday was great, as usual....and I was sooooooooooo psyched to have a couple of my friends help me in the kitchen. Yesterday afternoon was relaxed and wonderful...Ben and I watched a movie and just enjoyed each other's company.
Monday being back with the kids and my co-workers was so nice. Amber wanted to make banana pudding with the kids so she walked them through each step and I took pictures of them all. LOL...soooooo cute! Today was just as good.....only today we made English muffin pizzas with them. They had fun. We also took the whole little sprout herd to the park to go sledding. They had a BLAST.
Life at home yesterday and today has been fun too. It's been so cold and icy that simple things like even taking Sargie to go potty has been an adventure in humor. Imagine a little dog that #1 can't find a scent to mark his usual tinkle zone and #2 when he does finally find a spot, attempting to get the necessary traction to pee is almost impossible. Not to mention when we first step outside the step is a sheet of ice and no matter how many times he slips and falls he still hasn't learned to pace himself going out the door. So every time he hits the ground running..he LITERALLY hits the ground. All four feet flying and tail spinning like some out of control rudder..there he goes....ZZZZZZIP...BOOM....right off the step. LOL.
Let's see..what else.....oh yeah, last night we finally got the meeting with the hospital to discuss our concerns about Momchu's passing. You could tell they were trying to do damage control,and you could tell they were defensive....and the one Dr that was the thorn in our side was there too. We did well...all three of us vented our frustrations, our anger, our concerns and said all the things we have been chomping at the bit to say since she first went into the hospital there. Then at one point I had my chance to finally call this doctor out on the carpet for cold and callous and god-complex things he had done. I will tell you I handled it very tactfully..I didn't swear..I didn't rant and rave and didn't raise my voice. However, with every ounce of tact and boldness in me, I called him on every single thing that I felt needed to be addressed. The silence in the room and the squirming body language of the other hospital staffers made it an interesting confrontation... I refused to back down and every lawyer,military man and medical staffer in my own family would have been proud as I drew on every single one of them to deftly defend my disgust at him, and by the time I was done........well.......I had clearly made my point.
Sigh....I firmly believe that we did NOT lose Momchu for nothing...and I know that if we can make this hospital safer, and more attentive to it's patients and their right to be treated like human beings....then it will have been worth it. That alone takes the sting out of losing her. God is good!!

Update on life

Wow.........it's been a long two weeks or week and a half...or however long.....the days are starting to run together to be honest. A LOT has happened, but the two biggest things are my dear mother in law (nicknamed Momchu) had a stroke a week and a half ago....on the night of the 6th (yeah we never did get to the MC birthday ball...or even our hotel suite, but that's ok) . We were told that night that she wouldn't make it and even if she did....that her quality of life would be so poor that we should let her go just to spare her. Of course we all love her so even the thought of doing such a thing was just unthinkable......so we prayed....we told God we were ok with whatever He decided to do with her, but that we were asking for a miracle. Within an hour we began to see a turn around and almost all signs of paralysis began to fade with a restoration of movement and basic motor skills. She still has a long way to go, but she is alert, communicative and with proper rehab will make a wonderful recovery.
The second thing that happened is I started my new job (instead of the nickname of Deathstar like my last job, the new nickname for my job will be Sprout Central) and I LOVE it!!! The kids are great, a few behavioral quirks here and there....but overall...they are AWESOME!! Besides.....after 9 years of working at the deathstar.....nothing can phase me. LOL. So I am enjoying everything from wiping noses, changing diapers and getting the bottoms of my shoes sticky from spilled juice......to dancing around like a maniac, walking children to the park on a rope leash and reading the same page in a storybook 20 times because it has the picture of a snowman on it. LOL. I am really enjoying it too....I'm not just saying it either....I'm REALLY having a BLAST!!! Plus the other teachers are soooooo great to work with...it's making the whole process fun. I think the worst thing I've had to deal with so far was sitting on a dried and crusty booger. Yeah that was pretty nasty.....but other than that....no complaints. LOL.
So that's the 411 for now.....it's not every detail...but at least it catches you up on my last two weeks so I can start fresh with more amusing entries.