Life in a hospital ER

What's better than spending 4 1/2 hours in a boring hospital ER room?

Spending 4 1/2 hours in a boring hospital room with blue rubber gloves...

So I really should see about investing stock in our local hospital ER... we are keeping them in business! I experienced a pretty bad vertigo spell, headache and numbness to my left foot today while at school (which is going awesome BTW)- so I text Tom, "I think I need to go to the hospital". After he left for work, I picked up the baby from daycare and proceeded to drive myself (with the tag-a-long crew) to our local ER. After a CT scan, blood work and EKG--doctor says my diagnosis was vertigo with severe headache & a potassium deficiency. So next on the menu is motion sickness meds, pain pills and banana's!

I got kicked out of the bed by these two rugrats!

She did so well... never fussed all the time she was trapped in her stroller...with no toys!

Washington DC Fundraiser

On May 26 to May 29, the 6th graders will be going to DC. The cost of the trip is $390.00 (if you'd like to donate for Carly to attend, please e-mail me), and in efforts to raise money the 3 classes came together to have a "Chicken Noodle Dinner". The dinner was provided to the public, and the cost was just a mere donation. Yum! Dinner was served at the Newton Firehouse (double yum!) from 5pm to 7pm and as of now we are not sure what the $$$ amount that was raised.

For each students parent that helped host the fundraiser, their child will get a portion of the $$$ that was earned to go towards their cost of the trip expenses. So far Carly was raised less than 1/4 of the cost...because we moved so late into the school year and have missed several fundraisers...so she NEEDS to raise a lot more!

Carly is super excited about this trip... especially since Tom will be attending as a male chaperon! They will have a blast together. Here are pictures from the dinner fundraiser :)

Newton Township Fire station is ran by volunteers, with a few full time firefighters. It was established in 1955. The firehouse was built by all volunteers...everything from plumbing to electricity; from flooring to decorations. Totally volunteered. The fire station responds to fire, rescue and water rescues. It is very cool! What was even cooler is we had free reign and could just wander the premises! Nice :)

A beautiful rainbow just after the rain stopped... this is the back of the fire station...I peeked in all the bay windows :)

Carly with some of her classmates. They are patiently waiting for people to come in and eat! Carly & Taylor hard at work...or are they hardly working????

Tom worked (flirted) with all the moms. He became known as the noodle man! I made a huge mistake. 1) I gave Isabella a plastic spoon that she could clamp her teeth down on and 2) I gave her mash potatoes made with milk... HUGE mistake. They made her soooo sick :( Horrible mom! I knew that they were made with milk, but I figured a tiny bit would not hurt her. Boy was I wrong. Being lactose intolerant is not easy.

Abby eating the potatoes, green beans and roll... oh and punch tooNice ;)





Carly got injured on the job and had to go see a medic to get a band aide... really Carly? I think it was just an excuse to check out the engines!
Time for clean up...
And they put Abby to work!

All done, just hanging out. There are boys from the class messing around (showing off)

The rest of the pictures are just fun shots that I took while wandering around the firehouse :)

A day at the park

Isabella the music superstar!

Yesterday we took advantage of the beautiful weather, and played at our local park. Carly, Abby and Isabella had a blast :)

Here are a few pics of our adventure!

Abby playing on the tires...no she is not giving the bird! Just looks like it ;)Isabella LOVED the park. But still, did not want to walk on her own.Carly enjoyed the tires too

Isabella had a good time riding down on the slide with Carly...not so much by herself. Of course, not this slide. The park had a baby slide- but even that one Isabella was not into :(

Abby is talking into a speaker the is linked to another in the wooden playgroundCarly and Abby traveling across the rubber bridge!

I think her all time favorite is the swing. She even tries to swing herself up and down

Piercology meet Niki

I was feeling a little wild and crazy, so I decided to recapture my youth and do something fun.....

So I decided to repierce my nose. As some of you know I had it pierced years ago (after quiting In-N-Out Burger), but then got a job at an assisted living place, so I had to take it out. I had it pierced again, but I did not take care of it properly...so the third time is a charm!

Tom and I were out in the downtown area, and I mentioned getting it done- after a failed attempt to find a tattoo/piercing studio that does them, we finally found "Piercology". The people working at Piercology were awesome! Crystal was super nice and very thorough with details of taking care of the pierce...and David was as gentle (as one can be) when poking my nose!

Thank you Piercology!!!

http://www.piercology.com/

Once Upon A Child...

I love this store!
Over the last few days I have hunted and gathered old articles of clothing, shoes, accessories and toys that Isabella (and Abby) have outgrown. Rather than donating all of them I took out the name brand and 'not so used' items out, and stored them to be looked at by OUAC.

One of the Columbus locations took many items, and I got a decent amount of money in return for them. The remaining items I took to a different location...and again, they took many items, but got a smaller return. But that is OK because 1) I got them out of my house and 2) I was able to turn that money around and purchase two outfits, tights and a puzzle for Isabella.

Right now they are promoting spring/summer wear, and discounting the fall/winter wear... which it's not a bad idea to buy a few pants and shirts the next size up, because you never know when the weather will throw us a cold day. I am super excited to go back to buy more summer cloths... for Carly and Abby too!!!

If you are not familiar with Once Upon A Child, here is their web-link!
Happy Shopping!!!!
http://www.ouac.com/

So this is...

...what pooping in your pants looks like!
Today we were at the library. Isabella was very active all the time we were there, and suddenly she stopped. I was concerned at first...she was acting peculiar... then I realized what exactly she was doing. Do-do!
My little concentration pooper!

Werner's take on Dave & Busters

Werner's decided to have a family date. To kick off the night we ate out at Subway... more of an effort to save on $$$ while out. Who can beat a $5.00 footlong? After dinner Tom and I took Carly, Abby and Isabella to Dave & Busters. Carly and Abby have been there once before (with Auntie Angela), but this was Isabella's first experience. We all had a blast. Played games, won tickets, received prizes and even had a little adult beverage! Isabella loved the bright lights and sounds...so interesting to her senses!

Carly and Abby loved all the games...not quite sure which was their faves. Isabella played 'Ski Ball' and rode the Harley Davidson with daddy. Tom & I played basketball...I even played the coin games where you win tickets. Ya know, I think that D&B is prepping our young ones for gambling addictions!

In the end, it was an awesome night. To finish it off we went out for ice-cream...well, soy-cream!
Enjoy the pics and video :)


Carly & Abby on the way out for our family date Isabella looking all about in her stroller

Abby and Carly racing... I love Abby's blue car in this pic... about to flip!!! Watch out future drivers!

Abby spinning to win big

Carly spinning to win big (80 tickets)

A little round of 'Air Hockey'--final score 7-3, Carly

Isabella loves the Ski Ball, balls

Abby & Carly racing each other on the motorcycles

Mommy shootin' hoops!

This video is Isabella riding with daddy on the Harley :)

And She Walks!!!

Isabella has finally decided to start walking...although her gate is clumsy, it's there! She started out walking while I was cleaning up the kitchen for dinner. Isabella began by holding on to my legs, but decided to just take off- she managed to get about 10 steps (baby steps, of course) before I decided it was time to get the camera. Naturally, the batteries were dead.

So off to Aunt Peggy & Uncle Henry's we went--to get batteries. At that point she did not want to walk anymore. I had to bribe her with her walker once I got back to our place.
Thirteen steps is the official count on the video...well, 12.5 if we want to get technical!
Since her walking debut to mommy, she has refused to show off and walk for daddy. LOL! Poor guy--feels left out!

I am excited that she will now begin a new journey with the walking ability. She will now be able to (try) keep up with her big sisters...something I know she wishes she could do. I am so proud of my baby, who is growing too fast!

Happy 60th Grandpa

HAPPY 60th BIRTHDAY GRANDPA! We hope that you have a very happy birthday and win big at BINGO!

Because you are the ripe age 60 today, I thought I'd fill you in on how you know you are getting older...

Your joints are more accurate than the National Weather Service.
Your investment in health insurance is finally beginning to pay off.
Your back goes out more than you do.
The twinkle in your eye is only the reflection of the sun on your bifocals.
You feel like the morning after when you haven't been anywhere the night before.
You finally got your head together, now your body is falling apart.
Your supply of brain cells is finally down to a manageable size.
You wake up with that morning-after feeling and you didn't do anything the night before.
People call at 9 PM and ask, "Did I wake you?"
You can live without sex but not without glasses.
The clothes you've put away until they come back in style... have come back in style.
You look forward to a dull evening.
Your mind makes contracts your body can't keep.
The pharmacist has become your new best friend.
There's nothing left to learn the hard way.
You come to the conclusion that your worst enemy is gravity.
You start video taping daytime game shows.
You quit trying to hold your stomach in, no matter who walks into the room.
Your idea of a night out is sitting on the patio.
You look for your glasses for half-an-hour, then find they've been on your head all the time.
Happy hour is a nap.
You begin every other sentence with, "Nowadays..."
You constantly talk about the price of gasoline.
You don't remember when your wild oats turned to shredded wheat.
You are proud of your lawn mower.
You wonder how you could be over the hill when you don't remember being on top of it.
Getting lucky means you find your car in the parking lot.
Your secrets are safe with your friends because they can't remember them either.
Your ears are hairier than your head.
It takes longer to rest than it did to get tired.
You talk about "good grass" and you're referring to someone's lawn.
Your childhood toys are now in a museum.
You confuse having a clear conscience with having a bad memory.
You frequently find yourself telling people what a loaf of bread USED to cost.
You know all the answers, but nobody asks you the questions.
Your little black book only contains names ending in M.D.
Everything hurts and what doesn't hurt, doesn't work.
You have too much room in the house and not enough in the medicine cabinet.
"Getting a little action" means you don't need to take a laxative.
Conversations with people your own age often turn into "dueling ailments."
You take a metal detector to the beach.
The car that you bought brand new becomes an antique.
You are cautioned to slow down by the doctor instead of by the police.
You realize that caution is the only thing you care to exercise.
You don't remember being absentminded.
Your memory is shorter and your complaining is longer.
You read more and remember less.
You get propositioned by AARP.
You scout for a warmer place to spend the long, cold winters.
Younger men ask you for advice.
Youthful injuries return with a vengeance.
Your medical expenses go up 50%.
A 'late night' now ends at 11 pm.
You learn where your prostrate is.
You develop a knack for wearing hats.

Yep...that's you these days!

Happy Birthday!

Werner's visit the ER, again

Got a call from Abby's school nurse, "you need to come pick up Abby, she has pink eye very bad...in both eyes." WHAT??? She was fine this morning. Then she tells me that conjunctivitis is spreading throughout the school. Err. So Tom and I headed off to pick her up. Knowing that she would not be allowed back in school until she has seen a doctor, I called to see if I could get her in to our family physician-with no such luck. Therefore we proceeded to the ER...yet again. I swear, we need to invest in Licking County Memorial Hospital stock!

Tom and Abby go back to the room, while I kept Isabella occupied in the waiting area. According to Abby the doctor examined her eye (in the dark) and decided that it was not pink eye. After reaching that conclusion, he sprayed her eye with fluorescein (to dye the eyeball) and inserted a few drops of topical anesthesia to numb her eye while he cleaned the inside of the eyelid. To clean the eyelid, the doctor flipped her lid and removed the granules with a large q-tip. Ouch! After, he gave her Tylenol for the discomfort :).

She was finally diagnosed with a Corneal Abrasion. She has eye drops to prevent infection, and has to miss recess and gym for the remainder of the week. Good thing it is getting cold again...they probably won't play outside anyways! She is feeling better now, and if you know her well, you know she will milk this for all it's worth! Which to mom, it's worth the milk! LOL!

The top picture is Abby sportin' her ID band.
The bottom is just an angle to see her poor little eye. Right (her left) eye.

Banana Leaf - Indian Cuisine

Last night we ate out at the Banana Leaf restaurant. Banana Leaf serves authentic vegetarian Indian cuisine, in Columbus. Tom had discovered the place while reading "Alive" (a free magazine in Columbus), and we have passed by it many times, but never actually ventured into the cozy restaurant.

When we arrived, we were greeted by the owner Kamal. He was a very hospitable gentleman, not to mention, smiles from ear to ear! He offered us a choice of where to sit, meanwhile he ran off to get Isabella a highchair. Kamal then gave us a few minutes to look over the menu.

Did I mention that we have never eaten there...much less familiar with the cuisine? He must have sensed out puzzled minds thinking because he promptly came to our table to suggest items, and even offer the girls Indian smoothies...ON THE HOUSE! What? OK!

Kamal truly was dedicated to his mission:

* To treat each customer as we would treat a guest at our house.

* To serve the freshest, best tasting food to you, our guest.

* To provide unmatched value for money

* To provide a great dining experience.

At this point, Kamal had us- he could have served us anything and we probably would have been excited! He suggested we order an appetizer while we wait for our main course because everything is made fresh to order, and the wait could be up to 30 minutes. Two of his favorites are: Ragda Pattis & Dahi Batata Puri.

So that is what we had! Ragda Pattis is spicy potato patti, with a gravy like sauce. Yumm! Dahi Batata Puri is crispy thin tortilla like crepes stuffed with potato and onion mix. Then covered in a yogurt sauce, garnished with tamarind and chutney sauce. Yumm-Yumm!

For the main course we had Aloo Tikki Chaat

(potato dumplings, Indian style), Sada Dosai, with sambhar and coconut chutney. Dry kadhai paneer curry (super yum), and finally undhiyu puri-an exotic mix of veggies with an authentic Guajarati sauce (kinda spicy).

Tom and I drank chi-tea and the girls continued to drink the smoothies until we finally told him no thank you!

It was a great experience and would recommend to anyone (vegetarian or not) to eat there if ever in the Columbus area!!!