Week 25

Hello and happy Tuesday!  Last week I was home from work so we could get our new routine down and some appointments taken care of that are needed with having John home.  Thankfully moving forward I have Justin to help John in the mornings while I work in the lab and then I'll be at home in the afternoons while he works.  We make a great team.

Here are last week's pictures:

Day 172- Monday, 6/20/22

It's nice to be sharing meals with John again and any of the boys who happen to be home when we're ready to eat.  Cheers to that!

Day 173- Tuesday, 6/21/22

When it's too hot to sleep upstairs at night the favorite spot in under the fan downstairs.  Bella and Justin made good use of that last night as I found them laid out here this morning.  The rest of our week does not look much better.  That sun is intense and we had to brave the heat this afternoon heading out to a much needed doctors appointment for John.  This was required to get the home-health services started for his PT and OT.  It's crazy how many hoops need to be jumped through for all of this which you'd think would be seamless when someone is recently discharged while still not fully recovered and should have continued care right away.

Day 174- Wednesday, 6/22/22

Poor kitty boy is barely tolerating the heat.  He always lays on his side or back to expose his belly on hot days.  Even with the thunderclouds out it's over 100 today and quite balmy.  Later I needed a minute to regroup after making it halfway through this week taking in so much information and change.  Sitting poolside is a nice calming place to help process everything and clear my head.

Day 175- Thursday, 6/23/22

Brandon started his new job as a line cook in the Cantina at our local ballpark.  He's already a pro at making pizzas and now he'll be a pro at making Mexican food.  It's nice to know he won't be one of those starving college students when we send him off in August cause he's got skills.

Day 176- Friday, 6/24/22

Today I made a batch of egg bites as an easy thing for John to grab for breakfast when I head back to work next week.  Later Justin and I watched more of Obi-Wan with him.  This is a new normal look for our living room.  This chair is a prominent feature in our house now although we're hoping to swap it out for a walker soon.

Day 177- Saturday, 6/25/22

This morning the home-health nurse finally came to evaluate our needs (a full week after discharge) and to make a schedule for more evaluations to come next week.  I feel like we're wading through molasses to get what we really need now.  At least the rest of the day was more productive and fun.  While John had visitors from SF I was able to run out to Clarksburg and pick up another wine club shipment. 

Day 178- Sunday, 6/26/22

Now for the big news-- Tyler and Lupe got engaged yesterday and told us today at Sunday dinner.  We're super excited for them and did know it was coming but didn't know exactly when.  They are planning on a long engagement of about a year although it sounds like her mother is ready for it to happen much sooner.  We'll see.

That wraps up another week.  June is flying by so we'll see you next week in July!

Week 24

Hello and welcome back.  What a week last week was but it ended up to be a good one.  Now it's time to get used to a new routine and of course that has put me behind a bit.

Take a look at last week's pictures:

Day 165- Monday, 6/13/22

This new graduate is enjoying his summer break with a good week off between jobs by playing online games with friends and getting used to a new phone.  It was a much needed upgrade as a graduation gift that will be useful college starting in a couple months.

Day 166- Tuesday, 6/14/22

Just when you think gas prices can't get any worse plus we have a new state tax soon to be added that may just push up to the $7 range.  Ouch!  In better news, I was able to attend one of John's PT sessions during my visit today and see him not only walk the parallel bars but also attempt some stairs.  It's great to see his progress.

Day 167- Wednesday, 6/15/22

Wednesday at work--for me I actually get all my in lab work done very early and then before starting the computer work it's coffee first.  Later at home, when walking the dog, the first patch of grass we came across in the park had just blossomed with these clover flowers.  Even though they are weeds they look so fun and pretty like a landscape from Dr. Seuss.

Day 168- Thursday, 6/16/22

Little does she know that her master will be coming home soon.  She still lays religiously where she would be at his feet--such a loyal girl.  I spent most the day getting the house set up for John's return including this downstairs room.  We had very little notice of huis discharge so very little time to prepare, but I think we're ready as can be.  The hardest part is that he's still in the wheelchair and has not been able to fully transition to a walker yet. Insurance says we can do that with in-home therapy and I hope so but really think we need a place with better equipment until he's better on his feet.  Time will tell.

Day 169- Friday, 6/17/22

He's back home!!! And enjoying his time with the family.  First thing Justin and him did was start watching Obi-Wan together on Disney+.  I've also been waiting to watch the end of Ozark with him.  It's good to have him back.

Day 170- Saturday, 6/18/22

So many medications and some are in the morning and some in the evening and some are both.  It's a lot to keep track of but worth the effort of course.  Outside I'm happy to see some nice pillow-like clouds helping to give cooler temps.  I'll enjoy it while I can because it sounds like heading into next week it will triple digits.  Yikes!

Day 171- Sunday, 6/19/22

Happy Father's Day!  What a special day to have him home to celebrate with us.  We had a great brunch and made air-fried chicken wings for dinner to enjoy.

That's all for this week.  Thanks for checking in.

Week 23

Welcome back!  Summer just started and it already feels like it's slipping away.  How does that happen?  The heat has been unreal here so we're all just trying to keep cool.

Take a look at last week's pictures:

Day 158- Monday, 6/6/22

He's staring me down waiting for me to get ready for bed.  Monday's are hard even for the pets and he's so over it. 

Day 159- Tuesday, 6/7/22

I usually hit up the grocery store on Tuesdays in between remote meetings and computer work.  My goal is to make sure I get enough stuff to make dinners for the week so I don't need to come back until next Tuesday.  It usually works until one of the boys or pets need something I hadn't expected.

Day 160- Wednesday, 6/8/22

Today was a beautiful cooler day for a walk, and I just love looking up through this interesting tree.  There aren't many like it around here.

Day 161- Thursday, 6/9/22

Today was a crazy day.  I had to hurry through my morning in-lab work to head home and help Brandon with his dorm room selection appointment.  Since he's still 17 I had to be there to electronically sign for him but it all went well and he now has a dorm room secured in the Juniper building on the 4th floor top left corner.  They have limited housing and not enough dorms for all incoming freshmen so we are very happy he has his housing set--one less thing for me to stress about.  Talking about stress, I spent the afternoon running around getting paperwork in order and signed to extend John's medical leave.  I thought we already had that done but apparently it was only for him getting paid and it's a different process for continuing to keep his job secured past a certain point. Of course I just learned of this late yesterday and need to have it filled out, signed my multiple people, and turned in by first thing tomorrow. Yikes!

Day 162- Friday, 6/10/22

Today was another unnerving day with insane campus traffic and graduation heatwave drama at UC Davis.  What a mess! It was almost near impossible for me to get to my lab today even at 6:30am and then their were those poor graduates melting in the heat for over 6 hrs.  Insane! I've never seen it like that in all the years I've been here. Thankfully getting home was way easier but unfortunately I spent my afternoon and evening fighting insurance to keep John where he is a couple more weeks so he can get strong enough to bridge to acute PT place after missing PT in the current place for almost 2 wks due to COVID.  They just told us today he needs to be out by Tuesday but is not strong enough for acute care to take him yet.  Grr!  Time for some wine and Felicity (a show I always wanted to watch back in the day but never got around to and recently found on HULU--this is how I escape and try to decompress.)

Day 163- Saturday, 6/11/22

Summer vibes- enjoying the pool in the backyard trying not to over think everything.

Day 164- Sunday, 6/12/22

He was finally released from COVID isolation so we visited today and brought Bella with us.  It was a sweet reunion and a good visit on this much cooler day.  Too bad Justin had to work and couldn't join us.  We're hoping next weekend for Father's day we can bring John home for a few hours to have brunch.

That's all for now.  See you next week.

Week 22

Look at me posting on the right day!  Hopefully I can keep it up although the next couple months are super busy with appointments, getting things ready for 2 going to college, and transition stuff with John so we'll see.

For now take a look at our very busy and eventful week last week-

Day 151- Monday 5/30/22

Happy Memorial Day!  We had chicken wings for dinner and then started binge watching Stranger Things 4.  I'm so glad they had a good recap because it's been way too long.

Day 152- Tuesday, 5/31/22

Rusty and his rat friend are surveying the land below, and I'm finally finishing with getting those grad announcements in the mail.

Day 153- Wednesday, 6/1/22

Welcome to June and the kick off to summer.  John had a heart dr. appointment today so I was thinking a lot about hearts and noticed how big the small heart leaves from a few weeks back have grown.  They are larger than ever this year.  I wish I could say this is a good sign but looks like we'll be heading down the transplant road as soon as he gets his muscle strength back.

Day 154- Thursday, 6/2/22

Look at this sweet girl.  These days she can't decide if she wants to stay in or go out.  For now she will stay out as I head to the airport to pick up my parents flying in for Brandon's graduation.   It's good to see them here and have them around.  They were hoping to visit John but sadly the facility has had a run of COVID infections and John just tested positive for COVID so he's in isolation.  The poor guy just cannot catch a break. At least he feels fine with no symptoms except being a little extra tired.

Day 155- Friday, 6/3/22

It's High School Graduation Day! Congratulations Brandon on a job well done!!  Even though it started at 10 am we were seated in direct sunlight so it was a super hot one.  Regardless, we still had a great day spent with family celebrating our youngest ready to spread his wings--empty nest here we come!

Day 156- Saturday, 6/4/22

After a 5:30 am trip to the airport to see my parents off, today was all about decompressing from this crazy full week.  I did a whole lot of nothing except watch for Stranger Things with Brandon and also make my way to the mail box where I noticed upon return our lilies finally in bloom.

Day 157- Sunday, 6/5/22

We had a rainy start to the day but it ended cloudy with a chance of meatballs.  These were the first things I made in the new air fryer and they were a hit.  Gotta love Sunday dinner with the boys.

That's all but it was a lot!  See you next week.