Five days.

That's how long H has been away so far and we are getting along just fine. Of course, there are still almost three weeks until he is home, so we'll see if my cheery attitude lasts! D is doing better, although her teeth are a bit sore now since she just had her braces adjusted (and bands added to the back molars) on Thursday. I have stopped giving her any ibuprofen, because it was making me nervous that she had been taking it so much. She seems fine, though- it's so hard to know with her because she tends to be very dramatic about being sick or injured. I have to just kind of watch her when she's not thinking about it and see how she does- like on Thursday, I kept her home from a field trip and she had her sling off and was using her left arm to do some sewing projects. And this morning, she ate some shredded wheat (I offered to make oatmeal), so clearly her teeth aren't that sore. She did wake up during the night, but instead of giving her meds, I just let her sleep in my bed (I knew that would comfort her). I just hope she doesn't decide to do that every night!

H had a rough first couple of days back in Very Distant Country. The steripen he bought to take with him is not working properly, so he got sick. They had car problems and are trying to sort out transportation now. Hopefully things will go more smoothly, but I still worry about him. I found a great calling deal that's even cheaper than the Skype-type program H usually uses- plus it's like a calling card, so you just use your phone instead of the computer and headset. It looks like I am able to call for about 3 cents a minute- which is CHEAP!

Work-wise, things are not starting out in a promising way. I have some obligations that are keeping me working (proposal, summer intern), but I haven't done anything else. To be fair, H just left Monday and my student just arrived, so we don't really get started until next week. That proposal that I am helping with is due Tuesday, so after that, I can focus on what the student will be doing and what I should be doing myself. I did manage to clean out and organize my office at work- I want to do the same here at home, but so far that hasn't happened. I feel like my days are very chopped up with having to drive D to and from school (and walk in with her so she doesn't have to carry her backpack). Taking her to the bus stop and just watching for her to get home was much easier! They have another field trip on Tuesday, so I have to go with her or keep her home again. Some friends were going to go do something nice for a friend that morning, so I can't go- unless I keep her home again and just take her with me. Ugh. Why do they cram in so many field trips at the end of the year like this? I'm just glad she is almost done- I do not care for her teacher at all this year and won't be sad to leave her behind.*

*She has been mean to D when her braces hurt and when dealing with her arm in a sling- nice, huh?

Quick update

D seems to be in less pain today- I'm starting to think that she was overusing her arm and that's why it was hurting so much. I've reduced her dosage of ibuprofen and am giving it every 8 hours instead of every six. I woke her up at 1:00AM to take more and that allowed her to sleep in today. I'm keeping her home from a field trip tomorrow, but I'm feeling better that her arm is actually healing. 

I didn't manage to accomplish a whole lot today- even with the extra sleep. I ran into a colleague at work this morning who I hadn't seen in a while (& his wife was recently diagnosed with cancer), then had a meeting at noon. I didn't get out of there until 1:30, grabbed some lunch, then had to pick up D at 3:00. At least I don't have to take her anywhere tomorrow, so hopefully work will get done! Oh yeah- she is getting her braces adjusted (& bands put on the molars) tomorrow. I guess she'll need pain meds for that... 

Exhaustion

I had really forgotten what sleep-deprivation feels like and really don't enjoy reliving the days of frequently interrupted sleep.* D wakes up every morning when the ibuprofen from the night before has worn off- today it was 5:30 (and I had stayed up past midnight). She seems fine when she is on it, but as soon as it wears off- watch out! We followed up with an orthopedist last Wednesday, who decided that D does not have a chip fracture. He had concerns about her elbow, but didn't give a specific name to her injury. He did want her elbow to be kept immobilized for at least two weeks. They didn't do a full cast, because we have to change her bandages every couple of days. Instead, she has a hard splint with a sling. The last couple of days her pain seems worse, so I called the doctor and am waiting to hear back. I also don't like giving all that ibuprofen every day. The ER doc gave us tylenol with codeine, but it didn't seem to help much, so we've stuck with ibuprofen for now.

H left for Very Distant Country yesterday. I cried at the airport- I couldn't help it. He's been gone for 24 hours and should have arrived about an hour ago- I'm waiting for a call from my mother-in-law to hear that they are all together. 

I went into campus this morning for a meeting, then came home at lunch time and planned to do some things here afterward. Well, I've been far too sleepy to accomplish anything. I tried napping, but my sister-in-law called to see if I had heard from H. It will be time to go pick up D in a little while- I am not letting her ride the bus for the rest of the year, because it's too hard for her to carry her backpack. She will also be missing some walking field trips this week and next. I had signed her up for some week-long summer science camp things, but will likely end up taking her out, since it's hard for her to do anything without her left arm (she's left-handed). I am going to wait until our next doctor visit to decide for sure.

So, I am exhausted today, missing my husband, and worrying about my daughter's arm. At least it's summer. Yippee.

*I know I won't get any sympathy from all the moms of little ones out there!

At least I'm not teaching right now

I can't sleep. D fell off her bike today and got a chip fracture in her elbow. We spent the evening in the ER. I was convinced that it was just a deep, nasty scrape, but the x-rays showed something more. Bummer. They gave us some tylenol with codeine to give her, but I am afraid to- I had a TERRIBLE reaction to codeine when I was younger (dry heaves for 8 hours), so I don't want to risk making her sick on top of everything else. We've settled for ibuprofen for now- I might be willing to give her the other stuff if she has just eaten a meal or something. We're supposed to see an orthopedist tomorrow to follow-up. Right now she just has a sling...

So, I am exhausted, but can't get my brain to shut off. I came downstairs to watch some TV for a while. My almost-16-year-old cat is also on pain meds, since she had three teeth extracted today. That whole thing was dramatic enough, so when D had the bike accident tonight, that was just too much. 

Oh yeah, and H is leaving for Very Distant Country on Monday.

And did I mention that it's D's left elbow (and that she is left-handed?)

Can it really be different this time?

I am hoping that this summer can be different in one way from all other summers since I was hired into this tenured track job: I would like to accomplish some research. I usually start out with good intentions and have even been quite productive during the month of May (while D is still in school), but it usually all goes to hell in a hand basket once she is home for the summer. And I can't blame her- she is very independent and self-sufficient (she IS an only-child), but I just tend to lose focus. Either my mother-in-law is visiting (which has really been only two out of the previous six summers since starting this job), or we take a trip (we take at least a short trip every summer), or I am teaching (only two summers). Let's face it, I squander my summers away with going out to eat, shopping, getting caught up in household chores (cleaning out closets, or putting the house on the market like last summer). We have been officially done less than a week, but I did two days of service with third and fourth graders who came to visit our department. I don't high hopes for the coming week, because H is getting ready to leave for Very Distant Country (on Memorial Day). My only hope is that I will be productive while he's gone- although I will be depressed that he is not here. D has three and half weeks of school left, followed by a week-long all day camp (H gets home at the end of that week), then half day camp the following week. Hopefully, I can get myself in gear.

I am going to be advising a summer research assistant who arrives when H leaves, so I will have some contact time with her, need to decide what she should work on, etc. I also am supposed to be helping with a collaborative proposal (with too many collaborators!) that is due in a couple of weeks. Otherwise, I need to set some goals, make a plan, and stick to it. I also need to start exercising again- I'm hoping that will fall in line with my research plans and discipline.

In other news, we were totally screwed over by an appraiser (we wanted to refinance and combine our first and second mortgages). The guy appraised our house BELOW the tax-assessed value and used a comp that is not really a comp and not in our neighborhood as a gauge. We are still trying to see if we can just do the first mortgage, but the whole thing just pisses me off. This makes our remodeling plans pretty much impossible and we're even talking of just moving (we can qualify for a much more expensive house, but can't get money to fix this one up). I am wondering if we should file a racial discrimination suit, because the value is so unreasonable (it's almost the same amount we purchased the house for in June 2003, BEFORE the real estate bubble). I'm sure that would be a huge hassle, so for now we'll just see what else the mortgage person can do.

One other thing- I recently revamped my website for my real self and iWeb had an option to add a blog. I added one and decided I will try to keep a professional blog updated on there. Considering what a bad blogger I've been over here, I may end up scrapping it, but we'll see. That blog will focus on work stuff and I will be keeping it professional- no ranting like I do over here! It doesn't allow comments yet, but I may change that. If you know me IRL, check it out!

Spring 2009 is HISTORY!

Ugh. I don't know if I've ever been so glad to say goodbye a class (since Spring 2007, anyway). I had some real a--holes in my big freshmen course and I'm just glad they are gone. I finished grading Sunday morning, but spent ALL DAY yesterday helping H finish his. His TA had left town early for a family issue, and he had a late exam, so was in bad shape. I graded term papers and was dismayed to see that they were just as bad as my first-year student papers. It actually made me kind of depressed and feeling like it's a waste to assign papers in lower level classes. He also had several cases of plagiarism- worse than I've had in my class, too. Neither of us are teaching this summer, so at least we get a break from THAT kind of work for a while.

This summer should be interesting: I am advising a summer research student (she'll arrive in two weeks), and H is going to Very Distant Country for almost four weeks. D is still in school (until June 10th), so we'll be here just the two of us during that time. He hasn't been home in five years, but the trip is both personal and work-related. He'll be back here just in time for Father's Day. In July, we are taking a 10-day trip to Adopted Home State. We will leave D at my mom's for part of the trip, and take a vacation to Lovely Coastal City to celebrate our 10th anniversary. The only trip we've taken without D was a conference trip near my mom's (we didn't have a honeymoon), so it will be a different kind of trip for us. 

Otherwise, I have a list of research-related things that I need to do this summer. I always start out with good intentions, but end up fizzling out once D is out of school. I will do my best to be productive for the next four weeks, but it will be challenging with H getting ready for that trip.

Preparing for grading jail

It's finals week here at Small College Town U and I'm giving my only in-class exam today. I have a pile of grading to do and have not had a lot of motivation to dig in so far. On Saturday, I was gone ALL DAY with D's Brownie troop on a trip to Capitol City's Fun Museum. Yesterday, I was mostly recovering from that and finalizing today's exam. I have various meetings this week for student committees, proposals, etc. and need to clean the house, because we are having an appraisal done on Thursday (for re-financing), then a meeting in Capitol City on Friday. I have a lot I want (need) to accomplish this summer and know that once D is out of school, I am pretty useless, so these next several weeks really need to be productive. I have managed to volunteer for some fun things and advising a summer research student, so I REALLY need to discipline myself. I also want to start exercising again, because that has fallen by the wayside and that's never a good thing. I'll probably try to start blogging some to-do lists to keep me motivated!