mermaids

Insomnia has become my constant companion.  Last night was not too bad, only woke up three times.  I woke up at 5:30, but managed to doze off again until I heard those words no mother wants to wake up to, “Mom, sorry to disturb you, but J almost threw up twice.  I thought you might want to know.”  Instead of being a good mother who rushes to her sick child’s side, I give C instructions, “There is ginger ale in the garage.  Please give J some with crushed ice….oh, and put a bucket near him.”  I swear I actually wanted to go back to sleep, but guilt kept poking me with a sharp stick.  J was much better after some ginger ale.  No idea what made him nauseous.  Just another fun filled day in our petri dish we call home. 

I totally give up.  I finally got C back in school on Thursday after his latest bout with the “viral flu-like thing.”  Not wanting to tempt fate, we decided to lay low this weekend, rest up to make sure he was totally well.  Last night, I noticed J was coughing a bit, but he seemed fine this morning.  He even seemed fine when I saw him at lunch.  By the end of ninth period, only two hours later, he was white as a sheet and achy all over.  Yep, this is round three of the “viral flu-like thing” for him and the NINTH round for our household.

I am so sick of having sick people in this house.  What am I doing wrong?  Why can’t we kick this thing?  We are all taking vitamins, washing our hands, sanitizing everything, getting lots of rest, etc.

I don’t know whether I should laugh at the absurdity or cry.

First the good news.  I sewed yesterday!  I ignored the phone when it rang with calls for subbing jobs.  I ignored the laundry that needed to be done and the floors that needed to be mopped.  I sewed and it felt good.  C now has a new sweatshirt.  There is no photo yet because he wore it to school today.  Now it needs to be washed before being photographed.  However, it was a success because he was quite pleased.

The next bit of news is a mix of good and bad.  On the positive side, the low carb diet has helped Hubski’s health issues.  He has also lost over 12 pounds.  Since it is working, he is going to continue with it.  That is sort of bad news for this carb lover.

The diet is contagious, which is the bad news.  Though I have still been eating carbs, I have cut back.  We use to eat lots of pasta.  I don’t bake nearly as often as I did before.  No more “pancakes for dinner.”  Now dinner is frequently chicken or steak, a salad, and another vegetable.  I noticed that I have keep pulling up my jeans because they are sliding off.  J has been complaining that I feel bony when he hugs me.  I seldom weigh myself, but thought perhaps it was time.  I have lost 5 pounds!  For me, that is bad news, very bad news.

This girl needs a doughnut….or a dozen.

Allegedly, this is a sewing blog.  So, where is the sewing lately?  My machines are gathering dust, much to my distress.  There is a weird viral “flu-like” thing going around school.  C had it before winter break and missed almost two weeks of school.  J had it not long after that.  Then it was my turn a couple weeks ago.  This thing starts with a sore throat, a couple days a mild fever, then the cough sets in.  The common element during the whole ordeal is exhaustion.  We are talking about “sleeping 18 to 20 hours a day” exhaustion. 

I thought I was on the mend earlier this week.  I worked four days this week because so many teachers are out with the same icky virus.  I was suppose to work today, but yesterday afternoon the all too familiar exhaustion began settling into my bones.  By dinner time, my throat was raging again.  C left school early yesterday because his throat was also inflamed.  Today, the two of us spent the day as shapeless lumps under blankets.  We were both so relieved when J returned from school.  At last, someone to tend to us!  J fetched us ice chips and made dinner while trying to complete his homework.  I would give him a hug, but I don’t want to pass on this ick. 

Please don’t abandon me, my faithful blog readers.  I will sew again.  I will post photos again.  Many of you have left lovely comments recently that I do want to reply to.  However, time and energy are lacking.  If I have any energy, I am working because so many teachers are sick.  If I am at home, it is because I do not have the energy to work…or blog.  I am so far behind on blog reading too.  So, if I have not commented on your blog recently….see the aforementioned excuses reasons.  My Bloglines has about a zillion unread posts.  Ditto on the email.  Don’t even ask about the laundry. 

Ok, I’ve been sitting up for about 20 minutes….time for another nap. 

I’ve been fighting off this flu-like viral thing since Saturday.  (Allegedly, it’s not technically the flu, but fever, head ache, sore throat, cough, exhaustion…hmmmm, you do the math.)  Call it what you want….it’s not fun.  Yesterday, I cut out a shirt for J.  Had to take nap afterwards.  Today, I went to the post office….and had to take a nap.  But tonight is Project Runway.  Am I going to bed early so I can rest?  Absolutely not.  It’s Project Runway night!! Hubski is not happy with me.  He doesn’t get Project Runway or my deep allegiance to Tim Gunn.  We compromised.  I agreed to not work tomorrow so I can rest after staying up late to Project Runway.

A girl’s gotta have her priorities straight. Project Runway is a priority for this girl.

PS Don’t fret about my health.  Both boys had this same viral thing.  Based on their experience, I in the home stretch.  Another day or two and I will be right as rain.  (What does that mean, anyway?)

How could you say “no” to such a sweet little muffin?  I certainly can’t.  Hubski is trying to.  He has decided to go “no carb” for health reasons.  Losing a few pounds would be nice, but the bigger goal is resolve some health issues.  If I were a good wife, I would agree to go on the diet with him.  It is sad to say, but I love my carbs too much.  Give up bread?  Seriously, that is like telling me to give up oxygen.  I will try to do my carb loading when he is not home.  Now the boys and I will be thrilled when he goes on a trip because it will mean I can bake cookies and we can have pizza. 

The problem is Hubki’s birthday is in less than a week.  I look forward to family birthdays because it means I get to eat cake.  I adore birthday cake.  I have been known to celebrate a friend’s birthday in absentia simply as way to sneak another birthday cake.  Since we shall not be having dense, chocolate cake with buttery, sugary icing for Hubski’s birthday, I feel the “good wife” thing to do would be to could come up with some yummy treat for his birthday.  (Trust me, there will be real cake for my birthday.  He can just sit there and gnaw on celery.  I’m having cake.) 

I know there are special flours and sugar substitutes.  However, those are not easily accessible in my little town.  Besides, I am no Martha Stewart, nor do I have any desire to be.  I need something made with regular ingredients that doesn’t take too long.  Splenda should be easy to find.  Gluten free flour has to be mail ordered.  I might be able to find carob if I get to the natural food store this week, but it is not likely that I will have the time.  Anyone have any suggestions?  Stick a candle in a hamburger patty? 

Yesterday, while teaching, I developed a weird back spasm.  The pain was so bad that it was hard to breathe.  When we pulled into the garage, C picked up the mail for me.  He said, “Mom, I’ve got something that will make you feel better.  Your new Ottobre came!”  Ah, that boy knows me well.  I crawled up the stairs and into my bed.  The boys brought me a heat pack, my magazine, and a promise to get their homework done quickly.  While I waited for the heat pack and the pain meds to do their magic, the new issue of Ottobre was a wonderful distraction.  I could not focus enough to read, but the photos were lovely.  I was able to think about all the pretty things I could sew instead of writhing in pain.  Eventually the meds kicked in and I was lost into blissful oblivion. 

This morning, I managed to trace design #29, the “knot t-shirt.”  The name confuses me because there is no knot and it is not really a t-shirt.  Ottobre is published in Finland.  Given how gorgeous the magazine is, I can give them a little latitude with the English language.  Their English is infinitely better than my Finnish. 

My work with ESL students gives me a deep respect for these language issues.  Today, I tried to help a student learn about infectious disease.  I am not a doctor, but I can talk a good game…in English.  My young friend, however, speaks less English than I speak Spanish….and I don’t speak much Spanish.  We pulled out bilingual dictionaries, Spanish encyclopedias, and Spanish language web sites.  We did some charades and laughing.  I don’t think he learned much science today, but he learned that I will try incredibly hard to communicate with him. 

I wanted to cut out and sew the knot t-shirt tonight.  However, tomorrow is a day of language arts midterms.  The tension will be contagious.  The back is threatening to seize up again.  I shall need to fortify myself for this.  It is an evening for a warm beverage, a new issue of Ottobre, and lots of snuggly quilts….that’s darn good medicine. 

Awake at 2 a.m.

Dozed for a bit, but awake again at 3 a.m.

Dozed a bit more, but even more wide awake at 4 a.m.

At 5:30 a.m., I decided, “As long as I am awake, I may as well go to Jo Ann’s.”  I usually don’t do the Black Friday sales….too much mania too early in the day.  Because I didn’t want them to think I simply ran away in the middle of the night, I left notes for Hubski & the boys.  I picked up some flannel because I honestly do not have but one piece of flannel in my stash.  Pillow forms at half price was my impetus to renovate the pillows in the family room.  Many years ago, I did several quilt squares in a stained glass design with the high hopes of turning them into a quilt.  The squares became pillows instead, which look fabulous….except where the corners are getting ratty.  For quite some time, I have wanted to replace the pillow forms and replace the border and backings.  The quilted part has held up beautifully.  So, I bought new border/backing fabric too.

By the time I returned, C was the only one awake.  J and Hubski were being serious slugs.  Had I returned about 15 minutes earlier, no one would have even noticed that I had left.  That struck me as a little unsettling.  Washing the new fabric without the boys noticing was quite easy.  Hmmm, more evidence that members of my household do not notice my whereabouts.  That’s probably because no one needed to find anything….then I would have been the most popular girl in town.

It is a little after 8 p.m. and I can barely hold my eyes open.  Please let me be so tired that I collapse into coma-like slumber.  I took an online quiz about sleep issues…..at 5 a.m. when I couldn’t sleep.  According to the profound wisdom of the website, there is absolutely no reason for my insomnia.  I follow all the golden sleep rules - consistent bedtime, exercise regularly, limit caffeine,  relaxing activity before bed, not too hot/cold, etc.  Grrrrr….  OTC and prescription sleep aids leave me groggy in the morning.  Hubski and I discussed seeing the doctor, but he will ask all the same questions as the websites do.  There is no logical explanation.  I know, I should probably go anyway.  I wonder the doctor has an opening at 3 a.m?

I can’t exactly say that I am sick, but I am definitely not well.  The only sewing I managed was to trace off a pattern for the flannel sleep pants.  I took a little nap so I could stay awake for Project Runway.  A smart person would have skipped the show in favor of a good night’s sleep, but PR is worth losing a sleep over.  Actually, it was rather relaxing.  When I sat down, all of the neighbor’s pets draped themselves all over me.  Snuggling up with a beagle and a very fat cat has amazing healing powers.  Even the elusive Annie graced me with her presence for a good back scratch.  She even purred.

It looks like I may be moving again. No, not the whole house, just the sewing room. When we first moved into this house, my sewing room was in the downstairs study. We discovered that being right off the foyer was not an attractive place for a sewing room. Creativity can be a messy process. Since the boys had outgrown the need for a playroom, the bonus room over the garage became my sewing room. We set up the downstairs study as an actual study for the boys to do their homework. We put in bookcases, a large work table, and a computer desk. It has been fabulous to move their homework from the kitchen table to a dedicated space. They can leave out research books for term papers and keep reference books at hand. I took great delight in setting up my new sewing space. My desk fit perfectly in a little nook. There was good light and lots of room for my tables. I painted the walls and put up shelves just where I needed them. Now, I may have to start the process all over again.

The boys have been studying taekwondo for about a year. They enjoy it and it has been good for them, physically and emotionally. As the result of moving to larger space, their dojo is selling off some equipment. Martial arts equipment is expensive, so this is a good opportunity. They need a big space to use this equipment. The boys are now training with martial arts weapons. To practice safely they need a big space. The biggest space in our house, other than the living room or family room, is my sewing room. Gulp.

If we buy this equipment and set up a taekwondo practice room, my sewing room would be moved to a spare bedroom. The room currently houses all those odds and ends that don’t have a permanent place elsewhere in the house. It is a perfectly lovely room, but smaller, much smaller than the bonus room. There probably will not be room for me desk. However, our bedroom has plenty of space for the desk.

The rearranging is all quite feasible. The end result will most likely be perfectly acceptable. We will find a space for everything. What is not appealing is the thought of all the work involved. The boys would definitely be a big part of the process. However, we all know the bulk of the planning, implementing, and organizing would be my job. Hubski has said we would paint the new room, move my shelves, and patch the holes they leave behind. Why couldn’t this have happened at the beginning of the summer instead of two minutes before the beginning of school?

I am tempted to paint the new sewing room pink so the boys will never want to claim that space.