join your neighborhood swim team. You will be transformed into a full-fledged FRAZZLED MOMMY over night.:) Honestly, we are just now winding down our second season on swim team, and I swear the coach thinks I am a complete air head!:(
After fumbling my way through last year with 13 assigned jobs (You work at the meets or you are fined $75!), figured out how to read the program to get my kids to the right event, correct heat, and actual lane assignment (Absolutely mind boggling!), I thought this year would be a breeze.
Well, concerned that my oldest child had a soccer tournament during the upcoming County Swim Meet, I emailed the coach to let him know we would be unable to participate and to please remove my children from the roster. He very politely thanked me for letting him know, and that for my information, swimmers going to County have to meet a time minimum requirement. Oops! Another air head moment in front of the coach! By now, he's getting used to it. So, either way, we were not going to be there!:{
July 30, 2008
You Know Your a Frazzled Mommy When...
your kids march downstairs at precisely 6 p.m. and in unison shout, "Ew! What's that SMELL?" Your indignant response? "Your dinner!"
July 29, 2008
Time to Change Doctors
When we went to see dad's general practitioner, I was not impressed. The doctor really seemed to view my father as just another number rather than a human being in need of healing. I told my father that he deserved much better. Even he admitted that his doctor had not done anything to help him feel better over the previous 2 years.
My dad has high blood pressure. Hypertension is common in elderly men and women alike. The problem , however, is compounded when you have a tumor the size of a golf ball on your pituitary gland. So, dad's blood pressure would be under control for a while, then it would get crazy out of whack with absolutely no warning whatsoever. I'm talking 220 over 110!
Well, this doctor that I was not impressed with, gave my dad a new blood pressure medication, sent him home and told him to come back in a month. Well, 24 hours later, dad was in the Emergency Room with his blood pressure soaring sky high. The doctors at the E.R. said they had notified dad's doctor and that he was going to stop by to see dad. He was a no show. I actually thought he'd give dad a call at home to check on him. Not!
They were about to release dad, so my sister took her crabby 3 year old son home for a nap and I was to transport dad back home. In order to take him home, the E.R. doctor ordered a pill to get rid of dad's nausea. That's when all hell broke loose. Turns out dad was allergic to that particular drug. He began to vomit non-stop. He was so delirious, he couldn't even talk. His eyes were crossed. I thought he was going to die right then and there. I screamed for a nurse to come quick when he began to have the reaction. There was no call button on his bed. If I had not been there, he probably would have died.
When the nurse ran in, she scolded me saying that I had over reacted. Then, when she looked at my father's sudden deterioration, she had to eat her words. They countered the drug with yet another drug. Thank God, it worked! So, dad spent the night in the hospital. He got a kick out of all the yummy food they brought to him.:{
My dad has high blood pressure. Hypertension is common in elderly men and women alike. The problem , however, is compounded when you have a tumor the size of a golf ball on your pituitary gland. So, dad's blood pressure would be under control for a while, then it would get crazy out of whack with absolutely no warning whatsoever. I'm talking 220 over 110!
Well, this doctor that I was not impressed with, gave my dad a new blood pressure medication, sent him home and told him to come back in a month. Well, 24 hours later, dad was in the Emergency Room with his blood pressure soaring sky high. The doctors at the E.R. said they had notified dad's doctor and that he was going to stop by to see dad. He was a no show. I actually thought he'd give dad a call at home to check on him. Not!
They were about to release dad, so my sister took her crabby 3 year old son home for a nap and I was to transport dad back home. In order to take him home, the E.R. doctor ordered a pill to get rid of dad's nausea. That's when all hell broke loose. Turns out dad was allergic to that particular drug. He began to vomit non-stop. He was so delirious, he couldn't even talk. His eyes were crossed. I thought he was going to die right then and there. I screamed for a nurse to come quick when he began to have the reaction. There was no call button on his bed. If I had not been there, he probably would have died.
When the nurse ran in, she scolded me saying that I had over reacted. Then, when she looked at my father's sudden deterioration, she had to eat her words. They countered the drug with yet another drug. Thank God, it worked! So, dad spent the night in the hospital. He got a kick out of all the yummy food they brought to him.:{
Getting Dad to Eat Again
Finally giving in to my pleas, dad pulled out this George Foreman Grill. He used to love cooking pork chops on his grill. He had forgotten how much he enjoyed it. We aren't sure exactly why he stopped using it.
At first, dad would complain that he just wasn't hungry. Due to the starvation or Anorexia, his stomach would have shrunk to the point of not feeling hungry. A child victim of Anorexia, I knew the drill. I insisted that dad eat three meals a day. It did not matter that he was not hungry. His orders were to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Once he started eating again, it was easy. I called dad each night to see how he was doing and asses what he had eaten that day. He would report with excitement in his voice how easy it was and how delicious his meal was. Even his girlfriend gained weight and began to look much more vibrant.
Dad's energy, however, was still very low and there were days when he couldn't even come to the telephone to talk with me. I became increasingly alarmed. That is when I insisted on making a doctor's appointment for him and tagging along for the ride. Dad was so weak by this point that he really couldn't refuse.
At first, dad would complain that he just wasn't hungry. Due to the starvation or Anorexia, his stomach would have shrunk to the point of not feeling hungry. A child victim of Anorexia, I knew the drill. I insisted that dad eat three meals a day. It did not matter that he was not hungry. His orders were to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Once he started eating again, it was easy. I called dad each night to see how he was doing and asses what he had eaten that day. He would report with excitement in his voice how easy it was and how delicious his meal was. Even his girlfriend gained weight and began to look much more vibrant.
Dad's energy, however, was still very low and there were days when he couldn't even come to the telephone to talk with me. I became increasingly alarmed. That is when I insisted on making a doctor's appointment for him and tagging along for the ride. Dad was so weak by this point that he really couldn't refuse.
Skinny Dad
As I mentioned earlier, upon visiting my dad one Father's Day, I became alarmed at how thin he and his girlfriend had become. All though dad dieted on and off most of his adult life, (who doesn't these days?) he was never really overweight.
The next day I called him. I started to ask him what he had eaten. He would respond in his weakend voice that he skipped breakfast on a daily basis. He said that he and his girlfriend (suffering from Alzheimer's) usually split a sandwich for lunch. Dinner was a cup of soup! Yikes! They were severly under nurished and starving themselves to death without even knowing it! :(
When I expressed my concern, Dad said they were fine. He added that at their age they just weren't hungry and did not require much food. Well, yeah! One of them could not remember having eaten or not and the other one did not have enough energy to get out of bed!
This was bad, very bad. I asked if his girlfriend didn't cook dinner anymore. That's when dad finally let me in on the big secret of her Alzheimers. He said she was confused in the kitchen, so it became unsafe for her to cook anymore.
That's when I told dad that he was going to have to cook the meals from now on. When I pointed out the fact that they were only eating 400 or so calories a day, even dad had to admit that it was not enough to keep a bird alive.
The next day I called him. I started to ask him what he had eaten. He would respond in his weakend voice that he skipped breakfast on a daily basis. He said that he and his girlfriend (suffering from Alzheimer's) usually split a sandwich for lunch. Dinner was a cup of soup! Yikes! They were severly under nurished and starving themselves to death without even knowing it! :(
When I expressed my concern, Dad said they were fine. He added that at their age they just weren't hungry and did not require much food. Well, yeah! One of them could not remember having eaten or not and the other one did not have enough energy to get out of bed!
This was bad, very bad. I asked if his girlfriend didn't cook dinner anymore. That's when dad finally let me in on the big secret of her Alzheimers. He said she was confused in the kitchen, so it became unsafe for her to cook anymore.
That's when I told dad that he was going to have to cook the meals from now on. When I pointed out the fact that they were only eating 400 or so calories a day, even dad had to admit that it was not enough to keep a bird alive.
Which Disease Do We Attack First?
Fate would have it that we didn't have a choice about which problem to attack first. Neither disease (my father's pituitary tumor or his girlfriend's Alzheimer's Disease) had a cure. Dad's girlfriend could not be treated with the latest drugs on the market to slow down the progression of the disease because her thyroid was out of whack.
Her thyroid got that way because she was not taking her thyroid medications as prescribed because of the Alzheimer's. She just could not remember having taken it or not. Once dad figured that out, he went out and purchased a weekly organizer for her prescriptions so that he could monitor them and be sure she took her medications each day. Even so, it took over a year to get her thyroid back in the range required to begin taking the Alzheimer's drugs. It just took too long.
Meanwhile, Dad's deteriorating health was keeping me up at night. I was scared to death. My dad was doing a very noble thing in caring for his ailing girlfriend, but he was doing it at the expense of his own life. With absolutely no help from her daughters, dad was completely on his own in caring for her. This is a daunting task for a much younger, much healthier person let alone for a man in his late 70's suffering from the affects of a brain tumor.
Her thyroid got that way because she was not taking her thyroid medications as prescribed because of the Alzheimer's. She just could not remember having taken it or not. Once dad figured that out, he went out and purchased a weekly organizer for her prescriptions so that he could monitor them and be sure she took her medications each day. Even so, it took over a year to get her thyroid back in the range required to begin taking the Alzheimer's drugs. It just took too long.
Meanwhile, Dad's deteriorating health was keeping me up at night. I was scared to death. My dad was doing a very noble thing in caring for his ailing girlfriend, but he was doing it at the expense of his own life. With absolutely no help from her daughters, dad was completely on his own in caring for her. This is a daunting task for a much younger, much healthier person let alone for a man in his late 70's suffering from the affects of a brain tumor.
Our Aging Parents
My parents are now in their late 70's. Mom is 77 and Dad is 78. They were divorced a hundred years ago, so they live in two different houses in two different cities. It made for a very interesting Thanksgiving and Christmas dilemma, especially given the fact that I lived over an hour away from both of them.
It has been so weird to see over the course of time, while raising my children, suddenly becoming responsible for my parents for the first time. It started a couple of years ago, when I detected my father's frail voice on the telephone. There were days when he was so weak, he could not even answer the phone. I remember visiting him one Father's Day and being alarmed at how thin he and his girlfriend had become. He really was a shadow of the powerful man I knew growing up.
I began to ask questions. Dad has never been one to really open up and talk on an intimate level, so it took a lot of phone calls and persistent prying to get to the bottom of what was really going on. After a year and a half, Dad finally admitted to me that his girl friend had Alzheimer's. Add to that the fact that my father had a tumor on his pituitary gland the size of a golf ball, and my father was going down hill on the express train.
It has been so weird to see over the course of time, while raising my children, suddenly becoming responsible for my parents for the first time. It started a couple of years ago, when I detected my father's frail voice on the telephone. There were days when he was so weak, he could not even answer the phone. I remember visiting him one Father's Day and being alarmed at how thin he and his girlfriend had become. He really was a shadow of the powerful man I knew growing up.
I began to ask questions. Dad has never been one to really open up and talk on an intimate level, so it took a lot of phone calls and persistent prying to get to the bottom of what was really going on. After a year and a half, Dad finally admitted to me that his girl friend had Alzheimer's. Add to that the fact that my father had a tumor on his pituitary gland the size of a golf ball, and my father was going down hill on the express train.
The Sandwiched Frazzled Mommy
Wow! Who would have signed up for this job knowing the job description going in? Not many, that's for sure! If you are anything like me, you are really feeling the squeeze between kids, aging parents, and a failing economy. While this is not a political sight, I have to say that I have never been so frightened about the future in all my 44 years on this planet. And that includes growing up with images of the Vietnam War, the prospect of Nuclear Annihilation during the Cold War, and now the War on Terror!
No matter how you look at it, or spin it for that matter, we mommies have a daunting task ahead of us. Add to that our aging bodies. Let's face it, Mother Nature (another FRAZZLED MOMMY) is now doing a number on us that has most of us in a tailspin. I am now packing on the pounds, while my Frazzled Daddy husband is losing weight without even trying! It just isn't fair, but if we ban together and support each other, this too shall pass.
No matter how you look at it, or spin it for that matter, we mommies have a daunting task ahead of us. Add to that our aging bodies. Let's face it, Mother Nature (another FRAZZLED MOMMY) is now doing a number on us that has most of us in a tailspin. I am now packing on the pounds, while my Frazzled Daddy husband is losing weight without even trying! It just isn't fair, but if we ban together and support each other, this too shall pass.
You Know Your a Frazzled Mommy When...
following a verbal debate with your 4 year old, blond, blue eyed daughter, she walks up to you arms folded and says, "Mommy, the parenting class is NOT working!"
I got this one from my dear friend Cathy who has two years more experience as a Frazzled Mommy than me. That child is now 14 and on to much bigger and better conquests, but we still sit around the coffee table or campfire every year and have a good laugh over that one. It just never gets old.
I got this one from my dear friend Cathy who has two years more experience as a Frazzled Mommy than me. That child is now 14 and on to much bigger and better conquests, but we still sit around the coffee table or campfire every year and have a good laugh over that one. It just never gets old.
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