Bird on the Street

Worry

11:30 pm

So. . . I’ve already mentioned the problems we’ve been having with Charlie and the tantrums. Well, I’ve been really diligent and we’re having less, but the Hubs and I are starting to wonder if maybe it’s something more than the terrible twos.

You see. . . he’s never inconsolable. . . for long. That was the big watch word when they discharged us is the very beginning–inconsolable. And we’ve been very good about bringing him in when it gets like that.

But it does seem a bit weird to us that kid who was formerly a human beam of sunshine. A child who is entertained by a particularly musical paper crinkle and who jumps for joy at the sound of his relatives’ voices is suddenly less so. I find myself apologizing a lot because he’s “tired” or “not in the mood” and that’s just so strange.

Tonight was another mega-blow up. Night time has been a little tough, but tonight we stayed late at my MIL’s house watching The Closer and when we got home we put Charlie straight to bed. Big mistake. The tantrum went on and on and finally we pulled him out of bed, did the evening routine two hours late, and put him in bed. Still rough, but better. It worried both of us, though. So the Hubs and I sat down tonight and googled all sort of things with regards to his little brain and we came up with this very interesting statistic: %30 of kids who experience shunt failure have mostly behavioral symptoms. Not the throwing up, the seizures, and the lethargy that they warned us about. At the end of last month the neurosurgeon adjusted Charlie’s shunt to a setting that he preferred.

So tomorrow we’re going to hit the ground running. See if we can get an appointment with the neuro for Wednesday and if not, we may just take our happy asses down to the emergency room and hang out until we get some service.

Could it be the shunt? Maybe. It could also be totally normal childhood development. I don’t normally complain about having a kid with special needs, but at times like this I would LOVE to know someone else in the same position. Someone I could call on the phone to see what they think. But for now. . . we’ll just worry.

Filed Undermedical

About That Bathroom

12:36 am

I still haven’t gotten my camera back, so I had to take all new pictures with a camera my SIL lent me, so sorry for the delay. Here’s the skinny: the bathroom is plain, 1989-fabulous. There’s nothing horrible, but it definitely needs some updating. You’ve seen the horrible towel bar and the rest of the accessories are pretty much the same except without the bizarre bend in the middle.

Everything in this bathroom belonged to the previous owner. I never found my own shower curtain post-move, so we just made do with what we had. I didn’t replace this curtain til about five minutes ago and above the toilet is actually a knick-knack rack with little figurines of nekkid babies taking baths.

This is a picture of the bathroom we when we looked at the house–we’ve been using that shower curtain.

I don’t have a ton of money, so I’m not doing any major renovations. I could do the floor, but I don’t want to have to redo it later, so I’m ignoring it. My game plan is new accessories and paint. In an ideal world I’d redo the whole thing in a 1920′s theme–claw foot tub, and hex tile on the floor. Since I can’t have all that, I’m going to get what I can.

I bought this towel bar at target–I liked the look.

I’m going to paint the plain wood vanity and change the knobs.

Max feels that his rear end should play a part in all household activities.

I’m going to take down the wall paper border and paint the walls a brighter shade of white–right now they’re a very light blue/gray color. I’ll probably scrape the ceiling while I’m up there and I’m also going to take down the faux stain-glass window.

I’m going to replace the nasty toilet paper holder, the switch covers, and hopefully the mirror.

Sorry for the sideways pic–my SIL’s camera doesn’t auto-correct like mine does.

I’m going with a dark blue and white scheme.

I’ll be trying to update on my progress every Monday!

Filed Underother stuff

Fun Fact Friday

8:08 am

The fact is. . . I have no facts today. What I do have are three opinion questions and I’d love for you to answer them.

1. We need a new front door knob/lock combo. There’s a fun fact for you. We ordered a new one six months ago and the bizarro woman we bought it for, never actually ordered it. We didn’t pay for it, but still . . . how hard can it be to place an order? Anyway, I’ve narrowed it to two choices. To describe my house, it’s got a big front porch and we live in a “historic district” so many of the houses are about one-hundred-year-old summer cottages that fancy-pants New Orleanians used to have. Plain, but Victorian inspired. Our house is actually newer (1988 or so), but designed to fit in with the rest of the neighborhood. My thoughts are either:
A.
B.
On the interior we’re going with a crystal knob because I have always, always wanted one. I’m not sure what finish we’re going to get. I’m leaning towards a brushed nickel, but my Hubby prefers the rubbed brass. We’ll see.

2. What do you think makes a nice present for a second wedding? A friend of mine is re-marrying and I’d like to get him and his new wife a little something. I don’t think they NEED anything per se, but I’d like to at least acknowledge the big day. Any ideas?

3. Would you go to someone you know who’s a dentist? I have a friend, we met my sophomore year of college and she’s a dentist. I made an appointment at her office, but I made it with the other dentist. I thought it would be weird having her look at my plaque and whatnot–what do you think? Am I over-thinking?

So, answer all three or just answer the ones you feel like answering–I’d love your feedback!