January 31, 2010

Alas I must say good bye to January.. where did the month go??

Tomorrow, Mom will be moved to the Country Manor nursing home - rehabilitation section. She is continually making improvements, so Dad says, but still needs more time to become independent at home. This could last up to 3 months, until the end of April.

I have not had time to visit Mom since getting sick. But I have done a lot at home this weekend - cleaning the living room, vacuuming, sewing, washing clothes and dishes... today I just finished making salmon and brown rice for a late lunch (around 2:00). And banana bread is ready to take out of the oven.

Tonight will be study time...

January 23

Today was quite an event... I was cleaning all morning, had lunch, and then went to research a topic for my night class. Then Keona told Janice: "I have a toy in my mouth" like she has done before... but not at all with the same result... Keona had swallowed a marble from our "Trap Door" game, which I don't even know how to play! I had it high on the bookshelf and she somehow managed to climb up to get it... little stinker...

She cried a lot, and her face turned a bit red, so we got pants on and went to the ER. I just wanted to make sure everything was okay, that she didn't have trouble breathing, or anything wrong with it digesting... and it turns out it did go into the digestive track... so in two days it should pass. If it doesn't by then, we need to go back to our primary doctor for another X-ray.

God, how many times will we go to the ER??? What a semester.... What a way to begin 2010....

Mom's Status - January 20, 2010

Mom has been doing better day by day. Dad said she can open her eyes a little more every day since last Thursday. I had a busy week last week, and caught a sore throat on Sunday, so I have not visited since then.

Earlier this week the doctors DID confirm that Mom had a mild stroke. However, there are still some issues with brain processing that are not resolved. Dad is still looking at taking her to the Mayo Clinic.

A nutritionist will come in tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. to discuss nutritional requirements. Dad and I will have to make more diabetic-friendly food for everybody. And we will have to start planning out meals every night. Perhaps we can make double-batches of everything and freeze one batch.. we will see.
That's all for now.

Mom's Status - January 15, 2010

Mom has been doing well this week. Monday she moved into a room in the Rehabilitation section of the hospital. She has had 3, 45-minute therapy sessions every day.

On Wednesday, the doctors said she is doing well with therapy. Her speech doesn't seem affected much. However, it does take some time for mental processing to give output.

The eye doctor did some exercises after the meeting on Wednesday. There is still something wrong with the brain. When asked to follow his finger left to right, only the closest eye will follow. For example, if his finger moves to the left, the left eye will follow but the right eye will keep looking straight ahead.

There is no cause for this as of yet. They have not ruled out stroke as a possibility. Another MRI will be conducted soon and I hope we get some answers soon!

Cookie Making!

So Keona and I made most of the sugar cookies at Marlene's on Monday, but we finished them today. I bought her some cute cookie cutters from T. J. Maxx and they are SUPER cute! Here are some pictures of Keona with her creations!

Christmas through December 30

So, last weekend went by quickly! Christmas went well at home. Mom made homemade lasagna. We shared gifts - Keona was so excited! On the 19th, she received a Hello Kitty Toaster - yes, a TOASTER - and was SO excited for it! :-) The toaster imprints Hello Kitty's face onto each slice of bread! How cute! Daniel, my sister, and I went in on an iRobot Roomba and it has worked super! I can't believe it catches so much hair and fuzz balls! I love it!

Christmas day never seemed to end because the morning after Christmas I drove a friend to the airport for a 6:00 a.m. flight, which he almost missed! But still made it, thank goodness! Not to say I didn't enjoy staying up to chat and see him off before going home. It was just a really long day! I stopped at the Clearwater Travel Plaza for coffee and a loaf of Apple Fritter bread at 6:10 a.m. (they opened at 6 I believe). Then another half an hour home. Finally went to bed at 8:00 a.m.... and woke at 9:30 and 11:00 to Keona bringing me something to share, or asking a question. Finally, I got up at 1:00 p.m. because I couldn't sleep anymore with all of the interruptions. Haha.

Then came Monday, and Keona and I visited my aunt, Marlene, for dinner. We brought a small loaf of homemade banana bread to share, the Best Banana Bread according to America's Test Kitchen. My family and friends agree it IS the best banana bread! Before eating, Keona had a good time playing with Marlene's dog, Butch. Here is a picture of Keona and Butch together.

And that brings me to tonight. After putting Keona to bed, I watched Julie & Julia. Wow, what a great movie! It was a really touching movie about the love of cooking, the love of relationships, and love of friendships. I would definitely recommend everyone to watch this movie! And thank you to those who recommended it to me! I LOVED it!!

Christmas Party - Montessori

December 22, 2009:
Montessori Christmas Program!

Here is Keona with her teacher, Mrs. Wolff (on the left) and Mrs. Zahler.
Here is Keona with Mrs. Wirtz: