Monday, April 26, 2010

My morning with Sally

I am not planning for this to be very long. I want to type this while I have both limbs and all digits in tact. After tonight, it might be a different story. I will explain in a bit. I had chemo this past Thursday. I did well with it except for being tired. Friday, Sally dragged me along to pay for the washer and dryer. By the way I got the dryer I wanted. Not that I will use it but it's cool. The inside is shinny and it opens up from the top instead of the front. Sally didn't mention she had other places on her agenda. Since we were "near" the mall we ended there. The kids outgrew their summer clothes from last year. Kaity might be able to wear her's for a little bit longer but as for Zachary we would have to grease him down and try to slide the clothes on or possibly use a full body shoe horn. Then we would have to hope and pray his clothes wouldn't split when he moved. hmmm I don't think this is going to be as short as I planned. I never realized I have so much to say. Maybe it's because I know someone will actually read this and listen. As most of the time I would be better off talking to the wall. Actually I have had many meaningful conversations with the wall if you know what I mean( no I don't answer myself) As soon as I pulled into the parking spot at the mall Sally and Kaity darted off to the mall. I knew they were goners. The thing about Sally she doesn't really shop much for herself but it's important to her for the kids to look nice. In the summer she is always having the kids change their clothes and wash their faces when they get dirty. Kaity is the one who I am worried about the most when it comes to shopping. She is very opinionated when it comes to picking out her clothes. Basically she picked out her clothes and every once in a while Sally would sneak something else in. Everything she likes is hot pink. Pink, pink, pink. I am a guy so pink isn't my favorite color to begin with but I think she is on pink over load. Kaity did pick out a brown shirt. It was a star war's shirt for Zachary. At least he will have that to wear since Sally neglected to look for him.

Friday night I was awake the entire night. I had severe gas pains. So bad that I called off work. It almost killed me to call off work. That is something that isn't in my vocabulary.

Tomorrow we are getting the washer and dryer. Plus, I am planning on cutting down the two front trees with the help of my neighbor Ryan. Hence, for the earlier statement about my arms and fingers. Sally usually takes me to work when I work days since we only have the one car. Actually I take her then she runs out of the car and switches seats to drive home. I love my wife and usually I am not embarrassed of her but when she takes me to work that is another story. I am tempted to take a picture of her one day. I would except for I don't not know how to use the camera and I am not sure what she would do to me. She can get vicious. I know it's shocking but true. In the morning when I drive to work with my wife accompany me. I am presentable with my work uniform on, teeth brushed, and hair combed. Sally rolls out the bed and leaves. The people at work have often seen her running around the car with cow pajamas on, an unmatching t- shirt (usually mine) hair uncombed, sock less and her dresser shoes that slip on. The cow pajamas are really not so bad. She has stripped bottoms that look like clown pants. Shirt tucked in the front and hanging out in the back. The topper is when she where's her shorter PJ bottoms. The ones that go up to her calf with her black dress shoes. OOOOO LA LA !

Which leads into about the drive to work this morning. I was extremely craggy this morning. Chemo and not sleeping the other night really did me in. I am driving to work and all I wanted to do was listen to the songs playing on the radio. Sally informs me she didn't go to bed until after 4 because her mind was racing. Oh no, I knew it was going to be a long drive to work. She wasn't kidding. She kept rambling all the way there about everything she was thinking about and planning. Of course I am involved with all of it or should I say doing it all. She mentioned (but left it up to me so she says) about putting down tile in the laundry room tonight after I get done cleaning it out and taking out the washer and dryer. She also mentioned about tearing down a wall in the kitchen and since we are having the kitchen ceiling repaired and painted it would be a good time to change the fan/lighting. She mention something about planting stuff and something about youtube and learning how to do something. The list went on and on. I thought it would be easier to just tear the house down and start over. I am not even sure if she took a breath during the drive. All I kept thinking was is this going to end, would it be rude if I turn up the radio because the song I like is playing, I am tired now and her planning all this stuff is making me more tired, she said it's all just ideas but are they just ideas?, am I there yet, hope I get all the green lights, why can't she think of things she can do, maybe I should have a brainstorm for "ideas" for her, I hope she doesn't expect me to remember all of this, I hope she doesn't remember all of her "ideals" either, finally I am at work, hope the machine is up and running and the bolts do not need to be changed, I hope Sally is here at 7 sharp, I hope she gets to the other side of the car without anyone seeing her and after giving her a kiss good bye I hope she realizes how much I really love her.

Please remember me and Ryan in your prayers. Cutting down the trees will be very interesting to say the least since I have never done it before and I don't think Ryan has either. (By the way another one of Sally's great ideas). While praying, pray that Sally isn't so ticked off at me where she won't keep the cold beer coming (for Ryan) and cold Dr. Pepper for me and some lunch to keep us going. The thing is at least I post my feeling and thoughts publicly for Sally and all to see. Where as for her I don't know what she is thinking most of the time and I can only imagine what she says about me when I am not around.

I am going to end this because my brain hurts now, at least what didn't get fried. Thanks for visiting and God Bless!

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Introducing Mr. & Mrs. Bickerson

This past week I felt good. Still tired all the time but feeling much better then the last few weeks. I put in over 60 hours last week. This week I will most likely put in 60 hours. I have a couple of projects at work I need to work on plus I volunteered to work Thursday morning for Earth Day before I go to chemo. Friday was a going away party for James,my former boss. He took a job out of state and I wish him the best of luck. The reason why I mentioned this is because James was the one who believed in me at work. He took a risk when he hired me for a lead operator job. I believe if it wasn't for him I wouldn't be where I am at now. Most likely, I would have been of the many that were let go at work when they down sized. Thank you James.

Enough of the sappy stuff. Friday night the dryer died. Bad that we have to get a new one but good it happened right before we got our tax refund check. There goes my dreams of having the concrete porch tore up (which needs to be) and replacing it with a wooden deck. The washing machine is on it's way out to so we felt it is best to purchase both at once and while we have the cash. God does watch out for us. Yesterday, Sally informed me we are shopping for washers and dryers when I woke up. Much transpired during our little outing. So I felt it was only right to have both point of views posted. Of course my view is more accurate and I am going first because it's my blog and I am always waiting on Sally so this time she can wait for me.

Bill's point of view

The washer and dryer is Sally's thing. She is the one who uses them. I am not allowed to wash clothes. The only thing she lets me to do is get the clothes out of the dryer to fold. Maybe it's because she saw a couple not suppose to be pink shirts in my bachelor days. I would have been happier staying home clipping my toes nails then being dragged around looking at washing machines and dryers. I did get a little happier when I found out my mother in law was going to watch the kids. Not the date night I have hoped for but never the less I was able to spend some alone time with my wife. As we were walking in the first store Sally said "I don't know what we are here for". I couldn't help but laugh, washers and dryers you !#@!@#$% . I tried to be a good husband and seemed interested but as long as a washer cleans clothes and a dryer dries them that's all that matters to me. What was really on my mind was food. I just got off working midnights and I had not eaten in several hours. I was hoping Sally would suggest we go out to eat. Not to often we go with out kids. It would be nice to go some where without having a beverage being knocked over. In my opinion we were done after the salesman showed us a washer and dryer. It looked fine to me. I knew Sally will have to look at every store and then knowing her she will go back to the first place and buy the first one we looked at. She does this all the time. I was just thinking of her when I suggested lets order it and be done. Her time is precious and the money we save on gas she can go and have her toes painted.

When we walked out she asked if I was hungry. I tried playing it cool and mentioned about going to other stores. She said we could eat first (which is what I was hoping for). We went to IHOP. I can never go wrong with IHOP. My mature wife blew the paper off the straw and it hit me. So being the mature person I was, I went to return the favor but my wife who usually isn't a quick thinker like myself, ducked and the straw paper hit the lady behind her, right in the ear. So being the quick thinker I was, I Said honey why did you do that. Not realizing that Sally's back was to the lady and I still had the straw in my mouth.(I had the Deer in the headlights type moment). Sally kicked me in the shin. I am waiting for the bruise to surface. I know there is going to be a big bruise. It took awhile for dinner. I decided I would make this a nice evening for Sally. Sally wasn't doing much talking (I know that is a surprise) so I decided to be my charming self and carry on the conversation. She often just gave me glares. Everyone else enjoys my conversations and thinks I am a funny guy.
Everyone except for my wife. I just don't understand why. No beverages were knocked over but Sally did manage to get food on her shirt(I think that was going to be the take home for the kids). After dinner or breakfast because we ate breakfast but it was at dinner time. So do I call it breakfast or dinner? We went to 3 more stores. I was supportive of Sally as we continued our quest to look at washers and dryers. I often gave her my input. I held her hand, opened the door and even tried to give her a kiss every now and then. Every store we went to we walked out of the "entrance" only section. I was waiting for us to be arrested for breaking the store "law". After all that had transpired yesterday we are no closer to picking out a washer and dryer. She did say if she finds a pink washer and dryer she is buying that one no matter what. The plan is to go looking again tomorrow. I am looking forward to spending time with my lovely wife and daughter. Hopefully, I will get lunch out of it. By the way my wife who is supposed to love me always has been telling me all weekend she hates me.

Sally's version

Yes I am the one who washes clothes. But it's a major purchase and I think the decision should be a joint one. If not down the road if something happens I will hear "Honey you picked it out". Plus, I am more price conscious then Bill is. I picked out the oven/stove based on price. I regret it now. I don't want to pick something out hasty and regret it. If we are lucky we will be stuck with it for many years. As we were walking in the first store I started to say "I am not sure what I am looking for" before I was able to finish saying "in a washer and dryer". Bill cut me off by laughing at me and calling me a dumb ass. By the way dumb ass is his pet name for me lately. Can you believe that? I never bought a washer and dryer before so I am clueless what to look for. Unlike Bill, I try to make an informed choice so I takes me awhile to purchase an item of importance. I am sure when he bought the washer and dryer he went to one store and walked out in matter of minutes with a sale receipt. OK the washer and dryer did last for over 15 years but he got lucky. This is the guy who bought a brand new car without test driving it. It's the same guy who would order things off the TV because they looked "neat". After the first store I knew he was hungry so we went out to dinner.
By the way I didn't kick him hard in the shin. It was more like a tap. He liked to over exaggerate if you haven't noticed by now. The entire time we were there he was laughing at himself. I never knew someone who could entertain themselves as easily as Bill can. It continued in the car he would say something and then laugh at what he had said. Often he would make hand jesters which would make himself laugh even more. At one store while I was reading the info on a machine he kept talking about how shiny the chrome was on a different machine. It seemed the only thing that matter to him was the color, if it was cool, and how much it shined when he opened it up. Needless to say he wasn't very much help.

Zachary and Kaity were waiting for us. They both received a Target gift card for their birthdays and wanted to spend it. We finally got to my mom's a little after 8. Zachary asked if we were going to Target, I joked around and said they were closed. When I got into the car, Zachary was sobbing and Bill was laughing. I asked what was going on. I found out Zachary believed me and thought Target was closed. Bill knowing this decided not tell Zachary other wise and it was more entertaining to let Zachary be upset.

We are going back tomorrow but since Bill isn't much help I am going to rely on consumer reports to help me make a decision. Oh my gosh I need to finish. My "adult" husband just walked in the kitchen to get the scissors to cut open Kaity's princess birthday balloon. He claimed Kaity told him to. The real reason is because he wanted to use the helium to talk funny. Yet, his story is more accurate.

Bill gets the last word.

It's my blog so I get the last word. There are a few things I need to correct my dear wife. You are wrong and I am right . You really need to quit telling stories. As far I my washer and dryer goes, I wasn't the only one who picked it out, but yes it was at the only place we went to. The color wasn't the only thing I was looking at. It had to look cool too and have a lot of controls that made look even cooler.
I told Zach that when we picked him and Kaity up , that if his mother doesn't hurry the Target will be closed. She was talking to her mom while we were waiting in the car. I just exagerated the time target closed slightly. I told Zach that Target was closing at 8:30 and it was 8:20 at the time. When in reality they were closing at 10.
Yes, I did test my Grand Am when I bought it. It was the coolest looking black Grand Am with the coolest looking controls. As far as her little tap. Yeah with steel toes.
Me laughing at myself, everyone in the stores thought I was funny. I know this cause they were laughing at me too. No I mean laughing with me. Oh boy, maybe they were laughing at me. Well I'll never see them again.

This is my story and I am sticking to it unless I change my mind. Thanks for visiting and God Bless you all.




Thursday, April 8, 2010

It sounded like a freight train!

Today I had chemo and for the most part it went very well and a lot better than last time. I just feel a little tired and that is mostly because I was up longer than I should have been. So I am really relieved that it should be less harsher than last time.I need to work on my sleeping habits to get the full rest that I need. I feel that I need to do stuff with the family. Sally and I like to watch movies when the kids go to sleep and sometimes it's not as early as we would like it to be. Kaity will be in her feisty mood and jump on me and have me throw her around the house for awhile, or spin her in circles. After doing that I really need to sit for awhile. I sometimes have a real hard time dealing with that fatigue that I feel. Just over a year ago I was able to run around and have fun with the kids without all of the tiredness. Sometimes I really feel useless and alone. It's not that I am and Sally is a really good wife who makes me feel wanted. It's just that I can't get use to the way I was to how I am now. I know I shouldn't feel this way but, this is what this blog is all about, my feelings and thoughts. I really can't help the way I feel. This is the reason I don't like to be alone. I start to think to much about things and the what ifs. I will never ever really be out of the woods completely. And I know this and that is why I think a lot about my family and especially my kids and what my kids will be when they grow up. I know this sounds depressing and I am sorry for that but like I have said don't let me be alone to think about things. That is why I am glad that I have some of the craziest and goofiest kids in the world. They really help me keep my mind off of things that I shouldn't be thinking about. So I am not really taking this as good as people think. When you have great kids and a wonderful wife it puts things in a different perspective. Sorry didn't mean whine and go off in a tangent. Now for the stars of this blog, Sally and the Zach .

Yesterday I was hearing some strange noises coming from our hallway. I really wasn't sure what it was. It sounded like a train going though the house. I decided to get up and investigate the noise. It took me about a second to get to the end of the hallway. We have a small house that is as big as a small cardboard box to a medium size cardboard box give or take a cardboard box , but hey it's my cardboard box. Anyway I looked in Zach's room and noticed that his covers were moving up and down over his body and every once in awhile they would flutter at his head. I looked closer and noticed that he was the noise maker. The walls started to crack because of the vibration. I knew he must have been really exhausted to be so loud. So I left him alone but not before I pinched his cheeks,DAAAAAAAd Sorry, go back to bed.

About a week ago Sally and I were sleeping soundly. Again I hear this babble like a cross between a mouse and two quirrels fighting over a nut. I got up to hear what it was. It calmed down to a softer tone and now sounded like a Zhu Zhu pet. I looked over at Sally and it was her, having this conversation with herself in Zhu Zhu language. I didn't know what exactly to do to get her back to her native language. I knew I needed to act fast or she may start to scurry all over the bed and possible fall off and hurt herself or worse yet mistaken me for a nut,ummm never mind. So I just put my hand on her cheek softly. She wakes up and says what the ***&$$#*%% are you doing ,oh nothing.
Another time we were sleeping( a common trend here). Again a sound sleep and believe me I don't get to many nights like that, so I really value them. Sally all of a sudden bolts up and said MOTHER! I get up and stare at her wondering if there will be a encore. She turns and looks at me and says WHAT! "Nothing, Nothing at all". I asked her the next day what that was all about and she said it was a dream she had about her and her sisters. If you want to know the dream content I am sure Sally will post a comment about it if you want the details.
Yet again , I was sleeping soundly and the next thing I heard, I thought I was sleeping with one of the three stooges. Whooo whoooo whoooo wheee wheee whhhezzz. I looked over at my angelic wife and said nooooo. A man snores like that(but not me)not my very angelic wife of almost 12 years. "Sweetie Sweetie do you need something". "Sweetie Sweetie want me to get you something". "What the **%^&% do you want" she says, "oh nothing just go to bed".
I don't want anyone to think that I am making fun of Sally. It's just that I am. It's my blog and I can do what I want, besides she is a really good sport about it. I know if she really didn't want me to do it I wouldn't(maybe).
Thank you and God Bless you all.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Noooooooo, not yet!!!





I have been doing very well except, I just feel like I am not getting enough sleep. I try to keep busy doing things so that I don't fall asleep but, that kinda defeats the purpose of needed rest. At least most of the other effects are at a minimal, so that I can deal with.


I hope everyone had a Happy and Blessed Easter. We started our Easter by going to the Saturday Mass at St. James. We went last year and really enjoyed it. It's about two hours long but a really nice service. I really liked the music that they had. We will try and do this every year I hope. Earlier in the day there was a Easter Egg hunt at Griffith's Central Park. It's nice how it is set up with the ages. There are three groupings with 0-4, 5-7 and 8-12 years olds. I stayed with Zach and the 8-12 year olds and Sally with Kaity and the 0-4 year olds. The count down started at 10 going down to zero or we hoped. It got to 7 and then the 0-4 year olds took off and started to grab all the eggs as a few of the ones who were actually waiting to go stood there in disbelieve at the kaos that has started. So I started back to see what happened and where my daughter was in all of this. These were the youngest kids so I know it was actually the parents that had the kids take off early (come on it isn't like there was money in the eggs, just candy uuummmm maybe I could see that now). I saw That Sally had Kaity by the hood of her jacket as she tried to get away. I was glad that Sally was trying to teach Kaity to be a leader and not a follower. Then I thought let her go let her go, they are getting all the candy that I ,I mean Kaity deserves. That is why I married Sally. She will instill values in our kids while I am a little corrupt. It was like a shark feeding frenzy. You hear the lady in charge over the microphone saying no, get back get back. Than all the other ages took off. Again the lady was saying get back get back. I was thinking good luck. Then there were kids piling on each other. I could just see the riot that was about to happen because of those 0-4 year old trouble makers. Kids were ripping eggs out of other kids hands and taking them out of there baskets. I had to tell Kaity a few times Kaity give them back or the Easter Bunny won't come.. I could just see the police come in with mace and tear gas to calm things down . I haven't seen things this bad since the na na da poo poo days of the past Summer (Read earlier blogs). Only a few kids were lead away in hand cuffs(only kidding). It was pretty crazy and quite entertaining. Can't wait till next year and will bring the mace.


I forgot to mention about the play that Sally and I saw in February called" Noises Off". To be honest there isn't a whole lot I could say. I just got the pump taken out and wasn't feeling that great. I was sitting next to a lady that I think bathed in perfume. I could take the smell of perfume but this nice lady literally had a mist floating around her. Sally told me that the people next to her had it on heavy too. I really wanted to watch the play. The play at first started out a little slow but, started to get interesting and funny. I tried really hard to stay and Sally knew I was miserable. She told me that we could maybe go to Baker's Square and get a piece of pie if I wanted too. I shot out of that chair like a pop tart in a toaster and said let's go. I sure hope that nice ladies toes are ok.

Thank you for visiting and God Bless you all. The next blog will have some tidbits from Zach.



Friday, April 2, 2010

Up Date on Kaity



Today Kaity had an appointment with the family doctor. We were told that she tested negative for lead poisoning (right now lead poisoning doesn't seem as bad) According to the latest blood work there is definitely something going on. He said the hospital messed up and didn't run the blood panel right which would have given a better indication what is going on. He said right he is thinking she either has lupus or the early on set of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. He said he wasn't going to order any more blood work on her because she will get another work up with the next doctor. She needs to see a pediatric rheumatologist. There are none locally so he suggested to take her to Children's Memorial. Next week, that will be our mission to find a doctor and get an appointment set up.