Searching for Normal

Rough night, but good day. My mom was up at 1:30, 4:30 and 7:30 last night. Betty arrived at 8:30, and Megan at 9. I had another rough day getting DH to get up and help with the children again, but my Dad was doing his best to juggle them while I helped my mother.

I took Micah to preschool today - for the first time in a few weeks. He seemed to be having a great time, but he was very clingy - he did not want me to go more than a few feet away from him. After class, we returned home for lunch. I had just missed the nurse, who came to check my mother's blood pressure and draw blood.

Micah was not much in the mood for eating - he munched on an apple, and I made my mother a tuna fish sandwich. My Mom told me that she spoke to her co-worker and friend, and that she planned to come by with couscous. My mom has been so excited that she asked me about 100 times today if I knew what time her co-worker was coming by to visit. I think she wanted to save her appetite for the couscous.

Patricia was here cleaning the house, and she was a huge help - she managed to put a lot of things in order and help us with the unpacking, too. Megan took Micah out to run an errand, and I stayed behind trying to get a few things done around the house. After lunch, we took Mom back to her room for a bit of a nap. She made some phone calls and rested. Micah and Megan returned home, and Micah also went down for his nap. Megan spent most of the afternoon keeping track of Maya while I made a schedule for my mother, took care of a few appointments, returned some calls and emails, and did a bit of cleaning and unpacking.

Another friend of my mother's arrived around 3:00...with vegetable soup for us! My mother has been looking forward to this soup since Saturday, and it certainly delivered. She came in and I gave her a tour of the house, and brought her back to chat with Mom. After a while, Betty brought Mom back out to the living room, and Dad arrived home, too. We all sat around chatting, and it was a nice afternoon. My mom's friend offered to help me get a bit more organized in the kitchen...and I gladly took her up on the offer! We pulled out duplicate food items, moved things around, unloaded 2 more boxes of food, and she helped me cull through some of the items to make more room in the kitchen. When we were finished, I definitely felt as if we'd made a dent in the kitchen. I think I can get the kitchen in order within the next few days.

Around 5:00, the occupational therapist showed up to work with my mother. They did some exercises and evaluations for almost an hour. While they were working, I reheated the soup, and Mom's friend stayed with us through dinner. The soup was DELICIOUS, and it was so nice to not have to think about dinner. Micah skipped dinner and watched Sesame Street. He had actually eaten a ton of peanut butter, so I was fine with that. He was singing along with Elmo's World, and he was just adorable.

We ended dinner with apple pie and chocolate ice cream (of course). We got a call from the nurse who told us Mom's bloodwork indicated that her platelets are low again. She will likely need another platelet transfusion, and we are going to see if her hematologist down here can do it instead of returning to the hospital.

Mom's friend left after dinner, and we spent time with the kids hanging out. Micah drank another smoothie that another friend had left behind...and he cried when it was all gone. Around 8, Betty took Mom back to the room to get her into her pajamas. DH, Micah, Maya, Dad and I watched Glee, and Micah was singing and dancing. He cheered "YAY!" at the end of each song. He was being so cute as he hugged and kissed us all, and he kept running back to check on Grammy - giving her kisses, signing (and saying) "I love you."

Mom decided to stay in bed for the evening. Betty left at 8:30, and we left Mom in the room with her audiobook to relax. DH bathed Micah and put him to bed while I worked on getting Maya to sleep. Maya finally crashed and we placed her in the swing for a bit before moving her into her crib. So far, so good!

I returned to Mom at 10:00 to give mom her nighttime meds and put her to sleep. Luckily, both Micah and Maya were down for the night - I'm hoping for a good night tonight.

Today was much calmer...I got a glimpse of normalcy again, and I think that we will get into a routine in another week or two. It has been so nice having my mom around us, and I love seeing her and my father interacting with the kids. Micah is finally getting comfortable with Mom again...he used to be so attached to her, but with all this time away (ever since she got sick in May), he just has been more distant from her. But lately, he seems to be paying more attention to her again, and he runs down to her room to check on her and say hi. He also seems a bit infatuated with Betty.

I'm hoping for a quiet night!