Bah - He Came Back

Nox returned.  After only a few short days away, he was discovered sitting on a window ledge at the front of the house. Tucker received hero status for finding Nox and the crazy creature again received enough treats to feed every cat at the pound.

But, before you despair over my lot in life with this cat, he may have just pushed too far today. After spending a total of 90 minutes chasing Nox outside (Shelby began logging it as a school project), which is where he dashed literally every time someone had the temerity to go outside and enjoy the day, the kids are less than enthralled with the cat. As Shelby sighed about his caterwauling to get out and turned the volume up on her computer math program again, she asked me if there really is a farm nearby that would take Nox. Of course, I urged her to really pray about whether or not she wanted to relocate Nox before making such a decision (while hiding my inward glee) since I felt strongly that this would be the correct "mother position" to take.  But that was before dinner.

During dinner, Nox came into the living room and climbed onto our basket of blankets and left his customary deposit -- urine. (Yes - these are the same blankets he chose to demonstrate his displeasure on during an earlier incident.) An unsuspecting Keats grabbed a blanket to wrap up in and immediately shrieked. As of bedtime, everyone in the house agreed that Nox needs to move to a farm somewhere where he can run in and out without the danger of catfights (our backyard) or being run over (parking lot in the front) before one of us kills him. Even Keats was disgruntled about needing another bath and his favorite jammies having to be washed.

So, we'll see what happens in the end. In true Carpe Diem form, I called Scott at the hospital immediately and told him to start putting the word out that a charming, orange tabby cat is in need of a loving family with plenty of room to roam.  Perhaps he can manage to convince a medicated patient that Nox is the perfect companion.  

Hmmm - Am I Sad?

It seems, that during all of the hub-bub of dad's surgery today and the ins and outs of multiple kids, we may have lost Nox.  

To be fair, the wonderful woman who agreed to watch our children and Sadie, my niece, brought her third-trimester-pregnant-self along with her four kids over to our house so I could be at the hospital.  So she was here with 12 children and a cat who is determined to thwart every attempt at remaining housebound which we have contrived.  I did go out for about an hour tonight once things quieted down enough that I realized I was missing Nox to investigate the bushes and shake his Kitty Treats container like a mad-woman.  And when I say "missing Nox," I certainly don't mean that I longed for his company.  Rather, it finally dawned on my awareness that he was not under my feet tripping me as I tried to move around and complete some tasks before going up to bed.

And so, I must admit that I'm not certain I'm sad he's not here tonight.  Obviously, this dashes my Mother of the Year award again this year.  But, let's face it, the cat and I have never been on great terms.  Perhaps he'll realize I'm not terribly upset by his absence and be waiting on the front step to be let in in the morning.  Now that would be classic Nox.

Dad is Back

In the hospital, that is.  After feeling dizzy and falling, dad wound up back in the SICU once a major brain hemorage was discovered during a precautionary CAT scan.  Yikes.  He did have brain surgery today and they actually burred holes into his skull to release the fluid and relieve the pressure.  The next big step will be waiting for dad's brain to fill back into the skull, and then the doctors will begin discussions to allow him to come home.  The surgeons were surprised at the thickness of his skull . . .  None of us were terribly surprised.

There might be a heart surgery in his future in order to replace the mechanical valve in his heart with a biological one.  But, his primary heart surgeon is off enjoying a family vacation in Peru, so we will have to wait on that information.

In the meantime, his life just got realllllllly boring.  Not exercise other than gentle walking and he is to avoid clumsy moments.  This should be fun to watch!

Admission of Failure

For only the second time in the history of our marriage, Scott and I regret to announce we will not be sending out 2008 Christmas cards this year. Now, I realize that you are chuckling over the fact that I still call them Christmas cards even though we've passed Christmas, New Year's, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Valentine's Day, President's Day and are already slurping Shamrock Shakes at McDonalds.  And, yes, I haven't sent a Christmas card on time since the twins began walking.  And yes, I know I blame them for everything. But I hate the thought of failure. And for me not to send a card is an utter failure.

So, please, don't die before next year's card can be sent or I will really feel terrible. And since I already had the photos ready and the newsletter printed, I will include the 2008 edition with our 2009 cards. But since our cards are still safely wrapped in their plastic prison, I feel I have no other choice but to concede defeat. If I haven't even gotten them unwrapped yet, what hope is there?

Yes, we are alive. Yes, we all had wonderful experiences to share. Yes, we thought of everyone not getting our cards as their cards began pouring in. And, yes, I feel like a turd.

Such is life within the Rutherford 9 from time to time.

Nox Made My List

Okay.  Truly, he has never really left my list of things about my life I would simplify in an instant. A nice fur rug in front of the fireplace or a pair of warm mittens perhaps?  I'm not a violent person, but this cat SO MAKES ME CRAZY!  And I think that after I explain this morning, no one will sympathize with the ball of orange fur that takes up space in our home.

Things here have been a little unconventional.  Between my 10-day stomach flu accompanied by Shelby's broken finger,  Abigail's current batch of infections (double ears, double eyes, nose, and chest -- eeewww) and Dad's car accident and subsequent hospital stay sandwiched in between, Nox has not received the world's best care. He has been feed and watered, although I'll admit that it's not been his daily preference of fresh water.  Dawson has done reasonably well keeping the litter box cleaned out even though it isn't nearly as "sparkling" as when Scott or I do it.  But, seriously.  Given everything which has been happening, I think we did a pretty good job balancing people with the cat.

Nox disagrees.

So, this morning, he came into the living room with his nose in the air and his tail puffed in irritation.  He proceeded to a pile of blankets Keats and Aidan had made in the middle of the living room floor.  (They like to practice flying and the blankets provide a relatively soft landing.) Nox climbed on the top of the pile, shifted his weight and made enough noise to ensure we were all looking at him.  Then Nox, the creature who should be honoring us for his very cush life, PEED RIGHT THERE!  RIGHT THERE!!!!  On top of a pile of human blankets used to help us stay warm!  And don't think that I don't know just how intentional this act was. I could see it in his beady little eyes.

We all just stared.  What else could we do?  Pick him up mid-urination and carry him to a more appropriate venue?  Then we would have to clean blankets, the floor, probably a wall or two, not to mention how ever many people he managed to aim at along the way.  So there we stand, completely helpless as the cat decides that our lives for the past three weeks have not been interesting enough.  What a turd.

Of course, the children all still think the cat hung the moon.  They fussed over his sufferings and made sure he had extra treats today, since obviously Nox is feeling neglected.   Oh please. Perhaps the next time he investigates the fireplace when I am preparing to light a fire I won't be quite so quick to shoo His Honor out of the path of impending danger.  Then he'll know. Don't mess with me.

Just Living

Some fun recent moments:

Dawson and Isabelle had a crazy Kung-Fu style wrestle-fest in the living room for about 30 minutes.  How nobody got injured is beyond my knowledge, but they sure had fun!

Shortly after Scott was awakend this afternoon, Keats took it upon himself to steal upstairs and announce:  "I'm not allowed to eat bananas because you asked mom for banana bread. Humph." He promptly left the room.

Abigail, who has been dealing with a terrible respiratory/sinus infection, hates having her face cleaned off.  After finishing one de-boogering episode, she grabbed the cloth, threw it on the floor, stomped on it, and then walked away as fast as she could.

A couple of weeks ago, Scott and I had the dreadful task every parent faces at least once - trying to find the diaper that was apparently stinking up our bedroom.  We looked everywhere and did find one in the trash in the bathroom.  We proclaimed victory and assumed it was over.  Nope. Turns out, that creature which awoke me at 5:30 am so many writings ago -- died.  In the wall.  There isn't much we can do other than wait for the decay process to pass the smelly stage.  It should only be one week more.  Eww.

Tucker lost his first tooth today.  It's been loose for a while and very loose for over a week.  But today, Dawson turned too quick and accidentally popped Tucker's mouth with his elbow.  Tucker started to cry and then stopped almost immediately with a "Hey!"  He fished around in his mouth for a second and then produced his finally out tooth!  This one was a first for our family.

Aidan, who has been having nightmares, came in to my room last night where I was reading with the TV on a news channel for company.  He plopped in bed, sat there for a moment, and then said, "Obviously you are not watching.  Please change the channel."

Shelby, who has taken to reading with abandon this year (yippie!) came down exhausted one recent morning.  When I asked her what had her so tired, she responded, "If people would quit writing such good books, I would sleep a lot better.  Do we keep any bad books laying around the house?"  

Dawson, who is our resident handy-man, asked me if there was anything which needed repairs around the house.  I had let him know I didn't know of any, but I would keep my eyes open.  Sure enough, we discovered a loose bolt on a chair and Dawson tightened it pretty quick.  He walked through the dining room and kitchen and actually found quite a few loose or missing screws, all of which he took care of.  Then he came to me and said (quite seriously): "Mom.  I really think you need to ton down your activity.  Most of the loose screws are on stuff you use a lot."  Huh.

Update on Tacy's Dad

For those of you who aren't aware, Tacy's dad was involved in a car accident on Tuesday.  He hit some black ice, lost control of the car, and hit a tree.  He was driving a friend's Envoy, which we are fairly certain is totaled.  Both airbags deployed (fracturing 3 ribs) and the driver's seat returned to it's "memory" position for the regular driver, who is several inches shorter than dad.  The result was dad's head plowing into the roof of the car, resulting in a concussion and brain hemorrhaging.  Due to the blood thinners he is on to protect his artificial heart valve, once dad begins bleeding, he does so for a long time.  After being seen in the Trauma Center at the Reading Hospital, he was admitted into the Surgical Intensive Care (SICU).  He was given Blood Products (Plasma followed by Platelets) in order to quickly thicken his blood and Vitamin K in order to counteract his Cumidin (blood thinner).  He had both a NEurologist (monitoring his brain) and a Cardiologist (monitoring his heart) working with his primary Trauma Doctor in order to chose the best course of action for dad.

Dad came home from the SICU yesterday (Friday).  He looks good, but is still very sore (ribs) and very tired.

They have decided to readmit dad on Wednesday for one week in order to begin administering blood thinners where they can also monitor his brain activity.  This way, they will know immediately if his brain begins to bleed again after they start thinning his blood.  They will be giving him both oral Cumidin (which takes a while to build up to the correct levels in his system) and IV Heparin (which begins to act more quickly.)  This decision was a compromise between the Cardiologist's and Neurologist's wishes as well as addressing mom's concern that he not be at home when the blood thinners were begun since she will have no way to determine if pressure is building on the brain.  We were told that they signs to watch for regarding brain pressure were:  general confusion and words being used incorrectly -- all symptoms which have been present since dad's lengthy heart surgery in November, 2003.

Dad will be going to floor R3, which is not as carefully observed as an ICU floor, but has a better nurse to patient ratio (1:6) than a regular floor.  It is what is known as a "step-down" unit.  They also have all the moitoring systems on this floor as they have on the ICU floors.  He will be allowed to have regular visitors, including the grandchildren, he will have more privacy, and a personal bathroom -- all pluses over the ICU floor.

Dad was diagnosed as Diabetic on Friday morning.  Apparently, it was written into his charts on Thursday, but he didn't learn about it until he received his diabetic breakfast Friday morning.  He was sent home on insulin in order to help get his sugar levels back to normal ranges following the accident.  (Trauma of any sort will cause sugar levels in the body to climb.  This, on top of his already high levels is why they want him on insulin.)  The eventual goal is to wean him off insulin and manage his Diabetes with diet and exercise.  

Please, don't hesitate to call/email Scott & I with questions or requests for updates.  We are only too happy to keep everyone up-to date.  Obviously, mom is a little busy caring for dad.  Dad does love to have phone calls (such a people guy) so don't heistate to call him.  If he's tired, he'll let you know.

And, as always, prayers are very appreciated!

Lovingly,

Tacy