Happy Halloween!

From my creepy creatures to yours!

Listamania: Rules for Life

1) Always be nice to everyone. Especially the people who seem to need it the most. You never know what someone else is going through.

2) Always convert to pdf, unless you are making a conscientious decision not to. It just makes life easier on everybody.

3) If you have to qualify your statement(e.g. not to be rude, but...) you probably need to rethink whether that statement really needs to be made.

4) Never let a man hit you. The first time should be the last time.

5) Never depend on a man to take care of you.  Be able to take care of yourself. (This one came from my 80 year old great-grandmother when I was in high school.)

The Most Dreaded Word an Associate Can Hear from a Partner

"I know there's a case..."

And thus begins the chase for the ethereal case that may or may not actually exist and definitely will not exist in the jurisdiction that the partner is certain it hails from.

Oh boy

Thank goodness I had a nice, relaxing weekend to prepare for today.

My day started with an emergency research project that I was happy to get.  I like research and haven't done much lately.

And then my mother's doctor's office called to let us know that her surgery is indefinitely postponed because the custom implant that is being made for her is not ready yet.  What???  Nobody told us this two weeks ago when you scheduled her surgery and then sent us to the hospital for pre-admission where they dropped her and broke her femur. (It turned out that the fracture was not a cause to delay the surgery, but she had a urinary tract infection that delayed it for a week-or so we thought.)  Apparently there is a backlog on custom hip implants right now, and hers was especially complicated. 

It could be another month before the implant is ready.  Which means another month in rehab.  And it also puts the scheduling of the next surgery in a very hairy time for me.  I have about a zillion depositions and a couple of hearings in November.  And my firm has a huge trial starting January 3rd--I'm not on that trial team, but because we are a small firm I am definitely feeling the effects. 

And as soon as I got off the phone with the doc, I saw about 5 missed calls on my cell.  Apparently SS started running a fever at school, and DH had to go get her. Looks like strep. She will be out again tomorrow, so DH and I will have to paper-scissors-rock to see who gets to stay home.  But I loaded up all of my research, just in case.  This week, at least, I don't have a lot going on and research projects are pretty portable.

And I talked to my brother, who is coming in down in 2 weeks when DH and I go to Vegas.  This trip was planned months ago--long before my mother's surgeries.  He is being sent to a convention by his employer.  We decided to take advantage of the subsidized airfare and hotel and fly in the weekend before for a quick getaway.  But right now this getaway is just causing more stress.

I kind of thought I would have to cancel when my mother's issues popped up--but then my brother mentioned that he was thinking of coming down that weekend.  I talked him into watching my kids in exchange for gas and groceries, and it seemed too perfect not to go forward.  Someone will be here if anything comes with out mother, and I still get to take my already paid for trip.

But he will have his 4 plus my 3 girls to deal with--ages 15, 14, 13(2), 10(2) and 8.    The good news is that he teaches middle school, so he is used to dealing with lots of screaming teenagers--and all of out kids are pretty easy to deal with. But I may have to send him on his own trip to Vegas after that!

Nice Weekend

This was the most stress-less weekend we have had in a while, and it was nice. I feel so much more ready for Monday than I usually do.

Saturday I interviewed a housekeeper, and I plan to offer her the position as long as her references come back ok. She is already working part-time for another attorney, so she would just alternate days working for the two of us. I really liked her, and I really hope this works out. I think controlling the chaos in my house is a big step toward controlling the feeling of constant chaos in my life.

After I finished up the interview we went to the library and the pumpkin patch where we loaded up on way too many books and picked out a family of pumpkins to carve next weekend. And (bonus!) the worker there was incredulous that DH and I could be old enough to be the parents of out kids.

That evening, out former nanny came by for a visit.  She left for college in the fall, and we were so sad to see her go.  The kids were thrilled to see her again, and it was a really nice visit.

We ended the day watching baseball, while I sewed Girl Scout patches. 56 badges and patches, to be exact. PS said, "well, maybe now you will keep up with sewing the badges on."  Thanks a lot!  But I have been a slacker--we've had most of these for a long time. However, I did find it ironic that I was sewing on the twins' sewing badges. (But the badges are all circular and the invisible thread was a PITA to work with, so I don't think they could have handled it.)

Today I slept in until 9--that never, ever happens.  It is almost physically impossible for me to sleep past 7. I arose to find DH and the twins sprawled out all over the living room reading books.  And so I joined them, and that is where we stayed for the next couple of hours.

We eventually wandered upstairs, where I continued with the badge sewing while watching the old and new versions of Charlie/Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. We all just kind of hung out in the game room, watching movies we've all seen about a thousand times and playing on our computers.  It was nice.

We totally skipped visiting my mother this weekend.  She called on Friday and offered a "free pass" for the weekend.  I didn't really think she meant it, and wasn't really planning on taking her up on it, but it was so nice to not have to go anywhere today.

Now I'm ready for another week.

Lawyer Happiness

I spent all morning in a difficult, technical deposition of a professional expert.  The expert is an engineer and the questions involved complex mathematical concepts well-beyond my remedial math capabilities. I insisted that my client, also an engineer, be present for this deposition so that he could assist if the deponent got too technical with his answers.  Which also means that the client was present to critique my skill as a lawyer and my understanding of these technical concepts.

So it really made my day when I got home and found an email from my client telling me that I did a great job today.  Compliments are few and far between from paying clients, and this one in particular is the curmudgeonly sort. Plus, when he hired me he told me that he was deciding between our firm and another lawyer who is also an engineer.  I assured him that even though I wasn't an engineer I could handle the job, and it was nice to be able to prove it.

Seriously???

My mother is still wheelchair bound and still in rehab.  She cannot stand at all.  The only way she can transfer from her bed to the wheelchair is by sliding on a board.  Getting her from one place to another is no easy task.  Neither are bathroom activities.  There is no way that someone who is not properly trained can move her at all.

Yesterday I accompanied my mother to visit her doctor for a check up and to schedule her surgery.  Of course, they wanted to take a take an x-ray.  It was a major ordeal that took three nurses to move her from the wheelchair to the x-ray table and back again.

The x-ray revealed that the temporary spacer was out of socket. This seemed like not a good thing, but the PA didn't seem too concerned since it was only a temporary part and she wasn't supposed to be putting weight on it anyway.

So we scheduled her surgery for next Tuesday, which made us both happy. (Yes, she is driving me crazy, but that's another post.) She should be able to go home a couple of weeks after the surgery.

Today we went to the hospital for pre-registration and to get her labs done. One of the labs ordered was a urinalysis. This presented a problem, because she cannot transfer from her wheelchair to a toilet. I asked if the urinalysis was really necessary.  The nurse called the doctor's office, which confirmed that they needed the urinalysis. The nurses discussed how they were going to get this sample.  A catheter was discussed, but they didn't have an order for a catheter. So they asked my mother if she thought she could transfer onto a toilet with help.  She said she would rather try that than a catheter.

And so the two nurses carried her into another room, and I waited right outside.  After a few minutes I heard her scream.  And a couple minutes later they brought her out crying.  She said that they had shifted all of her weight onto her bad leg and that it really hurt. I had no doubt that it hurt since the hip wasn't in the socket.  But they were done with her, so I took her outside to be picked up by the transport service.  She seemed ok by the time she left, and I headed on to the office.

She called a couple of hours later in tears, saying that the pain was excruciating and the nurse at the rehab facility wanted to talk to me.  The nurse asked me to come in and sign a statement about what happened at the hospital.  I refused--it was clear they were in CYA mode, and I felt no obligation to help them--particularly since she was in their care when her hip was knocked out of socket.

She called again mid-afternoon to tell me her pain meds had kicked in and she was feeling better. But the rehab facility had done x-rays and her femur is broken.  WTF?  I did not see this coming.  I was sure the pain was because the hip was out of socket.  The damn hip replacement that she is supposed to have installed on Tuesday is attached to the femur!!! I have no idea what this means for her surgery.  Of course, the rehab facility couldn't reach her doctor by the time they figured all of this out, but they are going to try to get her an appointment first thing in the morning.

And , of course, she is looking to me for answers. But I told her that if I go lawyer on the doctor and hospital there is no way they're going to touch her again, and she really needs this surgery.  Her doctor is supposed to be the best in this area at this specialized hip replacement--that's why she's here, she couldn't find anybody in Hometown who would do the surgery.

I'm not sure how to proceed at this point.  First, I want to hear from her doctor.  But if her surgery is delayed, I think the hospital sure as hell needs to be picking up the tab for the extra days in rehab. With some mental anguish thrown in.  And I think the doctor bears some responsibility for demanding a probably unnecessary test without properly considering her mobility issues.

I guess we'll just see what tomorrow brings.  But I'm anticipating that the surgeon won't do the hip replacement until the femur heals, which could mean several extra weeks in rehab. We might be needing a plaintiff's lawyer--although with the tort reform laws in my state, it's hard to find someone who will take a med mal case.

Listamania: Things that irritate me

1) Smokers.  Especially those who throw their butts out their car windows.  And the ones who smoke in the car with their kids.  And the ones who smoke in places that force me to walk through their cloud of carcinogens to get wherever I am going.

2) Left Lane Squatters.  The left lane is for passing.  If you're not passing anybody, get the Hell out of the way.

3) Able-bodied people who take the elevator up one level.  Really, you probably need the exercise anyway.

4) Able-bodied people who block the flow of traffic in a parking lot so that they can park 10 feet from the door.  See No. 3, above.

5) Costco.  I love Costco, but the fact that you have to have a card to get into their super-secret club is stupid. And when you go to check out and they ask you if you have your card. What the hell do they think?  I had to have the damn card to get in the damn door.  And when receipt checker  comments on the things in my cart. What if I have something embarrassing in there?  I would really prefer she act ambivalent about what's in my cart. Today, the receipt-checker felt up the super-soft blanket that I bought.  Don't feel up my blankie--it's creepy!

The Tooth Fairy

This morning a very sad TT came downstairs to tell us that the Tooth Fairy did not come last night.  She still had her tooth and she didn't have any money.  Oops.  DH and I both completely forgot.  She lost the tooth while at PS's robotics competition yesterday afternoon, so there was a lot going on, and she didn't say much more about it the rest of the day. But still, parent fail.

And my kids are too old and too smart to believe in the Tooth Fairy. I told TT this morning that maybe the Tooth Fairy hid the money in her room and she needed to clean her room to find her money. She replied that I was just trying to trick her into cleaning her room.

I am 100% sure that they do not actually believe in the Tooth Fairy.  But we still pretend that they do. TT was bummed this morning, and I really just wanted to hand over a dollar and tell her to move on.  But I didn't--instead I made up excuses for the Tooth Fairy. I'm not sure why.  I guess because I felt like we sold out Santa too early with PS.  When she was about 7 she asked point blank about Santa.  I didn't want to lie to her, so I told her.  I really wish I had fibbed and let her hold onto the Santa magic a little bit longer.

I have no intention about coming clean about Santa to the twins. (Yeah, I know they've figured him out, too--but Santa make Christmas fun, and he brings gifts that mom would never buy.). But the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny--I would be ok if they would hop on along their merry way.

Sickie McSickerson

So the school called yesterday to inform me that TT had vomited and that I needed to retrieve her. The nurse said that there was a virus going around ad it looked like TT had it.  She looked terrible when I picked her up, but there was no more vomiting and she perked up within a couple of hours.  But the rule is that you can't return to school for 24 hours after you barf, so despite the fact that TT is exhibiting no evidence of yesterday's ailment, we are home again today.

And SS awoke complaining of a headache  and a stomachache.  She wasn't acting very sick, but I erred on the side of not exposing anyone else to the alleged virus and allowed her to stay home, too.

Now they are both acting perfectly fine and making demands under the guise of being sick. "Mommy, will you make me pancakes?" "Mommy, will you bring me a glass of water." "Mommy, will you turn the light on?" "Mommy, can you find the remote?" And I am accommodating them and appreciating this bit of stolen time with my girlies.

But I am going to make them do their homework in a little bit.

Listamania: Things I love about fall

I'm trying something new and different--a weekly post called Listamania. It will be a list (duh) based on whatever topic pops into my head.

1) Cooler weather

2) Carving Pumpkins

3) Roasting pumpkin seeds

4) Thanksgiving--the best holiday!

5) Wearing sweaters and boots

6) Football (but only my teams and preferably live)

7) Cooking big pots of soup, pot roasts and chicken pot pie (I am very seasonal with food and don't eat any of these things when it's hot outside)

8) Snuggling under the covers during cool fall nights

9) Honeycrisp apples

Listamania: Things I want

In no particular order and with no deep, meaningful issues (like world peace) considered:

1) A custom header for my blog.

2) This skirt. Oh yes, in pink.

3) A tummy tuck.  I've given birth to twins--enough said.

4) Less chaos in my life.

5) My job, but where I get home in time to pick my girls up from school and cook dinner.  And where I have time to take all the vacations I want. But I don't want to be a mommy-tracker or a part-timer.

6) Magical cleaning fairies. I'm trying to hire a housekeeper, but so far the hunt isn't going very well.

7) For all of my student loans to be paid off.




8) The new iphone--kinda.  I need a new phone, but I'm waiting to see the consensus on the 4S before ordering.

9) To lose 20 (cough30cough) pounds.

10) A shorter commute. 25 miles of city traffic each way sucks--but I have no choice if I want affordable housing and good schools. But I swear, when my kids grow up I'm going to live in a loft in the city.

Zombies

At PS's request we visited the temporary Halloween shop that recently opened.  We visited when we were shopping for PS's part, but it had just opened and wasn't really set up yet. On this visit, they were all ready for Halloween.  The store was fully stocked and there were creepy scenes set up everywhere.  The centerpiece was a merry-go-round filled with zombie babies. At the back of the store were plenty of full-size zombies that moved and made noise and lit up.  And then there was a half-body being eaten by a giant rat with accompanying sounds and movement.  Yeah, it was disgusting.

But it was all pretend in a well-lit store full of people in the middle of the day.  So we laughed at the zombies and moved along.

And then last night TT came into our room twice because she couldn't sleep.  She can't stop thinking about the zombies. And tonight she has been out of bed three times and is currently in my bed. Oh boy.

TT is our most sensitive kid. The movie Coraline also gave her nightmares (one of PS's favorites!), so we are careful about what she is allowed to watch. And she frequently had night terrors when she was very young.  But I did not realize that visiting the Halloween store was going to freak her out.  I was more worried about her seeing the giant penis costume than the zombies.

Not sure how to fix this one.

Fatness

I seem to be getting fatter. I am not happy about this. Last winter I started gaining weight when I was exceptionally busy at work.  I was working lots of late nights, and eating crappy fast food on the way home from work. After gaining 10 pounds, I brought those bad habits to a screeching halt. I did nutrisystem for about 6 weeks, lost the weight I had gained, and reformed my eating habits.

I pretty much gave up soft drinks--down from a daily habit to maybe once a week. I drink water or iced tea.  I pretty much gave up french fries. They are now an occasional treat (although I met DH for lunch on Friday at a place that has fries drizzled with olive oil and rosemary, O.M.G!) I no longer eat fast food at 9:00 at night--I keep food at work for late nights or I wait until I get home.  My freezer is stocked with food, so that our eating out in general is greatly reduced. I make sure I have protein for breakfast, which makes me feel fuller so I don't eat bad carby crap. I take fruit to work every day for a mid-afternoon snack instead of relying on the carby crap that is stocked in our kitchen.

And yet, I am getting fatter again.  WTF? So much for small lifestyle changes making a difference. I guess I need to start keeping a food diary, but it is so much work. Grumble.