Monday, February 25, 2013
relief
elizabeth has been seeing a counselor twice a week for the last 3 months to prepare her for trial. now that the trial is over, we are only going once a week. today the counselor told her that her abuser is in jail and that he can't hurt her any more. elizabeth's relief was obvious and physical. she relaxed and was no longer as stressed. now we can start moving on.
surgery
michael is on his third ear infection in about as many weeks. he gets antibiotics for it, and about 2 days after he finishes them, he's running a fever and complaining about his ears again. 3 is my limit, so i immediately asked for a referral to the ent. he had his ent appointment today and after talking with the doctor, he's scheduled for tubes on thursday. the doctor said there is still fluid in the inner ears. they aren't infected at this point, but he is on an antibiotic right now. his tonsils look fine so we are only doing the tubes. i'm anticipating him being the first patient. but you never know!
Sunday, February 24, 2013
stress
we have discovered that stress gives me migraines, and resets my menstrual cycle.
stress causes shauns bowels to go haywire.
needless to say, it's been an eventful few weeks!
stress causes shauns bowels to go haywire.
needless to say, it's been an eventful few weeks!
finish line
this last week marked the finish of an extremely long roller coaster ride. and we are so grateful to be done. it was a stressful week, and very trying, but the relief of finally being done is so sweet.
wednesday, trial started. jury selection took until 2, and then i was the first witness after lunch. even though we knew he would try to turn this around and make it about our parenting, it still made us mad.
thursday, elizabeth was scheduled to testify. we took her in early, and some friends helped to curl her hair and make her beautiful (i forgot to take pictures until later in the day, after the curls had fallen!). her original counselor testified ahead of her. shaun and i were asked and elected to stay out of the courtroom during her testimony. we had discovered that she was hesitant to disclose information when we were present. but we have been told by everyone present, even some we didn't know, that she was fabulous. shaun was the first witness after lunch, and then the investigating detective.
friday, the detective finished up, shaun had a one question recall that he was told not to answer, and then the defense brought in their character witnesses. we chose not to stay for anything that we were not needed for. after lunch, the guy took the stand for himself. they finished with proceedings around 5, and then the jury went into deliberation. they finished up around 9. verdict wasn't read until after 10, because no one could find the guy. he was charged with 1 count of sexual abuse of a minor, and 1 charge of lewd conduct with a minor. the jury acquitted him of the lewd conduct charge, but found him guilty of the sexual abuse charge. he was taken into custody that night, and led away. apparently, he wasn't expecting a guilty verdict and certainly not being arrested right then. his sentencing is set for april 5.
i thought that his attorney brought up a lot of information that wasn't really helpful for his side. even if my children were unruly and always walking into peoples houses uninvited, that doesn't give him the right to molest my daughter (those are claims he made). he clarified twice that i had a nursing baby that summer...the jury had 9 women, most of them mothers. his character witnesses apparently constantly contradicted themselves. ie. the playground area had been constructed for everyone, but my children were not invited over (?!).
there was a lot of media coverage for this trial. both local newspapers ran multiple articles, and one of the news channels ran a few segments as well. the video cameras were not in the courtroom when we were there, and for that i'm grateful. one of the people helping us through all this mess told me that they rarely see a sexual abuse case go to trial. the accused usually plea out. elizabeths' original counselor told us that in the 20+ years she's been doing this, this is the only time she's ever had to go to court.
i mentioned to shaun the other night that i hoped that he'd put all his affairs in order. shaun was pretty certain that he hadn't. the guy was completely convinced that he didn't do anything wrong, and that elizabeth had instigated it all.
we are just glad that everything is finally finished. hopefully, now we can move on and put this all behind us!
wednesday, trial started. jury selection took until 2, and then i was the first witness after lunch. even though we knew he would try to turn this around and make it about our parenting, it still made us mad.
thursday, elizabeth was scheduled to testify. we took her in early, and some friends helped to curl her hair and make her beautiful (i forgot to take pictures until later in the day, after the curls had fallen!). her original counselor testified ahead of her. shaun and i were asked and elected to stay out of the courtroom during her testimony. we had discovered that she was hesitant to disclose information when we were present. but we have been told by everyone present, even some we didn't know, that she was fabulous. shaun was the first witness after lunch, and then the investigating detective.
friday, the detective finished up, shaun had a one question recall that he was told not to answer, and then the defense brought in their character witnesses. we chose not to stay for anything that we were not needed for. after lunch, the guy took the stand for himself. they finished with proceedings around 5, and then the jury went into deliberation. they finished up around 9. verdict wasn't read until after 10, because no one could find the guy. he was charged with 1 count of sexual abuse of a minor, and 1 charge of lewd conduct with a minor. the jury acquitted him of the lewd conduct charge, but found him guilty of the sexual abuse charge. he was taken into custody that night, and led away. apparently, he wasn't expecting a guilty verdict and certainly not being arrested right then. his sentencing is set for april 5.
i thought that his attorney brought up a lot of information that wasn't really helpful for his side. even if my children were unruly and always walking into peoples houses uninvited, that doesn't give him the right to molest my daughter (those are claims he made). he clarified twice that i had a nursing baby that summer...the jury had 9 women, most of them mothers. his character witnesses apparently constantly contradicted themselves. ie. the playground area had been constructed for everyone, but my children were not invited over (?!).
there was a lot of media coverage for this trial. both local newspapers ran multiple articles, and one of the news channels ran a few segments as well. the video cameras were not in the courtroom when we were there, and for that i'm grateful. one of the people helping us through all this mess told me that they rarely see a sexual abuse case go to trial. the accused usually plea out. elizabeths' original counselor told us that in the 20+ years she's been doing this, this is the only time she's ever had to go to court.
i mentioned to shaun the other night that i hoped that he'd put all his affairs in order. shaun was pretty certain that he hadn't. the guy was completely convinced that he didn't do anything wrong, and that elizabeth had instigated it all.
we are just glad that everything is finally finished. hopefully, now we can move on and put this all behind us!
Friday, February 8, 2013
overload
the last 36 hours have been brutal!
yesterday we learned that a local newspaper ran an article about the court case. there's now a concern that there might be difficulty finding an unbiased jury. our names were never used, thank goodness. however, details were given that should not have been. i learned things that i didn't know. at first we were mad. now, we are just resigned, i think.
michael has been running a high fever for the last few days. around 103. when he had his shots last week, the nurse told me that he might run a high fever and/or get a rash from the mmr. in my mind, 103 is not a side effect, it's something else. i finally called the doctor first thing this morning to get some answers. we had a wic appointment at 10:30, and i still hadn't heard anything back from the doctors' office. as i was getting kids in the car to go to wic, shaun yells out the door that the doctors office just called and i missed it. as i was running late, i had to let it go.
i got back from wic, and had just missed another call from the doctors office. i checked the message from the first call, and wasn't going to worry about it. the nurse said that about 20% of kids run a fever, and 103 or higher is normal. shaun was able to talk to the nurse the second time she called, and she said because he had a cough as well, that we should take him in. so, i called back in and made an appointment for later in the afternoon.
elizabeth had a birthday party of a friend that she was going to. the party ended 30 minutes after michaels appointment started. i let her know ahead of time that i might be late in picking her up. i got the the doctors office, and we sat in the waiting room for at least half a hour. they had the movie finding nemo in, we got there just as marlin meets dory, and didn't get called back to the room until he'd met crush the turtle. then we sat in the room for another 10-20 minutes. in all, i was there for an hour. turns out michaels ear infection from last week didn't go away with the z-pack. so, the doctor called in a new antibiotic. we even made sure the pharmacy was going to be open long enough for me to go pick it up.
when we were done with the doctor, i ran to go pick up elizabeth. she'd been done for half hour, and i was worried about her. when i got there, i learned that someone had given her a ride home. one less thing to worry about!! i then scurried over to the pharmacy to get the prescription for michael. they didn't have it yet, so i sat back to wait. 20 minutes later, we were still waiting. another 20 minutes and they started trying to track down the doctor to get it. another 10 minutes and they finally had it and were filling it. i KNEW i should have asked for a hard copy of the script. i've gone to the pharmacy 4-5 hours after appointments and the scripts had been sent over, and they had just barely gotten them.
i'm so very glad this day is over, and i have the night to recover!
yesterday we learned that a local newspaper ran an article about the court case. there's now a concern that there might be difficulty finding an unbiased jury. our names were never used, thank goodness. however, details were given that should not have been. i learned things that i didn't know. at first we were mad. now, we are just resigned, i think.
michael has been running a high fever for the last few days. around 103. when he had his shots last week, the nurse told me that he might run a high fever and/or get a rash from the mmr. in my mind, 103 is not a side effect, it's something else. i finally called the doctor first thing this morning to get some answers. we had a wic appointment at 10:30, and i still hadn't heard anything back from the doctors' office. as i was getting kids in the car to go to wic, shaun yells out the door that the doctors office just called and i missed it. as i was running late, i had to let it go.
i got back from wic, and had just missed another call from the doctors office. i checked the message from the first call, and wasn't going to worry about it. the nurse said that about 20% of kids run a fever, and 103 or higher is normal. shaun was able to talk to the nurse the second time she called, and she said because he had a cough as well, that we should take him in. so, i called back in and made an appointment for later in the afternoon.
elizabeth had a birthday party of a friend that she was going to. the party ended 30 minutes after michaels appointment started. i let her know ahead of time that i might be late in picking her up. i got the the doctors office, and we sat in the waiting room for at least half a hour. they had the movie finding nemo in, we got there just as marlin meets dory, and didn't get called back to the room until he'd met crush the turtle. then we sat in the room for another 10-20 minutes. in all, i was there for an hour. turns out michaels ear infection from last week didn't go away with the z-pack. so, the doctor called in a new antibiotic. we even made sure the pharmacy was going to be open long enough for me to go pick it up.
when we were done with the doctor, i ran to go pick up elizabeth. she'd been done for half hour, and i was worried about her. when i got there, i learned that someone had given her a ride home. one less thing to worry about!! i then scurried over to the pharmacy to get the prescription for michael. they didn't have it yet, so i sat back to wait. 20 minutes later, we were still waiting. another 20 minutes and they started trying to track down the doctor to get it. another 10 minutes and they finally had it and were filling it. i KNEW i should have asked for a hard copy of the script. i've gone to the pharmacy 4-5 hours after appointments and the scripts had been sent over, and they had just barely gotten them.
i'm so very glad this day is over, and i have the night to recover!
Monday, February 4, 2013
check-up
michael had his 1 year check-up on friday.
the kid weighs a whole 17 pounds. but, he's 2.5 feet tall!
during his check-up, we discovered that he had an ear infection. we got an antibiotic for him, and he's been doing a lot better. he started sleeping through the night again!
yesterday, he climbed up onto the couch. he's growing up SO fast!!
miserable night
i have 2 children that slept well last night. the rest of us had a bad night.
taylor came upstairs around 1:30, saying he was scared. i helped him make up a bed on the front room floor, and he slept the rest of the night away.
shannon came into my room around 2:30 or so. i put her on the floor next to my bed. for the next hour she tossed, coughed, and turned. at one point she wanted to hold my hand, or have in on her. that went on for about 45 minutes, and i had both arms fall asleep multiple times. when she settled down, i pulled my arms back up.
ashley started crying at one point last night. i don't remember exactly when. i put her blanket back on her, hugged her for a few minutes, and she settled down.
shaun's rls acted up last night. he jumped, and tossed and turned all night long as well.
i had bizarre dreams the first part of the night, and then just couldn't sleep the rest of the night.
the dream i remember started out that the windows had been left open and someone had come into the house. i couldn't find anything missing, but i closed and locked all the windows.
then it turned into a fight of sorts. there were guns. i think i had one, and it wouldn't fire, no bullets. an unknown guy had the second gun. after 3 failed attempts to shoot me, he turned it to his chest and fired. this time it worked. then, he disappeared. taylor showed up with a bullet in his chest. how it got there, i don't know. the guy that shot himself should have died. the shot was at pointblank range, and directly into his heart. taylors bullet was in the same place, but superficial. i was going to remove it and clean him up. then someone woke me up.
taylor came upstairs around 1:30, saying he was scared. i helped him make up a bed on the front room floor, and he slept the rest of the night away.
shannon came into my room around 2:30 or so. i put her on the floor next to my bed. for the next hour she tossed, coughed, and turned. at one point she wanted to hold my hand, or have in on her. that went on for about 45 minutes, and i had both arms fall asleep multiple times. when she settled down, i pulled my arms back up.
ashley started crying at one point last night. i don't remember exactly when. i put her blanket back on her, hugged her for a few minutes, and she settled down.
shaun's rls acted up last night. he jumped, and tossed and turned all night long as well.
i had bizarre dreams the first part of the night, and then just couldn't sleep the rest of the night.
the dream i remember started out that the windows had been left open and someone had come into the house. i couldn't find anything missing, but i closed and locked all the windows.
then it turned into a fight of sorts. there were guns. i think i had one, and it wouldn't fire, no bullets. an unknown guy had the second gun. after 3 failed attempts to shoot me, he turned it to his chest and fired. this time it worked. then, he disappeared. taylor showed up with a bullet in his chest. how it got there, i don't know. the guy that shot himself should have died. the shot was at pointblank range, and directly into his heart. taylors bullet was in the same place, but superficial. i was going to remove it and clean him up. then someone woke me up.
Friday, February 1, 2013
review
it's been another one of those long weeks. the only day i didn't go anywhere was monday. and that's because it had snowed 12-18 inches in 24 hours. not many people went anywhere.
2 trips to idaho falls again. two speech therapy visits. an emergency dental visit. a routine doctor visit.
unfortunately for me, this is how my life is for the next foreseeable future.
today, i also went grocery shopping. after getting home, i took care of the groceries. i shredded 8 pounds of cheese and froze them. i cooked 9 pounds of chicken and diced and froze it. i made a cabbage salad. i cut up a head of lettuce for salad. i put away 12 day-old muffins for later days.
my feet hurt, my back hurts, and i'm exhausted!
2 trips to idaho falls again. two speech therapy visits. an emergency dental visit. a routine doctor visit.
unfortunately for me, this is how my life is for the next foreseeable future.
today, i also went grocery shopping. after getting home, i took care of the groceries. i shredded 8 pounds of cheese and froze them. i cooked 9 pounds of chicken and diced and froze it. i made a cabbage salad. i cut up a head of lettuce for salad. i put away 12 day-old muffins for later days.
my feet hurt, my back hurts, and i'm exhausted!
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