Called my mom again yesterday, not as raving, but still not herself. She kept saying she was hot and trying to stay calmer but everyone was 'testing' her nerves and was going to find out what that got them if they weren't careful. Hmm. My SIL and her daughter were over there during the day and she was meaning them. I have the pictures printed out and need to write the captions and letter for her to send out with it. We are taking a trip to town today with Mark's mom and have a puppy to line up with its new owner as well. This is my only day off for another five, and I hope Esme is in a good mood today.
We made paper mache last night after I got home from work - which was fun, but kept us up much later than the usual 'bedtime' lately. Then she wanted a bath, which I gave in to. After the bath she was not cooperative at all - kept putting the tub plug back in and saying 'No.', so I wandered upstairs for about five minutes which was not at all what she had planned. She apparently (according to Mark's reports) tried to get on clothes and get in and out of the bathtub two or three times with clothes ON before deciding she might need help with the entire process. I'm not sure what her thinking was there -- go get pants, then remember the bath tub was still full, then get in to pull out the drain plug and realize she was wet and get out before she pulled it? Crazy stuff.
With a few words from Daddy she completed the process of getting out and getting dressed herself and came to apologize to me - then we read a book and she went to sleep. She had a short conversation with me that she would sleep with the room with the lights and she would be safe and not be dead from monsters - and Mom and Dad would go to sleep in their bed, and not be dead from monsters, too -- Imagination running wild. Again, as I often say, this is four - what is twelve? At least this is closer to the four part of the spectrum.. and kind of funny at that.
Friday, August 31, 2012
Thursday, August 30, 2012
My mom
My mom is not doing well. She had been in a nursing home / rehab center for several months after her heart attacks and coma. Now, she is finally out of the nursing home and back to her house and was 'happy' the first day I called her - but now she has had a lot of trouble understanding where she is, who she is, and more. My sister-in-law and stepfather are having a very hard time of it. I do not know if this is going to be temporary and she will snap back to what is 'normal' for her, or if she has entered another stage of her dementia that will stay for the rest of her life. Nobody knows... not even her. She has had long-term memory problems for more than ten years. She would often forget exactly what had happened recently, repeat things she had already said the day before etc.. but she always had control of the conversation she was in, and I could adjust to whatever state she was in easily and bring her back to 'now' gradually over the conversation. Yesterday was different - I could not even truly describe it, and those that overheard parts of the conversation knew just from my side that something was very wrong. She didn't really know who I was on the phone yesterday, asked several times for me to 'get Marie to call me - I miss her', and then said she thought I was someone else, and she is having paranoia about people trying to hurt her for 'bad things I might have done in the past' and asking for leniency from being killed. At the same time she is not doing much more than sitting and worrying and watching the TV... having to be encouraged to eat or drink. While I was on the phone with her she was very over the top on the 'praise the lord he is fixing me' while at the same time spacing off, talking about dead relatives as if they were alive - thankful for them being alive - saying 'hello who is this' after having just spoken to me for minutes and crying that she was trying to be good. I am printing off a batch of pictures to send to her so she has something to look at that is 'constant' - as voices don't seem to help her much right now with hardly any short-term memory at all.
Other than that, I'm not sure what I can do for her. I have responsibilities here and the trip in June took just about everything I could muster at the time, as well as most of my sick time and all of my vacation time. I'm still not over that - and don't really want to even imagine trying it again. Mark knows just what to say though - he texted me a few things that made me laugh even while I was sad yesterday... and helped me get through my work shift.
Other than that, I'm not sure what I can do for her. I have responsibilities here and the trip in June took just about everything I could muster at the time, as well as most of my sick time and all of my vacation time. I'm still not over that - and don't really want to even imagine trying it again. Mark knows just what to say though - he texted me a few things that made me laugh even while I was sad yesterday... and helped me get through my work shift.
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Busy Wednesday
Got Esme to bed last night at 10:05 - accomplishment because it also meant getting her hair washed for school today. Got her up at 8 am and out the door just after 8:30. She was in a fairly good mood only had a little bit of fuss last night about her initial plan which was to get up early to wash her hair. I was willing to do it if she went to bed at 9:30... but no dice, she didn't like that option at all. So, we washed hair - I got her to get out of the bath quicker than she liked.. small fuss, in her room, play for thirty minutes - then small fuss before bed but she was in and lights out at 10:05. Mama feels like a sportscaster. Ha. But bedtime is going better than expected, knock on wood somewhere.
She is at school now, clothes are washing, lunch to be made - and I have to pick her up slightly early so I can make a 'golden drive' getting her from school, dropping her off here at home and trying to be at work on time. We'll see how that works... Daddy has caught our cold that we are half over, and it is not treating him kindly.
Esme's family drawing
I gave Esme paper the other night and asked her what she wanted to draw. She drew me - in the middle of the paper.. with my head all scrunched up against the top *hehe*. Then she drew herself, to the left. What looks like a nose is actually an ear - she drew ears on everyone in different odd places. Daddy is to the right of Mama and she was getting tired - but she added her dog Loula below in a brown marker.. and had a hard time deciding where to put the second eye because she had put the first one right in the middle. Mama just stayed (mostly) quiet and watched in fascination because I love seeing her mind at work. I did remind her about Loula having four legs, not three.. so she went back and added a fourth leg after she had affirmed to me the back one was a tail.
Bookcase
A bookcase I had ordered for her room and she watched me put together last night. She said she wanted to be the Walmart mailman, who would come and bring me a box - but she would put the tools in the box (so we wouldn't have to go to the garage to find them and turn on the light in the dark) and also if she was the Mailman she would put the toys in the picture in the box, too, for the Esme, because she liked those toys.
I found the unicorn she wants for her birthday.. have to remind myself to go back there and get it now that we have the goahead plan :)
She is at school now, clothes are washing, lunch to be made - and I have to pick her up slightly early so I can make a 'golden drive' getting her from school, dropping her off here at home and trying to be at work on time. We'll see how that works... Daddy has caught our cold that we are half over, and it is not treating him kindly.
I gave Esme paper the other night and asked her what she wanted to draw. She drew me - in the middle of the paper.. with my head all scrunched up against the top *hehe*. Then she drew herself, to the left. What looks like a nose is actually an ear - she drew ears on everyone in different odd places. Daddy is to the right of Mama and she was getting tired - but she added her dog Loula below in a brown marker.. and had a hard time deciding where to put the second eye because she had put the first one right in the middle. Mama just stayed (mostly) quiet and watched in fascination because I love seeing her mind at work. I did remind her about Loula having four legs, not three.. so she went back and added a fourth leg after she had affirmed to me the back one was a tail.
A bookcase I had ordered for her room and she watched me put together last night. She said she wanted to be the Walmart mailman, who would come and bring me a box - but she would put the tools in the box (so we wouldn't have to go to the garage to find them and turn on the light in the dark) and also if she was the Mailman she would put the toys in the picture in the box, too, for the Esme, because she liked those toys.
I found the unicorn she wants for her birthday.. have to remind myself to go back there and get it now that we have the goahead plan :)
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Sunday pink dress
mixture of McCalls 8001 size 5 and Butterick 9644 size 6
She wanted a pink spiderman costume with a mask. I told her if I could get a pattern to work well I would put a spiderman emblem on a pink dress. I have one drawn out for her, and this pattern did seem to work fairly well. The sleeves need to be a little larger and the waistline could be more even and lower by an inch or more. But, as the lady at the store today said, 'I didn't even notice - and no one else should be looking that close, either.' Yes... *hmm* I still bought more pink fabric. It will be Friday when I have another full day off.
Pattern Alterations:
could not find the front bodice piece this time
I've been using this one for nearly a year now
Sleeves: 8001 dress sleeve laid over coat sleeve, cut according to length of remaining remnant of fabric. Skirt: Butterick 9644, own version of gathering done all around. Bodice: 8001 dress with 9644 back bodice as length indicator..
leading the goat around the yard by waving a stick by her - so she gets curious and wants to try to eat it
Mark took this photo a few nights ago. This puppy was given away to her new home today - and I think the lady will really love her. It is also a great shot of Esme smiling :)
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Esme's drawing tonight
Her hobby horse toy was nosing the universe posters and the camera and the ceiling...
I've put up a few of her take home projects here and she likes seeing them up there. Tonight she drew 'me as a pink spiderman' on the paper in the bottom left corner. She was typing the sentence 'You can be a bee, too.' on my computer because she was disagreeing with me before that that 'bee' started with 'b', it started with 'e', she insisted... not sure what was going on there. So I wrote it out to show her what I meant - and she wanted to copy it. Then she got to the 'be a ...' and stopped - and laughed at me - 'a pretty spiderman!' She wanted to be a pink spiderman, she said after that - and make webs with her hands and fight the brown bears like on TV. (brown bears are a type of feared monster around here). We went downstairs to make some 'free puppies' signs with markers and paper - and she ended up drawing a picture of what her pink spiderman would look like - so I could sew it. He has extra shoulders above his arms (with hands and fingers) - so he can be very big.. but I think it might have been a mistake at first and she 'owned' it afterwards. I also like that her eyes have pupils - she very carefully drew the circles around each dot after she made it. Then she signed her name in the lower corner.
run by thoughts
Esme is getting a little bit of a cold. However, her attitude has been getting better with more routine, and she is accepting the routine a bit better. Bedtime DOES seem to be getting a little later though.. 11 to 11:30. She has discovered the My Little Pony new cartoons.. and she loves them. She wants a big brother like Shining Armor. Ha.
She had homework the other day - and we did it the next day She said it was just like her ladies at school ;) She wants to work - to be big and strong and help people with Mom, at work - like a big Mama. She is 'growing, I am working on it, see!' and will show me her eating her food or making a muscle (which she calls a triangle in her arm). Several days last week she helped Mark pick me up from work and got to put a few things away and push some carts into place. She said she wants to do what I do - fix faucets and bathtubs and toilets and pipes. She took a good long look at the pipes under our sink the other day as I told her which pipes made water come in and which went out. She was giving the pipes at work a good long look, too - to see which ones looked like them. She is upset she is too little to lift things at work but swears she could get help if she could just come with...
The other day she said "The old bathtub at night was full of balls, but it was a new bathtub now, and the balls were gone. Ir was a new one!" She has also asked if the next day we were new Mama and Daddy and Esme. I think she might need clarification on the idea of 'now' and 'then' vs. 'new' and 'old.' I know I overthink those ;) but I will try to pick a few books and stories that deal with the ideas.
Still not much work on the quilt. No sewing - but I am hoping tomorrow there will be time for that.
She had homework the other day - and we did it the next day She said it was just like her ladies at school ;) She wants to work - to be big and strong and help people with Mom, at work - like a big Mama. She is 'growing, I am working on it, see!' and will show me her eating her food or making a muscle (which she calls a triangle in her arm). Several days last week she helped Mark pick me up from work and got to put a few things away and push some carts into place. She said she wants to do what I do - fix faucets and bathtubs and toilets and pipes. She took a good long look at the pipes under our sink the other day as I told her which pipes made water come in and which went out. She was giving the pipes at work a good long look, too - to see which ones looked like them. She is upset she is too little to lift things at work but swears she could get help if she could just come with...
The other day she said "The old bathtub at night was full of balls, but it was a new bathtub now, and the balls were gone. Ir was a new one!" She has also asked if the next day we were new Mama and Daddy and Esme. I think she might need clarification on the idea of 'now' and 'then' vs. 'new' and 'old.' I know I overthink those ;) but I will try to pick a few books and stories that deal with the ideas.
Still not much work on the quilt. No sewing - but I am hoping tomorrow there will be time for that.
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