1) Is there a top page with top stories? Every time I attempt to find it I get !Xanga 2.0 is here".
2) Is there a way to get back to your "reading" page after leaving a comment without a side trip back to your dashboard? Right now I am in a loop - read, leave a comment, back to dashboard, back to reading, scroll down to where I was, read next post, leave comment, back to my dashboard... ROYAL pain in the backside!
3) Are people not posting or am I missing something some where. I have very few new posts in my "reading" page. Shouldn't the reading page have all the posts written my people I follow?
4) Is anyone else as confused as I am with this whole new mess. I do not like this Sam I Am, I do not like it!

Is it just me or is there a LOT more span comments on the new xanga?

It has been a long day.  Josh woke up @ midnight, then was up for the day at 4:30.  Jerry was a dear and actually got up with him, but it still was a sleep interruption.  Gave morning meds early so that I could be at the hospital for my MRI.  Was called back, they started the MRI and then the machine had an error message.  The tech was able to sort it out - Thanks be to God - so we were able to finish the test.  I was MRI'ed from hip to toes.  Results won't be back until next week.  I wasn't able to see the doctor, either.  So we are still in wait mode... that includes anyone reading this to find out.  I will post when we know something.  The earliest will be next Thursday.

Over 2 hours, most of which was spent strapped to an MRI table, added to 8 hours of classes/travel yields 1 TIRED Laura.  A Laura who hasn't even had time to squeeze in a walk OR an episode of "White Collar"and is too tired to do either tonight :/

Oh a good note, Joshy has not been as seizy and has been a VERY happy camper all day.  He also went to sleep without the usual monkey shines.  This tired mama is going to follow his example.  Catch ya later!

I was feeling better... until last night.

I was trying to hide from not feeling good... until Kei came over to cuddle.  "Mom, your heart is not beating right!"

I had an A-fib attack that really scared me.  Almost went to the ER before bed, but remembering how "productive" the ER trip had been Friday, I decided not to.  I had 2/3 of a dose of my heart meds left (take only as needed for A-fib).  I took them & monitored my BP.  BP was A~L~L over the place, but it settled once I went up and laid down.  Woke about 1:30 and was still having A-Fib, nearly called an ambulance.   The biggest thing that kept me from calling was the fact that 1) I wasn't sure which hospital I would end up at.  2) I was afraid they would admit me.  3) Joshy had a checkup at the cancer center this morning and rescheduling  that before he runs out of meds would have been near to impossible!  4) Kei would be a basket case.

This morning I woke up feeling somewhat better.   Good enough to attempt the Niigata run, especially since Jerry decided he should tag along to help out with all the lifting & such - lifting Josh & his wheelchair in & out is hard work!  Joshy's appointment went OK.  Numbers did not show the improvement I was hoping for.  He has a slightly elevated CRP, which shows infection.  His special med concentration is higher than usual, still within safe zone, but not comforting to this mama.  (We just increased a seizure med.  His seizure med & his special immunosuppression med do NOT play nicely - this has earned us more than 1 hospital stay in order to get them to co-exist.)  Plus 3/5 of his main levels dropped slightly   The doctor didn't seem concerned and set out next appointment in 1 month.   BTW ~ suspicion confirmed... Josh has gained 1.4kg / 3# and grown 2cm/ almost an inch this month!!    I've been accusing him of hiding bricks in his pockets.  Guess he hasn't been   This growth spurt is likely a good part of why seizures have been crazy recently.

Arrived home in time to pick up Bekah & run some errands before her dental appointment.

AND NOW ~ it feels very good to be HOME after hours on the road or sitting in hospitals.

I am feeling OK.  I have an MRI tomorrow morning to determine if I have a blood clot.  I will also talk to the doctor about how cruddy I have been feeling.  I also hope to get more heart meds, just in case.  I don't need them often, but when I do, I do.   Not that I can sit and think, I am thinking that the A-fib was brought on as a combination of many things, including: antibiotic reaction, stress from not feeling good,  nervous anticipation of Joshy's check up, & the unknown of what/why my leg is swelling.  In short, I don't have time to be under the weather and it stresses me out.

I need to stop and remember...

Another attempt to add words AND pictures to the same post

I am not finding the tab so set font or position I am in the "text" tab because when I am in the "visual" tab, I cannot get the cursor to come up...weirdness!! If anyone has suggestions - please help me!!

It was a beautiful morning for a walk. I kept to my flat river path. I also took the shorter 2.2km walk rather than my 3.4km walk. It was LOVELY!!!

Delicate purple flowers... refreshing!

The mountains were so vivid this morning!

I feel refreshed and ready to start my day... speaking of which, I had better get going. Have a wonderful day!!

I went to the doctor Thursday morning.  Friday I had a headache all day, which just kept getting worse & pain relievers didn't do anything.  Went to the ER Friday night, which really didn't do any good.  All the doctor would say was it could be a reaction to the antibiotic or it could be a more serious problem, but it is too late (9:45p) to run any tests.  She gave me pain meds and told me to come back in the morning.  Went to my reg. hospital Saturday morning (my reg hosp didn't have ER services Fri. night).  Doctor, order a CT, which was normal.  His take was stress to which he gave me more pain meds & muscle relaxers.  Pain meds & muscle relaxers on board, still felt terrible.   Decided to stop my antibiotics today... low and behold I am feeling better.  I still have a slight headache, but then again I skipped my evening dose of pain meds, too.

Flip side - Joshy slept the morning away and has seized a good deal of the afternoon & evening.  He also has a runny nose & his SpO2 stats a slightly low.  :(  The sleepy, seizy bit could be that he is getting sick.  It could be the fallish weather throwing him for a loop.  It could be that he started a new strength on 1 seizure med and he is having adjustment issues.  Then again he is slightly behind in fertilizer orders.  I sure which he came with a read out that would tell us what is going on!!

Didn't spend as much "play with my blog"  time as I had hoped.  Still haven't figure out how to post pictures.   It will come - I hope.

It has been a wild week!

• Joshy's school started Monday.  Good to have the teacher back working with him.  Really hoping we can actually get him back to school, BUT, I learned that if/when he goes to school I will need to stay at school with him... so much for using school as respite :/
• The girls hit the books Tuesday.  Other than some math issues, school went well.  Math went fine as long as I sat WITH Kei as she worked and helped her talk through the problems.
• Tuesday, for a 2nd time in as many days, I had calf pain in my right leg.  I also noticed that the calf is swollen...hummm.
• Wednesday, was a really low energy day for me, just not feeling great.  However, Wed. is my busiest day.
• Thursday, I woke up feeling exhausted.  Walked inside, rather than outside.  Attempted to bike to the close store, not a big deal - usually.  Came home feeling terrible.  Also noticed UTI symptoms.  Bundled myself off to the doctor.  Came home with antibiotics for the UTI and an appointment for an MRI on my leg next week, to rule out blood clot(s).
• Home from my checkup long enough to gobble down a sandwich before heading to the hosp. with Josh.  PT @ 1:15 / dentist @ 2:30 / neuro check up @ 3:30 - which ended up not happening till between 4:30 & 5.  Finally left the hospital after 5:30.
• Found out that Joshy's gait trainer & stander will be ready for pick up Oct 1st   (His new wheelchair should be ready late Oct.)  Also made an appointment to have Joshy fitted for him foot braces Sept. 25.  They should be ready for pick up Oct 2nd.
• Still feeling puny today.
• Rebekah's Korean lessons start tonight.
• Trying to wade through some visa stuff...
• Have decided to take a HUGE step - sorting all the in patient supplies and hoping to pare it down to 1 bag.  After Joshy's 6 month stay I have kept things packed in case of another long stay.  It is well past time to check supplies, repack season appropriate clothing/bedding for mama, etc. , Thinking it over it is really time to rework the system.
• Oh yeah, the contractor came to take pics of the finished gate.  he was NOT pleased with the look of the top.  They came the next day, removed the gate, took it back to the shop and refinished it.  Then brought it back the following day.

Sure I am missing some things, but in the wild ride I have forgotten.

Now that I finally have access to my blog - it no longer seems like it is MINE.  This is going to take some play time, which right now I am not sure when I will be able to find it.

I think I'm too shocked to be disappointed.

Either that or I just don't feel good enough to look forward to this new learning curve.

I will try to be back by the weekend.

OK - well when I went to preview I did at least find my theme

Now if I can figure out how to publish instead of just preview

Special needs children come in all shapes, sizes, abilities, and, in short, needs.  Our house is blessed with 2 special needs kiddos, one in much more obvious ways than the other.   Joshua, is quite mobile in his own unique way, he scoots everywhere!  I mentioned a couple weeks ago, that he had gotten into the entry.

This activity HAD to be stopped!  See besides a whole handful of special needs he also has Very Severe Aplastic Anemia (VSAA), a very rare blood disorder, a cousin to leukemia.  His platelets are still dangerously low, so any bump can be very serious.  He is also undergoing immune suppression therapy so dirt & germs are a major issue.  Sitting playing in the entry with the possibility of going outside and facing concrete steps - NOT a good thing.

A plan has been in the works these past couple of weeks.  A helper to help me ride herd over an active boy.  A boy who seems to be getting more active as his red blood cells start to improve - a very good step, but challenging to say the least!

After more than a week, 6 separate talks with a variety of contractors & carpenters, some head scratching in order to work around an additional challenge of an uneven floor (thanks earthquakes)  - Today help arrived   **We have at least one more day of workers in the house.  Saturday someone will come with stain to make it match the woodwork.

I am sure Josh will be singing, "Don't Fence Me In", but I am thankful for more help in the herd control department!!