Well, today was better than yesterday all around. My hubby let me sleep in, or he let me lay in bed while my little guy pounded on the door yelling “mommy!” while my hubby yelled “leave the door alone!” It was very relaxing. I was still pretty bummed when I got up, and it didn’t help when I went to get my little guy’s prescription and learned that my super awesome health care plan gave me a discount of $4 bringing the total cost for the antibiotics to only $67! Ugh, the health insurance that is provided through my hubby’s work is almost useless. I can’t wait till we can get a real health care plan.
*Disclaimer: This is not the time or the site for you to post your political views or opinions on the current state of health care. I can and will block those posts if they show their ugly little faces.*
Later in the afternoon I met up with a friend of mine that works with me. Our post holiday party is coming up and we went shopping for some dresses for the occasion. That little outing helped clear my head as well as the funk that that was weighing me down. When I got home I pulled a pizza out of the freezer for my little one and I to have for dinner and I started on my big chore of the evening, washing the washing machine. Earlier today I saw a pin about that on Pinterest and it took me to one of my favorite blogs, One Good Thing by Jillee. This post had instructions for how to thoroughly clean a top loading washing machine, but if you have a front loader or a high efficiency machine she has links for how to clean those too. It didn’t take much effort, just time. I filled my machine with hot water and a quart of bleach. Once it was full I let it oscillate for a minute and then stopped it and just let it sit for an hour. I knew my washer needed to be cleaned, but I was amazed at how gross and grey the water was after that minute of oscillation. After an hour of sitting I ran the washer through its cycle then immediately filled it up again with hot water and a quart of vinegar, let it oscillate for a minute and then let it sit for an hour. While it was sitting I cleaned the exterior of the machine as well as the inside of the lid, and the little triangular bleach dispenser on the corner. I had no idea how dirty it had gotten. As I cleaned I noticed more and more hidden areas that were full of lint and hair. After it sat for an hour with vinegar water I ran it through its cycle again. Now it is spic and span with nothing but a couple of rust spots on the lid. According to Jillee, this should be done at least twice a year.
I also spent a little over 15 minutes de-cluttering the eastern most corner of the kitchen. We had a basket on the counter that held odds and ends, as well as unopened happy meal toys that can be used as stocking stuffers. I started by organizing the cabinet above that corner of the counter that holds the coffee cups, coffee, tea, hot cocoa, etc. I put the stocking stuffers in the top of the closet that we use to hide birthday/Christmas presents, put the odds and ends in the junk drawer, and washed the basket. I’m not sure what to do with the basket, but experience tells me not to toss it, because those kinds of baskets can really come in handy. I haven’t decided what to do with in the meantime though. But as Ms. O’hara would say, “Tomorrow is another day”.
I’m very happy with my little corner and it feels good to be back in the saddle. I’m still sad to know that my little angel is having to deal with this challenge of hearing loss, and I’m still feeling the guilt of knowing that he had to struggle with that on his own for some time while I came to my senses. Now that I know that he can’t hear as well as he should be able to, I can compensate. I speak louder and try to speak on his right side, as it seems that he can hear better with his right ear than his left. In just the one day that I’ve been making these changes I have seen improvements in his responses to me and our interactions with each other. I’m hoping and praying that the fluid in his ears can be eradicated by the antibiotics, that the fluid is the cause of his hearing loss, and that within the next two weeks his hearing will have improved and we can start working on getting his speech on par with his age.
I want to thank my readers and my friends and family for your support and understanding. My little family is so blessed to have so much support and I know that a lot of prayers are coming our way right now.