I haven't posted in so long that I don't even remember all that has happened in that time! A lot. I can tell you that. The big news, that I'm sure most of you know by now, is that we are moving. Vince finally got a Special Agent job. He applied for many of them, but kept getting turned down after making it through interviews and everything else. All of the hiring committees kept telling him to keep after it because his application was great and his interviews were some of the best they'd ever done, blah, blah. If he's so great, why aren't you hiring him!? We were getting very frustrated. But as always, God had a plan for us. And it didn't include Las Vegas. So, Pueblo, Colorado here we come! We are really excited because living there will cut our commute time to our parents' houses in half. Happy, happy, joy, joy. Now the stress sets in because we have to sell this house and look for another down there all while V is away for his training for 3 months. I am willing to accept your pity and any offers of help! Keeping this house ready for showings with 3 kids is not my idea of fun. Especially since you all know what kind of a housekeeper I am.
And it is hindered by this strange illness that has taken over my life right now. I started getting weird swelling episodes and I couldn't pinpoint any particular thing that would cause it except when any pressure was applied to my body. (My regular doctor thought it was all related to a neck injury and told me to take Aleve). All I knew was that it hurt bad and itched like crazy. But in less than 24 hours the swelling would be gone. I never knew when it was going to strike. Then my parents came up for Thanksgiving and I woke up one morning with a big spot on my back where my night shirt had bunched up and pressed into my skin. My mother, who is a nurse, took a picture of it and sent it to some of her doctor and nurse friends. No one could identify it. When she got home, she kept asking around and finally got somewhat of an answer and told me to go to the Dermatologist. So I did. She knew immediately what it was. Delayed Pressure Urticaria (DPU). What she doesn't know is why it starts, how long I will have it, or how to treat it for sure. We started with Zyrtec, which she told me could take up to 8 months to even begin to help. It's pretty uncommon. It basically means that when pressure is applied to my body, even for a few seconds, I develop a hive in that area. It is extremely painful and annoying. And the bad ones also give me flu-like symptoms. My joints and muscles ache and I get nauseous and just have to stop everything. I am just now beginning to figure out how to manage this. Right now I am standing as I type because sitting in a hard chair for too long will make the back of my legs so painful that I will barely be able to walk. I sanded a crack in my ceiling for 10 minutes the other afternoon and by that evening my whole arm hurt so badly that I couldn't turn a doorknob. It's a lot of fun. Then a couple weeks ago I started getting little bumps all over my body that were so itchy they would wake me in the middle of the night. This has actually been going on for a while, but only sporadically so I didn't think much of them. They kind of look like bug bites and I thought maybe we had bed bugs or something. Last Thursday was my breaking point. I had been up all night scratching and when I woke up I was covered head to toe in little red bumps. I took myself back to the Derm office and was told that these are also hives, but what was causing them was (and still is) a mystery. I was referred to my Allergist. Monday he took one look at me and said, "Yep. Hives." The good thing is that he isn't going to rest until we find out what is causing this. I donated lots of blood that day to rule out everything from Celiac disease to Lupus. We think it might be auto-immune. I go back next week. We'll see what he has to say about the results. If it were possible to die from scratching I would be dead by now! It does make it hard to get things done, though. Woe's me and all that.
What else? Christmas. It was a good one. We made the trip back home and got to see cousins, brothers, in-laws and the like. My kids got more presents than a lot of kids get in their entire lifetime. I should mention that Vince and I made out like bandits as well. We are very spoiled. And blessed.
Once we got home from our break, it was back to life as we know it. Audrey is enjoying the first grade. She loves school and really thrives in that environment. She is progressing very quickly in her reading and math skills, but I think her favorite part of school is the socialization. That little nut didn't fall far from the tree, did she? Katie is in preschool, but doesn't have as much fun with it as Audrey does. She tells me that her teacher is a "meaner". Which means that her teacher isn't functioning on Katie-time basically. Katie likes to do things at her own pace, which is usually about the same pace as a glacier. I tell her that her teacher isn't mean, she just has to get lots of stuff done in a small amount of time. She doesn't care. I think she enjoys it when she gets there, but I do get reports from her teacher occasionally that Katie cried on the floor for several minutes before joining the group. Or that she refused to participate in an activity. She's very dramatic. Another nut that is sticking close to home. I'm hoping she'll grow out of it. I also hope that Sam grows out of the terrible 2's. Soon. Sooner than soon. He's a mess. His favorite word right now is stupid. Everything is stupid. As is everyone. Even strangers. Ugh! Why can't kids choose other words to be their favorites? Like lovely. Everything is lovely. I can't break him of this word. I've tried ignoring, correcting, replacing the word, washing his mouth with soap, time out, spanking, popping his little mouth. Nothing works. I've even tried calling him stupid right back. I'm sure you can guess how that worked out. Nothing like having an argument with your 2 year old about who's stupid. I think I will go back to work when we move. Seriously. Stick a fork in me 'cause I'm done.
I guess that's enough complaning for now. You guys missed all my griping, didn't you? I have to go make supper. But first I'll complain about what to make so my family doesn't think I'm changing my ways. It's feeling like a mac 'n cheese/hot dog kind of night. Again. Ciao.
