Yesterday I spent the day pressure washing the house for painting. I was pretty darned tired and didnt pay attention to where I put my disposable razor after my shower. Of course that is the one time that a bad thing happens. My 4 yo got ahold of it and cut the end of his finger, like when you cut your ankle with a razor. So it really isnt stitchable. It took me about 10 min with me holding pressure on it and keeping it over his head to sort of stop the bleeding so I could WRESTLE a couple band aids on it. Zach is being very noncompliant about me doctoring it at all and he is a big guy. Then in the middle of the night I woke to somebody crying. I couldnt even figure out who it was, went downstairs and found my 11 yo sobbing because he had a horrible headache and was throwing up. Since strep has been going around and this is the one child that doesnt have the immune system of 100 kids I figure I was in for that. Thankfully he is better today, I think it might of been a migraine. Then zach woke up and was talking but I couldnt understand what he was saying so I asked him what was wrong and he told me he was angry and went back to sleep.

This morning I figured Zach's finger would have clotted, so I took off the old bandage and it gushed again. More pressure and more bandaids. It seeped through a couple of times so I put a few more bandaids on it. Then this afternoon he found the box of bandaids and put the remaining on his finger, (it was pretty cute). This evening the bandaids fell off and I ended up with it gushing again.

This is way outside my experience with all of my boys. I dont know if I should take him to his doc (of course almost an hour away since I am in the boonies). I dont think it is super deep, it doesnt have any edges to stitch together since it is more a hole than a cut. And he wont even let me look at it, I dont want to totally tramatize him because I think they may have to do some pretty gruesome things just to get a look at it like shots into it and probably something just to get him calm enough to hold still. I called his nurse today and she said to just keep pressure on it and if it wasnt better by tomorrow to take him in. But tomorrow he has a team meeting with his speech pathologist and his physical therapist. I start school on monday so tomorrow is the only time for me to go and get his year arranged.

As is I feel overwhelmed by all the stuff I am supposed to be doing. Scraping the house for paint. Working tue and thur mornings. Going to school mon-wed-fri days (a 45 min drive each direction too) and wed evening and one class on line. Dealing with all the scheduals of 4 boys, and making my nutso schedule work with zach's physical therapy, speech therapy, preschool and daycare. Dh is gone all week in meetings so I am on my own and I feel like tearing out my hair. Usually I am pretty good at holding the fort and making good decisions but right now I feel like I dont know what the heck to do. Do I cancel his appts tomorrow with his therapists and let them decide what they are going to do with him without my input, I got a voicemail that sounded like they may change his schedual after getting it all arranged for transportation and daycare. I wanted to make this appt so I could have a formal meeting on how he is doing and where they would like to go from here, vrs what I want to see happen. It could happen that I can do both but my luck has been that I can do one or the other not both.

I am just hoping that his finger stops bleeding.

By My3cuties on Wednesday, September 21, 2005 - 12:47 am:

Yeah let's hope the bleeding stops. You sure do have a full plate, bless your heart, I don't think I could do all that. I hope everything works out. Sounds like you need a bubble bath (I know what you must be thinking..when do you have the time, right?) And I think I am busy now, I guess I should wait until my kids are a little older.. Good Luck and I hope your little ds is better by morning, Hailey got a hold of a razor once and skinned her foot. thankfully it was just a skim. Get some rest you work too hard.

By Feona on Wednesday, September 21, 2005 - 06:56 am:

We had a house that was scraped for a year and just sitting there looking scraped. Another house someone bought and it is falling down. Sitting for a year there. There is a house someone is fixing up but they never cut the lawn.

If the neighbors complain tell them they can move around here. Take your time.

By Mom2three1968 on Wednesday, September 21, 2005 - 07:32 am:

Oh I can sympathize with you, it seems sometimes it is never ending. Chores, appts, housework, dinner,your work schedule, I know for me it is never ending.... Sounds as if you do need a rest everything piled up on you and the stress is showing. Believe me I know how you feel!!! I too hope that everything gets better, also hope that ds finger stops bleeding, those surface cuts are the worst!!! You know the old saying, when it rains it pours... Take care...

By Karen~moderator on Wednesday, September 21, 2005 - 07:40 am:

{{{{{{{{{{{{HUGS}}}}}}}}}}} You have too much on your plate right now!

As for the finger, it will stop bleeding eventually, it may ooze here and there for a few days. But if you are concerned, take him in. The only thing they can do for an injury like that is to super glue it. I cut the tip off my index finger several years ago and they super glued it in the ER. It oozed for a few days. And HURT!

PS - I think you need help with the house!!!!

By Conni on Wednesday, September 21, 2005 - 07:54 am:

I am VERY sorry you are going thru so much. Blake busted the back of his head on an end table 2 yrs ago and I used liquid band aid on him. Even with that it was still icky the next morn. So I put MORE liquid band aid on him, took him to scholl and told his teacher if it bled again to call me so I could take him in for a stitch. She never called. I also gave him Tylenol for any pain.

You CANNOT pull off your schedule with no help and then do this house project on top of everything else. Hire it done, make the older boys help, or tell dh that this weekend he needs to set aside time to help you.

I didnt realize you were in school. What are you studying?

Hope you have a good day!!! Sorry if my post seems blunt. But sometimes us Mom's need to hear *blunt* from other Mom's. lol Get some help girl and dont feel bad asking for it!!

By Janet on Wednesday, September 21, 2005 - 11:23 am:

Pressure washer story for you... I, too, am getting my OLD house ready for painting and had never used a pressure washer. I figured it was a no-brainer. I don't know why, but after a couple of hours of watching it rip paint off my porch, I decided to wash some paint chips off my foot... can you say REALLY BAD MISTAKE??? I was lucky and only got a blister, but my dh gave me a serious reaming out when I told him about my stupid action. Then he yelled about me washing in bare feet, in shorts... and I yelled back that I didn't know and I'd never done it before and don't yell you're scaring me...and then he yelled that he wanted to scare me so I'd know how dangerous it was and what was I thinking it's not a garden hose...and I yelled back that I KNEW that and it was just a stupid thing and it would never happen again...
LOL I know I was lucky. Lesson? Let dh do the pressure washing.

By Missmudd on Wednesday, September 21, 2005 - 11:59 am:

Honestly I generally do the home improvement stuff myself. Dh, bless him, is a royal pain in the keister when he gets going on these projects. He tends to get all manly, brake stuff, hurt himself and then gets po'ed. (He isnt like that at all in "real" life, just with home improvement) I rather do it myself, get it done without scareing the neighbors and not have to sit by watching him blow things up lol. He WILL be helping paint this weekend, or I WILL be out finding another man to help me lol jk. In the last month or so in addition to trying to get the house prepped for paint, I have replaced a toilet including the shut off valve and installed a pellet stove, and removed a pipe in our basement, snaked out the line and put it all back together. Hey, it needs to get done and what else are you gonna do? Paint HAS to get on the house before the rains hit, otherwise I wont have wood come summer, the wood would literally rot right off the house. I cant really afford help, I am looking at daycare, preschool, gas at $3 a gallon and a 35 mile commute each direction 4 days a week, tuition, textbooks (oh and dont get me started on that) and winter coming with all those horrid electric bills (why I had to put in the pellet stove)

And while it stinks, dh is gone alot of the time on business, I could hand him a huge honey do list every time he comes through the door but usually he is so wiped out when he walks through the door it is a wonder he can take his pants off. I end up feeling like I am beating him up by asking him to do anything other than sleep. I try to let the weekends be family time, not chore time because he doesnt get to spend any family time w/ us during the week.

Part of me going back to school is that soon all of the boys are going to be in school. Dh is working himself to death with this job, hopefully he will be promoted into a less stressful job within the next year. If not after 3 years of schooling I will prepared to reenter the work force earning $20-$25 per hour and he could then take a demotion and actually be home and start having a normal life and take some of the stress off of him. (dh is the guy who ended up in the er with chest pain from stress) By then my eldest will be 19 and zach will be almost 8 so my need to being home all the time will not be so great. I can also make the wages I would make now full time working part time so I can be a semi sahm even though I will be working. So we have an evil plan, it is just so hard sometimes getting it all together.

I think I will go to his therapy meeting today, his finger isnt showing signs of infection so one more day now really wont make that big of a difference if he needs to go in tomorrow.

Thanks for letting me vent, it helps get my head screwed on right for what actually needs to be done today, tommorrow and next month

By Janet on Thursday, September 22, 2005 - 01:12 pm:

I meant I would let my dh do it...I didn't mean you should let your dh do the work...I wish I was better at that sort of stuff, but I'm not. I keep the yard mowed and the shrubs trimmed, but that's about it!