I definitely have boys.

The boys have finished burgers for lunch, and they are sitting at the table building with LEGOs in the middle of their plates and drinks. At the same time, they are having 'burp-as-loud-as-you-can' fests (they had a special treat - Pepsi® with their lunches instead of just milk), and then they are each howling with laughter at their burps. And, as A.J. is saying right now, occasionally "Burpzilla" knocks over a LEGO tower or two.

Heheh. Goofy boys. :-)

Speaking of boys, I was reminded this morning by taryns_mom of something I forgot to write about almost 2 weeks ago. I went to the Commissary, and after we were done checking out and the girl was waiting to take our groceries to the van, the boys decided they needed to go to the bathroom - badly. Since it couldn't wait, the girl agreed to hang out until we were done, and I headed off to the restrooms with the boys. I'll admit, I was greatly looking forward using my just-bought cortisone cream on my ant bites, so I decided I'd slip in the bathroom as well.

I'm not really crazy about letting the boys use the boys' bathroom alone. I still make Jack go with me 90% of the time, though I'm "letting go" and allowing A.J. to use the appropriate bathroom most all of the time. If the two of them are ever going in just by themselves, however, I make them use the girls' restroom - that way, if they start messing around and taking too long, I can come in and get them (it hasn't happened yet so far, but I'm sure it will one day). Since they had already run off ahead of me to the bathroom (and they know the rule of using the girls' if they're by themselves), I just assumed they'd gone into the girls' bathroom. I was busy looking down at my cortisone tube, and I just followed the sounds of their yells...

As I walked in, I saw Jack disappear into the last stall. A.J. was already in one, and I just leaned against the countertop and started applying ointment to my bites. After about half a minute, the door swung open and in came a MAN! I was shocked and appalled - how dare he march into the girls' restroom?! He strode over to the urinal-- wait a second!! URINAL?!?! THAT wasn't there before... was it?? OHMYGOSH, *I'm* in the BOYS' restroom!!

The dude unzipped and started going at it, meanwhile I was trying to hide my eyes. The only way out was RIGHT BEHIND HIM, of course, but I finally managed the courage and slipped out. A second later, the guy strolled out of the bathroom, narrowly missing me just outside the door. In fact, I don't think he ever saw me at all - not in the bathroom or out. Still, I was MORTIFIED.

So yeah, Tina - you're not the only one. ;-)

Update on the update.

Okay. Partly due to the multitude of responses to my sore update post this morning (sorry guys, it was graphic and therefore "gals only"-filtered) and partly because I'm not even moving anymore yet I still keep feeling stabbing, white-hot pains throughout my abdomen (the one I just felt while talking to Heather actually reduced me to the tears that had been threatening to fall all day), I'm heading off to the Emergency Room/Urgent Care Center. I'm in a LOT of pain, and it DOESN'T seem to be getting any better (not in the last 36-48 hours anyway) DESPITE my being on antibiotics since last Friday.

Will update again later.

Hopefully this is the REAL start of healing.

I'm home. I got to the Urgent Care Center, and I was able to get in fairly quickly. The doctor did not seem surprised that the spot had spread so terribly since Friday, even on antibiotics. She and her assistants had to numb me up 3 times (the first two didn't quite get it all, and oh - it hurt), and then she cut into it. I had to sign papers first because it was going to leave a cosmetically large scar (read: a hole that would be left open). The hole has to be re-packed every day with gauze (it's convenient to have a nurse as your best friend, yo).

The doctor did take a culture of the pus as she was draining it, and she seems fairly confident that the results will be MRSA - a drug-resistant infection that can be deadly and seems to be cropping up in otherwise healthy persons with no known risk factors. The only link that she could possibly make would have been the many, many ant bites I had almost 2 weeks ago - even though I did not have a bite in that spot at all. Other than that, I've had no exposure to anything else likely. There's nothing I really could have done differently once it popped up, and the Keflex never stood a chance against it. When I asked her at first where I might have exposed myself to this, she answered me frankly, "We don't know. It's like the lottery, only it's a really lousy one."

Finally, it was over and I was able to go home. The doctor prescribed me some Percocet for the pain, but I can't take that while the boys are awake, so I'll only be using it at night and when repacking my wound. She also gave me Motrin 800 for the daytime. I felt blissfully numb for a while, and I enjoyed the absolute lack of pain as I walked to my car like a normal person (in the past 4 days, I've been hobbling about more like an 8-months pregnant chick). I opened my car door and found this:


'Get Well' gift and 'card' from Heather.

(Little backstory here: Heather and I are constantly amused by the 'middle school'-ish behavior of some who like to sign nearly every correspondence with one of these: LYLAS, BFF, etc.)

You'll remember that just last Friday I found a note left in my car that was scribbled on the packaging for surgical gloves. In this case, for extra giggles, the 'note' Heather included with my oh-so-coveted movie (I'd been waiting about 3 years for Disney channel to release this particular movie onto DVD!) was actually written ON A GLOVE. And since I'm sure you can't read the writing from the pic, I'll put her note below:

I used the wrapper last time, now all I have is the glove...
Feel Better... glove ya like a cyst! :-)

She's such a goofball! It was a much appreciated message, especially in my numbed-up state of body. I was talking to her on the cell phone as I walked to my car, and she practically dissolved in a fit of giggles just as I 'found' it on my seat. Silly, silly Heather. We're so good - we even manage to get the snark in our sympathy notes. ;-D

If you know gilliannegarret...

SPECIAL MESSAGE REGARDING gilliannegarret. IF YOU ARE A FRIEND OF HERS (as you should be, since I tried to include only those who were in this particular filter), PLEASE READ.

One of Jill's real-life best friends, mocha_rae alerted me to this news this evening. Jill's husband Jon (known as Angus) sent out this message to some of their medieval-group friends, including her. She thinks (and I agree) that it would be best for those of us who know Jill to know about this, to offers as many prayers of support and comfort and even miraculous healing as possible. Poor Jill. She has been a WONDERFUL and AMAZING friend to me, and I'm sure she's been nothing but to each of you as well.

Here is the message from her husband earlier today:

"Brothers and Sisters,

My angel is in pain and I can't help her. Some of you know that Jill's Mom was diagnosed with cancer of "some form" but they didn't know what. Long story short is, they thought it was ovarian so they were going to do a historectomy today, and when they opened her up, the doctor said "it looked like somebody had cut her open and dumped in a bucket of cancer". They just did an iliostomy and closed her back up. Every organ in her body is affected. The doctor says she may not live the rest of the week and if she does chemo or radiation will not do any good. If y'all would, please pray for Jill's Mom and her family. Her Dad is absolutely devastated, and Jill is not taking it well either. That's what is killing me.

I know a few folks have her Mom's number for emergencies and such, please don't call down there. The phone is about to drive them all nuts and every time it rings they anticipate the worst news from the hospital. Jill asked me to tell you all the news and she sends her love.

Thank you,
I love you all
Jon"

If any of you know of more people who might need this message (those that aren't on my own friends' list, anyway), PLEASE forward this on to them.

:-(