St. Patrick's Day

Jon went shopping this morning then worked for hours in his garden. Jess took several 2-hour naps during the day and didn't want to do anything. I went to Bible Study then met Jon at Leo's for lunch. Walgreen's and the post office were the only 2 stops after lunch then home. 

A year ago or so Joyce game me her Instant Pot that she didn't want. I was excited to have one, yet apprehensive to use it because it would be under pressure. So, it went in the basement. Until today. Jennifer showed me how to use it and we made a corned beef, Brussel sprouts, carrots, onions and potatoes meal for St. Patrick's Day. The only day of the year that I think to make this. 

Surprisingly, it was very good and both Jon and Jessie liked it, too. I couldn't use cabbage because I'm allergic to it, but Brussel sprouts I can eat. Go figure. 

Right after dinner we were watching a Dr. Oakley program and Jessie began acting like she was sick. She was moaning and I encouraged her to go in the living room with me and I'd hold her. No fever. Tylenol just because. I held her for 45 minutes until she settled down and went to sleep.

About an hour later she popped up and said, "Snack!" then "Better!" She doesn't act sick at all. Guess we'll see what the night holds for her. It's so hard to know exactly what is wrong with her most of the time.

 

Pain

The other day Jessie was saying over and over "Pain, pain!". Jennifer asked her if she was in pain. Her response? "NOT YET!" 

Well, today she WAS in pain. According to Jane, Jess sat down 3 times on the way in to the pool and said her knee hurt her. Just before dinner she started to whine a bit then started to cry. She finally admitted she was in pain and her knee hurt her. She ate part of her dinner then went to sit on the couch. I left the dishes and gave her Tylenol and rubbed in her knee with Deep Blue. Then I held her for about a half hour. Showing her pictures on my phone seemed to take her mind away from the pain for awhile. It's so difficult to know when Jess is in pain because she has a high tolerance for pain. Maybe that's why she's been so crabby the past few days.

I had Bible study this morning. Jon went shopping then spent a couple hours out in his garden preparing for planting. His dad would be so proud of him and his garden. 

Out With Jon

After our monthly face time meeting with Jessie's case worker at 10:00, Jon and I left and went to English Gardens. This was one of my mom's favorite places to shop. It's changed over the years and it is a nice place to browse. Then we picked up some produce at Nino Salvaggio's. I haven't been there in years. Jon buys his duck eggs from there when Jennifer's ducks decide to take a break!

It was Jon's choice for lunch and he picked Red Lobster. OK by me! My great tasting lunch stayed within my WW points for the day. I had Brussel sprouts as a vegetable and expected just plain ol' sprouts. Instead, they were soft yet crispy on the outside with a hint of orange teriyaki sauce and tiny pieces of French fried onions on top. They were awesome! 

Jessie and Jennifer did a lot of "homework" pages then did a craft before Jess fell asleep again. When we got home, she woke up then she put away the groceries and separated the mail. Unfortunately, she woke up in a very crappy mood. Nothing but hollering and arguing the rest of the afternoon and into the evening. Not a fun time around here, that's for sure. I'm so beyond tired of being yelled at. I wish I knew what sets her off. Besides me, of course.

A Nice Sunday

Jess and I watched church on FB while we ate breakfast. However, Jess fell asleep before it finished. When our church was done I watched Pastor Mick's service. It was really good and powerful. Since Jess was still asleep when Mick's service finished, I also closed my eyes.

I woke to Jessie crying. I listened to what she was watching and she had Pastor Chris speaking at Troy Woodside. I couldn't figure out what was making her cry. When I got up and held her, wiped her tears and tried to calm her down, I asked her why she was sad. "Daddy!", she said. "Jesus, Heaven." "Do you miss Daddy?" I asked, "YES!" She sobbed.

Some may not know that people with Down Syndrome have difficulty with time. So, an event like her Daddy passing away, even though it's been 9 years, can seem like yesterday. She was grieving all over again. It broke my heart. Made me sad, too

Thankfully, after I got her calmed down it was time to go to Marcus Grill and meet Chris for lunch. All 3 of us had great meals and good conversation. Chris went shopping then home and Jess and I came home. I watched a Hallmark movie that was surprisingly good: "Back to Christmas" with Candace Cameron Bure. 

Jon got home at 7:45 p.m. after a 12 hours shift. I bought him an omelet for his dinner tonight. Like I said earlier, this was a nice Sunday.

A Very Painful Day For Me

I haven't had a day like I had today. Ever. That I can remember, that is. My bones hurt. My knees, my entire back, my feet. It hurt to walk. To sit. Because I had to go to the post office and took Jessie to Wendy's for a drive thru lunch, I couldn't take any pain medicine until I got home in the afternoon. It helped a little. 

Even though I wasn't feeling well, I still did several loads of laundry, finished another pair of Jessie's blue jeans (that makes a total of 5!), did a bit of paperwork and was able to rest a few times. 

Jessie has been pretty good all day until 45 minutes ago. Jon went to say goodnight and she came unglued. She was so nasty to him. I said, "Are you in pain?" She responded with a no. Maybe tired. Who knows. She got her iPad taken away. 

Asking her about pain just reminded me about a conversation she had with Jennifer yesterday:

Jess:    "Pain!"  "Pain!"

Jen:    "Are you in pain?"

Jess:    "Not yet!"

Jessie's Big Day

Jess got up at 6:45 a.m. this morning. Way too early for me. She played on her iPad for about an hour then got dressed and came into the bedroom and tried to get me up. She was excited about having it "Breakfast Out Day" and she wanted to get it started. I crawled out of bed around 8 then sat in my chair for a bit. Jess laid on top of the bed and the next thing I knew she was sound asleep. 

While Jess and Jennifer waited until 10:15 to go to breakfast (Brent and his mom and aide can't get there any earlier), Jon and I went to Romeo Family for breakfast then shopped at Kroger's. By the time I got home my foot hurt so bad I sat down and iced it for awhile. I did this several times today. I also finished another pair of Jessie's pants and finished a book.

After breakfast Jessie and Jennifer, Brent, Tom, Diane and another special needs woman, Roseann, met at the bowling alley. This has now become her Friday routine. She had such a good time and when she got in the van, according to Jennifer, sat down in her seat with a huff and said, "TIRED!" 

That reminds me of the other day when I got home from somewhere and Jessie ran to me and wanted my pop, which I didn't have. I told her I didn't get a pop. She turned around, got mad and said, "OH, DARN!" She's just too funny. Sometimes. Tonight she's yelling at me because she wants to go to Wendy's tomorrow. And for some reason she wants my birthday to be now. Not sure why. 

One Year Ago Today

Apparently today was the day when the world declared an official Pandemic. Unlike a lot of people, we have managed to do well during this year. Jon had the brunt of its impact by caring for COVID residents at his work. That was a very difficult month for him when it was active. Although he's had to wear all the medical precautions on a daily basis, that month was the worse. I pray it never comes back to his building.

I thought this FB saying was appropriate for now even though some shelves of the grocery store are either running low or empty for certain things. It depends on the day. Nothing like a year ago, that's for sure. That was a bit concerning.

Jessie had speech this morning then we met Jon in Romeo for lunch before he went to work for a staff party. He didn't eat with us because he was having STEAK! He also won a very large bowl. He said it's his new snack bowl!

Joyce helped me figure out what went wrong with the needle and thread on my sewing machine, so when I got home I finished one pair of Jessie's pants and began another to be completed tomorrow.

I also took down snowmen and began bringing up Easter and Spring decorations from the basement. I could only do two trips then had to call it for the day. I sat on the deck, enjoyed the warm day and read. 

We ate dinner watching our shows Jon tapes for us. Now he's gone to bed, Jessie's on his iPad and I'm going to go back to my book.