Another three-day weekend is coming.

(And it just can't get here fast enough).

You ever have those moments to where you've slept, but you're still really tired? I'm currently there. I slept a little this past weekend, but trying to tell my body that is a whole other story within itself. The way I'm pulling it around today you would think that I hadn't slept in a week. Which was kind of true last week, but like I said, I slept this past weekend. Not overslept, but a little. Still not enough? Whatevs.

I'm currently trying to get ahold of our Landlord (well, we rent from a property group- so them), because as we speak there is a nice puddle forming in my kitchen from the leaky roof and baseboards..... which could have been handles in the dry/ hot months had they listened to me, but NOOO they had to wait until the cold/ wet months..... Ok, I'm gonna let it go. The anger, not the phone call, because it still needs fixed.

Today is the first day that it's really felt like Winter to me. I know that sounds dumb saying on December 25th, but it's the truth. Most of this month has been full of 60-70 degree days and has only been dipping low few and far between. There hasn't been a need for more than a sweatshirt, if even that.

But today? Oh, today.....

The heat was out when I got to work this morning (luckily, it was fixed with a quick change of filter), the temperature is somewhere in the 20-30 range and the wind is ridiculous. Plus, it's been raining for about three days straight, so everything is already icky.And don't get me wrong, we've totally lucked out so far, but it just all caught me kind of off guard. And it shouldn't have I know, but it did. And now I'll quit complaining about it.

This is another short week for me (New Years Day is Friday). Hopefully nothing like last week (with Momma being in the hospital and all), but no Friday for me this week. Danielle is (supposed to be) taking Thursday off, so I'm sure it will feel weird again. But she needs a day or two off and a four day weekend just might do her some good. I know a three-day weekend sounds pretty nice. Until then- it's Monday.

Christmas with the Crazies.

(My family is a little bit..... well insane.)

We tend to not follow the rules and get loopy at the drop of a hat. There's about five million of us. My Grammy and Grandpa had somewhere between 11-13 kids  (I don't really know for sure) and needless to say with that many kids, we have alot of cousins. While we have that many cousins, there are only a few of us that stay in touch and are close.

-Side note: I'm watching the movie- Winters Tale and it's so amazing. Seriously, if every guy could be and act and love like Peter Lake we would all be good. This movie is just heartbreaking and loving at the same time. I need to get this book.

Anyways, back to the whole Christmas/ Family thing. As you can see from the pictures above, we have our own special set of issues. And sadly, that's not even all of us in the pictures. There are plenty more that we just don't have around too much. Of course, I see Dani and Bonehead on a regular basis, because I work with them, but they spend the holidays with their closer extended family. I'm telling you guys, there are SO MANY of us.

But we love each other, even if it's in our own weird/ special way. We bicker and fight and argue, but we have each others back. Well, the majority of us have the others backs and the rest are just assholes. Don't get me wrong, we're all assholes, but we admit it and don't make any excuses for it. It's just us. And we're mostly proud of it. If people don't like us, then we usually tell them to go on somewhere.

So, here was what my Christmas looked like this year. It was filled with laughter, food, fun, love and selfies. You can blame the selfies on me, I got a "selfie stick" for Christmas and Ashley and I are pretty sure that it's one of the coolest things ever invented. We had way too much fun with it.

Sending lots of love from me and mine.

I just did the dishes against my will.

(I need to do a couple loads of laundry..... But who's counting?!).

Today is Christmas and while most people are caught up in all of the holiday miracles around them taking place, I'm sitting in our chair with Tayder on my lap contemplating doing the laundry (I really really need to).

But I'm tired and the thought of having to actually get my big butt up is too much for me to handle. But it all needs done, because for our Christmas dinner (we went to Poot and Uncle Darrell's) we made Grammy's Potato Salad (it's the best thing EVER- and I don't even like potato salad), Pea Salad, Mac&Cheese and Deviled Eggs. Yeah, I'm sure you can imagine what our kitchen smells like now.

So, I did the dishes (there were a shit ton) and I'll clean the rest of the house tomorrow or Sunday (most likely tomorrow).

We went down to Poot's to open presents and then we all had to go home to finish up the food and put some different clothes on. I really wanted to be able to get Momma, Poot and Solae more (not Greg, because he never likes what I get him anyways), but unfortunately this little thing called "poor" is a real life experience that I'm practicing at this time. Want to know what all I got for Christmas (just today)?!

Ok, I'll tell you:

(2) Fleece Mossy Oak Shirts, The Rolling Stones T-shirt, Flannel Shirt (Grey), Sons of Anarchy Shirt, Star Wars Shirt, SELFIE STICK, Make-up Brushes, Fuzzy Socks, Popcorn Tin, Tank Top, Soft/ Fluffy Camo Lounge Jacket, Katniss Cowl

Frankly, I would say that I made out like a bandit, because of all of the stuff that I got today- and that's not even counting the things that I received on random days. And speaking of Christmas..... I took down our Christmas tree tonight (it's Momma and I's tradition) and I took down all of the decorations inside. All that's left is outside and it's not very much, just (1) Penguin Blow-up, (1) String of Lights and a couple of Candy Cane Solar Lights that don't work for shit. Go figure. And then Momma and I will probably sit here and do what we're doing now. Tv, talking, Tayder Love, maybe a blog post, maybe not.

Y'all sleep good and have sweet dreams! Merry Christmas!!

And on this (pre) Christmas Day.

(Feel free to ignore the bags under my eyes- they're always there).

Momma is finally out of the hospital- she actually got out yesterday afternoon. And we couldn't be happier about it if we tried. I mean, I guess I can't speak for the both of us, but I'm pretty much 100% sure that she is extremely happy about it too. She's still got a long road ahead of her, but like all of the other ones that we've had to go down (and there have been some real doozies), we'll do it together. (And Tayder was depressed and won't leave our sides now- I think he missed us and is happy we're finally home).

Ok, let's get away from that for now (because it makes me so damn sad).

I went to work this morning (it was the first time I've been there all week) and caught up on all of the paperwork that has been put off (I reckon it was a real long week for Dani- Sorry, Dani!!). I'm not going to lie, there was quite a bit. There wasn't really enough to stress me out, but there was enough to keep me going steady. Which is the way I like it, that way time seems to pass faster and I don't end up wanting to throw myself down the stairs.

Jayna came into work with Dani and played and laughed the whole time that they were there (they left at 10:30- I left at 11:15). We exchanged gifts (I received those amazing gifts that you see in that picture- Wine & Meaty: Essays by Samantha Irby and I gifted Dani with a Snuggie, because believe it or not, that's all she's wanted for a year and I got a gift card and pretty awesome scarf from Uncle Roger; I love them all!! Also, I remembered everybody's Christmas present and Uncle Rogers birthday present so- Katie. For. The. Win.), talked about a couple of things and just basically did the few things that we had to get done. And Jayna loved her gift from me- yay!!

Side note #1: Dani snuck a little present (it was a joke book) under our tree at work and we convinced Jayna that Santa had dropped it off just for her. She not only believed it, but then explained to us all how it could be true. Apparently Santa is a the smartest man alive (sorry, Hawking) and Dani's seven year old is really a forty-five year old in disguise. Ha- that makes me chuckle.

Oh!! Oh!! Guess what I got?!! Go ahead- GUESS!! Ok, I'll tell you- a 49 in Tv!!! I know, right?!! Momma started bidding on it on that "Quibids" thing (she wanted to get me one for Christmas and of course we can't afford one, but she thought what the hell, I'll try it anyways- and it worked!!) and she won!! She actually won!! And I'm pretty excited about it (which I'm sure you can tell). It's used and doesn't have a matching remote (but the one that came with it is kind of a universal remote and it does everything that it's supposed to do so we're good with it!!

This evening we all (Momma, Poot, Uncle Darrell and I) went to Don and Barbs Christmas Eve/ Pizza Party (Greg didn't go, because he had to work)!! They invited us a long time ago (we each invite the others to whatever it is when we're having something) and Momma actually felt well enough to go. We all had a lot of fun laughing, talking, listening to music, eating homemade cooking and singing Christmas carols (we may or may not have drank a shit ton of Hot Damn w/ Cider and drunkenly sung them all..... Oops?!). And Don and Barb?! You did not have to get us a present- thank y'all, but it was unnecessary. You guys are awesome and it was nice to meet even more of your family!!

Side note #2: Remind me to tell you about the damn conversation that I had to have with Ashley, because she informed me that she has "found the perfect guy for me" and I was forced to tell her hell no, because I don't want to date. Nothing personal, I just don't feel like it. And yes, I am good with that. And no, I don't think that I'm missing out on anything. Thank you though.

And by the time we got home we were pretty tired (and tipsy). I took my shower, Momma dozed off on the couch and now I'm sitting in the chair writing and Momma is watching our awesome Tv. We had to open a Christmas present tonight, because it's our "family tradition" to open one on Christmas Eve (and it's only a tradition, because Momma and I got tired of listening to Greg for years on end). We're waiting until tomorrow night to open the rest of them though (completely against Greg's will and protests), so that "Carla" can open hers with the rest of us. Yes, he's throwing a fit, because we're waiting on his girlfriend to open presents- I know, right?!!

Momma and I have to make Grammy's potato salad and deviled eggs in the morning and we're of course going to Poot and Uncle Darrell's for Christmas dinner and all of that good stuff. But I'm not trying to rush anything, because the more I do, the closer Monday gets. And screw that.

Merry Christmas Eve!!

I wonder what it's like to be a phlebotomist.

(We're still at the hospital).

And by "we" I mean Momma and I are here, but I'm not a patient, only she is. I'm just staying with her. 

The phlebotomist came in at about 5:00am (don't worry, we've been awake for a LONG time) to redraw her labs so the docs know what's going on. She's been on fluids since we took her to the ER (Monday- 11:00am), so basically she's been on round the clock IV fluid drip for about three days. That's a lot of damn fluid.

Her appetite has returned (thank god- she's lost like eighteen pounds in a month, because she couldn't eat and everything that she did manage to eat came back up) and while she's talking on the phone (apparently we're not the only ones up at 3:30am) I'm waiting for 7:00am so I can order her breakfast and go get mine from the cafeteria. 

I'm pretty sure that she's going home today (excitement- party of two) and if that's true, I'll be going back to work tomorrow (and maybe Uncle Roger won't fire and/or murder me- Dani might help him if he decides to). I feel bad about being off, but I have to be here for her. 

Her blood sugar went up a bit last night. It wasn't horrible or anything, but it was higher than its been running. In all fairness though, it was night and the nurses were switching shifts so she hadn't had her blood sugar meds, nor her insulin. Once she had those it smoothed back out (Yay!!).

So now, we sit here and wait to see the kidney specialist so we know what's going on and what the next step is (although if you ask Momma the "next step" is the one that she'll be taking to go home- she's got jokes this morning). Is it tacky to ask for luck so it (the mass on her kidney) really is nothing? 

Well, I don't care if it is tacky- I'm asking for a little. 

For now though, we'll watch the news (people really do suck), avoid the televangelists on tv (those two things are about the only things on this early in the morning) and wait to have breakfast (we want ALL the food, even though we- mostly her, because of her diabetes and such, but I won't eat in front of her like that).

Tacky or not- Wish us luck.

UPDATE: The kidney specialist just came in to talk to us (they weren't playing when they said he comes in early to talk to patients) and gave us good news. Have I ever mentioned how much I love good news?! Because I do. He was very polite and informative. 

He told us that he wouldn't even call it a "mass"- he calls it a growth. It's actually been there since June 2012 and it's actually gotten smaller since then. 

Therefore, he said it doesn't seem to be a serious problem or anything like that. 

However, he wants Momma to come back in March 2016 to do a test to check it out. They don't want to do it now, because of the shape that her kidneys are in (from dehydration). So, she has to come back in March 2016 to have a test done, just to make sure that everything's copacetic. And would you like to know what else he said?! 

He said- "It's not serious. Go home and have a happy holiday and my office will call you to set up your appointment. Don't worry or stress about any of this and have a Merry Christmas." He even drew us a picture to explain it all.

But he did say one thing that really bothered me (and Momma). He said that when she came into the ER and in the state that she was in, that she had experienced renal failure. RENAL FAILURE. Luckily, she had some really good doctors and nurses that brought her back from it all. She still feels pretty weak, but she's eating (she's lost 16 pounds during all of this) and kidding around. She's just Momma again and I couldn't be happier about it.

It's nice to be home (and she completely agrees).

Hospitals: A story of love and hate.

(I love them for what they do and I hate them, because too much of my family has been in one all year long).

Momma has been in the hospital since yesterday morning. She's been sick on and off for about a month, and while she went to the doctor a few times within that time span, they couldn't seem to figure out what was going on.

Well, yesterday her doctor (whom I love and think is the greatest of all time) figured out what was wrong. After she diagnosed it, she made a call and told us to get to the emergency room asap. What was it? Good question. 

It was- DEHYDRATION. 

You see, she had an infection in her throat (not quite strep throat yet, but blisters were present) and a UTI. With her being diabetic, that's more of a problem than usual, because infection will cause a persons blood sugar to go sky high (and it's about 1000x worse when diabetes is involved). 

Therefore, her blood sugar reached 557 and the side effects were blurred vision, offset balance and nausea. Because she was throwing up so much, she became dehydrated (BOO!!!!!).

They gave her a shot of phenegran and Aunt Poot and I took her to the ER very quickly (I.e. Poot almost got a ticket).

Once we were in the ER they did some tests, took some vitals, drew some blood and started an IV full of fluids for her. After awhile a doctor came in and informed us that he was admitting her, because the labs came back all wonky (due to the dehydration).

Then this morning the doctor came in and talked to us about her results. 

What he said: "Unfortunately I'm not going to be discharging you today (Momma was very upset about that). Your labs have improved, but it wasn't a massive improvement like I would like. Your creatine levels are still high (they were 3.7 when we came in and he read them at a 3.2 this morning and they're supposed to be around a 1.1) and I want to keep giving you fluids and hopefully they come down."

Then they told us that they found a mass on her kidney (they had done a catscan and ultrasound earlier for "precautionary" reasons) and that they were going to have to figure out what exactly it is. 

Of course I freaked out (because I always go to the worse case scenario first).

A lady came in and explained to us that they would like their kidney expert to take a look at her scans to determine what was going on. We agreed that we wanted the best person to take a look. He's supposed to be here at 6:30am so we'll see how that goes. 

Momma has informed me that she's going home tomorrow come hell or high water, because she's spending the damn holidays at home.

I've been staying at the hospital with her (she sometimes loses her train of thought and the docs/nurses need information and I know everything to tell them) and I couldn't thank Dani, Aunt Susi and Uncle Roger enough. I hate missing work, but I feel like this is really important and I need to be here. And they're amazing for understanding the situation and everything that's happening (although I'm pretty sure Uncle Roger is so pissed at me that he would love to fire me- and he still might). 

So here I sit watching Momma sleep (phenegran tends to have that effect), writing this blog post, watching the cooking channel (I watched Guy Fieris DDD until 4:00 this morning) and hoping for the absolute best. Don't tell, but I'm a little freaked out and I'm hoping that specialist comes in tomorrow morning and says- you're fine, false alarm!! 

Here's to hoping.

Can I just sleep through our Company Christmas Party today?!

(I am less than enthused- because I'm kind of a jerk..... it comes naturally).

It's not like they're bad or anything, its just usually alot of work and it tends to go unappreciated (just like our Company Picnic in the Summer/Fall) by most of the employees. You still have those really appreciative employees/retirees, but for the most part- people suck.

Or that could just be me being a grinch. Whatevs, I'm good with it.

I'm just tired this week. Which is hilarious considering the fact that I passed out in our chair last night before I even watched The Big Bang Theory episode that I really wanted to see (The Opening Night Excitation). Good thing I recorded it- did I ever mention that whomever invented the dvr was a genius?! Because I whole-heartedly believe that.

Anyways, this week has been full of craziness (Momma has been incredibly sick- she has infection in her throat and a uti; which is causing her blood sugar to go sky high; like 557; and all of that combined is making all of her sick; it's pitiful) and we still have Christmas shopping to do and I haven't wrapped any of the presents yet (I was informed of all of this last night, because in true Katie fashion I forgot about it all). But for now, I have to finish doing all of this crap stuff for today.

What is it the kids are saying these days?! TGIF.

I swear you just can't take us anywhere.

(But we're pretty damn hilarious).

I don't always wear a camo Santa hat with fake reindeer antlers inside of a fake frame. But when I do, I make sure it's when I'm surrounded by people I love. And you know, when Aunt Susi talks me into it!!

Today was our annual "sister get together" (they don't want to call it a "sister" thing anymore, because it's all the girls in the family, but we all still have the habit). And can I just say that it was SO fun and hilarious?!! I don't think the laughter stopped for more than ten seconds the entire day!!

Side note: Momma, Poot and I had breakfast early this morning before our get together..... because apparently when I'm hungry, "I'm grumpy!!" (Their words, not mine). And honestly I don't think I even chewed my waffle, I think I inhaled it and it was SO delicious. Waffles!!

Even Aunt Linda got to fly up from Florida and spend it with us!! There were a few people that didn't show and we're officially convinced that they're assholes (YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE AND IT'S YOUR LOSS, BECAUSE WE'RE HILARIOUS!!), but we didn't let any of that slow us down or stop us from having a great time!! It was their loss, because we're a damned ole hoot and a half!!

We did the whole "Dirty Santa" thing again, and Aunt Susi decided to do it a little different than usual this time around. None of us really understood it (she later said that we messed up), but it was still fun and we all cracked up!! There was delicious food (every candy/cookie that you can think of, ham/turkey pinwheels, veggie bars, cherry delight, taco/cheese dip..... and alcohol).

We even did a craft this time around!! We made little owls out of pinecones and wine corks. My owls turned out looking a bit like Arnie from What's Eating Gilbert Grape, but I'm just saying that makes it have more character!!

All in all, it was a fantastic time!! Aunt Susi put out a frame covered in Christmas lights and had a million props for us all to use and get our pictures taken!! (She said she'll make me copies, because her camera makes my camera its bitch). The goofier the better!! I don't have a copy of it yet, but I bet the one with Dani and I (and our beer) incites hilarity when you look at it!!

We all can't wait until the next one (sometime around Easterish- Aunt Susi is already brewing with ideas!!). And even though Momma was sick (she's felt horrible for days and has to call the doctor tomorrow), she laughed and loved it!! I love seeing her smile and happy!!

See y'all once Winter breaks!!

Those damn twinkle lights are mocking me.

(I'm just not a holly jolly kind of person).

It feels like it's been forever since I have written anything. In all honesty, I've been meaning to write down the happenings of life and I've wanted to say a thing or two, but have found no gumption (yes- I used the word gumption) to do so. I really just want to freaking sleep.

I did put up our Christmas tree though (only because Momma really wanted it).

Instead I have just been living life, trying to figure out this ridiculous weather and being ill. Not attitude wise, but immune system wise. Although, my brother would probably tell you that I'm ill the other way to (and if he wasn't such a jag-horse he wouldn't think that). Eventually though, I will get back in my "groove" and write about some things. Things like:

• How I'm considering buying (I'm sad that I no longer have Netflix- damn me and my not having "streaming devices") the Once Upon A Time (or OUAT) dvds and watching the show
• Health updates on Momma and I (Pretty much- I'm alright for now and I'll have way more to say about her)
• Movies that I've watched recently
• Another "sister" thing that's coming up
• How I almost got asked out on a date (dude was full on asking me personal questions and trying to prepare for a "relationship"- his words) and how I not only freaked out, but turned him down, because I'm brutally honest like that
• Solae's birthday (she's a December baby)
• How I managed to make sending out our Christmas cards a damned ole fiasco

But until that day, I'm just going to keep doing what I'm doing and wait for the holidays to pass. I'm much more fortunate than most people, and for that I am forever thankful, but honestly, I'm just not big on holidays. I think my brother actually called me a "grinch" at some point. Ass.