I bought a car and other updates

I just got a friendly note asking me to post. Thinking about it, she is right, I have a lot going on and have been remiss with updating.

First exciting news, we bought a car last week! It is a decidedly used, six year old car, but it has already made a huge difference in my quality of life. I can go and do so much more easily. Even errands like buying the girls tights are much less stressful. We have had quite a few appointments recently and cabs were adding up and terribly inconvenient as well. I am so happy to have my new wheels.

I have a new hobby. I have decided to learn Hebrew grammar. I have been living here for six and a half years. I generally understand what I am hearing, people understand me most of the time, but my grammar isn't great and I sound like an ignorant immigrant. Immigrant I may always be, but ignorant I would prefer to leave behind. This is something I can do from home and though I may not always enjoy it, I now have homework to do with the kids and they are all proud of me. As a side bonus, I have a lot more corny jokes to tell the kids.

The Beit Natan retreat is next month and I am trying to decide if I am going or not. Since we bought the car money is really tight but I could really use the time away, seeing friends who understand and some me time. My son has (relatively minor) surgery scheduled for the day after the retreat, so the timing is pretty close to perfect. If the surgery was before it would have been harder to leave.

I just started a new thyroid medication. The old old one they stopped making. The old new one made me nervous, it didn't look right and I didn't like how it was a different medication but they tried sneaking it in with similar packaging and the same name, so I stocked up on the old old one when it was still in the pharmacies. I take both 100s and 50s of the medication and just finished the old old 100s, never took and old new 100 at all since I stocked up so well! I did have to buy a bottle of old new 50s and will be finishing those in a couple days. Today I started the brand new 100s and they look nice. Time will tell with my blood test results, but except for the fact that they are made in Germany, when I had been told the new medication was coming from the US, they seem great to me!

I am still having trouble with numbness and my calcium levels, but I am learning to live with my limitations. The less I do the better I feel, but I have to balance that with living life. I have letters together and forms filled out to get a handicapped parking tag which I have high hopes will help me function on a higher level. Being able to do errands and take care of my family more easily is such an emotional boost. Getting to appointments more easily is nice side benefit.

All in all, I am going to try to update a bit more. No promises, but there is so much going on that it makes a lot of sense.

Great news, stable TSH so far!!

My tsh hasn't changed even though I started a new thyroid medication for a portion of my medication (I am still mostly taking the old medication) three weeks ago. I am happy. I hope that it continued to work out so well.

My calcium is up from the critical lows when I was on vacation, but it is still running quite low. It feels like it is taking a long time, even with IV, to recover. It was worth it, but it was definitely a lot for my body.

I had a suspicious mole removed yesterday. It was a bigger deal then my mole removals in the past. The stitches are in for the next two weeks, so it is the end of my pool days and there will be no beach for me this summer. I have never had stitches for a mole removal before, so it was a surprise. I wonder if I would have put it off until after vacation if I had known. It is better that it is gone though.

Now I wait the next three weeks for results, knowing full well that the doctor will likely have them within a week. That really frustrates me. I have a family history of skin cancer and some precancerous moles removed in the past and this one didn't look good, so it would be nice to hear that it was fine. The good thing is, either way I did what I had to do.

My other consolation is a local pool opened! Even if I miss swimming in our pool this summer I am hopeful that I will get the chance to swim again soon.

Welcome back to real life!

We are home, the trip was great and slowly but surely we are getting the house back in order and everyone settled back in.

I had huge issues with my calcium when I was gone and only successfully got IV calcium once, my veins were horrible for all who tried in the states. I had many bruises to show for it, but after that first IV all that they managed was IV calcium under my skin and into joint spaces, not veins. It was frustrating for all, and I felt really bad for the people who were trying out of the kindness of their hearts!

My calcium was down to 7.3 and I was a numb, tingly, twitchy mess. B"H for lots of great distraction and some comfortable chairs here and there.

I got home, got calcium IV, stopped running around and doing as well, and have been feeling quite a bit better B"H.

The pool is up now, which is wonderful. It is being enjoyed as much this summer as last.

I started the new thyroid medicine for a portion of my medication the week before we left the states three weeks ago. I still have 100s of the old, but my 50s are of the new stock. I did blood tests today so I should know in the next couple days if my TSH is already going up from the new medication. It will be a mess of medication adjustments if it is, so I really hope not. Soon enough I will be out of the old 100s and switching to just the new medication because of lack of choice. Very very frustrating!

Besides that we are enjoying summer, savoring the memories from our vacation and starting to plan and save for our next trip, hopefully in another 2-3 years. Six years without seeing family was much too long.

Getting ready to go

We planned our trip to the US for six months and now it is in six days.

All of the IV supplies are packed and most of the medication and my son's medical supplies are packed as well. We have medical clearance to fly, and oxygen on the plane for my son. We have letters for security for both of us. I have boxes upon boxes of stuff waiting for us at my inlaws. Just off of the top of my head I know there are suitcases, clothing, formula, a feeding pump, feeding pump supplies, pool filters, baking sheets, toiletries, diapers, wipes, car seats, and laundry detergent. We are going as empty handed as we can, since we are going to be pushing our suitcase limits, both in terms of quantity of suitcases and weight limit, coming home.

It isn't that people are generally lacking anything here in Israel. I mean, except for my son's nonstandard medical supplies and diapers we could get most everything here. Right now the dollar is so weak though that things are relatively expensive in Israel if you are spending US dollars and plus, I really appreciate online shopping. :) I can shop without walking store isles and making myself sick, find bargains (6 pool filters for $24 on Amazon with free shipping, instead of 100nis (~$28.50) for one filter here) without running from store to store and shopping in English is a bonus as well. I can type or talk without thinking about how to say what ever it is that I want to say first. B"H my Hebrew is good enough that I can do most of the business I need to, but it requires a lot more though than English.

I love it here, I am glad we live here, it is great for the kids and we are all happy that we made the move, but it isn't the easiest place for me to shop. That is generally a very good thing, my wallet certainly appreciates it.

Besides that I am a bit worried that I packed out itinerary too full. I tried not to plan two days of trips in a row, but there aren't enough days in the month and there are so many people we love and want to see.

Entertainment for the kids (lots of coloring and arts supplies and a bunch of magazines as well) are packed. The freezer is full of cookies that my six year old helped me bake. She has turned out to be a much more persistent cookie shaper than my oldest two ever were. I made the dough and she made five dozen cookies one afternoon. She stops when we are out of cookie sheets or out of dough. I think we might be sharing cookies with everyone on the plane if she continues her cookie making at this rate.

We have two hotel rooms booked for our night in England and kosher food being delivered to us there. The rental car in Boston is confirmed. We have our cell phone for the US and it is in with our trip papers. Before we leave I can actually forward the calls to our US phone number, which generally rings in our home, to ring on our cell phone.

Come to think of it, one of our carry on suitcases is still with a friend on the other side of the city. I lent it to her and need to get it back. I have to remember to ask her about it tomorrow.

I am trying not to stress, just plan ahead and avoid the last minute rush, but I am quite certain there will be a last minute rush none the less. The kids are using their backpacks which they are putting their stuff into for the plane, until the day we leave. Everyone is wearing their clothing still, so besides undergarments, tights which I bought new, and some shirts, I can't pack much clothing yet. After Shabbos I would normally be washing and packing everyone's Shabbos clothing. My nephew's wedding is here on Monday evening though, so I won't be packing them, just washing them to be worn again and washed again before we go.

We are working on emptying the fridge so we can turn it off (with the door propped open to prevent mold) before we go. We need to eat until we leave, but finishing all of the perishables has been a fun challenge. I made cheese cake tonight for no better reason than a bunch of dairy products that I wanted used up. I hope the kids enjoy it, since my waist certainly won't.

Six days to go, and there is so much to do, but so little left that I can do before the last minute. Everyone is so excited though, so even if there is a last minute rush I am sure we will get there and it will all be well worth it.

I am sick, but getting better B"H

I thought it was allergies but work up the next morning with fever, so I guess I was wrong! I am still sick but every day is B"H a bit better than the day before. My fever is finally down, but I am still achy and can't smell or taste anything. Even chocolate just tastes sweet, not chocolaty. It is really odd.

Last night I made pumpkin muffins (proof that I am doing better!) and the kids love them, but I can't taste them at all. I stuck one in the freezer so I can eat and enjoy it when I can taste again. :)

My calcium crashed a bit from the fever, but B"H I was able to recover it with oral medication.

I refilled my thyroid medication and it seems they have switched manufacturers. It is the same address, but a different name and the bottles and pills look a bit different. I am not happy at all. Being sick and finding this out at the same time was a bit overwhelming. One of my most important ant-cancer drugs is my thyroid medication and if this new supply is cheaper, as it appears (the letters on the pills aren't as clear and they just don't look proper) it could cause real trouble.

I am going to have as my doctor to start following my thyroid levels with more regular blood tests again. I am really uncomfortable with this change.

We are leaving for the states in 4.5 weeks IY"H. The countdown is on! I am glad I had a head start since I have gotten nothing done on my planning list once I got sick.

:) Still here, still busy

Today I made it over to a friend's house to say goodbye to her before she left on a trip to the states and then to the mall where I miraculously managed to bring home two pizzas (I had coupons) and two new rolling suitcases (and my pocketbook and an ice coffee) by bus. I am a little sore from the effort, but B"H no worse for the wear.

It is the first time I left the house since last Wednesday. I really prefer staying home, but getting the errands off my head and behind me is a huge relief.

We now have carry on bags for everyone big enough to be responsible for one.

I started in earnest on packing lists today. My goal is to keep what we are bringing to a minimum without forgetting anything essential.

And allergies have hit my full force. It seems our pine trees are in bloom. My front yard is green from the pollen and I just can't stop sneezing and inside my ears and mouth are itchy.

I had several years here without major seasonal allergies, but I guess we have been here long enough to acclimate (and sensitize) myself. :) I am working on convincing myself that that is a good thing!

All in all, life is B"H good, a bit on the boring side but we really appreciate that around here!

I passed!! I did it!!

One try for the written test, a bunch of lessons and now I just passed my practical driving test!

Tomorrow I have to go down and pay some more money and pick up my temporary license.

I am incredibly exhausted, but so relieved. You would think that after 14 years of driving it would have been a given that I was going to pass, but I was nervous none the less.

After my test, before the results, a good friend took me out to a bagel place for lunch. I was a bit too wired to be hungry, but I enjoyed a blueberry muffin and a really rich and yummy thick hot chocolate drink. It was a lot like hot chocolate pudding in a glass with a spoon, totally decadent and hit the spot.

I am totally exhausted, but it was a very good day.