Tune Ups

I have never been one to air dirty laundry on my blog. Most bloggers I know don't. Our blogs are a place where our lives tend to be a little more glossy sheen than chaos. Occassionally people will write about a frustration or two, but I usually will not write about arguments or difficulties. One, it is not something I wish my blog to focus on, and two, it is out of respect for the relationships I do have. That being said, this particular entry is one I have wanted to write for awhile, and everything I mention here has been something my husband and I have both said we are comfortable disclosing.

Marriage Counseling.

We agreed years ago, back when we were newlyweds, if one of us (did not matter which one) ever wanted counseling then we would go... no questions asked, no stalling. We had one time a year or so ago where one of us mentioned it and we looked in to going, but then we managed to regain our footing and never actually went. Or so we thought. The past year or so have been hard for us. Last year Ryan came back from Afghanistan and we jumped right into the holidays. Immediately after that we went out our trip to Europe and as soon as we returned my aunt passed away and I flew to New Jersey. The day after I returned from her funeral I was thrown in rehearsals for a show I had been cast in. So we went from living apart with the deployment, to reintigration that never really had a chance to take and by the time we were both on normal schedules again it was summer practically and Ryan was putting in for his SDA. Then I had another show as Ryan started school for his SDA.... and we both just realized we were fighting a lot and were both pretty unhappy overall. After a particularly large (amd stupid) fight over something insignificant we decided we wanted to go to counseling.

Ryan instantly made a phone call to Military OneSource. Military OneSource offers active duty, reservists on active status, and National Guard members and their families twelve free, non medical, face-to-face counseling sessions with a professional in your area. We had an appointment with a counselor for the next day with that one call. Even making the appointment we felt better and had what felt like our first real discussion in a long time. That was when we realized we both were unhappy... not unhappy that we were married or together, but overall the general feeling of this could be better. This has been better.

We went in to our first session with a little bit of unease, but our counselor got us to talk. Then we had one of our small fights. And he let us. We were on opposite ends of the couch going back and forth jumping from topic to topic when our counselor said something that seems so incredibly obvious, but until we heard it, it never occurred for a moment.

"Is this how you speak to someone you love?"

No. No it isn't.

When we had those stupid arguments, and lord knows we had them a lot, we were both just trying to be heard. It wasn't about the sweet potato or the volume on the tv (seriously), it was wanting our spouse to hear us. We always were the type to bicker, both our parents independently nicknamed us "the Bickersons", but lately it had been so much more than that.

Once we heard that, we began to make a more conscious effort to really hear one another, and talk to each other the way we wanted to be talked to. It sounds so simple when I type it, but it was something that in our frustrations we were missing. We both were overly frustrated to the point where we felt like we weren't being heard and all we did was make our voices louder and louder with effort to be heard. But when someone yells usually the knee jerk response is to stop listening anyway... it is a vicious cycle we were stuck in for sure.

If we are arguing it becomes about winning... and in order for one of us to win one of us has to lose. And marriage shouldn't be about winning and losing. We are on the same team. If one of us loses then we both lose.

Our counselor told us around the five year mark is where a lot of marriages will stumble or falter... it is totally normal. He told us that we both drive cars and every 3,000 or 5,000 miles we need an oil change, right? Well, this is our oil change. We hit so many miles in our marriage and just needed a tune up. We needed to hear some things we had forgotten. After many years together it is easy to fall into a rut or a bad routine or habit, and sometimes you just need someone to nudge you onto the right track again.

After a little more than six or seven sessions there was a remarkable improvement. Heck, after our first session there was improvement! Our counselor recommended a certain book for us, and I am kind of embarassed to say we had a copy already and once we started reading it, it helped. Seriously. We have had more meaningful, real conversations in the past two months than in the whole last year combined probably. We were making the effort to really hear one another again. In our last session, before Ryan started his SDA, we watched a DVD our counselor recommended. During the DVD Ryan had his arm around me and I held his hand. We all noticed how different it was from our first session when we were as far apart as possible on opposite ends of the couch.

Even though it hasn't been long, we are so much happier already. We communicate better... we hear each other more... and we have slowly started eliminating bad habits we formed together. We take responsiblity for our own actions and behaviors, we try and help each other when we have bad days, and we both love each other enough to fight for our marriage. We were never on the verge of divorce or anything, but we knew that our marriage could be better because it had been before. Once the newlywed glow fades and time goes on it is easy to forget you have to check in with one another. This SDA is not going to be easy, and we knew that going in to it, so we both felt very relieved that we were able to reconnect on this level before it started. We plan on going back for another session when his first training cycle is over, but just to check in. We already know we are on a better path at this point and have the tools to keep moving forward.

This isn't a quick fix. Your car still will always need an oil change after so many miles, but at least now we have the tools to do it ourselves next time. And if we keep up the regular maintenance, we will have less problems later.

If you are in a similar situation and a military couple, I highly recommend using these sessions from Military OneSource. Even if you aren't military, some insurances cover counseling for a certain amount of sessions. I am glad we did. And if blogging about it helps anyone else, than the point of writing this has been achieved. I blog to chronicle our lives, sure, but also to help other military spouses who find my blog randomly or who are even regular readers. So there you go... someone else who has been there in some capacity. Every couple has issues and every couple needs a tune up now and then. Go for it. As always, feel free to comment or email me if you have any other questions that I may be able to help with.

Thanks for reading.



PS - This is a non sponsored post and all opinions are my own. Military OneSource is a great resource that we happily used, but they are in no way responsible for the content of this post. Same with the book review on amazon, purely my own opinion.

Training Cycle 1 and Life Goes On

As many of you know, my husband recently began his new job as a combat instructor with MCT (Marine Combat Training) as part of SOI East (School of Infantry). We are well in to his first training cycle and things have definitely been an adjustment. The hours are crazy, some nights he doesn't come home at all (and I have my trusty 9 mil on standby) and when he does the poor guy eats, showers and sleeps. He is definitely exhausted and I am trying my best to help where I can. I make his coffee, grab snacks and things for him when I can, have the house clean and leftovers in the fridge, and I try and keep the noise level down when he is home and asleep. It is weird after how much time we spent together lately that we barely see each other any more, most of that time is just sleeping, and he is usually too busy to even answer a text during the day. Training cycles are 29 days straight, so we still have a bit left to go in this first cycle, but hopefully with each cycle things will get a little easier. I know Ryan is pretty worn out already so here is to hoping things get better on his end too.

I finally had my pre-op appointment on Wednesday for my gallbladder removal. I met with the nurse, anesthesiologist and got blood work done. In between my meetings with each of them my doctor's office called me. I listened to the voicemail and they basically were saying there was a scheduling problem and they were wondering if I could push my surgery back until February 4th. Oh. Heck. NO. I was literally AT my pre-op appointment! Since Ryan cannot take leave my mom is flying in to take care of me. I am already scheduled for the time off work and the surgery is a week away! The surgery THEY scheduled back in MID DECEMBER.

Needless to say I was not happy.

I called them back and basically told them no... I could not switch. I mentioned my mom was flying in, ticket already booked, and it was not possible for me to reschedule. The nurse said "Ok, we will see what we can do. We just wanted to check with you and see if it was possible."

Well, it isn't.

I have been sick since October. I waited a month to get a diagnosis. When I finally did get one I had to wait another month to even see a surgeon. Then when I finally saw him I had to wait a week for them to schedule the surgery. Then I had to wait another five weeks for said surgery. Meanwhile I have been sick this entire time. I have altered my diet, I have endured gallbladder attacks, been nauseous nonstop, missed out on holidays and delicious food with my family, ruined date nights, been throwing up/nauseous/in pain/on medicines and I am DONE. There is no way I am switching my surgery when I am a week away from it... even if it is only by another week. Sorry. Done.

Anyway, I am working this weekend and Monday and Tuesday. My mom flies in Tuesday night and then Wednesday morning is my surgery. If anything changes that the hospital will have one angry patient on their hands! I may sound ridiculous right now, but I am so tired of not feeling well. I really hope this surgery works. I want to be able to eat again without being worried it will make me horrendously sick. I miss cheeseburgers. I miss just ordering whatever I want at a restaurant. I miss having the ability to cook anything and eat anything without fear of getting horribly nauseous or throwing up. I really, really hope this works.

Send some good vibes my way if you can!

Ryan's SOI Instructor Graduation

Since I am a bit behind, Ryan graduated from SOI Instructor School a few weeks ago! For the past few months he has been learning all about what he will be doing for the next three years, instructing at MCT for the most part, and he has been working his tail off. Long hours and lots of PT in this course were only a preview in to what is actually ahead for his job! But I know he is going to be happy here. Grueling schedule aside, it is what my husband loves. Infantry related things and instructing Marines, two things I must say he really excels at. I have a feeling he will do so very well in this SDA. Here is to the next three years... I am so very proud of him.

 

 

This class of instructors was a bit smaller than normal... their next class is supposedly about four times as many Marines! Which is good, apparently they have been needing more instructors lately so these men and women are eagerly awaited!

Getting ready to graduate

 

YAY! So proud!

 

Reciting the Instructor's Creed

 After the ceremony there was a small lunch where we got to meet his new company (at least his new Chain of Command) and get some more information. They basically affirmed what we have heard all along, be prepared for some long long long days. We got this, no worries. Between the Dup and my trusty 9mil I am not worried about anything! It was nice to meet them though and get some information though.

 

Again, so very proud!

 Ryan's old boss (Master Sgt) came to the ceremony as well, which was so incredibly nice. We will defintiely miss the support we had in Ryan's old company, MSgt was pretty terrific, he and his wife even came with my husband to see me perform in Dracula! Hopefully we will be able to stay in touch with him and his wife, they truly are wonderful people.

 

Ryan is on leave for the holidays and will start with his new company in the new year. I work up until Christmas Eve then I have a few days off, work some more, then we have more time together for New Year's Eve, so I am really looking forward to the time we have together. It may be the last big break we get for some time!

 

And now, on to our next adventure! 

 

Date Night

This is one of the weekends I am working unfortunately. It hasn't been too bad for the most part except for a few angry base dress code violators... NOTE: There is a base dress code. Look it up if you're not familiar with it. Camp Lejeune's is pretty clear... if you want to wear a tank top it must have a two inch strap. No spaghetti straps, not halters, no tube tops, no rips or stains or tears or profanity. Period. You need to look classy and perhaps a little more covered than the 95 plus degree heat wants. I hate enforcing it but there is no need to yell at me because I am informing you and offering you a free clean tshirt to boot. /endrant.

 

Sorry. I got away from myself there!

 

Anyways.

 

I got a text from Ryan as soon as the library closed at 6. Normally when I get a Hey sweetie...? text he wants me to stop and pick up something on my way home or anything of that nature. Hence my very simple reply. But I was stunned at what followed.

 

 

A date??? Heck yes! He even asked what time he should pick me up. I told him 7:30. When I got home he was cleaning out the truck (!!) and in a suit. Wow! He promptly gave me a kiss then drove away saying he'd be back in a little more than an hour. I took a quick shower, did my hair and make up, painted my toes and threw on a little black dress I have been dying to have an excuse to wear for over a year now (it's from eShakti for all those who asked) and was ready just as the door bell rang.

 

I hurried out trying to avoid getting Dup Dup hair on my dress and was shocked to see Ryan standing there with flowers! Seriously!!

 

 

I put them in water and we got into the truck to head for our date. I asked him where we were going.

 

Ryan: I am taking you to the best Italian Restaurant in town.

*pause*
Me: Ryan.... are you taking me to Olive Garden dressed like this!?

 

Yes. Yes he was.

 

I had to laugh! I told him we may be a tad overdressed for Olive Garden but he shrugged it off. He said it is better to be overdressed than underdressed and I agreed, but I was a little self conscious for sure! We didn't have a long wait and when the waitress asked our special occassion we simply responded, Date Night.

 

We had a nice dinner and a drink or so and Ryan revealed he had movie tickets for us, already purchased. He said he wanted to get Jersey Boys tickets but the only later movie available was the new Transformers at 9:05. We had seen all the previous ones so that was fine by me! We enjoyed our dinner a little too much because I checked the time and it was 9:15! Oops.

I literally had to make him laugh to get him to give a real smile instead of his I'm smiling for a picture smile. Sad it came out blurry! But he looked so handsome!

We get into the movie at 9:25... and caught the last preview for the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie. Wow. Talk about long previews! We were nearly 20 minutes late for our movie and missed nothing.I snuggled under Ryan's suit jacket (I get cold in movies) and enjoyed the non stop action that was Transformers. The one review I saw of it said, "Within ten minutes the action starts and it is both stupidly epic and epically stupid and continues until the movie ends."

 

Truth.

 

Action action action humans are bad action action action redemption slightly action over.

 

In the form of about 2 and a half hours!

 

Ryan wanted us to walk around the fountain in the park but with my shoes it was just not happening, plus it was late and I had work today! We went home and walked around our cul-du-sac a bit before crashing in to bed around 1am.

 

It was a perfect date night (: 

Sick Week

On Monday I woke up feeling a little, well, off. I didn't have to work so I slept in until 9:30 but I woke up feeling like I barely slept at all. I had things to do so I did laundry, scrubbed the bathrooms and the kitchen and then went to go drop off Ryan's uniforms for dry cleaning and alterations. Once I got in the car I could not cool off. Yes it was hot out but even with my air conditioning blasting I still felt way too hot. My head started aching and my neck felt stiff and I was just exhausted. 

By the time I got home I went to lay down and by the time Ryan got home I felt positively awful. I had no appetite and everything just seemed to be making my body hurt. I started running a fever so I took four Advil, ate dinner and then felt a little better. We went to sleep that night and I woke up at 3:30am freezing cold. I woke Ryan up solely to use his body heat and finally fell back to sleep. In the morning I took four more Advil and I was suddenly too hot again. The whole drive to work I had the air conditioning blasting while Ryan diverted the vents and wisely said nothing about it.

I worked half a day before my manager told me to leave. I knew getting an appointment with my PCM would be impossible to I went to Urgent Care. They were not that helpful, diagnosing me with gastritis regardless of the fact I had no stomach symptoms aside from lack of appetite. The doctor told me if I had a fever again Wednesday to come back.

All night I was taking Advil and alternating from chills to sweats with a pounding headache. Wednesday I woke up with a fever of 101. Urgent Care didn't open until 10am so I dragged myself in there and when the doctor heard my symptoms he told me to go across the street to the ER. I wasn't thrilled about it but he said they could do blood work and diagnose me better, so off I went.

In the waiting room I got this stylish mask to wear since I had a fever and other "flu like" symptoms. Man those things are uncomfortable! Within an hour I was in the back seeing the first doctor who reminded me a lot of Doctor House from TV, very blunt and who, according to a nurse I later spoke to, gets at least three complaints a day! He looked right at me and said, "I think you have a viral infection. We will do some blood work and then you should be good." So I get my blood drawn and then the nurse asks me if I am ready to go to my room.

My room? I thought it was blood work then going home?

The next thing I know I am in an exam room in a hospital gown in a bed freezing my behind off.

Over the next several hours I spoke to another doctor and many nurses and basically got told they were worried I had meningitis. That was when I started to get scared. I knew Ryan had been busy at work and I didn't want to bug him (yea yea yea I know) and I was very happy when he walked into my room a few hours into my stay. It definitely made me feel better to see him, especially since I had no idea he was coming. They ran a CT scan, more blood work and started talking about the possibility of a lumbar puncture. Noooo thank you!

Luckily my CT scan looked normal and they hooked me up to an IV and many antibiotics. I was told I had to be hooked up to it for three hours or so and I felt pretty much ready to jump out of my skin at this point. I wanted to go home! Anxiety was hitting me pretty hard and Ryan was doing his best to make sure I didn't cry or jump out of that bed and run.... ok, roll out and try and low crawl probably would have been more accurate at that point! Well one Valium later I was calmed down and finally able to doze a bit with Ryan providing extra body heat in my uncomfortable bed as Friends played in the background. 

After an hour or so I woke up and sent Ryan to get some food since I knew he was hungry (I was but not allowed to eat) and tried to doze a little more. People kept coming in and checking things so that didn't work out too well but I was beginning to feel better with the medicine and the fluids. My CT scan came back looking good and the doctor essentially told me he didn't think I had meningitis. Now was he 100% sure? Of course not, Doctors can never claim such a thing, so he said if I wanted the lumbar puncture they'd do it. Since I obviously did not want a giant needle in my back I declined. He told me then once my IVs were done I could go. If my fevers were not under control with medication, the headache got worse or I had confusion, blurry or double vision or a rash then I had to come back to the ER and get the lumbar puncture done. Deal.

My blood pressure was low at this point so they added more fluids while I watched Thor as Ryan returned. We watched the movie together until my IVs finished and my blood pressure went back up to normal... ish.

My husband never, ever takes pictures, so I do not know what possessed him to want to take one at this moment, but his comment while doing so made it, "You're gonna get discharged from the ER, but first, lemme take a selfie..." And although you can't see it through the mask very well, he definitely had me smiling.

Which with everything else considered, is pretty amazing.

How could you not love someone like that? I love him for showing up, unasked, taking care of me (I don't like to make a fuss but within ten minutes of him being there I had a pillow :P) and making me laugh. We went home with four prescriptions of what I like to call 'loopy drugs' and me looking forward to my own bed. And food since I thought I was hungry. Ryan got me some of my favorite Japanese food and after a few bites I was full, IVs will do that to you, and I happily passed out in my own bed.

Thankfully today I feel much better. For the first time this week I do not have a fever, which in itself is heavenly, and my headache and neck pain are getting much better. The loopy drugs are helping and I hope after today I won't really need them. I have a follow up appointment with my PCM tomorrow, which I in some miracle managed to book after only five minutes on the phone, and I am finally hopeful things are on the up. I am even looking forward to hopefully going back to work Saturday, something you never normally expect to hear ;)

If I can go the rest of my life never being in an ER again, I will be a happy camper. The nurses and doctors were great, but the waiting and waiting and worrying was exhausting!

Ok, back to my chick flick movie marathon. Thank you to everyone who reached out to me with well wishes, I really really appreciate them more than you know.

Lately... In Pictures

(Um, so, awkward... this was supposed to be published two weeks ago but I must have saved it as a draft by mistake. Oops. So excuse the double postings today.)

Things have been pretty average around these parts lately. Just normal day to day things. I did get a promotion at work (yay!) so I'm now an NF-2 working in reference as of this week. Couple that with a raise and full time hours and I'm a happy camper. It will still be an adjustment, my schedule is not set 7:30-4 anymore but anytime open to close, but we will make it work. 

Last week an old coworker of mine visited with her five month old daughter. She was cute and this text with my husband happened. Snuggle was supposed to be snuggly but my autocorrect didn't like it. Ryan thought it was hilarious.  

Lots of new restaurants are opening around here and doing FREE trials! One was Noodles & Company, which I loved in DC, so my friend Donna and I got a free entree, drink and dessert sampler! I love their pad Thai!

 

Ryan surprised me further last Friday when he remembered it was Military Spouse Appreciation Day. I came home to a six pack of ciders he built me, flowers and Reese's. That man knows the way to my heart for sure!

That night some friends of mine were in a performance of Who Killed the Kilt and I nearly died when my friends spotted Ryan and dragged him onstage to be in a part with audience participation. He was a good sport! Of course he blames me but I knew nothing about it! ;)

So things are moving along here. We're waiting to hear if Ryan's package for his SDA/B-Billet will be approved but it may be months before we know for sure. Fingers crossed and prayers please if you can spare them!

Military Spouse Appreciation Day

To all the wonderful Military Spouses out there, I just wanted to say thank you. To my blogging friends, thank you for getting me through some of my lowest lows and celebrating my highest highs. To my real life military spouse friends, thanks for the drinks, the movie nights and the general gripe sessions you've endured at my side. I never realized when I met my husband that being a "military spouse" would become a part of my identity, but it has. Now, don't get me wrong, I take no credit for anything my husband does... he does his job and he does it damn well. I am proud of him and his accomplishments... and that is what they are. His. But I am proud to be on this journey with him.

Sometimes that means spending a holiday or a birthday or anniversary alone. Sometimes that means going to Walmart at midnight to get baby wipes so he can "shower" in the field. Sometimes it means living 3,000 miles apart for nine months while he goes to school and you hold down your "good" job and save money to buy your first house. Sometimes it means a tearful goodbye knowing he is deploying for the next 6-8 months. But it also means cherishing every moment we have. It means enjoying each holiday, from Thanksgiving to Saint Patrick's Day, in case you are apart next year. It means long, bone crunching hugs and sweet kisses that have to either last awhile or make up for lost time. It means phone calls long into the night ignoring the fact that you have work in four hours. It means your heart skips a beat when you unexpectedly get a text message or an email. It means having so many first kisses that you lose count.

There is something to be said for being a military spouse. They are some of the strongest, kindest and most adaptable people I have ever had the honor of knowing. Near and far I am proud to consider them my friends. Thank you. Thank you for being there for me when I needed you, for advice when I was lost, and for just listening when it was necessary. I appreciate every one I have met and I know these relationships will last a long time. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Losing Wisdom

Teeth that is! I hope the lack of two ugly little teeth doesn't make me any less wise. As I sit here and eat my macaroni and cheese I am very glad this weekend is over and I wish it was next month already so these darn holes can be a distant memory. I hate the dentist so I was definitely overly freaked out before my appointment. Since sedation is too expensive on our insurance they prescribed me Valium to take an hour before we left. I noticed nothing. My husband came home from work early and we had some Bojangles and watched Doctor Who until it was time to go. When he looked at me and said "Ok, time to go!" I may or may not have burst into tears!

Normally whenever I go to the dentist I am in their waiting room an average of two minutes before going back. Today naturally was the day I was in there nearly an hour waiting to be seen, hyperventilating all the way. My poor husband was so angry (not at me, on my behalf) when they finally took me back. He came with me, actually he had no choice I death gripped his hand, and of course when I saw the chair I burst into tears again. The hygienist calmed me down and explained we were just doing an xray first... which was fine. Then they put on a DVD about after care for us both to watch before adding my choice, Back to the Future, which we had with us. They also made me have another Valium from my purse!

After that the nitrous gas had to go on and Ryan had to leave the room. I have to say I calmed down quite a bit once that stuff started flowing! I watched my movie until the dentist came in and gave me the numbing shots (the ones on the top of the mouth hurt!) and I fought sleeping. I did not want to fall asleep and have them just yank my teeth out! I only had two upper wisdom teeth, one was slightly impacted but the other was in. Suddenly the dentist is back with a pointy tool and telling me to open my mouth.

I think I may have yelled, "Oh my God are you going to do it now!?" but it didn't seem that loud to me... oops. He patiently nodded and said I would just feel some pressure. I took some deeeeeep breaths of the gas and let him take the teeth. I honestly only felt pressure and it was over in about two minutes. Both extractions were "easy" and I needed no stitches or anything of the sort. I got to see them too, ugly little buggers they were!  

Ryan came back after that while I breathed in some oxygen and chomped on gauze. Whew. I felt a little shaky but not too bad, I was still pretty hazy and I think the Valium at this point kicked in. Joy. He dropped me off at home and got me into bed and changed out my gauze and gave me some water. Luckily I still have my portable DVD player so he set me up in bed and went off to get my pain pills and soft things to eat.  

 My husband was awesome over the next few days. As you can see he crossed off and highlighted things on the sheet from the dentist to keep track of my care. I was surprised to see how thorough he was, but as a Marine I cannot expect any less! ;)

 This was right after I got home and Ryan went to the store. He even let The Dup come up and cuddle with me while I watched Because I Said So. Truth be told I fell asleep before he got back but he woke me up for some pain pills which I love him for. I then napped more. That was pretty much my first day; pain pills, chick flicks and jello.

 I was worshiping Jello the first day. (And watching Under the Tuscan Sun) By the second day I was hungry and wanted real food darnit.

 Awesome husband went to both McDonalds and ChickfilA to get me soft serve vanilla ice cream. That stuff was absolutely amazing to my jello and pudding filled stomach! Saturday I was in bed mostly but I did shower and try and take ibuprofen instead of my pain pills. Sunday I was moving around and on the couch and allowed to have soup! Yay soup! Ryan also took pity on me and made me a bacon egg and cheese sandwich since I promised to be mega careful.

Monday I was still swollen, but I was up and dressed and trying! I swish with salt water and keep the holes clean (with the special tool Ryan got for free from the Walgreens pharmacist since the dentist didn't give me one) and I am just trying to ignore the holes in the back of my mouth. I did overdo it last night and make stir fry for us and got rice caught back there..... poor husband had to use the tool and salt water to free it. Sigh. No crunchy things or rice for this girl for a little longer. I think at this point I am not going to get dry socket unless I do something really stupid so hooray for that!

I am still a little sore but I did venture out of the house finally. I went grocery shopping and to get gas as well as going to work on a project tonight. Yesterday I made myself keep moving and did laundry and vacuuming and dusting because I am a nut and needed my house cleaner than it was.

So thank you husband for putting up with a neurotic, pain killer popping wife for a few days and being a darn good caregiver. I'd offer to do the same but you are like normal people and had your wisdom teeth out in high school. Sigh. I'll get you in other ways I am sure!

Short version: I had teeth ripped out of my mouth and it sucked but I survived. Soft serve vanilla ice cream was involved as was an amazing husband. (: