Blondie's Pringles ~ Coco, Lexi, Crash & Psycho

So the decision was completely up to Carl, because Xena was his babygirl, and I know no-one else in the world can ever replace her... but he has always wanted to raise a baby dragon, seeing as how 3 of our 4 are rescues, and adults when we took them in...

So darn if they aren't totally like, well as fresnowitte says, P-R-I-N-G-L-E-S-!

So Carl picked out his baby... it'll take a little while to name her, we have to see her personality. Welcome into our hearts, little one... almost 14 inches / 166 grams / crazy hyper personality so far ...

As soon as we got her out of the packaging, she made a bee-line for my son's leg & pancaked out, so CJ got the first real snuggles, he's my little seatwarmer:

Look at that sweet face:

Ooh, soft, what's this?

Yum, salad... nom nom nom...

Hey, lady, I cleaned my plate, can I have more?...

Oh, wait, ...
um, what else was I gonna say? ...
Oh, yeah,

There's MORE!

I had to crop that first picture, look really closely...

did you look really really close?
???
Really?

Barbara was worrying about finding this little guy a special home, and Carl fell in love with him/her too... so he's our "little guy/gal"... Quasi now looks huge, and Crash looks like Godzilla compared to these two!

So meet little guy / 60 grams / 11 inches ... so laid back, just watches everything going on, and eats and eats and eats (hand-fed salad today :mrgreen: )

Just a little stress going from Cali to Ohio...

Bath time! This little one loves to swim already!

Ooh, what's this?

Ooh, what's up here -- slowly progressed up the branches, then just watched us and all the activity in the room for about an hour...

 

[blondie098]

I am always reassured in mankind with the things you do for people. I love the fact that life will never harden your heart. :love5:

its very hard not to let it sometimes (people being stinkers making me a meanie) ... but I just gotta be me, LOL and I think this will be a touching gift nearer Christmas when her heart has healed some...

Off to help hubby try and get comfy and not in tears -- its going to be a long weekend, we're already sleep deprived, but his pain is excruciating (for those not on my FB list, hubby's permanent back injury seized further today, after sitting on all the hard surfaces for so long spending these last weeks at the hospital... docs really cannot do anything, so there's a huge ER visit bill that I didn't need, but I was afraid he was throwing a clot, like DVT (deep vein thrombosis), and I wasn't going to let him leave me that easily, he's stuck with me LOL)

 

[beardie parents]

Dawn, I hope Carl's back feels better. I have to massage Bill's back a lot as he's had back injuries in the past from various things. We have to go to our chiropractor as often as we can afford it, it's best to go once a month. It does help as do the stretching exercises she gave us to do. Have you ever thought about going to one? We've found they are more effective and cheaper, at least for us. I don't know what Carl's back injuries are from so I don't know if a good chiropractor would help him but we've noticed it's more helpful then that "S" word (surgery).

 

[blondie098]

Lori, he's not a surgical candidate because of too much damage:
4 herniated discs;
2 bulging discs;
9 damaged from DDD (degenerative disc disease, very little disc matter left)
canal stenosis
spondylosis
bone spurs throughout
internal tear to disc at L3-4
annular tears to discs at L5-S1 and L2-3

unfortunately there is more, but those are the gist of the injury, you get the point -- there are days when he can barely walk.

I, being intrigued by ayurvedic and natural medicine, a/ make him eat right most of the time b/ try and help him stretch when he can tolerate it c/ be his advocate when pain is just too much to deal with people d/ let him be as independent as he can, but be there at all times because sometimes even trying to stretch his back, it opens the internal tear, and drops him to his knees instantly with excruciating pain.

 

[beardie parents]

It sounds like his back is worse than Bill's. My brother has back problems similar to his. He was told that he can't have those titanium disks put in because he has 3 really bad spinal disks and they can only do 2. He's a cowboy and that job is what has caused his back injuries. I sympathize with Carl and you. That's not something easy to deal with. When we are shopping, Bill needs to sit after a while because it's so hard for him to stand a long time. I imagine it's the same with Carl. We talked to my brother about chiropractics but he said it's to late for that for him. He could have done chiropractics all along but he had two kids that came first. Unfortunately I never had human children of my own so we adopted beardies and they've been our kids.

 

[blondie098]

yeah, basically he's not a surgical candidate because it would take 5 surgeries to do the artificial discs. Only can do 2 at a time, thank you FDA regs... if my insurance would pay for the surgery in the UK, I'd have him there in a heartbeat. Its nearly 100K per disk... x9... yeah, let me just write you a check for that, mister doctor... LOL

 

[fresnowitte]

its very hard not to let it sometimes (people being stinkers making me a meanie) ... but I just gotta be me, LOL

AMEN!!! :wink: :mrgreen: :love5:

Hope that your family can get some rest this weekend, but I have a feeling that's not really gonna happen till this is all over and dealt with....Much strength dear! You are gonna need it....but I have more faith in you than I have in many...you are a gift and a blessing to all lives that you touch and don't you forget it. :headbang:

I'm sending you all the extra strength I can muster up and all my love and prayers.

Hope Carl is out of pain soon....***positive thoughts***

 

[blondie098]

one of my greatest friends (known her since we were teenie boppers, she lost her husband 4 years ago to cancer)... well, her hubby had bought a funky industrial massager thingy from a chiropractor... needless to say, she brought that over, so maybe I can get some of his sciatic pinch released to relieve some more of his pain. I wish I didn't have such problems with my arthritis, but these last couple years, it has more than doubled the weakness and pain, so there are many days I have the strength of a 4 year old instead of an adult...

I have him packed in ice... about 7 pillows of all shapes and sizes to prop knee, hip, head, whatever he needs... and his pain doc for his back reluctantly called in just a couple tablets of Flexeril... that has his pain down to about a 7, and blessedly I just heard a soft snore... I already have a fresh pot of coffee brewing... and just got a hot shower while the kids tended to his needs... I feel somewhat rejuvenated after the hot shower, so bring it on... what's another long night... sleep? meh don't remember what that is :shock:

I'm camping out next to his recliner on the livingroom floor... I'll doze as needed...

BTW he has mysterious bruising on his thigh, I am keeping an eye on it, I am still not convinced that a blood clot isn't involved here.

 

[fresnowitte]

Darlin' I'm sure you know Carl better than anyone or even more than he does himself....so keep a close eye on that.

Hope you can get some rest posted on the floor....It's good he's snoring at least he's getting some rest.

Hugs!

 

[sweetiepie9]

OMG, I'm so sorry to hear about THAT PERSON and what he's putting you all through & for what Carl is going through with his back. Glad he got some pain meds & that he's sleeping, that will help. He's so lucky to have you, that helps him a great deal, too. As for your arthritis, have you tried to take Serreptase? (sp). I've been taking it and it's helping me already. If I have a big flare, like this am when I could hardly move, then I top it up with coated aspriin. I've found it helps, have osteo-arthritis in all my joints, so they sometimes throb, especially when it's humid, like it's been at your end. doesn't help arthritis at all. So sending lots of love & healing strength to the both of you, you're going to need it!

I'm so glad that Carl, his sis and her husband are all together about their dad's things. I can't stand what that person is doing. And Gina's right, the will that you f-i-l made is legal in any court. Also that car can't just be taken, it has to go through probate & it goes to whoever your f-i-l designated in his will. Those instructions have to be followed by law, do you have a copy of it? or is that person keeping it close to his chest. He's not allowed to touch anything in your f-i-l's home until that will has been read to all who are mentioned in the will. That's by law. Is there a lawyer that you know that can help you without charging you an arm & a leg? I wish you luck with all that. When Roger died, I was lucky that he had nothing and that his family wasn't involved, they're another bunch of vultures & are out of my life now, thank goodness!

The quilt idea is precious & your s-i-l will thank you forever for that keepsake, it will be one of a kind, as all your quilts are. You are a wonderful person, you have such a great heart, so I'll hope you do get all his clothes to choose from. Good luck with everything, Dawn, and keep us updated as time goes by. Wish Carl the best & that his back doesn't seize up too badly. Also hope that bruise isn't what you think it is. Guess it's time to get him to his doc?

Take care, hugs to you all, love
Deb

 

[blondie098]

its 6:15 and I'm wiped already... Met with Carl's sis at dads house today, it was supposed to be this:
(that person)
sis
Carl
...
read hand-written will, then go from there.

well, (that person) is holding a grudge because sis told them last night that "this wasn't being handled properly, it should be her and my husband making all the decisions, and sis felt dad had been coerced into things at the end"... (i agree) ... anyway, (that person) has that hand-written will, and decided to not show today, and instead of just letting it rest, they also decided to send over a bunch of family members that were not entitled to stuff, and told them "oh, Richard wanted you to have this, and you there to have that,..." SO, the drunk uncle starts packing up the flatscreen tv and blueray and movies and surroundsound and and and... it only got worse from there, I won't go into too many details.

Sis decided just let them be vultures, she and Carl had a few items set aside that they desired, ... (she said we will deal with the will later when we can retreive it)

Ugh. My kids have inherited a very large fish tank because no one else wanted to "deal with it" -- if you've ever had a large tank, you know how my next few hours went to get it moved across town... I just got soaked trying to catch a huge plecosthamus (sp?) so you really don't want to be downwind of me...

There were no fist fights, thank goodness, but we got to see firsthand how greedy people are, and can make our own decision of who we want to keep relationships with (I'm sure you have a clue that that is a very small group now).

I'm off to scrub until my fingers fall off, got hubby somewhat comfortable, and have some milk crates on the porch for him to browse thru when he feels up to it... BTW even the distanced step son, whom has not shown any interest in the fam for well over 7 years... he tells me that he wanted Carl to have tools... then proceeds to start loading up his truck. what a shame. just what a shame.

 

[sweetiepie9]

It's so sad when families act like this, not showing any respect for your f-i-l, nor Carl or his sister. I'll bet that list of family members you want to keep in touch with is getting small. I'm hoping you get your hands on the will, which should have been read to the family after your f-i-l passed away. I"m so sorry this happened. The same thing happened to Roger, he borrowed $ to get down to Las Vegas when he found out his dad was in hospice from cancer. He was so glad he got to spend 2 weeks with him. When his dad passed away, the 2 sisters grabbed everything & didn't share at all; Roger never talked to them again...so sad.

Is Carl feeling a little better after your tender loving care on his back? I saw more details in your Facebook, hope he is feeling better & glad you got his recliner stabilized, I know that didn't help his back or your blood pressure any.

Hope things get sorted, but glad you got some mementos of his dad.
Lots of hugs & prayers,
Deb

 

[blondie098]

Deb, I am so lucky to have LOW blood pressure... LOL 68/90 was actually high for me last time I was in to see doc LOL...

Yes, I have Carl semi-comfortable at the moment, at least he is dozing in/out as his pain lets him drift off... CJ fell asleep on the loveseat, so Carlye and I are setting up the fishtank now... we're tired, but gotta get it done. I have posted pics of the tank progress on my FB

 

[sweetiepie9]

Glad to hear I know someone else who never has high blood pressure! I was figureatively speaking, though, because I know this situation is getting to you, but I also know where your heart lies & what your priorities are & I'm glad Carl's sis & husband feel the same way.

Hope Carl feels even better tomorrow & that your hands aren't as painful. Good luck with the fish tank (why haven't you woken CJ up to help?)

Have a good night, you and Carlye, will go see the fish tank.
Deb

 

[blondie098]

Deb, its not worth trying to wake him up... he could sleep under a blaring tornado siren, and still have pleasant dreams. When he was little, at almost 7:30 on the dot he would just curl up wherever he was and go to sleep. Seriously, it was like clockwork. And once he was out, he's out for the night. We could move him around 4-5 times and he won't budge, instead he answers with a snorty snore. LOL

 

[sweetiepie9]

Oh my, sounds like what Eric was like when he was younger. He's 28 now & I think he still sleeps like a log!