Back to Work

Back in January, M had an accident at work. While the accident itself and resulting concussion were not serious, it caused an unfortunate side effect and M was left stuttering and stammering with every word he spoke. We spent three weeks going to doctors, having CT and MRI scans performed, talking with HR representatives, and just trying to figure out what was going on. The entire time M was off on Worker's Comp. leave because he could not perform his duties as a sale's representative.

A month after the accident we were sent to a neuro-specialist at the U of U. After a quick examination we were finally able to understand what had happened to M's speech. It's a rare anomaly called Conversion. Essentially, when the brain is injured it immediately starts to repair the damage. In conversion, the brain will re-route the damaged area through non-damaged areas. In M's case, the blow was to the crown of his head, but the re-routing happened to go through his speech processing area causing him to stutter and stammer.  M was sent to speech therapy for a month.

Now, two and a half months after the accident, M is finally able to return to work part-time. The neuro-specialist and HR reps. were reluctant to have him start working again because he still stutters and stammers when highly stressed, and his job can be highly stressful at times. However, M is determined to go back to work and forget this ever happened. He has been want to forget it since it happened back in January and is excited to go back to work.

I will say, it will be nice to have a larger paycheck coming in. Worker's comp. insurance does pay for his time at home, but it is only 66% of his salary. Things have been a bit tight. Other than the money, I have enjoyed spending so much time with M and having him help with J.

M and J have developed a routine that will be very difficult for J to loose when M is gone. Whenever it is time for J to sleep, naps and bedtime, he will fall asleep on or next to M. It has gotten to the point that J will not go to sleep unless M or I, usually M, are laying down with him. It's cute, but I do not look forward to crying that will ensue when M is not home...

10 Questions Every Mother Asks

For the past 10 months I have been a SAHM. I love it. It is hard and can be extremely frustrating, but it is the best job I’ve ever had. From time to time I find myself asking questions. Some are repetitive and some are just downright funny. Here is a list of my favorites.

1. Can’t I have five minutes to myself? And not in the bathroom.

2. Do we really need to watch this again? ‘Nough said.

3. How did you do that? These things don’t happen if I start pounding on the keyboard. I’ve been trying to figure out how to do that for months.

4. Where did you find that? I didn’t even know we had one of those.

5. Why do you cry every time I go into the bathroom? You’ve ignored me for the past hour, why do you suddenly need me?

6. Why is there peanut butter in my ear? I can understand it being in your ear, but why mine?

7. Why won’t you take a nap if you’re tired? You know you’re tired. I know you’re tired. The neighbors across the street know you’re tired. Just go to sleep!

8. You’re ten months old, how can you destroy the entire room so quickly? I literally just finished picking up after you and now it’s a mess… again.

9. You’ve done it by yourself 50 times in a row, why do you suddenly need my help? Fine, I will help you.

10. How can you cause so much frustration and still be so cute that I forgive you as soon as you smile? I can’t resist that adorable smile!

6 Laundry Tips (learned from a pro)

I started cleaning my own laundry as a teenager. I thought I knew everything there was to know about cleaning clothes. I had been taught by my Mom, how could I go wrong? Separate the darks, lights, colors, delicates, etc. Measure the correct amount of detergent. Using fabric softener dryer sheets when running the dryer was the best way to control static. Only air dry things that you don’t want to shrink, otherwise it can be thrown in the dryer.

I was so wrong. I didn’t realize how wrong I was until I married an appliance salesman. It was a slow learning process for me. Mainly because I am extremely stubborn and HATE to admit that I might be wrong about something. Here are a few of the things I have learned over the years that have helped me and my clothes.

1.       Loose the dryer sheets. They are very dangerous for your dryer. The fabric soften in the dryer sheets clogs the lint vents. Clogged vents lead to overheating. Lint and clothes are very flammable. Flammable objects and overheating machines start fires. Loose the dryer sheets!

2.       Always, always, ALWAYS clean out the lint screen. Again, when the screen is clogged it causes the machine to overheat which can start fires. And it helps your next load dry faster.

3.       Use the proper washing cycle. If you are washing your bedspread, put the washer on the bedding cycle. Modern machines are programmed to run differently on each setting. More/less water, hotter/colder water, faster/slower spinning cycle, longer/shorter rinse cycle. Delicate loads can’t handle the same wash cycle as your t-shirts and jeans. 

4.       Use the minimum amount of detergent. I was raised to believe that the more laundry detergent you used the better (as long as it all rinsed out). Not True! I have a High Efficiency front load washer. I had it for 3 years before I realized that I was putting in twice the amount of detergent than it needed (and what I had been using was less than half the amount I needed for the top load coin-op machines I used in college). It not only waists detergent and money, but it causes your machine to smell. 

5.       Run a monthly cleaning cycle. Pop in one or two machine cleaning tablets and run a cleaning cycle at least once a month. Remember how I used too much detergent? Well, using too much causes it to build-up on the inside of the machine and mildew. GROSS! Once I started using the correct amount of detergent and cleaning the machine regularly, no more stinky machines!

6.       Liquid fabric softener is fabulous! I missed used the dryer sheets. My clothes were always full of static and I really missed the fresh clean smell. So I broke down and bought the cheapest bottle of liquid fabric softener. It not only gave me the soft, fresh clothes I missed, but it also got rid of the excess static without clogging my dryer’s lint screen.

Don't be afraid to go and ask questions from an appliance salesperson. Their job is to have all the latest info on the machines they sell. Although, I would suggest talking with a NON-commission salesperson (less stress for them and you). While most stores sell on commission (Sears, Best Buy, Furniture stores, and specialty shops) box stores are usually non-commission (Lowes, HomeDepot, etc.).