Sorry for the long silence there

Hey there. I know it's been a while but I have a good reason for my absence. A very good reason! I've been busy.
I finally got an official diagnosis for my body aches and I am proud to say that it's not Fibro Myalgia or something long term. It's mono. It's just stupid mono. The kissing disease. No, I haven't been kissing anybody unless you can count the smooches I give the boys when I tuck them in at night.
Yes, mono is contagious. No, the doctor doesn't think I need to have the boys tested unless they begin to show symptoms, and oddly enough they seem okay.
The only thing that has really been bothering me the last few days is a toothache. My gosh, I just can't catch a break from all these aches and pains. Toothaches and tooth pain in general is very under rated. You never really grasp the whole toothache concept until it's your tooth that is aching, and then suddenly you are reminded of just how excruciating and evil toothaches are. It's Satan having a ball in you mouth and he brought all Hell with him.
Turns out, my toothache is coming from an abscessed tooth. I had a root canal done years ago and had a crown put in place. Well, according to the dentist who saw me last Friday (and the dentist who performed said root canal), I will need to see a specialist because the canal that was done was not done done deep enough, and now--years later-- I have an infection. Oh goody. More dental work.
Something you should know about me. I'm a total sissy when it comes to the dentist. I kid you not! I have been known to cry and shake involuntarily just to get a cleaning. I have serious dentist-phobia. I'm scared to death of having to do anything dental. My dislike for the dentist is up there with my repulsion for laundry and cock roaches. I very seriously dislike the dentist and that reclining chair of fear, but I cannot live with this mouth pain any longer. I have been taking unbelievable amounts of Lortab to find relief, and I don't like the side effects of Lortab, but really, it's time to pick my poison, know what I mean?
So tomorrow I will giving this "specialist" a call. I need to get this taken care of and soon.  I'm almost out of pain killers and the antibiotics I am taking are like...HUGE! I can't believe they make pills this big! It looks like a toy pill. You know, like it was made too big on purpose because its a toy or something? But this pill is real. I swear, I'm gonna go measure this thing. I bet it's like a whole square inch or something. It's ridiculous.

Anyway, the benefit of being on these pain killers is that I haven't felt the body aches in a while. Eight days to be exact. Ha ha ha!! Take THAT you stupid body aches! (I don't know why I said that.)

The boys are doing well pretty much. I was recently instructed to have my middle son discontinue taking his stimulant ADHD medication for two days because his Tourretts was creeping back in. When the doctor told me to stop giving him the medication (Concerta) I was like, huh? What about school? I guess he won't be going to school then? And nope, he didn't. He can't go to school UNmedicated. He won't sit in his chair. He will roll on the floor. He won't pay attention to the teacher. He will hum nonstop and completely tune her out. He will be a huge distraction for his poor teacher and all his classmates. It's a good thing I have good communication with his teacher. I was able to explain all this to her without having to explain it too much. It's a good thing she is an understanding woman, because to have my kid stay at home for two days when technically he's not "sick" is for some teachers unacceptable.
He has started on a new medication called Focalin. I still need to Google this medication and do my reading about it, but it's another stimulant drug that is made for ADHD. So he is taking the very lowest dose of the stimulant medication as well as a non-stimulant medication called Strattera. All this because he has ADHD AND Tourrets, and if you have ADHD AND Tourrets it's hard to find a medication that fits "just right". You see, the stimulant medication will controle the ADHD, but it will make the Tourrets symptoms exaggerated. Almost worse. So my son has to take the very lowest dose of stimulant medication out there, and unfortunatly it usually isn't enough to control his ADHD symptoms. That's why the non-stimulant is added. Of course you may be wondering why can't he just take the non-stimulant only? Well, it's not enough to control the symptoms either. Of course not. That would be too easy. That would make this whole ADHD medication thing a breeze, and we can't have that now can we???
So I have been able to witness my boy unmedicated for the past couple of days and Whew! I had forgotten about a few things he does when unmedicated. For example, he chews on his shirts. No joke, he will eat a hole through his shirt like a little mouse. And he bounces All. The. Time. Did I mention he bounces all the time? Well, he bounces all. the. time. It's like he has springs on the bottom of his feet. Have you ever seen the movie Flubber? The boys on the basketball team are just bouncing all over the court high and fast. That's my son. Just boing, boing, boing everywhere. He simply cannot hold still. And the impulsitivity. Wowsers!! He doesn't think about anything first, he just does it. That's all there is to it.
On the plus side though, he ate. He ate and ate and ate! He ate so much that first day I was shocked his stomach didn't explode. Maybe I should include medication holidays more often? That being said, I think I can only handle a medication holiday if it's done one kid at a time. To have all kids unmedicated at the same time is like shooting myself in the foot. Stupid and painful. So maybe I will start having them take it in turns? Hmm...we'll see.

Anyway, I need to get off here and head to bed, but one last thing before I go. I am happy to announce that I am officially registered for the Susan G. Komen, Race For The Cure 3K coming up in May. I will be running for my mother. I have felt so helpless in knowing that my mother is going through chemotherapy for breast cancer and here I am so many states away and unable to even give her a hug. I love you, mom!! You are so brave and so strong! I rest easy at night because I know my mother has an angel watching over her night and day. My step dad is quite possibly the most amazing man. He guards over her and takes care of her and I thank God she has him in her life. She has an amazing team of support all around her actually. She is going to make it through this, I have faith.
You never know how strong you are till it's the only choice you have. I love you, mom!
Go!
Fight!
WIN!