Robin's Nest

 If I have heard those words once I have heard them a hundred times and it still doesn't mean it actually happened. Sitting by the pool this evening, DH started discussing a door at the south end of the house. This is not new, well it sort of isn't new, we have discussed on a number of occasions that there should be a door at the south end. I do not bring up that the floor plan originally chosen had that. I want to, but I don't. Still the conversation took a turn for an argument. Maybe because I am tired, maybe because dementia sometimes wants to argue and maybe just because what he says was discussed never was. Today I went to visit with SIL, and we put together some furniture and visited and hung more stuff on the wall. I asked if she wanted to call some family or some friends. She declined she said she was still trying to settle in and get adjusted. When I first arrived, she was super happy not in a clingy way, just greeted me and asked if I had heard the news. I said no...

 Today I tried a new approach to the "SIL" situation. I thought at first, I would take her shopping and then I thought better of the idea and decided to pick up what I could remember from her list and just give her a 30-minute warning that I needed to leave to go to work. It seemed in my little pea-sized brain that she would get the concept that I needed to go to work, and she might understand that she could not go to my work. We unpacked her groceries and I put the things that she decided were no longer good to eat into a bag to take to the chickens. I then called a friend of hers for her to talk to since the friend had called several times this week. I noted that she could not carry on a conversation without being prompted with what the correct response to a question would be. The person who called had recently lost her husband and although SIL had been told of the loss it has not registered. Her friend asked mostly yes/no questions and that went okay. When left to respond ...

 After bringing SIL home for the night and the next morning, I realized just how much time I spend focused on keeping her safe. She was in the same room with me all. day. long. Except for sleeping, I had her with me. Why might you ask? Partly, for safety, when I went outside, she would follow, tripping every few steps on her own feet and the unlevel ground. Yet if she was left inside there were dangers there also. She has poor safety awareness. A watermelon on the counter was a game of hide and seek. Okay that sounds weird, let me explain.  When SIL first came to live here she was pretty immobile. She could not make her legs work so she stayed mainly in her room. As she became a little more adventurous, she also became more delusional. Most of my good knives and scissors lived on magnetic strips in the kitchen. I had DH hang another strip in the laundry area so that all really dangerous sharps could be kept out of reach. I also insisted that he install a locking handle on the ...

 Sometime before 0115 SIL made it out the sliding glass door. The door has never functioned correctly as far as shutting tight enough to lock and it wouldn't matter anyway, she can open almost any lock in her current state of mind. Yesterday while I babysat the youngest grandchild, she was very "antsy", I felt like something was brewing. There were moments of clarity for her, but not lucidity. This happens every time we go out of the house. The night progressed much as any other night, sundowners, minimal food eaten at dinner, panic over the pills being taken wrong, the usual things that happen each night. I put the dogs into the kennels and SIL into bed and went to get ready for bed myself. Once ready for bed I looked at DH and said I feel abandoned when you are here and yet you are not. He didn't understand. I didn't explain. After saying goodnight, I mentioned that I had a feeling that I would be awoken in a couple of hours. He said Well, you better get some sl...

 Monday morning and so much to do! Price checking, laundry, showers, Oh my goodness! I'm tired already! There are still carpets to clean (dogs had multiple accidents last night) dogs to bathe, naps for a little and SIL, oh yes and meals prepare. Yep, I'm tired! As DH heads out the door he and the youngest fuss, nothing new there! ADHD meets ADHD head-on every time. The 30 seconds of quiet after they all leave is quickly interrupted by a barrage of questions from SIL. It was nice while it lasted. Much to my surprise, SIL went to her chair willingly and wanted to rest. Maybe this Monday will be different! Nope, baby just started screaming, things are normal. After both parties getting a morning nap and the dogs having yet another accident in the house, I gave both of them lunch, bathed one dog, sprayed the carpet and covered it with a towel. While I was changing the baby, SIL let the dogs outside into 43-degree weather, even the wet one, they lived, (life got busy, it is now Tues...

 It is the Wednesday after the baby's party and we are still in a state of dementia and disorientation that cannot be riveled by anything other than the full blown out episodes of delusions that we have had at times over the past three months. I probably did not help things last night by deciding to clean the pantry and rearrange all the cupboards. This cupboard used to hold a whole lot of half gallon mason jars with assorted baking contents. The small appliances weigh quite a bit less and I don't use them often enough to worry about having to use the ladder to get them. This cupboard used to be piled even higher, so this is an improvement The mason jars landed in here and the baking cupboard moved to the laundry room, yes, the laundry room. It seems that SIL has a sweet tooth in the wee hours of the morning, and she managed to find the chocolate chips, the sprinkles, the Hershey kisses. Funny, she left the red hots alone! But I felt with her being a diabetic it would be best t...

  It was a good day to try something else. So, I tried my hand at a different donut recipe. It was, eh, so-so, I mean as far as donuts go. I have definitely had better. The ones that I cut into the traditional donut shape cooked a little too long as they were very dark. It just seemed like they were missing something. All of them. I did cut some into a shape to fill with something and when they cool, I will try. I had lots of help during this little adventure. All in all, they were a success. The recipe made way more than we could or would eat. I will let you know how well they keep. In the future I will make a half batch. While I did look forward to the traditional shape, I found the puffy pillow shape to be my preference. Another detail I will pay closer attention to is having frostings and fillings ready before starting the dough. That was my "try something new" for this past week.  SIL is particularly needy this weekend. The fact remains that I am the main entertainme...

  After an exhausting trip to the Neurologist and implementing the changes that were agreed upon, we experienced an "all nighter". Literally, Kim voiced several times throughout the day that she didn't like any of the changes that were made. Her delusional state and inability to stay in bed or her recliner made for a very long night, for both of us. She has had sleep attacks after every dose of meds since arriving. It has been a roller coaster ride since! The mistrust that has developed and the delusions that go with it are a force to be reckoned. Tonight, is almost one week since the roller coaster ride began. I am tired I am so blessed that the kids were happy with a quick trip to Walmart and Dollar Tree for outings on their break. They received a gift card to spend at the store and that made their day! They were just happy to get out with just me and do a little shopping. Things have been a little one-sided until Saturday night then the reinforcement fell asleep on the...

This past week has been an "Off" week for my SIL. That means basically we stayed home and "managed" symptoms. During an "Off" swing she is not able to do much safely. That includes walking, toileting or eating. The risk of falling increases greatly, choking and incontinence become the norm for a time. Also, hallucinations or delusions rule the world during this time. Likewise, when she is "On" things go incredibly smooth. Sure there is still a little dementia that seeps through, but every day tasks are completed with little fuss. Today was another day where things started to go back to the "new normal". Perhaps this week will be smooth sailing. Even with the setbacks this week baking got done. Warm fresh bread has no comparison! I even tried my hand at English muffins Things got delayed when SIL woke up so a few are a bit well done!  Baking was a great distraction when SIL was in "Off" mode and the baby was in the hospital. Ba...