There and back again

Mom has been at the ALF for a few weeks now. It's lovely. They have three delicious meals a day, unlimited snacks, a coffee and juice bar that always has fresh cookies and housekeeping. This is all wonderful. Much to my dismay, it's not quite what mom needs. 

Don't get me wrong, I love knowing that the trash is being taken out and her laundry is being done weekly. I love knowing that she doesn't have to cook or clean up after cooking. I love how beautiful the room is and how perfect the color purple they painted the room is for her. I love that she's getting her medications regularly and at the preferred times. 

It's just not right for her. 

Mom needs someone who can turn on the shower for her so she can just walk in. Mom needs someone who can let her know her shirt is on inside out and help her fix it without making her feel like she's stupid. She needs someone who can help remind her that she doesn't have to wear clothes to bed and help her get her nightgown on. She needs someone to pull down her comforter and sheet so she sleeps in the bed instead of on it. She also needs to feel like she's still in her 60s which is not happening at all at the ALF. 

Don't get me wrong, the people are all lovely. They're just old. She's old too, but not that old. 

So here we are at another crossroads for Mom. 

Luckily the couple that rented out her apartment decided to go elsewhere. The complex is going to clean up her carpet and figure out what's going on with the fleas. She's been out for weeks. No one is there. There should be no reason we're still finding some. They're going to check out the vents to make sure nothing is living in them. Hopefully removing or seriously cleaning the carpet will help as well. I do know that I'm not moving her back in in the condition it's in. 

You might be wondering why I'm even considering moving her back there in the first place after all the trouble we went through with fleas and cleaning it out. The thing is, with Alzheimer's, keeping things the same is super important. She knows that place. She has friends there. She has friends that know me and my number and wont hesitate to let me know if something is going on. She loved taking walks around the complex and I had no concerns of her getting lost. 

The plan for now is to hire someone to help out for a couple hours in the morning and in the evenings. They can help with meds, make meals for her, do some light housekeeping and laundry and help her get dressed. I met an incredible lady yesterday who is going to help Mom out in the mornings and she found someone she likes and trusts to help in the evenings. I'll hopefully be meeting her soon. Denise (AM helper) even said she wanted to come over Thursday and help me scrub the place down so we can be ready for them to take care of the carpet once her couch is removed. I'm kinda in love with this woman.

That's all for now. I'm sick and the baby wants to help me type. Wish me luck. 

Bacon Popcorn, Joe Joes and Fleas

What do these things have in common? I had all of them today.

Mom's place got off to a slower start than I had hoped for. I finished the area I was hoping to but every time I turned my head half an inch, I was instantly overwhelmed with what was left. Mom was a bit of a hoarder. She liked collecting and hated tossing. Over the last year, she started 'going through' everything which really ended up being her moving things from one pile to a next. The end result of that is a pile that consists of 50 pieces of scrap paper and trash and 3 very important documents mixed in. This is going to take me a year, especially when I'm trying to keep The Baby from sticking his finger in pencil sharpeners and VCRs. Mom also liked having multiples of things. Anyone need a printer or three?

Anyways, midway through the day I went to trash some of the stuff in the bathroom. I saw something jump out of the corner of my eye but I assumed it was just movement from me dropping something in the bag. Nerp. That would be too easy. Within seconds I had three fleas on my legs. I yelled for Aunt B to come grab and toss the bag I had so I could kill all the fleas on me. Mom had a problem a few weeks ago but we hired an exterminator and she hadn't had any issues since. I called the exterminator hoping they might be in the neighborhood but they're not available until next week. Our next solution was to bomb the place. With foggers, you guys, but don't think the thought didn't cross my mind. I dropped the baby off at the BFF's after thoroughly checking him for fleas, grabbed a venti of sanity and prepared to go to war against the evil little blood sucking jerkholes.

Sadly, this meant that we didn't get nearly enough done today and most likely wont be able to get much done tomorrow either. The Baby is my almost constant sidekick and I don't want him rolling around in pesticides quite yet.

I got a call from Wayne from Mom's new place. He's one of the activity guys and they're throwing Mom a housewarming party tomorrow afternoon. I'm going to dress the kids up in dresses and button down shirts. I may even brush their hair. Appetizers and non alcoholic wine, here we come.

Off to gorge myself on Joe Joes and Bacon Ranch popcorn (thank you S!). One of these days I'll find my self control again. I assume its under one of the piles of laundry.