I've been hit with some bug or another and I'm feeling pretty crappy. I've actually been trying to fight this off for awhile now. Me and the generic Dayquil have become good friends the past week. Sunday night while getting some gingerbread men made up for j.'s class to decorate I started to feel exceptionally yucky. I went to bed at 9, passed out and was unable to wake up early for scripture study with the family. Yesterday M. had a "concert" type thing where she played the ukulele (and yes I had to use spell checker for that word). They've been learning to play that in her class at school and they put on a performance during the schools Monday morning assembly. Unfortunately it was first thing in the morning and I wanted nothing more than to stay in bed. But M.'s been really looking forward to showing off her new skill so I got myself and j. ready and out the door we went, after taking my new friend Dayquil. Got to the school and sat down for the program and realized I would be very lucky to make it through this. I'm glad I went M. did a wonderful job. She played Camp Town Races, Jingle Bells and Holly Jolly Christmas. I came home and crashed on the couch, calling T. to see if he could come home and help me out since I still had to get j. to and from pre-school and do crossing guard. Thankfully he was able to come home early. Not early enough to get j. to school but my wonderful mom was able to come and do that for me. I laid on the couch for the better part of the day but I did get up and do the dishes and make dinner. Which I really didn't want to do but, oh well.
Today I'm still feeling cruddy. Not as bad as yesterday but still bleh. G. came home from school yesterday and went straight into his room and laid down. So we knew something was up with him. He's home today. I can tell he's feeling better. I do okay until I try to get up and get something done, like taking T.'s grandma to get a haircut and then sitting here typing this. It's really worn me out. The thing that ticks me off is the timing of this bug. I really can't afford to be sick right now. I am only about half way through with shopping for Christmas (the other half I did last Saturday) and we have my family party on Thursday. For which I am supposed to cook a turkey and make stuffing. I am so tired. I couldn't sleep last night so I went upstairs on the couch so I wouldn't wake T. I don't think I fell asleep until 1 a.m. and then we were up at 5:30 for reading. I did go back to sleep off and on but not for a great amount of time. I'm grateful that J. and M. have learned to make pancakes themselves and can take care of breakfast now. That has been nice.
So now I need to go crash out on the couch again.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
'S Up.
The day after J. had his talk with the VP I asked him if he had had any contact with the kid who threatened him. Here's how the conversation went.
Me: "So did you see that kid today?"
J: "Yes"
Me: "Did he say anything to you?"
J: "Yep. He said 'S up. Mom, that's slang for 'What's up'."
Me: "Ah. Gotcha."
I was chuckling because, amazingly I already knew what 'S up meant. So far so good. J. hasn't had any more problems with this kid. We actually were able to talk with both VP's when we went to Parent/Teacher conferences. They were held that same day that J. had gone in and talked with the VP. We've had contact with the one VP before but this was our first contact with the Mr. N. He was very nice. Actually he played football for T.'s dad when he was a coach at the high school so I guess that's a plus.
J. is doing okay in school. He struggles with handing things in when he is supposed to. He doesn't do homework very well. It's not that he doesn't understand the stuff it's just hard for him to keep organized and on top of things. We got positive feedback from all his teachers and I am grateful for them. I swear, all Jr. High teachers need to be given sainthood as far as I'm concerned. I couldn't deal with those kids day in and day out.
Me: "So did you see that kid today?"
J: "Yes"
Me: "Did he say anything to you?"
J: "Yep. He said 'S up. Mom, that's slang for 'What's up'."
Me: "Ah. Gotcha."
I was chuckling because, amazingly I already knew what 'S up meant. So far so good. J. hasn't had any more problems with this kid. We actually were able to talk with both VP's when we went to Parent/Teacher conferences. They were held that same day that J. had gone in and talked with the VP. We've had contact with the one VP before but this was our first contact with the Mr. N. He was very nice. Actually he played football for T.'s dad when he was a coach at the high school so I guess that's a plus.
J. is doing okay in school. He struggles with handing things in when he is supposed to. He doesn't do homework very well. It's not that he doesn't understand the stuff it's just hard for him to keep organized and on top of things. We got positive feedback from all his teachers and I am grateful for them. I swear, all Jr. High teachers need to be given sainthood as far as I'm concerned. I couldn't deal with those kids day in and day out.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Update
The VP called me while I was right in the middle of a dr's appt. with j. I didn't eve look at my phone to see who was calling. If I had I would have answered it. He left a good long message though and I'm wondering if T. and I could stop and chat with him tonight at P/T conferences.
He said that J was able to identify this kid and he called him into his office to ask him about it. The kid said that he only knew Jona slightly and that he never slammed his locker or threatened him. (I don't know why I expected this kid to own up to it.) The principal said that he felt that the kid was telling the truth but he told him that if anything was happening that it needed to stop immediately. He also told J. that if anything else happens to go directly to him (the VP) right away. Hopefully this will be the end of things. If it isn't, I tell you what. That bully messed with the wrong kid. I will do everything in my power to protect my son from kids like him and I know T. will probably go twice as far as I would.
So that kid better watch his step! J. should be getting home from school in a bit. Wait, there's the doorbell. Off to check on J.
He said that J was able to identify this kid and he called him into his office to ask him about it. The kid said that he only knew Jona slightly and that he never slammed his locker or threatened him. (I don't know why I expected this kid to own up to it.) The principal said that he felt that the kid was telling the truth but he told him that if anything was happening that it needed to stop immediately. He also told J. that if anything else happens to go directly to him (the VP) right away. Hopefully this will be the end of things. If it isn't, I tell you what. That bully messed with the wrong kid. I will do everything in my power to protect my son from kids like him and I know T. will probably go twice as far as I would.
So that kid better watch his step! J. should be getting home from school in a bit. Wait, there's the doorbell. Off to check on J.
He Thinks I'm FOXY! (and some serious stuff too)
Well I went for it and tried to go blond. It's more of a really light strawberry blond on top and a light red on the bottom in the back. What happened was my friend got the blond coloring and thought that one bottle would be enough to color all of my hair and it wasn't. She got the top half and the front part colored and ran out so she had to run to the beauty supply place and get some more. So the top part of my hair had more time to process. Then after we did that first color all over she put a more powerful gray covering blond over the top of that. It turned out really cute! I like it, and I've had many compliments on it. But when I came home asked T. how he liked it he looked at it for a few seconds and said "It looks like a fox butt." Because of the different colors that it is in the back. "I said I know it's two different colors but I like that, it's the style." And he says "But have you SEEN it?". Me, "Yes, I've seen it and I like it!"
Well, at least I can say my husband thinks I'm a fox! :)
On a more serious note J. came home from school yesterday a bit late and told me that a boy at school had threatened to beat him up. :( J. says that he doesn't know the boy but that this kid has been slamming his locker shut for a few weeks now. He said he knows one of the kids that hangs around the one who threatened him, I guess he's in his Health class. So I got on the phone with one of the vice principals (not one that we've had dealing with in the past, she wasn't there). And I explained the situation to him and told him that I was calling, one because my son was threatened and two because he has Autism and doesn't know if someone is joking or not.
For example he told me that this kid who hangs around with the "threatener" is his acquaintance and that he's asked J. if he wants to go fishing with him. J. told me "It's illegal to be truant from school and I know that there are no bodies of water on school property that sustain fish." That is J. That is how his mind works. He is very literal.
The vice principal was very nice and told me that he will call J. in first thing this morning and have him look at pictures of all the kids (we're thinking it's another 7th grader) to see if J. can point him out. If he can then the vp will call down this other kid and have a talk with him about how that isn't appropriate. I am concerned that this could make things worse so I told J. if this kid keeps bothering him then the very first time he does something or says something that J. needs to go to the office and let them know that he hasn't stopped. I'll be driving J. to school this morning and dropping him off just before the bell rings and I'll pick him up after school as well just to be safe. We have parent teacher conferences tonight and I'm considering mentioning it to the teachers just so they can keep an eye out as well. I had hoped that something like this wouldn't happen. J. seems to be handling it okay. T. told him that if anyone tries to hurt him and they won't stop then J. needs to fight back. I hate to have to tell my child that but I'm not going to have him think that it's not okay to protect himself yk?
Well my living room is piled under Christmas decorations and the tree still isn't fully decorated. I need to run to WalMart for some white lights to go on my garland so I better get my but off this chair and get moving. I'll keep you updated.
Well, at least I can say my husband thinks I'm a fox! :)
On a more serious note J. came home from school yesterday a bit late and told me that a boy at school had threatened to beat him up. :( J. says that he doesn't know the boy but that this kid has been slamming his locker shut for a few weeks now. He said he knows one of the kids that hangs around the one who threatened him, I guess he's in his Health class. So I got on the phone with one of the vice principals (not one that we've had dealing with in the past, she wasn't there). And I explained the situation to him and told him that I was calling, one because my son was threatened and two because he has Autism and doesn't know if someone is joking or not.
For example he told me that this kid who hangs around with the "threatener" is his acquaintance and that he's asked J. if he wants to go fishing with him. J. told me "It's illegal to be truant from school and I know that there are no bodies of water on school property that sustain fish." That is J. That is how his mind works. He is very literal.
The vice principal was very nice and told me that he will call J. in first thing this morning and have him look at pictures of all the kids (we're thinking it's another 7th grader) to see if J. can point him out. If he can then the vp will call down this other kid and have a talk with him about how that isn't appropriate. I am concerned that this could make things worse so I told J. if this kid keeps bothering him then the very first time he does something or says something that J. needs to go to the office and let them know that he hasn't stopped. I'll be driving J. to school this morning and dropping him off just before the bell rings and I'll pick him up after school as well just to be safe. We have parent teacher conferences tonight and I'm considering mentioning it to the teachers just so they can keep an eye out as well. I had hoped that something like this wouldn't happen. J. seems to be handling it okay. T. told him that if anyone tries to hurt him and they won't stop then J. needs to fight back. I hate to have to tell my child that but I'm not going to have him think that it's not okay to protect himself yk?
Well my living room is piled under Christmas decorations and the tree still isn't fully decorated. I need to run to WalMart for some white lights to go on my garland so I better get my but off this chair and get moving. I'll keep you updated.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Back to Normal
Well Normal for me anyway. I had my nice break and I'm very glad that I took it because things have been back to hectic in the blink of an eye. December is a busy month anyway but it seems extra busy this year. We went and picked out our Christmas tree last night and I would have taken pictures except for all the signs saying absolutely no photography. I can understand why because the place where we went had a bunch of beautifully decorated trees and fun Christmas crafts and stuff. I'm sure people used to come in and take pictures and rip off their ideas, which is too bad. I actually took some pictures inside before G. informed me of the sign that I missed when walking in.
Our tree is very pretty. It's not huge but it fits our front room perfectly. I told T. that I thought we would be ahead to buy a really nice fake tree that way we would have the money that we spend on the real tree to put towards other things but he won't have any of that. He hates fake trees. We actually have one that T.'s grandma gave us last year that I'm going to try to put up downstairs. I've always wanted to have two trees. One with family ornaments and one with a "theme" I saw an adorable tree at that place that had a bunch of different old wooden sleds on it. I would love to do something like that.
We have T.'s family Christmas party this weekend. We'll make gingerbread houses and exchange gifts with his side, next Saturday is our ward party in the morning. They have pancakes and ice cream, which I find slightly revolting. Santa comes for a visit and I can usually get a good shot of the kids with the man in red then. The next week we have j.'s Christmas program and J.'s band program on the same day, thankfully at different times. We also have my family party the day after the programs and then it will be the weekend before Christmas. I can't believe how fast it's coming up. I really am not ready at all. We are trying to scale back a bunch on the gifts that we get and focus more on the gifts that we give. I've talked with the three older ones and told them that this year things are going to be scaled back. Hopefully they understand.
Our tree is very pretty. It's not huge but it fits our front room perfectly. I told T. that I thought we would be ahead to buy a really nice fake tree that way we would have the money that we spend on the real tree to put towards other things but he won't have any of that. He hates fake trees. We actually have one that T.'s grandma gave us last year that I'm going to try to put up downstairs. I've always wanted to have two trees. One with family ornaments and one with a "theme" I saw an adorable tree at that place that had a bunch of different old wooden sleds on it. I would love to do something like that.
We have T.'s family Christmas party this weekend. We'll make gingerbread houses and exchange gifts with his side, next Saturday is our ward party in the morning. They have pancakes and ice cream, which I find slightly revolting. Santa comes for a visit and I can usually get a good shot of the kids with the man in red then. The next week we have j.'s Christmas program and J.'s band program on the same day, thankfully at different times. We also have my family party the day after the programs and then it will be the weekend before Christmas. I can't believe how fast it's coming up. I really am not ready at all. We are trying to scale back a bunch on the gifts that we get and focus more on the gifts that we give. I've talked with the three older ones and told them that this year things are going to be scaled back. Hopefully they understand.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Bullet Thursday
I've seen this somewhere else so I'm stealing this idea.
- Anyone want a dog? Seriously I'll pay you to come and get him. We've tried to keep him in our back yard but he's an escape artist. He got out again today and he doesn't come when he's called. I'm tired of chasing him and I'm tired of trying to patch up the holes that he escapes through.
- Did you know that those furniture moving things that they show on infomercials really work? And they work well. I wish I'd had them yesterday when I moved my basement furniture all around. Especially that beast of an entertainment center. I had to move the upstairs front room around to fit a Christmas tree, so I went out at 7 a.m. to Wally World and got me some furniture sliders. I also bought a lovely Christmas throw and chocolate bar. I wonder what the cashier thought as she checked me out? Anyway, with those sliders I was able to move my front room around in record time because I didn't have to empty out the bookcases. Go me! Now we are all ready to go and get a Christmas tree.
- Guess what. I live in the most depressed state in the U.S. It isn't even the 50th state it's the 51st!! What's up with that? I wonder how the tourist council could put a good spin on that? Hey come here and get a great deal on anti-depressants?
- I wonder if I'll be able to get out of bed tomorrow with all the moving stuff around I've been doing.
- I need to get working on my Christmas cards. I have an idea of what I want to do but I need to figure out if I can really actually do it.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Time Off
Thanksgiving was a nice day. We had dinner with T.'s family and pie with mine. It was nice to be able to visit with everyone. We did have a "Christmas Story" moment on Thanksgiving morning when T. went upstairs to find that Zeke, our dog, had eaten the two cherry pies that were on the kitchen table. Well he didn't actually eat them he only at the crust. I guess pie cherries aren't up to his taste :) .
Friday I got up and got some things done around the house. Packed my bags and left home for my weekend "off" at about 11 a.m. I couldn't check into my hotel until 2 p.m. so I ran around doing some window shopping and getting some cash before I headed up to Salt Lake. I got there and checked in and went up to my room. It was very nice.
They turned the Christmas lights on at Temple Square that night but I couldn't ever find our for sure what time so I missed the actual lighting ceremony (it was at dusk) but that's okay. My hotel was only about a block away so I walked up and around Temple Square trying to get pictures. Nighttime pictures are not easy to take without a tripod because there is just no way to get the camera steady enough to take pictures without a flash so I did the best I could. Here are a few pictures.
Friday I got up and got some things done around the house. Packed my bags and left home for my weekend "off" at about 11 a.m. I couldn't check into my hotel until 2 p.m. so I ran around doing some window shopping and getting some cash before I headed up to Salt Lake. I got there and checked in and went up to my room. It was very nice.
They turned the Christmas lights on at Temple Square that night but I couldn't ever find our for sure what time so I missed the actual lighting ceremony (it was at dusk) but that's okay. My hotel was only about a block away so I walked up and around Temple Square trying to get pictures. Nighttime pictures are not easy to take without a tripod because there is just no way to get the camera steady enough to take pictures without a flash so I did the best I could. Here are a few pictures.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Thanksgiving
100 things I am grateful for
(in no particular order. I tried to put them in order but just couldn't do it.)
(in no particular order. I tried to put them in order but just couldn't do it.)
- My Saviour
- My husband
- My children
- My religion
- My family
- Sunshine
- Rain
- Laughter
- Tears
- Good Books
- Friends
- My Home
- Food
- That my husband has a good job
- Warm clothes
- Indoor plumbing
- The stars
- The moon
- Automobiles
- The Mountains
- Grass
- Flowers
- Grandparents
- Great in-laws
- My health
- The love of my husband
- The support of my family
- Amazing parents
- Education
- Animals
- Pioneers
- Prophets
- A Washer
- A Dryer
- Baby smiles
- Smiles in general
- Shoulders to cry on
- Ears that listen
- Airplanes
- The internet
- Cameras
- Photos
- Scrapbooking
- Good Music
- Hands to hold
- Goodnight kisses
- Trees
- Lemonade
- Ice Water
- Electricity
- Fire
- Carpet
- A bed to sleep in
- The colors
- The colors of the seasons
- The first snowfall
- Crocuses
- Thunderstorms
- Eyes to see
- Ears to hear
- Talents
- Diversity
- No Iron shirts
- Memories
- Paint
- Teachers
- Leaders
- Our Military
- Ice Skating
- Clouds
- Fences
- Computers
- Toilet paper
- Diapers
- Wipes
- Strength
- Saftey
- Peace
- Gardens
- People who are willing to make tough decisions
- Dreams
- Television
- Doctors
- Dentists
- Health insurance
- Hospitals
- Firefighters
- Libraries
- Good Writers
- Good Neighbors
- Good Schools
- Lawn mowers
- Vegetables
- Fruit
- Farmers
- Sleep
- Medicines
- Shoes
- Coats
- Clean Air
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Things that make you go Hmmmmmm.
While I was up at the hospital on Monday with my sister I saw a very interesting and pretty funny site. As j. and I were walking out to our car in the parking terrace there was a big white suv that came around the corner and was headed out of parking. On the side was a magnetic sign that said, "Whose your Avon Lady" with a pink kiss mark by the phrase. As I glanced at the driver I did a double take. It was a big, burly, bearded man driving the vehicle! I wish I'd had my camera at the ready to snap that picture.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Gimme a break...
So things really haven't slowed down around here in any way, shape or form. I keep hoping that things will but they don't. My dad went into the hospital on Saturday for severe pain and they never did figure out what caused it. I picked him up and took him home this morning he is doing fine now but they did have to give him some blood.
My sister went in for back surgery on Monday (the same back surgery that I had 5 years ago this exact time of year) and they ended up having to go in twice because of some complications. She also got one of those awful headaches that you can get whenever they do anything close to the spinal chord, so she's had to stay an extra day. I went up with her on Monday and sat with her son and daughter (they are older) during her surgery. I'll head back up tomorrow with her daughter to pick her up and bring her home. I also need to bake pies tomorrow.
Today I got up at 5:30 to read with my family and then I proceeded to make chili for a funeral and to send home with my sister when she comes home so she doesn't have to worry about food. I also made a batch of chili for us so at least dinner was taken care of early on and for tomorrow as well. My sister's youngest daughter came to stay with me until she was supposed to go to school at 8:45 when I drove her. I had to call my dr. at 8:30 to see if I could get an appointment to have him look at a rash that has developed on my face and made my left eyelid swell. As I'm on hold to speak with someone my mom calls, I ask if I can call her back. I get the appointment set for 9:45 and head out the door with my niece and j. in tow. In the car I called my mom back to see what she needed and as I'm talking with her my sister's oldest daughter calls on the other line, again I ask mom if I can call her back. They older niece asks if I can pick up the younger niece from school at 3:45, sure thing. Call my mom back, she needs me to come and sit with my grandma so that she can run out to her mom's house and get her meds because she's staying for longer than expected. Yep, I'll be there. Get to mom's house and thankfully grandma is still asleep. Mom leaves, the phone rings. It's my dad saying that they are releasing him and he needs someone to pick him up. I'll let mom know. By now it's 9:10 and so I call to see if mom has made it out to grandma's house so I can talk to her. She wasn't there but I left a message with her brother who was out there doing some fix it work, to have her call me when she arrives. I call my brother B. to see if he can come and sit with grandma until mom gets back so I can go and get ready for my appointment. He'll be right over. The door opens and mom comes in. She hasn't been out to grandma's yet she took my sil K. to work. She's stopping back to get keys and I let her know that her brother is out there, and that dad is ready to come home. Oh great. Who can sit with grandma. B. can't because what if grandma has to use the bathroom? She can't go on her own. So I tell mom I'll pick up dad when I get done at the dr.'s office. She leaves and Ben walks in. Thankfully he's willing to watch j. as well, since she is now thoroughly engrossed in a Noggin program. I get to dr.'s and thankfully do not have to wait long and I actually caught a little nap back in the examination room. The dr. doesn't know what is causing the rash. I'm thinking that it's somewhat stress involved and so does Ty. But he prescribes me some stuff to go on it. I head next door to the hospital to pick up dad and wait for about 40 minutes for the nurse to final come in and discharge him. In the mean time remembering that I need to drop that chili off to the funeral before 12:30. I did get it there by 12. Mom was kind enough to let j. stay there because j. wanted to stay there and hang out with grandpa. And I got out and got my grocery shopping done Yay! A few more things occurred between then and now, such as picking up my niece from school, taking the kids to piano, heading back to the store to pick up a turkey for my sister, picking up the kids at piano, making scones and getting dinner....stuff like that.
I really need a break. And thanks to my amazing husband I'm going to get one. We talked about what we should do since there wasn't anyone to take the kids while we got away. And he asked me why I asked if we could get away. And I told him. I asked because I really needed a break. I really needed to get away from everything for a few days. So he said that he would stay home with the kids and I could take off and spend some quality time with me, myself and I. I am SO grateful. I feel a little bit selfish but I know that this is something I really need. So Friday after Thanksgiving I'm heading out the door not for the shopping but to get some time to myself. I have the best husband in the world.
My sister went in for back surgery on Monday (the same back surgery that I had 5 years ago this exact time of year) and they ended up having to go in twice because of some complications. She also got one of those awful headaches that you can get whenever they do anything close to the spinal chord, so she's had to stay an extra day. I went up with her on Monday and sat with her son and daughter (they are older) during her surgery. I'll head back up tomorrow with her daughter to pick her up and bring her home. I also need to bake pies tomorrow.
Today I got up at 5:30 to read with my family and then I proceeded to make chili for a funeral and to send home with my sister when she comes home so she doesn't have to worry about food. I also made a batch of chili for us so at least dinner was taken care of early on and for tomorrow as well. My sister's youngest daughter came to stay with me until she was supposed to go to school at 8:45 when I drove her. I had to call my dr. at 8:30 to see if I could get an appointment to have him look at a rash that has developed on my face and made my left eyelid swell. As I'm on hold to speak with someone my mom calls, I ask if I can call her back. I get the appointment set for 9:45 and head out the door with my niece and j. in tow. In the car I called my mom back to see what she needed and as I'm talking with her my sister's oldest daughter calls on the other line, again I ask mom if I can call her back. They older niece asks if I can pick up the younger niece from school at 3:45, sure thing. Call my mom back, she needs me to come and sit with my grandma so that she can run out to her mom's house and get her meds because she's staying for longer than expected. Yep, I'll be there. Get to mom's house and thankfully grandma is still asleep. Mom leaves, the phone rings. It's my dad saying that they are releasing him and he needs someone to pick him up. I'll let mom know. By now it's 9:10 and so I call to see if mom has made it out to grandma's house so I can talk to her. She wasn't there but I left a message with her brother who was out there doing some fix it work, to have her call me when she arrives. I call my brother B. to see if he can come and sit with grandma until mom gets back so I can go and get ready for my appointment. He'll be right over. The door opens and mom comes in. She hasn't been out to grandma's yet she took my sil K. to work. She's stopping back to get keys and I let her know that her brother is out there, and that dad is ready to come home. Oh great. Who can sit with grandma. B. can't because what if grandma has to use the bathroom? She can't go on her own. So I tell mom I'll pick up dad when I get done at the dr.'s office. She leaves and Ben walks in. Thankfully he's willing to watch j. as well, since she is now thoroughly engrossed in a Noggin program. I get to dr.'s and thankfully do not have to wait long and I actually caught a little nap back in the examination room. The dr. doesn't know what is causing the rash. I'm thinking that it's somewhat stress involved and so does Ty. But he prescribes me some stuff to go on it. I head next door to the hospital to pick up dad and wait for about 40 minutes for the nurse to final come in and discharge him. In the mean time remembering that I need to drop that chili off to the funeral before 12:30. I did get it there by 12. Mom was kind enough to let j. stay there because j. wanted to stay there and hang out with grandpa. And I got out and got my grocery shopping done Yay! A few more things occurred between then and now, such as picking up my niece from school, taking the kids to piano, heading back to the store to pick up a turkey for my sister, picking up the kids at piano, making scones and getting dinner....stuff like that.
I really need a break. And thanks to my amazing husband I'm going to get one. We talked about what we should do since there wasn't anyone to take the kids while we got away. And he asked me why I asked if we could get away. And I told him. I asked because I really needed a break. I really needed to get away from everything for a few days. So he said that he would stay home with the kids and I could take off and spend some quality time with me, myself and I. I am SO grateful. I feel a little bit selfish but I know that this is something I really need. So Friday after Thanksgiving I'm heading out the door not for the shopping but to get some time to myself. I have the best husband in the world.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Clean up! Clean up! Everybody, Everywhere!
This is the last decent weekend that we will supposedly have this fall so T. and the kids and I are planning on getting out in the yard and getting it ready for winter. Yes, we should have had this done already but we haven't. I still have roses blooming on my rose bushes and, believe it or not, I even have blooms on my petunias! So the plan today is to get out there. Get the swamp cooler out of the kitchen window. Cut back the roses and the sage bush. Pull up all of the annuals and get the leaves blown onto the garden. The back yard really needs one final mow but I don't know if we can get the mower back there because of our red neck fence. (I'll post more on that later.) Then we'll head over to my parents house and get my mom's mum's cut back and their leaves taken care of. And we'll probably do the leaves at Ty's grandma's as well. So I guess I need to get up off of this chair and get moving because I have a feeling that trying to get all of this done before it gets dark is not going to be easy.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Pumpkin Pictures
We carved pumpkins the day before Halloween and I got some good shots of the pumpkins. Unfortunately I didn't get as good of shots of my kids in costume the next day. Ah well. Here are a couple of my favorites.
That last one is so huge because I for some reason blogger decided it couldn't upload any more pictures after those first three. *eyeroll*
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Overwhelmed
I really, really need to start my scrapbooking again. The three oldest kiddos have 3 or more big books of pictures that I've scrapped of them. Then j. came along and we went digital. I have about 10 pages of her scrapped and she is wondering why she doesn't have a big book like the other kids. SO I need to get to work on her pictures.
The problem is that it's just SO overwhelming. Going into my files and seeing HOW many pictures I have of her to send off and be printed and then to scrap. That and the fact that I want to digitally enhance most of those pictures that are from the early digi cam.
I did get an amazingly wonderful gift from T.'s Grandma yesterday. She got me a Cricut machine!!! I was so excited to see that. I've wanted one but haven't really looked into them because I knew that it just wasn't in the budget. Now that I've got it I want to use it to work on cards and scrapbook pages.
Now I just have to get over being overwhelmed and start somewhere. I'm thinking I'll start with j.'s blessing pictures. I need to get one of those printed out anyway because I have pictures of the other three when they were babies sitting on my entertainment center and I need to add one of her....four years later *eyeroll*
I'm such a slacker.
Hey THAT would be a great screen name or even blog name. Slacker Mom instead of Soccer Mom ROFL!!! I wonder if I can change the name of my blog?
The problem is that it's just SO overwhelming. Going into my files and seeing HOW many pictures I have of her to send off and be printed and then to scrap. That and the fact that I want to digitally enhance most of those pictures that are from the early digi cam.
I did get an amazingly wonderful gift from T.'s Grandma yesterday. She got me a Cricut machine!!! I was so excited to see that. I've wanted one but haven't really looked into them because I knew that it just wasn't in the budget. Now that I've got it I want to use it to work on cards and scrapbook pages.
Now I just have to get over being overwhelmed and start somewhere. I'm thinking I'll start with j.'s blessing pictures. I need to get one of those printed out anyway because I have pictures of the other three when they were babies sitting on my entertainment center and I need to add one of her....four years later *eyeroll*
I'm such a slacker.
Hey THAT would be a great screen name or even blog name. Slacker Mom instead of Soccer Mom ROFL!!! I wonder if I can change the name of my blog?
Another Day, Another....
Well not another dollar. At least not for me anyway since I'm a stay at home mom. It's more along the lines of...Another day, Another load of laundry to do or another floor to vacuum or another load of dishes to take care of. Sometimes that can be really hard for me to face because it's never ending. I'm working on being okay with it. It didn't used to be like this but for some reason the last while it's been difficult.
I also usually have some place to go, errands to run or someone to take somewhere. I love being able to help out but sometimes that can be difficult as well. Monday I had a rare day where I wasn't called on to take some one somewhere. I did take j. to preschool but that was it. I got a chance to visit with a wonderful older lady who has had some difficulty with her health. She is just an amazing woman. Her and her husband are celebrating their 65th wedding anniversary this month! Can you believe that? I look at her and at my grandmother who is 96 and wonder how old I will live and what will my quality of life be?
I know that some of the struggles that I have been having are because T. and I haven't been able to take time away from everything. It's been over 4 years since we've spent time away from the kids alone. So we decided to try to get away. The problem being that the soonest weekend we could do it is the weekend after Thanksgiving. We thought that this actually might work better because then whoever watched the kids wouldn't have to get them to school and back. But it's turned out to be problematic. It seems that of our family (and we do have a pretty large selection of people to turn to) it looks like there is no one that will be available to watch the kids. I am stressed because we really need to get away and it's looking like the chances for that are slowly slipping away for anytime soon. I don't know what to do. I'm trying to not get down about it but it's hard. If we can't find anyone to watch the kids it will be the second weekend in December before we can go because of T.s on call time. And it's looking more and more like that is going to be the case. *sigh* What worries me more is that something will come up between now and whenever we have planned and we won't be able to get away....ever. And we really need to get away.
I also usually have some place to go, errands to run or someone to take somewhere. I love being able to help out but sometimes that can be difficult as well. Monday I had a rare day where I wasn't called on to take some one somewhere. I did take j. to preschool but that was it. I got a chance to visit with a wonderful older lady who has had some difficulty with her health. She is just an amazing woman. Her and her husband are celebrating their 65th wedding anniversary this month! Can you believe that? I look at her and at my grandmother who is 96 and wonder how old I will live and what will my quality of life be?
I know that some of the struggles that I have been having are because T. and I haven't been able to take time away from everything. It's been over 4 years since we've spent time away from the kids alone. So we decided to try to get away. The problem being that the soonest weekend we could do it is the weekend after Thanksgiving. We thought that this actually might work better because then whoever watched the kids wouldn't have to get them to school and back. But it's turned out to be problematic. It seems that of our family (and we do have a pretty large selection of people to turn to) it looks like there is no one that will be available to watch the kids. I am stressed because we really need to get away and it's looking like the chances for that are slowly slipping away for anytime soon. I don't know what to do. I'm trying to not get down about it but it's hard. If we can't find anyone to watch the kids it will be the second weekend in December before we can go because of T.s on call time. And it's looking more and more like that is going to be the case. *sigh* What worries me more is that something will come up between now and whenever we have planned and we won't be able to get away....ever. And we really need to get away.
Monday, November 12, 2007
I am officially the parent of a teenager!!!!
I can hardly believe it. My oldest boy turned 13 years old on Saturday. It's very strange to think that I am the mother of a teenager. I don't feel that old. I don't know if I have the coping skills to deal with the teenage psyche when I don't feel that much older than a teenager myself.
My son is a great kid. He was diagnosed with high functioning Autism when he was in 1st grade. We knew when he was born that something wasn't quite right but we had a really crappy doctor at the time and he told us not to worry... so we didn't. We just accepted J. for the little person that he was. When it came time for him to enter school, I again knew that something wasn't quite right, so we had him tested. At that time they said that he didn't have Autism but that he did have some developmental delays. So off to school he went where through some Occupational Therapy and gentle prodding from my mother we had him tested again....and this time the diagnosis came back as Autism.
Thankfully he is very high functioning and is very bright. His areas of struggle are in the social arena. We have been blessed to have had amazing teachers that have worked and loved J. throughout grade school. And not only the teachers have loved him but the students as well. The kids that have grown up with J. have been amazingly loving and supportive of him. I'm grateful that T. has been able to have a stable job that made it possible for us to stay in one place and not have to move J. from such a great environment.
Now that he is in Jr. High though I worry more about him. The school he goes to has many different grade schools that come to it so there are many more kids who don't know J. Who haven't grown up around him and know of his great sense of humor and his wonderful personality. And kids this age can be so ruthless. Today brought some concerns to the forefront because J. came home from school with some glue on the back of his shirt. He said that someone glued a Popsicle stick to his shirt in one of his classes. That makes me angry but I'm not sure what I can do about it. I'm going to email the teacher and ask that he kind of keep an eye out for this type of thing because I don't want this to escalate into something more. J. is very sensitive and I really, really worry about bullying or anything like that.
I feel very blessed to have been given the opportunity to be J.'s mother. Much of the time I feel very inadequate and not up to the task but I keep on going because, what else can I do? He has taught me so much about patience and love and forgiveness. He's probably taught me more than I've ever taught him.
I need to take him out and get some new pictures of him to go up on the wall. I just need to find the time!
My son is a great kid. He was diagnosed with high functioning Autism when he was in 1st grade. We knew when he was born that something wasn't quite right but we had a really crappy doctor at the time and he told us not to worry... so we didn't. We just accepted J. for the little person that he was. When it came time for him to enter school, I again knew that something wasn't quite right, so we had him tested. At that time they said that he didn't have Autism but that he did have some developmental delays. So off to school he went where through some Occupational Therapy and gentle prodding from my mother we had him tested again....and this time the diagnosis came back as Autism.
Thankfully he is very high functioning and is very bright. His areas of struggle are in the social arena. We have been blessed to have had amazing teachers that have worked and loved J. throughout grade school. And not only the teachers have loved him but the students as well. The kids that have grown up with J. have been amazingly loving and supportive of him. I'm grateful that T. has been able to have a stable job that made it possible for us to stay in one place and not have to move J. from such a great environment.
Now that he is in Jr. High though I worry more about him. The school he goes to has many different grade schools that come to it so there are many more kids who don't know J. Who haven't grown up around him and know of his great sense of humor and his wonderful personality. And kids this age can be so ruthless. Today brought some concerns to the forefront because J. came home from school with some glue on the back of his shirt. He said that someone glued a Popsicle stick to his shirt in one of his classes. That makes me angry but I'm not sure what I can do about it. I'm going to email the teacher and ask that he kind of keep an eye out for this type of thing because I don't want this to escalate into something more. J. is very sensitive and I really, really worry about bullying or anything like that.
I feel very blessed to have been given the opportunity to be J.'s mother. Much of the time I feel very inadequate and not up to the task but I keep on going because, what else can I do? He has taught me so much about patience and love and forgiveness. He's probably taught me more than I've ever taught him.
I need to take him out and get some new pictures of him to go up on the wall. I just need to find the time!
Putting it out there
So I guess this is my first "official" blog here. I've tried other places and haven't been very good at this. So I guess we'll see. I do believe I've even had a blogger account before but gave it up. It may very well be floating out there somewhere in cyberspace. Who knows?
I do love the internet. It's an amazing tool that has helped me meet many wonderful people across the country and some of the world. Thankfully I haven't ever really had a bad experience with it and hopefully that will continue.
I hope that karma has something to do with it. I try to put nice things out there and to respect those who I have contact with. If someone annoys me or upsets me or offends me I usually try to move out of that area of cyberspace and on to something better. It's worked for most of the time. As a mom I really feel that it's important for me to kind of keep up with the technology that is available so that I can relate to what my kids are doing. Or just be able to keep an eye on them. I'm probably not as tech savvy as I should be but I try. I'm sure that I'll have more to worry about as my kids get older.
So there's my first post!
I do love the internet. It's an amazing tool that has helped me meet many wonderful people across the country and some of the world. Thankfully I haven't ever really had a bad experience with it and hopefully that will continue.
I hope that karma has something to do with it. I try to put nice things out there and to respect those who I have contact with. If someone annoys me or upsets me or offends me I usually try to move out of that area of cyberspace and on to something better. It's worked for most of the time. As a mom I really feel that it's important for me to kind of keep up with the technology that is available so that I can relate to what my kids are doing. Or just be able to keep an eye on them. I'm probably not as tech savvy as I should be but I try. I'm sure that I'll have more to worry about as my kids get older.
So there's my first post!
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