Stressful

So tonight was the first night of Primetime Reading.  It's every Monday Night for six weeks.  We go in and have dinner and mingle for a while.  Then Robby and Aidan go into the Preschool room with a few people and do fun things, and the older kids and I will be discussing books that we read together here at home.  They will give us three books each week to read together and talk about together.  Then on Monday's, we will discuss the books as a group and do activities. 

The night was going pretty well.  We know several families that are attending.  Leaving was much more difficult.  Aidan would not listen to me.  "Wait please, Aidan."  No, he didn't wait.  "Walk please, stay with me."  No, he didn't walk or stay with me.  He ended up tripping over his own toe and falling face first on the pavement.  Everyone around gasped "OH!"  He made such a horrible sound when he hit.  Right at that moment, Robby ran off.  I had Aidan crying and hanging on me and Robby running into a dark parking lot.  I'm sure people thought I was uncaring toward Aidan, I was just stressed.  Majorly.  I was upset that Aidan got hurt, I was upset that Robby was running away.  I sent Jacob after Robby and I sat down on a bench to hug Aidan.  I was so upset, though.  I ended up losing it on the way home.  Everyone was talking at once.  No one was listening.  The night did not end well.

I really need to relax, but instead I need to mop the kitchen floor.

Hard Day

 

You have no idea how happy I am to see this.  This sweet little baby boy terrorized my house today.  I could barely sit down.  I could barely do anything.  I tried to go to the restroom, and he got in the refrigerator to get MY strawberries.  I ended up being nice and de-chocolating one and giving him the berry.  I tried to take a shower so I could take the kids to soccer, and Robby somehow gets the chain off of the back door and takes off outside.  (Don't worry, he was in a gated and locked backyard.)  I no sooner got the conditioner on my hair than Aidan comes yelling "Robby's in the backyard!"  So I dashed out of the water all conditioned and soapy to throw on some clothes to go get him.   He's been non-stop TWO all day long.  I'm tired.  I'm enjoying Big Brother.  I would enjoy it more if my well meaning friend would stop calling me and updating me on the game.  I always know what is going on before the show is on because she watches After Dark on Showtime.  So I already know who won veto let alone who gets nominated.  ::sigh::

Anyway, my other kids had to get in on the bizarreness today.  Jacob started in again with the "You don't understand how hard it is to be a kid" thing tonight.  I'm so tired.  I could really use a day where I am not needed anywhere.  Right now the house needs me.  As soon as BB9 is over, I'm off to clean up the house.  Tomorrow morning I'll finish it and run errands.  We have half a roll of TP left for the entire house.  Not too cool, lol.  It can't even wait until Payday.  Nor can the cat food.  ::sigh::  I would rather just go out and do it all on Wednesday, but I just have to roll with the flow. 

What I really want to do is take a bubble bath.  But I do not have any bubble bath, and that would require cleaning the tub first. 

*********************************

Guess who is back up?  I think he caught what I have.  It's hard to say.  He tried to tell me what is up, but it came out as jibberish.  That happens a lot these days.

That hasn't happened in a while

My phone just rang and the woman politely asked 'Yes, can I speak to your Mom."  I was silent, not knowing how to respond, and she asked "Or Dad?"  I answered, "This is Michelle" because I wasn't sure who it was or who they were looking for.  That used to happen to me all the time, but it hasn't in a long while.  Although someone did call recently thinking I was Alexia, lol.  I forgot about that.  They asked for "Michelle" though because they were unsure.  Then when I said "This is she," they answered "Oh, I thought you were Alexia!" lol

I'm thinking it's the fact that my voice keeps going in or out and is not very loud right now.  That probably has a lot to do with it.

No Easy solution :(

This is a subject near and dear to my heart, though many people don't know it.  I remember the "Save the Wolves" campaigns as I was growing up.  There just doesn't seem to be any easy solutions.  Humans have taken their food source and domesticated it.  So the Wolves come to farms to hunt.  The Humans punish the wolves by killing them.  It's all just so sad.  I have heard of species becoming extinct because of being hunted themselves, losing their habit and food sources...but this is just a power trip of the Humans, IMO.  ::gets off soapbox::

 

Gray wolf hunts planned after de-listing

By JESSIE BONNER, Associated Press WriterSat Mar 29, 6:04 AM ET

Good news for gray wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains: They no longer need federal protection. The bad news for the animals? Plans are already in the works to hunt them.

Federal Endangered Species Act protection of the wolves was lifted Friday in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, giving those states management of the estimated 1,500 gray wolves in the region.

Even though environmentalists plan to sue the federal government next month to restore wolf protections, hunts are already being scheduled by state wildlife agencies to reduce the wolf population to between 900 and 1,250.

Idaho hunters will be allowed to kill between 100-300 of the animals this fall under a plan approved by the Idaho Fish and Game Commission. The hunts are partly in response to increasing numbers of livestock being killed as the predators' population has grown.

"We manage big game for a living, we're good at it," said Steve Nadeau, who oversees large carnivores for the Idaho Fish and Game Department. "The world is watching and we know it."

Fish and Game estimates Idaho now has 800 gray wolves. Should the number of breeding pairs in Idaho fall below a target number, the animals could be brought back under federal protection.

After a series of public shouting matches between wolf advocates and opponents, comments from Idaho Department Fish and Game officials on Friday seemed largely designed to reassure both ends of the debate.

Cal Groen, director of the department, told reporters that his agency has already proven its ability to recover and maintain Idaho wolf populations. "We've exceeded all the goals the federal government set," Groen said.

But Doug Honnold, a managing attorney for the nonprofit environmental law firm Earthjustice, disagrees. Honnold said the wolf populations won't be fully recovered in Idaho and the northern Rockies until the animals number between 2,000 and 3,000.

Earthjustice, which represents 12 local and national environmental groups, plans to sue the federal government next month to continue wolf protections.

All three state plans to manage the wolves call for a reduction in their numbers, which will eventually lead to weaker breeding, Honnold said in a telephone interview from Bozeman, Mont.

"We think that would be a disaster," he said. "We've spent a lot of time, money and effort to promote wolf recovery."

Gray wolves were listed as endangered in 1973 after being hunted into near extinction, but the population has rebounded dramatically after restoration efforts began in 1995. The wolves were recently de-listed in the western Great Lakes, while the wolf population in the Southwest remains endangered.

Wildlife biologists estimate there are now 41 breeding pairs in Idaho, in 72 packs. If that number falls below 10 breeding pairs, or 15 during a three-year period, the wolves could be brought back under federal protection.

On Friday, Idaho Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter signed a bill to allow ranchers, outfitters and pet owners to kill wolves harassing livestock. The law gives owners up to 72 hours to report wolves they've killed after catching them annoying, disturbing or stalking animals or livestock.

___

On the Net:

Idaho Fish and Game Commission: http://fishandgame.idaho.gov

Earthjustice: http://www.earthjustice.org

Is it just my kids?

So my two oldest boys come in with their matching soccer shirts on.  I tell my oldest to please change his shirt because I worked hard to make sure that shirt was clean for tomorrow's soccer game.  So he says "It's dirty!"  I reach over and pull a dryer sheet out of the neck.  Yeah, dirty.  Uh-huh.  I tell him "It's clean.  Please change your shirt."  He announces that it won't be clean for long, goes into the kitchen, gets something from somewhere (who knows) and spreads it on the front of his shirt.

Please tell me it's just not my kids.  I don't even have any more "mad" left in me about this stuff.  Just sadness and frustration.  No wonder I don't bother keeping things up.  Zero appreciation.

Being a Worry Wort stinks

So, the hubby has been gone a couple weeks.  He shot off two quick e-mails, and now nothing for a week.  An entire week.  No word that he is OK.  I hate this.  I really depend on those e-mails so I know that all is going OK.  It's so unhealthy on those submarines.  I mean, how can be locked up in a tin can breathing manufactured air and getting no sunlight be healthy, right?  I always worry when I don't hear from him.  I always worry that they had to do evasive maneuvers to dodge a giant squid and Alan hit is his head or something.  Ok, ok.  I know that is a little over the top.  But seriously, I know when I went on a family cruise, I had a hard time moving around or even standing still.  But then again, we were on the surface, and the water was choppy.  Maybe being under isn't so bad. 

Hopefully the Powers that Be are just not uploading.  I do hope they downloaded, though, so that Alan can get word from his friends and family.  I know the e-mails cheer him up, too.  Grr.  Hopefully I'll hear something soon.  Meanwhile, I scan the headlines several times a day to make sure there aren't any US submarines in the news. 

I remember Alan's first ever deployment.  At the very end of it, the news flashed on that a submarine sank.  Just "A submarine."  They didn't say which country it was from, what it's name was, anything.  I was going out of my mind.  It was the Russian Sub, the Kurtz.  The fate of that sub still saddens me, but man, was I relieved to get that phone call from Squadron telling me it wasn't a US submarine.  It was nice of them to call....they probably knew that the wives were going bananas.  Shortly after, there was a Press Conference of someone announcing that it was NOT a US sub.  Easier than calling all the family members of  US Navy Submariners, huh? lol

 

 

Don't ask, I don't know

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Somebody Loves me

 

Now I just wish I knew who.  :-)  I think maybe the Hubby had pre-arranged it.  But normally he has a card put in or his address comes up under Billing address.  It just said "Third Party."  Twelve chocolate covered strawberries.  All for little old me.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart to whomever sent them.  I shall enjoy greatly.  If I can't eat all 12 in time, I'm sure I can find a small helper or four.  But I shall try my hardest to consume each and every one myself.  They are fruit after all.

::smiles wickedly at something she deleted::

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My concerns were valid

So we were at the grocery today, and I kept giving Jacob little "jobs" to do.  "Walk over there and pick out some bananas, please grab a can of Chili" kind of stuff which he was excited about.  The problem?  His siblings kept running ahead and doing it for him.  Which made Jacob angry.  I can totally see his point, I'd be irritated, too.  I *was irritated that the others weren't respecting him or me. 

The problem came after the second time of his siblings doing this, and Jacob lost it.  He started screaming, then he screamed (very loudly) "I want to kill you, Aidan!"  And then he hit him.  People turned to stare, but I don't care about that.  Let them stare and judge.  I have no need for their ignorant judgement so I ignored them.  What I *do care about is that Jacob immediately whipped around to face me and blamed me and his lack of medication yet today for his impulsive move. 

"It's your fault, Mommy, for not giving me my anger medicine!"

This is exactly what I was afraid of.  He is already becoming dependant on it and thinks he needs the pill to control himself.  For the record, I give him his pill at night because it makes him sleepy.  So no, I haven't skipped any doses.  I have tried to explain to him that the medicine is not for controlling his temper.  He needs to find ways to do that for himself, with my help and guidance.  We are attending a workshop on ADHD next week, so hopefully they can help me find a way to explain the medicine to him in a way he can better understand. 

I really, really hated to hear him basically say he acted like he did because he hasn't had his pill yet today.  I hate when I'm right, sometimes.

 

Feeling quiet

I know why they call it March Madness.  Because the men are in a frenzy of madness over Basketball, and the women are just mad.  Survivor isn't on tonight.  Wah!

I received a phone call today that kind of scared me.  I can't remember if I mentioned or not, but Robby has been biting his cheeks, tongue and lips a lot while eating lately.  And he recently started drooling like mad.  I mentioned it to his therapist a couple weeks ago, and she has been working on finding out an answer.  This week, she brought some Goldfish crackers to watch him eat.  Long story short, he chews with his front teeth.  That is why he is a two year old that chews with is mouth shut.  He shoves the food between his front teeth with his tongue and pushes it against his lips.  That is why he has been biting himself.  He hardly uses his molars at all.  And he doesn't move his jaw from side to side.  So his therapist has been e-mailing with a specialist that she knows through her work to try to find out the right therapies to do with Robby.  She called me today to ask some questions that seemed a little over the top for a problem that I thought would be simple to fix.  It might not be simple.  :(   I'll tell you all more when I know more. 

Overall, though, his speech has been doing really well.  He can say almost any single word (mimic) and he as a LOT that he can say on his own spontaneously.  He even has a two word phrase he uses a lot.  "Gone now"   What a first two word phrase, huh? LOL  Most kids start out with "All Gone" but Robby likes doing things the more difficult way.  Like, for Yogurt, he says "Gurt!" G and the /ur/ combo are really difficult.  "Yo" is pretty simple.  Yet he says "Gurt!"  That's my boy.

Spring Break is almost over.  I'm secretly relieved.  Yesterday was gorgeous.  We were able to go out to the park and then come home and spend the better part of the day outside.  It was supposed to be a high of 54, but it got up to 65.  Perfect in my eyes.

I'd love to take the kids to the museum tomorrow, but I need to reserve the gas in my gas tank AND my voice is still iffy.  Not sure if I have mentioned, I haven't had a voice for a couple days.  It stinks.  The kids are being remarkably good and understanding about it, though.

 

Prayers

                                                      

 

 

                                             

 

"Dear God,

Thank you band aids and alcohol and hugs and kisses.  ....Thank you for voices.  Thank you Mommies and Daddies..."

I smiled as I bowed my head for prayers tonight. 

**********************

Edit on March 31st,

By "alcohol," he was referring to Rubbing Alcohol that I use to clean up scrapes.  LOL  Just in case anyone was wondering.

Jacob

So a little update.   Things are looking better.  We still have rough spots.  We had a little issue this morning, but I didn't react and it dissolved quickly.  Jacob seems to be trying to look at things from my point of view a little more.  I'm so proud of him and I'm proud of how hard he has been working.  I am really making an effort to congratulate and comment on things he does as they happen.  I can just see him beam with pride. 

He hasn't complained of a headache in the past two days.  Hopefully that is a good sign.  Today is the day we upped his dose of his meds...hopefully that adjustment goes well.

He looks so sweet in this picture.  Not that he isn't sweet, he just looks grown up most of the time anymore. 

A few pictures

Robby at the City Egg Hunt on Saturday.

Aidan at the Hunt.

After the Easter Bunny visted.  Matching the Balloons to the basket was a complete accident!  Worked out nicely, though.

Alexia was thrilled with her Webkinz.

My Neice today.  Isn't she a doll?  I loved her shoes...they squeaked with every step (like a squeaky toy, they were meant to squeak).

Jacob Hunting Eggs at my Aunt's.

I don't know if you can tell, but he had his little front pockets stashed with candy.  He had two or three Lollies and some tubes of smarties in there! LOL

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                                               Happy  Easter

 

                       

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Observance

Let's bow our heads for a moment on this Easter Morning to honor the late Miracle (the Fish). 

I haven't told the kids.  I don't want to ruin their Easter.  I quietly took Miracle out of the fish bowl.  Goldy seems to be fine.  I need to change the water, and I'm wondering if I can do it without the children noticing that there is only one fish. 

:*(

Bless thy neighbor...again

This time it was a different neighbor.  This one is my friend, Judy.  I care for her two grand kids twice a week so that she can work a part-time job to keep her sanity. 

I had invited her and her grandson to go to the City Easter Egg Hunt with us.  Well, it got to be time to go, and she called me telling me her daughter had her Grandson and hadn't gotten back yet.  So go ahead and leave when I could, and she would call if they showed up.  Well, I went to leave and my lovely immediate neighbors had left beer bottles in my yard last night.  They had a party, and apparently it's much easier to drop their dangerous trash in my yard.  My kids got to the bottles first and crashed them all over my driveway.  Lovely.  That really put a smile on my face.  I was really geared up to take the kids to an Easter Egg hunt in the cold and drizzle then.  Yee-haw!

To say the least, our departure was delayed.  I had to sweep up all the glass so I could get the kids into the van safely.  I also wanted my tires to be safe, etc. etc. etc.  Just as I was finishing up, Judy called and said her Grandson still hadn't shown up, but could she come anyway to help me out?  Man, what a blessing she was.  I could have never, ever done that by myself without her.  What chaos.  They throw a bunch of eggs in a little patch of the baseball stadium and have everyone form a circle around it.  Then they yell "1-2-3-GO!" and all the kids run forward and converge in the middle in 2 minutes.  Chaos.  Utter Chaos.  And they divided it all up into four age groups.  And of course all of my kids were each in one of the four age groups.  Fun, fun, fun.  It was a true blessing that she decided to go with us.

We bought lunch on the way home and came here and ate it.  My house is a disaster area.  She decided she wanted to help me clean, and I let her.  I needed the help.  So we cleaned house for about an hour, then sat down and chatted. 

I definitely think my good neighbors are balancing out the more negative ones.  I need to pick a neighbor I don't know and bless them.  Maybe I'll make a new friend.

You sure can tell we have spent a lot of time at the Doctor's office

Notice how he carries his Stethoscopes, lmao.

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Something I need to talk about

So, most of you know that I have had many, many challenges with my oldest son Jacob.  Well, those challenges came to a sharp point a couple weeks ago.  I asked him to put his socks on so he could go to school, and it turned into a very frightening experience.  My dear baby boy started screaming at me in a way he never had before.  He then calmed down and looked me right in the eye and told me very flatly that he was going to run away from home, put out a hat and sing songs, and then take the money to buy a gun so he could kill me. 

Holy Cow.

I'll say that again.

Holy Cow.

I calmly told him that he really frightened me and I thought it would really help him to talk to his Counselor at school.  Well, this happened to be the morning that the Blizzard moved in, so I had already told him I needed to call the school to make sure the his and Alexia's field trips were canceled or I wasn't sending them to school.  So I picked up the phone to do that, and Jacob flew down the stairs and attacked me.  Literally attacked me.  Kicking me and punching me and he hit the phone out of my hand.  He was screaming how much he hated me and he couldn't wait to kill me.  The school secretary heard it all.

Yeah, it was that bad.

He calmed down when I picked my phone up again and I calmly asked about the field trips as if nothing had happened.  The secretary was asking me if she needed to call 911 and "WHO IS THIS?"  I hung up.

When he was safely at school (no field trips), I called and left a message for his Counselor.  Six or seven days went by with no word from her.  Then the Head of the Family Resource Center called me telling me that Jacob's teacher had come to her very concerned about Jacob's anger in class.  That did it.  I got him an appointment with our regular doctor for a referral to an outside Councilor.  Before that appointment came up, Jacob's school Councilor got back withme saying she talked with Jacob for about half an hour and was very concerned.  She was very happy to hear he had an appointment to get help. 

My heart broke when his school Councilor and his Teacher told me that Jacob has been telling everybody this:

"Mommy told me Daddy isn't coming home for Easter, but I know he will probably surprise us and come home like he did last year."

His Daddy is currently on a submarine until Summer, so that is not happening.  Now I know why Jacob was so excited for Easter, and he cried when I told him Daddy wasn't able to and he wasn't going to be surprising us.

Jacob's appointment has come and gone, and I say with great regret that I was put in a position to make a decision I have been avoiding for a while now.  I am giving Jacob medication for ADHD.  I didn't want to do it.  I hate doing it.  But the threats to kill me have been out of control.  The simplest things send Jacob over the top and I have cried so many tears at night over the past few years, I can't even tell you how many.  His schoolwork as been going downhill, his friendships have been disappearing...it's been just terrible.  I have been hiding this nightmare my son and my family have been living behind my smile.  It has gotten to the point that I can't even send him to Children's Church at Church.  He hides under the table screaming at the volunteers.  Putting him in a sport hasn't helped.  He pretends to be a Pokemon character in Soccer.  He closes his eyes and runs on his tip toes and runs into everybody and the glass separating the field from the spectators. 

So the medication that he is on is a temporary thing to see if it helps until we can get him in to see the Councilor he was referred to.  I'm having trouble getting them to call back, so Monday I'll be very aggressive in trying to get a hold of them. 

I cringe every time I give Jacob one of those little yellow and white pills.  It's like something pierces my heart.  I hate to admit it, but I can see the very beginnings of a difference.  I was told it could take a week to a month to make a difference, but already Jacob is sleeping better.  Jacob is following directions.  And one more thing...one thing that hasn't happened in so long, I can't remember if he ever did it before now....

Jacob has looked me in the eye and listened to what I have to say.  I told him "The sky is so blue today!"  And he agreed.

He used to argue that the sky is purple.

I hope I am doing the right thing for my baby.  He is supposed to get a full Psych Evaluation from the Councilor. 

Keep him in your thoughts?

Just Beautiful

Today was a gorgeous, gorgeous day.  They had called for mostly cloudy and rain, but the sky was blue and the sun was warm.  The kids and I went to a play date this morning, then we went to the new Library that opened up recently.  It's really, really nice!  It's two stories and the upper story has different "libraries" (each area is completely separate)...so the Children's Library is all on it's own.  It's huge.  Plenty to do.  Even completely kid friendly computers are available.  A child can operate it as long a they can click a mouse.  My kids love, love, love it.  I could sit in the middle and lounge around on a couch without having to worry about losing my kids nor did I need to worry about them being disruptive.  We stayed for an hour and it was a completely non-stressful event.

The bad part is that the hubby was able to call me and I missed his last phone call.  :(  My phone never even rang.  The voicemail chime went off when I got out of the library.  I was bummed.

After the Library, the kids and I came home and I bleached out the outdoor table that we use as a sand table in warm weather.  I cleaned it out and filled it with sand and pulled out all of the bikes.  Then I cleaned our vehicle.  We ended up playing outside for like two hours.  Then a neighbor came to visit and she helped me vacuum our vehicle while I chased my youngest.  He was tired of being outside.

I then piled all the kids into our vehicle and we went for ice cream.  We took it to the local airport to watch the plains while we ate ice cream.  We are home now (obviously), and everyone is really tired.  As soon as the Scooby Doo movie that we borrowed from the library is over we are heading to bed. 

Today is the first day of Spring Break.  Did I mention that?  Hopefully it will be a good one.  We have plans tomorrow, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday.  It's been a way busy Month. 

Happy Spring!

 

Happy First Day of Spring!

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Bless thy neighbor

I know I have talked negatively of many of my neighbors.  Well, since I started going to Church almost a year ago, I have met one of my neighbors there.  Turns out she lives just a few houses down and she is a true Marvel.  Just a beautiful person inside and out. 

A few days ago, she was behind me on the way home from Church.  She told me she thought my tires looked bowed out.  I told her that made sense, because I was getting a lot of play in the wheel and my gas mileage hasn't been very good.  So today is the first Sunny day since then, and she stopped by and checked each of my tires for me.  All four were each 10 pounds low.  Yikes.  She urged me to get them taken care of right away.  She told me exactly where to go.  It was a place I didn't even know existed.  I just took the boys in there and explained to them that my Husband is deployed and I never learned how to know how much air to put in the tires since I didn't own a tire gauge.  They were pretty busy, but one of the guys stopped what he was doing and told me to pull the van up.  I pulled it up and he checked and filled each of my tires for me.  I asked him what I owed him and he said nothing.  I thanked him.  That was super nice of him.  My neighbor had told me that was why she was sending me there...because they don't try to sell you stuff you don't need, etc. 

I'm glad I had my neighbor looking out for me.  I am making a day trip this weekend, and having four tires that low in air is hazardous.  No one wanted to see me stranded on the side of the road with the kids. 

Thank you for looking out for us.

Privacy...

...Is near.  So if you want to be able to read about my mundane life, just let me know ASAP.  :-)  I have some stuff I need to blog, but I don't want to do it publicly.

Thanks.

Swiped from a Live Journal.

 

(updated)

Current Music: Shy Boy - Jordin Sparks
What is your...

1. ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet, current car):
Peter Mercury

2. GANGSTA NAME: (fav ice cream flavor, favorite Kind of shoe)
Mint Chocolate (::bows before the Mint Chocolate::) Slip(accent thingy)on

4. SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born):
This information is too personal to put on the Web. I'll fill it in when I go private, lol

5. STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 of your first name
See number 4

6. SUPERHERO NAME: (favorite color, favorite drink):
Blue Water

7. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers/grandmothers):
Yeah, see 4 and 5

8. STRIPPER NAME: (the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy)
Vanilla Chocolate  Ha!

10. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 4th grade teacher’s last name, a city that starts with the same letter):
I don't remember his name!  And he was one of my favorite teachers.  That's what I get for getting old.

I remember now!  My TV weather anchor name is Howey Houston!

11. SPY NAME: (your favorite season/holiday, flower):
Fall Lilac

12. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now)
Banana Coat

 

 

I have many activities planned for this week to do with the boys during the day.  Naturally, today they don't want me involved.  They haven't seen each other since Thursday, so they just want to play with the plastic eggs how they want to play with them.   I printed out fun things to do that encourage reading and writing skills and I have plastic eggs that we were going to count and sort.  Well, they are counting and sorting them on their own, so that's cool.  "Let us, Mommy!  Let us!"  Ok, Ok, I give.  When they are finished, then I will bring in the planting soil I have and the tomato seeds.  I hope it's not too late to start them!  I really want to grow my own tomatoes this year.  Wish me luck!

Big Bang Theory

It's back!  Yay!  Yee-ha!  Just the intro tonight had me falling out of my chair laughing.  I love, love, love this show.  I guess it's a Geek thing.  :-P

Going Private

I'm going to go Private so I can feel more comfortable posting pictures and videos and names, etc.  So contact me if you want to have access.  :) 

Top 'o the Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day

 

 

                                                           

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A fish Note

 

My five year old took this picture.  Pretty cool, huh?

My eight year old asked me if he could say goodnight to the fish tonight.  Well, they are currently in the bathroom so the cats don't have a late night snack tonight.  He was taking a while, so I opened the door to check on him, and he was praying with the fish.  I apologized and quietly shut the door.

Can Miracle truly be a Miracle?  Maybe...

                       ...just maybe...

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Some more on the Musical

The kids, I think, had a lot of fun.  My two oldest were in the program.  My two youngest rode a fish that my oldest brought around.  His name is "Big Fat Fish."  Pretty appropriate name for him.

 

 

Say Hello...

To our two new good causes.  Miracle and Goldy. 

The children put on a Musical tonight and all proceeds went towards the Youth Ministry.  The Youth Ministry has done a lot for my children in the past year.  They have gained so much.  It was time to give back a little.  So I won't mention how much I won the Fish Auction for!  There were people there, of course, who jacked up the prices on purpose.  Well, they didn't back down very quickly on the fish my children wanted.  Haha.  The money did go for a good cause, though.  And they threw in an extra fish.  Miracle...named because he had somehow gotten out of his bowl and he was found on the floor not breathing.  And now he is fine. 

I warned the children that fish have notoriously short life spans. 

                     ...especially in a household with three cats.

I do have an awesome track record with fish, though.  I once had a fish that lived for nine years.  I didn't think about traveling, though.  I might have to find someone to fish sit.  Or I might have to travel with fish and lock it in a bedroom where the cat isn't allowed when we travel.  We traveled with Peter (my long-lived fish) many, many times.  He had a special box and was a seasoned traveler.  So maybe Miracle and Goldy will be seasoned travelers.  You just never know.

Valuable

So, a couple weeks ago I tried to explain "valuable" and "rare" to my son.  He was learning about how some rare things can be valuable in school. 

Well, today he bit his tongue eating lunch and he told me that "this is valuable, Mommy!"  I caught on instantly to what he was saying.  "No, J, having your tongue bleed is rare, not valuable."  Then I had to explain how something is rare because it doesn't happen a lot or isn't seen a lot.  Something valuable is worth a lot of money, or it has a lot of sentimental value, which means it means something to your heart.  He thought that ALL rare things were valuable and that "rare" and "valuable" meant the same thing, that is where he got confused, lol.  So we talked about it.  I just thought it was cute that he thought that his tongue was valuable.  Hehe.

Sunshine

Sunshine makes such a difference in so many ways!  It's a mood booster, but it can also deceive you as to how warm or cold it is outside.  Yesterday and today the temperature was the same.  Yet, yesterday it was raining and we shivered in winter coats.  Today, it is the same temperature, but it is sunny.  So the kids played outside with a water gun and it feels warm and comfortable outside.  It always amazes me!  I remember going outside on a sunny day this earlier this winter thinking how warm and gorgeous it was.  I didn't even wear a coat.  When I check the weather, I found out it was nine degrees!  And there was I was comfy and coatless.  All because of the beautiful sun.

Today

Today is Palm Sunday, so my kids sang in the children's choirs at Church.  They also did the Procession of the Palms.  I think it is cool that at every Major Religious Holiday, our Church has a traditional "Procession."  On Palm Sunday, it was people (in this case, the Children) waving Palm Fronds in each hand and walking down the center aisle and splitting in the middle up front.  On Christmas Eve, it was people dressed in red vests and white dress shirts and black pants...they just walked up the middle and split down the front and walked to the back of the church until the the people (both adults and children) were lining both walls of the sides of the Church.  It sounds simple, but it was really beautiful. 

The day isn't over yet.  It's a beautiful week.

We have had some beautiful days lately, but now the rain has moved in.  That's OK.  Fall, rain, fall!  After last Summer's drought, we are still catching up!  It's almost Easter, and the kids and I have been running crazy. 

Of course someone is sick again, though.  :(  We just can't catch a break.  He has an appointment next week anyway, but I don't know if I can hold off.  The thing is, he JUST stopped taking antibiotics, so it's not like I want him on them again, KWIM?  I don't want him to get pneumonia, though.

Things are going OK, though.  We are moving along pretty well.  I was exercising yesterday, and I twisted my knee, so I have a little limp...but that will go away.  :-)  

Oh, I found out I'll keep my job until at least the end of school...so that's a good thing.  I think I could do it this summer if I wanted to, but it's pretty much one of those pros and cons kind of thing.  If I keep them this summer, I will be stuck at home for nine hours every day.  I wouldn't be able to take my son to speech therapy, and I would have to take my vacation whenever they take their vacation.  I really hate for the kids and I to be tied down like that, KWIM?  But the money would be lovely.  And the two kids like coming here, and my kids love them coming here.  But man, my four fight enough...and then when the nine-year-old comes, she and my eight-year-old fight just like brother and sister, too.  Plus, she isn't tolerant at all of my five-year-old, and has really hurt his feelings on more than one occasion.  Like I said, pros and cons.  I think as it stands right now, I won't be having them.  Maybe I'll talk to the mom about it next week.  She's always in such a hurry to grab the kids and go, though.  They are very busy, which I totally understand.

I almost dread...

My phone ringing these days.  Lately, it's been bad things when my phone rings.  Today was no exception.  The majority of the calls were good, but then there was that one bad thing that just threw a curve ball in everything.  I won't talk about it right now.  Maybe when I know more next week. 

I'm trying very hard to stay focused on the things that need to be done right now.   Look forward to the prize.  Right now my prize is when I see the Hubby again.

It's always something...

My poor little girl.  She has basically been sick since early January.  She is basically well right now, but she has been sent home twice in the past week for a painful tummy.   I made her an appointment today to rule out anything medical.  Sometimes it's just the age, but she whimpers if you push on her tummy, etc.  So we went to the doctor.  The short version of what the doctor thinks is that A has been so sick, her tummy is inflamed and needs a little help getting back to normal.  So he put her on a strong antacid.  I can't believe how much an antacid costs.  We have pretty good Insurance through the military, so I was shocked when she told me how much I had to pay.  It was $70 less than the medicine actually costs...but it was also $13 more than we are supposed to pay.  I'm going to have to call our Insurance and ask them why I had to pay so much.  In 4 years I've never paid over a certain amount, and then Bam!  Ouch, it couldn't have come at a worse time, either.  My employer didn't pay me last week, and they put him in a daycare which might take my job away.  They are seeing how it is going.  Double Ouch.  Then with Easter coming up....::sighs::

I just pray that this medicine will help my baby girl.  If it doesn't, she will have to have extensive tests done.  :(

It figures

My kids have been getting up from anywhere between 5:30 and 7 lately. 

It figures that the one morning that I get up at 6:30 and can't fall back asleep, that my kids sleep in.  It's getting to the point where I might have to go wake them up, lol.

          ...I must say.  This quiet is delicious, though.

Kites

As I look out the window at the expanse of white snow that reaches to the street from my window, I imagine flying a kite with my children.  I remember a few years back when I had three children, I took them to a local park and we flew kites.  The wind lifted the kite up into the clear blue sky.  I still remember the smiles on my kids' faces.  They laughed in delight as that kite danced with the wind.  The kite would do a quick jig before it fell into a the graceful steps of a Fox Trot.  The laughter still echoes in my heart.

I'm just closing my eyes right now and remembering that day and other days like it.  I have to remember that they are children.  Loving them and supporting them is what I need to be doing.  We have been traveling a rough road...I thought I was trying my best.  I can do better.  I need to hear their laughter every day.  It is a salve for my soul, and laughter will help them grow.

     ...and now, I need to get the grated Parmesan Cheese out of my carpet.   A few extra hands and eyes would help me out, too.

 

Wouldn't you know

  At 10:30 last night I heard it.  The outside hose was running...and had been running for 7 to 8 hours at full throttle.  Man, was I upset that I had to get dressed, get shoes and socks on and a coat so I could go out and turn the hose off. 

I am disgruntled with the kids because they *know they aren't supposed to touch the hose, but mostly I'm upset with myself because I didn't hear it!  Usually I hear it as soon as they turn the handle.  The handle is attached to the outer wall of my kitchen, so I can hear it squeaking and then I can hear the water running through the pipes.  I have no idea why it took me SEVEN hours to hear it yesterday.  Usually I am right on top of that.

So anyway, the kids are banned from the backyard for a bit.  Mommy needs to get her ears checked.  And all the snow on the back walk was turned to runny slush, which is now a really nice ice skating rink.  Got any skates?

 

Final Talley

 

Our final total for the Blizzard was around 13 inches,  give or take.   It finally quit snowing around 2 PM.  Then the sun came out!  The glorious sun!  I stuck my ruler in the snow, and it disappeared, lol.  Some drifts were up to my older kids wastes.  The kids and I romped and played for a while.  I shoveled for a while.  I hurt.  And wouldn't you know it,  as I was standing at my window admiring my driveway because it looks 100% better than the driveway across the street that their two teenage boys shoveled (because I'm weird like that ;) ), a snow plow came by and tossed a bunch of snow back onto the end of my driveway.  ::sigh::

At any rate, I tried to upload an AOL album, but AOL isn't playing nice.  No surprises there.

So you get one picture.  ::grins::

Everything is canceled tomorrow.  No soccer, no Church, no Choir.  As far as I know, the libaries are closed, the malls are closed, and the Museum is closed.  There is still a lot of drifting on the roads.  So, another snowed in day for us.  I plan on cleaning and playing all day.

 

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Baby, it's a Blizzard out there

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It's bad

I am having one of the most difficult weeks in parenting that I have had in a long while.  I don't know whether to scream or cry.  I do know I need to make some phone calls and get help. 

I flipped the bird

And it was OK!  I got to flip the bird without feeling guilty.

My very first Turkey, that is.

Thanks to my Mommy friends' guidance, the bird came out really well!  Here is a picture of it.  ::beams with pride::  The hubby ordered us pizza, so we will eat the bird tomorrow.  I carved it and put the meat in the fridge.  I need to throw the rest away and clean up still.

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Planet U-Turn

So my daughter brought me a picture she made in art. I noticed that there were two planets with rings.  I asked her which two planets those were.  She kind of shrugged, but my oldest was there and he said "Don't you know, Mommy, that's Saturn and U-turn.  Two planets have rings.  Didn't you know that?"  I kind of looked at him.  "U-turn?"  He' like "Yeah, Mommy, Planet U-turn is the second planet with rings."  So I asked him to name the planets.  He said "Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, U-Turn, and Neptune." It was all I could do to not laugh my butt off.  I was like "Do you mean Uranus instead of U-Turn?"  He was like "OHHHHHHH, Yeah, Uranus."  I guess I should be happy he called it Planet U-Turn instead of it's other popular mispronunciation. 

Here's another crazy driver story

Only this one makes me seethe and angers me because she came so close to killing someone.  Literally.  I was driving past a strip mall and I stopped for Pedestrians.  The crazy woman behind me lays on her horn, then stomps on her accelerator, barely missing me and nearly hitting the child and the woman in the road.  The woman swooped up the child and jumped back in front of me. 

Why on earth would you pass someone who paused for Pedestrians?  Even if you can't see why the person paused, there has to be a reason.  KWIM?  If the person stopped and parked, OK, but I was still kind of moving. 

If the woman hadn't accelerated so fast and taken off, I would have gotten her license plate and called the police to report her for attempted vehicular manslaughter.  She tore through the strip mall, never pausing, swerving around Pedestrians in the road.  It's warm and sunny, so there are lots of people out today.  Man.  I can't believe her.  She had me so teed off that I didn't have any more "teed-off-ness" left for the other four people who tried to hit me today.