My Blog – The Life & Times…….

Remembering my life. Chronicling it. That’s why I started this. How sad that the chronicle of my life has become a daily recitation of the puzzle I do each morning…Nothing about the temper tantrums my son has taken to having, and how tired I am of listening to him & Hunny go at each other constantly – tired to the point of tears. Nothing about the insecurities that have begun to surface as each day passes. No commentary on the struggle to get “the ends” at least within sight of each other – meeting not even an option at this point. The inability to sleep for more than an hour or two without waking up, therefore never really sleeping. The fear that the “other shoe is going to fall” because I know that despite how stressed I am, and what a struggle every day is, we still truly have it good. Trust me, I’ve had it bad, and this isn’t even close.When’s it going to happen, because it will. I’m not sure exactly what “it”  is, but I’m fairly certain it will be about as far from pleasant as white is from black.

I tell myself “People don’t want to read that crap – they have their own problems!” But really? I started this for me. For us. To have a way to go back and say “Oh yeah! That happened then ! Now I remember!” because my mind is becoming a sieve. It’s scary. For a person who has always been able to remember every little detail about everything, this is a whole new world.

Nothing about the progression, the ebb and flow, of the “magical, musical pain” as I call it. How stress makes it hurt more. How the hurt makes the stress more. I intended this to be a diary of sorts, a place where I could “let it all hang out,” so to speak. I’m the “strong” one – always have been. I don’t need your sympathy, your help, your comfort, your approval. For over 30 years that has been the me that everyone – and I do mean everyone knows. No time to call and say “hey”? So what! Too busy to go to the parent/teacher conference, good deal. Can’t be bothered to remember my birthday..? Who cares? I don’t need these things from you – no matter who you are. I actually own a t-shirt that says “Fuck You! I have enough friends.” I’ll put up a pic if I can find it… But I digress.

I created this “place” so I could not be that person. So I could be insecure, and afraid, and lonely, and even occasionally needy. A place where I could be the one getting comfort instead of giving. Crying instead of embracing with support. I also wanted to record important, and not important things as they happened, so in my busy world, they didn’t get thrown into that horrid “someday” file that seems to be infinite in size, yet inaccessible when there are a few free moments to review the contents within. Yet my world seems to have become “someday.” At least, everything important has. Someday we’ll go to the zoo. Someday we’ll take a vacation, Someday…And I’m so afraid someday will never come, for one reason or another. Yet how do I change it? I don’t see a way around doing each day the way I’m doing it -  I can’t not work, we barely make the bills as it is – feast or famine. I can’t even change my hours because I’m being held hostage by a school bus.

If I see my husband an hour a day, I consider myself lucky – seeing him sleep really doesn’t count as “seeing” him. My boy is asleep when I get home. In the mornings, he’s acting like a teenager in a 6 year old body. When your child is smart enough to find a loophole in every situation, and has the attitude of a teen, what do you do? I can’t really respond as I would to a teen – while he is intelligent he’s still a six year old emotionally, and he still follows six year old logic – he just uses college level words to do it…

Wow, I don’t even know what I’m doing here…apparently sleep deprivation tends to make one ramble – because anyone who is familiar with me knows I always stick right to my subject, and never wander from it….

Ok, going to go lay down and not sleep soundly. G’night!

See ya laterzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz! And oh yeah – I haven’t forgotten HH Gregg – I will get there, eventually….:)

My Christmas Post *grin* (only 4 days later…)

Well, Christmas has been and gone. I think it was a success here in Camby, IN. The boy cleaned up on gifts, even though he wasn’t the epitome of good. Matter-of-fact, he wasn’t even really close…but such is life with a six year old :)
I love Christmas! It’s my favorite time of year. I mean c’mon, my blog has a Christmas theme all year long – when it co-operates…But it’s over too soon. Not two days after, people are taking down decorations like they can’t wait to get on to the next big thing…*sigh* such a let down. You get this three month build-up, inundated with Christmassy stuffs,  then BOOM day after,  there’s Valentine’s Day stuff in the stores. . .Hell, I saw it in some stores even before Christmas. . .

Anyways, here’s some pics of our Christmas. . .  Here’s the boy checking on the milk & cookies left for Santa

 
The mostly empty milk glass

 
The “present” Santa left on my carpet…nothing like cleaning up a dirty, ashy boot print first thing in the morning *grin*

The haul…
  

The only non-toy in the bunch

You can’t tell from the pic (my timing isn’t the best…) but he really did like this

Pokemon – Always a winner!

Apparently the hit of the day…

And let’s not forget the “Demon Digger” aka remote controlled Grave Digger monster truck…”Why do you call it “Demon Digger”? you ask. “I’m getting there!” I say. This was ostensibly the boy’s present, but (of course) Dad had to “try it out” first…and the poor cats were his unwilling victims>>

If you look really close, you’ll see Hunny at the controls – the Demon Digger is coming out from under the coffee table at this point.

Here’s Bel hiding from said Demon Digger

Follow the arrow, Bel is hiding on the bottom of the table

Jingles is actually jumping backwards in this pic

Can you see him? Hiding under the table, as the Demon Digger approaches in a full out frontal assault..?

The only black spot on an otherwise wonderful holiday was the IM I found waiting for me on my computer when I got back from the in-laws and finished getting everything ready (for the folks who ended up unable to make it). That message was from my best friend D. My younger than me, stay at home mom best friend. We had made plans for Shayne & I to go over to her house Tuesday, when I’m off. My boy LOVES her house :). The message said

We’re going to have to cancel Tuesday’s play date. I had a heart attack last night & I’m in the hospital…etc., etc., etc.”

Needless to say, at 6:30 Christmas Day night I was flying to the hospital. Turns out she actually had several heart attacks, and had a stent inserted in her heart. She’s home now, but still….

Okay, I’m pretty much outta time, gotta go get ready for work – nose to the grindstone and all :) All in all, we had a good Christmas. I have more pics – will I get them up on here..? That’s a big, definite MAYBE…I hope all of you (all three regular readers *grin* and any first time visitors as well) had as good a holiday as we did. (Minus the whole best-friend-having-a-heart-attack thing)

See ya laterzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz! ! ! !
 

Here I am Again!

Well., it seems I’m on a roll here! I am actually posting AGAIN! What’s up with that..? LOL

We officially have snow…well okay not snow, ice. On everything…The school bus is running on a two hour delay – one hour for me, since the boy goes to afternoon class – and I get to be late for work. Aren’t I lucky..? I hate, hate, hate being late! It’s one of my things. But, what can I do, I’m at the mercy of the school system. Again. I already had to make my schedule even screwier than it already was to accommodate the whole school thing…Oh well, such is life :)
On another note, I’m not sure what to do about my boy & sleep. Yes, yes, I know all children fight bedtime. But this goes a bit beyond fighting bed. You can put him in bed. He still stays awake. Until ungodly hours. He usually falls out about midnightish, and he’s back up at six. Every day. I wish I could function on six hours of sleep, regularly. I’d get a helluva lot more done! But I can’t. As a matter-of-fact, me & only six hours of sleep is a dangerous combination for those around me….one which unfortunately will be experienced by many tomorrow…
You see, today is my “niece’s” birthday party. So after school, my boy is going over there for the party & staying until I get off of work. After work I get to drive down there (it’s only about 20 miles outta the way…) and pick him up, which is going to put me late getting home & to bed, obviously. ‘Cuz I’ll hafta fight him for an hour, before I can even consider going to sleep myself.
“What..?” you say, “that’s not so bad!”
”Yeah” I say, “not in and of itself…”
But you didn’t let me finish! Tomorrow is the day Jingles & Bel get to go “see the vet” if you know what I mean. (Yes, I believe firmly in neutering and spaying. I have nothing against cute little kittens – I LOVE cute little kittens –but there are way too many that no one loves that end up as not so cute, dead little kittens.) We have a clinic here in Indy  called FACE. This is a low-cost spay & neuter clinic – as well as doing general veterinarian type stuff. It is also located very close to where I work – woohoo, I caught a break! Oh yeah, did I mention that I have to have them there at 6:30 am..? And that I live waaaaayyyy far from where I work…?
”So they hafta be there early” you say, “what’s the big deal..? And you’re wandering again…”
Well, you didn’t let me finish…When you add in the information above – that I have to go to my sister’s to pick up my boy. That isn’t simply a run-in-and-grab-the-boy-and-go trip. It will entail visiting. Did I mention she has a good friend of ours staying with her..? Tattoo Billy is renting her garage apartment currently. Yeah you read that right…TATTOO Billy. Who does tattoos. To which I am addicted…did you know that about me..? Have I ever mentioned the 40+tattoos I sport in this venue..? I can’t remember if I have or not, but there it is. I am not only a witch, I am a heavily tattooed witch *grin*

This is my right arm

My left arm…

My lower right leg…

The rest of my right leg, and a peek at my left, along with my pregnant belly….

The back of my neck (obviously…)

The rest of my back (twenty-five pounds heavier…)

So there you have a partial view of my tattoos….my, I DO wander, don’t I..? What in the world was I talking about, hmmmm, lemme go back up and see…..oh yeah! Picking the boy up from my sister’s house where her roommate is Tattoo Billy…well, I guess that wasn’t TOO big of a stretch…Anywho, the point I was getting to was I have a fairly recent tattoo, done in all red, that has hollidays (bare spots) that need filled in. And Billy will be there, so I may be tempted….the problem is, I have to get up at oh, I dunno, 4:30, to have the boy out to Uncle Mike’s and make it to FACE by 6:30…so I won’t get much sleep today, erm, tonight. And tomorrow is going to suck for whoever has to deal with me.

Oh yeah, did I mention at any point that we’ve been having behavior issues on the bus..? I don’t think I did. We’ve been having behavior issues at home, too, both of which started about the time of this last move. He received a “red light” for not listening about a month ago. They have a system that uses yellow & red lights – the yellow is a warning, and when the warning isn’t heeded enough times, then a red light is sent home to be signed by the parents and returned. Then about a week ago, I got a letter from the aide on the bus, and the boy had to write “I will do what I am told when on the bus” three times and return it. She also made it a point to call me and tell me that he’s a sweet, loving boy who is essentially very good, he just won’t listen – yeah, I’m aware, and we’re working on it.
I truly believe it is stemming from the move & upheaval recently, but still haven’t figgered out how to counter-act it…
The reason I find this blog-worthy is the incident that happened last night, and the following disagreement/discussion between Hunny & I. You see, my boy hit another kid on the bus last night. Actually, he elbowed him. In the face. Hunny was very upset about this. I am not.
”What?!?!?” you say, “how can you NOT be upset about your child elbowing another child in the face?” you ask…
Well, you need some background to get to that answer. (Yes, I’ll probably wander a bit, but I’m sure it’ll all tie in – it usually does…) Going waaaaaayyy back to before our boy was born (Please step into the Wayback Machine…)
I was working at an Osco’s downtown. Across the square was an O’Mallia’s (kind of a high-end grocery market). One day on my lunch, Hunny had come to visit. We were sitting outside, when a dirty, disheveled, scrawny (read: crackhead) man came running out of the store, followed by a young girl who indicated he had stolen some stuff and run. Hunny being the man he is went after him. He caught him – for a minute, until the guy sliced his arm open. But Hunny wrapped it up in a towel and continued after him…it eventually took six cops tackling him to bring him down.It also took 17 staples to close up Hunny’s arm.
“Wandering” you say “How is this even remotely relevant..?”
”I’m getting there” I say ”have patience”  
I relate this story to emphasize Hunny’s character, and to demonstrate how he responds to certain situations. If it isn’t “right” he will attempt to do something about it, rather just stand on the sidelines and watch. I am the same way. Neither of us is going to allow ourselves – or anyone within our scope – to be bullied or abused. We are teaching our children those values, which I firmly believe to be the right ones. I also think that so far, we’re doing ok.
Another anecdote: When my older boy was in high school, a kid that was a very good friend of his – one of the few he actually brought to the house – slapped a girl, within his sight. My son stopped him the best way he knew. The school then proceeded to try to punish him for his actions. Needless to say, I didn’t support such punishment. I’ll not support punishing my child for doing the “right” thing. He saw a “man” abusing a “woman” and stopped it, because that isn’t acceptable in our world.
These are two of the people my boy idolizes above all others. He follows their example. I have no problem with that, as those are examples of how a person should be.
One more side-note, then I’ll get to the meat of the matter, I promise. Hunny is very big on not tattling, but rather trying to handle the situation yourself. During the party, I know I heard him say at least ten different times “Stop tattling” when the boy – or one of the other kids - would come to say someone had done something (as kids are wont to do).

Now, back to the bus…
While coming home last night, I called Hunny, as I always do. The relevant part of the conversation went something like this…
Hunny: “Your boy got in trouble on the bus again tonight.”
Me: *sigh* “What’d he do now..?”
Hunny: “He hit a kid on the bus.”
Me: “He what?!?! Why would he do that?”
Hunny: “Apparently the kid took his candy cane…”
Me: “So he hit him with reason..?”
Hunny: “They aren’t supposed to have any candy out on the bus.”
Me: “OK, but that’s beside the point. Did he hit the kid with reason?”
Hunny: “If he hadn’t had the candy cane out, the kid couldn’t have taken it and broke it.”
Me: “So he not only took it, he broke it too?”
Hunny:”Yeah. But if he hadn’t had…”
Me: “Is he in trouble for having candy out on the bus?”
Hunny: “No. He elbowed a kid.”
Me: “If he’s not in trouble for having the candy out, then it’s irrelevant. He’s in trouble for hitting a kid that took his candy cane and broke it..? And you agree with that?” (said with great incredulity. 
Hunny: “He hit a kid!”
Me: “Apparently a kid that was bullying him…”
Hunny:”They aren’t supposed to have candy of any kind on the bus.”
Me: “???" We’re back to the candy. He’s not in trouble for the candy, he’s in trouble for defending himself…”
Hunny: “But if he hadn’t had the candy out the kid couldn’t have taken it.”
Me: “Agreed. But that’s not what he’s in trouble for, right..? So it’s a moot point. If he were in trouble for having candy on the bus, which is against the rules, I’d be all good with that. But he’s in trouble for doing what we’ve taught him to do..?”
Hunny: *silence*
Me: “Does that about sum it up..?”
Hunny: “But they aren’t allowed..”
Me: “Yes. yes, I fully understand! No candy on the bus. He’s not in trouble for having candy. Leave the damn candy out of it. Until he’s being punished for having candy on the bus it doesn’t f*&king matter if he is or isn’t supposed to have candy on the bus.”

***side note – none of this is screaming or hollering, we are lucky to be able to discuss differences in a normal tone of voice, even if we do occasionally use inappropriate language….

Hunny: “It does matter. If he didn’t have it…”
Me : “Ok. He had candy. He’s not supposed to have candy. Got it. But even so, that doesn’t make it okay for another kid to take it & break it. Even if he was trying to “enforce the rules” the proper way to do that would be to alert an adult that a rule is being broken, not by taking it into his own hands. Was it a bigger kid?”
Hunny: “I dunno, I didn’t ask.”
Me: “It sounds to me like a kid was trying to bully him & Shayne took it upon himself to not allow that to happen. On the night bus there are bigger kids…”
Hunny: “If that were the case, he should have told someone, not hit the kid.”
Me: “Really..? *note the sarcasm in this statement* How many times did you tell him – just on Saturday – not to tattle..?”
Hunny: *silence, again*
Me: “I’m fairly certain I heard it come out of your mouth at least 10 times just on Saturday…”
Hunny: *more silence*
Me: *waiting*
Hunny: “So you mean to tell me that if someone snatched your purse, you’re not going to tell the police, you’re going to chase ‘em down and stomp their ass..?
Me: “ What did you do when you saw a shoplifter running out of a store..?” (see there is a method to my madness…lol)
Hunny: *silence* (are you beginning to see a pattern here..?)
Me: “What would Tony have done? What would Mike have done? What would CW have done? What would you have done? For that matter what would I have done..? You can’t be mad at him for doing what we’ve taught him to do and being what we’ve taught him to be.”
Hunny: *muttering* “So we’re raising a little thug.”
Me: “NO! If he had hit the kid to take away the kid’s candy..? Then you could say we’re raising a thug. Then we WOULD have issues, ‘cuz I’ll be damned if I’m raising a bully! But he didn’t, he defended himself. I’d just about bet a paycheck the kid is bigger, and Shayne isn’t the first littler kid he’s done something like this to. And I’ll bet he thinks twice before taking something from some other little kid.”
Hunny: “Maybe. But what would you have done if he had broken his nose or something..?”
Me: “The exact same thing I’m doing now! If he deserved it, he deserved it! If it was a bigger kid, I hope he did hurt him, and not only that I hope he embarrassed him! Maybe he’ll think twice next time!”
Hunny: “He still shouldn’t have hit him with an elbow…”
Me: “What should he have done? Sissy slapped him like a little girl? Have you taught your son to fight like a girl? Is that what you want?”
Hunny: “No. I taught him to fight like a boy. Karate has taught him to fight like a boy.”
Me: “Then why would you think he would do anything else..?”
Hunny: “He still shouldn’t have had the candy out, then none of this would have happened…”
Me: “Grrrrrrr….You’re right, he shouldn’t have. But he did. And a kid took it and broke it. And he hit him. And as far as I am concerned he was justified. And I have absolutely no problem going to the school, the transportation department head, the bus driver or the kids parents, and making it clear that I will not punish my child for doing what he did. You want to punish him for having the candy out? Fine, I’m all good with that. But for defending himself against what is probably a bully..? No way. Not happening!”

Maybe I’m wrong, but I don’t think so. I talked to my boy when I got home and asked him if it was a kid in his class. No. Was it a kid in Alec’s class (the other kindergarten class). No. So it was a bigger kid. I told him it really isn’t ok to hit someone in most situations, like if you’re just mad, or don’t like them, but it is ok to defend yourself. We also talked about the candy. He said he was really hungry. I can see that, he hadn’t eaten since 11ish, and doesn’t get off the bus til almost 4. I’m not sure where this will go, but I stand by what I said, and I will defend him – and his actions - if necessary.

Okeedokeee…now that I’ve rambled away atcha, I need to go get ready for work. I always appreciate input…..

See ya laterzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!!!!

The Birthday

The party is over & the mess is cleaned up…and as you can see, the comment left by the wonderful person on my last post lead me to what was necessary to fix my font issue in Live Writer! What a man (or woman…you can never tell…) Either way, wlwbrandon is my hero of the day!

Ok, on to the party. I actually have pics on the puter & am going to post them. That’s gotta be some kind of record….

Here are some of the guests. No, none of them are in-laws…these are family members by choice. Don’t get me wrong, I like my in-laws, they’re good people, and some of the horror stories I have heard about in-laws…I’m thankful for the ones I have. There are just underlying issues, and I don’t always agree with their actions – which is okay, because they probably don’t always agree with mine. But they know I’m and ex-titty dancer & are good with it. They know I am a practicing witch & seem to be good with that, too. That’s more than a lot of people get.

Ok, enough wandering….

 

We got him Ben10 for the DS, and a DS kit – which the guy at the store assured me would work with his DS even though it said it was for DS Lite. He was very adamant that the only difference between the two was the size. My boy needed a car charger, which said kit included. Which (of course) didn’t work with the DS. You know, that’s twice we’ve been misled by store employees, who ought to know what they’re talking about, and bought the wrong thing for that stupid game. Last year one of the demon store’s (Best Buy – but that’s a post for another day…) employees was absolutely positive that DS games played in the Advance, which was what he had at the time. They don’t. Not even close. So on Christmas morning, much like Saturday, my poor boy got something he really wanted, but couldn’t use…GRRRRR

Ahem…

 

As you can see, Pokémon is also a big hit. Anything Pokémon. That’s the little boy from down the street, from the First Day of School in the pic with him. I wasn’t about to have a house full of kids – never a good idea – but I did want him to have a buddy over. There were other kids, but older. Who he considers older siblings.

Hulk boxing gloves…as you can see, another big hit with my boy. Not so much with me… All in all, a good time was had by everyone. We decided to watch a movie after the gifts were opened. Of course, Hunny couldn’t stand it that the surround was not yet connected to the DVD player – sound through the TV..? No way! – so spent a goodly amount of time messing with that…you can see him in the background of a few of the pics, but here’s one just for him…

“It’s only two cables – just the RC jacks” he said, and realistically, it should have only taken about 2 minutes – that’s how long it would have taken me. But with my darling, it has to be a production. I think he was trying to use my psychology on me (any time I want him to do something, and he puts it off, and puts it off, I have found that if I start doing it, he’ll come do it, because I couldn’t possibly do it properly. That would be because I am not quite as ANAL as he is….but whatever! It works, and as long as it works, I’ll continue to foster that opinion…) by starting to do it, hoping I’d come hook it up real quick-like. Which I didn’t. LOL

And finally, since we are indeed rednecks, and our friends are rednecks, and we live amongst rednecks, here is the first picture in what will probably become an ongoing theme…How Many Rednecks Does It Take To..?

In this, the first installment, the operative question is “How many rednecks does it take to get the cat out from under the dishwasher..?”

Apparently more than we had (there were three more “coaching” & giving advice that aren’t in the pics…) They never did get him….As a matter-of-fact, I had a freak-out moment about an hour later, five minutes after I started the dishwasher & realized I still hadn’t seen Jingles, and that they had said he was “up inside it.” He’s fine, stretched out on the floor behind me as I type.

Ok, time to get ready for work. Gotta go!

See ya laterzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz! ! ! ! !

 

More Stufffs

OMG! ! ! I finally have Live Writer back, kinda. I have a Beta version, that looks very different, but still has all my info, so we’ll see if it works. What a royal pain in the ass this has been…First the installer jacked my computer up, then Hunny got it to load, but my dvd drive wouldn’t work, and Live Writer was gone (who knows what else I haven’t found yet is going to turn up…)

Ok, DVD doesn’t work, I’ll get a new one. And I did. And I installed it. It didn’t work either….They were both in my device manager, with exclamation points next to them. When I tried to install, they told me the drivers were corrupt…So Matt, a guy I work with came by and looked at the puter. He got the drives working WOOOHOOO ! ! ! ! He got Live Writer back on the puter. WOOOHOOO! ! ! ! GO MATT! ! ! !

But when I went to get online last night, my browser wouldn’t open. Neither one. Huh???? Ok, I did a system restore, back to Dec 2nd, before all this crap started. WOOHOOO! ! ! My browsers work again ! ! ! ! Uhhhhh….my drives are gone, again, as is the Live Writer….So in disgust I undid the restore and went to bed, hoping the fix-the-computer fairies would com visit in the night. No such luck. I got up this morning, still no browser. And a birthday party to prepare for – Oh yeah, on a side note, not that I ever diverge from my topic, or anything, the in-laws did come by. At noon. The party’s at 2ish…

Anyways, back to the puter. So for lack of anything better to do, I did a restore back to Dec 2nd again. Same result – I have a browser but no drives. I undid it. Then I had a flash of genius! I re-re-restored it back to Dec 2nd, downloaded  the Firefox Setup program to a jump drive, re-undid the restore, and re-installed it from the jump drive. It worked. But there are still issues, not the least of which is this window that keeps popping up

Now in and of itself, this window wouldn’t really be a big issue, unless you know that I have Windows Firewall turned off. Oh yeah, it’s off. If I click on Enable Protection it takes me to HERE apparently a site to buy security software.

Now how do I know for sure the Windows Firewall is turned off? you ask.
There have been people jacking with your computer! you say.
You’re exactly right! I respond, but I’m not a complete idiot, I’m not even blonde anymore….When I go into Windows Security Center, I see this: 

Well, that shows the firewall is on! you say.
Yes, yes it does make one believe that, doesn’t it? I respond….the thing is, when I go into “Manage Security Settings”  for Windows Firewall, I see this:

CLicking “yes”  leads to this:

CLosing that one, and again clicking on security settings for Windows Firewall, gives me this nifty little screen…

Which clearly shows Windows Firewall turned OFF.

I’m so confused….and really need to go get stuffs ready, people will be showing up anytime now, and I have way too much blood in my alcohol system to deal with a house full of people…..

I welcome – Hell, I’m begging for! – any suggestions as to how to remedy this…..

Gotta go for now, back soon, I hope.

Seee ya laterzzzzzzzzzzzzz! ! ! !

There's Birthdays A'Comin' - And A Bitch Session - LOL

Ok, I finally have a couple of unoccupied minutes, where do I start..? We’re in the new house, but I think you all know that already. We’ve added a new family member to our growing menagerie – ok, I admit, 2 cats really isn’t a menagerie, I just like the word J The tree is up, and many of the decorations have made it out of their boxes, but many more sit amongst the unopened boxes filling my garage, just hoping they will be found and allowed to bring us happiness. Whether this happens or not, I dunno, I kinda doubt it.

Saturday is the boy’s sixth birthday. Did I mention he has lost another tooth..? Hunny was all worried because one of his bottom front teeth was growing in behind the baby tooth, which was loose but didn’t seem to have any intention of coming out anytime soon. But out it did come, and the other has moved forward right where it’s supposed to be. Back to the birthday...We actually have 2 December birthdays, Shayne’s is the 13^th and Tony’s is the 27^th. Makes for a busy December, lemme tell ya. And, If I count in “honorary” family members, we have Stacey’s on the 29^th (I think…), my best friend D’s on the 19^th, and her daughter’s on the 17^th…whew.

Last year during “open enrollment” I asked for Saturday off, and got it. So Saturday is his party. I think this is the first time in quite a while that it’ll actually be on his birthday. My little Friday the 13^th baby. We planned it that way ! No really, we did – I was induced and got to pick the date J He’s also my snowbaby. The day he was born it was miserable outside, cold, windy & gloomy. They had called for snow, but none had been forthcoming. At the very moment my boy decided to join the world, the snow began to fall. And it has snowed on his birthday every year. Yes, I know, I wander a lot in my writing. Sorry, that’s just me. I sometimes wonder if I don’t have adult ADD – but that’s a whole nother post *grin*

Back to the party (again). We aren’t doing anything spectacular, just some friends & a cake, but what’s a party without drama? The drama this year is coming from the in-laws (go figger). Apparently since Shayne is now in school (what this has to do with it I have no clue…) they prefer having a “private” celebration to coming to the house for the party. Why is this drama? you ask …welllllll it starts all the way back to when I found out I was pregnant. Well, even before then, really.

Hunny’s sister had made it abundantly plain, in ways I won’t go into here, (but use your imagination), that she was never, EVER going to have kids. Then Shayne came along, and suddenly she was no longer the baby of the family (mind you she was in her 30’s at this time) and center of the universe. Shayne was born in December of 2002. Abby, her daughter, was born in June (or July, I can’t remember exactly) of 2004. All of a sudden, the woman who went to a lot of trouble to NOT have kids has a kid…. I don’t know what all has occurred in this dynamic before I joined it, but I can tell you what I’ve seen since….Hunny’s parents have kept our boy over night 4 times. In 6 YEARS. Never more than two nights in a row. The last time, we found we were going to be about two hours later than originally planned (original plan was to pick him up late afternoon, it turned out it would be early evening), and his parents flipped. The reason for the delay was that we were going to have dinner with our daughter-in-law. When Hunny called to say we’d be a bit later, all Hell broke loose. He left to go get our boy, and from what I later heard, angry words were exchanged between him and his father – well, an attempt at angry words was made. Hunny shut him down, telling him it wasn’t an appropriate discussion to have with a 3 year old present.

Now, while just the fact that they’ve only kept him four times is in itself a bit odd for Grandparents, in my opinion, but they rarely keep him at ALL, even for a few hours during the day. He’s been at their house, without us probably a total of 10 times in his life, including the four mentioned above. Abby, on the other hand, is there constantly. Abby is Hunny’s sister’s daughter – now there’s a mouthful LOL! Really. Anytime I have taken Shayne to visit in the last 3 years, she was there. They have made one of their spare rooms “her room” They kept her for 2 weeks while her parents went on a cruise or something. They also go to Hunny’s sister’s house a couple of times a week. She lives about the same distance from them as we do – probably 25 miles one way. You know how often they come to our house..? They haven’t even seen any of the last three houses we’ve lived in. And apparently they aren’t going to see this one now, either….’cuz he’s in school now (?)

Understand, these are the only biological grandparents my child has – both of my parents are dead and have been for years. But like I told Hunny, it’s really okay – there are a whole bunch of people in his life, that know him well, that call themselves his grandparents and fill the bill very well. (I can think of three families who’s “patriarch” and/or “matriarch” consider him their grandchild – and they have chosen to be in his life, not been thrust there by fate)

Ok, now that I’ve turned this into a bitch session *grin* it’s time to get ready for work. I will try to update more regularly. My computer still isn’t working properly – I have missing programs, what I have tends to freeze up, and it just isn’t right. But one of the guys from work is going to come look at it in the next few days, so hopefully all will be well again !

Gotta go, see ya laterzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz! ! ! !

The Latest Word...

Here I am. So far, still kicking, haven't killed anyone yet, although the urge has made itself felt a time or two in the last few days...I'm hesitant to write this, for fear of jinxing it, but I'm pretty sure we  found a house. Right down the street. There are good and bad points...

Good:

• I don't have to change my boy's school.
• We only have to move ALL OUR SHIT (and it's a bunch, I swear! I have no idea how it happened that we can fill a 50 foot car hauler TWICE and still not get it all...For most of my life, everything fit in my car, with room for a passenger...) about two blocks.
• The last tenants were there 4 years with no rent increase (don't get me wrong, I it's not the increase by itself I have issues with, rather the increase combined with lack of, well, everything a landlord should do.)
• Our newest family member is welcome
• There aren't any holes in any walls or doors
• There (why can't I start a sentence properly, with a capital letter, with the second letter being capitalized, too..? Grrrrrrrr my typing is pathetic!) is already a garage door opener. Yes, I know that sounds petty & lazy but look at it from my side...at $925 a month for rent, don't you think I should be able to open the garage without getting rained or snowed on? And they aren't cheap. And why should I invest the time, money & effort to install one when the property owner isn't willing to invest any of the above..?
• The driveway is almost level - again, seemingly petty, but yanno, repairs on brakes & transmissions are costly...
• It has a gas/wood combination fireplace
• The rent is only $875, and he is amenable to weekly deposits from Hunny's employer, so we never have to jack with making sure rent is paid (what happens is this***Listen up Landlords, this is actually a plan that is VERY BENEFICIAL for YOU****we fill out the direct deposit form from his work to have $201.14 deposited into the property owner's designated account, and the balance deposited into ours. The amount is determined by taking the monthly rent ($875) and multiplying it by 12 (months in a year, obviously) and then dividing it by 52 (pay periods in a year). Having it done this way means we never see it, so don't really miss it, I know rent is always paid, I don't have to worry about getting it to him, the property owner knows his money is always going to be there, he'll never hear "The check is in the mail." And I assure you, even thought the base amount stays the same, $201 a week is easier to work around than $875 a month - If it's in my account, waiting to be paid out, it's too much of a temptation to say "I'll just use a little here & put it back" resulting in having to give up basically a whole paycheck one week, and being flat-assed broke for the rest of that week.
• I don't have to change my boy's school.

Bad:

• We're losing about 600 sq. feet
• Uhhhhhhhh...that's really the only bad....unless you consider living within walking distance of the house you moved out of on bad terms bad. (I would truly not be surprised to see them (the new owners) move into the house...that could be awkward, or even possibly cause jail time to become a factor, NO, NO, NO
•   *breathe...breathe* "I will not physically assault anyone else, no matter how badly they deserve it...I will not physically assault anyone else no matter how badly they deserve it...I will not kick the living shit outta that lying bitch...oh, ahem...I will not physically assault anyone else no matter how badly they deserve it *breathe...breathe*)
• Theoretically, neither Christmas nor birthdays (Shayne will be 6 December 13, my older boy Tony will be 23 on December 27) will be ruined again

Ok, that's pretty much it for today. Hunny is meeting him this afternoon to sign papers & give him money. Until then, please keep all fingers & toes crossed that nothing unforeseen interferes... meanwhile, here are the pics from the flyer. Sorry about the poor quality, but they were printed onto regular paper by the property owner, then scanned onto my computer from there...

    

Ok, gotta get ready for work.

See ya laterzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz! ! ! !

In defense of those who sent you here...

As I am visiting my regular reads, it suddenly dawned on me that I have been placed in a couple of people's blog rolls. Damm. Pressure. That means, in order to keep them from looking bad for having recommended my blog, I am obligated to post something here. Preferably something not useless and boring drivel, which might be a trick....

*Sigh* Ok, here goes. I am working on getting my cubicle at work decorated for the holidays, turning a deaf ear to "It's way too early for that (while pointing at said decorations)", "It's not even Thanksgiving yet!" and "Are you kidding me?"s. On a positive note I have also been asked if I'd "be offended" (huh?) if a co-worker started decorating, and been told I am "just filling me (the speaker) with the spirit!" All of which tends to lend strength to my "Holiday Spirit" theory. *Grin* I figger "What the Hell..? I probably won't get to decorate at home..." You know, the whole landlordliedtoourfacesandhasnowruinednotonlyChristmasbutalsotheboy'sbirthdaycuzwehaftamoveagain thing...

So, honestly, it's really hard for me to be entertaining right now - if I even ever am...I'm not one to snivel or whine, as you know if you come here even kinda regularly. Matter-of-fact, I have very little tolerance for snivelers...but DAMM I'm tired of fighting just a step ahead and then be slammed back four. We really thought we were going to stay here and eventually buy this house. So much for that. And as someone who went to 17 different schools, and someone who has no "life long friends" as a result, I don't want that for my boy. Don't get me wrong, I've got friends that have been there for a long time, but it's not the same as knowing someone from the time you were able to know - did that make sense..? I think it did...

Okay, outta time for now, gotta get the boy dressed & ready for the bus & myself to the work. I'll try to keep posting fairly regularly - I wouldn't want to make anyone recommending my blog look bad...

See ya laterzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz! ! ! !

Yes, I'm Still Here!

Hey All,

Just a note to let you know I haven't fallen off the face of the earth...I am thoroughly disgusted with Blogger right now, because I changed the template here on accident, and it won't let me change it back. Apparently I can only change to one offered BY Blogger without getting some kind of funky ":bx" error. I don't want one offered by blogger, I want my Christmas template back! *pout*

So part of the reason I haven't been posting here is that I told myself I wouldn't until I could get it back the way I wanted it (so much for that, "cuz here I am). But in my defense, I didn't know it would be OVER A MONTH and still not fixed...

Another reason is because of my schedule. All three of you who come here regularly are somewhat familiar with my screwy schedule which was bad enough to begin with. Now it's even worse...The woman who was putting the boy on the bus for us, with her boy, in the mornings, got a job. Bad. Her husband does car repossessions so is home in the morning, and offered to continue putting the boys on the bus of a morning. Good. He had a court date that Hunny knew about (but didn't bother to tell me about) one morning at like 10 am, so when we walked down to their house, no one was home. Bad. I was supposed to be at work at 11, the bus comes at 12:15. Worse. No one we usually call to watch him (and there aren't many - and most of then are "kids") was available, so I called work & said I'd be late. Definitely Not Good. Apparently, whatever Bob (not his real name) went to court for wasn't good, cuz they kept him. Very, very, very Not Good. So I went to one of my bosses and had my schedule swapped around so I now work (week one) from 1-9 M, T, Th, & F (which is only 7.5 hours per day because apparently I HAVE to take a lunch) and 9-1 on that Saturday. Then I work (week two) 1-9 M, 3-9 T, 1-9 W, 1-9 TH, 1-9 F, and 9-7 on Sat. Can you see where that might mess with a person..? And it's not like I'm that hard to confuse anymore to begin with...

So, in an effort to somewhat catch folks up, here goes -

School is going great. My boy loves it, and is apparently thrilled with his new found ability to read! He also has a (possibly unhealthy?) love of numbers. Everythings about the numbers. He's always been one to ask questions, and never the easily answered one, either. School is giving him even more fodder for the old question mill...He did get an award for "Excellence in Listening" about a week ago. He got called up in front of the whole school & presented with a T-shirt. Granted, it looks like half the school got them but still...

 

I didn't get to go, because of course it was at 2:00 in the afternoon and I had to WORK. But, Hunny was still on vacation and he DID get to go, which is awesome, as he will more than likely have to miss many events like this as our boy grows up...

Then there's Karate...not so good. I like the idea of my boy having outside interests so to speak, and Karate, or martial arts, is a good one to have. But when he's done in Dec, he's done at this one. I have come to the determination that he isn't going to Karate so much as he's going to a money pit...Here, I'll let you decide:

Base fee for the class from April to December: $995.00
Karate Gi & assorted necessaries: $150.00 more
Each time he gets a patch, another $3 to $4 a piece - and he gets a couple every other week or so
Each time he advances to a new level, and requires a new belt: $30.00 - he's on his fourth
Any time they have "extra-curricular" activities: anywhere from $40 (to spend the night for a Halloween party at their new building) to $250 (for a DAY CAMP - ONE DAY -  teaching swordsmanship)

Is it just me?

Next up, we have added a new family member. NO I DIDN'T HAVE ANOTHER KID! Curses on you for even thinking it! I'm a GRANDMA for Goddess' sake!

About two weeks ago I was minding my own business at work, when everyone started acting all "gooey" - everyone up to and including the BIG boss. And her twin sister, who is the head of another department in our company. Of course I had to know what was going on...apparently of our techs got back to the shop and found a kitten in his MOTOR COMPARTMENT. Yeah, you read that right. The little thing had climbed up in the engine compartment, probably in an attempt to get warm, and found itself transported from Goddess knows where to our back lot. It seemed the tech was going to take it and "drop it off" somewhere, and the Big Dogs weren't having it. But they also couldn't HAVE it - the kitten that is. So guess who piped up and volunteered..? Yep you guessed it - me. Now I've talked about my boy and his ability to know things he shouldn't, and to arrange fate to suit his purposes before. For two weeks prior to this, he had been on a "Mom can we get a cat?" kick. Go figger, he got his cat...

So without further ado, may I present Jingles....

 

Surprisingly, for having been a stray, he is very affectionate & loving. He is a bit skittish - if you walk towards him he runs - but he'll curl up in your lap and purr the day away. When the boy falls asleep on the couch, he gets up behind his head and goes to sleep until I motivate upstairs. It's funny, it was too small to even tell the sex when I brought it home, but has shot up since. I believe we have a boy, although at some point in the (hopefully) not too distant future, "he" will become "it." He looks surprisingly like one of out last cats, originally named Bridget, which somehow morphed into "Pudding Pop" - don't ask, because I have no answer...

Pretty eerie, huh..? They actually could be related...We found Pudd at Hunny's Mom & Dad's house, stuck in their apple tree, about 6 or 7 years ago. They said she had been running around the neighborhood, and they were afraid she was going to get run over - but they weren't willing to take her in...so we did. She was also teeny tiny when we got her. We waited and waited for her to reach the weight requirement to get her spayed, and after a year and a half, at 8 lbs she just barely made it. As you can see, she apparent;y wasn't done growing at 18 months, because she ended up at about 30 lbs, and about 3 foot long from tip of nose to end of tail...

Ok, I'm outta time, gotta go get ready to put my nose back to the grindstone....I'm not gonna say I'll try to do better here, because every time I say (type?) that, I end up not posting for forever...but, well, yanno!

See ya laterzzzzzzzzzzzzz!!!!!

Some "Stuff"

As I am attempting to "clean up" my computer a bit, I ran across this in a document labeled "blog stuff." When I opened it and read what I had written (typed...) I realized I had done this when I was super busy (you know, like usual...) but had stolen a few minutes to record this so I didn't forget it. (It seems to be a side-effect of one of my medications, that if I don't do/write down something immediately when I think of it, it's gone forever. At least I hope it's a side-effect of a medication. . .) I then promptly forgot about it. Luckily I was smart enough to date it, so it's not pointless drivel from "sometime." It's pointless drivel with dates : )

So, without further ado, I will now post it, a bit late (cheat so I don't have to think today, LOL)

April 4, 2008

So I go downstairs to get some water (and what’s up with that..? Water, not coffee..? At 9 A.M. ish?) and my boy is sitting on the toilet (yes, we have attempted to foster a lack of inhibitions in our child, which includes allowing him to go to the bathroom at home with the door open, It's a natural bodily function, and shouldn't be a cause for shame or embarrassment...) Gameboy in his lap looking at his fingers…

Him: “Mommy..?”
Me: “Yes?”
Him: “Do you know what 3 plus 2 is..?”
Me: “What is it?”
Him: “It’s 5! ! ! !”

It is five…like him…should he be adding already? I ask myself, as I have on numerous other occasions. He doesn’t go to school…not even pre-school, just to his 2^nd Mom’s every weekday (that’s another entry…)

“That’s right, it’s 5…you’re so smart !” and I go and give him a kiss. As I’m walking away, he does one of those THINGS

Him: “Mommy….you smell so good1”
Me: “I do..? Thank you” and I float away to finish getting ready for work…is he really only five,,? Will he retain that ability to make a woman (yes, I am Mom, but still a woman who appreciates compliment, no matter the source) feel special & appreciated?

April 3, 2008

The boy is psychic…not a joke…he has proven this numerous times, both in small ways and large…

Example (small) My morning routine is pretty staid…I get up, stumble to the bathroom, pee, put in teeth, fall downstairs to get coffee, crawl back up to my computer and proceed to try to become human again. After about an hour, I begin to stir, take a shower and get ready for work, if it’s a workday, or go get more coffee if it isn’t. I am NEVER even SLIGHTLY functional when I wake up. However, last night I decided, as I was laying in bed, that I would get up and jump straight in the shower, dragging my boy with me as the wee one was in need of cleaning, I figured if we got in and out very first thing, it would make the morning go smoother. I made this decision in my brain, in the dark, just before I drifted to la la land.

This morning the boy comes in for wake up snuggles. After a minute or two of snuggling, I notice it’s pretty light outside & check the clock…8:27 OH S*&T! So I sit up real quick like, and jr scrambles off the bed, looks at me and says “Mommy, are you ready to shower now..?” I have NEVER, EVER, during this child's lifetime, gotten straight out of bed and into the shower.

Creepy, no?

A Little Bit of Catch up (I really wanted to type "ketchup"....)

Alrighty then! I am going to try to squeeze out a post between phone calls, and maybe - just maybe - I might get caught up a little bit. No promises, because you know, even though I sat here for 10 minutes with nuttin', as soon as I typed that, call came in - go figger.

Ok, the Tooth Fairy came, and boy is she GOOD! When the (mostly) sweet (monster) boy lost his first tooth, finally! after weeks of it being loose, Mommy took it and put it in her wallet for safe keeping until bedtime & under pillow insertion...Well, my boy has a tendency to fall asleep on the couch, where we let him stay - sometimes all night, sometimes he gets up & goes to bed. Naturally the couch isn't conducive to tooth hiding, and it really wasn't planned that he sleep there, so the tooth stayed in my wallet overnight. Twice. And twice I had a broken-hearted boy the next morning. But the third time, well the thrird time the tooth fairy got sneaky.
He came in that morning, asking for his tooth, so he could put it in his room and remember to put it under his pillow. Well, Mommy doesn't wake up well, as we all know, so grumpy Mommy, awake all of five seconds is listening to "But MOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM, if I don't put it under my pillow in my room, the tooth fairy won'y be able to find it! She won't even know a I lost it! What happens if she soesn't know I lost it?"
Me: "She knows."
Him: "But what happens if she knows I lost it and she comes to get it and it isn't there?"
Me: "She won't come until it's under the pillow. That's what sends her the message." (Not bad for 10 seconds awake, huh?)
Him: "But what happens if she got the message when it came out and she comes and it's not under my pillow..?"
Me: "Fine! Go get my purse!"
Him: "Where is it?"
Me: "Where is it always?"
And he ran off downstairs to get my purse while I stumbled to the bathroom. @ minutes later he burst back up the stairs with my purse.
Him: "Here you go Mom! Can you get it for me?"
Me: "Do you see me sitting on the toilet..? Have you lived with me all your life..? Why are you asking me to do anything this soon after I crawled out of bed..?"
Him: "But Mom....my tooth...."
Me: "Grrrrrrrrr."
Him: *sigh*
I finished my bidness, and went for coffee, a VERY impatient 5 year old hot on my heels. Down the stairs. Up the stairs. When I sat down at the desk, he immediatly came at me again about the stinkin tooth.
Me: "If you want it that bad, YOU get it."
Him: looking dubiously at my purse "Where is it..?"
Me: "It's in my wallet where it won't get lost."
Him: Digging through my purse to grab my wallet. "Where at in your wallet?
Me: "In the zippered pocket." Did I mention it has several zippered pockets..?
Him: Looking over wallet, trying to decide where to start. "Uh Mom..?"
Me: "It's the outside one silly boy."
He unzipped the pocket as I sipped my first blessed sip of coffee. Then got a confused look on his face.
Him: "It's not in here."
Me: "Yes it is! It's the only thing in there, I made sure the wasn't anything else in there with it."
Him: "It's not in here." At this point, I'm hearing a hint of desperation in his voice.
Me: "Shayne, it's there. I know it's there. It's the only thing in that pocket. Quit doing the "man look"
Him: "There's something in here, but it's not my tooth - it's paper."
Me: "You must be in the wrong pocket, there isn't anything in there with it."
Him: Pulling out a five dollar bill "This is in here - that's it"
Me: "Where'd you get that? I didn't have any cash...Which pocket did you get in?"
Him: "This one." Pointing at the place where the tooth was
Me: "That's where it was - Are you sure it's not in there? And are you sure that's where you found that money?"
Him: "I'm sure."
Me: "Huh..." and suddenly a little light comes on in his eyes...
Him: "You told Daddy last nigh5t you didn't have any money..."
Me: "Yepper, I don't, er, didn't."
Him: "You said my tooth was in here."
Me: "Yep."
Pretty sharp kid, huh?
Him: The tooth fairy took my tooth from your wallet!"
Me: "Well, whattdya know, I guess she did."

And so, the tooth fairy came.

Then we had the "bubble wrap incident" as it is being referred to. I awoke on a Saturday to find my Hunny still asleep - on the couch - downstairs. Now him falling asleep in the living room isn't all that rare. He tends, on the weekends, to get comfy in his recliner and fall asleep in true couch potato style. No biggie. About 80% of the time he wakes about 3 am-ish and stumbles upstairs to bed, and the other 20% he just stays in the chair until about 6ish - which is sleeping in for him. FInding him on the couch though...that's not usual at all. And, let's not forget, by the time I got up it was somewhere between 9-10. My hunny is a morning person. a very morning person. For him to still be asleep at that hour..? Now that's rare.
Me: "Honey..?"
Him: **Groan.
Me: "What's wrong..?"
Him: "I hurt my back."
Me: ***a bit puzzled - after all, he was fine when I went to bed at about 10:30. I was fairly certain he hadn't gone anywhere, as our boy was still up - "How'd you hurt your back?"
Him: *mumbling *"Bubble wrap..."
Apparently after I had gone to bed, Hunny and the boy were down in the living room. Hunny got up to go in the kitchen for something, and on the way he bent over to pick up a piece of bubble wrap and couldn't get back up. He was down for a week. Because of bubble wrap. My big, strong, redneck truck driver was down for a week because of bubble wrap...I know it really isn't funny, and NOTHING about back pain is comical, but still - bubble wrap...

On the way to Stacey's a couple of weeks ago, as we're driving along we passed a car hauler with a seriously wrecked car on it. From the back seat I hear "Mom! Did you see how damaged that car was!?"
I heard it, but since it was coming from the mouth of a five year old, I didn't quite comprehend what I heard for a few seconds. It didn't quite process properly. Banged up..? Wrecked..? Smashed..? Even crashed.. any of those words would have computed immediately. But damaged..? From a five year old..? It just didn't compute right away. Hell, I'm not sure that verbiage - even though it is proper - from an adult would have computed right away...He scares me sometimes. Not in a convetional way, but rather for himself. It's tough being smart and being a kid. It was tough as a girl, and we're half-assed expected to be of above average intelligence, but to be the smart boy..? I tell myself he'll be fine, he has a great personality most of the time, he's not a bit bashful, he's pretty athletic, in a non-sportsy kinda way (does that make sense..?), he's a good looking kid. But still, kids can be very hateful. And it scares me. That child has never experienced someone being "mean" to him. I'm not even sure he'd know they were being mean...He's generally good natured, and doesn't hold a grudge. He can be madder than a wet hen one minute and loves you the next. He'll even make a point to tell you "I'm mad at you right now but I still love you..."
Ok, there's a start at the catch up. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to spend more time here, and get (closer to being) up to date. Then I'll have one less thing, one my list of many, to feel guilty about!
See ya laterzzzzzzzzzzz! ! ! !