Jenna and Lukey hugging, both 28 months, 7/94
Jenna and Luke about to kiss! Awww!Tuesday, March 31, 2009
A couple more old pictures
Jenna and Lukey hugging, both 28 months, 7/94Jenna and Luke about to kiss! Awww!
More old photos
Luke (26 months) and Chelsea (26 months), 5/25/94
Jamie on her 8th Birthday! Steven (4) and Jeff Rimkus, 5/20/94
The whole family at Drew's First Communion, 4/30/94
Lukey, age 2, 7/22/94
Stevie, age 4, 7/22/94Monday, March 30, 2009
I went to a play...NOT!
Yesterday, my mom and I had made plans to go to a play at Luke's high school. We were both looking forward to it. Alex had gone with a friend to see it on Friday and said it was really good. Well, we decided to go to the 2:00 show on Sunday. I got up later than I wanted to and I had to rush around to get ready in time because I had been up really late on Saturday night, talking to my sister on the phone. Her daughter had gotten hurt and she called for advice on whether or not she needed to take her to the ER. We ended up talking for about an hour and a half and I didn't get to sleep until around 2 am. Then I was serving strawberry shortcake for dessert so I had to get the shortcake made before I left. I ended up getting out of the house right on time and we headed over to the high school, only to see a sign advertising the play. The sign said, Thursday and Friday at 7:30, Saturday at 2:00 and 7:30. Well, we were only 24 hours late! We were disappointed and I was mad at myself because I'm the one who looked on the internet and didn't pay attention to the dates. Most plays are Friday, Saturday and Sunday, so I just assumed that was the case. We ended up going over to my sister's house to show her and her husband the California pictures. My sister lived in Hollywood for about 4 years, so she was anxious to see them.
Last week I had made plans to have lunch with two of Mike's sisters today. One lives in Richmond and the other is visiting from Chicago. I forgot all about it! I was getting in the shower and my cell phone rang and my sister-in-law says, "We're here, when will you be ready?". I pretended that I hadn't forgotten and told her I needed an hour. They were here shopping, anyway, so they didn't mind waiting. As it turned out, even though I took an hour and 15 minutes (more on that in a minute), they only got there 3 minutes before I did. We had a really nice lunch. I had a yummy pulled pork sandwich for lunch (Boom, Jack!). The food was good and I hadn't seen Margaret in almost two years, so it was nice to get together. Roni and I made plans to have her two kids come and stay over for a night or two during spring break next week.
The reason I was late for lunch wasn't because I had forgotten. I had plenty of time to be there in an hour, but when I came out of the shower, I found out that Hannah was just waking up and had not gone to school. Good thing she came downstairs. She has never done this before. I let her have a friend sleep over on Saturday and they were up very late. She was tired yesterday and even took a short nap, which is not like her at all. She is so used to getting to bed at the same time every night and her body has a hard time adjusting when she gets off track. This morning, she had a stomach ache (common for her) and just couldn't get up. She doesn't stay home from school very often, usually missing only 1 or 2 days all year. Even when she has a stomach ache, she always tell me and still goes to school. This time she said she just couldn't drag herself out of bed. She was feeling better after sleeping late, although her stomach was still bothering her a bit, so I told her to get ready really fast and I would drop her at school on my way.
We went out to the car and I realized it was totally out of gas and had already been driven far too long on empty to make it to school and then to the restaurant. So, I stopped for a little gas and then took Hannah to school. I had to go in and sign her in, so that took some extra time, too. By this time, I was wondering why Mike's sisters hadn't called to see where the heck I was! Luckily, they didn't have to wait long, so it worked out.
Last week I had made plans to have lunch with two of Mike's sisters today. One lives in Richmond and the other is visiting from Chicago. I forgot all about it! I was getting in the shower and my cell phone rang and my sister-in-law says, "We're here, when will you be ready?". I pretended that I hadn't forgotten and told her I needed an hour. They were here shopping, anyway, so they didn't mind waiting. As it turned out, even though I took an hour and 15 minutes (more on that in a minute), they only got there 3 minutes before I did. We had a really nice lunch. I had a yummy pulled pork sandwich for lunch (Boom, Jack!). The food was good and I hadn't seen Margaret in almost two years, so it was nice to get together. Roni and I made plans to have her two kids come and stay over for a night or two during spring break next week.
The reason I was late for lunch wasn't because I had forgotten. I had plenty of time to be there in an hour, but when I came out of the shower, I found out that Hannah was just waking up and had not gone to school. Good thing she came downstairs. She has never done this before. I let her have a friend sleep over on Saturday and they were up very late. She was tired yesterday and even took a short nap, which is not like her at all. She is so used to getting to bed at the same time every night and her body has a hard time adjusting when she gets off track. This morning, she had a stomach ache (common for her) and just couldn't get up. She doesn't stay home from school very often, usually missing only 1 or 2 days all year. Even when she has a stomach ache, she always tell me and still goes to school. This time she said she just couldn't drag herself out of bed. She was feeling better after sleeping late, although her stomach was still bothering her a bit, so I told her to get ready really fast and I would drop her at school on my way.
We went out to the car and I realized it was totally out of gas and had already been driven far too long on empty to make it to school and then to the restaurant. So, I stopped for a little gas and then took Hannah to school. I had to go in and sign her in, so that took some extra time, too. By this time, I was wondering why Mike's sisters hadn't called to see where the heck I was! Luckily, they didn't have to wait long, so it worked out.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Still sick
I'm still working on getting over this cold. It isn't a really bad one, but coupled with being tired from traveling, it has really knocked me out. I am still going to blog about my trip, but just not today. Alex is still sick, too, although he will be going back to school tomorrow because he is starting to feel better. I am about a day behind him with the cold, so I am hoping I will be feeling better by tomorrow, also.
One of Mike's sisters is coming in for the weekend to visit his other sister in Richmond and we might be getting together with them over the weekend, if no one is sick.
One of Mike's sisters is coming in for the weekend to visit his other sister in Richmond and we might be getting together with them over the weekend, if no one is sick.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
Having a great time!
Somewhere between Malibu and Ventura
Ventura
Malibu
Malibu, to get an idea of how high up this was, those are two people walking along the beach.
I planned to blog every day while I was here in California. Ha! That didn't quite work because we wanted to take advantage of every second that we had here. We have been getting up, getting ready and leaving the hotel as early as possible, to get as much in as we can. When we get home, we are exhausted and go straight to bed. With the careful scheduling, we have been able to get a lot of fun packed into a few short days. We have been up and down the coast and the only regrets are that we weren't able to go further north and further south. I guess that means we will have to try to do this again at some point!
More details will follow, once I get home. I'm hoping to do a day by day blog, so I won't forget a thing! I have a ton of pictures, I'm not kidding, I think I have over 500 pictures already. Don't worry, I won't be posting them all! Some I took for my sister, of the area where she used to live in Hollywood, so she can see how much it has changed or stayed the same, since she left 17 years ago. Here are a few previews!
Friday, March 20, 2009
A moment of panic
I'm on my way out the door for California. While I was getting ready and watching the local news, they had a report that a pedestrian had been killed just blocks from Steven's new home. I had a few minutes of panic because Steven is always in that area, on his bike or on foot, since his car is inoperable. His bike is unsafe, no brakes, no lights, and probably no or few reflectors. The person was dead on the scene and the name wasn't being released. I called Steven's cell phone and got no answer. I called again and he answered. Whew!
He is fine, but actually was there last night and came upon the accident scene. He saw the body covered with a sheet. Thank God Steven is okay, but I feel so bad that someone was killed.
California, here I come!
He is fine, but actually was there last night and came upon the accident scene. He saw the body covered with a sheet. Thank God Steven is okay, but I feel so bad that someone was killed.
California, here I come!
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Baby Lukey
Luke Patrick, 3/19/92, 8 lbs., 6 oz.
Top , May 2, 1992, Bottom April 1, 1992
Jack reading a bedtime story to Lukey and Stevie, April 1, 1992
Daddy and Lukey, 3/25/92Happy Birthday Luke Patrick!
Happy 17th Birthday to Luke! I don't have time for details since I have to get to bed because I have a flight to California in the morning. I will try to blog when I get there.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Pictures
Hannah, 7 months
The whole family, minus Shauna. Hannah was only 3 weeks old. 12/1996
Me, age 9, in front of my favorite car, The Volksey, Spring, 1971
My high school graduation, June 8, 1979. That is my best friend, Kathy, on the right. We are still friends. I'm not sure what that is on her nose, it must have been on the lens.Getting ready
I'm busy getting ready for my trip. I'm going to see Alex's play rehearsal tonight since I am going to miss the actual production when I'm in California. They were supposed to have a performance last night, but then the play wasn't ready (due to the director having no clue as to what she is doing) and so she changed that performance to next Tuesday. I purposely planned my trip around that performance, knowing I would have to miss the ones this weekend. I never heard of a director changing a performance date, so I didn't even think about that possibility. I am upset that I won't get to see the actual play or the understudy performance. Alex said today that he thinks they are recording it, so I hope I can purchase a copy.
Tomorrow I have an IEP meeting for Shauna. I don't really have time for that, but it is very important, so, of course, I will be there. I'm anxious to get her IEP going so she will have some relief. She is very stressed out because she is working so hard and doesn't get anywhere.
Hannah is off with a middle school youth group from a local church. She attends every Wednesday and this week because the schools had an early release, they planned a trip to a nursing home to visit the elderly. Her friends, Bitch One and Bitch Two, who normally attend, decided not to go this week because they don't want to visit old people. God forbid they would do something nice! I was proud of Hannah for going anyway, even knowing that they wouldn't be there. She felt a little funny about going completely on her own, without being sure if she would know anyone. She has really been looking forward to this, though, so I hope she is having a good time. She has had a rough few days, beginning on Sunday, but starting yesterday evening, things have really smoothed out for her. Her throat was much better this morning, so I think we are safe from strep, at least for the moment.
Well, I have to get a grocery list going, so CUP has something to feed the kids while I'm gone. That is the worst part of going away, planning and preparing meals for them to eat while I'm gone. Yuck! Luckily Alex and the girls can cook some things, so I don't have to actually make all of the meals before I leave.
Tomorrow I have an IEP meeting for Shauna. I don't really have time for that, but it is very important, so, of course, I will be there. I'm anxious to get her IEP going so she will have some relief. She is very stressed out because she is working so hard and doesn't get anywhere.
Hannah is off with a middle school youth group from a local church. She attends every Wednesday and this week because the schools had an early release, they planned a trip to a nursing home to visit the elderly. Her friends, Bitch One and Bitch Two, who normally attend, decided not to go this week because they don't want to visit old people. God forbid they would do something nice! I was proud of Hannah for going anyway, even knowing that they wouldn't be there. She felt a little funny about going completely on her own, without being sure if she would know anyone. She has really been looking forward to this, though, so I hope she is having a good time. She has had a rough few days, beginning on Sunday, but starting yesterday evening, things have really smoothed out for her. Her throat was much better this morning, so I think we are safe from strep, at least for the moment.
Well, I have to get a grocery list going, so CUP has something to feed the kids while I'm gone. That is the worst part of going away, planning and preparing meals for them to eat while I'm gone. Yuck! Luckily Alex and the girls can cook some things, so I don't have to actually make all of the meals before I leave.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Repeat after me, please no strep, no strep, no strep, no strep...
The school nurse called today for me to pick Hannah up early because she has a sore throat. Hannah gets a lot of sore throats, which I think are phantom pains, related to her health issues. I asked the nurse if she really thought it was bad enough to bring her home and she told me that tons of kids have strep in the school. She said Hannah's throat wasn't "icky", but that doesn't mean she doesn't have it. She also told me that normally Hannah comes to her office only once during the day for throat spray and today she came twice. Hannah also complained to me about a sore throat after school yesterday. I still think she could have stuck in out another hour and a half at school, but I didn't want to push that with the nurse. When you use tough love, some school nurses tend to think the parents just don't care, especially if they are adoptive parents. This nurse doesn't have a history of that, but you never know. Just one more thing adoptive parents have to worry about, being accused of treating bio kids better than adopted!
Ugh. I am leaving in a few days and do not want a strep invasion. CUP already has a cold and I am hoping not to get that. Even more than not wanting to get sick myself, I don't want any of the kids to be sick while I'm gone. I would rather be sick myself than to have to worry about them being at home and sick without me!
Ugh. I am leaving in a few days and do not want a strep invasion. CUP already has a cold and I am hoping not to get that. Even more than not wanting to get sick myself, I don't want any of the kids to be sick while I'm gone. I would rather be sick myself than to have to worry about them being at home and sick without me!
Snacking Squirrel
I forgot to blog about this yesterday. When I pulled into the driveway, after dropping Steven at "his crib", there was a squirrel, sitting about three feet from the car, by my rose bush. He didn't even look up when I pulled in. He was sitting there with a plastic spoon in his mouth. It looked like it was covered with chocolate pudding and there was also a napkin next to him, covered in the same chocolate substance. The funny thing was that the squirrel was holding the spoon with his "hands" and eating the pudding substance right off the bowl of the spoon! It looked like a cartoon or something. I tried to take a picture with my cell phone, but apparently this squirrel isn't afraid of cars, but is afraid of the sound a cell phone makes when it is about to take a picture! He put the spoon down before I could press capture. I was so disappointed. I did get a picture of him next to the spoon and napkin, but it isn't anywhere near as cute as it would have been, had he continued eating.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Happy Birthday Steven Matthew!
Well, today is Steven's 19 birthday. I'm really thankful that he made it this far. It is so hard to believe that he isn't still the pudgy little 9 lb. 3 oz. baby I gave birth to. Then again, we have been through so much trauma and drama with him, it sometimes feels more like 40 years than 19!
I had to take him to his eye doctor appointment this morning, so I made him a batch of brownies last night. I also brought a stash of breakfast burritos and a pan of tamale pie, so he was pretty happy. He is going to hide the brownies from his housemates so he can have the whole pan to himself! He got new glasses, since he won't wear his contacts (takes to long to put them in and out and he doesn't have time. In other words, he is too lazy and never took the time to get fully used to them.) He was very good about getting only the things our insurance allows, so I only had to pay a $25 co-pay. I can't wait until he is fully on his own and can afford these things himself!
He did talk about going to school, though, which is good. He said he really likes the idea of going to the nearby community college for the summer semester and then transferring to the community college in Richmond that has a Culinary Arts program. I just don't quite know how that is going to be paid for. He certainly can't afford it and Mike and I can't afford to co-sign for any more loans. I know he wouldn't qualify for a loan on his own, so it is going to be an uphill battle for sure. The thing is, though, if he doesn't go to school, he is never going to make enough money. Even though they are teaching him to cook at his restaurant, he will never make more than $10 or $12 an hour as a cook around here. If he gets a culinary degree, he will have the opportunity to make a lot more money.
I had to take him to his eye doctor appointment this morning, so I made him a batch of brownies last night. I also brought a stash of breakfast burritos and a pan of tamale pie, so he was pretty happy. He is going to hide the brownies from his housemates so he can have the whole pan to himself! He got new glasses, since he won't wear his contacts (takes to long to put them in and out and he doesn't have time. In other words, he is too lazy and never took the time to get fully used to them.) He was very good about getting only the things our insurance allows, so I only had to pay a $25 co-pay. I can't wait until he is fully on his own and can afford these things himself!
He did talk about going to school, though, which is good. He said he really likes the idea of going to the nearby community college for the summer semester and then transferring to the community college in Richmond that has a Culinary Arts program. I just don't quite know how that is going to be paid for. He certainly can't afford it and Mike and I can't afford to co-sign for any more loans. I know he wouldn't qualify for a loan on his own, so it is going to be an uphill battle for sure. The thing is, though, if he doesn't go to school, he is never going to make enough money. Even though they are teaching him to cook at his restaurant, he will never make more than $10 or $12 an hour as a cook around here. If he gets a culinary degree, he will have the opportunity to make a lot more money.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
California
Mikey is off to California already. I hate it when he leaves on Sunday mornings. He didn't get home until 10ish Friday night and he was gone by 11 am this morning. Now he will be gone for two weeks. Yuck. The good news is that I leave for California on Friday. I am looking forward to the break. Since Mike isn't home much to relieve me, I never get a break from parenting, so this will be good for me. I'm not looking forward to the long plane trip, though.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Update
I'm being nagged by people from multiple states to update my blog. Thanks, I needed to be nagged because I haven't been blogging because I just haven't felt like it.
I've been keeping a notepad with things that I wanted to blog about, so I wouldn't forget. Now they all look really stupid and boring, which leaves me with almost nothing. Ugh.
I do, however, have an update on Steven's finger situation. We went to the doctor on Thursday (after I forgot about the appointment, overslept, and had to get ready in 14 minutes, which is a record for me!) and the new specialist gave us a lot of information. Number one, he told us that when the dog bit the finger, he got part of the tendon. That is something the first specialist (the one who was such a jerk) told us hadn't happened. This doctor demonstrated how he could tell and after that, it was pretty obvious. The good news is that, apparently, there is more than one tendon and the one that was damaged is a secondary one. This does explain why Steven is still having trouble bending the finger fully. I'm not sure how that is going to affect him long term, yet.
By Thursday, the antibiotic had started to work and the swelling was starting to go down. The doctor said that Steven has about a 10-20% chance of needing surgery. He said it is a good sign that the antibiotic is working, but also, at his young age, his body is strong enough to appear to be doing better while still on the antibiotic, but as soon as he stops taking it, there is a chance that it will just flair up again. If that happens, he will have to have the surgery and IV antibiotics. He has to go back to have it checked again while I'm in California, so that should be interesting. I'm going to make CUP go in with him because Steven will never come out with an accurate description of what the doctor said.
The appointment was actually pretty funny because when we had gone to Drew's surgeon, Dr. W., on Tuesday, he told us a bunch of stories about how things used to be when he was the only surgeon here. I loved the stories, but Steven didn't appreciate them because they cut into his social time (or maybe it was nap time). When the new specialist, Dr. C., asked what Dr. W. had said, Steven blurted out, "Oh, nothing really, he just told us a bunch of stories that had nothing to do with my finger." Dr. C., apparently knowing the much older and very friendly Dr. W. very well, burst out laughing!
The only other thing worth blogging about is that I got a really nice thank you note from Janine. That was very sweet of you, thanks, Janine! Of course, I got it a couple of weeks ago and I'm just getting around to blogging about it. I really have been slacking lately.
Also, if I comment occasionally on your blog and I haven't been doing it lately, sorry. I'm also behind on my blog reading and even when I do run over to check things out, I'm usually in a hurry and don't leave a message.
I've been keeping a notepad with things that I wanted to blog about, so I wouldn't forget. Now they all look really stupid and boring, which leaves me with almost nothing. Ugh.
I do, however, have an update on Steven's finger situation. We went to the doctor on Thursday (after I forgot about the appointment, overslept, and had to get ready in 14 minutes, which is a record for me!) and the new specialist gave us a lot of information. Number one, he told us that when the dog bit the finger, he got part of the tendon. That is something the first specialist (the one who was such a jerk) told us hadn't happened. This doctor demonstrated how he could tell and after that, it was pretty obvious. The good news is that, apparently, there is more than one tendon and the one that was damaged is a secondary one. This does explain why Steven is still having trouble bending the finger fully. I'm not sure how that is going to affect him long term, yet.
By Thursday, the antibiotic had started to work and the swelling was starting to go down. The doctor said that Steven has about a 10-20% chance of needing surgery. He said it is a good sign that the antibiotic is working, but also, at his young age, his body is strong enough to appear to be doing better while still on the antibiotic, but as soon as he stops taking it, there is a chance that it will just flair up again. If that happens, he will have to have the surgery and IV antibiotics. He has to go back to have it checked again while I'm in California, so that should be interesting. I'm going to make CUP go in with him because Steven will never come out with an accurate description of what the doctor said.
The appointment was actually pretty funny because when we had gone to Drew's surgeon, Dr. W., on Tuesday, he told us a bunch of stories about how things used to be when he was the only surgeon here. I loved the stories, but Steven didn't appreciate them because they cut into his social time (or maybe it was nap time). When the new specialist, Dr. C., asked what Dr. W. had said, Steven blurted out, "Oh, nothing really, he just told us a bunch of stories that had nothing to do with my finger." Dr. C., apparently knowing the much older and very friendly Dr. W. very well, burst out laughing!
The only other thing worth blogging about is that I got a really nice thank you note from Janine. That was very sweet of you, thanks, Janine! Of course, I got it a couple of weeks ago and I'm just getting around to blogging about it. I really have been slacking lately.
Also, if I comment occasionally on your blog and I haven't been doing it lately, sorry. I'm also behind on my blog reading and even when I do run over to check things out, I'm usually in a hurry and don't leave a message.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Steven's doctor appointment
I took Steven to the surgeon today to find out what we need to do about his finger. This is the surgeon who did Drew's collar bone surgery and I love him. He is so nice and he explains everything without using any doctor words.
Anyway, he said that he wants Steven to see another surgeon, who only does hand surgeries. He said that he can take care of it, but he doesn't do that all the time and since it is really serious, he would rather that Steven see someone who does it all the time. He did tell us that if we don't like the other guy or aren't happy with him for any reason, he would certainly take care of him. He would just rather make sure Steven gets the best care possible.
He confirmed the infection and said there were two possibilities that he could think of. The first was that he might be able to ride out the infection with lots of antibiotics, but since that could make it even worse and the infection could get into the bone, he didn't want to make that call. The second is that he would need surgery to "fillet open" (yes, he said that!) the finger and insert a tube along the length of it. The tube would go in near the top of the finger and come out in or near the palm. It would have a drain at the bottom and Steven would need to stay in the hospital for 3 or 4 days, so that the nurses can monitor it and regularly flush it out. Gross and yuck and ouch!
Steven's health insurance coverage runs out on April 1st, so we have to get this over with quickly! He is thinking about signing up for school, which would extend his coverage. I would love to see him going to school (for culinary arts), but I'm not sure he is ready for that at this point. To me, there is no point in going to school if you aren't going to take it seriously and I'm not sure Steven is at that point, yet. He will have to work full time or more than full time and go to school full time. He will also have to lay off the substances and concentrate on school. So, we'll see how that goes, I guess.
Anyway, he said that he wants Steven to see another surgeon, who only does hand surgeries. He said that he can take care of it, but he doesn't do that all the time and since it is really serious, he would rather that Steven see someone who does it all the time. He did tell us that if we don't like the other guy or aren't happy with him for any reason, he would certainly take care of him. He would just rather make sure Steven gets the best care possible.
He confirmed the infection and said there were two possibilities that he could think of. The first was that he might be able to ride out the infection with lots of antibiotics, but since that could make it even worse and the infection could get into the bone, he didn't want to make that call. The second is that he would need surgery to "fillet open" (yes, he said that!) the finger and insert a tube along the length of it. The tube would go in near the top of the finger and come out in or near the palm. It would have a drain at the bottom and Steven would need to stay in the hospital for 3 or 4 days, so that the nurses can monitor it and regularly flush it out. Gross and yuck and ouch!
Steven's health insurance coverage runs out on April 1st, so we have to get this over with quickly! He is thinking about signing up for school, which would extend his coverage. I would love to see him going to school (for culinary arts), but I'm not sure he is ready for that at this point. To me, there is no point in going to school if you aren't going to take it seriously and I'm not sure Steven is at that point, yet. He will have to work full time or more than full time and go to school full time. He will also have to lay off the substances and concentrate on school. So, we'll see how that goes, I guess.
Monday, March 9, 2009
More yearbook pictures
Jessica, 3rd grade, 1993
Jamie, 2nd grade, 1993
Drew, 2nd grade, 1993
Jack, 4th grade, 1993I think I've said before that I had three foster children that I wish I could have adopted. Ryan (Johnny) is one of them and Jessica and Jamie are the other two. I am now in touch with Jessica, via Facebook. She and Jamie are doing well and Jamie has two beautiful baby boys! This was scanned from Jack's yearbook, but I remember that Jessica had circled several people with a pencil. She circled Jack, Drew, herself and the boy she had a crush on, it was so cute! I'm not sure why she didn't circle Jamie, she must have been mad at her! I love the glasses in these early '90's photos.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Quote of the day from last week
I'm pretty sure I forgot to post this one, but I made a note of it so I wouldn't forget.
"I have to admit you're moderately above average as a mother."--CUP
I take that as I'm a fantastic mother, since CUP thinks everyone is an idiot!!!
"I have to admit you're moderately above average as a mother."--CUP
I take that as I'm a fantastic mother, since CUP thinks everyone is an idiot!!!
Quote of the day
"I guess you did an alright job of raising me, I'll give you that."--Steven, after telling me that living on his own was harder than he thought it would be.
ER visit #2
Not only did we set a record in the ER yesterday, we set another today. This time it was for the most ER visits in the fewest hours. Yup, two in twelve hours, lucky us.
This time the injuree was Steven. I guess, officially, he would be the re-injuree. His dog bite finger started to swell and become very painful. The gave him another x-ray, to check for foreign objects, such as dog teeth. The x-ray appeared clear. They said it is possible that another infection is brewing and the swelling and pain are the first sign. There is no redness, which means it was caught very early. They wanted him to go see the last hand surgeon that he went to, but I told them he was a jerk and they said he could go see Drew's surgeon. I wish I knew that was an option the first time. They made me go all the way to Newport News when I could have stayed right in Williamsburg and had a doctor who is awesome and not a jerk. Ugh. They said he may need surgery to cut out the damaged or infected tissue. Yuck. That would suck because he already has a really bad scar and now he will have two. He is now on another anti-biotic.
When we were talking about going to the ER, I told Steven that since it was his middle finger, we better go right away so he doesn't lose it. After all, he needs that finger for swearing! In Steven's case, I'm not just joking about that!!
Now I'm off to buy some hair, as Shauna is getting hers braided tonight. I love her hair braided, but I so hate taking it out. I spent about an hour on Friday night and many hours yesterday, getting it all taken out, washed and combed out. I don't know how mothers of multiple AA girls do it! I have spend so much time on just two, I can't figure out what I would do if I had more.
This time the injuree was Steven. I guess, officially, he would be the re-injuree. His dog bite finger started to swell and become very painful. The gave him another x-ray, to check for foreign objects, such as dog teeth. The x-ray appeared clear. They said it is possible that another infection is brewing and the swelling and pain are the first sign. There is no redness, which means it was caught very early. They wanted him to go see the last hand surgeon that he went to, but I told them he was a jerk and they said he could go see Drew's surgeon. I wish I knew that was an option the first time. They made me go all the way to Newport News when I could have stayed right in Williamsburg and had a doctor who is awesome and not a jerk. Ugh. They said he may need surgery to cut out the damaged or infected tissue. Yuck. That would suck because he already has a really bad scar and now he will have two. He is now on another anti-biotic.
When we were talking about going to the ER, I told Steven that since it was his middle finger, we better go right away so he doesn't lose it. After all, he needs that finger for swearing! In Steven's case, I'm not just joking about that!!
Now I'm off to buy some hair, as Shauna is getting hers braided tonight. I love her hair braided, but I so hate taking it out. I spent about an hour on Friday night and many hours yesterday, getting it all taken out, washed and combed out. I don't know how mothers of multiple AA girls do it! I have spend so much time on just two, I can't figure out what I would do if I had more.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
We set a new record today
Shortest time ever in the Emergency Room! Yes, I was in the local emergency room, again, just 3 weeks after the last time. I was keeping my head down, hoping no one would recognize me! We set a new record for fast ER visits, though. We were out in 1 hour and 15 minutes. Wow, I usually allot between 3 and 6 hours for an ER visit. While we were there, we figured out that 6 out of 7 kids have been in the emergency room in the last 18 months. That is a record I don't want to break!
Everything is fine, although Alex has a sprained ankle. He was at play practice at school today and apparently the set wasn't built too well. They had a wooden staircase and it collapsed and he fell through. The play starts in 10 days, so he should be okay by then. He has an ace bandage wrap and an air cast. He will be on crutches for about a week and then he should get back to normal pretty quickly.
We had some fun at the ER. The x-ray technician came in to get him and my first thought was that she looked like a cave woman! Alex actually let out a startled, Uh, when she started coming in. She had long hair, looked like she was high, and her hair was all wild, just like they always depict cave woman. She asked Alex his date of birth and he told her and she said her birthday was December 1st also. Then she said in a monotone voice, "1957". Just the way she said it was so funny.
Then the triage room was right across the hall from us and the triage nurse had a very loud voice. Some poor woman came in and the whole hall heard that she had bipolar disorder, was having a panic attack and hasn't been taking her medications!
Everything is fine, although Alex has a sprained ankle. He was at play practice at school today and apparently the set wasn't built too well. They had a wooden staircase and it collapsed and he fell through. The play starts in 10 days, so he should be okay by then. He has an ace bandage wrap and an air cast. He will be on crutches for about a week and then he should get back to normal pretty quickly.
We had some fun at the ER. The x-ray technician came in to get him and my first thought was that she looked like a cave woman! Alex actually let out a startled, Uh, when she started coming in. She had long hair, looked like she was high, and her hair was all wild, just like they always depict cave woman. She asked Alex his date of birth and he told her and she said her birthday was December 1st also. Then she said in a monotone voice, "1957". Just the way she said it was so funny.
Then the triage room was right across the hall from us and the triage nurse had a very loud voice. Some poor woman came in and the whole hall heard that she had bipolar disorder, was having a panic attack and hasn't been taking her medications!
I'm going to California!
After many, many years of never leaving the house, I am going on my second out of state trip in two months! Okay, I leave the house once in a while, but I rarely leave the county, let alone the state. Mike has to go to Irvine, California for two weeks, so I'm going to fly out on a Friday, spend the weekend sight seeing and fly home on Tuesday morning. Since he travels so much, he has already saved enough miles for me to fly for free.
I never had the desire to go out west, but I am looking forward to seeing the Pacific Ocean. I would also like to see Hollywood. My sister lived there for a few years and has told me all about it and it sounds pretty interesting. By interesting, I mean it sounds really weird and I think it would be fun to watch all the weirdos. I just hope I don't see the guy pooping in the potted palm tree that she told me about! More than anything, I just look forward to seeing something new, getting some time to relax, and spending some time with Mike.
The kids were, surprisingly, happy that I was going. They would have been happier if I was taking them with me, of course. They actually had a good time with CUP in charge, even though he made them do chores, according to the girls. When Shauna heard the news, she ran up to CUP, gave him a huge hug and said, "Yay, CUP's in charge!". Wow, makes me feel really wanted!
Well, I need to buckle down and get some work done around here. It is a beautiful day today and we have outdoor hockey, but I would like to get at least a little done around the house before I head out. Mike is working away on Steven's old room, so I better at least make myself somewhat useful!
I never had the desire to go out west, but I am looking forward to seeing the Pacific Ocean. I would also like to see Hollywood. My sister lived there for a few years and has told me all about it and it sounds pretty interesting. By interesting, I mean it sounds really weird and I think it would be fun to watch all the weirdos. I just hope I don't see the guy pooping in the potted palm tree that she told me about! More than anything, I just look forward to seeing something new, getting some time to relax, and spending some time with Mike.
The kids were, surprisingly, happy that I was going. They would have been happier if I was taking them with me, of course. They actually had a good time with CUP in charge, even though he made them do chores, according to the girls. When Shauna heard the news, she ran up to CUP, gave him a huge hug and said, "Yay, CUP's in charge!". Wow, makes me feel really wanted!
Well, I need to buckle down and get some work done around here. It is a beautiful day today and we have outdoor hockey, but I would like to get at least a little done around the house before I head out. Mike is working away on Steven's old room, so I better at least make myself somewhat useful!
Friday, March 6, 2009
She never learns
Some people never learn... They should log off of stuff before they leave their computer.
Quote of the day
On Mike starting his own blog..."The whole thing could be about correcting my blog!"--Me, after his Negative Nellie complaints about my posts.
Apparently I'm not the hero!
I stand corrected. Shauna was given a pliers by Mike, but she was using the wrong one. I am no longer the hero of the story.
Luke and Mike and Steven's old bedroom
Luke has straight A's in school! Yay, he never cared much about grades before, so this is the first year he has put any effort into it. Not much effort, by the way, but at least some. He is in 11th grade and realizes his grades are now important if he wants to get into a decent college or into a co-op program.
Last weekend when we were cleaning Steven's room (more on that later), Mike found a bottle rocket. He went downstairs to take out some of the tons of garbage that we found in the room and lit the bottle rocket. We had the window in the bedroom wide open to try to eliminate some of the stench, and it scared us out of the heck! Mike ran in the house after he did that and yelled out, in a mad, disgusted Dad voice, "Steveeeeeeeen!"
Oh, the bedroom, ugh! It was horrendously disgusting. That is all I can say. I was going to take before and after pictures, but it was too beyond gross, even for pictures. Suffice it to say that we took bag after bag of smelly garbage out of there. The work crew was not very cooperative, so the going was slow. Shauna was a great help because she is anxious to get into her new room. The rest of the crew, including Mike, was spotty and sporadic, at best. I had a real problem with people leaving the room to take something elsewhere and never returning! At worst, they were complaining about the smell and the cat hair and the general disgustingness of the job. Okay, so no one liked it, but we still had to do it, but I had trouble convincing them of that. Blogger is telling me that disgustingness isn't a word, but it fits this situation, so I'm going to ignore that! We got most of the trash out and Mike got most of the carpet ripped up and Shauna spent hours sweeping and pulling out carpet staples. Of course, her handyman father gave her a needle-nosed wire cutter instead of a pliers to pull them out, so she was having a horrible time until I (the hero of the story!) supplied her with the right equipment!
Last weekend when we were cleaning Steven's room (more on that later), Mike found a bottle rocket. He went downstairs to take out some of the tons of garbage that we found in the room and lit the bottle rocket. We had the window in the bedroom wide open to try to eliminate some of the stench, and it scared us out of the heck! Mike ran in the house after he did that and yelled out, in a mad, disgusted Dad voice, "Steveeeeeeeen!"
Oh, the bedroom, ugh! It was horrendously disgusting. That is all I can say. I was going to take before and after pictures, but it was too beyond gross, even for pictures. Suffice it to say that we took bag after bag of smelly garbage out of there. The work crew was not very cooperative, so the going was slow. Shauna was a great help because she is anxious to get into her new room. The rest of the crew, including Mike, was spotty and sporadic, at best. I had a real problem with people leaving the room to take something elsewhere and never returning! At worst, they were complaining about the smell and the cat hair and the general disgustingness of the job. Okay, so no one liked it, but we still had to do it, but I had trouble convincing them of that. Blogger is telling me that disgustingness isn't a word, but it fits this situation, so I'm going to ignore that! We got most of the trash out and Mike got most of the carpet ripped up and Shauna spent hours sweeping and pulling out carpet staples. Of course, her handyman father gave her a needle-nosed wire cutter instead of a pliers to pull them out, so she was having a horrible time until I (the hero of the story!) supplied her with the right equipment!
The large appliance poltergeist is back
Well, my cook top still hasn't been replaced since the fire a few months back. Now the top oven stopped working. Yup, right in the middle of baking the Snowflake cookies. I have a double oven, which I love, but they are smaller than a regular oven, so I need two for our large family. I rarely ever use only one, but when I do, it is always the upper one, so it does make sense for it to go first.
Still, they don't make things like they used to because it is only 8 1/2 years old. When we lived in Oak Forest, our oven was original to the house, which was built in 1961 and it worked just fine. When we moved in, the oven was getting ready to celebrate its 30th birthday, for pete's sake. This stupid oven hasn't even made it to double digits yet.
Still, they don't make things like they used to because it is only 8 1/2 years old. When we lived in Oak Forest, our oven was original to the house, which was built in 1961 and it worked just fine. When we moved in, the oven was getting ready to celebrate its 30th birthday, for pete's sake. This stupid oven hasn't even made it to double digits yet.
The blog police
The blog police have, once again, decided that I'm failing on my blogging duties. I can't argue, but in my own defense, I have been keeping a notepad, filled with things I need to blog about, so I don't forget. Am I smart, or what? (Don't answer that!)
First of all, we had snow in Virginia! We usually get snow once or twice a year. Last year, we barely got any, although one day it did snow enough for the kids to sled a little. Well, we got a good amount this time and school was canceled for two days. Of course, it only takes a flake or two to cancel school here, seeing as they don't have rock salt for the roads and our whole county probably only has one or two plows.
The kids were beyond thrilled with the snow and had a wonderful time playing in it. Hannah about drove me crazy the first day because her friends, Bitch One and Bitch Two, were being bitchy and wouldn't play with her. Her other friend, Larkinya (not a bitch), wasn't allowed to play outside because her dad didn't want them to track snow into the house. Ugh! So, that meant that Hannah had to take her frustration out on me all day! Woo-hoo! It wasn't as bad as it could have been, though, she was annoying as heck, reminding me of Claudia's Dominyk, but at least she wasn't violent this time. She had settled down quite a bit by day two, so that went a lot more smoothly.
I try to do something special on snow days, so I made a batch (well that would be 3 batches for our family) of Chocolate Krinkles. I made the kids call them Snowflake cookies or they weren't allowed to eat them! Luke tried to get away with taking one and calling it a Krinkle, but when he got it smacked out of his hand, he learned his lesson! Well, I'm not sure if that did it or if it was Alex and I blocking the tray so he couldn't get anymore. Either way, it was fun!
I got a new cell phone! I am so happy because I had let Hannah take mine one day and she fell with it and the screen broke. It still worked just fine, but I couldn't get to my contact list or change my alarms or see who was calling me, which I hated. I really need to see who is calling so I can avoid the people I want to avoid and believe me, there are several of those in my contact list! Our provider lowered their rates and by combining our plans, we were able to get more features (like the text messaging), plus add additional lines for the little kids and still pay about what we have been paying, so that was awesome.
I have always been really against cell phones for anyone who isn't driving age, but was forced to rethink my ideas about that. None of the older kids were really involved in activities where I or Mike wasn't there with them. Not so much for the younger kids. Alex is always gone to some drama class or play practice and they always finish at different times, so he really needs to have a phone just so we can figure out when to pick him up.
Then of course, there is always Hannah. She has been obsessed with getting a cell phone for at least 5 years now. She even stole one when she was younger (about 8 or 9). That was fun. She had no idea she was stealing it (FAS at work). I was hysterical and humiliated because my child had stolen something and her psychologist talked to her and then calmly explained to me that it wasn't "really" stealing because she couldn't understand it was wrong. He called it "shiny object syndrome" and said it was common for both FAS and bipolar kids. Well, that didn't help when I had to explain to the mom of the girl she had stolen it from. She didn't believe a word I said! Thank God she seems to have outgrown that. Well, I guess she didn't really outgrow it, I just explained it over a million times and some little fragment of that actually stuck in her brain!
Anyway, we got a cell phone for Hannah and Shauna to share. Shauna doesn't really need one, but we didn't want her to feel left out. We actually had a funny conversation about it. I told her she really only needed one for emergencies and she never leaves the couch. CUP piped in, "Yeah, but if she had one, she could call you from the couch if the cable goes out because that would be an emergency!"
So far, the cell phone thing has been going relatively smoothly. Hannah has made a few mistakes, one that I will blog about later, (let's just say that there is a guy named Mike in Massachusetts that is none too happy with her!) but she has done better with it than I thought she would. So far, none of her friend's parents have blocked her cell number, but she has only had the phone for 3 days! Hannah has no concept of time, so if she calls someone and they don't answer, she just keeps calling every minute or even twice a minute because she can't figure out why they aren't answering.
First of all, we had snow in Virginia! We usually get snow once or twice a year. Last year, we barely got any, although one day it did snow enough for the kids to sled a little. Well, we got a good amount this time and school was canceled for two days. Of course, it only takes a flake or two to cancel school here, seeing as they don't have rock salt for the roads and our whole county probably only has one or two plows.
The kids were beyond thrilled with the snow and had a wonderful time playing in it. Hannah about drove me crazy the first day because her friends, Bitch One and Bitch Two, were being bitchy and wouldn't play with her. Her other friend, Larkinya (not a bitch), wasn't allowed to play outside because her dad didn't want them to track snow into the house. Ugh! So, that meant that Hannah had to take her frustration out on me all day! Woo-hoo! It wasn't as bad as it could have been, though, she was annoying as heck, reminding me of Claudia's Dominyk, but at least she wasn't violent this time. She had settled down quite a bit by day two, so that went a lot more smoothly.
I try to do something special on snow days, so I made a batch (well that would be 3 batches for our family) of Chocolate Krinkles. I made the kids call them Snowflake cookies or they weren't allowed to eat them! Luke tried to get away with taking one and calling it a Krinkle, but when he got it smacked out of his hand, he learned his lesson! Well, I'm not sure if that did it or if it was Alex and I blocking the tray so he couldn't get anymore. Either way, it was fun!
I got a new cell phone! I am so happy because I had let Hannah take mine one day and she fell with it and the screen broke. It still worked just fine, but I couldn't get to my contact list or change my alarms or see who was calling me, which I hated. I really need to see who is calling so I can avoid the people I want to avoid and believe me, there are several of those in my contact list! Our provider lowered their rates and by combining our plans, we were able to get more features (like the text messaging), plus add additional lines for the little kids and still pay about what we have been paying, so that was awesome.
I have always been really against cell phones for anyone who isn't driving age, but was forced to rethink my ideas about that. None of the older kids were really involved in activities where I or Mike wasn't there with them. Not so much for the younger kids. Alex is always gone to some drama class or play practice and they always finish at different times, so he really needs to have a phone just so we can figure out when to pick him up.
Then of course, there is always Hannah. She has been obsessed with getting a cell phone for at least 5 years now. She even stole one when she was younger (about 8 or 9). That was fun. She had no idea she was stealing it (FAS at work). I was hysterical and humiliated because my child had stolen something and her psychologist talked to her and then calmly explained to me that it wasn't "really" stealing because she couldn't understand it was wrong. He called it "shiny object syndrome" and said it was common for both FAS and bipolar kids. Well, that didn't help when I had to explain to the mom of the girl she had stolen it from. She didn't believe a word I said! Thank God she seems to have outgrown that. Well, I guess she didn't really outgrow it, I just explained it over a million times and some little fragment of that actually stuck in her brain!
Anyway, we got a cell phone for Hannah and Shauna to share. Shauna doesn't really need one, but we didn't want her to feel left out. We actually had a funny conversation about it. I told her she really only needed one for emergencies and she never leaves the couch. CUP piped in, "Yeah, but if she had one, she could call you from the couch if the cable goes out because that would be an emergency!"
So far, the cell phone thing has been going relatively smoothly. Hannah has made a few mistakes, one that I will blog about later, (let's just say that there is a guy named Mike in Massachusetts that is none too happy with her!) but she has done better with it than I thought she would. So far, none of her friend's parents have blocked her cell number, but she has only had the phone for 3 days! Hannah has no concept of time, so if she calls someone and they don't answer, she just keeps calling every minute or even twice a minute because she can't figure out why they aren't answering.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Family, Ugh!
Yesterday was my niece's birthday, so I called my sister's house. No one answered after two calls and I knew the girls were home, so I called my sister's cell phone. She was working but called me back. I sent her a text message the other day, telling her that I now have unlimited text messaging and it is okay for her to text me now. She tells me that she didn't know who it was from! Hello????? The message says Michelle on it, you only have one living sibling and her name is Michelle and you don't know who it is from????? She later figured out it was me after calling my mother to tell her she got this weird text and my mother says she got one, too, and it was from me. Ugh!
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Quote of the day
"I don't care about business profiles, where the hell is the police blotter?" "Hahaha, drunk in public, that's my favorite."--CUP, while reading the newspaper
Winter Wonderland
Shauna and her friend, Sydney. Yes, that is Shauna's winter coat in the snow. It was 24 degrees and she was hot!
Shauna at the bottom of the hill
Alex enjoying some of the first snowflakes
A thrilled Shauna, with her coat on!
The snowy night sky in front of our house
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Weird weather!
Today is Tuesday and it is now 23 degrees and going down to 19, later tonight. The high today was about 24. It is going to be 66 degrees on Friday and 72 degrees on Saturday.
Quote of the day
Background for quote of the day: Alex, Luke and Shauna were trying to figure out how to get a third snow day, now that the roads are clear. They said they would spray the roads with water, so when they send transportation out to test the roads, they would see the ice and cancel school again. A few minutes after they finished the discussion, this happened:
Alex: "Mom, I just got a text message from Shauna that said 'Get a warm, heavy jacket and tonight at twelve, I will wake up so we can fill up a lot of buckets of water'. "
This is probably only funny if you know Shauna, but we do and it was hilarious!
Alex: "Mom, I just got a text message from Shauna that said 'Get a warm, heavy jacket and tonight at twelve, I will wake up so we can fill up a lot of buckets of water'. "
This is probably only funny if you know Shauna, but we do and it was hilarious!
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Make that snow
The sleet just changed to actual snow! Can you tell everyone is very excited around here? This is our first (and hopefully only) snow of the year. Pictures to follow.
Snow Day????
It is sleeting very heavily right now and we are all hoping for a snow day tomorrow! I'm making everyone help clean up the house, just in case. That way, they won't have so many chores and can get out to play in the snow before it melts.
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