I'm A Book I've Never Heard of.....

You're Confessions!

by St. Augustine

You're a sinner, you're a saint, you do not feel ashamed. Well, you
might feel a little ashamed of your past, but it did such a good job of teaching you
what not to do. Now you've become a devout Christian and have spent more time
ruminating on the world to come rather than worldly pleasures. Your realizations and
ability to change will bring reverence upon you despite your hedonistic transgressions.
Florida will honor you most in the end.


Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

My friend Karen posted "her book" and I thought it would be fun to see what kind of book I would be...so I took the quiz, cuz ya know I just couldn't find anything else to do at 10:45 p.m. last night and the results came back with this Confessions book. I've never even heard of it...which just goes to show how learned I am, huh? I retook the quiz a couple of times and changed my answers and finally came back with a book I had not only heard of but had read! It was Huck Finn, which showed I was adventuresome! I would say that I am adventuresome when I am not "bogged down" with day to day manusia of being a SAHM trying to raise a teenager who knows it all and a 4 yr old who knows it all, too!

So what book are you??

In other news...I just made another doctor appointment to try to solve this sinus problem. The nurse told me if this has been going on this long it may require a visit to an ENT and surgery to clear it up once and for all..At this point I think we are all ready for such drastic measures. I'm tired all the time, and I snored last night so badly that I woke up dh and That Kid. DH told me to do whatever it took to solve this problem, so that may require more doctors and a surgery. I'll keep you posted!

Well I'm off to play Wii with That Other Kid! Maybe I can beat him this time!!!

Another Hockey Player

This morning started That Other Kid's hockey career....beginning hockey classes, called Pre Hockey. He was supposed to wear a hockey helmet and hockey skates. He was decked out and sooooo proud of himself. However, when he got on the ice he discovered that it wasn't much different than his "skate school" classes, but there were other kids on the ice with hockey sticks, and soft pucks actually passing the puck and skating like "real" hockey players. This frustrated him since this is what he wanted to be doing....I tried to appease him by telling him he had to work really hard and learn to skate faster so he would be able to "play hockey" with the other kids....maybe next semester, which starts in June!

In other news...I talked to my dad this morning and he had just finished walking 1 1/2 miles at the local rec center....He has done this ALL week and said he felt great. By the way, this is more than I have walked the WHOLE month of March, thankyouverymuch. I thought he was supposed to be the sick one.
He will go in and try to start his last week of chemo on Monday....please pray that his white blood counts are high enough this week that he can complete this last week. He already has an appointment scheduled for another MRI on the 9th and a doctor's appointment to discuss the next stage on the 10th. Please keep these dates in your prayers.

I started my new immune boosters today....thanks to Melissa for telling me about them! I will keep you posted as to how I feel over the next couple of weeks.

Well I'm tired...since I have gone/busy for the past 3 days and I'm still not 100% I better get to bed so I can continue to recouperate from this latest illness.

Thanks for visiting and listening to me babble! Have a great night!

A Love/Hate Relationship

Between 7:30 and 9:00 p.m. every night is like living in a nightmare. This is the time period of night that I start getting That Other Kid ready for bed. And I have a love/hate relationship with it.

Once he is finally asleep and all is well is my favorite time of the night. This is ME time, but it is also the time of night I fold mounds of laundry, load the dishwasher, clean up all the messes of the day and finally get to sit down and do what I want on my computer without having anyone climbing in my lap while I do it. I love this time! It is usually VERY QUIET...the only noise is the local news cast, or the noise of the dishwasher or toys being thrown back into the bins they came from.

However, the time before I actually get him to sleep is like a little bit of "h-e-double hockey sticks" on earth. I HATE this time of night....I start about 7:30 with a bath or occasionally a shower. This starts our rocky period of the night. Getting undressed usually goes pretty smooth, but actually getting into the bathtub usually requires a threat of a spanking. He wants to do at least 20 different things before actually getting into the water, all while wearing his birthday suit! Once he is in the bathtub, he wants to have his own rag to wash with, with EXCESSIVE amounts of soap....One little drop of water on his face while I wash his hair brings him to a tantrum screaming he has water in his eyes....get it out!! Trust me, there is NO WATER ANYWHERE CLOSE to his EYES! Once I get the soap out of his hair and convince him there is NO soap in his eyes, I put soap on my rag and wash his back, arms, etc. All the while he is soaping up his tummy and telling me he needs MORE soap, cuz he can still see skin, through the layers of soap! I refuse to give him more soap and tell him it is time to rinse the soap off....while listening to further whining and complaining about the injustice of it all!

I finally get him rinsed off and drain the bath water, and then he doesn't want to get out.... I think you get the idea .... every aspect of bedtime is H*ll. I don't remember bedtime being this tramatic with That Kid....Did I just block it??? or does everyone go through this senerio at bedtime????

Just curious if your household goes through this at bedtime....

A Day of Mixed Emotions

Today has been one of those days that has put my emotions through the ringer. I really don't like these kinds of days but they come with the territory of being a mom, so I guess I just have to learn to deal with them and pray myself through them.

I started the day way earlier than I wanted with That Other Kid coming in before 8 and telling me that it was time to get up. As I've mentioned a few hundred times I am not a morning person. Since I have been sick this time around I have been trying to go to bed earlier so that it is not such an issue when he wakes up early but last night I didn't crawl into bed till midnight (which is normal for me), but it took awhile to go to sleep, so 8 am didn't sit well with me.

I got up resisting the urge to scream "I'm tired, I wanna sleep" and walked into the living room and saw a mess from That Kid plus ALL his laundry that I told him to put away before I went to bed. This put me in a "mood". I moved all his laundry to the chair and laid down on the couch. Every time I got to sleep, I was woke by That Other Kid whining about needing something. By this time it was 9:30 and I really needed to get moving or at least pretending to do something. I had things I HAD to do today and had to shower and get moving. I fixed dh some breakfast and took it to him and That Other Kid followed me. He was trying to be "cute" and he spilled juice all over the carpet that had just been cleaned. I was not happy.

I informed him that he could clean the mess he made since he was being so difficult. So I put carpet cleaner down, laid a towel over it and told him to clean it. He was told to clean his mess or no tv!
He REFUSED!!!! I don't wanna, he cried over and over....I wanna watch tv!! After 30 minutes of this senerio I cleaned the carpet and went to the living room where there was another mess....this time of toys that had been laying there for several days. I told him if he wanted to watch tv he HAD to clean up all these toys..."I don't wanna" he cries again. Fine then you get NO tv..."but I wanna watch tv" Not till the toys are cleaned up! After about 45 minutes more of this he finally decided he would clean up his toys....so we were all happy! I got the toys cleaned up and he got to watch tv!!

Shortly after this my friend called me and encouraged me. She told me she had sat down and read through all my blog entries. She had so many encouraging things to say it really lifted me up! I was feeling good and was pleased that someone special to me thought I had value....You know how it is?? Some mornings you just need someone to tell you, you are special and good at something you enjoy! Thanks, for lifting me up!

I'm so glad you called this morning, because shortly after you called That Kid really hurt me...he was telling mostly dh, but I was included in the conversation, about this homeschooling family that he saw yesterday that he and one of his friends just sat back and laughed at.They were dressed in "pioneer days clothes" and had 5kids and all went into the bathroom together. This hurt....how could he be so insensitive and rude? Then he went on to tell
dh about how ALL homeschool MOMS are STUPID and so ignorant of the real world.

Where did I go wrong??? I don't think I am stupid, but maybe I am...I thought by homeschooling my son he would appreciate the love I feel for him by giving him a flexible, loving environment to learn and grow into a young adult, instead what I have done is given him just one more reason to be ashamed of me and the life I have created around him. As a young teen he used to resent being homeschooled, cuz he was missing out on the "real world", now I think he just resents ME for trying to shelter him a little from the harsh realities of the world. I thought he was a loving, sensitive young man. Now I don't know.

This morning he was cutting down all of my friends and the lifestyle I have chosen to live. I told him to leave the room before I smacked him into next week....I think he got the point. I haven't spoken to him other than to give him instructions for the school day. He went to work before I got home tonight. When he gets home I don't know how I will react to him....I am hurt still by his harsh words.... I know I need to not let my emotions control me and be the bigger person, but "I don't wanna" in the words of my 4 year old....

This afternoon we went to a food allergy test for That Other Kid for wheat. Yeah, he passed!! He can now have wheat products!! We fed him Wheat Chex cereal in small amounts for nearly 4 hours....and he had NO reactions!! So we have expanded his diet by adding peanuts and wheat!! He will go back in 2 weeks and try Soy products. If he passes this test the only food allergies that remain will be milk and eggs. This expands his diet tremendously. I'm soooo happy for him!

Yesterday a friend of mine told me about some herbal suppliments that may help with my recurring illnesses. I bought 1 of them this afternoon and will start taking them tomorrow. I will probably order the second one online if I can't find it quickly tomorrow. I am so looking forward to seeing if this helps! I'll keep you posted.

Well that was my roller coaster day....how was yours????

A Little Fun

38 words

Speedtest

I'm working on my post to catch you up with my life from the past couple of weeks...hopefully I'll have it done later today. I just wanted to let you know I am alive....Just been busy and sick again!
But I do have lots to share....and even a vacation to tell ya about!!

Nearly 2 Weeks Have Past.....

What have I been doing with myself????? Well where do I start??? I think I will start backwards and work my way back to nearly 2 weeks ago.....so here goes!!!

This weekend we went on our first REAL FAMILY VACATION....I mean this trip had ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with hockey and WE ALL WENT!!! And I remembered the camera!! On Wednesday evening of last week, meaning March 19, DH says to me, while I was in the bathroom (where else would a meaningful conversation be held, right?), "I've worked myself out of work for the rest of the week....my clients are all gone on spring break, I don't know what I'm going to do the next 5 days, till they come back into town".

I flippantly say, "well let's go do something, cuz the rest of us don't have anything to do either~~". I expected a response like, no I need to do stuff that I have been putting off....and that would be end of the discusssion. Instead I got, "LIKE WHAT???" I didn't have an answer for some time....I had to think...this has never happpened to me. I finally came back and asked if he meant we could go on a little vacation...he said "YES, but it had to be somewhere close, cuz he didn't want to drive forever." OK so where could we go that everyone in our family could have fun, that was close to home, but felt like a vacation??? I was clueless!! I asked him what he had in mind -- he wanted to go to Lake Texoma!! Sounded like the ticket to me...fun for the whole family, little boy to teenage boy! and cheap and close to home -- only a couple of hours!!! THAT'S IT!!!

We went to Lake Texoma, on the Oklahoma side -- by Kingston, OK and we ALL had fun. We rented a nice little cabin, so we had real beds; always a bonus in my eyes! We rented a boat and went boating for 2 hours and played mini golf, and drove go-karts and played air hockey, we roasted marshmallows over a bon fire; as well as fried shrimp, pretzels, and whatever else they decided to throw in the fire to see it blaze higher and brighter! They are guys and it is fire, ya know!

Here are a just a few of my favorites....






The only downer for the whole weekend was that Sunday morning about 3 a.m. I woke up with my throat on fire...and I felt terrible. We finished sleeping the night and got up, packed up and came back home, taking a little side trip to look at a couple of other camp sites for possible future trips. We dropped the boys off at home and went to the minor emergency clinic where the doctor informed me I have strep throat and yet another sinus infection!!! When will it end?? I have had sooooo many sinus infections it's beginning to be a part of my life!! I need to have some serious help with this, so I will be going back to the regular doctor and try to get some long term solutions...

OK, now back track to the previous week....meaning the week from the 11th to the 19th (I know not a traditional week time period, but we are working in reverse anyway so let's complicate things further!) Over the weekend That Kid's hockey team played their last 4 games of the season....they were the playoff games. They won 1 game, tied 1 game, and lost the other 2 games. That ends the season and, as of know, his competitive hockey career. He is burned out and ready to take a break from the hockey. He is looking forward to continuing his work as an official, so he's not getting away from it completely, just taking it from a different aspect.



He is applying to go to a development camp for officials for May, so that he can work toward advancing his career as an official. I hope this is a success for him as he does seem to love it!

Right before the hockey games started this weekend That Other Kid and I went to his last "beginner's skate class". Now he will begin "hockey skate classes". So as 1 career ends another one begins. He will start classes for hockey this weekend and I expect him to take off with it as he will be wearing a hockey helmet and he already has his own hockey skates and elbow pads...He is sooo happy to finally be doing "hockey"!!




On Friday of this week I bought our family a Wii and oh my it is soooo much fun!! How did I ever think that we could live without this wonderful game system??? There are so many games for this system that can be played by the whole family!! It is a game system worth buying!! If you are unfamiliar with the system, find someone who has it and play a game or two and you'll be hooked, too!

On Wednesday of this week I took That Other Kid to an open gym for an hour and a half of fun!! He had a blast and asked when he could go again....turns out they have it every week and it is only $5, which is a great way for him to burn a lot of excess energy! We'll be going back soon....
That afternoon I went to the doctor where she told me I had a sinus infection....Do you see a pattern??? I do, and I don't like it! Like I said I need some help!

Well I guess that catches you up on my life!! Aren't you glad???? Oh yeah, my dad seems to be doing well with his cancer treatments, but his white blood counts are low again this week so he had to postpone his final week of chemo to get them back up a little. He is taking shots and some pills this week and he'll do his final week of chemo next Monday. Then April 10th he will see the doctor to see how he is doing to start the chemo/radiation treatments. Please pray for his continued strength and that all goes well.

"Talk" to you soon.....I promise!!!

The Dentist

Today I had to take That Other Kid to the dentist for an unpleasant experience -- 4 cavities filled. I brush his teeth at least 1 time a day, like the hygeniest recommended, but still he has cavities...but he doesn't have any source of calcium other than the apple juice fortified with calcium....he is allergic to dairy, and soy, among other vital foods that a normal child eats. What's a mom to do???? I do the best I can, but apparently it's not enough. He also has asthma, which apparently is a source of distress on your teeth and makes cavities easier to form....who knew????

While I was at the dentist waiting for the procedure to be completed, as I am shelling out over $575, that's with our so called insurance, that isn't really insurance, but a discount plan the receptionist/sales girl informs me that he has 4 more cavities -- these being his 4 front teeth and that will cost me over $700. Now I'm p*ssed, cuz at the cleaning that we just had a couple of weeks ago they tell me that there really isn't anything we can do about the front teeth that appear to be discolored -- (except put a veneer on them to help whiten their appearance) -- they came in that way!

I mean they were discolored when they first showed up...so are they telling me that he had cavities in his 4 front teeth as soon as he got teeth??? I'm confused and upset. I'm getting a second opinion and I'm looking for another way to fix those teeth....he's too young to go through this again!!! He was soooo upset this afternoon when we left all he did the whole way home was whine, and tell me how his mouth and lips hurt....It took about 45 minutes for him to calm down....I can't handle him going through this again unless it is absolutely necessary. How can a baby/child have cavities in his teeth as soon as they come in???

Back In the Swing of Things

Well I've been home now since Wednesday night about 6:30 and I'm still trying to get back into the swing of normal life. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about....the laundry, dishes, taking care of bills, bank deposits, grading school work, you get the point! and I just can't seem to get it! All I've done this weeks since getting back home is sit around reading blogs, checking emails (and there haven't been many) and just being a drain on society. I can't seem to get into anything. I went shopping at Target last night for a few necessities and bought a Bugs Bunny (my dad's favorite cartoons) 4-Disc set DVD. I've watched the majority of all 4 discs....I can't seem to get motivated to do anything else. I've washed all the laundry, but it took me till this afternoon to get it folded and put away....of course there is 2 more loads in progress.

While I was in Kansas I played my brother's Wii and I fell in LOVE with it....and I NEVER play video games, so you know it's gotta be fun for me to be interested. I've spent a good amount of time online today looking for one, but they are still practically impossible to find. If you know where I can get one at regular retail price, right now let me know....I'm kind of impatient!

Well I better get off the computer and try to accomplish something...I only have about 5 hours before I need to try to go to bed and I still have alot to do, that is if I can focus on the mundane long enough to do it!! I'm ready to go back to Kansas so I can monitor my dad's progress.......

Oh, one more thing....1 of my friend's was admitted to the hospital Friday night for chest pains. She had a heart attack about 13 years ago and has been under a great deal of stress lately (her mom has cancer and it appears to be terminal). Please pray for her and her family, both near and far -- her mom lives in St. Louis, she lives here in the DFW area.

Thanks.....

My Trip to Kansas

I'm sitting in my brother's living room, (on the wireless network they couldn't figure out how to operate,thankyouverymuch) watching my niece and That Other Kid competing to see who can draw the best pictures, numbers, letters and waiting for a load of laundry to finish drying so I can get That Other Kid dressed. It is a relaxing COLD day in Kansas, and it has been a good visit for me.

That Other Kid is going to preschool with my niece this afternoon and I'm going to take my dad up to the VA Hospital again for an injection to help raise his White Blood Count. He had to go in to give blood yesterday morning to check his counts and they were low, so he has to go up and get injections all week in addition to taking an antibiotic to ward off infections. He didn't want to bother me, but I came to Kansas to spend time with him and help him out, in addition to checking up on him. So I took him yesterday and I'll probably do it again tomorrow before I hit the road to head back to the Lone Star State, to my dh and teenager! This is just one thing I can do to feel like I am part of his treatment and recovery from this yucky cancer he is suffering from.

My purpose in coming to Kansas this week was to check up on dad and see for myself how he is doing....and he's doing ok, I think. It seems to me he has aged, but he is 70 so I guess he is getting older, huh? But he looks pretty much normal...he sits around alot, and that is strange for me to see. He was a manual laborer his whole adult life, so sitting around just wasn't in his normal routine. Even after he retired he started a little side business of wood crafts, so he was always busy. Now he sits....he just doesn't have much energy. My brother and I are going to purchase him a guest membership to the local rec center so he can get out and "do" something. I'm afraid he feels worthless now, since he doesn't have anything "productive" to do.

What do people do all day when they get this awful disease and they don't have the energy to do their normal things??? I feel I need to help him have a purpose to fight the cancer....I want him to live a longer, more productive life!

Thanks for your continued prayers. I'll be home tomorrow night...