Bowling Fun, Ear Ache Doggy, and a Weekend Mini-Vacation For All!

We survived another week! ;-)


School went very well. We got all of our assignments done. We had homeschool bowling this week and that is always fun. It's nice to break out of our regular routine and see some new faces. A couple of boys who haven't come to bowling in a while made re-appearances. The boys were so busy talking about video games, Legos, and whatever else teenage boys talk about, that they couldn't hardly get any bowling done. It took them almost two hours to bowl 2 games. I also enjoyed visiting with the other moms. I don't get too many opportunities to have real live adult conversations in the daytime. Needless to say, a great time was had by all!


Baby Doggy has been sort of scratching at his ear a little the past couple of days. A visit to the vet confirmed that he has an ear infection. We're not exactly sure how he got it, but I imagine that I must have gotten some water in his ear during his last bath. I always try to be so careful, but I am human. I feel bad for him. He cried a little when the doctor put her lookie-thing in his ear. Poor Baby Doggy. :-( As my punishment, I get to put the ear drops into his ears twice daily for then next ten days. Believe me, this will hurt me more than it hurts him. I hate to see either of the boys in any sort of pain. Keep me in your thoughts on this one.


Mom #2 was off work this week. The portion of the job she is working on, for some reason, got postponed. So she's been underfoot all week. Oh, I have to be honest, I am glad for one thing. The Christmas lights finally got put up outside. Wonderful! She's going back to work on Monday, so I'll just leave it at this - we all survived.


I am proud to say that I am 95% done with my Christmas shopping. I am even prouder to say, that I have NOT STEPPED FOOT in any mall. YEAH! I love online shopping. As Martha Stewart would say, "It's a good thing."


Oh, and speaking of Christmas, I may as well just go on record now. Yes, I am a full fledged Christmas loving nutcase! My house has decorations inside and out; including Christmas shower curtains, bath mats, and toilet seat covers. Lights, lights, and more lights is my Christmas motto. We do the whole kit and caboodle. I love everything about Christmas, except the malls. I just cannot do crowded parking lots and malls at this stage of my life. It must be old age catching up with me. Yes, we still indulge in the Santa Clause tradition, although I think Baby Boy just plays along so as not to hurt my feelings. I am hanging on for dear life... He will not grow up, he will not grow up, he will not grow up.


My sister has informed me that her Christmas gift to my mom and me this year is that she will take us to see The Nutcracker. I am very excited. I have not seen it since I was a very little girl. I can't wait to get dressed up and actually leave the house at night with other grown ups. This is the life! We're not sure exactly what night we're going, but you know I 'll keep you posted.


Oh, I have news. Baby boy is spending the weekend with my mom in her brand new apartment. Mom #2 and I are going to have a much needed "grown-up weekend." I don't think we've had one in about two years. We are both giddy with anticipation. I think this might be one of the best weekends together we've had in a while. We probably won't do too much, as you know money is tight around here, but we will be together and alone. That's good enough for me.


Of course, I'll keep you posted ;-)

Smooches!

One Sickly Mom and an MRI on my Kid.

This has been another fast and furious week in our household.

Mom #2 is quite a bit under the weather, so she's in quite a mood. It's that time of year when the allergens are overly abundant in the air, and she is VERY susceptible. She did work all week, but last night came home extremely run down. I fed her a nutritious meal and tucked her into bed. She snored like the dead all night long, and then when I woke her up this morning, she was positively green. So she stayed home in bed all day. Fortunately this was her day off, but she was supposed to go with me to take Baby Boy to the doctor.

I was hoping she would get the rest of the outside Christmas lights up this weekend, but with this nasty cold, it may have to wait another week or so.

I really think a big part of Mom #2's run-down and sickly demeanor is just that she is extremely tired. She is working very hard and, since we currently only have one vehicle, she is running most of my errands as well. I usually have a list of things for her to do either before work, during her lunch break, or on her way home from work. Since we lost our second vehicle, I just can't get out the way I need to, but things still need to get done. So I feel this is at least partially my fault.

Speaking of Baby Boy, he had to go have an MRI today. He was supposed to be sedated, because it was a long procedure, but when we got there, he decided to go at it with no sedation. They have these awesome virtual-reality goggles that connect to a DVD player. Baby Boy lay as still as a statue and watched Jurassic Park III. I was so proud of him because the MRI took about an hour and a half. I don't know if I would have been able to be still for that long. I did stay in the room and watch him the entire time. I didn't have any reading material or anyone to talk to. I just sat there. The radiologist did not seem to understand why I wanted to wait in the room. I gently explained that in this life, I try to experience everything through the eyes of my child. If he's laying still and quiet in the room, then so am I. And I did. And we both lived through it.

Of course, now I am thoroughly frustrated because my follow up appointment is not until early January. No one will tell me what the MRI scan showed until then. Believe me, I intend to call daily and try to get a nurse on the phone to let me take the first cancellation available. Cross your fingers!

Tomorrow we are going to my niece's birthday party. The theme is High School Musical, of course. I LOVE my niece! She is my kindred spirit. She is very intelligent, fun, loud, musical, artsy and everything else I inspire to be in life. I can't wait. I don't see my sister enough since she moved out of town. Frankly, and more truthfully, I didn't see her that much before she moved out of town either, so I'm looking forward to it. Hopefully Mom and Dad will be there. I love being invited places. I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned it before or not, but I hate having guests. I am not a good hostess.

Anywho, kids, have a great weekend and I hope a wonderful upcoming week. :-)

Smooches!

Happy Day After Thanksgiving!

HAPPY DAY AFTER THANKSGIVING!!!!

I hope everyone's holiday was wonderful and I hope everyone has a whole bucketful of reasons to be thankful. This has really been a tough year for us, but I am thankful for my incredible spouse, my fantastic son, and the fact when no one else is there for us, we are ALWAYS there for each other.

True family is the best reason on earth to be thankful!

We had a wonderful feast of turkey, ham, dressing, mashed potatoes, spinach and bacon quiche, rolls, and gravy to drown it all in. For dessert, we had pumpkin pie, pecan pie, pound cake, whipped cream and ice cream. Delicious!

We had my mom and sister over as well as Mom #2's little brother. I had invited my dad, but he decided he wasn't up to it at the last minute. It's okay. He will eventually come around, I hope. A great time was had by all. Our dinner was a fantastic success!

We also put up our Christmas tree and decorated the inside and outside of the house. I like to have a full-on Christmas themed home from Thanksgiving all the way into the new year. It's so festive!

I've started buying a few things off of Baby Boy's Christmas list. We are really tight this year and won't be able to buy much at all, but we've decided that every extra dime we get will go to Baby Boy. I mean, we are parents, right?

Anyway, I'm going to keep it brief today. I just wanted to wish everyone a happy long weekend, and I hope a great and loving time will be had by all! :-)


Smooches!

Family Fractions, Grades Galore, Infomercial Queens, And - You Guessed It - More Art Projects.

Oh, I know I've taken a too many days off. I've been so busy with this, that and the other that I haven't had any time to blog much. I know that isn't really a valid excuse as we are all busy, but that's all I have. LOL.


Well, I have been going through something very emotional. I have been going through it for a while, but I guess I am just now getting to a place where I can actually "say it." My parents are divorcing after over 35 years of marriage. It's terrible! I cry every time I think about it. Believe me, I am not the prissy or emotional type of girl, but this is too much to take. There really is no he said - she said. There is enough blame to go around. Neither of them are perfect, although I love both of them dearly. This week they finally sold THE HOUSE! They have lived in that house for almost 10 years. I know that may not sound like much to some of you, but that is a long, long, long time in the life of a military brat. Homes usually came and went every year or two in my growing up life. It's been on the market for a few months and I guess I secretly hoped as long as it was just "for sale" there was a chance that they would both live in it together. Anyway, this week Mom moved into her own apartment and Dad has had an apartment for a few months now....so I guess that's my life now. I could go on and on about this for days, but I'm really not emotionally ready to take this one on, so I'll just call that subject closed, for now.


I've been doing a little work at home. You may or may not know that I am one of those people who answers the phone when you call to order things from television. Yes, I am queen of the infomercial. Oh, and yes... I will try to sell you 17 things you didn't call to buy, but I don't want to, it's my job. Please just say "No, thank you." Please don't yell at me or curse me out. I don't write the scripts. A simple "No, thank you," says it all. I'm not offended; you're not offended; I get to keep my job; and you get only what you called in for. See, no harm, no fowl. Sorry for the small vent... I just had to get it out. Anyway, I don't get paid much, but it does come in handy around Christmas-present-buying-time.


Well, Mom #2 has been going to work pretty regularly. We weren't due to get our pay until a couple of weeks down the line, but we managed to get a little advance. That sure came in helpful. It must be that delicious Mom #2 charm. I know it works on me every time. ;-)


Mom #2 has successfully lined up a couple of jobs. This is great news! Now let's all cross our fingers that they actually come to fruition and that, once completed, they actually PAY US. Well, I'll be trying to think positive. What else have I got?


School has been going so great. I don't even know where to begin. Baby Boy has finally hit his stride. He has been waking up without my assistance. He gets right to work and has been managing his time very well. I have such a great kid! It actually makes me kind of sad. He barely needs me anymore. All I do is make the schedule, post it, and grade. Darn it! He's really growing up on me.


We had report cards today. If I haven't mentioned it before, yes, I do grade. Not any special "I love you, Mom grades." I use a plain old regular grading system. I like it. Mom #2 likes it. Baby Boy likes it - most of the time. It works for us.


Anyway, back to the grades...... How are all the A's looking to you? He did great!


Also he has been having such a blast in Biology. I have a couple of photos of him researching crab larvae, if I'm not mistaken.

Here he is, studying hard.

Getting it just right!

Oh, and before I forget...this week's art project: scratch art made from complementary colors. Complementary colors are colors opposite each other on the color wheels we made a couple of weeks ago.

So....without further ado... Scratch Art...

By Baby Boy

By Mom #1

We're getting pretty good, don't you think?


Well, I hope you are all making some loving Thanksgiving Day plans. I hope they include family and lots and lots of delicious food. If I don't get back in touch before then..... have a great holiday!


Smooches!

Halloween, Art Projects and the Rent Due....Oh My!

Well all, we have made it to the 1st of the month and guess what? Our rent is PAID IN FULL! I am so excited about that, nothing can bring me down right now. It has been a struggle, but I feel like we are in the home stretch. Mom #2 has been working very hard. Now we just have to pray that we don't get stiffed on our pay. I'm not a religious person, but I do know one thing for a fact, God does answer prayer. So I continue to pray. I'm not going to dwell on finances this week. It has been consuming the greater part of all of my recent posts, and frankly, the subject is getting old. Let's move on.

We met with Baby Boy's specialist this week. The surgery didn't have the desired effects after all. That was a major bummer. Keep him in your prayers. Once again, that's all I have to say about that.

Another test has been recommended for Baby Boy regarding a different medical issue, but Mom #2 and I have made the executive decision to give Baby Boy a break. This test is highly invasive and we just don't feel it's necessary right now. It may not be the best decision, but it's the one we have made.

I thought I'd share some family photos this week:

Last week's art project, actually several weeks of work come to fruition.

Introducing...The Teddy Bear.


By Baby Boy

and

By Mom #1

This week's art project...The Color Wheel.


By Baby Boy

By Mom #1

And finally, for your viewing pleasure....a little Halloween cheer.

Baby Boy as the Gauzy King of Darkness...it's hard to see in this picture, but the red eyes glow in the dark. Scary!

Baby Boy and Mom #2 having some Halloween fun!

Well, kiddos, that's all for now. Have a great week.


Smooches!