Free-For-All Day...

Free-For-All Day...

Let the riots begin. Today officially marks the holiday shopping season. Black Friday. I know its not widely known in other countries but today is the day that all the stores and shops have their biggest sales. The main catch is to have specific items on sale at specific times. Some store opened this morning at 4am. Some will be open really late tonight. But each one has something to offer. The trick to all this is to go to the mall first and then leave before the rush at about 11am. No one is at the mall that early unless they are there for the bigger anchor stores.

I really dont see what the big deal is though. There is no way you will get me to go out there and risk my ass for something on sale. I would rather pay full price for something and not have to fight some old biddy for it. Earlier today, CNN posted up a news story about someone that was killed in a stampede at a Walmart store. But that wasnt the worse part of it. While the guy lay there, people were still trampling the rescue workers. What the hell? How sick is that? And they also caused harm to a pregnant lady. Is that Barbie doll really that important that you need to kill someone for it?

Do these people have no self respect? Where will their conscious heart be when their kid opens a gift that you had to fight for? Oh Timmy, you better appreciate this wii system because I had to push and shove and trample someone to death so that you could have it. Assholes.

But on to other things. Jake has passed away and the wake was tonight. The funeral is tomorrow morning. I did talk to my mom tonight and they are handling it fairly well considering whats involved. Dealing with other members of the family, that is. But now he is at peace and no longer in pain.

Today also marks a sort of family tradition for me and my family. Well something that my mom always did. I just kept it going. Except for this year. On Black Friday, we always put up the tree and started on the long list of Christmas cards. I attempted that today but I didnt get too far. I have about 4 cards done and the tree is still in the box.

Cami woke up cranky as hell this morning and it continued all day. She found everything she could to bitch about. I cant fully put any blame on her though. She got hardly any sleep last night. Then again, neither did I. It was just miserable. So we decided to just chill out for the day instead of having arguments over nothing.

But the tradition was to put the tree up on Black Friday and take it down on New Years Day. Mom always went way out to decorate the house. Every corner had something in it that was related to the holidays. A Santa in a chimney in that corner. A giant stocking in that corner over there. Tube lighting in all the doorways. Glittery garland around the ceiling and down the walls. It was a nightmare when it was all lit up. But mom loved it and it did bring in the holiday spirit. Even if all those lights blinking on and off kept you up all night for a few weeks.

And what is Christmas without building a gingerbread house? Cami wants to make one and of course I promised her. I cant wait to see the mess we make with that one. There has to be an easier way. Even the kits are a mess. I wish she would pick things that are easier like baking cookies. I love baking cookies. Especially the buttery drop cookies. And the chocolate cream cookies. Opps... I think I just gained 5 lbs thinking about those.

Tonight I watched Fred Claus. It was ok. Not too much that was overly funny. But I really liked the story lines to it. Some of it was pretty cool. I will watch it again tomorrow with Cami. Also I have my very own copy of The Christmas Story. Its just not Christmas until you watch that one at least once. I know that some channels play it round the clock on Christmas Eve.

Cami no longer believes in Santa. I couldnt lie to her because she pretty much figured it out on her own. She asked and I told her the truth. But I also told her the general history of why he existed in the first place. She understood it all and still likes the idea of it. She still wants to go see him at the mall and she still gets upset when I threaten her that I will tell him that she was bad. He he he... Good to have that leverage.

We went to the mall the other day and she went to the line. She got bored waiting for all the snotting whiney kids to squirm and cry so that mom could get the best photo possible of the whole damn group of twenty of them all smiling at the same time. We all know that wont happen so why bother trying for the 40th shot. So she made the excuse that his beard was the wrong color and we stepped out of line. We will try again another day.

She also asked that I not put the gifts under the tree til Christmas Eve. She likes that I make all the surprises and that it looks so nice when its all lit up for her in the morning. She figured it all out because everything had my handwriting on it. She mentioned it the year before last. Last year I didnt write anything on the presents and she figured it out. Oh well. At least she lasted this long though. I made it til I was about 4 before I knew.

Tomorrow is Saturday and I really dont have any plans on leaving the house again. I may visit my father for a little while though. There is no way in hell that I will go to a mall.

I am thankful for...

What am I thankful for?

I am thankful for everything around me. I am thankful that I wake up in the morning, although in pain lately. I am thankful that I am able to enjoy the love of my child. I am thankful that I have means to get me to work safely so that I am thankful for the job that I have. I can put food on my table and a clothes on my back. We see where that all leads to.

Ok, that is all the usual mushy stuff that everyone can post. There are a few things that I am truely thankful for and that is my life in general. I have the best friends in the world and I have my childs love. Those are what makes the world go around. The list I have in my mind is endless. There is no way for me to express everything individually. I love my friends and my family. You are all on my list.

In the past few weeks, my life has taken some wide curves and hit a few trees along the way. Good thing that those trees are strong and sturdy because I have hit them quite hard. Recent events have put me under the weather a bit but I am still able to hold my head up high. I owe that all to those who read this.

Some days my heart is heavy and my body hurts but I get through knowing that the sun will rise again in the morning and a new day begins. Some of those days suck and some of those days are bright and cheerful. But thats what they are. They are days to get through.

I havent been around alot lately. Its either because Im too damn tired or that Ive been extremely busy. I have had alot of family issues going on all at once but at the same time, Ive been working on some projects to get me through the holidays. Some jewelry orders need to be finished but at the same time Im dealing with one crisis after another with friends and family.

This past week, there has been a major project going on in my home. Rooms are getting cleaned out and organized. Boxes moved to a storage unit. I plan to move out of this crappy apartment sometime soon. I just dont want to make all those tripsup and down the stairs a million times in one day.

During this adventure, I have found things that I havent seen in many years. Some memories I want to keep and some I would rather forget. I have found a few boxes from a previous move that contained items just shoved in when doing a last minute sweep around the old place. Baby bottles and old bills. Keys to something that I cant remember. Cards and notes that I dont remember what they were for. Old silverware and thumbtacks. It was hysterical to go through this stuff. Im sure my trash man will be happy with me this week.

Dealing with the potential loss of a "family" member has had me down. The decisions have been made but I havent received the call yet. I wont be calling my mom for a couple of days so that I can allow them to concentrate on what they need to do there. Shes been here for a few days but I havent seen her yet. Its sad and I am sad for them to have to go through this.

Also today, a friend suffered a deep blow to her family and my thoughts and prayers go out to her. Its not easy to lose someone. But losing someone around the holidays is even tougher. Its a rememberance that we could all do without. But the bond of friendships is what holds us upright. I am thankful for that.

I, however, wont be thankful for the pounds I will be gaining from all that food on Thursday. I recently told someone not to eat too much and to save room for leftovers. I really need to practice what I preach. I will be doing alot of the cooking tonight so that there isnt alot to do on Thursday morning. I have no idea who is coming to my house to eat. I invited my father but he never gave me a direct answer. I invited my mother but she said that she doubted they will come because of what is happening with Jake. I just dont want the two of them showing up at the same time. That I wouldnt be thankful for.

I dont mind if anyone wants to come over to eat. The more the merrier. Just be prepared to help me clean up after. Thats one thing I am not thankful for. No automatic dishwasher. But on the mushier note, Im thankful that I am able to do them. But you know I hate the mushy stuff.

Welcome to the Jungle...

Welcome to the Jungle....

Thats pretty much how the last couple of weeks have been. I would like to add that I have bronchitis this time. Im really getting sick of being sick. I hate this weather. Its 70F one day and 30F the next. But thats how it is here. So not only is my foot still hurting but so are my lungs. Lack of sleep is getting to me. But I can handle it.

Cami has been the whirlwind though. Its been a bit on the crazy side here. Not that she is crazy but shes been so out of control lately. We had a visit to her doctor to see what to do about it. So he prescribed a slightly higher dose of her medication and we also have a new behavior plan to boot.

The things she has been doing are along the lines of refusal to do normal things. Getting her up in the morning and getting ready are near impossible. Little things like asking her to brush her hair is like telling her to take on the world. She stamps her feet and screams OMG. Im mean and that I dont love her are the next lines out of her mouth. Shes been fighting in school as well.

Later we learned that this was caused by something more sinister. Somehow she had found some chocolates that we didnt know we had. So that means she stood on the arm of the couch and reached her 9 foot arms up and over the armoire. The armoire is about 4 foot away from the couch. How the hell she reached them I have no idea. I think kids can secretly grow arms like an octopus. Or they have a super power like Stretch Armstrong or what ever that other super hero is. Rubber Man? Is that what he is called?

That was on Monday. She was a holy terror in the morning. She had an ok day at school though. She also has a thing of refusing to do her homework. I havent seen much of an improvement to anything though. Its now been a week and its all the same. I know the kids at school set her off but her teacher needs to grow some bigger balls and take care of it. Im getting a little tired of it and I know the principal wont do a damn thing.

Sunday was quite interesting. Woke up a little too late to give her the pills. Oops. So she went all day without them. Then I got thinking that this might work for Monday. Having nothing on Sunday and then something on Monday might slow her down. Quite the opposite. She was fine for the morning for me and on the way to school. She did great on the playground as well. Assembly was perfect. But apparently after that was hell. She was in bitch mode for the day. Her teacher and I exchange a journal every day. She was aggitated and aggressive all day. Im really at my whits end.

After school, she had Chess Club. She did really well and Mr. R gave her a homework assignment. Its some charts of plays that she has to pick one move that could win the game. I explained to her that its not due until next week but she was insisting that she do it tonight. I have no clue how to play chess. Also she had her first Chess Tourny on Saturday. She was a little upset that she said she didnt play her best and lost all five games. But the school overall came in 3rd place.

Another thing that has been going on is that my mom is back in town. They arrived a few days ago. Mousies brother took a bad turn health wise. Hes been in the hospital on life support for over a week now. They said that its just the machines that are keeping him alive but that there was nothing much else to do. So they got all the family together and they all agreed to pull the plug. They needed the doctors to agree as well and today thats what they did. Now Im not sure what will happen over the next few days. I know that this wont be something to be thankful for. But then again, Jake hasnt really been too well all summer either. We almost lost him a few times then.

So tonight Im saying a prayer for Uncle Jake. He was a great man that loved everyone and everyone loved him. He was the sort that just sat on his porch and waved to everyone who went by. If he wasnt out there, they would all stop to check on him to make sure he was ok. May God take you safely.

On another note, I have been cleaning out the apartment. First the front room and then the hall closet. Then it was both at the same time. A storage unit was rented and thats where it is all going. When I actually move out of here, Im not going up and down those stairs a billion times with my foot the way it has been. This way I can pull a truck to the unit and go from there.

I found some things that I didnt know I even had. Im still missing one shoe though. Im sure it went in a box to the unit. Im not overly concerned about it though. Considering that I didnt know I had them in the first place. I also took some shots of the bed frame that I have in there. Ive been looking for it on line to find out more information on it but so far, there isnt too much. I find similar items but none like mine. I also moved my armoire in there. The dresser is still being used and the vanity it up in the attic. I have no room to use them in the tiny rooms I have here. Maybe when I move I can use them again. I know they are quite old and I wont part with them. They are in near perfect shape. Just a few scratches.

Now Im trying to get my living room back in order so that I can put up my tree on Friday. Its a mess in there from all the stuff that was pulled out of the front room. Mostly clothes. Ive been going through them to see what I want to keep and what I want to give away. One of the girls at school lost her home on Friday night due to a house fire. The family lost everything. Shes about the same size I am so this shouldnt be much of a problem. So I say a prayer for them tonight as well.

I think thats all for now. I know I have a few blogs in the works that I havent finished yet but I will get to them when I have more time. Im sorry that I havent been able to comment much on anyone elses blogs in a while. Its just been too wild here lately. But I will take a break soon.

Much love to everyone and if I dont post before Thursday, I wish you all a wonderful turkey day.

Lets go for a ride...

Lets go for a ride....

This post took place last week..... I know I know.. I fall behind...

That was pretty much my day today. Im still not sure what the hell happened this morning but Im sure it will all come back to haunt me soon enough. I also learned a hard lesson today. I have since moved all medications to various locations so they dont get mixed up. Yep. This involves medications. Harmless ones though. Bear with me, this isnt easy to type out. My fingers are not connected to my brain yet. Then again, my brain wasnt connected to anything this morning.

Im not writing this for the laughs or anything like that. Although I can laugh about it and a few others got a hell of a kick out of it all today. But there is a lesson to be learned. Im sure I will get to that part when I remember what it was. Seriouly though, this is a sort of warning. Funny and harmless as it may be.

Once again, I have a cold. Seems to be happening a lot lately. I think I am immune to hand sanitizer. I tend to drown myself with it all day long. Im also one of those that will use it when I sneeze and blow my nose. Just so I dont touch anything with my own cold germs and catch it again later. Sounds anal but when you are around dozens of kids with runny noses, you would do the same.

We also make it a policy for ourselves and for the kids to cough into the inside of the elbow area of your arm. Coughing into your hand only spreads germs faster. So then comes the area of hand washing. Ive learned that you should wash more than just your hands. A little up the arms doesnt hurt but when Im sick, I do tend to react like a doctor heading into surgery. Kids like to share everything and most of it is something I dont want. And I also dont want to spread it to others. That, in turn, spreads it right back to me. You get the picture.

Well anywho, last night I wasnt feeling all that great and I was coughing a lot. I couldnt get any rest. Every time I laid down, I coughed. And it was a hard cough and shit was coming up. A lot of lung slugs to be seen. Not so pretty colored ones though. But thats what I needed to do. Cough it all up. And it was working. But it just wasnt the right time to be doing it.

***I had stopped here so I will pick this up now**

So this particular night I was getting really tired of coughing and not being able to sleep. So I got up at about 230am and grabbed for the TheraFlu Nighttime stuff. Nasty tasting but works. Knocked me out cold. Slept like a baby. But I think it was more like sleeping like a puppy because I wasnt waking up for anyone.

At 630, the alarm went off and I hit the snooze for a few minutes. Ok so it was more like a half hour. I got up, took a shower and stumbled my way back into the kitchen. I figured I would get some daytime cold medicine in me to get me through. I reached in, opened the bottle, popped the pill and went back into the bathroom to work on putting my face together.

After my makeup goes on, its time for my hair. I took off the towel and brushed it all out. I grabbed the blow dryer and flipped my hair forward and bent over to blow dry my hair upside down. Thats when it hit me. OMFG did it hit me. Im sure my eyes went wide because I felt them ooze out of my face. I stood upright and everything went around in a circle really quick. I sat down and it was like sitting in a very bright room.

I went to the kitchen and opened the cabinet and looked to see what the hell was in there. Oh and mind you that Im wide awake now. Really awake. Not sure if it was from the medication or the fact that I was in shock for what I saw. The bottle that normally had my cold medication in it was knocked back and the only bottle that stood in the front was my daughters ADHD med. Oh shit. I took one of hers.

Now mind you that I dont have the problems that she has that requires her to have this medication. Its harmless to me so Im not overly worried but I was wondering what the affects would be to my blood pressure. Im on medications for that. But I will tell you that if I had lost my bright eyes and bushy tail earlier, they were sure as hell attached now. But the one thing that I know is a side effect to her started to be one for me. I felt queasy to my stomach. I know she gets this feeling as well.

I didnt say anything to her about it though. I just moved on with the motions of the morning and got ready. We left on time and went to school. I will tell you that things were pretty much a lot clearer. Sharper would be a good word too. I wasnt going to say anything to anyone about it but I thought that if something happened to me, they would know what to tell the nurse. So I informed a couple of people that I do work with that see me often. Of course they had a good laugh about it.

But I just wanted to make sure of this. After the morning assembly, I went to the school nurse to see what she had to say about it. She checked my vitals and said that my pupils were quite large an that my pulse rate was over 100. So I had to pop in her office a few times to keep check of it. Its a 12 hour medication so it should wear off soon. I told the teacher that I work with and she said that the next time I do these drugs, that I have to share with her. I will hold her to that one. I think she would like this.

The morning wasnt so bad. Everyone said that I was talking very fast paced. Like I should be doing radio disclaimer ads. I wasnt impressed though. I still felt sick to my stomach. Now I know what my kid goes through and why she doesnt want to bother with lunch. I can just imagine what her little tummy feels like.

At about 3, I started coming down. Holy cow. This was not fun. The nurse said that my pulse rate had lowered to normal but my face was flush and I was slurring my words. She suggested that I contact my doctor just in case he wanted to see me. I said I was fine. I was now expecting to get realy bitchy like Cami does when she comes down from this.

But all in all it wasnt so bad. I had a headache and I got some sleep out of it though. But I now have all my own medications in my room so that there is no chance of a mix up. Although some of that clonidine would be good right now. I need some sleep.

Swear words....

Holy %@&# &*^@%)! &^@%&#%$....

I could go on but you get the picture. This week has just sucked. There is no other way to describe it. Im sure I can come up with other words but I prefer to keep this at a PG-13 level. I can take pain. I can take a lot of pain. Ive been taking a lot of pain for about a year now. I cant take that pain anymore. Ive had enough. So when I say that Im in serious pain, you can bet that its extremely serious. And you guessed it. This is serious.

I had gone to the doctor about a month ago for a complete physical. What happened was that this doctor was once my doctor many many moons ago. He was my primary and Dr S was my ob/gyn. It is required to have two seperate doctors. Well at about the time I got pregnant, I went to my secondary of course. During that time, he also changed his title as Ob/Gyn/Womens Primary. Needless to say that this became my one and only doctor for the past 9 years. He was my secondary for at least 20 years.

Back in May, I got a letter from Dr. S that he was moving out of state and eventually planning to retire. This sucked. This means Im back to finding a new doctor. So I decided to go back to Dr. H as my primary. He was happy to have me around again. We had always had a good doctor/patient relationship in the past.

So to become a re-established patient again, I needed to have a complete overhaul. And thats what I got. Well anyways, today was the follow-up visit for some new medications he gave me. While I was there, I told him about my foot. Now mind you that 9 years ago, I had seen him for some foot surgery on my toe. Not a pleasant deal there either. I remember his exact words that day. He touched the sore part and said, "this looks like it hurts like hell." Ummmm.... Yep. And my foot jerked up.

Anywho, he remembered that day too. So here it is, 3:30pm and Im getting that same treatment. He is poking at my foot and prodding to find the tender spots. Well guess what? Its all tender and it all hurts so stop ******* poking it!!! He laughs. He knows me too well.

The first initial diagnosis is a heel spur. Well duh. I wouldnt be here if it wasnt. But he wants more information. I love this doctors office because he has all his own labs and goodies. Even his own Xray room. Thats a good thing because I wasnt about to drive to the nearest facility to have it done and drive back.

But first he decides that there is an alternative treatment for me that he wants to do while we wait for the Xray room. A cortizone injection to the spur. *face slap to the forehead* I knew this was coming but I really didnt want it. Even though I knew that I needed it badly. I know what is to come.

So he tells me to lay flat on the table and proceeds to pull the flat metal part out further. He tells me to grip the sides and hang on for dear life. I already know that part. At least this time, I know enough not to grip with my nails. The last time, he put a needle in my foot, it went straight down the tip of my toe and I broke off all my fingernails gripping the sides. Yes, it hurts that much. But Im a trooper. I guess.

So this time, he pulls out the needle. Its not too pleasant looking. Oh, did I mention that Im scared shitless of needles? Well I am. I can tolerate them since I had to have so many with being pregnant and all. But I still hate them. Even the day I was there for my overhaul I had to have the flu shot and that hurt like hell too.

So he proceeds to come to the side of the table and turned his back to me. He layed himself across my right leg and gripped my ankle very tight. I think he remembered from the last time. He wasnt pulling any punches this time. Or kicks for that matter. He told me to grip tight and take a deep breath.

At this time he put the needle in as quick as he could to get the shot overwith. I screamed out in pain. I know the words s*** and f*** came out several times. But at least I didnt call him what I wanted to. Although he laughed afterwards and said he expected me to. He also went on to explain to me that he also had spurs so he knew what this pain and the shot was like. Well thanks for the enlightenment. Now please just cut off my foot.

He took me to the Xray room and I had several shots done of both feet. He wanted something to compare the good and the bad with. That ok but it still hurt like hell to even pose my right foot. And he did comment on my pedicure. For which I didnt have one. Guess that was a good thing then?

I went back to my room and he followed. He saw the pictures on the screen and said that it was a definate spur. Ok, we already knew that. Whats next? He said that because of the way I was being a baby to my right foot, I was walking weird and that caused the ankle to have a strain/sprain. Well no wonder that it hurt like hell when he was gripping it. But he knew I would kick up so that was a smart thing.

So I have an athletic brace to wear, silicone heel cups, and a bandaid. This freaking sucked like no tomorrow. By now its 5pm and I dont have time to go home and get my bag for class. I showed up without any of my tools. But thats ok, they all took sympathy with me.

I have to do my best to stay off my foot as much as possible. Like that will be easy with my job. If this doesnt work, then Im going to head to PT. If that doesnt work then its time for surgery. Like thats what I want again.

I am also working on a blog about the dentist visit this time and also one from last week involving a medication mix up.

Stay tuned.....

Boo....

Boo....

Did I scare you? Probably not. But it was worth the effort.

Today is Halloween and Im pretty much wiped out. I really didnt do much today but walk. And walk some more. I really dreaded today because of all the sugar that would be going around. I knew the morning would be fast paced as it was only a half day today. We arrived at the school on time and she put her outfit on. For those of you that were in the card exchange, that was her outfit.

We went outside to the playground and the kids all checked out each others costumes. Hard to do when you are wearing a winter coat. One of the boys showed up with the best costume. And the funny part was, we actually expected something like this from him too. It was a fat old woman. Padding and all. I cant post a picture because of privacy but it was hysterical. A pink polka dot dress and alot of "flesh" pillows. He played the part so well.

After the morning assembly, the kids all went back to the classroom to get ready for the parade. This is the part that I really dont like. Not because I have a heel spur and have to walk alot, but its the neighborhood that I dont like. So Im with my class and we get all lined up and I have two cameras to work with to take pictures. We get called out and Im walking down the line to catch up to the other classes and I notice that Cami isnt there. I asked her teacher and he said that her ankle was bothering her. She sort of twisted it a little when she was wearing her clogs on the playground the other day. So I said ok and went about taking all the shots for the school.

When we got around to the back of the building, I noticed one of the teachers just standing there so I went over to see whats up and he was standing over a pile of dog poop blocking it from the kids. Its such a wonderful job huh? Good thing I have good balance.

Once back inside, I found her and sent her off to her class. I then went back to my class and downloaded the pictures and ran back out to the hall for some more. I managed to get some kids from just about every classroom. We all had alot of fun posing and looking at everyones costumes. I popped in and out of Cami's room a few times. I popped in and out of my own a few times.

After it was all over and the kiddies all went home, I was pretty much exhausted. I still had alot more to do that day and I really needed to give my foot a much needed rest. We headed for home.

At about 3pm, the paperwork was all set at the bank and the dealer for a vehicle I was purchasing. A 2001 Blazer. I took the whole $5000 and had some cash put into my bank account. Im going to be going there this week with my paycheck to deposite some more in there and also to open an account for Cami. I think this will be a good thing for her. Its alot better than shoving her money in her dresser drawer.

So now the car is purchased and it will be going in for an inspection tomorrow. I will be able to pick it up on Tuesday. I hope. I need this vehicle.

Lets see... What else has been happening? Oh, we got a little snow and then we had a really nice weekend. I wish Mother Nature would make up her mind. Im waiting for the Winter blast to hit and then I get teased with more warmer weather. I like this weather though. Its a little chilly but there isnt any snow on the ground. Its perfect. I dont mind the cold. I just dont like it when I have to wear earmuffs and a scarf in it. When I wear those, then you know its cold out. I prefer weather where you can wear a Fall jacket and still feel the brisk air. But of course that only means Im going to be sick again. I did have my flu shot already though.

Ive been chatting with mom every friday night. She fills me in on allthe goodies down there. Mostly she rubs in the weather and how nice it is on the beach. How shes sitting on her patio wearing shorts at 10pm. Sucks to be her, huh? Mousie gives me the football picks for the week and then I tell him he is still in last place. Oops. But then again, Im not doing too well myself this year. I will catch up though. Wait and see.

Cami has been on the fritz again regarding her behavior. I wasnt sure it if was the medications wearing off too soon or what. She had a few really outragious days. I feel so bad for her and its really frustrating for me as well. Her mornings are pure hell. Her days have been really good though. But around 4pm, shes shooting in a downward spiral. The medication is supposed to last til at least 7pm before she comes down.

But you can see it happening. Her face gets all flushed and her brain speaks something different than what her mouth is saying. She gets irritable and bitchy. I know she cant control it. But the littlest things will set her off. I called her doctor and we set up an appointment for the 15th. He doesnt want to up the dose of the medication but wants to work on some therapy for her. I hope this works for her.

The thing that gets me the most is the impulsiveness of it all. Saturday morning was a prime example of it. I have alarms on the fridge, freezer and the snack cabinet. She has figured out how to get into them though. But Friday after the party, there was some treats left over. My mistake was bringing them home. I thought I had them well hidden. I guess I was wrong. She was hell bent on finding them and she did. They were rice crispy treats and there were 12 left. She ate 8 of them. I think I would have puked after 4. The ones left were shoved under her pillow. So now I have to wash all her sticky bedding.

But this was something she was really sorry for once her medication was active. She really doesnt understand why she does this. Its so difficult for this. There is no thought for it. Just like going into the bathroom this morning (unmedicated) and spraying the door with the shower head.

I wish there was something I could give her sooner that would last longer. I know there isnt a miracle out there but something to help her. Its so frustrating.

Tomorrow starts another week. Shes asleep now but she will be up in a couple of hours for round two.

Its that time of the year again...

I originally started this one in the beginning of Oct....

Its that time of the year again....

Camp is officially closed for the winter. The camper is all tucked in for hibernation. Mom and Mousie made it to Florida a few days ago and everything is fine down there. I really hate not having the holidays with them.

Lets see, what has happened since my last update.... I had started a blog about my doctor visit but I considered that to be too personal. So you guys dont get to read all the details. But over all, my doctor has retired and I went back to the doctor I had before him. I had to have a complete physical including blood work and a flu shot. I wasnt in a pleasant mood when I left there. But at least I got some really good cold meds out of it.

Thanksgiving at camp went really well. We had a decent turnout and the food was great as usual. There will be alot of people not coming back next year because of the travel expenses for them to get there. Our neighbor lives in NYC and his camper is up for sale. Its so sad to have to let go of these people. I still have email contact though.

We cleaned up the camp for what we were able to help with. Mom and Mousie would be finishing the last bit of it before they would leave during the week. Cami fed the chipmunks again. I still have that blog to write about. Someone remind me later about it. I have some really cool pictures and videos to go with that. We stayed for as long as we could and then we had to say goodbye. Of course I cried the whole way home. I hate that part.

So I now have to wait til Spring again.

School has been going really good. Knock on wood. I love the class I am working with and its been really good to be working with the 4th grade. I get to spend lunch and recess time with Cami. I let her be with her friends but its just nice to be able to be around her to watch her. Call me a bad mom for caring too much. I love the school but I hate the neighborhood.

We had the first field trip of the year. Cami's class went on the 8th and my class went on the 15th. We went to the same place. They cant have all three classes go at once. I havent seen the pictures from her field trip yet but I can explain mine. We all did the same thing. According to her teacher and chaperones, she did a fantastic job. I was worried that day because she was sick. I wanted to hold her back and have he go with my class but the boss wasnt going to have it that way. This was also a trip that I didnt want her to miss out on because of her indian heritage.

The morning started out as usual. She didnt want to get out of bed and take a shower. I knew she had a cold and when this happens, she can be a real wild one in the morning. Wait, let me rephrase that. Shes not a wild one because a wild one would be actually moving. In the mornings, this kid runs on two speeds. Slow and Stop. She reminds me of the typical teenager. Five more minutes mom.

That morning, I got her up and showered. Got everything going and had her take her meds. We got to school and I sent her to have breakfast. She said she didnt want it so I let her go play with her friends. I wasnt about to argue with her. She normally doesnt eat after her pill. The medications make her sick to her stomach.

When it came time for the kids to come in, her class went to the classroom to get ready to leave. I went down there with her. She really wasnt feeling well and her teacher and I discussed whether or not she could go. I asked her if she was going to be able to handle it. She said yes. I got her a little snack from the cafeteria in case she wanted to nibble.

As they were leaving, she went into the bathroom. I her her yell out for me and I went in. She wanted me to hold the bus. So I told her teacher that she would be there in a moment. She came out about 5 minutes later, asked for a drink and then she was on her way. As she was getting on the bus, I asked if she was ok and she told me that she threw up in the bathroom so that she wouldnt do it on the bus. How lovely. But at least the color returned to her face.

I waited all day for the phone call from her teacher to come get her. No such call came so I assumed they were doing well. The principal went with them as a chaperone. That should have been interesting for them. When they got back, I went to the room for a full report from their para. She kept an eye on her to make sure she would be ok and she told me that she did a wonderful job. Even the principal told me what a pleasant little girl she was. Good thing she puked before she left then, huh.

I asked her all about the place she went. She told me all the cool stuff they did. What they saw and all the stories. Then she told me that they had a gift shop. I felt bad because I didnt know and I didnt send her with any money. But I will be there myself so I will grab something for her.

My field trip was pretty good too. Here is the main catch though. These are city kids and we are taking them to the woods. This is a learning thing. Yep. Learning in the woods. Not like most of these kids will need this knowledge living in the concrete jungle but its just good to know. Plus its a requirement of the school.

We got them on the bus and off we go. Its about a 45 minute trip. Can you imagine 23 kids on a bus and they dont know where they are going? Thats the fun part. The driver turned on the radio and the girls all sang while the boys played their video games. We arrived and the kids were all sorts of confused as to what we would be doing in a barn. Its not a barn. Its a nature center. Cant get that through their heads. They saw cows and horses on the way so I think they just assumed.

Jim met us outside the bus and we all followed him inside. The strange thing about it is, I know this guy from somewhere and I cant quite place where. I have a lot of friends in that area so I will just say that it could have been at a party or something. He said hello and stared for a few moments so Im guessing that he was thinking the same thing. Anywho, we get the kids all inside and he introduced himself and told them where all the bathrooms are. And they all left the room. It was pretty funny.

Once that was all done, we gathered in the main hall and the fun was about to begin. Apparently a couple of kids wandered to another room while waiting for the bathroom and we heard some screaming. I went to investigate and they were upset over seeing some deer, moose and elk heads on a wall in the museum room. I found it amusing. They didnt.

Back in the main room, Jim sat them all down and began to tell an old native indian story. They loved it and they were really paying attention to this guy. After that we went to a room to look at casts of animal tracks. They learned the difference between different tracks and he told them that they would be tested on them later.

After that we headed out the back door to the woods. One of the girls was truely disgusted with having to be out in the woods and any little noise or insect freaked her out. He was going to have them learn to make a shelter from sticks and leaves. Omg, this meant they would have to touch the stuff and some of them were freaking out over this.

For the most part, the kids did pretty well. They ended up having some fun with this. Its not every day they can chase each other with really big sticks. Throwing leaves is a lot better than throwing rocks or pieces of glass. But they survived. After that little adventure, we all headed back to the main building and had lunch. These kids were hungry.

I think the highlight of that part was that while we were all sitting there, something happened to crawl out in front of them and they freaked. It was the most ugliest and fearsome monster they ever saw. A Praying Mantis. They had no idea that something like this could exist. It was fun to watch them all gather around it and watch it.

After lunch they all gathered around to watch Jim work his magic. How to make a fire without a match. It was amazing to see the glow in the kids eyes as he did this. Then he decided that they should all try this on their own. He set up some stations so that they could do this. A few kids got a little worked up over not being THE ones to do it. Its sad that some kids just cant work with others and share duties. We then went back inside for another round of story telling.

After the adventure was over, a few of the kids bought some books. I myself bought a couple as well. I truely enjoyed this trip and I know some of the kids did as well. I think there will be some nightmares for a few of them. The mere thought of being out of the city scared the shit out of them.

The ride home was uneventful in the way of noise and fighting. We stopped at the teachers house to bring her son on the bus. He didnt quite know what to make of it all. Hes so darn adorable.

There is so much more that has happened since this date. Ive actually been pretty busy as of late to update it all at once. I will be writing some more later and will have another post up. Til then.... ta'ta