Happy Birthday Cami....

This post is one of those that I was working on. Her birthday was on Aug 11th. So yeah, this one is a little late.

I dont even know where to begin with this post. The past week or so has been a blur. Once again, I do have posts that I started and never finished. But we will get to them later. This happens to be one of them. Im a few weeks late with this one.

Im going to refer to this post as the birthday week. Yes, week. Cami turned the big 10 last on the 11th. But the party hasnt ended yet. It just seems to go on and on for a long time. Thats kinda cool for a kid though.

First off, for her birthday, she was going to be going to the Drive-In to see a couple of movies. The weather forecast was aweful and we decided to cancel. She flipped out. Its perfectly understandable but she didnt seem to actually get a grip on this one. She was more concerned with the movie thing rather than just sitting in a car and not seeing anything but rain. So we talked her out of it but she wasnt happy at all.

To compensate for this, she recieved some of her gifts early. We didnt go to the camp this week because of the bad weather. Its really no fun to do things in the rain there. Yes, can you tell this whole summer had a lot of rain?

On her birthday, we went to the mall with grandpa and had a nice lunch. She wanted some weird icecream thing at the 99 so I let her have it. I knew she would be wired up and it was her birthday. Let her enjoy herself. She got a new outfit to wear and she was happy. Afterwards we went to the other mall to Build-A-Bear and she got a bunny with some Hannah Montana clothes. She likes going there. Sadly, this time I didnt get one for myself. What? Its fun. Afterwards we had cake and icecream.

We had plans to go to the camp for the upcoming weekend after her birthday so that grandma could have the chance to party with her too. Its been hot and humid out and finally feeling like summer. Wednesday night, Tim and Lisa came over for a nice visit. I havent seen Tim in about 8 years and Lisa in about 10 years. We had a nice visit and they got to spend some time with Cami. I wish we could have had more time with them. Maybe now we can visit more often.

The time spent at camp was great. We left late on Thursday. We had alot to do and to prepare for a sleep over here on Saturday when we got home. So by the time we got to the camp it was dinner time. Mom made one of my favorites. Ham and cabbage. Cami ate the ham and some potatoes. Then we had some cute butterfly cupcakes. This was a guarentee that she would be up all night.

After this we decided to chill for a little while and go to the fireworks at a local resort. They put them on every Thursday and I promised her that she would get to see them. Of course they dont start til its long after her bed time. But Im sure the cupcake earlier will compensate for it. Im hoping she might be a little more calm by now. So we packed up the lawn chairs and off we went. Once there we set everything up and prepared to sit and chill to wait for the show to begin. Its still a little light out but you have to get there early or you wont get a place to park. Or at least not one that you will be able to get to the road easy when its time to leave.

Of course Cami was not going to sit still for anything. And to make matters worse, an icecream truck parked next to us. Not only was this a major distraction to Cami but the music was annoying as hell. The man was selling icecream but he also had his tiny little daughter with him. Although she was about 4 years old and quite cute, she wouldnt stop playing with the music machine that makes all the ding-a-ling songs. So we were forced to listen to bits and pieces of nursery songs. Or we listened to some repeatedly. And then there was the special effect of a duck quaking along to the music. I swear I wanted to rip the wires out of that thing. If there was any form of torture that could be used against enemies, that music most certainly would have been my choice. And the ducks would have been dinner.

So while that was annoying, the night sky made up for it. It was a beautiful night. Not to hot and not to cold with a nice breeze. We are used to coming here for the fireworks so we know the routine. There is a cemetery at the end of the long lawn of the resort. That is where they set off the fireworks. At the far end corner of the cemetery. I can see the torch where they were setting it all up. Some of the kids waiting for the show will play on the lawn on the other side of the fence. Thats fine with me. But I wonder if they knew about all the bats that were flying above their heads. There are about 5 willow trees that line a small lake on the other side of the lawn. The bats were darting in and out of the trees. The kids were playing on the lawn. As the sky got darker, the bats were coming closer and closer to the street lights on the road. So we just leaned back in our chairs and watched them. Cami ont he other hand was too interested in dancing and prancing around to the music of the icecream truck. But my now, she realized that my answer was still no. She was not going to be buying anything that involved more sugar tonight.

We watched some planes in the sky and watched the stars slowly make their way into view. The clouds over the mountains have moved away and the view was beautiful. Of course my camera was back at the camper so I cant show anyone how pretty it really was. But the Catskill mountains have their own special beauty. Rolling in so many different heights and layers and covered with trees. The bigger ones are more south from where we were but the way they just look there is pretty enough. Its a hell of a view in the fall.

Cami was still doing her dance and I noticed that she was interested in the speed limit sigh that was near us. So of course I made the joke about it being "her" sign. Only because she was going on about a mile a minute. The sign said that the speed limit was 40mph and I pointed that out to her that we were sitting there for about that length of time. She understood what I meant and it was funny. Just not to her. Suddenly the 5 minute warning sign went off. A loud boom that echoed through the mountains and nearly caused Cami to jump out of her skin. She chose that moment to sit down and wait for the show. Now why didnt I think of that sooner?

Soon the sho began. The colors were spectactular. The blooms were stunning. But thats when things went awkward. Well in a funny way. My mom made a comment about one type of bloom. When the shot goes up in the sky and the bloom bursts, the sparks seems to make a squealing noise and then swirl around for a few seconds. She said that they look like spermys. I giggled a little. Cami said that it was pretty and waited for the next one to shoot off. A couple of blooms later, she leaned against my shoulder and said that she liked the spermy ones and wanted to see more sperm. I nearly fell out of my chair laughing. I know she didnt know the meaning of it and just took it as something we said they were. Not the sexual reference. She was being so innocent about it and that made it more funnier. I didnt say anything to my mom but I did tell Cami that she shouldnt say that anymore and to just called them the swirly ones instead. She said ok and of course when that bloom happened again, she remembered to call them swirly ones. But I was still laughing about it.

The show was great and lasted for a while. Then it was time to go home. Back to the camp. Mouse had already set up the fire pit for the bon fire we have every night. Well the nights that it doesnt rain. And this was a great night for it. Cami took her night meds and decided on some popcorn and a movie in bed. Mom set up the sofa bed in the livingroom and turned on the tv for her. We went back outside for the fire and just to chill and relax. It was a great night and we spent our time around the fire telling stories and laughing. I told them about the spermy thing and we all laughed that time.

The next day was a great day. I wasnt feeling all that great though. Even though Cami went to sleep, she kept waking up in her sleep and talking in her sleep. So around lunch time I decided on a nap. Mom was going to take Cami up to the pool for a while so I took the chance to catch some Zzzs. Mouse had already gone in to take a nap. So he sacked out in the bedroom and I sacked out on the couch. Suddenly, as I hard moms cart leave, Mouse got up and headed out the door. I heard his cart leave too. So I just went into dreamland and took int he peace and quiet.

I woke up a couple of hours later to the sound of the carts returning. Cami came running in, changed out of hr bathing suit and ran back outside. Mouse came in and went into his room to change and came back out. The next thing I know, they leave again. Mom is just sitting on the deck reading the paper. She said they went to the lake to play. I said ok. I pulled out some beading and went to work. I dont get too much time to do this now that shes around all the time and wanting me to do stuff with her. You know me, my kid comes first. About an hour later, Mouse comes back alone. Ummmm... Where is my kid? He said shes up on the dock with some friends and he came down to get his fishing pole because they got the RC boats stuck in out in the lake. Ummm.... Ok. Soon they bothe came back with the boats and told us the story. Apparently one boat got stuck in some weeds so they were using the other one to get it out. That boats battery died and they couldnt reach them. So they decided to get into a regular boat to go get them but they couldnt get into the cove enough to reach for them because the RC boats drifted into some logs. So they were using the fishing poles to get them out. It worked and they had a lot of fun. He really enjoys having her around. This is the grandchild that hes never had. He has thembut they dont spend time with him. And his own kids abuse him. Well the ones that are there all the time. Two of his sons that come to visit do treat him well, but the others are just nasty to him. So Ive taken that spot. Hes a great guy and he takes care of my mom. Thats all I need.

Late that night we roasted marshmallows on the fire and just chilled out. We left early the next day because Cami had a friend coming over for a sleep over. The weekend was exhausting. I was pretty burnt out. But I enjoyed it and so did Cami. The following weekend her friend came over again and I took them to the camp to go swimming. Her friend liked it there and we will plan to do it again. Halloween is coming soon and I know that she would love it there when we celebrate. Its a month earlier than the normal holiday so that makes it double the fun.

Ok... Open Wide...

Ok...Open Wide...

Yeah that should be something we all want to hear when we go to the doctor. Not.

On Wednesday I had a doctor appointment. Im sure I explained all this in a past post somewhere. Either that or I didnt actually finish writing that one. But let me refresh it for you. At one time in my life, a long time ago, I had a doctor that we will call Dr. H. Dr. H. was my primary doctor. But being that I am a female, I would also need a secondary doctor too. We all know that that is for. So I found Dr. S. Both doctors are wonderful people and know what they are doing. Very highly trusted for what they practice. Ive had both of these doctors for a long time. When I was pregnant, Dr. S. was the one I had to go to see all the time. Also at this time, he changed to a womens primary and well as all the other specialties. So in the long run, I just stayed with Dr. S. for everything I needed. That was more than 10 years ago.

Dr. S. recently decided to close up shop, move somewhere closer to his family in another state and then retire. So this meant that I have to find another doctor. I decided to go back to Dr. H. But he couldnt do all the other stuff so that meant finding another secondary doctor. This was not easy to do. A few months later I found out that Dr. S. decided to stay in the area and was working in a clinic downtown for low income patients as an OB/GYN. I was a bit miffed but I decided that the trauma was enough with losing him once that I didnt want to lose him twice. So I called up Dr. H. to see who he would recommend. He recommended Dr. M. Being that what I needed to have done was a minor sort of proceedure that couldnt be done with any other type of doctor and this wasnt just the annual exam. So I called and set up an appointment with Dr. M.

This was the day of the appointment and I was so nervous. Its one thing to meet a new doctor but its another to meet a new doctor that will be looking at parts of you that you would rather he not see. But then again, this is something that has to be done every year and he sees a lot of different patients. He wouldnt remember one from the other being any different. But then again, he hasnt met me yet. I seem to leave a lasting impression. And no, its not because he is looking at my parts.

Mind you that its still summer vacation here and I have my kid along for the fun. Shes 10 years old now so this is something she will have to prepare for in the future anyways. Shes been to Dr. S. with me during these times as well so this should be nothing new to her. Otherwise she has met Dr. H. a few times and the other doctor that shares his office and patients. But that was only for the pain in my feet. But she likes all my doctors so thats a good thing. Someday they might be her doctors. And the have lollipops. Thats the bonus.

So we are on the way to see Dr. M. I explained to her what he would be doing to me and I gave her the option of being in there with me or waiting in the waiting room. I actually would rather have her in the room with me because I know the trouble she can get into when shes bored.

Anyways, we get to the place and I check in. They give me tons of papers to fill out and I sit down to do so. Cami of course is the charmer and the receptionist offers her some hot chocolate. What kid with ADHD says no to something sweet. So she shows her how to use this really cool coffee maker for it. Cami thought it was the best thing in the world and offers me and everyone else in the office some coffee. But she wants to use the cool machine to make it. We all declined as it was a hot day out and being in a doctors office, we know we have to eventually pee in a cup and our bladders are already full. Thank you anyways.

So now its my turn to go in. Im dreading this. I have no idea what is behind that big heavy oak door. The nurse is really nice and she goes through all the questions that I need to answer. She checks my blood pressure and all that jazz. Cami is playing with her DS and just chilling out in a chair. Then the nurse told me to come with her down the hall to the bathroom so that I could relieve my overflowing bladder into a cup. Ahhh.... Relief is in sight. So she shows me this really beautifully decorated room and showed me where everything was. Ok, I can handle this right? Wrong. This is where all hell broke loose. This is where I will leave my lasting memory.

The room was all decorated in beautiful furnishings and everything looked victorian. The handles of everything and all the towels and even a curio cabinet with pretty vases and flowers. Even the doorhandle was beautiful. Thats where it all went wrong. I did my thing in the cup. Washed my hands. Dried everything off. Cleaned up after myself and then I reached for the handle. It wouldnt move. It wouldnt go up. It wouldnt go down. The lock button wouldnt pop out. I tried again. And then I tried again. Thats when I heard on the other side that I need to pull up. I did pull up and Im pulling up again. The voice said to pull up harder. So I did. Nothing happened. So then the voice pulled on the handle and it opened. Boy was my face red. They then told me that it happens all the time. It unlocks from the outside but gets stuck on the inside. Im thinking that they need a new door handle. So I shuffled down the hall to another room where I would get my height and weight checked. Im still red and I think I might have shrunk in my shoes a bit.

I stood on the scale and the nurse said I was two inches taller than I thought I have always been. Wait, I thought I shrunk into my shoes. So I told her what my height should have been and thats when she informed me that due to my special moment in the bathroom, she forgot to tell me to take off my shoes. Oh. Thanks for reminding me. So the height thing came out correct after that. Then she checked my weight with my back still turned away from the scale. Which was a good thing. I didnt want to know what that said.

I stepped down and went back to the original room and waited for the doctor to come talk to me. Cami was still sitting in there playing her game. She giggled a little and reminded me again that I got locked in the bathroom. Will this ever end? The doctor came in a couple of minutes later and introduced himself. He seemed like a great guy. Then he asked me what I was there to see him for. I told him that I was there so that I could try out his bathroom and he started to laugh. He knew what I was talking about and apologized for it. I said that it wasnt a big deal and it broke the ice and the nerves that I had. So that was a good start. He was really cool about it and we had some good stories.

So then we got down to business. I told him what I was there for and we chatted about a few things. Then he told me to get undressed and he would be back for the usual exam. At this point, Cami decided to bail out on me too and she went to the waiting room. I was hoping that she would stay out of trouble. Im sitting there with one of those gowns on with it opened in the back and he came in with the nurse. He did the exam as he was supposed to do and then he said he wanted to talk to me about some options for the reason I was there. So we chatted about that and then he told me that I needed to go and get another exam. You know, the one where they seem to remove your chest for a while and twist it into shapes that were not intended for their use.

We also discussed the possibility of whether or not I want more kids. Well that thought occurred to me the day Cami was born and the decision was not a hard one to make. Nope. No more kids for me. But I wasnt ready to make that choice final yet. So he told me to think about it some more and to call him with what ever my choice was. I will call him on Monday to let him know that I am not ready to make it all final. Even though there wont me any more coming from my body, Im still going to hold out. Not for hope. Just the mental thing.

When I was ready to leave, I went to the waiting area to see my daughter reading a book to a little girl about a year old. It was so cute and sweet. I thought for sure she would have made some sort of mess for me to clean up. You know, like magazines and stuff. The little girls mother thanked her and told me what a wonderful and polite child I have. That felt really good.

And as we were walking out the door, she thanked Cami for the cup of coffee.

This needed repeating...

I do have some blogs that I need to post. I hope to work on them soon. I have a lot on my mind right now and its been a crazy past few weeks. But I needed the laugh and I know I posted this one before. It deserves repeating. Also today I went to a new gyno doctor. It was interesting to say the least so I will blog that one later. But I hope you all enjoy the laugh at this one and it explains a lot. Thank you to my Aunt Jeanne for emailing it to me. I needed it.

The Trip to the Women's Room

When you have to visit a public bathroom, you usually find a line of women, so you smile politely and take your place. Once it's your turn, you check for feet under th e stall doors. Every stall is occupied.

Finally, a door opens and you dash in, nearly knocking down the woman leaving the stall.

You get in to find the door won't latch. It doesn't matter, the wait has been so long you are about to wet your pants! The dispenser for the modern ‘seat covers' (invented by someone's Mom, no doubt) is handy, but empty. You would hang your purse on the door hook, if there was one, but there isn't - so you carefully, but quickly drape it around your neck, (Mom would turn over in her grave if you put it on the FLOOR! ), yank down your pants, and assume ' The Stance.'

In this position your aging, toneless thigh muscles begin to shake.. You'd love to sit down, but you certainly hadn't taken time to wipe the seat or lay toilet paper on it, so you hold ‘The Stance.'

To take your mind off your trembling thighs, you reach for what you discover to be the empty toilet paper dispenser. In your mind, you can hear your mother's voice saying, 'Honey, if you had tried to clean the seat, you would have KNOWN there was no toilet paper!' Your thighs shake more.

You remember the tiny tissue that you blew your nose on yesterday - the one that's still in your purse. (Oh yeah, the purse around your neck, that now, you have to hold up trying not to strangle yourself at the same time). That would have to do. You crumple it in the puffiest way possible. It' s still smaller than your thumbnail

Someone pushes your door open because the latch doesn’t work. The door hits your purse, which is hanging around your neck in front of your chest, and you and your purse topple backward against the tank of the toilet. 'Occupied!' you scream, as you reach for the door, dropping your precious, tiny, crumpled tissue in a puddle on the floor, lose your footing altogether, and slide down directly onto the TOILET SEAT .. It is wet of course. You bolt up, knowing all too well that it's too late. Your bare bottom has made contact with every imaginable germ and life form on the uncovered seat because YOU never laid down toilet paper - not that there was any, even if you had taken time to try. You know that your mother would be utterly appalled if she knew, because, you're certain her bare bottom never touched a public toilet seat because, frankly, dear, 'You just don't KNOW what kind of diseases you could get.'

By this time, the automatic sensor on the back of the toilet is so confused that it flushes, propelling a stream of water like a fire hose against the inside of the bowl that sprays a fine mist of water that covers your butt and runs down your legs and into your shoes. The flush somehow sucks everything down with such force that you grab onto the empty toilet paper dispenser for fear of being dragged in too.

At this point, you give up. You're soaked by the spewing water and the wet toilet seat. You’re exhausted. You try to wipe with a gum wrapper you found in your pocket and then slink out inconspicuously to the sinks..

You can’t figure out how to operate the faucets with the automatic sensors, so you wipe your hands with spit and a dry paper towel and walk past the line of women still waiting.

You are no longer able to smile politely to them.. A kind soul at the very end of the line points out a piece of toilet paper trailing from your shoe. (Where was that when you NEEDED it??) You yank the paper from your shoe, plunk it in the woman's hand and tell her warmly, 'Here, you just might need this.'

As you exit, you spot your hubby, who has long since entered, used, and left the men’s restroom. Annoyed, he asks, 'What took you so long and why is your purse hanging around your neck?'


This is dedicated to women everywhere who deal with public restrooms (rest??? You've GOT to be kidding!!). It finally explains to the men what really does take us so long. It also answers their other commonly asked questions about why women go to the restroom in pairs. It's so the other gal can hold the door, hang onto your purse and hand you Kleenex under the door!

Wheres My Riot?

Wheres My Riot?

I dont even know where to begin this post. Things just got a whole lot more interesting for the neighborhood. At this point I might want to start calling it the 'hood. Nothing bad happens here. Yes, we do have a drug dealer on the street but they dont bother anyone. In fact, I think they moved out a couple of years ago. Shows you how much activity happens here. Practically none. But that is all about to change in a matter of time. I guess it could happen anywhere. I just didnt expect it here.

Let me start by saying that there is a construction company near by. I live on a side road. So for me to get anywhere I would have to go up one block to hit the main road. Considering that I do live in the city, there are a lot of main roads but Im only going to focus on one in particular. Lets label it as H Ave. It is a long road that connects into two areas. Half of the road is in one town and the other have is within city limits. You dont notice it too much because this is a residental area.

Anywho, when you get to the corner of my street and H Ave, you obviously havve to look both ways before pulling out into traffic. But there are times that you cant do this because the man that has the contracting business parks all his trucks on either side of the H Ave and also on both sides of the opening to my street. You will see very large pickups, box trucks and sometimes larger trucks that have construction equipment on flatbeds. This tends to block out the view of oncoming traffic either way. Basically you are taking a chance when pulling out on the H Ave. Just hope that you can do it fast enough so you dont get slammed.

The mans house in across H Ave and a couple houses down. So when you do pull out of my street and take a left, you will see this mans house on the right. It is well manicured. Large house with a nice lawn, big driveway and large garage in the back. You would think he could park his trucks in the driveway. He doesnt. In fact, there are no cars in the driveway at all. Ever. They are all parked on the street. What a loser. A lot of people complained about this and then the vehicles would all disappear. In a couple of weeks, they would all be back again.

Well, what I am getting to is that Thursday morning, there was something going on. If you went down my street and came to the corner, you couldnt take a left onto H Ave. Crouched in full riot gear was the big boys. Cops. CNET. State Troopers. The works. Black Humvies blocked the street off. Weapons and assault rifles drawn and aimed.

Im thinking wtf? This doesnt happen here. Who are these people and what is going on? So of course, everyone is locked up in their houses out of fear of gunfire. In this city, you tend to avoid it. Even if you see what happens, you "dont know anything". So you look the other way and hope to find out on the news.

Well I checked the news and there was nothing. After midnight last night, they finally put up an article on the online news. Of course you have to be an online subscriber to get it though. This means I will have to wait and purchase a paper in the morning. Well after a long day, I was able to sit down and read the article. Seems our contracter got busted in a big raid. They went all out on this guy. He was busted for weapons and drugs. BooYay!!!

I hope they take all his trucks off the street now too.