12 years

I'm a little late. But so were you. You had to be forced into the world. And we weren't quite sure what to with you when you got here.
You threw us for a loop at the very beginning. By the time you were four weeks old, you had transformed me into the 'Mama Bear' I am today.
You taught us to be strong advocates for you and your brothers. Pyloric Stenosis. That was scary. Pneumonia. Every scarier. They made the occasional bouts with croup seem like sniffly nose.
You convinced me to quit work and just stay home. It was a choice to keep you healthy and to watch you grow.

And boy you grew. I feel like it was just yesterday that you learned to walk. How did you get so big already?

From the get go, you were always the funniest thing we'd ever known. You have brought us so much laughter. Kid, you are a hoot. You have always been our entertainment.
It was because of you that we started homeschooling in the first place. We just wanted the best for you.
You were patient and you taught us how to be good parents.

And we can't even claim credit for your level of awesome-ness. I don't think we had anything to do with it. We just got lucky. You're so smart. You're creative. You work hard without prodding. You're kind. You're polite. You're the best big brother that any kid could ask for.
I'm so impressed at with the young man that you're turning into. I'm proud of you and I'm proud to call you my son. I don't what I did to deserve such a great kid. But I am thankful.

We have such great faith in you. We know you'll be able to do anything you ever want too. You'll approach every new thing in your way....with hard work, sweetness, determination, creativity, and a good bit of humor.
I don't know what your future holds. You have your own plans and we will do all we can to help you all that you want out of life.
Our first born.....
may you always be content. May you always seek to learn. And may you always love.

News

MIL's surgery went well. She's up and about. She even insisted on spending tonight on her own. I guess she's gotten sick of being "watched over." ZD has to go back down there tomorrow to take her to for her check up.

But today he was home digging a hole. A really big freaking hole. A hole so big that Sam fell into it and couldn't get out.

We look like we're on our way to having a moat. Actually...we kind of are since it is filling with water.
You see, we have a root that has made it's way into a pipe. My sewer pipe.

UGH!

The county came, cleared the line, and stuck a camera in there. That's when we discovered the root.
ZD decided that he would tackle this problem himself.

Of course, ZD had no faith in the County guy's spray painted mark. Noooooo....he had to dig a 6 foot long trench and then take it down 6 inches across.....back and forth.

Where did he find the pipe? About 4 and half feet down...right where the county guy said it was.

sigh

Today he dug the hole and bought the materials. (And griped about the fact that there is 4 inch line and 4.5 inch line. And how you really can't tell the difference without cutting the line.)
Tomorrow, he's cutting the line and hopefully....cross your fingers, pray, sacrifice a chicken for me...he'll get the line repaired.

The Spectrum

Disclaimer: I typed this after watching some TV footage that was emotionally raw for me. The following is just random. Please just bear with me. I try not to be so fatalistic.

I watched Nightline's spot about girls on the Autism spectrum. ABC news will show it again tomorrow at 6 pm EST if you'd like a glimpse of what I'm talking about.

The little girl that they spotlighted was so very much like my son Matthew. I knew immediatly what her mother was feeling. I saw in her so many of the things that I see in him.

The desire to be friendly but the lack of understanding of how to do so. The rigidity. The inflexibility. The world of absolutes...no shades of grey.

Sometimes he seems bossy. It's his way or the highway. But it's just his need for predictability and order. He can't take the chance that something "unknown" might happen.

He tries so hard. Too hard. And then he gets slapped down.

Each time he fails...each time he is hurt....makes him less likely to try again.

But without practice, he'll never figure it out.

It's a vicious cycle.

Some days, I wonder how I can help him and his younger brother. Some days, I wonder if they will ever live a "normal" life. Many days, I feel like a failure and wonder what was going on in mine and ZD genetics that caused this.

Other days, I wonder what the big deal is. I'm oblivious to their faults. The daily things we do to accommodate their needs just blends into our regular day. And I justify my activities by saying that every parent deals with these sort of things.

But that's not true.

Most parents don't have chewy tubes and speech practice books.

Most parents don't buy weights for shoes.

Most parents don't have to feel the bed sheets to see if they are tactile correct.

Most parents don't have to give details of every single activity for the day.

Most parents don't own therapy equipment.

Or buy glasses based on their finger grips and weight.

Or have to reconsider silverware because the shape might be cause someone to be orally defensive.

Or not buy shirt with collars because collars are detestable.

As are shirts with embroidery or patches.

But....right when I'm feeling down I remember that some parents have children on the spectrum are profoundly Apraxic. Some never speak.

Some have severe behavior disorders. Some can be violent when they have tantrums.

Some can not function on grade level. Some can not play baseball on a mainstream team. Some will never learn to ride a bike or drive a car.

So I try to remember to be thankful. That things are not as bad as they could be. And I try to remember that progress has been made. Hope should not be abandoned.

Small steps.....very small steps....will lead somewhere, someday.

And while they will never, ever...ever...be "cured." They might someday be happy. Really happy.

Edited to add: I'm fine really. Every now and then, the big brick wall that I have supporting me finds a little weak spot. Then I'm just left vulnerable for a bit. I've found that if I keep soldiering on...I'll be back against that nice strong section again.

ZD is off again for a few days

His mom needs emergency surgery. I packed him up. Which was quite easy compared to the last time I packed his stuff. Then I sent him on his way.

As he said goodbye, we both had flashbacks to his other departures.

"Just four days," he said...to reassure us both.
"Four days is nothing," I tried to convince both of us.
"You'll be fine, right?" he questioned.

I couldn't help but laugh. Yeah, Hon. I'll be fine for 4 days without you. We're still trying to get used to him being around. 4 days away will be like a little vacation.
I feel guilty but I have to admit that I'm looking forward to a return to the normalcy that we created while he was gone.

Very guilty.

Prayers for MIL, please.

"You're knitting socks!!!"

"Boy, you really don't have anything better to do, do you!"

This was said to me yesterday at my great-nephew's birthday party**. And it wasn't said in a "Wow, you sure are inspiring way."

There were many retorts I could have made about the activities that the speaker chose to do in her time. Most, well all, would have be cruel. So I said nothing except, "I enjoy it" and went back to my knitting.

I found this comment odd since the speaker knew that I am not a sit around kind of person. She knew I homeschooled my four children. She knew that I have 2 children with Asperger's. She even knew that I made the birthday boy's cake. But she felt this need to belittle me for knitting a pair of socks.

So I paused my knitting to check on my four boys and then think about any possible reason she say such a thing.

Why?

Was she offended by knitting? Maybe had some repressed fiber trauma that just exploded out at the sight of my partially finished socks.

Does she have a long term memory issues? Perhaps she actually thought that all I did was sit around knitting.

Maybe she was jealous that she didn't bring anything to do? With no other distractions, she was forced to talk to other adults while ignoring her small toddler who kept wandering off.

Maybe I just offended her? I try not to put some air of "being able to do it all." Because I don't do it all. I just do the things I want to do and few things that I have to do.
My priorities are different.
I care more about baking birthday cakes than I do cleaning my sink for the 5th time in a single day, or cleaning my oven. I am more interested in knitting socks for all my guys than getting my nails done. I'd rather homeschool my own children than spend my days in a classroom teaching a group of children.
I pick to read a book over watching some old Western on TV. (DH doesn't care if I read while he watches TV...as long as we are together.)

These are the my choices. My choices don't automatically negate other people's choices. I honestly don't really care how other people spend their time. I figure that they too make choices of things they want and need to do. And that all those decisions fill up their day just like my choices fill my days.
I can't even say that either one of us uses our time more wisely. Because I don't have any clue. Now, if they start griping about their choices, I may form an opinion. But until then, I'll just assume that you can manage your time planner as well as I can.

And while I'm at it with the venting about comments. "I just don't know how you do it all," is my second most hated statement. (Second only to "Four boys....when are you going to have a girl?") I'm no super woman. I don't do anything special. Please don't make me feel like a freak because the things I chose to do are not the things you choose to do.

One day I'm going to just going to lose my last strand of sanity and I will say, "Well, I don't know how you get all the kids up at 6:30, feed, pack their lunches, and dress them, get dressed yourself, get to school by 8 am and then leave your kids with people you don't even know. Then go to work away from your family all day, pick up the kids from afterschool day care, help them with their homework, cook dinner, clean the house, do laundry, watch TV all evening while your kids watch TV in their rooms away from you, and then go to bed knowing that you'll have to do it all over again tomorrow.
How in the world do you do it all?"

But that would be vicious.


**Great Nephew's party was at one of the indoor, inflatable jumper places. The kids were all buddy-paired and no adults were near me for conversation at that time. My choices were knit in peace or gawk at children who were not mine. I chose to knit.

How do these colors look?

Do they hurt your eyes? Darker background? Lighter background? Lighter lettering? Darker lettering?

My screen colors are a little whack so I do quite see what others do.
Font change? bigger? smaller?

I like the black/green/red for now. Things change. We're fluid.

But what do you think?

R.O.U.S.

Rodent of Unusual Size once roamed the Earth

It’s definitely not a rodent you’d want to wrestle with. A fossil found along the South American coast hints that a beast weighing more than 1,000 kilograms once roamed there. Researchers say that it is the largest rodent known to have existed.

No word on whether they lived in the Fire Swamp.

Nag

Pick up your knight stuff.
Stop chasing the cat.
Quit walking on your toes.
Where are your shoes?
Who left this milk on the table?
Why are there Lego's everywhere?
Quit walking on your toes.
Have you brushed your teeth yet?
Whose book is this?
Did you let the dogs out?
QUIT walking on your TOES!
How did all this stuff get under the couch?
Are you finished with those math problems?
What was that noise?
And quitwalkingonyourtoes!
Don't let that cat do that.
Don't do that to the cat.
Ewwww.....clean that up.
Heels! Heels! Walk on your heels!
Please stop talking so loud.
Why aren't you dressed yet?
Have you brushed your teeth?
No toes! Stop that walking on your toes.
No, you can't have a snack. We just had breakfast.
Is that a dirty shirt?
Are you still working on those math problems?
HEELS!
Don't run in the house.
Whose bike in out in the yard.
No you can't play your DS. You haven't even finished your math.
Heel, toe! Heel, toe!
Don't sit on your brother's head.
I don't care who started it.
How did this get broken.
DON'T WALK ON YOUR TOES!


(sigh) I have become a nagger.
One toe walker was bad enough but now the youngest (with no sensory issues) has picked it up as habit. If this keeps up both will end up at the orthopedic for leg braces.

What constitutes fun at our house.

Hey....there's a nice shot of my horsebutt....Um.... "Ponytail" paint.
That lump under the passel of boys is ZD. I believe he was trying to take a nap before the melee broke out. I'm not sure what the carrying capacity of my couch is....but it had to be very close to maxing it ou when I took this shot.

I am so blessed to have a husband like mine. He is such a good father and mentor. He's a little lax on discipline but he more than makes up for it with his dedication to providing for us. His whole world revolves around us and we know it.

However, don't take him shopping with the boys. I can take him or the boys....but not all of them. ZD behaves quite well in public...by himself. The boys follow rules obediently....when Dad is not around.
But put them together.....and I have to stop, put my hands on my hips, and lay down the law.
When this happens in the very crowded canned food aisle of the commissary, the little gray-haired, retiree wives get tickled at my outright annoyance.

"Bless you honey....they won't be young for long."

Yeah....But it's the biggest one causing the most trouble.

Priviledge

Bold the ones that are true for you.
The list is based on an exercise developed by Will Barratt, Meagan Cahill, Angie Carlen, Minnette Huck, Drew Lurker, Stacy Ploskonka at Illinois State University. The exercise developers ask that if you participate in this blog game, you acknowledge their copyright.

If you post this in your blog, please leave a comment on this post. To participate in this blog game, copy and paste the above list into your blog, and bold the items that are true for you. If you don’t have a blog, feel free to post your responses in the comments.

Father went to college
Father finished college
Mother went to college
Mother finished college
Have any relative who is an attorney, physician, or professor
Were the same or higher class than your high school teachers
Had more than 50 books in your childhood home
Had more than 500 books in your childhood home
Were read children’s books by a parent
Had lessons of any kind before you turned 18
Had more than two kinds of lessons before you turned 18
The people in the media who dress and talk like me are portrayed positively-I'm from the South...this will never happen in my lifetime. We are the last condoned prejudice. No one thinks its offensive to make fun of us.
Your parents (or a trust) paid for the majority of your college costs
Your parents (or a trust) paid for all of your college costs
Went to a private high school
Went to summer camp
Had a private tutor before you turned 18
Family vacations involved staying at hotels-we went to Disney World once.
Your clothing was all bought new before you turned 18
Your parents bought you a car that was not a hand-me-down
There was original art in your house when you were a child
Had a phone in your room before you turned 18
You and your family lived in a single family house
Your parent(s) owned their own house or apartment before you left home
You had your own room as a child But I didn't have any siblings at home
Participated in an SAT/ACT prep course
Had your own TV in your room in High School
Owned a mutual fund or IRA in High School or College
Flew anywhere on a commercial airline before you turned 16
Went on a cruise with your family
Went on more than one cruise with your family
Your parents took you to museums and art galleries as you grew up-only school related trips
You were unaware of how much heating bills were for your family


Now to answer for my kids. Some answers are predcitions
Father went to college
Father finished college
Mother went to college
Mother finished college
Have any relative who is an attorney, physician, or professor
Were the same or higher class than your high school teachers since we homeschool. ;)
Had more than 50 books in your childhood home
Had more than 500 books in your childhood home
Were read children’s books by a parent
Had lessons of any kind before you turned 18
Had more than two kinds of lessons before you turned 18
The people in the media who dress and talk like me are portrayed positively-Poor Southern boys.
Your parents (or a trust) paid for the majority of your college costs They have college funds
Your parents (or a trust) paid for all of your college costs
Went to a private high school
Went to summer camp
Had a private tutor before you turned 18
Family vacations involved staying at hotels
Your clothing was all bought new before you turned 18
Your parents bought you a car that was not a hand-me-down
There was original art in your house when you were a child
Had a phone in your room before you turned 18
You and your family lived in a single family house
Your parent(s) owned their own house or apartment before you left home
You had your own room as a child
Participated in an SAT/ACT prep course
Had your own TV in your room in High School
Owned a mutual fund or IRA in High School or College
Flew anywhere on a commercial airline before you turned 16
Went on a cruise with your family
Went on more than one cruise with your family
Your parents took you to museums and art galleries as you grew up
You were unaware of how much heating bills were for your family

Interesting.

Funny from Sam

We went to visit this place. It's called "Lights of the South."

Just imagine a wooded forest filled with this sort of stuff and then hay rides, hot chocolate, roasted marshmallows, and a house to visit Santa.

It's the ultimate in Christmas lights.

Anyway...when we paid admission, we discovered that children under 5 were admitted free.

"Sam, you're free." I told the littlest one in our bunch.

"No," he yelled with an indignant tone, "I not 'free,' I'm FOUR!"

Oh....he was so offended that someone would suggest that he was "free."

The lady at the ticket counter got so tickled about he that she laughed loud and long. We're still laughing about it too.

The boy was free and four at the time. Don't bother explaining it to him though, he won't believe you.

I bet you thought I dropped off the face of the Earth didn't you

I didn't.
I'm still hanging on.

Christmas has come and gone but you can't tell from looking at my house. In fact, if you were to visit me, you'd think we were at the scene of a Toy Store/Laundromat explosion where a bunch of people apparently had a big dinner and did not clean the dishes before leaving.

Yeah....that sums it up.

The holidays were wonderful. Better than I could ever hope for. I think it was my best Christmas ever. Or as good as I could have without my Dad around.
We hosted this year and ZD's entire family came to visit. That's a first.
And we all had a great time.

We visited the big Christmas light place, we caroled, we made crafts, we got everything we needed and wanted...it was a great season.

And it was just what I needed. I feel renewed.
Now I'm ready to tackle a new year. I'm ready to pull up my britches and get back to my daily fight.

And I'm ready to relax finally and let myself have some fun.

Happy 2008! May you feel renewed, ready to fight the good fight, and have a little fun too.

Quote from ZD

"I had no idea those things had such a short expiration date. That must be the reason you don't stock up on those things."

Spoken by ZD when he returned from the drugstore with feminine hygiene products and my prescriptions while I was out with the flu. I think it was the second time in 14 years that I had asked him to do such a thing. (the feminine hygiene products. He picks up prescriptions all the time.)
He's a snark but I do love him.

I'll never go back

In my life before children, I was a middle school science teacher. I've taught 7th grade life science, 8th grade general science, and 9th grade physical science.

I was good at it too. When I taught in a state with "end of grade" tests that counted on the students report cards and class averages were discussed in teacher meetings...my students outscored every other class in the school. even my hoodlum students.

I can teach any child. I know this. It might be a challenge, but I know I can teach science to any child.

But I will never, ever return to a classroom as a full time teacher.

Yes, students are unruly and there is a lot of violence in the classroom. But there was back then too. I broke up a fight once when I was hugely pregnant and a student reared back to punch me until I said, "You do that and my husband will hunt you down and hurt you." It disarmed him long enough for him to realize what he almost did. He was immediately ashamed.
I had two 8th graders that gave birth before I did and one other whose "Momma did the right thing for her" according to another teacher.
I lost one of my favorite students to gang violence. He was 13.
Another of my favorites was kicked out of school for smoking marijuana in the bathroom of a fast food place while on a school fiend trip.
I begged the county not to expel him. I knew that he would never return. He didn't and he had great potential.

Teaching was hard work. Well, the actual teaching wasn't hard. That part was fun. But the other stuff was exhausting. The paperwork. Coaching cheer leading. Detention hall. Bus duty. Teacher meetings. Maintaining accreditation. Chaperoning dances. Doing fundraisers. Being surrogate parents for kids who were apparently being raised by wolves.
All without any real support from the office.

I never sent kids to the office. Because I knew nothing would ever happen to them. Or....too much would happen to them. Which was worse actually and totally undermined the authority of the "office."

But why I'll never go back has nothing to do with kids. I loved the kids.

I won't go back due to the behavior of the grown-ups. The parents, the other teachers, and the administration.
No support. Too many regulations. Curriculum with no proven track record. Watered down information. Politically correct tip-toeing. Fundraisers and gimmicks. Parents who won't back up an educator. Parents who feel their children can do no wrong. Teachers who don't want to be there. Teachers who don't know their material or really care about imparting it. Administrations that are more concerned with the test scores than the students knowledge. And a union that doesn't really care about the kids at all.
I had an 8th grade boy who fasted for days before wrestling meets so he would stay in the best weight class. One day he fainted in my class. I told the coach, his parents, the Principal, and the school nurse about his fasting.
No one thought it was an issue. He was a good wrestler.
The other teachers thought I was "blowing this all out of proportion."

In the years that I taught, I met 3 teachers that I would want teaching my children. Just 3 people in 2 different school buildings. 3 people that I would trust with the education and care of my children during the 8 hour school day.
That's why I homeschool.

Have I ever told you the story of the straw that broke this camel's back?

Jacob was only 10 weeks old and was in a day care about 3 miles from my school. We had teacher die at school. He had a heart attack in the teachers' lounge. It was terrible for everybody. The next day, we had a lot of teachers out for some reason and my day care called to say that Jacob had a 103 degree fever and had to be picked up. ZooDad was in the field and could not be reached so I was the only option.

My principal would not let me leave work. He would not. He made me wait until my planning period to get my baby and then the secretary watched Jacob until the end of the school day. He wouldn't even let me keep my son with me for those last two hours of school.

After school I took him to the doctor and then to the hospital. Tiny little Jacob had pneumonia. When I called in the next morning, my principal did not want to let me have the day off because other teachers were out for the funeral. I told him I would resign immediately and he changed his mind.

When my contract renewal was offered a few weeks later, I did not sign it.
I often wonder if I should tell that administrator why he lost his "Teacher of the Year."

PTS Cat

Max is the laziest cat I have ever seen. He also has a penchant for sprawling out in middle of the high traffic areas of the house.

Today's nap took place while I put together the tree. (Deep South...not many tree farms...hubby who hates buying a tree every year.)

After lugging the box in I realized that I didn't get the remote control plug. Stepped over the near comatose cat to get the plug and then back over him. Then I discovered that the fuse was blown, two more trips over the cat to get a new fuse.

I couldn't remove the old fuse so once again I'm walking over the cat to get a small screwdriver and once again he sleeps right through it. When all the lights are on and the bottom two sections are fluffed, I discover for the 37th year in a row that I am too short to reach the top section of the tree. So...it's out to the garage for the step ladder and over the cat two more times. He never even open his eyes.

At least not until I dropped the Christmas tree box on him. Then he just lifted his head.

I think the daily noise and busyness of a house with four boys and one clumsy mom have traumatized him. Oddly enough, he disappears as soon as the Santa hats come out.

And BTW, the tree fit in it's new 'spot.' I rearranged the whole room a few months back and didn't think ahead to tree placement. I did have to move the old fish tank base and a side table, but the tree has a window spot and a cat (not Max) eyeing it as I type. I believe Mango is planning a tree siege.

A new resolution

I know it's not January 1. But I've making my own blogging resolution.

Nope, not to blog more often. I can't without leaving me any time to actually live my life. (No life...no life to blog.)
But I'm going to vow that I will start leaving comments on all the wonderful blogs that I visit and that provide me with such entertainment and encouragement.

Not that I'm fishing for comments, not that at all.
But if you'd like me to visit and (therefor say howdy do) just leave me your blog address (No comment needed) and I'll add you to my daily routine.

BTW, I'm cross posting this on my knitting blog so I can find some new knitting blogs too.
See it's a win/win situation for me.

Hey, a regular kid

Have you ever watched Blue's Clues or Dora? Have you played those PC games or watched the shows for little kids that ask the kids to yell out the answers or jump up and dance?

I've never had one of those kids. My kids never jumped up and yelled out "A clue" or counted along with Grover or danced along with Dora.

They watched and internalized. They thought those characters on TV and PC were crazy and stupid.

Well, all but Sam.

Sam plays along. Currently, Sam is upstairs playing Reader Rabbit Pre-K on the upstairs computer. (This is a Lazarus computer. ZD, the computer Messiah, brought it back after 6 months of being dead. But not until he ordered a new computer which just arrived this morning.)

Anyway, Sam is having a grand time. He and that little bunny are counting together and yelling out their letters. He's winning tickets for the fair rides and just having a good old time.

I know because I can hear him from his brothers' room, down the stairs, down the hall and into the kitchen.

I believe he's doing the marching band patterns at this point. I hear those little horn wielding ants speaking and Sam occasionally saying "Aw man! Blue! Yeah! I'm fantastic! love that song!"

There he is....the common kid.

What a hoot.

Just because

These always make me laugh. I mean seriously cackle. ZD just shakes his head at me when I scroll through these.
I'm dying laughing here just typing and looking down at those little ground owls.
I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.
(still giggling)

Did you have to do a double take?

Me too.
I decided to drop my Army colors and I'm unsure what "message" I want to convey these days.
It matches my general mood. (bland and unsure. LOL)

I can share the "secret" news soon. Most people IRL know already. Some know and do not realise the impact of what we're doing. Some know and aren't happy about it. And some know and are just as thrilled as we are. But all the pertinent people know, I just have to get the idea squared away in my own head. Maybe later today.

As part of my own internalization, I found a piece of house decoration that I thought I was long done with. In fact, when it was packed up, it was done with great bitterness. I was so bitter when I put it away. I'm kind of ashamed of that now.

oh well, at least I'm growing.

Hey, go look at my knitting. I've been busy.

Not in the Neiman-Marcus catalog

"Do you want anything from the store?" I yelled up to ZooDad.
"Nope," he replied curtly. I could tell he was still stinging from my little meltdown over the condition of the family room/study/site of storage for mass amounts of Army gear. I can't even begin to explain the mess but it rivaled the rooms on that show "Clean Sweep."

"Too bad I can't buy you a non-nagging wife."

"Oh please," he begged, coming to the stairwell with a smile on his face. "Please buy one of those. I would really like one."

"No," I replied. "They don't sell those at the store. You can only get them free with really expensive jewelry or new cars. You can't purchase them separately."

I heard laughter from upstairs, "But I've bought you expensive jewelry and new cars."
"Well, you just got screwed over didn't you," as I walked out the door.

Poor guy, all that money invested and he didn't get the free non-nagging wife.
When I got back home, considerable progress had been made on the family room/study/Army depot

News from the zoo

Yep, that's my Andrew finally learning to ride a bike on his own. His occupational therapist will be so proud. This was another one of those things that he wasn't supposed to do until much later on. (He wasn't supposed to toilet train until he was 5. Bike riding was expected around 8.)
He ran into the house and demanded that ZooDad take off the training wheels. 10 minutes later....this is the picture I took. 10 minutes after that, he was pedaling down the road with ZooDad running to keep up.
He hasn't mastered the trivial details like steering and stopping...but that's what grass is for.

Of course, now we have to get a new bike for Christmas and keep Sam back just long enough for Andrew to back in his own success.

Here's the new mom of the house.

Don't let that sweet face fool you. She'll chew your fingers off to protect her wee little bundles.
Here's their first picture taken at 4 days old. There are four of them. They are currently 11 days old. They are fully furred, their eyes are open, and they are just started to walk around the cage. In another week, they'll be fully weaned and can be separated from Mom.

Hmm...while I would feel a little sad about raising my kids in 18 days. I would love a 18-20 gestation period. I think the hamsters totally lucked out.

Conversation in the driveway

Me to ZooDad: "You know, it's going to take me the better part of two days to get these two bookshelves painted. You'll be responsible for the boys while I'm painting."

Matthew: "Mom, which part of the day is the better part?"

We've still laughing over that one. Is it cruel to be that entrained by the things they say?

Infested

Hi y'all!

I'm back. I'm back and I have news but I can't go sharing the news just as yet. So, technically...I'm back and I have a secret. But it's not really a "Secret" secret. It's really just news that we can't tell everyone yet. But some people already know and just have to act surprised when we start telling everybody. (So y'all keep your lips tight.)
Whew!
And no....it's not that I'm pregnant. Though someone in the house was.

We are currently infested...with hamsters.

Andrew wanted a hamster. And after the death of our two giant Oscars (yes, the giant scary fish died.), we...strike that...I decided to get him one.

I got him a cute little Robo Dwarf hamster and a Jetson style hamster pod house. her name is Speedy because she is a wickedly fast little rodent. Mango the cat was pleased by this event. She takes great joy in watching the little rat though she is frustrated that she cannot actually obtain her.

This hamster purchase led to a series of events as follows:

Matthew, envious of the hamster that Andrew owned, asked for his own hamster.
He wanted a panda bear hamster. (Very cut teddy bear hamster with panda-like markings.) The boy loves pandas.

Of course, there were no panda bear hamsters in town anymore. Not at any of the three stores that we visited. Though one store promised that would have them next week.

We went back next week and they didn't have them. By this time, Matthew had spent about 10 days planning for his new hamster. The boy was not leaving without a fuzzy rodent of his own. He had already cleaned and set up his old cage, all ready for it's new inhabitant. He had food, bedding, and little chew snacks all set to go. Just no hamster.

Now, if you've ever met an Apserger child or any child on the Autism spectrum, you'll know that they do not respond the change very well. Especially, for something they've been looking forward to.

But crisis was averted when we found a lovely long haired hamster that was dark brown and white. She kind of looked panda-like. All was good.

Matthew waited to name her until he "found one that suits her." You don't want to rush into something as important as a name. He took wonderful care of his little friend and played with her every day. He never woke her from her naps and fed her fresh veggies. Changed her water everyday.

He did comment that she slept....a lot.

Then one day, he casually mentioned that she had been sleeping for a whole day........................................................................................................................

yes.

Just what you think.
Dead hamster.

Oh, the tears. He wanted to see her. He wanted to help bury her. he even placed his stepping stone over her burial spot. He cried that he had not taken good care of her and that he didn't ever want another pet.

So that day, I took him to buy a new hamster just to help shake his self-doubt. And as luck would have it, the store (different store...I learned my lesson) had a mother and child pair up for free adoption.

Well, free hamster at least. Then I went on and bought a second hamster pod house and more tubes, and more little treats. Not-so-free hamsters.
Matthew loved them though. He set to taking dilligent care of his new little family. He even filled their water bottle with filtered water.

Matthew named the mom, "Gold." He waited until we could tell the sex of the baby since he didn't want to give a boy hamster a girl name. You don't want to offend a hamster, after all.

A few days later, I noted that "Gold" was kind of chubby. (You know what that means.) In fact Gold was chubby and the "chubby" was kind of hard. I noted this to ZooDad to warn him but he poo-poo-ed the idea.

Yesterday, the boys and ZooDad went down to the farm to visit MIL and I was left in the quiet house to enjoy the peace.

I heard a faint "squee, squee" that wasn't coming from our "baby" hamster. Upon further investigation, rather slender "Gold" came out of the little hidey hole.

Oh no...she didn't.

She did!

I shifted her bedding slightly and I caught a glimpse of at least 5 little pink bodies before mom returned to slap at me.

Holey Moley.
Want a hamster?

I'm not posting

but I am knitting. So if you want to see what my needles have been up to, head over the the zoo full of knitting over in the side bar.

We've been busy hanging out with ZD. He'll be home from all work for the rest of the month! You wouldn't believe all the stuff he's finished. (And the messes he's made.)
He even cleaned out my fridge and freezer. Unprompted.

And he's been doing laundry.

My darling has been replaced by a pod person.

Just letting you know

I have a husband again.
We picked him up from the airport at 1:30 today.

He is currently upstairs playing with the boys. From the sounds of it, they’ll come through the ceiling onto my head, any minute now.

By the way….he was gone one year, one month, and 29 days.

And I keep thinking that I’ve imagined that he's home and he’ll disappear on me.

Someone tell me what's up with this problem.

I know what I think is wrong with it.
But I want to know what you think.
This is from chapter 2 of an 8th grade Holt Mathematics book.

During the qualifying for first NASCAR event and Texas Motor Speedway in 2005, the fastest speed was 192.582 mi/h. The next four fastest speeds, relative to the fastest speed, were approximately
-17/25 mi/h,
-0.15 mi/h,
-1.15 mi/h,
and -1 1/40mi/h.
List these relative speeds in order from least to greatest.

Hmmmmm......

Time to oneself

It gets kind of busy here at the zoo. The house has enough rooms so that everyone can find a quiet spot, but sometimes that quiet spot is just not the space of choice.

My last little one is very much like his oldest brother. He can retreat into his own fantasy and entertain himself for hours. Unlike his brother, (but very much like his mother) he needs this time to himself to play and relax without a pile of people.

Usually, Sam's quiet place to play is with me in the living room, while I'm knitting or online. It's hard to explain, but I'm flattered that he doesn't see my presence and a intrusion.
Over the past few days, he's been starved for that quiet time. We've had sickness abound. And then I moved all the furniture to the middle of the room so I could finally finish off the painting in the living room.
As I pushed the furniture into place and started vacuuming, Sam appeared. He waited patiently for me to finish then praised my efforts.

As I fell into the couch to rest and surf "teh internets," Sam collapsed to the floor with a toy scorpion and his "finger man."

For the past half hour, he's rolled around, playing out some imaginary scene...almost oblivious to my presence.


I'm nursing a monster sized bruise that I got when I fell off a chair today. Yes, I am clumsy enough to fall off a chair...but I happened to be standing on this particular chair. You see I was just way too lazy to go get a stepladder. So I used a kitchen chair to finish painting trim and do all the touch up work. At one point, I shifted just a bit too much and off I went. To add insult to injury, the chair whacked the inside of my knee on the way down. Unfortunately, the other half of me was still on the chair at the time.
So I have a nice egg-sized bruise. And it hurts like the dickens.
Now I just have to hang the pictures and the room will finally be finished.

Zoodad is one step closer to home. He's at his out processing station. This will probably be out least productive homeschool week ever. It's going to be awful hard to concentrate with cabin fever and the prospect of playing with Daddy.

I'll be surprised if anyone sleeps this week...including myself.

Giddy!

My dear hubby is on his way to the states. He'll be back home with us as soon as Wednesday. (By Sunday at the latest.) Holey Moley!!!!

It feels like he's been gone forever. September 2006 seems a lifetime ago.

I sure hope all the kiddies get over this stomach bug that has lingered (and lingered and lingered) with us this week. Ugh! It hasn't been too bad but it has been dragging on far longer than anyone would want. We've been housebound all week and the boys and I are all stir crazy.

Plus we're waiting for ZooDad to get home and nothing to distract us except a long to-do list.
The biggest two items on the list are to finish the living room and make ZooDad's welcome home banner!

We are bouncing off the walls here at the zoo.

Short Timer Blues

We are down to days folks.
Days.

In days the big man will be leaving his sandy and hot habitat and going to a hot humid spot just one step up from Beelzebub's hangout.
After serving penitence there, he'll be back home in the zoo.

Days. Almost enough to count on my fingers.

Sigh

And of course every thing's going to hell in a hand basket while we're waiting on him. I swear....I can get through over 14 months with nary an issue and then I just go to pot during the last few weeks.

Speaking of going to the pot...we're having trouble with ours. Me and the main sewage line are duking it out. Actually, me, the main sewage line, and some Ligustrum bushes are all fighting it out. It seems that the Ligustrum bushes would like sole access to my sewage line for their roots.
I, however, contend that since the Ligustrums aren't paying the mortgage...they can just bite me.
The sewage line is playing both sides of this whole fight but it seems to be cozying up with the bushes at this point.

But I have plans and Mr. Rooter will back me up on them tomorrow when he shows up.
I am very possessive of my waste water removal pipes.
As soon as ZooDad gets home we will settle this once and for all. It would be settled sooner but I can't work the chainsaw. (Nor should I be trusted with one since I cut the TV cable with the hedge trimmers once.)

The upstairs bathtub is trying to get in on the whole "Let's back up the house" plan but I have some heavy duty clog eater in mind for that mischievous piece of fiberglass and pipe. This stuff came in a bottle and double bagged for my protection. The upstairs commode is also mouthing off....but it's days are numbered too.
Quite wisely, the other sinks and toilets are toeing the line and not daring to really step off my path of conformity.
So it could be worse.

The same can not be said for the kitchen sink faucet. After numerous failed attempts to make it an upstanding chrome citizen, it will be evicted by mid-September. I've already informed it of the decision and it hasn't been scared straight yet.

The working/not working sprinkler head has received the same news but it decided that my threat was viable and is now spic-spic-spicing along like it should be. I did have to go out there and taunt it with a replacement head but you know....desperate times, desperate measures.

The mountain laundry continues to grow. Soon I'll be able to host climbs on it. You'll have to bring your own oxygen and guide. And then you'll have to fold a load of two before you can go home.

I'm still painting.
Still. Painting.
Painting.
Still.
I think the fumes are getting to me. Or the heat.
I found myself sucked into a Wagner Power Sprayer commercial. I was actually lusting for a few seconds until I realized that in my hands, it would be like a bad episode of Mythbusters.
(Can these things explode, Hyneman? And would they completely cover the walls with paint if they did. No, Adam. That myth is busted.)
I do have one room completely done...ceiling, trim, walls. And two with trim and ceiling to go. Oh well, it gets done when it gets done.

School is.... going. I guess we're doing well. Matthew didn't cry once today. (New personal record) Jacob is engrossed in Black Horses for the King, which is history reading.
I'm totally working the kids like dogs. (wink)
Jacob re-started Latin again and this time...the time is right. In fact the time is so right that I'm not starting any other children on Latin until they hit sixth grade. Him and the chick on the LC DVD's are enjoying their time together. Plus the boy knows how to find his pronunciation CD, find his CD player, and then find the track he wants to listen too. All without my assistance.
It's a good thing.

Now, I'm off to bed. We have to be at school tomorrow for speech. At 8:30. In the morning. All dressed and everything. And trying not to look like a disgrace to homeschoolers. And hopefully Sam will be in a good mood.
Y'all wish me luck.

The good news is.....tomorrow is just one day closer.
(sigh)
Very soon.

Mango says, "Seriously, Don't mess with me. I mean it. I will gnaw you finger off if you touch me again. And you are not going out this door because I am not moving."

I am still living.

Things are going great here at the zoo. I just haven't had the motivation to blog.
We've had lots going on. I even have pictures.
I'll get back into the swing of things once I get back into the swing of things. (Do you feel like the Alfak duck in the Yogi Berra commercial?)

A funny from today: I tutor 2 different 8th graders from our local PS. One for 2 hours and one for 1 hour. The 1 hour kid brought his math problems and two worksheets from his teacher. (The worksheets were requested by his mom for me to use to work with him. The teacher is great to provide these.)

Anyway...

1 hour kid and I do his homework and he's got negative integers down pat. Then we move on to worksheet #1 which has material that he botched totally earlier in the week. We work on it until the light bulb clicks on. He's got it!
then we move on to the worksheet for tomorrow's work to get him a head start. In no time, he's got it and we fly through the sheet.

We he finished, he looked at the clock and saw that him mom wouldn't be by to pick him up for another 15 minutes. So we go on to the next section to pre-teach that material.
By the time his mom gets to my house, we're done with that material also.

As he packed up his work he remarked, "I just did a whole weeks worth of math in a HOUR! And I understand it. And I did my homework."

I couldn't help but laugh at him.

Total Random Thoughts

For some reason the soundtrack in my head is playing "Dancing Queen."

I am equally as shocked by this as you are. This particular version has an extended play time and is getting on my nerves.
I tried singing "Free Bird" but so far.....no effect. Next thing I know, I'm humming, "Friday night and the lights are low..."
(sigh)

Sam has announced that he no longer wants to be four. Nope. He's "tired of being four." He wants to be six instead.
I guess six is a much more exciting age. You get to sleep on the top bunk. You get to start 1st grade. And you might even get your first loose tooth.
There is some envy here at the Zoo. Can you tell?

I have burned out yet another fish aquarium filter. I have to buy a new one before my Zombie Fish (more on this story later) die....for real.
I'm torn on the idea that dead fish are a bad thing. My fish scare people, including myself. My sister won't even fee the things when she house sits.
So once again, I'm spending fifty bucks on terrifying fish that I don't even like. And they aren't edible. If they, were....I still wouldn't touch them.
Very scary fish.

I'm rereading all my twaddle. Yep. I'm talking about books so simple in thought and premise that I can read them in a single day. This of them as Adult Magic Tree House books. It's quite satisfying in a junk food kind of way.

The Braves are resting tonight. This means I can't fuss at my inappropriate crush boy. I have this thing for Brian McCann, the team catcher.
My friend says that it's fine since I'm not old enough to be his mother.
I'm not. So at least it's not scandalous. It still is inappropriate however since the boy is 23.
The fact that I've thought about this is even more evidence of my questionable character.

I wonder why I can't even type my own name. Seriously.
Most times I have to correct it. I type "Sheola" or my favorite "Sheula" and rarely I get a "Sehila." While all of these seem to be very exotic and exciting names....they are not mine.

My oldest is apparently a finger and toe crossing virtuoso. He's demonstrating this to me as I type this. Oh....he can also form his feet into some very odd fist shape. the boy has some freakish toes.
He didn't inherit them from me. I come from the barely-toed ilk. None of my ancestors can pick up Hot wheel cars and Beanie Babies with our stubby toes.

Oh great....I succeeded at expunging Dancing Queen. I'm now dealing with, "If I leave here tomoroooooooowwww..."
Wonderful.

What's old is new

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIGbhPLZmjY

This link might not be musically clean for kids but the grown ups need to watch the Bob Fosse dancers getting *down* to Walk it Out. The lady with the serious groove is his wife Gwen Fosse.

Who knew that Bob and Gwen would be the influence of Rap/Hip Hop "video girl" dances!

What a riot!

Here's the link for the orignal music.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFhXyns6vzE&NR=1
It's not nearly as entertaining for some reason.

And the clouds parted and a beam of sunlight poured down on them

It's a sunny day here at the zoo.

Well, as sunny as we can get it anyway.

Things are falling into place around here and it's not all gloom and doom. There's behind the scenes gloom and doom that I can't post publicly about yet. And that's the reason for my overall Eeyore-ness.

But the behind the scenes stuff is lot less gloomier than it has been so...Woohoo for us. I will eventually fill everyone in on what exactly is going on but I have to wait for clearance for ZooDad. I still don't have a long term plan but the very next step is firming up. So at least I know the direction we're going.

All this cryptic talk. Let's just say that my "let's just wing it" gene has been pushed to its tensile strength. At one point it even snapped and we had to do some complicated Boy Scout knots to tie it back together.
But the stress on it has recently reduced a bit and things seem to holding up.

In other news...
We've been spending our days with my newest little great nephew who is down visiting from way out of state. Eli is three months old and just bit over 10 pounds. We've never seen one so small. All mine hit 10 pounds by the end of their first month. (And that includes the one who had to have stomach surgery)
He is such a cutie. I swear, if my niece weren't so attached to him, I'd just claim him as mine and take him home.
It sure makes me want another one and I thought I was over all that.
It makes the boys want another little brother, even Sam.
Andrew has managed to teach Eli his first word, at least that's Andrew's point of view. He was excited because he taught the baby to say "Hey."

See. First word at 3 months. He's a tiny genius.

Oh....forgot to say...

The oldest child, the one who is 11.5 years old...he went to the doctor today right?

His stats:
117 pounds
5'4"
size 11.5 shoe

His 5'1" doctor lamented, "I've got 11-year-olds taller than me."
I laughed until I realized......

He's taller than me also.

Daaaaaaaaang!
Doc said he hasn't even started his puberty growth spurt. It's not the height I'm worried about.

It's the shoe size.
It's scary to think about.

Year 13 is done

I finally get to do the Wedding Meme!


Today is ZooDad and my 13th wedding anniversary.

He's called twice. Once for a pick-me-up after a long, hot, and stressful day. The second was reminisce about our wedding day.
I sure miss him.

So here's the dirt on us.

1. Where/How did you meet?
At Applebee's. I was a smart ass hostess working two jobs while going to school for my education certification. He was an Army Captain with a GPS who had no idea that a hostess could know what triangulation was.

2. How long have you known each other?
Let's see...we met in April of 1993

3. How long after you met did you start dating?
Two days? He asked me out the night we met.


4. How long did you date before you were engaged?
Officially engaged, as in ring on my finger and everything?
One year after we met almost to the day.

5. How long was your engagement?
Well, not long. A possible invitation of Haiti meant that we had to move the wedding up a few months. So we were only engaged for 3 months.

6. How long have you been married?
Lucky 13 years


7. What is your anniversary? Today, July 30.

8. How many people came to your wedding reception?
Not many. It was a quickly planned wedding. All we really wanted to do was get married. My future MIL actually did all the planning. ZooDad's Dad was very ill and she couldn't leave him. So we headed down to her to get married and she threw us a wedding. We had maybe 40-50 people at our wedding, but I only really cared about one person.


9. What kind of cake did you serve?
I don't even remember. It was white.

10. Where was your wedding?
In Savannah, GA

11. What did you serve for your meal?
I have no idea. I was too excited to eat. I remember the cake but I know there was food. I have pictures of it too.


12. How many people were in your wedding party?
Two. A maid of honor and a best man


13. Are you still friends with them all?
Well, my BIL was Best Man, so we still love him dearly. My MOH dropped me when I couldn't attend her wedding. Jacob was 4 months old and had pneumonia and I didn't want to drive 9 hours to the wedding. I know...selfish of me.

14. Did your spouse cry during the ceremony?
Nope. I didn't either. The minister did though. He told us that it was an honor to marry two people who meant their vows as much as we did.

15. Most special moment of your wedding day?
Being married and going to see my new FIL after the wedding. (see below)


16. Any funny moments?
Not funny at the time but funny now. My Dad was in charge of navigation and he got the whole family lost in SC. My Uncle, Aunt, and cousins arrived and helped me get dressed. The minister had to delay the wedding while I waited for someone in my family to make an executive decision to override Daddy's directions.
They finally got there about 10 minutes late.

17. Any big disasters?
My FIL was bed ridden by the time we got married. He'd had numerous pin point strokes that left him mostly paralyzed and in very poor health. During the reception, my FIL's nurse found that his blood pressure had dropped dramatically. He was rushed to the hospital. MIL had to leave to be with him. She wouldn't let us leave the reception though. Once the reception was over, we went to hospital. When ZooDad said, "Here's your new Daughter-in-law, " my FIL took my hand and squeezed it.


18. Where did you go on your honeymoon?
Peaks of Otter in Bedford, VA. They had no TV. No telephone. Just mountains, a lake, a great restaurant, and a bed. We're going back as soon as ZooDad gets home.


19. How long were you gone?
Four days. We'd planned to be gone longer but we found a puppy on our way home on our wedding night. (We'd bought a house the day before our wedding. Crazy, huh?) The puppy had Parvo virus and we delayed our honeymoon for two days so we could get him medical care. He stayed in the animal hospital clinging to life, while we called from the lodge each morning to see if he was still alive.
He lived. In fact, he's still living.


20. If you were to do your wedding over, what would you change?
I would have my parents get there a little earlier. And I wish my FIL could have been there to see us get married. But other than that...nothing.


21. What side of the bed do you sleep on?
The side closest to the bathroom and farthest from the alarm clock.


22. What size is your bed? Queen


23. Greatest strength as a couple?
We are formidable when we're together. We back each other up and never, ever back down. We're like Pitt Bulls. My goals are his goals. His goals are mine.
And we have fun. We still crack each other up.

24. Greatest challenge as a couple?
We are not neat tidy people and we both have a pack rat gene. And we like to lounge around a bit too much.


25. Who literally pays the bills? Me. He makes the money, I spend it.

26. What is your song?
We don't have one. We have a bunch of songs that we've made up: the Wake Up song, the Dead Snake in the Road song, the I love My Boys/Wife song.
Oddness


27. What did you dance your first dance to? I'm ashamed to admit this. The Chicken Dance. I can not believe that was our first dance. I should have known then that we would have a crazy life.

28. Describe your wedding dress:
I didn't have a wedding dress.
I wore a ivory suit. It was a very informal wedding. The suit had a knit sort of bodice with satin sleeves and a chiffon skirt. ZooDad wore his Gambling Suit from his time in Germany. Many jokes were made about this.


29. What kind of flowers did you have at your wedding?
White Mums, pale pink roses, and daisies, my favorites. My cousin is a florist and did my flowers.


30. Are your wedding bands engraved?
Yes, with our wedding date. Just as a reminder. ;)


31. How old were you when you got married? I was 24. Zoodad was 31. He's a cradle robber.

There you go. All about our wedding day.

because I need a little more excitment around here.

This morning, I took oldest child to the doctor today. He had a repeat of last summer's mysterious baseball bat related hand rash. But this time, I think I know what triggered it.


This time he was holding a balloon and then minutes later, his hands are mottled.


His doctor seconds my guess that the kid is developing an allergy to latex. He has a follow up appointment with an allergist on Thursday. He'll do blood work to confirm the allergy and see if there are any related allergies.
Fun, huh?

Aaaaaaaannnnnd.....then Tricare Appeals called. It seems that they didn't get the message that regular Tricare approved Matthew's OT. Nooooo...now they want some past assessments to see if Matthew has made any progress. So I had to fax them the assessments.

You know they're going to screw this up, right? There's no way that they won't. The question is...just how bad will they screw it up.

Oh...and it's our anniversary. Year 13 has been a tough one. Year 14 is starting out on the wrong foot and will need to make immediate adjustment.

I'm always up for a challenge but you know, sometimes it would be nice to just have things go smoothly. Of course, I'd be suspicions.

Be prepared for color change

Ok...deployment is nearing the end and The Zoo will be moving on to a new chapter in life.
So to honor this change...which is going to be one wild ride, I am planning a blog redesign.

The green and black will be replaced by.....I don't know....something non-green and black hopefully. I have some ideas but no plans yet.
I'm willing to entertain any ideas. ;)

By the way, I'm still knitting away. I'll be posting some of my finished stuff in the next day or two. So check out my knitting blog too.

A peek into Asperger's

It's hard for me to explain what life is like with two children with Asperger's Syndrome. Most of the time, it's just part of our normal life and I don't notice that it's anything different from what any other parent experiences.
But some days....I can't pretend it's normal.
Sometimes I experience something that is just a "classic AS moment" that might help someone else understand.

(BTW: I don't do these sort of things as a PVM. I'm hoping that some parent who is wondering or struggling may find some help.)

On Thursday, I called to schedule a carpet cleaning for this coming Tuesday.

I informed the boys that they could play downstairs while the upstairs carpets were cleaned but would have to play outside while the downstairs was cleaned. Then we would all go to my Mom's house while the carpet dried.

No big deal, right? Just a carpet cleaning.
All of you reading can infer why I told them this. It's not a huge event other than getting ready for the carpet cleaners.

Not for Matthew.

He went into instant anxiety mode.

Why was I getting the carpet cleaned?

Who was coming to clean it?

Then came the "wonderings." Oh, how I hate the "wonderings." It's the time where he comes up with reasons why things are happening. Most of the time his reasons are so far off the mark that I don't even know where to begin to correct him.

"I know why we can't be upstairs while he cleans the carpet...."

"I know why we have to go to Nanny's house...."


Unfortunately, none of these "reasons" are correct so I have to tell him the real reasons.
But these reasons I give, don't make sense to him and he comes up with new explanations.

Which are different, but still wrong nonetheless. So we go around and around until I have to put my foot down. I feel cruel just cutting him off but I can't spend hours discussing the logistics of carpet cleaning.

The carpets are being cleaned. It's OK. I will handle everything and you get to spend the day at Nanny's house. OK? That's it. It's a really easy thing. Let's not talk about it anymore, OK?

He nods to let me know that he accepts this explanation but his eyes give away the truth. He's still fretting about it and I have no idea why. I can't even understand why he even cares in the first place, much less how to ease his worry.

And he can't tell me.

Not in the best of moods.

I've deleted this post. I need to pull my knit socks up and just be happy.

And that's all I have to say about that.

Cakes I baked

These aren't my birthday cakes.
They are cakes I made for Sam and Andrew's birthday party earlier in the month. I'm just now getting around to uploading them. (I'm so prompt in doing all things.)

First is Andrew's cake. In case you can't tell, it's a volcano. The boys had a Luau party...their own idea. I think Andrew came up with the party theme when he decided that he wanted a volcano cake.

Next is Sam's cake. It's a Tiki head. This is actually Sam's second cake.

Yep... the second cake I baked for this child in 24 hour period. This was my plan B cake. My favorite part is barely visible....I love the flames on the top of the head.

Why a plan B?

Well.....

The evening before the party, I baked the volcano cake and a standing up Tiki head. Then I carefully, put them away for the next day's party. Sunday morning, I woke up to find that the Tiki head looked like this.......

The tiki head had fallen over into the layer below. I tried to salvage....but as Jacob said....the Tiki was having some cake. It was dead in the water.

To say I panicked would be an understatement. Then I pulled myself together and started baking another cake. I was so glad that I had saved all the icing to clean up later. Woohoo....that was a touch of brilliance.

All three cakes were well received.

I'll add some other pictures to my photo bar on top. You can click on it anytime to go view our fun day.

"Does Batman have a tail?"

Excuse me?

"Does Batman have a tail?"

That's what Sam wanted to know this morning as he greeted me with a birthday hug (It's my birthday. I am old today.) poking me with a mini Batman figure. It took me a bit to figure out where this odd little conversation was going. What a way to start my morning. We tend to have the oddest conversations in this house.

Let's check. (I lifted Batman's cape.) Nope....no tail.

"Bat's have tails."

Yes, they have little tails. However, BatMAN is tailless.

"Does Batman have wings? Where he wings?"

Nope, no wings either. No tail, no wings.

"Cat's have a tail. Mango has a tail."

Yep, Mango has a tail. No wings though.

"Then why they call him BATman? Oh...he wears a bat. See. And his cape is he wings. And he have bat ears."

Yep....sure enough.

Glad that mystery has been solved. Currently, Sam is playing with both Batman and Superman. Listening to his playtime conversations is hysterical. He acts out these little fantasies and talks and talks and talks.
I have to work at not laughing.

I can't wait to hear Batman explaining to Superman why he doesn't have wings or a tail but is still a "bat" man. The funniest thing is that I immediately thought of my "Who has a tail?" conversation with Andrew. I'm not sure why my kids have an odd preoccupation with tail.

I've had a really good day.

I don't have anything on the "rush" pile for the rest of the day.

Laundry is down to manageable levels.
The house is clean enough.
The kids are playing outside.
My tutee is not coming today.
My paperwork is all done.
Tricare approved 12 OT visits for Matthew so that weight is lifted.

I ran my errands while MIL was here.
I bought my new scanner/copier doodah and I don't have to make plans to copy stuff. I even bought various colored paper for visual issues for the boys.

Oh, I lost my military ID a week ago. (All the military wives go, "GASP!)

But I found it. (All the military wives sigh in relief.) I sighed in relief too. It was at the commissary. The lady at the lady at the commissary was just as happy for me as I was.

(For the non-military readers, losing an ID card is bad. You have to file a report with the Military Police. Then take that report to this big building that has hours long waits to get anything done. Loosing you ID pretty much means losing a day of your life.)

Since I didn't have to do all that, I got to other stuff.

I took Matthew's glasses to be fixed. My favorite optician was there and it was nice to see him again. He ordered the replacement part and apologised about the time it would take to ship it. Of course, I don't mind waiting for it. This is my favorite eye place and the work is always top-notch.
He asked when my hubby would be home. I was touched that he remembered.

I went to Wal-mart and met a very nice man. He was the Greeter and I greeted him right back and smiled. And he responded, "Your teeth are beautiful. Who did them?" I told him that God did.
He said that I was blessed.

It turned out that he had had a stroke 4 years ago and fell. the fall messed up many of his teeth. He had fought with insurance for some time and they finally approved the work needed to get his smile back to normal. (Having a good smile is the first step to confidence. Dental care is right up there with yearly health care visits in my book.)
He said he was trying to find a good doctor to that.
Well, I knew the name of a good oral surgeon that might be able to help him. I passed that info on to him and wished him well.

Then I headed out to Sam's to search form my copier/scanner where I pondered the new overpass building plans with a very nice man, searched for ink cartridges with a lady who was just as confused as I was, and then ended the trip with another man grabbing my cart when I was done with it.

Then I saw a very odd man with wild hair and jerky movements. When he turned around, I saw he was wearing a shirt that said, "I have issues." I couldn't help but laugh and he laughed with me.

And finally, ZooDad sent me a new picture today. A very handsome close up of him out on a helo ride today. Guess who has new wallpaper.
It's such a good shot of it, that seeing it makes me smile and miss him so very much. (ZD had a good day too. A big boost to his spirits and I could hear it in his voice.)

All these little things, nothing big in particular. Just little things that made me smile.

But God works through the little things.

Things are looking up

Whew...we are trucking right along.
MIL will arrive this evening and I'm going out to the bookstore to just lounge and have a cookie and a coke.
Then tomorrow, I will do errands. Including getting a new scanner/copier.

ZooDad is amazing about simplifying my life. If it annoys me and it can be fixed by throwing money at it or making phone calls....he'll throw the money and make the phone calls..

My laptop dies...he orders a new one.
Printer dies....go buy a new one.

Now the old scanner is making the Yeti noise when you turn it on. And I complained about making copies and having to hook the scanner up to a lap top.
"Go buy NEW scanner!"
But they don't sell just scanners anymore. And I need a copier.
"Buy a 3-in-1, buy a 5-in-1...heck buy a 5-in-1. Just get what you need."
But those things are expensive.
"What $400, $500....just buy one."

Sigh
So I'm going to go buy one.

Then I went nuts on Tricare over the two month wait that I have endured waiting for our appeal to process.
I told this to ZooDad and he went even more nuts than me.

So nuts that he called them from Kuwait and I didn't even have to give him the number. I don't know what he said....but the Tricare nurse that approves stuff for the Southeast called me....twice. They never call anyone.
Now Matthew has a referrals for new assessments for OT and PT. Hee, hee.
The man got more done in one afternoon than I did in 6 months.

I once told a car repairman, who was talking down to me, that if he couldn't handle the issue with me that my husband would come handle it. And that when my husband came to handle it....he would really wish that he had handled it with me.

He's a very patient and forgiving man. You can walk all over him. He will tolerate anything. He never even complains. But ZooDad can out "Momma Bear" anybody when it comes to his wife and kids.

It's a beautiful thing. He's like a force of nature when he's ticked off.

And in other news.....

Andrew SWAM! That's right. He can actually swim. It's not pretty but it's not drowning either. He passed the level two class. I am beyond shocked. If I had not seen it with my own eyes...I would never believe it.

And even Sam is close to swimming. He's able to go about 2 feet on his own.

Jacob has mastered freestyle, breast stroke, and backstroke. And he figured out how to tread water.

Not to be out done...Matthew (who can do a very messy freestyle stroke but still can't float.) decided to take on the water slide. He had no trouble at all. He went down, popped off the slide and into the water. Then he swam to the side like he'd been doing it for ages.

Well.
What brave little aquatic kids I have. Who knew? Not me, that's for sure.

Day....2

Well here we go again with the today's list of activities.

Today began our second week of swimming lessons. Sam greeted the class by asking "Why do we have swimming lessons, and swimming lessons, and more swimming lessons. I already had swimming lessons." To which the swim instructor answered, "Because you can't swim yet." This instructor happens to like Sam a good bit.

Andrew happily started his second week though his instructor is at a loss on how to teach him to swim. She can't figure out how to get him to pull his body up to the surface.
I admitted that I didn't either.
Andrew has gravitational insecurity and difficulty determining his position in space. When you put him in the near weightlessness of water, he doesn't know where he is or which way is up.
I told her that just having him get in the water without panicking was a great achievement to me right now. Once school starts back, we'll consider signing up for the weekly adaptive swim classes for special needs.

It's hard to explain how much this hurts me. I was hoping that swimming class could be a nearly "normal" thing for him
He's in a younger class for ages 3-5 though he just turned 6. I knew he couldn't handle being in a class for 6 to 12 year olds.
I've also conceded that he won't be able to play on the 1st grade soccer and basketball teams with the Upward league. He'll have to play on the 4-5 year old teams. He's just not ready. He won't be able to keep up and he'll notice.
That's the big part... him noticing.

I'm also faced with the reality that this year will most likely be the last year that Matthew will be able to play Upward soccer and basketball. He can play on the 2nd-3rd grade teams because of his birth date. But next year, he won't be on the level of the the 4th-5th graders. And he already sees how he is different from other kids. I won't put him in a situation that singles him out and makes him feel inferior. He doesn't need that.

Thank goodness we still have baseball. All four of them love baseball. And they can hold their own in baseball. It's the best sport ever.

Back to our day....
After swim lessons, we stayed at the pool, baked a while, and got all pruney. We had a "little lunch" to tide us over and then baked and soaked some more. Our pool has several smaller wading pools and a splash park to keep everybody entertained whether they can swim or not.

On the way home, we picked up Sonic for a late, big lunch. (Which is why we haven't had dinner yet.) Then the boys all set outside to find some neighbors to play with.

ZooDad called and my crappy dying phone hung up him after 5 minutes. So he emailed me. "BUY A NEW PHONE!" Not so cute when Sam isn't involved.

I finished a pair of socks and finally, FINALLY masters my kitchener's stitch. I have toes with no seams. I am so proud of myself. And then, in a moment of brilliance, cast on with the leftover sock yarn to make an MP3 cozy. I can knit up a stash of these for Christmas. Sock and cozy combo. It's brilliant!

Tonight, Steak for me. Burgers for the boys. I drug out my VHS of Labyrinth (With David Bowie) for the boys to watch and I'm going to watch the Braves game.
(Next gameless night, I'm renting Pan's Labyrinth.)

I need to clean.
I need to get ready for next school year.
I need to get ready for more swim lessons.
In all honesty, I'll probably have a beer and knit instead.

One day less. Almost time to make a paper chain.