I helped a friend out

and in return acquired these:



LOVE LOVE LOVE musical instruments! Thank you Steenie <3

Freshly shorn

I am so sorry dear readers [if you are still out there!] that I have not posted in eons. I have had some personal stuff going on, which I may write about in the future.

BUT!~

Don't despair. Jackjack got his first haircut this week.



Pre-chop, upon being woken up from his nap.



The after. <3 The cuteness. Doesn't he look like an early Alex??

Garden Gnome

Rocks, eggs, & utter nonsense.

DUDE!!! My littlest brother is ENGAGED!!!! He came home from some overseas Marine training & popped the question to his lovely girlfriend...




YES! Congratulations Leonard & welcome to the family, Liz! {I get another sister! woot!}

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


In Easter news... Dylan tried his hardest to find as many eggs as possible at Auntie Jessie's house. Alex got whacked in the balls [accidentally, apparently] by Uncle Dusty, Jack barely napped & Fredward and I ate until we were full. Fredward ate until he was past full, and ready to explode. We got to see Fred & Jessie's dad [Grampa Burnham] & the kidlets were very excited about that. Aunt Joyce got some great photos of the kiddos.. especially Jack & Jill[ian].

Jack & Jill! She's 6 weeks older than jackjack... hopefully these two will get along great.


Here are some that Fredward & I took....

of the boys...

and.. nobody is looking. Typical.


My sister [in-law] Jessie...


and Jackjack's first Easter egg hunt.

Taking an egg snack break.

Playtime with Robert & Alex.

Hope your Easter was just as great!

Attention Stefiny:

Its been a long minute, hasn't it? I'm sorry; really, I am. I've been busy & caught up in life. While I haven't any stories to share, I do have some impromptu child photos for you. Alex needed pics with him & his brothers for a school project & upon not finding any suitable ones, I orchestrated a quick family [ok, just the boys] photo op.

It was interesting... lets just leave it at that.







:sigh:

For some strange reason, Alex [being the voice of "reason" here] thought that it would be easy to orchestrate this... after all, Dylan & Jack 'pose' for pictures all the time.



See how well that worked out Alex? Yea.

So there you are, Steph [and anyone else who was itching for a cuteness craving].

Happy Valentine's Day.

I love you, schmoopy-poo.

Ode to a Poor Lamenting Soul

Oh for the love of all things holy. And blue. And wrapped in camouflage, run over with cars and trampled through mud.

Affixed with Nerf guns, pellet guns, matchbox cars and a multitude of transformers that can only be transformed because you saved the directions. Thankfully.

I am so glad... :exhales sharply: ...that I have sons. Boys. You know; play-in-the-dirt, blast 'em, rock 'em-sock'em wrestling matches, nonstop discussions about balls, farts, penises and the increasingly common only-because-you-did-it-to-yourself-completely-overdone-grampa-pants-which-has-now-turned-into-something-I've-coined-as 'Man-toe'. Think on that for a minute.

Yep, that would be the male version of the female counterpart: 'camel toe'.

All of that nonsense and foolishness I can handle. Its nuts, stupid and supremely funny at times, and other times, its annoying, so I feign the need for 'girl time'. I don't really have to fake it. I do need it. Just a smidgen. I call my girls. You are loved, and you know who you are.

What I cannot handle:

7 year old girls crying over the band-aid that has fallen off of her 1/4" cut on her hand. That she got like 2 days ago. OMG!!! It still HURTS!!!!!

And the waterworks come on.... and on.... and on... and OMFG WHEN ARE THEY GOING TO STOP?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

Backstory:

I volunteer one day per week at Dylan's school. I help out in the class room, as needed, keeping the kidlets on track moving from center to center, making sure they stay on track with their 'required' centers. Some kids are great- they get down to work right away- makes my time volunteering a breeze. Some kids need a little nudging and often encouragement. And then there are those few... those select few -you teachers know EXACTLY what I am talking about here- who you seriously want to slap and or shake the shit out of. Those would be the drama queens.



{OH LOOK! I'M A POOR, LAMENTING SOUL!} NO ONE WANTS TO PLAY WITH ME! WHINE WHINE WHINE WHINE .... OH, LOOK AT MY SCAR! MY [INSERT BODY PART HERE] HURTS!!!!! I [WHINE] HAVE NO FRIENDS! WHINE WHINE WHINE



Sidebar:
For fucks sake, our teaching staff does not get paid nearly enough to deal with this bullshit on a daily basis. Fredward thinks I don't have a heart. [There is more to that, but that is another time] I just don't have the patience- nor the tolerance level- to deal with 'OMG, I'm injured/I hurt myself 3 days ago... I'm still in pain & did i mention I'm 7???' No. Can't do it. Won't do it. I have a window. A very small window. You [said child] have a very short window of opportunity to plead your case & extract sympathies from me.

Let's say 5 minutes, shall we? And you had better pray to your all mighty that I am feeling sympathetic that day, because I might just grant you the full Five Minutes. If I'm not, I'm over your problems in like 2 minutes. And you had better be too. I don't have time to coddle you for an hour [like someone's little princess this morning], and sit you in my lap, pet your hair and put my full attention on you. Uh... in case you haven't noticed, the sun, nor the earth revolve around YOU. They don't revolve around me either, so deal with it. Time to suck it up, work through the pain [real, imagined or exaggerated] and get over it. Show's over folks! Move on.

Back to the Back story:

Okay, so I helped out in Dylan's class today, and yes, there was a little girl who was going on & on & on about this cut. I got her a replacement band aid, kissed the area [her palm], offered to go home & get my knives to cut off her hand, hell- I even flicked the wound for good measure. The flicking apparently set off the waterworks, because you know it just hurts so much!!! And then I was forced to deal with this girl who then would not get to work- or basically work period once I entered the class [before the flicking & the threatening to cut off the appendage. Seriously, with boys, I at least get a smile, if not a giggle at the thought of me wielding a knife to cut off their hands.]. She kept arguing with a boy, who happened to follow her from station to station [in her defense, he wouldn't let up either]. I think they were in the same reading group, but whatever. So I wander around the class, helping kids sound out words, making sure everyone stays on track, picks up after themselves, get them to squirrel out the glue sticks and fallen pencils from under the table checking in on everyone. The entire hour- whining, distracted, and eventually the tears from this little girl. I asked Dylan when he got home if she finally stopped crying. 'Yea, but it took a long time. Like, she stopped after Music! That's a long time!' Apparently crying over a 1/4 inch paper cut [okay, she cut her hand on the piano, but I digress] and getting over it, can take an entire day. W.T.F.

Let me tell ya; I feel sorry for this girl's parents. Not because she's a whiny first grader. But because she will easily be the hottest girl in class when she's older. She has the most beautiful eyes, and a very charming smile, and she really really needs you. She's going to get her heart broken and she's going to break many of hearts. She's needy and clingy, and wants YOU to focus on her- only her- because if you don't, she won't have a good day! :sad face: Honey, I know you really like when I come to class; I know that Dylan tries to be your friend. You don't have to try and monopolize my attention while I am in your class though. YOU are special- I'm sure your parents have told you; you along with EVERYONE ELSE in your class. I know one day she'll probably read this, because nothing gets erased off the Internets, but I don't care. I didn't mention her name anyways. I wouldn't want to call her [or her parents] out on the world wide weird anyways. She'll encounter enough obstacles without my assistance.


For the love of god, she had better not date my kid. Though, if Dylan stays true to his word [I don't even know how to feel about this] he won't have a girlfriend until he's 18. He just doesn't want one until then.

Although, I do believe he eats lunch with her.


I give kudos to the parents who have girls; whether its one or several. My cousin and his wife have 5 - count 'em- FIVE- girls. I certainly don't have the patience for that. My ass would have been locked up in the loony bin YEARS ago, had I birthed a daughter. Can't do fart jokes? I can! Things I can't do: barbies, boobies, dress up [unless I'm shopping for myself], and god-forbid: the dreaded menstrual cycle. No fucking thank you. I had to go through it myself; that was traumatizing enough. Can't do it. I went so far as to have my female dog fixed the moment she was old enough so I didn't have to go through any unplanned pregnancies with her.


No sirree, no girls for me. Thankfully, no more baby(s).

dog pillow

Exhibit A [circa 2007]:


Exhibit B [circa 2010]:

On to the next one

Its been a minute, hasn't it? Sorry folks, for keeping you waiting. I've been a little preoccupied for a bit.

:Reads own blog to see where I'd left off:

Ah yes. Holidays! They were wonderful, awkward and delicious; just as they are every year. The kidlets received the gifts they wanted this year- which, as any parent knows, is immensely difficult. The eldest received the ca$h he so badly wanted to use toward purchasing one of the few remaining golf clubs he needs to finish the set. My mommy's boy* [more on that in a minute] received the ultimate bad-ass transformer: devastator! RAWR!!! It's only the coolest transformer ever... its 5 separate transformer that turn into one!! OMG!!! I've only been hearing about this damn transformer since last year. :exhales: Thanks :) And the baby monster got all sorts of toys he has absolutely no interest in. He's mobile now, so he loves to crawl & pull up on whatever he can to walk around. His favorite things to play with are diapers, Tupperware [natch], and the t/v remote when he can get a hold of it. He likes to remove the batteries & then crawl around the living room with them in his fists. And if you should catch him, he crawls as fast as he can away from you. Such a little shyster.



warning: cuteness ahead.



Some recent pics [recent being the last week or so]...


We went to the World of Wheels & saw this car & it just screamed Alex. I insisted he take a picture with it.



Jack jack has discovered the joy of eating fresh fruit! He really loves applesauce, and now that he has four little chicklets!, I've been giving him more 'people' food. I peeled an apple & gave it to him to gnaw on..



... & he was soo excited to have it!


ah... Dylan. He woke me up this morning after a botched attempt at a sleepover [mommy issues- he missed me!]- and told me he wanted to call over there right away. Apparently there was going to be some temporary hair dye action& he was all about being a part of it.


In case you can't see; Dylan's hair & 1/2 blue & 1/2 purple. E-man's is green. AWESOMELY green. This boy has naturally super dark brown hair, so it was a feat for Erin, I'm sure of it- to get it that color.


**Topic Change: Mommy's boy**


But first, a sidebar:


Now, earlier in the school year Dylan came home & told me that the wrestling coaches came in & he was all excited because he got to wrestle a second-grader!! whoa! I know. Dylan + Wrestling= ???? , you ask? Yea, I know. But he was excited. He seemed excited.. and then the excitement started to wain. I tried to get him excited about it.. practice started in the beginning of December. He was just not having it. He tried for a month or so, but sometime between those last practices & after Christmas vacation, he was totally having an issue. I tried a wrestling clinic, to help pique his interest, perhaps learn some skills- but no. We did kids' club night, but his heart wasn't in it. He really wanted to quit. I had him tell coach & the coach tried to talk him out of it. I tried to talk him out of it. Other parents- and some of his friends- tried to talk him out of it, but he remained firm on his decision. He quit wrestling after a month. And yes, I let him. I'm not going to force it upon him, as I would force him to try a new vegetable. I tried, several times, and he did not like it. And that is okay. Maybe in a couple of years he'll be interested in it again, but then again, maybe not.


Dylan is a mommy's boy through and through. He'll freely admit it; whenever I'm not around, he asks whomever he is with- Where's Mom? When is my Mom going to be here? I miss my Mom. When is Mom coming home?

Those last few times at wrestling practice- he was under the impression that Fred or I were going to forget him or leave him at practice. He freaked out one evening [when I happened to be staying for a parent meeting] and was escorted out of the gym in hysterics, crying and saying he missed his mom. And here I am, walking back inside, magazine in hand. I got him to finish the last 10 minutes of practice that day after pleading, consoling, cajoling, and any other method I could think of to get him back in there. No dice. The boy hasn't wrestled since. I did take him to practice once, but that was the day he told coach he wanted out.

So- the sleepover. He's slept at E-man's house several times before, but I had the feeling. You just know- that feeling; I was actually waiting for the call. I knew, shortly after I dropped him off, that I would be getting a phone call: Dylan wants his mom! Awwww!!! And I did... 11pm or so... 'Dylan is crying & says he misses his mom!' No prob- I go out & pick him up- he's only 5 minutes from home & I invited him to sit in the front seat on the ride home. We snuggled on the couch together & fell asleep. We made brownies when I came home from work this evening, too.

I think he's been going through some serious mommy withdrawls since Jack jack has came around. Jack & Dylan are totally different kids at that stage; for example- Jack is totally at ease with his sitters, and Dylan still freaked out that I was leaving him in the care of someone else. Even if its Fredward; Jack could care less & I'm the only one good enough for Dylan. Oh well. I love him dearly, but I do hope it's just a phase! I tried so hard to instill independence, but sometimes I guess they just need mom.

Welcome to a New Year.

It's 2010. I've resolved to make a better life for myself and my family, no matter how many hours I have to work, how many jobs I have to work, or how little sleep I get. I will continue to create art & self-promote. I want to make as much $$ as I can to pay off that damn student loan, pay off Fred's loan, and be able to take a vacation.

Finally.

Or perhaps, a honeymoon?

[WHAT?! you say?? I know, we've been married for 6 years & haven't taken a honeymoon. I, - er-, We blame the kids.]

Any-who, to properly usher in the New Year, here are some cute pics of my kids!!

Happy Christmas...

I started out putting unbreakable ornaments on the bottom part of our tree years ago, when kitty & all his peskiness would knock them off the tree. A few years ago, I tied together bells & hung those from the lower branches, so they would jingle when he brushed up underneath them.

Jack has discovered the bells, & he pulls those off the tree along with the other unbreakable ornaments. Its okay- they are unbreakable for that purpose. Well, him & kitty. The ornament in the lower left hand corner [above photo] was an ornament he really wanted off the tree, because he wouldn't stop yanking on the branches [apparently this was an ornament I didn't want him to have because I bent the branch so it would stay on]. I was doing dishes, a mere 8 feet away around the corner, when I hear CRRAAASSSHHH!!!

I rush over, only to find the baby monster pulling himself out from underneath the tree- NO SCRATCHES, NO TEARS, NOT EVEN A DAMN PEEP OUT OF HIM!!!!

Because of all the destruction he caused, I had several ornament casualties- more than I've had in YEARS!!! Also, the [fake] tree will no longer stand upright on its own. Santa has taken his new place underneath the tree, assisting in the upright condition of said tree. It will be meeting the graveyard- aka, my garbage can- not to far off in the near future.



Sorry Mom [-inlaw], but you won't be getting this bad boy for your yard.

Lawn fairy. [sorry, no pictures of this one]

Well, I signed Dylan up for wrestling in hopes that he gets over his fears and becomes a stronger person. I hope it builds character, teaches respect [respect of others, respect of self, etc] and shows Dylan just how much your actual body is capable of. Yesterday I took him & my nephew [a fellow first year wrestler, though he's in 5th grade] to a wresting clinic for skill development. Andrew [my nephew] kicked some serious ass, including his own. He was huffing & puffing and really giving it his all. Trying to learn moves and master the fine art of the walrus walk. Dylan- I love this boy dearly and I pray to god that this is just a phase- found another like-minded first grader, and pranced around similar to [for lack of a better description] a fairy pixie horse {Thank you, Alex the lion/Madagascar}. Not saying he didn't try; he did. But he tried with his definitely-a-first-grader effort. Looking around the room, rolling around on the mat, falling over or falling down when supposed to be wrestling. He reminds me of Sadie; when there is another dog in the area, she gets so excited and to prove that she's harmless, will immediately roll onto her back to show the dog how submissive she is. Dylan was like that yesterday; he fell down to show that he's a nice kid, not a tough guy. I didn't know whether to yell [it was free, so no $ lost] to hang my head [every time he went down intentionally instead of wrestling,] or to walk away. Its so hard to watch... I just want to go out there, scream 'PAY ATTENTION!!!' while shaking the living crap out of him. I don't know if he knows that in wrestling, the object is not to be the one to get pinned or held down. When he plays with Alex he's always the one getting pinned down, so I've no idea.

I've had a similar experience when he played soccer at 4 years old. The boy was then, and is now, really unfocused. Back then, he picked out the kids who had no interest in the ball, but rather a renewed interest in the blades of grass and the flowers growing between them. He'd pick flowers, twirl around, spinning at just the right time to watch the ball go whizzing past him, while looking after it, going, "WHOA! Did you see that?? That ball almost hit me!!" He would then proceed to show the other lawn fairy what it would have looked like, had he been hit with aforementioned ball.

:sigh:

I love him, but someone please tell me its just a phase.

Snow Day [the first of many for] 2009?

No more summer until... well, summer. My last remnant of summer hanging and chiming with the snow fall...

It has been snowing profusely since last night... we are well over 24 hours at this point & really, its showing no signs of wanting to let up either.



Sadie has been outside with the boys for the last hour & apparently does not want to be inside. She keeps running from window to window trying to see or get outside. When she's outside, she keeps running up & down the stairs, as though she wants to come in, but doesn't.

The boys told me that they want to make a better hill. So what better way than to fill up a garbage can with snow & get to work on it???

This is half of the snow sliding off the roof... the other half Alex knocked down with the shovel.

Ah yes. Gots to love the snow days!! woot!!

9 Months old, yesterday

:le sigh: My littlest boy is growing up so fast! He's crawling everywhere & pulling himself up... pretty soon he'll be walking!

Overheard

We were discussing the possibility of cutting down our own tree this year. We will usually go cut one down, tie it precariously to the top of the car, & enjoy some hot chocolate in the freezing cold. Normally it snows THE DAY we want to go & get said tree. A good, albeit cold, time is had by all. This will be Jack's first Christmas, so we'll see.

Dylan, Alex & Jackjack are in the backseat. Dylan pipes up saying he wants one that we 'put together ourselves'. Last year, Dylan helped me sort out all of the branches, put it together, and assisted in the placement of the ornaments. Usually a good half-a day production; with the sorting & arranging, and lighting.

He told Alex, "Santa didn't know! He still brought us presents!"

I just can't stand it anymore.

Cuteness this obscene should be illegal... then I would have the perfect excuse to be an outlaw.


In other news, Dylan's lip is healing quite nicely. He took a rather nasty fall at his friends' house last weekend, & came home with a giant fat lip. T-minus ONE DAY until we leave for Wisconsin Dells; we'll be staying at the Wilderness & watching Alex play some 8th grade championship football-- WOOT!!!

Gave jackjack a bath today & among all of his cuteness, he came up with this on his own.... I had NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. I SWEAR. I was lucky enough to grab the camera in time, because I had just shut it off to start packing the toiletry bag & I look over to find this:

Now, doesn't he look like Fredward with the bubble goatee & bubble-baby-chest-hair??

Have a great weekend, everyone!! I'll post following our wins [hopefully!].

Happy Halloween... a day late.

In the interest of all things entertaining, I'll give you lots of pics of my kids; including several of Jack-jack, who had a mini fashion show of his various & assorted costumes. That is to come.

Over the beginning of the weekend, Dylan one-upped his brother & face-planted off a ramp while riding his scooter. [Backstory: In case you didn't know, Alex flew over his handlebars on his bike over the summer, landing on his arm & prompting a late night trip to urgent care which was closed, and an early am visit to the doc office, only to determine that he landed on his arm. Nothing broken. Tragedy averted, as he had just started football practice.]

This was the next day... I felt pretty bad for him. His lip was so pouffed out it looked like he had a duck bill. The swelling has been going down, thankfully & the lip has been healing nicely with twice daily applications of triple antibiotic ointment. Good thing he was already missing his front teeth, or those would have fallen out upon impact. He bruised his gum & upper lip pretty good- its actually purple where his tooth would have been.

On to the costumes!!!

tiger [Dylan wore this at 1 yr old. .. he'd just started walking]


Jack in the box. Yes this was an option, but it was too freaking cold. Perhaps another year.
Jack the bear... the bear head wouldn't stay up. He wasn't feeling this one.


Dylan & E-man.

alex.
alex [gangsta], sam [jason] & dylan [tony hawk]

the boys.


the winning costume: a little devil. How appropriate. :)

Just a thank you to the neighbors who decided Jack's parents need candy too!!! I love you for that!!!

Seriously? He can't be yet. OMG!! Ah Well.

dylan's weak stomach [thank you carol]
seen & heard: Several attempts to get Dylan to carve pumpkins for Halloween. He always thought it was gross & he wouldn't touch the pumpkin guts. So this year, thinking because he's older it will be different, wasn't really any different!! Oh what was I thinking? Child [who gags when the cat vomits in the general vicinity] o' mine, O' child o' mine. I got some rubber gloves for him, thinking the texture might be too much.

Meh.

I tried getting him to look away while reaching in & grabbing a handful of pumpkin guts. Not so much!

:sigh:

I ended up carving the damn pumpkin. I really didn't want to. Believe it or not, digging out a pumpkins innards & taking a scapula to the exterior of said pumpkin is not high on my list of favorite things to do. I fully enjoy gutting a pie pumpkin, only to fill it with spices & bake it until its mushy then commence with the homemade pumpkin pie making. That I enjoy. Carving?

That stuff is for kids.

Jack is thismuch closer to crawling



Shortly after I caught this footage, he was on the opposite side of the living room, rocking back & forth on all fours. Naturally I couldn't get the memory card dumped in time, so I was unable to capture it, as my card was full. I so need a 1-gig [or higher!] SD memory card right now.

Bonus: Alex was bumped up to play at the RCA dome in Wisconsin Dells.
Alex had an opportunity to play a two game tournament at the RCA dome [now the Wisconsin Dells Center]. He was passed over, although he worked really super hard. The team reserved a block of rooms at the Wilderness Resort which has its own indoor water parks. [Yes, plural] We received a phone call from his coach tonight- Another player had to drop out; Alex was next on the list. Would he like to play? Made some phone calls to Alex & yea- he's in!

Downside- Fredward had to cancel the plans he made for my birthday, because we'll be in the dells. The sole reason he claims to never make plans- they never go through. Case in Point.

But, we'll be in the dells. At a Water park! Watching football!! At least I know what I'm doing for my birthday celebration.. & I'm pretty excited about it.

Lady Luck is pissing in my pond.

If lady bugs are supposed to be lucky, are they holding a conference in my kitchen right now to decide on how much luck I actually get? Must they crawl through the cracks in the window sills, and just 'hang out' on any unsuspecting glass just sitting on the counter? Or dive bomb me, Pearl Harbor- style, as I walk up my stairs? Anywho, just have your little meeting while I sit here wondering how long it will be before you decide to join my food on the stove & spoil a perfectly good meal.

Did you ever have a ladybug in your glass or food & not notice it until you TASTED it?? OOOhhh, it is all sorts of EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!

Did I mention that Dylan used to be TERRIFIED of lady bugs as a kid? TERRIFIED!! Of Ladybugs!!

:Warning--> Topic change <--ahead:

Moving right along. So here I sit, heating pad attached firmly to my ass & shooting pain straight down my left leg. I've got a big glass of water [quart mason jars are the only water glasses big enough for me], 2 books on yoga & various poses for optimum health, and a healthy respect for pain medicines.

Case in point: Last week [?] I was having some major wrist irritation. Irritation turned to pain, pain turned into throbbing the moment I woke up. So after much deliberation, I decided to take some pain meds that I had leftover from when I had Jack. Its 1030ish by the time I've made this decision. I've gone about my normal morning routine: get some coffee, feed the boy, get more coffee, put the boy down for a nap, facebook/internets. Did you see breakfast? Yea, its not in there. The moment I opened the hatch & let the liquid slide down my throat I could feel it hit my stomach, and looking around, saying- "Nothing's here! Time to par-tay!!" Holy fucking hell, batman. So I, like an idiot, decide upon getting something into my stomach. 'A bowl of cereal should be sufficient.', I think to myself. Apparently I'm already high by this point, because I decided upon Crispix, which has about as much substance as Chex. Yea, there isn't any!!! I'm good for oh, about an hour, & then I really feel it kick in. Apparently the medicine brought friends & turned my stomach into a mosh pit! I decide to lay down. Cancel the afternoon plans with girlfriends. Jack is napping at this point, so he's safe. He wakes up. Shit. I'll be okay.. just stay close to the ground. Which I do... until he needs to eat. I fix him his baby mush & container of peas... & as I am holding the peas at arms length away from my face, I realize there is no way in fucking hell I can do this. Cue the reinforcements. Fredward wasn't going to be home until 530 at the earliest & all of my neighbors were gone. [Yes, I know they were gone, because I can see their driveways from my house. No cars = no neighbors.] I called my mom, with the highest of hopes [shut up] that she would be home early. She said she'd be off work in an hour. I can hold it together that long, just PLEASE COME GET THE BOY. She arrives to find me in Dylan's bed, blankets over my head & nauseated as all hell, trying to get Jack to get some sleep in his bed. My strategy clearly wasn't working so she scoops him up & takes him home with her for a few hours. Dylan is home by this point! He's pretty self-sufficient, & declined the offer to go to Gramma's for a couple of hours. He kept an eye on me & answered the phone when Fredward called.

Moral: 1 dose = 1 Tbsp of that shit-also-known-as-liquid-hydrocodone can really, really fuck you up. Don't do it, kids. Ever. I was useless all damn day & night because of it. When I spoke to my mom the next day [she called to check in on me- thanks mom!] I told her I had thought about dumping the contents of the bottle & tossing it out as soon as the thought of that shit stopped making me nauseated.

Returning to the heating pad on my ass. Tylenol doesn't do a damn thing for sciatic pain. I nearly threw out my back today [getting dressed! who knew?!!] & as a result am in some serious pain.

:Blows on the dice in my hand, then tosses out:

Come on, lady luck. Shine on me. I've got an art show to prepare for. I'd really like to wake up tomorrow with no back issues please. Is that so much to ask?

In the interest of 'Keeping it Real'...

Yesterday Dylan had his 6 year check up. Nothing major, just the annual run-down of making sure he's growing properly, etc. There was some mild confusion with the new doc and I as to his immunizations & whether he was up to date or not. [He was. And yes, I immunize my kids & don't criticize you for it if you do not, so don't go there. I do not give them ANY of the 'seasonal' flu vaccines, so just stop.]

He woke up with a fever of 100.1 yesterday & as it seemed low-grade to me, I gave him the option of going to school or staying home; he went. At the doc's office, his temp was up to 101.7 {yikes!} but was given the overall, 'He's fine. His immune system should be strong enough to fight off whatever he has, so not a big deal. Perhaps keep him home until his fever has been gone for 24 hours.' Okay, not a big deal; for me. This kid would rather have an arm cut off than miss school. To say he loves school would be an understatement.

So in the spirit of keeping with his learning, we had a home-from-school-school-day today. We worked on math, writing, and reading. We had Story time

and computer time. He's now on snack/recess time & will be doing some more 'homework' after lunch. Right now


he's learning what home row is and how to type a sentence on my laptop. I had him writing sentences today and learning to type. He did a pretty good job of 'hunting & pecking' to find the letters on the keyboard. Trying to teach a 6 year old to type is laughable, as his was reaction to trying to find all the letters whilst keeping his fingers on home row.

Ah yes. I do not have the patience of a saint, nor do I have the patience of a teacher. Though Dylan did say he wished I was a teacher. Not his, per se, but someone else's.

Yea right. Today is shaping up to be an okay school day, especially for one being at home. I'll just have to make sure that I stay on task & keep him learning all day as he would in school. I'm kind of glad I don't have to do this everyday. I don't know if I could!