Laying in bed

So, the last time I posted someting like this, I was sitting in the parking lot waiting for an MRI. What I didn't tell all of you is that the reason I was having an MRI was because they were trying to rule out MS.
Thankfully, they have indeed ruled that out. They're still not sure what is wrong with my eye tho. I have to go back in 6 months for a check up. Let's hope that everything is better by then.
In about  2 weeks my parents will be here for Christmas. I'm actually pretty excited about this. It will be the first time I've celebrated Christmas with my momma in a few years. I miss spending time with her. We've gotten just about eveything we need to get, other than a cd player for Jillian and some stocking stuffers. We also have to get a coffee maker. We rarely drink coffee in this house, but my parents do, so we will have to get one for their sake! (Or... to save my own life! Lol)
Sam has a birthday coming up on the 18th, then we have Christmas, our anniversary, then Monks 13th birthday. He surely cannot be 13 already! It seems like just yesterday he was a small bundle of wiggly cuteness with no teeth and a great set of lungs. The no teeth bit didn't last long, but his cuteness never did wear off!
Ivy Hill is in her planning stages already. We have our seed picked, all mapped out, and planting/transplanting/sowing dates are marked on the calander. This year we're really hoping Ivy Hill will take off! I even started a blog for it, so, go check it out. I'll try to update things about Ivy Hill there from now on.

Sitting in the parkin lot

The title isn't just figurative. I'm siting in the parking lot waiting for my MRI. (So forgive me if there are any typos! :-P)

I going to get a little poor pitiful me here for a bit, just a warning.

I feel like my life is sitting in a parking lot right now. My husband is on terminal leave from the Marine Corps, his last day being the day after our 3rd wedding anniversary, the day before Monks 13th birthday. I have no idea where we will get enough money to pay all our bills and keep our household rolling. He keeps saying that his disability will cover most of it, but what about the rest?

He has plans for us to move to Raleigh and him to go to NC State, but he's not thinking about about the house we have to sell before we can buy another one. He's not thinking of the TWO houses on our steet that have sat for a year and not sold yet. He's only thinking of where he wants to be, not how to get there. Its like trying to get to a city on the other side of the river, but no plan on how to cross it.

I feel like I have failed here lately. That I've missed a very important step somewhere. Have you ever built anyting from IKEA? I feel like my life is an IKEA desk and I've forgotten to put a screw in somewhere. I look okay, but really I'm only a telephone book way from falling apart.

*********

So, my MRI wet okay. I was dehydrated so they had to stick me 4 times to even get a vein to put the contrast in. I'm hoping that they can pin point more accurately what is going on. I have an appointment with another doctor tomorrow, so I hope they get him the scans by then, tho it is for somthing different, I don't think they would mind getting the results back sooner than later.

Monk should be home any tim now, and then Bug, and then we can start a 4 day weekend! Wooo!

Oh my eye!!

My eye has been giving me fits. It hurts REALLY badly. I've been trying not to rub it or anything but tht's really hard. It's hard to eep my eyes open! I think i'm going to have Sam drive me to the dr this morning. Maybe they can help. Jesus PLEASE let them be able to  help!!


***UPDATE: I scratched my eye!

Windows Live Writer?

So, I’m writing this from Windows Live Writer. I’m not exactly sure how I’m going to like it yet. It’s supposed to help you publish more “professional” posts. We shall see.
First off, I’ve been super sick… and I feel terrible because I haven’t been taking any pictures. I feel like a terrible P365er! I have been sort of out of it these last few days. I’m terribly sorry.
Monday was crazy. I started a new dose of my medicine. They doubled my dose. When I first started taking my meds, I got CRAZY headaches. I was literally in bed for 2 days because I didn’t even want to THINK, my headaches were that bad. I started getting a headache Sunday night, then Monday it was still there. I ended up going to the ER because I was so freaked out by the symptoms I was having. I did call my primary doctor and the nurse told me that I should probably go to the ER to be checked out. Of COURSE I have to wait for my husband, and he didn’t even show up until 4 and we didn’t get to the ER until 4:30. It was a zoo!!!! It seemed like the entire waiting room was filled with people. We waited what seemed like forever and we finally were called back into a room. I immediately curled up in the little chair thingy they had in the room, covered my head with my blanket (that’s right, I brought my own blanket to the ER) and tried to sleep. Of course, with Sam and the kiddos in the room with me it was almost impossible to sleep. Monk and Bug were bored, and even tho they brought their DSis’ with them, they wanted to play the same game. Out of 20 some odd games they have, why do they have to fight over the same one? Really?!?! Finally a doctor comes in, asks me about my pain, and the proceeds to tell me that basically all they are going to do is give me a shot of Demerol, some muscle relaxers, and something for the nausea and send me home. REALLY?! SIX hours in the ER and that’s all I get? No tests? Nothing?! Needless to say I was angry at first, and then after a couple of shots and some pills, the only thing that mattered was my pillow. They had me sign some papers, but at that point I really didn’t know what I was signing. I could have been signing the deed to my house away and I would have just scrawled my name on the paper.
Ever since then, I have been SO tired. All I want to do is sleep. I don’t want to do anything else. I lay on the couch, eat, sleep, and sometimes I do some things here and there, but it’s a real struggle to get things done. Today isn’t really helping matters much either. It’s rainy and cold outside. So I REALLY only want to curl up with my favorite teal blankie and watch some Greys Anatomy on Hulu that I missed last night because I was so tired and went to bed. Yes.. that’s how tired I’ve been! I’ve been in bed by 8:30 every day this week (including Sunday, which is Extreme Home Makeover day!!), and most the time ASLEEP by 8:30!!!! A friend of mine asked if I had mono. I don’t THINK I have mono… but… who knows! I’ve got a headache, my neck is still a little stiff, still sensitive to light, my throat is sore, I’m tired ALL the time. Who knows!! I guess maybe I should make a doctors appointment to see if maybe that’s what I have. My friend Katie was just diagnosed with mono. She said that there really isn’t anything that you can do for it, just manage the symptoms and ride out the storm. *sigh* I’ve got a TON of stuff to do around the house as well. I need to get dishes done, laundry done, vacuum the floors, sweep and mop, and apparently turn up the heat or put on a sweatshirt! But I’m just so tired!
Anyways! I think that’s enough whining about how tired and sick I am. I’ll get a nice cup of hot tea, start some laundry, and watch Greys on Hulu, then do the dishes. Once I get all that done, I’ll take a nap.

(PS I don't know that I like Live Writer for my personal blog... )

Eye crusties and Mr Stuffy

So, last night I noticed that Bugs eye looked rather red after she got home from school. I thought maybe she had been rubbing it or got something in it. As the evening went on, it seemed to get worse! So, this morning we get up and go to the doctor as a walk in. Apparently it was a bad day to have a situation such as this. We waited for about 2 hours before we even get we even get back to see the doctor. After that, we have waited for a little while longer.
While we were waiting, I discovered that Bug had pushed the backs of her earrings all the way into her earlobes and they had cut into her ears! Ugh!! Of course, they hurt a lot, and when I asked her why she didn't tell me that her ears hurt, she said that she didn't really feel it. *sigh*
We went to Wal*Mart to get her 3 prescriptions because I needed to pick up a couple of things. I picked up the noodles for our Chicken Noodle Soup later in our menu, along with coconut for Coconut Chicken tonight. It took another 45 minutes to get the medicines. Basically today has just been an absolute day of waiting at every single stop. It's just been murder on my schedule.
We came home and got the chicken out of the freezer so it would be thawed for tonight. I did something very unlike me while we were at Wal*Mart. I got a bag of pizza rolls for Bug and I to share. When we got home I took the earrings out if Bugs ears. It was really bad. I felt terrible for her. It was a very bad thing. Now we have to keep her hair pulled up for a while, and keep it super clean until it heals. This is going to be a long process... I can tell!
Okay, Monk is now home from school, Bug wants to play some games, so, I'm going to cut this short! Hope everyone is having a great day!

Halloween!! and other randomness

So, we did our traditional Trick-or-Treating in the "ritzy" neighborhood this year with our friend Keona and Bob and their two kids. We had a BLAST! Monkey was Dracula with blue hair (my mom had made his cloak for him a few years ago. It USED to almost be to the ground, it was to about his knees... LOL). I tried to get him to get black colored hair gel, but nooooo! "It will be cool with blue Momma! Just watch!" Ultimately, he got to be a "cool Dracula with blue hair." Bug was a clown with BRIGHT pink hair (Mom had also made the clown costume as well!)! Len was a Zombie Vampire (I think....) We started right about 5:45. We tricked and treated all the way around this neighborhood. Here is a pretty good picture of all 3 of the lil ragamuffins at around 8:10

We were trying to make it back to the car at this point. They were all pretty tired! There were still a few houses handing out candy at that point. There was one "haunted house" that had me laughing pretty hard. The kiddos went up to go into the garage (the haunted house) and all disappeared. I then hear one of the girls screaming. Monkey comes walking out like it's not a big deal, Bug comes out a little more quickly, and then poor Len gets chased out by a nun with a chainsaw! LOL When we finally make it back to the car at right after 8:30, we all decide that we're hungry! Wendys it is... no it's not! There were about 15 cars in the drive thru and we didn't really feel like walking any more than we already had and really needed to, so we went to BoJangles. (Think Cajun style KFC) We came home, ate, then we had to wash hair because I didn't want to have to wash sheets! Finally both kids were in bed just a shade after 10. That's really late for the kiddos!! 

Being that it was Sunday, they had school the next day, and Sam had to go to work as well. He had to cut his hair, which meant I had to stay up longer! I finally got into bed around 12:30. Monday was killer! (Which was why I didn't post any giveaways! Sowwy!)

I drug booty all Monday long, and Sam had to go for a sleep study so they could figure out what kind of CPAP machine that he's going to be getting. The tech told him that he is a "mouth breather" which is REALLY funny because I would have never thought that. What *I* thought is that he snores so loud that it's impossible to tell the difference! Both of the kids had their check up at the Dentist as well. Monkey had one cavity in the very back, so we had to make an appointment to have that filled. Monday night was very chilly, so I had turned on the heater. Which in turn made all kinds of crazy noises, which kept me up! Logically, I KNEW nothing was in the house, it was just weird hearing them, and every time I would start to drift off I would hear a knocking sound coming from some part of the house. Needless to say, I didn't sleep that well.

Yesterday was a bit of the same. Very tired when I woke up!! Monkey had an appointment to get his cavity filled, so we went and did that. I picked lil man up from school and we headed over to the Dentist. I LOVE our Dentist. He's in his late 30's, so he's a younger guy. He reminds me just a tiny bit of the Dentist I had growing up, Dr Robson. We talked about "old school dentistry." You guys know what I'm talking about! Where the Dentist was in the room with you, for the most part, alone. He did all the suction, and spitting, and instrument changes and everything all by himself, with the occasional help from someone else. There wasn't one person that did cleanings and then he would come in and check. Newp! he did the cleanings, and the fillings, and pretty much everything else. The assistant helped with the x-rays. He didn't wear gloves, and he didn't wear one of those paper masks either! I remember looking up my Dentists nose, always looking for boogers and watching him work on my teeth in his glasses! (Yes, I was a strange child, why do you ask?)

ANYWAYS! 

This time of year always gets to me. It's the time of year that it starts to turn colder. It's the time of year that those of us that live in the country don't particularly like. We didn't have this problem last year... either that or we didn't notice it last year... either that or I've blocked it from my memory... but there are MICE in the house! (EEEEEEEEEEEK!) So, I set some traps. Not those wooden traps with the springs that if you ACCIDENTLY set it off it tries to sever your finger. NO! These are plastic traps. I'm not sure of I like them or not. Yesterday afternoon, I heard the trap snap. HOORAY! I caught one! Now I can just throw it in the trash and be done with it. Oh no! It had to get it's leg stuck in the freakin thing!! So, here is this mouse, trying to run away on 3 legs, with a big plastic trap stuck to it's 4th one. I simply let it be. Sam can deal with it. So what does he do? Decides to bonk it with a crow bar! *sigh*

Today is another story. TODAY Monkey has an appointment for his ADHD meds and then he's done with appointments for a while. Then Sam and I have an appointment on base for Thursday! ACK! Busy busy busy!!

*linking this up at Fun On A Dime*

Feeling better

Greggs passing hit me very hard, but I'm trying to take it in stride. I didn't cry at all yesterday, but I did still feel a bit down. One day at a time!

Today, Monkey has a therapy appointment at 8. Normally his school bus picks him up at around 6:40, but today we woke up at 6:30. He FREAKED out and jumped out of bed and said "MOM! WHY DIDN'T YOU WAKE ME UP!" *giggle* Wouldn't you know it, I had the opportunity to sleep in this morning and I woke up at 5:30 anyways, even tho I set the alarm clock for 6 so I could take an early shower. Oh well.

Bug has "dress up" day today at school. They were either supposed to wear something to show what they want to be when they grow up, or dress up nicely. Bug did both, because she wants to be a Princess/model when she grows up! She even took the little tiara from when we had her hair done for the father daughter dance and stuck it in her hair. She is SO funny!

Yeah yea yeah.... I know! Sheesh!!

So, as some of you have noticed, I haven't posted in a while. I can explain! It's a legit reason I swear!!

Last week it rained every day (no joke) for almost an entire week! It started on Monday and didn't end until about Saturday. It was terrible!! No joke!

I did get a bit of a night out with the girls tho. (I had written a nice blog entry about all of this, but, it disappeared!! :-( )My favorite Nicole graciously invited me and a bunch of other girls to join her at Chili's for a girls night. Of course, I ended up going to APPLEBEES and then couldn't understand why I couldn't get checked into Chili's on foursquare. (DUH!!!) I got to meet a bunch of fantastic ladies and I got to have some adult conversation with someone other than my husband. It was fantastic I say!! I ended up having Salmon with broccoli and brown rice. It was super yummy, but I couldn't eat it all, so, I brought it home. Of course Bug decided that what I brought home was for her, and she stole all of the broccoli. It's okay. I don't mind sharing broccoli with my little picky eaters! :-)

Monkey got $40 from the Tooth Fairy for his very last tooth, and it has been BURNING a hole is his pocket for some time now. He did spend a little bit of money at his school book fair. I got very excited when he told me that he wanted to take some money to buy something. I thought just maybe he would buy a book! Alas, it was not meant to be. He bought a calculator that looks and smells like chocolate and a pencil sharpener. *sigh* He decided last week, when we went to pick up a bag of dog food that he just simply couldn't live without an African Dwarfed Frog. Now, don't get me wrong. They are incredibly adorable and docile. He picks out the smallest frog in the tank, and carry's his new prize to the register. He plops down $5, and even got some change back! He was very thankful that I bought his new pet, Hopper, some yummy food as well as some weekend feeders for the snails. (Which are getting REALLY big by the way!!)

Monday (the 4th) Monkey woke up and said "My throat hurts." That was all it took. He never complains about things like that. The last time he said something like that his blood pressure was thru the roof and he didn't have a bowl movement for 3 days! (It was terrible and he missed a WEEK of school!!) So, we went to the Doctors and wouldn't you know it, he had the flu!! So, one pack of Tamilfu later, and a note to go back to school the next day, and we were off and running! Of course, then on Friday, he decided to tell me that he's had diarrhea for 3 days! SHEW! This kid is killin me! LOL

Well, we decided that we were going to trade in our Pleco that we bought back in July for something that wouldn't poop as much. (Seriously... Spike pooped.... A LOT!!!!) So, we put him in a 1 gallon ice cream bucket and took him to our local pet/fish store and traded him in on a Corydora Catfish (Cory Cat) whom Monkey named Cory. I think I might have inadvertently caused Cory some harm today. The filter was running really slow and I decided that I would clean it and put it all back together, so I took about a half a gallon of water out and cleaned everything up, and then I put some rather warm water back in the tank. I didn't think it was THAT warm, but poor Cory came barreling out of his little hidey-hole and didn't look like he was doing so well. He floated for a little bit, and didn't move for about a minute, and then he went down to the bottom of the tank where he stayed for quite some time. I thought he was going to die!! I thought I had done Cory in! Nope! He's back in his hidey-hole after a bit of normal swimming. I just hope that in the morning I don't find half eaten bits of Cory in the tank.... :-/

I also have been a bit under the weather. On Wednesday I went to wake Sam up for work and I walked in the bedroom and felt like someone had skewered my from back to front. It was terrible! I couldn't breath in very much. I thought maybe I had pulled a muscle, took some Ibuprofen and laid down for a while after the kids went to school. Of course my wonderful 68 year old Philippine neighbor told me she could come over and rub some liniment on my back and I would feel better in no time! I love this lady to death, but I don't know that I want her rubbing some chicken poop on my back that she brought from the the Philippines!! (Okay, I don't know that it's chicken poop... but I have no idea WHAT it is, tho it's probably better for me than the meds the Dr prescribed!) So, I go to the Doctors (I joke with them that I deserve my own parking spot there.) and meet this fantastic guy! He, of course, was my very capable Dr. Perry! I think I now want to follow this man to whatever office that he is practicing in. He was that great! FANTASTIC guy! I wanted to pick him up, put him in my pocket, and drive home. I love him! Anyways! He said he thinks I have Pleurisy. What that is, is that at some point in time I had some sort of infection or something in my lung, and that my Pleura are rubbing together and they hurt. (I would make a wonderful Doctor wouldn't I?!) I have a follow up appointment with Dr Hotty (Or at least that's what the receptionist and the office manager and I have named him. His real name is Dr. Jones. Dr. Hotty is a better name tho.).

On a happier note!! I have a WONDERFUL person making over my blog!! It will be the first time that this blog has seen a new layout, background, anything, since it's birth! How terrible is that?? I'm such a bad blog-mom I swear! I can't wait to reveal it to you guys!! As most of you know, I'm not a very girly girl, but, she's doing a fantastic job of everything so far! I sent her about 2397234983 pictures for her to use. I just know that what she comes up with, you all will love, but even if you don't, I will and really that's all that matters!! ;-)

Anyways! It's 9PM and Sam and the kiddos are watching Wackos' Wish on Netflix and I can hear Pinky and The Brain planning to take over the world, so I should probably go spend some time with them before my

Trapeza-wha???

So, Tuesday I had tea with my favorite guy that isn't related to me by marriage or birth, Bill. While on the way to pick up Bill from the car dealership where his brand new truck was being worked on (That's a whole 'nother story!), I noticed that my neck hurt. I thought "Geez! I must have slept on it wrong. Oh well!" I took some Tylenol when I got home, and it seemed a little better. That night in bed, I had Sam rub my neck and shoulders. He did a fantastic job, and I promptly fell asleep with a nice kink-free neck and back. Wednesday morning, I wake up at my usual 5:30 to get Monkey off to school and then wake Bug up at 7 to get her ready for school. When all the kiddos were off to school I sat here for a little bit and decided that I was tired of how the book case looked and I wanted to rearrange it. That way, when I finally get around to putting the laptop on the desk, or when we get a new tower for over there, or even a chair that's slightly comfortable, I won't have to look at a horrible looking bookcase all the time. It was then that I noticed that my neck, back, and shoulder were REALLY hurting! I decided to go to the doctor about it, and sure enough, I had tweeked my Trapezius muscle! So, the extremely attractive Doctor told me that I should rest it for about a week and hold off on any upper body exercising. Now, for those of you that know me, know that I've been trying to lose weight like CRAZY the last couple months. So far I've lost 10 pounds in the past 30 days. (WOOOOOHOOOOOOO!) So, the super hot Doctor telling me that I had to take a week off just didn't make me happy! I did some cardio yesterday tho. It felt great, even tho I felt like I was going to die while doing it! LOL

The next post I do, I think I'm going to post about my hobby. Everybody that doesn't partake in this hobby is going to think that I'm a fruitcake (most people do without even hearing about my "strange" hobby!) when I tell them what I do for fun, but, I think it's fun, so that's all that really matters! :-)

Until then, keep on keepin on!! (A little Joe Dirt for ya!)

Sick Lil Bug

So, on Thursday I woke up to Bug throwing up. She got sick a few times, rolling around, writhing in pain. "Mom! I don't feel good! My tummy hurts! I feel like I'm going to throw up!" I did a lot of hair stroking and holding until she fell asleep. At that point in time she had a tiny spot on her cheek. Nothing to really worry about, it was just a small red spot on her cheek. I thought it was something from her getting sick. She took a nap for about an hour and a half and I noticed the spot was getting bigger. I was trying to look at it without waking her up, unsuccessfully. She started complaining that it itched, so I put some calamine lotion on her face and then she started crying, saying that it burned and she wanted it off. During that time, the rash was spreading more. A trip to the doctors office was in order. We get to the office and they're closed for lunch, so, we went to get some ourselves. When we came back we were seen right away. Our favorite Doctor was on duty, he also reminds me of Dr. Burke from Season 1 of Greys Anatomy as well. He thought that she was having some sort of allergic reaction. She had a shot of cortisone and a script. He said that if she wasn't dramatically better by Saturday, that he wanted to see her back on Saturday. With that I made an appointment for my physical, grabbed Bugs scripts and headed to the pharmacy. For the remainder of the day, I dealt with "Mom it itcheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesssssssssss!!" and trying to keep cool compresses on it because the Calamine lotion just made her face burn. The more time passed, the more that the rash spread. It was just a small spot on her face, and then it was almost her entire face, then it started to spread to her neck, arms, trunk, and legs.

The next day, Friday, it was MUCH worse, and so I took her back to the doctors office. That Dr wanted to give her a shot of Augmentin, and she's allergic to Penicillin!! So, needless to say, I didn't trust anything that he had to say, and decided that I was going to take the nurses advice, and go to the Emergency Room. While sitting there, she developed a spontaneous nose bleed, and it was bad! We finally get in and from there we wait for about 4 hours for the Doctor to come in and see us. I'm not blaming the Doctor for not being able to see us faster, but, if the hospital had more Doctors in the ER, we might not have had to wait that long. I know that it wasn't a true emergency, but, she was listed as a level 3 emergency, not a 4! I could only imagine how long we would have waited if she was a 4! (For those that don't know, Emergency rooms have "levels" and depending on the Emergency room, you might have to go somewhere else! A level 1 emergency is pretty much you're hanging on to life by a thread, and a level 4 is them saying "You should have went to a regular doctor.") The Doctor did give us a script for a medication that would help her stop itching, and it worked better than just regular Benadryl. We figured out that it works better than Benadryl because she would fall asleep about 30-40 minutes after she took it! How's that for itch relief?!

Saturday began at 6AM with Bug waking me up (she slept with us) saying "I have a headache, and I'm really itchy!" and she woke up with the entire side of her face being swollen and puffy! Alrighty! She's going to see the Dr again with me. I get up and get ready to go about 8:45, pulling Bug out of bed. I asked her if she wanted to put on some clothes and she said no. So, off to the Doctors office we go, with her in her jammies and unbrushed hair. (She has a very sensitive head and all the writhing in pain had left her with a knot in her hair that took me 25 minutes to brush out) Our favorite Dr was there again, and he was very concerned about Bug. He ordered some blood tests for her (and for me to check my cholesterol) to see if anything would show up in her blood. When we got to the hospital (again) for our blood tests, Bug decided that she had to pee, so, I let her, not thinking about the urine sample that they might need! (They did need one) From there we had to bribe her with "hospital dollars" and cake to let the nurse take her blood. She watched the Phlebotimist draw my blood, and of course she had trouble finding the vein, so it was a lot of hunting and rooting around in my arm with the needle! Then it was her turn. She did a fantastic job! Then, "Here's a cup, we need a sample" YIKES! It took an hour to get the urine sample. After we came home, we had lunch and took meds. It was a good thing, because she was starting to get itchy again. We watched some "old skool" cartoons (Aahh!!! Real Monsters, Rocko's Modern Life, and Rugrats... ahhh the memories!) for a while, and then a movie. Bug started getting itchy again around 6:15, which was time for her meds again anyways. She started saying that her head hurt, and so we went to go lay down in our bedroom. I had a massive headache as well, so we finally fell asleep around 7, and woke up this morning around 8. What a weekend!

Today, we're making a banner for my best friends husband! He will be home late Monday night and she's decorating their home fence like you see all the fence in front of Camp LeJeune decorated. We're all making one to say "Welcome Home!" I'm so glad that we're making these. I know some people that won't be able to make these. It breaks my heart. I think that we'll make a big one, and paint "Welcome home!" And then all put our hand prints on it, and sign it as well. I think that's all for today. I'm going to go into the office tomorrow and hopefully have some test results for Bug!

Day 3: Your favorite television program

Hands down

Sam got me started on this show when we started dating. Sam always wanted to be a doctor, and even went to pre-med school! (He has a BS in Biology) So, Grey's Anatomy, Scrubs, ER, he watched them all. I watched ER way back when before Dr. Green kicked the bucket. (I BAWLED that episode btw...) I don't know what it is about Grey's Anatomy. I absolutely LOVE this show! I know that it's not exactly accurate (tho they try to be), and that, basically, it's a prime time soap opera (but who cares!), but I love it! If they ever get rid of this show, I will never watch TV again! (Okay, maybe that's a bit of a stretch, but you know what I mean!)
I think that they have some pretty good plot lines, really hot men (C'mon Dr Averys' eyes!! YOW!), and I get a tear going at least every 3 episodes, if not more! And if Shondra Rhimes happens to read this, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE let Lexie and Mark get back together, and keep Owen and Christina together! Bring in someone new for Jackson! And why can't Izzie and Alex be together?! Okay... sorry... back to why I love Grey's!
Grey's for me is just a great release! To be able to watch this show is relaxing, tho the season finale this year had me on the edge of my seat the ENTIRE 2 hours! My friend Keona and I would text during the breaks and I think almost all of mine consisted of : "OMG!!" and "HOLY SH*T!" Yes, I love it that much.
Sam gets really mad at me when I "go Meredith" and get all "dark and twisty." I use "Seriously?!" A LOT! and it drives Sam crazy sometimes. He created a monster, and now he's paying for it. :-)

Bugs tooth!!

So, Bug had a couple of her adult teeth come in behind her teeth on the bottom because she absolutely refuses to wiggle, or try to pull her teeth at all. When we were at the Dentist a few weeks ago, they told her that she needed to pull them out and that if she hadn't pulled them by the next time she came in that they were going to have to pull them out for her. This sort of scared her a bit. It just so happened that she had Poison Ivy at that time and they weren't able to do her cleaning. So, we went back on Wednesday for her cleaning and she was SO worried that they were going to pull her teeth! I told her that they weren't going to pull them and that they would give her a little more time. She was still a bit worried though. Well yesterday Sam picked the kids up from school because I had a little more running around to do, and when I got home she runs up to me with a little baggy and says "Mom! I pulled my tooth at school today!" We then had dinner while we watched The Tooth Fairy with Dwayne Johnson in it. It was a really cute movie! Then the Tooth Fairy gave her $2 for her tooth and she was very happy that he didn't just leave $1 like in the movie!

Yesterday was an okay day. I went to Sams therapist with him. He gave us some good ideas for communicating better and whatnot. We, of course, started talking while we were in bed, and I told him that I didn't completely trust him yet. I KNOW that he's not going to do anything, but, to have been treated the same way that I was in just about every previous relationship really has me flummoxed. I never thought that my wonderful husband would be capable of anything like that. He has such strong ethics and values, which is one of the things that I love so much about him, and to just blatantly disregard them is just mind boggling! He ended up pretty upset because I can't completely trust him right now. I told him that it would take some time and effort on his part to regain that trust. He completely disagreed. He thinks trust is something that I have to work towards on my own, like forgiveness. I told him that wasn't the case. He was the one that did the damage, and he needed to make efforts to repair it. I guess maybe I should have asked him if I set a wooden bridge on fire, but put it out voluntarily, if I should expect it to repair itself. Sam ended up sleeping on the couch last night because he was upset. We didn't fight, or argue, he was just upset that I told him that I couldn't trust him completely yet.

Today, I'm watching my friend Keonas' lil boy! He's such a little cutie!! Every time he sees me he gets all excited and squishes up his little face. Keona is going to her little girls class tea party. Who was I to come in between a mother-daughter tea party?! Besides, I really like watching lil man. It gives me enough "baby time" to not want another one, which is something I'm sure my mother is thankful for!  I've started to think that I'm just getting to "old" to have more kids. Monkey is 11, and Bug is almost 7. They're both in school all day, can feed themselves, no bottles or dirty diapers to deal with. I don't think I want to start all over again! I'll be 30 in just over a month. I really didn't want kids in the first place, but I'm glad that I do have them and I'm glad that I had them young. I don't know how my Dad stayed sane when he found out Mom was having me. He was getting ready to turn 50 when I was born! Sheesh!

Today is also Military Spouse Appreciation Day! I can still claim this title for that time being. If you are a Military Spouse I want to thank you for "standing by your man (or woman)", and if you know one, make sure they know that you appreciate them today.

My Momma

So, we had a good visit with Momma and Kevin. Their flight landed right on time at our tiny airport, though it took off late from Atlanta. Bug and I were driving to the airport and seen their plane coming in for a landing, so we drove a little faster and got there right before they stepped off the plane. Bug was really excited to see "Garmmy and Pampa Punkin-head!" I had asked Monkey if he would pick up the living room and sweep, since sweeping is one of his most favorite things to do on the planet. Well, he did a really good job of picking up the living room, but when we came back from the airport he was picking Lilly fur off the floor. I asked him why he didn't vacuum and Sam said that when we walked out of the bedroom, he had picked up the living room, but had gone right back to playing his Star Wars game! LOL Poor guy. That night we had Beef Burgundy and homemade apple pie with vanilla ice cream. It was the first time I'd actually made apple pie, and it turned out FANTASTIC! Sam also made Frybread and we had Frybread tacos one night as well!

Bug got over her rash from the allergic reaction, but we didn't get to go to the beach because she was still a little bit splotchy. We got to go to base and look for a patch for my step-dads brother. They had initially wanted to get him a hat that said Navy Veteran. You would think in a town that is full of Navy and Marines you would be able to find that. NOPE! We settled for a patch that said it instead. Then came the daunting task of finding a plain blue hat to put it on. Do you know how hard it is to find just a plain navy blue ball cap?! We had to go to the mall and find a (not so inexpensive) one at a little vendor called Lids. Of course Kevin couldn't help but get Bug a cute little plaid fedora hat. She looks really cute in it too!! She said she looks like Michael Jackson.

We also discovered how great the NetFlix streaming to the Wii is as well!! My parents, being the intelligent people that they are, introduced us to a series call Torchwood. It's kinda sorta like a spin off of Doctor Who, which is the other show they got us watching! We watched some really good shows, the kids don't particularly like either show, they think they're both scary. I mean, if you think about it from a kids point of view, I guess aliens that come to Earth in the for of mannequins is sort of scary! I think if I seen a real mannequin pop down it's fingers and expose a gun I would be pretty freaked out!! Monkey got a new East Carolina University hat. He LOVES it! He tried to wear it to school yesterday, but I wouldn't let him. He was quite saddened by this.

It turns out that his therapist went to school at ECU and is very excited that he's thinking about going there. Mt best friend J, she will also be going there starting the Spring Semester. (At least that's what I think she said!) Monkey wants to be an Architect. We've talked to him, at length, about how math and reading are important in Architecture, and he has agreed to buckle down this summer and work hard to get up to speed. He's doing pretty well though, in spite of everything that has been thrown his way. He works pretty hard to try and keep up.

Bug had a Dentist appointment today as well. All was well with that. She has 2 teeth that have grown in on the bottom behind her other teeth. The Dentist told her that she needed to pull them out, and also said that if she ate an apple that one of them would probably come right out. She eats all the time, trouble is, she never tries to actually take a bite out of an apple the way most people would. She will try to take it off with the SIDE of her teeth!! Strange kid, but, look who her Momma is!! LOL

The Final Countdown!

So, tomorrow my Momma and Step-dad will be here. We're all really excited for the arrival of my parents (and Grammy and Pampa-Punkin Head). I have got practically nothing done! I did get the carpet cleaned, but, that feels like the only thing that got done!! With Bug being sick, it's taken most of my time to get her to this doctor or that doctor, running her, running there. I admit, I did go on a snail excursion to New Bern to try and find a pink or purple snail, but that didn't take too long! I guess just the fact that my parents are coming is making me a little bit nervous. I've got to try and "out-cook" my soon-to-be brother-in-law sister, which I know it's not a competition, but I still like to try and impress Momma a little bit! The kids rooms are a mess!! Of course, when aren't they?! I've got laundry to do. I've got to clean our bathroom, I did the kids bathroom yesterday. I've got to sweep and mop the kitchen and both bathrooms. I've got to vacuum. I've got laundry to put away. UGH!!! TOO MUCH!!

On a lighter note! Bug looks SO much better this morning than she did a couple days ago! The redness is s-l-o-w-l-y going away. She's not as itchy. She's REALLY bored!LOL I told her this morning that if she didn't let me get my work done, that I was going to send her back to school. She said she didn't want that so she went back to watching Hannah Montana. God love her!

Okay, it's back to cleaning! I imagine that I should probably shove some food down my throat before  I start cleaning everything!! *sigh*

My Poor Little Bug!

So, a couple of weeks ago, Bug came down with a case of poison ivy, right before her Father-Daughter dance. We decided that the best course of action would be to go to our Doctors office and get her a Cortisone shot, just like she had right before her fall school pictures. (Yes, it seems like any time something "fancy" is going to happen she gets some sort of skin condition!)Well, it seemed a little better the next day, and we could easily cover it up with some make-up and off to the dance she went! By that Monday, her rash was worse, so we took her back to the Doctors. Well, he decided that she had some sort of mild skin infection, and gave her some antibiotics, telling me that if it hadn't gotten any better by Wednesday, that she would need to go to a Pediatrician. (They're a General Practitioner.) All seemed well, and she took her last dose of the antibiotics Monday morning. Yesterday morning she gets up, goes to school, everything is normal. I get a call from the Boys & Girls Club saying that she's itching like crazy. I just so happened to have a conference with Bugs teacher yesterday afternoon and I told her that I would drop some cream off before I went to her teachers room and I would be back soon after that to pick them both up and take them home. Not a terrible thing, and I knew she could wait just a little bit with the cream. Well, we get home and Bug has a HORRIBLE rash all over her body. I call the Doctors office to see if they had any appointments and they told me to bring her as a walk-in at 6. No big deal.

Now this is the part of the story where it starts to get a little bit hairy. We walk into the Doctors office just after 6pm yesterday afternoon and they take all of her vitals. Blood pressure is just *slightly* up, but she was in a bit of pain, so not terrible. Her temp was right under 99 degrees, so still normal. Everything is looking normal so far, except for the horrible looking rash covering a little over half of her body. The Doctor comes in and looks at her, and determines that it is, in fact, a skin infection because her skin was warm to the touch, and that because the antibiotics cleared it up the first time, that she would refill the prescription and hopefully we could get her into the Dermatologist before the antibiotic was done. (I knew that this would probably NOT happen!) Of course, I ask her 4 or 5 times if it could be an allergic reaction to the medications, and she assures me it's not, but it could be to the Poison Ivy. Well, we fill her prescription, get her some oatmeal bath, and a bar of Aveeno soap with oatmeal in it and go home for a nice warm bath and bed.

This morning Bug wakes up and her skin looks like someone dumped really hot water all over her and she's saying that it doesn't itch, it hurts! Of course, this was right after I give her the morning dose of antibiotics. I'm not a Doctor, they're supposed to know what's wrong with her, so I give her the prescription that she was given. I decide that not only am I going to keep her home from school, that I'm also going to take her to the Emergency Room. If it is in fact a skin infection, and it looks WORSE than it did 10 hours ago, there is something seriously wrong, and I don't want to take a chance! I get Sam up and dressed and Monkey off to school (Who wants to go along so he can play his DSi!), we head in to the ER. They take her right from the door to triage, to a bed. We skipped the admission paperwork and everything. Bug was happy because the triage nurse showed her how to work the bed, and she got to watch cartoons!

We finally get to see a Doctor and she says that she wants to get a CBC on her and check to make sure she doesn't have an infection going on and SHE thinks it's an allergic reaction to something. She gets he blood drawn, after some convincing, and they send that off to be tested. Of course, she didn't want to eat any breakfast this morning because she didn't want to move off the couch, so they bring her some Sierra Mist and her new rounds of medication (Steroids and Benadryl). The CBC comes back clean. She does not, in fact, have any sort of infection, and it shows that she is having some sort of allergic reaction. The ER Doc takes her off of the antibiotic that she was on and asks us if anything new had come into the home. The only things were the antibiotic and new fabric softner. She advised us to switch back to our old fabric softner and discontinue the antibiotic. *sigh*

So, the whole time I was giving her the 2nd course of antibiotic, I was pumping her body full of something that it was trying to fight off. I'm a bit upset by this. I'm not sure if I should request TriCare to change her Doctor, or, give them another chance. This was her life we are talking about!! Who knows how bad this could have gotten if I would have just kept giving her those antibiotics! Who's to say that her poor little body wouldn't have just stopped trying to fight it off and gave in?! What would have happened then?! What would have happened if she would have had a seizure last night in her sleep or gone into anaphylactic shock?! UGH! I'm so upset!!

The worst is over for now, I think. I will just have to add the new antibiotic to the list of medications that she can no longer have. Last year she had a bad reaction to Amoxicillin and she's had that since she was a teeny baby!! Lord... this cuts down on the antibiotics that she CAN have by a lot!! She does look a lot better than she did this morning. The redness and swelling has decreased considerably, and she almost looks back to normal.

I didn't get ANYTHING done today on the house. It's not Bugs fault. I'm just going to work harder tomorrow. I know everything will be okay. It's my mom. It's not like she's coming to do a white glove inspection of my house. It's not like the house is a disaster area, I would just like it to be spotless for my parents visit!! Is that so much to ask?! LOL

Julie and Julia

So, as of late, I have become a little bit of a Domestic Diva. I've learned how to make Amish bread (partly in the bread machine, of course), I've learned to cook more than roasts and soup beans in my crock pot, and I've (sorta) learned how to sew. I've kept the house fairly clean, been shopping and recipe swapping, and have even gone out to brunch! I've learned the best way to get stains out of clothes, and the quickest ways to iron a shirt, and which fabric softner works, and smells, the best!

Tonight we watched Julie & Julia. It was a pretty good movie. I love food, and apparently it really loves me, it likes to stick around. (Bah duh duh!) I did some laundry while watching it as well. Monkey had an accident again, despite going to the bathroom right before he went to bed. It happens every now and again, but I try not to dwell on it and just wash the sheets. I never ridicule or make fun of him. It's not his fault that the muscle just hasn't developed yet and there's honestly nothing that the doctors can do about it. (We've been to one... said it's normal.) Monkey and I made his bed, I grabbed him a comforter since his hadn't made it's journey through the washer and dryer yet. Both of the kiddos are now sleeping peacefully in their beds while visions of sugar-plums dance through their heads. *Yes, I know it's not Christmas* While all of this is wonderful, I have a rather busy week ahead of me.

First on the agenda, deep cleaning the dinning room carpets! You guessed it! I never got to it on Friday with all of the commotion of going to appointments and whatnot. So, I said I wanted it done by Monday, so it will be done by tomorrow! Then, I need to finish up the laundry. I've also got to go to the grocery store and figure out something for dinner, and make another loaf of bread. I think that will keep me busy for the majority of the day. I've also got to slip in a workout as well!

Tuesday brings another day of busy-ness. I want to wash all of the windows, at least on the inside and clean the curtains. (What curtains that we do have!) Then I want to clean out the cabinets and rearrange every thing, and also clean the cabinet doors as well. (That means upper AND lower cabinets.) Also fit in a work-out and made dinner as well.

Wednesday, I believe I will wash the sheets (for my parents), and the blankets in the dogs crates as well. (No, not together Mom...) More than likely the blankets that go in the living room as well. I will more than likely vacuum and dust as well. (Hopefully) Also, clean both bathrooms, sweep and mop. Did I mention work out in there at all? Oh... and Girl Scouts!

Thursday, I and going to sweep and mop the kitchen. Since the kitchen gets used so much, the floor can get rather icky, and even with mopping it, sometimes there is still some gunk left on the floor, so I'm going to scrub it with a scrubby sponge. I haven't done that in a while! (Oh yeah... and work out!)

Friday is pay day! (Hooray!!) So, I would like to pick up some sheer material and a curtain rod for the dinning room and make a curtain for the sliding glass door, get Bug a new set of blinds, and maybe even make some curtains for her room as well. Also, I will more than likely pre-make the apple pie that I want to have for dessert for Saturday, which is when my parents will be here! Shew!!

Saturday morning, I'll throw the beef Burgundy in the crock pot for dinner, and relax a bit before I have to pick up my parents at the local airport at 11! Shew!!! I have a VERY busy week ahead of me! Here's to accomplishing it all! Now it's off to bed to read a bit and slip off to Never-Never Land in the arms of my wonderful husband!

By the way, I forgot to mention that Friday was my FANTASTIC step-dads' (That's you Kevin) birthday! Hope you had a good one, and glad you liked the cards! :-D*

Chilly morning

So, today started off not so good. I couldn't fall asleep last night, so I ended up reading The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson until almost midnight. I was then riddled with a recurring dream that I just cannot seem to remember. I woke up dazed and a bit confused, and 5 minutes after I should have already been up. I get out of bed to find BOTH of my children in Monkeys bed. For anyone that knows me, my kids, or knows a 11 year old brother and 6 year old sister, knows that these two get along about as well as gas and fire. I was sort of shocked that they were both in there giggling and playing at 7:05am. I hurried them both out of there and on with medications. Bug has Poison Ivy (again) and this time we had to give her antibiotics to calm the rash. It seems that there was a touch of infection and the Cortisone shot that they had given her, which worked last time she had it, made the infection explode all over her upper torso. Monkey takes his usual morning medications, tho he is slowly being weened from the Risperidone. It's a good thing.

I went with Sam to his cognitive therapy this morning. It went well. I have realized from the few times that I am a cornucopia of knowledge that I never thought I knew. Sam and his therapist were talking about proverbs. Everyone  knows at least one proverb. One of the most common ones is: Don't look a gift horse in the mouth. Well, Sam had to break them down and tell his therapist what they meant. Of course, I knew what this meant, and where it actually came from. I explained it came from the actual horses mouth, that if you look in a horses mouth you can find out all kinds of information on it. It's approximate age, and some heath issues also stem from the mouth, and how well the horse had been treated. So, looking at a horse's mouth, that was a gift, would be just like telling someone that has just given you a baby grand piano that it has a scratch on the top. Going to these things with Sam is always good for me, because I learn about what he's learning, where he is struggling, and how I can help, or at least try. Sam got a headache while he was in therapy, so she stopped and told him that he did a good job. I'm really proud of Sam for everything that he has been doing, to try and regain some memory, some shred of his former life.

Today on the agenda is, again, cleaning the living room, and the kitchen. I'm HOPING that I can get the dinning room carpet cleaned today, but by the latest Monday. It's not that it's overly dirty, but, I'm sure it could use some TLC. I've already got the kitchen clean, but will be doing it again next Friday right before Mom and Kevin come for their visit. Also, I'm going to start the laundry today. Most of the time it takes me a couple of days to actually get all of the laundry done, and I would like for it all to be completed by Saturday. Next Friday, not only will I have to do ALL of the normal laundry, but I want to wash the sheets and comforter that my parents will be using on the blow up mattress that we will set up for them. They've been in storage since the last time they came for a visit! All in all, not a horribly busy day, but enough to keep me busy for the day, and part of the weekend.

I think next Saturday, I will put some beef burgundy in the crock pot for the family. It's one of our new favorite meals, and we normally serve it with mashed potatoes and corn. Kevin normally isn't the real potato type of guy. Sam and I have been trying to make most everything we can from scratch to try and cut down on the processed food that our family eats. (Thanks Jamie Oliver!) So I'm hoping that he doesn't much mind that for one night, he has to eat potatoes that were in the ground. We also normally eat corn from a can, but I think next Saturday, we'll have corn on the cob. I will probably make a fresh loaf of bread as well. Maybe I'll even make an apple pie for dessert and have some vanilla ice cream! *Don't I just sound like the little domestic Goddess!* I think that would beat my sister and her grilled tenderloin steaks any day of the week! ;-)

On that note, I think I should go have some lunch. All the food talk really made me hungry, and I forgot to eat breakfast with all of the hustle and bustle of getting the kids around to go to school and going to therapy with Sam!

Weight loss

So, I went to the doctor today because my back was really hurting from working out. I lost 3 pounds!! I need to work out today and tomorrow and then do my regular weigh in and tape on Monday to see if I've lost any body fat or anything. The doctor said that a good weight for me would be around 145, so, that's what I'm going to shoot for. At that weight I would need to lose a total of 50 pounds. I can do it! I think what I will do is go ahead and look for a part time job for when the kids are in school. We don't exactly NEED the money, but it would make life a little easier with some extra spending cash. I will continue on with my work outs as well. Hopefully I can find a place that will let me work these few hours and not have a problem with it. *fingers crossed*
Today, we're going to a birthday party for one of our friends kids. He turned 1 today! Hooray! They're having a small get together with some hot dogs and such. Just a little bit for today. I have so much to get done! Hopefully I will have time again on Sunday or Monday to do a better blog entry! 

Life, and other things

So, I came upon one of the other blogs that had written "back in the day." It was before I had moved to North Carolina, and it was basically about my day to day life as I tried to piece it back together from a bad break up that I had with a man that I was very much in love with. Back then I wrote a whole lot more. (Maybe because I had more time?) I wrote about things that had meaning to me, and to others. I'm not exactly sure what happened to that old me, but, I think it's high time I got back to it (at least the writing part!)!! So.... here we go!

Monkey was put on a new medication on Monday. It's called Intuniv. So far, so good!! I went to pick them up from Boys & Girls club last night and the director said that they were on the playground (his problem area) and that he sat in the sand with 2 other kids and made sandcastles. He was then playing with some dinosaurs that he had gotten from the school store and she asked if she could have them because he wasn't supposed to have toys. He gladly gave them to her, and even volunteered the ones in his pocket she didn't know about, and asked politely if he could have them back when they got inside so he could put them in his back pack. I was really surprised! I asked him if he thought the new medication was working, and he said yes, he thought it was. I just hope that since we have found another medication that works so well, that it doesn't have the same side effects as the last medication that worked so well. I don't think I could handle another round of high blood pressure readings like the last time! He is normally a very polite child anyways, but last night he was extraordinarily so. He offered to help me make dinner, which is normal, and help set the table, which is normal, but he also offered to carry all the plates to the table (even his sisters!) which is not normal! Normally, I get all the plates lined up on the counter, take them to the table, get everyones' drink requests, pour them, set them on the table, and by this time I get requests from both Monkey and Bug to start eating, and when everybody gets everything that they need, I finally sit down and everyone eats.

Bug got her room redecorated. We're still working on the paint tho. She got her butterfly net hung around the head of her bed, hopefully this time it stays up! She also got her name spelled out on the wall with big foam letters in blue, green, and pink! I still need to make her some curtains, and apparently replace her blinds, as they are slowly but surely getting broken. She's been doing a pretty good job of keeping her room clean! We had to move the bed to the other wall so she had more room to maneuver around and pick things up. I really think she likes this layout a little better, I know I do! I believe that we have made plans to paint her room a light pink color. It pretty much matches everything that she has. My wonderful mother bought her a bedroom suite that is just absolutely adorable! It was all painted an antique white, and decorated with pastel pink, blue, green, and yellow. It came with a headboard, dresser, and a chest! She keeps all of her bedclothes in the chest currently. She has cute little rugs in her room too. She has a butterfly that stays in front of her dirty clothes hamper, a pink oblong one that is on one side of her bed, and a pink and purple flower with a bug on it on the other side. She's just too cute when you peek in there and she's dressed up in one of her princess dresses talking to her dolls.

I had come up with an idea for the rest of the house as well. For our bedroom, I would like to paint the walls and off white color and repaint our dressers a distressed off white as well. I want to get new bedding that is black and tan. We really like the color combo of the two in there. I also want to build an addition to the kitchen, and make it a dinning room. Maybe more like a sun room/dinning room with some big windows to let in light. Then I would like to take what is currently the dinning room, and turn it into a den/office type spot, take out the sliding glass door, and put that in the new dinning room. From there I would like to put a big corner desk in the "den" with some bookshelves for all of the books that we have lying about, and possibly a spot for me to do my sewing. Off of the new dinning room, I would like to build a deck that would go to the corner of the house and out into the back yard. Now I know that this isn't something that we are going to be able to do right away, but it would be nice! I also want to replace the front door and the storm door with something a little bit nicer, or at least something that won't fly open if a stiff wind hits it! I also want to put a bigger front porch on the house as well, and cover it. It will help keep the heat from beaming inside the living room windows in the summer time and making the house hotter. Sam and I have settle the color dispute for the living room as well. Instead of the horrible red and brown that it currently is (which doesn't match our style, nor our furniture) we want to paint the walls a cream color. We already have the black couches and the sage-green accents!

Oh yes! My sewing! I had forgot to mention that Sam bought me a new sewing machine for our anniversary! It's something that I have been wanting for a while. I remember, growing up, my mom making this beautiful creations on her sewing machine! I thought that she was magic and the best "sewer" in the world! One Halloween, I think I was 9, she made me a pilgrim costume, complete with a white apron and bonnet! I will never forget that costume! I think it was my favorite, looking back at all the Halloween costumes I had growing up. I wanted to be able to make beautiful garments like my mom, and had expressed this to Sam a few times. He went to Wal-Mart and got me a pretty nice sewing machine. Granted, it's not the best sewing machine, but it works, and I'm thankful. I am just a beginner, and I think if I had some complicated, expensive machine with more gadgets and do-dads that I might be overwhelmed and not be inclined to want to even try it! I did make a dog coat already. It was quite the experience! I learned alot more than I thought I would! I have plans on making Bug some summer clothes, and I would like to make her a dress, me a top, and the boys a polo shirt for us to have some spring pictures done. (We still haven't redeemed our Christmas present from J!) I found a really cute fabric online that I want to order, and some coordinating fabric on the same site. Now I just need to find some patterns to make them! I wish that I was more creative, so I could make my own patterns. Never know, someday I might just be the next Alexander McQueen, without the whole hanging myself thing.

Anyways! I should probably go. I have laundry to do, dishes to put away, dishwasher to load, and I have to take back the pants that I bought Sam and Monkey! Monkey's new pants were too big, and Sam hated the color of his new pants!

Monkey on reading among other things!

Well, as some of you know, my son (Monkey) is 10. He has ADHD and he was also diagnosed with dyslexia last year. It has been a constant uphill battle to get him to read. He does not have the easiest time at it, and is significantly behind in his reading, which effects alot of other sections of his education, well, actually, almost all of them! Last night, Monkey actually brought me a book and asked if we could read! I was so happy! A couple of weeks ago, we had a conference with his science teacher, and he was in his homeroom right across the hall. He actually got out his book and started reading on his own!
What's the change, you may ask. I think it is a combination of a few things actually. We started buying him books that he really enjoys! We bought him some Diary of A Wimpy Kid and some Bakugon books as well. I'm just glad that he is wanting to read and is actually starting to enjoy it and not scream and cry every time you said it was time for reading homework. Go Monkey!!

In other news around the Charwood house, we're getting rid of cable on Tuesday. Totally not my idea, and it couldn't happen at the worst time! On Wednesday I'm having sinus surgery and will be laid up for a couple of weeks. When I asked Sam what I was supposed to do all day while I was alone, at home, with nothing to do but lay on the couch and talk to the dogs. He said that I could read. I guess that's not a horrible idea.

Oh yes! I started college! I'm actually going to an online school called the Animal Behavioral College! I'm taking Veterinarian Assistant and Dog Obedience. Almost all of the curriculum is online, and then you have to do an externship to complete the course and graduate. It was all actually paid for by the government because I am a military spouse. It's called My Career Advancement Account, and it pays for up to $6,000 to help with college. It's been a big help!

Tomorrow is the Marine Corps 234th birthday! I am proud to be able to say that my husband is a Marine. He is far braver than I! We won't be going to the ball again this year. Wednesday, which is also Veterans Day, I'm having sinus surgery! Of course, Sam didn't tell me when it was this year, so, I scheduled my surgery 2 days before. God love him! My best friends, J, is probably going to go with me. She will be having pretty much the same procedure done in December, so, she would like to go with me. I'll probably be the one that goes with her as well.

The dogs are great! They're both sleeping on the couch right now with their feet straight up in the air. It's actually really cute. Lilly's hair has finally grown all the way back in. She is a fluffy white dog again! Doc is finally in the swing of things around here. He will sit on command now! That was a pretty big thing for us, considering that most people believe that Greyhounds can't sit. Both of the dogs are very quick learners and are doing really great!

Other than that, I think that's really all that's going on lately. Hopefully I will be able to keep up with this a little better here in the future. We will see!