Oh myyyyy

Sorry, George Takei, you don't own that shit. 

Yeah, it's a rough morning.  I mean, don't get me wrong, I was glad to wake up on a Saturday!  Initially I thought we were all going to be late but then I remembered that it was the weekend.... :)

So we have a bit of a food shortage in the house.  Lily will sometimes eat three or four servings of dinner, which means I have nothing left to turn into lunches for the next day.  When I told Pedro about this, he suggested that we get another Sam's Club membership.  Like a Costco.  I can usually get the same or better prices on some items (think diapers) at other stores but Sam's has the huge peanut butter containers and bags of rice, which it looks like we'll be needing.  Hells bells, I thought she'd eat us out of house and home in another five to ten years.  She's early.  O.o

So what's up with me?  Not a lot.  Oh, I can't remember if I posted about this.  I have been feeling really run down so I went to my doc for a screening.  I was negative for everything but I showed early inflammation related to rheumatoid arthritis.  Well, ptooey.  Better to catch it now than later, right?  So I'm taking some Voltarin?  Or something.  It helps.  My joints were getting ow-y.  Yes, I'm pretty sure that's a medical term.

So, I'm dealing with that.  Thankfully, Lily is over her school thing.  Madi has started crying now when I leave her.  Do they have secret meetings to plan this crap?

Today I am armed with my grocery store deals and my coupons.  I need to go to the gym first and then we'll roll into town.  Oh yeah, Sam's usually has cheaper gas too.  hmmmmmmmmm

Hope y'all enjoy your last weekend of September.  Peace!

...

Madi at a birthday party.

Holy flaming bag of poop, that multigrain roll was delicious!  Okay, I'm kind of starving but still.  mmmmm

Okay, so, where was I?  Sorry about the gap in posts, I had 200 cds on my chair and didn't feel like alphabetizing them.  I know, I was just as surprised as you!

So I had a mostly fun weekend.  Mostly, because, I had to come home again.  ha!  Stacy and I lucked out at the Mountain Lodge.  We checked in and walked up to the room and I booked the cheapest room so I knew it was going to be small.  The lodge was built in 1939, for 1939 folks.  I don't think they had the obesity epidemic they do now.

Anyhoodles, our room door was open so Stacy, after a brief exchange of looking in each other's eyes "you do it" "no, you're closer", went up and knocked on the door and there was someone in there and I could see a bed unmade.  No biggie.  We went back downstairs and the front desk clerk was very apologetic.  We were like, no big deal (we've got lots of bourbon) so we went out for a bit.

When we came back, she was still very sorry and said there was a mix up.  So we got new rooms.  We went from a very small two twin bed room, right at the stairs (hello, noise) to, what seemed to be, the best room in the lodge.  Rooms 15 and 16, if you care.  A couple of people asked us if we were in those rooms, and how much we liked them.  One weird guy kept pressing me to see how much I paid.  *eyes*  Anyway, Stacy had a double sized bed and my room had two twin beds and it's own deck!  Okay, so it was a fire escape but still.  AWESOME!  Stacy likes to point out that she had the coffee machine.

My room. The kid/s room.

So, we didn't go for a hike.  We were going to because we knew the room would be small and we'd want to be out and about but after our new rooms, we spent most of our time on the "deck".  Drinking bourbon.  What?

The heating system was radiators and I didn't get the sleep I thought I would, hot cold hot cold.  I kept on waking up every hour.  Sigh.  But it was dang quiet!  No booming stereos on the mountain top!

View from my deck.

We went riding the next morning.  We've been doing this for a while now so we know some of the horses.  I wasn't very thrilled to get George.  I mean, George?  Come on.  Give me Sugarfoot or Sunshine.  Anyway, George and I had fun, I think.  I was the laasssst rider and so I'd wait til the guide was out of sight and then I'd rein in George and trot for a bit.  He figured it out and he started slowing down and trotting of his own accord.  Glad I always had a hand on the bridle because he surprised me a few times.  *eyes*  I'm sure he appreciated an experienced rider - he got to have some fun too.  :)

Look at us! We got the awesome room!

Anyhoo, I need to dash off and meet the stable owner.  I haven't given Lily a "big" party so I'm going all out for this one.  Pony ride party at the stables.  I'm still going to keep it simple.  But maybe I'll have a pinata.  What?

Oh crap I have to write about Lily.  And Madi.  Madi has been talking.  They tried to make her eat apple butter and she said "Don't do it, bitch."  Sigh.

Hobbit door between the bathrooms.  

Lily refused to go to school for a week but she seems to be over that now.  I just had to tell her sternly to get on the bus and she did.  This morning.  Last week, Pedro and I took turns throwing her on the bus.  No, really.  Well, I shoved but he just picked her up by her scruff and the seat of her pants.  Hey she seems to be doing MUCH better.

Good ole George.

So lots to look forward to.  Many birthdays at school, Lily's birthday (I'm inviting 32 kids, am I insane????), Hallowe'en, Thanksgiving.  It's the final stretch of the year.  :)

Sigh

Lily cried all the way to school.  Then while she was walking to class.  When I was leaving, I peaked in her classroom and she had her head down on the table still crying.  Argh.

I'm not mad at her.  I am starting to get frustrated.  I've talked to her about why she's upset.  I also took her to the doc last night.  Madi's cough is just upper respiratory and clearing up.  He checked Lily's stomach and initially she really winced when he pushed.  Then, he asked her about her friends and she started listing off like 20 people.  He told me he pushed as hard as he could on her stomach and no reaction when she was talking.

So it's 99% anxiety causing this stomach upset. The nurse told me to set up an appointment with the guidance counselor but when I asked about her, she just showed up at the office.  She seems really nice and still in high school herself.  Snort.  The best/worst part was that she already knew about Lily.  When we walked into school the librarian and art teachers were there and told me Lily enjoyed her classes and usually stopped crying.  Sigh.  So I guess word gets around. 

Ms Ashton (I think) the counselor, said that she would call me after she talks to Lily. 

And I know that a lot of kids have a rough time adjusting.  Initially, Lily was excited because of the school bus and the whole big kid aspect of kindergarten.  But then those two girls on the bus were trying to get her in trouble.  Then she jumped in the mud puddle, couldn't get her shoes back on and had a fit so her teacher got mad at her. 

There have been a few bumps in the road. 

I should mention that Lily's report card was excellent.  I showed it to her this morning.  She's a smart little girl but going through some anxiety right now.

And her daddy yelling at her probably isn't helping.  Oh yes, I did.  Lily has to go to school.  There's no getting around that.  However, I'm sure that her crying disrupts the whole class.  And she can't hang out at the nurse's office all day.  Do we need to change teachers?  (I think Miss Hinkle is awesome but the lady has a full class to teach)  Do we need to change schools? 

I've tried talking to Lily about rewards she can get if she can stop crying.  I've tried to think of other things to calm her stomach, like chamomile tea.  But it's in her head.  I don't want to put her on anti-anxiety medication!  Good grief. 

So yeah.  Sigh.

It's on

So I talked to my doc and had some blood drawn.  Unfortunately, she and I get along too well and I forgot to ask her what tests she was going to have done.  I know I asked her about Lyme's disease.  I think there's a bunch that she does for ladies in my age group. 

I don't know what's worse: finding something wrong or finding nothing wrong.

I can get 7 hours of sleep at night and then crash for a 4 hour nap the same day.  And I used to take a while to fall asleep.  As far as I can remember, I've been a light sleeper.  Now?  I fall asleep and stay that way.  I am out in seconds.  Pedro called me and woke me up this morning and I was asleep before I finished turning back over.  It's crazy.

Then there's the joint pain that's worse before I get up.  I'm not sure what's going on.  Sigh.  But I think I've given myself enough time to get over it. 

I'm taking the girls to their doctor in a bit.  Madi still has a nasty cough and Lily constantly complains of a stomach ache.  I even took her to the nurse's office at school today.  You know, I'm mostly sure that it's anxiety causing her issues but I just want to rule things out. 

S.I.G.H.

And Brewster is trying very hard to mooch some of my chicken enchiladas.

Not. Happening.

Peace!

Pedro

... thinks I'm weird.  Okay, so I was at the insurance agent's office yesterday and I asked her if our house was covered when the puppy chews on things.  She said no.  Can you believe that?

Then I needed to use the bathroom in Madi's class.  When I came out, I put my hands to my cheeks (on my face, sickos) and shouted "I did a pee pee!".  Just as Madi's teacher came in.  Snort.

What?  I make life more interesting/terrifying.

Oh and I now know that Brewster can jump over the baby gate.  He ate chicken bones and the box they were in that I left on the dining room table.  Pedro told me that I need to throw out all that stuff right away.  Thanks, Sherlock.  Do they let you into Mensa with that kind of power of observation?

Ooh snap.

Oh and I dragged my insurance agent out to look at the crack in my windshield which was no longer there.  OMG  Sigh.  At least she didn't call in the claim.  I stopped her and said "let's just check". 

Mercy.

Well, I'm trying to make myself go to the gym but since Brewster woke me up at 2:00am to go out, I'm a little sleepy.  hmmm I have time for a 4 hour nap.  hmmmmm

September 10th

It would have been my mom's 80th birthday today. 

I guess time does heal all wounds.  I can think about her and it's not so raw anymore.  It only took 18 years!  Actually, I've lost count.  She passed in 1994...  phew 18.  My neurons still work!

I still think of her often.  What would she think of the girls.  Actually, I thought of her this morning.  I have a confession.  People who are not "normal" used to make me uncomfortable.  That's probably true for a lot of people.  But since Madi is special needs and I see kids with more challenging situations than her, every day, I've gotten over a lot of my hang ups. 

Which is good because this morning, I saw Mya, a very sweet African American girl with Down's syndrome, playing with one of the attendant's walkie talkies.  I see her every school day and say hi so I didn't feel weird taking the radio from her.  I wasn't mean, I just gave it to the school attendant.  So then Mya says "c'mere".  So I walk over.  She takes my hand, rubs my fingers, then kisses my hand and holds it to her cheek.

How can that not melt your heart?????

My mom had made me promise that if I was going to have a kid with Down's that I would keep it.  She said they were the sweetest people on the planet.  *sniff*  I can't speak for all of them buy Mya is my favorite right now.  :)

So when I had a difficult time being pregnant with Madi, Pedro and I were having heated arguments.  He was adamant that he didn't not want a child with disabilities.  I can't even express it right.  Something about taking care of them when we're old and gray.  Which I could appreciate.  But we have Madi anyway.  lol  She's catching up quickly, and that's awesome.  But we don't know where she'll end up.  Will she be able to find a job?  Will she be able to live on her own?  I just try to take each day at a time.  I'm not the only one with these worries, I know that well.  :)

So on that bright note!  Happy Monday.  And no I'm totally not trying to avoid going to the gym.....

Well...

as they say: shit just got real.  I plugged my phone up to a USB cord to get the pictures.  I don't understand it.  Maybe my computer thinks I'm spam when I email myself?  I mean, Pedro did just redo things.  I don't know.

I guess that makes me a cantankerous old person.  Get off my lawn and don't touch my computer!

 Where was I?

So there's good old Brewster.  Almost eight months old and just shy of 63 pounds.  o.O  And his feet just got bigger.  No really.  And he's the type of dog to fill his feet.  I actually took him for a 3 mile walk today and he's much calmer.  I should've done that yesterday, which may have prevented him from jumping on all of my guests.  Mandy, the lady who owns the stables, grabbed him by his collar and made him behave.

I coulda done that too...

I think we all had a good time last night.  The last two ladies didn't leave til 9:30 so I was pooped.  I didn't even play video games.  I know!

So there is Lily's preschool picture.  Possibly the most awesome pic on the face of the planet.  :)  I love her teeth missing.  Yes, she will likely need braces soon.  :/  Underbite much?







I hope that I'm not playing favorites but I love Madi's pic.  Doesn't she look sweet and adorable?  She's not, so I don't know how they managed it.  Na said she was holding Madi's legs.  I think it's cute.  :)

Crap, my mind is going blank.  We only drank a few bottles of wine but we hit the cheesecake pretty hard.

What?

Pedro and the girls are still at his parents' house.  I'm trying to unwind.  I think I'll go and cut the grass.  I'm doing the stuff that I can't do as easily if the girls are here.  I already dyed my hair and watched zombie movies.  Maybe I'll watch the two-headed shark one...

And Riley showed up for a cuddle.  :)

Movie Review

Anyone who's talked to me for more than five minutes knows that I have a thing for the zombie apocalypse and that I am concerned about what type of weapon is the best for dispatching them. 

What?

So I watched a couple of zombie movies lately.  I am not really into Day of the Dead or what have you.  I prefer a thinking zombie movie.  Shut up.  So I watched Ahhh, Zombie! and Blood Creek.

The first one, was from the point of view of the zombies and I thought it was pretty hysterical.  Some cheap jokes, sure (penis falling off) but for the most part, it cracked me up.

The second one, I thought had one of my favorite actors in it (Merle, from the Walking Dead) but alas it was someone else.  It was a zombie movie that strived for more and tied in Nazis and Viking runes.  It was kind of cool.  A lot more gory than it needed to be, but how often will you see a nazi zombie riding a zombie horse?  Never.  That's how often.

phew

So Pedro and the girls should be a g-ma's house by now.  He wants to change his rear brakes with his dad's help and I am having a party.  yay!  Also, if no one shows up I'll just get drunk and eat half of a keylime cheesecake.  What?

Oh gracious.  I am sore.  I made it to the gym four times this week.  I know.  I'm not complaining, I hope, but I very sore and tired.  And I've been getting sleep, even lots of naps.  Sometimes I nap for almost 4 hours!  Maybe since I'm coming back to reality, I'm noticing how out of whack my body is after 3 years of sleep deprivation??? 

I don't know.  I do know that I'm going to see my doc next week and see what she has to say.  My finger joints sometimes hurt (arthiritis?), my knees and feet will ache (old running shoes or something worse?)  As for being tired, could it be my thyroid?  I don't know.  I eat relatively healthy, get rest, get exercise.  Yes, I know, no one gets younger but damn, I feel like every week I'm two steps closer to the grave.  o.O

And we got the girls' school pictures back and then are AWESOME.  I know, I need to post them.

Okay, well, after saying lots of bad words, it's obvious that the email is taking it's sweet time.  Also, I think my phone hates me.  I texted Stacy that I was tired and wanted to jump into my jammies.  What did she get? "I want to jump onto my nannies."

Really phone?

Anyway, suffice to say that Lily's picture is awesomeness because of the big gap in between her bottom teeth.

Madi's picture is exceptional because of the beautiful look on her face and her hands lightly touching together.  :)

 GAH!  Well, I waited another five minutes and still no pics.  I hate the internet.  And I have stuff still to do for the pah-tay so see y'all on the flip side!

note: if I do post tomorrow please keep the lights low and the noise to a minimum.  Thanks.

Oh yeah

Okay, so I haven't had any wine yet and this post should make more sense.  I did, however, just scarf down three chicken fajitas so we'll see how long my tummy holds out.

Madi's teacher had three words up on the board when I got there this afternoon.

Picture
Spider
Meow

Three words that Madi said today.  Context?  They were talking to her and she repeated the word. 

Me?  Ecstatic.

So, I didn't drink wine and I'm trying had to make sense and Lily is over in the corner talking constantly.

S.I.G.H.

Lily has had a better week.  Threatened with me driving her to school she's been staying in the green zone.  The teacher has four zones.  Green, yellow and red.  Red means you will be missing out on part or all of recess.  Purple is if you are SUPER amazingly good. 

What else?  Shoot.  ummm  It's like stuff just goes by so fast now.  One of my friends is bored all week (she only works weekends and is waiting for her full-time job to start) and my week is crazy from the get go.  So Lily might say something hilarious, or Madi can do something new and it's amazing but then 18 hours later something else amazing happens.  You know?  It's just all so fast.  :)

Anyhoodles, I hope everyone is having a good week. 

XO

Smile

Well, ladies and gentlemen, I apologize for the delay.  Pedro keeps on "improving" my computer.  Eyes.  To me this means an interruption to my online shoe shopping and blogging.  To him it means that my computer boots up in 13.7 seconds. 

O.o

Anyhoo, so Madi is doing dramatically different.  Crap well.  Ah, I'm on my third glass of Moscato. 

Oh and I'm having people over on Saturday.  I know for some of you that's probably a normal thing but it's taken me a while to feel comfortable enough.  :)

Pedro and the girls are heading down to g-ma's house so it will just be us ladies.  :)  and Brewster.  He is SO good.  Madi was a royal turd to him today - hitting him, grabbing handfuls of his skin and hair.  He laid there and took it.  He's so sweet.  :)

Anyway, so Madi has done SO well at school.  She's putting her toys away, there and at home.  Puts clothes in the dirty laundry hamper.  She's not talking but she responds to requests.  :)  The hat she's wearing, she put on herself.  She's SO different. 

Her teachers are so impressed.  As are we.  I'd still love to here her talk more but she's just wowing all of us. 

Anyway, this is just not as exciting as I thought it would be.  I'm blaming Pedro as he's watching a funny video behind me.  And then there's the wine.  Oh please, it has been a DAY.  Well, what I remember of it.

What?