One of our biggest battles

Today I decided to post something that is majorly effecting our lives, it's always been a problem and I am at my wits end, I just don't know what to do at this point.

When Orion was a first potty training, pooping in the pot was our biggest battle. He could pee like a pro...his underwear were always dry and we never had a problem with that part, it was always (and still is to this day) a battle to get Orion to do #2 on the toilet. He's a holder, he will hold that poo in his body for days on end because he doesn't like to go. We tried rewards, we tried books, we tried talking and would have been just as effective if we had talked to a wall. I have even tried making him sit on the toilet every single day...the pediatrician suggested not letting him get off the toilet until he actually produces, but his stubborness is strong and he will literally sit there until I have other thngs I have to do and can't let him sit there any longer. He's very good at being stubborn! I have sat him on the toilet first thing in the morning on a Saturday and he will sit there for 2 or 3 hours and not do a thing but cry that he wants to get off. I give him books, I tell him he can get off once he produces, but he knows eventually I will have to get him off of there and head out to the bank before it closes. When he was little I had to add Miralax to his juice so his poo would get soft enough that he could barely control the flow, eventually he would HAVE to go and he would literally put out so much that it would clog the toilet! It would hurt pushing out so much poo and that would only make him hold it even longer the next time....fearing the pain has been one of the biggest battles. I try to explain to him that the pain wouldn't be there if he would just go at least every other day...but alas he will wait and wait and wait until he's practically compacted and we have to give him more stool softener and ex-lax to make him go. I hate the cycle he has laid out for us and I just don't know what else I can do. This is one thing I simply can not do for him, I can't force it out of him without the use of ex-lax or other laxative pill or suppository, like I said before, I'm at my wits end.

One of the biggest drawbacks to him being a holder (besides the fact that he's not pooping regularly) is the fact that he gets grumpy and irritable everytime it builds up. Once he's been holding it for 4 or 5 days he starts getting angry and frustrated with everything and everyone. It's difficult to deal with, his mood just gets worse every single day until he finally goes. I could just dose him with ex-lax or stool softener every single day of his life, but would that be a good plan? The pediatrician says I should only do that when he hasn't gone in awhile and is at the point where he's starting to get the skid marks again because the poo is trying to get out of his body. She seems to think I just need to sit him on the toilet everyday and eventually his stubbornness will break and he'll learn to just go...first of all, he has to go to school so I can't play that game all the time. Afterschool he has homework, cub scouts, bowling, etc. I can't deny him all his happiness just because he is a holder. There has to be some solution to this problem, something that will make it easier for him and me....I'm hoping that maybe someone will happen upon this blog and have an answer for me, I'm hoping that maybe someone else has gone through this and can help me feel not so alone.

Chocolate Math

Aunt Hillary (Great-Auntie Hillary as Orion calls her) sent me this e-mail and I thought I would share it with the blogging community.....this is some pretty kewl math so check it out :)

Don't tell me your age; you probably would tell a falsehood anyway -but the Hershey Man will know!

YOUR AGE BY CHOCOLATE MATH

This is pretty neat

DON'T CHEAT BY SCROLLING DOWN FIRST! It takes less than a minute.Work this out as you read.Be sure you don't read the bottom until you've worked it out!This is not one of those waste of time things, it's fun.

1. First of all, pick the number of times a week that you would like to have chocolate

(more than once but fewer than 10)

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2. Multiply this number by 2 (just to be bold)

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3. Add 5

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4. Multiply it by 50 -- I'll wait while you get the calculator

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5. If you have already had your birthday this year add 1759 ...If you haven't, add 1758.

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6. Now subtract the four digit year that you were born.

You should have a three digit number The first digit of this was your original number (i.e., how many times you want to have chocolate each week). The next two numbers are YOUR AGE! (Oh YES, it is!!!!!)

THIS IS THE ONLY YEAR (2009) IT WILL EVER WORK, SO SPREAD IT AROUND WHILE IT LASTS.

Chocolate Calculator.

School Photo came back

isn't my little man a handsome little bugger?

Thank you Mother Nature...........

really appreciated you getting over whatever was bugging you! I truly enjoyed the 80-something degree, fun filled, sunny day! Orion and I had a blast out in the back yard having our watergun fight and washing the car! I also enjoyed being able to grill on the deck instead of having to use the oven. There's nothing like BBQ chicken and french fries on the grill!! So THANK YOU for hearing my plight and giving me a nice sunny day to play and have fun with my son, I really appreciated it!

Happy Saturday

At least it would be if it would stop raining!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Seriously mother nature is not being kind this week, I am sick and tired of her crying fit! I want to see some sunshine, I want to take my kid to the fair that's in town and today is the last day! The fair is no fun in the rain! Mother nature needs to get some prozac or zoloft or some other mood swing adjuster and just get over whatever is bugging her! As a mother I can understand having weepy days, I can understand being in the downy dumps and just not wanting to smile cause it feels like there really isn't much to smile about. The kids don't listen, the husband doesn't listen, the animals don't listen...the only person who cares about mom is mom and no one wants to hear her opinion because she needs to cook their dinner or fix them a hearty breakfast or do some other mundane chore....see mother nature, I TOTALLY get it! I also get that mom can't stay in the gloomy-woomies for any length of time, it's just not allowed! If mom ain't happy, ain't nobody happy so Please Mother Nature, just get over it, pick up the pieces, dry those eyes and give us some sunshine so we ALL can have a better day!

Flashy Friday

Ok, ok I know I forgot last Friday....SO SUE ME lol

We used to say that as kids all the time, "so sue me" perhaps that's what set the world on the path it seems to be on now where everyone seems to have a reason to sue someone. An old lady puts a hot cup of coffee in her lap, takes the cover off and drives away....who knew she might actually burn herself??? What amazes me most is she won all that money for being STUPID! Yes, I said it, she was stupid...so sue me lady! Seriously we spend our days and nights trying to teach our children COMMON SENSE......where was her mother and why didn't she teach her that you don't put a hot cup of coffee between your legs with no cover on it while driving??

And speaking of common sense....what was that Boston trolley worker thinking as he tried to drive a trolley and text his girlfriend at the same time??? What the heck was he thinking? SERIOUSLY how do these people even survive to adulthood?? Didn't thier mothers teach them anything?? You can't text and drive at the same time...plain and simple! Now any bus or trolley driver in the city will lose their job if they are cought with a cell phone while on duty....glad my husband doesn't work for the MBTA cause I wouldn't be able to get in touch with him if anything happened to us while he was on duty...all because one idiot decided to text his girlfriend while driving a trolley! I seriously hope she dumped him because if anything screams out "too dumb to reproduce" that incident really ought to do it!

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So yesterday I received my Meme Award from Sweet Mama Jones....I'm still glowing. She likes me, she really likes me. On her blog she said I was a breath of fresh air...WOW no one has ever said that about me...WAY KEWL Mama Jones! Of course people might be wondering why this is so kewl to me, I mean really, it's just a little award, but to me, it's big.

I started this blog to vent and talk about my boy. In all honesty it was more of a form of therepy, not a blog I expected people to actually read. I figured some far away friends and family might read it, but not anyone else. I did put my link on a couple of mommy blog lists and figured maybe one or two people might come by and read then move onward, I didn't expect them to come back for more....no pressure, just a way to put thoughts into words and keep family and friends up to date on our little world. I figured I could put my struggles with Orions ADHD into words so I don't vent them at him and maybe make another mother out there feel like she wasn't alone if she happened to read it, besides IRL (that's In Real Life for anyone who might not know) I'm not a social butterfly! I hate socializing, people can be so mean and cruel, they don't like people who are shy and ackward around others and they just love to make you feel uncomfortable when you are in their company....at least that's always been my experience. Blogs are safe, no one can see my discomfort, I can rattle off my thoughts and at the end of the day I feel better and no one has laughed in my face...ok so you may all be sitting there laughing, maybe even preparing an e-mail to all your friends saying "come look at this crazy lady's blog", but I can't see it and I can't hear your laughter so go ahead, it's ok, I don't mind being a little crazy in your eyes lol Besides, I think I might actually enjoy the traffic ;)

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Just one more thought for the day

Recently on Facebook I found an old friend...not that she's old (she's the same age as me so how could she possibly be old, that would make me old right? can't let that happen...NO WAY) Anyway, her name is Robine and we were best friends in 1st grade! Yep, 1st grade, I've known her that long! We pulled some good pranks back in our elementary years until I was put into foster care at the end of my 5th grade year and was put in a different school for 6th grade. By the time we got to Jr. High in 7th grade I felt rather wierd around the kids from my youth....afterall they were all right there when the nice social worker and police officer came to take me away on the next to last day of school and I didn't get to go back for my last day of school or say any real good-byes. They all knew my dirty laundry, they knew I was the kid who was taken away to foster care (in the back of a police car mind you) and didn't come back. I felt wierd now, because they all knew my dirty little secret that I had lied about for all those years. They didn't know the details, but I was sure they had talked about me when I wasn't there and I was sure they all knew now that I had lied about the bruises and where they really came from. I felt like the giant zit in the middle of their forehead on prom night! Seriously, it sucked! My friendship with Robine was there, but we had an unspoken agreement and I always felt there was a tension there after that, I hated it, but it was our reality.

20 years ago we graduated high school, we said out good-byes and went our separate ways. I always remembered my best friend from elementary school and the funny things we did..then by chance I happened upon someone we had in common, another classmate who apparently didn't get married so her last name is still the same...or maybe she is one of those unfortunate souls who married and ended up divorced and went back to her name...I'm not sure as she hasn't accepted my friend request yet. Anyway, I saw Robine listed under her friend list, she had a different last name now but her profile picture told me exactly who she was. I'll never forget her face and honestly, she doesn't look like she has aged much at all, she looks amazing for a girl who graduated high school 20 years ago! I sent out a friend request and she accepted. We managed to chat online for the first time in 20 years last week, it was great to talk to her once again! Her oldest boy is a month younger than my boy....we actually spent the same summer pregnant with our babies, long lost best friends united in a very unique way without ever knowing it. I think it's pretty neat! I can't wait to see her online again so I can talk to her more, get to know her once again, reunite with my oldest friend...the thought warms my heart!

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And so ends another Flashy Friday! I hope everyone enjoys their weekend :)

WOW I won an award!!!!!!!

Sweet Mama Jones has given me an award...I am honored!!!!!! I don't win much of anything, maybe a buck or two on an occassional scratch ticket if I dare buy one, so this award is nice and unexpected. Apparently Mama Jones likes my blog, which I think is pretty awesome, you should check out her blog as she's a pretty down to earth gal and I would like to think that if we lived in the same town we might even be friends. So to Mama Jones...a hearty THANK YOU for my wonderful award...and now I will pass it forward to 7 more blogs that I like to read.


1) Matt Logelin's Blog

Matt is an inspiration to me. He lost his wife 27 hours after his baby girl was born. He is now a single father raising their daughter, which he blogs about in a down to earth and truthful manner.


2) Not So Perfect Housewife

Britainy is a mom to 2, a crafter and a wonderful friend!


3) Postcards From Insanity

This lady has a sense of humor that is amazing! Her blog never lets me down...when I need a good laugh I go straight to her blog!


4) My New Normal

This lady has a little girl who was born with a rare genetic defect. She also has a foster child she is hoping to adopt. Her blog will make you laugh and cry all in the same day.


5) Pregnant With Cancer

Talk about overcoming the near impossible...This lady is AMAZING and her daughter is a miracle! Given a very short time to live if she didn't go through treatment for cancer but pregnant she chose to fight for her life and the life of her unborn child. Today she is cancer free and has a beautiful healthy baby girl!


6) The Adventures Of Mr. Busypants

This blog is all about a mom and her adventures with her autistic son Mr. Busypants. It's really an amazing read!


7) Womb At The Insane

A funny lady who has a lot of great, helpful and honest posts.




Now my son is screaming at me that he's starving (don't know how that's possible since he just ate dinner an hour ago, maybe that hour long bath took more energy than I thought possible) My husband is yelling that I need to get off this computer and feed the starving child (why he can't get the kid a snack is beyond me but then again he is a helpless male so there ya go) so bottom line...I'm off for now :)

YEAH it's once again my favorite time of year...........

No, not summer...it's Adult/Youth Bowling league time! OK so we do it in the summer lol but it would be my favorite time of year regardless of the season!

It started 2 years ago when Orion and I signed up for our first Adult/Youth bowling league. Look how little he was then....Orion was just starting to bowl 1 handed and he wanted some practice so that when he got to his regular kids league he would be pretty good at it. See when you're a mini-mite you can bowl 2 handed, but once you become a Junior you have to bowl 1 handed. That year was going to be his last year as a mini-mite so he wanted to be able to bowl the entire season 1 handed and not struggle and since you have to bowl 1 handed in the Adult/Youth league I thought it would be good practice and a nice bonding experience for us as well.



That year we named our team Double Trouble and we were the 1st place team at the end of the summer.

Last year we bowled together again with the same team name, Orion found some socks that said Double Trouble on them...they were actually Spiderman socks from that movie where spiderman gets the alter ego and that black thing attaches to him (can you tell I don't really follow Spiderman movies lol) Anyway Orion bought them and wore them every bowling night. It was a lot of fun and every Wednesday night all summer long was just us having fun together!

Tonight was our first night for this summer league. Orion and I had a great time and we both bowled really well! It was really fun to be back on his team bowling with him and not being the coach...I don't mind being the coach, but I like being his teammate more I think :) And yes...incase you were wondering, he wore his Double Trouble socks. We also received t-shirts at the end of the season last year that had the name of the place we bowl on the front of them, we're going to take them and have our team name put on the back so that we will have team shirts to wear every Wednesday night.

A letter to Verizon

Dear Verizon

First let me say that your customer service needs a serious amount of help! We switched to FIOS service through your company over a year ago and at that time you started billing us twice monthly for your Internet Security Suite. I called every month for 3 months in a row to get the second charge credited to my account. Every month I was appologized to and told that the second charge would not show up again, yet there it was staring me in the face every month. After 3 months you FINALLY removed it and I thought you had your stuff together.

Then I asked for some additional web space so I could post photos on the blog I had through you. The first month there were 2 charges, I called explained that maybe it was my dumb blonde issue pushing the button twice but could you please remove the second 50 MB of storage space and the additional charge. I was told no problem, but again, just like with the security suite it took me 3 months of calling to get you to understand I simply did not want both of those and wanted the scond one removed. Then in February of this year I decided to start a nice free Blogger Blog and skip your charges altogether. Thought maybe I would save myself a few dollars every month....unfortunately (as my Grammy used to say) THOUGHT SHIT HIS BRITCHES, or at least he thought he did! After assuring me that the charge would be removed, after assuring me that the additional webspace would be removed you not only decided to continue giving me the webspace but you decided to once again start charging me twice every month for it!! ITS BEEN 3 MONTHS SINCE I ASKED YOU TO REMOVE IT!! I have been bounced around from person to person, told that I can only remove it online (which is crap because if you go to remove it online you only have the option to add more space, not remove it) I was told by another girl that someone from tech support would be able to walk me through the process, but the lady in tech support told me there was nothing she could do and that customer service was the only people who could remove this from my account, I was sent back to customer service and FINALLY got a nice gentleman who assures me that the charges will be credited to my account and that the webspace will be removed and not charged again.......I don't think I'll hold my breath, history has shown me that I will probably be calling again next month fully ticked off and ready to tear some poor helpless sap a new one because your customer service department leaves a lot to be desired!

Sincerely,
One very disgruntled customer in need of some descent service!

Memorial Day...who's your hero??

Memorial day is a day to remember the heroes of our country, the ones who have fought in wars and lost their lives for the sake of our freedom and the ones who have fought and survived. We remember the ones who are currently out there fighting in a war that the majority of us have no clue why it's still going on and we are thankful that they are willing to lay down their lives, put their own safety at risk so that we can have a peaceful nights sleep.

BUT are the only heroes the people who have fought in wars? Are hereos the police and firefighters and ambulance workers? Are our doctors heroes? What truly makes a hero?? In my opinion, a hero is someone we can look up to, someone who has made an impression on our lives. A hero is someone who made a major impact on your life....so tell me, who's your hero??

I have had the opportunity in my 38 years to meet a few people whom I believe are worthy of the title "HERO"

First and foremost, my big brother Hank! He was my first hero, the first persom to make an impression on me, the first person I could honestly say I looked up to and admired! I stood in awe of him and to this day he holds the highest honor in my heart. He was the lodestone of our house growing up, the level head, the one who I felt could make everything ok. Yes he tossed my dolls off the front porch in the rain and made me cry, but he was my big brother! He could keep the mean boys away, he could chase away the nightmares, he was the safety when mother was on a rampage. He became a Marine, the strongest of soldiers...he looked even more awesome in a uniform and even I turned my head to look as he walked by. My big brother...to this day I believe him capable of anything!

Second, my social worker Karen Wheatley. Karen took us away from teh abuse and put us into foster care. She found homes for me and my siblings, she took care of me for 7 years until I graduated high school. She made sure I was ok, she helped me get into the college of my choice and helped me get a scholarship so I could go there. She checked in on me after I went off to college and I am sure she didn't have to. She made a major change in my life, made a huge impact by saving me from the nightmare that was my life.

Third is my son. He's only 8 but he's my little hero. He has to battle ADHD every single day of his life, he faces challenges on a daily basis, he faces them and overcomes them. He has had a rough go of it socially, but maintains the optimism that he has friends and that true friends are more important than lots of friends. He teaches me to smile when I don't feel like it and find the happiness in the gloom.

So....those are a few of my heroes...who's yours??

My life as a work at home mom a.k.a WAHM

A lot of people think that's just a funny title I give myself because being a mom in general is hard work, but in my case that's not the whole story. Yes, being a mom is a full-time job, the best job in fact! I LOVE that job more than any job I have ever had in my lifetime and I can't imagine anything better, however I actually do have a job I do here at home that makes a little money to help make ends meet.

I am a Virtual Call Center worker. I sit down here at my computer and log into the virtual call center where I can chat with fellow agents and get questions about the products answered. When I log into the virtual call center my phone here at my house is then connected to their call router and the calls are forwarded to me here at home. When a call is routed to me a script will pop on my computer screen and my phone will ring, I simply answer the phone and read what's in front of my face. I fill in the blanks for the orders and voila, customer gets what they saw on the TV commercial or heard on the radio and I get paid. I'm paid by the talk time minute, not by the number of hours I sit here, so on slow or short nights I might make $15 or $20 but on a really busy night I can make $50 or $60. I also get bonus' for selling additional products like a magazine trial or a club trial. Some of the products give me a bonus just for making the sale....we do have some products that are difficult to sell so they reward us for doing that. I make my own schedule and shifts are available 24/7/365. Every Thursday morning the schedule for the following week will roll out and I grab what I want according to what my plans are for the week......so if my son has a day off of school I plan either a short night or no work at all. I can change my schedule as I see fit, I can drop a commit within 1/2 hour of the start of that commit and can work uncommitted if I want to. Of course calls go to the committed agents first so it's best to be committed.

Bottom line, I'm not just giving myself a title to have one, I really am a Work At Home Mom :)

Cub Scout Flag Changing

Every year before Memorial Day the cub scouts go to the local graveyards and change the flags. They remove the old tattered flags

And replace them with new flags.

This is done to honor and show respect to all the soldiers who have died in service to our country. It teaches the children lessons about respect and honor.

Sadly it also teaches a reality we don't always want our children to learn. Here is Orion and one of his den mates as they happened upon a gravestone of a 14 year old girl. The grave was fresh, new dirt and fresh grass seed was planted. The gravestone had a photo of the girl on it and they were in awe that someone so young could die. At first they reasoned that the family had placed a photo of the girl when she was young on the stone, then they read the dates and did the math. This brought about a sad reality and they simply stood and stared at her stone wondering how one so young could possibly die. They kept saying "She was only 6 years older than we are!" They couldn't walk away from her stone for a full 10 minutes, it was difficult to watch. As I watched him stare at this girls photo it made me ever so thankful that my boy is here with me, thankful for every moment with him as I realized that at any second he could be taken away....and then where would I be??

Took Baby Clawdia for shots BUT.....

she's too little to get any! The vet said looking at her size and her teeth she is at the most 5 weeks old and that is too little to get shots. They did deworm her and we are doing the fecal test to check for parasites etc. She's also too little to test for FIV or leukemia so we have to wait. They said to come back in 3 to 4 weeks and we can start the kitten shots.

She seems to miss her mommy, she likes to curl up in my hair and Orions hair and is having a little trouble eatting the dry kitten food. We have been giving her lots of warm milk and soft foods. We also started introducing her to the other animals in the house as the vet said it would be ok since they are all up to date on their shots, her favorite seems to be Merlin who has taken to her quite nicely. Even though he's a boy he seems to have taken on a maternal role, my guess is that her mommy was a long hair as Merlin is a long hair and again she does like to nuzzle into my hair a lot. Here's a photo I snapped today, Merlin was washing Clawdia, they were curled up together on the couch and it was too cute not to capture.

4th Place for Prince and Princess Tournament

Today Orion bowled in an above average tournament called Prince and Princess. Basically everyone bowls and placing is determined by who bowls the most above their average for 3 games. Orion bowled 42 pins above his average and took 4th place! I'm very proud of my little man!

Orion and his friend Nic playing DS in between games. Nic was 5th place

Orion just after receiving his trophy



Orion and Coach Mom :)




Orion and his Dad

Flashy Friday

I started this last week, my Friday flashback into my life. Whether it be this week or 30 years ago, every Friday I will flash back into my past and share with you the lessons I have learned because of the events in my life. Everyday there is a lesson to be learned and so here's my second Flashy Friday :) Enjoy!

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When I was a little girl, all I wanted to be when I grew up was a mom. If someone asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, the answer they always received was "I want to be a Mommy, but better than mine" If a child said that today, people would wonder, at least I hope they would. They would wonder why a child would say such a thing, what was so bad about that childs mother that made her want to be better? If only someone had asked that question perhaps my life would have been different! But no one asked why, no one asked what could possibly be so bad about my mommy that I so strongly desired to outdo her, I wish they had, but they didn't. I sometimes wonder how my life would be different if only someone asked for details. I wonder if I would be the person I am today??? But of course it does not do well to dwell in the past so I remember it all only to know what not to be, what not to do, and I live everyday thankful that I did become exactly what I always wanted to be...A mommy that's way better than mine ever was or dreamed of being!

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The day I realized I was pregnant was not the day I took the test to see the little pink lines. I simply knew beyond all doubt that I must be pregnant. I was sitting on my couch watching "The Karate Kid" and at the end when the boy gets hurt and stands to fight anyway , dispite the pain, dispite the fact that people wanted him to quit, he stood up against the bullies and won. I bawled my eyes out, cried like a baby....I knew then that I MUST be pregnant and I was right. Little did I know that I would become the boy in the movie, willing to stand up and fight dispite the pain and suffering it might cause me. I didn't know I would be playing through the pain...because that's what we do to bring our little ones into this world. We push through the pain, we do things we never thought we could do for the sake of our children so they can learn to stand up to the bullies and be brave, strong and just.

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I always knew my son would be a fighter, someone who had a strong will and desire to do things his own way. This wasn't only because I had read the Chinese Zodiac and found the description of a person born under the Year of The Dragon, but because his 1st 9 months inside my body he wanted things his way even then. He didn't like the smell of wet coffee grinds and made me sick to my stomach everyday at work. I'm sure it was him, because I LOVE my coffee! He liked omelets, specifically Ham, egg and cheese and forced me to eat them on a daily basis (something I'm sure he would love for me to cook him on a daily basis now) At 30 weeks he tried to escape but the doctors and I made sure he stay put and I told him he was grounded for at least 6 weeks, he was not allowed video games or TV, no going out to play for 6 weeks because that's when the doctors said it would be ok. I told him if I had my way he would be there for the full 40 weeks, which meant he was grounded for 10 weeks and since I was the mother that's just the way it was....don't like my rules...tough! SO he decided to stay in for 41 weeks and make me miserable just a little longer so that I would know I was not the one calling the shots, he was! Once he was born, he told everyone off if they didn't hold him right, if they tried to put those little mittens on his fingers that he liked to suck and every single night from 9pm to 10 pm he simply screamed to be heard. You could set a clock by him, he was that predictable. I still don't know how he knew the time, but at the stroke of 9 he turned on and didn't turn off until the stroke of 10!

Today he's my amazing little bowler, he started bowling candlepin because he went to a friends brithday party and liked it, so I signed him up for a league. He enjoyed bowling and comparing scores with his friends, but eventually they quit...they said it was too hard. One of them switched to the "big balls" and started bowling 10 pin instead, even tried getting Orion to join him but Orion said no, he wanted to stick with candlepin. He made new friends who also bowled candlepin and enjoyed bowling with them the last 2 years. Now these 2 are saying they want to quit too, they don't like it, it's too hard and they just want to give it up...Orion still won't quit. He made friends with another boy who bowls in the same league and will join his team instead and continue bowling candlepin. I think it's great he swims against the tide, that he doesn't just follow the crowd but adapts adn finds ways to be himself and the best Orion he can possibly be. Today he is the best boy 10 and under in the state of Massachusetts and the boy who quit a couple years ago and went over to 10 pin, he seems jealous of Orions trophies he'll be getting in a couple weeks and says he wishes he had stuck it out now. Orion did it his way, did what he enjoyed and not what everyone thought he should do and stands on top of the mountain a success because of it...a foundation for the years to come. I pray he never stops swimming against the tide and never does what others think he should do just to fit in with the crowd! He has tought me to stand behind what I believe in and to stand up to the influence of others, to not be swayed by the rushing of the waters but to firmly plant my feet and say "NO I will do this my way because it is right for me!" Even at 8 he's teaching me lessons...I wonder how many more he'll teach me before my life is through.

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So with that I will conclude this weeks Flashy Friday. I hope everyone has a fun and memorable weekend!

It's official!!!!

Received the official standings for the State Championships, here's Orions standings:

Individual Division: 1st Place
Doubles Division: 3rd Place
Teams Division: 1st Place
All Events (total of all 13 games bowled): 1st Place
High Single Game: 1st Place

He'll receive trophies for the 1st place events and a medal for the 3rd place event...so all in all 4 trophies and 1 medal and the knowledge that he is indeed the best boy under the age of 10 in the state of Massachusetts!

I have a little sneak on my hands

After school yesterday I let Orion play outdoors while I finished cleaning my bedroom. He's old enough now that he can be allowed out of my sight, he knows what to do if a stranger approaches or anything, plus he can be seen out the windows at any given time so I don't worry. I generally just peek out the window periodically to make sure he's not getting into too much trouble.

After I finished cleaning up my room I grabbed the car keys and we drove down to the Family Pet Center which just so happens also is where we get our tank for the grill filled. Orion loves going there because they have all kinds of animals, cats, dogs, chickens, geese, ducks, etc. It's almost like a mini zoo I swear. While I get the tank filled Orion usually bee-lines for the kitten cages to see if they have any he can pet and love on. We came home and he was just way too well behaved, I figured he was trying to be good so that maybe we could go back and get that cute kitten he had seen...it looked EXACTLY like our kitty Cartman who passed away in March...and I do mean EXACTLY! It was like de ja vu looking at this kitten! Orion misses Cartman very much and even though we have 4 others, it's just not the same.

Fast forward an hour or so, Orion is still behaving but he's volunteering to go downstairs with me to do laundry. Now you have to understand...Orion likes to put laundry away after it has come upstairs from the basement, he does not like sorting or dealing with the dirty stuff in any way possible...this was my first clue that he was up to something. He kept saying he heard noises but I didn't hear them and besides the basement could have anything in it....seriously! We have a cat door for the outdoor cat to come and go if he needs shelter and he often brings things in that aren't really dead yet to play with but then they get away and get comfortable for awhile. I had heard some rustling in some boxes but figured it was just a mouse or something and the cat would take care of it next time he came home.

A couple hours later hubby comes home for a quick dinner and shower before he has to go take his recertification tests for his work. Orion is immediately telling daddy that he heard meowing in the basement where mom does laundry and would he come help look for it please. This was my second clue that Orion was definately up to something. Steve told Orion there wasn't a cat in the basement or maybe he had heard Rex down there, Orion tried every convincing tactic possible but daddy did not go into the basement....besides he really did have limited time.

Later on in the evening, I get Orion to bed, hubby comes back home from his test and we go down to the basement because I have 1 load of laundry that needs to come up and one that needs to go into the dryer. Hubby just came along for what I call "moron support" He comes down just to keep me company, he doesn't actually help (moron is the term we used to use in my high school for someone who was pretty much there but useless and unhelpful....someone like my hubby when it comes to housework lol) As we walk in the door something scurries over hubby's foot, he jumps and starts like a girl lol (it was really pretty funny)

This is what we found in our basement

Well we went upstairs and got Orion and asked him if he knew anything about this...here is our conversation

Dad: "Orion do you know how this kitten got into our basement?"

Orion: "No Dad'

Dad: "Are you sure?"

Orion: "Maybe she snuck in through the cat door because she was hungry. She looks hungry, maybe we should feed her."

Dad: "Are you telling me the truth Orion? Are you sure you don't know anything about this?"

Orion: "OK I guess I'm going to have to confess."

PAUSE...he's taking deep breaths looking exceptionally nervous and guilty at this point

Orion: "I found her outside while I was playing, she was so scared looking and I didn't want her to be so I stuffed her in the cat door while Mom was in the house and I'm really really sorry but she was crying!"

PAUSE...Dad is looking at the ceiling probably trying not to do what I was trying not to do...LAUGH! OMG he was so darn cute, so pathetic looking standing there in his jammies holding this little kitten. It's that face that I can't say no to, and apparently Steve can't either!

Orion: "Dad you know how mature I've been with the other kitties, please can't we keep her??"

Insert big puppy dog eyes here!

Dad: "Ok but you're going to have to name her and take care of her!"

And so she got a bowl of milk

and this morning first thing Orion is in the basement giving her love trying to figure out a name

We're keeping her in the basement until she can be vet checked, get shots and a flea dip. And in the time it took me to type this out he's decided her name will be "Clawdia" named after the grey/black kitten in the Charlie Bone books who saved Billy Raven from the evil De Grey family. If you have kids who like magic and mystery type books, check out the Charlie Bone series, it's kind of like Harry Potter for kids just beginning to read chapter books. Orion LOVES them!

Happy Mothers Day

Hope all you wonderful blogging moms had a nice day with your families, since hubby had already bought me my beautiful grill I didn't get much else (not that I mind lol) I did get some new grilling tools to go with that bling bling grill, I got to sleep in (which was the nicest gift of all) and the boys took me out to lunch. I hung out with Orion and got him stuck in handcuffs

Of course I also got some great smiles as well

All in all a pretty good day! Hope everyone else had a good one too.

SO PROUD!!!!!!!!!

It's not 100% official because the numbers haven't been put into the computers yet and there is one boy left 10 and under to bowl in the individuals BUT it looks like I have the best little bowler in the state of Massachusetts!

He bowled in teams first thing this morning, he was the top scorer for the team and the team total was enough for 1st place! Immediately following the teams he had doubles and he bowled amazingly...his partner was getting tired and didn't do as well, but between them they bowled enough points for 3rd place! The way it stands for individual Orion is in 1st place and I don't see this other boy taking him. The only boy left to bowl is the boy that was Orions partner in the doubles, he bowled 3 games for teams, 5 games for doubles and now he has to bowl 5 games for individuals. He was getting tired by the end of doubles so it looks really good for Orion! He also has a high individual game of 101 points.

So when it's all said and done he should walk a way with a few different trophies and an amazing sense of accomplishment! I am so unbelievably proud of my little man. We'll know the official scores probably tomorrow or Monday and then we'll be able to officially say that yes he is indeed the best little bowler in all of Massachusetts!

Flashy Friday

I read a lot of other blogs and a lot of them seem to have some neat thing they do once a week and there are followers galore. I've always been one to want to fit in but with my own little touch so today I will begin what I will call "Flashy Friday"

On Flashy Friday I will flashback through my life, my week, wherever I want to flashback to, just turn random memories into words to share...so here I go, my very first Flashy Friday post:

20 years ago, I was a senior in high school trying to figure out what to do with my messed up life. I was a foster kid so I knew my time in the home I was in was drawing to a close and I probably wouldn't have a home to go to very shortly. I was working in an afterschool program making some cash for college and there was this one little boy who loved to call me Mommy. I don't know why he started calling me that, he was 9 years old. His mother lived in a different state and he lived with his father. His father became interested in me and we started dating. Chris was literally twice my age, but at 18 I felt I was pretty cool! My foster parents did not approve, they even went to the extent of going to his house to talk to him and ask him NOT to see me ever again. They felt it was inappropriate for a man twice my age to be dating me....but I was 18 and not their child so I did not listen. They grounded, I went out the window. They yelled, I turned up my music, I was a teenager therefore I knew it all. At one point I got tired of listening to my foster mother so I told her I would break up with him, something I had no intentions of doing. I managed to sneak around successfully for a few weeks until the day I was riding in his truck and she passed us going down the road *oops* He tought me lot that year, andwhen I went off to college I had an older man, experience and dreams of being cool because of it. I was so very wrong! It lasted probably 4 months and then I came to my senses and realized I really should be dating men my own age...he had asked me to drop out of college and marry him, said I didn't need an education because he would be able to take care of me. Lesson learned, I moved on.

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In the past few weeks I have become very active on Facebook. It stared when an old college friend sent me a message on classmates.com I used his e-mail address to look him up on facebook and there he was smiling back at me holding a little boy with a second one beside him. He had married a classmate of mine, I thought it was neat to see his new pictures and his kids and reconnect after all these years. I looked at his friends list and there was another name I recognized, a guy I had wanted to date in college but never did, we were just really good friends. The 3 of us would hang out together a lot, watching movies, listening to music, taking road trips...the usual college stuff. I immediately sent a friends request. I've been chatting with them most nights, since I work from home I can actually chat with people while working and not get into trouble. I do my job of course, but between calls we've been catching up and getting to know one another all over again. We're all married, Rob doesn't have kids but Derek and I do. Dereks oldest is just about the same age as my son so we can relate a lot on the area of parenting. It's nice talking with old friends once again!

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Speaking of facebook, I have also connected with long lost siblings and their children! On a whim I put my older sisters name into the search engine and it brought her up....in her friends list was nieces and nephews galore! I have spent a lot of time remembering when my nieces and nephew were little and how cute they were. One of my nieces has a son who looks just like her! I got to see pictures of my brothers children....his son looks EXACTLY like him and his oldest daughter is like looking into a mirror for me. It's amazing what the internet can do!
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And so here ends the very first Flashy Friday. I am looking forward to many more flashbacks to come!

What is it with little boys and being dirty???

Now I know somedays I get too busy to get in a shower and when I do that I feel all grubby and ick and want one the next day for sure. My son on the other hand would love it if he never had to shower..EVER! He fights me every single day when it comes to getting clean. He doesn't want to take baths anymore because apparently baths are for babies (I must be a baby because I do love a good hot bubble bath) yet he doesn't want to take a shower either. I try to give him a heads up...try to tell him he can play for another 1/2 hour but then he really needs a shower, but he gets all mad and grumpy and swears he doesn't need one (meanwhile his pits are smelling like something the cat dragged in and played with for a few days before stuffing it in a corner for safe keeping) I have been kind enough to let him go a day without a shower, but he really can't go anymore than that. The adderral makes him sweat more than average and therefore he smells more than average. He's only 8 1/2 but he does show signs of the beginnings of puberty ( the peach fuzz growing in certian places, the smelly pits and the rapid growth of his hands and feet) and the pediatrician told me that it's actually normal for it to start at this age (average onset of puberty apparently is between 9 and 13 years old) So what is a mom to do???? Hubby just laughs and says boys like to be dirty but seriously..WHY? What's up with that? Is this why boys have cooties at this age? Perhaps boys should realize they wouldn't have cooties if they would take a shower more often eh??

Feeling better and looking forward to this weekend

My hand is feeling better and I am finally getting some more range of movement as the swelling goes down. The bruise is now just a yellow tone and I now just have 3 little poke marks that show what my wonderful cat did to me.



As for this weekend...it's a big deal to me. This Sunday is mine and Steve's 13/18 anniversary!



On May 3rd 1991 Steve walked in the door and my world changed. We have not been apart since then. On May 3rd 1996 we finally did what we knew we were destined for, we exchanged vows. This is a siggy tag I made for my discussion board a back in 2005 but it's one of my all time favorite photos from that day

Here we are 18 years after we first met, 13 years after we exchanged vows and became husband and wife. I won't lie, we have had our ups and downs, we've had rough patches that I didn't know if we would make it through, but we did and here we are still together, stronger in our love and holding on to what we knew was meant to be. This past week I have been reflecting on love and marriage and I have come to the understanding that love and marriage isn't the stuff we watched on TV, that isn't reality. Life is a lot harder than they make it look...I only wish life could be fixed in 30 minutes (20 if you take out the commercials) but then again...if all of lifes problems could be fixed that quickly would life be as interesting and worth living as it truly is??? I think not! I tend to think that it's the struggles, the drawn out fights, the battles that we win and lose but come to an understanding in the end of that makes life so much better. Yes we fight, yes we argue and disagree, but if we didn't wouldn't life be pretty boring? It's the fact that we do fight, we do argue and the fact that dispite those we come through it with an "I'm sorry" and an "I Love you " that makes it feel so perfect, so exact, so right for me.

18 years ago I never thought that I would meet someone who could complete me, someone who could turn my world around. I thought that was all just fairy tales. People didn't have happily ever afters, not real people at least. I thought the reason we had fairy tales was so we could all escape the reality that it doesn't happen in real life...I didn't know how very wrong I was. True, in Fairy tales you don't see the couple fighting, you don't see the battles over money and bills and the proper way to discipline the children, you just see the happy mushy stuff. Reality is that the happy mushy stuff happens because you managed to get through those fights, you managed to get over the bills, you managed to come to an agreement or at least agree to disagree. That's where the true bliss happens, that's where the true happiness shines through because in the end you know that now matter what happens you have someone, you have a person who will hold your hand and say they love you even though you have tried so hard not to yet you failed, you messed up, you made a mistake. No matter what you do, there will always be that one person there for you and that my friends is a wonderful feeling! I can't tell you how wonderful it feels to know I have someone and even better that someone is my husband and I love him beyond words!

Bad putty tat

We have 4 cats here, I love them all most days...today Rex is in the dog house!

Last night Rex was sitting on the back of the couch and started horfing like he had a hairball stuck in his throat. I didn't want a hairball on my head or on my couch so I grabbed him to toss him onto the floor where it would be easier to clean....he proceeded to grab my wrist with his meathooks and sink them in as deep as they could possibly go! Upon withdrawing said meathooks my wrist starts gushing blood...we're talking erupting like a volcano! SERIOUSLY! OMG I thought he had hit a vein or something! I grabbed a paper towel that happened to be on the coffee table and applied pressure while cursing the cat and resisting the urge to kick his butt outdoors as coyote bait! I got the bleeding stopped but it didn't feel right, I could tell something was wrong, I just didn't know what exactly.

This morning I get up to take the dog out to do his business and I couldn't move my wrist, I couldn't grab a door knob, I couldn't twist or grip, nothing! I could wiggle my fingers but putting pressure or gripping something with them....forget it, it just wasn't happening! I called the doctor first chance and went in to see her...apparently my wonderful kitty had actually knicked a tendon in my wrist. He didn't do so much damage that I require surgery, just enough to cause a lot of pain and swelling and the inability to bend my wrist or do much of anything with my right hand....and did I mention I"M RIGHT HANDED!!!! I get to have large doses of motrin every few hours and wrapped up in an ace bandage to help relieve some of the pressure from the swelling. I have to ice it on and off through the day and watch for any signs of infection since it was a cat meathook that got me and cat claws aren't really cleaned on a regular basis! Let me tell ya, that cat is lucky he still has a home! I think next time I'll let him horf on the couch rather than risk this kind of injury ever again! Typing one handed isn't easy, and that's what I do all night at work...I type so my life is a lot harder for the next few weeks as this heals. The doc says it'll be at least 2 to 3 weeks :(

Happy Mothers Day to me (a little early but I don't mind :) )

Yesterday was a beautiful day, the sun was shining and it was HOT....high temp of 95 degrees! That's pretty much unheard of here in Massachusetts for this time of year, definately not a normal April day. So what does one want to do on a nice hot day like that???? If you ask me, my number one thing to be doing would be grilling! I LOVE LOVE LOVE to grill! I love the flavor the food has, I love the easy clean up, I love not heating up my house with the convection oven and I love just being able to cook outdoors with a fire.

Now the grill I have had the past few years was getting tired and old, it was rusty and falling apart. You couldn't cook directly on the racks or you would be eatting bits of rust and god knows what else so I had to use tin foil and that kinda ruins it a little IMO....seriously half the point of grilling is getting those delicious grill marks on your food! BUT since I don't like eatting metal I cook with the tin foil and just live with it....I kept telling hubby this year I'm buying a new grill....problem was the grill I wanted was a bling-bling all stainless steel, will not rust or fall apart beautiful Weber. I saw them at Lowe's everytime I went there, I had a Weber catalog here that hubby brought home and I would dream about this beautiful almost $800 grill. That's a lot of money but it's a beautiful cooking appliance and oh the use I would get out of such a thing! I even had the color selected and everything...all I needed was the bucks!

Well yesterday my wonderful husband took the boy out for a little while. They wouldn't tell me what they were doing or where they were going, just that I would like it in the end, Orion specified that it was a surprise for me. Of course I took advantage of the boy not being in the house and took the couch apart (it's a sectional) and cleaned under it then had good opportunity to swear at it and call it all kinds of names putting the darn thing back together! Next time I think of doing such a thing I plan to leave the parts out on the curb for the trash men to take because I am NOT ever doing that again!!! Good thing Orion wasn't in the house or he would have heard a few new words and would have tried to charge me money since that's what I do to him when he uses bad words lol (See, I can set a good example, I can control the flow of words when I need to) Anyway as I finished up the living room hubby and the boy returned.

Hubby tells me he needs my help getting something out of the car....Orion blurts out that they had just bought me a new grill!!

We had to put it together, but it's AWESOME! Today I did burgers and french fries on it for lunch (yes you can cook frozen fries on the grill and they come out AWESOME!) So here's my new baby sitting on my deck...she's a beauty.... and it's EXACTLY the one I wanted! The picture makes it look darker than it is, it's really a bronze color and more orange looking than this.

From the front

and from an angle

I don't think I'll be using the indoor oven again all summer long!

State Championship Singles

I thnk I have mentioned before that Orion was invited to compete in the Massachusetts Bowling Association (MBA) State Champonships this year for boys 10 and under. Every year the top 10 boys are invited, last year Orion was number 11 for our bowling alley so he was an alternate, this year he has high average so he was number 1 to go.

This morning he bowled in the Singles Division, he'll bowl doubles and teams on May 9th. They bowl 5 games total, obviously the highest bowler wins. Today was day 1 of the Singles division so how he actually ends up placing will not be known until May 9th when they will hold the final singles division day (they need 4 days total for everyone to bowl) Orions actual average for league is 68.8 today he bowled and average of 81 and his total score was

That 101 in the 4th game...that's his best game EVER! Last years winner for boys 10 and under bowled an average of 79 so I think Orion stands a really good chance of winning a trophy and a savings bond this year! I am SO unbelieveably proud of my boy!

Congrats Orion on a job well done!

Pride and laughter rolled into one package

This morning Orion came to me and very politely asked if I could drive him down to GameStop so he could buy the newest Pokemon game for Nintendo DS. It's called Pokemon Platinum Edition and it's NOT CHEAP! I asked him if he had enough money and he said he wasn't sure how much it was but maybe we could look it up online and find out first. We saw it online at Toys R Us, Best Buy and of course GameStop for $34.99. He immediately went to his ATM bank and checked his balance, he had $38.00 saved up. So we got in the car and headed to GameStop since it's the closest. We got there and he found it on the main display and patiently waited in line to check out and when it was finally his turn he put it on the counter and reaches into his pocket for what I thought was a bunch of dollar bills with maybe a five in there as well...he had $18.00 in bills (1 five and the rest singles) and then he pulls out this little bucket marked "Quarters" The rest of his money as all quarters! He carefully counted and stacked them in groups of $5.00 and the look on that cashiers face was priceless! My boy was so proud of himself though, he was glowing! After tax was added the game came to $36.74 so Orion paid that man with $18.75 in quarters, $13.00 in singles and 1 five dollar bill! THEN he tells the guy "Thanks, you can keep the change!" OMG I just about died laughing! Gotta love kids, they really know how to make your day!

I was so proud of him though, he only gets $5.00 a week in allowance and from that I deduct money for the use of bad words and inappropriate noises. Now that may sound wierd to some people, but money talks with this kid and since I have started charging him 50 cents for everytime he says a "bad" word (words like : Crap, hell, damn, whatever (with that nasty tone) , fine (also with that nasty tone) you get the picture I'm sure) Well ever since I started charging money he has dropped those words from his vocabulary. I haven't heard "WHATEVER Mom" in weeks thanks to him losing $3.00 one week from his allowance! Over the course of the last month and a half he has lost on average $2.50 a week...that's half his allowance! This week I have only heard 1 bad word "Stupid" I know a lot of 8 year olds say it but I don't like it and it will leave his vocabulary one way or another! Instead of time-outs or soap in the mouth I use money and IT WORKS! So here's why I'm so proud of him....instead of spending his little bit of money on candy or junk he saved and saved and saved for months to buy this one game. He volunteered to do "yucky jobs" like scooping the cat box for extra money and he tries to find ways to make more money by doing odd jobs that he KNOWS I hate doing.....for instance I HATE putting away laundry, I'll wash it, I'll dry it (ok I know the machines do all that but I do have to sort it all and bend over to put it into the dryer from the washer) but I do hate putting it away. So Orion asked if I would pay him 50 cents to put away the laundry including the worst part....sorting and matching the socks! WOOHOO God has mercy and gave me a child who will do my laundry for me!!!!! YEEEHAW! Granted now whenever he does an additional chore above and beyond his everyday chores he expect payment lol BUT he'll take a quarter and be happy with that. Apparently those quarters really add up!

Merlin is home

We are so happy to have our baby kitty back home with us. He is resting comfortably in a crate in Orions bedroom where he can be closed in and kept away from the other animals.

Yet another Merlin update....

Spoke with the vet and Merlin is doing much better. His numbers are way up this morning and as long as they stay up for one more blood test this afternoon we'll be able to bring him home around 2pm. Of course bringing him home will be work on our (or should I say my) part. He'll have to be confined to a crate for at least 3 days, then confined to a room by himself away from the other animals for at least 4 or 5 more days after that. Orion has volunteered his room to be the hospital ward and we are going to set that up in a couple minutes.

Another Merlin update

Merlins red blood cell count continues to drop :( He was at 40 last night and this morning at 35 then this afternoon he is at 28. They did an unltrasound of his belly and could not find any internal bleeding, the scrotum area is red and swollen still and looks like it could possibly be bleeding inside the sac a little but as there is some oozing between the stitches. HOWEVER they don't think that's enough to really drop his numbers like they have been so Merlin will need another night at the hospital and more tests. He has had a clotting test and he definately clotted within the time limit, so it isn't that. He doesn't have leukemia or FIV (feline aids) He's had all his shots and everything so they really don't know what's going on with him. I am hoping we have some answers soon because my little boy is going to be very upset about this when I pick him up from school.....Merlin is concidered unstable at this point so we can't even go down and visit him.

The only upside to all this is that the vet has agreed to do all this work and take care of Merlin for free! They have not actually said it, but I get the feeling that they think this was their mistake somehow and they are trying to take care of it.

Just a quick update on Merlin

Received a phone call from the vet this morning, Merlin seems to be doing better today, no signs of external bleeding but his scrotum area is still red and swollen. They said last night his red blood cell count was 40 which is good, this morning it had dropped to 35. This could either be from the bleeding yesterday and he is finally equalizing or he could be bleeding internally. They are going to keep him most the day and test his red blood cell count again around 2 this afternoon. If he maintains the 35 we'll be able to bring him home. We will have to keep him confined to one room where the other animals will not be able to bother him and he will be able to be quiet for at least a week.

So now I am waiting for this afternoon when they will call with the next update, I should hear from them around 2:30 or 3 this afternoon.

Waiting when things go wrong....

I'm sure everyone would agree with me here.... IT SUCKS!

Here's our story:

Day before yesterday (Wednesday night) we took our baby kitty Merlin in for his pre-op check up. He's almost a year old and a boy so it's time for him to get "fixed". He's been walking around here howling away (you can even hear the girl kitties outdoors howling back in response...CAN YOU IMAGINE THE FRUSTRATION???) he hasn't started spraying (AMAZING I KNOW) but I was sure it would start up at some point. So that was the plan, get him "fixed". The vet gave him an ok bill of health, he's had all the proper shots so he was cleared for surgery as early as the next day.

Thursday morning we get up and drive him to the vet for what is supposed to be a simply neutering. Surgery would be around 11:00 am and they would call us when he was done and they would let us know at that time when we could pick him up. Sent my son off to school with dreams of picking up his kitty after school sometime. Early in the afternoon the vet calls, she says there had been a minor complication. Apparently there was more bleeding than is usual in his right testicle but she had managed to stop the bleeding and he was resting as comfortably as could be expected. They had him on some pain meds and he would be ready to be picked up and come home anytime after 4pm. She said there was some oozing at the site of the cut but it was ok and he would be fine. 3:30pm rolls around, we're getting ready to go pick up Merlin when my cell phone rings, caller ID shows it's the vets office. Now anyone who has had to wait for things and wait after someone they loved had surgery knows that gut wretching feeling, that tightness and uncomfortable "I just know this is bad news" feeling when you see that number on the phone.....this was the case with me. I just knew it wasn't going to be good news....and I was right. Apparently as the vet was getting ready to go home for the day she decided to go back and check on Merlin one more time, he was laying in the cage and bleeding pretty badly, his blanket he was laying on was red and he looked lethargic. She check his surgical area to see it bleeding pretty badly so she had to do emergency surgery. She had to knock him out again, go back into the right testicle and try to find the source of the blood. She explained about how when you do a neuter surgery you have to cut a lot of blood vessels and it was possible that one of the knots had slipped or maybe Merlin had some kind of clotting disorder that made it hard for him to clot (I doubt this was the case since his left testicle was fine and wouldn't a clotting disorder effect BOTH testicles??) She said she felt she had the bleeding under control, but she wanted to keep Merlin overnight just to be safe. They were giving him IV antibiotics since they had to open him up twice and that gave him a greater risk of infection, they will be sending him home with antibiotics and pain meds as well. She said they would call if anything else happened and they will call in the morning to let us know how he faired through the night.

So last night before bed I called them up just to see how he was doing. They said he had eatten some food and was doing better. He's resting and being nice and quiet and the bleeding appeared to be under control, they would continue to watch him overnight and call me in the morning to let me know if he made it through the night without anymore bleeding issues.

So that's where we're at, we're sitting here waiting for the phone to ring, waiting for them to call and tell us what is up and how our baby is doing. We're hoping he's ok and that he had a nice peaceful evening resting at the vets, doped out on pain meds and not bleeding. I'll let you know when we know more.

What a difference a year (and meds) can make....

A year ago I would have a knot in my stomach every time the phone rang while my son was at school. I was sure it would be the teacher or the principal calling about something he had said or done. Every afternoon I would check his folder with that same knot in my stomach because sometimes the teacher would just send home a note instead of calling. I knew that Orion was behind in his work, I knew he was struggling to get things done, I knew that the teacher was sending him out to recess with his workbook, telling him he had to sit on the sidelines and work rather than play. He hated school, he was miserable and would often come home crying about someone lying about something he did when the sad reality of it was that he just didn't realize what he was doing!

A year ago I was getting called in because he would be found swinging on bathroom stall doors, slamming doors in kids faces, yelling at other children, making little girls cry. He was loud and obnoxious, he was distracting to the class, he was mean in the lunch line and couldn't stand still to save his life. He was rough in gym class, he was a terror on the playground, he lost all but one loyal friend. This time last year I was very worried about my boy....worried and sad at the same time. He would walk home with me and cry....literally cry because he didn't understand why he couldn't keep his big mouth shut HIS WORDS NOT MINE. He would cry because he had said something to someone and it upset them, he was sorry he had hurt the other kids feelings and didn't understand why the other kids were staying away from him. He was deeply saddened by the fact that kids would tell the teacher things that he was doing or saying but he was sure he hadn't done or said those things. He would say to me "Mom that's mean, why would I do something so mean?" It saddened me to know deep down inside that he honestly was not aware of what he was doing and saying...the ADHD was controlling him, not the other way around.

But a year ago we did not have a diagnosis, we just had moms gut instinct and a teacher telling her how meds had made a major difference in her own daughters life.

So a year ago I went against my husbands best intentions and desires, I went against my mother-in-laws gut instinct and instead listened to myself. I called the pediatrician and asked what I needed to do to have him evaluated, what did I need to do to find out if my child had exactly what my gut said he had ADHD. She told me what hoops I had to jump through, the papers I needed to get from the school, the forms that needed to be filled out and what the steps would be. I contacted the school about a CONNORS report and got the questionaires from them. My husband didn't want to fill it out, he didn't think Orion needed this, he thought I was just soft and not tough enough with my discipline but he humored me and filled in the little circles on the paper. In the meantime I began researching and I gave Orion coffee every morning before school, it seemed to help. I sent the parent questionaires back to school and a few weeks later received a report back. I took the report to the pediatrician who looked at the numbers and said he was "under the radar" His number came in 1 too low for ADHD, then I got his report card from school and it totally contradicted what the teacher had reported on her CONNORS report...I took that to the pediatrician and told her I wanted Orion on meds, he needed this. She suggested we see a child psychologist who would make the final decision, was Orion ADHD or was Orion just bad at home and not disciplined well enough. That appointment took a month to get, the psychologist is apparently extreemly busy! Finally in July we managed to get in and see him and after 1/2 hour talking to me alone and another 1/2 hour observing and talking to Orion he agreed with me...Orion was definately hyperactive and had trouble staying on task, he was ADHD! FINALLY, a real diagnosis and an "I TOLD YOU SO!" for me. Mind you, it's not necessarily the I told you so I always dreamed of having, but finally I had someone else agreeing with me. It wasn't my fault, this wasnt a case of a too soft mom, this was pure and simple out of my control and out of Orions control. In August we started meds, I had done my homework, I had been giving him caffienne and paying attention to how much I gave him everyday. I told the doctor how much coffee he was drinking and how it was helping him and they came up with ADDERALL XR, within a month we had the proper dosage and Orion was a different boy. The psychologist said we should be a spokes family for Adderall because it was amazing the difference we saw. The school saw a difference, the teacher said she would never have pegged him for an ADHD child and even some of the kids started commenting on how much he had changed from 2nd grade.

Here we are, a year after we started all this and now I have a wonderful, happy boy. He has friends again, he has regular playdates and he has kids calling him once again to invite him to their house to play. We still struggle here and there, in the evenings when the meds are wearing off it can get rough, his weight is a struggle so occassionally we have to give him an "adderall vacation" so that he'll eat enough food to maintain his weight. When he first takes his meds he can get pretty bouncy as it kicks in and then when it wears off he can get moody but overall the end justifies the means. He's happy, he feels better about himself and who he is as a person. His grades have skyrocketed and now he's getting all A's and B's and the only thing he needs improvement on is completing his tasks on time...he gets them done, just not always in the time alotted.....which is why we pulled the 504 that makes it a rule that the teacher has to give him that extra time to finish up.

A year ago I was right and this year my son has proven to the world that there's nothing like good ole' Mommy Intuition! Listen to your hearts girls, no one, not a single person in this world, knows your child/ren like you do! When you think something isn't right, chances are it isn't! It's not 100% but it's pretty darn close and today even my husband and mother-in-law will happily admit.....I was right, they were wrong and they should have listened to me a long time ago!

Just a couple of nice photos

Took these of Orion just the other day :)

The black & white version

Mmmmmmmmm Mmmmmmmmmm good

I ran out of sugar and NEEDED my coffee to make it through my night at work so I made a quick decision that I knew I was either going to love or hate.....I grabbed the squeeze no-mess bottle of smuckers caramel sauce for ice cream and poured some into my coffee. Now I have a new way to enjoy coffee...caramel coffee. It may sound gross but really it's quite good.

A vent....because I need to

Why don't parents set better examples for their kids? Why don't parents teach their kids how to follow the rules and do things the right way??

I've mentioned before how Orion bowls in the Junior Boys League down at the local candlepin lane, well today was one of those days where I end up shaking my head and walking away in frustration before I say something that makes my kid look bad.

Just some basic rules so you know what I'm talking about:

When a ball rolls into the gutter and then bounces back out and hits pins it's called a "gutter foul" The pins do not count and the gutter foul should be recorded using the gutter foul button on the computer, which will deduct those pins from the score.

Also, if your foot goes over the foul line it's called a "foot foul" and any pins hit do not count, you use the gutter foul button on the computer to record it and the number of pins you hit will be deducted.

Now all the kids should know these rules by the time they get to the Junior Leagues, these are 3rd grade through 8th grade boys, they aren't stupid and they should know how to play by the rules. Occassionally the boy won't pay attention and won't realize they have a gutter foul and their team mates should pay attention to this or the parents. I often pay attention for my sons team and remind them when they have a foul and either ask them or one of their team mates to record it and if they don't I will do it for them...it's only fair.

So today, as usual, I'm paying attention. The team that Orions team was playing against was NOT paying attention, they did not record their gutter fouls and one of the boys had 3 foot fouls that he did not record even though I nicely mentioned it to him and his team mates. So I started doing it for them. The boy that kept getting foot fouls went over the line and hit a pin so I recorded it knowing he wasn't going to. I even mentioned it to one of his team mates who was standing right in front of the computer and even though I metioned it he didn't record it so I did. Plain and simple, you aren't going to play against my kid and cheat, it's just not right and it's not fair to the kids who work hard to play an honest game and get an honest average! Well the kids mother comes up behind me and demands to know why I changed her kids score, I explained that he had gone over the line and that was a foul so the pins did not count. She started yelling at me that if that was the case then everyone should do it and that she had seen numerous people not recording those things, I told her I agreed with her, everyone SHOULD do it. She said that since not everyone does it then her kid didn't have to either, I told her that wasn't a very good attitude, that her kid should play by the rules. She tried to tell me that it was all for fun and that I shouldn't get so technical, I told her if her kid was only playing for fun then he shouldn't be on a league team where there are rules that are expected to be followed. She then got right in my face and told me not to mess with her kids score again! Well this got the owners attention and he came over to see what was going on. She told him that I had changed her kids score, what she didn't tell him was WHY I had changed the score. The kid started complaining at this point too. He told the owner that it wasn't him that went over the line, it was his shoe.....apparently his foot is not inside his shoe????....Anyway the owner then explained what I had already explained about it not counting if you go over the line, the boy continued to complain. The owner stayed there for most of the 3 games watching them and making them record their fouls. At one point the boy went over the line and then complained that it wasn't his fault, he had tripped on his pantleg, the owner told him it didn't matter it was a foul. The boy argued, and the mother as well and he asked the boy "Did you or did you not go over the line?" The boy says "It wasn't my fault, it was my pants" so the owner asks again "Did you or did you not go over the line?" The boy replies "Yes but it wasn't my fault" The owner then stands up and says to the entire team...."it does not matter WHY you go over the line, if you go over it you do not get to count those pins. It's a foul and you must record it!" So the boy then looks him square in the eye and says "And what if I don't record it?" The owner replies..."Then you're cheating and if you cheat too much I'll kick you off my league!"

Meanwhile the mother is seething, complaining about me to everyone around her that will listen and giving me and my son the dirtiest of looks. At one point Orion asked me what he had done and why the woman was giving him such nasty looks. Near the end of the last game the owner had to go take a phone call and left us there, and as soon as he walks away the boy makes a gutter foul and looks me square in the eyes, picks up another ball and proceeds to bowl. So I said to the boy in front of the computer "That was a gutter foul can you record it for him please?" The mother freaked right out on me. She jumps up, gets right in my face and says "Excuse me but I tought him how to do those and you don't have to do that. He would have taken care of it!" I pointed out that he hadn't and that he had just continued to bowl and that you had to record it before you bowled the next ball, and she again starts saying how it's just for fun, that they're just kids and I shouldn't make them follow every single little rule because it was messing up her kids average. At this point I needed to walk away, I was at the point where I ws ready to make a scene. This woman thinks it's ok for her kid to cheat just so he has a higher average?? What the hell is wrong with her? What kind of person will that boy grow up to be when he has a mother that thinks it's ok to cheat to get ahead? Say nothing about the fact that the owner just sat there and told the boys right in front of her (and I KNOW she heard him) that they need to follow the rules. It just pisses me off to no end when I see this casual attitude. I know it's just bowling and I know it's not life and death, but isn't there something to be said for honesty and playing a game by the rules? Shouldn't parents take these games and use them to teach children right from wrong? Isn't that part of why we let children play sports in the first place....so they can learn how to work with other people as a team, learn how to follow rules and be good honorable people? Seriously, even when my son was little and we played Candy Land he was tought not to cheat in order to win, in school he is told not to cheat, cheating (in any form) is not looked upon with respect. How can this mother expect her kids to understand that it's not ok to cheat when she has this kind of attitude?? I can only hope that the owners will keep a tight eye on this team for the remainder of the season and they learn a lesson that she is not willing to teach them herself.

WOOHOO I'm celebrating lol

According to this article http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29409056/ coffee fights skin cancer! SERIOUSLY! Now I know the article is a couple of months old, I just found it tonight through a different Blog I was reading...I now have a good excuse to drink coffee.....this makes me happy because I LOVE my coffee and can't function without it. My hubby is constantly commenting on how much I drink and tells me how bad it is for me. Now I can tell him that coffee will actually help reduce my risk of skin cancer...that's awesome IMO!

Finally, it's all done!

After days and days of tedious work, I have my shower back! I still have to paint, but I haven't fully decided on colors yet but that's just minor details in the big picture! The new enclosure is white and makes the shower look bigger, hubby did a great job with all the caulking around it and I fully expect it to last at least a good 5 years until I get sick of it and want something new lol

Nightmares from the bathroom........

OK so hubby and I have been saving up some funds to do some home repairs. We decided the bathroom was the most important room because of obvious issues with the taps leaking...we thought it was going to be simple but no, not in our world. We tear off the old enclosure only to find we have to redo most of the pipes inside the wall. We get those all soldered and such, go to do the test and oops theres a leak. Get that one fixed only to find another...and another....and yep another! We go out and buy a new enclosure, get it home and oops we forgot to measure the depth and when the box said "fits all standard tubs" we figured ours was standard....well apparently standard in 1960 isn't standard anymore cause the enclosure is about 3 1/2 inches too wide and just won't work....so we have to return it and get something different, something we don't like the look of quite as much but will actually fit our tub. On the plus side....the one we are returning cost in the range of $250 and the one we will be getting costs in the range of $75 so I get to spend the money on other things like maybe some sliding glass doors for the shower instead of using a shower curtian. Onward...the giant piece of blueboard we have downstairs doing nothing we thought we would use to repair the area where we had to cut out to fix the leaky pipes....we can't use. It's 1/2 inch and we need it to be 3/8 inch....amazing how 1/8 inch can make such a drastic difference but it might as well be an entire inch....seriously! SO tomorrow we'll go return the first enclosure, buy the second one, buy the correct blue board and come home to make all our repairs. We are hoping to have the shower area completed by tomorrow night. In the meantime we get to take baths instead of showers and my bathroom is a disaster with tools everywhere. I just keep trying to remind myself that we'll at least be able to look back on this job and smile knowing we did it.