Oral Fixations & Zoo Furnishings & "Oh Yeah, I Forgot"

I'll work my way backward from the title in subject matter, it just seems more fitting! Under my last post on bad timing, I believe I forgot to mention that: While at a lumber store & looking at various deck railing options my youngest son became very hot & whipped off his shirt. This delighted his brothers to no end who then laughed & giggled & yelled several times, "Ridge is getting naked, Mom look, Ridge is getting naked!" This was barely audible through the laughter, although, me being semi-psycho, I freaked about people watching & how to act in public & then relaxed slightly because it was hard to say with a straight face, "Ridge, I'm sorry you're hot baby but you need to put your shirt back on" to the inescapable response of "Why?" for me to then answer, "Because, you just do". Ooh there's some death defying logic huh?

In other equally noteworthy news, let's see....yup I'm drawing a blank, that's how darned exciting my life is! Maybe it is harder to keep my thoughts & wits about me because of all the chaos involved in the various remodeling projects going on under-foot, none of which are done. I sit at my father's old desk which I'm so thankful to be in possession of, however it is facing a torn up wall where a large heater vent use to be. Next to me on the left is a 3/4 wall, which use to go all the way to the ceiling. My husband opened it at my suggestion to make a shelf for me. I had envisioned plants basking in health, dazzling us with their beauty, sitting upon said shelf. But sadly, no, not even close. The shelf became a catch all for tools & clean laundry & mail to go to recipients of the household whose bedrooms are on the 1st floor. Not only that, there are electrical cords still sticking fast in their original spot, yet to be moved, ah the beauty of it all, then there are the 3 different colors of paint, it's rather dizzying actually!!! I can't wait until it is done. Currently however, my house is flashing passers by with its nakedness. The siding has been torn off on 1/2 the house in only 1 & 1/2 days by 2 very hard working gentlemen we were fortunate enough to run across & employ. Did I mention siding was delivered & a garbage bin as well? They now decorate my redneck yard of the week as Jeff Foxworthy would say, along with a sliding glass door & some windows awaiting installation & whatever other cr*pola we've accumulated over the years. So yes, I will blame this outer chaos on my brain's chaos, it sounds like a good excuse to me so I'm sticking with that one for now.

Today while at, where-else but the hardware & lumber supply store, in an effort to keep the boys alive & not choked by their father, I took them with me to the garden supply area. My niece helped me cattle ranch the little boogers into submission, no easy feat but let me tell you, she makes them tow the line! This little endeavor ended up costing me $60.00 as I grabbed the last 2 ( 1 being a display) child size wooden park benches the store had. These benches had metal arms & in the middle of the back of the bench is a metal panel of zoo animals!!! It was just too appropriate with my 3 little monkeys. Besides, I could logically reason that this was a "Need" because their bean bag chairs only lasted about a minute & a half! Stupid little beans, ever try picking those suckers up? UGH! So, we now have zoo furniture for our biggest, noisiest zoo animals! This is good timing to because, oh, did I not give you the dish on this tasty little tidbit yet? - My husband & I are trading rooms with our boys because eventually we will remodel their room into what will ultimately be a master bedroom & bath. We are trading now because hubby is "about to" (yeah, ladies we all know about the man's "I'm about to's" don't we?) install a sliding glass door into our "gonna-be" master bedroom & a window in our now current / "gonna-be" boys' bedroom. This is partly out of safety, because the deck off before- mentioned sliding glass door is yet to be built & we don't want the little buggers splatting into the playground/backyard below. The fun never ends I tell ya. Anyway, I am getting them new furniture for their new room & they will be missing many toys that currently litter the room.

As far as oral fixations go: My littlest guy is obsessed with gumballs. I finally buy a bag of bribery (aka: assorted candies which include gumballs) & what does he do? His face lights up with delight & he marvels at each & every spot of it then licks it ( the taste test) & deems it worthy-to be saved in his pants pocket!!! Can you say "eeeeuw"? Can't you just imagine him pulling it out of his pocket later & popping it in his mouth-along with a bucket of lint & whatever else (God forbid, heaven only knows) is in there?! Mm tasty!! My 6 yr old for some odd reason is fixated with sucking/chewing on the collar of his t-shirts, he also bites his nails. At swim lessons while waiting for the teacher & not having any nails or shirt to chew on he started sucking on his arm stating, "This tastes like meat". Can you say "wierd"?? Ahh the joys of motherhood. But I have my oral fixations too-I had to go out for Thai food on my birthday, yummy. I have my dark chocolate & coffee cravings but that goes without saying. Some good chap stick is often swabbed on my lips-that's semi-oral I guess. Then there was today, Mexican food! It was delish, however, my fragile tummy decided not to hang on to this for long. This caused me to miss out on our very first ever boating adventure in our new-to-us boat. Well, that & getting incredibly annoyed with my husband! I may have thrown him overboard if I was strong enough! grrr. Anyway, I am partially glad it happened because it's given me much missed time to catch up with this little rant I write. You poor souls, you dear readers you, here I sit, happily torturing you some more. The good "oral fixation" news I have has to deal with my youngest son's speech appointment. It is amazing that he now is producing the endings of words! Not just soft sounds but harder, blended sounds. Yes he is getting them mixed up, that goes without saying (no pun intended there, that one just fell into place, sorry) but even mixed up, they are now being spoken!!! To help him say "s" the speech pathologist used drinking straws. He bites down on the straw, the tip in his mouth helps push his tongue down, if he lets go with his teeth the straw falls out. The closed teeth help him to say the "s" ! That handy trick along with her touching his face for clues as to tongue placement for other sounds has him reading little books with her!! It is such a blessing & such a wonderful thing to see in motion, not just as a mother either, the tactics used are really intriguing. He also blows bubbles & horns to practice getting enough air out to form words (which he can now do thanks to his speech path noticing his huge tonsils & adenoids & recommending a good Dr who removed them). All I can say is if you have a Scottish Rites speech clinic in your community you are truly blessed because many cities do not. I strongly encourage you, if you are at all able to please make a donation to their efforts. Their services are free. I know other moms in other areas who travel at great lengths (including taking trains/subways, walking, etc) to get to a speech path they have to pay for the appointment if lucky enough to be seen & not just on an endless waiting list. Also, many places do not offer services during summer & this lapse for a special needs child is like jumping backward 50 yards in progress. Okay, I'll get off my soap box for now. Eeeuw, now there is a yucky "oral fixation". I'll try to leave of on a more tasty treat: all I can say is: I wish you chocolate or whatever your craving. And remember, if you wash it down with diet soda it misses your hips completely without any aerobic exercise whatsoever! Honest, I think, at least maybe. Just don't quote me on the diet advice! Be blessed dear readers, until next time!

Bad Timing

Yesterday evening, my 6 yr old had his first appointment with a child psychologist to be evaluated for possible "absence seizure disorder" vs ADD/ADHD. The appointment was at 5:20, I think the Dr. might have been suffering from an absence disorder himself since he didn't come in until about 6:40. Thankfully there was 1 child's book & 1 child's magazine in the room, I think I have the stories & articles memorized & I have brain fog people!

So anyway, the Dr. was charming & attentive once with us. He did leave the room about 3 times but eventually always came back. He had my son draw a picture of his family, Drew only included those living in our house, so then I had to explain why & where his sisters were. Ugh. Then the Dr. asked Drew to draw what he wanted to do this summer. My son made a picture of himself with his tongue out slurping an ice cream cone he was holding while outside the front gate of the zoo. It was very cute & in both these pictures everyone was smiling.

Then, my darling, sweet, innocent, charming child started drawing independently to occupy his vast amount of time during this appointment. He perfectly created a cyclone fence close to the bottom of the page & stick like borders on each side. Inside this enclosed area he drew what looked like many upside-down horse-shoes with a ball at the top-center of each. When asked what this was a picture of he excitedly responded: "That's a fence in the desert & those are traps with bombs & those are stick things so you can't get out." I nearly had to pop a xanax in front of the psych doctor! I awaited handcuffs to be hauled away for bad parenting. I covered my face in shock & shame. I spoke rapidly, defending myself & my child in honesty, "he's never drawn anything remotely like this ever! I don't watch the news on TV so the kids won't see anything they shouldn't - I read all my news on the Internet. I just don't understand!!! Drew, honey, is this from some sort of computer or video game or something?" "No" was his response, I sunk further into the stiff, bun-numbing chair with my shame. Of all the times to draw such a thing, it had to be in front of a child psychologist, great, just great!

So now, the doctor, who was there for Drew, spent about 3 minutes calming me down. What a nut job I must have seemed like to him. Never-the-less, I am a free woman, not condemned to putting square pegs in round holes & attending parenting classes. My son is to be scheduled with a specialist in another town for an EEG in a hyperventilated-sleep deprived state for a sleep study. Pending those results we will know if it is a seizure disorder-which could be what is effecting his speech, or if it is just (oh joy & lucky us) ADD/ADHD. The fun never ends I tell you. I was a tad concerned about how to hyperventilate a child who is currently suffering from hay fever/allergy induced asthma but was reassured it is somehow possible.

For now, Dear Readers, I will close, as I am downstairs & the loud crashing of children on furniture & hardwood floors overhead has me wondering about steel-reinforcement beams for the house. This noise is mingled with yelling, laughter & occasional cries so I suppose I must put on my drill Sargent hat & take charge of the situation. I wish you ear-plugs, a sturdy combat hat, nerves of steel & the best timing possible for all things in your life. Be Blessed Dear Readers, Be Blessed.

Disney Princess Theories

I had mentioned to a very intelligent, thoughtful, courageous woman I have the honor of knowing & have become friends with, that I've spent much of my life feeling like Cinderella. I mentioned that lately I've been blessed, incredibly blessed, with some good fortune. Instead of enjoying however, I seem to go into panic mode, stressed that I will do something wrong & it will disappear. I likened this to Cinderella, instead of gladly wearing the glass slippers to the ball I seem to want to put them in bubble wrap to keep them safe. Unfortunately, that would mean nothing in my life would change & much change is needed.

My friend of super-hero proportions in heart & spirit & actions & intellect responded eloquently, as usual. She provided a very nice point of view & theory of her own on the rags to riches Disney princess. The following is quoting her, with her granted permission: "I once thought this story was about finding Prince charming who would then whisk you away from all your troubles & live happily ever after. But for some reason tonight I feel differently. You know I think once Cinderella believed in herself, she no longer felt comfortable in her limited / love-less world. She stood up to everyone & claimed what was rightfully hers. She and her prince get together & decide to live happily ever after." Further more, my friend, with a background in Social Work, advised me: "We could learn a lot from her. So "Cinderella" throw that bubble wrap away & claim what is yours & enjoy it!!!! We really don't know what tomorrow will bring...but we know about today & we deserve & need to enjoy this moment fully!!! Now of course I am not advocating for selfishness & greed we are much more evolved than this. we deserve to be happy & to share this with everyone we encounter. Please try to fight your worries they are so limiting...you deserve so much more & you know...so do I." Thank you Lisa L. in New York, you are now like the Fairy God Mother in the story. You did not make magic that was not there, you transformed the way I see what is already in front of me. Thank you so very much for the fairy-tale - reality check!

In my youth I spent many wasted hours looking for knights in shining armour. I made several bad choices in the male-companion department. Some men want only to be knights & once a damsel is no longer in distress they set off to rescue another. When I was particularly fond of a knight this feeling led me to cultivating harmful &/or dangerous behavior to once again qualify for D.I.D. (damsel in distress) status.

Once saved, the illusion of what awaited on the other side of the rescue met the harsh reality of something vastly different. Constantly having to reaffirm & reassure someone of their self-worth grows rapidly tiresome. So, as if a school yard game, the cycle then would continue to repeat with new players.

All of this theorizing brings me to think about Snow White. Now no-one should need a magic mirror to tell them they are beautiful - ideally we need to see the beauty within ourselves to better enable it to reflect out to others. But honey, let me tell you, there are plenty of days I'd pay good money for that sort of little mood booster! Not only is one of the Golden Rules "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all" but more importantly, I remember hearing somewhere along the way in life this wonderful tidbit that I've made part of each day: "You should always be able to find something nice to say about everyone". Not only does looking for beauty in others give you a great outlook on life but it also spreads that positive outlook to others. More often than not a compliment once received is similarly often returned to the giver &/or others. Then we get the pebble in the pond ripple effect. So, to finally get back on track, my belief is that if Maleficent would have spent more time trying to see the beauty in others, not just herself, maybe some hidden beauty within herself would have appeared visibly for all without threats of violence or cruel demise if not stated. I suppose the dwarfs symbolize "little people" - not in height stature, but in social classification. These people of "lesser importance in the social class system" actually demonstrated the best work ethic & positive spirit. They instinctively saw Snow White's kindness & beauty as she saw theirs. I always say animals & children never lie as far as their feelings about people, Snow White was a friend of the forest animals, further proving her genuine goodness.

Thank you Walt Disney productions for giving us so much food for thought / princess introspection! Be Blessed Dear Readers, find your inner princess & spread the beauty!

Deciphering Dogs, Cricket Life Spans & Tickle Monsters

On my last post entitled "Randomness" I mentioned wondering what happened when dogs stop in mid-bark. Well, having to spend 3 hrs at the medical clinic Thursday afternoon, another 3 Friday morning followed by 1 1/2 hrs at the hospital - I had plenty of time to flip through old magazines & some new ones. There are a lot of ads in the back of these & believe it or not, there is a thing that supposedly translates what your dog is barking into real words. It said one dog was swearing, another comment was that a child was interested in eavesdropping on his dog's conversation with another dog. Crazy huh?!



Continuing the crazy theme, I have to admonish myself for not remembering more of my Animal Planet shows & books. What is the life expectancy of a rogue, lucky cricket? Is it possible for a cricket to sing so much it sings itself to death? Someone please help me?!! Lucky or not, ominous or not, it is driving me nuts! I don't want to squash a good luck charm or be unappreciative of nature's music but, enough is enough already!

Well, projects await & my children's list of summer activities have reached computer-calendar-reminder-alarm level & it is still only June. I refuse to schedule park time because I like to be spontaneous & not limit going to the wonderful parks around here to just a specific allotted time, preferring to go often & in surprise fashion. Yesterday I was the park-playground "tickle monster" I quickly found that I am an OLD tickle monster, hardly capable of capturing & torturing anyone. This lead to the "freeze" rule, to incorporate a bit of freeze tag into the game & give me a tickling chance! I'm still worn out from it! Who needs aerobics class? Until next time: Be Blessed Dear Readers & have some summer fun despite random craziness.

Randomness

A while back my husband & I were trying to think of what cute, short phrase to purposely teach his African Gray to say. He, laughing so hard barely able to speak said, "buy me a boat, b*tch"! I had to laugh because we had discussed trying to buy a boat large enough to accommodate our family yet not be an ocean liner. We even window-shopped new & used boats. Ultimately, we ended up putting money on new, larger, more efficient appliances instead. After all, those are used daily compared to the number of times we would actually all get together on the boat. Plus the cost of storing it etc. Not to mention we have many, many home improvement projects, desperately awaiting our attention. So, today here in the U.S.A. is Father's day and to celebrate we all went to see The Fantastic Four Rise of the Silver Surfer. It was great fun, despite being a $70.00 expense. This was followed by going out to dinner for Chinese food & stopping to see if the home improvement store was still open - it wasn't. On the way back from the closed store there was a very eye catching used boat for sale. It is Father's day so we humored him & all waited in the car while he checked it out - and boy did he ever check it out! So once we got home, driving with dad's sales' pitch a lot of the way, I turned around to leave again. I went to the grocery store & got a helium Mylar balloon I'd seen there before. It was the shape of a sale boat & said, SS Dad #1 dad xoxoxoxo . I brought it home, handed it to him & said, "here, your b*tch bought you a boat". It was pretty amusing.

While we were sitting in the car waiting for my husband to finish collecting in tel on the used boat, we looked around at whatever was there to entertain ourselves. Oddly enough, we were facing a do-it-yourself-car wash (that's not the odd part) & there was a sign posted on it that said "No Mud No Grease". I'm guessing if your car had mud or grease on it, chances are, you'd want it washed off-so apparently you would need to use a different car wash that that. Seems pretty ridiculous, like the sign should have said, "Only come if your car is clean"

Once home mulling about, I discovered tons of soap suds & a bit of water all over our kitchen floor. I figured the repair man messed something up when he was out last time but I was wrong. It turns out my niece's fiance had been kind enough to do dishes for us. Well, bless his heart, the dishwasher has been broken since they moved in & you've got to give a guy credit for trying. He used the type of dish soap that is for doing dishes by hand, rather than the automatic dish-washer soap that we have stored under the sink. When we opened up the dishwasher all that could be seen was soap suds. It was hysterical. Moreover, seeing a big built guy 6 feet 4 inches in height get all embarrassed about it & feel bad was even more hysterical. I told him the God's honest truth,"If you mess up in this house, you have to know you are going to get teased about it forever because (then using a term they'd be familiar with I added;) that's just the way we roll."

A dog in the neighborhood is barking tonight. Ever notice how dogs bark with a bit of a rhythm to it for the most part? I always wonder what happens when the dogs sometimes stop mid bark. hm? Another one for the mystery books I suppose.

Until next time Dear Readers, Be Blessed!

IVs for Stick-Boy-itis & Parrot Computer Message

Thursday afternoon I took my son to the walk in clinic to be seen by a doctor. The walk in hours had been from 4pm-7pm on Thursdays. I arrived at 3:30 & was told to go & come back closer to 4:30pm (the hours had changed). I took my son to get a milkshake, trying to encourage him to drink or eat something since he had not been feeling like eating or drinking. We came back at 4:10ish, & were then pushed off to # 4 or so in line. Oh well. We were seen by a very capable & personable physician we'd not met before. Having many children, 1 with a chronic illness, myself & husband with chronic illnesses, we are there a lot & usually know the staff well. This clinic teaches physicians just out of school too, residency-training, so to be honest, sometimes it's a crap-shoot. Pardon that expression please. So, the doctor saw my son & decided he has severe allergies causing a bit of asthma. My husband & 3 yr old have had asthma all their lives so this was not surprising news, just another to add to the list. We were given a prescription for an antibiotic because of his history of fever, it would cover whatever infection, then a chewable allergy/asthma medicine & an inhaler. Orders for lab work were post-poned so that we could get to the pharmacy in time. Some 2 or 3 hours & over $100.00 in medication later, we returned home. My poor limp rag of a son took 1 dose of the medicine & had maybe 1/2 of a 7up & fell asleep. Friday morning he awoke as white as paper, ruby-red lips, throwing up buckets after his morning dose of the medicine. I phoned hoping to rectify the matter quickly by phone but no such luck. We then spent Friday morning from 8:30-11:30 at the doctor's office, seen by 1 physician primarily with another 2 consulting. Blood work was drawn in a difficult fashion because of his dehydration level but he was like a super hero, very good about getting it all done. He then had a chest x-ray as well. More consulting & debating about the next step & the mother in me came out. I spoke up to these learned professionals & reminded them - it's Friday, if he is worse over the weekend what is available so that we don't have to go to the ER? So, bless their little PhD hearts, they listened, agreed & ordered IV fluids but gave us a brief reprieve first. So, a bit of a lunch break then off to the hospital at 1:30. We were once again free a tad after 3:00pm. I have to say we received excellent care from everyone - sadly not always the case, but this time, this time was a very good experience, especially under the circumstances. So, my anemic little guy's test results showed that those multi-vitamins with iron actually work & he is currently not anemic. His labs had been ordered stat & we were called back promptly, yet another God reigning down smiley-faces moment. All was normal-praise God, except a bit of a higher white cell count confirming some sort of infection & tests confirming his dehydration affecting his body. Did I mention that this is my 6 yr old who on Thursday was back down to 40 lbs & on Friday only just barely 39 lbs? I am the mom trying to push chocolate milk, ice cream, all the fattening stuff - to no avail, or in some small victories, minimal acceptance. Weird huh? All of our good care, though time consuming, was then followed by a follow up call from the doctor we saw Thursday with her concerned questions. I was floored with grateful amazement at the thoroughness, this was not our primary physician, it was someone we saw on-call once! She updated my son's file electronically & on paper to reflect his allergic reaction to the antibiotic. She furthermore, sent an e-mail to our primary care physician updating her of the latest & not so greatest news. In addition to all of this, she then told me where she would be on call for Saturday & Sunday & how to reach her if necessary. Have we died & gone to heaven? I was beginning to think so. The fluids, discontinuing the antibiotic & keeping up with the other medicine paid off. Saturday morning (today) my little guy actually came to me with a bit of his old spark, he even asked for something to eat & drink which he hadn't done in like a week! He is now once again playing with his brothers rather than just laying under covers half asleep. What a blessing. The birds outside are singing, sharing their joy in our moment. Thank you God!

My little Senegal parrot, Sunny has become quite jealous & protective of me unfortunately. He is so very loving to me. I can no longer let him out when I type here at the computer though. Yesterday when I attempted to do so, Sunny walked down my arm & stood on the edge of the computer. No worries, he sort of checked out the keys & screen but no worries. That is until he took particular interest in a specific key & removed it from the keyboard. I retrieved the parts from his beak so he was safe. It wasn't a key I use ever so it did not effect my ability to do various tasks, just means more repair work for dear old husband. However, as I sit here this morning, I am wondering if maybe, just maybe Sunny was trying to tell me something? The key he removed says, "pause break" . I am inclined, in my exhausted body, unfashionably clad in nightie & robe, longing for bed, solitude & an ocean view, to believe he is right! Is this now divine intervention through one of God's feathered creatures? I'd certainly like to think so!!!

Until next time Dear Readers, take care, when unable to do so for yourself, I wish you good care from trained medical staff, be well in soul, spirit & body. Most of all....yes, you know, Be Blessed!

Bathroom Gum & Care-Package Jam

I find myself not sure where to start today. I've been writing on a less regular basis & for that I apologize. Not only to you Dear Readers but to my soul, jotting these vaguely coherent thoughts down is quite therapeutic for me & hopefully entertaining for you.

I exchanged physical addresses with my Russian friend who resides in Kazakhstan & I am sending an American care package to him, his sister & her 15 yr old daughter. The requests were simple & it was fun shopping. A pair of sunglasses, a purse, a cowboy hat, a teddy bear, little things. I threw in a USA baby outfit for the teddy bear to wear, some USA stickers & 2 t-shirts saying "American" on them. That & I had to send my favorite type of jam, a jam I've only heard of & found in Oregon, made of Marion berries. It is delish! In exchange I am learning some Russian recipes, some of the language & receiving some popular Russian music, but most of all, a terrific friendship.

My 3 year old son was so excited to tell me about going to the hardware store with Daddy & getting a gumball. I, wanting to encourage more free flowing conversation with him asked, "Oh, what color was your gumball?" This seemed innocent enough at the time. Unfortunately it was a gigantically, gross, can of worms I had opened up! He raced to the bathroom, yes, I said bathroom, I heard him climbing a bit (there is no medicine cabinet) & a bit of banging around. He then emerged from - the bathroom (!) - with gum which had been chewed & put it in his mouth for further chewing before my dropped-to-the-floor-jaw could assume speaking position again & proclaim resoundingly "No, don't do that, yucky, gross germs!!!" Oh, why wasn't I quicker?!! It was too late, it had re-entered his mouth from it's hiding place in the bathroom. I really DON'T want to know where, I am trying to block it out of my mind!! Trying, still trying. The only comfort I can give myself over this grotesque event is hope that we are building his immune system to rival that of some genetically enhanced engineered creature of the future. Please, say this is the case!!! Yuck.

We've decided that my little Senegal parrot is slightly, well, I don't know the politically correct term so I'll just throw it out there - retarded! He gets a bit over-excited or something at times & seems to fall off his toy or perch onto the floor of his cage. He then squawks a lot throughout this whole weird process & flaps around like he is trying to spin on his back like a disco dancer or rapper or something - but there's no music. Maybe he has epilepsy? I don't know. But, once I open his cage & take him out he is fine. It is like a temper tantrum to get me to let him out. I don't know if I'll ever figure it out, but my husband lovingly reassures me that this bird & I are a match made in heaven! I've learned not to feed him a grape or apple slice when he is perched on me because he flings it around & drops it. With the grape, he punctured it then shook his head squirting juice all over my face. Can you feel the love? I felt so much love I had to wipe it off with a washcloth! Ugh. I'm pretty sure at this point that our pets own us & we are theirs not vice-verse.

School is almost out. Swim lessons are attempting to be scheduled, library story hour trips are planned, lots of remodeling & yard work too. Trips to the park, scraped knees, bug bites, not wanting to fall asleep because it stays light so long, so much to look forward to. I must be crazy because I actually am looking forward to most of it. My 6 yr old picked out the "Madagascar" movie to watch, how appropriate is that? I think I am the zebra in reverse venturing to my homeland to find people because I live with so many animals. Animals & small children, you always know where you stand with them. Maybe that is what I like. There is no gossiping, no hidden agendas, no back stabbing to climb the corporate ladder or anything else. They are who they appear to be - genuine. That can be a rare quality to find in an adult sadly.

Well, the repair man has fixed our dishwasher. I'm not sure if Hallmark folks will make this a holiday but I am celebrating here at my house none the less!

Be blessed with genuine people in your lives Dear Readers, & just in general as well.

Fortune; Shopping; & The **** Joneses

A friend of mine & I were commenting on how quickly the week flew by. We thought we might just be getting old but her alternative explanation was God was playing tiddly winks with the Earth's rotation cycles. I rather favor leaning toward her version of events for obvious reasons.

The last time my husband bought crickets to feed to the tank full of blue-bellied lizards from Gramma & Papa's house, 1 escaped. Cricket that is, thankfully, not lizard. This rogue cricket is so happy about escaping his doom & migrating to an undisclosed location in the front of our living room that he can't stop singing. Day in, day out, nigh & day he sings. I remember that crickets are suppose to be good luck & this one obviously has fortune on his side, or at least prosperity, so I had to buy a lottery ticket or 2! I may be pushing my luck just a bit as things already have been going rather well.

Rather well indeed, except that is, for my old friend turned bitter enemy: Mr. Electric Dishwasher. I don't know if the gosh darn thing joined a labor union on it's last "vacation" & went on strike or what. Sadly, crisis intervention was called for in the form of an equally daunting duel persona. Fail-safe "Mr. Fix It Repair Man" vs his evil twin who says, "That part didn't fix the problem & I have to order another part, it could be up to 3 weeks". He has the nerve to say this to moi, the matriarch of a household of 8 humans. I suppose that explains his speedy departure.

My poor darling-husband works many hours at his regular job in addition to side jobs, on top of coming home to find a laundry-list of home-improvement projects awaiting his capable hands & precious time. This being the case, we seem to frequent home-building-supply stores as much as regular employees. Unfortunately, it is us paying them, in a cruel twist of fate, to buy ourselves work none-the-less! The audacity of it all! Simply outrageous in concept & in deed is it not? "Here, let me give you gobs of money for this item, which will consume time I don't have in order to install it & deplete any energy stores I may be hiding, only to cause me to relinquish more money for an alcoholic attitude-adjustment". Why do we do this to ourselves? For appearances' sake? To keep up with the Joneses? Somebody please declare the Joneses witches (surely it must be true!) & burn them at the stake! Oh wait - the stakes are for sale at the evil work-horse store! Figures doesn't it?! Anybody have more crickets that haven't foolishly been fed to lizards? In all honesty though, we do these things for ourselves, to change our house to our home, a better reflection of who we are & a more comfortable, inviting place for ourselves, I sadly, cannot blame the ****Joneses, only myself.

This brings me to the next black-hole-money-pit we were compelled to frequent today: the pet store. This 1 we hadn't been in before. Just inside the front of this store was a rather large Camen (an alligator-type creature). He was longer than I could spread my arms to depict with thick legs & a snout/mouth about as long as my fingers, but undeniably thicker. When this creature lunged from the water to have his front end on a rock, it was quite audible from the middle of the store. Now I ask you, why would anyone want a pet that looks like it could eat it's owner for a snack much like we down a few Oreo cookies?! I'm having a hard time understanding this concept. However, I'm sure there are just as many who have a hard time understanding my husband sharing his breakfast cereal with is African Gray parrot. Or me, letting my Senegal parrot kiss me after I've had cream & sugar laden coffee. Or the idea of a duck perching either on my son's head (see previous photo) or my husband's shoulder, or the arm of the couch watching television or attempting to take a dry bath on our living room floor. Yes, we are an odd bunch I suppose. This hits home the most when I watch & hear my husband apologize to his pet duck for putting it outside...yeah, to somewhat quote "The Wizard of Oz" "Toto, we sure ain't in Kansas no more!"

But unlike that traveling group, we definitely have heart & courage (remember GST's visit & 6, count 'em 6 kids, need I really further prove that point?) & enjoy home - for the most part. We may not know where the "yellow brick road" is, but we have a vague sense of direction thanks to a GPS system. And, OK, I'll give in that the whole brains issue is extremely debatable. I guess we'll just have to make up for it with heart & courage. That or see if we can find it on sale at the ever-frequented home-improvement store! Maybe it is next to the yellow-road-bricks? Price check aisle 9 please?

Be Blessed Dear Readers!

Parrot Dabbling in Dental Hygiene & Hair-Dos

My new little feathered friend is definitely living up to his name, brightening my day with Sunshine. Sunny was showing an apparent interest in dental hygiene, he was kissing me, then attempting to clean my teeth with his beak. He gave lots of kisses & I wondered if he was thirsty trying to get a drink, so I let him drink from my glass of ice water. He is also polite enough to usually fly off of me to poo. Hooray! He even chirps loudly for me if I am out of his sight a bit, he is a wonderful friend!! Although he enjoys re-doing my hair in different styles than I'd care for & being a mom of many I am NOT too picky in that department. We'll teach him though.



The little MIA daughter came by to use the Internet & printer then also called yesterday for me to take her to the doctor. The poor thing has such a severe sore throat it took 4 doctors checking it to make sure it wasn't strep. She also had a chest x-ray to check for pneumonia which turned out negative. I couldn't help but buy her a miniature rose bush plant when I got her prescription. Poor baby. Then she got offended when I said she needed to take better care of herself. To her, there was nothing wrong with wearing shorts & slipper-socks & a sweatshirt when she it's cold & rainy & she's sick. Silly mom & my silly mistakes & lack of fashion sense. I must not have offended her too horribly though because she called& came by again today for computer use, food & visited a bit. She is feeling better too which is good.



I should also note that while my friend currently resides in Kazakhstan, he is Russian, not Kazakh. Other miscellaneous news includes the fact that my husband finally broke the Wii Curse. Every time he had funding to purchase one there was not one available in our town, at times we missed the last one by 10 minutes! So he is a very happy camper & so are the kids, big & small. Now what a wonderful bribe we have to hold over them to clean their rooms & so on! I am lucky to learn how to turn the stupid thing on.

Until next time Dear Readers, Be Blessed!

Coffee with a Kazhak & Hip Pain Nightmare-Torture

Well, I've been away from writing for a few days & I've missed it, missed you. I honestly don't know how I've been pre-occupied other than the usual. So, here is a bit of the here & now that I've not yet shared with you.

A friend in New York said something so beautiful to me the other day, I asked her if I may quote her & she said it was alright. So here, in thick New York accent I'm told this beautiful pearl of wisdom: "It is amazing, but in our darkest moments...when we can't even see our hands in front of our face, something beautiful & bright shines through..." My cynical opinion had always been that the light at the end of the tunnel was an oncoming train! But, I like to think that my friend is the one who is actually correct in this matter. Let's all hope so at least.

I've been having my morning coffee with a friend in Kazakhstan, via web-cam & Internet calls. It is a nice way to wake up in the morning, although I am telling him good night due to time zones. He prefers strong tea so I am trying to honor a promise to him to cut down, he noticed my coffee cup looked large. I try to explain that in Oregon, we like our coffee 24/7 & merely partaking in 2 cups is not bad at all, but....I realize it is an excuse, so I stop myself. So far I have only learned 2 words of Russian but I will attempt to learn more!!

I am a bit ashamed to admit that my subconscious fears get the best of me! I started visiting with a stranger on-line, instant messaging. My courage was spurred on by having such a possitive experience with the surprise friend mentioned above. I then asked this person their name & where they are from? I find out I am typing to & from with a man from Syria. I was so shocked, I couldn't help but ask, "You don't hate Americans?" Since on my profile it clearly says "Hi from USA..." He said not all of them did & we had a short conversation. We spoke of the high costs of the war for all parties, of jointly wishing for freedom for all people, of the coming election & curiosity over what would come next. Now here is the part I am ashamed of. I have bursitis in my hips, worse on my left. I have to take medicine to fall asleep at all & for some reason, I was sleeping very hard for the first time in a long time. However, I was sleeping soundly on my left side - not good. The pain was aching & stabbing into me but I could not wake enough to roll over. So, my sub-conscience decided to fix things for me. I started dreaming that I was kidnapped by Syrians & Muslims & being tortured for being an American, they were stabbing me in my - you guessed it - left hip. Well, luckily this psychotic interruption was startling enough to wake me up & I rolled over onto my back. However, it was also disturbing enough to keep me from falling back asleep, although I have to say I don't think I've ever awoken, so thankful to be in my own home & in my own bed!! A mixed blessing I suppose. So I am ashamed, ashamed to dream such a thing, ashamed to be nervous having a conversation with this person in Syria, ashamed to wonder if McCarthy days will make a comeback & I will end up in a concentration camp charged with being a terrorist sympathiser or something - worst of all my computer would be seized & I might die from that event alone!!! Yes, I know, I must be under medicated. It's an on-going problem my doctor & I are working on correcting. What can I say, I'm crazy. My New Jersey friend suggested a very appropriate title for turning this into a book as she urges me to do: "Life In a Medicated Mind" Oh, yes, brutally revealing honesty. How humiliating - all just for your amusement Dear Readers, see my loyal devotion to you?! UGH.

If you are a devoted reader to this insanity which is my life, you may remember me explaining a situation before with my 3 yr old & naked cheese requests. This was followed by him thinking he was a bad boy because we did not have chocolate cookies. Well, now his latest theory is that if he is told "No" for anything be it, gummy snacks, ice-cream, playing naked in the front yard, whatever, then I must not love him anymore. Between this & his obsession with water guns I'm worried that I will not have enough money to support his obvious needs for psychiatric therapy of some sort on an ongoing basis & he will end up being a little clock-tower boy. UGH!

In other less insane news, my 7 yr old is learning that these Yugio & Pokemon cards actually cost real money to buy before he trades them. The disappointment in his eyes was astounding at this revelation. Bummer dude, but such is life & I cannot fork out $25.00 a week for the crazy things when we buy 12 gallons of milk to TRY to get through two weeks on. This is nothing compared to trying to keep at least a minimal amount of fuel in the mom-mobile. I need a winning lotto ticket I tell ya!

My niece & her fiance arrive this evening to move in with us, God help 'em! My parrot is screaming, competing with the boys for "loudest of all" house-title. My 3 yr old just got upset at the Fed Ex man for not coming in & playing with him & yelled, "Hey, where you going?!" I should have left the package & him at the door & stolen his truck for a quick get away but alas, my brain just doesn't think up these things fast enough, darn it. My husband is still his same sarcastic self & my daughter is still MIA & my oldest son is excited to be up to 200lbs in weight starting football training camps for his upcoming senior year. The bunny is happily still avoiding the neighborhood Rottweiler & munching dandelions, our furry babies are doing fine & our feathered friends are learning to live outside instead of in & even enjoying occasional swims (the ducks, not the parrot or doves or quail).

I am sure this is enough, no, make that more than enough information for you all for now. I hope I made up for missing a few days earlier. Take care Dear Readers & be blessed!