Jackaroo World

Sports and Such

2009-10-06T09:37:00.002-05:00

I haven't blogged in a long time. I am sorry. It has a lot to do with not a whole lot of things going on. Jack is loving kindergarten. Our latest development is his sudden hatred of the hot lunches at school. I had been paying the $2.50 per day for him to get the hot lunches. Most of the menu items are things he likes - hot dogs, chicken nuggets, and pizza. But I guess all of a sudden they are NOT things he wants for lunch and begged me to pack him a lunch. I think it might be because a lot of his class were packing their lunches so he wanted to join the packed-lunch crowd. So peanut butter sandwiches and carrot sticks and yogurt are now the lunch-time fare, which he seems happy with for the minute.

We also tried to put him in football. I should say that it was more Jim's idea to put Jack into football than mine. I was about to sign him up at Taekwondo (which is a major financial commitment by the way) when Jim came home and told me he signed him up for football - tackle football! With the full pads, helmet and the whole thing. I pretty much knew at the time that he was not going to like it, because he's Jack. He's a very sensitive child and does not like to be tackled. He is not a rough and tough kid at all. But I thought at the time we would try it for one season.

He started out with practice twice a week and then when I got there, found out that the practices lasted almost 2 hours! From 5:30 - 7:30 Tues/Thurs we were at football practice, which peeved me because I think getting home from football practice at almost 8:00 is a bit late for 5 & 6 year olds. I could tell Jack did not enjoy the practices. The coaches, in my opinion, were too harsh with the boys and were yelling at them too much. But it got him outside in the fresh air exercising, which is a good thing. And I thought that once we got to the actual games, he would start to enjoy the game. So I continued taking him to practices.

I could not get a schedule for the games, when they would start, and where they were, to save my life. The organizers of the whole thing were not too organized at all!

The last practice we went to, Jack was crying pretty much the whole time. He was miserable and my heart was breaking for him. He just isn't made to be a football player. Then at the end of that practice, they said they were upping the practice schedule to 3 nights a week for two hours each night! I went above peeved straight to blood-pressure boiling point. These boys are five and six years old! They do not need to be practicing for 6 hours a week plus add a few hours for the actual games!

I went home that night and was angry. I told Jim that I wanted to pull Jack from the team. I can tell that Jim is disappointed and wanted Jack to stay in the game, but everything as a mother was screaming to pull him. And that is what I did. I understand the importance of learning to be on a team, getting exercise, and all that jazz, but when my five-year-old is miserable, all that jazz is not that important.

Yesterday, we signed him up (took the financial committment plunge) for Taekwondo. He LOVES it and he actually is pretty good at it. He was better than some of the boys who had been taking the classes longer than Jack. The classes are two or three times a week for 30 minutes per class. A more managable time for both Jack and Mom.

Who Knew?

2009-09-17T13:43:00.004-05:00

I took Jack to the eye doctor yesterday. It was the same doctor that Jim and I both go to and we think she is great. Because Jack has just started school and reading and whatnot, I thought why not go and check on his eyes just to make sure everything is alright.

First of all, it was a full-blown eye exam. Jack did somewhat okay with most of the exam except when it came time to look into the camera to take pictures of his eyes. I was on the other end so I could see what the eyes looked like UP CLOSE, which by the way is way cool. But Jack did not want to keep his eyes open wide enough or long enough for her to get very many decent pictures. And I kept having to tell him not to touch the equipment or play with all the knobs on the lens machine. I just could read his mind saying that all the stuff in the exam room was great toys.

Then she had him read the screen across the room and this is where we ran into trouble. Turns out he inherited my astigmatism and the boy's vision is blurry! Who knew? She said that he is seeing about 20/40, which isn't horrible, but not good for his age.

So glasses it is. Jack, of course is so excited to get glasses and I let him pick out his frames, which are adorable on him, I have to say. But I just wonder how long he will be excited about the actual wearing of the glasses day in and day out. And how many pairs will be broken? She said that he doesn't need to wear them to play sports or around the house, but for school and reading they are a must. Poor kid, of course he had to inherit my bad eyes from me, he couldn't get his Dad's good eyes.

Kindergarten is going well. Of course, he doesn't share anything with me about what goes on during his day. I have gathered bits and pieces from the fragmented phrases he does say about his school life. He likes music class and he loves to sing songs, which he sings for me quite a bit when we are in the car. Love to hear that.

He does not like PE, which he has on Tuesdays and Fridays, but he does like his PE uniform that he gets to wear. Oh and he thinks changing in the locker room after PE is really cool because he gets to see what the other boys underwear are like. Sigh.

His best friend seems to be Cameron, who was in his K4 class last year. He doesn't like a kid named Kai because he always pushes him down while on the playground.

On Thursdays the whole school has chapel for an hour and even though he doesn't say much about chapel, he hasn't said he doesn't like it, so I guess that is a good thing. I have noticed that he is able to sit better during church on Sundays so maybe school chapel is teaching him something.

He is starting to read, but doesn't really like to. I know he knows more words than he says because when we are reading bedtime stories, I will ask him what a word is and after persuasion he usually comes up with the right answer.

All in all, he is doing very well. His teacher, Miss Hartwick always tells me he is so well behaved and helpful. I am looking forward to parent teacher conferences to see what he really is up to during the day instead of "I don't remember what we did today."

Update

2009-08-25T05:32:00.002-05:00

If you were reading the blog a few days ago about Jack making fun of the boy at church who had a speech impediment, well I had a breakthrough on the subject yesterday. It seems that Jack really truly thought the kid was talking funny on purpose just to be silly. And it makes sense because I really don't think that he has ever encountered anybody like him before. He brought it up yesterday morning as we were getting ready for school. He told me that the big kid was talking really funny. I told Jack that the boy had an accident by falling off his bike and hurt his brain and that is why he talks like that all the time. He is not doing it to be funny. He can not help it. I watched Jack take that information in and try to digest it. At first he argued with me saying that the boy did not have an accident quite emphatically. But when I argued back that yes he indeed have an accident, I saw Jack crumple in tears right in front of me. I think he finally got it. He understood that the boy could not help how he talked. A lesson learned about being sympathetic...hopefully.

Random Bites

2009-08-24T15:47:00.004-05:00

Jack has chapel on Thursdays at school. Here he is with his chapel uniform. So cute. However he did end up breaking the clip off the tie on the first day. Last week, I used a paper clip to hold it on, sorta. But I need to get another one for this Thursday for picture day. This could get expensive if he continually breaks his ties!

Can you say spoiled? Jim picked up a tv at a garage sale for really cheap and put it in Jack's room. The cable thingy doesn't work, so he can't actually watch tv, but he can play his PS2 games and watch dvds. Yeah he is spoiled, but Jim and I have the family room tv back!

In other news, Jack went to the dentist today and again the boy did not have any cavities. I swear he does not have my teeth because I get cavities really really easy. They took x-rays and the dentist said that Jack's teeth are "perfect". He also said that Jack should be losing his bottom front teeth within the next few months. How is it that my baby is losing his baby teeth? Anyway, he walked out with his prize, a monster truck, just what we need in this house is another monster truck.

Not Fair!

2009-08-24T10:00:00.003-05:00

The new Planet Fitness gym opened up near me a few weeks ago. So Jim and I signed up and to tell you the truth I was dreading having to start working out. I am at my basic core lazy! The idea of sweating and hurting is just not for me. Yuck.

But when Jack started back to school two weeks ago, Jim and I started working out. I usually do 30 minutes of the circuit training and then 30 minutes on the treadmill. I have actually come to shall I say, enjoy it! Who woulda thunk it. And I am feeling better and thinking clearer than I ever did before. So it is a good thing.

I am also following the Weight Watchers diet of counting my points. I am not going to the meetings because I have been there, done that already. But I am following the diet and eating what I should to hopefully lose weight.

And the results after two weeks of working out almost every day and eating right? I have lost two whole pounds! Yippie! It is so not fair. I am convinced it is because I am in my 40s and pre-menopausal and my body is holding on to the fat for dear life. Sigh. But I will not let it get me down. I am enjoying the results from the exercise, but I just wanted to say - NO FAIR!

Church...The New High School?

2009-08-23T06:09:00.004-05:00

I have been thinking lately just how alike church congregations and high school are alike. At least in my church.

For the past almost three years, we have been getting together with a group of people almost every Friday night for a small group experience of fellowship and bible study. When it started it was only four couples who had small children, so we all had a lot in common. Well it grew and grew and grew to where it became a small church gathering with close to 40 people every Friday night. And that is where the problems started.

First of all you have those people who think they are the most important, do the most for the church, the church couldn't run without them. One person even told me that she was a "mover and a shaker" of the church. They also believe that their poop don't stink. Among these types, it seems like there is a contest to see who can do the most "stuff" at church.

Then you have the "cool kids" and some of these people are also in the group I just described above. They are the ones that "everybody" thinks are so fun to be around. They are the "life of the party" and have all the other "cool kids" over to their house for all the "cool parties". You know like the jock or the cheerleader in high school. But they only associate with the "cool kids" that they deem are "fun" enough for their little "cool kids" get-togethers. They also feel that actually doing a bible study where you have to actually open a book and read is beneath their "coolness".

There is also those who are the "cool kid" followers, but never actually are elevated to their status. They are so thrilled like a puppy dog to be allowed in their circle every now and then, but are talked about behind their back by the "cool kids" when they are not around, mainly because they just don't measure up in the "coolness" factor.

Then there are the "Nerds" of the church. These are the people who are normal, but may have a deadly "flaw" in the eyes of the other groups. One may like to talk too much about her disease (Multiple Sclerosis) or made the deadly mistake of opening up and sharing a painful part of her past that could be used to gossip about by the other groups. Or there is the guy who was born with a defect and therefore not like the others, making him an easy target of more gossip.

There is the "older" group who basically is anybody above the age of 50 and not to be friendly with because they have nothing in common with this group. As one person said "I am just not going to be friends with an 80-year-old".

And lastly there is the "floater", who befriends everybody, no matter what group you belong to. And this is the group that I like to think I am a part of. In high school, I was a part of this group also, so I guess it just goes to figure that in High School part Two, I would be in the same group.

You are probably wondering why I am going through all this. And it is because we started a new small group formation this week. We split up into smaller groups and started to meet in the homes again. I am hosting one in my home. In this new small group, there is a mixture of "nerds" and "floaters."

There are now three different small groups to choose from and the "movers and shakers" and the "cool kids" have formed their own group. They are not actually going to be studying anything bible related, just getting together for "fellowship" as they call it. I call it a "gossip and I-am-hotter-than-you" session.

But I guess the final straw for me was when all this "church high schoolness" started showing up on Facebook with statuses that are so juvenile and petty. In fact, they are not even high school, they are more like junior high playground worthy.

And in all of this, you noticed I never mentioned God, the most important reason to even have a church. That is because there is no God in all this mess. And I am sure he is very disappointed in his humanity that call themselves "Christian".

Teenager at Five??? Or a Demon Seed??

2009-08-19T21:22:00.003-05:00

Alright I don't know what has happened lately with the boy, but I swear he has turned into a teenager in the last two weeks at the age of five!

At school, he is graded on his behaviour each day by either a smiley face or a frownie face on the calendar. Well it was the third day of school and he came home with a frownie face! I ask him what was the deal with that and the first thing I get out of him was "do we really need to talk about this?" Well at that moment, I instantly went from a little perturbed about the frownie face, to an 8 on the richtor scale!

It seems that while they were lined up, he reached over and hit and scratched another boy in line and it was totally unprovoked by the other boy. When I asked Jack why he hurt the other boy, he comes up with "because I don't like to stand in line." aye aye aye.

The next day, his teacher told me he had a better day, he "only hit one time". But thankfully he has had smiley faces for the past week.

And then that brings us to tonight when we were at church. There was a teenage boy there who was in a motorcross bike accident a few years ago that resulted in brain damage. He has a bad speech impediment and speaks very slowly. While this boy was talking, I caught Jack sitting there and making fun of the poor boy! I immediately took him outside, gave him a spanking, and a lecture about not making fun of others. When we got home, I was putting him to bed and he looks at me with a defiant look and tells me that he was mad at me for yelling at him. Of course that made my blood pressure raise to sky high levels. I took his stuffed animals away from him and he proceeded to cry and scream for the next 15 minutes.

There are a few things that I will not put up with and being cruel and mean to others is one of them. I do not want Jack to become one of those kids. I know that kids will be kids, but I hope to instill some empathy into him.

The Day Is Here...First Day of Kindergarten!

2009-08-10T20:50:00.006-05:00

I could not let this day go by without blogging about the boy's first day of kindergarten! This is the day that I have been both looking forward to and dreading all at the same time. I have been excited because now that he is in school all day long, every day, I can now devote some of my time to me. I have plans to start back at working out at the new gym around the corner. I have plans to organize this house (can you ever be truly organized) and do some projects around the house. I am also debating in my mind about going back to work. Just the possibilities are very liberating in knowing that I have the hours of 8 am to 3 pm dedicated to me!

But I have been dreading the day because it means my little boy is not my little boy anymore. I do enjoy Jack's company. He actually is very fun to be around and I treasure our time together. When he was in preschool last year, I would pick him up at noon and it would be Mommy and Jack time and we went to lunch at least once a week. But now he eats his lunch with all his friends at school. He now has his own life that does not involve me for seven hours a day.

He was so excited this morning as Jim and I were driving him to school. He got in the car and yelled out "kindergarten here I come!" I tell you that kid cracks me up all the time by the things he says. We decided to put him in the private christian school that he was going to for preschool. Yes it is a fortune, but for right now, we think it is worth getting that christian foundation and not to mention the better academics than the elementary school that is in our district.

It was so chaotic this morning when dropping him off. He has quite a few friends he made during preschool in his class, so that was a good thing. His teacher is great and the classroom looked like such a fun place to be. It was fun watching all the other parents with cameras in hand sending their kids off to kindergarten, and yes I was one of them!

When we picked him up, he was still all pumped up with excitement. His teacher sent home a note saying that starting next week, the kids will have homework sent home on Monday and they have until Friday to finish it. I think homework consists of one or two worksheets, but it gets them in the homework mode for the future. And Jack is thrilled to have homework to do. We shall see how long that lasts.

I couldn't get much out of him about what they did today, other than he enjoyed lunch and recess. Typical kid.

So that's it. The big day has come and gone and I survived it with very few tears. I know it has been a long time since I have blogged and for all those people who have mentioned it to me, I apologize. The summer was a bit traumatic in the Jackaroo house. But I am back and will be posting again on a regular basis.

It Looks Like We Just Might Have Grandchildren ... and other Happenings

2009-05-20T13:25:00.003-05:00

At Jack's five-year check-up, the doctor noticed that Jack's boys (yes I am talking about those) had not dropped like they should have by now. This of course made me very nervous about the possibility of not having grandchildren since they were supposed to be dropped fully by the time he was two. So we got a referral to go to the Children's Hospital in New Orleans and we made the trip over there on Monday. And thankfully all checked out alright. It turns out he has what is called "retractable testicles" and he has the ability to retract them when he gets nervous or turns cold. Every single man that I have told about this condition has informed me that would come in handy. But anyway, it is a condition that is nothing to worry about, except have to keep an eye on it and make sure that as he grows taller, they are able to still drop. So phew. Grandchildren are still a possibility.

In other happenings, the kid's get out of school on Friday. I am actually looking forward to not having to get two kids to school all before 8 am every single day. I still can not believe that Jack is going into kindergarten next year and will be a full day of school for him everyday. He is sooo excited about the whole kindergarten experience and keeps asking me when it starts. I also got his yearbook today and I have to say that I am a proud Mama because he was awarded with the Christian Character award for his class. We plan to keep him in this Christian school all the way through the 12th grade.

Tomorrow night Jack has his preschool graduation, which I am sure will be very very cute. He says they have been practicing for it every single day. The main event will be the kindergartners who will be in little cap and gowns as they "graduate". Simply adorable.

Things are starting to calm down a bit with Brandi. She made me sooooo mad last week when I found out that she stole a cell phone from a friend and did more than 5000 text messages and was calling people that she is not supposed to be in contact with. The theft was a felony and if our friends had pressed charges, she would be in a world of trouble right now. I do not believe I have been so angry and mad in my life and it has taken me a week to calm down a little bit. I am really wondering if we are doing any good with her. She just sits there and shuts down when I or anybody else tries to talk to her. But I am not willing to give up on the girl ... yet. At least I do have somebody that I can make do the dishes and other nasty chores around the house like pick up poop in the backyard. :)

Sickies

2009-05-13T08:52:00.003-05:00

Jack is home sick today. He woke up at 4:30 this morning yelling out for me. I first thought that he just had allergies because his eyes are all swollen, red, and watery. But he sneezed some pretty ugly green goop, so I figure there is something else going on. And with all the swine flu histeria going on, I guess taking him to school with green goop is not a good thing, even though the last time I checked, Mississippi was one of the few states with no cases of the swine flu.

So anyway, it looks like a day of Disney channel and whatever. The boy is very into drawing and coloring and writing these days, which I like to encourage. He loves to write an assortment of letters down and make me read them. It is fun trying to sound out the word "UIWMEW".

There has been more drama with Brandi and spent the entire day yesterday dealing with said drama. But that is a whole nother post and I am just too weary to even post about it right now.

Mother's Day at the Jackaroo House

2009-05-11T07:11:00.002-05:00

I had a wonderful mother's day. The day started out with Jim making breakfast for all of us yesterday morning. We decided to play hookey with church because Jack was having a tee-ball tournament this weekend. The tournament started on Friday night and his team won. It was back to the ball fields at 9:00 on Saturday for another day of tee-ball playing. His team played two games and won both games.

On Saturday night, we took advantage of our built-in babysitter, Brandi, and Jim and I went to see Star Trek movie. It was a really good movie and even better getting away from the kids and having some time alone with Jim.

On Sunday, we were back to the ball fields. Jack's team won their first game, which meant they had to play again against the best team in the league and well we got slaughtered in that game. But truthfully, I was very happy not winning and having to stay for the championship game. It was 93 degrees with 90% humidity out there. The boys were exhausted and the parents were hot and sunburnt. I was very happy to lose.

Jack has actually improved alot in the tee-ball playing. He actually hit a few doubles and is starting to pay attention when on the field. His favorite position is catcher and takes his catcher duties very seriously by making sure the ball is placed on the tee just right everytime. He still has alot to learn and lots of practice, but he seems to enjoy playing. The season ends on the 29th and we will probably end up putting him in Fall Ball to get some more practice. I would say that this has been a positive experience for the boy despite the uncertain start.

Trying to Get Back Into a Rhythm and Frustrations

2009-04-21T08:27:00.002-05:00

So today marks the first day of back to normal. Laura left yesterday afternoon after being here for two weeks. She was supposed to leave early Sunday morning, but her flight leaving Gulfport was delayed by 3 hours which meant that she was going to miss her connection and they couldn't get her on another flight until way late, which is against the Unaccompanied Minor policy. So we got her for another day.

So everybody is back to school. I kept Jack out of school most of last week just so he could spend some time with Laura and Brandi, who was out of school on spring break also. Ihave no idea why Jack's spring break had to be in March when every body else had it in April. But it is very nice to be back to normal.

We had some major drama yesterday around here. Laura could not find her cell phone when she was packing up. She and I tore the house apart looking for the thing. I had a sneaking suspicion that Brandi had taken it, but I really did not want to think that. So I had to take a very upset Laura to the airport without her cell phone. She was literally in tears because of what her mother's reaction was going to be. Her mother is downright cruel and won't give it up until she has belittled Laura. So Laura was scared to death to get back to California and tell her mother she couldn't find her phone.

So after I saw Laura off, I went to the High School and picked Brandi up and confronted her about the phone. She looked right atme and said she did not have it. I went through her pockets, bag and everything looking for it. We get home and Jim has to call Laura's mother and tell her about the phone. We both know that Brandi took it and wanted her to fess up. So Jim is telling Laura's mother to get the texting activity today because he is pretty sure that somebody took the phone. Brandi tells me that she wants to tell me something in her room and sure enough she stole the phone and gave it away to a friend!!!!!! I do not think I have ever seen Jim so mad in all the years I have known him. I have no idea what she was thinking. We do not let her have a cell phone. She has no phone privileges and no computer privileges and she can't go anywhere except to school and church. I do not know how to punish her for this. She continues to lie to me saying it was an accident. But I know different, because all day yesterday she was turning the phone off and on and knew exactly what she was doing. She has yet to apologize for it. She stayed in her room most of the night last night.

I am truly at my wits end with her. I am having second thoughts about whether we can help her at all. Can we change 15 years of neglect and abuse and having no consequences in 3 months? I was letting her get on Myspace when she first got here. She promised she would not talk to anybody but her friends. Well I later found out that she had been giving our home phone number out to strange men and talking to them. She also had Jack's picture on her page and claiming him as her own child, along with a bunch of other lies. Which is so dangerous considering that Jim is a cop and has probably arrested some of these people she was talking to. We live in the threat of somebody finding out where he lives and coming here with revenge. I was so mad at her that I was shaking uncontrollably that night. That happened about a month ago. And now the cell phone theft. I am really doubting whether we can do this whole foster thing. I thought we could change her life, but now I am not so sure. It is all very frustrating and disappointing.

Easter Pics

2009-04-13T10:53:00.005-05:00

Another Crazy Busy Weekend

2009-04-11T06:50:00.003-05:00

First of all, thanks for all the birthday wishes. I had a great day. I took the kids shopping and got the girls easter dresses, yes even Brandi as shocking as that is. I will have to post a picture of her on Sunday. I got Jack a new pair of pants (I can not believe he is into size 6 now!) that can double as part of school uniform for next year and a shirt and a pair of shoes. Since we get 98% of his clothes as hand me downs, it was actually kinda fun to shop for the boy.

As for me, I got myself a pair of fancy jeweled flip flops that I can wear to church, but man they just are not as comfy as my croc flip flops are. I also bought myself a Nintendo DS with the brain age game and a Mario Bros game. HA! With all the kids in the house, yeah I might be able to play it sometime at the end of the summer, who knows. But it is cute and pink when it is being played by some child of mine.

It is so not like me to spend money like I did yesterday. Laura was looking at me like who has possessed this woman. But it was really fun to just say what the hey.

This weekend is yet another crazy busy weekend. We have plans to get together with the whole Clayton family today for Easter dinner. Of course the last minute family plans meant that I had to tell them at church that I would not be able to help out today at the Easter festival for the kids. Can't be at two places at once.

And of course tomorrow is Easter and that is always a busy day. But I promise to post pics of the kids all dressed up. Fun times.

Happy Birthday To Me...

2009-04-10T07:06:00.002-05:00

Today I turn 42. Wow that sounds old. My big plans today are to take Brandi and Laura shopping for Easter dresses. It will be worth every penny if I can get Brandi into a dress. The girl who wears nothing but Aero jeans and Aero tshirts. Then next on the agenda is to take them to the Hannah Montana movie. And Jack will be tagging along for all of this too, which will cause him to complain and whine mightily about how bored he is while shopping. Should be fun....

Tee Ball ... The Ultimate Frustration

2009-04-08T09:48:00.003-05:00

Jack had his third game of tee ball last night and I just have to say that it is sooooo frustrating for Jim and I to sit there and NOT yell at the boy. He is on the 5/6 year old team and since he just turned five, he is one of the youngest on the team. Some of the boys are almost 7. So there is a wide variety of abilities.

But that is not what is so frustrating for us. It is the total and utter lack of concentration on Jack's part. When he is on the field, while all the other boys are paying attention and fielding the ball, Jack is in the outfield turning around in circles, shuffling the dirt with his feet, playing with his hat, throwing his glove in the air, pretty much everything BUT paying attention to the game. In fact, the coaches had to go out and tell him to go into the dugout at the end of the inning, when every other player was already in the dugout, except Jack who was turning in circles.

And this is not a laid-back tee ball league, no they keep score, count strikes, have an umpire, the whole shebang. It is the real deal. And for Jack to be in LaLa land is quite frustrating and quite frankly embarrassing. He doesn't seem to care. Even after we had a talk before last night's game when I told him that if he didn't pay attention, he would lose his PS2 game for a week. Well he has lost the game and I just don't know if that is enough to make him care about the tee-ball.

Sigh. Maybe he will get into Taekwondo this summer. So far we are 0-2 with soccer and teeball.

It Helps to Have Pediatricians for Friends

2009-04-04T09:39:00.002-05:00

We have friends who are married pediatricians, who goes to our church and lives in our neighborhood. It comes in handy, like when Jack was having a strange rash and I just drove him over to Nichol's house to make sure it was nothing serious.

Well last night I talked to them about Jack's testicles, which by the way is kind of embarassing to be talking about. They were saying that a boy's testicles should be fully dropped by the time he is two. When I told them about Jack's having to be pulled down, but pop right back up is not that bad of a thing, as long as they can be dropped. If they couldn't be dropped, it would probably mean he would be sterile, but since they can be pulled it is a good thing. However, the fact that they pop up, means that they will probably have to go in and "tack them down" or release the muscle that is holding them up. They were a little surprised that this is the first time a doctor has mentioned anything and should of been mentioned during the two-year or at least the three-year check up. The fact that they waited till now to mention anything does worry me, but they seemed to think it is not that major of a deal, but is something that needs to be addressed.

Five-Year Check Up

2009-04-02T17:00:00.003-05:00

Today was the day for Jack's five-year-old check up. Jim took him this morning, so everything that I am reporting is through him. It seems like he is a healthy boy. He is 45" tall and 46 lbs. Good grief that is only 3 inches away from four ft tall! Geesh.

I guess they checked his eye sight and Jim said that he did pretty well except for the really small letters, which is much better than I can do. Ha!

There is one thing that is of concern though. It seems that his testicles have not dropped the way they should of. The doctor can force them to drop, but they just pop right back up, which I guess is not a good thing for a five-year-old boy. I guess they should have dropped by now. So we are getting a referral to a Urologist in New Orleans at the Children's hospital there to see if any surgery is needed. Yeah slight flip out on the word surgery, but not too bad. Hopefully everything is okay and that won't be needed.

But other than that he is a very happy and healthy five year old boy.

Priceless

2009-03-31T21:34:00.003-05:00

Cost of new bat ... $25
Cost of new batters helmet ... $12
Cost of new baseball shoes ... $25
Cost of new baseball glove ... $19
Cost of new bag to hold above items ... $20

To watch the excitement of a five year old boy who knows he is going to be playing baseball

PRICELESS

Take Me Out To The Ballgame...

2009-03-30T20:58:00.005-05:00

So we started T-Ball tonight. It has been a nightmare to get to this point. I swear we are jinxed when it comes to team sports for Jack.

We signed Jack up for the t-ball in February, paid our fee and was told they would get in touch with us when practices started. Well time went by and we soon found out that our friends son was on his team with scheduled practices. I have spent two weeks trying to get in contact with somebody, which was very hard because their website had absolutely no way to get in touch with them. Finally I got the phone number of the league commissioner and gave him an earful about not being told that the season started. Well, of course because it is us, they lost our paperwork and had no record at all of us signing up, despite the fact that they cashed our check. Thank goodness I had kept our copy and proved that we did indeed sign up. At this point, the teams had been together and practicing for almost 3 weeks. So finally today I got a phone call from the coach telling me that they had a practice tonight, nothing like short-noticed.

So we showed up at the baseball fields with about a gazillion other teams there (baseball is huge around here by the way) and me trying to find our team not knowing what our team name is or the color or what the coach looks like. I walked all over there asking if they knew where coach Billy was and I got completely vacant stares. I finally found the coach and the right team. I then look around and feel like I am out of my league. It turns out that this is the big league T-Ball for the 5 and 6 year olds. The other kids have the special sports bags all lined up there with their names on them. They each have their own bat, helmet, mitt and full (just like the pros) uniforms. Me? I brought my five-year-old. That is it.

So it looks like I need to go out and buy a gazillion dollars worth of equipment. Jack's first game is on Friday night and he will probably not have his pro uniform by then. But at least Jack seemed to have a good time out there in a borrowed helmet and bat tonight. The coach said that he is not behind and should do fine on the team. People it is T-BALL, not the big-leagues!

So yes we are onto another sport. I just hope that I end this season with a better feeling than I did the soccer season. I sure am not starting it on a good note!

Storms and No Sleep

2009-03-27T13:54:00.003-05:00

Last night was another night of really bad storms. I haven't heard how much rain we got, but it has to be A LOT. The way it sounded on the roof was pretty bad. And the thunder and lightening kept going all night long. I woke up about 12:30 and was pretty much awake until 4:30 when I went back to bed and got another hour and half of sleep. Of course at 6:00 I have to wake kids up for school.

Jim was on duty last night and I called him about 2:00 and he said that he couldn't see anything while driving. Oh and he got hurt last night by some drunk guy who was resisting arrest and elbowed Jim in the ribs so hard that they thought he had broken a rib or two. After going to the ER and getting x-rays, it turned out that he just had a bruised rib. But still quite painful and he is sleeping with some percocet right now.

And another strange thing happened yesterday morning when lightening struck my boss's neighbor's house (right behind him) and burnt the house down. My boss was saying that the flames were 20 feet in the air. I drove by there today and there is nothing left of the house but the bricks. How scary is that? Of course my boss is feeling pretty lucky today. Had it been 100 feet the other way, it would have been his house.

Anyway that is what is happening around here. Lots of bad weather, no sleep, and houses burning down. I am now off to pick Brandi up from school and take her to her therapist for her weekly appointment. Thank goodness a friend just came and picked Jack up so that I don't have to wake up Jim to watch Jack. Life is very busy and complex these days. Phew!

Saturday Stuff

2009-03-21T08:22:00.003-05:00

** Brandi is at a youth retreat this weekend at another church. She was quite nervous when I dropped her off last night and wasn't sure if she wanted to spend the night because she didn't know any of the other kids there. We found out about this retreat from a lady who runs a foundation geared to help foster kids on the gulf coast. But she was brave enough to stay and from what I can tell, she is going to have a really good time.

** For the first time in I don't know how long, we have a Saturday that is not jammed packed with stuff to do. I have to run a few errands and tonight I am going to a friend's house for a Twilight movie party, but other than that I don't have to rush off to do something. It feels really nice.

** The weather here has been beautiful. It has been sunny and around 75. Gorgeous.

** Some stupid person on a barge ran into one of the bridges across the Biloxi Bay yesterday and a 60-foot section of the bridge fell into the water, along with a car. Nobody was hurt, but it will make the traffic around here really really bad for the next however many months until it gets fixed. There is now only two ways to get across the bay and that is not good.

** Jim has been working really hard on our front-yard landscaping. It is almost done. We now have a pond with a fountain, palm trees, and pretty plants out front. I will take pics and post them.

** I am very excited because Jack will be in his new school building on Monday. This building was supposed to be finished before the school year started, but that obviously didn't happen until after spring break. It is an absolutely beautiful building and it will be his school until he is in high school.

What Does That Say?

2009-03-18T17:13:00.002-05:00

I told Jack to go clean up his room (it needs a major overhaul and major throwing out things) when we got home today. He, of course, grumbled about having to do it and asked me if I could help him. I told him that I could not because I was cleaning the rest of the house. His next question to me was "who is coming over?".

Alright what does that say about my cleaning skills or lack thereof? But to be truthful, we have our first home visit from the social worker tomorrow, so there you have it. I guess I do only clean when somebody is coming over. The social worker visit was supposed to be on Tuesday, but got rescheduled for tomorrow. If that were the case, the house would have been cleaned on Tuesday.

Just Shoot Me Now ...

2009-03-17T18:06:00.004-05:00

Laura called and asked if she could bring a friend from California with us to Disneyworld when we go in June. I guess her friend's parents is willing to spend the dollars to fly her out here and all the other costs involved in a two week stay with us. I am not totally against the idea seeing as we do get five tickets at $99 plus Jim's free ticket thanks to the new military discount this year and we would be able to get her friend, Alyssa, in at that rate.

However, the whole idea of having THREE TEENAGE GIRLS with us is more than my brain can handle. Then I started to think about our lodging and the ONE bathroom and ONE room we have reserved at the moment. Can you just imagine trying to get ready with THREE TEENAGE GIRLS? As Jim said, he will just go sit in the bar.

So even though I totally love Shades of Green, it is looking like we will have to rent a condo with at least 2 if not 3 bedrooms and, most importantly, 2 bathrooms. I looked into some of the places and for the 6 nights stay, it really isn't much difference in the price, we would just not have the convenience of the transportation to and from the hotel. Because honestly, I just may lose my mind if I have to spend a week with FOUR kids in ONE hotel room. I don't care how nice and convenient it is.

My List of ADD random thoughts

2009-03-17T07:30:00.005-05:00

** Today we have our first foster care home visit, so I have a lot of cleaning that I should do, whether I actually do is another story altogether.

** I really really need to clean out our office. I am really good at stacking things and then when we need to find something, I am going through stacks and stacks of "stuff". I need to create a system where stuff comes into the house like mail, important papers, Brandi papers, Jack's "art" that it all has a place to go and not end up on my counter stacked. It has overflowed onto the dining room table.

** Jim's mother gave us a gorgeous crocheted table cloth that I want to put on the dining room table and make all pretty with the new centerpiece that I got for Christmas (still in bag), but alas I need to declutter the stacks of stuff first.

** I really need to finish our taxes. I do everybody else's but ours and I hate to do ours, especially now that I know we will have to owe.

** I also have to audit the books for church for the last two years. Just another of the things I got volunteered for because they know my previous occupation.

** I have been trying to build my Uppercase Living business and I am thiiiiisssss close to a promotion. I am very excited and I do love the company.

** Jack is done with soccer finally. He got his medal and was very proud of it. He also scored a goal on the last game and I missed it because I was talking to our neighbors at the time. But he doesn't need to know that, according to him, I saw it and it was the biggest and best goal ever.

** Brandi is doing really well. I found out that she has the best GPA of all the kids in foster care in the entire county. She also is going to be pre-enrolled at Southern Miss and will get her entire college education paid for by the state. I think she is realizing what an opportunity she has and is talking about getting her nursing degree. We are very proud of her and has become part of the family.

** Jack's spring break is this week and I am trying to come up with some things to do this week that will be fun for us.

** Jim is late coming home again. Police work doesn't end at shift time.

Soccer and My Thoughts

2009-03-14T07:33:00.005-05:00

So today is the last day of the soccer season. It has been a long three months of playing soccer every Saturday morning. There were some REALLY cold days (38 degrees) and we were out on those soccer fields. Burr.

Truthfully, I am hoping that the weather forecast is right today and it really does rain because I am so done with the whole soccer thing. I have a bad taste about the whole thing. Jack was put on this team with this coach who's son is like a little soccer dyamo. Yes he is good, but I can tell the Dad really works him with a lot of practice. There are 6 players on Jack's team and only three play at one time, so the coach is supposed to rotate the players in and out during the game. Well this coach never rotated his own son out of the game and he usually played his three best players 90% of the time. Since Jack is not one of the best players (the kid got my athletic ability) he sits on the bench moping because he's not in playing. Last week, I finally had enough and said something out loud to Brandi about how the coach's son never gets benched and the coach must have heard that because he actually benched his son ... for 2 minutes. But it was to the kid's screaming fit for having to sit out.

Anyway, I am pretty sure we will not be doing soccer next year. I mean it was for 4 and 5 year olds and I had a mother come up to me and tell me that Jack needed to get in a lot more practice to be effective on the team and maybe I should sign him up for a workshop! They don't even keep score at this age! Yes I am fed up. I just wanted Jack to get out and get some exercise and have fun and it turned into this competitve cut-throat thing at four years old!

We are starting T-ball in two weeks. I have a better feeling about this sport and I think Jack will enjoy it a lot better. Just pray for rain today and we won't have to go to the last game!

I Know It Is Two Weeks Later ...

2009-03-14T06:18:00.001-05:00

but here are a few pictures of Jack's birthday party. It was quite a success. We had close to 20 kids and their parents in our church's fellowship hall. We even had a pirate show put on by our good friend Brandt. It was fun.

Happy Birthday Baby Boy ... Five Years Old!

2009-03-04T05:26:00.005-06:00

I can not believe I am writing your 5th birthday post. How is it that it has been five years since you and I met? We sure have been through a lot in the last five years, but I can say that you have changed my life in so many positive ways. You have taught me to be a better person through mothering you and I have to say that I am so incredibly lucky and blessed to be your mother.

Let's see what you have been up to in the last year. The first thing that pops into my head is your vocabulary has exploded in the last year. Oh my goodness you can come up with some zingers and make everybody around laugh so hard. I am not sure what level of vocabulary a typical five-year-old has, but I am positive that you more than exceed it. One time we were in the van and following Aunt Ann in her car. She proceeds to run a red light right in front of us and of course Daddy, the cop, has to call her and tell her that she did a no no. But you had to proclaim to everybody that you were "so Humiliated". You are very expressive and will use words like "adorable" "beautiful" and "attractive". It seems like everyday I am asking you where you heard this word or that word.

Speaking of words, you have started to read this year. You are constantly asking me how words are spelled. I really hope that you have a love of reading like I do when you grow up. But right now, I understand it is a frustration for you and we can only spend about 15 minutes reading your beginning reader books. I am so proud of you.

I would have to say right now that your forte is talking. I swear child that you could talk to a wall and have a conversation. You love to talk. There are some days that I pick you up from school and you barely take a breath talking and asking me questions. And your questions are very insightful for your age. Your topics range from death, God and Jesus, to the planets and how things grow on Earth. All very weighty subjects for a five-year-old and your poor mother trying to answer the questions!

You are very aware of your age and how long you have been around. You are constantly comparing to when you were a "three-year-older". You also want to be a "big kid" so incredibly fast. When I take you to school, you will look up to the high school kids with such awe and reverence like they are gods. And you are constantly asking me when you can go to big kid school. You are growing up way too fast, can you just slow down a bit?

You will start kindergarten this fall and start going to school all day long, an extra 3 hours per day. You are so ready for this big leap, however I am not so sure I am ready for it. I really do love our afternoons together. You are my buddy helping me run errands or going to lunch just the two of us. I am going to miss those three hours with my Jackaroo come fall. But I know that the school years is a time when you need to establish yourself independent of me and your Dad. But I am still going to be the room Mom and go to all your little parties while you still want me there. Because I know there will come a time when you will not want Mom showing up at school with cookies and cupcakes. I also know there will be a time when you will not rush to give me a big hug when I come pick you up and tell me that you love me right there in front of all your friends. So I am soaking it up all I can right now.

I have to say that you have one of the most tender hearts of anybody I know. You are truly a sweet and giving boy who shows love and compassion so incredibly easily. You are so giving and sharing that you will share the last of your cookies with anybody who asks. Your family is very important to you, including all of your grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. It is so much fun to sit and watch you at family gatherings as you make your rounds from one family member to the next doling out your brand of Jackaroo love. You are also one of the most loved kids in the world as you gather up all the hugs and kisses you can get.

Here I am going on and on about how wonderful you are and you are probably wondering about the bad side of Jack. Well to be honest, there is a very very small "bad" side. I can not remember the last time your father nor I had to spank you. Yes we have to get on you to clean up your toys and eat your vegetables, but for 98% of the time you are a joy to be around. You constantly amaze me at how wonderful you really are. When we took Brandi in a few weeks ago, I was afraid that you would be jealous and show it in many ways. But you accepted her as a new sister and show her such complete and true love that has me stunned. Even when our focus is on Brandi and her issues, you do not try to compete for our attention. It is as though you understand that Brandi needs us and you are not threatened by her. You understand that you have Mom and Dad's unconditional love and now Brandi needs that same love. Again, you are wise beyond your years.

And that brings me to your faith. I know they say that everyone needs to have the faith of a child, and in your case, it is the truth. I love to listen to you pray at the dinner table and at night before bed. It has taken me 40 years to get to the level of faith that you possess in your short five years.

As always, I will always be there for you Baby Boy. I can not wait to see what the future holds for you. I look forward to watching you grow into a young man that I know I will be proud of. This is a big birthday for you. You are no longer a baby and you have all of your school years ahead of you and all that entails.

Happy Birthday Baby Boy

My Baby's 5th Birthday Party!!!

2009-02-28T06:43:00.003-06:00

How is it that my BABY is having his fifth birthday party today? There is not any baby left in him anymore. Cry.

As you can see his birthday theme is Monster Jam Trucks! Gone are the days of Elmo birthday parties. We are actually having a combined party with another boy from church, Keegan. His birthday was Feb 20 and with Jack's as March 5th, today is smack in the middle of the two.

Since I didn't do any party last year except for small family one, I decided that this year I would do it up big. And big as in LOTS of kids. I invited all 12 kids in his class, all the friends from church and a couple of other friends, along with Keegan's cousins. In all total, there very well could be about 30 kids all under the age of 9 there today. What have I done to myself?

The plans include a big pirate show put on by a friend who does kid's birthday parties for a living. He is absolutely amazing with the kids. He hasn't clued me in on much of his plans, but he told me to plan on a 45-min show, with him dressed as a pirate with sword fighting and what not. It should be fun and I plan to video and will put a little snippet on here for ya.

Jack is way beyond excited at the moment. We have been counting down the days to the big party and I have to say that it was an advantage last night when I put him to bed. I told him that he had to go to sleep in order to wake up on his birthday party day. Kinda like Christmas. And truth be told, I am pretty excited about the whole thing myself. I can't wait to watch him today.

As far as his actual birthday on Thursday, well that will be a bit anti-climatic. I will take cupcakes into his school and then probably go out to dinner that night or something.

So I just may need your prayers today.

Happy Fat Tuesday!

2009-02-24T11:39:00.004-06:00

Mardi Gras. Before I moved to the Gulf Coast, I really had no clue what Mardi Gras was or entailed. But ya'll, it is a HUGE Holiday here. I mean business and schools close down and the entire area goes nuts. And the parades. Oh my goodness. The parades! For a month leading up to the big day of Fat Tuesday, there are countless parades all over the coast. We went to one a couple of weeks ago and came home with more Mardi Gras beads than we need. But it is so much fun. As the floats go by, they throw things to the thousands of people ranging from beads, t-shirts, toys, stuffed animals, and candy. And you would be surprised how people are downright mean by shoving people out of the way just so they can get those cheap beads! It is crazy.

I had planned to take the kids to the big Biloxi parade this afternoon, but my stupid non-existent immunity has caught the crud that has been going around the area and the thought of standing out on the side of the street with thousands of other parade-goers just didn't seem as much fun as it did yesterday when I felt better.

However, Jim gets to go to the big one tonight in an official capacity. He gets to try to police all the crazy and drunk people. Hahaha. He should have some stories to tell when he gets home.

Happy Fat Tuesday ya'll! What are you giving up for lent tomorrow? I am giving up diet coke. I thought about giving up sugar, then I laughed. Yeah right with Jack's birthday party this weekend, that ain't gonna happen. So diet coke it is.

Ummm.... (crickets)

2009-02-18T16:24:00.001-06:00

So I was driving today and thought of a really good, funny, and cute post that I just had to post on here. And now a few hours later when I get a chance to post it? Ummm... yeah no idea what it was. So stay tuned ... maybe. That's all I have right now.

Brandi

2009-02-12T09:43:00.003-06:00

It has been two weeks since Brandi moved into our home. I have to be honest that I was scared to death. Leading up to the big day, I was having anxiety attacks about what this decision would do to our family. I tried to pinpoint what exactly I was afraid of and I really could not pinpoint one particular thing, other than it was an unknown change to everything. But God would not let me back out of this and kept niggling my brain that this girl needed us. And he was right.

When I think of Brandi's mother, I can't help but get angry. She threw away three girls (from different fathers) all because of drugs and men. Brandi floundered and wasted away in the system for the past 6 years being shuffled from one home to another facility. So that when we met her last summer, I don't think I have ever met an angrier girl in my life. She was living in the girl's group home with 8 other girls whose parents threw them away as well. I remember when I first met Brandi, I did not have nice thoughts for her. But Jim could see something of himself in her and started to show her some love. By the end of the week at the youth church camp, she was actually smiling and joining in the activities. She was opening up to us and telling us a little bit about her life. She just needed love like all of us does. She never had the opportunity to feel that unconditional love that Jack and Laura take for granted. That every child needs and deserves.

Last night she told me that she has never been happier in her life living with us. She has fit right in and is a pleasure to have in the house. She goes to church with us and is enjoying being part of the youth group. She has raised her grades to As & Bs. How she managed to get to 15 without being a drug-addict, school-dropout, or worse, is beyond me. She is a good kid. And I really can't wait to see what the future holds for her.

Remind Me Again Why We Have a Dog

2009-02-12T07:13:00.002-06:00

I came close to using Jim's gun this morning to shoot our dog Molly. It was 3:18 am in the morning and she started barking in her full grown-up voice at me. Telling me that I HAD to get up NOW not later. It didn't matter that I smacked her doggie face a few times. So I got up, let her outside to do her business and then waddled myself back to bed. But noooo she wouldn't let me do that. At 4:08 am, I gave up the fight and let her win. sigh.

I normally could take a nap after taking the kids to school, but that is out of the question since Jack has no school today, tomorrow, or Monday. Cry.

Turning 5!

2009-02-09T08:52:00.003-06:00

I can not even believe that Jack will be turning five in less than a month. How is that even possible? Kindergarten this fall???? Five is big kid status. Yikes.

I just started to plan the birthday party. I had originally thought about doing the Chuck E Cheese thing, even though I so dislike that place. But a friend at church brought up sharing a party at the church with her son turning 7. A friend does kid's birthday parties and actually puts on a good show with kid's songs. Of course it will be crazy with all his friends from church and school, but should be fun. Oh and the theme the boy wants this year? Yeaahhhh that is monster trucks. He is over-the-top crazy about monster trucks now. We created a monster by taking him to monster truck jam last weekend.

For those who have emailed me and asked about how things are going with Brandi, our new foster daughter, things are going well. I plan to dedicate a post about her and how she is adjusting to our family in a day or two. It is an adjustment on both sides, but for the most part, it is going really well.

Yep We Are Rednecks

2009-02-02T18:32:00.005-06:00

We went to Monster Truck Jam in New Orleans on Saturday night. We were right there with all the other rednecks and I have to say that it actually was fun to watch those big trucks smash the cars and everything else in the way. And Jack? Yeah he was in heaven. I think I had more fun watching him watching the monster trucks. And just in case anybody out there is thinking about attending a Monster Truck Jam, I have two words for you. Ear. Plugs. They will be your best friend. Below you can see we forked out $20 for Jack to get a pair of tire ear muffs.

Grave Digger flying through the air. Oh yeah and we had to buy a Hot Wheel Grave Digger for the boy. Yep we are raising a redneck for sure.

The outing was also our first family trip with our new addition to our family. Brandi came to live with us last Thursday. The adjustment is going well. She is going to school and is opening up more and more to us. She has been craving a family for so long that it is fun to see her relaxing and loving to be part of our family. Jack is also loving having another big sister around. He was talking her ear off in her room the other night as she was settling in. I am just very happy that we are able to help her and hopefully be a positive influence in her life.

Big Announcement

2009-01-25T13:50:00.003-06:00

I have a big announcement to make. Jim and I are becoming foster parents to a 15-year-old girl that we met last summer on the youth trip we chaperoned for church. Her name is Brandi and for some reason we made a connection with her. We since learned her story and found out that she has been in the foster care system for the past 6 years ever since she was abandoned by both her parents. Her mother is in prison and her father is not in the least father material. She has been in numerous foster homes and she is currently placed in the Methodist girls home.

It has been a long process with lots of prayers and thoughts leading up to this decision. I feel that God placed Jim and I on that youth trip for this reason and we are supposed to take this girl in. But that doesn't mean that I don't have a lot of fears and reservations about the whole thing. There has been so many times that I have wondered what in the world are we doing? How is this going to affect Jack? How is this going to affect our family? Can I handle being the foster parent of a troubled teenage girl? Am I ready for this commitment?

Tomorrow is the home study and if all goes well, she should be placed in our home within the next week. I am scared, excited, nervous, thoughtful and prayerful all at the same time. I'll keep ya posted on how it goes.

Christmas Hits

2009-01-19T17:57:00.006-06:00

I thought I would share with you the top Christmas gifts this year. There really weren't that many misses this year, mainly because we kept it simple this year and thankfully so did the rest of the family.

My favorite present is the Melissa & Doug easel if nothing but it saves us hundreds of pages of computer paper. Now when the boy wants to express his artistic self, he just has to go to his easel and draw his little heart out and NOT to our printer paper tray. The easel is set up in our office by the window just like a real artist's corner and all. I do need to get the accessories for it like the roll of paper and paint cups and what not, but right now he is happy with the dry erase part of it.
The second present was from Laura and again utilitzes his artistic abilities - digitally. It is the Fisher Price Arts and Crafts Digital Studio. All I have to do is hook it up to my laptop and he sits there and does all kinds of cool things. It keeps him occupied for like an hour or more at a time, which is always a plus.

And the third present is the Fisher Price Kid Tough Camera. This camera is actually a pretty nice camera, considering its a kid's "toy". It is very easy for Jack to use and he goes around snapping pictures all day long of the rug, wall, dogs, and whatever else he sees. You can download the pictures just like a regular camera. And there is a way you can hook it up to the Arts and Crafts Studio above and add cool effects to your pictures. I haven't done that yet, but soon.

So there is my review of the top 3 gifts this Christmas season. He also got a real accoustic guitar from Santa, but I am thinking that we need to look into guitar lessons for him soon since he has a real desire to learn how to play.

We also now are a video game household, something I said we would never be. A friend gave us his old Playstation 2 game system with a bunch of games. Right now the favored and current addiction of the boy is Cars where he can race Lightening McQueen all over the place.

A Good Problem To Have

2009-01-16T13:50:00.002-06:00

I think that I have mentioned on here that we have friends who hand down clothes for Jack. It is such a money saver, since the only thing that I have bought him to wear in the last year is three polo shirts for school, underwear, two pair of shoes, and two Disney t-shirts on clearance. I am so grateful to our friends for this. Well last night, Jim brought home a huge bag full of clothes from the police station. I tell you, this kid has more clothes than me and Jim put together. I have his closet full of clothes. All six drawers in his dresser are full. And I have overflow, out-of-season clothes in the guest bedroom! I am running out of space for this kid's clothes. And they are really nice clothes, even better than I would have bought for the boy if I were the one buying.

So yes, it is a nice problem to have. Thank you Leslee and Trevor for sharing!

Is It Really Only Thursday?

2009-01-15T08:33:00.003-06:00

Only Thursday? Really? Because I couldn't tell ya what I did each day this week except feel awful. I went to the doctor yesterday simply because I did not want this thing to turn into a month-long thing like I had last fall. So I told him fever, blah blah, coughing, blah blah, body aches, blah blah. He said that he didn't think I had the actual flu virus, but probably just a head cold because "the flu is really bad" and I guess in his eyes I wasn't "really bad"?? But he did a flu wash to find out anyway, which by the way, is really kinda gross to do. I have never had that done before. He sent me home with some cough medicine, sudafed, and nasal spray.

At 6:00 last night, he called back and said the lab results came back and yes indeed it was Type A flu virus. Even though I did have the flu shot, I still got the flu! He said that the flu shot probably made it weakened, but still! So it seems that Jack, Jim and I all got the flu probably sometime while in Disney. There was one time that this guy did a huge sneeze right in front of us and didn't even try to cover it. I thought at the time "EWWWW", now I wonder if he graciously gave us the crud. Laura, who also had the flu mist, did not get the flu thankfully. Jim and Jack did not get the flu shots. I tried to get Jack his, but they were all out of the pediatric ones by the time we went there.

Poor Jim has had to be in training all this week for Criminal Scene Unit. Yes, he is going to be a real life CSI cop. But he couldn't miss the training, despite the flu.

Thankfully, we are slowly getting back to normal. Jack has been back to school the last two days, although now I feel guilty because his teacher was out sick today with a fever. Uhoh. Jim is feeling better and just today I think I might feel better. But I am following the Doctor's orders and resting today while Jack is in school this morning.

It is cold here, well not as cold as some of you up north, but none the less, cold. It was in the 20's last night and tonight is supposed to be in the teens. I am really wondering about sending Jack to play soccer on Saturday with the temps in the 20's. Especially after getting over the flu. Poor kid, he has played one game out of four so far this season. But that is what you get when you schedule the season for December through February!

The Never-Ending Flu

2009-01-13T07:53:00.003-06:00

Whatever this is called, flu or Hell, it is bad. Poor Jack is going on the sixth straight day of having a fever. He went to school yesterday because he managed to go all night without the fever, but when I picked him up, I could tell he felt bad and sure enough, he had a 101 fever. And he was up (and me) most of the night groaning and coughing. So no school today. I am calling the doctor again today because he just took his last dose of Zithromax antibiotics and it doesn't seem like it has done a whole lot for him. So here we are again, shut inside watching tv. Seriously one can watch Garfield only so many times before you go insane. I am close.

As far as me and Jim. I think I got off with a light case of the stuff in comparison to Jim and Jack, thanks to my flu shot I think. I have a cough and feel lousy but I think that has more to do with having very little sleep and if I could just get a good nights sleep, it would make me feel a lot better. Jim seems to be getting better, but not really. He still has a fever, but is in training all this week for work and can't allow himself to take anytime off.

Oh and my house looks like a hurricane hit it with various medicine bottles strewn all over the kitchen counters and blankets and pillows all over the family room. Ugh.

Not going to answer the phone anymore

2009-01-12T12:58:00.003-06:00

I have decided that answering our home phone is just an invitation to grief. To make a long story short, when we moved our cell phones from AT&T to Sprint, we did it on the very day that our contract was up. I called that day and talked to AT&T and they said that it was okay to end our service without incurring any more charges. Well that was back in September. Lo and behold with no warning or anything we get a letter from a collection agency saying we owe over $600 to AT&T!!! What? I was so mad that Jim decided it best that he called them. Well after a few phone calls here and there and a couple of days, we got it all straightened out. Seems that we still had 8 hours left on our contract and they were charging us for early termination fees. Don't think so. They finally fessed up and said we did not owe anything. However, their sharks, err the collection agency, did not get the memo and are still after us. Calling every single day. Many times a day. And when we do talk to them, they are downright nasty. And we don't even owe the damn thing! We are this close to getting an attorney.

Well anyway, on top of all that, I just got a phone call from yet another collection agency asking for Jim. Again another nasty person on the other end (do they take nasty tests to get the job?) and said that Jim has defaulted on his XXXX credit card. I am all HUH? He mentioned something about owing $4500 and $2800 on two cards. I tell him that I had no idea what he is talking about. He is extremely nasty and says that we HAVE to pay these balances. I am telling him I don't know what he is talking about. We pay our bills. He then asks me if our address is such and such. Um no never lived at that address. Oh is your husband's middle name Wendell? Um that would be NO also. It wasn't even our debt! Just another guy named James Clayton they are trying to find and is going through the white pages for every James Clayton? And treating them like dog poo? At the end, he literally said "I guess I have the wrong number" and hung up! No apology no nothing. No sorry for me thinking my husband went out and ran up two credit cards with no payment. No sorry for the possible divorce! Just "oops wrong number".

I am giving up answering the phone.

Our Turn

2009-01-11T08:09:00.004-06:00

It seems that Jack decided to share his sickies with his mother and father. I woke up this morning feeling that wonderful achy, chills, fever, with a cough feeling. Jim walked in this morning from working all night and said first thing "you sick too?". Yep both of us got the crud. Joy. Joy.

As for Jack, he hasn't had a fever since late yesterday afternoon when he had a 102.8. He seems to be feeling much better almost back to his energetic self. But with the latest development of Jim and me, it looks like another day of staying in. No church for us today. I figure if this stuff is that contagious, I really shouldn't be spreading it to the entire congregation.

Lazy Saturday

2009-01-10T11:06:00.002-06:00

We here in the Jackaroo World are having a lazy Saturday. Jack has been sick and we ended up taking him to the ER yesterday because I couldn't get him into see the doctor for two days and they told me to take him to the ER. Thank goodness for free military medical. Long story short, he has the flu, which makes me upset because I tried to get him a flu shot, but they were all out of the peds shots. Hopefully my flu shot sticks and it doesn't spread to me.

But after two doses of antibiotics, the kid is already feeling better and was dancing to the Jonas Brothers on tv this morning. He is supposed to have a soccer game today, but I am obviously not taking him there today. I am kind of relieved that he is not going to be playing because it rained in biblical proportions last night and I can just imagine what that soccer field is like. One huge muddy mess. Yuck.

So now Jack is watching Disney channel, and I am web surfing. The laundry is calling, but it can just keep calling for a bit more I think.

Pictures on the Beach

2009-01-08T19:52:00.002-06:00

After last year's horrible fiasco with Sears pictures, I decided that this year's family picture would be something different. I met a friend last summer who is an amazing photographer and decided that she was going to do our pictures this year. So today we went to the beach and she took our pictures and they turned out great. She just emailed me a 88 pictures to choose from and now the hard part is choosing which ones I want. I will post them as soon as I get them.

After the pictures, we went to lunch and upon coming home Jack threw up all over the driveway. Nice. So we have a very sick boy with a high fever. Fun times.

But that didn't stop Laura and I from going to get our massages that we scheduled yesterday. It has been like three years since I have had a massage and it felt so good. Much more relaxed to deal with a sick Jack. The key to motherhood might just be more massages!

Disney 2009 Recap

2009-01-07T19:52:00.015-06:00

We got back from our Disney World trip last night. It was a whirlwind trip of three days in the parks. We did three parks in three days, exhausting to say the least, but fun.

The big news is that for the first time in 7 trips to Disneyland/world, we did not have to use a stroller! Jack was quite the trooper and walked all over three parks for three days with absolutely no whining. There were times when I wanted to whine about my feet, but he just kept going and going. And what freedom it is to have no stroller to have to worry about it all the time. Loved it.

The other big news is that Jack rode all the big rides that he could. He rode Tower of Terror, Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain and Expedition Everest, which there were many adults who looked at that and said no way. I was very proud of him for getting on despite his fears. And of course, after he got off each ride, he would exclaim "That was totally awesome!". There was one ride that he did not say that however, and it was the Dinosaur ride in the Animal Kingdom. The poor child was terrified of dinosaurs to begin with, but after that ride, he will never even utter the dinosaur word ever again.

We stayed at Shades of Green again and I just have to say that I LOVE that place. We had poolside room where all we had to open up our sliding glass door and walk 30 feet to the pool. It was so nice and the kids took advantage of the pool every single night. I took advantage of the wonderful hot tub next to the pool. Ahhh. Pure Bliss after a long day in the parks.

We had planned to take a couple of years off before going back to Disney, however, just last week, Disney came out with an amazing promotion for retired military that we just can not pass up. Jim gets a free five-day park hopper and we can purchase five 5-day tickets for only $99 each. That is like a savings of over $1000! So just tonight, I made reservations to go back to Shades of Green in June after Laura gets here for the summer. Couldn't pass that deal up at all.

Below are a few of the many pictures I took while there.

Jack and Laura with the Mickey statue in the Shades of Green hotel.

One of the nights in the pool.

On the bus to Hollywood Studios.

The first day was at Hollywood Studios. This show was simply amazing.

Waiting for the parade to start. You should of seen the gooey mess from the melting popsicle that poor Jim had to endure.

We saw the show, Fantasmic, for the first time. I have to say that this was my favorite part in all of Disney. The show is stunning.

The second day we went to the Magic Kingdom. Here is Jack and Laura in the car. Jack was quite a crazy driver.

Jack studying the map figuring out our next move.

We had lunch at the Crystal Palace with the Pooh characters. That is a very nice restaurant, a place we had never been before.

A really pretty picture of the castle. Notice the blue skies. We had absolutely perfect weather everyday with the temp in the high 70's. Perfect.

Another really pretty picture of the castle at night. I do not believe that I have ever seen the castle lit up all diamondy like this before. It was absolutely beautiful. I am still a kid when I see the castle. It is pure magic.

The third day we went to the Animal Kingdom, which was a more laid-back day compared to the Magic Kingdom. That is if you can call waiting in line for 30 minutes to ride Expedition Everest where you plunge down a mountain and go backwards super fast as laid back. But it was all fun. Here we are all dressed in our ponchos about to ride the river rapids ride. Dontcha just love the fashion statement. Cute.

Our last hurrah was the Lion King show, which is spectacular. At the end, they pulled a few kids out of the audience to join them in the grande finale number and Jack was among them. He got quite a kick out of being in the show.

Happy New Year! ... Do you have a Tylenol?

2009-01-01T10:05:00.002-06:00

Well we did our annual New Year's bash with our friends. And again it was quite the bash, however nobody got drunk enough to puke in our guest bedroom. Thank goodness.

It was good to get with these people. I haven't really been spending a lot of time with them in the last couple of months as I have been wanting to be kinda anti-social (as you can tell by the lack of posting.) The highlight of the evening was the firework display out in our cul-de-sac that seriously would have rivaled Disney's firework display. It was pretty cool. Unfortunately Jim couldn't see it because he was working last night having fun with all the drunks on the road.

Speaking of Disney, we leave for Disney World tomorrow morning. We will be in the parks for three days. We are getting all excited for the trip. Again poor Jim has to work tonight, so as soon as he gets home in the morning, we will be piling him and the kids into the car and I will drive toward Florida.

But in the meantime, I seriously need to do some work to get us all packed. I have not even begun to think about packing and before I do that I need to do no less than 4 loads of laundry. We have no food in the house, so I probably should go out to the store sometime and get actually food so that kids have something else to eat than Cheetos, which they are eating right now for breakfast. Yes, you can send my name in for mother of the year any time.

One of my resolutions is to post more this year. My posting in 2008 was very lacking and I plan to change that.

Happy New Year!

2008-12-31T15:35:00.002-06:00

I just wante to say that I hope everybody has a very safe and Happy New Year this year. We plan to have a joint party with our neighbors. Kids are coming to our house with two babysitters and the adults are convening over at their house. It doesn't feel like New Years for some reason.

I also wante to let everybody know that I am still alive and well despite the complete lack of posting on my part. I will be back shortly with all the postings that you deserve.

Christmas MeMe

2008-11-18T14:55:00.002-06:00

I haven't done a MeMe in quite sometime. But I thought that this one I saw on Kelli's blog was pretty cute.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Paper.

2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial - easier.

3. When do you put up the tree? Usually Thanksgiving weekend. Depends if I am in the mood early or not. Jack's first year, it was up by mid-November.

4. When do you take the tree down? As soon as I can after Christmas.

5. Do you like eggnog? Yes, but it does not like me.

6. Favorite gift received as a child?Hmm I am sure there are a lot, but right now I remember getting a stuffed Benji dog for Christmas one year that I loved.

7. Hardest person to buy for? My brother-in-law. Thank goodness I did not draw his name this year.

8. Easiest person to buy for? Jack. I gave him a toy catalog the other day with a highlighter. He highlighted everything in there except for the "girl stuff". Yeah I just need to pick from the millions of things he wants.

9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail cards. I try to add something personal, but half the time they just get signed.
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Can't really remember.

12. Favorite Christmas movies? I love them all. Frosty, Rudolph, Wonderful Life.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? October. Or I have a list of what to get by Thanksgiving.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? I don't think so. Can't remember.

15.Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? chocolate. cookies. all the stuff that is really bad for me.

16. Favorite Christmas song? Away in the Manger.

17. There was no number 17.

18.Travel at Christmas or stay home? We have stayed home the last few years and people have traveled to us.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeers? Umm probably if I thought hard enough.

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Angel.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Morning. Santa has to be there first to open presents. Duh.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? All the hype and commercialization.

23. Favorite ornament theme or color? No theme in our house. We have a little bit of this and a little bit of that.

24.Favorite dinner food? For Christmas, I guess it would be ham and all the other traditional food.

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? To spend a peaceful holiday with friends and family.

Suicide

2008-11-17T10:54:00.005-06:00

I know that is not a pleasant topic, but that is the topic that has been on my mind in the last few days. Not me, but a family member committed suicide a few days ago. My ex-sister-in-law, or to be more exact, my brother's ex-wife. She left behind their 15-year-old son, Chad. Through the years that she and my brother were married, I saw her here and there. I remember going to visit them when Chad was about three months old. Of course, I was in my early 20s at the time and my mothering days would be way off. But to this day, I remember the way she loved that baby. She absolutely adored Chad. And now all these years later, I now know that feeling of loving another human being beyond belief.

Laurie was such a vibrant person. She literally lit up a room when she walked in. She never went anywhere without being fully made up and dressed to a T, which was a stark contrast to me in jeans and t-shirts and no makeup half the time. I usually felt like the ugly duckling sister-in-law next to her. But her personality and vibrance made it seem not so bad.

In March when we had a family reunion here at my house, she was generous enough to bring Chad here when my brother could not or would not for various reasons. I will always be thankful and grateful to her for doing that. For the first time, Jack got to meet his cousin Chad and to this day, Jack talks about cousin Chad almost daily. I also got to reconnect with Laurie and have some good old-fashioned girl talk with her while eating spicy shrimp and crawfish. Fun times.

Two days prior to her suicide, I was online talking to her about the possibility of meeting up with her and Chad in January when we go to Disneyworld. She was looking forward to that meeting. I only wish I knew what was going on in her head between that conversation online and when she decided to end it all. I know she was in pain. She had to be to leave Chad like that. I know that I am one of many who are wondering why and how today. One of many who are thinking and feeling "If Only". Laurie, I hope you are somewhere in peace today.

And if there is anything that I have learned out of all this, is that life is so precious. We must hug our kids a little tighter and tell them we love them that much more. We also must tell our friends and family that they are special to us and let them know how much we love them. You never know what tomorrow will bring.

Rest in peace Laurie. We will love you and miss you always.

Another Victim of the Economy

2008-11-11T14:23:00.003-06:00

I just heard that the indoor playland that we used to frequent when Jack was younger is closing up shop because people just are not paying $6 to come and play. I know the owner and she said that people just stopped coming in right after the financial crisis/bailout began. It really is sad because she just moved to a bigger, nicer location. It was painted so very cute and had a ton of fun things to do for the toddler set. But, alas, she is closing at the end of the month. Just another sign of the financial crisis.

In other news, I am once again a true soccer mom. Tonight is the first night of soccer practice for the boy. We are all set with the ball, shin guards, shoes and everything a soccer star needs. Not too sure I am all that thrilled to stand out on a cold soccer field at 6:00 tonight for an hour, but I guess ya gotta do what ya gotta do for your kids.

Family Day

2008-11-08T18:39:00.002-06:00

We had a great family day today. The weather was absolutely perfect. Here in the deep deep south, we live for this time of year. This is when the weather is a cool 75 degrees, with very little humidity. And this is when all the outdoor festivals take place. Today we went to the Scottish games and Celtic music festival. It is very fitting for both Jim and I go to this event as we are both from Ireland and Scotland. We even had a picture printed out showing our respective coat of arms with our names and marriage date. Very neat. I will have to frame it and put it up.

When we were walking into the fairgrounds and Jack saw the men wearing kilts, which prompted him to yell at the very big and burly men "Those are for girls!". Jim and I just about died with laughter. It was too funny.

We saw real live jousting, which was way cool. We were routing for the Irish guy versus the Scottish guy. They were in full armor with real lances and all. And they both got thrown from their horses, which looked quite painful. The Irish guy looked like he bit his tongue or something cause he had a bunch of blood in his mouth. So we got it all, the blood and gore.

They also had the Irish dancers, which I think are fascinating, people playing bag pipes and you could even buy Haggis for lunch if you wanted. We didn't want to. But I think the favorite part for the boy was the huge bounce houses and slide.

Afterwards, we decided to go to see Madagascar 2, which I say it was Eh, okay, but not as good as the first one. But the boy enjoyed it.

All in all it was a great family day, which is something we don't get very often around here with all the schedule conflicts we constantly encounter.

$1.98 !!!

2008-11-06T14:26:00.003-06:00

I just had to announce that I just paid $1.98 per gallon for gas!!! That's right, it only took $25 to fill my gas tank up today. I seriously can not remember the last time I paid under $2.

Now I am not so ticked by going all the way over to get flu shots for Jack and I only to discover they were all out of the kid shots. They said that they ran out of them a couple of days ago. We just got the phone call that the flu shots were in a couple of days ago! Argh. I even had Jack all set to be brave about getting a flu shot and also a little bribe by saying he could have ice cream afterwards if he was brave. So I couldn't deny the boy, who was trying so hard to be brave about getting a shot, his ice cream. I got him a small ice cream cone afterwards. But all was not lost, I did get my flu shot and after my bout with the super bug a few weeks ago, I think I really needed it.

Why I Have Twelve Loads of Laundry Piled Up...

2008-11-05T22:23:00.003-06:00

So today, I think I did 8 loads of laundry. Give or take. I think I lost count somewhere after four, but it was a lot. I even cleaned out my sock/underwear drawer. Aren't you proud of me?

But that gets me back to the reason why my husband had to ask me if I could get him some clean underwear out because there were none to be found in his underwear drawer. And that reason is that I realized today that I am crazy busy. I have two part-time jobs and about to start a third one. I work part-time as a bookkeeper while Jack is in school a few mornings a week. I also sell Uppercase Living (really cool product). And I am about to start another bookkeeping job for friends who own a construction company. So three part-time jobs. But wait, not done yet. Me and my big mouth said yes this year to taking over the treasurer job at the church, which is kinda like another part-time job, just not paid. Oh but that's not all, I also donate my time to helping the youth group at church every Sunday night. Oh and to make my life even busier, I signed Jack up for soccer which starts next week with practices every Tuesday night and the games will be every Saturday morning for about three months.

And somewhere in all that, I have to be mother to a very energetic four-year-old, wife, chef, caretaker to five animals, maid, and yes laundry person! I think I just made myself tire. I need to go lie down.

After Election Thoughts

2008-11-05T06:25:00.002-06:00

First off I want to say that I am proud of America that we can look past racial issues and elect a black man. I am equally proud that we were thiiiisss close to having a woman in the white house, whether president or vice-president. I think that really does say that we as a collective can look beyond what the person is, but who the person is. Something that America could not do when I was born. We have come a long way.

However, Mr. Obama, simply scares me. I truly believe that our founding fathers were brilliant when they drafted the constitution. And when I hear Mr. Obama say that he wants the Supreme Court to change the constitution to become more "distributive" and spread the wealth, I am scared. Very scared. The constitution is what has made America great since the beginning. It sets us apart. It makes all men equal with the ability to pursuit happiness. It gives us the freedom of speech, religious freedom, and justice and liberty for all. Those words are not just words, they are the foundation to this great country. The American dream is to work hard and pursuit success and happiness. It does not mean that the government automatically grants you financial wealth, it means you have equal opportunity to make something of yourself as everybody else. Mr. Obama wants to take that away from us. He wants to spread our wealth around. He wants to take away the drive to make oneself greater. And to some degree, I am confident, he will get his way. Which brings me back to being scared. Because if he can change the constitution in that regard, what else can change? My freedom to worship my God the way that I want? My freedom to write this blog saying that I am scared? My freedom all together?

We must not forget what the constitution stands for. We have to continue to teach it in schools. Our children must know that our founding fathers wanted this country to be the best in the world. The idea that people governing the people was so completely foreign at that time, it was revolutionary. And we can not lose our freedom. We can not lose our dream. We can not lose America, no matter who the president is.

Hmmm...

2008-11-04T05:31:00.003-06:00

**Edited to add that the boy woke up and said that his "room was scary" and that is why he decided to walk through the dark house to the couch in the family room. Hmmm.

So I am up for the third day in a row at the early hour of 5 am. I get up and walk out to the family room and there is Jack sleeping on the couch with his Foo Foo dog and his little blanket. Now I know he went to sleep in his bed, so at some point he got up, grabbed his dog and blanket and went out to the family room couch to sleep. I thought that he had wet the bed, something he never ever does, but no he did not. The weird thing is that he is so afraid of the dark and he must have walked through a very dark house to get to that couch because the night light in the bathroom has been off for the last few days. Hmmm. I guess I will have to ask him why he did that. if he can remember, when he wakes up.

And one last reminder. GO VOTE! Even if you are voting for that other guy. Everybody needs to vote today. If you vote, you can get a free cup of coffee at Starbucks, which I plan to partake in. So go vote and then caffeinate yourself.

Pictures Galore

2008-11-01T07:45:00.016-05:00

I dumped a bunch of pictures off my camera, so I thought I would share a few of them with you.

Jack and Molly the crazy dog.

Jack came home the other day with his first official "homework". He was so proud and excited to have "homework". And because this was such a momentous occasion, I had to take pictures. The "homework" was having to write his name a few times on the paper. Below are pictures of the intense concentration of the boy doing his "homework".

We went to the corn maze last weekend keeping up the tradition we started last year. Jack showing the corn.

Which path should we take?

Jack with the "really super duper heavy pumpkin".

Jack and Daddy with pumpkin. Sorry this was not rotated.

Halloween 2008 - I give you Red Power Ranger. Can you feel the power?

More of the power ranger

Jack and his trick-or-treating pals. We had Gabriella (from HS Musical) and the Pink Power Ranger with us last night or also known as Cori and Allison.

One of the cool decorated houses in the neighborhood.

Jack and his girls - holding hands.

After trick or treating, we went to our neighbor's house and met up with more friends from church and their little girl who is Super Girl in the picture.

Halloween was quite the adventure this year. We went out and hit a little over half of the 170 houses in our neighborhood. It lasted about an hour and a half and by the end all three kids had their containers overflowing with candy. At one point, I had to stuff some into my pocket to relieve the pressure from Jack's pumpkin. Anybody need any candy? We got it.

Not so Discombobulated

2008-10-31T09:52:00.003-05:00

I am feeling much better these days. I finally got rid of that super bug that loved me so much, it hung around for 5 weeks. My house is clean once again. Last Sunday after church, I told Jim that it was time to bust our butts and get this house in a much more healthy state. Yay no more dust bunnies living in the corners and all spider webs are declared gone, the real ones, not the fake decorations.

How is it that today is Halloween? Of course we are planning to go out trick or treating. Jack has chosen to be the red power ranger. How he knows about power rangers, I do not know, because as far as I know he has never watched that show. But he is going around saying "Power Rangers Jungle Fury." And we did it again. Our neighbor's little girl Allison, chose to be the pink power ranger and Jack chose to be the red power ranger. This follows up from last year of her being batgirl to Jack's batman. We really did not plan for them to dress alike, it just worked out that way again. Anyway, there should be mighty cute pictures coming tomorrow of the two of them.

I also have pictures of our second annual visit to the corn maze last weekend. It was a lot of fun and we made it through the maze with Jack leading us at every turn. I will post those also tomorrow.

In other news, I joined facebook the other day. I was out with some girlfriends on Saturday and they were telling me that I just HAD to join, so I had to look it up. Who knew how fun facebook could be? I have found long lost friends and a few not so long lost. Fun times. Another thing to obsess over on the internet.

Discombobulated

2008-10-12T06:25:00.003-05:00

That is how I have been feeling for over a month now. I am STILL fighting the superbug from hell. It is now going on five weeks since I started feeling sick. I have the horrendous cough that is entirely too embarrassing when out in public. Yeah it sounds like I am going to hack up a lung in the very near future. I am also completely and utterly exhausted. I have not felt this tired since Jack was a newborn and you are supposed to feel like crap. Even Jim came down with some crud and was pretty much over it in three days. Wahhh! Not that I don't want him to get over the sickies, I just want to do it too.

Anyway, needless to say life has been feeling a bit discombobulated lately. There are other factors that have led to this feeling.

1. Jim's mother, Grammy C., has been in the hospital for over a week now. She is not doing well and has a lot of problems, with the major one being diagnosed with kidney cancer. She is 86 years old and up until now was going unbelievably strong. But she is not going to have any surgery or any treatment. She is going home to get her "affairs in order" and spend some more time with her family and friends. We support her decision and understand it. But we are going to miss her when that time comes and spend as much time as we can up there.

2. The house is a mess. I mean it is bordering on health hazard right now. I hate the feeling when there is chaos going on in the house. And this house is chaotic right now!

3. What is going on in the world right now. It seems like the world is ending with all this financial mess. I don't know what that means to my family. I think we are pretty safe, but ya never know. And should we cancel our Disney trip in January? We have a good portion saved for the trip, but should we just keep that money? But then the memories and the look on Jack's face on Big Thunder Mountain is priceless.

4. I have been gaining weight during this sickness because I have been doing the bare minimal of going to work, shopping for the bare essentials (toilet paper when we had not one square in the house) and parenting to Jack. In between all of that, I have sat or laid my butt in the family usually moaning to some degree. I have been taking vitamins and eating lots of fruit high in anti-oxidants and C in hopes to actually fight this bug. But when that day comes that I actually feel human again, I will get back to walking the dog, and exercising.

5. Our puppy Molly, has been chewing up the house. She chewed up the ottomon to my rocker. It is ugly now. I don't know if I can reupholster it or not. She also has trashed my furniture after she comes in from outside and has flthy paws from digging up the yard. She then has to jump on every single piece of furniture in the house leaving little muddy paw prints. I just realized that this one has a lot to do with #2 above.

Anyway, it has just been a hard time here in the Jackaroo house. But Jack is the bright spot in all of our lives with his constant singing and the why questions. Love that kid. I just don't know how to tell him that Grammy C is going to die soon. He still brings up Bob, our dog we had to put down in June. He misses him and is asking me why we had to bury his body. He must be thinking about Grammy C's death because he is always asking about people being buried and why we bury them and what happens after they die. All tough questions to answer a four-year-old.

Jack Singing and Being His Four-Year-Old Self

2008-10-04T18:10:00.000-05:00

Thoughts and Other Random Tid Bits

2008-10-03T21:23:00.002-05:00

I realize that I have not been keeping my blog posting up lately. In fact this entire year has been pretty pathetic in the posting department. Maybe that is just part of the life of a blog. I have been doing this for over four years and that is a long time. I have some online friends that have watched my child and I have watched their children grow from little babies to full-fledged four-year-old kids. Where has the time gone?

I have become a news junkie. In the past week, Fox news has been on just about 24/7. I think this whole financial mess is despicable. I remember "back in the day" people had to have an actual down payment to buy a house, but then it became people didn't need a down payment and could take out 2 or more mortgages on their house. It just baffles me and now we all are suffering because of it.

Another news junkie item is Sarah Palin. I just have to say that I want to be like her when I grow up (even though she and I are very very close in age). She has it going on. She is smart and articulate and very capable in my opinion of being a leader. And I believe the media has done a hatchet job on her and it is entirely not fair. Oh and she has really cool glasses. If I have to wear glasses, I want to wear hers.

Jack has been singing a lot in school. He comes home with these so adorable and cute songs about Jesus and being a Christian. One of the projects I want to do this weekend is get him on video singing some of these songs for ya'll. He also is learning about vowels and consonants. He does get them mixed up and this morning he was out and out fighting me by saying that "L" is a vowel. I kept trying to tell him that it is not a vowel, but a consonant. He actually started to cry as he was trying to convince me otherwise. Just one more reason of the many reasons that I could never home school my child. I am not against homeschooling, but for me and my child - no way in the world would it work.

Superbugs. I am still fighting mine that I have had for the past three weeks that feel like months. I went to the doctor two weeks ago and this perky little doctor told me that I only had a viral infection and I was at the "tail end of it." Um don't think so. I went back to the doctor (not the perky little one) and it turns out that I now have bronchitis and strep throat. Gee is that why I have been feeling like crud barely making it through each day, even though I was at the "tail end of it." I walked out with no less than SEVEN prescriptions.

We are praying for Grammy C. tonight. She is in the hospital suffering from a severe bladder infection and they are running some tests. She is such an inspiration because at 86, she gets around and is better dressed than any of us. I hope that I am as good as her at 66. We just hope she feels better soon. Jack loves to play tea parties with her and at 86, she gets down on the floor and plays cars with him. Feel better soon Grammy!

Why Mom Why?

2008-09-26T13:32:00.002-05:00

Jack's brain is constantly working these days. The questions are coming fast and furious and they have no rhyme or reason. He just comes out with the why questions and I have to admit that they are sometimes tough to answer.

Here are just a few of the why questions that he has asked in the last few days:

Why do scissors have handles?

Why do people sneeze?

Why did God made the world?

Why are there vowels? (they are learning their vowels at school right now)

Why does Grammy and Papa have a basement and we do not?

Why did the hurricane not break our windows? (he is quite concerned about hurricanes and other storms ever since we had to board up)

Why is the sun so bright?

Seriously ya'll they never stop. I love the fact that he is trying to figure out the world around him. But I do need a break every now and then. That is when I am very thankful for the DVD player in the car.

A Week Later

2008-09-25T09:19:00.003-05:00

Yes I realize that it has been over a week since I posted anything. This superbug that I somehow caught has put me in just survival mode for almost two weeks. I have been doing what I absolutely have to do like taking Jack to school and back and basic mothering tasks and other must-do tasks. But anything beyond the must do, well that just hasn't been happening. Today is the first day that I actually feel like I might survive this thing. I did go to the doctor last Friday and was told "it is just a viral thing, can't help ya, but here is some knock-out cough medicine for ya".

Anyway, I think I might be back with land of the living very soon. We have big plans this weekend by going to see Bill Cosby in concert at one of the casinos in Biloxi. It is an actual date night thing for Jim and I! Wow!

I also want to share with you the Jackism that happened last night. As most of you know, I let Jack sleep with me when Jim is on duty. I like it that he is right there with me in case anything happens and it is a special thing for us that I know won't last forever. So last night, he was in a very loving mood. Sometime in the middle of the night, he woke up and gave me a big hug and said "I love you Mom". Yes my heart melted. Then he was laying there thinking about something. And this conversation proceeded:

Him: "Mom?"
Me: "Yes Baby?"
Him: " Why are computers so heavy?"
Me: HUH? WHAT?

What goes on in that brain for him to ask such a question after midnight? I tell ya, his brain is working overtime all the time!

Start Early These Days

2008-09-16T06:33:00.003-05:00

So yesterday Jack came home from school (preschool K4 for those not playing at home) and told me that his friend Tanner has a girlfriend! This is how the conversation went:

Me: that is nice that he has a friend that is a girl

Jack: no Mom he has a girrrlllfriend. You know.

Me: how do you know this?

Jack: he told me and her name is Kara and she is his girrrlllfffrriiieend.

Me: (slightly freaking out) you don't have a girlfriend do you?

Jack: no! girl pooties (his word for cooties)

So there you have it my son's four-year-old friend has a girlfriend! Now this is the child that is in trouble everyday and had so many spankings in the Principal's office last year that his Mom lost count. He is also the kid that more than one mother requested their child NOT to be in the class with him this year. I am kinda rethinking my decision to give the kid a break and let Jack be in the same class.

He is definitely the class leader and the "bad influence" (at FOUR). Jack's teacher talked to me last week about Jack pushing another K3 child on the playground and then laughing about it. That is all Tanner and his teacher told me as much. Mrs. Nix (Jacks teacher from last year) was on the playground at the same time and said she could not believe that Jack did that and it was the influence from Tanner who told him to do it. Of course, we had a long talk about nice boys and playing nice and if I hear he does that again, he will be in time-out with NO toys for a very long time.

Ugh, who knew that Junior High playground antics started in Preschool! Geesh!

In other news, I seem to have caught some super-bug or something. I was down for the count most of the weekend, even on Jim's birthday on Saturday. We ended up doing nothing for his birthday because I was pretty much comatose that day. The super-bug has now travelled down into my chest and this morning, I do believe I coughed up a lung or two. Fun stuff.

Yeah and I can probably blame the preschool for the super-bug also!

Feeling the Effects

2008-09-12T13:11:00.004-05:00

We are hundreds of miles away from Galvaston, however we are definitely feeling the effects of Ike. The above picture was taken this morning at the Gulfport pier that was severly damaged in Gustav and now from Ike. It is amazing that we are feeling such heavy effects being so far away. The beach road is closed and the wind is enough to blow your head off. Forget having a good hair day in this wind. I feel bad for Texas and hope that the people who are being told they face "certain death" actually heed the warnings and get out of there. I have seen what the storm surge from Katrina did here and they need to know that storm surges are downright deadly.

I hope everybody says an extra little prayer for all those in harms way from Ike. I know that I will sure breath a sigh of relief when November 30th comes around (the end of hurricane season).

Too Much Fun

2008-09-08T07:32:00.002-05:00

I think the boy had too much fun/candy/cake/heat yesterday at the birthday party. They brought the Tumble Buggy to the party, which is an old school bus where they have taken out all of the seats and replaced with all kinds of jumping and bouncy things. If you watch Jon and Kate plus 8 they had the Tumble Buggy at their house for one episode. Anyway, it was so hot for the kids because the people said that the air conditioning was not working that well inside the bus and when all the kids came off that bus, they all had red faces and sweat pouring off of them. But everyone of them said it was fun.

So that brings me to last night around 1 am and Jack woke me up with the words "Mom I just threw up". He was sleeping in my bed with me. So I turn on the light and sure enough all of his pillow and sheet and his pajamas. So I strip the bed of sheets and put on the other sheets, strip him and put on new pajamas. He said he was feeling better and so we went back to sleep. About 20 minutes later, I hear that wonderful gagging sound and this time it got all over everywhere. So since that was the only other sheets I have for our bed, I stripped the bed yet again and went to wash the sheets. I put Jack on the couch with Thomas playing on the tv and we were then up for the next couple of hours with him sitting there with a bucket. Fun times.

So needless to say, the boy won't be going to school today. And the way it looks, he might get to go tomorrow and MAYBE Wednesday, but we will probably be evacuating on Thursday AGAIN. I found a cool model prediction online here that shows the eye landing just about where Gustav landed (those poor people in Louisiana) however it looks like it will be a much bigger storm and we will be on the "bad side" of it again and well it isn't looking good for us. Even More Fun Times.

Busy Sunday and More Talk of Hurricanes

2008-09-07T13:04:00.003-05:00

We are super busy today, so I thought I would get on here and tell ya about it all in between events of the day.

We went to church this morning and everybody is talking about the possibility of Ike. They even had the sand bags out front of the church left over from last week's storm.

In a few minutes, we will be leaving to go to a birthday party for our friend's three-year-old girl, where lots of candy and sugar will be consumed by the boy. Then we have to leave somewhat early from there to go to a bridal shower for our neighbor who is getting married next month. The shower was actually supposed to be last week, but Gustav pretty much did everyone's plans in last weekend.

Then I also have to leave the shower early and go back to church to help out with the youth group. I signed up to be a youth group leader and that means that my Sunday nights are now taken. Then it will be back home, do a load of laundry (the boy needs clothes for school), get the boy in bed and relax for a few minutes before I go to bed myself. I doubt that I will see Jim at all today as he is sleeping right now and then will be working tonight while Jack and I are off doing our thing.

Thanks for everybody's concern about the hurricane threats. And Evelyn it is great to see you again. I see that you have been watching the hurricane tracking about as much as I do. We are hoping that it will hit over in Texas somewhere and not affect us that much. However, if it does hit to the west of us, we will be on the "bad side" of the hurricane. Until lately, I had no idea that there was a "bad side" to a hurricane, but evidently the northeast of the eye gets hit by the bad winds. Who knew? I tell ya before this hurricane season is over, I will feel like I have earned an education in hurricanes!

Enough Already

2008-09-05T22:29:00.003-05:00

Geesh it seems like all I have been posting about is hurricanes and threat of hurricanes. And here we go again. It is looking like Ike is heading toward the Gulf now and could come our way. Seriously, never in my life have I looked at hurricane tracking so closely. I have looked at www.noaa.gov way too many times in the last couple of weeks. I know that it is bad to wish it to go to someplace else, but that is now what I am doing. We need a break ya'll. My poor husband has carried our patio furniture to and from the garage way too many times and it is looking like it will need to be done again. There are people around here who still have their houses boarded up in anticipation for Ike to come our way. Enough already. I really would like to plan something more than a week out without having to say "if the storm doesn't hit us."

Back To Normal

2008-09-03T08:25:00.002-05:00

We survived Gustav very well. We had absolutely no damage, except for one tree limb fell down. Jack and I had a mini-vacation at Grammy's and Aunt Ann's and Aunt Carla's, where he was spoiled beyond belief. On Monday, he literally stayed in his pj's all day long. It was a very lazy day for all of us as we watched the weather channel most of the day.

Just a little editorial here on the coverage. I get so irritated with the media because I really do believe that they have absolutely no idea that Mississippi exists. It got to be hilarious after awhile as most of their coverage was in New Orleans where they had like no weather at all. They kept showing the same baby palm tree down about fifty times. However, to the west was where the actual hurricane landed and then to the east where Gulfport is, the guy standing out there could hardly stand up. But they insisted on covering New Orleans. And at one point, they actually said that Gulfport was on "the southeast shore of Louisiana"! Excuse me? I live in Gulfport, MISSISSIPPI! Just a little irritation is all.

Jim had to work Sunday night, Monday night and Tuesday night for 12 hour shifts. I guess he slept through the whole thing during Monday in the very dark boarded-up bedroom. Also he housed a couple of other cops on his shift to sleep the day away at our house. It is funny, because I have always said that man could sleep through a hurricane and now he has.

We came home yesterday morning, which was probably not the smartest thing I have ever done. When we left, it was drizzling and no weather at all. However, we got almost half way home and we were driving through the WORST weather that I have ever driven through in my life. We were on the interstate and literally inching our way. At one point, I could not see anything at all, very much like a fire hose spraying on the windshield. I decided to pull off and we went to McDonalds to sit it out. I watched a lake form in the next parking lot and the fools driving through the water up to axles. I was contemplating going back to Grammy's house, but heard that they were having severe weather with tornado warnings, so I decided to head south once the rain let up a bit. It was very nice to get back home, which took twice as long as it usually does.

Everything is back to normal today. Jack went to school today and all the businesses are back open today. They moved the tons and tons of sand off the beach road and even that is open again today. Thank God that it wasn't Katrina. But it looks like we aren't out of the woods yet for the year with more tropical storms out there brewing. Even with all the threats of hurricanes, I still love this place and wouldn't move. But it would be better without all the humidity and the stupid love bugs every year at this time of year. Hate those things.

Hatches - Battened Down

2008-08-30T19:13:00.003-05:00

Our house is boarded up in anticipation for Gustav. There was a little neighborhood "lets board up the houses" today. It was nice that everybody helped everybody with the job. We went to Lowes this morning and they had the whole system down where you go and pay for the plywood and hurricane clips then drive around and they load it up for you. Pretty cool except for the 30 minute wait in line for the plywood.

It is getting pretty real that this thing is coming, even though the weather is not in the least bad. It was sunny and extremely hot today with the heat index at 99. But as we were eating out tonight, we saw the Army National Guard come to town in their convoy of military humvees and trucks with water, food, and fuel. They are taking this whole thing very seriously. I just hope that it doesn't do the devastation that Katrina did after all the rebuilding process that has gone on around here. The people around here need a break this time.

Jack and I and the dogs are heading up to my mother-in-law's house tomorrow afternoon. We plan to go to church and then head north. Jim has to work Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday night and possibly more if needed. They are talking about having the guys do 16-18 hour shifts during the crisis. I just hope they keep them safe is all.

I will try to update after tomorrow, but not sure if it will be possible for a few days. Just pray it isn't another Katrina.

It Is Getting Real

2008-08-29T18:40:00.002-05:00

This whole hurricane thing coming is getting real now. Because this is the first possible hurricane threat that we have had since we lived here, it seemed a bit surreal at first. But just today, the signs are out there that a real live hurricane just might come.

We went to Petsmart today for the puppy training class for Molly and Petsmart already had their windows all boarded up. And when we came home tonight, we noticed that a few of our neighbors have their windows boarded up already as well. I just wonder if they boarded up and left town early or if they are living in there in like total darkness. How creepy. Jim is going down to Home Depot tomorrow to get plywood for our windows. We decided to just board up our southside of the house, but unfortunately that is the side of the house that is nothing but windows. I think it has two french doors and 6 windows.

So as it stands right now, we will probably leave early early Monday morning to head up to Grammy's house. I hope to not be stuck in traffic for hours and hours. I have heard horror stories about the traffic prior to Katrina hitting.

In the meantime, I will be doing every bit of laundry that I can, packing up all the important papers, and getting me and Jack and dogs packed up. Oh and I also have to clean my house, because if the house is blown away, at least it is clean!

And Again

2008-08-28T14:18:00.004-05:00

It looks like we will be going northward to Grammy's house in a few days. It seems that Gustav is coming to town and everybody around here is gearing up for him. Seriously, I just came home from Walmart where it was a zoo. Not only were there about a million people there (give or take a few), but the shelves were bare, especially in the canned food section. And of course everyone was talking about their Katrina stories and what they went through 3 years ago. Hopefully Gustav is not another Katrina. But we will be prepared as Jack and I and the dogs head north. Jim will have to stay behind and do the policing.

Speaking of dogs, good grief! We have spent a small fortune at the vet in the past two weeks. First off, Molly, our new puppy, had to have all her shots and then had a rare form of worms (of course) and the expensive medicine to get rid of it. And today we found out that she has mites and is on antibiotics for the next week. Oh yeah and the heartworm medicine and flea medicine thrown in there for good measure. And then Tosha, my 12-year-old dachshund, decided to get sick also. She has some respiratory infection going on with lots of snot and sneezing going on and yes she is on antibiotics for the next two weeks. Oh and she needed her teeth cleaned because they were super bad and the vet thought that the bacteria from the teeth were what was causing the infection. And the heartworm and flea medicine for her. It is not fair because I don't feel like we have the money for me to go and get my teeth fixed up like they should, but for the dog - sure no problem. Not fair.

So now both dogs are on antibiotics and we are probably going to have to evacuate north. That is basically what is going on around here.

She Did Not Want To See Us

2008-08-24T09:02:00.003-05:00

Well I guess Fay just didn't want to come visit us today, instead she swung North and headed up toward my MIL's house. Instead of the massive amounts of rain, we just got the drizzling all day yuckies. From what they are saying, it is supposed to be raining for the next two or three days like this. And I was looking forward to having an excuse to stay home from church and just kinda vegging in front of the tv all day long, something I never get to do. But the boy wants to go to church, so I guess we'll go and get out in the drizzly yuckies.

Here She Comes

2008-08-23T18:02:00.005-05:00

First of all, I want to say thank you for all the wonderful comments everybody made in regards to the sad day we had. It was very touching and meant a lot to me. We are getting back to normal, however, Rob's family is never far from my thoughts. President Bush was in town the other day and I thought it was very nice that he spent some time with Leslie and the kids in private. No matter what you think about the man's politics, I do think Bush is a very nice man.

Anyway, now we are looking at Fay coming our way in the next 24 hours or so and from what we have heard it looks like we can expect 10-12" of rain and lots of wind. Jim cleared out the backyard today by putting all the chairs, bbq, bird feeder and what not into the garage. He also made sure we have enough gas for the generator and got all the lanterns and weather radios out. So we are ready for her. This is going to be our first big storm while living in Mississippi, thank goodness it is only a tropical storm and not a full-fledged hurricane. And hopefully this will be it for this hurricane season, although we do still have a couple more months left.

I'll be sure to say hi to Fay for ya when we see her :).

Sad Day

2008-08-18T18:21:00.005-05:00

This was a very sad day. Jim and I attended the funeral of a fallen police officer. There were about 1000 people with hundreds of police officers from all over. I have put myself in Rob's wife's place a thousand times over the past few days. By the grace of God, it was not me sitting in the front row looking at her dead husband's casket. She has two children the same ages as Jack and Laura. Her son, Trevor, just didn't get it, I could tell. But that is probably a good thing. How do you tell a five-year-old that his Daddy is never coming home. I also kept thinking that his daughter will never have a father walk her down that aisle on her wedding day. It is just beyond sad. I have no words to describe the emotions of today.

After the funeral, we drove in the funeral procession to the gravesite. Jim and I were in his patrol car with the lights going, just one of hundreds of patrol cars, fire trucks, and ambulances that made its way through the streets of Gulfport. It seemed incredibly surreal as the people lined the road with American flags, signs and were saluting us as we drove through. The fire department had a huge American flag drapped over the ladder that we all drove under. Very surreal.

At the gravesite, they played Taps, had the gun salute, and bagpipes playing Amazing Grace. It was incredible to see all the police officers in their dress uniforms saluting the casket as it went by. And the saddest part of all was at the end when dispatch called out the last call to Rob on the radio. "Gulfport 107 ... Gulfport 107... silence and then "Gulfport all units Officer 107 is now 10-7" which means officer is out of service. The sobs rang out throughout the graveyard. There was one officer who was standing beside us who literally dropped to his knees sobbing. And my husband next to me was sobbing as was I. I have to say that I am so proud of my husband for the job he does. It scares the crap out of me everytime he walks out of this house in uniform, but I am so incredibly proud of him. He chooses to put himself in danger every night to help all of us. And I know that every single wife there today felt the same way about her husband and also thanking God that we have our husbands tonight, while Leslie does not.

This is one day that will live with me forever and I hope and pray that I never have to relive another policeman funeral, especially my own policeman

A Little Bit of Humor

2008-08-17T14:37:00.004-05:00

I thought that I would share with you a little Jack funny he made this morning, which is something that we needed (especially Jim).

We have decided that we are going to buy Jack one of those battery-powered cars or four-wheeler that he can ride around in our cul-de-sac. Jim was showing him the different ones available online this morning and was trying to steer the boy toward the four-wheeler instead of the car because he won't outgrow it quite as fast. But Jack in all his four-year-old wisdom said that he wanted the Mustang because "it has horse power and can go really fast"! Hehe get it - mustang ... horse power. He is a hoot that one.

If you are the praying kind...

2008-08-15T14:42:00.001-05:00

just say a prayer for Lt. Rob Curry's family. He is the police officer who died yesterday in the line of duty. Here is a link to the story. He was on his motorcycle and was hit by a woman trying to turn left by crossing three lanes of traffic. She said she didn't see him and was quite hysterical at the accident scene, so say a prayer for her also as I am sure this is devastating to her as well. Rob's wife, Leslie, is also a police Lt. and has given us many clothes for Jack that her son has outgrown. I feel so bad for her and can't even imagine the pain that she is going through right now and their two children. The entire Gulfport police force and community are very shaken up by this death and is the second police officer to die in two weeks. Again, I just pray everyday that I never receive that phone call. Just something you live with when you love a cop.

Ramblings

2008-08-14T13:30:00.002-05:00

Wow three posts in one day. A record for this year I do believe.

These past two weeks have been very drama-filled. Laura went back to California last Wednesday. It was very sad to see her go. After all the drama surrounding her request to stay here and her mother's response, it was a let down to say the least. We are being forced to pursuit legal recourse and maybe having to go to California to appear in court soon.

It also has been a very sad time for Jim. One of his fellow police officers was on vacation in North Carolina and was shot and murdered in a motel parking lot. It turns out that two teenagers came up to rob him and he identified himself as a police officer and they shot him on the spot, probably because he was a cop. As Jim said, they are probably being heralded as heroes because they killed a cop. It makes me very sad, nervous, and angry that there is a portion of the population out there who want my husband dead just because he is a cop. His funeral was last weekend and it was a huge thing here because he was also in the Air Force reserves and he received a full military funeral and the entire police force was there as well. Very very sad.

And then we just learned another one of Jim's fellow police officers was killed today in an accident. I don't know the details, whether it was while on duty or not, but it is so sad. His wife is also a police officer and they had two children aged 5 and 11. In fact, she is the one who gave us so many clothes for Jack. I can't even imagine going on with life after that. As soon as I heard about it, I started to cry for her and her children.

With all of this, it makes you appreciate the ones you have around you. I also have to pray that I never get that phone call. It is a prayer that I say everyday he walks out the door in uniform.

New Addition

2008-08-14T13:23:00.002-05:00

Well we went and did it almost two weeks ago. We went to the Humane Society and picked out a new puppy to bring home to the already chaotic household that we have. She is a golden retriever/lab/shephard mix - basically a mutt. She has already doubled in size from the picture above. Her name is Molly and it is fun to see Jack playing with her. However because she is not yet four-months old, she is your usual puppy. I think we are up to four pairs of shoes lost because of her chewing and she still does not know that she needs to go outside to do her poopy business. But all in all, she is a good dog and it will be fun for Jack to have a dog he can grow up with and play with.

First Day of School

2008-08-14T13:04:00.004-05:00

It is that time of year again - School!! Today was Jack's first day back at school in K4. It was funny to see all the parents today with their cameras taking their kids into school. I have been hyping today up for the past few days, but in reality Jack acted like it was just another day at school - no big deal. He has a new teacher this year named Miss Wiest and a new classroom. The school is actually having a new building being built and was supposed to be done before today, but they are now saying by Christmas time. It sure is looking nice and I am looking forward to the new classroom.

When I picked him up today, I asked him what they did and what they talked about and his response was the same as always "we did nothing and talked about nothing". Same old same old.

K4 First Day of School - August 14, 2008

And for a comparison, below is the first day of school last year. It is fun to see the changes as he grows older.

Saga Continues

2008-08-02T10:14:00.003-05:00

First off - Happy August! How is it August already? School is starting in less than 2 weeks for Jack (shall we all say hallelujah).

Well the saga continues with Laura. Laura's mother came down with her verdict on high and decided that "it is the best interest of Laura not to be in Mississippi". Laura is very upset and has been crying for the past two days. At this time, we are going to have to seek a lawyer in California to protect ourselves because we have heard from somebody that Dina is going to sue us to stop all visitation. I am sure she has no legal leg to stand on, but the thought has put total anger and fear into both Jim and I. Dina has also cut off all communication with us and Laura at this time. She will not answer her phone nor emails. She has told Laura that we have "brainwashed" her and therefore can not talk to her until she gets home, I guess to "reprogram" her.

Anyway, it has been extremely stressful and upsetting all around. I am so weary of it all that I don't have anything left to say on the subjet. This whole thing is going to get so ugly and we are probably in for a huge fight. So tiring, frustrating, and unfair.

Ranting

2008-07-31T07:55:00.003-05:00

Slowly but surely, I am getting over being fried from our day at the waterpark. I still can not believe how sunburnt I did get after applying 50 block sunscreen three times! Jack is nursing a good sunburn on his shoulders, which he whines mightly about quite often.

We are still in the middle of drama in the Jackaroo house. Laura's mother is enjoying playing with all of our emotions, but especially Laura's, by not making a decision whether Laura can stay here. I have a feeling that she will drag it out until the night before Laura was scheduled to go back and putting all of us through the wringer. Laura is so torn up inside because she really does want to stay here and go to the same school as Jack. But her mother keeps coming up with new reasons why this place is a horrible place. The list is quite long, which includes, she will get fat (her mother tells her she is fat all the time and does not let her eat anything but salads), I will turn into an evil step-monster and eat her while she sleeps, Mississippi is a horrible, humid place that nobody wants to live in, her entire "lifestyle" will change, her father works (doesn't most fathers?), this decision will be a huge mistake that will forever scar Laura in irrevocable ways.

I am so tired of this mess. I really do want Laura to stay. She is a joy to have around. But I am tired of having Laura's mother having control over MY life as she has for the last 6 years. Even my wedding plans to Jim had to be scrapped and we ended up going to Vegas because of her. And here she is again toying with us. It is very similar to the way a cat plays with a mouse - very cruel. Every time we press her for an answer, she comes up with some other BS, the last being she wanted 10 reasons from both Jim and Laura why Laura should stay here. Then there was the time she wanted info on the school and she was going to talk to Laura's teachers to see if they "approve" of the school, even though it is a top-rated private school. Of course they both emailed their reasons off to her two days ago with no response. Jim has tried to call her about 20 times and she does not answer her phone. Again, she holds all the cards and I am sick sick sick of it.

As it stands now, if she says no, we will have to send a very angry Laura back to her mother on Wednesday. At that point, we will probably have to spend thousands of dollars to pursue custody through the court. We have researched and the judge many times takes the wishes of the child at Laura's age into consideration. But it will take time and it will get ugly, not to mention having to cash in our retirement savings.

I know that you should never hate a person, but with Laura's mother, she is at the top of the list if I did hate somebody. I thought that moving 2000 miles away would help, but it is now looking like I need to wait another 6 years until Laura is 18 before she is out of my life. But then I am sure even then, she will find a way to push her nose into my life. Ugh!

Fried

2008-07-28T18:54:00.002-05:00

Laura, Jack and I went to the waterpark today. We went with my friend Jennifer and her sons Kyle and Josh. And we picked the day that had the highest UV rating of the year and the hottest with temps over 100. I walked away from the place after five hours a fried lobster, despite the fact that I applied sunscreen three times! Of course, my two naturally tanned and bronze kids did not burn nearly as bad as I did.

Anyway, this year, Jack is finally tall enough to ride some of the bigger slides. He was so scared walking up the steps to the roller coaster slide and was practically begging me not to go on the thing, but I knew he would love it once he got on it. And of course he did. I think his exact expression after splashing down the slide was "That was Totally Awesome!" and we had to do it again.

But it was a fun day for all. But I really don't need to be in the sun again for awhile.

Big News ... Almost Official

2008-07-28T06:40:00.003-05:00

It has been quite a couple of weeks around here at the Jackaroo House.

So Laura is here for her usual summer visit. I love having her here because she is such a great stepdaughter and Jack practically worships his Sissy. It also is pretty nice having a built-in babysitter! She fits into the family so well that when she is here, it feels like she has always been here. And when she is not here, it does feel like something is missing.

Well I guess she had been thinking a lot and one day she just said that she might want to stay here and live here! Of course, Jim and I were very cautious as she said that same thing last year, only to go back to her mother's. But this year seemed different and I told her to think about it and see if it is really what she wants to do. Well after about a week of her agonizing over the decision (she even wrote down 50 pro and con things on the advice of somebody), she told her mother that she wanted to stay and go to school here.

Of course, her mother (wicked witch of the west) went into a tirade about how bad this place is for her (we eat bad food like ice cream, she will get fat) and how I am going to turn into the evil step mother. Her mother told her that she is making a bad decision and she will regret it. Of course her mother thinks that this place is a "hostile environment" for Laura to be in. There no mention of the fact that we offer a family unit and stability, something that she doesn't get from her mother.

Anyway, to make a long story short, it is looking like we will be registering Laura in school tomorrow. She will be going to Jack's school, a private christian academy. She seems very happy with her decision and already has a ton of friends around here. In fact last night, she went to a teen night thing that her friend Lanie goes to. In fact, the only reason I let her go is because I know Lanie's mother is very protective and if she thinks it is okay, then it must be okay for Laura to go. Anyway, I was waiting up until 10:30 for her to be brought home by Lanie's mother and I felt very much like a true parent of a teenager!

Aye Aye Aye! This should be interesting! We are so thrilled!

Since When Did ...

2008-07-21T14:36:00.003-05:00

cell phones become so confusing? Our 2 year contract is up soon with what used to be Cingular Wireless and is now At&T for our cell phones. I did like them when they were Cingular, but since AT&T took over, the customer service has gone down the tubes. So we are now looking for a new company, plan, and phones for Jim and I.

And I have to ask, when did it all become so confusing and expensive! Jim's little flip phone is on its last legs by not being able to keep a charge for more than a day and I really like the new smart phones with the all the new features. So I was looking at the Palm Centro at Sprint, which comes in pink (hehe love it) and think it is a good phone with all kinds of bells and many whistles. But while we were looking at Sprint, I saw the new Instinct, which is not that much more than the Palm phone. Now if money were no object, I would own an iphone by now after playing with Jim's sister's phone for like an hour. It is just that $400 price tag that has turned me off. But the new Instinct is way cool and very close to the iphone and have rethunk my position on the whole cell phone thing.

It is all so confusing and overwhelming with so many plans, companies and a gazillion different phones these days. Another thing that makes me old when I say "back in my day, we did not have any cell phones, texting, or email at our fingertips." How did we survive? I ask myself.

Whitewater Rafting Pictures

2008-07-19T19:35:00.011-05:00

I finally got the pictures off the water-proof disposable cameras we took with us on the whitewater rafting trip. It was so much fun and I can say that all the kids thoroughly enjoyed themselves, even if they were terrified at the beginning of the 8-mile journey down the river.

Laura in front Nanhatala Outdoor Center.

Brandt hanging like a monkey wayyyyy over the river. He literally made me ill when I saw him do this.

Me and Brandt in our lovely life vests.

We are all gearing up for some whitewater action.

The boys were with the river guide.

Good picture of Laura and the beautiful scenery.

The Smokey Mountains as the backdrop. Absolutely stunning.

All of our boats together. We had three boats. One was guided by Pastor Stephen, one by a professional river guide. Our boat was lucky enough to be guided by Brandt, who hit me in the head with his paddle. I now tell people not to sit in front of Brandt on a raft.

These last two pictures were taken by the staff at the big finale, which was a class 3 rapid. It was a blast, but I have to admit after hearing the lecture of how to steer into the rapid, I admit I was more than a little nervous going down this thing. But it was so incredibly fun, probably due to the fact that nobody fell out of our raft. When Jack turns 7 (the minimum age to go on the rafts), we plan to go back again. I just know he would have a blast doing the rapids.

Trip Pictures

2008-07-14T18:41:00.018-05:00

Here are some of the many many pictures that I took on our Lake Junaluska youth trip. I will post pictures of our whitewater rafting trip later after I get the pictures off the water proof disposable camera.

The beautiful scenery of Lake Junaluska, NC.

More beautiful, breathtaking scenery.

On Friday night they had "Tacky Night". Here are some of our kids in their tacky finest.

Laura, Ashley, and Cindy. Laura made a lot of really good friends while there.

Laura and Ashley.

Laura was called up on stage because she was the "tackiest" from our church. She competed with the other churches, however ended up losing to a guy in a dress.

Mama ducky with her baby duckies on the lake.

There were a few ducks around the lake.

I thought this swan on the lake was so beautiful.

Jim and I. Also known as Mom and Dad to the kids. They started calling us Mom and Dad after a couple of days and I started calling a couple of them as my surrogate daughters.

This building known as Shackford Hall was where all the worships were held. It was built in 1923 and a beautiful building. I loved the huge columns out front.

There is a cross on a hill that is lit up at night. On Saturday night, all the kids walked up the hill to this cross for a worship service. It was quite an experience that I will remember forever. At the end of the service, we sang "Pass It On" and shouted out "Praise God" at the end, which echoed off the mountains several times. It was so cool.

Picture of all the kids during a worship service. I think there were about 250 teenagers from all over the southeast.

The kids during worship.

Jim and Brandt during worship.

Our kids during a talk back time after worship one night.

Laura and Lanie on our last day wearing their "Love Wins" t-shirt.

I can't tell you how much this past weekend affected me. Not only was it a spiritual experience, but I loved seeing how our kids bonded with each other and the other kids. I loved how I bonded with the kids and was able to help them work through some of the stuff they are dealing with. There were a couple of girls who live in a group home for girls. They have been shuffled from foster home to foster home. Jim and I got close to Brandi, a girl who has been in the foster care system since she was 8 years old when her mother ran off. She started the weekend off as a very angry young girl who did not want to join in anything. She is a very wounded 14-year-old girl. But as the weekend went on, that tough exterior started to dissolve and I actually saw her smile a few times and stand up and dance to the silly songs. My heart broke for her and when we got back last night, I realized that all the other kids had nice homes and families to go home to, but those two girls had a group home with no loving family. Jim and I have vowed to try to get her to come over for dinner sometime or just to hang out.

I know that we were there as chaperons to try to keep boys from the girls and keep them safe, but we both went away with an amazing spiritual experience that we will never forget.

We're Back

2008-07-14T08:52:00.004-05:00

We got back last night from our trip to Lake Junaluska, NC church youth trip. I would advice not to spend 24 hours of driving with 15 teenagers. It can be dangerous to your health ... seriously. All that teenage drama - Oh my gosh. I feel completely physically and emotionally drained from those things called teenagers. I have decided that Jack will never turn into one of those things.

Our trip started out early early Wednesday morning by meeting at the church at 4 am to pack up kids, bags, and lots of junk food. We drove through to Bryson City, NC where we spent the night at this motel that was tucked up into the mountains. It was incredibly beautiful and breathtaking. The next morning we all got up early to go whitewater rafting, which was such a blast. The kids had so much fun, however there was much complaining about the cold river water.

After the rafting trip, we all piled back into the vans and drove to Lake Junaluska for the youth retreat. It was an amazing experience for all involved. Some of the kids were able to bring a lot of emotional baggage out and I am amazed at what kids today have to go through. It sure is a far cry from when I was their age. I do believe that all the kids got closer to God and hopefully they will take the high they are feeling right now and keep it with them forever.

But I just have to say that if I have to deal with one more teenage girl drama with massive tears, I am going to poke my eyes out! Good grief, what is it with teenage girls and drama? It is like they thrive on a daily dose of drama! I was thanking God all weekend that Jack is a boy. Laura was not as bad as some of the girls, but even she shed some tears over drama. I have worked with the children's (Jack's age) ministry for the past couple of years and even though that age can completely exhaust you, there is nothing like the youth teenage ministry to drain you of every possible ounce of energy and sanity.

But all in all it was a very successful trip. I will be posting lots and lots of pictures later. Right now, we need to get back in our van and drive another two hours to go to Aunt Ann's and Grammy's house to get Jack. I did pretty good in the not-missing-Jack department until last night when I talked to him on the phone and almost felt like crying. I am very ready to see my Jackaroo today and kiss and hug him all over and be very thankful that he is NOT a teenager yet.

And We Are Off

2008-07-08T21:13:00.003-05:00

Well we are off tomorrow morning at 4 am to chaperone a church youth group to Lake Junaluska in North Carolina. We are taking 15 teenagers, Laura being one of them and 6 of us adults. It should be a fun trip. We are going whitewater rafting on Thursday morning and then on to Lake Junaluska for the weekend. There will be a big youth rally there with kids from all over the southeast and I am hoping that Laura gets to meet a lot of new friends and have a great time.

We dropped Jack off tonight to spend the next 6 days with Aunt Ann and Grammy C. I know he is going to have a great time there, but I admit that it was hard saying goodbye to my baby for 6 whole days, the longest I have ever spent away from him. Wahhhh! But he will have fun fishing, picking blueberries, getting eggs out of the hen house, and playing with his Grammy and Aunt. And I sent him up there with a ton of cars, trucks, games, books, and even his golf clubs (he said he needed to practice his golf!?!). And I know he will be completely spoiled also.

I know that my posts have been few and far between the last few months and for those of you still sticking around for those few posts, thank you and I apologize. I do have plans to get back to my daily ramblings about life with Jack and the rest of the family. And posting lots of pics for ya'll. So until Monday, just pray for us that we do not lose our sanity with 15 teenagers!

VBS 2008 Recap

2008-07-03T08:19:00.003-05:00

Our church had the annual vacation bible school last week. I volunteered to be one of the "Discovery" leaders in the science room. It was really fun watching the kids do the experiments each night and see their eyes light up when the experiment actually worked. This year ran a lot smoother than last year and I think all those involved had a ton of fun each night.

I, however, put my foot in my mouth one night. There was a boy named Grant who was five years old, who was THE worst kid in VBS this year. Every year, there is that one kid who you wished never signed up. Last year it was a boy named Dawson and to this day, I still have bad memories everytime I hear the name Dawson. Anyway, this year Grant was a very disrespectful, disruptful little boy. He did not want to do what all the other kids were doing and when he was challeneged, he would look at you in the eyes and just defy and dare you to do something. One night, he went behind the door and started to kick the wall so hard that I thought he was going to kick a hole through the wall.

Grant's parents do not go to our church, so I really did not know him nor his parents very well. I was in the hallway when a woman walked up to me that I did not know and start talking about how wild Grant is and well I opened up my mouth and stuck my foot in big time. I told her that he was the worst child this year at VBS and she stood there open-mouthed and told me that he was hers. Of course, I felt horrible about telling her this and tried to apologize to her. But she just walked away not wanting to hear my apology. The next day I got a phone call from a friend telling me that Grant's mother cried the rest of the night because of what I told her and she "didn't expect that kind of attitude at a church."

The next night, I tried again to apologize, but again she did not want anything to do with me nor my apology. I felt bad, but the truth was her child WAS the worst kid and she needs to know what kind of kid she has. I keep thinking that if somebody told me that Jack was acting badly, I would be the first one to apologize and not act like that person did a personal assault to me and my child. Anyway, I guess life lesson learned - I need to learn when to open my mouth up about other people's children.

I will post pictures probably tomorrow when I have a bit more time. And tell ya'll about our upcoming trip to North Carolina with 19 teenagers! Fun times!

Today I Wanna Be

2008-06-24T06:54:00.003-05:00

Jack is always telling me what he wants to do when he "grows up". Everytime I hear him say that, I always think of the Toys R Us jingle "I wanna be a toys r us kid". Anyway, for the longest time the boy wanted to be a "race car driver". Seriously everyday, about a hundred times a day, he would say I wanna be a race car driver just like my cousin Chad. (Thanks Chad!). I always told him he had to go to college first, so after awhile, he would add the little caveat to his dream - "after college" and then he would ask me again "when is college". I would again go through all the schools he has to finish before becoming that race car driver (preschool, elementary, junior high, high, and then college).

Well in recent weeks, Jack's fascination has moved from race car driving (thank goodness) to being a rock star (oh geesh). And I have the Disney channel to thank for this latest obsession because of their non-ending promotion of the movie Camp Rock. He will go around the house strumming his imaginary guitar and say "I am a Rocking Star Mom!". Even at church he will stand up during the kid's song worship and pretend to play the guitar. At this point I am really not sure which is the worst idea - race car driver or rock star. But of course, everything is "after college".

So yesterday, he went to the doctor to have his hand checked out, which by the way is looking really good. I am no longer feeling faint when I have to change the bandage. The doctor thinks it is going to heal up very nicely with probably no surgery (yahoo!). But we have to give it another couple of weeks to make sure. So that was good news.

Anyway, while at the doctor's, I guess he had the sudden inspiration that doctors were as cool as race car drivers and rock stars because he now says he wants to be a doctor, which is something I can live with a lot easier than the previous two career choices. There is just the little matter of how to pay for med school is all.

I just think it is so great to be young and have your entire future ahead of you and a blank slate as to what you are going to do with that future.

In other happenings, our Vacation Bible School started last night. After last year's first night chaos, I was fully prepared for that same chaos. However, it ran so smoothly and I think the kids enjoyed it very well. This year, I am helping out in the science "discovery" room where we are doing science experiments to demonstate God's love. It is really fun to see the expressions on their faces when doing the experiments. My friend Nichol, who is a pediatrician, is my "lab partner" and she even brought lab coats for us to wear. All very cool. I will take the camera and get some pictures of the church all decorated. We have been working hard getting ready for this. We were at the church until 10:00 on Friday night and then again on Sunday night. But I think it is going to be a successful VBS this year.

Bob 1991-2008

2008-06-17T18:55:00.005-05:00

Today I had to put to sleep my dog of almost 17 years. Bob, my wire-haired dachshund that I picked out when I was only 24 years old, which was about 3 lifetimes ago. Through a marriage, a divorce, a bad relationship, my single years, meeting Jim and having Jack, Bob was there as always. My faithful friend who stuck with me through it all. He lived in three different states, 6 houses and 3 apartments with me. And today I had to say goodbye to him. In the end he was completely deaf and almost blind, but when he knew that he was getting a treat, he still pranced around like a puppy. I knew this day was coming and I thought I was ready for it, but I still cried like I lost a dear friend. He was my first son before I had Jack and he will be missed.

I love you Bobers.

The Finger Saga Continues

2008-06-16T08:49:00.003-05:00

We are still managing with burnt fingers here at the Jackaroo house. The boy is such a trooper. I am completely impressed with him and his pain management. It makes me think I am a total wimp to pain, because if I had the same injury, I would be complaining about the thing all the time. But not Jack, he just goes about his day and doesn't let the fact that he has no use of his left hand get in his way. He even has accomplished the taking his pants off to go potty quite well with the one hand.

The actual injury is looking better than it did on Saturday when I almost lost my lunch. I changed the dressing yesterday and I can see the healing process going on. The human body really is quite amazing. I am actually going to take him over to a nurse friend today to have her look at it and see what she thinks and let her change the dressing for me. It will be nice to have a professional do it rather than me who about faints away. Yeah a medical career was never in the cards for me.

I also have such a great group of friends. It really was quite amazing that I only told one person about the incident and before the night was over, I had like five phone calls from friends wondering how he was doing. I feel very blessed to have such great girlfriends who I know I can count on in times like these.

Oh and the other day at Walmart, the boy did not get a video game system. One big reason was because I just don't want to have one in my house and well he couldn't play anyway. But we did end up getting a couple of games - Hungry Hungry Hippos and Candy Land. We have been having fun playing those and Chutes and Ladders and Sorry. There isn't much else the boy can do besides watch tv and I really don't want him to watch tv all day long. Unfortunately the pool is out for at least two or three weeks, along with the beach, and the waterpark, and playing outside. But he is taking it better than me! It just goes to show you that you can learn something from your kids.

The Boy Has Me Wrapped Around His Finger ...

2008-06-14T10:38:00.002-05:00

especially the bad fingers. Today I changed the dressing on Jack's hand. I got out of it yesterday by pushing the job off onto Jim, but since Jim is sleeping today, I had to do the deed. Let me tell you, I am by no stretch of the imagination a nurse. I cut off the bandage as gingerly and gently as I could, but it still hurt a lot, I could tell. When I took a look at the fingers, I literally felt like throwing up and my knees got weak. They are ugly and look horrible, much worse than the day it happened because now all the skin is falling off like the doctor said it would. It is basically a very bad burn. When I had to put the antibiotic ointment on, he yelled and howled. I can just imagine how much it hurts him and I kept telling him not to look at the hand, but to look out the window at the birdies. I just wish I could of looked out the window at the birdies too! Anyway, I could not wrap that hand up faster, both for the boy's sake and mine own. Yuckie! I am thinking I am going to take him to a nurse friend's tomorrow and have her do the daily job of changing the dressing.

So because I have been basically feeling guilty and sorry for the boy because he has no use of the hand, I am going to take him to Walmart and let him pick something out. I asked him if he wanted to get a new movie or toy and he comes up with this: "I know. I have a great idea. Let's get a video game! One that you play on the tv! Isn't that a great idea?" Now I really do not believe in video games at all. I think they are a huge time waster and once they come into the house, the kids don't want to do anything but that. But because the boy has me wrapped around his very badly hurt fingers at the moment, I actually thought seriously about getting some video game something for him for a second there. We'll see. Who knows, I may just be worn down, but then again, he can't really play with just one hand very easily.

As I said before, this mother thing is not easy at all!

Mother of the Year Moment

2008-06-13T15:16:00.003-05:00

First off I want to apologize for going two weeks with no post. It has been extremely chaotic around here with juggling schedules and having one car syndrome. We also have had sporadic internet, which has caused me to start to twitch from withdrawals. I admit that I am an internet junkie.

Now on to the Mother of the Year Moment that happened yesterday afternoon. We just got a new (well new to us) treadmill which is in our family room and I have to trip over the thing to get to the kitchen. Something I seriously need! Anyway, Jack loves to "exercise himself" on the thing. I do let him walk on it at the slowest setting and he thinks it is the funnest thing in the world at that moment.

Well yesterday afternoon, Jack was walking on the treadmill and I walked away just to check on the laundry in the laundry room. I remember thinking to myself that I should not have let him alone on the thing, but he was just walking and seemed safe for a minute. It was hardly anytime and I heard a blood curdling scream come from Jack and I went running. I saw him with his hand caught in the track and stuck and he was screaming. I pulled the cord to stop the track and pulled his hand out and there before me was his hand with fingers with no skin left on them! Literally I saw the tendons on his index finger. It had in essence burnt the skin off in a matter of seconds. I thought that he had fallen, but he told me that he put his hand in there on purpose. Boys! Never did I think he would be that stupid as to put his hand in a moving track.

So anyway with him screaming at the top of his lungs, I went into crisis mother mode. I threw some shoes on him and me and ran for the car. As I backed out of the driveway, I called Jim who was in training to give him the message that I was on my way to Keesler AFB emergency room. It was a long 20 minute drive with Jack screaming in back.

Anyway to make a long story short, we made it to the hospital. His fingers are pretty messed up and right now we have change his dressing everyday with antibiotic ointment. He also has to take oral antibiotics and has a pretty strong pain killer for a four-year-old. There wasn't much they could do there. The doctor said just like a burn, the rest of the dead skin will slough off in the next few days and we have to watch how it heals. It maybe that he will need skin grafts or some type of hand surgery if it doesn't heal right. I am praying that it will heal good, but we won't know for a couple of weeks.

And I have to say that he is such a trooper. He hasn't complained once about being one-handed. He has no use of his left hand and he does a really good job working around the problem. He has played with his blocks all day today and totally compensates for the loss of his hand. I know it still hurts because he will look up and just look at me saying "ouuuuuccchhhh". I feel so bad for him and I have run the what ifs over and over in my mind. I didn't need to get the laundry out at that moment, or I should have made him get off the treadmill. I am just glad that it wasn't any worse than it already is. And after an internet search last night, I realized that we are not the only one out there with hand injuries on treadmills. It seems quite common in fact, unfortunately. So just a warning for all of you out there with kids and treadmills. The two do not mix well.

It was funny because I literally had four places to be last night with the Finance committee meeting taking top priority. Never in a million years did I think I would be in the ER with Jack's fingers mangled. Of course I didn't get to any of the places, but stayed home. Lately it seems that I have a hard time living in the moment as Oprah would call it. I am always thinking ahead of what needs to be done and when. I tell you when I saw Jack hurt like that, I was definitely in the moment and every fiber in me was concentrating on getting him to the hospital. Nothing else mattered. If nothing else, maybe this taught me that I do need to be more in the moment, especially when it comes to Jack. Lesson learned.

Girlfriends & Sex & the City

2008-05-30T23:56:00.003-05:00

Alright, I can't tell you how much I love Sex and the City. I know it is racy. I know there is a lot of sex. But under all of that, it is a really great show about girlfriends and life and relationships. During my single years of my early 30s, I absolutely adored the show. I could relate to every single one of those women in some way or another. Maybe it was because I was the same age as they were, and single, and close to giving up on finding Mr. Right. But I loved loved loved the show.

Then I did find my Mr. Big, got pregnant, had a baby, got married (yes in that order) and the show went off the air. But tonight, I went with all my new girlfriends I have made here in Mississippi to see my beloved show and it was everything and more that I expected or hoped for. First of all, the group of us 9 girls went out for Mexican, got slightly drunk on Margaritas and went to the theatre. We got there early to get good seats of course, and I have to say that the crowd of women in that theatre was so much fun. Within minutes, I think the entire theatre were great friends and we even invited a few of them to a party next week. Yeah and being slightly drunk didn't hurt any in the socializing area either.

The movie was the greatest. Whoever was a fan of the show, you MUST go see the movie. You will cry, laugh, and hug your girlfriend next to you on the way out. Oh and do not take any husbands, cause they just won't get it. Go with your girlfriends. The best.

Weekend Recap

2008-05-27T07:43:00.003-05:00

It was a very busy weekend here in Jackaroo World. On Saturday, I predicted right, and Jack came home from the boating fishing trip very sunburnt. In fact, he got sick Saturday night by throwing up in the night in his bed around midnight. And then again in the morning. Needless to say, we did not go to church on Sunday. I could just imagine that during children's story time, Jack would heave right in front of the whole church.

However, by the 4 in the afternoon, he was feeling better and I let him go to Allison's birthday party next door. She was turning five and let me just say that it was a huge affair! They rented a huge inflatable water slide for the kids and that turned out to be a huge hit. I wasn't sure if I wanted Jack out in the sun, but he convinced me to let him put his swim trunks on and go play.

I think there were at least 60 or 70 people there with about 30 of them being kids under the age of 6. It was absolute chaos. They also had a show with somebody dressed up as Ork from Dragon Tales and there was lots of singing and dancing. I told Sonia, Allison's mother, that she could host Jack's birthday party next year since she obviously knew how to put on a kickin' kid's party!

Because of all the excitement the previous two days, yesterday was a very low-key day. I didn't want Jack to get any more sun, even though a lot of our friends were going to be spending the day at the pool.

And today, Jack gets to go to work with me. I can't find anybody to watch him for the few hours I have to go work and Jim worked last night, so is sleeping. I had to take him with me last Monday and he did really well while watching movies on the portable dvd player and playing with his cars. Thank goodness I work for a place that lets me do that, cause I can't afford a babysitter, kinda would wipe out the benefits of actually having a job. Ya know.

And I know I promised pictures of the birthday party and well I am lame because I was so worried about Jack being sick that I didn't even think about the camera until way later. I do need to start taking some pics of the boy and post them for ya'll.

Took The Other Option

2008-05-24T15:54:00.002-05:00

So I opted out of the fishing/boat trip today. I actually woke up with a scratchy throat and went "uh oh" and decided that I just better stay off the boat today. It has been the most relaxing day I have probably spent in the last four years. Since I really do not feel well, I decided to just not look at my floors with the dust bunnies who now have grandchildren dust bunnies and relax today. I did have to force myself to go to Walmart to get a birthday present for Allison, our neighbor. Her birthday party is tomorrow. She is going to be five and from what I saw of the big preparations going on in their backyard, it is going to be one huge party. I will definitely take pictures. I just hope that Jack doesn't streak through their house like he did last year at her fourth birthday party! Yes, he ran fully naked through their house after he went swimming in the little pool. I always tell people that Allison had a stripper at her fourth birthday party.

Anyway, back to the fishing trip. I do not believe that Jack has ever been this excited about anything in his short life. I think this even tops Disneyworld! He jumped right out of bed this morning at 6:00 am ready for the day of fishing. I heard him yell "hey Uncle Bailey, we're going fishing today!" And he was so cute today when I saw him walk out carrying his little tackle box wearing the hat that he proclaimed was his "fishing hat". He really is growing up so fast. They really have a great day with blue skies and lots of sunshine. Of course, Jim being a Dad and a man, left the sunscreen home, even after I put it out on the counter for him to take with them with explicit instructions to lather Jack up every other hour. I am just hoping that Jim has the good sense to keep the boy under the roof of the Pontoon boat, or the boy is going to be one fried little boy when they get home! But even with that, I am sure Jack is having the time of his life.

Random Happenings

2008-05-23T17:02:00.003-05:00

Some recent happenings in the Jackaroo World household:

** Last weekend Jack and I went to a spring festival held by a local church. First of all I just have to say that the church had to make some major bank that weekend because the thing was huge. There was rides, games, booths, crafts, shows, and more going on. Jim was working last weekend so I decided to take Jack and we had a blast. It was a fun Jack and Mommy day, just the two of us. Jack rode a bunch of rides. The funny thing was when he walked right on the little roller coaster all by himself with no fear at all, but when I tried to get him on the Ferris wheel, he said it was too scary. However, we both rode the ferris wheel and all he could say during the whole ride was "wow" and "this is so cool". Jack also got his very first pony ride and although I took pictures with my phone, they turned out really bad or you would see Jack riding the cutest pony of all. After that, we ate all kinds of bad carnival food and enjoyed every last bite. All in all a great day.

** The other night, we went to a neighbor's crawfish boil and brought home a ton of the mudbugs. And my little redneck-in-the-making cracked them open and sucked the heads out like a pro. And nope, not me. I still can't quite get myself to actually "enjoy" eating a mudbug yet.

** Tomorrow we have plans to rent a pontoon boat and take it out in the Biloxi Back Bay. My brother-in-law is coming with us and a lot of fishing will be happening. Of course Jack is way excited and can't wait to use the fishing pole that cousin Chad got him for his birthday. As for me, I couldn't decide if I wanted to spend the day alone in peace and get some work done around the house, or join them on the boat. I just decided that the work will still be there and a day lounging on a boat sounds like fun. But I can guarantee that this girl will not be fishing. Nope a good book, cold drink, and bottle of sunscreen will be my companions tomorrow. I will also be the official photographer, so look for pictures. I know that pictures lately have not been very plentiful and I hope to remedy that soon.

I hope ya'll have a great Memorial Day weekend!

The Last Day

2008-05-16T13:01:00.003-05:00

Today was the last day of school for Jack. He graduated from K3 and got a diploma and everything to prove it. The plan was to have a "water day" today for all the kids in K3 and K4 with water slides and jumpy houses. All the kids were told to come to school today wearing swim suites and armed with towels and sunscreen. However, Mother Nature decided to cancel those plans with a massive thunderstorm planned for this morning. I woke to the sound of thunder and a lot of rain and knew that I was going to have one disappointed kid on my hands today. For the past week, all the kids have been about to jump out of their skins with excitement over the water day, only to have it cancelled. I guess it is just the first of many disappointments in their lives.

They did set up the non-water jumpy houses in the gym and had a play day all day and by the time it was all over, the kids forgot about the original plans. When it came time to say goodbye, everybody got a bit teary-eyed. Mrs. Nix gave Jack a huge hug and I could tell she was fighting back the tears while doing so. She was a great teacher and there is a small chance that she might be moving up to teach K4 next year so I am hoping that Jack gets her again next year.

Oh yeah and I am proud to say that my son was one of the few kids in the class that did not have to have a spanking this year. The school does have a spanking policy and if the teacher feels the child needs a spanking, then they are taken into the principal's office and the parents are called in to do the deed. Jack never had to do that this year, even though he had his share of time-outs. There was one little boy, Tanner, who was in the Principal's office more than he was anywhere else. I asked his mother the other day how many times she had to come in for a spanking and she said that she lost count after 10 or so!!! But the thing is, she never felt her son had ever done anything wrong, even when I saw him do some pretty horrible things in front of me. He never listened nor took any direction. To him, rules are not important and I could tell from talking to his Mom that she felt the same way. One time, she asked me how I got Jack to be so good and I just told her that he had plenty of swats on the butt when he was younger and he has boundaries and he knows them. She looked at me like I was talking a foreign language. I think Mrs. Nix had a very long year because of that child.

So now I have to come up with stuff to entertain the boy this summer. I am sure that we will be going to the pool a lot and the water park and the beach. I also plan to take advantage of the area churches vacation bible schools. Along with the one at our church, which I will be helping with, I plan to send him to the one at his school and maybe one other one. It is free and keeps him busy for a couple hours a day for a week. So what are some of the other mother's doing this summer to keep their kids entertained? It sure seems like a full-time job to me.

42 Is The Number This Year

2008-05-13T20:06:00.003-05:00

Jack had his four-year-old check up today. He was very worried about getting shots and informed me several times on the way there that he did NOT like shots and did NOT want any shots. And alas he is done with shots until he has to go into kindergarten.

The stats are 42 inches tall and 42 pounds. We started to go to Keesler AFB for our medical since it is totally free because of Jim's 20 years of service and this is the first time Jack had an appointment there. I am very impressed with the level of care. The doctor asked all kinds of questions like can he spell his name (yes he can and the doctor was impressed) and can he stand on one leg and even how much tv he watches a day. Yeah I totally lied on that one and said "hardly ever" because there are some days that the tv is MY sanity saver. I admit that it has been a babysitter from time to time.

I had to laugh because he also asked if Jack bruises easily because to look at his legs, one might come to the conclusion that either he does bruise easily or he is a very abused child. What can I say? He is a boy who plays hard and has about a dozen bruises on him at any given time. But he is a healthy boy and for that I am very grateful.