The Fied's... Uncensored

A Blog of Pics

2009-07-31T13:46:00.008-06:00

Mum is out of town. Right before she left, we rescued a Mum Pug & her wee one.

GOATS! Bella, Mary, Mikey, George-Josh (long story), Denae & Dudley

Punky Rooster. The big man around the yard.

The first batch of chicks I hatched in the incubator

Duckies! Pom-Pom, Mack, Gravy & Quack

Screw the doors opening... they keep slamming

2009-07-17T13:35:00.002-06:00

what should have been a fairly easy project to get everyone help and together has turned into a nightmare. we have a real estate agent, the housing & loan guy, mum & i... nobody can find something that works w/in a respectable price range. sure, we can go to 60 acres and have no housing restrictions... um... only 1 million smackeroos! no biggy. we found a property that we can do whatever we want to... we just have a giant watertower cutting out a huge slice of the property and live with the trashiest of trash on the other side. oh wait, there was that really great property that the owner "thinks" there are no restrictions. can anyone get an answer on it, of course not! so day after day after day everyone is upset, angry, frustrated... *sigh*

okay... vent over.

so what's going on? everyone feels frustrated and defeated. the purpose of this exercise was:
1. Get Sue & Jake out here with us. We can help take care of her. They can't afford to live in CA any longer. they need out.... immediately.
2. Get mum out from this upside down house that is draining her financially. sure, when dad was alive things were okay because they had the money from the equity in CA... right when he died the stock market crashed... and he never put "transfer upon death" on ANY of the money.
3. Get the kids out of the current school district. i have been fighting with these people since we moved here over my kids educational needs and they are fighting me non-bloody-stop.
4. Get me out of mum's house and into my own. granted, living with mum isn't too bad. we take care of each other... but if i ever wanted to date or anything... kinda gets awkward :D

sssoooo.... back to the drawing board we go... again... my dear friend, nichole, keeps telling me to hold onto faith. over and over and over having the same problems, same restrictions, same frustrations, it gets hard. i guess w/o these trials and tribulations there would be no need for faith...?!?!?!?

more to come... if anything does come... *sigh*

The door to one house closes.... a new one opens....

2009-07-14T21:08:00.003-06:00

Well, we went in for a pushed extremely fast escrow on the house with the land.... and... at the last minute someone noticed a line on the title that said "one home only." Well, that wasn't going to work since we need at least a second home for Susie and Jake to move into (for those who have forgotten or didn't hear, my Aunt was in a nearly fatal car accident and is now paralyzed). SSSOOOO... back to the drawing board we went.

We found 8 acres for sale with a home one it. We are going to leave the home in front there and fix it up and turn it into a rental or guest house... who knows right now. Susie, Jake, Mum and I are going to put our homes in the middle of the property. So... with FAITH (that's for you, Nich) we are hopefully going to get this land.

More to come later...

Welcome Lucy & Jillian Gibson!

2009-07-14T21:03:00.003-06:00

I just wanted to take a second to welcome the birth of the new Gibson twins!

Little Jillian has been having some complications and giving her new parents a nice little scare. Please pray for little Jillian!

Summer and Chickens and Moving... OH MY!

2009-07-06T21:11:00.003-06:00

Summer is in full swing. We have gone to Chuck E. Cheese. We swim most afternoons. The kids are doing wonderfully well. A few chickens have died from the heat (which has been pretty depressing). I have made a wonderful chicken friend, Josh, and he and I are setting up to be breeding partners. I have a full sized cabinet incubator and just had my first hatch!!! We are now the proud owners of 6 goats (thanks Josh!). And... for the excitement of it all....

WE ARE MOVING

It goes a little something like this. Mum came back from her taking care of my Aunt who was in the nearly fatal car accident 10 weeks ago. We went to Farmer's Market and started talking to the cattle woman about her land. We found a real estate agent and 7 days later, put in an offer. 7 3/4 acres with about 5ish acres fenced for livestock. The house on it is about 10 years old and is 2,400 sq ft. Comes with a pool table, big fridge, and front loading washer and dryer. OH, and did I mention the HUGE in ground salt water swimming pool?!?! So, they accepted Mum's offer and we close a week from tomorrow. One of the best parts of it, the school district rates better than the current one AND I won't have to deal with that horrid really bad string of profanity principal any more. There is hope for a fresh start for KeelyMonster and the help that Colin needs. Now... to build a chicken coop.... :D

So, as it stands right now, the kids and I will be rattling around on the land by ourselves. In 6-12 months Mum is going to leave this house and join us out there, most likely in a new home, but if not, there should be plenty of room for all of us in the current house on the land. My aunt and uncle are hoping to leave CA as soon as they can and live with mum at the current house.... and they will have their home built on mum's land once they are ready. With Susie being in a wheelchair and all the complications of the accident, being with Mum is going to be the greatest thing for her. And having everyone apart, yet so close together is going to be one of the greatest feelings.

SO... pictures and updates to come soon. Now... time to find some boxes....

"Mum, I'm a BIG BOY"

2009-06-20T08:24:00.002-06:00

We went to Target to pick up a few essentials. A few of Colin's undies were starting to get a little snug, so we stopped to check the prices on some new ones. We walk over and he exclaims, "Mum, I'm a big boy! We need to get rid of my undies that my friends laugh at (he still has a pair of Thomas the Tank Engine) and get me all new BOXERS! I want boxers like a big boy!" So, we bought him a 5-pack of little boxer-briefs and he wears them SO proud! Through the day yesterday, he kept reminding me about how big he is now that he has his boxers on. *sigh* My baby is making his own underwear decisions...

Graduation 2009

2009-06-09T20:23:00.002-06:00

My baby is all grown up.... Kindergarten C/O '09 *sigh*

Colin's Evaluation Results

2009-05-20T15:58:00.002-06:00

Two formal diagnoses in one week. I recorded my sessions with the Psychologists so that I would be able to transcript this to everyone. Sorry it has taken so long, but that is a LONG conversation and A LOT of information I have to sift through.

Christian and I went back to the psychologist. What we learned about Colin really did not surprise us. However, hearing the actual age equivalents for his development was hard.

Most interestingly, the two psychologists "debated for a few days" on what his diagnosis should be. Colin exhibits a number of social difficulties often found in children exhibiting problems with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). He has a history of engulfing perseverative preoccupations, as well as the social deficits and behavioral rigidity typically found in Asperger's Disorder (AD). He is unusual in that he also continues to show some behaviors more typical of a high level autism. So, after much debate, it was decided that he would be diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome with Residual Autistic Characteristics.

Colin's intellectual functioning and academic knowledge were both in the low average level. He also ranges low average with expressive and receptive speech, manipulating phonological manipulation and speech articulation. Colin does have an average to above average level for his memory.

Colin's emotional development is delayed, with his sense determined by his immediate impulses and desires, but beginning to be influenced by his enduring interests, abilities and beliefs. His capacity to inhibit impulses, regulate emotions, tolerate frustration and delay gratification is poorer than his peers. He is insecure in his attachment due to ASD, with both separation anxiety and a functional/instrumental use of me. Basically, I am here to serve his every desire and whim at the moment he desires it. I have no purpose in life other than to wait and and foot on him.

Besides AD with residual traits of ASD, he has also been diagnosed with severe Separation Disorder and a sensory integration disorder, as well as ADHD.

Soon, the battle between the school district and I will resume. With the diagnosis in hand, advice from the woman across the street (she is a special education teacher in a nearby city) and the fact that I WILL NOT LET THEM GET AWAY WITH THEIR BULL SHIT ANYMORE... Colin SHOULD be going into 1st grade with a special education support team on his side. Should the school district try to deny him, we are prepared to get an advocate and get the Texas Education Agency involved. I WILL NOT let them tell me that he is "too smart" for services and is only able to receive them if he has "educational needs." The bloody diagnosis papers directly state that he needs services.

SSSOOOO.... that's the story of my little guy.

Some Chicken Pictures...

2009-05-11T10:34:00.006-06:00

It's been hard putting everything together with Keely's Eval, so I figured I would throw in a few pictures of the chicken-friends.

What do you do with a dog run and old dog house? Build a chicken house!

The ducks... The week we got them, their first water play, and this week. Pom-Pom has the giant pom-pom. Quack is pure white (both female). Mack is the mallard (his green head fathers are starting to come in). And lastly is Gravy (the last two are male)

CHICKENS! Here are some of the girls in their house just after a HUGE storm.

Gloria, one of our Ameraucana hens. They lay green & blue eggs!!!

Silkies! The buff one is Bullet the Roo. We have 2 whites that we can't tell apart! Squished in the middle is an Easter Egger. She's a cross breed similar to an Ameraucana.

POLISH! They are a fun breed. We have two. This girl is named Elvis because of her crest.

Keely's Evaluation Results

2009-05-05T11:36:00.005-06:00

Christian and I met with the psychologist. We thought we knew what to expect; what we heard surprised us.

FIRST, everything that is wrong with her is NOT due to some circumstance in her life. It is not due to a traumatic incident or what has been going on between Christian and I. It is genetic. These problems surfaced as a toddler... as some of you know, she was always... different. When she was 3, it was hard to really diagnose her with anything because she was so young. So, when she was young, they said "it looks like it will be this and looks like that..." they wouldn't formally diagnose her because she was so young. She DOES NOT have Asperger's Syndrome like they thought. AS kids are not this aware of their feelings and emotions. They are not this aware of what's going on inside them or outside around them. This surprised us the most, but when the psychologist explained everything, it made a lot of sense.

Keely was anxious through the evaluation, sometimes angry, sometimes oppositional. She has a very negative overall perception over life, and a VERY negative perception of me. Her "working memory," where you take in info in the environment and try to figure out what you may or may not already know, is being affected by her emotional problems. The attention problems may not be from ADHD, but instead because she is so focused on her anxiety, negativity and emotional problems. The medication that she was on at the time of testing stays in the body for a longer period of time, so the test was inconclusive (she failed 1 of 3 tests). Basically, her cognitive tests all came back in the average to superior range (that means her brain is working great).

She is 7. A normal 7 year old is usually pretty oblivious to what is going on internally. Oh, not with Keely. She is very aware of her anxiety, depression, strain on her social interactions and behaviours; she is very emotionally distressed and has a very low self concept. A VERY SIGNIFICANT level of depression. She has a pretty significant level of anxiety which she manifests into physical problems (being tired, tummy aches, potty problems, headaches). This anxiety is almost obsessive compulsive. She has to have things in order and if they aren't they stress her out and she dwells on it until it is changed.

She is a highly reactive child. This has been since birth. She has an over reactive central nervous system and gets set off by stimulation. She is very hyper reactive and this leads to a lot of anxiety. A situation to explain this is if someone bumps into you. You and I would see it as, "Oh, we bumped into each other," whereas Keely interprets it as, "This person did it on purpose." She has no rational thought, she thinks purely on emotion.

She also has an attachment disorder. This had been since she was a baby. The core is that she has problems with trust and this results in problems with relationships. As long as things are going okay in her mind, everything is fine. Once something changes (and this is usually a misperception on her part) and it is not her way, all hell breaks loose. She perceives this as being done directly to her as a result of her trust issues. It's a vicious cycle because you never know what is going to set her off.

1st Quarter, 2009

2009-04-26T12:45:00.003-06:00

4 months into 2009. Things have been chaotic, stressful, extremely hard to deal with and there has been a few glimpses of fun. I have tried so many times to write a new blog, but the emotional side of Marce took over and I couldn't finish. This is going to be scatterbrained and terribly wrote. I'm running on 4 1/2 hours of sleep, a whole lot of stress and just plain exhaustion. This has taken a few attempts to write and get across right.

January and February:
Kids behaviours started to spiral downwards. Keely became very angry, hard to even talk to. She would temper tantrum in her room for over an hour at a time 1-3 times a day. She wasn't the same child. She started talking about ways to kill herself (and for those of you who think "She's 7, she is looking for a reaction out of you..." NO.)

March:
The spirling Keely went from depressed with huge outbursts to the kid who pulled away from my hand in parking lots and running in front of moving cars. The kid who tried to get out of the house to lay down in the street and wait for a car to run her down. The kid who in the middle of eating dinner looked up and said, "I wish I knew how to get over the back fence so I could get hit by the train right now." SO... March 04, I took her to the pediatrician and told him how far down she had gotten in the past 3 weeks. He wanted to have her admitted to a Mental Health Hospital about an hour a way. That was one of the hardest things I have ever had to hear or do. During her week there, I saw her every day and talked to her on the phone every night. It was good for her to be there. The psychiatrist said that she has a mood disorder but didn't want to do a full diagnosis on her. Now she is on Prosac for her depression and Concerta for her ADHD (which has also made a huge difference on her behaviours). She started seeing her pediatrician weekly. She started seeing her counselor weekly. Although she seems so much happier, the counseling has seemed to bring up A LOT of emotional issues regarding me.

April:
Keely is continuing to see her counselor once a week. She had an evaluation on the 6th; I get the results May 4th. Colin has started weekly counseling with a FANTASTIC man who is a Certified Anger Resolution Therapist. On the 23rd, he had a full evaluation; I get the results May 12th. He started a new dosage of Concerta the first week of April and it has made an AMAZING change in his attention span. His teacher has reported that all of a sudden with the change of medication dosage he has made leaps and bounds. He has started to grasp sounding out words and started trying to write. The lightbulb turned on in his head and he grasps simple addition and subtraction. The best part is that when he starts to count, he does pretend dots in a straight row. Nobody can figure out how he knows when to stop the straight line of numbers, but in his head, he somehow does. It's rather impressive to watch.

During the first week of April, we added a new hobby to the mess. It's been a great new hobby on many levels. We have become owners of chickens. How? Why? Well, it all started like this... Mum and I were talking and joked about turning the garden area into a chicken coop and turning the doghouse into a henhouse for fresh eggs. 3 days later, construction began. We started with 3 fluffy day-old chicks and four day-old ducklings (the key word in that sentence is "started"). So, the girl with an absolute fear of birds has found herself loving ugly chickens.

The moral of the story, I've been pretty damn busy with going to doctors appointments and counseling appointments. I also take Mum out all the time due to her needing double knee replacement; I'm the chauffeur. More to come soon...

Hi January, How ya Doin'?

2009-01-03T09:00:00.002-06:00

Hello January! I know that I've only known you for 3 days now, but I just wanted to say one thing... thanks for starting out uneventfully.

The End of December

2008-12-30T19:20:00.002-06:00

So Christmas has come and gone. It's almost a new year. What a year. I know I said it last year... "2008, can't be worse than 2007" but that was a BLOODY TERRIBLE LIE!!!!! 2008 was MUCH worse than 2007. So I'm crossing my fingers with this one.... 2009 PLEASE DO NOT LET IT BE WORSE THAN 2008!!!!!!!!!!

I would recap the year for you, but I'm not in the mood.

The kids had a VERY small Christmas this year. We didn't have a tree or many gifts at all. The highlights: Keely is IN LOVE with her Easy Bake Oven. Colin got 2 Star Wars Transformers. Keely got some new books and workbooks. Colin got new clothes... Star Wars clothes rather. :)

Well... I'm off to go get some chompers brushed and toss them into bed. I just wanted to give a small update on Christmas. Woo! (can you read my enthusiasm?)

XooX to all my friends and family who tune in.

A Blog ALL About You (and you too)

2008-12-30T14:56:00.004-06:00

You wanted a blog about you... well here it is. Well, I may have lied because it will not solely be about you and you alone. I will mention the other someone too.

One day I stumbled into you. I couldn't walk away there was too much... "character" to leave. And I stayed; for hours, in fact. You turned my frown upside down. You gave me the laugh and smile that I needed. You were there that day, and the next, and the next...... as a matter of fact, I'm pretty sure you can't get rid of me now. I'm like that annoying mosquito that you can hear buzzing but you just can't see to swat at. Then again, do you REALLY want to get rid of me??? Every time you come start to think it's time to lock the doors and hide, do remember.... Elizabeth. Oh... you owe me. I know the other person who I am mentioning has thanked me!!!

SO.... to you, I thank you for being here day after day (erm... night rather). You have given me smiles and laughs that I have been struggling to have. And to the other, I have only started to know you and I adore you already. Thanks for looking out for me... making sure I'm taking care of myself.

Thank you... both of you.

*** E D I T ***

To you, and all of your bitching... you will receive a longer blog. And if, after this, you complain that it is not long enough... I will have the other someone slap you for me. I tried to keep this as anonymous as possible, but it was hard enough for the first part let alone the edit. Lets see if I can still pull it off.

I am drinking fruit smoothies packed full of tofu and protein powder every day for the other. The food wasn't settling very well with recent events and you gave me the great idea to make them. I have lost some weight, quite a bit actually, over the past month and I know I haven't been taking in the proper nutrition. I have been taking my daily vitamin, but that hasn't been enough. Last night, when my visitor arrived, I got a nice greasy hamburger and I managed to eat the whole thing. My guest was rather happy with my eating the whole thing too. And yes, it is almost 2 and I have yet to have more than just a graham cracker to take my vitamin and pill with, but I have already put together homemade meat balls and they are just waiting to go in the oven closer to dinner time.

Okay you, I know you are upset because I started talking about the other before you.... here is your light lol. You ditched me yesterday and I will forgive you for that. I only forgive you because I know you were with the other. Man, this is hard to keep vague. Sorry I had to ditch you last night, but it was for a hamburger!! You have to understand how hard the decision was! You may not forgive me, but I know the other will :)

My parting words to you... hope this is long enough.

4 Days 'Til Christmas...

2008-12-21T10:20:00.002-06:00

This isn't going to be a typical bouncy blog.. not that they have been the past few months... for those who I have been ignoring... for those who keep wondering why I'm not returning calls or emails or texts... I am sorry. The Marcia that everyone knows is still here... just in fleeting spurts. Today's blog will be some rambling about the inner workings of my mind. Again... not the happiest of places right now. And why am I publishing everything in a blog and not email individuals... I have ZERO email addy's! I have the laptop here and the PC (with EVERYTHING on it) is still at Christian's house. It's funny calling it his house... Anyway.... so... the only way I can get the info out is thru... tada... the blog. So... without further ado... My ramblings (stream of conscious style because I don't have it in me for proper spelling, grammar, punctuation, proof reading or paragraphs)....

I feel myself shutting down. I'm having trouble getting excited about anything. I'm finding myself just sitting alone in my room while the kids were at school just laying. I look at the clock and 3 hours had passed. Not sleeping. Not playing online. Not thinking. Just laying. I don't know if the anti-depressants aren't enough anymore even though I'm on a pretty big dosage? I know the anti-anxiety pills side of the Lexapro hasn't been enough. I'm taking the Xanax pretty constant right now. As soon as I let myself think it seems like I go into a panic. Such simple tiny things send me into a huge wave of anxiety. I've never felt quite this bad in my life. I'll send someone a text... and if I don't get a response suddenly I'm thrown into a wave of fear that I have upset the person????? Yeah... not like me AT ALL. I feel like I'm some 15 year old high school girl all over again with the huge waves of drama... even though this time it's unintentional. As a lot of you know, I have always had issues sleeping. I'm back on that same roller coaster... getting maybe 2 hours of sound sleep per night. The rest I'm up every 20-40 minutes... The only nights I really sleep decent are the nights that I have a phone sleep-over with someone (and if you happen to read this, I know I tell you often, but i REALLY REALLY appreciate the nights you are there for me). And for all of you who are thinking "you have got to be kidding me... falling asleep on the phone all night long stuck to your ear... blah blah blah...." shut up. I don't care what you think. Yes, it's psychosomatic. Leave me alone. It could be just the rhythm of breathing that is white noise in the background... it could be a lot of things. All I know is that the phone sleep-overs help me get thru the night. I feel comfortable and safe... And YES... I do have my good days. I'm just overwhelmed by grief and stress. I'm sleeping in my dads bedroom.. in his bed... I think about him non-stop... I never thought I would be admitting this, but I miss his looking down at me with a cocked head to one side with "that tone" saying, "Little Girl...." Sadly when I do something he would have said it to me, I actually hear it in my head. I'm doing the bbq turkeys, I'm making the hamburgers, I'm mowing the lawn, I'm cleaning up the newspapers (the man had 3 delivered each day???), I'm taking out the trash and recycling... I'm doing the vacuuming.... I'm doing his jobs now. It really eats me up on a daily basis. And what am I doing with my grief... doing what I do best... burying it deep. I'm not talking about it... I'm just stuffing it as deep inside me as I can... I have to be the rock for my Mum. I have to be strong for my kids. Colin still asks questions about my dad... "when is Gramps coming back," "Did it hurt when he died," "Will I die on the floor like Gramps did." BLAH.

So now that my eyes are so irritated from the tears and wiping them, I think it's time to say g'bye for now. I have to go suck it up... and vacuum the living room.

Retaliation

2008-12-15T19:05:00.003-06:00

Life... thrown into utter upheaval. I am walking in a constant daydream. I don't know which end is up anymore.

My dad died. I left Christian and moved in with Mum. I'm now unemployed. Christian and I are getting a divorce. We are trying to keep this as friendly as possible... and so far we are doing good. The kids are in a constant state of frustration and confusion. Andy (that's my brother for those who do not know) is CONSTANTLY on my ass about being a financial drain on my Mum and being a huge loser.

Yeah.... so... in a moment of retaliation I decided to dye my hair purple. I like it. In one move, I became the coolest Mum according to all the kids at the elementary school.... and at that same moment became the most despised parent :) Aaaahhhhhh screw them.

The Past Month...

2008-11-27T21:02:00.002-06:00

It's been a little over a month since Dad died. Life has been thrown upside down. Highlights of the month:

Colin turned 6 on Monday. Keely will turn 7 on Saturday. Happy Birthday to my babies!!!!

The kids and I have moved in with Mum. We moved in shortly after my dad died. It's been quite a transition, but it is working well. The kids now have bunk beds. Colin thinks they are the greatest! Dogzilla loves living here... she runs and runs and runs with Mum's dogs.

yeah... that's the quick update. Sorry I've been so silent. It's been.... difficult.

RIP Daddy... I Miss You SO SO SO SO SO Much

2008-10-28T07:41:00.002-06:00

I don't know if I will even be able to get thru this blog. Just starting it has my hands shaking and the tears pouring down my round cheeks.

On the 21st, Nana (my Mum's Mum) had her foot partially amputated. She had been in the hospital for 2 weeks prior with some serious issues and had already had two toe amputations during the two weeks. Mum was at the hospital all day.

On the 22nd, Mum spent the whole day with Nana at the hospital again. Nana kept telling my Mum to go home and spend some time with her husband. She had been at the hospital at least 6 hours every day that Nana was in.

Mum got home later and my Dad had made her dinner. They ate and watched Boston Legal on the Tivo. She got up when it ended and went into the bathroom to start getting ready for bed. She was in the bathroom 20 minutes when he dogs started barking. She was agitated that my Dad wasn't quieting them. She walked around the corner yelling, "Thomas! Shut the dogs up!" and saw him laying in an odd place on the floor. She thought he was playing a game with the dog, so she walked over and smacked him. He was ice cold.

While the paramedics were on their way, the 911 operator walked her through CPR. As soon as the paramedics arrived and started working on him, she phoned me. I had NO idea what she was saying... it was 11:13pm and I had already fallen asleep. I just KNEW that I had to get there. I drove a mere 80 mph to her house and saw as they were lifting him into the back of the ambulance. There was no urgency. There was no rush. I knew he was gone.

Andy wouldn't answer his phone so I called Jessica. She woke him. He called me as I was walking into Mum's door pissed off at me.
"What the f- is going on."
"Andy, you need to get here... NOW."
"I will, but you need to tell me what the f-is going on. I just woke up."
"Andy, get here. I'm pretty sure Dad is dead."
"Why the f-would you say that? Don't be stupid."
"Get here... NOW."

After a few minutes of looking for Dad's wallet the ambulance finally left. I got Mum into my car. She was in shock; terrified. I watched the sky as I drove. Looking at the clouds, the moon, the few stars I could see. I nattered on and on and on about them... trying to keep my mind clear so I didn't kill Mum and I on the way.

When we got there, they took us to the conference room. That only means one thing. They pronounced him dead at 11:59. They said it was a heart attack. His heart just stopped. It was instant.... no pain. We couldn't pull Mum from his side. She wouldn't leave him. She couldn't leave him. They met when they were 15... high school sweethearts. You don't find your soul mate at 15 years old....

My Dad and I never had the greatest relationship, but we loved each other. He and I always vexed one another. Neither of us could walk away from an argument; we always had to get the last word in. His jokes were terrible and I would always tell him to stop telling them. He was always on my case about stealing from him... if something cost $29.86 and he gave me $30, he would ALWAYS demand the change I was "trying to steal."

Keely took his death VERY hard. She cried and cried and cried. Her relationship with him was EXACTLY like mine. Those two butted heads NON STOP. The day he died, he had picked the kids up from school just because he could. They had their typical day together. This is all she can fixate on; "Gramps said I had a red-day at his house just like I did at school."

Colin tried so so hard to understand. He's taking it pretty badly, too. He and his Gramps were best buddies. They played Mr. Potato Head all the time. It was something special they did with each other. He said he never wants to play PotatoHead again.

RIP Daddy.....

THOMAS ALLEN DAMIANO
04/13/1952-10/22/08

I'm not dead...

2008-10-02T04:39:00.002-06:00

It's been a month. I have had a few ask if I'm dead. Nope... just head in the clouds.

Colin is doing SO SO SO well in school. I can't believe the change between this year and last. Yes, he has matured and I worked my bumm off over the summer to help him control some of his anger issues, but this teacher... he adores her and she works SSSOOO well with him!!!!

Keely's school year... well, you can probably guess how it is going. Not much has changed between this year and last. This week I have started a new reward system for her behaviours at school. granted, I am on two days in, but I have seen progress already!!! Let's hope this lasts a few weeks!!!

Work. We all know how hesitant I was to go back. We all know I wanted to stay home and sew all day long. So, now that I have been there a month, what do I think. I think it's a great job for me. 9-2. I'm off in time to pick the kids up from school. I'm guaranteed at least one of the weekend days off. I get to make embroideries each day. I get to play on sewing machines. Once I "learn" all the machines, I will be able to take my own projects in and work on my stuff there. I guess it's pretty great. The hourly is pretty horrible, but the commissions are nice; not a lot, but enough to make a difference... surprise money each check.

I am trying to get my trip to England planned for March over Easter. Auntie Sheila is SSSOOO excited about it. I really think that due to her age and health, someone really must make the attempt to get to know the family there. Someone has to keep the lines of communication going. If we don't we lose that huge branch of the family. I can't wait. Most of you know it has ALWAYS been my dream to go to England. I just never did anything about it... until now. I have a friend who lives in England and he said he will be my tour guide :)

I have sewn 6 skirts over the month. I have to dress "semi-professional" for work. We all know I have my wrap skirts... Elvis, giant mermaids... my Peter Pan syndrome lives in thru my clothes. Now I actually have to look... decent. In the beginning, I thought it was going to be the deal breaker for the job! It's not so bad. I actually have been enjoying the skirts. *gasp* Yes, you heard it right. I don't mind the skirts. I do get to have my pigtails, so I think that has helped the situation!!!!!

I have to confess that I have been reading the Twilight series. First Amy told me about them. Then 'Stina. Then 'Stina talked my mum into reading Twilight and I got my hands on it moments after she finished. I started and thought it was lame. I couldn't believe that THIS is what EVERYONE was talking about. It was so... high schhol angst. Then it happened.... I became a girl obsessed. Maybe that's half the reason that I haven't been sewing much... I've had my nose stuck in the books as often as I can!!! It is NO Harry Potter, but I am head over heels in love with Edward Cullins!

My brain is all over the place. Sorry for the disjointed blog. This past month my head has been in the clouds.

Well, it's 6am now. I really must get up and moving. I have lunches to make, myself to get ready, kitties to feed, kids to wake.... fun fun fun!

One Week in One Blog

2008-09-03T07:20:00.005-06:00

Well, the week sure has been busy. I figured instead of making a different blog for each topic, I would jot everything in one.

SCHOOL

The first week has come and gone. The kids are very happy in their classes.

Colin's teacher is PERFECT for him!! This is his first year with "specials" and he LOVES art and computer class, likes PE and doesn't care much for music. The extent to Colin's art so far has just been a smiley face with a square around it. Yesterday he came home with a VERY elaborate picture of his art teacher, a cat and himself. I'm VERY impressed!!!

Keely is still Keely. Her teacher lives 4 houses from us which is what happens when you live in a small town! She said that Keely really is a blast to have in class and she is a sweetheart. I said it's still the honeymoon :) Her behaviour is charted in a rainbow. Purple=excellent, Blue=great, Green=good, Yellow=warning, Orange=busted and Red... let's just hope we never get there. So far Keely has managed to pull off one green day... and 5 yellows. This doesn't surprise me at all. She's only had one accident, too! If we stay here all year, I wouldn't mind one bit!!!!

Gardening

The heat has killed most of my garden. Most of the soybeans have dried and I picked them all. I'm just waiting for the mildly green ones to finish drying before I start my soymilk/tofu making. I'm excited about it.

There has been a war against the three mockingbirds who live nearby. EVERY SINGLE TIME a tomato starts to have a bit of an orange colour, those bloody birds eat them. The plants are huge and they have tons of flowers and small green tomatoes all over them... it's too bad we won't get to eat any. I do have to say that I miss my daily squash and zucchini lunch. I also miss my abundance of zucchini bread. The 2nd planting of Texas started yesterday, but with our pal Tropical Depression Gustav here, I can't get into the garden.

The New Job

As posted before, I am now an employee of Viking Sewing Gallery located inside of the Frisco Joann's. I was VERY skeptical about keeping the job. I'm still not 100% sold on this being the best thing, but I'm feeling MUCH better about the decision. My manager has said 1,261 times that I am the greatest thing that has happened to her so far this year. I get to be her right hand man. I am paid hourly and I get commission from the machines and software that I sell. In my first 6 days, I sold on my own two machines and helped sell one machine and software. Not too bad, if I do say so myself. I'm really enjoying the job so far.

My New Toy

I've always had an interest in getting an embroidery machine. Now that I'm actually learning about the differences in machines, I picked the one of my future (I have to save up my newly earned income and for my employee discount to start in 90 days, of course). Well, the machine that I picked as my starting machine just happened to come in on a trade, in stellar condition, and a price that was far too good to be true. I called Christian and asked if I had permission; "We will talk about it when I get home tonight," was the reply. That meant probably not. I called my Mum. "Remember how you love me? Remember how we have dreamed about an embroidery machine? What if I said the price was too good to be true and I have until tomorrow morning to buy it or put it out for sale?" I'm in her debt once again for the rest of my life. Not only did she buy the machine for me, but the software that goes with it.
My New Designer 1
This little baby can sew through 15 layers of denim like a butter knife in a tub of whipped margarine.
The software not only has something like 300 images already installed, you can find clip art or make your own designs and translate it into embroidery. That's right, I can scan in a colouring book page, fiddle with it in the software and embroider it. I can take 15 separate embroidery pictures, pick and chose what I like out of each and mold them into one. Now to learn how....

The time has come to start the dreaded housework that hat been neglected for the past week. More to come in the next day or two!

First Day of School Pictures!

2008-08-25T10:42:00.005-06:00

It's official. Keely's in 1st grade and Colin's in kindergarten. My babies aren't babies anymore.
(Click the pictures to make them bigger)

Walking out the door for the first day of Kindergarten & 1st Grade!!!

Keely showing off her new backpack

Sibling Love???

Colin's usual face regarding going back to school

Keely doing a before school spin in her new dress

Keely with her friend Malia. They were in kinder together and again now in 1st!

Colin and his fiancee Caitlyn. They were SSOOO happy to see each other again. Sadly, they are not in the same class.

Colin with his teacher Mrs. Ulrich

BFF

2008-08-24T20:11:00.005-06:00

It's been a lot of years since someone has called me their best friend. Until today.

Jeannett has been in my life for 15 years. We have our obligatory 6-week phone call. We talk about everything and anything. She's never called me her best friend.

Karen has been in my life for 11 years. We were two peas in a pod. We were soul-sistas, but not best friends.

Christina has been in my life for 9 years. We have been through a lot. She's called me one of her closest friends, but never her best friend.

Wendy came over with the family to spend a fun day before school starts with us. One of the first things she said was, "I have an opening for best friend. You get to be it." I think I won by default because nobody else lives around here :)

She moved me to her top spot on her myspace friends list AND she made plans to spend her 5th wedding anniversary with us next Saturday!!!

This is what we would look like if we took a Totem Pole picture (I really suck at photoshop, can you tell?)

I Am.... Employed!?!?!?!

2008-08-21T20:56:00.002-06:00

It happened purely by chance. I really didn't want to start working so soon, but I knew it would be inevitable once Colin started kindergarten. 7 hours a day 5 days a week alone.... I would go insane. Yes, I have my crafts to keep me busy and happy. Yes, I am actually starting to make some money doing my crafts... but that's a lot of hours to keep sane alone in a house.

Yesterday I was at Joann's doing a little shopping. The cutting counter gals all know me, so we talk and joke around as they cut my fabric. One of the gals mentioned to me that Viking/Husqvarna is hiring. They are the little department inside Joann's that sell sewing machines, embroidery machines, felt embellishers and overlocks. I took an application since I was there and went home. Christian and I talked about it for quite a while and he really wanted me to go for it. Well, I turned in my application, we talked about my availability and was hired right then and there. The manager recognized me since I have talked to her quite a few times to learn more about my serger. SSSOOOO.... I start Thursday. I will be selling machines and teaching classes to the people who purchase a machine.

The reason I accepted the job is she is willing to work around the kids. I will work 9a-2p. I will be home to pick the kids up from school. Unfortunately i will be working on weekends, but again, she is willing to work around my kids. If it doesn't work out... I don't have to stay.

School is Starting

2008-08-21T20:28:00.002-06:00

School starts on Monday. That's right, just 4 days and they will be sitting in their little chairs listening to the teacher.

Colin is going into KINDERGARTEN!!! My baby is going to school for 7 hours this year. his teacher is Mrs. Ulrich. She's a great teacher who I met last year with Keely in kindergarten. She's very mellow and calm, cute as a button, and Ulysses really warmed up to her. I think that it will be a good match for him.

Keely is going into 1st grade!!! Her teacher is Mrs. Boyette. Mrs. Boyette lives 4 houses away. Her kindergarten teacher feels that she is the best match for Keely's personality. She has one of her friends in her class so I think that it will help some of her anxiety.

On a very exciting note, the autism specialist for the school (Mrs. Pacheco) who had taken a large interest in my kids last year, continued her quest in helping me out over the summer. She went to the Collin County Co-Op and talked to them about Colin and re-opening his IEP. We have to wait a few weeks just to get everything started in motion, but it looks like this year is starting off in a positive light!!!

Pickles, Anyone???

2008-08-09T08:42:00.003-06:00

This was my first time making pickles. I learned one VERY important thing.... do it on a day when you can open the windows and air out the house. It still smells of dill pickles 15 hours later!!!

Making pickles is fairly easy. A good way to use up all of those cucumbers from the garden at my parents house. Keely tends to love pickles as much as my dad, so why not make a few jars.

Slice cucumbers thin.

Mix up the all important pickling brine (For my first batch, I cheated and bought the pre-mixed stuff. Next batch I will do everything myself).

Place cucumbers into hot mason jar. Ladle the brine on top leaving 1/2" headspace. Process for 10 minutes in the canner.

Wait 24 hours to check the seals.

1 jar for us. 1 jar for my dad. 1 jar for Grandma Gerry. 1 jar for Leonard. 1 jar left over.

Mmmm..... Blueberry Jam

2008-08-01T08:40:00.004-06:00

I don't really sit down much. If I'm not working with or playing with the kids, I'm cleaning and in between the kids and cleaning, there are the crafts.

Last night, I put the kids to bed and pulled out 6 cups of fresh blueberries. It was time...

Take room temperature berries and smush the daylights out of them. Add 4 cups of sugar and bring slowly to a boil.

Once the berries start to boil, turn up the heat, and boil until it reaches the gelling point (when the jam sheets off a spoon held away from the steam).

Ladle it into hot jars, attach lids, and stick into boiling water making sure to have at least an inch or two of water over the top of the jars.

Boil jars in water for 15 minutes. Remove. Let sit for 24 hours. Check the seals on the jar by pushing the center. Hide the jars from the kids so they have no idea you have made such a special treat.

The following morning, wake kids up early exclaiming about the special surprise and they have to get out of bed before the breakfast train leaves. When they sit down half asleep in the chairs, present them with toast smothered in jam!!!

Brown is the New Green

2008-07-24T13:46:00.007-06:00

For those who do not know... Andy, my brother, sold his beloved Chevy truck and bought himself a fancy shmancy Ford F350 Diesel.

Andy has decided to start using used oil from local restaurants to make Bio-Diesel (or as we lovingly refer to it as "Bio-Andy" since our dear Willie Nelson's bio-Willie is no longer). This is his super duper bio-making machine :)

What's my part in all of this bio-diesel talk? One of the byproducts from making BioD is glycerin. Many people simply dump this stuff out. That is not an environmentally good way to deal with it. We are making soap out of the glycerin. If you look on your common cleaners and soaps you will notice that they use glycerin too.

The jar on the left is made with mixed oils (veggie, canola, soy). The the jar on the right is made with peanut oil. Both have the bio-diesel layer on the top and the glycerin layer is settled on the bottom.

Until we get our still made, I am cooking the glycerin layer in buckets in the sun for two days and then sticking it in a pot on the BBQ to boil it.

Once cooled, I mix water, a caustic, and a few drops of scent into the glycerin. A few minutes of stirring and I have soap!!! Since we are using oils that are liquid at room temperature, bar soap is VERY difficult to make. Our liquid soap is gentle and safe to use as shampoo and body soap, safe enough to use as a dish soap, tough enough to use as a degreaser and laundry soap.

http://www.biodveggie.com/index.html
This is Andy's site he is very slowly building. He started building it only a few days ago.

An update about absolutely nothing....

2008-07-10T09:53:00.002-06:00

A quick update since I have been MIA for a while...

My aunt has been here from England. I haven't seen her in 12 years, so it's been great visiting with her. I have seen her all but one day while she has been here. She's so much fun!!!! My grandparents took her to CA to visit all of the family (being that my grandparents, my parents, myself and one of my two brothers are the only ones here in Dallas). Of course, I saw this as an oppurnity to get some sewing/knitting done.... and then I pinched a nerve in my back. How did I accomplish such a wonderful thing??? I was picking zucchini in the garden. I stood up and that was that. I have been on the recliner for 4 days now in pain. So, another day or two sitting still and my aunt will be back in Dallas and I'll be spending my time with her. The Wii and I have become best friends. It goes between my brother and my house all week long. I have it during the days. Andy and Jessica have it during the nights. Wii Sports is darn tootin' fun! Christian even plays!!! I got Carnival Games for the kids and have fallen enamoured with it myself. Keely's nearly as good as I am!!! Colin likes to play Sonic & Mario Olympics (I think that's what it's called). When Jessica and I get to gether it becomes an all night extravaganza of Sports and Cooking Mama. It's kind of a lame game, yet it's kind of fun at the same time. Um.... my garden is producing me with daily zucchini, squash and tomatoes. The kids have enjoyed helping me pick the veggies. I have been enjoying the nightly squashs!!!! YUM!!! I do have one problem being that my giant Pink Brandywine (beefsteak size) tomato plants have gotten so big they can't stand stand anymore. They have mutilated the cages they are in. With the back issue, I can't fix them either. I really hope that the wind doesn't knock them down and snap the stems *crosses fingers*. Yeah... I think that's about all right now....

Cheers!

PS- excuse the typos and randomness of the brain. Vicodin tends to leave my brain a little wacky.

Garden Pictures... 4 weeks after planting

2008-06-24T22:28:00.005-06:00

Excuse the large amount of weeds in the front.

My little patch of green love!

Little Lettuce Patch

Somehow, someday, this will be cabbage

My Wall-o-Squash. Since it was overtaking everything within it's reach, I decided to claim a bell pepper support for the Butternut, Straightneck, Crookneck and Zucchini to grow on. I only put it in two days ago.

A Butternut Squash nearing harvest hidden under the canopy of leaves

One row of Green Beans was snuffed out by the Zucchini. The other row is doing well.

The soybeans are starting to flower.

Giant tomato plants in my little tomato cages

My First Harvest

2008-06-23T21:36:00.005-06:00

That's right... one month in the ground and I have a harvest!!!!!

Drum roll, please....

All two cherry tomatoes... Keely devoured them seconds after the picture was taken.

Radishes. We planted 200 seeds and it seems that a good 150+ made it. I don't eat 'em, but I hear they are some of the hottest my family has ever eaten.

I have been patiently waiting for the squash section. I have 4 varieties in the garden. The first to be picked was a gorgeous zucchini that was hidden deep under the leaf canopy. As you can see by the measuring tape it's over 10" long!

I heard Colin playing phone and came out to him exclaiming, "I found this big telephone on the counter!"

And non-garden related, yesterday Lambchops celebrated his 12-week birthday. He's gotten a lot darker on his points. He's extremely vocal and we have full conversations. He's so much fun and so adorable!!!

Wii... Where Have You Been All My Life????

2008-06-14T11:06:00.003-06:00

The Wii came. It arrrived on Thursday afternoon. I'm not as young as I thought... my muscles are screaming; thank goodness for Advil! Jess came over last night around 9... and didn't leave until 130a! Christian sat and watched and talked a lot of crap because I don't know how to box. As soon as we woke up this morning, I forced the control and nunchuk on him :) Guess who couldn't live up to his talk?!?!

I'm pretty certain that I'm going to lost that 30 lbs I gained last summer from the knee surgery!!! This thing rocks!

L A M B C H O P S ! ! !

2008-06-04T10:00:00.003-06:00

Time to introduce everyone to Lambchops. He's my new friend. He is a Persian/Birman mix. For those who don't know... Whiskers is a Birman... they are SUPER friendly cats, almost dog-like, and have the sacred white paws of purity (a legend). We got him on May 23rd and went through our "adjustment" with him. After a few weeks of my abuse and smothering and he is slowly becoming my little lap buddy (when he isn't exploring, running, chasing, eating fuzz balls off the carpet and wrestling).

This is him at 6 weeks

Here he is the day I brought him home. He made immediate friends with Bailey!

Over the past week, he and Stripey have decided they are best friends. She keeps him in check!

I took this last night. He climbed up on Christian's turntable and made a little house (which he is currently hiding there right now and looks adorable!)

I'll bust out the good camera and take some cute action shots of him over the next few days. He's such a fun little ball of fluff and the pictures do NOT do his fluff justice! Since his arrival, my nightmares of reliving Smashy's murder have reduced. So, I guess he's doing his job!

Shades of Purple Sundress

2008-06-04T09:52:00.002-06:00

I'm making "Shades of Purple" for my glorious gf, so I did a small scale for Keely to make sure I liked all of the FOURTY different fabric patches of purple together.

The bodice is a little boxy and big. That tends to happen when I do my own designs. I'm still learning :)

SO... here it is...

Keely's 1st Lost Tooth

2008-06-04T09:43:00.004-06:00

It happened. It was disgusting. She was eating a hot dog and out it popped in her mouthful. Crunchy!

Took these pictures the night before because we thought it was ready to go... Christian said it wasn't. We were going for the "Dad punched it out" story...

Grow Little Garden... GROW! 12 days later

2008-06-02T17:19:00.010-06:00

Last week I was pretty dang sick. Couldn't move, let alone blog. I'm better now!! YIPPEEE!

The garden has taken off in leaps and bounds. The squash section is trying to take over... and it succeeding!

Here we are now, 12 days after my last post. All images are click-able for better viewing

Blackberries... all of which were consumed moments after taking the picture

The lettuce just poking through

The newest addition to the garden... RHUBARB!! It won't be ready until next year :(

AAAHHH the squash that is taking over... There is Straightneck, Crookneck, Butternut & Zucchini

What's under those big squashy leaves??? Why look... the straightneck squash has blooms and the beginning of of some delicious treats!

Two varieties of Green Beans

GROW LITTLE SOYBEANS!! Grow!!! Tofu and soymilk are expensive. One day, my little soybeans, that will be your fate!!!

Keely's Cherry Tomato plant is the only one with tomatoes so far. The other 4 varities are flowering, so it won't be long!

If you look closely... inbetween the invading grass and weeds... yes, there they are! ONIONS! I REALLY need to finish getting the rest in the ground!!!!

My lavender is in the front yard and went int a beautiful bloom

SSSOOOO... that's what we've got! Still no buds on the grapevine :(

The Garden At My House

2008-05-20T07:40:00.006-06:00

Pictures are click-able. Sorry for the ones that are on their sides. I'm too lazy this early in the morning to fix them :)

I figured I would blog about the garden this morning.
Here is the start of the adventure... We rented a tiller from Home Depot. Christian didn't trust me with it.

Here is the after shot before any of the planting.

Here's the start of the growing season:

The herb box not doing anything:

Strawberries galore:

Orange and Yellow Bell Peppers which have just started to poke through and 4 different varieties of tomatoes:

Soybeans on the left for making soymilk and tofu. Green Beans on the right.

Different green beans on the left. Zucchini in the middle. Butternut, Acorn, Crookneck and Straightneck Squash on the right.

The flower on the Striaghtneck Squash...

The Lettuce and Cabbage have just started to poke through to the sun, but I didn't take pictures... didn't think you would care to see the dirt. I also have some Rhubarb that I just planted (a division from someone's garden I bought from Ebay) and it's not doing as well as I had hoped. I have 50 Sweet Spanish Onions growing. I have 50 Walla Walla Onions (my fave onion) on their way (again, an Ebay purchase). I have a TON more that I have yet to plant at my parents!! Stay tuned!!!

My black raspberry bushes have a few little berries on them. SO YUMMY!!!

The Thompson Seedless Grapevine is growing rapidly, but there are no grapes to be seen, yet. I have another 4 strawberry plants in hanging baskets on the patio cover that have some berries on them. The mint is flourishing as it always does.

That's about it for the garden at my house. I'm going to my parents later today so I will blog that probably tomorrow.....

In Like a Lion... Out Like an Elephant

2008-05-18T20:56:00.007-06:00

Yeah, life hasn't been handing me too many easy days lately. So instead of cry out to the world of my problems and the injustices, I figured it's easier NOT to blog.

We had a few near tornadoes form overhead. We have had more dr's appointments than I care to even think about. Colin is going on a new medication to see if we can get some of his aggression under control AND it will also put him to sleep!!! Keely is the best reader in the whole Kindergarten class!!!! Her downfall is her comprehension. Guess we will be working harder at that over the summer.

Some know... some don't know. The neighbor's pitbull pulled my kitty, Smashy, under the fence and violently killed her 5 feet away from me. It's really messed with me having to see it and not be able to do anything about it. My beloved Smashy....

I have found that cutting and sewing squares is very comforting to me. I have fallen in love with patchwork. I am making patchwork skirts, sundresses large squares that go to nothing... I love me some patchwork!!!

OH... Keely had a dress as your favourite book character day at her school... she wanted to be Elphaba from Wicked, but I said that they may not appreciate that at school. So, she picked Dorothy from Wizard of Oz. The dress took some skill, but I made it and am very proud of how it turned out!!!

Yeah... that's about it. I'll post more when I have some good fun things to post about....

Yes, it has been ages!

2008-04-26T07:06:00.002-06:00

People have been asking me to update my blog for some time. Well, between running myself thin and not enough hours in the day and the stresses of the kids... it hasn't really been on my mind. Sorry.

Um... first Christina came to visit us for a week. Then Martha and her hubbins came for two days and that was really nice to see her again.

Keely has been accepted into the gifted/talented program at school. She is doing very well in the class and really enjoys it. There are only 6 kindergartners out of approx. 100 kids.

Colin is still madly in love with Caitlyn. I watch her on Mondays after school and they are inseparable. He is doing well in school. He's the only pre-k kid who can rhyme and can clap out the syllables.

I have been crafting. I haven't posted anything I've made. Guess I will have to one of these days! I have become obsessed with my garden. I am growing different types of squash and zucchini, bell peppers, greenbeans, watermelon, broccoli, onions, sweet potatoes, tons of herbs, soybeans (the white kind to make soymilk and tofu), and some other things I can't think of right now because it's still too early in the morning. I also have a bunch of different flowers growing in the yard and trees. Again, I'll take some pictures at some point.

The kids both have apointments on the 8th for a full psyh eval. Then we get to start going to the pediatric psychiatrist which is a mere $300 per appointment.

Um... that's all in a nutshell. I have some kids to wrangle. More to come!

The kids and I pet a tiger today!

2008-02-22T21:21:00.004-06:00

I got a note home in Keely's backpack about a fundraser where the kids can take a picture with a tiger cub for $18 per 5X7 photo. A bit pricey for my likes, but how often do you get to take a picture with a baby tiger? So, I wrote Keely a check. Colin didn't have a note, so I assumed that pre-k wasn't able to do it.

I picked Colin up from school today and one of the other mums said how she has three kids in school and it broke her checkbook. I asked if I could run home to grab a check so Colin could have his picture taken also. They said it was okay, so I zipped over and within a few minutes were in line for the tiger. Colin took his picture and the tiger was the most adorable thing. He was 3 months old and his name was Zeus :) The principal walked over and said that she had noticed that only Keely had money, so she pulled Colin out of class and they took a picture together. How wonderful was that of her???

SSSOOOOO..... I have a picture of Colin alone and the kids together.

I've officially started selling!

2008-02-04T13:52:00.000-06:00

Since my website won't be up for a bit...
I decided to put some of my goodies for sale on Etsy.

www.MarcisCraftyCorner.etsy.com

So far it's going great! It's been up for 4 days and I've sold 3 items!!! I'm giddy with excitement!!!

Locks of Love

2008-02-02T11:16:00.000-06:00

For a few reasons, I cut off Keely's hair. Well, 7" worth of hair. Although the hair isn't long enough to make a wig for Locks of Love, it is long enough for them to sell and use the money to off-set costs. I should have researched this BEFORE I cut the hair.....

Henceforth, I SHALL BE CALLED....

2008-01-25T10:18:00.000-06:00

www.marciscraftycorner.com

I still have to make the website... but I picked a name!

Owly Goodness Part 2

2008-01-21T14:57:00.000-06:00

Someone in the Owl Swap was flaked on. I stepped in and crafted a second set of Owly Goodness. She asked for practical and useful items. This is what I came up with.
A large tote

A pillow (I loved the first, so I had to do a second!)

A Notebook

A Wallet

Lastly is a heat/cold rice pack. I love these, and use mine frequently!

A Challenge...

2008-01-21T10:30:00.000-06:00

This is a challenge that I am putting out there for anyone who would like to participate. The winner of the challenge will get any handmade item of their choice.

I need a name to sell my crafts. The name has to have an open domain (www.name.com)

Thanks to anyone who helps!!! I just can't seem to come up with anything :(

Owly Goodness!!!

2008-01-06T10:04:00.001-06:00

You can click on the pictures to enlarge

Me and my swaps, my swaps and I! Oh how do I enjoy them so! The latest theme was owls. I had a hoot making everything! This is everything I sent to Amy Rose. I wanted to keep a few for myself!
A set of knit owl dishcloths

A quilted Owl Wall hanging

An Owl Garland based off of Amy Rose's silhouette pictures of her family

Owl Altoids Tin

Opened

A Mummy & Baby Owl Set

An Owl Pillow

Christmas

2007-12-27T10:37:00.000-06:00

Click the pictures to enlarge :)

What a perfect day! It was Christian's one day off work. We were able to spend the day together as a family which doesn't happen too often these days. The kids bombed us out of bed, we opened gifts, played with the toys together, ate the most delicious barbecued turkey and just had fun!

Highlights:
Keely organizing her piles over and over again and her gorgeous dress!

Colin's big boy legos, his transformer movie and his "dinosaurus rex".

A Funfilled Weekend with a Friend

2007-12-20T17:11:00.000-06:00

Click on the pictures to enlarge

Friday night, my crafty friend Martha, flew out from Indiana to meet me. SO much fun!

Saturday Christian, Martha, Colin and I went down to McKinney and wandered some antique shops. It was bloody cold with ice cold super winds. After, we ate, picked up Keely from my Mum's (she had been sick all night) and went north of Sherman to see a drive-through Christmas light display. I was impressed!

Sunday we started out at Trade Days and were surprised to see Santa there.

We then headed over to the Heard Wildlife Sanctuary to see life-sized animatronic DINOSAURS!
After, we took her out to the country to see water buffalo, American buffalo, llamas, long-horns, alpacas and over to the Christmas Tree farm. Apparently is was the last day to cut down a tree, so our Martha did the honors (since I couldn't squat or bend). Colin picked the tree for us.

Monday I took the kids to school and Martha and I went down to Dallas, after eating a delicious breakfast at Waffle House. We went to Fair Park to the aquarium
Museum of Nature & Science which also was featuring a large display of DINOSAURS! After, we went to the grassy knoll. I was a lot more moved than I thought. In the picture, I'm standing on the sidewalk where the first bullet hit (it was in the center lane of the street marked with an X). The window is behind the tree... building behind me, 2nd window from the top all the way to the right.

Tuesday we just enjoyed our time before we dropped her off at the airport. It was an amazing time. Although we went places and saw things I have never seen before (like the narwhal horn/tooth at the Natural Museum)... the BEST part was learning to knit on double point needles!!! Now I can finally knit hats!!! I can't wait to plan my trip up to Indiana in the spring!!!!!!!

Andy's Halloween Costume

2007-12-10T17:48:00.000-06:00

We blindfolded him and had him put it on. For some reason, he couldn't guess what it was :)

My Babies Are Getting Old

2007-12-10T17:44:00.000-06:00

So the kids had their birthdays. Keely turned 6 and Colin turned 5 at the end of November. We have been extremely sick over the month of November, so their party was canceled. My dad made them a cake since I couldn't. Keely acted like a brat during their "party" but what else is new?!?!

My First Quilt

2007-11-27T13:26:00.001-06:00

One morning I woke up and decided I wanted to learn to quilt. I went to Joann's and bought some beautiful Autumnal fabric. I sat down and did it. I made Christian's Grandpa a tablecloth. I forgot to take pictures once it was completed, so excuse the loose threads and whatnot :)

My Thanksgiving Swap

2007-11-27T13:13:00.000-06:00

Sorry for the cut-off pictures. I tried putting my pictures in through photobucket... looks like I don't know what I'm doing, after all.

My superlative crafting friend, Martha, has done it again. For our Thanksgiving themed swap, she send me oodles of fun!

Keely has spent HOURS looking through the book!!

Sadly, the flowerpot didn't make it... :( The good news is that I have a few lying around!!

I sent her...

It's a table runner

Potholders with matching fabric from the table runner

I also sent her a cabled scarf with cabled wrist warmers. I forgot to take pictures, though.

4 Days Post-Op

2007-11-22T21:08:00.001-06:00

Tuesday it was 84'. The record high since 1932. Today it snowed throughout DFW. Hhhmmmm....

Well, this surgery went MUCH better. I'm up and walking. I start physical therapy again on Monday. I'll post pictures soon.

Going Back Under the Knife

2007-11-13T12:30:00.000-06:00

It's been a crazy crazy crazy few months. I keep meaning to update everyone, but there's not enough hours in the day.

I FINALLY graduated physical therapy!!!

On Monday Nov 19th, I'm going back under for another look at the knee. It is still clicking and popping and there is still a bit of pain. Dr. Berry will be taking out my screw, using the scope around the knee to see what's going on, and using some sort of squishy stuff under the knee cap to help where the cartilage is worn. I'll be back on crutches for a few days. Not looking forward to that.

As for the kids... we get to take them to the psychiatrist. Since the ADHD meds didn't work on either (they worked but Colin's side effects of ABSOLUTE VIOLENCE and Keely's side effect of depression) of them, and we switched meds a few times, the pediatrician is pretty sure that they are bi-polar. After we get the knee figured out, we will focus on that.

I am still watching Johnny & London 12 hours a day 5 days a week. They are SUCH good kids!! I have grown to love them. Their dad said that the mom is in anger management and they are going to couple's therapy. He said that they have to work things out because he can't afford to pay me $15/day and be a single dad. It's pure BS. He and the kids are SO better off without the mom involved... but it's not my decision. It will be CPS because I AM getting them involved since she has proven time and time again she is a negligent mother and she punishes Johnny rather severely (that's the nice way of saying that she's abusive).

To keep my sanity, I have been rather involved with my crafting. It's my zen-place. However, since I'm running myself silly and am sleep deprived, I can't see what I'm doing when I craft :)

SSSOOOO... that's everything in a nutshell. I'll post some pictures in the next few days from Halloween and random whatnot.

Fun Times, I tell you!

2007-10-08T13:38:00.000-06:00

I've been watching Johnny & London and loving every moment of it. Keely & Colin have taken a great interest in helping with the babies. Colin will tell Johnny "lessons" like "Little Johnny, buckle your sandal! It's a safety hazard! You will fall and get hurt!" Keely likes to sit down with London and teach her lessons such as, "London, your name starts with the letter L and my names is Keely and you need to learn to say it." It's been really wonderful having someone around for Colin. For the first time, he feels like he can be a teacher. He is also starting to figure out how to play WITH someone... not just beside someone.

Things around the homefront have been pretty much stable. I'm walking. I'm doing some cleaning. I'm going to therapy. The pain can still be pretty intense. The doctor wants to take my screw out on Friday at my next apointment. I'm thinking of keeping it. I feel I have earned it.

In the crafting world, I have joined another craft swap. It's a smaller Halloween swap. My partner seems like a very nice gal. I received my goodies from my Harry Potter Swap with Martha. Oh So Happy!! One day I'll get around to posting a picture or three... One day...

My First Day of Work

2007-09-28T08:37:00.000-06:00

Christian's supervisor lives in the same neighborhood as we do. Something errupted between him and his wife 2 days ago. He has found himself a single-dad to Johnny (3) and London (turns 1 next week).

As you have guessed.... This is their first day here! They have been here an hour and so far so good. I've forgotten everything about 1-year olds. I had to call my girlfriend for a quick "1-Year Olds for Dummies" training.

I can't wait for the kids to get home from school. Colin likes little Johnny a lot, so he should play well with him.... at least for 10 minutes :)

EDIT:
As a post script to the story: Colin came home and played perfectly with Johnny & London. Keely came home and helped me with everything. Johnny and London are such well behaved kids!! If everything continues going this way, there won't be a problem at all!!! The highlight of the day for Johnny was going to pick Keely up from the bus stop (She's riding the bus right now while I have the babies).

Just thought I would put in an update :)

Colin is Engaged; Keely was Student of the Week Last Week

2007-09-24T12:04:00.000-06:00

There is a little girl in Colin's class that he frequently talks about. Her name is Katie. They play a little "stop, go" game together and always talk while waiting in the cafeteria for the teacher. Today Christian took the kids to school. He came back and informed me that Colin is now engaged.

Colin and Katie sat next to each other. Colin pulled out a picture that he drew of himself and the letter "C" and "X" he wrote on the backside of the paper. Katie asked if he drew her a picture. Colin said, "No. Not yet. Maybe later." He then noticed that she had a scrape on her temple. He asked, "Oh, you have an ouchie? Are you okay?" She replied that her dog jumped up and scratched her. He quickly replied, "I will not hurt you. I will be nice to you everyday. I will marry you. In one year I will marry you." She got up from her seat, walked over to where Christian was sitting at the end of the table and said to him, "I will wear a dress at the park when I get married!" and she did a ballerina twirl to show them how she can spin.

Today when Christian picked him up from school, they started to walk away and Colin stopped abruptly and said, "I didn't say bye to my friends." He ran back to the class, waved to them, gave Katie a hug and walked back to Chris. My little guy is all grown up!!!

On another rather exciting note, Keely was awarded STUDENT OF THE WEEK on the third week!!!!!! I was so so so proud of her!!! The teacher emailed me this, "Keely has shown great progress since I’ve started in her class. She is very particular about her work and the process she goes about getting it done! But no out bursts or defiant behaviors." SO proud of her!!!

Hank Williams

2007-09-20T19:52:00.000-06:00

Yesterday we had to put our beloved Hank Williams to sleep. We have been watching him slowly die of cancer over the past year. He purred until the very end. He was thanking us for taking away his pain and suffering. He really was an amazing cat. Although he knew Christian for 13 years and knew me only half as long, he really was my big baby. He will be missed more than he could ever know...

It's been a while..

2007-09-16T16:08:00.000-06:00

Things have been so busy! Let's see...

* I go to physical therapy 3 times a week anywhere between 1 1/2 - 2 hours/session. This is the first week I have started to walk without any crutches (except first thing in the morning when I'm incredibly stiff). I ONLY have 4-6 weeks left! My strength has returned much faster than the ability to bend my knee. The greatest news is I can FINALLY climb over the bathtub edge!!! Now I can shower whenever I want and don't have to rely on Christian or my Mum! It's the greatest feeling. I can't WAIT until I can drive again!!! I'm hoping about 2 more weeks...

* Keely has started kindergarten. She started out with a brand new teacher who didn't know her head from her foot. Suddenly, without warning, we got a note home saying, "Mrs. Ochoa has left her position as teacher... blah blah blah." We now have a wonderful 8 year veteran teacher. Keely likes her a lot and she has been doing MUCH better in school with the new teacher.

* Colin has started Pre-Kindergarten. His teacher has worked in special education for a few years. She REALLY knows what she's talking about! Colin tells me every night at bedtime, "Miss Gibson is beaudiful." He is doing VERY GOOD in school. The first two weeks were rough, but he's settled into his routine. On Friday, he was the only kid in the class to earn the smiley face stamp!!! He's very quiet and reserved. He spends most of his time observing what's happening around him. He also has started colouring and drawing for the first time in his life!!! He draws us the same picture every single day. It's great. I'll scan in one later it's that good :)

* Today Keely went out on Andy's boat for the first time. I got a report a few hours ago that she was inter tubing with Andy. I'm hoping in two weeks I'll be able to go with everyone. Right now, the knee isn't doing well enough.

* Our dearest kitty, Hank Williams, is dieing of cancer. We have to take him to get steroid shots every other week to prolong his life. He has gone from 21 lbs to 10. He's nothing but skin and bone. It's really sad. It's Christian's first born and I don't know how he will handle it when he finally passes.

That's about all I have at the moment.

My Scariest Moment in Texas

2007-09-07T07:46:00.000-06:00

While living here, we have come across some pretty intense storms. One storm was so crazy, it struck a 2 story home within a mile from us and set it on fire. We have seen lightening strike the cornfields nearby. We have had tornadoes come near our home and seen the devastation in nearby towns. We have had major flooding... but nothing comes close to what happened last night.

We have Terminex come out to take care of the bugs in the home and yard. Haven't had a bug problem since. A few stray ants or an occasional spider. No big deal. Last night, after the kids were in bed, Christian and I were watching TV in the living room. Bailey (the dog) got up and started to play with a bug (throwing it around with her mouth). I figured it was just a fly that got into the house since flies are her favourite to play with. I looked at the bug and realized it was a freaking SCORPION!!! It was about 1 1/2" long and had it's tail in the attack position. I don't know how she didn't get stung by it since she was playing with it for a good 30 seconds!!! I freaked out, Christian squished it into the carpet. Now I'm terrified to let the animals go outside. Where there is one, there usually is two.

I had nightmares last night about it. Terminex is getting a call and they better get their butts out here and respray everything! Especially since I know it didn't just walk in through the closed door!!!

My Towel

2007-08-18T15:39:00.001-06:00

I don't have a towel next to the kitchen sink. I can't crutch to the towel with wet hands. SO, I made myself a fun towel in Tunisian Crochet. I like how it turned out :)

The stitch close up

And then there was silence...

2007-08-12T07:03:00.000-06:00

Two weeks ago, Dominic, my brother's best friend from middle school and high school, came to Dallas to help out. I haven't seen him in 4 years and I didn't realize how much I missed the kid!! It was SO much fun having him around! The kids fell in love with him at first sight! The first thing Colin said to him was, "Can I touch your hair. You look like a Teddy Bear." After that, he kept forgetting his name. "What's your name Teddy Bear guy?" It was great. We took Dom to Costco, Target, Joann Fabrics, to dinner at The Texas Roadhouse where it was "his birthday" and he got to ride a saddle.

We also had my Dad's brother visit from Wisconsin. The last time I saw Uncle David was in 1993!! It was really great seeing him again. We have a lot in common and it's been really wonderful getting to know him again. Keely really enjoyed his company. They played restaurant together. She talked and talked and talked to him. It's also great seeing my Dad developing a relationship with his big brother again after SO SO SO many years!

Both Dom and David said their goodbye's yesterday. Colin took it VERY hard. He wouldn't let go of my Mum or my hand all night. He kept crying and telling us, "Don't leave me like Donimic (notice the name) and David!" As if the kid wasn't confused enough over where he lives, this made it worse. My poor little guy!!

Gorillas: Another Keelyism

2007-08-09T19:42:00.001-06:00

This morning, Christian was talking to Keely over breakfast. She asked when he worked today.

He said:
I am off today and tomorrow. We will take you somewhere on my day off tomorrow. Do you know where we will take you? You are going to Gorillaland.

Keely pondered this statement for a few seconds, had a HUGE smile on her face and quickly replied:
I don't think that exists. It's not real. I don't remember ever seeing a parking lot full of gorillas anywhere.

Christian couldn't stop laughing. The look of accomplishment on her face was priceless!!!

A Hat for Keely

2007-08-07T06:42:00.000-06:00

I was playing with Front Post Double Crochet and this hat was born. I made it while Keely was in bed. What does she say when she sees it, "Oh, I would really like that hat but you made it with white and now it looks like a boy's hat." *sigh*

A Towel for Martha

2007-08-03T11:42:00.000-06:00

Upon looking around in my craft forum, I ran across a wonderful gal who had made Hedwig (that's Harry Potter's owl, for those who don't know). She had made it for another person... and that person was not fond of owls. So, we set up a swap. This is the towel I made for her new kitchen :)

It was Christmas this week at my house! My yarn shipment came it. I love my yarn!!! There are 52 skeins in there!!!!

KeelyMonster & ColinUly

2007-08-02T05:38:00.001-06:00

A wonderful gal in my online Mum's Support Group made this for me. Since pictures of the kids together are few and far between, I thought I would post it for everyone.

6 1/2 Weeks Post-Op... A lot of ground to make up... And a screw

2007-07-26T18:00:00.000-06:00

Went to see the Dr today. Due to the re-injury, I have a lot of ground to make up. The good news is that my tibia has healed. I can now put some weight on my leg, but still won't be able to walk for another bunch of weeks. Also, some of the swelling has gone down.

The bad news is the screw must come out, but, not until I'm back on my feet. It's sticking out this far...

Since the delay in my recovery, the doctor basically wants me to double time my recovery. Instead of being on the CPM (the bending machine) for 1 month and then going to physical therapy after, he wants to to knock them out at the same time.

So, that's the update on Frankenknee.
Colin will start his meds tomorrow morning.

Colin's Trip to the Doctor

2007-07-25T12:22:00.000-06:00

Since my surgery, the kids have been living at my parents house and only coming to visit; they are finally staying the night only on Christian's days off. This has led their need for order and structure to have been blown to hell. This has resulted in regression and an increase in behaviours in both kids.

My parents took Colin to the pediatrician today for a behaviour appointment. The Dr's passion is Autism, ADHD and behaviourally challenged and he gives appointments out side of office hours for the parents who need behaviour help. He had told me at their last appointment that he wanted to see them, Colin in particular, based off what he was observing during the appointment. SSSOOOO...

Colin's symptoms/behaviours are a perfect example of what ADHD is. And to clear the questions... YES, HE IS STILL AUTISTIC. ADHD and Autism run hand in hand with the majority of cases. Normally he would set up multiple visits to have parent interview and child observation. Within walking into the office, Colin displayed every behaviour that we wanted to talk about. Unfortunately, that meant that Colin didn't need multiple visits; he prescribed the medications straight away.

The Dr. picked a medication that has been used for 30 years. He feels very safe in prescribing it. As glasses help people focus their eyes to see, these medications help children with ADHD focus their thoughts better. The medication is Adderall XR. It is a stimulant which does have appetite loss and trouble falling asleep as the side effects. We may need to change medications multiple times to find the "right one" but once found, we should see a dramatic change in him within 3 days.

During the appointment, the Dr asked about Keely. Apparently, she also shows many symptoms of ADHD (including the going potty in her pants right in front of you). He asked us to make an appointment for her next week. Hopefully the medicationss will center her and she won't have to go back to special ed classes (since there is NO WAY she would be able to last the kindergarten year without some kind of help).

SSSOOOO, check back for updates over the next few days...

Mourning the Loss...

2007-07-24T09:28:00.000-06:00

To some, this post will be somewhere between silly and absurd. To the others, you know EXACTLY how I feel. Sorry to the first batch...

I finished reading the final Harry Potter book last night. I'm a little sad, a little in shock... I started reading the books early in 2001. I mourn the characters fallen in the books as much as I mourn the end; there will be no more books. I guess I've always known it has to end, but it has been such a huge part of escaping reality (I have read them over and over... I wanted to name my son Harry, for Pete's sake). Today I am wearing a black shirt for my beloved Harry Potter books.

I enjoyed the wild roller coaster of emotions Rowling put me through (the final book as much as the others). It ended bittersweet for me. This final book had me in tears more than once. At one point, Christian came into the bedroom and sat holding me as I went through a very upsetting chapter. I wanted to stop so many times for fear of what the end would hold.

I guess there is only one thing left to do. Start reading book1 page 1 tonight. Knowing the end will make the re-read more emotional than in the past.... but it's something I feel compelled to do.

Thank you Joanne Rowling. You created a magical world that will live on forever.

4 Weeks Post-Op... And I re-injured Frankenknee

2007-07-10T18:53:00.000-06:00

For the past week, Christian's Mum has been here helping me out. I'm SO glad that she was able to come out here (it was her first trip to the lovely Tejas). Keely stayed the whole week here, so my Mum was given a bit of a break (one kid is 100 times easier to deal with than two).

On Thursday last week, I was adjusting myself on the couch and re-injured my knee. The good news is that I don't need immediate surgery. The bad news is the screw shifted (you can see the head of it bumped up under the skin) and the past 4 weeks of recovery was wasted. I am back with the immobilizer locked straight and in quite as much pain as week 2. As soon as Frankenknee is 110% healed, the Doctor will have to take the screw out.

SO.... that's the past week in a nut-shell. I'm just thrilled that I didn't have to have everything reopened right then and there!!!

My poor Mum is stuck with the kids living with her much longer now.... AND since school will start in a month.... she's going to be having to take them to and from school (and I will miss Keely's first day of kindergarten). Oh that poor woman.

3 Weeks Post-Op

2007-07-03T14:13:00.000-06:00

I'm off the drugs during the day.... mostly. I have the privilege of strapping my leg into the Continuous Passive Motion Machine for 6-8 hours a day. That involves laying on my back staring at the ceiling fan complaining that my body hurts. I'll have Andy take a picture and post it later this week. The movement hurts. It feels like my knee is going to tear open. I started on Thursday only being able to bend it 10'. I'm up to 27'. I have to be up to 45' in 2 1/2 more weeks. *sigh* Then I have another appointment where I will be given the task of getting up to 95'. Then starts the physical therapy for weight and muscle rebuilding. Fun times ahead!!!

Christian's Mum is here from San Luis Obispo to help take care of me. It sure is a blessing that she was able to get the time off of work to come!!! It's going to help on the stress to my parents and Andy a lot. The kids were really happy to see her. She will be here until the 10th, so it should be a decent holiday for her.

Yep Yep. That's the update as of now.

I would like to introduce... FRANKENKNEE!!!!

2007-06-27T19:45:00.000-06:00

16 days post-op. I had Andy take some pictures. I think "Frankenknee" sounds more humorous than "Frankenleg" but my whole leg has been effected by the surgery. Starting at the toes... all the way up to the hip joint is swollen. I have cankles (sp?) now.Note the burn on my foot/ankle area. I woke from surgery all drugged and complaining of a burn. Once they unwrapped my full leg/foot wrappings 5 days later... yep, the doctor burned me. It looks MUCH better now.

My knee is still pretty purple. NOWHERE as bad as it had been. I was too disgusted to look at it before or I would have posted pictures earlier. I was only given internal stitches; he just taped the incision area and told me to wait until it crumbles off.

Well, I hope you enjoyed meeting Frankenknee. He will be with me a long time and I'm sure that this will all have been worth it in the end. I have pictures of the insides and the razor scraping my cartilage, but I can't scan them in at the moment. I am REALLY hoping to get a picture of the screw just because it was a bit larger than I had expected. We will see.....

2 Weeks Post-Op

2007-06-25T18:41:00.000-06:00

It's REALLY hard to type on the laptop.

I'm still alive. My leg is pretty dang swollen. It looks like frankenknee. I still can't look at it without becoming faint.

My parents have been bringing the kids over to see me every other day. Colin has been an angel at home. Keely pretty much plays in her room when she's over. My parents have taken me on two wheelchair walks. It's amazing how much I miss being outside. Heck, I miss laying on my side/tummy, walking, sitting comfortably on the couch...

More to come after I see the doctor on Thursday...

1 Week Post-Op

2007-06-19T11:47:00.000-06:00

It's been a week since surgery. I feel pretty bad still. It was much worse than the doctor thought before. The pain pills have been very helpful. For the next two weeks, my therapy is to "wiggle my toes." I won't be able to put weight on it for 8 weeks. The meds make it very hard for me to think/type straight. I feel like a wreck. At least I got to have a shower!! After one week, I was pretty disgusting. The kids will be at my Mum's for who knows how long. They are both pretty upset with me; they won't talk to me on the phone. I saw Keely the day before yesterday and she was herself and had to leave right away for hurting me intentionally. She didn't even say hi to me or sit with me. Colin came over yesterday and he was glued to my side and cried when he had to leave. He kept saying, "Daddy, I promise I be good and not hurt Mommy so I can sleep at home. I promise Daddy!" When Christian carried him out of the house, I sobbed my little heart out. My parents are bringing them over today, we are going to load me into the wheelchair, and go to the playground all together. I sure hope that this doesn't backfire!!!

That's all for now. Time to nap again.

My Wandering Husband

2007-06-06T08:41:00.000-06:00

10:00 pm. Christian and I go to bed.
1:23 am. Colin calls from his bed, "I have a bloody nose." I look and Christian isn't in bed. I think to myself, "I missed Colin's first call. Chris got up and is on his way to take care of it." 15 seconds later, Colin calls again.
I got up, sprinted to Colin's room, and start to apply pressure to his nose. Suddenly I hear it. It sounds like a bear sleeping in Keely's room. She is prone to deep breathing, snoring, talking & sleepwalking, but this sound was far too severe to come from her little body.
Colin's nose stops, I tuck him back in. I go into Keely's room and see her sleeping at the foot of the bed and Christian at the head (mind you, this IS a full sized bed). I shake him awake and he looks panicked. I walk with him to the kitchen and ask why he was in bed with Keely. Not only did he have no idea why he was in Keely's bed, he had no idea what he was talking about!! He was completely out of it and rambling about the oddest things!! It was glorious.

My Knee... and the upcoming surgery

2007-05-31T17:18:00.000-06:00

Went to see the Orthopedic Surgeon today. Not really surprised that I need surgery. It is scheduled for Monday, June 11 at 730am.

I have moderately severe Patellar Tracking Disorder. My kneecaps do not slide up and down as they should, they pull outwards. Due to my previous knee injuries, the ligaments & tendons surrounding the kneecap are stretched out. Each time my knee has popped out of joint, the underside of my kneecap has been scraping the other bones and causing premature arthritis.

The surgery will consist of this:
A 3" incision under my knee. They will be cutting off my tendon and reattaching it with a screw (that I will have forever) in the center. They will be tightening my ligaments at the top of my knee. And, they will be grinding down the underside of my kneecap. I will have a catheter installed in my knee.

Post-surgery:
I will be on crutches for about 6-8 weeks. For two weeks, 6 hours a day, I will be on a CPM (Continuous Passive Motion Machine) which is a machine with a foot brace that gently and slowly move my knee. The catheter they are putting in will be connected to a pain pump. It will dispense meds directly into the knee for pain. We will be having to fork out $320 for a Polar Care Unit which is a new version of an ice pack. You strap the large pad onto the knee (like a brace but thick like an ice pack), a hose connects between the pad and an ice chest. Inside the ice chest is a pump and ice water. Once plugged in, the ice water circulates around the injury without the "ice burn" you get from a pack. It also weighs less and keeps less pressure on the injury. I would be wearing it non-stop for the first few days, during all CPM sessions, after all therapy sessions, and anytime there is swelling or pain. Oh, and I also get a fancy robotic knee brace. All these fancy contraptions and whositwhat's will cost a mere $800!!! And that doesn't include paying for the surgery or anesthesiologist!!! WooHoo!!!

So... that's what's going down. Just thought I would let everyone know (and this is by far easier than calling everyone)

Does anyone want a free trip to Texas to help take care of me &/or the kids???? We are desperate... especially since it is short notice and I'm going to be out of commission for a while. PLEASE!

My Knee... Part 2

2007-05-24T15:55:00.000-06:00

I went to my regular doctor. He wiggled my knee around. He thinks I either stretched my ligaments or tore them the first time I dislocated my knee... which is why it keeps happening. SO... he had me call a surgeon. I have an appointment with him next Thursday. More to come...

My Knee...

2007-05-22T17:05:00.000-06:00

So, for the third time in my life, I dislocated my knee. I was REALLY hoping that I could band aid it and not have to go to the doctor. Well... it looks like that isn't going to happen. It's killing me and still swollen after 2 weeks. I guess I have to make an appointment tomorrow... :(

Beck's Blog

2007-05-17T10:57:00.000-06:00

There is a blog that I like to frequent. She's an avid craftster and she loves Harry Potter. She made some flag-bags and I commented that she should make a Polish Flag because of Christian being so proud of his heritage. AND SHE DID! She's dubbed it the "Fied-Bag" :)

http://peskypixie.blogspot.com/2007/05/polish-flag-man-bag-or-fied-bag.html

Wonky Pictures

2007-05-16T20:19:00.000-06:00

The pictures in my new hair blog seemed to have gone a bit wonky. Click on the picture to see them better. Sorry about that.

My Hair

2007-05-16T20:13:00.001-06:00

My hair felt like cotton candy. It was breaking off and I had fly-aways everywhere. My hair had seen better days. SO... I chopped it. It's short & girly. SO UNLIKE MARCI!

Bahbingos

2007-05-12T13:58:00.000-06:00

Colin came in the living room from his bedroom where he was playing Thomas ChooChoo contently for about 10 minutes. He walked up to me and asked, "Are bahbingos good or bad?"
I replied, "I don't know what a bahbingo is."
Getting angry he replies, "I say are a bahbingos good or bad?"
"Colin, what is a bahbingo? I don't know that word."
"BAHBINGO!"
"What colour is a bahbingo?"
"AN ANIMAL! IS IT GOOD OR BAD?"

This conversation went on for about 15 minutes... the more I questioned the more upset he became and the more slurred his speech was. FINALLY, I asked if he was saying FLAMINGO. Well, it was. I said, that a flamingo is good and he turned around and went on his merry way.
*sigh* Speech delays suck.

BLAH

2007-05-10T09:44:00.000-06:00

I've been sick. Massive tummy issues. It's been a week now and every time I eat, I feel like it all wants to come back out. I'm not enjoying this. I got scared that I might be preggers again. I made Christian buy a test. Came out negative (which I was 99.9999999999999% certain it would). At least I know it's just some poopy Texas bug. :(

Another Keely-ism

2007-04-27T08:15:00.000-06:00

We went to a restaurant for dinner last night. Colin really enjoys this place because he can eat "a hamburger and french fries and ketchup." Plus, there always seems to be someone having a birthday when we go. They clap and sing while the birthday person rides a saddle waving a napkin over their heads (which we did for his birthday last November). Well, this time nobody had a birthday so Colin decided that it should be his birthday. We had the greatest server of all time on this visit, so when she came to clear the table, Colin asked if it could be his birthday with the clappers. She went in the back and out they came singing and clapping for Colin while he rode the saddle. After all the commotion and singing, we realized that Keely was crying. When we asked what was wrong, she informed us, "YOU LIED TO THEM! IT'S NOT COLIN'S BIRTHDAY AND HE SAID IT WAS AND THAT IS A LIE AND THAT'S VERY NAUGHTY!!!" We tried to explain that they knew it wasn't his birthday but they did it anyway because he behaved really well during dinner and they said they could do it as a reward. Well, she wasn't convinced and told everyone who passed that we were liars and naughty because it wasn't Colin's real birthday. *sigh* Who would have ever thought that she would come up with something so obscure as that!!!

My Cell Phone Holder

2007-04-23T13:59:00.000-06:00

I sat and designed myself a cell phone cozy. I like how it turned out. It makes me giggle when I look at it. I'm making one for someone I know, also. She and I are united together against the evil forces of food. This, I think, will become our bond to one another :)

Ode to My Grandpa

2007-04-20T20:50:00.000-06:00

I wasn't going to post this. For some reason, I feel compelled to, though. I wrote this within 30 minutes of my Grandpa dieing. I haven't read it since I wrote it. It's stream of conscious and I haven't corrected any typos... the punctuation is all off... it was everything I felt and thought at the exact moment I typed it... well, as quickly as my hands could keep up to my brain (and I do boast myself to be a quick typer). To anyone who becomes offended by the contents... sorry. I guess everyone "loved Mr.D" he was so thoughtful and friendly and always blah blah blah... yes, he did help me on a few occasions, but it always came with some backhanded remark or some strings attached. This was the Phil Damiano that I knew...

So, it happened. My grandpa died. All these years I thought that he was a vampire who would live forever. Apparently I was wrong. The man has escaped death more times than I can remember. I guess I knew it would happen one day... I just didn't realize that it would happen now. Last weekend was my weekend to call him. I got busy with mowing Nana & Papa's lawn... doing this and that... and I thought I would just call him the next weekend. Then on Tuesday I received a call from my Uncle saying that he took Grandpa to the emergency room due to kidney failure. This wasn't a surprise since he has been on a diaphoretic for almost 2 years to drain his body of obsessive water retention. I called him that day. He sounded horrible. I was only able to talk to him for 2 minutes before he asked if we could hang up. My Dad left today to drive to Milwaukee to see him and help his brother. He got the call around 9pm as he was pulling into a hotel for the night. He told Mom. Mom told me. I sat quiet once I hung up the phone with thoughts and emotions swirling inside of me. I always thought that the day he died I would feel happy... however that wasn't the feeling I had.... it was confusing... it wasn't sadness or happiness... it was pity. Pity for the man. He had a really rough start to life. He lived through the depression. His brother died in the war. He lost his eye quite young. He was considered a cripple. Maybe it was because he was considered a cripple that he drew up such a cold exterior.... maybe it was the person he always was... I don't know... I wasn't there. Great Grandma D sure as heck didn't raise him that way! He held the Italian Community Center on such a pedestal... he donated thousands of dollars to them because they were so important to him... not on plane tickets to fly to California to see his grandkids. He boasted about the church people and how they all loved him so much more than his own son and grandkids... As he became older, he became much more cantankerous. Much more bitter. Much more insulting. And yet, I called him at least once a month.... not because I was obligated to... not because I was guilted into it... because I wanted to. There were times in our conversations that I really enjoyed our talks. He seemed to really want to know and understand my kids and the Autism that would be with them for the rest of their lives. He wanted to learn as much as he could about Autism... that meant a lot to me. There are some in my family that still have it ass-backwards because they believe all the crap that they see on TV. When he talked about my Grandma... when they were newlyweds... when they were young... he wasn't the same man I had grown to know. He was... nice. And now he's gone. And I feel pitty for the man he had become and the life that he had made for himself. It was all along, his choice not to visit us when we were kids. It was his choice not to call me... and always wait for me to call him. It was his choice to always be angry and talk negatively about my parents, myself, my brothers. It was his choice to always tell me that my cousin was more a grandddaughter than I was because she was so wonderful and so smart and so perfect... Whether or not he knew it, it was his choice to have me distance myself from him. And now he's gone. He lived the last of his life as a lonely old man with nobody to talk to except my uncle who lives with him, his sister who recently lost her husband... and wait for my phonecalls. The Italian Community Center forgot all about Phil. A few of the church people still called upon him... but it was just token visits and conversations. I feel pity that a man who could have been my grandpa ended up dieing today. I wonder if on his deathbed he actually realized what he missed out on.

Colin's Request

2007-04-19T13:03:00.000-06:00

I made this a while back... Colin lost it right away. Well, we found it again and he's been wearing it for about an hour now. So... I figured I would post a picture of Colin's Nose Warmer!!!!

My Newest Creation

2007-04-16T11:29:00.000-06:00

I whipped up a little hat for my new friend, Wendy. She's pregnant with a girl and her theme will be cherries. I thought it came out awfully adorable with the little ruffle brim.
It is modeled by my Cabbage Patch Kid, Desmond, with Colin giggling.

My Dad's Birthday Party

2007-04-14T11:12:00.000-06:00

Keely decided she wanted to throw Gramps a birthday party. So, it was up to me to do the cake. I started out with a 2-layer chocolate cake that had a banana filling with rings of banana in it. I was going to frost the top, but decided to go potty first. Colin wanted to help with the cake, so while I was out of the room, he dumped the cake on the floor. Oooppppssssss.
Quickly, I grabbed another box of cake mix and whipped up cake #2. Simple devil's food cake with chocolate frosting. In an effort to jazz it up, I grabbed a bag of mini marshmallows (meant for a batch of colourful Marshmallow Fluff for this week) and improvised. This was the result :)I made Dad a beanie (during the winter he complained his ears were cold) in hopes of the kids carrying on the tradition of stealing his beanie and wearing it every time he tried to move :) Colin asked for a matching one to Gramps. (This is the Birthday boy with his gift. He rolled it up due to it being a rather warm evening). I'm pretty sure that the highlight of the party was the fact that a super scary Thunderstorm was in the Dallas area. Luckily, we got a weak strand of it, but other areas had some pretty nasty weather. There was ping pong sized hail, massive lightening strikes, tornadoes, massive winds that devastated areas... We watched it all on the news.

Easter

2007-04-10T12:21:00.000-06:00

Well, Easter is over. It's scary to realize that the year is already 1/3 over. It seems like only last month we were back in California playing with our friends and family... going to Disneyland... trying to get Colin to stop having a meltdown on the airplane... *sigh*

This year we hid plastic eggs and inside there was either one piece of candy or a folded piece of paper with the picture of a game on it. They got

Whack-A-Mole
Hullabaloo
Cooties
Cookin' Cookies Card Game
Peanut Butter & Jelly Card Game
a kids version of Uno
Hi Ho Cherry-O!
Chutes & Ladders
a Disney plug into the TV video game

I really wanted to start incorporating taking turns with games into our routine, so this was the opportune time to buy all of them. So, that was our Easter. We played games most of the day. (I did sneak out and go up to visit Nana in the hospital for a few hours when the kids were busy playing with Christian)

Our Playdate

2007-04-04T15:27:00.001-06:00

I met someone online (Wendy) recently in a Mommy's Group. She lives in Plano (about 30 minute drive from here) and has a 2 year old son named Xander. I've been talking to her for a few weeks and today she came to our house for a playdate. Colin did SO well. She was here over 5 hours which is a record for Colin playing with someone. Colin cried when they left calling, "McXander, come back to Colin!" as they drove away. Keely also liked them, but she was in one of her moods so she played by herself with her big girl activities that she can only do when Colin isn't around.

Wendy is a very nice person who I got along with very well. We are quite similar in parenting style and personality. In the future, I foresee us getting together often. Hopefully I will finally have a friend in Texas!!!!

The Start of Something New...

2007-04-03T10:26:00.000-06:00

Alright, I started a Blog. It's going to be random. There is no telling what you will end up reading on this. I have no idea who will actually read this. Why am I doing this, you ask? Because I have been REALLY HORRIBLE about updating people back in CA. I started out sending pictures and updates to everyone... then I dropped off the face of the earth. If I have a blog, maybe I will be more driven to use it.
Without further ado...

So the kids went to the doctor two weeks ago. Here is the update on my offspring:

KeelyMonster - Now 41" tall and in the 8 %tile. She now weighs 39 LBS and is in the 32 %tile. With her little round watermelon shelf belly (you know what I'm talking about), her body mass is in the 77 %tile. The Doctor feels that she has some behavior issues (like that should surprise any of us) and would like to make an appointment to have her screened for ADHD. He also wants her to see a Urologist based on her potty issues. Again, no surprise on that one. All in all, she's healthy and growing!

ColinUly - A whopping 43 1/2" tall and in the 88 %tile. He weighs 38 LBS and is in the 54 %tile. His body mass is a mere 10 %tile. The Doctor also feels that he has behavior issues and feels that he should also be screened for ADHD. He has fallen behind on his development and they want us to get him involved in Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy and Physical Therapy again. They told us to go back after the county to see if we can get him reinstated in special ed. If we get turned away again, they want us to get through our insurance. He also has a referral to the EarNoseThroat Doctor due to his constant nose bleeds.

Lots of fun for the coming month or two. I can't wait to have all these apointments and see what they find!!!

Things in Texas are starting to come back to life. Spring is in the air; it's a warm welcome from the dormant winter months. The weather is warming up, so the kids and I are spending as much time as possible outside before the summer heats things up. I do miss the cold, though. I really enjoyed the winter weather a lot more than I thought I would. I guess I enjoyed the brisk air. The two times it snowed (okay, it was a dusting more than a snow) was rather wonderful. I took TONS of pictures. Now that life is coming back to the area, I will be making a DVD entitled, "A Day in the Life of The Fied's." I will travel around and film our area, Keely's school, our overly exciting city, our home (everyone has been asking for pictures now that the furniture is in, yet I have none), the community playground.... I'll keep everyone posted on my new blog of the status.

I have been pretty dang busy lately with my gardening. I have gone crazy for the new and exciting things that I can plant here. I'm going to post pictures as soon as I get everything in the ground. When I'm not gardening, I am sitting in the backyard on the swing watching the kids play or reading to them outside. It's been really enjoyable. At nights, I have taken to my knitting/crochet. I have actually sold one of these hats!! Well, that's all for now. I will try my best to keep this updated... even if it is with random stories, thoughts or useless information!!!

You can post comments to my blogs if you wish. Under the blog is a link. Click the identity of Anonymous. Just make sure to sign your name, so I know who you are :)