I'm a happy nerd!

Saw this Saturday at the bookstore - Evan and I were thrilled!

The idiot in my life...

God must truly take care of the idiots of this world. Mom’s friend from church relayed this story to her – it happened while Mom and Dad were out of town.


Picture the scene:

First Baptist Church on a Wednesday night

My little sister (let's call her M), her sister in law (she, I will call C), and my sister's 2 kids are at church. The kids are in their class. M and C are in a women’s group class. I should note that C is living with M and her husband because she had a stroke and can't live on her own. Supposedly.) C passes out & starts having convulsions. Ambulance is called. C is awake and alert when the ambulance arrives. C and M go with the ambulance. No one can get in touch with M's husband.

“What happens to the kids? Where are they?” one might ask. Well, they are sitting in their class. No one knows how to get in touch with me. Just so happens that my niece's teacher is there. She takes the 2 kids home with her & later gets in touch with M's husband. She keeps them overnight so M's husband can go to the hospital and talk to the doctors (get the real story).

The doctors tell them that C may have passed out, but she was faking the convulsions. That’s why she can’t get on disability – she’s faking. She has 4 different kids by 3 different dads - and she has custody of NONE of them. She does nothing but sit on the sofa, watch tv and play on Facebook all day.

Now, once again, I HAVE to ask the question: why is it that people like M & C can breed like rabbits, but people who can actually take care of kids and love them can't???

Thank God for Grandparents!

Yesterday I got a call that every parent dreads. I knew when I saw the phone number it wouldn't be good. Evan's principal. Apparently, he tripped over his own over-grown feet and fell FACE FIRST into some asphalt at PE.

Of course, I carpooled yesterday. My parents are out of town, so I called my Mother In Law. She was a nervous wreck, but she picked him up and met me at the ER (a friend from work took me). Nothing is broken, CT was fine. However, he did get 4 stitches in his eyebrow.  This was our first trip to the ER with Evan and he handled it like a champ. His Uncle Chris is a teacher @ his school and heard the gossip from some of his ball players. The told him that Evan got 'mad man points' because he didn't even start to tear up...if this had been me, I would have been ALL tears!

 

Since I had to wake him every 2 hrs (checking for head injury), he's still in bed and I'm working from home. I'm so grateful to have help when I need it! Without my MIL, I would have been lost yesterday!

The future. Well, MY future.

Over the years I've read article upon article about the aging baby boomers. You know, the people my parents' age. And how people my age would wind up in harsh situation - looking after our parents while still trying to raise our own kids.

I love my parents. I love my mother in law. I'm very lucky that I have had all three of them living close to me these past 14 years. They have all helped me in any way they could. But now, things are happening to make me face what the future is going to be like. It's going to be hard. I'm noticing things - things that scare me. Personalities are changing. Health is declining.

My mother in law and sister in law H.A.T.E. each other. So, who will take care of her? Her 2 sons? Ha ha ha ha!

My sister is useless. Completely useless. My brother will be glad to handle the financial end of my parents' issues (and I'll be glad to let him), but I'm pretty darn sure I'll be left with the other things that will need to be done.

And what kinds of things will need to be done?

1. Watching for health/mental issues
2. Making/attending doctor appointments
3. Making sure their living conditions are decent

That doesn't look like a long list. And this isn't going to happen overnight.  But when I think about it - going from maintaining one household to 3, all while working a full time job and raising a teenager that is involved in activities.... I start to feel like an Oreo cookie that has had the middle licked out of it. Yuck.

Update

Wow. It has been a while since I posted. It has been crazy busy around our house and I have just let this slide. Football season was a seemingly unending adventure. We had something every single Friday night as well as several Saturdays. And let me tell you - working a consession stand on Friday nights will wear you out for the rest of the weekend. But, I'll do it all again next season because all that work translates into money for the band. And as wonderful as the band has been for Evan, I'll do whatever they need. Which brings me to this weekend. This weekend we have a Queen of Hearts pageant for the middle school girls. 34 girls - grades 6 thru 8. It's a pretty good fundraiser for us, but man, is it work. Last weekend I spent all day Saturday making sure the band room was clean because that is the staging area for the girls. This weekend, I'll spend Friday night cleaning the classroom we will use for a hospitality room for the parents/kids that will be working the pageant. Saturday, I'll be running the hospitality room. Mom and I are cooking so the workers will actually have some protien and not be running on a cookie/cake/chip high.

What shocked me about this pageant is Evan. Yeah, I'm requiring him to work it. But he's doing it with a smile. Last weekend he helped with the stage artwork. I've scratched out a face and a shirt... I don't know those people that well, so I don't want to put anything identifiable... anyway... Evan helped sketch the poster and even directed the older kids on how to draw what they wanted. He spent his whole Saturday working on this and went back after school Monday to help finish.

But for the night of the pageant he is going to usher - get the ticket holders to their seats. And this is how he MAY look...with an adjustment to the tie. And possibly a smile.  He has another suit and I picked up a bow tie today (black with red guitars) so he may wear that... but I'm not sure. I'll leave it up to him. I'm just glad he's vountarily dressing in a suit.

PS - today is our 20 year anniversary. And we are still alive. And not in jail.

Sadness

Well, it has happened. His heart is broken. I saw it coming. I could do nothing to stop it. What do you do to help a 13 year old boy with his first heartbreak?

I saw it coming last weekend. They have been together (non-stop) for the past 2 weeks due to band camp. Last weekend we took a group of kids to Atlanta to see DCI (Drum Corps International - it's like watching 20 half time shows in a row). I noticed that they never went off together - she always went with older kids. E isn't pushy, he seemed OK with it. But I noticed. One boy in particular, a Senior. What she doesn't realize is this boy is gay. She doesn't have a shot. But he's older and he's paying attention to her. And as an 8th grader, that is very enticing.

Well, last night, he asked her if she wanted to go to a movie today. She dumped him. He sat and stared at the computer screen for about 30 minutes. Didn't move.  When he did move, he went to his room and locked the door. Wouldn't come out to eat. He seems better this morning, but I guess time will tell.

Oh, you stupid, stupid human

This is Daphne. This is my favorite sewing machine. At least, it used to be my sewing machine. Daphne has decided that it is now her throne. Woe be unto the stupid human that tries to remove her.  I think I'll blame my lack of sewing on her decision to take over this space. At least for now. Brat.