Apparently, insanity is catching

Our house is a Noah's Ark of sorts. We don't let our animals breed (I believe in spaying and neutering) but they seem to keep coming. Currently, we have Choc (a chihuahua), Daphne and Aflac (cats) and Halfa (a bird). Not once have we said "Hey, let's go get an animal. Because we need something to clean up after and feed." But someone calls with a story about an animal that needs a home. Or we see a neighbor's cat that we think isn't being fed. Or a bird just flies out of nowhere and lands on Mike's shoulder - I wish I was kidding.

We've had quite the year and Evan has born quite a bit of the brunt of it. Unintentionally, but still. He has had it pretty rough and has felt very alone at times. I know, puberty doesn't help those feelings. But he's an only child, and none of the animals are really bonded to him. Choc is MY dog. He will sit with other people, but when I sit down, he comes to me. No questions. The cats? Well, they just kind of ignore everybody. The bird is no fun, even when she is not in her cage. And Evan has been asking for a dog. One that will be his. One that doesn't look like a rat.

So. My brother adopted a dog in December. He and his wife have always had Boxers. Their latest one died in November, so they went right out and got another. He is a sweetie. He had been chained to a tree and was barely getting a cup of food a day. That is nowhere NEAR enough for a Boxer. He's pretty gentle and will go to sleep standing up if you are petting him. But, he is very jealous of my brother. And last week he jumped on, scratched and growled at my 1 year old nephew. So, they made the decision to find him another home.

Guess who is taking him in? We are picking him up Friday... Meet Wags.

3 things

I totally stole this from Miss Grace... but I think it will make me feel better. The object of this exercise is to list 3 good things going on.

1. I have awesome things planned this weekend - a mini-reunion of people I was in marching band with in high school, a book signing for a high school friend that has written a book and seeing my nephew in a karate demonstration!
2. I'm getting to spend a lot of time with my sister's kids.
3. Evan is doing well in school and has made friends with some new kids.

That's all I can think of for the moment.

Update

Thanks, everybody, for the kind words. We have seen this coming for a while. But until she hits this point, there is not a lot that can be done to help because she doesn't think she needs it.

Yesterday she wore Mom out. My sister-in-law and I did dinner/desert so Mom didn't have to. Dinner was waiting when she got home with the 2 kids and their stuff. We helped unload the car and get things set up. Earlier in the day my brother-in-law had brought the crib. He recognizes that this will not be a short term situation.

Some of what Mom and BIL went through:

• She was completely ignoring the kids
• She wouldn't bathe which is VERY unlike her - she is usually dressed to the "T", make-up and hair perfect
• She would talk obsessively about what she had done (won't go into that) and that the police were coming to get her (there is no reason...just paranioa)
• When not talking, she would look off into space

They finally got her to the doctor around noon and the doctor agreed that she needed admission. But. There was no open room on the psych floor. They finally called around 3 today - which meant BIL had a rough night of listening to her.

Today I went over to Mom's to help her out. She needed to sort through what she brought to see what she still needed. About noon, Little Sister decided she needed to see her kids. So BIL brought her over. Truth be told, I think BIL just needed a break, because she ignored the kids unless they were shoved in her face. But I don't begrudge him that break. He SO needed it. But by this afternoon she was trying to convince us she was fine and didn't need to go to the hospital. Um, too bad and none of us are stupid. She tried to keep talking to me and I had to tell her that the didn't need to be talking about this in front of her 3 year old daughter.

Anyway, she is where she needs to be, safe, getting the help she needs. And maybe THIS time she will stay on her meds. Maybe. But probably not.

Why???

Why are people that are not capable of caring for themselves perfectly able to have child after child?

Yet again, my sister has gone off the rails leaving her husband and my parents to deal with the mess. She is being committed today. Again. Thoughts and statements of suicide. I know she can’t help what goes on in her brain. But she knows that medication helps and she refuses to take it. And knowing that she had these problems, she had 2 children that are innocent. One is 3 and very smart and intuitive– she knows exactly what is going on around her. The other isn’t a year old yet. Oh, and mom found an ovulation kit by her computer today. So is she planning number 3???

So, as my mom and brother-in-law make plans to hospitalize my sister, my sister-in-law and I make plans to help my parents care for the 2 kids. I’m sure this isn’t what mom and dad had in mind when they retired. But we are all lucky that they are healthy and glad to help.

My trip...

Well, I'm back. Spent last night in Atlanta seeing Hurricane Bells, Start of Track and Field and BLUE OCTOBER!

Char and I had an amazing time! A relaxing drive, a beautiful, quaint hotel, an incredible dinner and the concert. It was a much needed break. And I'm so glad she was there with me - she tends to push me to do things that I normally wouldn't do. Like hang around the bus and get pics with all the band memebers! We got 3 pretty quick, but we had to wait for the lead singer. A long time. But it was so worth it. He signed our tickets and took a picture. They were all very nice and laid back about all the fan stuff. Anyway, it was everything I wanted and more!

And yes, I look scared to death...but part of that is lack of visible brows....
Back to work tomorrow....

Boys will be boys...

A growing boy...

I'm hoping that tonight I will have a little time to post some pictures fromt his weekend. We took a weekend trip to visit family and had a blast! Some things I learned:

1. I need sunscreen, but not much, when it's 70 degrees and sunny. We sat by the pool all day (5 hours) and I didn't even get pink, except for the few places I didn't get sunscreen. Apparently, SPF 8 was more than I needed.
2. Evan (11 yrs old) is now old enough to get a girl's phone number. A 13 year old girl. Whom he promptly ignored after getting said number.
3. Boys will play barefoot in the sand and water even when it is 50 degrees. They just can't resist.
4. Boys will climb trees even if the tree branches out over Mobile Bay and there is a very good chance they will fall into the freezing water.
5. Short hair is awesome. I may never let it grow out again. I never would have cut it this short by choice...and it may not be the best look for me. But I don't care. 5 second hair care is under-rated.
6. Giving Evan a cell phone has made things so much easier and so much harder at the same time.