I Can't Say It Enough

I think the vast majority of the people who read this blog know me well enough that they know what a horrible yet miraculous roller coaster ride these last few days have been. You've been there offering your time, your ear, your prayers, and your help. I HATE that it takes times like these to bring home yet again just how blessed I am but boy am I glad to be! So, to everyone who's been there for me the last few days...thank you. You're wonderful and I hope you know how much I love you all!

Oh! God? I couldn't leave you out. Thank you for blessings beyond belief and a huge Christmas miracle. I love You!

Ahhhh...

-No rushing around and nowhere to go

-A steaming good cup of coffee in my cozy chair

-The smells of baking zucchini bread

-Good food all day long

-Family reading time with the boys

-Planning the menu for the week

-Boardgames

-The sounds of my cheering boys

-The sounds of Football on tv

Must be Sunday at our house!!! :0)

PS: I'm not sure if it'll last and it's not 100% but I AM feeling better today!

I Could...

-blog a meme as I've seen a couple out there.

-do a Saturday six post I've been working on but it's been a mind bender and isn't finished.

-tell you about a few of the crazier things happening here the last few days.

-put myself out there and ask for questions from readers. Nah...I'd just be embarrassed that no one responded LOL.

I think I'll just cheat again and leave you with a couple of pictures. Care to guess where we went today????




ETA: Please enjoy the fierce look. He's really not mad. The doctor noted his football jersey and pretended to think he'd been injured in a big game so that's the look he was going for. He loved every minute of it! Well, that and the 2 (yes, 2) "very hot looking" nurses fawning over him. No one senses Cory's influence there, right? ;)

Happy Fourth and A Note

I hope you all had a happy, safe holiday weekend. We certainly did. The boys were well behaved all day, the weather was nice, and the fireworks were fun. We had snacks, sparklers, and a great place to watch from. I DID forget to take my camera. Bummer lol. Anyway, it was a really great night.

Now. A quick note about my prolonged bloggy absence. I started posts several times but they never made it to "post." There was one that did but I deleted it within a short period of time because it seemed too pity party and attention-seeking. Not that it wasn't true, just...I don't know. Suffice it to say that from about March through early June things were NOT so good. Some of it was dealing with the boys' behaviors but probably more was me. Their behaviors weren't new. We were in a "mega backslide" but it wasn't anything I hadn't seen before. It's just that after 3 years of dealing with those issues, I was anxious and aroused myself. Feel free to add in a healthy dose of depression and exhaustion from those same years of having children with sleep issues. In other words, they DON'T. Sleep that is. So I don't. Anyway, I was just NOT in a good place. I've never gone too much into detail about the boys' behaviors and it seemed like that was my life. Everything, no matter how big or small, was the straw that broke my back. I didn't know, and I'm still not really sure about this, how much I wanted to share. It made writing hard.

At any rate, things are currently better. I'm still exhausted but not quite as much as before. Behaviors are leveling out for the time being. The summer so far has been mostly rejuvenating, for all of us. My anxiety is much more under control. I have a handle on it now. I guess I tend towards being an anxious person anyway but the last few years with so much out of my control, mainly the court case and the boys' behaviors, saw it grow to a proportion I have never before had to deal with. Anyway, I am dedicating this summer to as much fun and healing (physically and emotionally) as we can get!

A Lot of Nuthin'

I haven't had a whole lot to say recently, obviously. There's just not much new going on. We're plugging along doing the day to day grind. We're enjoying the begining of spring weather and I'm looking forward to the summer for now. I intend to enjoy it a lot more than last year, which we all refer to as the summer that wasn't LOL.

Updates on each of us~
Cory is still rocking the school year. He's doing great with little help or guidance from me. I hope he can keep this up. I'm really proud of this new found independence. He had a mega spurt of disrespect going on but has really turned that around.

Ty is doing well too. He really didn't have any problems except for reading. He's in 6th grade and was reading on a 3rd grade level and then not passing his AR quizzes. AR quizzes are short computer quizzes on regular books that kids might read anyway. It's a good way to get kids to like reading more. Anyway, he's now taking and passing 5th grade level quizzes so he's put some effort in and is doing much better.

Jay's doing great in school. He's reading the same books Ty is and passing them so he's in 3rd reading on a 5th grade level. His struggle is in Math but not so much that I'm worried about him. Behaviorally he's going through a rough patch. I'm tired, he's testing. Still, we're dealing with it and I hope I don't jinx it by saying I think we're on the downside of this backslide.

Logan is reading up a storm and is doing well at school. He's behaving slightly better too. I still see the same behaviors but they're not quite as frequent.

I haven't been subbing much and except for not making the extra money I don't mind too much lol. I LOVE teaching but subbing is a lot different and I really don't like it.

That's about all for now, folks!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Ok, so maybe I was just kidding around with the title of the post. Maybe. A little. We did the traditional group shots as well (one "real" shot and one goofy one). I am not impressed with any of the pics this year actually. I love my boys and they are handsome and photogenic when they want to be. But this year? Cory was making funny faces in all of them, Ty's hair needed brushed, J pouted in a lot of them, and L's shirt was wet, which I didn't notice until later. I swear. So leave me alone, ok? He's also NOT wearing his backpack. Which is hysterically ironic because now? Every day since? It goes on directly after his clothes and stays on. It's on before he eats, brushes his teeth, or even puts his shoes on. Sigh. Whatever! LOL.

Catching Up

Obviously I've been neglecting my blog. It's so strange how you can feel so busy and yet not feel like there's anything to write about. Anyway...here's what's been up in our lives since last I wrote.

Ty has been sick. Where he caught it I don't know but mono has been going around and he caught it. He's coming into week three of being down with it. He's been feeling pretty good for a while now so the hardest thing on him has been the restricted activities that go along with it. He's missed bike riding the most but is also upset because he'll be missing the first two soccer practices of the season.

I've been getting some big projects done around the house. Well, maybe not big but things above the normal daily routine. I took apart, cleaned, and fixed the ceiling fan in my room; hoed out Ty's closet, deep cleaned the kitchen, and prepared for a yard sale. Which we have yet to have. I've also managed to swing us a vacation! We're going to be camping at a campground that has a lot to do and where we got a great deal. We'll also be going to some attractions that are in that area as well. We're all really excited. We leave Monday and will be back Friday.

In amongst all of the yard sale prep, cleaning, and vacation planning and prep....I GOT AN INTERVIEW! I went this morning at 8:30. It's not a full time position (and I'm not even sure it's permanent), but it's perfect for me for this year. It's 4.5 hrs/day maximum but the hourly rate is GREAT so I'd have wonderful hours and still make the most money I've ever made in a year lol. The interview went well as far as I could tell but I don't have a feeling if I got it or not. If I don't it just wasn't meant to be. Of course I'll keep you posted!

There's been nothing more on J and L's case, though something MUST be happening soon. I have reason to think that the next hearing (goal change) will be happening within the next few weeks. As far as behavior goes things have settled down. Still no rages since visits have stopped. None. I HAVE figured out that although L is physically 4 and smart as the dickens, somehow behaviorally he is more like 18 months-2 years. He needs a lot of supervision. In my head I've seen this for a while now but it's really hit home this summer. Two cases in point: he recently had a sticker on as we got in our car. We hadn't left the parking lot from where he'd gotten it when I heard, "Mom, he ate his sticker." Then just a few days ago I had to take him to the ped to have his ear flushed because he'd stuck a piece of bird food in it. I know, I know. Lots of kids do that. But most do it earlier, like at 2. He's non stop and it can be exhausting, though I don't want to seem like I'm complaining. It just is what it is.

School starts a few days after we get back from our vacation. So we need to be getting ready for that as well. And in good news I was approved for a car loan so I will possibly be looking into getting something with more seating after things settle down a bit. Exciting times!

Maybe Tomorrow?

This has been a week of getting nothing done. I thought I had to work Monday afternoon so I took L to the sitter's. Once I got home to get a few things done and get ready to go I discovered that it was the next day that I had to work. Ok, no problem. I'd use the rest of the day to really get the house back in order from the weekend, right? Sadly, it wasn't meant to be. I had no sooner gotten settled in the "zone" when L's pre-school called (he goes to the sitter in the am and preschool in the pms when I work). Could I come get him? Or at least look at him? He had a rash. So we spent the day in the doctor's office only to discover that it was, as I had said from the beginning, a bug bite that he was reacting to. So Tuesday it was off to the sitter's, back home to do a little, then off to work a half day. What with Cory's scouts and counseling for J we had a busy evening as well. Today I was gone all day and accomplished only 2 things...waiting in the DMV to renew my license and picking up my new hearing aids. Then this evening it was off to the high school baseball game for a "go-see-it" for J's scout troop. I have to admit I enjoyed the game a lot. The weather was nice, the boys were good, we won lol, and I ran into a friend I haven't seen in a long time. We chatted the whole game. So all in all it was a pleasant evening. However my house is an utter disaster lol.

Oh well. There's always tomorrow lol.

Turn, Turn, Turn

I'm begining to dread mornings. This morning started early with noise from the lil' boys room. We're finally all downstairs for breakfast when J starts lol and says, "Does that say what I THINK it does?" I go to the fridge and see spelled out in magnetic letters "F you." J hates reading his hw book every night but THAT he can sound out. Anyway...it didn't start the day off on a good note. (Turn around-When I finally dealt with it tonight Tyler admitted to doing it just to fool around. Discipline calmly handed out and it's dealt with.)

It's Thursday and if I'm not working it seems to be my cleaning day. I got a lot done. (Turn around-we hadn't been home 20 mins when the house was trashed.)

My cousin Dawn watched Jand L (Cory was at tutoring at school) so that I could take Ty for a doctor appointment. He's been having stomach issues and I was getting worried. (Turn around-he probably just needs more fiber.)

Jay kicked me on my shin so hard I have a bruise. He was only joking and kicked harder than he meant to but it's still NOT acceptable. (Turn around-He felt bad and apologized. We also all had a serious talk about the house rules at dinner time. Beneficial to all I hope.)