Friday, November 30, 2007

Love them!

My dogs live here, they're here to stay.
you don't like pets, be on your way.
they share my home, my food, my space
this is their home, this is their place.
You will find dog hair on the floor,
they will alert you're at the door.
they may request a little pat,
a simple 'no' will settle that.
It gripes me when I hear you say
'just how is it you live this way?
they smell, they shed, they're in the way..'
WHO ASKED YOU? is all I can say..
They love me more than anyone,
my voice is like the rising sun,
they merely have to hear me say
'C'mon , time to go and play'
then tails wag and faces grin,
they bounce and hop and make a din.
They never say 'no time for you',
they're always there, to GO and DO.
and if I'm sad? They're by my side
and if I'm mad? they circle wide
and if I laugh, they laugh with me
they understand, they always see.
so once again, I say to you
come visit me, but know this too..
My dogs live here, they're here to stay.
you don't like pets, be on your way.
they share my home, my food, my space
this is their home, this is their place..
------------ Author Unknown

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Parenting

Why is parenting sooooo hard? I so badly want to trust and believe Alec. He is 13 and in 8th grade, I 'should' be able to, right? But, over and over again we do not get ANY information from him. This Asperger's thing is making me nuts! He is honest, with his belief shared, and fun. He is indeed a wonderful child. Yet, he is like a small child who can not get the information from school to home. I just wish I knew what to do. We try things over and over and over and over again.... I guess I just wanted to get this out. Sign this frustrated...

Sunday, November 25, 2007

Thanksgiving was to give thanks for! =-)


We had a wonderful Turkey Day out at the beach with Bill and Danielle. They also had their neighbors (and our old neighbors) Dennis, Jeff and his daughter Allison (Karma had to waitress). Bill & Danielle's youngest son Mark and his family were there too. The cutest award of the day goes to all of the kids running toward the front yard.. Alec in the lead, with Casey, Allison(10), Peyton (9) and Parker (6) to follow... followed by Aspen (our shepherd). It was sooo cute! I wish I could have gotten my camera fast enough. But kids and a dog having fun. Wonderful.

The food was nothing short of spectacular, as was the wine. Zerba might be my new favorite red wine. YUM. Jeff owns the local Wine Haus. He knows well what to pair with what and what we all like! It is good to have friends... of course, I might still be happy with wine in a box if it weren't for him, and that would be good on my b
budget. Hehehehehehehe.

We ate turkey & ham (which I brought), stuffing, wild rice, potatoes, cranberry sauce, rolls, and three yummy pies..... all of which was homemade (oh except my ham! LOL). Spirited pumpkin, summer berry, and chocolate pecan pie.... OH MY! Awesome.

Friday I made a turkey and we had turkey, stuffing and potatoes again. I had to have lots of leftovers you know... ok the truth is my turkey didn't fit in the freezer so I had to cook it! LOL

I can't believe it is now the holiday season. My shopping for Alec is done. All of the out of town peoples gifts are wrapped and ready to mail. Yahoo! I have one more gift to buy for Casey. I still have one more gift to buy for Mike. I am going to be DONE this week! Wahoo. Mike also got the lights up outside on Friday (while I was shopping). So, on to the next thing.... the inside of the house. It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas.... are you ready? I am getting there!

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Blessings to you...

O God, when I have food, help me to remember the hungry; when I have work, help me to remember the jobless; when I have a home, help me to remember those who have no home at all; when I am without pain, help me to remember those who suffer, and remembering, help me to destroy my complacency; bestir my compassion, and be concerned enough to help; by word and deed, those who cry out for what we take for granted. -Samuel F. Pugh

Monday, November 19, 2007

Sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers...

If you have listened to country music for long you remember this song. Thanksgiving week got me thinking about all of the things I am thankful for..... I found myself humming this song. I won't go into some of my personal unanswered prayers, but it is true... sometimes I do thank God for not answering them.... Here are a few things I am thankful for..... I am sure (like the CMA's) I will miss some important ones..... but some of things I am thankful to God for, not necessarily in order of importance, include:

1. My darling husband (usually the D in DH stands for darling)
2. My two very different and very dramatic boys.
3. Our pets, who remind me of unconditional love every day.
4. My DH's job, which allows me to do my job with CTMH. =-)
5. A new house, that doesn't need fixing up constantly! Wahoo... and a gardener, if only for the front yard! LOL
6. Good friends.
7. Friends who understand me =-) and love me anyway
8. Thanksgiving with the Wade's
9. A DH who is getting into cooking!

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Bacon makes everything better....

Saw that on AOL this morning. I do like bacon, overcooked bacon. But I am not sure it makes everything better. Of course it does make breakfast better! Chocolate, now that might just make everything better! LOL

Ahhh what a yesterday.... Denise came in from the beach for lunch. We went to Applebees. We talked about some serious stuff. It was good though. I feel like I have known Denise forever, but it turns out it is only 3 years. WOW, how is that possible? LOL

Then we headed over to Scattered Pictures Scrapbook Store. But, alas, just before I we walked in the cell rang. It was Mike. Alec is having a very bad day at school, will I go get him. Well, yea, but I am on the other side of Portland, literally. I am east of the city, and we live west of the city... I said I could be there in an hour. Mike called back a few minutes later and said he needs to come home now, so Mike left his conference and went to get Alec. Turns out his math teacher told him that 12 assignments that he redid wouldn't give him any extra points. So, he was very very upset.... as an Aspergers Child would be! Why is it that adults are more frustrating than children. I am sure she didn't mean to upset him sooo, but this literally ruined his day.... he couldn't recover from the hurt and upset feelings. He had spent about 10 hours redoing the work.... That would be hard for any 8th grader.... add the Aspergers and forget it.

This parenting thing is hard. Maybe bacon can make it better? I didn't really focus on the store, that I had never been to. I just worried about Alec. Parenting is so hard. He is so bright and yet so sensitive. So, I spent the rest of the night wondering how to approach this whole situation with the teacher, the school. I KNOW they are doing the best they can. I KNOW we all talk before we remember that Alec has this problem. But, it hurts me to the core when he hurts.... which is most of the time. No wonder I am exhausted......

Today I am going to try to recreate a book I saw at the SB store. While Denise checked out, I sat and looked at how they created it..... very very cute, and it looked pretty easy! The paper layering makes all of the difference.

I hope Alec has a good day today. I hope for no phone calls. I hope that he can live in a bubble where everyone is kind and loving and helpful to him..... I guess these are the things every parent hopes for for their children. =-)

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

BIG stinky feet!

LOL OK, well, not always stinky,but BIG. Alec was complaining about his shoes being tight. So, we went to get him new ones. I must tell you, we passed a milestone. Alec's feet are bigger than Mike's feet. Yes, Alec is now in a SIZE 13!!! THIRTEEN at age THIRTEEN. Wow, big feet. We always knew he was going to be a big boy... we were right!

It was a good weekend. The boys went to the beach for poker and play dates. They all had fun with their little friends. I am starting to realize that next week is Thanksgiving. We are going to Danielle and Bills house. It will be fun, and YUMMY. I am looking forward to it.

I am working on moving our IRA's this morning. Time to be in Oregon 100%! LOL OK, maybe 75% anyway. Why is everything so hard? Ugh. I get it, with identity theft and all, but it is still hard!

So, I am off to the post office to get all my stuff mailed from CKC Seattle! It is going to be a great day! Yahoo.

Friday, November 9, 2007

7 Things About Me

From Denise's Challenge:
1. I am a scrapbooker at heart. I stamp and I make cards, but scrapbooking is my first paper craft love.
2. When Mike and I first got married, in 1989, we had 6 pekingese. I loved it!
3. I was the youngest department chair at the high school where I taught. There were 16 of us in the math department.
4. I used to go to the library at LEAST once a week with my good friend and teaching buddy Jim. He died several years ago of bone cancer. Oh, and the library was really code for out for drinks! LOL
5. When we got married I did NOT want to walk down the isle in front of all of those people. The man who gave me away, Al Anderson, told me, "you made this decision when you were much more sane than now, you are going," Then this 70 something man grabbed me and made me go! LOL
6. I am still friends with my girlfriend Carleen. We met when we were in pre-school in swimming lessons on Shelter Island.... circa de 1968. We were very close through middle school, until I moved to Tucson. We remaied friends through the years, even when distance separated us. I still feel like we pick up where we left off whenever we talk. She is my longest friend.
7. I love the fact that I have both my BS and my MA from the University of Arizona. Red, white, and blue is my favorite combo. So, being an alumni of a red and blue school is perfect! Sorry, just not a duck.....

Finally Friday


On the third day of having Alec home, I am tired! LOL Actually he doesn't have school today, it is a teacher inservice day. We have gotten lots of math homework done, and studying for vocab tests. Ahhh the life of an 8th grader. Since his favorite lunch, totino's pizza, mostly went in the trash...today we went with pizza rolls for him! Yikes. Maybe I should send him off to do some more PE makeup work (aka riding his bike).




All the boys are headed to the coast tonight. I really wanted to play Bunco (and was actually invited) but, I decided to do the right thing and stay home to rest. Maybe I will rent a movie at McDonalds! LOL Mike has poker and the boys are seeing their friends. So, it will be a quiet night for me. Yahoo!




I haven't changed my feelings much on Alec hitting the other kid. I still am OK with it. Mike pointed out that the kids parents could have called the police and gotten Alec for assault. I wonder how that would have played out. Oy.




I am working on my book for CKC and have attached the non-finished product above for your viewing pleasure! Enjoy. Happy Friday.




Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Life on the street....

CKC Seattle was a success! I felt very very fortunate to have help from Terry, Sandy, Paula, and Colleen. I don't know what I would have done without them. I tried very hard to not work hard. It isn't easy for me to ask people to get out idea books and re hang stamps. BUT, I did it. By Saturday night I was exhausted, and shaking! I was asleep before 8pm, even though I only got back to the hotel about 7pm. But, I slept well, got up and drove home. Then I slept on the couch for a few hours. I will say, I think I am back. I feel pretty good. The shingles are almost healed, and hardly hurt now. I am staying on my high sleep and high vitamin regimen! Hopefully in a week or so I will be NORMAL...whatever that means.

Yesterday brought some interesting things from Alec. He was suspended from school. I never could imagine that I would have a child be suspended. Ugh. He was being teased during PE. So, he walked over to the kid and punched him in the face. He hurt one of his knuckles on the kids braces. So, three days OUT. I am not really mad at him. I think that teasing and bullying finally got to him. Alec is a big kid, so if he was really mad, he definitely could hurt someone. Turns out, he hit the assistant principal's son. Oops. I guess I am blogging because I have such mixed feelings about all of this. I don't want to encourage him to hit anyone. On the other hand, there is only so much that one person should have to take. Mike is taking the typical principal stance, he shouldn't hit ever for any reason. He should try to talk it out. I think we are both right...I have such mixed feelings.

On my last note this morning Denise tagged me to type up 7 things. I'll do it, but later! K? Now, to find enough painful work to keep Alec busy for 3 days out of school, without making me completely insane!

Thursday, November 1, 2007

TV Shows

What TV shows do you like? I like these....

1. Kid Nation
2. Criminal Minds
3. Numb3rs
4. Ugly Betty
5. Dirty Sexy Money
6. Boston Legal
7. Brothers & Sisters
8. Dr Phil
9. Grey's Anatomy
10. Cold Case
11. Journeyman
12. Beauty & The Geek
13. Criminal Minds
14. Biggest Loser


This is more TV than I have watched in years! LOL But, I guess with being sick at the beginning of the seasons, I got into some new ones! I was trying to decide which was my favorite... Boston Legal is up there. Numb3rs is up there. I also really like Criminal Minds. What are you watching this season? Do you have a favorite or two or three?