OK..so I am up to round 4 now. Yes the dreaded flu has struck again. Now, call me petty but what is the deal with the main caretaker, who after caring for her children through vomiting, fevers and headaches, sterilizing and re-sterilizing our home, is rewarded with the same flu?? Gosh, I thought I was going to croak there for a bit. Then I lay there moaning (to myself since there is no one listening to me) and I think, how in the world did my little children endure this? Maybe I am just a whimp....but then they haven't spent the last 3 weeks up nights and all day caring for someone else. I might have been a tad worn down from all of that I suppose. Well, I am on the road to recovery now-even managed to get some coffee poured down me-which, I think, probably will help the pounding headache I have going on. A little bit of caffeine withdrawal going on, ya think??
The mad-sci has chosen his words carefully, especially since he has not yet recovered from his valentine errors. He does what he can for me, except for that he is gone to work for 15 hours of the day. Then, when he is home, he keeps a good 20-30 feet distance from me. And I don't blame him. Mostly I don't want him to come down with this because there is nothing worse than a sick man in the house. LOL I have paid my dues--please, please don't let him get it.
Yesterday, when I was flat on my back-except when I was bent over retching, poor Tan-Mann was on his own. He was nice enough to call and report to his Dad each and every time I hung my head in the bucket though. The Mad-Sci found this to be funny. As did my Mother, who TanMann also made sure to notify of my illness. I felt horrible that he was left with nothing to do, and when I would crawl to the top of the living room stairway to check on him he was deeply engrossed in cooking shows!! He must have watched 2-3 hours of cooking on PBS. Could be worse I suppose.
T-Dogg came home and took over man of the house duties. He knows to bring me ice chips and he also managed to microwave dinner for himself and TanMann. I was very proud of him. I didn't actually see how everything turned out but at least they ate something. Plus it was one of the rare times that I had t.v. dinners in the house. Remember those? My Mother always had them, and I would too except for that if you ever read the labels, there is almost no nutritional value at all. So, last week at the grocery store I gave in, because the boys always beg for them and I bought a couple. They were mac&cheese with chicken nuggets and corn. I didn't check but there has to be some nutritional value in that.
At any rate, there were no fires or explosions in the microwave. So T-Dogg must have read the directions and served up dinner for his brother and himself. When the Mad-Sci came home he rewarded both boys for taking care of me and themselves with candy and beef jerky. WTH??
Sometimes I really wonder, what goes on inside the head of a Mad-Scientist.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Monday, February 16, 2009
real love
At 1:30a.m. in the morning here is what I do not like to hear:
TanMann: Mom, I can't stop throwing up.
Mom: (sleeping) mmmhmmm...WHAT? Are you sick?
TanMann: sadly shakes his little head yes
Mom: takes a breath (holy cow, what is that smell!) Did you get sick in your bed?
TanMann: again with the sad shake of his head
A smell permeated my house that two days later I am still trying to get out of my head or my nostrils. Many loads of laundry, a couple of showers and it is still with me. This is round 3 for me with the good ole stomach virus. I should not complain, it is TanMann's second trip down this road in less than 2 weeks and I am sure it is much less fun for him than me. Maybe. He didn't have clean up duty at 2 in the morning. On Valentines day no less, as the MadSci happily snored his way through the excitement and the smell. Do you detect sarcasm there? Good, you should. You see the MadSci forgot Valentines Day. No card-nuthin. It wouldn't be a big deal but it ticked me off that he isn't teaching my boys to what? I don't know..spend money to show your love. Ugh....
My ticked off feelings were made even worse when I stopped at the florist to by my Mother her carnations from the boys. She loves those flowers..and I know it and I NEVER forget. As we stood there I watched at least 20 guys come in with their kids. I was trying hard to keep control of my feelings. When we got back to our car I let out a lecture to my boys that they should never forget their Mom on Valentines Day-even if their Dad who apparently is very busy forgets. "See", I told them, "I am 44 years old and I still go home with Valentines for my Mom and Dad."
T-Dogg pipes up with. "Doesn't Grandpa always buy you chocolate for Valentines Day, Mom?"
Why yes he does son and it is a good thing too. I can always, always count on good ole Dad. And my Mom too I suppose. I am sure she is the one who makes him get up out of his chair and go buy his four daughters our Valentine. The point is, every year I get my little box of chocolates and I can count on it the same as I can count on the sun coming up every day.
So we spent Valentines day at my folks. It was a good day. A bit like Christmas for the boys though. They had been holding out on Thomas' birthday gifts since he had the dreaded flu on his birthday and they weren't coming within 5 miles of our house then. So between birthday gifts (both boys come out ahead on birthday-Grandma doesn't want the other one to feel left out-so they both get gifts) and all of the Valentines they give my boys the living room floor was strewn with clothes, toys and candy. The Mad-Sci called and said come home early and I'll take you out to dinner. Too little-too late..you missed the moment and it is no big deal. Yeah, right. LOL I was still ticked.
Later when the boys and I finally got home (well after 8 p.m.) Thomas surprised me with a brown paper bag that he had decorated with hearts. Seems he and my Mother conspired to put a gift together for me. It was very sweet of both of them and he was rewarded with hugs and kisses from me which he promptly tried to brush off. So I did get a valentine from someone other than my Dad. Sadly, it irked me more and I wanted to squish a chocolate in the mad-sci's face. But would I waste perfectly good chocolate? Not a chance!
All of this was rounded off by being waken up with a sick child in the middle of the night. I'll say this, it is a dang good thing I don't always act on my feelings. Otherwise the Mad-Sci would have found his happy snores interpreted by a pile of flu-germ ridden bed linens off of my child's bed, right on his head. But I maintained and trudged up and down the stairs to the laundry room, a bandanna tied over my face, carefully removed each time I had to stop and hold my baby as he was sick yet again. Any idea how much chocolate a 5 year old will stuff himself with on Valentines Day?? Oh, man I am sure I have made my point here. But my chocolate cravings are at a halt-probably until next year. And that, was my Valentines day.
Today there is no school. And yet again the flu threw a wrench in our gears. The boys and I had planned on taking the Mad-Sci to work, going out for breakfast and then I was to drop them off for a day with my niece. I was to be with my folks and my sisters as my Dad checked in for surgery today. Today my Dad is having his defibrillator put in. Not a huge surgery, not many risks but I am very sad I am not there. And worried. I hate being far away and I hate sitting here waiting for the phone to ring and keep me updated. Which my 3 sisters and my Mother will do. They know that I am way worried by not being there. It is just so much easier to be standing next to my Dad and seeing his eyes when he has surgery.
I was forced to make an adult decision. Stay home, make sure TanMann who is almost recovered gets better. That and exposing my Dad or my Mom to whatever lingering germs we have would not be good. So I am stuck here, my thoughts always with my Dad, trying to not let the kids know that I am worried because I have explained to T-Dogg over and over that his Papa is going to be fine and to TanMann again and again how the machine is helping Papa's heart work. In the mean time, T-Dogg is totally irritated that his brother being sick screwed up his plans for a fun day out of the house. Ahh to be a Mom...or is it to be a daughter..I don't know ......life sure can get tricky though.
TanMann: Mom, I can't stop throwing up.
Mom: (sleeping) mmmhmmm...WHAT? Are you sick?
TanMann: sadly shakes his little head yes
Mom: takes a breath (holy cow, what is that smell!) Did you get sick in your bed?
TanMann: again with the sad shake of his head
A smell permeated my house that two days later I am still trying to get out of my head or my nostrils. Many loads of laundry, a couple of showers and it is still with me. This is round 3 for me with the good ole stomach virus. I should not complain, it is TanMann's second trip down this road in less than 2 weeks and I am sure it is much less fun for him than me. Maybe. He didn't have clean up duty at 2 in the morning. On Valentines day no less, as the MadSci happily snored his way through the excitement and the smell. Do you detect sarcasm there? Good, you should. You see the MadSci forgot Valentines Day. No card-nuthin. It wouldn't be a big deal but it ticked me off that he isn't teaching my boys to what? I don't know..spend money to show your love. Ugh....
My ticked off feelings were made even worse when I stopped at the florist to by my Mother her carnations from the boys. She loves those flowers..and I know it and I NEVER forget. As we stood there I watched at least 20 guys come in with their kids. I was trying hard to keep control of my feelings. When we got back to our car I let out a lecture to my boys that they should never forget their Mom on Valentines Day-even if their Dad who apparently is very busy forgets. "See", I told them, "I am 44 years old and I still go home with Valentines for my Mom and Dad."
T-Dogg pipes up with. "Doesn't Grandpa always buy you chocolate for Valentines Day, Mom?"
Why yes he does son and it is a good thing too. I can always, always count on good ole Dad. And my Mom too I suppose. I am sure she is the one who makes him get up out of his chair and go buy his four daughters our Valentine. The point is, every year I get my little box of chocolates and I can count on it the same as I can count on the sun coming up every day.
So we spent Valentines day at my folks. It was a good day. A bit like Christmas for the boys though. They had been holding out on Thomas' birthday gifts since he had the dreaded flu on his birthday and they weren't coming within 5 miles of our house then. So between birthday gifts (both boys come out ahead on birthday-Grandma doesn't want the other one to feel left out-so they both get gifts) and all of the Valentines they give my boys the living room floor was strewn with clothes, toys and candy. The Mad-Sci called and said come home early and I'll take you out to dinner. Too little-too late..you missed the moment and it is no big deal. Yeah, right. LOL I was still ticked.
Later when the boys and I finally got home (well after 8 p.m.) Thomas surprised me with a brown paper bag that he had decorated with hearts. Seems he and my Mother conspired to put a gift together for me. It was very sweet of both of them and he was rewarded with hugs and kisses from me which he promptly tried to brush off. So I did get a valentine from someone other than my Dad. Sadly, it irked me more and I wanted to squish a chocolate in the mad-sci's face. But would I waste perfectly good chocolate? Not a chance!
All of this was rounded off by being waken up with a sick child in the middle of the night. I'll say this, it is a dang good thing I don't always act on my feelings. Otherwise the Mad-Sci would have found his happy snores interpreted by a pile of flu-germ ridden bed linens off of my child's bed, right on his head. But I maintained and trudged up and down the stairs to the laundry room, a bandanna tied over my face, carefully removed each time I had to stop and hold my baby as he was sick yet again. Any idea how much chocolate a 5 year old will stuff himself with on Valentines Day?? Oh, man I am sure I have made my point here. But my chocolate cravings are at a halt-probably until next year. And that, was my Valentines day.
Today there is no school. And yet again the flu threw a wrench in our gears. The boys and I had planned on taking the Mad-Sci to work, going out for breakfast and then I was to drop them off for a day with my niece. I was to be with my folks and my sisters as my Dad checked in for surgery today. Today my Dad is having his defibrillator put in. Not a huge surgery, not many risks but I am very sad I am not there. And worried. I hate being far away and I hate sitting here waiting for the phone to ring and keep me updated. Which my 3 sisters and my Mother will do. They know that I am way worried by not being there. It is just so much easier to be standing next to my Dad and seeing his eyes when he has surgery.
I was forced to make an adult decision. Stay home, make sure TanMann who is almost recovered gets better. That and exposing my Dad or my Mom to whatever lingering germs we have would not be good. So I am stuck here, my thoughts always with my Dad, trying to not let the kids know that I am worried because I have explained to T-Dogg over and over that his Papa is going to be fine and to TanMann again and again how the machine is helping Papa's heart work. In the mean time, T-Dogg is totally irritated that his brother being sick screwed up his plans for a fun day out of the house. Ahh to be a Mom...or is it to be a daughter..I don't know ......life sure can get tricky though.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Fabulous Friday the 13th
Way back when, 29 years ago, I went on my first date on Friday, February 13. Hard to believe now that my folks let me go,wish they hadn't. I ended up marrying that guy some 7 or 8 years later only to be divorced. Now, that's a different story..but Friday the 13th was our first date, a double date with my best friend and her boyfriend. I wound up in the hospital emergency room at 10:30p.m.. I left the hospital with 70 some stitches in my head. Now you think that would have been a clue...DON'T continue seeing this guy-but what did I do?? Married him. Ahh yes another of life's little lessons...nothing like getting knocked on the head and not paying attention. Ever since that Friday the 13th, and no I have never forgotten it, I stay home. Any Friday the 13th kind of bothers me if you want to know the truth. Never, Never would I watch those Friday the 13th movies.
I have lost touch with all of the people we were with that night. We were in a van, you know..carpet.stereo system, funky lights...disco time. I actually cut my head on a stereo speaker, a speaker that belonged in a home not a van, one of those big ones with woofers and all of that. LOL Woofers...couldn't tell ya what the heck that is I just remember my friend was "into" that. SO this morning as the sun came up I thought of my friend, the van and stereo speaker owner and sent him an email. He is some fancy real estate guy in Florida now. In my email I asked if he remembers the day. He replied with:
"Only about 5 or 10 times a day. Those speakers hang in my garage now but I am pretty sure your DNA is gone"
Hah! That made me laugh and changed my mood for the day.
I was having a rough morning. TDogg woke up an hour early which almost caused me heart failure. He never ever gets up early and I am usually dragging him out of bed. But our TanMann stayed at his friends last night and neither of us slept that well knowing we are missing a part of our link. Anyway, once TDogg was up and I told him how early he was he jumped up and said; "cool, now I can stand in the shower for an hour without you yelling" and off he went. OK...lol whatever floats your boat kid, I was just glad he thought to shower without me screaming about it. After his hour long or so shower, I had an omelet waiting for him. Omelette's are his latest fav for breakfast..and you know, I am here to please. (LOL) Then we played some Wii, I was kicking butt when he remembered that I had promised to let him wear red hair gel today. "Nooo", I said "we only have 5 minutes-not enough time". Let me tell you, once the kid gets an idea he does not back down. SO up we went to do the RED gel! I had him looking pretty dang handsome, he had a lil fohawk (similar style to a mohawk)going on that was all tinted red. And all of a sudden the kids switch flips. He hates it and my only goal in life is to make him look stupid! He then starts pushing it all down with his hands-which are then all covered with red gel and then the bus pulls up. Off he ran yelling something about how I only want him to look like a dork. Lord help us I thought. The kid has white blond hair, pale white skin and a bright white NEW T-shirt on. There was nothing I could do but sit here feeling like crap. I am still out of a vehicle so I couldn't even go rescue him and his hair. Looking back on the whole thing I think he all of a sudden had a panic moment and was worried how he looked. TDogg has always liked to stand out, do things his way. Up until this year....yikes...kids are just plain scary!
Last week end I had all of his friends here for his football birthday party. Which went quite well. Rowdy, but fun....we all had fun. I made TDogg my first ever ice cream cake because HE doesn't like real cake! Even that turned out well- a football field ice cream cake (patting self on back here since kids forgot). We went to bed at about 11 that night, totally exhausted but ready for the next day (his actual birth day) when my family would all be here to celebrate. At 3:30a.m. I woke up and I felt kind of sick but when I looked at the clock I thought; interesting, this is the exact time he was born and then I was back to dream land. At 6:30a.m. TDogg woke me up, and he doesn't feel good. At 6:45 I was holding his head over the throw-up bucket. "This stinks" he said in between ralphs in the bucket. I felt so bad for the poor kid. I laid with almost the whole day, holding him, wiping his face, emptying his bucket and praying to God (a whole lot) that please, please, dont let me get this.
And then it occurred to me. I had spent a good part of last week being sad that he is growing up so fast and that I don't want him to go away from me. I want him to always need me, always think that I am the most important girl in his life...and there you have it. What kid doesn't need there Mom more than when they are sick and throwing up. Careful what you wish for is the lesson there................
ps. I am happy to report that neither myself or the mad scientist have caught that bug. Knock on wood....cuz if the mad-sci gets it, you (female)folks know..that the man of the house is alwaysssssss going to have the bug worse than anyone else...just ask him.
I have lost touch with all of the people we were with that night. We were in a van, you know..carpet.stereo system, funky lights...disco time. I actually cut my head on a stereo speaker, a speaker that belonged in a home not a van, one of those big ones with woofers and all of that. LOL Woofers...couldn't tell ya what the heck that is I just remember my friend was "into" that. SO this morning as the sun came up I thought of my friend, the van and stereo speaker owner and sent him an email. He is some fancy real estate guy in Florida now. In my email I asked if he remembers the day. He replied with:
"Only about 5 or 10 times a day. Those speakers hang in my garage now but I am pretty sure your DNA is gone"
Hah! That made me laugh and changed my mood for the day.
I was having a rough morning. TDogg woke up an hour early which almost caused me heart failure. He never ever gets up early and I am usually dragging him out of bed. But our TanMann stayed at his friends last night and neither of us slept that well knowing we are missing a part of our link. Anyway, once TDogg was up and I told him how early he was he jumped up and said; "cool, now I can stand in the shower for an hour without you yelling" and off he went. OK...lol whatever floats your boat kid, I was just glad he thought to shower without me screaming about it. After his hour long or so shower, I had an omelet waiting for him. Omelette's are his latest fav for breakfast..and you know, I am here to please. (LOL) Then we played some Wii, I was kicking butt when he remembered that I had promised to let him wear red hair gel today. "Nooo", I said "we only have 5 minutes-not enough time". Let me tell you, once the kid gets an idea he does not back down. SO up we went to do the RED gel! I had him looking pretty dang handsome, he had a lil fohawk (similar style to a mohawk)going on that was all tinted red. And all of a sudden the kids switch flips. He hates it and my only goal in life is to make him look stupid! He then starts pushing it all down with his hands-which are then all covered with red gel and then the bus pulls up. Off he ran yelling something about how I only want him to look like a dork. Lord help us I thought. The kid has white blond hair, pale white skin and a bright white NEW T-shirt on. There was nothing I could do but sit here feeling like crap. I am still out of a vehicle so I couldn't even go rescue him and his hair. Looking back on the whole thing I think he all of a sudden had a panic moment and was worried how he looked. TDogg has always liked to stand out, do things his way. Up until this year....yikes...kids are just plain scary!
Last week end I had all of his friends here for his football birthday party. Which went quite well. Rowdy, but fun....we all had fun. I made TDogg my first ever ice cream cake because HE doesn't like real cake! Even that turned out well- a football field ice cream cake (patting self on back here since kids forgot). We went to bed at about 11 that night, totally exhausted but ready for the next day (his actual birth day) when my family would all be here to celebrate. At 3:30a.m. I woke up and I felt kind of sick but when I looked at the clock I thought; interesting, this is the exact time he was born and then I was back to dream land. At 6:30a.m. TDogg woke me up, and he doesn't feel good. At 6:45 I was holding his head over the throw-up bucket. "This stinks" he said in between ralphs in the bucket. I felt so bad for the poor kid. I laid with almost the whole day, holding him, wiping his face, emptying his bucket and praying to God (a whole lot) that please, please, dont let me get this.
And then it occurred to me. I had spent a good part of last week being sad that he is growing up so fast and that I don't want him to go away from me. I want him to always need me, always think that I am the most important girl in his life...and there you have it. What kid doesn't need there Mom more than when they are sick and throwing up. Careful what you wish for is the lesson there................
ps. I am happy to report that neither myself or the mad scientist have caught that bug. Knock on wood....cuz if the mad-sci gets it, you (female)folks know..that the man of the house is alwaysssssss going to have the bug worse than anyone else...just ask him.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Updates
Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face.
— Victor Hugo
OK, so I admit...not a whole lot of laughter going on around here. Already we are on our way into the month of February and that does mean I see a light at the end of the tunnel. Winter will wind down soon but I am not fooled, I know Mother Nature can still blast us full force with more freezing temps and more of the white stuff. When in Minnesota though you look ahead, we tell each other if we get more snow it won't be here long. April is sure to bring Spring. We get a little teaser this week end with above freezing temps and rain predicted.
Funny how weather can be such a huge topic around here and for me it really doesn't matter what the weather is. During one of the last stretches of arctic temps (that means minus 30 temperatures) the Mad Sci blew the motor on our truck so we are down to just one vehicle. That means I am stuck here in the middle of the woods alone. It could be -50 and it makes no difference to me except for that I wont be making the walk out to the mailbox.
We are trying to decide what to do with the vehicle situation. Do we buy new, put a new motor in the truck, buy used??? Who knows. All I know is that the thought of a car payment makes me cringe, especially in this economy. Seems that Mad Sci's job is secure but who can count on anything right now. We will see how this plays out and who wins the battle here. You know there has to be a battle going on over this between the Mad Sci and myself. Not even going to get into that...may the best man (or WOMAN win)! Again I ask, President Obama, when do I get stimulated here?? The banks got it, the big auto guys got it ...where the heck is mine????
My lil TanMan has been home sick-very sick for 3 days now. The dreaded stomach flu has struck. I was called by the school nurse to come pick him up Monday.......but NO CAR HERE! Thank God for family and a close sister who bravely drove my little guy home walked him into the house where he immediately threw up. Thank you son, for holding that til you were out of your Aunt's fancy SUV! It is a rough flu, he was flat out until today and I am working on forcing fluids now.
Now please, please don't let it strike anyone else in this household. A birthday party with 10 little boys is on our schedule for this Saturday. T-Dog turns 9 this week end. It is crazy how fast the time has went. I remember his actual birth day like it was yesterday. Now he will be 9, is almost as tall as me and seems to think that his Mother knows nothing. It makes me sad how fast they grow and then I think only 9 more years and he is an adult. I am halfway to raising him up. Achh..that makes me want to cry. Look back at mistakes, tremble at the thoughts of mistakes still to made and sheer terror thinking of puberty and my child becoming a teenager.
Over the last week I attended teacher conferences for both boys and was pleasantly surprised. Both have adjusted well to their new school and are fitting in nicely. TanMan is doing great, I was concerned with him since he is a young kindergartner, having a birthday in the middle of August. His teacher tells me he is just fine and that I have made a good decision in not holding him back a year. Hooray for Mom!! T-Dog is doing well except for not applying himself like he should. This teacher reported that he does good work when he tries....getting him to try is the problem. We are working on making him responsible for himself as far as his school work. It isn't easy as a Mother to keep your mouth shut and not...well....nag. LOL There I said it......but if I don't nag can I just sit back and let him face the consequences?? Nope, being a parent never gets easier. I know the life of a child does not get easier as they reach middle school either. Lord, why did I wait til my 40s to have children??? Wait........I didn't wait..I tried and tried but you, Lord didn't bless me until then!! Now I figure I'll be experiencing menopause as my child reaches middle school. How scary is that???? Ooooh...wipe that thought clear out of my head...
So my Dad who first battled vocal cord cancer and then a triple heart bypass still keeps my mind busy with worry. Reports from the cancer docs are positive the heart docs are a little more scary. Apparently his heart is no stronger now than before the bypass. Friday we meet with doc to see if a defibrillator is in order. I think my Dad has finally realized that much of his health is up to him. He needs to put his books down and get up out of his chair!! Exercise and diet will hopefully keep him going. I can not and will not think of the alternative.
And then there is my Mother. Great reports regarding her breast cancer from a few years ago. (Is this glass half full or half empty?) A trip to the E.N.T. docs bring us to a nodule on her vocal cord. That is exactly where we were 3 years ago with my Dad and it took 2 more years before they diagnosed cancer. Now what are the odds that both my Mom and Dad would get vocal cord cancer? Hoping and praying it is not cancer and just something else...I don't know what else just don't let it be more cancer.
I am telling you I have had enough cancer and heart trouble going on around here. Yet, I am grateful because we are beating the battles.
Finally a list of things that I have learned in the nine years of being the Mother to two boys:
*Burping and farting, no matter where you are are a great source of laughter. The older they get the funnier it is..to them not to Mom.
*When sent upstairs to brush teeth, boys will stand at the sink, toothbrush in hand with water running but still not actually brush. A Mom has to be there to watch that the brush actually touches teeth. And yes, it is good ole Mom who gets "the look" from the dental hygenist when said boy is getting teeth cleaned andthen merrily skips out of there with Mom trailing, feeling like a failure.
*Boys can wear holes in the knees of jeans that are only 2 weeks old.
*By the time boys are 8, they are way to cool to wear boots-even if there is 2 feet of snow and it is thirty below.
*Boys can eventually get their Mom to spend 2 hours every Friday night watching WWE Smackdown wrestling...and Mom eventually ends up liking it
*It is NEVER cool for a Mom to point out that one of those smackdown wrestlers is kinda cute!
*As a Mom of boys who are way cooler than their Mom ever was it is your job to just make them look like dorks. Just ask my son, he will tell you that is my goal in life.
*Although it is NEVER cool to hug or kiss your babies in public when they are at home sick and flowing with germs you are expected to hug, hold and kiss away those germs in between cleaning up vomit. Expect that if those germs stick on you, the Mom...you are on your own.
— Victor Hugo
OK, so I admit...not a whole lot of laughter going on around here. Already we are on our way into the month of February and that does mean I see a light at the end of the tunnel. Winter will wind down soon but I am not fooled, I know Mother Nature can still blast us full force with more freezing temps and more of the white stuff. When in Minnesota though you look ahead, we tell each other if we get more snow it won't be here long. April is sure to bring Spring. We get a little teaser this week end with above freezing temps and rain predicted.
Funny how weather can be such a huge topic around here and for me it really doesn't matter what the weather is. During one of the last stretches of arctic temps (that means minus 30 temperatures) the Mad Sci blew the motor on our truck so we are down to just one vehicle. That means I am stuck here in the middle of the woods alone. It could be -50 and it makes no difference to me except for that I wont be making the walk out to the mailbox.
We are trying to decide what to do with the vehicle situation. Do we buy new, put a new motor in the truck, buy used??? Who knows. All I know is that the thought of a car payment makes me cringe, especially in this economy. Seems that Mad Sci's job is secure but who can count on anything right now. We will see how this plays out and who wins the battle here. You know there has to be a battle going on over this between the Mad Sci and myself. Not even going to get into that...may the best man (or WOMAN win)! Again I ask, President Obama, when do I get stimulated here?? The banks got it, the big auto guys got it ...where the heck is mine????
My lil TanMan has been home sick-very sick for 3 days now. The dreaded stomach flu has struck. I was called by the school nurse to come pick him up Monday.......but NO CAR HERE! Thank God for family and a close sister who bravely drove my little guy home walked him into the house where he immediately threw up. Thank you son, for holding that til you were out of your Aunt's fancy SUV! It is a rough flu, he was flat out until today and I am working on forcing fluids now.
Now please, please don't let it strike anyone else in this household. A birthday party with 10 little boys is on our schedule for this Saturday. T-Dog turns 9 this week end. It is crazy how fast the time has went. I remember his actual birth day like it was yesterday. Now he will be 9, is almost as tall as me and seems to think that his Mother knows nothing. It makes me sad how fast they grow and then I think only 9 more years and he is an adult. I am halfway to raising him up. Achh..that makes me want to cry. Look back at mistakes, tremble at the thoughts of mistakes still to made and sheer terror thinking of puberty and my child becoming a teenager.
Over the last week I attended teacher conferences for both boys and was pleasantly surprised. Both have adjusted well to their new school and are fitting in nicely. TanMan is doing great, I was concerned with him since he is a young kindergartner, having a birthday in the middle of August. His teacher tells me he is just fine and that I have made a good decision in not holding him back a year. Hooray for Mom!! T-Dog is doing well except for not applying himself like he should. This teacher reported that he does good work when he tries....getting him to try is the problem. We are working on making him responsible for himself as far as his school work. It isn't easy as a Mother to keep your mouth shut and not...well....nag. LOL There I said it......but if I don't nag can I just sit back and let him face the consequences?? Nope, being a parent never gets easier. I know the life of a child does not get easier as they reach middle school either. Lord, why did I wait til my 40s to have children??? Wait........I didn't wait..I tried and tried but you, Lord didn't bless me until then!! Now I figure I'll be experiencing menopause as my child reaches middle school. How scary is that???? Ooooh...wipe that thought clear out of my head...
So my Dad who first battled vocal cord cancer and then a triple heart bypass still keeps my mind busy with worry. Reports from the cancer docs are positive the heart docs are a little more scary. Apparently his heart is no stronger now than before the bypass. Friday we meet with doc to see if a defibrillator is in order. I think my Dad has finally realized that much of his health is up to him. He needs to put his books down and get up out of his chair!! Exercise and diet will hopefully keep him going. I can not and will not think of the alternative.
And then there is my Mother. Great reports regarding her breast cancer from a few years ago. (Is this glass half full or half empty?) A trip to the E.N.T. docs bring us to a nodule on her vocal cord. That is exactly where we were 3 years ago with my Dad and it took 2 more years before they diagnosed cancer. Now what are the odds that both my Mom and Dad would get vocal cord cancer? Hoping and praying it is not cancer and just something else...I don't know what else just don't let it be more cancer.
I am telling you I have had enough cancer and heart trouble going on around here. Yet, I am grateful because we are beating the battles.
Finally a list of things that I have learned in the nine years of being the Mother to two boys:
*Burping and farting, no matter where you are are a great source of laughter. The older they get the funnier it is..to them not to Mom.
*When sent upstairs to brush teeth, boys will stand at the sink, toothbrush in hand with water running but still not actually brush. A Mom has to be there to watch that the brush actually touches teeth. And yes, it is good ole Mom who gets "the look" from the dental hygenist when said boy is getting teeth cleaned andthen merrily skips out of there with Mom trailing, feeling like a failure.
*Boys can wear holes in the knees of jeans that are only 2 weeks old.
*By the time boys are 8, they are way to cool to wear boots-even if there is 2 feet of snow and it is thirty below.
*Boys can eventually get their Mom to spend 2 hours every Friday night watching WWE Smackdown wrestling...and Mom eventually ends up liking it
*It is NEVER cool for a Mom to point out that one of those smackdown wrestlers is kinda cute!
*As a Mom of boys who are way cooler than their Mom ever was it is your job to just make them look like dorks. Just ask my son, he will tell you that is my goal in life.
*Although it is NEVER cool to hug or kiss your babies in public when they are at home sick and flowing with germs you are expected to hug, hold and kiss away those germs in between cleaning up vomit. Expect that if those germs stick on you, the Mom...you are on your own.
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