Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Parenting

Do you ever look back at your day and think to yourself, "Crap. I certainly messed my kids up today"?

I feel off. Not sure what's wrong. No patience. No energy. No desire to do much or talk to anyone.

I blew it with Little Boy today. Let's just say that my reaction (or overreaction as the case may be) will be fodder for many a therapy session.


Sometimes I think my kids deserve so much better than me.

Monday, January 29, 2007

Going, going, gone!

I am happy to report that after much drama, Joe is officially out of the country.

A day later than he was supposed to be.

Let's just say that LAX has never seen the likes of the stomach flu that Roy was struck with on Saturday. And that Joe and Roy are now entirely too close of friends. They have seen more of each other than guy friends in their 30's ever should.

Now if I could just figure out the time difference and when he's going to get there exactly, we would be good to go.

Frozen pizza and nachos are healthy, well balanced meals for my children, right??

Saturday, January 27, 2007

So Sad. - UPDATED-UPDATED AGAIN!



Loic's body was recovered last night. They are not releasing any more information at this time. Sheriff Mike Meehan will be having a press conference at 3:00 today to give more details.

This heartbreaking story has come to a tragic end. I can only hope...actually, I don't know what to hope for. The worst has happened. Does it really matter how it came to that conclusion? Would it make me feel better to think that he froze because I can't handle the idea of someone intentionally hurting him? But if that was the case, wouldn't they have found him sooner? They had more than 200 people looking for him for the last 3 days. No stone unturned.

His family is having to go through the hardest thing they will ever experience right now. They have my thoughts and my prayers. Please do the same.

UPDATE: I just found out the details. He was found underneath a tarp in a wood pile less than 10 feet from the garage of the house. He was playing hide & seek apparently. With the temperatures the way they were that night, being in the frozen wood and unable to breathe properly under the tarp, they think that he fell asleep within 5 minutes (they originally thought 15 but they've changed that). After that? He just didn't wake up. It's still so horribly sad. Why didn't he answer his daddy???

SECOND UPDATE: The original details that we were given were wrong. The Sheriff's office issued an incorrect press release. (how does that happen? think somebody might be fired on monday?) He was not under a tarp in a wood pile. He was in the septic tank. They are not sure how he got there. Right now it doesn't look like he was placed there by someone else. There is going to be a huge investigation into the sewer cap and how he got there. It's horrible and tragic. They have the same sewer line that we have and the septic caps are not good. We had to have ours replaced last summer because it kept popping open. It was hinged on one side which is a lame design, IMO. If they had the same kind, there is a chance that he opened it up to look inside and fell. Then it would have fallen closed behind him and no one would have seen that it looked different. They have already done the autopsy and the cause of death was drowning.

It's horrible.

Thursday, January 25, 2007

Update


He goes by Tank. He is blonde haired with blue eyes. He stands 3 feet tall and weighs 40 pounds. Which is why they call him Tank, I guess. They have now officially issued an Amber Alert. The Police Department do not think he is in the area any longer. The Sheriff did release a statement saying that if he was outside last night, it would have been almost impossible for him to survive the weather. I just keep praying that he is curled up in a shed somewhere. We've got a cool playhouse in our backyard...I so wish he was in it.

There have now been reports of a guy going door to door on that street telling people he was selling Tuperware around the same time. He is now a person of interest. Does Tuperware even get sold door to door anymore???

Heartache

There is a 3 year old little boy missing. He was being babysat by a relative and his dad came to pick him up last night around 6:00. His dad put him in his carseat in the mini-van and then went back inside to get his younger sibling. When the dad came back outside, Loic (Loh-ick) was gone. This all happened less than 1/2 mile away from our home. They called the police right away and, by the time we were notified at 9:00, there were over 50 people + police + firemen + dogs out looking for him. We joined in. There has been no sign of him. There is a creek in the area that leads to an aquifer. We are socked in with incredibly dense freezing fog. It got down to 20 degrees last night. He is wearing a winter coat and hat but has no gloves. There is a huge part of me that doesn't think he wandered off. I think he was snatched.

It's 1/2 mile away from my house. How many times has Little Boy been playing outside and I've run into the house to grab something? Just for a minute? Just turned my back? How must his dad and mom be feeling right now?

I am heartbroken for them. I just want their son happy and safe. The town we live in is still very small town mentality. Bad things are not supposed to happen here. The whole town is rallying. But what can we do? Offer our help searching, of course. Make coffee, absolutely. But how does that truly help them? How does that take away the pit in their stomachs?

I will hold my boys tighter and keep them closer. I will not turn my back. For awhile. And then we will get comfortable again. And forget. Why are there bad people? How can someone look at a 3 year old baby boy and want to hurt them?

I don't understand. I am heartsick.

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

How to pass the time.



I swear, I have allot of stuff to do at work. But how could I resist becoming an M & M? I mean, please. Check out my hotness! Uncanny resemblance, is it not? From the becoming pear shape, the fashionable elbow length gloves and all the way down to the camera fixed around her neck. She's me, all right.

Give it a try!

*Yes, I am aware that there is a very slight smidgen of a possibility that I am desperately trying to distract myself from the fact that Joe leaves in THREE days. There is a chance that I am starting to freak a little bit out and just trying to focus on something...anything other than that.*

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Seriously? I'm not drunk enough to watch A.I.

What the heck is going on? Who are these people? How is it possible that they think they're good? What the? The employee and the boss? Just weird. I'm very close with my boss but...just...ewwww...

I've only had 1 glass of wine. I need more to deal with this. I wanna be drunk like Paula Abdul. Apparently insisted is a hard, hard word. When you're trashed on national t.v. I guess.

Of course, I could just turn the channel. But then I would miss her be-bopping to the California Dreaming guy whose eyebrows are more shaped than mine! Wait...he's only 16? Holy cow. There weren't guys like that when I was younger. He's way too metro for me. And now he's on the phone with his unsupportive mama. "She's proud of me...she's proud of me." OK, buddy. I see a stray hair in your coif, I believe. Better check yo'self.

Commercial break. So all I keep seeing today is people talking about how awesome 24 was last night. I've never watched it. How much am I missing? Is it still possible to get caught up this late in the game? Is it worth the attempt?

T minus 10 days until Joe leaves. I'm feeling much more secure about it. I might be looking for someone to buy my surly teenager before he gets back but, other than that? It's all gravy.

Tuesday, January 09, 2007

Dain Bramaged

Yeah! I win lamest post title ever! Woot! (that's for you, Robin)

I've had this little block thing going on. I just can't seem to wrap my brain around anything long enough to get a post formulated. It sucks but that's what it is.

In answer to your questions, Joe is going to the Philippines on a build trip. He is going to be hiking in to a tribe (we're not allowed to know which one yet) and building a church. One of the first buildings that this tribe will have with a complete foundation and real walls. Pretty cool. Then he gets to go to all these little villages and deliver shoeboxes. Have you ever heard of Operation Christmas Child? That's what he gets to do. That's going to be the really fun part. He digs kids so much and he's going to give them their first Christmas present ever in some cases. I'm feeling better about him going, mostly because I can't change it. Why fight it? I wouldn't want him to stay here. I know he's supposed to go so I know he'll be safe.

That's all I've got for you today. Joe's brother and his family are in from out of town so we've been swamped with familial duty. We ended up with all the kids at our house on Saturday night because Jason hit his head while we were sledding. He had a Grade 2 concussion and was hospitalized overnight. He's ok now and will have a great story to take back to the firestation in Southern Cali.

And now my brain is done.