Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Parenting sucks sometimes.

Teenage Boy has gotten himself into a whole crapload of trouble. EVERYTHING out of his mouth is a lie. He has a 35% in his English class. He has skipped detentions because he didn't tell me he had them.

He has lost his cell phone.

His mp3 player.

His computer.

His swimming lessons.

He is in the process of cleaning out his room. All he will have in there is clothes and his bed. We're hoping that hitting rock bottom will wake him up. This sucks. And he doesn't seem to give a rip. He cried at first but it just seems to annoy him more than anything.

Why am I more affected by this than he is? I want so badly for him to do well. I want so badly for him to feel pride in himself. To be a man of integrity. To have his yes' mean yes and his no's mean no.

When I wake up tomorrow, could they both be happy, well adjusted grown men, please?

Friday, February 23, 2007

Am I a freak?

So how normal is it to have a crush on your children's doctor? I mean, I've heard of other women afflicted but... I never thought I would be one of them. Maybe it's just because they are so good with our kids? So knowledgeable? Can make them feel all better? Who knows. Even though the boys' doctor is NOT my type at all, I find him strangely hot.

Little Boy had his FIVE year well child check up today. Did you hear that? That's the sound of my ovaries exploding. He's almost FIVE years old. What the? Where the? What happened? The good news? He is on the growth chart! For the first time since he was 6 months old, he's on the growth chart! Woo-hoo! Sure, it might only be in the 4th% for weight and 10th% for height but he's on there! That so rocks! Look! Blatant abuse of exclamation points! Get your bad grammar here! Woot! The not so good news is that we are now scheduled for a hearing test on Monday afternoon. Dr. J sat and talked to Little Boy for 20 minutes. Just talked to him and listened to him. (You see why I think he's hot? He wasn't required by blood to listen to a four year old's stories! But he still did!) ANYWAY...redirect... Little Boy had to have ear tubes twice by the time he was two. Part of his Celiac Disease showed up in chronic ear infections and other things. The last time we had his hearing tested (before his 2nd set of tubes was placed) his right eardrum was completely non functioning. After hearing him talk, Dr. J wants to rule out permanent hearing damage. His speaking pattern is indicative of hearing loss. Nothing too major though but it would definitely explain some things! So we'll see on Monday.

Other than that? Not much exciting. He got 3 shots, which sucked. He looked at the nurse and asked her, through tears, why she kept hurting him. He's such a goofball. That made me tear up. He's a goofball, I'm a wuss. Teenage Boy is at a Junior High Boys lock in with our church. Playing in hot tubs and Nintendo all night. Joe is teaching a Taekwondo belt test. He's on his way home now. I'm on my 2nd glass of wine. All is good.

Everyone have exciting plans for the weekend?

Thursday, February 22, 2007

Didya miss me?

It seems like I haven't posted in a long, long time. I guess it has been a few days. We've just been so busy with re-entry and stuff. Joe is still unbelievably jetlagged. He's slept maybe 3 hours a night since he got home. It was an amazing experience for him. He's ready to go back today. I've set him up with his own flickr account so if you're interested he's one of my contacts. He hasn't added any descriptions yet but you can kinda tell what you're seeing. Lots of smiling babies faces.

It's actually been really hard having him home. I hadn't realized how used to being alone I had gotten. I feel like the boys and I got into a good pattern and now that dad's home again, it threw a wrench in it. Ah well...we'll get back to where we were. It's been hard for the boys too. More so than I thought it would be. For the first time in their lives, I'm the one they want! Woot! Joe and I are going to go away on Saturday night. Not far, just to the next town. We rented a suite in a hotel and we're going to go out to dinner. It will be nice to have some alone time.

Saturday, February 17, 2007

Almost there

2 1/2 hours to go until we head for the airport. To say that I'm excited is an understatement. We were supposed to be picking him up right now but the travel agent screwed up. The itineraries that we have show them confirmed on a flight that only flies during the week. How that happened, we have no idea. And the travel agency is closed on the weekends. Anyway, 2 1/2 hours.

Woo-hoo!!

Friday, February 16, 2007

A little bit hyper today

So I had a HUGE coffee this morning. From Star*bucks. (and I loved it, Slinger!) We just got our first Star*bucks and I'm quite happy with it...

Best friend and I are going out tonight. I am so freakin' excited I can't even see straight. We just have so much fun with our girls nights. And the boys get home tomorrow! Woo-hoo!

That is all.

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

My pathetic beats your pathetic any day of the week.

So it's Valentine's Day. And here I sit. On my bed with my laptop on my lap. I'm eating the chocolates that I bought for myself and admiring the flowers that my big brother got for me because he felt sorry for me. Yup. Here I am, a woman who has been married for 10 years this year and I'm all by myself. Who cares, right? It's a commercial holiday that is by no means a measure of how much love someone has for you. So why do I give a rip? Why is this hard? I'm sure it has a lot to do with how close we are to the end of their trip. He'll be home on Saturday night. I'm looking forward to seeing him. I'm looking forward to him being safe again. I think I'm just done. My patience with the boys is at an all time low. I want to be a fun mom. I want to make good memories with them but it's just so hard.

I took Little Boy to the dr. last night. He has had a low grade fever for a week and a horrible cough. He complained about his ears once or twice but then he stopped. When I picked him up from preschool yesterday, I realized that he just looked not well. He had sick eyes. When he was a baby, he was sick so often that I learned those eyes very well. We sat in the office for over 2 hours and the whole time we were there he played. He was acting totally fine. Without a care in the world. But when the doctor looked in his ears, she was amazed. Both of his ears are bright red and bulging and looked horribly painful. AND he has tonsillitis too. Poor kid. They put him on a heavy duty antibiotic and gave him tylenol with codeine for his horrible cough and to help him sleep. So I know that he has been so incredibly freakin' whiny because he doesn't feel well but it doesn't make it easier. And I found out tonight that Teenage Boy has a 35% in his English class. And we're only 3 weeks into the quarter. He's missing a TON of assignments but keeps telling me that he doesn't have homework.

Is it Saturday yet? I'm ready to be off duty.

Anyway...sorry I'm such a downer. Just kinda where I am right now, I guess. Best friend and I got a babysitter for all the kids on Friday night and we are going to go play pool before the husband's get home. 48 hours to go. That will be a nice break.

Happy Valentine's Day one and all!

Monday, February 12, 2007

Lots of little updates

It has been 16 days since Joe left the country. Actually, except for a few days (and minutes and hours every day) here and there, we've done remarkably well. It has been odd though. I never really realized how much the hub of our family he really is. Slinger, take note...even if you don't think you're important, you are. I bought a little cassette recorder that Little Boy has been recording into every day. He's putting things on there that he wants to tell Daddy. The night before I bought this (thanks for the idea, Mom!) he woke me up in the middle of the night just sobbing. I asked him what was wrong and he said, "I just can't remember what I want to tell Daddy!" Broke my heart. The recorder was a great idea. Last Thursday, he was being very naughty at bedtime. He wouldn't go to bed. He finally said that he just wanted to talk to Daddy. So I let him record. He put that recorder to his mouth and said, "Daddy, I'm trying to be really good but I'm just so naughty...so very, very naughty..." He cracks me up.

Joe did buy a satellite phone while he was gone. I've talked to him frequently. They have been having an awesome time. They have delivered a ton of shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child. They were able to go to a children's hospital. Joe was so affected by this. He was telling me about how lucky we are. If the parents didn't have the money up front, their children did not get the medicine. He just text messaged me and told me that one of the baby girl's he saw just died. She had a diaper rash. Her parent's couldn't afford any medicine. A diaper rash. Such a waste.

We are doing better. Maybe it's the wine speaking but we are doing better today. We only have until Saturday and they'll be home. I'm ready to run away!

And I'm done. Too tired to type more. Funny how that is.

Wednesday, February 07, 2007

Not so cavalier

So remember when I said that we were doing well without Joe? Yeah. That was just yesterday? My how things change. I'm tired. I'm sick. I'm ready to not have to be "on duty" all the time. I do have a renewed respect for single parents though. Who takes care of them when they're sick? I just want homemade chicken noodle soup with the real thick noodles. Unfortunately, nobody to make it for me. Oh my gosh, I am such a whiner.

Amer*can Idol comes on in 1/2 hour. That should be good for some mindless entertainment. I kinda feel bad for the clueless ones. I think that their friends need to be hung up to dry. Putting them out there to be humiliated. What kind of a friend is that?

In other news, a bloggy friend of mine is really hurting right now. Just know, dear one, that if there is anything I can do, you have but to ask. I'm sorry for your pain. I wish I could create a band aid that would be effective. Or that I lived closer so I could help you numb your senses.


Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Seriously??

Are you freakin' kidding me???

Elmer Fudd is my idol.

We seem to be surviving without Joe. The day to day stuff is going pretty well. I'm exhausted though. I forget just how hard it is to be both mom and dad to two kids when you're used to having a partner. I miss him. I wake up every night 4 or 5 times...just feeling like something is missing. I have gotten to talk to him quite a bit though and he's having a marvelous time. Already planning on when he wants to go back and bring me too. We're looking at 2 years. Oh...here's a funny...he's been working at some orphanages while he's down there. He wants to start looking into adopting a baby. Yep. Adoption is something that has always been on our minds and in our hearts. Obviously. Teenage Boy is adopted but it's a different situation because biologically, he belongs to Joe. But this is something that he really would like to think about together. So...that's a lot to digest. I wouldn't be adverse to it, I don't think. I'm actually kind of excited about talking more to him when he gets home. We'll see.

I have a bad cold. I'm sounding like Elmer Fudd. He totally rocks, by the way. He set the standard for germ ridden disc jockeys everywhere. He pulls off the nasal congestion so well. And I might be a little bit high from the cold medicine, did I mention that?

My baby is officially growing up. Little Boy had his first sleepover at a friend's house last weekend. He did really well! Slept better than he does at home. And later too. Which is stupid. He's supposed to get up really early when he's at someone else's house! But no, he slept until 8:30. I'm glad he had fun. But he's only 4. I'm just not ready for him to grow up yet, I don't think.

Work is super busy. My next scheduled day off is the day that Joe gets home. February 17. That will make 12 days in a row at the station. On the up side, Saturday and Sunday are only a few hours each day. We have an on air auction on Saturday and I work my last Sunday shift this week, which is only 3 hours. But still. Oi. I'm tired already.

I need some advice from y'all. (Really? I just typed that? And I'm leaving it? I am falling into so many Montana stereotypes right now.) I need healthy, EASY meals for my kids and I. I am really quite ready to start forcing them to eat better but I need to have the time to do it. Any suggestions?

Friday, February 02, 2007

Worth it.


Squishy Lips times 2
Originally uploaded by jesslee23.
Happiness is a boy who loves you anyway. Even when you mess up.