Let's try this again. LOL

I'm going to really make a conscious effort to post every day this month. Wish me luck! LOL

We're starting off the month with two sick kids. Korinne is on antibiotics for a sinus infection. And now Jackson's running a fever. Both are coughing a lot. Jackson to the point of gagging. Looks like we'll be going back to the doctor on Monday. With Jackson's history, his doctors don't take any chances when he has a cold and is congested. At this moment, he is curled up on the couch sleeping. My poor baby. :(

Jay is grumbling because he has to clean the kitchen. Oh boohoo! I did a whole hell of a lot more when I was his age. Justin is impatiently waiting for Jay to finish so we can all watch a movie together. LOL

Jimmy's fine and my voice sounds like I've been at a concert all night. LOL Oh and I can't believe I'm going to admit this, but I'm so glad I have my part time job. I get paid Wednesday, and thank goodness! Cause rent went up, due this week, plus the van payment is due. Oh and I have to say, it's a reprieve from instigating, whiny, annoying kids. LOL

America's Most Hated Family

If you do a search for "America's most hated fmaily" you will most definitely come across the biggest whack jobs ever! Now I believe in God. I don't go to church, I do pray. I'm not judgemental (usually) on other people's belief's. But this family...they picket the funerals of soldiers with signs that say "Thank God for 9/11" or "God uses Terrorists." I can't believe there are really people out there that believe this stuff. And it's not really the one family...it's a small church. However, it's the daughter of the "preacher" and her 11 children that do the picketing. And her younger children when questioned about their use of "fag" didn't even understand what they were referencing to. One child when prompted by the journalist said the Swedish were included in their picketing. They insult people that question them. The kids have no friends in school because they tell all their peers they're going to hell. One insists she'll never get married because her main priority is serving God. Now I know there are nuns that do that. But this girl was just different about it. From what I've learned, nuns consider it a calling. This girl considers it a sin to "seek" a husband. It's just weird all around. Yet I can't seem to turn off the tv and go to bed.

Oh and the pastor, when asked how many children he had, evaded the question. Insisted the journalist was wasting oxygen. Makes you wonder if there is polygamy invilved.

Like I said, I'm not anti-religious by any means. But these people tend to make me want to stay away from church and any type of organized religion.

Honestly, after watching this program, I'm convinced this family is so out there, they're anti-America. They have picket signs that say "God Hates America" for crying out loud!!! They truly believe that God is the reason for 9/11, that America, as sinners, deserved it. That our soldiers out there fighting for our country, deserve to die because they're all sinners. This is from the Westboro Baptist Church. According to them, everyone but their church members are going to hell.

I'm still shaking my head in disbelief. I'm watching this on one of the Discovery channels. Next time, I'll just avoid the program.

AAACCCKKK!!!!

I need a vacation! I'm being pulled in so many directions. With Christmas coming up, I have to find gifts for the kids. I'm trying to deep clean the apartment. By that, I mean, going through all clothes and toys and getting rid of what's not worn or played with. We decided to switch the rooms again. Moved Jay and Justin back together and set up the bunk beds. Ok I did that by myself today. I didn't lift the top bunk by myself, I'm not that strong. LOL I got one of the maintenance guys to help me when I saw him driving by in the golf cart.

Ok so I spent all day doing laundry and rearranging rooms. I had Jackson's crib converted to a toddler bed, but changed it until we move the tv out of their room. I don't want him to pull it down on top of him. Aside from the tv, I almost have Jackson and Korinne's room finished. I have to finish going through her clothes and then go through the toys in the closet. Next comes the boys' room. Going through all of their clothes. There's no toys in there, so that's one less thing to do.

I already went through Jackson's toys and have 4 people from Freecycle coming tomorrow to pick stuff up. I have a large container of toys that I think I'm going to cut in half and donate to MUSC. No need to go through his clothes though, he hasn't changed sizes in a year! Though I do have to go through all the clothes that were given to him that won't fit him for a couple of years.

Now let's add in basketball practices for Justin that started tonight. Korinne's cheerleading practices should start soon as well. I'm still working, though I have an easy week this week, only 3 days. However, one of the office people wants to start training me for office work this week, learning how to audit tills and do overrides and all that. No pressure there.

Oh and then there's the online course I'm supposed to be taking to get my insurance license back. He wants me to have it before the end of the year. Then I'll start training on working from home before I start actually working from home. I'll keep my job at the store though.

At some point I'm going to snap. I have got to clear my head. I have to remind myself that this won't last. It's only a month right? LOL It won't last. I know this. ::::::::breathing deeply::::::::::

Wow that was therapeutic! LOL

I really hate shopping!

Today, I went shopping...not for Christmas. But because Jackson needed clothes. He's still in size 12 month clothing and I couldn't find anyone to donate upper or lower hand clothes to him. My nephew Christopher turned a year old in April, and while he's a chunky monkey, he can stillwear 12 mos clothes.

So today I went to Once Upon A Child and browsed through lots of clothes just to find things that would fit him that weren't the same price as buying brand new. That was a nightmare!

So if any of my friends have any clothes in size 12 months, maybe 18 months that their babies can no longer wear, please help me out. I would so appreciate it.

Was I this immature?

I have this neighbor, she's 18. She lives with her boyfriend, brother and two other guys. One of the guys, A, I'm convinced wants to be with her even though he's on and off with the mother of his baby. J (my neighbor) and A work together. Her brother doesn't have a job, her boyfriend, F, just started a job and the other guy is rarely there, so I'm not sure if he has a job.

Well J tends to confide in me (as does A.) J came over today and said she'd taken a pregnancy test...3. Two were positive, one was negative. She went to her gyno yesterday and the test was positive, but they were unable to detect anything on an ultrasound.

So this afternoon, she rode with me to get my paycheck and I bought her a pregnancy test and had her take it. It came back negative. Now I've had some false positives in my past experiences, so I wasn't surprised either way.

She told me that F said if she was pregnant, they could give the baby to his parents and the baby would never know otherwise. This tells me, that even though he's adult enough to play, he's not adult enough to be responsible. I was completely appalled by this. That's the mom and adult in me. She said she would never get an abortion and when I brought up adoption, she asked if we wanted the baby. It was said so nonchallantly that I was taken aback. I said, I would gladly adopt, but that we couldn't afford it. I informed her that there were so many couples out there that cannot have children and wanting to adopt.

Given their attitudes and ages, I pray the test she took today is true and she learns something about birth control from this.

I became pregnant with Jay when I was 19. I was told I would not be able to have children due to PID. So it was quite a surprise when I learned I was pregnant. Never once did I think of any option other than having him. I was even willing to do it by myself. But I was not going to just give up. And abortion was NEVER an option. I just don't understand young people anymore. Things that are so important seem so blase' to them.

Happy Thanksgiving...and more

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!

We're cooking up a feast. Turkey, chicken, maybe some ham, homemade mac and cheese, homemade mashed taters, some veggies, rolls and a couple of pies. It's gonna be just us, though my sister and her family will stop by so she can get her fix of homemade mac and cheese. I invited one of my boss's cause her family is scattered this year.

Black Friday. I don't venture into any stores on this day. However, I may break that rule this year when I saw that Walmart has 20" bikes for $29. The boys need new bikes so I may venture out that day just for bikes. And hope I come home without an arrest warrant or looking like I've been in a barroom brawl. LOL Wish me luck. LOL

This is why I don't do drugs. LOL

Illegal or otherwise. This morning I woke up in horrible pain. Horrible cramps that come once a month. It was hard to do my chores. So I decided to take a lortab leftover from last month when my wisdom tooth was inflamed. I knew that even though I had to work tonight that the effects would be worn off by then.

So I take this pill and go on with laundry, cleaning the living room, dining room, kitchen, hallway and hall bathroom. I also measured the two bedrooms the kids are in as well as their beds and dressers. (We're about to move the two older ones back together and set up the bunk beds.) I was flying high, all woozy, cleaning like crazy. LOL At the same time painting with Korinne and coloring with Jackson.

Lunchtime comes around bringing naptime. Jimmy comes and goes on his lunch break. I put Jackson down for his nap and Korinne and I head to my bed. I slept so weird that I was dreaming that I was still awake and getting frustrated that I couldn't nap. LOL And talk about some really weird dreams! LOL When I woke up from my nap, I actually felt refreshed with no cramps.

So while my home looked great for a few hours, I think I'll pass on the drugs. LOL

Appalling!

While checking my AOL mail, I came across this article. It lists North Charleston as the 7th most dangerous city in the US. I never liked living in North Chuck. NEVER! I'm so glad I moved us from there. I know we're only 15 minutes away, but still. I think I wanna move outta state now. LOL

Some random pics...

This is a picture of Korinne eating her birthday cake.

The other night while getting ready for work, Jimmy yelled for me to look out the window. After doing so, I grabbed my camera and ran outside snapping the whole time. Another night a few days ago while I was at work, Jimmy took this pic using my camera. Can you see the beautiful butterfly?

Does this catch me up? LOL

Ok I know it doesn't. But there are 30 days in November, so maybe posting 30 posts will help me sorta reach my goal. LOL

Jackson has been talking a lot more since he's been in speech therapy. This week, I taught him how to say 'I love you more' and 'I love you the most.' He says, "I luh you Mo." and "I luh you mos." So cute! Because he's in Babynet for speech therapy, he automatically qualifies for school next year. A couple hours a day each day. I am so not ready for that! Korinne starts kindergarten next year. I thought I'd for sure have Jackson home at least two more years! All to myself!

I know it'll help him more. I've just enjoyed having my children home with me. I wanted to be able to enjoy Jackson with me. Sounds stupid since he'll only be gone for a couple of hours. But those are two hours I'll miss of him before I legally have to send him to school, or homeschool if I chose.

Why does time go by so fast? Or seem to?

Time for a toddler bed...

Well it looks like it's time for Jackson to move from the crib to a toddler bed. He managed to climb out of his crib and opened his door today after his nap. I was napping too. LOL I woke up as he was running down the hall yelling, " 'Ello, Mama!" So it looks like I'll be looking into a toddler bed, as well as better gates to block him from the kitchen and living room. That way when he gets up, he's stuck in the hallway or coming into my room. (We have the childproof thingies on the doors so he can't go into any rooms.) I need to find gates we can attach to the walls so they can't be knocked or pulled down. He's mastered the gates we have now by pulling them. LOL Any idea where I can find some of those gates that won't cost me an arm and a leg? LOL

Bad me!

Well there goes my goal of posting every day this month. LOL I've been so busy that I haven't been able to get online. That's evident by my full email boxes. LOL

I started an online course today to get my insurance license again, so I can work from home. Since I have experience in automobile insurance, it's really just a refresher course. I'm sure I'll be able to get my license back with no problems. But trying to take a course during the day (since I work at night) with Korinne and Jackson home is a little tricky. LOL

So sad...

Jimmy goes back to work tomorrow. I'm so sad! I've loved him being home the past two weeks. I've become spoiled by it. Spending so much time with him. I really need to win the lottery so he wouldn't have to work. He could just do side jobs at whatever home I would buy. LOL

Friends of Bob and Tom...

was friggen awesome! I laughed so hard my cheeks hurt. LOL We were in row B. It was awesome being that close. Jimmy bought me a shirt that says "Say it to my face" and underneath "Donnie Baker." He signed the back with my name and wrote "Nice booty (arrow pointing down). Was here. I swear to God I was." And signed his name. You'd have to know who Donnie Baker is to get the joke. LOL

Suffice it to say, Jimmy and I had an excellent time. Well worth the wait since I bought the tickets in August. LOL

Of course, the other comedians were just as funny. We'd seen Drew Hastings when he was here last year. But there were new ones this year. Chick McGee was here again. He's one of the DJs on the Bob and Tom Show. There was also Greg Warren (Flute Man Greg!), Larry Reeb and Tim Wilson. All hilarious in different ways.

Happy Birthday, Justin!

My Justin turned 7 today. I baked him some cupcakes and took them to school during his lunch period. Korinne had lunch with him and I sat with him. His teacher gave him a pin that said "Happy Birthday." One of his classmates didn't want her cupcake, so Justin gave it to another teacher whose birthday was also today. Wasn't that sweet?

After Korinne and I left there, we went to Jimmy's work to pick up his paychecks, returned home so he could sign them, then I went off to run errands. Before I went to work, I signed Justin up for basketball and Korinne for cheerleading through City of Charleston/St. Andrews. They get to keep their uniforms. I can't wait to send out pics of Justin in his basketball jersey and Korinne in her little cheerleading uniform. They're going to be so cute!

I had to be at work tonight at 6:30. Was supposed to work until 11, but there were two of us on schedule until 11. Even though the other woman was there a lot earlier than me, she let me go home since I have to be back at 7am.

Tomorrow, after work, I might be able to squeeze in some grocery shopping before I pick up my mother. She's spending the night and babysitting while Jimmy and I go see the Friends of Bob and Tom. I cannot wait! I'll share that show tomorrow night. :)

I have the most wonderful husband!

I really do. Here he is out of work for his knee and has been spoiling me! I love him. He's my lobster. :)

This and That.

I got my first official paycheck today. (Well I got one two weeks ago, but it was only for $24. LOL) I was so excited because I had to put $120 in Jimmy's bank for the van payment. That would have left us with about ten bucks in the bank. So getting my check today was a huge help. It was only a couple hundred for part time. But still a huge help.

To top off the day, we cooked our japanese food. Jimmy's co-worker came over to eat. He made the white sauce and ginger sauce, as well as mustard sauce. I love ginger sauce! Jimmy loves the white sauce. He also brought over and cooked the shrimp. I made the fried rice and sauteed some shrooms and zucchini. Jimmy cooked teriyaki steak. We also made the soup they serve at the restaurant. The only thing missing was the salad. But that's ok. The meal was so damn good! It turned out so good, if I hadn't been there cooking it, I'd have thought we brought it home from an actual japanese restaurant. Besides the salad, all that was missing was the little show those cooks do while cooking. LOL

Tomorrow, Friday and Monday, all the 2nd graders are being tested for the gifted and talented program. I don't know what more they need from Justin. They did bump him up to second grade after the third week of school. If that's not gifted and talented, I don't know what is. LOL Either way, wish him well. :)

12 Years ago today

I gave birth to my first baby. I was 20 years old. We were scheduled to be induced so went to the hospital at 7:am. By 8:30, I was all hooked up and the pitocin was dripping. At 11:45am, the nurse came in and asked if I was feeling the contractions. I wasn't. Jimmy and I had been joking around and watching tv. She upped the dosage of the pitocin and my water broke. Of course, then I started feeling the contractions. And oh were they painful! At 12:27pm, after three healthy pushes, my beautiful baby boy was born. Matlock was on the tv. LOL I had no drugs to help with the pain. Well at least not until afterwards. LOL

Now I have a 12 year old adolescent with a major attitude problem on the verge of puberty. Heaven help me! LOL

Jaws...by Justin

I came home from work tonight and Jimmy hands me a piece of paper. It's a short story Justin wrote with a picture underneath. Here's the story...

First, they went to the beach. One of the people that were skatting (Skiing?) on the water. She got took down by a shark. The shark bit her on the leg. The people found her. Her leg was off. After that they took her to her Dr. Then they announced everybody get out of the water. But one persen stayed in. And the he got bit him everywhere and before he dide he said, "OWWWWWWWWWWW!"

He'll be 7 on Friday. LOL His handwriting is wonderful, by the way. I wrote it word for word, without correcting his spelling. LOL

Good food

Jimmy and I love to cook, alone or together. I enjoy perusing websites for new recipes. Today, we cooked a whole chicken in one of those Reynold's oven bags. I stuffed the chicken with onions and garlic. Then I sewed the ass shut. LOL I threw some mushrooms in the bag. Stuck it in the oven and roasted it. Jimmy made bacon-scallion mashed potatoes. He had peas and I had lima beans. It was delish!

Jimmy's got some steaks marinating for us to cook tomorrow. They smell yummy! LOL

Today was a beautiful day. Such nice weather, I had to put on shorts. Though I'm back in sweat pants now since the temperature dropped. I don't do cold weather very well. LOL

Working..

Since I've been working evenings, Jimmy and I have been planning our meals each night. This coming Wednesday, I'm off so we're doing Japanese night. We're going to have filet mignon and shrimp with fried rice, sauteed shrooms and zucchini and the soup they serve. A friend of ours got the recipes for the white sauce and ginger sauce from the main chef at Kyoto's. So we'll be using those. I cannot wait! I LOVE Japanese. And if I can make the stuff at a fraction of the cost, it's even better!

ACK!

I already missed a day! I was planning on posting every day this month. Guess I'll have to post twice today. LOL

Anyway, Jimmy had his follow up Friday. All is going well so far. I do have him home another week! YAY! He even got up the nerve to go grocery shopping with me today. So we loaded up all the kids and off we went. Now he truly understands why I usually only take Jackson and Justin with me. Those are the two that give me the least amount of trouble. LOL

We came home and he grilled us some burgers that were delish. We had fries and onion rings with them. Then we played some Yahtzee and Rummy. I so love having him home. :)

Jimmy's knee

Is doing much better. He had surgery on Monday. We were on our way home by 9am. He laid on the couch all day and in the past few days has been doing much better. He has an appointment in the morning for a follow up.

I admit, I've enjoyed having him home this week. I'm going to miss him so much when he goes back to work. :( I hope I have him home for at least another week. LOL

Anyone wanna babysit?

Two adorable kids? And setting two other adorable kids off to the bus? They're easy to manage. Turn the TV onto either Discovery Kids or nick Jr and you're set.

Jimmy's surgery is set for Monday. We have to be there at 7am, meaning we have to leave home at 6:30am. Justin's bus comes between 7:00-7:10. Jay leaves for his bus at 8:00. I don't mind taking Jackson and Korinne with me, but I have to find someone to be here with the boys to make sure they get off to school on time. So I'm hoping I can find someone, maybe my sister, or a neighbor, that can watch them.

Wish me luck!! LOL

Job/Life update

Well I got a job. Something easy that requires no more thought than the difference between types of tomatoes. @@ I'm a cashier at the Food Lion around the corner from me. I'm there so much, I figured I may as well get a job there. It was amusing to me that I would have to tell new cashiers which buttons to push for my WIC vouchers. Now watch, everything I helped them with will go right out the window now that it's me that has to do it. LOL

So I work evenings. So Jimmy's home with the kids. I started Wednesday and spent the entire time watching or reading training sites. Taking tests which I scored 100 on all. Though one had the nerve to say I hesitated on recognizing some produce. One in question was jalapeno peppers mixed in with tomatoes. Sorry, but that computer was full of it, I know what the hell a jalapeno looks like!

While in the middle of a video on alcohol and tobacco sales, the manager gets on the loud speaker and says, "Will the owner of a blue Chevy van, please come to the office." I drive a blue GMC Safari, that's ALWAYS mistaken for a Chevy Astro. However, I knew immediately, he was talking about MY van. So I went running to the front, thinking someone had broken into it and my purse was hidden under the passenger seat. Nope. A customer had witnessed to old ladies in a silver PT Cruiser back into my van. One got out, ran her hand along my bumper, their bumper then leaving the scene. (Shame on the old bat that should not be driving for leaving the scene of a crime!) So I called Jimmy to find out what I should do. The only damage I saw on my bumper was a chip of paint less than the size of a dime missing. Jimmy laughed and said most likely there was more damage to the pt cruisers bumper than ours. Apparently the out bumper of a pt cruiser is designed to disguise damage. But underneath the bumper cover is where the damage really is. So good for you, old lady in the silver PT Cruiser that pulled a hit and run!

Anyway, I was supposed to work Thursday also, starting on the register. However, I was up half the night Wednesday night with a toothache. Come Thursday morning, it was so bad, I couldn't even swallow water. I deduced that it was a wisdom tooth on my lower right side. So I called around trying to price the extraction. I was in tears after a while because I didn't have the money they required and I was in pain and starving.

I finally reached the right person at MUSC and was told to go to the MUSC ER Oral Clinic. I convinced Jimmy to take the afternoon off to take me...just in case they pulled the tooth. We get there. They do xrays and tell me I need two molars pulled. I'm sent upstairs to the people that do the extractions and after them looking, they tell me it's NOT my molars it's the wisdom tooth. (DUH! I tried telling them that.)

Turns out my wisdom tooth is impacted and became infected, which caused my entire lower jaw to become swollen and prevent me from swallowing. They poked, prodded, irrigated and then shaved the sharp edges on my top teeth because they were digging into the swelling. I was sent home with scripts for antibiotics and painkillers and an appointment next month to see an oral surgeon.

While half numb in my mouth, I managed to ask the students if this was going to cost me an arm, or an arm and a leg. LOL They asked the dental teacher and he said "how about for free?" He'd already learned from me that I have bad teeth because I can't afford going to a dentist, I scrimp and save so my 4 children DO go to the dentist, etc.

Anyway, I wasn't able to work Thursday, but my manager was very understanding and said not to worry, just come in on Sunday as scheduled. Like I said, I'm in there so much they know a lot about me.

Well last night, we had tickets to see Jeff Dunham. No way was I going to waste the price of those tickets because of a swollen jaw or anything! LOL Thankfully, the swelling dropped significantly with the antibiotics. We saw Jeff Dunham. He's a ventriloquist. Extremely hilarious! I laughed so hard that I had to take a painkiller when we got home because my jaw was throbbing!

So I'm off to work tomorrow to learn how to run a register Food Lion's way. Oh Justin lost another tooth tonight. So now he's missing his two front top teeth and one bottom next to his two front bottom teeth.

I have to get...

a JOB! I haven't had a job in 6 1/2 years. Jimmy has to have knee surgery. He has what appears to be a meniscus tear in his knee. I won't go into how he's described it to me, it just creeps me out. His knee has been swollen for about a month now and I finally put my foot down and told him he was seeing a doctor. He had an appointment scheduled for Thursday. But he called me this morning and begged me to try to get him an earlier appointment. For Jimmy to beg that, I knew it was bad.

So I called around and got him an appointment for 3 this afternoon. He wanted me to go with him. So I asked a neighbor if Jay could go to her apartment when he got off the bus. Justin goes to the homework club (or is supposed to) and Jay doesn't get off the bus until a quarter after 4. I left a note on the door for Jay telling him where to go.

Jimmy's appointment was a 30-35 minute drive away. So while Jimmy was being seen by the doctor, I called the homework club to make sure Justin went there. Last Monday he came home instead of going. He wasn't there! And only one child said he saw Justin on the bus. I knew that child was right because he and Justin are good friends and usually sit together on the bus. So I called my neighbor and asked her to look around for Justin. She called me back 10 minutes later saying she found him playing on the porch of another friend.

He got in trouble for not calling me when he realized no one was home. He also got in trouble for not going to the homework club like he was supposed to!

So anyway, they're going to try to schedule Jimmy's surgery for next Monday. So he's going to be out of work for a bit. Then he won't be able to work as much as he does. Well we can't afford for him to miss a lot of work. So I'm getting a job. A part time one working nights and weekends. I'm going to try the grocery store around the corner. I'm there every other day anyway. And they know me there. LOL I'm also going to apply at Walmart for a night job. I may go full time for that. Who knows.

I'm terrified of going back to work. It's been so long. And I don't like how I look now. Oh I look fine as long as I don't show my teeth. LOL I don't want to be away from my kids. But I'll be okay with that knowing Jimmy will be home with them. Whew. Wish me luck.

Being bullied!

I've reached the conclusion that someone in the office does not want us living here anymore. We've been here almost 3 years. The only problems we had for a while was the neighbor boy upstairs that's now in rehab.

Then I called the office to complain about kids starting a fire at the playground. This was just after 4th of July. One of the kids was the grandson of one of the women that work in the office.

Then we started getting notices on our door. For stupid stuff. Jackson left a riding toy on our porch and we get a notice saying we're in fire code violation because we're blocking the breezeway. Jay and I walked around with my digicam and took pics of other porches. Porches that were completely blocked by bicycles and/or grills. (When we first moved here, we had the boys' bikes chained outside. We were told it was not allowed to have them outside. So we've kept them in my bedroom since.) Jay and I took about 12-15 pics. I burned them to disc and attached it to a not I scrawled on the back of my fire code violation notice.

Then we get notices that our apartment is going to be inspected for preventative maintenance. Ok used to that, they've been doing that since we first moved here. A maintenance guy comes in, checks the fire extinguisher, smoke detector and hot water heater.

Then I got a notice recently about music/noise violation. I called the office as instructed and was told that it was a general complaint for our building so the four of us got one. I told them who it was. I also got a notice saying there was going to be an inspection on general maintenance. They came in, took notes and left.

Today while I was at the bank I got two notices. One saying that according to section X in our lease we're responsible for the "sole expense keep an maintain the leased premises and appurtenance in good and sanitary condition and repair during the term of the Lease, ordinary wear and tear accepted." Then goes on to tell me it is necessary at this time for me to clean and sanitize said premises. Deep clean entire apartment. Clean all toilets, tubs, tub walls, sinks and floors in bathrooms. (That's always done.) Entire carpetting must be vacuumed. (They must not know I'm obsessed with vacuuming.) Remove all food particles, trash, etc from all areas of apartment. (Trash is always taken out. Food always put away or disposed of.) Clean out cabinets and drawers in kitchen and thoroughly clean countertops, appliances and floors. (I do that several times a day as I'm cleaning.) AND....we're to be inspected on Wednesday October 3 for compliance of said letter. WTF?

Attached to that notice is a notice saying their office has been notified of loud music or noise coming from our apartment that's disturbing our neighbors. Again, WTF? I haven't played music in at least a month! It was 5:03 when I read the notices. I immediately grabbed the phone to call the office, but apparently the switch them to voice mail at 5.

SO I left a message saying, "This is Kaytee P----- in B29. I just recieved a notice about loud music complaints. I don't know who's calling to complain but I haven't played any music in three weeks. If you want to send a notice about loud music send it to my neighors upstairs in B30." I was not very nice in tone. I left my number. But I will be calling back first thing Monday morning.

Our lease is up for renewal the end of November. As far as I'm concerned, they can take that renewal and shove it up their asses. We are looking for somewhere else to move to. This place has gone downhill that past year and a half. Nothing but illegals piling into 1,2, or 3 bedroom apartments. Hell the people upstairs from us have 7 adults and one child in a 3 bedroom. Where the hell do they sleep?

Anyway, Jimmy said he doesn't want me to go all crazy making sure it's completely spotless. Wants me to clean it like I do every day. He said, "We have four children in a small 3 bedroom apartment. What do they expect?" He doesn't care what they think. He's just as sick of living here as I am.

Apparently we've pissed someone off and they want us to leave. Well Bon Voyage. Come November 30th, we're gone. I'm tempted to have the camera set up and have all 6 of us moon them. LOL

I bought a fish today.

Not to eat, but to enjoy. LOL

Jay and I went to the Super Pets to get bedding for his hamster...and a splashy new cage. She was living in a metal cage with just a wheel attached inside. No fun tunnels or anything. Now she has a home we can add all kinds of tunnels to.

Well I decided I wanted a fish. Obviously, I couldn't just buy any fish. After all, a fish tank with all the fixings costs quite a bit. So I bought a Beta Fish and a Beta Fish starter kit. LOL Sounds funny, doesn't it? It's a Beta fish tank that came with water conditioning, a packet of food, gravel and a plastic tree. He's quite beautiful. I asked Jimmy to explain his color. He thinks in car colors. LOL So to him Mr. Fish (Jimmy wanted to name him that. LOL) is a light black cherry color. Kandy red meets burgundy. Whatever. He's beautiful. He is resting comfortably on my dresser as Jackson would climb or do whatever to get Mr. Fish if he was in sight. LOL

I can't wait til we're living somewhere and I can get a puppy! For now, we'll settle for pets where a pet deposit isn't required. LOL

Speaking of recipes...

I have found myself addicted to Rachael Ray's show 30 Minute Meals. She gets on my nerves, but I enjoy learning recipes that takes less than 30 minutes to prepare. LOL

Today, while watching her show, I watched her prepare a recipe called Antip-Achos. It's an italian style nacho using pita bread. It's a long recipe. The first half is for fish sticks parm, or whatever. But on the recipe under ingredients, for this "nacho" recipe, start at 6 pitas.

Well I made this tonight. It was alright to me, but Jimmy LOVED it. I didn't think he'd like it because of the artichoke hearts. But I was wrong. I thought I would love it because of the artichoke hearts. Again, I was wrong. LOL I liked it ok. I took some over to our neighbors so I hope to find out tomorrow how they liked it.

MMMMMM LOVE shrooms!

Home Ec 101 is having a contest to win a t-shirt. Apparently September is National Mushroom Month. I happen to LOVE mushrooms and try to use them in whatever I'm cooking. In following the contest's rules, I have to post my fave recipe concerning mushrooms. Well, here it is.

Stuffed Mushrooms

1. Carefully remove stems from whole mushrooms.
2. Lightly toast 2 slices of bread, then break apart into bread crumbs.
3. chop 3 (or more depending on your taste) green onions into small pieces
4. Add a 4 oz container of feta cheese (crumbled works best and I use the kind that's tomato and basil flavored)
5. Add half a 6 oz container of shredded romano cheese.
6. Season with garlic salt.
7. Add Olive oil until moist.
8. Spoon mixture into mushroom caps.
9. Bake at 325 for 15 minutes.

Jimmy doesn't really care for mushrooms like I do, but he LOVES these. And I've been delegated to make these whenever we have guests over that like mushrooms. LOL

Proud Moments...

If ever there was a moment a Mother's pride just bursts, this is it. My children are smart. Of course every mother says that. LOL But in this case, it's completely true! Justin has been bumped up to 2nd grade! 2ND GRADE!!!!!!!!! LOL

This all started when I sent his teacher an email last week informing her that Justin's been coming home completely bored and begging me to print out harder worksheets. She emailed me back and suggested we have him tested for 2nd grade. Jimmy and I discussed it with Justin and left the decision to him. Justin was quite excited about taking the test so I emailed his teacher yesterday and gave her the go ahead.

While we were at a doctor's appointment for Jackson today, she called and left a message. They tested him first thing this morning at 8:00 and tomorrow, he will change grades. I'm so proud of my boy!

I met him at the bus stop this afternoon and he had this big ole grin on his face and excitedly told me his news. He graciously let me hang around while he shared his news with his Homework Club teacher. LOL

I am definitely doing something special for him this weekend. I've already called my family and shared the news. LOL I'm just so happy for him and so damn proud!

Fishing with the kids

We decided to take the older three fishing today. After finally securing a sitter for Jackson, we cooked lunch. On the weekends, we usually have one big meal then snack on smaller items at other mealtimes. Today we had fried chicken, homemade mac and cheeses, mashed taters with gravy, lima beans and dinner rolls. It was delish! And....I was finally able to cook fried chicken without burning myself. LOL

After we ate, we dropped Jackson off at my Aunt's house and headed for the Hatchery. We were dismayed by the state of the Hatchery. The water level had dropped a couple of feet. We don't have a boat so we fish on the banks. But according to a boater that was leaving, the Hatchery has been like that for a couple of months and supposedly a couple more feet of water was going to be drained soon.

Still we fished on. Jimmy caught a baby Bass. Justin caught two small fish, though I don't know what they were. After we fished for a while, Jimmy (who'd wandered off) found his way back to us and wanted us to go for a walk. So we did. Here are some pics he took on our walk.

The first three show how different it looks with the water having dropped. The last one he's titled "Sunday Walks."

Btw, my cousin is spending the night so Jimmy, Jay and I can go fishing again in the morning, though closer to home. LOL My mom, aunt and other cousins are coming over tomorrow for a cookout. We were invited to their house, but I convinced them to come here since my apartment is kid friendly for Jackson. So sometime tomorrow, I'll have a houseful. I'll just send the kids to the playground. LOL

Flutes??

Jay has decided to be in band this year. And yup, you guessed it, he wants to play the flute. I know nothing about instruments. We can rent one for about 30-40 bucks a month. My brother-in-law works at a pawn shop and he told me tonight they have several flutes starting at $35. Someone we talked to tonight at the high school mentioned Yamaha and Emerson. Ok fine. Now how am I supposed to know open hole, closed hole, what I should look for....I have no clue!

We were given a list of four places to rent a flute from. So I guess I'll call around and find out what I need to look for. Better yet, I'll email the band teacher tomorrow and find out exactly what he wants Jay to use. There's an idea!

I'd still like any input anyone can give me. I have until next weekend to get him one, whether bought or rented. Any ideas? Anyone?

So...

It's been a while since my last entry. Ok a whole 10 days! The boys have gone off to school. Jay is in Honors ELA and prealgebra. Quite impressive for a 6th grader! Maybe. We're having a fight over him eating breakfast at school. I buy plenty of choices for breakfast. Since he had reduced lunch last year, he automatically has it for the first ten days. After that, I know he won't qualify. It's bad enough lunch is $1.65. I'm not paying extra for him to eat breakfast there! Justin is picky, so he doesn't bother with school food. He eats breakfast at home and takes a lunch every day. I do give him money for milk.

Over the summer, while in the Homework Club, he was doing 2nd and 3rd grade work. He's almost got multiplication down up to 12. He's coming home with math sheets that are filled with easy one plus one problems. He's completely bored. I'm giving it til the end of next week before I make an appointment with his teacher and guidance counselor or whatever. I don't want him to be so bored he gets disruptive. He's an excellent student and definitely needs to be challenged more. I hate where he's going to school. Oh not the school itself. It's a wonderful school. But since the original school is being rebuilt, the entire school is transferred to another area. An area I haven't been in in over ten years.

That being said, I didn't register Korinne for pre-k. It's bad enough one is in that area, I didn't want two. Now I'm wondering if I'm being unfair to her. I'm sure she would have been accepted into pre-k. And I know she would have loved it. I'm also sure it's too late now since the classes have already been filled. I can remedy my error though. I can teach her myself. Or start to. Since I won't have to answer to anyone on what I'm teaching, it shouldn't be too overwhelming. Wish me luck! LOL

Jackson turned two last Saturday. TWO! The day before his birthday, my sister came over to borrow Justin's suit for my nephew Alex. Her baby turned one in April. He and Jackson are in the same size clothes, though Christopher can wear the next size up while Jackson can't. My tiny baby! I refuse to call him a toddler until he's in at least a size 2T! LOL Jimmy says I'm in denial. Damn right I am! He wears size 12 months clothes! He's not a toddler! LOL We bought him this cute little bicycle for his birthday. The seat is a foot off the ground. My little guy can't even reach the pedals. LOL So he sits on the seat and Korinne pushes him around the living room and hallway. LOL It's really cute!

So that's what's been going on here in SunniePatch. We're all alive (yay), healthy (yay) and happy (YAY!)

What a week or so...

Last Monday was my twins' birthday. I was shocked when my mother called to tell me she was thinking about me and wanted to make sure I was ok. (I was, until she called.) The next day we were at the WIC office getting Jackson recertified and picking up his special milk. Jay (11) decided to show his ass and embarrassed me the entire time with his arguing and attitude. The next day (Wednesday) he did the same thing while at Rutledge towers when I had to take Jackson for a hearing test. He argued with me as we walked the halls of MUSC. It was all I could do not to just beat his ass. But I don't spank. Instead he spent the entire day in his room, aside from meals.

I don't know what's gotten in to him but he's had such a horrible attitude lately. He doesn't realize that I can make his life a living hell until his attitude improves. Since I don't spank, he loses all his privileges. And he HATES that.

The other kids are fine. Jay and Justin start school on Tuesday. I HATE where Justin will be. His entire school is being bussed to the Ron McNair building on Spruill Avenue. If I wanted my child to go to school on Hooker Avenue, I'd live in that area! We went last night to Meet the Teacher. And while it really isn't in the worst area of Spruill, parking sucks, so it destroys our tradition of me taking the kids to school on their first day. There's no where for me to park to walk him to his class. I absolutely HATE that!

Jay will be going to WAMS, I can drive him but I would have to drag Korinne and Justin with me since Jimmy will have gone to work by then. And this year, Jay is required to wear khakis and burgundy or maroon colored shirts. I'm fine with the shirts, even though I haven't been able to find any. But I hate khakis. My boys stain them the first time they wear them! I cannot afford to buy new shorts or pants every week! I much prefer the navy blue that's usually allowed with uniforms.

Jackson will be 2 on Saturday. And I still have people assuming he's turning a year old. He's small. Still wears size 12 months and some 6-9 months. He's been holding steady at 20 lbs for 3 months, so I finally bought him a big boy carseat, which he LOVES! Since he had a tube put in his left ear in June, he's been trying to talk more. And signs wonderfully for more, eat, milk, all done and thank you. He does talk more than he signs. But he gets frustrated when he babbles and we don't understand what he's trying to say. But we'll get there.

So that's me now. Nothing interesting. Just my life. LOL

Arthur Ravenel Bridge

Very few people know that I have a phobia of bridges. Ok, it's not the actual bridge I fear, it's going over the side and not being able to get all of my children out and up. I've actually contemplated having the children all wear life jackets when I know we're going over a bridge. I have horrible nightmares about bridges. I do drive over some bridges, though still wearily. The Mark Clark and the draw bridge from West Ashely to downtown I drive often. I'm fine doing over the drawbridge since I stay in the middle lane.

Before the old cooper river bridges were torn down, I drove over them once. That's right ONCE. And only because Jimmy made me. My fear was so great that I refused to look anywhere but straight ahead, I gripped the steering wheel so tight my knuckles were white and I barely breathed. If I had to go to Mt. Pleasant for any reason, I drove out of my way via the Don Holt bridge. Yeah I don't like that one either, but it was a lot wider than the cooper river bridges.

So this evening, we decided to go for a drive. When we go for drives, who ever is in the passenger seat navigates. Jimmy announced we were going to go over the new bridge. I said, "Before we go, can we go to Walmart and get life jackets for the kids?" I was serious, but he took it as a joke.

So we make our way downtown heading for the bridge. As we started off on the bridge, my heart started racing, my hands gripped the steering wheel tightly and I bit my lip. But I made it! Jimmy checked my pulse after we got into Mt. P. I did look to the side a couple of times, but only for a few terrified moments. It really wasn't as bad as the old bridges. I stayed in one of the middle lanes, of course. LOL I did drive back over it to come home. And even though my heart was still racing, I didn't bite my lip. Still gripped the steering wheel tightly though. LOL

I don't think I want to go over again anytime soon though. That was a long ride over! I am proud of myself though. I didn't have a panic attack like I did in a dream. (Though the old bridges were involved in that nightmare.)

Harry Potter and IMAX

Yup! We went today! Jimmy and I took the three older ones downtown today. It was a beautiful day. During the movie, Korinne was insistent that she had to go potty. So when I took her, I looked out the window and was surprised to see it storming. THe movie did stop at one point because the power went out, but it was quickly restored and the movie resumed.

The book was way better, as usual. But the movie was still good. It's just awesome watching a movie in 3D. Jimmy was impressed! I think more from the huge ass screen than the movie, though he thoroughly enjoyed the movie.

I'm so glad we were able to take the kids. Chalk it up to another warm memory they'll have. I love doing things with them. This was just a special thing. :)

You will be confused. LOL

So sit back with your favorite drink and try to follow along. LOL

Jay spent a month in Tennessee with his grandparents. He's been home about 2 weeks and we're already de-spoiling him. He's already been grounded for a week. He's had the biggest attitude it's not even funny.

While he was gone, I cleaned his room from top to bottom. He shares a room with Jackson. There are NO toys in that room. Only their clothes. Jackson's toys are in a toy box in the living room. And the other toys are in Justin and Korinne's room. I was determined to have one room available that Jackson could go in to. I also cleaned Justin's and Korinne's room. (They share a room and all the toys are in there.)

I recently came to the realization that I cannot honestly bitch at them to keep their rooms clean if mine's not. So Monday, I spent all day cleaning my room in between the weekly laundry. Tuesday I stepped it up and cleaned the "laundry closet" and threw out a bunch of junk. I then moved on to the hall closet. After that I worked on the dining room. I packed up a huge lot of my books that I would normally have exchanged. (I'll get to that later.) It doesn't look like it looking at my book shelf, but I did pack up a large amount of books. In between all this, I cleaned the usual rooms, living room, hallway and kitchen, as well as cook dinner.

As far as dinner on Tuesday, we decided on meatloaf. Now I cannot stand meatloaf, but Jimmy and Jay have both been asking for it. I dreaded the thought of normal bland meatloaf with ketchup. So I went online for recipes. I couldn't decide between two. Since it called for the same ingredients until the last stage, I decided to split it in half and make it both ways. One half was with cheddar cheese done in a roll type. The other was with sauteed mushrooms and onions and covered in beef gravy. Both turned out awesome!

Yesterday the speech therapist came over so I couldn't start anything I knew I wouldn't be able to finish while she was here. When she left, however, I really tackled the kitchen.

Today, all that exertion caught up with me so I attempted a nap. I was continuously interupted by the phone ringing or people knocking on the door. So when Jackson woke up at 2:00, I gave up the thought of a nap. Maybe tomorrow will be better. LOL

The book exchange I was talking about was...there was a store here called The Book Exchange. You bring in your books and exchange them for credit. A while back I took in so many books that I had $150 in credit. After buying books, I had $100 in credit. Last weekend we wanted to try our hand in crabs. So when I drove to a local seafood place I noticed the Book Exchange was closed. Not for the day, but completely empty, void of any books. I have got to call and see if they just moved to another location.

So while going through my books, I did find a handful that I haven't read yet. That was a good thing.

In despoiling Jay, it's more on working with his attitude. For a month he was the only child there. Now he's home with 3 other children. He's back talked so much and had the nerve to tell his father No on one occasion. I talked to my MIL today and she said that while Jay was there, he did chores everyday. She thinks his attitude comes from him being so good there that he had to let all the badness come out. LOL

Wouldn't surprise me since my kids are always good for other people, just not us. LOL Wow, have I rambled a lot.

Oh wait...I hate where I live! We live in an apartment complex. Yesterday I got a 2nd notice saying our patio/breezeway should be clear of debris and trash, etc. We have three chairs backed against the sliding glass door. We have a grill against the wall. Occasionally there are toys in the breezeway, but they're always moved at night. We were also told there were cigarette butts all over the ground.

I took a picture of our patio and wrote out a response saying "Exactly what is obstructing the breezeway? We have no huge grills in the way. We have no patio tables on our porch. We have no bicycles chained outside, because we were told they were blocking the breezeway. (Our bikes are in a corner in our bedroom.) We have a small trash bag behind the grill we use for ashes from the grill and for trash our children bring hom from the playground." Jay and I walked around the complex tonight with my digicam and took pics of so many porches in violation of what we're being accused of. I burned them to a disc and sent it with my note to the office. At this point with all the complaints I have against this place, I don't care what they think about my note and the disc. They can all fucking rot in hell for all I care.

I'm tired of my kids coming home complaining about other kids bullying them. I tired of calling the office with complaints. I'm tired of calling the cops because the office does nothing.

Last week, I had Jackson at the playground and the grandson of one of the office women through a football that would have hit Jackson in the head had I not turned at the right moment and blocked it. When I said something to him, he started cussing me up and down. I called the Grandmother at the office the next morning and she patronized me while apologizing. I simply reminded her that because of Jackson's problems, if he were to be hit in the head, I'd have to take him for a CT scan and they would be paying that bill.

The 5th of July, there was a kid about 9 years old lighting up those fire crackers that you have to throw as soon as you light them. His mother was sitting on a bench nearby halfheartedly telling him to move away from the playground. As he was walking, he lit and threw a firecracker. It landed and went off less than 2 feet from Jackson.

I was irate! Yet I know these people could care less about their children, let alone other people's children.

Man I hate other people's kids! Okay not really, I just hate the parents around here!

Are you confused yet? LOL

To write or not to write.

That is the question!

Writing has always been a hobby of mine. Well not so much a hobby as a passion, sometimes an obsession. I have three trapper keepers (remember those?) bursting full of stories I started. I have even written about 20 poems, though the last one was when I was pregnant with Justin and it was like the words were bursting out of me from him to Jay.

The past few weeks, my mind has been bombarded with story ideas. No matter what I do, I can't get them out of my mind. Jimmy has told me for years to finish at least one. He told me once, "Dammit, Kaytee, I'm tired of finding your writings and getting really into them only to find there's nothing more! Finish something!" I want to. I really do. But what then? I'm not good with rejection. I'm not good with sharing my stuff with others.

Yet I cannot get rid of this obsessive need to start typing and not stop. Of course with 4 kids home, I can't ideally do that. I'm just going to have to give in to this obsession and see what comes out of it. I still don't know what to do if I've been successful in telling these stories. Maybe just having finally finished one, I'll find satisfaction. I hope so.

Please pray!

My sister's sister-in-law had her baby the other day. I don't care for this girl, but I don't wish her baby harm. The baby was born so early she only weighs a pound and a half. Anna was due in October. The baby is in the NNICU, the same one Jackson was in for a couple of months. I haven't been able to reach my sister since the other day so tonight I did a search and located her MIL. I was told the baby is hanging in there. She can breath on her own but they have her on a respirator to make it easier for her tiny body.

Of course, all I can think about is my own girls. That were just under a pound and just over a pound. Why are they fighting to save this one child and didn't to save my two? I'm sure that's selfish. I really do pray this baby makes it without major problems. So please all keep her in your prayers.

Thank you.

I admit I was wrong...

Here's the scenario. Korinne plays with Hannah almost daily. Hannah has a neighbor downstairs named Ty. Hannah also has a sister Kaity that lives with her grandparents. When Hannah and/or Kaity is here playing with Korinne, Ty comes over here whining because they're not playing with her. My initial feelings were Ty was a little brat. I've since learned that when Hannah is in a weird mood, she is mean to Korinne and convinces Ty to be mean to Korinne.

Alone, Ty is the sweetest little girl. With Hannah, she's a little brat.

Today, Hannah and Kaity were here playing with Korinne. All of them asked if they could spend the night here. I said yes. Ty's mom asked if Ty had talked to me cause Ty was upset that she wasn't invited. Initially, I said no because I was worried about Jimmy's reaction to having other kids here. But then I told Ty's mother that Ty was welcome to spend the night. I was weary.

That weariness went down the drain when Kaity tried to convince Korinne that she didn't want Ty to spend the night because Kaity was jealous. Kaity told me that her and Ty don't get along (they play together well all the time). I told Kaity that I was sure they could get along one night for Korinne's sake. I told them I was not going to tell that little girl she couldn't spend the night after she was told she could.

So I told Kaity to talk to her mother. I followed her and learned it was more a jealousy thing. Kaity's mother told her that if she didn't want to spend the night, she could stay home. That I was not going to tell Ty she couldn't stay after Korinne invited her.

So we got all that resolved. The three stayed here. Yet, Ty is the only one I heard nothing from. She was the sweetest girl ever. Kaity and Hannah had so many complaints. It was too dark, there was too much light. They quickly quieted down when I threatened to walk them home. Ty, I was completely wrong about.

I've learned recently that when Ty is by herself, she's a sweetheart. When she's with Hannah and Hannah is in a mood, she manipulates others to feel the way she does. However, Hannah was not in charge tonight, so she was the first to pass out. LOL The others played quietly without any fighting and eventually passed out.

Pictures using my new camera

While walking through our complex I decided to bring along my Canon camera. Remember the one I got for Mother's Day? Well here are some shots I got using that camera. I have no idea what these flowers are, but Korinne insisted I get a shot of all three.

This one was so cool looking. Again, I have no idea what kind of flower it is. And just because, I had to throw in a picture of Jackson. LOL

Still emotional

WHY?! Am I still so emotional over those 9 firefighters? I watched the memorial on tv this morning. It was very beautiful and I found myself choked up several times. Because Jackson and Korinne were both home, I managed to compose myself quite well.

This evening when I went to Applebees for Carside service, I decided to stop by Wendy's for Jackson and Korinne. When I Pulled in, I saw truck 16 in the parking lot. When I walked in, I saw 4 firefighters in uniform eating dinner. After I paid for my food, I walked over. I said, "I'm sorry to bother you, but you're all from the station across from the apartment complex I live in. I want you all to know our thoughts and prayers are with y'all." I then shared my stories of "Officer Champaign" as the kids here called him. I almost started crying, I was choked up, but I quickly thanked them and moved on before I started bawling like a baby.

I didn't know these men personally. I knew two somewhat from walking the complex with them last summer. But it was mostly small talk and comfortable silence. So why do their deaths seem to hit me so hard? Is it because most of them were from the station we visited often? Is it because I knew two of them? Or is it because I just feel sorrow for the loss our community is experiencing? Am I such an emotional person? (Well that's a yes.)

I've never really felt part of the community here until recently. I don't know why. The kids and I have visited the firestation often but it was more because the kids wanted to. I've taken cookies to them on 9/11 and holidays. When I took cookies Monday, was the hardest for me.

I do pray for all of their families. Our community has suffered so much with this loss. I pray for all of us as well.

This says it all.

I wanted to be in denial!

I knew when I woke up this morning and caught brief news reports that 9 firefighters had lost their lives. I immediately made plans to bake cookies to take to our firestation. I planned on making oatmeal raisin because the last time I took cookies there, the captain joked that his fave were oatmeal raisin.

So after surveying our ingredients, I only needed baking soda. The kids and I went to the store for said item, came home and began mixing the ingredients. We were in the middle of the second batch when the noon news came on and I learned that 6 of the firefighters were from our own firestation across the road from us. My heart sank and I could only think of the one fireman there that I regularly talked to. Still, I held out hope that he was alive and well.

Around 12:30, Justin and I walked to the firestation carrying a huge batch of cookies and a thank you card. In the card, I wrote "Thank you for your bravery in looking out for our community. My thoughts and prayers are with you all as your mourn your 9 brothers and we as a community mourn the brave men we lost. They will be missed."

Like an obssessed person, I scoured the news on TV and online for any news on who the men were. It wasn't until the press conference at 2 that I learned the one man I was praying to be alive, had lost his life. Melvin Champaign. He and another fireman were always walking through our complex. I walked with them every other night last summer. He always had time to stop for a quick chat when he saw me or my kids. I didn't even know if he was married or had kids. All I knew was I would see him every evening walking by my apartment.

I think I've cried myself out for now. I'm going to miss seeing him with his ready grin just walking around and stopping to talk to not only us, but various tenants here.

When I handed the cookies and the cards to the captain, his eyes were as red as mine. And I felt so selfish. This captain worked with "Officer Champaign" as the kids here called him. I only knew him in passing. Yet my heart breaks for his firefighter brothers and sisters and for his family. Justin was so upset when he found out. He said, "But Officer Champaign was mine and Kobe's favorite!" Then he ran off to be with Kobe. They're both doing fine. But I still get upset at the loss of the lives of those men.

I wanted to be in denial that it was the same "Officer Champaign" until I saw his picture. Then it hit even harder. I pray for his family and for all the families affected by this.

Surgery update.

Jackson's surgery went well. We checked in at 6:45am. We were called back as we were finishing the check in. They took his vitals, listened to his breathing. He was wheezing but then he sneezed and the wheezing was gone. I informed them he was on antibiotics for a sinus infection. They were okay with that as long as he hadn't been running a fever. He hadn't.

So they took him back. I stepped outside for a quick smoke, then headed to the cafe to grab a bite to eat. The cafe was right across from the waiting room. I bought a biscuit with sausage gravy and a water. I was half way through when I realized they had milk. So I grabbed a milk and when I turned around the doctor was there.

They were only able to do the left ear because the right ear canal was too narrow. We were lucky he was just barely able to get the tube in his left ear cause that canal is narrow also. We go in 6-8 weeks for an audiology test. Maybe we'll see an improvement then.

We got home quarter to 9. Korinne and Justin were the only ones awake. My cousin, Tayler, spent the night with my twin cousins to watch Korinne and Justin. I didn't know it would be that quick or Jimmy would have just stayed home until I got there. So I cleaned, then fed the kids lunch. I laid Jackson down and told Tayler to wake me when he woke up. I slept for a good two hours. LOL I'm not used to getting up so early anymore.

I sure am glad that's all over! Thank you to all that kept us in your thoughts.

Surgery

Well Jackson and I are off to MUSC in the morning to have tubes put in his ears. I've been told by several people that it's a relatively simple procedure, in and out. Yet, I'm still nervous. The only surgeries I've had to wait for were the two he had was for his diaphragmatic hernia and his skull. Both were long surgeries that kept me in the waiting room biting my nails to the quick and not being able to focus on anything I tried to do.

We have to be there to check in at 6:45 am. He's not to have anything to eat after midnight, not a problem since he's asleep then. But he can't have any fluids after 4am. Now that's a problem because as soon as he wakes up in the morning, he has a cup of his soy milk. He's going to be starving by the time he gets out of surgery. I think I'll treat him to something special afterwards.

I really hope the tubes help improve his hearing tests. He's been doing great signing basic words we use regularly. He's also been saying some more words. The most beautiful was when he repeated "I love you!"

We're going in debt with the hospital bills, but since I'm making payments every month, they can't put it on my credit. Thank goodness for that!

Anyway, wish us luck tomorrow. I'm going to need it.

One less youngin'

I am now one less child, for almost a month. Jay left this morning with my MIL and FIL for a visit in Tennessee. He's excited. He plans on spending a lot of times hunting lizards and stuff. He says he's going to plant a garden while he's there.

I miss him already! Though I do admit, it was a blissfully quiet day today. He and Korinne are constantly at each other. I spent the day thoroughly cleaning Jay's room. He shares it with Jackson and I was determined to make the room available for Jackson to go in and play. His toys aren't in there, but he likes sitting at the window and looking out.

We have a standing date for me to be on Yahoo messenger at 8:30 our time so we can chat for a few minutes. So here I am online and patiently waiting his IM. LOL

Justin's Graduation ceremony

Justin's ceremony was so cute! All those little kindergarteners dressed in their best! I cried, but was able to stay composed. LOL Jimmy video taped the ceremony...well for Justin's class. LOL I took some pics on the camcorder, see below.

After the ceremony, I was able to bring Justin home with us. We went to McDonald's for breakfast cause that was about all I could afford before Jimmy's paycheck came. LOL When we got home, we lathered up in 60 SPF sunblock and went to the pool. He had a great day. :) And he's now officially a 1st grader. LOL

WOOHOO! I finally got them!

Korinne's soccer pics, that is! They turned out wonderful and she's so damn cute. However on her "trading cards" they spelled her name wrong. They left off the E. I had the form filled out in capital letters and there's no missing the E. So I called and left a message and will call back on Monday. But doesn't she look adorable?

She and Justin had their last soccer games today. It was just drizzling when they were playing at 9am but her pool party afterwards was cancelled. We decided to go to Cici's Pizza instead. Justin's team had a small picnic in the covered area at the park. Korinne's gathering was at 11, so I was able to be at both gatherings. Had it been sunny, my mom would have stayed with Justin while I'd have gone with Korinne. It worked out nicely though.

I didn't realize how many different kinds of pizza they made at Cici's pizza. There were some interesting ones there, that's for sure. My mom tried the buffalo chicken pizza. That seemed weird enough, but the macaroni and cheese pizza was even more weird and did not taste very good. LOL

Anyway, here's my gorgeous girl!

Emotional!

Picture me watching sappy movies without ever shedding a tear or even getting misty-eyed. Those that know me now cannot possibly imagine this. But it was true. Enter newborn Jay and my emotions changed forever. So much so that I can get all teary-eyed at a damn kleenex commercial!

When Jay went to school for the first time for pre-k, I was pregnant with Justin. Of course, I cried uncontrollably after I watched him get on that big yellow bus. When Jay had his Kindergarten "graduation," I was pregnant with Korinne. Again with the emotional crying.

Of course, I cried with the birth of each of my children. I cried uncontrollably for weeks after the loss of my girls. Then when I learned of Jackson's medical problems while still pregnant with him, I cried. When he was born and taken away before I could even hold him, I cried. When he had surgery at 2 weeks, I cried. When I was finally able to hold him at 3 weeks, I cried. When I learned his soft spots closed too early and would need surgery, I cried. When he finally came home a week before he turned 2 months, I cried. When he had surgery on his skull, I cried. All of this is understandable.

Right now, I'm quite emotional. For one, Aunt Flo came today. But mostly, Justin has his kindaergarten "graduation" tomorrow. I went out today and bought him a nice suit (at Ross for $5.99) to wear tomorrow. After his bath, I had him try it on to make sure it fit and got all teary eyed! I can't believe he's going into 1st grade! I'm all teary eyed now. Wait until I post tomorrow after his ceremony. LOL

Then Jay has his ceremony on Tuesday. He'll be going into middle school! A few days after that, my in-laws will be here and will be taking Jay and maybe Korinne back to TN with them for a month. Justin was going to go at first, but I knew he'd change his mind. He's never been one to want to be away from Jimmy and me. So Korinne is all excited about having the chance to go.

I don't like my kids spending one night away from me. I'm going to be a wreck the month they're gone. Ok not really, but it will be difficult.

Ok excuse me while I go have a quick cry. LOL

7 Random Things

So my friend Ami tagged me to post seven random things. Here they are...

1. I am a southerner but I cannot stand iced tea, ketchup or BBQ sauce.
2. I truly enjoy being a stay at home mom, even though my kids grate on my last nerve sometimes. LOL
3. I wish I could have another baby.
4. I may seem outgoing online, but I'm really quite shy in person. Takes me a good 20-30 minutes before I feel comfortable around people enough to start a conversation on my own, even ones I regularly talk to online.
5. I would love to win the lottery so I would know all of Jackson's medical bills could be paid for easily. And of course, to buy a home for our kids to have roots.
6. I miss my body piercings. LOL
7. I'm excited about trying out my new camera...waiting on the lens. Got a Canon Rebel XS for Mother's Day, minus the lens. Can't wait to take pics of the kids with it. Hopefully, I will be better with that camera than my digicam. LOL

So now I'm to tag three others for this randomness. I have no idea who regularly reads my blog, other than the one that originally tagged me. LOL But for now, I'll tag Heather, Mike, and Sonia. Get busy, Y'all. And anyone else that reads my blog and does this, comment me and let me know so I can see yours. :)

Haircut

I took Jackson for a much needed haircaut today. I didn't want to. I happen to love his hair! He's the only one I've had that even had this much hair before age 2 1/2. LOL So here's a pic Jimmy took yesterday...before any cutting.

This is after I broke down and trimmed the front so he could see. And this is him today after his haircut this morning. SIGH! He looks so grown!

Folly Beach

Justin's class has a field trip tomorrow to Folly Beach. He'd asked me weeks ago to chaperone. I do NOT like going to the beach. I know! I'm a southerner, I should love the beach! But, I don't. I cannot stand getting sand all over me and in uncomfortable places. However, I did try to find a sitter so I could go. To no avail. Until last night.

I was chatting with a friend on IM. This friend, Bree, lives in the same apartment complex and we usually see each other at the bus stop in the mornings. She walks her niece, I walk my boys. We also hang out some during the week. This week, her boss changed her hours so she works 7-4. Sierra's mom works night so isn't home in the mornings to take her to the bus. So Bree asked if she could drop Sierra off here at 6:30 in the morning. I'm up anyway, so I'm fine with it.

Anyway, I was chatting with Bree last night and mentioned Justin's field trip. She said she has Fridays off and offered to babysit Jackson and Korinne since I've helped them with Sierra. Of course, I'm all over that. LOL NOT that I really want to go to the beach. But because Justin really wants me to go with him. So I sent his teacher an email. When I didn't hear back from her before lunch, like I usually do, I called and left a message for one of his teachers to call me. When his teacher called me back she said they had chaperones but I was welcome to chaperone also. She didn't want me to go out of my way paying a sitter. I assured her I wasn't paying a sitter. And told her that my van seats 8 so I can cart 7 of the chaperones to save on the parking fee. I told her I was also bringing my cooler so we can store drinks and whatnot. I said, "But if you don't want me to come..." LOL She laughed and said "No, it'll be perfect!"

So tomorrow morning, I'm heading to the beach. I even broke down and shaved. Even though I do not plan on going in the water, I thought I'd better be prepared. LOL Justin is extremely excited. And it makes me happy that he's excited. I plan on taking the camcorder, just to take pics. So I'm sure I'll have some pics to share soon. LOL

Bed wetting...

Justin has a bed wetting problem. He sleeps SO hard that he wets the bed. We took him in for tests for diabetes, etc a couple of years ago and learned he has reflux in his kidneys. (When he pees, some of it goes into his kideys.) I've been waking him up on my way to bed to take him to the bathroom. Sometimes, even if it's 2 hours since he's fallen asleep, he's already had an accident. I don't mind buying pull-ups for him. But Jimmy is insistant that it's all in Justin's head. I don't think so. I know that when I wake him to go to the bathroom, he's so asleep he doesn't even realize he's standing up to pee.

Has anyone else had a bed wetting child that's 6 years old, or older? What did you do? What helped? I'm at my wits end defending Justin to Jimmy so Jimmy will quit making Justin feel as if he's done something wrong. Please help! Anyone!

Dejected

That's me. Jackson and I made our way downtown early this morning. They tried doing the scans without sedation, but like most other small children, Jackson absolutely hates being held down. So we went back into the waiting room while the anesthesiologists were paged. Jackson was very cranky because he was starving. So we sat in the waiting room for about 45 minutes with Jackson crying off and on. A patient liaison, I think that's what he was, came out with some nifty toys to help keep Jackson entertained. That was a blessing. They left the IV in his hand in case one of the other doctors he was seeing today needed to draw blood.

After the scan, we had about 45 minutes until his appointment with the ENT. So we wandered to the cafeteria, where I hoped there would still be some breakfast. Nope, they were clearing out for the lunch food. So we strolled around towards Rutledge Towers for the ENT. We were taken back almost immediately and only had to wait about 10 minutes for the ENT to show up. I'm told Jackson has fluid behind his ear drum so he's scheduled next month to have tubes put in. Seems to be an easy enough procedure.

So we leave there and go back to the cafeteria. I bought a sub for me and a box of Fruit Loops for Jackson. We sat outside in the beautiful weather and ate. His next appointment wasn't until 2, so we had a few hours. After we ate, I donated blood. (Maybe now they'll stop sending me reminders to donate. LOL) They were a little concerned for me because I wouldn't take a soda (I don't drink sodas) or eat some crackers (I'd just finished eating a sub, so was full. I was fine though.

I got bored walking around, Jackson was tired so I knew he'd be asleep soon. So we made our way to the neurosurgeon's office. We signed in at 12:30. Yeah I know waaaaaay early. Surprisingly, we were called back within a half hour or so. The neurosurgeon came and and said he was pleased with the shape of Jackson's head. However, he's concerned that his skull hasn't grown back as quick as it should have. So, he said Jackson may need surgery again next year. He mentioned grafting some of his skull from elsewhere or using other materials. My heart dropped.

It's bad enough he'll be having tubes put in. Now he might need surgery to close his skull?! Hasn't he been through enough? Can't it be over now? No more surgeries! No more scans! No more damn doctor's appointments that last less than 5 minutes yet charge too much damn money! I'm tired of them. Ok I know he needs them but I'm just sad.

Looooooooong Day tomorrow!

I took Korinne to my sister's to spend the night tonight. I miss her terribly! But I would rather her be at my sister's and able to play than stuck with me tomorrow. Why you ask?

Because tomorrow, Jackson and I will be spending the day at MUSC. We have to be there at 7:50am for CT scans. A scan for his skull. A scan for his frontal lobes. The scan for his skull is to make sure all is well with the skull growing back. The scan for his frontal lobes is to see if there's anything blocking his drums. He's failed his hearing tests and no doctor has ever been able to see his ear drums. He passes the tests when they transmit the sound directly to them. But he fails the tests where he's supposed to turn his head towards the sounds. I personally think he can hear just fine because he hears me when I'm behind him and whispering. I think he's just tired of being poked and prodded and doesn't want to "play" the sound game. LOL

Anyway, he then has an appointment at 10:30 with the ENT to go over the results from that scan. No telling how long that will take. Then, he has an appointment with the pediatric neurosurgeon at 2:00. Yeah I live 15 minutes away, but I just don't want to be driving back and forth. So I've planned on spending the day downtown. Knowing this, I pawned Korinne off on my sister so she wouldn't be miserable.

I'm going to be exhausted I'm sure. As soon as we leave his last appointment, I have to drive to Moncks Corner to pick up my girl. Cause I've only been away from her for 4 hours and I miss her like crazy! LOL

Anyway, wish me luck that I still have a shred of sanity left after my day is done. LOL