too good to be true

slammed with pain this morning and now sick from the pain meds.........will it ever end?

keeping fingers crossed!

I afraid to think it but I think I may have finally got some relief from the worst edge of the pain with this second injection. Only time will tell.

It's been a semi-quite weekend. Too much football in my honest opinion. The kids didn't do one thing I needed them to do........bathe the dog, clean the dog kennel........ugh, these kids are so frustrating some times.

Getting the younger boys to bed earlier on school nights is another frustration........don't want to go to bed (I'm not sleepy, mom!) and don't want to get up........what's a mom to do?

round 2

Nothing ever goes off without some sort of hitch, huh? Plans for where I was going to stay/who was bringing me for my second spinal injection were changed at the last minute. Last minute changes like that always upset my apple cart preeeeetty bad. It all turned out well in the end, though. I spent a couple of relaxing days with my in-laws.

The injection itself was so-so. I was really dizzy for several hours after and I was left with a little less soreness than last time. I'm hoping I can get some relief from this one. More PT on Monday....

And on to other news......
My mom brought Jen, Jared, and Jeff to TDK on Thur evening since I was gone. Jared did his yellow belt form and got his blue stripe! Yay for Jared! He's so proud. Jen should be getting her white belt form stripe soon. She already knows most of it from watching her brothers.

Life is in fast speed as usual. Monday is lined up with some must-do things....dr appt for Jim and other errands along with trying to put in as many work hours as possible because Monday is always one of my big $ days.

School is going well. Jim decided to get out of football after one of the coaches called him the "N" word...........Can you believe that garbage???? A grown man calling a kid a name like that in this day and age???? Anyway, he is in drama now and I believe that is going to be an excellent outlet for him! Entertaining is in his blood.

Jim has been pushing to go see the World Trade Center movie and so while the younger boys were at my mom's house this afternoon we went to see it. It is really good. It's from the rescuer's point of view so focuses more on the goodness of mankind instead of the evil of that day. I was hesitant...not sure I wanted to relive the horrer of that day but I'm glad I saw it.

Oh, Buddy has hanging on me since I got home today! He missed me........everybody say awwwwe...lol He keeps licking my leg. icky but sweet at the same time

James has the Texans game on Do I *have* to???

jealousy

James' boss has an 8 month old black lab that he was told by his landlord had to go *now so my ever big-hearted dh met the dog, fell in love, and the rest is history.....

I think Jim has fallen in love! He has already taken him running with is bike. It's just the sort of dog that suits his personality.

Now Buddy, otoh, is acting soooo jealous! First he keeps barking at Max like he's telling him, hey this was *my family first! But the really funny part is his ball.......He has been carrying his ball around in his mouth. He will not set it down anywhere that Max can get it. Even when he carried it into my room and I closed the door he *still covered it with his paw as if to say "It is mine and I am not sharing!" pimp

He has been feeling unsettled this week anyway. With the kids gone all day he has become my shadow. He follows me everywhere I go in the house........It's like having a toddler all over again!

PS Max drools........omg, so disgusting!!!

good news!

In preparation for the beginning of school I have scored a major accomplishment!!! You know that perpetual never-ending laundry pile that you just never seem to be able to find the bottom of? I have succeeded in conquering it for the past two weeks! It is quite an accomplishment when doing laundry for a houseful of 6 people. We're talking not only washed and dried but folded, on hangers and put away where it all belongs. Everyone now has their entire wardrobe to choose from rather than just the 'clean' portion. :)

The key....a load of laundry goes in the machine first thing every morning, no exceptions. If necessary another load is done in the afternoon. Everything, every stitch, must be put away that same day, no exceptions. They are not allowed to linger in a laundry basket on the floor in the garage where the kids are prone to leave them. And they certainly can never take up space on the love seat where the kids want to just toss and go. I do wonder how long it will last before that never-ending laundry pile returns...

Now, the teens they are mostly responsible for their own laundry. If I find them in the dryer I'll fold and put them away but if I won't go searching in their teen dens for dirty clothes. I'm still working on the two younger boys. I'll get them doing their own laundry......eventually......

the rules

boy conversation overheard while playing with cousin's doll house and barbie dolls

Jeff: I have a wife and a girlfriend

Jar: No, you can not have a girlfriend if you have a wife.

Jeff: Why not???????

Jar: It's against the rules!

Jeff: Against who's rules?

Jar: It's against the wife's rules!!!

routines and school

With just one day left before the start of a brand new school year I've been trying/attempting to get these boys into their early to bed routine but that has been a big laugh, or should I say cry? They spend an hour after showers inventing reasons why they 'must' get back up out of bed. Tonight instead of the 8:30 bedtime it was 9:30 before I finally got them settled. I know......patience, it will happen. I am dreading the 1st week tired crankiness that always happens but we'll settle in quickly enough.

It's so hard to realize that this is Jared's last year in elementary. He'll be changing classes/teachers during the day. wah! It's exciting to see them grow up but sad at the same time. He is excited about being one of the 'big guys' on campus. lol

We have everything ready. I love that feeling. (wait, I do need to take Jen for a pair of sandles) I'm wondering, though.........We have had a shortage of those red checking pencils here. We're talking you can not find them ANYWHERE!!! I've searched office depot, mannings, staples.......you name it I've searched there. What I'm wondering is......is this just in our area or has the red pencil companies decided there is just no need for them any longer and quite making them??? I think there are going to be some teachers doing without their red marking pencils this year. There is a manilla paper shortage as well..........what is up with that? Sorry kids, no drawing this year........

James got the boys clothes out of layaway this evening. It was like Christmas with the boys going thru the box of clothes that they helped pick out in the first place. lol They seem to think a Superman shirt is mandatory school uniform or something. I have this sneaky suspicion that those will be the shirts of choice for the first day on Monday. What do you wanna bet?

Pretty please?????

Can we skip football season this year? For just one year can we, oh I don't know, maybe a top to bottom strike on all football games??? From Thur night JV games to Friday night lights to only able to find college ball on tv on Saturdays to several games on Sunday to Monday night football..........we are talking only 2 football free days a week for months on end.........ack! Living in a house full of testosterone during football season is enough to send any woman over the edge. Can you believe on our wedding night there was a Dallas Cowboy game on so after the reception we just *had to go do my in-laws house so he could watch the the game?!

Hmm, I wonder what it would be like if you could tivo life and just skip over the parts you want to avoid???

a PTD

p=physical
t=trying
d=day

I had to do the fasting bloodwork/dr visit this am so skipped the pain meds.......and that was just the beginning of my day. By the time I drove to the dr office my head and neck were just in wrenching pain so I decided a sick stomach might be better than the miserable pain and swallowed a pain pill. When that started making me sick I wasn't sure which was worse, the pain I continued to have or the now curl up and die sick stomach. Anyway, the dr visit took too long for me to do the PT before work so I came home and started working but the headache got so bad I ended up in bed for a few hours. Then it was PT and this and that and now here it is past 1 am and I'm just now slowing down for the night. phew! And now it is on to working all weekend cramming for the end of pay period so ttfn!

4 am

wide awake and unable to sleep.......don't you just love it!

Today will be an errands day for me, meaning not at home working. I go for bloodwork this morning. That always reminds me of an old friend, John. wah He was diabetic and would always say, "Well, I'm going to see the vampire today!" Anyway, then physical therapy and dealing with that nasty mess at the bank.......or maybe I should do the bank and then physical therapy.......

I was excited to get my boys home. Jeff is such the homebody that he was telling auntie Debra that he missed his mom and dad and wanted to go home after just one day there. Debra says they can come visit her any time because they are such well behaved and good mannered boys. (They even voluntarily made their own beds!!!) I needed to hear that with all the other chaos I'm having to deal with right now. It did give me a chance to spend some extra special one-on-one time with Jen. I really enjoyed that.

ack.......fasting+pain meds=sick stomach=must go lay down Need to squeeze in a little more sleep, anyway. :)

a welcome home

My two precious boys are coming home today! Yippee!!! I miss them quite alot when they are away but I'm glad they got their yearly summer week with auntie Debra. I'm sure they had a really fun time. Yesterday when I talked to her they were at the movie theater watching "The Barnyard".

more

I found out today that the injections mean more physical therapy....6 times per injection. I wasn't expecting that. It's just more scheduling worries.....work and school, therapy and TKD......where is the time for things like cooking and housework??? Sleep I can't avoid. The pain medications, muscle relaxer, and an assortment of other must-have medications have me walking/talking like a drunk gal every night. Waking every morning is an exercise of toothpicks and ice water. I have no idea how I'm going to manage to get these kids to school every morning. How did my life come to this?

OK, so I'm having a bad day.

I talked to the nurse today. I expected that the injection I had Friday would have improved my pain level by now. She says no, not to expect it with the first injection. Lovely. I seriously feel like my pain is just getting worse and worse. I'm sick of it. Completely and totally sick of it. I feel like a glass ball that is about to just shatter into a million pieces. I just don't want any more.

camping in the horrid heat

I managed to get a Friday appt for the injections so we left a day early for our weekend camping trip. The first night was good (after I downed my pain killers anyway!). We stayed at my in-law's home and enjoyed a nice visit. Friday am James drove me for the injections then we picked up the boys and set up camp. We put the tent under a tree and had an a/c to cool the tent (hey, told ya I can not live w/o my ac!!!). We actually got cold that night. But Saturday I woke up incredibly sore from the injections so I medicated up and found a cool place to sleep while the guys went swimming. They now are sporting red noses. But it just ended up being way too hot so we broke camp and spent the last night at my sil's house. The kids had tons of fun there riding the 4-wheeler and playing with cousin K. They wanted to keep my two younger boys so they are enjoying their last summer fling before school starts next week.............Yes, it's that time already. They'll be in school bright and early Monday morning and then I'll be back to the am/pm rush.