Controlled chaos

Happy 11th Birthday Brandon!!!!

2011-05-08T09:37:00.005-04:00

HAPPY 11TH BIRTHDAY BRANDON!

My baby turns 11 today! To celebrate Jason and his Dad took Brandon and 3 friends to their company fishing tournament. They had an 8 o'clock game the night before so we knew it would be rough! It wasn't, though. They all had fun and won prizes! They were sooo tired when they got home! After that we had a joint family birthday party for him and Maddox since their birthdays are only a day apart! So far this has been a great weekend!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY!

On My Mind!

2011-04-27T20:18:00.003-04:00

I'm totally stressed out, not sleeping and I've lost all faith in humanity! It really is amazing that people act the way they do! So here comes another great post fueled by the need for people to shut the F up! No this has nothing to do with anything else but just something that has been on my nerves!
For the 100th time recently, I read on Facebook where someone has posted something about their job. Rough day at work, things were crazy today, really don't want to go to work tomorrow, etc, etc, etc. As usual someone has to post this, "Be thankful you have a job!" UGH! That drives me nuts! I understand that the past few years have been rough in the employment department. I realize that millions of people lost their jobs and homes but come on! People are hiring!
Jason and I were very lucky to have kept both our jobs. We slowed down for a while but things have definitely picked up! Most of my company is on mandatory 7 days a week. Some people even working 12 hours a day! Jason's shop has also been working overtime.
This is what gets me: Everyday my company brings in temps and everyday the temps go right back out the door! We can't seem to keep anybody and the workers we do get, well, most of them don't want to work! The half that do, can't even pass their drug teast! It really is crazy! You hear everyone complaining about the need for a job but where are those people?
I understand that I do factory work and most people would rather be in an office but a paycheck is a paycheck! It all pays the bills! Plus we have benefits and bonuses. I like working there. Most of the people are ok and once they get past the fact that I don't have a penis, all is good! LOL
It makes me wonder if all this has anything to do with the 99 weeks of unemployment. I agree that some people really do need that much time to find a job but in our area it seems as though things are looking up. Or maybe it's the free Internet, cell phones, cable or gas cards that the government gives out. Trust me I know. When we do get temps that stick around they tell us all about it! It really is crazy all the assistance you can get! It makes me wonder if the working middle class really aren't the poorest of the poor anymore!
I do believe that there are people out there that truly need the assistance. I also believe that it should be a stepping stone to getting back on your own two feet. Not a lifestyle! I also believe that there are great assistance programs to help people go back to school and with child care but like I said stepping stones!
What do you think? Are things looking up in your area?

Easter Weekend!

2011-04-25T17:15:00.018-04:00

I would have had this blog posted yesterday but I had to get the permission of The President, the Mayor, the student council, the NRA and the Boy Scouts Of America before I could post! Had to make sure it wasn't going to upset anyone! OHHH! Come on that was funny!

So anyway this weekend started out pretty shitty! I was stressed out to the max! I had the worst headaches and wasn't sleeping at all. I know I shouldn't let people get to me but when it comes to the kids I can't help it! UGH! After not sleeping Friday night I had to do something or I was going to go crazy! So I did something about all this stress and now I feel better! I also decided that as long as all this crap doesn't affect my kid, then I don't care! Whatever! So what!

After all that on Saturday afternoon Brandon had a game in Lakeville. So far the team isn't doing so well but individually, most of then kids are making great improvements. It would be nice to win a game or at least score a run but as long as then kids are still wanting to win and having fun, I'm ok with that! (on a side note.....All the baseball shirts are practically see through so I went to wally World and got this shirt that's supposed to hold all your jiggles in. Well it definitely did the trick! I seriously think my liver stopped working because it was so tight! LOL)

After that it was all family time!

The boys coloring Easter Eggs!

Jarrett never far from his cell phone!

Jesse, uh, helping Maddox!

Easter Egg coloring is never complete until someone uses the word butthole and Ea almost pees her pants because of it!

Later that night Uncle J got a new best friend! Awwww! (I really do have pretty curtains under those blankets but they must stay up so Jason can sleep)

The next day Jason had to work but the boys and I went up to Mom's for dinner and an Easter egg hunt.

Brandon showing off his awesome new shirt!

Maddox's outfit was a little big so he turned into Ghetto Maddox!

Miss Audrey showing off her Hello Kitty bunny!

The kids checking out their goods from the hunt!

Mr. Maddox!

What a way to end the day!

Here We Go Again!

2011-04-21T20:52:00.003-04:00

Once again my little blog has caused some drama. I don't mind people sharing my blog. That's what it is there for. But please, please, please, if you read something that upsets you, TALK TO ME! We really could have avoided some drama.
A blog is like an opinion column in a newspaper. You don't have to agree with it. If you don't agree, by all means, leave a comment. I'm not always right but my opinion is my opinion. It's not yours, Great Aunt Sally's, or my neighbor's. It Is Mine, Mine, Mine!
Just to clarify what the issue was.......A few parents got upset about the last entry. They thought I was talking about their kids. I was not. I did not use names. Plus anyone that knows me, knows that I would never do that to a child. My children come first no matter what! And I try to treat the kids friends the same way! As a matter of fact I am one of those parents that is harder on my own kids than anyone elses.
With the exception of the actual baseball games, all the other situation as the end of the blog were fictional! Tina, Lisa, Becky, Barbie, Jack, and Teddy are not meant to portray and specific kid! Or any child on either ball team! Those were my way of putting situation out there to get feedback! How would you handle that? We have all been there in one form or another. On that day we were in two situation, one as a parent and one as a coach. I saw both sides! That was the point of the blog!
Like I have said before...If you don't like what you read, then don't read it! If you have a problem, come to me. Now I feel that all the parents on the team think I am some horrible person just because I have an opinion! Well so be it! I guess this isn't the first time and won't be the last! I have a strong personality and have learned to live with it. I'm not the smile and be nice type of person!

One last thing...If I EVER find out that someone is holding my actions against My child, there will be HELL to pay! My boys come first and I would rather die than to let someone judge them, hurt them or whatever because of me!

No One Ever Said This Would Be Easy!

2011-04-18T20:06:00.002-04:00

Raising kids is hard! Anyone that has kids knows that. As a parent all we want to do is raise our kids the way we feel is right. Notice I didn't say raise them right. I said raise them the way we feel is right. Every parent has a different idea of what we feel is right for our kids. Sometimes in that quest for raising our kids we forget about everyone else. It's hard!
It's especially hard when it is another parent that holds the power to be fair and give all the kids the opportunity to have a chance. I'll give you two examples that may or may not be based on actual events.
Lets say you are coaching your Little Johny in baseball. You have 12 kids on the team but only 9 can play at a time. You put Little Johny out in the field the 1st 2 innings but sit Peter, Paul and Mary on the bench. The 1st 2 innings don't go so well and you realize the game might only last 4 innings. As a parent you would hate to see Peter, Paul and Mary not get to play so you take out Little Johny, Big Billy and Susie. As a parent you feel that was the right thing to do. Well along comes Big Billy's dad, Bigger Billy. Bigger Billy is not happy that Big Billy is sitting on the bench and he throws a fit right in the middle of the game! Really? As the assistant coach you want to knock the guy out and scream, "Uh hello dumba**! All the kids came to practice and get to have a chance to play too!" But it's a good thing that the head coach has a cooler head because he calmly asks Bigger Billy to take a look at all the kids on the bench and pick what kid doesn't get to play just so his kid doesn't have to sit the bench. Bigger Billy calms down and your team looses 10 to 0 in 4 innings but all the kids got to play! I think that's a win!
I think I had seen this next situation on an episode of Leave It To Beaver!
Wally is so excited that he got picked to be on the best baseball team. Wally is pretty good and is even told that he could be in the top half of the team if he works hard! Along comes their 1st tournament of the year. It's a cold an very windy day! Single elimination! The game starts at 9:30 am on a Sunday. Of course the field is over an hour away but Ward and June will do anything for their kids so off they go! Wally warms up with his team and nosey June hears the opposing coach ask if Wally was the sub. Yes say the book keeper/coaches wife. Well, that June has quite a temper and is instantly ticked off! Wally is on the bench along with Sam and Eddie! There they sit the whole game. The most excitement they got was warming up with the left fielder. And so their team wins 7 to 0 and Wally, Sam and Eddie never left the bench. Of course June is livid and Ward is mad but do they say anything? No.
Well, Ward and June have to leave to drive even longer back past their town because Beaver has a game at 4 pm that same day. They leave Wally with Uncle Jesse and Daisy Mae. Of course Wally gets to play right field that whole game but they loose and that's the end of the tournament. Did Eddie and Sam ever get to play? Why sure Eddie did...he got one at bat. Poor old Sam once again never left the bench! And Little Tommy never got to play that game. I think that's a loss!
How do you explain these things to your child? How do you say, "Well so sorry Tina, but Lisa gets to cheer today and you don't even though you came to all the practices and scrimmages and Lisa didn't!"
Or, "So sorry Becky! You may be better at volleyball but Barbie made the team over you because her Mom is the principal!"
Or, "Gee Jack, You don't get to wrestle on the team this year even though you have wrestled every year of your life because Teddy has never wrestled but decided he wanted to give it a try and his Daddy owns the car dealership in town and has a lot more money than we do!"
If your a good parent you don't say any of these things. You say, "Well Tina, Becky , Jack or whoever, we will work real hard and hopefully make the team next year!"
Our kids aren't dumb and they know what's going on! We as parents can't let them grow that hate in their hearts towards people. Then they might walk around all day grumbling about how they hate people and they are going to move to Alaska and live in an igloo with a polar bear! LOL
But really how would you handle these situations? Do you say something to the coaches? To the league commissioners? Do you let the child deal with it in his own way? Or do you do nothing at all? What would you do?

So Proud Of My Boys!

2011-04-02T10:18:00.004-04:00

That's right boys and girls......It's baseball season! Around here we don't go spring, summer, fall, and winter. It's baseball, golf, football, and basketball! More importantly, it is also the end of the third 9 weeks of school. Brandon got all A's and B's! We are so proud and so is he! This will be the 1st time EVER that he made the All A's and B's list! He has progressed in leaps and bounds in the last 3 months.
He is now taking the Adderal 2 times a day and has no ill effects from it. We still see some little things that may never change. He gets agitated if his schedule changes alot and gets irritated very easily by little things. That could be because he IS my son! LOL I am the same way! Our saving grace has been his Ipod. He listens to it and it helps block out all the little things. I have a friend that is just beginning this journey with her son. The biggest thing to remember is that no child is the same and you may have to try 100 different things before you find the 1 thing that is right for your kid. Never stop trying and be open to anything! You don't want to miss out on a chance like Brandon has been given!
I don't do well with the mushy stuff...so....back to baseball!!
Jarrett has made the Hot Stove Silver team! I was worried that he wouldn't because Jarrett has a very laid back attitude when it comes to some things. He is just like "Eh. Whatever happens, happens." Not this time! He really tried and worked hard! We are proud of him! They are gonna have one tough team! All the talent from his age group is amazing! They won the Jr High WCAL(Wayne County Athletic League) in football and in basketball! Now they need to kick some baseball butt! Even though it's not technically the WCAL this time but they will be great! Brandon's team also looks good. Yes, I am helping to coach. It is a little weird because we live in an area where we are still a little behind in the times. I still get the "women should be at home" vibe a little. Not from the head coach but a few of the other Dad's and some of the boys. I just say whatever and move on. It is a little funny, though. We shall see how the season goes!

What A Difference A Month Makes!

2011-01-23T16:33:00.003-05:00

I don't know if you can read that or not but I had to put it on here! That is Brandon's progress report! As of today he has ALL A's! Whoo Hoo! I know it is only one week into the grading period but this is quite and accomplishment for him! We are all so proud!

Everyday his teacher leaves me messages of how proud she is of him! He is staying on task, asking questions, and volunteering to help out in the classroom. This medication is definitely helping him in school. At home he is still a little distracted but we are still tweaking his meds and are probably going to add in a small afternoon dose to get him through the day. One of the big concerns was weight loss. He has actually gained 3 pounds! His blood pressure looks good too. I know that things are only going to get better for Brandon and he is finally going to be able to show everyone what we all knew he was capable of!

The After Christmas Blahs!

2011-01-05T20:10:00.011-05:00

Well it's already Wednesday and we are still trying to get back into our routine! I went back to work, the kids are back at school and Jason goes back to work tonight. I bet the dogs are glad to have some quiet time in the house! LOL The boys have had a rough time getting readjusted so there has been lots of fighting. So far they have had their video games, Ipod(Jarrett) and cell phone(Jarrett) taken away! What a way to start the new year! I really need to get to work on Brandon's new room so they can have some separate time.

I started my New Years resolution, exercise more, Duh! So far, so good! Talk to me next week. He, he he! I also vowed not to eat ice cream till April 1st! Crazy I know! Ice cream is my biggest weakness. Well, that and crispy crowns! I can do it!

Let's see...Brandon goes to the doctor tomorrow. He is doing really well. His teacher has reported all good days this week. Now we need to find a good Math tutor. Anyone know of anyone?

I also managed to get all the Christmas decorations put away. Before I did I decided to take a few pitcher of some of my favorites:

These are some of my babies that my Grandma made. I love them all and I am very sad because she has stopped making stuff for Christmas. It was always my favorite gift and couldn't wait for the secret to be revealed.

This is my favorite Santa. He plays music and I love him!

This is a wall hanging I got in Berlin last year and I love it!

I collect snowmen and these are two of my favorites!

Every year I love hanging my Christmas cards around the doorway. I didn't get as many as usual but I love all the ones that I did get.

And this is my little Maddox wearing his Santa hat. He was probably singing Jingle Bells! OK so he is not exactly a Christmas decoration but I love him anyway!

It's A Start.

2010-12-29T10:23:00.002-05:00

This is my story as to why Christmas Eve morning started out a little crazy.....I left work for the last work day of the year on Thursday. Brandon had a doctor appointment at 4 in Millersburg. I run to Fredro from Wooster to pick him up and then it was off to Millersburg. We got there early because I had some more papers that the Dr had to read. Then we sat there forever! The Dr had a delivery so we had to wait. Brandon was really good so it wasn't a big deal. Plus with all the craziness about to happen with Christmas Eve being the next day, it was nice to just sit.
The Dr was really good with asking all kinds of questions and decided to start him out on a very low dose of adderal. He said we could slowly increase it and see how he does. I have just kept him on that dose, so far, because he doesn't go back to school till the 3rd and that's where we are going to see if it helps or not. The Dr is worried about his blood pressure and him loosing weight. I thought the loosing weight thing was a little silly because he is a big boy and has room if he looses a little. The Dr said I have big boys!(duh) They are both going to be big and I am just going to have to deal with that. So anyway we have to watch him because it will make him loose his appetite.
Because his meds are a controlled substance I have to have a written prescription. I had to run some stuff to Jason in Orrville anyway so I decided to have it filled a CVS in Orrville. First Brandon and I stopped in Millersburg to get something to eat. By this time it was 5:15 and Jason was texting me about bringing the stuff(it was air mattresses for his friend to borrow) to Orrville. So I ran from Millersburg to Stacy's house to pick those up. Then I dropped Brandon off at home and headed to Orrville. I dropped the mattresses off at Jason's work and then dropped the prescription off at CVS. They said it would be 10 minutes so I ran to Buehlers to get a few things for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dinner.
By now it is almost 7 and I haven't stopped going since I got up that morning at 4a.m. I run back into CVS and guess what??? They don't have the generic but they do have the name brand! That's a $30 difference! Then they tell me that CVS in Wooster has the generic so off I go right back to where I started earlier in the day!(my work is right by CVS) More waiting time and it is now 8 p.m.! I get the meds and can finally go home but of course I had to stop at my Mommies. Then I accidentally leave the meds there so I call my sister to drop them off later when she picks up Maddox. She remembers to get them from Mom's house but then leaves them in her truck!
Brandon had to start the meds Christmas Eve morning so before I could start my running around that day I had to run over to Ea's to get the meds.
Brandon did get to start taking them on time and so far he is doing good. We don't really have too many problems with him at home but he hasn't wanted to kill Jarrett lately so I guess that is an improvement. He even remembered to take his shirt out of the dryer and hang it up! He really didn't eat too much on Christmas Day but he has started to eat a little bit more now. I'm not going to worry about it too much as long as he is eating something. Hopefully this will be a start to getting Brandon where he needs to be!
So did you get all that??? Fredro(home) to Wooster(work) to Fredro(home) to Millersburg(doctor) to Burger King to Fredro(Stacy's house) to home to Orrville(Jason's work) to CVS to Buehlers to CVS to Wooster(CVS) to Fredro(Mom's) to home!
I really have done very little the last few days so I guess that makes up for it!

Christmas 2010

2010-12-26T09:50:00.012-05:00

Christmas 2010 was one of the best in years! I'm not sure if it was because things are just really good right now or because I know a lot of people that are going through a lot of crap right now and I'm thankful it is not me! The last two days every time we did anything I just kept thinking how things would be totally different if it was me that was in any of those situations. Blah! Let's not think that way! On to the fun......

Christmas Eve morning started out a little rough but that was left over from the night before. No I wasn't out drinking or anything but I'll post about it later. Anyway, Mom and I headed to Orrville for our annual trip to get Michael's doughnuts for Christmas morning. Some years we have ride alongs but this year it was just the two of us.We stopped at a few stores grabbed a few things and then we waited in line for 40 minutes to get the car washed. Yes you may think that's silly but after the last week or so, sitting in the car doing nothing was great! After that it was home to clean and cook.

Christmas Eve is spent with the Wonsick side of the family. We were lucky this year that Jason's brother and his family were able to be in Ohio for Christmas. Kevin took all the kids to the movies earlier in the day, then we had dinner at our house, off to church at Mindy's Dad's church in Millersburg, and then home for dessert and presents.

That's the Wonsick kids plus two Kidds! Our family's get along so well that we often just mix and match get togethers!After that Santa came! Yay! Before you get all excited about how many presents are under the tree know this.....Most of those boxes are filled with jeans for my oldest child that can't wear a pair of pants for more than 2 weeks without growing out of them! LOL

Poor little tired babies!

Of course Santa brought them awesome presents!

Then it was off to Grandma Norma's house for our fun filled, annual family breakfast!

Next it was on to Mother's for more presents! Everyone got along so well this year. Oops except these two. They were arguing passionately about who was younger and therefore got to open their presents first! Little goofballs!

After that it was home for a nap and more cooking! Then back to Mother's for more food and fun! If I don't weigh 800 pounds by time I go back to work it will be a miracle!

Madison and Brandon finally getting to play "Just Dance" on the WII after be had to drag Ea away from it before she hurt herself or one of the kids! HA, ha, ha! I didn't get any pictures of Ea but I did get plenty of video! Maybe I'll post it on Facebook later with some more pictures!
So to wrap it all up(get it?...wrap...Christmas presents...get it?) This year was awesome! I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and has a Happy New Year!

HAPPY 13th BIRTHDAY JARRETT!

2010-12-17T00:00:00.001-05:00

Yes that's right, Jarrett turns 13 today! I am now the mother of an actual teenager. Not just a boy that acts like a teenager! Anyone that knows Jarrett has watched him grow like a weed, become more mature and develop all those "teenage" qualities that all parents dread! Some days he is crabby, moody, and just plain unpleasant to be around. Then there are other days when he laughs, jokes around and even smiles!

It's hard to believe that he has gone from my little baby to one big teenager!

Yikes! Just look at the baby! Not at me!

His 1st bath!~

Daddy, Mommy and Jarrett at our wedding!

My how he has grown!

Jarrett holding the onesie he wore home from the hospital.(I promised no head shot)

His tennis shoes then and now!
His feet then and now!

We love him with all our hearts and can't wait to see what is yet to come! Happy Birthday Baby!
P.S. Candle In The Wind by Elton John was number one on the charts on December 17, 1997. It had been number 1 for 14 weeks since it was remade as a tribute to Princess Diana following her death.

The Next Step!

2010-12-15T17:47:00.002-05:00

Things around here are moving right along at a fast pace. Thanksgiving, done, Jarrett's birthday, Friday, Christmas, in 10 days! Crazy! While doing all this crazy shopping, wrapping and decorating, I have had a lot of time to think. Being busy is always best for me because it helps to keep things clear. I know most people are opposite but I'm sure most of you will agree that I am "special" when it comes to a lot of things. ( like the way the toilet paper goes on the holder)
Our decision has to do with Brandon. He is doing better in school except Math. Right now he has a 50% F. That is probably his worst ever. He is still unorganized, easily looses things, easily distracted and constantly rubbing his knuckles raw. Anyone that spends any amount of time with him has seen him do this. It's crazy! Basically there are a lot of areas that the therapy has helped but now that they are out of the way his other issues are more prominent.
Jason and I have decided to take him in and have him evaluated for ADD. The school psychologist has, for the most part, already diagnosed him with it. We just need to take him in and have our doctor go over all the test results and do any additional testing. Then they will put him on medication. He goes in next Thursday.
This really, really breaks my heart! I absolutely did not want him to be labeled as ADD or ADHD but the reality is he needs more help than what we can give him. He needs something that is going to slow his brain down so he can keep up with it. I went in and talked to his regular teacher and his intervention specialist and they both agree that something has to be done. We are all afraid that when he goes to the Jr High he will not get the attention that he is getting now. We also don't want him to be placed in the special needs room all day because he is so smart and that will kill him! We are hoping that we can find the right medication and get him on track for 7th grade in a year and a half!
I am just so thankful that Brandon is such a great kid! He never causes trouble at school and has such a great attitude about everything there. At home it is sometimes a different story but what kid doesn't act better for other people?

Lazy Sunday

2010-12-05T14:44:00.002-05:00

After a crazy busy Friday and Saturday it's time for some relaxing. Ok maybe not your definition of relaxing but mine. Not leaving the house is relaxing even if it means I am doing tons of other stuff. Dishes are done and laundry is started. I've organized all the Christmas presents I've bought and now I'm getting ready to wrap all the nieces and nephews gifts. While I'm doing that I'm gonna watch that Christmas movie I fell asleep during last night!
The dogs are being lazy, Jason is watching football(napping) in bed and the boys are laying around in the living room. Later on I will make dinner out of odds and ends and maybe Jason will go get us some ice cream. I wish every Sunday could be like this!

Happy Birthday Buddy!

2010-12-02T16:56:00.007-05:00

From this Sweet, Sweet Angel.....

To this Sweet, Sweet Angel.....

And oops, the Not So Sweet , Sweet Angel....
Happy 6th Birthday Brayden!

Tired Ramblings

2010-11-22T20:12:00.002-05:00

Many years ago I went on a serious Sylvia Browne kick. I read all her books and watched her on T.V. whenever I could. You may or may not believe her but some of the stuff she says just makes sense. It was Sylvia that got me to believe in God again. Yes, yes I know! Shame on me for ever going through such a time but whatever, I did. I believe in God and have him in my heart. Maybe not in the same way that all of you do but in my own way. I look at it this way....If we are going out for ice cream(God), as long as we both like ice cream(God) what does it matter if we like different flavors(denominations)!
So anyway back to what I was getting at. Sylvia says that when someone or something pisses us off it is because we let it! We can choose to ignore it. Many of us don't ignore things and really let it get to us. Then we go on all day bitching and whining. I am guilty and so are many of you. I think that sometimes we all need to take a step back and take a good look at what we are always complaining about. You know, the things that we let make us miserable. Whether it be our job, the husband, the kids, family, or just life in general.
After we take a good look at what we let make us miserable, we need to do something about it! Let's take for example it's our children's behavior. Look on the web for advice, talk to other parents, read some magazines and come up with a plan! Then implement your plan! It may not be easy and it may not work the first time but keep trying. After some hard work I'm sure that you will find something that works for you.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that I run into a lot of miserable people everyday. They complain about the same stuff over and over but they never do anything to change. Really all that complaining is just making the people around you miserable too.
I would rather work hard and make a change then live my life so miserably that it's like I am not even living at all anymore! It would be like I am just going through the motions, oblivious to everyone and everything and missing out on a lot of good along the way.
My advice for the day is: the next time someone or something makes you mad, take a step back and ask yourself if it is worth it!

Time Is Really Flying!

2010-11-19T18:30:00.002-05:00

I'm just sitting here trying to making all my lists for the Holidays. Things to cook, things to bake, grocery list, gift lists, and I'm sure there will be more. We also have Ea, Brayden and Jarrett's birthdays coming up. I'm so excited! We even played the ABC's of the Holidays at work today!
Speaking of things to cook...has anyone tried these spice packs yet? You can get them at Wally World. They are awesome! I made the Lime Chicken Fajitas tonight and even Jarrett liked them. That right there is amazing! I have been going through lots of recipes too and right now I am looking for the Bob Evans Pumpkin Bread Recipe. If anyone knows of one that tastes just like it let me know! I love that stuff! Then again I like anything pumpkin.
Well according to the Hallmark Channel there are only 36 days till Christmas, so I better get busy!

What A Differenece A Year Makes!

2010-11-14T09:29:00.004-05:00

I know I have used that title before but it is so true. Luckily I'm on the "this year is way better than last year" train! Right now I am so excited for the holidays! The cooking the decorations, the shopping, the planning, the music, the snow and I guess all the family too. He, he. I feel like I missed out on so much last year due to my "crazy lady screwed up hormone" time! Just go back and read last years posts. I did and it wasn't very pretty! I couldn't even blog half the time I was so pissy.

Since I am so excited I decided to totally revamp my cookie baking list. Some cookies have got to go and some need added like snicker doodles and I need new recipes for others. One of the ones I need a new recipe for was the M&M cookies. I just used the Original Toll House cookie recipe and it wasn't working. No matter what I tried; shortening instead of butter, lower cooking temp, less sugar and chilling the dough first nothing worked. every time the cookies spread out thin and left all the M&M's in one pile. They tasted ok but the appearance was blah!

I searched the Internet for hours and read thousands of reviews before I found one I liked. Simple to mix and easy to bake! Here are the results:

This recipe will definitely be made again before Christmas. Jarrett had a bunch of boys stay the night so I used them as my taste testers. They loved them! I didn't eat any because Jason and I are on our pre-holiday diet! *snicker* Gotta make room for all those holiday goodies!

Madison's Championship Volleyball Team

2010-11-09T19:17:00.004-05:00

Way To Go Girls!

Watching girls volleyball is just not the same as watching football. LOL All the high pitched screaming. Geesh! But it is fun to watch. We went to one one Madison's games a few weeks back and it was great to see how much she has improved in such a short time! She even did a lovely dive on her knees! I think she was showing off for her big crowd of 17 family members. That's right 17 family members from ours and Mike's family. That's our way of saying "We Love Ya Babe!" Good job Madison!

Memory Lane With Tears

2010-11-08T18:25:00.003-05:00

Jason called me at work last Monday to tell me that his friend had taken his own life that morning. I was shocked! I didn't know what to say. I could tell by Jason's voice that he was very upset. He didn't want me to come home so I stayed at work with way too much time to think. All these questions going through my head. I wanted to cry but I'm not one that shows their emotions well. I'm supposed to be strong. I will not cry.
Those first couple of days were hard. Jason is also not one to show his emotions so it was hard to know what to do or what to say. I'm a detail kinda girl so I badly wanted details. How? Where? Why? But I couldn't ask because he didn't want to talk too much. Calling hours and funeral details came in so I got time off work to go with Jason. I knew I needed to be there for him but I didn't realize how hard that would be for me.
When we walked into the funeral home it was very sad to hug his wife, it was very sad to look at the closed casket, and it was very sad to look at all the pictures. The hardest part was watching his children. You see Jason's friend was only 35. He has two children right around 11 and 9. Watching them was like going back in time 22 years.
My Dad was only 3 months away from being 35. He had children that were 12, 10, 9, and 7. He died in a car accident. I was those children. I was the daughter that had her father ripped away from her when she was too young to fully understand the impact. I was the one sitting with my mother, grandparents, and family crying. That was me.
Their rough journey is just beginning. I know the hard times they have yet to live through. Not having their Dad there for holidays, 1st boyfriends, graduations, to walk down the isle, and the grandchildren. Oh the grandchildren! That's the hardest. My Dad wanted a boy so bad and now he has 6 handsome grandsons he will never see and 2 beautiful granddaughters that will never get to be the apple of his eye.
My oldest sister just commented about how her oldest son is now past the age she was when my Dad died. I thought I was the only one that did that. I know down to the day when my children have or will pass that age. Jarrett has passed that age and Brandon will soon. When Jarrett passed that age I could breathe a little deeper because he was able to have his Dad around longer than I did. I am scared all the time that they will have to go through this.
This past week has been a trip down memory lane that I did not want to make.
Jason's friend was a great guy. He lived, he laughed, and he loved! We will never know why he did what he did but I do know that he will be missed by all of us! R.I.P.

Yay It's Me!

2010-11-07T11:51:00.002-05:00

We had a rough week around here and it made me realize how much I miss my blog. I don't write all the stuff on here but enough to vent some. I really am going to try to post more. I know I keep saying that but I'll try.

So here's what's been going on.....
We had a big school levy on the ballot on Tuesday. It passed and I am so glad! Now they are not going to close the school that my family has been going to for 5 generations. More than that, though, I am glad that it is over! I really should have quit reading the comments on the local paper on line. So much fighting and bickering! Plus some people were just spewing lies out left and right! Like I said, I'm glad it's over!

Football is over for both the boys. Jarrett's team went undefeated and Brandon's team went 5-1 in the regular season but lost to Dalton in the playoffs. I have no idea what they feed those boys in Dalton but they were all huge. I'm talking a team of 15 boys all the size of Brandon! Crazy!
The first 9 weeks is over for school. Both the boys did really well on their report cards. Jarrett had a rough start with Jr High but after a little turn around he ended up on the merit roll! Brandon is doing better than ever. The only low grade he had was Math. He is working really hard and I expect that grade will be higher next 9 weeks.

Jason had a friend pass away this week. It was very sad! I might do a whole post on that but I don't know how Jason will feel. So I'll get back to you on that one.

Last but not least.....IT IS FALL! Whoo Hoo! I love the temperatures, the falling leaves, the colors, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and PUMPKIN! Anything pumpkin! Plus all my magazines have the fall decorating ideas and new recipes to try! I was a little disappointed that there was already Christmas music in the stores. Things around here are going fast enough, let's not rush them anymore!

Week In Review!

2010-08-29T10:08:00.003-04:00

This week was a good week! The boys went back to school and we have fallen(mostly) back into our routine. The biggest thing that happened this week was.....Brandon Graduated Therapy! It was so awesome! I went with him to his last reevaluation and the change was amazing! He could do everything that he couldn't do his first day! All the girls in the office were so excited for him! He still has to do a little maintenance therapy but it's just so he doesn't stop cold turkey!
Watching all the changes in Brandon has really made me want to get the word out about this therapy. I've already had a meeting with the school superintendent but we have a big levy issue going on right now so I'm not too sure any of it got through to him. I have been sharing all of Brandon's progress with some of his friends parents. When they did Brandon's little graduation for him his friend was sitting in the therapy room waiting his turn! That was great!
Jarrett started school at the big JRL! I feel so old! It's hard to believe that I have one that old! He will be 13 in December, wears a size 12 shoe, and he's taller than me! The sad thing is Brandon's not far behind! I think Jarrett likes school, it's hard to get anything out of him but a yes or no! I can't tell you have many times this week that he has told me to stop asking questions! LOL It's a good thing we live in a small town and eventually one of my family members comes in with all the gossip! I just don't know if I'll survive having boys and not getting all the info!
We also had two football games this week! Jarrett played on Tuesday and they beat West Holmes 26 to 8! Jarrett played guard up on the line for the starting offence. Brandon played yesterday and they beat west Holmes 20 to 0! Brandon also played up on the line for starting offence and defence. He's one of the teams 2 "BIG Boys'! That's what the coaches from the other teams call them.
This week we had a preview into some fall weather! I love fall! The temperatures, the changing leaves, mums, and pumpkins! Anything pumpkin will do! Cookies, pies, rolls, puddings...I could go on and on! That also means we have the town Homecoming right around the corner! It's all coming together nicely! We've had a couple of people working hard at getting everything together. I was disappointed that we couldn't get more volunteers for the games. We even had to drop one of the games. I'm still convinced this year will be better than the last!

UGH!

2010-08-22T10:36:00.003-04:00

Things have been so busy around here! Schools getting ready to start, both the boys are in football, and the Homecoming is just around the corner. The last couple of weeks have been really crazy because Jarrett was practicing from 3 to 5:30 at the JRL and then Brandon was practicing from 6:15 to 8 at the JRL. Then throw in back to school night, football pictures, and a scrimmage that was an hour away, plus Jason trying to work overtime and life was busy! Plus all the everyday tasks: laundry, dishes, working, cleaning, the dogs and therapy every night! Crazy!
So anyway.....One day I was extra busy trying to get things done and the phone rings. I answered and continued to do the dishes. The person on the other line asks what's going on so I proceed to tell them that I was doing dishes, folding laundry, trying to get Brandon ready for practice and letting the dogs out all at the same time. Well I was! So the conversation goes on and I'm still banging clean dishes around in my rush so the person goes. "Well I don't wanna keep you. Sounds like your busy." So I say, "Yep just another day in our house!" Then this person says, "Well it's all self-inflicted!"
OMG! Did I see red! All I could say was yep bye. I was pissed for days! Then I thought about it. Yes, yes it is all self-inflicted! I agree! I do it all for my kids! This is the life I CHOOSE to live. I choose to run around like a chicken with my head cut off but it's all for them! Was I crying and whining during that phone call? NO! Did the other person ask? Yes! Do I do it all by myself? No!
Let's take a little look at last week.....My grandma took Jarrett to practice everyday because he had to be there before I got off work. Did she have to? No. Ea took Brandon to back to school night because we went to Indian Valley to watch Jarrett's scrimmage. Did she have to? No.
Well whatever! I know that if something should happen to me tomorrow these are the things they will remember. Ok not the laundry and dishes but us going to all their sporting events and school functions. The awesome family support that they get no matter what. The swimming, the parties....and on and on.
Everyone chooses to live a different life. Does that mean they are wrong? No. Everyday on FB I read comments like "Son/daughter has (fill in the blank) today." or " Tons of tomatoes to can today." or "Trying to get packed for vacation." or "The goats got out." Are these people complaining about their lives? No. They are sharing their lives with you! I think this is great! Everyone is different!
I guess what I'm trying to say is "Yes it is all self-inflicted!" It's called LIFE and it's what I choose!

A Whole New Football!

2010-08-14T21:23:00.009-04:00

Yes ladies and gentlemen, it's that time of year again! Football time! Jarrett is on the 7th grade team and Brandon is on the Gold B team. Jarrett won't let us watch him practice so I have no clue how he is doing. I try everyday to get info out of him but that's like trying to get blood out of a piece of sand! He has a scrimmage on Thursday so we will see then.

Brandon is a whole different story. I get to watch him everyday. He's a big boy so he plays lineman. This is his second year. Last year wasn't the greatest for him but he had a blast. He had trouble getting off the ball and wasn't sure where the play was. This year is different! They had a scrimmage this morning and he did great! He was off the ball right on time and made some tackles! He even made it to the quarterback a couple of times! One of his coaches said that he has improved 150%! He couldn't believe that was Brandon! What a difference a year makes!

Makes me wonder if all of this is because of his therapy. It has to be! If anyone is not convinced that this type of therapy makes a difference all they have to do is listen to Brandon's story. It is amazing the change in that child over the last year. I'm excited for the start of the school year. I hope the improvements in that area are just as great!

My heart still breaks every time I think of all that he has been through! I wish we would have caught all this earlier. I look at pictures like theses and I'm so thankful!

Brandon is #50! Second one in from the right on the line.

That's Brandon in the middle leading the huddle!

Him with his head down...

Taking on the BIG boys!

He was so hot and so sweaty when he got in the car but he loved every minute of it! A lot of people think we put too much emphasis on the kids sports. I think we do put a lot on sports but what people don't realize is how much kids really get out of all of it. It's not about the winning and loosing but what they get out of it all. The friends, the respect they have for the great coaches, team work, compassion for each other......I could go on and on! If you watch Brandon out there you see that. He's the first one to help someone up and give out that pat on the back! What a great kid!

My Craziness! (warning T.M.I.)

2010-08-04T19:45:00.002-04:00

Notice I haven't had very many posts in quite a while? Every time I would go to post about something it was bad or a nasty rant about someone or something. Basically for February, March and April I was CRAZY! I guess I've been slowly going that way but in January we started to try for another baby and that's when I really noticed things going down hill. I don't know if it was the added stress or what but things were bad.
First it started with me getting irritated at everything anyone did. I seriously contemplated killing one of my co-workers because everything she did raked at my nerves! At home I was yelling at Jason and the boys constantly and all I wanted to do was crawl in bed and sleep the day away. Of course with the boys in baseball, homework, dinner and Jason being at work that was not possible. Then I started asking the same questions over and over. I would ask the boys 5 times in 20 minutes if they fed the dog!
Then my body started to not be right! All my muscles would shake when I tried to lift anything, my eye was constantly twitching, I was getting headaches ALL the time and had some of the worst migraines of my life! I started having terrible night sweats. I mean I would wake up absolutely drenched! My face was broke out so bad on my cheeks and chin. I was so embarrassed! Everyone kept asking me about it and that was making the irritability worse. Plus we were in a weight loss challenge and I was gaining weight! I've always had trouble but this was ridiculous!
The biggest red flag(no pun intended) was my period! They had always been normal, like clockwork normal. They started to range from a 28 day cycle to sometimes 24 days or 34 days. I cramped so bad and was passing clots the size of golf balls!(see! TMI) Plus I wasn't getting pregnant despite trying very hard! LOL I knew something was wrong so I went to the Internet.
I was actually looking up acne when I came across something called Estrogen Dominance. I was sure that was what I had so I made an appointment with my family doctor for a Pap test and physical. I went to my appointment armed with a list of legitimate symptoms! I gave them to the nurse before the doctor came in so he would have time to look them over before he came into see me.
Before I get to this part let me tell you that this is the same doctor that delivered Brandon, Madison, Audrey, Brayden and Maddox. I loved him! He was even the kids family doctor for everything! So anyway he walks in the door and the 1st thing he says is "Could it be PMS?" Really?? For 3 weeks out of the month? Then he asks me to describe a typical week in my life. Ok? So I did. Then he tells me I have too much on my plate and it's all stress! I proceed to tell him that my life has always been this way and I have been able to handle it just fine. Then he tells me it's NOT fibromyalgia! WTH! I never even mentioned or thought it was that! Did he think I was just some lazy woman in here looking for a reason to lay on the couch all day? By this time I was getting pissed!
Then he whips this one out..."You are depressed and I'm writing you a prescription for Zoloft!" I refused! I knew I wasn't depressed! And I wasn't taking his drugs! So I mentioned the estrogen dominance. He goes, "So what do you do for that?" Again, Really?? Did I go to medical school? So I told him I read about progesterone cream. So he goes, "Well go get some!" Uh didn't know I could. Then he proceeded to do his exam!
I was ticked! One of my symptoms was pain near my left ovary. He felt around there and when I about jumped off the table he ordered me for an ultrasound. I had also made him out a sample menu for what I ate during the day. He cut my calories down to 850 a day and told me to be more active. Seriously? By this time I just wanted out of there! He did a thyroid test and some other blood work. He wrote me out a prescription for birth control to regulate my periods and told me that as much as he would love to see me have another baby, sometimes our bodies have a way of telling us that's not a good idea! I think he called it preservation! What a dick!
I still knew there was something wrong and felt totally lost! I drove to Wooster and got some of that progesterone cream at the health food store and started using it that night! I slept like a champ and felt better the next day! I kept using it! Then I went for my ultrasound and after calling the doctor 500 times(even though they said they would call me) I found out both of my ovaries were full of cysts! Larger ones in my left ovary! Finally I was starting to get somewhere. I wanted to know what we could do. The nurse said to start the BC and that would make them go away. Ok? So I went to my trusty Internet. I found all kinds of stuff! So being me I had tons of questions. I scheduled a consultation with my same doctor. Big mistake! I walked in and he looked at me and goes, "Yeah?" That was it! I asked him if I should go see a specialist and he said, "If you want." Dick! So they made me an appointment with an OBGYN in Wooster!
After only 10 minutes talking with her she diagnosed me with PCOS. Poly cystic ovarian syndrome! She said she didn't even need to look at the test my doctor failed to send her! She changed my BC(he put me on the wrong kind), added a testosterone blocker and a diabetes drug. POCS causes insulin resistance and that was causing the weight gain. I feel sooooo much better! I think using the cream has helped the most! I've been taking my meds for almost 2 months and my body is starting to get used to them. The diabetes drug makes my sugar drop too low some mornings and I get sick. The first week of the BC each month makes me sick too but I'm learning to work through it and the Dr said that should go away too. I'm also loosing weight finally! Not much but I'm not gaining so that's a big plus!
Now you know about the time I went crazy! The moral to this story is for everyone to listen to your body! If your doctor is NOT doing their job find a new one. I debated writing my OLD doctor a letter but I know I wouldn't be very nice right now so it should probably wait a little longer!

What A way To Get Back Into Things!

2010-07-31T09:43:00.002-04:00

Most of you already know this but Jarrett won the Galen Swartentruber Junior Golf Series in Division 3! We are so proud of him! He brought home 4 first place medals, 1 second place medal and the championship trophy!
With all the other sports he plays, he really doesn't get that much time out on the course. That and he really doesn't have that many people that can take him. I don't play and Jason works his weird hours. He does practice in the backyard a lot. Trust me I have a few broken porch windows to prove it! LOL
I can't believe we are only 1 day away from August! Where has the summer gone? I'll try to throw in some small post throughout the week and maybe a few longer ones on the weekend. There is so much stuff I have to tell! Wait till you hear the one about me going crazy!!

What A Busy Weekend!

2010-05-09T08:54:00.013-04:00

Everyday around here is busy! This weekend was probably one of the busiest! It all started off on Friday! We started celebrating Brandon's birthday as soon as he got home from school! Three boys came home with him to stay the night. Jarrett had an 8:00 game so we had to get the party started early. We ordered pizza and chicken for about 25 people! Then we had ice cream cake and opened presents!

Of course the boys had to go out and give the new presents a try!

We got Brandon Air Soft guns. Before you get your panties in a bunch....both boys have taken the hunter safety course, both boys already have BB guns and they know they are not allowed to touch the guns unless an adult is right there with them! Everyone was being safe! Well, except this guy.....

Uncle Mike decided to let one of the boys shoot him in the back just to see if it hurt! Uh, yeah it did! Good job Mike! Way to show the boys what not to do! It was funny!

Thunderstorms were threatening all night! We did manage to get Jarrett's game in without even a sprinkle! All the family came to watch. Jarrett's team beat the other team 10 to 0 after 4 innings. Jarrett played shortstop and had two hits. One of them was awesome! He ended up with one of the game balls! I'm sure he was excited! He did such a great job with about 20 family members there to cheer him on!

After that it was time to go home with all those boys! Everyone was very good! The only exception came at 3:00 in the morning when I had to go downstairs and make them go to bed! I got payback the next morning because they had to be at ball practice at 9:00! HA, ha, ha! It was cold and windy! At least they had a great breakfast of pancakes, eggs and sausage!

After ball practice we took all the boys to play laser tag. They played two games and a game of bowling. Then we took all of them out to lunch. By the time we got home they were all worn out! This was Brandon about an hour after all the boys left!

After the nap we were off to Maddox's 1st birthday party! More family, more fun and more food! What more could you ask for?

I really don't know how this little boy didn't get sick! See all those little hands? They were all feeding him frosting! It was really fun! Glad I didn't have to clean him up! Today is his real birthday so Happy Birthday Big Guy!

Today is also Mother's Day! Jason has to work at 4 but that's OK. It has never been a real big day around here anyway. So to all the other Mother's out there HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Crazyness!

2010-05-01T12:06:00.002-04:00

Things around here are crazy! There is so much going on right now it's making my head spin. Nothing real big, just a bunch of small stuff all shoved together. There are so many things I want to do, so many things I want, so many things going on that I have no control over and just basically so much stuff. My stuff, friends stuff, and other peoples stuff! Just stuff! I'll fill you in on a few.
Baseball- This time of year is always crazy! Jarrett is having a little bit of a rough start. His team was winning a game last Friday night 1 to 0. It was against a tough team. They put Jarrett into pitch and he didn't do so well. They ended up losing 4 to 1. He really didn't act like it bothered him. Then last night they played a team that they had already beat 27 to 0. The coach started the kids that don't get to normally start. Jarrett and 2 of the other normal starters sat out the first three innings. Then he put the other 2 in but forgot about Jarrett and had him sit out another. Jarrett did get to play 2 innings but I think he was mad. I know the coach did not do it on purpose but I think Jarrett might have thought that they were punishing him for the last game. He needs to understand that everyone needs a chance. So anyway they won but just barely. It was a nerve wrecker!
Brandon's team hasn't won a game yet. In my mind they have. They play so much better every game! I think the change in coaching has really helped. Brandon has been pitching some and doing an awesome job. At their game on Tuesday he struck 4 people out! We are all so proud!
Therapy-Brandon is doing well. They gave him a task this week that is really hard for him but he will do it. Most of the time we have no trouble getting him to do his at home work. Last week he even got to do word searches for his work! I'm so grateful we got this all figured out.
Life-I found another house I wanted. It was priced kinda high but we thought she would come down. No such luck! The lady that owns the house must not be very nice. She told her realtor that she wants exactly their asking price and no one can go through her house unless they are going to make an offer! Really?? We ended up not even going to look at it. For now I guess we will just keep doing improvements around here.
We are also planning a vacation. The boys are super excited! We are going to Gettysburg! Jarrett is memorizing the Gettysburg Address for school so we thought it would be a good time to go. My friend just went a few weeks ago and brought back some pamphlets for me. The boys have already been through them twice. Brandon is probably the most excited. He loves all that stuff and really wants to see a reenactment! Brandon thinks this will be the best vacation ever! We are even going to go to Hershey for a day. Just want to make sure my chocoholic eldest son has a good time too!
I always do so much bitching on here, so today I will leave you with a cute story! Brandon has been doing so much better in school. Last week he brought home a stack of papers with A's and B's. I went through them with him and told him good job! Then Monday he brought home another stack. Again, A's and B's. I looked at all of them and laid them on the counter. I had the worst migraine of my life so I only got out of bed long enough to make sure therapy and homework were done. The boys even fed themselves because Jason was at work. The next morning I got up and Brandon had plastered my refrigerator with all his papers! They were everywhere! It was so cute! He is REALLY proud of the progress he has made!

One Proud Momma!

2010-04-21T16:46:00.002-04:00

Those two pictures are of Brandon pitching Monday night! He was so excited! I think I was even more excited! Why? I'll tell you why! Last year this NEVER happened! Last year they would not let him pitch because he could not catch the ball. He definitely had no problem doing that Monday night! He also played 3rd base and tried to catch a pop up! The ball landed in his glove and popped right back out but just the fact that he was able to track it anywhere near his glove is amazing!

So far Brandon has had 3 weeks of vision therapy. Once a week at the office and every night at home and we can already see a difference. Sports isn't they only area that is improving.....His grades are even getting better! I haven't noticed a big difference with his handwriting yet. That is a little disappointing but I'm sure that will take time.

Ever since Brandon got his diagnosis I have been telling everyone. I have even had a few Moms ask me for the number to the doctors office. I really hope the school uses the therapy as a diagnostic tool for all the kids. I'm not saying that all the kids that have IAT meetings will need it but it could be one step closer to helping the kids.

Ea made the comment, the other night, that she really notices a difference in Brandon. He has more confidence and just acts better! I can't wait to see what happens in the coming months!

Vision Evaluation

2010-03-25T16:50:00.002-04:00

Today went much better than Tuesday! I took Brandon to the eye doctor for his 2 hour vision evaluation. I thought I would have to sit in the waiting room the whole time but I was wrong. They had me right beside Brandon the whole time they did all the testing. Boy was it a lot of testing! They did all kinds of stuff!
They showed him pictures and he had to remember them. They showed him patterns and different shapes. Then they showed him partial shapes and he had to pick the picture that showed the finished shape. He had a lot of trouble with this. They showed him about 15 pictures and he had to draw them just as he saw them. He did ok with the first couple but then he totally bombed the rest. They did reading tests and number tests and all kinds of tests! Then they took him in another room and tested his eye function. He really did not do well at this.
They had him follow an orange ball with his eyes and he couldn't do it. He had to follow the ball by moving his head instead of his eyes. They did stuff with 3D glasses and colored glasses. She also tested his eye function using prisms. I don't think he did too well with this either.
So after all that Brandon has been diagnosed with Ocular Motor Dysfunction. He also has definite tracking problems and visual perception difficulties. Basically she said that his eyes should automatically know what to do and Brandon's don't. That means that the brain has to work too hard to get the eyes to do what they are supposed to do and sometimes they don't listen. The best news is that Dr. Lauffenburger thinks that all of this can be fixed with vision therapy! Yeah!
He starts on the 1st of April and will go once a week for about 6 months! The doctor also has to write a report to the school stating all of this. She also said that she always adds a list of classroom modifications or recommendations for the teacher and school to follow. I'm not sure if this will qualify as a 504 Plan or not but it is worth a shot since they denied him an IEP.
We still have a lot of work ahead of us. Brandon will have therapy in the office once a week and at home work to do every day. The doctor said the at home work is really important. She also said that this is like walking. Once you learn it, you never forget it! I'm excited for Brandon to get started!
I also hope I didn't offend anyone that has an ADHD child in my last post. I was just really upset that they started to push that diagnosis because they didn't have a clear answer for what was really wrong. I already knew, from the research that I had done, that whatever attention issues he had were caused by his vision problems and they wouldn't listen. If you read the definition for OMD you saw that I was right.(Yes being right is very important to me! Just ask my co-workers or husband!) So I am sorry!

A Little Bit :) and A Little Bit :(

2010-03-23T18:39:00.002-04:00

Today I went for another IAT meeting for Brandon. I am not happy at all. I guess I shouldn't say that. I am happy and I am mad. Today was the day that they were going to tell us whether they approved Brandon for an IEP(individual education plan). This is so he can get help with his classroom work, typing assignments, giving oral answers or whatever. I was sure that they were going to get him the help he needs.
Guess what? They said no! Really? Can they not see that this child is totally struggling? Of course they can but they cannot put a specific name on the disability so the state will not approve the help he needs! I wasn't the only one not happy! His teacher was pretty disappointed too.
Would you like to know the reason they denied him?? He is too smart! I was happy when they told me that, but then again I always knew that. He just has problems putting stuff on paper. Brandon has failed Math for the last 2 years so the psychologist was surprised when he scored so high on his Math testing that he gave him. They gave Brandon a piece of paper and told him that he could write down whatever he needed and the psychologist gave him all the questions orally. The psychologist the got a surprise when Brandon reeled off all the answers out of his head. It was things like 120*12, and If you go into a store and buy 2 pencils for $.40 a piece, How much change do you get back from a dollar? He only wrote 2 little things on the paper.
I tried to explain that he has learned to compensate by doing the stuff his own way. I also tried to tell him that is the way we have been doing his Math at home. I take the paper and he tells me the answers that he does in his head. He gets all confused when he has to try to write. The psychologist gave him a proficiency like test and he scored average or above in all the tests.
Then the guys started in on the ADHD crap. He was saying that he noticed that Brandon had some attention problems and was impulsive to answer some of the questions. He said that he sees that a lot in kids with ADHD. Then he proceeded to tell me that he orally read Brandon a story and asked him questions about the story. Brandon got them all right and never asked him to repeat any of it! Boy that was confusing! 1st you tell me he can't pay attention and then you tell me he is a great listener! What?
So since I was all confused by what he was saying I tried to explain some of the research I did. If I don't know about something I look it up. I want to be informed about what is going on ! I told this guy that I read online that a lot of kids with the visual perception disorder are often mislabeled as ADHD because their visual senses are bombarded with all the different objects, shapes, colors and pictures in a classroom. Because they are slower at making sense of everything, it can be hard to focus. I read that they use blue or rose colored glasses to monotone everything, so it is easier for the child to concentrate! He acted like I was stupid!
I know I'm not explaining all of this very well! I do know that my child is not ADHD and will never be put on drugs! He does not have any behavior problems and is definitely not hyperactive! So they can just shove that thought in the trash!
So basically our last hope is the vision therapy. Brandon goes for a 2 hour evaluation on Thursday. After that the psychologist wants me to bring that report to the school so he can take it to some guy. I guess it is so he can say, "Look he does have a problem!" That way they have proof from an outside source. So for now Brandon gets to keep learning but has no proof of that! Currently he has 2 Fs, 3 Ds, 1C, 1B, and an A in gym! All because of his stupid handwriting!
Besides the ADHD crap, the biggest thing that pissed me off was the psychologist suggestions on how to do his homework. He wants me to go back to making him write out all his math work and redo anything that is unacceptable and illegible! Really?? I already told him that it would take hours just to do one assignment that way. Why can't he just accept that we have found a way that works for Brandon? Obviously he is learning or he wouldn't have score so high on the tests!
I hope things go better on Thursday!

Facebook

2010-03-17T17:58:00.002-04:00

Every morning I listen to Rovers Morning Glory on my MP3 player at work. Some days they are so funny, some days they really piss me off and some days they tackle a serious subject. Yesterday they had a serious moment at the end of the show.
The radio station airs a commercial for a website that promotes adultery. I won't name the site because I don't want to give it any attention. People were calling the radio show and complaining about the add so Rover decided to do an interview with the owner of the site. Basically the site allows men and women to log onto the site and find other men or women to cheat with. You can be married looking for someone who is married or you can be single and looking to be a mistress. The owner said 30% of the women are single looking to be someones mistress and 95% of the men are married and just looking for sex. People started calling in and calling the owner a scumbag. He said it's not his fault if the people aren't satisfied by their spouse and have to turn to his website. He said his website is just like Facebook!
Really?? I know that when I log into Facebook I'm definitely not looking for any booty. I'm there to farm, play jungle jewels and most importantly....be nosey! He said that thousands of marriages have been broken up by Facebook. I think that those marriages probably had problems to begin with. They even had one guy call in and told the story of how his wife left him for her old 8th grade boyfriend that she reconnected with on Facebook! I guess maybe blaming Facebook is easier than admitting that somewhere, somehow, someone screwed up!
After I stood there and thought about it I guess he is a little right. Yes, most people don't go to Facebook looking to cheat but I'm sure it happens. Facebook just makes it easier for people to reconnect and try to relive the "glory days"!
I just thought the whole conversation was interesting.

Long Update!

2010-03-16T19:50:00.002-04:00

I really need to get on here more! Here are some updates from the last few weeks!
Weight Loss Challenge- Jason is back to winning but just barely! I really think Ea can take him in the long run! Go Ea! I haven't been doing so well. Not really gaining but staying around the same. In the last two weeks I have added in a lot of exercise. Now that the weather is getting better I have been walking on the trail and down to get the boys from school.
Jarrett- Since I had a few big talks with him, after parent teacher conferences, he is doing so much better. His teacher even sent me a note telling me what an improvement he has seen in the classroom and in his work. He has been bringing his Math home for me to help him. I think he might just think that I'm not so dumb after all! LOL He also had his first girlfriend. Yes I said had! It lasted like 28 hours! Oh 6th grade love!
Brandon- Next week will be a big week for Brandon. On Tuesday we have our IAT meeting. We should find out if they are going to approve him for an IEP. I sure hope so! He has an F in music because of a test they had to take and she couldn't read his writing and he has an F in Art because of a caricature that he didn't finish(partly because he missed art to be with the psychologist and partly because he just didn't get it)! Poor fella! On Thursday he has his 2 hour visual perception evaluation. This will determine what kind of therapy(if any) he will need!
Sports-Jarrett's basketball is over! Their last game was definitely their best! They lost but barely! They played a rough team and all the boys played great. I am glad it is over! Jarrett played with a few boys that I was not familiar with. One of the kids parents just rubbed me the total wrong way! Ok the kid did too but he's just a kid and I could so see where he got it from!
Baseball starts next week! Both the boys are playing but they are on different teams. They have practices on Tuesday and Thursdays. On kid from 4:30 to 6 and the other from 6 to 7:30. I guess it could be worse, I could be down there 4 days a week. Jarrett's team looks pretty good. They could use a few more pitchers but they should have a good season. Poor Brandon's team looks to be a challenge! Both on the field and off! Yikes! That's all I have to say about that!
Work-The last couple of weeks have been a real challenge. There were some issues that were totally handled the wrong way. Absolutely against company policy! But what do I know...I have only been there 11 years so I probably have no idea what I'm talking about! I'm just a lowly worker out on the floor with only a high school education! Whatever! I am right! I am more than willing to admit when I am wrong but this just wasn't one of those times! Assholes!
That's all my updates for now! I have a big post brewing about Facebook so stay tuned!

Just Like Me!

2010-03-03T18:15:00.002-05:00

What do you do with a 12 year old that thinks he knows everything??? I don't know where he got that from!
Monday night I had to go to parent teacher conferences. Jason was at work and I only had to see Jarrett's teacher since I have to visit with Brandon's teacher once a month. It was the same old thing but a little worse. He just does what he needs to get by. This nine weeks his grades are worse than they have ever been. The lowest he has is a C- but for him that is not good. He could get straight A's if he applied himself but he chooses not to. He puts little or no effort into his school work.
He does the same with sports. He is just happy to be average. He says average is good! I tried to explain it this way....If you go to buy a car you don't just don't buy the average car on the lot. He said he wants a Ferrari. I told him that his report he did was a Focus and an A report would be the Ferrari. He didn't get it. I tried to explain it this way.....When you want a girlfriend, you want the prettiest and nicest girl. You don't settle for....and I didn't get to finish this one because he blurted out "You!" Oh he is so funny!
I think the biggest thing right now is Brandon's issues. Jarrett sees us praising Brandon for average grades but more is expected of him. I've tried to tell him that we know he can do so much better! After the conferences Jarrett had basketball practice. I took him there by myself so we could have a talk. I think it worked because so far this week he has been really trying with his homework. I think the thing that did the trick was when I told him that his brother would kill to be able to do the things that he can do with such ease. Or it might have something to do with the limited time they now have with their video games.
Jarrett's teacher did tell me that he is not going to give up on him. He also told me that he had a talk with the high school golf coach. She is so excited about Jarrett! She can't wait to get him into high school. I thought that was a great piece of news to end the conference with!

Drum Roll Please....

2010-02-28T10:23:00.002-05:00

After only a few small changes in week 6, week 7 was a completely new game! We now have a new leader!!! EA!!!!! She is now beating Jason! Way to Go!
Of course now Jason and Jesse say that they are actually going to start trying! HA, ha, ha! What's the matter boys? Feeling a little threatened? Ha! Go Ea!
Does it sound like I'm rooting against my husband??? Well I am! He claims that I am taking her side and making unhealthy dinners just to sabotage him! I'm not! I'm eating the same dinners he is. I think it might have something to do with his "2 jar a week peanut butter" habit!
Almost everyone stayed the same in week 6. A few pounds were lost and a few were gained(me)! OOPs! Week 7 saw everyone loose or stay the same! Everyone is doing great so keep up the good work! So far we have lost a total of 84.5 pounds! Go team!

Vision Appointment #1

2010-02-18T19:18:00.003-05:00

Finally the kids went back to school today!(even though they had a 2 hour delay) They haven't been in school since February 5th. Crazy!

Today I took Brandon to his initial appointment with the eye doctor that was recommended for vision therapy. First let me tell you about the office and staff. The office was very nice and clean! They moved Brandon through a couple different rooms to do different things. The last room he was in had a fish mural painted on the wall. It was really neat. They will be moving buildings in a few weeks and will be sad to leave it behind. The whole staff was awesome! The receptionist was very friendly and made sure to include Brandon when she was talking to us. We waited for like a minute and a half and then another woman came and got us to start his appointment. She was very nice too and kept talking to Brandon to make him feel more comfortable. She did a few tests on him and explained what everything was and answered all his questions. She didn't move on to the next thing until she was sure he understood what was going on. It was really nice!

Next, the actual doctor came in. I went to school with her. I wouldn't say that we were friends because I was very hateful and really didn't have that many friends. She was nice and I think she dated my cousin at one time. I do know that I didn't hate her in school and that is really saying something! Ha, ha, ha! Anyway.... She was great with Brandon too! She had to dilate his eyes and fully explained what was going to happen and what he needed to do. She even did tongue tricks for him so he would open his eyes and blink. Then she let him watch Nemo so the drops could have time to work! I haven't watched that movie in forever!

Brandon doesn't need glasses. That is both good and bad news. It's bad because that means that they can't correct what's wrong with glasses. It's good because his eyes aren't bad. She did say that he has a definite tracking problem. I'm not sure but that might have to do with when they had him try to follow the pen with his eyes and he couldn't do it without moving his head. I'm not too sure though. She does hope that she will be able to help him. She did say that his visual process just haven't developed yet and hopefully with therapy they will get there. I do think she thought by the looks of his handwriting that it might take a while!

He has to go back next month for a full therapy evaluation. This takes two hours. After that they will be able to determine his course for therapy. She is also going to have her insurance guy get in touch with my medical insurance to try to get all of this covered. I had already contacted them and they recommended we get preapproved. She is working on that so hopefully the insurance will cover it. It doesn't matter, well, it does matter because from the sounds of it , this will be expensive. But he is getting this, even if it means that Jason has to start selling his organs on the black market!

Over all I was highly pleased with everything! I highly recommend that everyone go to Family Eye Care of Wooster! They are awesome! Through all of this, every single person has made it their top priority to make sure that Brandon knows that none of this is his fault and he continues to do his best!

Tomorrow the psychologist starts his in depth testing on Brandon. We will have to wait until March 23rd to find out the results from that. I finally feel like we are starting to get somewhere with all of this. Hopefully by the start of the next school year he will be caught up with the other kids in his class! That would be the best!

Weight Loss Challenge Week 5

2010-02-14T19:52:00.002-05:00

This week was a little rough! As a group we only lost 2 pounds. There were 3 people to gain and the other losses were small! That's OK because everyone is still working and no one has given up!
Jason is still holding on to 1st place but barely! I think Ea would have beat him if she would have used the enema I offered! I just don't know why she thought that wasn't a good idea! Jesse is still in 3rd but I think after a good week one of us can knock him down to 4th!
Keep up the good work!

Weight Loss Challenge Week 4

2010-02-14T19:48:00.002-05:00

After the final results were in we had lost a total of 75 pounds! Way to go! Of course still in 1st place is Jason but Ea is coming in at a close second. Jesse fell back a bit this week to 3rd. We also had two big goose eggs and one person gained a little!
Keep up the good work!

Weight Loss Challenge Week 3

2010-01-31T20:21:00.002-05:00

There they are! Week 3 of the Weight Loss challenge is over and so far we have lost a little more than those two handsome fellas! Together they weigh 62 pounds and my family has lost a total of 64.5! Whoo Hoo! Way to go everyone!

This week the standings have once again changed. Still in 1st place is Jason, even after a little peanut butter induced gain. With a big loss this week Jesse has regained 2nd place but not far behind is Ea, with an equally big loss! I had a rough week and posted a small loss that was only good enough for 4th! BooHoo! I guess I better hit that treadmill this week!

Everyone else is doing great! Jason was the only one to post a gain but seeing that he posted such big numbers in the beginning it was bound to happen. Keep up the good work and lets keep this going!

Another Meeting!

2010-01-28T20:14:00.002-05:00

We had another meeting at the school about Brandon. I'm pretty sure that I wasn't the only one that left that room a little disappointed. The occupational therapist denied him therapy! She claims that his score of an 87 on his tests was within the average range(85 to 115) although on the low end! No F-ing Sh*t! He scored very low on the visual end but higher on the motor end but it all averaged out! Then she goes on to tell us that he scored a 1% and a 2% on two different visual tests! Really??? THEN she says that while they recognise he has a problem that the school cannot recommend occupational therapy but he would do better with a more specific visual therapy! Oops guess what??? The school doesn't pay for that! It's a private out of pocket expense, if we choose to go that route!
OK that's the bad news! The good new is the psychologist is totally excited to evaluate Brandon further. It seems to me that Brandon is one big experiment to him. I'm not sure if experiment is the right word. I think he is very interested to find out what is causing his strange abilities and non-abilities. He knows that Brandon has a big problem and he wants to make sure he gets an IEP(individual education program) to help him all through school. I really like this guy.
One of the things he started with was a questionnaire for Jason and I. Questions like: Did I have any trouble during his pregnancy or delivery? Did he have any illnesses or injuries? When did he first walk...talk...? Things like that. Then he is going to interview all his teachers. Gym teacher, music teacher and so on.
There is a lot more involved to this but I'm tired and don't want to go into it all. I do think that Brandon's teacher was a little upset that all of this is taking so long. She definitely sees that he is struggling but the psychologist pretty much told her that her hands are tied and she would just have to wait! I'm tired of waiting too!
This time around they also gave us a big thick booklet of all this legal mumbo jumbo. Just in case we decide to contest what they are doing or something. I don't know!
The one thing I did get from all this is what a great kid Brandon is! Ok, I already knew that but it is nice to have it reinforced by everyone else. He doesn't give up! I know I would especially after Wednesday...They have these end of the month parties in each class. They have goals to meet or they don't get to attend the party. Well Brandon didn't make it this month because he failed a reading test! I don't know all the details but this really pissed me off! I know they can't really make exceptions for one kid but damn it they know he has a learning disability! Breaks my heart!

Crap!

2010-01-26T18:30:00.002-05:00

Monday might have been a crappy day but I still hate Tuesdays more! Of course, on Monday I was running late. As I got up the road the car started to die. Crap! I called Jason and turned around. I was going to just get his truck but I knew the car needed fixed and Jason is on his end of the week to work. So I took a personal day. It's paid, which is a good thing after the bill I paid today!
The engine light came on so I figured it was something with that. Ernie drove the Escape down to Village and when we got there he told me he thought I had a wheel bearing going bad! Crap! Ernie dropped me off at home and I waited. While waiting I caught up on a lot of shows that I had DVR'ed and caught up on reading some magazines from as far back as Thanksgiving! That was productive! Then they called about the car....$200 and some for the wheel bearing thing and $200 and some for the engine coil that went bad. That's the second one for me. Do you think it's from running the piss out of my car?? What can I say? I hate flying but I sure love driving fast(bonus points if you remember what movie that's from)!
Then I asked her about the ABS thing. She said she didn't remember me saying anything about that! Uh, yeah, you and Ernie were too busy flapping your gums! She said they would check that and get back to me. So 5 o'clock comes and no car. They had to keep it an extra day! Crap! Good thing my grandma loves me and let me borrow her car! I sure did miss my 4 wheel drive as I was sitting on the hill outside my house at 20 after 5 this morning spinning Grandma's tires! Crap! Oh well made it to work and home just fine.
Mom took me to get it this evening. Holy I guess there goes my mattress savings Batman! I suppose I need a vehicle way more than a new mattress. BTW it drives lovely! But they told me I need new front tires and a serious alignment! Crap!

Week 2 Of the Weight Loss Challenge

2010-01-24T19:51:00.003-05:00

You are probably wondering why on Earth I started off a post about weight loss with a picture of the handsome 5 year old. Well, this is how much weight my family has lost after 2 weeks! That's right! Actually a little more. Brayden weighs 43 pounds and we have lost 49.5 pounds so far! Way to go everyone!

After 2 weeks Jason is in the lead, of course, but there has been a change for second place...Drum Roll please......It's me! Whoo Hoo! I passed Jesse! According to Jesse it's because of a backup in the plumbing department! Whatever! Stacy also managed to pass Jesse for third place! Everyone else is doing great and so far not one person has gained!

A few things to keep in mind during this contest:

We are doing percents to keep it fair. If we did pounds the guys would probably kill us. Plus the ones with more to loose would do better.

Jason, Ea and I are all doing South Beach. That means that we will probably loose big in the beginning but might taper off near the end.

As long as everyone has lost we are all winners!

Keep up the good work!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-18T19:38:00.003-05:00

I thought I'd use that title since I haven't written a post since last year! Let's see....what has been going on around here?
I'll start with Jarrett. His basketball is going pretty well. They started off with a win and then lost their next game. I think all the boys are improving. Basketball is way different than football. Not just the game silly but the crowd and the coaching. Jarrett's coach is great! He knows just how to handle the boys. He doesn't have a kid on the team and all the boys get equal playing time. The crowds are much quieter. I did get pissed last week because one of the moms from our team yelled at Jarrett to guard the tallest, best player on the other team better. Back off sister! This is his first year and he is still learning! All the boys are! The parents are there to be supportive and give advice to their own kid not someone elses! I could go on a nasty rant but I won't!
On to Brandon. He was sick yesterday. I took him to Walmart and he kept leaning on everything. He said he was really tired. By the time I got through the checkout he was pale as can be with super red cheeks! He got in the car while I started to load the groceries. Then all the sudden I hear him gaging and I yell for him to open the door. That was it, bologna and cheese all over the parking lot! He felt better and was pretty proud of himself for making the birds happy! Gross! He threw up on and off for the next few hours and then he was all better. He didn't feel bad at all and never had a fever. Now I'm waiting for the rest of us to get it!
We won't find anything out with the school till the end of the month. I wrote the teacher a note right after break because I feel the school is not moving fast enough. I guess I'm really more mad at myself for not pushing all this harder in second grade. Poor Brandon! I have learned a new way to do his Math. I take the paper and he is not allowed to look at it. He gets the answers so much quicker and easier if he is not looking at it! Works for me!
As for our New Years Resolutions.....My whole family started a weight loss challenge. It started on January 10th. We all weighed in and will weigh in once a week. So far after the first week Jason is winning! Duh! He didn't get the name Annie the Anorexic for nothing! I think in the long run I can take him! I'll keep you updated on our progress. The first week everyone lost weight so we are already on the right track! Way to go Mom, Grandma, Jason, Ea, Jesse, and Stacy!

Christmas 2009 Attempt #2

2009-12-28T11:54:00.011-05:00

I promise I won't get pissy this time! LOL

So far we have been to 6 family Christmas parties! That's a lot of family!

It all starts on Christmas Eve at Jason's parents house. We had lasagna for dinner and opened presents. Ea and Jesse have been adopted into that family so they were there too!

Jason and Jesse guarding tree!

All the boys! Kevin's girls won't be home till this week and then we get to have Christmas party #7!

After that it was off for home so Santa could come!(I'll post a no kids allowed post about that later)

It didn't take long for the boys to rip through all those presents! Then it was off to grandma Norma's.Going to Grandma's house for Christmas breakfast has been a tradition for as long as I can remember! Even having no power in 2004 couldn't stop us! We cram a lot of family into grandma's little house but it is still great! It does seem like the stairs are shrinking, though!

After that it's off to Mom's! I know two boys that will not be getting silly string in their stockings next year!LOL

After that it was definitely nap time before dinner at Moms.

Saturday my Dad's Mom came down from Cleveland. We don't get to spend that much time with Grandma Margie but when we do it's nice!

We had that little party up at Stacy's house so I got to sample the girls new fingernail polish! What do you think?

I'm a fan of the blue! I even got some in my stocking!

Yesterday was Wonsick family Christmas over at Jason's parents house. After that the kids went to the movies with Grandma Norma, Mom, Stacy, and Ea! They went to see the Squeekual. Jason and I did some house cleaning and watched The Hangover. It was pretty funny! Definitely not for the kids!

Today is lay around the house and go nowhere day! I might venture out to get the mail but probably not! Oh shoot Jarrett does have basketball practice. I know I can get Jason to take him but I will have to go get him! Crap! Oh well! Maybe tomorrow will be lay around and go nowhere day!

Christmas 2009

2009-12-26T09:56:00.002-05:00

I could do a whole long "after Christmas post" about how it's not about the gifts but the spending time with family that matters but I won't! It doesn't matter because people don't listen and just continue to hurt innocent people.
So I will share in all the fun Christmas excitement by showing you all the loving pictures I took the last two days!
Ok never mind! That will have to wait till later! Right now as I sit here thinking about what I want to write, nothing but hateful things are coming in my mind! So I will post those pictures on Facebook for those of you that can see them and I will try to write nice things later!

A New Lesson To Learn!

2009-12-20T09:46:00.002-05:00

I debated on whether or not to write this post. This topic has caused a little bit of tension here before. But you know me and if you don't like it, don't read!
For months now we have been hearing that Jarrett is getting a new kid in his class. The kid is from Smithville so he asked Matthew if he knew who it was. He didn't. Jarrett's class is already big enough. 29 kids to one teacher. Anyway the subject went away because we hadn't heard anything for a while.
Fast forward to Thursday. We are in the car on our way home from school when my, not by birth, son starts to tell a black joke. Ok not funny! They all laugh and I yelled at them. Then my oldest, by birth, son tells one of his own. Great! So I start into my tirade. Where did you hear those? Do you think those are funny? Then I made them sit in the car while I gave my speech. I walked into the house shaking my head. What brought this on?
Thursday was Jarrett's birthday and we had a school Christmas concert that night so the situation got pushed to the back of my head only to resurface on the ride home from the concert. Here's how it went.....
Me- Jarrett has the new kid started yet?
jarrett-No.
Me- Is he going to start after the new year?
Jarrett- Yes SHE is going to start after the new year.
Me- Oh, you know that it's a girl. Do you know her name?
Jarrett- Yes it's Deshauna, Deniqua or something like that.
I just turned my head and looked at my Mom. That's how all this started. The teacher told them they were getting a new student and must have told them that she was black. So I questioned Jarrett further and learned that all the Amish kids were calling her names and starting all the jokes. I then went into another one of my speeches.
Fast forward to Friday night. Brandon, Jarrett and I were on our way to WallyWorld in Millersburg. jingle Bells came on the radio so Brandon started to sing the "new version" that he learned in school. It starts out....jingle Bells, shot gun shells, Granny had a gun, pulled the trigger and shot a....i got irate! Brandon couldn't remember past the Granny had a gun part but I asked him what Granny shot and he asked me if it was bad and he if wasn't supposed to say it. I asked him to tell me and he did. Yep it was the N word. I told Brandon never, never, never to say that word! Then Jarrett piped up from the backseat and told me that it was the Amish word for black person. Um, no it's not! Then came another speech!
I know the boys had heard some of this during the presidential election but I didn't know it was this bad. I guess we just have to do the best we can as parents and hope that we have more influence on our children then the other school kids do!

12 Years Already????

2009-12-17T16:27:00.008-05:00

From this little cutie.....

To this handsome fella....

All in 12 short years!

Happy 12th Birthday Jarrett!

Has It Really Been That Long???

2009-12-14T19:08:00.002-05:00

All the Christmas preparations are in full swing around here! It has been busy, busy, busy! My shopping is almost done. I will never say that it is completely done because I can always find something else to buy! My Christmas cards are done. The cookies will be made this weekend and I will attempt to make fudge. Last years attempt was a big, rock hard FAIL!
In addition to Christmas, My oldest son has a birthday this Thursday. He will be 12! Can you believe it? He is growing like a weed. He has passed Grandma Sis and I think he is as tall as Grandma Karen. I had to go buy him basketball shoes and had to get a size 10! Really? I threatened to chop his toes off! The worst off all happened Wednesday night(I know he probably doesn't want me to tell you this but what are Moms for?). I was trimming his toenails and he had dark toe hair!! Whaaaaa! My baby is growing up!
I wonder if Jarrett will want an Eclipse birthday cake??? What do you think, Kristy?
As for Brandon.....Homework is worse than ever. He is slowly slipping farther away and I don't know how to fix it. Really what I want to do is do it all for him. That will eliminate all the fighting, stress and crying! I hope they come up with a solution soon!
Other than that there is not much going on. I hope all of your Holiday preparations are going as well.

Thanksgiving Weekend 2009

2009-12-01T18:22:00.009-05:00

What a busy weekend! A lot to do + a lot of food + a lot of family = one cranky bi**h!

It all started Wednesday night. I was tired but I had things to do. I ran a bunch of stuff up to my sisters house since Thanksgiving dinner had moved to her house. Then I made delicious Twinkie Pumpkin dessert. Then off to bed. I was cranky!

Thursday started off with some exercise. I felt better. Then we gathered everything up and it was up the hill to Stacy's house. Holy cow! We had a ton of food! Plus the house was full of people! Crazy! everyone managed to be civil to one another and we had a great time. I even managed to get a few pictures of some of my favorite people:

Jarrett and Matthew chowing down!

Most of the kids playing games in the basement!

I even got all of them to cram together on the steps!

Then it was off to Jason's parents for Thanksgiving with the Wonsicks! This was Jason's dad's whole side of the family! Well they weren't all there but I think 6 out of the 7 brothers and sisters were there plus the various kids and grandkids! I think there were like 40 people! That is awesome! I wish my Mom's family was that way. I could say a lot of not very nice things here but I won't!

Every Thanksgiving night we watch a family movie. This year was supposed to be UP. That got a little messed up when Ea and Jesse locked their keys in the car and we had to wait for AAA. By the time it got unlocked it was time for Ea and Jesse to get ready for black Friday shopping. We kept Brayden overnight. When we got home I was cranky!

Friday started off with more exercise. I was still cranky! Every Friday after Thanksgiving we put up our Christmas tree. Things got a little jumbled around but we got it up! I was really cranky! Just ask Jason! LOL We also finally got to watch Up. What a cute movie!

Saturday started off with more exercise. I felt great! I knew what this day had in store! Finally after a week of anticipation I was going to see New Moon! I went and picked my friend Stacie up and off we went. We were really early so we got the best seats! It was an awesome movie! I was a little sceptical because I hated Twilight as a movie. I so want to see New Moon again! After that it was off to Coldstone Creamery for some birthday cake remix! Yummy! I wasn't cranky!

Sunday was Blueberry pancakes, pizza and more family! Jason's brother and sister-in-law brought my two little princesses over and a mixture of his family and my family came along too. I put up more Christmas decorations while everyone visited! It was nice! I wasn't cranky!

Here's some pictures from Sunday:

Miss Abbie.

Jarrett, Brandon, Becka and Abbie!

All the little goobers!
The end!

Update On Brandon

2009-11-30T17:57:00.003-05:00

My, my, my! We have been busy! I'll tell you about all that stuff later. Right now I need to update you on Brandon.

Last Tuesday we had another meeting at the school. The Psychologist(Mr. Robertson), or whatever he was, had finished his testing on Brandon and we went for the results. They weren't great. Actually the guy said that Brandon is the worst he has ever seen in his many years of doing this testing. He came to the conclusion that Brandon has visual perception fine motor integration problems. Huh? What? This means that he is having a communication problem either between his eyes and his brain or his brain and his hand. Here are some of the pictures they asked Brandon to draw: On the left is the picture they showed him and on the right is what he drew. (I redid it)

Now seeing that, can you imagine how difficult handwriting must be? My heart broke! I felt bad for all the times I have yelled at him for his handwriting or got so frustrated with him during homework. I felt bad because yes he got frustrated but he has maintained a great attitude even though something as basic as writing his name was so hard!

Along with this he also has some kind of visual organization problem. He was given 8 drawings to do and started in the middle of the page. Then he proceeded to put 2 at the top left, 3 at the bottom left, 4 in the bottom right and so on. He scattered them all over the page. This organization thing is really affecting his math. Along with having difficulty writing his numbers he is also having trouble placing the numbers in order during addition, multiplication, division and whatever else. He knows how to get the answer and he knows the answer he just can't organize it on paper.

Mr. Robertson said that he can tell by Brandon's grades that he is smart. He has an A in Social Studies and in Science but he has a D in all the subjects that require extensive writing or math. For now they are trying to get the occupational therapist to evaluate him. She told us back in 2nd grade that there was nothing wrong with him. After she does her evaluation hopefully they will allow him to have occupational therapy. They are also going to allow him to be an IEP student for Math. I know some of you have made comments about IEP in the past but he needs this. This will allow him to have individual attention with his Math instead of being in a class with 30 other kids. Yes his class is that big. Thank open enrollment for that!

This is where we are for now. We go back in January for another meeting to find out the results from the occupational therapist. Hopefully she will accept to help him!

Am I Normal?

2009-11-22T11:58:00.002-05:00

Ok, I guess I really know the answer to that so you don't have to comment about that part. I was just thinking about all my little quirks. Does anyone else never finish a bottle of shampoo? I always want to try new scents so I go and buy new bottles when my other one is almost empty. Being the girl that I am, I have to use the new shampoo as soon as I get it. Then I like it better and the old one sits in the shower until the bottle looks so gross i just have to throw it out! Does anyone else do this? Anyone?
Here's something else that has been bothering me lately. I work with mostly females. Let's say one of my besties doesn't like another one of the girls. Ok usually it's me that doesn't like someone but for the sake of the story just go with it. So like I said one of my friends doesn't like this other girl. Let's say supposedly this other girl has been mean to my friend and started some rumors. I never witnessed any of this. Is it "Woman's Law" that I also not like this girl? I didn't think so but that seems to be the alarming trend these days. That other girl never did anything to me so I should still be polite and friendly with her. That doesn't mean that I have to "hang" with her but I shouldn't be nasty to her either.
Does "Woman's Law" also say that I should unfriend her on Facebook just to show my solidarity to my friend? Just wondering?

Pumpkin and Twinkies

2009-11-17T18:34:00.002-05:00

So my little issue at work was kinda resolved today. Basically here's what happened....I was threatened by someone that wanted to kick my ass. I walked away and told my supervisors. I know you are totally shocked, right? Me not fight? Well that's what happened. This started a whole tornado of crap. Gossip, meetings and frustration. Today that person was disciplined. End of story. Whatever! If I wrote what I really wanted to say I would probably get fired so I'll leave it at that.
Other than all that mess work is going really well right now. We are very busy and somethings are starting to come into play that will make the day better. Things are up but as usual I'm waiting for them to come crashing down. I thought it might come with the evaluations but it seems that everyone else's went just as well as mine. At least I didn't hear anyone complaining. Well except about cell phones. There has been a lot of complaining about people texting and some people even making calls on the line. To that I say whatever!
Maybe all this exercising has caused me to chili out. I've been working really hard and trying new exercises. Some of them hurt! It's OK though. I need to burn the extra calories so I can eat the yummy pumpkin twinkie dessert that Mike was talking about. I thought I blogged about it before but I was too busy to look it up. So this is for you Kristy! Pumpkin Twinkie dessert

Can I Get Off The Ride Now?

2009-11-15T09:57:00.002-05:00

I am embarrassed to say this.....I love this song!
Those of you that are my friends on facebook probably saw that I wrote "This week has been one wild roller coaster ride". Oh has it ever! Most of the ups and downs have come from work. There are things that happened this week that I can't talk about yet because they aren't resolved. It's all crazy. My job is not in jeopardy or anything like that but it could have been. I hope it all gets straightened out because I'm tired.
To add to that stress we also got our yearly evaluations. Do you remember last years? They went much better this year. They addressed good things that I am still trying to analyze. Everyone knows that I over-think everything. This just added to the stress of what had already happened the day before.
My new exercising goals really helped with all that stress! I exercised everyday this week except Saturday. I feel great! I hurt just about everywhere but "No Pain No Gain" Right?
All that exercise will help with the yummy Thanksgiving dinner that's coming up! This year we will not be having it at my house. I think it will be at either Mom's or Stacy's. Not sure yet. Dinner will also be earlier. We always eat at 5 but Jason's brother and his family are in from North Carolina so we will be going to his Mom's house to spend time with them. I need to go see my little princesses. Abbie was born in August and we've hardly spent any time with her. I'm sure Miss Becka will have plenty of stories to tell me about Hannah Montana! LOL
I'll let you all know once the dinner plans are finalized!

Here We Go Again!

2009-11-09T20:02:00.002-05:00

Almost every year my place of employment has some kind of get healthy contest. This year the prize is up to $600! Of course this is a weight-loss contest and a physical fitness contest. The whole point is to get people to live healthier so our insurance doesn't cost so much.
Those of you that are long time readers know that I am always looking to loose weight. I am not happy with what I weigh but I love food! I don't mind exercising but sometimes there is no time and most of the time I fail to make time.
So anyway.... here's what I have to do. I have to do some form of physical activity at least 24 times in 1 month for the next 12 months. I have to have 1 preventative exam, dentist will do. Lower my waist measurement, lower my blood pressure, lower everything else! No vehicle moving violations for 1 year and I am not allowed to miss more than 3 days of work in 1 year. I also have to lower my BMI, loose 8% of my body weight or do something with body fat percentage. That sounds like a lot but the payout is $600. Who doesn't need $600?
Today was the starting day. I went and weighed in.....YIKES! I guess I have to adjust the numbers on my weight tracker. Stupid scale! I did walk down town to get the boys from school and got on my long lost friend the treadmill. My butt hurts!
I'll try not to bore you with the everyday details but I will be writing about it once in a while.
A few other unrelated tidbits..... Jarrett is selling Market Day Cookie Dough for his 6th grade camp fundraiser. If anyone would like to order let me know. The dough will be in before Christmas.
Speaking of Christmas, I started my shopping. I really am not going to do all that much this year. We've severely cut our gift giving list. I know a lot of people that have had to do that. I just wish some others would do the same. Oh well. As hard as I try I can't control everything! Ha, ha, ha!

I Lied!

2009-11-07T15:50:00.002-05:00

I guess I lied about that posting more thing. Facebook is taking all my time. I'm nosey so that feeds my need for info. (Dumb and repetitive as some of the comments are!)
We are getting a little break from sports right now. Jarrett doesn't start basketball until November 23. I worked some overtime today and Jason has been picking up some too. Christmas is approaching fast! We have a Christmas Club account but all the extra money is helpful. I need new breaks and 2 new tires. Anyone want to do my breaks for some extra cash????
I need to start Christmas shopping. I think I'll start today. I have major cash off at Old Navy. My boys are pretty easy to buy for and Jason is too. Deciding on what to do about the nieces and nephews is the hard part. I would love to buy for them all but 4 little fellas and 4 little ladies is just too much. Maybe we should have a little party or something. Any ideas?? They are all spoiled, including the 2 of my own, anyway! I just need to win the lottery! I don't need to win it all just $10,000 would be nice!
Speaking of money....I decided to bite the bullet(ha, ha, ha) and try some deer meat.(get it now?) I'm not a big meat eater in the first place. It all grosses me out. I can't even smell it when I cook it or look at it when I'm eating it. No bones, no skin, and none of the fatty hard stuff! Yuck! So anyway, Jason got a deer and I asked him to have most of it made into hamburger(mixed with sausage). First Jason made spaghetti. Not a big spaghetti fan so I didn't eat it. Then we had deer tacos. Not bad. Since then we have had deer chili and deer sloppy joes. Couldn't really tell the difference. I still had to hold my nose when I cooked it though. Anyone have other deer recipes?
We are really busy at work. Ford is kicking ass and that keeps my line hot. Too bad that people are so stupid! Enough said!
I really will try to post more! If you just can't stand the time between waits, look me up on Facebook. I know you are all dying to join!

Back To School!

2009-10-27T14:27:00.003-04:00

I know it's been a while since I posted. The boys are done with football and only Jarrett is playing basketball. I should have time to post more.

Today Jason and I had a meeting at the school with the IAT(intervention assistance team). It was for Brandon. We had to do this once before in 2nd grade. You can read about that here. His 4th grade teacher is really concerned with his handwriting. Duh! She also noticed that he seems really distracted and she is having trouble keeping him on task. I explained to her that he has never had attention trouble before and it's probably that he is so frustrated with how hard he has to try to write. Here's an example.

That handwriting is actually pretty good for him. Remember he is in 4th grade. Anyway, the team decided that he needed to be evaluated by this guy that was in the meeting. He determined that Brandon would probably get a low score on his test and that would lead to the occupational therapist reevaluating him. She saw him last time and determined there was nothing wrong with him other than the bad hand writing. I think she's wrong!

Last time I went to the meeting I didn't know what to think. This time I did my research and found something that might explain Brandon's hand writing. It's a learning disability called Dysgraphia. The motor dysgraphia fits him perfectly. I think it all started when he nearly cut the tip of his ring finger off in kindergarten. His hand writing in preschool was better than it is now. According to my research a cure could be as simple as some physical therapy to strengthen his fingers and hand. Something about the muscles being so weak that the brain can't properly communicate. I'm not the expert so we will have to wait till next month to see what the tests reveal.

I feel bad for Brandon because he is such a good kid and this is affecting all his grades. All his teachers since he started school have been great about all this. They've made exceptions for him and try not to signal him out. I just make sure to keep reminding him that he has done nothing wrong. He tries hard but it gets him nowhere. Poor little guy. I'll keep you posted!

Sunday's Browns Game, Through My Eyes!

2009-10-06T19:26:00.020-04:00

Last Sunday we took the boys to the Browns game. I wasn't too thrilled to get up at 6 am to go sit in a parking lot full of drunks and weirdos. I was told it was all part of the "experience". Uh, ok whatever. I guess also part of the "experience" was driving through the ghetto. And I mean real ghetto. Not Kristy ghetto. I'm talking "I locked the doors ghetto"! This was Jesse's super secret shortcut. So anyway, after the ghetto drive we got to "experience" paying $25 to park like sardines in a dirty parking lot, littered with already half drunk people.

We got out set up chairs and whatever and the boys started to play football!

Of course they got in a big fight and started hitting each other. So......

Jarrett went to the truck all pissed off and ate doughnuts......

Brayden and Brandon sat around bored. ( aren't those cute little eye thingies?)

Then it was time to eat....

Then just as we started to eat, Brayden had to go #2 really bad! There was only 1 port o pot in the whole lot. My idea was to have him go in a Ziploc bag in the back of the truck but no one went for that! Jesse took him to wait in line for half an hour only to have the thing almost full! Gross! Then there was no toilet paper so Jesse had to get half a napkin and do his best! Right about that time Jesse's friends also showed up.

Right before we went up to the stadium one of the girls attempted to pee in between Jason's truck doors where the guys were going. Let me tell ya.....there were yellow rivers flowing everywhere!

On the way to the stadium the boys and I stopped to people watch! What a bunch of freaks! I should have gotten better pictures of some of these people but I was afraid to get shot! Even though they thoroughly checked us for weapons before we went in!

At the game they handed out breast cancer pins and even had one on the field.

During the game it was pretty exciting.......People were getting thrown out left and right. There were Bengal's fans everywhere!

This guy

And this guy

were going to fight right in front of us! It was great! There were F-bombs flying everywhere! The guy sitting next to us yelled at them and told them to watch it because there were kids right here! Yeah, like my kids have never heard that before. I wanted to see a fight!

Oh, remember those cute little eye thingies? They came in handy later when we had a Bengal's fan sit right in front of us. Brandon and I laughed forever!

I did actually watch some of the game...

Oops! What I meant to say was, I watched Brady Quinn on the sidelines!

There was one point in the game where I got really excited! I wanted to run out onto the field...

Yep! That's right where I was going to run! I wanted to cut this guys hair off soooo bad! It was driving me nuts!

The kids had a great time! I think they really like the game, freezing butts and all! Oh, yeah. We lost 23 - 20 in overtime. :(

The Good, The Bad, and The What Was I Thinking!

2009-09-28T20:27:00.003-04:00

One of the things I love about the boys being in sports (ok really it's one of the things I hate too) is seeing old friends, classmates, and old crushes. I've reconnected with a few people that were good if not great friends at one time or another. These are the people that I really want to make sure that they stay in my life from now on. You know who you are! The funny thing is that two of these people made me pumpkin cookies! How weird is that? I love anything that is pumpkin! Now, I'm not saying that you have to make me pumpkin anything just to be my friend , but hey it can't hurt! Ha, ha, ha!
Some of the other people that I have reconnected with were friends or acquaintances. I love seeing most of these people too. I love seeing how they have changed or even how they have stayed the same. I like seeing their kids and hearing a little about their lives now. Even the friends that I don't see but that I stay connected with through Facebook.
Then there are the people I see and I think "What in the hell was I thinking?". Old crushes that have done nothing with their lives. Well, except manage to get arrested a few times. Former friends that I am ashamed to say I once knew them. You know the ones.... The only thing that they are good for is using them as an example to teach your kids a lesson. Really! I did this once in Wally World!
Anyway it makes me wish that I had been nicer when I was younger. I just really hope that people see that I have changed in some ways.

Fall!

2009-09-26T17:02:00.002-04:00

My favorite season is here! Fall! That means football, pumpkin recipes, falling leaves, fall colors and new fall shows! Jason was at work and the boys went to the Massillon football game so I was home alone last night. I was going to clean out my car but decided to catch up with my DVR. I thought that was a much better choice!
I DVRed all my old shows like:
Greys-Kinda one of my faves but slowly dying
Fringe- Joshua Jackson! Need I say more?
Private Practice- Good story lines most of the time. The season finale was a real cliffhanger.
House- I really liked the season premiere. I think House is hot!

This season there are a lot of new shows too. Some that I DVRed were:
Eastwick- It was ok. It has potential to be good. I think I'll keep watching.
Cougar Town- I laughed my arse off! It is a little kooky but really funny.
Mercy- I'm not even going to post a link for this one! It was that bad! The plot and actors totally sucked. Plus I've seen it all with ER.
Vampire Diaries- I love this one! Yes Twilight might be influencing my decision but hey the main guy is hot! Way hotter than Edward! There are two things I don't like. One is that I am constantly comparing it to Twilight. Like in one scene the vampire guy was sleeping. Uh, in Twilight they don't sleep! The other thing I don't like is the main guys brother. He looks like a young Rob Lowe but makes all these weird facial expressions and looks like he has too much make-up on.
I know Kristy watched Glee. Did anyone elese catch some of the new shows?

Fall Football Preview!

2009-09-14T19:07:00.002-04:00

In case all of you haven't realized it yet......Football has officially started! The boys started a couple weeks ago, then high school, Saturday night was collage and the NFL started this week! Oh goodie, goodie! Did you read my sarcasm?
I love watching my boys play! They are both still undefeated and improving every game! I can watch a few high school games but would rather listen on the radio. Collage? Eh, I can take it or leave it. I like Ohio State but really only follow the scores.
Now the NFL, oh my! Do we really need Thursday, Sunday and Monday games? Wasn't Sunday and Monday night enough? Maybe they just don't understand the havoc it causes in my world. Sunday goes like this......Morning- check the line ups for fantasy league. Yes that cuts into my farm_____(enter either ville or town here). Then when the games actually start it completely takes over two T.V.s and the computer.
That starts the kids complaining and seriously cuts into my farm_____! Then of course Jesse comes over and I have to listen to them analyze every little thing. I tried to watch the Green Bay and Bears game last night and really ended up just looking for hot guys! LOL I found a big, bald one and it would be just my luck that I hear on ESPN (yes the guys have it on during lunch at work) today that he is out for the year! Gee, can't a girl ever get a break? Yes ladies! Brady Quinn is hot but looks too much like a little boy!
Speaking of the football players looks....I so very badly want to jump through the TV with a good pair of scissors and cut all that long nasty hair I see flying around from under those helmets! If I was playing those guys I would grab a fist full and pull real hard! Would that draw a flag? Oh well maybe they would cut it before they played me again! Or then again maybe they would just pinch me real hard back! Who knows what goes on at the bottom of those pile-ups!

Surprise!

2009-09-13T11:08:00.013-04:00

After months of planning, every ones hard work payed off! We surprised Jesse with a 30th birthday party! Papaw RJ almost blew it that morning at the football game but luckily Jesse wasn't paying attention. Under the cover of Jason having a Ohio State party we managed to get everything ready! Jesse called Jason a few choice words when they pulled in the driveway so I think he was really surprised!

We had:

Family and Friends.....

Cake....

Corn hole...

Cold beverages...

And you can't forget the pinata!

Then everyone watched a disappointing loss for the Bucks.

It was a good party and everyone had a lot of fun! Jason and Jesse went up to the Browns game this morning. I hope it doesn't end the same as the Ohio State game.

Where Does The Time Go?

2009-09-09T20:23:00.003-04:00

Here are a few updates on what has been going on around here:
The Homecoming- What a success! We did even better than last year! The kids games made almost a $200 profit over last year! Next year I'm shooting for $1000!
Football- Both of the boys teams are still undefeated! They both had great games on Saturday! Jarrett's team beat Jesse's team! He had a good time picking on Jesse afterwards.
Family- I tried to find a new song to put on the blog! It was "Long Line Of Losers" by Montgomery Gentry. Good Lord! How naive can some people be? To constantly let one family member take advantage of you over and over! Then to buy a bullshit story! Whatever! This crap has been going on for too long! It needs to end now! I wish my Dad was still alive. I think he was the only one from that side of the family that had any common sense! Hopefully soon I will be able to tell you all the whole story!
Birthdays- Last Friday was Jason's birthday! Today is Madison's 8th birthday! This Friday is Jesse's 30th birthday! Happy Birthday to everyone!
School- Both the boys are enjoying their classes this year. We are still having nightly battles with Brandon and his homework. It's not that he doesn't want to do it but gets frustrated by his handwriting. He has to constantly erase! Do they make tutors for handwriting? It is absolutely crazy! We have been working on the same assignment for 3 hours! He did most of it at school but the teacher made him erase all of it and start over because he didn't write in cursive!
Work- There have been some serious personnel issues at work. Hopefully they have now been taken care of. At least as far as I'm concerned. Why do people have to be so ignorant? Oh and we have picked up so much in the last few months that the company had to hire temps. I hope it lasts!
That's about all I have for now. Brandon is on his last question and I just want to crawl into bed! I'm sure I'll think of more later and then I'll forget it all before I get another chance to sit down and write!

Opinion Time!

2009-09-02T17:01:00.002-04:00

Gee it has been a while! Things here are busy, busy, busy! I'm sure most of you would say the same! Football is going great! Both the teams won Saturday! They play again this Saturday and we have the Homecoming! Fun, Fun, Fun!
I just wanted to ask everyone what they thought about the Duggar Family. I hear so many opinions that I was interested what my friends and family thought.
My opinion- I think that they are natural. I watch the show and see what they put on T.V. Now they are expecting their 19th child! Good for them. If that's what they choose then great!
I hear so many people complaining about bringing that many kids into an already over populated world. Those kids are well taken care of and loved. How many neglected and abused children are there? I don't see anyone trying to make all those parents get "fixed".
Then I hear people complaining about the "buddy" system that the Duggars have. They say it is making the older kids raise the younger ones. I couldn't even count the number of times I ask my boys to help one of the smaller cousins. Isn't that the same thing?
I could go on and on! Yes they are on T.V. Some people are saying that they are just having more kids for the show. They already had like 16 before the show began! Why wouldn't they have more?
I just hate all the negative stuff people are saying. Wasn't this the way things used to be? You didn't plan on how many kids, they just happened. Or as Michelle says "They are gifts from God."
What do you think?

HUH?

2009-08-20T21:08:00.002-04:00

This is another one of my "people are crazy" posts! The boys' scrimmage last night was more like a practice against different kids. They take turns on offense and defense and really don't keep score. I think most of the kids had fun. Well.........at least the ones that don't have nuts for parents!
Seriously! There were parents yelling from the sidelines at their kids. Things like "don't be a wuss!" and "you hit like a girl!" Hello! It's pee wee football not the NFL
Then there were the parents that were sitting in the crowd smoking! I know that was OK like 10 years ago but not anymore. Yes, I used to smoke. I would never imagine smoking at one of my kids sporting events at the school! There was one woman smoking, sitting two chairs from Maddox! I guess just because all the people in my family have quit(well except for the occasional alcohol induced smoke) I just think everyone else has too. At least they should have the good sense to go sit in their vehicles.
Worst of all, I think, are the parents that think their kids should play all game, every game, both sides of the ball, offense and defense. Like I said before, this is not the NFL. All the kids should get a chance to play regardless of how good they are. I do think that the kids that work harder in practice should get to play more. The kids that expect to play and are lazy in practice should not get as much playing time.
I guess it's a good thing I'm not a coach! Then again I couldn't be "just" a coach. I would have to run things or there would be even more drama than there is now! LOL

Football Pictures!

2009-08-19T20:45:00.010-04:00

Both the boys are loving football this year! We had them do some hitting against each other at Mom's house the other day. Brandon is in the blue and Jarrett is in the white.

Tonight they had their first scrimmage. It was against Fairless. Jarrett is in full brown uniform (# 49). Brandon had a hodge podge of stuff on. His uniforms aren't in yet so they wore their practice pants(actually Jason gave him Jarretts) and a gold top (#26). The one he has on was the only one we had. Yes, it's a little small but he didn't care!

These two might not be the biggest players I've ever seen but they sure are the cutest!

Kidd's Annual Cornhole Tournament!

2009-08-16T10:10:00.006-04:00

What in the heck kinda trophy is that? I knew you would all be asking! That is the trophy for Shannon Kidd's Annual Cornhole Tournament! What? You've never heard of it? Oh probably because this is its first year! I guess I could have taken the picture of the trophy all by its self but then would you really get the drinking, food and fun vibe!

Cornhole is a game where you throw corn filled beanbags onto a slanted board with a small hole. The goal is to get the bag in the hole! I guess it's close to horseshoes and it is very popular around here. Some of these guys are serious! I mean, they are card carrying Cornhole Association members! Most of them have their own boards all decorated to show their style! It's a game of brother against brother, husband against wife! Can you feel the excitement???

Yesterday the party was at the Kidd household! They have a beautiful house and an awesome yard! Gee Shannon, why haven't you had a party before this? Anyway! There was a lot of people there. Friends, Co-workers and family. The kids and I got there a little late because I had to work and then do a few things at the house. Jason had to work. It was nice to see a few people that had got let go from where we work. And to meet some new people.

The big winners were Jesse's friend Joe and some guy that I didn't know. We didn't stay for the second tournament. Jarrett did get to play some. He liked that. All the other kids there were younger that him and he wanted to play with the adults. I didn't get too many pictures. But here is a few....

Brother against Brother. Jesse and Shannon!

Here's Jarrett and the guy I always complained about from work!
There you go Shannon! You finally made the blog!

Do You Like?

2009-08-14T21:03:00.003-04:00

My friend Kelly is a computer genius! She did my new layout! I think it is most appropriate since both the boys are loving football! Practices are going great! Brandon is not too sure about the tackling think but he likes it anyway! I'm getting yelled at by the boys so better go!

You Deserve A Break Today......

2009-08-09T11:22:00.002-04:00

Just about everywhere you go across the country, there is a McDonald's. Right? Right! Of course my kids love to go there and it just so happens that they had $20 in gift cards to spend there. Thursday I had to run back to Woo town right after work to get Brandon football pads for that nights practice. I figured it would be a good day to use the cards.
We set off out of Fredro to Woo town to do our shopping. We hit the sports store first. Pads. Check. Practice pants. Check. Under armor. Check. We made it out of the store in good time. I can't say the total on the receipt was good but we got what we needed! So anyway, off to eat!
I drive across the road to McDonald's #1. All the entrances were blocked. Gee looks like they were paving the parking lot. Ok. I decided to head to the McDonald's out on 30.
By this time I had to pee so bad. I decided to go into McDonald's #2. I rush off to use the bathroom while the boys waited. After much relief we head up to order. There was a little sign that said all their credit card readers were out of order. No problem for me, I only had gift cards. All three of us order and they start to bring our stuff. Then the girl sees my card and asks me to scan them. Ok. I do it and nothing happens. Then she says, "Oh is there still a little sign there that reads Blah, blah, blah?" "Yes." "Oh you can't use those cards." What? Crackhead! I shove them back in my purse and say "Never mind" and then we walk out. At least I got to pee!
There really is nothing else out on 30 so I decide we still have time to run into town. On the way to McDonald's #3 we run into road construction. After making our way through a detour we arrive, only to find all entrances blocked because of more paving! Ugh!
So we had Wendy's!

Pee Wee Football

2009-08-04T20:43:00.003-04:00

Yes boys and girls it is that time of the year! Baseball and golf have both ended and we are now headed into football. Both the boys started last week with small one hour practices. A little 7 on 7 and a few drills was all they did. Still I worried about Brandon. I was sitting in my car one day attempting to read Harry but I couldn't concentrate. My heart was breaking for the boy. This is Brandon's first year and I was freaking out. He did just fine. He still stayed back a little but he was just getting to know the guys.
This week they started conditioning. I was a mess! Every drill they did I was freaking out that he would have trouble. Ea said that I don't have faith in the kid but I do! He has a harder time with things than Jarrett does. Plus he IS my baby! Once they got started I was watching everything he did. He did great! I was so proud!
This morning when they got up Jarrett was complaining that he was sore but Brandon said he felt fine. Today I only watched a little. I hope he does just as well when they put full gear on in two weeks! I know he will!
Just this summer it has seemed like Brandon has grown up so much. He is not my little boy anymore! Sniff, sniff! I guess it's time for another one!

Harry Potter!

2009-08-02T19:42:00.003-04:00

Way back in 2001, the Harry Potter series of movies started out with The Sorcerer's Stone. Jarrett was only about 4 so we didn't run to the movies to see it. Of course there were the books but I was working and had two small kids to look after. Who had the time to read? I do remember going on vacation with Jason's family to Pennsylvania and Kevin and Mindy reading the latest book. Which one I don't remember. Brandon was like 2 at the time. I wasn't interested.
Then comes along more movies. I would sit down with the kids to watch them but I was so lost. So many things didn't make sense. I don't even think I watched all of The Prisoner Of Azkaban. I wasn't interested.
So then my friend, Kelly, decides that after listening to all the Twilight books at work, Harry Potter was next. Ok. I never read any of them and I really like listening to books while we work so I went with it. I loved them! There is so much more in the books. It almost makes the movies seem incomplete. I know you can't always get it all in a movie but as the Potter movies went on I felt they missed more and more. I now know why the movies didn't make sense.
I took the boys to the movies to see the last one. I was disappointed. It was a great movie but I felt that they concentrated too much on the coming of age lovey, dovey stuff than they did the story. There was even one part that I had no idea where it came from. I hope they do better with the Deathly Hallows. I know that they are splitting it into two movies. There are so many good parts from that book and I hope they get them all in. I laughed and I cried! I hope it's all there.
Sorry Kristy but I even liked the Harry Potter books better than Twilight. They were so much better written. Twilight does win for the best hotties though! I do confess to having a small crush on Ron. Teh, he, he!

Vacation!

2009-08-01T21:28:00.018-04:00

Oops! I guess it has been more than a week! Maybe I'll blog more now that Harry Potter is not consuming all my free time. I just finished reading the last 2 books. They were really good, but that is another post I'm working on.

In my last post I was telling you that we had all kinds of things going on. Jarrett finished 4Th in his tournament. This wasn't one of his better years but we are still proud of him! Next year he will be too old for this division so he will move up with the older kids. He will also be able to play in the Galen Swartzentruber Junior Golf Series. He is excited about that!

After he was done playing we left for vacation in North Carolina. We didn't make it very far before this happened!

A truck flipped over on the West Virginia turnpike just after Charleston. It was coming the other way and dumped big blue plastic piping all over our side of the road. It shattered every where! The truck caught on fire and they had both sides of the turnpike shut down! Luckily no one was seriously injured. We sat there for about 2 hours! It wasn't too bad. The kids were good and I had Harry to listen to. It was kinda neat getting out onto the highway. Jarrett did have to pee really bad though!

That was about all our excitement for the trip. It was nice to just relax! The boys played a lot of Tiger Wood's Golf with daddy and Uncle Kevin. I got to read a bunch of Harry. I got some good pictures of the boys on Mount Jefferson and we went to Miss Becka's birthday party! The next time we see them, there will be a new addition to their family.

Here is some of the pictures:

Jason was a little hesitant to let the boys out on these rocks.

They held Becka's party at the country club pool. It was really nice except they had their toilet paper on backwards! The horror of it all! I was tempted to go through and change the rolls! LOL

Here are the pictures. Um, of the party not the toilet paper!

Birthday Girl!

Jarrett riding the walrus!

These were taken at the pond at the club. They had really big bass that kept trying to eat the little bass when the guys caught them. It was big excitement for all the guys! Too bad Karen and I kept interrupting them to take their pictures. Well, Karen was when she wasn't worrying about where the giant spider went! Her and Jason are both scared to death of spiders, so this "little" guy was not welcome!

The Wonsick men and boys! Good luck trying to figure out which is which!

Now, now! Don't make fun of Kevin's crocks!

Becka opening her presents at home.

So much pink!

These are just a few pictures I took of the storms in the mountains on the way home.

It was nice to get away for a few days. Jason's brother, Kevin, had his hip replaced the Monday after we left! If you know him send his wishes for a speedy recovery!

Once A Week!

2009-07-20T17:45:00.009-04:00

I guess once a week is all you are going to get. For now! We had a busy and fun weekend but I'll get to that in a minute. What I would really love is to post a gossip filled, nasty post but the people I'm talking about are regular readers. So I can't do that! Ha! What I can do is give you a run down on what we have been up to and what is coming in the following weeks. Not nearly as exciting as gossip but it will have to do.

Here's all the up and coming:

Thursday- Jarrett has his big Riceland golf tournament in the morning. He has been playing well but doesn't get to practice much. He has always had people promise to take him golfing but that never happens so he sticks to driving in the back yard. He really needs to work on his putting. The cup in the living room just isn't cutting it anymore.! lol

We also leave for North Carolina to visit with Jason's brother's family. We will be celebrating Miss Becka's 4th birthday on Saturday. There is going to be eleven people staying in the house so I'm sure I'll have a few interesting stories to tell!

After we get home from there it's; school shopping, football starts on August 3, we are going camping, I have a week off work and then school starts! Then on labor Day weekend we have Jason's birthday and the Homecoming! Whew!

So anyway! On to the fun and excitement of this weekend.......

Friday was our 10th wedding anniversary! Where has the time gone? I should have done a big lovey, dovey post but who has the time with Farmtown and all! We celebrated by going to Olive Garden and shopping at Target, with the kids! How romantic! Jason and I did get to watch "Haunting in Connecticut" alone. My friend, Pam, loaned it to me and now I need to kick her A**! That movie scarred the shit out of me! I'm sure Jason thought I was trying to get in his pants, when really I was just trying to get as far away from the T.V. as I could! LOL

Saturday was Little Miss Audrey's 4th birthday bash! I got the privilege of escorting 3 of the cutest little girls to the bash! There was lots of things for them to do and everyone was happy! Well, until the little cake mishap! I won't go into that because it was very traumatic for my sister. We stayed at the party for as long as we could. I knew the girls would be bored with all the "boy" stuff that I have at my house. The girls were good as gold and we all got a kick out of Maya being afraid of flies. After they left, though, I just sat in the chair! LOL I'm not used to chasing around kids anymore! I think Jason would like to borrow them some more so I get the idea of having another child out of my head!

Sunday we finally got to go boating at Salt Fork! The day started off a little rocky since a few people were not getting along! Actually it was a little funny to me because it wasn't us! But anyway, some people went tubing and others of us stayed on the goose poop beach! We found ourselves a nice poop free spot so it was all good! We all had fun and plan to go back to camp in August. Oh yeah! I did get the top of my right foot burnt. That didn't feel too good standing in steel-toes all day!

Here's a few pictures from the weekend!

Girls at play!

Birthday girl opening her presents!

Party crowd!Real nice Jarrett!

Matthew and Jarrett playing in the girls small play house!(they tried to hide from me)

Jarrett and Paeker tubing. I don't think Parker liked it all that well!

Mr. Maddox enjoying his time at the beach!

Me and My Big Mouth!

2009-07-13T18:48:00.007-04:00

I guess I should know by now not to open my big mouth!.........

Saturday we were supposed to go to the lake to swim and tube but a big thunder storm came in. Then Ea mentioned something about this "water park" in Coshocton. Sunday morning when I was on Farmtown, Doug(a guy I work with), stopped to admire the farm. I knew he lived down that way so I asked him about it. He said it was OK and started to suggest other places. One of the places I had been to before and had a bad experience...... Poop in the water! I'm talking a giant log! Gross! So that place was out of the question. As I was talking to Doug I keep making poop comments. Poop this and that. I thought it was funny but I don't think he did.

So anyway. We decided to go to Coshocton. It was a nice place and only $5 for the kids and $7 for adults. Plus it didn't take that long to get there. They had one tube slide, one long body slide and a few smaller slides. Plus a water play land for the smaller kids. Of course swimming too. Ea and I even bought new bathing suits for the occasion. We took pictures but you will never see them! Ha, ha, ha!

Ea, Jason and the kids went down the slides and we all had fun swimming. Then about 5:45 the evacuated the pool. Had someone lost their kid or something? No. All the lifeguards were looking in the water like someone was floating on the bottom. Was there? No. It was poop! Little kid poop! Gross! After they found the turd they made everyone stay out of the water for 30 minutes. There was no way any of us were getting back in that water so we left. Me and my big mouth!

Other than that it was fun!

Jason looking cool!

Jesse and the boys under the water!

The water was a little cold.Jason and Jarrett coming off the slides.

Ea and Jarrett.Oops! What? No pictures of me? Darn!

Oh, by the way. The top 2 songs are my new favorites!

July Already!

2009-07-07T18:15:00.004-04:00

Where has the time gone? I guess I don't post because there is not much drama! My week off was pretty boring! I didn't do too much! I did get all my curtains washed. Then Jason fried shrimp the next day! UGH!
We did go see the new transformers movie. It was OK. The boys liked it but I thought there wasn't enough story and too much transformer fighting. I couldn't tell who was who half the time. The mom was hilarious, though! Probably the best part of the whole movie. Maybe I'm just cranky because there were people, just a few rows up, talking very loudly the whole movie! Or it could be that the seats at the theater shrunk! Or maybe my butt just got bigger! LOL
I am excited to go see the new Harry Potter movie that comes out on my Mommy's birthday. After hearing all the Twilight books on my MP3, Kelly brought me Harry. The books were a little hard to listen to because I kept getting all the movies mixed up. I wish I had all the DVd's to watch again. The only one we have is The Order Of The Phoenix. Ea just borrowed that.
I wasn't going to write about M.J. but I have too. I was listening to The Lords Gym on the radio today.(I know big shocker) Anyway, they were talking about how people's values are all messed up because everyone is making such a big deal about him dying. Everyone has lifted him up to such high status and he doesn't deserve that. God is the only one that deserves to be held is such high regard. I agree! I think they were talking about the child molestation allegations before I turned it on but I missed that part. So.... I think it is sad that he died but all this hoopla is crazy.
I almost forgot to post about the 4th of July party. We had alot of fun and even more food! We had tons of friends and family sitting in the yard for the parade and even more came for the picnic! It was nice to see old friends and all my cousins that we haven't seen since Christmas. My cousin Kent and his wife brought their little boy, Parker! I wish my camera battery wouldn't have died because I would have loved to get some pictures of all the kids! Maybe next year!
Till next time! Have a good one!

Monday

2009-06-29T11:42:00.003-04:00

I have all this week off work! I have so many things flying through my head that I want to do. Jarrett had some boys over last night so as soon as I take them home it's time to get started on my list! I just don't know where to begin!
The weather on Tuesday and Wednesday is messing me up a bit! Maybe if the boys don't have golf on Tuesday we will go to the movies. I wanted to go to Berlin with some friends, have friends over to swim, do some shopping, go to visit my Grandma and a bunch of other stuff! I don't think I'll get even half done! LOL Jason is on second this week so that threw a little wrench in my plans. Oh well, we have another week off in August!
One of the boys Jarrett has over is Mennonite. I heard him tell the boys that Michael Jackson died white but when he was born he was black! I almost p*ssed my pants!

Odds and Ends!

2009-06-25T19:41:00.006-04:00

I have so many things to share but I never get on here to post! The boys are at Jason's parents house for a sleep over and it's getting ready to storm. I thought this would be a good time to get caught up! Let us see.......What has been going on?.......

Last Sunday was Father's Day. Technically we don't celebrate that day.(uh, remember someone didn't celebrate Mother's Day either) Jason's parents had a picnic at their house and my family was all invited. The food was great and everyone had fun. I mostly got pictures of the kids on the slip n slide.

Brandon

Jarrett
It has been nice having Ea off work this summer. She has taken the kids swimming almost everyday. They are going to hate it when she goes back to work. Most days I come home from work and she's there. We get to do fun stuff like shave Papaw's head!(Not the best picture)
What else?....Jarrett's kinda upset. He found out today that he didn't make All Stars. I was excited because the neighbor boy, that I was telling you about, made it! Great for him!

What is with all the celebrities dying? Michael Jackson makes the third this week! We also had a co-worker die Tuesday. He was only 36 and had a stomach aneurysm. He left behind 3 small kids. How sad! I didn't know him that well but some of the people in our department took it hard.

On a little happier note.....we are still planning on having the Big 4th of July picnic! All friends and family are invited! Let me know if you can make it!

We are also in the middle of planning the kids games for the Homecoming! I have all next week off so ordering prizes is on my list of things to do! That list keeps getting longer. I don't really think I'll get half of it done but I have my vacation priorities in order. Family, friends and swimming 1st! Deep cleaning second!

Jason is crying to get on Farmtown so I better go! Wait!

I got a few pictures today of Maddox trying to poop! It was funny!

Baby Maddox

2009-06-18T19:08:00.010-04:00

A couple weeks ago Ea and I took Maddox to have his pictures taken. A woman that lives down the street wanted to try some new poses with him. The pictures turned out so cute! If anyone would like to use her as a photographer let me know. She did a great job!

These ones are my favorites!

She wanted him to be sleeping and he didn't wake up the whole time! Don't you just love how is little tongue is sticking out in most of the photos? He gets that from his Momma.

New Pictures!

2009-06-17T17:28:00.011-04:00

Baseball is officially over! I think. Jarrett was put on the list for all stars but so far no one has called. Jarrett's team lost their last two games. Oh well! On to golf!

So far this summer the weather hasn't been the best. The pool is slowly warming up and the boys have had a few good days to swim. On Sunday we had a small birthday party for my nephew, Steven. It was a good day for it. Jason, Jesse, and Mike were all at a drunk fest. Uh, I mean golf outing! They joined us later in the day.

Upon request, I got some new pictures of Maddox! Here they are along with some pictures of all the other kids!

Maddox wearing the swimming trunks and flip flops I got him!

Maddox in his sun hat!( No that is not my freckled arm!)Maddox in the pool! (sorta) Ea yelled at me for this!( That is my freckled arm!)

Jarrett, Parker, Brandon, Steven and Matthew!

Don't you just love Brandon's form?Bet that hurt!

Little Havilah! Uh, I mean Audrey. She got mad when Ea called her that!

I never knew golf could be so tiring! Maybe it was the sun and all the beer! Jesse was the smart one... He went upstairs and crawled in my bed so no one would bother him! LOL
Awwwww! Uncle Jason and Maddox!

The Losses, The Wins And The Gains!

2009-06-13T09:35:00.005-04:00

I know, I know, I know! I have been neglecting my blog! I'm sorry! My friends at work have been complaining! I love them all so here I am!
Brandon's team lost their last game last night. It was a good game but I can't remember the score. It ended with more bad coaching decisions. Bases loaded, we were down by two, two outs and the coach decides to send the kid at third, home. He got out through no fault of his own. The coach never should have sent him but, whatever it is over. All you could hear from parents was how they were all going to coach next year! That was kinda funny!
Jarrett's team, on the other hand, won their 1st game Thursday night 14-8! I was go glad because I work with one of their coaches from the other team. He is not very nice and gets a little poopy when he coaches. He came into work and said that they lost because they were missing 2 of their good players. Uh, no! It was mostly a pitching contest and they pitched the same kids that they did in the 1st two games against us. Our boys were really hitting the ball off their pitcher. Jarrett hit a triple! It just barely missed going over the fence for a home run! Another boy hit a home run and the other boys on the team hit really well too! Our coaches did a great job of coaching and took out who needed to come out and played the boys where they should have been! It was nice! Jarrett's team plays again tonight at 6 o'clock in Nashville for anyone who wants to come and cheer them on!
While on the subject of baseball......I think the little league All stars should have voting just like the big leagues. I know that my vote would go to my, now Mennonite, neighbor boy! This child id highly over looked but he is awesome. He plays center field. He slides and dives to catch balls. He always seems to be in the right place at the right time. He even is on the edge of the infield to backup the infielders mistakes. He hits pretty well too. I think he should be on the All star team this year! I know it will probably be the same kids as ever year but I think we should vote!
I guess this post also shows why I haven't been posting! Baseball, baseball, baseball! It's almost over and I need to turn my attention to other things. Such as my butt! Once again it is getting bigger! Stupid food anyway!

The Start Of Tournaments

2009-06-10T19:01:00.002-04:00

Brandon had their first tournament game last night. They lost! Those poor boys! They are now 0-15! They made a lot of mistakes and got "run `ruled" after 3 1/2 innings. It didn't help that the other team was one of the best and they just kept running on us and stealing home. These boys can't get a break. Brandon left that field feeling no different then when we got there so that's a plus! Jarrett plays Thursday night. They play a team that they beat once and they beat us once. It should be a good game. Even though the other team only beat us because the umps cheated for them!
Tournaments also means thatbaseball in almost over! Yay! Golf started! Brandon loved it! More later!

Lovely Summer Day!

2009-06-07T11:45:00.002-04:00

Despite a small set back in the afternoon, yesterday was a perfect summer day! We walked around to all the garage sales in town. The only thing we bought was a bottle of water and a pair of $.50 shorts for Brayden. Then the boys and I cleaned house and Jason mowed the yard. After that we were off to the school auction. I didn't think there were as many people there as in years past. They had some nice stuff but we didn't stay long.
The boys invited some friends over to swim and Audrey and Madison came too! We ordered pizza, had a fire and made smores. Of course Jarrett and his two friends had to sneak inside for a little video game time. Everyone was gone by 8:30 and we were off to a party . We weren't going to go but plans changed and we made it just in time for all the FUN! LOL I'm sure work is going to be a busy place tomorrow! Ha, ha, ha!
Regular season baseball is over. Jarrett's team ended up 11-4 and Brandon's team was 0-?. Now the tournaments start. Jarrett's team got a bye so they don't play till Thursday. We haven't heard about Brandon's team. Actually we haven't got the call about Jarrett's yet but I read it on Facebook! LOL Of course they both play on opposite ends of Holmes county so I'm glad Jason is on 1st shift for 1 more week!
Summer has begun, the pool is open so stop in for some fun!

Sports!

2009-06-03T18:28:00.002-04:00

Baseball is almost over! This is the last week for the regular season and then tournaments start next week. Jarrett's team should do well as long as the umpires don't cheat for the other team! That has happened every time we play Millersburg at their home field! Brandon's team did not win a game all year. He's not upset, so that is good. They started a game on Monday and were tied at 7 with the bases loaded when the lightening came. They resumed the game on Tuesday and ended up loosing because the pitchers walked in 5 straight! I asked Brandon what he thought of the game and he gave me a thumbs up! He's silly!
Jason got both of the boys signed up for football. Brandon's not to sure about it all so we will see how it goes. Jarrett's excited because the coach promised to line him up against Brandon. Golf starts next week. Brandon is excited for his 1st year!
With all this I still feel that we don't do enough for the boys. There is never enough time. I was listening to a guy at the ball game talk last night. He was saying that he has his kids lifting light weights two times a week. Huh? I would just love to have the time to take the kids on a walk or a bike ride every night. Yeah, I know! If I wasn't on the computer I could do that right now! Well, except for the rain. When it comes down to it, I just hope they are happy!

Team Werewolf!

2009-06-01T20:55:00.002-04:00

Check this out! This is the first trailer for New Moon! Thanks to my friend Kelly, I got to watch it at work today! How on Earth are we ever going to wait till November? I think I am now totally Team Werewolf! Good Golly!

Oops!

2009-05-30T12:18:00.002-04:00

I guess it has been a little while! Darn Farmtown!
As much as most of you would love to hear, there is no big drama going on right now. At least not that I can tell you! LOL The boys are out of school and things are getting rearranged into our summer schedule. I guess it's not much of a schedule just different chaos!
This week has been nice. Jason has been on straight first shift, training on some machine. With his sleep schedule now matching our a little more closely, things have been peaceful. Well, except for the little PMS rage at the ball games last night!
Speaking of baseball......Brandon's team still has not won! Boo! All the boys are improving every game. Brandon is just happy to be there! Jarrett's team is 9 - 3! The coaching still drives me nuts but what can ya do! Last night Brandon had a game at 6 and Jarrett at 8. Both at home. Brandon's was done after 4 innings because they were loosing so badly. Jarrett's game was with one of the best in the league. They beat us 7-1 last time. Not last night! Ha, ha, ha! After a long rain delay(and some fine field fixing up by Jason and Jesse) we beat them! The other teams coaches were a little pissed. The one guy was irate! What an ass!
My friend, Kelly, downloaded the Twilight books and let me borrow them. I loaded them into my MP3 player and have been listening to them at work. It sure does make the day go fast. It does get a little frustrating when I get to a good part and someone interrupts me! I feel bad because I really don't talk too much now! Yeah, I know, big shocker but it's true!
That's about all for now! I'll try to post sooner rather than later! See ya all at the farm!

Just Checking In!

2009-05-25T11:07:00.002-04:00

It's nice to see that I'm not the only one neglecting my blog! Stupid Farmtown!
The pool is open and the kids were in it yesterday. The water temp was only 63 degrees! Burrrrr! Poor little Brayden was purple! They had fun, though. They sure were worn out and cranky last night!
We also went to the movies yesterday and watched "Night At The Mueseum 2". I didn't think it was as good as the first one. The kids liked it. We watched the trailer for the new Transformers and Harry Potter. I want to go see them both!
The boys only have like 3 days of school left! This year just flew by. Just think, next year Jarrett will be in 6th grade! Oh my! Sixth grade camp and everything! Crazy!
That's my little update! Hope you liked it!

Friday!

2009-05-22T09:07:00.002-04:00

I'm home today! Things at work are a little slow. We are back to the "yes we have work, no we don't"! This goes on all day! Yuck! Jason and I are going to get the pool opened today! Hopefully! If nothing goes wrong! Something happens every year. This year we need to replace all the sand in the filter. We have never done this but we are going to try.
I have a lot of things that I would like to do with the kids this weekend! There are a few movies opening up that they want to see and I want to go to the Zoo. We've been to Cleveland, Akron, and Columbus. Columbus was my favorite. I would like to visit Toledo or Cincinnati but Jason says they are too far! Poo on him! He is no fun! Jason's Dad also wants us to go to Lake Erie. Jason and the boys are excited about that but me, not so much! The whole small kids, big lake thing! Plus all the sun reflecting off the water! That is just blisters waiting to happen! I guess a Mom has to do things for her kids that she really doesn't want to do!
We went to Madison's softball game last night. It was wayyyyyyy different watching the little girls play ball. They do cheers and cry. OK, a few of the boys(not mine) have cried but there was a lot of crying! I did get to see a girl that I used to work with. It has been about 7 years. She has 3 cute(not as cute as yours, Kristy!) little girls. That's all I have to say about that. I could go on and on but I guess her life is none of my business! Uh, that's never stopped me before but I'll just leave my ranting to a select few! ;)
Jarrett's baseball team has lost a few more. They have all been lost by one run except the last game. We lost 7-1! The other team was tough. Their starting pitcher was awesome. He hit Jarrett hard in the back of the neck a few years ago. Jarrett was one of only two that hit off of him! I was so proud! Then they took Jarrett and his friend out for the rest of the game. What a bunch of crap! Two of our coaches did get into a little fight. It was great! I was the only one that heard! Darn it!
So anyway! I have lots to do! Farmtown is taking up too much of my time! :)

I'm Back!

2009-05-18T20:24:00.002-04:00

We really got a lot of stuff done this weekend! OK, so maybe Jason really got a lot of stuff done! I did get the socks folded! Oh, Mike, it's hard to buy all the same socks when you have a husband that will only wear "Gold Toe" and I'm not going to spend that much money for the boys to ruin them. Plus I'm a woman so I have to have the Hanes with the pink toe! Silly! Good try though!
Baseball is still going! Jarrett's team has lost two close games now! Poo! Poor old Brandon's team hasn't won a game yet! I blame that on the coaching. All the boys have improved so much it's hard to blame them! I would really like to vent about Jarrett's coaches but you never know who might be reading this! LOL If you want the dirt on that come sit by me during a game! It drives Jason nuts!
I'm really ticked off at certain people that read my blog! You know who you are! They oh so innocently got me and Brandon addicted to "Farm Town" on Facebook! Now when I drive by a field or cows I think "Gosh, that's just like my farm!" I'm loosing it! Ha, Ha, Ha!
On a more serious note....Brandon's teacher came up to me, at one of their games, and said that she has noticed that Brandon has been really thirsty lately. I told her that I noticed that for the last two weeks but she said it has been going on in her class for about a month. She said that he is the only student she has ever had that asked to keep a cup of water at their desk. She also said that he has been going to the bathroom a lot lately. Those are both signs of diabetes. She thinks he needs to be checked. I told her that I have been keeping an eye on him but haven't noticed any other signs like bed wetting or weight loss. He is always hungry! I really hope he doesn't have it! Diabetes does run on my side and on Jason's side.
Stacie is going to bring me some test strips to check his urine. Her son is one year younger than Brandon. He has had diabetes since he was four. I have seen some of the stuff that they have had to go through with him and I don't want that for Brandon. I wish her son didn't have to go through it either! I do know that it will be easier for me than it was for Stacie because I will have her. She had nobody to help her through, that had experience!
So anyway.....Off to Farm town! Oh, yeah! That little baby is doing great. He poops on me every time I hold him! LOL

A Much Needed Break!

2009-05-13T20:08:00.003-04:00

Have you ever gotten to a point where you just need to stop and take a step back? I'm there right now! Nothing is wrong. It's just that things are moving too fast right now. With homework, baseball 4 nights a week, work, Brandon's birthday and that beautiful baby coming all at the same time, I feel overwhelmed! I decided to take a few days off work and breathe! That is what vacation days are for, right?
I decided that now would be a good time to catch up on all my stuff that has been getting pushed to the side. Like laundry! I have been folding socks just as the boys need them! LOL Jason and I are going to work in the flower beds and try to get some grass planted in the front yard. I also need some time to snuggle that baby! I did get to feed him and change a poopy diaper today. I really just want to steal him for a while but I don't think Mommy or Brayden are going to let that happen!
Brayden loves his little brother so much! He keeps saying, "Oh Mommy, isn't he just so cute!" I love it. I was holding the baby today and Brayden crawled up on my lap too. He just wanted to look at him and tell me that I could kiss him on the head if I wanted! I just hope he still loves him that much when Maddox is following him around and imitating everything he does!
Ea has to keep taking Maddox in for blood tests. He's a little bit jaundice. They are keeping an eye on it for now.
I'm gonna go spend some "Deadliest Catch" time with my boys!

Weekend Recap!

2009-05-11T15:49:00.008-04:00

I hope every one's Mother's Day was better than mine! It was sad reading all the stories on blogs and face book about everyone else's day! Jason did nothing for me or his own mother. Then Jarrett only told me Happy Mother's Day because Ea made him, and Brandon never said it at all. I know I'm not alone in this so it helps a bit! Enough of the negative stuff!

We sure had a busy weekend. Friday was Brandon's birthday so I did a few things with his class. Then both the boys had games so we spent the evening at the ball diamond. We took ice cream bars for Brandon's team and they all sang Happy Birthday really loud! It was funny! Brandon's team lost and Jarrett's team won. They are now 7-0! After that I went to bed at 11 pm.

Then Ea called at 1:30 am to say she was having contractions. After getting Brayden settled in my bed with Jason, it was off to the hospital for the next 15 hours. I slept a little on and off but not much. Then little Maddox was born. What a cutie!

I was so tired! I went to bed at 8:30 and slept for almost 11 hours without waking up! Then I got up early to get ready for Brandon's birthday party. It was supposed to be Saturday but that little baby had other ideas! We just had some family over for pizza and cake! Brandon had a good day!

I decided not to go to work today so I could do some shopping and see that baby. Ea, Jesse and the baby came home about noon. I bought him the cutest little swimming trunks and matching flip flops! Did I mention how cute he is?

You really didn't think I'd end this without posting more pictures, did you?

This is a really good shot I got of Brandon at his game! He hit a double with that awesome swing!

This is the Ipod cake that Brandon wanted! I think it turned out really well! And a picture of him opening gifts!And of course, more pictures of Maddox!This is one of my favorites!

He's finally Here!

2009-05-09T19:28:00.008-04:00

Ea and Jesse had their precious baby boy this afternoon! They named him Maddox Anthony! He weighed 8 pounds 4 ounces and was 21 inches long! His head was a little on the large side but it is shaped perfect! Maddox is just perfect!

Jason brought Brayden in to see him but Brayden was a little shy. He was scared because his Mommy was hooked up to the I.V. He was excited that he was coming and was so proud to tell everyone about him!

Here's some pictures!

Mom and baby are doing fine. Ea had my headphones in while she was in labor!

He wasn't very happy!

Me, Mom and Maddox!Ea was trying to burp him and he kept picking his head up!
Hopefully tomorrow I'll have some pictures of Brayden holding his baby brother. Just in case I don't get back on here tomorrow.....Happy Mother's Day to all mother old and new!

My Baby!

2009-05-08T00:00:00.003-04:00

Happy 9th Birthday to Brandon!

In honor of Brandon's birthday I'm going to share some of my favorite pictures of Brandon!

This is the first time Jarrett saw Brandon. He wasn't very happy!

What a pumpkin!(focus on the kid, not me!)

Potty time!

Check out those ears!

Batman and Robin!
From all of that to this:

Happy Birthday Baby!

P.S. The song playing is the one that I have sang to Brandon since he was born. Don't ask me why it was always this song, because really, I don't know!

Yawn!

2009-05-06T16:06:00.002-04:00

I survived work today on only 4.5 hours of sleep! The rest of the day is a whole other story. I'm debating whether I should sneak up stairs for a little nap!
Jarrett's team had a 8:00 game in Killbuck last night. They won! That makes them 5 - 0! We played a team that we had already beat 11-1. Some coaches would probably go out, kill them, and be on our way home after 4 innings. Not our coach! He started some of the other kids that haven't had a chance yet. He even set his own son on the bench! Even though it was late it was totally worth it to see some of the other boys have their turn at making the plays! One boy even got his first hit of the year and another got a home run! It was great!
Jarrett played really well! He got a walk, a single, and a double. He made a couple good plays and got a guy out at home! I hope this boosts his confidence a little. They still have some tough teams to play!
Still no baby! Are you getting tired of hearing that? All I can say is, poor Ea!

Stuff!

2009-05-04T19:32:00.002-04:00

There are so many things that I want to post about but I can't. Maybe I should start a private blog and only invite some of you. Oh, that wouldn't be nice! Then again, I bet no one ever told you I was nice! Ha, ha, ha!
So anyway! I almost ran over a little girl today. There is this one family and they have two kids. A boy and a girl. I think the girl is between the boys in school. I took Brandon down to practice and I could see that she was going to ride her bike out in front of me so I slowed down. Then she wreaked her bike right in the middle of the road! Right in front of my car! I had to slam on the breaks and I was only doing 25! I was pissed! I asked her if she was OK and she said yes and then she rode away. Really I wanted to get out of the car and drag her up to her house by her ear and then yell at her parents! I know that wouldn't have done any good! Earlier this year her brother got caught stealing a 3 wheeler from a neighbor. How did his parents punish him? They bought him his own 4 wheeler! What? Ugh! These people drive me nuts!
Poor Ea! This little fella sure likes to cause mischief and he's not even here yet! I was talking to his Saturday night and he told me that he didn't want to come out until they picked a better name! LOL J.K. I guess I was wrong about this weekend! Maybe he will come on Brandon's birthday! The big guy turns 9 on Friday! 9 years old and he's my baby! *sniff, sniff*
A little work update: My department is busy. Some of the other departments aren't so lucky. My old department is going to start laying people off one week at a time. I feel lucky that we got out when we did! We also started hearing rumors today that they are going to start firing again. Like I said, "Rumor"!
That might be all you get from me this week! Unless this baby comes!

Silence!

2009-05-02T13:00:00.003-04:00

Right now I am sitting in a quiet house! No noise except the washing machine! How did I ever get so lucky? Jason and his Dad took the boys to the annual fishing tournament that their work has! They left at 4:30 this morning. So far the only thing I accomplished was getting a book read and some laundry done. The book was "The Boy In The Stripped Pajamas". It was good but I wish it would have been longer. There is a movie made from it and I will definitely have to see it.
The boys were both supposed to have baseball last night. It rained cats and dogs here. Brandon got his game in Berlin started but it ended up raining there to. Jarrett's game got rescheduled for next week so that adds more to the already full week. Luckily I have great family on both sides that are willing to step in just in case Ea decides to have that baby. I know that everyone else is busy too but I thought I'd give you a little look at what the week looks like.
Monday- Brandon practice at 5:30. I wanted to go to Matthew's game that day but that doesn't look like that's going to happen.
Tuesday- Jarrett pictures 4:45. Brandon pictures 5:00. Jarrett game in Killbuck at 8:00. That ought to be fun. Killbuck is a half hour away, games usually go for about two hours and I get up at 4:00 a.m. to go to work!
Wednesday- Brandon practice 5:30. Thanks to Grandma Norma I am going to Brayden's game in Winesburg! She is going to pick Brandon up for me.
Thursday- Jarrett game at 7:15.
Friday- Brandon's 9th birthday! Brandon has a game at 6 and Jarrett at 8. Luckily both are at home!
Don't take this as me complaining! I wouldn't know what to do with myself if I wasn't busy. The only hard part is having Jason at work the first half of the week. I guess it wouldn't make much difference because I wouldn't miss any of this. We would just be doing it together.
So anyway, somewhere in all of that hopefully this baby decides to make his appearance into the world! Unless he decides to come tonight!

GO Team!

2009-04-28T20:47:00.005-04:00

Jarrett's baseball team are now 4 - 0! It was a close one tonight but with the help of everyone on the team they pulled it out!

Brandon's team on the other hand.........Ugh! I'm not talking about the kids, but the coaching! I'd go into a big long rant about it but it's exhausting! Not only that but it would get Ea going again!

Speaking of Ea... No baby yet. I'm going to say late Friday or early Saturday. She has a doctor appointment Friday afternoon. I just know that he is going to check her and that will get the contractions going!

Saturday Jason's brother and family were in from North Carolina! I never did see Kevin but we did get to spend some time with Mindy and Miss Becka! Papaw and Mindy took all the kids fishing for a while! Then we played a little at the house. Here's the pictures:

Brayden is not technically one of the grand kids on that side but Jason's parents have always treated him just like one of my boys. I'm positive his little brother will fit right in too!

Picture Recap!

2009-04-25T16:01:00.014-04:00

Everyone was enjoying the sun!

Buddy!

Brandon, Madison, and Brayden being silly!

Jarrett finally getting to ride the 4 wheeler! He ruined that today by falling off! He's OK but his underwear was full of dirt!Jason doing some yard work!

Country life is nice! Especially when you have views like this from a baseball field!

Pics from Brandon's game. They lost 11 to 1 but they played a good game. They just had one bad inning!

Brandon!

Brandon and his friend! It was very windy, hence the dust storm!

This little girl that wouldn't leave Brandon alone! Isn't that cute!

Look at all the family support!

Jarrett's team is now 3-0! They played a good one last night! They beat a really good team 2-1! GO TEAM!

Jarrett, Jason, Jesse, and Brandon went golfing today! Jarrett won!

Jarrett

Brandon
Have a good day!

More Baseball!

2009-04-23T20:48:00.007-04:00

Can you see me smiling? Jarrett's second game went much better. The head coach was back and I think all the kids felt good about the game. They also won 3 to 1. The score would have been higher but we left the bases loaded twice. Oh well. All the kids had a really good game.

Brandon's game, on the other hand, was not so great. They only played 3 innings because of the rain. Brandon and 3 other kids set out all three innings. Brandon is just happy to be there so it's not much of an issue. They do have to play all the kids twice in the field and they have to get in 1 at bat so we will see how the rest of that game goes when they finish it on Monday.

Brayden had his big scrimmage tonight too. They were supposed to be on the field but the big boys(Jarrett's team) kinda kicked them off the field so they had to play in the grass. I didn't get to watch much because I had to keep the pitch count for Jarrett's team. Ea did get some pics, though!

As for my Ea update....There is not much going on. She keeps having contractions on and off. She felt a little better today because she got a good nights sleep. Poor thing!

Here's some baseball pics:

Jarrett and some buddies

Brandon warming up. I love the uniform!

Brayden's big T-ball debut! That's Brandon's old jersey. I can't believe he was that small!

I'm Not Nuts!

2009-04-21T20:09:00.002-04:00

I just thought that I would let you all know that, once again, I'm not nuts! Brad Paisley and his wife named their son Jasper!
So anyway! Jarrett and I both had eye doctor appointments today. Jarrett's eyes got a little worse and I now have an astigmatism in both eyes. I'm not any blinder and my dead spot hasn't grown. Yay me!
Jarrett's game got canceled because of rain! Poo!
That's all! Bye!

Updates!

2009-04-20T20:14:00.003-04:00

Here's a few updates:
Ea's still having contractions on and off. She went to work all day today while having contractions. They're not bad but bad enough to feel like crap. The poor girl is miserable. I think she is getting tired of us pestering her about it. I would be too!
I dropped my Amish neighbor boys off at their house and there was a van parked in the driveway with 30 day tags. I didn't really think anything of it. Then I saw the Amish guy driving it. Huh? Come to find out they are turning Mennonite. I wonder how that works! Do they get electric? Do they have to switch churches? Do they get shunned? Gosh, I have so many questions. I guess it wouldn't be polite to ask. Then again when has that ever stopped me! Ha, ha, ha!
Brandon brought home a paper with a 99% and a Social Studies test with 100%! Go Brandon! I'm not sure how he is doing in math but we are practicing everyday! He still just doesn't act like he is getting the multiplication. We found some games on the computer to play and I hope they help!
As far as the baseball goes.......Caryn and Kristy are both right! My boys are my # 1 priority. Sometimes I need to remember that they need to learn to figure out how to solve their problems. It just stinks that another parent would want to hold other kids back from enjoying their baseball season. And I'm mean! I almost automatically start thinking negative thoughts instead of thinking the positive when it comes to things that involve the kids. At work I can use the "Well it's better than...." saying. In times like these it's hard because I want it all for my kids. I know that is unrealistic but there is always that hope that they will never have to know disappointment. I'm not talking material things either. My goal for now is to smile and keep my thoughts to myself. For those of you that know me, That is going to be a big challenge!

Why Can't I?

2009-04-18T13:14:00.002-04:00

Why can't I be one of those Moms that stands on the sidelines and smiles no matter what? Why can't I be happy as long as the kids are happy? Why can't I ever keep my mouth shut? Why can't I go sit in the car and curse in silence?
Yes, boys and girls, baseball has started! It all started with Jarrett's scrimmage Thursday night. They played 3 innings. Jarrett played outfield twice and sat the bench once. For those of you that haven't been around the last couple of years, Jarrett is an All-star third baseman. Has been since the day he started baseball. Jarrett was also a starting pitcher last year. Did he even get to pitch? No! All the other seventy pitchers on the team did, but not Jarrett! I thought "OK, it is a scrimmage." "Lets see how the first game goes."
Friday night.... Brandon's scrimmage. They played 3 innings and Brandon sat for two of them. They have 13 kids on the team and he sat out twice! I was pissed! Brandon's team isn't full of talent like Jarrett's but everyone should get an equal chance to play.
Saturday morning......Jarrett's first game. Where was Jarrett in the line-up? Oh that's right he wasn't in it at all! He was bench! The head coach wasn't there, so the second in command was in charge. I think the other two coaches felt bad for Jarrett. They both came over to talk to me. Jarrett's team has almost all really, really good ball players. We have at least two kids that can play each position! Did they all get a chance? No! This guy subbed in outfielders only till one of the other coaches stepped in. Then they started subbing in the infielders. I was pissed and I know I wasn't the only one this time.
Finally in the end Jarrett and his friends got to play some infield. BTW Jarrett's team won 11 to 1. They do have a really good group of boys!
Now if only Momma can settle down. No we don't rant and rave in front of people or the kids. No we don't create a big scene. Jarrett is told that he needs to prove himself just like all the other kids. with all the good players on one team everyone needs to take turns. He's OK with it. I think he was hurt a little that he had to sit the bench but he never complained. Why can't I be like that?

Closer Yet!

2009-04-16T15:00:00.002-04:00

Ea started having contractions this morning! They were 2 to 3 minutes apart. Off to the hospital they went. Mom and I soon followed. Here's how it went:
Back contractions that they couldn't monitor. 2 cm dilated. Baby was still high.( Jesse thinks they thought she was nuts)
Then they took her off the monitor.
Then they put her back on the monitor. Good contractions! 2 to 3 minutes apart.
They let her go like that for a while.
Then they checked her again. Not much change. The baby dropped farther but that's about it.
Then the doctor decided that they would stop the labor and send her home. They came in and gave her a shot to stop the contractions. The shot made her feel like crap! The contractions got erratic and then got harder. They were still 2 to 3 minutes apart! The shot didn't work so they let her go for a while. ea said they just pissed her uterus off! LOL
Then they checked her again. The baby dropped more but still no change in the cervix. So the doctor decided to send her home! What????? She was still having contractions. Still 3 minutes apart. Still pretty hard! The nurses told her that they would see her tonight! I still don't understand why they didn't keep her.
That baby will be here soon!