It's a sad time.....

Isn't that the cutest face?! That's our Sassy. I named her Sassy Pants because from the time she was born until she was about 8 months old she was a growly kind of girl. She used to growl at her brother, A.J., then attack him! This was so cute, and we all enjoyed her doing that. Remember in the movie Lion King when Nala said "I pinned you again"? That's what I always thought of when Sassy would growl at A.J. then pin him down!

Last week sometime we noticed that Sassy had a limp. She would lay out in the sun in the backyard and didn't play with A.J. as much. I didn't think a whole lot of it because our Rottweiler, Emmett, used to be that way, too. Since Sassy was an outside dog we didn't notice that she didn't feel well. She didn't look like she was losing weight, and she still came to the back screen door for her lovin' from me. But last night when Alexandar kept banging the screen door, I opened the door thinking maybe they had dumped their water over. But there on the garage floor was my sweet Sassy Pants. She had died. I am just heart broken over her loss. Sorry to be such a downer, but the loss of a furry family member is a big deal at our house. The girls are so sad about it. It's hard to explain it to them. We still have Alexandar and A.J. but Sassy's passing is a huge loss to me.

No school for the girls today. It's teacher's conference or something. I'm glad it's a nice (although cool and windy) sunny day so the girls can go play with their friends. It's also a big painful fibro day for me. I hurt from my head down to my feet, and my brain is so foggy I can't concentrate. It'll all be better tomorrow!

Don't you just love Autumn??

The trees this year are just especially beautiful. On the way to Ally's therapy this morning I noticed that some trees are mixed with gold, yellow, and orange. Now that is glorious! Some were purplish with red, and I liked that, too. See? God never worries about mixing colors like I do. I would never put purple with red in the same place. But on a tree, it's really beautiful. Why do some trees turn yellow, and some turn red? I've always wondered that. Our neighbor has a maple tree that has turned orange, red, and yellow while our maple is just green and yellow. Two maple trees but different colors. It's interesting, and really pretty at the same time.

My health insurance has changed, so I've had to change my primary care doctor. I've had the same doctor for 25 years. Anyway, I saw the new doctor yesterday. She was very thorough, and easy to talk to. I felt like she was listening to me, and I need that reassurance. I have a lot of scary health issues, and I want to be sure any doctor I see is listening. The nurse called this morning with results of lab work done yesterday. My choleserol is up (again), and the triglycerides are over 500. (not good). My A1C is 7.1, which isn't too bad. It should be below 7. Considering that in April 2008 it was over 17, I'll take 7.1.

Ally is continuing with asthma problems. She is needing more assistance from her inhaler and nebulizer than she has needed in a long time. We all had the seasonal shot in September. The H1N1 vaccine has not arrived at the Health Dept as of this date, so we have decided that by the time it makes it here, we have all be exposed anyway. I do have a huge concern about Ally, her asthma, and the H1N1 flu. But I trust God. He has shown me that when the Isrealites were preparing to leave Eygpt, they were told to kill a lamb and dip a hysop in the blood and put the blood on the door posts so that the angel of death would see the blood and pass by that house. Well, God says Jesus is the lamb, and His blood covers our home. I am not to worry about flu or any other pestilance because by His blood we are healed.

Therapy was really good today. I feel like it was very educational for me. The therapist went to class last week to learn about the brain, and she brought that learning to us today. She showed us some brain excercises to "wake up" the brain. I sure need that! She told us better ways to defuse breakdowns before they become full blown. Words make a huge difference! Instead of saying "no", say "I need to think about that and get back to you. If you continue to ask me, the answer will be NO". I like that. That puts the responsibilty of action on Ally instead of on me. She will learn that there are consequences and she is the one that has to make the choice. Ally wants to go play at a friend's house every day after school, and I want homework done first. There is a power of wills going on every day because of this. Joan (the therapist) says tell Ally "I need to think about that. If you mention it again, then my answer will be no". It'll be hard at first, but she will learn. (and so will I)

Am I the only one who thinks that Facebook is a hurtful place? It hurts to be "unfriended" by someone, especially if that someone is a family member. And you have no idea what you said or did..... I thought that Facebook would be a great way to keep in touch with my family (who all live in other states). But it hasn't turned out that way at all.

Just a little catching up

I see it's been a while since I've been here. Too many things trying to get/keep my attention! Ok, you try being ?2 years old, in questionable health, and raising three kids!! It's not like it was when we were younger, in good health, and raising three kids. But I probably wouldn't change anything (except our health!).

The weather has been really dark, dank, and dreary around here. Thirteen days in a row with clouds, drizzle/rain, and cold temperatures. Finally on Friday we had sunshine, and it's been shining since. But the colder temps are still hanging around. It was only 39 this morning at 7:30.

Ally was sick from the end of August until the middle of October. Two different ear infections, then flu like symptoms that led us to take her to the doctor again. But the flu test came back negative. With the high fever, and rash (especially on her cheeks) the doctor diagnosed Fifth Disease. Ally was sick for maybe 3 days, but the asthma attacks were worse during this time. She had a treatment on Friday night, but has been ok since then. We are hoping she is finally well. Also praying that the H1N1 flu stays away from here. We have all had a seasonal flu shot, but the H1N1 shot. Still trying to decide what to do about that.......

Brianna has joined the Challenger Dance Team at school, and she loves it. She was made for dancing! This is a perfect fit for her. They are selling candles to afford the uniforms, and Brianna has already sold 10. Alright, go Brianna!

I have discovered a new author, and I really love her books. Right now I am reading a book based on the Biblical book of Hosea called Redeeming Love. I can hardly put the thing down! It's very well written and sucks you in on the first page. (or it did me, anyway)

Hopefully my computer woes are behind me, and more time spent with my cyber friends is ahead of me. I learned just addicted I am to my computer! But I'm not planning to lessen my time on here. This is where all my friends are!!

Watch the whole thing!

Just click on the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=518XP8prwZo



It's worth it to watch the whole thing!!

The more things change, the more they stay the same

Today was my big acting debut. The day began as any other day, except I had butterflies in my stomach. What does one wear to their acting gig? Well, if one is to be a tree, I guess one should make sure all their leaves and bark are clean and in proper order. So, I took a warm shower. I then chose to wear my jeans and a dark shirt. I forgot I was wearing my sandals. And it was brought to my attention at a later time that I should have worn my gym shoes. Ah, well, live and learn.

Ally was all excited about my acting as a tree, and she tried to get me to allow her to stay home. When that failed, she tried coughing.....a lot.....and loudly. I ignored that, so she chose to nag me some more. I decided to just ignore it. She did end up going to school. But more on that in a minute.....

We drove to Denise's house where she gave me my costume which consisted of beautiful golden leaves, a brown tunic, and a green turtle neck shirt. We followed Denise, and Melanie to Hunter Park. It's a really nice park! Lots of playground area, a water pad, lots of green open space, a dog bark park, covered picnic tables. But I digress........

We met other homeschool families from Faith and there was much laughing and making of tree jokes (you know what YOU would be saying, "barking up the wrong tree", etc), spraying for bugs and ticks (ewwww, but that's so necessary!) I was the oldest tree there. The other trees were mere saplings, but so cute! I loved them all. They were so good to an older tree with lots of bark missing and leaves falling off.

Denise and Melanie have produced a movie before, so they are professionals. They made my acting debut a pleasure. They were both so relaxed and calm about what they wanted. They allowed much laughing and joking, but still got what they wanted to be in the finished product. Thanks, ladies, for such a pleasurable and memorial day.

Back to the wearing of sandals. They are really comfortable, brown, leather sandals and I wear them so often it's just a part of what I put on in the morning. I don't even give it any thought. But I should have thought about it today. We were in the woods. Real woods. With real poison ivy, and stuff. *sigh* Hope I didn't bring home any souveniers of my first acting gig.....

Back to Ally....yes, she did go to school. She didn't want to go because she knew what I was going to be doing, and she wanted to be with me. But I didn't want her to miss any more school. We got back home around noon. We ate lunch, and I decided to get on my computer while Dennis opted to have a nap. While I was computing, my phone rang. It was the school nurse saying that Ally was in her office because she said she threw up her lunch. (Well, maybe not her lunch. She didn't eat lunch. She only drank some milk) I asked if Ally had any fever (remember, we've been such a time with Ally being sick and running fevers) and Nurse Natalie says, no, no fever. But I decide Ally should come home anyway....just in case. I woke up Dennis. He went and got Ally. Ally walks in the front door and says "did you go be a tree already?" Well, what do you think?

Steady month of sick

Ally has been sick since August 27th. I know that because she is sick still/again and the doctor recounted yesterday the length of time Ally has been sick. *sigh* Trust me, Doctor Oglesby, I know every second she has been feeling bad. Because Ally has asthma and requires breathing treatments, we try very hard to get and keep her well. But some years it's just nearly impossible. It's been one ear infection after another one, and now this past illness was a virus called Fifth's Disease. It made Ally's body hurt very badly, she ran a fever of 102 for almost two days. She had chills, and just an overall feeling of YUCK. When Ally doesn't want to be on the computer, she is sick. When Ally doesn't want to eat pizza, she's sick. She just wanted to sit up in her daddy's recliner wrapped in a comforter (to ward off the chills) and do nothing. Nope...she didn't even want the t.v. on. But Ally isn't a big t.v. fan anyway.

But that was then, this is now! Ally has taken her temperature every hour today and given me a report. Finally tonight she was able to tell me her fever was over, gone, kaput. It's "normal" now, she says. This is a big deal because our grandson, Chandler, will be baptized tomorrow, and we are invited to be there. Ally (and the other two girls) has been so excited to attend Dana's church (and oh yeah, see Chandler be baptized). So now they know we are going because Ally's fever is gone!
Fifth's Disease is contagious, so I'm hoping the germs will lay low until after we go to Dana's church. I'm concerned about Brianna, Cheyenne, and myself getting sick.
I was concerned about the flu that is in the school, and never considered we could get something else.

Monday is my big acting debut. Our oldest daughter's homeschooling group is making a movie and I asked to be cast in a small roll. I will be a tree. Hopefully, I don't have to move, and I won't be speaking. It isn't Oscar winning, but I have to start somewhere..........

Saturday

Well, it's been a while since I've blogged. But school is now in session, and it's extra busy around here. Homework is not fun now that the girls are in the upper grades of elementary school. If you are a teacher reading this, I make no apologies. It's really hard to try to do algebra at my age, when I couldn't do it when I was in the NINTH GRADE. Who said kids in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades should be doing this stuff when they can't even do multiplication and division!!! And who came up with a spelling contract?? No more writing words 5 times each, and use each word in a sentence. *sigh* I'm tired of a 4th grader and a certain 5th grader crying on me because they are having such a hard time making a game out of their spelling words!! My computer doesn't want to make a blasted cross word puzzle out of 20 to 25 spelling words!! Brianna has 2 to 3 hours of homework a night! And I'm trying to keep some kind of schedule going here. And my family expects me cook them food every night. Maybe your kids eat at MacYuck every night, or maybe you order a pizza most nights. My budget doesn't allow for that, and I have to cook. It's simple fare, but I cook it. (thank God, I can now cook! Remember when I couldn't leave the chair???)

I am so sorry. But this is really grating on my nerves. With my health issues, my age, and other 'things' going on, it's hard to keep track of homework for three kids.If I didn't have other things going on, maybe I could handle it. But right now, I just get angry! =(

It's very stressful for Ally with her school work this year. We have seen two full blown Asperger's meltdowns in two days. The one was at WalMart. During the busy time of the afternoon. And she ran screaming from me. And it seemed that everyone in the store came to watch the disabled old woman trying to run and catch the screaming kid. *sigh* When I caught her, I took her to the car, with her kicking and screaming the whole way. Brianna right on our heels. She said "Momma, she is really embarrassing me". She is really embarrassing me too!! When we got inside that car, I had a meltdown of my own. I'm still crying, ladies. This morning, Ally had another meltdown. This one was over some homework she didn't understand. First she couldn't find it, then she didn't know how to understand it. I asked her if her teacher had explained it to her in the classroom, and she said "I don't remember". I told her to put it away. Dennis and I have a meeting with the teacher tomorrow at 11:30, and I will be asking about this! The therapist gave us a list of questions to ask the teacher. I've since added some of my own. Like, why does the progress report say Ally is getting A's and B's when Ally doesn't know simple stuff....like adding, subtracting, multiplying, and division?? How does she make an A when she doesn't know how to do it?

Well, on another note, it's stopped raining here. At least for today. It's been sunny and warm today. It feels muggy with the moisture in the air, and no breeze. But the sunshine is so nice after so many dark days. 14 in a row.....