What's next?

Yesterday, when I was waiting in front of Cameron's school for him to be dismissed, I had a conversation with the father of the another white boy in Cameron's class. Seems that boy has been having problems too. The father has been to the school several times to express his concerns. The boy has gone to the teacher several times to tell her someone is being mean. She has said she doesn't want to hear it. This is according to the father. Our experience with the teacher seems to be a little different. (It could be because we have created such a stink about it.) Although, I will admit she seems quite scatter-brained and too busy at times. She works with 5-6-7 year-olds all day, so I think she's entitled to screw up sometimes, but not when a child is asking for help from bullies. NEVER, EVER mess that up. Anyway, the father had a meeting with the principal a couple of months ago after his son was hurt by several other kids on the playground and had to spend recess in the nurse's office being iced. He asked the principal what the punishment is for the children who physically harm other children. She informed him that they get talked to, a note sent home, and they spend recess in the Principal's office. He called his son into the office with him and told him the next time a kid hits him, then clobber them. The principal told him he couldn't tell his son that. And he said to the principal, "Why not? There's no punishment. My son's missing out on recess anyway because he's in the nurse's office. If there's no punishment, the bullies are going to keep bullying and the kids being bullied are getting hurt and then punished because they miss recess when they did nothing wrong." I agree with him 100%. He also told me that these past couple of weeks the kids have been calling his son names. The teacher said she didn't want to hear it, so the father told his son to call names back. Guess who got in trouble. Yes, the white boy. Father was up at the school again letting them know how he feels about the difference the races are treated. When the Principal's secretary told him there was no favoritism toward the Hispanics, he disagreed and said, "Everything done at this school is to please the Mexicans, don't give me that bull." Um, once again, here here!

So, his experience seems to be much the same as ours. I think we just made a bigger stink of it and maybe threatening to call the superintendent did something for us. Maybe Cameron is just on the radar of so many people since he has an IEP and an apparent processing disorder. Maybe they are taking better care of Cameron because he doesn't process threats as quick as other kids and they know he will get hurt. I don't know. I do know that hitting, threats, and racist name calling should be zero tolerance. Period. Hitting and other physical violence should be automatic suspension, especially after a note sent home didn't work. The boy that hit Cameron the other day has been talked to and had a note sent home more than once. From what I've heard, the mother of the boy doesn't care. They watch the Ultimate Fighting and wrestling shows together as a family. From what I understand, they make income off of it somehow, maybe betting? I don't know. And just so you know, I'm not going around asking about this kid or anything, I still don't know which boy it is. I know the name, not the face. This info is just being randomly given to me by several people. Staff people who are also sick of the bullying and think something more extreme should be done as far as consequences for violence. I suspect they don't say anything because they don't want to stir the pot and risk their jobs. There are so many unemployed teachers/ school staff in California right now, that the ones that do have jobs just avert their eyes and keep their mouths closed. Hoping that someone like me will come along and be the squeaky wheel and incite a change. This change is not something I know how to do. I guess the first step is complaining to the principal. Then what? Superintendent? Lawyer? Media?

Odio la escuela de Cameron

The title is supposed to say...I hate Cameron's school. I don't know for sure since I DON'T SPEAK SPANISH. But that's what the online English/Spanish translator gave me when I submitted it.

About a month ago Cameron started asking Chris to come to school to protect him. We just kinda thought Cameron was having a bad day here and there and that was his way of expressing it. We didn't realize that it was every day. On November 30th, I went to the office and asked for an appointment with the principal. I was told to wait a few minutes and the principal would be with me. I waited. And waited. And waited. Finally, I called Chris on my cell while I was right there in the office, and read off the principal's name and phone number that were posted on the wall. (I felt like one of those people that call 911 while they are in the ER waiting for help.) I had him call for an appointment personally since, 1, I wanted to make sure it would be for a time that Chris would be there, and 2, because Chris is the one that Cameron has been asking for protection. Chris was able to speak to the principal by phone and explained that Cameron was being bullied and asking for protection. The principal seemed genuinely concerned. She set up the appointment for December 3rd, and assigned someone to keep an eye on Cameron on the playground and take notes. December 3rd came; we had a phone conference since the principal had fallen and hurt her back and was not cleared by her doctor to return to school. Present at the meeting were Cameron's teacher, the principal's secretary, and me and Chris. The principal's secretary read the notes that the monitor had taken; we found out that the situation was a bit worse than we imagined. One of the observations was on November 30th, (the day I first brought their attention to the bullying.) It stated that while Cameron was heading back to his class after lunch recess, an older boy (possibly a third grader) said, "Let's get him." Then he and three boys went after him. The monitor stopped them before they got to him. It hurts me to think what would have happened if I wouldn't have gone that day. The person wouldn't have been watching for this. The meeting lasted about 45 minutes and we left feeling like maybe there was hope. The principal later sent this email: (I've replaced the names with the title of the person)

From: Principal
Sent: Thu 12/3/2009 10:32 PM
To: Cameron's teacher; csinclair19@xxxxxxx
Cc: School councelor; Principal's secretary
Subject: RE: Cameron

Thank you Ms. Teacher. Excellent steps taken.

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Sinclair, Mrs. Secretary and Mrs. Teacher,

Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Sinclair, Mrs. Secretary and Mrs. Teacher for participating in the phone conference this morning. I am so sorry I was not able to be there in person.

As per my notes Mr. and Mrs. Sinclair reported the following regarding Cameron:

* Cameron is feeling unsafe at school.
* Mr. Sinclair reported that Cameron asked dad if he could go to school with him to protect him.
* Mr. Sinclair reported the following students have been bothering Cameron:
* Gabrielle
* Jonathan
* Erica
* Kimberly
* Orelly
* Jose C.
* Around Nov. 10 Cameron came to school with a hurt finger. Gabrielle purposefully slammed her hand on his hurt finger. Cameron did not report this incident to the teacher. When parents asked Cameron why he didn't tell the teacher, he replied by stating that he didn't want to get anyone in trouble. Mrs. Sinclair also reported that Cameron shared that when he told Mrs. Student Teacher about a previous incident that she replied by saying, " So you are blaming the other student." Cameron of course did not feel supported at all by this comment. Mrs. Sinclair said Cameron is not comfortable telling the adults at school when something goes wrong.
* Mrs. Sinclair reported that Cameron begins to cry when he is picked up from school as though he is communicating relief from the stress of the day.
* Cameron shared that Gabrielle told him he is disgusting.
* Another child (name unknown) held his fist up to his face and told him he was going to hit him.
* Wrestling behavior on the playground
* Parents reported that Cameron asked. " When is my skin going to be brown?" and " I am never going to be Hispanic."

Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Sinclair for sharing your concerns with us. I am deeply sorry that this negative behavior has been occurring here at school for your son Cameron. It is completely unacceptable. Our action plan is the following:

* Continue with vigilant supervision on the playground so that we can completely curtail this type of behavior.
* I will communicate this concern to the rest of the staff as well so that it may be more effectively addressed on the playground.
* Mrs. Teacher will continue with the steps she mentioned. As well as call other parents of students who may be repeated offenders.
* We all need to talk to Cameron to encourage him to let the adults know when he is feeling unsafe or hurt emotionally or physically by others and continuously enforce that he is safe at school.
* When Ms. School Councelor returns I will ask her to work with Cameron and other children in small group counseling to foster a better understanding among the children.
* I will touch base with Cameron every day once I return.
* We will stay in close contact with Mr. and Mrs. Sinclair.

Mr. and Mrs, Sinclair please call us immediately should Cameron feel unsafe in any way. Thanks again for sharing your concerns with us. We will continue our commitment in keeping Cameron safe.

Thank you Ms. Teacher, Ms. Secretary and Ms. Councelor for your continued dedication and support.

Regards, ~Mrs. Principal

________________________________
From: Cameron's Teacher
Sent: Thu 12/3/2009 2:27 PM
To: Principal
Subject: RE:

FYI- Cameron Sinclair
Did a total class lesson- 2nd step.Talked to small group of identified students.Talked to Cameron alone and determined that the JONATHON is from Room 12.Unable to phone Gabrielle's mom. Sent note with Prime Time teachers so she will be sure to get it.Talked to Mrs. Sinclair after school assuring her that we are working on it. She was content. I hope you are feeling better!

xoxox
teacher
********************************

This past Thursday, December 10th, I got a call from the school nurse. Cameron had been punched in the face at lunch recess and was in the nurse's office being iced. We picked him up early, but by the time we were notified, it had been about 45 minutes and the redness was pretty much gone. I tried to get a good picture of his pink cheek to post here and to have for when/if we try to take further action against the school. Unfortunately, my good camera met the floor at 3-year-old-tantrum-miles-per-hour a few months ago and I haven't been able to replace it. So, no decent picture. By the way, we do have a camera now that hopefully we won't need for such pictures. We are still trying to decide how far we want to go with this. We are extremely concerned. We feel that there should be something more than "a talking to" and time out for such behavior. I don't care what the age is. School should be a safe place. I have worries that Cameron is going to be pushed from the top of the playground equipment. Or, something more extreme...is he going to be shanked? Is there going to be some kind of Cameron's Law in the future? I pray not.

I have more to say, but this is pretty long already. If anyone has any opinions/ideas on what we should do, please let me know through comments or email. We really are lost right now.

So, I have this blog to keep people updated.....

And I never write on it.

I've had many things going on. I promise to write more later TODAY.

Mr. Slinky

Last night after Cameron got his homework done, we played school. Cameron's idea; Cameron was the teacher. His name was Mr. Slinky. Sleeeen-Keey. It began with pretty much all of us being naughty students. We kept interrupting him while he was teaching, and Emily and Christopher kept grabbing stuff off of his "desk" when he wasn't looking. At one point he realized that his desk was cleared. Then what it sounded like he said was, "Hey, where'd my sh*t go?" Did your eyebrows just raise? Ours did. (Me, Christopher, Emily) But since Chris didn't hear it, and I wasn't 100% positive, I didn't make a big deal out of it. Christopher gave his stuff back to him and he continued on. He was talking to us about his pet bird named Austin. It is a stuffed eagle that he plays with. We were allowed to ask questions but we had to raise our hands first. You know, like in school. So, we raised our hands over and over, tattling on each other and making silly statements that had nothing to do with what he was talking about. Basically trying to see how far we could go before he got tired of playing so we could move on with our busy lives of Facebook, World of Warcraft, Blockbuster movies and other really important stuff.

There was a certain moment that I felt very ashamed of myself. Cameron, I mean, Mr. Slinky said that it was time for recess. So, we all yelled out" yay!" and ran out of the room while he was still talking. Like little kids. Oops. After a couple of minutes I came back, kinda thinking "school" was over and Cameron was on to something else. Not! What was I thinking, this is Cameron. His mind is like a still trap. He does not forget where he left off. (Right pawpaw?) The sight of that little boy just broke my heart. He was sitting quietly in the middle of his bed with his bottom lip quivering, tears dripping, and his cheeks flushed. I asked him what happened and he said everyone ran away. Ouch. We were supposed to line up at the door first so he could lead us. Aaww. So, I brought him back to the living room and I sat back down on the floor and became a good student. For a while anyway.

I found out, because I'm a good student and sat quietly and listened, that Austin doesn't eat mice, or frogs, or worms, or berries, or bird seed. He doesn't eat at all because eating is too exciting and Austin likes boring. He's also alive, not dead. And if you move your head side to side as if saying "no", Austin gets upset because that is too exciting. Strange bird. Silly boy. It was fun, for me anyway. I'd like to say I could have sat there all night with him. But my bottom was getting tired of sitting on that floor. So, I became restless just like the rest of the students around me. We egged each other on. I'd raise my hand to ask a question and Emily would poke me in the ribs with her bony fingers because I was "making it last too long with my questions, so stop it!". So I raised my hand again to tattle on her for poking me. And while she was getting in trouble, I'd stick my tongue out at her, then she would tattle on me. She ended up in time-out. Hee hee! That's what she gets for cutting up the whole time while I sat quietly and listened. Mr. Slinky knew I wasn't a trouble maker and he believed me when I denied sticking my tongue out.

But from there things just got worse. We just kept being naughty. Finally, Mr. Slinky yelled, "I HATE teaching first graders!" Again, did your eyebrows just raise? It got my mind wondering. Did he hear that at school? I raised my hand and told him I was in Kindergarten. He told me he likes Kindergartners. I asked him, "Why do you hate first graders? Does your teacher hate first graders too?" OK, get ready for this. He said, "No, she hates Kindergartners." I asked him how he knew, did she say it? And the answer was pretty long, but believable. She is after all, a first grade teacher. This year, due to budget cuts and lack of teachers, she is having to teach Kinder and 1st grade together. So, I don't know what to do with what he said. He's 5 yes, but why would he say that? Anyway, I didn't make a big deal of that either. I figure we'll just keep our ears peeled for anything else like that. And also ask what would YOU do? There's no point in saying anything to the teacher; she would just deny it. I don't want to start a big mess, because what if she didn't say it. And if she did, I'm sure she regretted it as soon as it crossed her lips. We all have our moments of frustration where our mouths say something before our brains shut us up. I know I have many, many times. But what if she really does hate teaching kindergartners? Advice?

Anyway, like I said, we didn't make a big deal out of it. He adores his teacher and we don't want him to know she did something wrong. We just continued to play school for a few more minutes until he dismissed us and walked us to where our parents were waiting. He told us he'll see us tomorrow and waved goodbye. Then he went back to his desk because"teachers live at school."

It was incredibly precious and I really enjoyed the whole thing. I hope we can do it again, and I hope we can capture some of it on video.

Catch-update

Since it has been half of forever since I've posted anything, I figured I'd do a catch-up/update post.

We have ultimately decided to keep Cameron in the school he's in. We did find another school that was individual study. We would have to meet with his "teaching coordinator" once a month, pick up his school work and turn in the previous month's work. So basically, home school where he would get one on one help from me. We would also have to go to the school for speech therapy once or twice a week. And they had half-day Kindergarten on Wednesdays where he could be with other kids his age, and full days on Thursdays. Since, the drive is not close, I wasn't looking forward to it. We enrolled him anyway, because we want what's best for him. Unfortunately, his birth certificate has managed to vanish and that put a glitch in the process. While we were waiting for the enrollment to go through, I kept him home. He was BORED and wanted to go to school and see his friends. And that was only two days. So we are sticking it out till winter break. If things haven't really improved, we will go ahead and switch him. So far, we are getting quite a bit of help. It looks like he may have a processing disorder, which I already suspected and have been trying to tell the pediatrician for a while. The pediatrician said they would find out at school and we could go from there. Well, the teacher HAS noticed a problem and got the ball rolling for some help. If I wouldn't have kept him there, we wouldn't have gotten that started. As far as the Spanish speaking. I'm just going to make sure they hear me loud and clear when Cameron has problems. And I'm not going to any more of the parent meetings.

In other news...most of the family knows, but for those who don't, Amanda and Kenny split up. It was all very dramatic and I'm happy to say that she is now in Texas with family and can move on with her life. She can go to school now and just started a new job. Something she wasn't "allowed" to do when they were together because she would've been around guys. Oh, did I say too much? Ooh, tragic. I'll stop there and just say, YAY! I'm soooooo glad she snapped out of her stupor. And I'm so happy she's got a job and a place to stay and lots of family around her. So, so happy. Again, YAY!

I spent this past weekend in a classroom doing 15 hours of training to become Family Childcare Certified in California. Wow, we have allot to do. California is so much more strict on childproofing. But I understand why. ALL of our drawers and cabinets most be locked whether they are empty or not, because of earthquakes. When I did FCC in Spain, we just had to lock cabinets on the children's level. Not so here, since stuff can fall on them. We are also responsible for preparing an earthquake backpack for each child in our care with enough supplies and food for 3 days in case we do have an earthquake or fire and the kids are stuck with me for a few days. Oh boy, I'm not sure if 3 days of supplies can fit in a backpack. I SHOULD know, but I don't. Yes, my LDS friends, I have not gotten my emergency stuff in order like I should. I had it together a few years ago, and it came in very handy when we had to evacuate within 15 minutes because of a wildfire. And let me tell you, it did not fit in a backpack. No way, no how. Uh uh. More like 2 pretty big Rubbermaid totes. And we STILL forgot the sleeping bags. And we used it up because we couldn't go home for two days and I still have not replenished it. Stoooopid. Anyway, I don't know how I would grab 6 small kids and emergency supplies and haul butt out the door, but I guess as long as I'm prepared I can do the best I can.

Well, that's all I've got for now. If I missed anything, let me know. Take care now, bye bye then.

Burning the Bridge Behind Me..233

OK, it's been half of forever since I posted. I've been slacking, I know. I haven't exercised, I haven't been watching what I eat. Basically I fell off the wagon. I haven't stepped on the scale in a few weeks, so I'm surprised that my weight isn't worse. I figured I'd at least be 236.

I'm gonna get real now. I can't just expect to go from sedentary to suddenly working out 6 days a week. So, I'm going to commit to working out 3 times this week. I can do that. I know I can. And if I work out more than 3 times, great. If not, I'm not going to guilt myself about it. This does not have to be all or nothing. Some movement is better than none at all. So here I go again.

Burning the Bridge Behind Me...232

Grrr. Last Monday I was 228. All was going good. Then suddenly I ended up on an emotional rollercoaster ride. I've been losing sleep over a few things. I'm worried and stressed. I haven't been watching what I eat. And I only did one workout. So, I gained weight.

It's looking like a couple of situations are going to work out and I can stop stressing so much. Hopefully, I can get some sleep and have some energy to do what I gotta do. This next week will probably be kinda hard as we work to get Cameron into a different situation. I'm gonna be doing some running around and may not have time to fit in many workouts. I'm gonna have to really watch what I eat and be creative with getting some movement in.

Still haven't heard from Ortho.

Well, that's all I've got. Till next week.

ENOUGH!

OK, vent session time. This will be a little long...

I am sick, sick, SICK of all the non-English speaking crap going on around here. Fed up, ticked off, done sucking it up. Finished! I can't get a job...I suspect because I don't know Spanish. So, we decided that I would open a certified home day care. In order to even start the process, you have to go through an orientation which must be paid for at least 48 hours in advance. I went to pay for it and guess what. The door to the office I was told to go to was closed with a sign on it in SPANISH. No English translation at all. I was a little miffed, but I sucked it up. Fast forward...I paid later and have taken the orientation already.

Cameron's school...
Last Tuesday Chris and I went to Open House for the school. Before we went to the classrooms, there was a meeting for all the parents. They spoke in English, then translated to Spanish. That's fine. Except there were several times when they would speak in Spanish for a longer time and then people would laugh or applaud and Chris and I would just look at each other because we had no idea what was so funny. They hadn't said anything worthy of a laugh or clapping when they spoke in English, leading us to believe that the Spanish speaking people heard allot more stuff than us. And the meeting was pretty dang long, and it was burning hot in that stuffed non air-conditioned windowless auditorium.

Last Friday I went to a "Coffee With the Principal" meeting. It's just a little get-together they have every last Friday of the month to discuss the goings on at the school. There were about 50 people present. At the beginning the principal asked who needs English translation. Five of us raised out hands. Five. They put us all at one table and sat a translator with us. Throughout all of the discussion, the lady would talk softly and tell us what was being said. Um, I'm hearing impaired. So what I heard was a little bit of the English and a whole lot of the Spanish, since the person speaking Spanish was talking nonstop and louder than the person translating. And the meeting, which was supposed to be 30 minutes, turned out to be an hour and a 15 minutes.

When I go with Cameron in the mornings and pick him up in the afternoons, all I hear is Spanish, Spanish, Spanish. Even the crossing guards are speaking Spanish to each other.

During recess, Cameron doesn't understand what is going on and plays by himself or sometimes with another little boy who is English-speaking only. That kid's parents are looking into putting him in private school. Then who will speak to Cameron on the playground?

Last Straw.....
This morning I went to the PTO meeting. Which I knew would be frustrating for me. I had no intention of going. Not because I don't want to be involved in the whole process, but because I knew they would speak Spanish first, then English. I was WRONG. Spanish ONLY. I sat at a table with the only other non-Hispanic lady there and asked her if she knew Spanish. She said she knew a little, then she started translating the best she could. I couldn't hear her. I got up, walked straight to the office and told them I wanted to buy a school t-shirt. The lady told me that they were going to sell them at the PTO meeting. (Which I already knew--that's the only reason I went.) I told her LOUDLY for all to hear that I was not going to sit through it, that they were speaking Spanish and I only speak English. She asked me if they were translating, I said no. I said every once in a while they say something in English if they felt it was important enough, but for the most part, it's all Spanish. I said everyone in the United States is supposed to know English. She said not everyone. She pulled out a piece of paper with the order form for the T-shirt. I put my hand up and said, "Screw it! I'm done with this. I'm taking my kid out of this school. I'm sick of this CRAP!" I said it loudly and I walked out the door. Shaking and furious. I don't give a flying flip that there were 3 other Hispanic parents and their kids standing there in the office and 3 Hispanic office workers there to witness my outburst.

The other night, Chris and I were discussing the option of homeschooling Cameron. I'm not good at it.

But let's see.....I've gotten a call from another school about 40 minutes away letting me know that they have received Cameron's transcripts from the current school he is in and wanted to know when I wanted to come in and sign the paperwork to transfer him to their school. I said, "What? I've never even heard of your school." Now how did that mix-up occur? They sent his transcripts back to his school.

What else....they've changed the lunch time and pick up time on Wednesdays without letting the parents know.

Cameron got into a fight in the bathroom when a boy pushed him and Cameron pushed back. There was no adult supervision. The boy left a scratch on Cameron. When I spoke to the teacher about it the next day, she told me that they were aware of it and that the boy is autistic and that now they wait till everyone else is done and then they take the boy to the bathroom by himself.

They other day when I was helping Cameron with his homework, he informed me that they are making him write with his right hand. He's left-handed. When I approached them about it, they said it wasn't true. Why would Cameron tell me that?

Also, I noticed that Cameron is now biting his nails while he's trying to do his homework. Is he frustrated too. Is this a coping mechanism? Every morning when I'm trying to get him ready for school, he tells me he doesn't want to go, that it's not fun and he hates it.

Kindergarten is not supposed to be this way. How is he going to be successful in school if he starts out hating it? I'm at a loss.

So, I'm looking into homeschooling options for us. Problem is, how do I do this daycare and home school at the same time? What about his speech therapy that he receives at school? What about socialization? I'm lost and frustrated right now. I want to hold Cameron in my arms and just cry right now. I feel like we are failing him.

Any words of wisdom?

Burning The Bridge Behind Me...230

I woke up very hungry this morning and ate breakfast and drank about 16 ounces of water. Then I remembered to weigh. Oops! So, my weight isn't 100% accurate for this post.

I'm getting really discouraged because of Ortho blowing me off. There are many run/ walk events going on around me and I can't do any of them with my leg hurting. I can't even train to do one right now. I'm starting to notice I've developed a "why bother trying" attitude. I know it's not right, but it is what it is.

I'm going to call my doctor again today and ask her to resubmit my consult to Ortho. This will be the 3rd time. I don't know what to do after that. I guess I just wait some more.

Till next week...

Oh, Cameron...You're Just So Cute...

Cameron: Emily! There's a monster in your bedroom! It's either a large dog or a small bear!
*******************************
The day Cameron came home with dried vomit on his shirt, he told me that a girl in his class got sick and threw up on him. I said, "Well, did you tell the teacher she threw up on you?" Cameron said, "Noooooo, the teacher didn't throw up on me."
*******************************
Cameron: Are we going to move to Alaska?
Me: Maybe.
Cameron: Does it snow there?
Me: Yes. Allot.
Cameron: Yay! You know what I'm gonna do? I'm gonna do this! (he throws himself on the floor and proceeds to go through the motions of making a snow angel.)
Me: Oh, you're gonna make snow angels?
Cameron: Yeah! Are there any animals there?
Me: Yes. There are black bears and grizzly bears and caribou and moose. We have to be careful and watch out for bears.
Cameron: Oh, why? Will the bears eat my toys?
Me (laughing): Maybe, or they might eat YOU!
Cameron: OK...I don't want to move to Alaska.

How Many Cups of Sugar Does it Take to Get to The Moon?

Bonus points if you know what movie my title is from.

Do you ever say crazy stuff when you're asleep? I don't know if I do. No one is ever awake when I'm trying to sleep. Usually Chris goes to bed way before me. He gets up super early so usually he's pretty beat when he gets home in the evening. Around 8:30, he could get to bed and not think twice about it. Me, not so much. I stay awake usually till 10 or 11, sometimes 2, 3, 4 in the morning. Otherwise I just lay there in bed and stare at the ceiling, then stare at the wall. Close my eyes and try to sleep. Next thing I know, I'm staring at the ceiling again. Chris will be on his side of the bed just snoozing away.

Sometimes, when I climb into bed and Chris has already fallen asleep, he wakes up and starts talking. Sometimes it's coherent like, "Hey, I forgot to tell you that I have late-stay tomorrow so I won't be home till later." Or, "Did you remember to throw my uniform in the dryer?" And we'll have a teeny tiny conversation before he goes back to sleep and I stare at the wall.

Sometimes he talks crazy like, "Hey. Where'd the....where'd the....ummm.....where'd the hotel go?" And I smile because he's on vacation and I wish I were too. Last night when I went into the bedroom after he'd been asleep for an hour, the conversation went like this:

Chris: (excited) Hey!
Me: Hey!
Chris: (something inaudible, then) on the neon bench!
Me: What?
Chris: On the neon bench!
Me: On the neon bench?
Chris: Yeah.
Me: Um, I'm gonna go brush my teeth now.

Question: What's a neon bench? I want to see one. And I really want to know what the first part of the sentence was.

More School Frustration

Last week I wrote about some of the frustrations I'm having with Cameron's school. I mentioned that he got lost, but I didn't mention that he was in a 2nd/3rd grade class when they found him. Now how did that happen? So far he's gotten lost 3 times. The second time, he got "yelled at" because the teacher thought he ran off. The third time, he says he found his way back before the teacher noticed. I talked to the teacher about it and mentioned that he said he got in trouble. She didn't confirm, but she also didn't deny.

On Wednesdays, they get out of school at 12:10. Last week when I got there at 12:10, they were headed to lunch and told me that if I wanted him to eat there, then to come back at 12:30. Ooookaaay? So today, what time do you think I went to the school? That's right, 12:30. Guess where he was. Guess. Not at the lunch tables. Try at the office because I was "late" picking him up. The office lady told me that they now eat lunch earlier so they can be ready to go home at 12:10. I said, "They really need to send home notes when they change things. We are not psychic. They need to communicate with the parents better." She agreed, probably just blowing smoke.

On the walk home Cameron told me that a girl in his class got sick and threw up and some of it got on his back. I looked at his shirt and sure enough, dried vomit down the right side of his back. Eeeeeeewwwww! What is wrong with these people? How can they just let a kid walk around with vomit drying on his shirt? Do they not have eyes? I know they have eyes, but do they not care? Are they not paying any attention at all? It's not like he didn't have a shirt to change into. They told us to pack a large ziplock with extra clothes in their backpack everyday. And we do. So what's the deal?

Would You Visit Us in Anchorage?

As everyone knows, we are retiring from the Navy next November 1, 2010. We are trying to figure out where we want to go. We can go anywhere if we want. We have a few criteria for the place we pick. The top two are: One, it MUST be within a reasonable driving distance to a military base because we want to use our benefits. And two, we want our kids to go to an IB school. After that, we are pretty flexible. Though we'd prefer not to melt or be eaten alive by mosquitoes in the summers.

We have been looking at quite a few places. Our top pick right now is Anchorage, Alaska. Yes, it is cold and snowy there. Which is opposite of what we said we wanted a few months ago. Well, the snow anyway. I'm sure we can adapt.

Anchorage has two military bases and an IB high school. Also, it has the Aurora Borealis. Who doesn't want to see this in person?

Round trip nonstop flights from Houston range from $673 per person in economy to $2253 per person (ouch) in first class. It's a seven and a half hour flight. From Kansas City, round trip flights with one connection range from $573 economy to $2081 and higher for first class. You can also get there by train, but I'm sure it would take a week or so. You would also have to switch train lines in Canada. I'm not even sure if Amtrak goes into Canada anymore. You may end up on 3 different train lines. I'm sure it can be driven also, somehow and for days and days.

This post is long enough. If you're interested in reading a little about Anchorage, here's the Wiki page for you. Skim through it if you feel like it.

And, no, this is not a joke.

Love ya!

I Don't Like Work.

Every single weekday morning Gabriel looks at Chris's side of the bed and sees it empty. Every single weekday morning we have this conversation:

Gabriel: Where's Daddy?
Me: He's at work, Baby Bear.
Gabriel: Oh, at urk?
Me: Yes, at work.
Gabriel: Oh.

Today the conversation went like this:

Gabriel: Where's Daddy?
Me: At work, Baby Bear.
Gabriel wrinkles his face like he smells something sour: I on't ike urk. (I don't like work)

Burning the Bridge Behind Me...229.6

Yay! Just barely below 230. But still. Now if only I can keep going. It's so hard. And Emily is tempting me so bad. She's the devil, ya know. We went to the grocery store earlier and she was just bugging me to get a German chocolate cake they had right there at the checkout. Evil store layout planner people. I wanted the carrot cake that was right there next to the chololate one. It was soooooooo hard. But I resisted. But I did give in and let her get the spinach dip and chips. I told myself I wasn't going to eat any. But by the time we got home, my Frosted Mini-wheats had long worn off. I was hungry. I should've went for the yogurt, but no. I had a couple of handfuls of chips and that stupid spinich dip that is nowhere near as good as homemade. I gotta plan my snacks better and eat before I get hungry.

I finally got my labs back. 'Bout time, right? Cholesterol was less than 200, but the doctor wants to see it lower. Blood sugar showed borderline diabetic, but another showed that it was OK. So I just gotta watch it. Doctor told me to eat more fatty fish, which I would LOVE to, but I'm the only one in my family who will eat it. And I don't wanna cook two different meals for dinner. So, we'll see how this works out.

Well, that's all I have for now. Till next week...

New Moon Trailer 3

School Frustration

Cameron


and Gabriel



Christopher not happy about school starting.


Cameron started kindergarten yesterday. It's so quiet now. Gabriel easily fell asleep around 12:30 for a nap. It's nice to have calm. At the same time I'm frustrated with Cameron's school. First they had him enrolled in first grade. I found out when I called the school office two weeks ago. I told them then that he is supposed to be in kindergarten. They told me to come into the office to verify on Monday. I did; he was still enrolled in first grade. I came back on Wednesday. They couldn't look him up for some reason. I came back on Friday. He was finally enrolled in kindergarten. The 3 times I went in, I asked if they have any kind of information packet, handbook, whatever for new students. No. I asked if there was an orientation for kindergarten. Yes, on the Friday AFTER school starts. Mkaayy? That doesn't make much sense. Anything I need to know? Just have him here at 7:25 for breakfast. Pick him up at 2:10. OK, how does he know where to go? Is there going to be someone keeping tabs on the kindergarteners? No, but he'll be fine. Really?? You don't know my kid. If he gets too confused, he'll head for home. And since the school gates are to remain open during school hours, and no one is keeping tabs on the kids, he may just make a run for it. He does know his way home, but he has to cross a street first. A street people speed down, with no stop signs. And this place isn't exactly a place you want a 5 year old walking around by himself. Ya know? On Friday after going through all of these questions again, I decided that we are screwed, it's going to be a rough start, and we are just gonna wing it. As I turned to leave the lady says: You DO know about the uniforms, right? NO, but please tell me because I was just off to clothes shop for school. (AND this would be a great example of why you need an information packet or something. Jeeze. And while I'm complaining, do you think I can get the school supply list and the schedule in ENGLISH? Just FYI I don't speak spanish and I certainly don't read it. I know I should in this day, but sorry, I was born in the 70's, it wasn't required learning at school yet. Oh, and I'm white. So, ya know english speaking parents and all.) No I didn't say any of that. I'm too much of a chicken I guess. But yesterday when I picked him up from school, my frustration got to me. Instead of trying to decipher the paper I had in my hand, I took it to the office and said, "Can I get this in english, because I don't speak spanish. Or at least can I get it translated?" It was information on a t-shirt they are selling and can be worn as part of the uniform. Yes, they found it in english for me. They seemed a little peeved as if I had offended them, but what can I do? Actually, I'm offended. But this spanish/ english thing is for another post.

Turns out, he did get lost after lunch. Maybe because nobody's keeping tabs on the kindergarteners. AND he didn't have a snack. Maybe because we didn't know to bring one. So strange though that the spanish speaking people knew. Hmm. And by the way, before I get frowned at too much, there is one other white, non-spanish speaking kid in Cameron's class. They didn't get the info about the uniforms or snack either. Strange?

And Cameron came home with a belly ache.

Burning the Bridge Behind Me...232

No workouts last week. I've been SLACKING. And I feel like it too. So sluggish and tired. Like that bear in the picture.

I'm back on this week though. Chris and I signed up for a 12-week fitness challenge. I think I've done about 4 now. I've never completed. I've gone pretty strong for a couple of weeks and then just fizzle out. I'm gonna try and finish this one. With the kids going back to school tomorrow, maybe things will calm down around here and I won't feel so drained.

I STILL haven't gotten my lab results back. As I suspected last week, I got pushed to the back burner. My doctor is on vacation now. I know I should be super grateful that I have medical insurance and that I shouldn't complain about how long this is taking, but dang, this is getting ridiculous. I also still haven't heard from Ortho. That referral went out on August 4th.

Well, till next week...

Burning the Bridge Behind Me...233

Well, I didn't gain and I didn't lose. So I'm good with that. I did one workout last week. One. I feel so sluggish now. Ugh. This week is going to be pretty busy too. I hope to squeeze in at least four workouts.

I still didn't get my lab results. My doctor's computers were down. She's supposed to call me with all the results. Umm, I'm thinking I got pushed to the back burner.

OK...till next week.

Burning the Bridge Behind Me...233

Well, I did really good last week as far as doing my workouts. I did all my cardio workouts but only one strength training. I'll get it. I will. I think I did OK on the nutrition side. But the scale says I gained a pound. I'm not gonna stress over that though. Especially since I noticed I keep having to pull my pants up. Emily and I might have to hit up the thrift stores pretty soon. Also, I'm feeling an increase in energy, which has kept me awake for the last few nights.

I get all my lab results this Friday. I still haven't heard from Ortho yet.

Till next week...

I May Be A Teeny Bit Obsessed...

DON'T...get me upset...

Shuddup Emily

Burning the Bridge Behind Me...232

Well, another week another pound. Yay. I did pretty good on the nutrition side, but not a single workout. I keep thinking how much better the I'd do if I'd do my workouts.

I got my ultrasound on my leg done on Thursday. They were looking for blood clots. As far as I know, they found nothing. Which is what I thought in the first place. I also got a ton of lab work done. When I see my doctor again next week, I'll find out about all of that. I'm curious to know my blood sugar and cholesterol levels. Last time I had it done, I was prediabetic.

Chris has decided to jump on this journey with me. Well, he was already on the journey, he just seems a little more into it now. We are supposed to get up at 5 in the morning on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and go to the base gym. It opens at 5:30 and he has to be there by then in order to get a decent workout and then be at work, showered and in uniform at 6:15. We got everything ready to go last night so we wouldn't have any excuses this morning. Unfortunately, Gabriel had trouble sleeping, so we had trouble sleeping. I know I woke up four times with him. I don't know how many times Chris woke up for him. Needless to say, we were pretty tired this morning and when the alarm went off, we both agreed to go back to sleep and if we don't go this afternoon, then we will go in the morning.

Well, that's were I am on my journey for now. Another report next week.

Oh, Come On! Seriously?

I like the Twilight Series. Me and my daughters sat outside the movie theater on the cold hard concrete for hours for the midnight release of Twilight last November. We'll probably do the same for New Moon, even though the Twilight movie was a let down. We'll do it just because we are caught up in it and it's fun to sit there and be silly and giddy and yap with other Twilighters around us. But come on. Twilight Barbie dolls? That's just too far.

Fish

OK, I'm posting again today. You can't get enough of me, I know.

Emily's fish died today. His name was...Fish. He's been around for a while now. Two years. He was a very good fish. He liked to play around and joke with us. There were a couple of times when he would play hide and we would seek. Usually he'd be on the floor somewhere. Apparently he could hold his breath for a while, or maybe he could just breathe when he was out of water. I dunno, but he liked messing with us like that. He used to follow our fingers as we would drag them on the outside of his bowl. And he joked with us a few times about being dead. He would float on his side and we would gasp and say, "Oh no, Fish is dead." But then he would start moving his fins and swimming around. Surely he was laughing at us. "Ha ha ha! Gotcha again!"

Oh, he was a hoot. Bye bye Fish.

I Can't Find Anything

Nobody puts anything away in this house. It drives me insane. If there is a flat surface around here, then you can be sure it is cluttered with crap that needs to be put away. This morning before I got out of bed, I thought to myself, "I'm gonna clear off the top of the entertainment center today." I just keep seeing more and more DVD cases up there every day. So here's what I got: DVDs in their proper cases: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Baby Mozart, Baby da Vinci, Baby Van Gogh and Baby Shakespeare. The season Five, 10 disc set of Xena has all 10 disc in there. That's a true shocker. Empty DVD cases: Cars, Spiderman 2 and Baby Einstein Numbers. Holes is in the Stitch case, Stitch is in the Little Mermaid case. The season One, 7 disc Xena case has 2 discs from season 1 and one disc from season 3, and 4 empty spaces. Now discs floating around getting scratched to bits are: Spiderman, 9 Xena discs, Cars, Monster House, The Rescuers(oh, I'm gonna commit murder--Rescuers?! one of my favs-I remember my mom taking me and my siblings to the movies when we were little to see this) Little Mermaid (in the Disney Vault--can't be purchased for a reasonable price until approx. 2014) Nice! Now where's Spiderman 2, and Einstein Numbers?

Now how much you wanna bet that if I go to the garage to get the drill because I wanna install some tot locks in some kitchen drawers, that I will find the drill, but no bits or even a chuck key? What about a screwdriver?

I should just keep everything under lock and key.

Burning the Bridge Behind Me...233

I cannot believe I lost another pound. I think my scale is broken. I did not do a single workout last week and I drank so much soda I can't even count how many. It will probably all show up on the scale next week. It's weird I tell ya.

Last Saturday I discovered my military ID expired in June. I don't know why mine expired then and everyone elses expires October 2010. We all went in at the same time and did our IDs, it's not like mine was older than theirs or anything. But whatever. I couldn't get on the base and use the gym without Chris as my escort, and he had to be at work at 4:30 in the morning a couple of times last week, and had to stay late every day. So, no gym. I got my ID renewed on Thursday so now I can go with or without Chris. I'm gonna try to go with though because he needs to be active too. We need to push each other. It's just getting out of bed in time to be there at 5:30 in the morning that's the problem.

I had my appointment for my leg last Tuesday. My doctor has ordered a ton 'o labs. And this Thursday I go in for a Deep Vein Thrombosis Ultrasound. Whatever that means. I guess I can google it, but I don't really care. I know I'm gonna end up in surgery in a couple or few months no matter what. Let's stop stalling and get it over with so I can get on with the recovery. There's some events I wanna do before I leave San Diego, ya know. Get outta my way! Sheesh!

Amazing Grace

My aunt Carole passed away this past week. Obituary here. Every time I hear Amazing Grace, I think of her. She loved Christ and she made sure everyone knew it. She also loved to sing. This is for her.

Burning the Bridge Behind Me...234

Two more pounds gone. Whoop! I didn't get to do too much this past week due to my leg. I have an appointment tomorrow with my Family Practice doctor to hopefully get a referral to Orthopedics. I can't believe I lost any weight at all this past week. I practically inhaled a ton of chocolate on Friday and Saturday. CVS was having a pretty good sale on movie theater boxes of candy and if you bought $15 worth, you got $5 back in CVS bucks. So you know I bought $15 worth. The intention was to have it on hand when we have our Avatar marathon, in which we veg out in front of the TV for a full weekend until we finish the last season (book 3) of Avatar that we have on DVR. Well, the candy is gone and we haven't even started the last season. Hey, I didn't eat it all myself. I'll do better this week though as far as food goes; we've stocked the fridge with lots of fruits and veggies to snack on. I'm gonna do my best to only eat junk food on one day this week. Probably Saturday.

I emailed Jonathan Roche about my leg. I really like this guy allot. I joined his program in October 2007. At the time the wildfires were blazing. He saw that I signed up from San Diego and emailed me and said he was praying for me and my family and hoped that we were safe. I sat back in my computer chair with my jaw hanging. I was thinking, I'm just another customer for this guy, he's never met me, never spoken to me, and here he is writing me a very sweet email. I knew then that he was going to do good things. Anyway, I emailed him to ask him about me not getting up to my heart rate by just walking, that I had to jog to get there because otherwise my leg hurt. He emailed me back and told me to see my doctor about my leg, stop jogging, start using an elliptical machine if I can, and start nailing my nutrition. So, that's what I'm doing. I went Saturday with Chris to the base gym and used the elliptical machine. After 30 minutes, I still had no serious pain in my leg, and I felt like I got a really good workout. So, I think this is going to work. Yay!

God Only Cries for the Living

Remembering Tylor

Amanda, Michael, Mara, Tylor, Emily, Christopher

When we first moved to San Diego, we made some great friends. They were our next door neighbors. Our kids became quick friends. They were always outside and always together. Michael and Tylor were the most polite kids I've EVER met. "Yes, please. No thank-you. Yes ma'am, no ma'am." Always polite. When Chris deployed, it was a great comfort knowing I had some good neighbors. (I was pregnant with Cameron at the time.) We were so sad when they moved back to Canada 10 days before Cameron was born.

Tylor and Mara and their mom came back to visit us a while later. Tylor and Emily were pretty inseparable. They seemed to be the best of friends. They were always laughing and always smiling. When they left again, Emily and Tylor kept in touch through MySpace. Good friends forever.


Tylor & Emily

Tomorrow will mark the one year anniversary of a very tragic event. One year ago, on July 30, 2008, there was a high speed police chase that lasted 33 seconds. In less than a minute, Tylor who was riding his bike home and was only ten houses away, was run down and killed. He was 15. I can't believe how bad we still hurt. I can't even imagine the pain his mom is feeling. I didn't realize how much I love that family, those kids, that young man. I hurt so much when I think of this tragic event that could have been avoided. It is senseless. So incredibly senseless.

When Amanda was hospitalized, I remember that phone call with the hospital not telling me if she was dead or alive, just that she was there in the emergency room and that we needed to get there. I remember that panic as we sped through the rain to get there. I remember the fear and the pain and the tears. And I know my friend went through that same thing. And I don't wish that on anyone. For my friend though, her son was gone. My heart is broken for her. I don't know how to help her. I don't know what words to say. I wish I could be there with her. When I think about it, my throat tightens and the tears just flow. I can't help it. I can not even imagine her pain. She is a single mom who has been through hell already with the breakup of her marriage. She is dealing with this alone. (Biological father passed away a couple of years ago, step-father doesn't seem to care, he never treated Tylor as his son.) I ask that my friends and family will hold her in your hearts, especially for the next few days. Say some prayers, send good vibes, whatever it is you do. She is falling apart, and I don't know what to say or do to help her. Please keep Jewel in your hearts.

Burning the Bridge Behind Me...236

Oops, it's Tuesday again. I didn't get to post yesterday. I was pretty busy. The day started off with Cameron vomiting on my bedroom floor. On the new carpet we just had installed in March. Grr. Anyway, he's all better now. Don't know what it was, but it doesn't seem to be contagious.

As you can see, I didn't do very good since last Monday. I got two interval workouts in. Hey, better than nothing, right? During the intervals I keep my heart rate at 117 at the lowest, and 147 at the highest. I'm trying to just walk it, and I can get my heart up to 147 with fast walking, but it feels like my muscle in my left leg is about to bust out. But when I jog it doesn't hurt near as bad. What's up with that? I'm afraid it may be Compartment Syndrome. I'm not looking forward to the testing. When I had it in my right leg, they punched a gauge of some sort through my fascia to read the pressure. They can only numb the outside of the leg, not the fascia, so that friggin hurt. Then they made me walk a quarter mile at a fast pace. My leg felt like concrete. Then they punched the gauge through the fascia again to see how high the pressure was. A few days later I was in surgery. Down for a week, and on crutches for 6 weeks and it took YEARS for me to regain feeling in that leg. Can you imagine walking, running or doing anything on a leg that feels like it's asleep from the knee to the foot all the time? It sucks. I still have alternating numbness and then pins and needles around the surgery sites. (2 sites) So yeah, I'm not looking forward to this at all. But I know I need to get serious about it because I really want to take part in a specific event in May. I need to be up to par by then.

Well, that's how my fitness journey is going right now. I will report on it again on Monday, hopefully with better results.

Burning the Bridge Behind Me...237

For so long I have been trying to lose weight and get fit. You know what? I haven't been trying hard enough. So here goes; I'm putting myself out there now. You are now going to be the people I am accountable to. I've tried and tried to do it on my own. I know what I should be doing; I just don't do it consistently. And consistency is the key. I know if I am going to report to someone on a weekly basis, I will do better. So here I am. You may not want to be a part of this, you may not care. If you don't want to read it, skip the 'Burning the Bridge Behind Me' posts on Mondays. (Yes, I know, today is not Monday-I meant to do this yesterday). The number, 237 for now, is my current weight.

I have been listening to a certain radio show since October 2007. The host is pretty tough love without making the people feel bad about themselves. People who need support or motivation for getting fit call in to his show and he talks with them and helps them think through their roadblocks, which he calls speed bumps. There are so many people who call in that are in worse shape than me. If anyone has excuses not to workout, it is them. I have two functioning arms and legs. There are people who call who are confined to wheelchairs or scooters. People with congestive heart failure. People who call in using an interpreter because they can't speak or hear. A person with one arm. A person who only has function of one foot right now. One lady was run over by two axles of a semi-truck. And they are all doing what they can. What is my excuse? I have none. I have to get up and get moving and treat this one body that I have been given like it is a gift, a treasure. Because that is what it is. And it is temporary. Right now, while I am still relatively young, my body can climb mountains, swim in oceans, walk great distances, dance with my husband, run and play with my children, etc. And hopefully someday my grand children. All if I will let it. I'm done sitting on the bench. I will be healthy. Watch me.

Quasi-answers

Where are we going to live? Well, we want to be near a military base so we can use our base privileges. So we are weighing the pros and cons between Fort Hood in Killeen, TX and Fort Leavenworth in Leavenworth, Kansas. (Missouri)

Texas:

Pros: Blue Bell Ice Cream, no state taxes, better veterans benefits, larger population of extended family for the kids to visit with; Grammy and Pawpaw Davis, and 3 sets of aunts and uncles with 6 cousins between them, 1 great aunt and uncle, 1 set of good friends with 2 kids between them and overall, the people in Texas seem to be friendlier.

Cons: HOT (100+ degrees in the summer with 100% humidity with summer seeming to last 9 months), mosquitoes galore.

Missouri:

Pros: Four seasons, Grandma and Grandpa Sinclair, 1 aunt and uncle.

Cons: Snow to shovel (we've never had to deal with snow so we really don't know if this is a biggie), extra long arthritic flare-ups for me due to the cold weather, state taxes, no extended family children for our children to be around. And overall when we have visited, the people seem to be a bit discourteous (similar to many Californians).

What is Chris going to do? I'll let him answer this one.---> I, Chris am very fickle and haven't completely made up my mind just yet. I do love Teaching and would love to be an Elementary School Teacher; there are so many benefits to a Teaching career-Summers off (or most of it) teaching of course, working with children :), benefits themselves such as second retirement. Then there is the choice of working in the area of my degree: Health Care Administration- Yes, I know wonderful pay, great job prospects and the such; but, my heart isn't there and I just spent 20 years working under a contract. Let me do something I love. I know I could be a great administrator and make a nice livin; but I also know that I could live well and support my family while enjoying my career as a Teacher. I could also work in other fields such as Education and Training or Safety or Environmental Health. But, what's the fun in those, I've been doing them for soooo long and feel that I need a new challenge. I also love that my Navy retirement will cover our new home purchase (as long as we keep it modest) and that I don't necessarily need that high income, high stress job. Well, that's pretty much my thinking now. I have about 4-5 more months before I really need to settle on something and start my last year in the Navy. Whatever I do, I want to enjoy my job and have time with my family.
Let me know what you think, O.K. and I'll either consider it or I'll put it in the-yeah right pile. Love ya and see you at the Retirement Party next November.(2010)

Random!

Wow, it seems like it's been half of forever since I posted last. What can I tell you to catch you up? Let's see...hmmm...Well, Emily killed the Language Arts portion of the California High School Exit Exam. She did OK on the math portion, but really scored high on the Language Arts portion. Her teacher is very impressed. Emily should be done with high school around January/ February. Yay!

Chris was due to leave in October for a year to Africa. He got out of that...whew! Then he took orders to Connecticut pending approval for back to back shore duty. His detailer took so long to get back to him with the approval, that we started thinking that maybe it wasn't approved. So then Chris started thinking that he really REALLY wants to retire from the military. He had two weeks to let that idea just mull around in his head. So now he's retiring. Eighteen more months and we are done with the Navy. You are all invited to the retirement ceremony. Seriously.

I got a little more serious about a fitness challenge I've been a part of for the last few weeks. I had a crazy addiction to those stupid 42 ounce sodas from McDonald's. I was having anywhere from 1-3 a day. Crazy! I kept telling myself that tomorrow I will not have one, I will quit. Everyday the same thing. For months. I tried to just slow down and have a couple a week. That worked for about 8 hours. I decided I just had to go cold turkey. And I did. I went through several days of caffeine headaches, but I made it. Addiction broken. I feel so much better. I also started trying to fit a little more movement into my days, making a real effort to get out and exercise. I've lost 4 pounds in 3 weeks. Not bad.

Hmm, what else? I had plenty to say but now that I'm actually typing, duuuuhh.

Our garden is sad. Very sad. Our lettuce, sun flowers and chives are growing great. But our bell peppers, okra, and watermelon not so much. It would probably help if we knew what was what, but we don't. See after we planted the seeds ages ago, our sweet little Cameron got in there with a hoe and mixed it all up helped us. Hey, I was in the kitchen cooking dinner. Someone else was letting him do whatever he wanted watching him. Anyway, it's been fun trying to figure out what is what. We call it the mystery garden. Last weekend we transplanted the sunflowers to a different part of the yard because they were shading the rest of the plants too much. Watch them turn out to be peppers or okra. We shall see.

Well, since I can't think of any other random stuff to tell you, I'm gonna skedaddle.

A pic and a poem from Memorial Day

(Don't know who the guy is over Gabriel's right shoulder, but he kinda creeps me out.)

IT IS THE SOLDIER

It is the Soldier, not the minister

Who has given us freedom of religion.

It is the Soldier, not the reporter

Who has given us freedom of the press.

It is the Soldier, not the poet

Who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the Soldier, not the campus organizer

Who has given us freedom to protest.

It is the Soldier, not the lawyer

Who has given us the right to a fair trial.

It is the Soldier, not the politician

Who has given us the right to vote.

It is the Soldier who salutes the flag,

Who serves beneath the flag,

And whose coffin is draped by the flag,

Who allows the protester to burn the flag.

©Copyright by Charles M. Province

Here a mohawk, there a mohawk...

These pictures would have been posted on Memorial Day but, if you read my blog recently, you know that I couldn't find the thing that connects the camera to the computer. But, I discovered that I can remove the memory card from my camera and plug it right into my laptop and upload pictures that way. DUHHHH. Oh, shuddup!

Anywho...

Back in April Chris cut his hair into a pitiful looking mohawk for about 5 minutes just to be silly. Ever since then, Cameron has wanted one. I kept stalling because...eeww. Then Chris went and reminded Cameron by doing this....


(Strange isn't he?)

So we promised Cameron that we could cut his hair into a mohawk after church on May 24th. And here he is...

(Quite superior to Chris's mohawk, in my opinion.)

The next day, Memorial Day, we had this...

(Also superior to Chris's.)

That same evening, Cameron was outside and all the neighborhood kids came up to him oohhing and aahhing over his mohawk. The next day one of the aforementioned kids had a mohawk. It's mohawk madness around here.

Way to go Chris. Sheesh!

A remarkable day

Today we had thunder, lightning, rain and even some hail here in San Diego. And that is awesome.


But not nearly as awesome as this.....

Congratulations Amanda! We are so proud of you!

New Moon Trailer

If you're a female, get ready to wolf whistle at 01:25....WOW!

THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON trailer

Yeah--I don't even care

I really hated the narrow columns my blog template had. So I decided to change it. Since I don't know what the heck I'm doing, I jacked it up. I know it looks like doo doo right now, but I don't feel like messing with it any more tonight. Jeeze, I may just leave it like this forever, ya know? Ya pickin up what I'm puttin down? Yeah, I'm cranky. So what. The last couple of weeks have been crap. My camera disappeared for a few days; I missed some Kodak moments. Then I found the camera. Oh, but then the USB cord connection thingy vanished so I couldn't upload any pictures to my computer. That kinda ticked me off. No, wait, what am I saying? It REALLY ticked me off. Nothing is mine in this house. NOTHING. Someone decides they want to use something of mine, do they ask? Mmm, sometimes. Usually no. Does my something get put back where whoever found it? NEVER. When I go to use it, I gotta go on a scavenger hunt. Which urks me to no end. I found my USB connector thingy tonight. Guess where it was. No, really, guess. Give up? Yeah, so did I. I found that stupid thing in the floor of the garage. Why? Is that where it belongs? No. I keep it in a certain drawer in the kitchen. It is always there. Except sometimes when I know I'm going to be using it soon, I will deposit it next to the camera on top of the microwave. Easy to find, but not easy for little toddler hands to grab.

What else happened to throw me into this funk? Oh, I don't know. Maybe it took me a couple of hours to figure out how to load some music onto my phone so when I do housework or go walking/running I'd have something to listen to that connected with my bluetooth. Maybe I was able to listen to it for a total of about 4 hours and kaput, the darn thing stopped working. That bummed me out some. But no biggie, I'll just grab my trusty old Muvo mp3 player and use it instead. It sucks that when I use it, I never fail to yank the ear bud out of my ear several times; no big deal I guess, I just do it so often. So, yesterday I grabbed my old mp3 player to load it with my stuff and guess what. You'll never guess so I'll just tell you. Someone swiped my battery out of it. Who? I'm sure you know who. Perhaps this "I don't know" person visits you every once in a while. I don't understand how "I don't know" found me all the way in California. Cause I swear I pulled over on Wildcat Drive in Portland, Texas and told "I don't know" and "Wasn't me" to get out of my van. I remember it very well and so do my 3 oldest kids. I wish "I don't know" would leave me alone. Anywho, I called AT&T yesterday and told them my phone no worky worky no more and they are sending me a new one. (Glad I purchased insurance.) I hate having to program new phones. I really hate that I lost my CTU ring tone and Frogger game. I don't want to pay for them again. But Gabriel loves Frogger. Well, he likes to watch the cars and trucks go by; he could care less about the frog. He brings my phone to me quite often and says, "Cars". Which I know means, "Put Frogger on so I can watch the cars drive by while the little frog sits in the bottom of the screen and dies because he runs out of time and then I'll freak out because the cars disappear and it says 'Game Over' and I'll shove it in your face and say 'Cars' again and we'll just keep doing that for a while till I get bored with it and call some random person on your contact list when you aren't paying attention anymore. 'K mom?" Heh, heh, I just made myself laugh. That feels good. Oh that boy is so silly. And I'm sorry if you got a call from me and I wasn't on the other end. (Wayne, Diane, Scotty) And I'm really sorry if it was 11 at night. (Christa, Kathleen) Oh, now I'm pretending these people actually read my blog. Ha ha, I crack me up! Holey Cheez-its, I gotta get to bed. Good night imaginary readers.

The most hilarious thing I've seen on Amazon

Product Features:
Handcrafted with love and care
Do it yourself casket kit
Add your own personal touch
Solid pine wood construction
Easy to follow instructions

Can be yours for the low price of $485. Today Only!


Check out the reviews on this all pine coffin here. Really...read them...they're funny.

Credit for finding this goes to Want Not, one of my favoritest blogs.

I may have to go into hiding...

My family and I are so delighted that Kris won American Idol last night. We've been voting for him like crazy. Shh, don't tell anyone in San Diego though. I mean people are so UPSET that their fellow San Diegan didn't win. You can see the front page of the San Diego Union Tribune here. People are "heartbroken". Gimmie a break. Adam Lambert will be just fine. I'm sure he already has record companies banging his door down. Don't get me wrong. Adam is an awesome singer and stage performer, but after a while we just got tired of his sad "smoldering" eyes, Axel Rose screaming and the judges just ooooohhing and aaaahhhing over him. He also seemed to be getting special treatment by the show. It seemed that every group performance they did, Adam was center stage or wearing a different costume than the rest of them, or both. We got tired of AI pushing their favorite on us. Even the stars that visited the show; Jamie Fox, Katie Perry, etc. couldn't be more blatant about who they wanted to win. See Katie Perry's cape......




I think Randy Travis was the only one that didn't get all googly eyed over him.



Anyway, I'm so so glad Kris won. If people don't like that I voted for him...well...they can smooch it.

Things said this week in my house that made me laugh.

Dad, these eggs smell like Jasper. Said by Christopher after Chris put a plate of scrambled eggs in front of him. They didn't taste like Jasper, I guess.


Is Emily gonna have muscles?
Said by Cameron after Emily said she was gonna have to workout and get some muscles over the summer before she takes PE next year in school.


Oh crap! Gross!
Said by Emily when she realized she left her lunch in her backpack overnight.


Where is that retard? Said by Amanda when Kenny was taking too long to get home.
I'm right here! Said by Christopher in response to Amanda's question.
Are you blind? Said by Emily to Amanda after Christopher's response. (I laughed at Christopher and Emily....not Amanda.)



Get the car out of your pants. Said to Cameron. The rest is self-explanatory.



It is not a hat; it's a bucket! And dogs don't wear hats! Said by me to Cameron when he was trying to force a hat(bucket) onto Jasper's head.

Take your eyes off of him for 5 minutes.....

And you get this.....



How he got the painter's tape from the top of the fridge???? I dunno.

The ShamWOOHOO

Wolverine

Yesterday Chris and I went to the drive-in theatre to see Wolverine. I don't recommend seeing anything at a drive-in by the way, unless you LIKE breathing secondhand smoke. The screen was pretty hard to see also, probably because the movie itself was shot in shadowy scenes. I dunno. I didn't really want to go see it because I heard it was a snoozer. LIES, all lies! I kept waiting for it to get boring. Didn't happen, not for me or Chris anyway. It was pretty action packed. But I don't care for very many action packed movies, so take my opinion with a grain of salt. This movie could be a total snoozefest to other people. But, we liked it. Hey, if any of my two readers go watch it, or have already seen it, can you clue me in on what the scene is after the credits? Cool, thanks. See, I'm married to Mr. Impatient, and he wanted to leave like pronto after the movie was over. And I was like, naw man, let's see if there's anything at the end of the credits. And he was like, I doubt it. And I don't know what else he said cause all I heard was waaaaahhhh, wahhh, wahh. We sat there till the credits were probably halfway over and I started to think, Cheryl you're gonna feel bad if there's nothing after the credits and he had to sit here for nothing. So I said, "Ok we can go if ya want." So we did, but left the radio on the station. Sure enough, we get right outside the drive-in and hear Wolverine saying something about being Canadian something something. Grrrr. Ah well, we'll see it again I'm sure when the base theatre decides to show it.
Anywho, that's all I got for now. Not much, but it's something.