Is it just me or is anyone else having trouble with their Blogger? I am not getting emails letting me know that I have a new comment on my blog. This has been going on for a little while, at least a week. I looked into my comments section and my email address has not been removed. I just can't seem to figure out what is going on. I use to get them regularly, and I didn't change anything. This started way before I decided to alter my design.
BTW, I think I like to pink background better, what do you think?
Sunday, January 15, 2006
Saturday, January 14, 2006
Mr. & Ms. Fill in the blank
My kids friends call me Rhonda. This feels a bit weird to me, but I haven't corrected them.
I've had this conversation with my kids before, but had it again last night with my daughter.
"You know kids should address adults as Mr/Ms _____. It's not proper to address your friends parents by their first name unless they tell you to."
"I know mom, you've told me this before. That's why I don't call them anything. When I want to tell them something I just talk and hope that they know I'm talking to them."
I've had this conversation with my kids before, but had it again last night with my daughter.
"You know kids should address adults as Mr/Ms _____. It's not proper to address your friends parents by their first name unless they tell you to."
"I know mom, you've told me this before. That's why I don't call them anything. When I want to tell them something I just talk and hope that they know I'm talking to them."
Attempting to escape from my life of semi-seclusion
Today I have a house full of kids, actually my boys stayed the night over their house last night, and they all decided to come over here this morning. My three, my niece, my nephew (but he is 18 so he doesn't really count) and three of the neighbor kids. This isn't exactly as bad as it sounds. They are pretty good kids, and they keep my boys busy. I was attempting to get some things accomplished around here, but I think I'll wait just a bit.
Last night I met their mother. She seems to be pretty nice, she came over to check on her kids. I have said that I have pretty much isolated myself from neighbors since I moved here a few years ago, but the truth is that I miss having a local friendship with another woman. My girlfriends all live a ways away from me, so it is sometimes difficult for us to get together.
I am horrible with names, so I have already forgotten hers, but I know she has good kids. I don't mind them being around. For a while now the girls have been coming around to visit my boys. I always thought they were cute little girls. I just found out yesterday that they are also twins. Well not the girls, but the boy and one of the girls. Being fraternal it is hard to tell, it is much easier with mine since they are identical. It's kind of cool though, twins playing with twins.
The mother and I are in similar situations. Both of us are single parents raising a handful of children, she has four, and I of course have my three. Well actually she is separated from her husband, whereas I left mine eight or nine years ago. We talked for about two hours last night about our lives.
I'm interested to see if I let this develops into a friendship or not. I know I have tried to keep myself from being overhelmed by friends in my homelife. I find it hard to get things accomplished when I spend too much time hanging out with friends in the neighborhood, but I miss the days of backyard bar-b-ques and just hanging out with good friends.
Last night I met their mother. She seems to be pretty nice, she came over to check on her kids. I have said that I have pretty much isolated myself from neighbors since I moved here a few years ago, but the truth is that I miss having a local friendship with another woman. My girlfriends all live a ways away from me, so it is sometimes difficult for us to get together.
I am horrible with names, so I have already forgotten hers, but I know she has good kids. I don't mind them being around. For a while now the girls have been coming around to visit my boys. I always thought they were cute little girls. I just found out yesterday that they are also twins. Well not the girls, but the boy and one of the girls. Being fraternal it is hard to tell, it is much easier with mine since they are identical. It's kind of cool though, twins playing with twins.
The mother and I are in similar situations. Both of us are single parents raising a handful of children, she has four, and I of course have my three. Well actually she is separated from her husband, whereas I left mine eight or nine years ago. We talked for about two hours last night about our lives.
I'm interested to see if I let this develops into a friendship or not. I know I have tried to keep myself from being overhelmed by friends in my homelife. I find it hard to get things accomplished when I spend too much time hanging out with friends in the neighborhood, but I miss the days of backyard bar-b-ques and just hanging out with good friends.
Friday, January 13, 2006
Another year older
Birthday celebrations....aren't always the most exciting. Mine have never really been. I think that is partially because of my birthday following so closely behind Christmas.
The only mail I received yesterday was from my phone company. Wanting to thank me for adding a new service to my line.
My mom & nephew called to wish me a Happy Birthday, they always remember....they are sweethearts. As usual though my father didn't bother to say a word to me.
My kids always remember and try their best to make it special for me. They managed to hold out on giving me my presents until my actual birthday this year. They bought me some scrapbook supplies while they were with their father. The clock/butterfly stamp in the upper corner of this post was part of it. They also included some metal words from Making Memories, some Vellum "Quote Stacks" (home & family), and an embossing stamp pad. Along with all that, they got me this great card.
I did go out with my girlfriends for dinner, but we went out to celebrate one of their graduation from college. I didn't have the heart to bring up the fact that it was my birthday on her day. We did have a great time. They were the ones to make the plans, I just went along with whatever they decided. First we had planned it for 6 pm, but they called me the day before to change it to 4, which was fine with me. So I get to the restaurant about ten minutes to 4, and of course as usual I am the first one there. About a quarter after 4 I am sitting there wondering what is keeping them so long, then I realize who these two are. These girls are NEVER on time!! So I figured I'll at least get started and order an appetizer, spinach & artichoke dip with tortilla chips. Okay, now it's past 4:30 and I have pretty much devoured the dip. I'm beginning to wonder if I had been stood up by my girlfriends. Unfortunately my phone is out of order. Ever since last week I haven't been able to get it to charge. So I am not able to call them and check up on them, or them call me. So I still sit, wondering if I should just go ahead and order dinner and eat by myself or continue to wait. I decided to give it a little bit longer. Then what do you know, about 4:45 I see them pull into the parking lot. GEEZ, what am I going to do with these girls. They make the plans and I am the only one to make it even remotely close to the set time, like I said these girls are NEVER on time.
I had been sitting at the bar, so we moved over to a booth. We had good food, good conversation and lots of laughs. I found at that they rescheduled because one of them wanted to be home to watch the game, the Pistons & Spurs. Both of them are HUGE Pistons fans. It didn't take much, all it took was one drink to get the truth out of her, lol.
At one point I got up to go the the restroom. When I came back I wasn't paying much attention and I tried to sit down at the wrong table. They both realized what I was about to do, but went ahead and let me do it. You should have seen my reaction when I realized it. I looked terrified, my girlfriends couldn't stop laughing. They kept imitating me. Ha, ha, they are so funny.
After three hours of sitting there I finally headed home. It ended up not being such a bad birthday after all. Thanks!
Detroit Auto Show
Trying to make it to the North American International Auto Show 2006 this weekend. My boys LOVE cars. Rona of course wants nothing to do with it, but the boys are all for it. I'll try to take some pictures while I am there and post them.
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Living my own personal Hell!
Okay, back to Depression. I guess it all began back in 1997, but I didn't seek treatment until Memorial Day weekend 1998.
Basically what lead up to the Depression was that I was overworked, and my marriage was failing. I don't think that my relationship failing with husband was really the problem, I think the idea of failing was it. I had questioned for years about how I felt about him, but I couldn't determine if I really loved him, or was it just habit. It was habit. I don't think I'm real big on change, I like to do the same things over and over. Like always going to the same couple of restaurants, eating the same thing off of each menu. Now when someone takes me some place different, I do have a nice time and enjoy it, but I usually don't make those changes myself.
So slowly over the course of about eight months I started to fall apart. My walls came slowly crumbling down around me, or so it felt at the time. I cried all the time, for no apparent reason. I lost 30 pounds without even noticing. I didn't even realize that I wasn't eating. When I admitted myself to the hospital they did a complete physical on me, and noticed that my keytones were pretty low, such as with someone that had an eating disorder. When they approached me about it I said, "Do I look like someone that has an eating disorder?" Which is an idiotic thing to say, since I know that you don't have to be qrotesquely skinny to have an eating disorder. To me though, in my mind I wasn't starving myself. Although I was starving myself I just didn't realize it.
All I wanted to do was go to sleep. I had trouble sleeping through the night, but I tried to do it all the time. Sleeping was better than being awake and having to deal with the nightmare I thought I was living.
During this time my husband and I didn't live together but still considered ourselves in a relationship. Work was becoming more and more stressful. I wasn't able to hire more employees because of some psychological evaluation that prospective employees had to pass, but nobody was. At the same time I had to fire employees, with nobody to replace them. My district supervisor had to have a spotless record and wouldn't allow any overtime. I was putting in major hours to make up for the lack of employees. I remember once working 4 shifts straight, because I could not abandon my employees, and at the time I couldn't get myself to go over my districts head to demand overtime hours. I have learned from that. Saving overtime hours is not worth having my life collapse around me. I remember the last night I worked before walking out. I was working on my 3 shift for my day, my superiors were there and complaining about nobody coming to work, that they had to be there. I had been going through this for months without complaining, so I walked up to them and said "I'm leaving, I'm making an appointment with my doctor tomorrow, I'll bring you documentation" and left. Their months dropped. I went on two weeks stress leave, but before going back other stuff with my ex pushed me further over the deep end, and that is when I admitted myself. That company was a great company, and I had actually taken two months off because of the depression after my walkout and received 100% pay before I actually decided that I wouldn't go back. Like a year later they hired me back again. I know it doesn't sound like it, but they were really there for me when I needed them to be, except for this time, and I didn't speak up (like I said I have learned).
So let me push forward to the day of admittance. The kids and I were in Ohio visiting their father. I was already off of work for my stress leave. I can't remember exactly what it was that caused it on this particular day. I don't necessarily remember any fight, but I do remember that I couldn't get the thought of suicide out of my head. I kept thinking about it over and over in my head. I kept trying to fight it, but it wouldn't go away. The most important thing for me was my children, I didn't want them to go without a mother, but still I was having trouble shaking the feeling of taking my own life. This was the moment that I knew I had to do something, because I knew that if I didn't do anything soon, that I would come to a point where my children didn't matter. That I would begin to think that they would be better off without me. This hit me hard. So I told my husband to watch the kids that I was going for a walk. I walked up the street and into the nearest emergency room, and up to the receptionist and told her "I'm in depression, I need help." From there I was taken into a room, where I sobbed and sobbed and sobbed for what seemed like forever. Finally they came in and of course I had to volunteerily admit myself, but they didn't have a phychiatrist on staff at those hours, so they had to transport me to another hospital about 20 minutes away. I told the hospital staff to call my husband and let him know that I was admitted. Of course they failed to do this, and hours later my family was frantically calling hospitals and police to find out what happened to me. It took hours of them searching to find me. The hosptial never contacted my family.
At the other hospital they took me up to the psychward, because I was suicidal they had me on suicidal watch. This put me in an area with some of their more severe mental cases. I was glad when they let me go to a less restricted area. After my husband found out where I was they transferred his call into my room. I remember he couldn't find the car keys, so he was mad and thought that I purposely hid them so he couldn't find them. Boy did that get me upset, why would I do something like that? I was so upset I started hyperventilating and the nurse made me hang up on him, she then gave me some drugs to knock me out. Come to find out, my little niece was with us, and you know how babies like to play with keys, she dropped them into the trash can. I couldn't believe I was going through all of this and he had to accuse me of that. I know he had some issues with me admitting myself. He thought it was crazy for me to do that. A few years later he became severely depressed, and I think then he had a better understanding of why I did what I did. It really wasn't that bad being in there. Although still all I wanted to do was sleep, but they make you get up and particpate in activities.
My recovery:
So I spent five days in the hospital. They had me on Paxil, Buspar, and one other that I had them take me off of because it had sedatives and I didn't need to be knocked out, I still had 3 kids to raise. The drugs worked for me though, because within a few weeks I felt completely normal again. That feeling I had of being a filing cabinet in complete chaos, became completely organized. Before I was such a mess I couldn't make a decision if my life depended on it, and at that moment I knew exactly what I had to do with my life. I needed to quite my job, and leave my husband. It was a pretty drastic thing to do at the time, but I have no regrets. Life is so much better now. Although life is still not easy for me, we all have days when we feel a bit overwhelmed, but never can I imagine going back to what life was like for me at that time. I was pretty poor for those months following these changes. I gave up everything. It took me almost a year to get the job that I now have, which I am grateful for. My relationship with my ex-husband is better, although we don't always agree with our ideas of parenting, but most of the time things are fine with us.
End Note:
Depression IS a horrible thing for anyone to have to go through. Even those individuals that you feel would never end up like that do. It can strike at any time, and anyone. To feel that your life is so worthless is a terrible thing to have to face. If Depression falls upon you, do the right thing, GET HELP FAST. Don't be afraid, or embarrassed, you are NOT the only one. The statistics for Depression are extremely high. Don't feel that you can get through it yourself, don't try to be tough. GET HELP and stop living in your own personal Hell! LIFE IS WORTH LIVING!
Basically what lead up to the Depression was that I was overworked, and my marriage was failing. I don't think that my relationship failing with husband was really the problem, I think the idea of failing was it. I had questioned for years about how I felt about him, but I couldn't determine if I really loved him, or was it just habit. It was habit. I don't think I'm real big on change, I like to do the same things over and over. Like always going to the same couple of restaurants, eating the same thing off of each menu. Now when someone takes me some place different, I do have a nice time and enjoy it, but I usually don't make those changes myself.
So slowly over the course of about eight months I started to fall apart. My walls came slowly crumbling down around me, or so it felt at the time. I cried all the time, for no apparent reason. I lost 30 pounds without even noticing. I didn't even realize that I wasn't eating. When I admitted myself to the hospital they did a complete physical on me, and noticed that my keytones were pretty low, such as with someone that had an eating disorder. When they approached me about it I said, "Do I look like someone that has an eating disorder?" Which is an idiotic thing to say, since I know that you don't have to be qrotesquely skinny to have an eating disorder. To me though, in my mind I wasn't starving myself. Although I was starving myself I just didn't realize it.
All I wanted to do was go to sleep. I had trouble sleeping through the night, but I tried to do it all the time. Sleeping was better than being awake and having to deal with the nightmare I thought I was living.
During this time my husband and I didn't live together but still considered ourselves in a relationship. Work was becoming more and more stressful. I wasn't able to hire more employees because of some psychological evaluation that prospective employees had to pass, but nobody was. At the same time I had to fire employees, with nobody to replace them. My district supervisor had to have a spotless record and wouldn't allow any overtime. I was putting in major hours to make up for the lack of employees. I remember once working 4 shifts straight, because I could not abandon my employees, and at the time I couldn't get myself to go over my districts head to demand overtime hours. I have learned from that. Saving overtime hours is not worth having my life collapse around me. I remember the last night I worked before walking out. I was working on my 3 shift for my day, my superiors were there and complaining about nobody coming to work, that they had to be there. I had been going through this for months without complaining, so I walked up to them and said "I'm leaving, I'm making an appointment with my doctor tomorrow, I'll bring you documentation" and left. Their months dropped. I went on two weeks stress leave, but before going back other stuff with my ex pushed me further over the deep end, and that is when I admitted myself. That company was a great company, and I had actually taken two months off because of the depression after my walkout and received 100% pay before I actually decided that I wouldn't go back. Like a year later they hired me back again. I know it doesn't sound like it, but they were really there for me when I needed them to be, except for this time, and I didn't speak up (like I said I have learned).
So let me push forward to the day of admittance. The kids and I were in Ohio visiting their father. I was already off of work for my stress leave. I can't remember exactly what it was that caused it on this particular day. I don't necessarily remember any fight, but I do remember that I couldn't get the thought of suicide out of my head. I kept thinking about it over and over in my head. I kept trying to fight it, but it wouldn't go away. The most important thing for me was my children, I didn't want them to go without a mother, but still I was having trouble shaking the feeling of taking my own life. This was the moment that I knew I had to do something, because I knew that if I didn't do anything soon, that I would come to a point where my children didn't matter. That I would begin to think that they would be better off without me. This hit me hard. So I told my husband to watch the kids that I was going for a walk. I walked up the street and into the nearest emergency room, and up to the receptionist and told her "I'm in depression, I need help." From there I was taken into a room, where I sobbed and sobbed and sobbed for what seemed like forever. Finally they came in and of course I had to volunteerily admit myself, but they didn't have a phychiatrist on staff at those hours, so they had to transport me to another hospital about 20 minutes away. I told the hospital staff to call my husband and let him know that I was admitted. Of course they failed to do this, and hours later my family was frantically calling hospitals and police to find out what happened to me. It took hours of them searching to find me. The hosptial never contacted my family.
At the other hospital they took me up to the psychward, because I was suicidal they had me on suicidal watch. This put me in an area with some of their more severe mental cases. I was glad when they let me go to a less restricted area. After my husband found out where I was they transferred his call into my room. I remember he couldn't find the car keys, so he was mad and thought that I purposely hid them so he couldn't find them. Boy did that get me upset, why would I do something like that? I was so upset I started hyperventilating and the nurse made me hang up on him, she then gave me some drugs to knock me out. Come to find out, my little niece was with us, and you know how babies like to play with keys, she dropped them into the trash can. I couldn't believe I was going through all of this and he had to accuse me of that. I know he had some issues with me admitting myself. He thought it was crazy for me to do that. A few years later he became severely depressed, and I think then he had a better understanding of why I did what I did. It really wasn't that bad being in there. Although still all I wanted to do was sleep, but they make you get up and particpate in activities.
My recovery:
So I spent five days in the hospital. They had me on Paxil, Buspar, and one other that I had them take me off of because it had sedatives and I didn't need to be knocked out, I still had 3 kids to raise. The drugs worked for me though, because within a few weeks I felt completely normal again. That feeling I had of being a filing cabinet in complete chaos, became completely organized. Before I was such a mess I couldn't make a decision if my life depended on it, and at that moment I knew exactly what I had to do with my life. I needed to quite my job, and leave my husband. It was a pretty drastic thing to do at the time, but I have no regrets. Life is so much better now. Although life is still not easy for me, we all have days when we feel a bit overwhelmed, but never can I imagine going back to what life was like for me at that time. I was pretty poor for those months following these changes. I gave up everything. It took me almost a year to get the job that I now have, which I am grateful for. My relationship with my ex-husband is better, although we don't always agree with our ideas of parenting, but most of the time things are fine with us.
End Note:
Depression IS a horrible thing for anyone to have to go through. Even those individuals that you feel would never end up like that do. It can strike at any time, and anyone. To feel that your life is so worthless is a terrible thing to have to face. If Depression falls upon you, do the right thing, GET HELP FAST. Don't be afraid, or embarrassed, you are NOT the only one. The statistics for Depression are extremely high. Don't feel that you can get through it yourself, don't try to be tough. GET HELP and stop living in your own personal Hell! LIFE IS WORTH LIVING!
Some creative fun
Via Ali's blog I came across a new blog, Superhero Journal, which took me to another blog, Swirly Girl. Swirly Girl has created a sort of artistic journal where each week she adds a new prompt. It is a creative exercise called "52 figments" which takes you into a world of thinking about your biggest dreams during this year. By asking "what if" questions, and allowing you to respond creatively any way that you wish. They don't have to come true, or even be possible, it's your dream to create.
Check it out it sounds fun.
Check it out it sounds fun.
Depression
A post on Mindkibble's blog about post-partum depression took me into a discussion about my history with depression, not post-partum, but still depression. I highlighted the story on her blog, but I said that I would get more detailed on mine since it is such a long story. I'll get to that in a bit, right now I am off to run some errands. I've been meaning to write about this for some time, but knowing how long the post will be I have been putting it off. I guess today would be a good day to get it done.
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
How I spent my 12 Bucks!
I am not one too proud to keep myself from saving some big cash by buying books second hand. I totally recommend seeking out your local library to see if they have a book store, or annual book sales. The books at the book store are not old library books, they are donated books. I must say that a majority of them are like new too. The book sale starts Friday, but I went to their store the other day and came across some great buys. Well at least I think they are I haven't read them yet. They all look as if I just bought them from Barnes & Nobel, brand new.
This is how I spent my $12:
I like John Grisham so I picked up a few of his.
Bleachers-hardcover
A Painted House-hardcover
The Summons-paperback
The Testament-paperback
Others are:
The Simple Truth-David Baldacci-paperback
Memnoch The Devil-Anne Rice-hardcover
Merrick-Anne Rice-hardcover
The Anne Rice books are not exactly for me, I picked them up for my 13 year old daughter, but before I actually give them to her I would like to know if there is anything in there that she probably shouldn't read. She likes vampire stories, and isn't Anne Rick the Queen of Vampire stories? My daughter is a pretty advanced reader, so I am sure that she would be able to read it. She tested 97% nationally for her reading in her grade level, and has advanced reading classes at school. I don't read these type of books, so I am not sure about its content. They were only $1 each, so I picked them up just in case.
Trading Up-Candace Bushnell-hardcover (this doesn't seem like my type of book, but someone recommended Sex and the City by this author, so I picked it up just in case).
The Dive from Clausen's Pier-Ann Packer-paperback (recommended by the bookclub)
Midwives-Bojalian-paperback (recommended by the bookclub)
Atonement-Ian McEwan-paperback (not recommended, but I have seen this book over and over again, so I figured there must be something about it).
So 11 like new books for $12, not too bad. Okay, I do realize that if I would have just gotten them from the library I would have saved 100%, but whenever I get books from the library I usually end up returning them late. I don't want to feel pressured to read anything.
This is how I spent my $12:
I like John Grisham so I picked up a few of his.
Bleachers-hardcover
A Painted House-hardcover
The Summons-paperback
The Testament-paperback
Others are:
The Simple Truth-David Baldacci-paperback
Memnoch The Devil-Anne Rice-hardcover
Merrick-Anne Rice-hardcover
The Anne Rice books are not exactly for me, I picked them up for my 13 year old daughter, but before I actually give them to her I would like to know if there is anything in there that she probably shouldn't read. She likes vampire stories, and isn't Anne Rick the Queen of Vampire stories? My daughter is a pretty advanced reader, so I am sure that she would be able to read it. She tested 97% nationally for her reading in her grade level, and has advanced reading classes at school. I don't read these type of books, so I am not sure about its content. They were only $1 each, so I picked them up just in case.
Trading Up-Candace Bushnell-hardcover (this doesn't seem like my type of book, but someone recommended Sex and the City by this author, so I picked it up just in case).
The Dive from Clausen's Pier-Ann Packer-paperback (recommended by the bookclub)
Midwives-Bojalian-paperback (recommended by the bookclub)
Atonement-Ian McEwan-paperback (not recommended, but I have seen this book over and over again, so I figured there must be something about it).
So 11 like new books for $12, not too bad. Okay, I do realize that if I would have just gotten them from the library I would have saved 100%, but whenever I get books from the library I usually end up returning them late. I don't want to feel pressured to read anything.
Conversations with the kids
Several years ago I remember having trouble with my kids not brushing their teeth in the morning. I wasn't there to get them off to school, a babysitter was with them, so I guess they thought they could get away with it.
I would come home from work and inspect their teeth. The first question out of my mouth was always, "did you brush your teeth this morning?" Of course they always did answer honestly. This one time in particular, we were actually driving in the car. I'm not sure why but Joey wasn't with us, it was just Jason, Rona and myself. So I asked my usual question about their teeth, and got the usual response "no."
Okay, I could see I was going to have to resort to some desperate measures here. I turned to look at Jason, and with a serious tone in my voice I said, "Do you know what happens when you don't brush your teeth?"
"No, I don't."
"Well, your teeth turn green and then they fall out."
He gives that some thought then he said, "I thought they turn yellow."
"Oh they do, first they turn yellow, then they turn green, then they fall out. See Jason, yours are already falling out." Oh my, you should have seen the look on his face, I knew I had him there.
Then Rona says, "MOM, those are his baby teeth they are suppose to fall out."
Man!! Rona spoils all of my fun. If she wouldn't of spoiled it, I would have had him convinced, and he would have started brushing his teeth twenty times a day without me even asking.
Not sure what made me think of that this morning, but I have to laugh every time I think of his expression when I told him that. I loved those days when the kids believed everything I'd say.
Here's another crazy conversation that I remember with my kids when they were younger. Another time they mixed up their words. I can't remember exactly what word they intended to use, but the word that came out was "cannibal".
Joey's face became distorted from his look of confusion, "what is cannibal?"
"Well, that is when one person eats another person."
"Mom, are you a cannibal?"
"Baby, when was the last time you saw me eat someone for lunch?"
I would come home from work and inspect their teeth. The first question out of my mouth was always, "did you brush your teeth this morning?" Of course they always did answer honestly. This one time in particular, we were actually driving in the car. I'm not sure why but Joey wasn't with us, it was just Jason, Rona and myself. So I asked my usual question about their teeth, and got the usual response "no."
Okay, I could see I was going to have to resort to some desperate measures here. I turned to look at Jason, and with a serious tone in my voice I said, "Do you know what happens when you don't brush your teeth?"
"No, I don't."
"Well, your teeth turn green and then they fall out."
He gives that some thought then he said, "I thought they turn yellow."
"Oh they do, first they turn yellow, then they turn green, then they fall out. See Jason, yours are already falling out." Oh my, you should have seen the look on his face, I knew I had him there.
Then Rona says, "MOM, those are his baby teeth they are suppose to fall out."
Man!! Rona spoils all of my fun. If she wouldn't of spoiled it, I would have had him convinced, and he would have started brushing his teeth twenty times a day without me even asking.
Not sure what made me think of that this morning, but I have to laugh every time I think of his expression when I told him that. I loved those days when the kids believed everything I'd say.
Here's another crazy conversation that I remember with my kids when they were younger. Another time they mixed up their words. I can't remember exactly what word they intended to use, but the word that came out was "cannibal".
Joey's face became distorted from his look of confusion, "what is cannibal?"
"Well, that is when one person eats another person."
"Mom, are you a cannibal?"
"Baby, when was the last time you saw me eat someone for lunch?"
Sunday, January 08, 2006
Life is good
Ali Edwards post this evening was about "Delight in Life." She created a inspirational piece for her bathroom with this theme. I like that, I think this will be my goal for 2006, to Delight in Life.
Life is good today, I found an old friend of mine that I haven't seen in 18 years. I am looking forward to seeing him hopefully soon. He is from Oklahoma, and he will be coming up north in a few weeks for business. I've missed him.
Life is good today, I found an old friend of mine that I haven't seen in 18 years. I am looking forward to seeing him hopefully soon. He is from Oklahoma, and he will be coming up north in a few weeks for business. I've missed him.
Dates, Books & Twin Studies
The kids are gone, I am able to spend my time any way that I wish, and guess what??? I have to wake up at 6:30 and can't manage to go back to sleep. I know that doesn't sound too incredibly early for some, but when my kids are gone I fantasize about the idea of sleeping late. It never seems to happen, and this drives me crazy, although I did stay up until about eleven last night. Hootie hoot....the kids are gone and I turn into a party girl. Okay, well I wasn't exactly a party girl, I was just sitting here alone, but I still managed to have a good time.
Actually a kind of funny thing happened. I was sitting here last night typing my last post when I received an IM from someone that I use to date about five years ago. Well it wasn't exactly him, it was his eleven year old daughter. I have never met her, but she asked me if her father asked me out on a date would I go. Wow, this is kind of different. I wasn't sure if she knew who I was, or if she just got on her dad's screenname and just picked someone. She told me that her dad was handsome, and I told her that I knew that because I use to date him. She said she knew that, because he talks about me all the time, and has a picture of me that she has seen. Wow, we have hardly spoken in the past five years. Not for any particular reason, are paths just have not crossed.
Well I guess I should give a little background here. His name is Wayne. I actually met him at a bar five years ago. Yes, at a bar, I know I don't go to bars much, but this was an exception. My girlfriends took me out for my birthday. So I met him on my birthday five years ago. We dated for a little while, not very long, and for the life of me I cannot recall why we stopped dating. I have an idea why, but I can't be sure. When I met him I was actually rebounding from a breakup, that I was not really over. I am sure that probably had something to do with it, but I can't be for certain. He was a really sweet guy, so I doubt that he really did anything to upset me. I guess it was just wrong timing.
So back to last night. The daughter eventually convinced me to call him, so I did. He was surprised, and yes, we are having a date this week. We haven't figure out exactly when yet, but we will. You know the funny thing is that my birthday is this week. Kind of funny how things work out, huh?
So that was my night, now lets talk about my morning....
Like I said I woke up at 6:30 am. I opened the fridge and grab me some of that left over pizza. Yes... the one with sausage & jalapenos, yes.... I ate it this morning, and it was still yummy.
Then I decided to get on the computer. Last night I requested some recommendations on some fictional books to read, and thanks to Donna I now have a few to check out. She suggested a site for a book club that also gives some recommendations. This was perfect, thanks.
Last night I said that I didn't read fiction so I didn't know anything about titles/authors in that category. It kind of sounded as if I never read any fictional novels, but that is not the case. I have read some, but it is not nearly as often as I would like to admit.
Right now I am reading Black and Blue by Anna Quindlen, which I am enjoying. The book club had some discussions about authors David Sadaris, and Augusten Burroughs. I have read books by both of these authors, Naked and Running with Scissors. Actually Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Demin, by David Sadaris is a book sitting on my shelf waiting to be red. Naked had me cracking up it was so funny to me, but I can understand that it might not be for everyone. They discussed The Five People You Meet in Heaven, by Mitch Albom. This book I purchased and took to work to try to read, which is impossible, but someone asked to borrow it so I let them. That book went through like five other people before it got back to me, then I gave it to my mother so that she could read it. Everyone loved it, but unfortunately I now don't have a copy to read myself. Guess I'll have to pick it up again. Although I did read Tuesdays with Morrie, now this book I zoomed through and it made me cry, and actually made me think deeply about my life and about the importance of people in my life. I have given this book away as gifts, a great book. Mitch Albom is a sports writer here in Detroit, even though I don't get into sports sometimes I read his column just because. The DaVinci Code, now who hasn't read that book? I found that book to be a page turner, I loved it. I lent that book out to many people, and it still hasn't found its way back to me as of yet.
Okay, one more book to discuss that will take me on to something else. Years ago I read I Know This Much is True, by Wally Lamb. I thought this book was great. Shortly after that I came across his other book, Shes Come Undone. Which is another book on my shelf that I have intended to get to, but haven't yet. Maybe I'll read that during my time off of work. Anyways, I Know This Much is True is about identical twins. One twin narrates the story, the other twin is schiztophrenic. I won't go into the details of the book, but I loved the story. Having identical twins myself possibly made the story even that much more interesting to me. GREAT BOOK.
So as I promised this takes me onto something else, something about my twins. Yesterday I received a letter in the mail. A letter from the Department of Community Health, and Michigan State University. They are writing because my sons are possible candidates for a study of eating, mood, and hormone relationships in identical and fraternal twins. It states "it is an investigation of the relationship between these characteristics and how genes and the environment influence the development of attitudes and behaviors." Some people might find it offensive for someone to probe into their lives, but I find it very interesting.
Let me quote some of the sections in their newsletter:
Why use Twin Studies?
Twins are an invaluable resource for the fields of both medicine and psychology. Twin study findings have been influential in detecting and treating various diseases and psychological disorders. Twin studies allow researchers to examine the role of genes in the develpment of a trait or disorder.........Results from twin studies may suggest that a particular trait or disorder has a genetic component, but this does not provide information about the location of this gene or genes. Nevertheless, twin designs and methods are extremely useful for understanding the extent to which psychological and medical disorders, as well as behaviors and traits, are influenced by genetic factors. This information can then be used to develp better ways to prevent and treat disorders and maladaptive behaviors.
Our Current Twin Studies
We are currently conducting four twins studies at MSU. The first study includes same-sex and opposite-sex male and female twin pairs and examines genetic and environmental influences on personality characteristics and behavioral adjustments.
The second study focuses on the relationship between mood, hormones and eating attitues and behaviors. Participants in this study include same-sex female twins who complete questionnaires and provide a small blood sample from a finger prick.
The third study uses adolescent twins to assess the relationship between hormones and behavior during puberty and determine whether these relationships are genetically influenced. The mothers of the twins are also assessed in order to obtain more detailed information about the twins during their pubertal development.
The final study is examining relationships between changes in hormone levels and changes in behaviors across the menstrual cycle. This study will help determine whether hormones influence behavior and if associations between hormones and behavior are due to shared genetic effects.
Not sure how things will work out, but I'm interested in seeing how it does. I think I'll respond and see what the details are.
Actually a kind of funny thing happened. I was sitting here last night typing my last post when I received an IM from someone that I use to date about five years ago. Well it wasn't exactly him, it was his eleven year old daughter. I have never met her, but she asked me if her father asked me out on a date would I go. Wow, this is kind of different. I wasn't sure if she knew who I was, or if she just got on her dad's screenname and just picked someone. She told me that her dad was handsome, and I told her that I knew that because I use to date him. She said she knew that, because he talks about me all the time, and has a picture of me that she has seen. Wow, we have hardly spoken in the past five years. Not for any particular reason, are paths just have not crossed.
Well I guess I should give a little background here. His name is Wayne. I actually met him at a bar five years ago. Yes, at a bar, I know I don't go to bars much, but this was an exception. My girlfriends took me out for my birthday. So I met him on my birthday five years ago. We dated for a little while, not very long, and for the life of me I cannot recall why we stopped dating. I have an idea why, but I can't be sure. When I met him I was actually rebounding from a breakup, that I was not really over. I am sure that probably had something to do with it, but I can't be for certain. He was a really sweet guy, so I doubt that he really did anything to upset me. I guess it was just wrong timing.
So back to last night. The daughter eventually convinced me to call him, so I did. He was surprised, and yes, we are having a date this week. We haven't figure out exactly when yet, but we will. You know the funny thing is that my birthday is this week. Kind of funny how things work out, huh?
So that was my night, now lets talk about my morning....
Like I said I woke up at 6:30 am. I opened the fridge and grab me some of that left over pizza. Yes... the one with sausage & jalapenos, yes.... I ate it this morning, and it was still yummy.
Then I decided to get on the computer. Last night I requested some recommendations on some fictional books to read, and thanks to Donna I now have a few to check out. She suggested a site for a book club that also gives some recommendations. This was perfect, thanks.
Last night I said that I didn't read fiction so I didn't know anything about titles/authors in that category. It kind of sounded as if I never read any fictional novels, but that is not the case. I have read some, but it is not nearly as often as I would like to admit.
Right now I am reading Black and Blue by Anna Quindlen, which I am enjoying. The book club had some discussions about authors David Sadaris, and Augusten Burroughs. I have read books by both of these authors, Naked and Running with Scissors. Actually Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Demin, by David Sadaris is a book sitting on my shelf waiting to be red. Naked had me cracking up it was so funny to me, but I can understand that it might not be for everyone. They discussed The Five People You Meet in Heaven, by Mitch Albom. This book I purchased and took to work to try to read, which is impossible, but someone asked to borrow it so I let them. That book went through like five other people before it got back to me, then I gave it to my mother so that she could read it. Everyone loved it, but unfortunately I now don't have a copy to read myself. Guess I'll have to pick it up again. Although I did read Tuesdays with Morrie, now this book I zoomed through and it made me cry, and actually made me think deeply about my life and about the importance of people in my life. I have given this book away as gifts, a great book. Mitch Albom is a sports writer here in Detroit, even though I don't get into sports sometimes I read his column just because. The DaVinci Code, now who hasn't read that book? I found that book to be a page turner, I loved it. I lent that book out to many people, and it still hasn't found its way back to me as of yet.
Okay, one more book to discuss that will take me on to something else. Years ago I read I Know This Much is True, by Wally Lamb. I thought this book was great. Shortly after that I came across his other book, Shes Come Undone. Which is another book on my shelf that I have intended to get to, but haven't yet. Maybe I'll read that during my time off of work. Anyways, I Know This Much is True is about identical twins. One twin narrates the story, the other twin is schiztophrenic. I won't go into the details of the book, but I loved the story. Having identical twins myself possibly made the story even that much more interesting to me. GREAT BOOK.
So as I promised this takes me onto something else, something about my twins. Yesterday I received a letter in the mail. A letter from the Department of Community Health, and Michigan State University. They are writing because my sons are possible candidates for a study of eating, mood, and hormone relationships in identical and fraternal twins. It states "it is an investigation of the relationship between these characteristics and how genes and the environment influence the development of attitudes and behaviors." Some people might find it offensive for someone to probe into their lives, but I find it very interesting.
Let me quote some of the sections in their newsletter:
Why use Twin Studies?
Twins are an invaluable resource for the fields of both medicine and psychology. Twin study findings have been influential in detecting and treating various diseases and psychological disorders. Twin studies allow researchers to examine the role of genes in the develpment of a trait or disorder.........Results from twin studies may suggest that a particular trait or disorder has a genetic component, but this does not provide information about the location of this gene or genes. Nevertheless, twin designs and methods are extremely useful for understanding the extent to which psychological and medical disorders, as well as behaviors and traits, are influenced by genetic factors. This information can then be used to develp better ways to prevent and treat disorders and maladaptive behaviors.
Our Current Twin Studies
We are currently conducting four twins studies at MSU. The first study includes same-sex and opposite-sex male and female twin pairs and examines genetic and environmental influences on personality characteristics and behavioral adjustments.
The second study focuses on the relationship between mood, hormones and eating attitues and behaviors. Participants in this study include same-sex female twins who complete questionnaires and provide a small blood sample from a finger prick.
The third study uses adolescent twins to assess the relationship between hormones and behavior during puberty and determine whether these relationships are genetically influenced. The mothers of the twins are also assessed in order to obtain more detailed information about the twins during their pubertal development.
The final study is examining relationships between changes in hormone levels and changes in behaviors across the menstrual cycle. This study will help determine whether hormones influence behavior and if associations between hormones and behavior are due to shared genetic effects.
Not sure how things will work out, but I'm interested in seeing how it does. I think I'll respond and see what the details are.
Saturday, January 07, 2006
Alone
Well here I sit....relaxing....enjoying my evening of peace and quiet at home. I dropped my children off last night to spend the weekend with their father. As much as I love my children, every once in a while I do love a little time to myself.
So this is what I am up to....I slept in to 8 am this morning. Then took off to the library, then did some much needed shopping since I had absolutely no toilet paper or trash bags. Well that shopping trip for just a few things turned into more than I expected, as usual. Can you ever walk into the store and just get exactly what you need? Some may be disciplined like that, but it is rare for me. I decided to pick up a few older movies that I know I have seen before, but were worth seeing again. These were A Few Good Men, and Internal Affairs. Actually I am typing this while I am watching the first movie. You know the movie...with Tom Cruise and Demi Moore. I love watching military flicks, but some times it makes me miss it.
So here I sit enjoying my movie, my peace & quiet and my Jet's pizza (sausage & jalapeno). This is rare for me also, since normally I give up my favorites for the kid's favorites. Man, when the guy dropped it off for me, while I was paying all I could smell was the delicious aroma of hot jalapenos right through the box. Heaven!
Not only are my children gone, but my 18 year old nephew is staying with his mother this weekend. So I am completely alone. Tomorrow...is another day....tonight is my night to enjoy myself.
So this is what I am up to....I slept in to 8 am this morning. Then took off to the library, then did some much needed shopping since I had absolutely no toilet paper or trash bags. Well that shopping trip for just a few things turned into more than I expected, as usual. Can you ever walk into the store and just get exactly what you need? Some may be disciplined like that, but it is rare for me. I decided to pick up a few older movies that I know I have seen before, but were worth seeing again. These were A Few Good Men, and Internal Affairs. Actually I am typing this while I am watching the first movie. You know the movie...with Tom Cruise and Demi Moore. I love watching military flicks, but some times it makes me miss it.
So here I sit enjoying my movie, my peace & quiet and my Jet's pizza (sausage & jalapeno). This is rare for me also, since normally I give up my favorites for the kid's favorites. Man, when the guy dropped it off for me, while I was paying all I could smell was the delicious aroma of hot jalapenos right through the box. Heaven!
Not only are my children gone, but my 18 year old nephew is staying with his mother this weekend. So I am completely alone. Tomorrow...is another day....tonight is my night to enjoy myself.
Book suggestions???
Since I have the next two months off of work I was thinking that I could make some time for some reading. I read often, but I usually read non-fiction. I was hoping to take some time to dive into some fictional stories. Does anyone have any suggestions on some good stories to pick up?
Actually my local library has a gigantic book sale next weekend. You can pick up paperbacks for a quarter and hard covers for fifty cents. I am always ready for a good deal!!! There is quite a selection too. They have this sale three times per year, and I try to attend each time.
So....since I am not so familiar with fictional books or good fictional writers, I would love to have a list of ones to look for while I am there next weekend. Feel free to give me your suggestions. I don't mind love stories, but I am not one for romance novels though.
Actually my local library has a gigantic book sale next weekend. You can pick up paperbacks for a quarter and hard covers for fifty cents. I am always ready for a good deal!!! There is quite a selection too. They have this sale three times per year, and I try to attend each time.
So....since I am not so familiar with fictional books or good fictional writers, I would love to have a list of ones to look for while I am there next weekend. Feel free to give me your suggestions. I don't mind love stories, but I am not one for romance novels though.
Thursday, January 05, 2006
Com'on baby do the locomotion
I seem to do a lot of reflecting back on my past. I like to remember all of the good times, to cherish them. Today was one of those days. I was talking to a friend of mine at work and he brought up the band Grand Funk, remember them?
Every time this band is brought up it brings back memories of dancing in the livingroom with my mother when I was in elementary school. We use to line up and dance around the room like a train. You know the song...."everybodies doing the locomotion, com'on baby do the locomotion." That is one of my fondest memories with my mother. We had so much fun doing that. Just thinking about it makes me smile.
So if you have kids, make sure to dance with them, because they love to do it. I know my kids remember me dancing with them when they were younger. I use to pick them up and twirl around the living room with them. They had such a blast with that. The next one couldn't wait for me to pick him or her up. Of course now they are getting older and all I would do is embarass them, but oh the memories will last forever with me.
Every time this band is brought up it brings back memories of dancing in the livingroom with my mother when I was in elementary school. We use to line up and dance around the room like a train. You know the song...."everybodies doing the locomotion, com'on baby do the locomotion." That is one of my fondest memories with my mother. We had so much fun doing that. Just thinking about it makes me smile.
So if you have kids, make sure to dance with them, because they love to do it. I know my kids remember me dancing with them when they were younger. I use to pick them up and twirl around the living room with them. They had such a blast with that. The next one couldn't wait for me to pick him or her up. Of course now they are getting older and all I would do is embarass them, but oh the memories will last forever with me.
Pregnant for 46 years???
Last week I was watching Discovery/Health channel about a woman that had been pregant for 46 years. Wow, can you imagine that? The story was sad, yet fascinating at the same time. I wish I could remember all of the details of the story but I can't, so I'll give the few that I actually do remember.
I believe the woman was in her sixties when they found the baby. The woman actually knew all along that she was pregnant. Fortysix years earlier she went into the hospital during her pregnancy, I believe for stomach pains. While she was there, she could hear the screams of another pregnant woman in another room. This woman ended up dying during her delivery. This frightened the woman so she left the hospital.
I believe that shortly after this her baby stopped moving. She just thought that her baby was sleeping that is why it stopped moving. I am not sure why it never occured to her prior to her hosptial visit 46 years later that she should seek medical attention.
Eventually when she did go to the doctor years later and they examined her they were amazed at what they found. I am sure that the last thing you would expect to find in a 60+ year old woman is a baby.
The woman was carrying a stone baby, or lithopedian. This happens when a fetus dies during an ectopic pregnancy. The baby is too large to be reabsorbed by the body. This caused the body to surround the fetus with calcium. I guess this is the way the body reacts when it can't reject the fetus, its way of protecting itself. The fetus then solidifies and that is how you get the name stone baby.
Could you imagine having that inside of your body for 46 years? I am not sure how old the fetus was when it died, but from the looks for it, it seemed pretty big. This just amazes me, I found the story to be very fascinating.
I believe the woman was in her sixties when they found the baby. The woman actually knew all along that she was pregnant. Fortysix years earlier she went into the hospital during her pregnancy, I believe for stomach pains. While she was there, she could hear the screams of another pregnant woman in another room. This woman ended up dying during her delivery. This frightened the woman so she left the hospital.
I believe that shortly after this her baby stopped moving. She just thought that her baby was sleeping that is why it stopped moving. I am not sure why it never occured to her prior to her hosptial visit 46 years later that she should seek medical attention.
Eventually when she did go to the doctor years later and they examined her they were amazed at what they found. I am sure that the last thing you would expect to find in a 60+ year old woman is a baby.
The woman was carrying a stone baby, or lithopedian. This happens when a fetus dies during an ectopic pregnancy. The baby is too large to be reabsorbed by the body. This caused the body to surround the fetus with calcium. I guess this is the way the body reacts when it can't reject the fetus, its way of protecting itself. The fetus then solidifies and that is how you get the name stone baby.
Could you imagine having that inside of your body for 46 years? I am not sure how old the fetus was when it died, but from the looks for it, it seemed pretty big. This just amazes me, I found the story to be very fascinating.
Monday, January 02, 2006
Home Sweet Home
Well I am just getting back from my trip. It feels kind of weird being home, even though I was only gone for two weeks. Nice in a way though, even though I will miss everyone. I probably should have come back yesterday, because now I feel rushed. I have to go back to work tomorrow morning and the kids back to school. I can't say that anybody is ready for that.
Sunday, January 01, 2006
New Year's Day
This is a picture of my daughter and grandmother taken today. This is the last time I saw her before my trip home tomorrow, and yes I did cry. I know she is really going to miss us also. I am making a New Year's Resolution to write her at least one letter every week. I know she will like that.
Hey, that thing got a hemi??
Isn't she beautiful?? This was my ride down here in Florida. I was getting kind of use to driving her.My grandmother picked her up a couple of weeks ago. My grandmother is something else. One day my father was taking her to the eye doctor, after getting out of the car she noticed a silver car near her loaded with chrome. She turns to my father and says "hey Bobby, what kind of car is that?" He tells her that it is the 300c. My grandfather retired from Chrysler many years ago. She then told him, "well I want you to take me down to the Chrysler dealership and I'm gonna get one.
Within the next two days she was down to the dealer and ordered her one. She told me about it on the phone. She said, "Rhonda, I told them that if they couldn't get me one just like that one I saw then I wasn't going to take it. It's got a hemi, I don't need that, but I had to take it to get all the chrome." This sounds just like my grandmother and something that I admire about her. She is determined to get what she wants. The funny thing about this story is that my grandmother being 85 years old, does not even drive. She hasn't driven in years, she buys the car and it sits at my parents house. Which was great for me considering that I flew down. I didn't mind breaking it in for her.
She only has one problem with the car. My grandmother has difficulty getting around, especially in and out of vehicles. She likes to go out to eat, and goes weekly to get her hair and nails done, so she gets out often. Her last car, which was a 300M had handles in the front passenger seat which made it easier for her to get in and out of the car. Unfortunately the 300c doesn't have them, but they do have them in the back seats. This of course upsets her, and she has informed me that she has written a letter to Chrysler headquarters to complain, and that she also plans on calling after the first of the year. She has a valid point, and a great suggestion. Hopefully there is a way that she can have one installed to help accomodate her. Other than that, she loves the new car.
I gotta love my grandmother!!!
Edit: I spoke with someone about the handles and they said that the car came with an option for side passenger airbags, which is what my grandmother got. She said that she wanted a car just like the one, she didn't realize that she could have opted to not have it put in. The side airbags run along the section of the car where the handle would have been placed, because of this there is no way to mount the handle there. Too bad she didn't know this ahead of time. Lesson learned, make sure you know exactly what you are purchasing before you make the purchase.
Christmas journal #31
Trying to play catch up here. This was a pretty quick one. The sparkle is with the paper, which has silver stars. Also I used silver emblossing powder to make the snowflakes.Script reads:
Life is a
canvas,
no one can
Paint it
but
You.
This year at the stroke
of midnight I welcomed the
New Year in my
Dreams!
canvas,
no one can
Paint it
but
You.
This year at the stroke
of midnight I welcomed the
New Year in my
Dreams!
I am usually sound asleep when the New Year comes. This year the kids woke me up when the ball dropped to wish me a Happy New Year and give me hugs & kisses. Even though I can't manage to stay awake, what a nice way to welcome the New Year, with love from my kids.
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