Blog envy?

My life is hardly that exciting and I don’t write all that well. But last night I had a bit of blog envy. I was reading over at Because I said so and noticed her kids do lots of funny things. In fact, I was reading aloud to my 11 yo ds and my hubby about all the shennanigans going on at her house. They were roaring with laughter! It was good to hear Phil laugh. He needs more of it these days. While I was reading, Caleb and Phil were playing with the dog. He, Jack the dog, was wound up. He was playing his version of fetch with the guys. Well Caleb decided to try and block Jack from coming back into the bedroom, where we were all at, with pillows and his body in the doorframe. Like that would work with a dog that can jump 5 feet straight up in the air and bounds through the yard like a bunny on steriods! It didn’t. No surprise there. After all was said and done, Caleb said you should blog about how I tried to keep Jack out of the room.

Umm, somehow it just doesn’t compare to Spaz grabbing a squirrel by the tail!

Yeah, we are just a barrel of laughs around here.

Last night was Open House for Jake. I have already called for the IEP revision meeting. Should be next week sometime. I have a lot of work to do for it. I have to gather all my info and put down on paper his specific needs. I think they will work with us for most of them. I think the biggest issue will be having him do all homework at school. Last night he worked for 90 minutes and had my help and still did not finish.

That’s it. Nothing more. No kids making messes or anything crazy like that. I think I like it that way. Oh yeah, my friend Toby won an award for her blog. Take a look.

Time to update on me and being bipolar…

For those who don’t know, I have bipolar type 2. It’s a more milder form of bipolar but still brings with it issues of mood swings and such. I am not an extremist in the moods. Mostly I get irritable and crabby when I am in hypomania and I get weepy during any depressed cycles. I am pretty stable now and have been for about 9 months. I take my meds regularly and see my counselor and doctor as scheduled. I have a good sleep habit and I need to develop a good daily routine now that school is back in session.
Just yesterday I saw my pdoc. He said it’s time to wean off of Seroquel and only be on Depakote. This is good news. Seroquel is the one that makes me gain weight and hard to lose weight. It can contribute to blood sugar and cholesterol trouble but I don’t have any of that, thank God! My genes are good in that way. So I am going to take a bit more Depakote, 750 mg daily and less Seroquel, 50 mg daily for the next 2 months. Then I will begin the next phase of weaning off Seroquel. Hopefully this is a good move. Time will tell. Another interesting thing for me is that when I get into a chemical depression, I get an ammonia smell in my nostrils. I mentioned that to the pdoc yesterday and he found it very interesting. I have to now go back and read through my blog or search it out and find out when I would jot down having that smell. He also wants me to call him the next time I experience the “smell”. Ok, not a problem.
So I am feeling good now and doing well. There are a ton of stressful issues going on but I am handling it all well. I am off the Xanax completely and can use it as needed for panic or anxiety. I hope to not have to use it but I will if need be. I know I am in this place of healing because of the prayers of people I know and because the Lord has wonderful plans for me.

Contest and other stuff…

I found this contest today for a free NEW HP photo printer. Go take a look at this site, 5MinutesforMom, and enter to win!!!

I gotta say that while looking over Laura’s organizing site, I found lots of great ideas. You can too. And I hope to be able to get some more organizing going on around my own home soon. I didn’t realize that so many blogs out there deal with helpful hints for the home. Here is another really cool site. It’s called Brocante Home. Lots of cool graphics and there is a printable home planner there. I would print it out but I am better with computer planners.

This is another funny mom blog site. Mom2my6pack is super real and funny. She recently had an ebay auction for some Pokemon cards her kids snuck into her shopping cart while at the store. It garnered a lot of attention due to her writing style. She has a lot of humor.

Ok, there are 3 sites for you to look over this morning. Enjoy!

Menu Plan Monday….

Thanks to MJ for inspiring me to do this and to Laura at Organizing Junkie for the idea!

Monday-Oven Fried Chicken, fried potatoes, brown rice and grilled portobello mushrooms

Tuesday-Tuna Noodle Casserole(Dairyfree), peas-just wanted to update and post the recipe.

3 cans of tuna in water, drained

2 cans of Golden Mushroom soup-it’s dairy free

16 oz. cooked egg noodles-med. or wide

crushed potato chips

Mix all and put in casserole. Top with chips and maybe add a little veggie cheese shreds. Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes.

My kids all liked it.My hubby did too even though he isn’t a big tuna fan.

Wednesday-Meatloaf, mashed taters, corn, fruit

Thursday-Leftovers and Hot Pockets

Friday-Waffles and Sausage

Saturday-Air Show food!

Sunday-Sandwiches and chips

Making the rounds

I was making my rounds this morning of all the blogs I read. I have a lot in my list but there are some favorites. Imagine my surprise to find Sonshine has a link to mine on her blog! Wow, someone actually wants to link to me. Cool! I know this is a crazy blog but I lead a crazy life. The boys started school today. And being the first day, no one slept in. I guess that’s good. But man was my house a hoppin’ today at 6:30 AM. Phil and Lauren both had to be at work this morning and then add both boys cause Caleb wasn’t going to sleep in on the first day and all, and the place was busy. I got some coffee and took a seat. No one really even needed me for anything. The boys and Phil packed their own lunches. The only requirement of me was to make sure the right clothes were clean and ironed if needed and then the all important good-bye kisses and hugs. Yep, even my boys still want them. Jake thought I should wait for the bus with him but I told him he might be teased. There are middleschoolers and highschoolers on his bus. So he settled for knowing I was watching him through the window. Caleb was fine all morning until it was time to actually go out for the bus. He suddenly got a tummy ache. He was fine though. I said just don’t think about it and go out and talk to Hannah, his best friend.
So today I have updated my online calendar, still figuring out how to make it give me reminders that I will see! I have to finish some laundry, putting away and washing some towel loads. I need to clean up the kitchen and the other rooms too. I need to plan some dinner menus for the week. I think I will try to start doing this weekly, but hey, don’t hold your breath. You will most likely die before I get to it!

Life stinks again…

Life is hitting us hard. Phil hates his job. I hate dealing with a moody bullying kid and I hate dealing with daily crap. I wish I could just fix it all but I know that’s not my job. It’s God’s. How come he seems so far off right now? I am so tired. Phil is tired. How long can we go on under this stress? How long can he work at that job before his body shuts down completely? I wish the Lord would move a little faster here. If you read this, I would appreciate a note saying that you are praying for us. We could really use it now. Thanks.

Haircuts…

Today Caleb is getting a haircut! A real style this time around. He is going from this…. He is on the left….

To possibly this….

More later…

The end result….

Tadaaaa!!!

Anger…

I am so angry right now. I can’t stand my son. He drives me up a wall. All he has been doing is eating eating eating carbs! It’s just sickening. He sneaks it behind my back. No more free grazing. He won’t be allowed to eat unless I am right there if he keeps this up. I am so frustrated right now. He is constantly bullying his brother. He annoys the crap out of everyone on purpose. I hate it!! I don’t know what to do with this kid! We had an appointment with his counselor this week to discuss getting him diagnosed but she can’t meet this week. Her mom is dying. Who knows when we can reschedule as we don’t want to push her. But we need to do something. This kid just keeps pushing the buttons. My throat hurts worse now after yelling at him. I know it’s not good to yell, but I lost it. I had a sore throat already and now I have aggrivated it. At least I can dump here and it’s safe. I can’t see dumping on Phil as he is stressed as it is. I am really tired of all the crap. Really.

From the photoshoot…

I will only leave this up a few days since it was done by the professional and I want to respect her work. So here is one picture that Elizabeth didn’t smile in. But the face she is making is what she does when she hoots like an owl. I am trying to come up with a nickname for her but h00ters is out! lol….

Red-headed baby…

Yep, that’s what we have for a grandbaby! She is a cutie and has this wonderful red hair. It’s amazing how much love you can have for a baby. They are so soft and sweet and smell nice. Even when they drool on you! Here are some pictures from this past weekend.

Baby mowhawk!

Baby and me!

My, what big eyes you have!!!