*Sniff* *Sniff* :,(

Today I continue to cry, lick my wounds....

                                                            
                                                   ...and ask myself WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?!

There Is A New Cyber Addiction In Town!!!

 First I LOVED blogging.  I loved reading blogs, making bloggy friends and living in my blog world.  As a stay at home mom I laughed at the comic which stated, "I love my computer, all my friends are in it."  That somewhat sadly described me!
Then I was introduced to Facebook!  That was my new daily dose of cyber-crack!  It was fun hooking up with distant family, and friends I had lost contact with since High School!  Each day I stopped and checked the computer to see who said what, who posted a new pic or just to see what scandalous news was happening in the area.  Now, years later...it's getting old.

Enter my new addiction.....PINTEREST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Really?! You Have Got To Be Kidding!!!!!!!!!!!!

SNOW?!?!?! I am tired of precipitation.  I am so tired of rain!  I even stopped carrying an umbrella.  It seems like wet hair, wet jackets, wet clothes and wet shoes have become an everyday reality for MONTHS!  Now the weather forecasters are calling for SNOW!  Ugh!  I give up!  I can honestly say.....I look forward to a nice drought year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow! It's Been Awhile! This Might Be Why.......

Wow! It has been over a year since I last posted.  It's honestly hard to believe it has been that long!  When I think about it, it makes sense.  I last posted in August  2010.  The end of summer ran directly into the chaos of school starting which was followed by an ill Fall for myself.

The beginning of September my world began to feel, well....crooked.  An extremely odd feeling of motion (when nothing was moving) along with a feeling of constantly being on my side (even when standing) became a constant for me.  It was a bizarre feeling which created a sense of panic.  The doctors thought it was vertigo due to a possible disturbance in my inner ear.  The thought was it should pass within two weeks. Two weeks later the same feeling remained.  A follow-up appointment led me to an MRI which found lesions on my brain which matched the pattern of MS (Multiple Sclerosis).  A spinal-tap backed-up the finding of the MRI.  A second MRI, 3 months after the first, found new lesions.  On December 29, 2010 I received a positive diagnosis of MS. 

I've stumbled over my right foot multiple times over the years.  I just assumed it was because I'm not exactly a coordinated person.  The tingling sensation in my right leg, located ONLY on the inner, front side ONLY from my knee to my ankle....a pinched nerve.....right?  Occasional weakness in my hands?  I'm a busy mom of 3.  I'm TIRED.  No......all signs of MS that I overlooked and excused away.  Then again, as I stated before......I'm BUSY!  I never gave these "symptoms" much thought, it was just the normal life of a busy, working mom.

After diagnosis came the treatment decisions.  I chose Avonex.  It's a once a week inter-muscular (IM) injection.  I chose Avonex due to it's proven 15+ years on the market, I had the ability to speak with patients who have used this drug and "liked" it and it only needs administered once-a-week.  The downside to all MS medications.......side effects and injections.   I learned how to inject the medication myself.  Almost a year later I still DREAD the task.  I inject on Friday evenings so the flu-like symptom side effects do not interfere with working.  Unfortunately, that means FUN Friday nights are out and Saturday AM is spent in a fog.  Ugh!

So......it has been a year since the "craziness" began, 10 months since the diagnosis and 9 months since treatment began.  Here is what I have learned.....
Needles, no matter how many times you use them, are NEVER fun.
Just the sight of a sharps container can bring on sudden nausea.
I have an AMAZING support system in my family and friends...they are there to back me up when the world gets a little *ahem* sideways.
As a mom of 3.....I HAVE NO TIME FOR MS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Photo Finds

Recently, while cleaning, I found several rolls of film.  I had a few developed and found several very cute photos.  It's bittersweet to look back and see the boys as wee-ones.  Ella has spent the morning yelling, "Where am I? Is that me?"  Nope, it was life before Ella was even thought of!  Mom, Dad and Wendy... I needed a tissue.  You might just want to have one on hand. :)

Make your own slideshow

PS. Mom,thanks for the suprise photo drop!

What happened to those sweet little boys?......

My Garden Guy

This week James just asked if we had enough cash for him to get a hoe and plants. 
Thank God I know my man well enough to know he ment these:

Instead of these:

                       

Feeding Time

Recently we've added a new addition to our family.  Yet another mouth to feed....well actually mouths.  Apparently 3 kids, 3 dogs, geckos and a hamster weren't enough.  Now we have a venus fly trap!  Not only is it a carnivorous plant, it is apparently a "special" plant.  Explanation of  "special"....it doesn't catch FLIES!  We found the plant during a recent trip to our local nursery.  The kids were checking it out, which led to the following conversation:

Kids: Does it really catch flies?
Me: I guess so.?
Kids: Can we get it?
Me: No!
Kids: Aw, common Mom! Why not?!
Me: What are we going to do during the winter?  It will die...there are no flies around here in the winter!
(Enter "helpful" Garden Guy): You can feed it small meal worms during the winter.
Kids: We have meal worms for the gecko!

Great now I really had no excuse, other than just plain "No, Because I said so!" Plus, I was kind of curious....would it actually eat flies?   Short answer....NO! Our "special" fly trap is apparently incapable of catching flies!  Since it has gone about 2 weeks without eating any "protein" my husband decided to feed it last evening.  The following pictures illustrate the horror which took place on our kitchen table last evening!

Do you see what is dangling from "mouth" on the left?!  A WORM!  James placed a worm in the mouth and it wriggled away while the mouth was closing! Eeeewwww!

Good-bye Mr. Meal worm! 

As of this morning both heads were still closed and the worms were completely inside.   GROSS!  I think I prefer the simple houseplants that prefer air, water and fertilizer over protein!  Yuck!

Relief!

As anyone can see, I had taken a L-O-N-G break from blogging. I didn't feel comfortable writing about an issue that had somewhat taken over our lives. For the past 6 months I (we) have been dealing with drama, threats, lies and uninvited home visits from individuals who can't understand the word NO! Even my kids were beginning to feel uncomfortable. Many nights when we would pull into the yard, they would see the mob at the end of the street....they knew who they were, the same people who came to our home. The same people they had seen me tell, VERY firmly to GO AWAY! The same people they "heard" terrible things about. Now here they were, camped out in what they thought was a "safe" place with "safe" people. However, after yesterday I am hoping our lives will return to normal. After a vote of 54-26, healing can hopefully begin, and life can return to what had been very peaceful.

Funny! Funny! Funny! (BEWARE: NASTY LANGUAGE!)

I know I've had days like the one documented here. Sadly, my mouth most likely sounded just as horrible too! Enjoy the following movie trailer in honor of bad days everywhere! I can't wait to see the movie! Check out the original out-takes on You Tube by searching "Original Winnebago Man".

Since I Last Posted.......

This free digital slideshow made with Smilebox

S*N*O*W & Lots Of It!

Here in the northeast we just had the best snow storm in years! My kids have finally gotten the chance to play in a DEEP snow they will remember. I love being snowed-in, it gives you a great excuse to kick back and relax. It's also gives you a great sense of community as everyone helps clear sidewalks, driveways and cars.

Now, while the kids are having a great time digging and playing in the snow, the dogs are thoroughly confused by it. Chelsea (our Rottweiler/German Shepard mix) is NOT happy about the deep snow and would prefer we just keep the door closed and ignore the white stuff. Sheldon (our Border Collie, Chow, Lab mix) is tolerating it, and Dexter (our spastic Jack Russell/Border Collie mix) is LOVIN' IT!!! Check out the video below. We were trying to get Dexter to leave the shallow snow in the walkway and enter the deep snow further in the yard. Doing so would have put the snow over his head. We bribed him with a soccer ball (his favorite toy), yet he still wouldn't go without a little help.





Here are a few other photos of our snowy day:

NBC Has Officially Lost It!

This is who the Tonight Show belongs to.



Look! It even says so in the photo! :)

But instead of giving the guy and honest shot, NBC has decided to do this:




Which makes me LOVE this:



Please watch to the end... it's just beautiful and so true!

New Camera!

We did it! We finally broke down and bought a new camera! :) Instead of punishing family, friends and fellow blog-readers with dull text-only posts, I've been avoiding blogging. Now the pics are back and the posts will follow!

New camera tests:

Ella's CHEESE!!!


Hayden's panoramic shot of our kitchen. Yes! The counters have been cleaned off since this pic was taken! :) Note, burgundy cupboards with pink and teal tile...you would think a sledge hammer to this room would be next on the list of home improvements. Sadly, it's third on the list! :(


Jim and his favorite kitchen accessory.... the coffee pot!


Hayden's strong man pose. :) LOVE IT!




We also had a family fondue/Wii party this weekend.....

Pap-paw playing Wii for the first time!

Food covered in chocolate.... the kids were in heaven!

Aunt Wendy and Baby Kenny (due end of April) enjoyed too!

Listen, Watch and Enjoy!

I recently realized an acquaintance from High School, Mark DeRose, has formed his own band. I lurked around his facebook page and his website trying to find out what his band was all about. I was amazed at what I found! I'm addicted to his music! I ordered his Hear to Listen CD and it has quickly become a family favorite in our car! I'm posting two videos from concerts. Enjoy! Oh, for more info. check out his website at http://www.marckderosemusic.com/

It's up!

Early? Nah. We're a artificial tree family. Due to our "shoebox-size" house, we needed a smaller tree this year. Last year we used the same tree we've used for the past 10 years. The tree is beautiful, but a bit big for our pinchy area. This week I happened to find this tree at Target. So.......

this weekend the boys made the mistake of whining " I'm B O R E D" too many times. Which meant they got the fun, fun job of assembling the tree!

As you can see Ella put her doll house away long enough to act as "tree assembly supervisor" :)
They truly did a great job. The branches were completely flat from being squished in the box, but Hayden spent nearly an hour shaping the tree.

Now, how can one have an assembled tree in their house and NOT decorate it?! So, James (such a good hubby) dug out the lights and put the lights on for me. I have NO patience for Christmas lights! Well, honestly neither does he, he's just much less vocal and hostile about it. :) And of course...once you have an assembled tree with lights you, of course, need ornaments. I hung a few and then the kids to put the rest of the ornaments and candy canes wherever they wanted. I don't think it turned out too bad!

Great job Hayden, Reid and Ella! Now, notice the tree has been placed between our lamp and dog beds. Between 3 kids and 3 dogs we'll have to wait and see how long the tree remains vertical! Thankfully it's small, light and durable! :)

FUNNY!!!!!!!!!!!

A girlfriend of my posted this on Facebook. It's so funny and VERY true....I had to share!

Photo Update : Whoopie Pie Festival, Soccer & Scouts

Make a Smilebox photobook

Day 2 & A Few Photos

So far day 2 has gone just as well as day 1! I was a bit worried about the new Kindergarteners starting today, but they did great! Not a single tear, some very wide eyes, but no tears!

As I was posting last evening, I found quite a few "odd and end" photos on the camera. I've posted a few of these pics below. Ella chose the slide show theme, so please excuse the fluttering butterflies! :)

Oh, for those who may be wondering about the BIG aloe at the end, click here for the background story.

Enjoy!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

We Made It!!!!!!!

Well, the first day of school went off with out a hitch! All went well, but it was truly an exhausting day for all involved. Hayden and Reid both had a great first day and the bus runs (amazingly) went GREAT! Although, it would be helpful if the bus didn't become an oven on days over 80 degrees! Here are a few first day pics:



We left the house around 6:15 am to get to the bus on time. Yeah, it's dark at 6:15 AM! :(


Hayden excited about day 1!


Reid a little less excited and just a bit nervous; however, he left the bus with a big grin!

Tomorrow the Kindergarten kids will have their first day. This doesn't effect my own children; however, it should make the bus run VERY interesting. I'm expecting tears and cameras! :)

Tomorrow Is The Big Day!!!!!!!!!!!

Tomorrow it is officially back to school and back to work! For the past few years I have cherished this day. I would walk the kids to the bus stop and stand there blinking back tears as I took pictures and waved at them through the bus windows. Now this year, Mama drives the bus! I began driving last January, the school year was obviously well underway. In June I had a teary last day. I knew it was the last time Hayden would be riding my bus. This year he will be attending the "intermediate" school, a 4-6 building. I drive for the "primary" school, a K-3 building. So, on our first day I'll get to have my 3 together on my High School run. Then during our layover, Hayden will leave my bus to get on the intermediate bus. (Insert tears here) I will then, 45 min. later, drop Reid off at school for his first day in 2nd grade. (Insert tears here, again) I'll be sure to post pics tomorrow. I just can't believe they are in 4th and 2nd already! It seems like only 2 years ago I was walking Hayden into school for his first day in Kindergarten. Now here he is changing schools, riding new buses, and being "big". It's the same with Reid. Wasn't he in Kindergarten last year?! I swear I'm missing a whole year! If I think about it, I know I've been there, but truly, time goes too fast. Well, say a prayer and wish us luck! Tomorrow we return to reality!

Side note: Ella will be starting Pre-K in September. I'm sure there will be plenty of tears shed then too. My baby is only one year away from Kindergarten!!!!!