November Calendar

Happy Birthday to Tom, Happy Birthday to Tom, Happy Birthday to Thomas, Happy Birthday to Tom!!! Wishing a Happy 12th Birthday to my #2 son, Thomas today!!! You are SUCH a great kid, my dear!!! Love you lots and lots and lots!!!

Hey there peeps :) Did you have a good Friday? Mine was pretty good. Busy, and good. But definitely busy.

Amanda had asked me last night if I'd come to her doctors appointment in the morning. She had found a lump on a self exam, and wanted it checked out. So this was the exam. And I was moral support. Cause we all need support, you know. And she said we needed to leave after the bus stop. At least that's what she'd told me on Facebook messenger last night.

I got up at normal time, and got Jake ready for Seminary, then headed out. I was almost out of gas, so when I dropped him off, I headed down the road a ways, and bought a few dollars worth. Cause if I bought my gas on post, I could get a free Butterfingers. So I didn't wanna fill up here. Sad, I know. LOL.

I was gonna go to Walmart and look for Trash cans, but decided against it. I went back to the church, and played on my phone for a bit, and rested my eyes for about 10 minutes. Then it was time for Jake to come out. They were about 10 minutes early.

We headed home, and I got the kids ready for school. We had family prayer, and got Tom off to the bus. And I got myself ready for Amandas doctor appointment. I picked out long socks, and a long denim skirt, and a long sweater, some gloves and scarf. Oh yeah, I was gonna be warm. hehe.


We got the kids on the bus, I left directions for Jake to get on the bus, and we headed out to Amanda's appointment early. We figured that if we were there a little early, they'd probably be able to get us in early. They have in the past :)

Because, you see, she didn't remember texting with me last night. Because she'd taking sleeping pills. ROFL! So she was texting under the influence. And her appointment wasn't until 8:45am. So, we DIDN'T have to leave right after the bus!

Check out how cool the gloves are. I called them my texting gloves. hehe. Cause you can't use a touch screen phone with gloves on. It just doesn't work, you know...
We didnt' wait too long before the nurse came out to take Amanda back. I went back to the little room with her too. And then the doctor came in. And yeah, of course, me being me, I noticed the little black bug (ant) crawling on the floor right away. hehe. I managed to snap a picture of it WITH the doctor. hehe. She never did notice it. LOL!
After the doctors appointment, we headed over to the Housing office. Amanda had to put in a 30 day notice. They're PCS'ing to FT Sill in Dec. There's a lot of paperwork thta goes along with an Army move, you know :) I'm taking notes for when we have to do it - heheh.

Anyway, we chatted with the ladies there, and found out that one of the housing lists had over 900 people on it. HOLY CRAP! That's a ridiculous amount of people on a waiting list!!! After filling out her papers, we swung by the PX for about 25 minutes.

We went inside and checked out the Miche stand. I need a brown shell to complete by purse collection. But the chickie doesn't have one. I'll keep looking :)

Then we went to the pX to look for a large metal trash can with lid, and yeah, they didn't have a large enough one. Cause we're trashy people. hehe. Just kidding :P Dang, I'm feeling super tired right now. I hope I can get though this post - hehe.

Focus. Just a tad bit longer. Oh dang! Looking at the clock, it's almost 11:30! THAT'S why I'm sleepy! It's WAY past my bedtime!!!

I also wanted to get some light bulbs at the PX, but they only had 71 watt bulbs. And I like 100 Watt ulbs. So I'd wait for Walmart or somewhere else. And soon, it was time to go and pick up the rest of the girls. Hallmark was doing another Greeting Cards give away. We were collecting the girls and going to Freedom Crossing to collect a bag of cards.

We went back to my house, and grabbed my suburban. Amanda and I went and picked up Kari, then Kim and her son, then Julia, and then Veronica. And off to the PX we went! We ended up with a WHOLE bag of greeting cards! Score it :)

We went into the Food Court after that, and a few of the girls got food to take home or to school. And then we headed up to the school. We were a few minutes in the Kinders lunch, but I still made it in time to eat with Jimmy. He seemed pleased that I was there to eat with him.

He finished up, and headed out to recess. Between the time that he went to play on the playground and Joe got there, I got in line and got myself a salad. And yeah, a little salad and a little baggie of grapes cost $4. Seriously? That's Highway robbery! I'll remember that for next time...

Here's a pic of Joe at lunch. He was starving. He ate all his food, plus 1/3 of Josephines and Leo's, plus some of Amanda's chinese, plus 1/2 of my grapes. And a few other things. Plus his pockets were stuffed with candy. ha! Silly kid! Sometimes that Kid is a bottomless pit :) Must be nice!
Joe headed out, and Eme came in. She had lunch, and soon she was headed out too. It was kinda a fast and furious lunch hour today. I don't know if that was us or the kids, but it seemed a little rushed today. Maybe it was just us? Who knows :)

We dropped a few people off at their cars, or to change clothes/get hiking shoes, and went hiking in the mountains. And that was a SUPER good time! Kim and her 4th grader and me and Kari and Julia all went Hiking. It was a GORGEOUS day!

The hike was very short, but very uphill all at once. so I think it was good. ha! Poor Kim's 4th grader. He's bi-polar, and had a melt down. Kari and I and Julia all have "special needs" kids at home. We know about melt downs. They come at random, unpredictible times. You can't control it. You can't always predict it. You just have to ride it out. And not make a big deal about it. And just let it pass on it's own.

And she did. It wasn't a big deal. We would have never even have known something had been wrong had she not told us. Kim's a real pro when it comes to handling meltdowns. hehe :) You are my hero, you know!

We loaded up after the hike, and headed back to post. But first, here's a few pics that we snapped on the trail.

We loaded up, and headed home. We dropped Kim off at her house, and parked at the but stop. And decided to just stay and chat and visit. Because we never see each other, you know... We never get enough social time in with each other. ROFL!

Tom got off the bus at 3:15pm, and I had him hurry home and get changed. He was going on a field trip with the 11 year old Boy Scouts. They were going shooting at the range. Sweet! They will totally love. I was supposed to have Tom at the church at 4pm.

So as soon as the kids get off at the 4pm, I load everyone up in the Suburban at 3:45pm, and drop Tom off. And just head right back home. I was totally gonna go to Walmart, but my head was SO killing me. I think it was a tension heachade. But I'm not sure.

I finally got home, took some Excederine Migraine, an Imitrex, and laid down for about an hour. And woke up sleepy, and still feeling a bit crappy. But a tad bit better. But just a tad. Hmpf!

I texted Tom, and he still wasn't done. He had said around 6pm, and that was still about 30 minutes away. We hung out around the house for another 30 minutes. Check out Eme and her funny face!







At a little after 6:30pm, I decided it was time to go and get Tom. And I asked his leader if he could drop Tom off at the Dollar Tree on Dyer. Cause if I was gonna have to wait, I might as well get some shopping in, right? hehe. And who doesn't like the Dollar Tree.

Check out the AWESOME photos that my friend, Misti, took of the boys' trip to the range!!! I found these on her Facebook page tonight :)




Jumping around a tad, sorry. Check it out. Joe wanted to go and play in the vacant lot. This is how he wanted to dress. LOL And then we had to go and pick up Tom. And I didn't feel comfortable leaving him at home with Jake. Sometimes I do. Sometimes I don't. Today was a "don't". It just depends on the day and the temperament of all the kid. Today was definitely a don't. Anyway, I just had Joe and Jim hop in the truck, and we headed out to pick up Tom. Eme is big enough to stay by herself for a little bit. She's 10 now. And Jake is too. It's good having older kids, you know :)
We got to the Dollar Tree, and found some glow sticks. I found 6 packs. With connecter parts. That turned into bracelets. So I bought 5 packets. But looking back, I think they had 12 to a pack. Because I ended up with a buttload of bracelets. hehe.

And I bought flashlights. Little things, but they seemed the most sturdy of the Dollar Tree flashlights. They took 3 AAA batteries. Not too bad, for Dollar Tree.

And soon Tom was there. Woohoo! He'd had a TON of fun. We paid, and headed back home. We got to the vacant lot, parked, and started filling flashlights with batteries. Terra came to see what we were doing, but her girls were ready for bed. Amanda's Austin was already in bed ,but she came to hang with the girls.

Kari and Leo came to hang with us, but Josephine needed to clean her room. Kim was gonna come and hang, but couldn't find her 13 year old. He was supposed to call after school, but didn't. Middle schoolers... hehe. I know all about that age group. LOL. She had to go and track him down. Then she came over and hung with her Kindergardner and 4th grader. The boys were SUPER happy when they got there.

And then Julia came. She and her hubby and kids had gone out to dinner tonight. He was in the field this week, and had come home for the weekend. After dinner, he'd gone home to go straight to bed. So she'd come to play with us. Sounded good to us :) We sat and let the kids play whatever it was they were play until around 9:30pm. Or even later. I don't know how late it was. It was a great evening, though.

Not too cold, everyone was getting along for the most part (kids - ha!), and we were all having a blast! Here's a few silly photos of me.

See, I shouldn't be trusted with a camera AND a flashlight. hehe. Eventually, the party had to end. hehe. We gathered up our stuff and our kids, and headed home. Mine at home were watching Star Trek and playing on laptops.

Jim and I sat on my couch and watched an episode of Warehouse 13 while I blogged. It's now almost midnight. I'm SO tired. I need sleep. Lots and lots of sleep. hehe. We are going bowling for Cub Scouts in the morning. But I wanna sleep in first. And Joe has a pizza party, and Tom has a zoo field trip. Should be a good day :) And, the clocks get moved tomorrow. So we get more sleep on Sunday! Score it!!!! Oh yeah, baby!!!

Click on the link below to go to my account to download the PNG file, and leave some love if you like my work. thanks!

4shared
box.net

Cool Thanksgiving layout, Sharon! Loving it! You did a fantastic job on this one :)

Butterfinger

Lots of new releases this week, girls!!! I hope you like them!!! Click HERE to go to the store to go and pick them up. Make a single file line, and remember, no pushing or shoving, there's plenty for all! Use your best manners and indoor voices. hehe :)

OK, for some reason, blogger changed.  And didn't ask my permission.  Or maybe it did.  Maybe it was that one button that I pushed.  About trying the new blogger look.  Maybe I don't wanna try the new blogger...  It reminds me of Wordpress.  And I don't use Wordpress because i don't know how to use Wordpress.  And I don't have the patience to learn it.  Now, if someone were to sit down with me and show me, I'd learn it.

Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself...  So I took an Ambien last night when I went to bed.  And I woke up to the VERY faint sound of my alarm going off.  In the distance.  It had somehow fallen in the crack between the bed and the wall.  I had to pull the bed out to retrieve it.  LOL!  By the time I finally got the phone and turned it off, I was totally awake.  hehe.

I got Jake up, and we drove to Seminary.  It was only 39 degrees outside.  SUPER cold for me.  I've become climatized to El Paso.  And El Paso is supposed to be warm!  Oh well.  It's only a few months out of the year, and my car's heater works very well...

I have no idea why Jake thinks I'm strange...

So I bundled up, and off we went.  We listened to scriptures all the way to Seminary, then I went back to sleep.  And was startled awake by Jake when Seminary was over.  And we drove back to post.  We had family prayer before Tom went off to the bus, then I got Jim and Joe and Eme ready for the bus.  And the bus was SUPER early today!  My kids barely made it!  Dang!

Suzanne gave me a ride back from the bus stop, and I got Jake ready for school.  I laid on the couch for a few minutes (30 really), and then my hubby was on Skype.  Really, I could have napped for an hour.  But I was glad to chat with my man.

And he really did have some good points to bring up.  He was concerned with some security points.  About our families security.  And his security in the Army.  With his job.  And all that I blog.  And how much his name and information is out there.  

So, in order to protect his privacy, he will no longer be named.  I know that most of you know his name, so he will no longer go by that name, ok.  He will now be Captain America.  hehe.  It was gonna be Edward Cullen.  You are lucky, my dear.  Very lucky.  Very very lucky.  hehe :)  So, when referring to my sweetheart, please call him by his "new" name, Captain America.  Not his old name.  The name that will get him in trouble.  The name that might show up on Google searches.  

I'm "hiring" people to go back through old blog posts and such to change the names from XXXXXXXX to Captain America.  Will that work with Google search?  It should, right?  I'm not sure how such things work...

Anyway, we had quite the heated discussion a few times.  He suggested that I just stop blogging.  I suggested that he take a long walk off a short pier.  OK, so maybe we didn't say those exact words to each other.  hehe.  But you get the idea.  I'm hoping that the Captain America solution works.  We shall see...

So by the time I got off the computer with Captain America, I didn't have time to cook anything for the Pure Romance party I was going to at Amanda's house.  Crap!  I was gonna make Ginger Snaps.  I hate showing up with no food.  Oh well.  Next time.  

So I loaded up in the car, and headed over.  It was a fun party.  Kari was the consultant, and Amanda was the hostest.  Kim  D was there, and Kim U was there with her friend.  Liz from the Pool was there, and Veronica came late.  Terra was there, and Julia was there.  It was a fun group.

We had some yummy food, and a fun time socializing, and a fun time playing games and joking around and looking at products.  Here's me with my bag of "treasures"...

Me and my goodies

 

 

I was trying to carry my soda AND 5 chairs to the vacant lot at the end of the block...  maybe I should have driven...

Jake gave Boxer a bath, and wanted a picture with him.  Cause he's nice and shiny.  Boxer, not Jake :)

Seriously, I don't know how to work this new  blogger.  It's giving me fits.  I'm just gonna leave all these pictures, and finish blogging.  I can't add comments, and junk.  Whatever.  So after the party, we all headed to the bus stop to get the kids.  We were supposed to go and take the kids to the ice rink to skate, but my kids hadn't gotten their rooms cleaned, so I wasn't gonna take them.  And I guess no one else wanted to go without me.  hehe.  Or maybe it had just been a long day for everyone else too.  hehe.  I bet that was it :P

Anyway, we all headed home, and I made my kids clean.  Tom's room was a major mess, so he had to go and clean it.  Jim and Joe were put to work cleaning theirs.  Eme went to work on hers.  Jake's was messy, but his is so small that it doesn't take long.  So he took Boxer on a walk when he first got home.

And I started in on loading my store when I first got home from the  bus.  Good to be ahead on the work, you know :)  Don't wanna put it off till the last second, you know - ha!

By around 6pm, my younger boys had cleaned about all they could handle.  Their room was still a bit messy, but was as cleaned as they were gonna get it.  So we grabbed some camp chairs, and headed down to the vacant lot at the end of the street to play.  We'd asked an MP the other day if kids could play down there.  And he'd said yes, as long as the kids were supervised.  

Kari and Julia met us down there.  And Kim ended up down there too.  It was a good time playing down there.  It's more like what we used to do as kids.  Just go and play.  And get dirty.  And make up games.    And play pretend.  And have "clubs" and such.  It's a great time for kids.  Except our parents didn't sit in lawn chairs and supervise us.  I don't know what our moms did.  hehe.  

We stayed until arouind 7:30pm, then we called it a night.  IT was super dark, and was starting to get a bit chilly.  We headed home, and made plans to meet the girls in the morning.  Friday is eat lunch with the kids day, and they were doing another Greet card give away day.  Should be a good time!  Plus, we get to hike again :)  Oh yeah!  I'm super excited!  I love me some hiking!

Also, I'm going with Amanda to the doctors in the morning. She found a lump the other day.  And needs to get it checked out.  Lumps are not good.  Not good at all :(  Wishing you luck, my dear...  Pray for my friend...  Send good thoughts her way!

Click on the link below to go to my account to download the PNG file, and leave some love if you like my work. Thanks!

4shared
box.net

Oops, dropping the plate would TOTALLY be something that I'd do - hehe. Thanks for the layout, Sharon! Great one :)

Bun in the Oven

Morning. So, we skipped Seminary this morning. Jake had therapy. And I figured that we could all use the sleep. We woke up at 6:45 am, and got Tom off on the bus at 7am. And got Joe and Jim dressed. It's so nice that Eme and Tom get themselves ready for school. SO nice!

I walked the kids over to the bus stop, and visited with Maggie! She's was finally back from California! She gave me a ride back home (cause it's SUCH a long walk... hehe), and we ended up chatting in front of my house for about 20 minutes. They had had a great trip, but were super happy to be home.

I came inside and chatted with my mom on the phone for a few minutes, then got ready for Jake's therapy appointment. And woke him up and got him ready too. And we headed out. We got there right at 9am, and spent the whole time talking about last nights episode. Hopefully she put some of the "fear of God" into him. Cause he sure needed it. She said that we really should have called the police. What would have happened had he broken through the glass door and hurt someone? Would have I really wanted that on my conscience that I could have done something earlier to have prevented that? Good point...

But then, I don't want him going to Juvie, either. I know that would be HORRIBLE for him. I want him to start making better choices. But I know that something that he needs to do. It's not something that I can do for him. Know what I mean?

We were back in the car, and on our way back to post by 10am. He'd forgotten his meds, so we swung by the house to get them before taking him to school. I dropped him off at Austin High School, then I headed back home.

I snapped a few pictures of my downstairs bathroom to show y'all. Looks good, huh? You like it?

I sat down on my computer, and did some emails, and designed my last pack for the week. And watched an episode of Warehouse 13. And talked with my inlaws for about an hour. They had read the blog in the morning, and called while I was at therapy. So I called back when I got home, and we'd chatted about life. They're great people. I kinda like 'em a lot, you know. hehe ;)

And soon, it was time to get ready for the movie. Kari and I and Erin (remember her from Jimmy's pre-school bus stop!!!) were gonna go and see Apollo 18 at the Dollar theater. I was excited. It looked like a good and spooky movie! I like spooky movies.

Kari picked me up, and we headed on over to the theater. It was good to see Erin. We hadn't seen her in ages! She was lookin' good! I liked the movie. I don't know if the other girls did or not, but i thought it was pretty good. It was filmed in a kind of raw footage style. Kind of "Cloverfield" style. I enjoyed it. And it made me jump. And I found myself wanting to talk to the movie. And warn it. And give it advice. hehe. But I held my tongue. But had I been at home, I TOTALLY would have been talking to it. ha! So if you are super nerdy like me, you'd totally love the movie. hehe.

We headed home after the movie, and Kari dropped me off. And here's the lovely mess that Boxer had waiting for me :)
Did I pick it up? Um, nope. It's so not my dog. And SO not my chore... Jake now is in charge of the trash, the floor, and still the dog. So it's triply his responsibility to pick up the mess. Yeah, there was nothing wet or sticky in there, so I was totally gonna wait for him to clean it up!

Tom got home at 3:15, and at 3:20, I headed to the bus stop to get the little kids. At 3:40, the bus got there, and at 3:50, Eme and I headed to Logan SKIES for her first Piano Lessons. She was SO excited! I dropped her off, and sat in the car. And my phone was dying! I was so sad. Luckily, it held a charge long enough to get through the hour. But it died as soon as the hour was up. And my car won't charge it anymore. I don't know why...

Anyway, I went in to get Eme, cause she was being slow. She had a few books that she needed to purchase (they were optional, but she was SO excited about getting them, I couldn't say no). And I'd called Tom to find out the make/model of our keyboard so I could order a new power cord for it. We'd lost our old one. There's a new one coming in the mail. Should have done that a long time ago...It'll be here soon...

The last thing I was able to do before my phone completely died was send a text to Kari asking her to pick up Jim and take him to the game. Thank goodness, too, because I still needed to swing by the Youth Center and pick up Jake and his Backpack that he'd left there last night! And it was already 5:10. And the game started at 5:30. Yeah, we were running late. Again.

We finally got Jake, and got home around 5:35. And Eme got changed. And we got her some food. Joe and Jim had gotten picked up by Kari and were at the game. I changed into some warm clothes because the sun had gone down. And Eme grabbed her homework. Tom was put to work on his bedroom. It was super messy. Jake spent some time with Boxer. And cleaned up the kitchen mess. My poor phone was put on the charger. I'd have to get along without it for an evening :(

And off we went, to the last 2 soccer games of the season. By the time we finally got there, there were only about 15 minutes left of Jimmy's game. Which was fine with me. It was getting cold. Joe came and snuggled with me and a blanket. It was chilly! Eme worked on her homework for a little bit, then went and joined her team when her coach got there. Her game was a little later.

And soon, Jim's game was over, we did the tunnel, and we all headed inside for the trophies and the pizza party. Here's a few pictures that Kari snapped for me. Thanks, Kari!
Jim and Josephine could totally be siblings, huh? hehe :)
We stayed inside and hung out for quite a while. When all the parents finally started to leave, we decided that we should move outside to watch Eme's game. It was already about 20 minutes into it. We headed outside into the cold. And by cold I mean mid 50's. Like super freezing. Like if you didn't have on a winter jacket you were gonna FREEZE to death cold. hehe. Joe went and ran around with some kids, but Jim and I were snuggled up under a blanket, freezing our butts off. And we couldn't take it anymore, so we finally moved inside. Sorry, Eme. We tried. But we couldn't hack it. We're not cut out for winter...

We went inside, and Joe worked on his homework. And Jim just kinda was loud. And went and played with some 3-4 year olds who were done with their awards ceremony. He didn't care. He wasn't cold, and he was running around. Worked for me.

And soon, Eme's team was done, and they had come back inside for their awards ceremony. We moved into the next room, and the coach did his LONG speech, and passed out trophies, and pizza, and more speeches, and such. I was SO tired and ready to go home. I didn't have my camera phone, and I was feeling a bit out of it. I just wanted to go home. But we stayed so Eme could be with her team. And eat and have fun and "party" with them. Eventually it was over, and we were able to go home. Thank goodness!

We got home, and I gave Jimmy a fast shower, and got the kids all to bed. Eme finished up her homework, and Jake took the dog for a walk and showered. Tom was still working on his room. I'd had to go upstairs earlier in the evening to look at a smoke detector, and his room was TRASHED! Yeah, he's on probation until the room gets cleaned.... Slacker!

Here's Jake and I, right before he went to sleep. He came in to give me one more hug, and wanted his picture taken with me. He's being sweet today :)

So, after the kids were in bed, I started blogging. And here it is, 9:35pm. I'm sleepy. And my neck and shoulders hurt. I know it's part from yoga. And part from the "fight/altercation" last night. It takes a lot out of you, you know. Getting all tense and stressed out like that. Holding it all in. It really sucks. I'm hoping to be able to go and get a massage tomorrow morning. I think it would really help. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

Also, we're having a Pure Romance party tomorrow. Should be a good time! And we're taking the kids Ice Skating after school. The funny thing is, instead of the Hockey players teaching them to skate, it's the figure skaters. I think it's funny. heheh. The boys HATE it. ROFL!

Night, all! I may go pop an Ambien and get a VERY good nights sleep tonight :)




Click on the link below to go to my account to download the PNG file, and leave some love if you like my work. thanks!

4shared
box.net

Thanks, Sharon! But if that chickie is prego, she's making me look bad! She's SO tiny! hehe :)

Bringing Home the Bacon

Well, it started off good. A lot of days start off good, then go somewhat downhill. Know what I mean? Ever feel that way? Like they get somewhat out of control, and you can't stop them? Actually, the majority of the day was pretty good. All the way until the evening, in fact...

But I'm getting ahead of myself. I woke up when I was supposed to, got up for Seminary, and headed out with Jake. We listened to scriptures all the way there, I said my prayers, and took a nap. We drove back home, said Family prayer, and got Tom to the bus. I got Jim and Joe and Eme ready for school, then got them on the bus. Then I got Jake ready for school, and I went back to bed until 8:30am.

I got up, cranked the tunes real loud, and showered. And got ready for my therapy appointment. I put on a new skirt that I'd got at Savers on Monday, with the new tank top I'd gotten. And a gray sweater. I liked the outfit.

And I wasn't as focused getting ready as I should have been, so I was about 8 minutes late. But it was OK, because Dr Slade was the exact same minutes late. So it all worked out. hehe. See, I was right on time. LOL :)

You know, him being late does not encourage me to be on time...

It was a good session. We talked about communication between Captain America and I. And about self esteem. And about trust and respect. And about my sales dilemma, and my prompting on how to fix it. How if I were to say my prayers and read my scriptures, that I'd increase my sales. And how between last paycheck and this one, my sales increased 4x!!! Amazing, huh? Heavenly Father answers prayers and promptings...

Anyway, it was a productive session. He asked what I wanted to work on for this month, and I committed myself to losing 10 lbs. It's time that I "got back on the wagon". Of course, as I sit here and blog and eat this raspberry danish twist, I'm not sticking to the plan. But after my evening, sue me...

Anyway, I headed home, but swung by Fallas Paredes on the way home. I wanted to pick up some new stuff for the downstairs bathroom. My kids had taken scissors to the shower curtain. I know, right? Who does that??? Freakin' kids!

I found the perfect shower curtain, and rug, and trash can, and towels, and such. My bathroom was gonna look fabulous! I paid and headed home. But first, I swung by McDonalds to grab a dollar soda. For me and Amanda. She was stuck at home doing a paper for a class.

I had just enough time to drop it off, and get back home and change clothes before Kari came to pick me up for Yoga. We headed out for John's class. Because Megan, the worlds best Yoga teacher EVER retired. SO sad :( I'll miss you, Megan :(

We got to John's class a few minutes late, and snuck in. I like how Megan tricked you into having a good workout. You seriously didn't realize you were doing anything strenuous. But you know you're working out with John. It's hard! My legs and arms were shaking so bad!

We Yoga-ed for about an hour, then headed out. We stopped by the post office on the way home, cause Kari needed to mail a package. Then by CYS to fix some Paperwork for Leo. Then headed home. Kari dropped me off, and I cleaned and re-did the bathroom. And it looked SO much better when I was done! I should have taken a picture, huh???

I cleaned up in the living room for a little bit, and even had time to watch and episode of Warehouse 13. Soon, it was time to and get the kids from the bus. I headed on over in the truck, and hung with Amanda and Crystal for a bit. Then, the kids came home, and we all loaded up and headed to the library. Amanda got there first, and said that the new kids librarian wasn't gonna start the movie. We were a few minutes late, and she said that because we weren't there at 3pm, they wouldn't start the movie?? Oh no. That excuse wasn't gonna work. Amanda said she tried, and they said no. Kari and I would fix it.

So we went and found the lady. She told us the same thing she told Amanda. And we asked who her boss was. Who was in charge. That's who we wanted to talk to. She said the lady was over in the adult section. So off Kari and I went. And even before we got there, the lady got it figured out. Amazing how fast results you get when you start going up the chain of command!

See, the bus doesn't even let the kids off until 3:45pm. So why in the world would you have an after school program at 3pm? It doesn't make sense? Of course, we could go and talk to public school and see if they could change the ending of school to accommodate the Ft Bliss library schedule. I'm sure THAT would make sense.... But we didn't need to play that card... Luckily I didn't need to go there... Funny, because I was NEVER that girl. Anyone who used to know me knew that I would NEVER be one to complain or make a fuss to get my way. Well, that's me now. I'm good at getting my way. hehe. And very vocal. Oh yeah, overly vocal. Embarrassingly vocal. hehehe :) Sorry, girls.

So, they started the educational movie for our kids. It was Amanda and her 1 kid, Kari and her 2, me and my 3 (Jake was at the Youth Center and Tom was at Ross Fit), Liz and her 2 (Amanda's neighbor), and Julia (from the neighborhood) and her 2. Quite a good turn out, wouldn't you say???

The moms played on their laptops or worked on projects/read books, and the kids watched the movie/worked on homework. It was a great Tuesday afternoon. We had cheese puffs and popcorn for the kids for snack.

After the movie, we took the kids outside to see the Japanese garden. But they wanted to play around in it a bit too much, so we had to move them to the grassy field next to it. It was still a bit too much of a temptation for them. hehe. They climbed some trees, and played duck duck goose.

Well, it was kinda duck duck goose. Idiot, idiot, super idiot. Or princess, princess, something else insulting (cause the boys were saying it). Or chicken chicken ham. Our kids are strange, I know... Look how happy everyone looks in these pictures. hehe. We stayed and let the kids play until someone got hurt. Then it was time to go home. ROFL! Isn't that the way it always works. You stay until there are tears. LOL!

It was a little before 6pm when we headed out. And we decided to go and pick up Jake from the Youth Center. And as I was turning onto Jeb Stuart road, I got a text from him, asking if I'd come and pick him up. Perfect timing!

I had to use the bathroom when I got to the youth center, and when I got out to the car, Jake was physically dragging Eme out of the front seat. She was sobbing, laying on the ground. Sigh. This was NOT a good sign.

See, we have the 100 lb rule in our family. Not based on age. Based on weight. Once you hit 100 lbs, you can sit in the front seat. And she's hit the mark. So she gets turns in the front seat. Well, he decided that it was his turn. So he ordered her out. And she refused. So he physically removed her. SO not his call.

I told him to get in the back, and put her back in the front. And yeah, the evening kinda went downhill from there. I had to pull over once on the way home so he could buckle his seatbelt for real. It was only fake buckled. I didn't realize it at first. He slammed the door real big, too. Sigh.

We got home, and had about 45 minutes before bedtime. Tom hadn't done any chores. We had bologna sandwiches and ramen for dinner. Well, the kids did. I had an egg sandwich and some fruit. And then we started on chores.

Everyone seemed to be doing ok cleaning. Jake got his chores done pretty quickly. And took the dog outside to play. And Jim went outside to play with Jake and the dog. And knocked over a chair, or something like that. And Jake freaked out, and ordered Jim to pick up the chair. And when Jim wouldn't, Jake chased him back inside the house. And Jim ran inside as fast as he could, and knocked over Boxers dog food in his flight to escape Jake.

Then Jake was REALLY mad, and came after Jim to get him to clean up the Dog Food mess. And Jim ran to me in my room. And Jim tried to hid behind me. And Jake caught him, and threw him onto the couch in my room. And pushed me out of the way, and hit Jim real hard on the back. I pushed Jake out of my room, and Jake pushed me back. And Jake and I fought a little bit in the living room.

I was super tired of Jake pushing people around. He thinks because he is bigger than people, he can get away with being a bully. And I really don't like it. The other kids saw us fighting, and Tom and Joe and Jim instantly grabbed their favorite electronics and hid them. Eme cowered in the kitchen and hid. How sad it that...

Jake pushed me around a little bit more, and I ended up ripping his favorite shirt and he broke my bracelet. I got my hand scratched up by his fingernails and got pushed down on the couch. And he stormed off into the backyard to play with the dog.

And I followed after him, then locked him outside. And had the kids help me lock all of the doors. I didn't want him coming back inside while he was being violent. Or potentially being violent. We shut and locked all of the windows too. Even thought I was pretty sure that he was calmed down, I didn't want him in the same rooms as the other kids while they were awake. He could come back inside when they went to bed. It was only about 20-30 minutes.

He continued to play with the dog for about 5 more minutes, then realized that he was locked outside. And got angry. He wanted back inside. And started pounding on the door. I told him that if he pounded too hard, that he'd break the door. And that if he broke the door, that it would be destroying government property, and that I'd call the MP's and they'd take him away if he did. And I totally would. Because I was SO upset with him. And he didn't wanna push it tonight. I'd had enough. So he hit the door not hard enough to break it, but hard enough to be annoying...

And he was getting madder and madder. Then he started swearing at us. To bleepety bleepen let him in!!!! Right now! Sigh. I sure don't talk that way! I did pull out my camera at one point and take a video of him freaking out. It was quite scary. He looked like he was gonna take someone out. Then he pulled out a lawn chair and started beating THAT against the glass door. Did I mention that it was a glass door???? Dang...

And then he stopped. The little kids were freaking out because they were just POSITIVE that he'd gone to the shed to get a bat. Or a shovel. And he was pissed off. And he was gonna come and take us all out. And I had every horror show running through my mind. We were all gonna end up being murdered by my own kid. OK, so maybe not. But you know how your imagination runs wild on you. I'd texted Kari a little bit before to tell her that Jake was mad and was trying to break into the house and that I'd locked him out.

We heard a knock at the door, and Tom went and looked through the peep hole. It was Kari. We made sure it was just here, and we let her in. She said that Brain (her hubby) was at the park with Jake. Boxer had jumped the fence, and Jake was at the park looking for him. Brian was helping him. Kari had come to check on us. I was sorry to drag my friends into it, but relieved at the same time. It's good to have close friends, you know. People who understand what you are going through, and love you just the same. Thanks, you guys :)

Once she saw that we were ok, she headed back home. We finished up our chores, I helped the kids with their homework, and I put the kids to bed. They were all in bed by 8:15pm. And by 9:00pm, Jake was back home. I finally got myself settled down and composed by 9:30pm. And I started blogging. I was texting with my friends before that. Luckily, I have a very large support system of friends. Many of whom have special needs kids. It's SO helpful, you know. They know EXACTLY what I'm going through! And what to say to make me feel normal. hehe :) Thanks, girls!!! I only hope that I can do the same for you :)

We have counseling for Jake tomorrow, and I hope that she can help us process the situation. I'm gonna show her the little 30 second video from tonight, and tell her about all the aggression as of late. How he keeps being physical towards his siblings. Especially Jimmy. He's really mean to that poor kid. Well, and Tom too. He was beating him up at church on Sunday too, now that I think of it. Sigh. I really hope that it gets better when Captain America comes back home. Can these next two months just zip by, please???

So after therapy tomorrow, a group of us are gonna go and see Apollo 13. Is that the name of it? It's Apollo something. The space and aliens one. I'm excited for it. I like scary movies, you know. And Eme has piano lessons tomorrow. We need to go and get a cord for the electric piano so she can practice.

And then Eme and Jim have games and pizza parties and awards cermimonies tomorrow. And Jake and Eme have Wednesday night activities. We moved Joe's scouts to Saturday. Busy busy busy... Not time for aggressive asperger teens...

Click on the link below to go to my account to download the PNG file, and leave some love if you like my work. Thanks!

4shared
box.net

What a cute kit, Sharon! Loving the train and the plane! Where'd ya get it at???