The Dog Days of Summer!

It's HOT!  That about sums it up in my neck of the woods!!  The dog days of Summer are in full force.  Speaking of dog days, I thought I'd share a few photos of the pack chilling in the backyard.  I use the term "chilling" loosely.

Smokey loves to sun.....but...this is almost torture!

Mac says it's never too hot to chase those annoying squirrels!

And here's my little poser.  He has limited tolerance for the heat....

Unless there's a bone to chew, that is...

Can we go in now?

As for the rest of us.... Trish has a new job that looks really fun and promising.  Connor, morphing into typical teenage behavior, rarely ventures out if his room except to eat, swim (once) and visit a friend..  Sam is opting for indoor activities during this triple-digit heat bubble.  We took a few cute photos of the 5th grade Luau that marks the end of elementary school at Wyatt.

Limbo, Hula Hoops and Snow Cones ushered him out of elementary school and into Summer.  Me, I'm catching up on things I haven't had time for during the school year, and beginning to mark things off my Summer To-Do List.

It was a dark and spooky night...

We do Halloween as we do  most holidays around here.  We go all out with decorations to set the mood, to get into the spirit of the occasion.  It's been a haunted house for weeks with spooky decor.  The furkids are not fond of many of the sights and sounds of the season of the witch.  Mac has never liked hanging objects, things that sway and dangle.  Witch cackles and talking spiders that creep across the floor do not set well with any of the 3 furkids.  They were not happy pooches last night.  The only night they hate more is 4th of July.

The goblins that reside here were decked out for the candy crusade.  Connor became a Greek Warrior for the night while Sam started out as Harry Potter, changed his mind, and with Harry's magic, morphed into a business dude, complete with facial hair.  Trish escorted the candy crusaders.

I, as tradition dictates, kept the home pot brewing and handed out sweet treats to the procession of small vampires, fairies, superheros, witches, creatures and the assorted princesses, bees and lady bugs.  I did this while watching a disappointing 4th game of the World Series.  My Rangers got tricked, I'm afraid.

As I type, the vestiges of Halloween have disappeared into the attic or garage and the turkeys have been trotted out (thankful, as every year, that they are not live and endangered).  They will preen until thanks have been given and the flood of snowmen, angels and ornaments send them off to join the ghosts and Easter bunnies.  I have to admit that the season of snowmen, angels and Christmas trees are my favorite time of the year.  Listening to a stuffed turkey gobbling on the coffee table makes me smile knowing that magical season is just around the corner!

                                                     Hope you had a spooktacular night!

Another Chapter in My Mad World!

Let's just say that life is never dull in my little corner of the world. 

Friday my new computer arrived.  The old trusty desktop (and I still prefer a desktop) had reached the blue-screen daily, or almost, stage and I knew it was imperative I break down and get a new one before Old Trusty was abruptly ripped off life support.  Over the past year Old Trusty had slowed to a crawl and limped along while irritating and frustrating me on a regular basis.  Also, my computer time had been severely curtailed due to working every day and the escalating chaos around here.  Old Trusty didn't make it easy for me to spend my limited time online.

So, I broke down and got a sleek new computer with Windows 7.  Love it!  Also had to replace my 10-year-old deskjet and scanner with a sleek new wireless all-in-one Photosmart printer.  Again, love it!  Boy, has printer technology come a long was in a decade!!  That was last weekend.  Today is the first day I've had to really begin my relationship with Old Trusty's replacement.  As usual, chaos intervened.

While replacing Old Trusty with New Hot Tech I noticed what looked like water damage around the edge of my carpet and baseboard beneath my desk.  Said desk sits in front of a window where I can watch my birds come and go at the feeders off my patio.  I enjoy that during the day.  Anyway, I was appalled and had no clue what was causing the damage since there was no indication on the window or wall that water had leaked to cause the damage I discovered. 

Oh great!  Just what I needed:  another, possibly expensive, issue to deal with!!  I was not happy and the excitement of initiating my relationship with New Hot Tech was considerably "dampened".  The floor and baseboard were dry at the time of discovery to I sprayed Moldex on the area and, on Sunday, cleaned that portion of the carpet. 

As I said, New Hot Tech arrived late Friday and I was up until 2 AM on Saturday setting up and transplanting NHT from Old Trusty.  The only hitch in the process was the dampened mood and undercurrent of anxiety over what the water damage meant.  Saturday dawns, I take Trish to work and return to do my usual chores and cleaning of one or more fish tanks.  I wanted to get all that done as quickly as possible so I could play with NHT.  Like I said, however, chaos intervened.

I don't even remember the trigger at this point, but while I was cleaning the house something set Sam off and all Hell broke loose!  He literally threw virtually the entire contents of his bookcases and room out into the hall and  the family room area!!!  I couldn't do much to stop him as he was hurling things in my direction.  I got the 3 dogs out and closed Connor's room door.  (Connor came out some time later, before I even made a dent in the mess, and asked..."What happened?"  This is how clueless and hyper-focused he is when playing a video or computer game.  Part of his Autism.).  After annihilating his room Sam refused to help clean up, cussed me on the way to his mother's room where he slammed the door and remained for some length of time.  I was horrified and almost didn't know where to begin with the cleanup.  I had no choice as it was extremely hot outside where I had banished the dogs and I had to get them back in as soon as possible.  Spanky, being a typical puppy, was sure to find all the broken bits and small Legos.  Not a good idea, so I just jumped in and tackled the disaster.  I probably had the dogs back inside in under an hour.  By then I had gotten all the books into containers where I could pick up or sweep up the small and broken items.  I spent the majority of the rest of the morning and afternoon until time to pick Trish up from work, putting his room back together, primarily all the books back in the book cases.  It was one of those messes that couldn't be left to have his mother make him clean up.  Book are our friends and I wanted to get them picked up and put back out of harm's way.  The broken and unimportant items I swept up and threw away.  I salvaged the video games and put them in Connor's room.

This, my friends, is just a small example of what life can be like with kids who have mental illness.  It's not pretty and it can be very chaotic.  One or more unstable kids is volatile with a 90-something chance of violent weather patterns!!

Soooooooooooo Hot Tech had to wait.  Sunday I had more time to get to know the newbie.  I also cleaned, as I said, the damaged carpet area and made a mental note to consult with good old Mr. Larry as to what the problem might be and who I should call to deal with it.  Monday was a busy day and I never got that chance.  Monday evening I had to attend to some business that my dear brother brought to my attention.  It was tedious and took the better part of the evening.  Some of it I had to do on  the new computer and that made the going a bit slower.  Office has changed in the past 7 years! 

Yesterday morning, before I took Trish to work, I noticed the water-damaged area was wet again.  Bummer!  It also dawned on me that I'd just run the sprinkler in the area outside my window to water the container gardens.  OK....  Looked like the source of the water had to do with the sprinkler right outside that window and the fact it had a 360 degree head on it which constantly sprayed my window when the sprinkler was running.  The "where"  it was getting in was another matter.  So, anxiety rising like a tide in my belly again, I took Trish to work, stopped by the mail center and got the work I'd done the night before notarized and sent off (NOT inexpensively!), came home and called Mr. Larry.

He decided it was probably the fact that the sprinkler head constantly sprayed the window and the caulking around the outside of the window was eroded.  He thought it was probably pooling in one corner and going down behind the brick, but not into the wall area.  So, we replaced the sprinkler head with a 190 degree one and he re caulked the outside of the window.  The cost:?  A 24-pack of Miller Lite in the can, his beer of choice.  He helps me out because he's the perfect next-door-neighbor and has been, along with his wife, for the entire 16 years I've lived here.  Years ago, when he refused to take anything for the help he provides from time to time, I insisted and we decided on Miller Lite.  Mr. Larry had come to the rescue again!

Trish is off today and has gone to Dallas with the boys for a doctor's appointment.  I'm home with the furkids and relishing the alone time, a drying carpet and pad, and the chance to resume the new relationship with Mr.New Hot Tech.  I took some photos of the water damage and new computer and decided to indulge in a new blog post on the newbie.

One of those Thriving in the.... days

Yesterday I spent a chunk of time playing with my blog, redesigning it.  Today I lived the new photo under the blog title.  It was one of those mad-world days.

Sears was scheduled to come today for the second time in a week to see why the pilot light on my 5-year-old water heater keeps going out.  Thank God for my  Master Protection Agreement with Sears on many of my larger appliances!  It's really paid off in recent years.  Anyhoo....  first go round the Sears person tells me that the water heater is one of those newer "closed systems" where the pilot light is controlled by sensors and a spark, not the old light- it- with- a- lighter type of yore.  Seems that's the current requirement for safer water heaters.  Mine was probably clogged with whatever from the attic and kept killing the pilot light.  The guy cleaned it thoroughly and told me to go up there and clean out the pan under the heater about once a month and it should be good to go.

Yeah, right.  Four days later, Sunday, no hot water.  As always when these emergencies arise, my good neighbor Mr. Larry comes over the gets the pilot light going again.  I call and set up another repair call with Sears and that brings us to this afternoon.  "Between 10 and 2 " usually translates into sometime after the allotted time. 

Today got off to an early start, 5 am to be exact.  Sam woke Connor and they proceeded to play computer games, complete with sound effects, yanking the entire household out of dreamland and into a waking pre-dawn nightmare.  It wasn't pretty, the reaction they got. 

At 9 am I have to deal with the garage door repair people who need to replace a beeping backup battery which is just difficult enough for me to defer to the experts, not to mention the costly battery that I can't run to Walmart or CVS to pick up.  That set me back enough to tick me off. 

Meanwhile,  I'm doing things around the house, waiting for the eventual Sears person and the boys are amping up both in volume and behavior as they play some online Pirates of the Caribbean game, one on their computer and one on Trish's.  It's getting to the point I'm having to try to tamp down the electricity in the highly charged room with threats of ....whatever I can think of within reason.   They are already on my you-know-what-list after the morning fiasco.   I'm also trying to dodge 3 dogs running around the house, under foot as they work out the newest round of toy or chew theft from each other.  Spanky is a little puppy bully and the other two bark,nip and chase him when they've had enough.  I have visions of the nasty fall I'm sure to take one day.  I'll be on the floor, hip or leg or arm broken, in horrendous pain, screaming for the kids to call 911.....  and the dogs will keep running around messing with each other, and the boys will keep doing whatever they're doing and no one will hear me or respond and I'll still be there writhing in pain, half dead, dogs barking at me because by that time they're hungry and the boys either still playing dueling computers or so amped up they've fried each other ..when Trish gets home from work.

Deep breath............ 

It's nearly 3:00 pm when Sears person finally arrives.  He arrives when I'm in the middle of trying to deal with a computer issue, naturally.  During the time he's working in the attic I'm back with the computer problem.  The dogs are outside in the heat barking at me and the boys are behind the closed door of Connor's room.  That last fact eluded me until after the Sears man left.  He's there about 30 minutes replacing a sensor or whatever on the water heater telling me that the reason it keeps going out and the reason it needs replacing is that there is not enough air flow in the attic to keep it lit.  Didn't they tell me that when they installed it 5 years ago?  NO, as a matter of fact, they never mentioned an air flow issue, nor did they tell me that this newly- required type of water heater wasn't maintenance free.  I needed to keep it dust free or lint free or whatever...  I should see about a fresh air system for the attic or the water heater.  Call a specialty plumber, they'll know what you need. 

$$$$$$$$$   ...that's what is flashing in front of my eyes as he's telling me all this crap.  My stress level is rising along with the heat outside, not to mention the attic.  He leaves, I let the panting dogs back in, and, again, fail to compute the closed door to Connor's room.  I go online and research attic ventilation things, groan and envision a large expenditure.  Then I call my trusty Mr. Larry neighbor and he comes over, checks things out and tells me I do have ventilation and it sounds like I should be fine for another 5 years, not to worry about it.  I relax and as I close the door behind him I finally realize that the boys are behind a closed door.....   It also registers that I'm hearing bumps and thuds. 

Connor's room looks like a hurricane ripped through it!!  The funnel clouds are laughing and throwing stuffed animals all over the room. Furniture is moved around to make a fort... it's a mess!!!  The boys are wired to the max!!!  It barely registers that I'm in the room yelling at them!!  I finally get through, Sam gets mad, grabs his mother's laptop and stomps out of the room refusing to help clean up the damage.  He slams his own room door for emphasis.  Connor and I proceed to wade through the mess and restore order to his room.  Bless his heart, this type of effort is not his forte.   He's about as useless when it comes to order and cleaning  as an umbrella in a windstorm.  This afternoon he gave me hope... :)

So, it was one of those days.  Both boys are peacefully sleeping in their rooms as are the three furkids, one on Trish's bed, one on Connor's and mine on the bed behind me.  I'm here at the computer (which is now behaving) writing this with "America's Got Talent" on the TV in the background.  Trish will be home from work soon and we'll have a good laugh about the day. 

The Final Purge!

Well, at least the final massive purge on the cleaning list for the summer.  The above photo amounts to what's left after my two-day purge and two days of the alley scavengers helping themselves to whatever they might want and take to salvage.  The pile is about half as big as the initial purge.  What remains on Wed. will be hauled away by the city.  I'm feeling very satisfied with all the cleaning and tossing I've done the past couple of months.  This morning I tackled the last closet left undone and revisited my own closet for a final toss-out and rearranging. I still have the plantation shutters, wooden blinds and fan blades to clean in the next couple of weeks. 

My daughter is on the third day of her new job and happily settling in.  The sharp rise in her self-confidence is so evident it's like a neon sign!  I like that!  The boys are also adjusting nicely to Mom being back at work and Pammy once again being "the boss of them".  :)  There were issues the first day, but yesterday and today the waters are calm.  My Equilibrium is feeling steadier already, and breathing is easier as the air clears.  The stress level for all members of the household, human and fur, is back to healthy levels.  For the time being.  :)

Morning with Sam

Most mornings with Sam are, to put it mildly, chaotic, to be perfectly blunt, a nightmare!  This morning was no exception.  Given his severe ADHD, combined with the medications he takes, sleep is elusive and not a high priority for him.  He might fall asleep early, say 9 pm, is back up an hour later and it might be 11 or so before he's back asleep.  His mornings start early, jolting everyone out of bed anywhere between 3 and 6 am.  When the jolt is before 5:30 or 6 am, he can sometimes be contained long enough for some semblance of extended slumber to lightly blanket us again.  I use the word "slumber" loosely- "cat nap" is more accurate.  Let's just say I've forgotten the last time I slept past 6 am. 

Sam is loud, blundering around like an elephant, making strange noises, laughing, banging, babbling, slamming doors, cabinets and generally being a nuisance.  Shocked out of sleep, the dogs begin barking, his mom yells and I stumble out of bed to get the new pup outside to do his thing.  And, so, the day breaks, literally.  There can be accidental or deliberate breakage, door slamming, and, if he wakes his brother (most of the time), sibling brawling.  All this before the inevitable:  Sam is sentenced to a couple of hours of time out.  Even time out is not pretty.  On a good day, calm is restored to the burgeoning day (at least for a few hours) by 8 am.

Anyway, on a creative note, I was prompted to write a poem about our morning mayhem.


Mornings,
chaos spills out
of his room
like a Pandora’s box-
furies scattering,
snatching the sleep from our eyes.


Noises
rival rush hour
in a city with no traffic lights-
honks and howls,
babbling, barking,
assaulting the pre-dawn silence.


Teeth on edge we add
a complimentary jolt of caffeine to the chaos.


On my kitchen perch,
oasis in the brewing storm,
I sit and sip
as the furies
swirl and nip
the edges of my calm.


7/11/10

This and That

It's been a busy week, so far.  Monday I took Bryan to the airport.  We really enjoyed his visit ( first in 2 years), and, considering he's a typical busy teenager and big into sports, I was thrilled I got time with him this summer.  He'll be a senior next year and it will be more difficult to squeeze in time with him!

Yesterday I spent the afternoon with my niece and her little one.  They just moved about 10 minutes away and I got to see the new digs and meet Mr. Mac for the first time.  They had lived in Southlake, not THAT far away, unless you're short on time to even go down the street, as I have been this past year.  The one time I visited her there she was pregnant with the little man!  The drive time to her old house was at least an hour.

The visit was fun (loved the new home) and Mac began to warm up to me by the time I left.  As you can see by the above photo, he had NOT warmed up when this was snapped just before a sleepy baby with a strange person in the house was put down for a nap!  I was laughing, Sandy was laughing and Mac was screaming bloody murder!!!!  For the next HOUR, Sandy and I tried to send this photo to her dad  to surprise him.  It was a riot!  NOTHING was working for us!  Of course, in the end, we succeeded, over and over and over again.  I lost count of how many times I got the photo on my phone and my email.  Nick probably got it just as many time.  Technology  is great until it's not and gets finicky.

Today I decided to mark another clean-out and clean-up item off my to-do list.  I tackled the front living and dining rooms which have needed purging for over a decade!!!  They are the throw-up (keeping the metaphor alive) rooms for seasonal items that don't get up in the attic or other things that need a 'temporary' resting place. 

Well, it took the better part of the day, but I was delighted to finally have it purged and clean!!  The only  HUGE task I've got on tap for the summer is the garage.  I'm already itching to get at it!  Given that my free monthly pick up for bulky items is the last week of the month, I'm not scratching that itch.....yet.

Summer Time and the Livin' is Crazy!!

"Chaos= Christ's hope amid our suffering. Chaotic circumstances are opportunities to hope and trust in Christ." (Zoe Elmore).

I got this quote off a friend's Facebook page.  What a great way to think of the chaos that rules my world!  Put's a whole new and positive spin on the word and the situation.  I like it!

This is, officially, week 2 of my summer vacation.  Last week was  dotted with doctor, vet and installation appointments.  This week started with a less than pleasant screening procedure (finito and good to go for 10 more years!) while tomorrow I round out the necessary-but-not-fun screenings with my annual mammogram.

Several more days this week are dotted with repairmen, pest control and the garage door annual servicing.  Then, hopefully, I'm done with docs for humans, animals and inanimate objects for awhile! 

Since school was out I've been on a cleaning and purging spree.  I actually love to do this whenever I have the time.  The BIG projects on tap this summer are the garage and attic.  Both are challenges and need to be done around the set day when our trash service collects bulky trash such as that which come with the BIG clean-out jobs!  I'm hoping to schedule the attic purge during the time my oldest grandson, 17, comes to visit in July or August. 

The other purging projects consist of cabinets, closets and drawers, all of which can be done in small doses over the summer.  Amazing how satisfying these jobs can be.  I've already made headway in my closet and several cabinets and drawers in the kitchen.  I've also gotten the yard mulched and the container pots planted.  The fruits of these chores are some of the little joys of life. 

I've always liked a certain amount of order and neatness in my surroundings.  These days, when so much daily chaos abounds, cleaning gives me a certain amount of control when I can't really control what goes on around me.

It's so hot right now, there's not much going outside, just to be going outside.  I water plants, feed the birds and sit out with the furkids in the early morning and in the evening.    When I have the choice I run my errands early, too.   Speaking of outside..

about a month ago we found our Beagle Smokey barking at butterfiles buzzing his head.  What an amazing sight!  Dozens of Monarch butterflies were covering one of my dying trees in the side yard.  They were feeding on the oozing sap.  I've never seen so many at one time!  And, they were bugging Smokey who was sunning under the tree.  Last night when I walked out on the patio there was a HUGE, gorgeous butterfly flitting around one of my butterfly-friendly container pots.  Loved it!

Spanky's still enjoying his days as a normal pup again.  He's still getting used to the routine, house and interaction with the other 2 dogs.  He's feeling his oats and is one tired little pup at the end of the day.  As I type he's sprawled across my bed behind me. 

Merry Christmas!!

Long time no post.


It's been a busy few months around here. I've been working full time as a special education crisis sub in a local elementary school. It's both exhausting and rewarding. Exhausting because I work with special ed kiddos who need a full and constantly changing bag of tricks when it comes to teaching and producing measurable results. That can mean dancing on your head or silly songs, bouncing, while counting on a mini trampoline or using hand puppets to cajole responses. What works one day or one hour might not work the next. Gotta keep that bag of tricks and reinforcers full and handy! On the other hand, the work is rewarding in that these kids grab your heart and keep you smiling and laughing.

When I get home it's *sigh* more of the same with the home team....

So, not much down time to blog or spend online. I find myself lucky if I make it through my 9 PM TV shows, much less the 10 PM news. Thank God for the DVR!! 5 AM comes all too soon.

Winter break has been a welcome respite in that I can sleep a bit later (if the boys let me) and can catch up on things I've had to let slide the past few months. This is also my favorite time of the year. I love Christmas and all the trappings!! My decorations go up beginning Thanksgiving Day and I take them down starting the day after Christmas. All, that is, but my Snowman collection that I keep in place until it's time to ring in Spring. Also, my snowmen keep my hope alive for some beloved snow!! :) Already had a small taste of it a few weeks ago. Only for a couple of hours, but it stuck and was gorgeous. Now I want more!

The boys are wild this close to Christmas. We still have believers in the guy in the red suit around here, so it's hard to contain the excitement. They have been awake and bugging Trish and me at the ungodly hours of 3 and 4 AM the last couple of mornings!!! NOT FUN!!

Today is an unseasonable 70ish and, at the moment, sunny, tho' we're due some storms and an abrupt return to Christmas temps for Christmas Eve. I LOVE the cold!

*Sigh* I hear the sounds of bickering and rough-housing boys who must want to have their names written in blood on the naughty list..


The halls are decked and the stockings hung. Christmas is coming!!!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all my friends and family!!!

As Summer Winds Down..

I came home from the weekend visit with my sister to a wonderful explosion of violet on my Silver leaf shrubs. A delightful bonus from the unexpected bounty of July rainfall has been the lush green lawn and rich abundance of colorful blooms in my yard and my container gardens. Somehow, I expect we will suffer through a hot, dry August, as payment for the moist and relatively cool July. I'm up early these days and out to hand water the containers hoping to extend the colorful panorama.

Speaking of the weekend visit with my sister.... I had a wonderful couple of days sandwiched between 10 hours in the car with our struggling 9 year old. Five hours over and five hours back with his mouth running NON STOP!! When I say non stop, I mean literally non stop. He whined and cried and begged to stop at every siting of a Golden Arch. He couldn't sleep or do anything but run his mouth. There was no seat in the car that he could get comfortable in. I played musical chairs with him countless times.

Sam started Day Treatment at Children's Hospital in Dallas several days before he left for the weekend trip to Trish's dad and my sister. My sister picks me up at my ex-husband's home and takes me 45 miles away to her home. It's a convenient, brief get-away for my daughter and me. She has time with Dad and I have time with my sister. I also get a bit of a reprieve from Trish and the boys.

Sam has been really struggling this Summer. Actually, he's been struggling most of this past year. His Anxiety disorder has been competing with his ADHD and it's not been pretty! Regulating his meds has been a nightmare!! The aggression had gotten so violent that Day Treatment was the only viable option. School starts in a couple of weeks so there's not much time to spare in getting him squared away to be able to function in school.

Of course, nothing, it seems has been simple this Summer. My daughter is still looking for a job as well as dealing with the Sam issue. Several days before we were to take off for the trip she got a horrible tooth infection that almost resulted in a hospital stay to battle it. She was really miserable with pain and fever. Up until after her visit to the oral surgeon a couple of hours before we left it was iffy as to whether she would be well enough to go.

THEN, to top off the complications, as we were dropping off the 4 furkids at the vet for boarding, our Beagle had a seizure. Just inside the door. Total chaos! My daughter was panicking while Connor and I were herding the other 3 dogs into a separate room to get us away from Smokey. It's a wonder we ever left town, at that point. The vet reassured us that Smokey would be fine so we headed out to pick up Sam at Day Treatment and get on the road.

And so began the ill-fated getaway! I had a great time with my sister; Trish was pretty miserable at her dad's with Sam, her mouth and her concern for Smokey. The trip home was an utter nightmare! Trish was in pain, worried about the dog, exhausted and ready to dump us all on the side of the road. Actually, it was my car, so dumping me wasn't an option. :) Sam was worse than on the ride over. Added to the mouth were tics and involuntary movements of his hands and legs.

Smokey is fine and temporarily on Phenobarb. for the seizures. They were probably a reaction to the stress of being boarded and we were cautioned that he might be better off with a dog sitter next trip. Oh joy! The other 3 pups came home with no signs of PTSD. My two were freshly groomed. They are Shelties and need bathes after being boarded for a few days.

Sam is back in Day Treatment and the new meds he was on are now gone as he had horrible reactions to both! Back to the drawing board on that front. *Sigh* Trish had her final trip to the oral surgeon this morning and found out the infection that nearly did her in was a nasty Staph Infection! Glad she got that nipped before it went out of control!

I'm hobbling around in the final days of my 'boot'. I'm allowed to be out of it for several hours a day as I wean myself off it. Any significant pain and I'm back in it for the rest of the day. When I go back to the doc on the 21 I hope to be out of it totally. That's the game plan, anyway.

Soooooooooooooooo..... it's been a long and rather difficult Summer around here. I say "long", but it also seems like it's been too fleeting now that school is on the horizon. There are going to be some significant transitions when it comes to both boys on the school front. Connor enters middle school and we anticipate the likelihood of initial issues. Hopefully, not, and, if so, short-lived. Sam is due to be given more tests and placed where they think he will do best. Last year was a nightmare with him and the anxiety/ADHD issues. If the meds get straightened out the test results should help put him on a successful path for 4th grade.

I'm hoping for the abundance of sub jobs I was blessed with last school year. Two long-term subs positions in Special Education Depts. kept me busy most of the year.

Thus, August begins on a hopeful note. Let's hope the job horizon is fruitful for both my daughter and myself. I'm praying that Sam will get straightened out and on firmer footing for the coming school term. Connor is stable. I pray that he stays that way and surprises us with a rather smooth transition into the realm of middle school.

July 5th

The best laid plans.....

We haven't had much luck the past few years when it comes to firework's watching. The boys are too unruly to drag to any of the festivities that precede any of the local fireworks. So, what we try to do is find a place close to the fireworks venue where we can park the car, get out, let the boys burn off energy and watch the display.

The last couple of years have been disasters! We always pick the wrong place or the wrong time for viewing. The boys have fits so we leave.

This year was no different.

We chose a prime spot for viewing, along with many other cars, and got there around the time the fireworks were supposed to take place. We sat and waited. The boys started grumbling about the heat and having nothing to drink, bathroom issues, yada, yada..... A few cars gave up and left. The boys kept bitching, Trish and I kept hoping. More cars left.

Some half hour after the display was supposed to take place the boys were so disagreeable we gave up and left. Trish and I laughed and I kept looking back in case of a sudden burst of 4th fanfare.

The boys were worn out and crashed as soon as we got home. Trish took her dogs out for a last chance to pee. She came back in laughing. Murphy's Law: The fireworks display had finally begun! We could hear it and see parts of it through the trees while standing in the backyard.

We stood and watched until the skeeters started attacking. Needless to say, the decision was made to NOT tell the boys about the missed fireworks. We'd had enough of the "this-is-the-worst-4th-EVER!" mantras to last until next year.

However, we now know the best place to drive for viewing, know to take water, have bathroom runs before leaving, and we know to just wait it out. Wait long enough and they will come....all showy and worth the wait!

Rocky Road

The summer is off to a rocky start. Connor graduated 5th grade a couple of weeks ago. It was a rocky graduation day for him-- sensory overload and overstimulating. He didn't make it through the entire ceremony or after party. He did, however, have a blast the following day, last day of school, at the annual 5th grade Luau.

Trish hasn't found a new job yet and Sam is out of control. VERY out of control. *Sigh* I'm already losing my mind and stressed to the max!

Here's Sam at his end-of-year party. Looking Angelic......

Trish and the boys on Connor's graduation evening. Connor's stress level was already rising...

Connor and his teacher at the Luau, where he's having fun!

My right foot started hurting the last couple of weeks of school. I limped around work every day thinking it would go away at some point. It didn't. In the past week or so the pain has gotten intense and the top of my foot is swollen. I had to stop my daily walks. I still have errands to run and things to do around the house and yard, so, staying off the foot hasn't been an option.

~~~~~~~

Finally I broke down and made an appointment with a foot and ankle clinic for tomorrow morning. I suspect it's a stress fracture. At this point, I just want to have it fixed so that I can move around without every step making me want to scream.

~~~~~~~~~~

*Sigh* I want Trish to find a job, SOON! I want Sam to shape up, or at least, become more manageable. Connor, bless his heart, is just fine, holed up in his room most of the day playing his video games or reading. I envy his ability to just tune out the rest of the world and the chaos around him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I need a break. And, I don't mean my foot.

~~~~~

A poem I wrote several years ago that expresses my current mood. It's about boundaries.

Our boundaries collapse
into each other
like a house of cards,
mother, daughter
under one roof.,
raising two children.
Mother
grandmother
daughter-
the roles bleed into each other.
Control yo-yos,
resentment builds
and spills over
into the landscape.
We scramble to reclaim
and repair the sense of order.

Summertime Blues

Can you tell I'm ready for school to be out for the boys and me next Friday? I am sooooooo ready!!!!!!!

Summertime Blues

Lounging on the patio,
feet up, fan snarling at beads of sweat
that threaten to tickle my scalp,
I watch them:

Sunbaked Siblings sweat
testosterone rivalry as they slip
and slide into the pool
and each other.
Shrill laughter darts in
and around the jumble of gleeful voices.

The fan’s hot breath chases
escaping tendrils of hair. They sting
my cheeks and eyes in retreat.

Panting dogs circle the pool
and me in search of relief, or liquid, or
the simple need to round up the straggly pack.

A purple umbrella shelters me
from the insistent glare of a probing sun
as listless ice cubes sink into the tepid sea
of lemonade. It sweetly beckons a buzzing fly
as I watch through the streamers across my eyes.

And so begin the days of heat and sweat,
the endless hours of water fights, water guns, sticky hands,
stinging flies and eyes. Ushered in by sun-screened boys
a wave of summer joy douses my desire for snowflakes,
dampens my lingering dream of frostbitten breath and tongues of firelight.

My sigh is lost in a gurgle, choked-off by a well-aimed stream of little boy glee.


Pam Patterson © Summer 2003

Of Frogs And Fairy Houses

What's this got to do with anything? Nothing really. Love my frogs and I love the various fairy houses that nestle in my container gardens scattered around the patio and yard. The wee creatures are welcome to come, visit, or move right in. What can I say? My favorite childhood book and flights of my imagination surrounded Peter Pan.

Yesterday was a long, hot, ultimately crispy, but fun day. Trish was off, so we took the boys to Hawaiian Falls, a local water park. We went early, best time to beat the crowds and find a shady spot to park ourselves. As a rule, we leave around 2 when the crowds swell and the sun is unbearable. Yesterday, was an exception.

All Spring Connor, who has anxiety issues and fear of amusement park rides, slides, scary movies, etc., has been saying he's ready to ride the big rides at Six Flags and the giant slides at the water parks. On the way to Hawaiian Falls yesterday Connor was talking about going down the big slides. Trish tried to discourage him from going because he wouldn't be able to turn back mid-slide. I told her I thought we should just let him try if he wanted to.

We hit the park and he was off to the slides! I followed to see how he fared. He not only did it, he LOVED it!! There are 3 or 4 different slides to ride with and without tubes ( single or double). He rode them all! A small victory to some; a HUGE victory for Connor! I was thrilled and proud of his mastery over what had been a huge fear/anxiety for him.

Both boys are part fish. They love the water. I think it's genetic. They swam, rode the slides and ran around the park for hours. We slathered them liberally with sunscreen/block before and during the day. Connor is olive-skinned, but Sam is lily white. Both looked like crispy critters by the time we got home. This DESPITE the many latherings with 50 + sunblock!

Lesson learned. Next time they keep shirts on except when sliding (prohibited). My sunblock was 85; I didn't get burned at all. Trish wanted sun and she got it.

Liberal lathering off and an all evening with chilled Aloe Gel and some ibuprofen eased the discomfort. Watching The Spiderwick Chronicles on DVD capped off the day.

Maybe my fairy houses are occupied after all....
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"Fairies are invisible and inaudible like angels. But their magic sparkles in nature." ~Lynn Holland