Believe it or not we actually had our first snow of the winter, and before Christmas! I was totally shocked that it happened, but there you have it. And there's no such thing as global warming...riiiiight!
I think we only have a couple of photos and I haven't d/l'd them yet off the camera so I'll share those later. But what I wanted to share is how much fun it was to watch our teenage sons, 15 & 17, along with their good friend Sasha who is either 16 or 17 go romping out to PLAY in the snow. They were having snowball fights, rolling around and tackling each other in the snow and then running through the neighborhood chasing each other and yelling and throwing snow balls at the street light.
Shannon and I were out in the hot tub hearing them in the distance and they were the only sound in the neighborhood oddly enough. Otherwise it was that peacefulness that seems to occur when it snows. No animals making any noise or moving around, and it was the kind of snow that just was coming straight down in big fluffy flakes, with no wind. It was quite peaceful and beautiful! Thank you mother nature!
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Saturday, November 7, 2009
I Can't Decide...
...whether to write by person or by time line...and I never know who may still be looking at this since it's been forever since I last posted - but I'm feeling the need to write again so here goes...by time line...
So school kicked off at the end of August and went right into cross country for Jared and Alex. It has been a lot of fun attending the meets and cheering them on and watching them both improve incredibly over the last 2 months. I think doing the individual competitions has been more exciting for them than the team ones, since our team is very small. But considering that this is the first official year for having a varsity high school cross country team 6 young men is not so bad of a start. Jared has really pushed himself and even impressed his coach. Last week when it was cold and started raining on them while practicing - the coach told the students they could turn around and head back to the school if it was too cold or continue on and finish the full run (which I think may have been a 5 mile run). And just when the coach thought Jared was going to turn around at the crosswalk and head back he pushed on and completed the full run! Jared came into my office soaked to the bone and shivering - the poor guy, but he did great! They have one last meet tomorrow that is an individual run as well - should be fun!
We then had our first week vacation in October in which the 5 of us went to Kill Devil Hills, NC. It was an amazing week full of beauty and relaxation with a little tourism and fun thrown in. For those who are not familiar with this area it is right on the coast, the Outer Banks, which is a long strip of sand that we humans have been crazy enough to build homes, businesses, condo's and hotels along. The condo's we stayed in were facing the Atlantic ocean and so the view was incredible every day. We swam in the ocean almost every day except for 1 day in the middle of the week because it was very cold and the ocean was pretty turbulent, and then the last day we did not swim either. Kill Devil Hills is also the location where the Wright Brother's took their first flight - so we went to the monument and got to see a replica of that first plane along with a couple of buildings - one they lived in and one the worked on the plane in. Then there was the hang gliding - which I think the video's can kind of speak for themselves. I'll post them on here later. It was a wonderful time and we hope we can go back again next year!
We had to leave our vacation a day early as the boys had their PSATs that Saturday and then Jared had to get packed up for this 10th grade curriculum week long trip. While Alex was finalizing his internship with the Art Therapy Institute.
So here I'm going to go into a proud momma moment with Alex. Out of all the students in his class he was the only one who completely cold called for his internship. The other students either did their internships with current or alumni parents or they interned at a place of business that their parents have friends or contacts in. So to me that first step was HUGE as some grown-ups cannot even do that - and he did it on his own. We googled Art Therapy and found the Art Therapy Institute in Durham and he grabbed the phone, called the number and left a detailed message. When he didn't hear back the next day he did it again and left his email that time, and sure enough he received an email and everything went forward from there. The other great thing is that instead of just a week internship, which is what our school requires, he is going to intern for the whole school year. He was originally supposed to work with some refugees children from Burma but because he would have had to leave class one day week that didn't quite work out - but he will be doing one-on-one work with a young girl named McKayla who has some issues (not sure what yet) but would benefit from art therapy. Alex will be starting the week after this one - as soon as his TB tests come back and we get a background check done - then he's all set! I'm very proud of him!
Alex also had his 17th birthday during that intern week - and though it was low-key I think he's enjoying his new birthday present (no, not a car) but a mini-laptop. It's pretty sweet!
Jared came back from a week of hanging out with his classmates and friends having learned about textiles. I think he was happy to be home and sleeping in his bed once again. :)
The boys also hosted a Halloween party at our house on Halloween. I think it was a success. We had 20 teenagers at our house from 6 until midnight and then the girls had to go home. We ended up with a total of 8 guys staying the night and boy, they were up late, until about 4am I think! There was loud music (boy those Bose speakers can really play loudly), lots of pizza and junk food and the hot tub - all was good!
We've received their interim grades so far this year and they are both doing awesome! Mostly A's with a couple of B's - so all-in-all they are doing great! Jared is in the midst of learning his lines for the 10th grade play, "You Can't Take It With You" and Alex is reading and discussing Parsival. And starting next week we move right into basketball season... yippee! It was so much fun last year that I cannot wait for this year. We have been allowed back on the league so there are many more games than last year and these games will be real ones - go Fighting Gnomes!!
So, as you can see, every day we are home very late, and now that we have fallen back in time it's pitch black by the time we get home. It's homework (prepping for Shannon), dinner, hot tub, and then one of our many netflix tv show addictions before going to bed to start all over again.
Shannon is doing well in his class - he just accepted a new student - Michelle Nelson. So he is at 24 students for this year. It sounds like there may be one more coming for a visit after our holiday break, but they won't be joining until 4th grade. He is knee deep in farming and dirt with his class - which is all fun!
I'm constantly kept busy in the office at school - besides my normal daily work stuff we are in the middle of an audit and trying to become accredited so I have taken on many other tasks that would not normally be mine to help things flow smoothly and get completed. I have given myself the nickname "Xena"! :) And just around the corner is re-enrollment - so it's never ending! I can honestly say that I am never bored at work - ever!
The guys are still practicing driving with their permits - but I don't think they are driving enough. We need to step that up some and Shannon and I need to become lazy and say we "just can't drive" and see how that goes?? I still think a defensive driving course would be the best thing for both of them so I need to take the time to research that and find out how much it will cost us...ugh!
I think that's all the news for now. I'm sure I missed some things along the way - but at least this is something.
Happy Martinmas everyone!
So school kicked off at the end of August and went right into cross country for Jared and Alex. It has been a lot of fun attending the meets and cheering them on and watching them both improve incredibly over the last 2 months. I think doing the individual competitions has been more exciting for them than the team ones, since our team is very small. But considering that this is the first official year for having a varsity high school cross country team 6 young men is not so bad of a start. Jared has really pushed himself and even impressed his coach. Last week when it was cold and started raining on them while practicing - the coach told the students they could turn around and head back to the school if it was too cold or continue on and finish the full run (which I think may have been a 5 mile run). And just when the coach thought Jared was going to turn around at the crosswalk and head back he pushed on and completed the full run! Jared came into my office soaked to the bone and shivering - the poor guy, but he did great! They have one last meet tomorrow that is an individual run as well - should be fun!
We then had our first week vacation in October in which the 5 of us went to Kill Devil Hills, NC. It was an amazing week full of beauty and relaxation with a little tourism and fun thrown in. For those who are not familiar with this area it is right on the coast, the Outer Banks, which is a long strip of sand that we humans have been crazy enough to build homes, businesses, condo's and hotels along. The condo's we stayed in were facing the Atlantic ocean and so the view was incredible every day. We swam in the ocean almost every day except for 1 day in the middle of the week because it was very cold and the ocean was pretty turbulent, and then the last day we did not swim either. Kill Devil Hills is also the location where the Wright Brother's took their first flight - so we went to the monument and got to see a replica of that first plane along with a couple of buildings - one they lived in and one the worked on the plane in. Then there was the hang gliding - which I think the video's can kind of speak for themselves. I'll post them on here later. It was a wonderful time and we hope we can go back again next year!
We had to leave our vacation a day early as the boys had their PSATs that Saturday and then Jared had to get packed up for this 10th grade curriculum week long trip. While Alex was finalizing his internship with the Art Therapy Institute.
So here I'm going to go into a proud momma moment with Alex. Out of all the students in his class he was the only one who completely cold called for his internship. The other students either did their internships with current or alumni parents or they interned at a place of business that their parents have friends or contacts in. So to me that first step was HUGE as some grown-ups cannot even do that - and he did it on his own. We googled Art Therapy and found the Art Therapy Institute in Durham and he grabbed the phone, called the number and left a detailed message. When he didn't hear back the next day he did it again and left his email that time, and sure enough he received an email and everything went forward from there. The other great thing is that instead of just a week internship, which is what our school requires, he is going to intern for the whole school year. He was originally supposed to work with some refugees children from Burma but because he would have had to leave class one day week that didn't quite work out - but he will be doing one-on-one work with a young girl named McKayla who has some issues (not sure what yet) but would benefit from art therapy. Alex will be starting the week after this one - as soon as his TB tests come back and we get a background check done - then he's all set! I'm very proud of him!
Alex also had his 17th birthday during that intern week - and though it was low-key I think he's enjoying his new birthday present (no, not a car) but a mini-laptop. It's pretty sweet!
Jared came back from a week of hanging out with his classmates and friends having learned about textiles. I think he was happy to be home and sleeping in his bed once again. :)
The boys also hosted a Halloween party at our house on Halloween. I think it was a success. We had 20 teenagers at our house from 6 until midnight and then the girls had to go home. We ended up with a total of 8 guys staying the night and boy, they were up late, until about 4am I think! There was loud music (boy those Bose speakers can really play loudly), lots of pizza and junk food and the hot tub - all was good!
We've received their interim grades so far this year and they are both doing awesome! Mostly A's with a couple of B's - so all-in-all they are doing great! Jared is in the midst of learning his lines for the 10th grade play, "You Can't Take It With You" and Alex is reading and discussing Parsival. And starting next week we move right into basketball season... yippee! It was so much fun last year that I cannot wait for this year. We have been allowed back on the league so there are many more games than last year and these games will be real ones - go Fighting Gnomes!!
So, as you can see, every day we are home very late, and now that we have fallen back in time it's pitch black by the time we get home. It's homework (prepping for Shannon), dinner, hot tub, and then one of our many netflix tv show addictions before going to bed to start all over again.
Shannon is doing well in his class - he just accepted a new student - Michelle Nelson. So he is at 24 students for this year. It sounds like there may be one more coming for a visit after our holiday break, but they won't be joining until 4th grade. He is knee deep in farming and dirt with his class - which is all fun!
I'm constantly kept busy in the office at school - besides my normal daily work stuff we are in the middle of an audit and trying to become accredited so I have taken on many other tasks that would not normally be mine to help things flow smoothly and get completed. I have given myself the nickname "Xena"! :) And just around the corner is re-enrollment - so it's never ending! I can honestly say that I am never bored at work - ever!
The guys are still practicing driving with their permits - but I don't think they are driving enough. We need to step that up some and Shannon and I need to become lazy and say we "just can't drive" and see how that goes?? I still think a defensive driving course would be the best thing for both of them so I need to take the time to research that and find out how much it will cost us...ugh!
I think that's all the news for now. I'm sure I missed some things along the way - but at least this is something.
Happy Martinmas everyone!
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Asphalt Driveway
Okay, this one is much newer... just happened today! We really wanted to do cement on our driveway but the cost was outrageous! It would have been 3 times as much as what we just paid for the asphalt. So, sorry all you "Save the Chip Seals" out there in AZ! ;)
New Living Room Furniture!
Okay, so it's been 3 months since my last post and nothing has changed... NOT! Here are a few photos of our new living room furniture we got back on Mother's Day. It's awesome, comfortable and can seat 6 comfortably (not counting the old rocking chair). Enjoy!
Friday, March 13, 2009
What Does One Do in a Waldorf High School???
Jared and Charlie standing next to their drawings of each other with pastels.
Jared's Fairy House!
Jared's Fairy house and Bennet's Fairy house!
Jared's, Bennet's and I don't know who's on the right...fairy homes in the fairyfield at school!Can't you just see the fairies living there?! I can!
Eleven Days...
So it's been eleven days since my last, very quick post of the picture of dot kitty and I'm not really sure what I should or need to write about. So this is going to be one of those ramblings of many different things about life... I guess.
Shannon's health is doing very well. Ever since he started the beta blockers his BP has been the most normal it's probably ever been his whole life. He has been hitting about 135/80 every day! So yipeeee!!!! He is getting weaned off the HCTZ as the Dr. doesn't think it's really doing anything for him. So that's good in the whole drug taking event.
I am hoping to finally finish up my training for the animal shelter tomorrow which will be nice to start doing. Alex, at this point, is still going through with it as well. I'm sure as time goes on that may change, but for now he is still interested in taking care of and helping animals in need. They are building their new animal shelter about 1.5 miles up the road from school so we'll be able to volunteer there and walk or bike to it on the days we do it which will be awesome!
Alex and Jared are doing well in school. It seems to be that they are enjoying high school very much and have a great experience with the classes they have and with their friends. We still have a few of the kids over every other weekend for xbox, basketball and just plain goofiness. Having 4 teenage boys every other weekend means going through a lot of food and drink! All-in-all everything is going very well!
The weather here is insane. New England has nothing on North Carolina - trust me on that. I honestly do not look forward more than 24 hours in the weather predictions online. Consistantly the weather cannot stay the same for more than 3 days. I know, I know, we haven't been trapped in snow, ice, snow, ice and more snow for the last 5 months but I know if I were living in NH or Cape Cod right now that I would expect, snow, ice, snow, ice... not 70's, 30's, 80's, 30's, 70's, 30's, 60's, 20's, within 3 days or less! HA!
The forcythia has bloomed, daffodills, crocus, and about 3 trees have bloomed and then freeze then back to blooming again?! And it's only March 13th! The bee's are incredibly confused the poor things! So be happy with your more consistent, albeit boring weather.
I'm sure I'll find my topic of venting or frustration soon but until then that's about it.
Shannon's health is doing very well. Ever since he started the beta blockers his BP has been the most normal it's probably ever been his whole life. He has been hitting about 135/80 every day! So yipeeee!!!! He is getting weaned off the HCTZ as the Dr. doesn't think it's really doing anything for him. So that's good in the whole drug taking event.
I am hoping to finally finish up my training for the animal shelter tomorrow which will be nice to start doing. Alex, at this point, is still going through with it as well. I'm sure as time goes on that may change, but for now he is still interested in taking care of and helping animals in need. They are building their new animal shelter about 1.5 miles up the road from school so we'll be able to volunteer there and walk or bike to it on the days we do it which will be awesome!
Alex and Jared are doing well in school. It seems to be that they are enjoying high school very much and have a great experience with the classes they have and with their friends. We still have a few of the kids over every other weekend for xbox, basketball and just plain goofiness. Having 4 teenage boys every other weekend means going through a lot of food and drink! All-in-all everything is going very well!
The weather here is insane. New England has nothing on North Carolina - trust me on that. I honestly do not look forward more than 24 hours in the weather predictions online. Consistantly the weather cannot stay the same for more than 3 days. I know, I know, we haven't been trapped in snow, ice, snow, ice and more snow for the last 5 months but I know if I were living in NH or Cape Cod right now that I would expect, snow, ice, snow, ice... not 70's, 30's, 80's, 30's, 70's, 30's, 60's, 20's, within 3 days or less! HA!
The forcythia
I'm sure I'll find my topic of venting or frustration soon but until then that's about it.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Xbox Dilemma
So for many years I have been a huge proponent against the Xbox. I'm sure you're thinking, "Well of course you are since you are a Waldorf family." but that is actually not it. I think it started when I saw the movie "Bowling for Columbine" back when we lived on Cape Cod - and even though our boys are nothing like those two young men it just made this impression that there really is nothing good or redeeming about having an Xbox (or any of the other myriad of game consoles that one can sink their money into). Besides, we have our PC and a million games that the boys can play - some of them the same games that you get for Xbox.
Speaking of money, that is the other huge reason for never owning one. I cringe every time I look at how much a new game costs for one of those devices. They are as costly, or even more so, than a new game for our PC. So it just never seemed like a smart investment of our money, our time and our children's braincells.
Fastforward to our new life here in NC.
Ahh, high school! Even at a Waldorf school high school it is still full of hormones and laziness and strange desires for stupid and annoying things...like Xbox's. So for the first time one started coming into our life. Only on the weekends, and usually only every other weekend. One of the other boys that is good friends of both our sons owns an Xbox and also has 4 controllers.
So at some point last year as this "fun" continued to ooze into our house Jared really wanted an Xbox - and for the first time ever I actually started to consider purchasing one for him. Both Jared and Alex seemed to enjoy playing it with their friends. And though the one game that they played over and over (Halo) seemed pretty intense and violent they were mostly laughing and having fun. There was the occasional grumble or argument about someone "cheating" but they overcame their issues. So, because things seemed to be going well I decided to start looking into getting a used one (Ebay or Craigslist) as I was not about to pay full price for one.
Then the day happened - and thank goodness it did before I had purchased something.
Jared started getting stressed and angry and both Alex and Sasha. They must have been ganging up on him and it pushed him over the edge. He started yelling at Alex, I mean really yelling. He was shaking and incredibly angry. Of course, Alex and Sasha just didn't get the fact that he was upset and just continued laughing, which only made things worse. Luckily things never got physical - but I think they were close. He continued screaming at Alex and wouldn't stop. It took a threat from me to finally get him to listen. And that was it! No more thoughts of Xbox...no more Xbox in our house for awhile either.
Weeks went by with no Xbox coming over. Then, slowly it started coming back - with promises that the outburst and anger wouldn't happen again. All 3 boys tried to slowly convince me to give in and let the boys get their own Xbox and I was adamant that there was no way that we would have one of our own. I think my exact words were, "Jared can buy one with his own money if he wants to but it's never coming into our house." So Jared and Alex gave up asking, but Sasha continued for a short time - and then, eventually he even stopped asking.
They continued playing with Sasha's when he came over and one of the other boys, Kimani, also would play with them - so it was always the 4 of them having fun and never really getting angry or upset. They would stop and go out for a walk with the dog or bounce on the trampoline, any physical ways to blow off any stress and get moving. Things were going amazingly well.
Fast forward 5 months to just past this Christmas.
Alex had been having lots of opportunities for socializing with his classmates and having parties or going to the movies - things like that. Jared had a few offerings from one of his old classmates to go do things but unfortunately it was the one boy that we can't trust as he had gotten into some trouble in 8th grade and Jared had followed along - so there was no trust with this boy.
So, as time went by Alex was always getting "Yes" and Jared was constantly getting "No". As a parent I was truly starting to feel guilty and it was eating at me. I kept hoping that Jared would want to start inviting some of his classmates over to our house like Alex did or make plans to go see a movie - anything that didn't involve that one boy. But, Jared isn't as into the social scene as Alex. Jared knows that we would be happy to have the whole 9th grade over for a party if he wants (all 19 of them) and we would make it work - but he is not interested in it.
So the boys had been given money as a gift from their grandma and they were trying to decide what to do with it. So, after many months of silence and fair play with the occasional Xbox Jared came to me very grown up and kind and asked, "Could we please use our money to get an Xbox 360 that we can get online and play with Sasha and Kimani without them always having to come over?" I just couldn't say no this time.
And that was how the Xbox invaded our lives though they have very specific rules and understand that if they fight, argue or are not doing their homework then the Xbox is gone.
Speaking of money, that is the other huge reason for never owning one. I cringe every time I look at how much a new game costs for one of those devices. They are as costly, or even more so, than a new game for our PC. So it just never seemed like a smart investment of our money, our time and our children's braincells.
Fastforward to our new life here in NC.
Ahh, high school! Even at a Waldorf school high school it is still full of hormones and laziness and strange desires for stupid and annoying things...like Xbox's. So for the first time one started coming into our life. Only on the weekends, and usually only every other weekend. One of the other boys that is good friends of both our sons owns an Xbox and also has 4 controllers.
So at some point last year as this "fun" continued to ooze into our house Jared really wanted an Xbox - and for the first time ever I actually started to consider purchasing one for him. Both Jared and Alex seemed to enjoy playing it with their friends. And though the one game that they played over and over (Halo) seemed pretty intense and violent they were mostly laughing and having fun. There was the occasional grumble or argument about someone "cheating" but they overcame their issues. So, because things seemed to be going well I decided to start looking into getting a used one (Ebay or Craigslist) as I was not about to pay full price for one.
Then the day happened - and thank goodness it did before I had purchased something.
Jared started getting stressed and angry and both Alex and Sasha. They must have been ganging up on him and it pushed him over the edge. He started yelling at Alex, I mean really yelling. He was shaking and incredibly angry. Of course, Alex and Sasha just didn't get the fact that he was upset and just continued laughing, which only made things worse. Luckily things never got physical - but I think they were close. He continued screaming at Alex and wouldn't stop. It took a threat from me to finally get him to listen. And that was it! No more thoughts of Xbox...no more Xbox in our house for awhile either.
Weeks went by with no Xbox coming over. Then, slowly it started coming back - with promises that the outburst and anger wouldn't happen again. All 3 boys tried to slowly convince me to give in and let the boys get their own Xbox and I was adamant that there was no way that we would have one of our own. I think my exact words were, "Jared can buy one with his own money if he wants to but it's never coming into our house." So Jared and Alex gave up asking, but Sasha continued for a short time - and then, eventually he even stopped asking.
They continued playing with Sasha's when he came over and one of the other boys, Kimani, also would play with them - so it was always the 4 of them having fun and never really getting angry or upset. They would stop and go out for a walk with the dog or bounce on the trampoline, any physical ways to blow off any stress and get moving. Things were going amazingly well.
Fast forward 5 months to just past this Christmas.
Alex had been having lots of opportunities for socializing with his classmates and having parties or going to the movies - things like that. Jared had a few offerings from one of his old classmates to go do things but unfortunately it was the one boy that we can't trust as he had gotten into some trouble in 8th grade and Jared had followed along - so there was no trust with this boy.
So, as time went by Alex was always getting "Yes" and Jared was constantly getting "No". As a parent I was truly starting to feel guilty and it was eating at me. I kept hoping that Jared would want to start inviting some of his classmates over to our house like Alex did or make plans to go see a movie - anything that didn't involve that one boy. But, Jared isn't as into the social scene as Alex. Jared knows that we would be happy to have the whole 9th grade over for a party if he wants (all 19 of them) and we would make it work - but he is not interested in it.
So the boys had been given money as a gift from their grandma and they were trying to decide what to do with it. So, after many months of silence and fair play with the occasional Xbox Jared came to me very grown up and kind and asked, "Could we please use our money to get an Xbox 360 that we can get online and play with Sasha and Kimani without them always having to come over?" I just couldn't say no this time.
And that was how the Xbox invaded our lives though they have very specific rules and understand that if they fight, argue or are not doing their homework then the Xbox is gone.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
For My Atheist Friends
Here is a good read about myths on atheists... it's worth reading!
http://www.alternet.org/story/126118/10_myths_and_truths_about_atheists_/
http://www.alternet.org/story/126118/10_myths_and_truths_about_atheists_/
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Last Week's Work Craziness....
...on top of the health & tooth stress of poor Shannon, last week itself was just weird at school.
We had two subject teachers already out for the whole week that were needing to be covered and then all of the following happened...
So Monday was Shannon going from being at the dentist to the emergency room and me having to call into the office to say, "Shannon has a class to cover but he can't as he's at the ER." and the office staff stepped up to go find someone to fill in for Shannon for the rest of the afternoon. Yay office!!
Tuesday one of our teacher's was heading into work when she was in a head on car collision. Fortunately she came out fine, though sore, but her car was totaled!
Wednesday we had a 4th grader pass out in class first thing in the morning and hit his chin smack on the floor. He was fine but we had to call 911 and then our administrative assistant had to travel with the child to the emergency room. The boy was fine, though he needed 10 stitches on his split chin.
Thursday was another injury, though not quite as drastic, though possibly stitches needed in the mouth - I'm honestly not sure how that one ended up. The poor Admin. Assistant was left alone when that one happened.
Then Friday, fortunately no accidents or injuries, but it was the last day for re-enrollment contract to be turned it so it was just very crazy all day in the office.
Man was the weekend a welcome respite!!!!
We had two subject teachers already out for the whole week that were needing to be covered and then all of the following happened...
So Monday was Shannon going from being at the dentist to the emergency room and me having to call into the office to say, "Shannon has a class to cover but he can't as he's at the ER." and the office staff stepped up to go find someone to fill in for Shannon for the rest of the afternoon. Yay office!!
Tuesday one of our teacher's was heading into work when she was in a head on car collision. Fortunately she came out fine, though sore, but her car was totaled!
Wednesday we had a 4th grader pass out in class first thing in the morning and hit his chin smack on the floor. He was fine but we had to call 911 and then our administrative assistant had to travel with the child to the emergency room. The boy was fine, though he needed 10 stitches on his split chin.
Thursday was another injury, though not quite as drastic, though possibly stitches needed in the mouth - I'm honestly not sure how that one ended up. The poor Admin. Assistant was left alone when that one happened.
Then Friday, fortunately no accidents or injuries, but it was the last day for re-enrollment contract to be turned it so it was just very crazy all day in the office.
Man was the weekend a welcome respite!!!!
Friday, January 30, 2009
Shannon Update
So Shannon went into work Tuesday though he was still having a lot of tooth pain. He would take the perkocet later in the day, after main lesson, to alleviate the pain and not be fuzzy through main lesson. His blood pressure was still high, but it's "normal" high, which was bothering me because he was now taking blood pressure medication but it still seemed to not be helping much.
Wednesday after school he went back to his Naturopath and caught her caught up on Monday's event, hoping she could help us figure out how to get his blood pressure down enough for his Endodontist appointment for Thursday at noon. She had him double his blood pressure medication for that night and again in the morning along with taking his perkocet in hopes that would bring it down enough (safely) that he could finally get the work done that he needed on his tooth. We also asked her to go ahead and refer him to the Md. at the same business to start working on what blood pressure medications will get all of this under control. So he had an appointment with a new Dr. on Friday after school.
Thursday at noon was Shannon's much needed and very stressful dentist appointment. He felt as if his blood pressure had to be incredibly low with all the drugs he had taken in under 12 hours. Alas, it was still high, but not as high as Monday, and with a little coaxing the dentist was willing to get the work started. So an hour later he had his tooth drilled and filled with antiobiotics to start killing the nasty infection he has deep inside. (WHEW!) He has to go back to the dentist in two weeks for them to take a peek and then two more weeks (if the infection is gone) to finish fixing up the tooth (root canal we think).
That afternoon, when we got home from school early and his novicaine had worn off but the antiobiotics were obviously starting to take affect as his nose wasn't draining 1/3 as much he checked his blood pressure again and it was at a new all time low! Though, the next morning it was back up, but still not as high as it had been all this past couple of weeks.
So today we just got back from his Dr. appointment, and the Dr. was not only nice, kind and intelligent, but he was willing to say that he wasn't sure which blood pressure medication he should be on so he wanted to refer him to the other Dr. in this same place, who has a lot more experience to help us make the right decision. So, he has yet one more Dr.'s appointment next Thursday to help us decide whether a beta blocker or an ACE inhibitor is the right path to go.
Yipee, we are on our way to a safe recovery and a happier healthier Shannon who will be around for another 50 years!
There was much craziness in the office at school every day this week since Monday but I'll write about all of that later this weekend. Just know that Shannon is doing much better today! He's back to his happy-go-lucky self! Yipeeee!
Wednesday after school he went back to his Naturopath and caught her caught up on Monday's event, hoping she could help us figure out how to get his blood pressure down enough for his Endodontist appointment for Thursday at noon. She had him double his blood pressure medication for that night and again in the morning along with taking his perkocet in hopes that would bring it down enough (safely) that he could finally get the work done that he needed on his tooth. We also asked her to go ahead and refer him to the Md. at the same business to start working on what blood pressure medications will get all of this under control. So he had an appointment with a new Dr. on Friday after school.
Thursday at noon was Shannon's much needed and very stressful dentist appointment. He felt as if his blood pressure had to be incredibly low with all the drugs he had taken in under 12 hours. Alas, it was still high, but not as high as Monday, and with a little coaxing the dentist was willing to get the work started. So an hour later he had his tooth drilled and filled with antiobiotics to start killing the nasty infection he has deep inside. (WHEW!) He has to go back to the dentist in two weeks for them to take a peek and then two more weeks (if the infection is gone) to finish fixing up the tooth (root canal we think).
That afternoon, when we got home from school early and his novicaine had worn off but the antiobiotics were obviously starting to take affect as his nose wasn't draining 1/3 as much he checked his blood pressure again and it was at a new all time low! Though, the next morning it was back up, but still not as high as it had been all this past couple of weeks.
So today we just got back from his Dr. appointment, and the Dr. was not only nice, kind and intelligent, but he was willing to say that he wasn't sure which blood pressure medication he should be on so he wanted to refer him to the other Dr. in this same place, who has a lot more experience to help us make the right decision. So, he has yet one more Dr.'s appointment next Thursday to help us decide whether a beta blocker or an ACE inhibitor is the right path to go.
Yipee, we are on our way to a safe recovery and a happier healthier Shannon who will be around for another 50 years!
There was much craziness in the office at school every day this week since Monday but I'll write about all of that later this weekend. Just know that Shannon is doing much better today! He's back to his happy-go-lucky self! Yipeeee!
Monday, January 26, 2009
Emotionally Exhausting Day
Well, from last nights end of Dot kitty passing away to today I think I've squeezed the whole week into less than 24 hours!
Shannon has been having a tooth problem and I finally got him to see an Endodontist today, during school to start having the tooth worked on. After being sick almost all last week with a fever and cough, and then this tooth problem and then Dot dying last night it's no wonder what happened next...
The dentist decided that he needed to do some immediate drilling on his tooth to put some kind of antibiotic "fill" inside to get rid of the infection, and after announcing that he then needed to take Shannon's blood pressure.
It was so high that they thought their machine was broken so went and got another machine and took it a 2nd time, to no avail. They decided that not only were they NOT going to work on his tooth but that he needed to either see his Dr. or call his Dr. to see what they wanted to do. So they call his Dr.'s office, but she wasn't in, but they checked with another Dr. who said that he needed to go to a hospital right away.
Sigh
So, after getting a prescription for amoxicillan and driving directions to UNC Hospital and calling back to the school to say that Shannon would not be back for his next class because his blood pressure was so high....off to the hospital we went.
5 hours later with a 2 week high blood pressure medication and some sort of pain pill for his tooth we are now safely back at home.
Faculty and class parents were all very concerned...giving us quiche, soup and a casserole for dinner tonight and offerings of more food to come and even driving our boys to school tomorrow if we couldn't...all just an amazing community when emergencies are abound!
I had my first huge glimpse or flash of possibly loosing my husband...the man of my life...my soulmate...being gone...and it wasn't a lovely glimpse at all.
We will be resetting that dentist appointment tomorrow along with his Dr. and moving onto a regular Md. to get this high blood pressure undercontrol. I want Shannon around for another 50 years at least!
In exhaustion...Me
Shannon has been having a tooth problem and I finally got him to see an Endodontist today, during school to start having the tooth worked on. After being sick almost all last week with a fever and cough, and then this tooth problem and then Dot dying last night it's no wonder what happened next...
The dentist decided that he needed to do some immediate drilling on his tooth to put some kind of antibiotic "fill" inside to get rid of the infection, and after announcing that he then needed to take Shannon's blood pressure.
It was so high that they thought their machine was broken so went and got another machine and took it a 2nd time, to no avail. They decided that not only were they NOT going to work on his tooth but that he needed to either see his Dr. or call his Dr. to see what they wanted to do. So they call his Dr.'s office, but she wasn't in, but they checked with another Dr. who said that he needed to go to a hospital right away.
Sigh
So, after getting a prescription for amoxicillan and driving directions to UNC Hospital and calling back to the school to say that Shannon would not be back for his next class because his blood pressure was so high....off to the hospital we went.
5 hours later with a 2 week high blood pressure medication and some sort of pain pill for his tooth we are now safely back at home.
Faculty and class parents were all very concerned...giving us quiche, soup and a casserole for dinner tonight and offerings of more food to come and even driving our boys to school tomorrow if we couldn't...all just an amazing community when emergencies are abound!
I had my first huge glimpse or flash of possibly loosing my husband...the man of my life...my soulmate...being gone...and it wasn't a lovely glimpse at all.
We will be resetting that dentist appointment tomorrow along with his Dr. and moving onto a regular Md. to get this high blood pressure undercontrol. I want Shannon around for another 50 years at least!
In exhaustion...Me
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Audieu to our Dot Kitty
It is with great sadness that I make this post tonight. Our most favorite, sweet, kind, loving, soft, happy, purr-fect companion, Dot Kitty has passed away tonight.
No traumatic car accident, no injury, no illness as far as we can tell, just her time to go. We thought she might have a cold as the past 24 hours she has not really been eating, which is completely not normal for Dot. But about 15 minutes ago Mary came into the living room with a frantic, "Come here now!" to Shannon. Dot was just outside her door and she was laying on her side, not moving. Shannon picked her up and as we talked about whether we should call an emergency vet Dot made one last kind of cough sound and stopped breathing...in Shannon's warm arms.
I don't have a photo of her on the PC but will put one on this blog later (probably tomorrow) in honor of the little kitten that Jared so badly wanted us to keep.
She was our boys first pet that has been with us for 10 years, from her birth until death. She will be greatly missed by all of us. We love you very much Dot!
No traumatic car accident, no injury, no illness as far as we can tell, just her time to go. We thought she might have a cold as the past 24 hours she has not really been eating, which is completely not normal for Dot. But about 15 minutes ago Mary came into the living room with a frantic, "Come here now!" to Shannon. Dot was just outside her door and she was laying on her side, not moving. Shannon picked her up and as we talked about whether we should call an emergency vet Dot made one last kind of cough sound and stopped breathing...in Shannon's warm arms.
I don't have a photo of her on the PC but will put one on this blog later (probably tomorrow) in honor of the little kitten that Jared so badly wanted us to keep.
She was our boys first pet that has been with us for 10 years, from her birth until death. She will be greatly missed by all of us. We love you very much Dot!
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Bragging Rights
Okay, Alex just did a babysitting stint for a parent at our school and we received the following email:
Hi Kelley and Shannon-
I just wanted to let you know that I was quite impressed with Alex last night. I hesitated when he asked for $10/hr because we usually have a neighbor babysit for us who is the same age as Alex and has 6 siblings. I paid him $8/hr. He got the job done, but not much more. Alex, on the other hand, made dinner from scratch, had the kids in bed before we came home, emptied the dishwasher and cleaned up after dinner, and when Brian asked me how much to give Alex, Alex expected us to pay him less for the time after the kids were in bed. Wow! He was polite, the kids enjoyed his company, they listened to him (at least by Alex's report) and there was only one plastic spoon caught on fire (I haven't gotten the full story on this one yet). You did good!! Alex did, too.
So, I am wondering if there is a chance to set up a regularly scheduled "date night", once a month. And I will happily pay $10/hr.
'Nuff said.
Hi Kelley and Shannon-
I just wanted to let you know that I was quite impressed with Alex last night. I hesitated when he asked for $10/hr because we usually have a neighbor babysit for us who is the same age as Alex and has 6 siblings. I paid him $8/hr. He got the job done, but not much more. Alex, on the other hand, made dinner from scratch, had the kids in bed before we came home, emptied the dishwasher and cleaned up after dinner, and when Brian asked me how much to give Alex, Alex expected us to pay him less for the time after the kids were in bed. Wow! He was polite, the kids enjoyed his company, they listened to him (at least by Alex's report) and there was only one plastic spoon caught on fire (I haven't gotten the full story on this one yet). You did good!! Alex did, too.
So, I am wondering if there is a chance to set up a regularly scheduled "date night", once a month. And I will happily pay $10/hr.
'Nuff said.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Update on Ankle's and Volunteering!
So we went back to the Dr.'s on Wednesday this past week after school and were advised that Jared was lucky. No fracture, no salter fracture, just a bad sprain. There has been no damage to his growth plate either. So he is supposed to wear his "boot" for 2 more weeks, then high tops tied for 2 weeks, then regular tennis shoes tied for 2 weeks and will be all set! Unfortunately that means no more basketball for the season, but he can go to practices and just practice shooting and go to any more games to cheer on his teammates - GO EAGLES! Fortunately we use arnica - which is a homeopathic miracle as far as I'm concerned and it's helping heal his foot up quicker than just ice and ibuprofen. So he may get a last chance to play in early February if he takes care of his ankles!
The boys had an SAC meeting two weekends ago but I'm not quite sure what's new. I am glad that they are a part of this event as I think it will be a great educational piece for themselves personally, for social issues, but also for any college entrances they may want to make in the future! I'll let you guys know more when I do.
The last piece is the volunteer time at the Orange County Animal Shelter. Alex and I went to our orientation last week and will be going to our training tomorrow night and then after that we can start volunteering 2 or 4 hours a week. The best news is that they are having a new building built less than 1 mile from our school. This should be done and open by the end of March and then we can walk from school to the shelter, and, eventually Jared can start volunteering if he wants too.
I have a piece of parent proudness but I wanted to copy and paste the email into the blog so that will have to wait! So for now, we hope everyone has had a good week. Happy MLK Jr. birthday! Tomorrow is another historic event - Hope and Change!!!!
The boys had an SAC meeting two weekends ago but I'm not quite sure what's new. I am glad that they are a part of this event as I think it will be a great educational piece for themselves personally, for social issues, but also for any college entrances they may want to make in the future! I'll let you guys know more when I do.
The last piece is the volunteer time at the Orange County Animal Shelter. Alex and I went to our orientation last week and will be going to our training tomorrow night and then after that we can start volunteering 2 or 4 hours a week. The best news is that they are having a new building built less than 1 mile from our school. This should be done and open by the end of March and then we can walk from school to the shelter, and, eventually Jared can start volunteering if he wants too.
I have a piece of parent proudness but I wanted to copy and paste the email into the blog so that will have to wait! So for now, we hope everyone has had a good week. Happy MLK Jr. birthday! Tomorrow is another historic event - Hope and Change!!!!
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Lazy or Just Busy?
It feels like I just posted something on my blog but it tells me that it's been since January 2nd - 9 days ago?!?!
I wish I could say we have just been lazy but as I reflect back on this past week it seems that is not the case! This is not going to be one of my story posts about one particular event or happening this time. It's just about this past week in general which really isn't all that exciting, except the end of the week. So you can always scroll down if it's too mundane! :)
School started back up for all of us on Monday and it started off with a bang for me. We were without internet and email and we also have a very important letter that needed to go out to the parent community by the end of dismissal that day. On top of that there was projectile barfing from a 1st grader on our office carpet (she managed to miss BOTH trash bins that were next to her). So, needless to say it was a very long hectic day for me.
Of course, basketball continued so we were back to the late evenings again. We also found out that there were 2 new games added to the week on top of the one that had been planned for awhile. So Tuesday, Thursday and Friday were game days for Jared.
On Tuesday not only did we still not have internet and email at work but the database - which I use constantly - was not working. Talk about the week looking like it was going to last forever! There were also three different students coming in to share their sore throat germs with us...sigh. Luckily I had our wonderful parent volunteer get the database back up and running at some point during the day. But because of the wait I had work to do that went past my 4pm end time. Shannon had an even more interesting day as we he was supposed to be at a meeting after school, he now had Jared's basketball game that he should attend, and the one he ended up having to do which was help someone pack up all their stuff and load it up in their vehicle to take away.
So, sadly, we all missed Jared's Tuesday basketball game but Alex and I went and picked him up and went home, leaving Shannon behind because it was still going to be a couple more hours before he was ready to go home. Needless to say it was an incredibly long Tuesday.
Wednesday seemed to just build on the last two crappy days, at least in the office for me, with things only piling up and people around me seeming to be using software and technology that just shouldn't be allowed too! So, by 12:30 I was so incredibly frustrated at everyone's "stupidity" and the fact that the internet and email still weren't working that I had to just go for a very long walk. It was the best 2 mile walk and relieved all of my stress (thank goodness because I really was feeling the desire to just go postal)! And finally our high school Spanish teacher, who is also our IT tech support came in and fixed the internet and email, or at least we hoped. I also did my 2 mile walk again - and boy, what a difference it makes!
So I was able to finish out that day with patience and calmness until Shannon was done with the weekly faculty meeting and Jared's basketball practice was done. Yet another late evening home again.
(Mind you, the weather here for these past 3 days have been incredibly fun ((sarcasm here)) almost cloudy all the time with tons of rain on Tuesday and Wednesday it was cloudy with a lot of wind and in the low 60's!)
Thursday was mostly uneventful. I went around and helped administrative staff with using software. While doing this I have decided I need to find a way to make time to give classes this summer for both Excel and CRM (our database) - I just have to find the time.
Jared's basketball game was back in Bahama, which is almost an hour from our school. So by the time Shannon's weekly College meeting was done and we drove up there we missed the first half of the game. This is the team of hairy large thick young men that they played before the holiday break (my first basketball post). I found out that this team is all seniors, so varsity, not junior varsity like ours, and that they have been playing together for 4 years. So I actually felt proud that our team could even score points at all, let alone 25, which is what they did this time. Go Eagles! Home late again.
Finally Friday! It should have come much faster but, at least it got here! And with it no database and then no internet and email before 9am at work. Our IT guy was back and needed to use my computer so that left me, at first, twiddling my thumbs, and then eventually helping our Admissions with stuffing folders for enrollment - stuff, stuff, stuff.
By noon everything was back to normal and work went on as usual. The sun was finally out that day as well, so it just felt better in general. I also did my 2 mile walk yet again and then it was another basketball game to attend after school was out. Luckily this one was just up the road at Carolina Friends School.
So Alex, Shannon and I get over there just in time for the start of game and we are cheering on our team. A few more parents from both schools slowly started trickling in as the game continued. The Eagle's started off well but as time went on it seemed their stamina was wearing down quickly. They were not used to 3 games in one week.
Shortly after half time Jared is back out on the court and we were all following the ball action, which did not include Jared and when we looked back to where the ball action was heading there was Jared on the ground, trying to reach his left ankle and making an excruciating face and we were all trying to figure out what exactly happened?
After a few moments, when it was obvious he wasn't getting up the refs stopped the game and one of the coaches came over and helped him off the court. They put him on the bench for a few moments with some ice, but we could tell from the faces he was making that something was not right. The coach moved him into the room behind them where they can use a whiteboard to work on plays and closed the door. Alex asked if he should go check, and trying not to be a mother hen and go run and find out what was going on, I said that would be a good idea.
So, after a few minutes of Alex being gone and not returning I asked Kimani if he could go find out what was going on and report back to me. Kimani came back out and said that the couch thought Jared needed x-rays!
At this point I went over to the room and took a peek. Jared's left ankle was already completely swollen and starting to turn a light blue shade and he was really in a lot of pain - coming from my tough boy (high tolerance for pain). The coach said that he was concerned because of how quickly it swelled and also that Jared said he heard a popping sound that something just might be broken.
So we gathered up his things and Alex helped him out to the truck. I asked around to the parents where the best place to take him would be as this was our first emergency and luckily one of the parents said there was an urgent care just up the road that did x-rays. So I called to make sure they were open and then we headed on our way.
An hour later, of mostly waiting, it seems that there is something between a sprain and a fracture, called a "salter fracture". You can google it if you'd like. It seems that this is a very common injury for kids this age, especially when they plays sports (like basketball). But because the Dr. on duty was not an orthepedic Dr., only a general practician, he wanted Jared to come back later in the week during the normal operating hours of the place (which is an Orthepedic office) and have another x-ray done and the orthepedic Dr. to take a look.
So for now Jared is hobbling around with a "boot" (looks kind of like a ski boot) and is taking ibuprofin for when it hurts and we are using arnica and ice when needed. He will get to go back in on Wednesday after school and see what is really going on. In the mean time he has to wear the boot when he's going to be up and moving around (which is most of the time) and take it off for showers and bed.
To top it off we had Sasha and Kimani over that night after the game for a sleepover and then on Saturday they had to go to their S.A.C. training at the high school from noon to 3pm (this is part of that Social Inclusion program I wrote about a couple of months ago).
So, today is Sunday and now that I'm done writing about the past week I still wish I could say I was just lazy and didn't feel like writing but that wasn't the case.
I wish I could say we have just been lazy but as I reflect back on this past week it seems that is not the case! This is not going to be one of my story posts about one particular event or happening this time. It's just about this past week in general which really isn't all that exciting, except the end of the week. So you can always scroll down if it's too mundane! :)
School started back up for all of us on Monday and it started off with a bang for me. We were without internet and email and we also have a very important letter that needed to go out to the parent community by the end of dismissal that day. On top of that there was projectile barfing from a 1st grader on our office carpet (she managed to miss BOTH trash bins that were next to her). So, needless to say it was a very long hectic day for me.
Of course, basketball continued so we were back to the late evenings again. We also found out that there were 2 new games added to the week on top of the one that had been planned for awhile. So Tuesday, Thursday and Friday were game days for Jared.
On Tuesday not only did we still not have internet and email at work but the database - which I use constantly - was not working. Talk about the week looking like it was going to last forever! There were also three different students coming in to share their sore throat germs with us...sigh. Luckily I had our wonderful parent volunteer get the database back up and running at some point during the day. But because of the wait I had work to do that went past my 4pm end time. Shannon had an even more interesting day as we he was supposed to be at a meeting after school, he now had Jared's basketball game that he should attend, and the one he ended up having to do which was help someone pack up all their stuff and load it up in their vehicle to take away.
So, sadly, we all missed Jared's Tuesday basketball game but Alex and I went and picked him up and went home, leaving Shannon behind because it was still going to be a couple more hours before he was ready to go home. Needless to say it was an incredibly long Tuesday.
Wednesday seemed to just build on the last two crappy days, at least in the office for me, with things only piling up and people around me seeming to be using software and technology that just shouldn't be allowed too! So, by 12:30 I was so incredibly frustrated at everyone's "stupidity" and the fact that the internet and email still weren't working that I had to just go for a very long walk. It was the best 2 mile walk and relieved all of my stress (thank goodness because I really was feeling the desire to just go postal)! And finally our high school Spanish teacher, who is also our IT tech support came in and fixed the internet and email, or at least we hoped. I also did my 2 mile walk again - and boy, what a difference it makes!
So I was able to finish out that day with patience and calmness until Shannon was done with the weekly faculty meeting and Jared's basketball practice was done. Yet another late evening home again.
(Mind you, the weather here for these past 3 days have been incredibly fun ((sarcasm here)) almost cloudy all the time with tons of rain on Tuesday and Wednesday it was cloudy with a lot of wind and in the low 60's!)
Thursday was mostly uneventful. I went around and helped administrative staff with using software. While doing this I have decided I need to find a way to make time to give classes this summer for both Excel and CRM (our database) - I just have to find the time.
Jared's basketball game was back in Bahama, which is almost an hour from our school. So by the time Shannon's weekly College meeting was done and we drove up there we missed the first half of the game. This is the team of hairy large thick young men that they played before the holiday break (my first basketball post). I found out that this team is all seniors, so varsity, not junior varsity like ours, and that they have been playing together for 4 years. So I actually felt proud that our team could even score points at all, let alone 25, which is what they did this time. Go Eagles! Home late again.
Finally Friday! It should have come much faster but, at least it got here! And with it no database and then no internet and email before 9am at work. Our IT guy was back and needed to use my computer so that left me, at first, twiddling my thumbs, and then eventually helping our Admissions with stuffing folders for enrollment - stuff, stuff, stuff.
By noon everything was back to normal and work went on as usual. The sun was finally out that day as well, so it just felt better in general. I also did my 2 mile walk yet again and then it was another basketball game to attend after school was out. Luckily this one was just up the road at Carolina Friends School.
So Alex, Shannon and I get over there just in time for the start of game and we are cheering on our team. A few more parents from both schools slowly started trickling in as the game continued. The Eagle's started off well but as time went on it seemed their stamina was wearing down quickly. They were not used to 3 games in one week.
Shortly after half time Jared is back out on the court and we were all following the ball action, which did not include Jared and when we looked back to where the ball action was heading there was Jared on the ground, trying to reach his left ankle and making an excruciating face and we were all trying to figure out what exactly happened?
After a few moments, when it was obvious he wasn't getting up the refs stopped the game and one of the coaches came over and helped him off the court. They put him on the bench for a few moments with some ice, but we could tell from the faces he was making that something was not right. The coach moved him into the room behind them where they can use a whiteboard to work on plays and closed the door. Alex asked if he should go check, and trying not to be a mother hen and go run and find out what was going on, I said that would be a good idea.
So, after a few minutes of Alex being gone and not returning I asked Kimani if he could go find out what was going on and report back to me. Kimani came back out and said that the couch thought Jared needed x-rays!
At this point I went over to the room and took a peek. Jared's left ankle was already completely swollen and starting to turn a light blue shade and he was really in a lot of pain - coming from my tough boy (high tolerance for pain). The coach said that he was concerned because of how quickly it swelled and also that Jared said he heard a popping sound that something just might be broken.
So we gathered up his things and Alex helped him out to the truck. I asked around to the parents where the best place to take him would be as this was our first emergency and luckily one of the parents said there was an urgent care just up the road that did x-rays. So I called to make sure they were open and then we headed on our way.
An hour later, of mostly waiting, it seems that there is something between a sprain and a fracture, called a "salter fracture". You can google it if you'd like. It seems that this is a very common injury for kids this age, especially when they plays sports (like basketball). But because the Dr. on duty was not an orthepedic Dr., only a general practician, he wanted Jared to come back later in the week during the normal operating hours of the place (which is an Orthepedic office) and have another x-ray done and the orthepedic Dr. to take a look.
So for now Jared is hobbling around with a "boot" (looks kind of like a ski boot) and is taking ibuprofin for when it hurts and we are using arnica and ice when needed. He will get to go back in on Wednesday after school and see what is really going on. In the mean time he has to wear the boot when he's going to be up and moving around (which is most of the time) and take it off for showers and bed.
To top it off we had Sasha and Kimani over that night after the game for a sleepover and then on Saturday they had to go to their S.A.C. training at the high school from noon to 3pm (this is part of that Social Inclusion program I wrote about a couple of months ago).
So, today is Sunday and now that I'm done writing about the past week I still wish I could say I was just lazy and didn't feel like writing but that wasn't the case.
Friday, January 2, 2009
New Year and Life Happenings
So the big hit in the Wiley household is a computer game called Spore. For those who are not into computers or computer games you can go to Spores website here to learn more if you want. This is a mixture of a few different types of games that the guys love all put into one. We got the fancy space one so you can start out as an amoeba and evolve to the point where space travel is possible. It really is quite a fun and funny game - though not one that will be sucking my life or brain cells away any time soon. This is yet another game of multi-tasking, which I can't stand! I guess I do enough multi-tasking in my work life, and home life, that escaping into a multi-tasking game just isn't for me. But the guys all seem to be enjoying it so I think it was the number 1 gift from Christmas!
Alex is Mr. Socialite. We had a goodbye party for one of his classmates who was only in the class for a few months and is now returning to Austria. That was a couple days before Christmas. Then they had another goodbye party for her because two of the classmates were not here when we had our party. Then it was ice skating with K.T. for 3 hours (my ankles shudder in fear of that thought).
Then New Year's Eve both Alex and Jared went to a party to ring in the new year's with some of their classmates and friends - it was a party for families so we were invited as well. But, because our boys have to hang out with us so much of their lives - at school and when we are running and chaperoning the dances - we felt it was best to give them some social space.
So resolutions are always a big thing for New Years for a lot of people. I used to be one of those people but over the years have realized that a lot of the resolutions were to lofty or maybe I just did too many? Then I would be disappointed in myself when I didn't do them all or keep them. This time around I think instead of hitting myself with a lot of resolutions all at once I will just work on one thing at a time - baby step resolutions - to help myself grow and change. I'll let you know how that goes.
My first baby step is to try some volunteering OUTSIDE of our school. Because animals have been a long time passion of mine that is where I'm going to start. The Orange County Animal Shelter is near the school and because basketball is keeping me at school late every night I figured I could be using my time more wisely. Alex says he is interested in doing that as well so we are going to put in our applications and hopefully go to their next training session and go from there.
Only 3 more days and then it's back to the rat race. This has been the first time in 7 years that I have been able to spend the whole holiday vacation with my family and it has been the best! No having to take vacation time to do so or, worse, having to work while they are all home relaxing. I could get used to this! :)
Happy New Years to everyone. More to come later.
Alex is Mr. Socialite. We had a goodbye party for one of his classmates who was only in the class for a few months and is now returning to Austria. That was a couple days before Christmas. Then they had another goodbye party for her because two of the classmates were not here when we had our party. Then it was ice skating with K.T. for 3 hours (my ankles shudder in fear of that thought).
Then New Year's Eve both Alex and Jared went to a party to ring in the new year's with some of their classmates and friends - it was a party for families so we were invited as well. But, because our boys have to hang out with us so much of their lives - at school and when we are running and chaperoning the dances - we felt it was best to give them some social space.
So resolutions are always a big thing for New Years for a lot of people. I used to be one of those people but over the years have realized that a lot of the resolutions were to lofty or maybe I just did too many? Then I would be disappointed in myself when I didn't do them all or keep them. This time around I think instead of hitting myself with a lot of resolutions all at once I will just work on one thing at a time - baby step resolutions - to help myself grow and change. I'll let you know how that goes.
My first baby step is to try some volunteering OUTSIDE of our school. Because animals have been a long time passion of mine that is where I'm going to start. The Orange County Animal Shelter is near the school and because basketball is keeping me at school late every night I figured I could be using my time more wisely. Alex says he is interested in doing that as well so we are going to put in our applications and hopefully go to their next training session and go from there.
Only 3 more days and then it's back to the rat race. This has been the first time in 7 years that I have been able to spend the whole holiday vacation with my family and it has been the best! No having to take vacation time to do so or, worse, having to work while they are all home relaxing. I could get used to this! :)
Happy New Years to everyone. More to come later.
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