Ward Ice Cream Social & Game Night Tonight!

This will be our first activity since Dave was called as the Activities Dude. I'm hoping everything pans out & everyone has a good time. The young men are also doing a car wash fund raiser while we're feeding every one's faces & making them play games they would probably rather not, so at least some good will come of it! LOL

I'm still leaning more towards my zombie-side, with a muscle relaxant hangover, but hopefully I can function enough to get things done today. Dave has to work & the committee people aren't returning my calls (they're not the only ones....I think I'm going to stop leaving messages & just start calling people every hour as needed :P) so it looks like I'm the one doing the set up. I figure as long as I'm not stuck with the tear down & clean up, I'm all good. :)

Also, I think the threat of the crazies has passed so I'm floundering over whether or not to go public with my blog again. I don't prefer it this way & I think the crazy *ahem* lady has focused her attention elsewhere.

Zzzzzzzzzzz......

Muscle relaxers are my friends today. Though this means no games or prizes for tomorrow night's activity were gathered until just a few minutes ago. Oh well. At least something will get done tomorrow.

As a side note; If I leave a message for someone, trying to schedule something important, I actually expect a call back.

Grrr.

Scout Camp Fundraising

This year they're going on the trip of all trips! It will involve white water rafting, from what I'm told. I can't remember the exact details, just that it sounded like a trip even I would want to go on! Then they told me the cost.

Why must everything good & fun be so expensive!?

Luckily, the leaders came up with a plan to get the boys to raise some of the money on their own. Though, being the teenage boys that they are, Ty doesn't seem to be entirely motivated. I've had to push a bit to get him going & even found him his first "job" to earn some cash to help pay for the trip.

I dropped Dave at his bosses house earlier this week so they could head off for a round of golf. His yard had some mamma-jamma-sized weeds & their kids & even some cousins hanging out all over the yard. His tree was looking overgrown too, so I asked him if he'd be interested in Ty coming over to clean things up for him. He told me to send him over but we never discussed the price.

We went over there yesterday morning & I helped Ty get things done. It took 3 hours, several (freaking) splinters, a kind neighbor who took pity on us & loaned us her leaf blower, telling us it was too hot to be doing this (no kidding), some seriously sore muscles & a huge crick in my neck to get it done. But it's done.

He got home from golfing & though Ty did such a good job that he gave him a $20 bonus! Between the yard work & some babysitting Ty's done for us, he's earned over $100 to go towards camp!!

Momma's happy. :)

Now I just need Dave to become a chiropractor & the life will be perfect.

A little miracle

I guess the tinker fairies have been visiting our house.

My camera, a somewhat inexpensive (to me) but well loved Canon Power Shot, was not allowing me to see the pictures I was taking without using the view finder. *GASP*!! Yes, I know....using my eye to peer through that tiny hole & figure out what I'm trying to take a picture of is just, well, like trying to make a fire without one of those long lighter thingies. It's just so much more work!

I really liked this camera but with the recent temper tantrum it was throwing, I was beginning to wonder if I would need a new one. Because who fixes things, now-a-days!? We're a bunch of replacers. If it doesn't work, throw it out & get a new one. Right?

I dropped it at the ball park, right in to that red dirt that never comes out of clothing. After that it was all down hill...or so I thought. The lens cover would get stuck trying to open & close with the little specks of dirt in its way. It was just a mess.

Some time after that episode, my little fairy friends paid us a visit & now the 2.5 inch screen is now working!!! Thank goodness I didn't give in to the ever nagging temptation which is consumerism. I have my camera back & it's working better than ever. :)

Time to pay the piper

After going to see Madagascar 2 over at Rave (they have free movies on Tues. & Wed. mornings), we headed home. I stopped to grab the mail & on the very top of the pile of junk & bills was Tyler's report card.

First thought: Uh oh...

Ty grabbed it before I could open it but his face didn't turn down the way I expected it to. I know. I should be more positive. Ty has struggled with his grades (smart kid but doesn't turn in his work for some reason) since returning to public school last year.

I thought he would need to take summer school to pass on to 9th grade but his counselor said he had all the credits he needed to graduate before he'd even finished 7th grade. Nice to know 8th grade was pointless.

Anyhow, the good news is he passed every single class! Granted I would LOVE to see much better grades, but I found myself pleased in the fact that there was not even one 'F' on his report card.

So I guess this means he's headed out to Kansas after Scout Camp next month. He's thrilled, to say the least. I'm a little jealous. I'd love to go too, but then I remember the fact that I don't love to be dripping wet unless it involves a shower or a pool.

Maybe I'll get to go in the fall....

Asthma & a wonderfully bad-timed stomach flu

Friday was a fun-filled afternoon at Jo's school carnival. It was uber-windy that day but the temperature was unusually nice, so I had no complaints. At least not until Jo freaked me out at 1 a.m. with a cough/wheeze combo that startled me awake & had me scrambling for his breathing machine.

Jo's had respiratory issues most of his life; usually in combination with allergies. It's not something that's usually so sudden, though. There was no warning this time....just a scared kid who could hardly breathe.

I'm not one for taking my kids in to the doc's when I (Dr. Mom) know how to treat most things on my own. But I decided to take advantage of the pediatrician's Saturday hours & take Jo in, towing all the other kids along with me.

He was given a diagnosis of asthma & a script for 2 inhalers (one for me to keep with me when we're out & the other for school). I suspected this would be a diagnosis we'd receive that day but wanted to get something for Jo's school so they would take him seriously when he said he was having trouble breathing. It's been blown off in the past & they need the say-so of a doc (mom's word isn't good enough, apparently).

Sunday morning Dave woke up congested & Hayleah was a snot machine so they both stayed home from church. I had a big casting job up north afterwards & later found out Hayleah had been throwing up throughout the day. That went on throughout the night & in to the next morning. It was a good thing Dave had Monday off because I desperately needed a nap more than I knew at the time.

By Monday evening Jo went running for the bathroom & didn't make it in time. It's not funny but I had to choke back laughter when he went sliding on the floor, through his recent deposit. I didn't do a very good job at not laughing at the semi-comical scene. Maybe it's because I wasn't the one who wound up cleaning it up.

I wasn't so sure Jo was actually sick with the flu. We went out for sushi earlier & Jo made a pig of himself, trying to impress someone I think. I figured he over-ate & was paying the price for it.

By 10 p.m. Jo there's no doubt about whether or not Jo is sick. He's followed by Logan within the hour & Dave right after that. It's been a not-so-fun weekend of laundry & cleaning up other people's messes.

The really sad part is that we had to miss the field trip to Anderson Dairy. Jo's been talking about it for weeks & weeks. I was supposed to chaperone but due to him being sick & my lack of more than one consecutive hour of sleep in the past 2 days, life wasn't going to allow for any fun. Plus they were tie-dying t-shirts for field day & today was the day for Spring Pictures.

I have to say I'm a little proud of myself. I'm usually a total marshmallow when it comes to other people's vomit but I managed to hold it together for the most part. I only had one incident of sympathy-vomit this time!

I'm praying all those sweet kisses Jo layed on me just hours before he showed signs of really being sick don't land me at the mouth of the porcelain god. I'm really hoping that 4 out of 6 people in the house is enough & this flu won't feel the need to claim any more victims. I have a psych consult for a surgical thingy tomorrow I do not want to miss. I can't be throwing up & worming my way around the questions about my sanity....it's too much to focus on at once. I'm not very nice when I'm sick. :P

Spoiled

Our dishwasher is in need of repair. I called the guy that's supposed to do it & he can't come out until Tuesday.

TUESDAY.

It's Friday.

I have 2 (growing) sinks full of dishes that weren't cleaning themselves & now I have to wait until TUESDAY to do them!? This gi-normous amount of dishes accumulates in ONE day, easy. I don't even have enough dishes to make it to Tuesday.

Are you kidding me!?

I'll admit I thought of people who might let me bring over my dishes so I could borrow their dishwasher. Not for long though....I remembered that there's a dishwasher in the casita out back. YES!!

Then I thought about how much extra work it would be, making trips back & forth with arms full of dirty dishes (then later clean ones). That was a no-go. My brain is uber-slow today so, yes, I actually had to work this out in my head.

Fortunately, I remembered that I haven't always had a dishwasher. I can vaguely remember what it was like to not be spoiled by having one. I try to push those kinds of memories out of my head, if at all possible.

When Ty got home from school I was conveniently washing them all by hand & so Ty helped out (with not much fuss, might I add) & dried & put them away while I washed. It took F*O*R*E*V*E*R!!

But they're done. :)