*2blog*

Oh Deer!

I was driving at about 50 mph on my way to pick up Jason from work when I hit a deer. I was sure when I realized that hitting it was inevitable that I was going to damage my minivan really badly, but there isn't a dent or a scratch. The poor deer flew up into the air and down a steep bank. I hit it right before a bridge over a creek. There was no shoulder to pull over on, and it was pitch black outside. I hope the deer was okay, but there was no way to tell. There were a few small blood spots on my hood. :( I'm really amazed that at the speed I was going that there was no damage to my vehicle. I'm hoping that since the van wasn't damaged at all, maybe the deer will be okay as well.

And then on my way back home I hit a rabbit. It was as if animals were flinging themselves at my car.

Another day

I'm staying home from church today because my gallbladder was keeping me awake last night. It wasn't pain exactly -- just some discomfort. It's about time for another cleanse. Yuck.

So I thought I'd blog a little today. Not much to say. I'm going to straighten and de-clutter around my desk today and try to finish up some of these half-finished projects I have lying around. I'm not a naturally organized person. At all.

Ian goes back to Little Rock tomorrow to get his wires taken off. He'll have rubber bands for 3 weeks. He's looking forward to being able to get some food in his mouth. I have the feeling it's going to be pretty difficult for him for awhile.

Scott rented What Lies Beneath on Friday. Scott was sure it wouldn't be too scary for the kids. Now Christopher (9) sleeps in our bedroom and I have to sit in the bathroom while he takes a shower. He has had so much anxiety that he's almost thrown up the last 2 nights. It stinks to be right all the time. I've never been a fan of scary movies. They don't bother me as much now, but I think I will have to watch an alternative movie with Christopher next time.

Not much else going on at the moment. I'm going to go take a shower now. Hopefully, there won't be any ghosts...

Happy days are here again

I'm back. I haven't been wanting to blog as much lately. I have been really stressed and/or depressed lately, but today is a whole new day. I honestly think that it has taken me 2 weeks to recover from missing 2 days of medication when Ian was in the hospital.

My daughter's husband decided to leave and go live with his mommy again. I don't know how things are going to turn out, but I'm a lot less concerned. My daughter seems to be doing well. She seems happier, and I think with her independent personality she will be better off. They may get back together, but she will at least have some experience of living on her own.

My son will get the wires off his teeth on Monday and get rubber bands put on. Poor guy is getting skinny from having to drink everything. But he has had a pretty good attitude. It really has been much quieter around here. I guess it's harder to yell about everything with your jaw wired shut.

I'm also happier because my house is cleaner. We actually did an insane thing and labeled a set of dishes for each person to use (and wash). The dishes are so out of control because we have kids home all day long every day. Every day is messy like summer vacation for moms who homeschool. The kids seem to eat at least 6 times a day. I also made up a rotating chore chart which should help us get a few more things done. Click below to see my beautiful chore chart.

Chores

Monday
Dishes – Mom
Sweep kitchen – Ian
Vacuum LR – Mom
Scoop cat box – Mom
Tuesday
Dishes – Ian
Sweep kitchen – Jason
Vacuum LR – Ian
Scoop cat box – Christopher
Wednesday
Dishes – Jason
Sweep kitchen – Mom
Vacuum LR – Charity
Scoop cat box – Jason
Thursday
Dishes – Christopher
Sweep kitchen – Charity
Vacuum LR – Mom
Scoop cat box – Charity
Friday
Dishes – Charity
Sweep kitchen – Christopher
Vacuum LR – Jason
Scoop cat box – Ian
Saturday
Dishes – Mom
Scoop cat box – Mom
Sunday
Dishes – Dad

Daily Chores
Jason – take out trash
Bag all trash and take it to the shed. Make sure the shed door gets closed. Put new bags in all trash cans.
Charity – sweep porches
Make sure Tipper’s dishes are rinsed out as needed.
Ian – dust the LR
Use the feather duster. Then use the furniture polish to shine the tables.
Christopher – wash kitchen table
Use Lysol and a rag. For stains, use Barkeeper’s Friend and a rag – scrub and wipe off all the powder.

The Happy Tablet Academy

I haven't been blogging (obviously) or reading blogs for several days. The testing of my sanity has been continuing, but I'm back at least for today to say that I'm doing okay. Thank goodness for anti-depressants.

The latest fun has been with my daughter Cassandra who moved back in for a few days with baby Jordan. We were just trying to help her, but no good deed goes unpunished. The moving back didn't bother me, because she had us convinced that it was over between her and Mark, and we were both kind of relieved about it. It was the yo-yo-ing back and forth between loving her husband Mark dearly to never wanting to see or speak to him again -- every few hours that was the problem. She finally went back to her home, and I've been pulling myself back together for the last 2 days. It was just way too emotionally draining on me top of everything else. All I've wanted to do is sleep, and when I haven't been sleeping I've been playing mindless games on the computer.

So it's unlikely that she will be using us again soon to fight with Mark because it's just way too disruptive on the rest of the family. If she wants to come back again, it will have to be really, really convincing that she needs to and that it's more than another manipulation. At this point I just feel bad for the baby who is being used as a pawn by both of them to hurt each other.

News Flash
And now, this just in: she's already planning on leaving Mark with the baby tonight (who according to her was abusive and unfit a few days ago) so she can "hang" with her so-called friends and go to all the teenage hangouts. She seemed to be doing better for awhile, but now let the Biolar/Borderline games begin! I'm going to try to think happy, fluffy thoughts now.

Wictory Wednesday

This is Friday, but better late than never. My official advice if you want it is Vote for Bush. In light of all the recent and depressing news, this is very good advice. We are trying to build a democracy over in Iraq, and Bush is the guy that can do it, along with our troops. Kerry and the U.N. can't do anything except talk.

I want to play a part in Bush's re-election campaign, however small a part it may be. If you would like to volunteer and/or donate to the Bush campaign, please do. Get involved. Here is where you click to find out more about Wictory Wednesday if you're interested in joining. Here are the other Wictory Wednesday bloggers:

Obsessed

I haven't had two brain cells to rub together lately. I keep meaning to change my template, but it's just not happening yet. I hope everybody loves peeps. I'm down to a 12-pack of purple bunnies. Maybe when those ar gone I'll change the template. I just unwrapped them, so they should achieve ideal staleness in a few days.

Here is a quiz that has accurate results. If you take it, you'll understand:

You are an quiz-taker Find out what kind of quiz-taker you are

My Little Chapless Chap

Ian's jaw surgery went well yesterday. Basically, they wired it shut. There's really nothing else they can do in his case, since it broke on both sides up at the top where it hinges into the skull. Those hinges are gone now, so his body will have to come up with some new connection. The doctors said he will most likely have TMJ and pain there for life. He will have his jaw wired shut for 3 weeks, and then they will replace the wires with rubber bands to encourage him to strengthen his jaw. After another 3 weeks, he will have all the metal stuff taken out.

In the meantime, we get to carry around a pair of scissors in case he should ever get sick to his stomach. We would then cut the wires. Fortunately, that almost never happens. We did have to spend a lot of time in recovery with him yesterday, as they had to keep giving him medicine for nausea as a precaution, so we got to sit and watch him sleep for about four hours. We ended up leaving Little Rock at 4:30 pm. Woohoo. I'm so glad Scott was driving! In addition to normal rush hour traffic with the maniac drivers, we also have lots of road construction.

By the time we got home last night, Ian became his dad's patient. Why do they call it "patient"? Ian wasn't and I wasn't. I went to bed early to keep from being a hag. Scott's going into town now to get the liquid forms of Tylenol #3 and antibiotics. There is hardly any way to crush a pill and make it tolerable to drink. I tried everything last night before I gave up and let Scott deal with it. I even tasted a milkshake I made at one point, and I could have drank it without tasting the medicine, but Ian wasn't hurting bad enough at the time to try. Maybe I should have drank it. ;) At 4 am I guess he realized that he needed the pain med after all (gee, it's tough being right all the time) and crushed his own and drank it with juice, which was horrible, but hey, he had his chance earlier.

But anyway, I will cheer up today. I'm glad not to be living at the hospital anymore, and I imagine it will get easier from here for Ian and everyone. People who know us have been very kind. I appreciate all the comments, thoughts and prayers from all of you here.

The Boy Who Lived

This would be my 12-year-old son who had a head on collision with a truck Sunday afternoon on a moped and lived to tell about it! He will be okay. He started to turn left into a gas station and didn't see a truck coming his way in the other lane until it was too late. The driver of the truck was able to stop about the time he hit Ian, so Ian didn't get run over. Ian was wearing a full face helmet, and came out of the accident with only a broken jaw, 3 missing teeth, a broken wrist, and a knee with some torn cartilage. He was actually able to come home this evening. He will have to go back to Arkansas Children's Hospital on Thursday morning to have surgery on his jaw. From what I understand it's going to be a complicated surgery, so they had to pick a day that they could devote enough time and doctors to do it. His jawbone is broken on both sides about where is attaches to his skull -- and not a clean break. There is also a fracture on the right side of his chin. But Ian will recover. And that is a miracle!

And yes, I'm really trying to focus on the postive. When someone calls your house to tell you that your son got hit by a truck -- there is no way to explain how it feels. When you arrive and see the road blocked off and traffic backed up half a mile, and you see that the ambulance crew are in the middle of the road -- it defies explanation. There is also no way to explain to amount of relief my husband and I felt when we actually saw our son alive, awake, and mostly in one piece. Can I tell you how happy I am that my son's funeral wasn't today??? There is no way to describe it. I am so happy and so grateful to God. I know He must have intervened. My son must have some reason to be here. He seems to know it too, as he said that he now knows the gospel is true. Talk about good news -- and not something you often hear from a 12-year old. :)

I will try to blog again soon with more info, but I'm pretty pre-occupied at the moment. Life has been quite an adventure recently, but I feel very, very blessed.