Just Say No?

I went over the bills from my insurance this year, stinkers.

if I go to an established in network provider, they have not been charging me the deductible, if I go to someone (like current surgeon for well visits) they have a $600 deductible (advertised: $300 deductible if in network) since I went once at my 12 month post op visit and all we did was talk about the blah blah blah that I already know. I figure that I will save the $300 office visit,,,

I AM SERIOUS, St Laurent charged me $300 for the office visit. there was NOTHING WRONG with me.

I am just going to get my lab work done at my Rheumatoid Specialist and read my own results. what a pile of hooey. I just called today and canceled, they seemed surprised that I didn't want to fork out another $300 for a visit. tthhbb

use the money on something practical like visitation to see darling daughter #3. seriously, my plane ticket into a Podunk regional airport (notorious for being over inflated) was cheaper than the office visit.

as for the weight, it has bounced up and down, currently it is at 146, which is right in my comfort zone, 1 lb less would be hysterically nice, but not a goal. I have been munching on carrots and apples to get it back down from 152 of last week. No goofing off in this house. I worked too hard to get here.

Totally Venting.. refraining from all caps

I have no idea how other people move. some may hire someone, I do not know. personally I take advantage of the opportunity to de-clutter, and clean. to get rid of junk and start fresh. I get my boxes months in advance. I pack at leasure and I make sure that every thing is boxed, sealed, labeled.

when moving day comes, I hire a truck, and 4 loaders. they come and it takes about 4 hours to load everything and then I pay them and leave. when I arrived at my hesitation, I hire 4 unloaders, and it takes about 2 hours to put everything in the house and I am done. I get the loaders from where-ever I am renting the truck, and they usually deliver or return the truck for me. it is extremely convenient and they usually work for beer money. Where ever you find rental trucks, you will find "good ol boys" willing to help a girl out.

however, my daughter. oh gracious. my daughter. still has not finished packing and the truck has come and gone. she has had three months to prepare. she has had months to get ready. she has put off everything until the last second. she still has not packed up her ever loving bed and dresser.

Friday night before the truck arives, she should be packing, she wants me to watch her baby and someone eles baby while she goes out to a movie. I have been watching her baby every day for the last week, sometimes over night for well over 18 hours. I say no. she thinks I am being rude. I think that she is insane for going out to a movie when she is supposed to be PACKING!

I tried to help this week, but she just dwaddles. they were supposed to be out of the house on the 1st and use this week to clean. I hired a truck on the 6th, brought it with me, and she was packing boxes and I was packing boxes and we did not utilize all the head space. we got 'most' of the furniture in, all of the 'heavy stuff' but it should have been a one shot deal. load it to the top, haul it over in one shot and be done with it. now there will be several trips with the truck to get everything moved over. what a PITA.

but at least I do not feel obligated to help out other than getting the damn truck unloaded and back to the store.

now for the truck... she swore it was broke down, that the ignition wire was loose. well I picked her up and drove her to work, picked her up and drove her to lunch, and drove her home from work for a week because I am a door mat. Talked to Jason, figured out that it was just out of gas. filled the tank up and now it runs fine. what a PITA.

the truck is fully loaded, ready to be unloaded, but she couldn't do that last night, she had made plans to go to the bar and that takes precedence! nope, I can pay $20 for another day rental, just so long as she can go to the bar with her friends. since the dolly HAD to be returned by morning, I started to unload the dryer and the refrigerator that MUST have a dolly and she threw the worse kind of fit. she is so inconsiderate that I can not image getting through the next 4 months without killing each other. it will be horrible at best.

she can not pack, she can not maintenance a truck. she is rude and obnoxious. where did I go wrong?

phone rings.

Jason got mugged last night, he was held at gun point and they stole his wallet with $26 and both kid's ID, and social security card and military id card. and lighter. good lord. they had no freaking business being out last night, they SHOULD have been PACKING!!!

now today we are supposed to have a leisurely goodbye brunch and photo shoot, but I doubt that will happen, I feel like I am in the car with Ray Charles driving.

back on the scales

okay, I do not know why the up and downs are creating ups and downs, but fine. back down to 148. augh. why couldnt I just hover around 145 instead of 150? blech. maybe it is the muffins? maybe it is the chocolates? maybe it is the open bag of potato chips on my desk. heehee probably.

got krys's storage signed yesterday, she can now start filling it up and getting out of her house. I am seriously considering moving my entertainment center out of her room, there is just no room in there. she needs to move in the crib and a queen size bed and dressers. augh.

breakfast, I really tried, I hard boiled 4 eggs, but they are still in the pan. I made some tea and drank most of it, so I am hydrating. AF seems to be leaving, yahoo!

oh check this out... crap.. it has already slipped my mind. what is up with that? I swear, one minute I have a thought, the next it is gone. poof. there is a little twinge behind my right eye, must be a brain cramp. heehee

okay, so the house is not going to clean itself. I am getting caught up on my tv shows. but ultimately, I am just procrastinating about getting my fall promotion out too all my customers. bad bad bad kitty kat.

just one more thing

so I get my tail out of bed, got a shower, picked up a bag of diapers at the store, get my boys off to school, get krys off to work, and got over and "teach the teacher" about digital photography.

pick Krys up for lunch, get lunch for Jason, Krys, and me from subway, pack up 1/4 of Jordan's room, load it in the car, strap Jordan in, drop Krys off at work, sign the lease on the 10x20 storage unit.

Drive home, unload the car, feed Jordan, rock him to sleep, print out two invoices, clean off my voice mail, make notes, call back my customers, and eat 1/4 of a chocolate chip cookie. I did clean the floor off in Jordan's Cubbie Hole, made him a grape juice bottle but he totally does not want it. need to make him a MILK bottle. fine.

Krys needs to get her tail in gear on her packing, oh and did I mention, that she is 14 days LATE? oh crap! Jason leaves tonight to go 'DOWN TOWN' for his MOMENT OF TRUTH in his enlistment process. His FAREWELL luncheon is here Sunday, and he DEPLOYS Monday Night.

Now the boys are home from school, Jordan is up from his nap, I still have not made a dent in the office that is quite possibly the results of a Cat 5 Hurricane or at the very least a F5 Tornado that has hit. WHAT A MESS!

DOWN ON THE FARM

my little cubbies... we had 8 of the 10 show up. they are very wiggly, but super cute.

Kole, Nathan, Magnus, Caleb, Liam, Seth, & Noah.

we worked on our Bobcat achievement, the pledge, the salute, the handshake, the motto, the sign. we had a bean / paper towel / zip lock baggie / water activity, hope to get some sprouts.
we did a word search. and we had oreos and milk for snack. Yumm.

same ol same ol

just 5 lbs... I loose it, it finds me, I loose it, it finds me. same 5 lbs over and over and over each month. driving me insane. today AF is here and so is that same *$&!*$&!*$&!*$&! 5lbs.

last night went to a nice concert, www.visionsofatlantis.com opened and I really liked them, http://www.epica.nl/ were okay, but too much growling.

a couple of weeks ago, we went to see/hear http://www.leaveseyes.com/ and they were really good, but completely were blown away by http://www.kamelot.com

now I am checking out a couple of new recommendations, http://www.sonataarctica.info as well as http://www.mortenveland.com/sirenia/ and http://www.tristania.com/, each have at least two songs on their latest cd's that I like. so I am sure that they will grow on me.

as for food. breakfast, I had a muffin, lunch, a bowl of chicken noodle soup, after noon snack a bunch of Kettle Chips, and dinner was single corn hard shell taco with beef.

boring but no getting sick.

emailed my little cubbies a reminder that we have cubscouts today.

Happy Birthday to Erik

he had 10 guests yesterday for his party.
Nick, Luke, Allie
Ruggie, Anna, Angelica
Brandon & Hannah

we decorated brown sack lunch bags for taking home 'gifts & prizes' with markers, stencils and paper punches. the 'prizes' were fruit snacks from Ausome Fruit Candies, pencils, hot wheel cars, hair accessories.

we played a game where you pass a wrapped present around a circle while singing happy birthday, when you stop singing, you unwrap the present, inside is another wrapped present. and you start over until you get to the last present and that person gets the prize, we went around 5 times.

he blew out the candles on a chocolate cake with spider man on it.

one of his gifts was silly string, and they had a blast with that in the back yard.

the last game we played, erik was blind folded and had to guess who was the poor kitty that was meowing, he guess all the guys easily, but it came down to the last three girls that he couldnt tell apart.


he set up a target in his room with the white board and used markers to make a bullseye to target practice with his foam dart gun.

he got some kewl car toys, a shadow the hedgehog game for his gamecube, and the highlight was the Ninetendo DS Lite with games (Brainage II, Harry Potter Order of Phoenix, Hannah Montana, Dogz, Pokémon Diamond Version, Pokémon Mysterious Dungeon - Blue Rescue Team, SimCity, from both grandparents and some Osbourne books.

Perfect Breakfast

multi-grain wasa crisp bread
stripe of miracle whip
1 perfect scrambled organic egg (one curd, truly an art form)
and smoked salmon

YUMMY and holy cow, protein up the waazzoo!

last night was supposed to be a pleasant family dinner out.

I started with the salad and did fine, at a whole plate of it and should have stopped when I was ahead. but no. not me. I am more of a special needs child and just can not learn from my mistakes. my middle name is 'tard. I went back for seconds. that is right. idiot alert. I had a small ladle of clam chowder. (yep, lactose intolerant, but I am an idiot) and I had small scoop of tapioca pudding, now we are pushing the envelop for carb-fest, and I had a dollop of vanilla soft serve on top of the chocolate brownie, in my defense, I did not have more than two teaspoons of that stuff. but with the pasta from the salad, the pudding, the soup, I went into carb-toxic-shock and felt like fainting. this was on top of being just physically EXHAUSTED from watching Jordan all week, while he and I were both sick with head colds.

I went home and died. then Krys called and wanted me to watch Jordan while she went to the bar, she had already scheduled Joan the other grandma to watch Jordan while she goes out Saturday night and me to watch Jordan while she goes out Sunday night. I flipped out and lost it. I have been watching his whiney butt all week, and I really didn't want to see or hear from him for 24 hours, just so sick of the whine. she really got mad at me for snapping her head off and hung up. I went to sleep.

diet honeymoon ends.. return to reality

my honey moon is over and now I am back to where I was as far as nibbles and it could go up hill in a heart beat, already I noticed that my clothes are fitting more tightly, but I flat refuse to go back. each day I resolve to stick to the basics and hope for the best.

yesterday was a HORRIBLE stricture day.

today was interesting

breakfast:
cream of wheat
24 oz tea

lunch: (sample tables at grocery store)
micro slice of pizza
2 cheery tidbits
6 oz tea

dinner:
1 hardshell chicken taco with cheese, sour cream, and mushrooms
16 oz propel

tv dessert:
28 oz tea
3 chocolate / caramel covered peanut clusters

overall weight, up to 150.5 lbs which is still only .5 lbs over goal weight, which can easily be dismissed as not a danger to have a fluctuation, or accepted as part of the extra skin hanging around. but it is still a danger signal that the chocolate has to go, and the veggies need to come back. so the 'majic' wand waving is over, now it is all about self control, good choices, and while I still only consume SMALL portions, never get in more than ONE slice of pizza or ONE taco, I can still gain weight. and that is taking some getting used to. my body is just not psyched out anymore and insists on holding on to any empty calories.

The shameless hussy!

letter to the school

Letter FROM the school:

Erik continued minor misbehavior.

Erik left the cafeteria during lunch and did not return to the class until more than 10 minutes after we returned to class. he did not return even when I sent another child to get him.

Erik will miss recess today, Monday and Tuesday and will write restroom rules.

My Letter TO the school:

I am constantly amazed at how ignorant some people are about health. I find it completely barbaric that anyone would find it acceptable to restrict a child to a set schedule for bodily functions. I find it completely brutal to discover that someone would punish my child for taking too long in the lavatory performing defecation.

Let me assure you that I will not under any circumstance condone or allow that type of behavior to continue to endanger the health and well being of any of my children. Your policies are beyond unconscionable.

Erik, and his brother Magnus, have been steadily working to heal the damage that was inflicted upon them during the 2006-2007 school year. Constantly holding bowel movements created such a health hazard to them, that they are now on a continuous regime of pharmaceuticals to aid them in the most basic of bodily functions.

I can not begin to relate to you what terror it elicits for a parent when your child has difficulty moving their bowels. Comforting them at home with tears streaming down their cheeks, as the toilet bowl fills up with bright red blood. When they return home from attending a public institution with dark crusts of blood on their bottom, and bloody streaks in their underwear from such excruciatingly painful bowel movements.

While my children are now currently under a doctors care, and have been for over 12 months to correct the damage that was inflicted upon them last year, I can not believe that any sane human being would write them up for “CONTINUED MINOR MISBEHAVIOR” for taking extended periods of time to endure such torture.

Erik had to drink dose after dose of Krysalose for months earlier this spring, Now he will be trying Polyethylene Glycol daily to assist him in having a bowel movement. It still takes a very long time for him to pass a stool. To restrict him to a time table is completely reprehensible, if he has to push for 30 minutes, he better be allowed to continue in the restroom without being harassed and harangued.

I have discussed this with his father and his pediatrician. We are all in concurrence.

It is beyond our comprehension that any civilized adult would punish a child for 'taking too long' to have a proper bowel movement. Natural body functions may not coincide with the 'classroom schedule', but they will take presidence. That is something that is not open for discussion, debate, or negotiation.

Whomever policy it is to rush a child back to the classroom before they can complete the task, needs to re-evaluate their priorities, as this policy has already created serious health issues such as internal hemorrhoids, anal fissures and possible colon polyps in my children. Do not think for a single moment that I will allow anyone to jeopardize their health for single second.

If at any time the staff at this school has a problem with either of my children taking too long in the lavatory, you are instructed to call me, so that I can take time off, drive over there, and ensure that they continue making progress to undo the destruction that has already been done. That way the staff can go back to doing whatever the flip they think is so freaking important, and I can protect my children in the state mandated public education facility.

And as for my response to the Office Referral:

NO you may not punish and publicly humiliate him for taking too long in the lavatory. And You definitely will NOT make him write restroom rules unless it is to rewrite the current one that I find to be deplorable at best and infinitely intolerable.

SCHOOL's RESPONSE:

to get so righteously indignant as to say to my face that I was the most .. goodness.. there are just no words to describe the 2 hours of abuse that I received in the office from that principal.

first I OFFENDED HER DELICATE SENSIBILITIES by describing what happens when my sons have difficulty with a bowel movement and that I was way to graphic to share that with a teacher or an administrator. that should be private and that I was harming the children by telling someone other than the family doctor about it. so I am SHARING TOO MUCH INFORMATION.

I did not DOCUMENT enough of the pre-existing condition by SHARING what medications the boys were on LAST YEAR, and EVEN THOUGH I did send a two paged typed document regarding MAGNUS condition this year, and had only shared his struggles last year VERBALLY, I WAS not DOCUMENTING on the MEDICAL CARD a REFERENCE to the TWO PAGED Document.

HEADMISTRESS was so condescending and rude with her innuendos that she was dumbfounded that I could have a so little tact and while she recognized that I was angry and upset, she totally felt that her administration was not to blame. after all they didn't KNOW that the boys had problems with constipation and it was not THEIR fault that I had not effectively COMMUNICATED that to all the principals.

in the same breath, she did pointedly say: I was not to contact anyone but her about an issue, that I was not to share medical information with a teacher. (who the bloody hell is going to tell the teacher if I do not?) the Nurse? I told her verbally about Magnus, mailed her a letter, and the Music and PE teachers STILL made him wait to use the toilet when he had to defecate.)

the administrator just keep badgering for hours, and I am not kidding, HOURS, I arrived at 9:30 am and left at 12:15 pm, regarding how intensive I was to share the boys medical problems. that I should be ashamed to have done so. and that I should keep medical problems PRIVATE. and that I should explore my options to home school the boys since I disliked their policies so much.

She was totally belligerent when she stated that all the kids can use the lavatory when every thy want, and then added, well except the pre-K and that K and the First and Second graders, they all go together as a group to the lavatory, and completely cut me off when I tried to say, THAT is the POINT, I have a first and second grader and waiting until the whole class goes, is CAUSING THE PROBLEM.

She was beyond furious that I wouldnt call her administration first to talk about the office referral, when I pointed out that the referral was written documentation and proof enough of the school's position. it stated that this had happened before, that Erik had been in the bathroom for long periods of time and no one had notified me, and that if it was boys playing, she should have stated that on the referral. and she could have easily and happily strangled me for CC'ing the school district superintendent.

oh and check this out, she said that in her 60 years as a mother and a grand mother and her 37 years as a teacher and educator she has never in her life been so shocked by a parent who would have shared such private information and would communicated things that should remain private. I resisted the temptation to say "that she really needed to get out more". I did however tell her I do not believe that problems are solved by hiding them. I refuse to sweep something under the rug. If my two boys have had a problem with constipation from holding it until it is convenient to take the whole class to the lavatory, how many other children have?

She wanted me to fill out a medically fragile form, to facilitate SOMETHING. I wonder if it is just to say cover her butt that way she doesn't have to make a policy change that would benefit all children? Instead to treat my children as an exception rather than address rule that is causing the problem?

she was extremely beligerent when she viciously went on that there were other children in the school that were much more medically needy with issues like asthma and diabetes. and that I should be ashamed of myself for causing so much fuss. that some children have to take enzymes with every meal. HELLO. that must be Benjamin Nichols, yes, I know Butters, I have given him the enzymes when I babysat him. OH, well, you could have knocked her over with a feather.

I swear, the condescension used to annoy me, but the verbal sparing was quite something coming from someone of her 'age' if not maturity was surprising. I could clearly see some of her manipulation, she wanted me to get angry enough that I threaten to pull my children out of the school, and I totally could see through it, then she would not have to deal with me. I surprised myself by not falling for the ruse. usually I would be so angry, I would get sucked into the drama, an could have made the threat, but it was as if I was having an out of body experience. I could see her machinations and just laugh at them, they were so manipulative and I was for the moment at least impervious. that is a good milestone for me. not to get sucked into the drama.

now I have to write up something for Erik as well as magnus, get documentation from the pediatrician and create a paper trail. oh and get this......

SHE HAS MADE A FILE with all my letters, and she is KEEPING all my LETTERS in that FILE. and she is going to KEEP THAT FILE. oh bloody hell!! someone needs to get a flipping life.

As for the boys, she is going to insist that they use the nurses lavatory and have a nurse supervise thier bowel movements so that they are not PLAYING in the restroom. HELLO that was the WHOLE FLIPPING OBJECTIVE was to facilitate that they can go when they want to go, and take as long as they need to get it out, and not have teachers and other students pestering them while they GO!!! she acted like it was a consequence instead of a reasonable solution to problem.

SWEET MOTHER OF GAWD!

Oh baby!

first off, that cold that baby Jordan had last week, didn't think much of it? well now Sverre and I both have it and it SUCKS! I took two three hour naps today in between decluttering and I am still wiped out. Alka seltzer plus last night before bed and cough drops with 10 g methyl today.

but I am perseverring and nearly ready for photo-op of the progress. my office is 90% moved over, my room is TRASHED though with my personal photo project and a butt load of frames that I need to garage sale since we do not do 8x10's around the house anymore.

I still have to order two orders of prints, but since they will not hit production before 11 am tomorrow, I will let them 'sit' for now.

now back to work to get the rest of my office moved over, the boys room cleaned out and then the 'next part' of the project which is organizing my mini projects in my office so that I can actually TACKLE them this month.

PROGRESS

I got up an hour early this morning, before my cub scouts den leader training, and started moving things from one room to the next, made some progress.

I toddled off to training and while I was overwhelmed during the first 'overview' session, I was completely calmed down and more prepared after the after noon tiger specific session. I am pretty sure I know what to do to get through the first couple of months now, which is a good thing.

It is really important to motivate the boys to complete this to teach them self respect and self discipline and self confidence. I just hope that I am able to absorb all that I can to enable them to be all they can be. I got several compliments about my photography and that gave me a boost of self esteem and self confidence. very nice.

got back home and really dug in on the project. I have created the worse level of mess right now, it is beyond belief

BUT

just like in clean sweep, I have my piles, and I have actually sorted my piles by theme so that I can keep, and garage sale or donate. I have set up an organized area in the garage for the garage sale, and it will be a DOOZIE once I get everything down there. so far I have not effectively eliminated any furniture which is not accomplishing my goal. One hurdle at a time I guess. get everything at least in the right geographical location.

DE CLUTTER ING

almost had a full scale nuclear meltdown... and as you all know

'one nuclear bomb can ruin your whole day'

I had no idea which end of the elephant to start on, so I started on the tail, and the trunk, and the right front foot all at the same time, and kinda got lost. had to take a pause, talk to sverre who is by and large more of a difficult one than a helpful one. his solution is usually wait until it resolves it self, mine is gut and redo and repeat as needed.

so for the update/progress. of all the spaces to sacrifice, the garage/studio is the sacrificial lamb. sucks, but that is the way it is.

now I have packed up all my props and stacked them as compactly as possible and set aside the fall set for now in an easily accessible area. and swept and cleaned out the near wall to stack the shelves that currently reside in the hobbyroom/closet off the office and utilize them for the garage sale / craigs list / ebay stuff. that way, I get them down, and near the door for ultimate delivery are as close to it as possible, and thus less trips through the house. DOWNSIZE a bit at a time now will be less painful than all at once in the spring.

I gutted the master suite closet and vacuumed it out, took some pictures to put on the 'house for sale' site. and now I have no freaking idea what to store in there. ideally, nothing. but realistically something. which is a major part of my DELIMA, what stays and what goes. ultimately, at least 50% has to go, or we will never get all this into 1/2 the square footage that we have now. but if I keep using the current space for storage, I will never downsize effectively while it is practical, and when moving day comes, we will just throw it on the truck as we have for the past 22 years. so I am resolved. we must clean and close off the spaces until we no longer occupy 50% of the house. with ANYTHING including storage.

GOOD PLAN.. now for execution.

I have cleaned out 80% of the nursery in anticipation of removing my core office to that space and relinquishing this space to Krys/Jordan leaving the entertainment center here. that is painful! but I can still watch my shows on this computer via the network and the downstairs Beyond TV link.

so I have 2 rooms down, and 6 to go. this is gonna suck to high heaven!

Motivation

I want it. I do not have it. but I would like to order some from amazon.com if I could. I have no problems getting out of bed, cleaning the kitchen, making coffee and cream of wheat. I can check my email. but then when it comes to cleaning the office. blech. when it comes to re-organizing the boys closet. oh good lord. and when it comes to moving my office over to the nursery so that krys can relocate in here. well, maybe tomorrow or next week. I just do not know where to start, it is sooo overwhelming.

Lego's

Erik loves his legos, they are a constant fascination for him. what I love is that he can think out side of the box and create ships on his own that are pretty fantastic.

Madison, Wisconsin??

putting Krys's house into storage, we found one in the neighborhood for $55 a month for the first 6 months, and then it bumps up to $75 a month after that. Sverre has graciously agreed to pay the first 6 months so that she doesn't have to throw stuff away and we do not have to trip over it. (he is really a nice guy)

it is a 10x25 so that should be large enough, just had a thought, it was supposed to be large enough to store the vw bug and her household stuff, but she said that they were going to tow the bug over and leave it at the parents house, wonder if they think they are going to squeeze dixie ('85 Silverado) into the storage. it will so totally not fit

oh good lord.

anyways..

I have raised enough concerns that Sverre is seriously looking at finding a job in Madison Wisconsin instead of Bergen Norway, which I think would be a better choice financially. yes we still have $8000 in medical insurance expenses a year but we can ease into the 'real' house market, since the hHouston one is beyond unrealistic with $90K houses vs $200K McMansions anywhere else. (although I seriously do want to McMansion, but what is a girl to do? he thinks that he will go postal and have a fork sticking out of his managers throat if he has to stay here one more year.

we had a 'clearing of the air' and I expressed myself at the TOP OF MY LUNGS and with such violent undertones that gave him the heads up that he and I need to have a 'come to jesus' and we did.

current status:
we are considering all our options, including some serious ones in Madison, Wisconsin. which honestly I am exceedingly excited about but as with the previous issues, he was excited about san fransisco, and that didnt happen, he was excited about portland and that didnt happen, he was excited about boise, and that didnt happen, he was excited about missoula, and that didnt happen, he was excited about bergen and that is just not a good choice. we shall see.

I am now the official tiger den mother for my little cubbie. what in the world happened last night? the boys were so noisy, they had a cup of coffee in their hands, and a cookie on a napkin, I thought they asked if I wanted one, and I say, YES PLEASE.. what was I thinking of?

I was supposed to have Jordan from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, his momma slept in and missed work. the boys have boy scouts tonight from 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm.

den momma

me? oh you have got to be kidding!

okay, Erik is a wolf cub scout and Magnus is a tiger cub scout and I am his den's (8 little guys) momma.

this ought to be really interesting.

http://www.polarisbsa.org

Wanna buy some popcorn?

kat

Ten words women use...

1.) Fine: This is the word women use to end an argument when they are right and you need to shut up.

2.) Five Minutes: If she is getting dressed, this means a half an hour. Five minutes is only five minutes if you have just been given five more minutes to watch the game before helping around the house.

3.) Nothing: This is the calm before the storm. This means something, and you should be on your toes. Arguments that begin with nothing usually end in fine.

4.) Go Ahead: This is a dare, not permission. Don't Do It!

5.) Loud Sigh: This is actual ly a word, but is a non-verbal statement often misunderstood by men. A loud sigh means she thinks you are an idiot and wonders why she is wasting her time standing here and arguing with you about nothing. (Refer back to # 3 for the meaning of nothing.)

6.) That's Okay: This is one of the most dangerous statements a women can make to a man. That's okay means she wants to think long and hard before deciding how and when you will pay for your mistake.

7.) Thanks: A woman is thanking you, do not question, or Faint. Just say you're welcome.

8.) Whatever: Is a women's way of saying F@!K YOU!

9.) Don't worry about it, I got it: Another dangerous statement, meaning this is something that a woman has told a man to do several times, but is now doing it herself. This will later result in a man asking "What'swrong?" For the woman's response refer to # 3.

10) Anyways: This means that anything you are talking about does not matter to her. Her story will quickly follow this statement.

Send this to the men you know, to warn them about arguments they can avoid if they remember the terminology.

Send this to all the women you know to give them a good laugh

Precisely On Target

I set my goal 15 months ago, and I have achieved it. I have maintained and followed the steps and adhered to the plan. I think that it was easier that I expected, harder than I imagined, tougher than most would have been able to endure and more rewarding than I thought possible.
My husband chides me frequently that I am not 'following' the plan religiously, he is worried that a 7 lb fluctuation is a return to the beginning. My family at this juncture and for quite some time do not want to talk about me anymore. My 15 seconds of fame is over and I am now not 'newsworthy'. 'Lets talk about something else' is the phrase when I point out my accomplishments. It is as if, "yes, we applauded you when you hit your goal. yes we applauded you went you bought your clothes, yes, it has been over a year and you are still the new you" now we want to talk about something else. ANYTHING else. iIt can still be about me. but SOMETHING else.

I can not say that I have a lot of motivation lately, I am definitely in the middle of a mood swing. could be hormonal, could be metabolic, could be nutritional, could be a bazillion things. I am not as good about my vitamins as I was in the beginning, I am getting a lot of food, and I guess I feel that should be enough. I take 2 vits nearly every day. I am really bad about the fluids. A couple of days ago, I noticed that I was getting in a 32 oz cup of coffee in the morning and that was it for the day, not a good choice. I went back to the tea, sucked down 64 oz and then was up all freaking night, whoa Nelly, with a 7 month old all day, that sleep deprivation was not pleasant. but I got through the day and ended up going to bed about 10 pm. now here it is 6:30 am and I have been up for over an hour. already had my two eggs, scrambled with cheese, salsa and sour cream. I am really pushing the envelop with them I can feel them overflowing into the esophagus which is not a good thing. so I still have about a 3 oz pouch because they were really only about 1/2 a cup in volume and so I didn't think that I would have a problem getting them down. As far as sleep, I am going to bed when I am tired, getting up when wake up naturally, some nights that is only about 6 - 7 hours others it is 8 or so.

I went to the school's boy scout night and it looks like the boys want to be involved. that is on top of chess club. we wanted to get them into swimming lessons, but for some reason, I am just totally not motivated to get them to the actual lessons, I am so bad. how can my kids be 6 and 8 and not able to swim? you would think with my HISTORY that I would be better about it. But then again, hell, they have a dad and he is not doing anything either.

I did go to the school's volunteer tea. each year I sucker myself back into getting involved. spreading myself too thin I am sure. Art Appreciation with Pamela Macpherson, Chess and Scouting with Jeannie Schmidt, Box tops and Scouting with Jenna Majka, Computer Club, Bicycle Safety, and Mother Reader with Maureen Menzer just for shits and giggles.

Hurricane Humberto makes landfall

in my kitchen. I swear.. yes, it is wet outside, but the kids just keep messing up the house.

Humberto strengthened to a hurricane overnight, just prior to making landfall around 2:00 am CDT east of High Island, Texas. Maximum winds, in a small area to the north and northeast of the center, were near 85 mph at the time of landfall.

Humberto is now inland near the Texas-Louisiana boarder, moving northeast, and will weaken through today.

we are still looking at tornadoes here, just a slim chance.

on the other hand, I must be going through some serious hormones. Aunt flo left sunday and then returned and then left again this week. I am so upset about so many things that I should have control over, but do not. that I should be able to do something about, but feel that I am paralized and can not. I do not know if it is my diet, the weather, or the lunar cycle.

I am still bawling over the housing prospects in norway. I can not honestly see why. why I should be giving up what I have. what I have worked so hard to accomplish. why I should be walking away from everything. I do not see it. It makes me sick to think about it. all the houses that I thought were too freaking small but were compensated by the 'other aspects' are now not even possible. it would appear that we can barely afford even 1100 square feet of living space. now if I were not a stay at home mom, that would not be a big deal right? well crap. I am a stay at home mom, so that is a big deal. if I were taking my car with me and could run to town to kill the boredom, it would not be a big deal, oh but shit, I am not going to have a car. for those that think that public transportation is the bomb, bite me. I am not that way. my parents were not that way, their parents were not that way, my great grandfather had a mule and did not rely on public transportation, I am not one that has come from the type of people that rely on public transportation. our families have always had our own. horse/ buggy or truck or car but public transportation was not part of the equation.
my family may have spoiled me by always owning land and homes, large homes, and I truly feel that it is a step down to have less, irregardless of where I have it. hell, my grandmother hubbard got a used 4 bedroom house when she married in 1940 but she got a HOUSE.

Now I sit and I wonder, what defines me? My grandmother sent me a photograph of her daughter in law's fathers house. it was about what is in my neighborhood. she was totally impressed with that he was a pilot for a private jet company and could afford what amounted to about a $130K house in Georgia. What is my social status, what is my personal measure of success. do my family see me as a success or failure? Do my associates look at me, and see me or what I drive? do my customers respect me or what I do for a living? How important is it to me when my father seriously gets lost in my house trying to find the third bathroom. (Honestly, that was a poignant moment when he did.) I seriously felt today that if I were to live in one of those tiny apartments, even if it was in another country, that I honestly could not invite anyone over for the shame of it. to be back down the property latter from what I have now to what I would have to learn to live with is just so inconceivable that I was bawling for a full 1/2 hour. I seriously could bear living in a double wide trailer easier.

I considered pouting and still may. I considered just refusing to get on the plane, and I may still. I considered what it would take to keep making the payments on this house by myself, if I could handle roommates to make up the difference that I would have to in order to stay or if I should just give up the house completely, and move back to Montana. But I doubt that would be a solution. my income potential here is substantially higher and housing costs substantially lower.

What would I gain? and what would I lose? I seriously do not see the gain. in anyway, shape or form. there is absolutely nothing that holds my interest. Sverre suggested that I could go to England and Germany for the weekend, which brought a smile but now I think about it, hell, I could go to Washington DC, but I have never, in the 11 years that we have been rotting here, and could more easily afford it, we never do. We never do anything but my seeing Naomi, and him going home each year, the rest of the time, it is just living from day to day. never leaving the house and when that happens, the house becomes a seriously important part of your lifestyle.

but now that the tears have dried, I am resolved that all I can really do right now is worry about the next three weeks. so I will clean out the nursery, move my office / tv room in there and get this room ready for Krys/ Jordan and keep getting things put up on Craigslist to make enough room for everyone that needs to be here now.

Rethinking what would someone do to have the 'opportunity' to live a different life'. I wonder what that life would be. I could do it, but I do not know if I am brave enough. as quickly as I psyche myself into seeing the positive, it is gone, poof! and the reality sneaks back in. I am going to have to sell every single electric appliance that I have, not small list:
pancake griddle, wheat grinder, bread machine, toaster, waffle iron, coffee bean grinder, coffee maker, tea maker, can opener, microwave, food processor, air popcorn popper, blender, cake mixer, rice steamer, electric blanket, curling iron, blow dryer, hot rollers, radio, cd player, dvd player, replay tv recorder, ipaq music center, vcr, sewing machine, scanners, vacuum cleaner, roomba, printers, paper shredders, cordless phones, tv receivers, tv's, computer ups's, lamps, alarm clocks. it is just overwhelming how many things will be sold for 1/2 the value, and then replaced at 4 time the cost there.

9 Things I Hate About Everyone

1. People who point at their wrist while asking for the time.... I know where my watch is pal, where the hell is yours? Do I point at my crotch when I ask where the toilet is?

2 People who are willing to get off their ass to search the entire room for the T.V.. remote because they refuse to walk to the T.V. and change the channel manually.

3 When people say "Oh you just want to have your cake and eat it too". Damn right! What good is cake if you can't eat it?

4 When people say "it's always the last place you look". Of course it is. Why the hell would you keep looking after you've found it? Do people do this? Who and where are they? Gonna Kick their asses!

5 When people say while watching a film "did you see that?". No Loser, I paid $12 to come to the cinema and stare at the damn floor.

6 People who ask "Can I ask you a question?".... Didn't really give me a choice there, did ya sunshine?

7. When something is 'new and improved!'. Which is it? If it's new, then there has never been anything before it. If it's an improvement, then there must have been something before it, couldn't be new.

8 When people say "life is short". What the hell?? Life is the longest damn thing anyone ever does!! What can you do that's longer?

9 When you are waiting for the bus and someone asks "Has the bus come yet?". If the bus came would I be standing here, dumbass?

am I really? yes I am really

okay.

yes, I am really moving to norway. I do have my passport and for the moment, I am ready. I THINK.

Magnus bottom is doing 1000 times better. which is a really good thing. he is still not going often, but he is not uncomfortable when he goes. and no blood. ALWAYS a good thing.

as for my girls. I am taking a pair of heavy duty bolt cutters and cutting my girls umbilicord. they are the worse kind of me-llenium children and have turned me into a class A Black Hawk Helicopter parent and I am just about out of patience with them. jazz needs a new computer, momma, krys needs her power bill paid, momma, jazz needs to see her nephew, momma, krys needs car insurance, momma, jazz needs a doctor co pay, jordan needs a new carseat, krys needs her vehicle running, momma. jazz needs new tires, momma, krys needs a cell phone, momma

this momma is not sending a forwarding address to the junk mail either. ;)

krys / jordan are moving BACK HOME again, this month since jason is joining the marines and they will have no money and i am sick of paying her car insurance, phone, water, garbage, sewer, electricity, and groceries. so this will save me about $600 a month.

Blackhawk Parent of Generation Me-llinium kids

omg, I am guilty as charged, too funny. I do not 'helicopter' but I am a blackhawk (rescue) parent. giggle giggle

taking Krys to get an application. guilty

taking Krys to turn in application. guilty

calling Krys to make sure she is out of bed for work. guilty

going out with Krys to make sure she is hanging out with the 'nice' people at a bar. guilty. but not more than once a month.

finished the baby's session and custom designed birth announcements. that is one stresser off my plate.

sold the lunch meat slicer for $65, and got a $100 payment check, so will go to the bank monday. pay more bills off, less stress. sverre and I are going out tomorrow, to a concert, will have fun.

baked a new recipe today. made home made p'butter cookies using reeces p'butter and after I put each cookie on the sheet, I stuffed 5 milk chocolate chips into the dough and then baked for 12 minutes. HOLY CRAP they are good.

Dog Diet

I was in Wal-Mart buying a large bag of Purina for my dog, Schatzi, and was in line to check out.

The woman behind me asked if I had a dog...... Duh!!

I was feeling a bit crabby so on impulse, I told her NO.

I was starting the Purina Diet again, although I probably shouldn't because I'd ended up in the hospital the last time, but that I'd lost 50 lbs. before I'd awakened in the intensive care unit with tubes coming out most of my orifices and IV's in both arms.

Her eyes bugged out of her head.

I went on with the bogus diet story and she was totally buying it.

I told her that it was an easy, inexpensive diet and that the way it works is to load your pockets or purse with Purina nuggets and simply eat one or two every time you feel hungry. The package said the food is nutritionally complete so I was going to try it again.

I have to mention here that practically everyone in the line was now enthralled with my story, particularly the tall guy behind her.

Horrified, she asked if something in the dog food had poisoned me and was that why I ended up in the hospital.

I said no, I'd been sitting in the middle of the street licking my ass when a car hit me.

neighborhood living rather than inside living

I am beginning to think that there was nothing new built since the mid 70's. but then I figured out that yes there was but the houses cost 3.5 million kroner, so not an option.

this one is very cute, if a bit small.

Baby Jordan - 6 Months Old

Sunday night his momma dumped him off to get a good nights sleep at his g'mas and he did really well. to start out he was trying very hard to crawl all over g'ma's office floor, and he did make it a few feet.

At dinner he was good about eating his sweet potatoes, but then he got indignant. So g'ma started his bath in the sink and then finished feeding him and that was quite alright. With dry diaper and clean p'j's, he took his bottle and snuggled up with Magnus for a bedtime story.

We read the first four chapters of an Osborne Tree House book and he was out like a light. Magnus was letting him hold his finger and Magnus covered up his toes so that he would stay warm and then Magnus went to sleep. sometime in the night, g'ma moved Jordan to his own bed in the nursery.
Early Monday morning, Magnus went in to check on Jordan and kept him company while he slept.

Getting the House Ready for Sale

is a full time job and do not let any realtor tell you anything else, it is a load of bull.


but here it is, course now I have to fix everything and the update the photos, but at least I have a start.

I am going to kill her

oh I swear, I am shutting off my cell phone.

DA (for dumb arse) offspring number 2 of 5 is beyond all forms of help.

she is quite possibly the rudest child known to man.

her flipping DA husband is 3 months behind on their rent because if he paid it then he would be flat broke. la de flipping da, your married, you have a 6 month old kid. suck it up.

he lost his ever loving mind and is quiting his $1100 a month job and joining the US Marines. Moving to Southern California and leaving her with 6 month old squeaker. DID NOT get a wartime SIGNING BONUS (20K with army) and SIGNED an agreement to NOT GET A CHECK until after bootcamp! 13 weeks later.

she now has to give up her house, and live with someone else since she makes a whooping $6.50 / hour at a part time job. now she has two choices, his parents that smoke like chimmeys or us whom do not and are richer than god (her words not ours). GIVE ME A FREAKING BREAK

I tell her that there is no room for her 3 dogs, her three trucks and all her stuff. she must have a garage sale and clean house. she is like okay, HE WIGGS the flip out because he has to sell his RUSTED out 1985 POS chevy truck with an 8 inch lift kit that has as door and front quarter panel from another truck, and no bumpers because it just doesnt. and that it is not fair that she gets to keep the FOUR DOOR Blazer that will hold the stupid carseat for the baby. and he can only keep his fully restored 1973 VW Bug. and some BS about garage saling the XBox, not even an Xbox 360, but one from pre-1993

lately she has been stressed and pretty rude and disrespectful to me and I am sick of it and my husband her step dad is REALLY sick of it. there is no freaking way that all her stuff will fit in this house. My dh OFFERS to pay for her a storage unit.

Her Blazer broke down and her husband (the mechanic) made some modifications to TRY to get the new starter in and ended up over modifying the u joints and frying the electrical harness for the a/c. I PAID for the tow rather than let them FLIP up the truck that has 4 wheel drive. (do not get me started on why someone needs 4 wheel drive in HOUSTON TEXAS) anyways, the bill is $400.

I just paid for the groceries, her electricity, water, her garbage, and my dh paid her insurance and 1/2 her cell phone, and 3 new pairs of slacks for work (mandatory dress code).

I told his parents that SOMEONE else needs to help, (I am still sitting on a Rx glass bill that he PROMISED to make payments on, but has not in 3 months as they agreed,) DA Daughter will not call the father-in-law because she doesn't want to deal with him and would rather let the truck sit at the repair shop until she gets her first check and pay for it than actually CALL her father in law and make arrangements to pick up the STUPID BLAZER and let him pay for it.

I told her that I was not driving 5 miles to her house to pick her up and 5 miles back at 7 am each day for her to get to work. she was like okay fine.

OMG I have no critism for Andrea Yates, I swear, it takes a STRONG person to just say no and not get sucked into all the drama.

Eeeeeeeeeeeerik!!!!

the long and the short of it is:

went to Washington in July and August 07 to visit Naomi. that went fine.

came home and Sverre insisted that we sell EVERYTHING that is not nailed down and move to Norway by July 08
http://www.wretchedheathen.com

Krys's husband joined the marines and so they will not have any income for 4 months and she is putting entire house in storage and living with me for that time. HE is pitching a fit that he have to sell one of the three vehicles because there is no freaking room to store all of them. She is bringing the little punkrat that is now 6 months old
http://www.jordanjasonmiles.com

Jasmine is working for Directv and had various moments of drama each week, I am refusing to get sucked into the vortex. My plate is already too full.

Magnus has been sick for some months how with bowel issues and continues to see specialist. we have not solved the problem and are pretty concerned.

Erik is in the 2nd grade and has gotten so mouthy and disrespectful, we have tentatively canceled his birthday this year and he will remain 7 until we see a change in his behavior. ;)

I am craig's listing everything and the spammers are starting to irritate the dickens out of me. I need another cup of coffee.

Quiet Courage

Surrounded by Quiet Courage


Have you seen it? It's everywhere. I hope you find it as noble and inspiring as I do. What is it? It's the quiet courage that surrounds us at this time of year. Where can you see it?

• It is found in the young girl going into middle school for the first time. She hopes she will fit in, be liked by the other kids, maybe even be popular. She hopes, but she doesn't know. She is genuinely anxious. But still she goes. Quiet courage.
  
  
• It is found in the high school and college graduates who must look for a job. They took the summer off but now it's time to put together a résumé and start interviewing for a job. They are simultaneously hopeful and frightened. But still they go. Quiet courage.
  
  
• It is found in teenage boys going into their first year of high school. They've heard all the urban legends about what the upper classmen make the freshman boys do. They don't know how to separate truth from fiction. And, while trying not to show it, they are scared. But still they go. Quiet courage.
  
  
• It is found in parents taking a child to college for the first time. They arrive at school, unload the car, set up the room, and hook up the computer. They go shopping for sundry items, go out to dinner, and keep making small talk. Finally, when they can stall no longer, the moment comes when dad says, "Sweetheart, it's time for us to go." After tight hugs and long kisses they go separate ways. The parents get in the car and are sad. The child is sad too. But, as he or she walks into the dorm room, that sadness is instantly joined by self-doubt, loneliness, and anxiety. But still they go. Quiet courage.
  
  
• It is found in young children going to their first day of school. For years they have repeatedly been told by mom and dad, "Don't speak to strangers and never get in a vehicle with them!" Now they find themselves getting on a bus with a stranger while mom and dad stand there smiling, crying, waving, and taking pictures!
  
  There is so much the child secretly wonders about: What do I do when I get off the bus? How will I know where to go? And, at the end of the day, how do I know what bus to get on? How will I know when I get to our neighborhood? How do I know where our house is? Will mom or dad be there to meet me? There is so much they don't know. But still they go. Quiet courage.

I hope you have had a great summer. But now as we head towards Labor Day, guess what? It's time to go. It's time to dust off your dreams. It's time to set some clear, measurable weekly goals for your business. It's time to do those things you don't enjoy that are the necessary precursors of success (i.e. getting appointments, setting up meetings, motivating those on your team, reconnecting with customers, etc.) In short, it's time to go to work.

Not motivated? Wish you could blow off doing what's necessary? Tempted to coast into the Fall? Finding it more attractive to quit your business rather than crank it up? Wishing that massive success could come with minimal effort? Longing to avoid the inevitable hassles encountered on the road to uncommon success? Are you feeling some entrepreneurial loneliness, anxiety, or doubt? Welcome to the club. Look around you. You are surrounded by heroic, wonderful, quiet courage. Millions of people are experiencing the same things as you. But still they go. It's your turn to join them.

Committed to your quiet courage and unmistakable success.

Tom Barrett, Ph.D

BOUNCE - weight bounce sucks

Text Book Results:
1-3 months postop = 4.12 lbs loss each week
3-6 months postop = 2.45 lbs loss each week
6-9 months postop = 1.24 lbs loss each week
9-12 months postop = .12 lbs gain each week
12-15 months postop = .39 lbs gain each week

Starting weight: March 5, 2006 = 275 lbs
Surgery weight: May 31, 2006 = 247.5 lbs
Lowest weight: June 6, 2007 = 143 lbs
Current weight: August 31, 2007 = 150 lbs

Goal weight: 150lbs, first reached, February 7, 2007, bounced and reached second time March 21, 2007, bounced and reached third time, August 22, 2007

Indre Arna (Inner Arna)

Arna, Norway

Around 12,000 inhabitants live in this rural suburb. As it is situated behind mount Ulriken, Arna is geographically close to downtown Bergen, but it takes some time to drive there by road as there is no road tunnel as of yet. However, a train journey from Arna station to Bergen only takes eight minutes.

Weather forecast for Indre Arna in Bergen (Hordaland)

Weather in English

a bit smaller, a bit less expensive

We are still researching our options and finding that if we are willing to live on the other side of the mountain, we can afford to live on the other side of the world.

$272,895 US for 1280 square feet apartment and 172 square foot storage shed.

this is not ideal, but it is at least survivable. I am still fighting my own fears of just loosing so much and gaining so little. The shear thought of giving up every single electronic appliance is just mind numbing. today I went through the blankets cabinet and realized that the electric blanket would not work there.

the curling irons and blow dryers, the coffee maker and coffee bean grinder. Very daunting task of selling everything in the coming months.

the boys have been assigned their classrooms and teachers. Magnus has Ms. Volton for 1st grade and Erik has Ms. Hill for 2nd grade. looks like both teachers will assign a lot of reading.

Maggie Mae

we have achieved 'muddy waters' for stool, mostly due to the antibiotics creating such an inhospitable environment for the flora and fauna in his bowels. but at least we are not having so much trauma in the lavatory this week.

he is happier and much more pleasant disposition.

We went to the school and the roll is posted, he has found out whom his new teacher is and where her room is located. that will make the first day on Monday much easier with less unknowns.

his backpack is packed with his shiny new school supplies and he is ready (at least physically if not mentally) to go to school. Since change is never positive in his book, he is reluctant to go, but he knows that his teacher is Megan's mom, whom he was friends with last year in school, so if not familiar, at least a known person with a great recommendation. after all, Megan is super kewl, so her mom must be pretty kewl.

Gastroenterologist

Maggie:
Lower GI results: they saw issues and there was a ding-ding bell go off. Now we are going in on Wednesday to see the Gastroenterologist who originally couldn't get us in until January 2, 2008, but after a call from our pediatrician, will see us in 7 days.

as for Maggie Mae, he has gone back on the Kristalose and had explosive diarrhea but the Pediatrician would rather have that than constipation. he is still playing with Erik and friends, but does not venture far from the toilet.

today he had a 'miss' and had to take a shower and change his shorts, but we made a little deal about it as possible to just get through this as painlessly as possible. Squirts is better than constipation.

Momma:
today was NOT a good day and YESTERDAY was terrible.

Breakfast and Lunch were on target, protein bar and chicken tenders but dinner was a grand departure from normal, dinner was our 10 anniversary dinner

a slice of French bread, a ginormous onion ring, a bowl of crawfish etoufee, and then four bites of creme brulee, THAT made me burpy sick and I really wanted to puke, but I kept it down, burped all the gases out and made it through. I think it ws the fried onion ring that was my downfall.

today was less of the same.

breakfast was a protein bar and lunch was a small portion of pasta and a really small portion of eggplant parmesan. dinner is looming on my horizon, I doubt that I will make anything wild. I really do not think that there is anything even in the fridge. ;)

Back to Kat-kins

I do think that you have to find your 'happy' or 'sweet' spot and eat to maintain that. I found my happy spot at a size 4 in misses, size 7 in juniors. I got down to a size 2 and 5 but I was not 'happy' there and so I ate like crazy, breaking all the rules, wondering the whole time if I would go back to the way it was.

this week I find that I am pretty much 'on target' for the kind of foods to eat.

B: 1 protein bar, 180 calories, 19 gr protein
24 oz coffee

L: 8 oz wendys chili
24 oz ice tea

D: romaine salad with 3 oz chicken, tomatoes, cheese, croutons
24 oz raspberry tea

I was really worried that I would be able to keep to the strict diet the first year and then worried that I would be able to stop and then worried that I could allow the feasting during the bounce and now I am confident that I am over the hump and seriously able to eat within reason and maintain my current success beyond my next surgiversary.

I check the scale every other day now instead of 10 times a day. I keep my stretchy pants to a minimum, hauling them out for periods only, and keeping the unforgiving pants on daily as part of my routine. even my clothing buddy, my daughter refuses to let me get stretchy stuff, saying that I am never allowed to go back them, having learned my lesson and now have a safe guard in place.

TMI- Too Much Information

we have had an issue in the house for about 8 months, but it is something that no one wants to talk about. It is getting much worse, so now I feel that we need to talk about it.

Magnus, the sweetheart of the family, has to go in for a lower bowel xray today. yesterday he met with his pediatrician yet again for the same issue.

he has extremely large bowel movements and when he does it creates fissures at the opening of the anus. the blood loss is alarming and very upsetting. this has been going on for months. we have tried change of diet, eliminating dairy, increasing fiber, increasing fluids. all to no avail. we have tried medicine to loosing the stools but nothing helps.

Sunday night, he was dancing the two step that signals to me that he has held it as long as he can and now he HAS to go, so I rounded up his stuffed puppy that helps him go, and we proceeded to the toilet. he was resistant, but he knew that it was something that has to be done.

he pushed, he strained, he pushed so hard that he burped with each push. he cried, the tears streamed down his face onto his puppy and he got it out, bit by bit. we talked about how much it hurt, but that he had to go. we talked about how he would like to reduce how much he eats (he already has done that too) even further so that he has to go less often, and how unhealthy that would be. we talked about how confusing it was to have this happen when he was already drinking more and eating the right stuff to help his bottom. he is extremely smart and understand the correlation between input and output. and he is only 6!

after he was done, we got out the baby wipes to clean him up and there was so much blood in the toilet bowel that you could not see the waste (BM). there was so much blood the wipe that I nearly got sick. but the worst part was that there were dark black mucusy blood clots on the wipe and still hanging out the anus. Everything points to colon polyps. His dad saw tarry, dark stools earlier in the week, which may be a sign of bleeding higher in the gastrointestinal tract, such as from an ulcer.

THAT terrified me.

I got him cleaned up, and washed up and sent to bed. I got back on the internet to google and double check my worst fears. he has fussed and fretted for months now that he really does not want to go back to school, and I am sure the stress is not helping his digestive system. We do not know if it is hemorrhoids, ulcers, polyps, tumors or what, but I am determined to find out NOW.

yesterday his Pediatrician ran a rapid strep test on his bottom to see if he has GROUP STREP A. now my husband had a deep gasp of air, because she also used the word that puts terror in our home. Strep / Staph.

Jasmine and Krystal have had ANTIBACTERIAL RESISTANT STAPHYLOCOCCUS S aureus and it is not a pretty sight when they have an active lesion. We work diligently to keep it under control, and reduce the trauma when they have one that abscesses. It is just not something that ANYONE wants to go through. so far we have limited it to just the twins, and no one else has gotten it, YET. we keep the environment clean during an outbreak with sialic acid (active ingredient in Noxema) to keep surfaces clean.

today it is a off to CyFair Hospital for a lower GI series: an x ray that requires insertion of barium into the large intestine to make it show up better. Also called a barium enema x ray. to look for abnormalities.

Garnes / Indre Arna, Norway

US DEPARTMENT of STATE
Finally issued my passport. one hurdle down, about a million to go.

I am slowly acclimating myself to the plan. there are still some aspects that I continue to balk at. the incrediably small small spaces in proportion to the incredibly high prices. but as long as I do not think about the prices (1200 sqft = $400,000) I will be okay. ;) right?

just news

hmm my news...

spent 6 weeks in Washington/ Montana visiting with the family. Naomi is doing well. goes back to school shortly. Jasmine is doing well. working full time at Direct TV in Customer Support. My Parents are well, getting ready to go to Glacier National Park.

Here in Houston, my daughter Krystal is doing well, as is her baby Jordan, he turned 6 months last week, I am in charge of taking him in for his well visit and shots, while his mom is in a WIC appt that doubled up but could not be rescheduled. Erik is doing well, very eager and anxious to start school the 27th, just one week to go. got him a new back pack and shoes two weeks ago and a new lunch box today. he is very excited. Magnus on the other hand got a new back pack and new lunch box and wants me to return both so that he does not have to go to school. he has some major issues about the subject. he has a doctors appointment tomorrow, I think we will end up at the Gastroenterologist before the week is out. he has some serious issues with bloody stools for a couple of months now and we are getting no where with the current treatment.

as for me, I am slowly gearing up for the fall family portrait season. should be a record breaker for me. I have cleared off my desk, and am ready for the party to get started. ;)

did I mention that my husband had finally decided that we must move to norway. there is just no stopping him, we are tentatively scheduled to move 06/07/08 to a small town called Garnes, Norway. that will take about every minute of the next 9 months to get ready for. Some local kids made a video. Hmm, rethinking this whole decision. ;)

Coffee? hahaha

the Modified Louetta Blend is a Chocolate Kahlua (50/50) caf / decaf blend that I only buy in 1 lb increments, and store in an airtight Tupperware in the freezer and then take out 5 seconds before grinding. I scoop out 4 scoops, and then return immediately to the freezer

I grind it on expresso and when that is done, I knock all the grains down and grind it again on drip, to get the perfect powdered sugar consistency

I pop in a two filters into lifetime filter and scrap all the grounds into the filter and pour 24 oz of reverse osmosis water in for my one cup.

while it is brewing, in the32 oz cup I put 1 tsp of Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla, 1.5 heaping tsp of splenda, and 2 oz of organic valley 1/2 and 1/2

this is consumed in peace and quiet over 1/2 hour and there is no blood shed.

ROLLANDSLIEN

Sverre feels this is perfect.

I however am starting to hyperventilate. in a big way.

I can feel the water lap over my face as I am being sucked down by the current and the tidal wave is creating an undertow that will crush me slowly instead of an instantaneous death.

(btw, this is his parents old condominium, they now have a house on an island out in the ocean off the coast.

Åsane, Bergen, Norway

Åsane

Bergen

US Department of State

I filed for my passport in March. so did the boys.

they got theirs in June, 4 months later. FINE.

Due to Child support issues and the check in March not being cashed until June 19th, my passport was stalled. I contacted the state, got them to cash the check, and release my passport. they did that July 7th.

I called today, and the STATE still has not received approval to clear the damn thing, so I still do not have a a PASSPORT. as Naomi would say, that is FLIPPING INSANE.

still waiting to hear back from them. it has been 6 weeks since it was cleared and 6 months since I filed.

Vacation to recover from my Vacation

I get by with a little help from my friends, I get high with a little help from my friends.. heehee

as for work, oh he|| yeah I got to get back to work. TOMORROW. heehee

what is it about being gone and the house going to he|| in a handbasket? today I have had to go to the store to pick up what I missed on two trips yesterday and I still do not have any spaghetti noodles for dinner wednesday night. I have gone to the bank, twice, one for personal and one for business. I have gotten my assistant to mow the lawn, that will need another swipe in a day or so because the grass is just laying there,
laundry, I did laundry before I packed and I still have about three loads. I got all the clean stuff sorted, hung up and put away, all the suit cases are put away, the studio acquisitions are in the studio if not put away.

I am slowly decontaminating the kitchen, I swear, it feels like a 'roach motel' and while there are not BUGS there is just a lot of 'ickies' so I am scrubbing the cabinet under the sink where there is some water marks from it sweating during the summer, and naturally I am scrubbing the stove under the burners, because at some point during the summer, the natives decided that they didn't have to clean there when mom is not standing in the kitchen with a wooden spoon.

I spent hours trying to find the floor in my office, the 'assistant' was way to messy, and she really needs to use her OWN OFFICE, that will be dealt with tomorrow. along with all the projects that were not addressed this summer while I was gone.

*SIGH*

Someone may have to come over and help me dig myself out and get ready for my fall studio open house October 6th.. I have given myself a 'date' so that I get something DONE.

since I am on a roll of my rant of the day and no one in this house wants to listen to me. I will bless 'ya'all' with my tales of woe

okay this assistant of mine that I inherited. she really has a mouth on her. heehee I do not know where she gets it from. but she has gotten way too much leeway and needs a proper setting down.

so she orders and downloads pro show gold tonight to fill an order, and gets just a little uppity with me as she is putting in the credit card and I get just a little irritated because she is not all that bright or she would have already done this order and mailed the flipping thing 3 weeks ago. but we get through that and I let her figure out PSG on her own, and she did do a pretty good job, all I had to do was figure out how to add the same sound track twice so that it would 'loop' and get the slides to sync up without selecting each one (308 slices) and I think that we will really put the program to good use.

first order of business after mowing and moving 3 year old junk car (still peeved at that one)

here is the list..

I] my husband announces that we are definitely selling the house and moving to Bergen Norway June 2008. period. okay, so like I can pull that off overnight. I explained that it could take 3-6 months to get this house ready for sale and 6 - 9 months to sell it. he was SURPRIZED. (it was on the market 9 months when we bought it.)

I am extremely torn about the move. yes it would be an adventure. but Norway is not as Over the Top with discretionary spending like we are here when it comes to portraits. I am planning on two trips back here a year for work and family, so I am not completely upset.

II] my daughter that recently got married and had a baby, her husband is going into the USMC in 6 weeks and she thinks that she might have to give up her house (rented) because the recruiter insists that she will not get any income while he is in basic training. and she is feeling very stressed. she has three dogs so finding her housing is difficult. she also has three vehicles (one running) that is also difficult and did I mention the HOUSEFULL of STUFF that she REFUSES to part with or downsize.

I offered her my old room at home with room for the baby in the walk in closet which she initially refused to accept because we can not have the three dogs and the three cars (room for one) and do not get me started on three bedroom house full of 'garage sale treasures' but has since had a 'come to jesus' and is considering it.

she would rather get an apartment and tough it out, but I have no idea how, and I have counseled her repeatedly on this, but she has it in her head that nothing is replaceable and everything has value.

I tried to explain that she needs to think natural disaster, what would you pack in the car and get out of with that you can not replace, but she can not see what she could leave other than a couch or a chair. aauuuggghh

okay, I loaded the dishwasher, AGAIN... awe nuts.. I drove her home and could have picked up the noodles/sour cream/cooking spray on my way, I forgot, (I didnt want to make a special trip) I really need to decompress.

okay, I am going to get some rest (it is 2 am) and start fresh in the morning... I still have to de-clutter the boy's toy room and my desk has sugar ants. grrr

III] I have so much work to get done this fall, I am almost not sure where to start. just like an elephant, one plate at a time.

6 hours to go before going home.

my little '99 bugger is still jetting around Scandinavia, I can not believe that he will start the 2nd grade in a few weeks. just blows my mind. How did time just blow by so fast?

my little '01 bugger is sacked out next to me, one minute he is smart as a whip, the next he is driving me nuts with his flip attitude.

we all fly home tomorrow. I am packed and ready to load the truck to go to the airport tomorrow.

I am watching the TLC video of Princess Diana, I do not know what the draw is, I shouldn't watch it, but I am drawn like everyone else.

Naomi Sleep Over

cranked the Air Conditioner all the way down and she slept much better this time. other than one waking point around 11 pm, she was out for the count without any help.

breakfast was All Bran/Cheerios for her, Captain Crunch for Magnus, and Coffee and Protein Bar for me.

all the beds are made, the dirty laundry gathered up, shower done and teeth brushed, we are ready to face the day. G'parents are already gone, out bike riding down to Asotin, Washington.

Two Down, Four to Go

depending on how you look at it, two boxes of 'stuff' or the two 'packages' (Krystal and Jordan) are back in Houston.

Morning: Krys was a major Grouch. nagging Jason, Screaming at me, overall just irritable. I am sure she was worried that she was not going to get all her luggage home safely without something going wrong. It really did look like she was going to need 10 or so boxes, but it all fit in one suit case (50 lbs) and one new car seat box (including the new car seat) (50 lbs). As well as the backpack (10 lbs ) and diaper bag (20 lbs).

while Krys primped in the bathroom, G'ma was talking to Jordan, it was pretty cute to see him watch her mouth as she exaggerated the sounds of words that she was trying to teach him. he will be 6 months old in 4 days and he is extremely smart and alert.

we loaded in the car and stopped for 1/2 hour at Kiwanis park to see the geese and pick some berries. overall it was just really an opportunity for miss grouch to have some down time.

Noon: Parked right in front of the airport terminal, unloaded all the bags, Krys was the last to check in, G'ma and Magnus waited with her in line while I parked the truck in the side lot. she was able to check both packages and the infant seat and base. She pushed the stroller with Jordan in her arms and the bags in the stroller out onto the tarmac, then gate check the stroller and the green backpack before boarding. The plane sat on the tarmac still refueling for an additional 1/2 hour so it was fortunate that she had a 3 hour layover in Salt Lake and the delay didn't affect her travel plans.

Dinner: we had a picnic dinner out on the picnic tables, fresh bacon, salad, egg sandwich, hamburger / french fries, macaroni -n- cheese, granola bar and kool-aid.
Desert: Ice Cream at McDonalds and playtime in the playport area.

Jordan in the Pool - Clarkston Washington

We got up, loaded the truck, and drove back through Idaho. The smoke in Powell Idaho was HORRENDOUS from the Fire.

the Waterfall at Tumble Creek was perfect of course.

Little Jordan was not too sure about the pool, it usually runs about 80'F, it was "FLIPPIN COLD" according to Naomi. Jordan did finally adjust though and seemed to enjoy the water.

Magnus however had decided that the pool is too uncivilized and he stayed in the Jacuzzi which usually runs about 104'F Naomi had a sleep over and was up periodically through the night, she doesnt seem to do well with the heat.

Western Montana Fair - Missoula Montana

G'pa Sherman, G'ma Sherman, Jasmine, Magnus, Krystal, & JordanThe Sons of Norway have some contraband called a VIKING (sausage on a stick, dipped in batter and fried, YUMM and Deep Fried cookies. I swear, this place would be my downfall if I could eat like this daily)
the exhibits are my favorite now that I am an adult, the Rides used to be, and of course the rides are the kids favorite, which Magnus was really chomping at the bit to get on them right away.