Mother's Day - Ever Have One of those Kids?

I thought I'd talk about what Mother's have to endure with their kids. Hey, mine weren't as accident prone as my daughters are, but I did go through hell with them. As a matter of fact my son was so careful not to get hurt that the day he skidded on his bike and came to the door skinned from his nose to his toes, the look of shock on his face was so comical I could hardly stifle a laugh. Nice mom huh?

My son did, however, have to go through a lot of surgery and hospital visits with his heart condition. Guess that's probably why he didn't need any more abuse to his body, and therefore the utmost caution in playing games.

My daughter was a klutz, but no broken bones, except apparently when she dropped the bowling ball on her big toe when she was five. She seemed to go through life unscathed until her preteens. There was the day that her eye suddenly started flipping up in her head. We knew she was evil, but here was the proof of her possession. Nope, turns out she had a lazy eye all these years and it never showed until she started staying up late and got less sleep. Too late for surgery, she had to wear special glasses and still does.

Then the bowling ball thing. Bet you thought that was too easy. Turns out it kinda split the bone in the tip of her toe, and an she developed a bone tumor during her growth spurt. Two surgeries to try to remove and 2 trips to remove the toenail later, and there is still a little spur on her toe.

That's the story of my kids, how about yours.

Here are some pictures of my daughter's kids. The youngest boy's face seems to be a magnet for disaster. These are 3 different incidents. The first happened at school the day the baby was born. Kinda hard to see, but he has s shiner. In the
second, he was recuperating from almost loosing his eye, when a plastic thingy at the end of a bungee popped him right in his eye and caused internal bleeding. That one had to sit still for a month. You try to get your 8 year old boy to sit still for a month.

And the last picture is from this year's Halloween party where the mean kid next door pushed his face into a metal chair (he fell into it). He has taken Karate lessons now, so hopefully he has discovered how to change his center of gravity to his body, not his face.

Then there's the baby. Right now she's about a year and a half and yes,
that picture is her in a cast. She doesn't walk yet, but that's because she's a mountain climber. She likes to test her standing skills by climbing on bed and sofa and bouncing on them. We're always careful to watch her, but her parents didn't think that she would fracture her elbow from taking a little spill off a picnic table bench. But the way this little daredevil plays, we all fear there are more hot pink casts to come.

Happy Mother's Day to you patient and loving Moms out there and I  hope your kids appreciate what you put up with for them :)

Happy Birthday Kris

I always forget my son's birthday. Well I don't actually forget it, I just don't remember until New Years Day. That's because his birthday is on January 2nd. With all the Christmas business I have, and preparations for the holidays, I don't even think about it until I finally relax on New Years Day.

I've learned (finally) to add a little something extra in his Christmas gifts. I know it's not the best solution, but he lives in another state and I don't want to send two packages. He'll get over it, after all, he is turning....thirtysomething.

So Kris, I just wanted to take a moment out of my hectic life to wish you a Happy Birthday. And although you have been a PITA with all your health issues and annoying habits and such, I'm very glad that you are still here.

For those of you who don't know, Kris has a heart condition that if not for an amazing surgeon and the Cleveland Clinic, would have ended his life somewhere around the age of 20. And now on to the Mayo Clinic who has taken over and got him on good meds and a defibrillator to stretch him out for who knows how long.

And yes this is a recent picture, almost 40 and still looking like a teenager. His got those genes from his dad.

This is what he looked like as a kid. Where did those babies of mine go. Life was so much simpler then, and yes, I crocheted the top that Poppy is wearing and even sewed her shirt.

Their dad and grandpa made the rocking horse they are on. I used to hand their dad patterns and say, "make this". I knew he could if he put his mind to it.

Merry Xmas 2012

I always make some gifts for Christmas. This year it was tough, because I was selling and sewing right up to the last minute. I did make some really cute sachets, out of old denim with white machine embroidery. I didn't even get a chance to take pictures of those, but trust me, they were adorable.

For the most part, though, I was sick to death of sewing, so I tried my hand at crocheting. I knew I could crochet the scarf, like the Minecraft scarf that the Dink is wearing, but I didn't know that I could make amigurumi. My first ever is the Yoda on the right. As that went so smoothly, I thought I might attempt a Slenderman for the teen. I found one that I liked and based my pattern on that. I had no pattern to work from. He turned out pretty cool. Even has creepy curly tendrils coming out of his back.

The picture below shows the teen and Slenderman, enjoying a cup of cocoa. Dink and Luna enjoyed Christmas a LOT, even Santa Fuzzy did. That hat was bought by someone for the puppy whose head is bigger than mine now. Well a LOT bigger than Fuzzy's. Hope you enjoyed your holidays, family, and learning new things :)

Life on Mars - Growing Puppy and Less Bruising

OK so maybe this picture is not the best example of the bruise getting better, but today you can barely see it anymore. This is about as bad as it got. As my DD said, quite the little "accident".

Things were quiet here. Sales almost at a standstill. The kids all went to Halloweekend at the local amusement park. I cleaned the house. Everyone partied but me. There was even a clambake in the neighborhood, but I really didn't think that $70 for a bake was reasonable for my budget. Someone who visits the food pantry every month, however, found it in their budget to buy for 3 members of their family. Guess that's why they visit the pantry.

Anyhow the party was down the street and loud and fun sounding, but I didn't even crash, because I was trying to fill jewelry orders and make gifts for the Birthday girl who will soon be one, and the teen and trying my best to straighten out the explosion that happened to our house the past 2 months. I was not successful. Had one of those everything went a little wrong kind of weekends. Not disastrous, but just lots of little problems.

I also just had to post more pics of the pup. They aren't great because the best light is in the kitchen and the floor is black and white and the pup is black and white. There are also a lot of leaves on the floor from taking the pup in and out all day, but I didn't feel like cleaning it again just for the pics. I also clean the floor about 5 times a day, maybe more, because the pup is not quite trained yet. But for the most part, she is the best smartest puppy I've ever known. I did have a very smart dog once, but she was a little hyper. This one seems to have a calmer disposition. Not that she's calm, she's a pup, but she's better than my other dog.

Pup pup, who does not yet have a real name, rings a bell on the door, or grabs the leash when she wants out. But she mostly can't hold it long enough for me to get her in time. She sleeps in her crate for 10 hours at night. She sits on command when I give her a treat. She climbs the stairs and has since she was 8 weeks old, and yesterday when I took her for a walk and she came across a puddle stretching across the whole street, she jumped over it.She is only 10 weeks now. I think I can train this dog for shows. I was really mad when DD brought her home, but now I love her.

Life on Mars - Gummy Bears and Bruises

Another crazy week in costume hell. DD ordered fabric that was promised and never shipped. She had to rum out and buy more, interrupting her work flow. At the end of last week our NEW serger broke so we had to order another and wait until Tuesday to serge. DD did all her cutting while waiting. Good thinking Poppy.

We really could have used the babysitter all week, but she had things to do, so I had to deal most of the week with the baby and the 9 year old's school. Both boys got a little sick and were a bit whiny. The 15 year old had to go to the clinic and get meds for a sinus infection. By the end of the week, they were feeling a bit better and the sitter was back on the job.

Poppy and I were stressed and got into a big fight. There was lots of yelling and crying. But the puppy is finally starting to sleep at night. She seems to settle down when it's dark out. I love that in her. She actually slept one whole night all the way through. But mostly she only wakes once to go out. I don't mind that at all. I guess she was just too young when we got her. She was only 7 weeks. Now she's a very mature 10 weeks.

Luna in Gummy Bear costume 

The mother in law was putting on a Halloween Party at our clubhouse this weekend. Besides being a little off normally, she gets even worse in the fall. The stress of putting on a party by herself makes it even worse. She told the older boy that her party will be much better than the one his mother did. That was the best party our association ever had and he was very offended. She has a habit of offending the kids. Like when the middle one almost lost his eye and she bought a gift for the girl that instigated the accident and not her own injured grandson.

I was supposed to be helping Poppy with the costumes, but when I took the dog for a walk and stopped in the clubhouse, there was nothing there, no decorations, no dishes for the chips she bought, no food at all, just a few posters on the wall. I took the pup back home and got the middle boy, the baby, and our decorations, and we went back and decorated. I set out all the chips and helped as much as I could. There wasn't much there to work with. I wasn't really in the mood, because I was getting sick too.

I left when the baby got cranky, but there were only 2 kids at the party and I could't stand listening to the Pumpkin Patch Polka one more time. No kid over 3 would be interested in that garbage. I have no idea where she found that horrid Halloween CD, but it was scarier than chains and screams.

Dink with Bruised Cheek

After Luna napped a bit. Poppy took her back down and the 15 yr old went with his dad to decorate more. The party had gotten bigger, more kids came. The older boy doesn't like parties and came back. Asked me if I heard about the middle child. He fell and injured his face and had to go to the hospital. I went down to the clubhouse and there he was with a bag of ice on his face and arm.

I guess the swelling went down, because everyone said he looked better. I thought he looked like a zombie. Huge raised bruise and small cut on his cheekbone. He could barely move his arm. I checked him out and it seemed like just bruises, but they took him to the ER later just to be sure. That one needs a padded helmet with goggles and protective clothing.

At least when I walked the pup Sunday Morning at 5 am, I got to see just one meteor flash by Orion's thigh. I didn't even have my glasses on. That's the good thing about the stinking puppy.

Life on Mars - Online School and Exhaustion

So you're thinking about online school for your kids. I guess if you have as bad of a school system as we do you might consider it: if your kids are not doing as well as you like, you might consider it: if you kids are bullied: you might consider it. 

My grandsons weren't living up to expectations, and in the really rotten school they went to, they were getting yelled at constantly. Imagine your kids teachers pointing out your child specifically and saying...there's so and so again, daydreaming. I mean they did that to me, but that was a LONG time ago. 

First, registration is NOT easy. We thought we had almost everything 2 weeks before school. Then we needed this, and that, and another thing. Immunization records, last report cards, a 2 hour long online form for EACH of the kids, computer waiver forms,  birth certificates, progress reports, the list seemed never ending. This school was not like any other, we had to get everything, there was no transfer of information from the other school.

The registration process took us so long that the boys missed close to 3 weeks of school, because the online school started earlier and had less vacation days than our local school. We are a bit lost and behind right now. And the tough part is that I have to work WAY more than I imagined, because I am the boys coach. 

The boys  need to work about 5 hours a day, and I have to sit by the third grader and help him understand everything he's working on. And I don't get a lot right now. I had to take an online coaching course that was several hours (I haven't even finished it yet). 

Here is the plus. The students get all of their books, and study materials free. The 3rd grader even got a nice art kit and paper (no, I don't have to go out and buy crayons and pencils and erasers enough to last everyone in the class for a year). Most of their work is done in their provided workbooks, wow, no paper either. They also each get a loaner computer for the school year. YAY!

And the other nice thing? Their grades are already improving. The 9th grader works well independently and he's working very hard. The third grader is going to be a LOT of work, but he likes the way he's learning. Some of the classes are fun, he can go back when he doesn't understand, and they have cute videos too. I'm hoping he will eventually be a bit more independent. 

So that's what Life on Mars was like this week. Coaching, learning, unpacking and setting up computers, and designing and finishing my new purse.

Life on Mars - Family and Kids

An you thought my other weeks were crazy. Last Monday I had a wonderful visit with my cousin, to spend time with him and to find out more (if possible) about his cancer diagnosis. We sat out on their lovely patio in the sun, me, and 3 cousins, one, his daughter. It was so lovely.

We found out some things about each other we didn't even know. I did not know my cousin didn't have a middle name. He didn't know what mine was or why I had it. My middle name was my great aunt's name. She died of tuberculosis in the 1920s. She was my grandfather's only sister and he loved her very much.

The rest of the week was kind of hectic, because I had a lot of aprons to make and designs to work on. My daughter had a lot of running around to do and it was her birthday Tuesday, so not only did I miss a day of work, I had to grocery shop and make a very special 3 layer banana split cake for her.

It was such a pretty week that I took a little time (very little) to sit out in the sun, I can't work on the computer out in the sun, so I took out my jewelry. My daughter took a little time off work, to go out for her birthday, and they took the next day too, to shop and enjoy the sun.

Thursday after the kids got home, we all went to the beach by our house. My eight year old grandson was swimming and playing with a friend. He has a foam board with a cord for the lake. His friend wanted him to pull her, but she was too heavy. But kids don't think and he kept pulling. My daughter and I said to stop, and just then the cord snapped out and he was hit in the face with the plastic T that held the cord to the board. It didn't just hit his head, it hit his eye, and the eye was bleeding.

His parents scooped him up soaking wed and rushed him to the closest ER. They almost sent him home with some eye drops, then the noticed he was bleeding between his iris and cornea. They had to rush him to the children's hospital near downtown Cleveland. The accident happened at 4pm and they finally got home at 1am. In the mean time, I had heard very little and was freaking out so bad I got tons of laundry done and most of the house cleaned.

We still don't know if he will be OK, but it looks like it's healing. He won't be out of possible danger for a week or two. KIDS!!

Saturday was nice. Most of the stress over, my family got together again for a nice evening out at the local pizzeria. But my daughter and I are so behind on our work, we aren't getting any rest and her son needs to see the doctor regularly until we are sure he's OK.

What a crazy week.

Life on Mars - Kids

For those of you that have kids, you'll know what I'm talking about. It never ends. The worry they cause you and the endless joy they bring. We have a new member to the family line. I'm a little kooky and who would have ever thought that I would have not only had children, but a lineage as long as this one, thanks to my prolific DD. Of course they are all a bunch of kooks too.

This last week we had a little scare with the beautiful new GD Luna.  She had jaundice and lost too much weight.  She had to be on a silly little lighted belt to clear her out and now she's doing better. Still not enough added weight though. The jaundice can cause brain damage and blindness, and we don't want that.

Poppy, my DD, has had a few issues too, although not serious. Her pregnancy was really easy this time, but the after has not been the smoothest. Hopefully things will get better soon. Luna is one beautiful babe.

For those of you who know about my DS I'll give you an update. I swear things will never go well for him. Here is a link to a longer version of his story "Someone Tweeted Dental Floss". His story is that He was born with a very serious heart defect, surgery at birth, open heart at 1 and 19 and at 34 the valves he had replaced are leaking.

DS tried for 2 years to get on SS disability, because he can't work and needs surgery. Fought the government for 2 years and finally won, and even though he applied 2 years ago, they are cheating him out of his back pay. Now on Medicaid, they are giving him a hard time about transferring to another state. His surgery is one that no one in his state will perform. He's running out of time. The longer he waits, the more irreversible damage is done to his heart. He looked OK last year, but his recent pics scare me. He needs this surgery soon.

I also want to thank everyone who donated to his cost to get my DS to Cleveland for his surgery. He is making only enough to live on and has thousands in medical bills that should have been covered, but are not going to be. He will still have expenses when he comes to Cleveland if he ever gets here.

So kids! I know you know what I mean. Even when they are doing good and are healthy you worry. Parents, if you aren't familiar with the Bowie song Kooks, you must listen to this.