Counting To Ten

   Alot has been going on these last few weeks and I have been so crazy busy. I totally have that "Up to Here" attitude. The kids are out of school, as I have said before, and the weather has been miserable. Not in the too hot way that summers can be in Minnesota, but in the it hasnt gotten above 80 degrees in 3 weeks kind of miserable. They get outside in spurts, when it's not raining. I have seen far too much X-Box and way too much spatting. My husband has been off work for two weeks, more on that later, and has gone fishing every chance he gets, which leaves me to cook and keep the kids occupied and out of trouble. I have only gotten out of the house without my kids tagging along a few times in 14 days and I am ready to pull my hair out!

   I have a dog, Jasper, we call him "Jazz" He is a shi-tzu/bischon mix. I got him because he was so cute and a shed free breed. He is a great dog for the most part, but he gets this skin thing the vet has called "hot spots". It causes him to constantly lick and bite at his hind end and causes his skin to get really irritated. So, my vet suggested shaving him down and applying medicated spray directly to the areas and to use only oatmeal shampoo. Fine, so after I struggled with Jazz for a good 2 hours to get him shaved down and bathed, sprayed and calmed down, he looks like a chinese crested. Big head, I left his fur on his head, but almost naked everywhere else. I saw him shaking because he is so cold from having all his fur removed, so I ran to the local Wal-Mart to buy him a sweater, yes I said sweater... Of course I took my youngest son Dominick with me, and headed out the door. We get to the store and low and behold, no sweaters. No dog clothes of any kind. There seasonal, apparently. Grrr. I refuse to go to the specialty pet store and pay a ridiculous price for something that I feel awful about forcing my beloved Jazz to wear. So, he will have to use his doggy bed blanket for once.

    Back to my husband.. He has been on a sort of lay off until the end of this week and although sometimes its nice to have him here, most of the time, I find myself mumbling under my breath about what he is or isnt doing right.. I dont think of myself as a nagging wife, but there is plenty to do around here that doesnt involve a fighing pole or pillows and the couch. I am layed off from my job through the state at the deaf school because it's summer and the kids just arent there during the summer. But I do have a part time job and am looking for another. I have heard him say that he thinks that I shouldve been looking months ago and maybe hes right, but I never anticipated him being out of work as well. I think that since I do most of the work with the kids, I should concentrate on that when I can. Also, he takes day shift so If I work, the kids either have to be alone or I have to work 2nd or 3rd shift. Forget that!

   I guess that I just needed to vent a little. I really am trying to stay positive and get through this season like we do every other. I just have to keep reminding myself to Count To Ten!

The Dog Days of Summer

Danea came home from a friends house today, holding a bag of ice and a wad of napkins to her face. I took me a second to realize that she was bleeding. She starts crying, wailing is more like it, and Tells me that her friends grandmas dog, bit her. Quick as a flash my husband is on his feet heading out the door. I go to Danea and look only to see that she has 2 punctures on her upper lip and two abrasions on each side of her neck. I looked inside her mouth and thought it went through. I decided that she needs to go to the emergency room. I look outside to fins Donny talking to some lady, who turned out to be the dogs' owner, and tell him that she needs to go to the ER. The lady tells me that she has had this dog since it was a puppy and that its never hurt anyone before. I cant even think straight. I ask what kind of dog and she replies that its a pit bull. I get her address and inform her that when I go to the Er, they will report it to the police so she needs to have all her records ready for them. Off we go to the ER. We get in pretty fast and the staff there was phenomenal! They saw her quickly, and took all my information so they could report it to the police. The nurses and Doctors were awesome. With me and Danea. It was decided that she needed at least one stitch, and of course she started to cry, but after some talk from myself and the staff, she calmed down and got through it like a champ! Her face and lip looked awful for a good few hours, only now is the swelling from the lidocaine going down. The only bad part about that is that means that its wearing off too. So the pain is coming back, and she is starting to whine. I cant blame her though and she will get a pass tonight. I can handle one night of whining, right? As far as we know tonight, the dog has had all its shots and since we have insurance, there is no out of pocket cost to us and therefore none to the dogs owner. She has called a couple times to get updates and we called her when we got everything squared away and she asked about Danea right away so we are all good there. Obviously she cares not only about her dog but also about the welfare of our daughter. Which is good!!

Schools Out- Day 1

This happens every year... Excitement for school being out lasts 20 minutes in the morning, and then, the chorus of "were bored" is heard throughout the neighborhood.. I though I was prepared this year. Went and bought a new sprinkler, glow bracelets, assorted games, sidewalk chalk and gave them free range for the hose outside. It comes and goes in bursts! They have found themselves a mud hole in the yard. Not sure it was there before today but I'm positive it will grow in size by the end of the week. LOL Of course today it is 90 degrees and so muggy you feel like your breathing in hot oil. Welcome to summers in Minnesota. The winters are so brutal you find yourself longing for these hot weather days, seeming to forget how miserable they make you feel, and before you know it, you are wishing for a brisk, January day. We are never happy.. So, I will try as hard am I am able to get through this season with a smile on my face. I cant ask for more than that!

The case of the broken tree branch and the scraped knee..

My husband takes my oldest son fishing and I thought it would be a good time to take the other two kids to my friends so they can play and her and I can chat..Now as any mom knows, it can be very exhausting to get your kids to listen to what you have to say, at least until you have another adult to have an actual conversation with. Then they are all ears and you spend much of your "relax" time, telling them to "go play". They do, but with 4 kids there between the two of us, they each take a turn coming to eavesdrop and eventually you grown up conversation becomes a test to see how well you can follow a story that is constantly interrupted by the howls of the dreaded phrase, "I'm bored". So, her and I give all kinds of suggestions for what game they should play and just when we finally think we have them occupied, I hear from about twenty feet above me, my youngest son's voice floating out from a huge tree. "Mom, I'm stuck and the branch is broke!" My son Dominick, has always been a climber. Not just the easy trees either. He's like a monkey. So, over to the tree I go, only to see that he isn't exaggerating. I automatically look to see if there is an easy escape for him. I come up empty. My friends husband has to bring his ladder out of the garage and set it up as close as he can get to Dominick and before he can finish explaining how he will need to back himself down, my son grips the branch and flings his body toward him. Swinging like an ape in the jungle, he shows no fear and simply lands on Jim's back. Safely on the ground, he says "Thanks, Jim" and trots off as if nothing happened. I guess I can only be thankful that we don't live near any of those huge red trees from California!
After picking up the boys from fishing, we get home and have a late supper. The kids go out to play, trying to suck every bit of sunlight out of the day that they can, and just as I sit down to relax, I hear what sounds like my daughter screaming bloody murder. Anyone who knows my daughter, knows she has a flair for the dramatic, but I go outside anyways. About a half block down, there she is. Sitting in the middle of the road, holding her knee up by her chest. She screams that she's bleeding and cannot walk to the house. I get into the car and drive to pick her up only to see a normal kid scrape. I cannot stop the eyes from rolling into my head and the huge breath that escapes my mouth. I get her into the car and then into the house. I take her into the bathroom and after a few intense minutes of cleaning the wound, and putting on the ever so important bandages, the crying stops and all is well. Now she is limping and although I know she is perfectly alright, I give her a extra kiss and squeeze her a little harder before bed. I know that even though my days are crazy and hectic, an extra kiss and hug and a few soft words is really all she needed.Its funny to see the difference between the two kids when they have their "emergencies". I love being a mom!