Merry Christmas

We have had a fairly quiet and uneventful holiday. KJ was with his dad until this afternoon. We did go pick him up yesterday and took him to his girlfriend's great-grandad's funeral. (His dad and step-mom were at work.) I feel for the family, a funeral on Christmas Eve is terrible.

Anyway, KJ returned home today and opened his stockings. We waited too late to order his big gift, a laptop, so it will be here next week. He still enjoyed his other gifts ( a pair of Vans, a magazine, and a webkin) though. He certainly made a haul in gift cards and cash from various family members. Sometimes being the only child of divorced parents who have remarried has its advantages.

We're visiting with some friends tomorrow and then on Thursday, meeting my sister halfway to have lunch and exchange gifts.

Have a great holiday!

musing

I've been thinking about something that happened this week. On Tuesday morning, KJ and I took the ZooMobile to the Methodist Children's Home for animal presentations for two high school science classes. Before the students came in, the science teacher told me that these were high school kids, they could be obnoxious, they came from rough backgrounds, etc. She said that if anyone got too awful, she would make them leave.

My thoughts ran along the lines of, "Oh joy...this ought to be fun."

The kids however, were great! Both presentations went well. They were respectful and asked good questions. Later, I was wondering why they were so nice when their teacher obviously expected otherwise.

Maybe it was the change in routine.
Maybe they found the animals interesting.
Maybe it was my fantastic teaching skill. (not)

I honestly think it may have been because I had KJ with me. At the beginning, I introduced myself as a docent and introduced KJ as my son and docent assistant. I explained that he was a homeschooled sophomore and came along to help me often. KJ held the cockatiel so I would not smell like bird when I held the snake and also did the hand sanitizer after the students touched the animals. At the end of the presentations when we discussed zoo careers, I mentioned that KJ was also interested in an animal-care career. I explained that I would also be looking for a zoo job after I finished educating KJ. I think that since these kids had such horrible home environments (they wouldn't be at the Home, otherwise); that maybe they were just appreciative that I obviously take care of my son.

How KJ paid off a large chunk of his phone bill

Some friends of ours went out of town last weekend and needed someone to take care of their horses. They are trying to get this horse to go into heat early so she gets put in the barn under lights at 5:00pm and let back out at 11:00pm...every.single.day through March or so.


KJ also fed the horses. These pictures aren't very good. The wind chill was about 20 that day so I had given KJ my coat in addition to his own, which meant I was shivering hard as I took the pics.

Wildlife Wonderland

This past Friday and Saturday were Wildlife Wonderland Days at the zoo. The focus was on animal enrichment (things that help them keep from getting bored) with a variety of demonstrations and activities. Unfortunately, the weather was atrocious so not too many people came. David, KJ, and I were helping out on Saturday and got to see a few of the demonstrations and bid in the silent auction. I won three of the six items I bid on. One of the big animal enrichment activities is painting with the animals. Many of the animals just get their feet, tail, or body painted and are given a canvas to play with. The elephants actually hold a paint brush in their trunk and paint.

This stocking was painted by Ricky the Patagonian Cavy. I gave it to KJ.


This child's apron was done by the meerkats. It is going to my niece, Emily.


This bib was painted by a baby map turtle. It came with a photo of the artist. I plan to give it to KJ's Latin tutor's baby girl.


One of the more exciting demos was giving paper mache animals filled with meat to the lions. We have 6 lions, but Sheba and Sam Jack were the two on exhibit that day. The keepers had made Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer pinatas stuffed with meat. David was a little concerned about killing off Santa's lead reindeer in front of small children, but I assured him that they knew it wasn't really Rudolph.

Sheba grabbed Frosty and ran with him over to Rudolph. Apparently, she wanted them both.


"Hey...what has she got down there?"

"I think I'll take some of that, thank you very much."

"No, no, no Sam Jack! Rudolph is mine!"

"Heeeey! Get your own Rudolph!"

At this point Sam Jack left Frosty for Sheba, grabbed Rudolph and ran back up the hill. "You didn't want any of this did you?"

"I didn't think so."

Updates

KJ's dad did not want me sending food over and consequently, is no longer locking the freezer.

KJ will pick up a paycheck today that will pay off the last of his cell phone bill and consequently, will no longer be grounded. He has decided however, that he likes working and earning money and plans to continue.

As a result of lots of scrimping, we can see a light at the end of our financial tunnel.

Levaquin seems to have done the trick in finally kicking my sinus infection. I have grown some more polyps though. :-(

Me and my kitties

On a more cheerful note - Edited to add 2 more pics

Christmas decorations!

My snowmen.

KJ made this when he was 5 or 6.

I have not yet figured out how to take pictures with the light off.

This blanket belonged to David's late mother.

A woman on the edge

I haven't blogged this past week, because I was thinking that if I didn't have anything positive to say, I shouldn't blog at all. There is also the little matter that I try not to post things that are too personal here. After some thought though, I decided that it's my blog, and if it makes me feel better to vent, then I will. So, if you want a positive, uplifting post, or something cute about animals at the zoo, just skip this post and some back in a few days.

Life has pretty much sucked lately. I have stress coming from several directions, not all of which I can elaborate on. Finances have been tighter than usual this Fall. Almost all of my homeschooling friends in-real-life and online have expressed the same frustration so I know it's not just me. It is just harder to be a one-income family these days. As a matter of fact, I DO bring home some money with my part-time PCKidz job, but everything else has gotten so much more expensive, that we are a little worse off than this time last year when I brought in $0. I realize that I am much more fortunate than many others, though. We have a roof over our heads, food to eat, the utilities are all on, and we have two vehicles that run. After next year's income tax refund, we will be debt-free except for David's student loan.

Between teaching KJ, getting him to all his classes and co-ops, teaching for PCKidz, teaching at one co-op, and volunteering at the zoo; I'm feeling overwhelmed. The only thing I can really do less of is the zoo stuff, but it's the thing I enjoy the most. It is the one thing I do just for "me." Things are actually a little better at the moment since we are in the holiday season and some classes are on hiatus.

Lastly, the most recent and BIGGEST source of stress is my ex, KJ's dad. It just irritates the hell out of me that after being divorced all these years, he still has the power to infuriate me. A little history - we had a nasty divorce followed by a couple of years of strained interaction. Things began to improve as time passed and we have managed to have a civil and sometimes even friendly relationship over the past 2-3 years or so. We worked with each other on scheduling, and were flexible with pick-up and drop-off arrangements. I helped with his mother, KJ's G'ma, whenever I could. We had agreed to back up each other's punishments. If KJ was grounded at my house, he was grounded at his dad's, and viseversa. Ex-dh got married last May to a nice lady with two daughters. I don't know her well, but we've been nice to each other, and I like that KJ has a "mother" over there. Her daughter's are 18 and 14. The 14 year old has lived with the new family, but the 18 year old moved out about a month after the marriage. She was running wild and it did not sound like she would be a good influence on KJ anyway.

Fast forward to this past weekend. I don't want to bore you with the details, but the summary is: Ex-dh told KJ that he was not grounded at his house (remember that KJ was grounded due to his phone bill), that KJ's "sin was with his mother," 18 year old stepdaughter moved back home 2 weeks ago because she was going to "follow the rules", 18 year old stepdaughter sent several MySpace bulletins to KJ and the rest of her friends that indicated she was NOT changing her wild ways at all. (I don't care what she does and I'm certainly not a prude, but just don't tell KJ all about it. I don't want him looking to her as a role model.) Ex-dh has turned into a food-Nazi and has taken to locking the freezer. Ex-dh and wife went to an X-mas party, didn't get home until 1:00am, and wouldn't answer their cell phones. The freezer was locked so KJ, 14 year old stepsister, and G'ma could not find anything to eat. (G'ma has early Alzheimer's and can't drive) KJ and stepsister finally found where the key was hidden and got some food. Ex-dh was mad about it and now keeps the freezer key on his keyring. I will be sending food with KJ from now on.

I will not scream. I will not scream. I will not scream...

Arrrrrgggghhhhhh

Our cell phone bill is about $65.00 for three phones. KJ talked over 3000 minutes this month and added $467 to the bill. He is now grounded from ALL phones, his PSP, and the computer until he pays us for the bill. He's looking for work now.

Itsy and Cobber

David and I were bored on Sunday so I took a couple of videos while doing DOD. The first is of Itsy, a dwarf hamster, running in her ball. The second is of Cobber the kookaboro getting agitated while holding a mouse. He had already gulped down the first three mice.

Saturday was Fuller's 8th birthday

We celebrated Fuller's 8th birthday with a package of tuna to be shared with Neko and Emily. Fish of any kind is Fuller's absolute favorite though she usually just gets cat food. Emily adores chicken while Neko really prefers dry cat food.

Audie's Birthday

We traveled alllllllll the way up to Crowell on Saturday for my grandmother, Audie's, 80th birthday party. I'm her oldest and favorite grandchild, of course. ;-) Growing up, I practically lived at Audie's house every summer. Audie knew how to make summertime fun. I have so many memories of those times...walking to the neighborhood pool in the afternoon, Audie cutting open aloe vera leaves to rub on my sunburn, standing in front of the swamp cooler, loading into the church van to head to camp, driving Audie's car around town (at age 13), drinking from the juice bottle filled with water that always stayed in the fridge, eating ice cream with chocolate syrup after swimming, riding my bike to the baseball fields for the night games, sleeping on the fold-out couch with Audie, and eating tons of home cookin'.

Audie has not retired yet. She is still working as a paramedic for the ambulance service. I don't think she EVER plans to stop working.

Happy Birthday, Audie! May you live to be 100!


This is my Uncle Serge with my cousins, Kenneth and Charles.


My cousin, Kay, with my mom and cousin, Carson.


My mom and dad

My uncle, Freddie, his girlfriend, Jerri, and my brother, Tracey

brother-in-law-Casey, hubby-David, brother-Tracey

cousin-Amanda, aunt-Betty

me, sister-in-law-Tammy, sister-Staci

nephews-Cason and Cooper, Tammy and Tracey

nieces-McKenzie and Emily, Staci and Casey

me, David, and KJ

The whole family

I love Thanksgiving afternoon.

We're visiting family on Saturday for my grandmother's 80th birthday, visiting friends for an all-day birthday party on Friday, and KJ is with his dad today, so David and I are hanging out by ourselves for Thanksgiving. It has been soooo nice. We slept in and then headed to the truck stop for the Thanksgiving dinner buffet. Y-u-m-m-y!! When we returned home, David flopped on the couch to watch a movie while I flopped on the bed to curl up with a cat and listen to a book on CD. This was followed by a nice hot bubble bath for me while David watched a second movie.

I just love Thanksgiving afternoon.

I have an admirer..

Remember Ricky? Of course you do. He was introduced two posts ago. Well, KJ and I took Ricky for a walk yesterday afternoon.


Last time, David and I had to pin him to get the harness on.
This time, he was waiting by the gate and sat still while I put the harness on him.

Last time, Ricky pulled and pulled trying to go where he wasn't allowed.
This time, Ricky walked along nicely, rarely pulling.

Last time, Ricky kept trying to stop at fire ant beds.
This time, he ignored the fire ant beds.

Last time, Ricky did NOT want to end his walk.
This time, he still did not want to end his walk.

Last time, Ricky moved away from me as soon as his harness was off.
This time, Ricky sat nicely making grunting noises, while I gave him a rubdown where the harness had been.

Last time, Ricky couldn't care less that I left.
This time, Ricky showed his appreciation for the walk by humping my leg when I tried to leave.

He's my secret boyfriend.

I've had a blog for years and never posted an obituary, but this makes the third, and hopefully last, one since July. David and I spent this afternoon at a beautiful "celebration of life" service for a fellow homeschool mom. Her two youngest children are in our Families Learning Together co-op. Ramona and I met when I first started homeschooling, but our paths did not cross very often last year. When I saw her in August to plan for co-op, she had beaten (we thought) breast cancer. I did not even recognize her at first due to her enormous weight loss. About three weeks after that planning meeting, Ramona was diagnosed with brain cancer. We all knew her death was coming, but it is still sad. Please keep her family in your thoughts and prayers. She leaves three children, ages 17, 11, and 6. Here is the obituary from the paper.



Ramona Lea Ryan, 49, of Waco, passed quietly from our presence into the fullness of God's love Saturday afternoon, Nov. 10. Ramona's life celebration will be 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 18, at The World Hunger Relief Farm, 356 Spring Lake Road, for directions call 799-5611. Ramona was passionate in her love of music, languages, children, conversation, diversity, education, teaching, simplicity, friendship, peace, justice, Oaxaca, Athens, Waco, cultural understanding, Hope Fellowship, and the body of Christ around the world. She is survived by her husband, Luis Matias-Cruz; her children, Gwendolyn, Gerson and Paloma; her parents, Bill and Gladene Ryan, and a host of family, brothers and sisters in the faith, and friends who are left with both sadness in her absence and gratitude for the gifts that she gave us. August 13, 1958 - November 10, 2007

Meet Ricky!

I would like to take a moment to introduce you to a new friend. This is Ricky, the Patagonian Cavy. Ricky's previous home was in the zoo's South American exhibit. He had a huge, natural looking habitat, complete with water fall and pond. He shared the exhibit with two other cavies, a pair of King Vultures, lots of Squirrel Monkeys, a sloth, several Sun Conures, a few agouti, and Mike the capybara. The South American exhibit is usually a lovely, harmonious place...until recently.

Ricky has a perfectly nice female cavy to ummm...relieve any sexual tension. He has, however, shown absolutely zero interest in her. Instead, Ricky prefers to "show his love" to Mike the capybara. Now, Mike is a lot bigger than Ricky and does NOT like being the recipient of all Ricky's "love." Mike has let Ricky know this repeatedly by biting, kicking, and clawing. Stupid Poor Ricky just wouldn't learn to leave Mike alone. In order to keep Ricky in one piece, the keepers had to pull him from the exhibit.


Ricky now lives alone back behind-the-scenes. His enclosure is still roomy, but not as large or as pretty as his previous home. To make sure he gets enough exercise, he gets at least one daily walk. I had trained on walking Ricky last week so this morning, David and I took Ricky for a walk.

Ricky likes to nibble on the grass.


Ricky likes to run and hop. Sometimes we run along with him.



I already introduced you to this new friend, Lurch the Screech Owl. The Ranch House Assistant calls her Precious, and I think that name fits better than Lurch.


I trained on handling Lurch/Precious last week so today I showed David how. Unfortunately, he doesn't like any of the pics I took of him with the owl (I thought they were fine.), so you only get to see me.

In case you're wondering where KJ was during all this, he went to the Texas Renaissance Festival with his fighting group.

God, I'm boring...

Man, I'm dull. I need to liven this place up some.



Remember how I said I was working with the new screech owl? Well, we are bonding. She did a great job the other day getting used to her jesses (leg straps) and seems to like me. Screech owls make this trilling call to reach out and make contact with family members. She has been making this noise to me and I can do a passable trill back. As I was standing there trilling back and forth with the owl, I realized that I'm such a nerd.

On that same theme, this music video is hilarious. I've been humming the tune all day.

I just got home after spending 17 of the last 24 hours at the zoo. I worked with the screech owl yesterday afternoon, helped with an overnight group last night, and walked the Patagonian Cavy today while KJ wandered with his girlfriend. I'm exhausted, but this brought a smile to my face.

Thanks to Life With My 3 Boybarians, I learned that November is Prematurity Awareness Month. She has a beautiful story about all that her youngest has overcome as a preemie. New readers may not know that my big strappin' boy, KJ, was a preemie. He was born 7 weeks early weighing 3lb. 6oz.

After being put on a ventilator, flown to Ft. Worth where he spent 2 weeks in the NICU at a children's hospital, getting a couple of doses of surfactant, and lots of scans; he was flown back to Wichita Falls where he spent another 2 weeks in NICU at the local hospital.

28 days after his birth, KJ was finally able to come home where he starting packing on the pounds.

KJ had a tough first couple of years. We had to make regular and frequent trips to see a pediatric pulmonologist in Ft. Worth. He spent most of those years on Prednisone and getting 4 breathing treatments a day. Once KJ hit 2 though, his health slowly started improving. He was still more sickly than his peers, but he never let it get him down. One of the reasons I started homeschooling was because a doctor had told me that KJ would stay healthier if he were NOT in public school.

KJ has obviously overcome his health issues. He is a fun-loving, intelligent young man with a zest for life. He makes me proud everyday.

Premature births can happen to anyone. I was not a teenage mother. I did not smoke, drink, or take drugs. I had excellent prenatal care, gave up caffeine, ate healthily, took my vitamins, and even went to a Mom-E-Robics class.