KJ made it back

KJ made it back from his camping trip in one piece. He had a wonderful time and wants to go with this group again. He is at his dad's for the weekend, but I thought I would go ahead and post a few of his pictures. (He took 167!) Maybe I'll convince him to do a guest blog about the trip when he returns. FYI - all pics are bigger if you click on them.

This is the Mountain Men bus. It has no heat or a/c. Several of the bus seats have been turned so they face it each other with a small table in between. Each boy had to put his gear in a 38 qt. plastic container. The bus has racks above the seats that are designed to hold that size container. Each boy was also assigned a duffle bag for his sleeping bag, pillow, and coat.




This is where the duffle bags and cots were stored. KJ called it the lounge area since the boys would just lay back on top of the bags and nap.


Also in the bus is the head of a jackalope. KJ was excited to show me this picture and wanted to know if I had ever seen one before. "Ummm, you DO know that they aren't real, right?"
"No, Mom. I pulled on the horns and they are really attached." I explained how they were popular novelty items years ago.


He still didn't believe me and directed me to this picture.

The part I circled in red is a jackalope hunting license.

This dog, Brady, has gone on every trek and expedition since he was 7 months old. He is the Fort Smith Mountain Men dog.


He and KJ got along well.


The first day they drove to Balmorhea State Park. (395 miles) I'm not sure if this is there or on the way.




They spent the night and messed around there until after lunch, when they headed on over to Fort Davis State Park. (32 miles) They set up camp and hiked a little.

They had tents, but never used them.

They spent the night there, hiked up a mountain, and went to the McDonald Observatory that evening.

I can't believe how BLUE the sky is.

This is from the top of the mountain, I think. KJ is on the far left.


They went to a star party here. KJ saw and visited with the Education Curator from the zoo. She was vacationing in the area too.


After spending a second night, they headed out to Stillwell Ranch, just outside Big Bend. (93 miles) On the way, they saw some bald eagles who had a nest with babies.


On their first day there, they hiked Dog Canyon.


Big Bend has lots of cacti.


On their second day, they had a longer hike along the Rio Grande. The river is down in the ravine.


See, there it is. It's hard to imagine illegals scaling those cliffs to cross the border.


Well, maybe they could cross here. It looks doable if you were determined.


Now THIS would be an easy place to cross. Is that a tiny building on the other side?


Yep, it sure is.


Hope you didn't buy anything, KJ.


I know these next pics are in Big Bend, but I'm not sure where.




This is an adobe building. KJ is on the far right.




After their second night at Stillwell Ranch, they drove to Wolf Mountain Scout Ranch. (332 miles), where they had a final campfire and spent the night. The next morning, they got to shoot black powder rifles before returning to Georgetown. (66 miles)

KJ learned a ton including how to do a little cooking.

Misc. tidbits

My cough kept getting worse despite all my home remedies. When I couldn't catch my breath and was wheezy, I finally broke down and went to the doctor. She said it was bronchitis. I have some meds plus I'm still drinking honey in warm water so maybe I'll get better soon.

This afternoon, I noticed that someone had beat me to the punch and cleared out the dead leaves and plants from part of the front flower bed. I was wondering who when I noticed that a couple of chickens were steadily making their way along the other half, scratching all the dead stuff out in their quest for worms and bugs. They are doing an awesome job!

David discovered an easier way to get the chickens to go back in the coop. We usually just herd them in, but there is always that ONE chicken who is nearly impossible to catch. Anyway, today he made a sound like a hawk. The chickens froze and then ALL of them made a mad dash for the safety of the coop.

We go pick KJ up tomorrow. I'm sure he'll have lots to say about the trip.

Update:

I talked to KJ's doctor and he has an epididymis cyst and some blood in his urine. If the pain persists (it has gotten much better), he will need to see a urologist. She does want to repeat his urine test when he gets back though.

Catch-up time

Wow, working 40 hours a week away from the house sure put a damper on my regularly scheduled activities like blogging, housework, reading blogs, cleaning Fred's tank, and Toontown. For those of you who don't remember, I was working Zoo Camp last week. I was actually getting paid to do that so I kind of had to be there everyday, as opposed to just picking and choosing as a volunteer. Anyway, great fun was had by all including KJ who helped out Mon., Wed., and Fri. Tuesday was co-op followed by hanging out with his girlfriend and Thursday, he went to Six Flags with his dad.

Speaking of KJ, he is having a medical issue so please send him some positive energy or pray. I'll update more after I talk to the doctor today. Meanwhile, KJ is on a camping trip in West Texas and Big Bend with the Fort Smith Mountain Men. Actually, let me consult his itinerary...today they are at Fort Davis State Park. They will hike into Fort Davis and tonight, visit the McDonald Observatory for a star party.

David and I have both come down with either a chest cold or horrible allergies. We're both blowing out snot or coughing up snot. Oh, get this. I was perfectly healthy Mon. - Wed. On Thursday morning, I rolled over in bed and snot ran out my nose. That's a wonderful wake-up call. My eyes were puffy and my nose was pouring. I did not blow dry my hair and since the wind was blowing hard, you can imagine what it eventually looked like. I was at camp leading the darling children in a wonderful learning experience (in between sneezes). We had just left the Butterfly Garden and were going into the Ranch House so I could do an animal presentation on the Burmese Python. The Education Coordinator and some guy with a camera were already in the Ranch House. Camera guy asks me to "put this on before you get the snake out," and hands me a wireless mike. Ummm, why? For the "Back to the Wild" show on the city cable channel. What??!! The Education Curator and Coordinator FORGOT to tell me that the city's cable channel would be filming that day. I looked like death warmed over. Oh well, it won't air until November and hopefully I will have forgotten all about it by then.

Misc. ramblings

My baby is growing up. *sigh* I ordered his drivers-ed package from the state. It should be here a few weeks before KJ turns 15, so he'll have the book knowledge to get his learner's permit right after his birthday. We're also going through the paperwork for KJ to start the high school dual credit program at the community college this fall. He still has to take some tests in April, but he should be fine there. I feel like this is the beginning of the end of homeschooling. He's only going to take 1 class in the fall and spring so he'll still have some other work to do. The following year, however, KJ will most likely just take college classes.

Next week is our last week of school before two weeks of vacation. The week of the 10th, KJ and I will be working Spring Break Camp at the zoo. Then KJ will leave on a camping trip the 15th and return the 21st. He is going to Big Bend with this group.

David has taken to cooking supper like a professional chef. I have never eaten so good, AND I'm still losing weight!

I've been busy

Texas votes next week so I've been busy.



On another note, my sister, Staci, sent me some pictures of Emily at preschool. She is soooo cute. David says she will be just like Elle Woods from Legally Blonde.

Fred's new tank

I got a belated Valentine's present yesterday, a new tank for Fred! No longer must he live in a Rubbermaid container with a chicken wire top.


He now has a 40 gallon tank to swim around. Unlike the Rubbermaid container, it is clear so we can actually see Fred.


He still has his favorite hiding log,


and his favorite basking platform.


He even got another basking spot.


You can't tell from the picture, but he still has heat lamp and UVB light. He is one happy turtle (with a happy mama).

KJ has drummed for years and started lessons this past Fall. Two weeks ago, he started drumming with the youth band at his church. Last night was his second time and he did pretty well.

A few pics from David's science class

David taught his first physics class at co-op today. It went really well! The middle age group had no teacher so they joined David's class with the older group. There were about 12-13 kids, but I'm too lazy to blur their faces right now.

meme

Doc said that if you're on her blogroll and haven't done this meme, then to consider yourself tagged. I'm on her blogroll and haven't done it so I guess that includes me.

Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages).
Open the book to page 123.
Find the fifth sentence.
Post the next three sentences.
Tag five people and ask them to do the same.

I'm sitting near a bookshelf so the closest book is one I read a long time ago. It's What My Cat Has Taught Me About Life.

5th sentence on page 123: "When guests are present, the conventions of politeness are extra important."

Next three: "To enhance her coif-fur for company, Cleo situates herself in the middle of activity and engages in a thorough washing. With an occasional upward glance she seems to say, 'Do make yourself comfortable.' Cleo's decorum is more than an outward show."

Since I think that everybody in blogdom has already done this, I'm tagging people without blogs.
My mom, Debbie, Kerrie-Ann, Kathy P., and Laura

You can leave your answers in the comments.

It's been a fairly uneventful week here. KJ is grounded again, but aside from that, uneventful. If the child lives to be 15, it will be a miracle. He is having some problems with making good choices, being responsible, and impulse control. WHY, he thought it would be a good idea to take a picture of himself flipping off the camera and post it on his Myspace.....I don't know. Today, KJ's psychologist told David (I was working later than normal.) that we might want to consider medicating KJ. There is a reason he said this to David and not to me. I've done the Ritalin route and we are not going down that road again. I used to have KJ on three supplements that really helped his ADD. Over time, we dropped back to just Cod Liver Oil, but KJ hasn't been taking it as regularly as he should. We're starting all of them back DAILY.

Misc. other news:

Fred has been growing fast and already needs a bigger tank.

KJ will be playing the part of Brutus in Julius Caesar for his drama class. It is a 10 minute modified production for a competition at Scarborough Faire.

KJ either broke or badly sprained his toe. It swelled up and turned lots of colors. It has kept him from fencing this week.

David will be teaching physics class at co-op for the next three weeks.

Last Friday, David and KJ both went to the doctor while I was teaching in Mexia. KJ had some upper respiratory thing causing him to cough and wheeze and David had a kidney infection. I may have made a few comments over the weekend about how I was the only healthy one in the family. Guess who had a fever of 101 all day Monday? Guess who had a wicked sore throat Tuesday morning? Guess who went to the doctor and found out she had strep throat? My fever finally went down yesterday and I've been on antibiotics long enough to no longer be contagious, thank goodness.

Most of you know that KJ has taken to wearing eyeliner as part of his goth/emo/drummer style. He also refuses to get his hair cut and it is currently dyed black as part of this same goth/emo/drummer thing. A friend of KJ's gave him a waterproof eyeliner pencil this week. KJ put it on without a mirror and looked like a racoon so I picked him up some eye makeup remover cloths today. While in the drugstore, I also picked him up a new eyeliner pencil and some pink eyeshadow KJ had been requesting, plus some eye shadow applicators. Later, when KJ was thanking me profusely for all this stuff, I told him that "if he wanted to be a girl, then I would help him be a girl."

NOTE: The above quote was said as a joke and KJ laughed. It is not meant to offend the transgendered.

homeschool stuff - skip if you want

I was writing to my sister, Sherry, and since I felt that she probably isn't sleeping well, I decided to help out. I told her all about changes we've made for the new year with homeschooling, and our new schedule in excruciating detail. She should be asleep half-way through it. After sending the message though, I realized that I haven't blogged about any of that stuff, so here goes. If homeschooling stuff bores you, feel free to move on now. If detailed plans bore you, feel free to head on out now.

Okay Mom, Dy, and Jess - here's what we're doing this year.

In my opinion, this past fall was probably our worst time homeschooling since we started. I was starting to work part-time, volunteering at the zoo, and KJ was being a hormonally-crazed teenage boy. I was exhausted, frustrated, and turning into b*tch mom while KJ was doing his ever loving-best to send me into a mental hospital.

I had a l-o-n-g talks with KJ and David about goals, priorities, etc. David really likes the money I'm bringing in and had had the attitude of "add in more centers, work everyday if you can, drop the zoo stuff during the week" Unfortunately, I had not told him about my frustration or how homeschooling was suffering. The zoo time is the ONE thing that is just for me. It is also the thing that keeps me sane. I explained to him that I could NOT add in any more work days. I plan to increase my enrollment at the centers I have, at that is it. He totally understood and was very supportive. Like most women, I had expected him to read my mind and know how I felt.

KJ and I discussed how he is nearly 15 years old. If I leave him a list of things to do while I'm at work (only gone about 3-4 hours), I expect them to be done when I get home. He seemed to think that my lists were optional. Lest you think I'm a tyrant, here is a sample list.

Shower, dress, and have breakfast
Do your Latin for the day
Read 30 pages in your book
Do your chores (these vary by day, but usually are vacuuming and unloading the dishwasher)

Anyway, now if he doesn't get his work done, he's grounded from the phone and computer the rest of the day.

The major change in our homeschooling is only doing a few subjects at a time. We will do them everyday more in depth for 8-12 weeks or so and then switch them out. Currently, KJ has Latin with his tutor once a week and daily homework. This will continue until she moves. She graduated from college last year and her husband will graduate this spring. KJ also has a drum lesson once a week (instructor comes here) with daily practice. This will continue forever. We changed fencing clubs so KJ now has fencing two evenings a week. I am only teaching Chemistry, History, and assigning books to read. We dropped the Friday co-op as KJ only had Chemistry there and I wasn't happy with what he was learning. We still have the Tuesday co-op, but it is more for enrichment and socializing. He has science and drama there. After we finish with Chemistry and History, we'll switch them out for two more subjects, probably Math and Logic. FYI - Chemistry has daily math in it.

Monday - Latin, drum, Chem., Hist. reading - no outside activities

Tuesday - morning co-op with science, games, drama; Latin, drum, Chem., Hist. reading - in afternoon; fencing from 6:30 - 9:00

Wednesday - Chem., Hist. - in morning; drum lesson at 1:00; Mom off to work at 2: 15 and back home at 4:30 every other Wed.; KJ does Latin and reading while I'm gone

Thursday - KJ spends Wed. nights with his dad so he is at his dad's house with his grandma in the morning until I come pick him up after work. reading - in morning; I pick him up around noon; Chem., Hist - afternoon; Latin tutor from 3:30 - 4:30; fencing from 6:30 - 9:00

Friday - Mom leaves for work at 7:45 and home around noon; Latin, drum, reading - morning; Chem. Hist. - in afternoon

Note: Latin, drum, and reading take about 2 hours total (max) His daily chores take about 30 minutes (max) History is usually 30 minutes and Chemistry can vary from 30 minutes to an hour and a half.

If we do something at the zoo, it is usually on Mondays, Tuesdays right after co-op, or a Wed. afternoon when I'm off. Otherwise, we stick to weekends.

Just a quick note in response to my mom's comment on my last post. I call my mom EVERYDAY! (I am the GOOD daughter.) She is fine, by the way, just some issues with restless-leg-syndrome and not sleeping for 2 days straight.

My grandmother is still alive. In her words, "her rocking chair is still rocking." You know...they called us all in once before, because her death was imminent...10 years ago. Maybe this time will be the same.

Fred the turtle is doing well. We found Emily asleep on top of his tank, under the basking lamp. *shaking head* That cat is something else.

I'm supposed to be on the road to Mexia (40 miles from my house) right now, but it is sleeting and we're supposed to have a wintery mix until 1:00. In Pennsylvania, this would not have been a problem, but Texas drivers and Texas road crews aren't used to this kind of weather. The daycare told me to just come twice next week. So now, I'm sitting here wide awake tring to decide what to do.

Last week: A summary

Bad stuff:

My best friend of over 20 years called me Tuesday evening to tell me she thought her husband had had a stroke, and she was following the ambulance to the hospital. KJ and I packed our bags and were on the road to Fort Worth 30 minutes later. Best friend's hubby's diagnosis later changed to subarachnoid hemorrhage. Then they thought it was a deep-brain aneurysm, then back to the subarachnoid hemorrhage. All I know is that late Tuesday night, we thought he was going to die. I felt soooo bad for my friend. She couldn't sleep, couldn't relax; about 2:00am, she finally said we should try to get some rest, but I'm not sure she ever slept. (I slept like a log.) KJ and I returned home Wednesday when friend's sister arrived. I knew she would take care of her. To make a long story short, hubby's bleed sealed itself off and he was released from the hospital Saturday. Hopefully, he will make a full recovery.

Paul, my %#*@ rooster almost killed one of the hens on Wednesday. She had blood all over her face and neck, and a large lump of tissue on her neck. Paul is back in solitary confinement. I also moved the hen by herself so she can heal. If chickens smell blood, they will just keep pecking at it.

Good stuff:

The same above mentioned friend's youngest son had sent us a Flat Stanley as part of a school assignment. David and I had fun playing with Flat Stanley at the zoo. Here are just a few of the pics.

When I was in my first semester of college, I bought a Red-Eared Slider turtle. It was $5 and about the size of a quarter. Years later, I realized that the turtle had been sold illegally, but I was ignorant of all that at the time. Anyway, I named the turtle Mac and we lived happily ever after for about 6 years. Mac would let me scratch his head when he basked, swam to the top of the tank to greet me when I came into the room and loved earthworms. When Mac was about 5 and a half, he was soooo big that I moved him to an outdoor pond (bathtub I sunk in the ground). He escaped within the week and was never seen or heard from again.

It took 15 years, but I finally got over the loss and now we have..................FRED!

He is one good-looking turtle. I love his shell.

Isn't he adorable?!

...humming a little tune...twiddling my thumbs...humming...some light housework....a little ToonTown...humming....twiddling...play some Nancy Drew...a nap...light housework

The above pretty much sums up my holiday which is why I haven't blogged, nothing to blog about.

On a serious note though, we received a call Saturday afternoon that my 91 year old grandmother is dying. She had a light heart attack and "seems" fine, but the cardiologist said that this one was just a precursor to a big one that will be fatal. He seemed to think she would go sooner rather than later, most likely within 2 weeks. My father and uncle have not told my grandmother what the doctor said. The problem is....my grandmother's mental faculties are perfect. WHY we thought we could have all the family show up over two days to visit with her in the hospital and her not think something is up, is beyond me. She knows. My sister and I stayed overnight with her Saturday, and she had us alternating between laughing loudly and turning red from embarrassment. (She knows lots of dirty jokes.) Grandmama got to come home yesterday as there is nothing that can be done for her. We came home Sunday, but I'm hoping to get to run back up to see her Thursday. I was really upset at first, but I have lots of wonderful memories of her. I am happy that we've had her for 91 years or me specifically for 38.

On a happy note, we will welcome a new member of the family on Friday. (No, I'm not pregnant.) Pictures will follow soon after.

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.