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.

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.