Thanksgiving Week

I've so looked forward to this week off. It's one of those "what do I do first?" weeks, so almost nothing got done until the last moment as I gave in to making a decision and just jumped in. About 9 cabinets organized later, I am ready to go back to work. Well, not ready as in "I can't wait" but ready enough that I am not dreading it. In fact--I kinda miss my little guys. I just hope they had a nice time relaxing at home enjoying their families. So, here's my fun in a nutshell:
1. Slept in until average of 10 AM every morning--and that's without any sleep aids. Just goes to show how anxious I am everyday that I can't sleep without a sleep aid during the regular work week.
2. Made 4 trips to Lowes, 2 by myself, to get the kitchen colors chosen.
3. Found the new counter and floor tiles. Now, to get them ordered...
4. Ate and ate and ate and ate. I actually thought about buying a girdle--that's how much I ate! I'll just have to starve myself until Christmas.
5. Stayed up late watching cable, movies I DVR'd, Spongebob, and movies we rented. I also exercised a little and played a handheld game every night before bed.
6. I had a lot of fun with my man, Greg. A lot, people. If you know what I mean...cough.
7. I ate and ate, did I mention that?
8. I did a lot of online shopping--but that is usual activity for me, so I don't know if it should count as my week off fun.
9. Hung out with my children, which I do anyway, but it was so nice to not have somewhere to be soon, something I had to do, or some place I had to take them. We had no conditions, no rules, no time limits--just pure relaxation together.
10. Bought 3 new tires. On my way to the temple a tire blew so I ended up spending the evening replacing it instead of doing temple work and going to a friend's b-day dinner. That blew as much as the tire did. The tire blew, the evening blew, and I blew ($375 bucks that is.)
If that isn't the most excitement you've had in a while, then just live my life for a day and you'll appreciate the slow pace I enjoyed this week. I am now preparing for a presentation tomorrow and work on Monday with school work to do in between. It's off to the races once again--most likely I'll finish last as usual.

SHOUT OUT

A shout out to my little friend Emma Ward! She has made school bareable for Kindsay by including her in play at recess. Kindsay loves to see a familiar and friendly face at school, and Emma is just the girl she needs! Thank you, Emma! You are very special.

Kindsay--Haven't figured her out yet.

Well today was the triennial--the big assessment. The new school psych said she read all Kindsay's past reports and was so confused by what she read that she did a full battery of tests on Kindsay. 24 pages. Results? Kindsay is confusing. She is consistently inconsistent. She can score 94% on one test and 1% on the next within the same subject. STRANGE. She now qualifies under Severe Emotional Disturbance (if you've ever met Kindsay, you'd know it was the anxiety that placed her in the category...she's a wreck socially), AND "autistic like behaviors" is the secondary qualifier (she has to smell everything and makes funny noises for starters.) Alas, still no solid answers--her x-rays and blood work results are still out there somewhere--but one thing we know for sure: she's one-of-a-kind.

Sisterly Love

The good thing is that my sisters (I have three--one older; two younger) and I are best of friends. We love getting together, talking on the phone, texting..whatever! Our children are best friends (all 16), so who would've thought that so many years ago we hated each other with passion.
Seriously...hated.
For one thing, I used to carve my little sister's name in all the furniture with a knife out of the kitchen. I figured when my parents go to ask, "Who did this?" they will barely get all the words out before they realize it was my sister! Who else would carve her own name into the furniture? Automatic bust. Hehehe.
Another example: One sister tried to pay a stoner chick in high school to beat me up. Sad thing is that I hung out with the goths, stoners, punks..so the girl was probably my friend. If only Kelly had enough cash for that one, we may not be so close today. How embarrassing for me.
My other sister only remembers me from childhood as one having made her my personal servant. I always deny that while I have her grab me a drink from the fridge (bad timing every time!) My older sister was Satan's little helper and the wicked witch rolled up into one person. She used to tease me because I was flat-chested and, let's face it, butt ugly. My how things have changed! Now she's my closest friend. My brother? He has his own story to tell.

I am an over-paid bathroom attendant.

My job is not glamorous...just ask my husband who has to hear all my day's complaints at 2:30 PM EVERYDAY as I drive home from work and vent with exasperation. I have 2 students who have to be taken to the bathroom and supervised. Not a big deal, except one of them thinks visiting the bathroom is pure enjoyment. She doesn't talk and wears a diaper that she can take off by herself, so all day she gives me the ASL sign for bathroom. We go to the bathroom...I stand and wait for her to do her thing...she stares at me...I stare at her...she shakes her head...I nod mine...she refuses to pull down her pants and sit on the toilet so I gesture for us to leave...she shakes her head...I nod mine:::::AHHHHHHHHH. We do this about 3 times a day (I send an aide with her the other 5 times and I turn down a sign for toilet about every 5 min.) The really hard part is that she snarls at me with bloody gums (I have reported this a few times now) and goes to pinch me. I started putting socks on her hands to send the message that there won't be any pinching on my clock. The other student is a male who cannot wipe himself. My co-teacher, a male, is a good sport and wraps a towel around his face like a bandit so he can attend to this task. This kiddo also cannot wipe his nose and he emptied his sinuses while I shrieked and ran the other way. Again, good old Shawn came to my rescue. "I will not eat for 3 days if I have to wipe his nose!" Shawn just laughs and wipes him down. I'm serious though. Green goo out of a fourteen-year-old...best appetite suppressant in the world. Even I don't want to lost weight that badly.

Again with the history?

OK...another story that should remain in the recesses of my mind, yet here it is being laid out before you like a buffet in Vegas. This time, I am the devil. I'm not saying I was the worst sister ever, but I was among good company if you really must know. All of us were mean to each other, so I got a zing in every now and then and am PROUD of it! I actually teamed up with my older sister for this, which was unheard of back then. Now we are a daring duo, two peas in a pod, but back then, it was a death wish for me to even look at her. My sister, just fifteen months younger than I, (yeah...I was "the baby" for a very short time, another HMPH! to add, hehe) was and still is a deep sleeper. But, my older sis and I dared ask, HOW deep is that sleep? Little sister, I will call Kelly (see pic, center) since it is part of her name, would literally crash at 3 PM, much like half her children do now, which is good old-fashion karma. Picture it, later into the evening, once Char and I have been put to bed in the same room with Kelly, and the two of us are bored and wide awake. Nothing we do wakes this child. Two pairs of eyes lock and share the same terrible thought. Char grabs a block and sticks it down the back of Kelly's underwear. Kelly rolls over and doesn't even flinch, block and all. Again, two pairs of eyes lock. Another block is added to the underwear. Another roll and still no response from the living dead. Two eyes now with raised brows. Hmmm. This time, I grab a big, fat rock and put it down the back of her underwear. Amazingly, Kelly rolls in agitation, but does not stir from sleep. Bwahahaha! This continues, as sick as we were, for a little while, until we cannot find anything small enough to fit but large enough to wake her. Not much later, my father bursts into the room in his tightie-whities to find out who is making all the noise. The whole family had gone to sleep and were now waking because of the racket. My dad, bless his heart, was half asleep but blazing mad about being out of bed when he had work at 4 am. Char and I were taken back in fear and without even thinking we both pointed at Kelly. He didn't notice she was in a coma because he didn't call us on our fib and come after us. We dove for our beds just in case he noticed she was not part of our late night shananigans. Dad never noticed; instead, he reached for Kelly's legs, flipped her on her stomach, and paddled her behind with his hand. I suppose I don't have to say, but I will--that woke her up.

Kindsay is Crooked

Ugh...not again! When I had Kindsay I was at a different doctor for months on end. The poor kid was poked fifteen times in her hand on one visit alone because the phlebotomist couldn't find a vein. Here we are again...blood tests, x-rays...bleck. At least I've got good insurance, twice over. This time we noticed her hips are crooked. One sits higher than the other? Even her CVRC counselor said, "Hey, her hips are crooked!" Back to the doctor. Dr. Jones, awesomist dr. ever, at first looked at her feet and noticed they stood inward. I had taken her to a podiatrist a year or so ago about that and was told it would be fixed with time, when she goes through her adolescence. WRONG! Dr. Jones said. This is probably the fourth time a doctor of his expertise and wisdom has said that about another doctor who misdiagnosed Kindsay. After looking at her back, he wrote out an order for x-rays down her spine, legs, and ankles. He also wanted genetic blood tests done. Kindsay slowly began sinking behind the door, biting nails, sucking hair, etc...When we left the office she said, "Let's just go, just go now." I could tell her anxiety was heightening, so I turned the other way instead of home to go to the hospital and get it done. We'll see what the results are...to be announced. Say a prayer that it's all good.