My baby got an A!

Austin got an A on his science test! This wasn't a little quiz, but a really long test with multiple choice, essay questions and he had to make a chart and a pictograph! He got only 1 wrong! The subject was electromagnetics, something he is interested in.

Austin works with an Aide and some of the test was done orally, with the Aide filling in for him because his writing isn't very good. It is their compromise: Austin reads if she will write. He did the chart and graph completely by himself, though! Wow! For those of you who do not know this is very impressive (he is diagnosed with PDD NOS). He only goes to school for 3 hours a day and science is the only subject he spends in the regular classroom. As we lengthen his day, he will be incorporated into the class for other subjects like math and history. He will continue English and reading in the special ed room.

We have to do something super special for him. Chantz gets paid on Wednesday and we will have to think of something to celebrate. And he wasn't in all that good of a mood this morning. I am just beaming! I looked over that test and there are things I don't even know!

**Update**
Grandpa told Austin that for going back to public school (he was previously homeschooled due to his behavior) and doing well he would buy him a motorcycle (dirtbike) this spring. He is picking Austin up at 2 to take him down to look for one and measure his size! They were thinking a 90 or something. Isn't this cool?

And I'm still sick

***Grossness Warning: the following post refers to bodily functions in some detail. Proceed with caution!***


I have this terrible thing called post nasal drip. Which means I also have a sore throat, since snot keeps running down it. That makes me gag, choke, and cough. I cough so forcefully that my whole body convulses. Then guess what happens? Yep, I pee! I get colds, then I get stuck with post nasal drip for 2 or 3 weeks of hell. I take claritin, but it isn't working too well right now.

At least I am not up in the mountains this year. I have allergies up there that make my throat constrict, my body convulse and breathing very hard to do. Plus there's that pee thing. I bought these thick pads last spring, but can't find them and I had a bunch left (I got pregnant in August, remember? No allergies, no period, the dang things should be here somewhere!). Now I have to wait to tomorrow to get them so I don't feel like an old incontinent lady. A pregnant, old incontinent lady! Benedryl works great, but it knocks me out for at least two hours! The only other thing to stop the dripping is tylenol cold and allergy or cold and sinus- yellow pills. Trust me, I have tried every antihistamine out there.

Know what doctors prescribe for PND? Decongestants. "Let's just let it run!" Ok, then it pours down my throat rather than drip, causing me to choke so hard I throw up. That happened when I was pregnant with Bruce and I had a sinus infection. The doc gave me a decongestant, and all I had to eat or drink was blue gatorade, thank god! Can you imagine hocking up red gatorade in the shower? That would have been nasty(er)! Plus it makes the soar throat worse!

I try to clear my throat like my aunt and grandma do; they have suffered allergies for years, but it just doesn't seem to help. It hurts less, and I don't "you know", but I do it constantly! Blowing my nose constantly gets annoying, and sleep? Ha! The best cough drops are the ones that numb the throat completely (oral anesthetics), I cannot recall their name right now. They taste like shit, but work great. I just googled cough drops... Sucrets! That's it! Extra strength Sucrets!

The dog is howling. Gotta go!

Tessa's Dolls

Here are three dolls that Tessa made. The first two we worked on together, the last one she did all by herself.




The bases for these are by Angy Chan of Yume Studio.

Isn't she talented? My favorite is the last one. She doesn't have any shading yet, but her style is very original. Tess has a great imagination!

New doll

Here is a doll I made for a contest I am participating in. Remember this is mine, so no stealing, FredCQ!

(I kill me...)



The base is from embraceyourinnerpink.com. I swear that name makes me giggle. Oh I am so not feeling good today. I am a bit loopy and haven't even had any cold medicine!

The neat background with the column- I made that. I actually have a much bigger image for this doll. All from scratch. *sigh*

I am still sick. It has moved to my chest. I even drank tea! Black of course because I think sweetened tea is discusting. And I am burping up the fish oil pill I took. Bleck.

I am all sweaty and gross- I took a shower last night before bed! I have an itchy cough and I am so tired. It snowed, the kids are home (no school today, but they had school on Monday, go figure) and the boys are playing xbox. A dumb shrek game that they don't like; they must be bored. Who knows what Tessa is doing. Maybe she will let me read to her. This way I get to read a book and not get shit for it. Reading is very addictive.

Gotta go now, bye!

I

am sick and so I am going to take a long hot bath with bubbles, read Redwall and pass out. I made cookies today and joined a health club and picked up my taxes which only cost $60 and it is way cheaper than it should be and that is so cool. I may not be around because I hate being sick and am going to try to suck sympathy from Chantz. It never works, but I must try.

bye bye!

*sigh*

When I don't have anything to say, is that when I actually have the most? The house is gross. I got behind last week when Chantz was home because I felt sick and let him cook supper. He cleaned up the first meal, but not the second because he had to leave. When I cook I fill the sink and wash dishes as I go. He didn't. I couldn't look at that mess with out feeling overwhelmed. Its cleaned up, but I am not caught up yet. I have dishes from last night on the counter and I want to cry. I'll do it, I won't leave that mess for him to see when he comes home tonight. I'll have to do the whole kitchen. Tessa made a mess in her room again and it'll take a week just to get her to clean it. Chantz "dumped" austin's closet- into a room that had been very clean. So now I have to get him to do that, too!

Let's see, I have laundry, the kitchen, the floors, the bathroom and my room to clean. I'll do the laundry and kitchen today and save the rest for tomorrow. This way I won't feel bad if I can't get those other things done, and will feel good if I stretch and get some of the tomorrow's done today. Tessa gets a very much needed hair cut today at 4! Finally! I found a picture of her with her best cut for her type of hair and I am taking it with. I also need to call and find out what the payoff on our pickup is so we can get that paid for. That is what we want to do with our refund this year: pay off our credit cards, the bed, the washer/dryer, the truck, my fine and past due bills. I also plan on purchasing a toddler bed and mattress for Bruce. It is a toss up between a wooden one and a cute blue Winnie the Pooh bed. There is a big baby sale at Kmart this week and I might have to get whatever is left.

I will probably have to put it on layaway, because our tax guy had a bad sinus infection last week and was not able to get our taxes in right away. Its a good thing I stopped by to check on it because he moved it to the top of the pile and he apologized profusely. So now we are not sure if it is going to come this Friday or next. This sucks because I told the people we owe money to that we were getting it on Friday. They did however expect me to mail the money in, so that gives me a week anyway. I will just pay by phone, I guess. I was hoping to get this over with. I hate owing people money. When we were first married we owed money on nothing and lived quite comfortably on minimum wage. Of course the kids are more expensive now and our gas bill is atrocious, but he makes a tad more than minimum wage, lol! (Bruce that just took off his clean diaper and tossed it on the desk, "ka ka ka.")

So if I get my cleaning done and get a shower in when and if babyboy naps, I can go to Kmart and check out that baby sale. Oh did I mention that I got the basement shower done? WE are going to test it now! Later!

"Tha's Ka Ka!"

Yum, we bought some Bar S polish dogs yesterday! They are so good! Or at least we think so. I offered Bruce a piece of it and like a good boy who tries and loves everything, he shoved it in his mouth, bun and all. Oh my! You should have seen the look on his face as he spit it out! He was disgusted!

Later, when Tessa came home from school, I offered her one. She likes them, too. She putz's around the kitchen for a few minuses and then sits in the rocking chair, polish dog and bun in hand. My little sweetie poo walks up to her, points at her food and emphatically exclaims, "Tha's Ka Ka!" If he could have, I am sure he would have put it in the garbage for her. It was sooo very funny! I think he was warning Tessa of the dangers of polish sausage!

Isn't he cute?

---

It is very cold here, about 20 below. I told Austin to sit in the car as he waited for the bus. But he stood there in the cold (uh, gee George...) I am like, Austin, get in the car!!! And the dumb bitch I call a dog? She takes off through the front door and out into the cold! And what do I think? You stupid dog, I hope you get run over and die! I hate you! Hmm, I really thought I had gotten over that. I am afraid because she is dangerous to strangers. She would probably bite someone who approached her. Plus she is a pure bred. Someone might (try to ) steal her. Then they would get bit! Did I mention it is freezing out? I got some baloney and tracked her down and got her in pretty quick. I hope this doesn't become a game of escape-get-baloney. Then I will get really mad!

Poor baby...

I've got 15 minutes!

Because Mike's wife forgot her "lunch" (RN, night shift) so Chantz is taking a break from everquest. Only because I asked. Isn't he nice?

Alice (mil) watched the heathens last night while we went to the Rainbow Club in Wibaux for a valentine's day dinner. He used to work there and everyone knows him and they usually have really good food. Usually. We got a table, got waited on, then we waited. And waited, but so was everyone else. We ordered the 2 for $40 special: one appetizer (moz chz stix), two entrees (8oz lobster tail, 14oz blackened ribeye, med rare) and a desert. We got the stix and then continued to wait, my salad by now long gone. And then the table next to us (my yoga instructor, btw) who came in after us, with the same server- got their food. Huh, they ordered the same thing as us, hmmm... and what? thats not the right potato? "Excuse me, we ordered before them.." "Sorry, once the ticket is up it is out of my hands."

Um, so she should have gone and looked, right? So we wait and wait and wait and if he didn't know them we would have left. So Chantz asks the other server if she'll go see if she can find our ticket; maybe it disappeared. So she tells our server who goes into the kitchen. We wait. She comes out and tells us our order will be ready soon. And it was. How ironic, that it is ready after she searches for it. C-"She probably forgot to put our ticket up. It wouldn't be the first time she has ever done that." Me- "We got the appetizer..." C- "How many people do you think ordered chz stix? She probably just took one that came up." Me- "Oh." And since she blamed everyone under the sun but herself, including the owner, that is what I am going with. We were there for HOURS. Three or four tables that came in after us got there food before we did! She should have checked when I said something. Or maybe I could have been more assertive.

Oh, and our food? It came with the wrong potato. Imagine that.

"Wha? Huh? Oh Lord, am I dumb!"

My MIL has the car and put the new door on it so it is drivable (yes, she is the perfect woman, I know. I concede this.) Chantz just needs to wire it in and put the inner panel on. He brought a carcharger from the shop and got my truck running! Yay! I wouldn't dream of driving his truck, it is massive.

Freedom at last! I even went to WIC and the grocery store alone today! It was heavenly... and the bath, oh the hot bath I had... splendor.

Guess who is sleeping again? But I can't blame him. He has spent much time on the road or in a hotel the last few weeks. He is wiped out.

And Katy, I haven't heard from you in a while. I feared you walked off the side of the earth (it is flat, you know!) And while I do love milk, it was for the baby. He eats food and drinks juice, but if he doesn't get his bottles of milk he gets pretty ornery (pronounced "onree", here in MT). I did drink some orange juice the other day, actually. I get all this juice from WIC and after a while apple and grape get boring. Know what Chantz brought up from Texas? Strawberries! Juicy, cold strawberries and I have been chowing on them so much I will probably awake in the morning to find I have turned bright red! He brought bags of oranges, too.

And oddly enough, my teeth don't hurt one bit (from the fruit, people- keep up). And Alice (the MIL) isn't just perfect for putting a car door on, or cleaning and vacuuming my car, or knowing everything else she knows, but mostly because of one little thing she said to me. 5 little words. I have many errands and Bruce goes with me, he is very heavy, I have a bad back, I carry him all over the place... do you see where I am going with this? So after one day of great pain, my mil asked me the simplest question that I am sure will alter my life forever, or at least until I pop this thing (the new baby) out of me. She said something so profound that I will never, at least for a while, complain about her use of our back door rather than the front door. So, do you know what she said to me? Huh? Do you?

She said, "Don't you have a stroller?"

Yay

He's Home!

It's Sunday!

I have a doll I am working on for a contest that I haven't finished yet. I know if I start I won't be able to stop untill it's done, so its on the backburner.

I spent yesterday working on a new template for Fred CQ. I couldn't get the blogger code to work in the new layout, so I simply customized his old one. I made the header graphic, it looks pretty cool. I would have saved much time just using the old one to begin with. I don't know why it wouldn't work, I have made many of my own. Probably a simple mistake!

Chantz never came home this morning, so I figured they were delivering the tools. I got a hold of him in Sidney (oddly, there is no coverage between towns!) and he is on his way to Williston, then hopefully he will come home. I really need the car! Gee wiz, they could of dropped it off on their way through town! But its ok, they are in a hurry and will be home in a few hours- three, maybe?

I am staying off, because if I start anything today I won't be able to stop! I am going upstairs to read The Mystery of Ireta.

La de da...

Chantz is coming home! He should be here late tomorrow night sometime. Hopefully he will get to stay, but if he does I may not be around for a few days, so don't spaz on me, now...

How about a list of some of the things I have done lately:

• Left the lights on in the truck and killed the battery. It is still dead and there is no one to help me get my car which I...
  
• Left at my MIL's house and we are out of milk. So I have to walk 8 blocks to Loaf and Jug tomorrow. Just great.
• Dyed my hair, finally. I think I was just bored with that color and that's why I put off doing it. I used a darker shade of red (burgundy, Garnier 100% Color) by the same brand as the lighter red. This one has more brown in it. The other was bright, but faded to carrot...
• Found out that my baby likes it when the kids smell his feet
• Smacked Rocksy's butt and gave her a major scolding like you wouldn't believe. Do you know what she did? She chewed on my bamboo stir fry spoon that I have had for 12 years!!!! It was the best wooden spoon ( it is almost flat) I have ever had, and was indestructible, or so I thought. Dumb *****! I think it may still be usable, but still makes me mad. It just isn't the same. So if someone wants to buy me a new Bamboo spoon...
• Trained Rocksy today. In the house, on the leash: heel, sit, heel, sit, down, stay (all with "good girl" praises). Then I had her sit, let go the leash, backed up a few feet and had her stay. Then I squatted down and called her to me and she came! But do you know what she did then? SHE PEED! Right on my carpet. We tried it again, she peed again! This is submissive peeing and it is the first time she has ever done that "for" me. I think it was last nights scolding (she pouted in the entry way for a long time afterwards) that did it.
  

That's all I can think of right now. I am going to pee and then read my book, The Mystery of Ireta by Anne McCaffrey.

;D

UPDATE

So Susie do very kindly informed me that it is time to update. Here are some of her questions:

"okay, it's time for you to update the darn blog. whats baby bruce up to? Hows Austin doing in school? Do his teachers like him?"


Bruce is doing great! He is toddling around the house like he owns the place. I bought a multi colored toy ball with bells inside at the dollar store and he loves to play ball with Tessa. He likes to throw it over the gate and make her go get it. She figured out to just go on the other side and toss it back and forth plays some tag game with him, too. It involves much screaming and giggling- from both of them. He had been a little crabby at times, but not as bad as before. He may be teething again. He is super well behaved. At the accountants yesterday he sat in a chair quietly sucking his thumb and rubbing his ear. So I gave him a Dum Dum sucker, which he sat there quietly eating. The tax guy was impressed. For dinner the other day, I put into a sectioned plate baked beans, corn, mashed potatoes and finely chopped pork. He ate the beans and corn by hand, played and ate the potatoes, but tossed the meat into a pile away from him- not scattered or on the floor, just in a pile over there. He didn't like it. How cute is that? He throws his garbage away, as well as toys and other objects he thinks should go in the trash, lol. He will shut the frig if I ask him to, and it makes hi giggle. He has a new game to play with rocksy, which she actually plays back... touch her tail, watch her spin around, do it again and giggle. Did I mention he likes to giggle?

Austin ran out of Zoloft this weekend and there was no refill so he was out until Monday, but I didn't remember to get it until yesterday. He has been cranky, but it is my fault. He thought last night that Bruce doesn't like him because he plays with Tessa but not him. I told him Tess made up games for him to play, and she spends more time with him while Austin is always in his room. He told me to make him play with Bruce! Then he calls me into his room, which he said was messy but was spotless when I went in there (?) and said he's ignoring me! Well Bruce was playing with his toy and Austin was calling him. He needs to go to Bruce, not the other way around! They got it figured out and will stick them together more often. Poor Austin's social skills are so bad he doesn't even know how to play with a baby. Not his fault though, it is the PDD. He is doing great in school; he goes for three hours starting today, instead of two. He works in the resource/special ed room (the two are connected) with an aide. I think he is the only special ed student, which is nice. T-F for 15 minutes his friends come down from the classroom and hang out with them. He went to k and first here so he knows students from before. On Monday he went to the classroom for science and lab, watched a film and got an A+ on his paper. Isn't that awesome? He is slowly being integrated into the mainstream classroom. They are doing excellent with him, an I think it is because of the thorough diagnoses he got in Bismarck.

Tessa is sleeping better and not so crabby in the mornings. She finally get addition and is excelling in her timed worksheets. She is onto subtaction and is frustrated, but she will get it. Ther are "regrouping" numbers, and boy do i feel stupid. I told her to ask Mrs. R what that was and so she came home and said I should know it as trading. ? Still lost. So I asked Mrs Crissafulli, Austin's Special Ed teacher, and she said it was borrowing and carrying over. I am such a dumbass. Why couldn't they jsut say that? So now I can help her. But she got confused on a problem and added rather than subtracted. I said tessa, you are borrowing, not carrying over. This makes sense to me, but regrouping means the same for both! Grrr.

I have to go now, I have a busy day and have to go to Fairview and Sidney (60mi one way).
Later,

;D

Noses and revenge

So I was sitting on the floor with Bruce and he was very happy and bouncing around and playing, and he walks over and pointing his finger at me he says "Zthat?" Ah, how cute... then he jabbed that little finger right up my nose! Owee, that hurt. Can you believe it? I got a bloody nose from 13 month old! Yikes...

Of course Chantz thought it was great when I told him. He gets his though. He's been calling me and bragging about the nice weather in Texas. He even called just to tell me he was watching my "favorite movie." I knew what he was talking about- "City of Angels!" I hate that movie, I hate it! The first time we watched it he got so excited. "Yes! That's awesome. Smack!" Jerk. "She didn't get run over by a truck, she ran into the truck!"

Remember I said he gets his? He and his dad are coming home right now and guess what? They have to get a load and go right back. By the time they get there (Texas) the other truck will be fixed, so guess what? You got it, they can turn around and come right home! It's really going to suck, though. Who knows how messed up this is going to get; things never go the way they are supposed to. He irritates me anymore when he is home anyway. When things get back to "normal" it won't be so bad. He was only home so much this last time because the truck was broke. He normally drives locally so we see him a lot more than when he has to go all the way to Conroe, but not as much as when he can't work...

I need to go to bed now. Seven comes so fast...

Howdy howdy howdy, I forgot what I was gonna say

Hey people, if you check this link when there is trouble, you will know what is going on with blogger: (http://status.blogger.com/) Here is an excerpt for those of you too lazy to click on links:

"Just a quick reminder that we will be going ahead with a planned network maintenance on Monday the 6th from 7PM-8PM PST. Blogger and Blog*Spot blogs will be unavailable during that time.
This maintenance won't fix everything, but it will make things better. I promise."
Posted by Pete at 21:18 PST

To find out what was wrong this weekend, you'll just have to go check for yourself because I am not your mom. I think. I am so many people's mom that I may get confused. Sometimes I just get that way.

Oh yeah, my schedule. I am waiting for the perfect planner. In the meantime I bought a 2 year planner for a buck at Albertson's. It will work for appointments. It is one of those checkbook shaped dohickies that isn't much more than a calendar. As for organizing, here is what I have been doing lately. In the mornings before I get to blog or watch TV or even turn on the PC, I clean the kitchen- dishes, counters, sweep, check the garbage (Austin takes it out- I ain't hiking my big prego butt all the way through the yard, to the alley, then down the alley to the middle and back again! No way!), the nuker, pick up any stray toys, toss the laundry downstairs (and wash it; drying- not always!), check the carpet and bathroom and table, etc. Now that I am caught up (my lord was that first day awful!) it only takes me a short while and I feel guilty if I use the PC. So now that I have a routine I am adding to it. I need to dust, check the entry, clean under the garbage can and that little hidden shelf needs to be cleaned up as well. Tomorrow I have to put all that laundry I washed away, and see if that last load I did today, that I have no intention of putting in the dryer tonight, needs to be rewashed or if it can go straight in the dryer. Rocksy needs to be trained; just ten minutes around the yard on her choke chain and 5 or so sitting, staying and laying down inside should do it. She escaped from Austin today; first time since I started her "regimen"- you know, when I became her master? Since she can be dangerous to poor passersby and oncoming traffic, I knew I had to get her right away! How to get her to come? Raw hamburger in the frig! I didn't need to get that messy, Tess was making a baloney sandwich and I grabbed a piece and went out. I squatted down where she could see me and started nibbling on it. When she came near I called her and stuck it out. Oh yeah, who's the man? She ran right up to me and devoured my hand (like I was letting go!) and I grabbed her with the other. No punishment, because then she won't come to me. I put her back on the chain and went my merry way.

Then I need to clean this basement. I need to get the clean matress pad and sheets on my bed- get the trash out and organize it a bit. The shower curtain needs to go up in the bathroom so we can use it. But this is just the "apartment" part. The rest is icky. Rocksy found paper towels- imagine the mess- and there is laundry lint abounds. So I need to sweep and vac. I just don't wanna! I need to call Frank's and make an appointment for our taxes, get stamps, pay these bills- PATH, AES, the credit card and my fine at the courthouse. Don't get your panties in a wad; it was for driving without insurance on the way to get insurance! And I ended up with Geico anyway!

Do I plan to get all that done in one day? No and that is why this works. If I have to let something go to the next day, I let it go. I don't try to do to much or I get overwhelmed. Many of the morning stuff I did tonight so I'm good to go. That is another thing. During the day I keep the living room, bathroom and kitchen "up" so they don't get too bad, and after dinner sometime I clean up. My rule? Don't leave dirty dishes in the sink overnight. That really small load is a lot more than it looks. So I wiped, swept, wet swiffered, and picked up toys already. I even cleaned that entry I had planned for tomorrow. See how easy that was? Now in the morning all I have to do is clean up after the kids then move on to the next stuff. Whew, I am wiped. Ithink I am going to sign off now. I have other stuff to do yet- the goofing off kind.

Damn you Blogger!!!

I am so god damned pissed. This will be my THIRD, yes, third time posting this same post today! If it disappears again I am GOING TO QUIT BLOGGER. This is just ridiculous!!!!! It was there, I saw it, I went to bed, got up and it was gone. I posted it again, saw it and later logged in to edit it. It was on my blog visually, but the damn thing was missing from my edit thingy. Now it is gone completely. Maybe blogger doesn't deserve to see my new fairy. Maybe it should just fudge itself for not answering my emails. Maybe I will just move anyway out of SPITE!!!!!

Here is a fairy I made. The base is from Embrace You Inner Pink. No witty comments or details because by now I am so damn bored with the whole thing!!!!!!!!!!



What the hell, lets go for it. I am going to add another fairy, it is the first doll I made. The "Lollie" doll base is from ElectroniCandy, the dress was inspired by Amy Brown and I made the hair from a tutorial by Angy Chan.



I have also been meaning to mention that I have updated my Haunts section. Please take a moment and visit the new blogs! (Those would be the ones with the *NEW* around them, lol!) I am not so pissed anymore. Now it's up to blogger.

My life in a blog post

I am getting a daily planner. My life is a mess, disorganized, I forget appointments, slip into depression and get nothing done. That is going to change. It will change or things in this house are going to change in a negative way.

I used to have a very nice planner I bought at a university bookstore- it contained my life and is the only reason I made it through college. I don't know where it is now. I forgot I ever had it until I decided to buy one today. It had everything- weekly at a glance, daily- hour by hour, notes, budget, address book, everything and it didn't cost me very much at all! Boss had one, it was $80. WTH? I am now at the Franklin covey website and am searching for that perfect contraction to throw my life into. I need this. I need structure, or I suffer terribly. I am undisciplined. If I knew where the old one was, all I would need to do is buy a refill, but it is probably in the trash somewhere. I will buy it, use it, depend on it like a crutch and refill it next year and the next. I will tell it to tell me when to clean and when to shop and do the checkbook and pay the bills and see the doctor and when I can use the computer. Wellbutrin can only do so much and I can't take meds for adult add when I am pregnant. This I am sure that I have, it makes so much sense. And since I can't get help for it from a little pill I will have to help myself.

I am a firm believer in the power of helping one's self. I used to be that person who waited for help to come from a higher power, who gave herself over entirely to her deity and prayed daily for the burden to be lifted and be given a normal life. I waited a very long time and nothing ever came but more depression (which is a medical illness which needs treatment, in my case) and more misery and confusion. Until I went to school, got educated, opened my mind and for the first time did something for me, by me, on my own. (Getting educated gave me the opportunity to finally understand what my husband had been trying to tell me for years.) I now believe the higher power helps those who help themselves, or at least try to anyway, wholeheartedly. I believe I can do anything I try to do, if I believe I can, through the power of my own will. I give myself over entirely to myself and my family. It is when I forget or let things go or have no reason to put myself out there that I fail, and don't even notice that I am dying. I must watch myself continuously and it isn't easy, especially when doing nothing is so easy. Having 2 children 2 years in a row like this doesn't help.

I need to schedule in more sleep- I am always so exhausted. My yoga instructor is out of town due to family illness and I do not know when she will be back. I would have to swallow my embarrassment and call and ask, and ask if my two missed sessions will carry over, since it is not my fault I only got 4. I paid for 6, right? I don't think they will give me a hard time; they are very nice people. I just don't like to ask. Inhale comes on every morning a 7 on Oxygen and I try to get up on time and do the yoga along with it. I also do it at night as often as I can with the kids; it helps them sleep so much better. The guy on TV said yoga brings the body into balance so the mind can be brought into focus. I think just by dimming lights, using candles, shutting off TV's, and giving the kids time to unwind before bed helps them enormously. The exercise routines are essential as well, and very simple. We do a few sun salutations and cow-cats and some stretches, but the benefits to the kids are amazing. They don't come to me and whine about being uncomfortable, hungry or tired. They don't yell across the house for me or Chantz and are quite pleasant. It is hard adjusting to this routine when Chantz is home, but he got right into it and went downstairs with Austin and Bruce so I can get started with Tessa. I do one kid at a time and put Tessa to bed first. Then I move on to Austin. His routine is simpler and shorter than hers, she is into it more than him. I have run out of words. Ciao.

Overhead

Ok, quick reminder: Chantz's Folks' business has two trucks, one just bought, used. In Texas it got a new motor put in, with a one year warranty. After he got back, it started running badly, so he took it to a Ford dealer in Miles City. The motor is shot, apparently they just got a bad motor from the factory, no biggie, it is under warranty and they get a new one. But will the Ford Dealership in Miles City take care of it? Hell no! They hemmed and hawed about the warranty not being good and blah blah blah... The dealership in Texas that screwed up pays for it, Miles City gets reimbursed for their work. They are worried about getting paid- so the guy from Texas asked Chantz if they could just bring it back to Texas?

Welcome to Montana!

The guys in TX are really great I guess, and are easy going. So they (my inlaws) are going to load it up on the trailer and haul it down to TX to get fixed. They were supposed to leave Monday or Tuesday, but on the way home their transmission went to hell. That is two trucks down, two trucks not making any money. They had this truck towed to Billings and are on their way right now to pick it up. Then they leave for TX.

At first I thought this business made loads of money, but countered by overhead, it seems so small! They may not have to pay for the new motor, but they have to take it to Texas on their own dime, and are missing jobs because both trucks are down. This just really sucks. I would hate to be a small business owner.

Thank God Chantz is on salary!