Menu Plan Monday

Go to Organizing Junkie’s site to play along.

 

Mon – Meatloaf and Mac and Cheese, Mac and cheese is n the fridge and oven ready. The ground beef is thawed.

Tues – Spaghetti and Meatballs

Wed – Chicken breasts

Thurs- Pork Chops

Fri – My Birthday – hopefully Hubby will take me out before we go to watch DS11 play in the feeder school band at the HS football game.

Growing up

I let my 11 YO go to a HS football game last night. I handed him my old cell phone and told him to call me. I was going to my monthly Girls night out. Dad and the 7 yo had a soccer game. My cousins was going to be there since her hubby is a coach. I knew coaches from the wrestling team would be there also. So I was not worried about any trouble. We had been up there for a cookout with the wrestling club kids team.

I seems my 11 YO made friends with a set of triplets who are the sisters of a set of twins on the team. Oh boy! He took a pictue with the cell phone of one of the girls and his buddy and made it the wall paper of the cell phone. He thinks that cell phone is his. I keep telling him it's still mine. When I feel it would be a good diea for him to have one., I will let him take it. But he has personalized it. With a picture of a girl... Oh boy!

My Friend's Birthday

Happy Birthday to my friend Lily! I met Lily when we both went to work for the same larger Oil company in the big Windy City fresh out of college. We were in new hire class together. It was Lily that introduced Hubby and I. Her boyfriend (now Hubby) went to High school with my Hubby. Now they have tow beautiful little girls who are have Chinese and half Polish and all American.

 

Lily would love to be a SAHM. She’s one of those who volunteers for everything. I love her to death even when she’s a bit flighty. She has the biggest heart. But she works outside the home. She has a corporate job. Her Hubby has been a free-lancer since he sold his business about 10 years ago. When her oldest was born, she traveled a lot for business. I know it killed her to be away from her babies. As a result she is rather indulgent to them. Her hubby is a good father and present.  

 

One time, I let a less than positive comment slip about something she was doing with her baby. I felt so bad. It was none of my business. She was doing what she felt she needed to do to maintain a strong connection to her baby. She needs to hear that she is a good Mom. Now I try really hard to tell her that all the time. I comment on how beautiful her girls are and to keep up the good work.

 

Life, circumstances and spouses often pull us away from doing what we are told is “best” for our kids. What’s best for our kids is not what’s always best for the entire family.  As Mom’s we try hard to do everything right.  It is very gratifying to hear someone telling us we are doing a good job. We fight the doubts and the insecurities.  Everyone needs to hear that they are being a good Mom.

Slow Cooker Thursday

Hi, I have the cranberry pork roast in my crockpot today.

But I want to post what I did a few weeks ago. Dh was out of town. He does not like Ham much, but I made ham and green beans.

Take a Ham Butt - Acutaly I just had about 1/4 ham from the grocery store.
Green beans - Fresh work well, But i used frozen.
Potatoes chopped in chucks (We are not big potato fams so I left it out)

Put it on low and let it cook 6 hours.

Yum

Check out Sandra's site for more recipes

25 ways to save Money

Dawn over at Frugal for life asked people to list 25 ways they save money. While I have habits that garner that money - like not carpooling - I feel I fund them by saving money in other places.

1. Pack my lunch most days
2. Eat dinner at home most nights
3. Utilize the local Library
4. I can sew so I repair clothing, mostly by putting patches on the knees of my son's school pants - inside becasue they are uniforms. Then, if they still fit, I will cut off the legs and hem them thus creaitng uniform shorts
5. Avoid dry cleanable clothing. In my IT career I can look professional in washable dress pants form Talbots
6. We remove our shoes inside the house
7. I use only my banks ATM
8. I use the ATM once a week
9. I have money automatically transferred into our Money MArket fund
10. do my grocery shopping with the sales
11. I have a shelf where I stockpile certain groceries when they are on sale: Ketchup, syrup, breakfast cereal. There are usually things my family is brand-loyal on.
12. Utilize Generics and store brands as long as the quality is good
13. Plan my weekly menu
14. Hand down clothing between my boys
15. Buy bread at the Bakery outlet - we are not huge sandwich people, so we keep our bread in thef reezer anyways
16. Pay as many bills online as possibly
17. Pack snacks as often as possible
18. we keep our cars for 10 years - we do buy new
19. We keep our cars in good repair
20. Pay more than the minimum on the mortgage
21. Pay more than the minimum on my credit cards when I am carrying a balance
22. Try not to have a balance on my credit cards
23. Make my own cards - So the supplies are expensive, but I use them over and over and it's recreational for me.
24. I use 1/3 of a dryer sheet per load. Got hubby to use 1/2
25. Make my own decorated cakes for my kids

Works for Me Wednesday - Classic Edition

Aug 31 I posted about a book, The Organized Student, that I read and how I was going to work with my son on implementing these techniques for this school year.

So Here's my follow-up. He brought home his interm reports card last Friday. He has one B and the rest A's. And his B in English is only 1.5 points away form A status. He has not had any missing assignments. Wait, I signed one. but the work was done, he just left the notebook at home. But that's only once. So I am satisfied. He seems to be doing a better job at moving his paper from school to home and back. Now it is the beginning of hte year. But he like his teacher's planner. It gives him plenty of room to write in it. His binder is keeping his loose papers handy and easy to find.

For more classic ideas visit Shannon.

Photographs

Hubby’s brother live in CA. His sons are 5 and 1. I put together a baby-safe photo album of pictures of his Grandparents, Uncle (Hubby), Aunt (my sister-in-law) and his cousins (my sons). Hubby got a phone call from his brother asking why I did not include a picture of me. Hubby says “I know you don’t like pictures of yourself, but you should have included one.”

Hello! Who’s always taking the pictures? When was the last time he took a picture of me that was not from 100 feet away and very unflattering? His family does not think to take many pictures. And when they do it’s of things like cats. LOL! Not to say anything about my Mother-in-law’s beloved cats.

I broke into tears a few days after my son’s First Communion. I had taken pictures of son with Dad, Son with Grandpas, son with Godfather, son with my parents… We were going to take more pictures later, but forgot, even my Mom who’s pretty good about that kind of thing. There were no pictures of my with my son on that important day. Yes, we dressed up in our clothes and I made Hubby take a picture, but it was not the same.

At Hubby’s graduation is December I took pictures of Hubby with his Dad, Mom ,sister, the boys, his friend who came in from Chicago… If there is one of he and I, my parents would have taken it.

Hubby bought a new camera. He wanted to be able to get sports shots of the boys. He took it last night to a family birthday party. He did take a picture of me and the 7YO together. I hope it came out OK.  

 

 

Menu Plan Monday

Hi All. Here's my tentative menu




Sun - Roasted Chicken, Green beans, noodles
Mon - Out for Pizza
Tues- Chicken pot pie
Wed - Pot roast in the crockpot
Thursday - Cranberry Pot roast - from Crock pot Thursday
Fri - Pre football game cookout for the Wrestling club (got that?) - Hot Dogs and potluck.
Sat- Octoberfest party and Buckeye's football game at my cousin's.

Check Out Org Junkie's site for more great menus

New addition!

I just added a site feed to my blog in case you want to subscribe.

What Color Green am I

You Are Mint Green

Balanced and calm, you have mastered the philosophy of living well. Your friends seek you out for support, and you are able to bring stability to chaotic situations. You're very open and cheerful - and you feel like you have a lot of freedom in life. Your future may hold any number of exciting things, and you're ready for all of them!

What Color Green Are You?

Hum, I hope that describes me. I try. I am a Libra, afterall, scales and things. I'm not always calm.

ADHD Awareness day - A Day late - My ADHD Story

Yes, just like some of my recent Menu Plan Monday posts. But I came across a blog Healed Waters about Adult ADHD stories. I have mentioned aspect for My ADHD as well as posted stories of my 11 Yo 6^th grade son.

 

My story begins when I was three, according to my Mom. Since I am about to turn 40, we are talking circa 1970.  I was unable to sleep. I would not exhibit emotions. I would not pretend my dolls were real babies. The, one night I was found sitting on top of the refrigerator with no visible means of how I got there. My Mom is a registered nurse. I also have a brother a year younger than I. Mom worked part time, second or third shift. She took me to a few psychologists as well as the family doctor. They put me on Ritalin. At first the does was high. Mom said it made me like a zombie. She said she slept in and then called the doctor. Finally she took me to a Pediatric Neurologist. She wrote in my baby books “The greatest man in the world.”  I took Ritalin until I was in third grade. Most people will say I outgrew it. I believe I just learned how to deal with it. I was lucky that I always did well in school. I was/am an avid reader.

 

I knew I had had issues, but then in the early 90’s when magazine articles started appearing in the mainstream rags about adult ADD, I had someone I knew say ‘I think I have that.” Well, I knew I did. I just learned how to work around it.

 

I can organize things, but I’m not good about keeping it that way. I tend to have many project going at one time. I leave unfinished tasks around. I compensate at work by keeping lists. After important meetings, I write up notes and send them to the participants to make sure I did not miss anything. My house is usually a state of Chaos. We believe Hubby might be undiagnosed ADD. The 7 YO show signs of hyperactivity, but I think it’s learned. Otherwise he is capable of following multi-step directions, is deliberate in all his actions and can work intricate puzzles without getting bored. Not ADD there.  

 

My younger brother was officially diagnosed when he was in second grade. My Mom knew what his issues were. She had been through it before. (My middle brother never needed meds or help, but Mom did encounter a second grade teacher who told her Middle Brother would never amount to anything. Mom to this day would love to fin said teacher and show her Middle Brother’s MBA and Business card as a Manager with a well known consulting firm). But with younger brother, in the late 70’s, she tried the Feingold diet and it just was not effective for him. When he was in second grade and she found him crying because he said none of the other kids liked him and he did not even like him, she knew it was time for extra help. Younger brother stopped taking medication when he went away to college because he did not want the responsibility of safeguarding his medication. It took until he was about 25 to really start getting his act together. He is working to finish college next Spring at the age of 33.

 

Dad forgets to give Boy his medication - An ADHD post

I really want to take the time to create catagories for my blog. One of the reasons I write it is to share my experiences with my ADHD son.

So this morning I get an email from the 6th grader's teacher: On another note, B. did not get his medicine today, and we are certainly noticing a difference. I misunderstood, and did not realize he put a new patch on every day. I thought that they lasted longer than that. There were a few days last week, where his attention had not been as great as it had been. Now that I'm putting it all together, I'm wondering if he had forgotten on those days as well.

I call Hubby. He is driving to a job site. He forgot "And the bugger did not remind me." Hubby's not a morning person, but to his credit, they all usually get out of the house with most of the things they need. It is chaotic becasue usually the 6th grader's meds have not taken effect and he is mouthy. So I look at my calendar, it is open. It's a 50 mile drive home. How important is it? Well, he has a soccer game tonight. He is supposed to come home by himself, start homework and eat some dinner. He'll have trouble winding down to fall asleep becasue as the day gets longer, he'll become more and more hyper and wound up. Decision made, I tell my staff where I am going. I have a magic Blackberry so I will be reachable. I peck out "I will be there in about an hour" as a reply to the email. So I go careening up I-75.

So I arrive at school about 50 minutes later, patch and 10 mg pill of Focalin in hand. They call him down and Mrs. C comes too. We talk, She said she understood when I said he just gets worse as the day goes one. She could see the progression. She said she had just witnessed him trying to tie his shoes. He bent over and then forgot why he was down there. She said when she got my email she wondered what I knew might happen and if she would need a sub for the afternoon to recover from the experience. LOL. She was amazed at the difference between today and yesterday as to his behavior. I said the only demerits he ever got was the day he did not take his meds last year. He can get argumentative.

The school nurse was very interested in the patch. I told them it takes about 2 hours to kick in so I gave him a Focalin which should kick in in about 20 minutes to help until the patch worked it's magic. I left the package for the Daytrana patch with the nurse.

B. claimed he told Dad he did not have his patch. He probably did, but mornings are hectic and Dad 's been feeling a little out of sorts. So they both probably forgot again.

A Recent in-box arrival

Saint Theresa is known as the Saint of the Little Ways. She believed in doing the little things in life well and with great love. She is also the patron Saint of flower growers and florists. She is represented by roses. I pray that you all be blessed today in some form or another. Remember to take time out of your busy day to stop….just for a minute or two…and think about the little things in life that people have done for you that have made all the difference in the world. And when you are done thinking about that, pass this blessing on to them, as I have done to you. You have made a difference in my life because you are you and because of the little things that you do that seem so big! J St. Theresa's Prayer:May today there be peace within. May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith. May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you.. May you be content knowing you are a child of God.... Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love. It is there for each and every one of us. Now pass it on and spread the blessings!

This is a wonderful tidbit about St. Theresa, also known as the little Flower. That’s quite lovely. But someone placed it with a picture of Blessed Mother Theresa. Blessed Mother Theresa has not been canonized as a Saint, yet. She’s on her way.

That’s the Catholic Theology lesson for today. The picture and the text do not go together. You’ve got to love the internet.

Slow Cooking Thursday

Since I have been usning my crockpot a couple of times a week, I thought I'd participate in Slow Cooking Thursday hosted by Sandra.

But here's the thing. I am away from home 11-12 hours a day thanks to an hour long commute each way. So a lot of casserole-type recipes get burned. Yes, I have one of those Rival timers for my crockpot. I usually set it to cook for 10 hours and then it changes to warm.

This idea is from my brother. In college (we were housemates for 2 years) we used to say we needed to get a cow for our roomate C who drank milk all the time. But then we decided that was not a good ideas becasue my Brother R would slaughter it for the meat.

So take a tip roast - the kind you buy with the netting, and pace it in the crock pot. Pour 2 cans of beef consume over it (half the time IN throw in water and a few bullion cubes). Then cover with a small jar of horseradish. Let it cook for hours (8 on low, 4 on high). Pull it out and slice it. Serve on hard, crusty rolls. This is often our Christmas eve dinner.

Works for me Wednesday

My Baby boy is 7 years old today. I guess I am fortunate that I have always lived near extended family. As I child, I had big birthday parties, but all of the guests were Aunts, Uncles, Cousins and Grandparents. (My mom is second of 11 kids). I never think of throwing a birthday party for my kid's friends. Tonight - because our weekends are booked, we have invited family over for cake and ice cream. I know Grammy will be there. I know A's Godmother Julie and her kids will be there. I have not heard form his Godfather's family. If she's not workiing, Aunt L will be there. Uncle B has to work and cousin D has soccer practice so R's family will not make it.

He went easy on me this year for his cake. (I decorate their cakes). Last year it was this elaborate Cheeseburger-looking cake with 7 layers. He wanted a Star shaped, Marble cake, please, with Chocolate icing and sprinkles.

Simple Birthday parties work for me.

Check out Shannon's site for more great ideas

Homework blues

With having sons who are active in sports and other extra curricular activities, they need to learn to complete their homework in what time slots they have available. I think the First Grader has figured that out already. He gets a few papers every Monday to complete by Friday. This week they were done by the time he came home from after school care. The 6^th grader, on the other hand, seems to hit his stride homework-wise, after dinner. I finally decided that that is Ok on nights he does not have activities. I did tell him I want him to be done by 8:30. Tonight he had soccer practice from 5-6. I’m sure he will not start anything until after dinner.

 

I was telling this to my Mom and she said it was always hard for her to come home and get started on her homework right away. Huh? I seem to remember this being the woman who insisted we do our homework after school and a short break. Must have been more me trying to get it done and out of the way.

 

Quick Daytrana update

The manufacturer of the patch recommends that the patch be taken off after 9 hours. One of the reasons the doctor recommended it was so that we could get longer periods of time of effective medication. I think it loses effect with my son after about 10 hours.

We have not had any sleeping issues. As a matter of fact, he's been turning out his light earlier. I can't say for sure that he's falling asleep, but he's been able to settle down easier.

This weekend I gave him Concerta because we had 5 patches left and a doctor's appointment for Monday.

For my Daytrana, Medication patch for ADHD summary post, click here.

Menu Plan Monday

Well now, I am going to try this post exclusively via email. My Web browser is not pulling anything up this AM.

Mon (Ground Beef night) – Cheeseburger sloppy joes, green bean, sliced pears

Tues (Poultry night) – Turkey cutlets with\Dijon-mayo coating, Broccoli, rice

Wed (A’s Birthday) – Burgers on the grill, cake and ice cream for dessert

Thurs (Soccer game) – Beef roast in the crockpot

Fri – I am staying after work. So the family will fend for themselves..

Check out Org Junkie’s site for more menus

ed: The banner did not come across in the email. I had to go back in, edit my post and put it here. Just so you all know. M

Gas

It is amazing how excited I am about paying 1.96 for gas

Our Daytrana experience - Medication for ADHD

I decided to create a post in case the search engines might pick it up. As a Parent, I like to read about other's experiences with a new medication. My son started on Daytrana for his ADHD on Aug 23, 2006. He was taking 72 mg of Concerta and another 36 mg about 1 PM. We found he was having trouble concentrating for his evening sports and anticipated issues with getting his homework completed. So I am going to put links to my posts here.

Pioneers
Day 1
Day 2
Weekend
Week 1
3 weeks update

Super reader

I have a super-reader at home. My soon to be 7 yo First Grader read a Magic Tree House book about the Titanic. And he correctly answered questions about the Titanic.

 

Now, I was reading when I was in First Grade. My Mother claims I read to the class. I don’t remember that. Hubby is an avid reader. The 11 YO son likes to read when he is calm enough to sit still. Some he has had some great examples. But I am surprised. We never worked with him. Although I noticed this summer that his ability to read signs just seemed to explode overnight. It’s been a while since he asked me what a string of letters spells.

 

This summer at the bookstore he begged me to buy him some of the Captain Underpants books by Dav Pilkey. His brother’s copies were falling apart. Since those are part text and part comic books, I did not think he was “really” reading them. Oops! I guess I was wrong.

 

So last night I handed him a Hardy Boys book and told him I thought he might like it. His brother never read those. It was my Second Grade teacher who introduced me to Nancy Drew.

 

Works For me

So my boys wear uniforms to school. Navy blue pants and white or light blue polo shirts. My boys play hard and blow out the knees of their pants. When I first notice the material getting a little thin, or there is ust the tiniest of hole starting, I apply patches - on the inside. Patches on the outside are not acceptable uniform attire. This buys us a little more time. I use this especially in March and April. As of April, tailored shorts are acceptable uniform attire. Yes, since I do sew, I cut off the holey knees, hem them and we have a great pair of pants.

I use iron patches and then stitch around the edge. Yes you can see the stitching line, but the teachers at school have never made an issue of it. Most of them are Moms too and understand, especially come April or MArch.

The shorts thing works for us becasue DS11 is very thin and long-legged. Even slim sizes are usually large in the waist for him.

Hop on over to Shannon's site for more great tips.

Talking with my boys

Last night just before bedtime I was spending some quality time with my 6 yo. He said "Today was somebody's 5th anniversary, but I don't know who's." So very carefully I told him about bad men who did not like the United States who decided to take over planes and fly them into buildings and many people died.

Saturday we attended the festival put on by the local Greek Orthodox Church. the 11 yo wanted to know what the Greek Orthodox church was. I started talking about how sacraments in an Orthodox Church "count" as Catholic sacraments and how in the early centries of the Christian Church that there was disagreement between the East and the West over authority of the pope..
"Mom, I know all about the schism."
"Oh, Well the Orthodox Church is comprised of several different Orthodox sects, There are the Russian Orthodx, The Greek Orthodox and others."

So glad to know he's paying attention in Religion calss.

Menu Monday - A day late again..

I think about my menus on Friday, because I grocery shop Saturday mornings (when I can)

Sunday - Rice, Chicken breasts and a apricot sauce. - Not a huge hit.
Monday - Meatloaf I cooked Sunday night because the 11 YO has soccer practice until 5:30 and Hubby and I have a 6:00 meeting for the Wrestling club. - Hubby brought me a plate with a slice of meatloaf and leftover rice.
Tuesday - This will be an eat out night. the 11 YO has a soccer game 25 miles away at 5:30 meaning he has to be there at 5:00
Wednesday - Turkey Breasts in the crockpot - another soccer game but not until 6:45
Thursday - Hubby is fly to Atlanta so We will ahve Ham and Green Beans in the crockpot. Hubby is not a ham fan
Friday - Leftovers - As of Tuesday we have half of the meatloaf. - Maybe I will crumble it and make fried rice.


Visit Org Junkie for more menus

Carpooling - is it worth it?

I am a Morning person. My fellow carpoolers are not. They both have been meeting at our rendezvous 10 to 15 minutes after the agreed upon time. This frustrates me. But carpooling saves me $87.60 every 3 weeks in gas when gas is at $2.19 like it is today. I have young children in sprots who have activities that start between 5:30 and 6:00. If I am not getting back to my car by 6:00, I miss out on watching them. $87.60 - That's an average of $30 a week, $6 a day. I think I will stick with it. I can drive myself on occasions when the boys have some activites. My son has a soccer game tomorrow between my work and home. But it's my week to drive. I already have to beg off driving Friday due to Hibby's business trip. I need to be there when the boys get ont he bus at 7:05 and need to be back by 6:00 PM to pcik up the 6 YO from Daycare.

Another rant. One of the fellow carpools it a single guy under 30. When he has a reason to be home early, no problem. But Fridays, when I need to be early, I am always pressed for time. I hate to be late. I hate to be rushed. I do not like showing up at the daycare at 5:55 and my son is the last kid there. One time it was 6:05. Rant over.

September 11th 2001- Memories

September 11th, 2001

September 11th is my brother’s birthday. It’s also Hubby’s friend Greg’s. Greg’s wife Lily introduced Hubby and I. I feel bad for them that their day was overshadowed by such horrific events.

At the time I was a Contractor with the Air Force. I worked on Base. I was coming from the Cafeteria and walked by a co-worker who said “Do you know anybody who is visiting New York City? A plane just crashed into the World Trade Center.” So I get back to my desk an try to pull up CNN on the Internet. It’s slow. People in the office are milling about talking. I turn on my desk radio. We hear the second tower has been hit. Another Co-worker is getting very nervous. He thinks they are going to lockdown the base and he wants to leave now! I think maybe he is overreacting. Well, they did up the security on the base to Delta. That usually means nobody in on or off. Then Our Contracting PM comes around telling all of the contractors to go home, that he would be in touch about tomorrow via the recall roster. Since I am the lead for my small contracting company, He will call me with news and I will call all of the people that work for my company.

So I get in my car and join the line of people driving off base. I am listening to the radio. I remember a lot of talk and hearing a lot of the song “In the arms of an angel”. I went to my corporate office. There are too many of us there. We are given instructions that if we have work we can do from home and bill the Government, that’s what we are to do. Those who did not have work to do were to be in the office.

I went home but was unable to keep my eyes off of the TV. I worried aobut my boys at school and daycare, but I was supposed to be working from home. I figured they were safe enough and I did not want to disrupt their routine.

We were kept off base for 4 or 5 days. Several of those days, I was at the corporate office. I remember I represented the company at a meeting to go over a contract proposal.

Once we were allowed back on base, the entire security posture of the place was changed. We had to wait in long lines to get to on base. IDs were checked and double checked. Doors were locked, traffic flow was changed. The entire world changed.

Go to Shannon's site for more stories

Perspective

My 11 Yo’s teacher sent this email this morning:

 

Dear Parents - One of my History exchanges this morning spent a lot of time discussing the events of September 11, 2001.  They had many questions on what happened, why, how, why security is the way that it is at airports today, and what the possibility was of this happening again.  I didn't realize that they were first graders when it happened. (To me it seems just like yesterday.)  I was surprised at how much they wanted to talk about it. 

 

I bring this to your attention because maybe you too, didn't realize their need to discuss this, and understand this, and that there may be some hidden fears. 

 

Wow! These are 6^th Grader’s. It does seem like it was just yesterday. I guess I know what I am going to bring up at the dinner table tonight.

Dressing our kids

Jules over at Everyday Mommy has been talking about clothing for girls. She even has an on-line petition. I have often thought about how much easier it is to dress boys. Mine even wear Uniforms to school. We seem to have school uniforms, gym clothing and one or tow things appropriate for Church.

Of course there are quite a few T-shirts on the market that are of questionable taste. I've seen some and snickered at them. then I decided that they are not promoting attitudes I want my 6 and 11 YO boys to emulate. Besides, my kids play so many sports and we have commemorated fun visits with T-Shirts, we have no need to go to the local Target and purchase T-shirts. This summer it has been all I can do to get the 11 yo to wear taylored shorts instead of the gym shorts.

This weekend we went to Chicago to visit with Grandpa. The boys were mystified that we had them wear long pants (they both looked like theri legs were a mile long). We had to argue with the 11 YO to wear his jeans and not sweatpants. The 6 yo was upset because he had to wear pants that were a little big in the waist. He wanted to wear the pair that were a bit too short. Dad has issues with pants that are even close to being too short due to being teased about wearing "floods" when he went through a growth spurt as a child.

The 7 YO and I went shopping yeasterday and got him a new pair of jeans, a pair of school pants and a new pair of athletic shoes. Now the 11 YO needs new athletic shoes - so he claims.

Monday Menu Plan ... on Tuesday

Once again, I am a day late... Hop over to Org Junkie's site for the rest

Mon - Polish Sausage, baked beans and green beans
Tues - Cheeseburger sloppy joes Made Monday - 5:30 soccer game
Wed - Chicken Breasts
Thurs - Pork roast in the crockpot.
Fri - Homemade pizza - store bought crust - italian sausage and whatever I dig out of the fridge

Cranky today

I did not sleep well. I woke up about 2:30 and could not go back to sleep. I was fretting. The “obvious” issue I was angry about was not the whole story. I was really out of sorts. I was quite angry at Hubby, but it was also partly my own fault. It has been a busy week. There were some major personnel issues at work which came to the best conclusion on Wednesday; the 11 YO had soccer games Tuesday and Wednesday evening. So it was wait for my ride home, get to the rendezvous point, get into my car and race to the soccer field and catch the last half of the soccer game. Oh, wait, grab some food to stuff into myself. Then home where Hubby changed clothes and went to work out. I had some errands I though about running Wed night, but since Hubby was gone, I was unable. So I got up early Thursday and went to the 24 hour Mega Mart to get the things I needs for a work event.

 

I value my personal time. I have been subject to someone else’s schedule all week: the carpool, work, soccer and Hubby. But I know Hubby’s been feeling some of the same. He has to be the one to drop the boys off everywhere because I work out of town. I’m pleased that he is making the time to work out. I have not found my balance. Last night I did get to run an errand, but I felt more demands on me when I got home. This weekend we have pans to go out of town. I’m wishing we did not. It sure does put me in a lousy mood. Hopefully it will go away soon.

Daytrana - 1 week update

So my 11 YO Son has been on Daytrana, a patch for of Methylphenidate, for 1 week now. We are pretty pleased with it. I was afraid the other night we were having some sleeping issues. He had trouble Sunday night. But since he had spent several hours at an amusement park riding roller coasters with his Dad and Aunt, I was hoping it was over-stimulation. Monday night I hear my son creep into our bedroom and make a pallet for himself at the foot of the bed. I woke up long enough to think “oh no, more sleep issues.”  But when I got up and almost stepped on the boy, I discovered it was the 6 YO. So we are not having sleep issues.

 

My Daytrana posts are listed in this entry

Blogging via emails

Here is my first attempt. If this works, I may blog via Blackberry.

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Express yourself with gadgets on Windows Live Spaces Try it!

Works for Me Wednesday -

Check out Shannon's site for more great ideas

My Mother In Law likes to attend the boys' soccer and baseball games when she can. I started out giving her a copy of the schedule so she knew when the games were and if she could make it, great. We'd love to see her. Then I started emailing her the list. She mentioned a few years ago that she enters them into her Outlook Calendar on her work computer. So now I use the MS Outllok calendar for everything. When we get a sports schedule, I enter it into the calendar and send a meeting invite to Hubby, Mom and depending where I am doing the entry to the Home email and my work email. So we all have it. Works for Me.

I've been assimilated...

I have been fighting this since I started. It was the old "I want one, but I don't want one." Even in mainstream media, they speak of the additictions they cause. But we had an incident over the weekend that I could have possibly been monitoring and saved a lot of grief. I mean afterall, my job title is Manager of Email Services. So I ordered a Blackberry for myself and my chief technician.

Menu Plan Monday

Go see the other Menues at Org Junkies site. Blogger won't load the pretty banner

Mon- Salisbury Steak using ground beef and Golden mushroom soup
Tues - Might be Out. the 11 YO has a soccer game. I will go straight from work. Hubby may make the kids Chicken nuggests or hot dogs.
Wed - Chicken breasts int eh crockpot - Have not decided on a recipe yet
Thurs - Round steak in the crockpot
Fri - Leftovers
Sat & Sun - Going out of town.

First weekend with Daytrana

Hi Everyone,
Ok, With 2 working parents and no school, we got to observe our 11 YO son on the Daytrana patch for his ADHD meds. This replace his 72 mg of Concerta in the AM. Since we were haivng some evening issues with sports, the doctor recommended that we adminster another 36 mg dose of Concerta about 1PM. This was difficult due to the parents working and the son enrolled in Daycamp.

It seemed to take about an hour and a half to really take effect. Concerta typically took an hour. The Manufacturer recommends that you apply it 2 hours before the desired effect. It works similarly well to the COncerta. At this point we do not see a need to supplement it with any Concerta like the doctor suggested may be a possibility. We have been having him leaving it on for up to 12 hours (6A-6P) without adverse effects.

I like this method. We no longer have to worry about the adminstration of meds during the school day. He's not bothered by it or the glue. He does have a preference for the direction that we apply the patch. Since it is a rectangle, he likes it to go lenthwise across his Hip.

Patch Day 2 ADHD Post

Yesterday we left the patch on for about 12 hours. B was still Chatty Charlie at dinner last night. But he was a little more focused. I still think we may have to supplement the patch with a pill. But we'll observe him over the weekend and call the doctor on Monday.

The glue is very sticky and the red mark on his hip lasted quite a while on his hip. We did notice when applying this mornings patch that he had not scrubbed the glue off from Wednesday.

Other ADHD Patch Entries
Pioneers
Patch Day 1

Patch update day #1

The Brand name of the new Patch is Daytrana. My son has the 30 mg. He was taking 72 mg of Concerta in the AM and another 36 mg about 1 PM - or so that was what he was prescribed. It was hard with both parents working.

But the patch is really sticky. It is about 4 inches long and 1.5 inches wide. We did not get any feedback from his teacher. He claims school went fine. Dad applied the patch about 6:15AM. At 3:30 B changed for soccer practice and took the patch off. Dad said when he got to soccer practice about 5:15 that son was talking his head off, making comment he thought were funny. It took B 45 minutes to empty the dishwasher and clear off the table from dinner. He was busy playing around with his brother and took off to the basement to watch TV a few times. Thus No Focus.

Now the manufacturer's directions say to put it on 2 hours before you want it to become fully effective and it should not be left on for more that 9 hours. The doctor said to make sure it comes off 3 hours before bedtime. So we are going to push the 9 hour timeframe tonight. I asked him to keep it on until he got home from Soccer practice tonight so we could see the effect.

Hubby said he did not like B's behavior from the time he got home. So he has a less than positive view of it already. I am concerned about how he is during the day when the medication is at it's fullest effect. It is enough? It does nto seem to be too much. But I want to observe him over the weekend.

Add-Related Posts
Pioneers

School today

The 6 YO is a morning person just like Mom, He popped out of bed, got on his tailored shorts - he prefers elastic waists, put on his belt and came out carring a shirt "is this a uniform shirt mom?" and it was. (Love Land's End polos, the 11 yo wore these shirts form 1-4th grade. They still look good). He was excited to ride the bus, even when he found out his brother was not going to because..

The 11 YO got a post card informing him that he was to be the captain of the morning safety patrol for the first week of school. He was honored at the end of the year as one of two representatives to go to the safety patrol party for the district (they let the Parochial schools participate). So Hubby was going to drop him off at school early. I did take the opportunity to congratualte him and tell him I was pround, but I could not resist asking hi, that since he was so responsible with safety patrol why coudl he not do a little bit of cleaning up after himself at home? Hubby said he had basically trashed the hosue yesterday. He made stuff to eat and left everything sitting out. He had shoes, socks and clothes all over the living room. Let's not talk about his bedroom that was cleared out this weekend.

I guess dear Hubby tried to get a pciture of the 1st grader getting on the bus, but when he turned it on it wanted the date set and the bus driver seems to be in a hurry AND the boy ducked when he saw the camera. Ah well. I was proud that he tried. He knows I like to scrapbook those things.

Pioneers - Our Daytrana experience

I got a call this AM from my son's doctor. The neurologist who treats his ADHD. The patch is available and they want him to try it. But we may have to tweak the dosage. Ok, no biggie except.. Tomorrow is the first day of school. That means a new set of teachers who don't know him. They don't know what kinds of behavior can be expect from him. So how do we get the feedback we need? So I sent his homeroom teacher the following email:

Hi Mrs. C,

I just wanted to let you know that Bobby will start with a new medication for his ADHD tomorrow (Wednesday). He will be using the new patch. The directions have us put it on his hip. The doctor said he may need more medication than this, so it is experimental. We’d love to hear feedback from you or any of the other teachers.

I realize that you have not had him in class before and it may be difficult to determine what his normal behavior is.

Appropriate behavior:
ð Paying attention
ð Not being a huge distraction is class (we have been having issues with him whistling at inappropriate times this summer)
ð He tends to need to get up and move, sharpen his pencil, use the bathroom. However, sometimes he needs a gentle reminder to use the bathroom when he is interesting in something.

Behavior that needs attention:
ð Belligerence, arguing
ð Frenetic activity
ð Emotional meltdowns

He is unable to recognize that his medication is not effective.

Thanks so much. I apologize that we were unable to do this before the first day of school, but this just came available.

Iw as trying to remember what behaviors the unmedicated B exhibits. The arguing seems to be the biggest. He has had 2 days in his 7 years of school where he has been basically unmedicated. Once is second grade when we gave him only Straterra and no stimulant with it, and once last year when he just did not take the meds. He came home from school and they were sitting on the kitchen table. That day he came home with 3 demerits for behavior. He had never had these before. He would not obey a teacher and he was disrespectful of another.

But anyways, check back for reports on how he does.

Menu Plan Monday...

is on Tuesday this week.





Monday - Cheese Burger sloppy joes
Tuesday - Chick breasts are thawing in the fridge - Hubby will cook them in some way
Wednesday - (Crockpot since it's the first day of school with Soccer practice) - I have a Pork shoulder in the freezer.
Thursday - Round steak - probably in the crockpot
Friday - Homemade pizza on Boboli-type crust.

Check out organizing junkie for more ideas

Getting Organized

So I have spent untold money at the office supply store. I have all of the stuff to implement an organizes paper flow system with the 11 yo. All the stuff is sitting on the large folding table in the basement. I am undecided when to start. The guidlines say to create a catagory for each subject. I'm just not sure of the subjects he will be having. I suppose it will be safe to go with Math, science, Religion, social studies, but are reading, english and spelling together this year? I went to teh schools webiste to see a listing of what subject each of the three teachers are teaching. There is no such thing right now. You are supposed to assign a color to each subject. I suppose we can do something tentitive, but I want to wait until after his first day. Maybe there is something that makes sense. But I can "organize" the 6 yo. (He asked me "when are you going to Organize me Mom?)

Actually, I should take time to organize the 11 YO's bedroom. He cannot keep it clean. Maybe I'll get some banker's boxes and start packing some books. Then I can move books out of the 11 YO's room into the bookcases. He'll have to keep a more limited supply of books in his rooom because he cannot keep his bookcases looking neat. I am about ready to issue him 2 laundry baskets, one for clean clothing and one for dirty. Before we left on vacation, Hubby saind he was stripping the room of just about everything. It may be time. I am tired of having the "Clean Sweep" it on a semi-monthly basis.

Life is good!

Since it’s been a little cooler here, I was able to take at nice walk on my lunch hour yesterday. I walked down the road that leads to the “Women’s Center”. I found myself eagerly anticipating seeing the man standing outside the center with his Bible and Catholic Catechism.

This Spring I saw him, and at times, another man. I had already been thinking about our Modern society and how John Paul II called it a “Culture of Death”. Hubby’s Grandmother passed away this Spring. I had been praying for peace for her since she has been suffering from Alzheimer’s for several years. My Father in law has been her primary caregiver and I saw how hard it was on him. But I got to thinking about why I was a participant in this “Culture of Death”, why I did not have the absolute love of life that I should. I decided it was because I am not afraid of death. So everytime I passed the center with the men praying, I said a little prayer asking for help in gaining more respect for life.

The man was not there. There was no one saying prayers outside the center. I was disappointed. Then that made me glad. Maybe I am slowing achieving that respect for life that I feel I should have. Thanks to be to God.

Works for Me Wednesday

Actually, this is a "I hope it works for me" entry.

My 11 YO is very smart but cannot organize his way out of a rice paper bag. Part of it is a refusal to do so. I have tried many things to help him keep his room from becoming a black hole. I removed all of the dressers and put in open shelves so he could see what he has. I need to go an purge his clothing again. He had a trash can and a laundry hamper easily accessible (no lids), but trash and clothings still fall to the floor and stay there. I have temporarily shifted focus away from his room and an working on his school-related paper flow.

I read this book "The Organized Student: Teaching Children the Skills for Success in School and Beyond." And I am going to implement her binder and desktop file box system for him. My hope is that homeowrk assignments will amke it home and back to school to be turned in and not lost in the recesses of his backpack.

I have been looking for help in teaching him Organizational skills for a long time. I was thrilled to find this book. I'm an not expecting miracles. The author said things will fall apart from time to time, but hopefully the putting back together process will be a bit easier.

Join Shannon for more WFMW ideas and tips.

"Why Parents should not ask 'Why?'"

Our local newspaper runs a parenting column on Sunday's written by a local Child Psychologist. Dr. Ramey wrote this past week about Parents who ask a kids "Why" they misbehaved. Hubby often demands an answer from our ADHD 11YO to that question. It makes me cringe everytime. I think the 11YO doesn't know. His impulsivity kicks in and all thoughs of the consequences goes out the door. There is a overriding goal in mind. DH still disagrees with me and thinks that he asking, repeatedly "Why" gets DS to think and consider his reasons. My take is "HE doesn't know", the thought popped into his head and he does not realize that the action might be a bad thing because his brain functions differently, no Jiminy Cricket pops up to say "Now what might happen".

Dr. Ramey wrote that the reason's people do things are complex and often unknown. Parents ask this question becasue they are looking for insight into a child's problems. He said that the Why question leads nowhere and that the parent should deal with the issue of changing the child's behavior. He suggests alternate questions:

• What can you do to avoid this problem in the future?
• What were you thinking?
• Help me understand what is going on? or Tell me more about what happened.

Now if I can work on changing Hubby's behavior.

Big new story!?

Ok, the big news in SW Ohio is that IKEA is building a store here. Hey, cool! I hear it's a great place with a cult following, but the headlines from Dayton to Cincinnati. I thought there were more important stories: Cease fire in Lebanon, Ohio State school rankings, Another Bengal arrested... The closest store are in Chicago, Pittsburg and Canton, MI. If this is news, I don't get it.

Menu Monday

Ok, To play along with Org Junkie, Here's my weekly Menu:

Mon - (Ground beef night) - Hubby talked about making meatloaf
Tues - (Chicken)- Tonight I'll pull out chicken breasts to thaw.
Wed - (Soccer Practice of the 11 yo) - I picked up a bottom roast. I'll probably put it in the crockpot
Thurs- Frozen hamburgers thrown on the grill
Fri - Homemade pizza - Store-bought crusts, Italian sausage in the freezer

Heigh Ho...

Vacation is officially over. I'm not a huge beach person, but my Sister-in-law is. She's also a stay at home Mom who is good at setting a schedule and I depend on external forces (my job) to structure my day. My SIL also has 4 kids and I have two, so she sets the pace at the beach. Around 8:30-9:00, everyone is up and has eaten breakfast, brushed their teeth and dressed in a clean swim suit. The kids (11-6) line up to get lubed up with sunscreen.

We carry 2 unbrellas, 5 chairs, boogie boards and other stuff out to the beach and set them up. We also have couple of coolers packed with drinks and snacks. (So what that we are only only a footballs field length away from the beach.) But it was nice this year as the older boys are help carry more. We did not need to use a wagon this year.

About 10:15-10:30 is snack time and 11:30 is pool time. We come back, change into a dry swim suit and each lunch. After about an hour of relaxing, it's time to lube everyone up again.

My SIL is happy as a clam to not leave the island. Hubby and I would have liked to have eaten out dinner about two or three times, instead of just one, but hey, look at the money it saved. But By Thursday, we had had enough sand and sun. So we took the boys and drove down to Myrtle beach for the greater part of the day. I was surprised that they did not complain about being away fromt he cousins, but they seemed ready for a beach break. They were trhilled to have a few dollars to spend at the arcade and they we played minature golf. We have a nice (and expensive) lunch and returned to the beach cottage by 4:30.

The drive home went well. When they boys argues over the remote for the DVD playing, They were told to turn it off for a while. The trip took us about 10.5 hours. A lot less then we expected. I suspect the roads are getting better.

I was not able to get as much reading done as I expected. I felt like I needed to keep an eye on the boys in the water. The 11 YO spent a lot of time in teh water. But he did not get surfer's rash this year thanks to the surf shirts I bought them. I got them a set of shirts and trunks form Land's End earlier this year. They have wore them a lot while playing with squirt guns outside, field trips to pools with day camp and at the beach. I also pick up them another shirt for half the cost of the Land's End one at Old Navy.

Works for me Wednesday

I'll play along this week. My Dad, brother and Sister-in-law were unable to make the beach trip this year. They all are going to Germany for Octoberfest. Mom, who's semi-retired, is able to do both. So the six grandkids, and 2 sets of paretns joined Grandman at the beach house. So I created a picture blog for Grandpa to keep up with the kid's activites. Works for me.

Vacation blogging

Ok, So we are on the North Carolina coast in a 4 bedroom "cottage". There are 11 of us here. The six kids are between 11 and 6. But this darn place has wireless interent - for free. It is both a blessing and a curse. I am able to keep up with my work emails. A system deployment scheduled for next Monday has been postponed becasue I am not there to starighten things out. My chief tech was away for two weeks and we missed each other. So he did not realize that we changed the way we were planning to deploy. He was under the impression that this would effect all email users, but we chaned it so They need to put a keyword in the subject line to encrypt the emails. He wanted to notify the entire popluation that emails would be electronically scanned. The CIO got upset because that is not what he was briefed. AACK! So I am worrying about this on my vacation.

Life is a beach....

Yes, I am on vacation. Our beach house has wireless internet. So while my Mom, hubby, kids, Brother, sis-in-law, nephews and niece are on an evening walk, I am nursing my sore plantar-faciitis feet ans blogging. We are missing my Dad who is working this week and my little brother and his wife. Dad, Brother B and Wife E, along with my Mom have the opportunity to go to Germany for Octoberfest this fall, the they (except my Mom) are saving their vacation days for that. Dad made it here for the weekend.

But it's nice the the six kids are between 11 and 6. This year they are old enough to do some simple cleaning up chores. They are doing them enthusiastically. That's so nice. Last night two took out the trash, one vacuumed the living and dining rooms, another swept the kitchen, one swept the deck and one the stairs.

Book Review

So I finished the Book To Hell with That: Loving and Loathing your Inner Housewife, by Caitlyn Flanagan. I saw a review of it at The Family CEO. I left a note on her blog that it sounded interesting and as a Mom who works outside the home, I was going to look for it. She replied back that she thought there were some things that might make me uncomfortable and to let her know what I thought of it. Well, I laughed, I cried and I got mad, but I also related. Her jumbled thought about the conflict between staying in the home and working outside of it mirrored my own turbulence. I want it all. I want the kids, I want the career, I want the nice home and the crafts area. And you know what, I have all that. I am satisfied with the way it all goes.

I was out to dinner last night with a group of friends. We do a monthly Girls Night out. One of the ladies asked another if she was working full time or staying home. K. replied that she stayed home full time and she was really glad she had the ability and the temperament to do so. That caused me to laugh. I was glad she said so. I love my boys. I longed to stay home for the same reason I nursed them. It was what would benefit them the most. But alas, I married for love and not money. My husband, in the beginning, had no regard for the fact that he liked to live beyond his means. He knew he should get more education in order to make more money, and he worked at it. But here I was, An MBA with skills in Information Technology. I could pull in the paycheck. One time right after our first son was born, He said “You know, I think it might be best if one of us stayed home with him.”
“Yes, but are you willing to be the one to stay home or are you willing to sell the house and one of the cars and eat beans and rice?” He wasn’t, so off to work I went.

I want to be a staunch supporter of Stay at home Moms. I believe the choice is the critical thing the generations before us have worked for. I believe it takes all kinds to make the world go ’round. But I enjoy my life. My boys are relatively happy and well adjusted. They do well in school. They do well in sports. My friend, the Stay at home Mom reminded me that a while back Hubby and I stated that we were “Glad our kids were average in ability” in sports because we could barely keep up with them in their recreational level leagues. Select sports is unthinkable.

My house is nowhere near as neat as my Mom’s is. (My Mom worked too!). But my generation lets me off the hook somewhat. Flanagan touches on this a bit when she talks about the mystique of Martha Stewart.

Medicine worries

We leave for tomorrow on vacation. The 11YO ADHDer has enough doses of his medicine for about 5 more day. The boy runs at the mouth and is contantly picking on his brother. He is very impulsive. Yes, we could let him go unmedicated for several day, but I'm worried about him being on the beach and in the water. Will he do something stupid? Did I say he was extremely impulsive?

I called his doctor to see if we could get a prescription for about 14 pills to get us through. Of course, I'm not sure how we will manage to pick i tup. I'm 50 miles away. And we just got an email from my SIL that her AC is out and she was wondering if Hubby had the time to come and look at it. Hubby is also supposed to play golf after work. (Unless it rains)

I guess plan B with the 11 YO is to meter out the pills and give him half doses. Maybe it will be enough to keep him out of too much trouble and being at the beach he can burn off a lot of his excess energy. Prayers would be welcomed.

Beach reading list

We are leaving Friday for vacation. We are going to a beach on the Carolina Shores. A nice quiet, family oriented beach. Last night the 6 YO and I walked to the Library. I went to different library last week and have gathered a vast array of books to take. It's eclectic. For my fiction, I have teen aged books and I have some non-fiction. Here's my list.

• Tell Hell with all of that: Loving and Loathing our inner housewife - I am about halfway through all of this. I read a review at The Family CEO and I was intrigued. I am finding it's pretty scattered but it seems to echo my confilcting thoughts on Motherhood and working outside the home.
• The Organized Student: Teaching Children the Skills for Success in School and Beyond - I am alsways trying to figure out how I can teach my 11 YO how to be organized.
• The Princess Diaries I checked out the first three of the series. They look like I can know them out in a few hours each.
• Anne of Green Gables - I am amazed I did not read these as a Child. I read every other series.
• A Non fiction book about the Women who wrote the Nacy Drew Series. I'll have to look up the title later today.

I'm another person who finished grad school and now I have trouble getting into fiction. I love to read. Aa a child I rode my bike to the library every few days during the summer. While in Grad school I burned out on trashy romance fiction (had to be historical). The last two books I sat and read while the world went by around me were the last two Harry Potter books.

Menu Plan Monday

Blogger is not allowing me to post the pretty graphic. I'll try again later.

I was crusing my favorite blogs and came across a new MEME from Org Junky and decided I would play along. I mentally plan my menus when I grocery shop on Saturday mornings.

Monday (Ground Beef day ) - Cheeseburger sloppy joes (2 lbs ground beef, envelope of dry onion soup mix and a jar of Ragu Cheddar cheese sauce.)

Tuesday (Chicken day) - Ok, I will do something with frozen Chicekn breasts I have in the freezer.

Wednesday - Burgers on the grill.

Thursday - Kielbasa shish kebobs

Friday - We go on vacation. We'll leave between 6 and 6:30. grab coffee out and about 2.5 hours later stop at Bob Evans, the original Bob Evans restaurant in Rio Grande Ohio for breakfast. Hubby stated last night "let's pack a lunch and eat it at a rest stop." This is a big step for him as he is a junk food junkie. I promised the boys I'd buy them Lunchables for this. Why do they think Lunchables are the coolest things? I will buy them as an alternative to the fast food drive-through. But that's it!

At the beach house this year, Mom and Dad rented the house and a gas grill. My Sister-in-law and I decided that we would each make 2 meals. (My younger brother cannot make it this year.) I know one of our will be beer can chicken.

What Makes a Church a Church

About a month ago, Everyday Mommy wrote a post asking about what a Church should be. I was reminded of this yesterday when our Pastor, Fr. Jerry talked about a seminar he went to and he came home with a list of three items that makes a Church a Church. Now, while he was focused on a Catholic Church, I think it applies to all Christian denomination.

1. A Church should teach and Proclaim the Word of God.
2. A Church should celebrate Sacraments such as Baptisms, Communion, Marriage and Funerals
3. A Church should be involved in works of Charity.

It's going to be a long week

Hubby just sent me an email titled "Vacationitis". We leave for the North Carolina beach on Friday.

Laundry

So I'm doing laundry this weekend. We do our laundry once a week. I am putting in a load of White permanent press - I grew up, in the 80's, Mom was a nurse who wore whites, Dad was the typical business man who wore suits with white shirts everyday and we three kids attended Catholic school where the school uniform included white button shirts and/or blouses. Mom did three loads of nothing but white permanent press a week. So I was doing such a load (I included light colored dress shirts in it. It was mostly my bras - I have enough to wear one a day. Hubby's long sleeved dress shirts was one of the last items I put in. The sleeves usually get tangles in with the straps of 7 bras. I look in the washer where I had trhown most of the bras already. I look at the lingerie bag sitting on the dryer. Hubby prefers I put the bras in the lingerie bag. I'm often too lazy. Humm. The long sleeved dress shirt went in the lingerie bag. It that thinking outside the box... er bag?

Bloggy Tour of homes

I am joining the bloggy tour of homes hosted by BooMama. Here is my front door. I had to use PAINT to obliterate my last name and house number above the mailbox.





But my house was built in 1956 and is a 3 bedroom ranch with a basement. I am afraid that my poor house has suffered with my commute. I was looking for parts to take pictures of that I was not too embarrassed of.

Next is my Living room. The couch and the main family computer. Since I earn my living as a computer geek, we have a second computer in the basement. The laptop Hubby used for school is on it's last legs. Before he graduated, it occupied a permanent place in the Living room. Our home is cozy. We are planning to put it on the market in the spring and move slightly closer to my work. We'd like our bedrooms to be a touch bigger - they are 10x12 and 11x12. We'd like an extras bedroom for guests. Hubby says he'd like a bigger kitchen. But it's been our for 12 years now. We have brought our 2 boys home for the hospital from here. It's about 900 Sq feet not including the basement. I'd be happy staying here as long as I still have a carpool to work and could bump out the master bedroom a bit.
















Next is the computer I upload most of my blogs from.

(It's not at home. But shhhhh)













Here's the view out the door:

Works For Me Wednesday

It's Wednesday time again. I'm going to make this "Fun with Maps". I am a Map person. I like to look at Maps to get my bearings. My AAA membership is offset by how often I go in form Maps. Since I work in a different city than where I live, and it's been a while since I spent considerable time in the work city, I took a city Map and posted it on the wall of my office. I can look at it to find a new path home if the Interstate is all goobered up. I can see where I went when I ventured a new way. It's also been quite a converstation piece.

My Sons see me look at maps and decided they wanted one too. When my oldest was about 5 or and we were making trips to Chicago and others to Charlotte NC on a regualr basis to see Gransparents, he wanted to know where we were ont he map, but the maps were too big and cumbersome for him. I got a new Map of the SouthEastern US from AAA and took my old one and cut out a rectangle that went as far north as Chicago and as far south as the NC-SC border and then I covered it with 2 pieces of clear contact paper. This was his map. As he learned to read, that map was still there. He would ask where we were and how much further and I could point it out on his map. We had to retire it a few years ago. I ought to make another for the 6 yo.

Maps, They work for me.

Ode to a suit

My favorite work suit seems to have died. It was a sage green (separates actually) from Talbots. I felt confidant in it. It hid my figure flaws. I was "locked and loaded" with the coat buttoned. Then it needed cleaning. The pants were washable, but the coat was sent to the sry cleaners. It came back with the interfacing rippled. Oh the woe! I wore it on my second interview anyways. I wore the pants yesterday. The zipper is broke. I am not a good enough seastress to replace the zipper. So it is time to bid goodbye to the suit. It died before it's prime. It was less than a year old.

Anxiously awaiting - ADHD Dr. Visit.

Hubby took the 11 Yo Hyper pre-teen to his ADHD doctor this AM. I am waiting for that phone call that tells me what happened. I will probably ... Oop, there is the phone.

I got the scoop. We are going to continue him on his current meds, 2 32 MB, I mean mg. capsules of Concerta in the AM and then have the him take another in the afternoon. But I guess the doctor wants to try the new patch on him. He told Hubby that we put it on just before he wakes in the AM, take it off after 12 hours and then we get 3 more hours of affect. Hum, sounds interesting.

This is the first time Hubby has taken him to this doctor. We had to change last year as his doctor got out of clinical practice. Dr. H was my doctor as a kid. My brother went to Dr. H as well. Dr. H. remembered my brother. But Hubby said he and the doctor talked to the 11 YO about how he needs to make an effort at shaping his behavior.

Hubby made another appointment for September. But we are on a lsit to get a phone call when the patch is availalbe in our town.

Works For Me Wednesday

Hey everyone, My submission for this week has to do with meal planning. I work outsdie my home and still put a home-cooked meal on the table most nights. I like to cook, but mealplanning can be difficuly. My Mom just commented last night that she getsso worked up about meal planning sometimes that she gets all out of sorts. So to save my sanity, I plan my entrees by day:

• Monday = Ground beef night - this is meatloaf, salisbury steak, sloppy joes, tacos..
• Tuesday = Chicken - Sauted chicken breasts, chicken pot pit, etc
• Wednesday = Pasta - spaghetti and meatballs, lasagna, stuffed shells
• Thursday = Red meat night - pork chops, Kielbasa, steak, London Broil
• Friday = Meatless or homemade pizza

Now these are not hard and fast rules. What they mainly do is provide some sort of structure that my ADHD brain can then organize around. I know every Sunday night I need to pull Ground beef out of the freezer. I can decide what to do with it when I get home. Or I did. If you have been following me, about 2 months ago I started a new job where I have a 1 hour commute. Today I start carpooling. However, It means I need to work an 8-5 schedule. I had been working 7-4 so I had time to make a 30 minute meal. Now either I make something up ahead of time that Hubby and/or the 11 YO can warm up or I rely on said family memebers to make it themselves. But anyways, Meal planning by matching an type of entree per day - Works for me!

Should we sensor teen reading choices

Owlhaven posted a blog entry askinging for opinions on whether or not teen (12-15) reading choices should be censored. It seems to have stemmed from the content of a series of Girls-type books.

What can I say? I have boys. I am constantly looking for a books to give to my 11 yo to read. For the most part I feel that as long as he is reading, it's generally OK. I jsut picked up a box set for his last night that Contains Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow. Both Hubby and I have read these. We did turn him on to Harry Potter aslo, but becasue of the controversey we read them first. (We both loved them) and then decided that at the time he was not doing a good job of distinguishing between real and fantasy. That got better in about 6 months and I required him to "read" (we read a lot of it to him) before seeing the movie. Therefore we were able to talk about how fantastical it ws and what our family values and faith are.

He is allowed to go to the library on his own. We live 3 blocks away. I'm happy to see a book in addition to any videos/DVD's he brings home.

I don't think I would forbid him from reading a certain book. But I would like to keep the line of communication open. I did give him some of the Dragon Riders series by Anne McCaffrey. I loved those books also. They might be advanced for him. I recal some insinuation about intimate enoounters, but they are more a passing reference and not at all graphic. He may not read all of them for a few years, but they are on the bookshelf and available to him.

Feeling Hot hot hot!

I was a bump on a log this weekend. Well, not really. I did get the laundry done, the 6 YO and I took the van in for an oil change and walked to Kohl's to find Hubby some shorts on Saturday morning. I should ahve cleaned the bathroom instead of just cleaning around where some male missed the toilet. I should have worked more on decluttering my craft area.

Sunday I even let the boys hook the XBox back up. I dislike the idea of them playing it, but they had been outside for a little bit, they were playing with a neighbor kids. The neighbor Mom sent them outside until the littlest neighbor fell asleep for his nap. My kids are always over there. I wish I could make my house a little more enticing for the boys to bring their friends over for our turn to host. But my boys are not very good about sharing in their own home. I need to figure out how to change that.

Everyday Things

I have decided to play along with Everyday Things. Since I have ventured into the world of Blog reading I have been inspired by the Christian Women who include their incredible faith in their posts. But I believe I have seen a miracle occur that I want to celebrate. The Daughter of friends of my large extended family was diagnosed with Stage 2 Breast Cancer at the age of 25 in 2003. At the same time she discovered she was pregnant. She put off treatment for a few month for the baby. Unfortunately the baby died in premature labor at 7 months. But she got better until this year when her cancer came back at a stage 4. She's maintained a blog. She got the results of her latest scan to see if her Chemo was having any effect. The Tumor markers are gone! Praise the Lord! She's one of those poeple I think of and wonder why one person has to go through some much heartache and tragedy. Makes me thankful for the life I have. I have made it a point to say prayers of Thanksgiving on my drive home most nights. Sometimes It's Thank You for my car not sliding on the wet road or Thanks for the inclination to slowdown and thank for keeping me safe from harm. Last nigt I was saying Thanks for Melissa's recovery.

Baseball season is coming to an end!

Tonight, if the rain stops, is the 11 YO's last baseball game of the season. The 6 YO's last T-ball game was rained out Tuesday. I'm ready. The 11 YO played in 2 leagues this year. The first was on the school team. They started in Mid April and fininshed up at the end of May. Then the rec leauge started games in Mid-may. Since Mid-May the 6 YO has games Tues and Thurs. The 11 yo played 2 days a week, usually Monday and Friday. That's just made my commute worse. I was rushing home to get to a baseball game. There was little time in the evenings to realx let alone do some basic housework. I guess we were blessed to have our weekends Baseball-free. We are looking forward to about 4 weeks of no evening activities. I'm in a routine where I am getting home about 5:10. That gives me time to get a meal on the table before 6:00. That will make me feel like a better Mom if I can cook a nice meal several times a week and we can sit and eat it together.

Works for me Wednesday

It's that time again. Be sure to check out Shannon's site for more great ideas.

I am showcasing a product today. It helps me with my 50 mile one way commute. If you want to know why I subject myself to this everyday, here is why.

But anyways, I have a wireless (Bluetooth) speaker phone for my car. It is a Motorola HF820. It clips to my visor. I only need to charge it every couple of weeks since I only get phone call a couple of times a week from Hubby.

I get in with my phone in my pocket or my pruse. I turn on the device and listen for the squelch that indicates that it is connected with the phone. When I do get a call, I do not have to dig form my phone while barreling up Interstate I75 at 65 (?!) MPH. When I get out of my car and the phone gets too far for a connection, the device turns its self off.

Works for me!

My Job

I thought I'd write a paragraph or two about my job. I keep talking about how I have a 50 mile on-way commute. Why do I do this? Why don't I get a job closer to home? The answer starts out with knowing that I live in SW Ohio in a mid-sized city. There is a large city 50 miles south. The mid-sized city is going through some transitions with military and auto industry cutbacks.

My new job is with a state university. My Alma Mater. I get state retirement benenfits, another benefit is tuition remission for my dependants. My boys are already primed that they will go there for college. It helps that their beloved Grandfather, Uncles and Mom went here. I am a manager in the IT department. I job hunted for several months. There were not a whole lot of jobs in my city. Jobs, other than consulting jobs that would have me on the road a lot, were either in the city to the North, about 70 miles away or this city South. DH has a good engineering job in our home city, but he is essentially beginning his career and not sure if he will stay with his employer for eternity. So moving further South seems like the best solutions.

Banks and Credit Unions

When Hubby graduated with his engineering degree about six months ago and went back to work, he made a decision to have all of his pay deposited in a Credit union account. We’ve always been a little weird about how we handled money, having accounts as Yours, Mine and ours. Now the checking accounts are more his and hers. (Note: all accounts are legally joint accounts – the checkbooks are usually kept in the same place, etc so there is no fear of “hiding money”.)

So the former “ours” checking account is at a local, regional bank. Mine is at a different credit union from his. So I decided I want to close the account at the bank. We have not had any big issues with them, but credit unions are generally friendlier and pay better. So I had a few automatic payments and I went about changing those over to my credit union account. Then I change jobs. I joined the credit union that services my employer, mostly because they are an authorized provider of a 403(b) for my employer. I set up my direct deposit to put an amount in the new credit union and the net in the old credit union. So I’ve got that all set up. Credit unions, woo-hoo! Well, the old credit union is in the city where I live. The new credit union is in the city where I work. When Hubby and I were driving around the area in between the two cities casing out neighborhoods, what dawned on me but “Hum no credit union branched for either of my credit unions in this town. I’m not use there are branches of credit unions that have an agreement with my CU to not charge for ATM transactions.” But I did see lots of branches of our local Bank. They are in the local grocery store and close by the shopping areas. Hum! My money habits hav me pulling out my weekly cash when I go grocery shopping on Saturday Mornings. I don’t often think about hitting the credit union ATM at work. I’m not sure there is a really convenient ATM close to my building.
So Now I am rethinking this whole “stop doing business with the regional bank business.” I hate to pay ATM transaction fees. So maybe I’ll keep the bank account open and deposit the monthly spending and gas money in there. Of course this means dealing with 3 ATM\Debit cards. But I will be able to easily track how much I am spending in gas with this new job

Works for me Wednesday

Mocha Morning smoothy

A couple of months ago I started a new job. I am now commuting 50 miles one way. I go in early to beat the traffice. I am also a "gotta have breakfast" person. I also do better with a good dose of protein. So I created this coffee smoothy. I refridgerate leftover coffee. Or I make coffee expressly to refridgerate. After packing lunches in the morning, I get out my handy Oster Blend and Go cup, pour in about a cup of coffee, a splash of milk and a scoop of chocolate flavored protein powder, 4-6 ice cubes and blend. I put the cap that came with my cup (at WalMart), stick in the straw and run out the door. Once I get to work I add a granola bar and an orange to round out my breakfast.

Come Fall I'll have to figure out something warm. I can't see protein powder in hot coffee, but who knows. My Cold Mocha smoothies for breakfast, It works for me.

Bad Boys

Last night we went to see my cousin's new house - It's their first. It is the same plan as one another Aunt and Uncle owned for years. But anyways, Hubby is going to install AC for them. He wnated to get measurements so he could order the equipment for installation a week from Saturday. Of course we dragged the 6 YO with us and the 11 YO was given his choice, but hubby convinced him to come by broadly hinting that we would stop and get a treat (ice cream) while we were out.

So we pull into the driveway and I remember to tell that I expected good behavior out of them: quiet voice, no running around, politness, etc. It did not work this time. They had a contest of "Let's see how much I can bug my brother." They both fully participated. DH still stopped for ice cream ont he way home. The boys were only allowed to get one scoop- no sundaes. I did, however let them know I was embarrassed and when we got home they went to their rooms for the night even though it was only 7:50.

Usually when I give them remiders of the expected behavior, they comply. I don't know what the deal was. Probably since they had been home with each other all day, they were in bickering mode and unable to get out of it. Especially the ADHD 11 YO.

It' starting to worry me about the 6 YO. He does not have an focus issues, but he is a bit impusive. Well, maybe not impuslive, I think he's very deliberate, but he is missing the "These are the consequences of this action" switch. Maybe the consequences need to become more memorable.

A Favorite picture

I like this picture of my 11 YO playing catcher. Ideas of reaching for goal enter my mind. I guess I find it inspiring.

Financial reality sets in

Whoa Boy,
Hubby was paying his bills last night. Yes, we have gone to his and her bills and bank accounts. I don’t like it, but since all accounts are legally joint and he’s picked up a lot of the bills I was paying when he was earning his education, it seems more of a control issue on my part so I deal with it.

Anyways, back to the bill paying. The student loan payments have begun. The past six months since Hubby has been earning his post-bachelor’s degree paycheck, he’s had more money coming in that ever before. He got used to it. We even upgraded our cable TV service to get a DVR. (Love it!). Hubby’s been slamming money on his credit cards that got us through his school years and still had some to spare. He had grand plans to do some work on our house. No now he’s wondering how we will afford it without using more debt.

I’ve gotten my entire paycheck pretty much tied up. Actually, I may be having too much take out in federal taxes, but I will let it ride until I do next year’s taxes. The bases are covered, but very little wiggle room. But since I have the grocery budget, maybe I can work on that.

And we hope to move. Moving will be expensive. We will most likely increase our house payment. Why move? I want to shorten my 50 mile commute. But if I shorten mine by 20 miles, Hubby will increase his by 15 miles.

Hubby’s not willing to give up the DVR yet, but it’s on his radar screen.