Another Trip to the Lake

So remember my last post? I was bored today. Well all of that changed quickly. Joe came home from work. He was out at 3 today. He mentioned something about going to Lake Compounce. We weren't sure that the weather was going to hold out for us though. So we kind of debated it and lounged around for a while and then at around 5 we said lets just go. So off we went.

We got there and Natalie wanted to go on the Wild Cat with me. Okay, I like the Wild Cat. I can go on that. So off we go. Let me just say a roller coaster after having a C-section is not a good fit. I felt like my insides were going to come right out of my incision. Natalie forgot that first hill was a doozy and I figured she'd had enough of those adventure rides.



Joe then took both the girls on the Twister. CJ and I sat and waited. They had fun with that.





Then Joe took Natalie on a ride he's been trying to get her on for a while. I must say I'm really surprised she went on it and I wish I had brought my camera. Unfortunately I did not. She went on Thunder 'N Lightning which is like a giant swing. It goes up so high in the air that it looks like you're face down to the ground. Natalie got off that ride and was white as a ghost, but she said she'd go on it again, but not today.

Unfortunately that was the last ride we did there. Poor Kaitlyn only got to go on the one ride. We went to get something to eat and as we were sitting and eating the storm clouds started coming in. All the rides were shutting down. So since they were closing in an hour anyways we figured we mine as well go. We did stop to play a game of Whack a Mole on our way out, but we didn't win. I think we're going back tomorrow though. We told Kaitlyn she gets first pick of ride since she didn't get to go on hardly anything. Sure is a good thing we have season passes and live only about 15 minutes away.

Alls Quiet in Blog Land

Well, at least on the blogs I read everyday. Been a quiet day. I'm bored. I should be doing laundry, but I'm not really motivated to do it. Another hour until my Mets game comes on. I really hate those late afternoon games on the weekend. I just went to a tag sale that my friend was having to raise money for Autism Speaks. She'll be participating in the Walk Now for Autism next weekend so I was trying to help her out. Got some stuff for the girls which took forever. Well, I should say Natalie took forever picking something out for herself.

So now I'm just killing some time. Does anyone collect Box Tops for their school? I'm the Box Tops coordinator at our school. Okay, yes I do it all. PTA president, Girl Scout leader, Box Tops coordinator, and looks like next year I'll be doing PTA treasurer too as we have no volunteers for that. Anyways, I'm trying to wrap up our Box Top collection. We've been doing a Box Tops 500 race. Each class has their own race car which races to 500 Box Tops. The winning class gets an ice cream party. I told them that whichever class wins the most would get a special prize at the end of the year never once disclosing what this prize would be. And you know what? I still don't know what that prize will be. Problem is I don't have one winning class. We've had 4 different classes win so far this year. So I'm doing one final push to the finish. They have until June 13th to get their box tops in to me. One of the classes that had already won was in the lead, but now another class has come out of no where with over 200 Box Tops. This class hasn't won at all this year. Ahhhhh, they are making this so difficult for me. I just want one clear winner here not a five way tie. Oh well, I'll figure something out I'm sure.

We got our Girl Scout cookie incentives last night. I wasn't aware that our troop had earned $75 to use at the Girl Scout store. That will come in very handy with the end of the year approaching and Try Its to buy for each of the girls. Natalie gets $35 in camp credits which can also be used at the Girl Scout store. We don't do camping so she can get her Junior uniform with that gift certificate.

Well, I guess that's about it. School's out for the summer on June 17th. Kaitlyn has her Kindergarten Ceremony on June 13th. Next Friday is our schools end of the year BBQ. Lots of fun stuff coming up. I hope you're all prepared to see tons of pictures.

Food and Fun Around the World

So at the beginning of the month we had our International Dinner at the school. I have yet to post those pictures though. This event occurred on May 9, 2008. We go every year. Actually, usually I help out with it and this year wasn't any different. I made desserts of course and Joe made chili. There were all sorts of different foods from different cultures. It's a great way to celebrate all the different students that we have in our school.

Wacky Crazy Day

A pretty typical Wednesday actually, but just some odd things happened today. Natalie had field day today. They walk down to the local park (maybe a block away) for field day. They couldn't complete their events because a baby black bear was spotted in the park. Wow, kind of scary. Natalie was upset that she didn't get to do all of field day. She said it was the worst field day ever. I talked to her though and she got to do most of the events today. It was the end of the afternoon that the bear was spotted. She thought someone shot the bear though so I guess that upset her too. She said she heard a gun shot. I tried to explain to her that they probably just put the bear to sleep so they could move it somewhere away from people. I think she understands. And I think she's not feeling so bad about field day anymore.

After picking the kids up from school we went to the grocery store. The one Joe works at because he's been working nights lately and hasn't seen Natalie much. I needed more toothpaste anyways. So we saw him and then I picked up a few things that we needed. I checked out and wrote a check to pay for it. I wrote the check for $30 over to get some cash. The cashier messed up though and put the check in for $10.05 more than I wrote it for. I noticed it before he gave me the money and of course argued. The head cashier told me there was nothing they could do. Well gee what am I supposed to do with this extra $10. Actually, he didn't even give me the 5 cents. I was so mad that they messed up like this though. Now I need to make a trip to the bank to put this $10 back in. I was getting cash back to give Joe some cash so he could get himself a little gas in his car so I went to give him the money and tell him of these people. He told me to go to the store manager. I wasn't going to, but on my way out I figured I'd better let them know. Well, he said all they could do was take my check out and rering the whole order. He told me that the check will go through as what I had written and not what was printed on the back of the check. So in actuality this kids drawer was going to be $10 short (or really $9.95 short). I asked him then how do I give this money back? And what if the check goes through as what was stamped on the back? He told me to keep the $10. All they could do now to correct it was to rering it and have me write another check. I didn't want to take the time to do that and he pretty much told me to keep the money for the trouble they put me through. Hmmmm, well I guess at least I tried to give the money back and do the right thing in front of my children. It was all very frustrating though. The head cashier should have had the order rerung to correct the mistake that was made by their cashier, but instead she didn't want to do the work so just said there was nothing that they could do to correct the mistake. Hard to believe that they wouldn't want to fix it though since they are going to loose money in this situation. I guess I sort of made out in the deal.

When I came home this afternoon my landlord asked me if anyone had gone through my car in the past few days. Hmmmm, nope not that I know of, but I did have a flat tire the other day. Apparently the other tenants had their car rummaged through and our landlord thinks it's the next door neighbors who did it. Okay, mental note, keep my car doors locked at all times.

Lots of strange events. Thankfully the day is almost over. Uh oh baby is crying, guess it's time to wrap this up.

When it Rains it Pours

So last week Joe's car seemed to be leaking anti freeze. We were worried that it was going to be a costly repair. Joe added more anti freeze though and so far all seems good. We're hoping it holds out. Then this weekend he started not feeling well. Saturday night we thought he had strep. We were going to take him to the hospital, but he didn't want to miss work because if he didn't go in Sunday then he'd loose his holiday pay. His sore throat did get better, but he has a really bad cold it seems. He's afraid he might have pneumonia again. He's been running a fever since Saturday. But still he's been toughing it out and going to work. He got up this morning prepared to go to his morning job. I slept on the couch last night and kept the baby in the living room with me so he could get some sleep hopefully in the bed. So 4:30 this morning he wakes me up and tells me my car has a flat tire!!! Ugh, we just bought these tires back in February. I don't remember driving over anything that would cause it to be flat. So Joe called out of his morning job because he doesn't get home early enough for Natalie to go to school and he didn't want to change the tire in the dark. He is now bringing Natalie to school for me. He's still running a fever. I think we might be taking him to the doctor today. Although, if he doesn't go to work today then he also could loose his holiday pay. I just hope he hasn't been making things worse for himself by continuing to work like this. I guess it's up to the store manager if he gets his holiday pay or not if he calls out. I would assume that the man would kind of have to have a heart. I mean he's gone to work the past two days sick as a dog for the man. No one else would do that. So I just hope he takes care of this and gets better soon. Hopefully his car doesn't start leaking anti freeze again and cost us an arm and a leg to fix. Hopefully my flat tire isn't caused by something that I ran over and the warranty will cover it.

Forestville Memorial Day Parade

We went to the Memorial Day parade today. Natalie and Kaitlyn were both in it. The schools art teacher was this years Teacher of the Year so she invited all the children who did well in the PAWS program to be in the parade with her. The PAWS program is an incentive that is done at the school where the kids are given "paws" if an adult in the building catches them doing something to be considering Playing fair, Acting kind, Working hard, or Showing respect. Each grade level has to collect a certain number of "paws" to get their picture on the board and then earn a "P", "A", "W", and "S". Natalie and Kaitlyn have both earned their "W". This means that Kaitlyn has been caught 12 times doing something to earn her a "paw" and Natalie being older has earned 20 "paws". So they were on a horse drawn wagon with other O'Connell School students and their Teacher of the Year. Unfortunately when they went by me at the parade they were on the opposite side of the wagon from where I was sitting. I did get a picture of them though at the end of the parade on the wagon though. They had a great time. CJ did pretty good with all the noise too of the parade. He got a flag which he refused to let go of for most of the day. So here are a few pictures of our Memorial Day parade. It was a beautiful day for a parade.

Memorial Day 2008

Memorial Day is generally viewed as the kick off to summer. We have parades and BBQs and fireworks. Fun in the sun for everyone. But lets not forget what today is all about. Remembering those who have fallen to give us those freedoms we take for granted. So while you're spending time with your family today enjoying the sun and the parades and the picnics and the fireworks remember those lives that were lost so you could do all of this with your family today. Don't forget those who are still overseas fighting for freedom. Thank a soldier today for all they have done! Thank you soldiers and your families for making such a great sacrifice for our country!

Memorial Day
by Michelle R. Christman

As we stand here looking
At the flags upon these graves
Know these flags represent
A few of the true American brave

They fought for their Country
As man has through all of time
Except that these soldiers lying here
Fought for your country and mine

As we all are gathered here
To pay them our respect
Let's pass this word to others
It's what they would expect

I'm sure that they would do it
If it were me or you
To show we did not die in vein
But for the red, white and blue.

Let's pass on to our children
And to those who never knew
What these soldiers died for
It's the least we can do

Let's not forget their families
Great pain they had to bear
Losing a son, father or husband
They need to know we still care

No matter which war was fought
On the day that they died
I stand here looking at these flags
Filled with American pride.

So as the bugler plays out Taps
With its sweet and eerie sound
Pray for these soldiers lying here
In this sacred, hallowed ground.

Take home with you a sense of pride
You were here Memorial Day.
Celebrating the way Americans should
On this solemnest of days.

Lake Compounce

Yesterday we made our first visit of the season to the local amusement park Lake Compounce. We had a great time as usual. There were lots of new rides this year. We missed going last year due to my pregnancy so it was nice to get to see all of the changes from last year and this year. Still plenty of the old favorites though. This was CJ's first visit to an amusement park. He did pretty good with it. We even got him on the carousel and the train. He didn't know what to make of the carousel at first, but then started crying while we were on it. I think the music was just too loud for him though. Next time we won't put him on one of the inside horses I think. Maybe that will make it a little better for him. But here are some pictures of our trip to Lake Compounce yesterday.

It's Not a Tumor!

Whenever I hear that phrase I think of Arnold Schwartzeneger in Kindergarten Cop. Never before have these words been so great to hear. Spencer is tumor free. He has a severe sinus infection and fluid in his ear, but IT'S NOT A TUMOR. So we're all breathing a huge sigh of relief that Spencer's turned inward eye and now stuttering are not because of a tumor. Right now he will get treated for the sinus infection and fluid on his ears and then next week more exploring will be done into the reason for these sudden changes in him. Hopefully whatever tests he's in for next give some answers. I will keep everyone posted on how he's doing, but continued prayers and good thoughts are most definitely in order for this wonderful 4 1/2 year old little boy. Thank you all so much!

SIX Things you KNOW you Wanted to KNOW About Me!

Oh no, I have been tagged by Erin thanks Erin to tell you six things you don't know about me. Gosh this is going to be tough. I feel like I'm an open book. But okay, I'll give it a shot. Hopefully I come up with some interesting facts about me for you.

1. Joe was the one who talked me into having every single one of our children. I know usually it's the woman who wants more kids, but I was never ready as early as Joe was. I honestly thought I was done after having Kaitlyn. That's probably why there are 5 years between them. I am 99.9% positive that CJ is our last though. I think Joe would keep having more and he jokes about giving CJ a little brother, but I don't think my body could handle another pregnancy.

2. I miss college terribly. Not the school work, but the campus that I was at and the friends that I had made. I would love to go back to that time in my life when I didn't have so many responsibilities. Not that I don't love being a mother most of the time, but it's just a point in my life that I remember very fondly. That and Senior year of high school. Good times, good times!

3. I'm a very strict parent. Behind closed doors mostly anyways. Many people ask me how my children are so well behaved and aren't running all over the place and I believe it's because of the wrath they know they'll get at home if they don't stay in line. I do not beat my children, but they are very clear on what I expect from them and if it doesn't get done I have no problem taking everything and I do mean everything away from them. As a matter of fact if it weren't for Joe the kids might have just a bed in their rooms right now.

4. I am a girl scout leader who hates camping. I've never liked it. My idea of a vacation certainly isn't out doors with a campfire. I like a cozy bed way too much. So even the thought of an indoor camping experience is really not my cup of tea.

5. I still don't know what I want to be when I "grow up". I'm probably already doing the perfect thing for me being a wife and a mom. But some days I want to be a teacher, others a child psychiatrist, others a party planner, others a bake shop owner, and even others a web page designer. I could never handle the business end of party planning, running a bake shop, or a web page designer because I'm awful at collecting money. I also don't think I actually have the patience to deal with other people's children all day. So when all of my kids are in school all day who knows what I will do. I'm not sure that I'll ever know.

6. The last thing you know you wanted to know about me is I am a professional clown. When I was 15 I was given all the stuff to become a clown. I was the youngest person ever to join COAI (Clowns of America International) and also the youngest to join my local Clown Alley. Yes, clowns have organizations. Yes, I know how to make balloon animals. Yes, I do birthday parties. They are not my favorite thing to do. I don't get to put my costume and makeup on as often as pre-kids, but at a very young age my children have watched me put the whole get up on and seen the whole process to transform into "Sparkles the Clown". And probably the most ironic thing about me being a professional clown is as a child I was actually afraid of clowns. So to all you parents out there with a child who is afraid of clowns it probably won't last forever and who knows someday they too might become a clown. Just what you've always dreamed of for your child.

Okay Erin, are you happy? Now you know 6 more things about me that you probably never knew about me before. I suppose I'm supposed to tag someone now. I'm afraid I don't have a very large reader base. The only one I can think of to tag is Renee. Although, I seem to recall her possibly doing something like this recently. But perhaps she can share 6 more things we know we want to know about her with the blog world.

Spencer Update

Remember our good family friend Spencer? I asked for prayers for him last week. He went in today for his MRI. All went well. He was sedated for it, but woke up from sedation fine. Unfortunately, his parents have no answers yet. So not too much to update you with other than he had the test done and he's home now. He was not a happy camper when I saw him this morning. I think he might have been feeling a little jealous that I was there to take his little sister for the day and to go to playgroup. He was also grouchy that he didn't get to eat I suppose. His sister Mia and I didn't forget about him though. At playgroup Mia planted a green bean seed for him which was the craft that everyone had done today. And this afternoon I brought Mia with me to Walmart to pick out a book for him. She instantly chose something for herself, but I was able to direct her to a book that Spencer would like. So she brought home a new "Cars" book for him. Hopefully he enjoys it. And most importantly hopefully he gets a good report from this MRI next week. So prayers are still needed as we don't know what's going on with him yet.

Girl Scout Sleepover on Hold

Well, seems that I didn't have all of my ducks in a row for this sleepover. Who would have thought that for parents to come with their own daughters on a sleepover they needed to have background checks? So the sleepover at the aquarium which I had scheduled for Friday night has to be put on hold until I can get all of the parents registered and background checks done on them.

I felt so bad having to tell the girls last night that we couldn't go. They were so looking forward to this. I have spoken to the aquarium though and they were very understanding about it. They have other dates in the future. One was in July, but it's a boy/girl sleepover which I'm not going to be able to get approval on. The other is in September. That should give me plenty of time to get everything all set up and this way maybe we'll get to have more of the girls come since a lot of them couldn't make it due to the Memorial Day weekend.

I'm still having trouble with a couple of parents though. The Service Unit manager and Membership Marketing manager have told me that I am right that the money is for the troop and not an individual girl. So I am not to give them something which would be unfair to the other girls. Now that we have to change the date and given how far in the future it is we shouldn't have too many saying they can't make it since they'll be able to save the date. I imagine that these parents have no intention of bringing their daughters to this though so they'll probably continue to request what they feel is their fair share. At least now I can put this on the Service Unit manager and Membership Marketing manager though. One of these parents has already told me that once she gets her daughter's "fair share" they'll be done with Girl Scouts at least as far as my troop is concerned. It's a shame that it had to come down to this with these parents being so selfish though.

My co-leader and I have been discussing whether or not we want to continue doing Girl Scouts next year. Both of us feel if we don't have to deal with these two parents then we could keep it going. I guess we'll have to see. We had an ice cream social last night with our troop and the others in town and we really had a nice group of girls. They were mellow and got along great and no fighting or she did this and she did that to me. The girls who weren't there were all the ones who are in this little click together. There are 5 girls that when they get together (three of them belong to these two parents who have been troublesome) are just awful to each other. They are fine when they aren't all there and I can handle a few of these girls in this little click when the rest aren't there. Our troop all around I think would be so much better without all of that drama. I was sure that I wasn't going to do Girl Scouts next year, but now I am definitely reconsidering.

CJ's 6 month checkup

Today we had CJ's 6 month check up. He now weighs 15 pounds 10 ounces. Although, originally when he was weighed it was 16 pounds, but when the doctor came in and found out the nurse didn't have him weighed in just his diaper he was reweighed. Can you believe that? His clothes actually weighed 6 ounces. Go figure. Anyways, he's 25 1/4 inches long so he's short. I forget what his head circumference was. Whatever it was it was good. He's got a big head. I know it was up in the 75th %tile while everything else was around the 10th %tile.

I forget if I've mentioned on here or not, but there is no blood in CJ's stool. So the doctor has him on reflux meds. He seems to be doing okay on that. I think his appetite is up a little more and he's back to sleeping through the night again. The doctor says we'll keep him on the 24 calorie formula. I asked her how long and she seemed to imply that once he's a year he would obviously be off the formula, but then he might need to be on pediasure to keep putting the calories on. She says he's doing good though. A nice steady growth. She's happy to hear that he qualifies for Birth to Three. She thinks all kids could benefit from that program, but of course they can only take those with the greatest need.

His iron level is good. His eyes are good and everything else is looking great with him. He got his first lollipop today. The nurse gave it to him when she pricked his finger. He sure did enjoy that. And he got three shots today. Poor little guy. All shots he's had before though. He has been a lot more fussy than in the past, but the old doctor gave him Tylenol before giving him the shots. This doctor doesn't do that, but she has the cutest way of giving shots. She's got this toy that dances and plays music and has the nurse blow bubbles. She gives the shots 1-2-3 and then picks him up and jiggles him and shows him the bubbles. He hardly cried. Has me wondering how she'll do it for the older two. Except neither one of them need any shots for a while. So I guess I won't be finding out.

We go back in another month or so to check his weight and see how he's doing on the Axid. Other than that though there's not too much to say. He's doing good. He's had a rough time with his shots this time, but that's to be expected. He finally crashed tonight after I had left the house to bring the girls to Girl Scouts at 6. This is how I found him when I came home...

Awwww, he's so sweet. Poor kid was so tuckered out from crying most of the afternoon and evening. Hopefully he feels better tomorrow and sleeps well tonight. I think next time I might just give him some Tylenol before going to the doctor though because by the time we gave him a dose it didn't really seem to help him much. I felt so bad for him. I'm relieved to see him restful now though. I felt so helpless before that.

Prayers needed

Spencer

This is our good family friend Spencer. He is in need of some positive thoughts and prayers. A week and a half ago he had pink eye. A few days after being on the medication his mom noticed that he was shutting his eye to watch TV. So she asked him if his eye was bothering him. He said, "No mommy I just see 2." So his mom called him over to her to see. When she looked she noticed that his left eye was turned in a little. So she called the doctor.

The doctor thought it was the pink eye medication so changed him to amoxicyllin and took him off of the drops. Well, the next day it was worse. His eye was turned in 90 degrees. So on Monday his mom brought him back to the doctor. He sent him to an eye doctor. The eye doctor tested his eyes and couldn't find anything wrong. He thinks it's neurological because it came on so suddenly. And being that he's 4 1/2 now a lazy eye would have shown up when he was around 1 or 2. The muscles in the eye are fine.

So now Spencer needs to go for an MRI. They finally got a date for the MRI. Only took two days to get that set up and it's not until next Wednesday morning. And in the meantime we're all worried about what could be going on. His mom keeps thinking it's a tumor. It's so scary thinking there's something wrong with the brain. So please pray that it's nothing and whatever is causing his eye to turn in is easily fixed.

Happy Mother's Day!

Here's to all you moms out there!

"Mommy, Mama, Mother." These are all some of the names I've been called over the past 9 years or so and last night there was a new one. I'm Aa-Ma according to CJ! Awwwww, what an awesome Mother's Day present for a mom. My last child and my only boy said his first word Aa-Ma. Okay, I know it was probably a mistake. I mean I've only been telling him to say mama over and over again for the past 6 months. He was bound to say it eventually. Or some form of it eventually. He looked right at me after about the 15th time of me repeating mama and just said it with the most adoring little smile on his face. What mom wouldn't melt over that?

Then this morning the older two were so sweet. They quietly came out of their rooms arms full of little presents they had made for me at school and even here at home. Kaitlyn made a book about me and gave me a flower with a beautiful poem on it. I also get to make my own bracelet. Natalie gave me a butterfly card which says I'm Fling Fun inside (it's supposed to say flying fun, but she forgot the y). Awwww, she was so upset, but hey I like that I'm Fling Fun! Natalie made me a watch. Yes, it's way too big for me so I told her I'd hang it up on my rear view mirror in my car. All things to treasure forever.

Right now they are making me peanut butter toast for breakfast. I think they actually looked forward to today more than I have. Seems like just another Sunday. Joe's at work and I'm home with the kids. There's still laundry to be done and dishes to be washed. Diapers to change and mouths to feed. Still, it's nice to see the excitement in my little ones faces as they've handed me all of the treasures they have made. The adoration in my little boys eyes when he sees me walk in the room. Motherhood truly is the toughest job you'll ever love. I feel so blessed to be a mom to 3 such wonderful kids even on the days when they make me want to pull out my hair!

We got a Wii!

So for months now we've been looking for a Wii. Yesterday Joe was calling all around to find one. Everyone was saying we have none or our shipment hasn't come in yet. Finally Joe called one of the Walmarts in the area and they had ONE left. Joe asked the guy to save it and said we'd be there in half an hour to get it. He told him okay, but if you're not here in 30 minutes I'm selling it. This was 11:30 yesterday morning that we finally found one and Kaitlyn is supposed to be at school at 12. It takes about 20 minutes to get to this Walmart. So needless to say Kaitlyn was late for school yesterday so we could get the Wii. We ran there quickly and we got it! So two days before Mother's Day we buy Joe's Father's Day present. Hmmmm, doesn't seem quite fair, does it? At least now he can stop bugging me about this stupid thing. Of course I swear I'm going to get hit in the head with the controller when Joe is playing the thing. I guess at least it's getting the kids up and active. Natalie was playing boxing today and she actually broke out in a sweat. She was pretty tired from it too.

So what am I getting for Mother's Day you ask? I'm supposed to be getting a family portrait done by a professional photographer. Just don't know when that's going to happen yet.

Oh and Kaitlyn was 15 minutes late for school yesterday. No, I did not put her reason for being late was we had to get a Wii. I did think about it though. It's a good thing that she didn't end up having her field trip yesterday because of rain though.

It's parents like these...

that make people not want to volunteer for things. As most of my readers know I am the girl scout leader at my girls school. I have been doing this for three years now. This is my 2nd year as a Brownie leader being able to do cookie sales. Last year I seemed to have a nice bunch. We had a good group of girls who got along and while not many parents wanted to help out they were all pretty good about doing what I asked of them and not complaining.

This year couldn't be more different. Most of the girls are the same from last year, but for some reason they are a much harder group. They bicker about every little thing and they have even gotten to pushing and hitting each other. I have discussed it with the girls about Girl Scout behavior. I have discussed it with the parents about how difficult they are. On both ends it's like talking to a brick wall.

But wait, it gets worse. Last year we ended the year with a nice family BBQ with cute little bags for the girls with little prizes in it and the try its that they earned for the year. We didn't do anything big with the money they had earned because I was pregnant and had a high risk pregnancy. And because of that and when CJ was born I didn't end up starting up the troop until January unlike the usual October. Normally we met last year every other week so this year to make up for that lost time I told them we could meet every week instead. So that's what we've been doing. But there are two mothers of some of the girls from last year who were very upset that we didn't do a big trip over the summer with the cookie money the girls earned. Now keeping in mind that these girls were not huge sellers by any means. One of them did a decent job, but she wasn't the top seller. So these two mothers have been fighting with me about the fair thing to do with the cookie money from last year. I told them I wanted to combine it with this years money and do a really big trip. Well, that wasn't fair to them because there are girls who weren't in the troop last year. Okay, well how do they think they would feel if I did something for some of the girls, but not the others. And they are telling me well they'll just have to understand that these girls earned that money last year. They wanted a gift card for their girls. So I offered a gift card from Toys R Us, but they said no they wanted Walmart because then the girls can get toys, or clothes, or food if they want. What? Shouldn't the parents buy them food? I didn't like the sounds of that.

So I told the parents well since it's the girls who earned the money lets see what they want to do. So I had the girls vote on if they wanted to combine this year and last years money and do a big trip or if they wanted to get a gift card with last years money and then do something separate with this years money. Well, all of the girls wanted to combine the money and most of them chose that they wanted to do an overnight at an aquarium. Okay, so problem solved, right? Wrong.

So I've got the overnight all set. It's coming up two weeks from now. I'm trying to get a final head count on this so I can pay. Now these two mothers are complaining because it's Memorial Day weekend and their daughters can't go. So they wanted to know if they could get something for their girls in place of that. So being the nice person I am I offered them a day pass to the aquarium. Nope, that's not what they want. They want me to buy their daughter's season passes to a local amusement park. Ummmm, that's not how this works. The money is for the troop not for individual girls.

Now the even bigger kicker is that none of these parents have paid dues for this year. So when one of the mothers was complaining that the stuff the girls are doing isn't like what other troops are doing and the things they make go in the garbage and they want more I said well I can't do these things without people paying their dues. Well, this one mother informs me that she won't be paying dues this year. So I told her well without the dues the girls can't do all their activities and get their try its and have snack at our meetings every week. They don't feel they've gotten their "fair" share here. I've offered them things to try to make them happy, but if it's not exactly what they want they are telling me they aren't getting their fair share. This is crazy. This one mom I was talking to today told me that she was going to the Service Unit manager with this. I told her to go ahead. I said I'm sorry you don't feel that I've been doing a good enough job. Maybe you would like to have your own troop. She told me she's taking this over my head and it's going to escalate and I said fine go ahead. Then there was silence. She must have thought I hung up on her because I heard her say what a bitch and then hang up. No wonder her daughter acts the way she does.

So thanks to these parents next year I will not be a Girl Scout leader. There will probably be no troop next year of girl scouts at the school for the girls because I don't see any of these parents volunteering to do this. This is just sad that these parents have to act like this and ruin things for everyone else. I feel that I've been more than generous. I had no intention originally of offering anything to those who couldn't come and was just going to plan another trip based on how much money we had left over. But since they asked I figured I would be nice and offer the day passes to the aquarium, but they said no to that. Are you kidding me? It's not like you are paying for this or have paid a single thing this year. Why do they think they are entitled to things? Why can't they realize that this is not what girl scouts is all about? They are crazy! It's like they want something for nothing. I'm thinking since they are so concerned about exactly what money their girls raised I should figure out exactly what their girls raised and then subtract their dues and everything else I've ended up getting for them already from that and telling them this is what your daughter has left of the money she earned for the troop. I figure for one of them she's actually going to end up owing money to the troop. I'm not too sure that they want me to figure out what exactly their daughters are entitled to based on what individually they earned.

A long Wednesday

Well, Wednesdays are usually long, but today seemed especially long for me. This morning I took Kaitlyn on a field trip to the Stanley Whitman museum in Farmington with the FRC. It was very interesting seeing the toys from the 18th century and a house. If you ask Kaitlyn what she learned today she'll tell you that people went potty in a pot. Ewwwww, but she's right. At night instead of going out to the out house in the cold winter they had a pot under the bed that they would use to go to the bathroom. And in the morning the little girls in the house were the ones who had to empty that. Ewwww, just another reason why I'm glad for technology.

After the field trip I stopped at the pediatrician's office to drop off CJ's stool sample. I planned on just leaving it and running, but the doctor asked me to wait. They tested it right then and there and good news there is no blood in his stool. So he's handling the milk okay. So now we are trying reflux medication. She wrote him a prescription for Axid which he is to take twice a day. It's going to take a few weeks to see if it's working she said.

I ran out of the doctor's office and drove Kaitlyn to school. Dropped her off and went to leave to go get CJ so I could take him with me to babysit like I do every Wednesday. Joe had to be at work at 2 and I usually don't get back until about 2 so I couldn't leave CJ with him. As I was pulling out of the parking lot I got stopped by one of the grandparents in Kaitlyn's class. Now mind you she was outside with me waiting for the teacher to come out and didn't take that time to talk to me. I'm literally in my car and backed out of the parking spot on my way out and she stops me to talk about something PTA related from LAST year. Really? You need to stop me for this? Last year she had purchased some of the shirts for the kids for field day. She was to be reimbursed by the PTA for what she spent. Now the way I understand it she did receive a check for the shirts, but she had gotten bank fees because it took too long to reach last years officers to receive a check. And she apparently wants us to pay for her bank fees. She says she got the bank to knock off half the cost, but it's $175 still she wants us to pay. Ummmm, we're going to need proof of this. But in all honesty I'm feeling like we owe her nothing because it's her fault that she put out money that she didn't have. That's an awful lot of bank fees. This isn't the first time she brought this up. I had gotten a note from her back in October and called her back and left a message, but she never called back. It's been a year now. Isn't there going to be a point in time when you just have to kind of write it off? Plus, she wants to be reimbursed for an Avon fundraiser order from LAST year because she couldn't collect the money from someone who had purchased stuff from her. Ummmm, again how is this our problem? The orders were to be paid for in advance so it was her responsibility to collect from these people. If she didn't then that's her problem. Plus it's been over a year. Seems to me that she needs some money so now she's trying to get it wherever she can. I told her I needed to discuss this with my other officers. I didn't have time to get into it with her. But I guess she has spoken to the principal already and he's telling her we'll pay her. Okay, seriously too many cooks in the kitchen here. He has no right telling people how the PTA is going to spend the money that we raise. Does he really want us to take away from the students to pay for someone else's mistakes? I can't justify these expenses. I don't know what last years officers told this person about reimbursing for the t-shirts, but I'm sure they didn't tell her to over draw her account to buy them.

So after listening to her complain about all of this stuff I told her I'd look into it and get back to her and then left. Ran home and grabbed CJ and went to babysit. Babysat for an hour and then went to pick up CJ's prescription. Got to come home after that for 10 minutes before I had to go back out and pick up the girls from school. Got the girls, came home, fed CJ, and put him down for a nap. Then finally I got a chance to eat something. Oh yeah it was 4 p.m. and I hadn't eaten all day long. Geee, who would have thought I needed to eat too?

I was beat and so didn't want to cook dinner tonight. Joe was working late so wouldn't be eating with us so bad mommy took the girls to McDonald's for an oh so healthy dinner. I desperately need to do some laundry. I have another long day to come tomorrow too. I can't wait for Saturday to get here. Maybe then I'll finally get a chance to relax a little.

I was called to help

A friend of mine asked me to put my name on the National Bone Marrow Donor list. Her almost 4 year old daughter is currently in remission from Cancer. We are hoping it remains that way. In this Cancer Sucks Journey though she has come across many young children who have been suffering and dying far too young. Sadly for some there is no help out there, but some have a last hope of a bone marrow transplant, but only if people sign up to be donors. The National Marrow Donor is offering free kits to the first 10,000 people who register online between May 5 and May 19, 2008 as a way to say "Thanks mom for giving me life". What better way to thank mom for life than by giving someone another chance at life. So go sign up to give life here. It only takes a minute. And it's so simple to be tested. Just a few swabs of the inside of your cheek to get you on the marrow donor registry.

And please go read about my friend's daughter who is in remission as they go through other trials. She's an amazing mom and has been an inspiration to me for a very long time. So please read what my friend has to say about her Special K's. I promise you she has a great story to share. Help her in her quest to Give Life by donating your bone marrow.

Happy 6 Month Birthday CJ

Six months already for my last baby. Where did that half a year go? Feels like you're still in my belly. Feels like it's Halloween, the night before I went to the hospital to have you. And yet here you are. Cooing over me as I read a paper to daddy that your big sister brought home from school today. Stopping your chatter every time I stop reading. What is going on in that head of yours? Are you reading along with me?

You've made it over 15 pounds finally. Who would have thought after your two huge sisters that weight gain would have been such a struggle for you? Certainly not me. It has been a challenge getting to where we are, but I think finally we are headed in the right direction. You have been such a trooper through all of this though and always with a smile on your face as doctors and nurses poke and prod at you. What a little flirt you are. You melt the hearts of many a lady. You've already got about a dozen girlfriends all way older than you. I don't think mommy is going to handle sharing you too well with other women. You are my baby boy and I love you with all of my heart. You have been a great final addition to our family. I've waited to have my little CJ for a very long time and you are finally here and more than I could have ever asked for. I am blessed to have had these six months with you and I look forward to what the next six months with you are going to bring.

Happy half year birthday my baby boy!

Our New Pediatrician

I was going to make this a part of CJ's Happy 6 months post because he is 6 months old today, but I haven't gotten around to taking a picture of him yet to share and I really wanted to share this.

I love CJ's new Pediatrician! I love CJ's new Pediatrician's office! I love CJ's new Pediatrician's office staff! Our appointment was a 10:00. We were called back within five minutes and the nurse was so nice. She weighed him and he's now up to 15 pounds 3 ounces. That's an 8 ounce weight gain in nearly 2 weeks. She got us settled in this beautiful bright room filled with toys which Kaitlyn had a blast with. She told us the doctor had an emergency this morning and was a little behind, but she should be in soon. Okay, right there at every other doctor's office I've ever been to I've gotten the generic the doctor will be right with you and then an hour later you're pacing the floors. And then within 5 minutes the doctor was in there. And this is running a little behind? We hardly waited at all! That's awesome.

So the doctor sits down and tells me to tell her all about CJ. Well, where do I begin? We started with why we were there. I explained all of my concerns about his slow weight gain and all the stuff we've been through with him. Told all about his birth and how he had sugar problems and temp problems and then jaundice problems in the hospital. And she listened and wrote everything down.

We have a plan of action! We're not just waiting and seeing. The doctor first wants to find out if CJ is tolerating the milk okay. So we have to bring her some stool. She's concerned that his stool is green. So I have to drop off some stool to the office one of these days. Then if everything is fine there the doctor would like to try putting CJ on some Zantac or something because she believes he has reflux. If that still doesn't work then if we want she'll send us to GI which she says she has no problem with. She asked if this all sounded okay to us? She's asking for our approval! She's not accusing us of anything! We're not starving our baby! She said he's getting enough calories! She's awesome! We even got a prescription for Nistatin for a little diaper rash he has. Kaitlyn left happy with two Tinker Bell stickers. I left happy that my concerns were being either explained or validated with a plan of action. I am just so happy that something is finally being done. We're not just shrugging our shoulders and saying well I don't know what could be wrong, but things seem to be improving even though he's coughing and having a hard time breathing all the time. I really feel good about all of this. Hopefully we'll figure out the problem quickly and CJ will not have to suffer anymore. Things are beginning to look up and I really like that.