It's beginning to sound a lot like Christmas around here. Fighting, bickering, screaming, deal making and chaos. I don't think I like Christmas, in fact I know I don't, as much as I once did. Five children equals five active volcano's. Oh sure they simmer and smoke quietly until we get down to the last two weeks. Then they explode, spewing chaos everywhere. School is never done around here, we have lessons in everything we do. Right now I am learning about peace talks. They on the other hand are practicing open warfare.
Andrew is trying but still blows steam and spews nonsense. He is now 15 and calming down. He can however be goaded into and argument by Evan or Emma quickly. I have noticed how as Andrew has gotten older his gifts have gotten smaller but more expensive. He will be 16 by next Christmas, I have already told him not to expect a car. Well that's not entirely true, he will get his usual Matchbox car, a family tradition.
Evan is not trying anything but my patience. He forgets his chores mid chore. Argues, with everyone including the dogs it seems. Evan is 12, oh yes the joy of puberty has come to roost here again. Evan is harder to shop for, he is a tween. Still loves to play with toys but more interested in older kids stuff, video games, mp3 players and such.
Caleb, well Caleb is something. He has been trying, and getting better at social interaction. I saw a shirt that was perfect for him the other day, it said "Dear Santa, I was framed.". Caleb is 10, no signs up puberty, but plenty of defiance. Caleb has never been easy to shop for, he will not say what he wants. Santa has never been big with Caleb so no finding out that way. We know he loves Lego's, and any building toys. He also loves chemistry sets and chess boards.
Emma is all about the argument and drama. Should an argument break out mid chore she is very happy. A dramatic moment can be had, she storms up the stairs crying loudly and yelling "Thats it, I am going to my room I am not doing my chores.". This never works but she tries anyhow. Emma is 8 and very sweet most of the time. Emma is still easy to shop for and happy with pretty much anything you give her.
Kate is just Kate. She will fight with anyone in a heartbeat. She tries to help out and do her chores. She sings and dances one minute and slugs and kicks the next. She is our "Katie Kaboom" for good reason. Katie is 5 and enjoying every minute of it. Katie wants a bike this year, that's it that's all, a bike. I have a feeling this will be the only easy year with her.
The closer we get to the big day the more tension mounts. The kids have tried. The pressure seems to be too much. It is cold outside, well cold for Vegas, the kids don't want to go out as much. The tree is too much of a temptation, must move the ornaments around, crawl behind it or under it. This has been a long year and this is the big moment before its done. We have in-laws to dine with Christmas eve then our home for Christmas day.
Now I must go upstairs and finish folding laundry, figure out how to mop the floors and keep kids off of them. Check and make sure the tree is not crooked again. I hope we make it to the big day without a massive blow up, the tree still standing and my sanity at least somewhat on this side of reality.
Monday, December 17, 2007
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Happy Thanksgiving
Happy Thanksgiving to all. We will be spending this day at home and enjoying a meal later in the evening. Mark works today so dinner will be around 7:00 P.M.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
A sister lost - Never forgotten
I really don't like this daylight savings thing. It leaves me dragging, I don't stay motivated and am more distracted. I don't like it getting dark earlier, it makes me want to sleep more. I was going around the house gathering towels to wash, not moving with the speed I normally would. I walked into my bathroom to gather towels , I looked up on a shelf and noticed a box. I dropped my armful of towels on the floor and took the box down. I looked inside the box, it was full of letters and cards from my parents house. I walked into my bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed, oh well the towels can wait a bit longer.
I pulled the letters out, some were from my paternal grandfather. These were from when my grandmother had been diagnosed with cancer to her death. I never knew a lot of things about this. I live in a don't ask because we won't tell family. I learned a few things I had never known. One of which is the strength my grandparents had during this time. I set these aside. I found a card from my brother, he is estranged from the family. The card was to our mother, signed Love Lewis. I set that one aside.
I came across a sympathy card. I couldn't remember who had died. I then pulled more out, all sympathy cards, then one caught my eye. One of sympathy a the loss of a child. At first I could not recall a child being last in the 1980's then it hit me. My sister, Linda. Every emotion of the day she passed hit me at once like a giant wave. She was young, in her 40's, she had a brain aneurysm. She left behind a husband and three teenage children.
I then remembered just a few months before she passed, our last visit with just the two of us. I was living in Reno at the time. I was going through some things and she called one day and said she was coming up. We spent a week together, it was great. We got to talk about everything. We hit every second hand shop and antique shop in the Reno area. She was an antique nut and I learned a few things from her. I remembered having some cheese and crackers with a nice glass of wine on the back patio. Watching the birds hit the bird feeders that hung under the grape arbor. We talked about her kids and what she hoped for each of them. We talked about our future, we also talked about death. A very odd subject for Linda. We talked about what I had been going through, it was a tough time for me. She told me not to let "these" people get me down, that I was better than that. We talked about her problems with "these" people and the don't ask we won't tell policy our family had. I learned her husband and children were her world and that was great.
Linda was born premature in 1947, she was the youngest premie to survive in Orange, Texas at that time. Linda was my confidant, although she was 17 when I was born I could tell her anything. She never judged and never told. When I moved from Kindergarten to first grade she bought me a Barbie tent, I still have that little red and blue tent. She was forgiving of any arguments in the family. She loved to have holiday dinners at her house. She was a great cook. She also loved to garden. She made these sweaters, that were knitted on a machine with angora woven in. I still have mine and my mothers. I keep them in a safe place so they will stay in one piece. We drove back to Las Vegas from Reno. We drove at night, she told me to be careful and if any rabbits got in the way not to swerve and get us killed. She said she wanted to get home alive, that she hadn't seen her husband in a week. She also told me I would learn when I was in my forties that sex was important to a woman in her forties. That totally cracked me up then, now I understand what she was saying. I am so glad we had that time together. I will remember it always.
I miss her to this very day. She has grandchildren now. I know she would love that so much. She told me she was looking forward to the day she had grandchildren to spoil. Her kids are grown and I hope happy adults and they are wonderful parents. I hope each of them remembers to spend some special time with each other because you just never know. I think I will plant some morning glories to remind me of her. I know just the spot.
Maybe daylight savings time has one good point. It slows us down enough to take a walk down memory lane.
I pulled the letters out, some were from my paternal grandfather. These were from when my grandmother had been diagnosed with cancer to her death. I never knew a lot of things about this. I live in a don't ask because we won't tell family. I learned a few things I had never known. One of which is the strength my grandparents had during this time. I set these aside. I found a card from my brother, he is estranged from the family. The card was to our mother, signed Love Lewis. I set that one aside.
I came across a sympathy card. I couldn't remember who had died. I then pulled more out, all sympathy cards, then one caught my eye. One of sympathy a the loss of a child. At first I could not recall a child being last in the 1980's then it hit me. My sister, Linda. Every emotion of the day she passed hit me at once like a giant wave. She was young, in her 40's, she had a brain aneurysm. She left behind a husband and three teenage children.
I then remembered just a few months before she passed, our last visit with just the two of us. I was living in Reno at the time. I was going through some things and she called one day and said she was coming up. We spent a week together, it was great. We got to talk about everything. We hit every second hand shop and antique shop in the Reno area. She was an antique nut and I learned a few things from her. I remembered having some cheese and crackers with a nice glass of wine on the back patio. Watching the birds hit the bird feeders that hung under the grape arbor. We talked about her kids and what she hoped for each of them. We talked about our future, we also talked about death. A very odd subject for Linda. We talked about what I had been going through, it was a tough time for me. She told me not to let "these" people get me down, that I was better than that. We talked about her problems with "these" people and the don't ask we won't tell policy our family had. I learned her husband and children were her world and that was great.
Linda was born premature in 1947, she was the youngest premie to survive in Orange, Texas at that time. Linda was my confidant, although she was 17 when I was born I could tell her anything. She never judged and never told. When I moved from Kindergarten to first grade she bought me a Barbie tent, I still have that little red and blue tent. She was forgiving of any arguments in the family. She loved to have holiday dinners at her house. She was a great cook. She also loved to garden. She made these sweaters, that were knitted on a machine with angora woven in. I still have mine and my mothers. I keep them in a safe place so they will stay in one piece. We drove back to Las Vegas from Reno. We drove at night, she told me to be careful and if any rabbits got in the way not to swerve and get us killed. She said she wanted to get home alive, that she hadn't seen her husband in a week. She also told me I would learn when I was in my forties that sex was important to a woman in her forties. That totally cracked me up then, now I understand what she was saying. I am so glad we had that time together. I will remember it always.
I miss her to this very day. She has grandchildren now. I know she would love that so much. She told me she was looking forward to the day she had grandchildren to spoil. Her kids are grown and I hope happy adults and they are wonderful parents. I hope each of them remembers to spend some special time with each other because you just never know. I think I will plant some morning glories to remind me of her. I know just the spot.
Maybe daylight savings time has one good point. It slows us down enough to take a walk down memory lane.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Out with the old
I woke up this morning around 2:30 A.M. I knew something had woken me so I laid there until I could figure out what it was. Pop, pop, pop, this is what had awoken me. We had our bedroom window open and this sound was drifting in from across the valley. I realized what it was, I also realized my husband was now awake listening. I told him, they are imploding the Frontier. He asked if I knew why, I said oh you know "out with the old, in with the new".
I laid there and listened to this pop, pop, pop, for what seemed a long time. It was in fact only a few minutes. I could hear dogs from a great distance barking. I was amazed at how far the sound had traveled but even Vegas quiets down at some point. The pop, pop, pop ended and another sound followed. The building falling, it reminded me of a large animal laying down. I imagined what the dinosaurs sounded like as they laid down their death. Then the dogs stopped barking and everything got quiet. I felt a great sadness at this quiet, a deep loss.
I remember when the Desert Inn was imploded, and the Landmark and others. Always out with the old in with the new. This is sad in a way. No more of the Flamingo, the hotel Bugsy Sielgel purchased in the 1940's. The Sands, the Silver Slipper, hotels owned by the Late Howard Hughes are now also gone. The hotel and casinos that had some of the greatest performers are now gone. When Las Vegas celebrated its 150th birthday in 2005 they had a hard time finding memorabilia for it. Well no kidding, we get rid of all our old buildings, and things as fast as we can. I find this sad. This is not my Las Vegas anymore, I miss the old. I used to love when we drove past the Desert Inn, it had a huge golf course and was surrounded by trees. I always thought it would be a great place to play. A child sees everything as a chance to play. Out with the old in with the new.
I finally dozed off, but in my mind I started thinking of another question that has been asked a lot in our family.
North or South, go or stay.
I laid there and listened to this pop, pop, pop, for what seemed a long time. It was in fact only a few minutes. I could hear dogs from a great distance barking. I was amazed at how far the sound had traveled but even Vegas quiets down at some point. The pop, pop, pop ended and another sound followed. The building falling, it reminded me of a large animal laying down. I imagined what the dinosaurs sounded like as they laid down their death. Then the dogs stopped barking and everything got quiet. I felt a great sadness at this quiet, a deep loss.
I remember when the Desert Inn was imploded, and the Landmark and others. Always out with the old in with the new. This is sad in a way. No more of the Flamingo, the hotel Bugsy Sielgel purchased in the 1940's. The Sands, the Silver Slipper, hotels owned by the Late Howard Hughes are now also gone. The hotel and casinos that had some of the greatest performers are now gone. When Las Vegas celebrated its 150th birthday in 2005 they had a hard time finding memorabilia for it. Well no kidding, we get rid of all our old buildings, and things as fast as we can. I find this sad. This is not my Las Vegas anymore, I miss the old. I used to love when we drove past the Desert Inn, it had a huge golf course and was surrounded by trees. I always thought it would be a great place to play. A child sees everything as a chance to play. Out with the old in with the new.
I finally dozed off, but in my mind I started thinking of another question that has been asked a lot in our family.
North or South, go or stay.
Monday, October 15, 2007
What the?
What the heck is the problem with my kids and toilet paper? This morning Kate was in the bathroom. I hear the all too familiar yell for toilet paper. I was busy so I sent Emma up to get some for Kate. First Emma went upstairs and came down to ask what I had asked her to do. Then here comes Emma with the roll in her hand to put Pogo out to potty. Kate is still yelling. Emma finally gets it to her and I don't think about it again. Later I run up to my bathroom and there is no toilet paper in my bathroom. Emma had taken ours and given it to her sister.
Now understand something, toilet paper is in full stock in this house at all times. We have eight people living here and four bathrooms. I buy toilet paper in bulk. Retriever toilet paper is an easy task. All bathrooms house four rolls at a time. The paper is stored in an easy to reach area. Come in my front door and head straight you will cut through the living room and go into the kitchen, from there to the dining room, my dads bedroom and one bathroom. There is a huge walk in pantry where one supply of toilet paper is stored. Come in the front door head to the left and down there is the family room, another bathroom, laundry room and a bedroom. The downstairs bathroom has a supply storage area. You guessed it more toilet paper is stored here. Now come in the front door head left and up you have more bedrooms. At the end of the hall is a closet with six shelves, again toilet paper is stored here in the largest quantity. Easily reached toilet paper. Emma had gone to the end of that hall and turned left into my bedroom gone into my bathroom and removed all or our toilet paper. SHE PASSED THE STORAGE CLOSET TO DO THIS. I don't think I will every truly understand how children think.
Now understand something, toilet paper is in full stock in this house at all times. We have eight people living here and four bathrooms. I buy toilet paper in bulk. Retriever toilet paper is an easy task. All bathrooms house four rolls at a time. The paper is stored in an easy to reach area. Come in my front door and head straight you will cut through the living room and go into the kitchen, from there to the dining room, my dads bedroom and one bathroom. There is a huge walk in pantry where one supply of toilet paper is stored. Come in the front door head to the left and down there is the family room, another bathroom, laundry room and a bedroom. The downstairs bathroom has a supply storage area. You guessed it more toilet paper is stored here. Now come in the front door head left and up you have more bedrooms. At the end of the hall is a closet with six shelves, again toilet paper is stored here in the largest quantity. Easily reached toilet paper. Emma had gone to the end of that hall and turned left into my bedroom gone into my bathroom and removed all or our toilet paper. SHE PASSED THE STORAGE CLOSET TO DO THIS. I don't think I will every truly understand how children think.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Sick Kids = Cranky Kids
All of the kids have colds. This makes for a very cranky household. I am hoping my dad doesn't come down with a cold. He will get his grapefruit tea going. This consists of taking white grapefruit and slicing it then putting it in a pan with water and simmering it. You then get a cup of it and sip it. You put it in the refrigerator at night and back on the stove in the morning. Remember to add water to the mixture to replace what has been consumed. The entire house smells like this "tea", not a particularly bad smell but not a good smell either. I make something similar but I use lemons. We also add honey, my dads is straight up. I have to admit, his colds don't seem to last as long. By the third day of this tea being heated up and a bit more water added, this stuff is stout. I don't think any virus could live through it.
We tried to medicate Caleb tonight. This is about like grabbing a bear out of hibernation and talking him into taking a small cup of foul liquid. In fact I think the bear is less frightening than a sick Caleb. I have already had one battle of the wills, this resulted in red sticky medication all over him and the floor. The medication has always been an issue, No matter how many strides we make with other this this is still a problem. I guess this is just one of the joys of Asperger's. Evan is easier, his doesn't manifest this way. As long as I didn't get any medication on his face he was cool
We tried to medicate Caleb tonight. This is about like grabbing a bear out of hibernation and talking him into taking a small cup of foul liquid. In fact I think the bear is less frightening than a sick Caleb. I have already had one battle of the wills, this resulted in red sticky medication all over him and the floor. The medication has always been an issue, No matter how many strides we make with other this this is still a problem. I guess this is just one of the joys of Asperger's. Evan is easier, his doesn't manifest this way. As long as I didn't get any medication on his face he was cool
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Lights Out
The copper wire theft problem in Las Vegas has been hitting us lately in our personal lives. The freeway I drive almost daily has been hit. I take this same freeway to my Brownie troop meetings every Friday, now half of that is dark. The track we walk everyday is dark half way around. Now our house has been hit.
I can not figure out how these people steal wire from the lights on the freeway. This is Las Vegas, the freeways here are never empty. This is a town that moves 24/7. I know someone has to see something. Mark insists that people figure it is workers and just move along. I have decided to question anyone I see on the freeway pulling wire out of light poles. I can understand the walking track. The parks close at 10:00 P.M. here, so plenty of privacy to do what you want from 10:00 P.M. to 5:00 A.M.
My house I can't figure out. Someone must have disturbed whoever tried to rid us of our wiring. Other than the breaker box being a bit torn up and wires pulled out no damage was done. We easily pushed the wires back in returned the inner panel and closed the outer panel. I have now installed a lock on the box. This means getting the keys down whenever a breaker pops.
Whatever happened to the busy body old ladies from my childhood? We need them, they could patrol the city just sticking their nose into things. I can clearly remember not being able to do anything without one of these women right there to stop me. My friends were plagued by the same women. These were usually older women whose children were grown and gone. They had plenty of time and energy to notice trouble and stop it before it could get going. We were all afraid to defy these women, they had a direct line to our parents houses. I think we are letting a valuable resource go unused. They could patrol at all hours, butting in and putting a stop to this problem. I can envision some thief trying to do his/her thing and an old lady grabbing him/her by the ear and marching them home.
I remember one from my childhood. Mrs. McManus, she was a woman to be feared. She was a tiny thing, with a thick accent. She could not have been more than 4' 2" but could halt the biggest kid in school with one word.She had survived her childhood in a concentration camp, nothing scared her. We knew not to even think something wrong in front of her. She was always outside tending her garden and watching us kids. She had a built in radar too. Her daughter and I played together. I knew her and knew she was kind but I still feared her. We need more people like her. She would put a stop to this.
I can not figure out how these people steal wire from the lights on the freeway. This is Las Vegas, the freeways here are never empty. This is a town that moves 24/7. I know someone has to see something. Mark insists that people figure it is workers and just move along. I have decided to question anyone I see on the freeway pulling wire out of light poles. I can understand the walking track. The parks close at 10:00 P.M. here, so plenty of privacy to do what you want from 10:00 P.M. to 5:00 A.M.
My house I can't figure out. Someone must have disturbed whoever tried to rid us of our wiring. Other than the breaker box being a bit torn up and wires pulled out no damage was done. We easily pushed the wires back in returned the inner panel and closed the outer panel. I have now installed a lock on the box. This means getting the keys down whenever a breaker pops.
Whatever happened to the busy body old ladies from my childhood? We need them, they could patrol the city just sticking their nose into things. I can clearly remember not being able to do anything without one of these women right there to stop me. My friends were plagued by the same women. These were usually older women whose children were grown and gone. They had plenty of time and energy to notice trouble and stop it before it could get going. We were all afraid to defy these women, they had a direct line to our parents houses. I think we are letting a valuable resource go unused. They could patrol at all hours, butting in and putting a stop to this problem. I can envision some thief trying to do his/her thing and an old lady grabbing him/her by the ear and marching them home.
I remember one from my childhood. Mrs. McManus, she was a woman to be feared. She was a tiny thing, with a thick accent. She could not have been more than 4' 2" but could halt the biggest kid in school with one word.She had survived her childhood in a concentration camp, nothing scared her. We knew not to even think something wrong in front of her. She was always outside tending her garden and watching us kids. She had a built in radar too. Her daughter and I played together. I knew her and knew she was kind but I still feared her. We need more people like her. She would put a stop to this.
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