Lessons of Life

Sometimes I think my 6 year old is too smart for her own good. On the way to school today we get in the discussion of what girls and boys can do. She tells me that girls can't play robots because that's a boys game. *I of course have to correct her.* "No dear, girls can do anything boys can do!" I was satisfied with my answer, it's a true and concise statement. * I thought* Of course my 6 year old had to protest! "No mom, no they can't! Boys can pee standing up and girls have to sit down! And, Mom, and Mom! Didn't you know boys can't have babies?"

*Nope, sorry, I didn't get that memo. First of all, how and when did my little girl learn all of this? Secondly... who taught her?!?*

"Okay, you're right... but I mean on the playground... so I was almost right. Okay?"

"No mom almost only counts in horse shirts and hand gardens."

*Wow I've really gotta stop being sarcastic with her!*

I was laughing my ass off wayyyy to much to correct her.

I dropped her off in hopes her day is as funny as her morning was.

Angel Update

Just wanted to update you guys on what's going on with Angel. Tomorrow she goes in for an upper and lower GI endoscopy. I'm sure all will go well... I'm anxious to hear what they find. As always I will let you all know as soon as I can.

The preparations for this are pretty intense... how am I supposed to convince a 6 year old to drink that crap then let me give her a suppository twice???? I had to feed her dinner at 3pm today and she is not allowed to have anything else to eat until after the procedure tomorrow. Her diet is purely a clear liquid diet until 9am; then nothing.

Wish us luck... it's going to be a tough day.

Events and Adventures

This weekend was fun/stressful/ exciting/ exhausting/ embarrassing/ painful/ and chaotic. On Saturday Angel had a birthday party to go to at Pump It Up... (for those of you without children it's an inflatable party place). I took Renee with me because Lee had plans for the day.



We get to Pump It Up and Angel runs off to play. Renee was hesitant at first because they had the main lights off and the disco ball on... so it was pretty dark. Once they turned the lights back on, Renee was more than ready to jump on everything. *Of course that means I have to jump on everything too... What Friggin Fun!!!!*



You never realize just how out of shape you are until you have to do something like this with your kids... Here's what I mean;



There was this massive 2 story slide that you had to climb.... no worn out mom access here. Of course Renee wanted to slide... of course she couldn't climb it herself. (Insert superhero music here) MOM TO THE RESCUE!!! I carry Renee up and we slide down... I swear to you about 20 times. I was so tired, sore, and out of breath. *Oh and the skin on my elbow was rubbed off from the slide... I had forgotten just how bad that burns*



Finally the time for cake and ice cream comes! *YEA!!! My relief is here!* The Birthday Boy starts to open presents as everyone eats cake and ice cream. He gets to our gift (we gave him a card with 10 bucks in it). He opens the card pulls out the money looks at Angel and asks, "Where's my present?" Very matter of factly Angel replies, "We didn't have the moneys to get you a big present so we gave you sum moneys so you can buy what you want." The boys parents look over at me, expressionless. I wanted to crawl into a hole and die. I was so so so embarrassed! I know it's nothing to be ashamed of, but I hate that it was rubbed in. I know Angel was just trying to explain to him why he didn't get a gift to unwrap from us... still embarrassing.



After we leave there we head home. I feed the girls lunch and Angel asks if she can go play with NN for a while outside. I let her go and check on them in the neighbors fence every couple of minutes. I call Angel home after a couple hours and she comes running home. She tripped over a brick and scratched her leg up. The corresponding knot on her shin was a pretty purple too.



As I was cleaning and putting a bandage on her leg, she shows me a large scratch on her arm where the NN dog had scratched her. I cleaned and bandaged that too.



Okay so we have 1 very tired mom, 2 worn out and now cranky children, 3 band aids, and my back starts hurting terribly. *When I say terribly I mean this sharp pain that radiated down my left leg. I swear it felt like barbed wire being threaded through my back and leg.* I laid the girls down in Angels room and put a movie on. *I was praying they would take a nap* I found the heating pad and laid on the couch.

Not even fifteen minutes later Lee calls me and tells me to get the girls together and meet him at my parents house. *AHHHHH! I'm in agony, I'm tired and I don't want to move! Leave me alone!!!*



I get the girls together and head over to my parents. I call ahead of time and tell my Mother about my back pain and she meets me outside to get Renee out of the van. I walk in and lay down. My mother offers to go back to my house and get a pain pill when she realized how bad I was in pain. (I hate taking pain pills, I can't stand how sleepy I get when I take them, and with 2 kids running around I need my mind more alert so normally I just deal with the pain.)





Once my mother was back I took the pain pill and crashed. I wasn't coherent until about 10pm. I woke up and was feeling somewhat better. Lee and I collected the girls and went home.



Sunday was much better... sort of; The morning was pretty uneventful, my Parents invited us over for dinner... so we went over there to hang out after lunch for a while. Lee had gotten Angel a wind spinner at the store so they were outside playing together. I was inside with Renee when all of a sudden I heard a horrid scream coming from Angel. I grab Renee and go running outside. I hand Renee off to my mother and grab Angel. Angel had been stung by a wasp! I bring her inside and get an ice pack. I felt so bad for her. I just held her and rocked her for about an hour.

There you go... my very eventful weekend.... How was your weekend?

Children and Charities

This weekend the local children's hospital had their annual radiothon. When Angel heard the stories of those sick kids she emptied her piggy bank and asked if it was enough to save them. I told her it was a start. Then we decided to get the Naughty Neighbor and go door to door on Saturday. The girls and I walked from 10:30 am to about 4:00pm collecting donations.

They worked so hard and I am so very proud of them!
They would walk up to the door and take turns ringing the doorbell.
Angel would start with, "Would you like to donate some change to..."
NN would kick in then and say, "The Monroe Carell Jr."
And they both would say, "Children's Hospital?"
It was the sweetest thing I've ever seen.
They even remembered to thank everyone even if they didn't donate.

After all their hard work we came home and counted the change and bills. It totaled $150.50. They were so proud, we were all proud of them. So then we let the girls eat and packed them up to head down to the hospital.

We get down to the hospital and they had just announced the grand total. :(
At first the girls were very disappointed, but then a DJ came up to them, and took their names, and promised them the chance to give the money they collected.
I spoke with the DJ and he connected me with the directer at the Children's Miracle Network who agreed to meet the girls at their school today and collect the money.

At 1pm today she is going to meet me at the girls school. We are going to pull them out of class and allow the girls to present their donations, in exchange the director will give them goodie bags and take pictures.

I just know it's going to make their day! I am so excited for them!

We Are Moving To Vietnam!

Where else are we going to find fresh white rice daily and fresh lamb but on a rice and lamb farm in Vietnam?



Seriously though...



Angel went for her scratch test and what we found was interesting...

She is allergic to.... beef, soy, tomato, navy beans, string beans, carrots, and cats....

*One of these things is not like the others, One of these things just doesn't belong, Can you tell which thing is not like the others By the time I finish my song?*

Sorry but cat?? Food and cat... hmm how can we eliminate those....

The doctor told me that the only way we can truly eliminate all of her allergies is to put her on an elimination diet i.e. fresh rice and lamb for each meal daily.

I don't know if I can do that to her... I told the doctor that too.

He then prescribes a whole slew of medications totaling $330 a month she has to take so she can eat normal foods. I don't know how we are going to do this; either way it's going to be hard...

Allergic to What?

Allergies are as common as water now... seems that everyone is allergic to something. In my family we now have 3 out of 4 people allergic to one or several things.

Lee: Shellfish
Me: Codeine, synthetic codeine, cephelasporin antibiotics, and Detrol.
Angel: It is looking more and more like she is allergic to milk

Thankfully we have not seen Renee have any reactions to anything yet.

This poor child has been suffering for a while with this one (almost 3 years now)and no one could figure out what was causing the problem. I have to take her to a doctor to confirm, but I'm almost 100% sure.

She has this problem where she vomits a little bit after every meal, has eczema on her arms and hands, and gets these dark circles under her eyes a lot *they almost look like bruises*.

When this first started it was just the eczema, so I started monitoring everything that her hands touched and thought it was an allergy to soap because her daycare had changed soaps about the time this started. I sent Benadryl cream and dial soap to daycare with her and the eczema would disappear when she used the Benadryl. So for 3 years now I assumed it was a soap allergy.

In the past year she has begun to vomit a little bit after almost every meal. I had taken her to the doctor and we both thought it was just acid reflux. However, when she is on Prilosec twice a day and she still vomits after almost every meal, it has to be more than acid reflux.

My husband and I decided we would journal our meals and when she vomits for a while then compare them. What we found was quite impressive. After she eats anything with milk products in it... she vomits. When we remove milk from her diet, her vomiting stops.

I went to the store yesterday and bought some soy milk for her so she can at least eat cereal in the morning, and we are taking her to the doctor next week. The scary part is that most people who are allergic to milk products also have allergies to other things, so for a while I will be monitoring her very closely to watch for allergic reactions.

Poor baby :(

Parent Teacher Conference From Hell

I have a lot to blog about so it will be broken up in to different subjects.

First comes the dreaded parent teacher conference I had with Angel's teacher.

We had the conference on Wednesday after school and I made Lee come too.

The teacher starts to go over and tell us all of Angel's problems, *the irony of the name*.

Here is what Mrs. T told us: She fidgets in her seat too much, does not pay enough attention to her work and makes careless mistakes, talks too much, blames others for her mistakes, is easily annoyed by others, runs around and climbs excessively when she should be seated, loses her temper easily , actively defies and refuses to comply with adults requests, is spiteful and vindictive, bullies others, is physically cruel to people, and has a poor relationship with peers.

Then she gave us a paper with notes on it that says, "If Angel could stay focused, I believe she could become at least above average, academically. Her relationship with peers is poor due to the fact that Angel constantly finds something to tattle about, push them in line, raise her voice to them, stick out her tongue, pout, has spit on them in the past and sometimes has trouble keeping her hands to herself. I have had to move her desk several times and regardless of who she sits next to, problems arise. When I talk to Angel about things she does to disrupt the class and ask her if she understands why she should not do these things, she says,"yes ma'am" but almost immediately returns to doing them."

So I ask the teacher to define, "Actively defies requests" for me, then she says that she believes it means to just not do something even they know they should.
Me: You mean be argumentative?
Mrs.T: No, just not following rules.
Me: What about physically cruel?
Mrs.T: When she steps out of line she pushes her way back into her spot.
Me: And that's physically cruel?
Mrs. T: Yes.
*OMG are you fucking kidding me! Physically cruel would be what I'd like to do to you right now... you know stab you in the eye with a pencil. And active defiance is when a child is asked to do something and says no.... GRRRRRRR*
I kept my cool and continued to question the teacher....
Me: What about this running around and climbing excessively?
Mrs. T: She likes to turn around in her seat a lot and talk to other people, or continually get up from her desk and come talk to me.
Me: Uh huh, I see....
Me: The spitting incident you speak of... if I'm not mistaken, that was toward the beginning of the year correct?
Mrs.T: Yes she was arguing with another child and spat on her.
Me: Wasn't this just one day after another little boy spit on another child and didn't get a punishment for it?
Mrs.T: I made him pull a card, but yes it was after that.
Me: Oh... just checking
Me: So why do you consider tattling a problem?
Mrs.T: Because she tends to tell on others a lot
Me: Why would she feel the need to tell on others so much, if there is no reason to tattle?
Mrs. T: Usually because other children have tattled on her for something small
Me: Oh... so tattling is a problem in your classroom with several children
Mrs. T: Yes, we consider it bullying
Me: Well, I've spoken with Angel's previous teachers, and asked them about her behavior in their rooms; they both said that she was one of their brightest students and didn't cause many problems.
Mrs. T: Well first grade is different!

The conference was over and I collected my family and hauled ass out of there.
I was so irritated. I know that Angel has some issues to work over, but this teacher is blowing them way out of proportion. Angel does have a problem raising her voice when she feels the need to defend herself, she does not bully others though, this teacher has yet to see Angel really lose her temper.... boy I wait for that day, and turning around in her seat is not running and climbing too much. I swear this teacher has the personality of a brick wall. You know what I'm talking about.... I'm bigger than you I've been around longer, so I'm better and stronger than you puny kids will ever be. I am sticking by my statement before! Come hell or high water my daughter will be attending a different school next year!

School Update

Things this back-woods redneck school has done to piss me off (part 2!)

Not allow parents to walk their children to class (not even on the first day)

Allowed the staff to dress up for Halloween but not the students

Denied my daughter access to a good behavior party because she was bad 29% of the time

Refused to let me volunteer because I don't have a sitter for the baby

The teacher openly shows favorites

Christmas was not celebrated no gift exchange

Her teacher blames having 3 children at home for not having grades in on time

The librarian and Clifford the Moldy Dog

The teacher put my daughter in a cubicle because she is a "problem"

Sent home because she was out of dress code when she fell and ripped her jeans *it was a hole in the knee; come on now!!*

Just got a progress report saying she is getting a "N" (not sufficient) in conduct and behavior. She has been good more than 60% of the time though.....apparently they want a 90% or better

I don't know what to do. I feel like I am the only one on my daughter's side here. Even my husband tends to agree with the teacher about her behavior. I finally broke down and called her doctor for an appointment to check for ADD. I don't want to have to put her on medication. I love how lively and charismatic she is. I feel like no one else sees that in her though. This is breaking my heart.

Update: Clifford The Moldy Dog

I am such a smart-ass.
I went to the school today to speak with the librarian about Clifford The Moldy Dog. (Before I went to the school I looked up some information about mold and how long it takes to grow on paper and in books. As it turns out it is about a week in the ideal environment for it to become visible.) So I march my happy ass into the school and into the library. I go up to the librarian and begin to ask about how the book was ruined. This is what she responded with…

“Well I can assure you it was dry before she received the book!”
I explained to the librarian that nothing else was messed up in her back-pack and that there is no way that it could have gotten wet in her back-pack if nothing else was wet and it had not been removed.
The librarian rolls her eyes and says, “If I could put eyes on these books I would!”
*Now those are fighting words to me especially with the tone she used!*
I was ready to just tear into her… Instead I said this…
“Okay, I’ll pay for the book, but I’m taking it with me.”
She hands me the book after I write the check and I proceed to rip it to shreds right there.
Once I was done tearing up my newly purchased book, I throw it in the trash can, and walk right out the door.

Man it felt good just to tear something up.

Clifford The Moldy Dog

I swear the school that my daughter attends is filled with unbalanced people who are devoid of any type of intelligence whatsoever! We all know how library works in school... you check out a book and a week later it is due when the class goes to library. *Okay easy enough* So last week my daughter checks out a Clifford The Big Red Dog book. We didn't get a chance to read it because we have a reading list at home we are trying to finish. I do remember seeing the book in her back-pack and I peeked at it but I didn't pay too much attention to it. Well today she had library and went to turn in the book... the librarian accused her of getting the book wet! She sent a note back saying,
"Cost to replace $6.95
This book was wet with mold starting- it has to be paid for before She can check out another book-"

Here the librarian can be seen not using proper punctuation and partial sentences. Upon closer inspection you can also see that the letter "s" is capitalized when it should be lower case. *This is supposed to be an educator?!?*

I am livid with this whole school. My daughter is a book worm... she cares about her books and enjoys reading them. My daughter has never ruined a book before ever!!!! There is no way that the book was wet and moldy. There was nothing in her back-pack that had gotten wet, (you know like her homework folder, or her agenda). If nothing else in her back-pack had gotten wet, how would her library book have gotten wet when they were all in there together?

I have had it with this school! This was the last straw!
Things this back-woods redneck school has done to piss me off:

1. Not allow parents to walk their children to class
2. On Halloween allowed staff to dress up but not students
3. Didn't let my daughter go to a good behavior party because she was bad 29% of the time, *I can kind of understand this one, but still she's not a bad kid like they have labeled her and she doesn't get notes home about misbehaving all the time, just being talkative*
4. I am not allowed to volunteer at her school and bring the baby with me
5. Her teacher openly shows favorites *and my daughter is not one of them*
6. Children were not allowed to exchange gifts for Christmas.
7. Her teacher makes excuses constantly for not having grades in on time
8. Then of course there is today's ordeal!

I am so sick of this school. Come hell or high water she is changing schools next year! Mark my words!

Angel Asks about Barack Obama

Barack Obama is now the president of the United States, and Angel my six year old has asked me lots of questions. Some of the questions are silly.... "Does he get a new comforter?" some are very serious "Why is having a brown president a big deal?" I have tried to answer her questions as gently as possible without exposing her to how prevalent racism sill is in this country.



We have had some conversations about how Martin Luther King Jr. was killed because someone didn't agree with his ideas. She was heartbroken to find out that people kill people for having ideas.



It is so hard to explain to a six year old why white people treated everyone else so badly. The truth is... I don't know why. All I know is that for whatever reason some white people thought that they were better than everyone who had a different skin color.



In my family racism is most definitely not present. My brother-in-law is black, my nephews are mixed, my youngest sister has been dating a guy from Honduras, my grandfather is a Native American, and I have several Mexican cousins. *Yea... we are most definitely an all American family, and getting everyone together is quite interesting!*



She watched some video of the inauguration... and was excited to have a new president. I still am not sure how to explain why racism still exists. Quite frankly if I don't know the answer, I don't feel prepared to give her an answer.

Rosetta The Snow Gal

Sha my nephew (Ann's youngest son) had his 7th birthday yesterday! He was very excited to be at grandma and grandpa's house for his birthday! He made out pretty well too! He received money, video games, clothes and some toys. What more could he ask for?!?


My mother made homemade cake. *MMMM so good!* We also had stew for dinner. We all had a really good time.


It started to snow while we were there and I started to worry a little. I hate driving in the snow. I've only done it a handful of times. It never snows here; never! Of course on the day I actually had somewhere to be at night it had to snow.


When we left my parents house it was a little rough. I did well though. I kept it slow and steady and knew better than to hit those brakes! I slid a couple times, but no big, I controlled it.


By the end of the evening it had snowed more than a inch. The first little bit of snow melted a little then froze under the freshly fallen snow. So this morning we woke to a beautiful sight, with ugly effects. Walk outside and slide right on your ass kind of effects. The news was quite interesting as well... the traffic report comes on and the map looks like it has the chicken pox.


Lee, Angel and I all decided to go outside and play in the snow while the baby was asleep. Angel and Lee had a fun snowball fight until Lee hit Angel in the eye with a snowball. *Game Over*


Lee left to run errands then Angel and I decided to build a snowman. We had a lot of fun building it. Angel has never made a real snowman before so now was the perfect time!


It took us a while but we finally got it all done and it turned out looking quite......hillbillyish? I guess that would be the word for it. Angel decided to call him, no I'm sorry *her* Rosetta. Her teeth are all jacked with rocks up her arms are scrawny twigs, her eyes are small and buggy looking pebbles and her hat was a flowerpot improv. Yea I guess hillbillyish would be the word. But we did get the carrot nose part right! Angel was sooo happy! I kind of smiled a little too *wink wink* It gave me some of the Christmas spirit I was looking for!

We brought Renee outside for just a minute and all she wanted to do was eat the snow. She didn't know what to think about it. Her facial expressions tickle me. She looked so serious examining the snow.

Well I will be back on here later. I've gotta get my house in order. I still have another blog to write today about what happened at my parents house after I left the birthday party.

My daughter's a Pot Head!

She even said so herself!

We were all getting ready for dinner. I was finishing up cooking and had a few unused pans wooden spoons and pots on the floor for the girls to play with while I cooked. My 6 year old puts a pot on her head looks at me and says "look Mommy, I'm a pot head!" It was such a random statement and I couldn't help but burst into laughter. I pulled out my phone and had her do it again! Soo funny!