Look who's driving now!

I haven't taken any pictures but now I realize I should have. Ms. Sassy britches passed her driving test and written test with flying colors! She is a licensed 16 year old driver and boy was she ever driven to get it. She made her own appointment with the guy that she had to test with and just took care of business. Now I don't have to drive with her anymore but I sure do fret when she is out. Ugh. She has been very possessive over Senor Fuego Nada Peso. She has groomed the car inside and out. The car has a smell but in every other way it is 100 times better than the KIA or otherwise known as Asco. I don't get why Amber thought she had to keep that car. The KIA does have air conditioning and Senor Fuego Nada Peso does not. Only drawback so far.

Lee Joe informed me later last night that he was going to Seattle this morning. He is assembling something and could be gone all week. That meant he wasn't here to take the kids shopping but guess what? Teenagers with a license and jobs can take of things themselves now. I don't have to drive them there and sit in the car like I did one year. So we will see what tomorrow brings.

On Friday we heard a trumpet in our front lawn like you would hear to announce the arrival of royalty and then there was a knock at the door. At the door was a footman of sorts announcing the arrival of a prince (This is a true story-I am serious) And he had a shoe that he needed to try on every fair maiden in the house. The girls lined up on our bench outside-Kelsea was off on her own adventures so missed out- (Lucky Kelsea wasn't there, she wears the same size) the girls told me I had to try it on. Amber was the one that fit the shoe and she was asked to the Happily Ever After Prom. She accepted. Her boyfriend had her shoe on a pink pillow. I gave the shoe to them, then they gave Amber the pillow. He was dressed in a prince costume and his younger brother was the Footman announcing the trying on of the shoe and his dad(our doctor) played the trumpet. Pretty cute and funny. I have pictures!! I will post them later. I am not going to post them on Facebook. He asked us not to. I have been altering a dress for Amber to wear to prom. It is such a pretty dress!

I had something else to say but I don't remember and I have piles of clean laundry on my bed still.

The naming of a car

One of the funniest parts of the trip home was the naming of the new car. Amber named our KIA Asco or Osco-(Spanish I don't know how to spell it) Which is Spanish for disgusting. The new car's name was discussed with much humor on the way home. Many laughs were shared between the 2 oldest and Lee Joe and I had to put in our two cents-mine was more like a peso. So the car is now newly named "Senor Fuego Nada Peso AHHHHHHHHHH" The ahh part is Kelsea's bit, you have to hear her say it and she said it has to spelled with 10 H's. Pretty silly but the Senor Fuego Nada Peso is sure fun to say :)

Here is couple of Miscellaneous bits--

I went to my sinus doctor and the neurologist yesterday. The sinus doctor felt some things were looking better even though my temp was over 100 and I was still having sinus pain and residual head pain from the headaches I had this weekend. I am using some famtastic allergy sinus spray. It works so good. Everything is in bloom and I can breathe and I barely sneeze. That stuff is called Veramyst. I went to the neurologist. He says it sounds like I am having some migraines that are kind of overreactive as he put it "we need to put out the fires because you are having some serious inflammation going on" So he put me on an antidepressant that also works for chronic pain. Then he is putting me Prednisone again for a week and on a high dose-7 pills in one day to 1 pill the last. I will wait for Saturday to start that. And then he gave me several samples of some designer drugs for my headaches. My sister takes one of them and I think it works for her so I hope something will work. He wanted to do an MRI as well. I found out my insurance still may not cover it. I might have to wait until December. That just ticks me off. Maybe if I had gone to the ER they would cover it.

A Friend of mine at the school had a pretty bad accident on Monday. She was putting one of the cafeteria tables up into the wall and it didn't latch and the two tables fell on her. She had turned around and didn't know it was coming and totally knocked her to the ground unconcious for few seconds. I came into the school from the crosswalk and the principal and the secretary were running into the gym and I went in there and she was on the floor. An ambulance was called. Her daughter is Autumn's age and she was brought in to see mom. We told my friend not to move. I was the one that was going to take her to the hospital but instead at the last minute she went to the hospital in the ambulance and her daughter got to go with her. Everyone was worried about head trauma. She found out today she has a broken arm. She is so bruised. It was very scary. But she is OK.

I have found my Dad's family on Facebook. I am excited because now I am friends with 3 of my Aunts and 4 of my cousins. 2 of them I haven't seen since I was 4 but one of them remembers me. I found out through my Aunts that my dad moved to Wisconsin. So you think I heard about it from him? No. I have no idea how long they have been there. My step mom is a piece of work. But I looked them up on the internet and I am pretty sure I have found their address and phone number. HA HA HA HA HA!!! She can't get rid of me that easy! But I am pretty sad about it really. But I will get over it like I have gotten over the past 30 something years. It is getting better-or at least a little easier to understand. I just know it will always be like this and I have had some good moments and that is all they are- are moments with my dad I will have to come to peace with that and I think I can.

So on that sad note--say out loud "Senor Fuego Nada Peso" (you can say the AHHHHHHHHHH if you want to)

Safely Home

First of all, I made a promise to post a picture of my office in what I consider a clean state. Yes that is clean. Here is the reminder that it can be that way and I enjoy being here more when it is that way. Now that I have gotten that off my chest...onward to this past weekend


This week was a crazy nutty week. It was tough at work everyday and the evenings were not much better until I took Friday off and took it easy while I cleaned. Yes, I was able to do both. It was great. The big finale concert of the year took place Friday night. We almost had 4 kids in the concert but there were no Bass clarinet parts for Amber in any of the pieces that the High School orchestra played and sophomores were not required to play so Kelsea opted out. Kylee and Autumn were it. In the Elementary Honor Choir together.


We have been attending this concert every year since Amber was in 5th grade and in the Elementary Honor Choir as well. It was a big switch to have Amber and Kelsea sitting with me along with Hannah. They remided me of the days when they were 4 and 2. Seriously obnoxious!!!! Hannah was completely well behaved and I threaten those two over and over. The crazy part was Kelsea had played 10 tennis matches that day--Yes TEN . I like Yes today. Apparently either playing 10 tennis matches didn't phaze her or she was hysterically over tired.

This is the huge amount of kids that performed in the concert Friday. By the way--This is where Amber's graduation will be held.


We drove to Utah on Saturday morning. We left a little late but we have NEVER traveled anywhere here where it rained the entire trip. That is what it did. Rained and POURED and rained and rained. My car has more and more issues. The passenger side window has decided it doesn't work anymore. WHen it quit it was not quite up all the way. There was a sliver of window open. Just enough to make it quite noisy while traveling and every now and then get splashed with water. And the left blinker still doesn't like to work all the time. Blah. So because of the rain and I also had another really horrible headache. Talk about torture. We almost ran out of gas because Lee Joe thought Snowville was closer than it was so we made a couple more stops than we would have made. Then we took the wrong exit so went the long to the church. We missed the baptisms. But the girls and Lee Joe heard part of one confimation and all of the other and he was able to give the closing prayer even though nobody was in their Sunday clothes for it. It was take us as we are kind of thing. I was in the car trying to cope with my headache some more.

We made it to the temple on time. That was the first time I have been in the Salt Lake Temple. The beautiful part was when Molly and Allan came out of the temple it stopped raining. And it was beautiful and you would have never known that it had been raining only minutes before so I got some good pictures. Devanie took many more than I did and hopefully she will get a chance to post some.


Clearing skies finally for some great pictures!!! Molly and her family



All the girls in the Tabernacle. Amber and Kelsea super posing. The bench was super wet. I loved how all the trees were in bloom and there were tulips everywhere. I just love tulips.

Autumn and Hailey.....Sierra's back

I played with these two pictures on Picasa

I liked this picture except you can't quite get away from the construction of all the new high rises they are putting up.

So our ride home it was calm for awhile. Then we hit a pretty nasty storm. Then it would clear up and then every storm we would hit got worse and worse with pretty sunny spells inbetween. I put my sunglasses on and took them off over and over. The most intense storm seem to be the one hitting Boise as we got back to town. Or maybe I felt that way because I was the one driving. The wind was incredibly bad and the rain fell like it does in Texas. Like someone just unzipped a cloud. But we are home and the sky is pretty here once again. After waking with the headache again this morning I am now headache free and that is a beautiful thing!!!

ack ugh and blah

I went to the chiropractor yesterday. My neck is starting to feel like flesh and my back included was starting to feel less like an exoskeleton and more like some relaxed muscle but I think I undid all that in two days. Two crazy days at work and I have a neck spasm but I also have tendonitis in my shoulder that flares up in the morning when I wake up with fury. In the past two days we had a grandma threaten to sue the school because we had to send the granddaughter home for the 2nd time with head lice. Grandma says "she doesn't have headlice" and the evidence is more than 7 bugs taped to the paper. We had the most volatile child in the school ready to explode yesterday and he really did it today. The child should be suspended but they just put with him " you should expel everybody on the playground over there or I am going to kill them all" from the mouth of a 4th grader. Today he punched a girl several times because she pinched him for not listening to her telling him to stop harrassing another student. On and On and to finish the day some kid put a bead in his ear. He tells us there is something in there but he really doesn't know how it got there because he didn't do it. HE DIDN'T DO IT REALLY--he says. Some gal I work with won't leave my desk and computer alone. And yeah it goes on and on. With the PE teacher almost running me down in the crosswalk to end the day. I hope tomorrow is better, I am taking Friday off. Someone said there is only 5 weeks left so vacation sounds great!! At least I get one. That is the light that I will chase. To bed I go. I was headed there 30 minutes ago.

picture montage

I should be making dinner...

This kind of sums up how things were when I picked the girls up on Sunday. Amber caught in the middle and her boyfriend being highly ticked at her sister.

This one was just was too cute of the two of them. This is at the Santa Monica pier.

Kelsea had to hold these poses for a long time to get these pics. I laugh so hard every time I see them. Top one is California Screamin at California adventure. The bottom--well I am sure you can read :)

Internet down!!!

I was without internet since Thursday night. You would have thought that the outside world disappeared. But it is only Saturday morning and after the quest guy came I am hooked up again before 10 am. That put me in a long overdue cleaning frenzy-even after a long week and how tired I already was. I WILL post pics and I might need to take one to print and hang in the office to show how it should look. But I cheated. The paper trail is now in one box and I still need to go through it. anyways.......

My oldest 2 are having a blast in California. I wish every time I talk to them that I could have gone. But it is really good for them to have that time with friends. Before Kelsea left she was kissed on the cheek by a boy. And at Disneyland another one tried real hard to hold her hand and then she ditched him for that and then the Quiznos guy told her she had nice eyes and that was in a 24 hour period. Amber has been with her boyfriends nonstop. His parents are chaperones so no worries there. There was a Hugh Jackman sighting. But my girls were not the ones to spot him and I guess he just got his handprints in the whatever place that is and Amber at least saw the freshly imprinted cement. They went to the Santa Monica pier and walked on the beach. I think there was an attempt at Kelsea double dating with a boy on the trip with Amber and her boyfriend. They are back at Disneyland today all day until 10 and then they make their way home.

Now I need to get off this balsted computer and finish all the awesomeness I started last night.

TOMORROW

The sun is already out so we are OK there. But Amber and Kelsea are off to Disneyland tomorrow. Yes, I want to stow away and go too---for free---because it cost enough to get them on this trip and enough to make sure they are nourished and have a little fun too. Amber has her spending money. Kelsea has had a harder time. But she will have some. I have to go back to work.....But I'm wishing.....Wishing.... for a trip away....to somewhere.....somewhere....lots of fun!!!

The ups and downs

Here is a mixed feeling item: Amber got her graduation announcements today. If I make her responsible they might get sent out. BUT that means the end is near that my first born will be done with school and out in the real world but that real world will still be at home. We aren't sending her away the way her boyfriend's family is sending him almost the minute he finishes school. Anyways they are nice and I still have to pay for her senior pictures. I have the proofs I just need to order our copies but it will happen soon.

I am fighting that stupid thing I that afficts me way too often. I have missed the past 2 days of work from it. I am frustrated and have done nothing but sleep. I get rid of it only to have it come back at 4 in the morning. The sinus doctor isn't helping much. I am waiting to see the neurologist on the 5th and I was fed up still yet again and went to a chiropractor that is also an acupuncturist. She was amazed at how tense all my back muscles and neck muscles are and says that my sinuses are really bad but of course it can't all get resolved in one visit. Hence the headache revisiting today. My back and neck feel better. She said it is like a sinus migraine flu and that describes what I feel perfectly. Add a little anemia and you wind up feeling like a beat up puny little pile of sleepy mush. I am desperate for pain relief and am frustrated with the lack of help in that department. I should cry and make more noise about it I guess at the doctor's office. Hopefully I will be better tomorrow. I feel better now but that didn't make a difference last night leading into today. So I will stop complaining--

On to the other up---My grandfather's visit was great. He is so funny. Only he can come from a trip from Alaska and have a near miss with a buffalo herd in Canada and hit a snowbank with his car. His car was in the shop while he was here getting a paint job. But he offered us this other car he has in Washington. I guess it is a 96 Dodge Neon. We just need to go pick it up when the snow melts a little more. Kelsea can get her driver's license now so it is perfect timing. Can't beat a free car. He was so excited to give it to us. He is so good about remembering birthdays. It is crazy his memory. He has been calling all the kids and me on our birthdays. And there are so many besides us. Someone asks him why he doesn't write it down and he says it he would just loose the thing he would write it down on.

Easter was nice. Grandpa and my mom were over for dinner. We still miss my sister and her family. It is always so quiet. But it was a very laid back day otherwise and the weather was beautiful. Grandpa brought his dog Bitsy. She was very attached to grandpa and he was attached to that dog too. We know where get all our pet lovin from.

Other than that--Amber and Kelsea go to Ananhiem next week for their music department trip. I wish I could go.....

random pics

Blogger is having issues while I try upload a few more pictures. Anyways, I took pictures at the girls tennis matches on Tuesday. I was so impressed with my camera-finally. It seems to get better at picture taking the more I use it. I am pretty sure it is not just me. I took great pictures with Melissa's camera that is the same brand and now this one is starting to behave like hers. What I was trying to show was that the coolest part in this pic is seeing the tennis ball so clearly. So I will to post more pics a little later. Amber's movement is not blurry either. Hooray for great action shots!

The drawback of the girls being on Varsity tennis is the coaches(all guys) I guess, pick the uniforms for the year. This year the dress barely covered Amber and Kelsea's butts and they have "cleavage" whether or not they have any. Ridiculous. My girls are funny. Amber wore her guy shorts under her dress and Kelsea wore long spandex shorts. And they usually wear some sort of under tank top underneath. By the way-Amber won her singles match. It lasted so long and she was so tired. She wins with consistency even she practically hits it back to her opponent everytime. Eventually they will mess up and that is how she won. Kelsea won her doubles match this day.

This is near dowtown Boise. I love the skyline pictures too.
I totally love the town we live in!

Fun on the tramp

Icing on the grumpy cake

Here is the icing on that grumpy thing I have going on about and may sum up my frustration and why I resist going on and on about the source of my grumpiness. It takes A LOT to make me loose it. But I shall NOT restrain myself no more! This morning, my husband, The grown man of the house! was dumping his boots on the front door mat just outside the front door. Why he couldn't reach one foot over and dump it in the rocks just off the front porch is beyond reason. And WHY he sees NOTHING wrong in this practice and WHY he thinks I am UNREASONABLE to ask him not to do such a thing when the wood floor is already ruined and covered in sandy dirt all the time-yes he makes a living that way and yes I show restraint in expressing my frustration at this. But PUHLEEESEEEE-who is being unreasonable. He never cleans up any of the dirt unless it is an obvious trail of large dirt clods from one end of the house to the other. I don't even have a decent vacuum and somebody tell me who hid the stinking BROOM!!!! Ok don't anybody comment defending on his behalf. If I piled HIS random stuff I find everywhere, which amounts to more than the 3 oldest leave around here-but in competition with the youngest, it would amount to a mountain. I am glad he is making money even though I never know when I can pay anything. All I can say is the Lay family ability to clean does not exist. I am not sure if I can take it anymore. OK I can breathe again-for right now. until I find that last straw, or sock, or shoes. I shall carry on, with my basket of his abandoned items. Have you seen my muscles lately? I hope I didn't harm your hearing(or eye sight) with my rant.

Sunny yet grumpy

I am seriously grumpy. Could be the weird night sleep, Monday and a bunch of other stress getting to me. I could be much more positive and say "hey, I am so seriously thankful for 3 days of great weather after the blizzard misery that was Friday." I would have enjoyed being home looking out the window and saying "Man, look at that." But I was outside during the worst of it blowing me and all the poor little kids outside. I guess we could of said go in because no one was prepared for winter, it WAS suppose to rain. I was dressed for rain. The wind chill was 24 degrees ---not at the school(it had to be colder). The kids were huddling in corners with their ice creams-silly kids-and their popcorn-the school sells that on Fridays. We did let the last two grades go in but I was done being outside by then. But I am thankful for my paycheck because that has saved us the past few months and for the insurance. I am also thankful for the laptop I just got from cleaning a storage closet. I was told I could have it because it had been in there so long. I almost shook from containing the disbelief and excitement because I have been wanting a laptop for SOOO long. It works great even though it has all the school software on it and the battery is shot. Those things, I hope, can be fixed and I can still live with it in the meantime.

Somehow we scrounged up $900 for the 2 oldest to go on their Anahiem trip with the music department. It took rolling coins-about $48 worth and pulling out some unused lunch money from their lunch accounts-about $50. Amber has worked a bunch and Kelsea has babysat, grandma helped and the other grandma let Kelsea do a bunch of chores. I had to come up with $230.00 in the end and now we need to find money for them to eat and do whatever with when they go on the 22nd. Amber might have more paychecks and she has $75.00 coming for talking about fries for 2 hours. I would have done that! Kelsea will probably get to babysit a few times before she goes. Anyways, they will get to go now with their buddies. Going to Disneyland with my friends in high school is one of my favorite high school memories.

Yeah, I have spring fever. I want to be home doing something else all week. Oh well.

Spring Break is over.

So we are back into the swing of things like it or not. I like it not. I liked it at home. But the weather was pretty crappy all week. So not much happened. And of course it was sunny today but very chilly with the wind. We had a rather nasty storm blow in Saturday night and the wind howled all day Sunday. My mom's patio umbrella blew away to who knows where. I was afraid my gazebo would blow into into my family room window but it didn't.

We had company last night. Thomas and Randa came over. My kids were somewhat obnoxious-aftermath of being home all week together.

Since Janika asked-I read a book called "The Help" It takes place in Mississippi in the 60s it was a pretty Ok book. It was well written. But the books I love to read are by Maeve Binchy. She is from Ireland and I read and love anything by her. The latest book I read called Heart and Soul linked a bunch of characters together from her other books and I loved that. Now I want to go back and read her other books again So I can remember all the other stories. One of her books Tara Road was and Oprah book club pick but I was reading her books long before that. Some of her other books are Quentins, Scarlet Feather, Circle of Friends-that was a movie with Minnie Driver and Chris O'Donnell. There is so much by her I can't remember them all. I can't think of one I didn't like.

I haven't posted pictures here yet but I did put some on Facebook. I will try to get this updated soon. I have been a little out of it even though I was home for a week. I didn't get much accomplished. My back had issues for 3 days. I did visit a friend with all the kids and they all played. That was nice. I invited Amber's boyfriends family to the zoo with us and she(the mom) invited someone else and her kids along and I came home wishing we went on our own instead. Long story I don't care to revisit right here now. Little of my social phobia showing itself. I found out my brother has been in jail for a month and my mom isn't doing that great health wise. She is OK just not great. It was an interesting week and I still have a moutain of clean laundry in my downstairs bathroom and a broken handle on the toilet upstairs. I guess I should go to Home Depot tonight so we can flush the toilet like a normal family with indoor plumbing. Ahh the little things. It is time for me to write my own book :)

Happy and other...

The best news came today!! We knew a week or 2 ago that Amber got into to Boise State University. But we kind of figured that would happen. I was waiting for scholarship and grant news. We got that today. She got $500.00 scholarship for the school year-a $3000 scholarship for the school year and $2010 scholarship for the school year from the engineering school. And she got over $5300.00 in pell grant money. They look like they can be renewable for each year she is there. We will have to find out about that. There could be more still. Those were just from BSU. I need to talk to my sister and see how much that might cover for the year since she just graduated from BSU last year.

I went back to my sinus doctor today and he has referred me to a neurologist for my headaches. The bad news there is that I will have to wait until May before I can get in but that might help me not have to wait until Dec like the sinus doctor is trying to do so my insurance will cover it. So it could be helpful. I just want to do something now and not go through another month of this headache crap while trying to work.

I am miserable. I have been so stressed that my left shoulder blade is in a serious spasm. I can barely move and it hurts to breathe but I got to read a book yesterday but it is killing my get busy time during spring break. But that is a typical issue I have been having with time off. Oh well. I have actually read 2 books in a week. That is amazing for me. That is some good down time for myself. I guess I will take it. I am ready for that hot pad again.

Funny little secret

I have a funny little secret. The copier machine was jammed the other day. I was helping someone else because I have been able to fix it when I spend enough time working on it. I happen to forget about a convenient little door for pulling out the paper when it is stuck. Instead I reached behind the drawer where the paper is stored. I have really big hands my hand barely fit in to reach the paper. I got the paper but my hand would not come out. I was stuck and my hand would not pull through the largest gap. All of a sudden I started imagining how silly it would be to have to tell people in the faculty room that I was stuck there. And further imagined people trying to find ways to get the drawer released to let go of my hand. All of that was too much to imagine so I pulled my hand out and ignored the pain as best I could to spare myself a ton of embarrassment. So a scratch up my palm and bruised up the back side of my hand I have spared my pride and am able to go on about my business :) It took me until a week later to admit to anyone how I got myself stuck in that predicament.

Happy Birthday Autumn!

We are having a birthday weekend as we try to relax and catch-up on long neglected chores this weekend. That is kind of impossible to do together kind of thing isn't it? Laundry Laundry Laundry.

I will post loads of pics -I hope- this week and give a proper tribute to my two March girls.

Time change...Blech....

Who's having a hard time with the time change? Raise your hand if you are. Can you see my hand waving frantically? Week 2 and I am still a sleepy, tired, mess. I have not blogged. I did have a daughter turn sweet 16 this weekend.

Kelsea is a 16 year old now. She will be able to get her license next month. It is all so very scary! I would love to do a nice Kelsea tribute but I need to have thoughts in order to say something. And I need to stop being so dyslexic with my typing.

Both girls were gone until late Saturday evening at Lewiston. They both won the first day they scrimmaged. I told everyone about that. Day 2 Amber won, lost, lost Day 3 was win win. Kelsea was loss loss win and Day 3 was win win.

We had a family thing for Kelsea on Sunday. She got a new dress and jacket. She got a car--I love this one-It is the Matchbox brand. She got an itunes card, an orange purse, some scrapbook paper and a striped sweater and a triple barrel curling iron. She might be having a friend party this weekend. Autumn's birthday is Saturday. We get to party some more but no friend party for her this year.

The BEST part about this weekend is my car passed the emissions test and were able to get my car registered. It didn't cost us anything to fix the car.

In general though things have calmed down but we have not caught up on anything. Maybe we will during spring break next week but I may be enjoying down time too much to care but I hope not. Everyone and I mean EVERYONE at the school is ready for next week. I am sure it will go by too fast.

So I continue to be exhausted... without much more to say... Yep....Taking a little snooze soon sounds good to me......

Life so far...

So this week has been loooong. I don't like this time change and this early. It has been so cold. I have been cold all week long. But it is sunny the past 2 days and that is nice.

Amber and the boyfriend have worked things out I guess and things have been fine. Amber finished her Young Womens stuff On Tuesday. She was recognized for that on Weds at the stake standards night. But the bummer part on that was she was stuck in Caldwell playing in her first tennis match of the season. She won her match but didn't make it back until the end of the meeting so she was mentioned but not there for that part. She got there in time to play the piano for the closing song. She looked like she just got done playing tennis with a skirt on.

Kelsea lost her singles match on weds but won her doubles. Amber and Kelsea left for Lewiston this morning for tennis. They scrimmaged today. They both won. I guess Kelsea played this really good girl. And she was behind like 2-5 and came back and got all the way up to 8-8 and then she had to win by two so it was a crazy long match. I really don't know that much about tennis and how it scores. They will be back late on Saturday night. Kelsea will be the BIG !!16!!! on Sunday! We are in so much trouble, man. Ugh.

For me--my house is a complete nightmare but we made a dent in it tonight. I have been so tired from the time change. And here I am. But I took a nap today when I got home. We did Kindergarten registration today so I worked late. Yep, things are dull ---finally! Dull is good sometimes. I look forward to a reduction in teenagers this weekend. AND a Saturday without anything on it!! Can you see my happy dance?

Happy!

Guess where I have to be tonight? Nowhere!!! Happy day. I think I will take a nap since the time change is kicking my fanny.

Toughest call

Saturday was a long drawn out day. Dress rehearsal for honor choir first thing, Taxes were to done-we don't so them ourselves but the paperwork trail is enormous, a basketball game that required a clothing change in the car on the way there because it was close timing, then a basketball party that became a 2 hour thing but it was cute. The kids got to make their own pizzas. Then I had a couple hours before we got ready for the concert and went to it. Lee Joe was late like he always is but he was visiting with his Uncle Jared at a basketball game in Nampa. After the concert Amber and her friend wanted to do something nice for the boyfriend since his birthday was Monday. But he was in a mood and didn't want them to do anything. Everyone was encouraging him and then his family and ours left the concert. Then things went sour. I knew he was in a mood and called Amber to see what was up. And then I got mad because I knew he was hurting Amber's feelings which she does not express and told him he needed to treat her better. Little did I know she got hurt before that. It was dumb teenager stuff with a volkswagon bug-his bad mood and persistent friends. But Amber came home in tears and in pain. He saw her get hurt and didn't respond right away. I was angry. I was hormonal too so I always 2nd guess myself and I knew his parents would be angrier. I wanted to call them but didn't. Lee Joe was a little more casual than I was. In the morning though I was still very upset. Then Lee Joe agreed with me in how I viewed things. Amber couldn't get up. She was in pain. I am sure depressed. She did come to church eventually. She came home and went back to bed. I debated on calling, then going to his ward to talk to his dad/bishop. I didn't. I came home and talked to my sister and my mother-in-law before I was able to make the call. It was hard to tell parents I respect of an otherwise usually very good young man, what their son did to my daughter. She was in disbelief, but so upset at her son as I knew she would be. I was near tears by the end of the call. He did get in a heap of trouble but it opened more doors of communication for him with his parents and an awareness that he needs some help. I know he is not prepared for graduating and then being sent off to BYU immediately after he graduates for the summer. I remember my senior year with my mom moving away the minute I graduated looming over my shoulders and I was very unstable during that time and I understand that. But I want my daughter to come home in the same condition that she left my house, while under his care. So he came over and was very apologetic to me and to Amber. I told him it is time for him to get some counseling and some help and he says he will. Where did Amber get her tender heart I wonder?

I get into this uncharted territory of being a parent, you hope to never find yourself there. I am trying to teach my daughter how to put herself above those she cares for. I am not the best example. To see your daughter hurt physically and emotionally that way is heart breaking. For my strong steadfast oldest daughter, to see her weakness in her caring for someone at her expense yet knowing this boy can come around- but should she hang on...... OK it is late and I am hormonal I will admit yet again but some of these parts of parenthood you will never be totally prepared for. You are never quite sure if you are doing the right thing. And sometimes you have to let your child follow the path they choose and they will have to learn things their way in their time.

Ummm

There isn't much to report except for the same things you already have heard. Yes, my daughter did hijack my blog and my facebook page. Yes, she did dress like cat woman at the dance. What a nut. That is what I get for being busy and catching brief moments here and there on the computer. This week was another ugh fest. Tonight is the only night I have had to do whatever and I need to be finding tax stuff. Taxes are getting done tomorrow. Guess what I am doing instead. PROCRASTINATOR!!!

What's new---Basketball will be over tomorrow-Hooray!! I wasn't sure I would make it and am still not sure about tomorrow. There is an Honor Choir concert and a game and a party. Last Saturday was nuts with stuff too. Amber and Kelsea tried out for Tennis and they both made Varsity even though Amber is in the process of loosing her toenails and couldn't really play. I am glad they are on the same team though. It saves me. Amber just got the letter saying that she is accepted to attend BSU in the fall. That is almost an anxiety causer--money money money. But I will get really excited for the scholarship letters. Amber had to go to the doctor again because her toes were looking like they were getting infected. From personal experience I put loosing your toenails on the pain scale right up there with kidney stones and childbirth.

Lee Joe is out of town and on his way home now. Oh!! The funniest thing ever. I was mad because Lee Joe wanted to take an ipod and he took mine. But he was tortured by my ipod. He said if he was stuck on a desert island by himself and my ipod, he would chuck it in the ocean. I don't think he will take that again. hahaha.

I was so nicely recuited to help maintain kids at the choir concert on Tuesday and then did a table of flashcards to kids at the math and science night at the school on Thursday. Needless to say I am a little tired of managing little people. I went to the miniature golf and arcade place last Saturday to pick up Autumn from a party. I was shocked at my surprise at not having kids run up to me "Mrs. Lay!! Mrs. Lay!!!" I am so ready for Spring break but everyone at the school is. And we get the time change on Sunday that will make Monday more of a challenge. 2 more weeks before spring break for us.

My quote of the week. A little girl told me after her long drawn out story about going to the doctor visit, that the doctor thinks she has The Walking Asthma. For sure he thinks she has The Walking Asthma. I asked her if she meant Walking Pneumonia. Yeah, that's it. Oh and sick people are EVERYWHERE!!! Pneumonia is everywhere. My kids have made it to school though for 2 full weeks. But it seems like some sort of cold is about to make it's 2nd visit. Someday I will post pictures again but right now I need to unbury my desk. Do I HAVE to?