Here is Ben's 13th birthday picture - didn't it turn out nice? I could not decide between the final two I had narrowed it down to, so I let Ben choose!
It's Thanksgiving night. Paul and the older boys are watching "Night at the Museum" on tv, Sam is in the tub (hopefully not drowning since nobody is actually watching him), and I'm too tired to do anything but type. We did a traditional Thanksgiving meal just for the 6 of us. I cooked my first turkey, ever, and it turned out really yummy - for turkey, that is. I'm actually not a huge turkey fan, which probably has something to do with why I'm almost 39 and just now cooking my first bird. I baked two pies and I am anticipating sinking my teeth into the pumpkin one in a little bit here.
I spent several hours this afternoon reorganizing and cleaning Ben, David, and Sam's room. Since Sam's birth it has been a constant challenge to come up with enough room for our stuff. We really need a larger house, but I am reluctant to commit to a larger mortgage right now. But anyway, I'm pleased with what I came up with. For the last year I have had a toy shelf in the living room which has meant that everything in that small room is literally touching eachother - no extra space at all. I hauled that up to the boys' bedroom and I really like how that opened up one corner of the living room. Of course, that meant I now had to come up with more space in their bedroom to accommodate the shelf! I ended up taking the door off the hinges that goes to their little closet (their room has two closets for some odd reason). I completely cleaned out the little closet and got all the clothing in there moved into the bigger closet. Then I had just enough room to move the toybox and Sam's tool bench into the closet. Paul's going to put up a light in there and now it's just a cute little play area for Sam! I got everything cleaned out and vacuumed - and now I'm worn out!
Reflections on this past week: Saturday we met with our pastor again after a 6 month hiatus from counseling. It was good. He was very, very encouraging about the idea of putting Ben in school. In fact, Monday I ended up calling the school. My hand was literally trembling as I made the call. I didn't identify myself when I called, but just explained my situation. The secretary said she'd have the proper person call me back (and he never did this week) and then asked, "Is the Heywoods? You live up in Swan?" Are we that well known? I was a little taken aback. Evidently, our reputation precedes us!
After meeting with our pastor we drove up to Matt and Kirsti's to see them one last time before they moved. It was kind of sad. Matt and David played one last game of Madden football. And then Matt gave David a pair of boxy Hawkeye slippers he himself had been given at one point. They were too small for him. You would have thought Matt gave him the moon. David has not been out of those slippers all week long! He was absolutely thrilled! We ate pizza with them and my palate expanded. I had chicken and mushroom pizza and oh my - it was good! I may have to do that again sometime! This is pretty big for me, because I tend to stick with foods I know and love. I'm willing to experiment when I cook, but if I'm paying to eat out (or order in, as the case was) I want to know that I'm going to like what I get!
Will didn't go with us because he was at his first Hawkeye game Saturday. I think it was better than his birthday and Christmas combined! I picked him up from a Caseys where his youth pastor dropped him off and Will chattered all the way home. I had not heard him this animated since the first time he came home after a week at junior boys camp! Of course, it probably helped that the Hawkeyes crushed their opponent Saturday!
Sunday night Sam ran right into one of the support beams in our church auditorium. He hit his head so hard I was just sure he had split it open. I didn't even realize he had been hurt until I turned around and saw him laying face down on the carpet. Then, it was like those dreams you have where you're trying to run, but it feels like you have 100 lb weights tied to your feet. Another lady got to him first. When Sam gets really upset or really hurt it takes him quite awhile to make an actual sound. His lips turn blue and then eventually he starts crying. He's always been like that. But anyway, he got a goose egg that's a sickly shade of yellow right now and a scrape, but he didn't split it, thankfully. One of these days I know I'll have an ER tale for you with him, though. It's just a matter of time!
Sam has caught onto the idea of praying now before meals. It is so stinking cute! He announces, "pay!" and then screws up his eyes really tight and starts blinking rapidly. I'm not doing a whole lot of praying myself because I'm wanting to watch him instead! Sam has never tolerated having his nose or face wiped - ever. But this week he had a slightly runny nose. He came out to where I was and kept saying, "nose." I didn't know why he was talking about his nose until he then pointed at a tissue box. What a relief it has been all week to be able to wipe his nose without having to fight him!
I started Ben on the Risperadal this week. I'm still a bit leery, but I did some research on the internet which made me feel better. Most mothers reporting on it mentioned that their children gained weight. I don't want Ben getting to be fat, but since he's underweight, maybe this will help bring him to a more healthy weight. And most reported a decrease in the autism symptoms while on the drug. So, we'll give it a shot.
It looks like I am going to be having surgery sometime after the first of the year. I'm going in to talk to my gynecologist about scheduling an ablation. That's where they burn off the lining of the uterus. But one thing I want to know is if this procedure will take care of my near-constant uterine pain, or if it will only take care of the excessive bleeding. If it only treats the latter, then I'm wondering if we'd be better off to just do a hysterectomy and get it all over with. The nurse practitioner who did my biopsy last month gave me a choice among the ablation, the Mirena, and progesterone shots (like Depo-Provera). The last two really did not interest me, so that left the ablation. That will make me sterile, but since Paul already had a vasectomy and I'm in peri-menopause, I really doubt it will make a difference!
Monday was a rough day financially for us. Man, talk about getting beat up! First, Paul was home by noon, which is not good. When he doesn't work, he doesn't get paid. And they just didn't' have anything for him after that morning - or last Friday, or yesterday :( Then, the mail came and there was an envelope from the Council Bluffs police department. Council Bluffs uses those traffic cameras at a couple of their intersections. Evidently, Paul did something their cameras didn't approve of, although he says he can't remember doing anything remotely illegal. And the irony of it is that the reason he was down at the end of town where the cameras are is that he was serving the Lord - working on the furnaces at our former church! Des Moines has a couple of those cameras, too. I've heard one of our radio hosts on WHO refer to them a city "fundraiser." I am inclined to agree, since we are now "donating" $107 to the city of Council Bluffs! And then, lastly, I opened our electric bill. We're on a budget plan so we pay the same amount all year long and they adjust at the end of the year. Last year was great. Our bill went down $5. This year we are up to $116 - a $26 a month increase! Good grief!
Tuesday night my good friend Melissa and I went to see the latest "Twilight" movie, "New Moon." Oh, I just loved it! I am so crazy about those books and the movies! It helps having a fellow 40-ish, homeschooling mom of 4 just as nuts about them as I am, though, to go with me! I think Robert Pattinson made my heart beat even faster in this movie than he did in the first! I know at one point I leaned over and asked Melissa, "Is it wrong to feel this way since in all actuality I am old enough to have given birth to him?!" She assured me that I am just appreciating God's creation. I can live with that! I am totally looking forward to the release of "Eclipse" next spring. And I'll leave it at that since I'm sure at least half my readers are now rolling their eyeballs!
I have studiously avoided shopping on Black Friday for decades. It hearkens back to when I was a college student and stood in line for 45 minutes on the Friday after Thanksgiving trying to buy a bottle of shampoo. I vowed, "Never again!" Well, Will has informed me that we are leaving the house by 8 am tomorrow morning. He has the desire to go buy something shiny and electronic and is convinced he can get a good deal if we go tomorrow. Since I am his ride, I get to go. Sigh...
So, I'm signing off on Thanksgiving night. And I am - truly thankful. For everything.
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