Thursday, November 19, 2009

Travel, Shopping, Drugs, and Pictures

Oh, my goodness - what a week! I feel like I have been running non-stop for the past 6 days or so. Some weeks are just like that, I guess.

We went to Council Bluffs for a long weekend. We had a birthday party there for Will and Ben. And then we had Harvest Sunday at our old church. That's kind of their "big" day of the year. They have lots of special music (this year Paul even sang) and a big meal. Paul spent all day Monday working on the furnaces up at church. While he did that I worked on my grocery list for the next day, read, and scrapbooked and Paul's grown nephew, Chris (who is living with Paul's folks while he attends pharmacy school) skipped his classes in order to entertain the boys. I think he just liked having someone to play video games with! So we ended up getting back Monday night around 10pm.

I jumped into Tuesday feet first. Grocery shopping is a big production when you're shopping for 6 and trying to be economical about it. It takes quite a bit of prior preparation and then that morning I have to get lunches made for us, Aldi bags loaded, make sure I have my bank deposits ready, my coupons filed and ready, and sometimes we have to load up pop cans. Plus, this Tuesday, Ben had three appointments and it was also his birthday. So after doing our running around all day long, we had to meet Paul for Ben's birthday supper. We didn't get home until 10pm and then we still had to have Ben unwrap his gifts and blow out his candles. The next morning I was out the door by 8:15 in order to make it to my Moppets job. No wonder I felt like crawling into bed by the time I got home yesterday afternoon!

But today has been better. I did have a dr's appointment first thing this morning and I had to run more errands than I wanted to, but I was home by lunch time. I've gotten in some school work and I actually had time to kick Will off the computer and blog!

I found out that we are going to be a great-aunt and uncle yet again this fall - this Friday actually - on Paul's side of the family. It's nothing to be happy about though. It's an awful, awful situation and one that really just makes my heart ache. It is a crime what is being done to innocent children!

On a happier note, we are through with birthdays until January! I always breathe a sigh of relief once we get through Ben's. I plan to post separately about our experience Tuesday night at Incredible Pizza, so I'll be brief here. One employee there really went out of his way to be kind to Ben and they won me over as a repeat customer, as a result. It's hard to believe that Ben is actually a teenager now.

Only 4 more nights until I see New Moon! I rented Twilight yesterday, so now I have to carve out some time to watch it before Monday. I'm not sure how I'm going to do that unless I stay up late some evening. I read an article in the Omaha World Herald Sunday about how I am not such an oddity. Apparently, there are many, many Twilight fans that are way over the target age of the books and movies. In fact, there is a website just for these women - you have to be over 25, married, and a mother to join! I was talking to my almost 29 yr old nephew this weekend and it turned out that he's a fan, too! I knew I wasn't that weird!

Ben saw his psychiatrist this week. He wants me to put Ben on Risperdal. I'm leery. He thinks it will help with his aggression and will help him to sleep better. One side effect, though, is tremendous appetite increases. Ben already has a huge appetite (not that it is being absorbed, since he is quite underweight) and I really hate to increase that. I don't like the idea of this drug at all. But - what if it helps? The dr. also decreased his Namenda, thinking that we (ahem - that would be he) got him overstimulated by giving him so much.

I was given the gift of encouragement Sunday night. We were at our old church and my friend, Stephanie, sat me down, and informed me that she has been following my blog. I didn't know! I'm always so pleased and flattered when people tell me that. I don't know - maybe I'm gaining a host of enemies, too, by blogging. But anyway, she told me she wanted to encourage me about this situation with Ben and proceeded to do just that. I think she felt like she was blundering about a bit, trying to find the right words and not really being in a position to advise, since it isn't her reality. But I came away blessed. I needed to hear what she had to say. It was a balm to my soul - so thank you, Stephanie. And thank you to all of you who have assured me that you are praying and are offering encouragement. We will get through this, too.

Work is slowing down for Paul, so you'll probably hear me start to whine about money soon. Not looking forward to that! Paul says that had he known HVAC was such a feast or famine type career, he might not have done it. It's just as well he didn't know then because he's quite good at it and I'm thankful he found this career path. It's just a matter of saving through the "feast" times. God hasn't let us starve yet. So anyway, Paul was off yesterday. He got so much done! I came home and had a new entryway floor. I love it - I told Paul it makes my heart "happy" every time I look at it. It's wood laminate. He picked up this box at the Habitat for Humanity resale store sometime this year for just $8. And then he used a furnace box as underlayment. So, it didn't cost much at all to do our entryway. He planted my burning bush and some naked ladies out by the fence. He and Will extended our back steps another 2 feet so now they butt up against the driveway. We can just walk right off the back stoop onto the concrete. I would say it would be nice if he were home more often, but I don't want that to become a reality! We need him out there earning money, too!

You'll all have to think of Will this Saturday. He is going to his first-ever Iowa Hawkeyes game. His youth pastor was able to get some really inexpensive tickets so there's a group of four that are going - 3 married men and one 15 year old! Will (well, all the boys, actually) is batty about the Hawkeyes. He has his bedroom wall covered in clippings from the Sports section. He has mentioned a few times that he would like a yellow and black paint job in there, which hasn't happened yet. I guess I need to give up my soap operas and Harlequin romances, get off my lazy bottom, and do something around here... He built himself a loft for his mattress a few years ago and painted it black and yellow. He has quite a few Hawkeyes shirts, hats, shoes - all of which he is planning to wear Saturday. So you can think of him if you hear anything from Kinnick Stadium this Saturday! I'm so glad he's getting this opportunity.

Well, guess what?! - it's time to make supper. So, I guess that means I am done here. Tomorrow will be a little busier. Ben has his birthday picture session scheduled in the morning and then all 4 boys are getting their picture taken for a Christmas present for Paul's mother (shh...ah, never mind - she never reads my blog anyway). I'd just as soon skip that session. And then I have scrapbooking in the evening. I'd better scoot.

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