New House

Rob and I talked about all the negs and positives of moving last night . It seems we have decided to stick it out here in Arizona . Besides , we can not get out of the buying of the house now. It will be nice to have and I think it will make me feel better . The only bad thing is , I have to get a job . YUCK ! I have not worked in four years and really not looking forward to going back .Not sure where to even find one in this little town . I am sure I will find something . But until then ... I will sit and enjoy my kids , some hot tea and Russell Stover International candy :).

Call Me Crazy

Lately I have had Florida on my mind . ALOT !!!! I am really missing it there ( in St. Petersburg , FL ) NOt because of family but because I love it there . It is a beautiful place . Lots to do :) And I miss the pelicans . I love to go and feed them .
I miss the beaches , the sunsets , The Buccaneers , Disney being right there , Busch Gardens , the Palm trees and Church ( Southern Style )oh and the food ( mainly Greek ).
There is nothing to do in this little town . My kids have no friends . I am tried of the dirt . The church Rob has been playing music for , is going down the tubes . He just bought a $4000 keyboard and it seems like everyone but him is playing it .
I am ready to go back to Florida . Sounds crazy huh ? The church Rob grew up in says they can use him and there are a lot of Planning jobs there that pay alot more then here . So , we will see what happens . I will be praying for God's will .
Mom says she would like to go there too after Dad passes .
I MUST BE GOING CRAZY !!!! LOL

Running on Full

Some may think that ADHD is just being hyper but there is more to it then that . The person with it seems to be in their own little world . And from this , there are alot of temper tantrums ( meltdowns as I like to call them ))

Lucas began to show this signs around 5 months , we just did know what it was . I was flying to our new home in Jacksonville , FL from a visit from Arizona , when the uncontrollable crying began . At the time , we thought it was lactose problems . The next bad one was his first time in the church nursery . Again we though it was lactose problems . This would continue on when he would get mad ( usually when we would leave him with a babysitter ) . The fit would get so bad he would throw up . It was the thought of lactose problems until he was three and we saw him begin to stick his hands down his throat to make himself throw up when he was mad.
He did not walk until he was 18 months old . I should say running , he never walked !From then on I was chasing the ever-ready bunny .
I took him in for his normal check ups and all the DRs would say was " he is probably ADHD , good luck " . No one ever told us about helping him as he got older .
Finally , we moved to Arizona when he was 2 . Took him in for his check up and once again , no help ! They just said , he has alot of energy .
I was going crazy ! I knew something was wrong with my child . The meltdowns were getting worse and the hyperness was so bad , he was not sleeping much .
It was just a month ago , I found a Dr willing to help . The Dr did alot of test on Lucas and has diagnosed him as ADHD and probably OCD . He is going to a neurologist in May . And now on Ritilin . It has done wonders ! He is now talking clear ( before his speech was very jibbery ) he is now working with potty training ( and he will be 4 in 3 weeks ) never before did he have time to go potty , ands he is doing pre school work at home ( he is very smart for his age )
You would not believe all the negative feed back I get ! People are very mad at me for having him on meds . But you know what ... they are working and the Dr is keeping a close watch on him .
I am glad I have finally found some DRs willing to help him . Did you know that if a person does not get help with ADHD when they are young , they can hurt themselves very badly or some one else . They can turn to drugs as they get older ( to help with the edginess they feel ) they can have bad car wrecks because they are unable to pay attention . So , I have choose to get my child help . So , he can have a better life and feel better .

Living with a child with ADHD

My oldest son , Lucas has been told by the Dr that he has , ADHD . I am going to share with you all what it is like to have a child with this problem . I have wished for a support group in my area , but have yet to find one . So, by writing this , it may come to help others .
Lucas was born 6 weeks early , March 12 , 2004 . We were living in Mississippi at the time . The Drs there seem to not care about their patients , As you will read about in this Blog .
I had a very hard time in my pregnancy . I threw up the whole time . Had high blood pressure ( that was not helped with ) and prego diabetes ( not informed of until 8 months of pregnancy ) . I also had a very bad kidney infection and gave meds that were 10 times the dose that should have been given ! Thank God , i am a RX tech and picked up on this and did not ask them , but went back to my DR and showed her this . She them put me on the right meds .
A week before Lucas was born , I had a DR appointment . We talked that I would need a c-section because my bones on my hips were very weak and could break if I had a natural child birth .
The next week , I began to bleed . It was time for another check-up that day , so I went in . They put me in the hospital because I was dialed to 4 ! No pain was ever felt . I asked the Dr if she would do c- section , as we had talked about , SHE REFUSED !
I was in labor for 19 hours . I never had any pain , but felt I better get an epidural at dilating of 7 . The Dr made me push for 3 and 1/2 hours . During this time I began to throw up blood ( and a lot of it ) . Lucas' heart dropped and so did mine . Finally , an ER c-section was to take place.
He was born with problems of breathing and had to me rushed to the Children's Miracle Hospital in Alabama . Let me tell you something , there is nothing as hard as having your new born taking away from you by strangers , Never get to hold him before they take him away !
He was in there for a week . It was three days bdfore I even saw him or held him ! My husband took good care of him those three days .
The reason I go back this far with this story , is because they believe , his birth may have had a reason for him having ADHD .
I will continue on with this tomorrow .

Need a Kiss

I have been so busy the last too days . Cleaning , chasing kids and taking care of animals. We got a new dog yesterday . He is a malamute and very big !!!! So , I have been trying to get him comfortable . Lots of work and money . Bought a big chain and put him on it . But he got all tangled up , so I had to fix that . It was very heavy ! Now we bought an electric collar so he can run .
The reason for buying him , we are moving out to the country in a couple of months . There are lots of desert wild life out there ( hawks , bobcats , coyotas etc ) and he can take care of them . Now I just need to buy a big dog run to put him in when the kids go out . He likes them and is a bog teddybear but I am afaird he may forget how big he really is . He is just like the dog , Buck , in "The Call Of The Wild " ( one of my favorite books , by Jack London )

Anyway , I was fixing dinner after doing all this , when Rob brings Jeremy into see me . Jeremy was holding out his hands , pouting , saying " Mommy " . Rob said " Do you want to tell Mommy what you had , or do you want me to ?" Then he holds out a Hersey Kiss to me . I guess he thought I was in need of a kiss from a long hard day .

Looking Up

Things are looking up ! Lucas is now on meds for his ADHD and doing much better ! He is very focused now . The potty training is going good now too ! He still had some meltdowns but they don't last as long . We are still waiting for the insurance to ok him having an MRI and CAT scan . We have to see the neuralogist first ( that will be April or May in Tucson )
We went and speced out our new house yesterday ! It is going to be very nice ! A fireplace in the master bath and one in the living room . That one will be see through into the office area . We are putting it outside of town and will have a view of mountions all around us ! I can't wait !
And the jeep is now back to us . I loved the rentals but I sure missed the Jeep !:)
I will keep my head up . Good things are coming our way !!!!

TRYING TO HAVE AND ANNIE ATTITUDE

What is an Annie attitude , you may ask ? Well, It is like little Annie " The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow " It seems like the Storm just keeps on pounding down. I know people don't like to hear all the bad , but I need to vent .
This year has just began and it sucks ! My Dad is getting weaker every minute . Just got out of the hospital, again , yesterday . This time , he had a staph ( MRSA) infection from the tubing in his nose.
My son , Lucas has been having alot of hyperness and meltdowns . No one has wanted to help me , until two weeks ago . i found a DR. that is willing. He is running all kinds of test on him . But the waiting is driving me crazy . He had blood work done last week . Now we are waiting for them to get an MRI and Cat Scan scheduled . The Dr. seems to think he has ADHD and OCD . He says from the birth
he went through , it may have caused all of this.
He was an ER C- Section . He was breech , however , the stupid DR. did not ever tell me this . She let me go into labor for 19 hours and then try to push for 3 and a half. So , he had to be ER c-section almost losing us both. He had bruises all over his head .Thank God he and I are still here . And he is very smart just hyper and VERY OCD !Thinking of going back and sueing the DR in Mississippi that delivered him !
Well , I had a little hope lifting . We found a house to buy . However , that bubble was popped . We have been approved but my husband does not think we can do it . I believe these thoughts are coming from my "wonderful " in-laws.Of course . i do not sare say this to my husband . He thinks they can do no wrong . But they are all ways butting in . I am sooo sick them doing this ! But I have to sweet little me and go on , or have marriage problems . I am trying to be the good little submive wife !
Any way , sorry for the sad story . I really am trying to have an Annie Attitude !

Happy Christmas Eve

I was just taking a bath when I heard a firetruck go by . This scared me because it does not happen in this town unless someone has been hurt up at the Mine . So , I got out of the tub , threw my PJs back on , wet hair and all , and ran outside ,with Lucas running behind . I was in for a shock !!! It was not an ER but the fire department , with Santa ! They were going from house to house to see all the kids ! ( Stupid me did not have my camera ) Now Lucas is bouncing all around the house ! I love this town !
Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas !

The Chair

One of our trees in the front yard had died . So , we called the grounds
people to come take care of it . ( that is one of the nice thing about living in company housing ) It took a couple of weeks but they finally came .
Lucas loves to watch people do things . So , i let him stand at the front door to watch the tree get cute down . The lady that is over the grounds people came up to talk to him . She thought he was so cute . She told him she would be back to cut the tree stump into a chair for him .
Three hours went by and I thought she would not be back , but low and behold , she made it . I called Lucas into the living room to see her. He was so excited ! She came up said hi and off to the stump she went . On went the chain saw and she began her creation .Finally , she was done and called us out to see. It was so cute ! Lucas loved it . Now he has a place to sit and watch the neighbors play basketball .
Just one more reason I love this little town ! :)

Dance of the shopping carts

This morning , I woke up at 4 AM , wide awake . So , I got up and decided to go shopping at Walmart . I was one of the first people there . Grapped a shopping cart and waited in line for the store to open .
Five o'clock came around and the fun began ! I had already looked at the ad and decided what I wanted to buy . The store was lined with palets of stuf in the main asless . Around and around I went , picking up things to buy . It was astually fun ! People were nice and not pushy . You must think I was on a another planet . I could not beleive it , the spirit of Christmas is still around ! And people have it here this year ! They were even giving up some of there thingd , so that others could have them ! This was like a dream ! I swear I was awake and not sleep walking !
I found all the things I planned on buying except for two of them . And all in 30 minutes . I even found a line that had no one else in it ! HOt dog !! I spend $136 and got a bunch of stuff ! What a wonderful day !

Dear Santa

This Friday Night , the town here is having a Christmas lighting down town . There will be all kinds of family things to do . And , Santa will be there. We plan on taking the kids . So , I asked Lucas what he was going to tell Santa he wanted . I had to laugh at what he said , " A box of nails , a hammer , a helicopter . and a guitar . " Don't know what has on his mind to do with all this. So , I asked him . He said , " I need to make toys , then fly them to kids and play music ." Well , Lucas , we will see what Santa can do . :)

Crazy Dream

I had a dream that I missed Christmas ! Can you believe that ? Christmas is my favorite time of the year , how could this be ?
Of coarse this is also the busist time too ! This year Dec . 8 th I will be going to see Michael W. Smith's christmas concert , The 14 is my anaversiery , then christmas , and on the 28 th my husbands Birthday ! Wow , my head is already spinning !

halloween pictures

Dog Days

Yesterday Morning , I was sitting enjoying my Coffee , when I saw a New dog walking down the street . He looked to be a Blue Heller cross Hound dog . I thought nothing of it until he came over our fence to visit my dog .He would not leave ! I tried everything . Finally , I called the animal control . They got here to find him sound asleep in my back yard , as if he belonged here . The animal control guy said " You got him ! We have been tiring to get this dog for 2 weeks now ." He had been going into the local Basha's,into the meat department stealing steaks and cheese . But no one could get to him . I guess he liked me and our home . So, you could saw I caught the town theif ! I hope they find him a home our his owners .

Small Town Halloween

We just got back from taking the boys Trick Or Treating . And I have to say , it was the best Halloween I have ever seen . We live in a mining town in AZ , so it is very safe . The whole town was out ! It seemed like a Halloween from the 50's or from an old Halloween family movie .
Lucas was of coarse Spider man ( who wasn't ) and Jeremy was a bear .Everyone acted like Lucas was the only Spider man . And all was as nice as could be . It was like I was dreaming .
We first went down our block , then came home and handed out candy , while I got the little one to bed . Mind you our bags where half way full . And not with crap candy but the good stuff ! Then Lucas and I went down to the streets where EVERYONE was at . I only took down 3 blocks of that , and we were very tired . So, back home , we came with now a full bag of good candy . Very good Halloween . Wish it could be this safe everywhere . Now to try to get Lucas to bed .LOL!!! Good luck , huh ! :)

Numb

The winds of change are upon me . My Dad has been sick with Emphysema for about 10 years now. And now the final stages are kicking in . This is very hard and probably harder on me because I am an only child . The only way I can truly vent is here on my blog .It is too hard to talk about . yes , I have my husband but it is hard for him to talk about it too .

A couple of weeks ago Mom had to rush Dad to Tucson , V A hospital . He was having strange blood pressure readings . Very low and then spiking High . Breathing not good too . The Dr were afraid he had phenomena . ( Thank God he did not ) He stayed there for 4 days .

During all this my Mom is becoming someone I do not know . Very hateful and saying things that cut to the bone . I am sure it is the stress of everything but it still hurts.

Dad told me that at this point , he does not go to the hospital to get better but to help cope . He is ready to go . He is just waiting . They say that he could go at any time . But he does not want me to know that the Dr's have said this .

I know all are appointed a time to die but his is hard .Mainly the treatment from them . I will be glad when this is all over . I know that sounds bad but I am tried of seeing him go through this .
What does emphysema do ? Well , it is a slow suffocating death . You have no energy . It becomes hard to walk , talk , eat , go to the bathroom and bath . All takes too much energy . You end up on oxygen 24 / 7 and most of the time in bed . Most die from heart failure or coughing and chocking to death , then some go in their sleep . It is not a pretty thing . So , if you smoke .... think twice . Do you want to end up like this ? Not only is it hard on you but think of your family .

PMS + A SCREAMING 3 YEAR OLD = AHHHH!!!!!

I do not know what has gotten into my 3 year old ! He has become a hard to handle child ! I swear he is 3 going on 16 . He screams all the time , whines and tells me and my husband to " shut up " . I am ready to call in supernanny ! And yes , we desipline him . Nothing is working ! Help ! I feel like I am failing as a Mom :( . Thank God the one year old is good ( hopefully he will stay that way ) The two are like night and day . The bad thing is they already fight . I need a vacation !

FOR THE LOVE OF FREEDOM

The other day , I was blog surfing and surfing on other sites and began to find many blogs from our American soldiers. To see their pictures and read their stories , my heart filled with pain and tears began to flow down my cheeks . We do not even know what all they have and are going through for us . They have a deep love for mankind and our country . The have and are putting thier lifes on the line every moment to protect us . Sacrificing their minds and body , all for love ! How many of us can say that we would do that ? The Bible says we are to love our neighbors as our self , and no greater love then those that lay down thier life for their brother . I love our soilders , pray for them daily and want to say " Thank you !!!!!" I challenge you to thank them when you see them . Remember what all they are doing for you ! Only one other loved us as much and more , Jesus Christ .

Fall colors ( will a girl ever learn)

Fal began last Sat . so I thoguht I would make my hair a darker blonde . Went to good old Wlmart and bought a carmal blonde . Looked like a nice color . Got to my Mom's and put it on , waited the 25 minutes , then rinsed it out . Oh , my Goodness !! It had turned GREY !!! Now normally a carmel color has a red undertone , not this one ! It had ash ( green ) ! Well , Rob likes red so I thought lets try red . Off to the store again . Bought red and went home . Put it on , waited and rinsed . What the heck!!!! It was now burgandy ! Rob said don't worry , we will get it fixed .
He called my friend , Lee , who is a hairdresser and also on his praise team at church. She said she would fix it . So , off to her house we went . Now mind you , they where to have band practice in two hours from the time we got there .
We began the process . She weaved in blondes with foil . Time got away from us and yes , she missed practice . However , being the bosses wife , it was all good !:) We then put a brown on the hair left out of the foil . Waited and the rinsed and cut . It turned out so cute and I love the color ! All of this and she did not want any money . Thank God for friends ! ( Yes , I paid her anyway )
now the funny thing is .....I am also a hairdresser , so you would think I would stop playing with my poor hair . Someday it may fall out and call me dirty names !LOL

Jeremy's 1 st B- day

Sept 8 was my baby's 1st Birthday . Time sure goes by ! It seems like I just had him !!! Here are some pictures :)Our new Kitty even got cake !