All Hell Broke Loose Here

Yep, it was a bad, bad night. T wanted to sleep with me, then proceeded to put her legs on me, instead of laying correctly. When I asked her to stop fooling around and go to sleep, her response was a difinitive "no".

After a few more nos, I said fine, go sleep in your own bed. Again, NO.

Knowing I'd never lift her up to carry her back into her room without risking my back, I said "Fine, I'll go sleep in your bed. I have no interest in sleeping with anyone who keeps kicking me".

All was quiet, and about 10 minutes later a light goes on in my bedroom. I go inside, and find the blinds wide open, and T naked as a jay bird standing in front of the window. When I asked her what she thought she was doing, her reply?

I went pee pee in your bed

Yep, that's about the time all hell broke loose. I was so, so mad that I didn't know what to do. T was ordered back into her room to go to sleep, which she did without a peep. She's also once again, unplugged. She also admitted that she did it on purpose, because she was mad.

Myself? I was up all night b/c I was so mad I couldn't go to sleep, so I guess she won in the end. So, today we're starting over. She has vowed to be a good girl and I have vowed not to be mad at her anymore.

Not sure which of us will break our vow first...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNT DOT

Dot's birthday fell in the middle of the week while she was in TX. So, T and I planned a small impromptu bday party Friday night, when she got home. T was so excited, she couldn't stand it, and felt her Tinkerbell costume was the only appropriate attire for the festivities.

I picked up a tiny cake at publix, which by the way, is DELICIOUS! Got a couple gifts, lit some candles, and we were in business. It was a party!
Funny how T always has a way of horning into somebody else's candle-blowing ritual. The kid likes nothing better, than blowing out nicely lit candles atop yummy cakes. Who can blame her, right?

Progress...

My mom is the proud new owner of yet another hearing aid. This one, though, has a nifty string with a clip attached to it, that I'm hoping will save it from the fate her previous hearing aids suffered. We'll see.

While I was over there, the railing man called, and wanted to come and install the railings. They are FAB! and look great, too. They are just the thing that my mom needed. Unfortunately, they fabricated a railing incorrectly, and I made them take it back and redo it, so I'll have to go over there this morning as well, to make sure its done correctly.

We're off to the dr for a followup appointment regarding T's parotid gland. She reports that the rocks are gone, but the doc will officially confirm that.

T also claims that Mrs. M said that all the kids could wear costumes to school today. Call me crazy, but this sounds a bit suspicious to me! Since nothing was mentioned to me yesterday by the teacher, and there was no notice sent home in her lunchbox, I have my doubts. So, we've reached a compromise. T, herself, packed a bag with princess dress, crown, and shoes. Its waiting by the front door. I'm very interested to see whether or not all the other kids are in costume, or if T got the message all balled up. Something has given her the impression that costumes are OK today. I'm wondering, though, if perhaps the class was discussing their upcoming halloween festivities, and T got confused.

Sock-o-holics of the World Unite!

My friend Lori over at Stress is the New Black, confessed a dirty little secret today. She's a sock-o-holic. Immediately recognizing a sister-at-arms, I felt compelled to do a little soul-baring myself. So....

I give you T's sock drawer. (No, i'm no crazed neat freak, this drawer is religiously maintained on a weekly basis by Leonor, who enjoys sorting things by color. She does it in my closets, too, but I digress). The basket on top are T's white school socks. Call me crazy, but I've always felt it very important that T's socks match her outfit. Like any good addict, I think I'm suffering from black outs, since I have no independent memory of purchasing all of these socks. However, the evidence speaks for itself.

So, there you have it. What does your kid's sock drawer look like? I'm just glad that somebody has more socks than T, which allows me to maintain the illusion that I'm not nuts.

Thanks, Lori!

Role Playing

Hot on the heels of the bad report from school, we spent the evening last night role playing. T and I would switch off the two roles:

"Kid bothering T" and "T who doesn't hit"

I then had T repeat over and over the following:

1. Please do not touch me

...if the kid keeps it up, she's to resort to an order

2. Don't touch me

....if the kid keeps it up, she's to employ a threat

3. Stop touching me or i'll tell the teacher

...if it continues, she's to raise her hand and wait for the teacher to acknowledge her, and tattle on the little culprit.

Since it sounds to me that the child was just touching T's forearm to get her attention, I suspect T will never have to get past #1. My impression from a month of walking through the playground area are that these kids at this school are basically really good kids, so we'll see.

Unfortunately, Mrs. M wasn't at aftercare today, so I have no reliable reports of how T did today. T reports that she was a good girl, and used her words with Rene. When asked what she said to him, she replied that she told him to "keep you hands to yourself" and he stopped. Hmm, those words weren't in our script, but appear to have worked just as well. Bravo for T!

On the other hand, whether any of this story that she described is true or not remains to be seen. However, like any good parent, I choose to ignore my doubts and believe her until I can get a report in the morning. So, t is happily watching TV tonight. If there's a good report tomorrow, she'll get to watch movies. A third good report will gain her computer access.

Bad Report from School

Today I got a very bad report from school. Mrs. Maranges said that T was hitting and even punching a number of children in the class. Even Rene, who is her best, inseparable buddy, said he didn't want to sit next to her. She also threw her headband. What has caused this is a mystery.

T went to bed at a reasonable hour, and even ate a bit for breakfast. If T doesn't want to eat, she wont eat a thing, and I worry that on the days she doesn't, she's overly hungry which might cause her to lash out. Um, nope. Not today. T had a waffle for breakfast.

So, T is in big, fat trouble. She's unplugged tonight and in the future until I get a good report from school. After homework, she'll be making a card for the class, apologizing for her poor behavior.

This is when I wish parents could read their kids' minds.

T's only explanation? "He was bothering me".

Sigh.

Family Fun Game Night

...was a success! T has stated spontaneously 3 times, out of the blue, that, "I really had fun on game night". Sweet child. It was no big deal, we just played candy land a few times, and also "Princess Magical Gems Fishing". We had a rocky start, though, when Dot won the first round and T started pouting. She was highly annoyed that she didn't win. Clearly we have more work to do on her extremely over-developed sense of competitiveness. We'll start having more of these nights, and perhaps incorporate some popcorn. That would be fab!

Meanwhile, could someone please stop me next time I go to get 2 shots, not just on? My arms have been aching all day.

T and I went over to my parent's house today. I had noticed that my dad is having a hard time standing up when sitting on the couch. So, I had the bright idea to get some of those plastic risers...that you put under the legs of beds to lift them up so that one can store more stuff under the bed. I put them on the couch, raising it 5 inches, and he seems to like it.

Thursday will be a big day for my mom, we're off to the audiologist again to be fitted with hearing aid number 4. I'm about to mail in the 112.00 premium to insure it, so that if she loses it, we can get #5 for "free". Wish us luck!

Construction Underway

For those who may be interested, I took these pics as I was driving by on friday. The big sign on top has yet to be finished, but the little ones at the entrances are up. Lots of construction has been going on here.


I couldn't be more happier with the progress. In times past, there was a creepy flea market there every weekend in the parking lot. Traffic would snarl up badly on the nearby streets, and all kinds of criminals were there.

I recall having a defendant, back in my dope days, who worked there. She was arrested for trafficking in 17 kilos and had hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash. Perhaps that prejudiced me against the flea market. Who knows. All I care about is the fact that its gone elsewhere.

Of course, what will happen to traffic once this new casino opens, will probably be worse, and I'll be kicking myself saying, "Be careful what you wish for..."

Productive Day

Today we got lots done. First, we went over to my parents and I installed their new dish network box. Their old one died, right before the warranty expired, for once.

Then I met a railing man there. I'm having railings installed on their front porch. My mom enjoys sitting out there now, and I have visions of her doing a swan dive off the edge, as she gets up from her chair. Last sunday, she was outside and fell. Luckily, not from the porch. We think she was out in the swale area, bent over to pick something up, and toppled over. She doesn't remember how it happened. Cut up her face, but luckily, no other injuries. My biggest fear has been that she'd fall, break a hip, and then be bed-bound like my grandma was, with no hope of recovery. New railings should be installed within the week.

Then, we were off to Target. They were having a shot festival there, and I scored both the flu shot and the pnemonia shot. My doc has been bugging me to get them. T was so funny. I would say I was scared and she'd reply, "Its ok mama, I'll hold your hand." And she did during the whole thing, admonishing me to hold on "really tight". I think she enjoyed that the tables were turned, and for once somebody else but her was under the needle, so to speak.

Lastly, I'll just throw this out there for a certain T fan...they're installing big new signs at the old Flagler Dog Track. New one's say "Magic City Casino". I think its slated to open in a few months, so somebody might want to come down here and spend the night once the place opens. I'm just saying...

We're back home now, about to have "Family Fun Game Night". No wagering will be involved.

Problems

So, went in for my needle biopsy today and left the place without it taking place. Since the last two i've had there, they've supposedly "improved" the technology. The new table that you lay on is very hard, and has a hole in the middle that the boob in question hangs through so they can work on it. The problem was twofold: the table itself is concave, with the bottom of the slope being where your boob goes, then both sides of the table slope up from there. Not a big slope, just one acute enough to AGGRAVATE MY FRICKIN BACK.

The second problem is that you can not move a muscle during the procedure. They had me in there laying on the torture table for almost an hour and a half, as they tried to get the right spot lined up. I couldn't take it anymore. Maybe if they had me lined up right from the start, I could have tolerated it all. But they didn't.

As usual, the calcifications are in a really hard area to reach...on the side of the boob, way back almost on the chest wall. There was no way I could continue to lay there without moving a muscle, while they did the procedure. Almost threw my back out as it was. Turns out, after I was reduced to tears, they inform me that apparently I'm not the first to complain about the table. Almost everyone complains about the head/neck area, but people with back problems complain like I did and often can't proceed with the biopsy.

So, the alternative, apparently, is a surgical biopsy. I have an appt with the dreamy dr on 10/6 to talk about it all.